Arththi prabandham – 27

Introduction: 

In the earlier pAsuram, maNavALa mAmunigaL asked SrI rAmAnuja “oLi visumbil adiyEnai oruppaduththu viraindhE”. He requested SrI rAmAnuja to expedite the process of him going to paramapadham. SrI rAmAnuja also will give maNavALa mAmunigaL as per the phrase “vAnE tharuvAn enakkAy (thiruvAimozhi 10.8.5)”, after seeing the latter’s steadfast yearning in reaching paramapadham. With paramapadham assured, maNavALa mAmunigaL tells his heart about the dos and don’ts from this point on. maNavALa mAmunigaL starts by telling his heart  to pay no attention towards the hurdles in this materialistic world. He continues to list the dos for his heart, with the undercurrent that his ascend to paramapadham, the ultimate destination, has been confirmed.

pAsuram 27

ivvulaginil ini onRum eNNAdhE nenjE
iravupagal ethirAsar emakku inimEl aruLum
avvulagai alarmagaLkOn angirukkum iruppai
adiyArgaL kuzhAngaL thamai avargaL anubhavaththai
ivvuyirum adhukku ittuppiRandhu izhandhu kidandhadhu
ennum aththai enRum adhukku idaichuvarAy kidakkum
vevvinaiyAl vandha udal vidum pozhudhai vittAl
viLaIyum inbam thannai muRRum vidAmal irundhu eNNE!

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Word-by-Word Meanings:

nenjE – hey! My heart!!!
eNNAdhE – Do not think about
onRum – anything
ivvulaginil – about this world
ini – from now.
eNNE! – (Instead) think
vidAmal irundhu – incessantly
iravupagal – day and night
avvulagai – about the celestial world (paramapadham) that
ethirAsar – Sri rAmAnuja
inimEl aruLum – will bestow in future
emakku – for us
alarmagaLkOn – (think about) the omnipotent, omniscient Lord sriman nArAyaNan, who is the divine consort of periya pirAtti, who is seated on a lotus flower
irukkum iruppai – (Think about) HIS being at the divine majestic throne
angu – out there in paramapadham.
avargaL anubhavaththai – (Think about) being an object of enjoyment for
kuzhAngaL thamai – the communities of
adiyArgaL – nithyasUris.
enRum – (Think about) at all times
ennum aththai – that
ittuppiRandhu – very well deserved yet
izhandhu kidandhadhu – lost opportunity (of being an object of enjoyment to the nithyasUris)
ivvuyirum – even this soul.
adhukku idaichuvarAy kidakkum –  (Think about) those that acts as obstacle
vandha – caused by
vevvinaiyAl – cruel sins (which in turn is caused by association with the body)
udal vidum pozhudhai – (Think about) the time when the body falls
adhukku – (Think about) the enjoyment that ensues
vittAl – when the body falls
viLaiyum – which eventually causes
inbam thannai – eternal happiness
muRRum – (think about) all these aforementioned list

 Simple Translation:

maNavALa mAmunigaL asks his heart to think about the glorious time that this soul is going to have in paramapadham. He says that this was blessed by SrI rAmAnuja who had earlier inculcated the interest in going to paramapadham. maNavALa mAmunigaL tells his heart to think about paramapadham, the divine couple of Sriman nArAyaNan and periya pirAtti, THEIR devotees, the opportunity of being an object of enjoyment to the devotees, the misfortune of the soul not able to attain it now, the hurdles that prevent the soul from being served as an object of enjoyment of the devotees, the sins that acts as an obstacle, the body that was the cause of the sins, the time when the body falls for one last time, the subsequent time when it is going to be in paramapdham thereafter.

Explanation:

maNavALa mAmunigaL tells his heart “Hey! My heart! You are responsible for both, path to bondage as well as path to liberation from it (via paramapadham).” “atha dhEhAvasAnEcha thyaktha sarvEdhAsbruha:” is a saying that describes that this materialistic world is replete with things  that are to be looked with disdain. These things that are collectively called as “prakruthi prAkruthungaL” are clearly something that are to be discarded completely without any trace of it. These things that are silly, ephemeral etc., are never to be considered as things to be adopted / approved in the first place.” maNavALa mAmunigaL continues, “Hey! My heart! emperumAnAr had inculcated in me, the desire to reach paramapadham. Hence, from now, I am going to ask you to always think about the following list of things. To start with, think about the glorious celestial world, also known as “paramapdham” that emperumAnAr is going to bestow us. Think about the Lord Sriman nArAyaNan, the divine consort of periya pirAtti, and HIS majestic sitting posture in the throne there in paramapdham. periya pirAtti who looks like someone who is fragrance personified is seen seated in a lotus flower.  She is with her consort Lord sriman nArAyaNan in the divine throne as described by the phrase “ezhil malar mAdharum thAnum ivvEzhulagai inbam payakka inidhudan vIRRirundhu (thiruvAimozhi 7.10.1)”. Think about the glorious list of devotees (“adiyAr kuzhAngaLai (thiruvAimozhi 2.3.10)”, who are engaged in eternal service to the divine couple (Lord Sriman nArAyAnan and periya pirAtti). Think about the enjoyment that you will derive upon seeing them enjoy you. Think about the misfortune now of not being regarded as an object of enjoyment by those devotees, though you (the soul) is qualified for that in every sense. Think about this great loss.  Think about the hurdles that caused this great loss (of being enjoyed by the devotees) in the first place. Think about the body that is the biggest hurdle in achieving that. Think about the innumerable sins that served as the cause for the body in the first place as revealed by “pollA ozhukkum azhukkudambum (thiruvirutham 1)”. Think about the time when this body falls for one last time.  Think about the subsequent wonderful time that the soul is going to be forever once this mortal coil falls. Think about all these things day and night. These are the things that are in line with “things to think of” for the soul.  Think about these things incessantly day in and day out”. The phrase “ivvulagil ini onRum eNNAdhE” in this pAsuram is in line with what nammAzhvAr mentioned in his thiruvAimozhi pAsuram “maruL ozhi nI (thiruvAimozhi 10.6.1)”. Both talk about the significance of archAvathAram.

Translation by santhAna rAmAnuja dhAsan

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