mudhal thiruvandhAdhi – 36 – muraNai vali

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avathArikai

AzhwAr says that in order not to let others come to him and beg him not to take as truth whatever they had said in falsified affection, emperumAn himself went to mahAbali [the King who had usurped the three worlds from indhra, [ the deity of celestial people] and begged him. Thinking about this, he says “wasn’t this action carried out by you in order to attract the people of this world and to make them your own!”

Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings:

muraNai vali tholaidhaRkAm enRE munnam
tharaNi thanadhu AgaththAnE  iraNiyanaip
puNNirandha vaL ugirAl pon AzhikkaiyAl nI
maNNirandhu koNda vagai

Word by Word Meanings

munnam – in earlier times itself
dharaNi thanadhu AgaththAnE – one who had presumed that the earth is his
iraNiyanai – hiraNya kashyap
puN nirandha – to cause hurt by breaking
vaL ugirAl – with sharp nails
pon – being resplendent
Azhi kaiyAl – with the divine hand holding chakkaram (divine disc)
nI – you
maN irandhu koNda vagai – the way you begged for and obtained earth
muraNai vali tholaidhaRkAm enRE – was it not to remove the ahankAram (egotism) and mamakAram (possessiveness) [of samsAris such as ourselves]!

vyAkyAnam

muraNai vali tholaidhaRkAm enRE – In SrI rAmAyaNam yudhdha kANdam 36-11 it says “dhvidhAbhajyEyamapi na namEyam thu kaSyachith” (even if I am cut into two, I will not worship anyone). In order to make such people who  do not have humility in them [like rAvaNa in the above mentioned SlOkam], to be your own after removing their egotism, you were expectantly looking for them so that they would soften themselves and become your followers. This applies to be people like those mentioned in thiruvAimozhi 2-9-9yAnE endhanadhE enRirundhEn” (I remained as if I were everything and everything were mine).

munnam dharaNi thanadhu AgaththAnE – hiraNyakashyap who thought that your property, the earth, was his.

thAne – there was no need for someone to give it in writing to him. He thought so himself.

puN nirandha vaLLugirAl – with the aid of sharp nails cut [hiraNyakashyap into two]. Or, we could consider this as “with the help of sharp nails, tore the injured heart of hiraNyakashyap”.

munnam dharaNi thanadhu AgaththAnE – going to the yAgasAlai where mahAbali, who thought that the whole world was his,  was carrying out rituals.

pon AzhikkaiyAl nI maN irandhu koNda vagai – the way you went begging for alms with the hand that held the disc which assists you in protecting the worlds

muraNai vali tholaidhaRkAm enRE – you, who are the leader of all the worlds, went like a mendicant to the place where mahAbali was carrying out the rituals. AzhwAr says “Wasn’t this to make people admire your simplicity and melt down consequently!” Wasn’t it to destroy their ego which was like a fortress around them! While mahAbali felt happy that he was giving away in alms to you, the worlds which were actually yours but were his as per his thinking, you also received them from him thinking as to why you should not receive it from him even if he thinks that the worlds are his. Just like janaka maharAja thought that sIthAp pirAtti (mahAlakshmi who never leaves you even for a moment) was his daughter and offered her hand in marriage to you, mahAbali also thought that the worlds were his and was offering them to you. AzhwAr says “was it not to attract and engage the people of this world towards you that you also took those worlds which were offered!”

We shall move on to the 37th pAsuram.

adiyEn krishNa ramanuja dhAsan

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