SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
avathArikai
AzhwAr says that once a person realises that such emperumAn is very affectionate towards us, the days before that realisation as well as days which come after such realisation would all be very beneficial, without any difference.
Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings:
senRa nAL sellAdha sengaNmAl engaLmAl
enRanAL ennALum nALAgum enRum
iRavAdha endhai iNaiyadikkE ALAy
maRavAdhu vAzhththuga en vAy
Word by Word Meanings
sengaNmAl engaLmAl enRa nAL – if there is a day when it is said “the lotus eyed kaNNan (krishNa) is very affectionate towards us”
senRa nAL – the days which have passed [before that day]
sellAdha (nAL) – days which will come hereafter
ennALum – at all times
nAL Agum – will be very good days only
enRum iRavAdha endhai – emperumAn who does not have an end ever
iNai adikkE – to the two divine feet
AL Ay – to be subservient
maRavAdhu – without forgetting
en vAy vAzhththuga – my mouth should praise
vyAkyanam
sengaNmAl – since the lotus eyed emperumAn is together with pirAtti there is no hurdle to getting the benefit. AzhwAr says that his tongue should henceforth be ready to enjoy him continuously. We can also construe this to mean that AzhwAr is telling us to be thankful to emperumAn whose quality is like this [to uplift the followers].
sengaNmAl – supreme kaNNan (krishNa) who is lotus eyed. The reason for being lotus eyed is his being the consort of pirAtti.
enRa nAL – if we get the knowledge one day that emperumAn is affectionate towards us
(then)
senRa nAL sellAdha nAL ennALum nALAgum – the days which have passed and the days which are going to come, will all be good days only. AzhwAr says in the same manner by which akrUra said in SrI vishNu purANam 5-17-3, after seeing krishNa “adhyamE sapalam janma suprabhAthA cha mE niSA yadhunnidhrAbhjapathrAksham vishNOr dhrAkshAmyaham mukam” (Today itself I achieved the purpose of my birth. Today itself my night dawned into a good day. Did I not get to see the divine face of Sri vishNu who has eyes similar to the petals of blossomed lotus!). How can the days which were spent wastefully (without knowing about emperumAn) be good days? Since the earlier days were spent appropriately, in knowing about emperumAn now, they are good days only. Weren’t the past days spent in such a way as to say “sengaNmAl engaL mAl” today! Hence they are also good days only. The days to come will also be spent in experiencing emperumAn and hence they too will be good. The days to come will be spent in recalling the thoughts that we are having about emperumAn now!
ennALum – the days being spent now are also good days only since these are spent with thoughts about emperumAn. There is no shortcoming in this.
enRum maRvAdhE – only activity to be carried out now is to ensure that no fault accrues to this henceforth.In other words, no hurdle comes to this experience.
Or, if the text is
enRum iRavAdha endhai – the one who is forever, without any end, at the divine feet of that father. In SrIvishNusahasranAmAdhyAyam, it is said “bhUthAnAm ya: avyaya: pithA” (one who is indestructible father to jIvAthmAs, the sentient souls).
endhai – one who is the leader. He is appropriate for us.
iNaiyadikkE – at the two divine feet which are equivalent to each other
ALAy – as a servitor
maRavAdhu – without forgetting
vAzhththuga en vAy – my mouth should keep praising.
maRavAdhu vAzhththuga – the following pramANams (authentic texts) show what will happen if we forget emperumAn and if we think of him without forgetting: a) thaiththirIya upanishath Anandhavalli 6 “asannEva sa bhavathi asath brahmEthi vEdha chEth asthi brahmEthi chEth vEdha santhamEnam thathO vidhu:” (if he does not have knowledge about brahmam (emperumAn) he does not exist; if he has knowledge of brahmam, he is considered to exist by people only because of that reason. b) gAruda purANam 222-22 “yanmuhUrtham kshaNam vApi vAsudhEvO na chinthyathE sA hAni thanmahachchidhram sA bhrAnthis sA cha vikriya” (if in a muhUrththam (a time frame of 48 minutes) or in a moment, vAsudhEva is not thought of, that is destruction; that is great sorrow; that is bewilderment; that is disfigurement). c) thaiththirIya upanishath Anandhavalli 6,7 “udharamantharam kuruthE abhayam prathistAm vindhathE athasO bhayangathO bhavathi” (when he attains emperumAn with devotion to be without fear for samsAram, he gets rid of fear of samsAram). Has it not been said in periya thirumozhi 6-2-2 “maRandhEn unnai munnam maRandha madhiyin manaththAl iRandhEn” (I forgot you earlier and as a consequence I died)
We will take up the 18th pAsuram next.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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