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Full series >> Sixth Centum >> Tenth decad
Introduction for this pAsuram
Highlights from thirukkurukaippirAn piLLAn‘s introduction
No specific introduction.
Highlights from nanjIyar‘s introduction
In the tenth pAsuram, AzhwAr surrenders to thiruvEngadamudaiyAn with periya pirAttiyAr as purushakAram to have his desire fulfilled quickly.
Highlights from vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s introduction
Subsequently, AzhwAr properly surrenders to thiruvEngadamudaiyAn saying “Without any other refuge, I am surrendering unto your divine feet which has purushakAram [of pirAtti] and the apt qualities”.
Highlights from periyavAchchAn piLLai‘s introduction
See nanjIyar‘s introduction.
Highlights from nampiLLai‘s introduction as documented by vadakkuth thiruvIdhip piLLai
See nanjIyar‘s introduction. Thus, in the first nine pAsurams, he explained the nature of the SaraNyan (refuge). Here – AzhwAr is surrendering, explaining his own nature. Previously [too], he said “adiyEn“, “aruvinaiyEn” to highlight his own Akinchanyam and SEShathvam (servitude) as part of emperumAn being the refuge; here, he is using the same words as means to attain the result, and surrenders. This pAsuram should be analysed and studied in context of the words in dhvayam. The “aham” (I, the one who surrenders) which is implied through the meaning in dhvayam is explicitly said as “adiyEn” in this pAsuram.
pAsuram
agalagillEn iRaiyum enRu alar mEl mangai uRai mArbA!
nigaril pugazhAy! ulagam mUnRudaiyAy! ennai ALvAnE!
nigaril amarar munik kaNangaL virumbum thiruvEngadaththAnE!
pugal onRillA adiyEn un adik kIzh amarndhu pugundhEnE.
Listen
Word-by-Word meanings (based on vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s 12000 padi)
(Due to the relationship as in Sun and his rays, and the great enjoyability in emperumAn)
iRaiyum – not even a moment
agala – to separate
killEn – not ready to
enRu – saying
alarmEl – one who is having softness, enjoyability etc due to being born in the flower,
mangai – lakshmi who is very dear to emperumAn due to her adolescent age
uRai – (in a special portion of emperumAn’s divine form, while her high family lineage, qualities of self and beautiful form are there) being greatly enjoyable due to eternally residing in
mArbA – one who is having the divine chest
(caused by his togetherness with her)
nigar il – matchless (the quality which cannot be simply counted along with the other qualities, due to ignoring the faults of the devotees)
pugazhAy – having great vAthsalyam (motherly forbearance)
(being the cause for that)
mUnRu ulagam – the three types of chEthanas (souls) and achEthana (matter) which are well known from pramANams (authentic scriptures)
udaiyAy – having svAmithvam (lordship) of owning
(not just that supremacy)
ennai – me too who has many faults
ALvAnE – having sauSeelyam (superior person mingling freely with inferior persons) which makes you acknowledge/accept me
(further to that Seelam, having greatness in knowledge and love, to be seen and worshipped by everyone)
nigar – match
il – not having
amarar – amaras (nithyasUris) who are focussed on service
muni – (being engaged in meditating upon his qualities) sages who meditate
kaNangaL – groups
virumbum – residing with great desire (due to his vAthsalyam etc)
thiruvEngadaththAnE – one who is present in thirumalA with perfect saulabhyam (simplicity)!
pugal – refuges such as upAyAntharam (other means such as karma yOga etc) and other saviours (such as other dhEvathAs, self et al)
onRu – any
illA – I who am an ananyaSaraNan (not having any other refuge)
adiyEn – I (who have pArathanthriyam (total dependence))
un – your (who are with purushakAram (of pirAtti) and the qualities)
adi – divine feet
kIzh – beneath
(becoming part of the lines at the bottom of your divine feet)
amarndhu – being seated with exclusive focus on kainkaryam and no other expectation
pugundhEn – I have surrendered.
Simple translation (based on vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s 12000 padi)
Oh emperumAn who is having the greatly enjoyable, divine chest (due to the eternal presence of lakshmi) which is occupied by lakshmi who is very dear to you due to her adolescent age and who is having softness, enjoyability etc due to being born in the flower and who is saying “I am not ready to separate even for a moment”! Oh one who is having matchless, great vAthsalyam, having svAmithvam of owning the three types of chEthanas and achEthana which are well known from pramANams, having sauSeelyam which makes you acknowledge/accept me too who has many faults and one who is present in thirumalA with perfect saulabhyam of residing with great desire to be worshipped by matchless amaras who are focussed on service and sages who meditate! I who am an ananyaSaraNan who has no other refuges such as upAyAntharam and other saviours, have surrendered unto your divine feet and have become seated beneath them, with exclusive focus on kainkaryam and no other expectation.
[dhvaya mahA manthram is correlated with the words/phrases in this pAsuram]
- “agalagillEn iRaiyum” indicates the meaning of the word “SrI” which means “she is constantly serving him”, which leads to her inseparability from emperumAn
- “alarmEl” indicates her tenderness etc which facilitates her constant engagement with him
- “mangai” indicates her being very dear to him which is the reason for their constant engagement
- “uRai mArbA” indicates the meaning of “math” which means their eternal togetherness
- From “nigaril pugazhAy” to “thiruvEngadaththAnE“, the meaning of “nArAyaNa” is explained in the same manner Sruthi explained it in “mAthA pithA brAthA nivAsa …“, through the four qualities namely vAthsalya, svAmithva, sauSeelya and saulabhya.
- “pugal onRu illA” indicates Akinchanyam (lack of anything in self) and ananya gathithvam (lack of any other refuge) which are the qualities expected in the qualified person who is surrendering
- “adiyEn” indicates [the meaning of “prapadhyE” which is] the nature of the qualified person who is surrendering based on the action of self [this “adiyEn” is implicit in dhvayam]
- “un” indicates AzhwAr calling out to emperumAn and surrendering unto him saying “your divine feet”
- “adik kIzh” indicates “charaNau” (divine feet)
- “amarndhu” indicates unflinching faith in the divine feet being the means and goal [relates to “pra” in “prapadhyE“]
- “pugundhEn” indicates the act of surrender, i.e. “prapadhyE“
- “pugundhEn” being in past tense indicates that the surrender need to be done only once and there is no need for repeated surrenders.
- The second sentence of dhvayam is also part of this pAsuram along with the first sentence which indicates the acceptance of bhagavAn as means, since this is perfect surrender,
- as emperumAn‘s relationship with lakshmi, his having auspicious qualities are part of the goal,
- as the presence of ananya bhOgyathvam (enjoyed only by emperumAn) is revealed through the qualification of the one who is surrendering, i.e. “adiyEn“, similar to ananyArhathvam (existing only for emperumAn) and ananya SaraNathvam (having emperumAn as the only refuge),
- as “nama:” is explained through “amarndhEn“, which eliminates the doubt of AzhwAr having any desire for other results [such as aiSvaryam and kaivalyam]
- as “pugundhEn” also indicates the goal
Thus, as this pAsuram reveals the two sentences of dhvaya mahA manthram precisely, it can be hailed as “pUrNa SaraNAgathi” (perfect surrender). In this manner, in this centum, AzhwAr perfectly pursued emperumAn who was highlighted as the means in the previous centum.
vyAkyAnams (commentaries)
Highlights from thirukkurukaippirAn piLLAn‘s vyAkyAnam
See vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s translation.
Highlights from nanjIyar‘s vyAkyAnam
See nampiLLai‘s vyAkyAnam.
Highlights from periyavAchchAn piLLai‘s vyAkyAnam
See nampiLLai‘s vyAkyAnam.
Highlights from nampiLLai‘s vyAkyAnam as documented by vadakkuth thiruvIdhip piLLai
First Explanation
- agalagillEn iRaiyum enRu – pirAtti is not speaking this in separation; while she is enjoying the eternal togetherness, she is repeatedly saying “iRaiyum agalagillEn” (I won’t leave even for a moment). This would be the words of those who eternally enjoy him. This is not the same emotion as that of worldly people; because their emotions [towards others] is based on karma; but this is based on the greatness of emperumAn.
- alar mEl mangai – She has the enjoyability and age which make emperumAn say as in SrI rAmAyaNam sundhara kANdam 66.10 “na jIvEyam kshaNamapi” (SrI rAma says – I will not survive even for a moment without seeing sIthA). She looks an embodiment of fragrance.
- uRai mArbA – With this, their eternal togetherness is explained. Do I have to look for a specific time to surrender unto him? We don’t have to hesitate looking at our own faults and his independent attitude [pirAtti will make him ignore our faults, give up his independent attitude and accept us]. Once, bhattar was going to instruct the meaning of dhvayam to piLLai azhagiya maNavALa aRaiyar. So he asked everyone else to leave the room. nanjIyar too stood up and walked out, being upset and thinking “Why didn’t he ask me to stay?”. In the meantime, bhattar looked around for nanjIyar and did not find him and hence asked “where is nanjIyar?”, and called him in and explained the meaning of dhvayam to both of them – nanjIyar used to relate to this incident and explain that bhattar explained this particular meaning that time. When nanjIyar asked “If this AthmA is a servitor and bhagavAn is the lord, what is the purpose of pirAtti‘s relationship here?” bhattar mercifully explained to him “Listen to the nature of her role! While rAvaNa and crow [jayantha, son of indhra, who assumed the form of a crow and abused sIthAp pirAtti] have the same relationship and conducted in the same manner [both being offensive towards pirAtti], due to the curse upon rAvaNa, he did not touch pirAtti, but the crow offended pirAtti, who is the mother of all [including the crow]. Yet, due to her presence, the crow’s head was saved and since she was away from SrI rAma, rAvaNa lost his life”. Even rAvaNa became helpless in the end like the crow; still, he was not saved, due to the absence of pirAtti. Now, with respect to mother and father, they don’t deal with the children in the same manner; the mother, will not only ignore the faults of the children, she would also hide from the eyes of the father. That is why, [in dhvaya mahAmanthram], she is explained as an equal partner in the second sentence, but in the first sentence – she is hailed for her simplicity due to her role of purushakAram (recommendation, mediation). When she could instruct hanuman (who was connected directly to SrI rAma) in SrI rAmAyaNam yudhdha kANdam 116-44 “na kaSchinnAparAdhyathi” (There is none who has not committed a sin), why wouldn’t she fulfil the desires of emperumAn who is waiting to accept her instruction?. When she instructs even to those who don’t listen to her as in SrI rAmAyaNam sundhara kANdam 21-19 “mithramaupayikam karthum rAma: sthAnam parIpsathA, vadham cha anichchathA ghOram thvayA asau purusharshabha: ” (SrI rAma who is the best among all purushas (souls) is the apt person to make friends for you who would like to remain in this world and who would not like to die a horrible death), she would not give up on emperumAn who looks at her face waiting for orders. She said in SrI rAmAyaNam yudhdha kANdam 113-41 “dhAsInAm rAvaNasyAham marshayAmIha dhurbala” (I do not have the wherewithal to see the sufferings of rAvANa’s servant-maids). thiruvadi (hanuman) asked pirAtti to handover the rAkshasis (rAvaNa’s servant-maids) to him, and she said “I am so weak that I cannot bear the suffering of others). There is no weakness in rAvaNa getting killed, SrI rAma being victorious and thiruvadi appearing in front of her – the only weakness relates to her intolerance in seeing others suffer.
- nigaril … – “nArAyaNa” is explained now. His great qualities which make him say as in periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 4-9-2 “thAmaraiyALAgilum sidhaguraikkumEl en adiyAr adhu seyyAr seydhArEl nanRu seydhAr enbar” (even if SrI mahAlakshmi complains about followers to emperumAn, he will deny that).
- ulagam mUnRudaiyAy – Even if he is devoid of good qualities, his aptness which will never let us leave him, is explained [i.e. svAmithvam – his being the lord of all].
- ennai ALvAnE – This is how the aptness is practically implemented. ALugai (ruling) means leading one to mOksham and fulfilling the desires in the due course.
- nigaril … – The ultimate saulabhyam (simplicity) is explained.
- pugal onRu illA adiiyEn – Akinchanyam and ananya gathithvam are the qualities in a person who is surrendering.
- un adik kIzh – charaNau (the two divine feet).
- amarndhu – without any gap/hurdle.
- pugundhEnE – as this unflinching faith does not become part of the means, as it is in the form of upakAra smruthi (gratitude for the favour done by emperumAn) and it is an expression of being a sentient being, it is merely an attribute of the one who surrenders [instead of being the means]. All of these as aspects are explained in the last word of the first sentence of dhvayam [i.e. prapadhyE].
nampiLLai’s first explanation is complete. We will see further explanations in the next article.
adiyen sarathy ramanuja dasan
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