SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
avathArikai
AzhwAr was asked “Could you say that there is none who is equal to you in this world?” he responds in this pAsuram that world is full of these types of people (as explained in the vyAkyAnam).
Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings:
vilaikkAtpaduvar visAdhiyERRuNbar
thalaikkAtbali thirivar thakkOr mulaikkAl
vidamuNda vEndhanaiyE vERA EththAdhAr
kadamuNdAr kallAdhavar
Word for Word Meanings
thakkOr – lowly people
vilaikku AL paduvar – they will become slaves in order to eke out a living
visAdhi ERRu uNbar – willingly take on others diseases and enjoy them (as part of accepting mruthyudhAn (donation of death)
thalaiiku AL bali thirivar – they will roam around offering their heads for someone else to live, indulging in human sacrifice.
mulaikkAl vidam uNda vEndhanaiyE – kaNNan (krishNa who drank the poisonous milk from pUthanA’s bosom
vERu A EththAdhAr – not worshipping pointedly
kallAdhavar – being without knowledge
kadam uNdAr – enjoying only sins
vyAkyAnam
vilaikkAtpaduvar – people who will sell their souls to others for very low values. Their souls are expected to be servitors only to emperumAn, which are only his possession and which are sweet to him like SrI kausthubam [SrI kausthubam is a divine jewel decorating the divine chest of emperumAn and is said to represent all AthmAs (souls)]
viSadhiyERRuNbar – when an affluent person suffers from a disease, for the sake of money that he offers, these people will not hesitate to take on his disease and will be willing to enjoy that too. visAdhi – vyAdhi (disease)
uNbar – while they enjoy the money that the affluent person offers, these people will be willing to enjoy his disease too.
Is it only this much? …..
thalaikkAt bali thirivar – when a person who is suffering from terminal disease escapes from it, these people will be willing to offer their heads as a sacrifice to lowly deities; they will go around town, looking for such ‘diseased’ people.
thakkOr – very intelligent people [mentioned with sarcasm]. What sort of knowledge do these people have that they will be willing to sell themselves or take up someone else’s disease or offer their heads, all for the sake of money, without realising that one can but paint only if the canvas is there!
What is the reason for their knowledge to get blunted like this?
mulaikkAl vidamuNda vEndhanaiyE vERA EththEdhAr kallAdhavar – not worshipping with their intelligence, emperumAn, who drank not only the poison that the demon pUthanA who came in the guise of yaSOdhA had applied on her bosom, but also the poison of her deceit and killed her. The implied meaning is that since they are not knowingly worshipping emperumAn, who removes enemies of his followers as his profession, their enemy of ignorance is still around.
vEndhanaiyE vERA EththAdhAr – those who do not worship emperumAn specifically. Since they are people who will do anything for money, there will be no shortcoming in their praising the dogs and ghosts of this word as indhra and chandhra (i.e. as great people). But they seem to have taken a vow that they will not worship emperumAn even once, due to their ignorance.
vERA EththEdhAr – vERA would mean pointing out specifically. There are some who would construe the meaning of vERA EththEdhAr as those who do not worship in a special way.
kadamuNdAr – they swallow their sins, just as it has been mentioned in SrI bhagavath gIthA SlOkam 3-13 “thE thvagham bhunjathe pApA:” (those sinners eat their sins). kadam – sin.
vEndhanaiyE vERA EththEdhAr kadamuNdAr kallAdhavar – this follows the meaning expressed in SrI bhagavath gIthA SlOkam 7-15 “na mAm dhukrithinO mUdA: prapadhyanthE narAdhamA: I mAyayA’pahrutha gyAnA: Asuram bhAvamASrithA: II” (fools, lowest among men, those with their knowledge blunted by illusion and demonic people do not attain me as they are all sinners). If the text is taken as kadanuNdAr the meaning will be that those who keep borrowing in order to sustain themselves.
kallAdhavar – even after knowing that they cannot repay, these people will go on borrowing due to their blunted knowledge.
We will move on to the 53rd pAsuram next.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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