SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
avathArikai
After becoming happy with his eminence, AzhwAr saw the lowliness of others. In this pAsuram, he feels sad that the reason for this is their bewilderment, as well as making others to be bewildered, with other deities who are born from a womb just as they themselves were, and still thinking of them as supreme beings. The identity for SrIvaishNava is the inability to tolerate sorrows of others.
Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings:
thiru ninRa pakkam thiRavidhenRu OrAr
karu ninRa kallArkku uraippar thiruvirundha
mArvan sirIdharan than vaNdulavu thaNduzhAy
thAr thannaich chUdith thariththu
Word for Word Meanings
thiru irundha mArvan – having divine chest in which periya pirAtti (SrI mahAlakshmi) has taken residence
(due to that)
sirIdharan than – emperumAn who got the divine name of SrIdhara
vaNdu ulavu thaN thuzhAy thAr thannai – the cool divine thuLasi garland towards which beetles come
sUdi – donning it (on the head)
thariththu – getting to exist because of that
thiru ninRa pakkam thiRavidhu enRu OrAr – those who could not ascertain that nArAyaNa, who has pirAtti aptly fitting, is the supreme being
karu ninRa – brahmA, rudhra et al who also stayed in a womb (just like themselves)
kallArkku uraippar – will instruct fools (that brahmA, rudhra et al are supreme beings)
vyAkyAnam
thiru ninRa pakkam thiRavidhu – without any restriction on the type of entity, whichever entity that pirAtti chooses to manifest herself in, becomes the supreme entity. Did not vEdhas also come to the same conclusion as mentioned in the SlOkam “SradhdhayA dhEvO dhEvathvam aSnuthE” (due to pirAtti, emperumAn attains the quality of being dhEva)! parASara bhattar has also mercifully mentioned in SrI guNarathna kOSam “apAngA bhUyAmsO yadhupari param brahma thadhabhUth ” (the entity on which pirAtti’s grace fell became parabrahmam (supreme entity)), and “vEdhAnthAs thathvachinthAm murabhidhuraSi yathpAdhachihnais tharanthi ” (on looking at whose chest on which the footprints of pirAtti’s divine feet have been implanted, the vEdhAnthas concluded their debate on supremacy)!
thiRavidhenRu – The word thiRavidhu means having all entities under its control and not comprehendable by anyone unless it reveals itself.
OrAr – if people had the knowledge, they would have known that ‘this entity is like this’. But they do not have that knowledge! There is no sign that they have knowledge.
karu ninRa – dhEvathAs such as rudhra et al, who are also born like samsAris, out of a womb. Didn’t vEdha, while speaking about the birth of rudhra, say “ushasi rEthO’sinjath” (brahmA deposited his semen with the deity of dawn), confirming that rudhra too stayed in a womb and was born?
karu ninRa kallArkku uraippar – these samsAris will instruct other samsAris, who are as foolish as they are, without any knowledge about SAsthras, that these deities (born out of a womb) are supreme entities.
thiruvirundha mArvan sirIdharan – there is a worm which does not have any connection with mango fruit; however it is called as mAmbazha uNNi (mango-worm). It is in the same way that devotees of other deities, who do not have any connection with pirAtti (SrI mahAlakshmi) call their deities with the prefix SrImAn. In the case of the paramapurusha (supreme being) on whose chest pirAtti has taken residence saying as in thiruvAimozhi 6-10-10 “agalagillEn iRaiyumenRu” (I am not capable of separating from emperumAn even for a moment), the name SrIdharan is a very apt name. It is only to show emperumAn’s unique greatness that sage vyAsa brought out in 12 divine names the connection with pirAtti as mentioned in SrI vishNu sahasranAmam 608-619 “SrIvathsavakshA: SrIvAsa: SrIpathi: SrImathAm vara: SrIdha: SrISa: SrInivAsa: SrInidhi: SrIvibhAvana: SrIdhara: SrIkara: SrEya: SrImAn” (one who has the divine mole on his chest; the dwelling place of lakshmi; the consort of lakshmi; the head of those blessed by lakshmi; one who grants wealth; wealth of lakshmi; husband of lakshmi; treasure of lakshmi; one who praises lakshmi; one who sustains lakshmi; one who is born with lakshmi and one who has lakshmi). There are some texts which give this verse as thiruvirundha mArbil sirIdharan. The meaning is identical.
sirIdharan than vaNdulavu thaN thuzhAyth thAr thannaich chUdiththariththu – the garland of thuLasi which sirIdharan (consort of lakshmi) is wearing is dripping with honey, to seek which beetles throng the garland. Followers of emperumAn will wear the divine garland which has been removed from emperumAn, in line with periyAzhwAr’s thiruppallANdu pAsuram 9 “sUdik kaLaindhana sUdum iththoNdargaLOm” (these servitors who would wear the garland, clothes etc which have been removed from emperumAn). They will realise their existence once they wear this garland.
We will go on to the 63rd pAsuram next.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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