SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
avathArikai
In the previous pAsuram, AzhwAr mercifully mentioned about how he spent his time purposefully. In this pAsuram he instructs others the way in which they can spend their time purposefully.
Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings:
pOdhAna vittiRainji EththuminO ponmagarak
kAdhAnai AdhipperumAnai nAdhAnai
nallAnai nAraNanai nammEzh piRappaRUkkum
sollAnaich cholluvadhE sUdhu
Word for Word Meanings
pon magaram kAdhAnai – one who is donning beautiful earrings in the shape of fish
Adhi – the causative entity for the world
perumAnai – one with greatness
nAdhAnai – being the lord (of all)
nallAnai – having the quality of vAthsalyam (motherly love)
nAraNanai – one who is famously known as nArAyaNa
nam Ezh piRappu aRukkum sollAnai – about the purushOththama (best among all sentient entities) whose divine names will sever our connection with repeated births
pOdhu Ana ittu iRainji EththuminO – offering anything which goes in the name of flower, bowing down to him and praising him
solluvadhE – reciting (his divine names wholeheartedly)
sUdhu – apt activity for us
vyAkyAnam
pOdhAna ittu iRainji EththuminO – offer whatever goes in the name of flower at his divine feet; bow down to him with your mind and praise him with your mouth. By using the word pOdhAna AzhwAr is hinting that if offered with devotion, there is no flower which is unacceptable to emperumAn. kaNNan (krishNa) had mercifully said in SrI bhagavath gIthA 9.26 “pathram pushpam ….. bhakthyupahrutham aSnAmi ” (I accept with affection, whatever leaf or flower has been offered to me with devotion). thirumangai AzhwAr too considered that there is no flower which is unacceptable to emperumAn in his pAsuram “kaLLAr thuzhAyum kaNavalarum kUviLaiyum muLLAr muLariyum Ambalum …. puLLAy OrEnamumAy pukkidandhAn ponnadikku “. nammAzhwAr also mercifully mentioned in his thiruvAimozhi 1.6.1 “purivadhum pugai pUvE”. parASara bhattar who was one day giving a discourse on this subject, mentioned that even if trash is burnt and smoke is generated, emperumAn will accept that; even if kaNdagAlippU (a type of flower) is offered,he will accept that. nanjIyar, his disciple, interjected and said that SAsthras do not accept kaNdagAlippU “na kaNdakArikA pushpam dhEvAya vinivEdhayEth” to which bhattar responded “it is not that SAsthram had rejected kaNdagAlippU. It is only because the thorns in the plant will pierce the hands of his devotees that this has been avoided”
ittu iRainji EththuminO – by using the word ittu the service through physical faculty has been stressed; iRainji refers to service through the faculty of mind and EththuminO refers to service through the faculty of mouth.
pon magarak kAdhAnai – one who has divine ears which are decorated with desirable golden ear-rings in the shape of fish. AzhwAr used the word poR kAdhAnai to hint that emperumAn is very precious and is to be worshipped by offering him gifts, just as one buys gold and protects it.
Adhip perumAnai – unlike some materials, which though looking beautiful, will not be apt for us, he is most apt for us and has the greatness of creating us all.
When asked whether he will accept us, AzhwAr says . . .
nAdhAnai – one who will accept us because he is our swAmy (lord)
Will he despise us because of our faults?
nallAnai – one who does not see any faults in us. One who considers our faults as our auspicious qualities due to his auspicious quality of vAthsalyam (showing motherly love).
What is the proof that he has such greatness?
nAraNanai – AzhwAr says that the name nArAyaNa itself announces to the world his greatness.
AdhipperumAnai nAraNanai – At the time of creation, since the nArA: (the clusters of souls) take shelter in him, the word nArAyaNa shows his ability to create all beings.
nAdhAnai nAraNanai – emperumAn sustains and pervades all souls and is their means as well as goal. The word nArAyaNa also indicates his being the lord of all. nammAzhwAr mercifully said in his thiruvAimozhi 2-7-2 “nAraNan muzhuvEzhulagukkum nAdhan”.
nallAnai nAraNanai – instead of despising the lowly cluster of souls, since he pervades them completely, the word nArAyaNa also indicates vAthsalya guNa (motherly love). thirumangai AzhwAr mercifully said in his periya thirumozhi 6-10-4 “nallAnudaya nAmami sollil namO nArAyaNamE”.
nAraNanai nammEzh piRappaRukkum sollAnai – one who is referred to by the divine word of nArAyaNa which will sever us from all our births. Has it not been said in vEdha “sankIrthya nArAyaNa SabdhamAthram vimuktha dhu:khA: sukinObhavanthi ” (the moment people recite the name of nArAyaNa their sorrows are removed and they attain mOksha)? thirumangai AzhwAr too mercifully said in his periya thirumozhi 1-1-9 “adiyAr paduthuyarAyinavellAm nilandharanjeyyum nArAyaNa ennum nAmam” (reciting the divine name of nArAyaNa will destroy all the sorrows of followers). Alternatively nammEzh piRappaRukkum sollAnai can be construed as referring to the greatness of emperumAn’s divine names. rushis also spoke of this meaning when they said “yannAma sankIrththanO vimuchyathE”, “yannAma sankIrththanathO mahAbhayAth vimOkshamApnOthi ” (by reciting whose divine names sentient entity gets rid of the fear of samsAram and attains mOksha).
solluvadhE sUdhu – reciting his divine names is apt for us, the jIvas (souls).
We will take up the 65th pAsuram next.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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