SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
avathArikai
Just as AzhwAr mentioned in the previous pAsuram “ennoppArkkuth thAnAyuLan”, he demonstrates through varied examples in this pAsuram as to how emperumAn helped those who are without any means, just like him [AzhwAr].
Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings:
imayap perumalai pOl indhiranArkkitta
samaya virundhu uNdu Ar kAppAr samayangaL
kaNdAn avai kAppan kArkkaNdan nAnmuganOdu
uNdAN ulagOdu uyir
Word for Word Meanings
imayap perumalai pOl – being like a huge himAlaya mountain
indhiranArkkitta – cooked for the sake of indhra (lord of celestial entities)
samayam virundhu – usual worship
uNdu – when he was eating
(from the danger of hailstorm which happened)
Ar kAppAr – who saved?
samayangaL – philosophies based on sacred texts
kaNdAn – one who saw (in the beginning)
Ar – who?
avai kAppAn – one who protects (without their being ruined)
Ar – who?
kArkkaNdan nAnmuganOdu kAppAn Ar – who protects brahmA and Siva (from huge dangers)?
ulagOdu uyir uNdAn Ar – (during deluge) who swallowed and protected the worlds and the creatures (in the world)?
(Is it not emperumAn who did all these?)
vyAkyAnam
imayap perumalai pOl indhiranArkkitta samaya virundhu uNdku Ar kAppAr – every year, the herdsmen at gOkulam used to offer food to indhra as a way of expressing their gratitude for giving them good rain, as mentioned by periyAzhwAr in his periyAzhwAr thirumozhi “attukkuvi sORRup paruppadhamum thayir vAviyum neyyaLaRum ”(food cooked and heaped like a mountain, with a stream of curd and rice made with ghee (clarified butter)). One year, the food, which was as huge as the himAlaya mountain, was denied to indhra and eaten by someone else [krishNa himself]. Out of anger of being denied the annual food, indhra started raining hailstorm on gOkulam. Who ate the food and lifted the hill gOvardhana for seven days, protecting the herdsmen from the hailstorm?
Ar kAppAr – when a favourable person such as indhra himself turned into an unfavourable person and rained hailstorm, did the herdsmen protect themselves or did emperumAn save them? Can this not be analysed?
AzhwAr shows through the subsequent incidents that it was not only here that emperumAn became a protector to those who are without means, like himself (AzhwAr) but in other places too.
samayangaL kaNdAn Ar – just as it has been mercifully mentioned in SrI rangarAja sthavam 2-1 “mAnam pradhIpamiva kAruNikO dhadhAthi ” (sarvESvaran who is like an ocean of mercy offers vEdhas (sacred texts) like a lamp), who has seen the philosophy of vEdhas and spread it in the world?
samayangaL – instead of saying it in the singular (samayam) why is AzhwAr saying it in plural (samayangaL)? Since the sacred texts show that there are different end goals such as aiSvaryam (going after wealth), kaivalyam (AthmA enjoying itself) and bhagavath prApthi (attaining emperumAn) and there are different means to attain them such as bhakthi (devotion towards emperumAn), prapaththi (surrendering to emperumAn), thirunAma sangIrththanam (reciting the divine names of emperumAn) etc, these can be considered as a collection of different philosophies and usage of plural noun is acceptable. Since this is quoted as proof of helping those without any means, we cannot construe this to mean other religious beliefs.
avai kAppAn Ar – who protects these philosophies so that they do not get ruined? This act is also carried out to protect those who are helpless.
kArkkaNdan nAnmuganOdu kAppAn Ar – Who protects brahmA, rudhra et al when they are troubled by rAvaNa et al and become helpless and who removes their sorrows? Alternatively
kArkkaNdan nAmuganOdu uNdAn ulagOdu uyir – AzhwAr says that during deluge, when very knowledgeable people such as brahmA, rudhra et al, along with other jIvAthmAs (souls) were caught and were wandering here and there [not knowing how to protect themselves] without any distinction between them, it was emperumAn who kept them safely in his stomach and protected them. thirumangai AzhwAr mentioned mercifully in his periya thirumozhi 11-6-2 “ellArum aRIyArO emperumAn uNdumizhndha echchil dhEvarallAdhAr thAmuLarE” (doesn’t everyone know that there is no deity who has not been swallowed during deluge and has later been spat out?)
ulagOdu uyir uNdAn Ar – Who kept all the worlds and the chEthanas [and achEthanas] living in those worlds in his stomach and protected them? It was based on this that ALavandhAr (one of our preceptors) wrote mercifully in his sthOthra rathnam 11 “kasyOdharE haravirinchimukha: prapancha:” (in whose divine stomach brahmA, rudhra, the universe took shelter).
We will take up the 88th pAsuram next.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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