SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
Full series >> Seventh Centum >> Ninth decad
Introduction for this pAsuram
Highlights from thirukkurukaippirAn piLLAn‘s introduction
No specific introduction.
Highlights from nanjIyar‘s introduction
In the first pAsuram, AzhwAr says “You have made me who is very lowly to be the most knowledgeable and engaged me in singing thiruvAimozhi; I cannot hold myself together thinking about the favour you have done to me”.
Highlights from vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s introduction
See nanjIyar‘s introduction.
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.
pAsuram
enRaikkum ennai uyyak koNdu pOgiya
anRaikkanRu ennaith thannAkki ennAl thannai
in thamizh pAdiya Isanai AdhiyAy
ninRa en sOdhiyai en solli niRpanO?
Listen
Word-by-Word meanings (based on vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s 12000 padi)
enRaikkum – Acknowledging first time so that it (such acknowledgement) is eternal
pOgiya – conducting
anRaikkanRu – forever
ennai uyyakkoNdu – specially blessing me
ennai – me
thannAkki – causing the craving in me to exist only for him
ennAl – having me who doesn’t have knowledge etc to sing praises, as the reason
thannai – him (who is having such glories that even vEdham etc give up praising him)
in – pAsurams themselves being very sweet
thamizh – thamizh pAsurams (which are pursuable by all)
pAdiya – sang
Isanai – natural lord
AdhiyAy – being the root cause due to remaining inside me and singing
ninRa – becoming stable due to that
en sOdhiyai – one who revealed his having a radiant form
en – what
solli – say
niRpan – hold myself together
Simple translation (based on vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s 12000 padi)
Acknowledging first time so that it is eternal, specially blessing me and conducting me forever, causing the craving in me to exist only for him, having me who doesn’t have knowledge etc to sing praises, as the reason and being the root cause due to remaining inside me and singing, and becoming stable due to that, he, the natural lord sang himself in these very sweet thamizh pAsurams. What will I say about the one who revealed his having a radiant form, and hold myself together? Should I say that he has not acknowledged me first to become favourable towards him? Should I say that he has not carried that forward? Should I say that he has not made me exist fully for him? Should I say that he has not sung these to be claimed as sung by me? Should I say that he has not become radiant due to that? Implies “Saying what, can I hold myself together?”
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
When asked “What favour has he done to melt you like this?”, AzhwAr says,
- enRaikkum ennai uyyak koNdu – When sarvESvara pursues and accepts a person once, that person could meditate upon that acceptance forever and be uplifted. As said in SrI bhagavath gIthA 18.77 “thachcha samsmruthya samsmruthya” (thinking about it every time) – subsequently thinking about it forever one can sustain oneself. Just as those who were hit by SrI rAma’s arrows will keep talking about incessantly as said in SrI rAmAyaNam yudhdha kANdam 60.3 “smaran rAghava bANAnAm” (remembering SrI rAma’s arrow, I became anguished), those who are hit by his qualities will also keep talking for ever about the same. The wound caused by arrow can be healed, but there is no antidote for the mark caused by his qualities. Hence, when sarvESvara pursues a person once, that can be thought about forever.
When asked “Did he discard after accepting once?” AzhwAr says,
- pOgiya anRaikkanRu – Day after day, he pursued in this manner. Seeing the nature of both emperumAn and AzhwAr, it cannot be handled. If we see the nature of AzhwAr who became the target of his pursuing, he cannot handle it [being overwhelmed]; if we see emperumAn, just as a person who steals from a close friend will feel anguished thinking “Oh! what have I done”, emperumAn will feel “I have not done anything for him” even after doing everything, as if he has not done anything.
- ennaith thannAkki – AzhwAr is saying that he who was ignorant and incapable as said in “aRivilEn” (ignorant), was transformed to have gyAnam (knowledge) and Sakthi (power) matching emperumAn himself.
- ennaith thannAkki – [another explanation] making him to belong to emperumAn.
- ennAl thannai – By me who was given strength by emperumAn who is beyond the reach of Sruthi (vEdham), smruthi and ithihAsa etc. He who is beyond the conception of pramANams (tools to gain knowledge) as said in thaiththirIya upanishath “yathO vAchO nivarthanthE” (Speech returned), and in kaushIdhakI upanishath “yasyA matham thasya matham – avigyAtham vijAnathAm” (one who thinks he cannot know, can know and one who thinks he knows, does not know).
- in thamizh pAdiya – While the meanings and emotions are great in this, even the mere words themselves are so sweet.
- pAdiya – Saying “he made me sing” or “he sang”. As said in thaiththirIya upanishath “Ethath sAma gAyannAsthE” (The liberated soul is singing sAma gAnam), having experienced togetherness with AzhwAr, emperumAn will become blissful and sing saying “thennA“.
When asked “How did this sweet prabandham appear?”, AzhwAr says
- Isanai – Should we say explicitly? Is sarvESvaran not capable of doing anything! Is this difficult for him?
When asked “You are singing his praises! Why are saying that he is the singer?” AzhwAr says,
- AdhiyAy ninRa – He became the reason for my singing of poems – I sang due to him.
When asked “How did he become the cause?”, AzhwAr says,
- en sOdhiyai – He disrobed the shawl he was wearing and manifested his divine beauty. Just as many will sing the praises when the curtain is raised, I too called out for him and that ended up as thiruvAimozhi. By manifesting his divine physical beauty, he placed the inner meaning for the pAsurams.
When asked “If you had also sung praises on him, why would you suffer like this?” AzhwAr says,
- en solli niRpanO – Did I also walk towards him and end up being pursued by him? [No, he himself pursued first] Alternatively – Am I feeling content due to the limited result? [No unlimited experience is the result] As those who pursued various paths will have [some] reward, did I also pursue some means and consider myself to be deserving of the result? Am I relaxed to let me feel content after getting the reward? How will I hold myself together? This is as said in SrIvishNu purANam 3.4.4 “krishNa krishNa dhvaipAyanam vyAsam vidhdhi nArAyaNam priyam| kOhyanya: puNdarIkAkshAn mahAbhAratha kruthbhavEth ||” (Know that krishNa dhvaipAyana vyAsa, is nArAyaNa himself; Who else other than the lotus-eyed lord can write mahAbhAratham!). ALavandhAr explains this in this manner – “When sarvESvara sets out to do something, is there anything difficult?” Alternatively, emperumAnAr says “If AzhwAr sings this, he will stop at some point; if emperumAn himself speaks, it will go on infinitely; when a young child starts writing, he will write something and stop; if the father or the teacher writes, it will make some sense [as proper writing]; but if emperumAn gets AzhwAr to write, just as in the example of parent-child writing case, the father will pull it to one side and the child will pull it to the other side and will end up being meaningless scribbles; in this manner, while he engaged me in this singing exercise, he made me sing, without being affected by the defects caused by my singing”.
In the next article we will enjoy the next pAsuram.
adiyen sarathy ramanuja dasan
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