SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
Full Series Previous avathArikai (Introduction) SrIvaishNavas, who were engaged with AzhwAr’s activities, tell the samsAris (dwellers of materialistic realm) “If you wish to remain in samsAram, avoid going near her”; here AzhwAr is referred to as the leading lady and SrIvaishNavas are referred to as the leading man. Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings: thadAviya ambum murindha silaigaLum pOgavittuk kadAyina koNdu olgum valliyidhEnum asurarmangak kadAviya vEgappaRavaiyin pAgan madhana sengOl nadAviya kURRam kaNdIr uyir kAmingaL gyAlaththuLLE Word-by-Word Meanings kadAyina – being apt thadAviya – being expansive ambum – (eyes which are like) arrows murindha – curved silaigaLum – (eyebrows which are like) bows pOgavittukkoNdu – controlling (inside) olgum – hiding valliyidhEnum – even if she were like a creeper asurar – demonic entities manga – to be annihilated kadAviya – one who is conducted vEgam – having agility paRavai – to garuthmAn (garuda) in – being sweet pAgan – one who controls, the sarvESvaran (his son) madhanan – manmatha’s sengOl – order nadAviya – one who conducts kURRam kaNdIr – beware, the death gyAlaththuL – in the bhUlOkam (samsAram) (if you wish to remain here) Uyir – your vital airs kAmingaL – protect Simple Translation This girl (AzhwAr in feminine pathos) has eyes which are like expansive arrows and eyebrows which are like curved like bows. However, she has hidden them. This world is conducted by the order of manmatha, who is related to sarvESvara, who in turn is sweet towards garuda whose speed can annihilate the demonic entities. Oh those who have seen this girl’s beautiful form! Hold on to your lives [if you wish to save yourselves and remain in this world]. vyAkhyAnam thadAviya ambum – there are two interpretations for this term. thadAvudhal would refer to an arrow which has an end looking like a broad mouth. It can also mean a curved, deformed arrow. Since in the first case it is a broad-mouthed arrow, he says it has a broad end. In the second case, since it is curved and deformed, it will not be visible to our eyes initially. It can be felt only after it hits us. The implied meaning for this is that we will know the effect only after the eyes of the leading lady fall on us. We will not know those eyes until then. The eyebrows which are together with the eyes always, like the arrows which are together with the bow always, are referred to here as the bow. thadAviya – here it refers to the crooked arrow. Crookedness would refer to the arrow not coming in the regular path. Here, the crookedness of the arrow would refer to the fact that we cannot see it coming but can feel it only after it hits us. Her glance, which is like this, cannot be dislodged once it takes hold of us. Thus, the term thadAviya has four interpretations here:- arrow which has an expansive edge – the expansive eyes of the leading lady
- that which can be felt only after it pierces us – we can feel only after the glance of the leading lady falls on us
- arrow together with the bow – expansive eyes together with the eyebrows
- crooked arrow – the glance which hurts us in an indirect [hidden] manner