periya thirumozhi – 1.2.6 – paNangaL Ayiram

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periya thirumozhi >> First centum >> Second decad

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Highlights from avathArikai (Introduction)

AzhwAr is thinking/speaking about such sarvESvaran who reclined on thiruppARkadal, mercifully coming and residing here. This pAsuram is also explained as dhEvathAs saying “You who mercifully arrived and reclined in thiruppARkadal for us, to hear our cries, leaving behind SrIvaikuNtam where you were enjoying the great assembly, have now mercifully arrived here in thiruppiridhi, to be enjoyed by all”.

pAsuram

paNangaL Ayiramudaiya nal aravaNaip
paLLikoL  paramA! enRu
iNangi vAnavar maNimudi paNidhara
irundha nal imayaththu
maNangoL mAdhavi nedungodi visumbuRa
nimirndhavai mugilpaRRip
piNangu pUmbozhil nuzhaindhu vaNdu isaisolum
piridhi senRadai nenjE !

Word-by-Word meanings

vAnavar – dhEvathAs
iNangi – gathered
Ayiram paNangaL udaiya – one who is having thousand hoods
nal – having goodness (of servitude)
aravu – thiruvanandhAzhwAn (AdhiSEsha)
aNai – on the divine mattress
paLLikoL – mercifully resting
paramA – Oh one who is greater than all!
enRu – praising in such manner
maNi – wearing crown which is studded with gems
mudi – with their heads
paNi thara – to be worshipped
irundha – mercifully residing
nal – good
imayaththu – in himavAn;
maNam koL – fragrant
mAdhavi – spring flower’s
nedu – long
kodi avai – creepers
visumbu uRa – to reach the sky
nimirndhu – grew
mugil – clouds
paRRi – climb
piNangu – due to surrounding
pU – blossoming flowers
pozhil – in the gardens
vaNdu – beetles
nuzhaindhu – entered
isai solum – humming the tunes
piridhi – in thiruppiridhi
senRu – go
nenjE – Oh mind!
adai – try to reach

Simple translation

emperumAn is mercifully residing in the good himavAn to be worshipped by dhEvathAs who are wearing gem-studded crowns on their heads and who gathered and praised saying “Oh one who is greater than all and mercifully resting on the divine mattress of thiruvanandhAzhwAn who is having goodness and thousand hoods!” There, in the gardens where the flowers are blossoming, the long creepers of fragrant mAdhavi flowers climb and surround the clouds grew to reach the sky; the beetles enter and hum their tunes. Oh mind! Go to such thiruppiridhi and try to reach.

Highlights from vyAkyAnam (Commentary)

  • paNangaL Ayiram udaiya nal aravaNaip paLLi koL paramA enRu – Just as rivers and ponds will have many outlets to let out the extra water when they become filled, thiruvanandhAzhwAn has many heads to let out the enjoyment of experiencing bhagavAn. They (dhEvathAs) will say “Oh supreme lord who is resting in contact with such AdhiSEsha!” The main identity of supreme lord is to claim SrI mahAlakshmi as his own and to have AdhiSEsha as his mattress. By his inhalation and exhalation, AdhiSEsha will sway and facilitate comfortable sleep like a soft mattress. Just as yaSOdhAp pirAtti will have krishNa on her lap and sway him back and forth, AdhiSEsha will have sarvESvaran in his lap and praise him. bhattar’s merciful words “thiruvanandhAzhwAn madiyilum, thiruvadi siRagin kIzhum, SrIsEnApadhiyAzhwAn pirambinuLLum kAN iththathvam vaLarvadhu” (this entity, bhagavAn grows in the lap of AdhiSEsha, under the shade of the wings of garudAzhwAn and in the control of vishvaksEna’s sceptre). Just as elderly ministers will carefully take care of a young prince, they will care for emperumAn. He remains at their disposal; he is known as said in periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 3.6.3 “vAniLavarasu” (prince of paramapadham). sthOthra rathnam 39 “prakrushta vigyAna balaika dhAmani” (AdhiSEsha is the abode of great knowledge and strength). He is having great knowledge to adjust himself as per the intentions of sarvESvaran and pirAtti when they recline on him, and is having the ability to bear when they jump around ignoring the fact that AdhiSEsha is a chEthana (sentient being). Similar to iLaiyaperumAL (lakshmaNa), AdhiSEsha who is SEshabhUtha (servitor) would have all his activities for the sake of bhagavAn who is SEshi (lord), just as bhagavAn places himself subservient towards his servitors even though he is greater than all.
  • nal aravaNai – Goodness is in existing for bhagavAn exclusively. The goodness for a servitor is to remain for his lord exclusively. SrI rAmAyaNam AraNya kANdam 15.29 is explained here. “bhAvagyEna kruthagyEna dharmagyEna cha lakshmaNa | thvayA puthrENa dharmAthmA na samvruththa: pithA mama ||” (Oh lakshmaNa! You know what is in my heart. You know what our father did for me. Our father who gave birth to you, who considers your elder brother’s (my) joy as your dharma, has not died).
    • bhAvagyEna – iLaiya perumAL is the one who would say as in SrI rAmAyaNam AraNya kANdam 15.7 “kriyathAm” (you order it). SrI rAma said “Why did you ask me for instructions when you can build the hermitage according to my expectation?” These words were uttered after the hermitage was built.
    • bhAvagyEna – Though perumAL (SrI rAma) would explain about other aspects, [out of shyness] he would not explain about the private quarters where he would stay with pirAtti; he would only think about it in his heart; iLaiya perumAL understood that and executed it well.
    • kruthagyEna – Not just that, he knew and did as per dhaSaratha’s deeds. Since dhaSaratha lacked progeny for 60000 years and finally begot perumAL, he would always analyse “What is SrI rAma thinking?” and would aptly act thinking “What will cause problems to him?” – iLaiya perumAL knew all of that.
    • dharmagyEna – Even if iLaiya perumAL knows perumAL’s thoughts, and even if he knows how dhaSaratha cared for perumaL, since he is also a prince, if he thinks “Should I now have my own place?” he cannot do everything for perumAL; instead of that, he thinks “since my true nature is to remain for perumAL, it is apt for me to act for his sake only” and consider that working for perumAL is his duty.
    • thvayA … – perumAL is saying “dhaSaratha cared for him until he remained and subsequently placed you to care for me!”
    • puthrENa – “puth” is a particular hell, and because a son protects the father from entering there, he is known as puthra; for our father, there is no greater hell than my desires going unfulfilled; you are the one who ensures that he does not get that.
    • dharmAthmA – As he mentioned about dhaSaratha chakravarthi, he praises him saying “Is there any match for our father? He is the one! While he was alive he fulfilled all my desires, and he begot you to take care of me subsequently and arranged you like a water-booth [which will help the needy]!”
    • mama – Though dhaSaratha is father to both perumAL and iLaiya perumAL, here perumAL is saying “mama” (my) because of the thought “Since whatever will be done by him are done by you for me, I have not lost him, but you have lost him”. In SrI rAmAyaNam ayOdhyA kANdam 31.25 “aham sarvam karishyAmi” (iLaiya perumAL – I will serve you both (perumAL and pirAtti) in all the ways), if the acts of SEsha (lord, i.e. dhaSaratha here) are not applicable, he would not have said “sarvam” (all).
  • aravaNai – Fragrance, coolness etc which are natural for the serpent species will be present.
  • paramA – The one who reclines on this mattress becomes greater than all.
  • iNangi – They are like village heads (who never agree with each other); they are those who blame others (indhra) for killing a brAhmaNa, those who sever heads (like rudhra), those who have their heads severed (like brahmA) et al; such dhEvathAs would unite together and surrender to bhagavAn as those who would jointly enter into floods. All the dhEvathAs will gather around and give up their pride of not worshipping anyone and bow their head at the divine feet of sarvESvaran. sarvESvaran is mercifully present there in such state. This is the abode where all of them who did not worship him seeing his supremacy, are worshipping him seeing his simplicity.
  • maNangOL … – One has to imagine the presence of the flower as it is abundant with the fragrance. kuRukkaththi is the mAdhavi flower with fragrance. The tall creeper which grew to uphold the fragrance.
  • visumbuRa nimirndhu – It spreads through the sky fully and reaches up to the clouds and covers them as well.
  • avai … – When it reaches the top of the sky, it would seek a supporting pole. There would be no one to give a supporting pole in that situation. There they will meet the clouds. The creeper will hold on to those clouds. Those clouds will start moving by the force of wind. The creeper will pull back the clouds. Due to that fatigue, the flowers will blossom. The beetles who thought of drinking the honey from those flowers, will enter through the clouds and the creeper and drink the honey. Becoming joyful, and to let out the joy, they will start humming tunes. All over the garden, the tumultuous sounds of the humming beetles will be heard. This is similar to – periya pirAttiyAr, the creeper pulling back bhagavAn the cloud saying “we should protect the people” and he pulls back saying “I am doing it”, and in between the tumultuous prayers of dhEvathAs would be heard.

In the next article we will enjoy the next pAsuram.

adiyen sarathy ramanuja dasan

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