SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
avathArikai (Introduction)
This narrates the words of the nAyaki who is feeling saddened by the onset of dusk.
Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings:
thingaLam piLLai pulambath than sengOl arasupatta
sengaLam paRRi ninRu eLgu pun mAlai thenpAl ilangai
vengaLam seydha nam viNNOr pirAnAr thuzhAy thuNaiyA
nangaLai mAmai koLvAn vandhu thOnRi naliginRadhE
Word-by-Word Meanings
thingaL – chandhiran (moon)
am – beautiful
piLLai – son
pulamba – weeping (due to the sounds of birds)
sengOl – one who was ruling with his sceptre
than arasu – his king sUriyan (sun)
patta – fell down (sun set)
sem – reddish
kaLam – battle field
(reddish sky)
paRRi – attaining
ninRu – remaining
eLgum – engaging with
punmAlai – short duration of dusk
thenpAl – in the southern direction
ilangai – lankA
vengaLam seydha – made it into a cremation ground
viNNOr – by celestial entities such as brahmA et al
pirAnAr – lord, who is apt to be worshipped
nam – worn by our chakravarthy thirumagan (son of emperor dhaSaratha)
thuzhAy – desire which was created in the divine thuLasi
thuNaiyA – as helping hand
nangaLai – us
mAmai koLvAn – to destroy the natural complexion
vandhu – reaching
thOnRi – rising
naliginRadhu – is tormenting
Simple Translation
It was the time of dusk when the King sUriyan, who has been ruling righteously with his sceptre, was about to meet his end in the reddish battlefield [of western horizon] and son of dusk, chandhiran, was about to rise, crying. It [the chandhiran] is trying to take our desire for the divine thuLasi garland, worn by SrI rAma, who created a battlefield in the southern place of lankA, as its support and is trying to torment us by destroying our natural complexion.
vyAkyAnam
thingaLam piLLai – the beautiful son, chandhiran. Just as it has been mentioned in SrI rAmAyaNam AraNya kANdam 66-3 “mahathA thapasA” (by superlative control), he is a son sired after lot of difficulties.
pulamba – could not wail with a loud tone since there were other entities such as ocean, birds etc which were making lot of noise at that time.
than sengOl . . . – the short duration of dusk held on to the reddish sky where its king, sUriyan, who was ruling righteously with his sceptre, had fallen down. The redness could be compared to the earth which had become reddish due to the flood of blood shed in a battle. Just as maNdOdhari called out in the battlefield where rAvaNa had fallen and just as thArA had called out, along with her son angadhan, in the battlefield where her husband vAli had fallen, this evening time too is remaining in that battlefield, where she had lost sUriyan, and is engaging with that place; just as AzhwAr had sung in thiruvAimozhi 2.1 decad vAyum thiraiyugaLum when it appeared to him that every entity which he saw at that time was commiserating with him. The nAyaki too feels despondent, after losing sUriyan who has been mentioned as pagaR kaNdEn in iraNdAm thiruvandhAdhi 81 (I saw SrIman nArAyaNan who is like the sun which never sets).
thenpAl . . . – in the southern side where great people [reference to kubEran and other dhEvathAs] had lost, in lankA, where wise people will not venture, making it to look reddish with blood.
vengaLam – making it look like a cremation ground and places allied to it. It is similar to thirumozhi 10-9-1 “ilangai oLLeri maNdi uNNa ”(making the effulgent agni (lord of fire) to pervade lankA and eat it up fully)
nam viNNOr pirAnAr – just as it has been said in SrI rAmAyaNam yudhdha kANdam 117-13 “bhavAn nArAyanO dhEva: ” (brahmA tells SrI rAma “You are the lord SrIman nArAyaNan” sarvESvaran carried out acts of benefaction to everyone such that brahmA et al all stood and praised him.
thuzhAy thuNaiyA – taking my desire to obtain the divine thuLasi garland lying on his divine shoulder, as the means.
nangaLai . . . – the dusk, instead of calling us to comfort it during its sorrowful moment [of losing sUriyan], is calling us to torment us.
nangaLai mAmai koLvAn – for those who covet others’ complexion, is complexion a necessity at all? Instead of calling us to support it during its difficult time, it is craving for tormenting us, who are already in distressed condition.
svApadhESam (distinguished meaning): In the previous pAsuram, AzhwAr’s distress in not getting the garland which sarvESvaran wore at the time he measured the worlds, and which he desired, was narrated. In this pAsuram, AzhwAr’s distress in not getting the garland which sarvESvaran wore after annihilating rAvaNa, which AzhwAr desired, has been narrated.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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