SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
avathArikai (Introduction)
sarvESvaran asked AzhwAr “You say that since celestial entities have a pride that they are eminent and since samsAris are ignorant, they lose out on bhagavath vishayam (matters relating to sarvEsvaran). Do you have any deficiency?” AzhwAr responds “You have created a deficiency in me. You had showered faultless knowledge as well as devotion. You showered that knowledge with devotion. Due to the devotional trance, in my state of bewilderment, I did not praise you”. In thiruvAimozhi decad 1-5 vaLavEzh, AzhwAr had said that due to his being without any qualification, he would not say anything. This is similar to that.
Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings.
maippadi mEniyum sendhAmaraikkaNNum vaidhikarE
meyppadiyAl un thiruvadi sUdum thagaimiyinAr
eppadi UrAmilaikkak kuruttAmilaikkum ennum
appadi yAnum sonnEn adiyEn maRRu yAdhu enbanE
Word-by-Word Meanings
vaidhikarE – those devotees who know your true nature as mentioned in vEdhas (sacred texts)
mai – black pigment
padi – having its nature
mEniyum – divine form
sem – reddish
thAmarai – like lotus flower
kaNNum – having eyes
un – your
thiruvadi – divine feet
sUdum – to be donned on their heads
thagaimiyinAr – have the nature
Ur – approaching the town
A – cows
eppadi – how
milaikka – moo (sound made by cows; also called as ‘low’)
(hearing that)
kuruttu A – blind cow
milaikkum – will also moo (like the former)
ennum appadi – just like the idiom used in the world
yAnum – I too
sonnEn – said (about you)
adiyEn – I, in a devotional trance
maRRu – beyond that
yAdhenban – what will I say?
Simple Translation
You have a divine form which is dark in complexion like black pigment and reddish, divine eyes which are like lotus flower. Only those people who know your true nature as mentioned in vEdhas, are qualified to don your divine feet truly on their heads. When cows return home after grazing during the day, the cows will moo [in anticipation of seeing their calves]. Hearing this, a blind cow too will moo. In the same way, I too said a few words about you. What else can I, who am in devotional trance, say beyond this?
vyAkyAnam
maippadimEniyum – divine form which is like black pigment. The divine form which is soothing on the eyes of the beholder. vyAkyAthA narrates an incident which occurred during the time of bhattar (son of kUraththAzhwAn). bhattar was explaining this pAsuram. piLLai vizhuppararaiyar and AppAn thiruvazhundhUraraiyar were in the audience. bhattar said for this verse “The divine form which causes infatuation in the hearts of those who think about sarvESvaran” nanjIyar, bhattar’s disciple quoted periya thirumozhi 10-10-9 “innAr enRu aRiyEn” (I do not who this entity is, who is holding the divine disc and divine conch). bhattar asked as to who made that remark. The araiyars said that it was nanjIyar who made the remark. bhattar prasied him, saying “We did not think of that. You were born in a place which is hundreds of miles away from here and you are explaining this to us so well!”
sendhAmaraikkaNNum – the divine eyes which bring out the inner, hidden, auspicious qualities.
vaidhikar . . . – here, the term vaidhikar refers to one who is firmly immersed in the first part of vEdhas [the first part of vEdhas deals with deeds to be carried out and the second or end part of vEdhas deals with the supreme entity]; they will involve with the cluster of deeds to be carried out for various purposes and will not meditate on sarvESvaran’s svarUpam (true nature), rUpam (divine form), aiSvaryam (wealth) etc. Alternatively, just as bruhadhAraNyaka upanishath 4-4-5 says “nidhithyAsithavya:”(constantly meditating on the auspicious qualities of sarvESvaran, without a break) – those who are with unchanged devotion towards sarvESvaran.Unlike those who are involved with carrying out deeds and are clear in their minds, these people will be in a state of bewilderment since they keep thinking constantly of sarvESvaran’s auspicious qualities. Only such people have the ability of holding on to your divine feet, truly.
sarvESvaran asks of AzhwAr “That may be so. If only such people are apt to attain our divine feet, how did you speak about us?” As a response to that, AzhwAr says
eppadi . . . – when cows return home in the evening, after grazing, they will make a loud noise, called as mooing. Not knowing as to why they are mooing, even a blind cow will make a similar noise.
appadi yAnum sonnEn – without thinking “Who am I to speak about sarvESvaran when only knowledgeable people can speak about him” I too spoke a few words about you, like those blind cows.
adiyEn maRRu yAdhu enbanE – am I, in a state of devotional trance towards you, capable of speaking clearly about you and completing it? Alternatively, am I, leaving you after speaking in an inapt way about you, capable of speaking anything matching your auspicious qualities and completing it?
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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