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SrI:  SrImathE SatakOpAya nama:  SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama:  SrImath varavaramunayE nama:

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<< previous pAsuram – 19 – muRRArA vanamulaiyAL

Introduction

In the previous pAsuram, by ‘poruvaRRAL’ it showed that the daughter became one who is not heeding her mother’s words. If restrictions are lifted in a village, then it would be busy with farm related activities such as harvesting, ploughing etc. Likewise, after the restriction, that is the mother, was lifted, she too is lecturing everyone openly about how emperumAn is a protector of all. So other than saying ‘She is the most blessed’, the mother says “Is there anything equivalent to her that can serve as comparison?” Helping His queen (seethAp pirAtti), helping His grandson (anirudhDhan), helping those who are in need of protection, protecting out of His kindness those who did not even seek His help, even setting His divine feet on those who were not having any interest in Him (as He grew in thiruvikrama avathAram) – these are the matters the daughter was talking about aloud.

In the first ten pAsurams – Being in his own state (as AzhvAr), he longed to enjoy thirukkOvalUr, and since his own place did not happen to be thirukkOvalUr , and since He did not show up even after calling Him, then saying “mandhiraththai mandhiraththAl maRavAdhu enRum vAzhudhiyEl, vAzhalAm mada nenjamE [thirunedunthANdakam – 4]”, trying to enjoy Him for the sake of spending time, but not getting that joy she thought that may be He did not show up thinking that I used it as a means for getting Him, and so in ‘pon AnAy [thirunedunthANdakam – 4]’ he made Him understand that he does not use something else as a means, but consider only Him as the means.

In this set of next ten pAsurams – those who came to inquire thought that her longing for Him is being used as a means to get Him; to them who were in the state of the mother, he ends this set of pAsurams by removing their doubts, explaining to them that he considers as means only emperumAn who voluntarily accepts us without expecting any qualification from us. By this what is shown is – for those who surrendered to Him by considering Him as one who accepts us voluntarily, it is the attributes and actions of emperumAn that are the matter of consideration for them till the end of their life.

thErALum vALarakkan selvam mALath
thennilangai munmalangach chendheeyolgi
pOrALan AyirandhOL vANan mALap
porukadalai araN kadandhu pukku mikka
pArALan pAridandhu pAraiyuNdu
pArumizhndhu pAraLandhu pArai ANda
pErALan pErOdhum peNNai maNmEl
perundhavaththaL enRallAl pEsalAmE 20

Word by word meaning

mun – Once upon a time

thEr Alum vAL arakkan – for rAvaNan who is a chariot warrior and an able fighter of sword,

selvam mALa – to lose all his wealth, and

then ilangai malanga – (his) beautiful lankA to be disturbed,

sem thee olgi – (emperumAn) burned it with fire that is red

(not only that),

vANan – (for) bANAsuran

pOr ALan – who is having the nature of waging war

Ayiram thOL – and having thousand shoulders

mALa – to be defeated,

poru kadal araNai kadandhu – (emperumAn) crossing the fort that is like an ocean with strong waves

pukku – entering bANapuram

mikka – (emperumAn who is) having in excess the lakshmi for victory,

pArALan – and is the ruler of the earth and

pAr idandhu – who pried and lifted up the earth (in varAha avathAram),

pArai uNdu – and kept the earth in His divine stomach (during praLayam (annihilation of the world)),

pAr umizhndhu – then letting out the earth

(so in these several ways)

pArai ANda – rules the world and protects it,

pEr ALan – that is the glorious emperumAn;

peNNai – This girl

Odhum – reciting without break

pEr – His divine names,

maN mEL – in this world

perum thavaththaL enRu allAl pEsalAmE? – can only say that she is having real blessing; is it possible to say by any other way?

vyAkyAnam

thErALum etc. – Saying about His greatness now because – to show emperumAn’s supremacy of destroying rAvaNan without effort. thEr – chariot – It also stands to indicate the strength of rAvaNan’s army of all four types like horse, elephant, etc. Since it is the ability to manage in a chariot that is said primarily when describing someone’s strength by saying athi-rathar, mahA-rathar, it indicates all types of army through the mention of chariot. Saying just ‘thErALum’ and not mentioning the number of chariots that he owns, is to show that anything that is called a chariot is ruled by him.

vALarakkan – He is a warrior who can handle on his own, and his assembling these four types of armies is only to show that it is the ways of kings. If he starts and comes with a sword in his hand, indhiran and others would run away showing their back – such is his unique valor.

arakkan selvam – “thiruvadi madhiththa aiSvaryam” – his prosperity was respected by even thiruvadi (hanUman) – such was the state of his wealth. As said in “yadhya-DharmO na balavAn syAth [Sri rAmAyaNam – sundhara kANdam – 49-18]” (rAvaNan’s palace was filled everywhere with the sound of recital of vEdhas, and with fumes from sacrificial fires. hanuman seeing all these for the first time, thought that) if rAvaNan did not have the evil acts, then he would be capable of protecting not just the giants of his kingdom but even indiran the king of the world of dhEvas) – such were the words of thiruvadi.

mALa – (such prosperity) to be destroyed that even their dead bodies could not be seen.

then ilangai – by ‘then’ it implies lanka having beautiful protection. Good characteristic of a protection is – being very difficult to reach. That is, lankA that is under full control. It is surrounded by the ocean, then by country-side, then by the mountains, and above that – the walls and pavements. Even a pregnant woman could win the enemies (if she is present/ruling from such place).

mun malanga — mun – in front of the eyes of seethAp pirAtti. Even while he was alive, his people having tears in their eyes due to losing their prosperity, like saying seven people having to wear alternately only one set of clothes. All the suffering of the world in his hands, lankA went through the same suffering in front of her eyes.

sen thee olgi – Lighting the fire. Sending just one person to enter such lankA and turning it into ashes.

sen thee – (red fire) – fire that was being a servant of rAvaNan and not getting enough food and so its body had turned white (due to lack of food), now with the help of thiruvadi’s tail got back its colour and got saturated of excess food. Or, as said in “dheeptha pAvaka samkASai: [SrI rAmAyaNam – yudhDha kANdam – 16-2 ]” (vibheeshNAzhvAn said to rAvaNan – I don’t wish to see you getting killed by rAmA with His arrows that are like gathering fire, sharp, and decorated by gold), chakravarththi thirumagan destroyed lankA by the fire from arrows.

(This second explanation matches the words of this pAsuram that SrI rAmA burned lanka). But then why say that thiruvadi burned lankA (the first explanation) – if emperumAn’s discus destroys someone, would it not imply that emperumAn destroyed it, is the meaning. It is said as “yaThA rAGhava nir-muktha: Sara: [SrI rAmAyaNam – sundhara kANdam – 1-38]” (Like how the arrow sent by SrI rAma would go so fast, I too would go fast and reach lankA that is protected by rAvaNan), said thiruvadi, comparing himself as that arrow.

(now it talks about bANAsuran’s story)

pOrALan – involved in going to wars from the time of birth. Since he did not get a matching enemy that would give a tough fight matching the strength of his shoulders, he went to rudhran to whom he has surrendered as his shelter, and said “BhArAya mama kim Bhujai: [vishNu purANam – 5-33-2]” that is, “What is the use of me going about with these strong shoulders? Please show me an enemy that matches my strength”.

Reason for that is –

Ayiram thOL – because of having thousand shoulders.

Ayiram thOL – As said in “yau thathpUjAkarau karau [vishNu Dharmam 1-13]” (… arms that are used for praying emperumAn, are the arms of any use), and “kai ulagam thAy avanai alladhu thAm thozhA [mudhal thiruvanthAdhi – 11]”, having arms is for doing anjali to the lord that is emperumAn. He (AzhvAr) is saying, he is not using even two of his arms for doing anjali to emperumAn. Even if he did anjali one time (with his 500 pairs of arms), it would be like five-hundred anjali. Instead all these faculties are the basis for troubling others!, says she.

What is the reason for his being so –

vANan – because he is villain.

mALa – emperumAn cut the richness of his thousand shoulders (leaving just two), and destroyed his valour. For a warrior, destruction of life is preferred, than destruction of his valour. (So it is like killing him if one kills his valour. So AzhvAr is using the word ‘mALa’ – to die).

mALa – Since she (the daughter) knows about the greatness of valour, she thinks that after this happened, his being alive is like a dead body present.

poru kadalai araN kadandhu pukku – Going and entering bANapuram that is having the protection which is the sea having dense waves that makes it impossible for enemies to get near it. Or having the waves that seem to fight with each other. This phrase could be read with previous phrase related to the sea around lankA.

mikka – emperumAn being full of wealth of valour. Being full of victory and also valour. It is talking about the valour that kept growing as the enemies kept losing – be it rudhran, or those in his army, or bANan.

pArALan – Being the controller of earth as he destroyed bANan who was a liability to the earth.

pAridandhu – Not only did He protect bhUdhEvi when she was set in proper place while having bANan in it, but he also protected as a varAha avatharam when She was immersed in the lower world of pAthAlam. Instead of protecting without any change in His state of supremacy by just His divine wish, He lowered His stature undergoing a change of form that was a suitable form as a boar, and lifted bhUdhEvi out of the abyss. Previously by ‘pArALan’ it talked about protecting and ruling SrI bhUmi pirAtti. So by both these phrases, it talks about protecting SrI bhUmi pirAtti.

pArai uNdu – As the annihilation was about to destroy earth, He used that as a reason to keep the earth inside his stomach and protected it.

pAr umizhndhu – Even while there was no danger that needed protection, He created the earth back due to His kindness.

pAr aLandhu – when the people on earth were not only not requesting any protection, but were ignoring Him, seeing that their behaviour of feeling independent from Him, and being subservient to some others, and thus losing their true nature, He used the reason of His relationship with them, to keep His divine feet on their head and let them know about His supremacy over them.

pArai ANda – protecting the earth in these ways. Instead of saying (like nammAzhvAr) “padaiththu idandhu uNdu umizhndhu aLandhu [thiruvAsiriyam – 6]”, (thirumangai AzhvAr) including ‘pAr’ in each of these cases is due to his excess interest in these stories of emperumAn.

pErALan – (~ruler of divine names) – Him having innumerable divine names that show His attributes and acts that are the reasons for Him protecting. For parakAla nAyaki too, it is based on His attributes and acts that give her association to His names.

pErOdhum peNNai – parakAla nAyaki who can talk about His innumerable names without a break; she who can immerse in the experience of His divine names and acts, for spending time. (is it appropriate to treat such a girl as different from nithyasUris),

maN mEl etc.– She got separated from nithyasUris (and came to earth) – is it possible to talk about her in any other way? Is it possible to talk about her in any other way than saying that she is having behaviour like nithyasUris?

perum thavaththar – this phrase refers to those in paramapadham. Only if we would consider the interaction of nithyasUris with emperumAn as means for attaining Him, would we have to consider her acts due to separation as means to attain Him. It is not gainful for us to even do the smallest act of cutting a small particle by considering that act as a means to attain Him. When it is based on spending the time in His thoughts, then there is no place for doing something else even for a moment.

maN mEl perunthavaththaL – Is it possible to consider her as one among nithyasUris? (she is not living in the place of nithyasUris, but living here she behaves like nithyasUris, continuously thinking and talking about Him). This phrase also means – is it possible to consider her as just an equal to nithyasUris? She is above them. It is as said in “viNNuLArilum seeriyarE [thiruviruththam – 79]” (greater than those in paramapadham).

– – – – –

Translation by raghurAm SrInivAsa dhAsan.

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SrI:  SrImathE SatakOpAya nama:  SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama:  SrImath varavaramunayE nama:

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<< previous part – 18 – Part 2 kAr vaNNam thirumEni

Introduction

She said those words in previous pAsuram indicating that she agreed to her daughter’s state, after the daughter did not heed her words of advice, by saying “idhu anRO niRaivu azhindhAr niRkum ARu”. Those who came to inquire, said, “Even though she did not behave suiting her womanliness, you could have told her that the one she loves is interested in periya pirAttiyAr. Such One would not consider you”. Mother replies, “I have even told her that. That gave only the opposite result. That He is the husband of SrIdhEvi became the reason for her to go to the place of His residence” – this is in this pAsuram.

muRRArA vanamulaiyAL pAvai mAyan
moyyagalaththuLLiruppAL ahdhum kaNdum
aRRAL than niRaivazhindhAL AvikkinRAL
aNiyarangam AdudhumO thOzhee! ennum
peRREn vAychchol iRaiyum pEsak kELAL
pEr pAdith thaN kudanthai nagarum pAdi
poRRAmaraik kayam neerAdap pOnAL
poruvaRRAL en magaL um ponnum ahdhE         19

Word by word meaning

ahdhu kaNdum – Even after having seen
muRRu ArA vanam mulaiyAL – One who is having beautiful not fully-grown-out bosom and being the woman having the nature of womanliness, that is, periya pirAttiyAr to be
moy agalaththuL iruppAL – living well set in the beautiful divine chest
mAyan – of emperumAn who is marvellous,
poru aRRAL en magaL – my daughter who is matchless
aRRAL – has set herself up to be for Him and only for Him.
than niRaivu azhindhAL – She ignored the completeness (of womanliness of waiting for Him to show up);
AvikkinRAL – she is sighing;
thOzhee! aNi arangam AduthumO ennum – Oh friend! shall we mingle with and enjoy the grand city of thiruvarangam! she says.
peRREn – I, the mother, who gave birth to her,
vAy sol pEsa – told a few words of advice,
kELAL iRaiyum – does not listen even a little by lending her ears.
pEr pAdi – singing about the city of thiruppEr,
thaN kudanthai nagar pAdiyum – and singing about the pleasant city of thirukkudanthai
pOnAL – she got up and went
neer Ada – to immerse and experience in the water
pon thAmarai kayam – of tank full of golden lotus flowers;
um ponnum agdhE? – Is the nature your daughter too is of this way?

vyAkyAnam

muRRArA vana mulaiyAL – This is talking about the beauty of pirAtti that makes emperumAn engage in Her.

muRRArA-mulai – The divine bosom that is not full grown by breaking the barrier. Growing by breaking the barrier is – about not having a barrier in the inner/bottom part of the place where it grows. By this it says that she is having the right age for the age of emperumAn. As said in “yuvAkumAra: [Ruk. ash.2-2-25]” (vishNu is of the age of youth, and just above the childish stage), emperumAn’s age would be such that He has just reached the state of youth. As said in ‘yuvathiScha kumAriNee’ (pirAtti is of the age of youth, but not crossed the childish stage as well), thus being just about a bit younger to His stage. Considering that She is a bit younger, AzhvAr says muRRArA vanamulai.

As said in ‘sadhaikarUpa rUpAya [vishNu purANam 1-2-1]”, their age would always be of this stage. Even after ruling the kingdom for eleven thousand years, for pirAtti and perumAL (SrI rAmar) this was the stage of their age. If so, were they not of small form in childhood, and also would their form deteriorate later due to old age? Their form was smaller in their childhood state in order to be obedient to parents, but not because they would undergo changes in their true form. When their age (in this world) grew, they did not become old in form because they did not wish so, and none of their people were interested in seeing them in such form.

That their form was small during childhood, and then after reaching the initial state of youth, their form stayed so – is seen in SrI rAmAyaNam – as said in “unnaiyum okkalaiyil [periyAzhvAr thirumozhi 1.5.8]” by periyAzhvAr that even when kaNNan was a baby, both the childhood stage and the stage of youth (thangaL karuththAyina seydhu varum, in the same pAsuram), were experienced in him by periyAzhvAR.

vana mulaiyAL – That is, She who is having beautiful bosom. Reason for highlighting only this beauty as ‘vana mulai’ is – as said in ‘malarAL thanaththuLLAn [mUnRam thiruvanthAdhi – 3], is to show its greatness of sweetness such that emperumAn would be involved in this part and so not focus on other parts of Her beauty. He who is having qualities like gyAnam, Sakthi using which He rules nithya viBhUthi (SrI vaikuNtam), leelA viBhUthi (other worlds), is not able to measure the beauty of this one part of His dear pirAtti. He who is independent by nature, and who does not have any needs by nature, due to love towards Her, is being loving towards this one part of Her and being expectant about it.

As said in ‘guNAnurUpENa vilAsachEshtithai: [sthOthra rathnam – 38]” (with SrIdhEvi who is always experienced in Her full form, and who gives you wonder like new using Her qualities, beautiful form, and beautiful acts, and who is fit only for you in all states (of param, vyUham, vibhavam, etc), and being your treasure), all these qualities, form, beautiful actions are all becoming needless as He is involved in this one part of Her. By ‘uLLAn’ in this pEyazhvAr pasuram, it indicates emperumAn who is viBhu (omnipresent), is henpecked into this part of Her who is aNu (smallest form without any parts).

pAvai – She having natural womanliness. Her womanliness is such that even His greatness of being purushOththaman cannot change it.

mAyan – He who is of wonder. The wonder of Him who is naturally independent losing Himself to the part of Her, the wonder of Him who is naturally having all wishes fulfilled is expectant about one part of Her, the wonder of Him who is all-knowing and who can do anything is not being able to measure the extent of beauty of one part of Her – this word shows these wonders.

moy agalaththuL iruppAL – By ‘moy’, it means beauty. emperumAn having beautiful chest. pirAtti is well set in His divine chest, is the meaning. By previous phrase it talked about the greatness of Her bosom which He would not move away from even for a moment. In this phrase, it talks about His divine chest which She would not separate even for a moment, as said in “agalagillEn iRaiyum [thiruvAimozhi – 6.10.10]”. Like how He does not go for any other parts of Her than Her bosom, She too does not go anywhere except His divine chest.

She who is naturally having gyAnam and Sakthi like Him is One who is not able to consider any other part than His divine chest. She who is such that He the omnipresent is caught in one part of Her and is desperate like a thirsty person saying ‘water, water!’, is One who is not able to consider any other part than His divine chest. These can be said for Him too. His other attributes of form, and attributes of qualities are of no use to Her as She is focussed on His divine chest only. Him embracing Her divine bosom and staying enchanted, and Her embracing His divine chest and staying enchanted, Oh what a great enchanting togetherness this is!

iruppAL – Like how the lord is subservient to one part, the utmost servant is subservient to one part of Her lord. For the ever-auspicious divine form it is She who enables identification of Him as the lord. As said in “SrIvathsavakShA-nithyaSrI: [SrI rAmAyaNam – yudhDha kANdam – 114-15]” (perumAL having the maRu (mole) mark in His divine chest, having SrI dhEvi who never separates from Him), having Her set in His divine chest, and being Her husband is the factor that identifies Him, as the sarvESvaran. Saying that the other deities are of lower status is because they are not the husband of Her. (thirumazhisaip pirAn too divined the others as “thiruvillAth thEvarai [nAnmugan thiruvanthAdhi – 52]”).

uLLiruppAL – Being not only the identifying factor for His divine form, being the identifying factor for the true nature of divine paramAthmA that is inside that divine form. These two are the reasons for saying that their togetherness is our preference whether at the time of surrendering, doing services, or at the time experiencing and enjoying His true nature. Other pirAttis are together with Him as part of His vibhUthi (property/ownership). But SrIdhEvi is together in cases of svarUpam (His true nature / giving Him identity), rUpam (His form, in His divine chest), and vibhavam (during His incarnations).

ahdhum kaNdum aRRAL – When I told her that both of them behave like they have consumed thorn-apple (UmaththankAy) that they are crazily in love with each other, (so there is no use in your wishing to be with Him), my words brought the opposite effect in my daughter. Even after she saw that He and She don’t focus on anything other than each other.

Even after seeing Her nature as said in ‘na kaSchin nAparADhyathi [SrI rAmayaNam – yudhDha kANdam – 116-44]” (There is no one who have not committed sins), and even after seeing His nature of considering even the mistakes as good attributes as said in ‘kunRanaiya kuRRam seyyinum guNam koLLum [mudhal thiruvanthAdhi – 41]”, she became dedicated to none other than them. Even after seeing His stature she became dedicated to Him; even after seeing Her stature she became dedicated to Her; even after seeing the nature of their togetherness she became dedicated to that togetherness. Seeing His ways of “seydhArEl nanRu seydhAr [periyAzhvAr thirumozhi 4.9.2]”, she became fully dedicated to Him.

As said in “rAja-samSraya-vaSyanAm [SrI rAmAyaNam – yudhDha kaNdam – 113-36]“ ((who would get angry at) … servants of kings..?(no one would)), seeing His nature of considering mistakes as positive attributes, she became dedicated to Him.

Seeing their togetherness, seeing that both have consumed UmaththangAy fruit (~thorn-apple) (madly in love with each other that they behave like mad), she thought that there needs to be one person with them who is having clear mind, and so became dedicated to that togetherness.

ahdhum kaNdum aRRAL – (My) complaint about them to get her rid of her state, became the reason for dedication toward Him. He gave his divine chest for Her to rest, I said, and she said that is the reason for dedication toward Him (because it is clear that His divine chest is for His devotees), and said it is as per “en thirumagaL sEr mArvanE ennum ennudai AviyE [thiruvAimozhi – 7.2.9]” (Oh One having divine chest which SridhEvi resides in, Oh my love). Fulfilment of our enjoyment is in emperumAn and thAyAr’s togetherness only. So she got fully dedicated to that togetherness.

than niRaivu azhindhAL – Not only that she became dedicated to them, her unique nature of femininity got destroyed too, says mother. Either pirAtti’s attributes of joining us with Him, or emperumAn’s attributes of being the means to reach Him, is enough to destroy her completeness. Does it need to be told that both these attributes together would definitely destroy her status of completeness? Completeness is – given any situation, keeping her state intact and making Him lose His state and be madly in love with her. That completeness is now destroyed, says mother.

than niRaivu – The ocean has dried up, says she.

How do you know that her completeness has been destroyed? –

AvikkinRAL – She who (had the strength and) was trying to go to His place by asking ‘emperumAn thiruvarangam engE’, is now letting out a long sigh when He did not show up as soon as she thought about emperumAn and pirAtti’s togetherness.

aNi-arangam etc. – The daughter’s friend came near her after seeing her state, and after seeing her thinking as “He did not show up (even) after seeing my state; since mother would say words that are good for herself, she would not calm me down who is desperate to get Him”. Even though separated from him, she manages to stay strong by seeing her friend. This daughter, considering her desperation itself as a strong reason that she would not miss the opportunity of getting Him, gained strength, and says ‘Oh friend! We shall go to kOyil (thiruvarangam) and experience Him”, and thus prepares for going.

Adudhum – Let us bathe. For both those who suffer from the there types of difficulties in this world (ADhyAthmika, AdhiBaudhika, Adhidhaivika), and for those suffering due to separation, that divine place is their saviour. So she is talking about that place as a pond. Oh thOzhee! is addressing of her friend.

peRREn etc. – If I said a few words, she would not listen even if it is sweet to her.

peRREn vAychchol kELAL – Would listen to the words of His, and would listen to the words of her friend, but considering my giving birth to her as a reason, she would not listen to my words.

iRaiyum pEsak kELAL – She would not listen even if I talked words that are based on her state, nor would she listen even if i talked about the place she likes, that is, thiruvarangam periya kOyil.

kELAL – even if she is not doing what I asked of her, can’t she not at least listen to my words with ears? She did not do even that. When one decides that a person is not needed for them, then whatever valuable words that person says, they would not listen and follow.

pEr pAdi, etc. – What were the words of her who would not heed your words? She is talking about the food for the journey to periya kOyil, that is, other dhivya dhESams (present on the way). Those who lost their full sense would go in proper route also sometimes.

pEr pAdi – Due to her excess of interest in going to thiruvarangam, she is saying thiruppEr first instead of thirukkudanthai. when there is no hurdle (by mother), then it is but natural to be fully indulgent in experiencing Him, similar to saying ‘EthathsAmagAyannAsthE [thaiththirIyOpanishath, bRuguvalli 10-5]” ((those who got hurdles removed due to karmams and reached SrIvaikuNtam) would sing songs of vEdhas).

poRRAmaraik kayam neerAdap pOnAL – By adjectives “poRRAmraik kayam”, it talks about the nature of emperumAn that is experienced. Experts in thamizh say ‘sunaiyAdal’, ‘neerAttu’ to imply union of two. That is, she went to experience this.

pOnAL – In previous pAsuram – she asked for directions in ‘emperumAn thiruvarangam engE’, now how do you say pOnAL (she went)? – Only the body is present here. Her heart has gone there, says the mother. Daughter said about the place in “aNi arangam AduthumO”; Now mother is saying ‘poRRAmaraik kayam’ to imply periya perumAL. As said in “thayarathan peRRa maradhaka maNith thadam [thiruvAimozhi – 10.1.8]”, and “vAsath thadam pOl varuvAnE [thiruvAimozhi 8.5.1]”, He is referred as thadam (water tank/pond).

Are you not a stopper of her going?

poru aRRAL – She crossed that state. poru – togetherness. After getting that togetherness with Him, she lost that connectedness with me. Or,

poru aRRAL en magaL – poru – comparable. She became incomparable. Even the One talked about earlier (SrIdhEvi) is not an equal to her. This is said too in “pinnai kol, nilamAmagaL kol thirumagaL kol piRanthittAL [thiruvAimozhi 6.5.10]”, (to imply that there is a small chance if the three dhEvis put together that they might equal nammAzhvAr).

um ponnum ahdhE? – Mother asks those who came to inquire – do those who are born from you have also got in to such state as that of my daughter?. Inner meaning of ‘um pon’ indicates the other AzhvArs. Saying “maththuRu kadai veNNai kaLavinil uravidai AppuNdu [thiruvAimozhi 1.3.1]” (In stealing the butter churned with great difficulty using the churning staff, ending in being tied in the chest) they fell in love thinking about vibhavAvathAram, whereas it is this daughter who melted to the archAvathAram. (So even she is not her equal is the thought). “nangaimeer” etc. (Even parAnkuSa nAyaki’s mother asked those who came to inquire – “nagaimeer neerum Or peN peRRu nalgineer..[thiruvAimozhi 4.2.9]”.

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Translation by raghurAm SrInivAsa dhAsan.

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pAr vaNNa mada mangai paththar, piththar panimalar mel pAvaikku – This is about – like how the pearl-divers would dive all the way down and bring the sand full of pearls, SrIdhEvi and BhUdhEvi are enjoying this ocean of beauty direct from the source. Reason for talking about this now is to show that the matter of interest (emperumAn) which these dhEvis cannot manage to enjoy fully, is the interest that this nAyaki intends to experience.

pAr vaNNa madamangai – BhUmi pirAtti who is having the ever-attached earth as Her body, having the celebrated qualities of women, and having age that is matching His as said in ‘thulya Seela vayOvRuththAm thulyABhijanalakShaNam | rAghavO(s)rhathi vaidhEheem tham chEyamasithEkShaNA || [SrI rAmAyaNam – sundhara kANdam – 16-5]” (For vaidhEhi who is having matching qualities, age, behaviour, and having equivalent greatness of family lineage, and defining characteristics, only rAghavan is the correct match; she who is having dark eyes is the match only for Him).

pAr vaNNam – Reason behind saying that She is having the BhUmi as Her Sareeram is to show the following – She is not only enjoyable to emperumAn, those who live in that BhUmi are also enjoyable to emperumAn.

As said in “adiyAradiyAr thammadiyAradiyAr thamakku adiyAradiyAr tham – adiyAradiyOngaLE [thiruvAimozhi 3.7.10]”, like how those who are related to Him are dear to Her, those who are related to Her would be dear to Him too.

mangai – Suitable for His young age as said in ‘yuvAkumAra: [Ruk – ash – 2-2-25]’ (vishNu is in the age of a youth, with a little of previous state, that is at the starting stage of youth), she is said as ‘yuvathiS cha kumAriNee’.

paththar – As said in “Bhaja sEvAyAm [DhAthu pAtam – BvAdhi 995]”, the verb-root “Bhaja” gives the meaning of serving. The samskRutha word “Bhaktha:” coming from this verb-root, becomes “paththar” in thamizh. He is being served by Her, and She being in the state of serving Him is the natural state. When He falls in love, Her sweetness is such that it is He who would serve Her.

As said in “aham SishyA cha dhAsee cha BhakthA cha purushOththama | mathkRuthE sarva BhUthAnAm laGhUpAyam vadha prabhO || [varAha purANam 114-64] (Oh SrImannArAyaNa my lord! (I who am the BhUmi) am being a student of You, also a servant, and devotee. For my sake please give a simple means of salvation for all the AthmAs (thus prayed BhUmi pirAtti to varAha perumAL), thinking about His natural manliness she would be His student, servant, and devotee. When He thinks about the greatness of Her womanliness and be under love towards Her, He would undergo all the effects of such love as said in “kidandhirundhu ninRaLandhu [thiruvAimozhi 2.8.7]”.

piththar pani malar mEl pAvaikku – That love (towards BhUmi pirAttiyAr) too is a normal one is what one would think when seeing His love towards periya piRattiyAr. He being in extreme love towards periya pirAttiyAr who appears as if it is the fragrance of lotus that removes tiredness. As said in “alli-malar-magaL BhOga-mayakkukkaLAgiyum niRkum [thiruvAimozhi 3.10.8]”, her sweetness is such that He would struggle trying to fully enjoy it.

pAvam seydhEn – The mother is showing her tears to those who came to inquire. (Her true feeling is positive regarding her daughter). She says – Like the pirAttis her daughter is also trying to experience Him on her won (whereas it is proper for Him to come to her). It is not possible to subdue His greatness, it is not possible to subdue her desperation of separation, so it is my sins that are the reason for her suffering.

As said in “math-pApamEvAthra-nimiththamAseeth [SrI rAmAyaNam (this SlOkam not found in (current) text], like how BharathAzhvAn said that it is the sin of him who was born from kaikEyi, mother is saying that it is the sin of her who gave birth to nAyaki.

pAvam seydhEn – I gave birth to such a girl child, that she is not helpful to me (because she is not listening to my words), and not helpful to herself (because she is suffering this much due to separation, and losing her nature of a woman by not waiting for Him to come to her).

Then she says that her daughter’s suffering is due to not understanding her own greatness.

Er vaNNa en pEdhai – If she had understood about herself, then the suffering she undergoes would be what He would have undergone. It is the suffering of Him based on her beauty, is what is turned around and she is undergoing that suffering.

Er vaNNa en pEdhai – His colour of dark clouds is not a match for her beautiful form. His form is such that an example (of a dark cloud) could be given. Her daughter’s beauty has no comparison, so other than saying beautiful form, there is no example for her beauty. All we can say is ‘vadivu iNai illA malar magaL [thiruvAimozhi 9.2.10]” (pirAtti not having an equal to Her beauty). emperumAn would be enjoyable to Her. She would be enjoyable to Him. Seeing that pair and enjoying it is the greatness of BhUmi pirAtti. Enjoying seeing them together is the greatness of her daughter. (So her daughter’s beaty is even more because), as the enjoyment increases, one’s beauty also would increase.

en pEdhai – my daughter. She who is born is having that additional greatness (of being born in my clan) (unlike the pirAttis who are ever-present). Such birth is of greatness can be seen in “thirumgaL kol nila mA magaL kol piRAndhittAL [thiruvAimozhi 6.5.10]”, where though AzhvAr is compared to pirAttis, it is her birth that gave its greatness).

If one were to ask – If she is your daughter, does she not have to be obedient to you. Do you have to say “pAvam seydhEn”? What is wrong in your instructing her? –

en sol kELAL – She has passed the stage of my instructing her, says the mother. If I told her that to wait is proper, so why be so anxious, then she does not heed to my words.

en sol kELAL – Since she has heard and follows His words, she would ignore my words. Since she has listened to His words “mAm Ekam SaraNam vraja [Bhagavadh geethA charama SlOkam 18-66]” (~surrender to Me as your only means), she has not accepted my words of saying that one should wait for Him to come. Daughter – If there were some things I had to do, then I could do those and wait for Him to come. Since His words (in charama SlOkam) has not demanded any action from me, there is nothing wrong of me in showing urgency in getting Him.

emperumAn thiruvarangam engE ennum – Is it just that she did not listen to my words? She is even trying to figure out how to go to His place (thiruvarangam). She would ask – what is the direction to go to Him who made it intolerable for me to live without Him?’.

engE ennum – Is it just that she did not listen to my words? She is asking for direction from me itself. Before He left, to make her stay calm, he highlighted to her that she is always His. But that itself has become the reason for her anxiety.

neer vaNNan neer malaikkE pOvEn ennum – Going to thiruvarangam is through the route of thiruneermalai, she says. This is the way of those who lost their greatness like sense, etc. From her birth-place of thirukkuRaiyalUr go north to thiruneermalai, and then go south to thiruvarangam periya kOyil, is her intent. This is her way of staying in a dhivya dhESam during the journey – it does not have to be one on the way to periya kOyil. As said in “pAdheyam puNdareekSha-nAma-sankeerthanAmRutham [gAruda purANam]” (Due to walking a very long distance (after dying), for the jeevan suffering from hunger and thirst, the divine names of the lotus-eyed is the food for the journey), like how for some the divine names of Him is the food during a journey, divine dhivya dhESams are the food she takes during her journey. She would not travel without staying in dhivya dhESams. Direction to go to kOyil is via thiruneermalai – she says due to her distress.

niRavu azhindhAr niRkum ARu – idhuvanRO – Isn’t this the way of those who do not see their true nature (of waiting for Him to come), but see the greatness of Him?

idhuvanRO – niRkumARu – Even though I do not know this state, it is her state. Going after the sweetness of enjoyment is the nature of those who have learned it. (Daughter thinks) – those who consider the greatness of Him who is the means and who is without any expectation from us and who is readily available – would be in this state only. But I, the mother, do not know about the greatness of Him, and also not know about Him, the means, readily waiting for us. Our true nature is to be complete subservience is what I have known – says the mother.

emperumAn thiruvarangam engE ennum – nampiLLai would divine – “This girl who lost a thing in the river, is searching for it in the tank; isn’t this the state of those who lost their sense (due to love)”. (thiruvarangam periya kOyil being in the middle of two rivers, and thiruneermalai being surrounded by water, she is getting confused with one for the other). The stance of Azhvars and of ANdAL is – one should consider the greatness of the enjoyment and then set their svarUpam accordingly. When considering krishNan mingling with cowherd girls, she also got the walk, talk and smell of such girls. When considering krishNan mingling with wives of rishis (in “kArththaN [nAchchiyAr thirumozhi – 12.6]”), ANdAL would behave with more proper conduct and wear madithARu (madisAr?) clothes, and wish to present food to krishnan.

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Translation by raghurAm SrInivAsa dhAsan.

archived in http://divyaprabandham.koyil.org

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