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SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:

perumAL thirumozhi >> 3^rd Decad

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avathArikai (Introduction)

In the previous pAsurams, AzhwAr had said that he does not mingle with avaishNavas (those who are not followers of vishNu, emperumAn). When queried “Even if he [AzhwAr] gives them all up and does not mingle with them, there may be some among them who would compulsively hold on to him; are there people like that?” AzhwAr says in this pAsuram “I made myself such that all of them would give up on me”.

pEyarE enakku yAvarum yAnum Or
pEyanE evarkkum idhu pEsi en?
AyanE! arangA! enRu azhaikkinREn
pEyanAy ozhindhEn empirAnukkE

Word-by-Word Meanings
yAvarum – all the people of this world (who desire the evanescent worldly pursuits)
enakku – for me (who desires the eminent benefit)
pEyarE – mad only
yAnum – I too
evarkkum – for all (of them)
pEyanE – am a mad person only
idhu pEsi en – what is the purpose of discussing this elaborately?
AyanE – Oh krishNa who incarnated as cowherd!
arangA – Oh SrI ranganAtha!
enRu azhaikkinREn – I am calling out this way
empirAnukkE – in matters relating to the supreme entity
pEyanAy ozhindhEn – I became mad

Simple Translation

To me, all the people of this world are mad only. I too am mad for those people. What is the purpose of speaking about this? I am calling out to the supreme entity as “Oh krishNa, who incarnated as cowherd!” “Oh SrI ranganAtha!” I became mad in matters relating to my lord.

vyAkyAnam

pEyarE enakku yAvarum – I gave up on the people of the world, thinking “Leaving aside the permanent benefit of bhagavath kainkaryam (carrying out service to emperumAn), these people are desirous of worldly pursuits such as Sabdham (sensory perceptions such as sound, sight etc). They are mad”.

yAnum Or pEyanE evarkkum – those people also gave up on me saying “Instead of enjoying all the worldly materials which can be seen, he is firmly believing that there is an entity which is supreme, which has not been seen by anyone, and is infatuated with it. He is verily mad”.

idhu pEsi en – what is the purpose of talking elaborately about this?

AyanE – He came in person by incarnating as kaNNan (krishNa, the cowherd) to make everyone see him bodily, disproving the belief that only the wise people, with their spiritual vision, can see the form of emperumAn. He manifested his svarUpam (basic nature) and his svabhAvam (basic characteristics) to me.

arangA enRu azhaikkinREn – to ensure that even those who were not present during his times of incarnation could enjoy him subsequently, he came and reclined in the huge temple at SrI rangam. I called out to such periya perumAL.

pEyanAy ozhindhEn empirAnukkE – I transformed myself such that others would think “This person who is mad about the supreme entity, who cannot be seen, is not apt for us, who believe that what is seen is perceptible. He is fit to be given up”.

We will take up the last pAsuram of this dead, next.

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

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SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:

perumAL thirumozhi >> 3^rd Decad

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avathArikai (Introduction)

When asked “How did you get this greatness of not mingling with others?” AzhwAr says “This did not happen due to me; it was only emperumAn who created this in me”

eththiRaththilum yArodum kUdum ach
chiththam thannaith thavirththanan sengaNmAl
aththanE! arangA! enRu azhaikkinREn
piththanAyozhindhEN empirAnukkE

Word-by-Word Meanings

eththiRaththilum – to attain whatever I desire
yArodum – with any person
kUdum achchiththam thannai – my mind which will get ruined
sengaN mAl– one with lotus-like eyes
thavirththanan – mercifully removed
aththanE – Oh lord who controls me!
arangA – Oh SrI ranganAtha!
enRu azhaikkinREn – I called out this way
empirAnukkE – for my lord (who removed my involvement with worldly pursuits)
piththanAy ozhindhEn – I became infatuated.

Simple Translation

emperumAn removed the thought in my mind by which I could attain whatever I desired, with any person [even if they are not followers of emperumAn]. I called out to that emperumAn by crying out “Oh my lord, who controls me! Oh SrI ranganAthA!” and became infatuated.

vyAkyAnam (Commentary)

eththiRaththilum – even if I am told “By mingling with those who are not followers of emperumAn, you would attain all the benefits that you desire”, I will not have any desire in talking to such people.

yArodum kUdum – even if I do not get the desired benefit, if I am told that I will attain all the eminence by mingling with avaishNavas (those who are not followers of emperumAn), I will consider that mingling to be inferior to even the dust on my feet.

achchiththam thannai thavirththanan sengaNmAl – by looking at me with his reddish, lotus-like eyes, with a comforting glance and displaying his affection towards me, emperumAn made my mind to be incongruent with such avaishNavas.

aththanE – Oh one who is my swAmy (lord)!

arangA enRu azhaikkinREn – I am calling out to him by saying “Oh one who is residing in SrI rangam in order to make it clear that you are the owner and that I am your possession!”

piththanAy ozhindhEn empirAnukkE – I became infatuated with the great benefactor who removed my involvement with worldly pursuits and who removed my connection with those who are involved in worldly pursuits.

We will take up next, the 8th pAsuram of this decad.

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

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SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavaramunayE nama:

perumAL thirumozhi >> 3^rd Decad

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avathArikai (Introduction)

AzhwAr says in this pAsuram “Not only do I not mingle with the people of this world, I do not consider the wealth of dhEvalOkam (land inhabited by celestial entities) as material to be coveted. Irrespective of the number of births that I take, I will remain infatuated with emperumAn alone”.

embaraththar allArodum kUdalan
umbar vAzhvai onRagak karudhilan
thambirAn amararkku aranga nagar
embirAnukku ezhumaiyum piththanE

Word-by-Word-Meanings

em baraththar allArodum – those who do not carry out service like I do [to emperumAn]
kUdalan – (I) will not mingle
umbar vAzhvai – the opulence of celestial entities
onRu Aga – as a material
karudhilan – will not consider
amararkku thambirAn – controller of nithyasUris (permanent dwellers of spiritual realm)
aranga nagar – one who has taken residence inside the temple
empirAnukku – in matters related to periya perumAL, my swAmy (lord)
ezhumaiyum – at all times
piththanE – will be infatuated

Simple Translation

I do not mingle with those who do not carry out service to emperumAn. I do not consider the opulence of celestial entities as anything worthwhile. I am infatuated, at all times, with my swAmy who has taken residence inside the temple in SrI rangam and who is the controller of nithyasUris.

vyAkyAnam (Commentary)

embaraththar allArodum kUdalan – AzhwAr refers to those who are like himself as embaraththar. I will not get attached to those who do not have a system of life similar to mine. nammAzhwAr had said in thiruviruththam 1 “inninRa nIrmai iniyAm uRAmai” (we do not wish to suffer all these sorrows which we have to endure once we are born); he had also said in thiruvAimozhi 3-3-1 “vazhuvilA adimai seyyavENdum nAm” (we wish to carry out faultless service (to emperumAn)). Thus, AzhwAr says that he does not have any attachment towards those who do not have detachment towards worldly pursuits and who do not engage in service for emperumAn.

umbar vAzhvai onRAgak kurudhilan – even if I not develop detachment towards samsAram and attachment towards bhagavath kainkaryam (service to emperumAn) and even if I were to get the wealth of brahmA et al, I will consider that to be equivalent to grass.

thambirAn amararkku – just as nammAzhwAr had mercifully said in thiruvAImozhi 1-1-1 “ayarvaRum amarargaL adhipathi” (the lord of nithyasUris who do not have any ennui), he is the lord of nithyasUris too.

aranganagar empirAnukku – to ensure that the enjoyment which the nithyasUris experience is not denied to samsAris, emperumAn has taken residence in the huge temple inside SrI rangam, as the epitome of simplicity.

ezhumaiyum piththanE – irrespective of the number of births that I have, I will be infatuated to that emperumAn, being won over by his simplicity.

We will take up the 7th pAsuram of this decad.

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

archived in http://divyaprabandham.koyil.org

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SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:

perumAL thirumozhi >> 3^rd Decad

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avathArikai (Introduction)

AzhwAr says that he does not mingle with those who are desirous of lowly benefits and engage in improper activities, and that he developed affection only for emperumAn.

thIdhil nanneRi niRka allAdhu sey
nIdhiyArodum kUduvadhillai yAn
Adhi Ayan arangan andhAmaraip
pEdhai mA maNavALan than piththanE

Word-by-Word Meanings

thIdhil nanneRi niRka – while there are proper paths without any fault
allAdhu sey nIdhiyArodum – those who have taken a vow to keep desiring lowly benefits
yAn kUduvadhillai – I do not mingle
Adhi – being the causative factor for all the worlds
Ayan – incarnating as krishNa and being easy to approach for all
am thAmarai pEdhai mA maNavALan – being the consort of periya pirAttiyAr (SrI mahAlakshmi) who resides on a beautiful lotus flower
arangan than– in matters related to SrI ranganAthan
piththanE – I remained infatuated

Simple Translation

AzhwAr says that he does not mingle with those who have taken a vow to desire only lowly benefits even though there are proper paths which are without any fault, for them to follow. Instead, he says that he is infatuated with SrI ranganAthan, who is the consort of periya pirAttiyAr, who dwells on a beautiful lotus flower. He is the causative factor for all the worlds and was easy to approach, during his incarnation as krishNa.

vyAkyAnam (Commentary)

thIdhil nanneRi niRka – there are many ways which are without any fault, to attain emperumAn in this world, and to lead a righteous life. However, there are many people who observe various methods in order to attain benefits other than emperumAn himself. While looking at the benefits that they attain, it would appear that it would be better not to attain such benefits, and to refrain from indulging in such activities.

allAdhu sey nIdhiyArodum kUduvadhillai yAn – I do not mingle with those people who are pursuing such lowly benefits and who think that those benefits would uplift them.

In the next two lines, AzhwAr says that it is because of his infatuation with emperumAn that he was not mingling with such people.

Adhi – one who is the cause for all the worlds. atharvaSikai says “kAraNanthu dhyEya:” (only that entity who is responsible for the creation of all the worlds is apt to be meditated upon). emperumAn is the one who is apt to be worshipped upon, since he is the causative factor.

Ayan – though he is apt to be meditated upon, instead of remaining in paramapadham (SrI vaikuNtam) and being difficult to be seen, he incarnated as SrI rAma, krishNa et al and was easily accessible to all.

arangan – while incarnating, he did not make himself accessible only to those who were there during those times and leave back for paramapadham such that those who came in later times could not get any benefit. Instead, he took residence in SrI rangam so that even those who came in later times could worship him and get the benefit of his presence.

andhAmaraip pEdhai mAmaNavALan than piththanE – I became infatuated with emperumAn who is the loving consort of periya pirAtti, who dwells on a beautiful lotus and who is the decorative entity for all women. The verse andhAmaraip pEdhai mA maNavALan indicates the unique greatness of periya pirAtti. If the jIvAthmA (soul born in the materialistic realm) takes one step towards emperumAn (viz. if he becomes a little bit favourable), she magnifies it and removes the hurt caused in emperumAn’s heart by the faulty activities of the jIvAthmA, by being the purushakArabhUthai (one who recommends the jIvAthmA to paramAthmA). It is pertinent to recall SrI rAmAyaNam AraNya kANdam SlOkam 37-18 here: “apramEyam hi thaththEjO yasya sA janakAthmajA l na thvam samarthas thAm harthum rAmAchApASrayAm vanE ll”
((mArIchan tells rAvaNan) that splendour of SrI rAma, who, pirAtti, the divine daughter of janaka maharAja belongs to, is inestimable. You are not capable of bringing here that pirAtti who lives under his bow). The implied meaning here is that emperumAn acquires greatness because he is the sweet consort of such pirAtti. AzhwAr says that he does not mingle with the others because he is infatuated with matters relating to that emperumAn.

We will next take up the 6th pAsuram of this decad.

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

archived in http://divyaprabandham.koyil.org

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SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:

perumAL thirumozhi >> 3^rd Decad

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avathArikai (Introduction)

AzhwAr says that he does not mingle with people who run after food and clothes. He says that he is one who is involved with emperumAn.

uNdiyE udaiyE ugandhodum im
maNdalaththodum kUduvadhillai yAn
aNdavANan arangan van pEy mulai
uNdavANan than unmaththan kANminE

Word-by-Word Meanings

uNdiyE – food
udaiyE – and clothes
ugandhu Odum – desirously running after
immaNdalaththodum – with the people of this world
yAn kUduvadhu illai – I do not mingle
aNdavANan – being the lord of all those who are in this universe
van pEy mulai uNda vAyan – one who has the mouth with which he drank (life) from the bosom of pUthanA, who had a cruel heart
arangan than – in the matter of SrI ranganAthan
unmaththan kANminE – I am having mad affection.

Simple Translation

I do not mingle with the people of this world who are running after food and clothes. Instead, I am having deep affection for SrI ranganAthan, who is the lord of all the people in this universe and who, during krishNAvathAram, drank the life out of pUthanA’s bosom, with his divine mouth.

vyAkyAnam

uNdiyE udaiyE ugandhodum – In order to worship and to meditate on emperumAn, the physical body should be in a sound condition. Hence, in order to sustain the body, there is nothing wrong in desiring these (food and clothes). However, since most of the people in the world spend on food and clothes, after selling off their possessions, AzhwAr calls them as uNdiyE udaiyE ugandhodum immaNdalam (people who run after food and clothes).

immaNdalaththodum kUduvadhillai yAn – The meaning for this is that he does not mingle with the people of this world. nammAzhwAr says in his thiruvAimozhi 6-7-1 “uNNum sORu parugu nIr thinnum veRRilaiyum ellAm kaNNan” – nithyavibhUthi (spiritual realm) considers emperumAn to be sustaining, nurturing and enjoyable entity. In a similar vein, the lowly leelA vibhUthi (materialistic realm) considers the worldly pursuits as everything to live for. AzhwAr calls them as immaNdalam. Instead of mingling with them, AzhwAr says that he is like nammAzhwAr, considering kaNNan (emperumAn) as everything.

In the last two lines, he says that he is involved fully with emperumAn.

aNdavANan – lord of those who are in this universe, inside leelAvibhUthi.

arangan – instead of remaining in SrI vaikuNtam, ruling over this materialistic realm, he has entered this, as a simple entity for everyone, residing in SrI rangam, close to us.

van pEy mulai uNda vAyan than unmaththan kANminE – emperumAn drank the life out of the bosom of the demon pUthanA, who had a cruel heart [to kill infant krishNa]. AzhwAr says that he has deep affection towards that emperumAn. This episode of annihilation of pUthanA manifests his nature of incarnating here and removing the hurdles of his followers.

than unmaththan kANminE – AzhwAr says that just as it is difficult to extricate those who are immersed in the pleasures of this world, it is difficult to extricate him who is madly involved with the auspicious qualities and amazing activities of emperumAn, and to unite him with those who are searching for food and clothes.

We will next take up the 5th pAsuram of this decad.

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

archived in http://divyaprabandham.koyil.org

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SrIvaishNava education/kids portal – http://pillai.koyil.org

SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:

perumAL thirumozhi >> 3^rd Decad

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avathArikai (Introduction)

In this pAsuram, AzhwAr says that he does not mingle with the people of this world who roam around, under the thumb of cupid (lord of love). He says that he is affectionate towards emperumAn alone.

maranAr vari venjilaikku Atcheyyum
pArinArodum kUduvadhillai yAn
AramArvan arangan ananthan nal
nAraNan naragAndhagan piththanE

Word-by-Word Meanings

mAranAr – manmathan’s (cupid’s)
vari vem silaikku – for the beautiful, cruel bow
AL seyyum – those who roam around, under its control
pArinArodum – with the people of this world
yAn kUduvadhillai – I do not mingle
Aram mArvan – one who has chains (of pearl) on his divine chest
arangan – having the divine name of Sri ranganAthan
ananthan – one who cannot be known through any measurement
nal nArANan – distinguished abode for jIvAthmAs (souls) to attain
naragAndhagan – one who protects his followers from falling into hell
piththanE– I have developed affection

Simple Translation

I do not mingle with the people of this world, who roam around under the control of the beautiful, but cruel, bow of cupid’s. I have developed affection towards SrI ranganAtha, who has chains of pearl on his chest, who cannot be estimated in any way, who is the final abode for his followers and who protects his followers from falling into hell.

vyAkyAnam

mAranAr vari venjilaikku Atcheyyum pArinArodum kUduvadhillai yAn – this could be construed in two ways: parinArodum (with the people of this world) and pAril Arodum (with anyone in this world). In the first case, the meaning would be – I do not move with the people of the world who are roaming around, being won over by the beautiful, and cruel, but inescapable bow of cupid’s. In the second case, the meaning would be – I do not move with anyone in this world, who is roaming around, being won over by the beautiful, and cruel, but inescapable bow of cupid’s. In the explanatory notes for this pAsura vyAkyAnam, it has been mentioned that the term pAril Arodum refers to lowly people who do not have any place of their own.

Ara mArvan arangan – emperumAn who dons various divine ornaments such as chains etc in order to attract everyone. This term Aram (chain) is representative of other divine ornaments such as crown etc

ananthan – when emperumAn incarnated as a human being such as SrI rAma, krishNa et al, he showed his quality of parathvam (supreme entity). In the same way, even in the form of archai (form of vigraha or idol form) while he manifests his quality of simplicity, he shows his quality of inestimable superiority.

nal nAraNan – The term nAraNan refers to his quality of showering his affection towards the collection of human beings who are his possession. Since he is one who will not give up on his possession, even if they are born with faults, and shows affection towards them, he is referred to as nal nAraNan (the good emperumAn).

naragAndhagan – this can be construed as one who annihilated narakAsuran (a demon) or as one who protects his followers from falling into hell. periyAzhwAr in his periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 4-4-4 says, of emperumAn, “naraga nAsanai” (one who prevents the entry of his followers into hell). thirumangai AzhwAr says in his periya thirumozhi 10-9-4 “naraganaith tholaiththa karadhalaththamaidhiyin karuththO” (is it due to the strength in your hands to kill the demon, narakan?), following similar meaning. The opinion here is that when emperumAn, who is nAraNan, having vAthsalyam (motherly forbearance) towards jIvAthmAs, his possession, falls on them to protect them, all hurdles will disappear.

piththanE – AzhwAr says that he is affectionate towards one who is like this.

In the next article, we will take up the 4th pAsuram of this decad.

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

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SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:

perumAL thirumozhi >> 3^rd Decad

<< Previous

avathArikai (Introduction)

AzhwAr says in this pAsuram that he does not involve with those who are involved in worldly pursuits. He involves himself with emperumAn alone.

nULinEr idaiyAr thiRaththE niRkum
gyAlam thannodum kUduvadhillai yAn
AliyA azhaiyA arangA! enRu
mAl ezhundhu ozhindhEn endhan mAlukkE

Word-by-Word Meanings

nUlin nEr idaiyAr thiRaththE niRkum– being involved with ladies who have slender waist, like a thread
gyAlam thannodum – with the people of this world
yAn kUduvadhillai – I do not mingle
AliyA – (with overflowing affection) dancing
arangA enRu – reciting the divine names of periya perumAL
azhaiyA – calling out
en than mAlukkE – towards emperumAn who is affectionate towards me
mAL ezhundhu ozhindhEn – I developed affection

Simple Translation

 I do not unite with the people of this world who are involved with ladies who have slender waist. Instead, I dance, with overflowing affection, call out the divine names of periya perumAL and develop affection towards him.

vyAkyAnam

nUlinEr idaiyAr thiRaththE niRkum – those who are involved with ladies who have thread-like slender waist.

niRkum – this term (meaning ‘remaining’) indicates that once they are involved with one limb of a person’s physical form, they would remain involved with that limb and not move on further to other limbs of the form.

gyAlam thannodum kUduvadhillai yAn – AzhwAr says that he does not have any connection with those who, instead of showing involvement with the ordained bhagavath vishayam (matters relating to emperumAn), show involvement with matters which are not congruent with their svarUpam (basic nature – being totally subservient to emperumAn alone).

In the subsequent two lines, AzhwAr says that he shows involvement, which the others show towards worldly pursuits, towards the ordained matter.

AliyA arangA enRu azhaiyA – due to excessive joy, being unable to remain in one place, dancing; reciting the divine name arangA of periya perumAL, even if it is in a disorderly manner.

mAl ezhundhozhindhEn endhan mAlukkE – just as it has been mentioned in SrI rAmAyaNam ayOdhyA kANdam 16-16 “sarvEshAm hi sa dharmAthmA varNAnAm kuruthE dhayAm l chathurNAm hi vaya:sthAnAm thEna thE thamanuvrathA: ll” (that SrI rAma, who is the personification of righteousness, showers his mercy on the four classes of people (brAhmaNa (priests), kshaththriya (warriors), vaiSya (business people)and SUdhra (workers)) in four stages of their lives (SaiSava (infant), bAlyam (playing), yauvanam (youthful) and vArdhAnam (old)); hence they too are affectionate towards him), seeing the affection that emperumAn has towards me, I too developed affection towards him.

We will take up the 3rd pAsuram of this decad, next.

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

archived in http://divyaprabandham.koyil.org

pramEyam (goal) – http://koyil.org
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SrIvaishNava education/kids portal – http://pillai.koyil.org