SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:
perumAL thirumozhi >> 1st Decad
avathArikai (Introduction)
In this pAsuram, AzhwAr longs to see emperumAn, attain great happiness and sustain himself.
kOlArndha nedum sArngam kUnaRchangam
kolaiyAzhi kodundhaNdu koRRa oL vAL
kAlArndha gathikkarudan ennum venRik
kadum paRavai ivai anaiththum puRam sUzh kAppa
sElArndha nedungazhani sOlai sUzhndha
thiruvarangaththu aravaNaiyil paLLi koLLum
mAlOnaik kaNdu inbak kalavi eydhi
valvinaiyEn enRu kolO vAzhu nALE
Word-by-word Meanings
kOl Arndha – being together with arrows
nedum sArngam – [emperumAn’s] bow, SrI SArngam, which appears huge
kUn nal sangam – SrI pAnchajanyam, the divine conch, which is bent because of the pride attained due to its experience with emperumAn
kolai Azhi – thiruvAzhi AzhwAn (divine disc, called as sudharSan) which annihilates enemies
kodum thaNdu – the mace kaumOdhakI, which creates fear among enemies
koRRam oL vAL – the sword, nandhakam, which is splendorous in its victories over enemies
kAl Arndha kadum gathi – having fierce speed just like the speed of wind
garudan ennum – called as garudan
venRi paRavai – pakshirAjan (the king among birds) who is ever victorious
ivai anaiththum – all these
puRam sUzh kAppa – while they protect, surrounding on all sides
sEl Arndha nedum kazhani – with fields filled with fish
sOlai sUzhndha – surrounded by gardens
thiruvarangaththu aravaNaiyil paLLi koLLum– one who is reclining on thiruvananthAzhwAn, inside SrI rangam
mAlOnai – emperumAn who is supreme
valvinaiyEn – I, who had committed great sins,
kaNdu inbam kalavi eydhi – worshipping him and attaining unmatched bliss
vAzhum nAL enRu kolO – when will I uplift myself?
Simple Translation
emperumAn, who is lying atop AdhiSEshan inside the huge temple in SrI rangam is protected on all sides by his divine weapons: the bow, SrI SArngam, which is huge and is together with arrows, the divine conch, SrI pAnchajanyam, which is curved due to pride of being associated with emperumAn constantly, the divine disc, sudharSan, which annihilates enemies, the mace, kaumOdhakI, which creates fear among enemies and the sword, nandhakam, which glitters in its victorious deeds. He is also protected by garudan, the king among birds, who has the speed of wind and is always victorious. SrI rangam, is surrounded by fields which are full of fish, and is also surrounded by gardens. When will I, who had committed great sins, worship that emperumAn, who is supreme, and attain unmatched bliss, uplifting myself?
vyAkyAnam
kOlArndha nedum sArngam – The term kOl refers to arrows. SArngam is the long bow, together with its arrows. Since the bow is always together with arrows, the opinion expressed here is that emperumAn holds the bow in a ready status, in order to destroy enemies. Just as it has been mentioned by nammAzhwAr in periya thiruvandhAdhi pAsuram 87, “eppOdhum kai kazhalA nEmiyAn” (being ever ready to use, he holds the disc in his hand, always).
kUn nal sangam – due to the pride of tasting the nectar-like saliva of emperumAn always, SrI pAnchajanyam, the divine conch, appears to be bent in obedience. The term nal sangam shows that it has lot of bhagavadh anubhavam (being always involved with emperumAn)
kolai Azhi – beginning with this weapon, four weapons are described here. Since they do not involve with emperumAn like pAnchajanyam but are engaged for killing enemies, they do not carry the adjective nal (good).
kolai Azhi – the opinion here is that sudharSan, the divine disc, spends all the time available, by splitting the enemies into two parts.
kodum thaNdu – the way emperumAn is holding his mace, kaumOdhakI, will create fear among his enemies and they will tremble and fall down.
koRRa oL vAL – the divine sword, nAndhakam, manifests the opulence of emperumAn viz, he is the emperor for all the worlds. koRRa refers to being constantly victorious.
kAlArndha gadhi garudan ennum venRIk kadum paRavai – having the power to fly at the speed of a cyclone, having the divine name of garudan (periya thiruvadi, the senior divine feet) [when only the term thiruvadi is used, it refers to hanuman; the adjective periya is added to differentiate between the two], he exhibits harshness towards enemies. Didn’t nammAzhwAr too mention mercifully in his thiruvAImozhi 2-6-8 “pARippARi asurartham pal kuzhAngaL nIRezha pAy paRavai onRu …” (various groups of demons were blown away to ashes by garudan who was attacking)!
ivai anaiththum puRam sUzh kAppa – SrI rAmAyaNa yudhdha kANdam 25-33 SlOkam says “rAma lakshmaNa gupthA sa sugrIvENa cha vAhinI I babhUva dhUrdharshatharA sEndhrairapi surAsurai: II” (The army of monkeys was protected by SrI rAma, lakshmaNa as well as by sugrIva. Even armies of celestial entities led by indhra and armies of demons cannot oppose this army of monkeys). Just as SrI rAma was protecting, along with lakshmaNa, the army of monkeys on the shores of lankA, periya perumAL, who was worshipped by that SrI rAma, was protected by periya thiruvadi (garuda) and the five divine weapons, since periya perumAL was reclining on the mattress of AdhiSEshan.
sEl aRndha nedum kazhani sOlai sUzhndha thiruvarangaththu aravaNaiyil paLLi koLLum – the huge temple in SrI rangam is surrounded by fields which are filled with fish; gardens also surround the temple. emperumAn is reclining on thiruvananthAzhwAn and is greater than everyone else; mAl – great. iLangOvadigaL, who composed the thamizh epic silappadhigAram, says “periyavanai mAyavanaip pErulagamellAm viri kamal undhi udai viNNavanai” (emperumAn, who is great, who is an amazing entity, who has a divine navel which is like a fully blossomed lotus and who is the lord of nithyasUris).
kaNdu inbak kalavi eydhi – being together with periya perumAL and attaining unmatched bliss
val vinaiyEn enRu kolO vAzhu nALE – one has to leave this samsAram (materialistic realm), attain nithya vibhUthi (spiritualistic realm) which is totally different from samsAram, in order to have dharSan of emperumAn. However, that supreme entity is reclining here itself, in nearby SrI rangam. AzhwAr says “I have done so many sins. When will I get to see that emperumAn and uplift myself?” His ministers were preventing him from proceeding to SrI rangam since he was the king. Could he refer to carrying out his regal duties as sins? The opinion here is that any activity which prevents one from experiencing emperumAn is a sinful activity only.
In the next article, we will take up the 9th pAsuram of this padhigam.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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