perumAL thirumozhi – 7.1 – Alai neeL karumbu

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

perumAL thirumozhi >> 7th Decad

avathArikai (Introduction)

When you were an infant, I did not have the fortune to sing lullaby to put you to sleep, says dhEvaki, in this pAsuram.

AlaineeL karumbu annavanthAlO ambuyath thadam kaNNinan thAlO
vElai nIr niRaththu annavanthAlO vEzhap pOdhagam annavan thAlO
Ela vArkuzhal en magan thAlO enRenRu unnai en vAyidai niRaiyath
thAloliththidum thiruvinai illAth thAyaril kadaiyAyina thAyE

Word-by-Word Meanings

Alai neeL karumbu annavan – Oh one who is like a long sugar cane fit to be squeezed in a sugarcane mill!
thAlO – lullaby for you
ambuyam – like a lotus flower
thadam kaNNinan – Oh one who has expansive eyes!
thAlO– lullaby for you
vElai nIr niRaththu annavan – Oh one who has the complexion of ocean!
thAlO – lullaby for you
vEzham pOdhagam annavan – Oh one who has the activities like an elephant calf!
thAlO – lullaby for you
Elam vAr kuzhal – one who has long hair which is fragrant
en magan – my son
thAlO – lullaby for you
enRu enRu – saying like this many times
en vAyidai niRaiya – for my mouth to feel happy
unnai – you
thAl oliththidum thiruvinai illA – one who does not have the wealth of singing lullaby
thAyaril– among mothers
kadiyAyina thAy – I am the lowliest mother

Simple Translation

I am the lowliest among all mothers since I do not have the wealth of singing lullaby for you while putting you to sleep. I did not sing lullaby with which my mouth would have felt happy, by saying several times lullabies such as – Oh one who is like a long sugar cane fit enough to be squeezed in a sugarcane mill! Oh one who has wide eyes which look like lotus! Oh one who has the complexion of ocean! Oh one who has the activities of a baby elephant! Oh one who has long and fragrant hair! Oh my son!

vyAkyAnam (Commentary)

Alai nIr karumbu annavan thAlO – Oh one who is sweet to the tongue like the long sugarcane which is appropriate to be fed into a sugar mill!

ambuyaththadam kaNNinan thAlO – Oh one whose eyes are like the lotus flower which has just blossomed, and has freshness, coolness and softness, and with which you shower me with your grace! Through this, AzhwAr says that kaNNan is sweet to the sense of vision.

vElai nIr niRaththu annavanthAlO – Should one describe the sweetness of each of the limbs? With the divine form which has all those limbs, don’t you remove the ennui of the beholder, like the ocean!

vEzhappOdhagam annavan thAlO – Oh one who does activities like an elephant calf such that one will keep on looking at, forever!

Ela vAr kuzhal en magan thAlO – Since dhEvaki feels that even with many more such allegories, she cannot describe fully his activities, she calls him out saying “Oh one who has long locks which are fragrant”!

enRu enRu unnai en vAyidai niRaiyath thAl oliththidum thiruvinai illA – one who has lost the fortune of singing lullaby for you like this

thAyaril kadai Ayina thAyE – she laments that among all the mothers who observe various rituals to beget a child, and enjoy that child after birth, she has become the lowliest.

We will next take up the 2nd pAsuram of this decad.

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

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