SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:
avathArikai (Introduction)
In the third pAsuram AzhwAr had asked as to who was capable of seeing emperumAn. emperumAn in his divine mind thought “In the previous pAsuram, you had said that vEdhams and manthra rahasyams have said clearly about the nature of emperumAn. When such is the case, how did you raise the doubt in the third pAsuram?” AzhwAr says in this pAsuram, as a response to emperumAn’s query “Since you are the indwelling soul for all and since you are the only causative factor for all the worlds, jIvAthmAs can only know your nature of being the sustaining entity in the gross form; however, since they cannot ascertain that ‘emperumAn is of this nature’ just as you had manifested yourself to me on your own, my query as to who can see you is apt”
ninRu iyangum onRalA urukkaL dhORum AviyAy
onRiyuL kalandhu ninRa ninna thanmai innadhenRu
enRum yArkkum eNNiRandha AdhiyAy nin undhi vAy
anRu nAnmugan payandha Adhi dhEvan allaiyE
Word-by-Word Meanings
ninRu – being botanical life
iyangum – being animal life
onRalA – not of use to anyone or anything
Alternatively
onRalA – not being constant in any way
urukkaL dhORum – in all the physical forms
AviyAy – being the AthmA
onRi – fitting well
uL kalandhu ninRa – mingling with them in such a way that it would appear that they [you and the AthmA] are identical
ninna – your
thanmai – basic nature
innadhenRu – [it is] like this
enRum – in all the three phases of time [past, present and future]
yArkkum – for any gyAni (wise person)
eNNiRandha – beyond one’s ability to think of
AdhiyAy – one who is prominent in both the seen and heard objects
(You)
anRu – during the time of deluge
nin undhi vAy – in your divine navel
nAnmugan – chathurmukhan (brahmA, who has four faces)
payandha – one who sired
Adhi – only causative factor for the universe
dhEvan allaiyE – Are you not the one who acts in a casual manner!
We have to add “Who is capable of seeing you [on his/her own]?”
Simple Translation
You [refers to emperumAn) are the indwelling soul in all the entities, whether they are stationary [plant origin] or moving [animal origin (here, the term moving includes human entities too)], even if they are not of any use to anyone (alternatively, even if they keep changing their form). You fit well with them, mingling with them in such a way that it would appear that they are identical. You are beyond the thinking ability of even the wisest of people, whether they are in the past or present or future, who could say that this is your nature. You remain the prominent entity among both the entities which are seen and the entities which are heard. During the time of deluge, you sired the four-faced brahmA, from your divine navel. Are you not the only causative factor for the universe and aren’t you the one who acts in a casual manner!
vyAkyAnam (Commentary)
ninRu iyangum onRalA urukkaL dhORum – among all the four types of physical forms [celestial, human, botanical and animal], whether they are immobile, like the plant forms or mobile, like the animal forms and which are not of any use for uplifting human entities. The term onRalA refers to the inability of the form to be of any use for uplifting human entities. Alternatively, it could also be construed to refer to the changing nature of the physical forms.
AviyAy onRi uL kalandhu ninRa – being the indwelling soul, who has pervaded all those physical forms, and fitting well inside them, not looking at the lowliness of such forms. Utilising his aghatitha ghatanA sAmarthyam (ability to bind together entities which cannot be bound at all), emperumAn enters these forms with his vibhu (all-pervading) form [even if it is a worm, he has the ability to pervade it with his all-pervading form]. Mingling with them fully, he makes it appear as if there is only one entity and not two.
ninna thanmai – your basic nature. In other words, even though he pervades and mingles with them fully, their deficiencies do not affect him in any way. Also, though he is vibhu (without any boundary), he enters those forms which are limited, with his full form. In brahmasUthram (a treatise compiled by vEdhavyAsar), in the chapter kruthsna prasakthyadhikaraNam, did vyAsar not conclude “Though it is beyond our limited knowledge that empeurmAn has pervaded every entity, since Sruthi (vEdham) says so, we have to accept that”?
innadhu enRu – to say that “emperumAn is like this”. Showing an allegory and saying that emperumAn is like this.
enRum yArkkum – in all the three times of past, present and future, even for the most knowledgeable such as brahmA and rudhran.
eNNiRandha – being beyond the realm of thoughts too. Did not vEdhams too proclaim loudly as in rig vEdham vishNu sUktham “na thE vishNO jAyamAnO na jAtha: dhEva mahima: param anthamApa” (Oh vishNu, the lord! No one who was born earlier or who is born now {or who will be born in future) will know the upper limit of your greatness) and as in thaiththirIya upanishath Anandhavalli 9-1 “yathO vAchO nivarththanthE aprApya manasA saha” (from which brahmam both the mind and the faculty of speech returned without succeeding in estimating (it))!
AdhiyAy – Oh one who is the most prominent among all entities, whether seen or heard! You are the object behind any object which is seen and you are the meaning of any word which is uttered. nAnmugan thiruvandhAdhi 54 says “niRkinRadhellAm nedumAl” (all the objects which are present are (part of) thirumAl (emperumAn)); emperumAn is the substrate of all chEthanAchEthana entities (entities with and without knowledge) and is the most prominent entity and all chEthanAchEthana entities are his attributes and are the secondary entities. Similarly, when a word is uttered, just as it has been mentioned in jithanthE SlOkam 1-7 “kAryANAm kAraNam pUrvam vachasAm vAchyamuththamam l yOgAnAm paramAm sidhdhim paramam thE param vidhu: ll” (People know your most desirable and attainable nature as being the causative factor for all the effectual entities; you are the eminent meanings of words; you are the ultimate refuge beyond all (karma, gyAna and bhakthi) yOgams), you are the most prominent by being the meaning of the word uttered, as seen from all the authentic texts.
nin undhi vAy anRu nAnmugaRpayandha AdhidhEvan allaiyE – could anyone know that you are the only causative factor for all the worlds? Just as it has been mentioned in thiruvAimozhi 4-10-1 “onRUm dhEvum ulagum uyirum maRRum yAdhum illA anRu” (at that time when there was no other world, life, celestial or any other entity) when all the entities starting with dhEva (celestial entity etc) in leelA vibhUthi had perished, did you not create brahmA in your divine navel and become the only causative factor for the universe? When one recalls that brahmA, unlike the other chEthanas, had not spent time in the womb of a mother, one cannot say that that that divine lotus (emperumAn’s navel) is prAkrutham (belonging to samsAram). When one recalls that emperumAn was the cause for the birth of brahmA who is a badhdha jIvan (an entity bound to samsAram), one cannot conclude that that divine lotus is aprAkrutham (not belonging to samsAram). Thus, when one recalls the amazing activities of emperumAn such as: despite pervading all the entities, their deficiencies do not affect emperumAn; despite being a vibhu, he pervades all the entities with his fulsome (vibhu) form; creating brahmA who is a prAkrutha entity from his divine navel which is part of his aprAkrutha divine form, could those who are under the control of karma, such as brahmA, rudhran et al, and who have limited knowledge, know that ‘emperumAn is of this nature’?
Next, we will take up the 6th pAsuram of this prabandham.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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