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iyaRpA siRiya thirumadal

siRiya thirumadal – Introduction

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thirumangai AzhwAr’s chronological sequence of works is periya thirumozhi, thirukuRuNthANdakam, thiruvezhukURRirukkai, siRiya thirumadal, periya thirumadal and thiruneduNthAndakam. In thirukuRuNthANdakam, thirumangai AzhwAr saw parama purushan (supreme being) SrIman nArAyaNan in his heart through his internal senses, as revealed by pAsurams such as thirukkuRuNdhANdagam 1 “en manaththu vandha vidhiyinaik kaNdukoNda thoNdanEn vidugilEnE” (I, the servitor of emperumAn, having seen him when he came, with compassion, on his own volition into my mind, will never let go of him). In thiruvezhukURRirukkai, he yearned for SrIman nArAyaNan and expressed his desire to enjoy him with his external senses as well. He performed SaraNAgathi (act of surrendering) at the lotus feet of the lord at thirukkudandhai. This could be seen in verses such as “selvam malgu thenthirukkudandhai aNdhaNar mandhira mozhiyudan vaNanga, AdaravamaLiyil aRithuyilamarndha parama ninadiyiNaip paNivan” (Oh supreme being! You are reclining on the bed of AdhiSAEshan with his expanded hood in the southern town of thirukkudandhai which is full of opulence and where brAhmaNas are worshipping you, reciting vEdhic scriptures. I surrender to your twin divine feet in order to get rid of the difficulties in this materialistic world). Even after this SaraNAgathi, since his desire was not fulfilled.  thirumangai AzhwAr started to explore the reason for the futility of his SaraNAgathi. parama purushan SrIman nArAyaNan is not someone who does not know the situation which thirumangai AzhwAr is confronted with. He is not someone who does not have the power to reach the place where thirumangai AzhwAr is. He is not someone who is not wanted by thirumangai AzhwAr and so all these aforementioned reasons could not be valid. thirumangai AzhwAr had just then performed SaraNAgathi and so that would  mean that there is nothing that thirumangai AzhwAr needs to do more. Hence, that is also not a reason for the delay in showing himself. The reason for the delay on the part of SrIman nArAyaNan, is neither because of thirumangai AzhwAr’s efforts nor SrIman nArAyaNan’s lack of power and knowledge. The real reason is that SrIman nArAyaNan did not have in his heart, the desire to mingle with thirumangai AzhwAr at that point in time. Therefore, thirumangai AzhwAr decides that he is going to do whatever it takes even if it means to destroy his essential nature of pAranthanthriyam (total dependence on SrIman nArAyaNan). When emperumAn incarnated as krishNa and danced with pots, a pirAtti (lady) gets deeply involved with that. Not being able to attain him otherwise, she decides to engage with madal. thirumangai AzhwAr manifests his situation through the madal of that pirAtti, in this dhivya prabandham.

What is “madal”? Just as the SrI rAmAyaNam SlOkam sundhara kANdam 16-5 says “thulyaSeela vayOvruththAm thulyAbhijanalakshaNam I rAghavOrhathi vaidhEhIm thamsEyam asithEkshaNA II ” (for sIthAppirAtti who had matching auspicious qualities, age, discipline, clan and beauty, SrI rAma is the most apt person. For SrI rAma too, only sIthAp pirAtti who has black eyes, is the most apt person) both nAyaka (male lead of a play or story) and nAyaki (female lead of the play or story) should be of matching age with the nAyaka being complete in having the (masculine) qualities of knowledge, pride, inquisitiveness and firmness and the nAyaki being complete having the (feminine) qualities of shyness, obedience, fear, paleness of skin in separation. The nAyaki goes to a garden with her friends to pluck flowers. The nAyaka also goes to the same garden for hunting. Due to the act of destiny, the nAyaki’s best friend is engaged in some other work, leaving the nAyaki alone at that point of time. nAyaka and nAyaki look at each other at first and that leads to their union. Since continued union between them, if not checked, would lead to their end ultimately, just like crop would be destroyed by excessive inundation, providence decided to separate them so that they could enjoy for a long time, with patience, in future. Their respective relatives too noticed changes in their forms subsequently, just as it is mentioned in thiruvAimozhi 9-8-5 pAsuram  “punai izhaigaLaNivum Adaiyudayum pudhukkaNippum ninaiyum nIrmaiyadhanRu” (even if we try to enjoy her greatness in the way that she is wearing her previously worn ornaments (with added beauty now), the beauty of her clothes and her freshness, it is beyond our thoughts). The relatives kept the two in their respective custody so that they could not meet. However, the separation increased their distress a hundred, thousand times more. At this juncture, the nAyaka or nAyaki, unable to get to attain the other, indulges in a daring act which is referred to as madal.

The daring act is to destroy the beloved’s characteristics such svarUpa (basic nature), rUpa (physical beauty), guNa (qualities) and vibhUthi (wealth). The person draws a picture of his or her beloved, keeps staring incessantly at the picture without eating ghee and drinking milk. He or she does not take bath either nor decorates himself (or herself). He or she would sit on top of a horse made of palm leaves and pretend that he or she is travelling on the horse all over the place with disheveled hair. He or she would cry out saying “this person has estranged from me. He or she does not have any mercy towards me. He or she is a hard-hearted and cruel person. There is no limit to the harmful acts that he or she can indulge in”. Such an act, in which the person goes all over the streets, with those who hear such laments taking pity on him or her, is termed as engaging in madal. Isn’t the act of negating the innate nature, beauty, qualities and wealth of the beloved, equivalent to destroying that person?

What is the purpose of this cruel act of engaging in madal?  The relatives of the two lovers could try to unite them. It is also possible that the king of that country could help in uniting the two. If the friends and relatives of the two give up on them, the two could unite and sustain each other, like a heap of weapons where each weapon sustains the other weapons. If none of the above happens, then there will be the pride that the nAyaka or nAyaki ended his or her life because he or she could not get his or her beloved.

Just as nammAzhwAr had mentioned In his thiruvAimozhi 1-5 “vaLavEzh ulagil” decad, the AzhwArs are of the nature who would, thinking of their lowliness, say “If I go to such a great person (emperumAn), I would bring him lowly stature” and move away from him.  Given this nature of AzhwArs, could they be involved in engaging in madal which is a cruel act on emperumAn? They are not the ones who are going to destroy the qualities of SrIman nArAyaNan by engaging in madal till the end.  Just as namAzhwAr had threatened that he would engage in madal as said in his thiruVaimozhi 5-3-9 “ANaiyen thOzhi ulagu thOru alarthURRi, Am kONaigaL seydhu kudhiriyAi madalUrdhumE)” (Oh dear friend! We will certainly engage in madal, ridiculing emperumAn at every place, carrying out tough acts, as an uncontrollable girl) and in thiruvAimozhi 5-3-10 “yAm madalUrndhum em AzhiyangaippirAnudai, thUmadal thaNNandhuzhAi malar koNdu sUduvOm” (even if we have to engage in madal, we will do that and wear the garland of thuLasi which has sacred leaves and which is cool, offered to us by emperumAn who has the divine disc in his beautiful divine hand), this AzhwAr too threatens SrIman nArAyaNan that he would perform madal so that he would come to AzhwAr, as mentioned in siRiya thirumadal “UrAdhozhiyEn nAn vArAr pUm peNNai madal” (I will not stop from engaging in madal with the long, beautiful palm leaf) and in periya thirumadal “ulagaRiya Urvan nAn manniya pUm peNNai madal” (I will engage in madal with the great, beautiful palm leaf, with the entire world knowing about it) but did not fulfil the act of engaging in madal.

The act of performing madal is similar to what SrI rAma had said in SrI rAmAyaNam yudhdha kANdam 21-22 “chApamAnaya saumithrE! SarAmSchAshIvishOpamAn I sAgaram SOshayishyAmi“. (“Hey lakshmaNa! Get me the bow and arrows which are venomous. I will dry up the ocean). SrI rAmA threatened the ocean [just as thirumangai AzhwAr threatened emperumAn that he will engage in madal]. AzhwArs think that if they indicate their steadfastness, SrIman nArAyaNan will come running to them. They are not the ones who will complete the task of performing a madal. The reason for their running away from SrIman nArAyaNan after thinking of their lowliness is because of the greatness of bhagavath vishayam (matters related to emperumAn). It is because they are unable to tolerate their separation from emperumAn after meditating on the greatness of his qualities and the significance of the entity [emperumAn] that they indulge in activities such as observing nOnbu (penance, religious austerities etc) and engaging in madal which are against their svarUpam (basic nature).

Is the greatness of emperumAn the only reason for their attaining him and separating from him? When they look at the significance of emperumAn and think about their lowliness, they will separate themselves from emperumAn saying “We should not attain him”. When they keep thinking of his greatness, they will attempt to enjoy him, without thinking of their lowliness. When they are enjoying ArAmudhan (insatiable nectar) their lowliness will not appear to them. Hence they fall head over heels in enjoying him.

Even then, why do AzhwArs not speak in their own nature [as a male] but speak in the nature of a pirAtti (consort of emperumAn)? Since the AthmA’s svarUpa nirUpaka dharmas (basic defining qualities) manifest themselves radiantly like the extraordinary qualities of women, especially the qualities of a pathivrathA (a female who is totally dedicated to her husband) such as (a) ananyArhaSEshathvam (the quality of not being subservient to anyone other than SrIman nArAyaNan (b) ananyaSaraNathvam (the quality of not surrendering to anyone other than SrIman nArAyaNan) and (c) ananyabhOgyathvam (the quality of not being an enjoyable object to anyone other than SrIman nArAyaNan) which the AthmA has towards emperumAn, since great people like AzhwArs can sustain themselves only if they are with emperumAN and cannot sustain themselves in separation from him, since during the moment of liberation [from the material world] their knowledge blossoms and matches that of emperumAn’s consorts, since these AzhwArs have been granted faultless knowledge and devotion even when they are in the materialistic world and are on an equal footing with the consorts of emperumAn, the AzhwArs speak in the nature of the consorts of emperumAn.

Well known thamizh literature thirukkuRaL says “kadalanna kAmaththarAgilum mAdhar madalUrAr maRRaiyAr mEl” (even if their lust is as deep as the ocean, women will not engage in madal) and “kadalanna kAmamuzhandhum madalErAp peNNir perundhakkadhil” ( no birth is considered greater than that of those women who do not engage in madal even if they are troubled by lust). When it is clearly mentioned in such thamizh scriptures that it is the hallmark of women not to engage in madal, is it proper on the part of AzhwAr to assume the mood of a pirAtti and engage in madal?  If it happens that between men and women, only males have unabated love towards their beloved and that the women’s love towards their beloved is within limits, then what has been said in thamizh literature could be correct. However, in reality it does not seem to be the case as we see instances where the love towards their beloved is unabated for both men and women.  Thus, in line with samskrutham scriptures, which say that anyone can engage in madal if their love crosses boundaries, this pirAtti (AzhwAr in feminine mood) engages in madal.

While it is natural for both men and women to have uninhibited and unconstrained love towards their beloved, why did in thamizh literature such as tholkAppiyam (earliest known thamizh literature, composed more than 5000 years ago) thamizhas draw a line against madal? We do not know the reason for this restriction, just as we do not know the reason for a king’s order restraining manifestation of one’s desire. Since this AzhwAr himself has said in periya thirumadal “mAnOkkin anna nadaiyAr alarEsa Adavar mEl, mannu madalUrAr enbadhOr vAsagamum thennuraiyil kEttaRivadhuNdu, adhanai nAm theLiyOm mannum vadaneRiyE vENdinOm” (we have heard in thamizh scriptures that women, with the look of a doe and the gait of a swan, will not engage in madal over their beloved, as they would be abused; we not consider that to be apt; we would follow the method prescribed in the great samskrutham scriptures) we should consider that restriction imposed by thamizhas on women expressing their love has been done without knowing the nature of love (that it is unabated). 

These AzhwArs who have been blessed by SrIman nArAyaNan with knowledge and devotion (towards emperumAn) without any trace of ignorance will not follow the path of lust, if they have such knowledge. How is it that they are following lust which has been proscribed by the wise people? It is not the prAkruthakAmam (lust as seen in this materialistic world) that they preach in their prabandhams. It is rather the devotion towards bhagavAn as prescribed in upanishadhs such as bhruhadhAraNya upanishadh 4-4-5 “AthmA vA arE dhashtavya: SrOthravyO manthavyO nidhidhyAsithavya: (the supreme entity who is apt to be listened about and thought about, is the one who is to be meditated upon and is verily the one who is to be seen) which is referred to as lust here.

To the relatives of parakAla nAyaki (thirumangai AzvhAr in feminine mood) who tell her “The act of performing madal does not suit your feminine character that is made of total dependence towards SrIman nArAyaNan. Nor does it complement his supreme masculine qualities. What is apt for your feminine character is to wait for him to come on his own” parakAla nAyaki replies “I lost out my heart by getting engaged with the activities of that supreme entity which are attractive towards the heart. I had even remained steadfast saying ‘Let him come on his own. I will not engage in prohibited activities such as madal which will bring disrepute to his auspicious qualities’. Even then, he is not coming. I am unable to sustain myself in separation. Unless I engage in madal and attain him, I cannot sustain my life”. madal is stating one’s resolve like this. 

Instead of actually performing a madal, why should she express her resolve in performing the madal and procrastinate thereby?  It is because parakAla nAyaki has to (a) list out the reasons for engaging in madal, (b) make her relatives to agree to her action, (c) ensure that she does not destroy him who has great, auspicious qualities in a hurry and (d) allow time for him to come.

We will see the first part of this prabandham in the next article.

adiyen santhAna rAmAnuja dhAsan

 

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iyaRpA siRiya thirumadal

siRiya tirumadal – thaniyan

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muLLichezhumalarO(r) thArAn muLaimadhiyam
koLLikenuLLam kodhiyAmE – vaLLal
thiruvALan sIrkkaliyan kArkkaliyai vetti
maruvALan thandhAn madal

The thaniyan was composed by piLLai thirunaRaiyUr araiyar. The commentary to the thaniyan was written by piLLai lOkam jIyar. We will first see the preface to the thaniyan followed by the explanation of thaniyan itself.

Preface to thaniyan

There are two interpretations for the preface to thaniyan.

Interpretation 1

This would be when the first phrase is treated as “muLLi chezhu malarOr thArAn”. There are five entities which are collectively known as “SabdhAdhi vishayangaL”. These are Sabdha, sparSa, rUpa, rasa and gandham. Sabdham is sound; sparSa is touch; rUpa is form, rasa is taste and gandham is smell. These five are primarily responsible for controlling one’s heart. piLLAi thirunaRaiyUr araiyar celebrates thirumangai AzhwAr who gave us this work called “siRiya thirumadal”. With the help of “siRiya thirumadal”, piLLAi thirunarayiUr araiyar says that devotees who are at the service of the lotus feet of thirumangai AzhwAr, are able to control the unwanted desires which emanate because of “SabdhAdhi vishayangaL” and consequently they are able to focus their mind and heart towards SrIman nArAyaNan. In this interpretation, the purport is that the prabandham (set of verses) called “siRiya thirumadal” acts as sustenance for devotees who would otherwise destroy themselves due to pain of separation from SrIman nArAyaNan.

Interpretation 2

This would be when the first phrase is treated as “muLLi chezhu malarO thArAn”. There are devotees of thirumangai AzhwAr who cannot live by separating themselves from their beloved AzhwAr. thirumangai AzhwAr gave this work called “siRiya thirumadal” so that these devotees are able to sustain themselves and not indulge in materialistic pleasures which are controlled by “SabdhAdhi vishayangaL”. thirumangai AzvhAr used to wear a garland that was made of “muLLi” flowers. However, he did not give his devotees “muLLi” garland. Rather he gave them something that is even more spectacular which is nothing but the garland of verses called “siRiya thirumadal”.

Word-by-Word Meanings

sIrkkaliyan – thirumangai AzhwAr who is also known as “kali kanRi” is full of auspicious qualities
thArAn – someone who is decorated with garland
chezhum – fertile 
Or- unparalleled
muLLi malar – muLLi flowers
thiruvALan – having enormous wealth called “service to SrIman nArAyaNan”.
vaLLal – magnanimous
maruvALan – having a sword, fitting (in his hand)
vetti – obliterated
kArkkaliyai – the black and evil effects of kali (4th of the four yugas or ages).
madal thandhAn – gave the dhivya prabandham called “siRiya thirumadal”.
enuLLam – my heart
kodhiyAmE – without any suffering
muLai madhiyam koLLikku – for the beautiful fire which is the rising moon.

Explanation

muLLich chezhu malarO(r) thArAn – thirumangai AzhwAr, the king of “thirumangai” , is one who is seen adorned with unparalleled muLLi flowers which seem to have blossomed exclusively for him. Just as nammAzhwAr is celebrated as “vaguLaththArAnai” (thiruviruththam thaniyan) (one who wears the garland made of vaguLa (or magizhampU) flowers), thirumangai AzhwAr is referred to as “Or thArAn”. The reason for using the word “unparalleled”  as an adjective for the “muLLi” flowers is because even in separation, the thuLasi garland (which adorns emperumAn and) which torments the devotee in separation is no match for AzhwAr’s garland. The above description fits in line with the first interpretation of preface to thaniyan. Now, we will explore the meanings of the second interpretation of preface to thaniyan in which the phrase is “muLLich chezumalarO thArAn”. We are devotees of thirumangai AzhwAr. He does not give us the great muLLi flowers which he wears. Since thirumangai AzhwAr considers himself to be a servitor for us (because we are SrIvaishNavas), he gives us an even more spectacular gift – the garland of his verses known as “siRiya thirumadal”.

Why is he giving the madal?

muLaimadhiyam koLLikkenuLLam kodhiyAmE – The moon which has just risen will appear to scorch those people who are in love but are separated. So the moon that is usually connected with coolness, is now referred to as an object that scorches, similar to “koLLik kattai” (burning wood). Did not this AzhwAr too say in periya thirumozhi 2.7.3 “pOndha veN thiNgaL kadhir suda meliyum”? (the moon is similar to sun in that it scorches him throughout the night when he is separated from SrIman nArAyaNan).  Just as it is mentioned in the saying “chandhras chaNda kArayathE” moon becomes sun with singing (burning) action for other people in samsAram (who are separated).

Did not SrIrAmApirAn say in SrI rAmAyaNam kishkindhA kANdam 1-70 “yAni sma ramaNIyAni thayA saha bhAvanthi mE I thAnyEvAramaNIyAni jAyanthE mE thayA vinA II”? (all those places or objects which were pleasant to me when she (sIthAp pirAtti) was with me have become unpleasant when she is not with me)

The verse  “muLai madhiyam koLLi” could be considered either as muLai madhiyam koLLi or as muLai madhi am koLLi. muLai madhiyam koLLi would mean rising moon which is like a burning wood. muLai madhi am koLLi would mean rising moon which is like a  beautiful burning wood. am – beautiful. madhiyam – moon. Mentioning moon here is representative of the five entities which torment those who are in separation – moon, jasmine flowers, poetry in kurunji rAgam, wind that blows from the northern direction and a bed made of flowers. Did not nammAzhwAr say in thiruvAimozhi 9.9.1 “malligai kamazh thendRal IrumAlO vaN kuRunji isai thavarumAlO” (the southerly wind, with the fragrance of jasmine flower, appears to be cutting like a sword and the sweet kurinji musical tone appears to be drilling the skin) and in thiruvAimozhi 9.9.4  “vAdai thaN vAdai vevvAdai AlO mEvu thaN madhiyam vem madhiyamAlO men malarppaLLi vempaLLyAlO” (the northerly wind which is supposed to be cool appears to be spitting fire; moon, which is cool and is looked at desirously, appears to be with hot rays; the soft bed of flowers appears to be a bed of embers), thus bringing out all five entities mentioned above which torment those who are separated? Earlier, we saw that there are collectively five entities, known as “SabdhAdhi vishayangaL” which torture one’s heart. Similarly there is this set of five entities which torment people who are separated from their beloved.

The phrase muLai madhiyam koLLikku ennuLLam kodhiyAme is key to the two interpretations which were discussed in the preface to the thaniyan. This verse has to be set properly as mentioned below to get the meanings which had been explained earlier. 

Interpretation 1

The phrase muLai madhiyam koLLikku ennuLLam kodhiyAme should be set with muLLich chezhu malarO thArAn and so should be read as muLai madhiyam koLLikku ennuLLam kodhiyAmE muLLich chezhu malarO thArAn. This would mean, thirumangai AzhwAr gave “siRiya thirumadal” to us who are separated from SrIman nArAyaNan and are consequentially tormented and tortured by “SabdhAdhi vishayangaL”.

Interpretation 2

The phrase muLai madhiyam koLLi ennuLLam kodhiyAme should be joined with thandhAn madal and so should be read as muLAi madhiyam koLLikku ennuLLam kodhiyAmE thandhAn madal. thirumangai AzhwAr gave “siRiya thirumadal” to us, who are thirumangai AzhwAr’s devotees. He did not give the muLLi flowers which he decorated himself with. Instead he gave the garland of verses known as “siRiya thirumadal” with which we can continue to exist.

muLaimadhiyam koLLikkennuLLam kodhiyAmE thandhAn madal – What a great benefit did AzhwAr carry out for me so that my mind will not be singed by the rising moon which appeared like a burning wood for me!

Who gave such a benefit?

vaLLal thiruvALan – vaLLal – great, magnanimous person. Even when emperumAn did not help him, AzhwAr helped him. Hence he is magnanimous. thiruvALan – one who has the wealth of kainkaryam (service) to emperumAn.

vaLLal thiruvALan – In order to be called as vaLLal, one needs to have wealth. The composer of this thaniyan, piLLai thirunaRayUr araiyar, says that AzhwAr has wealth too. Even if one has wealth, one needs to have the quality of compassion in order to give. Even that quality is there, says the composer. 

sIrkkaliyan – If kalikanRi (thirumangai AzhwAr) who has qualities such as compassion etc, has to give the madal (leaf of palm tree), the surrounding thorns have to be snipped. The pAsuram says that he snipped the thorn of dark kali (kali is the last of four yugas, signifying ignorance). Darkness here refers to ignorance. Thus the opinion is that AzhwAr cut out kali which gives ignorance, since he is called as kalikanRi (one who cut out kali). To cut the thorns, one needs a sword. Does AzhwAr have this too?

maruvALan – one who has a drawn sword. One who has a sword, fitting well in his hand. When explained as a single word, the term vAL would refer to knowledge. The implied meaning is that AzhwAr cut the darkness of ignorance with the sword of true knowledge.

maruvALan – maru also refers to fragrance. AzhwAr enabled us to smell the fragrance of bhagavadh anubhavam (enjoying matters related to emperumAn). As a support for this, reference is made to thiruvAimozhi 8.9.10 “ivaL andhaNdhuzhAy kamazhdhal” (the reason for this nAyaki (leading lady) to acquire the fragrance of thiruththuzhAy (thuLasi) ….).

maruvALan – maru also refers to attaining. Thus, this would refer to AzhwAr attaining parama purushan (supreme being) as a natural quality in him. Alternatively, it could be said that he attained chEthanas (sentient entities). He fell head over heels, of his own volition, on chEthanas and ruled over them. Thus he gave the chEthanas madal in order to make them like himself. In the second interpretation discussed above, it could be assumed  that AzhwAr gave madal instead of mAlai (garland).  The significance of this is that while AzhwAr’s followers desire the garland which he had worn and removed, since AzhwAr considers himself to be a servitor to his followers, as mentioned in periya thirumozhi 3.7.7 “annaiyum aththanum enRu adiyOmukku irangiRRilan” (she is  not having pity on us who are her parents) he gave them the madal prabandham itself instead of the garland which he had worn.

We will go through the pravESam (introduction) for this prabandham in the next article.

adiyEn santhAna rAmAnuja dhAsan

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Arththi prabandham Other

Arththi prabandham – 60

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Introduction

mAmunigaL thinks to himself, “Why do we have to yearn for our goal/objective anymore? Everything that periya perumAL had bestowed emperumAnAr with, will automatically be applicable to us as well, as we are at the lotus feet of emperumAnAr. It automatically applies to us because we are the children of emperumAnAr”. Thus, in this final pAsuram, mAmunigAL is extremely gleeful as he is bestowed with all the things that emperumAnAr was given by periya perumAL.

maNavALa mAmunigAL thiruvadigaLE SaraNam!!!

pAsuram 60

indha arangaththu inidhu iru nIyenRu arangar
endhai ethirAsarkkIndha varam sindhai seyyil
nammadhanRO nenjame naRRAdhai sompudhalvar
thammadhanRO thAyamuRai thAn

Word-by-Word meanings

arangar – periya perumAL
indha arangaththu – in this kOyil (SrIrangam)
inidhu iru nIyenRu – told “SrIrangE sukhamAsva” (be happily settled in SrIrangam)
endhai ethirAsarkku – to my father emperumAnAr.
nenjamE – Hey my heart!!!
sindhai seyyil – If we were to thinking about this
indha varam – precious boon that was bestowed by periya perumAL to emperumAnAr
nammadhanRO – isn’t it true that the boon is actually ours too?
naRRAdhai – emperumAnAr is our causeless father.
thAyamuRai thAn – Because one’s parents’
sompudhalvar thammadhanRO – properties are automatically transferred to the sons.

(mAmunigaL says to his heart, “Hey! my dear heart. Hence, we do not have to do anything on our part. Everything is readily available by default. Our burden is not a burden anymore for us (implying that emperumAnAr will take care of the burden and that he in fact has taken care of mAmunigaL by granting him his wish).

Concluding Note

periya perumAL bestowed emperumAnAr with both HIS wealth namely nithya vibhUthi (paramapadham) and leelA vibhUthi (all the remaining places that are not paramapadham). Hence, emperumAnAr is celebrated as “SrI vishNu lOka maNi maNdapa mArgadhAyi” (dhAti panchakam 5). emperumAnAr is the leader of all prapannas. It is such emperumAnAr, that jIyar who is also known as “maNavALa mAmunigaL”, “yathIndra pravaNar”, surrendered himself totally. He performed prapaththi to emperumAnAr. He got the ultimate goal of going to paramapadham and doing eternal kainkaryam to bhagavAn (and bhAgavathAs). This would mean, this same result would be bestowed to everyone who has the abhimAnam of emperumAnAr. This effectively means that everyone who has surrendered unto the lotus feet of emperumAnAr would beget his love in the first place upon which they will be transcended to infinite bliss in paramapadham once and for all.

Simple Translation

In this final pAsuram, mAmunigaL is very happy because he knows that everything that he had asked for is readily available to him, thanks to his association with emperumAnAr. This was possible in the first place because periya perumAL had literally granted everything to emperumAnAr earlier as revealed by the verses in gadhya thrayam. As a child of emperumAnAr, mAmunigaL is very happy that all the boons (kainkaryam starting from the remainder of this life to doing kainkaryam at paramapdham) that periya perumAL bestowed emperumAnAr will be enjoyed by him (mAmunigaL) as well.

Explanation

mAmunigal tells his heart, “hey! My dear heart! Remember what periya perumAL told our father emperumAnAr! Remember HIS words from SaraNAgathi gadhyam. Firstly HE told, “dhvayam arthAnusandhAnEna sahasadhaivam vakthA yAvachcharIra pAdham aththraiva SrIrangE sukhamAsva”. After this, HE said something that starts from “SarIra pAdha samayEthu” and ending with “nithyakinkarO bhavishyasi mAthE bhUthathra samsaya: ithi mayayvahyuktham athasthvam thava thathvathO mathgyAna dharShanaprApthishU nissamsaya: sukhamAsva”. periya perumAL clearly bestowed our father emperumAnAr with everything needed to continue the reminder of his journey of life in this world as well as what he would get once he leaves this earth (which is nothing but kainkaryam in paramapadham). periya perumAL HIMSELF gave all these boon to emperumAnAr. If we were to closely examine this boon, we, the children of emperumAnAr, will automatically be entitled to these boons. This is because, all the properties of parents is automatically inherited by their children. Hence, my dear heart! We do not have to strive for anything on our own any longer. Everything is available readily to us, thanks to emperumAnAr. periya perumAL bestowed emperumAnAr with both HIS wealth namely nithya vibhUthi (paramapadham) and leelA vibhUthi (all the remaining places that are not paramapadham). Hence, emperumAnAr is celebrated as “SrI vishNu lOka maNi maNdapa mArgadhAyi” (dhAti panchakam 5). emperumAnAr is the leader of all prapannas. Towards such emperumAnAr, jIyar who is also known as “maNavALa mAmunigaL”, “yathIndra pravaNar”, surrendered himself totally. He performed prapaththi to emperumAnAr. He got the ultimate thing of going to paramapadham and doing eternal kainkaryam to bhagavAn (and bhAgavathas). This would mean, this same result would be bestowed to everyone who has the abhimAnam of emperumAnAr. This effectively means that everyone who has surrendered unto the lotus feet of emperumAnAr would beget his love as a starting point, upon which they will be transcended to infinite bliss in paramapadham once and for all.

There are lots of times when mAmunigaL exclaims “ethirAsA! ethirAsA!”. mAmunigaL sends the message that emperumAnAr is the leader of yathis. All his Sishyas heap praises on their leader “yathirAja” by chanting his names constantly. mAmunigaL feels that he is also one among the Sishyas and hence he is also entitled to chant his names constantly as per “yadhyassudhasathvA:”. Hence, mAmunigal always advocates to tell his name “ethirAsa! ethirAsA”.

jIyar thiruvadigaLE SaraNam

adiyEn santhAnam ramanuja dasan

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Arththi prabandham Other

Arththi prabandham – 59

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mAmunigaL says “I understood the relationship between me and your lotus feet (thanks to my AchAryan thiruvAimozhip piLLai). When will you destroy this mortal coil of mine, after which periya perumAL (who does things that is the best for the soul) comes on garudan and displays HIS face to me? emperumAnArE, please tell me when you will do that?”

pAsuram 59

endhai thiruvarangar ErAr garudan mEl
vandhu mugam kAtti vazhi nadaththach chindhai seydhu
ippollA udambuthanai pOkkuvadhu ennALkolo?
sollAy ethirAsA! sUzhndhu!!!

Word-by-Word Meanings:

endhai – (During the time when this soul leaves the body) my mother and father
thiruvarangar – i.e., periya perumAL, who is known through his dwelling place of kOyil (SrIrangam)
mugam kAtti –, will show my favorite aspects that include HIS kasthUri thilakam, smiling face etc.
vandhu – by coming unto me
ErAr garudan mEl – on top of HIS beautiful garudan.
vazhi nadaththa – and usher me into the glorious path known as “archirAdhi mArgam”
ethirAsA! – emperumAnArE
sollAy – please tell me
ippollA udambuthanai pOkkuvadhu ennALkolo? – When is the day that this despicable body of mine will get destroyed and the soul will be deemed for you?
chindhai seydhu – Please think about
sUzhndhu – and elucidate me on that so that I will be happy about the concreteness of it. Please think about it.

Simple Translation

mAmunigaL asks for the exact day when SrI rAmAnuja will take his body and liberate his soul, to be dedicated exclusively to him. He asks when has he decided for that to happen. He also describes what will happen during his final moments. He says that periya perumAL, who is at SrIrangam, will come on top of HIS beautiful garudan and usher him to HIS paramapadham via “archirAdhi mArgam”.

Explanation

mAmunigaL asks, “hey! SrI rAmAnuja! When is the day that you are going to destroy this body of mine that is the sole determinant to be liberated? During the time the soul leaves the body, I will see my mother and father periya perumAL whose sheer existence is revealed by his dwelling in “kOyil” or “SrIrangam”. HE will come on top of HIS extremely beautiful garudan that is described as “am chirai puL pAgan (thirunedunthANdagam 6)”. HE will show me my favorite aspects that include the likes of HIS kasthUri thilakam, HIS beautiful smile that is described as “nal kadhir muththa veNNagaich cheyavAy (periya thirumozhi 4.4.5) and HIS moon like face. HE, who is described as “the lovable companion at SrIrangam” or “arangathuRaiyum inthuNaivanAna thAm (periya thirumozhi 3.7.6)”, will usher me to paramapadham as in “nayAmi paramAm gatham (varAha charama SlOlam) via the path known as “archirAdhi mArgam”. As nammAzhvAr said “un charaNam thandhu en sanmam kaLaiyAyE (thiruvAimozhi 5.8.7)”, emperumAnArE!!! When are you going to offer your lotus feet to me and put a full stop to my cycle of birth and deaths forever? When are you going to take my body and make this soul exclusively for you? In SrI rAmAyaNam, SrI rAma was given a clear cut time of 14 years to come back to HIS kingdom of ayOdhya in the phrase “pUrNE chathurdhasE varshE”. bharatha was consoled by this as he had a definitive time frame as to when SrI rAma would be back. As per the phrase “ArurOharatham hrushta:” he was able to get some happiness because of the light at the end of a tunnel. However, I am not able to bear any more of these consolatory times. So, please tell an answer that will make me happy. The word “sUzhndhu” here has the same connotation when it was used in the phrase “avAvarach chUzh” (thiruvAimozhi 10.10.11) and “sollu nIyAm aRiyach chUzndhu (periya thiruvandhAdhi 16)”.

adiyEn santhAnam ramanuja dasan

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Arththi prabandham Other

Arththi prabandham – 58

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Introduction

mAmunigaL in his last pAsuram said “thiruvAimozhip piLLai vAsamalarth thAL adaindha vaththu”. mAmunigaL celebrated himself as a “vasthu” (an entity in the first place) that sought the lotus feet of thiruvAimozhip piLLai. He says that there is more to it. It is because of his association with thiruvAimozhip piLLai (AchAryan – Sishya relationship), he was able to recognize, appreciate and understand the significance of the relationship with SrI rAmAnujA.

pAsuram 58

endhai thiruvAimozhip piLLai innaruLAl
undhan uRavai uNarththiya pin indha uyirkku
ellA uRavum nI enRE ethirAsA
nillAdhadhu uNdO en nenju

Word-by-Word Meanings

endhai – (mAmunigaL says) “There is a popular phrase that goes like “thirumanthram mAthAvum, pithA AchAryanum enRu aruLich cheyvargaL”. Based on that my father thiruVaimozhip piLLai.
thiruvAimozhip piLLai – his
innaruLAl – causeless mercy
undhan uRavai – (made me understand) all kinds of relations at your (SrI rAmAnuja’s) lotus feet
indha uyirkku – that this soul shares.
uNarththiya pin – After protecting me by making me realize my ignorance in the first place,
ethirAsA – emperumAnArE!!!
nI enRE – Isn’t it you?
ellA uRavum – who is referred in all the possible relationships that are implicit in thirumanthram?
en nenju  nillAdhadhu uNdO – (Having said that) Will there ever be a condition when, my  heart will be wavering? (The answer is an obvious no). It behooves us to take cognizance of the opportune phrases in “thandhai naRRAi thAram thanayar perunjelvam endhanakku nIyE” and “allAdha suRRamumAgi”

Simple Translation

mAmunigaL says that it is because of his AchAryan and spiritual father thiruvAimozhip piLLai’s grace that he was able to realize all the different relationship that his soul shares with SrI rAmAnuja. His grace removed all the ignorance he had hitherto and thereby protecting him. After this, mAmunigaL questions will there ever be a condition when his heart would be wavering? The answer is a clear no.

Explanation

mAmunigaL says, “There is a popular phrase that goes like “thirumanthram mAthAvum, pithA AchAryanum enRu aruLich cheyvargaL”. Based on that my spiritual father thiruvAimozhip piLLai’s causeless mercy made me understand, all kinds of relations at your (SrI rAmAnuja’s) lotus feet that this soul shares. Hey emperumAnArE!!! After protecting me by making me realize my ignorance in the first place, isn’t it you who is referred in all the possible relationships that are implicit in thirumanthram? Having said that, will there ever be a condition when, my  heart will be wavering? (The answer is an obvious no). It behooves us to take cognizance of the opportune phrases in “thandhai naRRAi thAran thanayar perunjelvam endhanakku nIyE (Arththi prabandham 3)” and “allAdha suRRamumAgi (Arththi prabandham 54)”.

adiyEn santhAnam ramanuja dasan

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Arththi prabandham Other

Arththi prabandham – 57

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mAmunigaL in this pAsuram, assumes that SrI rAmAnuja has a question in his mind and answers him in this pAsuram. The imaginary question that mAmunigaL thinks is running in SrI rAmAnuja’s head is as follows. SrI rAmAnuja asks, “hey mAmunigaL! I have heard your requests. You ask me to do a list of things. Can I ask you something? On what basis/recommendation do you ask me? Do you have any strong background / recommendation for your claims? Is there anyone?”. To this question mAmunigaL answers, “Yes. I deemed myself as a thing in the first place after having surrendered to my AchAryan ‘thiruvAimozhip piLLai’. That is my greatest qualification. Please consider that sole diamond I have. Hey emperumAnAre! You do not look at my flaws. As they say, ‘yathIsvara SruNu Sriman krupayA parayA thava’, please lend your ears toward my low words”.

pAsuram 57

dhEsigargaL pORRum thiruvAimozhip piLLai
vAsamalar thAL adaindha vaththuvennum
nEsaththAl en pizhaigaL kANA ethirAsarE
adiyEn punpagarvai kELum poRuththu

Word-by-Word Meanings:

vAsamalar thAL adaindha vaththuvennum – I am a thing (vasthu) who surrendered at the divinely fragrant and soft lotus feet of
dhEsigargaL pORRum thiruvAimozhip piLLai – thiruvAimozhip piLLai, who is celebrated by ancestors as “senthamizh vEdhath thirumalaiyAzhvAr vAzhi”. HE is the person who expressed deep and unshakable servitude to nammAzhvAr and his scriptures. He spent his livelihood dwelling on nammAzhvAr’s nectarine pAsurams.
nEsaththAl – Because of this association
ethirAsarE – emperumAnArE!!!
kELum – please listen to
adiyEn – my
punpagarvai – lowly words
en pizhaigaL kANA – without seeing my flaws and not focusing about it at all
poRuththu – and without bursting out

Simple Translation

mAmunigaL requests SrI rAmAnuja to look at the great association the former has with thiruvAimozhip piLLai (his AchAryan). He asks SrI rAmAnuja to ignore his flaws, and listen to his lowly words without expressing any burst of anger.

Explanation

mAmunigal says to SrI rAmAnuja, “I am a thing (vasthu) who surrendered at the divinely fragrant and soft lotus feet of thiruvAimozhip piLLai, who is celebrated by ancestors as “senthamizh vEdhath thirumalayAzhvAr vAzhi”. HE is the person who expressed deep and unshakeable servitude to nammAzhvAr and his scriptures. He spent his livelihood dwelling on nammAzhvAr’s nectarine pAsurams.

emperumAnArE!!! Because of this association, please listen to my lowly words without seeing my flaws and not focusing about it at all and without bursting out.

adiyEn santhAnam ramanuja dasan

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Arththi prabandham Other

Arththi prabandham – 56

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In the previous pAsuram, mAmunigaL said “madhurakavi sorppadiyE nilayAgap peRROm”. In relation to that and as a logical next step to it, in this pAsuram, he requests for eternal service at the lotus feet of emperumAnAr.

pAsuram 56

undhan abhimAnamE uththArakam enRu
sindhai theLindhirukka cheydha nI
andhO yathirAsA! nOygaLal ennai nalakkAmal
sadhirAga nin thiruththAL thA

Word-by-Word Meanings

ethirAsA! – hey the leader of yathis (ascetics)!!!
undhan abhimAnamE uththArakam enRu – As piLLai lOkAchAryar says “AchArya abhimAnamE uththArakam (SrI vachana bhUshaNam 447), the devotion and care that you (emperumAnAr) have towards me is the sole determining factor for a soul’s upliftment.
sindhai theLindhirukka cheydha nI – This point has been etched in my mind forever. As they say, “theLivuRRa sindhaiyar (thiruvAimozhi 7.5.11)”, you (emperumAnAr) had blessed my heart to be pure (without any dirt) forever.
andhO – Alas!!!
thA – You have to bestow
ennai – me
sadhirAga – intelligently
nin thiruththAL – (with service) to your lotus feet
nalakkAmal – without being affected
nOygaLal – with sufferings

Simple Translation

mAmunigaL requests kainkaryam at the lotus feet of emperumAnAr. This is following to what he said in the previous pAsuram “madhurakavi sorppadiyE nilayAgap peRROm”. He says that it was emperumAnAr who bestowed him with the knowledge about “what AchAryan thinks about you and how much devoted he is about you is what matters”. Even this knowledge is able to live in my mind and heart through his grace. Alas! He requests all his sufferings to end and requests emperumAnAr to smartly make a move and take him unto his lotus feet.

Explanation

mAmunigaL says “hey! the leader of yathis. You are the person who preached and bestowed me with the knowledge of the phrase “AchArya abhimAnamE uththArakam (srivachanabhUshaNam 447). Based on that, your love and devotion towards me counts as everything for me. This philosophy has been so rooted in me as described in “theLivuRRa sindhaiyar (thiruvAimozhi 7.5.11)”. With your blessings, I am living by it. Alas! Please do not make me suffer more with pains in this world. As you said in SaraNAgathi gadhyam, “sukhEnEmAm prakruthim sthUla sUkshma rUpAm visrujya”, you should take me intelligently to your lotus feet and bless me with eternal service to them as per “un padha yugamAm yEr koNda vIdu (rAmAnusa nURRanthAdhi 83).

adiyEn santhAnam ramanuja dasan

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Arththi prabandham Other

Arththi prabandham – 55

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As a true Sishya and an ardent follower, one needs to be cognizant of two things viz.,

(a) thinking about all the benefits one’s AchAryan has done unto him and

(b) interest towards any deed that the AchAryan will do to him in the future.

This pAsuram specifically talks about the former. mAmunigAL celebrates the glorious qualities that emperumAnAr gave him. He lists them and eventually says that it is because of emperumAnAr’s grace that he was able to get these qualities.

pAsuram 55

thennarangar sIr aruLukku ilakkAgap peRROm
thiruvarangam thirupadhiyE iruppAgap peRROm
manniya sIr mARankalai uNavAgap peRROm
madhurakavi soRpadiyE nilaiyAgap peRROm
munnavarAm nankuravar mozhigaLuLLap peRROm
muzhudhum namakkavai pozhudhupOkkAgap peRROm
pinnai onRu thanil nenju pErAmaRpeROm
piRar minukkam poRAmayillAp perumaiyum peRROmE!!!

Word-by-Word Meanings

ilakkAgap peRROm – (We) became the target of
sIr aruLukku – causeless mercy of
thennarangar – periya perumAL, who is reclining south facing in the direction of SrIlankA, in a place that is very pleasing to the eyes and is known by the name of “kOyil”, where HE captivated HIS devotees by blessing them (“aruL koduthittu adiyavarai AtkkoLvAn amarum Ur (periyAzhvAr thirumozhi 4.9.3))
iruppAgap peRROm – (We) got the glorious opportunity of being permanent residents of
thiruvarangam thirupadhiyE – SrIrangam that is described as “thennAdum vadanAdum thozha ninRa thiruvarangam thiruppadhi (periyAzhvAr thirumozhi 4.9.11)”, “ArAmam sUzhndha arangam (siRiya thirumadal 71)”, “thalaiyarangam (iraNdAm thiruvandhAdhi 70)”. It is the chief of all the 108 dhivyadhEsams.
uNavAgap peRROm – (We) Our food is
kalai – the nectarine pAsurams of (nectarine for devotees that serves as garland for the Lord)
mARan – nammAzhvAr
manniya sIr – who is full of auspicious qualities starting with parabhakti etc
nilaiyAgap peRROm – (We) attained the last frontier of “charama parva nishtai”, that is celebrated as “yathIndhramEva nIrandhram hishEvE dhaivathambaram” etc. Myself and my associates started to talk about it “unnayozhiya oru dheyvam maRRaRiyA mannupugazh sEr vaduganambi thannilaiyai (Arththi prabandham 11)”).
soRpadiyE – (This tenet of charama parva nishtai (regarding one’s AchAryan as everything) is derived from the) divine words of
madhurakavi – madhurakavi AzhvAr who said “thEvu maRRaRiyEn (kaNNinun chiRuth thAmbu 2)”. (We got to live and abide by the tenets of the great madhurakavi AzhvAr).
munnavarAm nankuravar mozhigaLuLLap peRROm – We got to live, breathe and explore our ancestors’ works, their divine and esoteric purports. These are the works of AchAryas who lived by the way shown by AzhvArs.
muzhudhum namakkavai pozhudhupOkkAgap peRROm – (We) spent our times dwelling on that (works). Our minds does not go to anything that is not these divine works of our ancestors.
pinnai nenju pErAmaRpeROm – Our hearts and minds were so grounded to these works our ancestors that it never went behind
onRu thanil – any of the other works apart from our ancestors’ works.
piRar minukkam poRAmaiyillA – If the aforementioned qualities of ours that we got by the grace of emperumAnAr is placed on one side of a balance, then this one that am going to say would equal or weigh more than all of the above together. If such a rare SrIvaishnava is found with all of the aforementioned qualities, as described by “ippadi irukkum  SrIvaishNavargaL ERRam aRindhu ugandhu irukkaiyum (mumukshupadi dhvaya prakaNam 116)”, then we never become jealous seeing them. Such is our glory that was bestowed upon us by emperumAnAr.
perumaiyum peRROmE – We got this! Alas! What a great fortune to have gotten this , thanks to emperumAnAr’s causeless mercy.

Simple Translation

In this pAsuram, mAmunigaL celebrates the mercy of emperumAnAr. He adds that it is because of his (emperumAnAr’s) infinite mercy towards him that he got some treasured qualities in him. mAmunigaL starts by saying that they (himself and his SrIvaishNava associates) was chosen as the target of periya perumAL’s infinite blessings. They got the glorious opportunity of being in SrIrangam, the chief of all 108 dhivya dhESams. They got the rare blessings to eat, drink, breathe nammAzhvAr’s works day in and day out. They got the choicest blessings to live by the tenets propounded by madhurakavi Azhvar, i.e,. charama parva nishtai (regarding one’s AchAryan as everything). This happens to the rarest of the rarest cases. They got to explore and live by the words of their ancestors who in fact lived by the words of AzhvArs. They also did not go anywhere else apart from SrIvaishNava scriptures. They spent their lives living by it. Lastly, but most importantly, if they were to meet such a SrIvaishNava with all these aforementioned qualities, they would never get an iota of jealousy in them. They would be very happy about them. mAmunigaL says that all these fortunes that they got is solely due to the blessings of emperumAnAr.

Explanation

mAmunigaL says, “We became the target of the causeless mercy of periya perumAL, who is reclining south facing in the direction of Sri Lanka, in a place that is very pleasing to the eyes and is known by the name of “kOyil”, where HE captivated HIS devotees by blessing them (“aruL koduthittu adiyavarai AtkkoLvAn amarum Ur (periyAzhvAr thirumozhi 4.9.3). We got the glorious opportunity of being permanent residents of SrIrangam that is described as “thennAdum vadanAdum thozha ninRa thiruvarangam thiruppadhi (periyAzhvAr thirumozhi 4.9.11)”, “ArAmam sUzhndha arangam (siriya thirumadal 71)”, “thalaiyarangam (iraNdAm thiruvandhAdhi 70)”. It is the chief of all the 108 dhivyadhESams. Our food is the nectarine pAsurams of (nectarine for devotees that serves as garland for the Lord) nammAzhvAr, who is full of auspicious qualities starting with parabhakthi etc. We attained the last frontier of “charama parva nishtai”, that is celebrated as “yathIndhramEva nIrandhram hishEvE dhaivathambaram” etc. Myself and my associates started to talk about it “unnaiyozhiya oru dheyvam maRRaRiyA mannupugazh sEr vaduganambi thannilaiyai (Arththi prabandham 11”). This tenet of charama parva nishtai (regarding one’ AchAryan as everything) is derived from the) divine words of madhurakavi who said “thEvu maRRaRiyEn (kaNNinun chiruth thAmbu 2)”. We got to live and abide by the tenets of the great madhurakavi AzhvAr, who is described as “avargaLaich chiriththiruppAr oruvar uNdirE (SrIvachana bhUshaNam 409) referring to madhurakavi AzhvAr (He is a person who would laugh at the 10 AzhvArs because of lack of reliability in their approach towards reaching perumAL. Their approach is via perumAL himself whereas in the case of madhurakavi AzhvAr everything is nammAzhvAr for him). We got to live, breathe and explore our ancestors’s works, their divine and esoteric purports. These are the works of AchAryas who lived by the way shown by AzhvArs. We spent our times dwelling on those (works). Our minds do not go to anything that is not these divine works of our ancestors. Our hearts and minds were so grounded to these works of our ancestors that it never went behind any of the other works apart from our ancestors’ works.

If the aforementioned qualities of ours that we got by the grace of emperumAnAr is placed on one side of a balance, then this one that I am going to say would equal or weigh more than all of the above together. If such a rare SrIvaishnava is found with all of the aforementioned qualities thus far in this pAsuram, as described by “ippadi irukkum SrIvaishNavargaL ERRam aRindhu ugandhu irukkaiyum (mumukshupadi dwayaprakaNam 116)”, then we never get any jealous seeing them. Such is our glory that was bestowed upon us by emperumAnAr. We got this! Alas! What a great fortune to have gotten this, thanks to emperumAnAr’s causeless mercy.

adiyEn santhAnam ramanuja dasan

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Arththi prabandham Other

Arththi prabandham – 54

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Introduction

mAmunigaL continued to plead with SrI rAmAnuja in the earlier pAsuram and request him to uplift from this world and get him liberated. mAmunigaL knew that SrI rAmAnuja would yield to his requests. However, that does not suffice for mAmunigaL. It is because, as they say “oru pagal Ayiram UzhiyAy (thiruvAimozhi 10.3.1)”, each passing moment for mAmunigaL in this world feels like eons. mAmunigaL requests SrI rAmAnuja, “You are my relative of all sorts. You should not let me go through this suffering with this body in this world. I do not know when will you liberate me from this place and transport me to the place where there is infinite bliss (paramapadham)”.

pAsuram 54

innam eththanai nAL ivvudambudan
irundhu nOvu padakkadavEn aiyO
ennai idhininRum viduviththu nIr
enRu thAn thirunAttinuL yERRuvIr
annaiyum aththanum allAdha suRRamum Agi
ennai aLiththaruL nAdhanE
en idhaththai irAppagal inRiyE
EgameNNum ethirAsa vaLLalE !!!

Word-by-Word Meanings

nAdhanE – Hey!!! my master
aLiththaruL – (You) bless
ennai – me
Agi – by being my
annaiyum – mother who shows priyam,
aththanum – (by being) a father who does hitham and
allAdha suRRamum – (by being) all those desirable and closely knit relations.
ethirAsa vaLLalE – the magnanimous leader of all yathis (ascetics), one who is known as “emperumAnAr”!!!
irAppagal inRiyE EgameNNum – (One who) thinks day and night with undivided attention about
en – my
idhaththai – wish (only thost that  proves good for me)
(Even after falling at your lotus feet)
eththanai nAL – how much
innam – longer
nOvu padakkadavEn – I have to suffer
ivvudambudanE irundhu – in (with) this body?
aiyO – alas!!!
viduviththu – Please liberate
ennai – me
idhininRum – from this body that serves as the obstacle!!!
enRu thAn – when will
nIr – you
ERRuvIr – carry me to
thirunAttinuL – paramapadham?

Simple Translation

In this pAsuram, mAmunigaL says that emperumAnAr is his mother, father and his every kind of good relative. He always thinks about the well being of mAmunigaL. Hence, mAmunigaL asks him when he will be liberated from this bondage and grant him paramapadham, the place of infinite bliss? How long should he suffer with this body in this world.

Explanation

mAmunigaL says, “As madhurakavi AzhvAr said ‘annaiyAy aththanAy ennai ANdidum thanmaiyAn (kaNNinun chiruth thAmbu 4)’, emperumAnArE! You are my mother who showers a lot of love to her child. You are my father who wishes for all good things for his child. You are my closely knit relative who leads a life of high valued principles. You are the leader of the yathis! As they say, “en manamEgamennum irAppagalinRiyE (thiruvAimozhi 9.3.7)”, you think about my well being day and night with undivided attention. Even after surrendering unto your lotus feet as described in “unakkAtppattum adiyEn innum uzhalvEnO (thiruvAimozhi 5.8.10)”, how much longer am I supposed to suffer with this mortal coil of mine in this world? Alas!!! When will you liberate me from this obstacle called “body” and liberate me to paramapadham, the place of infinite bliss? That day will be one unparalleled day. vaLLal would mean – a magnanimous person to whom one cannot reciprocate anything for the good deeds he did.

adiyEn santhAnam ramanuja dasan

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Arththi prabandham Other

Arththi Prabandham – 53

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

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Introduction

In the previous pAsuram, mAmunigaL described how periya perumAL would come unto him during his final moments of leaving his mortal coil in this world. He said that periya perumAL would in fact come on HIS transport viz periya thiruvadi. This raises the questions “OK. What will mAmunigaL do in the mean time until his final moments come where periya perumaL would be present?”. mAmunigaL says “for that ultimate moment to happen, this body of mine, that is the source of all sins and subsequent sufferings in this world, has to fall. I cannot forever be suffering the pains caused by the sins which is in turn triggered by the very existence of this physical body. So, hey SrI rAmAnuja!!!, You give me what is needed and best. You should liberate me from this world that is so filled with troubles and pain”.

pAsuram 53

idhaththAlE thennarangar seygiRadhu enRaRindhE
irundhAlum thaRkAla vEdhanaiyin kanaththAl
padhaiththu AvO ennum indhap pAva udambudanE
pala nOvum anubaviththu ippavaththu irukkappOmO?
madhaththAlE valvinaiyin vazhi uzhanRu thirindha
valvinaiyEn thannai unakku ALAkkik koNda
idhath thAyum thandhaiyumAm ethirAsA! Ennai
inik kaduga ippavaththininRum eduththaruLE!!!

Word-by-Word Meanings

idhaththAlE – Because of “hitham” (quality of always thinking and doing that which is good towards a person)
thennarangar – periya perumAL (SrI ranganAthan)
seygiRadhu enRaRindhE irundhAlum – out of his mercy, is letting me suffer the wrath of my karma. Though I know that HE is doing this for my good,
thaRkAla vEdhanaiyin kanaththAl – the sufferings that I had to undergo at that point in time (momentary pain), makes me
padhaiththu – writhed with pain and
AvO ennum – utter exclamations like “hA”, “Oh” that are clearly representative sounds of sufferings and pain.
irukkappOmO? – will I be able to live
ippavaththu – in this samsAram (mundane world)?
indhap pAva udambudanE – with this body that is a sin by itself
pala nOvum anubaviththu – and continue to suffer a multitude of sufferings?
madhaththAlE – Due to the association with this body
valvinaiyin vazhi uzhanRu thirindha – (I have) wandered in the path set by my karmAs and continued that endless journey.
valvinaiyEn thannai – Me, the most cruel sinner of all
ALAkkik koNda – was made your servant by you (emperumAnAr)
unakku – who is the base for all souls.
idhath thAyum – (You did this as) my mother who does “hitham” and also as my
thandhaiyumAm – father.
ethirAsA! – hey! emperumAnArE!!!
ini – here after
kaduga – quickly
eduththaruLE – uplift and liberate
ennai – me
ippavaththininRum – from this samsAram

Simple Meanings

mAmunigaL continues to plead to SrI rAmAnuja to get him liberated. He realizes that his sufferings are because periya perumAL, out of his good nature, wants the effects of his karma to be finished and so is letting him suffer. mAmunigaL says that though he is able to understand why periya perumAL is doing that, he says at the time of suffering the wrath of karma, it is unbearable. It is because of his association with the body that he is into this endless journey filled with thorns of pain. Hence, he requests SrI rAmAnuja, who is his  mother as well as the father, to get him liberated from this sinful world as quickly as possible.

Explanation

mAmunigaL says – As mentioned in the pAsuram “ArapperunthuyarE seydhidinum (gyAna sAram 21)” and similar pAsurams, I do understand that it is because of HIS “hitham” (the quality of always thinking and doing only what is good towards a person), and his blessing that I am suffering a lot (that is because the karmas need to be gone somehow and so one has to undergo the suffering). Even though I realize this and understand it, when it comes to that time of suffering, it pains me a lot. It pains me so much that I exclaim words like “hA” and “Oh” that clearly shows how frustrating it is. I am uttering these words with this body that is the verily the source of all sins. I am suffering like this in this world for a long time. Is it appropriate for me to be like this forever? As thirumangai AzhvAr says “pAvamE seydhu pAvi AnEn (periya thirumozhi 1.9.9)”, I am committing nothing but sins. I am doing that because of my association with this body. I am being pulled into the path in which my body pulls, which unfortunately is filled with sins. As a result, I am reaping the effects of my incessant sins and am writhing each and every moment of this journey. However emperumAnArE!!! You my father and mother who does things for me for my overall betterment out of your “hitham” quality, you have blessed me and approved me. Hence, I request you to uplift me from my incessant sufferings and get me liberated from the shackles of this samsAram.

adiyEn santhAnam ramanuja dasan

archived in http://divyaprabandham.koyil.org

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