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mUnRAm thiruvandhAdhi – 49 – seRRadhuvum sErA

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

avathArikai

AzhwAr asks whether these alone are the tasks that he had undertaken for his followers and replies that there are many others too.

Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings:

seRRadhuvum sErA iraNiyanai senrERRup
peRRadhuvum mAnilam pinnaikkAy muRRal
muriyERRin munninRu moymbozhiththAy mUrich
churiyERu sanginAy sUzhndhu

Word by Word Meanings

pinnaikkAy – for the sake of nappinnai (incarnation of emperumAn’s consort neeLA dhEvi)
muRRal – being strong
muri – running (here and there)
ERRin – the seven bulls’
mun ninRu – standing in front (without fear)
sUzhndhu – analysing (the way of killing them)
moymbu ozhiththAy – Oh one who annihilated their strength!
mUri – being large
suri ERu – being curved inside
sanginAy – Oh one who is holding the conch in the divine hand!
sErA iraNiyanai – hiraNya kashyap who could not live with you
seRRadhuvum (nI anRE) – was it not you who killed him!
senRu – going (to mahAbali)
mA nilam – the expansive earth
ERRu – taking as alms
peRRadhuvum (nI anRE) – was it not you who obtained that!

vyAkyanam

seRRadhuvum sErA iraNiyanai – the entity who emperumAn killed was hiraNya kashyap who was incongruent with him. Or, it can be construed that hiraNya could not fit with emperumAn’s followers. Or, we can construe it as emperumAn killing hiraNya kashyap, being unable to tolerate the way that hiraNya kashyap was following in destroying himself by engaging in cruel activities and accumulating sins.

senRu ERRup peRRadhuvum mAnilam – going to mahAbali, emperumAn sought as alms his own possession of the worlds and felt very joyous on obtaining it, as if he had got something that he could never have got otherwise.

pinnaikkAy muRRal muri ERRin munninRu moymbozhiththAy sUzhndhu – in order to marry nappinnai, you stood in front of the seven raging, strong bulls and destroyed their strength.

sUzhndhu – waiting, for an opportune moment. Or we can construe it as sUzhndhu azhiththAy which would indicate his strength in destroying them.

muri – raging bulls, moving here and there

mUrich churiyERu sanginAy – was it not emperumAn who had the expansive, curling conch in his divine hand who surrounded the bulls and killed them! He killed them with his own hands, in an appropriate way.

pinnaikkAy – since he was infatuated with the beauty of nappinnai, unmindful of the danger that was coming his way, he stood in front of the raging bulls.

We will move on to the 50^th pAsuram next.

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

mUnRAm thiruvandhAdhi – 48 – nIyanRE nIrERRu

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

avathArikai

emperumAn tells AzhwAr “Oh AzhwIr! I am not aware of all these matters which you are saying” to which AzhwAr responds saying “Oh emperumAn! Then, who else carried out all these activities!”.

Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings:

nIyanRE nIrERRu ulagam adi aLandhAy
nIyanRE ninRu nirai mEyththAy niyanRE
mAvAyuram piLandhu mAmarudhinUdu pOyth
thEvAsuram porudhAy seRRu

Word by Word Meanings

nIr ERRu – accepting water as symbolic of alms (from mahAbali)
ulagam – all the worlds
adi aLandhAy nI anRE – was it not you who measured with your divine feet?
ninRu – being focussed on protection
nirai – herds of cows
mEyththAy nI anRE – was it not you who grazed them?
mA – the demon kESi who came in the form of a horse
vAy uram – the strength of his mouth
piLandhu – destroying it
mA marudhin Udu pOy – going between the twin arjuna trees and uprooting them
dhEvAsuram – in the war between celestial and demonic entities
seRRu – destroying (the demons)
porudhAy nI anRE – was it not you who waged the war!

vyAkyanam

nIyanRE nIr Erru ulagam adi aLandhAy – was it not you who went as a mendicant to mahAbali to take as alms the worlds which are your possessions, stretched out your hand to accept water that he poured, and measured the worlds with your divine feet! Did I carry out this task? Or did indhra carry out this?

nIyanRE ninRu nirai mEyththAy – was it not you who incarnated as krishNa [in the clan of cowherds] and followed the cows with a stick in hand in order to graze them! Did I carry out this activity or did someone else do this?

nIyanRE mAvAy uram piLandhu – was it not you who tore the mouth of kESi, the demon, who came in the form of a horse! (mA vAy uram piLandhu – he tore the mouth of kESi such that the strength of the mouth was demolished) That he carried out that task effortlessly when he went to graze the cows is mentioned here.

mAmarudhin Udu pOy – when two demons, yamaLa and arjuna, stood in the form of two huge arjuna trees, you crawled in between the two trees and uprooted them, thus escaping from that danger too.

dhEvAsuram porudhAy seRRu – was it only the insentient entities that you destroyed? Did you not destroy the sentient enemies too? When a war broke out between the celestial and demonic entities, was it not you who engaged in the battle, destroying the demons? But then, is it not mentioned that it was only Siva who burnt the three towns? It does not appear that way to AzhwAr. Just as it is mentioned in mahAbhAratham karNa parvam 29 “vishNurAthmA bhagavatha: bhavasyAmitha thasmAth thanurjyAsamsarkkam sa vishEhE mahESvara:” ((during the time of burning the three towns) vishNu remained as antharAthmA (the indwelling soul) of Siva, who has unlimited radiance and is venerable. It is because of this that Siva had the capability to draw the bow), since emperumAn is the antharyAmi (indwelling soul) of all entities, it was emperumAn who carried out this task too, says AzhwAr.

We will take up the 49^th pAsuram next.

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

mUnRAm thiruvandhAdhi – 47 – ninRa perumAnE

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

avathArikai

AzhwAr says that it is emperumAn, who fulfilled the desires of celestial entities, who also removes the enemies of lowly entities such as ourselves and makes us his servitors.

Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings:

ninRa perumAnE nIrERRu ulagellAm
senRa perumAnE sengaNNA anRu
thuragavAy kINda thuzhAy mudiyAy nangaL
naragavAy kINdAyum nI

Word by Word Meanings

nIr ERRu ninRa perumAnE – Oh emperumAn, who stood near mahAbali to take the water as symbolic of taking alms!
ulagu ellAm senRa perumAnE – Oh emperumAn who measured all the worlds!
sem kaNNA – Oh one who has lotus like eyes!
anRu – at an earlier point of time
thuragam – the demon kEsi who took the form of a horse
vAy – his mouth
kINda – one who tore it and killed the demon
thuzhAy mudiyAy – Oh one who wears the thuLasi garland on top of your crown!
nangaL – our
naragam vAy – way to samsAram which is like hell for us
kINdAyum nI – was it not you alone who destroyed this also!

vyAkyanam

ninRa perumAnE nIrERRu – emperumAn, who is avApthasamastha kAman (one who has all his desires already fulfilled), went to mahAbali and stretched his hand towards him for taking water, which is symbolic of accepting alms from him.

ninRa perumAnE – one who stood as thrivikrama, manifesting his supremacy, after receiving alms.

ulagellAm senRa perumAnE – As soon as mahAbali poured water on his hand, he grew to make it appear that he himself is all the worlds, and measured the worlds. He stood such that he is the possessor of all the worlds!

sengaNNA – his eyes became red due to the happiness of having removed the shortcoming of indhra!

anRu thuraga vAy kINda thuzhAy mudiyAy – when the demon kESi came in the form of a horse, emperumAn killed him without his decorations getting disturbed. It is implied that the ring of thuLasi which was adorning his divine crown did not change position even a little bit when he killed kESi.

nangaL naraga vAy kINdAyum nI – For the one who tore apart the mouth of hell for us (samsAram), is it a wonder that you tore the mouth of kESi! For those with superior knowledge (of emperumAn) life in samsAram is the true hell. Did not sIthAppirAtti tell SrI rAma in SrI rAmAyaNam ayOdhyA kANdam 30-18 “nirayO yasthvayA vinA” (being separated from you is hell)!

We will move on to the 48^th pAsuram next.

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

mUnRAm thiruvandhAdhi – 46 – malai mugadu

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

avathArikai

AzhwAr says that emperumAn who has taken residence at thirumalai, close to us, will also fulfil the desires of those who desire other benefits.

Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings:

malai mugadu mEl vaiththu vAsugiyaich chuRRi
thalai mugadu thAnoru kai paRRi alai mugattu
aNdam pOy nIr theRippa anRu kadal kadaindhAn
piNdamAy ninRa pirAn

Word by Word Meanings

piNdam Ay ninRa pirAn – emperumAn who is the material cause [for the creation of the worlds]
anRu – once upon a time
mugadu malai – the mountain mantharam with peaks
mEl vaiththu – keeping it atop (himself in the form of tortoise)
vAsugaiyaich chuRRi – coiling the snake vAsugi (around that mountain as rope for churning)
thalai mugadu – the tallest peak [of mantharam]
thAn oru kai paRRi – holding it with one of his hands
alai mugattu nIr – the droplets of water on top of the waves
aNdam pOy theRippa – to hit against the walls of the universe
kadal kadaindhAn – he churned the ocean

vyAkyanam

malai mugadu mEl vaiththu – keeping the mountain mantharam with its tall peak on top of himself (in the form of kUrma, tortoise)

vAsugiyaich chuRRi – coiling the snake vAsugi around the middle of mantharam as a rope for churning [the ocean].

thalai mugadu thAn oru kai paRRi – just as he took the form of a tortoise and sat under the mountain so that it would not sink during the churning process, emperumAn pressed his hand on top of the peak to support it so that the mountain will not get toppled over during the churning process.

alai mugattu nIr theRippa anRu kadal kadaindhAn – he churned the ocean such vigor that the water droplets on top of the waves went all the way to the walls of the universe and banged against them.

Who is the entity who churned the ocean such that the water from the waves hit against the walls of the universe?

piNdamAy ninRa pirAn – the one who is the cause (for all these – the world, ocean, mountain etc). Just as clay, which is the previous state for pot, lid etc, is the cause for these products, emperumAn is the cause for the worlds. mahOpanishath states “EkO ha vai nArAyaNa AsIth” (only nArAyaNa was present before creation).

pirAn – one who is the benefactor. When the worlds, which are the resultant factors, were destroyed and he alone remained, he is the benefactor who created these again so that they will reap the benefits. He is the one who is affectionate towards the worlds which he created.

piNdamAy ninRa pirAn – should not the father, who sired the children, provide for their sustenance? He churned the oceans only for that and gave nectar [to celestial entities].

pirAn – while he could have carried out the task of protecting the worlds through his mere sankalpa (vow/will/thought), did he not churn the ocean, hurting his divine form in the bargain! AzhwAr engages with this characteristic of emperumAn saying “How is this simplicity!”

We will take up the 47^th pAsuram next.

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

mUnRAm thiruvandhAdhi – 45 – purindhu madha vEzham

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

avathArikai

After saying in the previous pAsuram “pala kadhirgaL pAriththa paimpon mudiyAn” that he is the lord of paramapadham, AzhwAr wants to attain him; if he were to attain him, he has to see him! But then, will emperumAn become so very simple that we could see him? AzhwAr says that only to remove that shortcoming, he has taken residence, close to us, at thirumalai, as a simple entity, so that we could see him with our eyes.

Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings:

purindhu madha vEzham mAppidiyOdUdith
thirindhu sinaththAl porudhu virindha sIr
veNkOttu muththu udhirkkum vEngadamE mElorunAl
maNkOttuk koNdAn malai

Word by Word Meanings

madha vEzham – male elephant which is in exultation
mA pidiyOdu – with its great female elephant
purindhu – engaging in union
Udi – (after that) engaging in love-quarrel
thirindhu – (due to that separating from its female and) wandering
sinaththAl porudhu – hitting (against gem rocks) in anger
virindha sIr – having the wealth of valour
veN kOdu – from its white tusks
muththu – pearls
udhirkkum – will shed
vEngadamE – thirumalai hills
mEl oru nAL – at an earlier point of time

(in the form of varAha, wild boar)
maN – earth
kOdu – on its tusks
koNdAn – one who had it
malai – divine hills

vyAkyanam

madha vEzham – an exulting elephant

mAppidiyOdu Udi – engaging in love-quarrel with its female elephant, knowing well that the female is capable of making it (the male elephant) carry out tasks that it thinks.

purindhu – after the love quarrel, engaging in union

thirundhu – the male elephant will wander about as a result of its pride over that union

Udi mAppidiyOdu – the greatness of the female was the cause for the male to engage in love-quarrel.

thirindhu – wandering in orchards

sinaththAl porudhu – looking at its own shadow on the rocks, mistaking the shadow for another elephant, it will become angry and hit against the rocks. It will remain in that posture to manifest its valour fully.

There is another way to interpret the meaning:

madhavEzham mAppidiyOdu purindhu Udi – the male elephant will engage in love-quarrel after its union with the female.

thirindhu sinaththAl porudhu – because of that quarrel, the male elephant will wander here and there and hit against the gem rocks in the hills. Just as it has been mentioned in SrI bhagavath gIthA 2-62 “kAmAth krOdhObhijAyathE” (infatuation gives birth to anger), hitting against the rocks due to that anger.

virindha sIr – the valour which the elephant had because of hitting [against the rocks] like this. Just as sIthAppirAtti happily embraced SrI rAma after seeing his valour when he killed demons such as kara , dhUsha et al, the female elephant would put an end to the love quarrel and embrace the male elephant.

virindha sIr veNkOttu muththu udhirkkum – nanjIyar, the AchArya of nampiLLai [who has written this commentary] would mercifully say: it is that thirumalai where the elephant which has wealth of valour would shed pearls formed in its tusks [from hitting against the gem rocks].

mEl oru nAL maN kOttuk koNdAn – isn’t thirumalai, which has such benefits, the land which is the dwelling place of one who once upon a time dug out the earth and kept in on his tusks! It is the hill belonging to emperumAn when he took the form of SrI varAha [wild boar] and held bhUmip pirAtti (earth) on his tusks. The elephants in thirumalai complement the divine form of SrI varAha. The act of elephant in exultation, hitting against the gem rock with the pride of valour and shedding pearls from its tusks reminds one of the act of SrI varAha in digging out earth and sustaining her on his tusks. thirumangai AzhwAr too has mercifully mentioned in periya thirumozhi 3-4-3 “varAhamonRAy maNNellAm idandheduththu madhangaL seydhu” (digging out earth as the unique varAha and engaging in exultation with pride).

malai – just as one says that he has this mountain, this itself is his wealth.

We will take up the 46^th pAsuram next.

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

mUnRAm thiruvandhAdhi – 44 – ulagum ulagiRandha

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

avathArikai

AzhwAr implores his heart to attain emperumAn who is the lord of both vibhUthis.

Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings:

ulagamum ulagaiRandha Uzhiyum oNkEzh
alar kadhirum sendhIyumAvAn palakadhirgaL
pAriththa paimpon mudiyAn adi iNaikkE
pUriththen nenjE puri

Word by Word Meanings

en nenjE – Oh my heart!
ulagamum – the worlds
Uzhiyum – deluge
Azhiyum – the oceans
oN kEzh alar kadhirum – moon and sun who have beautiful colour and radiant rays
sem thIyum – fire with reddish colour
AvAn – one who has all the above as his attributes
pala kadhirgaL pAriththa – one who lets go of many rays
paimpon mudiyAn – emperumAn who has golden hued locks
adi iNaikkE – for his divine feet
pUriththu puri – desire wholeheartedly.

vyAkyanam

ulagamum – all the worlds

Uzhiyum – the remaining period after all the entities have been destroyed

Azhiyum – oceans

oN kEzh alar kadhirum – moon and sun who have beautiful coloured radiant rays. We can also construe the meaning as beautifully blooming sun and moon.

sendhIyum AvAn – emperumAn, apart from all the above mentioned entities, is also fire which is reddish. He has all these as his attributes. Thus, it is opined here that all the worlds are part of emperumAn’s form.

pala kadhirgaL pAriththa paimpon mudiyAn – this describes his status in paramapadham (SrIvaikuNtam). Just as it is mentioned in SrI bhagavath gIthA 11-12 “dhivi sUryasya bhavEth yugapadhuththithA yadhi bhA: sadhruSI sA syAth bhAsas thasya mahAthmana:” (if a thousand suns rise in the sky together, the combined brightness of all these may probably match the radiance of paramAthmA (emperumAn)), one who has a beautiful crown which emits the radiance of hundreds of thousands of suns.

paimpon mudi – the locks which are brighter than dhivi sUrya mentioned in the previous paragraph. There is no equivalent for this.

adi iNaikkE – his two divine feet which match each other totally.

pUriththu en nenjE puri – AzhwAr tells his heart to attain completely with happiness, just like people who are riding on top of elephant will be.

pUriththu – AzhwAr implores his heart to attain emperumAn to get rid of the sorrows of having forgotten him for a very long time.

paimpon mudi – even as we sight his divine crown, we would feel like falling at his divine feet. Thus, his divine crown lets the beholder to fall at the divine feet. Azhwar tells his heart to know that emperumAn is the only entity who is apt for carrying out our tasks and tells it to fall at emperumAn’s divine feet, entrusting him with all the responsibility and be like one who has completed the assigned task.

We will take up the 45^th pAsuram next.

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

mUnRAm thiruvandhAdhi – 43 – sinamA madhakaLiRRin

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

avathArikai

AzhwAr wonders whether emperumAn protected only one prahlAdha. He says that when the danger crosses limits, doesn’t he protect everyone by keeping everyone inside him! Aren’t the worlds existing merely by his sankalpam (will)!

Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings:

sinamA madhakaLiRRin thiN maruppaich chAyththu
punamEya bhUmi adhanai dhanamAgap
pEragalaththuLLodukkum pErAra mArvanAr
OragalathuL uLLadhu ulagu

Word by Word Meanings

sinam mA madha – being angry and having huge exultation
kaLiRRin – the elephant (kuvalayApIdam)
thiN maruppai – its strong tusks
sAyththu – one who broke it
punam mEya – being together with arable land
bhUmi adhanai – the earth
dhanam Aga – considering it as a gift
pEr agalaththuL odukkum – one who protected by keeping in his expansive stomach
pEr Aram mArvanAr – emperumAn, who has donned huge chains on his chest, his
Or agalaththu – in a part of his knowledge, which is in sankalparUpam (in the form of his will or solemn vow)
ulagu uLLadhu – all the worlds are existing

vyAkyanam

sina mA madha kaLiRRin thiN maruppaich chAyththu – breaking the tusks of the elephant kuvalayApIdam which was angry, huge, in exultation and not knowing what is going on around it; snatching it effortlessly.

punamEya bhUmi adhanai – the earth which has arable land, which could be enjoyed by the sentient entities [by cultivating]

dhanamAga – considering it as a wealth

bhUmiyadhanaith thanamAga – did he not protect earth which has forests and streams [implying ups and downs or in other words, rough terrain] as a great wealth!

pEragalaththu uL odukkum – one who has the ability to protect it inside his stomach which [stomach] is so huge that even after keeping these worlds inside his stomach, it could be said that there was still a lot of space.

pEr Ara mArvanAr – even when he swallows all the worlds, he does it so capably that his decorations do not get disturbed. His qualities are also equally beautiful. It is implied here that even as he protected the worlds which were his possessions, it appeared that he had decked himself up with ornaments out of that happiness.

Or agalaththuL uLLadhu ulagu – the worlds are in his incomparable, immeasurable sankalpa (will / thought). We can also construe that the worlds are in the memory of his knowledge which is in the form of his will. While he can protect the worlds through his mere thoughts, the fact that he physically carried out the act by keeping them in his stomach indicates the affection that he has for his followers.

We will take up the 44^th pAsuram next.

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

mUnRAm thiruvandhAdhi – 42 – kOvalanAy AniraigaL

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

avathArikai

In the same breath as when he spoke of emperumAn keeping all the worlds under his divine feet, AzhwAr speaks about the removal of enmities which happened to one town (thiruvAyppAdi or gOkulam) and protection of cowherds.

Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings:

kOvalanAy AniraigaL mEyththuk kuzhal Udhi
mAvalanAyk kINda maNivaNNan mEvi
ariyuruvamAgi iraNiyadhu Agam
theriyugirAl kINdAn sinam

Word by Word Meanings

kOvalan Ay – being born as a cowherd
Aniraigal – herds of cows
mEyththu – grazing them (by taking them to places which have grass and water)
kuzhal Udhi – playing the flute (to bring the cows together)
mA – the demon kESi who came in the form of a horse
valan Ay kINda – one who tore it capably
maNi vaNNan – one who has the form of a blue coloured gem
mEvi ari uruvam Agi – appropriately taking the form of narasimha (combination of lion face and human body)
iraNiyadhu Agam – the chest of demon iraNiyan (hiraNya kashyap)
ugirAl – with his finger nails
kINda – emperumAn who tore
sinam – anger
theri – (Oh heart) know it.

vyAkyanam

kOvalanAy AniraigaL mEyththuk kuzhal Udhi – born in the clan of cowherds in order to make himself appropriate for herding cows, he grazed the cows by playing on the flute. Just as a brAhmaNa recites vEdham (sacred text), he grazed the cows, which is appropriate for one born in the clan of cowherds and played on the flute. He carried out acts which are apt for the clan.

mA valanAyk kINda – even when he had not attained the apt age, he tore the mouth of a demon kESi who had come in the form of a horse. Instead of stepping back on seeing the demon who came in the form of a horse, he stood face to face, with dexterity, and tore his mouth.

mA valanAyk kINda – he disproved the thinking of kESi who thought after looking at the softness of kaNNan (krishNa) that he [kaNNan] was incapable of killing him [kESi].

maNivaNNan – because he destroyed the enemy, his form became such that it removed the fatigue of the beholder. AzhwAr celebrates the beautiful form of emperumAn which he had when he decimated kESi by referring to him as maNivaNNan.

mEvi ari uruvamAgi – fitting well with the form of narasimha. In other words, while the combination of lion and human would be something which cannot gel well and be incongruent, that form was so homogeneous that the two forms merged well. Just as adding candy to well boiled milk would enhance sweetness, the form of narasimha was also very appropriate. Alternatively iraNiyadhu Agam mEvi could be considered as approaching iraNiyan.

iraNiyadhu Agam ugirAL kINdAn sinam – he tore the tough physical form of iraNiyan with his finger nails.

sinam theri – AzhwAr tells his heart to think of emperumAn’s anger and determine that what we need is not his grace but the anger that he has on the enemies of his followers and think of that anger. Alternatively, theri ugir could be construed as broad nail.

We will take up the 43^rd pAsuram next.

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

mUnRAm thiruvandhAdhi – 41 – mannu maNi mudi nINdu

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

avathArikai

AzhwAr again thinks of emperumAn measuring the worlds and reminisces about it.

Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings:

mannu maNi mudi nINdu aNdampOy eNdhisaiyum
thunnu pozhilanaiththum sUzh kazhalE minnai
udaiyAgak koNdu anRu ulagaLandhAn kunRam
kudaiyAga AkAththa kO

Word by Word Meanings

kunRam kudaiyAga – holding the gOvardhana hill as an umbrella
AkAththa kO – the swAmy (lord) who protected the cows
anRu – once upon a time
mannu maNi mudi – the apt crown which has gems
nINdu – growing tall
aNdam pOy – reaching up to the walls of the universe
eN dhisaiyum – all the eight directions
thunnu pozhil anaiththum – the entire earthen region which is inhabited (by jIvAthmAs)
sUzh – pervaded
kazhalE – being only the divine feet
minnai udai Agak koNdu ulagu aLandhAn – measured the worlds, wearing lightning as his divine clothing.

vyAkyanam

mannu maNi mudi nINdu aNdam pOy – the crown of emperumAn, decorated with beautiful gems and being appropriate to his greatness, stretched up to the wall of the universe .

eN dhisaiyum thunnu pozhil anaiththam sUzh kazhalE – the eight directions and the islands in those directions appeared as if they were only the divine feet [the divine feet had stretched that much]

aNdam pOy eN dhisaiyum mannu mudi nINdu – the crown which is symbolic of emperumAn being the lord of all the worlds, stretched in all the eight directions up to the end of universe.

thunnu pozhil anaiththum sUzh kazhalE – making it appear that the worlds, which are full of chEthanas (sentient beings), are nothing but the divine feet

thunnu pozhil – the earth is full of living beings

minnai udaiyAgak koNdu – since the crown went beyond the clouds and grew, emperumAn utilised lightning as his dress.

anRu ulagu aLandhAn – he measured the worlds which he received as gift from mahAbali during that time.

kunRam kudaiyAga AkAththa kO – emperumAn who held gOvardhana hill as an umbrella and protected cows. Once (when he measured the worlds) he hid the worlds with his divine feet. Once he hid himself when he lifted the gOvardhana hill. Measuring the worlds was the activity that he carried out on the day that he was born [as vAmana]. Lifting the hill as an umbrella was the activity that he carried out when he was seven years of age. In the former case, he protected all the worlds. In the latter case, he protected one town.

We will move on to the 42^nd pAsuram.

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan