Category Archives: siRiya thirumadal

pramEyam (goal) – http://koyil.org
pramANam (scriptures) – http://granthams.koyil.org
pramAthA (preceptors) – http://acharyas.koyil.org
SrIvaishNava education/kids portal – http://pillai.koyil.org

siRiya thirumadal – 36 – kUrArAndha

April 3, 2020 Published by: T N Krishnan

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

kUrArndha vALAl kodi mUkkum kAdhiraNdum

Word by Word Meanings

kUrArndha vALAl – with a sharp sword
kodi mUkkum kAdhu iraNdAm – nose which is like a creeper and the two ears

vyAkyAnam

kUrArndha vALAl kodi mUkkum kAdhiraNdum IrA viduththu – while it has been mentioned [in SrI rAmAyaNam] that it was lakshmaNa who disfigured sUrpaNakA, why is it mentioned here that SrI rAma had done that? Since it has been mentioned in SrI rAmAyaNam AraNya KANdam 34-13 “rAmasya dhakshiNO bAhu:” (lakshmaNa is SrI rAma’s right hand), with lakshmaNa being SrI rAma’s right hand, there is nothing inappropriate in saying the he had done it when his right hand had done it. The meaning implied here is that to punish a person [sUrpaNakA] who had carried out asahyApachAram (deeply offending without a reason), instead of engaging another person, he did it with his right hand.

kUrArndha vALAl – with a sharp sword. While working on the rough body of sUrpaNakA [to disfigure her], to ensure that the bad blood of sUrpaNakA’s did not fall on him, he had used a sharpened sword.

kodi mUkkum kAdhu iraNdAm IrA viduththu – since she had come claiming that she was a match for sIthAppirAtti, she had changed her nose and ears through her magical powers to resemble those of sIthA. He cut those, which were the cause for her vanity.

In the next article, we will discuss the next part of this prabandham.

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

pramEyam (goal) – http://koyil.org
pramANam (scriptures) – http://granthams.koyil.org
pramAthA (preceptors) – http://acharyas.koyil.org
SrIvaishNava education/kids portal – http://pillai.koyil.org

siRiya thirumadal – 35 – nEr Avan

April 2, 2020 Published by: T N Krishnan

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

nErAvan enROr nisAsaridhAn vandhALai 39

Word by Word Meanings

nEr Avan enRu – one who said “I am equal“
Or nisAsari vandhALai – one who came running, the demon sUrpaNakA (asking SrI rAma to marry her)

vyAkyAnam

than sIthaikku nErAvan . . . . silai kuniththAn – sUrpaNakA came [to chithrakUtam], saying “I am fully equal to sIthA; I will marry SrI rAma”. He cut her ears and nose, disfiguring her. She ran to kara (a demon) and fell at his feet. This sequence captures the narration of how he killed kara and his brother dhUshaNa.

than sIthaikku – sithA who was apt for him [SrI rAma] in all ways. Just as it is mentioned in the SrI rAmAyaNa SlOkam “thulya Seela vayOvruththAm thulyAbhijana lakshaNAm I rAghavO’rhathi vaidhEhim tham chEyam asithEkshaNA II” (only SrI rAma is apt for sIthA who has equivalent qualities, age, conduct, as well as equivalent clan and beauty; in the same way, this (sIthAp)pirAtti only, who has black eyes, is apt for him) and in SrI rAmAyaNam AraNya kANdam SlOkam 37-18 “apramEyam hi thath thEjO yasya sA janakAthmajA” (it is impossible to estimate that radiance called as SrI rAma to whom the daughter of King janaka belongs), sUrpaNakA came saying that she is the equal to that sIthA , whose glory SrI rAma himself desired.

nErAvan enRu – she came, with her grotesque form, saying that she matches sIthA, who was splendorous with all the defining characteristics of a lady.

Or nisAsari – since she came with anger against sIrthAppirAtti, saying that she matches sIthAppirAtti, who is the jaganmAthA (mother for the entire world), the fortune teller highlights that she comes from the demonic clan which eats corpse.

thAn – she, who is no match for SrI rAma, calls herself as a match for sIthA, who is superior to even SrI rAma.

than sIthaikku nErAvan enROr nisAsari thAn vandhALai – just as it is mentioned in SrI rAmAyaNam sundhara kANdam 16 – 14 “thrailOkyarAjyam sakalam sIthAyA nApnuyAth kalAm” (the kingdoms of the three worlds and the one who rules them (SrI rAma) will not be a match for even a part of sIthA), even if all wealth of SrI rAma and he himself were put on a balance, they cannot equal sIthA. When such is the reality, sUrpaNakA came saying that she is a match for sIthA.

vandhALai – as soon as sUrpaNakA came to SrI rAma, he told her “I am already married and have taken a vow that I will have only one wife; go to lakshmaNa, who is not married”; lakshmaNa told her “I am his servitor; if you marry me, you have to do menial service to them both. Hence, only if you marry SrI rAma himself, could you get a title [as his queen] and sit on the same throne on which he sits”. After being tossed a few times between the two of them, she decided that it was only sIthA who was preventing her from realising her wish and hence pounced on her saying “I will eat you up”.

In the next article, we will discuss the next part of this prabandham.

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

pramEyam (goal) – http://koyil.org
pramANam (scriptures) – http://granthams.koyil.org
pramAthA (preceptors) – http://acharyas.koyil.org
SrIvaishNava education/kids portal – http://pillai.koyil.org

siRiya thirumadal – 34 – OrAyiram paNa

April 1, 2020 Published by: T N Krishnan

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

OrAyiram paNa vengOviyal nAgaththai
vArAy enakkenRu maRRadhan maththagaththu 38
sIrAr thiruvadiyAl pAyndhAn than sIthaikku

Word by Word Meanings

Or Ayiram paNa vengO iyal nAgaththai – kALiyan, having thousand hoods and having a cruel nature like yama (the deity of righteousness)
enakku vArAy enRu – calling him out for a duel with him
maRRadhan maththagaththu – atop his head
sIr Ar thiruvadiyAl pAyndhAn – jumped and danced with his beautiful divine feet
than sIthaikku – for sIthA, his consort

vyAkyAnam

vem kO iyal nAgaththai – he is not just anyone else; he is yama himself who has taken the form of a snake! vem iyal kO – yama who has a cruel nature

Or Ayiram paNa nAgaththai – why is she saying that kALiyan has thousand hoods while periyAzhwAr, in his periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 3-9-7 says “kALiyan poygai kalangap pAyndhittu avan nIL mudi aindhilum ninRu nadam seydhu” (jumping into the pond, agitating it, and dancing on top of the five hoods of kALiyan’s which reached up to the sky) that kALiyan had five hoods? Since he was a small child, the moment kALiyan came to fight with him, it appeared to the fortune-teller that his five hoods became a thousand.

vengOviyal nAgaththai – the term kO refers to yama; the phrase kO iyal nAgam could mean that it is a snake having the nature of yama; alternatively, it could mean that it created cruelty even in yama through his activity; or, as a non-existing simile, since the yama that we know of cannot equal this snake in cruelty, this snake could be assumed to possess the cruelty of another yama, different from this.

vArAy enakkenRu – Just as each monkey in the army of monkeys kept saying that it wanted to destroy lankA, each of the thousand friends of kaNNa invited kALiyan to wage war with him. But kaNNa asked them to be quiet and called out to kALiyan, says the fortune teller. Since he cannot bear to see his friends being hurt, he stood upfront.

maRRadhan maththagaththu – on the hood of kALiyan. It appeared that he fell into the mouth of the snake.

sIrAr thiruvadiyAl pAyndhAn – the divine feet are so soft that if periya pirAtti (SrI mahAlakshmi), who is as soft as a flower, keeps his divine feet on her bosom, she would be worried whether the feet will become sore. With such soft divine feet, he jumped on the hoods of kALiyan. Was the divine foot not described in thiruvAimozhi 9-2-10 “vadiviNai illA malarmagaL maRRai nilamagaL pidikkum melladi” (the soft foot which was massaged by SrIdhEvi and bhUdhEvi who are incomparable in their beauty) as being very soft!

In the next article, we will discuss the next part of this prabandham.

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

pramEyam (goal) – http://koyil.org
pramANam (scriptures) – http://granthams.koyil.org
pramAthA (preceptors) – http://acharyas.koyil.org
SrIvaishNava education/kids portal – http://pillai.koyil.org

siRiya thirumadal – 33 – nIrAr nedum

March 31, 2020 Published by: T N Krishnan

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

nIrAr negungayaththaich chenRalaikka ninRurappi 37

Word by Word Meanings

nIr Ar nedu kayaththai senRu – going to a deep place in a huge pond which was full of water
alaikka ninRu urappi – agitating it (along with thousand others, mischievous just like him), in such a way that water would flow out like a flood

vyAkyAnam

nIrAr nedungayaththai – Just as it has been mentioned in nAchchiyAr thirumozhi 14-1 “ittamAna pasukkaLai inidhu maRiththu nIrUtti vittukkoNdu viLaiyAda” (making the cows which are his favourite, to drink water by hindering them in their way and forcing them towards water, thus playing with them), there was a pond with plenty of water, from which kaNNa would make the cows to drink water. However, kALiyan, a poisonous snake, contaminated the water with his poison. Thus he spoiled the water, rendering it useless for the cows, which are to be protected by kaNNa.

senRalaikka ninRurappi – he would go with a thousand other cow-herd boys who were as mischievous as he himself was, just as mentioned in periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 3-1-1 “thannErAyiram piLLaigLOdu thaLar nadai ittu varuvAn” (he will walk along with a thousand boys like himself, with a tottering gait), to the pond, indulge in mischief such as agitating the pond with his legs and hands, throwing stone on the snake etc, thus provoking it.

senRu alaikka ninRu urappi – This could be construed as kaNNa agitating the water such that it would flow out of the bund on all the sides. Alternatively, it could mean that he indulged in daring acts just like he had laid siege on lankA (during his incarnation as SrI rAma) and made the demons to get ready for battle.

While his childish activities thus far were enough to incite the snake to be furious, listen to his further childish acts, says the fortune teller.

In the next article, we will discuss the next part of this prabandham.

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

pramEyam (goal) – http://koyil.org
pramANam (scriptures) – http://granthams.koyil.org
pramAthA (preceptors) – http://acharyas.koyil.org
SrIvaishNava education/kids portal – http://pillai.koyil.org

siRiya thirumadal – 32 – UrArgaL ellArum

March 30, 2020 Published by: T N Krishnan

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

UrArgaLellArum kANa uralOdE
thIrA veguLiyaLAych chikkena Arththadippa 36
ArA vayiRRinOdu ARRAdhAn – anRiyum

Word by Word Meanings

UrArgaLellAm kANa – (such simplicity) to be seen by all the people in the village
uralOdE – to a [grinding] mortar
chikkena Arththu adippa – to tie down firmly and beat
ArA vayiRRinOdu ARRAdhAn – one who stood with sorrow and his stomach hurting
anRiyum – further

vyAkyAnam

UrAragaL ellArum kANa – haven’t all the people in thiruvAyppAdi (SrI gOkulam) lost butter to kaNNa or their womenfolk to him! She (parakAla nAyagi) was waiting to engage in madal. Just as he was beaten with everyone looking at him, she was waiting to engage in madal such that everyone would see it. I (the fortune-teller) was waiting to instruct that to everyone. All the people other than us were enjoying his divine forms and divine qualities which he was offering. Those who aren’t hungry are enjoying the feast. We, who are hungry, are fasting. In other words, those who thought “If we could, we will see him; otherwise, it doesn’t matter to us” enjoyed seeing him. We, who wouldn’t be able to sustain ourselves unless we see him even if we have to engage in madal to achieve that goal, haven’t seen him.

uralOdE – what an action did she perform! Instead of bringing the mortar to where he was, with his flower-like soft divine body, she dragged him to where the mortar was.

thIrA veguLiyaLAy – Since it was anger born out of love, the anger too was without an end, just like her love. Only if there is a limit to her love, since she thought “What ill will befall him since he has eaten so much of butter” would there be a limit to her anger at his eating butter!

chikkena Arththadippa – she tied him firmly to the mortar and she hit him firmly with the rope. What an act did she perform!

ArA vayiRRinOdu ARRAdhAn – what did he do? Just like those, who have been put in prison during the time of thiruvadhyayana uthsavam (festival conducted during the month of mArgazhi) in SrIrangam temple due to the order of the King, would lament that they have missed out on the festival, he felt unhappy that he was tied down here while butter and womenfolk were making merry, going around, like in a great flood.

ARRAdhAn – he could not bear it. What is it that he could not bear? He could not bear his doubt as to where they have hidden butter and their womenfolk.

anRiyum – [the fortune teller says] should you not listen to another great danger, further? What has been just now narrated was the way he was tied down to a mortar by the affectionate yaSOdhA and beaten by her. The narration now talks about how he was tied down by kALiyan (a poisonous snake), his enemy. Since she (yaSOdhA] was his mother, who had the liberty to beat him and had affection for him, one could put up with being tied down by her hands. The fortune teller is asking whether they were willing to listen to the story of kALiyan.

In the next article, we will discuss the next part of this prabandham.

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

pramEyam (goal) – http://koyil.org
pramANam (scriptures) – http://granthams.koyil.org
pramAthA (preceptors) – http://acharyas.koyil.org
SrIvaishNava education/kids portal – http://pillai.koyil.org

siRiya thirumadal – 31 – vArAththAn

March 29, 2020 Published by: T N Krishnan

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

vArAththAn vaiththadhu kANAL vayiRadiththingu 34
ArAr pugudhuvAr aiyar ivar allAl
nIrAm idhu seydhIr enROr nedum kayiRRAl 35

Word by Word Meanings

avaLum vArA kaNdu – that yaSOdhA too, on reaching and seeing
thAn vaiththadhu kANAL – not finding the butter that she had kept (in the uRi)
vayiRu adiththu – beating herself on her stomach (wondering if eating this amount of butter would lead to indigestion for kaNNa)
aiyar ivar allAL – other than this great person
ingu pugudhuvar Ar Ar – who else can enter this place?

(There is no one else. Making sure that only this person has stolen it)
idhu seydhIr nIrAm enRu – saying ‘only you have done this’
thIrA veguLiyaLAy – with uncontrolled anger
Or nedu kayiRRAl – with a short rope that her hands could reach out to

vyAkyAnam

vArAththAn vaiththadhu kANAL – as soon as she came back, yaSOdhA checked the uRi and found that the butter that she had kept there was missing.

vayiRadhiththu – she would not beat herself on the stomach if kaNNa had eaten the butter, saying that “I have lost the butter”; why then did she beat herself? It is either because she felt that it would cause trouble for his stomach [due to indigestion, having eaten so much of butter] or due to her concern “Today he has stolen butter; tomorrow, he will steal the girls; in the end where will it lead him?”

ingu ArAr pugudhuvAr – she had kept the butter well protected, just like lankA was protected. In such a place, who else could enter other than he?

aiyar ivar allAl – only the chief [referring to kaNNa, derisively] would indulge in such an act.

nIrAm idhu seydhIr – did you engage in this act on your own or was there assistance from others also?

enRu – saying so, she lifted him by his hand, even as he was [feigning to be] asleep.

Or nedungayiRRAl – she had not kept a rope ready to tie him, anticipating that he would steal butter and that she would have to tie him. Hence, she caught hold of a rope which she could lay her hands on.

negungayiRRAl – when this AzhwAr (thirumangai AzhwAr) himself explicitly narrated the same incident in his periya thirumozhi 11-5-5 “kaNNikkuRungayiRRAl kattuNdAn” (he was tied down with a small rope with several knots in it), since he had mentioned that it was with a small rope, the term nedungayiRu (long rope) is a viparIthalakshaNai (saying the exact opposite of what was intended to be said). It is similar to calling a fool as a wise man. The correct interpretation is that he was tied with a small rope. Alternatively, the term nedumai need not refer to the long length of the rope but to its greatness. In other words, just as the ocean attained greatness due to its contact with emperumAn as brought out in the 19^th pAsuram of mudhal thiruvandhAdhi “mAlum karungadalE ennORRAy? vaiyagamuNdu AlinilaiththuyinRa AzhiyAn kOlak karumEnich chengaNmAl kaNpadaiyuL thirumEni nI thINdappeRRu” (how fortunate are you, oh ocean! You are feeling the divine form of the supreme being who was sleeping on a banyan leaf after swallowing all the worlds and is reclining on you), this rope too acquired greatness due to its contact with emperumAn and hence is referred to as nedum kayiRu.

In the next article, we will discuss the next part of this prabandham.

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

pramEyam (goal) – http://koyil.org
pramANam (scriptures) – http://granthams.koyil.org
pramAthA (preceptors) – http://acharyas.koyil.org
SrIvaishNava education/kids portal – http://pillai.koyil.org

siRiya thirumadal – 30 – mOrAr kudamurutti

March 28, 2020 Published by: T N Krishnan

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

mOrAr kudamurutti mun kidandha thAnaththE 33
OrAdhavan pOl kidandhAnaik kaNdavaLum

Word by Word Meanings

mOr Ar kudam – the pot which is full of buttermilk
urutti – making it to roll (to manifest his lack of desire in it)
mun kidandha thAnaththE – in the same place where he was lying earlier
OrAdhavan pOl – as if he did not know anything
kidandhAnai – kaNNa, who was lying down

vyAkyAnam

arugirundha mOr Ar kudam urutti – his childishness will not stop with eating the butter. Just as it is mentioned in periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 2-9-1 “veNNey vizhungi veRungalaththai veRpidaiyittu adhan Osai kEtkum kaNNapirAn kaRRa kalvi” (after swallowing the butter (without leaving anything behind), kaNna will break the empty pot on a stone and relish the sound of its breaking. Such is the trickery that he has learnt!) isn’t he the one who relishes the sound of the pot getting broken after he has eaten the butter inside and breaking it on a stone! In the distinguished meaning for this verse, empirAn takes the AthmA which is inside the body, which is like the sweet butter and relishes getting rid of the body which is like the pot. In the same way, here too he eats butter which is the essence and discards the pot containing buttermilk which is the residue (after butter had been removed from it). Just as he cannot bear to see thankless people amidst his devotees, he cannot bear to see pot of buttermilk near the pot of butter and hence rolls it down. In the distinguished meaning this translates into his liking for those who are full of essence [of being devoted to emperumAn] and relishing them and his hatred for those who are full of residue [of not being devoted to him] and despising them. Even among vEdhas (sacred texts) has he not praised those who are engaged with the second part [vEdhAntham] which is full of essence by exclaiming “brAhmaNO mama dhEvathA” (these intelligent people are my dhEvathAs [highly respected entities]) while despising those who are engaged with the first part [dealing with mere activities] which is not of essence by disclaiming, as in bhagavath gIthA SlOkam 2-42 “avipaSchitha: – vEdha vAdha rathA:” (the ignorant people who engage in arguing about vEdham)! While bhattar was reciting the siRiya thirumadal from AzhwAr maNdapam inside SrIrangam temple, he would say “brAhmaNarudaiya dhanaththaiyellAm pAzhE pOkkinAn”. The meaning for this is: the brAhmaNas who are engaged in rituals as mentioned in the first part of vEdham would treat butter, milk, curd, buttermilk etc which are used in the rituals, as their wealth. emperumAn, seeing that they are leaving him, who is the ultimate purushArtham (benefit), and are considering these lowly purushArthams as important, ate up all the butter, milk, curd etc and rolled down the pots of buttermilk, thus destroying their wealth.

mun kidandha thAnaththE – fearing that someone may be seeing [him eating butter etc], he fell down in anxiety. Fortunately for him, the place where he fell down happened to be the place where he was [deceptively] sleeping before.

mun kidandha thAnaththE – even if he is accused of stealing [butter] it would appear as if he had stolen by getting up with the bed and lying back [after eating the butter] with the face, legs and hands in the same places as they were before.

OrAdhavan pOl kidandhAnai – if someone were to look at him, he would say “He has no thoughts about butter at all”. He lay down such that he was totally ignorant in this matter. Even as the buttermilk [which he had kicked and made to spill on the floor] had wet his mat, he lay down as if he knew nothing.

kaNdavaLum – wasn’t it she [yaSOdhA] who had given birth to him? From the way he lay on the mat, she knew that he had done [the mischief]

In the next article, we will discuss the next part of this prabandham.

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

pramEyam (goal) – http://koyil.org
pramANam (scriptures) – http://granthams.koyil.org
pramAthA (preceptors) – http://acharyas.koyil.org
SrIvaishNava education/kids portal – http://pillai.koyil.org

siRiya thirumadal – 29 – thArAr thadam

March 27, 2020 Published by: T N Krishnan

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

thArAr thadam thOLgaL uLLaLavum kai nItti 32
ArAdha veNNey vizhungi arugirundha

Word by Word Meanings

thAr Ar thada thOLgaL uL aLavum kai nItti – getting the divine huge shoulders, which are adorned with a garland, to go right down to the bottom of the pot
ArAdha veNNey vizhungi – eating butter, which does not satiate him (however much he eats)
arugu irundha – lying beside (the pot of butter)

vyAkyAnam

thAr Ar thadam thOLgaL – due to the strong desire in butter, just as it is said in thiruvAimozhi 1-9-7 “thOLiNai mElum” ((thuLasi garland) on the two divine shoulders) he dropped his hands inside the pot of butter such that the garland on his shoulders were pressed against the pot. Didn’t nammAzhwAr too say in thiruvAimozhi 1-8-5 “vaigalum veNNey kaikalandhuNdAn” (he always ate butter by inserting his hand to the full extent that it would reach inside the vessel)!

uLLaLavum kai nItti – he extended his hand deep inside, since he thought childishly, that deeper that his hand goes, more will be the butter that he could grab and fuller would be his stomach. nanjIyar, disciple of parASara bhattar (son of kUraththAzhwAn), asked bhattar “How did yaSOdhA know that he dug deep into the pot such that his shoulders touched the pot?” bhattar responded saying “She saw the mark of the sandalwood paste which she had applied on his shoulders, on the rim of the pot”

ArAdha veNNey vizhungi – the butter was such that how much ever he ate of it, he wasn’t satiated. The butter which he ate initially, acted like a medicine which increased his appetite, thus making him to eat more and more of it.

vizhungi – swallowing the butter, without leaving anything.

In the next article, we will discuss the next part of this prabandham.

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

pramEyam (goal) – http://koyil.org
pramANam (scriptures) – http://granthams.koyil.org
pramAthA (preceptors) – http://acharyas.koyil.org
SrIvaishNava education/kids portal – http://pillai.koyil.org

siRiya thirumadal – 28 – nArAr uRi

March 25, 2020 Published by: T N Krishnan

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

nArAr uRiyERRi nangamaiya vaiththadhanaip
pOrAr vERkaN madavAL pOndhanaiyum poyyuRakkam 31
OrAdhavan pOl uRangi aRivuRRuth

Word by Word Meanings

nAr uRi ERRi – keeping [the butter obtained after churning curd] on a pot suspended by a network of ropes (such that even a finger cannot enter it)
nangu amaiya vaiththadhanai – kept in the most protected way
pOr Ar vEl kaN madavAL – that yaSOdhA who has (sharp) eyes which are like a warring spear
pOm thanaiyum – until she went out
OrAdhavan pOl poy uRakkam uRangi – feigning sleep as if he knew nothing
aRivu uRRu – waking up (soon after she left)

vyAkyAnam

nAr Ar uRi ERRi – it is an uRi [a network of ropes suspended (from the ceiling in a room) to keep pots and other vessels out of reach of rodents etc] which is full of strings / ropes. The strings were packed so tightly that one cannot insert even a finger through them.

ERRi – just as one places the facade stone atop a gOpuram (temple tower) with lot of effort, yaSOdhA placed the uRi with lot of effort.

nangamaiya vaiththadhanai – she kept the butter well protected in a pot [in that uRi) in such a way that if thieves enter to steal the butter, they will be trapped by the strings

nangu vaiththadhanai – she kept the butter in such a way that the butter that he would desire to eat was out of his reach. The fortune teller is despising yaSOdhA, wondering if she is a mother!

pOr Ar veRkaN madavAL – one who has eyes which engage in a war-like situation by darting in all directions. Even though she has kept the butter safely, if he (kaNNa) sees it, the butter cannot escape. Hence yaSOdhA keeps looking in all directions before keeping the butter in the uRi.

pOndhanaiyum – until she left that place. Just as a day appears to his devotees, who are unable to attain him, to be 1000 kalpa (one kalpa is daytime in the life of brahmA) as mentioned in thiruvAimozhi 10-3-1 “oru pagal Ayiram UzhiyAlO” (the daytime when kaNNa goes to forest to graze the cows appears to be thousands of yugas to the cowherd girls), each passing moment when he is unable to grab the material which has been touched by his devotees appears to be a thousand kalpas.

pOndhanaiyum – since he is capable of playing a trick on her to steal the butter which he likes a lot and which she has kept in the pot, why is he waiting for her to move away from that place? Is it because of any lesser interest now in butter? The reason is that he has already stolen and eaten a lot of butter from several other places. Since he has already eaten plenty of butter, he is a bit sluggish and is waiting patiently.

poy uRakkam – yaSOdhA thinks that he is really sleeping. But in reality, he is very much awake. Just as his sleep during deluge is termed as yOganidhrA (meditative sleep when the body is resting and mind is awake fully) or kaLLanidhdhirai (deceptive sleep) or aRithuyil (sleeping while remaining conscious of outer world), AzhwAr calls this sleep of kaNNa’s as poy uRakkam (deceptive sleep).

OrAdhavan pOl uRangi – he lay down such that one would think that all that he knows is only sleep and that he would remain motionless even if woken up several times.

aRivuRRu – just as wisdom dawns on certain achEthana (insentient) entities, he suddenly came to life. After she (yaSOdhA) left, he played out as if he were really sleeping by stretching his body, yawning etc. Knowing his craftiness, if she were to re-enter suddenly, it would appear as if he were really sleeping.

In the next article, we will discuss the next part of this prabandham.

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan