SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
avathArikai
Unlike means such as karmayOgam which are of no use, is there any means which is without any fault? AzhwAr responds saying that attaining emperumAn and attaining emperumAn’s followers are faultless means. He says that of the two, attaining emperumAn’s followers is superior.
Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings:
pazhudhAgAdhonRaRindhEn pARkadalAn pAdham
vazhuvA vagai ninaindhu vaigal thozhuvArai
kaNdiRainji vAzhvAr kalandha vinai keduththu
viNdiRandhu vIRRiruppAr mikku
Word for Word Meanings
pazhudhu AgAdhu onRu – faultless (superior) means
aRindhEn – I knew
(Hear me, as to what it is)
pAl kadalAn pAdham – the divine feet of kshIrAbdhinAtha (lord of milky ocean)
vazhuvA vagai ninaindhu – meditating without any error
thozhuvArai – those who constantly worship
kaNdu – (reaching and) having dharSan of (seeing)
iRainji – worshipping
vAzhvAr – those who live (devotees of emperumAn’s followers)
kalandha vinai keduththu – getting rid of the bad deeds connected with AthmA (soul)
viN thiRandhu – opening the entrance to paramapadham (SrIvaikuNtam)
mikku – with greatness
vIRRiruppAr – will be residing
vyAkyAnam
pazhudhAgAdhonRu aRindhEn – I knew of the superior means which will not go useless. The means which will not go useless are: 1. Attaining emperumAn; 2. Attaining followers of emperumAn; 3. Taking shelter under the wisdom of followers of emperumAn. All these three means are very distinguished. Of these three, AzhwAr is mercifully describing the second means (of attaining the followers of emperumAn) in this pAsuram and the first (attaining emperumAn) and third means (totally devoted to the wisdom of emperumAn’s followers ) in the next pAsuram.
What is the means which is faultless?
pARkadalAn pAdham – the divine feet of the entity who, leaving aside paramapadham which is the place for enjoyment, takes residence in the milky ocean in order to get his followers.
vazhuvA vagai ninaindhu – meditating without slipping on it. In other words, keeping them as both the means and the benefit for attainment. Isn’t asking for lowly materials from emperumAn, after attaining him, a faulty way of asking, much similar to asking for loin cloth from kaRpaga vruksham (wish fulfilling tree)? Isn’t begging for other benefits a wrong methodology? Instead, thinking of those divine feet as means and goal.
vaigal thozhuvArai – will not the sweetness of the matter (the divine feet of emperumAn) be such that if they are worshipped once, they will make the jIvAthmA to worshsip every day?
thozhuvAraikkaNdu – seeking the followers of emperumAn, on their own. With this, the difference between these people and the distinguished entities who will be mentioned in the next pAsuram is indicated. Just as the saying goes “prajApathim thvO vEdha” these people will go on their own and attain the followers of emperumAn. The ones who will be mentioned in the next pAsuram are those who will be worthy of being under the wisdom of emperumAn’s followers.
kaNdu iRainji vAzhvAr – those who prosper by heartily seeing the followers of emperumAn and worshsipping them. appiLLai, one of the vyAkyAthas for this prabandham will say that iRainji would mean those who bow down their heads fully.
kalandha vinai keduththu viN thiRandhu vIRRipruppAr mikku – getting rid of the sins which are inseparably intertwined with AthmA, these people will be servitors to nithyasUris who are the heads of those who carry out kainkaryam to emperumAn, and who have unlimited knowledge and devotion (towards emperumAn), in paramapadham.
mikku vIRRiruppar – they will reside such that their knowledge and devotion will be explicitly manifested.
vIRRruppar – they will reside with their excellence fully displayed. They will be fully servile to the great followers of emperumAn who will be superior to nithyasUris in carrying out kainkaryam to emperumAn.
We will move on to the 90th pAsuram next.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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