SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
vyAkyAnam
pattudukkum – She started to wear a saree. (How could she do that while being unconscious?) Similar to many actions that are going to be described, this is also one of many contradicting actions of someone who has fainted due to separation. When He is with her, more than the beauty of individual parts of her body, and more than the overall beauty of her, He enjoys the beauty of her dressing saying ‘Oh! Is it possible to have such beauty in clothing!’. Seeing that He is well attracted so, she thinks that if we dress with silk saree then He will come and see her, and so uses wearing of it as sAdhana anushtAnam (a means to get Him). She started to wear the saree; she thought that if she wore it He will come thinking ‘We should not miss this’, and so started wearing the saree.
udukkum – (this word is in present tense because) she keeps wearing and removing the saree till He comes. (Is it appropriate for one to decorate one’s own body, whereas He should have dressed her with that?) It is befitting the true nature of oneself to decorate for the lover. When the lord is longing for it, wearing it by one’s own effort is preferred.
ayarththu – She was happy thinking that if she wore it then He will come. She fainted (due to disappointment of separation) when He did not come even after that. She decorated herself for Him to come; since she did not see Him coming even after that, her effort fell into the trap of svArtham (doing for own pleasure); since it is a damage to svarUpam (true nature of subservience), she fainted. Fainting due to separation is not same as (is at lower level) than fainting due to damage to svarUpam.
Irangum – As said in ‘pralApasththA sammOha:’ (after getting tears, would get fainted), whereas it is seen in general that the fainting comes after sadness, it is said in reverse order here – such is the greatness of the matter from whom the separation is, and the greatness of the depth of her sadness due to separation is. Sadness is – tears that come based on sadness due to the urge to get and hug Him. Since there would be less sadness when fainted, this state of longing brings more sadness.
Or, (the phrase also means – )
pattudukkum – Implies that she has crossed the stage of a very small girl who was not shy to move around without clothes, and now that she has grown to the next stage of being shy to do so, she wears the clothes.
pattu – The word ‘pattu’ implies just an ordinary cloth too. Or, as aforementioned it could imply silk cloth too as said in ‘poththip puliyugirp pattu’.
udukkum – (This is in present tense because as she is a small girl,) the cloth keeps slipping down, so she keeps pulling it up and wearing it. (As she is of age where cloth does not stay put in her hip, can she be expert in love towards emperumAn? Is there another example of that?) The other mother (of parAnkusa nAyaki (nammAzhvAr)) also said the same thing about that girl as ‘mulaiyO muzhu muRRum pOndhila, moipUnkuzhalkuRiya kalaiyO araiyillai – ivaL paramE [ thiruviruththam – 60]’ (.. cloth does not stay in her waist .. (to show that she is a small girl)).
ayarththu – Even at this (adolescent) age, she is a fine example of love towards emperumAn that she would faint due to separation.
irangum – During this state of longing (compared to the stage of fainting when there is no sadness felt so it is comfortable) she got the conscious knowledge and so there is sadness due to thinking about Him. Since there is no conscious knowledge in the state of unconsciousness, there would not be sadness.
pAvai pENAL – Seeing her current state, and thinking ‘What could be a way to keep her alive?’, as she had seen earlier (before she got involved in bhagavath vishayam) that she used to play with the wooden woman doll all the time without food or sleep, she brought that doll and showed it. It was like a poison to her eyes (so she ignored it). She who would not be without those dolls is now (due to love towards Him) is rejecting the dolls. Her love is such that she has rejected the connections to her play things that matched her age. By this, AzhvAr shows the meaning that for those who are immersed in the matter of emperumAn, other matters would be poisonous to the eyes even upon just seeing them. Like how love towards Him happens due to His grace, disinterest in other matters also happens by His grace.
pani nedum kaN, etc. – Sleep also has left her completely.
pani nedum kaN neer thathumba – Oh! One who was having tears of joy (when with Him), is now having tears of sorrow! Like a well grown paddy field getting floods, the eyes that are enjoyable to Him are suffering like this!(says mother)
pani nedum kaN – As said in ‘AhlAdhaSeethanEthrambu: [SrI vishNu thathvam]’ (Having cool drops of tears due to joy), during the time of union the happy tears would be cold.
nedum kaN – Cannot measure the limit of beauty of these eyes, so ‘nedum’. The beauty of her eyes is such that one would immerse in it more than other parts of her body. As said in ‘EkaikaguNAvadheepsayA sadhA sthithA: [sthOthra rathnam – 19]’ (Due to wishing to know the boundary of each of your divine qualities, the ever-present words of vEdhas have not crossed the beginning stage to the next parts), like how it is not possible to know the boundary of even one of the auspicious qualities of emperumAn, for sarvESvaran who is present everywhere, who knows everything, and who is able to do anything, it is not being possible to know the boundary of beauty of her eyes. Since He is vibhu (present everywhere) His true nature cannot be measured; she by her enjoyability cannot be measured;
Or, nedum kaN – Her eyes can control into a corner the emperumAn who owns both the worlds. Beauty of eyes relate to the greatness of gyAnam (true knowledge).
neer thathumba – because (eyes are) brimming with tears of separation.
paLLi koLLAL – She does not sleep. During the time of union she would not sleep due to joyful tears; during the time of separation she would not sleep due to sorrowful tears. During union He won’t let sleep. During separation, its sadness won’t let her sleep. Instead of using the colloquial word for ‘sleep’ to describe the state of one born from her stomach, why is the mother using more respectful word for it? (why say ‘paLLi koLLAL’ instead of ‘uRangAL’?) – Even if one is born from her stomach if she becomes wife of a king, the mother would call her using more respectful words like ‘AzhvAr, nAchchiyAr’. This way of addressing by thirumangai AzhvAr is the reason for the decree and following by pUrvAchAryas (preceptors) as the meaning of SAsthram that one shall address someone who is having relationship with emperumAn, be it even a son or a disciple, with more respectful words that reflect their greatness. Considering her tenderness, she is worrying ‘Oh she is not sleeping!’.
ettuNaipodhu en kudangAl irukkakillAL – Seeing her not sleeping, based on the habit of seeing her sleep in her lap, she gave her lap. Since it is like hugging a fire, she got up from the lap startled.
ettuNaippOdhu – For one who would not be without staying in her lap, it is now not fit.
en kudankAl – Oh who is it that has given her bad advice that she cannot stay put in my lap? – she says. How she has lost the relation with both the doll she protects and the mother who protects her. How she has lost the relation with both her beloved doll and worshipped mother.
irukka killAL – There is no need for her to sleep, let her just be awake while being in my lap – with this interest she tried to take her hugging and keep her in her lap; even that did not work.
killAL – she is not having strength to do that. (not able to do that). She is not able to sit even if she tries after seeing the despondence in my face. She is not thinking this as a complaint against her daughter but saying ‘she is not able to’. Even if she is liking to sit in the lap, she is in the state that it may be possible to sit in fire but not in lap.
By this – Loss of interest in worldly ones like doll and mother is not due to knowledge of considering them as lowly. It was being there naturally for her. Like how love towards emperumAn is present naturally, disinterest in other matters is also present naturally.
(Mother continues to say – ) Is that all that she does? She also does this – emperumAn thiruvarangam engE ennum – She is asking where is the temple of the one who made me be for Him only. She is asking – where is the temple of the one who cut the connection with other things whether it is doll or the lap of mother? Instead of asking where is the temple of such and such by using His name, why is she using the word ‘emperumAn’? Since it was natural way of union (gAndharva type wedding), they united based on femaleness and maleness only; only if there were others to remind them about each other would she know the name; how did she come to know that His place is kOyil (thiruvarangam)? During union, realizing that there would come a time of separation, He was saying ‘I won’t leave you; I won’t survive if I leave you’, for her to tolerate the separation He said ‘my place is kOyil (thiruvarangam)’, and thus mentioned His place. By that, she is saying ‘place is kOyil’.
emperumAn – One who gave Himself to me in writing, thereby got me to Him in writing.
thiruvarangam engE ennum – She would know that the kOyil (SrIrangam) is in the west side (from thiruvAli thirunagari) . Why is she asking where is it? If she is not able to see and not able to see any direction due to sadness of separation, then it is given that she would have to search for direction.
Continued in part 3.
Translation by raghuram SrInivAsa dAsan
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