thiruvAimozhi – 9.6 – urugumAl

Previously AzhwAr said without any desire to live anymore in thiruvAimozhi 9.5.10 “ezha naNNi nAmum nam vAna nAdanOdu onRinOm” (Having become like-minded with emperumAn who is in paramapadham which is the apt destination for us, we are also setting out to leave); at this state, emperumAn should either come and present himself to AzhwAr to retain him or lose him. At this stage, when thiruvadi (hanuman) arrived, while sIthAp pirAtti was anguishing due to the many days of suffering, and perumAL not having arrived, still she was reminded of her twelve years of wonderful togetherness with perumAL as said in SrI rAmAyaNam sundhara kANdam 33.17  “samAdhvAdhaSathathrAham rAghavasya nivESanE | bhunjAnAmAnushAn bhOgAn sarva kAma samrudhdhinI  ||” (I remained with perumAL in the palace for twelve years with all possible enjoyments of humans). In the same way AzhwAr remembered the intimate union he had with emperumAn in thiruvAimozhi 8.7 “iruththum viyandhu“. The reason for this is – he should live so that he can complete the kainkaryam he has taken up [i.e singing thiruvAimozhi]; alternative reason – the fortune of emperumAn who is eagerly looking forward to hearing this [thiruvAimozhi] from AzhwAr; another reason – it is the fortune of chEthanas (souls) who get to acquire taste towards bhagavath vishayam through the overflowing devotional love of AzhwAr which comes out as this thiruvAimozhi. In this manner, AzhwAr got reminded about the union in “iruththum viyandhu“.

[SrI rAmAyaNam sundhara kANdam 33.17 is explained here]

samA dhvAdhaSa – sIthAp pirAtti said “Son! I who am suffering alone here, greatly enjoyed an intimate union with perumAL for twelve years in the palace of my father-in-law!” Here, emperumAn who united/interacted with AzhwAr in an orderly manner [he being lord and others being servitors, as in thiruvAimozhi 4.5 “vIRRirundhu“], interacted with AzhwAr in a disorderly manner as said in thiruvAimozhi 8.7.8 “mUvulagum than neRiyA vayiRRiRkoNdu – siRiyEnudaich chindhaiyuL ninRozhindhAn” (he who is having the three worlds inside him without disregarding the protector-protected relationship, stood in my heart, in me who is very lowly); not only AzhwAr recollected that experience, he also started experiencing the same now; that is, AzhwAr spoke about the qualities and physical beauty of emperumAn who is supreme, who disregarded his supremacy and interacted in a humble manner with AzhwAr, and started feeling that he is having the same experience now and becomes broken, thinking about emperumAn’s Seelam (simplicity). nanjIyar would blissfully say “Just as seeing the bottom of an ocean, how is it possible for our AchAryas to connect the experience of iruththum viyandhu decad, here!” While AzhwAr did not attain emperumAn, due to enjoying emperumAn’s Seela guNam, AzhwAr becomes broken. ALavandhAr would mercifully explain “This is AzhwAr’s meditation on emperumAn’s qualities, with displeasure”.

[Similar explanation is found in thiruvAimozhi 7.6 pravESam] SrI rAmAyaNam ayOdhyA kANdam 2.26 “bahavO nrupa” (Oh king there are many qualities) – dhaSaratha chakravarthi who planned to perform coronation for perumAL (SrI rAma), thought “for sixty thousand years, we carefully ruled the kingdom in a noble manner; if I place the responsibility on a small child [young SrI rAma], will that be reasonable or not?” He thought “let us analyse this in the people’s assembly” and arranged for the same. As the whole palace started trembling as said in SrI rAmAyaNam ayOdhyA kANdam 2.18 “janaughOdhghushta sannAdhO vimAnam kampayanniva” (the palace started trembling on hearing the joyful uproar of the people) to make him think that he should rebuild the palace, he thought “They acknowledged my desire and accepted the same; still, should I not ask them to reveal their thoughts from their own mouths?” He asked “come on”, as in SrI rAmAyaNam ayOdhyA kANdam 2.25 “kathamnu mayi dharmENa” (Why do you desire for my son, while I am ruling righteously?) – I ruled the whole earth for sixty thousand years ensuring that the weak is protected from the strong, as said in SrI rAmAyaNam ayOdhyA kANdam 2.7 “pANdarasyAthapathrasyach chAyAm jaritham mayA” (I became old under the shade of this white umbrella (of my throne) while caring for the whole world) – Wandering under the pearl studded umbrella without seeking any pleasure for myself and cared for your protection only; when I asked your opinion, should you not have told “Do you have to do this when you are alive? Should you not have waited until your death?” or “Should you not do it when it is impossible to manage?” Instead you are speaking as if you have been ruled by a cruel murderer and now found a righteous person; what is the mistake I have done for your abandoning me and choosing my son?; [the citizens replied] You have not committed any mistake towards us; the qualities of your son is the main reason; there is no shortcoming in how you cared for us; you begot a son with great qualities and stole everyone’s heart! bahava: (many) – his eagerness to protect is much greater than yours. SrI rAmAyaNam kishkindhA kANdam 13.20 “dhAthUnAm iva” (thArA tells vAli “just like himalayas is rich with minerals, SrI rAma is rich with auspicious qualities) – Just as value of material is measured with the value of gold, the qualities and faults of people are measured based on the same qualities present in SrI rAma. SrI rAmAyaNam ayOdhyA kANdam 26.2 “hrudhayAni AmamanthEva janasya guNavaththayA” (Due to having wonderful qualities, he appeared like churning the hearts of people).

Each pAsuram is discussed subsequently.