periya thirumozhi – 1.6.1 – vANilA muRuval

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

periya thirumozhi >> First centum >> Sixth decad

Highlights from avathArikai (Introduction)

No specific introduction.

pAsuram

vANilA muRuval siRu nudhal perundhOL
mAdharAr vana mulaip payanE
pENinEn adhanaip pizhai enak karudhip
pEdhaiyEn piRavi nOy aRuppAn
ENilEn irundhEn eNNinEn eNNi
iLaiyavar kalaviyin thiRaththai
nANinEn vandhu un thiruvadi adaindhEn
naimisAraNiyaththuL endhAy!

Word-by-Word meanings

naimisAraNiyaththuL – mercifully residing in SrI naimiSAraNyam
endhAy – Oh my lord!
vAL nilA – radiant
muRuval – gentle smile
siRu nudhal – small forehead
peru – wide
thOL – having shoulders
mAdharAr – women’s
vanam – beautiful
mulaiyE – bosoms only
payan – as ultimate goal
pENinEn – I desired;
pEdhaiyEn – I who am foolish
adhanai – that
pizhaiyena – as mistake
karudhi – considered
piRavi nOy – the disease of samsAram (cycle of birth/death)
aRuppAn – to eliminate
ENilEn irundhEn – did not think about;
eNNinEn – I analysed my previous state;
eNNi – thinking in this manner
iLaiyavar – the young women’s
kalaviyin thiRaththai – the matter of union with them
nANinEn – I felt ashamed;
nANi – feeling ashamed
un – your
thiruvadi – divine feet
vandhu – approached
adaindhEn – surrendered.

Simple translation

Oh my lord mercifully residing in SrI naimiSAraNyam! I desired the beautiful bosoms of women who are having radiant, gentle smile, small forehead and wide shoulders, as my ultimate goal; considering that as a mistake, I who am foolish did not think about eliminating the disease of samsAram (cycle of birth/death); I analysed my previous state; I felt ashamed for thinking in this manner on the matter of union with such young women; feeling ashamed, I approached your divine feet and surrendered unto you.

Highlights from vyAkyAnam (Commentary)

vANilA muRuval siRu nudhal perundhOL mAdharAr vana mulaip payanE pENinEn – AzhwAr is explaining that this is how he was in the past. To reach emperumAn, those who obey the ordained activities and conduct with noble qualities, are only qualified. But this is what I did in the past – says AzhwAr.
vANilA muRuval – Gentle smile which has radiance; alternatively – the radiance of gentle smile which remains in the hearts of those who became target of it. nudhal – forehead; remaining small; if not, it will appear masculine.
perum thOL – The enjoyment of wide shoulders which is beyond the capacity of the enjoyers.
mAdharAr … – Women who have radiant, gentle smile, small forehead and very enjoyable shoulders. I considered their well-appearing lump of flesh as the goal.
payanE pENinEn – I considered that as the invisible goal as well [not just the visible goal]. I considered the lump of flesh of these women who captivate a man by showing their beauty, rob everything he has and after realising that he was captured, not give what the man desired, as my goal in bewilderment and showed great attachment towards that. There is no real enjoyment in that! There is only bewilderment in him [chEthana, sentient entity] which makes him think that there is enjoyment in that.
adhanaip pizhai enak karudhi – In this manner, the aspect which was the target of my desire is understood to be a mistake only today; a person who is attached to worldly pleasures will not give up the attachment when told “give them up”; now, for AzhwAr to give up these worldly aspects, these worldly aspects themselves remain the teacher. That is – on thinking about their evil qualities, one can easily give up the desires towards them and move away. What is realised as mistake and abandoned today, was thought about as the goal, all along.
pEdhaiyEn – When asked “what is the reason for having attachment all along on the aspect which is abandoned after realising it as mistake?” AzhwAr says “pEdhaiyEn” – it is my foolishness which led to that.
piRavi … – Since I was foolish, I did not have the desire of “samsAram (worldly life) is insignificant, impermanent and cause for sorrow; hence I should avoid it”.
ENilEn – He is saying that he did not have the greatness to eliminate such attachment.
irundhEn – AzhwAr who thought these worldly aspects to be good, gave them up thinking that they are bad; immediately, he did not reach the ultimate destination of paramapadham. He is saying “this is my situation where I am neither there nor here”. AzhwAr who said in periya thirumozhi 1.1.1 “OdinEn” (I ran), does not have the mindset to remain here. This is similar to what is said in SrI rAmAyaNam yudhdha kANdam 17.2 “kastha Evathyathishtatha” (SrI vibhIshaNAzhwAn remained on the sky firmly).
eNNinEn – I started analysing “What have I been doing? Who am I? What should I do now?”
eNNi – thinking this way.
iLaiyavar kalaviyin thiRaththai nANinEn – I felt ashamed about the union with those women who hide the inferior nature of such enjoyment with their youth. Seeking pleasure from worldly aspects based on Sabdha etc (sound, touch, form, taste and smell) is similar to a man chasing a eunuch thinking that person to be a woman. Once knowledge is acquired, one will feel ashamed and withdraw – I was attached to such aspects all along.
vandhu un thiruvadi adaindhEn – I surrendered unto your divine feet which will remain the refuge forever unlike these worldly aspects which can be desired for a long time, only to become ashamed one day after realising their true nature.
naimisAraNiyaththuL endhAy – emperumAn is unlike those women who will take away the man’s wealth and abandon him as well. Unlike them, he remains a natural relative, having all auspicious qualities, the natural lord and who would mercifully caress the face of the one who surrenders saying “I am here to take care of that; why are you worrying?”, if that person feels anguished for the lost time.

In the next article we will enjoy the next pAsuram.

adiyen sarathy ramanuja dasan

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