SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:
avathArikai (Introduction) – She explains the vows and rituals that she is carrying out and implores “You should enable me to reach emperumAn”
veLLai nuNmaNaRkoNdu theruvaNindhu veLvaraippadhanmunnam thuRai padindhu
muLLumillAch chuLLi erimaduththu muyanRunnai nORkinREn kAmadhEvA
kaLLavizh pUngaNai thoduththukkoNdu kadalvaNNan enbadhOr pEr ezhudhi
puLLinai vAy piLandhAn enbadhOr ilakkiniR puga ennai eygiRRiyE
Word-by-Word Meanings
kAmadhEvA – Oh the lord of love!
veLLai – being white
nuN – being fine
maNal koNdu – taking sand
theru – in the street where he is coming
aNindhu – decorating it
veLvaraippadhan munnam – before the break of dawn
thuRai – reaching the river bank
padindhu – taking a bath
muLLum – thorns, ants etc
illA – without [those thorns and ants]
chuLLi – sticks
eri maduththu – putting them in fire
muyanRu – making an attempt
unnai – in matters relating to you
nORkinREn – I am observing [religious] vow
kaL avizh – dripping honey
pU – like flowers
kaNai – arrows
thoduththukkoNdu – taking aim with them
kadalvaNNan – one who has the complexion of ocean
enbadhu – known in that manner
Or ilakkinil – on a target
puga – to enter
ennai – me
eygiRRi – you should launch
Simple Translation
Oh the lord of love! Before dawn, I reach the river front, take a bath, collect sand which is white and fine [so as not to hurt your feet] and decorate the street in which you would come. I collect sticks which are free of thorns and ants, and put them in the ritual fire. I am making all such attempts in matters related to you. With arrows, which are like flowers dripping honey [kAman launches only flowers and not real arrows, being the lord of love], you should take aim at a target [emperumAn] who has the complexion of ocean and launch me through those arrows, such that I enter that target.
vyAkyAnam (Commentary)
veLLai nuNmaNaRkoNdu theruvaNindhu – she [ANdAL] takes sand, which is white due to its connection with emperumAn who has only saththva guNam (noble qualities) and decorates the street on which kAman, who has excess of rajO guNam (qualities of passion, anger etc), would come. Since he [kAman] has a tender nature, she selects fine sand, which will not irritate his feet, for the purpose of decorating the street.
veLvaraippadhan munnam thuRai padindhu – Just as she had said in thiruppAvai 2 “nAtkAlE nIrAdi (taking a bath early in the morning) while observing ritual for emperumAn, due to that habit, even while observing a ritual for kAman, she is taking a bath in the river, before dawn breaks out. She had said in thiruppAvai 8 “” kIzhvAnam veLLenRu“, while observing ritual for emperumAn, showing anxiety that her friends had not woken up for the ritual though the eastern sky has shown signs of dawn. Similar to that, she is anxious about the onset of dawn, even while observing a ritual for kAman.
thuRai padindhu – SrI rAma had told lakshmaNa about bharatha taking bath in the early hours, due to the separation from SrI rAma burning his body, as in SrI rAmAyaNa SlOkam in AraNya kANdam 16-30 “athyantha sukhasamvrudhdha: sukumAra: sukhOchitha: l katham thu vapararAthrEshu sarayUmavagAhathE ll” (how does bharatha, who was nurtured in comforts, who has a tender form, who was apt for comfort, have a bath in the river sarayU, late in the night?) Just as SrI bharathAzhwAn had to take bath in the early hours in order to rid himself of the fire of separation, ANdAL too had to take a bath in order to rid herself of the fire of separation [from emperumAn]. Instead, is she not taking a bath for the sake of kAman, in order to observe the ritual, being bewildered due to her love for krishNa?
muLLum illAch chuLLi eri maduththu – due to the “cha” kAram (the thamizh suffix um as in muLLum) which indicates additive nature, she is referring to ants etc which are present in sticks, apart from thorn. chuLLi – tender wood [stick]. It will be apt for hOmam (a ritual in which materials are added to burning fire) only if it is free from insects such as ants etc. Moreover, since the ritual is being carried out for the sake of kAman who has a tender nature, she selects sticks which are free from thorns, in order to carry out the hOmam.
eri maduththu – adding the sticks to fire, to carry out hOmam. Perhaps she thinks that if she carries out hOmam with tender sticks, she could embrace kaNNan [krishNa] firmly. ANdAL has the habit of selecting and giving materials which are apt for carrying out agnihOthra hOmam which periyAzhwAr would do, towards kaNNan, as a self-fulfilling objective [viz. without expecting any benefit from that ritual] when he is not carrying out confidential kainkaryam such as plucking flowers, stringing garland etc. ANdAL, who has this habit, is perhaps carrying out a ritual in favour of kAman, out of bewilderment, in order to unite with emperumAn.
muyanRu – making an attempt. Just as it has been said in SrI rAmAyaNam sundhara kANdam 39-30 “Saraisthu sankulAm kruthvA lankAm parabalArthdhana: l mAm nayEdh yadhi kAkuthsthas thath thasya sadhruSam bhavEth ll” (If SrI rAmapirAn, who annihilates the strength of his enemies, bewilders lankA with his arrows and takes me with him, it will be apt for him), while emperumAn himself is the means for attaining him, I [so says ANdAL] am making efforts to fall at your feet, in order to attain emperumAn; and you are seeing all these.
unnai nORkinREn – don’t you know that the entity that I am holding on to, is parama purushan (best among all)? I, who am holding on to him, am falling and quivering at your feet, since I am not able to attain him.
“Be that as it may … What do you want me to do for that?” asks kAman. She responds through the second half of the pAsuram….
kaLLavizh ….. eygiRRiyE – she says “Aren’t you the one who has arrows, which are called as Sithai, which are tender, like flowers and which do not require sharpening with an abrasive wheel?”
kaLLavizh pUngaNai thoduththukkoNdu – aiming with a set of arrows, which are like flowers, dripping honey
kadal vaNNan enbadhOr pEr ezhudhi – writing the divine name of the one who has the divine beauty which will remove the ennui of those who see him, just like an ocean does. She thinks that if it is written on the arrow “ANdAL desired to be with one who has the complexion of ocean” and if that arrow is targeted at emperumAn, he will accept her due to the eminence of that arrow. Alternatively, the term pEr ezhudhi could mean writing the name kadal vaNNan on kAman’s heart. If he writes on his heart “We should unite ANdAL with kadal vaNNan” he will take a sankalpam (vow) and emperumAn would accept her.
puLLinai vAy piLandhAn enbadhOr ilakkinil puga ennai eygiRRiyE – will you ensure that you would take me to emperumAn who manifested that he has the nature of annihilating his enemies, just as he tore the mouth of the demon bakAsuran who came in the form of a stork? Are you capable of making me embrace emperumAn just as sIthAp pirAtti did, just as it has been mentioned in SrI rAmAyaNam AraNya kANdam 94-18 “tham dhrushtvA SathruhanthAram maharshINAm sukhAvaham l babhUva hrushtA vaidhEhI bharthAram parishasvajE ll”
(Looking at SrI rAma, who annihilated his enemies and made the great sages joyous, sIthai, the daughter of vidhEha rAja, became happy; she embraced her husband strongly).
We shall next take up the third pAsuram, of this decad.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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