SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:
avathArimai (Introduction) – AndAL tells pAnchajanya AzhwAn “Since you are always remaining on emperumAn’s divine mouth, you are the one who knows the taste and fragrance of his divine mouth. Will you tell me as to how they are?”
karuppUram nARumO kamalappU nARumO
thiruppavaLach chevvAydhAn thiththiththirukkumO
marupposiththa mAdhavanRan vAychchuvaiyum nARRamum
viruppuRRuk kEtkinREn sollAzhi veNsangE
Word-by-Word Meaning
Azhi veNsangE – Oh SrI pAnchajanya AzhwAn, who is majestic and white!
maruppu osiththa mAdhavan than – one who snapped the tusk (of kamsan’s elephant, kuvalayApIdam), kaNNapirAn, his
vAy – divine mouth’s
suvaiyum – taste
nARRamum – and fragrance
viruppuRRu – with desire
kEtkinREn – I am asking (you)
thiru pavaLa sem vAy thAn – (that emperumAn’s) beautiful, reddish, like coral, divine mouth
karuppUram – like medicated camphor
nARumO – will it be fragrant?
(Or)
kamalappU – like a lotus flower
nARumO – will it be fragrant?
thiththiththirukkumO – will it have sweet taste?
sol – tell me (as to how it will be)
Simple Translation
Oh SrI pAnchajanya AzhwAn, who is majestic and who is white in colour! I am asking you desirously about the fragrance and taste of the divine mouth of kaNNapirAn, who had snapped the tusks of the elephant kuvalayApIdam. Will his beautiful, reddish like coral, divine mouth be as fragrant as medicated camphor? Or, will it be as fragrant as lotus flower? Will it have sweet taste? You should tell me as to how it is.
vyAkyAnam (Commentary)
karuppUram nARumO kamalappU nARUmO – The fragrance of medicated camphor will have the qualities of pungency and acridity. The fragrance of lotus flower will have the quality of coolness, which may not be fresh. The fragrance of [emperumAn’s] divine mouth will be without any of these deficiencies, and will have many times the completeness of their fragrances. chAndhOgya upanishath 3-14-2 says of emperumAn “sarvagandha: sarvarasa:” (he is the repository of all the good fragrances and all the good tastes). Isn’t his divine mouth a limb of such a divine form? Since no other entity has the eminences which this divine mouth has, she [ANdAL] is referring to a few entities [such as medicated camphor and lotus] which have a few of the eminences which his divine mouth has, and since his divine mouth does not have any of the deficiencies which those entities have, she is asking with a doubt whether it will be as fragrant as the other entities. Since the fragrances of entities such as medicated camphor, lotus flower etc could be experienced in this [divine mouth], it should be considered that she is citing a couple of those entities primarily, for confirmation.
nARumO – She is saying “If you know which of those fragrances are present in [his divine mouth], are you capable of saying it?”
thiruppavaLach chevvAydhAn thiththiththirukkumO – going beyond the fragrance which could be experienced due to proximity [to the divine conch], she is asking if the taste of the inner mouth, when experienced, would be sweet. As seen in the chAndhOgya upanishath 3-14-2 “sarvagandha: sarvarasa:”, doesn’t his divine form have all the sweet fragrances and the sweet tastes? While she had referred to two examples in the case of fragrance [medicated camphor and lotus], why has she not quoted any example, such as honey and sugar candy, here, for the sweetness of taste? Since this is like a stream entering the mouth, if someone were to enter it, they will get bewildered and would not be able to think of anything. Hence, she is not citing an example for taste.
thiruppavaLach chevvAy – once the divine mouth became the target [for her eyes], it did not allow her to engage with anything else. Does it have such eminence? Since this is the repository for the most eminent Sabdha sparSa rUpa rasa and gandha senses (the five external sensory receptacles of sound, touch, form, taste and smell), isn’t this capable of nurturing all the five sensory organs?
marupposiththa mAdhavan than vAychchuvaiyum nARRamum – just as sIthAp pirAtti, losing out to the valour of SrI rAma, embraced him after he had annihilated kara, dhUshaNa and other monsters in janmasthAn [in dhaNdakAraNya forest] as mentioned in SrI rAmAyaNam AraNya kANdam 30-40 “tham dhrushtvA Sathru hanthAram maharshINAm sukhAvaham l babhUva hrushtA vaidhEhI bharthAram parishasvajE” (sIthAp pirAtti, looking at her husband SrI rAma, who had annihilated his enemies and had given comfort to the sages, became very happy, and sustained herself. She tightly embraced her husband), [his divine consorts] losing out to the valour of kaNNa pirAn who had killed the elephant kuvalayApIdam, engaged deeply with him. Isn’t this the limb with which his divi9ne consorts engage deeply and from which they cannot come out easily?
vAych chuvaiyum nARRamum – at the time of experiencing, though she had spoken about fragrance and then about taste [of his divine mouth] in the first two lines of the verse after coming out of the experience, while mentioning about it, due to the way it which it had got fixed in her mind, she enquires about the taste first and then about the fragrance.
viruppuRRuk kEtkinREn – I am asking about the taste and fragrance of the divine mouth, with deep desire. bhagavath gIthA 9-1 says “idham thu thE guhyathamam pravakshyAmyanasUyavE l gyAnam vigyAna sahitham yajgyAthvA mOkshyasE’SubhAth ll” (I am instructing you, who are free from any jealousy, regarding this knowledge which is the most secretive and is in the form of devotion which is supplemented with distinguished knowledge). Unlike this situation, in my case [ANdAL’s] there is no need for absence of jealousy in the first place and then the manifestation of desire [Desire is there from the beginning itself]. Again, there is no need to caution her, unlike the way emperumAn cautioned arjuna, as mentioned in bhagavath gIthA 18-67 “idham thE nAthapaskAya nAbhakthAya kadhAchana l na chASuSrUshavE vAchyam na cha mAm yO’byasUyathi” (this sacred text, instructed to you (by me) is not fit to be instructed to anyone who is without devotion (towards me and you), who does not have desire in listening to it and who hates me). Alternatively, this could be construed as ANdAL telling SrI pAnchajanyam “I am requesting this, of you, with lot of desire”. Even though I, as his [emperumAn’s] consort, could ordain you, our servitor, and ask you to reveal to me, due to my present situation of helplessness, I am praying to you to reveal to me. Since SrI pAnchajanya AzhwAn is emperumAn’s servitor, isn’t he her servitor too? Aren’t servitors common to both husband and wife!
Azhi – sangE – Oh divine conch, who has the expanse of an ocean! The implied meaning is that the divine conch should behave in a broadminded manner, just like the ocean. Alternatively, this could be construed as – oh divine conch, who took birth in ocean! In that case, the implied meaning will be – just like the ocean, which is your place of birth, sustains all lives, you too should sustain me by answering my question.
veN sangE sol – just as your white complexion entered my mind, your answer too should enter my mind. Alternatively, even as you are enjoying [the divine fragrance and taste of emperumAn’s divine mouth], you have become drained of colour [and have become white], due to your distress. Since you know my distress, you should tell me the information which I am asking of you.
Next, we will consider the 2nd pAsuram of this decad.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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