SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:
avathArikai (Introduction) – In the previous pAsuram, she said that it appeared that emperumAn was going to steal her physical form. In this pAsuram, she says that he did that.
kaipporuLgaL munnamE kaikkoNdAr kAviri nIr
seyppuraLavOdum thiruvarangach chelvanAr
epporutkum ninRArkkum eydhAdhu nAnmaRaiyin
soRporuLAy ninRAr en meypporuLum koNdArE
Word-by-Word Meanings
kAviri nIr – water from the river kAviri
sey puraLa Odum – having plenty of water resources such that water flows through all the agricultural fields, in abundance
thiru arangam – one who has mercifully taken residence in thiruvarangam
selvanAr – as SrImAn (having lot of wealth)
epporutkum ninRu – remaining as simplicity personified for even the lowliest entities
Arkkum eydhAdhu – not accessible even for the most eminent
nAl maRaiyin sol poruL Ay ninRar – periya perumAL who is the meaning for all the words mentioned in the four vEdhas [sacred texts]
munnamE – already
kaipporuLgaL – all the materials in the hand
kaikkoNdAr – having stolen (now)
en meypporuLum – the entity of my physical form too
koNdAr – he stole
Simple Translation
thiruvarangam has abundance of water resources such that the river kAviri flows through all the agricultural fields. periya perumAL, who is the meaning for all the words mentioned in the four vEdhas, and who is a SrImAn, resides mercifully in SrIrangam. He is simplicity personified, for the lowliest of entities, while he is inaccessible for even the most eminent. He has already stolen all the materials on my hand; now he has stolen my physical form too.
vyAkyAnam (Commentary)
kaipporuLgaL munnamE kaikkoNdAr – he has already stolen my belongings such as bangle, complexion etc. Who is the one who had stolen like that?
kAviri nIr seyppuraLa Odum thiruvarangach chelvanAr – the wealthy person who is residing in thiruvarangam, which has plenty of water resources such that river kAviri flows through all the fields, abundantly. The abode is so eminent that even water, an achEthanam (entity without knowledge) is protecting everything which is to be protected. The abode is like that; he is parama chEthanar (one who is omniscient). What is the harmony that exists between his living in that abode and stealing all my belongings?
epporutkum ninRu – remaining as a simplistic entity for Sabari, a hunter tribal lady, for sugrIva, a monkey and for yaSOdhA, a herd-woman.
Arkkum eydhAdhu – difficult to access for those who, even if they are highly knowledgeable, try to attain him with their efforts. Through these two terms [epporutkum ninRu and Arkkum eydhAdhu] ANdAL mercifully conveys the same meaning which nammAzhwAr mercifully said in thiruvAimozhi 1-3-4 “ArumOr nilaimaiyan ena aRivariya emperumAn ArumOr nilaimaiyan ena aRiveLiya emperumAn” (emperumAn is difficult to be estimated by the most knowledgeable people if they are not favourable to him and is easy to be estimated by those who, even if they are ignorant, are his followers).
nAnmaRaiyin sol poruLAy ninRAr – he remained as the meaning for all the words mentioned in the four vEdhas. Did not emperumAn himself mercifully say in bhagavath gIthA 15-15 “vEdhaiScha sarvairahamEva vEdhya:” (only I am known through all the vEdhas)? Did not her father, periyAzhwAr, too mercifully say in periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 4-3-11 “vEdhAntha vizhuppouLin mElirundha viLakku” (emperumAn is the most distinguished meanings mentioned in vEdhAnthams and is self-evident)?
en meypporuLum koNdArE – he seized both my AthmA (soul) and my physical form.
There is another vyAkyAnam [for the verses seen so far]
kaipporuLgaL munnamE koNdAr – munnamE – refers to the stage of infancy. Even when her [ANdAL’s] mother suckled her, wasn’t affection towards emperumAn fed to her by periyAzhwAr too! SrI rAmAyaNam ayOdhyA kANdam 40-5 says “srushtasthvam vanavAsAya svanurakthas suhrujjanE l rAmE pramAdham mA karshI: puthra! bhrAthari gachchathi ll” (Oh, child! You have been created only to live in forest. You are affectionate towards SrI rAma who has a kind heart towards you. When your elder brother walks in the forest, (engaging with his gait) do not be inattentive (in protecting him)). Just as sumithrA fed lakshmaNa rAmabhakthi [devotion towards SrI rAma] too along with her milk even when he was an infant, it appears that ANdAL, even as she was born, due to separation from emperumAn, came without her bangles. Saying this is fully apt for her, and is not a hyperbole. As mentioned in SrI rAmAyaNam bAla kANdam 18-28 “bAlyAth prabhruthi susnigdhO lakshmaNO lakshmivardhana: l rAmasya lOkarAmasya bhrAthur jyEshtasya nithyaSa: ll” (lakshmaNa, who was filled with the wealth of devotion, and who makes all the worlds happy, had deep affection towards his elder brother SrI rAma, right from his days of infancy), similar to iLaiyaperumAL [lakshmaNa], sustaining herself [reference here is to ANdAL] if she is united with emperumAn and inability to do so in separation from him had started for her right from her birth!
kAviri nIr seyppuraLa Odum thiruvarangach chelvanAr – emperumAn resides in thiruvarangam where kAviri river, which is the means to nurture crops, flows continuously into fields which are the readily attainable entities. This does not happen once in a while, but forever. For upAsaka (one who attempts to attain emperumAn with his own efforts through bhakthi yOgam [path of devotion]), the end benefit may not be attained, even after carrying out his efforts fully. It may be due to the strong karmas [results of past deeds]. Unlike this, for those in thiruvarangam, emperumAn is readily available at hand. The verse kAviri nIr seyppuraLa Odum denotes the richness of water resource. The svApadhESam [distinguished meaning] for this has been indicated here – When one holds on to emperumAn as the upAyam, though his action of holding on is there, he considers that only emperumAn could grant himself as the means. The lakshaNa [indication] for upAyam (means) is one who will not stop until he gives the benefit. This is the reason for one to hold on to emperumAn as the means. When one thinks of emperumAn as the means, one cannot attain emperumAn through that thought alone. The ability to grant means rests solely with emperumAn; neither the person who wishes to attain emperumAn nor his thought that emperumAn is the means, could grant him the result. The flowing of river kAviri indicates all these.
thiruvarangach chelvanAr – one who has realised eminence through his relationship with that abode.
epporutkum ninRu – easily accessible to sugrIva, a monkey, Sabari, a tribal hunter lady and yaSOdhA, a herd-woman. SrI rAmAyaNam kishkindhA kANdam 4-19 says “pithA yasya purA hyAsIth SaraNyO dharmavathsala: l thasya puthra: SaraNyaScha sugrIvam SaraNam gatha: ll” (SrI rAma, who was the son of dhaSaratha, who was deeply attached to righteousness, and who was apt to be taken refuge under, now took refuge under sugrIva). The previous SlOkam in the same kANdam, 4-18 says “Esha dhathvA cha vitthAni prApya cha anuththamam yaSa: l lOkanAtha: purA bhUthvA sugrIvam nAtham ichchathi ll” (This rAmapirAn, who has given all the materials to all the people, who has attained eminent fame, who was the lord of the entire word earlier, desires sugrIva (today) as the lord). Apart from saying that he is a simplistic person, he also makes those who are nearby to say that he is so. In the latter SlOkam, the purpose of being the lord of the world, was to be obedient to sugrIva, by learning from the world. If one were to ask – aren’t pArathanthryam (being dependent on someone) and svAthanthryam (being totally independent) contradictory to each other, it could be said that emperumAn has sufficient svAthanthryam to get for himself the quality of pArathanthryam. A person, who has no leadership qualities, even by lowering himself, cannot be said to have displayed an eminent quality. Hence, the qualities of pArathanthryam and svAthanthryam, manifested within limits, could not be termed as contradictory. In the last pramANam, it is seen that emperumAn desired to have sugrIva as his lord. Anyone will desire a feature that (s)he does not have. Since emperumAn does not have a lord for himself, he desired sugrIva as his lord. The verse epporutkum ninRu indicates his ability to remain obedient to yaSOdhAp pirAtti such that she could tie him and beat him, and his granting permission to Sabhari to carry out confidential kainkaryam to him, just like lakshmaNa carried out.
One day, emperumAnAr [rAmAnujar] was explaining the qualities of emperumAn, starting from parathvam (eminence) down to saulabhyam (simplicity). Hearing this, embAr, his disciple, was in tears. Looking at him with compassion, emperumAnAr said “When his simplicity was mentioned, people of the world withdrew, saying ’Is he that simple?’ since they did not have the fortune to go near him. Only you have the fortune to approach him thinking ’Such an eminent person could be this simple’!” It is pertinent to recall the pramANam as said in SrI rAmAyaNam kishkindhA kANdam 4-21 “yasya prasAdhE sathatham prasIdhEyu: imA: prajA:l sa rAma: vAnarEndhrasya prasAdham abhikAnkshathE” (That rAmapirAn, who is such that when he is happy, the people of the entire world are always happy, seeks benefaction from sugrIva, who is the leader of monkeys). In SrI rAmAyaNam yudhdha kANdam 18-3 rAma tells the assembly of his advisors “mithra bhAvEna samprAptham na thyajEyam kathanchana l dhOshO yadhyapi thasya syAth sathAmEthath agarhitham ll” (I will not let down this vibhIshaNa who has come as a friend. Even if he has any faults, let them be; for good people, accepting him is not to be reproached). In SrI rAmAyaNam yudhdha kANdam 18-33, SrI rAma tells sugrIva “sakrudhEva prapannAya thavAsmIthi cha yAchathE l abhayam sarvabhUthEbhyO dhadhAmi Ethath vratham mama ll” (To the person who surrenders to me once and to the person who tells me ‘I am your servitor’ I offer protection from all entities alive. This is my solemn pledge). It would appear that SrI rAmapirAn is in dissonance with sugrIva with regard to taking in vibhIshaNa. [parASara] bhattar would offer his explanation saying “Each person is engaged in protecting the one who has surrendered to him”. Hence there is no contradiction here. As just seen in SrI rAmAyaNam yudhdha kANdam SlOkam 4-19, SrI rAma has surrendered to sugrIva. Hence, sugrIva is taking pains to protect him from vibhIshaNa. vibhIshaNa had surrendered to SrI rAma, as mentioned in SrI rAmAyaNam yudhdha kANdam SlOkam 17-16 “sO’ham parushithasthEna dhAsavachchAvamAnitha: l thyakthvA puthrAmScha dhArAmScha rAghavam SaraNam gatha: ll” (I, who am like that, have been rudely treated by rAvaNa, being treated like a servant; I have left behind my wife and children, and am taking refuge under rAghava). Hene, SrI rAma is taking pains to protect vibhIshaNa. sugrIva will not let down SrI rAma who has surrendered to him; SrI rAma will not let down vibhIshaNa who has surrendered to him. sugrIva thinks that allowing vibhIshaNa to surrender to SrI rAma will result in handing over SrI rAma to vibhIshaNa. SrI rAma thinks that it is appropriate for him to accept vibhIshaNa after making sugrIva to accept him. Hence, he is beseeching sugrIva “Protecting those who surrendered to us has been a long-standing vow for us. Due to affection towards us, please do not prevent us from carrying out that act. You should also accept this and fulfil our desire”.
[we now return to the main pAsuram, after seeing the second explanation in the vyAkyAnam for the first part]
Isn’t there any eminence for him [emperumAn] who has made himself as very easily approachable for even the lowly entities?
Arkkum eydhAdhu – he has the eminence of being unapproachable for even people like brahmA et al, who have high levels of knowledge. Did not thoNdaradippodi AzhwAr too mercifully say in thirumAlai 44 “peNNulAm sadaiyinAnum piramanum unnaik kANbAn eNNilA Uzhi Uzhi thavam seydhAr” (even Sivan, who carries gangA on his matted hair and brahmA, carry out penance for long periods of time, in order to see you)?
epporutkum ninRu Arkkum eydhAdhu – this could also be construed as – pervading every entity as antharyAmi (in-dwelling soul) and due to that reason alone, not comprehensible to anyone
nAnmaRaiyin poruLAy ninRAr – he remained as the meaning of vEdhams. He remained as the meaning for every word mentioned in the four vEdhams.
en meypporuLum koNdArE – supreme being, who is known only by hearing through vEdham, came in front of our eyes and seized our physical form, which has an inseparable relationship with us and which we use for carrying out our tasks. Just as those, who enjoy him, leave aside his svarUpam (basic nature), guNam (auspicious qualities) etc and enjoy his divine form, he too, in the case of his followers, leaves aside their svarUpam, guNam etc and desires their physical form alone. Just as ANdAL desires his physical form, he too desires her physical form. It is pertinent to recall here the words of thirumAlaiyANdAn ” Though we have heard that mUlaprakruthi (primordial matter) and other achEthanam (entities without knowledge) which derive from it are to be given up, there is no need to give up this physical form, which is derived from mUlaprakruthi. Due to the thought that it helps in attaining the divine feet of ALavandhAr, I desire this physical form”
Next, we will consider the 7th pAsuram of this decad.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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