SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:
avathArikai (Introduction) – she says in this pAsuram “Leave me, who is the servitor exclusively for emperumAn and for none else, at the banks of river yamunA”
angaiththalaththidai Azhi koNdAn avan mugaththanRi vizhiyEn enRu
sengachchuk koNdu kaNNAdai Arththuch chiRumAnidavaraik kANil nANum
kongaiththalam ivai nOkkik kANIr gOvindhanukkallAl vAyil pOgA
inguththai vAzhvai ozhiyavE pOy yamunaik karaikkennai uyththidumin
Word-by-Word Meanings
am kaiththalaththidai – on the beautiful, divine location of hand
Azhi koNdAn avan – kaNNa pirAn, who is holding the divine disc
mugaththu anRi vizhiyEn enRu – will not look at the face of anyone other than his divine face
sem kachchu Adai koNdu – with the dress of good bodice
kaN Arththu – closing their eyes
siRu mAnidavaraik kANil nANum – feeling shy to look at lowly people
kongaiththalam ivai – these bosoms
nOkki kANIr– (Oh, mothers!) you look minutely
(these bosoms)
gOvindhanukku allAl – apart from kaNNa pirAn
vAyil pOgA – will not look at the entrance of anyone else’s house
(Hence)
inguththai vAzhvai ozhiyap pOy – getting rid of life here
ennai yamunaik karaikkE uyththidumin – carry me to the bank of river yamunA
Simple Translation
Oh, mothers! Look minutely at these bosoms which have closed their eyes with good bodice. These will not look at the face of anyone other than the divine face of kaNNa pirAn who is holding the divine disc in his divine hand and they will feel shy to look at any lowly person. They will not look at the entrance of anyone else’s house, other than kaNNa pirAn. Carry me to the bank of river yamunA, leaving aside life here.
vyAkyAnam (Commentary)
angaiththalaththidai Azhi koNdAn avan mugaththanRi vizhiyEn – this is the vow taken by the bosoms, as if they are in chEthana samAdhi (in the state of an entity having knowledge). Their verb is in the first person, vizhiyEn (I will not look). In the army of kings, there is a division called as “pUvElaikkArar padai”. They will kill themselves if any disturbance happens even to the flower worn by the king. In the same way, these bosoms have taken a vow that they “Will not look at anyone other than him, who is holding the divine disc in his divine hand”. They will say “Even if he comes without his divine disc, we will not desire him”.
angaiththalaththidai Azhi – His mere hands will be such that evil spirits would have to be warded off. When he is holding the divine disc, just like the kaRpaga maram (wish-fulfilling celestial tree) having blossomed flowers, one cannot describe that beauty. Alternatively, it could be construed that she is saying in dislike “When his mere hand is capable of destroying me, should I speak about what will happen when he is holding the divine disc too?” Just as nammAzhwAr says in thiruvAimozhi 10-6-8 “karudhumidam porudhu – kainninRa chakkaraththan” (one with the divine disc which will go and attack, where his divine heart desires, and return to stay on that divine hand), the divine disc will leave the divine hand to destroy enemies and destroy those who are affectionate [towards emperumAn] by merely remaining on the hand.
sengachchu Adai koNdu kaN Arththu – with red coloured bodice, the bosoms covered their eyes. The pAsuram gives the reason for this action, further…
siRu mAnidavaraik kANil nANum – they will feel shy if they have to look at lowly persons. The term siRu mAnidavar thus distinguishes purushOththaman (emperumAn) who is peru mAnidavar (eminent person). emperumAn himself says in bhagavath gIthA 9-11 “avajAnanthi mAm mUdA mAnushIm thanumASritham l param bhAvam ajAnanthO mama bhUthamahESvaram ll” (Those without knowledge, not realising that I am the ISvaran, above all the creations, and that I have come in the form of a human entity, insult me)
kANil nANum – these bosoms, which are huge, will shrink. When bharatha was coming towards chithrakUtam, lakshmaNa protested to SrI rAma about his intentions. Sri rAma then told him “uchyamAnO’pi bharathO mayA lakshmaNa! thathvatha: l rAjyamasmai prayachchEthi bAdam ithyEva vakshyathi ll thathOkthO dharmaSeelEna bhrAthrA thasya hithE ratha: l lakshmaNa: pravivESEva svAni gAthrANi lajjayA ll” (Oh, lakshmaNa! If bharatha is ordered by me to give the kingdom to you, he will carry it out truly. lakshmaNa, who was told this way by his elder brother, who does not veer from the path of righteousness, and who is very much attached in the well-being of his elder brother, out of shame, felt shrivelled). Did not lakshmaNa shrivel due to shyness? While brothers in the world fight with each other for the sake of attaining kingdom, how the kingdom is tossed about, at the hands of these brothers! After giving up his kingdom, when SrI rAma reached chithrakUtam, lakshmaNa, who went along with SrI rAma [to the forest], saw bharatha coming towards them. Mistaking his intention, lakshmaNa told SrI rAma with anger clearly seen on is face “I will kill bharatha, I will hit him”. Despite SrI rAma telling lakshmaNa about the eminent qualities of bharatha, since lakshmaNa did not listen to him, SrI rAma told him “Oh, dear! It appears that you have a desire to rule the land. As soon as I tell bharatha ‘Oh, dear, give the kingdom to lakshmaNa’, bharatha will hand over the kingdom to you, as if relieved of a huge load on his head. You go ahead to ayOdhyA. I will proceed further with bharatha”. As soon as he heard this, didn’t lakshmaNa shrivel completely!
kongaith thalam ivai – just as sIthAp pirAtti had told hanuman in SrI rAmAyaNam sundhara kANdam 40-3 “yathA tham purushavyAgram gAthrai: SOkAbhikarSithai: l samspruSEyam sakAmA’ham thathA kuru dhayAm mayi” (you should mercifully shower your grace on me such that I, who am withering due to my sorrow, would be able to touch desirously SrI rAma, who is like a tiger among men, with my limbs), ANdAL desires to embrace kaNNapirAn with her bosoms similar to sIthAp pirAtti desiring to embrace SrI rAma.
ivai nOkkik kANIr – just as sIthAp pirAtti showed her emaciated physical form caused by separation from SrI rAma, to hanuman, ANdAL showed her bosoms which are suffering due to separation, to her mothers and friends. She tells them “Let others think whatever they wish. Look at my children shedding tears. Do something to stop their tears”, beseeching them just like someone would ask for alms, showing their children.
ivai nOKkik kANIr – look at how they have grown huge, thinking of him.
gOvindhanukkallAL vAyil pOgA – other than kaNNan, who went behind cows indulging in mischiefs, they will not look at even the son of emperor dhaSaratha, who observed EkadhArai vratha (observing the principle of having only one wife) who did not look at anyone other than his wife.
pOgA – even if I wish to, they will not follow in my path. SrI rAmAyaNam ayOdhyA kANdam SlOkam 59-1 has been explained here “mama thu aSvA nivruththasya na pravarthantha varthmani l ushNamaSru pramunchanthO rAmE samprasthithE vanam ll” (After SrI rAma entered the forest, my horses, which returned, shed warm tears and went in the wrong path). Just as sumanthran, who separated from perumAL [SrI rAma] said that his horses did not follow him, she says that of her bosoms. mama aSvA: – my horses. sumanthran is surprised that his horses did not follow him, who is an expert on horses and who knows the minds of horses. thu – these horses, which have been following my mind all along, are behaving on their own, only now. aSvA: – since the syllable aSva comes from the etymology aSU-vyApthau, the horses ran, knowing my mind. nivruththasya – they went in the correct way, while taking perumAL [towards the forest]. It is only on the way back, without him, that they are behaving like this. na pravarththantha varthmani – instead of proceeding on the main path, they started going in the path towards forest.
[The vyAkyAnam now returns to the pAsuram]
inguththai vAzhvai ozhiyavE pOy yamunaikkaraikkennai uyththidumin – I am not satisfied with the present living where I could visualise the divine feet of emperumAn only in my mind. Carry me to the bank of river yamunA such that I could see the divine feet in front of me.
Isn’t it the yamunA, about which she had praised in thiruppAvai 5 “thUya perunIr yamunaith thuRaivan” (one who plays on the bank of river yamunA, which has divine and deep water)? She is probably thinking of engaging in water games with kaNNan in the river.
Next, we will consider 5th pAsuram of this decad.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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