SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:
avathArikai (Introduction) – she tells in this pAsuram to take her to the place where kaNNan was looking for food sent by rishi pathnis (wives of sages).
kArththaN mugilum karuviLaiyum kAyA malarum kamalap pUvum
IrththiduginRana ennai vandhittu irudIkEsan pakkal pOgEyenRu
vErththup pasiththu vayiRasaindhu vENdadisil uNNum pOdhu IdhenRu
pArththirundhu nedu nOkkuk koLLum paththavilOchanaththu uyththidumin
Word-by-Word Meanings
kAr – formed during rainy season
thaN – being cool
mugilum – cloud
karuviLaiyum – dark blue flower from a wild creeper
kAyA malarum – dark purple flower
kamalam pUvum – lotus flower, all these
vandhittu – standing in front of me
irudIkEsan pakkal pOgu enRu ennai IrththiduginRana – they are pulling me saying “Go towards kaNNa pirAn”
(Hence)
vErththu – sweating (on account of grazing the cattle)
pasiththu – feeling saddened due to hunger
vayiRu asaindhu – feeling weak in the stomach
vENdu adisil uNNum pOdhu Idhu enRu – thinking “This is the time to eat the desired food”
pArththirundhu – expecting the arrival of rishi pathnis [wives of sages]
nedunOkkuk koLLum – the place where he was looking keenly for a long time
paththa vilOchanaththu – in the location called as “paththa vilOchanam”
ennai uyththidumin – carry me to that place
Simple Translation
The dark cloud during monsoon time, the dark blue flower from a wild creeper, the dark purple flower and the lotus flower come in front of me and pull me, saying “Go towards kaNNa pirAn”. Hence, carry me to the place called as paththa vilOchanam where kaNNa pirAn, sweating profusely due to grazing the cows, feeling saddened due to hunger, consequently feeling weak in his stomach, was looking keenly for a long time, expecting the arrival of rishi pathnis so that he could eat the food which he desired.
vyAkyAnam (Commentary)
kArththaN mugilum karuviLaiyum kAyA malarum – the cool cloud during monsoon time, the dark blue flower from a wild creeper and the dark purple flower from the plant kAyA. While she wanted to cite only the cloud as a metaphor for emperumAn’s divine form, since that alone was not sufficient as an allegory, she picks up several other materials as metaphors for his divine form.
kamalap pUvum – while she had cited several materials as allegories for his divine form, she picks up the lotus flower alone for his various limbs such as divine eyes, divine hands, divine feet, divine reddish mouth etc.
IrththiduginRana ennai vandhittu – coming in front of me, they pull me strongly. What do they say while pulling her?
irudIkEsan pakkal pOgE enRu – just as SrI rAma followed the path of lakshmaNa, who was dear to him, as mentioned in SrI rAmAyaNam uththara kANdam 107-3 “adhyaivAham gamishyAmi lakshmaNEna gathAm gathim” (I will follow the footsteps of lakshmaNa, today itself), after your sense organs have gone towards emperumAn, who is their lord, isn’t it proper on your part too, to go behind them? Isn’t emperumAn the lord for both sense organs and the jIvAthmA who has them, as mentioned in the pramANams (authentic proofs) such as bruhadhAraNyaka upanishath SlOkam 5-7-22 “yasyAthmA SarIram” (for that paramAthmA for whom AthmA is SarIram (physical form)) and in SvEthASvathara upanishath SlOkam 6-9 “sa kAraNam karaNAdhipAdhipa: na chAsya kaSchijjanithA na chAdhipa: ll” (He [emperumAn] alone is the causative factor for jIvAn [one with knowledge] who is the lord of sense organs); there is none who gave birth to him; there is none who is his lord). As seen in these SlOkams, emperumAn is the lord of both the sense organs and the jIvAthmA which has these sense organs, as their antharyAmi, without any distinction between them. In line with the saying “hrishIkANIndhriyANyAhu: thEshAmISO yathO bhavAn l hrishIkESa ithi khyAtha: ” (The sense organs are called as hrishIkam. Since you are the head of these sense organs, you are known by the name hrishIkESan), if the sense organs see the swAmy (lord) of their swAmy (jIvAthmA), they will not stay with their swAmy, jIvAthmA.
vErththup pasiththu ….. uyththidumin – She says “Carry me to that place where everyone would think that I am going to offer him food rather than getting the blame of going after him in contrary to the svarUpam (basic nature) of a lady who should not go on her own and seek her beloved”. “Carry me there to prevent the blame that I had gone there in order to get rid of the pangs of separation from him. Carry me to paththa vilOchanam where he keeps looking at intently for his food, such that I get the eminence of going there to rid him of his hunger”.
vErththup pasiththu vayiRasaindhu vENdadisil uNNumbOdhu IdhenRu pArththirundhu nedunOkkuk koLLum – kaNNan will take the cows over a long distance inside the forest to graze them. Letting them to graze in one place, he and his friends will feel tired due to the long walk undertaken by them. Added to that, hunger would force them to be weak in their stomachs. Determining that “This is the time to eat the desired food” he will send his friend to the hermitage of the sages to get food. However, the sages will be intent in their work [of carrying out rituals to emperumAn], not bothering about the guest. Since they were intent in the conduct of their rituals, kaNNan would send his friend to the place where the wives of the sages would be present, asking for food. When they send the food for them with affection, since his divine physical form would start perspiring and his stomach would feel weak, he would eat that food with desire. Hence, the food became vENdadisil (desired food sent by the wives of sages). emperumAn accepts the food offered by rishis [as havis] in the ritual, while desiring a benefit, as a duty, just as swAmys, during thiruvadhyayanam [SrAdhdham] accept the food, after wetting their feet. However, he accepts the food affectionately offered by the wives of rishis, gleefully. The food offered by rishi pathnis is similar to the food offered with affection by the divine daughter of periyAzhwAr [ANdAL herself], as mentioned in nAchchiyAr thirumozhi 9-7 “inRu vandhu iththanaiyum amudhu seydhidappeRil onRu nURAyiramAgak koduththup pinnum ALum seyvan”. She says that she would like to go to paththa vilOchanam carrying food which he desires, as was done by the rishi pathnis, not losing out the benefit which she would get as the divine daughter of periyAzhwAr.
pArththirundhu nedunOkkuk koLLum paththa vilOchanaththu uyththidumin – Carry me to the place where he expectantly looked for a long time to see “whether food is coming”. The term paththam refers to cooked food. The term vilOchanam refers to seeing. Thus, the term paththa vilOchanam refers to the place where he was looking for food.
Next, we will consider 7th pAsuram of this decad.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
archived in http://divyaprabandham.koyil.org
pramEyam (goal) – http://koyil.org
pramANam (scriptures) – http://granthams.koyil.org
pramAthA (preceptors) – http://acharyas.koyil.org
SrIvaishNava education/kids portal – http://pillai.koyil.org