SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: Sri varavaramunayE nama:
periyAzhwAr thirumozhi >> Third Centum >> Sixth decad
avathArikai
There is no specific avathArikai for this pAsuram.
sem perum thadam kaNNan thiraL thOLan dhEvaki siRuvan dhEvargaL singam
nam paraman innAL kuzhal Udhak kEttavargaL idar uRRana kELeer
ambaram thiriyum gAndhappar ellAm amudha gIdha valaiyAl surukkuNdu
nam param anRu enRu nANi mayangi naindhu sOrndhu kaimmaRiththu ninRanarE
Word-by-Word Meanings
sem – being reddish
peru thada – being hugely expansive
kaNNan – having divine eyes
thiraL – (like bamboo) being rounded
thOLan – having divine shoulders
dhEvaki – for dhEvakip pirAtti
siRuvan – as son
dhEvargaL singam – being like a lion for celestial entities
nam – for us
paraman – one who manifests his eminence
innAL – this day
kuzhal Udha – when he plays on the flute
kEttavargaL – those who listened (to the music from that flute)
idar uRRana – the manner in which they faced hardship
kELeer – do listen
ambaram – in the sky
thiriyum – those who roam
gAndhappar ellAm – all those, belonging to the clan of gandharvas [celestial entities]
amudha gIdham – sweet music, which is like nectar
valaiyAl – by the net
surukkuNdu – getting tied down
nam param anRu enRu – we cannot sing hereafter
nANi – feeling ashamed of having sung in earlier times
mayangi – feeling bewildered
naindhu – with their minds crumbling
sOrndhu – felling tired, bodily too
kai maRiththtu ninRanar – they folded their hands and stood, implying that they are not useful for anything.
Simple Translation
krishNa has reddish, hugely expansive eyes. He has shoulders which are well rounded, like bamboo. He is the dear son of dhEvakip pirAtti. He is like a lion [unapproachable] for celestial entities. He is one who manifests himself to us such that we could know about him. When such a supreme entity played on his flute on this day, listen to the manner in which those who listened to that music suffered. All the gandharvas, who roam around in the sky, got tied down by the net of that sweet music, which is like nectar. They said that hereafter they cannot sing; they felt ashamed for singing all these days. They became bewildered, with their minds crumbling and their bodies becoming tired. They folded their hands and stood, saying that they are not useful to do anything from then onwards.
vyAkhyAnam (Commentary)
sem perum thadak kaNNan – one, who has reddish and hugely expansive divine eyes.
thiRaL thOLan – one, who has shoulders, which are well rounded, like a bamboo.
thiruvAimozhip piLLai, in his svApadhESam, says that just as it has been mentioned in SrI rAmAyaNam bAla kANdam, while speaking about SrI rAma’s divine hands, “AjAnu bAhu” (divine hands reaching down to the divine knees), krishNa’s shoulders were well rounded and beautiful.
dhEvaki siRUvan – one, who is obedient, as the son of dhEvakip pirAtti.
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that unlike SrI rAma, who listened to his mother’s words, after he had matured into a young adult, krishNa listened to his mother, dhEvakip pirAtti’s words, on the day that he incarnated.
dhEvargaL singam – one, who is like an unapproachable lion, for the celestial entities who have vanity.
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that for the sake of celestial entities, emperumAn incarnated as the eminent lion, which was not easy to approach, and protected them.
nam paraman – one who manifests his eminence to us, who have taken refuge under his affection, such that we could know about him.
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that the celestial entities say, with firmness, “Oh, one who is our lord!”
innAL kuzhal Udha – when he played on his flute, on this day
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that on the day that emperumAn decided that “We will attract this world through our flute” and played on the flute, when nAradha et al had declared that they had forgotten about their vINAs etc.
kEttavargaL idar uRRana kELeer – listen to how those, who listened to this music, became amazed due to the flavour of the music.
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that those who listened to that music felt grieved that they had been singing earlier, out of vanity, and that they should not have sung at all, after hearing the music from his flute.
The pAsuram describes now as to who listened to that music and the manner in which they suffered.
ambaram …– gandharvas [celestial entities] who roam around in the sky, got tied down to the net of the music from the flute, which was sweet, like nectar.
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that the gandharvas were roaming around, in the skies; they were experts in bharatha SAsthram [nuances in the classical dance form, called as bharathanAtyam] as well music from various instruments; after listening to the music from krishNa’s flute, they got tied down in the net of that mellifluous music, which was very attractive, and lost their vanity about their earlier expertise in music. They remembered and felt ashamed of their singing in the past and said “Is it our wont to sing and earn a fame due to that?”
nam param anRu enRu – hereafter, it is not given to us to sing.
nANi – they felt ashamed of themselves, for indulging in singing, all along
mayangi – they became bewildered, not able to think about what happened in the past or what is happening in the present or what will happen in the future.
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that due to the maturing nature of their shame, they lost their moorings in music and said “Even if nAradha et al remember that they had been playing vINA and take back to playing on that vINa, we will not remember about our musical instruments or play on them again, due to the crumbled state of our minds”, and stood, folding their hands.
naindhu – they crumbled in their minds, which is the origin for their knowledge
sOrndhu – they became tired, bodily too.
kai maRiththu ninRanarE – they folded their hands and stood, not having the strength even to say a word due to their numbed state, implying that they are unfit to do anything.
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says at the end, the following: If nAradha et al come and tell them “When we engage with dancing and singing, should you people not take to your musical instruments? We have resumed playing on our vINA etc, which we had forgotten in-between”, these gandharvas would respond, saying “Do you need us to sing and play on our instruments? Are not your dancing and singing sufficient for you all? If your minds have ears and [through those ears ] you are able to hear this music from krishNa’s flute, you would realise that it is your duty too to stand quietly, folding your hands”. AzhwAr is amazed at their reaction.
We shall next consider the 7th pAsuram of this thirumozhi.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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