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periyAzhwAr thirumozhi >> Third Centum >> Seventh decad
avathArikai
thiruvAimozhip piLLai, in his svApadhESam, says that AzhwAr mercifully explains the bitterness which he had on those who were favourable entities, by speaking about the friends of the daughter.
Ezhai pEdhai Or bAlagan vandhu en peN magaLai iLgith
thOzhimAr palar koNdu pOych cheydha sUzhchchiyai yArkku uraikkEn
AzhiyAn enRum Azha mOzhaiyil pAychchi agappaduththi
mUzhai uppu aRiyAdhadhu ennum mUdhuraiyum ilaLE
Word-by-Word Meanings
Ezhai – being fickle minded
pEdhai – being ignorant
Or – unique
pAlagan – one who is of a young age
en peN magaLai – my daughter
thOzhimAr palar – many friends
vandhu – coming directly
iLgi – engaging her
koNdu pOy – taking her with them
AzhiyAn ennum – being famous as having the divine disc
Azham – having a depth which is unfathomable to anyone
mOzhaiyil – a river underground
pAychchi – pushing deep inside
agappaduththi – entrapping her
seydha – carried out
sUzhchchiyai – mischievous activity
Arkku uraikkEn – to whom could I recount?
mUzhai – “ladle
uppu – the taste of the foodstuff which it contains
aRiyAdhadhu – does not know”
ennum – such a
mUdhuraiyum – old proverb
ilaL – she does not have, with her
Simple Translation
My daughter is a fickle minded, ignorant person, who is unique. Many of her friends came on their own to her, made her get involved [with krishNa] and took her, along with them, to the one who is famous for having the divine disc. They pushed her deep into the river underground, whose depth is unfathomable to anyone, entrapping her. To whom could I recount this mischievous activity? My daughter is not aware of the old proverb that says “The ladle which contains a foodstuff does not know its taste”
vyAkhyAnam (Commentary)
Ezhai – she is one who will not let go of anything good, which she sees.
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that she is such that once she holds on to something, she will not let go of it. She does not even know that this is the nature of being fickle-minded.
pEdhai – one who is ignorant of the events which will unfold, while carrying out any action.
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that even if the entity who she has held on to, lets go of her, she will not be able to let go of him. This is the nature of being fickle-minded.
Or bAlagan – one, who has youthfulness, which is the cause for the aforementioned qualities.
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that this refers to one who is unique in his nature of being childish.
en magaLai – my daughter, who is like this [as mentioned above]
thOzhimAr palar vandhu iLgi koNdu pOy – friends, who are many in number, came, made her to engage with [krishNa] and took her with them.
AzhiyAn ennum Azham mOzhaiyil pAychchi agapaduththi seydha sUzhchchiyai yArkku uraikkEn – just as it has been mentioned in thiruvAimozhi 8.3.6 “aNiyAr Azhi” (the divine disc which is enjoyable as an ornament), the divine disc alone is sufficient, as ornament. emperumAn is famous as the one who holds such a divine disc. When someone engages with him, he traps them completely, just like a river running underground, which is unfathomable and which traps anyone who goes near it. To whom could I recount this incident, which is a mischievous activity indulged in by the daughter’s friends?
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that the term AzhiyAn refers to one who is reclining in the milky ocean [Azhi refers to ocean too]. Alternatively, it could refer to one who is holding the divine disc, which reaches the destination thought of by emperumAn and destroys the enemy. Since the activities thought of by emperumAn to carry out towards his followers are unfathomable, it could be said that he is unfathomable. AzhamOzhai refers to a river which swirls and brings out bubbles. When it flows, it swirls; when it is stagnant, it brings out bubbles. Submerging one in such a river, till the floor of the river.
mUzhai … – when you look at her [the daughter], she would appear that she has no connection with the old saying “The ladle does not know the taste of the foodstuff that it is serving”. In other words, the world would say of a person, who does not know the taste of the entity with whom they are engaging, as “uppaRiyA mUzhai” [the ladle which does not know the taste]. She has no connection with that saying [viz. she knows the importance of the entity with whom she is engaging]. The mother feels sad that “These friends are taking such a girl and making her engage with this entity such that she does not know anything else”.
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that the pAsuram should be read as Ezhai pEzhai mUzhai uppaRiyAdha am mUdhuraiyum ilaL ennum en peN magaLaith thOzhimAr palar vandhu iLgik koNdu pOy AziyAn Or bAlagan ennum Azham mOzhaiyil pAychchi agappaduththich cheydha sUzhchchiyai yArkku uraikkEn to get the sequential meanings of the verse.
In the end, he says the following: Through this, it appears that an AchAryan is one who will not let go of the disciple, irrespective of the status of the disciple. This comes from the usage of the term Ezhai. This term Ezhai is explained further in the pAsuram. In other words, when it comes to the thoughts, spoken words or deeds of the disciple, he will not go beyond the thoughts, words and deeds of the AchAryan, which are aligned to pramANams [authentic texts]. This is brought out by the verse mUzhai uppaRiyAdha mUdhuraiyum ilaLE [disciple is aware of the auspicious qualities of emperumAn, with whom he engages, in line with the ordainment of AchAryan]. Since it is said in the pAsuram mUdhuraiyum ilaL, anything other than the instructions of the preceptors are not at all to be considered. If they are to be considered, it would be similar to saying “Evam prakAra bhUthaiyAna en magaL” [in other words, calling the daughter as my daughter, with pride]. Other disciples of the AchAryan, having knowledge about the connection between emperumAn and the [new] disciple, who takes refuge under the affection of the AchAryan, take the new disciple to emperumAn, who is constantly thinking of doing good to his followers, and explain the auspicious qualities of emperumAn. They tell him that emperumAn has unique age and deep infatuation towards his followers. They further explain to him about the distinguishing activities of emperumAn in his various incarnations. They make him engage with emperumAn, with devotion, ensuring that he cannot be swayed by anything else. The mother now asks these questions: Should I tell such activities of the friends to the friends themselves? Should I tell these to that emperumAn himself, who is infatuated with his followers? Or, should I tell this to the girl herself, who has got caught? Should I inform great sages such as sanaka et al? Or, should I inform sages such as vyAsa et al? Should I inform this to those who are in samsAram, who follow those which have been ordained for them, in vEdhams? Or, should I inform this to samsAris, who follow both those which have been ordained and those which have been negated by vEdhams? To whom should I say?
We shall next consider the 5th pAsuram of this thirumozhi.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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