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periyAzhwAr thirumozhi >> Fourth Centum >> Third decad
avathArikai
There is no specific avathArikai for this pAsuram.
palapala nAzham sollip pazhiththa sisupAlan thannai
alaivalaimai thavirththa azhagan alangAran malai|
kulamalai kOlamalai kuLir mAmalai koRRa malai
nilamalai nINda malai thirumAlirum sOlai adhE
Word-by-Word Meanings
kulam malai – as the chief mountain of the clan of servitors
kOlam malai – being a beautiful mountain
kuLir – being cool
mA – having eminence
malai – as the mountain
koRRam malai – being victorious mountain
nilam malai – mountain, having the characteristics of soil to enable growth of trees etc
nINda malai – mountain, which is tall, it is that thirumAlirum sOlai only.
palapala nAzham – many types of faults
solli – saying, to the satisfaction of his mouth
pazhiththa – one, who calumniated
sisupAlan thannai – SiSupAlan
alaivalaimai thavirththa – one, who removed his alaivalaimai and protected him
(alaivalaimai refers to speaking, without looking at the eminence of the person standing in front, whatever comes to one’s mind) (During the last moments of SiSupAlan, krishNa manifested his beauty to him such that SiSupAlan was transformed, thus removing the quality of his ‘speaking as he pleased’ attitude, and protected him)
azhagan – having beauty
alangAran – one, who also has decorations, dwells
malai – the divine mountain.
Simple Translation
SiSupAlan reviled krishNa by heaping many faults on him, as he pleased, without considering krishNa’s eminence. krishNa removed SiSupAlan’s fault of heaping faults on him and protected him. thirumAlirum sOlai is the divine mountain where that krishNa, who has beauty and has decorated himself, resides. It is the chief mountain for the clan of servitors, it is beautiful, cool, eminent, victorious and tall mountain.
vyAkhyAnam (Commentary)
(Translator’s Note: This is the second part of the translation for this pAsuram, which is from thiruvAImozhip piLLai’s svApadhESam, where he deermines that emperumAN, though giving refuge to SiSupAlan, did not create AthmaguNams in him, prior to granting him refuge)
pala pala … – thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that it is the scent which is being carried from kshIrAbdhi (milky ocean) [once, when great sages such as sanaka et al visited thiruppARkadal (milky ocean) to have a private discussion with emperumAn, the divine gate-keepers at the entrance, jaya and vijaya prevented them from going in. In anger, they cursed the two of them that they will be born thrice, in lowly forms, opposing emperumAn. Thus, the two of them were born in krutha yugam as hiraNyAkshan and hiraNyakashyap, in thrEthA yugam as rAvaNan and kumbhakarNan, and now, in dhwApara yugam, as SiSupAlan and dhanthavakran]. SiSupAlan carried not only the sinful thoughts and deeds in the births as hiraNyan and rAvaNan, but added those which he had earned in this birth, making the earlier ones as insignificant. It is recalling these that AzhwAr said “palapala nAzham solli pazhiththa”. nAzh – fault; pazhiththal – It was unlike the words of praise which could appear as words of revile, and unlike the words of revile which could appear like praise; it was pure reviling. sisupAlan thannai – unlike the sinful deeds committed, after being born in the clan of monsters [hiraNyAkshan] [where it could be said that it was the nature of monsters to revile emperumAn], here, he was born in a regal clan and carried out distinct sins through all the three faculties [of mind, speech and physical form].
alavalaimai thavirththa azhagan – thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that by showing the distinguished beauty of his divine form, krishNa prevented the alaivalaimai which was hurting the entire country. Here, thiruvAimozhip piLLai analyses about how SiSupAlan, despite reviling emperumAn to this extent, was granted mOksham. He says the following: If it is realised that emperumAn removed SiSupAlan’s alaivalaimai and granted him sAyujya mOksham [togetherness with him, constantly, in SrI vaikuNtam], many known facts may get disturbed – (1) when carrying out nithya, naimiththika karmas [deeds which are to be carried out on a daily basis or for a specific cause], as ordained by emperumAn, there will be shortcomings in the manner of carrying out these; the prAyaSchiththam [remedial actions] for overcoming the shortcomings, (2) the auxiliaries for the deeds to be carried out as prerequisites, (3) karma, gyAna, bhakthi yOgams [paths of deeds, knowledge and devotion] which are kAmyadharmam [actions taken towards a specific desire], (4) the act of surrendering to emperumAn, after giving up other means to attain him, and accepting only him as the means, along with giving up those which are to be given up and carrying out those which are to be done, (5) the sAdhana sAdhyams mentioned in SAsthrams [sAdhanam refers to making efforts to attain something and sAdhyam is the readily-available method to attain the same], (6) the relationship between an AchAryan and sishyan etc [the reason for these to get disturbed due to SiSupAlan being granted mOksham is that people may wonder as to why these should be followed at all, if one could attain mOksham merely by reviling emperumAn]. If one were to ask whether he, who could give mOksham to a person of evil conduct [such as SiSupAlan], would grant mOksham to person of good conduct too, then good conduct would not be practiced anymore. Neither did SiSupAlan seek mOksham. However, nammAzhwAr had said in the same pAsuram thiruvAimozhi 7.5.3 “thAtpAl adaindhAn” (SiSupAlan attained emperumAn’s divine feet) that SiSupAlan had attained he divine feet of emperumAn. How did he say that? Those who seek the answer for this, when they ask those who know the quality of emperumAn, will know that just as it has been mentioned in the same pAsuram thiruvAimozhi 7.5.3 “kEsavan kIrththiyallAl maRRum kEtparO” (Will those, who are supposed to hear about (salvation), hear the greatness of any other entity, who liberated those who did not avoid his help, than that of krishNa, the killer of monster kESi?) When this is sought, it will be known as to how emperumAn had protected [SiSupALan]. ALavandhAr, who had known about the manner in which SiSupAlan attained the divine feet of krishNa, had himself negated this in his sthOthra Rathnam 63 “vadha kimapadham Agasthasya thE’sthi kshamAyA:” (Please explain as to what sin is not deserving to be the target of your highness’ patience?) In other words, it is to demonstrate that any of the activities which are either favourable or unfavourable are not the means to attain emperumAn, that he did this. It is due to emperumAn’s divine mind that it is given [In other words, it is purely his krupai [divine quality of mercy shown towards jIvAthmAs, arising out of his nirankuSa svAthanthryam [unbridled independence] that grants mOksham to jIvAthmAs and not the presence or absence of anything in the jIvAthmA]. It is only to highlight this that it has been mercifully said “alaivalaimai thavirththa” [one who removed SiSupAlan’s habit of reviling emperumAn]. If it is in keeping with his thought, what is the need to show his divine form to SiSupAlan, before liberating him? It is to ensure that the one, who is not seeking him, enjoys him, that he manifested his divine form. It is pertinent to recall the words of ANdAL [ANdAL was the consort of kUraththAzhwAn, one of the preceptors of our sampradhAyam, and disciple of rAmAnujar. kUraththAzhwAn had a disciple, named vIra sundhara brahmarAyan, who had carried out an apachAram [disrespect] towards parASara bhattar, kUraththAzhwAn’s son, and a preceptor himself. Without regretting his action and offering apology to bhattar, brahmarAyan had died. ANdAL lamented “How sad that despite having a connection with AzhwAn, a jIvAthmA has wasted his life, not attaining paramapadham! He could have taken refuge under bhattar, before he died. It has been mentioned here that our preceptors were firm that an apAchAram doesn’t go unpunished, except through emperumAn’s mercy]. emperumAn doesn’t desire a jIvAthmA to distance himself from emperumAn and to suffer in samsAram.
kuLir mAmalai – thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that for both emperumAn and his followers, the divine mountain removes tiredness, as mentioned in mudhal thiruvandhAdhi 53 “senRAl kudaiyAm” (thiruvananthAzhwAn carries out all servitude to emperumAn, wherever emperumAn goes, by taking various forms].
nINda malai – thiruvAimozhip piLLai again explains at the end, regarding alaivalaimai thavirththal. thirumAlirum sOlai is there as well as the beauty for that, for blossoming of knowledge. However, for the jIvAthmA, knowledge has not blossomed at all, or, a little bit only has blossomed. The activities of the favourable entities of emperumAn would be a matter of leelArasam for him [he would smile at their temporary nature] as much as the unfavourable acts would be. When they are aSakthars [incapable of following the tenets of SAsthram], they would enjoy the divine beauty [in archchai] and exhibit thadhIya pArathanthryam [being dependent on emperumAn’s followers, specifically one’s AchAryan], qualities which cannot be removed or strung back again, as one pleases. Similarly, while one could [here, the reference is to SiSupAlan] learn to carry out mangaLASAsanam to emperumAn through an AchAryan, why should the person be engaged with niranvaya vinASam [not engaging with emperumAn and ruining oneself]? AzhwAr feels sad about this. Why is he sad? If one were to ask as to whether emperumAn had taken SiSupAlan under his divine feet and taken him to kshIrAbdhi [thiruppARkadal, milky ocean], we have not heard of any pramANam [authentic proof] for that from our preceptors. There is no sAyujyam there [it is only in paramapadham that sAyujyam etc are present] [sAyujyam is being together with emperumAn, all the time, in paramapadham]. It is pertinent to recall thiruviruththam 98 “enjAp piRavi idar kadivAn thodara ninRa thunjA munivarum” (In order to avoid the sorrows caused by the unending births, which keep coming without any contraction, since this sorrow cannot be cured by samsAri, on his own [since he has no strength of his own and since these are coming from time immemorial], he has to attain an omnipotent entity at an opportune time). Since SiSupAlan had old enmity issue with those in thiruppARkadal, it is not possible for him to go there. For them too, it would be difficult to stay together with him. We have not heard that he had been taken to dhESaviSEsham [here, this term dhESaviSEsham refers to sAnthANika lOkam, a location, outside paramapadham, from which the residents could go directly to paramapadham, without having to come back to samsAram]. SrI rAma had taken all the residents of ayOdhyA, with him [when he went to paramapadham at the end of his incarnation], to sAnthANika lOkam, as mentioned in perumAL thirumozhi 10.10 “anRu charAcharangaLai vaigundhaththERRi…” (taking all the mobile and immobile entities to SrI vaikuNtam; here, it is not directly to SrI vaikuNtam, but to sAnthANika lOkam, initially, and from there, to SrI vaikuNtam, after some time]. Why couldn’t emperumAn have showered his mercy on SiSupAlan too, just as he did for the trees and plants in ayOdhyA? Since they were totally dependent on SrI rAma for their nourishment, sustenance etc, that would have been possible [here, SiSupAlan was not dependent on emperumAn for his nourishment etc]. The distinguished and divine name of SrI vaikuNtam is present for sAnthANika lOkam too, which is on this side of vrajA nadhi [the river vrAja which separates SrI vaikuNtam from samsAram]. When one [SiSupAlan] becomes the subject of emperumAn’s mercy, he too should have shown the sadness when separated from emperumAn, just as the trees showed [when they drooped and withered when SrI rAma left for the forest though it was the season for blooming, and blossomed when he returned to ayOdhyA after fourteen years, when it was not the season for their blooming]. Even if he had received the grace of emperumAn, SiSupAlan should have had gyAnAn mOksham [SAsthram says that mOksham is given only for one with knowledge about emperumAn], abhimAnam [should have taken refuge under emperumAn’s affection] and mOkshaprArthanAruchi [the taste in praying to emperumAn for granting mOksham]. SiSupAlan did not have any of these. Did emperumAn grant the trees these qualities in the last minute, before taking them with him to sAnthANika lOkam? This is not possible since they are not the ASrayam [physical forms] for these qualities to attain. If it is assumed that emperumAn had granted these qualities to the trees etc, then it would be asked that if he could grant these qualities to achith entities, he could have granted these to chith entities too, by impelling them. Thus, this will create mutual non-existence [in other words, it is not possible for trees to get knowledge etc and emperumAn does not impel chith to acquire these qualities]. Even if is assumed that SAsthrams have granted these to achith entities, to synchronise these qualities towards desiring to go to mOksham, they need the glance from an AchArya who has knowledge and the requisite conduct and taste in knowledge. Even if all these are taken to be present, unless AthmaguNam is present, [AthmaguNam refers to the basic characteristics of the AthmA, that has knowledge, it has happiness and that it is forever, a servitor to emperumAn], it is possible to take a person to mOksham [the purpose of bringing out all these analyses is to show that SiSupAlan was granted mOksham by emperumAn, even when he did not have the appropriate qualities, only to demonstrate that emperumAn does not see if a person has the prerequisites to be granted mOksham. It is not the presence or absence of these which he verifies]. thiruvAimozhip piLLai raises another query here. Is there anything which is known as being difficult for the svathanthran [emperumAn, who is totally independent]? He says that svAthanthryam cannot exist in two forms. svAthanthryam [being totally independent] is not something which could be done as he pleases. When he wishes to engage in some activity, he doesn’t need to ask anyone. Due to his svAthanthryam, he could bring the children of one dhwIpam and show them the rules and regulations in another dhwIpam. Could he then take SiSupAlan and show him the rules and regulations in paramapadham? That is not possible, since, when he brought back the children of the vaidhikan [follower of vEhdam], be brought them back with the same forms with which pirAtti had taken them there in the first place [this narration comes in krishNAvathAram, when the infants born to a vaidhikan disappeared soon after birth. On investigating, emperumAn found that pirAtti had taken them to SrI vaikuNtam. He brought them and handed them back to the vaidhikan] and with the same levels of knowledge. Just as prAkrutham [primordial matter, related to samsAram] and aprAkrutham [anything which is different from prAkrutham] cannot blend together, the taste in prAkrutham cannot coexist with aprAkrutham. When SiSupAlan goes through the path of archis [the path of brightness, which leads to SrI vaikuNtam] none will tolerate indifference, neither will people come in the front to receive and allow him to surround with all and praise emperumAn. At the end of his incarnation, it is not known that krishNa entered paramapadham with his human form. Even though emperumAn has the aghatitha vatathaLa SAyithvam [capability of lying on a tender banyan leaf after swallowing all the worlds], even though he is aNOraNIyAn [dwells in the minutest of entities], exists everywhere in total comfort [even when he dwells within unicellular entities], even though he carries out srushti sthithi samhAram etc [creation, protection and destruction] through less than ten thousandth part of his sankalpam [vow], even if he exhibits pArathanthryam on account of his svAthanthryam [carrying out servitude to nammAzhwAr], even for him, it is not easy to create AthmaguNam in an entity [thiruvAimozhip piLLai emphases through all his explanations that emperumAn did not create AthmaguNam in SiSupAlan when he liberated him and granted him mOksham]. While he could make the jIvAthmAs to keep wandering from one birth to the next, and while no can estimate him, it is not possible to keep them wandering and be in a state of being bewildered permanently, since it will be against the svarUpam [that AthmA is full of knowledge, happiness and is a servitor to emperumAn], prApyam [that AthmA has to carry out servitude to emperumAn] and will end with being without any purpose. Even if one were totally independent, will one, through one’s own knowledge, sever one’s own limb [every AthmA is like a limb of emperumAn]? [thus, emperumAn will not allow any AthmA to become ‘useless’ and will shower his mercy, just as he did in the case of SiSupAlan]. emperumAn has the qualities of being SrIya:pathi [consort of SrI mahAlakshmi], sarvagyan [omniscient], sarvaSakthan [omnipotent], samastha kalyANa guNathmakan [having all the auspicious qualities], avApthasamasthakAman [being without any unfulfilled desire], hEyaguNarahitha [being without any faults], sarvaprakAra nirapEkshan [not expecting anyone’s help in carrying out any activity], thadhIya sApEkshan [one who desires the AthmA to come through an AchAryan]. Such emperumAn’s qualities, through his nirankuSa svAthanthryam [unbridled independence], nirupAdhika krupai [mercy which does not come for any specific reason] etc will change the chEthanan’s [jIvAthmA’s] sAparAdha svAthanthryam (faulty sense of independence], aupAdhika prAvaNyam (affection which comes for a specific reason], creating athyantha pArathanthryam (total dependence on emperumAn] and nirupAdhika SEshathvam [servitude which comes without any reason], leading to carrying out mangaLASAsanam to emperumAn. In order to achieve this, emperumAn has to get rid of the enemy, which is a hurdle for all these, viz. the physical form [which hides all the AthmaguNam]. Thus, apart from annihilating an inapt person, he has to do away with the physical form of the person, which contracts knowledge about emperumAn, liberate him, keep him in a place from which there is no return [SrI vaikuNtam]. The manner in which this has been done is mercifully explained as alaivalaimai thavirththal.
We shall next consider the 6th pAsuram of this thirumozhi.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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