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periyAzhwAr thirumozhi >> Fourth Centum >> Ninth decad
avathArikai
AzhwAr says that this is the divine abode, where, emperumAn, who closely held the wicked hiraNyan on his lap and killed him, resides.
In the svApadhESam, it is said that AzhwAr mercifully explains the manner in which emperumAn annihilated the enemy of his follower.
uram paRRi iraNiyanai ugir nudhiyAl oLLiya mArbu uRaikka UnRi
siram paRRi mudi idiyak kaN pidhunga vAy alarath thezhiththAn kOyil
uram peRRa malark kamalam ulagu aLandha sEvadipOl uyarndhu kAtta
varambu uRRa kadhirch chennel thAL sAyththuth thalai vaNangum thaN arangamE
Word-by-word meanings
uram peRRa – flourishing
kamalam malar – lotus flower
ulagu aLandha – that which went high, when the worlds were measured
sE adi pOl – like the divine foot
uyarndhu kAtta – as it grows up and shows radiance
varambu uRRa – growing within the pathway
kadhir – having corn-ear
sennel – red paddy crops
thAL sAyththu – stretching feet
thalai vaNangum – bowing head
thaN – cool
arangam – SrIrangam
uram paRRi – having the strength obtained from boons granted by celestial entities
iraNiyanai – hiraNya kashyap
ugir nudhiyAl – with the sharpness of divine nails
oLLiya mArbu – on his beautiful chest
uRaikka – such that the divine nails came out, on the other side
UnRi – anchoring deeply
mudi – crown
idiya – to become powdered
kaN – eyes
pidhunga – to pop out
vAy alara – mouth opening out wide
siram paRRi – held his head and crushed
thezhiththAn – dwelt upon by one, one who roared
kOyil – divine temple
Simple Translation
The flourishing lotus flower rose up and shone, just like the divine foot [of emperumAn, as thrivikrama] rose up when measuring the worlds. Red paddy crops, having corn-ears [grains], grew within the pathway, stretching their legs and bowing down their heads [on account of the weight of the grains in the corn-ears]. SrIrangam, which is cool and which has these, is also the divine abode of one, who closely held the monster, hiraNya kashyap, who had the strength of boons granted by to him by celestial entities. emperumAn anchored his sharp nails on the beautiful chest of hiraNyan such that the nails came out from the other side, with the crown of hiraNyan getting powdered, his eyes popping out, his mouth gaping widely. emperumAn held the head of hiraNyan, crushed it and roared.
vyAkhyAnam
uram paRRi iraNiyanai – Thinking highly of the strength of the boons granted by celestial entities and his own physical strength, hiraNya kashyap thought “None can kill me”. He harmed the celestial entities, who had granted him the boons, along with the others, without any difference, bringing them all under his control. Just because prahlAdhan, his son, recited the divine names of emperumAn, as mentioned in periya thirumozhi 2.3.8 “paLLiyil Odhi vandha than siRuvan” (from the mouth of prahlAdhAzhwAn, his son, when he returned from the school after studies, hearing the divine name of emperumAn), he distressed his son through unspeakable methods. When he asked prahlAdhAzhwAn “Oh, son, where is the person [emperumAn] about whom you are speaking?” His son told him “He is present everywhere”. Tapping a pillar, which he had put up himself, hiraNyan asked him “Is he here too?” and hit the pillar hard. Taking a form which was not among the forms given by the celestial entities [through whom hiraNyan will not meet his end], emperumAn came out of the pillar, as mentioned in periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 1.6.9 “AngE vaLarndhittu vALugirch chinga uruvAy” (growing up, inside that pillar itself, with the form of narasimha [lion’s face and human form], with nails which were sharp like sword). Even before hiraNyan could withdraw his hand from the pillar, which he had struck, emperumAn caught hold of his hand firmly, as mentioned in the saying ”adiththa kai pidiththa perumAL” (emperumAn who caught the hand which struck the pillar).
The svApadhESam says that since the monster had a golden hued physical form, he had the name, hiraNyan [in samskrutham, hiraNya refers to gold]. To ensure that hiraNyan did not tremble, emperumAn held him tightly, and pierced his chest with his sharp, divine nails. Since the chest of hiraNyan became a prey for emperumAn’s divine nails, it became beautiful. emperumAn tore hiraNyan such that he cried out in pain.
ugir nudhiyAl – since hiraNyan had taken a boon that he could not be killed by any of the asthra Sasthras [different kinds of weapons, the former belonging to the type of weapons which are thrown at the enemy and the latter belonging to the type of weapons which are held in the hand, during fighting], since he could not be killed by any of the regular weapons, all the weapons which emperumAn had, starting from the divine disc, remained as divine objects of beauty. emperumAn used his fingernails as the weapon, utilising their sharpness.
oLLiya mArbu uRaikka UnRi – hiraNyan had decorated his chest with plenty of ornaments. It was a chest which he had looked at, repeatedly, enjoying it. emperumAn struck his divine nails on that chest such that the nails came out from the other side.
siram … – hiraNyan’s crown got crushed into powder; his eyes popped out; his mouth, unable to bear the pain, opened gapingly. emperumAn held hiraNyan’s head and crushed it. He became happy, thinking “We have eliminated the enemy of prahlAdhan” and roared with joy. SrIrangam is the divine abode, where emperumAn is residing, in order to remove enemies, like hiraNyan, of his followers.
uram peRRa … – lotus flower, which was flourishing due to the richness of mud, grew up and shone, like the divine foot of emperumAn, which went up when measuring the worlds.
varambu uRRa – At that time, just as celestial entities gathered together, as mentioned in the saying “sangais surAnAm” (celestial entities assembled together), prostrated before emperumAn, stretching their feet fully behind them, and bowing their head, red paddy crops, with heavy corn-ears, growing within the pathways, stretched their feet and bowed their heads. SrIrangam has coolness which removes the heat from everyone.
The svApadhESam says here that the red paddy crop bowed its head, due to heaviness of the grains in the corn-ears, just like people, who lost out to the divine foot of emperumAn when he measured the worlds, bowed down to the divine foot, without any possessiveness in them. SrIrangam shows the veneration of such people. It says at the end, the following: On a hard ground, when it rains, the ground gets softened, aiding plants to grow. Similarly, due to instructions and activities of AchAryan, a Sishyan, reaches the path of archis [brightness] and has a noble heart [this is equivalent to lotus flower rising up and shining]. When emperumAn measured the worlds, his divine foot touched the heads of all, removing their anyaSEshathvam [being a servitor to others, instead of only to emperumAn] and their svasvAthanthryam [total independence]. Thus, those who were with anyaSEshathvam and svasvAthanthryam, though remaining as food to be enjoyed by emperumAn, will cup their hands in anjali towards the Sishya who has a noble heart, in line with their qualification [of being a servitor], without crossing the line of pramANa vyavasAyam [firmness mentioned in authentic texts]. This is similar to the red paddy crops, stretching their legs and bowing down their heads, while staying within the boundary of pathways, to the lotus flower which had risen.
We shall next consider the 9th pAsuram of this thirumozhi.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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