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periyAzhwAr thirumozhi >> Fourth Centum >> Ninth decad
avathArikai
AzhwAr says that this is the divine abode where, emperumAn, who is the controller of all and who is the divine consort of SrI mahAlakshmi, sweetly reclines.
sevALum puLLALan maNNALan seruchcheyyum nAndhagam ennum
oruvALan maRaiyALan OdAdha padaiyALan vizhukkai ALan
iravLan pagalALan ennai ALan Ezh ulagap perum puravALan
thiruvALan inidhAgath thirukkaNgaL vaLarginRa thiruvarangamE
Word-by-word meanings
seru ALum – capable of fighting in the battle
puL – periya thiruvadi [SrI garudAzhwAn]
ALan – as one who controls
maN – leelA vibhUthi [samsAram]
ALan – as one who controls
seru seyyum – fighting with enemies of [emperumAn’s] followers
nAndhagam ennum – having the divine name of nandhagam
oru – unmatched
vALan – as one, who has victorious sword
maRai ALan – as one, who controls all the four vEdhams
OdAdha – not retreating from battlefield
padai ALan – as one, who has these armies
vizhu – being together with eminence
kaiyALan– being magnanimous
iravu ALan, pagal ALan – being the head of night and day time
ennai ALan – as one, who controls me
Ezhu ulagam – known as seven worlds
peru – huge
puravu – noble lands
ALan – as one, who controls
thiru ALan – as one, who has periya pirAttiyAr as his divine consort
inidhAga – with happiness in his divine mind
thirukkaNgaL vaLarginRa – reclining
thiruvarangamE – it is the divine abode of SrIrangam
Simple Translation
emperumAn controls periya thiruvadi, who is capable of engaging in battles, himself. He is controller of leelA vibhUthi. He has nandhagam, the unmatched sword, which is capable of killing the enemies of his followers. He controls the four vEdhams. He has armies which will not retreat from battlefield. He has the eminent quality of magnanimity. He controls both daytime and night time. He controls me. He controls the seven worlds, which are noble abodes. He has periya pirAttiyAr as his divine consort. It is SrIrangam alone, where he reclines, with happiness in his divine mind.
vyAkhyAnam
seruvALum puLLALan – emperumAn controls garudAzhwAn, who engages in battles, himself. While fighting with monsters and demons, who are enemies of emperumAn’s followers, when periya thiruvadi conducts the war, emperumAn will sit astride periya thiruvadi, and witness the war, as mentioned in thiruvAimozhi 2.6.8 “pARIp pARi asurar tham pal kuzhAngaL nIRezhappAy paRavai onRu ERi vIRRIrundhAy” (Oh, one who is majestically present, manifesting your supremacy on the unique garuda, who attacks groups of demons such that they are broken in many ways, condemned as dust!) The fame on account of annihilating the enemies rests on garuda, as mentioned in thiruvAimozhi 10.6.9 “pugazhginRa puLLUrdhi” (one who rides on periya thiruvadi, who is the abode for the fame of servitude); the eminence for emperumAn is that he has such garuda as his vehicle.
maNNALan – since emperumAn has been mentioned as the controller of periya thiruvadi, who is head of nithyasUris, it could be taken that he is the controller of nithya vibhUthi. This term [maNNALan] mentions that he is the controller of leelA vibhUthi. Without any distinction between followers and non-followers, he controls all the entities in leelA vibhUthi. When he controls his followers, it will be with the thought “These entities know the connection with us; they know that they are the servitors to us”; when he controls the non-followers, it will be with the thought “We know how they are connected to us”. Reference to earth [in the term maN as in maNNALan] is representative of all the worlds, which have not been mentioned in leelA vibhUthi.
In the svApadhESam, it is mentioned here that emperumAn got control over earth by manifesting his divine form on the shoulders of periya thiruvadi.
seruch cheyyum nAndhagam ennum oru vALan – earlier, under puLLALan, mention was made of the vehicle which emperumAn utilises for protection of followers. Here, mention is made of the weapon for protecting them. emperumAn has the divine weapon, known by the divine name of nandhagam, which fights with the enemies of followers, and which is a unique, victorious sword. Divine weapons are omniscient, and carry out the orders of emperumAn, knowing his divine mind.
maRaiyALan – he rules over vEdhams, which annihilate those who deny vEdhams and who misinterpret the meanings of vEdhams, since are not apt to be annihilated with weapons. It is through Sasthrams [weapons] and SAsthrams [sacred texts such as vEdhams] that emperumAn destroys enemies. When he uses Sasthrams, it leads to destruction of physicals forms of enemies. When he uses SAsthrams, it leads to the destruction of contrary knowledge of enemies, even while they still retain their physical forms, and further leads to their being uplifted. This is the distinction for both Sasthrams and SAsthrams.
In the svApadhESam, it is mentioned here that emperumAn has control through his intellect, over the svarUpam etc [basic nature] and nithyathvam [permanence] of vEdhams. Just as it has been mentioned in bhagavath gIthA 15.15 “vEdhaiScha sarvair ahamEva vEdhya:” (only I am known through all the vEdhams), he is known only through vEdhams.
OdAdha padaiyALan – when he enters a battlefield, he has an army which will not retreat from the arena. Alternatively, this term would refer to emperumAn having distinguished weapons which are not known in the world, as mentioned in SaraNAgathi gadhyam 5 “asankhyEya nithya niravadhya nirathiSaya kalyANa dhivyAyudha” [emperumAn has weapons which are countless, remaining forever, which are without any shortcoming, which are the most eminent and which are auspicious].
In the svApadhESam, it is mentioned here that he has weapons which will not change shape [they will be that steady]. Alternatively, he has weapons, which are not seen elsewhere in the worlds.
vizhukkaiyALan – he has the eminence of making all his belongings as those of his followers, as mentioned in kUraththAzhwAn’s SrI varadharAja sthavam 63 “parijana paribarhA bhUshaNAni” (You keep your retinue and ornaments for your followers). Alternatively, this would also refer to his eminent quality of magnanimity. SrI rAmAyaNam ayOdhyA kANdam 16.27 says “sa sarvAn arthinO dhrushtvA samEthya prathinandhya cha” (He [SrI rAma] saw all the people who came there to behold him and to seek from him; he approached them and greeted them).
In the svApadhESam, it is mentioned here that vizhukkai refers to removal. Thus, emperumAn is capable of removing the enemies.
iravALan pagalALan – he is the controller of both forms of time – day and night. Thus, he has under his control, the entity which is the cause of contraction of knowledge [during night time] and blossoming of knowledge [during day time] in chEthanas.
ennaiyALan – he corrects me and controls me, without any difference between day and night, as mentioned in periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 5.2.3 “eyiRRidai maN koNda endhai irAp pagal Odhuviththu ennaip payiRRip paNi seyyak koNdAn” (My lord, who mercifully kept bhUmip pirAtti on his tusks, instructed me about SEshathvam [servitude], during night and day time, made it as a constant activity and took me under him, to make me as his servitor).
In the svApadhESam, it is mentioned here that he has made me to exist only for him.
Ezhulagap perum puravALan – he controls all the worlds, which are noble abodes for him. puravu – eminent place. Through this, it is clarified that he takes care of all the worlds at the time of ruling over them, just like the owner of a small parcel of land looks after it, day and night. It is pertinent to recall nAchchiyAr thirumozhi 11.3 “pongOdham suzhndha buvaniyum viNNulagum angAdhum sOrAmE ALginRa” (emperumAn, who is SrImAn, is capable of ruling with his sceptre, both this world, which is surrounded by ocean with agitating waves and paramapadham, without any shortcoming).
In the svApadhESam, it says here that the term Ezhulagu includes the three types of chEthanas such as badhdha [tied down to samsAram], muktha [liberated from samsAram and reached SrI vaikuNtam] and nithya [permanent dwellers of SrI vaikuNtam] and four types of prakruthi [primordial matter] [the seed which has been sown, the seed as it puffs up, the breaking out of the plant from the seed (all these take place under the ground) and the growing up of the plant above the ground].
thiruvALan – one who has periya pirAttiyAr as his divine consort. It is the two of them, together, who rule all the worlds mentioned earlier.
In the svApadhESam, it is mentioned here that emperumAn is the beloved of periya pirAttiyAr and is one, who is controlled by her.
inidhAgath thirukkaN vaLarginRa thiruvarangamE – it is the divine abode of thiruvarangam alone, where he reclines mercifully, with happiness in his divine mind, more than all the other divine abodes, including kshirAbdhi [milky ocean] etc, as mentioned in SrIranga mAhAthmyam “kshirAbdhEr maNdalAth bhAnOr yOginAm hrudhyadhapi – rathimgathO harir yathra thasmAdh rangamithismrutham” [It is in SrIrangam that emperumAn desires to dwell more than milky ocean or the orbit of sun or the hearts of sages].
In the svApadhESam, it is mentioned here that this is the apt place where periya perumAL, together with periya pirAttiyAr, has come to recline, with happiness in his divine mind, for protecting the followers.
We shall next consider the last pAsuram of this thirumozhi.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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