SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: Sri varavaramunayE nama:
periyAzhwAr thirumozhi >> Fifth Centum >> First Decad
avathArikai
In the svApadhESam, it is mentioned that AzhwAr tells emperumAn that while he stood away from emperumAn since he felt that he was impure, his tongue fell head over heels on emperumAn.
vAkkuth thUymai ilAmaiyinAlE mAdhavA unnai vAykkoLLa mAttEn
nAkku ninnai allAl aRiyAdhu nAn adhu anjuvan en vasam anRu
mUrkkup pEsuginRAn ivan enRu munivAyElum en nAvinukku ARREn
kAkkai vAyilum katturai koLvar kAraNA karuLak kodiyAnE
Word-by-Word Meanings
mAdhavA – oh, one who is Sriya: pathi [the divine consort of SrI mahAlakshmi)
unnai – you
thUymai – purity, which is apt for praising
vAkku – for my words
ilAmaiyinAlE – since it is not present
vAykkoLLa mAttEn – I became powerless to praise you
nAkku – on the other hand, the tongue, which knows the distinction of taste
ninnai allAl – other than you
aRiyAdhu – does not know to praise
adhu – thinking of the fault of that tongue
nAn – I
anjuvan – get scared
en vasam anRu – that tongue is not under my control
ivan – ‘this person
mUrkkup pEsuginRAn enRu – is talking like an unintelligent person’ in this manner
munivAyElum – even if you become angry
en nAvinukku – for my tongue
ARREn – I could not tolerate
kAkkai – crow’s
vAyilum – words which are formed in its mouth
katturai – as good words (for themselves)
koLvar – (wise people) will consider
(thus)
kAraNA – as one, who is the causative entity for all
karuLa – periya thiruvadi [garuda]
kodiyAnE – oh, one who has in the flag! AzhwAr tells emperumAn that he too should consider AzhwAr’s words mercifully
Simple Translation
Oh, the divine consort of SrI mahAlakshmi! Since my words lack purity to praise you, I am unable to praise you. The tongue, which knows eminent taste, will not praise anyone other than you. I became scared, considering the fault of that tongue. It is not under my control either. Even if you get angry with me, thinking ‘This person is speaking like an unintelligent person’, I cannot tolerate my tongue. Wise people would consider the [meaningless] words of a crow too as a good omen for themselves. Oh, one who has garuda as your flag! You too should consider my words in a similar vein, mercifully.
vyAkhyAnam
vAkku … – impurity for the tongue refers to speaking lies in the presence of emperumAn [bhagavAn’s Sannidhi, in his abode], desiring and seeking benefits other than emperumAn and praising others. It is pertinent to recall here thirukkuRunthANdakam 12 “pAviyEn pizhaiththavARu” (What a huge mistake have I, a sinner, committed!). vAkku – words.
[Translator’s Note: in the vyAkhyAnam it is written here that from the next word onwards, the vyAkhyAnam of the most compassionate periyavAchchAn piLLai is available and that maNavALa mAmunigaL has stopped the vyAkhyAnam with this word]
mAdhavA unnai vAykkoLLa mAttEn – those who are qualified to praise you and recite your divine names are pirAtti and nithyasUris only. Just as it has been mentioned in periya thirumozhi 2.3.7 “baradhanum thambi” (Oh, one who is mercifully present, being praised by sIthAp pirAtti and by bharathAzhwAn, SathrughnAzhwAn and iLaiya perumAL), these are words [of praise] spoken of by periya pirAttiyAr et al, losing out to your enjoyability. I will not praise you with my tongue, which has become impure, after having praised other matters. Anticipating emperumAn saying “In that case, avoid praising me” AzhwAr says …
nAkku ninnai allAl aRiyAdhu – the tongue is well versed with great tastes. Other than you, mentioned in chAndhOgya upanishad as “sarva rasa: sarva gandha:” [emperumAn is the repository of all tastes and all fragrances], my tongue does not know anyone else. When emperumAn says “In that case, the fault arising out of that is also yours”, AzhwAr says “But that fault [here the word fault in reality refers to emperumAn’s eminence] arises out of the entity about whom it wishes to praise” [emperumAn himself]. When periya pirAtti says, as in thiruvAimozhi 6.10.10 “agalagillEn iRaiyum” (I will not separate even for a moment), is it not the fault [eminence] of the chest, where she resides! emperumAn then tells him “In that case, you too praise, along with your tongue”.
nAn adhu anjuvan – I became fearful, thinking of the fault with the tongue. Since it knows all the eminent taste, it kept falling head over heels on you. When emperumAn tells him “Why don’t you bring it under your control?” AzhwAr says, it is not under my control, but is under yours. emperumAn then tells AzhwAr “Initially you said that that the tongue does not know anyone other than us [referring to emperumAn]. Now, you say that you are afraid of the tongue. Don’t these words sound like those of an unintelligent person?” AzhwAr says …
In the svApadhESam, it has been mentioned here as follows: AzhwAr says that he was afraid to say anything, considering his [AzhwAr’s] faults while the tongue was falling head over heels in praising emperumAn since it knows eminent taste. It does not come under my control.
mUrkkup pEsuginRAn invan enRu munivAyElum – if you look at my words, they would appear to be those spoken of by an unintelligent person, and you are correct to get angry. However …
ennAvinukku ARREn – I could put up with your anger. However, I could not bear by tongue. emperumAn then tells him “In that case [when you praise us with your tongue], will that not be a defect for us?”
kAkkai vAyilum katturai koLvar – people, who look for auspicious times prior to starting an activity, apart from not considering it as a defect, will consider it as an auspicious message. While the crow sits in a corner and babbles something unintelligibly, the wise people will say “It is speaking about something beneficial for us”. katturai – good words. In a similar vein, you should consider the words which I had spoken the way my mind desired, as good words. When emperumAn asks AzhwAr “Why should I consider them as good words?” AzhwAr says “That is because you are the one who is desirous [of attaining an AthmA]” Further, AzhwAr says …
kAraNA karuLak kodiyAnE – The reason for your creating the worlds is to achieve your objective, just as it has been mentioned in SrI vishNu thathvam 6 “vichithrA dhEhasampaththi:” [emperumAn has created the physical form in order to make people utilise eyes for looking at emperumAn (vigraha, idol), ears for hearing about emperumAn, feet for going to the temple, hands for performing anjali (cupping the palms together)], and in thiruvAimozhi 3.1.7 “vAzhththuvAr palar” (You created the worlds such that there are many who exist to praise you). Is it for the purpose of protecting them that you have garuda on your flag?
kAraNA karuLak kodiyAnE – Since you are the one who possesses [all, as your wealth], you should bear with me.
In the svApadhESam, it has been mentioned that AzhwAr tells emperumAn that emperumAn has garuda as his flag in order to create the worlds to attain that [AthmA] which he hasn’t attained, to bear with the faults of those who he has created and to protect them.
We shall next consider the 2nd pAsuram of this thirumozhi.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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