SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
Introduction
In the earlier pAsuram, maNavALa mAmunigaL sang mangaLams (glories) to SrI rAmAnuja more than once. This is a habit / trait that one needs to yearn for. In this pAsuram, maNavALa mAmunigaL salutes SrI rAmAnuja and sings glories to him for his valor while destroying the arguments of those who (a) construe something outside of vEdhas and (b) those who do not understand the true purport of vEdhas. If the earlier pAsuram served as mangaLams to SrI rAmAnuja’s body parts/thirumEni, this pAsuram serves as one that is for his character.
pAsuram 31
arusamayach chediyadhanai adiaRuththAn vAzhiyE!!!
adarndhuvarum kudhittigaLai aRaththuRandhAn vAzhiyE!!!
seRu kaliyaich chiRidhum aRath thIrththu vittAn vAzhiyE!!!
then arangar selvam muRRum thiruththi vaiththAn vAzhiyE!!!
maRaiyadhanil poruL anaithum vAy mozhindhAn vAzhiyE!!!
mARanuRai seydha thamizh maRai vaLarththOn vAzhiyE!!!
aRamigu naR perumbUdhUr avadhariththAn vAzhiyE!!!
azhagArum ethirAsar adiyiNaigaL vAzhiyE!!!
Word-by-Word Meanings
vAzhiyE – Live for eternity!!!
adi aRuththAn – the one who annihilated the roots of
arusamayach chediyadhanai – six trees of philosophies that does not live by what is told in vEdhas.
vAzhiyE – Live for eternity!!!
aRaththuRandhAn – The one who drove away completely
adarndhuvarum – those who came united in large numbers,
kudhittigaLai – construed vEdhAs inappropriately and thus are referred as “kudhrushtis” as in the phrase “nAn maRaiyum niRkak kuRumbusey nIsarum mANdanar”
vAzhiyE – Live for eternity!!!
thIrththu vittAn – The one who destroyed
seRu kaliyai – the dangerous, widely spread and evil force known as “kali”
aRa – without leaving
chiRidhum – a small trace of it ever.
vAzhiyE – Live for eternity!!!
thiruththi vaithAn – The one who ordered and administered
selvam muRRum – the entire gamut of treasures of
then arangar – periya perumAL (the presiding deity at SrIrangam), who is replete with beauty
vAzhiyE – Live for eternity!!!
vAy mozhindhAn – The one who blessed us by giving his divine commentaries (also known as “SrI bhAshyam”) which talks about
poruL anaiththum – all the SAsthras
maRaiyadhanil – that is being dealt/propagated in vEdhas.
vAzhiyE – Live for eternity!!!
vaLarththOn – The one who propagated and spread
thamizh maRai – the thamizh vEdham
uRai seydha – that was given by
mARan – nammAzhvAr
vAzhiyE – Live for eternity!!!
avadhariththAn – The one who appeared in
naR perumbUdhUr – the auspicious place known as “SrIperumbUthUr” to
aRamigu – spread the concept of “total surrender” as mentioned in the aforementioned thamizh vEdham.
vAzhiyE – Live for eternity!!!
adiyiNaigaL – the sole refuge, the twin lotus feet of
ethirAsar – SrI rAmAnuja/yathirAha who is
azhagArum – replete with a lot of qualities starting from beauty etc.,
Simple Translation
In this pAsuram, maNavALa mAmunigaL says, “Long live SrI rAmAnuja (1) destroyed the six trees of philosophies that stood outside the boundaries of vEdhas and explained the principles (2) scared away the miscreants of the vEdhas (3) annihilated kali and its impact without leaving any trace of it in this world (4) restored, streamlined and ordered the treasures of SrIrangam (5) gave us the true meaning of vEdhas through his “SrI bhAshyam” (6) spread the essence of thiruvAimozhi to the interested masses and (7) appeared in the glorious SrIperumbUthUr. Long live SrI rAmAnuja’s beautiful lotus feet, the sole refuge for everyone”.
Explanation
maNavALa mAmunigaL sings glores to SrI rAmAnuja’s characteristic traits. Firstly, he starts to sing glories by praising SrI rAmAnuja as the one who annihilated the roots of six trees of philosophies. As per the phrase, “sAkhyOlukhyAkshapAdhakshpaNaka kapilapathanjali madhANusAriNa:”, there are six philosophies that exist outside the realms of vEdhas. SrI rAmAnuja destroyed their roots completely. Then, maNavALa mAmunigaL sings glories to SrI rAmAnuja who made some people run helter-skelter. These people were none other than those who misinterpreted vEdhas as described by the phrase “nAn maRaiyum niRkak kuRumbu sey nIsarum mANdanar (irAmAnusa nURRandhAdhi 99)”. All these aforementioned people and the ideas that they were able to spread hitherto was due to the evil force known as “kali” that was widely prevalent and that which engulfed this whole world. This was described by the phrase “aRusamayam pOnadhu ponRi iRandhadhu venkali (irAmAnusa nURRandhAdhi 49)”. However, SrI rAmAnuja ensured that there is no trace of kali and its effects in this world. maNavALa mAmunigaL sings glories to such a benevolent SrI rAmAnuja. After this, he sings glories for SrI rAmAnuja who ordered, administered and streamlined the treasures of srIrangam and its routine, as per the phrase “SrIman SrIrangaSriyam anubhadhravAm anudhinam samvardhayA”.
The vEdhas were in a constant state of fear for it depended on the person who explains it. Those who does not construe it comprehensively would not be able to the true purport and hence a lot would be lost in translation. SrI rAmAnuja removed this fear of vEdhas as he wrote his famous “SrI bhAshyam” (a commentary of vEdha vyAsar’s brahma sUthram). With the aid of “SrI bhAshyam”, he spread the true essence of esoteric meaning of vEdhas, after understanding them completely. mAmunigaL sings glories to SrI rAmAnuja who did this. In the invocatory verses (thaniyan) of thiruvAimozhi, there is a phrase that says “vaLarththa idaththAi irAmAnusan”. maNavALa mAmunigaL sings mangaLams to SrI rAmAnuja who helped the thamizh vEdham, also known as “thiruvAimozhi”, to grow and spread among people. The essence of SaraNAgathi (total surrender to SrIman nArAyaNan) that was extolled in thiruvAimozhi was spread to the masses. It’s reach to the common man can be solely attributed to SrI rAmAnuja who appeared in SrIperumbUthUr to do just this task. maNavALa mAmunigaL salutes him for this wonderful service to the human kind. Finally, maNavALa mAmunigaL concludes by saying “Long live the glorious wonderful feet of SrI rAmAnuja, the one replete with beauty”. The adjective “azhagArum” can be used for the noun “adiyiNaigal” (twin feet). When used in this manner, it would mean that the twin feet are akin to two beautiful lotus flowers. Not only that, it would also mean the inherent and natural beauty of SrI rAmAnuja‘s feet as such. The phrase “aRamigu naR perumbUdhur” can also mean that SrI rAmAnuja is someone who has a lot of dharmam, as shown by the phrase “irAmAnusan mikka puNNiyan (irAmAnusa nURRandhAdhi 91)”.
Translation by santhAna rAmAnuja dhAsan
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