SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
avathArikai
Other than emperumAn, there is no refuge for knowledge. Despite this, there is none who knows him, says AzhwAr in this pAsuram.
Let us enjoy the pAsuram and its meanings.
uNarvAr Ar un perumai UzhidhORUzhi
uNarvAr Ar un uruvam thannai uNarvAr Ar
viNNagaththAi maNNagaththAi vEngadaththAi nAlvEdhap
paNNagaththAi nI kidandha pAl
Word by Word Meanings
viNNagaththAy – Oh one who is dwelling in SrIvaikuNtam!
maNNagaththAy – Oh one who incarnated in this samsAram (materialistic realm)
vEngadaththAy – Oh one who is standing in thiruvEngadam!
paN – having musical intonation as the most important part
nAl vEdha agaththAy – Oh one who is flourishing in the sacred texts!
un perumai – your greatness
uNarvAr Ar – who will know?
Uzhi thORu Uzhi – in every kalpam [brahmA’s life time running to millions of years]
(even if analysed)
un uruvam thannai – your svarUpam (basic nature) and rUpam (divine form)
uNarvAr Ar – who will know?
nI kidandha pAl – the milky ocean where you are reclining
uNarvAr Ar – who will know (by measuring)?
vyAkyAnam
viNNagaththAy – Oh one who is dwelling with all your greatness in paramapadham (SrIvaikuNtam)!
viNNagaththAy uNarvAr Ar un perumai – “yO asyAdhyaksha: paramE vyOman sO anga vEdha yadhi vA na vEdha” (will the one who is the lord of all the worlds and who resides in paramapadham, know his greatness himself?) When vEdhas (sacred texts) doubt whether you know your greatness, will anyone else know?
maNNagaththAy uNarvAr Ar un perumai – will anyone know your greatness after you descended from paramapadham and took many incarnations in this samsAram to exhibit your simplicity? Even if one gets close to the ocean, can he measure its depth? As said in purusha sUktham “thasya dhIrA: parijAnanthi yOnim” (only wise people know his birth), while vEdham said that some wise people know about him, even these people who have been blessed by great knowledge and great devotion (such as AzhwArs) by emperumAn himself, will start getting bewildered, looking at his simplicity. maNNagaththAy implies all the materialistic realm [and not our earth alone].
vEngadaththAy uNarvAr Ar un perumai – will anyone know your greatness as you stand in thiruvEngadam, in order to redeem all the persons in materialistic realm, being under the control of archakas [in archAvathAram (as idol/deity form in many places) he is under the control of the archakas who are the persons appointed to conduct daily worship in the temples, arranging various rituals through the year], with all your svarUpa (basic characteristics), rUpa (divine form), guNa (auspicious qualities), vibhUthi (wealth) etc, being common to both nithyasUris and samsAris, exhibiting both your greatness and your simplicity?
nAl vEdhap paNNagaththAy uNarvAr Ar un perumai – vEdha purushan (vEdham, sacred scripture) says “vEdhAhamEtham purusham mahAntham” (I knew this supreme being). When vEdham was asked how it knew emperumAn, it said that he is mahAntham (he is so huge that it is not possible to measure him)
nAlvEdhap paNNagaththAy – vEdhas which have musical intonations called udhAththam and anudhAththam said that he cannot be measured
uNarvArAr un perumai – who can know you, who are having auspicious qualities such as greatness, simplicity etc?
uNarvArAr un uruvam thannai – who can know the greatness of your svarUpam (basic nature) which is the repository of your auspicious qualities? Alternatively, who can know the greatness of your dhivya mangaLa vigraham (the divine, auspicious form) which exhibits such auspicious qualities?
UzhidhORUzhi aRivAr Ar – It is not for a short time that someone is trying to measure your qualities. Even if they were given time of brahmA’s lifespan, can they measure you and know you? nammAzhwAr in his thiruvAimoizhi 4-3-10 says “yAnum Eththi Ezhulagum muRRum Eththip pinnaiyum thAnum Eththilum thannai Eththa Eththa engeydhum” (it is not possible to find the end, if AzhwAr praises him, all the people in all the worlds praise him and emperumAn himself praises himself, viz. no one can know him).
nI kidandha pAl uNarvAr Ar – while measuring your basic nature and auspicious qualities would be very difficult, has anyone measured a drop of your qualities when you were reclining in your milky ocean, waiting for your followers to call you for overcoming their troubles?
Thus AzhwAr says that emperumAn’s basic nature, his auspicious qualities, his wealth etc cannot be measured by anyone.
We shall take up the 69th pAsuram next.
adiyEn krishNa ramanuja dhAsan
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