SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
Full series >> Fifth Centum >> Tenth decad
Introduction for this pAsuram
Highlights from thirukkurukaippirAn piLLAn‘s introduction
No specific introduction.
Highlights from nanjIyar‘s introduction
In the sixth pAsuram, AzhwAr says “I who have not seen all your activities, am not even capable of thinking about them; so, you should mercifully make me sustain myself and meditate upon you”.
Highlights from vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s introduction
See nanjIyar‘s introduction.
Highlights from periyavAchchAn piLLai‘s introduction
See nampiLLai‘s introduction.
Highlights from nampiLLai‘s introduction as documented by vadakkuth thiruvIdhip piLLai
Sixth pAsuram, AzhwAr says “I desired to see all your activities, and am not even capable of thinking about them; so, just as you protected the universe, you should mercifully protect me and make me meditate upon you”.
pAsuram
ninRavARum irundhavARum kidandhavARum ninaippariyana
onRalA uruvAy aruvAya nin mAyangaL
ninRu ninRu ninaiginREn unnai enganam ninaigiRpan? pAviyERku
onRu nanguraiyAy ulagam uNda oN sudarE
Listen
Word-by-Word meanings (based on vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s 12000 padi)
(In thiruvUragam, thiruppAdagam, thiruvekkA) [dhivyadhEsams or divine abodes of perumAL in kAnchipuram]
ninRa ARum – his standing ways
irundha ARum – his sitting ways
kidandha ARum – his resting ways
(similalry, in the heart of his devotees, as said in “thishtan” (standing firmly), “AsathE” (being seated) and “chEthE” (resting)), living as established in pramANam (SAsthram))
ninaippu – to think about
ariyana – difficult;
(in this manner)
onRu – any single
alA – not restricted to
uruvAy – having form
aruvAya – not seen for me to experience
nin – your
mAyangaL – amazing activities
ninRu ninRu – tormenting the already weakened heart at every stage
ninaiginREn – trying to fully think about;
unnai – you (who are performing the activities which weaken me)
enganam – how
ninaigiRpan – can think about in a focussed manner?
pAviyERku – for me who am having sin (which stops me from meditating in a focussed manner)
ulagam – universe which was getting destroyed in the deluge
uNda – consumed and protected
oN sudarE – Oh one who became radiant!
(to save me from drowning in this ocean of weakness and to have me say “sthithOsmi” (I am stable))
onRu – unique
nangu – distinguished means
uraiyAy – you should mercifully indicate.
Simple translation (based on vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s 12000 padi)
Your ways of standing, sitting, and resting are difficult to think about; I am trying to fully think about the amazing activities of yours, who are not restricted to having a single form, which are tormenting the already weakened heart at every stage; how can I, who am a sinner, think about you in a focussed manner? ; oh one who became radiant by consuming and protecting the universe which was getting destroyed in the deluge! You should mercifully indicate the unique and distinguished means to save me. “ninRavARum, irundhavARum, kidandhavARum” also is explained in context of krishNa standing, sitting and resting in his cradle.
vyAkyAnams (commentaries)
Highlights from thirukkurukaippirAn piLLAn‘s vyAkyAnam
See vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s translation.
Highlights from nanjIyar‘s vyAkyAnam
See nampiLLai‘s vyAkyAnam.
Highlights from periyavAchchAn piLLai‘s vyAkyAnam
See nampiLLai‘s vyAkyAnam.
Highlights from nampiLLai‘s vyAkyAnam as documented by vadakkuth thiruvIdhip piLLai
- ninRa … – Whatever AzhwAr is going through in bhagavath vishayam, we go through the same in worldly matters. A very good singer from North arrived in SrIrangam to worship the divine feet of SrIranganAthan. That day being the thIrthavAri (the concluding day of brahmOthsavam), AzhwAr thiruvarangap perumAL araiyar sang thirumAlai in a melodious tune and praised emperumAn like taming an elephant and had him mesmerized; at the time he requested emperumAn “My lord! A very good devotee of yours has arrived from a distant place to worship your divine feet; you should accept him and honour him”. perumAL obliged and invited him through the archaka; emperumAn mercifully ordered the archakas to perform thirukkaiththala sEvai (archakas carrying emperumAn with their bare hands) from thiruppunnai tree [the divine tree at the banks of chandhra puskhariNi, the ceremonial pond inside the temple campus] up to where the devotee was standing, for a few meters. On completing the act, emperumAn mercifully asked “Is this sufficient for this devotee who has arrived from distant location?” [This explains emperumAn’s divine walking activity]. This is how you should console my heart by mercifully performing some acts. Once, the SrIvaishNava washerman of the SrIrangam temple, washed the divine clothes of emperumAn nicely, dried them, folded them and presented them to emperumAnAr. Being very pleased, emperumAnAr at once took him along to perumAL and told him “My lord! Please see how neatly he has washed your divine clothes”; seeing that, emperumAn mercifully speaks to emperumAnAr “for the sake of this washerman, I am forgiving the washerman of kamsa who committed offense towards me [during krishNAvathAram]”.
- ninRa ARum … – Standing with the bow in his hand at the entrance of lankA; or standing with the bow in his hand after killing vAli; SrI rAmAyaNam kishkinthA kANdam 19.25 “avashtabya cha thishtantham dhadharSa dhanurUrjitham – SubhA” (thArA saw SrI rAma who is standing majestically holding the bow, along with lakshmaNa and sugrIva) – Due to the bow in his hand [or liking towards him], thArA felt pleased at her heart instead of seeing SrI rAma who killed her husband vAli and standing victoriously, along with lakhmaNa who helped in that effort, and sugrIva who served them and is going to be crowned, as “they are our enemies”. Since vAli was demoniac by nature, he got destroyed by his own actions, just as some one will tie a rock in their neck and jump into a lake to kill oneself, while the lake was built to provide water for everyone. She remained “Did he (SrI rAma) commit any mistake?”. Would emperumAn let live anyone who attacked the one [sugrIva] who is as dear to him as his own life?
- irundha ARum – Seated as said in SrI rAmAyaNam ayOdhyA kANdam 99.25 “utajE rAmAm AsInam” (SrI rAma who was seated in the hermitage).
- kidandha ARum – His reclining at the seashore as said in SrI rAmAyaNam yudhdha kANdam 21.1 “anjali prAng muka: kruthvA prathiSiSyE mahOdhadhE” (SrI rAma remained prostrated towards east direction with joined palms). “prathiSiSyE” – it appears that two oceans are present right across each other; kambanAttAzhwAn [poet kamban] said “an ocean of mercy is facing the ocean of water”. That is, the arrow [brahmAsthram] which he launched could have been easily shot by SrI rAma even previously; though he was having such arrow and well built shoulders, he was patiently reclining in front of the undeserving ocean [king] – such reclining is explained by AzhwAr here; while it could have been said “ninRum irundhum kidandhum” [together], AzhwAr said “ninRa ARum”, “irundha ARum”, “kidandha ARum” individually since they tormented him individually. Alternate explanation – krishNa’s lifting up of gOvardhana hill can be considered for ninRavARum, his being together with the cowherd girls before rAsakrIdA can be considered for irundhavARum, and his subsequent resting on the laps of the cowherd girls can be considered for kidandhavARum. When he stands, it is as said in periya thirumozhi 6.9.8 “nilaiyAra ninRAn” (one who is standing firm) and will make one fear for his sitting and reclining postures [that they will be even more attractive]. While he is seated, it is said in thiruvAimozhi 6.5.5 “pirAn irundhamai kAttinIr” (you showed the seated posture of the benefactor, krishNa); when he is reclining, it is as said in thirumAlai 23 “kidandhadhOr kidakkai” (the unique reclining posture). As said in thiruchchandha viruththam 65 “niRpadhum Or veRpagaththirippa viN kidappadhum naRperum thiraik kadaluL“, his standing posture in thirumalA (thiruppathi), sitting posture in paramapadham and resting posture in thiruppARkadal (milky ocean) can also be considered. Another explanation – as said in thiruchchandha viruththam 65 “niRpadhum iruppadhum kidappadhum en nenjuLE” (he is standing, sitting and resting in my heart), in AzhwAr‘s divine heart, emperumAn is standing in AzhwAr’s heart as said in thiruvAimozhi 8.7.5 “thigazhumaNikkunRam onRE oththu ninRAn” (he is standing like a shining hill made of precious gems), sitting as said in thiruvAimozhi 8.7.7 “sevvAy muRuvalOdu enadhuLLaththirundha avvAy anRi yAnaRiyEn maRRaruLE” (I won’t know any other grace than that of the divine reddish smiling lips [of emperumAn who is seated in my heart]) and resting as said in periya thiruvandhAdhi 35 “ninRum irundhum kidandhum” (standing, sitting and resting). Yet another explanation – while AzhwAr thiruvarangap perumAL araiyar explains as said in thiruchchandha viruththam 64 “ninRadhendhai Uragaththu irundhadhendhai pAdagaththu anRu vekkaNaik kidandhadhu” (my lord is sitting in thiruvUragam, seated in thiruppAdagam and is reclining in thiruvekkA), emperumAnAr mercifully explained [matching the context of the padhigam which is focussed on krishNAvathAram], all of these are seen in the cradle [of krishNa]. Baby krishNa standing inside the cradle having the beam in the cradle as support, unable to stand after a while falling down and sitting, and even after unable to sit for a while, reclining and falling asleep – are explained here. Yet another explanation, as said in siRiya thirumadal “pOrAr vER kaN madavAL pOndhanaiyum poy uRakkam” (krishNa pretends to sleep until the spear-eyed yaSOdhA leaves), his rising up and standing after she left, his sitting on hearing the sound of her return and reclining on seeing her approaching closer as said in “mun kidandha thAnaththE OrAdhavan pOl kidandha” (krishNa pretending to sleep at the same spot where he was before as if he knows nothing).
- ninaippu ariyana – Though these incidents occurred once, AzhwAr is unable to think about these even today. He himself previously said in thiruviruththam 98 “imaiyOr thamakkum – sevvE nenjAl ninaippaRidhAl veNNey UNennum Inach chollE” (even for the residents of paramapadham emperumAn‘s butter eating activities are difficult to comprehend).
- onRalA uruvAy – For AzhwAr, just one such incident is enough to torment him forever. [But here] not just one, many such incidents are present.
- aruvAya nin mAyangaL – Your amazing activities which are not visible to my eyes.
- ninRu ninRu ninaiginREn – Neither can he complete thinking about him nor can he avoid thinking about him. I will try hard to think about you, but unable to do so. Alternative explanation – while I desire to think about you, and hence am analysing “which is the means to think about you?”.
- unnai enganam ninaigiRpan – You who are omniscient and omnipotent, are not showing me the means through which I can think about you. As said in periya thirumozhi 8.2.8 “thoNdellAm nin adiyE thozhudhu uyyumAkaNdu” (Seeing that all your servitors are redeemed by worshipping your divine feet) – that is all servitors, those who are desirous of wealth, those who are desirous of self-enjoyment and those who are desirous of serving your eternally including AzhwAr himself go to emperumAn, pray for what they require, acquire them and leave him after getting their desires fulfilled, went to emperumAn as said in same pAsuram “thAn kaNapuram thozhap pOyinAL” (parakAla nAyaki went to worship emperumAn at thirukkaNNapuram), thinking that “let me also be with emperumAn, enjoy him and return”; would the self see emperumAn only, and should it not see self too? Well, if one is going to emperumAn seeking some benefits, one can return once that desire is fulfilled, but if one goes to emperumAn considering emperumAn only as the goal, there is no way they can return. This is the state of those who have extreme love towards bhagavAn [Here it is explained that, for those with self-interest, they can easily think about emperumAn, pray to him, attain what they need and get back to their activities; but for devotees who are exclusively focussed on emperumAn, cannot even think about emperumAn easily since they don’t have any self interests].
- pAviyERku – Except for me [who has sins], everyone else is able to think about you and have their desires fulfilled; everyone in the world as said in SrIvishNu purANam 1.17.78 “smruthO yachchathi SObanam” (one who bestows auspiciousness for those who think about him).
- onRu nangu uraiyAy – Why can’t you tell me like you told a pacifying statement to arjuna [as in SrI bhagavath gIthA 18.66 “mA sucha:” (do not worry)]? AzhwAr‘s grief is much greater than arjuna’s grief. emperumAn declared “I am responsible for the attainment of the goal and the elimination of hurdles”. That is all which is required, and everything else will naturally follow. The real goal is realizing one’s own true nature, the result of such realisation is kainkaryam [eternal service to emperumAn in paramapadham] and need not be explicitly explained and hence SAsthram stops with highlighting the realisation of true nature [as the initial goal]. Whatever happens subsequent to that is not meant to be explained [it is supposed to be experienced personally]. In this manner, could you not tell me “I will accept responsibility for you”.
- ulagam uNda oN sudarE – If one consumes food, the body will reflect that. Is desiring to think about, a mistake? Even if such thinking is difficult to do, should you not make that happen? When the universe was in great danger of being consumed by deluge and no one asked you for protection, you yourself consumed it and protected it by placing it in your stomach; while the universe does not realise the favour you did, you considered it as personal gain and remained radiant due to that.
- ulagam uNda on sudarE – “You protected the universe considering it to be your personal gain” is truly revealed by your radiant form itself.
In the next article we will enjoy the next pAsuram.
adiyen sarathy ramanuja dasan
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