SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
avathArikai
In pAsuram 74, AzhwAr called himself as “perum thamizhan nallEn” (an expert in great thamizh arts), mentioning about his greatness and composed poems also [to prove his point]. Now, thinking of the union of emperumAn and pirAtti, he feels ashamed and says “am I attempting to sing about them! What a courageous act did I try to enact!” feeling repentence. Earlier, since he spoke about emperumAn who is greater than everyone else, he asked whether there is anyone who is equal to him. But since he has now seen emperumAn along with pirAtti, he says that he has not said anything appropriate to their greatness. nammAzhwAr too has mercifully mentioned in his thiruvAimozhi 3-1-6 “pUvinmEl mAdhuvAzh mArvinAy ensolli yAn vAzhththuvanE” (Oh one who has SrImahAlakshmi, who stays on a lotus flower, residing in your chest! How can I praise you?). He feels ashamed that he attempted to sing about emperumAn after seeing his greatness. Now it appears to him that what he did earlier (in pAsuram 74) and his desire to obtain benefit from emperumAn are inappropriate.
Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings:
kuRaiyAga venjoRkaL kURinEn kURi
maRaiyAngena uraiththa mAlai iRaiyEnum
eeyungolenRE irundhEn enaippagalum
mAyan kaN senRa varam
Word by Word Meaning
maRai – vEdhas (sacred texts)
Angu ena uraiththa mAlai – stating that emperumAn is like that (instead of like this)
(I, with low level of intelligence)
kuRai Aga – having faults
vem soRkaL – with words which singe the eardrum
kURinEn – I spoke
kURi – apart from speaking (like that)
mAyan kaN senRa varam – with the mercy which is present in him
iRaiyEnum – at least a little bit
eeyum kol enRE – will give me (expecting the benefit)
enaip pagalum – for a long time
irundhEn – I am waiting
vyAkyAnam
kuRaiyAga venjoRkaL kURinEn kURi – AzhwAr says that these are the wrong actions that he had done: I spoke in such a way that there will be faults. I spoke harsh words. I spoke about emperumAn who is full in everything, with belittling words. On top of that, I spoke in such a cruel way that the ears of those who listened to those words would turn red.
kuRaiyAga – If a person sees an ocean, can he estimate its depth or the length of its shore? Looking at the greatness of emperumAn and his own lowliness, it appears to AzhwAr that his words were belittling.
vem soRkaL – I spoke in such a way that emperumAn’s divine mind would have felt hurt.
kURinEn – I spoke about something which I couldn’t have seen. I spoke of a matter which cannot be estimated, in a way which was limiting it.
kURi – not only doing the above. With the knowledge that I had, I did not even repent for my act. I felt that the act that I had undertaken was correct.
maRai Angu ena uRaiththa mAlai – If the person who was spoken about by me were one who could be forgotten, all that I had done would have been without any fault. But emperumAn, who was spoken about me, is such that whatever he utters becomes vEdha. He is such a supreme lord. muNdaka upanishath 2-1-4 says of emperumAn “vAgvivruthAScha vEdhA:” (whatever was uttered by him became vEdha); he is superior to everyone else. Alternatively, vEdhas which came to explain the true meanings would define him such that he cannot be estimated; he has such greatness. We can construe this as vEdhas saying that he is Angu meaning he is “like that”.
iRaiyEnum eeungol enRE irundhEn – even though none of whatever I had composed on him deserved any present (gift), I waited in anticipation as to whether emperumAn would give some present for it. Not only did I say something with fault, but I was waiting for being complimented for it!
enaip pagalum – for a very long time
mAyankaN senRa varam – the grace which was present in that wondrous emperumAn.
iRaiyEnum eeyungol enRE irundhEn – after seeing the way he was giving gifts to those who sang about him earlier, I was also expectantly waiting whether he would not gift me anything.
Will this AzhwAr sing a hymn for getting a benefit? Even though he did not sing the hymns for a benefit, if emperumAn looks at him and graces him with his eyes, AzhwAr would treat that as a benefit for his svarUpam (basic nature).
senRa varam – we can construe this as meaning that AzhwAr was waiting in anticipation as to whether emperumAn would grant the boon at least a little bit.
We shall take up the 84th pAsuram next.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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