SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
avathArikai
AzhwAr says that emperumAn very much desires dhivyadhESams (divine abodes) as being solitary places from where he can protect followers. Is it that he has merely taken residence in this world? He says that emperumAn’s stay at paramapadham is also devoid of anything; isn’t it only at dhivyadhESams that he is together with witnesses!
Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings:
viNNagaram vehkA viri thirai nIr vEngadam
maNNagaram mAmAda vELukkai maNNagaththa
thenkudandhai thEnAr thiruvarangam thenkOtti
thankudangai nIrERRAn thAzhvu
Word by Word Meanings
viNNagaram – thiruviNNagaram (a divine abode in kumbakONam)
vehkA – thiruvehkA (a divine abode in kAnchIpuram)
viri thirai nIr vEngadam – thirumalai where there is plenty of water resource with splashing waves
maNNagaram – only this is a city on earth
mA mAdam vELukkai – thiruvELukkai (a divine abode in kAnchIpuram) which has huge mansions
maN agaththa then kudandhai – the beautiful thirukkudandhai (kumbakONam) which is at the centre of earth
thEn Ar thiruvarangam – the divine thiruvarangam town which has flood of honey (inside the surrounding gardens)
then kOtti – the divine thirukkOttiyUr on the southern side
(all these divine abodes)
than kudangai – in his palm
nIr ERRAn – emperumAn who took water (from mahAbali as symbolic of accepting alms)
thAzhvu – are the places of residence where emperumAn stays with modesty
vyAkyanam
viNNagaram vehkA viri thirai nIr vEngadam – thiruviNNagaram, thiruvehkA and, thirumalai which has lot of water resources. Just as it is mentioned in nAchchiyAr thirumozhi 8.3 “kuLiraruvi vEngadam”, it is thiruvEngadam which has lot of streams. AzhwAr will not mention thirumalai without adding a special adjective for it!
maNNagaram mA mAda vELukkai – even though it is located in the materialistic realm, the town of vELukkai with its tall mansions will equal paramapadham.
mA mAda – this signifies the tall mansions.
maN agaththa then kudandhai – the dhivyadhESam thirukkudandhai which is on earth is considered to be a piece of paramapadham.
thEnAr thiruvarangam – the huge temple of thiruvarangam (SrIrangam) which has orchards which have unlimited sweetness.
thenkOtti – thirukkOttiyUr, which is on the southern side [of bhAratham].
than kudangai nIrERRAn thAzhvu – the divine places where emperumAn who received water in his small palms (from mahAbali) took residence with simplicity in his divine mind. Just as he came down to this world as a mendicant in order to retrieve the worlds which are his possession, he took residence as a mendicant in these divine abodes in order to retrieve souls which are his possessions.
thAzhvu – these are the places where he has taken residence will total happiness that he is fortunate to help his followers all the time instead of coming down once in a while through his incarnations and helping his followers once and disappearing. These are the divine abodes where he remains as a humble entity always, instead of having to incarnate every time when his followers request him.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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