SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
avathArikai
AzhwAr asks emperumAn to fulfil his desires too just as he protects the celestial entities such as brahmA et al, who have limited knowledge. While brahmA et al become devotees of emperumAn when the quality of sathvam (goodness) becomes predominant in them, they think that they are the lords when they are under the control of rajas (emotional; aggressive) and thamas (lazy; ignorant) qualities and grant boons to demons such as hiraNya kashyap, only to suffer later. Such people are not apt to be attained ever. AzhwAr requests emperumAn to become his protector too just as he saves brahmA et al from various dangers. One can consider from this pAsuram until the 26th as a dialogue between emperumAn and AzhwAr as well as experiencing of emperumAn’s auspicious qualities by AzhwAr.
Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings:
thavam seydhu nAnmuganAl peRRa varaththai
avam seydha AzhiyAn anRe uvandhemmaik
kAppAy nI kAppadhanai AvAy nI vaikundham
IppAyum evvuyirkkum nI
Word for Word Meanings
thavam seydhu – carrying out penance
nAnmuganAl – from brahmA
peRRa – (those entities such as hiraNyakashyap who) obtained
varaththai – boons
avam seydha – one who ruined them
AzhiyAn anRE – aren’t you the emperumAn with divine disc in your divine hand!
emmai – us
uvandhu – with a happy divine mind
kAppAy nI – you are the only one who protects
kAppadhanai AvAy nI – the vow to protect is also yours only
evvuyirkkum – for all chEthanas (who attained you)
vaikundham – paramapadham (SrIvaikuNtam)
ippAyum – one who grants
nI – it is only you
vyAkyAnam
thavam seydhu nAnmuganAl peRRa varaththai avam seydha AzhiyAn anRE – considering himself as the creator of worlds, brahmA, while being born from your navel, out of vanity, wanted to be a grantor of boons, without analysing the results of granting such boons. Is he the entity to be attained or are you [emperumAn] who, without making such boons ineffective, transformed yourself as half-lion, half human, and killed the demon hiraNya at dusk with your finger nails, the entity to be attained? Only you have to respond, says AzhwAr.
thavam seydhu – this could be construed as referring to rAvaNa. brahmA et al granted boons to rAvaNa and suffered. Are such entities apt to be attained or are you, in order to fulfil their boons, took the form of a human, and killed rAvaNa et al and gave back their residences, the apt entity to be attained?
AzhiyAnanRE – the implied meaning is that entities such as brahmA et al who cannot protect themselves are unfit to be attained while emperumAn, who constantly has the divine disc in his hand in order to protect his followers, is the protector. When protecting, emperumAn does not consider that he is carrying out something for the sake of his followers; he feels elated that he is carrying out something for his sake. Did not vAlmIki mention in SrI rAmAyaNam yudhdha kANdam “abhishichya cha lankAyAm rAkshasEndhram vibhIshaNam I kruthakruthyas thadhA rAmO vijvara: pramumOdha: II ” (after performing the coronation of vibhIshaNa, the head of demons, in lankA, SrI rAma felt as if he had carried out a task for himself and felt joyous)!
uvandhemmaik kAppAy nI ….. thavam seydhu nAnmuganAl peRRa – is it required to spell out as to whether entities such as brahmA et al who granted boons which will get destroyed, after carrying out hard penance, are apt to be attained or emperumAn who carries out tasks for his followers as his own and feels happy about it?
kAppadhanaiAvAy nI – you [emperumAn] are the protector; the sankalpa (vow) to protect is also yours. This implies that on a few occasions when brahmA et al protect their followers, it is emperumAn who, as their antharyAmi (indwelling soul) protects them. Hasn’t emperumAn himself mercifully said this in SrI bhagavath gIthA 7-21, 22 “yO yO yAm yAm thanum bhakthi: SradhdhayArchchidhum ichchathi I ……labhAthE cha thatha kAmAn mayaiva vihithAn hi thAn II” (whoever earnestly worships whichever deities, who are all part of my physical form, obtain whatever they had asked for from those deities, which are given to those deities by me)!
kAppadhanaiyAvAy nI – could one expect the rakshaNa dharma (the duty to protect) from anyone else? parASara maharishi in vishNu purANam SlOkam 1-22-21 says “na hi pAlana sAmarthyam ruthE sarvESvaram harim I sthithau sthitham mahAbhAga bhavathyanyasya kasyachith II” (is there anyone other than the supreme being hari, who is fully engaged in protecting, who has the capacity to protect others?)
vaikuNdham ippAyum evvuyirkkum nI – let the other capabilities remain. Is there anyone who has the capability to grant mOksham (SrIvaikuNtam) so that one need not return to earth and suffer again? Haven’t SAsthras loudly proclaimed, as in purusha sUktham, nArAyaNa sUktham etc “uthAmruthathvasyESAna: ” (only he is the supreme lord for paramapadham too); “thamEvam vidhvAnamrutha iha bhavathi nAnya: panthA ayanAya vidhyathE “ (only he who knows emperumAn like this attains mOksham; there is no other way); “amruthasyaishya sEthu:” (he is the bridge to reach mOksham); “mOkshamichchEth janArdhanAth” (mOksham should be desired only from janArdhana (emperumAn)).
Thus in this pAsuram, AzhwAr has mercifully stated that brahmA et al, who are not capable of protecting themselves, are not the apt entities to be attained and it is only emperumAn, who protects every creature, who is apt to be attained.
We will take up the 20th pAsuram next.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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