SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
avathArikai
In the previous pAsuram, AzhwAr had mercifully mentioned that it is emperumAn who removes all his sorrows. In this pAsuram he says “Is it only for me that he removes sorrows? Even for brahmA, rudhra et al who you people consider as deities, it is only he who removes the sorrows; attain him”.
Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings:
mEl nAnmugan aranaiyitta vidu sAbam
thAn nAraNan ozhiththAN thAragaiyuL vAnOr
perumAnai EththAdha pEygAL piRakkum
karumAyam pEsil kadhai
Word for Word Meanings
mEl – once upon a time
nAnmugan – brahmA
aranai – rudhra
itta – given
vidusAbam – curse
thAragaiyuL – on this earth (for everyone to know)
nAraNan thAn – nArayaNa himself
ozhiththAn – mercifully got rid of
(such)
vAnOr perumAnai – SrIman nArayana, the lord of nithyasUris
EththAdha – not praising him
pEygAL – Oh foolish people!
piRakkum karu – inside the womb which is the basis for birth
(experienced by you people)
mAyam – the amazing sorrows
pEsil – if one were to talk
kadhai – it will be as expansive as mahAbhAratha narrative.
vyAkyAnam
mEl nAnmugan aranai itta vidu sAbam – the curse which the father brahmA gave his son rudhra when rudhra plucked out one of brahmA’s heads
thAn nArANanozhiththAn thAragaiyuL – it was nArAyaNa who got rid of that curse in such a way that all the people on earth knew about it. It is pertinent here to reminisce the SlOkam in mAthsya purANam:
dhEvIm prathi rudhra: thatha: krOdha parIthEna samrakthanayanEna cha I
vAmAngushtAnakAgrENa chinnan thasya SirO mayA II
brahmA – yasmAdhanaparAdhasya Siraschithan thvayA mama I
thasmAchchApasamAvishta: kapAlI thvam bhavishyasi II
rudhra: brahmahAkulithO bhUthvA charam thIrthdhAni bhUthalE I
thathO’ham kathavaN dhEvi! Himavantham SilOchchayamII
thathra nArAyaNaS SrImAn mayA bhikshAm prayAchitha: I
thathasthEna svakam pArSvam nAkAgrENa vidhAritham II
mahathI sravathI dhArA thasya rakthasya nissruthA II
vishNu prasAdhAth suSrONi! kapAlam thathsahasradhA I
spuditham bahUdhA yAtham svapnalabhdham dhanam yadhA II
(rudhran informing dhEvi – ‘later the head of that brahmA was plucked by me, who has a lot of anger and reddish eyes, with a corner of my left thumb nail. brahmA cursed me saying “Since my faultless head was severed by you, you will roam around due to my curse as a kapAli (one who is with a skull). Oh dhevi! As one who caused hurt to a brAhmaNa, and with saddened heart, I went to many holy waters and then I went to himAlayas. There, I begged SrIman nArAyaNa to rid me of my curse. Then, a part of his body was scratched by him with his fingernail and from that blood poured out like flood waters. … Oh supreme beauty! With the mercy of vishNu, that skull broke into a thousand pieces and disappeared like wealth that one obtained in his dream)”
thAragai – derived from the root “dhArathIthi dhArakA” (earth is called as dhArakA since it bears everything), this refers to earth.
thAragaiyuL – he [emperumAn] got rid [of the curse] in such a way that everyone on earth knew about it. He removed the curse so that rudhra got the famous names of kapAli and bikshANda and emperumAn got the famous name harapApahara (one who removed the sin of rudhra).
vAnOr perumAnai – son stood like a sinner since he severed the father’s head; father stood sorrowfully having lost his head; emperumAn rid the sorrows of both. nithyasUris, who saw this happening, ceded themselves to emperumAn. Alternatively, vAnOr would refer to the celestial entities who on seeing their leaders brahmA and rudhra being rid of their sorrows, affirmed that emperumAn is the supreme being.
EththAdha pEygAL – Oh foolish people who do not praise such a distinguished entity!
AzhwAr says next as to what will befall such foolish persons since they do not praise emperumAn.
piRakkum karumAyam pEsil kadhai – if one were to talk about the sufferings that you people, who do not praise emperumAn, have to endure in the wombs ( in all these births) it will be as expansive as mahAbhAratha narrative.
We will take up the 32nd pAsuram next.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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