SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
avathArikai
AzhwAr steps back from parOpadhESam (instructing others) and starts enjoying thiruvEngadamalai (thirumalai dhivya dhESam) and the emperumAn who has taken residence there, in several pAsurams starting from this. For this AzhwAr, alternating between parOpadhESam and svAnubhavam (enjoying the experience of emperumAn) is a regular feature.
Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings:
azhaippan thiruvEngadaththAnaik kANa
izhaippan thirukkUdal kUda mazhaippEr
aruvi maNivaranRi vandhizhiya yAnai
veruvi aravondungum veRpu
Word for Word Meanings
thiruvEngadaththAnai – thiruvEngadamudaiyAn (emperumAn) who resides in thiruvEngadam
kANa – to worship him with my eyes
azhaippan – I call out
mazhai – during rainy season
pEr aruvi – the huge streams
maNi – gemstones (which are scattered at various places)
varanRi vandhu izhiya – gathering them and falling
(mistaking the splendour of those gemstones for fire)
yAnai – elephant
veruvi – standing in fear
aravu – python
odungum – (mistaking those gemstones for lightning) will hide inside anthills
veRpu – the divine hills of thirumalai
kUda – to join such hills
thirukkUdal kUda izhaippan – I will call out in a special way
vyAkyAnam
azhaippan thiruvEngadaththAnai – I will call out to emperumAn at thiruvEngadam. When asked whether he is calling out to emperumAn in order to desire money, grains, sire etc similar to the samsAris or to desire mOksham (SrIvaikuNtam) similar to wise and knowledgeable people, AzhwAr says …
kANa – it is for neither. I just want to see him and enjoy him. Just as it is said in the old saying [nAchchiyAr thirumozhi] “gOvindhaRkOr kuRREval immaippiRavi seyyAmE inippOych cheyyum thavandhAnen ” (what is the purpose in carrying out penance instead of carrying out kainkaryam to gOvindha (one of the names for emperumAn at thiruvEngadam) in this birth, right now?) when I am deeply desirous of seeing him now, where is the question of seeing him in SrIvaikuNtam at some other point of time? When I am not interested even in SrIvaikuNtam, the question of desiring wealth (aiSvaryam) does not arise at all!
izhaippan thirukkUdal kUda – I will call out to emperumAn to be with him. The word thirukkUdal has a special significance. In olden days, in order to guess (similar to foretelling future) whether what one wishes to attain will fructify or not, people will draw a circle and keep drawing concentric circles within the first circle. If the count of circles so drawn is an even number, then it is a positive sign (that their wish will be fulfilled) while if the count is an odd number, then it is a negative sign. This has been referred to by ANdAL too, in nAchchiyAr thirumozhi 4th decad.
For desiring what, is AzhwAr calling out ? He says in the subsequent lines that it is to be with thiruvEngadamalai.
maNippEraruvi mazhi varanRi vandhizhiya yAnai veruvi aravodungum veRpu kUdath thirukkudal izhaippan – during monsoon, the huge streams will bring forth gemstones from various places to thirumalai. Seeing those gemstones, the elephants will mistake them for fire and pythons will mistake them for lightning and cower due to that. It is well known that elephants fear firewood and pythons fear lightning. Alternatively, it could be construed that elephant, mistaking the gemstones for fire will step into the open mouth of python thinking that it is the opening of a cave.
We will move on to the 40th pAsuram next.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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