SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
Full series >> Seventh Centum >> First decad
Introduction for this pAsuram
Highlights from thirukkurukaippirAn piLLAn‘s introduction
No specific introduction.
Highlights from nanjIyar‘s introduction
In the first pAsuram, AzhwAr becomes upset saying “Why are you tormenting me with the senses even after I have surrendered unto your divine feet, being unable to sustain myself without you”.
Highlights from vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s introduction
Subsequently, AzhwAr says “You who are having the relationship [with me] to eliminate my hurdles, are tormenting me with the senses and making me not reach your divine feet”.
Highlights from periyavAchchAn piLLai‘s introduction
See nanjIyar‘s introduction.
Highlights from nampiLLai‘s introduction as documented by vadakkuth thiruvIdhip piLLai
See nanjIyar‘s introduction.
pAsuram
uNNilAviya aivarAl kumai thIRRi ennai un pAdha pangayam
naNNilA vagaiyE nalivAn innam eNNuginRAy
eNNilAp peru mAyanE! imaiyOrgaL Eththum ulagamUnRudai
aNNalE! amudhE! appanE! ennai ALvAnE!
Listen
Word-by-Word meanings (based on vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s 12000 padi)
uL – inside
nilAviya – being the internal enemy due to residing permanently
aivarAl – with the senses
kumai thIRRi – torture
ennai – me (who surrendered unto you fearing them)
un – you who are apt, enjoyable
pAdha pangayam – divine feet
naNNilA vagaiyE – to not reach
innam – even after having acquired the urge (as said in thiruvAimozhi 6.9.9 “kAttip paduppAyO” (are you planning to finish me by revealing varieties of pleasures?))
nalivAn – torment (by placing in samsAram)
eNNuginRAy – you are thinking;
eNNilA – countless
peru – unlimited
mAyanE – having the amazing prakruthi thathvam (matter) as prakAram (form)
imaiyOrgaL – by nithyasUris (who are untouched by samsAram and have unfailing knowledge)
Eththum – praised
mUnRu ulagam – three types of chEthanas (sentient beings) and achEthanas (insentient entities)
udai – having them as subservient entities
aNNalE – being the lord
amudhE – naturally having eternal enjoyability
appanE – being a benefactor right from the beginning
ennai – me
ALvAnE – one who controls in all of these aspects!
Simple translation (based on vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s 12000 padi)
Oh one who is having the countless, unlimited, amazing prakruthi thathvam as your form, who is praised by nithyasUris, who is having the three types of chEthanas and achEthanas as subservient entities! Oh lord who is naturally having eternal enjoyability! Oh one who is a benefactor right from the beginning and who controls me in all of these aspects! You who are apt and enjoyable, are thinking to torture me with the senses which are internal enemy due to residing inside permanently and are stopping me from reaching your divine feet. AzhwAr is blaming emperumAn who is the benefactor, out of his relationship with emperumAn. The senses are addressed as sentient entities, due to their ability to act. eNNilAp peru mAyanE could also mean one with countless, unlimited, amazing qualities.
vyAkyAnams (commentaries)
Highlights from thirukkurukaippirAn piLLAn‘s vyAkyAnam
See vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar‘s translation.
Highlights from nanjIyar‘s vyAkyAnam
See nampiLLai‘s vyAkyAnam.
Highlights from periyavAchchAn piLLai‘s vyAkyAnam
See nampiLLai‘s vyAkyAnam.
Highlights from nampiLLai‘s vyAkyAnam as documented by vadakkuth thiruvIdhip piLLai
- uNNilAviya … – Instead of having the presence of the saviour I am having the presence of the tormentor. Is your highness thinking that you have placed my enemies outside?
- nilAviya – Though they are inside, if they travel outside and return, we can fight with them at the right time.
- nilAviya – Residing. The tormentors are remaining in close proximity and hurting. AzhwAr is not realising “there is AthmA (soul) which is different from dhEham (body)”; he is thinking that the senses are only residing.
- aivarAl – Even if being tormented, we can remedy the situation if it is just one or two persons. But we have four of them [eyes, ears, nose, tongue] tormenting together and one [skin] is present all over the body. While the saviour is one, tormentors are five in number. While the senses are insentient, AzhwAr uses the term “aivar” (five persons) instead of “anju” (five objects), due to their resembling chEthanas (sentient beings) in tormenting. AzhwAr is not realising that there is an AthmA (self), that the mind is the gateway for the self’s knowledge and that these senses are subservient to them.
- kumai thIRRi – tormenting [being consumed]. Just as the one who insists those who tied a slingshot loosely to tighten it up, AzhwAr is thinking that emperumAn is not letting the senses relax and is making them torment him heavily. Based on the way they torment, if we address them like addressing sentient beings, is there any fault in them? Even when they are tormenting, he [emperumAn] is not absent. Nor are they uncontrollable by him. Is he not known as hrushIkESa (one who controls everyone’s senses)?
- ennai – Me who will be finished in their [senses’] presence as said in thiruvAimozhi 6.9.9 “pala kAttip paduppAyO” (are you planning to finish me by revealing varieties of pleasures?) and , thiruvAimozhi 6.9.8 “innam keduppAyO” (will you torment me further?).
- un pAdha pangayam – Your divine feet which are said as in thiruvAimozhi 6.9.9 “thAvi vaiyam koNda thadam thAmaraigaL” (The expansive divine feet which measured the world) and thiruvAimozhi 6.10.4 “pUvAr kazhalgaL” (divine feet filled with flowers).
- un pAdha pangayam – Should I not highlight my helpless state? You don’t know your own greatness [i.e. enjoyability of your divine feet]! Are you pushing me away without knowing about you! [Your divine feet] periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 1.2.1 “pEdhaik kuzhavi pidiththuch chuvaiththuNNum pAdhak kamalam” (The divine foot which is joyfully suckled by the ignorant toddler (krishNa)). The enjoyable divine feet which cannot be discarded by even those who have not given up the inclination towards samsAra. The divine feet are said as in thiruvAimozhi 1.5.5 “thEnE malarum thiruppAdham” (the divine foot which is the origin for honey).
- naNNilA vagaiyE – Not just occassionally to stay away, but doing that [staying away] as natural act. AzhwAr thinks “Can I ever reach emperumAn ?”.
- nalivAn – For AzhwAr, “not reaching him” and “being tormented” are not two separate aspects; they both are the same; not reaching emperumAn‘s divine feet is the real torture for AthmA. This is what is torture.
- innam – Even after saying in thiruvAimozhi 6.10.10 “agalagillEn iRaiyum enRu alarmEl mangai uRai mArbA … un adik kIzh amarndhu pugundhEn“.
- eNNuginRAy – AzhwAr thinks “ISvara has nothing else to do [other than torturing me]”. As he cared for pANdavas as said in mahAbhAratham rAjasUya parvam “yasya manthrI cha gOpthA cha suhruchchaiva janArdhana:” (janArdhana who is the lord of all the worlds and is the minister, protector and friend of arjuna), he is thinking about tormenting me while I am actually being tormented as well. AzhwAr thinks “emperumAn is thinking how to push AzhwAr away”.
- eNNilAp peru mAyanE – Oh you who are able to perform many activities as said in upanishath “asmAn mAyI srujathE viSvamEthath” (ISvara creates the universe from the primordial matter) and in SrI bhagavath gIthA 7-13 “mama mAyA dhurathyayA” (it is difficult to crossover my primordial matter), are having the prakruthi (material realm) as the prison to torment those whom you don’t like! Alternative explanation – pILLAn used to explain it as “Oh one who is having countless, amazing qualities!”. How does it fit your having such qualities and tormenting me? [Why is he praising emperumAn who is tormenting him] While someone is tormented using slings, in between they would be offered water, similarly, AzhwAr is praising emperumAn’s qualities here [while blaming him].
- imaiyOrgaL Eththum – Is the nithya vibhUthi present to praise emperumAn saying “Oh here is someone [emperumAn] who has abandoned one [AzhwAr] who cannot sustain without him”? AzhwAr is thinking “Because of their [nithyasUris] favourable attitude towards empeurmAn, he has not arrived here”. Had his grand assembly protested like thrisangu’s assembly did, could he stay away from me? [thrisangu reached svarga (heaven) on the order of viSvAmithra eventually to be pushed down and a new heaven was constructed by viSvAmithra for him in the sky]
- ulagam mUnRu udaiya aNNalE – emperumAn manifested his greatness thinking that AzhwAr would remain patiently knowing “emperumAn will act when he wishes to”; AzhwAr thinks “He manifested his greatness to make me think ‘would such saviour torment me?’ and then tormented me”.
- amudhE – AzhwAr thinks “He did not manifest his enjoyability to let me enjoy him, but to make me suffer not liking anything else”.
- appanE – AzhwAr thinks “Making me believe ‘such benefactor will not torment me’ and then caused me suffering”.
- ennai ALvAnE – AzhwAr thinks “He manifested his lordship to prove that he previously helped me. He did those to make me think ‘Did he rule over me previously based on any of my effort/act? [No – he voluntarily did] Similarly, he will care for me’; but his actual intent is different”.
- ennai ALvAnE – [Alternative explanation based on piLLai thirunaRaiyUr araiyar’s view which was explained in the pravESam] Being my lord, why are you thinking to torment me?
In the next article we will enjoy the next pAsuram.
adiyen sarathy ramanuja dasan
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