SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
avathArikai
In the previous pAsuram AzhwAr said that he has no ills. In this pAsuram he says that he has no equal.
Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings:
enakkAvAr Ar oruvarE emperumAn
thanakkAvAn thAnE maRRallAl punakkAyA
vaNNanE unnaip piRar aRiyAr enmadhikku
viNNellAm uNdo vilai
Word for Word Meanings
punam – growing on its own land
kAyA – the flower kAyAmpU’s (a purple coloured flower from the plant kAyA)
vaNNanE – Oh emperumAn who has the same complexion!
enakku – for me who remains that you are the only protector
AvAr Ar oruvarE – is there anyone who is an equal? (There is none)
emperumAn – the sarvESvaran (lord of all)
thAnE thankkAvAn allAl – will be equivalent to himself. There is nothing else.
maRRu – will you be my equal?
unnai piRar aRiyAr – other than me, no one else knows about you
en madhikku – for my intellect (which knows you fully)
vinnellAm uNdO vilai – even if all entities in SrIvaikuNtam get together, can they compare with me?
vyAkyAnam
enakkAvAr Ar oruvarE – Oh benefactor! In both vibhUthis (nithyavibhUthi – SrIvaikuNtam and leelA vibhUthi – materialistic realm) is there anyone who is comparable to me?
All the vEdhas and those who follow these vEdhas uniformly say that he (emperumAn) is the most superior and that there is none anywhere near him, as brought out by (1) svEthasvathara upanishath “na thvathsamaSchApyadhigaScha dhruSyathE” (there is none who is equivalent or superior to that paramapurusha (superior entity)) 2) SrI bhagavath gIthA 11.43 “na thvathsamOsthyabhyadhika kuthOnyO lOkathrayE’pyaprathimaprabhAva” (Oh the incomparable entity! There is none in the three worlds who is your equivalent. Could there be one who is superior to you?) sarvESvaran says “When such is the case, why are you proclaiming about yourself?”
emperumAn thanakkAvAn thAnE maRRallAl – you, the sarvESvaran, are equivalent to yourself. Even you cannot be my equivalent. Just as yourself, I am also without anyone comparable to me. Just as there is none who is your equivalent in protecting others, there is none who is my equivalent among those who are protected. You, who would say “there is none who protects me”, cannot be compared to me who would say “only emperumAn is the protector”
Let it be so. There are others in this world who are in your state, who consider only me as the protector. Will those people not be comparable to you?
punakkAyA vaNNanE unnaip piRar aRiyAr – there is none who knows you other than me, who will not leave your beautiful divine form even if you turn out to be one who tortures instead of one who protects.
punakkAyAvaNNanE – Oh one who has the complexion of kAyAmpU (a type of flower with purple colour) which blossoms in its own land and who has its qualities of softness, coolness, fragrance etc!
punakkAyAvaNNanE! unnaip piRar aRiyAr – will those who consider their physical forms as their souls, know you? Will those who feel that they are totally independent, know you? Will those who worship other deities, know you? Will those who worship you for obtaining other benefits, know you? Will those who observe other means to attain you, know you? Or will rishis, who meditate on your basic nature, know you?
emperumAn then asks him “in nithyavibhUthi, there are great entities such as vishvaksEnar, ananthAzhwAn, garudan et al who know me. Will they, at the least, be comparable to you?”
en madhikku viNNellAl uNdO vilai – in this samsAram where everyone puts in his efforts to attain anything, I am worshipping your divine feet as the means for attaining you. Do all the entities in SrIvaikuNtam (vishvasksEnar et al) have the total belief that my intellect has in you? The implied meaning here is that since they (entities in SrIvaikuNtam) have already attained the goal, the firmness that AzhwAr has in emperumAn as the means will be lacking in them. AzhwAr says “I have no objection to the fact that they will know your svarUpam, rUpam etc (basic nature, divine form etc). But even if they all get together, they cannot equal me. They dwell in a place where enemy (karma, deeds from past) is non-existent whereas I am staying in samsAram where karma rules in a cruel way with the firm belief that ‘you are the protector’. Will they be comparable to me? Could the lotus in pond be compared to one which blossoms from a clay oven? Could daylight be comparaed to lamp in the night?” Hasn’t nammAzhwAr too mercifully mentioned in thiruviruththam 79 “sIdhanaiyE thozhuvAr viNNuLArilum sIriyarE” (those who worship the cool emperumAn without any break are superior to those in SrIvaikuNtam)!
enakkAvAr Ar oruvarE – thus, since there is no one in both vibhUthis who could be compared to me, who is there who could be compared to me? Since this pride comes not out of ahankAram (vanity) but due to connection with emperumAn, this is not considered as a fault but is acceptable completely.
We will take up the 52nd pAsuram next.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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