periya thirumozhi – 1.1.4 – venRiyE vENdi

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periya thirumozhi >> First centum >> First decad

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pAsuram

venRiyE vENdi vIzhporutkirangi
vERkaNAr kalaviyE karudhi
ninRavA nillA nenjinai udaiyEn
enseygEn? neduvisumbaNavum
panRiyAy anRu pAragangINda
pAzhiyAn AzhiyAn aruLE
nanRu nAnuyya nAn kaNdu koNdEn
nArAyaNA ennum nAmam

Word-by-Word meanings

venRiyE – Victory only
vENdi – desired
vIzh – that which will be destroyed
porutku – for wealth
irangi – worrying
vEl kaNAr – with the women whose eyes resemble spear
kalaviyE – union only
karudhi – considered
ninRavA nillA – not being firm on anything
nenjinai – heart
udaiyEn – I who am having
en seygEn – what will I do; (not having the means to reach you, I am unable to do anything)
anRu – on the day when earth was engulfed by deluge
nedu – tall
visumbu – sky
aNavum – growing to touch
panRiyAy – having the form of varAha (wild boar)
pAragam – earth
kINda – uplifted
pAzhiyAn – the strong one
AzhiyAn – sarvESvaran’s
aruLE – by mercy only
nAn – I who was attached to worldly pleasures
nanRu – properly
uyya – to be uplifted
nArAyaNA ennum nAmam – the divine name nArAyaNa
nAn – I who was prideful
kaNdu koNdEn – realised.

Simple translation

Desiring for victory only and worrying for the wealth which will be destroyed, only considering the union with the women whose eyes resemble spear, what will I, who am having the heart which is not firm on anything, do? The strong sarvESvaran having the form of varAha who grew up to the tall sky, on that day the earth was engulfed by deluge, uplifted the earth. To be properly uplifted by such sarvESvaran’s mercy only, I who was attached to worldly pleasures and was prideful, realised the divine name nArAyaNa.

Highlights from vyAkyAnam (Commentary)

• venRiyE vENdi – He only desires for victory even over father or teacher. He always tries to push-down everyone else and become prominent. He is even desiring to win over aspects where he should remain subservient.
• vIzh porutku irangi – Only due to having a little bit of wealth, one disrespects others. But since it is impermanent, he will lose and will cry out for that. On top of trying to win over respectable persons instead of being subservient to them, he will also remain crying due to having attachment for wealth which should not be cared for. Alternative explanation – having dhEhAthmAbimAnam (considering body as self), not just considering oneself to be greater than all, but also will think about the impermanent body to remain forever and worry for that.
• vEl kaNAr kalaviyE karudhi – While having wealth, he will let his wife wear saffron clothes and let her go. But on losing the wealth, if he calls out for her, just as others, his wife will also look sharply with her spear like eyes and question him. At that time, he will think “I should have made ornaments with my wealth and decorated her with them”. He will try to decorate his wife with the lost wealth.
• ninRavA nillA nenjinai udaiyEn en seygEn – When the whole world is engaged in the means for UrvasI sAlOkyam (to remain in heaven where Urvasi lives), arjuna with great detachment, worshipped her [considering her as his mother], when she approached him and tried to seduce him; such arjuna said that even the wind blowing from the opposite direction can be controlled but the heart/mind cannot be controlled as said in SrI bhagavath gIthA 6.34 “chanchalam hi mana: krishNa pramAthi balavadh dhrudam |thasyAham nigraham manyE vAyOr iva sudhushkaram ||” (Because , mind is (naturally) wavering, strong and hence bewildering and firm (in pulling us towards worldly pleasures). I think that it is very difficult to restrain it, like controlling a fierce storm). How can I engage my mind in a means which is apt to attain you, when my heart cannot focus on any matter for more than a fraction of a moment? It will only facilitate my loss of you.
• en seygEn – arjuna became sorrowful after hearing from bhagavAn about many upAyams (means) in eighteen chapters of SrI bhagavath gIthA, which are impossible to practice. For AzhwAr, everything is causing fear [even without getting instructed like that].

When asked “If you remain like this, what would you consider as the means for the goal?” AzhwAr says “When the world which was engulfed by deluge, was incapable to save itself, there was the one who protected it. Such emperumAn will be my means”

• nedu visumbu aNavum panRiyAy anRu pAr agam kINda pAzhiyAn AzhiyAn aruLE – Only when world which was engulfed by deluge could engage in protecting itself, I who am having heart which is engulfed by worldly pleasures can contemplate about my well-being. One who grew out of the space in sky, eagerly assumed a form which is much larger than what is to be protected. When the world was engulfed in the deluge and was about to be destroyed, bhagavAn assumed the form of mahAvarAham (great wild boar) which will not withdraw seeing water and mud. He assumed the form which will grow on seeing abundance of water. nAchchiyAr thirumozhi 11.8 “mAsudambil nIr vArA mAnamilAp panRiyAm” is explained here. While seeing his divine consort (bhUmippirAtti) where her body is not cared and is immersed in the deluge as in “pAsi thUrththu” (having moss all over), bhagavAn who is her beloved husband, not caring for his own body, acquired a divine form which had dirt on it. mAnamilA – Being free from the pride of being sarvESvara. When the demon mArIcha [rAvaNa’s uncle] assumed the form of a mystical deer, other deer came by, smelled him, realised that he is not a real deer and ran away from him. Unlike that, what is said in SrI rAmAyaNam yudhdha kANdam 120.11 “AthmAnam mAnusham manyE” (I consider myself as a human being) is felt by him here also [to feel one among the wild boars].
• pAr agam kINda – As the whole world was resting on the wall of the oval shaped universe, emperumAn freed the world and brought it out.
• pAzhiyAn – One who has great strength.
• AzhiyAn – While protecting he does not need any tool [as in the case of rescuing the world]; but if he needs a tool, he has the sudharSana chakra weapon in his hand.
• aruLE – Considering me to be totally lost due to having pride where one should not have, worrying for that which is not worthy of worrying, desiring to enjoy worldly matters which will lead to hell and having wavering mind, due to his mercy, sarvESvaran thought “He will never be able to uplift himself” and having that only as the reason, tried to uplift me. Both aruLE or aruLAlE, are acceptable.
• nanRu nAn uyya – I became similar to nithyasUris who are known as asprushta samsAra gandhar (those who are untouched by defects of samsAra), instead of being known as one who remained as said in “venRiyE vENdi vIzh porutkirangi vERkaNAr kalaviyE karudhi“, has become pure.
• nAn kaNdu koNdEn nArAyaNA ennum nAmam – AzhwAr spoke about himself as having pride and greed as in “venRiyE vENdi vIzh porutkirangi“; I who was like this acquired the result which is acquired by those who are having noble qualities such as amAnithvam (being free of pride) etc.

In the next article we will enjoy the next pAsuram.

adiyen sarathy ramanuja dasan

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