SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
avathArikai (Introduction)
In the previous pAsuram the nAyaki had told the clouds “Oh clouds! You are not carrying my message to him when I ask you to; you are not keeping your feet on my head when I ask you to”. Since they did not listen to her, she tells them “Even if you are not doing these, please come down here and say a few words”. Imagining that on hearing her words, the clouds said “We cannot do that; our gathering is very large; if we do not proceed now, we will get into difficulties” she tells them “You do not have to come down here; tell me a few comforting words from wherever you are”
Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings:
mEgangaLO uraiyIr thirumAl thirumEni okkum
yOgangaL ungaLukku evvARu peRRIr uyiraLippAn
mAgangaL ellAm thirindhu nannIrgaL sumandhu nundham
AgangaL nOva varuththum thavamAmaruL peRRadhE
Word-by-Word Meanings
O mEgangaL – Oh clouds!
thirumAl – the consort of SrI mahAlakshmi
thirumEni – with his divine form
ungaLukku – for you
okkum – to attain equality
(reason for that)
yOgangaL – the means
evvARu – with which means
peRRIr – did you attain?
uraiyIr – inform
aruL peRRadhu – getting (sarvESvaran’s) mercy
uyir – all living creatures
aLippAn – to protect
mAgangaL ellAm – throughout the sky
thirindhu – roaming
nal neergaL – good water
sumandhu – bearing them
num tham – your
AgangaL – forms
nOva – to be painful
varuththum – troubling
thavamAm – would be due to penance
Simple Translation
Oh clouds! Through which means did you get the complexion equalling the divine form of sarvESvaran who is the consort of SrI mahAlakshmi? You are roaming here and there, putting your forms to difficulties, carrying the pure water which is essential and which sustains the life of all the creatures. As a result of this penance, which is tormenting your forms, you have received the grace of sarvESvaran to equal the complexion of his divine form.
vyAkyAnam
mEgangaLO – she is calling out to the clouds so that they will realise her anguish in separation, in totality. After hearing her sadness-filled voice, anyone will stop to hear her narrative. However, these clouds did not stop; being amazed, she raises her voice so that they too will hear her. She called out in such a way that even those afar could hear her. Since it appeared to her that the clouds stopped on hearing her voice in distress, she tells them uraiyIr – tell me. They had not carried out what she had told them earlier – they did not go on her errand, they did not keep their divine feet on her head, they did not come near her and speak comforting words. Yet, why did she make an appeal to them submissively? This is because she did not feel any slackness or deficiency in her desire. She feels that she would be able to sustain herself if they speak just a word or two to her.
thirumAL … – How did you get such a complexion which is eminent and distinct from everything else? When sarvESvaran and SrI mahAlakshmi get separated, they will lose their colour and become pale. When they are united, they will get a bluish dark complexion out of happiness. Instead of that paleness how did you get this bluish complexion? [she is alluding to the fact that they are separated yet the clouds display dark blusih form] Just as it is said in muNdaka upanishath 3-2-3 “niranjana: paramam sAmyamupaithi” (after attaining him, they (jIvAthmAs) get his qualities in the same measure), how did you get his complexion? How did you get the complexion of nithyasUris who are considered to have attained his levels of greatness? This is not possible even for those who meditate on him constantly, with devotion. To get to this level, one should have carried out different means. How and where did you get the authority and qualification to attain those means?
evvARu peRRIr – if you tell us as to how you attained it, we too would attain it by following the same way instead of through devotion and affection.
uyiraLippAn mAgangaL ellAm thirindhu – the clouds keep roaming throughout, without making any distinction between the great and the lowly, protecting everyone. Why address them in the plural (mEgangaL or clouds)? This is to indicate that the clouds keep travelling to different places [to fill themselves with water].
nal nIr sumandhu – on those streets where emperumAn mercifully goes in procession during festivities in temples, people would erect thaNNIr pandhal (places where water is served to quench thirst), crying out “Elakkuzhambu” (fragrant water). In the same way, the clouds too bear pure water after taking salty water from oceans.
nundham AgangaL … – is it because of the penance that you are doing by subjecting your forms to such difficulties that you got such a divine complexion?
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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beautiful imagery! thanks.