SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
avathArikai (Introduction)
There is no avathArikai written by the vyAkyAthA for this pAsuram.
Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings:
kaNNum sendhAmarai kaiyum avai adiyO avaiyE
vaNNam kariyadhOr mAl varai pOnRu madhi vigaRpAl
viNNum kadandhu umbar appal mikku maRReppAl yavarkkum
eNNum idaththadhuvO empirAnadhu ezhil niRamE
Word-by-Word Meanings
kaNNum – divine eyes too
sendhAmarai – are like reddish coloured lotus flower
kaiyum – divine hands too
avai – are like that lotus
adi – divine feet too
avai – are like that lotus
vaNNam – divine form
kariyadhu – being black
Or – unique
mAl – huge
varai pOnRu – like a mountain
empirAnadhu – sarvESvaran, our benefactor, his
ezhil – beautiful
niRam – complexion
madhi vigaRpAl – due to differences in intellect
viNNum – dwellers of svargam (heaven)
kadandhu – going past
umbar – brahmA et al, who live beyond these people
appAl – going further
mikku – going wondrously
maRRu – further
eppAl – pervading everywhere (through their knowledge)
yavarkkum – for nithyasUris too
eNNum – for thinking
idaththadhuvO – is it a matter?
Simple Translation
His divine eyes are like a reddish coloured lotus flower; his divine hands and divine feet are also like the lotus flower. His divine form is like a dark, huge mountain which is without any parallel. The beauty of such sarvESvaran, who is a benefactor for us all, is past the entities who are dwelling in svargam, past brahmA et al, who live beyond them, and is also past the knowledge of nithyasUris who pervade everywhere through their knowledge. Is his beauty a matter for them to think about!
vyAkyAnam
In the previous pAsuram, he enjoyed the divine eyes of sarvESvaran by speaking of them as empirAna thadangangaLE. The beauty of those eyes took him to the other limbs.
kaNNum sendhAmarai – He had enjoyed his eyes separately. However, he wants to enjoy the eyes along with the other limbs and hence is speaking about them. Earlier he was fully absorbed in the eyes alone. Now, he is enjoying sarvESvaran’s motherly forbearance and beauty.
kaiyum avai – being attracted by sarvESvaran’s divine eyes, AzhwAr wants to touch his divine form. Knowing this, sarvESvaran embraces him with his divine hands. Sri vishNu purANam 5-18-2 says “samspruSya Akrushyacha prIthyA sugAdam parishasvajE” (krishNa lifted akrUrar [kamsan’s minister] who fell at his feet and embraced him tightly) – such divine hands.
adiyO avaiyE – The act of embracing him leads to a feeling of intoxication. Due to this, on swooning, the place where he falls is the divine feet. jithanthE SlOkam 1 says “puNdarIkAksha nama:” (salutations to sarvESvaran who has lotus like eyes). In other words, don’t those who lose out to his eyes, fall at his feet!
vaNNam . . . – the divine form is the means for those who swoon and fall at his divine feet to get back to life. piLLaippiLLai AzhwAn (one of the disciples of kUraththAzhwAn) would say “Just like an infant which is suckling looks at the mother’s face keenly, those who fall at his divine feet look at his divine form”
viNNum kadandhu umbar appal mikku maRReppAl yavarkkum madhi vigaRpAl eNNum idaththadhuvO empirAnadhezhil niRam
madhi vigaRpAl – due to differences in the level of intellect. Even though there is difference in the intelligence levels of samsAris and dhEvAs (celestial entities), it is not possible to know. What is not possible to know? …
viNNum . . . – starting with brahmA who is the cause of samsAris and who has his place of birth at sarvESvaran and who got his knowledge through sarvESvaran, and extending to nithyasUris, is it possible to know the beauty of sarvESvaran, who is my benefactor?
empirAn – AzhwAr celebrates how sarvESvaran manifested his beauty to him, as described in
- mahAbhAratham mOksha dharmam (187-4) nagrAhya kEnachith kvachith – he cannot be estimated by anyone, in any way
- kEnOpanishath 1-2 yasyAmatham thasya matham – one who thinks that he does not know (about emperumAn), knows; one who thinks that he knows, does not know.
- SrI rAmAyaNam AraNya kANdam 1-12 rUpasamhananam lakshmIm saukumAryam suvESathAm dhadhru vismithAkArA rAmasya vanavAsina: – the sages dwelling in [dhandakAraNya] forest saw the physical build, its augustness and softness, and the fine arrangement of limbs, remaining in wondrous form. Sri rAma’s softness of divine form is such that even if sIthappirAtti or lakshmaNa looks at his form, it will wither away. Such a dharSan (sight) which even the dwellers of his kingdom ayOdhyA could not get, was manifested to these sages who dwell in forests.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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