SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
avathArikai (Introduction)
Celestial entities, due to their pride of calling themselves as ISvaran (one who controls everything) have forgotten sarvESvaran. Are the others worshipping him? Without making any distinction between one and the other, for everyone, it is only the worldly matters which are of interest.
Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings:
kAlai veyyORkumun Ottuk koduththa kangul kuRumbar
mAlai veyyOn pada vaiyagam paravuvar anna kaNdum
kAlai nangyAnaththuRai padhindhAdik kaNpOdhu seydhu
mAlai nannAvil koLLAr ninaiyAr avan maippadiyE
Word-by-Word Meanings
kAlai – during dawn
veyyORku – for sUriyan (sun)
(being fearful)
mun – earlier itself
Ottukkoduththa – one who ran away
kangul – called as night
kuRumbar – mischievous person
mAlai – during dusk
veyyOn – sUriyan
pada – as he sets
vaiyagam – on earth
paravuvar – will spread
anna – at that type of change in time
kaNdum – even after seeing
kAlai – during sunrise
nal – (related to bhagavAn) being distinguished
gyAnam – knowledge
thuRai – on the banks
padindhu – fitting well
Adi – taking a bath
kaN – (sensory organs such as) eye
pOdhu seydhu – blossoming well (such that they do not engage with worldly matters)
mAlai – sarvESvaran who is bewildered (with his followers)
nal – eminent (in being devoted to praising sarvESvaran)
nAvil – tongue
koLLAr – those who do not accept
avan – that sarvESvaran’s
mai – being black like pigment
padi – divine form
ninaiyAr – will not keep in their hearts
Simple Translation
The mischievous person, called as night, runs before sUriyan rises in the morning. But he returns in the dusk time, once sun sets. Despite seeing time flying away like this, every day, there are people who do not think of sarvESvaran alone, in the morning, which is when knowledge about sarvESvaran is full, who do not take a bath on the bank of that knowledge and who do not keep away from engaging with worldly matters through their eyes and other sensory organs. Such people, who do not recite the divine names of sarvESvaran from their tongue, cannot keep the divine form of that sarvESvaran, which is dark like a black pigment, in their hearts.
vyAkyAnam
kAlai . . . – when sUriyan rises in the morning with his powerful rays, he drives away darkness; during night, darkness overpowers sUriyan. Despite seeing this activity, just as it has been mentioned in SrI rAmAyaNam ayOdhyA kANdam 105-24 “nandhanthi udhitha AdhithyE nandhanthi asthamithE ravau” (people are delighted when the sun rises and are happy when the sun sets), they feel happy when it dawns so that they could go in search of worldly matters to feed their sensory organs; they are again happy when sun sets since the time has come to experience worldly matters without others knowing about them.
kAlai . . . – it is the time of dawn. The mischievous people such as night will run away from sUriyan who rises at that time, since his rays fall on them. When it is dusk, they will destroy the mighty and powerful sUriyan and take away his expansive kingdom. They will make earth to be ecstatic since the time to sleep arrives.
anna kaNdum – Despite seeing this happen every day, since bhagavath vishayam (matters relating to sarvESvaran) does not yield itself to sensory organs, they become ignorant of it and perish. Even though bhagavath vishyam is not visible to the eyes etc, it is strange that they are not able to perceive it with their minds too.
kAlai – it is that time of the day when sathva (good) matters rise to the surface.
nan gyAnam – if it is knowledge, it cannot be related to anything other than bhagavath vishayam. The vyAkyAthA cites the following references to stress this:
mudhal thiruvandhAdhi 67 “oNdAmaraiyAL kELvan oruvanaiyE nOkkum uNarvu” – one’s mind will look at the consort of SrI mahAlakshmi alone.
SrI vishNu purANam 6-5-87 “thath gyAnam agyAnamathOnyadhu:kam ” – only that which leads to knowing about sarvESvaran is referred to as knowledge. All the rest are ignorance only.
SrI vishNu purANam 1-9-41 “vidhyAnyASilpanaipuNam” – faculties other than knowledge do not bestow mOksham (liberation from samsAram) on AthmA.
There is no distinction between knowing other [worldly] matters and sewing rag clothes.
thuRai padindhAdi – entering this water called as gyAnam (knowledge) and taking a bath
kaN pOdhu seydhu – pOdhu seydhal refers to closing like buds as well as blossoming. When worldly mattes are seen, the eyes will close like buds.They will blossom when the matters are related to sarvESvaran are seen.
mAlai – All that is required to be done is to keep constantly meditating on sarvESvaran; once this is done, sarvESvaran will come on his own and fall on us head over heels; he is to that extent infatuated with us.
nal nAvil – nal nA refers to avoiding all the unwanted worldly matters and talking about matters relating to sarvESvaran. AzhwAr says that despite being provided with a tongue which is apt to speak about sarvESvaran, the samsAris are going for outside [worldly] matters. SrI vishNu dharmam – 1 says sA jihvA – tongue is there only to speak about him.
ninaiyAr avan meyppadiyE – no one thinks about the divine form [of sarvESvaran’s] which cannot be given up even if he does only harmful activities towards us instead of being infatuated with us and carrying out benevolent activities. sUrppaNakA says in SrI rAmAyaNam, after looking at the divine form of SrI rAma [and lakshmaNa} tharuNau – youthful entities; despite being severed of her nose and ears by SrI rAma, this is how she described to rAvaNa of their physical beauty. Other than being filled with happiness on seeing their divine forms, for what did she have to describe them this way, despite being harmed by them?
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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