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periya thirumozhi >> Third centum >> First decad
Highlights from avathArikai (Introduction)
No specific introduction.
pAsuram
virai kamazhndha men karunguzhal kAraNam villiRuththu adal mazhaikku
nirai kalangida varai kudai eduththavan nilaviya idam thadamAr
varai vaLam thigazh madhakari maruppodu malai vaLaragil undhi
thirai koNarndhu aNai sezhunadhi vayal pugu thiruvayindhirapuramE
Word-by-Word meanings
virai – nice fragrance
kamazhndha – spreading
mel – tender
karum kuzhal kAraNam – for pirAtti who has dark hair
vil – bow
iRuththu – broke
adal – battle ready
mazhaikku – for the rain
nirai – cattle
kalangida – as they suffer
varai – gOvardhana mountain
kudai – as umbrella
eduththavan – one who lifted and protected
nilaviya – eternally residing
idam – abode is
thadam – ponds
Ar – filled
varai – for hills
vaLam – being decoration
thigazh – shining
madha kari – intoxicated elephant’s
maruppodu – tusk
malai vaLar – growing in mountain
agil – agil tree (a fragrant tree)
undhi – pushing
thirai – wave
koNarndhu – bringing
aNai – reaching
sezhunadhi – beautiful river
vayal – in fertile fields
pugu – flowing
thiruvayindhirapuramE – thiruvahindhrapuram
Simple translation
emperumAn broke the bow for pirAtti who is having tender, dark hair which is spreading nice fragrance; he lifted the gOvardhana mountain and protected the cattle as they suffered the battle-ready rain; the eternal abode of such emperumAn is thiruvahindhrapuram where the tusks of elephants which are shining as decorations for mountains which are filled with ponds, and the agil tree (a fragrant tree) are pushed by the waves of the beautiful river which flows into the fertile field.
Highlights from vyAkyAnam (Commentary)
virai … – Having king janaka’s divine daughter, sIthAp pirAtti who has tender, dark hair which spreads nice fragrance as the reason, emperumAn broke the bow. Her hair’s fragrance is such that bhagavAn who is known as in chAndhOgya upanishath “sarva gandha:” (the abode of all fragrances) eagerly broke the bow without thinking about whether it is possible or not to do so. That is, he thought “When the prize for breaking the bow is sIthAp pirAtti, what can the hurdles do?”
adal mazhaikku … – Not just the activity done, being engrossed in her beauty, he protected the cows and cowherds who cannot protect themselves from the rain by lifting the mountain. When the clouds which were sent by indhra started pouring down, and as the cows and cowherds were suffering, he protected them by lifting the gOvardhana mountain.
adal mazhaikku – As said in periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 3.5.8 “pOrkkaLaththu” (in the battle field), the rain which was set to fight the cows and cowherds.
nirai kalangida – Suffering as said in SrIvishNu purANam 5.11.18 “athIvArtham” (suffered greatly).
nirai kalangida adal mazhaikku varai kudai eduththavan – Had it been rAmAvathAram he could have consulted with viSvAmithra et al or janaka et al and acted; here he just lifted a mountain, which he could lay his hands on, and protected them.
nilaviya idam – This is the place where he is eternally residing, thinking “We cannot remedy the situation after the event, as in the case of gOkulam where he remedied the situation after indhra poured down the rain and they [herd and herds-folk] suffered; we need to proactively go and remain there to protect before they suffer”.
thadam … – thadam – mountain slope; it can be explained as beautiful elephants which are intoxicated which look similar to a growing mountain; alternatively – thadam – pond; along with the tusk of intoxicated elephant, being a decoration for mountain which has many ponds. Elephants are highlighted as decoration for mountains.
malai vaLar agil undhi – Uprooting the agil trees which grow densely covering the whole sky, due to lack of human intervention in mountains, and pushing the same.
thirai … – As the rain pours down, the waterfalls in the mountain, with the waves which are its hands, will break and push the elephant tusks and agil trees, and enter the fertile fields. Water will either enter man-made canals or smaller channels which help farming or will enter the sea to become useless; unlike those situations, here river is entering the fields to facilitate farming.
In the next article we will enjoy the next pAsuram.
adiyen sarathy ramanuja dasan
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