SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:
perumAL thirumozhi >> 4th Decad
avathArikai (Introduction)
AzhwAr considers the option “You are not desiring other benefits because you are not getting them. If you get them, you would enjoy them” and says in this pAsuram that even if he gets other benefits, he will not desire them.
umbar ulagANdu oru kudaikkIzh uruppasi than
amboRkalai algul peRRAlum AdhariyEn
sembavaLa vAyAn thiruvEngadamennum
emperumAn ponmalai mEl EdhEnum AvEnE
Word-by-Word Meanings
umbar ulagu – all the worlds above earth
oru kudai kIzh – under the shadow of his matchless, white coloured regal umbrella
ANdu – ruling over
uruppasi than – Urvasi’s (celestial lady)
am pon kalai algul – waist which is decorated with a beautiful golden drape
peRRAlum – even if I get
AdhariyEn – I will not desire that
sem pavaLa vAyAn – one who has his divine mouth like reddish coral gem
emperumAn – my lord’s
thiruvEngadam ennum pon malai mEl – on top of that beautiful mountain called as thiruvEngadam
EdhEnum AvEnE – I would like to be some substance [material].
Simple Translation
Even if I were to rule over all the worlds above, under my regal, white coloured umbrella and even if Urvasi (a celestial beauty) whose waist is decorated with a golden drape, were to be my servitor, I will not desire that. Instead, I would desire to be some substance on top of thiruvEngadam hill, which belongs to my lord, thiruvEngadamudaiyAn, who has a reddish coloured coral-like divine mouth.
vyAkyAnam
umbar ulagu ANdu oru kudai kIzh – ruling over not only indhra’s world, but all the worlds above that too, under my white regal umbrella
uruppasi than am pon kalai algul peRRAlum AdhariyEn – the reference to enjoying Urvasi here is representative of enjoying all the pleasures in the worlds above. Even if I get all those enjoyable pleasures, I will not desire them.
sem pavaLa vAyAn – isn’t the reddish, coral-like divine mouth of emperumAn, who resides in thirumalai such that it will render pleasures, such as Urvasi. as nothing!
thiruvEngadam ennum emperumAn pon malai mEl – on my lord’s distinguished thirumalai
EdhEnum AvEnE – let me be any lowly substance. It is said that when thirumalai ananthAzhwAn (a disciple of bhagavadh rAmAnujar) explains this verse, he would say “even if I were to be thiruvEngadamudaiyAn, that is fine with me”. The opinion for this is – in the previous pAsurams, he had desired to be various substances which were servile to emperumAn. It is not an apt benefit for a follower’s (of emperumAn’s) basic nature to be the physical form of emperumAn should he not get to be one of the substances which will be servile to emperumAn. Hence, it is AzhwAr’s opinion that if he is unable to be one of the substances [mentioned earlier] he should be, in the least, the physical form of emperumAn. [parASara] bhattar [kUraththAzhwAn’s son] would mercifully give a different interpretation for this: “It is acceptable to me if I were to become a substance which is unknown to me, unknown to emperumAn and lowly enough such that even if someone were to know, he will not praise it”
We will take up the last pAsuram of this decad, next.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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