SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:
perumAL thirumozhi >> 5th Decad
avathArikai (Introduction)
AzhwAr says in this pAsuram that he was in the situation of a weeping child which will hold on to the feet of its mother even when the mother pushes the child away in anger.
tharu thuyaram thadAyEl un charaNallAl SaraN illai
virai kuzhuvum malarppozhil sUzh viththuvakkOttammAnE
arisinaththAl InRa thAy agaRRidinum maRRu avaLthan
aruL ninaindhE azhum kuzhavi adhu pOnRu irundhEnE
Word-by-Word Meanings
virai kuzhuvum – being very fragrant
malar – having flowers
pozhil sUzh – surrounded by gardens
viththuvakkOdu ammAnE – Oh sarvESvara (lord of all) who has mercifully taken residence in thiruviththuvakkOdu [dhivyadhESam]
tharu thuyaram – this sorrow, called as samsAram, which you give yourself
thadAyEl – if (you yourself) do not remove
un charaN allAl SaraN illai – there is no other means, than your divine feet
InRa thAy – the mother who gave birth to
arisinaththAl – with lot of anger
agaRRidinum – even if she pushes away (the child)
maRRu – again
avaL than aruL ninaindhu – thinking of her affection alone
azhum kuzhavi adhuvE – like that baby only, which is crying
pOnRu irundhEn – was in a similar situation
Simple Translation
Oh the lord of all, who has taken residence in thiruviththuvakkOdu, which is surrounded by gardens having very fragrant flowers! You have to remove my sorrow, of samsAram, which you had given me yourself. I do not have any means other than your divine feet. My situation is much similar to that of a crying child which holds on to the feet of its mother, even if the mother, out of anger, pushes the child away.
vyAkyAnam
tharu thuyaram thadAyEl – if you do not remove the sorrow which you had given yourself. While SAsthras (religious texts) say that the reason for all the sorrows, which are hurdles, that a person faces, is the karma (past deeds) of the person and that the person has to remove these sorrows through his/her own efforts, how apt is it that AzhwAr says that it is emperumAn who gave all the sorrows? Since AzhwAr knows the true nature of jIvasvarUpam (basic nature of jIvAthmA), karmasvarUpam (basic nature of karma) and sAdhanam (means to overcome sorrows), he says this way. In other words, emperumAn may put the blame on us and push us away saying “the jIvAthmA himself carried out virtuous and sinful deeds. Hence, he has to carry out deeds through appropriate means to overcome the sorrows”. AzhwAr says “I am a possession of emperumAn, being a parathanthran (dependent on emperumAn). The result of karma which I carried out is an entity which emperumAn can remove, if he wishes to; hence that [the karma] is also a parathanthram. The result for the activity which I carry out through any appropriate means is also granted by emperumAn. Thus, it is also a parathanthram. Hence, it is emperumAn who has to remove the sorrow which he gave in the first place”.
In the vyAkyAnam mercifully composed by periyavAchchAn piLLai, there is a reference to an incident which happened in SrI rangam – all our preceptors had assembled on the eastern side of the great thirumaNamaNdapam (place in front of the sanctum sanctorum) in the SrI rangam temple, where periya perumAL has mercifully taken residence. They would discuss about rahasyArthams (meanings of the three esoteric concepts in our sampradhAyam, namely thirumanthram, dhvayam and charama SlOkam). There was a discussion one day about “What is the reason for jIvAthmA who has been in samsAram for a very long time, to develop an interest in bhagavath vishayam (matters related to emperumAn)?” Some of them said “It may be a virtuous deed carried out per chance, unknown to himself, by the jIvan”. A preceptor, kidAmbi AchchAn, said “We hold on to emperumAn for everything. The way you people are speaking, it appears that we must have held on to a deity called as virtue!” (The implied meaning is that virtue is, in truth, the feeling of happiness which sprouts in emperumAn’s divine mind; there is nothing really called as virtue). To emphasise this, piLLai thirunaRaiyUr araiyar, another preceptor, asked “What is your opinion about virtue? Is it a material different from emperumAn?” The summary of the discussion is as given below: when a reason for an event is analysed, it could be said that a cause can be attributed to something when no cause can be explored beyond that. Whichever entity gives a benefit can be said to be the means for the root cause. This cannot be anything (or anyone) other than emperumAn. One cannot attribute qualities such as adhvEsham (not hating emperumAn), AnukUlyam (carrying out deeds which are pleasing to the favourable one) as reasons for developing an interest in bhagavath vishayam. Since emperumAn is the ultimate cause for people developing those qualities too, it is only emperumAn who is the root cause for developing an interest in bhagavath vishayam. Thus, there is no shortcoming in considering that it is only emperumAn who gives the sorrows to jIvAthmA.
thadAyEl – if you do not remove the sorrow which you created for me. emperumAn had said in SrI” bhagavath gIthA 7-14 “dhaivI hyEshA guNamayI mama mAyA dhurathyayA l mAmEva yE prabadhyanthE mAyAm EthAm thanthithE ll”
(This mAyA (here, the term mAyA refers to prakruthi or primordial matter), which was created by me, the lord, and which has three qualities [of thamas, rajas and sAthvik] is difficult to cross-over. Those who surrender to me will cross-over this mAyA). Since he had said that no one can sever the connection with prakruthi which has been created by him and that it can be overcome only through surrendering to him, is it not clear that it is he who has given the sorrow? When someone gives a sorrow, how can someone else remove it? Only the entity who created the sorrow can remove it. It is pertinent to recall here the words of our preceptor piLLai thirunaRaiyUr nambi “Nobody can untie the nest built by a weaver bird. When such is the case, how can this human being, who is as weak as a rat, undo the bond built with karma by the omnipotent sarvESvaran (supreme entity)? It is only through surrendering to his divine feet that one can get rid of samsAram”.
un charaNallAl SaraNillai – It is not possible for me, who had created this [bondage with samsAram] for a very long time, to remove it. Even though there are some protectors in this word who have been protecting from minor problems, they are not capable of removing this great danger of connection with samsAram which has been there since time immemorial. I cannot consider them as protectors. The actions which I undertake on my own, to remove this connection, are similar to a person who is sinking in the ocean, tying a huge stone around his neck. They [my actions] will only make me sink deeper into samsAram. Hence, apart from your divine feet, there is no other means for removing the connection with samsAram.
virai kuzhuvu malarp pozhil sUzh viththuvakkOttammAnE – Oh sarvESvaran, who has mercifully taken residence in thiruviththuvakkOdu which is surrounded by fragrant gardens!
virai kuzhuvu malarp pozhil sUzh – chAndhOgya upanishath 3-14-2 says “sarva gandha: sarva rasa:” (One (paramAthmA) who has all the smells and who has all the tastes). The supreme being, who is to be attained in paramapadham, has come down to this world and has mercifully taken residence in a place.
viththuvakkOttammAnE – when emperumAn becomes the means for uplifting all the chEthanas (ones with knowledge), should he not become a simple archAvathAra vigraham (idol form in divine places) so that all could attain him?
ammAnE – just as a mother lies down under a cradle in which her child is sleeping, in order to protect it, emperumAn has come to this world, where his children, the jIvAthmAs, are living. Since AzhwAr is totally subservient to emperumAn, just like an achEthana entity (one which does not have ability to think), being totally under his control, he had said that he does not have the ability to protect himself. Here, by saying ammAnE he says that only emperumAn is qualified to protect him, since emperumAn is the owner and he is the owned. When emperumAn becomes the means for jIvAthmAs to get uplifted, is it not necessary that he becomes the owner, and they, the owned? When the infant gets a disease, the mother takes the medicines. Since he is going to make a mother as an allegory in the latter part of the pAsuram, he is referring to emperumAn as ammAnE here, to reflect the relationship between him and emperumAn.
In the second part of the pAsuram, he is taking a weeping child, which is holding on to its mother who had pushed it away in anger, as an illustration for himself.
arisinaththAl ….. irundhEnE – in the first part of the pAsuram, he had affirmed that it is only emperumAn who protects him. Is it appropriate here to say “InRa thAy agaRRidinum” conveying the meaning that emperumAn has a shortcoming? Since he is firm that it is only emperumAn who protects him and since there was a delay in getting the result of kainkaryam, and since he knows the relationship between him and emperumAn, being a chEthana (one who could think), he has the right to point out the shortcoming in emperumAn. nammAzhwAr, who had said in thiruvAImozhi 2-9-4 “thanakkEyAga enaikkoLLumIdhE” (emperumAn should accept him as an achEthana and use him in any way that emperumAn likes), said immediately “enakkE kaNNanai yAn koL siRappu” (the great benefit that I desire from emperumAn appropriate to my nature) indicating that he wants kainkaryam from emperumAn which will please emperumAn. Even though both achith, which does not have knowledge, and chith, which has knowledge, are subservient to emperumAn, it is only chith which has the necessity to attain benefit which will please emperumAn.
arisinaththAl – having the anger to cut the child, looking at the hyperactive child.
InRa thAy – instead of saying vaLarththa thAy (foster mother), since AzhwAr says InRa thAy (biological mother), he brings out the relationship between him and emperumAn.
agaRRidinum – since he says even if she pushes away, AzhwAr opines that she, being the biological mother, will not push aside the child. But even if she pushes aside…. Usage of the term InRa thAy denotes the difficulties which the mother had undergone for the sake of the child: various rituals such as fasting etc which the mother would have undertaken before conceiving the child, carrying the child in her womb for ten months, undergoing pains during labour etc.
agaRRidinum – since she had undergone difficulties even before the child was born, the mother will only think that the child should become very distinguished and eminent in later years and not push the child away. This term indicates the situation which arises because the mother gets angry and tries to push the child away. Through this illustration, AzhwAr shows that since emperumAn had been like a mother to him, even if he gives up AzhwAr [due to anger] he does not have any refuge other than emperumAn.
maRRavaL than aruL ninaindhE azhum kuzhavi – even if the mother pushes away the child, will the child go to another person, seeking mercy? The child holds on to the legs of the mother alone, who had nursed it from infancy stage. In common parlance it is said that where there is anger, good characteristic will also be present. The mother has unbounded love towards the child; when the child becomes adamant, she shows her anger towards the child. Other women will not show such unbounded love towards that child; hence, they will not show anger too, towards the child.
In the vyAkyanam written mercifully by periyavAchchAn piLLai, an incident has been quoted, aligned to this logic. mudhaliyANdAn, one of the primary disciples of bhagavath rAmAnujar, had a disciple, nambi thiruvazhudhi vaLanAdu dhAsar. One day, mudhaliANdAn kicked him in anger and asked him to move out of his place. dhAsar sat on the thiNNai (a low pedestal on the front courtyard of houses in a village, where people sit) for a whole day, without eating anything. When mudhaliyANdAn was about to take food on the next day, he remembered his disciple, dhAsar. He asked other disciples about him. They said that he was sitting on the thiNNai, without eating anything. He called his disciple and asked him “Why are you staying put on the thiNNai and not going anywhere?” dhAsar responded, saying “If a person feeds a dog few morsels of food on one day, even if he drives it away, it will not go anywhere else and keep roaming near that house itself. What other refuge do I have?”
azhum kuzhavi adhuvE pOnRu irundhEnE – when the mother pushes a child away, no one else can comfort the child and make it stop from crying. Unless the mother, who had nursed it from infancy days, and who pushed the child away, comforts it, the child will not stop crying.
ALavandhAr, one of our preceptors, had mercifully explained this pAsuram in his sthOthra rathnam 28th SlOkam “nirAsakasyApi’ na thAvadhuthsahE mahESa! hAthum thava pAdha pankajam l rushA nirasthO’pi SiSu: sthanandhayO na jAthu mAthuS charaNau jihAsathi ll” (Oh sarvESvara! Even if you push me away, I will not have the temerity to let go of your divine lotus-like feet. Will an infant, which is being nursed by its mother, leave the feet of its mother, even if she pushes it away?) This AzhwAr himself, in his perumAL thirumozhi 7-4 had mercifully said “aLavil piLLaimai inbaththai izhandha pAviyEn” (I had lost the unbounded ecstasy of enjoying infancy) bringing out the strong bond between the infant and its mother through the wailing of dhEvaki [who had lost the ecstasy of bringing up krishNa]. An infant will not know its father and others related through blood, but will know only its mother. Hence, the term azhum kuzhavi here, refers only to an infant still in nursing stage. The summary of this pAsuram, thus, is that “jIvAthmA is like an infant towards emperumAn. It is emperumAn alone who is the means for the benefits that accrue to this jIvAthmA”.
We will take up the 2nd pAsuram of this decad, next.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
archived in https://divyaprabandham.koyil.org
pramEyam (goal) – https://koyil.org
pramANam (scriptures) – http://granthams.koyil.org
pramAthA (preceptors) – http://acharyas.koyil.org
SrIvaishNava education/kids portal – http://pillai.koyil.org