SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:
avathArikai (Introduction)
In this pAsuram, AzhwAr asks of emperumAn “Being the causative factor for the world, you create, protect and destroy, protecting the world. Apart from this, you incarnate in this world with your divine form and protect this world. Who is capable of thinking about these qualities?”
ulaguthannai nI padaiththi uLLodukki vaiththi mINdu
ulaguthannulE piRaththi Oridaththai allaiyAl
ulagu ninnodu onRi niRka vERu niRRi AdhalAl
ulagu ninnai uLLa sUzhal yAvar uLLa vallarE
Word-by-Word Meanings
ulagu thannai – world
nI – you
padaiththi – created
uL – inside the stomach
odukki vaiththi – you hid it
mINdu – once again
ulagu thannuLE – in the world
piRaththi – you incarnated
Oridaiththai allaiyAl – you are not having a specific place [as yours]
ulagu – the universe
ninnodu – with you, the Sariri (indwelling AthmA)
onRi – hiding
niRka– as it remains
vERu niRRi – (with a distinguished divine form) you are remaining as a separate entity
AdhalAl – thus, since it is impossible to estimate
ulagu– in the world
sUzhal uLLa – having amazing qualities
ninnai – you
yAvar – who
uLLa vallarE – is capable of thinking?
Simple Translation
You had created the world [during the time of creation] and hid it within your form [at the time of deluge]. Subsequently [after creating the world again], you incarnated in the world. You do not have a specific place as yours. Even as the universe is hiding within you, with you being the indwelling soul, you are remaining as a separate entity. Thus, who in the world is capable of thinking about you, when you have such amazing qualities?
vyAkyAnam (Commentary)
ulagu thannai nI padaiththi – with the primordial matter, which is an achEthana entity (that which does not have knowledge), as the implement, you created the world, initially on your own until the universe is created. Then, through brahmA, who was created by you and in whom you dwell as the soul, you created rest of the celestial deities and others.
uLLodukki vaiththi – during the final deluge when all the worlds get destroyed as well as during prAkrutha deluge which takes place when brahmA’s day time is over, you keep all the worlds inside your stomach and protect them. Since you create all the chEthanAchEthanas (entities with and without knowledge) during creation and protect them by keeping them within your stomach, during deluge, upanishaths proclaim that you are the materialistic causative factor for the worlds, just as it has been mentioned in chAndhOgya upanishath 6-2-3 “thadhaikshatha bahusyAm prAjAyEyEthi l thaththEjO’srujatha” (that para brahmam (supreme entity) took a sankalpam (vow) – let me become manifold; let me be born; it created effulgence)
mINdu ulagu thannuL piRaththi – hiding your eminent quality of being the single causative factor for the world, you incarnate in this world by becoming the son of one of your creations in this samsAram (materialistic realm). mINdu – reverting from the quality of eminence. The implied meaning is that emperumAn hides his quality of eminence and takes birth in the world created by him to show his quality of simplicity. How strange is it that you choose one of the samsAri jIvAthmAs as your father and take a birth here! When you protect all the worlds during the time of deluge by keeping them in your stomach, you choose the stomach of one of the jIvAthmAs protected by you and incarnate as her son; how amazing is this! Has it not been mercifully mentioned in SrI vishNu purANam 5-2-21 “prasIdha dhEvi sarvasya jagatha: Sam SubhE kuru l prIthyA thvam dhArayESAnam dhrutham yEnAkhilam jagath ||” ([celestial entities pray to dhEvaki pirAtti] Oh the auspicious one! You should show mercy on us. You should shower all auspicious qualities on the world. You should bear with joy that emperumAn, through whom all the worlds are protected, in your stomach)!
Oridaththai allaiyAl – Since it is impossible to determine that you are like this, it is not possible to know to which type you belong. In other worlds, since there is no shortcoming in your being the causative factor, you could not be classified as being an effectual entity. When you incarnate, since there is no shortcoming when you are together with celestial, human entities etc, you could not be classified as a causative factor. AzhwAr says that this is amazing indeed [he is complete in all aspects, whether he creates the worlds or whether he is born in that world].
ulagu ninnodu onRi niRka vERu niRRi – This world is part of your divine, physical form and hence is together with you all the time, without separating from you. Despite that, with an aprAkrutha (not composed of primordial matter) divine form, you remain distinctly different from the created world which is together with you. The opinion here is that when the jIvAthmAs, during the time when they do not know you, ignore you, you sustain them through your svarUpam (basic nature) by being their indwelling soul, protecting them. When they learn about you and turn towards you favourably, you manifest your divine, auspicious form and protect them such that they could meditate on you. In either way, you are distinctly different from them.
AdhalAl – thus, since you are inestimable in any manner
ulagu ninnai uLLa sUzhal yAvar uLLa vallarE – the words are to be rearranged as “sUzhal uLLa ninnai ulagil yAvar uLLa vallarE” to get the correct meaning. Who in this world is capable of knowing you, when you are having such amazing qualities? sUzhal – ingenuity – having amazing qualities which cannot be estimated.
We will next consider the 13th pAsuram of this prabandham.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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