SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:
avathArikai (Introduction)
In the previous pAsuram, AzhwAr had said that there is none who had known the secrets about emperumAn’s incarnations. emperumAn asked AzhwAr “In that case, is there no one who knows this secret?” AzhwAr responds in this pAsuram saying “After you incarnated in the cowherd clan and manifested yourself, some people have seen your greatness. However, no one has seen this with his / her capability”
innaiyenRu sollalAvadhu illai yAdhumittidaip
pinnai kELvan enbar un piNakku uNarndha peRRiyOr
pinnaiyAya kOlamOdu pErum Urum Adhiyum
ninnai yAr ninaikka vallar nIrmaiyAl ninaikkilE
Word-by-Word Meanings
innai enRu – (you are) like this
sollalAvadhu – to be spoken of
yAdhum illai – there is nothing
un piNakku uNarndha peRRiyOr – the learned people who have known the debate between those who know and who do not know about matters relating to your incarnation, names and activities
ittu – delicate
idai – having waist
pinnai – for nappinnai, who is neeLA dhEvi’s incarnation
kELvan enbar – will say that you are dear [to her]
pinnai – even as you remain as an equal with others, during your incarnation
Aya – being distinct from them
kOlamOdu – with your divine form
pErum – your divine names
Urum – the distinct features of the places where you had incarnated
Adhiyum – the cause for your such divine form
(Having all these)
ninnai – you
nIrmaiyAl – with your quality of simplicity
ninaikkil (alladhu) – apart from knowing
yAr – who
ninaikka vallavar – is capable of knowing on his/her own?
Simple Translation
No one can say that you are like this. Learned people, who have known the debates between your followers and others who are not, regarding your incarnations, names and activities, will say that you are the consort of nappinnaip pirAtti. Even as you incarnate and appear to be equal to the others, you are distinct from the rest in terms of your divine form, divine names, divine places where you incarnate and the cause for such divine forms. Who is capable of thinking about you, other than when you show yourself out of your quality of simplicity?
vyAkyAnam (Commentary)
innai enRu sollalAvadhu yAdhum illai – during the time of your incarnation, considering that your qualities such as knowledge, strength etc which will be always together with you, also considering that qualities which are specific to your incarnation such as saulabhyam (easy to approach), sauSeelyam (simplicity), vAthsalyam (treating shortcomings in others as good, like motherly forbearance) etc, if an attempt were made to estimate you, there is nothing by which can it be said that “You are like this”.
ittidaip pinnai kELvan enbar – people will say that you are dear to nappinnaip pirAtti, who is an incarnation of neeLA dhEvi, who has a slender waist. The word ittu is a transformation of the word ittaLam which means slender. purusha sUktham uththarAnuvAkam says “ajAyamAnO bahudhA vijAyathE thasya dhIrA: parijAnanthi yOnim” (though (paramapurushan, the supreme entity) is without a birth, he incarnates in many ways. Only the learned people will know his incarnations). Thus, even the learned ones, who know the secrets of your incarnation, will say “You, who are together with nappinnaip pirAtti, are apt to be attained”, making a distinction between you and the rest. We could also construe the meaning after rearranging the verse as “yAdhumittu idaippinnai kELvan enbar” – the learned people will leave aside all the praises which vEdhams say and will say that you, who incarnated as one among the cowherd people and who married nappinnaip pirAtti, are the apt divine form to take refuge under. The praises of vEdham are as in katOpanishath 2-4-12, 13, 17 “angushta mAthra: purusha:” (emperumAn remains as the indwelling soul with a divine auspicious form which is about the length of one’s thumb); as in muNdaka upanishath 2-1-4 “agnir mUrthA chakshushi chandhrasUryau dhiSa: SrOthrE vAgvivruthAScha vEdhA l vAyu: prANO hrudhayam viSvamasya padhbhyAm pruthvI hyEsha sarvabhUthAntharAthmA ll”
(for him (brahmam, emperumAn), dhEvalOkam, called as agni, is the head; chandhra (moon) and sUrya (sun) are the eyes; directions are the ears; vEdhas are the words; vAyu is the prANan (vital air); all the worlds are the heart; earth is the feet; he is SrIman nArAyaNan who is the indwelling soul of all). Negating all these which state that he has all the three worlds as his divine form which is fit to be attained, they will only consider the saying of SrI vishNu purANam 1-9-145 “dhEvathvE dhEvadhEhEyam manushyathvE mAnushI l vishNOr dhEhAnurUpAm vai karOthyEshAthmanasthanum ll” (When (bhagavAn) incarnates as a celestial entity, this pirAtti takes the form of a celestial entity; when he incarnates as a human, she too takes a human form; she takes a form which is apt for the divine form of vishNu). In this meaning, the term idai would refer to the clan of herd-people and should be considered as an adjective for either pinnai kELvan (consort of nappinnaip pirAtti) or for pinnai (nappinnaip pirAtti).
un piNakkuNarndha peRRiyOr – the learned people who know the constant argument between those who are favourable to you and unfavourable to you. Your devotees would know, just as it has been said in thiruvAimozhi 1-3-4 “pErum Or Ayiram piRapala udaiya emperumAn” (emperumAn has many divine forms and thousands of names for those forms) that you have countless divine forms and divine names. Those who are not your devotees would say, just as it has been said in the same thiruvAimozhi pAsuram 1-3-4 “pErum Or uruvamum uLadhillai” (for those who are unfavourable to emperumAn, it will be difficult to understand that even at a gross level, that emperumAn has a divine form and a divine name) that he does not have a form or name. The learned people, who analyse this argument, will realise that “Based on the karmas, it is only you who grant knowledge or deny knowledge to people and it is only you who conducts this debate all the time”
pinnaiyAya kOlamOdu pErum Urum Adhiyum ninnai – during your incarnations which come after your para (your form as para vAsudhEvan in SrI vaikuNtam) and vyUha (your form as vibhava vAsudhEvan in kshIrAbdhi or milky ocean) forms, you come in the form of celestial entity or human or animal or plant entity. In all these, you cohabit with the respective species, as an equal. However, even as you cohabit as an equal with them, you have distinct, divine, auspicious form, divine names which reflect on the divine qualities and activities of those auspicious forms, the divine abodes such as ayOdhdhi, mathurA etc which you choose to incarnate, the vyUha form which is the cause of such an incarnation. Here, the word pinnai (after or subsequently) refers to the time when you incarnate in this world. Alternatively, pinnai could also refer to the period which comes at the end of such an incarnation. In this case, it would refer to your divine forms such as anirudhdha, SankarshaNa et al, who are in milky ocean, the corresponding divine names which refer to the auspicious qualities and activities of those divine forms, the specific abode for those forms such as AmOdham, pramOdham, mOdham and sammOdham, the divine form of para vAsudhEvan in paramapadham, who is the cause for these vyUha forms.
nIrmaiyAl ninaikkil alladhu yAr ninaikka vallarE – if you choose to reveal through your divine qualities of friendliness, simplicity etc, one may know about you. Who can comprehend you on his / her own effort? The term alladhu has to be added to the verse in order to get the appropriate meaning. When did emperumAn reveal about himself? bhagavath gIthA 4-5 says “bahUnimE vyathIthAni janmAni thava chArjuna” (Oh arjuna! For both you and me, several janmas (births) have taken place). Starting with this SlOkam, and until the 9th SlOkam in the same chapter of bhagavath gIthA (viz. until 4-9) which says “janma karma cha mE dhivyam Evam yO vEththi thathvatha: l thyakthvA dhEham punar janma naithi mAmEthi sO’rjuna ll” (Oh arjuna! One who truly knows like this, my aprAkrutha (not relating to primordial matter) birth and activities, does not have another birth after relinquishing his body in that birth. He attains me), you have revealed the secrets of your incarnation to arjuna. Through that way, a person may know about you but not in any other way.
We will next consider the 14th pAsuram of this prabandham.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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