SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:
avathArikai (Introduction)
In the previous pAsuram, AzhwAr enjoyed the protective deeds carried out by emperumAn during his incarnations. In this pAsuram, he enjoys the beneficial deeds carried out by emperumAn for the sake of those who attain him, during those incarnations
kAla nEmi kAlanE kaNakkilAdha kIrthiyAy
gyAlam Ezhum uNdu paNdOr bAlanAya paNbanE
vElai vEva vil vaLaiththa velsinaththa vIranE nin
pAlarAya paththar chiththam muththi seyyu mUrthiyE
Word-by-Word Meanings
kAlanEmi – for the monster called as kAlanEmi
kAlanE– Oh one who became yama (lord of death)!
kaNakku – a count
ilAdha – without
kIrthiyAy – Oh one who has fame!
gyAlam Ezhum – worlds such as earth
uNdu– swallowing
paNdu – at the end of the previous kalpa (day time of brahmA, equal to 1000 chathur yuga, with each chathur yuga being composed of 4.32 million years)
Or bAlanAya – a unique child
paNbanE – Oh one who has the nature!
vElai – ocean waters
vEva – for it to boil over
vil – bow
vaLaiththa – one who drew
vel – to be victorious
sinaththa – having anger
vIranE – oh warrior!
nin pAlarAya – those who are with you
paththar– devotees, their
chiththam – mind
muththi – without attachment (towards anything else)
seyyum – one who carries out
mUrthiyE – Oh one who has the greatness!
Simple Translation
Oh one who became yama for the monster, kAlanEmi! Oh one who has unlimited fame! Oh one who has the nature of a unique child who swallowed all the worlds, at the end of the previous kalpa! Oh the warrior who victoriously drew the bow, in anger, such that the ocean waters boiled over [in fear]! Oh one who has the greatness of removing the attachment towards worldly pursuits in the minds of your devotees!
vyAkyAnam (Commentary)
kalanEmi kAlanE – Oh one who was the lord of death for the monster kAlanEmi too! Through this it is implied that for those who desire liberation and attain you [referring to emperumAn], you remove the sins which are hurdles in attaining you, just like you removed kAlanEmi. Sins are the manifestation of emperumAn’s anger [when devotees do not obey SAsthras] and which, emperumAn endures due to pirAtti’s (SrI mahAlakshmi’s) purushakAram (recommendatory nature). Since AzhwAr was fearful of those sins, he makes kAlanEmi as a simile for them.
kaNakkilAdha kIrthiyAy – Oh one who has the fame of having countless auspicious qualities such as saulabhyam (simplicity), sauSeelyam (easy approachability) etc which help your devotees to attain you! nammAzhwAr, in his thiruvAimozhi 10-9-7 says “kudandhai em kOvalan kudiyadiyAr” (those who have been servitors for generations to my kaNNan who is reclining in thirukkudandhai (present day kumbakONam)), confirming that the qualities such as saulabhyam are famous in SrI vaikuNtam too! emperumAnAr (bhagavadh rAmAnujar) too, in his SaraNAgathi gadhyam , soon after mentioning SrI vakuNtanAtha (Oh the lord of SrI vaikuNtam), says “apAra kAruNya sauSeelya vAthsalya audhArya aiSvarya saundharya mahOdhadhE” (Oh one who is like an ocean of auspicious qualities such as mercy, approachability, forbearance, magnanimity, opulence, beauty etc), implying that these qualities are present in SrI vaikuNtam too.
gyAlam Ezhum uNdu paNdOr bAlanAya paNbanE – this mentions the benefits given by emperumAn to chEthanas after they attain him. Oh one who reclined on the tender banyan leaf, after swallowing earth with its seven dhvIpams (Islands) such as jambu, plaksha etc, at the end of the previous kalpam, having an amazing power as your unique nature! paNbu – natural quality. By referring to gyAlam Ezhum, this includes the three worlds, viz. nether, earth and upper. This implies that emperumAn has the power to make the samsAri (dweller of samsAram, the materialistic realm) who has as his nature, going after worldly pursuits, to become a servitor to emperumAn as his nature. emperumAn has the power to transform a person such as rAvaNa, who had said, just as it has been mentioned in SrI rAmAyaNam yudhdha kANdam 36-11 “dhvidhA bhajyEyamapyEvam na namEyam thu kasyachith l Esha mE sahajO dhOsha:svabhAvO dhurathikrama: ll” (Even if split into two, I will not bow down to anyone like this. This is my fault, from birth. One’s nature cannot be crossed) to a person who had said, just like lakshmaNa did, as said in SrI rAmAyaNam ayOdhyA kANdam 53-31 “na cha sIthA thvayA hInA na chAhamapi rAghava l muhUrthamapi jIvAvO jalAnmathsya vivOdhruthau ||” (Oh rAghava! Once sIthA separates from you, she will not exist; I too (when separated from you) will not have existence. (even if we exist) just like a fish which has been separated from water, we will be alive for just one muhUrtham (48 minutes))
vElai vEva vil vaLaiththa vel sinaththa vIranE – Oh warrior, who has the anger which will win over enemies, who drew the bow in such a way that ocean would burn to ashes just like a stack of hay! This implies that he will casually remove the hurdles of his followers which prevent them from enjoying him.
nin pAlarAya paththar chiththam muththi seyyum mUrthiyE – for those devotees who expect no benefit from you, other than you, you have the greatness of removing from their minds thoughts such as following other means or seeking other benefits, just as it has been mentioned in paramasamhithai SlOkam “yEna yEna dhAthA gachchathi thEna thEna saha gachchathi l thadhyathA tharuNa vathsA vathsam vathsO vA mAtharam | chAyA vA sathvamanugachchEth thathAprakAram ll” (Just like a cow which has a tender calf follows the calf, just as the calf follows the cow, just as a shadow follows a person, in the same way, (mukthAthmA) follows parama purushan (supreme entity) wherever he goes). We have to add the sequence “How amazing is this!”. AzhwAr says that emperumAn makes those who think of these rare acts of emperumAn, to think of only emperumAn and nothing else.
Next, we will take up the 32nd pAsuram of this prabandham.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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