SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:
avathArikai (Introduction)
AzhwAr says in this pAsuram that apart from removing the sin of rudhran, just as it has been mentioned in the previous pAsuram, since you had incarnated as kaNNan (krishNa) and annihilated kamsa as well as his companions such as arishtan, dhEnukan, kESi, pralambhan, narakan, bANan, pUthanA, Sakatan et al, since you proclaimed that you are the lord of all by keeping your divine feet on the heads of celestial entities such as that rudhran et al as well as on worms and insects without any distinction, by incarnating first as vAmana and later on transforming yourself as thrivikrama, you are the causative factor for the worlds.
venjinaththa vEzha veNmarupposiththa uruththamA
kanjanaik kadindhu maNNaLandhu koNda kAlanE
vanjanaththu vandha pEychchi Avi pAluL vAnginAy
anjanaththa vaNNanAya Adhi dhEvan allaiyE
Word-by-Word Meanings
vem – cruel
sinaththa – having anger
vEzham – the elephant kuvalayApeedam’s
veN – whitish
maruppu – tusks
osiththu – broke
uruththa – one who became angry
mA – the strong
kanjan – kamsan
kadindhu – destroyed
vanjanaththu – with deceit
vandha pEychchi – pUthanA, who came
Avi – vital air
pAluL – in her milk
vAnginAy – one who usurped
maN – earth
aLandhu koNda – measured (with three steps)
kAlanE – Oh one who has divine feet!
anjanaththa – dark
vaNNanAya – having complexion
Adhi – being the causative factor
dhEvan – one who is radiant
allaiyE – aren’t you?
Simple Translation
Oh one who broke the white tusks of the elephant kuvalayApeedam which had a cruel anger and one who killed the angry, strong kamsan! Oh one who usurped the life of the deceitful puthanA, along with her milk! Oh one who has divine feet with which you measured the world with three steps! Aren’t you the one who is radiant and the causative factor for the worlds?
vyAkyAnam (Commentary)
venjinaththa vEzha veN maruppu osiththu – (you) casually broke the white tusks of kuvalayApeedam which had cruel anger. venjinam – cruel anger; very angry. While it was sufficient to describe the elephant as having cruel anger, what was the need to describe the colour of its tusks? Just as the anger of the elephant and its tusks which were capable of killing those who opposed the elephant caused fear in AzhwAr [because of the harm that it could do to kaNNan], even the white colour of its tusks created fear in him. This implies the overflowing affection which AzhwAr has towards kaNNan.
uruththa mA kanjanaik kadindhu – the moment he heard that his elephant kuvalayApeedam had been killed, the naturally strong kamsan, got up in anger, with the thought of killing kaNNan. Killing that anger and killing kamsan, along with that anger. SrI vishNu purANam 5-4-4 says that kamsan was talking to his assistants about kaNNan: “kimindhrENAlpa vIryENa kim harENaikachAriNA l harina vApi kim sAdhyam chidhrEshvasuraghAthinA ll” (What can indhra, with his limited power, do? What can Siva, who has the strength of his penance, do? Whan can hari, who kills monsters at his appropriate time, do?)
While the pAsuram next describes the activity of thrivikrama, since in the third line the verse talks about another activity of kaNNan, we could rearrange the verse as vanjanaththu vandha pEychchi Avi pAluL vAnginAy! maNNaLandhu koNda kAlanE and consider the meaning.
vanjanaththu …. kAlanE – emperumAn drank the life along with the poisoned milk of pUthanA, who came disguising herself in the form of a mother, unlike kuvalayApeedam and kamsan, who came as enemies of emperumAn. She came to offer milk to emperumAn, in the form of a mother; he too desirously drank that milk, in the form of a son. kaNNan had the nature of killing wicked people; due to his nature, her thought of killing him resulted in her own thought killing her. AzhwAr says that due to the amazing activity of taking pUthanA’s life through her bosom and killing his enemies as a natural act instead of waiting for the thought of “These wicked people must be killed”, emperumAn is superior to everyone. Has it not been said in harivamSam 53-3? “thasyA: sthanam papau krishNa: prANai: saha nanAdha cha l sthanyam thadhavisha sammiSram rasyamAsIth jagadhgurO: ll” (kaNNan killed pUthaNa by drinking her milk from her bosom along with her vital air; he also roared. The milk from her bosom was tasty for him, the lord of the world)
If the text were uruththu instead of uruththa (uruththu mA kanjanai …) considered, it would mean that kaNNan had uncontrolled anger, even after killing kuvalayApeedam.
maNNaLandhu koNda kAlanE – apart from killing kamsan, oh one who has the divine feet which you kept on the heads of brahmA et al, as a manifestation of your being the lord of the worlds! The word kAlanE could also be taken to mean one who was the yama (lord of death) for inimical persons.
anjanaththu vaNNanAya Adhi dhEvan allaiyE – aren’t you the one with the most distinguished aprAkrutha divine form, creating the world and being radiant, because of that? thaiththirIya upanishath nArAyaNavalli 11 says “thasya madhyE vahniSikA aNIyOrdhvA vyavasthitha: l neelathOyadha madhyasthA vidhyullEkEva bhAsvarA ll” ((paramAthmA’s divine auspicious form) agniSikhA is present amidst that lotus-like heart, with a minute form, looking upwards; it shines like lightning which has imbibed bluish cloud)
The opinion is that just as being the causative factor is a symbol for emperumAn for being the lord of universe, having an aprAkrutha divine form is also a symbol.
We shall take up the 44th pAsuram of this prabandham, next.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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