SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:
avathArikai (Introduction)
AzhwAr was anxious in the previous pAsuram, requesting emperumAn to destroy the disease of connection with his physical form. emperumAn says “We will sever the connection at the end of this birth. Why are you anxious?” AzhwAr says in this pAsuram “In that case, you should mercifully show me a way by which I would be able to meditate upon and recite your divine names which speak about your greatness, your simplicity and the beauty of your divine form”.
thirukkalandhu sEru mArba dhEva dhEva dhEvanE
irukkalandha vEdha nIdhiyAgi ninRa ninmalA
karukkalandha kALamEga mEniyAya nin peyar
urukkalandhu ozhivilAdhu uraikkumARu urai seyE
Word-by-Word Meanings
thiru – periya pirAttiyAr (SrI mahAlakshmi)
kalandhu – being together
sErum – residing permanently
mArba – Oh, one who has the divine chest!
dhEva dhEva dhEvanE – Oh the lord of nithyasUris, who are apt to be attained by celestial entities such as even brahmA et al!
irukkalandha vEdha nIdhiyAgi ninRa – having as your nature, whatever has been mentioned in rig vEdham
ninmalA – Oh one who is without any impurity!
karu – along with gold
kalandha – mixed
kALamEga – like cloud
mEni – having divine form
Aya – Oh kaNNa, the cowherd
nin peyar – your divine names
urukkalandhu – along with your divine form
ozhivilAdhu – without any break
uraikkumARu – the way to recite
uraisey – you mercifully say
Simple Translation
Oh, one who has the divine chest where periya pirAttiyAr is residing permanently! Oh, the lord of nithyasUris, who are apt to be attained by celestial entities such as even brahmA et al! Oh, one who has as your nature, whatever has been mentioned in rig vEdham and who is without any impurity! Oh kaNNa, the cowherd, who has a divine form like dark cloud laced with gold! You should mercifully tell me the way by which I could recite, without a break, your divine names, along with your divine form.
vyAkyAnam (Commentary)
thirukkalandhu sEru mArba – oh one who has the divine chest in which periya pirAttiyAr is residing and enjoying, doubting whether there will be any shortcoming in that experience, recalling continuously, just as nammAzhwAr had said in his thiruvAimozhi 6-10-10 “agalagillEn iRaiyum” (I will not separate from this divine chest even for a moment)! She is the head for all the people in all the worlds without any distinction among nithyasUris (permanent dwellers of parama padham), mukthAthmAs (those who had got liberated from samsAram and have attained parama padham) and badhdha jIvAthmAs (those who are still bound to samsAram), just as it has been said in SrI sUktham 9 “ISvarIm sarvabhUthAnAm thvAmihOpahvayE Sriyam” (Oh SrIdhEvi! I invite you, the controller of all creations). Your [emperumAn’s] greatness is such that SrIdhEvi, who is the head for all, desires you constantly.
dhEva dhEva dhEvanE – just as it has been mentioned in the SlOkam in purusha sUktham “thEha nAkam mahimAnas sachanthE yathra pUrvE sAdhyAs santhi dhEvA:” (in which paramapadham the sAdhyAs, who have been present since time immemorial, are residing, they make that paramapadham great), nithyasUris are such that they are apt to be attained by celestials who desire to attain mOksham. Oh, one who is apt to be enjoyed by such nithyasUris and who controls them! The three syllables [of dhEva] refer to celestial entities such as brahma et al, nithya sUris and emperumAn, respectively. The implied meaning is that he guides nithyasUris who have as their pastime, carrying out kainkaryam constantly to emperumAn and periya pirAttiyAr.
irukkalandha vEdhanIdhi Agi ninRa ninmalA – Oh, one who is mentioned by vEdhams which have riks (hymns) in abundance and who is the exact opposite of all that is lowly! The term nIdhi refers to good conduct and to one’s nature. You have the greatness of being the consort of SrI mahAlakshmi just as it has been said in purusha sUktham 2-5 hrIScha thE lakshmIScha pathnyau (Oh supreme entity! SrI dhEvi and bhUmi dhEvi are your consorts); you are dear to nithyasUris just as it has been mentioned in rig vEdham – vishNu sUktham “thadh vishNO: paramam padham sadhA paSyanthi sUraya: l dhivIva chakshurAthatham ll thadh viprAsO vipanyavO jAgruvAmsas samindhathE vishNOr yath paramam padham ll” (nithyasUris constantly keep looking at that superior abode of vishNu. That supreme abode is effulgent like sUriyan (sun) who reveals everything, who is in the sky, who is like the eyes of the world. In that paramapadham, distinguished wise people, people who keep constantly worshipping, ever alert nithyasUris shine brightly) and you are the opposite of lowliness just as it has been said in chAndhOgya upanishath 8-7-1 “ya AthmA apahathapApmA vijarO vimruthyur viSOkO vijighathSO‘pipAsas sathyakAmas sathyasankalpas sOnvEshtavya:” (That AthmA who is without sins, without old age, without death, without sorrow, without hunger, without thirst, without desire unfulfilled and who has solemn vow, is apt to be searched for). vEdhams show all these greatness of yours. That you are mentioned by the vEdhams is clear from the three verses “thirukkalandhu sEr mArba”, “dhEvadhEva dhEvanE” and “irukkalandha …. ninmalA”
karukkalandha kALamEga mEniyAya – Oh kaNNa, who incarnated in the clan of cowherds, who has a divine form which is like the dark cloud, mixed with gold! The word karu refers to gold. Just as it has been said in thaiththirIya upanishath nArAyaNavalli 11 “thasya madhyE vahniSikA aNIyOrdhvA vyavasthitha: l nIlathOyadhamadhyasthA 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), it has been indicated here that his divine form has the splendour of lightning and is like a bluish cloud. The term Aya (as in mEniyAya) refers to the simplicity of his incarnation, just as it has been said in purusha sUktham uththarAnuvAkam “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). The word karu will also refer to womb. In this case, karukkalandha kALamEgam will refer to a dark cloud which has water as its womb. It is pertinent to recall SrI rAmAyaNam kishkinthA kANdam 28-3 SlOkam “navamAsa dhrutham garbham bhAskarasya gabhasthibhi: l pIthvA rasam samudhrANAm dhyau: prasUthE rasAyanam ll” (sky, which is like a woman, drank water from the ocean through the rays of sun, held that water in her womb for nine months and let out that water, giving birth to a child which is the life-giving medicine called as water). Through this verse it is indicated that emperumAn, in order to remove the distress of his followers, incarnated as kaNNan (krishNa) with a divine form, attracting their hearts.
nin peyar urukkalandhu ozhivilAdhu uraikkumARu uraiseyE – you should mercifully show me a way such that I could recite, without a break, your divine names which have been mentioned in the faultless authentic text of vEdhams as “the consort of periya pirAttiyAr, as the lord of nithyasUris who are indefatigable, the opposite of all lowliness, one who is with a divine form which is aprAkrutha (not made of primordial matter), one who is simple towards his followers etc”
Next, we will take up the 104th pAsuram of this prabandham.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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