SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:
avathArikai (Introduction)
In the previous pAsuram, AzhwAr had told emperumAn ‘adaikkalam pugundha ennai anjal enna vENdumE’ in line with the assurance given in bhagavath gIthA 18-66 charama SlOkam “mA Sucha:” (do not grieve), granting him refuge. When emperumAn asks him “Is that enough?” AzhwAr says “I sought refuge from you, who are the readily available means, so that you will not separate me from you, asking me to seek other means. That is not enough. You should show mercy on me such that I, desirous of enjoying your distinguished sweetness, give up all the other matters and enjoy only you”.
surumbarangu thaNthuzhAy thudhaindhalarndha pAdhamE
virumbi ninRu iRainjuvERku irangu arangavANanE
karumbirundha kattiyE kadaRkidandha kaNNanE
irumbaranga venjaram thurandha villi rAmanE
Word-by-Word Meanings
karumbu irundha – (on all sides) being naturally sweet like sugar cane
kattiyE – Oh one who is like a block of sugar!
kadal – in the milky ocean
kidandha – reclining
kaNNanE – Oh one who is easily approachable!
irumbu – on the bodies of enemies which are like firm iron
aranga – to sink deeply
vem saram – cruel arrows
thurandha– shot
vil – one who has the bow
irAmanE – Oh the divine son of emperor dhaSarathan!
arangavANanE – Oh the protector of SrIrangam!
surumbu – beetles
arangu – settled
thaN – being comfortable
thuzhAy – the divine thuLasi
thudhanidhu alarndha – blossoming on contacting
pAdhamE – only your divine feet
virumbi – being desirous of
ninRu – always remaining
iRainjuvERku – to me, who is praying
irangu – you should mercifully shower your grace
Simple Translation
Oh, one who is like a block of sugar, being naturally sweet on all sides! Oh, one who is easily approachable while reclining on the milky ocean! Oh, one who is the divine son of emperor dhaSarathan, having a bow from which you shot arrows which sank deeply on the firm, iron-like bodies of enemies! Oh, the protector of SrIrangam! The comfortable, divine thuLasi, on which beetles have settled, blossoms on coming into contact with your divine feet. You should mercifully shower your grace on me, who is desirous of always praying to such divine feet.
vyAkyAnam
surumbu arangu thaN thuzhAy thudhaindhu alarndha pAdhamE– only the divine feet on which divine thuLasi garland, which is invigorating and on which beetles have settled, shines after blossoming. Through this verse, the following three are indicated: (1) only that entity who has divine thuLasi as a garland is the supreme entity. (2) Just as the divine thuLasi becomes fresh and blossoms on being together with emperumAn’s divine feet, even for those attain his divine feet, freshness and effect of blossoming will result. (3) Since they are decorated with the divine thuLasi, emperumAn’s divine feet have unmatched sweetness.
virumbi ninRu iRainjuvERku irangu – you should shower your grace on me who has started to enjoy you, after getting the desire to enjoy you. You should show your mercy and shower your grace on me saying“Let him come out of all the worldly pursuits which destroy his basic nature; let him enjoy me”. By doing this alone, my soul will get uplifted; hence, you should certainly do this.
arangavANanE – Oh one who is reclining in SrI rangam, being its lord! The purpose of your reclining in the temple is only to remove, through your beauty, the involvement with worldly pursuits and to create an involvement with you, for those who not have the means in them for protecting themselves, and who have started enjoying you. Just as thoNdaradippodi AzhwAr said in his thirumAlai 16th pAsuram “pOdharE enRu sollip pundhiyil pugundhu thanpAl Adharam perugavaiththa azhagan” (emperumAn’s beauty is such that it will make one to be amazed and to get involved with matters related to him), this AzhwAr too says that it is emperumAn’s beauty which is our means as well as our end goal.
karumbirundha kattiyE – AzhwAr says that the teacher who created this interest in him towards emperumAn was his [emperumAn’s] sweetness only. Oh, one who is like a sugarcane, being naturally sweet on all sides! The term katti emphasises the fact that like sugarcane, there is no part which has to be discarded or which is unwanted, in emperumAn. The usage of the term “karubu pOl irundha” indicates that unlike a block of sugar which needs to be heated in order to get the sweetness all around, emperumAn is sweet by his nature. The meaning here is that he is like the naturally sweet block of sugar.
kadal kidhandha kaNNanE – Oh, one who is reclining in the milky ocean! This indicates the root cause for the incarnation of periya perumAL (the presiding deity in SrI rangam). He says “Oh, one who has the simplicity to come down mercifully to recline in the milky ocean for removing the hurdles of your followers, even before they had prayed to you”. Since emperumAn is reclining in the milky ocean in order to remove the hurdles of brahmA often, this indicates that the simplicity and beauty, seen in emperumAn in thiruppARkadal, are seen in periya perumAL too.
irumbaranga venjaram thurandha vil irAmanE – oh the divine son of emperor dhaSarathan, who holds the bow, with which you shot the fiery arrows which sank deeply on the bodies of enemies, which were firm, like iron! Through this verse, it is indicated that the valour and beauty of the divine son of emperor dhaSarathan are very much seen in periya perumAL, just as it has been mentioned by thoNdaradippodi AzhwAr in thirumAlai 11 “nam sEvaganAr maruviya periya kOyil” (the eminent temple where one, who is our lord and who is a great warrior, came to reside fittingly). Wasn’t the valour and beauty of the divine son of emperor dhaSarathan spoken of in SrI rAmAyaNam ayOdhyA kANdam 83-8 too “mEghaSyAmam mahAbAhum sthirasathvam dhrudavrutham l kadhA dhrakshyAmahE rAmam jagatha: SOkanASanam ll” (When will we see SrI rAma, who is dark like a cloud, who has long hands, who has firm strength, who has firm penance and who removes sorrows of the people?). The implied meaning for this verse is – when you are the ordained lord, you are in proximity, you are with unmatched sweetness and you are with the nature of destroying enemies and when I have the inclination towards you, there is no reason for me to lose out. Hence, you should mercifully shower your grace.
The pAsuram should be rearranged as kadal kidandha kaNNanE – irumbaranga venjaram thurandha vil irAmanE – arangavANanE – surumbu arangu thaN thuzhAy thudhaindhu alarndha pAdhamE – virumbi ninRu iRainjuvERku irangu to get the correct sequence of meaning.
Next, we will take up the 94th pAsuram of this prabandham.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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