nAchchiyAr thirumozhi – mUnRAm thirumozhi (Third decad) – kOzhi azhaippadhan

SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:

kaNNan touched the cow herd girls, just as it was mentioned in nAchchiyAr thirumozhi 2-8 “thottu udhaiththu naliyEl kaNdAy” (do not harass us by touching and kicking us) and united with them, as mentioned in nAchchiyAr thirumozhi 2-9 “emmaip paRRi meyppiNakkittAl” (if you grasp us and embrace us), in such a way that instead of two different forms, there was only one form. Just as a potter, while making a pot, dries two portions of the pot before joining them, and just as an iron smith, while making a vessel, heats up two parts of the vessel to red hot condition before joining them, the relatives of these girls thought “If we allow them to stay united like this, their happiness will go over their heads and destroy them both”. Hence, in order to ensure that no ill befalls the girls, their relatives took them away and kept them in cellars. The girls too, unable to bear the separation, just as sIthAp pirAtti had undergone when hanuman saw her, as mentioned in SrI rAmAyaNam sundhara kAndam 15-19 “upavAsakruSAm dhInAm ni:SvasanthIm puna: puna: l dhadharSa SuklapakshAdhau chandhrarEkAmivAmalAm ll” (hanuman saw sIthAp pirAtti, who was like the rays of moon during the start of waxing phase of moon, without any dirt, but wizened by fasting, being in a sorrowful state, and sighing repeatedly), became distressed, just like sIthAp pirAtti. kaNNan too was in the state of SrI rAma, who had been separated from sIthAp pirAtti, just as it had been mentioned in SrI rAmAyaNam, sundhara kANdam 36-41 & 42 “na mAmsam rAghavO bhunkthE na chApi madhu sEvathE l
naiva dhamSAnna maSakAn na kItAn na sarIsrupAn ll rAghavO’panayEth gAthrAth thvadhgathEnAntharAthmanA ll” (Oh dhEvi (divine consort of emperumAn)! SrI rAma, who has a divine mind which is fully engaged with you, does not eat meat; does not take intoxicating materials; does not push away insects such as flies, mosquitoes, worms etc as well as snakes (which crawl over his divine form)). Like SrI rAma, kaNNan too was unaware of insects crawling over his divine form or biting him. What is the reason for such a state? In the pramANam (authentic text) quoted above, the verse “thvadhgathEnAntharAthmanA” (he has a divine mind which is engaged with you) has been cited by hanuman. For those who undertake parakAya pravESam (entering the body of another person), just like they will be unaware of any emotions in themselves, for person who has given his heart away to his beloved, it is not possible to feel anything happening to his body. If the beloved does not sleep for a night, just as it has been mentioned in SrI rAmAyaNam sundhara kANdam 36-44 “anidhras sathatham rAma: supthO’pi cha narOththama: l sIthEthi madhurAm vANIm vyAharan prathibhudhyathE ll” (SrI rAma (who has got separated from sIthAp pirAtti) is always without sleep. Even if he, who is the best among men, sleeps for a moment, he wakes up, always reciting the beautiful word ‘sIthE’), isn’t he [kaNNan] too always without sleep? If the cowherd girl says, just as it has been said in SrI rAmAyaNam sundhara kANdam 36-67 “jIvitham dhArayishyAmi mAsam dhaSarathAthmaja! l
Urdhvam mAsAn na jIvEyam sthyEnAham bravImi thE ll” (Oh, the great one! I will sustain my life for one month; I take a vow in your name that I will not be alive for more than a month), he [kaNNan] would say, just as it has been mentioned in SrI rAmAyaNam sundhara kANdam 66-10 “chiram jIvathi vaidhEhi yadhi mAsam dharishyathi l na jIvEyam kshaNamapi vinA thAmasithEkshaNAm ll” (If sIthai could sustain herself for one month, she would be considered as having sustained herself for a very long time; without her, who has dark eyes, I will not sustain myself for more than a moment) that he cannot sustain himself for more than a moment without her. Thus, the agony due to separation went beyond limits of forbearance for both the cowherd girls and kaNNan. Relatives such as parents of the girls thought “If we prevent them, until the end, from uniting with kaNNan, we may have to lose them. If we ourselves enable them to unite with him, it would appear that we are indulging in them. Hence, let us do this – there is a custom in which girls, to attain an apt husband, would take a bath in the wee hours of the night. We will allow them to undertake that custom. They will get an opportunity to be together with krishNa, just as they desire. We will also remain unaware of that” After discussing this amongst themselves, they allowed the girls to take a bath in the wee hours. From the time that he had got separated from them, kaNNan was engaged in analysing about the girls in the five lakh families of the cowherds. Through his friends, he undertook examining the situation of each girl and became aware of their undertaking bath in the wee hours. He was yearning to go with them, to the river front. However, the girls had discussed among themselves a plan – “We cannot sustain ourselves if we unite with him. The separation which follows the union is something which we are unable to bear. The event of union always ends with the happening of separation. Hence, instead of uniting with him first and then becoming distressed due to the inevitable separation, it will be better to take a cold bath to get rid of the pangs of separation which we are presently undergoing. If we go to the usual pond which we used to go along with kaNNan, he is sure to know about it and come there. Hence, we have to go to a pond which he is not aware of. Even then, if we go together, he is bound to follow us. Hence, we have to go separately and assemble there. We must ensure that we destroy our footprints so that he will knot know the direction in which we had gone”. Thus, they all went to the pond, as decided.

Isn’t he one who has been waiting since time immemorial to attain them, and coming in the paths where they go, just as nammAzhwAr had mentioned in thiruvAimozhi 2-7-6 “edhir sUzhal pukku” (incarnating in every birth, deceptively), knowing their inner minds? When SrI rAma was to embark on his vanavAsam (living in exile, for fourteen years, in forests), all the people of ayOdhyA followed him. In order to deceive them and go without their knowing the direction in which he had gone, he had asked sumanthran (dhaSaratha’s minister and charioteer) to go haphazardly. However, these girls cannot deceive kaNNan, in that manner. SrI rAmAyaNam sundhara kANdam 1-1 says “thathO rAvaNanIdhAya: sIthAyA: SarthukarSana: l
iyEsha padham anvEshtum chAraNAcharithE pathi ll” (hanuman, who troubles enemies, desired to follow the footsteps of rAvaNa, when he took sIthA through the path of sky, which is used by chAraNas [celestial entities]). In a similar way, kaNNan followed the footsteps of these girls. Just as nammAzhwAr had described emperumAn in periya thiruvandhAdhi 26 as “iruLanna mAmEni” (emperumAn has a huge, dark divine form), he followed the girls just like a shadow follows the person who is moving. He went ahead of them and hid himself on the banks of the pond. Since they are cowherd girls, they removed their ornaments and dresses, kept them on the bank and entered the water. When they were bathing to get rid of their anguish of separation, by immersing themselves in the cold water, he grabbed all their dresses and ornaments and hid himself atop a kurundham tree (wild lime tree) on the bank. After they completed their bath, when they reached the bank, they found that their jewels and dresses were missing. They wondered “Did the sky steal them? Or the directions? Or this pond? Or did kaNNan steal them?”

Just as it has been mentioned in SrI rAmAyaNam sundhara kANdam 34-23 when sIthAp pirAtti wondered when she saw hanuman in front of her, speaking to her “kinnu syAchiththamOhOýam bhavEth vAthagathis thviyam l unmAdhajO vikArO vA syAdhiyam mrugadhthrushNikA ll” (Is it due to my heart’s bewilderment? Is it the ploy of deity for wind? Have I lost my senses? Has my nature got changed? Is it a mirage?) and subsequently became clearer in her mind, these girls too started having various doubts and went looking in different directions. They then saw kaNNan sitting atop the tree. They then thought “He has come, holding on to our dresses, following us, in order to steal our dresses. How can we deceive him and recover our dresses from him?” They started employing various methods such as pleading with him, praying to him, praising him, getting angry with him etc. There were also girls who hated him thinking “His mother, who gave birth to a mischievous person like him, too is a woman!” This decad explains the ways in which they expressed their distress, the different ways in which they praised him, how he returned their dresses to them and united with them.

Next, we will consider the 1^st pAsuram of the this decad.

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

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