SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:
avathArikai (Introduction) – stating their pitiable state, they perform anjali (cupping the palms together, in worship) and ask him to return their dresses
kOzhi azhaippadhan munnam kudaindhu nIrAduvAn pOndhOm
Azhiyan selvan ezhundhAn aravaNai mEl paLLi koNdAy
Ezhaimai ARRavam pattOm ini enRum poygaikku vArOm
thOzhiyum nAnum thozhudhOm thugilaip paNiththu aruLAyE
Word-by-Word Meanings
aravu aNai mEl – on top of thiruvananthAzhwAn (AdhiSEshan), the mattress
paLLi koNdAy – Oh, one who has reclined!
kudaindhu – immersing (in the pond)
nIr AduvAn – in order to bathe
kOzhi azhaippadhan munnam – before the rooster gives the wake-up call
pOndhOm – we reached (this place)
(Now, what has happened?)
selvan – one who has wealth
Azhiyan – sUriyan (sun)
ezhundhAn – has risen
ARRavum Ezhaimai pattOm – (due to you) we have suffered extensively
ini – hereafter
enRum – for ever
poygaikku – to the pond
vArOm – we will not come
thOzhiyum nAnum thozhudhOm – both my friend and I worshipped (you)
thugilai – (our) clothes
paNiththaruLAy – you should mercifully return
Simple Translation
Oh, one who is reclining on thiruvananthAzhwAn, the mattress! Before the rooster gave its wake-up call, we came to this pond, in order to immerse in it and bathe. sUriyan (sUrya/sun), who has wealth, has risen. We have suffered a lot, because of you. We give you our word that we will never come to this pond hereafter. Both my friend and I perform anjali to you, as an act of worship. You should mercifully return our clothes to us.
vyAkyAnam (Commentary)
kOzhi … pOndhOm – the implied meaning here is – we thought that if we come to the pond before the rooster calls, kaNNan would be sleeping at that time and hence would not harm us. But that has become disastrous. Since kaNNan was in the habit of hugging and playing with the girls in the early part of the night, he would sleep at the time of dawn and hence, the girls decided to come to the pond for a bath. But that has become a mistake. How did kaNNan know that they will come before dawn? After they left, since the rooster called, he woke up, realised that they had left and hence came hurriedly, following them. Thus, through both the positive and negative connotations, viz. that after they put him to sleep, kaNNan would sleep and that he would wake up after the rooster called, respectively, they left early, for bathing.
azhaippadhan munnam – they knew that kaNNan was of the type who would wake up after the rooster called, just as people are woken up by patting them, when they are asleep. He asked them “What for did you leave, unknown to me and before I woke up?” They respond saying ….
kudaindhu nIrAduvAn pOndhOm – just as bharatha had gone in the wee hours of the morning in order to take a bath in sarayu river in ayOdhyA, just as it has been mentioned in SrI rAmAyaNam AraNya kANdam 16-30 “athyantha sukhasamvrudhdha: sukumAra: sukhOchitha: l katham nvapararAthrEshu sarayUmavagAhathE ll” (bharathan had grown up with comfort, he has a tender form and was apt to be in comfort only; how did he get up in the late hours of the night and have bath in sarayu river?), these girls tell kaNNan “Due to separation from you, we came to have a bath to get over it. We did not go with the thinking that you should come. We went with the urge to complete the bath before you came” He told them “In that case, you could return now; why are you delaying?” The opinion here is – as per old thamizh culture, the man and the beloved would have a bath in water together, and this is termed as sunaiyAdal (bathing in stream); kaNNan was under the impression that they are waiting to have a bath together with him, in the pond. They tell him “This is your opinion and not at all ours; as you could see, the wealthy sUriyan has already risen.”
Azhiyan selvan ezhundhAn – How does the term “Azhiyan” refer to sUriyan? [Azhi would normally refer to the divine disc held by emperumAn, on his right hand]. The term “Azhi” would refer to ocean; since sUriyan appears to rise up, from the ocean, the term “Azhiyan” would refer to sUriyan. Alternatively, the term “Azhi” would also refer to round shape and since sUriyan is round in shape, the term ”Azhiyan” could be considered as referring to sUriyan. Another interpretation: Azhi would also refer to the wheel of a chariot. Thus, Azjiyan could refer to sUriyan who travels in a chariot with a single wheel, just as it has been mentioned in siRIya thirumadal “thaniyAzhiththEr” (chariot with a single wheel).
selvan – he has the wealth of SrIman nArAyaNan along with pirAtti residing in him, just as it has been mentioned in purANams “dhyEyas sadhA savithru mandala madhyavarthI nArAyaNa” (always meditate on SrIman nArAyaNan who resides in the solar galaxy), and in upanishaths such as chAndhOgya upanishath. Hearing their response, kaNNan tells them “It is good for me that sUriyan has risen. I could clearly see your limbs such as eyes, hands, fingers etc and enjoy their beauty. You would also have known, before leaving for the pond, that sUriyan would rise by the time you finished your bath; otherwise, you would have left during the middle of the night itself and returned before the rooster called. Why did you leave this late? Is it for someone to admire your beauty?” They reply to him saying ….
aravaNai mEl paLLi koNdAy – we thought that you, reclining on AdhiSEshan, were sleeping deeply; considering that to be true, we came here. We did not think that you would come here. How did they know that he reclines on AdhiSEshan? Just as it has been said by ANdAL in nAchchiyAr thirumozhi 14-3 “vinathai siRuvan siRagennum mElAppin kIzh varuvAnai” (one who came under the canopy of garuda’s wings), they knew that this incarnation [of krishNa] was a mix of human entity’s nature and supreme entity’s nature; just as he was the lord of garuda, they also knew that he was the one who reclined on AdhiSEshan. Alternatively, just as ANdAL had mentioned in thiruppAvai 2 “pARkadaluL paiyyath thuyinRa paraman” (the supreme entity who was reclining slowly in the milky ocean), they knew that it was kshIrAbdhinAthan (the lord of milky ocean) who has incarnated as kaNNan. When considered in this manner, the implied meaning is – when you are the protector of all, when you are reclining in the milky ocean, we believed that you would protect us too; we did not think that you would hurt us this badly. In the first meaning mentioned here (lying atop AdhiSEshan), the implied meaning is – due to the softness of the mattress on which you are lying, we thought that you would be deep asleep and found that we were deceived by you.
paLLi koNdAy – when he is sleeping, they would keep murmuring, out of fear [as to what ill will befall him when he is sleeping]; when he is awake, they will again keep murmuring; other than emperumAn, they will know none. kaNNan asks them “What problem came your way, after coming here, thinking that I am still asleep?” They respond saying ….
Ezhaimai ARRavaum pattOm – we have suffered a lot; could any ill befall women, beyond this?
ARRavum – to a great extent; whatever we had troubled you due to our love-quarrel over along period of time, you have paid back in a moment, by making us suffer at your hands like this. “In that case, is there a remedy?“ asks kaNNan. Has it not been said in brahmavaivartham-prakruthi kaNdam 26-90? “avaSyamanubhOkthavyam krutham karma SubhASubhamI l nAbhuktham kshIyathE karma kalpakOtiSathairapi ll” (The effects of deeds of vice and virtue, carried out by a person, have to be necessarily experienced. The effects cannot be wished away, even after passage of hundreds of crores of kalpam) [a kalpam is the equivalent of a day in brahmA’s life, which is 4.32 million earth years]. kaNNan asks them “How could you avoid the effect of a sinful deed? How are you going to avoid such incidents in future?”
poygaikku vArOm – “There is a simple remedy for this. Elders in AyppAdi [SrI gOkulam] keep the girls and kaNNan in different places so that they cannot see each other. You would not be able to come to our place and harass us, as you like. We will not ever come to the pond, for bathing. This is the way to avoid being embarrassed, coming here”. Hearing this, kaNNan says “Your usual reply to such queries is ‘We will not come’. But you have come now”. They then say
enRum vArOm – we will not ever come here. He further says “This is what you have been saying all along”.
ini enRum poygaikku vArOm – They say further “Hereafter, we will not ever come to this pond”. After hearing them say this, kaNNan feared “Oh, how did they say like this?” He started thinking “Who will unite us with them now?” There is a sure method for uniting chEthanan (one with knowledge) with ISvaran (supreme entity). Isn’t that anjali? He tells them “Let us see whether your vow that you will never again come here, is valid or not. That is for some other day. Now, since you have come here, without my being aware of it, you should worship me by performing anjali to me”. In the hope that if they perform anjali, he would return their clothes, they hid their private part with one hand and performed anjali with the other. He tells them “Performing anjali with one hand is a great sin. You should do so with both hands”. Hearing that, they say
thOzhiyum nAnum thozhudhOm – each of the two girls cupped one palm each and performed anjali. He tells them “That is not enough. Both of you have to perform anjali with all four hands”.
thOzhiyum nAnum thozhudhOm – they did that too. Even after they did this, without taking pity on them, he said “anjali will be effective only towards those on whom we take pity; towards our beloved ones, unless we unite with them, we will not have pity” and was adamant. They say….
thozhudhOm thugilaip paNiththaruLAyE – “Don’t bring that topic of beloved ones here. anjali will always give the desired result. Even if you do not think about it, our performing anjali to you will yield the result without fail. As a benefit for our carrying out anjali, you should mercifully return our clothes to us”. Hasn’t it been said in bhArathwAja samhithai “anjali: paramAmudhrA kshipram dhEva prasAdhinI” (anjali, which makes emperumAn happy in a short while, is an eminent identity)!
Next, we will consider the 2nd pAsuram of the this decad.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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