SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:
avathArikai (Introduction) – kaNNan thought “These girls are only thinking of getting back the clothes which they desire but are not willing to agree to my desire of uniting with them. They should be taught a lesson” and got down from the kurundham [wild lemon] tree. Apart from the dresses which he had collected from the bank, he took the remaining clothes too, without leaving out any clothing, swirled around the bank like a whirlwind, stole the hearts of the girls who were there, along with their clothes, without them knowing “He did this”, climbed the tree again rapidly and hid himself. Thinking that they could wear the clothes which were there, when they reached the bank, they found that not one clothing was there. Not knowing what they have to do, they pray to him, asking him to return their clothes.
idhuven pugundhadhu ingu andhO! ippoygaikku evvARu vandhAy?
madhuvin thuzhAy mudi mAlE! mAyanE! engaL amudhE!
vidhiyinmaiyAl adhu mAttOm viththagap piLLAy! viraiyEl
kudhikoNdu aravil nadiththAy! kurundhidaik kURai paNiyAy
Word-by-Word Meanings
ingu – here
pugundhadhu idhu en – what an event has occurred!
andhO – alas!
ippoygaikku – to this pond
evvARu vandhAy – through which way did you come?
madhu in thuzhAy mudi mAlE – Oh, the eminent one who has the divine crown donned with sweet divine thuLasi which is filled with honey!
mAyanE – Oh, one who has amazing power!
engaL amudhE – Oh, one who is sweet, like nectar, to us!
vidhi inmaiyAl – since we are not decreed
adhu mAttOm – we will not agree for union
viththagap piLLAy – Oh, the dear one, who has amazing activities!
viraiyEl – do not be hasty
aravil – on top of [the snake] kALiyan
kudhi koNdu – jumping
nadiththAy – oh, one who danced!
kurundhidaik kURai – the clothes kept on top of (that) kurundham (wild lemon) tree
paNiyAy – mercifully give us
Simple Translation
Alas! What has happened here? By which way did you come to this pond? Oh, the eminent one who has the divine crown donned with sweet divine thuLasi which is filled with honey! Oh, one who has amazing power! Oh, one who is sweet, like nectar, to us! We cannot agree to a union with you since it is not decreed for us. Oh, the dear one, who has amazing activities! Do not be hasty. Oh, one who jumped atop [the snake] kALiyan and danced! Mercifully return the clothes kept on top of the kurundham tree.
vyAkyAnam (Commentary)
idhuven pugundhadhu ingu – what an event has happened here that we are unable to know as to what we should do? It is as if a cloud has burst and fallen, without any lightning [to forewarn]. How did those who had almost frozen, not knowing what to do, say the words “idhuvenpugundhadhu ingu?” Just as it has been said in (1) chAndhOgya upanishath 16-1-3 “sthabdhOsi utha tham AdhESam aprAkshya:” (you are standing as if you are without emotions [as if in a shock]. Have you received instructions about the supreme being?), a father, who had seen his son returning after getting instructions about the supreme being [from his teacher], told him “Is it possible to keep quiet if you happen to see the supreme being about whom we keep asking whether you have received instructions?”, (2) in periya thiruvandhAdhi 34 “pAlAzhi nI kidakkum paNbai nAm kEttEyum kAlAzhum nenjazhiyum kaN suzhalum” (even as I hear about the beauty with which you are reclining in the milky ocean, my legs will turn weak, my heart will flutter and my eyes will spin (in bewilderment)), could we keep quiet in bewilderment after seeing that emperumAn, the mere hearing about whose beauty will render all other senses ineffective? Just as it has been mentioned in nAnmugan thiruvandhAdhi 78 “kAmanudal koNda thavaththARku umaiyuNarththa vaNdalambum thAralangal nINmudiyAn than peyarE kEttirundhu, angu Aralangal AnamaiyAl Ayndhu” (if one were to analyse that even Siva, who burnt manmathan (deity of love; cupid), became transformed on hearing the divine names of emperumAn, on whose long crown beetles are swarming, from his [Siva’s] consort, pArvathi…), when mere hearing of the recital of his auspicious qualities [each name of emperumAn refers to a unique, auspicious quality] could transform Siva to engage with emperumAn, is it possible for those who were subjected to his mischievous acts, to remain silent?
andhO – how sad is it that our thoughts make him to follow us! They wonder “We wanted to reach here before he awakened, after hearing the call of the rooster. But he has come ahead of us, and has stolen our clothes”. kaNNan asks them “What has happened now, which makes you feel sad about my coming here. Previously too, I had come following you, on many occasions”. They respond saying
ippoygaikku evvARu vandhAy – This is not the usual pond which you and we come to, for engaging in water sports. We came to this pond only to ensure that you would not come to this pond which is not familiar to you. How did you know this too, and come here? We did not bring you with us. We had deliberately destroyed our foot prints too, such that you would not know as to where we had gone. When such is the case, how did you come here?
ippoygaikku evvARu vandhAy – This is not the pond where gajEndhrAzhwAn had called out “AdhimUlamE” (Oh, one who is the root cause for all!) when he was harassed by the crocodile. How then, did you come?
ippoygaikku evvARu vandhAy – Since there is no unfavourable entity here such as kALiyan, to control whom you had to come to the pond, there was no reason for you to come to this pond. Since no one underwent any suffering here, unlike your gajEndhran who was dear to you, how did you come to this pond? kaNNan, realising their defeat and his victory, started talking, with pride very much evident in his words “Why do you carry out all these analyses? You are seeing directly that I have come. After getting me, the benefit for your deeds, why do you have to analyse the way by which I came here?” Hearing this, the cowherd girls thought “Since our purpose will not be realised through this method, let us leave this aside. We have got caught in his web fully. We cannot get back our clothes by lawful means. Since he is enticed by being praised, let us praise him and get our clothes back”. Hence, they started praising him.
madhuvin thuzhAy mudi mAlE – just as kUraththAzhwAn had said in varadharAja sthavam 25 “AdhirAjyam adhikam bhuvanAnAm Isa: thE piSunayan kila mauLi:” (Oh, varadha who is the Isan (controller) of all the worlds! Your crown itself gives away the fact that you are the emperor of the entire world), oh, one who is dwelling eminently in paramapadham, manifesting yourself to nithyasUris, having a crown which is adorned with sweet thuLasi garland which is full of honey!
mAyanE – Oh, one who has the amazing quality of incarnating in the clan of herd-people, amidst those who are under the control of karma [their deeds in previous births] while you are not under its control, just so that people here too could witness the sight which you had manifested [in paramapadham to nithyasUris], such that even herd-people could order you about, to get their work done!
engaL amudhE– unlike the situation in paramapadham where you have manifested yourself to nithyasUris, who have no shortcoming to their knowledge, you have come amidst us, the herd-girls, who do not know the difference between left and right hands, as if you could be enticed by us, as our possession. Alternatively, oh, one who is like a sweet nectar to us, unlike the salted juice which came out of the milky ocean of the celestial entities! After the girls spoke these words of affection, he says “You have now realised my eminence. You have clearly expounded that I am like your possession. Once you realise that something is your possession, should you not protect it and get your job done through it?” They ask him “What is that job?” He replies, saying “Should you not look at me with your comforting eyes, making me sustain myself, such that you would agree for our union?” They respond further, to that…
vidhiyinmaiyAl adhu mAttOm – “Your desire is not undesirable to us. We too would like that; however, due to our misfortune, we are unable to agree to it”. As an indication that they know as to what he is thinking of, as well out of their typical feminine shyness, they refer to his desire of uniting with them as “adhu” (that). To this, he says “I too, due to my misfortune, am unable to give you your clothes”, carrying their clothes to an even higher point on that tree. His mentioning about his misfortune is only the denial of union with them. They further say …
viththagap piLLAy viraiyEl – Do not go hastily to the top of the tree, making it clear that you are a smart herd-boy. We could tolerate if there is any hurdle to our looking at you to the full satisfaction of our eyes. However, if there is any danger to you because of your climbing higher in the tree, we cannot sustain our lives. Do not destroy our existence due to your daring act of hastening to the highest point of the tree. kaNNan asks them “Have you ever seen my daring act, done in a hasty manner?” They reply to that, saying …
kudhi koNdu aravil ndiththAy – just as it has been said in SrI vishNu purANam 5-1-7 “EkadhAthu vinA rAmam krishNO brindhAvanam yayau l vichachAra vruthO gOpair vanyapushpasragujjwala: ll” (One day, krishNa went to brindhAvana, in the absence of balarAma; he roamed around there, surrounded by herd-boys, donning garland of wild flowers), during an occasion when your elder brother, balarAma, had to go for some other work, did you not carry out the daring act of falling into the mouth of the snake kALiyan? For such a person, is climbing a tree a daring act? Let it be; please return our clothes to us. kaNNan thinks “They are asking me for the clothes only because they see them on my hand” He hides them behind the leaves and tells them, spreading out his hands, “They are not in my hands for me to give them to you”. They plead with him
kurundhidaik kURai paNiyAy – it is true that the clothes are not in your hands. You should mercifully give the clothes which are in the tree. The svApadhESam [underlying significant meaning] to this is: without his divine mind [acquiescence] no benefit, wherever it may be, will accrue to one.
Next, we will consider the 3rd pAsuram of this decad.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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