SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:
avathArikai (Introduction) – since ANdAL is speaking with the pathos of a cow-herd girl, she believes that she had been born in the clan of cow-herd girls and that she knows the divine mind of kaNNan. She recalls the incident when kaNNan, as emperumAn, without considering his eminence, ran helter-skelter in order to save the elephant gajEndhrAzhwAn when he was caught by a crocodile in a pond [in which he had stepped in, to pluck a flower to offer to emperumAn]. Even after removing the elephant’s sorrow, emperumAn felt distressed in his divine mind, saying “I did not come earlier to remove his distress. Would my rendering help, after he fell into distress, really count as a remedy?” She tells him “In an earlier time, did you not come down hastily to remove the distress of an elephant after the elephant was harassed by a crocodile, merely because the elephant had taken refuge under you, not even considering that the crocodile was a mere water-worm? Now, two different types of fish are troubling our legs, please come and see”; thinking that if she recounts the trouble created by the fishes, he would come down with their clothes and remove their distress too.
kAlaik kadhuviduginRa kayalodu vALai viravi
vElaip pidiththu ennaimArgaL Ottil enna viLaiyAttO?
kOlach chiRRAdai palavum koNdu nI Eri irAdhE
kOlam kariya pirAnE! kurundhidaik kURai paNiyAy
Word-by-Word Meanings
kariya – dark
kOlam – having a divine form
pirAnE – Oh kaNNapirAn (krishNa)!
kayalodu – with carp fish
vALai – the scabbard fish, too
viravi – together
kAlai – (our) legs
kadhuviduginRa – are biting
(after hearing that you are harassing us like this)
en aimArgaL – our elder brothers
vElai pidiththu – holding a spear
Ottil – if they drive (you) away
enna viLaiyAttu – (later) in what way will that end?
nI – you
kOlam – beautiful
siRRAdai palavum koNdu – donning all the clothes
Eri irAdhu – without climbing (on the tree)
kurundhidai – on top of the kurundham (wild lemon) tree
kURai – (our) dresses
paNiyAy – should mercifully give
Simple Translation
Oh, kaNNapirAn, who is having a dark divine form! The carp fish and the scabbard fish, together, are biting our legs. If our elder brothers (after hearing the harassment which we are facing from you) drive you away with spears, how will that end? You should mercifully give us our dresses which are on top of the kurundham tree instead of donning them and climbing up further, on the tree.
vyAkyAnam (Commentary)
kAlai kadhuviduginRa kayalodu vALai viravi – the carp fish and the scabbard fish, together, are biting our legs. Did you not suffer when a crocodile harassed gajEndhrAzhwAn? Could you remain unconcerned when these two types of fishes are biting us together? Just as it has been mentioned in SrI rangarAja sthavam 2-57 “athanthritha chamUpathi prahithahastham asvIkrutha-praNItha maNi pAdhukam kimithi chAkulAntha:puram l avAhana parishkriyam pathagarAjamArOhatha: karipravarabrumhithE bhavathas thvarAyai nama: ll” (I offer my salutations to the speed of emperumAn, who, upon hearing the cry of gajEndhAn, disregarded the helping hand offered by sEnai mudhaliyAr [vishvaksEnar], did not accept the divine gemstone-studded sandals, with the divine consorts getting startled, wondering “What is this? What happened?”, without any decoration for the vehicle [garuda], mounted the divine garuda), you had renounced the helping hand offered by sEnai mudhaliyAr, saying “When gajEndhrAzhwAn is beseeching me with his hand [trunk], do I need a helping hand?” You did not wear the divine sandals, saying “When he is crying out due to the severe hurt in his leg, would my legs need sandals?” They ask him whether he has forgotten all these. Just as it has been said in periya thirumozhi 2-3-9 “kAnamar vEzham kaiyeduththu alaRak karA adhan kAlinaik kadhuva, Anaiyin thuyaram thIrap puLLUrndhu senRu ninRU Azhi thottAnai” (emperumAn who let off the divine chakra [disc] when gajEndhrAzhwAn, who roams in the forest, lifted his trunk and cried out in pain since the crocodile caught hold of his leg firmly and bit, in order to remove the distress of elephant, after travelling on garuda and reaching the pond), you had subjugated yourself to so much of distress when a worm in the water [crocodile] bit the elephant. Should you not come with our dresses and help us when two worms are biting us {carp and scabbard fishes]? Hearing this, kaNNan said “We removed that suffering since it was caused by someone else. Here, you have caused yourself distress; what should I do?” and started indulging in further playful acts. Seeing that, they tell him ….
vElaip pidiththu ennaimArgaL Ottil enna viLaiyAtto – despite our suffering for a long time, if you do not give us our dresses, we will fall at the feet of our fathers and elder brothers. They will take to weapons such as spear etc, catch you and tie you down. Understand then, that your [present] play will become a serious incident. You will have to suffer, at their hands, many times more than our suffering at your hands. Hearing this, he says “Is that all? Let it happen that way. But, I will not give your dresses”. He dons one sari on his waist, one he ties on his head, one he wears as an upper cloth, adding colours to his dark divine form. He keeps the remaining dresses on the kurundham tree and tells them “See, how beautiful these dresses are on my form? After seeing this, could you ask me for your dresses?” Looking at that, they tell him ….
kOlach chiRRAdai palavum koNdu nI Eri irAdhE, kOlam kariya pirAnE kurundhidaik kURai paNiyAy – the dresses, which are in stark contrast with your dark form, are indeed beautiful on you. We are not asking for those. It is enough if you give the other dresses which are on the kurundham tree.
Next, we will consider the 6th pAsuram of the this decad.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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