SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:
avathArikai (Introduction) – cochineal insects [red coloured insects, which inhabit tropical regions, known as pattuppUchchi in thamizh] have covered thirumAlirunjOlai malai such that the hill could not be seen. She is asking whether she would escape from the net cast by azhagar [divine name of the presiding deity at thirumAlirunjOlai].
sindhurach chembodippOL thirumAlirum sOlai engum
indhirakObangaLE ezhundhum parandhittanavAl
mandharam nAtti anRu madhurak kozhum sARu koNda
sundharath thOLudaiyAn suzhalaiyil ninRu uydhungolO?
Word-by-Word Meanings
thirumAlirum sOlai engum – in all the places seen in thirumAlirum sOlai
indhirakObangaL – cochineal insects
sem – reddish
sindhurap podi pOl – like vermillion powder
ezhundhu – rising up
parandhittana – have spread out
Al – alas!
anRu – during that time (when celestial entities had taken refuge, praying for nectar to be given to them, after churning the ocean)
mandhara malai – the mountain manthara
nAtti – anchoring it (as churning staff, in milky ocean)
(churning the ocean)
kozhu madhuram – sweetest
sARu – pirAtti, who is like the essence of nectar
koNda – one who accepted
sundharath thOLudaiyAn – lord who has the most beautiful shoulders
suzhalaiyil ninRu – from his web of intricate net
uydhum kol – will we escape?
Simple Translation
Reddish cochineal insects, like vermillion powder, have risen up and spread out, covering all the places, which one could see on the hills at thirumAlirum sOlai. Alas! During the time when celestial entities took refuge under emperumAn, praying for nectar to be given to them after churning the ocean, emperumAn had anchored the manthara mountain in the middle of milky ocean, as the churning staff, and churned the ocean. He accepted pirAtti, who came out as essence of the sweetest nectar. Will we escape from the web of intricate net cast by the lord who has the most beautiful shoulders?
vyAkyAnam (Commentary)
sindhurach chembodi ……. parandhittanavAl – AndAL says “When we have separated from him, we thought that we could sustain ourselves by seeing his divine abode of thirumAlirum sOlai. However, even that did not fructify since the cochineal insects have covered the entire hilly region of thirumAlirum sOlai. How unfortunate are we!” In thamizh literature, poets have sung “avan nAttil kunRum kodiyavO onRum thOnRA”. The meaning for this is: even if one had not been able to see the beloved, one could sustain oneself by looking at mountains in his abode. Should even mountains be not visible here? Similar to that, ANdAL says ”We thought that we could see the divine hill which reminds of his divine form. Even that has become a rarity”.
sindhurach chembOdippOl – the divine hill appears like an elephant in rut. The appearance of cochineal insects is like applying vermillion paste on its forehead. It is customary to apply vermillion paste on the forehead of elephants which are in tut. This is termed as thuvarUttudhal. Now, that has been done to the mountain too, which looks like an elephant. The term sindhuram refers to the reddish colour of that powder and the word sem refers to its beauty. Did not periyAzhwAr too say in periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 3-4-6 “sindhuramilangath than thiruneRRimEl” (with vermillion shining on his divine forehead)!
thirumAlirum sOlai engum parandhittanavAl – this could be construed as ANdAL ruing that the cochineal insects, which have spread throughout the divine hill and which remind her of the reddish colour of emperumAn’s divine lips, are tormenting her. During monsoon time, when these insects spread throughout the world, is it appropriate to say that the insects have spread throughout thirumAlirunjOlai? Since it is only the divine hill which is visible to her eyes, it is acceptable to say that they have spread throughout the hill. Here, her saying “throughout thirumAlirunjOlai” is equivalent to saying “throughout the world”.
indhirakObangaLE – just as it has been said in SrI rAmAyaNam yudhdha kANdam 41-99 “dhadhruSU rAkshasA dhInA: prAkAram vAnarIkrutham l hAhAkAram prakurvanthi rAkshasA bhayamOhithA: ll” (the demons who felt saddened, saw monkeys all over the fortified walls. The demons who became bewildered due to fear, said “hA hA”), similar to demons seeing monkeys who are devoted followers of emperumAn everywhere, the cochineal insects, which torment us [ANdAL] are spreading everywhere.
ezhundhum parandhittanavAl – SrI rAmAyaNam yudhdha kANdam 26-20 and 26-22 say “yE thu vishtabhya gAthrANi kshvELayanthi nadhanthi cha l uththAya cha vijrumbhanthE krOdhE na haripungavA: ll ya Enamanugachchanthi vIrA: chandhana vAsina: l EshaivASamsathE lankAm svEnAnIkEna mardhithum ll” (These excellent monkeys, residing in sandalwood groves, yelling with a lion’s roar and having stiffened their limbs, are knitting their eyebrows in anger; these valorous monkeys, who are terrific and fierce, having a ferocious zeal, are following naLa, their leader. naLa himself, with his aforesaid army, aspires to smash lankA, forthwith). Just as the army of monkeys rose uproariously in lankA and spread out, the cochineal insects too, appear to be on the earth sometimes, appear to be rising up the sky at other times while some appear to rise up and settle above. Just as periyAzhwAr had mercifully said in periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 4-2-9 “indhirakObangaL emperumAn kanivAyoppAn sindhum puRavil”, these cochineal insects remind me of emperumAn’s divine fruit-like mouth and torment me.
mandharam nAtti anRu madhurak kozhum sARu koNda – anchoring the manthara mountain in the central part of milky ocean, churning the ocean such that the ocean brought out everything which it had. The meaning hinted is that he [emperumAn] is capable of churning even great entities such as milky ocean which cannot be churned by anyone and accepting everything which it offers. While accepting, he will take the essence for himself, and give virtually nothing to them [celestial entities]. What is the reason for mentioning this here? ANdAL is hinting that he is destroying her femineity when she was thinking “Could he aggressively seize me and destroy me?”, taking away her bangles and everything else.
madharak kozhum sARu koNda – churning the ocean like this, he obtained the nectar for celestial entities, which was nothing but salty essence, and periya pirAtti, who was full of sweetness and beauty and who was the essence of sweetest nectar and beauty, for himself. When compared to the benefit which emperumAn obtained, the nectar which the celestial entities got was nothing but the brackish water in the ocean. thirumangai AzhwAr too, very clearly and mercifully mentioned this in his periya thirumozhi 6-1-2 “viNNavar amudhuNa amudhil varum peNNamudhuNda emperumAnE” (Oh, emperumAn, who mercifully accepted periya pirAtti who appeared in the ocean when the celestial entities wanted nectar from that ocean!)
sundharath thOLudaiyAn – even if he torments, the beauty of his divine shoulders is such that he could not be given up
suzhalaiyil ninRu uydhungolO – in the net of this mEghasrushti (appearance of the cochineal insects on the mountains, appearing as if they had been created by the clouds) from which we could not escape. Just as it has been said in the pramANam (authentic proof) “mEghOdhayas sAgarasannivruththir vidhyudh vibhanga: spurithAni vAyO: l indhOr vibhAgO gathamushNaraSmEr vishNOr vichithrA: prabhavanthi mAyA: ll” (all the activities such as appearance of cloud, waves from ocean coming ashore and returning, appearance of lightning, wafting of breeze, the divisions of moon’s rays as they grow and disappear, journey of sun etc are all strange and amazing illusions of emperumAn vishNu), the appearance of clouds is due to emperumAn’s sankalpam (oath or divine thought). Is it possible for us to sustain ourselves in the net cast by one with the most beautiful shoulders? Isn’t our destruction a certainty?
Next, we will consider the 2nd pAsuram of this decad.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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