SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:
Full series >> Thirteenth decad
avathArikai (Introduction) – she tells them to bring the divine yellow vasthram (dress) which he is donning on his divine waist and fan her with it so that her wilting will dimmish.
kaNNan ennum karum dheyvam kAtchippazhagik kidappEnai
puNNil puLippu eydhARpOlap puRaninRu azhagu pEsAdhE
peNNin varuththam aRiyAdha perumAn araiyil pIdhaga
vaNNa Adai koNdu ennai vAttam thaNiya vIsIrE
Word-by-Word Meanings
kaNNan ennum – being known as SrI krishNan
karu dheyvam – supreme entity who is dark
kAtchi – in the vision
pazhagik kidappEnai – one who is fully immersed in, regarding me
(Oh mothers! You all)
puRam ninRu – being with a different perspective
puNNil puLippu eydhARpOla – similar to adding tamarind water to [an already formed] wound
azhagu pEsAdhE – avoiding speaking about the benefits
peNNin varuththam aRiyAdha perumAn araiyil – applied to the divine waist of kaNNa pirAn, who does not know the distress of those who were born as women
pIdhaga vaNNa Adai koNdu – bringing his divine yellow coloured dress
vAttam thaNiya – such that (my) withering due to separation is removed
ennai vIsIr – fan me (with that dress)
Simple Translation
I am fully immersed in the vision of kaNNa pirAn, who is a dark, supreme entity. By remaining with a perspective, which is different from mine, do not speak about my benefits. This action of yours will be similar to one adding tamarind water to a wound. Bring the divine yellow dress, which kaNNa pirAn is wearing on his divine waist, and fan me with that so that my distress of being in separation is removed.
vyAkyAnam (Commentary)
kaNNan ennum karum dheyvam – a deity known as kaNNan. Is it not famous in the world that the meaning of “kaNNan” is one who makes himself to be subservient to others? Now, that has changed such that, despite incarnating in the species of humans, he has become a supreme deity who is out of bounds for anyone. We had been thinking all along that kaNNan is one who will be abiding by his consorts. Now, all that love has gone and he makes us to abide by him. We had been thinking that the name kaNNan would refer to one who waits at the doorstep of his consorts, waiting for a suitable time. Now, that situation has changed and he has become one among various deities who are far away from us and who fill up their stomachs. He has become one like celestial entities such as indhra et al, not wishing to touch this earth with their legs, standing above it with disgust and consuming the havis (offerings) given in rituals by humans. Though he has got the eminence that he is under the control of those who are desirous of him, only the quality of his being a supreme entity has become factual.
karundheyvam – Just as his svarUpam (distinct quality) of being dependent on his followers has changed, should not his svabhAvam (general quality) also change? His dark form, which has been remaining as before and which is tormenting me, has not changed. The name krishNan (one who is dark) for him, has become true now. Just as he is dark on the exterior, he is dark, inside too. The eminence that he is under the control of his followers has turned out to be a lie, as much as people say that there is an apparition on the banyan tree. He has put on an act all along that being a simple person for his followers is his basic nature.
kAtchip pazhagik kidappEnai – I had thought that I could sustain myself by recalling my earlier times with him; however, that has increased my distress due to separating from him and made me to be bedridden, thus rendering that too to be of no use for me.
kidappEnai – when I am bedridden, my situation has become such bad that I cannot even turn from one side to the other. It is pertinent to recall the words of agaLanga nAttAzhwAn, one of our preceptors, who had said “When one is lying bedridden, it is not proper to remain on only one side”. Now, even embracing emperumAn does not appear to be a priority. It will be proper if I could turn from left to right side, on the bed. SrI rAmAyaNam ayOdhyA kANdam 41-20 says “yE thu rAmasya suhrudhas sarvE thE mUdachEthasa: l SOkabhArENa chAkrAnthA: Sayanam na jahusthadhA ll” (All the friends of SrI rAma, due to the stress of sorrow, felt that they have come under a huge load, with their intellect blunted, not getting out of the bed). When SrI rAma was about to set out for the forest, wasn’t the condition of his friends like this? vyAkyAthA periyavAchchAn piLLai has explained this SlOkam here – yE thu – SrI rAma’s father emperor dhaSaratha, had allowed him to leave for the forest. kausalyA, his mother, carried out mangaLASAsanam (wishing him) for SrI rAma who was leaving for the forest. When there are eighteen languages spoken in this country, just as a few people speak in the nineteenth language, the activity of his friends was different from that of his parents. rAmasya suhrudha: – friends of SrI rAma. Aren’t friends such confidantes that one could reveal secrets to them, which have been hidden even from the parents? The opinion here is that since they were his friends, they struggled like this. This is the meaning when we consider the term suhrudha with its arbitrary meaning (rUdyartham). When we consider the meaning for suhrudha from etymology (yaugikArtham) as those with good hearts, it would mean that without looking after their well-being, since they were only looking for the well-being of SrI rAma, they struggled like this. sarvE thE – just as nithyas [permanent residents of nithya vibhUthi] and mukthas [those who have attained nithya vibhUthi, after being liberated from samsAram] are matched in their involvement with the supreme entity in nithya vibhUthi, these friends of SrI rAma were matched in their behaviour of not leaving the bed, having become bewildered [at the turn of events]. mUda chEthasa: – they had bewildered hearts. If they are really friends of SrI rAma, should they not have got out of their beds, fallen at his divine feet and prevented him from going to the forest? Had they retained their intellect, they would have perhaps done that. However, since they swooned on hearing that he was going to proceed to the forest, they did not do that. What is the reason for their bewilderment? SOkabhArENa AkrAnthA: – they were overcome with the burden of sorrow; when they are pressed upon by sorrow, like being pressed upon by a mountain, could their intellect remain normal? Sayanam na jahusthadhA – they did not get up from the bed. Had they got up from the bed, Sri rAma could not have gone against their word, and that would have been equivalent to bringing him back. However, none of them could get up from the bed.
[Now the vyAkyAnam returns to the pAsuram]
puNNil puLippu eydhinAR pOla – just like pouring tamarind water into the mouth of a wound. The opinion is that it was creating anguish.
puRam ninRu azhagu pEsAdhE – Here, the term puRam does not refer to outside the door-step. Thus, ANdAL is not telling them, not to talk standing outside her door-step. Here, uniting ANdAL and kaNNan is agam (inside) and redeeming her from kaNNan is puRam (outside). She tells them that they should only speak that which will make her unite with kaNNan and not speak words which will destroy her affection towards him and which will enable them to redeem her from kaNNan.
azhagu pEsAdhE – here, the term azhagu does not refer to his beauty. It is the benefit that they are thinking for her. When they are trying to redeem her from him, will they talk about his divine beauty? The meaning hinted here is that they should not tell her about the benefit that will come to her “if you avoid this engagement with him and look at the benefits which you will accrue”.
pEsAdhE – the opinion here is that whatever you people say will fall into my ears only as words and not as meanings of those words.
Through the latter half of the pAsuram she tells them that it would be better that they spend their efforts in finding out the remedy for her disease rather than in telling her about the benefits.
peNNin varuththam aRiyAdha perumAn – when her mothers and others ask her “The two of you desire each other. Is there anything which we can do towards uniting you?” she says “Even though our desires are common, there is a difference between us in that he is a man and I am a lady. Is he not like one who does not understand the distress of a lady?” Is it not well known that [parASara] bhattar had said “A man who has moustache and beard on his chin does not know the distress of a lady who has bosoms”? kaNNan had learnt everything from his teacher, sage sAndhIpani. He would have certainly learnt that he should show mercy on those who take refuge under him. We should consider this as her terming him as one who does not understand the distress of a lady out of her urge to attain him, since she is unable to bear even the slightest delay in his coming to her.
perumAn – just as hanuman had said of SrI rAma pirAn, when he was separated from sIthAp pirAtti, that he was like a lord, as mentioned in SrI rAmAyaNam sundhara kANdam 15-53 “dhushkaram kruthavAn rAmO hInO yadhanayA prabhu l dhArayathyAthmanO dhEham na SOkEnAvasIdhathi ll” (Since SrI rAma pirAn, living in separation from this pirAtti, is sustaining his physical form, and since he has not withered away in destruction due to his distress, SrI rAma could be considered as having carried out a rare deed), she is saying that when separated from her, kaNNan was like a perumAn.
perumAn araiyil pIdhaga vaNNa Adai koNdu ennai vAttam thaNiya vIsIrE – since he is a perumAn, he could delay time, despite having separated from me. Without him, it is not possible for us to sustain ourselves. Isn’t our existence under his control? Even if he does not come, there is a way by which we could protect ourselves. Only for our experience, he, who is like a lord, is required. For our existence, it is enough to get a material which is connected to him. If you get that material and fan me with that, my withering away would be removed and I would be able to live. When they ask her “What is such a material? Could we bring that?” she responds, saying “The divine yellowish dress on his divine waist”. Isn’t this the time when he goes out to graze cows? When he goes like that, as mentioned in thiruvAimozhi 4-8-4 “kaRaiyinAr thuvarudukkai kadaiyAvin kazhikORkaich chaRaiyinAr” (he is wearing tree bark as his dress, with stains on it; he is having a bamboo container [to collect milk from cow] and is wearing waist string with bells), wouldn’t he leave behind his yellow divine dress, which he wears on his waist, in order to torment the girls in SrI gOkulam, by drawing them towards him? ANdAL tells her mothers and others to bring that yellow dress and fan her with it to remove her withering.
araiyil pIdhaga Adai koNdu – when nanjIyar asked bhattar “Instead of getting the yellow dress which he wears on his chest, why is she asking them to get the yellow dress which he wears on his waist and fan her with that?” bhattar explained saying “Sine she is the best among ladies, she would have desired the scent of her consort’s sweat. Thus, she is asking them to fan her with the dress worn by him on his waist”
ennai vAttam thaNiya vIsIrE – “If I ask you to unite me with him such that both of us could enjoy each other, that will not be possible for you; however, there is a way to get rid of my withering. Try to carry that out. Bring his dress worn on the divine waist, creating a connection for me and make me to sustain my life”
Next, we will consider the 2nd pAsuram of this decad.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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