SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:
Full series >> Thirteenth decad
avathArikai (Introduction) – she tells them in this pAsuram “Even if the divine nectar from his mouth, which is exclusively mine, is not made available for me, bring the water which flows through the holes in his flute, which would otherwise fall on the ground, and apply it on my face”.
azhilum thozhilum urukkAttAn anjEl ennAn avan oruvan
thazhuvi muzhusip pugundhu ennaich cuRRich chuzhanRu pOgAnAl
thazhaiyin pozhil vAy niraippinnE nedumAl Udhi varuginRa
kuzhalin thuLai vAy nIr koNdu kuLira mugaththuth thadavIrE
Word-by-Word Meanings
azhilum – even if I cry
thozhilum – or if I worship him
urukkAttAn – one who does not manifest his divine form
anjEl ennAn avan – (even if he does not manifest his form) one who does not even say “Do not fear”
oruvan – a great entity (kaNNapirAn)
pugundhu – coming here
ennaith thazhuvi muzhusi – embracing me tightly
suRRich chuzhanRu – coming in front and going behind me
pOgAn – he is not leaving
Al! – alas!
thazhaiyin pozhil vAy – under the orchard of peacock feathers
nirai pinnE – behind the herds of cows
nedumAl – kaNNapirAn, who has deep love
Udhi varuginRa – dripping from blowing
kuzhalin thuLai vAy – formed from the holes in [his] flute
nIr koNdu – bringing the water
mugaththu – on my face
kuLira thadavIr – apply it, in a comfortable manner
Simple Highlights
Whether I cry out or worship him, he is not manifesting his divine form. Even if he does not manifest his divine form, he could have, at the least, told me “Do not fear”; he is not saying even that. Such kaNNan is not entering my place, not embracing me tightly, and not going all around me. Alas! When he is playing flute while coming behind the cows, with deep love, under an orchard of peacock feathers, collect the water which is dripping from the holes in that flute and apply it on my face such that it comforts me.
vyAkyAnam (Commentary)
azhilum thozhilum urukkAttAn – whether I cry out shedding tears, or I worship him, he is not manifesting his divine form. In svApadhESam (distinguished meaning) the term azhilum, being one of the indicators for bhaktha lakshaNam (indicators of devotion), refers to bhakthi (devotion) and thozhilum, being an act of namaskAram (performing anjali or cupping the palms together as a mark of salutation) refers to prapaththi (act of surrendering to emperumAn). Whether one follows the mode of devotion which is self-propelled, though it is against one’s svarUpam (basic nature) or the mode of prapaththi which will never fail, like a brahmAsthram (an ultimate weapon), he is not manifesting his divine form. azhilum– even if one were to cry and be obstinate, he does not show himself up. thozhilum – beyond that, while he should worship me, even when I carry out the daring act of worshipping him, he is not showing his form.
thozhilum urukkAttAn – is this the way by which he follows what has been said in SAsthram (religious treatise) such as jithanthE sthOthram 1-5 “na thE rUpam na cha AkArO na AyudhAni na chAspatham l thathA’pi purushAkArO bhakthAnAm thvam prakASasE ll” ((your) divine basic nature is not for you; the divine auspicious form is also not for you; the divine weapons also are not for you; the abode of SrI vaikuNtam is also not for you. All these are for the sake of your followers only. You belong to your followers. Though you have svarUpam, rUpam, guNam and vibhUthi (basic nature, divine form, auspicious qualities and wealth) which are for your followers, you shine as the supreme entity)? While mahAbhAratham udhyOga parvam 42-35 says “yO’nyathA santhamAthmAnam anyathA prathipadhyathE l kim thEna na krutham pApam chOrENAthmApahAriNA ll” (What sin has not been committed by one who covets AthmA thinking that it belongs to him, while it is the possession of bhagavAn?), clarifying what happens when a jIvan (entity with knowledge) steals the AthmA, he [emperumAn] is stealing the AthmA (his divine form) which belongs to his followers! While SAsthram has denoted both bhakthi and prapaththi as separate means [to attain emperumAn], did not AzhwArs remove the distinction between these two by saying that their devotion itself is the act of surrendering and their act of surrendering itself is devotion? While SAsthrams have said that both the svarUpam (basic nature) and thirumEni (his divine form) are to be considered as acceptable, did not AzhwArs clarify firmly that emperumAn’s thirumEni and the qualities present in it are more acceptable than his svarUpam and the qualities present in it? This is the reason why ANdAL, who is considered as the heir to the clan of AzhwArs and who had exceeded the deeds of all the other AzhwArs, had said that both azhilum and thozhilum which represent devotion and act of surrendering are same to her, without any distinction between them and that emperumAn’s divine physical form alone is acceptable to her [when she said that he is not manifesting his divine form through the term urukkAttAn]. Devotion, as mentioned in SAsthrams, is to be carried out as a means for attaining emperumAn while devotion for these AzhwArs is not like that. This comes to them as a result of anguish of not experiencing him. While SAsthrams have mentioned that qualities of svarUpam are apt to be accepted, for AzhwArs who have overflowing affection towards emperumAn, there is nothing beyond the divine form. Haven’t they said this in their pAsurams such that the entire world would know about them? Isn’t it for this reason that AzhwArs attained the pathos of a nAyaki (consort of emperumAn) and enjoyed him as his beloveds? If this is the condition for AzhwArs who were born as men and had to take on the pathos of a lady should we even talk about ANdAL who was born naturally as a lady and had said “mAnidavarkkenRu pEchchuppadil vAzhagillEn” (I will not live if anyone talks about marrying me off to a human entity)!
anjEl ennAn avan oruvan – Oh friends! Let it be that he does not know the sufferings of those who have got separated from him. He should have, at the least, known about the nature of his divine form. If he had known about the quality of his divine form which is that “Those who have separated from us will not be able to sustain themselves”, shouldn’t he have come immediately and embraced me?
avan oruvan – in the third pAsuram, in the verse “anjEl ennAn avan orvan” it was mentioned about the poor disposition of kaNNapirAn’s qualities vis-à-vis SrI rAma’s, who is sweet to the heart. Here, through this verse, it shows that despite being born as kaNNan “He had not known about his divine physical form”. Hadn’t ANdAL said in the first pAsuram of this decad “kaNNan ennum karum dheyvam”, mentioning that he had come to manifest the beauty of his eyes only for namesake, and that he remained with the eminence of his being a deity.
thazhuvi – embracing all my limbs such that the pangs of separation, which I had, would get negated. Sri vishNu purANam 5-18-2 says “sO’pyEnam dhvajavajrAbja krutha chihnEna pANinA l samspruSyAkrushya cha prIthyA sugAdam parishasvajE ll” (that krishNa bhagavAn too, with his divine hands identified with flag, vajra (diamond) and lotus leaves, pulled akrUra [a minister in kamsan’s court] and embraced him well, affectionately). ANdAL desires that just as he embraced akrUra well such that he was not even seen, emperumAn should embrace her too.
muzhusi – she desires that after he embraces her, he should smell the top of her head with his nose such that his nose gets caught in her locks, being unable to retrieve himself.
pugundhu ennaich chuRRich chuzhanRu – after smelling her locks on top of her head, unable to involve himself with anything else, he should remain in her proximity, going around her.
pOgAnAl – after enjoying like this in union, unless there is a gap, it will be difficult to sustain. These are the steps which take place in their own order, during union. She had desired that all these should happen in her case, but is in distress since he did not do these. Alternatively, it could be construed that due to the maturity in her thoughts, she imagines that she is able to envision him in her mind, making her anguished that she is not able to enjoy him in person, tormenting her, and at the same time, not leaving her too.
thazhaiyin pozhil vAy niraippinnE – even when he comes in person, he comes as mentioned in periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 3-4-1 “thazhaigaLum thongalum thadhumbi” (surrounded on all four sides with umbrellas made of peacock feathers). thazhai – peacock feather. thazhaiyil pozhil refers to an orchard of such feathers decked on the head, while he is coming. The term niraippinnE refers to his coming behind the cattle. While returning from grazing, instead of coming in front of the cattle, he would come right at the end, to demonstrate that he grazes all these cattle. This is the way he decks himself up, while returning in the evening, in order to get rid of the ennui of having had to graze these cattle during the noon time.
nedumAl – when he returns, just like a huge pond has got muddled up, he would come, manifesting his affection for the girls. While he comes right at the end to see the girls who are suffering in separation from him through the daytime, he would tell them “I too have my parents. I had to go after the cows to graze them, in line with the task given by my parents. Now, I will not separate from you; should I separate, I cannot sustain my life”
Udhi varuginRa – the way he plays on the flute, displaying his affection for them, would be such that the girls would on their own seek him out and embrace him.
kuzhalin thuLaivAy nIr koNdu – if you give all the divine nectar-like water which flows out of the holes in the flute, then too I will not be able to sustain my life. She tells them to give a little bit.
kuLir mugaththuth thadavIrE – she tells them to get that divine nectar from the flute and smear it on her face such that her fatigue gets removed.
Next, we will consider the 6th pAsuram of this decad.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
archived in http://divyaprabandham.koyil.org
pramEyam (goal) – http://koyil.org
pramANam (scriptures) – http://granthams.koyil.org
pramAthA (preceptors) – http://acharyas.koyil.org
SrIvaishNava education/kids portal – http://pillai.koyil.org