SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: Sri varavaramunayE nama:
periyAzhwAr thirumozhi >> Second Centum >> First decad
avathArikai (Introduction)
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says, in his svApadhESam, that the one, who did not say words based on the qualification of the listener, is showing appUchchi.
malaipurai thOL mannavarum mAradharum maRRum
palar kulaiya nURRuvarum pattazhiya pArththan
silai vaLaiyath thiN thEr mEl mun ninRa sengaN
alaivalai vandhu appUchchi kAttuginRAn ammanE! appUchchi kAttuginRAn
Word-by-Word Meanings
malai purai – firm, like a mountain
thOL – having shoulders
mannavarum – kings
mA radharum – mahA rathas (great warriors) such as bhIshma et al
maRRum palar – and other eminent and great warriors
kulaiya – to tremble
nURRuvarum – the hundred people, including dhuryOdhana
pattu azhiya – to be destroyed like an uprooted tree
pArththan – arjuna, his
silai – bow, known as gANdIvam
vaLaiya – to be drawn
thiN thEr mEl – on top of his firm chariot
mun ninRa – one who stood as the charioteer
sem kaN – one, who has reddish eyes
alai valai – kaNNan, who was praising arjuna’s victory, is showing appUchchi
ammanE! – oh, my! He is showing appUchchi
Simple Translation
krishNa stood on the chariot of arjuna, as his charioteer. krishNa made arjuna to draw his bow, gANdIvam such that kings, who had shoulders like firm mountains, great warriors such as bhIshma et al as well as other eminent warriors trembled, the hundred brothers starting with dhuryOdhana got destroyed like uprooted trees. That krishNa, who has reddish eyes, is showing appUchchi. Oh, how frightening! He is showing appUchchi.
vyAkhyAnam (Commentary)
malai …– kings, who had shoulders which were like mountains not movable by anyone. Through this, it is indicated that they were fearless, due to their immense strength.
mAradharum – great warriors such as bhIshma, dhrONa et al. bhIshma, dhrONa, karNa et al were such eminent warriors that they would not fear any enemy.
maRRum palar – since they could not be counted individually, AzhwAr is clubbing them together, along with these eminent warriors. Since the kauravas army had eleven akshauhiNI [one akshauhiNI comprises 21,870 elephants, 21870 chariots, 65610 horses and 1,09,350 foot soldiers], there would have been countless eminent warriors. Hence, they could be combined together under this term.
kulaiya – they were trembling in fear, thinking “Is there any meaning to the words that we are alive?” upon hearing “krishNa has got on to the chariot as charioteer”. While earlier they were identified as great warriors, eminent warriors et al, once they started trembling, it is implied that there is no distinguishing feature to any of them.
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that the reason for their trembling is the sound of the conch which krishNa had blown at the start and the valorous ankles which he had worn on his divine feet.
nURRuvarum pattazhiya – earlier the term mannavarum was used, to denote kings. Since these hundred brothers have been separately mentioned now, it is clear that through the gobaleevardha nyAyam [citing a separate entity within a major group; example, speaking about a bull after cattle had been mentioned; this would mean that the bull is different from the earlier mentioned cattle], these hundred people are not part of the earlier mentioned kings. They had planned ruling over the entire country after defeating pANdavas in the mahAbhAratha war. Now, they are getting destroyed. Just as it has been mentioned in bhagavath gIthA 11-33 “mayaivEthE nihathA: pUrvamEva” (they have been already killed by me), they had been killed like uprooted trees when krishNa took a pledge to kill them.
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that these hundred people [dhuryOdhana et al] had already been included in the verse palar kulaiya. The reason for mentioning them separately is due to their excessive, fiery ego. These hundred people got destroyed just like huge trees, losing out their green nature, get burnt to dryness due to fire and fall down.
pArththan silai vaLaiya – as the bow gANdIva, in arjuna’s hand, was drawn. In other words, it was because of the strength of krishNa’s support that arjuna became capable of waging the war, not considering the presence of great warriors such as bhIshma et al on the opposite side.
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that the effort which krishNa had taken to fell the hundred kauravas was nothing compared the effort that he had to take to make arjuna to draw his bow again. arjuna had got onto the chariot with lot of efforts [in the past], being ready for the battle. However, he thought that protecting relatives, even if they are opponents, is proper and what had been ordained for him [as a kshathriya, belonging to the clan of warriors, it was his duty to engage in a fight for a just cause], as unjust, due to fear of friendliness, compassion, killing etc. He said, as in bhagavath gIthA 1-32 “kinnOrAjyEna gOvindha kim bhOgair jIvithEnavA” {Oh, one who tends to cows! What is the purpose of ruling a kingdom and of enjoying pleasures?] She [dhraupadhi) had let loose her hair, taking a pledge [that she will plait her hair only with the blood of dhuSSAsana], with pride, based on the fruition of her surrendering to krishNa. krishNa thought “I have to bring in clarity to his mind, make him draw his bow and make her to plait her hair”.
thiN thEr mEl mun ninRa – the chariot, because of its connection with krishNa’s divine feet, did not burn down due to the impact of weapons such as AgnEyAsthram (weapon of fire) shot at by great warriors such as bhIshma et al, and stood firm. Just as it has been mentioned in mahAbhAratham dhrONa parvam 33-18 “urasA dhArayAmAsa pArtham sanjAthya mAdhava:” (mAdhava, the consort of SrI mahAlakshmi, bore (the weapons) on his chest, shielding arjuna), when critical weapons, which could not have been taken by arjuna, came their way, krishNa bore them all, on himself and stood at the front, as the charioteer.
sengaN alaivalai – due to the skilful way in which he conducted the chariot, krishNa was able to defeat the opponents; he gave the credit for that victory to arjuna, showering his grace on him due to his motherly forbearance. He praised arjuna for the way in which arjuna was able to win the war [though it was he who was the cause for that victory]. Unlike the chAndhOgya upanishath SlOkam 3-14-2 “avAkyanAdhara:” (one who does not speak and does not support), krishNa, keeping that aside, kept talking in praise of arjuna, just as it has been mentioned in nAnmugan thiruvandhAdhi 24 “pugazhndhAy sinap pOrch chuvEdhananaich chEnApadhiyAy manappOr mudikkum vagai” (in order to bring to an end the war that you [reference is to krishNa here], as the commander, had planned in your divine mind, you had praised arjuna, who had his chariot drawn by white coloured horses). In other words, through the verse pArththan silai vaLaiyath thiN thEr mEl min ninRa sengaN alaivalai, the following is being pointed out to: arjuna with a confused mind, as mentioned in ALavandhAr’s gIthArtha sangraham “asthAnasnEha kAruNya dharmA adharma dhiya Akulam” (arjuna had misplaced friendliness, mercy, just and unjust activities, due to confused intelligence), had told krishNa, as mentioned in bhagavath gIthA 1-32 “na kAnkshE vijayam krishNa” (Oh, krishNa! I do not desire victory), rejecting victory and kingdom [since his opponents were related to him] and sat on the chariot, dropping his bow, as mentioned in bhagavath gIthA 1-47 “rathOpastha upAviSath… visrujya sacharam chApam SOka samvigna mAnasa:” (with grieving mind, (arjuna) dropped his bow and arrows and sat on the chariot). Such arjuna, who did not wish to engage in war, finally said, as in bhagavath gIthA 18-73 “karishyE vachanam thava” (I shall do as per your words) with a clarity of mind which was brought about by krishNa, who, starting with distinction between prakruthi (primordial matter) and AthmA (soul), ending with the most esoteric meaning of paramabhakthi (inability to survive if emperumAn were not attained) and prapaththi (surrendering to emperumAn), instructed arjuna about various meanings, making him to take up the bow again. All these instructions are covered under the term alaivalai. This term refers to a person who speaks the words which come to his mind, not considering the deep meanings of the words spoken and the qualification of the person to whom they have been said. Since it aptly fits the situation here, krishNa could be termed as alaivalai. The reason for his giving all these instructions was to make the lady who surrendered to him [dhraupadhi] to plait her locks.
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that the reason for AzhwAr to refer to krishNa as alaivalai is: arjuna is unable to come out of the illusion that his dharmam [duty of engaging in war with opponents] is adharmam [unjust, since he had to kill his relatives]. For him, engaging in battle has become adharmam [unjust]. krishNa decided to make arjuna accept what he classified as adharmam by making him to qualify for carrying out karma yOgam [path of carrying out deeds]. Even then, arjuna was not willing to do his karma yOgam, which is engaging in battle. krishNa then decided that there was no option other than telling arjuna the most esoteric concept [act of surrendering] and hence told him to give up all the dharmams without any exception and surrender to him [once he surrenders, he has to carry out what the entity to whom he has surrendered, tells him to do]. It is due to all these conversations which krishNa had with arjuna that AzhwAr calls him as alaivalai. When arjuna refused to act on a particular feature [engaging in battle], did he accept that it is dharmam? Yes, he did accept it. How did he accept it? He said that it is dharmam; since it is part of his karma yOgam, he accepted that it is his dharmam. However, since it has the fault that it is impossible for him to do it, and since he accepted that he is emperumAn’s parathanthran (being totally dependent on emperumAn, implying that he cannot act on his own on anything], he could not act in anything which is against his nature of pArathanthryam. He was in grief, saying “I cannot carry out this; I do not see any other means too”. To overcome his grief, when krishNa asked him to give up all his dharmams and when it was beyond his power to do it, it was his dharmam, due to his bewilderment. Did he become bewildered after seeing the fault of inability etc to carry out the dharmam? He was bewildered that he had to engage in yudhdham if he had to follow his karma yOgam. Since that was impossible for him to do, he was bewildered. He had set out to engage in battle at the beginning, since it was within his power and it was also ordained for him as per his varNa dharmam (as a kshathriya). At an earlier point of time, when the celestial entity Urvasi expressed her desire to embrace him, he had refused. Thus, he had control over his senses and was carrying out his karma yOgam properly. He had also heard from krishNa, as in bhagavath gIthA 3-35 “SrEyAn svadharmO viguNa:” (It is the best to follow one’s dharmam). He had to give up his dharmam due to his bewilderment of harming his relatives in the war. He did not have any other means too such as residing in a dhivyadhESam (noble dwelling place of residence for emperumAn), he had not recited the divine names of emperumAn, he had not lit lamps or adorned emperumAn with garland etc. When this is his case, how does the command of krishNa “Let go of all dharmams” apply to him [since he doesn’t have any dharmam]? krishNa became alaivalai in order to remove arjuna’s alaivalaimai [he was constantly speaking about what to do since he was not keen on engaging in the battle). He revealed esoteric meanings for the sake of arjuna, who is not apt for it [thiruvAimozhip piLLai refers to him as erukkilai, leaf of a wild plant which has no significant use]. If he had revealed like this, how does it relate to her [dhraupadhi’s] pledge [of plaiting her hair only after the death of dhuSSAsana]? If arjuna had done earlier what he ultimately said, the bow would have been drawn much earlier and she could have platted her hair. Even otherwise, if he had done that before he got bewildered, there would not have been a necessity to tell him, as in bhagavath gIthA 18.66 “sarva dharmAn parithyajya…” (renounce all your dharmams). Through all these, since her pledge had to be fulfilled, even though he said “sarva dharmAn parithyajya” as a universal rule of sacred texts, just as it was a pretext for fulfilling her pledge, there was one feature in arjuna too for which it became a pretext. What is that feature? Just as it has been said in bhagavath gIthA 2-7 “kArpaNya dhOshOpahatha svabhAvam: …” (I am besieged with anxiety), “dharmasammUdachEthA:” (I am confused about my duty), not knowing what is dharmam and what is adharmam, feeling repentant. He asked krishNa to give him good counsel, treating him as his disciple, as one who is controlled by him and as one who has surrendered to him. When arjuna asked krishNa to ascertain that which is proper for him and to tell him that, the pretext had been revealed. arjuna had given up his dharmam of engaging in battle, which was doable for him, due to misplaced thought of compassion, friendliness etc. krishNa had analysed arjuna’s heart in between, to ascertain if he really had misplaced sense of friendliness, compassion etc. This was the reason for instructing arjuna with the entire bhagavath gIthA. While ISvaran [krishNa] was not alaivalai, it was AzhwAr’s considered opinion due to which he referred to him that way. What is his opinion? Just as he had said in thiruppaLLANdu, he had invited those who were interested in wealth and in kaivalyam (AthmA enjoying itself, instead of being subservient to emperumAn] to carry out mangaLASAsanam in leelA vibhUthi, and in nithya vibhUthi, he had said that everyone will praise emperumAn, by surrounding him and saying “pallANdu” (may you live forever with all auspiciousness!). For such a person, the focus is only mangaLASAsanam. Anything else will appear as alaivalai only. His divine daughter, ANdAL, who had said in nAchchiyAr thirumozhi 11-10 “meymmaip peruvArththai vittuchiththar kEttiruppar” (periyAzhwAr would have listened to charama SlOkam of emperumAn (sarvadharmAn parithyajya ….) and would have conducted himself accordingly) had said that periyAzhwAr would have changed his stance if he had come to hear about the mischiefs which krishNa was indulging in, with her. sIthAp pirAtti too, in SrI rAmAyaNam ayOdhyA kANdam 30-3 “sthriyam purusha vigraham” (If my father, king janaka, had come to know that you [SrI rAma] are leaving me [sIthAp pirAtti] behind in ayOdhyA, he would have thought that he had given his daughter in marriage to a person in the garb of a lady). She told SrI rAma “I couldn’t have heard it. That is my anxiety. If I stay back, hearing your words, that sin will not befall me. I know that you will not leave me and go. When such is the case, why do you wish to indulge in such long talk [alaivalaimai]?” In the same way, kuRumbaRuththa nambi [a potter in thiruvEngadam] also asked the king thoNdaimAn whether “thiruvEngadam udaiyAn [divine name of emperumAn in thiruvEngadam] indulged in alaivalaimai and revealed the truth about me”. It was only after arjuna had heard words such as “thyajya”, “vraja”, “mA Sucha:“ that arjuna said, as in bhagavath gIthA 18-73 “sthithOsmi gathasandhEha: karishyE vachanam thava” (I am now without any doubt; I will do as per your command) and drew his bow, and subsequently, the hundred persons were killed. arjuna had lost his firmness, had let go of his bow and arrows and was overtaken by grief. He sat on the chariot. However, even then, the chariot was firm only. This was made possible, since krishNa was standing on the chariot, in the forefront. Just as it has been mentioned in mahAbhAratham “urasA prathijagrAha” (he took the arrows shot by the opponents on his divine chest), while arjuna was on a higher level in the chariot, krishNa sat at a lower level and took all the intimidating arrows on himself. That alaivalai is showing appUchi. sengaN – krishNa’s eyes became reddish, since he was constantly looking to see if arjuna would run away from the battlefield, after jumping off the chariot. His eyes were red since he was furious with the opponents. Also, the eyes were red, due to the natural quality of being ISvaran (one who is opulent and controls everything).
vandhu … – the one, who has the qualities of destroying the enemies of his followers and who carries out the tasks of those who attained him, by standing at the forefront of the chariot as its charioteer, making the enemies to tremble, uprooting them, by making some to draw their bows etc is showing appUchchi.
ammanE! – ammanE is the world expressed with fear, upon seeing krishNa with the divine AzhwArs on his divine hands.
We shall next consider the 3rd pAsuram of this thirumozhi.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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