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periyAzhwAr thirumozhi >> Third Centum >> First decad
avathArikai (Introduction)
There is no specific avathArikai for this pAsuram.
thannEr Ayiram piLLaigaLOdu thaLar nadai ittu varuvAn
ponnEy neyyodu pAl amudhu uNdu oru puLLuvan poyyE thavazhum
minnEr nuNNidai vanja magaL kongai thunja vAy vaiththa pirAnE
annE unnai aRindhu koNdEn unakku anjuvan ammam tharavE
Word-by-Word Meanings
than – for him
nEr – matching
Ayiram piLLaigaLOdu – with a thousand boys
thaLar nadai ittu – taking tottering walk
varuvAn – one who comes
pon Ey – having the complexion of gold
neyyodu – along with ghee
pAl amudhu – enjoyable milk too
uNdu – consuming
oru – unique
puLLuvan – as a mischievous child
poyyE – falsely
thavazhum – as one who is crawling
min nEr– matching lightning
nuN – subtle
idai– having waist
vanja magaL – the deceptive pUthanA
thunja – to die
kongai – on her bosom
vAy vaiththa – one who kept the divine mouth and consumed
pirAnE – oh, the benefactor
annE – ammE! (a word which is mentioned in fear)
unnai – you, who I had considered as my son all along
aRindhu koNdEn – I know today that you are the difficult-to-attain lord
unakku – for you
ammam thara – to give milk
anjuvan – I am afraid
Simple Translation
You had come with a tottering gait, along with a thousand herd-boys, who matched you. You had consumed ghee, which has the complexion of gold, along with enjoyable milk, crawling in a falsified manner, with unique mischievous nature. pUthanA, the fiend, had come in a deceptive way with a waist as thin as lightning. You killed her, keeping your divine mouth on her bosom. Oh, my lord! ammE! I considered you as my son, but I know today that you are the difficult-to-attain lord. I am afraid to give you [my bosom] milk.
vyAkhyAnam (Commentary)
thannEr … – It is well known that “When krishNa incarnated in thiruvAyppAdi, a thousand children, matching him, were born at the same time”. [arumpadha viLakkam [explanatory notes for the vyAkyAnam] says the following: Just as it has been mentioned in paramasamhithA “yEna yEna dhAthA gachchathi thEna thEna sahagachchathi” (wherever emperumAn goes, the nithyasUris too go, carrying out kainkaryam), it is possible that nithyasUris too incarnated in thiruvAyppAdi at the same time]. It was with those thousand children, who were matching him in their birth, upbringing, age, knowledge and mutual friendship that krishNa would take tottering steps. As mentioned in SrI rAmAyaNam bAla kANdam 18.27 “bAlyAth prabruthi susnigdha:” [lakshmaNa was very friendly with SrI rAma right from his childhood], just as lakshmaNa couldn’t sustain himself without SrI rAma, these thousand children, right from the time of their birth, could not sustain themselves without krishNa. Since they were friendly all the time and roaming around together all the time, it could be said that krishNa took tottering steps with these thousand children. This verse should be considered as yaSOdhAp pirAtti calling out to krishNa “Oh, one who comes with tottering steps with a thousand children!”
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says, in his svApadhESam, additionally that even though the place, day and time of birth may be the same for these thousand children, as those of krishNa, it is only when they too walk with tottering steps that they could be termed as thannEr Ayiram [a thousand children who matched him].
ponnEy ney pAlodu amudhu uNdu – ghee was golden coloured since it was prepared with freshy made butter. Along with that, consuming tasty milk too…
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that along with ghee, which was having golden colour, krishNa consumed normal milk.
oru puLLuvan poyyE thavazhum – puLLuvam refers to a lie which appears as if it were the truth. When a person had taken food, if he says that he has not had food, it would appear like truth. The term oru puLLuvan refers to krishNa who is unique in indulging in stealing [milk, curd, butter etc].
poyyE thavazhum – When a child has already started taking tottering steps, if the child crawls, it would appear like a mischievous act. Hence, the pAsuram says poyyE thavazhum [even when he has started walking, krishNa is crawling now, due to his mischievous act]. Here too, yaSOdhAp pirAtti is calling out to krishNa “Oh, one who is crawling mischievously!”
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that krishNa could be, just as it has been mentioned in thiruvAimozhi 10.4.5 “mey pOlum poy vallan”, truthful to his followers while at the same time, he could be untruthful to the others.
minnEr … – Since pUthanA came in the guise of yaSOdhAp pirAtti [in order to nurse krishNa], she came with a slender waist, which appeared like lightning. Oh, one who became our benefactor by keeping your divine mouth on her bosom and consuming her life! Here, the term ‘benefit’ refers to krishNa’s act of protecting himself, who is the life for all the worlds, by killing pUthanA who had come to kill him.
annE – This is a variant of ammE, a word which is used in order to express fear.
unnai aRindhu koNdEn – Earlier I considered you as my child and thought that the milk etc, which I gave you, was nurturing you. Since your activities are beyond the capabilities of human species, just as it has been said in periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 1.1.7 “Ayar puththiran allan arum dheyvam” (He is not the son of SrI nandhagOpar; he is the most-difficult-to-attain sarvESvaran), I now know very well that you are not a herd-boy and that the food stuffs which I had given you are not those which sustain you.
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that AzhwAr was afraid as to whether krishNa was anaSnan [one who does not eat], just as it has been mentioned in muNdaka upanishath. Even though krishNa himself had said in bhagavadh gIthA 9.24 “aSnAmi” (I eat), he is not able to accept that. Aren’t nectar and milk ordained for celestial entities and humans, respectively? Will one, who takes nectar, not take milk? Since krishNa’s eminence was fully manifested, his supremacy was also manifested. It is pertinent to recall thirunedundhANdakam pAsuram 21 “avarai nAm thEvar enRU anjinOmE” (We were afraid that he is the supreme entity}. In the earlier pAsuram [2.10], his supremacy was indicated through the verse “Azhi paNi koNdAnAl” [emperumAn killed the crocodile through his divine disc].
unakku anjuvan amman tharavE– I will be scared to give you, who are like this, my milk. Though the word ammam is not normally used with grown up children, she repeats the word which he has used, just as using the word thavazhugai poy [his act of crawling is a false act].
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says at the end that the pAsuram should be rearranged as thannEr Ayiram piLLigaLOdu thaLar nadai ittu varuvAn, ponnEy neyyodu – poyyE thavazhum oru puLLuvan vAy vaiththa pirAnE annE unnai aRIndhu koNdEn, unakku anjuvan ammam thara to get the sequential meaning. He further says that the verses which are in third person are to be considered to have been spoken in the second person [such as yaSOdhAp pirAtti telling krishNa in the third person that he was crawling mischievously, along with a thousand friends of his etc].
We shall next consider the 2nd pAsuram of this thirumozhi.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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