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periyAzhwAr thirumozhi >> Third Centum >> First decad
avathArikai (Introduction)
There is no specific avathArikai for this pAsuram.
karumbAr neeL vayal kAy kadhirch chennelaik kaRRAnirai maNdith thinna
virumbAk kanRu onRu koNdu viLangani vIzha eRindha pirAnE
surumbAr men kuzhal kanni oruththikkuch chUzhvalai vaiththuth thiriyum
arambA unnai aRindhu koNdEn unakku anjuvan ammam tharavE
Word-by-Word Meanings
neeL vayal – in the expansive fields
karumbu Ar – rising like sugarcane [plants]
kAy – tender grains
kadhir – having ears [crops]
sennel – grains of paddy
kanRu A nirai – herds of cows, with calves
maNdi – falling over [kneeling down]
thinna – even as they were grazing
virumbA – not interested in eating
onRu – one
kanRu koNdu – with a calf
viLangani– fruits of wood apple
vIzha – to scatter and fall down
eRindha – one who threw [that calf]
pirAnE – oh, the benefactor!
surumbu Ar – settled upon by beetles [due to desire on honey present in flowers]
mel kuzhal – having soft locks
kanni oruththikku – for a young girl
sUzh – snaring, without failing
valai – divine eyes, which are the net
vaiththu – keeping
thiriyum – one who is roaming around
arambA – oh, the mischievous one!
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
Herds of cows, with their calves, were bending and eating the ears of reddish paddy crops, which look like sugar cane plants [they were that tall] and had grown on an expansive field. One calf was not interested in grazing the field. Holding that calf in your [reference here is to krishNa] hands, you had thrown it on the fruits of wood apple such that the fruits fell down in a scatter. Oh, the benefactor! Oh, the mischievous one, who is roaming around, with the intention of ensnaring a young girl through your divine eyes, which are like a net! I know today that you are the difficult-to-attain lord. I am afraid to give you [my bosom] milk.
vyAkhyAnam (Commentary)
karumbu … – reddish paddy crops which had grown as tall as sugar cane plants in an expansive field, with tender grains.
thiruvAimozhip piLLai, in his svApadhESam, says that this term could refer to either that the paddy crops had grown tall like sugar cane or that there was no distinction between the two. They both looked alike
kaRRAnirai – cows, together with calves.
maNdiththinna – even as they desirously started eating, falling over one another
virubAk kanRu onRu koNdu – taking hold of a calf, which was not desirous of eating, though it was acting as if it were also eating.
viLangani vIzha eRindha pirAnE – oh, benefactor, who threw [the calf] at attractive fruits of wood apple such that they fell down in a scattered way! One monster had stood like a calf while another monster appeared like a wood apple fruit. Knowing this, krishNa threw one on the other, killing them both. It is this benefit [of protecting himself from inimical entities] which is narrated here.
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that through this, it is clear that those who hide themselves could be seen in all situations. He says that in SrI rAmAyaNam, when mArIcha [a demon, rAvaNa’s uncle] came in the form of a deer, the other deer, after going near him, smelt his real nature, and became bewildered. It was because the seven bulls appeared to have been pervaded by monsters that krishNa too annihilated them [at the time of marrying nappinnaip pirAtti]. This calf was not grazing the fields, unlike the other calves. There was no necessity for the sarvagyan [omniscient entity, viz. emperumAn] to annihilate it. thiruvAimozhip piLLai now refers to iraNdAm thiruvandhAdhi pAsuram 19 [vazhakkanRu kaNdAy…], where this incident has been mentioned “kuzhakkanRu theeviLavin kAykkeRindha thImai” (Was it appropriate for you to throw a calf on a wood apple, in which another monster had pervaded? bhUdhaththAzhwAr is worried as to what would have happened if both the calf and wood apple, in which monsters had pervaded, had fallen on top of krishNa). He refers to this act as thImai – mischievous act. Now, thiruvAimozhip piLLai raises several questions – you [addressing emperumAn] had determined that the wood apple fruit is thI viLavu [cunning wood apple]. Is there any cunningness in the wood apple, which the calf had? Did it not become a fruit, after flowering and becoming an unripened fruit? Did it graze like the saintly cows? Did it remain without grazing? Did it nurse from the cow? Or, did it now nurse from the cow? Was such contrarian behaviour seen in the wood apple? Hence, that [wood apple] was in a hidden state [with some degree of doubt]. This [calf] is in a well-hidden state. Thus, those who hide themselves could be present in any situation. emperumAn tells bhUdhaththAzhwAr “We had to do this after knowing that this is not correct”; bhUdhaththAzhwAr, realising that it is emperumAn’s duty [to annihilate evil entities] says that he had said incorrectly that this [act of killing the calf and the wood apple] is unjustified and that it is a fault. Feeling remorseful for his questioning krishNa’s act of killing the calf and wood apple, bhUdhaththAzhwAr says in the next pAsuram [iraNdAm thiruvandhAdhi 20] “pazhipAvam kaiyagaRRi …… vAzhvAr vAzhvArAm…” (those who remove blame and sin, and worship you as ordained in SAsthrams, will live without any trouble). Thus, those who do not impose a fault on emperumAn’s auspicious qualities and worship him, will live without any trouble. periyAzhwAr too, in this narrative, praises those who do not impose fault on emperumAn’s qualities and removes the remorse, calls emperumAn as pirAnE [oh, benefactor!], recalling the benefit carried out by emperumAn [protecting himself and thus, protecting all the worlds].
surumbAr … – a young girl had soft locks on which flowers remained fresh always. Beetles settled on the flowers permanently, in order to take in the honey from those flowers.
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that the beetles, foregoing the honey in the flowers, have settled on the soft locks of the herd-girl since they enjoy the fragrance of the locks. This is the reason for saying Ar [as in surumbAr]. Softness refers to the quality of the locks; it also refers to the tenderness of the girl who is unable to tolerate the beetles.
sUzh valai vaiththuth thiriyum arambA – Just as it has been mentioned in thiruvAimozhi 5.3.6 “vAsudhEvan valai” (being caught in the web (of attractive activities) of the one who is the son of SrI vasudhEvar), in thiruvAimozhi 6.2.9 “thAmaraith thadam kaN vizhigaLin agavalai” (trapping in the net of the glance of expansive eyes which are like lotus) and in nAchchiyAr thirumozhi 14.4 “kArththaN kamalakkaNNennum nedum kayiRu” (trapped with eyes, which are like blossomed lotus on a dark cloud and which are like a long rope), krishNa was keeping his divine eyes which are like a snare, on that young girl in order to trap her. Oh, the mischievous person, who was roaming around, engaging in other activities, while waiting for her to get trapped in that net!
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here: Oh arambA [mischievous person], who is keeping a snare for the girl who is both unique [oruththikku] and who has femininity in her [kanni]! He refers to the divine eyes of krishNa, which surround her heart, as snare. This is similar to nAchchiyAr thirumozhi 14.4 “kamalakkaN ennum nedum kayiRu paduththi” (trapped with eyes, which are like blossomed lotus on a dark cloud and which are like a long rope). arambu – ability to win over an entity which one desires.
unnai aRindhu koNdEn – I have known about you, who are like all these.
unakku … – Hence, I will be afraid to give you [my bosom] milk.
We shall next consider the 7th pAsuram of this thirumozhi.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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