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periyAzhwAr thirumozhi >> Third Centum >> Second decad
avathArikai (Introduction)
There is no specific avathArikai for this pAsuram.
anjana vaNNanai Ayar kOlak kozhundhinai
manjanam Atti manaigaL thORum thiriyAmE
kanjanaik kAyndha kazhal adi nOvak kanRin pin
en seyap piLLaiyaip pOkkinEn ellE pAvamE
Word-by-Word Meanings
anjanam – like pigment [decorative, for eyes]
vaNNanai – having divine form
Ayar kOlam – having the guise of herd-people
kozhundhinai – kaNNan, the head of the herd-folk
manjanam Atti – after giving a bath
manaigaL thORum – in others’ houses
thiriyAmE – instead of roaming (like his house)
kanjanai – kamsan
kAyndha – kicked
kazhal – having the valorous anklet
adi – divine feet
nOva – to feel the pain
kanRin pin – behind calves which go running, after seeing grass
piLLaiyai – my son
en seya – for what reason
pOkkinEn– did I allow to go?
ellE pAvamE – how sad! What sin have I committed (says she, in disgust)!
Simple Translation
krishNa, who is the leader of herd-folk, has a divine form which is like black pigment [applied to eyes]. Instead of giving him a bath and allowing him to roam around in others’ houses, just like he roams around in his own house, for what reason did I send him, my son, to go behind calves, which jump towards lands which have grass, such that his divine feet, which had kicked kamsan, and which have valorous anklets, became painful? How sad! What sin have I committed!
vyAkhyAnam (Commentary)
anjana vaNNanai – one who has a divine form which is dark like black pigment, soothing to the eyes of the beholder. anjanam – black pigment, applied for decorating eyes of women.
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says, in his svApadhESam, that even any trace of whiteness which could have been present in the black pigment had been removed. krishNa’s divine form was that black.
Ayar … – Even as krishNa goes behind the calves, he has an urgency in his gait, perspiration from the divine body, swaying of divine locks, golden stick on his divine hand, all pointing to his beautiful costume of a herd-person, who goes ahead of herd-folks, being their head. Alternatively, if the root gets a bit heated, the effect will be seen in the tender shoots on top, which will wither. Thus, if any of the herd-folks has any pain, it is krishNa’s face which will droop first, hence he is termed as kozhundhu. nammAzhwAr too referred to emperumAn, in thiruvAImozhi 1.7.3 “Ayar kozhundhAy” (being the leader of cow-herd boys).
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that the herd-boys need not even say “krishNa, control the calves and graze them carefully”. Even before that, krishNa would take care of grazing of the calves such that even their celebration would be considered as superfluous. He felt that it was his benefit to graze the calves and that if they do not eat properly, it was his loss.
manjanam … – Instead of giving him a divine bath such that the beauty of his divine form is splendorous, just as it has been mentioned in periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 3.1.2 “pon pOl manjanam Atti” (giving him a divine bath such that his body glitters like gold) and making him to roam around in various houses, just like his own, and seeing that activity…
kanjanaik kAyndha kazhal adi nOva – the tender divine feet of krishNa had kicked the hardened form of kamsan, due to which they had become a bit sore. Since he went on top of stones and hard surfaces on the way to the forest, they became very sore.
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that krishNa had jumped onto the upper storey, a protective place, where kamsan was sitting on his throne and kicked on his hard chest with his tender foot. His divine feet became very sore when he walked on the hard surfaces on the way to the forest, behind the calves.
kazhal adi – divine feet adorned with valorous anklets
kanRin pin en seyap piLLaiyaip pOkkinEn – calves do not stay put in one place but keep hopping hither and thither. For what purpose did I send my young son, who has a tender form, behind those calves? Even though krishNa had matured and is capable of annihilating enemies, she considers him as an infant.
ellE pAvamE – In a dejected manner, she says “What cruel sin have I committed?”
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that ellE is equivalent to alas, mentioned in dejection. yaSOdhAp pirAtti, saying ellE pAvamE, is similar to bharathAzhwAn, in SrI rAmAyaNam, saying “math pApamEva”, (it was only due to my sin) blaming himself for SrI rAma having to go the forest.
We shall next consider the 2nd pAsuram of this thirumozhi.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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