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periyAzhwAr thirumozhi >> Fourth Centum >> Third decad
avathArikai
In the end, AzhwAr mercifully explains as to how he had described the eminence of azhagar in this thirumozhi; instead of mentioning any other benefit for this decad, he says that knowing this meaning is the benefit, bringing the decad to its end.
mAlirum sOlai ennum malaiyai udaiya malaiyai
nAliru mUrththi thannai nAl vEdhak kadal amudhai
mElirum kaRpagaththai vEdhAntha vizhup poruLin
mElirundha viLakkai vittuchiththan viriththanavE
Word-by-Word meanings
mAlirum sOlai ennum – having the divine name of ‘thirumAlirum sOlai’
malaiyai – divine mountain
udaiya – having it, as the dwelling abode
malaiyai – one, who appears like a mountain, which is reclining
nAl iru mUrththi thannai – having the form of ashtAksharam [thirumanthram, the first among three esoteric manthrams in the sampradhAyam, and having eight syllables]
nAl – being four, such as rig etc
vEdham – as vEdham
kadal – essence of ocean
amudhai – one, who is like nectar
mEl – being eminent
irum – huge
kaRpagaththai – like kalpavruksham [wish-fulfilling celestial tree]
vEdhAntham – explained through vEdhAntham [the second part of vEdhams, which engages
with knowledge about emperumAn]
vizhu – being distinguished
poruLil – for all the meanings
mEl irundha – remaining on top
viLakkai – regarding the one, who is self-luminous
vittuchiththan – by periyAzhwAr
viriththana – mercifully composed
Simple Translation
emperumAn is like a mountain, having thirumAlirum sOlai as his dwelling abode. He has the form of thirumanthram; he is the nectar-like essence of the ocean of four vEdhams. He is like the eminent, huge kalpavruksham. He is self-luminous, presiding over the eminent meanings of vEdhAnthams. These have been mercifully explained by periyAzhwAr.
vyAkhyAnam
mAlirum sOlai ennum malaiyai udaiya malaiyai – The divine mountain, which has the divine name of ‘thirumAlirum sOlai’. emperumAn desires this as his dwelling abode, more than abodes such as SrI vaikuNtam, kshIrAbdhi [milky ocean] etc. He is like a mountain, on account of (1) being fixed [not moving from this place], (2) being huge and (3) being enjoyable [mountain has many materials which are enjoyable and emperumAn is himself enjoyable].
thiruvAimozhip piLLai, in his svApadhESam, says that the eminence for azhagar is that he has thirumAlirum sOlai. The reason for referring to emperumAn as a mountain is due to the abundance of enjoyment and being firm.
nAl iru mUrththi thannai – he radiates the six primary qualities [of gyAna, bala, aiSvarya, vIrya, Sakthi and thEjas, namely omniscience, strength, omnipotence, unchanging nature, power and splendour] and has the huge form of the four entities, namely vAsudhEvan, sankarshaNan, pradhyumnan and anirudhdhan. It is pertinent to recall kUraththAzhwAn’s SrI varadharAjasthavam 16 “guNaiSSadbisthvEthai: prathamathara mUrthisthava babauthathas thisras thEshAm thriyuga yugaLair hi thribhir abhu:” (Your primary form of vAsudhEvan is filled with all these six qualities. Among these, two qualities each are present in each of the other three forms). Alternatively, this could be considered as having the form of thiruvashtAksharam [thirumanthram, the first divine manthram]. nAradhIya kalpam 1.32 says “vyaktham hi bhagavAn Esha sAkshAn nArAyaNas svayam – ashtAkshara svarUpENa mukEshu parivarthathE” (nArAyaNan, who is the entity filled with the six qualities such as gyAnam etc, is present on the faces of those who keep reciting the root manthram which has eight syllables; this is certain).
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that emperumAn is the antharyAmi [in-dwelling soul] of ashtavasus [eight elemental deities who embody the fundamental forces of nature and the universe]. Alternatively, he is vAsudhEvan, the primary entity among the four entities of vAsudhEvan, sankarshaNan, anirudhdhan and pradhyumnan. Yet another meaning is that he is the repository for thirumanthram.
nAl vEdhak kadal amudhai – one who is nectar, the essence of the four vEdhas starting with rig, which are like oceans, as mentioned in thiruvAimozhi 3.3.5 “vEdhiyar muzhu vEdhaththu amudhaththai” (Having unlimited sweetness, as glorified in all of vEdhams of brAhmaNas). Alternatively, the term nAL vEdhak kadal amudhu could be considered to refer to thirumanthram, which is the essence of all the vEdhams, and through sAmAnAdhikaraNam [with reference to the same substrate; just as the word malai refers to both mountain and azhagar, the term manthram would refer both to thirumanthram and emperumAn], to refer to emperumAn. The support for sAmAnAdhikaraNam is prathipAdhya prathipAthikabhAva sambandham [the connection between the entity which is explained by the attribute; thirumanthram explains about emperumAn, just as mountain explains about emperumAn]. When this is the meaning for this term [nAl vEdhak kadal amudhai], for the previous term nAl iru mUrththi thannai, only the first meaning should be considered [emperumAn having four different forms of vAsudhEva et al] and not the second meaning [that this term refers to thirumanthram; this is because, if we consider the second term to be correct, the same meaning which is seen in the subsequent term here would be considered as punarukthi dhOsham, the fault of same meaning being repeated].
thiruvAimozhip piLLai says here that the summary of vEdham is thirumanthram. It is pertinent to recall iraNdAm thiruvandhAdhi 39 “mAdhavan pEr solluvadhE Oththin surukku” (reciting emperumAn’s divine names is the essence of vEdhams)
mElirum kaRpagaththai – The eminent, huge, kalpakavruksham. This distinguishes it from the kalpakavruksham seen in svargam [celestials’ world]. In other words, that kaRpagam will give everything, wished for, other than itself, while this kaRpagam [emperumAn] will give himself. That kaRpagam will only grant to those who seek a wish, while this kaRpagam will create the desire in the person to seek [emperumAn] and grant. AzhwAr had mercifully said this in thiruvAimozhi 2.7.11 “ennai AkkikkoNdyu enakkE thannaith thandha kaRpagam” (emperumAn created me, acknowledged me and exclusively gave himself to me).
vEdhAntha vizhupporLin mEl irundha viLakkai – emperumAn stands as the self-luminous entity, on top, in all the eminent meanings which are explained by vEdhAnthams [vEdhAnthams come at the end of each vEdham, and explain about emperumAn]. What are the eminent meanings explained by vEdhAnthams? SvEthASvathara upanishad 1.12 says “bhOkthA bhOgyam prErithAncha mathvA” (considering the chEthanan [one with ability to think] who is the enjoyer, the achEthanam, material which is being enjoyed, and emperumAn, who impels the chEthanan to enjoy); SvEthASvathara upanishadh 1.10 says “ksharam pradhAnam amruthAksharam hara: ksharAthmAnA ISathE dhEva Eka:” (prakruthi [achEthanam] has been referred to by the term kshara; since jIvAthmA [chEthanam] does not have death, it is referred to by the term akshara; haran, the dhEvan [supreme entity] controls both these entities); SvEthASvathara Upanishad 6.16 says “pradhAnakshEthragyapathir gunESa:” (pradhAnam is achEthanam; kshEthragya is chEthanam. emperumAn, referred to by guNESa, one who has auspicious qualities, controls both chEthana and achEthana entities). Thus, through these pramANams [authentic texts], the existence of thathvathrayam [three major entities, namely achEthana, chEthana and Isvara] has been established. This is the essence of the meanings explained by vEdhAnthams. The term mEl irundha explains that among these three major entities, emperumAn remains on top of the other two entities [controlling them]. In other words, emperumAn remains the holder and the other two remain as his attributes, being the controller of all, as mentioned in SvEthASvathara upanishadh 6.7 “nathathsamaSchAbyadhikaScha dhruSyathE” (There is none who is seen to be equivalent to or higher than emperumAn).
vittuchiththan viriththanavE – Since periyAzhwAr keeps such a supreme entity in his divine mind, as mentioned in periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 5.2.10 “aravaththu amaLiyinOdum” [emperumAn has entered the divine heart of periyAzhwAr with his mattress [AdhiSEshan], the beautiful milky ocean, pirAtti on her lotus seat …], he has the divine name of vishNuchiththan [one who keeps vishNu in his divine mind]. This decad has been mercifully composed by such vishNuchiththan. The reason for not specifying a benefit for reciting the decad is due to the fact that the benefit for learning this decad is to know all these meanings.
We shall next consider the pravESam of the next thirumozhi.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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