SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: Sri varavaramunayE nama:
periyAzhwAr thirumozhi >> Fourth Centum >> Fourth decad
avathArikai
thiruvAimozhip piLLai, in his svApadhESam, says that in the place inhabited by SrIvaishNavas, unfavourable persons will not interfere.
naLirndha seelan nayAchalan abimAna thunganai nAL thoRum
theLindha selvanaich chEvagam koNda sengaNmAl thirukkOttiyUr
kuLirndhu uRaiginRa gOvindhan guNam pAduvAr uLLa nAttinuL
viLaindha thAniyamum irAkkadhar mIdhu koLLa kilArgaLE
Word-by-Word Meanings
naLirndha seelan – having coolness as his nature|
nayAchalan – not slipping from the path of righteousness
abimAnam – pride, coming out of experiencing emperumAn
thunganai – being eminent
nAL thoRum – every day
theLindha – being with clarity
selvanai – selva nambi, who has kainkarya SrI [the wealth of kainkaryam, servitude]
sEvagam koNda – accepting servitude
sem kaN – having reddish eyes
mAl – in thirukkOttiyUr, where emperumAn has infatuation towards pirAtti [SrI mahAlakshmi]
kuLirndhu – with the divine mind being cool
uRaiginRa – one, who dwells permanently
gOvindhan guNam pAduvAr – those who sing about the auspicious qualities of gOvindhan
uLLa – mercifully residing
nAttinuL – in the country
viLaindha – cultivated
dhAniyamum – food grains too
irAkkadhar – demonic entities
mIdhu koLLa kilArgaL – will not steal
Simple Translation
selva nambi [A SrIvaishNava who was greatly revered by periyAzhwAr] has cool nature, does not slip from the path of righteousness, has the eminence of having pride, arising out of experiencing bhagavAn and has clarity in his mind, everyday [that emperumAn is the lord and that he is a servitor]. thirukkOttiyUr is the divine abode where emperumAn, who has accepted the servitude of such selva nambi, who has reddish eyes and who is infatuated with pirAtti, has mercifully taken residence, with his divine mind being cool. Food grains, which are cultivated in that thirukkOttiyUr, mercifully inhabited by those who sing about the auspicious qualities of gOvindhan, will not be stolen by demonic entities too.
vyAkhyAnam
naLirndha seelan – selva nambi, who has coolness as his nature. The nature of ISvaran would be hot. The reason for this [ISvaran’s nature being hot] is that, as said in thiruvAimozhi 9.3.10 “vALkoL neeLmazhu vALi un AgaththAn” (rudhran, who has an axe with a shiny glow, is on one side of your divine form), and as said in the same pAsuram thiruvAimozhi 9.3.10 “ALarAyth thozhum amarargaL” (groups of other celestial entities, who seek benefits other than yourself, carry servitude to you), entities such as rudhran and celestial entities who take nectar in order to overcome death, are the ones who carry out servitude to emperumAn. emperumAn’s divine form has been gifted to other deities, as mentioned in (1) periya thirumozhi 9.6.1 “akkum puliyin adhaLum udaiyAr avar oruvar pakkam niRka paNbarUr” (thirukkuRungudi is the divine abode of one, who has auspicious qualities and who has given dwelling place on his divine form for rudhran, who has bones and the skin of tiger on his form), (2) mUnRAm thiruvandhAdhi 63 “thAzh sadaiyum nIL mudiyum oNmazhuvum chakkaramum sUzh aravum ponnANum thOnRumAl” (the form of emperumAn with long crown, divine disc and golden sacred thread, along with the form of rudhran, who has matted locks hanging low, beautiful axe and snake coiling around, would appear as one), (3) mUnRAm thiruvandhAdhi 63 “iraNdu uruvum onRAy isaindhu” (these two forms, of Sankara and nArAyaNa, would appear merged as one) and (4) thiruvAimozhi 4.8.1 “ERALum iRaiyOnum thisai muganum thirumagaLum kURALum thani udamban ” (emperumAn is having a unique and spiritually distinguished divine form which is individually enjoyed to be their own form by rudhra, who considers himself to be the ISvaran (controller of all) and who rides on a bull as his vehicle, by brahmA, who has four faces, who is qualified to engage in variegated creation and by pirAtti, who is emperumAn’s wealth and who never separates from emperumAn). Unlike this, selva nambi is, as mentioned in thiruchchandha viruththam 69 “kANilum urup polAr sevikkinAdha kIrththiyAr” (Even if one were to see the physical forms of celestial entities such as brahmA, rudhran et al, they will have wickedness, their fame will be unworthy of hearing for the ears etc), having connection only with bhAgavathas.
nayAchalan – the term nayam refers to nIthi, righteousness [emperumAn is the SEshi, the lord and others are his SEsha bhUthar, his servitors]. In paramapadham, the nithyasUris know this well, as mentioned in amalan Adhi pirAn 1 “nIdhivAnavan” (the nithyasUris know as to what is right – that emperumAn is SEshi and that they are all SEsha bhUthars)). The term achalan refers to one who does not slip from that righteousness. In paramapadham, the correct order is known, as mentioned in thiruvAimozhi 4.9.10 “oNdodiyAL thirumagaLum nIyum” (you, the best among all, and pirAtti, who has distinguished arms with ornaments, remain together, manifesting wealth and true nature), while here, in samsAram, this would have got ruined, as mentioned in thiruvAimozhi 2.9.9 “yAnE enRanadhE” (I considered myself as fully independent and everything as my belonging) [only ahankAram and mamakAram, namely ego and possessiveness are present here]. This is the place where emperumAn, as krishNa, coronated ugrasEna as the king [after annihilating kamsan], made him sit on a high throne, while he sat below, fanning him with veNsAmaram [white coloured fly-flapper]. This is the place where even nithyasUris would not be spared, as mentioned in thiruvAimozhi 7.1.6 “viNNuLAr perumARkadimai seyvAraiyum seRum aim pulan” (the sensory organs will overcome and torment even the permanent residents of paramapadham, who are greater than all and who carry out servitude to you), making even those, who have been granted knowledge, with devotion, without any trace of ignorance, as mentioned in thiruvAimozhi 1.1.1 “mayarvaRa madhinalam aRulinan” (emperumAn granted AzhwAr with knowledge and devotion, without any trace of ignorance} to be tormented. In this place, to remain without slipping from the path of righteousness would refer to a person who has surrendered to emperumAn, such that even when the person, who has surrendered has sins present him, emperumAn showers his mercy [once the person surrenders, emperumAn removes all the sins which had been accumulated all along]. For such a person, there is no slipping from the path of righteousness. On the other hand, for one, who attempts to attain emperumAn through his efforts [one who follows the paths of deed, knowledge or devotion], the mercy is given only after the person gets rid of all his sins; when sin is committed, he would slip from the path of righteousness.
abimAna thungan – the pride and arrogance which come as a result of bhagavadh abubhavam [experiencing emperumAn] is termed here as abhimAnam [being proud]. This is similar to periya thiruvandhAdhi 4 “ennil migu pugazhAr yAvarE” (Who else is having more fame than I?); thiruvAimozhi 6.4.9 “mARu uLadhO immaNNin misaiyE” (Is there any opposition to me [in making emperumAn blissful]?); thiruvAimozhi 4.5.8 “yAvar nigar agalvAnaththE” (Who could match me, in the spiritual realm, to remain firm, after praising him with garland of words?)
thiruvAimozhip piLLai explains a few verses in periya thiruvandhAdhi pAsuram 75 here: “yAn periyan nI periyai enbadhanai yAr aRivAr” (Who will know as to whether you are the bigger entity between the two of us, or I, who had taken you now, inside of me?); “puviyum iruvisumbum ninnagaththa” (Both this leelA vibhUthi and nithya vibhUthi exist due to your will). This is how your divine form looks like. “nIyum” (You, who kept both the sentient and insentient entities in your divine stomach); “en seviyin vazhi pugundhu in uLLAy” (You take your residence in my heart through my ears [this refers to hearing about emperumAn constantly, through one’s ears]) Having swallowed both the chith and achith thathvams [sentient and insentient entities], you remain as thathvathrayam [the three entities of ISvaran, chith and achith]. You have entered my heart, when I am the size of an atom [The AthmA is considered to be smaller than one of the hundred pieces, obtained by splitting the edge of a paddy into hundred pieces]. You could very well check as to who among the two of us is more eminent – you or I, from one, who always shows partiality towards you, who obeys your order always and who is with your divine hand, always. “Un parugu nEmiyAy uLLu” (Oh, one who has the divine sudharSana AzhwAr [divine disc], who drinks the blood of enemies! You give the answer to this question). It is pertinent to recall thiruvAimozhi 8.7.8 “siRiyEnudaich chindhaiyuL mUvulagum thanneRiyA vayiRRil koNdu ninRozhindhAr” (He, who is having the three worlds inside him, without disregarding the protector-protected relationship, stood in my heart, when I am very lowly). “naLirndha seelan” is the guNam [quality]; “nayAchalan” is anushtAnam [standing in the pathos of servitor, firmly]; “abimAnathungan” is the gynAkaRyam [without having any connection with other dhEvathAs, it is the knowledge of being firmly remaining in servitude towards emperumAn, which, in other words, is prEmam, deep affection towards him]. This is the basis for the pride mentioned here.
nAL thoRum theLindha – this pride coming out of sAthvika guNam [noble quality of realising that one is servitor to bhagavAn alone] will not mingle with the opposite pride, coming out of rAjasa and thAmasa guNam [the quality of aggression and the quality of ignorance]. Not to be bewildered is a rarity, as mentioned in thiruvAimozhi 8.3.10 “kalakkamillA naRRava munivar” (sages such as sanaka et al, who carry out eminent penance and who do not have any bewilderment in samsAram); not losing this clarity is a distinguished feature, as mentioned in thiruvAimozhi 7.5.11 “theLivuRRu vIvinRi ninRavar” (those, who remain with the clarity, without a break, that emperumAn is both the means and ultimate benefit). Alternatively, selva nambi who has clarity every day [that emperumAn is the lord and that he is his servitor].
selvanai – selva nambi has all the three SrI [wealth] – the wealth of servitude, as mentioned in SrI rAmAyaNam bAla kANdam 18.29 “lakshmaNO lakshmi sampanna:” (iLaiya perumAL, who has the wealth of servitude), the wealth of giving up superficial relationships and considering emperumAn as all the relationship, as mentioned in SrI rAmAyaNam yudhdha kANdam 16.17 “anthariksha gathaS SrImAn” (the illustrious vibhIshaNa, who moved into the sky), the wealth of giving up protecting oneself and considering emperumAn as the protector, as mentioned in SrI vishNu dharmam “sathunAgavaraSSrImAn” (that gajEndhrAzhwAn, the elephant, attained the wealth of lakshmaNa’s servitude). (1) lakshmaNO lakshmi sampanna: – SrI rAma lost his kingdom and lakshmaNa attained the kingdom of servitude. He attained all the servitude carried out by all, as mentioned in perumAL thirumozhi 8.6 “suRRamellAm pinthodara” (Oh, one who went to the forest, followed by all your relatives!); the verse sampanna: refers to the completion of carrying out servitude, by serving the bhAgavathas too. Carrying out bhagavath kainkaryam was to establish his existence; by transforming that existence, he carried out bhAgavatha kainkaryam [when lakshmaNa followed SrI rAma to the forest, all the people of ayOdhyA were happy that lakshmaNa was their representative for serving perumAL; thus, by carrying out servitude to perumAL, lakshmaNa made all the people of ayOdhyA happy; thus, he carried out servitude to them too, who are the bhAgavathas]. (2) antharikshagathaS SrImAn – it was not on the day that he had seen pirAtti and perumAL that vibhIshaNa left the capital city of lankA. All that he had was only the sky. Both lakshmaNa and vibhIshaNa became SrImAn [servitors] only after leaving their respective capital cities. While pirAtti was staying in lankA, vibhIshaNa did not get her katAksham [being blessed by her] on account of being associated with rAvaNa. It was only after leaving lankA, that vibhIshaNa became SrImAn. (3) sathu nAgavaraS SrImAn – SrI gajEndhrAzhwAn became a SrImAn [one, who has wealth] only after giving up his efforts in protecting himself. The enemy for SrI gajEndhrAzhwAn was not the crocodile; it was his ahankAram [ego, that he could protect himself, fighting with the crocodile]. These three events fructified for the following [respective reason]: (1) attaining prApyam [carrying out kainkaryam to perumAL], (2) prApthi virOdhi nivruththi [leaving rAvaNa, who is the enemy of SrI rAma, who is to be attained] and (3) prApaka virOdhi nivruththi [leaving one’s own efforts, which is the enemy for attaining the means, emperumAn].
sEvagam koNda – if a person has carried out an activity [sEvagam seydha], he would feel happy. Since the verse says koNda [accepted], the happiness is for ISvaran, who had accepted the servitude. Did he [emperumAn] accept kainkaryam, by displaying his basic nature? No, it was through manifesting the beauty of his divine eyes.
sengaN mAl – just as it has been mentioned in thirumAlai 35 “sEviyEn unnai allAl chikkenach chengaN mAlE” (I will not worship anyone, other than you, having reddish eyes, being partial towards your followers).
thirukkOttiyUr kuLirndhu uRaiginRa – when emperumAn is in paramapadham, his divine mind would go towards the loss of samsAris [that they are not attaining him despite being given many opportunities] and his divine mind would be smouldering. Even if his residence there is permanent, it would be similar to that mentioned in gyAna sAram 10 “muLmEl iruppu” (remaining on top of thorns), being uncomfortable. It is only here [divine abodes such as thirukkOttiyUr] that he resides fittingly, with happiness. Just like a person, who has been caught inside a forest-fire jumps into the pond, emperumAn came to thirukkOttiyUr [from paramapadham], as mentioned in thiruvAimozhi 2.5.1 “andhAmaththu anbu seydhu en Avi sEr ammAnukku” (emperumAn, who is the natural master, and has attachment towards paramapadham, became well-placed in my heart). It is pertinent to recall here, mudhal thiruvandhAdhi 99 “veLLaththin uLLAnum vEngadaththu mEyAnum uLLaththil uLLAn” (emperumAn, who reclines in thiruppARkadal [milky ocean] and stands in thiruvEngadam, is inside my heart) and thiruviruththam 79 “paLLikoLLum sIdhanaiyE thozhuvAr viNNuLArilum sIriyarE” (those who worship emperumAn, who reclines on the milky ocean and who has coolness as his nature, are more eminent than nithyasUris).
gOvindhan guNam pAduvAr uLLa nAttinuL – the term sengaNmAl indicates the quality vAthsalyam [motherly forbearance]; the term sEvagam koNda indicates the quality sauSeelyam [excellence of disposition] and the term gOvindhan refers to the quality saulabhyam [easy approachability]. emperumAn’s residing in archai would make his incarnation as parathvam [residing in SrI vaikuNtam; in other words, compared to SrI vaikuNtam, his incarnation makes him easy to approach. Compared to his incarnation, his dwelling in archai is even easier to approach. Thus, his dwelling in archai will make his incarnation to be as difficult to attain as he is in SrI vaikuNtam]. In the country, where people recite, with love, the auspicious and distinguished qualities of emperumAn in archai form – it is not only with them, it is not only those who are connected with them, it is not only those who reside in the same town, but it is all the people who reside in the same country as these people …
viLaindha dhAniyamum irAkkadhar mIdhu koLLa kilArgaLE – if people cultivate crops for themselves and their relatives, demons would seize those crops; however, if they cultivate the crops for emperumAn and his followers, even demons would not have the power to seize such crops. These people would remain, as mentioned in periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 5.3.3 “punaththinaik kiLLip pudhu avi kAtti un ponnadi vAzhga” (cutting the grains from fields, offering them as new havis [proffering during a ritual] and carrying out mangaLASAsanam to emperumAn’s divine feet).
We shall next consider the 9th pAsuram of this thirumozhi.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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