SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: Sri varavaramunayE nama:
periyAzhwAr thirumozhi >> Fourth Centum >> Fifth decad
avathArikai
AzhwAr says in this pAsuram that those, who are capable of reciting praNavam, will be respected by emperumAn, just like SrI kausthubam [his divine gemstone, which is representative of all the AthmAs]
kUdik kUdi uRRArgaL irundhu kuRRam niRka naRRangaL paRaindhu
pAdip pAdi Or pAdaiyil ittu narippadaikku oru pAgudam pOlE
kOdi mUdi eduppadhan munnam kauththuvam udaik kOvindhanOdu
kUdi Adiya uLLaththar AnAl kuRippidam kadandhu uyyalum AmE
Word-by-Word Meanings
(even as the final moments arrive for a person)
uRRArgaL – all the relatives
kUdik kUdi irundhu – being present in large numbers
kuRRam niRka – while all the unfavourable actions of the person are known
naRRangaL – a few favourable actions
paRaindhu – mentioning
pAdippAdi – lamenting
Or – on one
pAdaiyil – a type of hearse, made with fronds
ittu – laying him
narip padaikku – for a pack of jackals
oru pAgudam pOlE – like those, offering a pot of jaggery
kOdi – with a new cloth
mUdi – covering the dead body
eduppadhan munnam – before he is lifted [in order to take him to the cremation ground]
kauththuvam – SrI kausthubam [a divine gemstone, representing all the AthmAs]
udai – one, who dons
gOvindhanOdu – with krishNa, who is easy to approach
kUdi – being together with him
Adiya – immersing in his divine qualities
uLLaththar AnAl – if they have hearts
kuRippu – where one has to necessarily experience and exhaust [results of sins]
idam – the land of yama
kadandhu – going past
uyyalum Am – they could get uplifted
Simple Translation
When the final moments approach for a person, his relatives would come in large numbers, mentioning about a few good acts carried out by him, while hiding all the atrocious activities indulged in, by the person. They will keep lamenting about him, lay him on a hearse made with fronds, and cover him with a new cloth, similar to offering a pot of jaggery to a pack of jackals [there is no point in covering the dead person’s form with new cloth, just as there is no point in offering jaggery to jackal]. Before this activity is conducted, if the person had meditated on the auspicious qualities of krishNa, who dons the divine gemstone, SrI kasthubam, immersing in them, he could pass through the path of yama, where one has to necessarily experience the results of bad deeds, and get uplifted.
vyAkhyAnam
kUdikkUdi uRRArgaL irundhu – Even as the person’s last moments reach, all the relatives come in large numbers.
kuRRam niRka naRRangaL paRaindhu – While all the unfavourable activities, indulged in by the person are there, they will mention about a few favourable activities which he had carried out. When vAli was brought down by Sr rAma’s arrow, forgetting all the unfavourable activities carried out by vAli, sugrIva mahArAjar cried out, saying “When I came the first time, he could have killed me, but did not; I got him killed”. Seeing that, perumAL too felt sad. When rAvaNan stood without any weapons in the battlefield, instead of killing him, perumAL told him “Return to your palace today and come back, tomorrow”. After krishNa had killed kamsan, his wives started crying out loud. Looking at that, krishNa felt sorrowful, thinking “What activity have I carried out!” In those final moments, such compassionate thoughts will emerge in everyone’s mind.
pAdip pAdi – When the relatives start lamenting, it would appear as if they had sung a prabandham (divine hymn)
Or pAdaiyil ittu – laying the person on a hearse made of fronds
narippadaikkoru pAgudam pOlE – narippadai – pack of jackals; pAgudam – pot of jaggery, which has got cooked to the correct stage, during heating over fire [the jackals do not know the taste of correctly cooked jaggery. In the same way, the dead person would not know about further activities done to his physical body, left behind].
kOdi mUdi eduppadhan munnam – this refers to a new dress being draped over the physical body, lying on the frond hearse. Alternatively, it would refer to the hearse itself being decorated.
kauththuvam udaik kOvindhanOdu – krishNa, who dons the divine SrI kausthuba gemstone, representing all the AthmAs, and who is the easiest to approach, among all.
kUdi Adiya uLLaththar AnAl – being together with emperumAn, with the thinking “emperumAn is the SEshan (lord), I am the SEsha bhUthan (servitor)”, with his heart immersing in the auspicious qualities of emperumAn
kuRippidam kadandhu uyyalum AmE – going past the land where one has to experience [the punishment for all the wrongful deeds carried out during one’s stay in samsAram] to get rid of past deeds.
uyyalum AmE – leaving aside the land, where one would look up to yama, as mentioned in mudhal thiruvandhAdhi 67 “uyirum dharumanaiyE nOkkum” (AthmA of avaishNavas [those, who are not followers of vishNu] will attain only yama, the lord of righteousness, at the end of life on earth). They will skip the land of yama and reach SrI vaikuNtam, as mentioned in the same pAsuram, mudhal thiruvandhAdhi 67 “oN thAmaraiyAL kELvan oruvanaiyE nOkkum” (knowledge [of a SrI vaishNava] will know only nArAyaNa, consort of SrI mahAlakshmi, who resides on a radiant, lotus flower). It is pertinent to recall here, thiruvAimozhi 4.9.10 “oNdodiyAL thirumagaLum nIyumE nilA niRpak kaNda sadhir” (after seeing the togetherness of you [emperumAn], the best among men, and SrI mahAlakshmi, who has distinguished forearms, and who is the best among women, I determined that you are the best means and attained your divine feet).
We shall next consider the 9th pAsuram of this thirumozhi.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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