SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: Sri varavaramunayE nama:
periyAzhwAr thirumozhi >> Fourth Centum >> Tenth decad
avathArikai
In the svApadhESam, it is mentioned that AzhwAr says that emperumAn, who is the antharyAmi [in-dwelling soul] of all, should protect him.
thaNNanavillai naman thamargaL sAlak kodumaigaL seyyAniRpar
maNNodu nIrum eriyum kAlum maRRum AkAsamum Agi ninRAy
eNNelAm pOdhE unnAmam ellAm eNNinEn ennaik kuRIkkoL kaNdAy
aNNalE nI ennaik kAkka vEndum arangaththu aravaNaip paLLiyAnE
Word-by-Word Meanings
naman thamargaL– the servitors of yama
thaNNana illai – being without mercy
sAla – most
kodumaigaL – cruel punishments
seyyA niRpar – they are carrying out
maNNodu nIrum – earth and water too
eriyum – fire too
kAlum – wind too
AkAsamum – sky too, all the five elements [these are the causative entities]
maRRum – world, which is in the form of the effective entity
Agi – as your attributes
ninRAy – one, who remained as the substrate for all of them
aNNalE – oh, one who is sarvaswAmy [lord of all]!
eNNalAm pOdhE – during the time, when I have the capability to meditate upon
un – you
nAmam ellAm – all your divine names
eNNinEn – I meditated upon, as my sustenance and enjoyment
ennai – me, who carries out pallANdu [mangaLASAsanam]
nI – your highness
enRum – at all times
kuRikkoNdu – keeping in the divine mind
kAkka vENdum – should mercifully protect me
Simple Translation
The messengers of yama, without any mercy in them, carry out most cruel punishments. Oh, one who is the lord of all, who remains as the five causative elements, viz. earth, water, fire, wind and sky, along with their effective entities as your attributes, with your being the substrate for them all! During the time when I have the strength to meditate upon you, I have meditated upon all your divine names, as my sustenance and my enjoyment [purushArtham, the ultimate benefit]. You should mercifully keep me in your divine mind, at all the times, and protect me.
vyAkhyAnam
thaNNanavillai – the servitors of yama are not soft. Their speech as well as actions are hard. periya thirumozhi 1.6.5 too says “kadum solAr kadiyAr” (they have cruel words and cruel acts). Alternatively, thaN would refer to rest, thus implying here that the servitors of yama were harming, without giving any rest. They do not give a rest and then, resume punishing.
naman thamargaL – had it been yama himself, looking at the sorrow in our eyes, he might have left us alone, after some time. Since these people are his servitors, thinking “We have to carry out everything mentioned by yama, without leaving anything”, they will carry out their acts of cruelty, without looking at the sorrow in our eyes.
sALak kodumaigaL seyyA niRpar – they will carry out the cruelest punishments. In other words, before the physical form separates, with their reddish locks, burning eyes, fiery face, folded mouth etc, with a fierce form, having spear, rope [lasso] etc in their hands, as mentioned in periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 4.5.7 “sEvadhakkuvArAip pOlE” (like those, subduing bulls), their very presence would create a burning sensation in the stomach. They will make the person, at the time of giving up the physical form to feel vexed, as mentioned in thiruvAimozhi 3.2.10 “namanthamar pAsam vittAl alaippUN uNNum” (In the last moments, the servitors of yama will cast their rope and torture the jIvAthmA); they will make the jIvAthmA to enter the yAthanA SarIram [a physical form meant to take punishment]; they will cast their rope on the jIvAthmA and pull him such that his head falls on the ground, bewildered, and feet would be up, as mentioned in periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 4.5.7 “pinnum van kayiRRAl piNiththu eRRIp pin munnAga izhuppadham munnam” (Further, with strong ropes, they will tie such people, hurting them, and drag them to the land of yama, with their faces rubbing on the ground); they will let loose dogs such that the dogs will grab the flesh in the thigh region; they will pierce with spears. Thus, there is no limit to their cruelties. Since the verse seyyAniRar is in the present tense [they keep carrying out activities], this signifies the series of punishments meted out by yama’s servitors on the jIvAthmA.
maN … – The five causative elements such as earth, water, fire, wind and sky, which create the worlds and the worlds which are created as the result, are contained in the word nI [you]. Oh, one, who is the substrate for these elements and who has these elements as your attributes! Thus, through this feature of being the causative entity for everything and being the substrate for all entities, there is none who is not under your control. Hence, you should change the harm which comes my way, through these servitors of yama, yourself.
In the svApadhESam, the following has been mentioned: the five elements, which are the reasons for each in the ascending order [starting from earth], the five subtle elements [of Sabdha, sparSa, rUpa, rasa and gandha representing the five elements of sky, fire, water, wind and earth, respectively], the sensory organs, the mahath and ahankAram [the great entity and the entity of ego, respectively], the primordial matter, which is the cause for these and all the jIvAthmAs are included in the term maRRu. You stood as the antharyAmi of all these entities such that these could be mentioned through the concept of sAmAnAdhikaraNyam with you [they are your attributes and you are their substrate].
eNNalAm pOdhE un nAmam ellAm eNNinEn – Through this, AzhwAr mentions his deep engagement with kainkaryam [servitude to emperumAn]. AzhwAr says “Even when the sensory organs are under my control, I meditated upon your divine names, which are my nourishment and enjoyment. Since all the divine names of emperumAn dwell within the divine name of nArAyaNan, mentioning this one divine name is equivalent to reciting all the divine names. AzhwAr doesn’t know of any divine name other than this divine name, as mentioned in periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 5.1.3 “nanmaigaL theemaigaL onRum aRiyEn nAraNA ennum iththanai allAl” (I do not know of any benefit or disadvantage, othere than this divine name, nArAyaNa), and as mentioned in periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 5.1.6 “OvAdhE namO nAraNA enRu” (reciting forever the divine name of nArAyaNan). Even for mangaLASAsanam, this is the word which he recites, as mentioned in thiruppallANdu 12 “nAmO nArAyaNA enRu – paramAthmanaich chUzhndhu irundhu – pallANdu Eththuvar ” (Surrounding emperumAn, the mukthAthmAs will keep reciting the divine name of nArAyaNA, praising him to live forever, as a means of carrying out mangaLASAsanam). Hence, he would not be able to sustain himself, without reciting the divine name of emperumAn. He is one, who says that the day he does not recite the divine name of nArAyaNa is a day of fasting for him, as mentioned in periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 5.1.6 “uNNA nAL pasi Avadhu onRu illai – namO nArAyaNa enRu eNNA nAL” (I do not feel hungry on a day when I do not eat; however, I feel hungry the day that I do not recite the divine name of nArAyaNan). Thus, I kept meditating on your divine names in this manner.
In the svApadhESam, it is mentioned that AzhwAr says that he carried out mangaLASAsanam for emperumAn by reciting his divine names, which are related to his auspicious qualities of eminence and simplicity, as well as the beauty of his divine physical form, even when his sensory organs were within his control.
ennaik kuRikkoNdu – you should keep me, who cannot sustain himself even for a moment, without reciting your divine name and carrying out mangaLASAsanam to you, in your divine mind, at all times. This situation does not arise once in a rare time for him, but occurs every moment [carrying out mangaLASAsanam].
The svApadhESam says here that emperumAn should keep in his divine mind that “AzhwAr is in this manner” such that at all times, the loss of AzhwAr becomes the loss for emperumAn. AzhwAr desires that emperumAn, who is the lord of all, should protect him mercifully, since AzhwAr is looking up to emperumAn for providing the means to attain him.
aNNalE – Oh, one who is the lord for all! The relationship between us is such that my gain or loss becomes yours.
nI ennaik kAkka vENdum – you, who are like these, should protect me, who is deeply engaged with purushArtham [cannot sustain myself without carrying out mangaLASAsanam], such that I do not get caught in the torture carried out by the servitors of yama, which is inimical to my purushArtham.
arangaththu aravaNaip paLLiyAnE – Do I need to make an appeal to you today, for this? Is it not for this that you had already come mercifully to SrIrangam and reclined here?
The svApadhESam says here that emperumAn has mercifully come and reclined in SrIrangam, for all those, who are unable to discern emperumAn’s form of being the antharyAmi [indwelling soul] of all.
We shall next consider the 7th pAsuram of this thirumozhi.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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