PERIYA TIRUVANDADI
INTRODUCTION
Shree GurubhyO Namah,
Namskaaram dear members,
Welcome to the 19th session of Divya Prabandham Workshop.
Crisp and witty, Periya TiruvandAdi is a touching conversational prose poetry in which swAmi nammAzhvAr explains to his heart about his restlessness to unite with the Lord of Paramapadam. Scholars compare NammAzhvAr’s mental state of separation to that of Bharata’s when he was religiously worshipping Lord rAmA’s pAdukas, waiting for His return to AyodhyA.
The witty verses of Periya TiruvandAdi appear to be a prelude to his next ingenious prabandham TiruvAymozhi. The anaphoric pAsuram number 36 is food for tamizh panDits, and food for thought too.
Why the name Periya TiruvandAdi?
Periya tiruvandAdi is a prabandham of 87 pAsurams, making it the smallest andAdi in the moonRAm Ayiram section of 4000 Divya Prabandham. Yet it is named as ‘PERIYA TIRUVANDADI’ meaning - a big tiruvandAdi. The reason for this lies in pAsuram number 75 in which AzhvAr asks emperumAn who is greater - He or God?
“யான் பெரியன் நீ பெரியை என்பதனை யார் அறிவார் ?”
yAn periyan, nee periyai, enbadanai yAr aRivAr?
AzhvAr declares sans doute that He is greater than emperumAn because He bears the Universal Lord in his heart permanently.
Another angle: NammAzhvAr is the pAdukA of the Lord. Since He bears the universal Lord, He is greater than emperumAn. On a similar note, SwAmi DEsikan pens in his pAdukA Sahasram 105 that Lord rAma’s pAdukAs were more benevolent than Lord rAma Himself. That is the reason why Bharata asked Lord RAma to grant the pAdukAs to Him until He returned to ayOdhyA.
Since NammAzhvAr proclaimed his superiority in this prabandham, it is called ‘Periya TiruvandAdi’.
SEVENTH ANDADI
This prabandham is the seventh andAdi-style (ANADIPLOSIS) prabandham in the moonrAm Ayiram section, the first six being Mudal TiruvandAdi, iRaNDAm tiruvandAdi, MoonrAm tiruvandAdi, nAnmugan tiruvandAdi, Tiruviruttam, TiruvAsiriyam.
PARAMA BHAKTI
We have seen that NammAzhvAr expressed his parabhakti (love) in Tiruviruttam and paragyAna (desire to see the Lord) in tiruvAsiriyam. In Periya tiruvandAdi, Azhvar is experiencing paramabhakti (immediate urge to reach Lord). Finally, in TiruvAymozhi, he attains the state of bhagavat prApti.
ATHARVANA VEDA SAARAM
Just as Atharvana vEdam prescribes remedial measures to cure illness, AzhvAr also suggests many measures to cure the chronic illness of samsAra. Just as atharvana vEdam extolls Lord nArAyaNa as the Lord of all creation, AzhvAr also proclaims that He has universal Lord reside in his heart.
With terse verses and witty questions, Periya TiruvandAdi is easy to read, recite and understand.
Let’s join in and enjoy this tasteful prose poem in sweet veNpA style.
ADIYEN
AZHVAR EMPERUMANAR DESIKAN TIRUVADIGALE SHARANAM.
PERIYA TIRUMADAL 1 TO 50
AUDIO LESSONS BY SMT. SEETHA SARANATHAN
TANIYAN – PERIYA TIRUVANDADI
BY EMPERUMANAR
vandittu vAyAra vAzhtti * - sanda
murugUrum sOlai sUzh moypUm porunal *
kurugUran mARan pEr kURu
EmperumAnAr (SwAmi RAmAnuja) says: Oh good mind ever engaged in noble thoughts! Immerse yourself enthusiastically, surrender humbly and with a mouth filled with praise, chant the many illustrious names of mAran kurugoorAn (NammAzhvAr), the leader of Tirukkurugoor, the beautiful town surrounded by honey dripping sandal groves on the sides of the sacred tAmraparNi river.
PERIYA TIRUVANDADI 1 TO 10
PASURAMS 2585 TO 2594
iyaRRuvAy emmodu nI kUdi ** - nayappudaiya
nAvIn thodai kiLavi * uL podivOm * naRpUvaip
pUvInRa vaNNan pugazh (1)
2585. NammAzhvAr says: Oh, my noble heart that eagerly rises for bhagavAn even before me! May you join me in this sublime service of embedding this prabandham with sweet and befitting words to express the glories of the ever-fresh kAya flower hued God, KrishNa. (1)
igazhvOm madippOm * madhiyOm - igazhOm ** maRRu
engaL mAl! sengkaN mAl! * seeRal nI teevinaiyOm *
engaL mAl kaNDAy ivai (2)
2586. Oh our dear Lord (engaL mAl)! Oh red-lotus eyed Lord PuNDareekAksha (senkaN mAl)! Praising You perfectly is difficult even for gyAnis. Yet, we ignorant samsArees continue to praise You again and again (pugazhvOm). In fact, all our glorifications are flawed due to deficiency of perfect words to describe You. So, by praising You less, we are indirectly committing the mistake of criticizing You (hence…AzhvAr uses the word - pazhippOm). In the same way, we may respect you in the best of spirits (madippOm), and disrespect You when we are low (igazhvOm). But even after such self- realisation, we cannot resist our urge to praise You (magizhOm) or taunt You (igaizhOm).
Please don’t judge us by our naive actions. Please don’t get angry with our inconsistent/ wrong behaviour (nee seeral teevinaiyOm), our dear Lord (engal mAl)! Please note that all these are only due to our deep love for You. (2)
ivai enRivai aRivanElum ** - ivai ellAm
ennAl adaippu neekka * oNNAdu iRaiyavanE! *
ennAl seyaRpAladu en? (3)
2587. Hearing the fun and pun of words in the previous pAsuram, BhagavAn asks AzhvAr: Leave aside my anger. What do you want to say? Is it good to praise me? Or is it not good to praise me? Can you give me a final verdict? Then, I ll decide.
AzhvAr had to answer this using his sharp intellect, heart and mind at the same time. He replies: If I must give You an answer, then according to me, it is better not to praise You. Praising You is wrong because no number of words will suffice to extoll your unending kalyANa guNas.
After answering, AzhvAr feels that he should not be proud of his wisdom because prapatti is about Atma samarpaNam (surrender of AtmA), bhara samarpaNam (surrender of responsibilities) and phala samarpaNam (surrender of results). Hence, he quickly surrenders and says: Though I know the nitty-gritty of all these things, I can neither praise you better nor stop praising You, Oh Lord! I am not fit to do anything (oNNAdu iRaivanE!). It is You alone who knows what is best. (3)
eNNil * migu pugazhEn yAn allAl ** - enna
karunjsOdhik * kaNNan kadal puraiyum * soIlap
perunjOdhikku en nenju ALpeRRu (4)
2588. In the previous pAsuram. AzhvAr expressed his incapability (ayOgyatA) to praise bhagavAn. In a second, he feels that he should not stop this wonderful bhagavat kainkaryam of writing this prabandham even though he is inept.
Emoting again and changing sides, AzhvAr praises himself: My heart is controlled by my dear dark, radiant Lord krishNa who is filled with compassion as vast as the ocean and is the supreme refulgent light. It is my mahAbhAgyam to sing about KrishNa’s swaroopam, roopam and guNam. Who else is worthy of praise other than me? Looking at this angle deeply, it seems that I am the most laudable one because BhagavAn is resting inside my heart. (4)
dhOshO gAya bruhadh gAya dhyumaddEhi
AtharvaNa sthuhi dEvam SavithAram
(Meaning): "Oh Worshipper of the Lord! Sing His glory day and night, sing loudly, and contemplate upon the refulgent Lord. Praise the all-creating Lord!”
maRRaiyAr AvArum nee pEsil ** - eRREyO!
mAya! mAmAyavaLai * mAya mulai vAy vaitta *
nee ammA! kATTum neRi (5)
2589. Oh wondrous Lord! mAyavanE! My beloved swAmi! If I were to think of the upakAras (help) You have extended to me (pEsil), I must say that You truly are my caring mother who has birthed me (peRRa tAy neeyE). You are indeed my father who has caused my birth and growth (pirappitta tandai nee). And You are my guiding AchAryan too (maRRai yAr Avarum nee). You who amazingly sucked the poisonous breast of the wicked pootanA has Yourself shown me the righteous path to mOksha. You are my dear mother (nee ammA), What a wonder it is that You chose to bless me! (eRRE O!) (5)
muRimEni kATTudiyO? ** mEl nAL - aRiyOmai *
en seyvAn eNNinAy? kaNNanE! * eedu uraiyAy
en seydAl en paDOm yAm? (6)
2590. Oh krishNa (kaNNanE!) Are you trying to go away after teaching high philosophies like karma yoga, gyAna yOga and bhakti yOga through your bhagavat geetA? Will you not show me Your beautiful tirumEni that looks like the dark green spread of the tree? Since ages, we are totally ignorant of Your inscrutable ways. I have no idea how and when You are going to take me to Paramapadam? Whatever You do be it good or bad, I am going to be affected. I will neither be able to handle the good you bestow upon me, nor will I be able to bear the suffering given to me. Hence, please tell me your tiruvuLLam (Your plan) for me so that I can have a clarity on my unknown future. (6)
tAmE * aNukkarAych sArndozhindAr ** - pUmEya
semmAdai * nin mArvil sErvittu * pAriDanda
ammA! nin pAdattarugu (7)
2591. AzhvAr thought that the dark hued krishNa will respond to his request and grace him with the vision of His tirumEni sEvai and a loving hug. But nothing like that happened. Annoyed, AzhvAr pours out his pain of separation.
ammA, oh my swAmi! You are the one who embraced the gold hued shree dEvi born of the lotus, onto Your divine chest (tirumArbu) during the churning of the milky ocean. You were the one who married Bhoomi dEvi after lifting her up from the deep waters. My respectable and smart heart called ‘nenjinAr’ has, without my permission, reached Your divine feet to become Your trusted servant even before me. Having accumulated grave sins, I am still waiting in this samsAra at a far distance unable to see You. (7)
perugum miga * iduven? pEseer ** - parugalAm
paNbuDaiyeer! pAraLandeer! * pAviyEm kaN kANbariya *
nuNpuDaiyeer! nummai numakku (8)
2592. Oh Lord having lovable qualities like a desirable sweet juice! (parugum paNbu uDaiyeer!). The Lord who acquired a gross large form of trivikrama to measure the worlds (pAr aLandeer!). We are sinners who were ineligible to see You through our eyes (paviyEn kaN kAnpariya). Oh, The Lord having a subtle form (nuNbu uDaiyeer!) You are beyond the reach of our eyes. It is truth that (nummai – unmai ) we are inefficient in evaluating the way (arugum) and the path (suvaDum) to achieve You. Yet, why is it that we have surging love for You (numakku). Please talk. (anbE perumiga idu en? pEseer?) (8)
tamakku avar tAm * sArvariyarAnAl? ** - emakku ini
yAdAnum * AgiDu kAN nenjE! * avar tiRattE
yAdAnum sindittiru (9)
2593. Oh, my heart (manamE)! How many times will You remind the Lord that You are His servant? If He is not attainable, what is the use of Your anxiety? From today change Your attitude. Vow that irrespective of anything that happens in Your life, you will be always thinking of KrishNa without worrying. (9)
Doru nAlvar * Oriruvar allAl ** - tirumARku
yAmAr? vaNakkamAr? * EpAvam nannenjE! *
nAmA miga uDaiyOm nAzh (10)
2594. Who are we to the universal Lord tirumAl? We are none among the 33-crore powerful devatas lead by eight vasus (irunAlvar – ashtavasus), the eleven Rudras (eeraindin mEl oruvar – EkAdasa rudras), the twelve Adityas (eTTODu oru nAlvar) or the twin ashwini kumAras (Oriruvar). How will He identify us? Or How can we say that we are the most humble ones (vaNakkamAr)? Alas, O Heart! We only have a big tongue. (10)
PERIYA TIRUVANDADI 11 TO 20
PASURAMS 2595 TO 2604
vAzhA vagai validal nin valiyE ** - AzhAda
pArum nee vAnum nee * kAlum nee teeyum nee *
neerum neeyAy ninRa nee (11)
2595. Deprived of getting a glimpse of the Lord, nammAzhvAr decides to stop glorifying or contemplating upon the Lord and maintain silence.
Yet AzhvAr finds that he was instigated by a divine force (none other than the Lord) and his lips started singing His praises!
perumAnE! Your creation is astounding. You are the huge ball of earth which does not sink in the water surrounding it! (AzhAda pArum nee); You are the elements of the panchabhootAs which are the Bhoomi, fire, water, space and air (maN,neer,eri,kARRu,AgAyam). Being the inner controller of the bhootAs you effortlessly created the vibhutis with the panchabhootAs which have a natural instinct of contradicting each other!
Lord! Your attribute of veeram is amazingly similar to how swami desikan lauds him as jaya mahAveerA!(In Raghuveera gadyam). You waged a war with the mighty rAvana to shatter his pride though his soul desired to live (nAzhAl amar muyanRa). Didn’t you suck that sweet soul (in uyirai) of rAvana very skilfully ultimately granting him the highest abode too?
Dear Lord! Which act of yours do you consider great and befitting? Killing the mighty rAvana or causing a weakling like me to lose my determination to sing for you thus refusing to heed to my request of manifesting before me? (11)
pOyonRu solli en? pO nenjE! ** - nee enRum
kAzhttu upadEsam tarinum * kaikkoLLAy * kaNNan tAL
vAzhttuvadE kaNDAy vazhakku (12)
2596. This pAsuram is an enjoyable argumentative conversation between AzhvAr and His mind (nenju).
tirumARkku yAmAr? vaNakkamAr?E pAvam nal nenjE! (திருமாற்கு யாமார் வணக்கமார்? ஏபாவம் நன்னெஞ்சே!)- AzhvAr speaks with regret to his mind in the 10th pAsuram. He felt disappointed assuming that the lord preferred to avoid giving darisanam to AzhvAr as he was a mere human.
In this pAsuram, AzhvAr felt a sharp pang of remorse and disappointment towards his mind having realised his ignorance and lack of mahAvishvAsam on the lord.
AzhvAr- Oh! nenjE! You are to be blamed for drowning me into this ocean of sadness. I wasted several days refraining from contemplating on the Lord, as tirumaisai pirAn says pazhudupOy kazhindana nAtkaL in tirumAlai.
Nenju- Azhveer, You are the cause for this state of guilt, not me!
AzhvAr- the shruti vAkyam says यत्मनसा ध्यायति, तत् वाचा वदति, the mouth speaks what the mind tells. Hence you should have corrected me immediately.
Nenju- It was you who summoned me and said iyaRRuvAy emmODu nee kooDi (இயற்றுவாயெம்மொடுநீகூடி - 1st pAsuram), requesting me to loyally stand by you without imposing my personal opinions. Hence, I just obeyed you. Then you also felt sorry for me and addressed me as E pAvam nal nenjE!
AzhvAr- (pOy onRu cholli en?) Why should we argue now? Let us ignore what happened. As constant bhagavad anubhavam should be the goal, you should correct me from now on. emperumAn has immense vAtsalyam towards me as he made me applaud Him without provocation inspite of my resolution to remain silent.
nenjE! You never regard my upadEsams with respect (tarinum nee enRum kAlattu upadEsam kai koLLAy). Aspiring for kaNNan’s tiruvaDis and incessantly contemplating on Him should be our purushArtam (kaNNan tAl vAzhttuvadE kaNDAy vazhakku).
AzhvAr’s mind now promises to remain his loyal servant forever. (12)
izhakkavum kANDum iRaiva! - izhappuNDE? **
emmATkoNDAgilum * yAn vENDa en kaNgaL *
tammAl kATTu un mEnichchAy (13)
2597. After commanding his mind to obey him, AzhvAr puts up an earnest request to emperumAn.
Dear Lord! My intense desire is to applaud your divya mangaLa vigraham but you seem to avoid me. If you crave to hear my songs which glorify you then please hear me out.
Now I have an honest request which may sound bizzare (vazhkkoDu mArukOL anRu) though it is justifiable. In this material world, it is natural for a righteous leader to appease the desires of his followers even if there is a loss at the extent of losing his possessions. You are the supreme One therefore you have nothing to lose at all. Since you are the sarvEshavaran (sEshi) and sarvarakshagan, undoubtedly, I become your sEsha bhootan who is your ardent devotee too!
I look upon you alone for my demands and desires to be satisfied. Having addressed you as ‘iraivA’ itself proves that I am your bhakta. If you still doubt my bhakti, consider my request (em ATkoNDAkilum) and instill in me the qualities of a sEsha bhootan. My eyes are yearning to have a blissful experience of your lustrous divine tirumEni (en kaNgaL tammAlkATTu unmEni chAy). Even sitA pirATTi tells HanumAn in sundara kANDam (40-3) यथा तम् पुरुष व्याघ्रम् गात्रैः शोक अभिकर्शितैः |संस्पृशेयम् सकामा अहम् तथा कुरु दयाम् मयि ||My limbs which have become skinny due to grief, wish to touch that Lord rAma who is tiger among men. (13)
pEyAr mulai koDuttAr pEyarAy ** - nee yAr? pOyt
tEmpUN suvaittu * Un aRindaRindum * teevinaiyAm
pAmbAr vAyk kaineeTTal pArtti (14)
2598. Pleased with nammAzhvAr , Lord nArAyaNA decides to show a glimpse of himself. The highly intuitive AzhvAr realising the Lord’s desire at once feels unfit to enjoy the divine moment (This is called naichyAnusandAnam).
He calls out to his mind. The rAkshasi pootanA full of deceit disguised as a beautiful woman, having smeared poison on her breasts came to kill the infant kaNNan. She failed to realize that the dark hued kaNNapirAn was the sarvEshvaran. nenjE! Don’t you seem to be related to her?
The troubled and surprised mind demands for a reason. AzhvAr replies.
It is acceptable that pootanA behaved cruelly due to her birth as a rAkshasi but nenjE, you can be placed in a lower level than her as you have forgotten your true self (svaroopam). Having taken a human birth you are expected to master the shAstras for the elevation of the pure soul (AtmA). Instead, you are permanently immersed in the sensory pleasures utilizing all your indriyAs (tEmpooN) inspite of being aware that this behaviour is unacceptable as it corrupts the clean Atma which loves to relish bhagavad anubhavam alone. This is svaroopa nAshanam! Your behaviour can be compared to a person who puts his hand into the mouth of a serpent regardless of knowing that it will bite (pAmbArvAy kaiviDal pArtti)! (14)
pErttOdap * peeDazhivAm pEchchillai ** - Arttu Odam
tam mEni * tAL taDavat tAm kiDandu * tammuDaiya
semmEnik kaN vaLarvAr seer (15)
2599. In the previous pAsuram AzhvAr considered himself unfit for bhagavad anubhavam. Now he commands His mind to glorify Him. This quality of considering oneself not befitting out of paramabhakti and humility is called ayOgyAnusandAnam.
Oh manamE! Throw off the bondages of the samsAra and move on to glorify the wonderful divyamaNgaLa vigraham of that shreeman nArayaNA who lies in the milky ocean. Behold and blissfully enjoy Him as if he has manifested in front of you (pArtu Or ediritA). His magnificent gorgeous tirumEni and His divine tiruvaDis are fondly pampered by the lashing waves of the surging ocean which seem to resemble the hands. You can see this reddish lotus eyed emperumAn reclining on the serpent bed in yOganidra. As nammAzhvAr himself lauds Him saying uraNguvAn pOl yOgu seida perumAnai (tiruvAymozhi 5.4.11), He who is pretending to sleep but incessantly engaged in the task of protecting His devotees (rakshagatvam).
Oh! nenjE! Exalting His amazing attributes will dissolve our deadly sins that we have accumulated. It is normal for a common man to sing the praises of great men. Hence adoring the Lord with reverence will not malign his greatness which is immeasurable (peeDu azhivum pEchillai).(15)
pErvAmanAkAkkAl pErALA! ** - mArbArap
pulgi nee uNDu umizhnda * bUmi neer ERparidE? *
sollu neeyAm aRiyach sUzhndu (16)
2600. AzhvAr continues praising the Lord. Here he lauds the vAmana avatAram.
Dear Lord! The mother earth is your possession. Once during a deluge bhoomA dEvi had sunk getting stuck to the ocean bed. You retrieved her incarnating as the gorgeous varAha Moorthy, lovingly holding her close to your chest (mArpAra pulgi). Once again as an infant lying on a banyan leaf you swallowed the earth and safeguarded it during a cosmic deluge and spitted it out during creation (nee uNDu umizhnda Bhoomi)!
pErALA! One who loves your possessions (your true devotees)! You are always ready to stoop to any level for them. It seems as if you willingly incarnated as a dwarf to be born and brought up in a simple manner with a short stature which is generally not accepted with ease. Was this to uplift the community of dwarfs? (pErvAma nAgakkAl). You could have chosen to be born in a gracious family (seeRAl piRandu) of great seers. siRappAl vaLarAdu- You could have chosen to be born like rAma or krishna and brought up in a kingly manner as the sloka says महता तपसा रामा, महता चापि कर्मणा।- rAma was born after great sacrifices and penances (Ramayana aranya kandam 66-3).
Being the sarvEshvaran, why couldn’t you regain the earth from king bali without belittling yourself by begging and accepting argyam? Did you think that it is impossible to regain the earth- which belongs to you alone? AzhvAr is astounded by the attributes of sausheelyam and soulabhyam of emperumAn.
Dear Lord! Please elucidate your reason to my understanding for choosing to incarnate as a dwarf? (sollu nee yAm aRiya shoozhndu?). The ways of the Lord are inscrutable and beyond our understanding as purusha sooktam 27 declares अजायमानो बहुधा विजायते। तस्य धीराः परिजानन्ति योनिम्| (Only the knowledgeable can perceive the mysteries of His incarnations in various forms).
koorttAzhvAn poses a similar question in sundarabahu stavam to tirumAliruncholai perumAl-
क्षिथिरियं जनिसंहृति पालनैः, निगिरणोत् गिरणोधरणैः अपि।
वनगिरीशः! तवैव सती कथं, वरद वामन भिक्षनमर्हति?।।
Is it worthy of your supremacy, the possessor of all to stoop to beg and regain the earth from an asura king disguised as a dwarf? Are you unaware of your kalyANagunas of creation, protection, swallowing and protecting the earth during deluge and manifesting in various avatArs? (16)
vAzhndiDuvar pinnum tam vAy tiRavAr ** - sUzhndu engum
vAL varaigaL pOl arakkan * van talaigaL tAm iDiya *
tAL varai vil EndinAr tAm (17)
2601. NammAzhvAr lauds the wonderful kalyANa guna of vAtsalyam of the Lord (attribute of turning a blind eye to our ignorance and misdeeds due to compassion).
mahAveeran rAmapirAn effortlessly slayed the mighty heads of rAvana strewing them all around. rAmapirAn being the paratvam incarnated in this leela vibhuti to protect his devotees ready to wield His mighty bow called kOdaNDam. He boldly proclaims to protect them saying,”aDiyAr vENDinakkAl- If you wish you can surrender to me.” Unfortunately opposing or undermining His request the samsArees caught in the shackles of trivial pursuits seemed to remain ignorant or negligent to His request. Yet the Lord remains gracious, compassionate and pleasant without any hatred or anger towards us (tOnRadu viTTAlum vAzhndiduvar). Surprisingly He doesn’t even prefer sharing this petty behaviour of ours with periya pirATTi!
emperumAn’s magnanimous gesture towards our behaviour is that he turns a blind eye to our ignorance due his unconditional love, evading our faults as parashara bhaTTar says in his Vishnu saharanAmam vyAkhyAnam that He is avigyAtA (अविज्ञाता-One who does not know- His attribute of ignoring the misdeeds of His devotees). (17 )
pAmbAl AppuNDu pADuRRAlum ** - sOmbAdu ip
palluruvai ellAm * paDarvitta vittA! * un
tolluruvai yAr aRivAr? sollu (18)
2602. nammAzhvAr hails the young kaNNan who never gave up on his possessions (the jeevAs) despite of being ill-treated on the earth.
AdimoolamE! You are the supreme one ( anantan) who possesses all the amazing kalyAnagunAs. You create variety of beings and incarnate in various forms. Though you are the paratvam residing in paramapadam, you exhibited the pleasing qualities of saulabhyam on the earth merely out of compassion for your possessions which are the sentient and non-sentient beings.
Mother yashOdA tied a rope along your waist for stealing butter leaving a scar (tazhumbu) and you allowed her to tie it (tAmbAl AppuNDAlum) just as madurakavi AzhvAr lauds you by singing kanninur siru tAmbinAl kaTTuNNa paNNiya perumanE! Then kAliyA snake spitting venom in the YamunA river wound itself around you tight enough to leave you in pain with several scars!
The behaviour of mother yashOda towards you is acceptable as it was due to affection (anukoolyam) but that of kAliyA was unforgivable as he wished to kill you (prAtikoolyam)! Yet you seem to be indifferent to these incidents forgiving the jeevAs and continue your sankalpam of creation probably being very optimistic that one day all the jeevAs will surrender to you willingly!
vittA! Is there anyone who can recognise your svaroopam or true self which is beyond the perception of a normal person? Explain to me in detail (un tolluruvai yAr aRivAr?sollu.). (18)
elli pagal ennAdu eppOdum ** - tollaik kaN
mAttAnaikkellAm * Or aivaraiyE mARAga *
kAttAnaik kANDum nee kAN (19)
2603. In this pAsuram AzhvAr hails the grown up kaNNan who sheltered his devotees. He summons the mind which seems to be distressed unable to reach the Lord.
Soodu aRiyA nenjE! Do not be perturbed. You are so naïve! It is true that you desire to see emperumAn. If you honestly aspire you can perceive him (nee kAN). You are worried because you do not know the path or upAyam to reach Him. If we start talking and contemplating on the kalyANa gunAs of the lord, it is endless. If we enjoyably enumerate them, they will unknowingly eliminate our defects. Hence without considering yourself unworthy, choose this path with sincere devotion towards Him.
AzhvAr emphasizes on Lord krishna’s attribute of Ashrita RakshaNam in the ancient times protecting the pANDavas at all times. The pANDavas had unwavering faith and abundant devotion towards kaNNan.The Lord who is easily accessible (sulabhan) and filled with compassion is portrayed clearly in his behaviour towards the pAndavas in the war. During the mahAbhArata war undeterred by the huge army of duryOdhana, Lord krishnA chose to fight supporting the pANDavas in favour of righteousness. The kaurava army suffered a huge loss. krishNa willingly took initiative to help the pAnDavas during the war and made them victorious. PeriyAzhvAr echoes a similar pAsuram (2.1.2) saying ‘malaipurai tOL mannavarum mAradarum maRRum ,palar kulaiya nooRRuvarum paTTazhiya; pArttan silai vaLaiyat tiNtErmEl munninRa’- The valourous kings, the great charioteers shivered in front of him while He destroyed the 100 Kauravas. KaNNan stood steady on the chariot as a sArathi for arjunA keeping his bow always bent ready to charge and finally made him win the battle.
This attribute of the Lord proves his simplicity towards his devotees, who succumbs to their bhakti ready to always protect them. nenjE! When He decides to shower His grace on us, we have nothing to fear just like the pAndavas. Hence if we have immense faith and one pointed devotion as toNDaraDipoDi AzhvAr says in tirumAlai- ‘meyyarkE meyyan Agum’, He will surely manifest to you (nee kAN). (19)
nANappaDumanRE? nAm pEsil ** - mANi
uruvAgik koNDu * ulagam neer ERRa seerAn *
tiruvAgam teeNDiRRuch senRu (20)
2604. Having advised the mind in the previous pAsuram, AzhvAr suddenly felt it is highly unworthy of his mind to attain Him by just contemplating on him.
nammAzhvAr tells his wise intellect ‘aRivu koNDa nal nenjE!’ Reiterate that perceiving the Lord on our own is not worthy as it reflects our ego. AzhvAr feels ashamed for overestimating himself and says with conviction that it is purely due to the grace of emperumAn alone .
What more to speak about the way the Lord showered his abundant grace during trivikrama avatAram? Lord nArAyaNa is ceaselessly trying to take us into His fold without any discrimination. He disguised as a dwarf, accepted argyam from mahAbali and gorgeously grew to measure the worlds. Measuring was just a pretext. Wishing to grace all the jeevas, His divya tirumEni and tiruvaDi pervaded on every being without discrimination.
Thus, nenjE! Our efforts and desire of getting a glimpse of Him, talking to him is nothing in front of His vAtsalyam and kAruNyam for the jeevas! When emperumAn himself manifests or comes to save his devotees, that chEtana is more blessed than one who puts in humongous self-effort to attain Him. Taittireeya Upanishad (1st kANDam 6th prashnam) says a jeeva who is graced by the Lord is always honoured- प्रजापतिं त्वोवेद, प्रजापतिं त्वंवेद, यं प्रजापतिर्वैद स पुण्यो भवति। (20)
PERIYA TIRUVANDADI 21 TO 30
PASURAMS 2605 TO 2614
2605. senRangu vennaragil * sErAmal kAppadaRku *
inRingu en nenjAl iDukkuNDa ** - anRangup
pAruruvum pAr vaLaitta * neeruruvum kaN pudaiya *
kAruruvan tAn nimirtta kAl (21)
2605. In this pAsuram, nammAzhwAr declares with jubilance that, desirous of residing permanently in AzhvAr's heart, emperumAn set His divine tiruvaDi which spanned the entire cosmos.
Back then, when the earth was repressed under the rule of King mahAbali, emperumAn entered the sacrificial yard, where the king was performing yagyas. The rain cloud hued perumAL lifted His divine tiruvaDi, and in an eye blinding (kaNpudaiya) moment, measured up the entire landmass and the water that encompassed it. This same tiruvaDi, to save me from toiling in hell, now, remains enshrined in my heart! And how!He shrunk (idukkuNdu) so as to be accommodated in my heart! (21)
mAlAr kuDi pugundAr en manattE ** - mElAl
tarukkum iDam pATTinoDum * valvinaiyAr tAm * veeR
Rirukkum iDam kANAdu iLaittu (22)
2606. What else, but His abundant compassion could make it possible for Him to choose to reside in my heart, exclaims nammAzhwAr.
TirumAl has indeed arrived in my heart! ( mAlAr kudipugundhAr en manatthE). The terrible sins ( val vinai) that had so far occupied my heart,troubling me by constantly holding sway over me, has disappeared without a trace!(vIRRirukkum idam kANAdhiLaithu). After having vacated my heart and not finding any other place to take refuge, the sins have now waned and are left wailing! (katuvarAm). (22)
iLaikka naman tamargaL paRRi - iLaippeyda **
nAytandu mOdAmal * nalguvAn nalkAppAn *
tAy tandai evvuyirkkum tAn (23)
2607. AzhvAr addresses his heart and says that emperumAn is the only bondage that will remain permanently.
O heart! The servants of yama (naman tamargaL) will catch hold of us (iLaikka), making us writhe in pain. Apart from this, they will also set the dogs on us and aggravate our agony. At that moment, whether emperumAn comes to our rescue or not (nalguvAn nalkAppAn),always know that He is indeed the mother and father for all chEtana and achEtana vast. Having disclosed this prime truth, I leave it to you to either derive succor or to go astray (iLaippAi iLaiyAppAi).
**There are times when emperumAn exhibits His immense compassion and other times when He is seemingly indifferent. Whatever may be the case, it is important that we realize that He alone is our saviour and we have to remain committed to this divine bondage, AzhvAr advices his heart. (23)
tAnE piRargaTkum taRROnRal ** - tAnE
iLaikkil pAr keezh mElAm * meeNDu amaippAnAnAl *
aLakkiRpAr pArin mEl Ar? (24)
2608. This emperumAn is the omnicient one (tanitORal). He is unparalleled(oppillAdhAn). He exists in and is responsible for aĺ the chEtana and achEtana beings. If this emperumAn, of such caliber, decides to slacken His attention towards protection of the universe, the earlier cosmos will become topsy-turvy and result in a disaster. He alone and none other can restore normalcy. Can there be anyone who can even assess the immense capabilities of emperumAn?
** In the previous pAsuram, AzhvAr says emperumAn is like the father and mother to all. In order to refrain his heart from attributing the deed of protection to other dEvAntharas, he hastens to lay emphasis on the fact that emperumAn alone is sarvarakshakan. (24)
ArAyndu * adu tiruttal AvadE? ** - seerAr
manattalai * vantunbattai mARRinEn * vAnOr
inat talaivan kaNNanAl yAn (25)
2609. Let the people do what they please (Arcanum AdAnum cheyya). In this expansive world is it humanely possible for me to examine the deeds of every individual and set them on the right path? On my part, I have rid of all my sorrows that filled my heart, by the grace of emperumAn kaNNan, who is the head of all the nityasooris. (25)
kAnum malaiyum pugak kaDivAn ** - tAnOr
iruL anna mAmEni * em iRaiyAr tanda *
aruL ennum taNDAl aDittu 26
2610. Only with emperumAn's grace, I could get rid of all my sorrows!
With the help of the staff, which is, but the grace(aruL ennum thaNdu) of the dark complexioned emperumAn (iruLanna mAmEni), me and my heart are willingly awaiting to chase away (kaDivAn), the terrible sins (valvinai) accumulated in my heart for so long, away into the forest and mountains (kAnum malaiyum), never to return! (26)
muDiyAl * visumbaLanda muttO? ** - neDiyAy!
seRikazhalgaL tAL nimirttuch * senRu ulagam ellAm *
aRigilAm Al nee aLanda anRu 27
2611. AzhvAr feels that emperumAn is delighted that AzhvAr set himself and his heart at His tiruvaDi.
BhagavAnE!( nediyAi). Your divine feet which is adorned with the victory anklet ( seRi kazhal), measured the upper world and the underworld when You took the trivikrams avatAram. Is Your delight(muthu) because You measured the Earth with Your divine tiruvaDi? (adiyAl padi kadandha muttO?) Or is Your delight because Your tirumuDi measured the space and the upper world? (angel mudiyAl visumbaLandha muthO?) Who indeed is capable of defining the delight that spreads in Your tiruuLLam at this moment? (arigilam). (27)
inRE nAm kANAdiruppaduvum ** - enREnum
kaTkaNNAl * kANAda avvuruvai * nenjennum
uTkaNNEl kANum uNarndu (28)
2612. AzhvAr now desires to have the darshan of this trivikrama perumAL, who he described in the previous pAsuram.
The roopam of emperumAn is not possible to be envisioned with our mortal eyes (katkaN). We can get this vision, only when our heart is filled with bhakti and it blossoms to open our inner eye (utkaN). When our heart is brimming with bhakti, in that moment, we can have the darshan of this dark hued emperumAn wielding the sudharshana chakram, with even our mortal eye! (anRE nam kaN kANum AzhyAn Kar uruvam)We will be deprived of experiencing Him with our eye, now, only until our inner eye is illuminated by wisdom and bhakti. (28)
iNarum tuzhAy alangal endai ** - uNarat
tanakku eLiyar evvaLavar * avvaLavan AnAl *
enakkeLiyan emperumAn ingu (29)
2613. On hearing AzhvAr's declaration that seeing emperumAn's tiru uruvam was not to be, He decides to display His soulabhya gunA and give AzhvAr the darshan he is desirous of.
Is the emperumAn who wears the glorious tirutuzhai garland, realized by anyone who tries to achieve on his own effort? (uNara oruvaRku eLiyanE?) No!
Only to those who are subservient to Him (thankful eLiyar)... who have immense love for Him (evvaLavar), He reveals Himself. AzhvAr claims.... Now and here, I can envision Him only because of His soulabhyam. (enakku eLiyan emperumAn ingu). (29)
sengaNmAl * seerkkum siRiduLLam ** - angE
maDi aDakki niRpadanil * valvinaiyAr tAm * meeNDu
aDi eDuppadanRO azhagu? (30)
2614. AzhvAr is ecstatic on experiencing the saulabhya gunam of emperumAn and once again talks of the sins and sorrows, that hitherto occupied his heart.
All the sins and sorrows that dwelt in my heart shall not remain here any longer (ingillai paNdupOi VIRRiruthal). My heart can only accommodate my emperumAn, whose eyes are red reflecting His kalyANa guNas and the tenderness He has towards me! My heart has no space for anything else. The sins that so far occupied my heart will have to remove itself and vacate, instead of trying to squeeze (madiyadakki niRpadu) itself and remain within. (30)
PERIYA TIRUVANDADI 31 TO 40
PASURAMS 2615 TO 2624
nizhalum aDitARumAnOm ** - suzhalak
kuDangaL * talai meedeDuttuk koNDADi * anRu at
taDangaDalai mEyAr tamakku (31)
2615. We have found the best path called prapatti yOgam to reach BhagavAn. Hence, He shall destroy all the terrible sins we accumulated over a long time. We have sought refuge under the feet of krishNa, the ‘kuDamADum koottan” who once upon a time juggled numerous pots into the air above his head and reached the milky ocean to recline gracefully. By surrendering under the feet of this supreme, compassionate Lord KrishNa, aren’t we blessed to be His shadow (nizhalum) as well as His footprints (aDi tArum, pAda rEkhA)? (31)
tamakku * aDimai sey enRAl seyyAdu ** - emakku enRum8
tAm seyyum teevinaikkE * tAzhvuRuvar nenjinAr *
yAn seyvadu ivviDattu ingu yAdu? (32)
2616. Food for brain, AzhvAr talks about the disjunct between is intellect and his heart.
We are the sEshabhootas (servants) of the sweet Lord dAmOdara who allowed Himself to be tied by a rope. When such a simple and kind Lord wants my heart to worship Him, suddenly my heart refuses to surrender. It wants to be independent and commit wrong actions. What can I do in such a situation? I can neither support my heart nor worship the Lord. (32)
yAdAnum nErndu aNugAvARu tAn? ** - yAdAnum
tERumA seyyA * asurargaLai * nEmiyAl
pARu pARAkkinAn pAl (33)
2617. The asuras who refuse to act according to bhagavAn’s wishes are torn into small, small pieces by emperumAn’s sudarshana chakra. Every AtmA must realize the all-powerfulness and big heartedness of emperumAn and surrender to Him with joy. Why does no one take the step to love God and realise His presence (33).
kAlAzhum nenjazhiyum kaN suzhalum ** - neelAzhich
sOdiyAy! AdiyAy! * tolvinai empAl kaDiyum *
neediyAy! niRsArndu ninRu (34)
2618. Oh Lord NArAyaNa having the radiance of the blue ocean! (neelAzhi chOtiyAy). You are the foremost cause for the creation of the world! (AdiyAy). You are the only one who can absolve me of my chronic sins. The moment I hear that You are reclining on the milky ocean solely to bless everyone, my legs wobble and I am unable to walk, my heart melts like liquid, and my eyes roll rendering me blind to all objects. (Such is my love for You). (34)
onRumO ARRAn en nenjagalAn ** - anRu angai
vanpuDaiyAl ponpeyarOn * vAy tagarttu mArviDandAn *
anbuDaiyan anRE avan? (35)
2619. EmperumAn is blessing all of us taking different postures like standing, sitting, sleeping, and striding (trivikrama). Not satisfied with all these abodes, He has come to rest in the temple of my heart unwilling to move out ever. In the days of yore, He came down as Lord Narasimha, slapped HiraNyakashapu, tore open his mouth and his chest in order to save PrahlAda. Isn’t He the one having abundant compassion? (35)
avanAm * avan enRirAdE ** - avanAm
avanE enat teLindu * kaNNanukkE teerndAl *
avanE evanElumAm 36
2620. NammAzhvAr has used the literary device called ‘anaphora’ /‘mOnai toDai’ in tamizh, beginning each line of this pAsuram with the word ‘avan’. The word-wise meanings are decoded here. Let’s enjoy:
avan Am? - Sometimes, we think that God is invisible. Hence, we construe him to be non-existent, and rare to attain. (avan durlabhan)
ivan Am? - Sometimes, we think that God lives in temples, or God is there in the form of noble persons. So, we construe Him to be compassionate and giving. (ivan sulabhan)
uvan Am? – Sometimes, we think that God is neutral, He is neither far away nor near us. We say He is unresponsive. (uvan madhyastan)
maRRu umbar avan Am? Or we think that God lives in a faraway unreachable abode beyond the dEvalOkas. So, we lack austerities to reach Him.
avan enRu eerAdE! – Don’t try to judge God in all these ways.
avan avanE Am enat teLindu – Without an iota of doubt, be 100 percent sure that He is the embodiment of saulabhyam (ease of attainment). The word BhagavAn itself means wellness. The very fact that You are thinking of Him means you are sure to attain Him.
kaNNanukkE teerndAl – If we surrender to krishNa thinking of his saulabhya guNas in his avatAra,
avanE evanElum Am - He will protect us taking the position of all types of relatives like father, mother, friend, sister, brother, etc. He will take which ever form you desire. (36)
nAmE adu uDaiyOm nannenjE! ** - pUmEy
madukaramE * taNtuzhAy mAlArai * vAzhttAm
adukaramE anbAl amai (37)
2621. After preaching the heart, AzhvAr says further:
Oh, my obedient heart (nal nenjE!). Now, you know well about bhagavAn, and You also know that You will attain BhagavAn with devotion. Isn’t this brahma gyAnam (divine wisdom) rare to get? We have got this wisdom purely due to bhagavat krupA. Hence, with one pointed devotion, always sing the praises of KrishNa wearing the cool tulasi garland hovered around by flower bees. Let this be your only work. (37)
imaikkum pozhudum iDaichchi - kumaittiRangaL **
EsiyE Ayinum * eentuzhAy mAyanaiyE *
pEsiyE pOkkAy pizhai (38)
2622. Continuing his advice, nammAzhvAr says:
Oh dear heart! Are you wondering that it is impossible to spend every minute thinking of bhagavAn? Not at all. Do you think we can waste even a minute on idle time? If you feel incompetent to praise KrishNa with high flown words, leave it. But please don’t ignore sat vishayam. At least keep talking about KrishNa’s mischiefs, and how He was punished by YashOdA. (EsiyE Ayinum * InthuzhAy mAyanaiyE * pEsiyE pOkkAy pizhai)
Keep telling His pranky stories like - KrishNa stole all the butter, He was caught red-handed by the cowherdesses of Gokula, He was tied to the mortar with a rope by YashOdA maiyyA, He got wacked by YashOdA and wept, etc. By talking about the Lord wearing the mesmerising tulasi garland, we are actually praising His saulabhya guNa of being accessible to devotees. All our sins will be extinguished by sharing krishNa kathA with everyone. (38)
tazhaikkum tuzhAy mArvan tannai ** - azhaittu orukAl
pOy upakAram * poliyak koLLAdu * avan pugazhE
vAy upakAram koNDa vAyppu (39)
2623. AzhvAr advises the heart to enjoy his kainkaryam in this world.
Dear Heart, Do You think that we have missed the chance to do kainkaryam at Paramapadam for the beautiful Lord wearing the freshly sprouting tulasi garland.? Don’t think so. Kainkaryam starts from bhooLOka itself. May you not think that one should do kainkaryam only after reaching SreevaikunTham. That is not right. You should not wait that long lest we shall get lost in worldly matters. We are fortunate that we can use our mouth to sing about His roopas and guNas through our pAsurams. So, please consider bhajanam itself as a great kainkaryam. (39)
pOyp pOoy vennaragil pUviyEl ** - teeppAla
pEyt tAy * uyirkalAyp pAl uNDu * avaL uyirai
mAyttAnai vAzhttE vali (40)
2624. Come, O heart (vA nenjE)! We will never get such a wonderful opportunity again (vAyppO idu oppA maRRillai). Do not push me into the terrible hell again and again by behaving lowly (pOy pOy ven naragil puviyEl). Rise up. Our strength lies in praising again and again the Lord who skillfully sucked both the life and the poisoned milk from the wicked demon-mother pootanA (tee pAla pEy tAy). (40)
PERIYA TIRUVANDADI 41 TO 50
PASURAMS 2625 to 2634
valiya muDi iDiya vAngi ** - valiya nin
ponnAzhik kaiyAl * puDaittiDudi keeLAdE *
palnALum niRkum ippAr (41)
2625. AzhvAr is shocked at the attitude of the people on earth who remained as silent spectators when the Lord destroyed the mallas (wrestlers). AzhvAr describes the incident of the destruction of the mallas.
"Valiyam ena ninaittu......mallar" According to the plan of kamsa, the wrestlers ChAnoora and MushThika, thinking that they are the strongest to defeat kaNNan, came to wrestle with the lord. But Lord KrishNa seized their powerful heads with His divine hand (Instead of tearing their mouths similar to the way He did to demon Kesi and to HirAnyan in His Nrisimha AvAtar) which holds the divine Srichakra. They fell down like lightning. It is only because of this deed that this earth remains undestroyed and stable says the narrator.
"Kilaadhey nirkkum".
This phrase refers to the people on earth (பார்) who stood silent on seeing this deed of the lord. He says that those who saw the fight between the powerful and rude wrestlers will never ever face death and their longevity will keep on increasing and that is their sin. (41)
pAriDam munpaDaittAn enbarAl ** - pAriDam
AvAnum * tAnAnAl AriDamE? * maRRoruvarkku
AvAn pugAvAl avai (42)
2626. In this pAsuram, AzhvAr feels that emperumAn is the only refuge and He has proved in many ways that He is the ultimate protector.
He lists all such ways and divine deeds through which emperumAn has protected and saved the world.
*He kept all the worlds in His stomach during the time of pralaya / deluge and thus protected the world.
*He later spat out the world thus kept inside.
*His took the form of a boar and dug out the world (Varaha avatAr) and protected it again.
*His avatAra as Trivikrama to save Indra from MahAbali when He measured the entire world with His divine feet.
*He protected the chEtanas and made them eligible to witness the worldly pleasures.
*Several authentic texts reveal that none other than emperumAn would perform such great tasks.
*By all these forms, it is proven that He is within every soul and He alone is the prapancham (universe) as well.
*He is the Shareera and Shareeri (body and soul) and Veda also says that the entire world is Brahmam.
*If the lord is everything and is in everything then who else other than Sriman Narayanan can be our protector, refuge and the one worthy of worshipping? Questions AzhvAr. (42)
navaiyai naLirvippAn tannai ** - kavaiyil
manattuyara vaittirundu * vAzhttAdArkku uNDO? *
manattuyarai mAykkum vagai (43)
2627. EmperumAn always removes the troubles of the dEvas (and makes them vanish) who approach Him asking for abhayam.
"நவை" = troubles / sins which are the root cause of creating all troubles.
"கவை" = doubt.
How will one remove their mental stress and agony if they do not keep emperumAn in a secured place in their minds and who do not think of emperumAn always and praise Him? Only if one places Him piously, will one realise that He is the ultimate source of happiness and enjoyment. (43)
miga vAyndu veezhA enilum ** - miga vAyndu
mAlait tAm * vAzhttAdu iruppar idu anRE? *
mElait tAm seyyum vinai (44)
2628. In this pAsuram, AzhvAr says that it is only due to their sins*(வினை) that the SamsAris face unlimited sufferings on this earth. He feels sad and worried that the humans who possess abundant knowledge and wisdom, fail to spend their time and energy and research in praising the lord. He says that this action would only increase their sins.
**Tirunaraiyoor araiyar interprets the term 'vinai' as the result of the sins committed in earlier births. He says that the soul, mind, and tongue should only feel, think, and talk of the divine qualities of the emperumAn.
Another angle of the term 'vinai' has been viewed by ParAsara BhaTRar ......... It is not the sins but only the sinful deed of not praising emperumAn. (44)
tinaiyAm siRidaLavum sella - ninaiyAdu **
vAsagattAl EttinEn * vAnOr tozhudu iRainjum *
nAyagattAn ponnaDikkaL nAn (45)
2629. வாசகத்தால் ஏத்தினேன்.....
This phrase refers to the sense organ - the mouth/ speech. AzhvAr fears his separation from the Lord resulting from his karma/sins on earlier births. He dare not imagine the passage of time without the worship of emperumAn and hence prays to Him through the of speech by the mouth.
வானோர் தொழுது இரைஞ்சும்......AzhvAr in this verse says that he will worship the sacred divine tiruvaDis of emperumAn which are being served uninterruptedly by the Nityasooris. He narrates that through the heart, soul, mind, and speech, one should worship His divine lotus feet (ponnaDikkAl) which serve both as upAyam and upEyam.(means and goal). (45)
tEngOda * neeruruvan sengaNmAl ** - neengAda
mAkadiyAm vennaragil * sErAmal kAppadaRku *
neekatiyA nenjE! ninai (46)
2630. AzhvAr warns and advises his heart to deeply think thus: Nenje!Listen!
"தேங்காத நீர் உருவன்".
*EmperumAn possesses the colour of the milky ocean and has red compassionate eyes that grant the fruit that once we attain Him He will never think of resending us back.
"Vennaragil serAmal kAppadarkku gadjiyAm".
*EmperumAn is the means for protecting us from falling into the cruel hell termed as samsAram.
*In both these verses it's clear Oh nenje! that He is the Upayam and upeyam. The only best way is to ever chant his NAmAs through our mouth and realise that He is the means and the goal and think of Him always as our only saviour and protector. (46)
ninaittiDavum vENDA nee nErE ** - ninaittu iRainja
evvaLavar * evviDattOr mAlE! * adu tAnum
evvaLavum uNDO? emakku (47)
2631.AzhvAr tells emperumAn that I (because of your blessings and grace) have enough gyAnam and wisdom to disconnect myself from worldly benefits and seek only your blessing.
நேரே நினைத்து இறைஞ்சியை எவ்வளவர் எவ்விடத்தோர்?
When the question was raised, who and from which place one could think of emperumAn as the goal and the means, the spontaneous answer was only the nityars and muktars from SriVaikunTham who have attained paramapadam are capable of thinking of Him as the ultimate.
AzhvAr further adds that SamsAris who do not have His kaTAksham seek low worldly benefits. But the fact is that emperumAn cannot dislike them because of their low requests concludes AzhvAr. (47)
amaittu irundOm aqdanRE yAmARu? ** - amaippolinda
men tOLi kAraNamA * vengOTTu ERu EzhuDanE *
konRAnaiyE manattuk koNDu (48)
2632. AzhvAr re-affirms his statement in this verse too.
"அஃது அன்றே ஆம் ஆறு"? Paramapadam is the world where Brahma,Vishnu and Indra reside. All are desirous to go there but there are many obstacles to attain that.
But AzhvAr is certain that the lord who removed all the hurdles (by controlling the seven fierce bulls) and attained nappinai pirAtti (அமை means bamboo. Here amai refers to the gentle bamboo like shoulders of nappinai) will remove all other hurdles and easen the path and serve as the means to attain mOksha.
ToNDaraDipoDi AzhvAr tirumAlai 2 - "இச்சுவைபெரிதும் வேண்டேன் அரங்கமா நகருளானே"...
AzhvAr too goes by the same verdict as tonDaradipodi AzhvAr. As he always has emperumAn in His heart and soul he is not interested even if it is the divine paramapadam. (48)
vaNDaRAp pUvai tAn maRRut tAn ** - kaNDa nAL
kAr uruvam * kAN tORum nenju ODum * kaNNanAr
pEruru enRemmaip pirindu (49)
2633. AzhvAr on seeing the clouds, huge mountains, vast oceans, dense darkness, poovai tree, feels that these are the various forms of Lord Krishna.
When looking at dark poonkuvalAi,"kaar uruvam" ( a type of dark coloured flower) blue coloured flower, kAyAmalar (in purple), koyel, peacock* also AzhvAr thinks that these are the symbols of the Lord and His heart and soul ever breathes His NAmA.
Whenever any dark-coloured object like the above is seen AzhvAr says: My heart runs away from me towards such objects".
*Similar meaning is depicted in NaachchiyAr Tirumozhi 9-4. (49)
tirinduzhalum sindanaiyAr tammai ** - purindu orukAl
AvA! ena irangAr * andO! validE kol? *
mAvAy piLandAr manam (50)
2634. AzhvAr taunts emperumAn by displaying pseudo hatred in this pAsuram. He blames that emperumAn is not showering His grace on him whose mind is always thinking of Him and whose heart has detached from him and is always wandering with the thought of the lord and without thinking of anything else in this world.
AzhvAr feels that even if there is slight delay by emperumAn in pouring his grace on His bakthas he accuses Him that He is the cause. மாவாய்பிளந்தவாறு..
AzhvAr hates emperumAn stating that the one (who is very kindhearted) who has performed several deeds such as killing the horse faced demon kesi for the sake of saving his Ashrita and to get rid of their troubles is now silent.
AzhvAr feels that now emperumAn's mind who was so kindhearted has turned hard like a stone. (50)
PERIYA TIRUVANDADI 51 TO 87
AUDIO LESSONS BY GURU SMT. SEETHA SARANATHAN
PERIYA TIRUVANDADI 51 TO 60PASURAMS 2635 to 2644
Sinam ALvittu Or iDattE sErttu ** - punamEya
taNtuzhAyAn aDiyait * tAn kANum aqdanRE *
vaNtuzhAm seerArkku mANbu (51)
2635. The greatness of a the noble shreevaishNava (vantuzhAm seerArkku) lies in his ability to subdue the five incorrigible persons called the five senses (Or aivar), direct them towards bhagavat vishayam, and always remain in the service of the divine feet of Lord NArAyaNa wearing the ever-fresh, cool tulasi garland. (51)
UN pAvittu * uNDAnadu Or uruvam ** - kANbAn nang
kaNNavA * maRRonRu kANuRA * seer paravAdu
uNNa vAy tAn uRumO onRu? (52)
2636. Once upon a time (aggyAnRu), He begged for land disguised as a dwarf brAhmin boy (mAN-dwarf, bhaavittu- diguised). Yet another time, He acted as if He drank the poisoned milk from the impish demon pootanA. My eyes crave to see His wonderful and adorable tirumEni and nothing else. My tongue craves to sing His ceaselessly virtuous tirunAmas and nothing else. (52)
en seyvan enRE irutti nee ** - nin pugazhil
vaigum * tam sintaiyilum maRRinidO? * nee avarkku
vaikuntam enRaruLum vAn (53)
2637. Oh Lord, Your eyes turn red due to your love for Your devotees (sem kaN mAl). I want to say something unique about You (onRu unDu). You are always thinking of what more you can do for your servitors. Those who contemplate on Your nectarine qualities will never consider Your abode of Vaikuntham (vAN) greater that their divine thoughts. Hari smaranam is ultimate bliss in itself.
VALMIKI RAMAYANA VERSE 39.15
स्नेहो मे परमो राजंस्त्वयि नित्यं प्रतिष्ठितः ।
भक्तिश्च नियता वीर भावो नान्यत्र गच्छति ॥ १५ ॥
sneho me paramo rājaṃstvayi nityaṃ pratiṣṭhitaḥ |
bhaktiśca niyatā vīra bhāvo nānyatra gacchati || 15 ||
HanumAn tells Lord RAma that his love for Him is ultimate and steadily fixed. And His devotion to rAma is so constant that he can never go to another place leaving this Veera rAghava! (53)
kAnO? orungiRRum kaNDilam Al ** - AneenRa
kanRuyarat tAm eRindu * kAy udirttAr tAL paNindOm *
vantuyarai yAvA! marungu (54)
2638. Ever since we surrendered under the divine feet of the deliverer, Lord KrishNa who flung the calf demon vatsAsura on the wood apple demon kappittAsura bringing down all its fruits, all are sins are missing. They are not seen anywhere in the vicinity (marungu kaNDilam). Are they hiding in the sky (orungiRRu vAnO? Or in the surging ocean (mari kaDalO)? Or in the air (marudamO)? Or in the fire (teeyagamO)? Or are they gone into the woods (kANO)? How sad (Ah Ah Auv)! (54)
marungE vara ariyarElum ** - orungE
emakku avaraik kANalAm * eppOdum uLLAl *
manak kavalai teerppAr varavu (55)
2639. Lord VishNu reclines beautifully on serpent AdisEsha wearing the ruby diadem, lashed by the close waves of the milky ocean (marungu – nearby). Though others find it impossible to reach Him, He always resides inside my heart in order to relieve me of all worries. (55)
oruvARu * oruvan pugAvARu ** - urumARum
Ayavar tAm sEyavar tAm * anRu ulagam tAyavar tAm *
mAyavar tAm kATTum vazhi (56)
2640. Hearing the above revelation of AzhvAr, few people asked him, Oh dear, How did You get this rare chance of holding the supreme Lord in Your heart continuously? AzhvAr replies:
It is really a wonder (Al ellE)!
I cannot say how this upAyam (path) came to me (Varavu Ar enRu illai!
One thing is sure that prapatti/sharanAgati yOga (kATTum vazhi) that I have adopted is perfect, and has given me satisfying results, and I am blessed to have a new life where I am enjoying KrishNa always (vAzhvu inudu). It is truly due to the causeless mercy of KrishNa (Ayavar tAm). Though He is unreachable (sEyavar tAm), He makes sure there is no need for a chEtana (Oruvan) to do any tough penance (oru Aru) to attain Him (pugA Aru). To bring His beloved devotees back to Him, krishNa takes self-effort, changes His swaroopam, and incarnates on this earth to perform many wonderous feats like striding the entire cosmos. This is how He infiltrates into our heart. All we must do is have faith in Him. (56)
tazheeikkoNDu pOr avuNan tannai ** - suzhittu engum
tAzhviDangaL paRRip * pulAl veLLam tAn ugaLa *
vAzhvaDanga mArviDanda mAl? (57)
2641. Oh my dear heart (nenjE)! Don’t you have any doubt on bhagavAn’s rakshakatvam. In a gory war to end the pride and haughtiness of the demon HiraNyakashyapu, Lord Narasimha tightly hugged him and ripped open his chest such that his blood gushed out like flood and swirled down to fill every low-lying area. Will such a Lord who was favorable to PrahlAda ever leave us. He will remove all ours accumulated sins that retain us in this earth and pave the quick way to reach Him. (57)
pAlE pOl * seeril pazhuttozhindEn ** - mElAl
piRappinmai peRRu * aDik keezhk kuRREval anRu *
maRappinmai yAn vENDum mADu (58)
2642. Oh the Lord of everyone, mAlE! I am submerged in the enjoyable milk of Your auspicious virtues (kalyAna guNas). Here after, You must give me the nitya anubhavam of enjoying your auspicious form (divya mangala vigraham) without break. I do not expect You do grant me the kainkaryam of serving under Your divine feet. The only wealth I want is that I never forget You. (marappu inmai yAn vENDum mADu). May I always remember You. (58)
kADAnum * AdAnum kaikkoLLAr ** - UDE pOyp
pErOdam sindu * tiraikkaN vaLarum * pErALan
pErOdach sindikkap pErndu (59)
2643. The moment we think of uttering the tirunAmas of the great Lord reclining amidst the huge milky ocean and lapped by the surging waves, all our sins should vanish away into the woods or some other place immediately. Sometimes, they come and stick to us again. Perhaps they want to live with us eternally. (59)
eentuzhAy mAyanaiyE en nenjE! ** - pErndengum
tollaimA vennaragil * sErAmal kAppadaRku *
illai kAN maRROr iRai (60)
2644. Oh, my dear heart! Do not think of anything else. Always think of the Lord wearing the ever-green tulasi garland. Despite my advice, if you want to ignore Him, get lost! There is no other God in this whole universe who can protect the jeevAtmAs. Hence escape from the timeless, huge, and terrific hell called samsAra. (60)
PERIYA TIRUVANDADI 61TO 70
PASURAMS 2645 TO 2654
AzhvAr declares that Lord Shreeman nArAyana alone is the supreme and a sulabhan with unassuming compassion for his bhaktas. Hence unstinted devotion towards Him should be our purushArtham.
tAdilagu * pUtteLittAl ovvAdE? * tAzh visumbin
meedilagit tAn kiDakkum meen (61)
2645. Having convinced his mind to consider emperumAn alone as the supreme, AzhvAr casually gazed at the night sky. nammAzhvar beholds the wondrous night sky with several sparkling stars. AzhvAr who perceives the Lord pervading in everything is suddenly reminded of trivikrama avatAra.
During trivikrama avatAra the Lord grew enormously tall and placed His divine foot on the sky blessing the upper worlds. Lord Brahma, the dEvas and all the celestials stood in an orderly manner and worshipped the tiruvaDi (sEvaDi mEl) offering variety of colourful flowers; reciting the vEda mantras as specified in the texts. The radiant stars in the sky appeared like the colourful pollen grains (tAdu ilagu poo) and petals of flowers strewn across the vast sky.
PeriyavAchAn piLLai shares an interesting incident based on this pAsuram.
Once siriyAchAn an acharyan, told his student nampiLLai-“ ஷ்ப்தாதி விஷயங்களில் நின்றும் நாம் மீள மாட்டாதார் போல, ஆழ்வார்கள் பகவத் விஷயத்தில் நின்றும் மீள மாட்டார்கள். Just as we cannot give up the material desires inspite of thinking of the lord similarly AzhvArs cannot imagine contemplating on anything other than the Lord when they observe anything in this world. (61)
vAnennum kEDilA vAnkuDaikku ** - tAnOr
maNik kAmbu pOl nimirndu * maN aLandAn * nangaL
piNikkAm perumarundu pin (62)
2646. AzhvAr explains trivikrama avatAra with a difference.
The limitless sky (vAn kuDai) is compared to the canopy and Lord trivikrama is compared to the handle of the umbrella. Similarly emperumAn is the imperishable shade for us. His gorgeous tirumEni expanded on the vast sky as His divine feet lengthened to reach the upper worlds.
His divyamaNgaLa tirumEni resembling a blue gem is like the handle holding the umbrella. The pearl like glittering stars seem to organize themselves to form the spokes (meen ennum kambin) adding beauty to the Lord. The bright moon (veRi veLLi) formed the silver hilt at the tip of the umbrella.
This huge umbrella or Lord trivikraman who measured the worlds stands magnificently above us merely to grace us with His nirhEtuka krupai which is the only medicine for the disease called samsAram (maNNaLandAn naNgaL piNikkAm perumarundu pin), says AzhvAr. (62)
vantiraikkaN vandaNainta vAymaittE ** - anRu
tiruchcheyya nEmiyAn * tee arakki mUkkum *
paruchcheviyum eernda paran (63)
2647. NammAzhvAr was contemplating and enjoying the Lord who is the perfect medicine for the samsArees. As he looked up, he saw a heavy water laden cloud rising up in the sky after sucking the vapours from the ocean. As the gust of winds hit it, the cloud moved in the direction of the wind. At one point the winds stopped blowing and the cloud seemed to embrace the ocean once again(that is causing heavy downpour of water which dissolved in the ocean).
AzhvArs who always thinks of the Lord and beholds Him in everything, beautifully compares the ocean to the pARkaDal; the Lord to the water laden cloud and the devas to the wind.
Long ago, AzhvAr says that the Lord from the milky ocean carrying the sudarshaNa chakram incarnated (tirucheyya nEmiyAn) as rAmapirAn who rose up like the copious water laden cloud from his abode pArkaDal loaded with compassion to reach the leelA vibhuti. He travelled with vigour to complete His task of rakshanam on the behest of the requests made by devas and bhaktAs to protect them. He gave relief to the dEvas and the sages who were tortured by the asuras. ramapirAn began with shearing off the nose and the broad ears of soorpaNakha. Then he singlehandedly vanquished the army of khara dooshaNa and killed the mighty rAvaNa and his army. Having completed the task for His devotees, the kAruNya moorthy rAma returned to pArkaDal completing the endeavour of dushTa nigraham, sishTa paripAlanam and dharma samsthApanam (pErndum pOy van tirai kaN vandu aNainda).(63)
uranAl oru mUnRu pOdum ** - maram Ezhu anRu
eydAnaip * puLLin vAy keeNDAnaiyE * amarar
kai tAn tozhAvE kalandu? (64)
2648. NammAzhvAr couldn’t resist praising the attribute of balam of the sriman nArAyana in rAma and krishna avatAra.
It is extremely important for us to bear in mind that Lord nArAyaNA being a sulabhan left His state of paratvam or supremacy in paramapadam and incarnated on the earth in vibhava avatArams to protect His devotees. Yet humans fail to understand this, says Lord krishna in bhagavad geeta (9.11)- अवजानन्ति मां मूढा मानुषीं तनुमाश्रितम्। परं भावमजानन्तो मम भूतमहेश्वरम्। The fools fail to recognise my supremacy when I take birth on the earth in a human womb.
AzhvAr gives us proofs of the Lord’s amazing feats as a human.
In rAma avatAram he performed two amazing feats in order to ingrain confidence in the monkey sugreeva that he could kill the mighty vAli. He dextrously pierced the seven sAla trees (maRam Ezhu anRu eidAnai) with one arrow which went around the subterranean plains, came up in a moment from the earth and returned to His quiver as mentioned in rAmAyaNa (4-12-4) सायकः तु मुहूर्तेन सालान भित्वा महजवाः| निष्पत्य च पुनः तूर्णाम् तम् एव परिवेश ह।। Then lord rAma lifted the skeleton of the rakshasa dundubhi and sportively flicked it across ten yOjanAs with His big toe!
In krishna avatAra, an asura called bakAsura disguised as a crane was sent by kamsa to kill krishna. The crane stood at the banks of the YamunA river while the cowherd boys and krishna watched it with amazement. The bird suddenly came and gulped kaNNan leaving the gopAs shocked. kaNNan blew fire from his mouth on the neck of the crane. Unable to bear the heat bakAsura threw him out. He tried to kill him by piercing him with his long sharp beak. krishna caught hold of the beak and tore it apart causing his death as AnDAl says in tiruppAvai- புள்ளின்வாய் கீண்டானை பொல்லா அரக்கனை.
The wise and the learned incessantly contemplate and prostrate the lord ascertaining that He is the paramapurusha (avan paran Am Adal) unlike a normal human being like us are still struggling to understand Him.
Won’t the devas and heavenly beings revere such wise men with folded hands? (Amarar kai tAn tozhAvE kalandu?) (64)
malanga aDittu maDippAn ** - vilangal pOl
tolmAlaik kEsavanai * nAraNanai mAdavanai *
solmAlai eppozhudum sUTTu 65
2649. NammAzhvAr pacifies his mind to steadily hold on to emperumAn and remain unmindful about pleasing the celestials. He advises his mind in three pAsurams.
nenjE! Since time immemorial we have been suffering due to countless grave sins accumulated by us during our cycle of births (naliyum kaDuntuyarai). The Lord who has abundant love for us since ancient times defends us like a mighty mountain (vilaNgupOl) ready to batter our sins and chase them away even if we swerve away from truth due to our karma vAsanas. emperumAn who is pure, remains firm like a mountain upholding the vEdas even when other schools of philosophy change our mindset. Hence, constantly engage yourself in singing the praise of that supreme One who is the nityan (permanent).
He is kEsavan! The One who has attractive locks of hair! One who killed the demon kEsi in horse form. nenjE! Sing His praises! As AndAl ( tiruppAvai) says- “kEsavanai pADavum nee kETTE kiDattiyO”. He is the master of Brahma and Shiva. He is nArAyaNan who is undoubtedly the Lord of all the sentient and non-sentient beings. He is the adorable mAdhavan! The beloved of pirATTi who holds her affectionately in his chest.
Just as a string of flowers (poomAlai) on the braids of a woman enhances her beauty similarly embellish the Lord glorifying Him with strings of pAsurams (pAmAlai) filled with bhakti. He will affectionately adorn them on His head (solmAlai) adding more beauty to Himself. (65)
mATTE tuyar izhaitta mAyavanai ** - eeTTa
veRi koNDa * taNtuzhAy vEdiyanai * nenjchE!
aRi kaNDAy sonnEn adu (66)
2650. nenjE! aRi kaNDAy! Constantly contemplate with unstinted devotion on that Lord who holds the sudarshana chakra (nEmiyAn). This amazing weapon is considered to destroy the enemies and perform asura rAkshasa samhAram. It also enhances His beauty like an AbharaNam. periyAzhvar proclaims in tirupallANDu-vaDivAr sOdi valatturaiyum suDar Azhiyum pallANDu!
Lord rAma is the mAyan with invincible attributes who incarnated to perform dushta nigraham and shishTa paripAlanam. He slayed the mighty rAvaNA subjecting him to fear and distress as sage vAlmiki opines in rAmayana ‘स्मरन् राघव बाणानां विल्यते राक्षसेश्वरः।The thought of stringing of rAma’s arrows caused fear and grief in rAvana. (rAmayana yudha kANDa 60.3)
This perumAn is the embodiment of the sacred vEdic texts. He is the gorgeous One who adorns the cool, fragrant tuLasi garland(veRi koNDa).
nenjE! Human beings are always ambitious. They succumb to worldly pleasures due to ignorance. I firmly aspire to incessantly ruminate and experience the bliss of the Lord alone. If I express this to the jeevAs they may belittle me. Hence I am confiding in you alone (adu sonnEn) as you are my dear possession. You are like-minded like me and cooperate with me to follow my thoughts without letting me deviate from my goal. (66)
aduvOr10 poruL illai anRE ** - aduvozhindu
maN inRu ALvEn enilum * kUDum maDanenjchE! *
kaNNan tAL vAzhttuvadE kal 67
2651. AzhvAr pleads to the mind to refrain from devatAntara sambandham as it gets swayed away very easily and that the Lord willingly grants whatever we desire.
emperumAn waits for an opportunity to fulfil our wishes. Periya tiruvandadi 53- “nin aDiyArku en seivan anRu irutti nee” says that kaNNan is the sulabhan and kAruNyasheelan. maDa nenjE! If you realise that attaining paramapadam is your purushArtam then granting it is his foremost desire (aNgu amar ulagu vENDil). If you wish to discard paramapadam and resolve to remain on the earth and rule, the Lord willingly grants that too (maN ninRu ALvEn ennilum)!
nenjE! In the leelA vibhuti where we reside, the demigods have the power to grant any boon but kaNNan alone can grant mOksha. He has the attribute to grant us enjoyment in the nitya vibhuti and leelA vibhuti too. Hence it does not matter whether you wish to reside on this earth (leelA vibhuti) or you desire paramapadam (nitya vibhuti); fulfilling these aspirations are very easy for Him.
Continue glorifying the divine feet of kaNNan with immense faith and true commitment realising that He is the sarva shaktan (kaNNan tAL vAzhtuvadE kal) just as kulashEkara AzhvAr voices that he desires to contemplate on the lotus feet of the Lord alone till his last breath चरणौ ते मरणेऽपि चिन्तयामि even if his residence is the earth, swargam or narakam (mukunda mAlai 6). (67)
pullenRu ozhindana kol? EpAvam! ** - vella
neDiyAn niRam kariyAn * uLpugundu neengAn *
aDiyEnadu uLLattagam (68)
2652. NammAzhvAr is overwhelmed that the lord chose to enter his heart and reside in it. Learned scholars consider this pAsuram to be very auspicious and advise us to chant it before going to bed.
The dark hued kaNNan (niRaNkariyAn) the sarvEshvaran has undoubtedly entered my heart! (it seems as if AzhvAr saw kaNNan entering!) says AzhvAr. It has always been His will, love for His devotees and abundant grace (nirhEtuka Krupa) that he resolves to reside delightfully in their heart as if that alone is His purushArtam. He dwells in various temples in archai form eagerly looking out for a true devotee and then hand picks them to reside in their heart forever. Hence I consider myself as the most fortunate one to experience this exploit of the Lord.
He is the Adimoorthy who is not attainable so easily (vella neDiyAn) but he has made my heart his permanent abode and refuses to leave it (uLpugundu neeNgAn)! This sounds similar to periya pirATTi who refuses to leave the lord’s chest saying ‘agalagillEn iRaiyum’! AzhvAr expresses this behaviour of the Lord with wonderment.
manamE! This emperumAn who resides in the wondrous divya desam atop the indestructible mountain Tirumala, whose abode is the surging ocean named tiruppARkaDal and the highest abode Sri VaikuNTam, considers these places insignificant! He who has resolved to stay in my heart looks down upon these places as if they have become extinct with weeds growing all around (pul enRu ozhindAn kol). (68)
mugam sidaivarAm anRE mukki ** - migum tirumAl
seerkkaDalai uL podinda * sindanaiyEn tannai *
Arkku aDalAm sevvE aDarttu? 69
2653. My vAsanas and karmas, the sins of hatred that I have accumulated over several births have been tormenting me, ruling me for years making me their permanent residence thus resulting in cycles of births but emperumAn has now made my heart His abode!
The vAsanas have no place in my heart now! Don’t they seem to be furious over losing their home? Aren’t they being forced to leave with withered faces and eyes reddened with anger (AvAr agam sivanda kaNNinar Aya)? Yes, they left quietly and sadly mumbling to themselves.
I captivated the immeasurable vast ocean like kalyANa guNas of sriman nArAyaNa in my heart. RAmapirAn is also described similarly in rAmAyana धातूनाम् इव शैलेन्द्रो गुणानाम् आकरो महान्|(KishkindA kANDam15-21) which says Raama is the treasure house of auspicious qualities like a mountain which is the storehouse of various minerals.
I devotedly kept pondering over His kalyAna gunAs gaining His boundless compassion. He resides in me as a miniscule but performs magnanimous acts (migum tirumAl) showering me with bhagavad guNa anubhavam! emperumAn is the supreme one, the sarvEshvaran . I am extremely fortunate as I am favoured by Him to enjoy this blissful state without any obstacles hence, I prefer to remain unconcerned of the consequences. Can anyone dare to admonish or hurt me anymore? (Arkku aDalAm). (69)
suDarkoL suDar AzhiyAnai ** - iDar kaDiyum
mAtA pituvAga * vaittEn enaduLLE *
yAdAgil yAdE ini? (70)
2654. AzhvAr elated over the Lord’s compassion on him regards Him as his father.
The sole protector shreeman nArAyaNa is the aDar pon muDiyAn- The golden crown on His head is highly proficient to destroy all our opponents revealing that He is the supreme.
He is one who is cherished by a thousand names (Ayiram pErAnai).
suDar kol suDar AzhiyAnai-He holds the powerful dazzling sudarshana chakra in His hand which seems to have swallowed the radiance of the sun, moon and the stars. In sudarshana shatakam (sloka 13) kooranArAyaNa jeeyar says भानो! भा नो त्वदीया स्फुरति कुमुदिनिमित्र! The sudarshana chakra’s radiance has won over the lustre of all objects.
This emperumAn is the greatest treasure that I proudly cherish. I gratefully swear with immense happiness that I consider the Lord alone as my father and mother. He is the most desirous one who will assuredly dissolve my obstacles in any form (iDar kaDiyum mAtA pituvAga). I have held him fondly and safely in my heart (vaittEn enaduLLE). Undergoing misery or loads with happiness, will they ever matter to me? These are irrelevant to me (ini yAdu Agil yAdE?) now. (70)
PERIYA TIRUVANDADI 71 TO 80
PASURAMS 2655 TO 2664
tani ninRa sArvilA mUrtti! ** - pani nIr
agattulavu * senjchaDaiyAn AgattAn * nAngu
mugattAn nin undi mudal (71)
2655. Having declared that emperumAn is his father and mother, AzhvAr now elucidates emperumAn's paratvam by talking about His manifestations.
emperumAnE! You are the cause for everything, and You are not dependent on anyone else. ( tanininRa sArvilAmoorti)
You gave part of Your shareeram to Lord Shiva, who holds the cool Ganges in his matted locks.
BrahmA, the four headed God, took origin from the lotus that is borne in Your divine navel!
While such is Your glory, what more can I say of Your glory and paratvam? AzhvAr asks.. (71)
mudalAgum * mUnRukkum enbar - mudalvA! **
nigarilagu kAruruvA! * nin agattadanRE? *
pugarilagu tAmaraiyin pU (72)
2656. O Supreme Primordial One! (mudalvA!) Some say that the three Gods, BrahmA, VishNu and Shiva are the three main deities who are Supreme. Some opine that there is a Lord superior to these three gods.
O Lord who has a dark complexion comparable to the dark rain laden cloud! The incomparable glowing lotus (which bears BrahmA) arose only from You. Your divine navel is enough to establish Your glorious supremacy!
** On elaborating on this view, Sri ParAsara Bhattar, in his preface to SrirangarAja stavam, composed a shlOka. He says there is a sect of people who promulgate that the three gods, Brahma, VishNu and Shiva are the same and that, ideally, there is no difference. This is the trimoorthisamvAdham.ie., they accept the trifurcation of the moortis, but put forth the view that that they are equally poised...none over the other. The other postulation, leaving no scope for speculation or confusion, establishes that the parabrahmam is over and above the other three gods, by all standards. The presence of the glowing lotus emanating from emperumAn's divine navel is clear proof that He is the superior one and that the world is driven by His sankalpam alone. (72)
kAvi malar enRum kANtORum ** - pAviyEn
mellAvi * mey migavE pUrikkum * avvavai
ellAm pirAn uruvE enRu (73)
2657. The poovai flower, the kAyA flower, the blue water lily (karu neithal), the red water lily (kAvi malar)) and all the flowers I behold, brings my emperumAn's divya tirumEni(pirAn uruvE) to my mind, and my tender soul( mellAvi) and body(mei) swells with joy and delight!
In the previous pAsuram, AzhvAr allowed himself to enjoy emperumAn's divyamangaLa roopam, by calling him dark rain cloud hued. Now, AzhvAr further delights himself in describing emperumAn's tirumEni, saying that every blooming flower reminded him of emperumAn's beauty! (73)
onRum irangkAr urukkATTAr ** - kunRu
kuDaiyAga * AkAtta kOvalanAr * nenjchE!
puDai tAn peridE puvi (74)
2658. Though AzhvAr is constantly thinking of perumAL, he is dismayed that emperumAn is still not condescending to give him a dharshan.
Inspite of the fact that I pray incessantly, not even missing a day, emperumAn gOpAlakrishNan, who lifted the mountain gOvardhan, to save the cows and cattle, has not taken pity on me (onRum irangAr). Nor has He revealed Himself (urukkAttAr) to me! O nenjE! Is that place we are in , in an elevated plane (peridhE pudaithAn puvi), that His grace is unable to flow to us? (74)
seviyin vazhi pugundu en uLLAy ** - avivinRi
yAn periyan nI periyai * enbadanai yAr aRivAr? *
Un parugu nEmiyAy! uLLu (75)
2659. emperumAnE! The one who wields the chakrAyudham which has slashed the flesh off asurAs and rAkshasas(oon parugu nEmiyAi). This world and the expansive upper world are all in Your control. You control the ubhaya vibhootis (iru visumbu)- the nitya vibhuti and the leela vibhooti. You entered through my ears and have remained etched in me, never ever to leave. Henceforth, I claim to be superior than You! (yAn periyan). Who can say that You are superior any more? I leave it for You to introspect!
** In an interesting interpretation, AzhvAr claims to be superior to emperumAn Himself! He says...emperumAn controls the lower and upper world. AzhvAr has this paramapurushan enshrined in his heart, which is conclusive of the fact that he remains superior to Him! And AzhvAr appeals to emperumAn Himself to analyze and conclude! (75)
viLLa vizhittu unnai meyyuRRAl ** - uLLa
ulagaLavum * yAnum uLan Avan en kolO? *
ulagaLanda mUrtti! urai (76)
2660. O Lord TrivikramA!The lord who measured the three worlds! (ulagaLandha murthi). The moment I meditate on You, my mind fills with joy!(uLLiLum uLLam thadikkum) I am blessed by You....so much so, that all the sins accumulated by me vanishes(vinai padalam viLLa). Eventually, when I attain mOksham and reach Your abode , the paramapadam(unnai meyyuRRAl), will I also not manifest in the worlds that You manifest?
***AzhvAr talks about the immense joy he derives while meditating on emperumAn. He exclaims with awe, that, if meditating on emperumAn can make his heart swell with joy, when he attains mOksham and reaches emperumAn's abode, the paramapadam, his soul would have swelled/ inflated so much with boundless joy, that his presence would be felt wherever emperumAn manifests! (76)
iraikkum kaDal kiDanda endAy! ** - uraippellAm
ninnanRi * maRRilEn kaNDAy! * enadu uyirkku Or
sol nanRiyAgum tuNai (77)
2661. My swAmi! The one who resides on the turbulent milky ocean (kadal kidandha endhAi)! Having listened to all my appeals, you now tell me. Does my soul have any relative other than You? The ONE** word (Or sol) of assurance from You, gives me the conviction that You alone ,and none other, are my only support, providing protection in every situation.
**"enaduyirkku Or sol nanRiyAgum tuNai"....
AzhvAr draws faith from the words of Lord Krishna when He assured Arjuna that He would protect him at all costs, remove all his sins and give him mOksha. All he had to do was abject surrender unto Him सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज।
अहं त्वा सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः।।18.66।।
** Lord Rama too solemnly pledges that, whoever surrenders to Him uttering only once that he is His belonging, Rama promises that he will protect and save him from all his fears.
सकृदेव प्रपन्नाय तवास्मीति च याचते।
अभयं सर्वभूतेभ्यो ददाम्येतद्व्रतं मम॥ (77)
tiNai nALum * inpuDaittAmElum * - kaNai nANil
OvAt tozhil sArngkan * tolsIrai nalnenjchE! *
OvAda UNAga uN (78)
2662. Remaining with friends(thuNai), a long life(nAL), being in the company of children and grandchildren (perunkiLai), a rich and veritable heritage (thol kulam) and being surrounded by relatives(suRRam), may give us immense happiness. But devotedly and incessantly meditating on the kalyANa guNas of Lord Rama who wields the valorous bow, sArngam, will have to be your only enjoyment (OvAdha ooNAga uN)! May you always remember this, O nenjE! (78)
viNNATTai onRAga mechchumE? ** - maNNATTil
ArAgi * evvizhi viRRAnAlum * Azhi angkaip
pErAyaRku ALAm piRappu (79)
2663. In this world(maNNAttil), irrespective of which caste one is born in to (AR Agi), whatever despicable deeds he may be involved in (ezhiviRRAnAlum), he who performs servitude to the chakrAyudham wielding Lord Krishna, shall glow(thEsu) like the nityasooris, who live in the paramapadam (uLnAdu). Do they even have to fear about the sins they have accumulated over their janmas? Would the pleasure of going to swargam mean anything to them?
** AzhvAr says that the true devotees of Lord Krishna need not fear the sins they have accumulated and the swargam or the associated pleasures will not tempt them. To them, serving emperumAn and remaining in this world will be more rewarding than even attaining paramapadam. (79)
iRakkavum inpuDaittAmElum ** - maRappellAm
EdamE * enRallAl eNNuvanE? * maN aLandAn
pAdamE EttAp pagal (80)
2664. I could overcome the grievous journey of birth, death, old age and ailments. I could even attain the stage of atmAnubhavam! But the days I forget to meditate on the divine tiruvaDis of trivikramA, are, but wasted and agonizing days for me. How else can I describe those wasted days? (80)
PERIYA TIRUVANDADI 81 TO 87
PASURAMS 2665 to 2671
igal seydu * irupozhudum ALvar ** - tagavAt
tozhumbar ivar sIrkkum * tuNai ilar enROrAr *
sezhumparavai mEyAr terindu (81)
2665.In this pAsuram, AzhvAr describes the means and ways emperumAn rules over him (supersede) without discriminating between day and night and how he enjoys it.
EmperumAn doesn't analyse whether AzhvAr is worthy to receive His mercy and blessings or not. He doesn't think that AzhvAr is low and is not qualified to receive His blessings.
He is kind hearted and has come to a conclusion that the milky ocean (tirupARkadal) is the apt place (தெரிந்து செய்யும் பரவை மேயார்)to attract His devotees and to shower His blessings. (81)
irundu ozhindEn * kIzhnALgaL ellAm ** - karanturuvin
ammAnai * annAnRu pin toDarnda * Azhi angkai
ammAnai EttAdu ayarttu (82)
2666. AzhvAr feels sorrowful because he missed the enjoyment described in the previous verse.
He blames himself for not possessing the wisdom about matters related to emperumAn but only had the useless knowledge as to how to merely differentiate numbers. He says all other knowledge is only sheer ignorance.
"Theevinaiyen".....He says he has committed sins in earlier times in not experiencing the joy of serving and praising emperumAn.
"பழுதே பல பகலும் போயினவென்று அஞ்சியழுதேன்"
AzhvAr also cries( like Poigai AzhVar cried in this verse ) and feels for not serving the Lord earlier.
"Ponotha maanonru pugundinithu vilaiyada....silaipidi thempiraanega"
( PeriyAzhvAr tirumozhi
3-10-7) AzhvAr repents for not serving the emperumAn who worn a beautiful signet ring, the rAmapiran who chased the cunning deer for the sake of fulfilling seetA's wish and says he has wasted the precious time and has been ignorant of not serving the Lord.
"ஏத்தாது அயர்த்து"* AzhvAr refers to the act of praising and doing service to Him by this term.
*An interesting incident has been referred here. When a kavi was describing the incident of SrirAma (returning after killing Maareechan) who had kept his feet on tender leaves (plucked from plants) on his way as his feet were pricking due to the scorching heat. It is told that Sri Raamaanuja too felt for not being fortunate enough to place his head on the path of SrirAma so that he could have coolly walked over his shiras (head). Thus, AzhvAr again and again feels sorry for losing the pleasure of not serving the emperumAn. (82)
uyappOm neRi iduvE kaNDAy ** - seyaRpAla
vallavE seykiRudi * nenjchamE! anjchinEn *
mallar nAL vavvinanai vAzhttu (83)
2667.AzhvAr advises the heart about the way to rectify its deeds.The heart in turn questions AzhvAr "what mistake did I do"? AzhvAr answers that he has done innumerable deeds such as worshipping other deities and thus moving away from emperumAn.
AzhvAr instructs the heart to follow his advice. (nenjame sonnen).
AzhvAr says he is scared that his heart will go away from emperumAn.
AzhvAr advises the heart to glorify the emperumAn who destroyed the wrestlers mushTika hand ChANoora and get rid of its sins. (83)
tAzhttu * irukai kUppu enRAl kUppAda - pAzhtta vidi! **
engkuRRAy enRavanai * EttAdu en nenjchamE! *
tangkattAnAmElum tangku (84)
2668. AzhvAr asks his manas: "Why are you not considering his preaching?
Why are you not keeping your hands in anjali mudra?
Why are you not offering flowers to His divine feet and why are you not bowing down your head at His Tiruvadi?
"நின் தலையைத் தாழ்த்து, இரு கை கூப்பு என்றால் கூப்பாத".....ஏத்தாது என் நெஞ்சமே!
Do you think you can ignore my advice? Oh manas! Then, stay wherever you are, cries AzhvAr to his manas. (84)
engkE pukku ettavam seydiTTana kol? ** - pongkOdat
taNNampAl * vElai vAyk kaN vaLarum * ennuDaiya
kaNNan pAl nalniRam koLgAr (85)
2669. AzhvAr feels that Kannan is his swamy. EmperumAn reclines in the wavy beautiful tirupARkaDal (paalvelai) and he is KArmEga Shyamalan.
AzhvAr feels that the clouds are blessed that He resembles their complexion. He says that they should have carried out continuous penance ("enge pukku eththavam") and should have taken efforts and must have roamed in the sky and must have entered a sacred place.
The same meaning was conveyed in pAsuram 32 "மேகங்களோ உரையீர்" and 38 "கடமாயினகள் கழித்து" of Thiruvirutham. (85)
pAr kalanda valvayiRRAn pAmbaNaiyAn ** - sIr kalanda
sol ninaindu pOkkArEl * sUzh vinaiyin Azhtuyarai *
en ninaindu pOkkuvar ippOdu? (86)
2670. In this pAsuram, AzhvAr states that it is not possible to spend a minute without thinking of emperumAn, leave aside the fact that it is hard to survive on earth without His anugraham.
As mentioned in the 85th pAsuram, emperumAn is congruent(கலந்த) in all ways and here is the list....
*கார் கலந்த மேனியான்....His divine form matches the dark coloured cloud. Lord Rama's complexion is compared with that of the colour of the clouds.
அவனுடைய சீர்கலந்த சொல்....Sri Ramayanam.
*கை கலந்த வாழியான்....His divine disc or the chakra in his tirukai. (the disc appears to be a flower that blossoms out of a branch and it matches very well with His hand) During His avatAr Lord Krishna is said to have born with His divine chakra and conch.
அவனுடைய சீர்கலந்த சொல்.....
Sri Bhagavadham,Sri Mahabaratham, Harivamsam etc.,
*பார் கலந்த வல் வயிற்றான்.....
During the time of pralaya, He had the entire earth in His stomach. Here again kalandha means that it is fully mingled with His stomach so that none can detect its hidden position and separate from it.
அவனுடைய சீர்கலந்த சொல்.....
The eighteen puranas that speaks His praise.
*பாம்பணையான் சீர்கலந்த சொல்.....
Thiruvaymozhi as the 1000 verses are said to have sung in praise of Lord Ranganatha.
"En ninanidhu pokkuvar ippodhu".
If they (sAmsAris) do not have the desire to get rid of their sins and hurdles by spending their time learning all these sacred IdhihAsAs and Puranas, then thinking of what will they spend their time, questions AzhvAr? (86)
eppOdum IdE sol en nenjchE! ** - eppOdum
kai kazhalA nEmiyAn * nam mEl vinai kaDivAn *
moykazhalE Etta muyal (87)
2671. The last two are saaRRu pAsurams.
AzhvAr tells his heart, "You need not bother about others who spend their time in futile ways'. You engage yourself in thinking of emperumAn's divya nAmas and spend your time in praising the divine gunAs of the lord and surrender at his lotus feet. "
"மொய் கழலே ஏத்த முயல்"
AzhVar is telling his heart and mind to try and praise emperumAn ( who is holding the sacred disc (Azhi) which will not get off His hand), and fall at His divine feet which will not let us down when we are in distress. (87)
This prabandham thus ends with the strong note that all should keep praising the qualities and chanting the nAmas of emperumAn.
PeriyapirATTii samEta periya perumAl tiruvaDigalE sharaNam.
AzhvAr AcharyAn JeeyAr ThiruvaDigalE sharaNam.
