Pasuram 5. 1. 1 - arivadariyan

 

aRivadariyAn anaittulagum
uDaiyAn ennai AluDaiyAn
kuRiya mANi uruvAya
kUttan manni amarum iDam
naRiya malar mEl surumbArkka
ezhilAr man'cai naDam ADap
poRikoL cirai vaNDu isai pADum
puLLam bhuta'nkuDitAnE.

 

A. SRIMAD TIRUKKUDANDAI ANDAVAN:

Those who attempt to know Him by their own efforts cannot realize Him. He is the creator of the whole universe. All the worlds are His SeshabhUtam [subservient to Him]. He owns me. This 'highest truth' accomplished magnificent feats in mahAbali's yAgam, requesting for donation of land, just to help His devotees. His very gait in the yAgaSAlA looked like a dance. Having selected to reside here, He does not want to leave this puLLambhUta'nkuDi 'surumbu' bees sit on fragrant flowers and buzz around; graceful peacocks dance and bees with lines in their wings sing accordingly. puLLambhUta'nkuDi is such a naturally beautiful place.

 

B. SRI PVP:

aRivadariyAn anaittulagum uDaiyAn ennai ALuDaiyAn –

the One who cannot be known by a person's own efforts, the One who owns all these worlds as His wealth, the One who has blessed me to serve Him.

Even though He cannot be realized by one's own effort, since He is the svAmi for all the universes, one cannot give up looking for Him. We should remember here emperumAnAr's two phrases in SaraNAgati gadyam - “akhila jagat svAmin” and “asmat svAmin”.

kuRiya mANuruvAya kUttan –

came as a short brahmacAri boy and worked wonders; when He came into the yAga grounds, He looked like an expert dancer; hence, 'kUttan'.

manni amarum iDam –

He lives in this place permanently

naRiya malar mEl surumbArkka –

bees of the type 'surumbu' are buzzing and hovering over fragrant flowers

ezhilAr man'cai naDam ADa –

graceful peacocks dance to that buzzing sound

poRikoL cirai vaNDu isai pADum –

other bees that have lines in their wings, sing to synch up with the dances of the peacocks.

puLLam bhuta'nkuDitAnE –

in the divyadEsam known as tiruppuLLambhUta'nkuDi.

 

C. SRI UV:

[SrI UV uses the pATham 'kuRiya mAN uruvAya'; please refer to SrI PBA's commentary on the pATha bhedam]

He has paratvam, He is a sarva svAmi; He is 'ulagam mUnRu uDaiyAn, ennai AlvAnE' (tiruvAi.6.10.10). But, because of His sauSIlyam, He took me to be His servitor. Just as He went to mahAbali and enchanted him with His charm to conquer the three worlds, He has come here to ensnare us.

 

D. SRI PBA:

aRivadariyAn –

He cannot be known. Does it mean 'no one can know Him' or 'some cannot know Him'? If it is meant 'no one can know Him', then He becomes One like the horn of a rabbit, a son of a malaDi (infertile lady), a lotus in the sky etc (all these do not exist) and thus He also does not exist. The way to interpret this is – He will not be known to those who say that they will realize Him on their own, by their own efforts. Unless He uses His 'innaruL' [sweet blessing] to show His svarUpam [form], svabhAvam [nature] etc, He cannot be realized. As He Himself told arjuna, He can be seen only if He shows Himself - “divyaM dadAmi te cakshuH paSya me yogamaiSvaram” [bhagavadgItA - 11.8].

kuRiya mANiyuruvAya kUttan –

He took His steps in order to prove the first phrase 'anaittulagum uDaiyAn' in this pAsuram.

pATha bhedham here – many recite this as 'kuRiya mANuruvAgiya kUttan'; but, this is not right here. This may be an influence of the phrase in tiruvAimozhi 4.10.10 - “tirukkurugUr adanuL, kuRiyamANuruvAgiya”. The right phrase here is only 'kuRiya mANiyuruvAya kUttan'. Elders recite this way.

 

ADDITIONAL INPUT BY SRI V SADAGOPAN:

aRivadariyAn: He is not One to be comprehended easily by all. devAs and most of the cetanams do not understand Him. It is only the j~nAnis through their tapo balam comprehend His svarUpam and svabhAvam. Although He is bhakta sulabhan, He is far from those, who do not seek His rakshaNam (dhUrAt dhUratara:). He is adiyavarkku iniyavan but far away from those, who cultivate enmity towards Him. The 376th SrI vishNu sahasranAmam, kshobhaNa: provides a clue to this word chosen by kaliyan. He creates tumult in the minds of those, who deserve to be bound in prakrti as baddha jIvas (anyAn bandhArhAn bandhanIm ca prakrtim kshobhayati iti kshobhaNa:). The 305th SrI vishNu sahasranAmam, "adrushya:" states that He who can not be seen (with physical eyes).

ulakam anaittum uDayavan: He is the Lord of ubhaya vibhUtis and is the Master of the lIlA vibhUti (Earth) and nitya vibhUti (SrI vaikuNTham). He is vaiSvAnaran, the ruler of all Souls and is Aayatanan, the undisputed abode of the two Earth and Heaven, which he holds together. muNDaka upanishad says in this context: "He in whom the heaven, Earth and the sky along with the mind and vital breath are woven; know Him alone as the paramAtman and abandon all other talk. He is the bridge to immortality (amrtasya yesha setu:).

 

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