Tirumangai AzhvAr’s pAsurams

The Supreme One denoted by 'Om'

 

Introduction

To Periya tirumozhi 2.4

 

A. SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan:

The most special places for us are those where sarvESvaran has chosen to live as arcAmUrtis. Having born after the vibhava avatAra time of sarvESvaran, we should try to get our salvation only by worshiping His arcAvatArams. We cannot see the omnipresent emperumAn. All His other rUpams are also not visible to us. Nothing short of His arcA-mUrti sthalams will be suitable for us for worship. tiruma'ngai AzhvAr points this out -

"kaNDiyUR ara'ngam meyyam kaccippEr mallai enru maNDinAr uyyal allAl maRRaiyArkku uyyalAm" [triukkuRuntANDakam-19] –

emperumAn resides in tirukkaNDiyUr, tiruvara'ngam, tirumeyyam, tirukkacci, tiruppErnagar, tirukkaDalmallai divyadeSams. Those who worship Him in these places get salvation; will it be possible for others to get salvation?] This

pAsuram expounds the meaning of vedam that says – "naNy> pNta Aynay iv*te nAnyaH pantA ayanAya vidyate” (purusha sUktam-17)– I know no other way than this]. So, tiruma'ngai AzhvAr always enjoys the divya deSams that emperumAn loves to live in.

 

B. SrI PVP:

emperumAn, who is the owner of everything, came with His pirATTi-s to live in tirunIrmalai to perform the activities He loves to do in all the divya deSams, for example, destruction of enemies, playfully eradicating the dreadful, inimical sins of His devotees etc. In this tirumozhi, AzhvAr advises to others - “Oh

People! Instead of suffering by listening to the words of those who care nothing about the good of the world, worship this emperumAn and gain a divine experience”.

 

C. SrI UV:

In this tirumozhi, AzhvAr is praising tirunIrmalai emperumAn, who gave His darSanam to toNDaimAn cakravarti in tirunIrmalai, just like He did in tiruvallikkENi. He is making it crystal clear that He very much loves to live in tirunIrmalai from the different darSanams (standing, sitting, reclining, walking) He presents.

 

D. Additional Comments by SrI mAdhavakkaNNan:

emperumAn- who shows Himself always with periya PiraaTTi MahAlakshmi at SrI vaishNva sthalams for our enjoyment and removal of our enemies, shows Himself in the most graceful form at tirunIrmalai, where whatever one aspires or wishes will get them fulfilled by His grace. It is situated near PallAvaram (at about 3 km. from PallavAram) suburb of Chennai. This is a lovely temple.

 

திருநீர்வண்ணர் திருமுகம்

(நன்றி: SrI Kailashi Muruganandam Subramaniam)

 

SrImad ANDavan tiruvaDigalE SaraNam,

KalyANi kRshNamAcAri

 

***

tirunIrmalai

 

PerumAL at the foot of the hill: nIr vaNNan

கிழக்கு ேநாக்கி நின்ற தி􁾞க்ேகாலம்: Standing Posture facing East

thAyAr: aNimAmalar mangai

மைல ேமல் உள்ள சன்னிதிகள்: Sannidhis at the top of the hill

PerumAL: Santa nrsimhar

Sitting Posture

PerumAL: Sri ranganAtha

சயன தி􁾞க்ேகாலம் (மாணிக்க சயனம்): Reclining Posture (mANikka Sayanam)

PerumAL: trivikrman

நடந்த, நின்ற தி􁾞க்ேகாலம்: Walking and Standing Posture

tIrtham: maNi karNikA, kshIra pushkariNi, kAruNya pushkariNi, siddha pushkariNi, svarNa pushkariNi,

vimAnam: toyagiri vimAnam

Pratyaksham: toNDaimAn, brgu, mArkaNDeyar, vAlmIki

mangLASAsanam:

tirumangai AzhvAr

Peria tirumozhi 2 – 4 (pAsurams 1 – 10)

Peria tirumozhi 2 – 7 (pAsuram 8)

Peria tirumozhi 6 -8 (pAsuram 4)

Peria tirumozhi 7 – 1 (pAsuram 7)

Peria tirumozhi 8 - 2 (pAsuram 3)

Peria tirumozhi 9 - 2 (pAsuram 8)

Peria tirumozhi 10 – 1 (pAsuram 1)

tiruneDuntANDakam (pAsuram 18)

siRiya tirumaDal (pAsuram 73)

PeriyA tirumaDal (pAsuram 130)

bhUtattAzhvAr:

irANDAm tiruvandAdi (pAsuram 46)

 

***

 

sthala purANAm by SrI MK:

Visesham about this sthalam (idIham): Sage VAlmIki, had been here and went up the hill top, and paid his obeisance to RanganAthan, Narasimhan and Trivikrman on the top, and came down. At the base, VAlmIki meditated on Lord rAma, and immediately, RanganAtha PerumAL appeared as Sri rAman, tAyAr appeared as SitA PiraaTTi, AdiSeshan appeared as iLlaya perumAL, Sanghu, Cakram appeared as Bharatan and Catrugnan, while Vishvaksenar and GaruDan appeared as SugrIvan and HanumAn in front of the Sage. VAlmIki prayed to the Lord and requested Him to be present there at the base permanently. The Lord stays put as nIr vaNNan in ninRa tirukkOlam, along with tAyAr (in a separate sannidhi). When tirumangai AzhvAr came here, there were severe floods and the whole hill was surrounded by waters (nIr) and thus called "nIrmalai". AzhvAr waited for six months to pay his obeisance to the Lord of tirunIrmalai.

 

***

PERIA TIRUMOZHI

PAsuram 2.4.1

AnRayar

anRAyar kulak koDiyODu aNimA
malar ma'ngaiyoDu anbaLavi avuNarkku
enrAnum irakkam ilAdavanukku
uRaiyum iDamAvadu irumpozhil sUzh
nanRAya punal naRaiyUr tiruvAli
kuDandai taDam tigazh kOval nagar
ninRAn irundAn kiDandAn naDandARku
iDam mAmalai Avadu nIrmalaiyE.

A. SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan:

AzhvAr enjoyed sarvESvaran sitting in SingavEL kunRam, His standing tirukkOlam in tirumalai, His reclining darSanam in tiru-evvuLLUr. He then relished perumAL in tiruvallikkAENi. Next, he enjoyed His swift walking from SrIvaikUNTham to remove the animosity between the elephant and the crocodile.

AzhvAr wondered where he can get to see these darSanams again. He remembered the divya desams like tirnaRaiyUr, tiruvAli, tirukkuDandai, tirukkOvalUr etc,. He realized that emperumAn is following up with all the pastimes He enjoyed doing in those kshetrams, in tirunIrmalai itself. Immediately, AzhvAr starts praising tirunIrmalai.

emperumAn takes His avatAram with His pirATTi-s. He vanquishes our enemies. He dissolves our sins. He is living in tirunIrmalai with great felicity. AzhvAr advises us not to listen to the words of undesirable people, but fall at His feet for salvation.

PerumAL had once enjoyed the intimate associations of SrI nappinnai pirATTi and SrI mahAlakshmi. During those times and other times also, He had no sympathy for the asura-s. He is in a standing pose in naRaiyUr; He is seated in tiruvAli; He is reclining in tirukkuDandai; He is in walking pose in tirukkOvalUr. He is living very pleased in tirunIrmalai. Make a point of worshiping Him there.

 

B. SrI PVP:

anRAyar kulak koDiyODu aNimA malar ma'ngaiyoDu anbaLavi -

as kaNNan, He enjoyed His private time with SrI nappinaip pirATTi who belonged to the cowherd clan and with SrI mahAlakshmi (who is seated on a lotus) in the form of rukmiNI.

'கேஜந்திர ேமாக்ஷம்' (நன்றி: ஸ்ரீ லŠமிநரசிம்மன் ஸ்ரீதர்)

 

enrAnum – at all times

avuNarkku irakkam ilAdavanukku – He had no mercy for the asura-s.

uRaiyum iDamAvadu irumpozhil sUzh nanRAya punal –

He lives for ever in places that are surrounded by groves and are fertile like

naRaiyUr tiruvAli kuDandai taDam tigazh kOval nagar –

tirunaRaiyUr, tiruvAli, tirukkuDandai, tirukkOvalUr that has a innumeralble ponds

ninRAn irundAn kiDandAn naDandARku –

He is in the following postures in the respective places – standing, sitting, reclining and walking (taking a step as trivikraman)

iDam mAmalai Avadu nIrmalaiyE –

tirunIrmalai is the mountain where He presents Himself in all these four poses. emperumAn wants to enjoy giving the four poses all in one place in this tirunIrmalai.

 

C. SrI UV:

emperumAn, who is enjoying happiness in SrIvaikuNTham with His pirATTi-s and nitya-sUri-s never wastes time in protecting His good devotees from their foes by vanquishing the latter. When He makes His appearance in the world for that purpose, pirATTi and others miss Him and they also follow Him. The foes/ asuras will try to harm them too. So, emperumAn has to become engaged in killing the asura-s with more fervor. He looked for a place on earth to fulfill ishTa prApti and anishTa nirvRtti - bring us all desirable benefits and remove all undesirable elements from us – and at the same time live permanently in everlasting bliss. tirunIrmalai happened to be such a place. This is a proven fact. In other divya deSams where He resides with great happiness, He is either sitting or standing or reclining or walking. Here, He is enjoying all those anubhavams in one single place. So, this shows that of all the places where He resides with happiness, this tirunIrmalai is the greatest. Thus, the tiruvallikkENi emperumAn who loved AyarpADi girl nappinnai and emperumAn, who is supposed to be in general, SrI mahAlakshmi's constant companion, all live here.

taDam tigazh kOval nagar –

instead of taking taDam to be 'pond', the correct meaning would be to say tirukkOvalUr with its peNNAr (river).

 

D. SrI PBA:

anRAyar kulak koDiyODu –

Ayar kulak koDi is nappinai pirATTi, the daughter of the cowherd chief named 'kumban'. In order to wed nappinnai, kaNNan killed seven asura-s in the form of bulls.

aNimA malar ma'ngaiyoDu –

In order to marry SrI mahAlakshmi in the form of rukminI pirATTi, He defeated and shamed asura-s like rukman etc.

iDam mAmalai Avadu nIrmalaiyE –

some take the 'Avadu' with 'iDam' and say ' iDam Avadu mAmalai nIrmalai' – That place (where that emperumAn lives) is the great mountain, nIrmalai; it is not necessary to split like that. We can say 'iDam mAmalaiyAna nIrmalai' – that place is nIrmalai which is surrounded by water fort (and hence called tirunIrmalai) and which is a great mountain.

 

E. Additional Comments by SrI MK:

(The Lord who has no mercy for asurAs is here at tirunIrmalai!). The Lord, who, when He had appeared as KaNNan- joined with Nappinnai PirATTi, the beautiful creeper of cowherd folks, and with RukmiNi piraaTTi, the incarnate of MahAlakshmi, - the Lord who has absolutely no mercy (or compassion) for asurAs and rAkshasAs at all times, the Lord who shows Himself in the most beautiful arcAvatarams at tirunaRaiyUr in standing posture, reclines at tirukkuDantai, walks (measures) at tirukkOvilUr, is here permanently at tirunIrmalai.

 

***

 

PAsuram 2.4.2

KANDavanam enpbadOr

 

kANDAvanam enbadOr kADu amararku
araiyan adu kaNDu avan niRka munE
mUNDu Ar azhal uNNa munindaduvum
aduvanRiyum mun ulagam poRai tIrttu
ANDAn avuNan avan mArvu agalam
ugirAl vagirAga munindu ariyAi
nINDAn kuRalAgi nimirndavanukku
iDam mAmalaiyAvadu nIrmalaiyE.

A. SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan:

kANDavanam is a famous forest that belonged to devendran. There were several trees and herbs. His friend, dakshan, the king of serpents, was living there too. It was an indestructible forest. One time, arjuna and his friend kRshNa were playing ball near that forest. At that time, agni bhagavAn came and requested kRshNa to provide him food. Thinking of killing the asura-s hiding in the forest, bhagavAn ordained agni to consume kANDavanam. He also said that if anyone obstructs agni in the process of consuming, arjuna will fight and protect him. When indra was watching, agni jumped into the forest and burned it all. AzhvAr is saying that the emperumAn who helped burn the kANDavanam is living in tirunIrmalai.

Next, he says that sarvEsvaran, same as kRshNa who killed the foes of paNDava-s in mahAbhArata war and rid the earth of a huge burden, same as nRsimha who tore open hiraNyan's broad chest with His nails, and same as vAmana, who entered mahAbali's yAga grounds, requested for three feet of land and grew into trivikrama as soon as the ablution waters fell on His hands and measured the three worlds, is giving His darSanam in tirunIrmalai.

 

B. SrI PVP:

AzhvAr is saying that the living place for emperumAn, who took kRshNavatAram, nRsimhAvatAram and vAmanAvataram, is nIrmalai.

amararkku araiyan adu – devendra's

kANDAvanam enbadOr kADu – forest named kANDavanam

avan kaNDu niRka –

when he was standing watching it

munE –

right in front of his eyes

Ar azhal mUNDu uNNa munindaduvum –

(He ordained) agni to eat the whole forest with the blazing fire. The nature of fire is to sometimes fade out and withdraw; but with backup of kRshNa and arjuna, the fire was blazing forth with full strength (mUNDu) – so one way to split is 'mUNDu Ar azhal'. Another way of looking at this is – mUNDAr azhal uNNa – mUNDAr = enemies; burned down the enemies.

aduvanRiyum – besides that

mun ulagam poRai tIrttu ANDAn –

in the mahAbhArata war, He removed the burden on the earth and protected the same

avuNan avan ahgalam mArvu ugirAl vagirAga munindu ariyAi nINDAn –

With His nails, He tore open the broad chest of hiraNyan and grew to be nara singam. To prove prahlAdan's statement “engum uLan” - “He is omnipresent”, He came immediately to help him; otherwise, His guNams may look like they have fallen short! In order to avoid that kind of thinking, He came then and there.

kuRalAgi nimirndavanukku –

perumAn went to mahAbali in the form of vAmanan and grew into the tall trivikraman after accepting the donation waters. He took a short form that was totally unsuitable for His greatness and later, His form penetrated and filled the whole sky.

iDam Am malaiyAvadu nIrmalaiyE –

to that emperumAn, the living place is the mountain, tirunIrmalai.

 

C. SrI UV:

In the first pAsuram, AzhvAr had said that emperumAn has no mercy for asura-s anytime. From that, it may appear that He has no mercy for deva-s also sometimes. One example is the burning of kANDavanam for the purpose of destroying serpents, rAkshasa-s, asura-s and wild beasts.

In the yAgam done by a Rshi Svetaki, ghee was poured down continuously and agni, developed satiety and an aversion for food and started losing weight; he went and prayed to brahma, who directed him to burn kANDavanam which was infested with evil asura-s etc. He tried to ignite the forest several times, but devendran, a friend of the serpent, dakshan, who was living there, made it rain and put out the fire each time. So, agni came in the form of a brAhmin to kRshNa and arjuna, who were playing in yamunA river near kANDavaprastham and requested food. When they promised food, agni assumed the original form and requested kANDava vanam. arjunan promised to fight any obstruction and requested weapons. agni gave him the chariot, horses and the bow kANDIvam etc from aruNan. He gave some weapons for kRshNa also. With both arjuna and kRshNa fighting with devendra, agni was able to consume the whole forest. A lot of evil forces were eliminated. All this was part of kRshNa's act of removing burden from the earth; not only that, he did the same in the mahAbhArata war also.

ariyAi nINDAn –

when He first appeared in the pillar, He took a small form of nRsimha; when He had to kill hiraNyan, He extended Himself into a taller and bigger nRsimha.

'kaNDu;, 'munindu', 'tIrttu' –

are all kRshNa's works. 'kaNDu' expression comes from mahAbhAratam 1:248

'Alayam sarvabhUtAnAm svANDavam sa'ngacarbhabrRt |
dadarSa kRtsnam tam deSam sahitaH savyasAcinA', 'khANDavam
sumahAprAj~naH--dRshTavAn--svANDavasya vinASam tam dadarSa madhusUdanaH'.

'munindu' expression comes from 1:253

'kRshNasca su mahAtejAH cakreNAri vinASanaH |
daitya dAnavasanghAnAm cakAra kadanam mahat'

D. SrI PBA:

kaNNan is fulfilling the purpose of His avatAra, that of reducing the earth's burden, by letting the kANDava vanam burn (by letting all the evil ones in the forest die).

 

E. Additional Comments by SrI MK:

(PerumAl got some things done through Arjunan and also executed some by Himself!). The Lord, who had appeared as KaNNan to destroy the dense forests (KaaNDavanam, that had belonged to Indran earlier) of asurAs with fire; who had saved the earth and removed its burden in the Kurukshetra battle (by killing the wrong doers). The Lord who had grown huge and ferocious as Lord Narasinghan and tore the large chest of hiraNyan into two with His sharp hand nails and killed him. The Lord who had walked and measured the Universe with His Feet as Trivikraman is the Greatest Lord staying here at tirunIrmalai.

 

***

 

சங்கு சக்ரதாரி (நன்றி: ஸ்ரீமதி சாந்தா பத்மநாபன்)

PAsuram 2.4.3

Alam mannum

alam mannum aDal suri sangam eDuttu
aDal AzhiyinAl aNiyAr uruvil
pulamannu vaDampunai kongaiyinAL
poRai tIra mun AL aDuvAL amaril
pala mannar paDac cudar Azhiyinaip
pagalOn maRaiyap paNi koNDu aNi sEr
nila mannanumAi ulagANDavanukku
iDam mAmalaiyAvadu nIrmalaiyE.

A. SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan:

In the mahAbhArata war, emperumAn was wearing on His beautiful tirumEni, the discus that was every ready to do battle, the plough, and the conch. He came dressed that way for removing the misery of bhUmi pirATTi, whose chest is decorated with ornaments in order to entice the attention of emperumAn. The battle was a grave one; one that would finish off a lot of people. He conducted this battle and made ten thousand kings die each day. In order to kill the sindhu king, jayadratha, He hid the Sun with His brilliant discus to make night out of day. That sarveSvaran is living with happiness in this tirunIrmalai.

 

B. SrI PVP:

In the previous pAsuram, AzhvAr enjoyed kRshNAvatAram in a short manner saying “munnulagam poRai tIrttu ANDAn”. Here, he is elaborating on His avatAram.

aNiyAr uruvil aDal AzhiyinAl alam mannum aDal surisangam eDuttu –

On His exquisite tirumEni, He wore the victorious discus, the plough (balArAman's special weapon), the conch – pA'ncajanyam. When kaNNan was born, His mother devakI prayed to Him to hide His rUpam with four hands so that the asura kamsa will not know about His avatAram.

upasamhara sarvAtman! rupametat catur-bhujam |
jAnAtu mA'vatAram te kamsoyam diti-janmajaH ||

 — vishNu purANam 5.3.13

emperumAn hid His weapons listening to His mother. Whether He displays them or hides them, it is all for His devotees.

mun pulamannu vaDampunai kongaiyinAL poRai tIra –

during the mahAbhArata war, in order to remove the burden of bhUmidevi, who is all decorated with ornaments on her chest to attract emperumAn

AL aDuvAL amaril pala mannar paDa –

He arranged for several kings to die in the battle

cudar Azhiyinaip pagalOn maRaiyap paNi koNDu –

he hid the Sun with His effulgent discus (to kill jayadratha by making night out of day)

aNi sEr nila mannanumAi ulagANDavanukku –

to that elegant king of the earth. kaNNan did not rule over the whole world like cakravarti tirumagan. So, this phrase could refer to rAma or we could explain it thus – by removing earth's burden, kaNNan became the protector of the world.

iDam mAmalaiyAvadu nIrmalaiyE – the place is tirunIrmalai.

 

C. SrI UV:

In rAmAvatAram, emperumAn ruled over the whole world as cakravartit- tirumagan. In kRshNAvatAram, He ruled as a king without even using His weapons even though He carried them with Him.

emperumAn, who vanquishes enemies with His invincible discus kept that only for decoration; even though He did not have all the other weapons, just as -

sa ghosho dhArtarAshtrANAm hRdayAni vyadArayat (gItA.1.19) indicates, kept only His conch that is capable of renting the hearts of the enemies just by its elegant dhvani.

When He had to kill jayadratha, He used His discus (thousand times more brilliant than the Sun) for this purpose; He acted as if He did not do anything, but got everything accomplished. Thus, He acted as if He was not the king, but in reality became the king.

alam (halam) –

Plough. It is one of the weapons of emperumAn; mostly, for balarAman. There is no point in adding this here. It should be explained as – alam mannu aDal suri sa'ngam – alam = had enough; mannu aDal = stable strength; suri sangam = valampuri conch.

 

D. SrI PBA:

The story behind “ cudar AzhiyinaippagalOn maRaiyap paNi koNDu” is – in the thirteenth day of the war, jayadratha killed arjuna's son abhimanyu, arjuna had taken a vow to kill jayadratha by sun set next day. In order to thwart that effort, the enemies guarded jayadratha with all their strength by forming strong army formations; Sri kRshNa wanting to make the kings think that the sun set has come, hid the Sun with His brilliantly shining discus. Thinking that the sun had set and there is no more danger and that arjuna will fall into the funeral pyre per his vow, jayadratha came out of the army formation and stood out. kRshNa withdrew His discus and immediately arjuna realized that the sun had not set yet and killed jayadratha.

How can He hide the Sun with the discus that was far more brilliant than the Sun? The Sun's rays are such that the human eyes can see them; so, they drive away darkness. The radiance of the discus cannot be seen directly by human eyes. The extreme brilliance of the discus brought darkness to the eyes (which made them think the sun had set). That is how elders explain this.

 

E. Additional Comments by SrI MK:

(the Lord appeared as KrishNan and reduced the huge burden of the earth!). The Lord, who has adorned His most beautiful Divine body, Divine mace, the Conch, the CakrAyudham, appeared in front of DuryOdhanAdis. The Lord who reduced the huge burden of BhUmi pirATTi, who always lets Her senses enjoy the presence of the most beautiful ornaments adorning Her chest. How did He lighten Her burden? By letting hundreds of asurAs die everyday in the battle field of Kurukshtra and by performing wonderful thing of hiding the Sun with His CakrA thereby bringing darkness at the unscheduled time. Such Most exquisitely beautiful Lord- is here at tirunIrmalai to save the world.

 

***

 

PAsuram 2.4.4

TangAdador

tAngAdadOr ALariyAi avuNan
tanai vIDa munindu avanAl amarum
pUnkOdaiyar pongeri mUzhga viLaittu
aduvanRiyum venRi koLvAL amaril
pAngAga mun aivaroDu anbaLavi
padiRRu aindu iraTTip paDai vEndar paDa
nIngAc ceruvil niRai kAttavanuku
iDam mAmalai Avadu nIrmalaiyE

A. SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan:

ஸ்ரீ நரசிம்மர் - திருநீர்மைல

 

emperumAn came as the invincible, matchless nRsimha and furiously destroyed hiraNyAsuran. He made the ladies who were being patronized by hiraNyan and were wearing flower garlands to fall into the funeral pyre. He was friendly with the panca pANDava-s and He vanquished the hundred kaurava-s including the egoistic duryodhana and protected draupadI's honor. That sarveSvaran is living merrily in tirunIrmalai.

 

B. SrI PVP:

tAngAdadOr ALariyAi avuNan tanai vIDa munindu –

he appeared as great narasingan, who was unbearable to foes and killed hiraNyan.

avanAl amarum pUnkOdaiyar pongeri mUzhga viLaittu –

the women supported by him were made to fall into the funeral pyre.

aduvanRiyum – not only that

mun venRi koLvAL amaril –

during the mahAbhArata war, in the victorious and special battle field

pAngAga aivaroDu anbaLavi –

He brought Himself to the level of pANDava-s and was very friendly with them

padiRRu (ten times) aindu (five times)) iraTTip (two) paDai vEndar paDa –

He destroyed the hundred brothers including duryodhana

nIngAc ceruvil niRai kAttavanuku –

in that everlasting battle, He protected the honor of draupadI.

iDam mAmalai Avadu nIrmalaiyE – His place is tirunIrmalai.

 

C. SrI UV:

In the case of hiraNyan's wives, He had made them fall into the pyre. But, in the case of pANDava patnI draupadI, He was 'niRai kAttavan'. One reason for His protecting her honor would be His love for the pANdava-s. Another reason for His helping the pANDava-s would be because of draupadI's extreme faith [mahA viSvAsam in Him]. The individual friendship with each other between the pANDava-s, draupadI and kaNNan helped for the benevolence like a golden flower having a pleasant smell. Gambling with belongings is not a virtuous act. So, emperumAn might not have wanted to remove the obstacles faced by the pANDava-s. But, the dishonor extended to draupadI and her SaraNAgati to kRshNa became the most important reason for Him to protect them. So, the importance here is for pAncAli [draupadI].

vEndar paDa –

even after all the kings were destroyed, He provided a solution for aSvattAmA's atrocious astra prayogam; that was another instance of protection ('niRai kAttavan').

When the kaurava-s offered Him false seat to capture Him, He protected His own honor ('niRai kAttavan').

After the battle started, He imparted knowledge ('niRai kAttavan') to arjuna who was trying to abort the war.

He protected the honor of draupadI by blessing her with a continuous supply of clothes when she was insulted by the kaurava-s and goaded her to take the vow of avenging the kaurava-s by being her antaryAmi ('niRai kAttavan')

 

D. SrI PBA:

nIngAc ceruvil niRai kAttavanuku –

this should remind us of the pAsuram - “pandAr viralAL pAncAli kUndal muDikka bhAradattu kandAr kaLiRRuk kazhal mannar kalanga sangam vAi vaittAn” (periya tirumozhi 6.7.8 – in order that pAncAli will put up her hair, He placed His conch in His mouth and blew it; hearing that, duryodana and his folks who came to fight, riding mad elephants, went out of their minds) and SrIvacanabhUshaNam-22 statement – "arjunanukku dUtya sAratyangaL paNNiRRum prapatti upadEsam paNNiRRum ivaLukkAga"

 

E. Additional Comments by SrI MK:

(teLLiya singham and devaki singham is here at tirunIrmalai!). SarveSvaran, appeared as huge ferocious lion and killed the Strong hiraNyan and let his dark haired beautiful wives enter into the funeral pyre with him. The Lord did the most wonderful things in the huge, not-at-all-easy-to-win battle field of KurukshEtram. Although He was the embodiment of the Supreme Paratvam, He displayed such a soulabhyan as KaNNan, stooped down to become a close friend of pANDdavAs and stood as their chariot driver; He ensured the death of all DuryOdhanAdis in the great battle filed and saved Draupati. (Since she had vowed for their deaths!) Such Greatest Paratvam- soulabhyan stays at tirunIrmalai!

 

***

 

PAsuram 2.4.5

MAlum kaDal Ara

mAlum kaDal Ara malaik kuvaDu iTTu
aNai kaTTi varambu uruva madi sEr
kOla madiLAya ila'ngai keDap
paDai toTTu orukAl amaril adira
kAlam idu enRu ayan vALiyinAl
kadir nIN muDi pattum aRuttu amarum
nIla mugil vaNNan emakku iRaivaRku
iDam mAmalai Avadu nIrmalaiyE

A. SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan:

Once during treta yugam, the mighty rakshasan, irAvaNan, who was backed up by boons from his tapas, was torturing deva-s and brAhmaNa-s. PerumAL took avatAram as cakravarti tirumagan in order to vanquish him. He built a bridge over the ocean, by throwing mountains into the same. This bridge reached all the way to lankai, rAvaNan's place. rAma reached lankai that was surrounded by forts that touched the moon. He destroyed the city and used His brahmAstram to sever rAvaNan's heads that were wearing gem-studded crowns. He then went back to tiruayoddhi and had His coronation. That blue-hued perumAL is sitting in tirunIrmalai.

 

B. SrI PVP:

AzhvAr is enjoying rAma avatAram and His vanquishing rAvaNa.

oru kAl –

a long time back,

mAlum kaDal Ara malaik kuvaDu iTTu aNai kaTTi –

In the ocean filled with abundant waves, He built a dam with broken up mountain pieces that filled the ocean

 

'சக்ரவர்த்தித் திருமகன்'

varambu uruva –

the bridge was made to reach the banks of ilangai.`

madi sEr kOla madiLAya ila'ngai keDa paDai toTTu amaril adira –

with His might bow and weapons, He wrought havoc to the city that had very tall forts reaching the moon.

kAlam idu enRu ayan vALiyinAl kadir nIN muDi pattum aRuttu -

For a few days, He fought with rAvaNa in a playful way, giving time for him to change; in the first day of the battle, He made rAvaNa run away after being defeated. Thinking that rAvaNa would become a better person with time, He stopped fighting with him for a while. When he failed to transform, rAma used brahmAstram to cut off his ten heads.

amarum nIla mugil vaNNan emakku iRaivaRku –

My Lord who has a radiant blue-hue and who has totally captivated me

iDam malai Avadu nIrmalaiyE – tirunIrmalai is His place of abode.

 

C. SrI UV:

After learning the news about sItA from hanumAn and listening to samudra rAjan's suggestion that the ocean must not become bone dry, rAma decided to build a bridge over the ocean using the engineering expertise of naLan and nIlan. Mountains were dropped into the ocean one on top of the other and a bridge built to reach ilangai. One time, when rAvaNan came to fight rAma, He defeated him and when rAvaNa was standing in the middle of the battle field with great dishonor, rAma said, “Go today and come back tomorrow – inRu pOi nALai vA”. But, when rAvaNa came the next time, he was the very same adamant rAvaNa; so, rAma decided to kill him. His brahmAstram directed towards rAvaNa's heart (marma sthAnam) made sure that his severed heads did not come back to life again.

kAlam idu –

it was time for Him to go back to ayoddhi – bharata was waiting and it was almost the end of His fourteen years of exile; so, He decided to be done with rAvaNa once and for all.

 

D. Additional Comments by SrI MK:

(the rAvaNAntakan- Sri rAman is here at tirunIrmalai!). When rAvaNan was so strong and was having an unbeaten record, what our emperumAn SrI rAman did: He placed the huge mountains on the noisy deep ocean waves and built a bridge across the vast sea to cross to LankA. He destroyed the beautiful tall towers of lankA, that appeared as if they touch the cool moon even, by showering arrows in the battle and shatter the whole area with His thunderous twangs of the bow and array of arrows. He aimed the BrahmAstram and finished the life of rAvaNan and made the lustrous shining ten crowns of rAvaNan fall onto the ground. Thus the Most victorious Lord of ayOdhyA - the Dark cloud hued Lord - Sarva Swami is here at tirunIrmalai.

 

***

 

PAsuram 2.4.6

PArArulagum

pAr Ar ulagum panimAl varaiyum
kaDalum suDarum ivai uNDum enakku
ArAdu ena ninRavan emperumAn
alainIr ulagukku arasAgiya ap-
pErAnai munida munikkaraiyan
piRar illai nunakku enum ellaiyinAn
nIr Ar pErAn neDumAl avanukku
iDam mAmalai Avadu nIrmalaiyE

A. SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan:

During the praLaya [flood], emperumAn is offering protection to the whole wide world, the cloud-clad mountains, the oceans, the Moon and the Sun, by preserving them in His stomach. “ellA ulagum Or tuRRARRA” (tiruvAi.2.8.8 all the worlds form His food; it is not enough for His one mouth) - He is One who thinks that is not enough for His stomach. It is like His feeling that whatever He has to protect is not sufficient; His Feeling to Protect is foremost for Him. He always thinks that however much He has done for His devotees, He could do more.

As pasarurAman, He eradicated twenty one generations of kings who were ruling over the world surrounded by ocean; the very name 'king' was made to disappear from usage. He is the prabhu – Lord, of all that exists and there is no one equal to Him; Everything is included in Him; He is the soul of everything; yet, He stands out distinctly. Since He sleeps on the water, He has a special name, nArAyaNan. He represents everything except Him also; hence named nArAyaNan. That sarveSvaran is having tirunIrmalai as His place.

 

B. SrI PVP:

pAr Ar ulagum panimAl varaiyum kaDalum suDarum ivai uNDum –

Even though He swallowed the whole muddy earth, cool mountain, the ocean, Sun, Moon etc,

enakku ArAdu ena ninRavan emperumAn –

My Lord who declared His stomach was not full yet

alainIr ulagukku arasAgiya ap pErAnai munida munikkaraiyan –

paraSurAma, the leader of Rshi-s, who killed the 'kings' ruling over the word surrounded by ocean waters

nunakku piRar illai enum ellaiyinAn –

He earned the praise that there is no one equal to Him by holding everything in Himself

nIr Ar perAn –

He who has the name 'nIrvaNNan'

Apo narA iti proktAH Apo vai narasUnavaH |
tA yad asya ayanam pUrvam tena nArAyaNaH smRtaH ||

 — manu.1.10

(The water was created by nara - emperumAn. So, the word 'nAram' refers to water. During creation time, He uses water as His place of residence; so emperumAn is called nArAyaNan).

Or, the name can be taken to denote His nIrmai guNam – His goodness or essential excellence in being a Seshi – Master.

As sarvEsvaran in the most special of all, He got the name nIrvaNNan in this divyadeSam.

neDumAl avanukku – to that emperumAn,

iDam mAmalai Avadu nIrmalaiyE – the place is nIrmalai.

 

C. SrI UV:

When paraSurAma came to fight with rAma (after rAma's marriage), the latter was standing as if He was asking paraSurAma – when I am having this whole creation and still feel that it is not enough for Me, what can you, who has slain only twenty-one kshatriya-s do?

On realizing rAma's greatness, paraSurAma extols Him –

“janaim Tva< sureñrm! akshayyam madhuhantAram jAnAmi tvAm sureSvaram” – (rAmAyaNa: bAla - 1.76.17) - You are immutable; You are the killer of madhu; I know that You are the god of all gods". You have no equal; You have no enemies. You felt compassionate even towards me, who came to challenge You. You told me,

“brAhmaNo asi iti pUjyo me viSvAmitra kRtena ca” – rAmAyaNa: bAla - 1.76.6 – I do not want to kill you even though you are a brAhmaNa and can be killed (because of your actions), because of your relationship with viSvAmitra and because you are a venerable one for Me”.

That rAman is the nIrvaNNan in this kshetram.

arasAgiya ap pErAnai -

it can mean the famous kshatriya kulam. Or, Anai = elephant; kings who were respected like elephants; here, it can refer to kArttavIryArjunan; his valor and fame, his being blessed by Lord dattAtreya etc are mentioned in vishNu purANam, mahAbhAratam etc.

 

D. SrI PBA:

In order to curb the growth of kshatriya kings who were roaming around the earth and committing atrocities, SrI nArAyaNa mUrti took avatAram as rAma, having His father as Sage jamadagni and mother as rENuka. He was named paraSurAma as He was using 'paraSu' or axe as His weapon. kArttavIryArjuna kidnapped Sage jamadagni's cow, kAmadhenu; enraged at this, paraSurAma fought with and defeated the king's army and killed him by cutting off his hands. The king's sons killed jamadagni in the absence of paraSurAma. A furious paraSurAma killed kArttavIryArjuna's sons and angered at all kshatriya-s in general, eliminated twenty-one generations of kings.

It is said that the powerful Siva swallowed the poison, wore ga'nga on his head, burned tripuram, turned manmatha to ashes, defeated yama and conducted the 'destruction' duty. rAvaNa uprooted Siva's kailAsa mountain with Siva seated on the mountain and was considered to be very strong, for that matter. kArttavIryArjuna defeated rAvaNa and imprisoned rAvaNa. paraSurAma cut off the shoulders of kArttavIryArjuna and killed him. Thus, paraSurAma was famous for his valor.

A question may be asked – is it appropriate that the sixth avatAram, paraSurAman is getting angry with the seventh avatAram, daSaratha rAman? How can they fight with each other and defeat each other? The answer is – vishNu Sakti had entered paraSurAma to eradicate evil forces on earth. Once that feat was accomplished, the vishNu Sakti was taken back by the next daSaratha rAma avatAram,

This shows the importance of amSa (partial) avatAram over AveSa (Sakti entering into) avatAram.

The vibhava avatAram-s of SrIman nArAyaNa are abundant. They can be divided into 'mukhya - principal' and 'amukhya – not principal'. The former is very special and the latter is lower than the former. Mukhya avatAram is sAkshAvatAram.

amukhya avatAram has two types –

1. svarUpAveSam – emperumAn enters cetana-s' body with His svarUpam – example – paraSurAman, balarAman etc.

2. saktyAveSam.- whenever cetana has a feat to be performed, emperumAn blesses him with His Sakti – examples – arjuna, vyAsa etc.

Of these two, svarUpAveSam is on a higher plane. Details of these avatArams can be learned from pAncarAtra samhita-s like viSvaksena samhita, tattvatrayam and its vyAkhyAnams.

paraSurAma avatAram is svarUpAveSa avatAram.

For mumukshu-s (those who are eager for salvation), worshiping paraSurAma is not appropriate. But, because of His eradicating evil enemies on earth, it is customary to praise His help.

AzhvArs have sung about paraSurAma for emperumAn's 'destruction of enemies' –

'mannaDanga mazhuvalangaik koNDa irAmanambi' (periyAzhvAr – senni Ongu- Pasuram 6) and

'venRi mAmazhuvEndi mun maNmisai mannarai mUvezhukAl konRa deva' (periya tirumozhi- 5.3.1 tiruveLLarai).

 

E. Additional Comments by SrI MK:

(SarvEsvaran appeared as ParasurAman and killed victoriously KaartavIryArjunan). During the cosmic cycle (praLaya kAlam), emperumAn had consumed and retained in His stomach the huge mountains, the deep, vast oceans, the massive universe, the Big Sun and the cool moon - and still He had much more space and was not full!- That Most wonderful Swami- My PerumAn did this: He became angry with the strong, cruel KaartavIryArjunan and other kings and killed them during His ParasurAma munivar avatAram. He stands as the symbol of His Paratvam and as the declaration of the final statement that He alone is the Chief of all; There is none equal to Him even, why to talk of superior? Such Greatest Lord- nIrvaNNan- the Lord who is of the colour of blue waters- the Lord who has His Yoga nidrA on the Oceans - nArAyaNan- is here standing at nIrmalai, lovingly for His devotees.

 

***

 

PAsuram 2.4.7

Pugar Ar uruvAgi

pugar Ar uruvAgi munindavanaip
pugazh vIDa munindu uyir uNDu asuran
nagar Ayina pAzh paDa nAmam eRindu
aduvanRiyum venRi koL vAL avuNan
pagarAdavan Ayiram nAmam aDip
paNiyAdavanaip paNiyAl amaril
nigar Ayavan nenjiDandAn avanuk
kiDam mAmalai Avadu nIrmalaiyE.

A. SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan:

Long time back, there was an asura called hiraNyAkshan, who was very radiant. He was priding himself saying there was no one equal to him. emperumAn killed him and his fame and destroyed the cities established by the asuran. Even the asura's name disappeared from the earth.

That hiraNyAshan had a brother, hiraNyan/hiraNyakaSipu. He had kept a sword that could defeat even the deva-s. He could not stand the mention of even one of the thousand nAmA-s of the Lord. He never worshiped emperumAn's tiruvaDi even a single day. If someone mentions VishNu's name, he will get angry and say. “ko ayam vishNu” (who is this vishNu – VishNu purANam 1.17.21). emperumAn killed him for the sake of prahlAda. Then, prahlAda himself prayed to Him to excuse his father's sins –

'mat pituH tvat kRtam pApam deva tasya praNacyatu'

 — VishNu purANam 1:20.21

The Lord complied with his request and then came to live in tirunIrmalai with great happiness.

 

B. SrI PVP:

pugar Ar uruvAgi munindavanaip pugazh vIDa munindu uyir uNDu asuran nagar Ayina pAzh paDa nAmam eRindu –

these lines refer to either hiraNyAkshan or pauNDraka vAsudevan.

pugar Ar uruvAgi munindavanai –

that hiraNyAkshan or pauNDraka vAsudevan, who had a radiant form and came charging at emperumAn. emperumAn has Suddha satva and natural radiance; pauNDraka vAsudevan mimicked this radiance by wearing the paraphernalia etc and hence is denoted as 'pugar Ar uruvAgi' – the one who came with radiant form. If this is meant for hiraNyAkshan, it can be explained as 'the one who had radiant form by means of his boons'.

pugazh vIDa munindu uyir uNDu –

perumAL angrily vanquished him and killed his fame too

asuran nagar Ayina pAzh paDa nAmam eRindu –

He completely destroyed the asura's cities that even the asura's name got erased.

aduvanRiyum -

not only that, later

venRi koL vAL avuNan –

the asuran, who had the victorious sword

Ayiram nAmam pagarAdavan aDip paNiyAdavanai –

he never said even one of the thousand nAmA-s of the Lord and never worshiped Him

amaril nigar Ayavan –

hiraNyakaSipu, who came as the equal of perumAL

paNiyAl –

because of prahlAda AzhvAn's one word.

tataH sugrIva vacanAt hatvA vAlinam Ahave |
sugrIvameva tadrAjye rAghavAH pratyapAdayat ||

 — rAmAyaNam.bAla.1.70

(On the basis of sugrIvan's word, rAghava killed vAli and appointed sugrIva as the king in the same kingdom).

Like that, singappirAn listened to the humble prahlAdAzhvAn's word and acted upon it.

mayi dveshAnubandho'bhUt samstutAvudyate tava |
matpituH tat kRtam pApam deva tasya praNaSyatu ||

 — VishNu purANam 1.20.21

(Oh Lord! Let all the sins my father accrued by hating me to the core because of my indulging in praying to You).

So, Lord nRsimha pardoned all the faults of hiraNyakaSipu; only when the situation became worse, He killed him.

nenjiDandAn avanukku –

He tore open the asura's chest

iDam mAmalai Avadu nIrmalaiyE –

to Him, the place of abode is tirunIrmalai.

 

C. SrI UV:

Ayiram nAmam aDip paNiyAdavan -

“kIzh paLLiyil Odi vanda siRuvan vAyil Ayira nAmam oLLiyavAgip pOda”

 — periya tirumozhi: 2.3.8

When prahlAdAzhvAn was uttering the thousand names of the Lord, hiraNyakaSipu could have said, “this is my child talking” and uttered at least one of those nAma-s. Or, at least after realizing that all the harms brought to his son ended up in an elevated state for the son, he could have started praying to the Lord his son was praying to.

nigarAyavan –

Even after narasingan appeared, he could have realized what his son said was true; instead, he thought of himself as perumAL's equal. That was because of brahma giving him a boon. Purushottaman emperumAn is the One who came renowned as “apratidvandva purushan” (one unparalleled in battle); iLaiya perumAL also says, “paurushe cA'pratidvandvaH”. When hiraNyakaSipu asked, “apratidvandvatAm yuddhe”, brahma said, 'astu – so be it'. Because of that, he came as 'equal' to emperumAn. brahma can offer 'apratidvandvam' only to objects created by him. He cannot take away the 'pratidvandvam' of emperumAn – and hiraNyakaSipu did not understand this. Lord nRsimha fully understood that hiraNyakaSipu will never utter His or pray to Him or have a change of heart and finally decided on causing his end. This was His way to listening to prahlAda's prayer to excuse his father's faults.

paNiyAl -

if we take this to mean 'prahlAda's word', we can argue as follows – prahlAda did not ask emperumAn to tear open his father's chest. His prayer was to forgive his father for his faults. If He had listened to that word, why did He kill him? He gave a punishment for the faults he had committed, that is all; He did not cause any other sorrow. It still raises a doubt. So, 'paNiyAl' can be read along with 'nigarAyavan' – paNiyAl nigarAi avan – hiraNyakaSipu became His equal by his own word, by his asking for the boon and by brahma offering that boon. Even though he is not really perumAL's equal, he became so only by his word.

 

D. Additional Comments by SrI MK:

"HiraNyan, who was of shining body (due to his strength and royal connection), yelled, "Who is superior to me? None!" and became angry with his son. The ferocious Huge beauty roared from the pillar as Narasingha mUrti and finished hiraNyan's life. He destroyed hiraNyan's so-called fame and popularity that had existed. HiraNyan antagonised the Lord by shouting angrily at his son PrahalAda (when PrahalAda the ardent devotee of Sriman nArAyaNa, uttered the Divine names of nArAyaNan) with great false ego and pride; hiraNyan didn't surrender at the Lord's Feet. Such most ferocious PerumAL is here at tirunIrmalai, sitting as Saanta Moorthy after HiraNya samhAram.

 

***

 

PAsuram 2.4.8

Piccac ciru pIli

piccac ciru pIli piDittu ulagil
piNam tin maDavAr avar pOl angnganE
accam ilar nAN ilar A tanmaiyAl
avar seigai veRuttu aNimAmalar tUy
nacci namanAr aDaiyAmai namakku
aruL sei ena uL kuzhaindu ArvamoDu
niccam ninaivArkku aruL seyyum avaRku
iDam mAmalai Avadu nIrmalaiyE

A. SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan:

AzhvAr is advising other people not to indulge in unwanted religions. The jains wander around like corpse-eating, naked ghostly women. Saying that one should not kill other lives, they will sweep the floor they walk with peacock feathers. They have no fear, no shame. They are not afraid that they are like this. They do not feel ashamed of what others would think of them, when they see them. Developing a hatred for them for not having any respect for religious practices, for not praying to bhagavAn, for not following any SAstric rules and for wandering around as they want, pray to sarveSvaran, the Lord of SrI mahAlakshmi. SriyaH pati, nArAyaNan is One who blesses those who worship Him with good flowers and pray to Him every day, with all their hearts to protect them from yama dUta-s. The place where He lives in tirunIrmalai.

 

B. SrI PVP:

piccac ciru pIli piDittu –

holding a bunch of peacock feathers in hand (like a broomstick for sweeping the floor they walk)

ulagil piNam tin maDavAr avar pOl – like corpse eating ghoulish women

angnganE accam ilar nAN ilar A tanmaiyAl –

because of their nature to be fearless, and shameless

avar seygai veRuttu – loathing them (the jains)

aNimAmalar tUy nacci –

to those who worship Him with beautiful, nice flowers with love and devotion

namanAr aDaiyAmai namakku aruL sei ena uL kuzhaindu ArvamoDu

niccam ninaivArkku –

and to those who pray to Him sincerely and lovingly everyday to save them from yama's messengers

aruL seyyum avaRku – emperumAn showers His blessings

iDam mAmalai Avadu nIrmalaiyE – His residence place is tirunIrmalai.

 

C. SrI UV:

emperumAn is living in this divya dESam everyday. That is why yaman will not bother us. narakam – hell will be completely filled with corpse-eating ghouls, whom yaman will rule over.

piccac ciru pIli -

it would have been enough to use the phrase 'ciRu pIli' – small peacock feather (for broomstick); why use two words, piccam and ciRu pIli? piccam is also peacock feather – this word could have been used to show the saMskRtam word 'pincam' that the jains use. Besides, it can also be used for doing magic and fooling others. Hence, the use of two words with same meaning. Another way to look at this is – piccam or pincam is a big collection of peacock feathers; it is more like a fan; ciRu pIli is a small collection of peacock feathers.

nacci namanAr aDaiyAmai –

yama's messengers will be happy when they get souls they can take back, similar to ' sarvesmai deva balim Avahanti' (taittirIya.1.5.3) and feel good if they got something.

'niccam' can be taken with 'aruL seyyum' to denote that everyday, emperumAn will bless those who pray to Him lovingly.

 

D. Addtitional Comments by SrI MK:

SamaNar (Jains) walk down the streets naked (for avoiding any possible contact with insects and killing them) holding a small peacock feather in their hands swinging softly at their bodies; brazen, shameless ones, who walk stark naked like the ghost-like shameless women, who eat even the corpses! (They are supposed to be following ahimsA! They don't even shave their heads or cut their hairs; they pluck the hairs one by one, causing tremendous himsA to the jIvan- and calling themselves as performing ahimsA!). Hence, hate such actions of these people. Go and offer most fragrant flowers at the Lotus Feet of PerumAL, praying to Him "Please do not let yama dUtAs dare come near us; Please show mercy on us" and pay obeisance to Him devotedly and movingly. He will show mercy on you. This Most Compassionate Lord is here at tirunIrmalai.

 

***

 

PAsuram 2.4.9

PEsum aLavanRu

pEsum aLavanRu idu vammin namar!
piRar kETpadan mun paNivAr vinaigaL
nAsam adu seidiDum AtanmaiyAl
aduvE namadu uyviDam nAN malar mEl
vAsam aNivaNDu aRai paimpuRavil
manam aindoDu nainduzhalvAr madi il
nIsar avar senRu aDaiyAdavanukku
iDam mAmalaiyAvadu nIrmalaiyE.

A. SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan:

There are a lot of undesirable matter in the world. So, there is nothing to talk about them. How long can one talk about unwanted matter? If you take bhagavad vishayam, time will not be enough to complete it. That is immeasurable. Even vedam is not able to complete talking about it saying, “yato vAco nivartante”, 'iti na', 'iti na' ('neti, neti' - it is not so, it is not so) and stands back (He cannot be described through speech, and cannot be reached by mind - taittirIya 2.9.1)

 

பணிவார் விைனகைள நீக்கிடும் எம்ெபருமான்

All those belonging to our satsangam, come here. Come before the atheists listen to them. Imparting this knowledge should not be denied to those who are good souls. It should not be imparted to those souls that are devoid of goodness.

ya imam paramam guhyam madbhakteshvabhidhAsyati |
bhaktim mayi parAm kRtvA mAmevaishyati asamSayaH ||

 — gItA.18.68

(Whoever preaches this greatest secret, gItA SAstram, to others, will get to be devoted to Me and will reach Me; there is no doubt about that)

idam te nAtapaskaya nAbhaktAya kadAcana |
na cASuSrUshave vAcyam na ca mAm yo'bhyasUyati ||

 — gItA.18.67

(You should not impart this secret SAstram to one who lacks penance. It should not be disclosed to one who has no devotion to you and Me and to one who will not listen to it)

All the sins of those who worship emperumAn will be dissolved. 'meru mandara mAtro'pi rAsiH pApasya karmaNaH keSavam vaidyam AsAdya durvyAdhiriva naSyati' (vishNu dharmam 69.110) – just as the worst diseases get cured by a good doctor, once a devotee surrenders to keSava, sins even the size of meru mountain or mandara mountain get absolved. So, that is our salvation. Only those whose minds and the five indriya-s indulge in lowly pleasures of life, will not care about perumAL. The place where He lives on a permanent basis is called tirunIrmalai, which has fertile groves that are inhabited on all sides by bees that drink the nectar in freshly blossomed flowers.

 

B. SrI PVP:

namar idu pEsum aLavanRu –

People connected with me one way or the other! The matter about those who have no knowledge about emperumAn is not something that can be talked about. At the same time, it is impossible to talk about emperumAn, who has no limits.

piRar kETpadan mun vammin –

come before this matter falls into the ears of non-believers

Those who are unworthy must not be told this; those who are worthy must not be denied of this knowledge. So, before any one else listens, come and obtain this knowledge.

paNivAr vinaigaL nAsam adu SeidiDum –

this will destroy the sins of those who worship emperumAn

AtanmaiyAl aduvE namadu uyviDam – therefore, that is where our salvation is

manam aindoDu nainduzhalvAr madi il nIsar avar –

ignorant folks who fall for lowly pleasures with their minds and five senses

senRu aDaiyAdavanukku – cannot reach emperumAn

iDam mAmalaiyAvadu –

to that emperumAn, the place of residence

nAN malar mEl vAsam maNivaNDu aRai paimpuRavil -

where bees buzz, drinking the honey in the fresh-blooming flowers in the surrounding green groves; another version is 'nAN malar tUi' – which will belong with “paNivAr” - they will worship emperumAn offering flowers to Him.

nIrmalaiyE – tirunIrmalai

 

C. SrI UV:

Unless our sins are absolved, we will not be blessed with emperumAn's anubhava kaimkaryam. tirunIrmalai will remove all our sins. That is where we should go and worship. Once we go to tirunIrmalai, there is no shortness for doing kaimkaryam. Every day, fresh flowers are blooming and present a divine sight. The bees do service to emperumAn by singing (buzzing).

 

D. SrI PBA:

idu pEsum aLavanRu -

even before AzhvAr starts talking about the divya desam, he indulges in the anubhavam and exclaims – 'it will not be possible to talk about this immeasurable matter'.