Thirumangai AzhwAr’s Paasuram on

TiruppArthanpaLLi divyadesam

Annotated Commentary in English by

Smt. KalyANi kRshNamAcAri

SrImate rangarAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH

 

TiruppArthanpaLLi moolavar - utsavar

Preface to this Series:

asmad AcAryan has blessed aDiyEn with yet another interesting project of writing about four tirunAngUr divyadESam-s.

PerumAL has taken His abode in eleven divya kshetrams in tirunAngUr (in the vicinity of SIrkAzhi), providing easy access to His devotees. These eleven divya deSam-s located in the town of tirunAngUr, are collectively called the tirunAngUr divya dESam-s. The tirunAngUr divya dESam shrines are tirumaNimADakkoyil, tiruvaikuntha viNNagaram, tiru arimEya viNNagaram, tiruttEvanArtogai, tiruvaNpuruDOttamam, tiruccemponseikoyil, tirutteTriambalam, tirumaNikkUDam, tiruveLLakkuLam, tirukkAvalampADi and tirupparthanpaLLi.

In the following link, u.vE. Oppiliappan KOil, SrI VaradAcAri SaThakOpan talks about all the eleven tirunAngUr divyadesam-s:

http://www.sundarasimham.org/ebooks/reflection5.pdf

and he has also covered in extensive detail, seven of these tirunAngUr divyadesams:

http://www.ahobilavalli.org/vaikunta_vinnagaram.pdf http://www.ahobilavalli.org/thiru_thevanar_thogai.pdf http://www.ahobilavalli.org/semponsei_koil.pdf http://www.ahobilavalli.org/arimeya_vinnagaram.pdf http://www.ahobilavalli.org/thirutherriambalam.pdf http://www.ahobilavalli.org/thiruvellakkulam.pdf http://www.ahobilavalli.org/tkvmpadi.pdf

Pictures of some of the tirunAngUr divyadeSams are available in SrI Senthil Kumar's following blogs:

http://thiruvaikuntavinnagaram.blogspot.com/ http://thirusemponseikoil.blogspot.com/ http://thirunangur.blogspot.com/

SrI Senthil Kumar's tirunAngUr 11 garuDa sEvai pictures are at: http://picasaweb.google.com/b.senthil2002/ManjalkuliAnd11GarudaSevai#

aDiyEn will attempt to throw some light on tiruppArthanpaLLi, tiruvaNpuruDOttamam, tirumaNikkUDam and tirumaNimADakkOvil using the following references:

1. SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan's vyAkhyanams

2. SrI PeriyavAccAn PiLLai's (SrI PVP) vyAkhyAnams

3. SrI uttamUr VIrarAghavAcAriAr's (SrI UV) vyAkhyAnams and

4. SrI P.B. aNNangarAcAriAr's (SrI PBA) vyAkhyanams

We will start with tiruppArthanpaLLi - tirunAngUr divyadeSam. An interesting audio link on tiruppArthanpaLLi divyadesam:

http://podbazaar.castmetrix.net/download/144115188075857053/1/TamilPo

 

***

 

TirupparthanpaLLi

 

PerumaaL: tAmaraiyAL kELvan

tAyAr: tAmarainAyaki

VimAnam: nArAyAna VimAnam

tIrttam: Sankara saras

Pratyaksham: arjunan, VaruNan, ekAdaSa rudrar

MangaLaaSaasanam: Thirumangai AzhvAr

 

***

 

Introduction

 

A. SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan:

AzhvAr fell at the feet of PerumAL and requested Him to remove all his enemies that came between AzhvAr and PerumAL, and sarvESvaran agreed to do so. That was not enough for AzhvAr who had an insatiable desire to enjoy Him; he entered into a stage of pirATTi who had been in the intimate company of PerumAL and then got separated. In that stage, parakAla nAyaki (SrI tirumangai AzhvAr) sings about all His activities. This padikam is in the form of parakAla nAyakis mother's words, describing that condition.

 

B. SrI PBA:

parakAla nAyaki's mother is saying: "My daughter is constantly talking about tiruppArthanpaLLi perumAn's characteristics day and night and keeps uttering the name of the divyadEsam - tiruppArthanpaLLi." AzhvAr's extreme love for this perumAL has resulted in the singing of this tirumozhi (periya tirumozhi 4.8).

 

C. SrI UV:

AzhvAr has been enjoying tirunAngUr divya deSam-s and surrendering to emperumAn; he finally decides to go and visit pArthan paLLi. Since only pirATTi-s do intimate service to the Lord and since out of all the kaimkaryams offered to Him, He cherishes the kaimkaryam-s of His pirATTi-s more than any others, AzhvAr also wants to become a pirATTi and please Him. Immediately, He becomes a pirATTi and starts talking about the greatness of emperumAn's guNams and about pArthan paLLi; he then thinks about what the mother of this pirATTi would say and talks about the mother's thoughts. When AzhvAr opened his mouth as a pirATTi, the first thing that struck the mother was pirATTi's beautiful mouth; since the topic is about emperumAn who was reclining in this kshetram to bless pArthan (arjuna), she indulges in the story of kRshNAvatAram. kaNNan is like a black elephant and that reminds her about His breaking the tusks of a black elephant.

 

***

 

Thirumangai AzhvAr

Periya tirumozhi

PAsuram 4.8.1

KavaLa yAnai

 

kavaLa yAnai komboSitta kaNNan ennum kAmaruSIrk kuvaLai mEghamanna mEni koNDa kOn ennAnai enRum tavaLa mADa nIDu nAngai tAmaraiyAL kELvan enRum pavaLa vAyAL en maDandai pArthan paLLi pADuvALE.

 

A. SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan:

She has coral like lips. Instead of Him (emperumAn) having to pine for her, because of her charm, she is rattling on and on about Him. She says - He is kRshNa who broke effortlessly the tusks of the elephant kuvalayApIDam, which had gone mad and is falling on everyone it encounters. Even if He has not removed the obstacles for the union of parakAla nAyaki with Him, still she finds that, His beauty is something unforgettable. She describes that her svAmi, who has the tirumEni with the color of kuvaLai (nIlOtpalam/blue lotus) flower, karuneydal (blue Indian water lily) flower or the cloud, is performing activities that make her feel like she wants to keep watching Him all the time.

He is lakshmI pati who is residing in tirunAngUr, which has tall houses with painted domes. In the current tirumozhi 'kavaLa yAnai komboSitta..', AzhvAr is singing about PerumAL as He is giving sevai to the devotees in His reclining form in tiruppArthanpaLLi.

kavaLa yAnai komboSitta kaNNan - kaNNan who plucked the tusks of the infatuated elephant by name kuvalayApIDam. He should be enthralled about her beauty; instead, she is constantly raving about His place, out of love for Him.

kAmaruSIr kuvaLai mEghamanna mEni koNDa kOn ennAnai enRum - His attractiveness is most captivating. His beauty enchants everyone. His hue is that of kuvaLai flower or the cloud; and His actions are enjoyable like the elephant that provides joy by its mere appearance. Not finding anything to compare His beauty with, AzhvAr is trying to use kuvaLai flower, cloud, etc.

tavaLa mADa nIDu nAngai tAmaraiyAL kELvan enRum - In that place (tiruppArthanpaLLi), all the houses will be always painted. There are several tall, white houses with domes. He is the husband of lakshmI and is residing in such a place.

pavaLa vAyAL en maDandai pArthan paLLi pADuvALE - She has beautiful coral- like red lips. Instead of Him having to long for union with her, it is she who is constantly pining for Him and talking about His place.

 

C. SrI UV:

The mother says - 'when my daughter opened her mouth, I thought she was going to talk to her friends or me; but, her attention is not anywhere with us. She started singing about pArthan paLLi; it was all about emperumAn breaking the tusks of the elephant, kuvalayApIDam, the beautiful emperumAn being beautiful like an elephant, His being the Consort of mahAlakshmi, etc.'

Just because it is said that He broke the elephants tusks, it does not mean He did not kill the elephant. Even as the mahout and the elephant were alive, He displaced the tusks of the mad elephant in half a second, also making sure no one else came near and got hurt; that is the reason why this incident is mentioned.

 

D. SrI PBA:

My daughter says - "Do you know the wonderful acts my husband did? kamsan had planned to have a mad elephant kill my husband at the very entrance of his palace. My husband plucked the elephant's tusks effortlessly just like pulling out a plant from a muddy place and killed the elephant. He is such a great hero".

"His color is cool and dark and eye-catching like that of the kuvaLai flower and the dark cloud. An elephant is such that one can look at it many times; yet, it appears enjoyable every time. Like that, my husband is ArAvamudam - insatiable nectar."

So saying, my daughter starts singing about tiruppArthanpaLLi tiruppati.

kavaLa yAnai - kavaLam denotes elephant's food. The elephant has been triggered to be mad after being fed a lot of food.

pArthanpaLLi - emperumAn is lying down in order to give His darSanam to pArthan - arujunan. Hence, this divya dEsam is called pArthan paLLi.

 

***

 

pAsuram 4.8.2:

Kanjan viTTa

 

kanjan viTTa vencinatta kaLiRaDartta kALai enRum
vanjamEvi vanda pEyin uyirai uNDa mAyan enRum
SencolALar nIDu nAngai dEvadEvan enRenRodi
panciyanna mellaDiyAL pArthanpaLLi pADuvALE.

A. SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan:

The elephant, kuvalyApIDam, comes charging furiously, being deployed by the evil kamsan to kill kaNNan. Even if the elephant was not sent by kamsan, the elephant would have come barging at anyone it came across because of its condition of being in rut. One cannot expect to escape the evil kamsan who sent the elephant; nor can one expect to get away from the danger presented by the infuriated elephant. AzhvAr is saying, "He is the youth that vanquished that kind of an elephant". pUtanA was a demon to start with. And she came with the deceitful intent of killing kaNNan and took the form of a mother to feed poison to Him. Being one who performs astonishing feats, He killed her by sucking her life out of her. In this pASuram, the mother of parakAla nAyaki says that her daughter is in a sad state where she is blabbering about all His phenomenal accomplishments.

Those who live in that place are all well-versed; they always speak the truth; they never lie. Thinking that He should be like them, He declared, "I shall never leave you" and He lives eternally in nAngUr divya dEsam. The nAyaki (parakAla) remembers that promise of His, and sings of Him as the leader of nitya sUri-s and that He resides in pArthanpaLLi. Her mother says, "My daughter has very soft feet that feel like delicate cotton. Instead of His longing for her tender feet, she is the one who is prattling about Him".

 

B. SrI PVP:

My daughter does not realize her greatness as one of very tender nature, and instead, is talking about how kaNNan astonishingly vanquished His enemies. She is constantly chattering about His being held in high esteem by the nitya sUri-s, and about His place - pArthanpaLLi.

kanjan viTTa vencinatta kaLiRaDartta kALai enRum - He killed the mad elephant, kuvalayApIDam sent by kamsan; thinking about that, AzhvAr is indulging again in kRshNAvatAram. The elephant was the one that was ordered by kamsan who is evil-natured. The elephant does not need anyone to order it to destroy whatever it encounters; the elephant itself is a mad one and will charge on the whole world; both kamsan's demoniac nature and the frenzied nature of the elephant are such that no one can escape from either. But kaNNan, who had not even grown to a mature age, killed the elephant in His very young age.

vanjamEvi vanda pEyin uyirai uNDa mAyan enRum - pUtanai was naturally demoniac by birth. On top of it, she came with the explicit objective of killing Him; but He took away her life miraculously, even though He was only a child at that time. She came with the pretext of giving Him poisonous milk, and He fulfilled that wish and sucked her life out in the process.

SencolALar nIDu nAngai dEvadEvan enRenRodi - The folks in this place speak nothing but the truth. So, emperumAn, who lives in this place should also take up the same nature, right! He had said to her earlier: "I will not leave you"; now, He cannot leave her in the presence of these truthful folks. That is a big consolation for my daughter. She sings about Him as One who lives in tirunAngUr where everyone speaks the truth; She also sings of Him as the deva of all the deva-s ("ayarvarum amarargaL adhipati" - tiruvAimozhi 1.1.1).

panciyanna mellaDiyAL pArthanpaLLi pADuvALE - My daughter is gifted with very tender feet like soft cotton. One would expect that He should be pining for those soft feet; but instead, she is the one who is longing for Him, and singing about His place of residence - pArthanpaLLi.

 

C. SrI UV:

SencolALar nIDu nAngai - those well versed in vedams had their tall houses in long rows in that place.

panciyanna mellaDiyAL - tiruttAyAr - the mother of nAyaki, is concerned that her daughter with very tender feet is leaving for pArthanpaLLi.

 

D. SrI PBA:

Can the help provided by my husband, namely, the killing of kamsa's elephant, be praised just once? If He had not done that, the whole world would have suffered. Is it an ordinary feat to do battle with a wild elephant and vanquish the same?

This feat was accomplished when He was at least a few years old. Do you know His great achievement when He was lying in His toTTil - crib? In the pretext of drinking milk from her, He wonderfully sucked her life out.

 

***

 

pAsuram 4.8.3:

ANDarkOn en

 

aNDarkOn en Anai enRum Ayar mAdar kongaipulgu
SenDan enRum nAnmaRaigaL tEDi ODum Selvan enRum
vaNDulavu pozhilkoL nAngai mannu mAyan enRenROdi
paNDu pOlanRu en maDandai pArthanpaLLi pADuvALE.

 

A. SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan:

ParakAla nAyaki's mother says that her daughter is not talking about emperumAn's divine plays just for passing time; she implies that if He does not come, she will go to Him. "It is common practice for young girls to sing about several places. My daughter is not singing like that. She is praising 'pArthan paLLi' as the place where her nAyakan lives".

AzhvAr (parakAla nAyaki) goes on: He is the svAmi to brahmA and other cetana-s in the universe. His acts are such that I can see them visibly just like an elephant is plainly visible to naked eyes. His nature is to display the flower balls He keeps in His hand for fun and embrace the AyppADi girls. He who is used to enjoy the girls is the One who has unimaginable wealth that even the veda-s cannot comprehend. He lives permanently in tirunAngUr, which has groves frequented by honey bees.

B. SrI PVP:

en maDandai - my daughter.

aNDarkOn - He is the leader of those in the universe.

en Anai enRum - He is enjoyable just like an elephant; even though He is the lord of all the universes, He is still like an elephant in presenting Himself to me for His actions.

Ayar mAdar kongai pulgum - He embraced the tender breasts of cowherd girls.

SenDan enRum - He held flower balls in His hand and always attracted the AyppADi girls, who were of His same age and played with them.

nAn maRaigaL tEDi ODum - The four veda-s keep searching and probing for His wealth. (anantha kalyAna guNa vibhUtis)

Selvan enRum - He possesses wealth unfathomable by the veda-s, even though He is easily accessible to the AyppADi girls.

vaNDu ulavu pozhil nAngai - tirunAngUr which has groves which have hovering bees Performing HarinAma sankeertanams.

mannu - He lives every day; He does not vanish like an avatAram does. He is still living here.

mAyan (enRum) - He is a very extraordinary One.

enRu enRu Odi - She keeps talking like this over and over.

paNDu pOl anRu - not like before - not like young girls who normally sing about places.

pArthan paLLi pADuvALE - she sings about pArthan paLLi.

 

C. Sri UV:

In the previous pAsuram (4.8.2), the mother said that her daughter had dared to say that emperumAn gets rid of enemies to help His devotees, but she was afraid that the 'SencolALar' (learned scholars in nAngai) would talk ill of her. But she is not like that anymore; she has become fearless.

My daughter is not like as before. She knows all about her nAthan's greatness and wealth. He is the Lord of nitya sUri-s and the ancient Lord of all the universes; at the same time, being an ocean of amiability, He is so easily accessible to the gopis. The four veda-s have already praised His unsurpassed supremacy; they go after Him to praise His saulabhyam (easily accessible) and sauSIlyam (ease of mixing with devotees). When pirATTi herself is following Him saying 'I will not leave You', how can the others not do the same? If my daughter is told "Why are you so agitated? If He has so much saulabhyam, He will come to your place too" she responds, "After He saw tirunAngUr with groves filled with bees, He stayed there permanently without leaving. Only I have to go there. What can the scholars ("SencolALar") say? Their words are also going after Him, along with me; since I am a woman, I am not able to run". aNDam refers to paramapadam and brahmANDam; (He is supreme in that aspect); SeNDu refers to His svAbhAvam - nature - namely His saulabhyam (He is supreme in this aspect also).

D. SrI PBA:

The term - aNDar - refers to deva-s and cowherds also. It can also mean those in the aNDam - universe. By the double meaning involved here, it can be construed thus - He is the leader of the cowherds; He is the leader of the deva-s; thus, He is immeasurable in saulabhyam and paratvam.

Ayar mAdar kongaipulgu SenDan - While I have so much love for Him, He is enjoying the romantic interludes with the gopi-s. She is saying this out of praNaya rOsham (anger because of His delay in coming to her).

nAnmaRaigaL tEDi ODum Selvan enRum - The veda-s are trying to find the end of all His glory and be done with the job; they run after Him and quit becoming tired; He is not giving any leeway since He is apariccinna vaibhavan (Unlimited and magnificent).

paNDu pOlanRu - Till yesterday, my daughter was like other worldly girls, playing with balls, ammAnai (a game where balls are thrown into the air and caught without letting them fall down), pAvai nOmbu and parrots. Today, she has transformed and has started singing about pArthanpaLLi; even if she was singing about pArthanpaLLi earlier, she did not sing like this with anurAgam (passion); now, she is singing with vilakshaNam (unusual, extraordinary trait).

 

***

 

pAsuram 4.8.4:

KollaiyAnAL

 

kollaiyAnAL parisazhindAL kOlvaLaiyAr tam mugappE
mallai munnIr taTTilangai kaTTazhitta mAyan enRum
Selvam malgu maRaiyOr nAngai dEvadEvan enRenRodi
palvaLaiyAL en maDandai pArthan paLLi pADuvALE.

 

 

A. SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan:

My daughter performed acts out of her boundary right in front of girls of her own age. (She went out of the house on her own; she brought ignominy to womanly respect). She lost womanly inherent qualities like shyness, fear etc. She became like this in the presence of girls who wear bangles like her. She keeps talking about His breaking the security of ilangai, by building a dam across the ocean that is full of old waters.

She also talks about the dEvadEvan living every day in tirunAngUr, which is populated with wealthy brahmins. Not only that, she calls His place pArthan paLLi. The mother feels sorry that while He must be yearning for her when He sees one of her bangles, just as her daughter who is wearing lots of bangles is pining for Him.

 

B. SrI PVP:

palvaLaiyAL en maDandai - my daughter who is wearing several bangles. When He must be longing to be with her by just looking at her single bangle, she is wearing so many bangles and at the same time pining for Him.

kOlvaLaiyAr tam mugappE - in the presence of girls who are wearing beautiful bangles.

kollaiyAnAL parisazhindAL - crossed her boundaries and lost her womanly traits.

mallai mun - rich, age old nIr - Ocean with water

taTTu - built a bridge over it

ilangai kaTTazhitta - destroyed ilangai totally; in order to remove sItai's grief, He created a situation where one person's wealth could be shared by several people. He has such a great love for His nAyaki.

mAyan enRum - (my daughter sings) He is the most wonderful person Selvam malgu maRaiyOr nAngai - tirunAngUr, in which wealthy brahmins live dEvadEvan enRenRodi - (she sings) He is the Lord of the deva-s.

enRenRodi pArthan paLLi pADuvALE - saying similar such things, she sings about pArthan paLLi.

 

C. Sri UV:

Mother is sending several girls to control her, but look what is happening. Having lost all her womanly traits, she is not even afraid of men; why would she be afraid of the girls? She is wearing all of her bangles and hastening to go somewhere. If I tell her that He will come and get her just like He got sItAp pirATTi, she says, "siTai got stuck in the midst of the ocean; she could not escape. Since lankeSvaran abducted her, she stayed there so that mAyan, emperumAn can destroy him. Who abducted me and brought me here without others knowing? Everyone here is good; where are the enemies? He, my emperumAn is in nAngai. I have to go. Why should I stay? Before my Lord who is lying down wakes up, I have to go to Him".

munnIr - three waters - Ocean has river water, spring water and rain water. [Observe the difference in interpretation here].

 

D. SrI PBA:

Till yesterday, my daughter was acting within a boundary; today, she has crossed it. She, who used to be shy in the presence of third parties, is praising her hero's divine acts in the presence of several girls. She is hinting that He, who performed magnificent acts for His one pirATTi, is totally ignoring her.

pal vaLaigaL - I decorated her with several bangles; out of love and viraga tApam for Him, she is becoming thin and losing her bangles.

 

***

 

pAsuram 4.8.5:

ArakkarAvi mALa

 

arakkar Avi mALa anRu AzhkaDal Suzh ilangai ceRRa
kurakkarasan enRum kOlavilli enRum mAmadiyai
nerukkumADa nIDu nAngai ninmalan tAn enRenROdi
parakkazhindAL en maDandai pArttan paLLi pADuvALE

 

A. SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan:

My daughter says - "emperurmAn who vanquished the dynasty of the rAkshasa for separating Him from His pirATTi. He is the leader of monkeys. He adorns a beautiful bow. He lives every day in nAngUr, which has tall palaces that obstruct the path of the moon. He is one who never expects something in return for His help". My daughter has forsaken fear of ignominy. She is singing about pArthan paLLi emperumAn. She is singing loudly so that I will also hear about His place. What is He going to do now? She keeps crying just looking at His charming form.

B. SrI PVP:

en - My daughter

anRu - when rAvaNa came to fight

arakkar Avi mALa - in order to kill the rAkshasa-s

AzhkaDal Suzh ilangai ceRRa - He destroyed ilangai surrounded by a deep ocean. He made sure that He did not just kill rAvaNa who took away His wife, but vanquished the whole clan.

kurakku arasan enRum - He is the Lord of the monkeys. He destroyed ilangai belonging to rAvaNan, who had destroyed the worlds belonging to brahmA and others, by getting the help of the monkey clan that does not know the difference between the right hand and the left hand.

kOlavilli enRum - He has the beautiful bow. Everyone who thinks he was born to be an archer, lose to Him; He is holding the bow giving the impression that He alone is the greatest bowman.

mAmadiyai nerukkumADa nIDu nAngai - He is in nAngai with its tall houses that stand in the path of the moon.

ninmalan tAn enRum - He does not expect anything in return and He is the purest. He does not wait for someone to ask Him; He will help even before He is asked.

enRenRu Odi parakkazhindAL pArthan paLLi pADuvALE - she sings more and more, and she lost her womanhood. She talks about pArthan paLLi, so that I can hear the name also. What can I do with her from now on?

The mother seems to imply here that her daughter must keep quiet like sIta and not sing out loud.

adRshTa pUrvavyasanA rAjaputrI yaSasvinI |
tena duHkena rudatI naiva mAm kincidabravIt || (rA.ayodhyA.58.35)

When Sumantra returns from the forest, DaSaratha asks him, "what did rAma and lakshmaNa say?" Sumantra says, "The illustrious princess sItA, who has not experienced sorrow before, kept shedding tears and did not say anything to me".

 

C. Sri UV:

Mother is saying, "If I tell my daughter - you have to behave as per our family custom; you are not listening to what our family womenfolk are saying, namely, you are bringing a bad name to our family. Instead, you are saying, 'Is it a sacred family law that a lady stays put in the house out of humility, instead of going to her husband, no matter how long it takes? It is your duty to take me to Him. When even for unmarried girls, the rule applied is - 'trINi varshANudIksheta' [manu smRti 9.90], I cannot wait much longer.'" He wanted to kill all the rAkshasa-s, not just rAvaNa; He went to ilangai just for that purpose.

sugrIvaH SankitaH cAsIn nityam vIryeNa rAghave || (rAmA.bAla.1.51)

kOlavilli - sugrIva, the king of the monkeys, was doubting if rAma would be able to kill vAli or not; rAma pierced through seven sAla trees with one arrow and restored his confidence. That is why He is "kOlavilli".

ninmalan - After vAli was killed, he raised so many questions to rAma, who provided all the appropriate responses to those and calmed him. You cannot blame this 'ninmalan' [the purest].

My daughter says - 'The reason why He is not coming to me is because He wants me to go to Him. The doubts and blaming that you have about me are to be dispelled just like those of sugrIva and vAli.' But, I end up calling her "parakkazhindAL" [she is doing great harm].

kurakkarasu EnRum - [Notice the pATha bedam here ] it will mean the Lord of vAli and sugrIva, who were the king of the monkeys and were made to believe in Him. Another way to interpret this is - the one who went to ilangai is kurakkarasu - vAnara rAjA 'sugrIva'. The one who ruled over that kurakkarasu was rAma.

 

D. Sri PBA:

parakkazhindAL - If you split this phrase as parakku [humility] + azhindAL [lost], the meaning would be 'she lost her humility'.

In kambarAmAyaNam, kishkindA kANDam (87),

arakkar Or azhivu seydu kazhivarEl, adaRku vERu Or
irakkam engu uguttAi? enpAl ep pizhai kaNDAy? appA!
parakkazhi idu nI pUNDAl, pugazhai yAr parikkaRpAlAr?

the word 'parakkazhi' is used; the vyAkyAnam meaning is 'great blame; big harm'. SrI periyavAccAn piLLai gives this vyAkyAnam in several places.

In nAcciyAr tirumozhi-12.3, 'kondaLam Akki parakkazhittuk kuRumbu seyvAnOr maganaip peRRa", 'parakkazhittu' is explained as "causing blemish".

 

***

 

pAsuram 4.8.6:

j~nAlamuRRum

 

j~nAlamuRRum uNDumizhinda nAdan enRum nAnilam Suzh
vElayanna kOlamEni vaNNan enRum, mElezhundu
SElugaLum vayal koL nAngai dEvadEvan enRenROdi
pAlin nalla men mozhiyAL pArthanpaLLi pADuvALE.

 

A. SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan:

My daughter, whose speech is sweeter and softer than milk, is stating that her nAthan is the One who gave refuge to all the worlds in His stomach during praLaya [flood] time and released them out when the sRshThi [creation] time came. He is the Lord of all universes. So, He saved the universes that belong to Him when they encountered the danger from the floods. Her sorrow is similar to the praLaya danger. But, He did not come and save her. The hue of His tirumEni is like that of the ocean that surrounds the earth with its four kinds of lands - neydal [maritime region], mullai [forest], marudam [agricultural] and kuRinji [hilly]. He is the dEvadEvan living in tirunAngUR that has paddy fields with fish flying all over. Instead of emperumAn having to talk about her as "madhurA madhura AlApA", she is hankering about Him now.

B. SrI PVP:

ParakAla nAyaki is singing about emperumAn's nature of helping those in distress.

pAlin nalla men mozhiyAL - this daughter of mine, whose words are sweeter and softer than milk.

rAma asked hanuman, "Hey, hanuman! What news did my sweet-natured sItA, who utters sweet words, give for me?"

mxura mxur Aalapa ikmah mm ÉaimnI, miÖhIna vrahaR hnumn! kwySv me.

madhurA madhura AlApA kimAha mama bhAminI |
madvihInA varArOhA hanuman kathayasva me || (rAmA.sundara.66.15)

Just like rAma, He should be yearning about my daughter's sweetness; instead, she keeps longing painfully for Him.

j~nAlamuRRum uNDumizhinda nAdan enRum - He is the svAmi who swallowed the worlds during destruction time and released them during creation time. EmperumAn's nature is such that when He offers rescue from danger, He does expect anything in return. This is because He is the owner of everything. Only an owner will guard his property.

nAnilam Suzh vElayanna kOlamEni vaNNan enRum - His hue is that of the ocean surrounding the bhUmi with four different kinds of lands.

mElezhundu SElugaLum vayal koL nAngai dEvadEvan - The Lord of the deva-s is living in tirunAngUr that has agricultural fields that have fish hopping up and down. The point here is that even fish are displaying their happiness.

enRenROdi pArthanpaLLi pADuvALE. - Saying such things over and over, she sings about pArthanpaLLi.

 

C. Sri UV:

Mother says - emperumAn is a friend in the time of danger; He is compassionate; to me, making my daughter indulge in Him seems enjoyable like milk. Let alone what others talk.

Milk is not good for those who suffer from pittam [bile] and a healthy soothing diet for those who are healthy. I think my daughter's talk is also like that.

 

D. Sri PBA:

nAnilam - bhUmi - earth. neydal, mullai, marudam and kuRinji are the four kinds referred to here. The fifth kind, namely, pAlai or desert is not taken into account for nAnilam [four kinds of lands] because it is a land without water or shade. Some learned scholars state that when the four kinds of lands lose their individual properties, they turn into pAlai or desert.

 

***

 

pAsuram 4.8.7:

NADi en tan

 

nADi en tan uLLam koNDa nAthan enRum, nAn maRaigaL
tEDi enRum kANa mATTA selvan enRum, ciRai koL vaNDu
SEDulavu pozhil koL nAngai dEvadEvan enRenROdi
pADakam sEr mellaDiyAL parthanpaLLi pADuvALE.

A. SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan:

My daughter is proclaiming, "He is the svAmi who came looking for me and enthralled my heart and made me realize that He is the protector. He possesses wealth that cannot be fathomed by the four veda-s. He is the devadevan living in tirunAngUr that contains groves filled with lots of bees with beautiful wings. My daughter, who wears the ornament, pADagam, on her soft legs, is singing about pArthanpaLLi. While He must be singing about her legs wearing pADagam, she is doing it."

 

B. SrI PVP:

When she is asked, "Can't you wait till He comes and help you?" my daughter says, "He completely captivated my heart. Just like the veda-s are lamenting because of their abysmal failure in knowing the depth of His wealth, I am also crying."

pADakam sEr mellaDiyAL - my girl, who is wearing the ornament, pADagam on her soft-footed legs.

nADi en tan uLLam koNDa nAthan enRum - He is the Lord who came after me and captured my heart. This is similar to what nammAzhvAr experiences in "edir SUzhal pukku" (came and surrounded me) - "kEsavan tamar" pAsuram (tiruvAi.2.7.6):

madusUdanai anRi maRRu ilEn enRu ettAlum karumam inRi
tudi sUzhnda pADalgaL pADi ADa ninRu UzhitoRum
edir SUzhal pukku enaittOr piRappum enakkE aruLgaL seyya
vidi sUzhndadAl enakkEl ammAn tirivikiramanaiyE.

("I was fortunate enough to be blessed with singing that there is no refuge for me except madusUdanan. Even though I tried to avoid Him by taking several births, He took several avatArams and blessed me. The blessing from His trivikrama avatAram transformed into 'fate' and surrounded me and pushed me towards Him; His blessing alone came to me and accepted me".)

nAn maRaigaL tEDi enRum kANa mATTA selvan enRum - The four veda-s always keep searching for Him in vain. His wealth is incomprehensible.

ciRai koL vaNDu SEDulavu pozhil koL nAngai dEvadEvan - The Lord of the deva- s lives in nAngai with its groves having beautiful winged bees.

enRenROdi parthanpaLLi pADuvALE - So talking about such matter over and over, she sings about pArthanpaLLi.

 

C. Sri UV:

Folks are asking the mother, "You said He is expecting your daughter's arrival and that He has special love for her. How did you come to this conclusion"?

Mother reports what her daughter is saying - "EmperumAn got into me. The veda-s are searching for Him everywhere and gave up finally thinking, 'How much immeasurable, infinite wealth does He have?' He became wealthy only after He got me. So, He is expecting my arrival. I am wearing pADagam in my legs in order to announce my coming. He will stop listening to the sweet songs of the bees and start listening to the sound from this pADagam with great affection".

 

D. Sri PBA:

nAn maRaigaL tEDi enRum kANa mATTA selvan - "api anuSrava Sirassu durgraham" - varadAraja pancASat - 3 anusvaram or Sruti is something that is learned from hearing from a teacher, whose head represents the upanishads. Even those upanishads cannot completely fathom the Supreme effulgence on top of Hastigiri.

"pAdagatakam" in samskRt became 'pADagam' in tamizh.

 

***

pAsuram 4.8.8:

UlagamEttum

 

ulagamEttum oruvan enRum oNSuDarODu umbar eydA
nilavum Azhip paDaiyan enRum nEsan enRum, ten tisaikkut
tiladam anna maRaiyOr nAngai dEvadEvan enRenROdi
palarum Esa en maDandai pArthanpaLLi pADuvALE.

 

A. SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan:

My daughter is adulating Him - "He is advitIya [unique/unrivalled/ matchless], who is worshiped by the whole world. He has fiercely effulgent tiruvAzhi [discus] as His divine weapon that cannot be approached even by the Moon, the Sun or the deva-s. 'eppOdum kaikazhalA nEmiyAn' [periya tiruvantAdi 87 - He has the discus that never leaves His hand]. He loves His devotees. He is the devadevan of nAngai, which is inhabited by brahmaNa-s who are like a tilakam [mark on the forehead] of the Southern region. She is singing about pArthanpaLLi and that is resulting in the town folk disparaging her. She says she does not need the people who are belittling her by creating scandal, but she will sing about pArthanpaLLi.

B. SrI PVP:

Some folks say, "Why are you lamenting like this causing a heartache?" My daughter responds, "Am I the only one wailing for Him? Doesn't everyone in the world long for Him also?"

en maDandai - My daughter.

ulagamEttum oruvan enRum - [sings] He is One whom the whole world is lauding and He is One who has no equal.

oNSuDarODu - the Sun and the Moon umbar eydA - and the deva-s cannot reach.

nilavum Azhip paDaiyan enRum - the radiant discus. He holds His divine weapon, the discus.

nEsan enRum - He is very fond of His bhakta-s.

ten tisaikkut tiladam anna maRaiyOr nAngai dEvadEvan - brahmaNa-s, who are decorative like a tilakam for the Southern areas live in nAngai; The Lord of the deva-s is staying in that place.

enRenROdi - so saying in several such terms.

palarum Esa - while a lot of people are detracting her. Folks are defaming her saying that she has crossed her limits. Just as nammAzhvAr says in tiruvAi.5.3.4 - "Uravar kavvai eru viTTu" - my daughter is treating their aspersion and abuse as a strength giving manure.

pArthanpaLLi pADuvALE - she sings about pArthanpaLLi.

 

C. SrI UV:

My Lord is One who is to be respected by those who neglect Him as well as His devotees. He loves His friends and foes alike.

Even those who cannot understand divinity praise Him for His form and guNa-s.

"pumsAm dhRshThi citta apahAriNam" - He stole the eyes and minds of even men.

Because of His self-effulgence, He is beyond the reach of even deva-s. Even though we all know that Her Lord is the One, praised by all, her talks have been the cause of this defamation. She is madly in love with pArthanpaLLi.

eydA - [please note the difference in interpretation here] instead of associating 'eydA' with 'nilavum', it should be taken to denote emperumAn. It does not refer to the Sun or the Moon; the oNSuDar refers to perumAL's effulgence.

 

D. SrI PBA:

"tAmaraiyAL kELvan - tiruppArthanppaLLi" (Courtesy:www.pbase.com/svami)

ulagam Ettum - The term 'ulagam' [world] can be represented in two ways -

1. tolkAppiyam says - "ulagam enbadu uyarndOr mATTE' [the term 'ulagam' denotes only great people]; thus, He is extolled by great, intelligent, learned people.

2. general term for 'world'; He is idolized by all the worlds.

oNsuDar etc - [SrI PBA takes the same stand as SrI UV] can refer to both the Sun and the Moon and emperumAn.

ten tisaikkut tiladam anna - the tilakam can be an adjective for the brahmaNa-s in nAngai or for nAngai itself.

nEsan - the samkRt word 'sneham' becomes 'nEsam' [friendship] in tamizh.

palarum Esa - People leading worldly lives ask for food and clothes [uNDiyE uDaiyE ugandODum]; when somebody sings about a divya deSam that emperumAn loves, that becomes the cause of scandal. Such folks like only when those things like food and clothes are solicited. bhagavad bhakta-s jest about the mundane, loukika acts of samsAri-s; in the same manner, the samsAri-s joke about the activities of bhagavad bhakta-s.

 

***

pAsuram 4.8.9:

KaNNan enRum

kaNNan enRum vAnavargaL kAdalittu malargaL tUvum
eNNan enRum inban enRum Ezhulagukku Adi enRum
tiNNamADa nIDu nAngai dEvadEvan enRenRodi
paNNin anna men mozhiyAL pArthanpaLLi pADuvALE.

 

A. SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan:

My daughter, who speaks soft words, melodious like a good song, sings about pArthanpaLLi saying, "He is kaNNan; He is in the minds of brahmA and other deva-s who desire to worship Him with flowers; He imparts happiness; He is the cause of all the seven worlds; He is the devadevan of tirunAngUr that has tall and sturdy palaces".

 

B. SrI PVP:

paNNin anna men mozhiyAL - Her speech is soft like nice music.

kaNNan enRum - She talks about SrI kRSNa.

vAnavargaL kAdalittu malargaL tUvum eNNan enRum - She calls Him

eNNan - one who lives in the thoughts - of the deva-s, who offer Him flowers out of love.

inban enRum - He bestows bliss.

Ezhulagukku Adi enRum- He is the Creator of all the seven worlds.

tiNNamADa nIDu nAngai dEvadEvan - He is the Lord of the deva-s and is living in solid, lofty houses.

enRenRodi - saying similar things over and over,

pArthanpaLLi pADuvALE - she eulogizes pArthanpaLLi.

 

C. SrI UV:

Mother states that her daughter proves how emperumAn is the devadevan - Lord of the deva-s; He takes incarnations; He is worshipped by the deva-s; He is also the Creator.

 

Since the place is pArthan paLLi, the daughter treats Him as KaNNan.

 

D. SrI PBA:

My daughter says that emerumAn is a personification of bliss. She is personally experiencing what upanishad says - "Anando brahmeti vyajanAt" (taittirIya upanishad 3.6.1) - Bliss is Brahman.

She presents Him as the nAyakan of all the universes. She is elaborating on what upanishad proclaims - "yatovA imAni bhUtAni jAyante." (taittirIya upanishad 3.1.1) - that from which these beings come into existence is said to be brahman.

 

***

 

PAsuram 4.8.10

PAruL nalla

 

pAruL nalla maRaiyOr nAngaip pArthanpaLLic cengaNmAlai
vAr koL nalla mulai maDavAL pADalait tAi mozhinda mARRam
kUrkoL nalla vElkaliyan kURu tamizh pattum vallAr
Er koL nalla vaikundattuL inbam nALum eyduvArE.

 

A. SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan:

tirunAngUr is a place where the best of the brahamaNa-s on earth live. In that land, pArthanpaLLi divya deSam is very well known. sarveSvaran is living there permanently. His eyes are red from compassion. These ten pAsurams are about Him. These are all designed to be spoken by the mother who says that her daughter, whose beautiful chest is clothed with kaccai [upper garment - bodice worn by women] sings these SrI sUkti-s. These songs have been offered by tirumangai AzhvAr possessing a sharp spear. Those who have mastered these pAsurams will everlastingly live in the great vaikuntam that is permanently associated with perumAL. (This is the phalaSruti for this padikam).

 

B. SrI PVP:

pAruL nalla maRaiyOr nAngai pArthanpaLLi - pArthanpaLLi in tirunAngUr with its best-in-the-world brahmaNa-s.

cengaN mAlai - red-eyed perumAL (eyes are red because of His benevolence and clemency); He has great love for His devotees.

vAr koL nalla mulai maDavAL - the daughter with her beautiful chest tied with garment.

pADalait tAi mozhinda mARRam - mother is talking about the songs sung by her daughter

kUrkoL nalla vElkaliyan kURu tamizh pattum vallAr - those who gain expertise in these ten songs sung by kalian, who is holding his sharp spear. AzhvAr assumes the role of a nAyaki and pours out these songs that are presented as the nAyaki's mother's words.

Er koL nalla vaikundattuL inbam nALum eyduvArE - Will get to enjoy eternal bliss in the magnificent vaikuntam where there is no separation from the Lord. All these difficulties, namely, the lamenting of the nAyaki and the mother's call for her, will disappear, and the learners of these songs will get to live in paramapadam where they can live endlessly in bliss with no severance from the Lord.

 

C. SrI UV:

Bhakti laden jn~Anam and dharmam form the chest for the AzhvAr. Subservience to perumAL is womanly 'simplicity' aspect for him. ANDAL had periyAzhvAr; similarly, the mother indulges in taking care of the nAyaki. Her words are the result of fear for the town folks.

 

Conclusion of periya tirumozhi 4.8 – tiruppArthanpaLLi

AzhvAr tirivaDigaLe SaraNam