MoondrAm thiruvandhAdhi-Paasuram-37

Sri Parthasarathi thunai  

Srimathe ramanujaya Namaha

Srimad Vara Vara munayE Namaha

Sri vAnAchala mahA munayE Namaha

ennai Aludaiappan-Sri Parthasarathi emperuman

Paasuram-37

“avarkku adimai pattEn agaththAn puRaththAn

  vuvarkkum karunkadal neeruLLAn-tuvarkkum

  pavalavAip poomagalum panmanip pooNAram   

  thigazhum thirumArvan than”

"அவற்கடிமை பட்டேன் அகத்தான் புறத்தான் 

  உவர்க்குங் கருங்கடல் நீருள்ளான் - துவர்க்கும் 

  பவளவாய்ப் பூமகளும் பன்மணிப் பூணாரம் 

திகழுந்  திருமார்வன் தான் "

avarkku –For that supreme Lord;

adimai pattEn – (I) became a servant;

vuvarkkum karunkadal neer vuLLAn – one who reclines on the salty sea water;

tuvarkkum pavalam vAi poo magaLum – and that divine mother with red coral like mouth/lips;

pal maNi pooN- Divine jewels studded with different types of gems;

aaram – long chains;

thigazhum – adorned;

thirumArvan thAn – (in the) divine chest of His excellency;

agaththAn puraththAn – (my) mingled everywhere internally and externally;

Introduction

In the 35^th paasuram, azhvar started his divine services (seshavriththi) according to his true nature viz. prostrating the Lord et all without just stopping with singing.  Consequently the Lord started enjoying azhvar appearing in various forms disregarding His supremacy and greatness.

PeyAzhvar’s experience in this paasuram is very much similar to nammazhvar’s divine experience in “vArikkoNdu vunnai vizhunguvan kAnil endru ArvamuRRa ennaiozhiya ennil  munnam pAriththu thAn ennai muRRap paruginAn” [thiru 9-6-10]

Commentary

(avarkku adimai pattEn)  As per my aspiration “yAm thozhudhum kai” I started to engage in His divine service; to that Lord who is actually not reachable physically or even to my imagination;

(agaththAn puraththAn) But that Lord took many forms and started enjoying myself inside and outside just like sowbari (who took 50 bodies to live with 50 wives)

Nammazhvar reiterates the same in [thiru 4-7-6]”nAlthOrum ennudaiya AkkaiyuLLum AviyuLLum alla puRaththinuLLum neekamindri engum nindrAi”

But why should that supreme Lord lower Himself so much to enjoy azhvar? Is He someone without a place to live, things to enjoy or people to rejoice with?

Oh! No.  He is not a poor person but the supreme power (ubaya vibhooti Nathan, nithyasoori nayakan) but still simply passionate to enjoy me declares azhvar in the rest of the paasuram:-

(vuvarkkum karunkadal neeruLLAn) He is atop the salty ocean waters;

“tAnOr peruneer tannuLLE thORRi adhanul kaNvalarum vAnOr perumAn” [thiru 1-5-4]. In similar lines we can consider peyazhvar also referring to the waters during srushti (time of creation) and the Lord (srushtikartha) lying on the same or otherwise periyavachan pillai comments that the reference here is to thiruparkadal (ksheerabhdhi sayee)

But then the adjective salty water (‘vuvarkkum karum kadal’) might seem inappropriate.  Here Sri puttur swamy and kanchi swamy submit two different opinions****

“neelakadal kadaindhAi” [thiru 10-10-7] Did the lord churn the milky ocean or blue colored ocean?  He churned the milky ocean only but due to the reflection of His divine blue colored physique the ocean waters appeared to be blue in color.  Similarly here karun kadal due to the dark colored Lord reclining on top.

(tuvarkkum pavaLavAi poomagaLum panmaNip pooN Aram thigazhum thirumArban thAn) Periya piratti (goddess Sri Mahalakshmi) the red coral like lipped beauty, sitting atop a lotus like the collective form of all the beauty of the lotus personified and innumerable jewels and ornaments studded with variety of precious glittering gems all adorned in His divine chest;

That supreme Lord ignored His divine residence (thirupparkadal), His special objects of joy and His divine consort and advances taking various forms to enjoy my lowly self inside and outside instantly after I fell to His divine feet realizing my true self.

Interesting points from divyArthadeepikai of Sri Kanchi swamy

****How can we say Milky Ocean as ‘vuvarkkum kadal’?

Sri puttur swamy : Milky Ocean though similar to milk in color but similar to regular ocean water to taste (salty).

Sri Kanchi swamy: It is well known that the Lord reclines in both the milky ocean and on top of regular ocean waters. So probably Sri periyavachan pillai’s commentary should read “thirupArkadalOpAdhi vuppukadalaiyum vAsasthAnamAgavudaiyanAi” and there is probably a printing error.

Highlight of this paasuram – “agaththAn puraththAn” I just attempted to surrender to Him, He immediately took various forms and encircled me inside and outside and started enjoying admires azhvar.

Azhvar emperumAnAr Jeeyar thiruvadigalE sharaNam

Jeeyar thiruvadigalE sharaNam