MoondRAm thiruvandhAdhi paasuram-50

Sri Parthasarathi thunai  

Srimathe ramanujaya Namaha

Srimad Vara Vara munayE Namaha

Sri vAnAchala mahA munayE Namaha

Paasuram-50

“soozindha thuzhAialangal sOdhi maNimudimAl

  thAzindha varuvith thadavaraivAi – Azhindha

  maNineerch chunaivaLarindha mAmudalai kondRAn

  aNineela vaNNath thavan”

soozhindha – adorned all over the body;

thuzhAi alangal – tulasi garland;

sOdhi -radiant;

maNimudi – crown with studded gems;

aNineelam vaNNaththavan – He, who is beautiful blue in colour;

mAl – sarveshvaran;

thAzhindha aruvi tadavarai vAi -the hills, in between which flooding waterfalls that fall down to earth;

Azhindha maNi neer sunai – In the beautiful ponds that are deep and filled with water;

Valarindha – (fearless) growing;

mA mudalai – Big crocodile;

kondRAn -killed;

Introduction

Immediately after talking about the divine quality of Ashridha rakshanam (protection of devotees) the incident of Gajendran being saved from the clutches of the crocodile flashes in azhvar’s memory;

Commentary

(soozhindha thuzhAyalangal mAl) The predominant decoration for Thirumal, thirutulasi all over His divine body;

(sOdhi maNi mudi mAl) The divine radiant crown, studded with precious gems pointing to His absolute supremacy mAl-supreme;

“Adhi rAjyamadhikam bhuvanAnAm eesathe pisunayan kilamowli:” [varadaraja stavam]

[oh Lord your crown is enough to prove to the world that you are world’s master]

“kireeta soodharatna rajirAdhi rAjya jalpika” [Sri Rangarajastavam]

[The arrangement of the gems in the crown indicates He is the chakravarthi]

(soozhindha…..mAl) The tulasi garlands and the gem studded crown indicate that He is the supreme opines Sri Periyavachan pillai whereas appillai considered soozhindha thuzhaialangal as an adjective to sOdhimanimudi

(soozhindha thuzhAi alangal sOdhi maNi mudimAl) Divine tulasi garland adorned in a round form around the radiant gem studded crown of that supreme personality;

(aNi neela vaNNaththavan) He is beautiful blue (that very colour removes all the tiredness from the viewer at just one sight) coloured;

That Lord gave darshan to Gajendra and removed all the miseries.  The darshan was Ishta prapthi, what gajendra wished for and He killed the crocodile anishta nivruththi (removing of obstacles).

(thAzhindha aruvi tadavarai vAi) In between the mountains with waterfalls reaching till the ground and large areas around; or otherwise tadavarai – big mountain;

(Azhindha maNineersunai) In between such mountains, deep ponds with crystal clear water;

(valarindha mAmudalai) Huge crocodiles grown to the extent of even swallowing elephants. Since it has grown in between mountains in deep ponds without much human interface it has grown strong fearlessly;

(kondRAn) Though for the Lord this crocodile is like a water worm due to the height of apacharam/mistake done, emperuman killed the crocodile with great anger;

(aNi neela vaNNaththavan) The divine body got a special glow on killing the enemy of His devotee;

 Interesting points from divyArthadeepikai of Sri Kanchi swamy

The first line indicates His supremacy and hence He is the saviour.  His divine body got its special glow once He saved gajendrazhvan and He regained His colour on removing the obstacles of His dear devotee as explained in the last line.

Azhvar emperumAnAr Jeeyar thiruvadigalE sharaNam

Jeeyar thiruvadigalE sharaNam

MoondRam thiruvandhAdhi paasuram-49

Sri Parthasarathi thunai  

Srimathe ramanujaya Namaha

Srimad Vara Vara munayE Namaha

Sri vAnAchala mahA munayE Namaha

 Paasuram 49

“seRRadhuvum sERA Iraniyanai senRERRup

  peRRadhuvum mAnilam pinnaikkAi-muRRal

  muriyERRin munnindRu moimpozhiththAi moorich

  suriyERu sankinAi! Soozhindhu”

pinnaikkAi – for the sake of nappinnai piratti;

mural – tough;

muri – (here and there) running;

ERRin – (seven) bulls;

mun nindRu – (without fear) stood in front;

soozhindhu – (way to kill them) analysed;

moimpu ozhiththAi – (their) overpower the valour;

moori – big

suri Eru – (inside) swirling;

sankinAi – One who holds the divine couch in His hand!

sERA Iraniyanai- hiranyasura who can never accept the union with you;

seRRadhuvum neeyandRE – you were the one who tore him apart;

sendRu – (infront of mahabali) went;

mA nilam – big earth;

ERRu-begged;

peRRadhuvum (neeyandRE) – you were the one who received alms;

Introduction

What all you have done for the sake of your devotees that is innumerable!

Commentary

(seRRadhuvum sERA Iraniyanai) you killed Hiranya who was unable to live in peace with prahlada. Hiranya was unable to accept the fact that prahlada was a devotee of the Lord;

(sendRu ERRuppeRRadhuvum mAnilam) you went all the way to Mahabali’s yagna to get in alms your own property this vast earth;

Mudal azhvars were deeply immersed in the trivikramavatara and hence peyazhvar repeats the same incident in 3 consecutive paasurams.

(pinnaikkAi mural muriyERRin mun nindRu soozhindhu moipozhiththAi) For the sake of nappinnai piratti you overpowered those tough bulls that were roaming here and there without an iota of fear and stood in front with great strength and deep thinking for the appropriate way to kill them easily and thereby also succeeded in your attempt.

(moorisuriyERu sankinAi) During the war between the devas and asuras, you stood beautifully holding the divine conch with a bend in the left and a swirl at the centre.

Just the sound of His conch is enough to make the enemies half dead;

‘moori’ can be considered to refer to the ocean and hence thereby indicating the conches found in the ocean here specifically to ‘panchajanya’.

To conclude, for the sake of bhaktha prahlad you killed Hiranyasura, for fulfilling Indra’s wish begged in front of mahabali, to marry nappinnai overpowered the seven big bulls and for the sake of devas held the divine panchajanya in your divine hands.  These are only a few of the many you have done for the sake of your devotees

Interesting points from divyArthadeepikai of Sri Kanchi swamy

sERA Iraniyan – Hiranya who was an enemy; Those who are enemies of devotees are the Lord’s enemy; Hiranya considered prahlada and emperuman as enemies and hence became emperuman’s enemy;

Azhvar emperumAnAr Jeeyar thiruvadigalE sharaNam

Jeeyar thiruvadigalE sharaNam

MoondRam thiruvandhAdhi Paasuram-48

Sri Parthasarathi thunai  

Srimathe ramanujaya Namaha

Srimad Vara Vara munayE Namaha

Sri vAnAchala mahA munayE Namaha

Paasuram 48

“neeyanRE neeRERRu vulagamadi aLandhAi

 neeyanRE nindRu niraimEiththAi – neeyandRE

 mAvA yuram piLandhu mAmarudhinoodupOi

 dEvAsuram porudhAi seRRu”

neer ERRu – (from Mahabali) accepted the water poured before granting alms;

vulagam-the worlds;

adi aLandhAi nee andRE – was that not you who measured with your divine feet?

nindRu – stood stable in protecting;

nirai – cow herds;

mEiththAi nee andRE- was that not  you who took the cows for grazing?

mA -KEsi, asura who came in the form of a horse;

vAi vuram – the toughness of his mouth;

piLandhu-tore apart;

mA marudhin voodu pOi – went inbetween the two marudha/arjuna trees and pulled them down;

devAsuram – In the fight between devas and asura;

seRRu -(asuras) defeated;

porudhAi nee andRE – was that not you who fought the war?

Introduction

In the previous paasuram azhvar rejoiced talking about the divine acts of the Lord Trivikrama and saw the blank expression on the Lord’s divine face and hence continues to stress his point (stoonAnikarana nyaya) by elaborating more on the amazing activities of the Lord and wonders if He is the same emperuman who did all these!

Commentary

(neeRERRu vulagam adiyaLandhAineeyandRE) was it not you who measured the worlds (your own property) after receiving it as alms from mahabali (who presumed it to belong to him) immediately after the dhana neer (alms-water) touched your divine hand with your divine feet?

(nindRu nirai mEiththAineeyandRE) was it not you who descended to this world as Krishna, the small cowherd boy with a staunch mind to protect the cows and calves and took such efforts to make them graze till their stomach was full?

(mAvAi vuram piLandhu) KEsi, asure who was sent by kamsa came in the form of a horse to kill Krishna and destroy gokula.  But oh! Krishna you made him loose all his power and tore open his strong tough mouth and killed him;

(mA marudhin voodu pOi) was that not you as a small child went inbetween the two arjuna trees and released them from their curse?

(dEvAsuram seRRu porudhAi neeyandRE) you fought the war between the devas and asuras and defeated the evil forces;

If all these were not done by you then who did all these!

Interesting points from divyArthadeepikai of Sri Kanchi swamy

In this paasuram, azhvar admires the contradicting abilities shown by the Lord at the same time

1)      While He went as a beggar -asakthan (poor person);

He measured the worlds -sakthiman (one with extraordinary power and wealth);
2)      In Gokula – He went at the back of cows as an innocent cowherd boy;

 At the same time killed kEsi, by tearing His mouth with His small soft hands;

3)      Yesodha tied Krishna as a punishment for His mischiefs; The same Krishna rolled the mortar and went in between the arjuna trees and released manigreevan and nalakoobaran from their curse;

Oh Lord! You alone can do such amazing activities!

Azhvar emperumAnAr Jeeyar thiruvadigalE sharaNam

Jeeyar thiruvadigalE sharaNam

MoondRam thiruvandhAdhi paasuram-47

Sri Parthasarathi thunai  

Srimathe ramanujaya Namaha

Srimad Vara Vara munayE Namaha

Sri vAnAchala mahA munayE Namaha

Paasuram -47

“nindRa perumAnE neeRERRu vugalellAm

  sendRa perumAnE senkaNNa-andRu

  turagavAi keeNda thuzhAi mudiyAi nangaL

  naragavAi keeNdAyum nee”

neer ERRu nindRa perumAnE – (from mahabali) The Lord vamana who received the water (as an indication of receiving alms)

vulagu ellAm sendRa perumAnE – The Lord who measured all the worlds!

Sem kaNNA – one with Red Lotus coloured eyes;

andRu – once upon a time;

turagam – kEsi, the asura who disguised as a horse to kill Krishna;

vAi – mouth;

keeNda – tore open;

tuzhAi mudiyAi – one with the crown decorated beautifully with divine tulasi;

nangaL – our;

naraga vAi – (samsara) the mouth of naraka;

keeNdAyum nee – you are the one who removed it;

Introduction

Not only for the devas but also for all of us you were the person who removed obstacles and bestowed goodness.

Commentary

(neeRERRu nindRa perumAnE) Oh Lord! You who is always used to bestow the wishes of your devotees with all your four arms, now took the vamana avatara and stood begging in front of Mahabali and accepted the sacred water poured in your arms as a symbol of charity

(nindRa perumAnE) Usually a beggar stands with humility and in a state of sorrow feeling shy to receive alms.  But the Lord who is never used to receiving from others stood in front of Mahabali exhibiting all His valour and strength (everything is His property which cannot be forgotten)

(neeRERRu nindRa perumAnE) Even after receiving His own property which another person claims to be His as alms, emperuman stood with great happiness as if He received something He has never possessed.

(neeRERRu vulagellAm sendRa perumAnE) The very moment the water of charity touched vamana’s hands, His happiness reached no bounds that he grew in all directions thereby measuring all the worlds with His divine feet and thereby clearly indicating to everyone that He is the one and only Supreme master.

(senkaNNA) Why did His eyes turn reddish? Due to the extreme joy of fulfilling Indra’s request, receiving back His property and measuring the worlds;

(andRu) That day, when kEsi took the form of a horse;

(turagavAi keeNda) One who put His divine hands into the mouth of the horse and tore it apart thereby saved the world from the asura, kEsi;

(tuzhAi mudiyAi) Even while fighting with KEsi , the Lord’s crown was beautifully decorated with divine tulasi and that remained the same after He killed the asura also;

(nangaL naragavAi keeNdAyum nee) Just like protecting others from the asuras He also removes the hindrances that prevent devotees who consider Him as the final goal from reaching Him.

When you are capable of breaking this great cycle of birth and death all by yourself then is there any wonder if you killed kEsi?

Here anishta nivriththi, removing the obstacles, samsara also connotes to Ishta prApthi reaching Him (Bhagavat prApthi)

By the incident of kEsi vadham, Krishna showed to all of us that He is not only capable of protecting the gokula vases from asuras sent by kamsa but also capable of protecting all of us from our karmas that puts us into this infinite cycle of samsara.

Interesting points from divyArthadeepikai of Sri Kanchi swamy

What to say about the beauty when He received the alms from Mahabali!

What to say about the way He grew as trivikrama and spread all over the cosmos!

What to say about the wonderful eyes that exhibit ashridha pakshapadham (partiality towards devotees)!

What to say about the strength to overpower the asura KEsi!

What to say about the surprising fresh tulasi garland that remained unchanged even after the fight with an asura!

Is there anything to wonder, a person who is capable of breaking our cycle of samsara killing kEsi?

turagam is a Sanskrit word -word that points to horse as it is capable of running fast;

naragavAI keeNdAn – He closed the doors of naraka/hell (the samsara) so that we do not return back here;

  

Azhvar emperumAnAr Jeeyar thiruvadigalE sharaNam

Jeeyar thiruvadigalE sharaNam

MoondRam thiruvandhAdhi paasuram-46

Sri Parthasarathi thunai  

Srimathe ramanujaya Namaha

Srimad Vara Vara munayE Namaha

Sri vAnAchala mahA munayE Namaha

Paasuram 46

“malai mugadu mEl vaiththu vaasukiyai suRRi

  talai mugadu thAnorukai paRRi-alaimugattu

  aNdampOi neer theRippa andrukadal kadainthAn

  piNdamAi nindRa pirAn”

piNdamAi nindra pirAn – (for the universe) Lord who is the material cause;

andRu – once upon a time;

mugadu malai – manthara mountain with peaks;

mEl vaiththu – (on top of the back of the tortoise-koormavatara) kept;

vaasukiyai suRRi – (on that) roped Vasuki the snake;

talai mugadu – the peak, its head;

than oru kai paRRi – held with one of His hands;

alai mugattu neer – the water droplets on top of the waves;

aNdam pOi theRippa – sprinkled reaching till the top ceiling of the world;

kadal kadaindhAn -churned the ocean;

Introduction

DO you know about this Lord in thirumala?

He is the person who goes to any extent to fulfil the wish and help those who approach him even for a temporary benefit.

Commentary

(malaimugadu mEl vaiththu) mugadu malaimEl vaiththu – underneath thiruparkadal emperuman remained as koorma moorthi (divine tortoise) and held the manthra mountain on top of His shell with the tall peaks of the mountain on top;

(vaasukiyai suRRi) vAsuki the divine serpent was swirled around as the rope;

(thalai mugadu thAn oru kai paRRi) At the bottom the Lord took the form of a tortoise and prevented the mountain from sinking at the same time He also held the peak of the mountain with one of His hands thereby preventing the mountain from turning upside down.

(alai mugattu aNdam pOi neer therippa) alai mugattu neer aNdam pOi therippa-anvayam (rearranging the words to get the right meaning)

While the milky ocean was thus vigorously churned the droplets on top of the waves, splattered so high so as to reach the ceiling limit of the cosmos;

(andru) That day when Indra and all the devas were in extreme distress after losing all the wealth and fell to the divine feet of the Lord to regain their power and wealth;

(kadal kadaindhAn) The Lord churned the huge ocean with great ease as if it was a small lake;

This Lord who stained His body, giving all His time and energy for the sake of the devas was not a layman but

(piNdamAi nindRa pirAn) He is the jagat karana bhoothan, the underlying material cause, the universal creator. During the time of pralaya everything was in a subtle state in the stomach of this very supreme Lord.  Later the same brahmam created the world and gave them name and form. (sooshma chit achit visishta emperuman/upadana karana/material cause); That brahmam manifested Himself as the various chetanas and achetanas in this creation/srushti;

He is trividha Karanam (all 3 causes)

“sadEva sOmya idam agrE Aseeth ekamEva advitheeyam” [chand 6-2-1]

[Earlier there was only one ‘sat’ the brahmam; nothing else]

“EkO havai nArAyana Aseeth na BrahmA nEsana: nEmE tyAvA prithvee” [mahOpanishad]

[only Narayana was there; no brahma or siva]

“yathA sOmya ekEna mruthpiNdEna sarvam mruNmayam vignAtham syAt” [Chand 6-1-4]

[Just like understanding various objects made of mud by knowing about the base material mud similarly knowing about the material cause brahmam we become the knower of everything in this world]

All the above references ultimately declare that Narayana, the parabrahmam is the upadana (material), nimitha (intellectual) and sahakari (instrumental) cause; Thereby the trividha karana;

If that supreme power will take so much pains for the sake of prayojanAntharaparas (those who come to him for cheap/temporary benefits) what will He not do for the sake of ananyaprayojanas (those who want nothing but emperuman Himself) like us wonders azhvar.

Following the footsteps of the acharya the disciple thirumazhisaipiran sings

“malaiyAmai mEl vaiththu vAsukiyai suRRi

Thalai Amai thAN oru kai paRRi – alaiyAmal

peeRakkadaindha perumAn thirunAmam

kooRuvadhE yAvarkkum kooRRu” (nan thiru 49)

                           Azhvar emperumAnAr Jeeyar thiruvadigalE sharaNam

                                         Jeeyar thiruvadigalE sharaNam

MoondRAm thiruvandhAdhi-paasuram-45

Sri Parthasarathi thunai  

Srimathe ramanujaya Namaha

Srimad Vara Vara munayE Namaha

Sri vAnAchala mahA munayE Namaha

Paasuram-45

“purindhu madhavEzham mAppidiyodoodi

 thirindhu sinaththAl porudhu – virindhaseer

 venkottu muththudirkkum vEnkatamE mElorunAL

 maN kottuk koNdAn malai”

madha vEzham – Ferocious elephant (triggered by anger)

mA pidiyOdhu – along with its spouse;

purindhu – mingle with;

oodi – (after the union) separation due to some fight;(pranaya kalagam)

thirindhu- (get away from the spouse) and wander here and there;

sinaththAl porudhu – dashed on the rocks due to anger;

virindha seer -victorious;

ven kOdu – from the white horns;

muththu – pearls;

vudirkkum – shower;

vEnkatamE -Thirumala;

mEl orunAl – once upon a time (as varaha);

maN – earth;

kOdu- on top of the pig’s teeth/tusk (kOrai pal);

kondAn – the Lord who brought it up;

malai – His divine hill;

Introduction

Is that supreme Lord, master of the two worlds adorning the remarkable crown anyway approachable by ordinary people like us? Only for our convenience has He come down to Thirumala an divine abode very much accessible by both samsaris and nithyasooris.

Commentary

(madha vEzham) A very normal act of a forest animal, a ferocious male elephant on the thirumala hills reminds azhvar the divine action of emperuman during His varaha avatara ;

(madha vEzham mAppidiyOdu purindhu) A big male elephant enjoyed intercourse with its perfectly matched spouse

(oodi) “SamyOgA viprayOgAntha:” Anything attached will get detached and anything that is united will also separate; Any love has a break and ends in a fight (oodal);

(sinaththAl thirindhu porudhu) Due to anger the male elephant wandered aimlessly and to suffice the anger and disappointment of not getting to enjoy with its lover banged on the rocks with its hard tusk.

[Sri Periyavachan pillai comments as above]

Appillai comments as follows: -

(madhavEzham mAppidiyOdu oodi) The mad elephant in that state had a combat with the beautiful young female elephant

(purindhu)and after overcoming the same enjoyed the intercourse with the spouse

(thirindhu) wandered here and there with the hangover of joy due to the experience of love;

(sinaththAl porudhu) banged on the rocks assuming it to be another elephant seeing its own shadow

But this commentary is done with interchanging the words a little bit so Sri puttur swamy opines that Sri PVP’s commentary suits better.

(virindha seer veNkOttu muththudirkkum) At the end of the victorious combat, pearls flowed from the white tusks.

(vEnkatamE) In the wonderful thirumala Hills where one experiences these divine sights;

(mEl oruNal) Once upon a time when the Lord took varaha avatara;

(maN kOttu kOndAn malai) The divine Hill, the abode of one who uprooted mother earth and placed Her on His divine tusk;

The big elephant banging on the rocks remained azhvar of varaha moorthi uprooting mother earth and lifting her up.

The Thirumala Hills originally belongs to varaha murthi though today it famously belongs to srinivasa.

So, when the Lord is so close to us why should we worry!

  

Azhvar emperumAnAr Jeeyar thiruvadigalE sharaNam

Jeeyar thiruvadigalE sharaNam

MoondRAm thiruvandhAdhi-paasuram-44

Sri Parthasarathi thunai  

Srimathe ramanujaya Namaha

Srimad Vara Vara munayE Namaha

Sri vAnAchala mahA munayE Namaha

Paasuram-44

“vulagamum oozhiyum Azhiyum onkezh

 Alar kadhirum sentheeyum AvAn- palakadhirgaL

 pAriththa paimpon mudiyAn adiyinAikkE

 pooriththen nenjE puri”

en nenjE! – Oh my mind!

vulagamum – the worlds;

oozhiyum – the time of pralaya (complete destruction);

Azhiyum – the oceans;

oN kEzh alar kadhirum – The Chandra and surya who possess beautiful colourful rays;

sem theeyum – Red coloured blazing fire;

AvAn – one who is the embodiment of all the above;

pala kadhirgaL pAriththa – emitting multiple rays;

paim pon mudiyAn- the lord with the golden crown;

adi eNaikkE – to His divine feet;

pooriththu puri – completely aspire;

Introduction

Oh mind! Aspire to surrender to the divine feet of the supreme Lord, the possessor of the two vibhuthis (divine wealth)

Commentary

(vulagamum AvAn) He is everthing; Anything in this world is part of His body and He is the antaryami inside every chetana or achetana (sentient and non-sentient objects)

(oozhiyum AvAn) All the objects created during srushti are destructed during pralaya and the kAla tattva (concept of time) alone remains.  That oozhi kAlA is also His prakAra (inseparable part of divinity)

(Azhiyum AvAn) The ocean (pralaya jala) that engulfs the whole creation is also His inseparable portion; It might also refer to the extremely powerful objects during creation itself viz. oceans

(oN keezh alar kadhir AvAn) The sun, moon with glowing colour and glittering rays are all part of Him;

(sentheeyum AvAn) Blazing fire is also His part;

Not stopping with the leela vibhuthi that has been explained all along azhvar further highlights the greatness of the master of the supreme world (nitya vibhuthi) and instructs his mind to surrender to that supreme master

(pala kadhirgal pAriththa paimpon mudiyAn)

“divi Soorya sahasrasya bhaveth yugapadhuththithA / yadhi bhA: sadhruseesA syAt bhAsas tasya mahAtmana: (BG 11-12)

[If thousand suns raise in the sky at the same time probably that light can be equated to the glow of paramatma]

“kadhirAyirmiravi kalandhu eriththAl oththa neeN mudiyan” (peri thiru 4-1-1)

With the glow of 1000 suns and with inspiring golden crown that Lord remains in the divine abode;

 In the 5^th verse azhvar equated the crown to one sun “mudivaNNam Or Azhi vaiyOn” not getting satisfied now he says “pala kadhirgaL pAriththa paimpon mudiyAn”

Kadhir can either mean sun or the rays.  While considering it to mean ‘rays’ the eloquent golden crown emits multiple rays.

Thereby azhvar elaborated on the Nithya vibhoothi nAdhaththvam (possessor of the divine abode).  So?

(nenjE! mudiyAnadiyiNaikkE pooriththu puri) Oh my fitting mind go and fall and rejoice under the mutually matching divine feet of the Lord, possessor of two divine worlds adoring the exquisite crown.

(mudiyAn adiyinaikkE) His Head and other parts might be very powerful and divine but still as per our nature it is more fitting to fall to His feet like an infant relishing the mother’s chest.

Azhvar emperumAnAr Jeeyar thiruvadigalE sharaNam

Jeeyar thiruvadigalE sharaNam