ALum

ALum

thirunaRaiyUr 4

ALum paNium aDiyEnai koNDAn viNDa niSAchararai
tOLum talaiyum tuNiveida SuDuvenjilaivAi Saram turandAn |
vELum SEyum anaiyArum vErkaNArum payilveedi
nALum vizhavinoliyOvA naraiyoor ninra nambiyE ||

BagavAn thinks ‘he is mine’ He gives us SEShatva in order to serve Him. This is called ‘ALuhai’. He expects kainkarya from this SESha (jeeva). It is called ‘paNi’. It is also called pAratantrya. BagavAn has made him to be so and provided him with indriyas and limbs to know Him and serve Him. But an ignorant jeeva thinks ‘i won’t bend my head to anyone; i am independent.’ Such asura jeevas are killed without mercy. AzhwAr says fortunately his nature has changed from swatantra buddhi to paratantra buddhi by His grace. AzhwAr wants to do kainkarya like lakShmaNa did to rAma.

tOLum talaiyum tuNiveida—If the indriyas and limbs are not there to serve Him, better chop them off.

In order to obtain ‘paNi’ He stands in tirunaraiyoor. The city is always noisy with nityOtsava, pakShOtsava and mAsOtsava.

muniyAi vandu moovezhukAl muDiSErmannar uDal tuNiya
tanivAi mazhuvin paDaiyANDa tArAr tOLAn vArpuravil |
paniSEr mullai pallarumba pAnalorupAl kaNkATTa
naniSEr kamalam muhangATTum naraiyoor ninra nambiyE ||

He took paraSurAma avatAra, went round the world several times in order to vanquish the wicked kShatriyas to reduce BoomiBAra. He wears a garland to show His rakShakatva and holds an axe to show virOdhi nirasana (to kill the enemies). He resides in tirunaraiyoor where the women are very pretty, their smile resembling the mullai flowers, eyes the karunguvaLai flowers, their faces the fully bloomed lotuses.

In periyavAchchAn piLLai’s vyAKyAna instead of ‘maniSEr kamalam muham kATTum’, there is this sentence ‘nani SEr vayaluL muttalaikkum’.

teLLArkaDalvAi viDavAya SinavALaravil tuyilamarndu
tuLLAvarumAn vizha vALiturandAn irandAn mAvalimaN |
puLLAr puravil poongAvi pulankoL mAdar kaNkATTa
naLLAr kamalamuhangATTum naraiyoor ninra nambiyE ||

tiruanandAzhwAn, who spits venom at the foes and who is angry at the enemies and who is shining since He is the bed of Sreeman nArAyaNa, is in tiruppArkaDal on whom BagavAn reclines. It is He who killed the mAyamAn (golden deer-mAreecha) that came to lure seeta pirATTi; who begged three feet of land from mahAbali. He resides in tirunaraiyoor where there are beautiful gardens full of sengazhuneer flowers and lotuses. The flower resemble the eyes of women where as the lotus resemble their faces.

oLiyAveNNei uNDAnenru uralODAichchi oNkayiTTrAl
viLiyAvArkkavAppuNDu vimmiyazhudAn menmalarmEl |
kaLiyAvaNDu kaLLuNNa kAmartenral alartooTTra
naLirvAi mullai muravalikkum naraiyoor ninra nambiyE ||

Sree kriShNa always used to eat stolen butter. Once He was caught red-handed by yaSOda pirATTi. She got so wild that she bound Him to a mortar with a churning cord kaNNan cried bitterly. It is He who resides in tirunaraiyoor where mullai flowers smile; the breeze scatter flowers; and the bees drink honey.

vangipurattu nambi was a student of Sree rAmAnuja. He wanted to learn tiruvArAdhana krama from his guru alone. Somehow Sree rAmAnujAchArya could not find time to teach him. Once he was teaching tiru ArAdhana krama to his other SiShyas koorattAzhwAn and hanumanta dAsa. Suddenly vangipurattu nambi came. Sree rAmAnuja felt the situation very embarrassing. ‘Aha! He has been asking me several times to teach him tiuvArAdhana krama. i have not taught him. At least i could have called him now when i am teaching these two people. i have committed two offences’. Sree rAmAnuja told nambi ‘i had a doubt since a long time about tirumangai AzhwAr’s pASura ‘oLiyA veNNei’. AzhwAr says Sreeman nArAyaNa cried bitterly and feared yaSOda when she bound Him to a mortar when He was caught red handed. i used to have a doubt as to how could sarvESwara fear and cry. Now i am in the same position. i fear and feel like crying’.

kaNNan cried because He was caught in the act of stealing; not because He was bound to a mortar. He cried because He felt He could not steal more butter, drink more curds and stolen more women’s hearts since He was bound by a cord.

kaLiyA vaNDu kaLLuNNa kAmar tenra alar tooTTra naLir vAi mullai muruvalikkum—There is a special meaning. A Sree vaiShNava by some force of fate drank alcohol (kaLiyA vaNDu kaLLuNNa). Some other two vaiShNavas saw him in that intoxicated state. One of them spoke displeasing words about him. (kAmar tenral alar tooTTra) while the other just looked on and smiled (naLir vAi mullai maruvalikkum) thinking ‘Well! It is all very common now-a-days’ and went away saying nothing. Great people are like the third man.

villAr vizhavil vaDamadurai virumbivirumbA mallaDarttu
kallAr tiraLtOL kanjanai kAindAn pAindAn kALiyan mEl |
SollAr Surudi muraiyOdi Somuchcheyyum tozhilinOr
nallAr maraiyOr palar vAzhum naraiyoor ninra nambiyE ||

Sree kriShNa went to vaDa madurai, the city of kamsa, in order to fulfill certain obligation. He killed the powerful wrestlers who encountered Him at the entrance of the court. He killed finally kamsa too who was very powerful with mountain-like shoulders. He subdued the pride of kALiya by jumping on his hoods and dancing playfully. He resides in tirunaraiyoor where vaidikas live who chant vEdas after learning them in gurukula and who perform sOma yAgas etc. as the injunctions of vEda.

vaLLikozhunan mudalAya makkaLODu mukkaNAn
veLhiyODa viralvANan viyan tOL vanattai tuNittuhandAn |
paLLikamalattiDaippaTTa pahuvAi alavan muham nOkki
naLLiyooDum vayalSoozhnda naraiyoor ninra nambiyE ||

rudra promised his friend bANAsura that he will help him in need. When there was a war between the asura and Sree kriShNa, Siva came to help his friend with subrahmaNya, gaNas, dEvas, sons etc. But he ran away with all of them from the battle field leaving his friend unprotected. Sree kriShNa cut off the asura’s thousand arms (viyandOL vanam). It is He who resides in tirunaraiyoor where there are lots of lotus ponds with huge flowers.

miDaiyAvanda vElmannar veeyaviSayan tErakDavi
kuDaiyAvarai onreDuttu Ayar kOvAi ninrAn koorAzhi |
paDaiyAn vEdanAngu ainduvELvi angamAru iSaiyEzh
naDaiyAvalla andaNar vAzh naraiyoor ninra nambiyE ||

AzhwAr says Sree kriShNa simply drove the chariot of arjuna, the huge armies of the foes died. He playfully lifted the gOvardhana mountain, the cattle and men were saved from the rain. Thus He always play the role of a rakShaka. Even in the archa moorti of tirunaraiyoor He is so. Here lives the brAhmaNas who are well versed in four vEdas, six vEdAngas, perform five maha yajnas and sing the songs of BagavAn with seven swaras.

pandanAr viralAL pAnjAli koondal muDikka bAradattu
kandAr kaLiTTru kazhalmannar kalangaSangam vAivaittAn |
SendAmaraimEl ayanODu Sivanumanaiya perumaiyOr
nAndAvaNkai maraiyOr vAzh naraiyoor ninra nambiyE ||

Sree kriShNa blow pAnchajanya, His SanKa in order to make droupadi tie her hair (to fulfill her vow) by killing the foes (duryOdana and others). In the BArata yuddha kriShNa’s only weapon was His conch, on hearing the sound of which the foes trembled with fear. He resides in tirunaraiyoor where brAhmaNas equal to brahma and Siva in all respects live.

Sreevachana BooShaNa—‘pANDavarhaLaiyum nirasikka prAptamAyirukka vaittadu droupadiyuDaiya maNgaLasootrattukkAha, arjunanukku dootya SAratyam paNNiTTrum prapatti upadESam panniTTrum ivaLukkAha’

When droupadi was humiliated in the open court of duryOdana, by the kouravas the pANDavas were keeping quiet due to their being slaves (in the dice game). When she cried ‘SanKa chakra gadApaNee! dwArakAnilayAchyutA! gOvindA! puNDareekAkShA! rakShamAm SaraNAgatAm!’ Sree kriShNa saved her. She made a vow that she won’t tie her loose hair (which became loose when duSAsana dragged her by hair) until the kouravas were killed and taken revenge of. kriShNa fulfilled her vow by acting as a messenger and becoming arjuna’s charioteer.

The SAstra says if any BAgavata is insulted one should save him or at least leave the place. But here in droupadi’s case the pANDavas neither saved her nor left the place, but were mere silent witnesses. That is why in SreevachanaBooShaNa it is said ‘pANDavarhaLaiyum nirasikka prAptamAyirukka’.

Sree kriShNa did not punish the pANDavas for transgressing the SAstra but in fact helped them by acting as a sArathi. Why? Just because they are the husbands of droupadi, His Bakta.

His acting as a messenger is only to promote war. He drove the chariot, blew the conch only to kill duryOdana and others. The upadESa of prapatti (sarvadharmAn parityajya-----‘) is only to prompt arjuna for war who refused to fight.

Thus is His love for His Baktas.

Arum piraiyum aravamum aDambum SaDaimElaNindu
uDalam neerum pooSi Eroorum iraiyOn Senru kuraiyirappa |
mAronrillAvASaneer varaimArvahalattu aLittuhandAn
nArum pozhil Soozhnda azhahAya naraiyoor ninra nambiyE ||

Siva- who wears ganga,crescent moon, serpent , aDdamba flowers on his matted locks of hair, smearing ash all over his body—went to Sreeman nArAyaNa and begged Him to save him from the curse of brahma hatya dOSha. The kapAla refused to leave his hand however much he tried. At last nArAyaNa poured sweat from His tirumArbu on to the kapAla which left his hand immediately. Our swAmi who thus saved Siva resides in tirunaraiyoor which is a beautiful city with plenty of flowering forests that send their aroma everywhere.

nanmaiyuDaiya maraiyOrvAzh naraiyoorninra nambiyai
kannimadiL Soozh vayal mangai kaliyan oliSei tamizh mAlai |
panniyulahil pADuvAr pADuSArApazhavinaihaL
manniyulaham ANDupOi vAnOr vaNanga vAzhvArE ||

tirumangai AzhwAr has sung these ten pASuras in beautiful tamizh on the emberumAn residing at tirunaraiyoor where vaidika brAhmaNas live a life of vEdic style. Those who sing them will rule over this earth whole living and go to paramapada where they will be honoured by the nitya sooris.