kaRavAmadanAgu

kaRavAmadanAgu

thirunaRaiyUr 8

karavAmaDanAhu tan kanruLLinAr pOl
maravAdaDiyEn unnaiyE azhaikkinrEn |
naravAr pozhil Soozh naraiyoor ninra nambi
piravAmai enaippaNi endaipirAnE ||

Oh! naraiyoor nambi! Oh! endai pirAnE! Like the cow and its calf tied separately, the calf crying for milk and the cow could not give milk, i cry for You. i cry to make me not born in samsAra.

piLLaiyamudanAr was explaining this pASura to a group. He explained the first line as ‘ the cow which could not give milk to her calf mews’. But when he came to the second line he could not justify the statement ‘maravAdu aDiyEn unnaiyE azhaikkinrEn’ (i am crying for You). Here he compared the cow with BagavAn and the calf with AzhwAr.

In that group was a person who had attended BaTTar’s lecture. amudanAr asked him how did BaTTar explained this stanza. He said the ‘karavA maDa nAhu’ should be taken in second case. (it can be taken in sixth case too) i.e. the karavA maDa nAhu cried for the calf or the karavA maDa nahu’s calf cried. AzhwAr is the calf crying for BagavAn who is away (tied separately) not able to give what he asks (milk). Why did AzhwAr cry? What did he want? He wanted the cessation of births (immortality and kainkarya prApti). Though the desire for kainkarya is not mentioned separately, it is understood since cessation of birth and Bagavat kainkarya go together. Mere saying ‘don’t give me birth’ also means ‘give me Your sambandha.’

vaTTrA muduneeroDu mAlvaraiyEzhum
tuTTrA mun tuTTriya tol puhazhOnE |
aTTrEn aDiyEn unnaiyE azhaikkinrEn
peTTrEn aruL tandiDu en endaipirAnE ||

In the last pASura AzhwAr said maravAdu aDiyEn unnaiyE azhaikkinrEn’ (i cry for You to protect me). Now he feels ‘isn’t it He who should protect me). He is the one who takes anything and everything into His stomach? Do anyone cry to protect? Like a mother who does what is good for her baby without Him asking anything shouldn’t You do what is good for me? (Your child) Must i cry? Shouldn’t You do before i cry? Should You delay even after i cry?

tol puhazhOn—Since He is doing this ASrita rakShaNa at all times. He has an ever lasting fame.

aTTrEn—i am Your slave; i live for You alone. (i.e. not for anyone else is the idea)

tArEn pirarku unnaruL enniDaivaittAi
ArEn aduvE paruhikkaLikkinrEn |
kArEi kaDalE malaiyE tirukkOTTi
oorE uhandAyai uhandaDiyEnE ||

In the last pASura he said ‘peTTrEn aruL tandiDu’. Here he says ‘unnaruL enniDai vaittAi’. It means—‘You have done Your ‘kripa’ on me. But i am not satisfied’. What is that anugraha AzhwAr is talking about? ‘Though You are indifferent to me and my cries, You make me cry for You alone (not for worldly things). In order to do that You reside in tiruppArkaDal, tirumalai, tirukkOTTiyoor etc. If You desire to do anugraha to anyone else except me, i won’t let You do so. If You snatch away that anugraha from me i won’t let it go from me. i am not satisfied with what You have given me. i ask for more and more and i am proud about that privilege of taking liberty at You. This makes me feel proud and i can step on the heads of yama and others. i feel proud to call myself Your dAsa.

puLvAi piLanda punidA enrazhaikka
uLLE ninru ennuLLam kuLirumoruvA |
kaLvA kaDanmallaikkiDanda karumbE
vaLLAl unnai enganam nAn marakkEnE ||

AzhwAr says ‘i thought i should call You by a name which is very appropriate to Your guNa of ‘virOdhi nirasana’ (to destroy the enemies) Hence i call You ‘puL vAi piLanda punidA’. That very moment You entered my mind to stay there for ever never to leave it at any time. i call You punida because You do virOdhi nirasana not though anyone but You come personally to do it. i call You kaLva too since You do it without letting anyone know about it.

kaLva—There are many divya dESas in kAncheepuram. One of them is tirukkaLvanoor where emberumAn is called ‘kaLvan’. ulahamEttum kArahattAi kAr vAnattuLLAi kaLva’ —AzhwAr himself says in tiruneDundANDaham.

It is found in iyengar’s nooTTreTTu tiruppadi andAdi ‘paNDE un toNDAm pazhavuyirai ennadenru koNDEnai kaLvanenru koorAdE maNDalattOr puL vAi piLanda puyalE unai kachchi kaLvA enru Oduvadu en kaNDu’. The meaning of this beautiful verse is—to take away what doesn’t belong to me is called stealing. i have taken away Atma as mine which actually belongs to You. In fact whatever is found in this world belongs to You only, since You are the creator. The curd, butter etc. belongs to You. But they call You ‘kaLva’ when You take the butter and curd but don’t call me so who has taken Your Atma as mine! What a paradox!

villEr nudal vEl neDungaNNiyum neeyum
kallAr kaDungAnam tirinda kaLirE |
nallAi naranAraNanE engaL nambi
SollAi unnaiyAn vANangi tozhumArE ||

Like a wild elephant with his mate Sree rAma roamed in the forest with long-eyed seeta. She has tender form and You have a more tender form. Still You roamed the terrible forest uninhabited by people and inhabited by wild animals and rAkShasas. That is why i call You vaLLa says AzhwAr.

nara nAraNanE—In badarikASrama He took both nara (SiShya) and nArAyaNa (guru) avatAra to teach the world the characteristics of a SiShya and a guru. He made the upadESa of tirumantra to His SiShya. ‘sarvESwaran tan kripaiyAlE ivarhaL tannai arindu karai maram SErumbaDi tAnE SiShyanumAi AchAryanumAi ninru tirumantrattai veLyiTTu aruLinAn. SiShyanAi ninradu SiShyan irukkum iruppu nATTAr ariyAmaiyAlE attai arivikkaikkAha’—mumukShuppaDi of piLLai lOkAchAriyar.

SollAi—You said some pacifying words to viBeeShaNa in the sea shore and to arjuna in the battlefield. can’t You likewise tell me something?

paniyEi parangunrin pavaLattiraLE
muniyE tirumoozhikkaLattu viLakkE |
iniyAi toNDarOm paruhinnamudAya
kaniyE unnaikkaNDu koNDu uindozhindEnE ||

Oh! emberumAn! You are as pretty as a heap of corals. You like to reside in tiruppiridi, and in tirumoozhikkaLam. You are always concerned about how to do good to Your dAsas. You exhibit Your guNas and form like a lamp which shines without external light and reveals other things too. You are as enjoyable as nectar to Your Baktas. i find my life purposeful when i worship You.

muniyE—Always thoughtful and concerned about all people—His Baktas as well as non-Baktas.

gadiyElillai ninnaruLalladenakku
nidiyE tiruneermalai nittilattottE |
padiyE paravittozhum toNDar tamakku
gadiyE unaikkaNDukoNDu uindozhindEnE ||

emberumAn! You are my fortune and treasure. You are a pearl necklace residing in tiruneermalai. i don’t have anything to lean against except Your compassion and anugraha. There are Baktas who go from one divya dESa to other—viNNaharam, vehKa, tiruvEngaDam, vELukkai, tenukuDandai, tiruvarangam, kaNDiyoor, meyyam, kachchi, nellai, tiruppErai, tirukkOvaloor, ooraham and so on and so forth—in order to worship You. Let me follow their footsteps and find fulfillment.

attA ariyE enrunnai azhaikka
pittAvenru pESuhinrAr pirarennai |
muttE maNimANikkamE muLaikkinra
vittE unnai enganam nAn viDuhEnE ||

People call out loudly ‘Come! Here is food!’ ‘Oh! Here they give clothes! Come soon!’ Thus they call several names of worldly objects and run after worldly pleasures. But they are considered very sane and wise! i call ‘attA! hari! etc. and they call me ‘pittA’. i like You since You are very precious like ‘muttu’ ‘maNi’ ‘mANikkam’etc. You are the jagat kArANa (vittu). How can i leave You and seek the worldly matter?

pittA— ‘pEyarE enakku yAvarum yAnum Or pEyanE evarkkum---arangA enru azhaikkinrEn pEyanAi ozhindEn embirAnukkE’ (kulaSEKara AzhwAr)

tooyAi SuDarmAmadipOl uyirkkellAm
tAyAi aLikkinra taNtAmaraikkaNNA |
AyA valaineerulahEzhum munnuNDa
vAyA unnai enganam nAn marakkEnE ||

AzhwAr cries loudly His several names—tooyAi (without discriminating between Baktas and non Baktas He thinks good of all the jeevas alike) If He is so, then why should He kill SiSupala, rAvaNa and others? Isn’t it due to enmity towards them? No. When the insects fall in to the fire and die it is not the mistake of the lamp. He thinks out several ways to make them good (tAyAi).

AzhwAr is moved by this thought. He calls loudly ‘taN tAmaraikkaNNA! AyA! ulahEzhum uNDa vAyA! How can i ever forget You!’

vaNDAr pozhil Soozh naraiyoor ninra nambikku enrum
toNDAi kaliyan oliSei tamizhmAlai |
toNDeerivai pADumin pADi nirADa
uNDE viSumbu un tamakku illai tuyarE ||

tirumangai AzhwAr who considers himself as a toNDan to tirunaraiyoor nambi has sung these ten pASuras in beautiful tamizh. Oh! Baktas! Please sing and dance. Your pApas will certainly vanish and you are sure to get paramapada after death.