silaiyilangku

silaiyilangku

thiru-k-kaNNapuram 1

Mother expressing her surprise at her daughter's behaviour after falling in love with Him

In the last pASura AzhwAr was absorbed in the divine form and guNas of emberumAn and wanted to have samslESha with Him, the puruShOttama. But He could not have it. This failure led Him to change his status to ‘parakAla nAyaki’. ‘She’ pines for samslEsha but as He does not appear, suffers from the loss of appetite, change of colour and such other symptoms. It is here the mother of parakAla nAyaki speaks these pASuras.

The mother wonders who has caused this condition in her dear daughter. She supposes it must be tirukaNNapurattammAn. She says ‘on analyzing her words (daughter’s) it is not paramapadanAtha not the viBavAvatAra, nor vyooha moorti or antaryAmi. It must be an archAvatAra moorti. i am certain it is none other than tirukaNNapurattammAn. Her condition justifies my doubt’.

How does she rightly guess it is kaNNapurattammAn? periyavAchchan piLLai— ‘There was a brAhmaNa in the rAjEndra chOla kingdom. He had a son who suddenly became a Buddhist. He cast away the sacred thread and tonsured his head. One day, however, suddenly he was seen with the sacred thread and a SiKa. The father wondered and asked him ‘did You meet koorattAzhwAn?’ The people around him wondered how he guessed it. The father replied—‘Well! In the presence of koorattAzhwAn even a tAmasic person becomes sAtvic.’ Similarly the sudden change in the parakAla nAyaki must be the result of her association with kaNNapurattammAn. He only has the capacity and skill to cause such a change in the women.

1. Silaiyilangu ponnAzhi tiNpaDai taNDoN Sangam enginrALAl
malaiyilangu tOL nAngE maTTravanukkeTTrE kAN enginrALAl |
mulaiyilangu poombayalai munbODa anbODi irukkinrALAl
kalaiyilangu mozhiyALar kaNNapurattammAnai kaNDALkolO? ||

The mother of parakAla nAyaki says—‘Look at my daughter! Suddenly she cries loudly ‘Ah! SArnga bow! ‘Ah! the beautiful and wonderful chakra’ Ah! What a beautiful sharp sword’ ‘Oh! My god! Look at this gada!’ ‘Look at this beautifully shaped SanKa’ ‘Oh! Ladies! i don’t see anything and wonder what it is all about.

‘Suddenly she cries ‘Look! Look! These are the mountain-like four shoulders! How beautiful they are!’

‘What is the cause for this?’ ask the women. ‘i think it is kannalpurattammAn of the divya dESa where vaidikas speak nothing but vEdas and SAstras. She must have met here. Except Him nobody would be the cause of this state of affairs’.

2. Seruvarai munnASarutta SilaiyanrO kaittalattadu enginrALAl
poruvarai munpOr tolaitta ponnAzhi maTTrorukai enginrALAl |
oruvaraiyum ninoppAroppilA ennappA enginrALAl
karuvaraipOl ninrAnai kaNNapurattammAnai kaNDALkolO? ||

The mother continues—‘My daughter suddenly exclaims ‘look at this SArnga bow! Isn’t it the one which killed the soldiers of war with such an unimaginable speed? Ah! Look at this chakrAyudha in His other hand! Isn’t it the one which cut off the wings of the warring mountains and shattered them to pie us? Look at Him who is having all these! Ah! How beautiful He is! i don’t think anyone can match His looks and strength! Oh! My nAyaka! You are very charming like a mountain of coryllium! Thus she keeps talking to herself. i think it is kaNNapurattammAn. Who else could it be?

3. tannumAmaNimuDimEl tuzhAyalangal tOnrumAl enginrALAl
minnumA maNi makara kuNDalangaL vilveeSum enginrALAl |
ponnin mAmaNiyAram aNiyAhattu ilangumAl enginrALAl
kannimAmadiL puDaiSoozh kaNNapurattammAnai kaNDALkolO? || 

The mother of parakAla nAyaki continues—My daughter cries suddenly ‘Look! Here He stands with tuzhasi mAla on His gem studded crown! These are the makara kuNDalas on His ears glittering beautifully! Ah! This is the golden hAra with gems of various hues in His tirumArbu!’

My friends! i am sure she has seen tirukaNNapurattammAn from the city which has forests on all sides.

4. tArAya taNtuLaba vaNDuzhuda varaimArban enginrALAl
pOrAnai komboSitta puTpAhan ennammAn enginrALAl |
ArAnum kANminhaL ambavaLamvAi avanukku enginrALAl
kArvAnam ninradirum kaNNapurattammAnai kaNDALkolO? || 

The mother continues—‘My daughter suddenly cries ‘Look! Here is the tuzhasi mAla worn on His tirumArbu which is mountain like. The bees crush the flowers to drink honey and made a mess of honey and pollen grains. Oh! Come here and see! Here is my swAmi who killed kuvaLayApeeDa breaking his tusk. Isn’t His mouth as red as coral? Ah! This kAr vaNNan is very handsome!’ Thus she keeps talking to herself after seeing kaNNapurattammAn.

5. aDittalamum tAmaraiyE angaihaLum pangayamE enginrALAl
muDittalamum porpooNum ennenjattuL ahalAdu enginrALAl |
vaDittaDangaN malaravaLO? varaiyAhattuL iruppAL enginrALAl
kaDikkamalam kaLLuhukkum kaNNapurattammAnai kaNDALkolO? || 

My daughter talks about Him ‘Ah! Look at His beautiful lotus-like tiruvaDi. Oh! The hands are also like lotuses! When i see His tirumuDi studded with gems of various hues my mind refuses to shift from the sight. periya pirATTi who has large sharp eyes like lotuses resides for ever in His tirumArbu’. Oh! My friends! i think she has seen tiru kaNNapurattammAn.

6. pErAyiramuDaiya pErALan pErALan enginrALAl
ErAr kanamakara kuNDalattan eNtOLan enginrALAl |
neerAr mazhaimuhilE neeLvaraiyE okkumAl enginrALAl
kArAr vayalamarum kaNNapurattammAnai kaNDALkolO? || 

My daughter says—‘He has thousand names. He is great; Oh! Really great and extremely great! (thus she says again and again). He is very beautiful with eight arms, dark like rain cloud, strong like mountain’.

i am sure she has met Him at tirukaNNapuram which has dark fields (due to grown up crops). He certainly is the cause for this state of affairs.

7. Sevvaratta uDaiyADai adanmElOr SivaLikai kachchu enginrALAl
avvaratta vaDiyiNaiyum angaihaLum pangayamE enginrALAl |
maivaLarkkum maNiyuruvam maragadamO? mazhaimuhilO enginrALAl
kai vaLarkkum azhalALar kaNNapurattammAnai kaNDALkolO? || 

The mother continues—My daughter must have seen emberumAn of tirukaNNapuram where vaidika brAhmaNas perform fire sacrifices. She repeats these words—‘look at His beautifully worn red peetAmbara and a kachchu over it! Oh! Look at His hands and the pair of tiruvaDi which are like red lotuses. Oh! Look at His tirumEni which is dark like rain cloud, green like emerald and blue like a good sapphire’.

8. koTTrappuLLonrEri manrooDE varuhinrAn enginrALAl
veTTrippOr indirarkum indiranE okkumAl enginrALAl |
peTTrakkAl avanAham peNpirandOm uyyOmO enginrALAl
kaTTranool maraiyALar kaNNapurattammAnai kaNDALkolO? || 

The mother of parakAla nAyaki says about her daughter—she says ‘Here comes emberumAn riding on His garuDa vAhana along the streets for everyone to see. He is like mahEndra who is a great warrior. If only i can have samslEsha with His tirumArbu or if only i live in His tirumArbu like periya pirATTi then i have found the purpose of my life fulfilled’. i think she has seen kaNNapurattu emberumAn where live vaidika brAhmaNas who have learnt vEdas and SAstras.

koTTra puLLEri—Like a good Samaritan who comes with a jar of water to a person afflicted by thirst here comes our swAmi riding on the garuDa along the streets for everyone like me to see. He looks like mahEndra who is a great warrior. i want to have samslESha with His tirumArbu. But He comes so publicly! Alas! i fear the other women may want to have Him. But i don’t think so. Since He is indra to indra He will not let the other women conquer Him. He has tirumArbu for the sake of women alone. But that place is already occupied by periya pirATTi. Won't He take me too?

9. vaNDamarum vanamAlai maNimuDimEl maNanArum enginrALAl
uNDivarpAl anbu enakkenru orukAlum pirihilEn enginrALAl|
paNDivarai kaNDarivadu evvooril? yAmenrE payilhinrALAl
kaNDavar tam manam vazhangum kaNNapurattammAnai kaNDALkolO? || 

My daughter says ‘He has a crown over which He wears a fragrant vanamAla. Ah! i love Him and cannot think of separation even for a minute. i think i have seen Him somewhere before. But i don’t know where and when! Thus she muses for hours and is perplexed.

This statement is interpreted by some as kaNDrivadu evvooril? evoorilum illai.

Both the interpretation are right. How is it possible to interpret the statement in contradictory ways?

jeeyar explained it like this—‘i don’t remember where and when i saw Him’ is the first thought on seeing Him in tirukaNNapuram. She repeats the question several times (enrE payilhinrALAl). But on experiencing His guNas, form etc. she finds the reason is He is not the same every time.

It is the special characteristic of emberumAn since He is poorNa and infinite. ‘eppozhudum nAL tingaL ANDu oozhi oozhi tOrum appozhudaikku appozhudu ArAvamudamE!.

10. mAvaLarum mennOkki mAdarAL mAyavanai kaNDALenru
kAvaLarum kaDipozhil Soozh kaNNapurattammAnai kaliyanSonna |
pAvaLarum tamizhmAlai panniyanool ivaiyaindum aindumvallAr
poovaLarum karpaham SEr ponnulahil mannavarAi puhazh takkOrE || 

parakAla nAyaki talks of emberumAn of tirukaNNapuram in these beautiful tamizh pASuras set in metre. Her mother laments over her condition and says it must be the work of tirukaNNapurattammAn. No one can behave other than this if alone they see Him. Those who read these pASuras will have a life of fame here and then go to paramapada.