kaimmAnam

kaimmAnam

thiru-k-kaNNapuram 9

In this tirumozhi AzhwAr says he is the dAsa of tirukkaNNapuram perumAL only and no one else.

1. kaimmAna madayAnai iDar teerta karumuhilai
maimmAna maNiyai aNikoL marahadattai |
emmAnai embirAnai eesanai en manattuL
ammAnai aDiyEn aDaindu uindu pOnEnE || One ||

Ah! i find myself worthy since i have sought the tiruvaDi of emberumAn, my only swami, the sarvESwara who removed the duhKa of gajEndra. He is like a kALamEGa who showers His grace alike on very one. He is beautiful like sapphire and charming like emerald. He resides not only in tirukkaNNapuram but also in my mind.

aNikoL marahadattai–It is the poetic fancy to describe emberumAn having different hues synonymously. “pachchai mA malai pOl mEni” – tonDaraDippoDi AzhwAr. The idea is He is green like emerald that pleases your eyes and cools your mind afflicted by difficult tApas (heat).

2. taru mAna mazhaimuhilai piriyAdu tannaDaindAr
varumAnam tavirkkum maNiyai aNiyuruvil |
tirumAlai ammAnai amudattai kaDarkiDanda
perumAnai aDiyEn aDaindu uindu pizhaittEnE || Two ||

He is like a karpaga tree, kALamEGa, beautiful sapphire, extremely charming lakShmeepati, the ever sweet nectar and is the one who removes the duhKa and humiliation of His Baktas. He is the one who lies in tiruppArkaDal on tiruanandAzhwAn. He is none other than Sree SourirAja residing tirukkaNNapuram.

mAna mazhaimuhilai–He is like rain cloud not only in complexion but also in His nature. Like the cloud that travels to go to different places to shower the rain He Himself goes in search of Baktas and showers His anugraha. “uyiraLippAn mAhangaLellAm tirindu nanneerhaL sumandu” “viNmeediruppAi malai mEl nirppAi kaDal sErppAi maNmeedu uzhalvAi” (He, like rain cloud in the sky (paramapada), stands over the mountains (tirumalai), goes to the sea (tiruppArkaDal) and also pours on the Boomi (rAma kriShNAdi avatAra).

3. viDai Ezhu anru aDartu vehuNDu vilangalura
paDaiyAl Azhi taTTa paraman paranjOti |
maDaiyAr neelam malhum vayal soozh kaNNapuram onru
uDaiyAnukku aDiyEn oruvarkku uriyEnO || Three ||

In kriShNa avatAra He subdued the mighty seven bulls to obtain nappinai pirATTi. In rAma avatAra He reached the sea along with the vAnara sEna, crossed it after building a bridge, reached a lankApuri situated on the tirikooTa parvata, and subdued the pride of rAvaNa to obtain seeta pirATTi. He is residing in tirukkaNNapuram, a great city with beautiful neelOtpala flowers scattered in the fields brought by the canal water. He resides there in order to obtain me and other Baktas enchanted by His beauty and guNa (paraman, paranjOti). AzhwAr says he will never be a dAsa to anyone else except Sree SourirAja.

vilangalura paDaiyAl Azhi taTTa paraman is interpreted also as - Azhi means sun, vilangalura means to set, paDaiyAl means with cakrAyudha, taTTa means He hid it ( in the mahABArata war Sree kriShNa hid the sun with cakrAyudha to make it appear night in order to kill jayadratha).

4. mikkAnai maraiyAi viritta viLakkai ennuL
pukkAnai puhazh sEr polihinra pon malaiyai |
takkAnai kaDihai taDangunrin misai irunda
akkAra kaniyai aDaindu uindu pOnEnE || Four ||

maraiyAi viritta viLakkai–He is self effulgent like a lamp i.e., He reveals Himself without any other light and reveals other objects like a lamp. He reveals the vEdas and is revealed by them. “maraiyAi virinda tuLakkamil viLakkil koLuttina pradeepamAna kalaihaLai neermaiyinAl aruLi seidAn” – AchArya hrudaya.

maNavALa mAmunihaL has explained this sootra of AchArya hrudaya – He is the meaning of ‘akAra’. akAra is the cause of all other letters and words. So also emberumAn is the primal cause of all creations and expansions. akAra is the essence of all vEdas and vEdas are the expansions of akAra.

polihinra pon malaiyai – “kaNapurattu pon malai pOl ninravan” – periyatirumaDal.

takkAn – is the name of emberumAn at sOLasimhapura which is otherwise called tirukaDihai. He is called kaDihai taDangunru since it redeems one who stays there even for a minute (kaDihai). Here resides He in the form of narasimhamoorti.

5. vandAi en manattE vandu nee puhunda pinnai
endAi pOyariyAi iduvE amaiyAdO |
kondAr paimbOzhil soozh kuDandai kiDandu uhanda
maindA unnai enrum maravAmai peTTrEnE || Five ||

Oh! emberumAn! You have voluntarily entered my mind! Now You have forgotten to go back too! Isn’t it very fortunate! Oh! tirukkuDandai mainda! Not only have You forgotten to leave me but i have not forgotten to love You!

AzhwAr expresses his joy over his luck. Hence he uses the expression – “vandAi en manattE. vandu nee puhunda pinnai” when even one sentence “vandu nee puhunda pinnai” would have sufficed.

vandAi– You have left the extremely beautiful paramapada tiruppArkaDal and have come here. Where? – en manattE (my mind). You have come not into the minds of mahayOgis who are chased in guNa and anuShThAna. i am happy and surprised that You should come into my “dirty samsArik mind”. i am after all an ordinary man without any Bakti or jnAna or anuShThAna. i lack to possess at least a ‘clean mind’. But You have voluntarily come when i never sought You or invited You with love and affection.

pOyariyAi– not only You have come but also refused to go back. You never thought “why should i ever live in this wicked, polluted dirty mind. Let me seek a yOgi’s pure sAtvik mind”. You refuse to go back from here thinking “Ah! i can never find a better place to stay”.

When AzhwAr was rejoicing at SourirAja perumAL suddenly he thinks of tirukaDihai ArAvamudan. He says “even if You refuse to go i may forget You and Your love towards me. i may likely to indulge myself in worldly things and affairs. But Ah! My mind doesn’t do as it used to! How astonishing! i think this is more wonderful than Your refusal to go!”

6. enjA vennarahattu azhundi naDunguhinrErku
anjEl enru aDiyEnai ATkoLLa vallAnai |
nenjE nee ninaiyAdu iraippozhudum irutti kaNDAi
manjAr mALihai soozh vayalAli maindanayE || Six ||

Oh! Mind! You are so wicked as to never think of that SourirAja perumAn of tiruvAli who gives aBaya to me and says “my child! Don’t have any fear” when i tremble fearing the agony of naraka lOka.

Only in the last pASura AzhwAr said “unnai enrum maravAmai peTTrEnE”. In this very next pASura he says “iraippozhudum ninaiyAdE irutti kaNDAi”. How to resolve this contradiction. periyavAchchAn piLLai explains– at first he thinks me not forgetting Him is great. Then he thinks ‘perhaps His refusal to leave his mind’ is greater. Then he thinks “no it is not so. His aBaya to me, who is the greatest sinner on this earth, is indeed the greatest thing.

i have committed innumerable sins of innumerable types in innumerable births. So my going to hell is certain and my untold suffering is also certain. i shiver when i think of the hell. But of what use is my late realization? i have no escape from it. Even BagavAn, i suppose, can’t do anything about it. He may only say “let him suffer for whatever pApas he has committed” and keep quiet. But no! He has given me aBaya and says “don’t worry! I am here to protect You!" This indeed is the greatest wonder.

anjEl enru ATkoLLa vallAnai–“tennavan tamar seppamilAdAr sE adakkuvAr pOlE puhundu pinnum vankayiTTrAl piNitteTTri pin munnAha izhuppadan munnam” (periyAzhwAr). Before it all happens He comes with aBaya mudra and a smile on His lips and says “anjEl”. Of course He doesn’t come to hell to say anjEl. He comes wherever i am when i tremble thinking of naraka.

7. peTTrAr peTTrozhindAr pinnum ninru aDiyEnukku
uTTrAnAi vaLartu en uyirAhi ninrAnai |
muTTra mA madi kOL viDuttAnai emmAnai
ettAl yAn marakkEn idu sol en Ezhai nenjE || Seven ||

Oh! Mind! Tell me how can i ever forget Him who is more than my parents (who gave birth to my Sareera alone) and who has taken care of me by giving jnAna Bakti etc., (which my parents didn’t give).

ettAl yAn marakkEn– here is no reason to forget Him for He has done everything that is only good. The help that He has rendered has no measure. He is the only rakShaka who can protect me at all times and in all circumstances.

8. kaTTrAr paTTrarukkum piravi perungaDalE
paTTra vandu aDiyEn pirandEn piranda pinnai |
vaTTra neer vayal soozh vayalAli ammAnai
peTTrEn peTTraduvum piravAmai peTTrEnE || Eight ||

Formerly i was immersed in the ocean of samsAra which is the wise leave and heave a sigh of relief. i was enjoying the alpa and astira (mean and transient) pleasures therein feeling highly elated about it. Then suddenly (because of His grace) i sought Him and came out of the ocean of samsAra. He has indeed done a “mahOpakAra” (great help). What is that mahOpakAra? “piravAmai peTTrEn” – i have been lifted from that ocean and placed in a safe place of immortality.

periyavAccAn piLlai explains the expression “piravAmai peTTrEn” as –

(1) i have relieved of the cycle of births and deaths

(2) i got this because of His anugraha (in spite of my pApa karmas) not because of my efforts

(3) And this has been given to me by Him who doesn’t expect even a word of thanks from me

9. kaNNAr kaNNapuram kaDihai kaDi kamazhum
taNNAr tAmarai soozh talaichchanga mEl tisaiyuL |
viNNOr nAN madiyai virihinra venjuDarai
kaNNAr kaNDu koNDu kaLikkinradu ingu enru kolO || Nine ||

Now AzhwAr feels thirsty to see Him and worship Him who resides in tirukkaNNapuram, tirukkaDihAchalam and talaichchangam. He wants to satisfy his eyes that desire to see Him who is like a cool moon and warm sun to the nitya sooris.

kaNNAr kaNNapuram – The SourirAja perumAL is so handsome that the eyes refuse to shift the sight from His form.

talaichchanga mEl tisaiyuL viNNOr nAN madiyai – talaichchanga nAN madiyan is a sOzhanATTu tirupadi. It is near tirunAhur. His name is nAN madiya perumAL. It means He holds the tiruchchanga (conch) in His hands. It is also called tiruchchangADu (perhaps its original name is tiruchchanganADu). “kaippAl alaichchangam Endum aNiarangattu ammAn talaichchanga nAN madiyattAn” – nootteTTu tiruppadi andAdi pASura. “nanneer talaichchanga nAN madiyai”– periya tirumaDal. In the nAlAyira divya prabandha only in these two places this tiruppadi is mentioned.

10. seru neera vEl valavan kali kanri mangaiyar kOn
karu neer muhil vaNNan kaNNapurattAnai |
iru neer indamizh innisai mAlaihaL koNDu toNDeer
varu neer vaiyam uyya ivai pADi ADuminE || Ten ||

About Sree SourirAja perumAL residing in tirukaNNapuram AzhwAr has sung these pASuras in beautiful tamizh having great literary value, Bakti rasa and metrical tunes. Those BAgavatas who sing and dance in ecstasy will uplift this world troubled by worries.