SrimatE Raamaanujaaya Namaha //
SrimatE Nigamaanta Mahaa Desikaaya Namaha //
SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya/
SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya//
KAvEri VardhathAm kAlE, kAlE varshathu vAsava: /
SrI RanganAthO jayathu Sri Ranga Sri cha VardhathAm//
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SRI RANGA SRI VOL.07 / ISSUE # 10 dated 19th December 2005
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IN THIS ISSUE:
1. TIRUPPAVAI PASURAM # 4:
AAZHI MAZHAIK KANNA
(ANBIL RAMASWAMY)
2. TIRUPPAVAI PASURAM # 4
AAZHI MAZHAIK KANNA
ENGLISH VERSE TRANSLATION
(MS. SHOBA RAMASWAMY)
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ISSUES RELEASED
So far, 186 Regular issues of SRS have been released apart from
Special Issues:
27 Issues of Vol. 1
15 Issues of Vol. 2
42 Issues of Vol. 3
35 Issues of Vol. 4
28 Issues of Vol. 5
30 Issues of Vol. 6 and
09 Issues of Vol. 7
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1. TIRUPPAVAI PASURAM # 4:
AAZHI MAZHAIK KANNA
(ANBIL RAMASWAMY)
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Tiruppavai 04
aazhi mazhai
aazhi mazhaik kaNNaa! onRu nee kai karavEl *
aazhiyuL pukku mugandhu kodu aarththERi *
oozhi mudhalvan uruvam pOl mey kaRuththup *
paazhiyam^ thOLudaip paRpanaaban kaiyil *
aazhi pOl minni valamburi pOl ninRadhirndhu *
thaazhaadhE saarngam udhaiththa saramazhai pOl *
vaazha ulaginil peydhidaay * naangaLum
maargazhi neeraada magizhndhElOr embaavaay.
Here is a beautiful and scientific description of how the clouds
gather waters and shower them on land for the benefit of humanity.
aazhi circular; ocean-like in expansiveness
mazhai rain
kaNNaa Oh! Dear god!
? Andal addresses the indwelling (antaryAmi) deity of rain here
who is KaNNan and NOT parjanaya dEvatai)
? Uttamur Swami says that due to their intense and inalienable
attachment to KaNNan, they invoked KaNNan, the Adhyakshan.
? Another interpretation is that when they desired rain, the
rain god hastened to them on his own accord and begged to be
commanded and they did command!
OnRu (m) even a little bit
nee you
kai karavEl Don't withhold. The Gopis ask KrishNa not to act like
the stentorian father who does not readily yield to requests but to
act like PiraaTTi who out of overflowing compassion is quick to
respond
aazhiyuL into the deep oceans
pukku entering
mugandhu kodu fetch
aarththu thunder
ERi climb
oozhi primordial
mudhalvan First One
Who is "Oozh Mudalvan"?
He is the one who creates, sustains and absorbs (at the time of
deluge), the 7 worlds above the Earth, the Earth itself and the 7
worlds below the Earth. It is thus NOT the proverbial "2x7 =14
lOkams" as popularly held but the count actually works out to 15!
Nammaazhwaar says that when there was nothing at all (yaadumillaa
anru), it is He (Sriman Narayana) who gave birth to one and all
including the celestials (dEvum), the earthly world (ulagum) and the
four faced Brahma (naan mugan tannODu), breathed life into them (uyir
paDaithaan) all along with their respective worlds (dEvar ulagODu).
"Onrum dEvum ulagum uyirum yaadumillaa anru
naan mugan tannODu dEvar ulagODu uyir paDaithaan"
uruvam pOl like the form
mEy body
kaRuththu become black
? The color black is always associated with mercy, compassion
etc.
? "mega syaamam" is the color of the Lord
paazhi great
am beautiful
thOL Beautiful shoulders: Did not Kamban say "thOle kaNDaar
thOLE kanDaar?
udai with these
paRpanaaban the one who has a lotus navel, Lord Vishnu (Sanskrit:
padma-nAbha)
Why Padmanabhan?
When a son is born to a majestic emperor after a long time, his sheer
majesty would not let him demonstrate his happiness. But, his
friends, relatives and servants would dance with joy and exhibit
their happiness. Brahma was born to the Lord after a whole Kalpa. In
his majesty, the Lord did not reveal his joy. But, Chakrath azhwar
held in his hand shone with a never before brilliance, thus
demonstrating his joy on his master's progeny.
kaiyil in that person's hand:
When the Sudarsana Chakram was out of Lord's hands and was in the air
it did not shine. Jayadratan had to be killed before sunset. When it
left the hands of the Lord during Mahaabhaarata war for hiding the
Sun, it resulted in an enveloping darkness. Thinking that the Sun had
set, Jayadratan came out from his safe haven. And, when the discus
came back into the hands of the Lord, everyone realized that the Sun
had not set as yet. And, Jayadratan got killed.
aazhi pOl like the discus
minni shine
valamburi pOl like the conch
It may be noted that Andal refers to the Conch in several contexts in
Tiruppavai itself (e.g)
"valampuri pOle" in this 4th verse
"veLLai viLi sangin" in the 6th verse
"sangoDu Chakkaram yEndum taDakkaiyan" in the14th verse
"paalanna vaNNathu unn paancha janniyamE" in the 26th verse.
She devotes a whole decad (7th decad) in her Nachiyaar Tirumozhi
(NT) where she addresses the Conch variously as "aazhi veNN
sangE', "narr sangE", perum sangE', "valam puriyE", "paancha
janniyamE", "Sangaiayyaa" etc. in "Karpooram naarumO, kamalappoo
naarumO?"
ninRu residing
adhirndhu resound (the sound of blowing a conch)
? The sound of the conch brought joy to the hearts of the
faithful and instilled fear in the hearts of the foes.
? Unlike in that war when the conch was blown once and then
stopped, Andal asks the thunder to sound incessantly.
thaazhaadhE without tarrying, instantly.
? Unlike Devatantaras, the Lord does not hasten to bestow boons
unthinkingly.
? She seems to have a dig at the Lord who delayed succor on
three occasions previously and suffered remorse (NirvEdam) later.
1. GajEndra
2. Draupadi
3. VibheeshaNa
Andal says that there is no need for testing their eligibility and so
pleads with the Lord not to put them to test and delay His granting
His grace.
saarngam Lord Vishnu's bow
udhaiththa shoot forth (lit. kicked)
saramazhai pOl like the shower of arrows.
? Sri Rama and Arjuna are known as the greatest archers. But,
the difference is that when Sri Rama sends out one arrow, it
multiplies itself and returns to his quiver only after destroying the
target.
? Andal asks the Lord to shower His blessings unceasingly and
multifold like Sri Rama's bow ("Sarangam" is probably the same
as "KodaNdam") and Not like Arjuna's "GaaNDeepam" bow.
Rain bearing clouds have 4 attributes: Blackness, Lightning, Thunder,
Showers. Andal has brought out all these in this Pasuram
Mei karuthu: The dark black color reminds the color of the Lord
aazhipOl minni: reminds of the brightness of the Lord's disc
valamburipOl ninradirndu: Thunder reminds of the shrill sound of the
Conch and
saramazhai pOl: rerminds of the mighty bow of the Lord
vaazha flourish, prosper
Unlike when the rains lashed in trying to destroy the citizens and
livestock of the Gopas out of anger, Andal asks that the rains now
prayed for should be benevolent and help them flourish. She prays for
torrential rains but not the destructive ones.
ulaginil in this world
pEydhidaay rain!
naangaLum we too
maargazhi neeraada: bathing during margazhi
magizhndhu will be happy, exult
=====================================================
The letter "zha" is peculiar to the Tamil language. Andal uses the
same 11 times in this Pasuram thus:
Aazhi, mazhai, aazhiyuL, oozhi, paazhiyam, aazhi pOl, thaazhaadhE,
saramazhai, vaazha, maargazhi, magizhndhElOr
There are several similarities (Saamyam) between Clouds and Acharyas:
1. Clouds absorb salt waters from the Ocean and convert them
into potable drinking water. Acharyas absorb the hard-to-understand
nuances and explain the esoteric significance of the Saastras to the
understanding of lay ignorant folk
2. Clouds move from place to place to yield rains. Acharyas also
move from place to place to convey their message.
3. Clouds when they yield rains do not do so expecting any
returns for benefits conferred. Acharyas do not expect any rewards
for their teachings. What Sishyas offer to Acharyas is nothing but a
token of their gratitude and not to recompense them for their efforts
to teach them.
4. The Achaarya is expected NOT to demand anything, even under
the pretext of Bhagavad, Bhaagavata, Achaarya Kaimkaryams. It is the
duty of Sishyas to offer (to their Achaaryaas) to their utmost
capacity without being asked to do so.
5. When anything is offered by the Sishyas the Achaarya is
expected to satisfy himself that the offer is not done with any
ulterior motives. And, ONLY AFTER satisfying himself in this regard,
he may accept the offer and as `Bhagavad Prasaadam".
(I have seen Srimad Andavanm, Poundarikapuram Swami Asramam,
Srirangam doing this).
6. If the clouds do not yield rains on time, there will be
drought and famine. If Acharyas do not impart their instructions, it
will ensue in moral degradation.
P.B. Annangarachariar's Nirvaham:
? PerumaaL: is like the Ocean where there is "water, water
everywhere but no water to drink!"
? Nammaazhwar: is like the rain bearing clouds that absorb
water and convert them into pure water
? Daya: is like the downpour of pure rain water
? Nathamunigal: is like the huge mountain on which the
rainwater falls
? UyaakkoNDaar and MaNakkaal Nambi: are like the twin
waterfalls carrying the water down.
? AaLavandaar: is like the fast flowing river carrying this
water
? Emperumaanaar: is like a vast lake, where this water gets
stored
? 74 Simhaasana Adhipatis: are like as many sluices carrying
the waters from the lake to the fields.
? Jivas: are like the fields that benefit ultimately by the
abovementioned water.
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To Continue
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2. TIRUPPAVAI PASURAM # 4
AAZHI MAZHAIK KANNA
ENGLISH VERSE TRANSLATION
(MS. SHOBA RAMASWAMY)
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"Lord of the rains!
As the mighty Ocean,
Hide not your munificence,
But, dip deep into the sea
And with thunderclaps,
Ascend the sky,
Dark as the form
Of the ruler of Time,
Let lightning-shafts shine
Like the Discus
In the lissome hand
Of our mighty shouldered
Padmanabha,
And vibrate
Like His conch-blast!
As arrows unceasing fly
>From His bow, Saranga,
Come with rain
This world to revive
And for us to bathe
And rejoice
In the month of Maargazhi,
Oh! My Maidens!"
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To Continue
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