Thirumaalai(49)

Sri Parthasarathi thunai,

Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha

 

“ Mattrondrum vEinda Maname Madhilarangar

  Kattrinum meitha kazhalinai keezh- uttra

  Thirumaalai paadum seer Thondaradipodi Emperumaanai

  Eppozhudum peesu”

 

“ Srimat Krishna samahvaya Namo yaamuna soonave

  yetkadAkshai kalakshyAnAm sulabha: Sridara: sadaa” 

Pranams,

 
Paasuram-30 

“manaththilOre thooimai ellai vAyilOre ensol ellai

  sinaththinAl settram nOkki theevilivilivan vAlA

  punaththuzhAi mAlai yAnE ponni soozh thiruvarangA!

  Enakku eni gadhi en sollAi? Ennai Aludaiya kOvE!”

 

manaththilOre thooimai ellai vAyilOre ensol ellai:  The beauty of this
prabhandam is that here alwar not only advices what is right and what
is wrong with necessary proof he also gives us everything simplified. 
He doesn’t stop with saying, do strotra to the lord thinking of your
incapabilities but gives us the paasuram itself.  In these paasurams,
alwar declares to have the mistakes on his part though alwar is pure in
mind, speech and action.  It is due to alwar’s naichyam.  It is a great
apachAram to think that alwar himself was like that since he said so.  We
all possess these characters but alwar takes it as his.  We can cheat
others who are outside but can we cheat the antaryami who is within us? 
Alwar says I am not pure in heart nor do my mouth utters any sweet
words.  In Bhagavatam, kardhama prajapathi did  tapas for many years and
when bhagavan gave darshan and asked what he wanted he replied that since
his father wanted him to be in samsAram he now did tapas to seek for a
good partner.  Though itseems like kardhamar asked for a lowkika
vishayam after so much tapas, emperuman very well knew the jnana paripAgam
and vairakhyam of kardhamar.  So he granted him a good wife and accepted
to come as a son himself.  Here alwar says he has nothing good in him
but emperuman knows alwars heart.  We people boast ourselves to be great
bhakthas and highly knowledgable even in front of the lord.  But
emperuman very well knows how ignorant and selfish we are.  We act to be very
good satvikas but inside we all have lot of dirt which emperuman knows
very well.  That is what alwar says ‘ManaththilOre thooimai ellai’.

When we talk our words should never hurt others.  We should neither lie
nor should we talk the truth in a hurting manner.  It is better to keep
quiet if the truth we talk will put others to difficulty.  Even
thiruvalluvar says, “TheeyinAl sutta pun ArumE ArAdhe nAvinAl sutta vadu”(An
injury caused due to some fire burn will be cured in sometime but the
injury caused by tough words from once mouth will never suffice).  Alwar
says he doesn’t have sweet words probably he didn’t know how soothing
his paasurams are there to our mind and thought. 

sinaththinAl settram nOkki theevilivilivan vAlA:  I get angry quiet
often.  AvyAjamana kObham.  I get angry just for the sake of getting angry
without any specific reason.  If someone says 4 words to me then I
scold him with 8 bad words.  Even if one goes simply(vAlA) I still pull him
to fight with me.  Such is my behaviour, unnecessarily wanting to fight
with one and all. 

  punaththuzhAi mAlai yAnE ponni soozh thiruvarangA:  Whenever a king
went to war there was a tradition to garland him and send him wishing to
return back with victory before the garland withers.  Here emperuman is
fighting war of rakshanam.  So Sri PVP says, ”rakshana dharmaththilE
deekshiththu thani mAlai ettandrO devareer veettriruppadhu”.  Emperuman
has taken a vow to win the battle of Asritha rakshanam and hence he is
wearing a garland of tulasi which he will wear till he wins.  Emperuman
likes tulasi garland the most.  Tulasi gives the sweet fragrance as it
grows not waiting for blossoming.  Tulasi is considered like a mother
and hence has to be treated with due respect.  While alwar started
talking about the tulasi garland of emperuman he is immediately reminded of
the other garland.  The kaveri thAi(mother, as she is referred in
Srirangam) surrounding rangantha like a garland on both sides and hence he
says pooni soozh thiruvarangA. 

Enakku eni gadhi en sollAi? Ennai Aludaiya kOvE!:  I donot have talent
to save me from the samsaric miseries nor do I have anyone to save me. 
My only refuge is you, who is the protector of all.

“edu yArudaiya vastuvAi nOvu paduvadhu”(whose property am I to
suffer?).  When I have a master who can do anything and everything why should I
suffer? If a father has three sons, 2 of them are very intelligent and
they have started earning their living individually but the third son
is incapable of sustaining himself.  Will the father just ignore the 3rd
son and say he is not his son?  No the father considers all three to be
equal and infact he is more worried about the incapable son than the
other two.  Similarly oh! Ranganatha you are my father, my master I am
incapable to do any sadhanas to reach you and hence I have surrendered in
your lotus feet to save me.  What can I  do when I am incapable to do
anything Oh my master, cries alwar. 

AzhwAr emberumAnAr jeeyar thiruvadigaLE saraNam

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasyai

Sumithra Varadarajan