thUviriya

Periya Thirumozhi

thUviriya (thiruvAli 2)

In the first four pASuras AzhwAr sends messengers. In the rest of the pASuras he himself cries over his suffering due to separation.

Once nanjeeyar was very ill. He asked one of his SiShyas to chant this pASura ‘tooviriya malar uzhakki’ and go pradakShiNa if He comes as archa moorti. The SiShya did so. When he came to the fourth pASura where AzhwAr says ‘tAnAha ninaiyAnEl tanninaindu naivErku Or meenAya koDi neDuvEL vali Seyya melivEnO?’ nanjeeyar was feeling very sad and said ‘Oh! emberumAn! Even if You did not come before i was ill, can’t You come now and make me alright?’ These pASuras are full of passion which the Baktas will like to chant.

too viriya malar uzhakki tuNaiyODum piriyAdE
pooviriya madu nuharum pori variya Siru vaNDE |
tee viriya marai vaLarkum puhazhALar tiruvAli
Evari venjilaiyAnukku ennilaimai uraiyAyE ||

Oh! SiruvaNDE! You are happily drinking honey from the boomed flowers with your mate crushing the flowers in your act of samslESha with her you go and inform Him, the tiruvAli maNavALan, who lives in tiruvAli—where vaidikas always keep doing sacrifices—about my condition in which i am, as i am separated from Him.

parakAla nAyaki further implies that—Ah! How cruel you are that you should be enjoying the courtship and the honey too when i am suffering like this! It is enough if you just inform Him about me (ennilaimai uraiyAyE); you need not ask Him to come or bring Him here. Since He is my rakShaka He should certainly come as soon as He hears about me.

piNiyavizhu naru neela malar kizhiya peDaiyODum
aNimalar mEl madu nuharum aru kAla Siru vaNDE |
maNikezhuneer marungalarum vayalAli maNavALan
paNiyariyEn neeSenru en payalai nOi uraiyAyE ||

Oh! SiruvaNDE! You have got six legs (arukAla SiruvaNDE) so you can easily go to vayalAli emberumAn and tell Him how I suffer His separation. You are enjoying the companionship of your mate and the honey that both of You drink. Please, for my sake, go to Him and ask Him what He intends to do about me—my ‘payalai nOi’ (the pallor due to separation)—whether He has forgotten me; whether He still remember me; whether He intends coming here or whether He intends taking me where He is. Perhaps He thinks i am not sad (as He is not). So go and tell Him how i feel about Him how my body suffers His separation.

neer vAnam maNNeri kAlAi ninra neDumAl tan
tArAya naruntuLavam perundahaiyErku aruLAnE |
SeerArum vaLar pozhil Soozh tiruvAli vayal vAzhum
koorvAya Siru kuruhE kuripparindu koorAyE ||

Oh! sirukuruhE! Who live in the wealthy city of tiruvAli (since it has plenty of forests)—go to tiruvAli maNavALan and ask Him what His intention is (about me) and come here and tell me the news. (or) Go there, wait for an opportune moment and tell Him my condition at the right time so that He may take pity on me and do something to cure my illness. He is the tirumAl who is the pancha Bootas. He is the emberumAn who wears tuzhasi mAla. Why doesn’t He embrace me will that the tuzhasi mAla get crushed? Am I not the most desiring person? (perundahaiyErku)

tAnAha ninaiyAnEl tanninaindu naivErku Or
meenAya koDi neDuvEL vali Seyya melivEnO |
tEn vAya vari vaNDE tiruvAli naharALum
AnAyarku en uru nOi ariyachchenru uraiyAyE ||

Oh! vari vaNDE! Go to tiruvAli maNavALan—who does not care for me—who cares for Him—and tell Him that His property (me) is searching for Him! Isn’t it proper that the owner of the property (emberumAn) who has lost it should worry about the loss and search for it? But look at my condition! and look at Him! See how callous He is! i am not an insentient object that I should not worry about the owner! i am a chEtana and must feel the loss myself! Whether it is good or bad whatever comes from emberumAn I am ready to accept; but who is this chap mantmatha who should come between Him and me? Who is he to torture me? Will you go and tell gOpAlakriShNa about my increasing mental depression? Tell Him in very clear words.

vALAya kaN panippa men mulaihaL ponnarumbu
nANALum nin ninaindu naivErku Oh maNNaLanda |
tALALA taN kuDandai naharALA varai eDutta
tOLALA entanakkOr tuNaiyALan AnAyE ||

In the previous pASuras parakAla nAyaki has been talking to bees and cranes to act as messengers to BagavAn. From this pASura onwards she talks as if emberumAn is present. seeta pirATTi was talking to hanumAn about herself and rAma. Suddenly she speaks directly addressing rAma as if He is present in person.

parakAla nAyaki calls loudly—

Oh! maNNaLanda tALALA------!

Oh! taN kuDandai naharALA----!

Oh! varai eDutta tOLALA--------!

That it is heard in all three worlds

maNNaLanda tALALA—When nobody asked Your tiruvaDi sambandha You gave it voluntarily to all irrespective of their love towards You. Why don’t You do something to me who ask and beg of You?

taN kuDandai naharALA—You lie with extreme compassion in tirukkuDandai for the sake of those who had no opportunity of seeing You as rAma or kriShNa in their avatAra kAla. Why don’t You have even a bit of compassion on me?

varai eDutta tOLALA—For the sake of totally ignorant and innocent Ayar folks and cattle You lifted the gOvardhana mountain as an umbrella. You are very sweet and nice to everyone except me. Why?

men mulaihaL ponnarumbu—‘ponnarumba’ means ‘pasalai nOi’ one may wonder how can parakAla nAyaki can talk of ‘breasts’ when ‘She’ is women only in her BAva. The answers is ‘breasts’ mean Bakti. This phrase means—the desire to enjoy BagavAn has lost its colour because of His indifference.

tArAya taNDuLava vaNDuzhuda varai mArban
pOrAnai komboSitta puTpAhan ennammAnE |
tErArum neDuveedi tiruvAli naharALum
kArAyan ennuDaiya kanavALaiyum kavarvAnO ||

emberumAn is my swAmi—who has mountain like tirumArbu which was made muddy by the bees that drank honey from the tuzhasi mAla; who broke the tusk of kuvaLayApeeDa; who rides on garuDa in order to come in haste to save His Baktas (like He did for gajEndra); who is the chief of the tiruvAli tirunahar that has broad streets where chariots move; who is dark like cloud—who has already stole my mind and soul—should He rob one of my bangles too! (The bangles slipping down the hands indicates her love lorn state).

koNDarava tirai ulavu kurai kaDal mEl kulavarai pOl
paNDaravin aNai kiDandu pAraLanda paNbALA |
vaNDamarum vaLar pozhil Soozh vayalAli maindA en
kaN tuyil nee koNDAikku en kanavaLaiyum kaDavEnO ||

Oh! emberumAn! You lie in tiruppArkaDal on the cozy bed of tiruanandAzhwAn in order to hear the cry of help of Baktas and dEvas. indra came to You and begged You to save him and his kingship. You immediately went to mahAbali as vAmana and begged three feet of land, measured them as trivikrama. Oh! vayalAli maNavALA! You reside in this divya dESa—which has plenty of forests with tall flowering trees where bees come and sit—in order to hear the cries of Baktas. But why do You show a deaf ear to my pleadings? You robbed my eyes of their sleep, You robbed the hands of their bangles. i can lose sleep, but can i lose my bangles? (separation)

kuyil Alum vaLar pozhil Soozh taN kuDandai kuDamADee
tuyilAda kaNNiNaiyEn ninninaindu tuyarvEnO |
muyalAlum iLamadikkE vaLai izhandErku idu naDuvE
vayalAli maNavALA koLvAyO maNi niramE ||

Oh! vayalAli maNavALA! tAN kuDandai kuDanADee! (one who performs kuDakoottu in tirukkuDandai where there are cool forests in which cuckoos dance). Am i born in the star of lakShmaNa? (who never slept when rAma was in the forest) When Ii see the moon my bangles slip down. So much am I am suffering already. In addition You also make me suffer more by taking away my complexion. Oh! What am i to do? Why should You do this to me? You are torturing me beyond endurance.

nilaiyALA nin vaNanga vENDAyE Ahilum en
mulaiyALa orunAL un ahalattAl ALAyE |
SilaiyALA maram eida tiralALA tirumeyya
malaiyALA neeyALa vaLaiyALa mATTOmE ||

Since i am a sentient being i should do kainkarya to Your tiruvaDi. But this nitya kainkarya can be my lot only if You will it so. If You don’t want my nitya kainkarya, at least for one day You can be mine. If You don’t do even this much, then what use of Your SArnga? Why should You pride that You have pierced the sAla trees? Why should You call Yourself as satyESa in tirumeyyam? If You neglect me, Your dAsa, all these are but in vain.

nee Ala vaLaiyALa mATTOmE—The bangles never stay in the hands of Your wives. When there is samslESha the hands swell (out of joy) and the bangles brake where there is vislESha the body becomes lean and the bangles slip out.

Once ammangi ammAn was very sick. nanjeeyar and nambiLLai went to see him to enquire about his health. ammAn was feeling very sad that he should be so sick as not able to do Bagavat kainkarya. nanjeeyar and nambiLLai said ‘you are a great man. you never fail to do Bagavat and BAgavata kainkarya. But still BagavAn should do this to You is indeed very sad.’ ammAn said ‘nee Aha vaiLaiyALa mATTOmE’—when You are dedicated to Him there is no suKa.

mai ilangu karunguvaLai marungalarum vayalAli
neyyilangu SuDarAzhi paDaiyAnai neDumAlai |
kai ilangu vEl kaliyan kaNDu uraitta tamizh mAlai
aiyiraNDum ivai vallArku aru vinaihaL aDaiyAvE ||

tirumangai AzhwAr—who always bears a spear in his hand—has sung these ten beautiful tamizh pASuras on emberumAn who bears a chakrAyudha in His hand. Those who sing and meditate these pASuras on vayalAli maNavALan shall not have any papas attached to them.