Kanninun Siruththambu - 2

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Sri:

Srimathe Ramanujaya Nama:

 

 

Madhurakavi Azhvar's

Kanninun Siruththambu

Second Pasuram Vyakhyana Saram

 

Excerpted from Sri Nanjeeyar and Sri Nampillai's

vyakhyanams

 

A tamil version of this vyakhyana saram can be read at

http://www.acharya.org/vyakyanam/kst/kst2.pdf

 

 

nAvinAl naviRRu inbameythinEn

mEvinEn avan ponnadi meymmaiyE

theVumaRRaRiyEn kurukUr nambi

pAvininnisai pAdith thirivanE

 

 

Meaning:

Praising Nammazhvar with my tongue, I gained great

happiness, which is surrender at his golden feet.

I know of no lord other than the Kurukur Nambi

(Nammazhvar). And I will wander everywhere singing

the sweetness of Nammazhvar's pasurams.

 

 

Vyakhyana Saram:

In this pasuram, Sri Madhurakavi Azhvar says that one

can attain the supreme goal, in this world itself, with

this body, by using the means of Nammazhvar's greatness

alone. He says that Nammazhvar's pasurams alone have

become everything to him in his journey.

 

 

naavinaal naviRRu:

To reach Him one has to exclusively focus on Him via

one's mind, one's word as well as other parts of one's

body ("mana: pUrvo vAguttara:"). Sri Madhurakavi Azhvar

reaches the same goal that is obtained doing the above,

by simply speaking about his acharya.

He says that nothing else is needed, just the use of

his tongue in uttering his acharya's words is

sufficient.

Is it not the goal of a person for having obtained a

tongue, to praise his acharya who has done so much for

him ("pratyakshe gurava: stutyA:")? Madhurakavi azhvar

says that he has reached that goal.

It is not only important for all souls to keep praising

their acharya; it is actually their duty. Madhurakavi

azhvar says that he has performed his duty.

In the previous pasuram he had said that his acharya's

words will sweeten his mouth forever. Now he is saying

the same that his mouth and heart have been sweetened

by reciting his acharya's words.

 

inbameythinEn:

He says that he has now reached that height of

happiness. That is, attachment to his acharya's lotus

feet ("kOlamAm en sennikku un kamalamanna kuraikazhal").

They have now become everything to him. There is no

higher truth than those for him.

The same higher truth that Nammazhvar obtained

("vIvilinbam migavellai nigazhnthanan mEviyE")was

obtained by Madhurakavi Azhvar just by the recitation

of Nammazhvar's pasurams. When it remains that even a

single word uttered creates many karmas and it takes

several births to cleanse those karmas, Madhurakavi

Azhvar says that Nammazhvar's words have removed all

his karmas from all his births and led him to the

highest truth.

 

mEvinEn ponnadi:

Madhurakavi azhvar surrenders at the divine feet of

Nammazhvar and is attached to that only.

His acharya's feet have become everything to him,

including removing the ignorance in this world and

doing purushakaram in the other world.

 

meimmaiyE:

He says that this is the truth ("vignyapanamidam

satyam").

 

maRRaRiyEn:

Since there is nothing to him other than his acharya's

feet, he says he knows nothing else.

Since the rest is nothing to him, he simply declares

them as "maRRu" - other, without naming them (similar

to anyatra in "bhAvo nAnyatra gacchati").

 

thEvumaRRaRiyEn:

He says there is no attachment other than to Nammazhvar.

Here other ("maRRu") means not just things of this

world but it includes the other worlds and even Him.

 

kurukoor nambi:

Once he has developed attachment to Namamzhvar's feet,

he has no need to develop attachment to anything else

including Him. Therefore, he talks of Nammazhvar as a

pUrnar (complete in all respects).

 

paavininnisai:

Leaving the wealth of this world as well as the

knowledge of the soul, leaving Him as only the first

step and leaving even Nammazhvar who is the last step

in the supreme goal seeked, leaving Nammazhvar's verses,

Sri Madhurakavi Azhvar gets attached to the music of

those verses and states that that music is sufficient

for his journey through all worlds (similar to

"theivaththaNNanthuzhAyth thArAyinum thazhaiyAyinum

thaNkombathAyinum kIzhvErAyinum ninRa maNNAyinum koNdu

vIsuminE").

That music of those verses, the sweetness of that music

alone is sufficient for all his journeys.

 

paavininnisai paadiththirivanE:

Madhurakavi Azhvar travels speaking Thiruvaymozhi, it's

music and the sweetness of its music and that alone has

become everything for him.

 

 

Madhurakavi Azhvar Thiruvadigale Saranam

Nanjeeyar Nampillai Thiruvadigale Saranam

 

 

adiyEn madhurakavi dAsan

TCA Venkatesan

http://www.acharya.org