Kanninun Siruththambu - 03

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Sri:

Srimathe Ramanujaya Nama:

 

Kanninun Siruththambu Third Pasura Vyakhyana Saram

Excerpted from Sri Nanjeeyar and Nampillai's Vyakhyanam

 

A Tamil version of this vyakhyana saram can be found at

http://www.acharya.org/vyakyanam/kst/kst03.pdf

 

 

thirithanthAkilum thEvapirAnudaik

kariyakOlath thiruvuruk kANban nAn

periyavaN kurukoor nambikkA

LuriyanAy adiyEn peRRa nanmaiyE

 

 

Meaning:

Were I to leave Nammazhvar and return, I would see and

worship the Lord of the nithysUris whose form is dark

and delightful. This great gain was obtained by me due

to the fact that I surrendered to Nammazhvar of the

great Kurukoor and became his.

 

 

Vyakhyana Saram:

Madhurakavi Azhvar is talking about the Lord in this pasuram

as Nammazhvar is attached to Him. In the previous pasuram,

he had said that he knows no other lord other than Nammazhvar;

however, as Nammazhvar has great attachment to Him, he also

sings about Him. Even though he has not chosen the path that

leads to Him directly, since He is in the path that was

chosen by Madhurakavi Azhvar (to his acharya), he gets

attached to Him. It is not that he has to let go of Him as

He is in an unsuitable path to the higher goal. Since He is

present in the great path that leads to an acharya,

Madhurakavi Azhvar will not let go of Him. Madhurakavi

Azhvar is attached to anything to which his acharya attached.

 

 

thirithanthAkilum:

Thirikai here means to return. That is, returning along the

path in which he reached his acharya Nammazhvar.

There is no returning after reaching Him ("na ca

punarAvartate"). Keeping Him as the first step if one were

to go ahead then upon returning one would simply come back

to Him. Such a great result has happened to Madhurakavi

Azhvar because he has surrendered at the lotus feet of

Nammazhvar.

 

theVapirAnudai kariyakOlath thiruvuru:

Were he to lose his bearing and return, he would come to

the where the nithyasUris exist. And there he would see

the divine and beautiful dark form of the Lord of the

nithyasUris ("kOlamE thAmaraik kaNNathOr anjana nIlamE").

 

thEvapirAnudaik kariyakOlath thiruvurukkANban nAn:

That which he has chosen not to pursue is that beauty

and divinity that is seen only by the nithyasUris. Even

though he has not chosen that as his goal, it is the

goal of his goal (that is, Nammazhvar's goal is the Lord).

His beauty is beyond everything such that it is

impossible to neither comprehend it in one's mind

("jyotImshyAdityadvad rAjan kurUn pracchAdayan sriyA")

nor see it with one's eyes ("tharunau rUpasampannau").

Madhurakavi Azhvar sees such a beauty due to his acharya's

grace.

 

kANban:

Just as a person who was deeply into the bhakti yoga

sees the things of this world when he gives up on his

yoga, so too Madhurakavi Azhvar sees Him when he leaves

his acharya and returns.

 

periyavaN kurukoor:

He gave the knowledge to see Him, to Nammazhvar alone.

However, Nammazhvar gave that knowledge to everyone.

Having given such an acharya to this world, Kurukoor

has great fame and importance. It is also important

because many acharyas are present there. Nammazhvar

also refers to himself in Thiruvaymozhi as "periyavaN

kurukUr sadakOpan".

 

nambi:

Nammazhvar also is a pUrna because he is the leader of

such a city.

 

periyavaN kurkuor nambi:

Is Nammazhvar's completeness only such that one can just

say Madhurakavi Azhvar gave up something and is attached

to something? What Madhurakavi Azhvar gave up and what

he attached himself to speaks volumes about the

greatness of Nammazhvar's pUrnathvam.

 

ALuriyanAy:

Madhurakavi Azhvar says that he is a devotee that

belongs to Nammazhvar in the sense that he is not

attached to one thing and his acharya is attached to

something else; he is attached to the exact same thing

that his acharya is.

 

adiyEn:

He has become Nammazhvar's devotee due to his acharya's

simplicity and approachability.

 

adiyEn peRRa nanmaiyE:

Madhurakavi Azhvar sees as the height of service by

being attached to that which is pleasing to his acharya.

 

peRRa nanmaiyE:

He will not consider as bad that which is of great

importance to his acharya. Instead he will be attached

to the same. Therefore, he says that he has gained a

great thing.

 

 

 

Madhurakavi Azhvar, Nanjeeyar and Nampillai Thiruvadigale

Saranam

Azhvar, Emperumanar Jeeyar Thiruvadigale Saranam

 

adiyEn madhurakavi dAsan

T.C.A. Venkatesan

 

Kanninun Siruththambu Vyakhyana Saram Series:

http://www.acharya.org/vyakyanam/kst/index.html