colour - 2

[Guest guest]

Post 2

 

Dear sri vaishNava perunthagaiyeer,

 

Before taking up any other point eulogizing / describing my colourful lord

krishNa, the meaning for the charaNam of the OVS krithi 'pachchai iLam' krithi -

which I postponed.

 

charaNam:

maamaayai thaaNdi ninRa guNakkadalE thayir

maththaNaiyum kaiyiRaNaindha eyiRRu ezhilE

aamaarum arindhaarum aRRa nilaiyE

aththai naan unakku enraal piththa nilaiyE [pachchai]

 

meaning: hey krishNa, you are

* the ocean of noble characters and these characters transcending the great

maaya

* the one who has the mark in the stomach from the rope embracing the curd

churning rod,

* one who has the state of beyond vEdhaas and knowledge.

When I claim I am your aunt then it is my madness.

 

[the word eyiRu means tooth or gum above the tooth. This also means a horn. But

when the rope of churning rod is meant, it leads to the stomach only - my

krishNa as dhaama udharan. May be there is a mistake in print in the book from

which I have taken the krithi. It is same case in V.Chandhra sekaran's web site

on OVS. So please excuse me]

 

(madhyamakalam)

aRindhu seidha oru paapam ilEn enakku adhuthaan laksham kOti

aayinum unadhu iru padhamalar adiyinai anavarathamum thudhi paadi

aanandamaanadhu kOti kOti aagaiyinaal unaith-thEdith thEdi

alaivadhum thirivadhum alaRuvadhum aRa aruLa vENum enai naadi naadi [pachchai]

 

meaning: dear krishNa, I do not have any sin accumulated out of actions with my

full knowledge, sin from actions without my knowledge may be lakhs and crores.

But because of singing the praise of your lotus feet, I have crores of pleasures

and happiness. Please shower your grace on me by reaching me, and removing the

search for you, for I scream, screech and wander in search of you repeatedly.

[pachchai].

 

[since this charanam does not add any points to my topic on colour, I just

postponed the giving of meaning.]

 

Now going back to 'munnai vaNNam' - This paasuram dealt with colours in 4

different yugams. Is this word vaNNam deals only with colours or the roopam or

some thing more - see the verse from kamban on the 'vaNNam'.

 

ivvaNNam nigazhndha vaNNam ini indha ulagukku ellaam

uyvaNNam anRi maRRu Or thuyar vaNNam uRuvadhu uNdO?

mai vaNNaththu arakki pOril mazhai vaNNaththu aNNalE un

kai vaNNam angu kaNdEn kaal vaNNam ingu kaNdEn

 

24 - baala kaaNdam aghaligai padalam kamba raamaayaNam

 

meaning: sage visvaamithra says "oh raamaa, the rain coloured lord, I saw your

hand's colour [valour] there - in the killing of that black coloured raakshasi

thaatakai thus saving my yagnam. Here in this place of sage gouthama, I see

your leg's colour [power of the legs converting the dead stone into a beautiful

women ahalyaa]. This happening also shows that hereafter there is no more

suffering and liberation for the world through your hands.

 

[one doubt may arise why sage visvaamithra should praise raama as 'ulaghu

uyvaNNam anRi maRRu uNdO' on ahalyaa's release? kamban puts these words through

visvaamithra. For visvaamithra has already said 'aham vEdhmi maahaathmaanam' to

dhasaratha - I know how raama is greatest, when dhasaratha was reluctant in

sending raama along with visvaamaithra.

 

Also visvaamithra is a 'vaak visaaradha' as addressed by janaka - as said in

vaalmeeki ramaayaNam - see slOkam - which kamban also uses to glorify

visvaamithra by multiple usage of this single word vaNNam - so establishes that

'vaak visaaradha:' name calling of vaalmeeki]

 

Evam uktha sa dharmaathmaa janakEna mahaathmanaa |

prathyuvaacha munir veeram vaakyam vaakya visaaradha: || 1-66-4

 

mahaathmanaa + janakEna = noble souled [foreseer] by janakan;

Evam + uktha: = thus said;

dharmaathmaa = virtue souled [pre-sager];

vaakya + visaaradha: = sentence expert [wordsmith];

sa: + muni: = that sage [visvaamithra];

veeram + vaakyam + prathyuvaacha = to valiant janakan, words, in reply said.

 

Meaning: When said thus by the foreseer janakan, [who can foresee as to why

visvaamithra came with raaghavan this far, and thus asked him as to what next is

to be done,] that sage visvaamithra, for he is pre-sager and wordsmith, [and who

knows what is to be done next,] said these words in reply to that valiant king

janakan. [1-66-4]

 

Now let us see the specialty, that word 'vaNNam' is being used in different

meaning - the specialty of tamil language -

 

a. ivvaNNam - indha vazhiyil or indha muRaiyil - in this way - here vaNNam

means way or pattern

b. [nigazhndha] vaNNam - nigazhndha padi - the manner or type in which that

happening did take place - here vaNNam means type.

c. uyvaNNam - uyyumaaRu - the route for liberation - so here vaNNam means route

- gathi - maargam

d. thuyar vaNNam - siRidhaavadhu varuththam - traces of sorrow - so here vaNNam

means traces - small quantity.

e. my vaNNaththu arakki - karuppu niRa arakki - black colour raakshasi - here

vaNNam means colour.

f. mazhai vaNNaththu aNNalE - mega vaNNaththu raamaa - the rain coloured raamaa

- cloud coloured - dark colour - here also vaNNam means colour.

g. kai vaNNam - kaiyin thiRamai - the power of the hand or valour of fighting

with bow and arrow using the hand - vaNNam here means sleight - power

h. kaal vaNNam -kaalinaal seidha kaariyaththin perumai - glory of the feet - so

vaNNam here means glory.

 

Dear bhakthaas - this is one of few verses glorifying the specialty of language

and the kavi chaathuryam of kamban, besides glorifying the lord, and sage

visvaamithra, using that special word 'vaNNam'.

 

Do that leg of raama has the kaariyaththin perumai only or some thing else also.

Yes the beautiful colour - like a lotus flower - in colour - in that green body

a lotus colour feet - even to spread that in the mind - the feet expands and

gives a beautiful scene before inner eyes. See that thru the eyes of aazhvaar.

Only a small change - instead of kaal here the word used is adi - which also

means kaal or paadham -

 

adi vaNNam thaamarai anRu ulagam thaayOn

padi vaNNam paarkkadal neer vaNNam mudi vaNNam

Oraazhi veyyOn oLiyum akhdhanrE

aaraazhi koNdaaRku azhagu. - 5 - moonRaam thiruvandhaadhi

 

let that vaNNam - colourful picture be expanding in the mind and stay till we

have the meaning in next post.

 

Dhasan

 

Vasudevan m.g.