A clarification reqd. on a Tiruvoimozhi phrase

[Guest guest]

Dear friends,

 

A young of mine has sent me a question for which adiyane is unable to

give a ready response. It is a question related to use of Tamil idiom

and poetic 'rasanai' (flavour) and perhaps knowledgeable ones amongst

you might be able to clarify.

 

In the TiruvoimOzhi decad on Tiruvengadam, NammAzhwar sings as

follows:

 

vaNNa maruLkoL aNimEga vaNNaa!* maaya ammaanE,*

eNNam pugundhu thiththikkum amuthE!* imaiyOr athipathiyE,*

theNNal aruvi maNipon muththalaikkum* thiruvENGkadaththaanE,*

aNNalE! un adisEra* adiyERku aavaa vennaayE! 6.10.3

 

The phrase "thiththikkum amuthE!", my correspondent says, sounds

rather unusual. "thiththikkum" means "sweet" and "amuthE" means

ambrosia, the divine nectar, the elixir of immortality in God's

world.

 

Nectar or "amutham" is said to be naturally "sweet" ("thiththippu").

No such thing as a bitter ("kassappu") or sour ("puLippu") ambrosia

exists. In such a case isn't NammAzhwAr's use of the adjective

"thiththikkum" to qualify "amutham" rather redundant or tautological

-- from a strictly literary/grammatical standpoint? It sounds a bit

like saying "O sweetening sugar!".

 

The AzhwAr might have easily said "eNNam pugundha amuthE!" or

something similar, and still have conveyed the same degree of delight

savoured in the thought of 'tiruvengadatthAn'! Did NammAzhwAr add

"thiththikkum" merely for the purpose of ensuring poetic metre/rhyme

or is there some other subtle message he sought to convey through the

seeming redundancy of phrase?

 

Comments/views welcome.

 

Thanking you,

Regards,

 

dAsan,

Sudarshan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Sri:

Srimathe Ramanujaya Nama:

 

Dear Sri Sudarshan Swamin and others,

 

These are just adiyEn's thoughts on this query. They

are not based on any vyakhyanams by acharyas, so

please bear with my ignorance.

 

I think Azhvar is trying to emphasize here that it is

not enough that He has entered his thought - "eNNam

pugunthu". It is quite that He enters the heart and

thoughts of many people, but in how many is He

actually sweet - "thiththippu". He was present even

in Hiranyakashipu's thought, but there the asura was

filled with bitterness at His thought. Many of us

think of Him but usually for some prayer or to offer

some thanks for something. In how many of us is the

mind sweet just because He is in our thoughts? It is

not enough that He enters our mind, the mind should

also delight in Him.

 

Madhurakavi Azhvar says the same: "niRkap pAdi en

nenjuL niRuththinAn". It is not enough that Azhvar

sings/writes pasurams that stay in my mind, but he

also has to make sure it stays there. It appears

redundant to say niRka and niRuththi. But the

emphasis is that niRka alone is insufficient, he

has to to also do the niRuththi (in a mind as low

as mine).

 

Thiruppanzhvar too says something similar: "ennaith

than vAram Akki vaiththAn, vaiththathu anRi en uL

pugunthAn". It is not enough that He makes me His,

He also has to enter me (so that that karmas do not

come back again).

 

The other way of looking at it is: It is not that the

mind delights in His presence within it. It is He

who delights in the fact that He has entered Azhvar's

mind. That is, "eNNam pugunthu (athanAl) thiththikkum

amudhE". He has found great pleasure in having

secured Azhvar's mind. This is similar to the thought

that Sri Desikar expressed in Munivahana Bhogam about

Thiruppanazhvar's words, "gOra mA thavam seythanan

kol aRiyEn arangaththammAn". While the traditional

interpretation here is that Thiruppanazhvar is

wondering what penance he had done for Him to enter

his mind, Desikar's interpretation is that azhvar is

wondering what penance has He done to get azhvar.

 

Therefore, it is not enough that the sweet nectar

(amudhu) has enetered one's thoughts, but that the

mind as well as Him have delighted in that.

 

These are just adiyEn's ramblings. The correct thing

to do would be to get pUrvacharya's vyakhyanams for

this pasuram and post them.

 

 

adiyEn madhurakavi dAsan

TCA Venkatesan

 

 

--- "M.K.Sudarshan" <sampathkumar_2000 wrote:

>

> Dear friends,

>

> A young of mine has sent me a question for which adiyane

> is unable to

> give a ready response. It is a question related to use of

> Tamil idiom

> and poetic 'rasanai' (flavour) and perhaps knowledgeable

> ones amongst

> you might be able to clarify.

>

> In the TiruvoimOzhi decad on Tiruvengadam, NammAzhwar

> sings as

> follows:

>

> vaNNa maruLkoL aNimEga vaNNaa!* maaya ammaanE,*

> eNNam pugundhu thiththikkum amuthE!* imaiyOr

> athipathiyE,*

> theNNal aruvi maNipon muththalaikkum*

> thiruvENGkadaththaanE,*

> aNNalE! un adisEra* adiyERku aavaa vennaayE! 6.10.3

>

> The phrase "thiththikkum amuthE!", my correspondent says,

> sounds

> rather unusual. "thiththikkum" means "sweet" and "amuthE"

> means

> ambrosia, the divine nectar, the elixir of immortality in

> God's

> world.

>

> Nectar or "amutham" is said to be naturally "sweet"

> ("thiththippu").

> No such thing as a bitter ("kassappu") or sour

> ("puLippu") ambrosia

> exists. In such a case isn't NammAzhwAr's use of the

> adjective

> "thiththikkum" to qualify "amutham" rather redundant or

> tautological

> -- from a strictly literary/grammatical standpoint? It

> sounds a bit

> like saying "O sweetening sugar!".

>

> The AzhwAr might have easily said "eNNam pugundha

> amuthE!" or

> something similar, and still have conveyed the same

> degree of delight

> savoured in the thought of 'tiruvengadatthAn'! Did

> NammAzhwAr add

> "thiththikkum" merely for the purpose of ensuring poetic

> metre/rhyme

> or is there some other subtle message he sought to convey

> through the

> seeming redundancy of phrase?

>

> Comments/views welcome.

>

> Thanking you,

> Regards,

>

> dAsan,

> Sudarshan

 

 

 

 

 

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