Kanninun Siruththambu - 2

From the Bhakti List Archives

• July 25, 2002


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



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