Re. ThoNdaradippodi paasuram

From the Bhakti List Archives

• May 5, 1995


Hello,
        This is just a thought. i looked at this in a different view with
the tamil printout (from prabandam.zip) in my hand. The context of this 
pasuram should be understood first. i read the paasurams before and after this
the general context is this: He addresses those who do not follow god, 
those who got caught in the ocean called life cycle, those who care for 
siRRiNnbam, those who follow budhha and samaNa madhams... and tells them abt
thiruvaraNGgam ...
i have lost touch and i dont know the meanings of "uralum, aNavum, miNdar.."
those of u who still have touch , please write about them. i am really interested
to know the full meaning of the paasuram. 
I may be wrong in my explanation. please correct me. lets share the thoughts

aNnbudaNn 
vijayaraaghavaNn.

... from vaidehi's mail..

Look at the poem split in its words like this:

(and bringing the last two lines as address:)

miNdar paaynNthuNNum cORRai
vilakki naaykku idum miNnNneerE!

Oh ladies having a waistline like lightning (miNnNneerE) [and
they are further
qualified thus] and who will feed the dogs food keeping some for
the beggars

> it is "vilakkinaayk kidumi NneerE".  There is only one Nn. In this context
>it is used as an address to a group of people (idumiNneerE). One can cite 
>several examples like this. In periya thirumozhi 1 paththu, 7th paasuram , 
>i think "iRpiRap paRiyeer ivaravar eNnNneer iNnNnathOr thaNnmayeNnRuNareer"
> this is split as   (this is actually addressed to the poets who just sing 
>in praise of kings and forget GOD)
>iRpiRappu aRiyeer =  you people dont know their bad deeds/qualities(iRpiRappu)
>ivar avar eNnNneer= u compare their greatness with many other great people
> iNnNnathOr thaNnmai eNnRu uNareer = u dont know their actual behaviour/character
> (thaNnmai).. in all these the aRiyeer, eNnNneer, uNareer .. it is just 
>plurality. similarly idumiNneerE just means those who feed. i am not sure 
>whether it has any reference to ladies' waistline

> miNdar paaynNdhuNNum cORRai
> "vilakki" naayk kidumiNneerE
> if "miNdaar" means beggars( i really dont know) then this one says vilakki
>naaykku idumiNneerE which means denying the cORu(rice) to those miNdaars and 
>feeding the dogs.

who will grab the food [literal meaning is rice and quite often
synonymously
used] [ this also qualifies the very good hearted people of
Thiruvarangam
and its prosperity - when people take into account while cooking
to provide
for people in need and animals that depend on humans for their
survival-a
very typical scenario in southern cities] listen! [ again there
is no explicit word
word for this but implied]

vaNdiNnam uruLum sOlai

> it is "vaNdiNnam uralum sOlai" i dont know the exact meaning of uralum. 
>it may probably, based on context, close to " ulavum" or amarum"....
>not very sure

[begins to describe the sprawling groves- a group of fragrant
flowering
trees and shrubs with birds singing etc., was typically associted
with a
'sOlai']

where the bee species hum all day
[note that he did not say a single bee - which indicates bees
swarming the
grove for its flowers in plenty]

mayiliNnam aadum sOlai 

where the peacocks dance happily
[I think the word is aadum and this is the interpretation. If it
is aadum

if it is aalum sOlai, it means where the peacocks reign, once
> it is aalum. if it had been aaLum it means reign. this is not. the sound
> of a peacock is "mayil agavum". since the next line is kuyiliNnam koovum
> this could be a thiribu of agavum...

again indicative
of a rich and glowing grove ]

koNdal meeNn thazhuvum sOlai

where the fish would love to embrace
[normally these groves have some ponds or fresh water lakes
surrounding them
or in them]
[if it is koNdal meeNn thaNavum sOlai, I'm not very sure of the
meaning for
the later part]
> it is "koNdalmee thaNavum sOlai"
> koNdal means hill.  if this is split as koNdal meeNn thazhuvum..
>meeNn + thazhuvum => Nn+tha => wont the "tha"garam change to "Ra"garam ?
> as in uNn+thaNn = uNnRaNn. 
> koNdalmee thaNavum sOlai may probably mean koNdal meethu amaikkapeRRa sOlai
> or something close to it..

kuyiliNnam koovum sOlai

where the nightingales constantly sing

aNdarkONn amarum sOlai
where the King of kings resides

aNi thiruvaraNGka meNnNnaa
is an exquisite neclace for this place called Thiruvarangam.


Vaidehi V. Raja






-- 
Vijayaraghavan T. R.
viji@coe.wvu.edu