mAnamarum

mAnamarum

Two women speak of the glories of His qualities: He is easy to approach yet He is unapproachable

emberumAn has two guNas—paratva and soulaBya. He is full of soulaBya for the sake of His aDiyArs who seek His tiruvaDi. He is full of paratva in His capacity to fulfill their desires, and in removing the obstacles. Though tirumangai AzhwAr has enjoyed both His guNas he speaks here through the mouth of a women each taking one guNa of His.

1. mAn amarum men nOkki vaidEvi in tuNaiyA
kAn amarum kalladar pOi kADu uraindAn kANEDee |
kAn amarum kalladar pOi kADu urainda ponnaDihaL
vAnavar tam Sennimalar kaNDAi SAzhalE || One ||

The first girl speaks of His soulaBya in the first two lines and the second girl speaks of paratva in the next two lines.

Oh! Friend! You always say He is the Lord! He is uBaya viBooti nAtha etc., But look at His fate? He has to be born as the son of daSaratha, lose His kingdom, take His wife and brother to the forest, walk along the stony paths, fight for her sake with rAkShasas. If what you say is true shouldn’t He remain in paramapada, with His queen, ruling over the uBaya viBootis? Why should He suffer? Is suffering a mark of paratva?

The second girl replies—‘Oh! Friend! you are ignorant. you should know that paratva combined with soulaBya is the greatest of all guNas. you talk of His going to forest ‘kAnamarum kalladarpOi kAduraiyum kAlattu’ as something very stupid and mean. But for Him, who could have done siShTa paripAlana and duShTa nigraha by His mere sankalpa to come down to earth and behave like a human reveals His concern for His Baktas for whose sake He is angry at their enemies He troubles Himself to come and seek them personally (coming to the forest) and kill their foes. This is mahAguNa.

2. tandai taLai kazhala tOnripOi AippADi
nandan kulamadalaiyAi vaLarndAn kANEDee |
nandan kulamadalaiyAi vaLarndAn nAnmuharku
tandai kAN endai perumAn kAN SAzhalE || Two||

Oh! Friend! your kaNNan is born in the jail as the son of vasudEva and grew up as nandagOpa’s son in AyarpADi as a shepherd boy. In either case His birth and growth are not praise worthy.

‘Oh! Friend Don’t you know He who is born in the jail of madura and grew up in the shepherd race of nandagOpa is the father of even the creator brahma. He is our supreme Lord too.

3. Azh kaDal Soozh vaiyahattAr EsappOi AippADi
tAzh kuzhalAr vaitta tayir uNDAn kANEDee |
tAzh kuzhalAr vaitta tayir uNDa pon vayiru iv
vEzhulaham uNDum iDam uDaittAl SAzhalE || Three ||

‘Oh! Friend! Didn’t He steal butter, curd etc., in Aichchis houses? Wasn’t He criticized and scolded by all the AyarpADi women? Isn’t He like an ordinary men behaving in this manner? How can He be sarvESwara avApta samasta kAman? (who has all desires fulfilled)

Oh! Friend! you are wrong. He certainly is avApta samasta kAman. It is true He stole butter etc., and ate them all. But any other human being would not be able to eat so much and swallow all the worlds too. His very act of eating so much and all the worlds show Him to be sarvESwara. ‘kArEzh kaDalEzh malaiyEzh ulahuNDu’. Even then His stomach has space to take more. His stealing and eating butter is only to show He is fond of His dAsas and the objects of His Baktas. He is that sulaBa even though He is paramAtma.

4. ariyAdArkku AnAyan AhippOi AippADi
uriyAr naruveNNei uNDuhandAn kANEDee |
uriyAr naruveNNei uNDuhanda pon vayiTTrukku
erineer ulahanaittum eidAdAl SAzhalE || Four ||

Oh! Friend! As a shepherd boy, born in the race of shepherds, He rejoiced eating curds etc., stored in ‘uris’. It is said the shepherds are very ignorant people, ignorant of even day to day affairs. ‘iDakkaiyum valakkaiyum kooDa ariyamATTAda kulam’. Why should He be born in that race and steal like a thief? (ariyAdArku AyanAhi pOi)

‘Oh! Friend! He is sarvESwara no doubt. Even after eating all the worlds He has space enough to contain more. These worlds occupy only a small portion of His stomach!’

5. vaNNakkarunguzhal AichchiyAl mottuNDu
kaNNikkurum kayiTTrAl kaTTuNDAn kANEDee |
kaNNikkurum kayiTTrAl kaTTuNDAn Ahilum
eNNarkariyan imaiyOrkkum SAzhalE || Five ||

‘Oh! Friend! He was beaten by yaSOda for having stolen butter and breaking the pots. He was then bound by a knotted short rope like a thief’.

‘Oh! Friend! Even if He was bound by a shepherd woman, He is the one who cannot be even thought of by brahmAdi dEvas! Even vEdas say ‘yatO vAchO nivantantE aprApya manasA sah’

6. kanrapparai karanga kaNDavar tamkaNkaLippa
manril marakkAl koottu ADinAn kANEDee |
manril marakkAl koottu ADinAn Ahilum
enrum ariyan imaiyOrkkum SAzhalE || Six ||

Oh! Friend! Look at your kriShNa whom you call paramESwara, He played marakkAl koottu in the streets for all the AyarpADi folks to see! He is acting like a cheap juggler!’

‘Oh! Friend! i agree He played kuDakkoottu and marakkAl koottu in the streets of AyarpADi. But you know He is difficult even for dEvas to reach! He is not an ordinary shepherd boy ‘imaiyOrkkum enrum ariyan’.

marakkAl koottu—some interpret as—it is similar to kuDakkoottu. Instead of pots they play with several sticks throwing them in the air and catching them. periyavAchchAn piLLai interprets as—it is an act of jugglery where sticks are fixed to the ground, one has to climb on them, standing on toes on top of the sticks dance skillfully at a height.

7. kOdaivEl aivarkkAi maN ahalam kooriDuvAn
toodanAi mannavanAl SolluNDAn kANEDee |
toodanAi mannavanAl SolluNDAn Ahilum
Odaneer vaiyaham mun uNDumizhndAn || Seven ||

Oh! Friend! If, as you say, He is paramapuruSha, He should not be acting as a messenger doing mean errands for the pANDavas and getting insulted, thereby, by duryOdanAdis.

Oh! Friend! you are wrong. It is He who is the sarvakAraNa and sarva rakShaka, the final sAkShi (witness) that went as a messenger! you look at His soulaBya guNa as an inferior quality.

kOdai—The garland worn by kings though the pANDavas were not kings when kriShNa was sent as a messenger, they deserve to be kings. Hence AzhwAr says ‘kOdai vEl aivarkkAi’.

8. pAr mannar mangappaDaitoTTu venjamattu
tEr mannarkAi anru tEr oorndAn kANEDee |
tEr mannarkAi anru tEr oorndAn Ahilum
tAr mannar tangaL talaimElAn SAzhalE || Eight ||

‘Oh! Friend! He whom you call sarvESwara is neither a trusted person nor a dignified one. Didn’t He break His promise of not using weapon in the war by taking an arm and running towards BeeShma? Didn’t He drove the chariot of arjuna as an ordinary driver?’

‘Oh! Friend! you are wrong. He decorates the heads of all the victorious proud kings. He took to arms and drove the chariot out of love towards His friend and Bakta not out of necessity’.

9. kaNDAr iranga kazhiya kuraLuruvAi
vaNtArAn vELviyil maN irandAn kANEDee |
vaNtArAn vELviyil maN irandAn Ahilum
viNDu Ezh ulahukkum mikkAn kaN SAzhalE || Nine ||

‘Oh! Friend! He whom you call puruShOttama came to the great king mahAbali’s yAgaSAla in order to beg a piece of land!’

‘Oh! Friend! He came as vAmana in order to beg three piece of land from mahAbali an asura, but measured them as trivikrama all the lower and upper worlds with just two feet.

In fact He is the causeless cause and parAtpara who came to beg His own land for the sake of indra who requested Him to do so.

10. kaLLattAl mAvaliyai moovaDimaN koNDaLandAn
veLLattAn vEngaDattAn enbarAl kANEDee |
veLLattAn vEngaDattAnElum kalikanri
uLLattin uLLE uLan kaNDAi SAzhalE || Ten ||

‘Oh! Friend! your BagavAn is a cheat! He cheated mahAbali coming as vAmana, begged three feet of land, and measured it by as trivikrama. Moreover He is in tiruppArkaDal, where we cannot go and in tirumalai where it is difficult to go?

‘Oh! Friend! you know very little about Him. Perhaps as you say He is difficult t o approach in tiruppArkaDal and tirumalai. But He is sarva sulaBa who comes where we are if only we surrender to Him. Didn’t He come to tirumangai AzhwAr’s heart?’