Bhakti List Archives

nAcciyAr tirumozhi III-kaNNan's vastrApaharaNam 5

From the Bhakti List Archives

Kalyani Krishnamachari • Thu Aug 13 1998 - 21:26:27 PDT 


                                         SrI:
                SrI ANDAL samEta SrI rangamannAr tiruvaDigaLE SaraNam

                   nAcciyAr tirumozhi III-kaNNan's vastrApaharaNam 
              pAsuram 3.5 (third tirumozhi - pAsuram 5 kAlaik kaduviDuginra)


A. Translation from SrImAn SaDagOpan's tamizh treatise:

"Oh dark-hued  kaNNA!  Since you took away all our clothes and are 
sitting on the tree, we are not able to come out of this cold water.  The 
small and big fishes in the pond are biting our legs and bothering us.   
If our brothers learn about the mischief you are doing to us, they will rush
here with spears in their hands to punish you. Just imagine what all 
your childish pranks will lead to.  Please give us our clothes and save us 
from the biting of the fishes".

kAlaik kaduviDuginra kayaloDu vALai viravi
  vElaip piDittu en-aimArgaL OTTil enna viLaiyATTO?
kOlac-ciRRADai palavum koNDu nI ERi irAdE
 kOlam-kariya pirAnE! kurundiDaik kURai paNiyAi

B. Some additional thoughts:

"You came running (without even caring for the proper parivAram and 
paraphernalia), to save the elephant when a crocodile snatched his leg.  Now, 
we are being hurt by fish" the girls try to appeal to His kind heart, thinking 
that mentioning the fish nibbling at their feet will ring a bell for Him.
When an elephant was caught by the foot by a crocodile, He did not wait 
for sEnai mudaliyAr to give a helping hand to get on to the vAhanam, and 
did not care to wear maNi pAdukA-s that He normally wears on His feet etc., 
but rushed out to help in a hurry  - (atantrita-camUpati-prahita-hastam, 
asvIkr*ta-praNIta- maNipAdukam).  "When my Asrita bhaktA elephant is praying 
to me with his hurt foot, I should not be worrying about My hands and feet" - 
thinking thus, He rushed to save the elephant.  So, godai tries to remind Him 
of such a plight for them, by pointing out that now it is not one but a 
multitude of these fish that are hurting them.

In addition to pleading with Him and praising Him, the girls also try to 
threaten Him simultaneously by pointing out that if He does not return 
their clothes, He will end up suffering at the hands of their brothers 
worse than they are suffering at His hands right now.  [SrI PVP]


sarvam SrIman nArAyaNAyEti samarpayAmi.

adiyEn,
Kalyani Krishnamachari
(kkrishnamachari@lucent.com)