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Offensive verses

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Parthasarati Dileepan • March 20, 1996 


I started this when a friend requested a word-for-word translation
of the two verses Badri criticized.  As I prepared the translation I
realized that the verses did not appear offensive to me.  But then it
is in the eyes of the beholder.  If one chooses to view these as
offensive, then they probably will appear as such.  See for
yourself.


-- pd

p.s.  The meanings I have provided below contain some technical
details about which I have no knowledge.  I am just reproducing
them here.


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Ramanuja 100 anthaathi Verse No. 99:
------------------------------------
thaRkach samaNarum saakkiyap pEykaLum thaazsadaiyOn
soRkaRRa sOmbarum sooniya vaatharum naanmaRaiyum
niRkak kuRumpusey neesarum maaNdanar neeNilaththE
poRkaR pakam em iraamaa Nnusamuni pOnthapinnE.


thaRkach samaNarum      : Jains given to empty arguments

saakkiyap pEykaLum      :  Sankyaas (Bhuddists) who
                           contest their guru Bhuddha, thus
                           pEy (demons) [1]

thaazhsadaiyOn soRkaRRa :  Those who follow the agamaas
sOmbarum                   of Sivan; they are sOmbar
                           (lazy) because they do not bother
                           to understand Siva's limitations

sooniya vaatharum       :  Sankyaas who do not contest
                           Bhuddha (as opposed to the other
                           Sankyas mentioned above)

naanmaRaiyum niRkak     :  The ignoble who accept
kuRumbusey neesarum        vEdhaas, but misinterpret them

maaNdanar neeNilaththE  :  (All the above mentioned) died,
                           i.e. vanquished from this earth

poR kaRpakam em iraamaa : after our Paarijaatha --
nusamuni pOnthapinnE      Ramanuja, appeared


[1] The commentary by Uththamoor Sri Veeraraghavaachaari lists
four groups of followers of Bhudda, True Sankyas, Yogaacharan,
Sowdhrandhigan,  and Vaibhashikan.  Except for the true Sankyas,
the other three, it seems, contested and modified Bhuddhas
teachings.  For this reason, Uththammor Swamy says, Amudhanaar
characterized them as demons.  Let me anticipate a question and
add that Sri Ramanuja left Yadavaprakasa and became a disciple
of the disciples of Alavandhaar.
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Thondaradippodi aazhvaar's Thirumaalai, verse No. 8:
----------------------------------------------------
VeRuppodu samaNar muNdar vithiyilsaak kiyargaL, ninpaal
poRuppari yanagaL pEsil pOvathE nOya thaaki
kuRippenak kadaiyu maakil  koodumEl thalaiyai aangE,
aRuppathE karumam kaNdaay  arankamaa nakaru LaanE!


VeRuppodu samaNar        : Resentful (of accepting our Lord)
muNdar                     Jains

vithiyil saakkiyargaL    : Sankyas who reject divinity

ninpaal                  : about you (my Lord)

poRuppari yanagaL pEsil  : if they talk unbearable ills

pOvathE nOya thaaki      : that in and of itself is a disease;

kuRippenak adaiyu maakil : if I get a chance
koodumEl

thalaiyai aangE,         : I shall make it my duty to cut
aRuppathE karumam          their (Jains and Sankyas
kaNdaay                    mentioned above) heads off
                           (figuratively, of course,  and
                           relieve them of their disease
                           mentioned above)

arankamaa nakaru LaanE!  : O! Lord of Sri Rangam.

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