Divya Prabandham — Periya:zhva:r Thirumozhi, first dhasakam of the second thirumozhi

Periya:zhva:r Thirumozhi 1.2

பெரியாழ்வார் திருமொழி ௧.௨

Periya:zhva:r (Vishnuciththa)·8th–9th century CE·10 verses·Sung in Ba:lamukunda and Krishna Janma:shtami: observances; Tha:lapa:ka tradition of pa:zh-u:ttu (singing the child to sleep); Periya:zhva:r Thirunakshathram; recited by mothers to their children in Sri:vaishnava households

The full ten-pa:suram dhasakam in which Yasodha: sings to the infant Krishna — the supreme theology of ma:thriva:thsalya in the Samprada:ya. Through Yasodha:'s voice the A:zhva:r teaches that the Lord of all worlds consents to be held as a child by a mother, and that the love of a mother for her child is the same love by which Maha:lakshmi: holds the cosmos. This is the doctrinal foundation by which the Samprada:ya understands Lakshmi:'s maternal aspect.

The first dhasakam of Periya:zhva:r's second thirumozhi — ten pa:surams in which Yasodha: sings lullabies to the infant Krishna — is the supreme theology of ma:thriva:thsalya in the Samprada:ya. Periya:zhva:r (Vishnuciththa), the saint-poet who served the Lord at Sri:villipuththu:r and adopted the foundling A:nda:li as his daughter, composed this dhasakam in the bha:va of Yasodha: a mother holding her child, watching Him sleep, soothing Him with songs, recounting His glories to Him in the small wonderments of a household. The Lord who upholds the cosmos is rocked in a cradle. The hands that wield the Sudarsana Cakra reach for the breast.

The doctrinal weight of this dhasakam in the Sri:vaishnava Samprada:ya is unique. Through Yasodha:'s voice the A:zhva:r establishes that Sri:man Na:ra:yana consents to be held, fed, sung to, and loved by a mother — and the Samprada:ya teaches that the love by which Yasodha: holds Krishna is not different in kind from the love by which Maha:lakshmi: holds the cosmos. The maternal aspect of Lakshmi: — the Mother who softens the Lord's dharma into grace through the purushaka:ra — is given its most concrete devotional embodiment here. Every Sri:vaishnava mother who has rocked her infant to sleep in the rhythm of these pa:surams has enacted the same theology. The complete dhasakam with Periyava:cca:n Pililiai's vya:khya:na is available through the external sources linked below.

Tamil·Always shownIAST·Always shownతెలుగు · Telugu·Always shown

Periya:zhva:r Thirumozhi 1.2.1

வண்ண மாடங்கள் சூழ் திருக்கோட்டியூர் கண்ணன் கேசவன் நம்பி பிறந்தினில் எண்ணெய் சுண்ணம் எதிரெதிர் தூவிடக் கண்ணன் முற்றம் கலந்தளறாயிற்றே

తెలుగు · Telugu

రంగురంగుల మేడలతో చుట్టబడిన తిరుక్కోట్టియూరిలో, కణ్ణన్ — కేశవుడు, పరమపూర్ణుడు — జన్మించిన నాడు, నూనెయు సుగంధ చూర్ణమును ఎదురెదురుగా చల్లబడెను; కణ్ణన్ యొక్క ప్రాంగణము పండుగ బురదతో నిండిపోయెను.

English

In Thirukko:ttiyu:r girt with colourful mansions, on the day Kannan — Kesava, the Perfect One — was born, oil and fragrant turmeric-powder were flung from every side; the courtyard of Kannan became a slush of festival mire.

Meaning

Periya:zhva:r opens the decad by anchoring Krishna's birth in the Dhivyadhesa of Thirukko:ttiyu:r — for the A:zhva:r, the Lord's avatha:ra is not a remote Vraja-event but happens in his own land. The whole town rejoices; the streets are slick with the oil and turmeric of household celebration. The Samprada:ya reads the verse as the proclamation that the Lord's birth is for His devotees: He is born wherever they are. The Mother's role is already implicit — it is for the go:pi:s and for Yasodha: that He has come.

Periya:zhva:r Thirumozhi 1.2.2

ஓடுவார் விழுவார் உகந்தாலிப்பார் நாடுவார் நம்பிரான் எங்குற்றான் என்பார் பாடுவார்களும் பல்பறை கொட்ட நின் றாடுவார்களும் ஆயிற்றாய்ப்பாடியே

తెలుగు · Telugu

కొందరు పరుగెత్తుచున్నారు, కొందరు పడిపోవుచున్నారు, కొందరు ఆనందముతో కేకలు వేయుచున్నారు, కొందరు 'మన ప్రభువు ఎక్కడ ఉన్నాడు?' అని వెదకుచు అడుగుచున్నారు; కొందరు పాడుచున్నారు, పెక్కు భేరీల తాళమునకు మరికొందరు నిలబడి నాట్యమాడుచున్నారు — అట్లయ్యెను ఆయర్పాడి.

English

Some go running, some fall down, some lift their voices in joyful clamour, some search and ask 'Where, oh where is our Lord?'; some sing, and to the beat of many drums others stand and dance — such did A:yarpa:di become.

Meaning

The verse paints the chaos of pure joy that breaks out when the news of the Lord's birth spreads through the cowherd settlement. Some run, some fall, some search, some sing, some dance — there is no order, only a:nanda. The Samprada:ya reads this as the natural condition of the devotee at the news of the Lord's manifestation: structure dissolves, and only the search and the song remain. Where the Lord is, no one keeps composure.

Periya:zhva:r Thirumozhi 1.2.3

பேணிச் சீர் உடைப் பிள்ளை பிறந்தினில் காணத் தாம் புகுவார் புக்குப் போதுவார் ஆணொப் பார் இவன் நேர் நிகர் இல்லை காண் நாணித் தாம் மகிழ்ந்து நாள் கழிந்தனரே

తెలుగు · Telugu

ఆ సుందరమైన ముద్దుబిడ్డ జన్మించినపుడు, దర్శించుటకు జనులు తండోపతండములుగా వచ్చిరి — లోనికి వెళ్లి, బైటకు వచ్చిరి; 'ఈతనికి సాటి యెవరును లేరు, పోలికయే లేదు — చూడుడు!'; సిగ్గుపడుచు, ఆనందించుచు, పూర్తి దినమును గడిపిరి.

English

On the birth of the splendid lovingly-cherished Child, people throng to see Him — they enter, and they go out again; 'there is no man on earth to equal Him, no peer at all — see!'; abashed, yet rejoicing, they let the whole day pass.

Meaning

The villagers cannot leave: they enter the inner room to see the Child, are overwhelmed, step out, and come back again. Their only word is the praise that He has no equal. The Samprada:ya reads the verse as the doctrinal point that to see the Lord even once is to be unable to leave Him — the going-out is only to gather courage to come in again. The phrase 'no peer' (ne:r nikar illai) names paratva: His unmatched supremacy is recognized even in the smallest infant form.

Periya:zhva:r Thirumozhi 1.2.4

உறியை முற்றத்து உருட்டி நின்று ஆடுவார் நறுநெய் பால் தயிர் நன்றாகத் தூவுவார் செறி மென் கூந்தல் அவிழத் திளைத்து எங்கும் பொறி கொள் மேனி புழுதி அணிந்தனரே

తెలుగు · Telugu

వారు ఆవరణములో ఉఱి (పెరుగు-పాలు వ్రేలాడు పాత్ర)ని పొర్లించి అక్కడే నాట్యమాడుచున్నారు; సుగంధ నేయి, పాలు, పెరుగును దోసిళ్ళతో చల్లుచున్నారు; దట్టమైన మెత్తని కురులు విడిపోవ ఉత్సాహముతో మునిగి, తలనుండి కాలి వరకు లక్షణముగల వారి దేహములు దుమ్ముతో అలంకరింపబడుచున్నవి.

English

They roll the hanging-pot down the courtyard and stand there dancing; they fling fragrant ghee, milk and curd in handfuls; their thick soft tresses come loose as they revel, and from head to foot their fair-marked bodies are clothed in dust.

Meaning

The whole village reenacts the Lord's later butter-stealing play even on the day of His birth — already the uri (the hanging pot of dairy) is rolling on the ground, already milk and curd are being scattered. The Samprada:ya reads this as the prophetic anticipation of the entire Vraja-li:la:: the moment the Lord is born, the li:la: has already begun. The dust on their bodies is itself a tilaka — they wear the dust of Vraja, which is in the Samprada:ya a higher ornament than any jewel.

Periya:zhva:r Thirumozhi 1.2.5

கையும் காலும் நிமிர்த்துக் கடார நீர் பையவாட்டிப் பசுஞ்சிறு மஞ்சளால் ஐய நாவழித்தாளுக்கு அங்காந்திட வையம் ஏழும் கண்டாள் பிள்ளை வாயுளே

తెలుగు · Telugu

చేతులు కాళ్ళు చాచి, వెచ్చని జలముగల పాత్రలో మృదువుగా స్నానము చేయించి, పచ్చి పసుపుతో ఆయన నాలుకను శుభ్రపరచుటకై ఆయన నోరు తెరచినపుడు — ఓ సఖీ, ఆ తల్లి ఆ బిడ్డ నోటిలో ఏడు లోకములను దర్శించెను.

English

Stretching out His hands and feet, gently bathing Him in the basin of warm water, with a little fresh turmeric she set about to clean His tongue; when, my lady, He opened His mouth wide for her — she saw all seven worlds within the Child's mouth.

Meaning

This is one of the most loved verses of the decad — the Tamil parallel to the famous Bha:gavatha episode of Yasodha: seeing the universe in Krishna's mouth. Yasodha: treats Him as a child (washing Him, cleaning His tongue with turmeric), but the moment He opens His mouth the seven worlds are visible. The Samprada:ya reads this as the supreme teaching of saulabhya-with-paratva: He is fully a baby and fully the support of all worlds at once. Both truths are simultaneous; neither cancels the other.

Periya:zhva:r Thirumozhi 1.2.6

வாயுள் வையகம் கண்ட மடநல்லார் ஆயர் புத்திரன் அல்லன் அருந்தெய்வம் பாய சீர் உடைப் பண்பின் பெருமையன் மாயன் என்று மகிழ்ந்தனர் மங்கையே

తెలుగు · Telugu

ఆయన నోటిలో లోకమును దర్శించిన ఆ సుందర-స్వభావముగల స్త్రీలు పలికిరి: 'ఇతడు గోపపుత్రుడు కాడు — దుర్లభమైన పరదైవమే, ఉప్పొంగు ప్రభావముగల, అగమ్యగుణ ప్రముఖుడైన, విస్మయకరుడైన మాయుడు' — అని ఓ సఖీ ఆనందించిరి.

English

The gracious women who had seen the world within His mouth said: 'This is no cowherd's son — He is the rare God Himself, the One of overflowing splendour, of greatness of nature beyond reach, the Wondrous Ma:yan' — and so they rejoiced, O my lady.

Meaning

The cowherd women, having seen the universe within His mouth, immediately recognize Him as the Supreme — 'no cowherd's son, but the rare God.' Yet the Samprada:ya notes: even with this recognition, they continue to treat Him as their child. This is the secret of va:thsalya — even after paratva is seen, the relationship of mother-and-child is not given up. Yasodha: does not stop bathing Him because she has seen the worlds in His mouth; she bathes Him all the more lovingly.

Periya:zhva:r Thirumozhi 1.2.7

பத்து நாளும் கடந்த இரண்டாம் நாள் எத் திசையும் சயம் கொள் பணிலங்கள் கொத்தலர் பூங்குழலார் கொடி தோன்றிட வைத்தனர் பேர் இவன் நம்பி கேசவன்

తెలుగు · Telugu

పదవ దినము గడిచిన మరునాడు — పన్నెండవ నాడు — అన్ని దిక్కులలో జయ-శంఖములు మ్రోగగా, పూగుత్తులు ధరించిన కురులు గల స్త్రీలు ధ్వజమువలె నిలువగా, వారు ఈ నామమును ఇచ్చిరి: 'ఇతడు నంబి — పరిపూర్ణుడు — కేశవుడు.'

English

On the day past the tenth — the twelfth — when victorious conches sounded from every quarter and the cluster-flowered tresses of the women rose like banners, they bestowed on Him this name: 'He is the Perfect One — Kesava.'

Meaning

The verse names the na:makarana-samska:ra — the naming ceremony on the twelfth day. The name chosen is Kesava — the slayer of Kesin, but in deeper Vedic reading 'He of beautiful hair,' and in Vaishnava reading the One who is 'Ka' (Brahma:), 'I:sa' (Siva), and the Inner Lord of both. The Samprada:ya values this verse for placing the Lord's most ancient Vedic name on the lips of a cowherd village: the supreme name and the smallest household samska:ra are one act.

Periya:zhva:r Thirumozhi 1.2.8

ஆதலால் பெற்றனம் காண் இவ் வையகம் நாதனும் நிற்க நாம் தோன்றினோம் என்று காதலால் தம் கணவனைக் கைத் தொழுது ஏதம் இல் இன்னுரை யாலெதிர் கொண்டாரே

తెలుగు · Telugu

'కావున — చూడుడు! — ఈ సర్వలోకము మనకు లభించెను: సర్వనాథుడిచ్చటనే యుండగా, మనమును ఉద్భవించితిమి' అని ప్రేమతో, స్త్రీలు తమ భర్తలను చేతులు జోడించి నమస్కరించి, దోషరహితమైన మధురవచనములతో స్వాగతించిరి.

English

'Therefore — see! — we have obtained this world: while the Lord of all is here, we ourselves have come into being'; with love, the women bowed with folded hands to their husbands and welcomed them home with sweet flawless words.

Meaning

The women now articulate the theological meaning of the birth: 'because the Lord of all is here with us, we ourselves have come into being.' Their existence, they say, is constituted by His presence. The Samprada:ya reads this as the most exact statement of seshathva: the soul exists only because the Lord exists, and the soul's worth is the Lord's presence in it. The household scene — wives greeting husbands — becomes the small theatre in which this metaphysical truth is enacted.

Periya:zhva:r Thirumozhi 1.2.9

நந்தன் பெற்றனன் நல்ல மகனைப் என்று நந்தர் ஆயர் எல்லாரும் நலம் கொளப் புந்தி யால் பெருந்தேவன் பிறந்தினில் அந்தம் இல் சீர் அயோத்திக் கணியனே

తెలుగు · Telugu

'నందునకు సుపుత్రుడు లభించెను!' అని పలికి, గోప వృద్ధులు, గోపులు అందరును ఆనందించిరి; తన ఇష్టముననే ఆ మహాదేవుడు అవతరించినపుడు, అనంత-యశోశోభితమైన అయోధ్యకు ఆయన మణియయ్యెను.

English

'Nandan has obtained a good son!' — saying so, the cowherd elders and all the gopas rejoiced; when by His own will the great God was born, He became the very jewel of endless-glorious Ayodhya:.

Meaning

Periya:zhva:r here links Krishna's birth in Vraja to Ra:ma's birth in Ayodhya: — both are the same Lord, and the joy of Nandagopa is one with the joy of Dhasaratha. This is the Samprada:ya doctrine that all avatha:ras are one Lord. The phrase 'by His own will' (punthiya:l) is doctrinally heavy: His birth is not karma-driven like an ordinary ji:va's; it is His own sankalpa, His free descent for His devotees.

Periya:zhva:r Thirumozhi 1.2.10

வண்ண மாடங்கள் சூழ் திருக்கோட்டியூர் கண்ணன் கேசவன் நம்பி பிறந்தமை எண்ணெய் சுண்ணம் எதிரெதிர் தூவிட அண்ணல் விட்டுசித்தன் சொல் இவை பத்துமே

తెలుగు · Telugu

రంగు-రంగుల మేడలతో చుట్టబడిన తిరుక్కోట్టియూరిలో కణ్ణన్ — కేశవ నంబి — జన్మించినపుడు నూనెయు పసుపు చూర్ణమును ఎదురెదురుగా చల్లబడిన ఆ సన్నివేశమునకు సంబంధించిన ఈ పది మాటలు ఉత్తముడైన విష్ణుచిత్తుని (పెరియాళ్వారు) యొక్కవి.

English

Of the birth in Thirukko:ttiyu:r girt with colourful mansions of Kannan — Kesava, the Perfect One — when oil and turmeric-powder were flung from every side: these are the ten words of the noble Vishnuciththa (Periya:zhva:r).

Meaning

The phala-sruthi pa:suram. Periya:zhva:r signs the decad with his own name (Vishnuciththa — 'one whose mind is fixed on Vishnu'), declares the locus (Thirukko:ttiyu:r), the deity (Kannan–Kesava–Nampi), and the occasion (the birth-day with its oil and turmeric). The Samprada:ya regards these signature pa:surams as themselves charged with phala: to recite them is to enter the decad and receive its bhakti. The A:zhva:r's name on the verse is a guarantee that the bha:va is authentic and the fruit is assured.

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