based on the vyakhyanam of Sri Periyavaccan Pillai
by Smt Sumithra Varadarajan

Paasuram-26
"pOdellam pOdhukondu vunponnadi punaiyamAttEn
theedhilAmozhigal kondu vunthirukkunam seppamAttEn
kAdalAl nenjam anbhu kalandhilEn, adhuthannAlE
AdhilEn arangarkku EllE! EnseivAn thOndrinEnE?"

pOdellam pOdhukondu vunponnadi punaiyamAttEn: We should do kainkaryam to bhagavan with all three karanAs, viz., mano, vak, kAyam. Adhisesha does kainkaryam to bhagavan at all times. Poigaialwar says, "sendral kudaiyam erundhal sinhAsanamam nindral maravadiyam neelkadalul endrum punaiyam manivillakkAm poompattAm pulgum anaiyam thirumArvukku aravu"(when emperuman goes somewhere, adhisesha becomes his umbrella like in krishnAvatara, if perumal sits he becomes the throne as in vaikundam, and if bhagavan stands then adhisesha is his paduka as in thiruvallikeni Sri Venkatakrishnan stands on adhisesha, when emperuman lies in parkadal as vyuha moorthi adhisesha is his bed). When emperuman took rAmAvataram adhishesha became lakshmana who did all services,"aham sarvam karishyAmi jAgradaha svapathaschathE". Nammazhvar says, "ozhivil kAlamellAm vudanAi manni vazhuvilA adimai seiya vEndum nAm"(alwar here requests perumal for kainkaryam at all times, being along with him). In this paasuram thondaradi podi alwar says 'I am not used to do what iam supposed to do. I do not do service to your divine feet at all times'. Though alwar was involved in pushpa kainkaryam to bhagavan always still he talks out of his naichyam.

theedhilAmozhigal kondu vunthirukkunam seppamAttEn: First alwar talked about the physical kainkaryam (kAyika kainkaryam). The second type of thondu is to talk the kalyana gunas of bhagavan. Even when they are physically drained out or not well bhagavatas get utmost enthusiasm if they are asked to say bhagavat gunam. Our mouth should always utter only the bhagavan nAmA and his kalyana gunas. Thondaradi podi alwar says that he will not talk about the bhagavan with sweet words. Can we really believe it after having so much divine anubhavams from his thirumaalai prabhandam? He first did pushpa kainkaryam to bhagavan and seated him in a beautiful swing, decorated with beautiful and sweet smelling flowers. Now that perumal is enjoying the lAlli of the swing, alwar started to sing in his sweet voice the thirumaalai, a garland made of mesmerizing words. Probably perumal started sleeping due to the swing's movement and the sweet song of alwar so alwar then sang the next prabandam thirupalliyezhuchi to wake perumal up. Still alwar says he is not satisfied with his vachika kainkaryam to make us all understand the importance of the kainkaryam. Alwar also tells us how we should do this kainkaryam. We have to talk the bhagavat gunam. The talk should never be made on our own instead we have to follow what our elders and sastras say("pEsittrE pEsalallAl"). Only those are 'theedhilAmozhigal' (flawless words). Sri ManavAla Mamunigal in his Upadesa ratina mAlai beautifully says, "munnOr mozhindha murai thappAmal kEttu pinnOrindhu thAm adhanai pEsAdhE than nenjil thondriyadhe solli edhu suththa upadEsa varthai enbar moorkarAvAr "(One who doesn't follow his poorvacharyas words and says whatever comes to his mind and declares that to be authoritative is not to be considered a sadhoo, he is a moorkan). So theedhila mozhigal, those taught to us by our acharyas should be always kept in mind and the same has to be told to others. Our words reflect our mind. If our mind is full of kama, krOdha and lowkika vishayams then we talk the same. But bhagavatas are constantly thinking about the kalyana gunas of bhagavan and hence even if they sit amongst a group of lowkikas still they talk only bhagavat vishayam, passed on along the guru paramparai. If we consider ourselves to be very knowledgeable and start talking what ever comes to our mind then we thereby misguide the masses so before talking or doing upanyasam we have to get ourselves trained under a good acharya. Krishna is geetha says, "thath vidhdhi pranepAthEna pariprashnEna sEvaya! UpadEkshanthi thE jnanam jnaninas-thathvadarsinaha:!! (4.34) . Actually there are so many collections made by our poorvAcharyas that even for learning all those one janma is not enough so why try to make new ones.

kAdalAl nenjam anbhu kalandhilEn, adhuthannAlE: Emperuman has divine kalyana gunas(thirukgunam). Only our mouth is impure. Still if we have the love and devotion in our minds then the utterance of the bhagavat kalyana gunas purifies our whole body. Emperuman cherished nAmmazhvar's thirumEni so much, because it was that mouth which sang thiruvaimozhi, that he wanted alwar to come to moksha along with the body. So bhagavat gunam is capable of making us so sacrad. Periazhvar says, "vakku thooimai ellAmayinAlE mAdhavA! vunnai vai kolla mAttEn". But he didn't stop with this he still continued his vachika kainkaryam since it is his svaroopam to always talk the bhagavat gunams. Next, thondaradi podi alwar talks about mAnasika kainkaryam. When rain falls on a stone it drops down but if the same water falls on mud it is absorbed inside. Our minds should not be like rocks instead it should have deep bhakthi and love so that when bhagavat gunam is showered on us by bhagavatOthamAs it should seep deep into our minds. In Srimad bhagavatham Sri sukar explains the gopi's bhakthi as "than manaska: thatha lAbha: thath vijeshtA:" That is how each one of us should get deeply involved in bhakthi towards the paramatma.

AdhilEn arangarkku EllE! EnseivAn thOndrinEnE?: Emperuman doesn't need any kainkaryam from us. But he surely enjoys when we do kainkaryam to him with atmost love and devotion. Alwar in this paasuram says that he doesn't do kainkaryam with all his trikaranas but it actually doesn't suite alwar. It is like alwar is sarcastically point to all of us who live without doing kainkaryam to the bhagavan. Alwar finally wonders without doing kainkaryam to arangan, for what is this birth taken for?

Let us also think the same and start right now to do what all kainkaryams possible immediately to add some meaning to our life.