The verses of the Azhvars must be read along with the commentaries written by Vaishnava Acharyas for us to fully understand the verses, said M.A. Venkatakrishnan, in a discourse.
Periyazhvar imagined himself to be Yasoda, and sang many verses any mother would sing to, and of her child. In one verse, Yasoda talks about the baby Krishna kicking at the cradle, and breaking it. Yasoda then picks up the baby, but the baby kicks so hard against her hip, that she is afraid her hip will break. The important line in the pasuram says “midukkilaamaiyaal melinden.” Here Yasoda is saying that she is totally worn out. The normal interpretation that any of us would think of would be that Yasoda is unable to look after this troublesome child and is therefore tired. But Manavala Mamunigal gave a brilliant interpretation, which is most apt. Acharyas, before interpreting verses, would pay attention to the Azhvar who penned the verse. Each Azhvar enjoyed the Lord in different ways, and so any interpretation would have to match the experience of the respective Azhvars.
Periyazhvar sang verses to ward off evil eyes from the Lord, and showed his maternal attitude to the Lord. In the cradle verse, Yasoda is worried that people might be envious of the strength in little Krishna’s legs. Imagine a child breaking a cradle, and then continuing to kick when seated on his mother’s hip. What if someone commented on the child’s stamina, with envy? Would that not harm the baby? So would have run Yasoda’s thoughts, and that is the interpretation Manavala Mamunigal gives for the verse. Yasoda is not talking about fatigue resulting from looking after an energetic child. She is worried that Krishna’s energy will attract evil eyes. Worrying about this, Yaoda has become tired!
