PonnoLir vadivinaane poorana vadhanthane
Thannarun chuvanu bhuthi tharai elam maNakka yaezhai
Unnarum pugazhai kaettiv ulagelan thedi vandhaen
Ennaru Liraiye gnana Ramanane jothi kundre
Word meaning
Pon = gold, golden; vadivu = shape, form; pooranam = fullness; vadhanam = face; anubhuthi = realisation, experience of it; tharai = ground, earth; pugazh = fame; jothi = light, flame.
Meaning
Oh Ramana, with the golden-hued form, and a beautiful face like that of the full moon, the earth is fragrant from the perfume of your self- realised experience. I came (after) searching for you in every corner of the world, oh Ramana, my lord full of grace, the form of wisdom and flame.
Here Sathyamangalam Venkatramana Iyer, again compares Bhagavan to Arunachala which is clear from the epithet ‘jothi kundre’. The holy hill is the pillar of light mentioned in the Puranas, and SV, like in the previous songs, sees no difference between Bhagavan and Arunachala.
PonnaOlir vadivinan means he with a golden-hued body. Every description of Bhagavan by those have seen him for the first time tend to liken his appearance to burnished gold.
Viswanatha Swami describes it thus:
“When I first saw Bhagavan, he was standing in the open space in front of the ashram building. The very sight of him thrilled me. Something in that body, shone forth, without limitation, engulfing everything else.”
C.R.Rajamani says on seeing Bhagavan for the first time: Sri Bhagavan, his body luminous like burnished gold …”
(http://the-wanderling.com/collection03.html)
P.L.N. Sharma, a Gandhian, met Sri Ramana in 1932, says:
“In the subdued light of the hall Bhagavan’s body shone like burnished gold and his eyes were luminous … “
Poorana vadhanam refers to poorna Chandran, full moon [It is a simile used to describe Devi as well in Lalita Sahasranamam. It is not only a metaphor for beauty it also means fullness or wholeness - From The Glory of Alchemy].
As for the third line extolling how Bhagavan is spreading the fragrance of his experience, we find a curious parallel in Paul Brunton’s narrative of his first meeting: “Does this man, the Maharshi, emanate the perfume of spiritual peace as the flower emanates fragrance from its petals?”, he wonders.
SV ends the verse with how he came to Bhagavan after looking in every corner of the world, which is reflected by Bhagavan’s saying, “Everyone finally has to come to Arunachala”. Annamalai Swami mirrors this sentiment in his Final Talks when replying to a lady wanting to go to other holy places, “If you’re attached to places, stay here in Tiruvannamalai for some time, the best place to discover the Self is here at Arunachala.” [Similarly, among Vaishnavaites there’s a saying, ‘engum paarthu Ranganai paar, Ranganai paarthu engum paaradhe’ meaning look everywhere and then look at Ranga (Lord Ranganatha in Sri Rangam), but once you’ve seen Ranga, don’t look anywhere else’.]
Thannarun chuvanu bhuthi tharai elam maNakka yaezhai
Unnarum pugazhai kaettiv ulagelan thedi vandhaen
Ennaru Liraiye gnana Ramanane jothi kundre
Word meaning
Pon = gold, golden; vadivu = shape, form; pooranam = fullness; vadhanam = face; anubhuthi = realisation, experience of it; tharai = ground, earth; pugazh = fame; jothi = light, flame.
Meaning
Oh Ramana, with the golden-hued form, and a beautiful face like that of the full moon, the earth is fragrant from the perfume of your self- realised experience. I came (after) searching for you in every corner of the world, oh Ramana, my lord full of grace, the form of wisdom and flame.
Here Sathyamangalam Venkatramana Iyer, again compares Bhagavan to Arunachala which is clear from the epithet ‘jothi kundre’. The holy hill is the pillar of light mentioned in the Puranas, and SV, like in the previous songs, sees no difference between Bhagavan and Arunachala.
PonnaOlir vadivinan means he with a golden-hued body. Every description of Bhagavan by those have seen him for the first time tend to liken his appearance to burnished gold.
Viswanatha Swami describes it thus:
“When I first saw Bhagavan, he was standing in the open space in front of the ashram building. The very sight of him thrilled me. Something in that body, shone forth, without limitation, engulfing everything else.”
C.R.Rajamani says on seeing Bhagavan for the first time: Sri Bhagavan, his body luminous like burnished gold …”
(http://the-wanderling.com/collection03.html)
P.L.N. Sharma, a Gandhian, met Sri Ramana in 1932, says:
“In the subdued light of the hall Bhagavan’s body shone like burnished gold and his eyes were luminous … “
Poorana vadhanam refers to poorna Chandran, full moon [It is a simile used to describe Devi as well in Lalita Sahasranamam. It is not only a metaphor for beauty it also means fullness or wholeness - From The Glory of Alchemy].
As for the third line extolling how Bhagavan is spreading the fragrance of his experience, we find a curious parallel in Paul Brunton’s narrative of his first meeting: “Does this man, the Maharshi, emanate the perfume of spiritual peace as the flower emanates fragrance from its petals?”, he wonders.
SV ends the verse with how he came to Bhagavan after looking in every corner of the world, which is reflected by Bhagavan’s saying, “Everyone finally has to come to Arunachala”. Annamalai Swami mirrors this sentiment in his Final Talks when replying to a lady wanting to go to other holy places, “If you’re attached to places, stay here in Tiruvannamalai for some time, the best place to discover the Self is here at Arunachala.” [Similarly, among Vaishnavaites there’s a saying, ‘engum paarthu Ranganai paar, Ranganai paarthu engum paaradhe’ meaning look everywhere and then look at Ranga (Lord Ranganatha in Sri Rangam), but once you’ve seen Ranga, don’t look anywhere else’.]
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