muLLu koneya mEle mUru kereya kaTTi

Keshava Rao - Dvaita.org

muLLu koneya mElE mUru kereya katti

Meaning by Keshava Rao on dvaita.org

muLLu koneya mElE mUru kereya katti

eradu thumbadhu omdhu thumbalE illa

Outer meaning: Three lakes are built on the tip of a thorn and two cannot be filled and one is not filled.

Tip of a thorn represents infinitesimally small entity.

Here it means jIva. why?

"ashvabAlAgramAdAya vibhajya shatadhA hi tat.h | punashcha shatadhA bhinnaM kiyanmAnaM bhavishyati | tAvad.hbrahmAdi\ - jIvAnAM parimANaM prakIrtitaM ||"

If one takes the tip of horse's tail and splits into one hundred parts and takes one part and further divides into one hundred parts, that is known to be the size of the jIvas starting from Brahma.

Lake represents body. The jIva or svarUpadeha is surrounded by three bodies - anAdi linga shaIra, aniruddha deha and sthUla deha (gross body, which we all see).

The first two dehas, viz. linga deha and aniruddha deha cannot be filled with sAdhanodka (meaning not possible to accomplish sAdhana), while the gross body is needed for sAdhana. But even this is not filled because our sAdhana is not yet complete or I am not doing enough sAdhana.

"sADhana sharIravidhu nI dhayadhi kottadhdhu sADhAraNavalla sADhupriyane" .

thumbalilladha kerege bamdharu mUvaru oddaru ibbaru kumtaru obbage kAlE illa

Outer meaning: For the lake that is not filled, came three stone-cutters or diggers. Two are lame and one does not have legs.

Three stone-workers are three stages that happen to the gross body - boyhood, youth and old age.

Boyhood and old age are like lame. In boyhood, one is immature and indulges in playing and fun. In old age infirmity, weakness and fatigue set in. Thus these two are hard to utilize for sAdhana. While in youth, one has lot of strength to do sAdhana, but there is no full effort or willingness to indulge fully.

Thus not having leg is like not having willingness.

kAlilladha oddage kottaru mUru emmegaLa

eradu baradu omdhakkaruvE illa

Outer meaning: Three buffalos are given to the legless worker. Two are barren and one does not have calf.

The three buffalos are the three desires known as IshhaNatraya - wife, children and wealth. It is well known that when youth sets in, the three desires set in.

Wife and children are hindrances to dharmasAdhana. One may argue what if they are cooperative in dharmasAdhana.

But, still the bandha/bondage is a handicap in doing full sAdhana. Wealth need not be dharmapratibandhaka and instead it can be only dharmasAdhana. But more often than not, it is used for pleasure seeking only.

Thus its not having calf is like its not having "dharma-chitta" (transferred epithet - the person does not utilize all wealth only for dharmakAryas) .

karuvilladha emmege kottaru mUru honnugaLa eradu savakalu omdhu sallalE illa

Outer meaning: Three gold piles were given to the calfless buffalo. Two were utilized and one was never utilized.

One buys items with gold. The wealth can be spent in three ways - 1. spend in dharma mArga 2. spend in adharmamarga 3. let it rot like a miser.

One may observe that it takes the course of the last two. This is how the wealth is utilized.

The first one - dharma marga - is not utilized at all.

salladhidhdha honnige bamdharu mUvaru notagAraru ibbaru kurudaru obbage kaNNE illa

Outer meaning: For the wealth, which is not utilized in dharma mArga, came three debtors.

Two are blind and one does not have eyes.

The three debtors are the three kinds of karmas 1. Sanchita 2. AgAmi and 3. PrArabdha One does not know what the first two are and so they are like blind. One can gauge the third one as that is reflected in what happens to us all our life. Thus it is perceivable, but still one is so engrossed in materialistic pleasures, that one has no eye to see the third one also.

kaNNilladha notagArage kottaru mUru UrugaLa eradu hALu omdhakke okkalE illa

Outer meaning: Three towns are given to the eyeless debtor. Two are deserted and one does not have any inhabitants.

All the ones, who are undergoing prArabdha, are equipped with three guNa-s - sattva, rajas, tamas.

Rajas and tamas cannot lead to moxa and so they are like deserted towns. Even though sattva mArga can lead to moxa, one does not use it for that and so it is like having no inhabitants.

okkalilladha Urige bamdharu mUvaru kumbAraru ibbaru chomcharu obbage kayyE illa

Outer meaning: Three pot makers came to the town without inhabitants. Two are have crippled arms and one does not have arm.

Sattva guNa can be further sattvatamas, sattvarajas and sattvasattva. The three abhimAni devatas for these are Rudra, Brahma and Vishnu respectively.

Rudra and Brahma are not independent and so they are crippled (svatantro bhagavAn.h vishhNuH - only Lord Vishnu is independent) . Though Vishnu is independent and capable of giving us moxa, He has not relieved us from this saMsAra. Thus "not having arm/hand" is to be taken figuratively to mean not wiling to help us.

kai illadha kumbAranu mAdidha mUru madikegaLa eradu odaku omdhakke budavE illa

Outer meaning: The One unwilling to use hands, made three pots - two have holes (broken) and one does not have bottom.

Vishnu, who is has not used His hand to help us, gave three tools - knowledge, detachment and devotion. We don't have knowledge and detachment and so they are broken. We try to have devotion, but devotion without knowledge and detachment is like a bottomless pot. Devotion must have the support of knowledge and detachment. Otherwise it is futile.

budavillada madikege hAkidharu mUru akkikALa eradu bEyadhu omdhu bEyalE illa

Outer meaning: Three rice grains were put in this bottomless pot. Two cannot get cooked and one did not get cooked at all.

The bottomless devotion has three forms which are like thee rice grains - sAttvika bhakti, Rajasika bhakti and tAmasika bhakti. Rajasika bhakti and tAmasika bhakti cannot lead us to moxa and so they cannot get cooked. sAttvika bhakti can lead us to moxa, but we are not utilizing it and so this did not get cooked at all.

bEyalilladha akkige bamdharu mUvaru nemtaru ibbaru uNNaru obbage hasivE illa

Outer meaning: Three relatives came to this uncooked grain. Two don't eat and one is not hungry.

This sAttvika bhakti can be exercized by the three "karaNa-s" (means, known as trikaraNa-s) , viz. mind, word and body (thought, speech and action). Speech and action without thought cannot lead us to moxa. Also as body gets destroyed, the tongue and body cannot taste the moxarasa. Mind and chitj~nAna can lead us to moxa, but the jij~nAsa itself is lacking. The mind is not hungry.

hasive illadha nemtage kottaru mUru toNapegaLa eradu thAkadhu omdhu thAkalE illa

Outer meaning: This hungerless relative is given (hit with) three cudgels (punishing rods). Two can't touch and one dosn't touch.

The mind is put to pain by the sorrows of past, future and current births. We have no clue about the past and future births. Thus we don't remember those pains and so they can't touch. We experience the pain of current birth and so it certainly can have impact on us; but unfortunately, it is not having an impact on us.

thAkalilladha toNapeya thAkisi sadhgathIya nIyabEku puramdhara viTTala rAya

Outer meaning: By making the untouching cudgel touch us, Oh Purandara viTThala! please grant us moxa.

By making us realize the impact of the sorrow of current birth, Oh Purandara viTThala! guide us on the path of moxa by giving knowledge, devotion and detachment and grace us with moxa.