nAn (avan) siRiyan enREnO AzhvAraip pOlaE
In Periya Thiruvandhadhi 75, Azhwar says:
puviyum iruvisumbum nin agaththa nI en
seviyin vazhi pugundhu ennuLLAy - avivinRi
yAn periyan nI periyai enbadhanai yAr aRivAr?
Un parugu nEmiyAy! uLLu
The word Azhvar refers to Nammazhwar. Nammazhwar is regarded as the one of the top three Hindu mystics in India, with the other two being Manickavasagar and Kabir. Nammazhwar was born in 3059 BCE in Azhwar Thirunagiri. Legend says that as a baby he never cried or suckled and never opened his eyes. In Hindu legend, Nammazhwar remained speechless from his birth sitting in a tamarind tree and he first interacted with Madhurakavi Azhwar, who saw a bright light shining to the south, and followed it until he reached the tree where the boy was residing.
Unable to elicit any reaction from the child, Madhurakavi Alvar asked him a riddle: "If the small is born in a dead's body (or stomach), what will it eat and where will it stay?" meaning, if the subtle soul is embodied in the gross body, what are its actions and thoughts?
Nammazhwar broke his lifelong silence and responded, "That it will eat, it will rest!" -meaning that, if the soul identifies with the body, it will be the body but if it serves the divine, it will stay in Vaikunta and eat (think) of God. Madhurakavi Azhwar realized the divinity of this child.
In spite of being given the flawless knowledge ("mayaRvaRa madhinalam") by Lord Sriman Narayana Himself, in his verses he expresses his lowliness (naichyanusandhanam) to the Lord. In Thiruvaimozhi 3-3-4, he says "nIsanEn niRai onRumilEn". In Thiruvaimozhi 4-7-1, he says "sIlamillAch siRiyan".
puviyum iruvisumbum nin agaththa nI en
seviyin vazhi pugundhu ennuLLAy - avivinRi
yAn periyan nI periyai enbadhanai yAr aRivAr?
Un parugu nEmiyAy! uLLu
In this verse, he shows the Lord to be the owner of everything - this world and paramapadham. He then expresses his amazement that this Lord is inside him. Being that, he asks the question, 'who knows if You are big or if I am big'. This is also broken a little differently. It could also be said that Azhwar is saying 'yAn periyan'; 'nI periyai enbadhanai yAr aRivAr?' – that is, 'I am big, who knows if you are big?' The unsaid is that 'He is small'.
This is Satvika Ahankaram of Azhwar. He is amazed that ‘The One’ who swallowed everything has allowed Himself to be inside Azhwar for ever. Because of this verse, Azhwar is called by the name 'periyan' in Azhvar Thirunagari. It is also said that this verse is the reason why this work is called Periya Thiruvandhadhi, even though it is made of only 87 verses, unlike other in the 4000 divya prabandham.
It is for this devotion and divine humbleness towards the god, it is believed that the doors of Vaikuntam (the supreme abode) was opened first time for him by Sriman Narayan himself and it is believed that the followers of Swami Nammazhwar have the most easy access to the supreme abode.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I understand where I stand and was I ever able to speak like Azhwar?"
