Thiruppavaiasurams-12,13,14

Pasuram12-kanaitthiLam kattrerumai

kanaitthiLam kattrerumai kanrukkirangi
ninaitthu mulaivaziyE ninru pAl sOra
anaitthillam sErAkkum narselvan thangai
panitthalai veeza nin vAsalkadaipattri
sinandhingu thennilangai kOmAnai chettra
manatthykku iniyAnai pAdavum nee vai thiravAi
initthAn ezundhirAi eedhenna pErurakkam
anaitthu illatthArum arindhElOrempAvai

You, the sister of the rich man in whose house the buffaloes let out abundant of milk on account of the memory of their calves and the whole place is wet and marshlike with the milk,open your mouth and answer us.We have come here at your doorstep and stand with dew drops falling on our heads. Wake up , why is this long sleep? Come and sing of the Lord who wrathfully vanquisherd the lord of Lanka.

In the last pasuram the glory of the father of the girl who was being awakened was mentioned and in this, the brother of the girl, who is called, is praised. There is an opinion that this brother mentioned has reference to the close friend of Krishna, named Sridhama.

KanaittiLam kattrerumai- The buffalo which has been let out to graze on the wet grass as mentioned in the pasuram "keezvanam." It is making sound 'kanaiitthu' remembering its calf , which alone is enough to make the milk flow, unlike the cow which gives milk only in the presence of the calf.

sinandhingu----komanaicchettra- reference is to Ramavathara and Ravana is mentioned as thennilangaikkOmAn to indicate that Rama did not destroy Lanka because he has already given it to Vibheeshana and only killed the king of Lanka.

Manatthukku iniyAn- Rama was described by Valmiki as 'sOmavathpriyadarsanah,' because by looking at him the heart gets joy as by the sight of the moon. He is a delight to all the senses and to the mind.

initthAn ezundhirai- You get up at least now after hearing about Rama because he is 'vigrahavaAn dharmah,' the embodiment of dharma and Bharatha, listing the sins that may come to him if he was guilty of plotting for Rama's exile, mentions the sin of not doing the daily duties according to sasthras.and hence not to get up in the morning and worship the Lord is also one of them.

Anaitthu illatthArum arindhu- Every one is here already and hence know that you are still sleeping.

As the buffalo gives out milk by the mere remembrance of its calf and its milk flows everywhere at all levels, the Lord remembers us and makes His mercy flows to us without distinction.

The words 'erumai' and 'narselvan' denote Lakshmi and the Lord respectively. The word for buffalo in sanskrit is mahishee which also means the wife usually used to mean the queen. The word 'narselvan' refers to the Lord as he has Lakshmi with Him and hence rich .

This pasuram has the implication of the dvaya manthra, 'sreemannarayanacharanou saranam prapadhye, sreemathe narayanaya namah,' as both the Lord and Sri are referred to, .

Sridevi thinks of us, her children and takes pity on us and recommends our case to the Lord. As sinandhingu mentions Ramavathara the Sita devi who said "who does not err", 'na kaschithnAparAdhyathi.' is compared to the buffalo which gives out milk at the memory of its calf. She also advised Rama about mercy and to Ravana about dharma trying to save him from his doom. The same divine mother as the bhudevi incarnating as Andal now instructs us about saving ourselves by saying His name. Thus the epithet 'kanaitthiLam-----serAkkum' qualifying the word 'thangAi' instead of 'narselvan' denotes the infinite mercy of the divine mother and the same in connection with the latter word may mean the infinite mercy of the Lord. ThangAi is to be taken not as sister in this context but Lakshmi who is 'hiranmayi', thangAi meaning thangam or gold.

Lanka is the sarira .and the word sinam here may mean the chinnam ( there is no difference between cha and sa in Tamil script) meaning the marks of shanku and chakra on those who have done saranagathi through the acharya. With this mark one wins over the KomAn, the monarch of the sarira , namely the ego.The word 'pErurakkam' means denoted the sarirAthma buddhi, the identification of oneself with the body.

By the grace of the divine mother giving out the milk of her mercy thinking about the plight of her children , that is, us, the heart becomes marshy with devotion. Then such a person is narselvan, one owning real riches in the form of bhakthisamrajya.

'vAsarkadai' means doorstep and here it denotes the indhriyas, sense organs which are the gateways of experience. When the senses are engaged in the thought of 'Sinandhingu----mantthukku iniyAn,' the shower of dew, in the form of self knowledge falls on the head, 'panitthalai veeza.'

The reference is to poygai AzvAr, as he was born on a lotus in a lake open to dew drops.He is compared to 'kanaitthiLam kattrerumai' as he was the first of the three mudhalAzvArs to sing on the Lord (kanaitthu) and gave out his experience at the darsan of the Lord or the sake of all out of mercy

Pasuram 13.-puLLin vAi keendAnai

puLLin vAi keendAnai pollA arakkanai
kiLLikkalaindhAnai keerthimai pAdippoi
piLLaigal ellAtrum pAvaikkaLam pukkAr
veLLi ezundhu viyAzam urangittru
puLLum silan mbinakANpOdharikkaNNinAi
kuLLakkuLira kudaindhu neerAdAdhE
paLLikkidatthiyO pAvai nee nannALal
kaLLam thavirndhu kalandhElOrempAvAi.

You with lotus like eyes, all the girls have gone to the place of pavai nonbu singing about the glory of Him who killed Bakasura by plunging his hand into the beak and who plucked off the ten heads of Ravana.. The Jupiter has set and venus has risen. See, the birds are chirping. and instead of bathing in the cool waters of the river you are pretending to sleep.

puLLin vAi keendAnai pollAvarakkanai-kiLLikkaLaindhAnai- refers to Krishnavathara and Ramavathara respectively.Krishna killed the asura who came in the form of stork.He extended his hand into the mouth of the stork and tore the beaks and killed the asura. Rama killed the evilminded Ravana(pollAvarakkan) by cutting his head as easily as plucking it with nails. Some say that this may also refer to Narasimha as the Lord killed Hiranyakasipu with his nails and kiLLi may refer to this act. But arakkan means rakshasa while Hiranyakasipu and Hiranyaksha were asuras, the half brothrs of suras,devas..Still, from the words of Kamban '' irakkam enru oru poruL illAdha nenjinar arakkara enru uLar silar aratthin neenginar," the arakar , rakshasa are those who have no pity and follow adharma, the word arakkan may even refer to Hiranyakasipu. Also if the word 'pollAvarakkan' is split as pollA +varakkan, it may refer to Hirayanyakasipu who got his powers through 'vara,' boon.

There is an alternative explanation also which takes the phrase 'puLLinvai-----kiLLikkalaindhanai as one long adjective qualifying Rama only. Here puLL means Jatayu and 'vAi keendAnai pollA arakkanai' refers to Ravana who killed Jatayu and kiLLikkalaindhan is Rama who killed him.

pOdharikkaN- means eyes like flower or pOdhu+ari, that is, like the bee in a flower, describing the pupil inside the flowerlike eyes.

kuLLa------nannAlal- In this auspicious day of Margazi, one should not sleep but should get up early and take bath in the river before worshipping the Lord. The words 'paLLikkidatthiyO' instead of using the term 'urangal ' implies that she is only pretending sleep and hence she is asked not to be deceitful 'kaLLam thavirndhu.'

'veLLi ezundhu viyAzam urangittru' means the setting of ignorance and the rise of knowledge.

kuLlakkuLira kudaindhu netrAttam is explained as follows:
NeerAttam = think of the Lord.
kudaindhu neerAttam= to worship Him in archavathara.
kuLira neerAttam= worship Him in His incarnations.
kuLlakkuLira neerAttam=to worship Him in Vaikunta.

This pasuram has reference to Thondaradippodi AzvAr as he was born on this day of Margazi. KaLLam thavirndhu kalandhu and kudaindhuneerAdAdhE paLLikkidatthiyo implies the days when he forgot the Lord and his reawakening.



Pasuram 14- ungaL purakkadai

ungal purakkadai thOttatthu vAviyuL
senkazuneer vai neg izndhu Ambalvai koombina kAN
sengal podikkoorai veNpalthavatthavar
than gaL thirukkoil sangiduvAn podhandhar
engalai munnam ezuppubvAn vai pEsum
nangAi ezundhirai nANAd hai nAvoudaiyay
sangoduchakkaram endhumthadakkaiyan
pangayakkaNNAnai pAdElorempAvai

In the pond in your backyard the lilies are closing and the senkazuneer flowers are blossoming.The ascetics wearing ochre robes and having white teeth go towards their temple to blow the conch for morning worship.Are you not ashamed of your bragging about waking us up as you are still not awake. Wake up and come to sing the lotus-eyed Lord who wields the disc and the conch in His broad hands.

sengazuneer------koombinakAN- the flower known as senkazuneer seems to smile happily with the expectation of adorning the body of the Lord and for the same reason the lily seems to be closing down with disappointment.

sengarpodi------thavatthavar-those ascetics who have the duty of blowing the conch signifying the opening of the temple.

nANAdhai nAvudaiyAy- After saying "are you not ashamed " they want to pacify her by saying nAvudaiyaAy which may mean loud -mouthed as well as one of good speech or singing ability. So they call her to come out and sing about the Lord.

UngaLpurakkadai- the back yard of the house, means the samsara and the thOttam, garden, is the satrira. Senkazuneer denotes the atmagunas, ahimsa, sense control,mercy to all, patience,jnana, thapas, dhyana and sathyam. These are blossoming when one awakes from the slumber of ignorance on the rising of awareness of the Lord. Ambal refers to the kamakrodhadhi which close or cease to trouble the one who has experienced the presence of the Lord in the heart.

nANAdhai- implies that one should not feel shy of singing the name of the Lord.

nAvudaiyai-one who has a tongue, meaning speech.Only the one by whose words the world redeemed is fit to be called nAvudaiyay and in which the wisdom and learning shine.
sA jihvA syath yayA sarve jeevanthi prANinah bhuvi
sA jihvA yathra rAjanthE vidhya hrdhyA chathurdasA

nArAyananE- the E-kara denotes that Narayana is the only one who grants our wishes.

sengalpodi----------thavatthavar-denotes the prapannas with thirumaN and srichoorNam and white cloth with red border.

thangal---pOdhandhAr-The temple is their heart where the Lord resides and they are meditating on Him

senkazuneer vAi negizndhu-senkazuneer refers to the word namah in the ashtAkshara manthra . When the ashtAkshara is chanted the parathanthrya jnana dawns, that is the awareness of belonging to the Lord whcih is signified by the opening up of senkazuneer (vAi negizndhu) and the closing up of Ambal means the giving up of svAthanthrya buddhi, that one is an independent agent of his actions.The word sengalpodikkoorai refers to the seshathvajnana.

This pasuramrefers to ThiruppANAzvAr, who is addressed as nANAdhai, one who has no nAN,ego, and as nAvudaiyAy his being born in the family of bards.









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THIRUPPAVAI -PASURAM-8-KEEZVANAM

pasuram-8

keezvAnam veLLenru erumaicchiruveedu
meivAn parandhanakAnn mikkuLLa piLLaigaLum
pOvAn pOginrArai pOgAmal kAtthunnai
koovuvAn vandhu ninrOm kOdhu kalmudaiya
pAvAi ezundhirai pAdipparai konda
mAvAi pilandhAnai mallarai mAttiya
dEvAdhidEvanai chenru nAm sEvitthAl
AvAvenrArAindhu aruLElO rempAvai.

The eastern sky has become bright and the buffaloes are going to graze and the girls in the Ayarpadi started going to perform the vratha and we have stopped them in order to wake you up.Awake , you , who is of pure form that destroys all sins.Let us sing the glory of Him who killed the demon Kesi and the wrestlers. He is the Lord of the devas who when approached and prayed, will shower His grace on us after judging our fitness.

Andal is waking up another girl by citing the signs of daybreak.

Keez vAnam veLLenru, erumai siru veedu- The eastern sky is lighting up before dawn. The buffaloes are sent for grazing the dew covered grass in the early morning, as it makes them yield more milk whereas the cows are allowed to graze later as they cannot digest the wet grass.

pOvAnpOginrArai pOgAmal kAtthunnai- The rest of the girls have already started for the nonbu and Andal says that she has stopped them to wait for this girl.

kOdhukalmudaiyapAvai- this girl is pure by which she is capable of breaking,udaiya, the sins kOdhukalam. she is called pAvai because she is pretty like an idol.

mAvAi piLandhAn - one who killed the demon Kesi who came in the form of horse to kill Krishna.

mallarai mAttiya - one who destroyed the wrestlers of the court of Kamsa.

dhevAdhidhEvanai- He is the Lord of the celestials.The commentators find reference here to the expression 'ayarvarum amarargaL adhipathi,' the Lord of the immortals, in the first pAsuram of the thiruvaimozi of nammAzvAr, who is implied by this pASuram.

For the individual soul it is night till the awareness of the Lord dawns, only when, the day breaks. The knowledge dawns through the instruction of the Acharyas like Ramanuja and Desika who are described by the epithets 'mAvAi piLandhAn,' as they break the influence of the senses whcih are compared to the horse that runs hither and thither drawn by the sense objects, and mallarai mAttiya,because they win over the arguments of the opponents to establish thier views firmly.They are the dhEvas who have performed the above said feats and the Lord is the dhEvAdhidhEva.

AvAvenru ArAindhu arulElO -,If we go and sing His glory He will shower His grace on us after ascertaining our worth.

This pasuram is considered as a reference to nammAzvAr for the following reasons.

He refers himself as pAvai in thiruvaimozi.
The word ezundhirai, get up, may apply to him as he alone is seated among the AzvArs in idol form. .
He rose as the sun in kaliyuga to dispel the darkness of ignorance and his light was visible to Madhurakavi AzVar in kAsi which attracted him to the place where NammAZvAr was and he became the disciple of NammAZvAr..KeezvAnam veLLenru denotes the light of the AzvAr.

THiruppaai pasuram7-keesukeesenrengum

PASURAM 7-Keesu keesenRengum
KeesukeesenRengum AnaicchAtthan kalandhu
pesina peccharavam kEttilaiyo pEyppeNNE
KAsum piRappum kalkalppa kai pErtthu
vAsa narumkuzal Aycchiyar matthinAl
Osaippaduttha thiyiraravam kEttilaiyo
nAyagappeNpillai nArAyaNan moortthi
kesavanaippAdavum nee kEtte kidatthiyO
thEsam udaiyai thiravelorempAvai

Oh girl with devilish nature (one having satvik qualities will not sleep till the dawn), do you not hear the birds of the kind known as AnaicchaAtthan chirping and the sound of the neck ornament of the gopis who have started churning milk?You are the prominant member of our group and how can you be lying in your bed after hearing us singing about the Kesava who is none other than NarayaNa?oh lustrous one come and open the door.

The sleeping girl is woken up by citing three signs for the advent of morning.
1.The chirping of the birds.
2. The sound of the churning of milk.
3.NarayaNa nama sankirtana.

KeesukeesenRengum - The bird are chirping everywhere-engum. The girl might say that you have only awakened the birds by your singing or tey might have awakened by the sound of churnong milk by old ladies who could not get sleep. So Andal says 'engum,'everywhere.

AnaicchAtthan kalandhu pesina pEccharavam-The birds seem to converse with their mates.

KEttilaiyo PEyppeNNe- Have you not heard? She is called as pEYppeNNbecause only rakshasis will sleep in the daybreak as they roam around in the night.

KAsum piRappum kalakalappa -Refers to kAsumalai and thirumAngalyam which denotes samsAra and hence gives birth,piRappu.

KaipErtthu- the curd in Ayarpadi is so thick after the birth of Krishna and plentiful and it is difficult to churn it..

VAsa naRumkuzal Aicchiyar- The hair of natural fragrance is present only to the ladies of devaloka and they are supposed to have been born as gopis. So their hair is by nature fragrant,vAsanaRumkuzal.

MatthinAl osaippaduttha- the sound of the churnig rod reminds one of that of churning the manthara mountain for amrtha.
NAyagappeNNpiLlaI- She is of so prominant a family that many women are employed to churn the milk which creates considerable noise.After callin her pEippeNN she is now called nAYagappeNN piLLai and pacified.

KEsavanaippAdavum- The name kEsava is an exalted one because it includes Brahma and Isvara. The word is derived as 'kascha eesascha kEsou , thou vasyathayA santhi asya ithi kEsavah.' 'ka' denotes Brahma while 'eesa' is Siva
and both are in His power and hence He is called KEsava.Moreover KEsava is theLordof the month of Margazi. The word NArAyaNan moorthi used as an adjective to kEsava is to affirm that He is none other than NAraAyaNa.

PAdavumnee kEttEkidatthiyo- Here the reference is to NAMMazvAr, who once vowed that he willnever utter the name of the Lord or think about Him, not because of loss of faith but only due to his awareness of his own worthlessness. But he could not remain so for long and as soon as he heard a passerby utter the name his resolution was thrown to the winds. Here the girl is chided that even after hearing the Lord's name she is not reponding.

The word AnaicchAtthan may mean the Lord Himself as He killed one elephant, kuvalayaApeedam set against Him by Kamsa and protected another, GajEndhra, from the jaws of the crocodile. Kalndhu pEsina pEccharavam may then refer to both the Lord and His consort , Sri, talking with each other

KAsumpiRappum kalakalppa implies the sruthi and smrthi proclaiming about the glory of the Lord and kaipErtthu may mean the deep study and contemplation of them by vAsanarumkuzal Aicchiyar, the acharyas who exude the natural frgrance of the Lord.Having delved deep into the vedanta sasthra they acclaim loudly His glory, KaipErtthu, with upraised arms, uddhrthabujAh.

KAsu, piRappu and thayir are taken to mean ashtaAkshara, dhvayamanthra and charamasloka respectively and th epithet pEyppeNN has reference to KulasEkhara azvar who calls himself a madman in one of his pAsurams.

thiruppavaipasuram-6

ThiruppavaiPart2- Pasuram6to10


Pasuram-6-PuLLumsilambinakaaN

PuLLum silambina kaaN puLLraiyan kOyilil
vellaivili sangin pEraravam kettilaiyO
piLLaai ezundhiraai pEymulainanjundu
kaLLcchagadam kalakkaziya kaalOcchi
veLLatthu aravil thuyilamarndhavitthinai
uLLatthu kondu munivargaLum yogigaLum
meLLa ezundhu hari enrapEraravam
uLLam pugundhu kulirndhelO rempaavaai

Translation:

Oh young one, wake up. Don't you hear thechirping of birds and the loud sound of conch blown at the temple of the Lord. The sages and yogis get up slowly and chant the name of Hari, who is in their heart and who is resting in the bed of Seshnag in themiddle of the ocean, the same Hari who killed poothana and sakatasura. The namasankirtana sounds l tumultuous on account of the intensity of devotion.

Commentary:

In the first five pasurams the pavainonbu was extolled . In the next five describe the arousal of the girls who are devotees of Krishna and who wish to observe the pavainonbu.This implies the thruppaLLi ezucchi of the bhagavathas for Bhagavatkainkartya.

Why should one go in a goshti or group to worship the Lord?

1.An ardent devotee will forget himself in the presence of the Lord and will even lose the power of speech and so to have both feet on the ground they wish to go in groups.

2.Moreover any experience of joy is doubled when shared.

3.Also anything delicious should not be enjoyed alone.Bharatha, among the sins he enumerates that would befall to him if he had any suspicion of the intention of his mother,cites the sin of eating a delicious sweet without sharing with others in the house.

4.It is always appropriate to approach the Lord preceded by bhagavathas.

5.Women by nature are softhearted and want to share their joy with others.

PuLLum silambina - Birds have better sense of time that humans and wake up before them.
It may have been argued by the girl whom Andal tries to awaken that the birds woke up hearing the churning of the curd by the gopis, who perhaps being old could not sleep.So the next sign of dawn is cited.

Pullaraiyan kovilil veLLaiviLi sangin pEraravam - PuLLaraiyan may mean Garuda in the sense of his being the king, araiyan of the birds,puLL.It could also mean the Lord Himself as He is the ko , master of the puLLaraiyan, that is, Garuda.Koil means the il,abode of the ko.

The reason why the word puLLaraiyan is used maybe due to the auspiciousnessof the garudadwani, the sound made by garuda and the darsana of garuda.

The worship of Garuda is extolled as being the antidote for diseases, troubles from enemies and all misfortunes. It is said that when Garuda flaps his wings the planets are moved.

VeLLaiviLi sangu is white conch used i the temples. The white colour stands for suddhasatthva.

PEraravam - The sound of the conch calling the devotees for worship sounds magnificent to them as it rouses the Lord in their hearts.

PiLLai - The word may refer to a young girl or one who is new in the group of devotees.Commentators see a reference to Periazvar by this term as he was like a child,piLLai, in forgetting the glory of the Lord and sang Pallandu for Him as though fearing for casting of evil eye on Him.PuLLumsilambina may refer to the garden in which Periazvar reared for worship.

Pey mulai najundu refers to Poothana and kaLLa chagadam, to sakatasura.Krishna feigned sleep when Poothana was feeding Him because she should not get His kataaksha.Inspite of that through His sparsa, body contact itself she went to better loka. Desika says in his Yadhavabhyudhaya that for those who even think about this episode will not be born again

When Krishna kicked at the asura who came in the form of a cart-wheel it went to pieces but there was not even its dust remained, says Narayana Bhattadri in Narayaneeyam. This he says happened because the asura merged with the sudhdhasattva of Bhagavan and therefore there was no rajas, with a pun on the word rajas which means dust.


veLLatthu aravil thuyilamarndhavitthinai uLLatthu kondu- The Lord is the vitthu , the seed or origin of the world, reclining on Adisesha in the milky ocean, whom the sages and yogis preserve in their hearts.So they are getting up from their sleep slowly meLLa ezundhu in order not to disturb Him.

The idea that this pasuram refers to Periazvar conforms to the expression veLLatthu aravil-----uLLatthu kondu as per his pasuram in which he says'aravttha maliyinodum azagiyapaarkadalodumaravindhappavaiyum thaanumagampadi vandhu pugundhu,' (Periazvar thirumozi-452)describing how the Lord entered his heart along with adiseah ,parkadal and Lakshmi.

Hari enra pEraravam - When all the sages and yogis in all the worlds chant 'Hari' it becomes a tumultous sound.

ULLam pugundhu kuLirndhelO rempavai - the hari nama enters through the ear and reaches the heart and like cool showers bring solace to the devotee freeing him from the woes of the world.Rukmini says in the bhagavatha in her letter to krishna, ' sruthvaa gunaan bhuvansundhara srnvathaam the nivisya karnavivaraih haratho angathaapam.' To those who hear His gunas they enter the ears and relieves the torment of the body due to the ills of samsara. The angathapa here is the viraha or separation from the Lord for the devotee.

The spiritual meaning of this pasuram is explained thus: PuLL refers to Hamsavathara when the Lord took the form of the Hamsa, swan to teach the sanakadhi the Brahmathathva. silambanam is th speech of the Lord. Since this pasuram has reference to Periazvar it reminds us of his verses in the sengeeraipparuvam whrer he gives importance to the hamsavathara by saying,'annamum meenurumaaLariyum kuraLumaamaiyumaanavane, ennavalam kalaivai aaduga sengeersai,' thus mentioning the hamsavathara before matsya,and other avatharas.(Periazvar thrumozi-74)

PuLLraiyan can also mean that He is the master of all of us who are termed as puL in the sense of beibngs like birds and animals without jnana.

Kovil is the ashtakshar mantra while the sangu,onch is praNavasvarupa.
Poothan stands for avidya, ignorance giving rise to ahamkara mamakara.
KaLLAcchgadam refers to the indriyas which takes the sarira,the cart to evil path while veLLattharavu is the sea of samsara and the Lord isfeigning sleep inside our heart ready to wake up the moment we call Him.Hari enra
peraravam is the call for help of the devotee to the Lord to come and destroy,haraNath Harih, the duhkha.

Thiruppavai Pasuram-5-maayanai mannu

Pasuram5- Maayanai mannu vada..

Maayanai mannu vadamadhuraimaindhanai
thooya peruneer yamunaitthuraivanai
aayarkulatthinil thOnrum aNiviLakkai
thaayaikkudal viLakkam saidha dhaamodharanai
thooyOmai vandhu naam thoomalar thoovitthozudhu
vaayinaarpaadi manadhinaal sindhikka
pOya pzaiyum pugutharuvaan ninranavum
theeyinil thoosaagum cheppElorempaavai

Translation

Pure we come and worship Him, who is enchanting, the prince of Mathura, the resident of the sacred banks of Yamuna and the light of the clan of shapherds,with flowers, and sing about His glory and contemplate on Him . All our sins past , present and future will be burnt like dust thrown into the fire.

Commentary.

After referring to the Lord by names paiyir thuyinra paraman,Ongiulagalandha utthaman etc. Andal says here that He is none other than Krishna, who is madhuraimaindhan, aayar kulatthu aNi vilakku and yamunaitthuraivan. She invokes His blessing for the fulfilment of their vrata. We need God's grace only for good deeds because the obstacles will occur only for good actions and not for evil ones.The coronation of Rama was stopped but not the abduction of Sita.

The Lord is called 'Maayan' because the events from His birth till He went back to Mathura, which are hinted in this pasuram show His wnderful powers.

Thhooya peruneer yamunai tthuraivan- refers to the exploits of Krishna on the banks of Yamuna.The river is pure, thooya yamuna, due to being associated with Him.Yamuna is also termed as pure because she was not afraid of Kamsa and parted to allow Vasudeva when he carried Krishna to Gokula, unlike Godavari who was afraid of Ravana and did not reply when Rama asked her the wherabouts of Sita.Yamuna also has another name Kaalindhi since the river originated from the mountain Kalinga, named so becaause it destroys the faults of Kaliyuga.

Aayar kulatthinil thonrum - Krishna manifested in the aayarkula , the clan of Yadhavas but not born, as He has no birth and manifests Himself through his maya, sambhavaamiaathmamaayayaa, as He says in the Gita.

ANivilakkai - During His incarnations the Lord shows His guNas to the world.Therefore He is compared to a light . He lights the whole aayarpaadi by His attributes and actions.

Thaayai kudalviLakkam seidha damodaran- dhaama means rope udara is belly. Krishna got the name Damodara because he was tied to the mortar with a rope across his belly. he gave fame to Yasodha,thaayai kudalviLakkam seidha. This scene is described beautifully in Yadavabhyoudhya, Krishnakarnamritha and Bhagavatapurana.

Bhagavatapurana describes Yasodha as being desperate because whichever rope she brought was found to be short by two inches and finally seeing her dishevelled and perspirihg, Krishna willed to become bound.Nammazavar mentioning His karuna in doing so, lost his consciousness for six months saying 'etthiram, ' implying the wonder of His leela.

Desika in his Yadhavabhyudhaya mentioning this episode says that those who think of Krishna as being bound thus will become free from bondage and refers to the mortar to which He was bound, as 'aatthapunya,'
that whjich has done some punya to get the con tact with Krishna.

Leelasuka in Krishna karnaamritha says that the upanishad artha, the essence of the upanishads is tied to the mortor, upanishadhartham ulookhalE baddham,' while Naryanabhatta in Narayaneeyam wonders that Yasodha was trying to tie, bandhumichchathee, Him, who is the bandhu of the good, with pun in the word bandha.

ThooyO mai vandhOm - We have come pure which means inner purity. The word 'vandhOm,' 'we have come' implies that they have come to their rightful place.

Thoomalar thooviththozudhu - offering fragrant flowers, Physical worship, KaayEna.

Vaayinaarpaadi - singing His glory, Vaachaa.

Manadhinaal sindhikka - contemplating on Him, Manasaa.

Poyapizaiyum - the karma which has not started to take effect, sanchithakarma.

Pugutharuvaan - the karma which is going to take effect, aagaami karma.

Ninrnavum - the present karma which has already started giving result, praarabdha karma.

Theeyinil thoosaagum - All the threekinds of karma will be burnt like dust particles in the fire.

CheppElOrempaavai - This is in connection with the first three lines and enjoins the smarana of Kriihna.

The five forms of manifestation of the Lord, namely,para,vyuha,vibhava, archa and antharyami are referred to in this pasuram. The word maayan refers to the pararupa as Paravasudeva, the ultimate reality.Maduraimaindan stands for vibhavarupa, that of incarnations. The word thuraivan implies the four forms of vyuha as Vasudeva,Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Anirudhdha, all the four forms appearing in Krishnavathara. The term 'viLakku' denotes the antharyamin or , the light within and the word Damodara refers to the archavathara , the form visible to all for worship as idol.

Heis called 'Maayan' as He has the maaya in His control which can be dispelled only through His grace. Krisna says in the Gita ' dhaiveehyEshaa gunamayeeHYeSHaa mamamaayaa dhutarathyayaa maamEva yE prapadhyanthE maayaamEthaam tharanthithE,'meaning that the maayaa consisting of the three gunas, the constituent of prakrthi, is difficult to break through by all but those who resort to Him . .Vedantadesika in his Hayagreevasthothra, calls the maayaa of the Lord as mohanapinchikaa, the enchanting bunch of peacock feathers. Hence krishna is seen sporting the mayurapinchika on His head as He is Maayan MaNivaNNan.

Vadamadhurai can be taken to mean Vaikunta as 'vada,' north also means utthara or high and madhura can be derived as 'madhu raathi ithi,' that which gives honey, the honey here being the Lord as the Upanishad calls Him 'raso vai sah, He is the rasa.

'Kudal viLakkam ' may mean that the Lord through His avathaara illuminated,viLakkam, the purport of the Gayathri manthra and the ashtaakshara, both of which are likened to the mother. So He is Damodara, who can be bound only through the rope of bhakthi as HE himself has said in Gita ' bhakthyaathvananyayaa labhyah.'

Thiruppavai-Pasuram4

Pasuram-4

Aazimazaikkanna onru nee kaikaravel
Aaziyul pukku mugarndhu kodaarththeri
Oozimudhalvan uruvampol meikaruththu
Paaziyamtholudai padmabnaabhan kaiyil
Aazipol minni valampuripol ninradhirndhu
Thaazaadhe saarngam udhaiththa sara mazai pol
Vaaza ulaginil peydhidai naangalum
maargazi neeraada maggizndhelorempaavai.

Translation

Oh rain-bearing cloud, who looks like Krishna to us, be impartial and send showers for the world to flourish . You dip into the sea and draw the water and ascend to the sky looking dark in hue like that of the Lord and shining with lightning like the disc and thundering like the conch in the hands of the Lord of the lotus-navel, discharge the showers like that of the arrows from His bow and enable us to complete our neeraadal with glee.

Commentary

Andal has called the Lord as Ongiulagalandha Uththaman and so the clouds were afraid that He himself may create rain as He created the Ganges and deprive them of their job. Hence they already appeared in front, ready to do the bidding of Andal and she commands them to give rain. The elements obey the words of the ardent devotees of the Lord.

Aazimazaikkannaa- It may be construed to be addressed to the Lord Himself as He is the indweller of all.

Onru nee kai karavel – Do not show partiality but give rain to everybody. Here Andal, being the incarnation of Bhoo devi, entreats the Lord to show mercy to all her children.

Aaziyulpukku - Andal gives instruction to the cloud to go deep into the ocean and take as much water as it can so that all will be benefited.

Mugarndhukodaarththeri – The cloud should draw water and ascend high in order not to empty it on the way so that the entire humanity will get the rain.

Oozi mudhalvan uruvampol meikaruththu – The body of the Lord will be dark especially at the end of pralaya just before creation due to His daya, mercy, and also because He carried all beings inside Him. The Lord is described as being dark like the rain- bearing cloud only for this reason. The only difference is that while the dark cloud becomes white after it has emptied the water inside the Lord is always dark due to His eternal daya.

Padmanaabhan- He sports a lotus rising from His navel on which is seated the four-faced Brahma who creates the world as per His command. So the word Padmanaabha refers to the Lord as the creator.

Aazi pol minni valampuripol ninradhirndhu – The disc and the conch are to protect the good and to punish the wicked. The disc shines brilliantly to instill fear in the hears of the wrong doers and the conch sounds like thunder to make them shiver. When Krishna sounded His conch, Paanchajanya, at the outset of the Mahabharatha war it tore the hearts of the Kouravas, says Gita, ‘paanchajanyam hrshikesah------- sa goshah dharthrashtranaam hrdhyaani vyadhaarayath.’

Thaazaadhe saarngam udhaiththa saramazai pol - When the Lord sees his devotees in distress He uses His weapons like the bow called saarngam without a moment’s delay which indicates His haste in saving them. When Gajendhra cried He could not even wait to mount His vehicle Garuda but came running with Garuda following Him. Andal implies here that the cloud should pour without delay like the Lord in protecting His devotees.

Vaaza ulaginil peydhidaai ---------neeraadamagizndhelorempavai - The cloud is asked to give rain in such away that it will be a source of joy to the world and not like the rain Indra sent at the time of Govardhanodhdhaarana.

The acharya is the rain-bearing cloud who out of his mercy imparts his teaching to the sishyas. The similarities and difference between the two are as follows.

1.The cloud takes salt water from the sea and gives out sweet water as rain. So too the acharya absorbs the profound truths which are unpalatable to all because they are difficult to understand and he gives it out in a simple form for the world to understand.

2.If the rains fail the world will suffer. Similarly the acharyas who appear from time to time to save the world from adharma and calamity.

3.The cloud does not expect anything in return like a good acharya who gives his upadesa without the expectation of any reward.

4.The clouds do not stay in one place but wander all over the sky giving rain to everybody. So also the acharyas travel everywhere to enlighten the people.

5. The rain of the acharyas is the grace of the Lord creating the flow of joy that cools the others who contact them.

6. Unlike the cloud the acharya does not lose his rain of wisdom, jnanavarsha, by giving to others.

.7. The lightning of the cloud is the brilliance of jnana of the acharya and the thunder is his roar in order to establish the vaishnavasiddhaantha as in the case of Desika who was known as kavaithaarkika kesari for that reason.

It is beautifully expressed in a metaphor that the cloud, Nammazvar took the water of mercy from the sea, Lakshmikantha, the Lord, and showered it on the mountain, Nadhamuni from which the water was sent down through the two mountain streams , Uyyakkondar and Ramamisra and reached the river, Alavandar and through the canal, Perianambi ,finally rested in the lake, Ramanuja, from which all are benefited.

Tiruppavai-Pasuram3

Ongi ulagalandha uththaman perpaadi
naangal nampaavaikku saattri neeraadinaal
theenginri naadellaam thingal mummaari peydhu
ongu perumsennel oodu kaylugala
poonkuvalaippodhil porivandu kanpaduppa
thengaadhe pukkirundhu seerththa mulai patri
vaangakkudam niraikkum vallal perum pasukkal
neengaadha selvam niraindhelorempaavai

Translation

When we sing the glory of the Lord who measured the whole universe with one foot, and proceed to do our ritual by bathing in His grace the whole country will be blessed with rains three times a month and the paddy crop will grow tall and the fish will swim in the water that surrounds it and the bees will sleep inside the kuvalai flowers that grow in the water. The aayppadi will become prosperous with the cows filling the pots by mere touch of the udder.

commentary

The Lord is referred to as Utthaman. The particle ‘thama’ is added to words to show the superlative degree. ‘ Uth’ denotes mukthas the realized souls, uththara the nityasuris, the ever-free souls like Garuda, Ananta etc. and uththama the Lord.

Ongi ulagalandha Uththaman –Ongi means rising high and ulagalandha means measuring the world. This has reference to the Vamanaavathaara when the Lord came as a midget Brahmin youth and asked Mahabali three feet of ground as dhaana. When Mahabali started to give it the Lord grew in size and covered the whole earth with His foot and the heavens with the second and challenged Mahabali to give him the ground for the third foot and when Mahabali offered his head for the Lord to put His third foot He sent Mahabali to Paathaalaloka and being pleased with his devotion the Lord also positioned Himself as his guard. He is Uththama because He destroyed only the pride of Mahabali but gave him in return His bhakthi samrajya. When He covered the earth with His foot He placed it on all irrespective of their merit to deserve it. He will give rain, which stands for His grace,
unasked and hence He is Uththama.

Mahabali acquired the post of Devendra for a short duration due to his merit and he gave away all the riches of Indra to the saptarshis and as a consequence was born as Mahabali and became arrogant of his power and confiscated the heaven from Indra . When Aditi the mother of devas prayed to the Lord , He came down as her son Vamana and punished Mahabali.

When the Lord raised His foot to heavens Brahma washed His feet with the water from his kamandala, holy pot but it was not sufficient and then the Lord tore open the cosmic shell and the waters beyond the universe, aavaranajala poured through and washed His feet and that was Aakaasaganga, the heavenly Ganges which later Bhagiratha brought to earth.

The whole creation belongs to the Lord as He is the seshi and all the rest are seshas. Mahabali thought that the world belonged to him and performed the sacrifice feeling proud that all his wealth and thought that he is capable of bestowing anything to anybody. The Lord killed only this arrogance but otherwise showered His grace on Mahabali. Similar to Mahabali we also think that our soul, atman, belongs to us whereas not only our soul but nothing else belongs to us. Even our children are born through us into this world but not born to us. The story of Mahabali illustrates only this .

Nammazvar asks, ‘ When the Lord covered the whole earth with his first foot where was the space for His second foot?’ So Mahabali gave on enough land for only one foot !

Perpadi – Singing His name is enough to secure His grace. The nama is even greater than the nami. It was the nama that came to the rescue of Draupadi. So Andal here praises the name which is enough to give them rain.

Nangal nampavaikku saatri neeraadinaal - Neeraadal or taking bath implies engrossed devotion. We bathe for cleansing ourselves of impurity . Here the inner and the outer purity is intended as Purandaradasa said, ‘manasu kuliyabeku krishnaanadhiyalu thirthamaadi,’ the mind should be cleansed, and not the mere body, by bathing in river of Krishna, the Lord. Saatri neeraadal means doing everything as a service to the Lord, bhagavatkainkaryam.

Theenginri naadellaam thingal mummaari peydhu - theenginri means without obstacles. The rain should come three times a month, maadham mummaari, to the whole country naadellaam. In ancient days when people lived adhering to dharma, there were three showers a month, nine days of sun and one day of rain. This ensured that there were no excessive rain, athivrishti, or anaavrishti, draught. When for instance the reading of virata parva of Mahabharatha was going on, not only that region but the whole country got rain.

The word mummaari, according to the commentators, implies the three streams of water, the water poured by Mahabali in the hand of the Lord giving dhaana, the water from the kamandalu of Brahma to wash His feet and the water of the Ganges created by Him by tearing open the cosmic shell and bringing down the Avaranajalam.

Ongu perum sennel – The paddy crop, sennel, grew high and big giving bountiful harvest after the birth of Krishna.

Oodu kayalugala - The water level was high likewise and the fish were seen running through it. Commentators see a reference to Matsyavathara and take the word kayal, fish to refer to the Lord Himself.

Poonguvalaippodhil porivandu kanpaduppa – The beautiful black bee, porivandu, which has entered the kuvalai flower to drink the honey became drowsy and slept inside as in a cradle rocked by the fish going to and fro. The Lord Himself , who enters the heart of a devotee and rests there rocked by the loving hand of devotion could be imagined as the bee here.

Thengaadhe pukkirundhu seertha mulai patri
vangakkudam niraikkum vallal perum pasukkal – The cows of aayarpadi were big, perumpasukkal, bountiful, vallal generous and do not withhold their milk, thengaadhe , and fill the pot, kudam niraikkum, when the cowherds touched their udder pukkirundhu seertha mulaipatri vanga. When the cow is ready to give all she has if one is not able to milk her fully, it is not the fault of the cow but due to the inefficiency of the cowherd or insufficiency of the pot. Similarly the Lord is like a generous cow, ready to give everything if we ask him for trifles it is our fault. The acharyas are also likened to vallalperum pasukkal as they are ready to impart all their wisdom to the disciples. But how much the disciple is able to grasp depends on the vessel he carries, namely the amount of faith, his thirst for knowledge and his intellectual capacity, more than anything else his karma and the grace of the Lord.

In this context the mummaari, the three showers are, the resolve of the devotee who surrenders to the Lord to accept Him alone as his master, to desist from seeking any other means of salvation except the devotion to the Lord and not to look for any other end than to attain Him. The word is also taken to refer to the three types of serving Him, namely, to write about Him, to tell others about His glory and to serve Him in the form of Archavathara , idol to be worshipped.

Onguperum sennel , the tall crop of paddy is the growth in the number of devotees who surrender to Him which makes Him sleep peacefully in their hearts like a Porivandu, a black bee with spots. The spots described here could be His ornaments as Azvar said’ palappalave aabharanam, His ornaments are numerous or by a stretch of imagination one can be reminded of the sloka of Kulasekhara, ‘ ‘Ksheerasaagaratharngasheekaraasaarathaarakilachaaru moorthaye’ the body of the Lord is speckled with the drops from the milky ocean like the sky shining with stars.

To the devotee whatever he sees will remind him of the Lord. The gopis thought only of Krishna when they saw anything tall and beautiful. To Parasara bhattar and Alvandar, the lotuses grown in the water of the paddy fields and the tall full grown stalk of paddy bending downward, brought the picture of the Lord and His devotees.

Thiruppaavai-Pasuram2

Pasuram2.
Vaiyaththu vaazveergaal naangal nampaavaikku
seyyum kirisaigal keleero paarkadlull
paiyyatthuyinra paramanadi paadi
neyyunnom paalunnom naatkaale neeraadi
maiyittezudhom malarittu naam mudiyom
seyyaadhanaseyyom theekkuralai senrodhom
aiyamum picchchaiyum aamthanaiyum kaikaatti
uyyumaarenni ugandhelorempaavaai.

Andal addresses everyone as ‘vaiyaththyu vaazveergaal’- those who live on earth. The bhooloka is the most important of all the realms of being, because here only, one can attain the Lord through bhakthi. The samsara is like a fire and the bhakthi is compared to a lotus grown on fire. That is, it protects the devotee from the fire of samsara like a lotus under his feet. Hanuman said when he was asked to ascend to Vaikunta with Rama that he prefers the earth where one can hear Ramanama to Vaikunta or any other place. Parasara Bhatta expressed his wish to remain on earth and continue to do service to Ranganatha rather than leaving Him and go to Paramapadha.

Naangal nampavaikku seyyum kirisaigal – Andal enumerates the rites to be observed for the pavai nonbu. Kirisai is same as kiriyai or acts . Seyyum kirisai, actions to be done includes those to be avoided also as both are mentioned here.

Keleero- ‘ will you hear’ – The ears are only for hearing about the Lord. The word keleero in Tamil can be construed to mean asking, hearing and following what you hear. Parikshit did all the three and attained Moksha in a short span of seven days.

The rules to be followed in observing the Pavai nonbu are listed by Andal, which are common to all aspirants or devotees. Kirisai can be physical, kaayika, verbal, vaachika and mental, maanasika. They are again classified as what should be and what should not be done. Paraman adi paadi , naatkaale neeraadi , aiyamum pichchaiyum aamthanaiyum kaikaatti and uyyumaarenni are the deeds to be done and neyyunnom paalunnom maiyittezudhom malarittu naam mudiyom, seyyaadhana seyyom and theekkuralai senrodhom are to be avoided.

Paraman adi paadi- to sing the glory of the Lord. This is vaachika or verbal service. Naatkaale neeradi is taking bath in the early morning which denotes kaayika, physical purity while aiymum--------kaikaatti is the act of charity and offering which is again physical. Uyyumaarenni is the thinking of the Lord for salvation and it is maanasika, mental.

Neyyunnom paalunnom, means giving up ghee and milk which represents rich food and maiyittezudhom malarittu naam mudiyom, meaning ‘ we will not decorate ourselves with eye liner or flowers’ both denote physical abstinence and simplicity of appearance. Seyyaadhana seyyom, ‘we will not do anything which is prohibited’ implies control of mind and theekkuralai senrodhom which means ‘ we will not carry tales’ refers to the control of the tongue.

Neyyunnom etc is not something of a great sacrifice for a bhaktha because he is all the time drinking the nectar of the namasankeerthana of the Lord and never has any hunger or thirst for anything else Similarly He finds pleasure in decorating the Lord and not himself.

What are seyyaadhana , not to be done? The two things to be avoided by a bhaktha. They are akrthyakaranam , doing what should not be done and krthya akaranam, not doing what is to be done. Not showing reverence to bhaagavathas, holy men, and the Lord Himself in any form, violence to other beings, coveting property or women of others, saying evil things and so on belong to the former class of what should not be done. Krithya akaranam is avoiding what should be done such as varnasramadharma worship and service to the Lord and His followers.

Theekkuralai is talking bad about others and Andal says senrodhom. Odhal is repeating and odhom means ‘we will not repeat what we hear about others which is theekkuralai malicious words. Senrodhom ‘ we will not go and tell others. Usually the gossip mongers take the trouble of approaching people to tell something malicious about others like Manthara of Ramayana.

AiyamumPichchaiyum- Aiyam is what we give as an offering to guru and what is given as dhakshina to priests or biksha to sannyasis or brahmacharis without their asking for it. Pichchai is alms or what is given as charity.

Aamthanaiyum kaikaatti- We should give to the best of our ability. A poor man giving few rupees to a needy is a greater charity than a rich man giving hundreds while he can very well afford much more.

Uyyumaarenni – to experience the joy of thinking about the attributes of the Lord. To think of Krishna produces the waves of bliss, aanandalahari, because He is the ocean of beauty, soundaryalahari, of sweetness, maadhuryalahari, of love, sringaralahari.

Uyyum aaru enni also means according to the vaishanava acharyas the six limbs of prapaththi or saranagathi, total surrender. These ideas recur in later pasurams amd will be explained there.

Paarkadalilpayya tthuyinra - He is lying on the milky ocean as though sleeping . If He really sleeps the world will be destroyed without His protection. Desika compares Him to a farmer who puts a shed in his field and come and stays there for the night to protect his crop. Having created the world He feels that it is His responsibility to look after it. The crop here is the good souls who believe in Him and look up to Him for protection. ’Parithranaaya saadhoonaam vinaasaaya cha dhushkrthaam.’
Paraman- He is the supreme self. Upanishad says, ‘na thathsamaschaabhyadhikascha vidhyathe,’ there is none equal or superior. The same idea is expressed by Nammazvar in the opening verse of Thiruvaimozi ‘ uyarvaravuyarnalam udaiyavan yavanavan.’ Arjuna says, witnessing the cosmic form of the Lord, ‘ na thvathsamo asthi abhyadhikah kutho anyo.’

Adipaadi - Of all the limbs of the Lord the feet are the most sought after because when one catches the feet of a person he cannot escape! Narayana Bhattadri says of th feet of the Lord ‘yogeendhraanaam thvadhangeshvadhika sumadhuram mukthibhaajaam nivasah, bhakthaanaam kaamavarshadyutharukisalayam naatha the paadhamoolam,’. The whole thiruppavai speaks of saranagathi or surrender and hence the importance to the feet.

The first thiruppavai refers to the ashtaakshara manthra ‘ om namo narayanaya’ as denoted by the words ‘narayanane namakke parai tharuvaan.’ This pasuram tells about the glory of the dvaya manthra, namely, shrimannaraayanacharanou saranam prapadhye shreemathe naaraayanaaya namah’ Hence the reference to the thiruvadi, ‘charanou.’ The next pasuram ‘ongi ulagalandha’ refers to the charamasloka of the Gita’ sarvadharmaan parithyajyu’ . Thus the first three verses extol the three sacred manthras of vaishnava prapaththimarga. Hence the three manthras are called rahasyathraya. Rahasya here does not mean secret not to be told to anyone as otherwise Ramnuja would not have shouted the moola manthra from the temple tower but it means that in order to make it effective one has to learn it from the acharya with faith and devotion. That is the secret, the rahasya.

Thruppavai Pasuram - 1- Margaziththingal

The story goes that Bhoodevi on being rescued from the depth of the 9ocean asked Lord Varaha to tell her by which easy way can her children on earth attain Him.Varahamurthi bade her to take birth as Godha to teach the humanity the path of devotion. Thus Sookaramurthi has shown the sukara, easy to do upaya.

Pasuram1.
Margaziththingal madhi niraindha nannaalal
Neeraadappodhuveer podhumino nerizaiyeer
Seer malgum aaippaadi selvasirumeergaal
Koorvel kodunthozilan nandagopan kumaran
Eraandhakanni yasodhai ilam singam
Kaarmenichchengann kadhirmadhiyam pool mugaththaan
Narayanane namakke parai tharuvaan
Paaror pugaza padindhelorempaavai

Margazi Thingal- month of Margazi.. .

In the month of Margazi the austerity of pavai nonbu is observed.

Mathiniraindha nannaal- full-moon day.

On the full-moon day in Margazi the star of Mrgasirsha is very near the Moon. Hence the name Margaseersha which is known as margazi in Tamil. Among the twelve names of the Lord that which dominates the month is Kesava. Krishna says in the Gita ‘I am Margazi among the twelve months. This month denotes the small hours of the morning for the devas to whom one human year amounts to one day. Moreover this month has the seed of the rain for the next year. For these reasons the month is very sacred and any austerities undertaken in this month fructify soon. Andaal calls this day a nannaal, good day because the day when the thought of attaining the Lord arises in the mind is a good day.

Neeraada podhuveer podhumino- Come let us go and bathe in the river.

Neeraadal means taking bath in ordinary language. But in this context it implies the union with Krishna.

Nerizaiyeer- Those with lustrous face and ornaments. As soon as they were called to approach Krishna. Their faces lighted with love and expectation.

Seer malgum aaipaadi.- The gokula which is rich and beautiful. Gokula ,the residence of the cowherds became prosperous after Krishna’s arrival.

Selvachchirumeergaal – Oh , the affluent cowherd girls., The wealth of these girls is their devotion towards Krishna which alone is eternal while all the other wealth is fleeting and transitory.

Koorvel kodumthozilan nandagopan kumaran- The son of Nandagopa, who is terrible wielding his ‘vel.’ The implication here is that Nanda even though soft by nature became terrible ready to attack those who wanted to harm Krishna.

Eraarndha kanni yasodhai ilam singam- The epithet erarndha kanni used with reference to Yasodha means that she has lovely wide eyes on account of looking at Krishna all the time and when used as one word it refers to Krishna Himself when erarndha kanni means the vyjayanthi mala worn by Him. The lion cub of Yasodha who is wearing the vyjayanthimala, will be the meaning of the phrase then. He is called a lion cub here whereas he was termed as kumaran, young boy in the previous line to indicate that he was obedient and docile to his father while he asserts himself like a lion cub when he was with his mother through her indulgence.

Kaarmeni- His dark body is compared to kaar, the rain bearing cloud because His shower of mercy towards His devotees is like the life giving rain to the world.

Chengann- Eyes red like lotus.

Kadhimadhiyam pol mugaththaan- His face is like both the Sun and the Moon, scorching to His enemies and cool to His devotees.

Narayanane – Narayanane who has been described above will Himself give us the boon of His service.

Paarorpugaza padindhelorempavaai. – The word pavaai at the end of each verse denotes the paavai nonbu they are observing. Andal here says that the vratha which is usually observed for rain in the world will fetch the desired result also and get them the praise of the society even though it was only a pretext and their real purpose is to unite with the Lord.

This world is the aayarpadi or aaippaadi. Andal represents the Acharya who is instructing the devotees, who are endowed with the virtues of kshama, ,patience, ahimsa, nonviolence, indriyanigraham, control of the semses, dhayaa, mercy, jnanam, wisdom, tapas, austerity, dhyaanam, contemplation and satyam, truth, to do service to the Lord.

This service or kainkarya is the neeraadal or bathing and the nerizai or ornaments are the above-said virtues. These are the riches, ‘seer’ and the selvachchirumeer refers to the devotees blessed with the wealth of devotion.

Madhi niraindha nannaal is the day on which one starts thinking about resorting to the Lord when it becomes nannaal or good day, filled, niraindha, with the thoughts mathi, of Him, Margazi or Margasirsha in Sanskrit means the way, marga, which is sirsha, the first and foremost and refers to the path of surrender, Prapaththimarga.

The words nandagopan and kumaran may both be taken to denote Krishna himself, nanda meaning one who gives joy and kumaran may refer to His eternal youth, Nithya yuva as He is called by Desika in Godhasthuthi. Then the word kodunthozilan implies that He is merciless towards the wicked. Parithraanaaya saadhoonaam vinaasaya cha dush krthaam as He says in the Gita. Not only the enemies outside but also the internal foes like kamakrodhaadhi flee from the heart, once He is established in it. In that sense also He is kodunthozilan and ilam singam

Narayanane namakke parai tharuvan- The ‘ekaara’ in Narayanane is to emphasize that Lord Narayana alone, is capable of giving parai, Moksha.

Andal says podhuveer podhumino to imply that whoever is so inclined can join the group of devotees. It is always commendable to go in groups for activities pertaining to God.

It is said in Srimathbhagavatham that the rshis of Dandakaaranya were born as the gopis to enjoy the company of the Lord which was denied to them in Ramavathara. They were steeped in bhakthi and vairagya and hence termed as selvachirumeergaal, who have had the wealth of His company and kainkarya.

Krishna the gopikaramana

The love between radha and Krishna Or between Krishna and gopis were not illicit. The upanishad says 'raso vai sah' He is the essence of all emotions. The rasakrida is symbolic of the union with the Lord and the infinite joy of it. The jivas are like a garland formed with the Lord in the centre which is depicted by the circle of gopis and Krishna in Rasleele . To a jnani the whole world is Brindavan and the rasleele is the dance of the pure consciousness in and through everything.

One must remember that Krishna was only ten year old at this time. In fact King Parikshit to whom the Bhagavatha was told by Shukha asked him as to how could Krishna commit paradharaabhimarsana, the sin of coveting another man's wife, when He has taken avathara for the sake of dharmasamsthapana, to establish dharma. Shukha replied that the Lord, who is the inner self of not only gopis but also their husbands, is playing with His own body and where has paradharaagamana come into this!

Same answer is said to be given by Lord Siva to Parvathi who asked the same question. Siva says 'svasariraparishvangaath rathirnaasthi varaanane.' the embracing one's own body is not illicit love.-( Padmapurana.)

The one who was relating the story was a realised master, Sukha and one to whom it was told was Parikshit who was awaitng his death. Those who heard it along with him were the sages. So that explains the sanctity of the episode. The whole Bhagavatha was supposed to be the sarira of the Lord while the five chapters describing the rasakreeda are said to be the praanasthana. Hence this is 'bhakthyaah paraa kaashtaa,' the utmost form of bhakthi and not sringaramaya, a love poetry.

The gopis were with Krishna at the time of Rasakreeda but they were not missed at their homes says Bhagavatha. It is only their yogasariras were united with Bhagavan while their bogasariras were at home. Gopisd saw only Krishna in their husbands and other relatives and hence their love towards them increased and for the same reason reciprocated.

I am giving below the significance of rasakreeda and the Radhakrishna concept.
By contemplating on Him as a butter thief our dishonest desires disappear. By imagining Him as bound to the mortar our bondage is broken and by meditating on Him as the lover of gopis our lust is destroyed.

When the mind is fully engaged in the Lord it becomes the flute in His hand, a hollow tube with full of holes through which all the impurities have been washed off. then His fingers move through the holes and fills it with divine music. When the mind wants to unite with Him but is not able to do so due to egocentric impulses that separates it from Him , the resulting sorrow is depicted as the viraha of the gopies and Radha.
The gopies went to meet Krishna but they were never missed at home, says Bhaagavatha Puraana. Their union was one of spirit and not of body. When the thought is centered on the object of love it is the union of the spirit. When every thought that occurs is centered on the Lord the devotee's mind becomes a stage for Rasleela. Each thought is the gopi having Krishna as its object. this idea is brought out beautifully in the sloka anganaam anganaam anthare Maadhavo Maadhavam Maadhavam anthare anganaa there was a Krishna between each gopi and there was a gopi between each Krishna. Then what happens is the divine music played by Devakinandhana, When all thoughts merge into one like the big fish swallowing the smaller ones or like a big wave absorbing the small waves the mind is filled with only one thought which is represented by the concept of Radha, who is the jiva, the individual soul. When the jiva turns towards the Lord it finds that it is unable to do so blinded by ego born out of ignorance. Then the Acharya advises the jiva to shed its ego and approach the Lord with humility and love. This is the part played by he sakhi friend of Radha, in the legends of Radha-Krishna. The Lord is ever merciful and ready to receive the jiva with outstreched arms and He is as eager to unite with the jiva, if not more, , as the jiva itself.
The story of Gitagovinda, a lyric by Jayadeva, depicts the above idea beautifully. We go away from the Lord due to our ignorance and start blaming Him or our troubles which are all due only to our separation from Him. When He tries to contact us we spurn Him thinking that He does not care for us. But He does not mind our rebuff and patiently tries to bring us back to where we belong. Finally we come to realize that He had been kind to us all along though we were not aware of it till now.

The Lord says in the Gita to do our duty. He Himself will draw us towards Him with His venugana making us leave everything. Then He disappears after setting the glow of devotion in our hearts. Primarily it is the desire to see Him and attain Him the jiva came to this world because it is the goal and purpose of human life. This world is a jungle full of thorns and stones and darkness. All jivas are women and He alone is the Purusha. By searching Him and yearning for Him all our sins dissolve. and by attaining Him, our merits will also evaporate. This is salvation.

Thruppavai of ANDAL

Andal of SouthIndia was like Meera of the North, great devotee of Lord Narayana from her childhood. She was found among the bushes of Tulsi plant by Vishnuchiththa, who was later known as Periyazvar due to his hymns about the Lord to guard Him from evil eye. His story will follow later. Andal wanted to marry only the Lord and unlike Meerra her fatger did not force her. She observed the vow of Pavai nonbu in the month of Margazi collecting the girls in Srivillipuththur where she lived and sang the verses which are famous today as Thiruppavai. The work is steeped in Bhakthi and extolled as being capable of destroying sins, showing the path to attain the feet of the Lord and it is said to contain the essence of the vedas because it describes the Lord and the means of attaining Him. In this blog the verses of thiruppavai will be explained with their inner meaning as commented by great vaishnavite acharyas.