Pasuram-29-sitram sirukAlE
sitramsirukAlE vandhunnai sEvitthun
pottramarai adiye pottrum poruL keLAi
pettram meitthuNNum kulatthil pirandhu nee
kuttrEval engaLai koLLAmal pOgAdhu
ittraipparai koLvAn anru kAN gOvindA
ettraikkumEzEzu piravikkum unthannOdu
uttrEmE AvOm unakkE nAm AtseivOm
mattrai nam kAmangal mAttrElOrempAvAi
Hear why we have come in the early morning and worship your lotus-like feet.Being born in th clan of cowherds you cannot refuse our service to you.We have not come here just ask for the requisites for this vratha but to pray that we should belong to you for all the lives to come and should serve you alone. remove all the other desires of ours.
sitram sirukAle-kAle means the time when the gopis start their work such as churningthe milk. sirukAle is the time before that when they wake up and sitramsirukAle denotes the brAhmamuhurtha when yogis and ages wake up and start their worship.
This word is also interpreted thus:
siru+am+siru kAl-siru kAl the small feet of young Krishna which is am,beautiful and siru, seen a little outside.
The time when we go to see the Lord is the early morning., sirukAle. In the temples even if the gate is opened at noon the suprbhatham is recited.It is mentioned as sitram siru kAl because the time we see the Lord in the temple is much less than that spent in other activities.
The time Krishna is found in Gokula is short because (i) as soon as the day breaks he will go to the forest to tend cattle (ii) soon he will leave for Madura.
To a devotee the time he acquires the knowledge if the Lord is the early morning because till then it was night spent in sleeping due to ignorance. From the time he leaves this body and attain the Lord his day starts.
vandhunnai sEvitthu-Whay Andal means is this: without expecting that you will come to us as you did in the case of Gajendhra we ourselves have come to you.
pottrAmarai adiyE- They did not want anything else like gold or worldlypleasures but wanted only to serve the Lord an dtherefore leaving everything have come to Him as Vibheeshana said 'thyakthva puthrAmscha dhArAmscha rAghavam SatraNam gathah' that is, "leaving my sons and wives I have surrendered to Rama."
Petram meitthuNNum----pOgAdhu- Vedanta Desika in DayaSathakam calls the Lord a krsheevala, farmer who is intent on His harvest of prapannas.(DayaSatakam-108) So like a farmer who protects his crop and stays on his fileld overnight to at the harvest time to guard against thieves and birds etc.from taking away or destroying his cp rop, the Lord also comes down to earth in the form of His incarnations to safeguard the interests of His devotees.Hence after having been born in the clan of cowherds Andal says that it is His responsibility to save us.
ittrai----unnakkEnam AtseivOm- It is not their intention to get the accessories for their vrata, Parai koLvAn anru but it was only a pretext to approach him and ask him to give them the opportunity to do his service.
uttrOmE AvOm- The Lord is the only real relation to us for all our lives ( seven times seven) , because others belong to one life only..'mAthA mE Laksmeedevee pithA dhEvO janArdhanah;bAnDhavAh vishnubhakthAscha vasudhaiva kutumbakam,' is the attitude of a prapanna.
The upanishad says, 'na vA arE pathyuh kAmAya pathih priyO bhavathi, Athmansthu kAmAya.'(Brhd.2-4-5) The worldly relationships are selfish-motivated. The self is the dearest of all and the Lord is the self of all.
UnakkEnAm AtseivOm- kuttrEval means the kainkryam to the best of one's ability and according to the will of the Lord. This denotes Anukulya sankalpam and prAthikulya varjanam, the first two angas of prapatthi mentioned in the previous pasuram. By saying kutrEval engalAu ikkoLlAmal pOgAdhu indicates mahavisvasam and the line uttrOmE AvOm unakkE nAm AtseivOm implies gOpthruthva varaNam at the exclusion of others. By saying pettram meitthuNNum kula they
mattrai nam kAmangaL mAttrElorempAvAi-While the previous lines imply svarupa samarpaNam and phalasamarpaNam, by saying we belong to you(uttrOmE AvOm) and we expect only the kainkarya as the phala, this line is by way of bharasamarpaNam, placing the burden of saving us on the Lord Himself. We are incapable of controlling our mind as Arjuna said, 'chanchalam hi manah krishna pramAThi balavaddhrDam thasyAham nigraham manye vAyOriva sudhushkaram,' the mind is fickle and very agitated and powerful and to control it is as difficult as controlling the wind. Hence Andal places the responsibility on the Lord himself by saying 'mattrai nam kAmangal mattrElorempAvai, remove all other desires from our mind ' The Lord creates vairagya in the mind of the one who surrenders and make him completely engrossed in Himself.
Pasuram 30-Vangakkadal kadaindha
Vangakkadal kadaindha mAdhavanai kesavanai
thingaL thirumugatthu sEyizaiyAr senrirainji
angapparaikonda Attrai aNipudhuvai
PaingamaltthaNtheriyal bhattarpirAn kOdhai sonna
sangatthamizmAlai muppadhum thappAme
ingipparisuraippar eerirandu malvaraitthOL
thingaL thirumugatthu selvatthirumAla
engum thiruvaruL pettru inburuvar empavai
This work describing the entreaty of the girls with faces like moon and eyes like lotuses. to the Lord Kesava, of lovely locks, the Madhava, Lord of Lakshmi,who helped in the churning of the beautiful milky ocean, in order to acqouire the necessary requirements for their pavai nonbu, is the composition of Godha of Srivlliputthur, the daughter of Vishnucchittha, (Periazvar) who wears the garland of lotuses and thulasi.Those who recite this 30 pasurams which are equal to sangatthamiz, will get happiness through the Lord's grace.
vangakkadal-This is not the Bay of bengal, as it may appear to the superficial reader but the word vanga means beautiful, and refers to the milky ocean. It is so called because it is associated with the Lord, and it gave out all the precious things and the amrtha in the end.
kadaindha Madhavan-Madhavan means the Lord (Dhava) of Lakshmi(ma) He is mentioned here as the one who churned the ocean not only because He was instrumental in doing so by helping the devas by carrying the manthara mountain and dropping it into the ocean and supported it as koorma, but because he helped at every step, by churning it with them and lastly through His mohini avathara.
yamunacharya says in his Sthothra ratna that the Lord took all the trouble to churn the ocean in order to obtain Lakshmi as He bridged the ocean later for her sake(to retrieve Sita )'yadharTham ambOdDHih amanTHi abanDHi cha.'
But if one starts thinking about the reason for His wish to get Lakshmi, for which the ocean was churned as Yamuna says, it appears that He wanted her to make His hrdhaya her abode so that it will be full of mercy. So He wanted her not for Himself but for the world which will be benifitted by her dhaya influenced by which alone the Lord shows His grace without minding our sins.This explanation looks appropriate especially when Andal calls Him as Madhavan, mAyah DHavan- lord of Lakshmi.He not only churned the milky ocean but also churned the ocean of milk and curd in Gokula by his exploits of stealing butter, curd etc.,and causing a great furore among the gopis, perhaps as a practice to churn the great ocean of army later the Mahabharatha war.
kEsavan-kEsa is hair and as Krishna has beautiful locks of hair he is called Kesava. It also means the slayer of the demon Kesi. Another meaning of Kesava is that ka is Brahma , isa means Siva and the particle va means the one who have them both in Him as Lord Naryana synonymous with the Brahman of the Upanishads whose manifestations are the trinity.Kesava is also the adhishtana devatha of the month of Margazi. This is the end pasuram of Thiruppavai which started as paraman adi pAdi and ends with kesavanai which resembles a pAdhadhikeSAntha sthothra.
paingamalatthaNtheriyal bhattarpiran-Periazvar. as Vishnucchittha, the father of Godha was known as, used to wear the garland of lotuses and thulasi leaves. The former symbolises the Sridevi and the latter is of the Lord Narayana.
Kodhai sonna sangatthamizmalai-Kodhai in Tamil means garland and godha in sanskrit means gAm dhdhAthi ithi- or goDHa which means gAm dhaDHathE-one who give good words. Periazvar was proficient in both the languages and with foresight, he must have chosen the name which became appropriate.
Her words are extolled as being equal to the ancient tamil works at the time of Tamil sangam and hence it is referred to as sangatthamiz mAlai. Sangam also means group, attachment and beauty.This work has to be enjoyed togeter in a group of devotees and without attachment to the worldly objects and also it is full of beauty.
ingipparisuraippAr- ingu is this world and the word parisu means the reward in the form of kainkarya.
eerirandumAlvaraitthOL- eerirandu, two and two ,that is four arms like mAlvarai, mountainous.
chengaNthirumugatthu- His eyes are like red lotuses ( not fully red but streaked with redness)
selvatthirumAl-He is rich with His auspicious qualities and association with Sri(thiru)
engum thirivaruL pettruinburuvar -blessed with His grace always and be happy. Those who learn this work will be happy in this world and the next till they unite with the Lord.
Thiruppvai concluded
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Thiruppavai-Pasuram28-Karavaigal pin senru
Pasuram28-karavaigal pin senru
karvaigaL pin senru kanam mEithunbOm
arivonrum illAdha Aikkulatthundhannai
piravipperundhanai puNNiam yAmudaiyom
kuraivonrum illAdha gOvindhA unthannOdu
uravEl namakkinru ozikka oziyAdhu
ariyAdha piLLaigalOm anbinAl unthannai
sirupEr azaitthanavum Seeri aruLAdhE
iraivA nee tharAi paraiyElOrempAvai.
We are simple folks with not much wisdom and we follow the cattle and eat in the forest but we have done a lot of punya to have you in our midst. You have no faults and we have no other relation than with you.We are ignorant youngsters and if we call you as though you are one of us do not get angry but shower your grace on us.
This pasuram reflects the words of Arjuna in the Gita,'sakhEthimathvA prasabham yadhuktham hE krishna hE yadhava hE sakhethi;ajAnathA mahimanam thavEdham,mayA pramAdhAth pranayEna vapi,' (BG.11-41) There Arjuna asks forgiveness of Krishna on seeing His visvaroopa, that he had been calling Krishna with familiarity, treating Him like a friend, by names such as Krishna, Yadhava, friend etc. Here too Abndal assuming the role of a gopi, says that they were cowherd girls , without intelligence and knew no more than looking after the cattle and going to the forest with them and eating there etc.
arivonrum illAdha Aikkula ----puNNiam yAmudaiyOm- This is said to denote the souseelyam and soulabhyam of the Lord. Souseelyam is moving with the ignorant folk wirhout discrimination, 'mahathah mandhaih saha neeranDHra samslesha svabhAvah.' And the soulabhyam is 'labDHum suSakathvam,' easy accessibility. By being born im the yadhavakula the Lord has displayed both the qualities.
kuraivonrum illAdha govinda- The Lord is ananthakalyaNa guNa visishta, endowed with infinite ausoicious qualities and without a blemish.
uravEl namakkingu ozikka oziyAdhu- denotes the awareness that the permanent relationship is only with the Lord which is undeniable.
ariyAdha piLlaigaLOm-means that we do not know the proper way of worshipping you as we do not have any learning.
anbinAl----seeri arulAdhe- Not knowing your greatness we may have treated you as one among us. So do not get angry.This is similar to the words of Arjuna, quoted above.
Iraiva----parai elorempavai-On the other hand you have to show your grace because we surrender to you as our only refuge.
punniam yamudaiyOm- even though they are ignorant they had the result of past good deeds to have Krishna among them. The Lord expects only love which at its height becomes bhakthi more than learning or austerities. Krishna Himself says, 'nAham vedhairh na thapasA na DhAnEna na chejyayaa----bhakthyA thu ananyayA sakyah,' To understand Him in reality is possible only through bhakthi and not by penance, meritorious deeds or by performing sacrifices. Due to punya alone one gets bhakthi, whiich is meant here.
The name Govinda has great implications.:
The word 'go' has several meanings in sanskrit such as earth, indriya,svarga,or mokshaastra Cow, veda etc. Based on that the scholars explain the name thus:
1.Gaam(second case singular of 'go') , svargam or moksham vindhayathi,secures ithi govindhah. He is govindha because He bestows mukthi.
2.Gaam, ishum, meaning astras vindhathi - He acquired the astras from Visvamithra in Ramavathara.
3.Gaah(accusative plural of 'go', pasu.) vindhathi. He knew the cows, that is, He knew them to be the rshis of dandakaaranya in His krishnavathara.Balarama is also implied by the word cow as He went with Krishna for gorakshaNa
4.Gobhih (instrumental plural of 'go'meanind veda.) vindhyathe. He is known through the vedas.
5Gaam, vajram, vindhayathi. He made it possible for indra to get vajrayudha by instructing him to approach Dhadheechi and beg him to give his backbone.
6.Gavaa (instrumental singular of 'go'meaning dhrk, look) dhrsaa vindhathi. He knows all by His dhrk or appropriate kataksha.He knows how to look at every one and when.
7.Gaah nethraaNi vindhathi- He has thrinethra, three eyes as Nrsimha, and also eyes everywhere, 'sahasraakshassahasrapath'
8. Gaah, jwaalaah, vindhathi, has fiery form, being Suryamandala madhya varthi.Chandhogya upanishad describes Brahman as 'Ya eshahantharaadhithye hiraNmayah purushah dhrsyathe hiranyasmasru hiranya kesa aapraNakhaath sarva Eva suvarNah'. The purusha seen inside the orb of the Sun with golden beard, golden hair an exceedingly effulgent even to the very tips of His nails. The purusha here is paramaathman or Narayana.This is the passage where the famous'kapyaasam pundarikam' occurs referred to in the charitra of Ramanuja.
9.Gaam ,bhoomim vindhathi, brought the earth from the depth of the ocean, Vatrahavathara and also Parsurama as He wandered all over the earth and Trivikrama as He measured the earth with His feet.
10. Gaam , jalam vindhathi. resorts to the waters, Mathsya and Koorma.11. Gaam vedam vindhathi. He alone knows the real purport of the vedas. Refers to Hayagrivaavathara.12. Gaam ,indhriyam vindhathi .The Lord of the indhriyas, Hrishikesah. Makes the indhriyas enter into appropriate vishaya.
There are even more meanings mentioned by the saintly commentators but These are the generally quoted meanings. Andal was fond of this nama is also shown by her mentioning it in the three of her main pasurams.
Srivilliputhur is referred to as Govindhan vaazumoor.Commentators say that Andal being the avathara of Bhudevi had more love for govindha nama as the Lord saved her in Varahavathara..
Govindha pattabhishekam is extolled as being even superior than that of Rama because Valmiki says 'vasavo vaasavam yathaa', of the coronation of Rama comparing it to that of Indra but here Indra himself did the abhisheka of Krishna as Govinda.
When the Lord is called Govinda He feels indebted to the devotee as in the case of Droupadi who screamed with grief calling Him Govinda when He immediately came to the resque.
Lord Srinivasa of Thirupathi is known as Govinda and when the devotees sing the glory ofthe Lord they say only Govindanamasankirthanam. In VenkatesapuraNa , Lord Srinivasa is asked as to whom the preliminary poojs to be done, because He Himself cannot worship Himself. He was told, 'thvAmEva vEdmi Govinda,' meaning 'I know only you.' Then He mentioned the Narasimha of Ahobilam.
There are three places where He is known as Govinda, namely, Thirupathi, Chidambaram and srivilliputthur.
Kurai onrum illAdha govinda- the commentators say that this term is appropriate only to Krishna because he rectified the three seemingly defective acts of Rama in this avathara. Of course these reasons are given in light vein.
1. He redressed the wrong done to Vali, the son of Indra, by killing him and giving the kingdom to the son of Surya, Sugreeva , by doing the reverse in this avathara. He caused the death of Karna, the Suryaputhra and got the kingdom for Arjuna,son of Indra!
2.Hanuman said to Sita 'nahi prakrshtAh prEshyanthE preshyanthE hi ithare janah,' to reassure her. Usually the mightiest are not sent as messengers but only others and when he himself has been able to cross the ocean others, all of whom are mightier than him will certainly do so. Perhaps the Lord thought that Anjaneya might have such notions and hence considered himself to be inferior and to show the greatness of Maruti as a messenger, He Himself went as one in Krishnavathara!
3. the name Ramayana was not the one given by Valmiki who called his composition as 'seethAyah charitham mahath,' the great story of Seetha. In Tamil it is termed as 'siraiirundhaval Ettram' the glory of one who was imprisoned. Perhaps the Lord also thought that it is due to her exemplary character exhibited when she was a prisoner in Lanka and was a bit jealous about it and in krishnavathara He was born in Prison itself!
karvaigaL pin senru kanam mEithunbOm
arivonrum illAdha Aikkulatthundhannai
piravipperundhanai puNNiam yAmudaiyom
kuraivonrum illAdha gOvindhA unthannOdu
uravEl namakkinru ozikka oziyAdhu
ariyAdha piLLaigalOm anbinAl unthannai
sirupEr azaitthanavum Seeri aruLAdhE
iraivA nee tharAi paraiyElOrempAvai.
We are simple folks with not much wisdom and we follow the cattle and eat in the forest but we have done a lot of punya to have you in our midst. You have no faults and we have no other relation than with you.We are ignorant youngsters and if we call you as though you are one of us do not get angry but shower your grace on us.
This pasuram reflects the words of Arjuna in the Gita,'sakhEthimathvA prasabham yadhuktham hE krishna hE yadhava hE sakhethi;ajAnathA mahimanam thavEdham,mayA pramAdhAth pranayEna vapi,' (BG.11-41) There Arjuna asks forgiveness of Krishna on seeing His visvaroopa, that he had been calling Krishna with familiarity, treating Him like a friend, by names such as Krishna, Yadhava, friend etc. Here too Abndal assuming the role of a gopi, says that they were cowherd girls , without intelligence and knew no more than looking after the cattle and going to the forest with them and eating there etc.
arivonrum illAdha Aikkula ----puNNiam yAmudaiyOm- This is said to denote the souseelyam and soulabhyam of the Lord. Souseelyam is moving with the ignorant folk wirhout discrimination, 'mahathah mandhaih saha neeranDHra samslesha svabhAvah.' And the soulabhyam is 'labDHum suSakathvam,' easy accessibility. By being born im the yadhavakula the Lord has displayed both the qualities.
kuraivonrum illAdha govinda- The Lord is ananthakalyaNa guNa visishta, endowed with infinite ausoicious qualities and without a blemish.
uravEl namakkingu ozikka oziyAdhu- denotes the awareness that the permanent relationship is only with the Lord which is undeniable.
ariyAdha piLlaigaLOm-means that we do not know the proper way of worshipping you as we do not have any learning.
anbinAl----seeri arulAdhe- Not knowing your greatness we may have treated you as one among us. So do not get angry.This is similar to the words of Arjuna, quoted above.
Iraiva----parai elorempavai-On the other hand you have to show your grace because we surrender to you as our only refuge.
punniam yamudaiyOm- even though they are ignorant they had the result of past good deeds to have Krishna among them. The Lord expects only love which at its height becomes bhakthi more than learning or austerities. Krishna Himself says, 'nAham vedhairh na thapasA na DhAnEna na chejyayaa----bhakthyA thu ananyayA sakyah,' To understand Him in reality is possible only through bhakthi and not by penance, meritorious deeds or by performing sacrifices. Due to punya alone one gets bhakthi, whiich is meant here.
The name Govinda has great implications.:
The word 'go' has several meanings in sanskrit such as earth, indriya,svarga,or mokshaastra Cow, veda etc. Based on that the scholars explain the name thus:
1.Gaam(second case singular of 'go') , svargam or moksham vindhayathi,secures ithi govindhah. He is govindha because He bestows mukthi.
2.Gaam, ishum, meaning astras vindhathi - He acquired the astras from Visvamithra in Ramavathara.
3.Gaah(accusative plural of 'go', pasu.) vindhathi. He knew the cows, that is, He knew them to be the rshis of dandakaaranya in His krishnavathara.Balarama is also implied by the word cow as He went with Krishna for gorakshaNa
4.Gobhih (instrumental plural of 'go'meanind veda.) vindhyathe. He is known through the vedas.
5Gaam, vajram, vindhayathi. He made it possible for indra to get vajrayudha by instructing him to approach Dhadheechi and beg him to give his backbone.
6.Gavaa (instrumental singular of 'go'meaning dhrk, look) dhrsaa vindhathi. He knows all by His dhrk or appropriate kataksha.He knows how to look at every one and when.
7.Gaah nethraaNi vindhathi- He has thrinethra, three eyes as Nrsimha, and also eyes everywhere, 'sahasraakshassahasrapath'
8. Gaah, jwaalaah, vindhathi, has fiery form, being Suryamandala madhya varthi.Chandhogya upanishad describes Brahman as 'Ya eshahantharaadhithye hiraNmayah purushah dhrsyathe hiranyasmasru hiranya kesa aapraNakhaath sarva Eva suvarNah'. The purusha seen inside the orb of the Sun with golden beard, golden hair an exceedingly effulgent even to the very tips of His nails. The purusha here is paramaathman or Narayana.This is the passage where the famous'kapyaasam pundarikam' occurs referred to in the charitra of Ramanuja.
9.Gaam ,bhoomim vindhathi, brought the earth from the depth of the ocean, Vatrahavathara and also Parsurama as He wandered all over the earth and Trivikrama as He measured the earth with His feet.
10. Gaam , jalam vindhathi. resorts to the waters, Mathsya and Koorma.11. Gaam vedam vindhathi. He alone knows the real purport of the vedas. Refers to Hayagrivaavathara.12. Gaam ,indhriyam vindhathi .The Lord of the indhriyas, Hrishikesah. Makes the indhriyas enter into appropriate vishaya.
There are even more meanings mentioned by the saintly commentators but These are the generally quoted meanings. Andal was fond of this nama is also shown by her mentioning it in the three of her main pasurams.
Srivilliputhur is referred to as Govindhan vaazumoor.Commentators say that Andal being the avathara of Bhudevi had more love for govindha nama as the Lord saved her in Varahavathara..
Govindha pattabhishekam is extolled as being even superior than that of Rama because Valmiki says 'vasavo vaasavam yathaa', of the coronation of Rama comparing it to that of Indra but here Indra himself did the abhisheka of Krishna as Govinda.
When the Lord is called Govinda He feels indebted to the devotee as in the case of Droupadi who screamed with grief calling Him Govinda when He immediately came to the resque.
Lord Srinivasa of Thirupathi is known as Govinda and when the devotees sing the glory ofthe Lord they say only Govindanamasankirthanam. In VenkatesapuraNa , Lord Srinivasa is asked as to whom the preliminary poojs to be done, because He Himself cannot worship Himself. He was told, 'thvAmEva vEdmi Govinda,' meaning 'I know only you.' Then He mentioned the Narasimha of Ahobilam.
There are three places where He is known as Govinda, namely, Thirupathi, Chidambaram and srivilliputthur.
Kurai onrum illAdha govinda- the commentators say that this term is appropriate only to Krishna because he rectified the three seemingly defective acts of Rama in this avathara. Of course these reasons are given in light vein.
1. He redressed the wrong done to Vali, the son of Indra, by killing him and giving the kingdom to the son of Surya, Sugreeva , by doing the reverse in this avathara. He caused the death of Karna, the Suryaputhra and got the kingdom for Arjuna,son of Indra!
2.Hanuman said to Sita 'nahi prakrshtAh prEshyanthE preshyanthE hi ithare janah,' to reassure her. Usually the mightiest are not sent as messengers but only others and when he himself has been able to cross the ocean others, all of whom are mightier than him will certainly do so. Perhaps the Lord thought that Anjaneya might have such notions and hence considered himself to be inferior and to show the greatness of Maruti as a messenger, He Himself went as one in Krishnavathara!
3. the name Ramayana was not the one given by Valmiki who called his composition as 'seethAyah charitham mahath,' the great story of Seetha. In Tamil it is termed as 'siraiirundhaval Ettram' the glory of one who was imprisoned. Perhaps the Lord also thought that it is due to her exemplary character exhibited when she was a prisoner in Lanka and was a bit jealous about it and in krishnavathara He was born in Prison itself!
Thursday, February 15, 2007
thiruppavaiPasuram27
Pasuram-27-koodArai vellum
koodArai vellum seer gOvindhA unthannai
pAdipparai kondu yAm peru sanmAnam
nAdu pugazum parisibnAl nanrAga
chhodagamE thoLvaLaiye thodE sevippoovE
pAdagamE enranaiya palkalnum yAm aNivOm
Adai uduppOm adhan pinnE par sOru
moodanei peidhu muzangai vazi,vAra
koodiyirundhu kulirndhElOrempAvAi
Oh Govindha , who conquer those who are not favourable to you by your valour and virtues, the reward we have by singing your glory and observing the austerities is acclaimed by the whole country. Now that you have granted our request we will adorn ourselves with jewels , bangles, armbands, earrings ear drops and anklets. We will wear new clothes and eat along with you, the rice boiled in milk with ghee that drips over our elbows, and enjoy.
koodArai vellum seer- He conquers evn those who turn away from Him by His attributes, seer and He is conquered by those who love Him. Vali who first despised Rama for killing him with an arrow hiding Himself, praised Him in the end and so did Tara and MandOdhari even though Rama killed their husbands.Ravana was defeated by His valour, Surpanakha by His beauty and Vibheeshana by His divinity.
gOvindha -This name is supposed to be the favourite of the devotees as well as the Lord Himself. The explanation of the various meanings of Govindanama will be elaborated in the next pasuram.
unthannai-----sanmanam-She means to say that they have not praised Him expecting anything in return and He should Himself give them the best, that is, Himself.
choodagam-bangle.thOLvaLai-jewelled armband. thodu, sevippoo ear ornaments. paadagam-anklet.
pArsOru mooda nei peidhu muzangai vazi vAra-rice boiled in milk with jaggery (sarkaraippongal or akkaravadisil as it is called in vaishnava households) with ghee overflowing and dripping through their elbows.
Periazvar describes the gifts of the Lord to him thus in his thiruppallAndu:
neyyidai sorum (rice mixed with ghee) niyathamum atthANicchEvagamaum( the opportunity to do service to Him daily) kaiadaikkAyum(thAmboolam-betelleaves and nuts etc )kazutthukku pooN (neck ornament) kAdhukku kunNdalam (earrings)meyyidai nalladhOr sandham( fragrant sandal laste to apply on the body) The meaning is that all the bogyas, objects of enjoyment are to be considered as the gifts of the Lord. Devotees are not expcted to lead a puritanic existence but to enjoy the Lord and His gifts with joy.Parasara bhattar used to appear well dressed and decked with flowers ornaments etc.when he went to do pooja to the Lord of Srirangam in order to show his joy of serving Him.
This pasuram indicates the fulfilment of the vratha called pAvainOnbu of which it was said in the beginning 'neyuNNOm pAluNNOm,' that they will not drink milk or eat ghee etc. till the vrata is over.
Andal calls herself and others as 'Ayppadiselvacchirumeer' (pasuram1)the girls fortunate in living in ayarpadi which denotes the sAlOkyam kind of mukthi, that is living in the same world as the Lord. Reaching the abode of Krishna , 'nandhagopan koil'(pasuram16) implies sAmeepyam, the nearness of the Lord. In the previous pasuram they asked for all the signalia of the Lord, like pAnchjanya etc. which refers to the sAroopyam, the likeness of the Lord.In this pasuram the union with the Lord is meant, that is sAyujayam. The words pAlsOru moodanei pedhu and koodiyirundhu denote that the final state the devotee aspires for, is the constant union with the Lord and enjoy the bliss along with Him.
thOlvalai signifies for a vaishnavite,the mark of the conch and the disc on his shoulders as the sign of haveing done prapatthi, a ritual called samAsrayaNam.
thOdu - is thirumandhiram, ashtakshara manthram, which is instructed on prapatthi
sevippoo is the dhvayamandhiram and pAdagam is the charamasloka as it means the ornament of the feet denoting saranagathi.
palkalan means jnana, bhakthi and vairagya which are the best ornaments for a bhaktha.
Adai is Seshathvam, the sense of belonging to the Lord.
pAlsOru is kinkarya, serving the Lord which is as sweet as the rice boiled in milk with jaggery.
mooda neipeidhu means this joy in bhagavatseva is devoid of ego but completely covered with pArathathanthryam, the idea if being His dasa.
Counting from the 16th pasuram in which they arrive at the abode of the Lord as first, because the beginning of real life starts only when we approach God, this pasuram is the 11th, EkAdhasa. After Ekadasi vratha is over they enjoy rich dinner with akkAravadisil etc.
Andal in Nacchiar thirumozi said
'nArunarumpozil mAlirunchOlai nambikku
nAn nooruthadAvil veNNai
vAi nErndhu parAvi vaitthEn
nooru thada niraindha
akkAravadisil sonnEn
Eru thiruvudaiyAn inru
vandhivai koLLumkolO.'
I offer to the AAzagar of thirumAliruncholai 100 vessels fup ll of butter and 100 vessels of akaravadisil . Will He come and accept it?
What Andal offered the Lord through her pasurams Ramanuja performed in reality by preparing the vessels of butter and akkaravadisil in Srivilliputthur for which Andal herself appeared in front and called him 'aNNA,' her elder brother, who has fulfilled her desire like that of a sister by her brother.That is why she is called in the thaniyan, the verse chanted as the benediction after thiruppavai , as perupudhoor mAmunikkuppinnAnAl, the younger sister of Ramanuja.
koodArai vellum seer gOvindhA unthannai
pAdipparai kondu yAm peru sanmAnam
nAdu pugazum parisibnAl nanrAga
chhodagamE thoLvaLaiye thodE sevippoovE
pAdagamE enranaiya palkalnum yAm aNivOm
Adai uduppOm adhan pinnE par sOru
moodanei peidhu muzangai vazi,vAra
koodiyirundhu kulirndhElOrempAvAi
Oh Govindha , who conquer those who are not favourable to you by your valour and virtues, the reward we have by singing your glory and observing the austerities is acclaimed by the whole country. Now that you have granted our request we will adorn ourselves with jewels , bangles, armbands, earrings ear drops and anklets. We will wear new clothes and eat along with you, the rice boiled in milk with ghee that drips over our elbows, and enjoy.
koodArai vellum seer- He conquers evn those who turn away from Him by His attributes, seer and He is conquered by those who love Him. Vali who first despised Rama for killing him with an arrow hiding Himself, praised Him in the end and so did Tara and MandOdhari even though Rama killed their husbands.Ravana was defeated by His valour, Surpanakha by His beauty and Vibheeshana by His divinity.
gOvindha -This name is supposed to be the favourite of the devotees as well as the Lord Himself. The explanation of the various meanings of Govindanama will be elaborated in the next pasuram.
unthannai-----sanmanam-She means to say that they have not praised Him expecting anything in return and He should Himself give them the best, that is, Himself.
choodagam-bangle.thOLvaLai-jewelled armband. thodu, sevippoo ear ornaments. paadagam-anklet.
pArsOru mooda nei peidhu muzangai vazi vAra-rice boiled in milk with jaggery (sarkaraippongal or akkaravadisil as it is called in vaishnava households) with ghee overflowing and dripping through their elbows.
Periazvar describes the gifts of the Lord to him thus in his thiruppallAndu:
neyyidai sorum (rice mixed with ghee) niyathamum atthANicchEvagamaum( the opportunity to do service to Him daily) kaiadaikkAyum(thAmboolam-betelleaves and nuts etc )kazutthukku pooN (neck ornament) kAdhukku kunNdalam (earrings)meyyidai nalladhOr sandham( fragrant sandal laste to apply on the body) The meaning is that all the bogyas, objects of enjoyment are to be considered as the gifts of the Lord. Devotees are not expcted to lead a puritanic existence but to enjoy the Lord and His gifts with joy.Parasara bhattar used to appear well dressed and decked with flowers ornaments etc.when he went to do pooja to the Lord of Srirangam in order to show his joy of serving Him.
This pasuram indicates the fulfilment of the vratha called pAvainOnbu of which it was said in the beginning 'neyuNNOm pAluNNOm,' that they will not drink milk or eat ghee etc. till the vrata is over.
Andal calls herself and others as 'Ayppadiselvacchirumeer' (pasuram1)the girls fortunate in living in ayarpadi which denotes the sAlOkyam kind of mukthi, that is living in the same world as the Lord. Reaching the abode of Krishna , 'nandhagopan koil'(pasuram16) implies sAmeepyam, the nearness of the Lord. In the previous pasuram they asked for all the signalia of the Lord, like pAnchjanya etc. which refers to the sAroopyam, the likeness of the Lord.In this pasuram the union with the Lord is meant, that is sAyujayam. The words pAlsOru moodanei pedhu and koodiyirundhu denote that the final state the devotee aspires for, is the constant union with the Lord and enjoy the bliss along with Him.
thOlvalai signifies for a vaishnavite,the mark of the conch and the disc on his shoulders as the sign of haveing done prapatthi, a ritual called samAsrayaNam.
thOdu - is thirumandhiram, ashtakshara manthram, which is instructed on prapatthi
sevippoo is the dhvayamandhiram and pAdagam is the charamasloka as it means the ornament of the feet denoting saranagathi.
palkalan means jnana, bhakthi and vairagya which are the best ornaments for a bhaktha.
Adai is Seshathvam, the sense of belonging to the Lord.
pAlsOru is kinkarya, serving the Lord which is as sweet as the rice boiled in milk with jaggery.
mooda neipeidhu means this joy in bhagavatseva is devoid of ego but completely covered with pArathathanthryam, the idea if being His dasa.
Counting from the 16th pasuram in which they arrive at the abode of the Lord as first, because the beginning of real life starts only when we approach God, this pasuram is the 11th, EkAdhasa. After Ekadasi vratha is over they enjoy rich dinner with akkAravadisil etc.
Andal in Nacchiar thirumozi said
'nArunarumpozil mAlirunchOlai nambikku
nAn nooruthadAvil veNNai
vAi nErndhu parAvi vaitthEn
nooru thada niraindha
akkAravadisil sonnEn
Eru thiruvudaiyAn inru
vandhivai koLLumkolO.'
I offer to the AAzagar of thirumAliruncholai 100 vessels fup ll of butter and 100 vessels of akaravadisil . Will He come and accept it?
What Andal offered the Lord through her pasurams Ramanuja performed in reality by preparing the vessels of butter and akkaravadisil in Srivilliputthur for which Andal herself appeared in front and called him 'aNNA,' her elder brother, who has fulfilled her desire like that of a sister by her brother.That is why she is called in the thaniyan, the verse chanted as the benediction after thiruppavai , as perupudhoor mAmunikkuppinnAnAl, the younger sister of Ramanuja.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Thriuppavai-Pasuram26-malemanivanna
Pasuram26- mAlE maNivaNNA
mAlE maNivaNNA mArgazineerAduvAaam
mElaiyAr seyvanagaLvEnduvanaj kEttiyEl
jnAlatthai ellAm nadunga muralvana
pAlnnavaNNatthun pAnchajanniyamE
pOlvanasangangaL pOyppASdudaiyanavE
SAlapperumparaiyE pallANdisaippArE
kOlaviLakkE kodiyE vithAnmE
Alin ilaiyay aruLElO rempAvai
O Lord, you are the beloved of your devotees, you are of the colour of sapphire, listen to what we want from you after our sacred bath in the month of margazi following the tradition set out by our elders.We want conches like your milk-hued panchajanya which causes tremor for the whole world with its sound, great drums, people who sing pallaAndu,beautiful lamps,l;ag and canopies.You who recline on the banyan leaf, please grant us all this.
This pasuram is the 26th. It signifies te Lord, who is paramathma.There are 24 thathvas or evolutes of prkrthi, the primordial nature and 25th is the jeevathma denoted as purusha who is implied by the last pasuram 'orutthimaganaippirandhu'This pasuram refers to the paramathma ,the 26th. It also denotes the ashtakshara manthra which is 8=2+6.The number 2 stands for the dhvaya manthra and the number 6 denotes the six padhas of the dhvaya and also the six angas, limbs of prapatthi.
mAlE- He is having vathsalya for His creations and hence comes now and then as incarnations to see to their welfare.
maNivaNNA-He is having the colour of a blue sapphire, indhraneelamaNi, as described by almost all devotee-saints like Desika, Narayanabhattadri and Thyagaraja.
mElaiyar seivanagaL- the austerities and charities as shown by the elders.
They ask for six things:
1.sangam-conch like panchajanyam of the Lord.
2.parai-drum
3.pallAndisaipAr-the group who sing pallandu, when the Lord is taken on a procession, the composition of Preriazvar, which marks the beginning of the Nalayiradivyaprabandham.It is a benediction for the Lord Himself.
Periazvar won the argument in the court of the Pandyan king solely due to the grace of the Lord at whose command he went tnough he didnut know anything except to offer garlands and sing to the Lord. Then the king mounted him on the elephant and set him on a procession. The Lord Koodalazagar of Madurai manifested Himself in front of Azvar seemingly to watch His devotee honuoured thus. Not realising that the Lord appears only to him, the azvar sang pallandu, as a protection for the Lord from evil eyes. such was the vathsalya he felt tpowards the Lord.
4.Kola viLakku- The ornamental lamps that are carried in a temple procession.
5.kodi- the flag that is carried when the Lord comes on procession
6. vithanam- the canopy on the top.
Of these, three lines are allotted for the conch alone may be because,
1. it is equivalent to the pranava which has three mathras, a,u, and m.
2.L Panchajanya was born in the sea, grew into the body of the asurapanchajana and finally reached the hand of the Lord.
3.Krishna also was born in Madura, grew in Gokula and migrated to Dvaraka.
pOyppAdu udaiyana- Panchajanya has a wide interior.
4.We are born from the womb of the mother and grow into a devotee through the wide jnana given by praNava, signified by Panchajanya and finally reach Vaikunta.
5.The white coloured conch is supposed to give loud sound. The white colour also denotes satthva which is the great sound that enters the heart (hari enra pEraravam uLLam pugundhu-pasuram6) and drives out the rajas and thamas.
SAlapperumparai -The drum which is large and sounds loud so that no other talk will be heard and the mind will be completely absorbed in the divyamangakla svarupa of the Lord.
Krishna might have said that his panchajanya is only one and how can he give it to them and also they wanted many, (sangangal) and Andal replies by calling him 'Alin ilaiyay' one who slept on a banyan leaf, meaning that nothing is imposible for him. He can create, sustain and annihilate the world, all can be done through the sound of his conch alone, as it is synonymous with prnava.When Krsihna blew his conch before the battle all the kouravas were already destroyed and the actual battle was only a drama through his leela.
The banyan tree is calpable of giving shade to whole army.( aNnal yAnai aNi thEr puravi Atperumpadaiyodu mannanrkkirum kka niZalAgummE) Similarly the Lord gives shadow for the good,'vivAsavrkshah sAdhoonAm;vasudhevatharucchAya.' Vasudeva is the tree in whose shadow the good are residing.
The word 'Alin ilaiyay' implies that He is capable of doing anything. He converted an ordinarykuSa grass into brahmasthra in Ramavathara and reduced the sea to a ditch by crossing over it easily, used monkeys as His army and vanquished the mighty Ravana as easily as he would swat a fly,and endless miracles He did in Krishnavathara. The word denotes His swamithvam,overlordship and the word maNivaNNa denotes His soulabhya, easy accessibility.
The same idea we can see in the charamasloka, 'sarvadharman parithyajya mAm Ekam SaraNam vraja, aham thvAm sarvapApEbhyah mOkshayishyAmi mA uchah.'
"Give up all dharma and surrender to Me alone and I will release you from all so ins, do not despair."
By saying mAm SaraNam vraja the Lord denotes His soulabhya, meaning "I am here for anyone easily available to surrender," and the word aham denotes His swamithva, hence the power of removing our sins.
This pasuram is important not only because it is the 26th thus signifying the paramathman but also because it outlines all the constituents of SaraNAgathi.
Prapatthi or SaraNAgathi in vaishnava tradition three levels and six limbs.
The three levels are:
1.svarupasamarpaNam
2.phalasamarpaNam
3.bharasamarpaNam
1. svarupasamarpanam means placing our svarupa , natural self at His feet as His Sesha, property.This was indicated by 'oLindhuvaLara' in the previous pasuram which means giving up our ego and living as His dasa.
2.Phalasamarpanam is offering the fruit of our actions at his feet and this was implied by 'selavamum sevakamum' in the previous pasuram meaning that the fruit of their endeavour is only His kainkarya.
3.Bharasamarpanam is laying down the responsin bility of our protection at His feet. This is denoted by the words 'arundhitthu vandhom' which means they hold Him only as the means and end.
The six angas of Prapatthi are:
1.Anukoolya sankalpam- The resolve to do only the acts which are approved by Him.
2.prAthikoolya varjanam-Not to gdo anything that is forbidden by Him.
3.mahAviSvAsam- Absolute faith.
4.gOpthrthvavaraNam-Entreaty to Him to grant protection.
5.karpaNyam-(Akinchanyam)- Awareness of one's utter helplessness and praying for His grace..
6.Phalathyagam-surrendering the result of action also to Him.
1.SAlapperumparai- denotes Anukoolya sankalapam.Parai is the enjoined karma which are approved by God. Perumparai is the resolve to do the enjoined karma.
2.jnAlatthai ---pOyppAdudaiyanaveL- prthikoolya varjanam-pAnchajanyam means the indhriyavyaApAra,born of indhriyas,that is anything done with the five indhriyas. pAlannavaNNam- denotes the satthva- oriented action and pOippAdu implies wide application of indhriyas in avoiding the actions that are prohibited.
3.kOlavilakku- denotes mahAviSvasam.the faith should be like the kutthuviLakku, steady and one-pointed.
4.vithAnam-gopthrthvavaraNam.as the vithAna , canopy protects the Lord from sun and rain He will protect us from sin
.
5.kodi-karpanyam.The word kodi also means creeper and the prpanna needs the support of the Lord as the creeper needs the tree.
6.pallAndisaippar- those who have no other wish except singing the gloru yof the Lord, indicate phalathyagam.This way of life continues till the end for a prapanna.
mAlE maNivaNNA mArgazineerAduvAaam
mElaiyAr seyvanagaLvEnduvanaj kEttiyEl
jnAlatthai ellAm nadunga muralvana
pAlnnavaNNatthun pAnchajanniyamE
pOlvanasangangaL pOyppASdudaiyanavE
SAlapperumparaiyE pallANdisaippArE
kOlaviLakkE kodiyE vithAnmE
Alin ilaiyay aruLElO rempAvai
O Lord, you are the beloved of your devotees, you are of the colour of sapphire, listen to what we want from you after our sacred bath in the month of margazi following the tradition set out by our elders.We want conches like your milk-hued panchajanya which causes tremor for the whole world with its sound, great drums, people who sing pallaAndu,beautiful lamps,l;ag and canopies.You who recline on the banyan leaf, please grant us all this.
This pasuram is the 26th. It signifies te Lord, who is paramathma.There are 24 thathvas or evolutes of prkrthi, the primordial nature and 25th is the jeevathma denoted as purusha who is implied by the last pasuram 'orutthimaganaippirandhu'This pasuram refers to the paramathma ,the 26th. It also denotes the ashtakshara manthra which is 8=2+6.The number 2 stands for the dhvaya manthra and the number 6 denotes the six padhas of the dhvaya and also the six angas, limbs of prapatthi.
mAlE- He is having vathsalya for His creations and hence comes now and then as incarnations to see to their welfare.
maNivaNNA-He is having the colour of a blue sapphire, indhraneelamaNi, as described by almost all devotee-saints like Desika, Narayanabhattadri and Thyagaraja.
mElaiyar seivanagaL- the austerities and charities as shown by the elders.
They ask for six things:
1.sangam-conch like panchajanyam of the Lord.
2.parai-drum
3.pallAndisaipAr-the group who sing pallandu, when the Lord is taken on a procession, the composition of Preriazvar, which marks the beginning of the Nalayiradivyaprabandham.It is a benediction for the Lord Himself.
Periazvar won the argument in the court of the Pandyan king solely due to the grace of the Lord at whose command he went tnough he didnut know anything except to offer garlands and sing to the Lord. Then the king mounted him on the elephant and set him on a procession. The Lord Koodalazagar of Madurai manifested Himself in front of Azvar seemingly to watch His devotee honuoured thus. Not realising that the Lord appears only to him, the azvar sang pallandu, as a protection for the Lord from evil eyes. such was the vathsalya he felt tpowards the Lord.
4.Kola viLakku- The ornamental lamps that are carried in a temple procession.
5.kodi- the flag that is carried when the Lord comes on procession
6. vithanam- the canopy on the top.
Of these, three lines are allotted for the conch alone may be because,
1. it is equivalent to the pranava which has three mathras, a,u, and m.
2.L Panchajanya was born in the sea, grew into the body of the asurapanchajana and finally reached the hand of the Lord.
3.Krishna also was born in Madura, grew in Gokula and migrated to Dvaraka.
pOyppAdu udaiyana- Panchajanya has a wide interior.
4.We are born from the womb of the mother and grow into a devotee through the wide jnana given by praNava, signified by Panchajanya and finally reach Vaikunta.
5.The white coloured conch is supposed to give loud sound. The white colour also denotes satthva which is the great sound that enters the heart (hari enra pEraravam uLLam pugundhu-pasuram6) and drives out the rajas and thamas.
SAlapperumparai -The drum which is large and sounds loud so that no other talk will be heard and the mind will be completely absorbed in the divyamangakla svarupa of the Lord.
Krishna might have said that his panchajanya is only one and how can he give it to them and also they wanted many, (sangangal) and Andal replies by calling him 'Alin ilaiyay' one who slept on a banyan leaf, meaning that nothing is imposible for him. He can create, sustain and annihilate the world, all can be done through the sound of his conch alone, as it is synonymous with prnava.When Krsihna blew his conch before the battle all the kouravas were already destroyed and the actual battle was only a drama through his leela.
The banyan tree is calpable of giving shade to whole army.( aNnal yAnai aNi thEr puravi Atperumpadaiyodu mannanrkkirum kka niZalAgummE) Similarly the Lord gives shadow for the good,'vivAsavrkshah sAdhoonAm;vasudhevatharucchAya.' Vasudeva is the tree in whose shadow the good are residing.
The word 'Alin ilaiyay' implies that He is capable of doing anything. He converted an ordinarykuSa grass into brahmasthra in Ramavathara and reduced the sea to a ditch by crossing over it easily, used monkeys as His army and vanquished the mighty Ravana as easily as he would swat a fly,and endless miracles He did in Krishnavathara. The word denotes His swamithvam,overlordship and the word maNivaNNa denotes His soulabhya, easy accessibility.
The same idea we can see in the charamasloka, 'sarvadharman parithyajya mAm Ekam SaraNam vraja, aham thvAm sarvapApEbhyah mOkshayishyAmi mA uchah.'
"Give up all dharma and surrender to Me alone and I will release you from all so ins, do not despair."
By saying mAm SaraNam vraja the Lord denotes His soulabhya, meaning "I am here for anyone easily available to surrender," and the word aham denotes His swamithva, hence the power of removing our sins.
This pasuram is important not only because it is the 26th thus signifying the paramathman but also because it outlines all the constituents of SaraNAgathi.
Prapatthi or SaraNAgathi in vaishnava tradition three levels and six limbs.
The three levels are:
1.svarupasamarpaNam
2.phalasamarpaNam
3.bharasamarpaNam
1. svarupasamarpanam means placing our svarupa , natural self at His feet as His Sesha, property.This was indicated by 'oLindhuvaLara' in the previous pasuram which means giving up our ego and living as His dasa.
2.Phalasamarpanam is offering the fruit of our actions at his feet and this was implied by 'selavamum sevakamum' in the previous pasuram meaning that the fruit of their endeavour is only His kainkarya.
3.Bharasamarpanam is laying down the responsin bility of our protection at His feet. This is denoted by the words 'arundhitthu vandhom' which means they hold Him only as the means and end.
The six angas of Prapatthi are:
1.Anukoolya sankalpam- The resolve to do only the acts which are approved by Him.
2.prAthikoolya varjanam-Not to gdo anything that is forbidden by Him.
3.mahAviSvAsam- Absolute faith.
4.gOpthrthvavaraNam-Entreaty to Him to grant protection.
5.karpaNyam-(Akinchanyam)- Awareness of one's utter helplessness and praying for His grace..
6.Phalathyagam-surrendering the result of action also to Him.
1.SAlapperumparai- denotes Anukoolya sankalapam.Parai is the enjoined karma which are approved by God. Perumparai is the resolve to do the enjoined karma.
2.jnAlatthai ---pOyppAdudaiyanaveL- prthikoolya varjanam-pAnchajanyam means the indhriyavyaApAra,born of indhriyas,that is anything done with the five indhriyas. pAlannavaNNam- denotes the satthva- oriented action and pOippAdu implies wide application of indhriyas in avoiding the actions that are prohibited.
3.kOlavilakku- denotes mahAviSvasam.the faith should be like the kutthuviLakku, steady and one-pointed.
4.vithAnam-gopthrthvavaraNam.as the vithAna , canopy protects the Lord from sun and rain He will protect us from sin
.
5.kodi-karpanyam.The word kodi also means creeper and the prpanna needs the support of the Lord as the creeper needs the tree.
6.pallAndisaippar- those who have no other wish except singing the gloru yof the Lord, indicate phalathyagam.This way of life continues till the end for a prapanna.
Sunday, February 04, 2007
thiruppavaiPasurams24 and 25
Pasuram24-anru ivvulagam
anru ivvulagam aLandhAi adi pOttri
chenranguthennilangai chettrAi thiral pOttri
ponracchagaam udhaitthai pugazpottri
kanru kuNila erindhai kazal pOttri
kunrukudaiyai edutthAi guNam pOttri
venru pagai kedukkum nin kayil vel pOttri
enrenrum un sEvagamE EtthipparaikoLvAn
inru yAm vandhOm irangElorempavai
Glory to your feet ! You measured this world once.You went and conquered Lanka, we praise your valour. You kicked the cartwheel, glory to you. You killed the asura who came as a calf by using him as a catapult.Praise to your feet! We praise your mercy in holding the hill as an umbrella. The spear in your hand be praised for its vanquishing the enemies.We have come today to serve you ever and obtain your grace Have mercy on us.
When the Lord arrived and is seated on his throne, offered by the devotion of Andal, she forgot to talk about 'vandha kAriyam,' for which she entreated Him to listen in the prevoius pasuram and started praising Him offering mangalASAsanam, saying pOtri,pOtri. After all she is the daughter of Periazvar who sang PallAndu for the Lord. The episodes mentioned here praise the glory of His feet and the mangalASAsana seems to be the talisman for the trouble His feet underwent.
1. anru ivvulagam aLandhAi- The episode of Mahabali is mentioned here.The Lord had promised that He will not kill any descendant of Prahlada and hence punished Mahabali by sending Him to pAthAla.Moreover Bali was not wicked but only arrogant with power. He was pious and a devotee as well. That is why he got what was not given to anyone, namely the touch of the feet of the Lord.
2.senrangu thennilangai chettrai- If Rama wanted to kill RavaNa he could have done it from AyodhyA itself and need not have taken the trouble of going to the forest at all. But He went to dhandakaraNya in order to give refuge to the rshis there.So the feet which walked all the way to DhandakAraNya are praised here. Thennilangai chettrai does not mean that Rama destroyed Lanka because he did not. He has given Lanka to VibheeshaNa already and would not harm it.The word means, then=beautiful , nilam = country, kai= kaikkonda , one who had it in his hands, that is, Ravana. So the phrase means ' praise be to you who destroyed Ravana.'
3. ponracchgadam udhaitthai-Another feat of the feet, kicking the wheel of the cart, to kill the asura who was disguised therein.Srimadbhagavatham says that YasOdha did not believe the words of the boys who said that the cart went to pieces because Krishna kicked it and she felt his feet to ensure that it was not hurt.
4. kanru kunilA erindhAi-It was the arms which threw the asura who came in the form of a calf but Andal praises his feet, kazal pOttri, because when he threw up the calf, the posture he was standing in drew the attention to his graceful and lotus-like feet.
5. kunru kudaiyai edutthai- Here also his feet are to be praised because it is the feet the gopas surrendered when oppressed by deluge-like rain.Krishna held the mountain as an umbrella which means that he grasped it with all his fingers and inverted it like an umbrella. The words in Bhagavatha 'cchathraakam iva ' like an umbrella has been taken to imply that He inverted the mountain, by Desika and Azvar. Krishna tells 'yathopajosham visatha girigartham sagodhanaah,' meaning , enter into these hollows or caves of the mountain along with the cattlae etc. and live there. So the beings of gokula were not standing under the mountain but lived comfortably in the caves as in their houses.Unless the mountain was upturned this is not possible as they could not have climbed up the top which was under the rain. So there is ample evidence apart from the azvar and Desika sukthis that Krishna indeed upturned the mountain and He held it with one hand and not with little finger.
In srimadbhagavatha the lifting of the mountain is described thus. 'Ithyukthvaa ekena hasthenakrthvaa govardhanaachalam dhadhaara leelayaa krishnah cchathraakamiva baalakah' Krishna lifted the mountain by one hand playfully like an umbrella. The same is described by Vedanta Desika beautifully thus. 'Sa leelayaa merumiva dvitheeyam govardhanam gopakula pradheepah navaprroodam nihithaika hastho naago nalasthambham iva ujjahaara.' The light of the Yadavas,(krishna) lifted playfully the govardhana mountain like a second Meru ,placing it in one hand like an elephant lifting a lotus stalk. He upturned the mountain 'adhomukhaavasthitham' and held it with its bottom up, 'udhanchayath sathvaram oordhvamoolam.' Periazvar describing this incident by 10 verses says that the hand of Krishna looked like adhisesha holding the earth.'padangal palavumudai paambaraiyan padarbhoomiyai thaanga kidappavan pol' as the fingers resembled the hoods of the sesha with his hand opened wide, 'thadangai viraindhum malara vaitthu.' Desika further describes the hand thus: His hands red like lotus were like the base of the opened umbrella, 'abugnarakthaanguli panjaram' and the rays of the rings on His fingers forming the rods 'ratnormikaarasmi salaakamanthah,' it looked like a huge cchathra, umbrella supported by the staff of His arm. Let us also enjoy the words of Periazvar- seppaadudaiya thirumaalavan than senthaamarai kaiviral aindhinaiyum kuppaaga edutthu mani neduntholl kaambaaga kodutthu kavittha malai.' The Lord upturned the mountain 'kavitthu,' holding it withy His five fingers of His lotus-like hand, with His arm as the supporting stick of the umbrella,aninedum tholl kaambaaga.'The streams of water falling around looked like the pearl strings round the umbrella,'parandhizi the llaruvi muthuvadam.', All these show without doubt that the Lord held the mountain with His hand and not His little finger, which must have been the modification for the sake of dramatic element.
The word pOttri repeated six times denotes that Krishna is none other that Narayana who has six gunas that define the word BhagavAn, namely, jnana, bala, aisvarya,shakthi, thEjas and veeryam.
According to vaishanva sampradhaya this word pOtri repeated six times denote the six angas, constituents of saranagathi. These will be elaborated in the commentary of the pasuram 'malE maNivaNNa.'
anru----alandhai- the whole world has the stamp of His foot to which the devotee do parapatthi, that is, saranagathi.
Senrangu thennilangai chettrai-then=beautiful, nilam- field, khethram which means the body, as mentioned in the Gita, 'idham sariram kounthEya kshEthramithyabhidheeyathE, this sarira is called kshethram.' kai denotes the mind which has sarira in its control. The Lord subdues the mind and leads it along the right path which is meant by chettrai.
ponracchagadam udhaitthAi- The wheel of karma which He destroys (ponra)
kanru kuNila erindhai-He throws away the sins which come is succession like calving.
kunrum kudaiyai edutthai-He protects with His grace like an umbrella from the shower of sins .
Nin kaiyil vEl- his will is like the spear removes the obstacles to His service.
All this is achieved by surrendering to His feet.
Pasuram25-orutthimaganAippirandhu
OrutthimaganAippirandhu Oriravil
orutthimaganAi oLitthhu vaLara
tharikkilAnAgi thAn theengu ninaindha
karutthaippizaippitthu kanjan vayittril
neruppennaninranedumAle unnai
arundhitthu vamdhOm paraitharudhiyAgil
thirutthakkaselvamum sevagamum yAm pAdi
varutthamum theerndhu magizndhElO rempAvai
Oh Lord of massive form, being born to Devaki and being brought secretly to Gokula and brought up byYasodha you were like fire in the stomach of Kamsa, we have come to entreat you for te fulfilment of our wishes. If you grant our wish we will sing your glory and of the divine mother . We extoll the merits of our service to you and will be free of all miseries.
The avathara rahayam, the secret behind the incarnation is mentioned in this pasuram. Krishna says in the Gita, 'janma karam cha mE dhivyam Evam yO vEtthi thathvathah;thyakthvA dhEham punarjanma naithi mAmEthi sO Arjuna,one who knows the truth behind my incarnation and my actions, O Arjuna, never ricerts back to brth once he leaves his body.'
What is the truth of His janma? The upanishad says, 'ajAyamAnO bahudhA vijAyathe,' the one who has no birth is born many times.' This statement, though looks as self contradicting ,is not really so.The Lord is never born liek an ordinary mortal as he has no karma and hence need not undergo the garbhavasa. He only manifests Himself and the mothers like Devaki, Kousalya and even Adhithi feel as though they were giving bitrth to Him through HIs mAya.And the truth that He was Lord Narayana was a secret known only to a chosen few and His actions which seemed to be baffling to a common mind were all explicable to them.
orutthi maganAi pirandhu-
Vedanta Desika says in his Yadhavabhyudhaya Devaki produced the LOrd like the eastern direction prodoces the moon. Theimplication is that justas the eastern direction never really produced the moon but the moon appeared in the east.Similarly Krishna simply appearedor manifeste himself in Devaki.
Pirandhu the birth of man separates him from God whereas the birth of the Lord is to bring us near to Him.
Vasudeva and Devaki were prSni and suthapqa. kaSyapa and adhithi in their previous births and Lord Narayana incarnated as their son in the previous births as prSnigara,VAmana respectivlly according to their request repeated threetimes in the first birth to have a son liek the Lord and since thereis no one like Him He Himself came as their son.
orutthi maganai olitthu vaLara - He was ot hiding from the fear of Kamsa but hid Himself under the mortal form to protect the world.He went to gokula for showering his grace on the Ayarkyulam, which represents the simple folk denoting His soulabhya and vathsalya.He concealed Himself inside the pillar to protect Prahlada, disguised Himself as vamana to protect the devas appeared as Rama to protect the rshis of dandakaranya and here he came as Gopala to protect the yadhavakula.
tharil kkilAmnagi-----neruppenne ninranedumAlE-Kamsa was seeing Krishna everywhere and thought about him all the time and attained the Lord through hate.
arundhitthu vandhOm - One must have done some poorapunya to get devotion to the Lord.
parai tardhiyAgil- He has to give the necessary equipment for His worship.Heis both the upAya, the maeans and upEya, the end.
thiruthakka selvam - the best weaith one can get on this earth is the service of the Lord. when the king of vijayanagaram, Krishna devaraya sent for Desika, prompted by his friend Vidyranya, who held honoured position in the court, Desika replied through his vairagya panchakam, 'asthi mEhasthisailAgrE vasthu pauthAmaham dhanam,I aleady have my ancestral wealth on the Hasthisaila,' meaning Lord Varadaraja. and refused to go to the court of Krishnadevaraya. This shows that when one is blessed with the bhakthisamrajya , kingdom of God, all the others appear to be worthless.
varutthamumtheerndhu magizndhWElorempAvAi- The sorow is due to samsara and that will go away by the grace of the Lord and what remains is only unalloyed joy.
There are two mothers for the seeker. One is the gayathri manthra through which one becomes dhvija, meaning twice-born and the other is the ashtakshara manthra through which he becomes qualified for moksha.Oriravu is the samsara in which the jeeva is hidin behind the dhehathama buddhi forgetting the real nature of the self. To the evil impulses that stand between the jeeva and his redemption, the Lord is like the fire inside and burns them when one surrenders to him. He then gives the thirutthakka selvam in the form of devotional service and leads the jeeva to infinite bliss
anru ivvulagam aLandhAi adi pOttri
chenranguthennilangai chettrAi thiral pOttri
ponracchagaam udhaitthai pugazpottri
kanru kuNila erindhai kazal pOttri
kunrukudaiyai edutthAi guNam pOttri
venru pagai kedukkum nin kayil vel pOttri
enrenrum un sEvagamE EtthipparaikoLvAn
inru yAm vandhOm irangElorempavai
Glory to your feet ! You measured this world once.You went and conquered Lanka, we praise your valour. You kicked the cartwheel, glory to you. You killed the asura who came as a calf by using him as a catapult.Praise to your feet! We praise your mercy in holding the hill as an umbrella. The spear in your hand be praised for its vanquishing the enemies.We have come today to serve you ever and obtain your grace Have mercy on us.
When the Lord arrived and is seated on his throne, offered by the devotion of Andal, she forgot to talk about 'vandha kAriyam,' for which she entreated Him to listen in the prevoius pasuram and started praising Him offering mangalASAsanam, saying pOtri,pOtri. After all she is the daughter of Periazvar who sang PallAndu for the Lord. The episodes mentioned here praise the glory of His feet and the mangalASAsana seems to be the talisman for the trouble His feet underwent.
1. anru ivvulagam aLandhAi- The episode of Mahabali is mentioned here.The Lord had promised that He will not kill any descendant of Prahlada and hence punished Mahabali by sending Him to pAthAla.Moreover Bali was not wicked but only arrogant with power. He was pious and a devotee as well. That is why he got what was not given to anyone, namely the touch of the feet of the Lord.
2.senrangu thennilangai chettrai- If Rama wanted to kill RavaNa he could have done it from AyodhyA itself and need not have taken the trouble of going to the forest at all. But He went to dhandakaraNya in order to give refuge to the rshis there.So the feet which walked all the way to DhandakAraNya are praised here. Thennilangai chettrai does not mean that Rama destroyed Lanka because he did not. He has given Lanka to VibheeshaNa already and would not harm it.The word means, then=beautiful , nilam = country, kai= kaikkonda , one who had it in his hands, that is, Ravana. So the phrase means ' praise be to you who destroyed Ravana.'
3. ponracchgadam udhaitthai-Another feat of the feet, kicking the wheel of the cart, to kill the asura who was disguised therein.Srimadbhagavatham says that YasOdha did not believe the words of the boys who said that the cart went to pieces because Krishna kicked it and she felt his feet to ensure that it was not hurt.
4. kanru kunilA erindhAi-It was the arms which threw the asura who came in the form of a calf but Andal praises his feet, kazal pOttri, because when he threw up the calf, the posture he was standing in drew the attention to his graceful and lotus-like feet.
5. kunru kudaiyai edutthai- Here also his feet are to be praised because it is the feet the gopas surrendered when oppressed by deluge-like rain.Krishna held the mountain as an umbrella which means that he grasped it with all his fingers and inverted it like an umbrella. The words in Bhagavatha 'cchathraakam iva ' like an umbrella has been taken to imply that He inverted the mountain, by Desika and Azvar. Krishna tells 'yathopajosham visatha girigartham sagodhanaah,' meaning , enter into these hollows or caves of the mountain along with the cattlae etc. and live there. So the beings of gokula were not standing under the mountain but lived comfortably in the caves as in their houses.Unless the mountain was upturned this is not possible as they could not have climbed up the top which was under the rain. So there is ample evidence apart from the azvar and Desika sukthis that Krishna indeed upturned the mountain and He held it with one hand and not with little finger.
In srimadbhagavatha the lifting of the mountain is described thus. 'Ithyukthvaa ekena hasthenakrthvaa govardhanaachalam dhadhaara leelayaa krishnah cchathraakamiva baalakah' Krishna lifted the mountain by one hand playfully like an umbrella. The same is described by Vedanta Desika beautifully thus. 'Sa leelayaa merumiva dvitheeyam govardhanam gopakula pradheepah navaprroodam nihithaika hastho naago nalasthambham iva ujjahaara.' The light of the Yadavas,(krishna) lifted playfully the govardhana mountain like a second Meru ,placing it in one hand like an elephant lifting a lotus stalk. He upturned the mountain 'adhomukhaavasthitham' and held it with its bottom up, 'udhanchayath sathvaram oordhvamoolam.' Periazvar describing this incident by 10 verses says that the hand of Krishna looked like adhisesha holding the earth.'padangal palavumudai paambaraiyan padarbhoomiyai thaanga kidappavan pol' as the fingers resembled the hoods of the sesha with his hand opened wide, 'thadangai viraindhum malara vaitthu.' Desika further describes the hand thus: His hands red like lotus were like the base of the opened umbrella, 'abugnarakthaanguli panjaram' and the rays of the rings on His fingers forming the rods 'ratnormikaarasmi salaakamanthah,' it looked like a huge cchathra, umbrella supported by the staff of His arm. Let us also enjoy the words of Periazvar- seppaadudaiya thirumaalavan than senthaamarai kaiviral aindhinaiyum kuppaaga edutthu mani neduntholl kaambaaga kodutthu kavittha malai.' The Lord upturned the mountain 'kavitthu,' holding it withy His five fingers of His lotus-like hand, with His arm as the supporting stick of the umbrella,aninedum tholl kaambaaga.'The streams of water falling around looked like the pearl strings round the umbrella,'parandhizi the llaruvi muthuvadam.', All these show without doubt that the Lord held the mountain with His hand and not His little finger, which must have been the modification for the sake of dramatic element.
The word pOttri repeated six times denotes that Krishna is none other that Narayana who has six gunas that define the word BhagavAn, namely, jnana, bala, aisvarya,shakthi, thEjas and veeryam.
According to vaishanva sampradhaya this word pOtri repeated six times denote the six angas, constituents of saranagathi. These will be elaborated in the commentary of the pasuram 'malE maNivaNNa.'
anru----alandhai- the whole world has the stamp of His foot to which the devotee do parapatthi, that is, saranagathi.
Senrangu thennilangai chettrai-then=beautiful, nilam- field, khethram which means the body, as mentioned in the Gita, 'idham sariram kounthEya kshEthramithyabhidheeyathE, this sarira is called kshethram.' kai denotes the mind which has sarira in its control. The Lord subdues the mind and leads it along the right path which is meant by chettrai.
ponracchagadam udhaitthAi- The wheel of karma which He destroys (ponra)
kanru kuNila erindhai-He throws away the sins which come is succession like calving.
kunrum kudaiyai edutthai-He protects with His grace like an umbrella from the shower of sins .
Nin kaiyil vEl- his will is like the spear removes the obstacles to His service.
All this is achieved by surrendering to His feet.
Pasuram25-orutthimaganAippirandhu
OrutthimaganAippirandhu Oriravil
orutthimaganAi oLitthhu vaLara
tharikkilAnAgi thAn theengu ninaindha
karutthaippizaippitthu kanjan vayittril
neruppennaninranedumAle unnai
arundhitthu vamdhOm paraitharudhiyAgil
thirutthakkaselvamum sevagamum yAm pAdi
varutthamum theerndhu magizndhElO rempAvai
Oh Lord of massive form, being born to Devaki and being brought secretly to Gokula and brought up byYasodha you were like fire in the stomach of Kamsa, we have come to entreat you for te fulfilment of our wishes. If you grant our wish we will sing your glory and of the divine mother . We extoll the merits of our service to you and will be free of all miseries.
The avathara rahayam, the secret behind the incarnation is mentioned in this pasuram. Krishna says in the Gita, 'janma karam cha mE dhivyam Evam yO vEtthi thathvathah;thyakthvA dhEham punarjanma naithi mAmEthi sO Arjuna,one who knows the truth behind my incarnation and my actions, O Arjuna, never ricerts back to brth once he leaves his body.'
What is the truth of His janma? The upanishad says, 'ajAyamAnO bahudhA vijAyathe,' the one who has no birth is born many times.' This statement, though looks as self contradicting ,is not really so.The Lord is never born liek an ordinary mortal as he has no karma and hence need not undergo the garbhavasa. He only manifests Himself and the mothers like Devaki, Kousalya and even Adhithi feel as though they were giving bitrth to Him through HIs mAya.And the truth that He was Lord Narayana was a secret known only to a chosen few and His actions which seemed to be baffling to a common mind were all explicable to them.
orutthi maganAi pirandhu-
Vedanta Desika says in his Yadhavabhyudhaya Devaki produced the LOrd like the eastern direction prodoces the moon. Theimplication is that justas the eastern direction never really produced the moon but the moon appeared in the east.Similarly Krishna simply appearedor manifeste himself in Devaki.
Pirandhu the birth of man separates him from God whereas the birth of the Lord is to bring us near to Him.
Vasudeva and Devaki were prSni and suthapqa. kaSyapa and adhithi in their previous births and Lord Narayana incarnated as their son in the previous births as prSnigara,VAmana respectivlly according to their request repeated threetimes in the first birth to have a son liek the Lord and since thereis no one like Him He Himself came as their son.
orutthi maganai olitthu vaLara - He was ot hiding from the fear of Kamsa but hid Himself under the mortal form to protect the world.He went to gokula for showering his grace on the Ayarkyulam, which represents the simple folk denoting His soulabhya and vathsalya.He concealed Himself inside the pillar to protect Prahlada, disguised Himself as vamana to protect the devas appeared as Rama to protect the rshis of dandakaranya and here he came as Gopala to protect the yadhavakula.
tharil kkilAmnagi-----neruppenne ninranedumAlE-Kamsa was seeing Krishna everywhere and thought about him all the time and attained the Lord through hate.
arundhitthu vandhOm - One must have done some poorapunya to get devotion to the Lord.
parai tardhiyAgil- He has to give the necessary equipment for His worship.Heis both the upAya, the maeans and upEya, the end.
thiruthakka selvam - the best weaith one can get on this earth is the service of the Lord. when the king of vijayanagaram, Krishna devaraya sent for Desika, prompted by his friend Vidyranya, who held honoured position in the court, Desika replied through his vairagya panchakam, 'asthi mEhasthisailAgrE vasthu pauthAmaham dhanam,I aleady have my ancestral wealth on the Hasthisaila,' meaning Lord Varadaraja. and refused to go to the court of Krishnadevaraya. This shows that when one is blessed with the bhakthisamrajya , kingdom of God, all the others appear to be worthless.
varutthamumtheerndhu magizndhWElorempAvAi- The sorow is due to samsara and that will go away by the grace of the Lord and what remains is only unalloyed joy.
There are two mothers for the seeker. One is the gayathri manthra through which one becomes dhvija, meaning twice-born and the other is the ashtakshara manthra through which he becomes qualified for moksha.Oriravu is the samsara in which the jeeva is hidin behind the dhehathama buddhi forgetting the real nature of the self. To the evil impulses that stand between the jeeva and his redemption, the Lord is like the fire inside and burns them when one surrenders to him. He then gives the thirutthakka selvam in the form of devotional service and leads the jeeva to infinite bliss
Sunday, January 28, 2007
ThiruppavaiPasuram23-mArimalaimuzainjil
Pasuram23-mArimalai muzainjil
marimalaimuzainjil mannikkidandhurangum
seeriya singam arivutru thee vizitthu
vErimayirponga eppAdum pErtthudhari
moori nimirndhu muzangi purappattu
pOdharumappOlE nee poovaippoovaNNA un
koil ninringanE pOndharuli kOppudaitya
seeriya singAsanatthirundhu yAm vandha
kAriyam ArAindhu arulElOrempAvai
O Lord, who is of blue hue like the kayambu flower, like a mighty lion which wakes up from its slumber in the mountain caves during the rainy season and comes out of it with its fiery mane flying. shaking its limbs and standing straight , you come out of your mansion and seated on your throne, hear us and fulfil our wishes for which we have come to you.
This pasuram is about Narasimha and to write about it itself is a difficult task as the Naraimhavathara is beyond description. Narayana Bhattadri expresses his inability to describe the scene where the Lord manifested out of the pillar as Narasimha, but somehow managed to do it out of devotion and desire to talk about His glory. Similarly I will try to explain to the best of my ability.
mari malai muzainjil is the pillar in the mountainlike palace of Hiranayakasipu, which is compared to the cave as the Lord remained there,mannikkidandhurangum, invisible like the lion inside the cave., waiting for the time to manifest. Here Vedantadesika says in his Varadarajapanchasath that the Lord occupied the whole universe in the form of Narasimha because it was not sure where Hiraynyakasipu was going to point. He came out of one pillar where Hiranyakasipu struck and the rest of the places still contain the form of Narasimha.' stambhaikavarjam aDHunAapi kareeSa noonam thrailOkyam Ethadhakhilam nrsimhagarbham.'(varadarajapanchasath23)
seeriyasingam----purappattu-describes the Narasimhavavthara.
seeriya singam- Even when the lion is sleeping it stikes fear in the mind of others.
arivutru - hearing the cry of the devotees, theevizitthu - looking fierce.
muzangi- like the roar of the lion. When Narsimha came out of the pillar the sound was like thousand thunders and created tremor all over the universe and in the mind of Hiranyakasipu.
vErimayir ----purappattu- The manifestation of Narasimha is described by various saint composers and devotees like Narayana Bhattadhri and Desika in magnificent terms. It was athyadhbhutha roopam says, Bhagavatham.It has to be imagined and is beyond description.
poovaippoo vaNNA- Krishnavathara rahsyam is denoted by this pasuram. The phrase mArimalai muzainjil is explained as follows:
mAri is the waters of ksheerAbdDHi and the malai, mountain is the mountain like Adhisesha and inside his coils like the cave of the mountain the Lord is sleeping. He is Naryana who manifested as Narasimha and hence it is only Narasimha who is there. On being entreated by Bhoodevi He assumed beautiful form as Krishna, poovaippoo vaNNan, and sent adhisesha before Him.Sankara has said that all the thousand names are of Narsimha,' nArasimhavapuh' and sarvapraharaNAyuDHah, the last nama denotes only Narasimha as it means that all things are His weapons, which includes the nakha, nails which He used in Nrsimhavathara.
But the sahasranama says NArasimhavapuH sreemAn meaning that He was beautiful even as Narsimha. In this pasuram Andal says theevizitthu and in the previous one she said thingalum Adhithiyanum ezundharpOl angaN. His eyes are fierce only to the wicked but the same eyes are cool like the moon to the devotees. Vedanta desika in his KamAsikashtakam on Nrsimha describes His eyes as 'saroja sadhrSa diSA' lotus-like eyes which indicate His krpa and calls Him kapatakEsari deceptive in His appearance in the Lion -man form.Hence Andal describing Him as theevizitthu and veri mayirponga etc., calls Him poovaippoo vaNNA with the same breath.
seeriya singAsanam- the seat of justice. If he sits there He cannot go back on His words.This is also the reason in referring Him as Nrsimha because He manifested Himself with so much trouble to make true the words of His devotees, the words of Prahlada that the Lord is everywhere and of Brahma who gave the boons to Horanyakasipu which necessitated the Lord to fulfil so many conditions in appearance as well as the manner of killing Hiranyakasipu.Nrsimha is the family deity of Andal. She says arimugan achythan in her verses describing her dream 'vAraNamAyiram,' whcih implies that the arimugan, lion- faced one is achutha one who never forsakes. He protected Prahlada at each and every step from the attempts of his father to kill him. Rukmini also in her letter to Krishna calls him only as Achyutha and Nrsimha. On the other hand Anadal refers to Krishna as 'ElAppoygaL uraippAn,'one who tells numerous lies, in Nacchiar thirumozi.
kOppudaia seeriya singAsanam- To the Lord Adisesha is the couch when reclining, umbrella when standing and simhAsana when sitting. The simhasana has eight legs which denote dharma, adharma, jnana, ajnana, vairagya, avairagya,aisvarya and anaisvarya, that is the pairs of opposites. So one cannot tell a lie from it.
Nrsimha is the deity worshipped by all the three acharyas and the 'Nrsimhakaravalamba sthothra' of Sankara and the context of it is very well -known. Also according to Agama sasthra the sculpture of a temple tower always have a form of Nrsimha. One can see it even in the saivite temples like Vaiddheesvaran kovil.
mAri malai muzainjil refers to the vedas which are the mountain in which the caves are the upanishads that contain the secret of the vedas, mannikkidandhurangum seeriya singam , meaning Brahman,synonymous with Lord Narayana of visishtadvaita, who is vedavedhya. One who fathoms the meaning of the upanishads, arivuttru, shines with the intellect ,theevizitthu and goes out in the world, pOdharmAppOle to spread the message of the Lord, vErimayirponga eppAdum pErtthudhri, by thought word and deed and gets involved in doing His work.
marimalaimuzainjil mannikkidandhurangum
seeriya singam arivutru thee vizitthu
vErimayirponga eppAdum pErtthudhari
moori nimirndhu muzangi purappattu
pOdharumappOlE nee poovaippoovaNNA un
koil ninringanE pOndharuli kOppudaitya
seeriya singAsanatthirundhu yAm vandha
kAriyam ArAindhu arulElOrempAvai
O Lord, who is of blue hue like the kayambu flower, like a mighty lion which wakes up from its slumber in the mountain caves during the rainy season and comes out of it with its fiery mane flying. shaking its limbs and standing straight , you come out of your mansion and seated on your throne, hear us and fulfil our wishes for which we have come to you.
This pasuram is about Narasimha and to write about it itself is a difficult task as the Naraimhavathara is beyond description. Narayana Bhattadri expresses his inability to describe the scene where the Lord manifested out of the pillar as Narasimha, but somehow managed to do it out of devotion and desire to talk about His glory. Similarly I will try to explain to the best of my ability.
mari malai muzainjil is the pillar in the mountainlike palace of Hiranayakasipu, which is compared to the cave as the Lord remained there,mannikkidandhurangum, invisible like the lion inside the cave., waiting for the time to manifest. Here Vedantadesika says in his Varadarajapanchasath that the Lord occupied the whole universe in the form of Narasimha because it was not sure where Hiraynyakasipu was going to point. He came out of one pillar where Hiranyakasipu struck and the rest of the places still contain the form of Narasimha.' stambhaikavarjam aDHunAapi kareeSa noonam thrailOkyam Ethadhakhilam nrsimhagarbham.'(varadarajapanchasath23)
seeriyasingam----purappattu-describes the Narasimhavavthara.
seeriya singam- Even when the lion is sleeping it stikes fear in the mind of others.
arivutru - hearing the cry of the devotees, theevizitthu - looking fierce.
muzangi- like the roar of the lion. When Narsimha came out of the pillar the sound was like thousand thunders and created tremor all over the universe and in the mind of Hiranyakasipu.
vErimayir ----purappattu- The manifestation of Narasimha is described by various saint composers and devotees like Narayana Bhattadhri and Desika in magnificent terms. It was athyadhbhutha roopam says, Bhagavatham.It has to be imagined and is beyond description.
poovaippoo vaNNA- Krishnavathara rahsyam is denoted by this pasuram. The phrase mArimalai muzainjil is explained as follows:
mAri is the waters of ksheerAbdDHi and the malai, mountain is the mountain like Adhisesha and inside his coils like the cave of the mountain the Lord is sleeping. He is Naryana who manifested as Narasimha and hence it is only Narasimha who is there. On being entreated by Bhoodevi He assumed beautiful form as Krishna, poovaippoo vaNNan, and sent adhisesha before Him.Sankara has said that all the thousand names are of Narsimha,' nArasimhavapuh' and sarvapraharaNAyuDHah, the last nama denotes only Narasimha as it means that all things are His weapons, which includes the nakha, nails which He used in Nrsimhavathara.
But the sahasranama says NArasimhavapuH sreemAn meaning that He was beautiful even as Narsimha. In this pasuram Andal says theevizitthu and in the previous one she said thingalum Adhithiyanum ezundharpOl angaN. His eyes are fierce only to the wicked but the same eyes are cool like the moon to the devotees. Vedanta desika in his KamAsikashtakam on Nrsimha describes His eyes as 'saroja sadhrSa diSA' lotus-like eyes which indicate His krpa and calls Him kapatakEsari deceptive in His appearance in the Lion -man form.Hence Andal describing Him as theevizitthu and veri mayirponga etc., calls Him poovaippoo vaNNA with the same breath.
seeriya singAsanam- the seat of justice. If he sits there He cannot go back on His words.This is also the reason in referring Him as Nrsimha because He manifested Himself with so much trouble to make true the words of His devotees, the words of Prahlada that the Lord is everywhere and of Brahma who gave the boons to Horanyakasipu which necessitated the Lord to fulfil so many conditions in appearance as well as the manner of killing Hiranyakasipu.Nrsimha is the family deity of Andal. She says arimugan achythan in her verses describing her dream 'vAraNamAyiram,' whcih implies that the arimugan, lion- faced one is achutha one who never forsakes. He protected Prahlada at each and every step from the attempts of his father to kill him. Rukmini also in her letter to Krishna calls him only as Achyutha and Nrsimha. On the other hand Anadal refers to Krishna as 'ElAppoygaL uraippAn,'one who tells numerous lies, in Nacchiar thirumozi.
kOppudaia seeriya singAsanam- To the Lord Adisesha is the couch when reclining, umbrella when standing and simhAsana when sitting. The simhasana has eight legs which denote dharma, adharma, jnana, ajnana, vairagya, avairagya,aisvarya and anaisvarya, that is the pairs of opposites. So one cannot tell a lie from it.
Nrsimha is the deity worshipped by all the three acharyas and the 'Nrsimhakaravalamba sthothra' of Sankara and the context of it is very well -known. Also according to Agama sasthra the sculpture of a temple tower always have a form of Nrsimha. One can see it even in the saivite temples like Vaiddheesvaran kovil.
mAri malai muzainjil refers to the vedas which are the mountain in which the caves are the upanishads that contain the secret of the vedas, mannikkidandhurangum seeriya singam , meaning Brahman,synonymous with Lord Narayana of visishtadvaita, who is vedavedhya. One who fathoms the meaning of the upanishads, arivuttru, shines with the intellect ,theevizitthu and goes out in the world, pOdharmAppOle to spread the message of the Lord, vErimayirponga eppAdum pErtthudhri, by thought word and deed and gets involved in doing His work.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Thiruppavai pasuram22-angaNmAjnAlatthu
Pasuram22-AngaNmAjnAlatthu
Pasuram-22-angaNma jnAlatthu
AngaNmAjnAlatthu arasar abhimAna
bhangamAi vandhu nin paLLikkattirkeezE
sangamirupparpOla vandhu thalai ppeydhO
kinkiNi vai keenda thAmaraippooppOla
sengaN sirucchiridhe emmEl viziyavo
thingalum Adhithiyaunum ezundhArpOl
angaN irandum kondu engaL mel nOkkudhiyEl
engaLmEl shApam izindhElOrempavai
O Lord, We have resorted to you like the rulers of the world, shedding their ego, gather around you seeking your favour. Will your eyes like lotuses open towards us slowly like half open ankle bells.If you look at us with your eyes as if the sun and the moon have risen, all our sins will be destroyed.
angaNmAjnAlam- This beautiful world. It is the maya of the Lord which creates abhimana or attachment to the wordly objects which appear beautful and desirable to the mind covered with ignorance.To get rid of the abimana is abhimanabhanga, when one gets the knowledge that all this belong to the Lord and we are here to do His work.
arasar ----sangam iruppAr-this refers to the kings who were imprisoned by Jarasandha and were released by Krishna. They said that they wanted to leave their kingdoms and be with Krishna in His service.(Bhagavatham.10-73-10to15)
kinkiNi----thAmaraippoo-The lotus flower half opened resembles the ankle bells . the reason for this is that the sun and the moon rise simultaneously.The two eyes of the Lord are compared to sun and the moon, thingalum Adhitthiyanum ezundhArpOl, implying that they should grace the devotees with the cool glance like the moon and should burn their ignorance like the sun dispels the darkness.They are half closed in order not to see the faults of those who surrender to Him and half open to grant protection.
sengaN----viziyavO-They want the first glance to fall on them when He wakes up. When the eyes open up slowly the glance falls on the object in front. Vedntadesika says in his yadhavabhyudhaya that the reason Lakshmi and Bhoodevi are sitting at the feet of the Lord is that they want His first glance to fall on them The purpose of this is to plead the cause of the devotees.
engaL mElshApam izindhelOrempAvAi- PApa or sin can be removed by acts of expiation but shApa, curse has to be endured. But the glance and the grace of the Lord can destroy even that.
'After many lives due to some merit done in some early life we have been blessed with the thought of approaching you and have come to serve you and you have to look at us with mercy and save us.' This is the purport of the pasuram.
There are two words employed to denote the eyes of the Lord. SengaN and angaN, to denote the external and internal sight.
It is said that by learning and reciting this pasuram one can remove all obstacles that stand between him and his desired object.
Pasuram-22-angaNma jnAlatthu
AngaNmAjnAlatthu arasar abhimAna
bhangamAi vandhu nin paLLikkattirkeezE
sangamirupparpOla vandhu thalai ppeydhO
kinkiNi vai keenda thAmaraippooppOla
sengaN sirucchiridhe emmEl viziyavo
thingalum Adhithiyaunum ezundhArpOl
angaN irandum kondu engaL mel nOkkudhiyEl
engaLmEl shApam izindhElOrempavai
O Lord, We have resorted to you like the rulers of the world, shedding their ego, gather around you seeking your favour. Will your eyes like lotuses open towards us slowly like half open ankle bells.If you look at us with your eyes as if the sun and the moon have risen, all our sins will be destroyed.
angaNmAjnAlam- This beautiful world. It is the maya of the Lord which creates abhimana or attachment to the wordly objects which appear beautful and desirable to the mind covered with ignorance.To get rid of the abimana is abhimanabhanga, when one gets the knowledge that all this belong to the Lord and we are here to do His work.
arasar ----sangam iruppAr-this refers to the kings who were imprisoned by Jarasandha and were released by Krishna. They said that they wanted to leave their kingdoms and be with Krishna in His service.(Bhagavatham.10-73-10to15)
kinkiNi----thAmaraippoo-The lotus flower half opened resembles the ankle bells . the reason for this is that the sun and the moon rise simultaneously.The two eyes of the Lord are compared to sun and the moon, thingalum Adhitthiyanum ezundhArpOl, implying that they should grace the devotees with the cool glance like the moon and should burn their ignorance like the sun dispels the darkness.They are half closed in order not to see the faults of those who surrender to Him and half open to grant protection.
sengaN----viziyavO-They want the first glance to fall on them when He wakes up. When the eyes open up slowly the glance falls on the object in front. Vedntadesika says in his yadhavabhyudhaya that the reason Lakshmi and Bhoodevi are sitting at the feet of the Lord is that they want His first glance to fall on them The purpose of this is to plead the cause of the devotees.
engaL mElshApam izindhelOrempAvAi- PApa or sin can be removed by acts of expiation but shApa, curse has to be endured. But the glance and the grace of the Lord can destroy even that.
'After many lives due to some merit done in some early life we have been blessed with the thought of approaching you and have come to serve you and you have to look at us with mercy and save us.' This is the purport of the pasuram.
There are two words employed to denote the eyes of the Lord. SengaN and angaN, to denote the external and internal sight.
It is said that by learning and reciting this pasuram one can remove all obstacles that stand between him and his desired object.
Friday, January 26, 2007
thiruppavai Pasuram-16 to 20
Thiruppavai-Pasuram 16to 20
Pasuram16- nAyakanAi ninra
nAyakanAi ninra nandagOpanudaiya
kOilkAppAnE koditthOnrum thOraNa
vAyilkAppAne maNikkadhavamthAL thiravAi
Ayar sirumiyarOmiukkaraiparai
mAyan maNivaNNam nennalE vAi nErndhAn
thooyOmAi vandhOm thuyilezappduvAn
vayAl munnammunnam mAttradhE ammAnee
nEyanilaikkadhavam neekkElorempAvai
You , the guard of the palace and the festooned gateway of Nandhagopa,our master, open the jewelled door.The enchanting and lustrous Lord Krishna has promised to grace us, the cowherd girls, who have come pure, to awaken Him.with our singing.Please open the main door without saying anything to the contrary.
Before getting the darsana of the Lord the dvarapalakas have to be entreated for granting permission to go in. It is called thadheeyapurskAra in vaishnavasampradhaya, which means that the bhagavathArAdhana will be fruitful only through bhAgavathArAdhana.
nayakana---vAyilkAppAne- It may mean that the guard at the palace and the one at the door are appeased or it may be that there is one guard who is referred to as both 'koil kAppAn and vAyil kAppAn.
The palace is called Koil because it is the abode of the Lord. The gate keeper is called by his occupation to please him like calling a minister by his position.The word nayakanai ninra may also be combined with koilkAppAn extolling him as the nayakan or prime factor in enabling the darsan of the Lord like the acharya who makes it easy for the disciple to approach the Lord.
koditthOnrum thOraNavayil-The flag flutters and the palace gate is decorated with festoons only when the king is there. The flag on the mansion of Nandhagopa indicated the presence of the Lord. It is interesting to note here what VlliputthoorAr ,who wrote Mahabharatha in Tamil, says about the flag moving on the top of the palace of Krishna when DuryOdhana was coming to ask his help in the war.
'eendu nee varinum engaL eziludai ezuvivaNNan pAndavarthangatkallAl padaitthuNai AgamAttAn;meendu nee pOga------kaigaLAl thaduppappOnru.'
It looked as though the flags waved its hands as if telling Duryodhana that Krishna will be helping only Pandavas and signing him to go back.
Kamban gives even a more beautiful picture about the flag that fluttered on the palace of Janaka as though calling Rama telling him that ho is wife is there.
maiyarumalarinneengi yAn sei mAthavatthin vandhu
seyyavaL irundhAL enru sezumaNikkodigaL ennum
kaigalai neetti andhakkadinaga rkamalacchengaN
ayyanai ollai vA enru azaippadhanpOnradhammA
It looked as though the flags extended their hands and invited the lotus eyed Rama to the city saying, "Sridevi leaving her abode of lotus has come here due to our penance and so you also come here."
kAppAnE-These guards protect Him who protects the whole world. Andal is the daughter of Periazvar who sang pallAndu to the Lord to protect Him from evil eyes and hence says that the guards are protecting the Lord.
Ayarsirumiyar-we are only cowherd girls and harmless and so you need not hesitate to let us in.
maNikkadhavam- the doors are imbedded with gems. Even the mansions of others in Ayarpadi are described as thoomaNimAdam and it is obvious that the palace of Nandhagopa should be even more rich in appearance.The attention is diverted to the external decor as long as one has not seen the deity inside the temple.But once we stand in front of the Lord we notice nothing except his form. Likewise till they go in, the appearance of the mansion, flag etc. are mentioned but once they stand in front of Him they could talk about nothing else but His glory.
Mayan-the word is used in three pasurams before this.
1. Mayanai mannu vadamadurai maindhanai-Pasuram no.5.-The wonder of his avathara is expressed here.
2.MAmAyan mAdhavan- in the pasuram 'thoomaNimAdatthu,' pasuram no.9-This is supposed to refer to the story of Muchukundha, who was sleeping inside a cave and Krishna led Kalayavana into the cave as though he is fleeing from him out of fear and Kalyavana attacked Muchukundha thinking that he was Krishna and was burnt by his look.I t was one of the mayaleela of the Lord.
3.MayanaippadelorempAvai-in the preceding pasuram 'elle ilamkiliye.. This has reference to the glory of Bhagavathas. The mayam of the Lord in enchanting even Narada, who became proud once that the worldly desires could not touch him and Krishna asked him to fetch a cup of water and when Narada went to the river, by the maya of the Lord he saw a beautiful damsel and married her and lived happily. When she and the sons he had from her died he sat on the bank and cried when Bhagavan approcached him and asked him that what ever happened to the cup of water he was supposed to fetch.Then only Narada realised that all was the maya of the Lord.
In this pasuram it is mentioned 'mAyan maNivaNnan nennal vAinErndhAn,' which refers to the episode of the hunchbacked whose hunch Krishna straightened and went to her house later as promised earlier 'nennalE vAi nErndhAn..' Also He promised Droupadhi that he will come to her resque when needed. Rama will promise easily and keep His promise at any cast but Krishna will not promise unless He is sure that He will fulfil it. He says to Droupadhi that the sky may fall down and the Himalayas may be reduced to pieces but His word will not be untrue.The same promise He gives in Gita ' kounthEya prathjaaneehi na mE bhakthah praNasyathi, that His devotee will never come to harm..
These are the explanations given by the great scholars and devotees.
ThooyOmAi vandhom- They have come with thrikaraNasuddhi, that is purity of body, mind and intellect.
ThuyilezappaduvAn-They want to sing inorde to awaken Him so that His glance will fall on them first as mentioned in a later pasuram.
vAyAl munnam----amma- As the tamil saying goes, 'sAmi varam kodutthAlum poojari varam kodudukkaNum,' the great personages may be quite accessible but the people around them may prove to be difficult.So the girls are requesting the door keeper to allow them in, telling him not to say anything on the contrary.
This pasuram contains all the three manthras of vaishnava tradition namely, he ashtakshara, Om namO nArAyanAya., the dvayamanthra, SreemannArAyanacharanou Saranamprapadhye;Sreemathe nArAyanAyanamah, the charamasloka, sarvadharmAn parithyajaya mAmEkam Saranam vraja ;aham thvaa sarvapApEbhyO mOkshayishyAmi mA Suchah.
NAyakanAi---koilkAppAnE-denotes the moolamanthra. Nayakan is the Lord who is the nayaka of the world.His koil is praNava,Om. Nandhagopan means the one who gives bliss ,Anandha and who is the protector, gOpa.As the bliss is given only through surrender the nama sabdha is included in this. The word ninra refers to Narayana and hence the moolamanthra is implied by this sentence.
koditthOnrum thOraNavayilkAppAnE- is the dvayamanthra. KoditthOnrum thoraNavasal meaning Vaikunta and the word kAppAn means the Lord.He gives mOksha to those who surrender to His feet.
Ayarsirumiyar -----nErndhaAn refers to the promise of the Lord in the Gita that He will redeem the ose who surrender to Him, which is the only qualification whether the prpanna is learned or low born.
Thuyileza-----amma- To wake up from the sleep of samsara the acharya is entreated to instruct the three manthras without reserve and the word ammA refers to the acharya.
neya nilaikkadhavam- the doors are two in each manthra , Om and namOnArAyanAya, in themoola manthra and the two parts of the dvaya and the two lines of the charamasloka.
They should be opened in the sense that the secret of the meaning should be opened by the acharya.
Pasuram 17-ambaramE thaNNeerE
ambarame thaNNeerE sorE aram seyyum
emperumAn nandagopAlA ezundhirAi
kombanArkkellAm l kozyundhE kulaviLakkE
emperumAtti yasOdhAi arivurAi
ambaram oodarutthu Ongi ulagalandha
umbarkOmAnE urangAdhezundhirAi
semporkazqladichelvA baladhEva
umbiyum neeyum urangElorempAvai.
Lord Nandhagopala, who gives clothes, water and food to all, wake up. Yasodha, the best among beautiful slender women, the light of the clan, wake up.Oh Lord, who is the God of gods, and who pierced the sky and measured the whole world, do not sleep, wake up.Balarama, with golden anklet do not be sleeping with your brother.
Nandhagopa is known for giving ambaram,clothes, thaNNeer,water and annam food to all.Likewise he is asked to give them Krishna also because as Nammazvar has said, uNNumsoru, parugumneer, thinnum vettrilai ellaAm Kannan for these girls.
aramseyyum-aram is charity done with righteous attitude, dharmabuddhi. That is why it is called aram, which means dharma in Tamil. To expect something in return is only a business. To do it as one's duty is dharmam.Of all the dhAnas annadhAna is supposed to be the best because one who gets it goes away satisfied.
YasOdha means giver of yasas which normally means fame and in the vedas it means Brahman. Since she gave us the Brahmam in form of Krishna she is called Yasodha.
The word ambaram has many meanings such as clothes, sky etc. The first ambaram means the clothes while the second denotes the sky. But the scholars take it that to translate ambaram in 'ambaramE thaNNeerE, sOre' as akasa, the word may be taken to refer to the Lord Himself.The basis for this is the upanishadic statement that Brahman, who was one and only without a second willed to become many and created the elements. Akasa being the first and later followed fire, air, water and earth. As the earth is denoted by the word annam the same order given here refers to the Lord from whom everything origiinated. Also ambaram meaning clothes is mentioned first as it is essential for human beings only, among all the creatures and only after wearing clothes after bath one eats food or drinks water. Lord Krishna was also the donor of ambara , garment to Droupadi and water to the horses in the battle by piercing the rock by his staff, used to tend cattle.
Ambaramoodarutthu refers to the piercing of the cosmic shell to bring water from the outer region as mentioned in the upanishad as 'thripAdhasyAmrtham dhivi,' that is the whole cosmos pervaded by the Lord is only a quarter of His form and the remaining three quarters are outside.It is said that Brahma wanted to wash the feet of the Lord when it reached his loka by the water of his kamandalu but found that it was not enough when Thrivikrama pierced the cosmic shell by His foot and brought the water which became the akasaganga, celestial Ganges which was later brought to earth by Bhagiratha.
selva baladeva- his semporkazal is a veerakkazal.as he killed asuras and dragged the whole Hasthinapura into the Gangesby his plough when Duryodhana insulted him and diverted Yamuna to where he was for his jalakreeda. Being the incarnation of adhisesha he cleaned the womb of Devaki to make it divine for Krishna, his Lord. As Devaki lost her six children Sesha entered her womb to clear the sarpa dosha, causing death of sons of Devaki and he stepped into the world to guard Krishna from evil forces. Sesha follows the Lord wherever He goes.as azvar says, 'senral kudaiyam,' he serves the Lord in all His states.Sesha and the seshi, bhagavan are not two but one.
umbiyum neeyum urangelorempavai- Sesha being the couch they entreat him to wake up as when he moves the Lord will be awakened.They call Krishna his younger brother implying that Krishna will listen to him if he takes mercy on them and recommend their case.
In the pasurams 16,17 and 18 Nandhagopa is mentioned as being the master (nayakanAi) charitable, (aram seyyum) valourous (undhumadhakalittran OdAdhathOlvaliyan).Desika in his Yadhavabhyudhaya says that Nandhagopa excelled the wish-giving jewel, chinthamani and the celestial wish- fulfilling tree, kalpatharu and the rainbearing clouds in his generosity at the birth of Krishna.
The ashtakshar manthra is referred to by this pasuram. Ambaram=pranavam,sOru =narayana sabdha and thaNNeer=namah
Ambaram meaning AkAsa denotes the pranava in which all sabdhas are included as everything exists in AkAsa.
Upanishad says 'annam brhmEthi vijAnAth' therefore soru=Narayanasabdha, the Brahman of visishtadvaitha
thaN neer - cool water is namah sabdha since it is the means of life eternal.Through prapatthi, surrender, the devotion attains its culmination and like the cool water the jiva is refreshed from the heat caused by samsara.
aram seyyum- The acharya gives BhagavAn, the seshi to the sesha , the jiva and vicevesa which is the aram .
kombanSrkkellAm kozundhu is the ashtakshara which is the best of manthras as it shows the Lord. It is like Yasodha who has Krishna and the manthra is the source of jnana(arivurAi)
Ambaram oodarutthu indicates the all- pervasiveness of the Lord.
umbiyumneeyum urangelorempAvAi-Bhagavtseshatnvam and bhAgavathaseshathvam. It is equally important to worship the bhagavathas as it is to worship BhagavAn, who will be pleased more by the propitiation of His devotees as a father will be more pleased by fondling of his son rather than honouring himself. The sleep here is the lack of awareness of this fact.
Pasuram18-undhumadhakaLittran
UndhumadhakaLittran OdAdhathOLvaliyan
nandhagopAlan marumagalE nappinnAI
gandham kamazum kuzalee kadai thiravAi
vandhengum kOzi azaithana kAN mAdhavi
pandhalmEl palkAl kuyilinangaLkoovina kAN
pandhAr virali un maitthunan pEr pAda
senthAmaraikkaiyAl seerAr vaLai olippa
vandhu thiravAi magizndhElOrempAvai
NappinnA, of fragrant hair, the daughter- in- law of the valiant elephant -like Nandhagopa, who never flees from battle,come and open the door. See the cocks are crowing and the cuckoos are singing on the madhavi creeper. You who has ball in your fingers come and open the door with your lotus hand with jingling bangles when we sing the glory of your Lord.
To get the favour of the Lord one needs the grace of Lakshmi. So here she is awakened. With the glance of Sitadevi while she passed by the rsyamooka hill Sugreeva attained his kingdom.Hanuman went as Ramadhootha and after being graced by the glance of Sitadevi became Ramadasa and had the great fortune of being hugged by Rama.It is significant that she never looked at Ravana while talking to him. On the other hand the Kakasura whose offense to her was even worse than that of Ravana escaped death because of her glance.The word nappinnAi is also explained as nal=pinnAi, meaning Sita devi, the good one who followed (pin thodarndhaval) Rama to the forest.
The word marumagal, normally means daughter- in -law, is also explained to mean Lakshmi herself as she abides in the chest of the Lord in the form of a maru, mark in which case the Lord himself is the undhumadah-----nandhagopalan. Marumagal is also explained as maruvum magal, the one who is embraced by the Lord. Nappinnai is not only the daughter-in-law but also marumagal, niece of Nandhagopa, since she is the daughter of his sister.
vandhengum-----koovina kAN- he cocks are everywhere but the cuckoo is only found on the madhavicreeper.The sweet sounds and words are rare to find.
pandhAr virali- she was playing with Krishna with ball and slept with it in her hands.This signifies that all the beings are the leela kandhuka, play-balls for the Lord and Devi.
This pasuram is the 18th. The number 18 is very significant. Gita has 18 chapters, Mahabhartha war went on for 18 days, Bhagavatha purana has 18000 slokas etc.The sum of 1=8 is 9 a changeless number which when added or subtracted or multiplied by , the sum is 9 only.and this denotes Lakshmi who never changes her form while the Lord took a female form as Mohini. She always remained her merciful self in all avatharas.
kadai thiravAi, vandhu thiravAi-she is requested to come and remove the lock, that is , our sins ,which are the barrier between us and the Lord.
Vandhengum kOzi azatthanakAN-Like the cock which examines the garbage and takes what it wants we are also taking the essence of bhakthi by following you everywhere.
madhavi----Kuyilinangal koovina- kuyilinam, cuckoos may refer to the sages like Valmiki and Sukha who gave out the sweet song of the Lord taking the essence of the vedas.
PandAr virali-To Him we are only play- things but due to the grace of the divine mother we will become objects of His enjoyment.
Pasuram19-kutthuvilakkeriya
kutthuviLakkeriya kOttukkAl kattil mEl
metthenrapancha sayanatthinmElEri
kotthalar poonguzal nappinnai kongai mEl
vaitthukkidandha malarmarba vai thiravai
maitthadamkaNNinAi nee un maNAlanai
etthanai podhum thilezavottAi kAn
itthanai Agilum pirivAtrakillAyAl
thatthuvam anru thagavElOrempAvai
Oh Lord, speak to us. You are lying on a couch, which has got all the quaities of being the best like softness, and supported by the tusks of elephants, lit around with lamp, your chest resting on Nappinnai, who is wearing bunch of flowers on her tresses.Oh Nappinnai, with eyes decorated with collirium, you will not allow him to get up any time as you do not want to part with him, which is not right, and is against your nature.
Before approaching the Lord the divine mother has to be entreated as she is the one who advocates the case of the devotee to Him, which is called purushakaram in vaishnavism. The mother will give her grace to the devotee without consulting the Lord but will not punish wihout His approval. Sita saved Hanuman from the fire praying to the firegod to be cool 'SeethO bhava hanoomathah,' and saved the rakshasis from the wrath of Hanuman saying 'na kaSchit naoarAd\DHyathi?' , "who is without fault?" But she did not curse Ravana because, she said, she did not have the permission of Rama. This fact is very beautifully explained by Thyagaraja who says in his krthi 'mA jAnaki,' that Sita had all the powers to kill Ravana with her anger but desisted because she wanted to give the credit to Rama.
Kutthuvilakkeriya- the lamp will illuminate itself and the other things.. Likewise the divine mother shows the Lord to the devotees and vice versa.
kOttukkAl-The feet of the couch are made of ivory.
panchasayanam- an ideal couch must have five qualities. Softness.,whiteness, fragrance, coolness and beauty. Thus it is called panchasayanam.
etthanai pOdhum -----kAN- reference here is to Sita who did not wake up Rama even when Kakasura attacked her.
etthanai yAgilum pirivAtrakillAy- Sridevi is never separated from her Lord .Azvar calls him 'agalakillEn iraiyum ena alarmEl mangai urai mArbA.' This is the real meaning of 'nappinnai konhaimEl vaitthukkidandha malarlArba.'
Thatthuvam anru, thagavEl- thathvam is svarupam, nature, thagavu is svabhAva, character.. Not to show mercy on the devotees is neither suited to the nature or character of the divine mother.
thath denotes Brahman, that is, bhagavan, thvam refers to Lakshmi. Anru means 'not.' She is not Him as she is full of mercy and will not punish like the Lord.
The previous pasuram mentioned with reference to Ramanuja who was fond of it as it refers to ThAyar, the divine mother. It seems that he was so involved with this pasuram when he went on the streets singing it and when AtthuzAi, the daughter of Perianambi, his guru came out to give him biksha, he saw the ThAyAr herself in her and prostrated before her. Since then this pasuram is mentioned in connection with him.
The present one is supposed to be the favourite of Parasarabhattar.
The pasuram ambaramE begins with akAra and the next undhu madha begins with ukAra of the PraNava. The 20th one starts with makAra, 'muppatthumoovar' and this one is said to be inserted in between as the praNva should not be uttered direct except by vedic scholars .
KutthuviLakku denotes the light of jnana. which not only destroys the external darkness but also the internal darkness of ignorance.KutthuviLakku has five faces which denote here the five states of Bhagavan, namely, Para, vyuha, vibhava, archA and antharyami.Para is the state in vaikunta, as the supreme purusha, vyuha comprises of the four forms, Vasudeva, SankarshaNa, Pradhyumna and Aniruddha, all are one only though but distinguished according to the attributes that go with the bhagavathsabda.Vibhava are the incarnations, archa are the forms worshipped in temples and abtharyami is the indweller of all as their inner self.
The four legs of the couch denote the concepts that form the basis of the world, causing samsara. The four Purusharathas, dharma, artha, kama and moksha, the four asramas, brhmacharya, grhastha, vanaprastha and sannyasa,the four varnas, brahma,kshathriya vaisya and sudra, four yugas, sathya, thretha, dvapara and kali, and, papa, sin, puNya, merit, papapunya, the sin which appears as merit and vice versa, puNyapApa.These are the legs of samsara and the Lord is above 'mEl.' The pancha sayanam denotes the five kinds of life, deva, manushya, thiryang and sthAvara and aprAni, divine, human, animal, plant and inert. the lord is above the couch , that is beyond all beings . He is malarmArban of flower like chest, soft hearted.
kotthalar----mEl the bunch of flowers are the jnana on which the bhagavan is resting.
maitthadam-----pirivAtrakillai- when the devotee is applying the collirium of devotion the Lord is his maNAlan, the dear one . He does not want to part with the Lord ah gain and plapse back into the sleep of samsara. This is the thatthuvam the truth. And this will not happen without the thagavu, the grace of the Lord.
Pasuram20-muppatthumoovar
muppatthumoovar amararkkum mun senru
kappam thavirkkum kaliyE thuyil ezAi
cheppam udaiyAi thiraludaiyAi chettrArkku
veppam kodukkum vimalA thuyil ezAi
cheppenna menmulai sevvAi sirumarungul
nappinnai nangAi thiruvE thuyilezAi
ukkamum thattoLiyum thandhunmaNAlanai
ippOdhE emmai neerAttElOrempavai
O Lord, who goes in front to help the thirtythreecrores of devas,awake.You who is pure and perfect , with Lakshmi and burn your foes, get up. Nappinnai of slender and beautiful form , the incarnation of Lakshmi, awake. Give the fan and the mirror necessary for our vratha and unite us with the Lord and enable us to take the holybath.
muppatthumoovar- eight vasus, eleven rudras, twelve Adhithyas, Indra and Prajapathi, all told thirtythree and their vibhoothi, power is thirtythree crores.
amarakkumunsenru-He is the agresara, the first and foremost of all, 'ayarvarum amararga adhipathi,' as He is described by NammAZvar.He goes in front and protects them.
kappam thavirkkum- He removes their fear, kappam meaning kampam or shaking with fright.
kaliyE-glorious.
cheppam - Arjavam, thrikaraNaSuddhi, truthful in thought word and deed. and thiral is strength or power.
chettrAr- there are no enemies for the Lord as he says 'samoham sarva bhoothEshu, I am impartial to all. The term refers to those who harm the good.
Cheppenna ----sirumarungul- denotes the young age of Nappinnai
ThiruvE- The divine mother is even higher than the Lord Himself. She is full of mercy and forgiveness. As Sita, she says to Anjaneya, 'SubhAnAm vA vaDHArhANA plavangaama kAryam karuNamAryENa na kaschith nAparAdhyathi.' Whether they are sinners or good people , even if they deserve to be killed a noble person should show mercy. Who is without fault? That is why she is first awakened even before the Lord.
The words ukkam and thattoLi mean the removal of ahamkara and mamakara and granting of svarupa jnana.The grace of the divine mother is required to fan away the ego, the cause of ahamkara and mamakara and to mirror the real nature of the self.
nAyakanAi ninra nandagOpanudaiya
kOilkAppAnE koditthOnrum thOraNa
vAyilkAppAne maNikkadhavamthAL thiravAi
Ayar sirumiyarOmiukkaraiparai
mAyan maNivaNNam nennalE vAi nErndhAn
thooyOmAi vandhOm thuyilezappduvAn
vayAl munnammunnam mAttradhE ammAnee
nEyanilaikkadhavam neekkElorempAvai
You , the guard of the palace and the festooned gateway of Nandhagopa,our master, open the jewelled door.The enchanting and lustrous Lord Krishna has promised to grace us, the cowherd girls, who have come pure, to awaken Him.with our singing.Please open the main door without saying anything to the contrary.
Before getting the darsana of the Lord the dvarapalakas have to be entreated for granting permission to go in. It is called thadheeyapurskAra in vaishnavasampradhaya, which means that the bhagavathArAdhana will be fruitful only through bhAgavathArAdhana.
nayakana---vAyilkAppAne- It may mean that the guard at the palace and the one at the door are appeased or it may be that there is one guard who is referred to as both 'koil kAppAn and vAyil kAppAn.
The palace is called Koil because it is the abode of the Lord. The gate keeper is called by his occupation to please him like calling a minister by his position.The word nayakanai ninra may also be combined with koilkAppAn extolling him as the nayakan or prime factor in enabling the darsan of the Lord like the acharya who makes it easy for the disciple to approach the Lord.
koditthOnrum thOraNavayil-The flag flutters and the palace gate is decorated with festoons only when the king is there. The flag on the mansion of Nandhagopa indicated the presence of the Lord. It is interesting to note here what VlliputthoorAr ,who wrote Mahabharatha in Tamil, says about the flag moving on the top of the palace of Krishna when DuryOdhana was coming to ask his help in the war.
'eendu nee varinum engaL eziludai ezuvivaNNan pAndavarthangatkallAl padaitthuNai AgamAttAn;meendu nee pOga------kaigaLAl thaduppappOnru.'
It looked as though the flags waved its hands as if telling Duryodhana that Krishna will be helping only Pandavas and signing him to go back.
Kamban gives even a more beautiful picture about the flag that fluttered on the palace of Janaka as though calling Rama telling him that ho is wife is there.
maiyarumalarinneengi yAn sei mAthavatthin vandhu
seyyavaL irundhAL enru sezumaNikkodigaL ennum
kaigalai neetti andhakkadinaga rkamalacchengaN
ayyanai ollai vA enru azaippadhanpOnradhammA
It looked as though the flags extended their hands and invited the lotus eyed Rama to the city saying, "Sridevi leaving her abode of lotus has come here due to our penance and so you also come here."
kAppAnE-These guards protect Him who protects the whole world. Andal is the daughter of Periazvar who sang pallAndu to the Lord to protect Him from evil eyes and hence says that the guards are protecting the Lord.
Ayarsirumiyar-we are only cowherd girls and harmless and so you need not hesitate to let us in.
maNikkadhavam- the doors are imbedded with gems. Even the mansions of others in Ayarpadi are described as thoomaNimAdam and it is obvious that the palace of Nandhagopa should be even more rich in appearance.The attention is diverted to the external decor as long as one has not seen the deity inside the temple.But once we stand in front of the Lord we notice nothing except his form. Likewise till they go in, the appearance of the mansion, flag etc. are mentioned but once they stand in front of Him they could talk about nothing else but His glory.
Mayan-the word is used in three pasurams before this.
1. Mayanai mannu vadamadurai maindhanai-Pasuram no.5.-The wonder of his avathara is expressed here.
2.MAmAyan mAdhavan- in the pasuram 'thoomaNimAdatthu,' pasuram no.9-This is supposed to refer to the story of Muchukundha, who was sleeping inside a cave and Krishna led Kalayavana into the cave as though he is fleeing from him out of fear and Kalyavana attacked Muchukundha thinking that he was Krishna and was burnt by his look.I t was one of the mayaleela of the Lord.
3.MayanaippadelorempAvai-in the preceding pasuram 'elle ilamkiliye.. This has reference to the glory of Bhagavathas. The mayam of the Lord in enchanting even Narada, who became proud once that the worldly desires could not touch him and Krishna asked him to fetch a cup of water and when Narada went to the river, by the maya of the Lord he saw a beautiful damsel and married her and lived happily. When she and the sons he had from her died he sat on the bank and cried when Bhagavan approcached him and asked him that what ever happened to the cup of water he was supposed to fetch.Then only Narada realised that all was the maya of the Lord.
In this pasuram it is mentioned 'mAyan maNivaNnan nennal vAinErndhAn,' which refers to the episode of the hunchbacked whose hunch Krishna straightened and went to her house later as promised earlier 'nennalE vAi nErndhAn..' Also He promised Droupadhi that he will come to her resque when needed. Rama will promise easily and keep His promise at any cast but Krishna will not promise unless He is sure that He will fulfil it. He says to Droupadhi that the sky may fall down and the Himalayas may be reduced to pieces but His word will not be untrue.The same promise He gives in Gita ' kounthEya prathjaaneehi na mE bhakthah praNasyathi, that His devotee will never come to harm..
These are the explanations given by the great scholars and devotees.
ThooyOmAi vandhom- They have come with thrikaraNasuddhi, that is purity of body, mind and intellect.
ThuyilezappaduvAn-They want to sing inorde to awaken Him so that His glance will fall on them first as mentioned in a later pasuram.
vAyAl munnam----amma- As the tamil saying goes, 'sAmi varam kodutthAlum poojari varam kodudukkaNum,' the great personages may be quite accessible but the people around them may prove to be difficult.So the girls are requesting the door keeper to allow them in, telling him not to say anything on the contrary.
This pasuram contains all the three manthras of vaishnava tradition namely, he ashtakshara, Om namO nArAyanAya., the dvayamanthra, SreemannArAyanacharanou Saranamprapadhye;Sreemathe nArAyanAyanamah, the charamasloka, sarvadharmAn parithyajaya mAmEkam Saranam vraja ;aham thvaa sarvapApEbhyO mOkshayishyAmi mA Suchah.
NAyakanAi---koilkAppAnE-denotes the moolamanthra. Nayakan is the Lord who is the nayaka of the world.His koil is praNava,Om. Nandhagopan means the one who gives bliss ,Anandha and who is the protector, gOpa.As the bliss is given only through surrender the nama sabdha is included in this. The word ninra refers to Narayana and hence the moolamanthra is implied by this sentence.
koditthOnrum thOraNavayilkAppAnE- is the dvayamanthra. KoditthOnrum thoraNavasal meaning Vaikunta and the word kAppAn means the Lord.He gives mOksha to those who surrender to His feet.
Ayarsirumiyar -----nErndhaAn refers to the promise of the Lord in the Gita that He will redeem the ose who surrender to Him, which is the only qualification whether the prpanna is learned or low born.
Thuyileza-----amma- To wake up from the sleep of samsara the acharya is entreated to instruct the three manthras without reserve and the word ammA refers to the acharya.
neya nilaikkadhavam- the doors are two in each manthra , Om and namOnArAyanAya, in themoola manthra and the two parts of the dvaya and the two lines of the charamasloka.
They should be opened in the sense that the secret of the meaning should be opened by the acharya.
Pasuram 17-ambaramE thaNNeerE
ambarame thaNNeerE sorE aram seyyum
emperumAn nandagopAlA ezundhirAi
kombanArkkellAm l kozyundhE kulaviLakkE
emperumAtti yasOdhAi arivurAi
ambaram oodarutthu Ongi ulagalandha
umbarkOmAnE urangAdhezundhirAi
semporkazqladichelvA baladhEva
umbiyum neeyum urangElorempAvai.
Lord Nandhagopala, who gives clothes, water and food to all, wake up. Yasodha, the best among beautiful slender women, the light of the clan, wake up.Oh Lord, who is the God of gods, and who pierced the sky and measured the whole world, do not sleep, wake up.Balarama, with golden anklet do not be sleeping with your brother.
Nandhagopa is known for giving ambaram,clothes, thaNNeer,water and annam food to all.Likewise he is asked to give them Krishna also because as Nammazvar has said, uNNumsoru, parugumneer, thinnum vettrilai ellaAm Kannan for these girls.
aramseyyum-aram is charity done with righteous attitude, dharmabuddhi. That is why it is called aram, which means dharma in Tamil. To expect something in return is only a business. To do it as one's duty is dharmam.Of all the dhAnas annadhAna is supposed to be the best because one who gets it goes away satisfied.
YasOdha means giver of yasas which normally means fame and in the vedas it means Brahman. Since she gave us the Brahmam in form of Krishna she is called Yasodha.
The word ambaram has many meanings such as clothes, sky etc. The first ambaram means the clothes while the second denotes the sky. But the scholars take it that to translate ambaram in 'ambaramE thaNNeerE, sOre' as akasa, the word may be taken to refer to the Lord Himself.The basis for this is the upanishadic statement that Brahman, who was one and only without a second willed to become many and created the elements. Akasa being the first and later followed fire, air, water and earth. As the earth is denoted by the word annam the same order given here refers to the Lord from whom everything origiinated. Also ambaram meaning clothes is mentioned first as it is essential for human beings only, among all the creatures and only after wearing clothes after bath one eats food or drinks water. Lord Krishna was also the donor of ambara , garment to Droupadi and water to the horses in the battle by piercing the rock by his staff, used to tend cattle.
Ambaramoodarutthu refers to the piercing of the cosmic shell to bring water from the outer region as mentioned in the upanishad as 'thripAdhasyAmrtham dhivi,' that is the whole cosmos pervaded by the Lord is only a quarter of His form and the remaining three quarters are outside.It is said that Brahma wanted to wash the feet of the Lord when it reached his loka by the water of his kamandalu but found that it was not enough when Thrivikrama pierced the cosmic shell by His foot and brought the water which became the akasaganga, celestial Ganges which was later brought to earth by Bhagiratha.
selva baladeva- his semporkazal is a veerakkazal.as he killed asuras and dragged the whole Hasthinapura into the Gangesby his plough when Duryodhana insulted him and diverted Yamuna to where he was for his jalakreeda. Being the incarnation of adhisesha he cleaned the womb of Devaki to make it divine for Krishna, his Lord. As Devaki lost her six children Sesha entered her womb to clear the sarpa dosha, causing death of sons of Devaki and he stepped into the world to guard Krishna from evil forces. Sesha follows the Lord wherever He goes.as azvar says, 'senral kudaiyam,' he serves the Lord in all His states.Sesha and the seshi, bhagavan are not two but one.
umbiyum neeyum urangelorempavai- Sesha being the couch they entreat him to wake up as when he moves the Lord will be awakened.They call Krishna his younger brother implying that Krishna will listen to him if he takes mercy on them and recommend their case.
In the pasurams 16,17 and 18 Nandhagopa is mentioned as being the master (nayakanAi) charitable, (aram seyyum) valourous (undhumadhakalittran OdAdhathOlvaliyan).Desika in his Yadhavabhyudhaya says that Nandhagopa excelled the wish-giving jewel, chinthamani and the celestial wish- fulfilling tree, kalpatharu and the rainbearing clouds in his generosity at the birth of Krishna.
The ashtakshar manthra is referred to by this pasuram. Ambaram=pranavam,sOru =narayana sabdha and thaNNeer=namah
Ambaram meaning AkAsa denotes the pranava in which all sabdhas are included as everything exists in AkAsa.
Upanishad says 'annam brhmEthi vijAnAth' therefore soru=Narayanasabdha, the Brahman of visishtadvaitha
thaN neer - cool water is namah sabdha since it is the means of life eternal.Through prapatthi, surrender, the devotion attains its culmination and like the cool water the jiva is refreshed from the heat caused by samsara.
aram seyyum- The acharya gives BhagavAn, the seshi to the sesha , the jiva and vicevesa which is the aram .
kombanSrkkellAm kozundhu is the ashtakshara which is the best of manthras as it shows the Lord. It is like Yasodha who has Krishna and the manthra is the source of jnana(arivurAi)
Ambaram oodarutthu indicates the all- pervasiveness of the Lord.
umbiyumneeyum urangelorempAvAi-Bhagavtseshatnvam and bhAgavathaseshathvam. It is equally important to worship the bhagavathas as it is to worship BhagavAn, who will be pleased more by the propitiation of His devotees as a father will be more pleased by fondling of his son rather than honouring himself. The sleep here is the lack of awareness of this fact.
Pasuram18-undhumadhakaLittran
UndhumadhakaLittran OdAdhathOLvaliyan
nandhagopAlan marumagalE nappinnAI
gandham kamazum kuzalee kadai thiravAi
vandhengum kOzi azaithana kAN mAdhavi
pandhalmEl palkAl kuyilinangaLkoovina kAN
pandhAr virali un maitthunan pEr pAda
senthAmaraikkaiyAl seerAr vaLai olippa
vandhu thiravAi magizndhElOrempAvai
NappinnA, of fragrant hair, the daughter- in- law of the valiant elephant -like Nandhagopa, who never flees from battle,come and open the door. See the cocks are crowing and the cuckoos are singing on the madhavi creeper. You who has ball in your fingers come and open the door with your lotus hand with jingling bangles when we sing the glory of your Lord.
To get the favour of the Lord one needs the grace of Lakshmi. So here she is awakened. With the glance of Sitadevi while she passed by the rsyamooka hill Sugreeva attained his kingdom.Hanuman went as Ramadhootha and after being graced by the glance of Sitadevi became Ramadasa and had the great fortune of being hugged by Rama.It is significant that she never looked at Ravana while talking to him. On the other hand the Kakasura whose offense to her was even worse than that of Ravana escaped death because of her glance.The word nappinnAi is also explained as nal=pinnAi, meaning Sita devi, the good one who followed (pin thodarndhaval) Rama to the forest.
The word marumagal, normally means daughter- in -law, is also explained to mean Lakshmi herself as she abides in the chest of the Lord in the form of a maru, mark in which case the Lord himself is the undhumadah-----nandhagopalan. Marumagal is also explained as maruvum magal, the one who is embraced by the Lord. Nappinnai is not only the daughter-in-law but also marumagal, niece of Nandhagopa, since she is the daughter of his sister.
vandhengum-----koovina kAN- he cocks are everywhere but the cuckoo is only found on the madhavicreeper.The sweet sounds and words are rare to find.
pandhAr virali- she was playing with Krishna with ball and slept with it in her hands.This signifies that all the beings are the leela kandhuka, play-balls for the Lord and Devi.
This pasuram is the 18th. The number 18 is very significant. Gita has 18 chapters, Mahabhartha war went on for 18 days, Bhagavatha purana has 18000 slokas etc.The sum of 1=8 is 9 a changeless number which when added or subtracted or multiplied by , the sum is 9 only.and this denotes Lakshmi who never changes her form while the Lord took a female form as Mohini. She always remained her merciful self in all avatharas.
kadai thiravAi, vandhu thiravAi-she is requested to come and remove the lock, that is , our sins ,which are the barrier between us and the Lord.
Vandhengum kOzi azatthanakAN-Like the cock which examines the garbage and takes what it wants we are also taking the essence of bhakthi by following you everywhere.
madhavi----Kuyilinangal koovina- kuyilinam, cuckoos may refer to the sages like Valmiki and Sukha who gave out the sweet song of the Lord taking the essence of the vedas.
PandAr virali-To Him we are only play- things but due to the grace of the divine mother we will become objects of His enjoyment.
Pasuram19-kutthuvilakkeriya
kutthuviLakkeriya kOttukkAl kattil mEl
metthenrapancha sayanatthinmElEri
kotthalar poonguzal nappinnai kongai mEl
vaitthukkidandha malarmarba vai thiravai
maitthadamkaNNinAi nee un maNAlanai
etthanai podhum thilezavottAi kAn
itthanai Agilum pirivAtrakillAyAl
thatthuvam anru thagavElOrempAvai
Oh Lord, speak to us. You are lying on a couch, which has got all the quaities of being the best like softness, and supported by the tusks of elephants, lit around with lamp, your chest resting on Nappinnai, who is wearing bunch of flowers on her tresses.Oh Nappinnai, with eyes decorated with collirium, you will not allow him to get up any time as you do not want to part with him, which is not right, and is against your nature.
Before approaching the Lord the divine mother has to be entreated as she is the one who advocates the case of the devotee to Him, which is called purushakaram in vaishnavism. The mother will give her grace to the devotee without consulting the Lord but will not punish wihout His approval. Sita saved Hanuman from the fire praying to the firegod to be cool 'SeethO bhava hanoomathah,' and saved the rakshasis from the wrath of Hanuman saying 'na kaSchit naoarAd\DHyathi?' , "who is without fault?" But she did not curse Ravana because, she said, she did not have the permission of Rama. This fact is very beautifully explained by Thyagaraja who says in his krthi 'mA jAnaki,' that Sita had all the powers to kill Ravana with her anger but desisted because she wanted to give the credit to Rama.
Kutthuvilakkeriya- the lamp will illuminate itself and the other things.. Likewise the divine mother shows the Lord to the devotees and vice versa.
kOttukkAl-The feet of the couch are made of ivory.
panchasayanam- an ideal couch must have five qualities. Softness.,whiteness, fragrance, coolness and beauty. Thus it is called panchasayanam.
etthanai pOdhum -----kAN- reference here is to Sita who did not wake up Rama even when Kakasura attacked her.
etthanai yAgilum pirivAtrakillAy- Sridevi is never separated from her Lord .Azvar calls him 'agalakillEn iraiyum ena alarmEl mangai urai mArbA.' This is the real meaning of 'nappinnai konhaimEl vaitthukkidandha malarlArba.'
Thatthuvam anru, thagavEl- thathvam is svarupam, nature, thagavu is svabhAva, character.. Not to show mercy on the devotees is neither suited to the nature or character of the divine mother.
thath denotes Brahman, that is, bhagavan, thvam refers to Lakshmi. Anru means 'not.' She is not Him as she is full of mercy and will not punish like the Lord.
The previous pasuram mentioned with reference to Ramanuja who was fond of it as it refers to ThAyar, the divine mother. It seems that he was so involved with this pasuram when he went on the streets singing it and when AtthuzAi, the daughter of Perianambi, his guru came out to give him biksha, he saw the ThAyAr herself in her and prostrated before her. Since then this pasuram is mentioned in connection with him.
The present one is supposed to be the favourite of Parasarabhattar.
The pasuram ambaramE begins with akAra and the next undhu madha begins with ukAra of the PraNava. The 20th one starts with makAra, 'muppatthumoovar' and this one is said to be inserted in between as the praNva should not be uttered direct except by vedic scholars .
KutthuviLakku denotes the light of jnana. which not only destroys the external darkness but also the internal darkness of ignorance.KutthuviLakku has five faces which denote here the five states of Bhagavan, namely, Para, vyuha, vibhava, archA and antharyami.Para is the state in vaikunta, as the supreme purusha, vyuha comprises of the four forms, Vasudeva, SankarshaNa, Pradhyumna and Aniruddha, all are one only though but distinguished according to the attributes that go with the bhagavathsabda.Vibhava are the incarnations, archa are the forms worshipped in temples and abtharyami is the indweller of all as their inner self.
The four legs of the couch denote the concepts that form the basis of the world, causing samsara. The four Purusharathas, dharma, artha, kama and moksha, the four asramas, brhmacharya, grhastha, vanaprastha and sannyasa,the four varnas, brahma,kshathriya vaisya and sudra, four yugas, sathya, thretha, dvapara and kali, and, papa, sin, puNya, merit, papapunya, the sin which appears as merit and vice versa, puNyapApa.These are the legs of samsara and the Lord is above 'mEl.' The pancha sayanam denotes the five kinds of life, deva, manushya, thiryang and sthAvara and aprAni, divine, human, animal, plant and inert. the lord is above the couch , that is beyond all beings . He is malarmArban of flower like chest, soft hearted.
kotthalar----mEl the bunch of flowers are the jnana on which the bhagavan is resting.
maitthadam-----pirivAtrakillai- when the devotee is applying the collirium of devotion the Lord is his maNAlan, the dear one . He does not want to part with the Lord ah gain and plapse back into the sleep of samsara. This is the thatthuvam the truth. And this will not happen without the thagavu, the grace of the Lord.
Pasuram20-muppatthumoovar
muppatthumoovar amararkkum mun senru
kappam thavirkkum kaliyE thuyil ezAi
cheppam udaiyAi thiraludaiyAi chettrArkku
veppam kodukkum vimalA thuyil ezAi
cheppenna menmulai sevvAi sirumarungul
nappinnai nangAi thiruvE thuyilezAi
ukkamum thattoLiyum thandhunmaNAlanai
ippOdhE emmai neerAttElOrempavai
O Lord, who goes in front to help the thirtythreecrores of devas,awake.You who is pure and perfect , with Lakshmi and burn your foes, get up. Nappinnai of slender and beautiful form , the incarnation of Lakshmi, awake. Give the fan and the mirror necessary for our vratha and unite us with the Lord and enable us to take the holybath.
muppatthumoovar- eight vasus, eleven rudras, twelve Adhithyas, Indra and Prajapathi, all told thirtythree and their vibhoothi, power is thirtythree crores.
amarakkumunsenru-He is the agresara, the first and foremost of all, 'ayarvarum amararga adhipathi,' as He is described by NammAZvar.He goes in front and protects them.
kappam thavirkkum- He removes their fear, kappam meaning kampam or shaking with fright.
kaliyE-glorious.
cheppam - Arjavam, thrikaraNaSuddhi, truthful in thought word and deed. and thiral is strength or power.
chettrAr- there are no enemies for the Lord as he says 'samoham sarva bhoothEshu, I am impartial to all. The term refers to those who harm the good.
Cheppenna ----sirumarungul- denotes the young age of Nappinnai
ThiruvE- The divine mother is even higher than the Lord Himself. She is full of mercy and forgiveness. As Sita, she says to Anjaneya, 'SubhAnAm vA vaDHArhANA plavangaama kAryam karuNamAryENa na kaschith nAparAdhyathi.' Whether they are sinners or good people , even if they deserve to be killed a noble person should show mercy. Who is without fault? That is why she is first awakened even before the Lord.
The words ukkam and thattoLi mean the removal of ahamkara and mamakara and granting of svarupa jnana.The grace of the divine mother is required to fan away the ego, the cause of ahamkara and mamakara and to mirror the real nature of the self.
Thiruppavai Pasuram-14,15
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 pasuram refers to ThiruppANAzvAr, who is addressed as nANAdhai, one who has no nAN,ego, and as nAvudaiyAy his being born in the family of bards.
Pasuram-15-ellE iLamkiLiyE
elE iLmkiLiyE innam urangudhiyO
chillenrazaiyEnmin nangaimeer pOdharginrEn
vallai un katturaigaL pandE unvayaridhum
valleergal neengalE nanE than Ayiduga
Ollai nee pOdhai unakkenna vErug daiyai
ellArum pOndhAro pOndhAr pOndheNNikkoL
vallAnaikkonrAnai mAttrAni mAttrazikka
vallANai mAyanai pAdelorempAvai
Oh you young one are you still sleeping?
Don't be harsh.I will come presently.
Of course we know your eloquence and clever words.
Only you people are so. Ok let me be so if you insist.
Why don't you come now? Where is the necessity to change your dress?
Has evryone arrived?
Of course thety have.Come and see for yourself.
Come and sing about the one who killed the wild elephant and valiant enough to vanquish all His enemis and is enchanting.
This pasuram is in the form of playful banter between the callers and the gilrl sleeping inside.This one is younger than the others but very clever in arguing.
The superficial meaning of the verse is clear enough. The Lord is referred to as vallAnAikkonrAnai mAttrAnai mAttrazikka.vallan. Thia has been explained as follows:
vallAnai is KuvalayApeetam, the wild elephant arranged by Kamsa to kill Krishna and Balarama which Krishna killed (vallAnaikkonrAn) the word mAttrAnai means the other elephant Gajendhra whose enemy (mAttru), the crocodile was destroyed by the Lord (azikka vallAn).
This pasuram has been extolled by the devotees as being the one meant to awaken us who are imprisoned in the cage of sarirathmabhava, identifying ourslves with the body and bound by the sensual pleasures like a parrot which is inside a cage with its wings clipped. We are asleep overpowered with the ignorance of our real nature and the word 'innam urangudhiyo' denotes the long duration of the ignorance of several lives.
The reply 'chillenrazaiyEnmin nangaimeer pOdharginrEn' is the state of a worldly being who does not want to get disturbed in enjoying the sense objects. Such an individual keeps on postponing his spiritual awakening giving excuses
nangaimeer pOdharginrEn-he says I will come later when I become detached from the worldly desires.
vallai-----vAyaridhum- A clevr person can talk convincingly as to why he cannot do what should be done as in the case of Arjuna who Krishna said 'prajnAvAdhAmscha bhAshasE,' talkd vet ry cleverly defending his view.
valleergal neengalE nanEdhAn Ayiduga-This indicates the humility of the one who surrenders to the Lord. All the saints without an exception has beseeched the mercy of the Lord disparaging themselves as being unworthy of His grace. The suffering is not ordained by the Lord but only due to one's own doing and the redemption come out of His infinite mercy.
ollai ----vErudaiyai- Here vErudayai is the thought other than that of the Lord.When one thinks of postponing his entry into the path of devotion waiting for his attachments to cease will never bre able to do so as the one waiting to enter the sea once the waves stop.
ellarum-----eNNikkoL- these words emphasise the value of sathsangam and persuades the aspirant to come and join them.
mArttAnai mAttrazikka - He will dstroy only the mAttru , the bhedhabuddhi of the mAttrAn the one who does not think of the Lord and engages himself in worldly pursuits.
This pasuram refers to Thirumangai azvar who calls himself a parrot in one of his pasurams and ak lso because he followed the argumentative method to establish the path of devotion.
.
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 pasuram refers to ThiruppANAzvAr, who is addressed as nANAdhai, one who has no nAN,ego, and as nAvudaiyAy his being born in the family of bards.
Pasuram-15-ellE iLamkiLiyE
elE iLmkiLiyE innam urangudhiyO
chillenrazaiyEnmin nangaimeer pOdharginrEn
vallai un katturaigaL pandE unvayaridhum
valleergal neengalE nanE than Ayiduga
Ollai nee pOdhai unakkenna vErug daiyai
ellArum pOndhAro pOndhAr pOndheNNikkoL
vallAnaikkonrAnai mAttrAni mAttrazikka
vallANai mAyanai pAdelorempAvai
Oh you young one are you still sleeping?
Don't be harsh.I will come presently.
Of course we know your eloquence and clever words.
Only you people are so. Ok let me be so if you insist.
Why don't you come now? Where is the necessity to change your dress?
Has evryone arrived?
Of course thety have.Come and see for yourself.
Come and sing about the one who killed the wild elephant and valiant enough to vanquish all His enemis and is enchanting.
This pasuram is in the form of playful banter between the callers and the gilrl sleeping inside.This one is younger than the others but very clever in arguing.
The superficial meaning of the verse is clear enough. The Lord is referred to as vallAnAikkonrAnai mAttrAnai mAttrazikka.vallan. Thia has been explained as follows:
vallAnai is KuvalayApeetam, the wild elephant arranged by Kamsa to kill Krishna and Balarama which Krishna killed (vallAnaikkonrAn) the word mAttrAnai means the other elephant Gajendhra whose enemy (mAttru), the crocodile was destroyed by the Lord (azikka vallAn).
This pasuram has been extolled by the devotees as being the one meant to awaken us who are imprisoned in the cage of sarirathmabhava, identifying ourslves with the body and bound by the sensual pleasures like a parrot which is inside a cage with its wings clipped. We are asleep overpowered with the ignorance of our real nature and the word 'innam urangudhiyo' denotes the long duration of the ignorance of several lives.
The reply 'chillenrazaiyEnmin nangaimeer pOdharginrEn' is the state of a worldly being who does not want to get disturbed in enjoying the sense objects. Such an individual keeps on postponing his spiritual awakening giving excuses
nangaimeer pOdharginrEn-he says I will come later when I become detached from the worldly desires.
vallai-----vAyaridhum- A clevr person can talk convincingly as to why he cannot do what should be done as in the case of Arjuna who Krishna said 'prajnAvAdhAmscha bhAshasE,' talkd vet ry cleverly defending his view.
valleergal neengalE nanEdhAn Ayiduga-This indicates the humility of the one who surrenders to the Lord. All the saints without an exception has beseeched the mercy of the Lord disparaging themselves as being unworthy of His grace. The suffering is not ordained by the Lord but only due to one's own doing and the redemption come out of His infinite mercy.
ollai ----vErudaiyai- Here vErudayai is the thought other than that of the Lord.When one thinks of postponing his entry into the path of devotion waiting for his attachments to cease will never bre able to do so as the one waiting to enter the sea once the waves stop.
ellarum-----eNNikkoL- these words emphasise the value of sathsangam and persuades the aspirant to come and join them.
mArttAnai mAttrazikka - He will dstroy only the mAttru , the bhedhabuddhi of the mAttrAn the one who does not think of the Lord and engages himself in worldly pursuits.
This pasuram refers to Thirumangai azvar who calls himself a parrot in one of his pasurams and ak lso because he followed the argumentative method to establish the path of devotion.
.
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