Thiruppavai of ANDAL

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

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

Pasuram1- Margazithingal

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

Translation:

Oh the fortunate girls of the affluent Gokula, come to take the ritualistic bath on this auspicious full moon day of the month of Margazi. We will be acclaimed by the world when as a result of our ritual the Lord Narayana, , with His face resembling both Sun and the Moon, His eyes red like the lotus and his hue of rain bearing cloud, who has come as the son of Nanda with fierce spear in his hand and who is like a lion cub to his mother Yasodha of beautiful eyes, will Himself grant our request.

Commentary:

Margazi Thingal- month of Margazi.. .

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

Mathiniraindha nannaal- full-moon day.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chengann- Eyes red like lotus.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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