A 'mArgazhi' diary: some reflections - 5.2

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Dear bhakti-list friends,

 

adiyen today (26 Dec) would like to explore how

scholars have shown that Kamban's 2nd "Standard of

Poetic Excellence" is met and surpassed by Goda's

"tiruppAvai".

 

Standard No:2 i.e. "Anra porul taral", lays down that

poetry must be extremely rich in meaning and

significance.

 

The scholars say that this means 2 things which the

word "porul" in Tamil conveys:

 

"porul" means "substance" and substance in a work of

poetry is three-fold:

 

(a) "semm-porul" which is the patent or

'prima-facie' meaning conveyed by the poetic words

 

(b) "illakannaip-porul" which is allegorical

meaning of the words i.e. Not the patent meaning but

some other meaning conveyed by the words.

 

© "kurippu-porul" which is the associative or

derivative meaning of the words.

 

AndAl's tiruppAvai abounds in all three types of

"porUl".

 

For e.g. scholars point out that Verse 24 beginning

with the words "anriv-ulagam-allandaay

adi-pOtri...etc." is an example of "semm-porul" where

the meaning of words is clear, straight-forward and

quite easily comprehended.

 

The example for "illakanaip-porul" is the famous

phrase "kudArai-vellum-seer-gOvindA" in Verse 27 of

the tiruppAvai. Here the words convey the meaning "He

who quells his enemies with his might, such a one is

our Govinda!". But the word "kudArai" is tantalisingly

allegorical! It affords a very interesting opportunity

for creative interpretation of the expression. So

scholars and "AchAryA-s" are often seen to interpret

the phrase to mean "kudumm~avargalakku-kutOtrru-nirkum

avanE" which gives a different meaning than the

original. It means "He who simply collapses and melts

into sweet and abject meekness at the devotee's

slightest bidding!" ("aasritha-paratantran"). Swami

Desikan underlined the wonder of this particular

'tiruppAvai' expression extremely well in his own

work, the "nava-manimAlai":

 

sensOl anbar sindai kondu tItilAda toodanaay

tErumUrndu tEsuyarnda selva! deiva nAyakA !

 

(Glory be to your Might, O Krishna, that made you

stoop to run such menial errands (for the Pandavas) as

mere chauffeur and messenger-boy!").

 

Next, the perfect example of "kurippu-porul", scholars

say, is the line in Verse 28 of the tiruppAvai:

"karavaigal pin senru kANam sErndunnbOm!" sung by the

milk-maids of the "aayarpAdi" who go in search of

Krishna.

 

In exactly literal terms the line means: "What do we

rustic milk-maidens do with our lives? Nothing much

besides two things: (1) spend our days trailing

grazing milch-cows ("pin-senru")into the forests and

(2) keep filling our bellies ("unnbOm")!".

 

The "kurippu-porul" or the 'hinged' meaning of the

line is however as follows:

 

"Other souls have a "guru" or "sadAchArya"

("preceptor") to follow ("pin-senru"). We milk-maids

have none. We have only our milch-cows ("karavaigal")

to follow! (meaning, we know no means to approach the

Lord).

 

"But, O Krishna, you say that we are already on the

pathway to you! You think that we are practising a

great "karma-yOga"! You say that because you think

that as milk-maidens it is our "karma", our

"dharmAnushtAna" to carefully tend our cattle as they

graze their way into the forest ("kANam-serndu"). But

little do you know, O Lord, that we do not at all

carry out those duties in the spirit of any

"karma-yOga"! We do it so that we may "unnbOm"! So

that we may eat and fill our bellies to our heart's

desire!!" (I wonder what our learned friend, Sri.Mani

would say to the trace of "kAmyArtham" that seems to

show up here!!)

 

"Therefore, O Krishna",say the 'aayarpAdi' girls,

we are utterly ignorant souls...

"arivenrum-illAda-aay- kullatu"... we are destitute

souls... so it is You who must yourself lead us unto

You, O Krishna...!!".

 

******** ********* ********

 

Now, "Anra-"porul" in Tamil poetry also has another

meaning. It refers to "purushArthA" or the "ultimate

ends of human existence". Great "AchAryA-s" tell us

that "purushArthA-s" are (1) "aram" (virtue of

charity) (2) "porul" (wealth) (3) "inbam" (pleasure)

and (4) "viDu" (spiritual emancipation).

 

The tiruppAvai also abounds in references to the above

4-fold "purushArthA-s". But adiyen will explore that

in tomorrow's 'mArgazhi-diary' entry.

 

dAsAnu-dAsa-bhuthan,

Sampathkumaran

 

 

 

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