"Marghazhi Thingal

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Srimate Srivan Satakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama:

 

Margazhi ThingaL

 

 

 

Margazhi or Dhanur Masam is probably the best among months, in all ways.

Climate-wise, it is a month with neither enervating heat nor biting cold, but an

extremely pleasant weather. It is a month ideally suited for spiritual exercises

and sadhanas. The popular feeling that Margazhi is unsuited for auspicious

things is based on a wrong interpretation of what is auspicious. For us,

anything that takes us towards God is propitious, while other activities, which

lure us away from Him, are inauspicious. The reason that marriages and similar

functions are not performed in this month is to give pride of place to spiritual

themes, relegating mundane matters, which ensnare us deeper into samsara, to the

background. It is the month liked most by Sri Krishna- "MAsAnAm

MargasIrshOham" says He in the Bhagavat Gita. Sri Rama too appears to have liked

this month, which is evident from Sri Lakshmana's words-"ayam sa kAla:

samprApta: priyO yastE priamvada". Going by tradition, it is the only month when

everybody, irrespective of caste, creed, sex, etc. rises early in the day before

sunrise and devotes time to spiritual activities. If we find even habitual late

risers who greet the overhead sun with a toothbrush in their hand, rising fairly

early, then it must indeed be Margazhi. It is the month in which Sri Nammazhwar

attained Paramapadam-the month in which the famous Vaikunta Ekadasi occurs. It

is the only month which appears to have been set apart for spiritual activities

by people who otherwise rush about their tasks with little thought for the Lord.

 

However, the major reason for the popularity of Margazhi is Tiruppavai, the

emotional outpouring of Kodai Nacchiar, consisting of 30 beautiful verses,

recited one a day during this month.

 

The greatness of Sri Andal is beyond description. If we remember that She was

the avatara of Bhoomi Piratti, we may have some idea of Her magnificence. Like

Sita Piratti, Andal too was born without undergoing the ten-month sentence in a

mother's womb. It is noteworthy here that whether it is as Rama, Krishna,

Balarama, Parasurama,or Vamana, the Lord has always undergone the ordeal of

garbha vAsam, while Piratti demonstrates Her superiority time and again by being

born at will, without having to seek a mother's womb. This is perhaps because

She is the Universal Mother and is unable to find a suitable mother for

Herself..

 

Sri Andal has several unique achievements to Her credit. She is the only lady in

the male-dominated club of Azhwars. She is the only Azhwar to have been eligible

for and fortunate enough to attain marital union with the Lord. While other

Azhwars like the Parankusa Nayaki and Parakala nayaki might speak volumes about

the pangs of separation from the beloved, She is much more qualified, by virtue

of her womanhood, to experience and recount what it means to be apart from one's

lover and the boundless bliss of reunion. In this matter, other Azhwars are at

best pretenders before Her. She is the only lady who got away with appropriating

for personal use, garlands meant for the Lord. It was only Her family, which

produced the maximum number of Azhwars-Herself and Sri Periazhwar. She is

perhaps the only Azhwar to have showered the Lord with the choicest words of

abuse. She calls Sri Krishna a "dharumam ariya kurumban" (a mischief-monger

devoid of any scruples) and "Puram pOl uLLum kariyAn" (Black of the heart as He

is of complexion). While the works of other Azhwars are at best equated with the

Vedas in terms of greatness, Sri Andal's Tiruppavai is the only Prabandam to be

acclaimed as the very source and seed of Vedas-"Vedam anaitthukkum vitthAgum

Kodai Tamizh". Of all the prabandas, it was Tiruppavai with which Sri Ramanuja

was enamoured, which is indicated by the sobriquet "Tiruppavai Jeer". His

fascination with the pasuram "undu mada kaLitran" is well known. Tiruppavai has

the distinction of being the only prabandam that is recited during Margazhi, to

the exclusion of the sreesooktis of all other Azhwars. We do not find any

other month set apart exclusively for the recitation of any other prabandam. Sri

Andal is acclaimed as the heir to other Azhwars in Bhagavat guna anubhavam. She

is the only Azhwar on whom Acharyas have composed a stotra (the Goda Stuti of

Swami Desikan). While adorning Herself with perishable garlands meant for

Emperuman, Sri Kodai adorned Him with a garland, which would never wilt away-, a

garland of thirty glorious songs that are a source of inspiration for us till

today and will remain so for posterity. In the process, She earned Herself a

beautiful title-"Choodi koduttha Sudarkkodi". Apart from Sri Nammazhwar, She is

the only Azhwar endowed with uncontainable Bhagavat bhakti right from childhood.

She is the only Azhwar with a distinguished elder brother in Sri Ramanuja, as

Her vAzhi tirunAmam indicates-"Perumboodoor mAmunikku pinnAnAL vAzhiyE". She is

the only Azhwar to be honoured with the sobriquet "AndAL", signifying Her clout

with the Lord. Swami Desikan goes to the extent of saying that Sri Periazhwar

was able to obtain the Poorna anugraham of the Lord, only after he started

adorning Him with garlands made more fragrant by association with Sri Andal's

hair. She is the only Azhwar to have thought big-She offered the Lord of

Tirumalirumsolai a hundred cauldrons ("tadA") of "akkAravadisil". No other

prabandam is elaborated upon with such popularity and listened to so eagerly, as

Tiruppavai. Come Margazhi, we find Vidvans of varying scholarship vying with

each other to lay bare the innermost purport of Tiruppavai, before the devout

public. So much so that if a Vidvan remains uninvited for upanyasam during

Margazhi, his scholarship is suspect.

 

 

 

If the holy month of Margazhi and the emotional outpouring of Tiruppavai have

such great attraction for devotees and scholars, for people like me, they are

appealing in an entirely different way. The fragrance and taste of the veN

Pongal seasoned with pure ghee that is distributed at all sannidhis at the end

of Satrumurai as prasadam, are without parallel. This is a month that provides a

feast not only to the intellect and the psyche, but also to the palate, in the

form of a daily diet of ven Pongal, and Sarkkarai Pongal on the days of

"NayakanAi nindra Nandagopan" and "Koodarai vellum seer Govinda" etc.

 

Is there any doubt now that Margazhi is indeed the best of the months?

 

 

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana

Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama:

 

Dasan, sadagopan.