thiruppavai day one song one english

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Note from Moderator:

This is a short introduction to the series of postings on tiruppavai and other

pasurams from Dr. N. Ramani Naidu, that we hope to see in the coming month and

may be in the future. He is currently a Reader in the Dept. of English in the

PSG College of technology, Coimbatore. His area of interest includes

vaishNavam, and his Ph.D. is in English and tamizh literature. His Ph.D. thesis

dealt with a comparison of the poetry of nammAzhvAr with that of Hopkins. He is

very involved in using and promoting computer methods for teaching. In

addition to his study of vaishNavam literature, he has undertaken the

translation of a lot of literature covering areas of other faiths, writings of

political personalities, etc.

 

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THIRUPPAVAI - DAY ONE – SONG ONE

 

Transliteration

 

markaLith thinkaL mathi niRaintha nannALAl

nIrAtap pOtuvIr pOtuminO nEriLayIr

sIr malkum Ayppatic celvac cirumiyarkAL

kUrvEl kotum thozilan nanthakOpan kumaran

ErArnta kanni yasOtai ilan cinkam

kArmenic cenkan katirmatiyam pOl mukaththAn

nArayananE namakkE paRai tharuvAn

pAror pukazap patinthElOr empAvAy.

 

Translation

 

On the auspicious day full of the moon,

In the month of markazhi,

Let us go and bathe, you bejewelled maids.

You the girls, the treasure of beauty prevailing ayppati.

Narayana the cloud hued and the red eyed,

With a face dazzling like the sun with his rays,

The son of Nantagopan who holds the sharp spear

Whose business is to destroy (the foe),

The young lion of the beautiful eyed Yasoda,

Will bless us with his grace.

Let us bathe in His name (on the steps of the pond)

Much to the appreciation of the world.

 

The first song in Tiruppavai is a call to the maids of Ayppati to prepare

themselves after a bath in the pond to make obeisance to Krishna. Nantakopan is

the Chief of the herdsmen clan who is the foster father of Krishna. Krishna is

supposed to have been born in the prison. His mother Devaki had been imprisoned

by her brother in fear of annihilation at the hands of his sister’s son as

predicted by astrologers.

 

Seven children were born to Devaki before Krishna and they were all girl

children. Overdoing his act in fear, Devaki’s brother, Kamsa, had thrown the

children up in the air and killed them as they fell upon an upheld sword.

Fearing the same fate to the only son begotten, Krishna had been carried

stealthily with Divine assistance to the house of Nantakopan when his wife

Yasoda had given birth to a girl child. Substituting the babies, Krishna’s

father, Vasudeva returned to the prison. When Devaki’s brother threw the girl

child up in the air, the baby flew up to heaven instead of falling down on the

sword. Meanwhile Yasoda took Krishna for her own child and brought him up.

Therefore parentage is ascribed to Nandakopan and Yasoda.

 

The reference to the jewels of the maids being the treasure of Ayppati in effect

means that they are at one and at the same time endowed with physical grace and

spiritual qualities. Margazhi is supposed to be the best of tamil months. Even

in the Gita, Krishna claims to be margazhi of all months. Thus the reference to

the moon filled day in the month of margazhi is synonymous with divine

association. The reference to the sharp spear and the business of destruction

implies the valour of the chieftain of the herdsmen clan. Feminine beauty is

associated with beautiful eyes in the case of Yasoda. The act of bathing in

preparation of devoted worship and praise of God is a surety of Divine grace.

Therefore is the assertion that Narayana will bless them with His grace. Thus

right at the beginning of Tiruppavai, Andal comes out with a note of assurance

of God’s grace to the devotee.

 

The Vaishnava faith is that uttering the name of Narayana in itself is a surety

for His grace. Nammalvar in one of his songs will say , “Those of you who are

inclined to reach the feet of Narayana! The very thought of the name of

Narayana is surety enough for salvation.”

 

kannan kazalinai nannum manamutaiyIr

ennum tirunAman tinnam nAranamE.