thiruppavai day two song two

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THIRUPPAVAI - THIRUPPALLIYELUCCI

>From Ramani's Desk

 

Thiruppavai - Day Two - Song Two

 

Transliteration

 

vaiyaththu vAlvIrkAL nAmum nam pAvaikku

ceyyum kirisaikal kEliRo pARkataluL

paiyaththuyinra paraman ati pAti

neyyunnOm pAlunnom nAtkalE nIrati

maiyittu eLuthOm malarittu nAm mutiyOm

ceyyathana ceyyOm thIkkuRalaic cenROthOm

aiyamum piccaiyum Anthanaiyum kaikAtti

uyyumAru enni ukanthElEr empAvAy.

 

Translation

 

O listen you people of the world,

What we propose to commit ourselves to

In the name of the pavai observance.

 

We will sing in praise of the Lord

Gently asleep on the milky ocean.

We will renounce ghee and milk.

Bathing late in the evening,

We will not adorn ourselves with colirium.

We will not decorate our hair with flowers.

We will not commit acts forbidden.

We will not carry tales.

We will distribute alms in dedication.

We will accept alms from the deserving.

 

Thus we will mediate on salvation

And celebrate the bliss thereof.

 

The second song of Thiruppavai is a declaration of commitments in the name

of the pavai observance. It is also a statement of what the devotees will

refrain from indulging in the interest of augmenting total commitment to the

pavai observance. Singing the praise of God is an obligation to commit

oneself to. It is all the more so because God has condescended to grace man

in descending to lie on the couch of Adhisesha, (the thousand headed

serpent) afloat the milky ocean. Ghee and milk contribute to physical

consciousness and therefore to be refrained from in the process of spiritual

cultivation. Bathing late in the evening is again a means to stifle physical

consciousness. To adorn oneself with colirium and to decorate one's hair

with flowers are also indulgences which are indicative of a preoccupation

with the mundane and the sensuous. Therefore the proposal to refrain from

such indulgences. Acts detrimental to spiritual cultivation in accordance

with scriptural dicta are to be refrained from. To carry tales about others

for personal benefits does not become of the devotee. Alms to be given in

dedication to God is a duty prescribed. Such giving is not necessarily in

terms of material. Imparting the sense of the divine is also a form of

giving. At the same time, even the best of men in devotion and duty are not

the perfect until God bestows His grace upon such. Therefore the devotee has

to remain an ever-ready receptacle of God's grace. That is to accept alms.

Leave alone salvation, meditation on salvation in itself is cause enough for

happiness to the devotee.

 

The song is in the form of a public address to make a declaration of

commitments. That in itself is an indication for assurance of commitment. It

is not only a commitment to do but also a commitment to refrain. The song by

implication points to sanctification of the human in its three aspects

(trikarana suddhi) - the physical aspect, the mental aspect and the

utterance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ramani