thiruppavai day fifteen song fifteen

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THIRUPPAVAI - DAY FIFTEEN - SONG FIFTEEN

 

Transliteration

 

ellE ilamkiliyE innam urankuthiyO

cillenRu azaiyEn min nankaimIr pOtharkinREn

vallai un katturaikal pantE un vAyaRithum

vallIrkaL nInkaLE nAnEthAn Ayituka

ollai nI pOthAy unakkenna vERutaiyai

ellOrum pOnthArO pOnthAr pOl ennikkoL

vallAnaik konRAnai mARRArai maRRaLikka

vallAnai mAyAnaip pAtElOr empAvAy.

 

Translation

 

Hey young parrot! Are you still asleep?

Don’t be so harsh maids. I’ll join you.

We know your vain promises of the past.

I know you, don’t I? Take me as you please.

Join us quick. Why do you make exceptions?

Is everyone there? Of course, you can count for yourself.

Let us sing in praise of the Inscrutable,

Who annihilated the mighty elephant,

Who cured the foes of their pride.

 

The fifteenth song, as stated earlier, is in the form of an exchange of

remarks between the maid withindoors and the maids awaiting her to join

them. At the end of the song, the maid joins the others and the pavai march

resumes.

 

The maid, in the same placating tone as at the end of the previous song, is

addressed the young parrot. “Are you still asleep?” is more an explanation

to the maids themselves, “Perhaps she is really still asleep.” But then, the

first response from within follows, much to the relief of the other maids.

When woken up from deep slumber, it is but natural to be irritated.

Therefore the remark, “Don’t be so shrill and harsh.” The maids now start

teasing her. “O we know how you have failed in your promises to us.” The

maid rebukes them for the rebuke, “I know you for the harsh tongued that you

are, don’t I?” But then, she is aware that she has overslept. Therefore the

immediate admittance, “Take me as you please.” The maids continue with their

teasing. “How is it you try to make an exception? As if you can have an

exclusive experience of the Divine.” The maid has no answer. She asks if

everyone has already joined the troop. The immediate response is, “Why

should we answer such a question? You can come out and see for yourself.”

Meanwhile, the maid comes out and joins the others and the maid leads the

pavai march. They propose to sing in praise of Krishna who annihilated a

monster in the form of an elephant called the Kuvalayapitam and who cured

the foes of their pride.

This song highlights one of the basic attributes of the Vaishnavites. When a

devotee is found fault with on one score or the other, the true Vaishnavite

immediately is pleased for the grace of the accusing in excusing the

shortfall.

This song has a certain dramatic charm about it that characterises the

classic sankam literature from which bhakthi literature in Tamil has

borrowed profusely. The sankam poetry is an evocation of snippets of life

usually presented in the form of a dramatisation as in the kalittokai or

monologue as in most other sankam literature. A classic example will be that

song from puram, where a mother answers a query about her son from a woman

of her own age. “You hold the pillar of my little house and ask me where my

son is. Let me tell you. This womb is like a stony cave sought by a tiger

for a brief sojourn. He will be found in the battlefield.”

 

ciRRil naRRUN paRRi

nin makan yAntuLan kollO

ena vinavuthiyAyin

en makan yAntuLan Ayinum aRiyEn

Orum puli cErntu pOkiya kallaLai pOlath

thOnRiya vayirO ituvE tOnruvan mAthO pOrkkalaththAnE.

 

The fifteenth song of Tiruppavai indicates a definite turn of events in the

pavai observance.

 

The first song is a general call to all the maids to join the pavai. The

second song is a declaration of the qualification of the pavai participants.

The third song mentions the benefits that accrue as a result of the pavai

observance. The fourth song is a prayer for rains and in effect for God’s

grace. The fifth song is an assurance of redemption. By the time the sixth

song begins, all the maids have assembled excepting the one still abed. Or

alternatively, beginning the sixth song through the fifteenth song, such of

those maids who are yet to join the troop have been woken up to join the

others. With the maid who was the best of them all having joined them, or

alternatively, with the last of the maids having joined them, the pavai

bathing follows, followed by the assembly reaching the temple, as in the

sixteenth song. Gaining admittance into the temple, singing songs to wake up

God and the others, being granted audience by the God and other such phases

of pavai are celebrated in the second half of the thirty songs of

Tiruppavai. Thus the fifteenth song can be said to mark a definite turn in

the events of the pavai.

 

A point of literary interest is that the fourth song of Tiruvempavai, the

Saivite version of the pavai ritual is found to correspond almost line to

line with the fifteenth song of Tiruppavai.

Onnittila nakaiyay innam pulartinro

Vannak kilimoliyar ellarum vantaro?

Ennik kotullava collukom avvalavum

Kannait tuyinravame kalaittaip pokkate

Vinnukkoru maruntai veta vilup porulaik

Kannukkiniyanaip patik kacintullam

Unnekku ninruruka ya mattom niye vantu

Ennik kuraiyir tuyilelorempavay.

 

Traditional interpretation will identify the maid in this song with

Tirumankai Alwar. In a series of ten songs, Tirumankai Alwar resolves the

duality between the transcendent Narayana and His manifest forms.

 

The first of the song begins with “manameru men nokki”. A paraphrasis will

read as follows: “Rama walked through the stony forest with Vaiteki. The

golden feet that traversed the forest are those at which the Gods fall in

supplication.”

Secondly, Tirumankai Alwar has chosen to call himself in his songs a parrot.

“kilipola milarri natantu”

“menkili pola mika milarru men petaiye”

Thus the address at the beginning of the fifteenth song is an address to

Tirumankai Alwar. Moreover, Tirumankai Alwar has defined his mission as

reiterating whatever has earlier been said by Nammalvar.

“maran panitta tamil maraikku mankaiyarkon arankam kura”

That way also the address refers to Tirumankai Alwar. Tirumankai Alwar has

also referred several times to the annihilation of the elephant. Avarivai

ceytarivar ancana mamalai pole” Kavala yanai kompocitta kannanennum” He has

also celebrated the way in which Krishna has cured the erring of their pride

without annihilating them.

“kunrametuttu anirai kattavan tannai”

“kunretutta tolinanai”.

 

Discerning readers of this interpretation may be surprised by the following

about the traditional interpretation. Tirumankai Alwar had been later to

Andal. Therefore to ascribe references in Andal’s songs to the one who

appeared later would only betray the enthusiasm of the interpreter. While

the charge is tenable, the traditional interpreters would justify their

claims in the name of anticipation by Andal of the Alwars in line.