Of "mArgazhi" romance and "dasAvatAram"

[Guest guest]

Dear friends,

 

The first day of 'mArgazhi' any year is always a day to look forward

to. It is the day when the wintry air goes from being just cold to

nippy cold; when the morning air in one's home is suddenly filled

with the thick scent of steaming 'chakkara-pOngal'; and when the

streets (at least in parts of Madras proper and other suburbs)

suddenly come alive with roving bands of "bhajana-gOshti-s" --

cymbals, pipes and drums in hand -- belting out melodies of

'harinAma-sankirtana' to their hearts content...

 

"mArgazhi" is the season of God -- "mAsAnAm margaseersa aham", said

Sri.Krishna in the Bhagavath-Gita. Why did Krishna say so? Perhaps

because He was a romantic (yes, of course, of all avataras, Krishna

indeed was the most romantic)! Cool 'mArgazhi' of all months in the

lunar calendar appealed to Him as being the best season for spiritual

courtship with His devotees? A season which, going by the account of

AndAl's "tiruppAvai", is so heady and amorous, it makes Man too fall

quite easily in love with God!

 

In Andal's "tiruppAvai" the romance of 'mArgazhi' is revealed in the

opening stanza itself. The "aaypAdi" girls, the heroes (heroines?) of

the splendid idyll, are referred to as 'selva sirumIrgAl' --- the

'lucky damsels'. A "lucky damsel" is said to be one who is lucky in

love. The age-old 'vyAkhyAna-kartA-s' (commentators of the

'tiruppAvai') explain to us that the expression is a uniquely

romantic one (full of "sringAra-rasa"). They base their finding on

the theory that the "rshi-s" (sages) of the Dandakaranaya forest in

the Ramayana, were so taken in by the arresting personality of Lord

Rama, that each of them began to secretly harbor the thought, "How

fascinating to masculine eyes is this lad Rama! If only I could turn

myself into a woman and feast upon the beauty of this regal lad

through the eyes of a passionate, feminine heart, what bliss would

whet then this soul's appetite!"

 

The 'rshi-s' of Dandakaranya were not disappointed. Ages later, when

it was time for the advent of God on earth as Krishna-avatar, it was

ordained that they too were to be born as "gOpikA-s" or "aaypAdi"

damsels in Nandagopan's hamlet of Gokulam. There they were

pre-destined to enjoy long years of amorous companionship with young

Krishna who freely cavorted with them around the woods of Brindavan!

They became thus the "lucky" ones ("selva-sirumIrgAl")! They feasted

their eyes and their souls upon the Person of God to their wildest

content!

 

The romance of the 'rshi-s', which began in the Dandakaranya woods of

the Ramayana, blossomed forth and attained consummation thus as the

romance of "selva-sirumIrgAl" -- as Andal called them --- in the

chill of the 'mArgazhi' season, in the dark and lovely woods of

Gokulam!

 

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The 'rshi-s' who took avatar as the 'aaypAdi' girls in the

"tiruppAvai" however did not "fall in love". To be accurate, they

really "rose in Love"…

 

They "fell headlong in love" with no mean mortal but God Almighty

himself…! To "nArAyaNanE", says AndAl i.e. they fell in love with

"Narayana alone; only with Narayana; and with none other but

Narayana!"

 

The Tamil expression "nArAyaNaNE" is meant to convey such extreme

emphasis so as to leave us with no doubt at all about the true

identity of the 'rshi-s' paramour!

 

Now, who is this "Narayana"?

 

To learn who this "Naryana" is, one does not need to turn a dozen

long pages in the "tiruppAvai" and begin scouring for details of His

life and work until we are taken to the very end of the 30th stanza…!

 

 

Instead one merely needs to cursorily scan the first stanza of the

"tiruppAvai" (beginning with the words "mArgazhi tinggaL…") to get a

complete and accurate "bio-data" of Narayanan! There is really no

need, none at all on our part, for deep knowledge of "sanga-tamizh"

with which to unravel the superficial or esoteric meanings of the

stanza. All that needs to be done is to merely look for the many,

tiny sparks of poetic genius Andal has lit in it. All that is needed

really is to look for some words, here and there, in this 'pAsuram'

that we well know carries veiled but nonetheless clear hints about

the identity and profile of "Narayana". In the general context in

which they appear in the "tiruppAvai" such words might mean entirely

other things. But when taken discretely and examined in isolation, we

see that these words and expression, through what is called the power

of association of ideas, clearly and easily point us to the

identification of "Narayana"!

 

What then are those chosen words and expressions from the opening

stanza of the "tiruppAvai"?

 

Let's take them one by one:

 

 

(1) The word "neerAda" evokes in our minds images of "Water", "sea",

"ocean", "stream", does it not?

Now what lives in the "sea" or "streams"? Fish, turtle ….So we can

associate "matsyA"… and "koorma" avatara with this word, cant' we?

 

(2) Take next the word "koorvEl". This word conveys "sharpness",

"pointed-ness", "spearhead", "cutting-edge" etc. What is generally

associated with "sharpness" or "pointed-ness"? An animal's claws? A

bird's beak? A bull's horns? Why, a boar's tusks too … isn't it? So

we can associate this word with the "varAha" avatara, can't we?

 

(3) The next word to examine is "singam". This is a simple one to

decipher! It means "lion" --- So we easily conclude this must mean

"narasimha" avatara?

 

(4) The next word to pick up is "kumaran". This word is generally

applied to "boys", "lads"… So we can say this is a veiled reference

to a "brahmachari". So this is reference to the "vAmana" avatara?

 

(5) Up comes the next word "kodun". This Tamil expression (derived

from "kodUram") means one who is "furious", "severe", "terrible".

Clearly this expression can be easily associated with "parasUrAma"

avatar? The "parasurama" of the itihAsa we know was indeed a very

"terrible person" who carried out very "severe" deeds --- a true

"kodun"!

 

(6) Then we come to the most beautiful expression in this whole

stanza -- "kadir mathiyam pOl mugatthAn". In Tamil this means "one

with a face as dazzling as the sun, as radiant as the moon". Now,

even a child can tell that this expression describes none else but

Rama! Who else can it be? In the AyodhyA Kanda of Srimadh Valmiki

Ramayanam (II.98.7) Bharatha, on finding that his beloved brother

Rama had taken to the forest in exile, wails and beats his breast in

despair. In that moment of anguish he cries out that he will not rest

for a moment even until he searches and finds out Rama again. In that

moment he utters the following (in the words of Valmiki):

 

"yAvanna chandra-samkAsham drakshyAmi shubha-mAnanam I

BrAtuh: padma-palAshAksham na mE shantirbhavishyati II

 

"Till I see my brother's radiant face that shines like the full moon

or like the lotus in bloom, my soul shall never rest in peace!".

 

So without doubt, Andal's phrase "kadir mathiyam pOl mugatthAn" can

be associated only with "rAmAvatAra".

 

(7) Next, we see the word "tozhilan" which in Tamil means "one who

toils", "one who assiduously works" etc. Krishna's brother Balarama

we know is always associated with the implement called the "plough".

The "plough" is a tool again associated with rugged farmers who toil

in the fields --- "tozhilan". Hence this word we can surely associate

with the "balarama" avatar.

 

(8) The next expression is "kAr mEni chEngan…". This is a very

extraordinary description for the "krishna" avatara for it means "one

whose form or personality has a tranquilizing effect; an enchanting

personality; one who mesmerizes through sheer personality". This

epithet fits Krishna like a perfect tee and there can be hence no

doubt that this word must be associated with the "krishnAvatAra".

 

(9) Finally, there is the expression "pArOr pugazha …parai taruvAn".

Literally, in Tamil, this means "… one who to the commendation of the

whole world, shall cause its deliverance!". We must note that the

expression conveys future tense and speaks of one who shall cause

"deliverance of the whole world" at some point of time in the future.

The "kalki" avatara is an avatara of the future and one that is

believed shall bring about the deliverance of the whole world from

evil. Thus, surely this expression can be associated with the 10th

and last avatar of "kalki".

 

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

 

Now if we take all the above words and their associated "avatArs" in

seriatim we get --

 

"matsya", "koorma", "varAha", "narasimha", "vAmana", "rama",

"parasurAma", "balarama", "krishna" and finally "kalki"

 

Thus, here we get the entire 'dasAvatAra' of Sriman Narayanan in the

very first 'pAsuram' of the "tiruppAvai"! Who but "nArAyaNa alone"

---"nArAyaNanE"! -- assumed 10 avatArs and descended upon earth?

 

 

Regards,

 

dAsan,

Sudarshan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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