"muppathUm tappAmE": The Necklace with 30 Gems

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Dear friends,

 

Today (14th January 2000), AndAl in her "tiruppAvai"

sings the concluding and 30th benedictory stanza

beginning with "vangak kadal mAdhAvanai

kEsavanai....".

 

In this Verse the poetess declares that those who:

 

-- merely recite this hymn ("ip-parisu uraippAr")

even without fully comprehending its meaning or

significance

 

-- and recite all its 30 verses ("muppadUm thappAmE")

 

-- will now and herein in this world ("ingu")

 

-- and also later and therein in the other world

("engum")

 

-- reap the Lord's Grace ("selva-tirumAl tiruvarUL petru") and enjoy

plentiful pleasure, happiness and peace ("inburuvar ElOr!")

 

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

 

Now, reading the above some questions may arise in our

minds:

 

Question 1:

Why does AndAl speak so highly of her own composition?

Is it a form of self-adulation?

 

Answer:

No, it is not. This stanza is called "phala-sruti", a

poetic convention in all religious poetry of India

where the concluding verse will briefly name the

author of the work, sum-up the nature and scope of the

work and also extol the benefits accruing by a study

thereof. Such a convention lends a happy and

auspicious note of ending to the work. AndAl too was

following this poetic convention.

 

Question 2:

We know the name of the author of tiruppAvai. But what

is the subject-matter and nature of the work, if we

were asked to put it in a nutshell?

 

Answer: The subject matter of the "tiruppAvai" is the

substance of the Upanishads. AndAl in this poem dealt

completely with Upanishad-sAram... the essential

truths of the "upanishads". In the "muvAiyapadi" of

Sri.PVPillai it is said, "pirAtti andAlAnAr pOla

upanishattu tamizhAnapadi"." ie. If "thAyyAr", the

Consort of Lord Narayana descended on earth in the

avatar of AndAl then the Vedantic Upanishads too took

their avatar in Tamil as her "tiruppAvai".

 

Question 3:

The benefits of reciting "tiruppAvai" is spelt out

clearly. But it says that even recitation without

knowing the meaning of the stanzas will do alright!

Why should God shower His Munificence on us if we were

to recite the tiruppAvai like parrots or children with

no inkling of its real substance?

 

Answer:

Yes, the benefits will definitely accrue. Nobody could

have given the reason for this matter in a better way

than Sri.Parashara Bhattar who said, "kanru-izhanda

talai-nAgu tOr-kanrukkam irangumAp-pOlE

ip-pAsuramkondu puga namakkUmm pallikkUm." i.e. The

mother-cow that has lost its own calf will continue to

secrete copious milk at the mere sight of a stuffed

effigy of its dead calf. Similarly God will bestow His

Grace upon us even if we recite blindly the tiruppAvai

with neither the "anukAram" (the endearing God-love")

of an AndAl nor the "anushTAnam" of the "gopikAs" (the

enduring faith of the 'aayarpAdi" girls).

 

Question 4:

Why does AndAl say "muppadUm tappAmE"? Why is it so

important to recite ALL 30 verses? Why is it not

sufficient to recite only the few, say 6 or 7 stanzas

which we know are the most significant and contain the

heart and soul of the entire hymn?

 

Answer:

No. Reciting all 30 verses is not negotiable. Reciting

a few important verses is NO SUBSTITUTE for all 30.

The reason has again been given by the

"muvAiyarapadi": "oru rathnam kuraindhAlum nedUmpAzhAy

irUkkUmirE!" i.e."Will you accept to receive a

precious necklace of 30 rare gems with even one of

them missing?"

 

Question 5:

But what if one is unable for reasons of ignorance or

incapablity to learn all the 30 verses? Suppose one

falls ill? Suppose one is travelling in far-away and

alien lands? What if one has no time to recite all the

30 everyday? What then?

 

Answer:

There is no substitute for reciting all 30. But under

special and exceptional circumstances as above, it is

said that reciting Stanza#29 may just about barely do.

Even if that is not possible for a person let him/her

simply imagine in his mind a large gathering of

devotees who are immersed in the joy of reciting the

entire 30 pAsurams. It may perhaps suffice.

 

In this regard, please recollect that Sri.Parashara

Bhattar died young at the age of 32. He was stricken

with an incurable malignant tumour in his neck which

in the last days of his life was given medical

attention but to no avail. When it became insufferably

painful, Bhattar's tumour was surgically operated

upon. No local or general anaesthesia was however

available in those days. It is said that since Bhattar

was a man who was thoroughly "soaked" in the beauty of

the 30 stanzas of the "tiruppAvai", he reportedly told

everyone that his "tiruppAvai" is his anasthesia. "When

I recite the tiruppAvai I shall feel no pain!".

 

Question 6

The world is not all filled with Parashara Bhattars

and Peria-vAchAn-pillais. What happens to those people

amongst us who are either unaware of the "tiruppAvai"

or simply don't care about it?

 

Answer:

Sir, those who choose to remain unware or indifferent

to the "tiruppAvai" can please consider themselves as

an "unqualified burden to this earth." :

 

"pAthagang-gaL theerkumm paraman-adi-kAttum

vedam-anaittukkum vitthAkum kOthai tamizh

aiy-aiyndu maiynddum ariyAda mAniddarai

vaiyanja sumappathum vambu".

 

meaning;

 

"The tiruppAvai eradicates the sin of men; it contains

the distilled essence of the holy Vedas.Hence, knowing

this to be true, if there is one among the species of

men, with all his senses intact, who yet chooses to

remain ignorant of the 30 verses of the Song

Celestial.... then what can be said of such a one save

that he is an unqualified burden to Earth?"

 

andAl tiruvadigaLE sharanam

 

dAsanu dAsan,

Sudarshan

 

******** CONCLUDED *********

 

 

 

 

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