Guest guest Posted December 16, 2005 Report Share Posted December 16, 2005 SrimatE Raamaanujaaya Namaha // SrimatE Nigamaanta Mahaa Desikaaya Namaha // SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya/ SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya// KAvEri VardhathAm kAlE, kAlE varshathu vAsava: / SrI RanganAthO jayathu Sri Ranga Sri cha VardhathAm// ================================================================ SRI RANGA SRI VOL.07 / ISSUE # 07 dated 16th December 2005 ================================================================ IN THIS ISSUE: 1. TIRUPPAVAI PASURAM # 1: MAARGAZHI THINGAL (ANBIL RAMASWAMY) 2. TIRUPPAVAI PASURAM # 1 ENGLISH VERSE TRANSLATION (MS. SHOBA RAMASWAMY) ================================================================= ISSUES RELEASED So far, 183 Regular issues of SRS have been released apart from Special Issues: 27 Issues of Vol. 1 15 Issues of Vol. 2 42 Issues of Vol. 3 35 Issues of Vol. 4 28 Issues of Vol. 5 30 Issues of Vol. 6 and 06 Issues of Vol. 7 Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Dear Bhagavatas: There was a typo in the last posting. In the paragraph “On the other hand, "GitAmrutham", was advised to the lakhs of GOpis (shODasa Stree sahasreshu) in the spirit of "kooDi irundhu kuLirndhu" as a kind of community or social service. It would be more appropriate to hold that "GitAmrutham" was truly meant for a considerably broader spectrum of audience including the infinite generations to come, including us” Please read "GOdAmrutham" for "GitAmrutham" in lines 1 and 4 above. Thanks to Sri Tatachar Swami of Cincinnati (tatachar) for pointing out the error. Dasoham Anbil Ramaswamy ================================================================== 1. TIRUPPAVAI PASURAM # 1: MAARGAZHI THINGAL (ANBIL RAMASWAMY) TIRUPPAVAI 01 maargazhith thingaL madhi niRaindha nannaaLaal neeraadap pOdhuveer pOdhuminO nErizhaiyeer seer malgum aayppaadich chelvach chiRumeergaaL koorvEl kodundhozhilan nandhagOpan kumaran Eraarndha kaNNi yasOdhai iLam singam kaar mEni cengaN kadhir madhiyam pOl mugaththaan naaraayaNanE namakkE paRai tharuvaan paarOr pugazhap padindhElOr empaavaay This Paasuram refers to 'PARAM" Transcendental abode of ' NarayaNa' 1. mArgazhi thingaL the month of mArgazhi (December-January) • When one gets something one values as valuable, more than the thing itself, it is customary to hail the time one gets it. The Gopis hail the time of the NOnbu. • This is the month presided over by KEsava – It is said “kEsavah KLEsa nAsanaha”- Kesava who dispels our distress. • The period is neither too cold nor too warm; the ideal time for the kind of activity they were planning. • Kannan says in Bhagavad Gita “that among the months He is Margazhi. “maasaanaam margaseershOsmi” • 44th Pattam Azhagiya Singhar’s NirvAham in SobhOdhini: This month is called “Dhanur” which refers to the bow wielded by the Lord, • The very name of the month will yield the results we pray for through this NOnbu observed during this month” • Maargam means Upaayam (i.e) Prapatti; Seersham is head. That which is supreme. • This is “Ushat Kaalam” for the celestials. (Azhagiya Singhar’s remark). • Chittirai is not that good. See what happened to Rama’s coronation fixed in Chitrai month. • “thingaL” itself means “Month” Why? The star on PourNami is Margaserrsham Hence, Maargazhi. 2. madhi niRaindha nann nALLAl: full moon Sukla paksha Pournami; auspicious day. • Only that day is auspicious when one comes to realize one’s ‘sEshatvam’ (Subordination) to the Lord, when wisdom “madhi” blossoms like the full moon. 3. neerADa: to bathe; In Tamil, it is also called “sunai-aaDal”; also means immersing in the GuNAnubhavam of KrishNa. Since there are a number of similarities between BhagavAn and waterfront, NeerATTam here refers to Bhagavad Anubhavam. NammAzhwAr brings out these similarities thus: “ThAmarai neer vAsa ThaDam” and Dayarathan petra maragatha maNi ThaDam” 4. pOdhuveer: those who desire to thus get immersed may come. This represents the “UpAya Swaroopam”. IF you need blessings of Bhagavaan, you should have the “desire” for it. Even a mere “desire” is enough! 5. pOdhumino: Come one, Come all those so interested. Like PeriyAzhwAr who says- “VAzhATpaTTU ninruLLeerEl vandhu maNNum maNamum koLveer” 6. nEr izhaiyeer: You who are adorned with jewels; the jewels here also refer to Tvarai of Bhagavad Bhakti; Ornaments adorning the physical body and the ornaments adorning Atma are different; here the word refers to AtmaguNas like Santhi etc as the ornaments. 7. seer malgum: full of wealth, glory, plentitude. Cf the song “nangu4 Padi paal and mooNu Padi ney” 8. aaypaadi: TiruvaippADi. Andal transforms herself and her mates as GOpakannikas and, in fact, the entire Srivilliputtur, her birthplace to TiruvaippADi where KrishNA staged His leelas as a BAla (BAlakrishNan) 9. Selva: The wealth that we enjoy in this world is evanescent. • “Selvam” always intends to go “selvOme”. They are illusory and will vanish. Bhakti is the wealth that is permanent. • Here “Selva” refers to the wealth of Gnana and Vairaghyam. • What constitutes “Selvam” is indicated by expressions like “Antharikshah Gathah SreemAn”, “LakshmaNo Lakshmi SampannO’, “sa thu nAgavara SreemAn” etc. 10. SirumeergaaL: O! Young, beautiful and prosperous lasses matching the handsome lad, KrishNa (kumaran) “GOPa kannigaigaL” * Andavan Nirvaham: “By this, Andal addresses all BhAgavatha srEshTas whose ornaments are GnAna, Bhakti and VairAghya to join the nOnbu of Prapatti. Hence, “Nammai AandAL”- our Savior.” 11. koor vEl kodum thozhilan: wielding a sharp spear and being cruel to those who harm Krishna. • Like PeriyAzhwAr, NandagOpa, apprehensive of potential danger to child KrishNa, he always guarded the cradle with a sharp spear in his hand. He would kill even an ant that dared to approach KrishNa. Hence, cruel- “KoDum Thozhilan”. • He suspects an asura even in an ant! • • 44th Pattam Azhagiya Singhar’s NirvAham in his SubOdhini: Anyone who stands between us and the Lord is our enemy. NandagOpan out of “Putra Vatsalayam” is paranoid about even us, innocent girls, and does not allow us anywhere near Baby KrishNa. Hence, he is “KoDum thozhilan”- cruel to us, therefore, our enemy. So, if we pray to KrishNa with the realization that he is NArAyaNa, the Supreme Lord, He will certainly take us to Paramapadam where there will be no enemies at all” • How “vEL’ in the hands of Nanda and krishNa? It is one of the 16 Ayudams of the Lord. “ninru pagai keDukkum ninn kaiyil vEl pOtri” 12. nandagOpan: Nandagopa, Krishna's father and chief of the cowherds. • The implication is that NandagOpan is the one who ventured to protect the one who protects everyone! • “Nanda” also means “joy”. Though the enjoyment is mutual, NandagOpan’s love for Kannan seems to be more than Kannan’s love for NadagOpan because we see him as a “koDum Thozhilan” • Nanda was, in a sense, “Acharya”. Hence, Andal refers to krishNa’s Acharya Sambandam. 13. kumaran: young lad. • The Paramapada nAthan is “Nitya Yuva”. It is this Nitya Yuva who is born as KrishNA • The word also means “Bhavyan”. A child that is submissive to his father out of fear and respect. 14. eRaarnda KaNNI: bewitching eyes of YasOdha. She is happy because Gopis join to celebrate the Vratam in his company and there will be no complaints against him! 15. yasOdhai: YasOdha, The name reminds one of “YasasA jwalantheem” She shines by her fame. What fame? Andal explains this in Verse 17: “kombanArkkellAm kozhundhE, Kula viLakkE”- YasOdha was famous for her support to the five lakhs Aayarkula lasses like a ‘Pandal’ that yields itself to support the creeper. The ‘Kozhundu’ or the tender outer leaf at the tip of the branch is the first to show off its distress when anything affects the plant. 16. iLam singam: lion cub; What ‘Tapas” did she do to beget the leonine lad (Singa kutti). * Though DEvaki gave birth to KaNNan, it was YasOdha who had the bhAghyam of rearing the child. Did not DEvaki wail through the PAsuram of Kulasekhara Azhwar “Thollai Inbathin irudhi Deivanangai YasOdhai kanDALE” * 44th Pattam Azhagiya Singhar’s Nirvaham in his SubOdhini: “Andal avers that it is the same Nrisimha who barged out from the pillar in an earlier AvatAra, is now appearing as the leonine cub. Did not Rukmani address KrishNa in her billet doux as “kAlE Nrisimha”?” 17. kaar mEni: The Lord’s body is dark like rain bearing cloud; “mega syaamam” 18. Sen kaNN: red eyes; • Why red eyes? Because of the depth of concern and compassion for the Gopis, He seems to keep His eyes wide-awake all the time. • One can cover one’s face but not one’s eyes. Whtever role he takes up, he cannot conceal the KaruNyam from his eyes! 19. kadhir madhiyam: sun and moon • One with “Sasee Soorya nEtram”. Eyes scorching the enemies like the hot Sun (HiraNyakasipu) and cool like the moon to those who are friendly (PrahlAdha). • In the case of Gopis, He goes one step further in that He conducts Himself like a “JaDavasthu” and seems to long for their affection and carrying out their bidding (iTTa VazhakkAi). To them He shows the farthest limit of His “Soulabhyam”. • Why was He so partial towards them? This is because of the total dependence they showed Him (Ananya gathitvam, Anaya SaraNatvam etc). When they learned that KrishNa jumped into the pond of KALinga, the Gopis found no meaning in living thereafter and wanted to jump into the “maDu”. Such was their “PrEmai”; such was His “Soulabhyam”. We do not know which was the cause and which the effect! 20. pOl mugaththaan: with a face like; The moment she started comparing with Sun and moon, the thought came to her mind that they were also subject to faults like being attacked by Raahu and KEtu, and more so in the case of moon with a permanent blot on its face and its losing its shape progressively, she hastened to clarify that only in the aspect of scorching and coolness the simile was implied. So, she modified her statement as “Like” the Sun and moon. 21. nArAyaNanE: Narayana himself; • The elongation of “E” suggests the Omnipotence, Omniscience and Omnipresence of the Lord - In other words, His “Paratvam”- the object to be attained – “ParamAtma Swaroopam.” • Also, it suggests that He will Himself give what we want. He will not depute somebody to deliver the goods. • What do we want? Moksham. And, everything else in between as a bonus “anushangikam”. No need to go after petty deities for lesser benefits also. • “thammaDiyaar tirathE taamaraiyaal aagilum sidaguraikkumEl taNNaDiyaar adu seyyaar, seidaarEl nanrE sithaar enbaar pOlum” 22. namakkE: even to us. • The elongation “E” here shows how this “Paratvam” is pitted against the pitiable plight of the Jivas (Aakinchanyam, KarpaNyam, Ananya Seshatvam, Ananya SaraNatvam etc) which are the characteristics of “Jeeva Swaroopam”. • Also, the “VirOdhi Swaroopam” as the Jiva is its own enemy by its “Sambandham” with the “Sareeram”. Also shows how, in spite of this, the Lord condescends to “save our souls” by virtue of His “Soulabhyam” 23. paRai tharuvAn: The general meaning is that it is a percussion instrument like the drum; it may also mean Conch, light etc. This is only a pretext (VyAjam); In SwApadEsa, it is the desire to do eternal Kainkaryam. The real object is Moksham. Thus, this represents “Phala Swaroopam”. 24. paarOr pugazha: (so that) the people of the world will celebrate. It is also interpreted to mean that the Lord will condescend to bless and if He does not, He is scared that He will incur “parOr igazhchi”! Our duty is to fall at His feet. His duty is to take us to mOksham. 25. padindhu: follow, get involved (in our nonbu) without any thought of other phalas 26.El -Or: “El” is exclamatory. It also means ‘accept” “Or” means “Know this”. Andal seems to ask the Gopis to understand and accept. In other words, she seems to say ”Don’t do this ‘NOnbu’ just because I ask you. You will yourself understand and accept, if you consider the “Phalan” 27. Em pAvAi: A reference to her mates like “My dear friends” a refrain with which she concludes the last line of all the verses. • ParakAla Jeeyar NirvAham: “As this is ‘KAtyAyani Nonbu”, it is addressed to MahAlakshmi. The word “Pavai” is a general term. It denotes PirAtti who is as worshippable as PerumAL. So, EmpAvAi should be taken to mean “Oh! PirAtti! As this is a vratam addressed to you, only you should see to its successful completion” • 44th Pattam Azhagiya Singhar’s NirvAham in his SubOdhini: Though the upadEsam in this appears to be addressed to the womenfolk, we have to take it that it applies to all because of the statements- ‘PumnAma BhagavAn Harih’ and ‘Stree prAyam Itharah SarvE’. She advises that those who are capable of Bhakti yOga may resort to it; others who are incapable of this may resort to SaraNAgathi” In this PAsuram- NARAYANANE refers to ParamAtma Swarupam; NAMAKKE refers to JeevAtma Swarupam; PODUVEER suggests UpAya Swarupam; PARAI suggests Phala Swarupam; NAMAKKE again refers to VirOdhi Swarupam. Thus, the first verse briefly indicates the ARTHA PANCHAKAM. Azhagiya Singhar’s Nirvaham: ”TiruppAvai is the essence of Gita (Gitaiyin Saram) How? The one who was born to DEvaki and was brought up by YasOdha (oruthi maganAi pirandhu oruthi maganAi oLithu vaLara) is none other than Sriman Narayana who is the ‘Paramapurusha’. This paratvam made Himself easily accessible to NandagOpan. YasOdha and the GOpikais in His Vibhavam. Those who could not worship Him in Vibhavam can now worship Him in His Archa in the manner those did in His Vibhavam. Do surrender to Him. He will grant Moksha SamrAjyam that you desire” Andavan’s Nirvaham: “In subsequent verses, Andal was going to indicate NandagOpan as AchArya and YasOdha as the Tirumantram, the Swaroopa gnAnam of Sriman Narayana is preserved by the AchArya and being brought to light by Tirumantram” The first Verse briefly indicates the “Artha Panchakam” conveyed by the stanza “PrApyasya BrahmaNo roopam etc” ================================================================= xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ================================================================= 2. TIRUPPAVAI PASURAM # 1 ENGLISH VERSE TRANSLATION (MS. SHOBA RAMASWAMY) “In the month of Maargazhi, On the good full-moon day, Let us bathe in the waters, Oh! Virtuous ones! Dear girls of the prosperous Cow-herd- dwellings! Sharp-speared, Hard tasked NandagOPa’s son, Firm eyed YasOda’s Young Lion, The dark-formed Red-eyed One, With face like the radiant moon, NarayaNa, Himself, will grant us salvation. With the world’s Blessings, Let us offer worship, Oh! My maidens” =============================================================== xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx =============================================================== Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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