Andal's reference to Kamadeva

[Guest guest]

Sri:

Srimathe Ramanujaya nama:

Dear Mukunda,

The question was why should ANdAL go to kAmadEva(not for

kAmam)in the first place(ab initia)? kAmam-desire and it could be

anything. In ANdAL's case it's the desire to unite with Him. My

question is why should she go to other deity instead of NArAyaNa

Himself? Sri MM says "pinjAy pazhuththALai" about ANdAL. This should

mean that she was fully aware of what she was seeking. In a related e-

list somebody had mentioned that both P.B. ANNangarAchAryAr swami and

Putttur swamy said that "she did this in aj~nAnam". Please clarify

this.

 

AzhvAr EmperumAnAr Jeeyar TiruvadigaLE saraNam

NC Nappinnai

[Guest guest]

Dear bhAgavatas,

 

The following is adiyEn's thought and is not based

on any Acharya's vyakhyanam, so please forgive the

expression of my agnyAnam.

 

I will take an example to illustrate my thought. Let's

say that we have a sick child at home and we know what

the problem is and exactly which doctor can cure the

child. Unfortunately, said doctor is not responding to

our desperate calls for whatever reason (may be he is

busy, may be he is attending to another more desperate

case, ...). So what would we do? Do we simply wait for

the day/time that the doctor becomes available to us or

do we go to another doctor even though we are not sure

what he/she can do? I'd guess that we give it a try,

even if it is only a local voodoo doctor or "pAtti

vaidhyam".

 

So, in the case of Andal, I'd venture that She was

desperate to be with Him and had expressed her desire

to both her father Periyazhvar as well as the Lord

Himself. Yet, neither of them have responded to her in

a fashion that would assure her she would get what she

seeks. He has not shown Himself to her (we have plenty

of evidence for this throughout Nacciyar Thirumozhi)

and Periyazhvar tried to get her maried off to another

mortal, so much so she had to threaten "mAnidavarkkenRu

pEccuppadil vAzhakillEn". So, what is she to do? She

is willing to go to anyone and ask that they take her

to Him - even if she truly knows that only He can take

her to Himself. Therefore, she picks on this uncommon

ritual of worshipping Kamadeva willing to give it a

shot.

 

I seek bhAgavatas to correct adiyEn's blabberings.

 

adiyEn

TCA Venkatesan

 

--- "vaidhehi_nc <nappinnai_nc"

<nappinnai_nc wrote:

> Sri:

> Srimathe Ramanujaya nama:

> Dear Mukunda,

> The question was why should ANdAL go to

> kAmadEva(not for

[Guest guest]

Sri Ramani Naidu has very eloquently answered this

 

Here is an excerpt from his postings on a related list:

 

- From bhakti-list/message/16831

Everyone know how Vishnu is associated with the earth in the Hindu pantheon.

The earth which provides man with the basis for his existence is made

fertile because of association with Vishnu. Based upon this concept have

many stories risen in the Hindu literature and mythology. Kama, the God of

Love, becomes synonymous with Vishnu in this respect. Vishnu is called

Krishnan and Kama.

In the Mahabharath is said,

"There is no distinction between Kama and Vishnu."

Thirumal is worshipped in the name of Kama."

"Kama is one of the many names of Vishnu."

- End

 

On a related note, Sri Ramani Naidu's explanation of the

nayaka-nayaki strain in Vaishnava literature is lucid in

its context

 

-From bhakti-list/message/16818

Thus the songs of the first three Alwars begin in wonder; proceed to the

wisdom of knowing and finally gets sublimated in experiencing God as a

personal reality. The circle thus becomes complete. When this is properly

perceived, the realisation of the self felt within the devotee that Peyalwar

describes later led to the nayaka-nayaki strain in the Vaishnava literature.

This yogic experience of realising God is more psychological and

experiential than physical.

 

The Supreme Reality became the Lover and the Love; the experiencer and the

experience. the Atma and the Paramatma; Krishna and Nappinnai. The Supreme

Reality thus made itself two different aspect of the same Principle. In

physical form, man and women explicate the same. The physical became an

explanation to the relationship that is cicumscribed by time and space. The

Principle became the transcendental reality. When the transcendent is

realised in the physical, it becomes the fusion realised in the highest

plane of spiritual existence.

-End

 

Thanks

Srinivasan Sriram

============================================================

[Guest guest]

Dear bhAgavatas,

 

A small clarification in my post about Andal's prayer

to Kamadeva, particularly in relation to the note on

devatAntara bhajanam.

 

Worshipping the other dEvatas can be classified into

two kinds. One is worshipping them for a very high

cause, such as His mangaLam as done by Ayodhya-vAsis

or PirAtti's prayer to the eight directions for

Sri Rama's welfare. The other is praying for one's

self or for worldly matters.

 

The second kind is considered varjanam for Srivaishnavas

- in fact, praying even to Sriman Narayana for selfish

or worldly things is prohibited.

 

If I may be so bold, I would claim that Andal's prayer

fits the former category. Even though it might appear

that she was seeking something for herself, the union

of Bhumi pirAtti with Her consort cannot fit into the

second category. Nevertheless, perhaps acharyas have

classified that a prayer to Kamadeva that could not

succeed (surely Andal knew that only He could grant

her wish - only the greatness of her longing and love

could have caused this to happen) has to come under

agnyAnam.

 

Please forgive my ramblings and correct them.

 

adiyEn

TCA Venkatesan