Thiruppavai Pasurams 16 to 20

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Thiruppavai-Pasuram 16to 20

 

 

 

Pasuram16- nAyakanAi ninra

 

 

 

nAyakanAi ninra nandagOpanudaiya

 

kOilkAppAnE koditthOnrum thOraNa

 

vAyilkAppAne maNikkadhavamthAL thiravAi

 

Ayar sirumiyarOmiukkaraiparai

 

mAyan maNivaNNam nennalE vAi nErndhAn

 

thooyOmAi vandhOm thuyilezappduvAn

 

vayAl munnammunnam mAttradhE ammAnee

 

nEyanilaikkadhavam neekkElorempAvai

 

 

 

You , the guard of the palace and the festooned gateway of

Nandhagopa,our master, open the jewelled door.The enchanting and

lustrous Lord Krishna has promised to grace us, the cowherd girls, who

have come pure, to awaken Him.with our singing.Please open the main

door without saying anything to the contrary.

 

 

 

Before getting the darsana of the Lord the dvarapalakas have to be

entreated for granting permission to go in. It is called

thadheeyapurskAra in vaishnavasampradhaya, which means that the

bhagavathArAdhana will be fruitful only through bhAgavathArAdhana.

 

 

 

nayakana---vAyilkAppAne- It may mean that the guard at the palace and

the one at the door are appeased or it may be that there is one guard

who is referred to as both 'koil kAppAn and vAyil kAppAn.

 

 

 

The palace is called Koil because it is the abode of the Lord. The gate

keeper is called by his occupation to please him like calling a minister

by his position.The word nayakanai ninra may also be combined with

koilkAppAn extolling him as the nayakan or prime factor in enabling the

darsan of the Lord like the acharya who makes it easy for the disciple

to approach the Lord.

 

 

 

koditthOnrum thOraNavayil-The flag flutters and the palace gate is

decorated with festoons only when the king is there. The flag on the

mansion of Nandhagopa indicated the presence of the Lord. It is

interesting to note here what VlliputthoorAr ,who wrote Mahabharatha in

Tamil, says about the flag moving on the top of the palace of Krishna

when DuryOdhana was coming to ask his help in the war.

 

 

 

'eendu nee varinum engaL eziludai ezuvivaNNan pAndavarthangatkallAl

padaitthuNai AgamAttAn;meendu nee pOga------kaigaLAl thaduppappOnru.'

 

 

 

It looked as though the flags waved its hands as if telling Duryodhana

that Krishna will be helping only Pandavas and signing him to go back.

 

 

 

Kamban gives even a more beautiful picture about the flag that fluttered

on the palace of Janaka as though calling Rama telling him that ho is

wife is there.

 

maiyarumalarinneengi yAn sei mAthavatthin vandhu

 

seyyavaL irundhAL enru sezumaNikkodigaL ennum

 

kaigalai neetti andhakkadinaga rkamalacchengaN

 

ayyanai ollai vA enru azaippadhanpOnradhammA

 

 

 

It looked as though the flags extended their hands and invited the lotus

eyed Rama to the city saying, "Sridevi leaving her abode of lotus has

come here due to our penance and so you also come here."

 

 

 

kAppAnE-These guards protect Him who protects the whole world. Andal is

the daughter of Periazvar who sang pallAndu to the Lord to protect Him

from evil eyes and hence says that the guards are protecting the Lord.

 

 

 

Ayarsirumiyar-we are only cowherd girls and harmless and so you need not

hesitate to let us in.

 

 

 

maNikkadhavam- the doors are imbedded with gems. Even the mansions of

others in Ayarpadi are described as thoomaNimAdam and it is obvious that

the palace of Nandhagopa should be even more rich in appearance.The

attention is diverted to the external decor as long as one has not seen

the deity inside the temple.But once we stand in front of the Lord we

notice nothing except his form. Likewise till they go in, the appearance

of the mansion, flag etc. are mentioned but once they stand in front of

Him they could talk about nothing else but His glory.

 

 

 

Mayan-the word is used in three pasurams before this.

 

1. Mayanai mannu vadamadurai maindhanai-Pasuram no.5.-The wonder of his

avathara is expressed here.

 

2.MAmAyan mAdhavan- in the pasuram 'thoomaNimAdatthu,' pasuram no.9-This

is supposed to refer to the story of Muchukundha, who was sleeping

inside a cave and Krishna led Kalayavana into the cave as though he is

fleeing from him out of fear and Kalyavana attacked Muchukundha thinking

that he was Krishna and was burnt by his look.I t was one of the

mayaleela of the Lord.

 

3.MayanaippadelorempAvai-in the preceding pasuram 'elle ilamkiliye..

This has reference to the glory of Bhagavathas. The mayam of the Lord in

enchanting even Narada, who became proud once that the worldly desires

could not touch him and Krishna asked him to fetch a cup of water and

when Narada went to the river, by the maya of the Lord he saw a

beautiful damsel and married her and lived happily. When she and the

sons he had from her died he sat on the bank and cried when Bhagavan

approcached him and asked him that what ever happened to the cup of

water he was supposed to fetch.Then only Narada realised that all was

the maya of the Lord.

 

 

 

In this pasuram it is mentioned 'mAyan maNivaNnan nennal vAinErndhAn,'

which refers to the episode of the hunchbacked whose hunch Krishna

straightened and went to her house later as promised earlier 'nennalE

vAi nErndhAn..' Also He promised Droupadhi that he will come to her

resque when needed. Rama will promise easily and keep His promise at

any cast but Krishna will not promise unless He is sure that He will

fulfil it. He says to Droupadhi that the sky may fall down and the

Himalayas may be reduced to pieces but His word will not be untrue.The

same promise He gives in Gita ' kounthEya prathjaaneehi na mE bhakthah

praNasyathi, that His devotee will never come to harm..

 

 

 

These are the explanations given by the great scholars and devotees.

 

 

 

ThooyOmAi vandhom- They have come with thrikaraNasuddhi, that is purity

of body, mind and intellect.

 

 

 

ThuyilezappaduvAn-They want to sing inorde to awaken Him so that His

glance will fall on them first as mentioned in a later pasuram.

 

 

 

vAyAl munnam----amma- As the tamil saying goes, 'sAmi varam kodutthAlum

poojari varam kodudukkaNum,' the great personages may be quite

accessible but the people around them may prove to be difficult.So the

girls are requesting the door keeper to allow them in, telling him not

to say anything on the contrary.

 

 

 

This pasuram contains all the three manthras of vaishnava tradition

namely, he ashtakshara, Om namO nArAyanAya., the dvayamanthra,

SreemannArAyanacharanou Saranamprapadhye;Sreemathe nArAyanAyanamah, the

charamasloka, sarvadharmAn parithyajaya mAmEkam Saranam vraja ;aham

thvaa sarvapApEbhyO mOkshayishyAmi mA Suchah.

 

 

 

NAyakanAi---koilkAppAnE-denotes the moolamanthra. Nayakan is the Lord

who is the nayaka of the world.His koil is praNava,Om. Nandhagopan means

the one who gives bliss ,Anandha and who is the protector, gOpa.As the

bliss is given only through surrender the nama sabdha is included in

this. The word ninra refers to Narayana and hence the moolamanthra is

implied by this sentence.

 

 

 

koditthOnrum thOraNavayilkAppAnE- is the dvayamanthra. KoditthOnrum

thoraNavasal meaning Vaikunta and the word kAppAn means the Lord.He

gives mOksha to those who surrender to His feet.

 

 

 

Ayarsirumiyar -----nErndhaAn refers to the promise of the Lord in the

Gita that He will redeem the ose who surrender to Him, which is the only

qualification whether the prpanna is learned or low born.

 

 

 

Thuyileza-----amma- To wake up from the sleep of samsara the acharya is

entreated to instruct the three manthras without reserve and the word

ammA refers to the acharya.

 

 

 

neya nilaikkadhavam- the doors are two in each manthra , Om and

namOnArAyanAya, in themoola manthra and the two parts of the dvaya and

the two lines of the charamasloka.

 

They should be opened in the sense that the secret of the meaning

should be opened by the acharya.

 

 

 

 

 

Pasuram 17-ambaramE thaNNeerE

 

 

 

ambarame thaNNeerE sorE aram seyyum

 

emperumAn nandagopAlA ezundhirAi

 

kombanArkkellAm l kozyundhE kulaviLakkE

 

emperumAtti yasOdhAi arivurAi

 

ambaram oodarutthu Ongi ulagalandha

 

umbarkOmAnE urangAdhezundhirAi

 

semporkazqladichelvA baladhEva

 

umbiyum neeyum urangElorempAvai.

 

 

 

Lord Nandhagopala, who gives clothes, water and food to all, wake up.

Yasodha, the best among beautiful slender women, the light of the

clan, wake up.Oh Lord, who is the God of gods, and who pierced the sky

and measured the whole world, do not sleep, wake up.Balarama, with

golden anklet do not be sleeping with your brother.

 

 

 

Nandhagopa is known for giving ambaram,clothes, thaNNeer,water and annam

food to all.Likewise he is asked to give them Krishna also because as

Nammazvar has said, uNNumsoru, parugumneer, thinnum vettrilai ellaAm

Kannan for these girls.

 

 

 

aramseyyum-aram is charity done with righteous attitude, dharmabuddhi.

That is why it is called aram, which means dharma in Tamil. To expect

something in return is only a business. To do it as one's duty is

dharmam.Of all the dhAnas annadhAna is supposed to be the best because

one who gets it goes away satisfied.

 

 

 

YasOdha means giver of yasas which normally means fame and in the vedas

it means Brahman. Since she gave us the Brahmam in form of Krishna she

is called Yasodha.

 

 

 

The word ambaram has many meanings such as clothes, sky etc. The first

ambaram means the clothes while the second denotes the sky. But the

scholars take it that to translate ambaram in 'ambaramE thaNNeerE, sOre'

as akasa, the word may be taken to refer to the Lord Himself.The basis

for this is the upanishadic statement that Brahman, who was one and only

without a second willed to become many and created the elements. Akasa

being the first and later followed fire, air, water and earth. As the

earth is denoted by the word annam the same order given here refers to

the Lord from whom everything origiinated. Also ambaram meaning clothes

is mentioned first as it is essential for human beings only, among all

the creatures and only after wearing clothes after bath one eats food or

drinks water. Lord Krishna was also the donor of ambara , garment to

Droupadi and water to the horses in the battle by piercing the rock by

his staff, used to tend cattle.

 

 

 

Ambaramoodarutthu refers to the piercing of the cosmic shell to bring

water from the outer region as mentioned in the upanishad as

'thripAdhasyAmrtham dhivi,' that is the whole cosmos pervaded by the

Lord is only a quarter of His form and the remaining three quarters are

outside.It is said that Brahma wanted to wash the feet of the Lord when

it reached his loka by the water of his kamandalu but found that it was

not enough when Thrivikrama pierced the cosmic shell by His foot and

brought the water which became the akasaganga, celestial Ganges which

was later brought to earth by Bhagiratha.

 

 

 

selva baladeva- his semporkazal is a veerakkazal.as he killed asuras and

dragged the whole Hasthinapura into the Gangesby his plough when

Duryodhana insulted him and diverted Yamuna to where he was for his

jalakreeda. Being the incarnation of adhisesha he cleaned the womb of

Devaki to make it divine for Krishna, his Lord. As Devaki lost her six

children Sesha entered her womb to clear the sarpa dosha, causing death

of sons of Devaki and he stepped into the world to guard Krishna from

evil forces. Sesha follows the Lord wherever He goes.as azvar says,

'senral kudaiyam,' he serves the Lord in all His states.Sesha and the

seshi, bhagavan are not two but one.

 

 

 

umbiyum neeyum urangelorempavai- Sesha being the couch they entreat him

to wake up as when he moves the Lord will be awakened.They call Krishna

his younger brother implying that Krishna will listen to him if he takes

mercy on them and recommend their case.

 

 

 

In the pasurams 16,17 and 18 Nandhagopa is mentioned as being the master

(nayakanAi) charitable, (aram seyyum) valourous (undhumadhakalittran

OdAdhathOlvaliyan).Desika in his Yadhavabhyudhaya says that Nandhagopa

excelled the wish-giving jewel, chinthamani and the celestial wish-

fulfilling tree, kalpatharu and the rainbearing clouds in his generosity

at the birth of Krishna.

 

 

 

The ashtakshar manthra is referred to by this pasuram.

Ambaram=pranavam,sOru =narayana sabdha and thaNNeer=namah

 

 

 

Ambaram meaning AkAsa denotes the pranava in which all sabdhas are

included as everything exists in AkAsa.

 

 

 

Upanishad says 'annam brhmEthi vijAnAth' therefore soru=Narayanasabdha,

the Brahman of visishtadvaitha

 

 

 

thaN neer - cool water is namah sabdha since it is the means of life

eternal.Through prapatthi, surrender, the devotion attains its

culmination and like the cool water the jiva is refreshed from the heat

caused by samsara.

 

 

 

aram seyyum- The acharya gives BhagavAn, the seshi to the sesha , the

jiva and vicevesa which is the aram .

 

 

 

kombanSrkkellAm kozundhu is the ashtakshara which is the best of

manthras as it shows the Lord. It is like Yasodha who has Krishna and

the manthra is the source of jnana(arivurAi)

 

 

 

Ambaram oodarutthu indicates the all- pervasiveness of the Lord.

 

 

 

umbiyumneeyum urangelorempAvAi-Bhagavtseshatnvam and

bhAgavathaseshathvam. It is equally important to worship the bhagavathas

as it is to worship BhagavAn, who will be pleased more by the

propitiation of His devotees as a father will be more pleased by

fondling of his son rather than honouring himself. The sleep here is

the lack of awareness of this fact.

 

 

 

Pasuram18-undhumadhakaLittran

 

 

 

UndhumadhakaLittran OdAdhathOLvaliyan

 

nandhagopAlan marumagalE nappinnAI

 

gandham kamazum kuzalee kadai thiravAi

 

vandhengum kOzi azaithana kAN mAdhavi

 

pandhalmEl palkAl kuyilinangaLkoovina kAN

 

pandhAr virali un maitthunan pEr pAda

 

senthAmaraikkaiyAl seerAr vaLai olippa

 

vandhu thiravAi magizndhElOrempAvai

 

 

 

NappinnA, of fragrant hair, the daughter- in- law of the valiant

elephant -like Nandhagopa, who never flees from battle,come and open the

door. See the cocks are crowing and the cuckoos are singing on the

madhavi creeper. You who has ball in your fingers come and open the door

with your lotus hand with jingling bangles when we sing the glory of

your Lord.

 

 

 

To get the favour of the Lord one needs the grace of Lakshmi. So here

she is awakened. With the glance of Sitadevi while she passed by the

rsyamooka hill Sugreeva attained his kingdom.Hanuman went as Ramadhootha

and after being graced by the glance of Sitadevi became Ramadasa and had

the great fortune of being hugged by Rama.It is significant that she

never looked at Ravana while talking to him. On the other hand the

Kakasura whose offense to her was even worse than that of Ravana escaped

death because of her glance.The word nappinnAi is also explained as

nal=pinnAi, meaning Sita devi, the good one who followed (pin

thodarndhaval) Rama to the forest.

 

 

 

The word marumagal, normally means daughter- in -law, is also explained

to mean Lakshmi herself as she abides in the chest of the Lord in the

form of a maru, mark in which case the Lord himself is the

undhumadah-----nandhagopalan. Marumagal is also explained as maruvum

magal, the one who is embraced by the Lord. Nappinnai is not only the

daughter-in-law but also marumagal, niece of Nandhagopa, since she is

the daughter of his sister.

 

 

 

vandhengum-----koovina kAN- he cocks are everywhere but the cuckoo is

only found on the madhavicreeper.The sweet sounds and words are rare to

find.

 

 

 

pandhAr virali- she was playing with Krishna with ball and slept with

it in her hands.This signifies that all the beings are the leela

kandhuka, play-balls for the Lord and Devi.

 

 

 

This pasuram is the 18th. The number 18 is very significant. Gita has 18

chapters, Mahabhartha war went on for 18 days, Bhagavatha purana has

18000 slokas etc.The sum of 1=8 is 9 a changeless number which when

added or subtracted or multiplied by , the sum is 9 only.and this

denotes Lakshmi who never changes her form while the Lord took a female

form as Mohini. She always remained her merciful self in all avatharas.

 

 

 

kadai thiravAi, vandhu thiravAi-she is requested to come and remove the

lock, that is , our sins ,which are the barrier between us and the Lord.

 

 

 

Vandhengum kOzi azatthanakAN-Like the cock which examines the garbage

and takes what it wants we are also taking the essence of bhakthi by

following you everywhere.

 

 

 

madhavi----Kuyilinangal koovina- kuyilinam, cuckoos may refer to the

sages like Valmiki and Sukha who gave out the sweet song of the Lord

taking the essence of the vedas.

 

 

 

PandAr virali-To Him we are only play- things but due to the grace of

the divine mother we will become objects of His enjoyment.

 

 

 

 

 

Pasuram19-kutthuvilakkeriya

 

 

 

kutthuviLakkeriya kOttukkAl kattil mEl

 

metthenrapancha sayanatthinmElEri

 

kotthalar poonguzal nappinnai kongai mEl

 

vaitthukkidandha malarmarba vai thiravai

 

maitthadamkaNNinAi nee un maNAlanai

 

etthanai podhum thilezavottAi kAn

 

itthanai Agilum pirivAtrakillAyAl

 

thatthuvam anru thagavElOrempAvai

 

 

 

Oh Lord, speak to us. You are lying on a couch, which has got all the

quaities of being the best like softness, and supported by the tusks of

elephants, lit around with lamp, your chest resting on Nappinnai, who is

wearing bunch of flowers on her tresses.Oh Nappinnai, with eyes

decorated with collirium, you will not allow him to get up any time as

you do not want to part with him, which is not right, and is against

your nature.

 

 

 

Before approaching the Lord the divine mother has to be entreated as she

is the one who advocates the case of the devotee to Him, which is called

purushakaram in vaishnavism. The mother will give her grace to the

devotee without consulting the Lord but will not punish wihout His

approval. Sita saved Hanuman from the fire praying to the firegod to be

cool 'SeethO bhava hanoomathah,' and saved the rakshasis from the wrath

of Hanuman saying 'na kaSchit naoarAd\DHyathi?' , "who is without

fault?" But she did not curse Ravana because, she said, she did not

have the permission of Rama. This fact is very beautifully explained by

Thyagaraja who says in his krthi 'mA jAnaki,' that Sita had all the

powers to kill Ravana with her anger but desisted because she wanted to

give the credit to Rama.

 

 

 

Kutthuvilakkeriya- the lamp will illuminate itself and the other

things.. Likewise the divine mother shows the Lord to the devotees and

vice versa.

 

 

 

kOttukkAl-The feet of the couch are made of ivory.

 

 

 

panchasayanam- an ideal couch must have five qualities.

Softness.,whiteness, fragrance, coolness and beauty. Thus it is called

panchasayanam.

 

 

 

etthanai pOdhum -----kAN- reference here is to Sita who did not wake up

Rama even when Kakasura attacked her.

 

 

 

etthanai yAgilum pirivAtrakillAy- Sridevi is never separated from her

Lord .Azvar calls him 'agalakillEn iraiyum ena alarmEl mangai urai

mArbA.' This is the real meaning of 'nappinnai konhaimEl

vaitthukkidandha malarlArba.'

 

 

 

Thatthuvam anru, thagavEl- thathvam is svarupam, nature, thagavu is

svabhAva, character.. Not to show mercy on the devotees is neither

suited to the nature or character of the divine mother.

 

 

 

thath denotes Brahman, that is, bhagavan, thvam refers to Lakshmi. Anru

means 'not.' She is not Him as she is full of mercy and will not punish

like the Lord.

 

 

 

The previous pasuram mentioned with reference to Ramanuja who was fond

of it as it refers to ThAyar, the divine mother. It seems that he was

so involved with this pasuram when he went on the streets singing it and

when AtthuzAi, the daughter of Perianambi, his guru came out to give him

biksha, he saw the ThAyAr herself in her and prostrated before her.

Since then this pasuram is mentioned in connection with him.

 

 

 

The present one is supposed to be the favourite of Parasarabhattar.

 

 

 

The pasuram ambaramE begins with akAra and the next undhu madha begins

with ukAra of the PraNava. The 20th one starts with makAra,

'muppatthumoovar' and this one is said to be inserted in between as

the praNva should not be uttered direct except by vedic scholars .

 

 

 

KutthuviLakku denotes the light of jnana. which not only destroys the

external darkness but also the internal darkness of

ignorance.KutthuviLakku has five faces which denote here the five states

of Bhagavan, namely, Para, vyuha, vibhava, archA and antharyami.Para is

the state in vaikunta, as the supreme purusha, vyuha comprises of the

four forms, Vasudeva, SankarshaNa, Pradhyumna and Aniruddha, all are one

only though but distinguished according to the attributes that go with

the bhagavathsabda.Vibhava are the incarnations, archa are the forms

worshipped in temples and abtharyami is the indweller of all as their

inner self.

 

The four legs of the couch denote the concepts that form the basis of

the world, causing samsara. The four Purusharathas, dharma, artha, kama

and moksha, the four asramas, brhmacharya, grhastha, vanaprastha and

sannyasa,the four varnas, brahma,kshathriya vaisya and sudra, four

yugas, sathya, thretha, dvapara and kali, and, papa, sin, puNya, merit,

papapunya, the sin which appears as merit and vice versa,

puNyapApa.These are the legs of samsara and the Lord is above 'mEl.'

The pancha sayanam denotes the five kinds of life, deva, manushya,

thiryang and sthAvara and aprAni, divine, human, animal, plant and

inert. the lord is above the couch , that is beyond all beings . He is

malarmArban of flower like chest, soft hearted.

 

 

 

kotthalar----mEl the bunch of flowers are the jnana on which the

bhagavan is resting.

 

 

 

maitthadam-----pirivAtrakillai- when the devotee is applying the

collirium of devotion the Lord is his maNAlan, the dear one . He does

not want to part with the Lord ah gain and plapse back into the sleep of

samsara. This is the thatthuvam the truth. And this will not happen

without the thagavu, the grace of the Lord.

 

 

 

 

 

Pasuram20-muppatthumoovar

 

 

 

muppatthumoovar amararkkum mun senru

 

kappam thavirkkum kaliyE thuyil ezAi

 

cheppam udaiyAi thiraludaiyAi chettrArkku

 

veppam kodukkum vimalA thuyil ezAi

 

cheppenna menmulai sevvAi sirumarungul

 

nappinnai nangAi thiruvE thuyilezAi

 

ukkamum thattoLiyum thandhunmaNAlanai

 

ippOdhE emmai neerAttElOrempavai

 

 

 

O Lord, who goes in front to help the thirtythreecrores of

devas,awake.You who is pure and perfect , with Lakshmi and burn your

foes, get up. Nappinnai of slender and beautiful form , the incarnation

of Lakshmi, awake. Give the fan and the mirror necessary for our vratha

and unite us with the Lord and enable us to take the holybath.

 

 

 

muppatthumoovar- eight vasus, eleven rudras, twelve Adhithyas, Indra and

Prajapathi, all told thirtythree and their vibhoothi, power is

thirtythree crores.

 

 

 

amarakkumunsenru-He is the agresara, the first and foremost of all,

'ayarvarum amararga adhipathi,' as He is described by NammAZvar.He goes

in front and protects them.

 

 

 

kappam thavirkkum- He removes their fear, kappam meaning kampam or

shaking with fright.

 

 

 

kaliyE-glorious.

 

 

 

cheppam - Arjavam, thrikaraNaSuddhi, truthful in thought word and deed.

and thiral is strength or power.

 

 

 

chettrAr- there are no enemies for the Lord as he says 'samoham sarva

bhoothEshu, I am impartial to all. The term refers to those who harm the

good.

 

 

 

Cheppenna ----sirumarungul- denotes the young age of Nappinnai

 

 

 

ThiruvE- The divine mother is even higher than the Lord Himself. She is

full of mercy and forgiveness. As Sita, she says to Anjaneya, 'SubhAnAm

vA vaDHArhANA plavangaama kAryam karuNamAryENa na kaschith

nAparAdhyathi.' Whether they are sinners or good people , even if they

deserve to be killed a noble person should show mercy. Who is without

fault? That is why she is first awakened even before the Lord.

 

 

 

The words ukkam and thattoLi mean the removal of ahamkara and mamakara

and granting of svarupa jnana.The grace of the divine mother is required

to fan away the ego, the cause of ahamkara and mamakara and to mirror

the real nature of the self.