Thiruppavai - 16th verse- naayakanaay ninRa nandhagOpanudaiya....

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SrI:

SrImathE Gopaladesika mahadesikaya nama:

 

Dearest all,

 

Today’s verse is the 16th verse.

 

Let us continue to enjoy the wonderful commentary of His Holiness Srimath

Paravakkottai Andavan of Sri Poundarikapuram Swami ashramam, Srirangam –

translated into English by Sri CG Balaji Swami.

 

naayakanaay ninRa nan^thakOpan utaiya

kOyil kaappaanE! * kotith thOnRum thOraNa

vaayil kaappaanE! * maNik kathavam thaaL thiRavaay *

aayar ciRumiyarOmukku * aRai paRai

maayan maNivaNNan nennalE vaay nErn^thaan *

thUyOmaay van^thOm thuyilezhap paatuvaan *

vaayaal munnamunnam maaRRaathE ammaa! * nee

nEya nilaik kathavam nIkku ElOr empaavaay. 16.

 

Naayakanaay ninRa –

 

In the ten pasurams that we have seen so far, Andal and her

friends went to the doorsteps of all their friends who

were still asleep awakening them one by one. The ensemble then

went to Nandagopan’s palace. They awakened the sentries who

stood on guard outside the palace and at the doors of the palace.

Archakars when coming out of the sanctum-sanctorum after having

finished the Lord’s worship, would pray to the weapons like the

discus, conch and would also entreat the Dwarapalakas for the

safety of the Lord.

 

The Lord is the servient of His sub-servients and

is most easily accessible. Nandagopa had shielded Kannan

impregnably as if one would fortify a treasure of immeasurable

value. The ensemble of Gopis asked the guards “Oh palace guards

of the noble Nandagopa, who is our master, pray let us inâ€. Having

passed through this entrance, they then bowed and entreated the

guards of the main doorstep to let them through. The Gopikas

approached Kannan as per protocol, just as how, when we enter

the temple, we first pray at the dhwajastambham, then to the

Dwarapalakas, to Vishwaksenar and then do we ascend the steps

to the sanctum sanctorum of the divine mother and the Lord. If one

attempts to reach the Lord without the espousal of the Lord’s

intimate, then one may have to endure the situation that befell on

Shurpanakha for having transgressed the protocol. Andal and her

friends supplicated the sentinels at the doors of the palace just as

how Vibheeshana along with his band, pleaded the devotees of Sri

Rama that he and his men be allowed to see Sri Rama immediately.

They extolled the guards as envoys capable of bringing their desires

to fulfilment. Those that are bestowed with the grace of an Acharya

are the ones who are capable of attaining the Lord. And so they

referred to the sentinels as guards of Nandagopan’s temple and not

as guards of Kannan’s temple. The Lord is the subservient of his

subservients and is at the disposal of his servients. Since the Lord

here has assumed the form of a child and since he is today

obediently in the parental control of Nandagopa, Andal and her

friends, pay their first respects to Nandagopa. They bow down to

everyone submissively entreating them with reverence in order to

alleviate possible hindrances of every kind.

 

maNi kadhavu signifies a beautiful door with artistic aesthetics

enmeshed with choicest pearls. It would enthrall its passers by with

its charm holding them back with amaze. The passers by would

stop a moment to praise the artistry and exquisiteness of the

mansion’s furniture. Kannan too would bind one by their

movements keeping them captivated at his visage and charms. The

maids plead to the guards to open the padlock of such a door.

The doorkeepers reply, “Kannan is in danger from the vile

designs of Kamsa. Who are you, who seek an audience with Him at

this hour of the early morning?â€

 

The Gopis reply “He at whose contemplation, the fears of

birth, old age, death would take to their heels, why then is there a

need for fear in the presence of such a Lord? Moreover we are

females who would do no harmâ€.

 

The sentry replies “Shurpanakha was a female. Wasn’t she?â€

The maids reply, “She was a demon. We are the womenfolk of

Ayirpadi. The progenies of the noble Yadavas who are always

thoughtful of the safety of Lord Krishna.†The guard promptly came

back saying “But, after Putana, even the womenfolk of Ayirpadi are

to be looked at suspicion.†The maids came back saying “But

Putana wore a guise. Is it not?†The guard then says, “How are we

to know that you have not guised yourselves deceptively?â€. The

maids pleaded, “The womenfolk of Ayirpadi are not known to such

unscrupulous thinking.†The guards reply, “Vatsasuran also came

in a noble garbâ€. Gopi replies, “Kannan is the supreme Lord. We are

subjects who have understood our essential nature of

subserviency.†This was well understood by the sentries as the

Gopis used the term “siRumiyarOm†that reverberated the Pranavam

and its purport The guard then asks them the purpose of their

visit. The Gopis replied that they had come there seeking Kannan’s

assistance in observing their nombu ritual and to get the fruits of

its observances thereby. The guards promptly told them that they

would submit this request to Kannan, once he wakes up and

requested the Gopis to wait until then.

 

Maayan maNi vaNNan nennalE vaay nErndhaan - The Gopis replied:

 

“You need not submit this request to him today. He has already

consented to this. He stands humbly amongst the womenfolk of

Ayirpadi and has consented to all their pleadingsâ€.

maNi vaNNan - One is never able to take his eyes off the

beautiful visage of Kannan. His smile looks like the repeated

blossoming of a beautiful fragrant Lotus flower. Oh guards, awake

that Lord of ours.†When the guard still looked at them with

suspicion, they continued, “Kannan had told Draupadi, ‘My words

shall never fail, even if the sky comes down, the Earth breaks open,

the misty mountains are reduced to pieces or the entire ocean dries

up’ When his words proved true for Draupadi, why would it prove

false to us? The guard replied, “Draupadi had always contemplated

upon Kannan. But you have come with a different intention. Is it

not so?†The Gopis replied together “No. Asking for assistance and

the fruits of our observances thereof is only a pretext. Our true

intention is to behold him, to extol him with or songs and to pray at

His lotus feet. We have come here as we expect to see him nowâ€.

Thuyil yezha paaduvaan –

 

“We have come here to sing him the song of dawn and to see his beauty when he

wakes up and comes down to

see us. Even when the evil Kakasuran pursued Sita, forgetting all

her inflictions, she still admired the beauty of Sri Rama who

reclined peacefully and lauds the beauty of the opening of his eyes

when awakened. The great Vishwamitra too, craved to see the

beauty of Sri Rama waking up to the morning bloom. We share the

same desire tooâ€. To this the guards welcomed and went ahead to

throw open the doors for them.

 

Vaayaal munnam munnam maaRRaadhE ammA! – The Gopis humbly acknowledged the

guards telling them “When Vibheeshana sought refuge in Sri Rama, the likes of

Sugriva strongly opposed the idea and plunged forward for an attack. But after

having learnt the wishes of Sri Rama, they took Vibheeshana as one of their most

intimate friend and ally, thus achieving glory for them. Oh Guards, may you also

be the worthy recipients of such unsullied gloriesâ€.

 

The guards now in a fit of anxiety said, “We get weary thinking

of the fate of Jaya and Vijaya. Pray open the door yourselvesâ€.

 

nEya nilaikadhavu neekkEl – We are unable to open the doors.

Alike you, the doors too seem to be worried about the safety of their

master. Pray open the door pleaseâ€. Lord Sriman Narayana, extolled

as Nayakan, Nandan, Gopalan, who resides in the Vaikuntam, who

reclines on the milky ocean, who plays around in Ayirpadi and who

takes his manifold forms as Para, Vyuha and Vibhava incarnations,

is realised through the esoterical purports portrayed by the

esoterical triad of Ashtakshara, Dvaya and Charama shloka. Our

preceptors are the caretakers of these esoterical aphorisms. These

preceptors open the doors letting out the sins and iniquitous

attributes that stand as impediments to us. They then make us go

through the aisle of bliss to attain the bliss of beatitude. It is only

natural for the caretakers to be suspicious of their surrounding

keeping in mind the object in their care. Sri Rama – Lakshmana –

Guhan is a notable example

 

Andal ThiruvaDigaLE SaraNam

Regards

Namo narayana

dAsan