Thiruppavai - 29th verse- siRRam siRukaalE.. unnai sEvitthu..kuRREval engaLai koLLAmal POgaadhu..umakkE naam AtcheyvOm...

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SrI:

SrImathE Gopaladesika mahadesikaya nama:

 

Dearest all,

 

Today’s verse is the 29th verse. A brilliant verse- the verse that needs to be

recited in Bhagavad sannidhi…. An essence of Saranagati tattvam.

 

Let us enjoy the wonderful commentary of His Holiness Srimath Paravakkottai

Andavan of Sri Poundarikapuram Swami ashramam, Srirangam – translated into

English by Sri CG Balaji Swami.

 

siRRan ciRu kaalE van^thunnai cEviththu * un

poRRaamarai atiyE pORRum poruL kELaay *

peRRam mEyththu uNNum kulaththil piRan^thu * nI

kuRREval eNGkaLaik koLLaamal pOkaathu *

iRRaip paRai koLvaan anRu kaaN kOvin^thaa *

eRRaikkum Ezh Ezh piRavikkum * un thannOtu

uRROmE aavOm unakkE naam aatceyvOm *

maRRai nam kaamaNGkaL maaRRu ElOr empaavaay. 29.

 

In this verse, the Gopis seek the supreme fortune of being in

eternal service to the Lord.

 

siRRam siRukaalE vandhu unnai seVitthu un poRRaamaraiyadiyE pORRum poruL kELaay!

 

Oh Kanna, early in the morning, you would

embark on your journey to accomplish all those deeds in your

volition. During the day, it then becomes impossible to see you in

solitude. Hence we have come here to pray at your lotus feet during

the early hours of the morning without heeding to the showering

mist. It is the time when the sounds due to the churning of the

curd by the cowherd ladies may be heard. It is the time when saints

would wake up chanting the holy name ‘Hari’ continuously. It is the

time when the tamogunam and the rajogunam see their lows while

the satvagunam, responsible for instigating the contemplation of

the Lord, stands head high.

 

This is the most appropriate time to

serve you and worship you with devotion. Thus we have come for

the same. Devotees, singing and dancing have been thronging your

doorsteps. You should have in fact come to meet us out of your own

accord, just as how you went to Guha, the great sages of

Dandakaranya, Shabari and Sugreeva. But we have come to you

out of our own yearning. It is natural for the female genre to have a

liking for gold and flowers. Your divine feet are like the finest gold

that is of the purest form, brightest in hue and superlative in

quality. They are like the flowers that are most delicate, fragrant

and beautiful. We have extolled such great feet with as anRu ulagam aLandhaay

adi pORRi.. sakatam udhaitthay pugazh pORRi.

 

We do so now alsoâ€. When Kannan was not paying too much attention to their

words and was engrossed in observing who all had come and was observing the

expressions on each one of their faces, Andal says, “poruL kELaayâ€â€“ We

have come seeking an object of desire. Pray lend your ears and listen to the

sameâ€.

 

peRRam mEYtthuNNum kulatthil piRandhu kuRREval engaLai koLLaamal pOgaadhu –

We seek to be in your servitude for the rest of our time.

 

So far, we have been running through the cycle of

transmigration. We seek an end to this and wish to be in your

eternal servitude. This fortune shall definitely be ours. Oh Lord!

How were you before and how are you now? You are the Lord of

Vaikuntham and the Lord of ubhayavibhuti. You are the consort of

Sri, the goddess of all wealth. You are inherently virtuous with

infinite auspicious attributes that are the object of praise of

everyone. Your essential nature is of infinite bliss. You are the

superlative of all orders. But you have chosen to incarnate in as

low a lineage as that of ours, the cowherds. Our lineage is a poor

one where the cowherds graze the cattle all day long only to win a

few measures of grain. Why have you incarnated in such a lineage?

Only to uplift and enlighten the impoverished ones like us. We do

not eat our daily bread until the cattle are satiated. We unfailingly

protect everything that we are supposed to. You are also therefore

obligated to protect us, who consider you to be the food we partake,

the water we imbibe and the (vetrilai) beetle foliage that we chew.

Pray we therefore unto you to bestow on us the wealth of your

unstinted service.

 

Kannan then says, “You already asked me for saala perum paRaiyE ’, the

percussion instrument with a well reverberating sound. Here it is, take it all.

I have one per person.â€

 

iRRai paRai koLvaan anRu kaaNN kaNNA! – Kannaa, when

we said ‘PaRai, did we mean this instrument? No. Never. Please take a look at

our faces. You seem to be too naïve.

 

yeRRaikkum yEzhEzh piRavikkum unthannODu uRROmEyaavOm; umakkE naamAT cheyvOm

 

– Not only in this birth, but even if we were to take many more births, then

in all those births we would wish to be in your service alone. If you bless us

with the bliss of beatitude, then we would be in your eternal service at your

supreme abode of Srivaikuntham.

 

The Vedas proclaim that a liberated soul can attire itself with many sharirams.

Even if we happened to do so, then in every one of those bodies we would

continue to serve you alone and none else.

 

Kannan says, “In that case are you not interested in any other

material pleasures?â€

 

maRRai num kaamangaL maaRRU – Pray bless us to have no other desire other

than you.

 

Andal, in this pasuram is elucidating that, having surrendered

unto the Lord, the soul should only ask for the fruit of performing

unstinted service to the Lord always, similar to Lakshmana. This is

the hidden purport of this pasuram.

 

Andal ThiruvaDigaLE SaraNam

Regards

Namo narayana

dAsan