Thiruppavai - 11th verse- Performance of one's duties as prescribed in saasthras pleases the Lord

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SrI:

SrimathE Gopaladesika mahadesikaya nama

 

Dearest all

 

Today’s verse: 11th verse for our enjoyment

 

kaRRuk kaRavaik kaNaNGkaL pala kaRan^thu *

ceRRaar thiRalazhiyac cenRu ceruc ceyyum *

kuRRam onRillaatha kOvalartham poRkotiyE *

puRRaravalkul punamayilE pOtharaay *

cuRRaththu thOzhimaar ellaarum van^thu * nin

muRRam pukun^thu mukilvaNNan pEr paata *

ciRRaathE pEcaathE celvap peNtaatti * nI

ERRukku uRaNGkum poruL ElOr empaavaay. 11.

 

Dear BhakthAs: In this paasuram , a Gopi known for her

extraordinary beauty ( Golden creeper/PoRRk Kodi)

and distinguished lineage is being awakened. Her relatives

are known well for the way in which they discharge

the duties of the Aayar Kulam . Sri BhUvarahAcchAr Swamy

observes in this context: " These duties entail milking

an endless number of cows . So ANDAL seems to be saying

that performance of one's duties as enjoined in the scripture

(varNAsram dharmam)will bring happiness to the Lord

and thereby fall into the catgory of His service.

One should hence never discard one's duties " .

 

JananyAcchAr describes this UtthamAdhikAri as belonging

to a noble lineage ( AabhijAthyam)and as " Oorukku-oru PeNN

PiLLai " .

 

Literal Meaning of this Paasuram:Dr.V.K.S.N Raghavan

 

Oh Golden Creeper of a girl( the scion among the maidens of

this group)! You are a jewel among the cowherds , who are:

(1) master craftsmen in the milking of ever so many groups

of young cows (at a stretch)(2) skillful in warfare ,

namely , very much able to go against and destroy their

(strong)opponents and routing their strength and

(3) thoroughly blemishless ! Oh Charming peacock-like

(beautiful) damsel with the hips resembling the hood of

a cobra! May You come (and join our fold).When we--Your

kinswomen and friends --have come and entered the open

front yard (without roof ) of Your house , and when we

are singing (in chorus) the names of the Lord of dark

cloud-like hue, what are you fast asleep for ,without

even moving or giving any response, Oh rich and

young girl ?

 

The Inner Meanings of the Paasuram

 

KaRRuk KaRavaik kaNangaL having drunk the milk of

Pala KaRanthu Jn~Anam from all Upanishads,

smruthi, IthihAsa PurANams

independent of their size

or complexity

 

seRRAr thiRalazhia having won over naasthikars

chenRu seruc cheyyum and aasthika abhimAnis in

saastrEic debates

 

KuRRam onrilAtha Oh Sathsishyan , who has

kOvalar tamm been blessed with a sadAchAryan ,

poRRk kodiyE with mastery over the blemishles

VedAs !

 

puna MayilE Oh sathsishyan , who dances like

a happy peacock ( that has seen

the rainy clouds) while singing

the many naamAs of our Lord!

 

pOdharAi May Thou be engaged in this aanandha

anubhavam!

 

SuRRathtu ThOzhimAr the aadhivAhikars , who display

yellAm vanthu freindship to You , the Prapannan

have come now

 

ninn muRRam puhunthu they have entered the front gates

of Your ( of the one , who has cast

aside the gross body and entered into

the subtle body/sookshma sarIram)house

 

Muhil VaNNan They are reciting the Lord's names

pEr paada and are ready to lead you to His

supreme abode at the final stages

of your journey via archirAdhi

maargam , like BhaagavathAs reciting

manthrams into your ear

 

siRRAthE You should cast away any concerns

about committing sins consciously

or otherwise

 

pEsAthE You should speak of nothing except

Bhagavan naamAs

 

nee selavap pendAtti you become thus the one appreciated

by BhagavAn Himself.

 

uRangum poruL yeRRukku? You have no more vinais to worry

about ? Why then this sleep rooted

in fear and bramam(delusion)?

 

Inner meaning of Special words and passages

 

(1)Sri PBA Swamy points out that the three sambhOdhanams

(addresses) as " Kovalar tamm poRRkkodiyE ,puRRaraval-

puna mayilE and Selvap peNDAtti " are noteworthy.These

three identitfications suggest that this Gopi is like

a dependent creeper on the supporting rod of AchAryans

and is distinguished for her fragrance of Paaratantryam.

She is thus a qualified UtthamAdhikAri.

 

(2)Sri PBA Swamy comments further on the word " PuRRaravaL "

to bring out the supermacy of Bhakthi among the triad

of Jn~Anam ,Bhakthi & Virakthi. When a cobra with majestic

form enters its home under earth , it will shrink its

big form humbly . When Bhakthi is dominant , it will yield

Jn~Anam and Virakthi readily . Swamy quotes Sanjayan's

Upadesam to the deluded DhruthrAshtran : " Maayam na

sEvE bhadram tE na vruthA dharmamAcharE , Suddha bhAvam

gathO BhakthyA SaasthrAth Vedhmi JanArdhanam " Bhakthi is

thus the saadhanam for Jn~Anam aand Virakthi.Sri PBA Swamy

also quotes Swamy AlavanthAr's slOkam praising his

grandfather Swamy Naathamuni in the context of Jn~Ana-

Bhakthi-Virakthi triad : " Namochinthya adhbhudha aklishta

Jn~Ana VairAgya RaasayE , NaathAya munayE aghAtha

Bhagavath Bhakthi SindhavE " . The importance of

Bhakthi over Jn~Anam and VairAgyam is again alluded

here , when Swamy Nathamuni is saluted here as

the bottomless Ocean of Bhagavath Bhakthi.

 

(3) PunamayilE: Sri PBA Swamy compares the equivalence

of the Peacock to a SadAchAryA in six ways . Two such

comparsions are as follows:

(a) The poisonous insects would stay away

from the peacock for fear of their lives.

AchAryAs through their prabhAvam chase away all

anishtams: " visAthi pahai pasi theeyanavellAm

ninri ivvulahil kadivAn Nemip PirAn Tamar pOnthAr " is

AzhwAr's Sri Sookthi.(b) When the peacock is happy ,

it will stretch its tail fethers and dance. AchAryAs

will exhibit their Jn~ana vikAsam , when they experience

a sath sishyan .

 

(4) SuRRatthu ThOzhimArellAm vanthu: Aathma and dEha Bhandhus

will flock around mahAns .One can see that with Udayavar

with EmpAr , Mudali AaNDAN ( dEha Bhanthus) and KurEsar,

KidAmpi Aacchan et al (aathma Bhandhus) serving him

(Sri PBA Swamy ).

 

(5) Ninn MuRRam puhunthu muhil VaNNan pEr Paada:

MuRRam is where the adiyArs of the Lord assemble

(vide: KulaEkarar paasuram: " aNiarangan THIRUMURRATTHU

ADIYAR tankaLinbha perumkuzhavu kaNdu)(Sri PBA Swamy).

 

(6) SIRRATHE PESAATHE:AndaL's pasura Vaakhyam has

the echo of Swamy NammAzhwAr's counsel AND command

( ThiruvAimozhi:9.1.7):

 

" siRRa vENDA chinthippEyamayum kaNDIrkaLanthO ! "

 

( Meaning according to Dr.V.N.VedAntha Desikan):

 

" I have nothing else to say (to you , the people of

the world)and I have siad everything briefly.

For all beings in this vast universe,without any need for

exertion (siRRa vENDA) or exercise . A simple technique

is available for survival and salvation. Lo, people do not

catch my point and get doomed. The Lord , KrishNA ,was

born in MathurA to protect the cows , almost as their

Mother.His boundless grace , simplicity and similar

qualities --all flawless -- are a pleasure to ponder

over and spend one's life with. I say that this is

the easiest and praticable-to-all way of life!

 

(7) Abhinava Desikan's description of Inner meanings:

 

(a)KARAVAIKAL :AchAryAs , who yield abundant milk

of Jn~Anam

(b)KARRUKKARAVIAKAL : AchAryAs with abundant wealth

of SishyAs.

©PALA KARANTHU: AchAryAs , who have absorbed from many

sources and from many poorvAchAryAs ( bahubhya: srOthavyam ,

bhaudhA srOthavyam)and store them for the benefit of

many sishyAs.

 

(d) SERRAAR: Veda Baahyars and Kudhrushtis( their foes ,

who do not accept Vedam as PramANam and those ,

who misintrepret Vedam for their benefit.

 

(e) SERRAR THIRALAZHIYA SENRU: Going on Dhig Vijayams

(Vijaya Yaathrais) to defeat the views of Veda Baahyars

and Kudhrushtis and to establish parama Vaidhika

matham on its solid footing.

 

(f) KURRAMONRILAATHA KOVALAR: These AchAryAs engaged in

the blemishless act of spreading sath-sampradhAyam by

defeating the views of Veda Baahyars and Kudhrushtis .

They do it not out of ahankAra-MamakAram ( which will

be full of blemish ), but do it out of compassion

to spread the true meanings of Tatthvam, Hitham

and PurushArtham.

 

(g) KOVALAR: " gO " is Vaaku or Vedam; gOvalar

is the One , who protects veda Vaaks (with VedAngams).

 

(h) KOVALAR TAMM PORRKKODIYE: That beautiful golden

creeper , which survives through supporting itself

on such Kovalars .These AchAryAs are the Kozhu Kompu

for the PoRRkkodi ( Utthama adhikAri).

 

(i)PURRARUVU:This Utthama adhikAri will be full of

humility like a snake inside its home underground.

(j) This Utthama adhikAri will sing and dance like

a joyous peacock from Bhagaavth anubhavam.

(k)siRRAthE pEsAthE: because of humility and freedom

from ahankAra-mamakAram , the Utthama adhikAri stays

motionless and without speaking.

 

(l)YERRUKKU URANGUM PORUL: You ( Utthama adhikAri) is

our great wealth. Your aruLiccheyal is our property.

Can one , who is both our wealth and property sleep?

Please join us and remove the guNa dhOshams in our

anubhavams .

 

[Extracted from Sri Satakopan swami’s translation of exhaustive Tamil

commentary on Thiruppavai by Sri U Ve PerukaraNai Swami]

 

Andal Thiruvadigale saraNam

Regards

Namo narayana

dAsan