Thiruppavai 27-koodaarai vellum

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Pasuram-27-koodArai vellum

 

koodArai vellum seer gOvindhA unthannai

pAdipparai kondu yAm peru sanmAnam

nAdu pugazum parisibnAl nanrAga

chhodagamE thoLvaLaiye thodE sevippoovE

pAdagamE enranaiya palkalnum yAm aNivOm

Adai uduppOm adhan pinnE par sOru

moodanei peidhu muzangai vazi,vAra

koodiyirundhu kulirndhElOrempAvAi

 

Oh Govindha , who conquer those who are not favourable to you by your valour and virtues, the reward we have by singing your glory and observing the austerities is acclaimed by the whole country. Now that you have granted our request we will adorn ourselves with jewels , bangles, armbands, earrings ear drops and anklets. We will wear new clothes and eat along with you, the rice boiled in milk with ghee that drips over our elbows, and enjoy.

 

koodArai vellum seer- He conquers evn those who turn away from Him by His attributes, seer and He is conquered by those who love Him. Vali who first despised Rama for killing him with an arrow hiding Himself, praised Him in the end and so did Tara and MandOdhari even though Rama killed their husbands.Ravana was defeated by His valour, Surpanakha by His beauty and Vibheeshana by His divinity.

 

gOvindha -This name is supposed to be the favourite of the devotees as well as the Lord Himself. The explanation of the various meanings of Govindanama will be elaborated in the next pasuram.

 

unthannai-----sanmanam-She means to say that they have not praised Him expecting anything in return and He should Himself give them the best, that is, Himself.

 

choodagam-bangle.thOLvaLai-jewelled armband. thodu, sevippoo ear ornaments. paadagam-anklet.

 

pArsOru mooda nei peidhu muzangai vazi vAra-rice boiled in milk with jaggery (sarkaraippongal or akkaravadisil as it is called in vaishnava households) with ghee overflowing and dripping through their elbows.

 

Periazvar describes the gifts of the Lord to him thus in his thiruppallAndu:

 

neyyidai sorum (rice mixed with ghee) niyathamum atthANicchEvagamaum( the opportunity to do service to Him daily) kaiadaikkAyum(thAmboolam-betelleaves and nuts etc )kazutthukku pooN (neck ornament) kAdhukku kunNdalam (earrings)meyyidai nalladhOr sandham( fragrant sandal laste to apply on the body) The meaning is that all the bogyas, objects of enjoyment are to be considered as the gifts of the Lord. Devotees are not expcted to lead a puritanic existence but to enjoy the Lord and His gifts with joy.Parasara bhattar used to appear well dressed and decked with flowers ornaments etc.when he went to do pooja to the Lord of Srirangam in order to show his joy of serving Him.

 

This pasuram indicates the fulfilment of the vratha called pAvainOnbu of which it was said in the beginning 'neyuNNOm pAluNNOm,' that they will not drink milk or eat ghee etc. till the vrata is over.

 

Andal calls herself and others as 'Ayppadiselvacchirumeer' (pasuram1)the girls fortunate in living in ayarpadi which denotes the sAlOkyam kind of mukthi, that is living in the same world as the Lord. Reaching the abode of Krishna , 'nandhagopan koil'(pasuram16) implies sAmeepyam, the nearness of the Lord. In the previous pasuram they asked for all the signalia of the Lord, like pAnchjanya etc. which refers to the sAroopyam, the likeness of the Lord.In this pasuram the union with the Lord is meant, that is sAyujayam. The words pAlsOru moodanei pedhu and koodiyirundhu denote that the final state the devotee aspires for, is the constant union with the Lord and enjoy the bliss along with Him.

 

thOlvalai signifies for a vaishnavite,the mark of the conch and the disc on his shoulders as the sign of haveing done prapatthi, a ritual called samAsrayaNam.

thOdu - is thirumandhiram, ashtakshara manthram, which is instructed on prapatthi

sevippoo is the dhvayamandhiram and pAdagam is the charamasloka as it means the ornament of the feet denoting saranagathi.

palkalan means jnana, bhakthi and vairagya which are the best ornaments for a bhaktha.

Adai is Seshathvam, the sense of belonging to the Lord.

pAlsOru is kinkarya, serving the Lord which is as sweet as the rice boiled in milk with jaggery.

mooda neipeidhu means this joy in bhagavatseva is devoid of ego but completely covered with pArathathanthryam, the idea if being His dasa.

 

Counting from the 16th pasuram in which they arrive at the abode of the Lord as first, because the beginning of real life starts only when we approach God, this pasuram is the 11th, EkAdhasa. After Ekadasi vratha is over they enjoy rich dinner with akkAravadisil etc.

 

Andal in Nacchiar thirumozi said

'nArunarumpozil mAlirunchOlai nambikku

nAn nooruthadAvil veNNai

vAi nErndhu parAvi vaitthEn

nooru thada niraindha

akkAravadisil sonnEn

Eru thiruvudaiyAn inru

vandhivai koLLumkolO.'

I offer to the AAzagar of thirumAliruncholai 100 vessels fup ll of butter and 100 vessels of akaravadisil . Will He come and accept it?

 

What Andal offered the Lord through her pasurams Ramanuja performed in reality by preparing the vessels of butter and akkaravadisil in Srivilliputthur for which Andal herself appeared in front and called him 'aNNA,' her elder brother, who has fulfilled her desire like that of a sister by her brother.That is why she is called in the thaniyan, the verse chanted as the benediction after thiruppavai , as perupudhoor mAmunikkuppinnAnAl, the younger sister of Ramanuja.