Thiro uppavai -Pasurams1and2

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Pasuram1.

MargaziththingLl madhi niraindha nannaaLal

NeeraadappOdhuveer pOdhumino nerizaiyeer

Seer malgum aaippaadi selvasirumeergaaL

Koorvel kodunthozilan nandagopan kumaran

EraandhakaNNi yasodhai iLam singam

KaarmenichchengaNN kadhirmadhiyam pOl mugaththaan

NarayaNane namakke parai tharuvaan

PaarOr pugaza padindhelOrempaavai

 

Margazi Thingal- month of Margazi.. .

 

In the month of Margazi the austerity of pavai nonbu is observed.

 

Mathiniraindha nannaaL- full-moon day.

 

On the full-moon day in Margazi the star of Mrgasirsha is very near

the Moon. Hence the name Margaseersha which is known as margazi in

Tamil. Among the twelve names of the Lord that which dominates the

month is Kesava. Krishna says in the Gita ‘I am Margazi among the

twelve months. This month denotes the small hours of the morning for

the devas to whom one human year amounts to one day. Moreover this

month has the seed of the rain for the next year. For these reasons

the month is very sacred and any austerities undertaken in this

month fructify soon. Andaal calls this day a nannaal, good day

because the day when the thought of attaining the Lord arises in the

mind is a good day.

 

Neeraada pOdhuveer pOdhuminO- Come let us go and bathe in the river.

 

Neeraadal means taking bath in ordinary language. But in this

context it implies the union with Krishna.

 

Nerizaiyeer- Those with lustrous face and ornaments. As soon as they

were called to approach Krishna. Their faces lighted with love and

expectation.

 

Seer malgum aaipaadi.- The gokula which is rich and beautiful.

Gokula ,the residence of the cowherds became prosperous after

Krishna’s arrival.

 

SelvachchirumeergaaL †" Oh , the affluent cowherd girls., The wealth

of these girls is their devotion towards Krishna which alone is

eternal while all the other wealth is fleeting and transitory.

 

Koorvel kodumthozilan nandagopan kumaran- The son of Nandagopa, who

is terrible wielding his ‘vel.’ The implication here is that Nanda

even though soft by nature became terrible ready to attack those who

wanted to harm Krishna.

 

Eraarndha kaNNi yasodhai iLam singam- The epithet erarndha kanni

used with reference to Yasodha means that she has lovely wide eyes

on account of looking at Krishna all the time and when used as one

word it refers to Krishna Himself when erarndha kanni means the

vyjayanthi mala worn by Him. The lion cub of Yasodha who is wearing

the vyjayanthimala, will be the meaning of the phrase then. He is

called a lion cub here whereas he was termed as kumaran, young boy in

the previous line to indicate that he was obedient and docile to his

father while he asserts himself like a lion cub when he was with his

mother through her indulgence.

 

Kaarmeni- His dark body is compared to kaar, the rain bearing cloud

because His shower of mercy towards His devotees is like the life

giving rain to the world.

 

ChengaNN- Eyes red like lotus.

 

Kadhimadhiyam pol mugaththaan- His face is like both the Sun and the

Moon, scorching to His enemies and cool to His devotees.

 

NarayaNane †" Narayanane who has been described above will Himself

give us the boon of His service.

 

PaarOrpugaza padindhelOrempavaai. †" The word pavaai at the end of

each verse denotes the paavai nonbu they are observing. Andal here

says that the vratha which is usually observed for rain in the world

will fetch the desired result also and get them the praise of the

society even though it was only a pretext and their real purpose is

to unite with the Lord.

 

This world is the aayarpadi or aaippaadi. Andal represents the

Acharya who is instructing the devotees, who are endowed with the

virtues of kshama, ,patience, ahimsa, nonviolence, indriyanigraham,

control of the semses, dhayaa, mercy, jnanam, wisdom, tapas,

austerity, dhyaanam, contemplation and satyam, truth, to do service

to the Lord.

 

This service or kainkarya is the neeraadal or bathing and

the nerizai or ornaments are the above-said virtues. These are the

riches, ‘seer’ and the selvachchirumeer refers to the devotees

blessed with the wealth of devotion.

 

Madhi niraindha nannaaL is the day on which one starts

thinking about resorting to the Lord when it becomes nannaaL or good

day, filled, niraindha, with the thoughts mathi, of Him, Margazi or

Margasirsha in Sanskrit means the way, marga, which is sirsha, the

first and foremost and refers to the path of surrender,

Prapaththimarga.

 

The words nandagopan and kumaran may both be taken to denote

Krishna himself, nanda meaning one who gives joy and kumaran may

refer to His eternal youth, Nithya yuva as He is called by Desika in

Godhasthuthi. Then the word kodunthozilan implies that He is

merciless towards the wicked. Parithraanaaya saadhoonaam vinaasaya

cha dush krthaam as He says in the Gita. Not only the enemies outside

but also the internal foes like kamakrodhaadhi flee from the heart,

once He is established in it. In that sense also He is kodunthozilan

and ilam singam

 

NarayaNane namakke parai tharuvan- The ‘ekaara’ in

Narayanane is to emphasize that Lord Narayana alone, is capable of

giving parai, Moksha.

 

Andal says podhuveer podhumino to imply that whoever is so

inclined can join the group of devotees. It is always commendable to

go in groups for activities pertaining to God.

 

It is said in Srimathbhagavatham that the rshis of

Dandakaaranya were born as the gopis to enjoy the company of the Lord

which was denied to them in Ramavathara. They were steeped in bhakthi

and vairagya and hence termed as selvachirumeergaal, who have had the

wealth of His company and kainkarya.

 

Pasuram2.

Vaiyaththu vaazveergaaL naangaL nampaavaikku

seyyum kirisaigaL keleero paarkadlull

paiyyatthuyinra paramanadi paadi

neyyuNNOm paaluNNOm naatkaale neeraadi

maiyittezudhOm malarittu naam mudiyOm

seyyaadhanaseyyOm theekkuraLai senrOdhom

aiyamum picchchaiyum aamthanaiyum kaikaatti

uyyumaareNNi ugandhelorempaavaai.

 

Andal addresses everyone as ‘vaiyaththyu vaazveergaal’- those

who live on earth. The bhooloka is the most important of all the

realms of being, because here only, one can attain the Lord through

bhakthi. The samsara is like a fire and the bhakthi is compared to a

lotus grown on fire. That is, it protects the devotee from the fire

of samsara like a lotus under his feet. Hanuman said when he was

asked to ascend to Vaikunta with Rama that he prefers the earth where

one can hear Ramanama to Vaikunta or any other place. Parasara Bhatta

expressed his wish to remain on earth and continue to do service to

Ranganatha rather than leaving Him and go to Paramapadha.

 

NaangaL nampavaikku seyyum kirisaigaL †" Andal enumerates the

rites to be observed for the pavai nonbu. Kirisai is same as kiriyai

or acts . Seyyum kirisai, actions to be done includes those to be

avoided also as both are mentioned here.

 

KeLeero- ‘ will you hear’ †" The ears are only for hearing

about the Lord. The word keleero in Tamil can be construed to mean

asking, hearing and following what you hear. Parikshit did all the

three and attained Moksha in a short span of seven days.

 

The rules to be followed in observing the Pavai nonbu are

listed by Andal, which are common to all aspirants or devotees.

Kirisai can be physical, kaayika, verbal, vaachika and mental,

maanasika. They are again classified as what should be and what

should not be done. Paraman adi paadi , naatkaale neeraadi , aiyamum

pichchaiyum aamthanaiyum kaikaatti and uyyumaarenni are the deeds to

be done and neyyunnom paalunnom maiyittezudhom malarittu naam

mudiyom, seyyaadhana seyyom and theekkuralai senrodhom are to be

avoided.

 

Paraman adi paadi- to sing the glory of the Lord. This is

vaachika or verbal service. Naatkaale neeradi is taking bath in the

early morning which denotes kaayika, physical purity while aiymum-----

---kaikaatti is the act of charity and offering which is again

physical. Uyyumaarenni is the thinking of the Lord for salvation and

it is maanasika, mental.

 

NeyyuNN0m paaluNNOm, means giving up ghee and milk which

represents rich food and maiyittezudOom malarittu naam mudiyOm,

meaning ‘ we will not decorate ourselves with eye liner or flowers’

both denote physical abstinence and simplicity of appearance.

Seyyaadhana seyyom, ‘we will not do anything which is prohibited’

implies control of mind and theekkuralai senrodhom which means ‘ we

will not carry tales’ refers to the control of the tongue.

 

NeyyuNNom etc is not something of a great sacrifice for a

bhaktha because he is all the time drinking the nectar of the

namasankeerthana of the Lord and never has any hunger or thirst for

anything else Similarly He finds pleasure in decorating the Lord and

not himself.

 

What are seyyaadhana , not to be done? The two things to be

avoided by a bhaktha. They are akrthyakaranam , doing what should not

be done and krthya akaranam, not doing what is to be done. Not

showing reverence to bhaagavathas, holy men, and the Lord Himself in

any form, violence to other beings, coveting property or women of

others, saying evil things and so on belong to the former class of

what should not be done. Krithya akaranam is avoiding what should be

done such as varnasramadharma worship and service to the Lord and

His followers.

 

TheekkuraLai is talking bad about others and Andal says

senrodhom. Odhal is repeating and odhom means ‘we will not repeat

what we hear about others which is theekkurLlai malicious words.

Senrodhom ‘ we will not go and tell others. Usually the gossip

mongers take the trouble of approaching people to tell something

malicious about others like Manthara of Ramayana.

 

AiyamumPichchaiyum- Aiyam is what we give as an offering to

guru and what is given as dhakshina to priests or biksha to sannyasis

or brahmacharis without their asking for it. Pichchai is alms or what

is given as charity.

 

Aamthanaiyum kaikaatti- We should give to the best of our

ability. A poor man giving few rupees to a needy is a greater charity

than a rich man giving hundreds while he can very well afford much

more.

 

UyyumaareNNi †" to experience the joy of thinking about the

attributes of the Lord. To think of Krishna produces the waves of

bliss, aanandalahari, because He is the ocean of beauty,

soundaryalahari, of sweetness, maadhuryalahari, of love,

sringaralahari.

 

Uyyum aaru eNNi also means according to the vaishanava

acharyas the six limbs of prapaththi or saranagathi, total surrender.

These ideas recur in later pasurams amd will be explained there.

 

Paarkadalilpayya tthuyinra - He is lying on the milky ocean

as though sleeping . If He really sleeps the world will be destroyed

without His protection. Desika compares Him to a farmer who puts a

shed in his field and come and stays there for the night to protect

his crop. Having created the world He feels that it is His

responsibility to look after it. The crop here is the good souls who

believe in Him and look up to Him for protection. ’Parithranaaya

saadhoonaam vinaasaaya cha dhushkrthaam.’

Paraman- He is the supreme self. Upanishad says, ‘na

thathsamaschaabhyadhikascha vidhyathe,’ there is none equal or

superior. The same idea is expressed by Nammazvar in the opening

verse of Thiruvaimozi ‘ uyarvaravuyarnalam udaiyavan yavanavan.’

Arjuna says, witnessing the cosmic form of the Lord, ‘ na

thvathsamo asthi abhyadhikah kutho anyo.’

 

Adipaadi - Of all the limbs of the Lord the feet are the

most sought after because when one catches the feet of a person he

cannot escape! Narayana Bhattadri says of th feet of the

Lord ‘yogeendhraanaam thvadhangeshvadhika sumadhuram mukthibhaajaam

nivasah, bhakthaanaam kaamavarshadyutharukisalayam naatha the

paadhamoolam,’. The whole thiruppavai speaks of saranagathi or

surrender and hence the importance to the feet.

 

The first thiruppavai refers to the ashtaakshara manthra ‘ om

namo narayanaya’ as denoted by the words ‘narayanane namakke parai

tharuvaan.’ This pasuram tells about the glory of the dvaya manthra,

namely, shrimannaraayanacharanou saranam prapadhye shreemathe

naaraayanaaya namah’ Hence the reference to the

thiruvadi, ‘charanou.’ The next pasuram ‘ongi ulagalandha’ refers to

the charamasloka of the Gita’ sarvadharmaan parithyajyu’ . Thus the

first three verses extol the three sacred manthras of vaishnava

prapaththimarga. Hence the three manthras are called rahasyathraya.

Rahasya here does not mean secret not to be told to anyone as

otherwise Ramanuja would not have shouted the moola manthra from the

temple tower but it means that in order to make it effective one has

to learn it from the acharya with faith and devotion. That is the

secret, the rahasya.

 

 

 

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