Thiruvaimozi-1.5.6

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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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