Andal Tirunakshatram

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Sri:

 

SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,

 

Dear Bhaktas,

 

On this most sacred Tiruvadi Pooram day, the Tirunakshatram of

Andal, adiyen wishes to share the following reflections.

Srivilliputtur, the birth place of Andal is sanctified because,

Andal chose to incarnate there. Unlike avatarams of the Lord where

He incarnated through GarbhavAsam, Andal was found by Periya Azhwar

in his flower garden. Therefore, Her birth was Avirbhava. It is

significant to note that two months of the year designated as Shoonya

masams are -Adi and Marghazhi. Significantly, both of these months

have been rendered sacred by Andal-Adi due to Her incarnation and

Marghazi due to the brilliant delivery of the Tiruppavai verses, at

the end of which She attained eternal union with Lord Narayana.

Significantly, Lord Krishna Himself declares in the Bhagavad

Gita " mAsAnAm marghashIrshOsmi " (among the months I am the

MargashIrsha) in anticipation of His union with Andal. For Andal,

expression of Her pangs of separation from Her Beloved (Lord

Narayana) came naturally. Therefore, She did not need to adopt Nayaki

Bhavam in her outpourings like Swami NammAzhwar or Tirumangai Azhwar.

 

Andal, being an Amsham of Bhumi Piratti is the epitome of

compassion. This is glorified in the Purusha Sooktam rk " HrIscha thE

lakshmIscha pathnyoU " . The term Hri denotes compassion- Andal's

compassion. Since Lord Narayana is the father of the entire universe,

Andal as His consort becomes the mother of the entire universe. Her

limitless compassion for Her children (erring baddha jIvans, who are

subject to a seemingly endless cycle of births and deaths), who

perform SharaNagati manifests itself in the form of Her impassioned

appeals to Lord Narayana to forgive their sins. The act of granting

refuge to a Prapanna is a yajna performed by Lord Narayana. The term

Patni is reserved for exclusive use in the context of yajna. Andal's

elevated role in this yajna of protecting Prapannas is glorified in

the Bhu Sooktam Rk " shrungE shrungE yajnE yajnE viBhishaNIi "

 

A remarkable feature of Andal's incarnation is the harmonious unison

of theory and practice underlying SharaNagati. We may remember that

when Bhumi Piratti was rescued from the depths of the ocean by Lord

Narayana, in his incarnation as Varaha (jnAna Piran) as described in

the vedic tribute " udhtruthAsi varahENa krishNEna shatha bAhunA " , her

overwhleming compassion for Her Children (errant baddha jivans) took

the form of a question seeking the upayam for redemption. The

response from Bhagavan Varaha is the famous Varaha Charma Shlokam,

which briefly outlines the theoretical principles underlying

SharaNagati. We may observe that Swami Desikan dedicates an entire

Chillarai Rahasyam entitled " rahasya shiKhamaNi " to the discussion of

the esoteric meanings underlying the Varaha Charma Shlokam.

 

Not satisfied with this, Andal's extreme compassion for Her children

is such that She undertook the performance of the Vratam (nombu ) of

SharaNagati to illustrate the jiVatma-ParamAtma relationship. The 30

verses of Tiruppavai contain a consummate description of this

relationship, which has been elaborated upon in the Upanishads and in

the Bhagavad Gita. It is instructive to note that recitation of Vedic

hymns have significant restrictions in that one must be aware of the

time and place to recite these hymns. Furthermore, not everyone is

qualified to recite these hymns. Some hymns can be recited only by

Gruhastas, while some are the privy of Sanyasis alone and so forth.

Whereas no such restrictions apply to the recitation of verses from

Tiruppavai. Also, the Vedas are quite cryptic in their reference to

the margam of SharaNagati. Therefore, they are often termed as Marai

(that which is not visible to the naked eye). However, Andal being an

Amsham of Bhumi Piratti beautifully intuited the nuances and

prescriptions of SharaNagati from the Vedas and described it a

simple-

to-understand language using 30 delectable verses of Tiruppavai. The

following important messages are contained in this outstanding

literary masterpiece.

 

(1) Every jivAtma is irrevocably the property of the ParamAtma, Lord

Narayana, who is its Sheshi, ruler, Swami.

(2) The existence and activities of every jivAtma are solely for the

pleasure of Lord Narayana.

 

Andal illustrates (1) and (2) through the " ariyAdha piLLaihaLO "

salutation in the Tiruppavai.

 

(3) The surest way to restore the property (jivAtma) to its rightful

owner is through the path of unconditional, total surrender to the

Lord's Lotus Feet, i.e., SharaNagati

(4) The performance of sharaNagati is simply Atma vivAham, i.e., a

wedding between the jivAtma and the Paramatma

(5) The rules underlying the performance of this nOmbu are clearly

stated in the Tiruppavai. For example, verse 2 elaborates on the

yama and niyama exercises. The term yama means that which must be

given up, whereas the term niyama means that which must not be given

up, i.e., that which must be followed. Some of the rules contained

here are significant in that they echo important upanishadic

messages. First, upon waking up one must recite the name of Lord

Narayana-this seems to be the basis of Swami Desikan's Vaishnava

Dinasari, where he notes that upon waking up one must recite the name

Hari 7 times. Next, Andal discusses that which must be given up-

neyyuNNOm pAluNNOm. This is not interpreted to mean that one must

give up partaking of ghee and milk. However, it is merely an

instruction that these should be partaken only upon offering to Lord

Narayana. Further, Andal discusses what must be given in charity.

This is a remarkable echo of the Taittriya Upanishad

salutations " shraddaya DhEyam " and " shriyA DhEyam " and the Dharma

Shastras (Manu Smriti for example) which contain stipulations for

setting apart a percentage of one's income for

charitable/philanthrophic purposes. Exponents of Yoga have also

commented that verse 2 is a prescription for faciliatating the

realization that Lord Narayana who resides in the milky ocean is

forever resident in the lotus of one's heart. This illustrates the

Mahanarayana upanishad salutation " yOanta samudhrE kavayO vayanti "

(6) The thirty verses of the tiruppavai represent the condensed

essence of the esoteric messages contained in the three Srivaishnava

rahasyams. The gist of these three rahasyams is that (i) Lord

Narayana is the supreme being-Tattvam (ii) Performance of

SharaNagati (unconditional, total surrender) at His Lotus Feet is the

surest way of redemption-Hitam (iii) Upon performance of SharaNagati,

one must take delight in performing Kaimkaryam for Lord Narayana, His

Bhagavatas, and Acharyas. Nithya Kaimkaryam at the behest and for

the pleasure of the Divine Couple follows at the end of one's earthly

existence-PurushArtham

(7) It may be questioned as to what is the authority for performing

this Nombu of SharaNagati? Andal answers this through the

salutation " melayAr seyvanagal " , i.e. treading the path established

by elders. The reference here is to the mahOpakaram of Swami

NammAzhwar-the Prapanna jana Kootasthar, who established the

efficacy of SharaNagati beyond doubt.

(8) The salutation " unakkE nAmAchaIvOm " is the condensed essence of

the sAma vedam, which glorifies Lord Narayana to the exclusion of

all other deities.

(9) The glorification of Lord Narayana as dhamOdharanE is a succinct

illustration of the Bhrahma

Sutra " janmAdhyasyayathOnvayAdhitharaThaschArthEshva vijnya svarAt "

 

Swami Desikan's Goda Stuthi follows the path of Andal's 30

verses in letter and spirit. Specifically, Swami Desikan's opening

contains a surrender to the Lotus Feet of Goda " . In the concluding

verse of this Stuthi, Swami Desikan elqouently describes the fruit

of this surrender through the salutation " charaNa kamala sevAm

shAshvatIm abhyupAishyan " . The bountiful blessings arising from the

performance of SharaNagati are also described by Swami Desikan as he

echoes the message of Andal's " shara mazhai pOl " salutation in the

Daya Shatakam verse " shArnga DhanvAnukampa " It is instructive to note

that in the war against Ravana, after the killing of Indrajit, Ravana

was grief stricken and orderd his fiercest hordes of demons to launch

a full scale offensive on Lord Rama and the Vanara army. The Vanara

army suffered heavy casualties as a result of this attack by the

asuras, who used the darkness of the night to full advantage. Lord

Rama entered the fray at this juncture and rained an unending stream

of arrows from his bow, which effortlessly repelled the attack of the

Asuras. Adikavi, Valmiki, states in the Ramayana that the arrows came

so swiftly from Lord Rama's bow that it appeared as if a multitude of

Ramas were present on the battlefield. This is illustrative of the

fact that every baddha jIvan is unaware of its true swaroopam and is

thus steeped in the darkness of ignorance on account of its bondage

to samsara by the rope of Karma. Sri Sookthis from Acharyas

bestow the light of knowledge upon the Baddha jIvan causing the

baddha jivan to realize its true swaroopam (eternal servitude to Lord

Narayana), resulting in the performance of Prapatti. The bountiful

fruits arising from the performance of Prapatti are akin to the

copious stream of arrows from Lord Rama's bow. This is indicative of

the Vedic messages " tamasOmA jyOtirgamayA " and 'mruthyOrmA amruthanga

mayA " . The bliss arising from the performance of eternal Kaimkaryam

at the behest and for the pleasure of the Divine Couple is described

in the VishNu Sooktam Rk " Tad vishNO: Paramam padagam sadhA

pashyanthi soorayaha " and the Taittriya Upanishad salutations " sa

yEkO brahmaNa Ananda: " , " AhamannAdO " and the Chandogya Upanishad

salutation " na cha purnarAvarthathE na cha purnarAvarthathE " .

 

Happy Birthday Amma!

 

Namo Narayana,

 

SriMuralidhara Dasan