Arai parai Maayan!

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"Parai"

is the oft-repeated word in Thiruppavai. Its meaning is not just a drum.

The

taathparyam of it can be known from the upadesa of Acharyas and

discourses

by elders and scholars.

 

This

post looks into its implied meaning from the point of view of Tamil lexicon.

From

ancient texts it is learnt that 'arai-parai' is used in specific contexts only.

Arai

means 'paarai' or rock or boulder.

Arai

parai is beating the rock.

When

a rock is beaten (with an axe) it creates a tremendous sound / noise.

Since

it is not easy to beat (or break) the rock, the beating is continuously done.

And

the beating can not be done secretively – the sound reverberates everywhere.

It

is for this reason, when something that is not known or revealed already,

is

needed to be made known to all, 'arai-parai will be done.

 

When

the Cheran king,

Senkuttuvan decided to go to the Himalayas

 

to

get a rock for making Kannagi's image,

he

wanted his trip to the North to be made known to all the kings on the way.

He

said that the spies of those kings were anyway roaming in the streets of his

kingdom

to

gather information on his moves so that they could secretly convey it

to

their respective kings.

'Now

let this trip be known to all without any doubt –

that

I am going to the Himalayas with an army and if anyone

comes in my way,

I

will teach them a lesson. Announce it as 'arai parai', said the king.

(Silappadhikaram, chapter 25, 177 – "arai-parai endrE azhumbil vELuraippa")

 

In

Kural 1076, Thiruvalluvar tells "arai parai anna kayavar".

Arai

parai in this verse is explained by the commentator, ParimElazhagar

 

as

announcing aloud to everyone something which is originally guarded as a secret.

Applying

this meaning to AndaaL's arai parai, we get some

interesting leads.

 

 

This

word is used by AndaaL at the time of knocking the doors of Krishna's

abode.

The

door is closed, prompting AndaaL to ask the door keeper to open it.

Why

should the door keeper take the words of the aayar girls seriously

and

open the door for them?

According to AndaaL he has to open it because

Mayan

MaNivaNNan has said it long ago with the 'arai-parai'

'Arai parai maayan manivanann nennalE vaai nErnthaan'.

Mayan 'munbe vaai vittuvittan' –

Maayan

has given word long ago in strong terms as arai-parai.

 

So

there was something kept as a secret,

which

Mayan Manivannan had announced by means of arai-parai long ago.

Having

got that information,

AndaaL

and her friends have come to his door step.

 

What

could have been the secret that Maayan had announced aloud already?

What

else it can be but the Mayan urai, (Naan mugan

Thiru 50)

known as a secret until then,

and

announced for the mankind in the battlefield at the Dharma

kshethram!

The

Mayan urai is nothing but the Charama slokam of

Mayan, the Gitacharyan.

asking us to renounce even the fruits of our

action and

surrender

unto His feet.

 

Starting

from the 1st paasuram to the 29th,

one can see this Mayan urai implied by the paRai.

 

 

In the 1st paasuram, " narayananE namakkE paRai tharuvAn " -

Narayana will certainly give us also ( as He did to Arjuna) the upaaya to reach

Him. That is why we have begun the Maargazhi nOnbu.

 

(Pasuram 8) We know the message of the 'parai – urai'

He had given and let us go to Him with that. He would certainly receive us and analyze

our case with Aha-kaaram. Because He is not an

easy person like Chakravarrthgy Thirumagan. He would expect us to give up even

our "puNyam". (Mumukshuppadi 247)

 

This

aspect is further emphasized in Pasuram 10 – "pOttra

–p-parai tharum pUniyanaal"

 

We

have come with that parai-urai to His door step (pasuram

16)

We

should not be stopped, because 'aarai –parai Mayan

manivanann nennale vaai nernthaan'.

He

has announced loudly for everyone to know that if we follow this method of

surrender, He would relieve us of all our karma.

 

Like

Arjuna who took refuge in the Nedu maal, we too have left everything to Him.

"arutthitthu vandhOm pari tharuthiuaaagil" (pasuram 25). He accepted Arjuna's prapatthi by

declaring him to be His 'nimittham' – the tool – (BG

11-33). He accepted his services while at the same time had given him happiness. This Nedu maal in the nature of

Kalaagni, will accept our prapatthi too.

 

The

prapatthi has been accepted by Him as how He accepted Arjuna's pleading.

To

Arjuna, He showed His Vishwa roopam.

For

us, He is showing Himself with His ayudhas, to the singing of Pallandu

accompanied with Saala-p-perum parai (pasuram 26).

The

para- vasthu that received the 'Pallandu' from my father gave my father the big benefit of saala –p-perum parai.

But we are small ones, just content with our siru parai. For us His blessings

from a small bed on banyan leaf itself would do!! "aalin

ilaiyaai arulel"

 

The

benefit of this parai-urai - 'paadi-p-parai kondu yaam perum sanmaanam'

is

actually the recovery of what we pledged to give up! (pasuram

27)

The

(joy of ) Punyam that He demanded -

we

will get all that in addition to the pleasure of "koodi

irutthal"

in

company with you – like how Arjuna enjoyed your company.

 

All

these days we have called you names – like how Arjuna did. (BG 13- 41 & 42)

But

you did not disown Arjuna for that nor get angry with him

Please

do the same to us also and bless us with your parai-urai.

"siru per azhatthanavum seeri arulaadhE, Iraiva nee thaarai parai". (pasuram 28)

 

"Ittrai parai koLvaan andru kaaN" (pasuram 29)

We

have not come for a favour for today. Arjuna did not stop with the favour you

did to him in the battlefield. He continued to follow you. In the same way we

will also be with you for all times to come.

For

that to happen you have to remove all other thoughts in us.

When

can such a state of not having any thoughts other than you happen?

When

you reign us as the Yogeshwaran in out heart, directing us to do what you wish,

 

as

you did to Arjuna,

"yathra yogeshwara krishnO, yathra paarthO dhanur dhara:"

When you enter our minds and occupy it completely,

 

"anga parai konda aatrrai"- (pasuram

30)

the

purpose of giving us your parai-urai is completed.

 

In

a nutshell, AndaaL tells about the Urai He has given to Arjuna as a kind of

loud announcement that was held a secret (of Moksha) until then.

Believing

His Urai as the ultimate secret now known to all of us, we undertake all steps

to fulfill your demands. We have come to you,

expecting you to analyse and accept our case as fit for Moksha. We care

less about what punyam we have gathered. Now all that is punyam is yours. Like

Arjuna who had seen you in your wonderful form, you have shown us in your great

form as you showed to Vishnu Chitthar. Like Arjuna we too are rendering ourselves

to do 'sevakam' to you. Like Arjuna who received the 'sanmaanam', we too want

to have the sanmaana of being with you always. Lastly, you completely

occupied Arjuna as His Sarathy – as his yOgeshwaran – as the Inner force

driving him. Do that to us also by occupying our minds.

-The

state of moksha of the 'aNukkargaL' having Him pervading their self

(Vishu chitthar vakku) (Mumukhuppadi 227)

-the

state of Mutthannar,

Mukundanaar pugundhu nammuL mevudhal – of pervading us (Thiru-ch-chanda viruttham) (Mumukshuppadi 228)

-the

similar state that Arjuna enjoyed with Yogeshwara Krishnan occupying him,

that

is the state given to us as His "Vaarthai" (Thiruvai mozhi 7-5-10)

-the

Urai of Mayan, of 'kadal kidakkum Mayan',

of

'aattrankarai kidakkum Kannan', (Naanmugan

Thioruvandhathi 50),

that

ensures that we will be "Relieved"

 

That

vaartthai in encapsulated in a simple 'parai' of AndaaL.

The

parai is the vaarthai. It is the Urai of Maayan.

 

Post- thinking:-

Why

the Mayan urai had become the 'arai parai',

-

a secret until then, to be announced

aloud by Krishna?

It

is perhaps to do with the change of Yuga.

 

The

world had been like this – pre - Krishna and

post-krishna period.

The

Varaha charama

sloka was the ruling sloka for salvation in pre-Krishna period.

The

finds at the Indus –Saraswad regions (popularly known as

Harappan excavations)

indicate

a post Vedic culture that glorified 'Eka-shringi'

– a single horned God.

It

is none other than Lord Varaha who was

worshipped

since

the time the earth was lifted up from the waters.

He

was praised as Eka-shringan and Maha-shringan

who established Dharma

soon

after recovering the worlds.

His

influence had lived on till Krishnavathara and even after

as

seen in the Saraswad excavations

 

But

with the loss of civilization in the pralaya that followed Krishna's

exit,

Varaha

charama could have been lost and the more recent avatar of Krishna

 

was

well remembered.

Also

the change of dharma and deterioration of Dharma in Kali

found

it easier to adapt the Urai of Mayan than that of Varaha.

 

Outwardly

the Varaha- salvation manthra looks easier.

But

it calls for non-stop thinking of Him.

The

only time you can be excused is at death bed,

when

your senses may not be under your control.

Lord

Varaha assures that He will remember one at his hour of death –

even

though the person will be incapable of remembering him then.

There

is no conditional clause given by Lord Varaha.

The

qualities expected are belief in god as root cause,

as

one who commands from within,

as

the all pervasive, Ultimate who is near us all the time

and

as one who alone is to be worshiped .

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2525551/varaha-puranam

 

 

But

in Kaliyuga, the wandering mind of people can not get its focus fixed on the

Lord.

The

prescription in this scenario given by Krishna is just

not to worry about anything.

Give

up everything,

Dedicate

everything to Him – even the bad act to be done.

He

will take care.

 

Post-Krishna,

 

Varaha charama sloka had to be replaced with Krishna charama sloka.

which

He declared in the midst of a terrible

battle field

in

the nature of samsara of our lives.

That

urai has been brought to us –

the

people in the nature of sleepy and lethargic little girls of Aayarpaadi,

by

the beating of the parai by AndaaL.

 

Van pudhuvai nagar kOdhai malar padhangaL vAzhiyE!