Neeraatta kuLam (ThirumukkuLam) in Srivilliputhur

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namperumAL – SriRangam

THIRUPPAVAI

INTRODUCTION

Andal, like Sita Piratti was born at Rangamannar’s nandavanam, just like the ethereal fragrance of the tulasi growing nearby. After she attained a marriageable age, when Periyazhwar was searching for a groom, Andal said, “If you get me married to mere mortals, I shall not wish to live, I shall not allow you to do so, I shall get wed to Paraman alone”. Whenever Azhwar used to sing the glories of the Perumals of the hundred and eight divya deshams, and whenever he mentioned about Arangan, His divine form and the beauty of His thirumeni, she used to feel mesmerized and shed tears of joy and at the same time feel thrilled. She, like the gopikas of Nandagokulam, decided to get married to Kannan alone and adorned Herself with attire similar to that of the Gopis and would talk hours together like them and observed the “Paavai” nombu or festival. These actions were sung by her as Thiruppavai. This is also referred to as Godai Tamizh that is “ஒரு பெண்ணின் தமிழ்” a girl’s tamizh. The Tamizh sung by those born as a female. Other divyaprabandhams are tamizh, which have been basically sung by Azhwars who were male with naayaka­naayaki bhavam or bridal mysticism.

Thiruppavai can give one a divine experience of unity with Bhagavan.

“மதுரையில் சங்கப்பலைக ஏற்றுக்கொண்ட பாக்கைளக் கொண்டது” – It is based on those pasurams which were accepted by the changa palakai at Madhurai, that is Thiruvaimozhi. Kodai says “சங்க தமிழ் மாைல முப்பதும் தப்பாமே”, one who sings this garland of pasurams in changattamizh, shall definitely get the divine blessings of Thirumal. There are certain periods for Vedam, when it should not be recited, but for a few days, Thiruppavai can be recited at all other times. The shastras taught to us by our parents are two in number. The first one being Geethai taught by our father Kannan. The other one being taught to us is by our mother, which is Thiruppavai. Its glory is said thus “வேதம் அைநத்துக்கும் வித்தாகும்”, that is Vedam is the basis for everything. And so it is said that one who does not know these (5 x 5 + 5 = 30) thirty pasurams of Thiruppavai is a burden to the earth. There are six main topics in Thiruppavai –

1. Paavai nombu – The observance of paavai festival

2. Going together for observing the paavai nombu

3. Awakening Kannan

4. Singing the glories of Kannan

5. Preaching

6. Sharanagathi or Self surrender

Andal talks about the above in the same order mentioned.

Andal becomes an acharya to Bhagavan for having taught him of his own duties. The shastras proclaim that a pupil can eat the left overs of his acharya. It is for the same reason as to why Rangamannar wishes to adorn the flower garland of Andal after her having worn it. This is conveyed by her name “சூடிக்கொடுத்த நாச்சியார்”. Just like Gopis, Andal takes all her friends and others to observe the festival of paavai and having preached them the ultimate truths, helps everyone to perform sharanagathi at the lotus feet of the Lord to attain the eternal bliss of moksham.

***

THIRUPPAVAI

anna vayaRpudhuvai aandaaL arangaRku(p)
pannu thiruppaavai(p) palpadhiyam
innisaiyaal paadikkoduththaaL naRpaamaalai
poomaalai soodi(k) koduththaaLai(ch) chollu

soodi(k) koduththa sudar(k) kodiyE tholpaavai
paadi aruLavalla palvaLaiyaay
naadi nee vEngadavaRku ennai vidhi onRa immaatram
naangadavaa vaNNamE nalgu.

PASURAM 1

maargazhi(th) thingaL madhi niRaindha nannaaLaal neeraada(p) pOdhuveer pOdhuminO nErizhaiyeer seer malgum aayppaadi(ch) chelva(ch) chiRumeergaaL koorvEl kodundhozhilan nandhagOpan kumaran Eraarndha kaNNi yasOdhai iLam singam kaar mEni cengaN kadhir madhiyam pOl mugaththaan naaraayaNanE namakkE paRai tharuvaan paarOr pugazha(p) padindhElOr empaavaai

Having decided to observe the paavai nombu, providence paved the way for an auspicious day and that was the month of margazhi. This month of margazhi is very divine as Kannan in His geethai says, “Amongst the months, I shall be margazhi”. The Margazhi sky that is beautiful with a full moon is the dawn of the day to all the Devas. On an auspicious day like this, she along with her friends bathes in the river and sets out to meet Kannan and sing about Him.

Andal says, “Dear girls, you were earlier playing joyfully with Kannan. But, after you grew up to a certain age your parents stopped you from doing so. But, now they have given you their permission to go with Kannan and observe this festival”. The young maids, looking bright and decked with beautiful ornaments, set out in great delight, taking with them all that was necessary for the travel. “Our Aayarpadi is full of great herds of cattle. You are about to beget the rare treasure of divine communion with our Lord Kannan, who is totally blemishless”.

“Before the birth of our Kannan, Nandagopar was very mild and submissive. But now he has become very strict and vigilant. The reason for this is because he does not want our Kannan to get hurt in any way whatsoever. He even drives away flies and ants with a sharp spear. You might be thinking that Kannan who at present has such a tight security and luxury might not be allowed to come with us to perform the nombu. But, do not fear. He is the little lion cub of Yashoda. Just as Kausalya has great fame for being Lord Sri Rama’s mother, so does Yashoda for being Kannan’s mother. When Kausalya could permit Sri Rama to go to the forest upon the request of a sage, Yashoda might not object to us taking Kannan only for the observance of a nombu. Is He not a lion, the Nrusimhaavataaram of Lord Sriman Narayana? The beauty of His thirumeni which is of the color of a water bearing cloud, the beauty of His eyes which look like a bloomed lotus are mesmerizing us and inspiring us to observe this nombu with Him. His face looks like a beautifully lit sky with pournami chandra (full moon). His face is as powerful as the rays of the Sun, which punishes evildoers. For bhaktas (devotees) like us, he presents Himself as a beautiful bright moon. So let us shed all fears and go with Him and observe the nombu. He shall provide great music in soft tones to our nombu. (“உன் தன்னோடு உற்றோமே ஆேவாம் உனக்கே நாம் ஆட்ச்செய்வோம்"). Let us achieve the ultimate by worshipping Lord Kannan who is Sriman Narayana and so come quickly all of you” said she.

PASURAM 2

vaiyaththu vaazhveergaaL naamum nampaavaikku(ch) cheyyum kirisaigaL kELeerO paaRkadaluL paiya(th) thuyinRa paramanadi paadi neyyuNNOm paaluNNOm naatkaalE neeraadi maiyittu ezhudhOm malarittu naam mudiyOm seyyaadhana seyyOm theekkuRaLai(ch) chenROdhOm aiyamum pichchaiyum aandhanaiyum kai kaatti uyyumaaReNNi ugandhElOr empaavaai.

Having dipped herself in the ever­full pond of Bhagavad anubhavam, she makes everyone drink the divine anugraham of Kannan, which is like cool potable water and begins to speak of the means of surrender to attain moksha and also about the divine qualities of noble people. She also invites all those who are interested in seeing Kannan and experiencing Him. She speaks of the means to attain Bhagavan here. She says, “Having heard of our grievances and shortcomings, He shall come running to protect us, but we should still perform our ordained duties regularly. Those that should not be done and should be avoided are six. During the time of observance of the vratham, one shall not consume ghee, one shall not drink milk, one shall not use things that attract others towards them like applying collyrium (mai) to the eyes or using fragrant materials, one shall not adorn flowers, one shall not perform any forbidden acts, one shall not hurt others by their words and should conduct themselves with discipline. One shall dip oneself in the holy water, dance and sing in praise of the Lord, shall give alms to those who ask as well as to those who do not, shall perform their ordained duties well and should happily sing and contemplate on the glories of Paraman who is reclining at Thiruppaarkadal. Contemplate on the lotus feet of the Lord and surrender unto them and that shall give us moksham”. The Azhwars sung the holy feet of the Lord and surrendered unto them. Andal’s father Periyaazhwar praised the lotus feet of the Lord by singing “உன் சேவடி செவ்வித்திருக்காப்பு”. Swamy Deshikan sang Thiruvengadamalai as “கண்ணன் அடியிணை எமக்குக்காட்க்கும் வெற்பு”. Bhagavad Ramanuja in his gadyam preached to contemplate on the dvaya manthra, which showed the way of surrendering at the Lord’s feet.

Why is it that Godai here refers to the Paraman reclining on the milky ocean (paarkadal)? It is because when Paraman is in His reclining posture, only then can one enjoy His beauty to the fullest extent. Vishvamitrar, who tried to wake Sri Rama up, dipped himself in His beauty and totally forgetting his purpose, stood admiring Sri Rama thinking that Kausalya has been blessed really to experience this divine beauty of the Lord everyday for twelve years. Andal, who experiences this divine “bhoga nidra” of the Lord, wishes that everyone should be blessed with the same bhagyam. She therefore sings in praise of the Lord’s lotus feet to spiritually elevate His subjects. She assures them that if they wake up early in the morning and take a bath, then they shall definitely be the recipients of Bhagavad anugraham. What is hunger in front of Bhagavad anubhavam? Once you are immersed in Bhagavad anubhavam, you would not have the appetite to consume ghee or drink milk. After that, the food you take, the beetle leaves you eat or the water you drink shall all be Kannan alone.

Here Paarkadal also means Gokulam. In each house, healthy cows give lots of milk and the pots get filled and overflow. Is it not to awaken Kannan who is reclining in Nandagopa’s house that Andal is calling all of her friends to join her? Also during the time of observance of the festival, if an acharya or a brahmachari or sanyasi come to us, then we should honor them by giving them whatever we have with us. If we have nothing with us to offer, then at least we should help them by sending them to those have the capability to give them something.

In this way Andal preaches the means to attain moksham to everybody in this samsaara and helps him or her to spiritually elevate themselves. She preaches the means of sharanagathi, that is the jivatma after having lost itself, decides to relinquish all the evil ways and to accept the right path and, with full confidence and belief in Paraman, pleads at His feet for protection and submits itself at His feet along with the burden of its protection.

PASURAM 3

Ongi ulagaLandha uththaman pEr paadi naangaL nam paavaikku(ch) chaatri neeraadinaal theenginRi naadellaam thingaL mum maari peydhu Ongu peRum senN nel oodu kayalugaLa(p) poonguvaLai(p) pOdhil poRi vandu kaN paduppa(th) thEngaadhE pukkirundhu seerththa mulai patri vaanga kudam niRaikkum vaLLal perum pasukkaL neengaadha selvam niRaindhElOr empaavaai

In this verse Andal speaks about the results obtained after observing the act of Sharanagati. The fruits are basically two fold. The first one being the eternal bliss of moksham. Attaining divine communion with Kannan is a unique achievement for girls of Aayarpadi alone. The other fruits experienced by all the folks of Aayarpadi are a good harvest due to good rains and lots of food, cattle and wealth. Having sung Srivaikunthanathan in the first verse, she then moves on in the second verse to sing Ksheeraabdhinathan in His yoganidra, who has come down a little from Srivaikuntham to hear to the pleads of His subjects and to protect them. From there, Andal embarks on singing the third verse on Vamanan, who lived on this Earth amongst us during His incarnation.

Mahabali ruled over all the worlds that belonged to the Devas. The Devas prayed to the Lord to free their worlds from the hands of Mahabali. Though Mahabali had occupied the property of others, He still was a very pious man and lived like a sage. Due to this, Paraman did not wish to kill him to free the lands of Devas. Mahabali once performed a yaga and gave lots of gifts in charity to many pious people who had come there. Paraman having known this incarnated as the son of Kashyapa Rishi and attended the yagam of Mahabali as a small boy and asked him to give three feet of land as dhaanam (charity). Though Shukracharya tried to prevent Mahabali from giving this dhaanam, Mahabali was so pleased knowing that Paraman Himself is asking for something from him and said, “You are given the land you asked for”. Vamanan then grew as Trivikraman and measured the whole earth with one step and the entire sky with the second step; finding no place for the third step, Mahabali with folded hands requested the Lord to place His foot on his head and gave away all the land of the Devas he was ruling over.

“In this way, just like the way He protected the Devas, Paraman shall unfailingly protect us who, (after bathing in the holy river) perform Sharanagathi at His lotus feet. So let us sing the divine glories of Uththaman, the Lord who protects others at His own expense. Singing the names of Keshavan is capable of giving more fruits of benefit than by worshipping Him. Just like how the subjects of Ayodhya attained great benefits in this world and in the higher worlds by singing Rama Rama Rama, let us do so and attain the same bliss”.

“One rainfall for the great knowers of Veda, one rainfall for the virtuous (chaste) character of the womenfolk and one rainfall for the King who upholds law and justice. Similar to this saying, due to these three kinds of rainfall in the month, the land is free from the evils of floods and drought, it is rich and wealthy with crops and the cattle are healthy and give abundant milk. Along with this we also get our eternal treasure, Kannan. So let us sing the names of Kannan and take a dip in the Holy River and go to meet Him”. So saying she called all of her friends and moved along.

Just like how a cow gives milk to its calf, acharyas feed Brahmajnanam to the pupils who surrender at their feet. This is the gist of this pasuram.

PASURAM 4

aazhi mazhai(k) kaNNaa onRu nee kai karavEl aazhi uL pukku mugandhu kodu aarthu ERi oozhi mudhalvan uruvam pOl mey kaRuththu(p) paazhii am thOLudai(p) paRpanaaban kaiyil aazhi pOl minni valamburi pOl ninRu adhirndhu thaazhaadhE saarnga mudhaiththa sara mazhai pOl vaazha ulaginil peydhidaay naangaLum maargazhi neeraada magizhndhElOr empaavaai

In this pasuram the greatness of the devotees of the Lord are being told. When Andal, along with Her friends set out to take a holy dip, the Lord of rain comes and stands in front of them. All the other celestials would be waiting to perform some service to the devotees of Paraman. Even Yama says to his followers, “Do not go near people who recite the holy name of Paraman”. Such is the greatness of Bhaagavathas.

Andal, the very incarnation of mother Earth after having seen the Lord of the rains in front of her ordered him thus “You should make sure without exception that the entire land gets a good uniform rainfall regularly”. Piraatti’s compassion has no discrimination. When the demons set fire to the tail of Hanuman, she had ordered “Fire, you shall not harm Hanuman with your scorching flames, but shall give him a pleasant cooling effect”. When Ravana was making adverse remarks at Sitai and though she had the power to burn him into ashes, she did not use it. Andal’s compassion is similar in nature. “Oh! Lord of rain, take lots of water from the ocean, and become dark in hue like Paraman, who is the sole savior and the material and instrumental cause of this universe. Shine like the discus in His right hand, reverberate like the valamuri conch in His left hand and rain down like the arrows shot from His bow”, says Andal. Valmiki says, “When Sri Rama killed around fourteen thousand demons at Janasthanam, then nobody ever looked at Him take His bow, fix an arrow and drag the string till His ear and shoot it at lightening speed. Everyone just watched the demons fall down. It was Andal’s wish that a dry Aayarpadi should be getting lots of rains, that is an acharya and his deeds are being talked about in this pasuram.

Acharyan is the one who has full knowledge of Brahman (Brahma jnanam), who has totally dissociated himself from anything other than Paraman. He is the one who performs the ordained duties without fail (nithya naimitthika karma), one who has dipped himself in the ocean of divine attributes of Paraman, one who constantly contemplates on these divine attributes of the Lord and sheds tears of joy. Just like how a cloud takes away pure water from the salty waters of the ocean and showers it as cool potable water, an acharyan preaches the Bhagavad vishayam and tatvams (truths), which are the most distilled essence of the Vedas. Similar to how the clouds tend to move with breeze and cause rains at different places, so does an acharyan move from place to place and cause (jnana mazhai) rain of wisdom and truths.

Just like a water bearing cloud, an Acharya is one who gives knowledge but does not expect anything in return. This pasuram teaches us that it is only through an Acharyan’s anugraham that one could ever attain Paraman.

PASURAM 5

maayanai mannu vada madhurai maindhanai(th) thooya peru neer yamunai(th) thuRaivanai aayar kulaththinil thOnRum aNi viLakkai(th) thaayai(k) kudal viLakkam seydha dhaamOdharanai(th) thooyOmaay vandhu naam thoomalar thoovi(th) thozhudhu vaayinaal paadi manaththinaal sindhikka(p) pOya pizhaiyum pugudharuvaan ninRanavum theeyinil thoosaagum cheppElOr empaavaai

This pasuram speaks of ways to remove all sins. One of Andal’s friends says, “We are going to observe a festival. But are you sure we will not have any impediments that will prevent us from observing the nombu. It is said that a good deed has a thousand impediments while a bad one has none. It was sage Vasishtar who had fixed a day for the crowning ceremony of Sri Rama, All His subjects prayed to their ishta devathai (favored God) for the ceremony to go without any impediment. Even Sri Rama and Sita prayed to Lord Aranga throughout the night. But still, the crowning ceremony never took place. Why?”

Another friend of Andal says, “Good things begin to happen if the Lord is contemplated upon always. Bad things begin to distance themselves farther. It is similar to drinking thick pure cow’s milk that gives great pleasure and at the same time drives away pittam. If Paraman is prayed with all sincerity, not only can we finish our nombu but also the impediments in its way will automatically get driven away. But then how come Sri Rama’s crowning ceremony was stopped? Sri Rama never heeded to his own interests. Maayan is very strange. He stopped his own crowning ceremony (pattabhishekam) so that the crowning ceremonies for his devotees namely, Padukai, Sugreevan and Vibhishanan can be done first. All His deeds and actions are strange. He converted a stone into a woman (Ahalya episode). Even as a crawling baby, He killed Shakataasuran. He made the waters consecrated by His feet (padateertham) as the sacred Ganga. He created Parikshit in Uttara’s womb. He is a person performing strange lilas.

Not only this. He was born in Mathura (vada madurai) one of the seven kshetrams like Kanchi, which provide Mukti to aspirants. He joyfully took dips in the holy river Yamuna and sanctified it and would play happily on its banks enjoying the food given to Him by His mother. Our devotion increases towards Him after hearing to His playful lilas with Gopis there.

When Vasudevar was taking Kannan to Gokulam, Yamuna gave him way having known who, Kannan was and His greatness as well. Just to get Bhaagavatha thiruvadi sambandham, Yamuna had a small amount of water flowing in the way. Kannan out of mercy allowed Yashoda to tie Him up with a rope. It left marks on His stomach. These marks vouched that their bearer was Kannan, the son of Yashoda. If such great a Lord were to be worshipped with purity of mind, soul and body, and with pure fragrant flowers and thulasi, by singing His names and contemplating on His glories and by surrendering ourselves at His lotus feet, then all the sins committed by us till today, the sins that we are committing now and the sins that shall be committed by us in future shall disappear similar to the way a piece of cotton gets burnt in the fire. We also get the fruit of our bhakti. Our nombu will also get completed without any impediments”.

Our mind, body and words should always mean the same thing. That is one who thinks of something in His mind and speaks of the same and does the same thing with his hands is called a mahatma or a noble soul. At the same time one who thinks of something, says some other thing and does something else is called a duraatma or an evil one. Tradition says that Paraman should be contemplated upon in the mind, praised in words and worshipped with hands. If this tradition is not followed, then after contemplating on the Lord, during the singing of His glories or during worshipping Him, our mind tries to get diverted and starts thinking of something else. This can be experienced. Andal has shown us a way to avoid this. Having said "தூமலர் தூவி தொழுது”­ worshipping with pure fragrant flowers, depicting our act of worshipping, “வாயினால் பாடி” ­ singing verbally, depicting our verbal praise and “மனத்தினால் சிந்திக்க” ­ contemplating on Him through our mind, depicting our mental contemplation of the Lord. But why does she say so? That is because Andal feels that if one can get associated with the Lord by work and words, then a mental association with the Lord follows automatically.

PASURAM 6

puLLum silambina kaaN puLLaraiyan kOyilil veLLai viLi sangin pEraravam kEttilaiyO piLLaay ezhundhiraay pEy mulai nanchundu kaLLa(ch) chakatam kalakkazhiya(k) kaalOchchi veLLaththaravil thuyilamarndha viththinai uLLaththu(k) kondu munivargaLum yOgigaLum meLLa ezhundhu ari enRa pEraravam uLLam pugundhu kuLirndhElOr empaavaai

Andal wishes to worship Bhagavan and experience His glories by going with many of her friends and others. Why? There is an old saying, which states, “ One shall not go alone and try to attain something most desirable”. She wanted to make sure that everyone is an equal recipient of Paraman’s anugraham. Such is the heart of a mother. It is sweeter to experience Paraman when our near and dear ones are with us. And so, Andal wakes up one, who has not joined their group yet, by saying, “It is already morning. Get up and come with us”. “What is the proof?” asked the maid. “We all have woken up and come here.” Says Andal. “Do you have any other proof,” asked her maid. “Yes” says Andal. “Don’t you hear the chirping sounds of the birds? We are also hearing the sound of the conch that is blown in the temple during the (திருப்பள்ளியெழுச்சி) awakening of Paraman, the Lord who has Garudan as his vahanam”. Andal is now thinking of that Lord who heard the plead of a helpless elephant, when it prayed to Him thus “Come Oh Narayana! Manivanna! Lord on the serpent bed, free me from this pain and difficulty” and she is enjoying the beauty of Bhagavan coming in a flash to save His bhaktas.

“Sages who always contemplate on the Lord and ascetics who perform meditation and yoga, get up from their bed during the early hours of the day slowly, without causing any disturbance to the Lord who resides in the lotus of their hearts, and sing his names after waking up. After waking up in the morning, one should recite the name “Hari:” seven times and that shall remove all our sins. In a calm atmosphere, they sing His name “Hari:” slowly in a way of performing aradhanam to the Lord. We are able to hear this divine sound so melodiously. Are you still in doubts?”, says Andal.

“Is it right to remain asleep yet? Wake up Oh Child! Let’s go and have a holy dip”. It is said that in ten pasurams starting with this one, Andal is awakening the ten Azhwars. As per that, this Pasuram awakes Poygai Azhwar. This Azhwar has sung the episodes of Putana vadham and Shakatasura vadham beautifully. Kamsa sent Putana to kill Krishna. She had come in the guise of a mother who would feed the baby and had applied poison to her feeding parts, thinking of killing Kannan by feeding Him. She took Kannan on her lap and pretending to play with Him started feeding Him with poisoned milk. It seems Kannan found that milk very tasty. He drank the milk joyfully. But milk needs sugar. It is said that life is sweet as jaggery. So Kannan drank the milk along with her life. “Those who think of this strange episode of giving milk to a baby will not wish to have another life term as a feeding mother”, says Swamy Deshikan. Kannan gave moksham to Putana for having given Him poisoned milk. “Get up and come Oh child, like the sages who worship Kannan, who is responsible for the destruction of the evil and protection of the good and who is the causal factor for everything. Let us go to the banks of Yamuna and worship Kannan and achieve eternal bliss”, says Andal.

Here the birds are acharyan. The two wings are knowledge (Jnanam) and performance of ordained duties (Karmanushtanam). The white conch denotes pranavam. The acharyas, who have jnanam and anushtanam, preach the purport of pranavam and help their pupils to attain moksham.

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