nachiyar.: December 2016

This explanation is by Dr. Saroja Ramanujam. giving a different perspective. makes interesting reading.

Andal of SouthIndia was like Meera of the North, great devotee of Lord Narayana from her childhood... Andal wanted to marry only the Lord and unlike Meera her father did not force her. As fortunately he was also a great devotee. She observed the vow of Pavai nonbu in the month of Margazi collecting the girls in Srivillipuththur where she lived and sang the verses which are famous today as Thiruppavai. The work is steeped in Bhakthi and extolled as being capable of destroying sins, showing the path to attain the feet of the Lord and it is said to contain the essence of the vedas because it describes the Lord and the means of attaining Him.

The story goes that Bhoodevi on being rescued from the depth of the ocean asked Lord Varaha to tell her by which easy way can help her children on earth attain Him.

Varahamurthi bade her to take birth as Godha to teach the humanity the path of devotion. Thus Sookaramurthi has shown the sukara, easy to do upaya.

Tomorrow is the first day of margazhi and this year I am trying a new approach to Thiru[ppavai.

This is a new approach to Thiruppavai as a conversation between the Lord and Godhaa after her marriage and her return to Vaikunta as bhoodevi which will star from tomorrow .

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

Andal is married to Ranganatha and back in vaikunta as Bhoodevi. The Lord wished to hear her Thiruppavai again and started conversing with her.
“My dear why did you choose the month of Margazhi to sing the Thiruppavai/?”
“My Lord as if you do not know ? Haven’t you said I am the Margasirshaa among the months? Moreover among your twelve names Kesava is the name for margazhi.
What is so special about it you ask? Ka is Brahma , isa is Siva and you are the one who has both in your control being Narayana, the parabrahman. Ka, esa and va denotes one who has them in His vasa.”
“Oh! Moreover Margazhi is the month which denotes the small hours of the morning for the devas” said the Lord .
Godha replied, “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.”
Lord laughed and said “Typical of you who is the Goddess of earth.. But why did you say madhiniRaindha nanaaal to denote the first day of the month? What if it turns out to be other than full moon day?”
Godha said, “ When you are in the heart are not all the days are full moon days?
Did you think that I called the girls simply to take bath by saying neeraadappOdhuveer? Neeraadal is the union with you which is what we had in mind.”
“But,” said the Lord you are born in Brahmin family and you said aayyppaadi selva chiruumeergaaL?”
“Yes, we are all affluent girls of Gokulam since you are in our minds , wealth of towards you which alone is eternal while all the other wealth is fleeting and transitory. When the apsara women became cowherds to be with you as Krishna why not Brahmin girls be so? When you are Krishna all are gopis . “
The Lord next said , “My father in my Krishnavathara was a mild man and you referred to him as koorvEl kodunthozhilan. Is it fair?’
“You know very well my Lord that even though soft by nature became terrible ready to attack those who wanted to harm you as Krishna. A cow is soft by nature but will it not be ready even to attack a tiger to save its calf? “
“But anyway I am happy to hear you describe my mother Yasodha as EraarndhakanNi, meaning means that she has lovely wide eyes .”
“ It was so by looking at you all the time , Krishna , but the word describes you too as Eraarndha kaNNi means the vyjayanthi mala worn by you, said Godha, and then I was carried away by your beauty and valour and which made n me describe you as yasodhsai iLam singam, kaarmEnicchengaN kadhir madhiyam pOl mugatthaan.”
The Lord smiled and said, “While you described me as nandhagopan kumaran earlier you said yasodhai iLam singam here .”
“Yes “ said Devi, “ When with your father you were a young boy was obedient and docile to your father while you asserted yopurself like a lion cub when you were with your mother through her indulgence.”
“ Do you know why I said ‘kaarmEnicchengaN ,dark body like a raincloud and red eyes? You are like the rain bearing cloud with shower of mercy towards your devotees like the life giving rain to the world . And your face like kadhirmadhiyam with red lotus like eyes cool to the devotees and red with fury scorching to the enemies .”
“Do not think for a moment that we were deceived by your garb as a Gopala because we knew that you are the supreme Lord Narayana who will grant our wishes. Therefore I said ‘naaraayananE namkkE paRai tharuvaan.’ Our wish was to unite with you and the austerities to make the rain come is only a pretext.”
The Lord said, “Godha , the Ayarpadi is the world and you have served as the acharya for those who are simple devotees blessed with the wealth of devotion. This path shown by you is the real maargaseersha , the head of all paths.”

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

“ You have certainly prescribed a strenuous discipline ,” said the Lord referring to the above pasuram, that too for all people on earth.”
Devi said “ Yes , you know why I said ‘ vaiyatthu vaazhveergaaL ‘, calling all living on earth? “
“The bhooloka is the most important of all the realms of being, because here only, one can attain you 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 your feet.”
“Yes,” said the Lord , “ that is why Parasara bhatta expressed his wish to remain on earth and continue to do service to Me as Ranganatha rather than leaving Me and go to Paramapadha.”
“But your conditions of the discipline seem to be strenuous!”
Devi said,” I know you are a great Bhakthavathsala and do not expect any rigorous disciploine to worship you but if it is accepted by all there is a possibility of people becoming lax in their devotional fervor. Not all are like gopis and there are so many distractions in the world . Hence I prescribed a discipline to develop inner and outer control so that their minds will be involved in you and You alone.”
“To quell the indhriyas is very difficult for an average human beings. Have you not said ‘indhriyaaNi pramaaTheeni haranthi prasabham manaH,’ the indhriyas are strong and distract the mind forcibly? I, as the mother earth have to safeguard my children from being carried away by their indhriyas which will make them forget you and hence I prescribed the verbal service of singing your glory saying paraman adi paadi, and the control of the other action of the tongue by saying neyyuNNOm paal uNNom , we will not eat delicacies like the ghee milk etc. “
“ But this is not at all difficult my Lord, not something of a great sacrifice for a bhaktha because he is all the time drinking the nectar of the namasankeerthana and never has any hunger or thirst for anything else.”
I said mai ittezhudhOm malarittu naam mudiyOM , we will not decorate ourselves, because we enjoy decorating you alone and have no inclination to beautify this body.”
To this the Lord laughed and said “ Does it mean that you will appear lousy looking in front of Me?”
Andal in the form of Bhoodevi said , “wait, that comes later when you have given us what we ask for.”
To this, the Lord made fun of her saying “ Aha, you remind me of Kaikeyi in my previous birth.”
“But she asked to send you away but we want you to come to us. But wait, I will tell you how we are different . I insisted on purity of thought and action as well. Seyyaadhana seyyOm, we will never commit the two prohibited things, namely krthya akaraNam and akrthya karanam , omitting what should be done and doing what should not be done. We will not utter malicious words or gossip, theekuraLai senRu Odhom, and we will give offerings, aiyam, and alms , picchai.
“Thus we will enjoy your glory thinking of your attributes uyyumaaRu eNNi , the six attributes that go with your status as Bhagavan, (Jnana , vairagya, yasas, veerya, Sree, aiSvarya) which will lead to the six limbs of prapatthi. “
The Lord said, “ Yes I see that you are fond of me as I sleep in the milky ocean, paaRkadaluL paiyatthuinRa paraman , you said.”
Devi replied, “ Do you think we are deceived even for a moment that you are sleeping on the milky ocean? That is why I said Paraman, the supreme Being. If you really sleep the world will be destroyed without your protection. You lie there as though sleeping like a father who feigns sleep in order to watch his children unobserved . Don’t we know that you are waiting to spring into action the moment your devotees are in trouble?”
The Lord gave a charming smile.

Pasuram 3.- Ongiulagalandha

Ongi ulagaLandha uththaman perpaadi
naangaL nampaavaikku saattri neeraadinaal
theenginri naadellaam thingaL mummaari peydhu
Ongu perumsennel oodu kayalugaLa
poonkuvaLaippOdhil porivaNdu kaNpaduppa
thengaadhe pukkirundhu seerththa mulai patri
vaangakkudam niraikkum vaLLaL perum pasukkaL
neengaadha selvam niraindhelOrempaavai

The Lord said, “Devi, you introduced me as a first as a lad fondled by his mother and then I was seen by you lying on the serpent bed in the milky ocean, which you claimed to be a fake sleep. Now You make me stand on one foot with another raised to the sky!”
“Yes , My Lord, not once but I have mentioned three times to your thrivikramavathara. You know why? It is because this avatara of yours is the most wonderful. It shows your power as well as your compassion.”
“Oh, “said the Lord , “but some people say that I deceived Mahabali coming as a dwarf and then growing into Thrivikrama.”
Andal as bhoodevi said, “they are ignorant of your real motive. You came not to punish him but to take away his worldly kingdom in order to give him the bhakthisamrajya. As per your coming in the guise of a dwarf, is it not characteristic of you whose maya is displayed always! In which incarnation you were without it? “
“Moreover you took back what rightly belongs to you and where is the deception in this? Is it not the truth that everything belongs to you and everything is you. Your compassion did not stop with Mahabali. You also caused the earth to experience the blessing of the divine river Ganga, which flowed from your foot that went up. That is why I said Ongi ulagaLandha utthaman.”
The Lord said ,” I had no option than extending my foot upwards as my devotee Nammazvar rightly said, ‘ When the Lord covered the whole earth with his first foot where was the space for His second foot?’ So Mahabali gave land only for one foot .”
“ Now let us see the rest of your pasuram,” said the Lord. You said, ‘When we sing the glory of the Lord who measured the whole universe with one foot, and proceed to do our ritual by bathing, due to His grace the whole country will be blessed with rains three times a month and the paddy crop will grow tall and the fish will swim in the water that surrounds it and the bees will sleep inside the kuvalai flowers that grow in the water. The land will become prosperous with the cows filling the pots by mere touch of the udder.’ So this is your prayer? And not to unite with Me?”
“No my Lord. that is the ultimate which I will specify later. But here I am emphasizing the glory of your name. Per paadi, means your name itself is enough to bring result as the naama is greater than the naami. Was it not your nama which came to the rescue of Draupadi and Gajendhra? “
“ And by neeraadal I meant the purity of body and mind and saattri neeraadal is doing everything as your kaainkarya.”
“The rest of the words were said because I was transported to Gokula at the time of you as Krishna, thinking how it was prosperous after your advent with mummaari every month without athivrshti, floods or anaavrshti, draught. The rice crops growing with high level of water so that fish move in between them portrays you as mathsya moving around the minds of the devotees which were filled with the water of devotion and rise high.”
“Again you are the poRivandu, the golden bee who enter the minds of your devotee, the poonkuvalai flower, and drinking the sweet honey of love sleep there, kaN paduppa. “
“Wonderful,” smiled the Lord and your words , thEngaadhe pukkirundhu ----vaLLal perum pasukkaL gave me the experience I had in Gokula.”
“Exactly that was what in my mind when I said those words, “ said Godha devi, “ Was it not true that the cows in Gokula were big , perum paSukkaL, and they gave put all their milk so that the moment their udder is touched the milk filled the pot? It was only due to their love for you .”
“ You are right . my dear,” said the Lord. I was never happier even in Vaikunta than when I was among the cows in Gokul.”
Devi said , “You yourself is a biggest cow my Lord and ready to give all only for the asking. But the ignorant humans carry a small pot when they come to you and it was entirely their fault if they do not get the highest boon from you.”

Pasuram-4

AazimazaikkaNNa onru nee kaikaravel
aaziyul pukku mugarndhu kodaarththeri
oozimudhalvan uruvampOl meikaruththu
paaziyamthOludai padmabnaabhan kaiyil
aazipOl minni valampuripOl ninradhirndhu
thaazaadhe saarngam udhaiththa sara mazai pOl
vaaza ulaginil peydhidai naangalum
maargazi neeraada maggizndhelOrempaavai.

Godha said, “Oh Lord, when I called you as OngiulagaLandha Uththaman the clouds were afraid that you yopurself may create rain as you created the Ganges and deprive them of their job. Hence they already appeared in front, ready to do the bidding .”
The Lord said , “ Of course, the elements obey the words of my ardent devotees .So they took your words literally and were ready to give rain.”
“Yes, said the Devi , “ but I meant you only when I said ‘AzhimazhaikkaNNaa,’ as you are the indweller of all, including the clouds. By saying ‘Onru nee kai karavel – Do not show partiality but give rain to everybody,’ I entreat you only to shower your mercy on all my children.”
“Since the clouds were already there , I gave them the direction to do their duty by saying , ‘AaziyuLpukku ‘- to go deep into the ocean and take as much water as well as the pearls and other treasures of the ocean as it can so that all will be benefited. ‘Mugarndhukodaarththeri ‘– The cloud should draw water and ascend high in order not to empty it on the way so that the entire humanity will get the rain.”
The Lord said, “if you say I am like the clouds I will be the subject of comparison (upameya)and the clouds will be the standard of comparison (upamana) like saying the eyes are like lotus. But you have interchanged the upamana and upameya and said the clouds are like me which gives a higher status to the upamana.”
Godha said, “ When I saw the clouds I thought only of you and said oozhi mudhallvan uruvam , your body dark after pralaya and before the creation due to your daya, and also because you carry all beings with you. The dark hue of the clouds of you is compared to yours but the comparison stops there because while the dark cloud becomes white after it has emptied the water inside, you are always dark due to your eternal daya. The word Padmanabhan signifies only that since the lotus on your navel with Brahma on it is the cause of creation.”
The Lord said, “what else that came to your mind?. I see the words aazhipOl minni etc. .So you did not stop with the aspect of creation?”
Devi said, “How can I ? When I see you as padmanabha then automatically I imagine your next act after creation.’ AzhipOl minni valampuripOl ninRadhirdhu,’, lightning like the lustre of the discus and the thunder like the blowing of your conch, I said , because your words parithraaNaaya saadhoonaam vinaaSaaya cha dhushkrthaam came to my mind. The disc and the conch are to protect the good and to punish the wicked. The disc shines brilliantly to instill fear in the hearts of the wrong doers and the conch sounds like thunder to make them shiver.”
“Did not the sage vyasa said ‘ When Krishna sounded His conch, Paanchajanya, at the outset of the Mahabharatha war, it tore the hearts of the Kouravas, says Gita, ‘paanchajanyam hrshikesah------- sa goshah dharthrashtranaam hrdhyaani vyadhaarayath.’ I could not also help comparing the torrent of rain to the shower of arrows from your bow Saarnga and hence said ‘thaazhaadhE Saarngam udhaitth saramazhai pOl’ I meant that the clouds should pour without a moment’s delay as when you use your weapons to save your devotees. And also they should give rain for the welfare of the world and not like they did at the command of Indra and that is why I mentioned your weapons.”
The Lord said that the metaphor suits well as it reminded Him of the cloud, Nammazvar took the water of mercy from the sea, that is Himself, and showered it on the mountain, Nadhamuni from which the water was sent down through the two mountain streams , Uyyakkondar and Ramamisra and reached the river, Alavandar and through the canal, Perianambi ,finally rested in the lake, Ramanuja, from which all are benefited.

Pasuram5- Maayanai mannu vada..

Maayanai mannu vadamadhuraimaindhanai
thooya peruneer yamunaitthuraivanai
aayarkulatthinil thOnrum aNiviLakkai
thaayaikkudal viLakkam saidha dhaamodharanai
thooyOmai vandhu naam thoomalar thoovitthozudhu
vaayinaarpaadi manadhinaal sindhikka
pOya pzaiyum pugutharuvaan ninranavum
theeyinil thoosaagum cheppElorempaavai

“Ah now After referring to me by names paiyir thuyinra paraman,Ongiulagalandha utthaman etc. you now say here that I am none other than Krishna, who is madhuraimaindhan, aayar kulatthu aNi vilakku and yamunaitthuraivan. I really enjoy this reference to me than anything else,” said the Lord.
Godha said, “ I also called you maayan as the whole of your incarnation as Krishna is a wonder incomparable. Born as madurai maindhan you became the aNiviLakku of aayarkulam, the light of the cowherds. Who can ever forget your exploits on th bank of Yamuna ? .The river is pure, thooya yamuna, due to being associated with you.. Yamuna is also pure because she was not afraid of Kamsa and parted to allow Vasudeva when he carried you to Gokula, unlike Godavari who was afraid of Ravana and did not reply when Rama asked her the whereabouts of Sita.”
The Lord smiled and said “ I am delighted that you have traced my krishnavathara thus including my stealing butter!”
“Yes “, said Godha , “aren’t you most charming as Navaneetha Krishna which has made all your devotees go mad , including Nammazvar , who imagining your prank as Damodhara lost his consciousness sin ecstasy saying ‘etthiRam’?”the Lord said, “ I bear the mark of the rope on my udharam always since it gives me pleasure to remember the episode. ‘
Devi said,” Yes you bear it even as Ranganatha and we also get delighted in thinking about it. How you made your mother perspire finding every rope she toied you with falling short of two inches till finally you took pity on her and allowed yourself to be tied.”
“I had to because I wanted to fulfil the promise of my devotee Narada and re;lease the two sons of Kubera from their cursed form, “said the Lord “ and that made my devotees like Vedanta Desika say that those who think of me as being bound thus will become free from bondage and refers to the mortar as 'aatthapunya,' that which has done some punya to get the contact with my body.”
“Yes and Leelasuka saw the essence of the upanishads bound tied to the mortar, and as a result you gave the fame of binding you to Yasodha , who bound you with love as Sahadeva did later as I have said ‘thaayaikkudalviLakkam seydha Dhamodharan.’ Of all your exploits the navaneethachouryam is most attractive as ir reminds us how you steal the hearts after first making it as soft as butter with bhakthi.”
“Well , now for the rest of the pasuram,
“thooyomaai vandhu dem notes our inner and outer purity thoomalar thoovithozhudhu , vaayinaal paadi manadhinaal sindhikka are the kaayika vaachika and maanasika worship by which Poyapizaiyum - our karma which has not started to take effect, sanchithakarma Pugutharuvaan - the karma which is going to take effect, aagaami karma. ninRanavum - the present karma which has already started giving result, praarabdha karma. Theeyinil thoosaagum - all the three kinds of karma will be burnt like dust particles in the fire.”
The Lord said “This act of stealing butter bring to my mind an incident . iN one house the gi opi has tied several bells to the pot of butter so that they will ring when I touch them. I asked the bells not to ring and they agreed. But the moment I took the butter and put it in my mouth all the bells started ringing. I asked them whether it was fair on their part to do so after promising me that they would not. You know what they said? They answered that they could not help ringing when the food is offered to the me, their Lord, as naivedhya!”
Godha said, “ Verily you are the maayan as you have the maya in your control which can be dispelled only by your grace. Did not you say so in your discourse to Arjuna , dhaiveehyEshaa gunamayee mamamaayaa dhutarathyayaa maamEva yE prapadhyanthE maayaamEthaam tharanthithE,' meaning that the maayaa consisting of the three gunas, the constituent of prakrthi, is difficult to break through by all but by those who resort to you.”
“I also have an idea as to why the city you were born was called madhura,” said Devi, “madhura can be derived as 'madhu raathi ithi,' that which gives honey, the honey here being you who is referred to by the Upanishad as 'raso vai sah, He is the rasa.’ And vada madhurai not only for differentiating it from the Madurai of the south but can be taken to mean Vaikunta as the word 'vada,' north also means utthara or high.”
The Lord gave a sweet smile proving He is the madhuraaDhipathi of whom akhilam madhuram, everything is sweet.

Pasuram-6-PuLLumsilambinakaaN

PuLLum silambina kaaN puLLraiyan kOyilil

vellaivili sangin pEraravam kettilaiyO

piLLaai ezundhiraai pEymulainanjundu

kaLLcchagadam kalakkaziya kaalOcchi

veLLatthu aravil thuyilamarndhavitthinai

uLLatthu kondu munivargaLum yogigaLum

meLLa ezundhu hari enrapEraravam

uLLam pugundhu kulirndhelO rempaavaai

The Lord said, “ I know that the real reason of your incarnation as HGodha was to inculcate bhakthi as the sole means of attaining me. Is that why you stated on this paavai nonbu and aroused the girls to join you in the early morning so that others will see you all and will be inspired? But the description you gave of the girls and the surroundings aroused the picture of Ayarpadi and the cowherd girls for which I am delighted.”
“Yes,” said Godha , I became a cowherd girl and imagined myself in Gokulam and the others were likewise the gopi maidens. It was the paavai nonbu described by Vyasa in Srmadbhagavatham. The reason why I collected the girls was this. An ardent devotee will forget himself in the presence of the Lord and will even lose the power of speech and so to have both feet on the ground they wish to go in groups.”
“ Moreover any experience of joy is doubled when shared.Also anything delicious should not be enjoyed alone. Did not Bharatha, among the sins he enumerates that would befall to him if he had any suspicion of the intention of his mother, cites the sin of eating a delicious sweet without sharing with others in the house?.”
“You mentioned the temple of puLLaraiyan meaning Garuda where the birds chirped and the conch sounded,” said the Lord to which Godha interrupted saying that it was not the temple of Garuda but of you. PuLL araiyan though means the king of birds literally , that is Garuda, pull araiyan kovil means your temple, since you are the kO, the lord of puLL artaiyan, Garuda and ko il means the abode of you. It is where the magnificent sound , pEraravam, of the conch is heard , magnificent because it rouses you in the heart of your devotees.”
“Well, I see that your are still engrossed in my Krishnavathara as you mention the destruction of Sakatasura and Poothana,” said the Lord.`
“Yes my Lord , these acts are more wonderful as you performed them while you were an infant. pEy mulai nanju undu, by sucking the poion of the demon Poothana ypu sucked her life as well but you closed your eyes then , it is said because you did not want to look at her and saved by your kataksha. “
The Maayan laughed and said “ that is how my devotees described it.” And Narayana Bhattadri said that when I kicked the cart wheel , the kaLLa cchakatam as you said because it was reallythe asura , it went to pieces but not even its dust remained. This is how my devotees love to explain my exploits.”
“But thinking your wonderful feats as a n infant immediately takes our mind to your real identity which made me say in the next line, ‘veLLatthu aravil thuyil amarndha vitthu’ , the seed or origin of the world, reclining on Adisesha in the milky ocean, whom the sages and yogis preserve in their hearts, uLLatthu kondu. So they are getting up from their sleep slowly meLLa ezundhu in order not to disturb you.”
“Yes I se e that, “said the Lord ,” and this brings to my mind the words of your earthly father , Periazhvar, 'aravtthamaliyinodum azagiyapaarkadalodum aravindhappavaiyum thaanum agampadi vandhu pugundhu,' describing how I entered his heart along with adisesha ,parkadal and Lakshmi. Hence these words thuyilamarndha
uLlatthu kondu may very well mean him.”
Andal said, “ not only him but it includes all your devotees and sages who raise from their meditation and call your name which creates a tumultuous sound, hari enRa pEraravam.”
“Yes,” said the Lord and I become immersed in the sea of devotion.”

PASURAM 7-Keesu keesenRengum

KeesukeesenRengum AnaicchAtthan kalandhu

pesina peccharavam kEttilaiyo pEyppeNNE

KAsum piRappum kalakalappa kai pErtthu

vAsa narumkuzal Aycchiyar matthinAl

Osaippaduttha thiyiraravam kEttilaiyo

nAyagappeNpillai nArAyaNan moortthi

kesavanaippAdavum nee kEtte kidatthiyO

thEsam udaiyai thiravelorempAvai

The Lord said, “You have given a beautiful picture of early morning , birds chirping, the gopis churning the curd which gives me a yearning for butter.”
“Yes, in ayarpadi the curd is difficult to churn noise because after your coming ito the Ayarpadi, the milk was very thick and rich and the curd was like rock, so thick. and they have use force with their hands, kaipErtthu, because of which their ornament on their neck kaasum piRappum, makes noise,kalakalppa . They were vaasanarumkuzhal aaycchiyar because they were really celestial damsels having natural fragrance to their hair.’
“And,” said Godha “ I have mentioned the birds conversing by saying pEsina pEccharavam. The word AnaicchAtthan really means you as you killed one elephant, kuvalayaApeedam set against you by Kamsa and protected another, Gajendhra, from the jaws of the crocodile. Kalandhu pEsina pEccharavam then refers to both you and Sri, talking with each other . Those who do not stir hearing your name are like demons and hence I said pEyppeNNe, naaraayanan moorthy kesavanaippaadavum kEttE kidatthiyO.”
“But once the person joins the namasankeerthana she is extolled as naayakapeNpiLLai.”
The Lord said, “Some devotees have seen inner meaning in your words that
KAsumpiRappum kalakalappa implies the sruthi and smrthi proclaiming about the my glory and kaipErtthu may mean the deep study and contemplation of them by vAsanarumkuzal Aicchiyar, the acharyas who exude the natural frgrance of devotion. Having delved deep into the vedanta sasthra they acclaim loudly my glory, KaipErtthu, with upraised arms, uddhrthabujAh.”
Devi said ,” the churning rod can be the buddhi, and when the mind is churned like the curd, you rise up like butter.”
The Lord assented and said, “You know the words pEyppeNNe reminds me of Kulasekara azhvar who called himself as a madman in one of his pasurams and nayakapEpiLLia may refer to Nammazhvar who wrote as parankusa nayaki.

pasuram-8

keezvAnam veLLenru erumaicchiruveedu

meivAn parandhanakAnn mikkuLLa piLLaigaLum

pOvAn pOginrArai pOgAmal kAtthunnai

koovuvAn vandhu ninrOm kOdhu kalmudaiya

pAvAi ezundhirai pAdipparai konda

mAvAi pilandhAnai mallarai mAttiya

dEvAdhidEvanai chenru nAm sEvitthAl

AvAvenrArAindhu aruLElO rempAvai.

Godha said ,” I was collecting those who had not yet joined our namasankeerthana goshti in the early morning when the buffaloes are let out to graze. Why is that so is known only to you who was the gopala.”

“That is right,” said Krishna , ( The Lord in vaikunta and bhoodevi have taken the form of Godha and Krishna now to enjoy the situation more.)

“The buffaloes are sent for grazing the dew covered grass in the early morning, as it makes them yield more milk whereas the cows are allowed to graze later as they cannot digest the wet grass. “”And you have continued to describe my exploits in saying ‘maavaai piLandhanaai ‘ referring to my killing Kesi who came as a horse and the wrestlers in the court of Kamsa, by saying ‘ malaria maattiya.’. But your words have been interpreted differently later by my devotees.”

Andal smiled and bowed down in modesty when Krishna continued, “ the breaking of dawn signifies the awareness of the divine and the word maavaai piLandhaan refers to the acharyas as they break the influence of the senses which are compared to the horse that runs hither and thither drawn by the sense objects.”

By saying mallarai maattiya , you implied those who win over the arguments of the opponents to establish their views firmly, like Ramanuja later and your father himself earlier in the court of Madurai. How I was pleased and appeared before him which made him sing pallaandu, fearing that some one will cast an evei eye on me , forgetting that I was not visible to others!”

“Of course,” said Andal, “ his love for you was incomparable and that si why I chose to be his daughter. How can I ever forget the words that flowed from him enjoying you in full right from your childhood ! Devotees like him are thereal devas and you are their Lord , dhevaadhidhevan.”

The Azvars and acharyas were more interested in leading those who are in the darkness to light rather than those who already have seen the light. So your words pOvaan PoginRaarai pOgaamal kaatthu unnai koovuvaan vandhu ninROm. Did not this love for lokasangraha bade Ramanuja to shout my name from the top of the temple?”

When people come to me with such love, why should I shower my grace aftetr ascertaining their worth as you said aavaa venRu aaraayndhu aruL? I will give it without having any doubt.”

AnDal said, “Don’t I know that? But the first move must be ours . That is why I said, senRu naam sEvitthaal, we should approach you first.”

“Kodhukalam udaiya paavaaiezhundhiraai,” may also refer to Nammazvar, said Krishna as he called himself by the name paavai in his pasurams.”

“Yes it is true,” said Andal as he alone was sitting all the while and to invoke him one may say paavaai ezhundhiraai, and ask him to break our sins, kOdhukalam udaiya.”

“Carrying it further, “ Krishna said, “ I would say that he was the morning lightof knowledge which appeared to Madurakavi azvar from afar. He rose as the sun in kaliyuga to dispel the darkness of ignorance.”

Pasuram 9

thoomaNimAdatthu suttrum viLakkeriya

dhoopamkamaZa thuyilaNai mEl kaNvaLarum

maAmanmagalE maNIkkadhavam thAl thiravai

mAmeer avaLai ezuppeerO nummagaLthAn

oomaiyO anri sevidO ananthalO

EmApperunthuyil mandhirappattALO

mAmAyan mAdhavan vaikunthan enrenrum

nAmam palavum navinrElOrempAvai.

“ I visualize Gokulam ,” said the Lord, “the thoomani maadam around which the lights are burning and incenses are fragrant, since all the mansions in Gokula were embedded with jewels and it is bright always with the light of the gems but still, they used to light lamps for the sake of tradition. So it looks as though there are lamps all around.

“I was also transported there and imagined myself as one of the gopis which made me call the girl I was supposed to awaken as ,maaman magaL ,” said Godha , “ but actually to a devotee the real relatives are only those who have bhagavathsambandham.’ baanDhavaaH vishnubhakthaaH.’ Other relatives through birth are ignored if they are outside the pale of devotion . the real parents are the devotees who awaken the uninitiated by reciting your sahasranama , such as maadhava and vaikundha.”

Krishna smiled and said “along with these names you have also tiverted to calling me maamaayan!”

Andal said, “I called you mAmAyan which denotes your soulabhya, easy accessibility, and also associated with Lakshmi, mAdhavan hence you is full of mercy, and vaikunthan which implies your swamithva, being the Lord of the universe.”

“I will tell you why you are maamaayan. Your maya conceals you to the world but does not conceal us from you like those inside the dark glass window. Viradha said to you as Rama the 'cows know their calves and vice versa but you know us but we do not know you.' Indra and others even though aware of the identity of you were deluded into believing that you were a cowherd lad, which shows the power of your maya.”

“ That is what made Nammazvar exclaim, NammAzvAr says, 'amaivudai nAraNan mAyaiyai arivAr yAre,' who can understand the maya of the Lord!”

“Hmm what else ? “ goaded the Lord to enjoy her words more referring to his maya.

She replied ,” is there any end to your leelas ? In your Varahavathara the ocean was said to cover only your ankle while in Krishnavathara Yasodha was able to bathe you with handful of water! That is your maya my Lord! Not only that. You the who told all to bow down to His feet in the charama sloka, 'mAmEkam saranam vraja,' grasped both the feet of Yasodha while she bathed Him! “

The Lord said, “ I am waiting to hear yor explanation for the usage of the words thoomaNi maadam etc.”

Godha said, “ You are the thoomani, the pure gem being the sole reality , sathyasya sathyam and the vedha , your abode is the maadam. The lamps around us are the Sruthi, smrthi purana, which enlighten us . having this knowledge we sleep in you who is our thiyilaNai. The maNikkadhvam thaaL , the lock of the door studded with gems , which are out sensual attractions is our karma to be opened by your grace in order to join the company of the bhagavathas. “

“When that happens, one becomes deaf, sevidu and dumb, oomai, to all talk except of Him, and becomes proud, ananthal, of doing His kainkarya,. opens his mouth only to sing the glory of the Lord thus engage all his senses in the service of you.”

The Lord applauded and said “ this brings to my mind my devotee Thirumazhisai Azvar, who often referred to me as maayan , maadhavan and Ananthan and sang about me in reclining position,’ thuyilaNaimEl kaN vaLarum.’ The word 'suttrum vilakkeriya' refers to his profound knowledge of the vedas and he was dumb and deaf when he was insulted on receiving agrapuja in a yaga by brahmins. He was under the influence of Peyazvar 'mandhirappattALO' and sleep for a paramaikanthin is to turn away from worldly pleasures.”

“ I presume that I have to change my costume to suit your next pasuram, “ said Krishna laughing.”

Pasuram 10

nOtrucchuvargam puguginra ammanai

mAtramum thArArO vAsal thiravAdhAr

nAtratthuzAimudinarAyanan nammAl

pOtrapparai tharum puNNiyanAl pandorunAl

kootratthin vai veezndha kumbakaruNanum

thOtrum unakkE perumthuyildhAn thandhAnO

Atraananthal udaiyAi arunkalamE

thEtrmAi vandhu thiravElOrempAvAi

“Now you are back to Ramavathara of me , “ said the Lord , “since you refer to Kumbakarna.”

‘The one I seem to awaken in this pasuram, ‘ said Godha is bent on attaining you which is the real svarga for a devotee. But she is said not to open the door nor reply and was sleeping as though Kumbakarna who was killed by You earlier has left the sleep to her.”

“ Actually nOthruchuvargam is the path to attain you through bhakthi. The devotee enters the heaven of your union, pugugiNra ammanaar, This is done even without opening the door, vaasal thiRavaadhaar, namely the rituals except pure devotion. There are no on will obstruct , maaRRamum thaaraar,like the dvarapalakas in Vaikunta .”

“Why are you so sure, “asked the Lord, and she replied. “It is because you are nammAl- , our Lord, who loves us and loved by us because you expect only bhakthi and see no differences due to caste ,age etc. and pOttrappaRau itharum puNNiyan,- the sacred one who will grace us when praised. Jatayu and Sabari ar examples of this.”

“Then why the mention of Kumbakarna? “ Krishna asked with a mischievous smile.

Andal replied, “the obstacles to Moksha are the ignorance about your glory and desire towards the sensual pleasures. These are like death (kootram) Such a soul is said to have defeated even Kumbakarna who was engrossed in sleeping only, at which time he was not engaged in sensual pleasures. Sleep is only ignorance which is another kind of sleep and hence it is referred to as perumthuyil, long sleep.”

“Well, “ said the Lord, “ still you have not explained why you thought of me as Rama here.”.'

“ But you as Rama are the puNNiyan, who is embodiment of dharma, 'rAmO vigrahavAn dharmah’ as it is said, the saranagatha rakshaka, one who has taken the vow of giving refuge to any one who surrenders to him saying abhayam sarvabhoothAnAm dhadhAmi ithyEthadvratham mama,' even if it were Ravana himself.'yadhi vAA rAvanassvayam.'

The Lord said that he was reminded of Peyazvar by the words arum kalam, who enjoyed the presence of the Lord through the lamp lighted by the other two, Poigaiazvar and Bhoothatthazvar and sang thirukkandEn ponmenikandEn and hence he is the arumkalam. 'Vasal thiravAdhAr' refers to the fact that when he came the door was open as he was the last to take refuge in the small entrance in the house where the other two were already there and the Lord came as the fourth and gave darsan to them all.Te words ‘aatra ananthal refers to Thirumazhisai Azvat r= who was paramaikaanthin and was lost to the world like on who was fast asleep.

Pasuram 11

kattrukkaravai kaNanghaL palakarandhu

chettrAr thiralaziya senrucheruccheyyum

kuttramonrillAdha kOvqlartham porkodiyE

puttraravalgul punmayilE pOdharAi

suttratthu thOzimAr yavarum vandhu nin

muttram pugundhu mugilvaNNan pEr pAda

sittrAdhE pEsAdhE selvappendAtti nee

yettrukkurangum poruL ElO rempavai

“I see that now is the time to milk the cows, “said the Lord, “ you rightly said, ‘katrukkaravai kaNangaL pala kaRandhu,’ because there were a multitude of cows in AyarpAdi. Milk used to be abundant and overflowing but the cows are to be milked in order to reduce their heaviness owing to carrying a lot of milk. Also the cowherds do the milking as an exercise for their limbs to make them fight-worthy to conquer their enemies, as you said ‘setraar thiRala azhiya senru seruccheeyyum’”

“ But who were the enemies of gopas, “said Andal, “Only those who act against you and your devotees. In that sense ‘kuttram onRillaadha kOvalar’ in as much as they are pure hearted .”

“The girl you seem to awaken here is the daughter of such a valorous one , beautiful like a goldencreeper, poRkodi, having long tresses land graceful like peacock?” , asked Krishna,” it is beautiful that the snake and the peacock are found in the same place! “

“poRkodi,” said Andal “ is the devotee like a creeper who winds round you for his support , a prapanna whereas putraRavalgul punmayil , is the paramaikaanthi, who is compared to the serpent in its abode as he will not display his knowledge or greatness and like the peacock which dances on seeing the rain-cloud he will dance at the sight of the You.”

“Yes,said the Lord, “ this reminds me of Bhoodhatthaazvaar who styles himself as a creeper in his work and the term kuttramonrillAdha may refer to all the three mudhalAzvars, viz.bhoothattthAzvar, pEyAzvAr and poigai AzvAr who did not have mortal birth but were found as such and suRRatthu thOzhimaar will be the other two who along with him sang my glory , ‘muRRam pugundhu’, in the same passageway in Thirukkovilur, which made me appear before them.”

“Then,” said Devi, “ they became selvapendaatti to you who takes care of the prapanna who is like your dear wife , when tnhey become occupied with the sole thought of you , not bothering about anything else, siRRaadhe pESaadhE”

The Lord said, “Once surrendered to me it becomes my responsibility to protect you. When you never worry about your birth or death why should you worry about the intermediate stage of sustenance?”

Pasuram12

kanaitthiLam kattrerumai kanrukkirangi

ninaitthu mulaivaziyE ninru pAl sOra

anaitthillam sErAkkum narselvan thangai

panitthalai veeza nin vAsalkadaipattri

sinandhingu thennilangai kOmAnai chettra

manatthykku iniyAnai pAdavum nee vai thiravAi

initthAn ezundhirAi eedhenna pErurakkam

anaitthu illatthArum arindhElOrempAvai

“So I am still in the role of Rama,” said the Lord. Kumbakarna was destroyed in the previous pasura and now it is Ravana’s turn.”

Andal replied. “ When I said ‘senRu seruccheyyum ‘ in my earlier pasuram, what I meant was, you, the kutram onRillaadha kOvalan always fought outside the city to protect the people. You met Jarasandha outside Mathura, and planned the battle at kurukshethra far away form Hasthinapura and as Rama also you fought outside Lanka . That is why in this pasuram I refereed to you as ‘sinadhingu thennilagaikkOmaanaiccheTra , that is you destroyed only the lord of Lanka and not the city . “

Of course , how can I,” said the Lord, “ since I have already given Lanka to Vibeeshana and it was the property of my devotee.”

Yes, that is why you are dear to all , manatthukkinyaan. You were described by Valmiki as 'sOmavathpriyadarsanah,' because by looking at you the heart gets joy as by the sight of the moon. You are a delight to all the senses and to the mind.”

“Like the buffalo which makes the milk flow by mere thought of its calf, kanRukkirangi, unlike the cow which gives milk only in the presence of the calf, you remembers us and your mercy flows to us without distinction. “

The Lord said,”I was yasodhai iLam singam and nandhagopan kuamran and now have become a buffalo!, with a mischievous grin.

“ Not only you my Lord the term may refer to your, consort also.”

“Oh then I am satisfied ,”the Lord , “naturally the consort of a buffalo should also be the same!”

“Hear me now ,” said Andal, As sinandhingu refers to your Ramavathara, the Sita devi who said "who does not err", 'na kaschithnAparAdhyathi.' is compared to the buffalo which gives out milk at the memory of its calf. She also advised you about mercy and to Ravana about dharma trying to save him from his doom. “

And the word naRselvan thangaai may as well mean sridevi who is hiranmayee and the naR selvan is you yourself. As you are rich, selvan only having her.”

“Yes, it is true” said He , “ not only sridevi but you also as bhoodevi constantly think of your children and recommend their case to me. Even in this incarnation as Andal, you tried to save the people by instructing them to say my names, are you not?”

“ I like the beautiful description , “ said the Lord, “ aniatthillam sERaakkum and panitthalkai veezha nin vaasal kadia patri. You meant that you had to catch hold of the doorstep due to the fog falling on your head and the flood of milk under your feet.”

“Yes, over head it was neervannam , that is you, and down was the paal vannam our devotion which over flowed and our hearts were full of you, maal vaNNam so there was a risk of losing our feet and forgetting where we were. Hence we had to catch the doorstep, the physical awareness which alone can help us to enjoy your nearness.”

“Beautiful,” said the Lord,” When you are immersed in the milk bhakthi like the flood which sweeps your feet, your senses support you like the vaasarkadai , as Kulasekara said , ‘Oh tongue, sing His glory, oh mind, think of Him, oh two hands, worship Him, oh ears, hear stories about Him, oh eyes, look at Himoh feet go to his temple , oh nose, smell their fragrance of tulasi worn by Him and oh head, bow down to Him.’ The pErurakkam the long sleep of ignorance is gone and you come to me.”

Andal fell at His feet speechless only to be lifted by Him with deep love.

Pasuram 13

puLLin vAi keendAnai pollA arakkanai

kiLLikkalaindhAnai keerthimai pAdippoi

piLLaigal ellAtrum pAvaikkaLam pukkAr

veLLi ezundhu viyAzam urangittru

puLLum silan mbinakANpOdharikkaNNinAi

kuLLakkuLira kudaindhu neerAdAdhE

paLLikkidatthiyO pAvai nee nannALal

kaLLam thavirndhu kalandhElOrempAvAi.

The Lord said , “in this pasuram it is not clear which of my forms you refer to. Krishna , Rama or Narasimha? “

Andal said “ Whatever comes from my mouth is only due to your will and don’t you know what they mean? Anyway I know that you like to hear from me whatis already known to you and I also enjoy describing your glory. “

“ It actually refers to all the three. You as Krishna killed the asura who came in the form of stork by extending your hand into the mouth of the stork (puLLin vaay)and tore the beaks(keendaan) and killed the asura. It has reference to your Ramavathaar also because you killed the evil minded Ravana(pollAvarakkan) by cutting his head as easily as plucking it with nails, kiLLikkaLaindha. This may also refer to you as Narasimha as you killed Hiranyakasipu with your nails and kiLLi may refer to this act. If the whole phrase 'puLLinvai-----kiLLikkalaindhanai as one long adjective qualifies you as Rama only. Here puLL means Jatayu and 'puLlin vAi keendAnai pollA arakkanai' refers to Ravana who killed Jatayu and kiLLikkalaindhan is you as Rama who killed him.”

“Beautiful,” said the Lord “but there is on small clarification is required . Arakkan means rakshasa while Hiranyakasipu and Hiranyaksha were asuras, the half brothers of suras, that is, devas. Hence the word pollaavarakkan may seem unsuitable to Hiranyakasipu.”

“May be this doubt arose with some which Kamban has later clarified, “said Andal. “The words of Kamban '' irakkam enru oru poruL illAdha nenjinar arakkar enru uLar silar aratthin neenginar," the arakar , rakshasa are those who have no pity and follow adharma, the word arakkan may even refer to Hiranyakasipu. Also if the word 'pollAvarakkan' is split as pollA +varakkan, it may refer to Hirayanyakasipu who got his powers through 'vara,' boon.”

“Wonderful, This is what I wanted to hear from you, “ said the Lord.

“This pasuram, “ said Andal, “calls out to those who had not yet joined the bhagavathas who have already gathered to sing your glory. The one who feigns asleep, paLLikkidatthi, has eyes like lotus, pOdhu, within which the bee, ari, is imprisoned. That is, the mind is willing but the senses being stronger keeps the mind under arrest. Thus such people even though wish to join the bhagavtah goshti, are too weak to control their m mind which runs after the worldly pleasure. Hence they miss the neeraattam.”

“kuLLakkuLirakkudiandhu neeraattm as you mentioned ?” said the Lord.

“Yes my Lord, they do not know the pleasure of that. Neeraattam is think of you,

kudaindhu neerAttam is to worship you in archavathara.

kuLira neerAttam is worshipping you in your incarnations.

kuLlakkuLira neerAttam is to worship you in Vaikunta.”Andal.

“I am delighted by your words, my dear Godha, “said the Lord.” But this also bring to my mind another devotee who was born on this day of Margazhi, Thondaradippodi Azvar, Your words KaLLam thavirndhu kalandhu and kudaindhuneerAdAdhE paLLikkidatthiyo may imply the days when he forgot me and his reawakening.

Pasuram 14

ungal purakkadai thOttatthu vAviyuL

senkazuneer vai neg izndhu Ambalvai koombina kAN

sengal podikkoorai veNpalthavatthavar

than gaL thirukkoil sangiduvAn podhandhar

engalai munnam ezuppubvAn vai pEsum

nangAi ezundhiraai nANAdhaai nAvoudaiyaay

sangoduchakkaram endhumthadakkaiyan

pangayakkaNNAnai pAdElorempAi

“Oh, you have gone back to my form with shanku and chakra?” said the Lord.

“No, said Andal “ I am still enjoying your krishnavathara and will remain so for some time.Did you not make your first appearance to your parents with four arms wearing Shanku and chakra?”

“And you are pangayakkaNNan always which ever incarnation you appear in, by which the sages recognize you, whether as a fish or a tortoise or a lion.”

“I see that now the sun has risen and the senkazhuneer flower has blossomed while lily is closing, “ said the Lord.

“You know why the senkazhuneer flower seems to open its petals like a mouth?” said Andal, “ Not because of the sun but it is smiling seeing that it is morning and your temple is being opened by the ascetics who have the duty of blowing the conch signifying the opening of the temple, sengalpodikkoorai veNpal thavatthavar, and senkazhuneer is going to adorn you and the flower Ambal is closing with sorrow as is will not be doing so.”

“senkal podikkooRai ---thavtthavar also denotes the prapannas with thirumaN and srichoorNam and white cloth with red border. The temple is their heart where you reside and they are meditating on You .”

“ As such how do you explain the words ungal puRakkadai thoottatth vaavi?” said the Lord, it means that you are waking up a girl in that house who was vociferous and said she will wake you all up but shamelessly lying in bed.”

“Yes, superficially so , “said Andal, “UngaLpurakkadai- the back yard of the house, means the samsara and the thOttam, garden, is the sarira. Senkazuneer denotes the atmagunas, ahimsa, sense control, mercy to all, patience, jnana, thapas, dhyana and sathyam. These are blossoming when one awakes from the slumber of ignorance on the rising of awareness of you, the Lord. Ambal refers to the kamakrodhadhi which close or cease to trouble the one who has experienced the presence of the Lord in the heart.”

nANAdhaay- implies that one should not feel shy of singing the name of the Lord.

nAvudaiyaay-one who has a tongue, meaning speech. Only the one by whose words are used to praise you and redeem the world by inculcating devotion is said to have a tongue. All the rest are only fit for eating and a useless appendage in talking about other things.”

“Godha, “ said the Lord, “ You really tried to save humanity but how far your efforts were fruitful is a question because human mind is fickle and difficult to stop it form running behind the senses, indhriyaaNi praqmaaTheeni haranthi prasabham manH as I said to Arjuna.”

“But my Lord you yourself has said ,’abhyaasena thu kountheya vairaagyeN acha grhyathe.’ Hence I am trying to teach abyaasa, practice of of virtues that lead sone towards you and vairagya , detachment to worldly pleasures. If even a sn mall percentage of human beings are redeemed by my words I will think that my task has been accomplished , said Godha , who as Bhoodevi was moved with pity towards us and has come down to save us.

Pasuram 15

ellE iLmkiLiyE innam urangudhiyO

chillenrazaiyEnmin nangaimeer pOdharginrEn

vallai un katturaigaL pandE unvayaridhum

valleergal neengalE nanE than Ayiduga

Ollai nee pOdhai unakkenna vErug daiyai

ellArum pOndhAro pOndhAr pOndheNNikkoL

vallAnaikkonrAnai mAttrAni mAttrazikka

vallANai mAyanai pAdelorempAvai

“This is indeed is in a different vein altogether since it seems that you have met your match, “ laughed Krishna.

Godha smiled and said “ sure it appears to be so. Like a parrot the ignorant one is happy in the cage of worldly desires which is like a golden cage as it looks attractive. Thus they are still sleeping. They do not like to be awakened and tells those who try to wake them up to reality that they are being harsh and that they will turn to God all in good time after they have enjoyed the worldly pleasures like the girl saying that she will come after changing her dress . Such a person is termed as iLam kiLi meaning they are like baala, ignorant child. “

“Often such people are very clever in justifying their actions even quoting scriptures at times and epics saying that even Rama did this and Krishna did that etc. just as you said ‘ vedha vaadha rathaaH paarTha naanyath asthi ithi vaadhinaH ,’ discussing Vedas saying that their view alone is right.”

“Yes, one has to win over them going along their way like Sankara did towards Mandana misra,” said the Lord.

“In the words vallanaikkonRaanai maaRraanai maatrazhika, do I see a reference to gajendhra,” said Krishna.

“Yes my Lord,” said Godha,” vallanai was the elephant you killed in Mathura, called kuvalayaapeeta and he maatranai was Gajendhra whose maaTraan enemy you killed, said Andal, but maatraan may also mean an enemy and whom you try to destroy not the person but only his maatru or the enmity.”

“Have I really done so,” said the Lord ,” wishing to hear it in her own words.

“In several instances,” said Andal.

1. You gave a chance to Hiranya till the end

2.You said to Ravana ‘inRu pOy naaLai vaa , meaning..

3.You suffered 100 insults from Sisupala before he killed him.

4. You also destroyed only the arrogance of Mahabali

5.And Indra when he caused immense rain to Gokula and Brahma when he kidnapped the cowherd boys and the calves.

Hence you are the vallaan , capable of vanquishing anyone but also maayan, the enchanter who tries his level best to bring about a change of attitude to those who oppose you out of your infinite mercy.”

The Lord said “ well , now you are near your destination, I think. From next pasuram you will be directly in conversation with me.”

“One sided, “ said Andal ,” when did you answer? “

“I am here for the same purpose , “ said the Lord laughing.

Pasuram 16

nAyakanAi ninra nandagOpanudaiya

kOilkAppAnE koditthOnrum thOraNa

vAyilkAppAne maNikkadhavamthAL thiravAi

Ayar sirumiyarOmiukkaraiparai

mAyan maNivaNNam nennalE vAi nErndhAn

thooyOmAi vandhOm thuyilezappduvAn

vayAl munnammunnam mAttradhE ammAnee

nEyanilaikkadhavam neekkElorempAvai

“You are now entreating the doorkeeper of my abode , I see,” said the Lord.

“Yes, “ said Andal , “ in Dvaraka your palace was open to all, I heard ,so that Kuchela was able to go in unobstructed. But in Ayarpadi, since you were the chellappiLLai, your parents keep the door locked and we had to request the door keeper who was an important person, naayakanaai ninRa , I had to tell him that you have promised already to hear us and henc ewe have come.”

“Oh, did I do so? When” said the Lord.

“Have you not said ,” Andal reminded Him,

“‘ananyaaH chinthayantho maam ye janaah paryupaasathe

theshaam nithyaabhiyukthaanaam yogakshemaam

vahaamyaham’,

‘For those people, who think of me without any other thought and persistent in my devotion always , I take care of their welfare.?”

“You also said ‘sarvadharmaan parithyajya ,’ etc. and accordingly we have given up everything as Vibheeshana said, ‘thyakthvaa puthraan cha dhaaraamscha raghavam SaraNam gathaH,’ ” I have renounced my kith and kin and have come to surrender to Rama.” and you as Rama had no choice but to accept Him. Similarly we are approaching you now as Krishna.”

“Of course your gate keeper was not easily persuaded as he knew his importance as he was not only vaayil kaappan but also koil kaappaan, like the dvarapalaka of your sannidhi. But dvarapalakas have to grant permission to enter in , they being your bhagavathas the araadhana of whom precedes bhagavatharaadhana.”

“We had to assure him that we are only cowherd girls, aayar siRumiyar, and harmless and so he need not hesitate to let us in and we have come with purity of mind and body and wish to awaken you with our namasankeerthan.”

“ I think that you had some difficulty there in making him admit you, “said the Lord .

“You are maayan maNivaNNan, can anything happen without your concurrence ?” said Andal. “ Only he was not difficult like your dvarapalkas in vaikunta perhaps he remembered what happened them, but he was a bit difficult and tried to discourage us which made me say vAyAl munnam----amma , telling him not to say anything on the contrary.”

“Well, is that all or do you have any more implications regarding this pasuram? The Lord asked.

“Oh sure there is , said Andal. This pasuram has reference to all the three manthras of the vaishnava tradition.

NAyakanAi---koilkAppAnE-denotes the moolamanthra. Nayakan is you. Narayana, who is the nayaka of the world. Your koil is praNava, Om. Nandhagopan means the one who gives bliss ,Anandha and who is the protector, gOpa. As the bliss is given only through surrender the ‘nama’ sabdha is included in this. And hence the moolamanthra , ‘OM Narayanaaya,’is implied by this sentence.

koditthOnrum thOraNavayilkAppAnE- is the dvayamanthra. KoditthOnrum thoraNavasal meaning Vaikunta, whewre you are with Sri and the word kAppAn means you who gives mOksha to those who surrender to His feet.

Ayarsirumiyar -----nErndhaAn refers to your promise in the Gita that you will redeem the one who surrender to you, in the carama sloka, which is the only qualification whether the prapanna is learned or low born.

The neya nilaikkadhavam are the doors are two in each manthra , Om and namO nArAyanAya, in the moola manthra and the two parts of the dvaya and the two lines of the charamasloka.

They should be opened in the sense that the secret of the meaning should be opened by the acharya, who stands for the gsate keeper here.”

The Lord applauded , saying,” excellent.”

Pasuram17

ambarame thaNNeerE sorE aram seyyum

emperumAn nandagopAlA ezundhirAi

kombanArkkellAm l kozyundhE kulaviLakkE

emperumAtti yasOdhAi arivurAi

ambaram oodarutthu Ongi ulagalandha

umbarkOmAnE urangAdhezundhirAi

semporkazqladichelvA baladhEva

umbiyum neeyum urangElorempAvai.

“Now you have entered my bed chamber , said the Lord, and you showed that you are very clever.”

“ I am like the aRivonRum illaadha aaykkulam, “ said Andal, “how can I be clever?”

“You first propitiated your future in laws before addressing me , “ said the Lord.

“ My Lord, said Andal, “ you were sleeping at the end and I saw only our father and mother first, which brought to my mind the generosity of our father Nandha who used to give clothes, water and food to all. Did not Vedanta Desika later said that he excelled even the kalpatharu by his generosity? But it is not surprising as the joy he felt in getting you was so great that he wanted to express it by making every one happy. “

“ And I woke up your mother next who was the best among the beautiful , slender women, the light of the clan. She was Yasodha giver of yasas , yasaH dhadhaathi ithi yaSodhaa.”

“yasas which normally means fame and in the vedas it means Brahman. Since she gave us you, the Brahman in form of Krishna she is called Yasodha.”

“Oh fine, “ said the Lord, “ but My brother was sleeping before me and you woke me up missing him?”

Andal said , “ oh that was I saw his feet which looked like sempoRkazhal wearing the golden ornament and I mistook him for you and I made it up later by saying , ‘umbiyum neeyum urngelorempaavaai becaue I realized that if he gets up, being Sesha your bed, you will automatically do so.”

“ Very clever, “ said the Lord, “I see that you refer to me as Thrivikrama here. Is their any special purpose to do so?”

Andal said , “Oh Lord, you have pierced the sky in measuring the universe with your foot and all the three worlds were covered by the foot. How can you sleep and where can you sleep? That is why I said ‘ambaram oodaRutthu Ongi ulagaLandha.”

“So you satisfied everyone , “the Lord, to which she replied, “For us you are everything and everyone. The term Nandagopala suits you too as you are the Gopala, protector of all (go means, cow, indriyas, vaak earth etc,) and who is bliss(nanda). You have also given ambaram , cloth to Draupadi, water to the horses of your chariot in the battlefield sOru, to Durvasa after the akshyapatra of Droupadi became dry.”

“Later you realized that the sempoRkazhaladi belonged to my brother , said the Lord.” Then you called him ‘selvaa baladevaa.’ Actually it was his veerakkazhal, symbol of his valour. He killed asuras and dragged the whole Hasthinapura into the Ganges by his plough when Duryodhana insulted him and diverted Yamuna to where he was, for his jalakreeda.”

“Not only that, “ said Godhaa, “being the incarnation of adhisesha he cleaned the womb of Devaki to make it divine for you, his Lord. As Devaki lost her six children Sesha entered her womb to clear the sarpa dosha, causing death of sons of Devaki and he stepped into the world to guard you from evil forces.”

“True, it must have been his thought,” said the Lord as he follows the me wherever I go which mad ethe Azvar say, 'senral kudaiyam, irundhaal singaasanamaam’ etc. as he serves me in all His states. “

“Sesha and the seshi, you, are not two but one, said Andal. That is why Valmiki refers to Lakshmana who was the incarnation of Sesha as bhahirgatha praaNa of you as Rama, the life force manifest outside..”

“ I would like to say that emperumaan nandha gopala may refer to Ramanuja, said the Lord. He was nandha gopala in the sense he gave joy to all beings and he was called emperyumaanar.”

Andal said , “yes, wasn’ he my beloved elder brother? Ambaram may mean the divine grace , thaNNeer denotes egotism and giving it means removal of it. SoRu is the kainkanryam. Allthese three are obtained from the acharya.”

“ How can I forget that he fulfilled my vow of offering to you butter and akkaravadicil in 100 vessels which made me come out and call him as my elder brother.?”

“Yes,” said the Lord “and your next pasuram was his favourite and his addiction to your verses gave him the name Thiruppavai jeeyar.”

Pasuram18

undhumadhakaLittran OdAdhathOLvaliyan

nandhagopAlan marumagalE nappinnAI

gandham kamazum kuzalee kadai thiravAi

vandhengum kOzi azaithana kAN mAdhavi

pandhAr virali un maitthunan pEr pAda

senthAmaraikkaiyAl seerAr vaLai olippa

vandhu thiravAi magizndhElOrempAvai

“Now you call Nappinnai, who was the niece of my father in my Krishnavatahra and who is reputed to have been married to me , which is in away true since she was the reincarnation of Neelaadevi, “ said the Lord.

‘Yes you being Krishna I referred to her as the marumagaL , the niece and the daughter in law of Nandagopa , whom I termed as undhumadhakaLitran and Odaadha thoL valiyan. The one who has prosperity as large as an elephant, and also has you as his son who is like an elephant. And he is the prowess not to back from fight when it comes to the question of protecting you. I addressed her as such because . It is customary to address the daughter in law by referring to the father in law like Sita introducing herself to Ravana as the daughter in law of Dasaratha”

“But we never could see you as mere Krishna but only as the Lord Narayana and hence we are addressing to Lakshmi only in fact as Nappinnai.”

“This looks to be far fetched. Nappinnai surely mean only my cousin the daughter of who she was virtually brought up in Gokula . This has been vouchsafed by your father also in his pasuram which describes my mother Yasodha saying while she called me to come and take bath,

நாண் எத்தனையும் இலாதாய் நப்பின்னை காணில் சிரிக்கும்

மாணிக்கமே என் மணியே மஞ்சனம் ஆட நீ வாராய்

because I was dirty with dust after playing and if Nappinnia saw me she will laugh.”

“Well, I will explain,” said Godha. First of all in order to get your grace one has to entreat Sridevi first since she is the purushakarabhothaa. She is marumagaL because she abides in your chest in the form of a maru, mark in which case you yourself are undhumadha-----nandhagopalan, denoting your six gunas as bhagavaan by which you give aanandha to all.”

“As such , the word Nappinnai may be taken to mean nal+pinnai, one who comes after you in all your incarnations.”

“ Very well ,” said the Lord, “then how the words pandhaar virali and maitthunan pEr paada ‘ fit in? It seems to suggest that Nappinnai was playing ball with me and slept with it in her hand.”

“This signifies that all the beings are the leela -kandhuka, play-balls for you and Devi. But to you we are only play- things but due to the grace of the divine mother we will become objects of your enjoyment. Maitthunan though colloquially means husband , it suits you as you two are the mithuna, as acouple and you are her maitthunan and vice versa.”

“She is gandham kamazhum kuzhali, dueto the natural fragrance of her tresses and also because she has lotus in her hands, sendhaamaraikkai. So this pasuram is dedicated to Sridevi,” said Andal.

“Fine ,” said the Lord, ‘ only the words, vandhengum kOzhi azhaitthana kaaN and maadhavaippandhalmEl palkaal kuyilinangaL koovina kaaN, have to be elucidated by you now.”

“ Though literally it describes the morning when the cocks are crowing everywhere and the cuckoos are singing on the madhavi creeper,” said Godha,’ “. the cock stands for the bad, asaaDhu and the cuckoos for saaDhu. The voice s of asaadhua are always loud. The cocks are everywhere but the cuckoo is only found on the madhavicreeper. The sweet sounds and words are rare to find. In this world good and bad people are found mixed .”

“ This pasuram , as I said earlier is the favourite of Ramanuja,” said the Lord,” who used to sing these pasurams when he went on biksha which gave him the name Thiruppavai jeeyar. This one is attributed to him since when he was singing Thiruppavai and going for biksha singing this particular one, Athuzhai the daughter of Peria nimbi, Ramanuja’s guru, came out for giving biksha and Ramanuja saw Sridevi herself in her and prostrated before her. So he ahs proved that you referred only to Sridevi in this .”

“ Of course he was my elder brother no? “ said Andal.

“I find another special feature regarding this pasuram,” said the Lord. “ Could you see the significance of this one being the 18th”?

Yes it is amazing that this came out to be the 18th, my Lord, “ said Godha “as it happens to sing the glory of the divine mother .”

“The sum of 1+8 is 9 a changeless number which when added or subtracted or multiplied by , the sum is 9 only. and this denotes Lakshmi who never changes her form while you took a female form as Mohini. She always remained her merciful self in all avatharas and perhaps thought that taking the male form like you who is intent on punishing the wrongdoers she may lose her dhaya.”

“ Moreover the number 18 is very significant. Gita has 18 chapters, Mahabhartha war went on for 18 days, Bhagavatha purana has 18000 slokas and so on.”

“ You remind me of a devotee whom I asked in Srirangam while assuming the mohini alamkara, whether I looked like the thaayaar. He said I looked just as beautiful as her but for the fact I do not have the mercy which is seen in her eyes!”

Andal laughed and said “ It serves you right. Even after singing thethiry pasurams and also another 113 seeking your grace did you not maintain a stony silence?”

The Lord said, “ If I had not done so I would have missed all your sweet pasurams. But I did grant your wish in the end no?”

“ But how much mental agony you made us undergo,” said Andal. The Lord said, “It was only to test the strength of your love towards me.

“Don’t you know that I am your inner self and as such can I ever leave you and go? Or can you ever be without Me?”

Andal cried with love and dissolved to become one with the Lord.

Pasuram 19

kutthuviLakkeriya kOttukkAl kattil mEl

metthenrapancha sayanatthinmElEri

kotthalar poonguzal nappinnai kongai mEl

vaitthukkidandha malarmarba vai thiravai

maitthadamkaNNinAi nee un maNAlanai

etthanai podhum thilezavottAi kAn

itthanai Agilum pirivAtrakillAyAl

thatthuvam anru thagavElOrempAvai

“ We called you directly in pasuram 17 but then understood that before approaching you the divine mother has to be entreated as she is the one who advocates the case of the devotee to you, which is called purushakaram in vaishnavism.” Said Andal and hence this and the last one . The mother will give her grace to the devotee without consulting you but will not punish without your approval”

“Oh , is that so? “ She never punishes on her own?” said the Lord.

“Yes, “Andal, “ Did she not save Hanuman from the fire praying to the fire-god to be cool, saying, 'SeethO bhava hanoomathah,' and saved the rakshasis from the wrath of Hanuman saying 'na kaSchit naoarADHyathi?' , ‘who is without fault?’ But she did not curse Ravana because, she said, she did not have the permission of you.”

“ Well , you are more considerate than Thyagraja, “ said the Lord , “ who said in his krthi ‘maajaanaki’ that Sita had all the powers to kill Ravana with her anger but desisted from it because she wanted to give the credit to Rama. “

“But it is true , my Lord that both of you compete with each other in giving the boon to the devotees. Which is the sole purpose of your as mercy,ekalakshyam dhayaayaaH, as Vedanta Desiak says in his sristhuthi,” said Andal,

“Beautiful was your visualization of my sleeping, “kutthu viLakkeru iya , kOttukkal kattil and metthenRa pancha sayanam , above all , sleeping with Nappinnai.” Said the Lord with a mischievous grin.

“None of your wise cracks here, “ said Andal, “kutthuvilakku referred her is jnana deepa. Your pancha sayana is actually Sesha , having five qualities of an ideal couch, softness.,whiteness, fragrance, coolness and beauty. Is that not why you sent him before your arrival like the bed is usually sent before the master to be ready?”

“Sridevi is never separated from you and hence you are called 'agalakillEn iraiyum ena alarmEl mangai urai mArbAn, meaning, one who has the chest from which Sridevi never wants to leave. This is the real meaning of 'nappinnai kongaimEl vaitthukkidandha malarlArba.’ Said Godha.

“Well, you describe her as having infinite mercy and still say that she will not allow me to get up and bestow my grace on you?< asked the Lord.

“It is still out of her mercy she prefers you sleeping, “ said Andal, because if you wake up you may be aware of our faults and may punish us and she wants to protect us from your wrath. “

“ But you only feign sleep and want to give her the credit of showing mercy to us and be our counsel to plead for us. You are a great actor, Maayan.”

“That is why I said to thatthuvam anRu thagavEl., Said Godha. “Thatthuvam is the truth thath thvam asi, thou art that. For us to reach that stage it will not be possible without your grace .”

Pasuram20-muppatthumoovar

muppatthumoovar amararkkum mun senru

kappam thavirkkum kaliyE thuyil ezAi

cheppam udaiyAi thiraludaiyAi chettrArkku

veppam kodukkum vimalA thuyil ezAi

cheppenna menmulai sevvAi sirumarungul

nappinnai nangAi thiruvE thuyilezAi

ukkamum thattoLiyum thandhunmaNAlanai

ippOdhE emmai neerAttElOrempavai

“The mention of your panchasayana has made you return to sleep , it seems , said Andal “ but we will not rest till you wake up and occupy your seat to hear our entreaties. Hence we again appeal to Nappinnai who is none other than Lakshmi to us.”

“ She is ready now with her grace and to wake you up, but one can only wake up the sleeping and not one who feigns sleep.”

“How did you know that I was feigning sleep?” asked the Lord.

“It is because you and you go in front of the thiry three crores of devas to protect them from calamities, mun senRu kappam thavirrkkum kali, as you volunteered in amrthamaThana , by carrying the mandhara mountain to drop it in the milky ocean, as koorma to support it on your back and helping them in churning and finally to distribute the amrtha to them in Mohini form. How can you sleep when your devotees are here beseeching your help? Will you protect only the devas? No because you have cheppam, - Arjavam, thrikaraNaSuddhi, truthful in thought word and deed. and thiral, strength or power.”

“But did not you call me as’ ElaappoygaL uRappaan ,’once?” said the Lord.

“ Yes , though as Rama you were always straight forward as Krishna you were known for anaarjavam! But we know that it is only your leela to protect the good,” said Andal. “ Did you not change the thithi itself in order to protect your devotees the Pandavas?”

Krishna replied, “ You know , when I accused Sahadeva to have helped Duryodhana by mentioning the new moon day as auspicious for victory he said, “it is my dharma as an astrologer who should not lie even to protect himself. But to find a devious means to out do the prediction is your job.” Hence I had no other alternative!”

“I made amavasya come one day earlier by doing oblations which brought the Sun and the Moon together to protest and I said since the amvasay means the day when both of them are seen together, that was the day when they have come together, so it is amavasya. Duryodhana was thus made to start the war on praThama and faced defeat!”

“Yes ,” said Andal , “That is why I called you as thiraludaiyaay- one who has skill. Arjavam alone is not enough but the skill to apply it is essential. Aarjavam towards bad will only bring sorrow.”

“ That is fine, said the Lord, but your phrase setraarkku veppam kodukkum and the epithet vimala seem to be not correlated?”

“There are no enemies for the you as such. Haven’t you said 'samoham sarva bhoothEshu, I am impartial to all. The term setraar refers to those who harm the good. Then you are like fire to them as I said veppam kodukkum. But you are vimalan, blemishless, since Vimalaa you only take away the evil from them and to make them pure you punish. Thus your retribution is for redemption.”

“What are the ukkam and thattoLi you were asking Sridevu to give you? Was it a fan and mirror ? If so for what purpose?” Asked the Lord.

“The words ukkam , fan, and thattoLi , mirror ,mean the removal of ahamkara and mamakara and granting of svarupa jnana.The grace of the divine mother is required to fan away the ego, the cause of ahamkara and mamakara and to mirror the real nature of the self.” Said Andal.

“Oh yes , I see that she ahs already showered her grace on you, said the Lord , and so I had no option but to get up and come out.” Said the Lord.

“ But you took your own time ,” said Andal to which the Lord replied that it was only to enjoy more words coming from her in the course of waking him up.

Pasuram21

EttrakalangaL edhirpongi meedhaLippa

mAttrAdhE pAlsoriyum vaLLal perum pasukkaL

AttrappadaitthAn maganE arivurAi

oottram udaiyAi periyAy ulagellAm

thOttramAi ninra sudarE thuyil eZai

MAttrAr unakkE vali tholaindhunvAsar kaN

AttrAdhE vandhun adi paniyumAppolE

pOttriyAm vandhu ninrOm pugazndhElOrempAvai

“You know ,” said the Lord , “ this pasuram also reminds me of Ramanuja, of which I will tell you later. Now let us go the pasuram in which you have started waking me up after getting Sridevi to your side so that I have no option but listen to you both.”

“ Like saying abhivadhaye I see that you first mentioned my father , Nanda and said aatrappadaitthaan magane”

“Yes my Lord, how can I refrain from mentioning him, who has abundant cows which give out milk in plenty making the pots overflow,, EtrakalangaL edhirpongi meedhaLippa, which reminds us of you yourself who gives more than what they ask for ,maatraadhE paal soriyum vaLLal, to the devotees. . You are the omnipotent, ootram udaiyaay, omnipresent , periyaay, supreme light that pervades the whole universe, ulagellaam thOtramaai ninra sudar, which is but a manifestation of your glory. What can we ask you , who is ready to give everything? Whatever we ask will be infinitesimal compared with what you are ready to give.”Andal replied.

“Who is preventing you to ask as much as you want, when I am prepared to give all” said the Lord.

Andal replied, “When the cows are generous and give in plenty it is left to the one who milks them to take as much or as little he wants. Similarly you there to give all but we get only as much according to the vessel we take to you. . To ask for paltry things of the world when you are prepared to give the infinite bliss is like asking a millionaire for a few coins. But our ignorance prevents us due to our karma. As you have said in Gita, yaavaanarTha udhapaane samvrthaH sampluthodhake, Even when the entire land is flooded the well can contain only as much water as it can hold .So too one can comprehend only as much as his intellect can grasp.”

“. Hence, maatraar unakkE valitholaindhu un vaasaRkaN aatraadhE vandhun adipaNiyumaappOle, realising our worthlessness we have come to your door step to serve you like the foes you have vanquished come to you with humility to serve you. All we are capable of doing is, pOtri yaam vandhu ninRom, pugazhndhu, only to sing your glory.”

“ Now I will tell you why this pasuram reminded me of Ramanuja, said the Lord.

“This epithet AttrappadaitthAn applies to Sri Ramanuja who had sishya paprampara like a large herd of cows who gave the milk of jnana and I was like the magan of him who called me selvappillai, on retrieving my idol from the princess of a muslim ruler and established it back in Melkote where they call uthsavavigraha of me as sampatkumaran or selvappillai in Tamil.”

“My words like ootram udaiyaay describing you has also been construed to mean your five forms later by some vaishanva saints, said Andal.”

ootram udaiyai denoting your parathva or paravasudeva, periyai the vyuha rupa , ulagelam thOtramai referring to the incarnations or vibhavas, the word ninra denoting the archavathara and sudarE is the antharyami. “

‘Of these, paravasudeva is inaccessible like the avaranajala, cosmic waters as you are in vaikunta in that state, the vyuhas are like the milky ocean which can be made accessible through inspired meditation, as you have been seen by many devotees.The vibhavas or incarnations are like monsoon floods as they happen once in a while whereas the archavatharas, the idols worshipped in temples and other places are like reservoirs of water always available. Antharyami state of you is like water in the earth, ever existing but invisible found only through proper digging.”

“So, “ said the Lord, this was your real implication then?”

“My Lord, the words come through me but you are the one who makes them so. Hence it is not my doing but it is yours in reality. I am like the parrot in my hand repeating what you tell me to say.” Said Andal.

Pasuram-22-angaNma jnAlatthu

angaNmAjnAlatthu arasar abhimAna

bhangamAi vandhu nin paLLikkattirkeezE

sangamirupparpOla vandhu thalai ppeydhO

kinkiNi vai keenda thAmaraippooppOla

sengaN sirucchiridhe emmEl viziyavo

thingalum Adhithiyaunum ezundhArpOl

angaN irandum kondu engaL mel nOkkudhiyEl

engaLmEl sApam izindhElOrempavai

“ This is the last pasuram endeavouring to wake you up. From the next we see you in front and appeal to you to grant our wish,” said Andal.

“We have come in groups and stand near your bed waiting for you to wake up and see us. This reminds me of the kings imprisoned by Jarasandha who adorned this beautiful world, angNmaajnaalam, and were released by you . They were waiting to serve you giving up their ego, abhimaanabangam, and eagerly stood before you. “

“Like Arjuna who was waiting for me to wake up in Dvaraka?” Said the Lord.

“Yes, my Lord, like wise we are standing at your feet, paLLikkattiRkeezhe. After many births and having suffered, due to our punya we have come to you in this birth, vandhu thalaippeydhom. We want the first glance to fall on us when you wake up like the time when you looked at Arjuna in preference to Duryodhana when both of them came to seek the help of you in the war. Duryodhan had abhimana and Arjuna had his abhimana removed and hence we are like him.”

“ I will do it right now ,” said the Lord, but Andal said, not so fast.”

“Not so fast? You only wanted me to open my eyes and look at you.” Said the Lord.

AndaL replied, “Will you not look at us with your eyes half closed like a lotus flower slowly opening that resembles the ankle bells.? “

“Why, “ said the Lord.

“ They should be half closed in order not to see the faults of those who surrender to you and half open to grant protection. If you only glance at us with your half opened eyes, all our curse which gave us this janma will vanish. Your eyes are like the Sun and the Moon. Like the Sun they scorch our sins when they fall on us and like the Moon they are cool giving solace.” Said Andal.

“ But when the sun rises the lotus will blossom and it will close when the moon rises. “ said the Lord.

“Yes, said Andal,” but if both rise simultaneously the lotus will appear to be neither open nor closed, in other words, half closed.”

“ Hence your lotus like eyes, signifying the external eye, chengaN, should open little by little and your angaN, inner eye should be on us so that our sins vanish. With the mind from which Moon was born you should bless us with your cool glance and with your eyes from which the Sun was born, you should remove our darkness of ignorance.”

“We ourselves are the angaNmaajnaalttharasar, angaN meaning the enchanting world and arasar denotes our ego born out of sareea abhimana, that drives us into the world enjoying the sensual pleasures . Knowing that the sareera abhimana is the cause of misery , one who has given up that , abhimaana bhangam, is the one who comes near you yearning for his grace, sangam iruppaar, and surrender, thaliapeydhu.”

“'After many lives due to some merit done in some early life we have been blessed with the thought of approaching you and have come to serve you and you have to look at us with mercy and save us.”

The Lord fulfilled their wish and was about to come out and bless them which gave Andal an exhilaration which made her to say the next pasuram.asuram
23marimalaimuzainjil mannikkidandhurangum

seeriya singam arivutru thee vizitthu

vErimayirponga eppAdum pErtthudhari

moori nimirndhu muzangi purappattu

pOdharumappOlE nee poovaippoovaNNA un

koil ninringanE pOndharuli kOppudaitya

seeriya singAsanatthirundhu yAm vandha

kAriyam ArAindhu arulElOrempAvai

“Well,” said the Lord, “ You really were wonderful in describing me when I came out”

Yes. Oh Lord you will came out of your slumber like a lion out of its cave, which reminded me of your narasimhavathara. That is why I said maarimalaimuzhainjil mannikkidamdhu urangum seeriya singam.”Said Andal.

“But, said the Lord, “I came out of a pillar only and not a mountain cave”

Andal said,” mari malai muzainjil is the pillar in the mountain-like palace of Hiranayakasipu, which is compared to the cave, (muzhinjil) as you remained there, mannikkidandhurangum, invisible like the sleeping lion inside the cave, waiting for the time to manifest.”

“Maari is rainy season when the lion sleeps inside the cave. You were showering your grace on your devotee Prahlada so long while his father tried to torment him. When it reached the end, you came out like seeriya singam, a roaring lion, muzangi purappattu. You were always fierce as the lion even when sleeping strikes fear in the mind of those who harm your devotees. You spring forth hearing the cry of devotees, aRivutru, looking firce, thee vizhitthu.”

“ Your manifestation of Narasimha was athyadhbhutha roopam says,VYasa, in Bhagavatham bec ause it has to be imagined and is beyond description. ‘

“VEri mayirponga, the mane standing erect, eppadum pErtthudhari like a lion shaking ts mane when coming out, moori nimirndhau ,standing erect, muzhangi ,purappattu- advancing with a roar, you, who is is graceful like a flower, poovaippoovaNNan. “

“On second thoughts, Said Andal, you were narasimhaturned into Krishna , the poovaippoo vaNNan and not vice versa”

“But, “ sai the Lord, “ I was reclining in my form as Naryana, on the bed of Adiseshs whenyou as bhoodevi came and entreated me to incarnate in order to lessen your burden.”

“I will explain, “ said Andal, “

“mAri is the waters of ksheerAbdDHi and the malai, mountain is the mountain-like Adhisesha and inside his coils like the cave of the mountain you were sleeping. You were Narayana who manifested as Narasimha and hence it is only Narasimha who is there. On being entreated by me , vErimayir ponga, throwing off your mane of lion, you assumed beautiful form as Krishna, poovaippoo vaNNan, and sent adhisesha before you. Did not Sankara said that all the thousand names are of Narsimha,' nArasimhavapuh', and sarvapraharaNAyuDHah, the last nama denoting only Narasimha as it means that all things are your weapons, which includes the nakha, nails which you used in Nrsimhavathara. “

“There is confirmation from the Vedas too. Does not the Upanishad says, that inside the orb of the Sun a golden purusha is seen , who has everything golden from His nails to the mane, which implies that it is you as Narasimha, as Narayana, the innerself of all.”

“ I have no reply to this,” said the Lord. As Vedantadesika later said in his Varadarajapanchasath I occupied the whole universe in the form of Narasimha because I was not sure where Hiraynyakasipu was going to point. I came out of one pillar which Hiranyakasipu struck. “

“Yes, that is why he asserts that the whole universe is still narasimhagarbha. “ saidAndal.

“So I am in fierce form only everywhere?” said the Lord.

“No my lord,” said Andal, “Your eyes are fierce only to the wicked but the same eyes are cool like the moon to the devotees. Did I not say in the previous pasuram, ‘thingaLum aadhitthiyanum ezhundhaarpOl.”

“As the same Desika called you as kapatakesari, you were deceptive in your appearance in the Lion -man form and hence I said poovaippoovaNNa. “

“Well now ,” said the Lord, You were offering a simhasan for me to sit down and listen to your request. But why it is called seeriya singaasanam?” Said the Lord.

Andal said , “ Sure it was a purposeful word.

“seeriya singAsanam is the seat of justice. If you sit there you cannot go back on your words. This is also the reason in referring to you as Nrsimha because you manifested as Narsimha with so much trouble to make true the words of your devotees, the words of Prahlada that the Lord is everywhere and of Brahma who gave the boons to Hiranyakasipu which necessitated you to fulfil so many conditions in appearance as well as the manner of killing Hiranyakasipu. Nrsimha is the family deity of Andal. “

“I said arimugan achythan in my verses describing my dream 'vAraNamAyiram,' which implies that the arimugan, lion- faced one is achutha one who never forsakes. Did you not protect Prahlada at each and every step from the attempts of his father to kill him?

“ By the way I am not the only one to have this opinion. Did not Rukmini also in her letter to Krishna called you only as Achyutha and Nrsimha.

“I know what opinion you have about me as Krishna , “ said the Lord, “ Have not you referred to me elsewhere as 'ElAppoygaL uraippAn,'one who tells numerous lies?”

“But , my Lord , we loved you only because of that” said Andal, ‘you were delightful as Krishna only due to your pranks But here it is for a different reason. We want you to our requests and grant them. ‘Yaam vandha kaariyam aaraayndhu aruL’ knowing that we have come without desiring anything else except your service . “

“Is there any other hidden meaning to your words,” said the Lord as though he was not aware of the real implication.”

“Yes, there is . Before that I want to ask you a question of which the people on earth very much toknow the answer, “Said Andal. Their question is this:

“In Ramavathara and Krishnavathara several people prayed for it . But in Narasimhavathara, it was to protect one Prahlada. In present day we have the reign of Hiranya (gold) everywhere but why the Lord has not come yet? “

The Lord replied, “ it is because there is no Prahlada here yet. All have only Hiranyas in various proportions! The word HiraNya kaSipu and Hiranyakksha can be explained as hiraNyam eva kaSipuH yasya saH hiranyakasipuH ( kaSipu meaning food and drink), that is one to whom gold is the food and drink, hiraNy akshiH yasya saH hiraNyaakshaH, one whose eyes are always on gold only .Everyone on earth are thus hiranyakshas and hiranyakasipus only though the propensity may be less or more.”

It is sadly so my Lord , said Andal. Now I will answer your question about any hidden meaning of my words.

“MAri malai muzainjil refers to the vedas which are the mountain in which the caves are the upanishads that contain the secret of the vedas, mannikkidandhurangum seeriya singam , meaning Brahman, synonymous with Lord Narayana of visishtadvaita, who is vedavedhya. One who fathoms the meaning of the upanishads, arivuttru, shines with the intellect ,theevizitthu and goes out in the world, pOdharumAppOle to spread the message of the Lord, vErimayirponga eppAdum pErtthudhri, by thought word.”

While she was saying thus the Lord came and sata on the throne to hear their pleas. But as soon as she saw him sitting on it she forgot everything elaeand started praising Him. We shall swee this in the next pasuram.

Pasuram 24

anru ivvulagam aLandhAi adi pOttri

chenranguthennilangai chettrAi thiral pOttri

ponracchagaam udhaitthai pugazpottri

kanru kuNila erindhai kazal pOttri

kunrukudaiyai edutthAi guNam pOttri

venru pagai kedukkum nin kayil vel pOttri

enrenrum un sEvagamE EtthipparaikoLvAn

inru yAm vandhOm irangElorempavai

Andal said, “Now you have come out and seated yourself on the throne we set for you, which is none other than our heart, and you are asking us to tell the purpose of our visit, vandha kaariyam. But My Lord , we have absolutely forgotten why we came, on seeing you!”

The Lord said, “you have mentioned my thrivikramavathara three times so far, Ongi ulagaLandha , ambaramoodaRutthu Ongi ulagalandha , and this one, anRu ivvulagam aLandhaai.”

“We are lost in rapture in seeing your lotus feet , thinking that these tender looking foot once measured the whole universe!”Andal. “ Actually you did not get the third step because by first you had covered the earth and by second the sky and so where is the place for the third? Mahabali was included in the first step itself as he is in earth only. That is why I am now giving you three steps!”

“Thank you” said the Lord, but why did you say senRangau thennilangai cheRRaai? I did not destroy lanka which I had already given to Vibheeshaana. “

“ We marvel at your prowess of vanquishing the king of Lanka in your incarnation of Rama and the feet , which traveled through the forest and went to Lanka, “Andal, “If you wanted to kill RavaNa you could have done it from AyodhyA itself and need not have taken the trouble of going to the forest at all. But you went to dhandakaraNya in order to give refuge to the rshis there. So the feet which walked all the way to DhandakAraNya are praised here.”

“Thennilangai chettrai does not mean that you destroyed Lanka. I have aleady made it clear when I said ‘thennilangao I kOmaanaichetra. But, the word means, then=beautiful , nilam = country, kai= kaikkonda , one who had it in his hands, that is, Ravana. So the phrase means ' praise be to you who destroyed Ravana.”

“Is it this beautiful looking foot that kicked the cart and broke it to pieces! ponRacchakatam udhaitthaai pugazh pOtri.”

The Lord said, “ Even my mother did not believe the words of the boys who said that the cart went to pieces because I kicked it and she felt my feet to ensure that it was not hurt.”

Andal said, “kanru kunilA erindhAi . It was the arms which threw the asura who came in the form of a calf (kanRu)but we praise your his feet, kazal pOttri, because when you threw up the calf,(kuNilaa erindhaay) the posture you were standing in, drew the attention to your graceful and lotus-like feet.”

“At least in the next line you praised my arm when you said kunRu kudaiyaai edutthaai, “said the Lord.” No,” said Andal , even there your feet are to be praised because it is the feet the gopas surrendered when oppressed by deluge-like rain.”

The Lord said , “I do not know why I am portrayed in pictures and sculptures a sholding the mountain raised up with my little finger. . I held the mountain as an umbrella which means that I grasped it with all my fingers and inverted it like an umbrella. The words in Bhagavatha 'cchathraakam iva ' like an umbrella has been taken to imply that I inverted the mountain, which has been vouchsafed by Desika and your father, Periazhvar.. My telling the gopas 'yathopajosham visatha girigartham sagodhanaah,' meaning , enter into these hollows or caves of the mountain along with the cattle etc. and live there. So the beings of gokula were not standing under the mountain but lived comfortably in the caves as in their houses. Unless the mountain was upturned this is not possible as they could not have climbed up the top which was under the rain.”

“Yes my father has explained this to me,” said Andal. “He described this incident beautifully by 10 verses says that the hand of Krishna looked like adhisesha holding the earth.'padangal palavumudai paambaraiyan padarbhoomiyai thaanga kidappavan pol' as the fingers resembled the hoods of the sesha with his hand opened wide, 'thadangai viraindhum malara vaitthu.”

“Yes, said the Lord “ I really enjoyed his words saying senthaamarai kaiviral aindhinaiyum kuppaaga edutthu mani neduntholl kaambaaga kodutthu kavitthamalai.' ‘upturned the mountain 'kavitthu,' holding it with five fingers of lotus-like hand, with His arm as the supporting stick of the umbrella,’ and he also said'the streams of water falling around looked like the pearl strings round the umbrella,'parandhizi thellaruvi muthuvadam.'”

“Yes,my Lord, All these show without doubt that you must have held the mountain with His hand and not His little finger, which must have been the modification later for the sake of dramatic element,” said Andal.

“Indeed these are the feet that stood holding the govardhana hill for seven days! What kind of vatsalya was that which made you stand still for seven days to protect your devotees! That is why I said gunam pOtri, to show your mercy in protecting all from the torrential rain. “

“ Of course we do extol your arm that wields the weapon that destroys the enemies”. venRu pagai kedukkum- you destroy the pagai , the enmity, by winning over , venRu, Even when you kill it is only to remove the enmity which will last as long as that janma lasts. “

“I am sure this pasuram also has some hidden meaning,” said the Lord.

“Let me point them out myself. This pasuram denotes saranagathi, the 6 pOtri implying the six angas of saranagathi as mentioned by me in the Paancharathra agama, then ilangai means the one who has the beautiful(then) land ( ilangai), that is , body, as the abode , meaning the mind. Chttraay means leading the mind in the right path. “

“The wheel sakadam implies the karma which leads the jeeva towards its path , namely birth and death. I kick this wheel to pieces( ponRa ) by my feet when you surrender to me.” Anything else ? “

“Yes my Lord there is more,” said Andal.” The word pOttri repeated six times denotes that you are none other that Narayana who has six gunas that define the word BhagavAn, namely, jnana, bala, aisvarya,shakthi, thEjas and veeryam.”

“ponRacchakadam udhaitthaai can also mean the wheel of the chariot which you pressed so that it sank into the earth and Karna’s nagasthra blew only the crown of Arjuna. The word chakadam or wheel may refer to the heads of Kaliya which rotated like wheel and your feet dancing on them, kicking them(udhaitthaay)”

“KunRu denotes your qualities like soulabhya. souSeelya and vaathsalya. You protect us using these as an umbrella from the rain of sin. If there are any remnants of sin which prevents us from reaching your feet, due to our beginningless avidhya , you use will like a lance (vEl) to destroy them.”

“Excellent. Now tell me what do you want. “ Said the Lord.

. Andal replied ,”We have come today to serve you ever and obtain your grace Have mercy on us.”

The Lord laughed and said, “ You proved that you are the daughter of Periazhvar, who sang PallAndu for me, in offering mangalASAsanam, saying pOtri, pOtri. “

Pasuram 25

OrutthimaganAippirandhu Oriravil

orutthimaganAi oLitthhu vaLara

tharikkilAnAgi thAn theengu ninaindha

karutthaippizaippitthu kanjan vayittril

neruppennaninranedumAle unnai

arundhitthu vamdhOm paraitharudhiyAgil

thirutthakkaselvamum sevagamum yAm pAdi

varutthamum theerndhu magizndhElO rempAvai

Andal continued her eulogy overwhelmed by the words of the Lord. She said,

“Oh Lord, You are all pervading yet was born as the son of Devaki, orutthi maganaai piRandhu, which is only your Maya, because how can you have a normal birth like ordinary human being? You manifested as the son of Devaki and grew up in Gokul, disguised as the son of Yasodha, orutthi maganaai olindhu valarndha. The disguise is not due to fear from Kamsa but it was according to your words in the Gita, ‘naaham prakaaSaH sarvasya yogamaayaa samaavrthaH, mooDo ayam naabhijaanaathi loko maam aja, avyayam’, meaning, ‘I am not perceptible to all, concealed by My yogamaya and the ignorant folks do not know Me as unborn and immutable.’ That is why Kamsa feared you, like a fire in his stomach, and hated you and tried to harm you. “

“Now we have sought you and all we want is to be in your service. If you grant us that all our sorrows due to samsara will come to an end and we shall ever be happy.”

The Lord said, “This is my avatararahasya, as I said to Arjuna, ‘'janma karma cha mE dhivyam Evam yO vEtthi thathvathah;thyakthvA dhEham punarjanma naithi mAmEthi sO Arjuna, one who knows the truth behind my incarnation and my actions, O Arjuna, never riverts back to brth once he leaves his body.' “

“The n what is he truth of your janma my Lord?’ Asked Andal. The Upanishad says, 'ajAyamAnO bahudhA vijAyathe,' the one who has no birth is born many times.”

The Lord answered, “ this statement, though looks as self contradicting ,is not really so. I am never born like an ordinary mortal as I have no karma and hence need not undergo the garbhavasa. I only manifest myself and the mothers like Devaki, Kousalya and even Adhithi feel as though they were giving birth to me through my mAya . And the truth that I am Lord Narayana was a secret known only to a chosen few and my actions which seemed to be baffling to a common mind were all explicable to them.”.

“But disguising yourself seems to be habitual to you, my Lord! You concealed yourself inside the pillar to protect Prahlada, disguised yourself as Vamana to protect the devas, appeared as Rama to protect the rshis of dandakaranya and here you came as Gopala to protect the yadhavakula.” Said Andal.

“ And you omitted to mention my disguise as Varaha to retrieve you as Bhoodevi form the ocean, “said the Lord.

“ Yes, you always concealed your true nature by your maya. Even though you did nothing but wonders to show that you are divine in Krishnavatara, you immediately hid yourself behind your maya. Vasudeva and Devaki saw that you were none other than the four armed Vishnu but then through your maya they were afraid that Kamsa will harm you and prayed to transform yourself as an ordinary child. When in Gokula you performed superhuman feats like killing the demons and conquering Kaliya and uplifting the mountain etc.. still the people believed that you were their mischievous yet loveable Krishna.” said Andal.

“Your words ‘orutthimaganaai piRandhu and orutthi maganaai valarndha ‘ reminds me of Nammazvar and Ramanuja ,” said the Lord,” Nammazvar was like Devaki who gave birth to me in the form of Thiruvaimozhi. But it was Ramanuja who was like Yasodha because due to him only the Thiruvaimozhi which was lost to the world came to be known to all.”

Pasuram 26

mAlE maNivaNNA mArgazineerAduvAaam

mElaiyAr seyvanagaLvEnduvanaj kEttiyEl

jnAlatthai ellAm nadunga muralvana

pAlnnavaNNatthun pAnchajanniyamE

pOlvanasangangaL pOyppASdudaiyanavE

SAlapperumparaiyE pallANdisaippArE

kOlaviLakkE kodiyE vithAnmE

Alin ilaiyay aruLElO rempAvai

Finally now you are specifying what you required from me as the result of your pavai nonbu, after your sacred bath in the month of margazi following the tradition set out by your elders ” said the Lord.

“But there is a difficulty. You are asking for conches like my milk-hued panchajanya which causes tremor for the whole world with its sound, great drums, people who sing pallaAndu, beautiful lamps, flag and canopies.”

“The problem is there is no conch, milk hued like mine and if I give you that what will I do? Another of different colour will be alright?”

Andal replied, “ Surely you are having fun at my expense because yopu know very well what I meant. Any way iw will tell you why I specified the white colour. The white coloured conch is supposed to give loud sound. The white colour also denotes satthva which is the great sound that enters the and drives out the rajas and thamas. “

“But you are the one who slept on a banyan leaf, ‘aalin ilaiyaay as I said , meaning that nothing is impossible for you who can create, sustain and annihilate the world, all can be done through the sound of your conch alone, ’jnaalatthai ellaam nadunga muralvana,’ as it is synonymous with pranava. When you blew his conch before the battle all the kouravas were already destroyed and the actual battle was only a drama through your leela. Was it not?”

“ You converted an ordinary kuSa grass into brahmasthra in Ramavathara and reduced the sea to a ditch by crossing over it easily, used monkeys as your army and vanquished the mighty Ravana as easily as you would swat a fly, and endless miracles you did in Krishnavatara. So to create conches like yours is a child’s play for you.”

“I can see ,” said the Lord , “that you are much enamoured with paanchajanya since you have attributed three lines to it alone describing it in detail.”

Andal said, “three lines are allotted for the conch alone because, it is equivalent to the pranava which has three mathras, a,u, and m and Panchajanya was similar to you, born in the sea, grew into the body of the asura panchajana and finally reached your hand and you also were born in Madura, grew in Gokula and migrated to Dvaraka..”

“Very ingenuous , “ said the Lord, but I knl ow that you were not asking for these things in the real sense of the terms . So tell me what you imply by them. “

Andal said , “It is not the conch really we ask for but for a nature of suddha satthva, both inside and outside which drives out the rajas and thamas in us which by creating the big sound of your nama in us drives out the other thoughts.”

“We next ask for the big drum , saalapperumpaRai, which is the namasankeerthana which pervades everywhere and eclipses all other noises. We also wish for the sathsangam like those who sing pallandu for you so that our minds will not be swayed by association with the worldly people.”

“We ask for the lamps that are lit around you, which is the intellect that is absorbed in you..Let us carry the flag of devotion to signify that we belong to you. Please also give us the canopy, vithaanam, of your protection”

“The spiritual significance ,” said the Lord, “ has been pointed out by devotee-saints that this pasuram being the 26th,. It signifies me, who is paramathma. There are 24 thathvas or evolutes of prkrthi, the primordial nature and 25th is the jeevathma denoted as purusha who is implied by the last pasuram 'orutthimaganaippirandhu' This pasuram refers to the paramathma ,the 26th. It also denotes the ashtakshara manthra which is 8=2+6.The number 2 stands for the dhvaya manthra and the number 6 denotes the six padhas of the dhvaya and also the six angas, limbs of prapatthi.”

“Not only that, my Lord, this pasuram also denoted the six angas of prapatthi.”said Andal.

1.SAlapperumparai- denotes Anukoolya sankalapam.Parai is the enjoined karma which are approved by God. Perumparai is the resolve to do the enjoined karma.

2.jnAlatthai ---pOyppAdudaiyanaveL- prthikoolya varjanam-pAnchajanyam means the indhriyavyaApAra, born of indhriyas, that is anything done with the five indhriyas. pAlannavaNNam- denotes the satthva- oriented action and pOippAdu implies wide application of indhriyas in avoiding the actions that are prohibited.

3.kOlavilakku- denotes mahAviSvasam.the faith should be like the kutthuviLakku, steady and one-pointed.

4.vithAnam-gopthrthvavaraNam.as the vithAna , canopy protects the Lord from sun and rain He will protect us from sin

5.kodi-karpanyam.The word kodi also means creeper and the prapanna needs the support of the Lord as the creeper needs the tree.

6.pallAndisaippar- those who have no other wish except singing the glory of the Lord, indicate phalathyagam.This way of life continues till the end for a prapanna.”

“Wonderful, “ said the Lord to which Andal replied, “what is so wonderful my Lord, when I am nothing but parrot in your hand and repeats what ha sbeen said by you and repeated by others before me. Like a father who feels elated when a child repeats what has been said to him , you are praising me because you are the embodiment of love. Your lustre is like the blue sapphire which lighted up the dark prison cell and also the path of Vasudeva in the night and now it shines inside our heart to dispel the darkness
of ignorance in us.”

Pasuram 27

koodArai vellum seer gOvindhA unthannai

pAdipparai kondu yAm peru sanmAnam

nAdu pugazum parisibnAl nanrAga

choodagamE thoLvaLaiye thodE sevippoovE

pAdagamE enranaiya palkalnum yAm aNivOm

Adai uduppOm adhan pinnE par sOru

moodanei peidhu muzangai vazi,vAra

koodiyirundhu kulirndhElOrempAvAi

The Lord said, “I will certainly grant your wish.I suppose you are happy now?”

Andal with extreme joy replied, “Oh Lord Govinda, You win over even those who do not come to you of their own accord, by your love and attributes, so that any one who comes in contact with you cannot help being your devotees. Hence you are kooddarai vellum seer Govindan.”

“You conquer, vellum, even those who turn away from you , koodaar, by your attributes, seer, and you are conquered by those who love you. Did not Vali who first despised you as Rama for killing him with an arrow hiding yourself, praised you in the end and so did Tara and MandOdhari even though you killed their husbands. Ravana was defeated by your valour, Surpanakha by your beauty and Vibheeshana by your divinity.”

“This remind me of a funny episode in my life as Krishna,” said the Lord. .I used to steal butter and most of the people welcomed it as the cows started yielding bountiful milk and the butter was excessive equal to the quantity of the curd after I have eaten them. But how ever there were some who were against me for this. Such a man was waiting to catch me when I came into his house attached a bell to the pot.. I came stealthily and stole the butter and the moment I started eating the bells rang.. The owner of the house came and caught me and tied me with a rope. But I caught hold of his hands and held him. In the meanwhile I went to the wife of the man disguised as her husband and asked her to open the door of her chamber. When she let me in, I said that Krishna is a mayavi and he might come in the guise of the husband and told her not to open the door. Then the real husband suddenly finding me disappear came to her room and she did not let him in. Then I told her to open the door so that they can bind him if he was really Krishna . They opened the door and bound him and out of pity I showed them my real form and converted them into bhakthas.”

“What a delightful episode , “ said Andal.

“Well , said the Lord, “ I have granted your wish . What are you going to do now?”

Andal replied, “the reward for our singing the glory of you obtaining your grace as mentioned earlier is to be united with you. We shall enjoy this by adorning ourselves with all ornaments and eating the sweet rice with a lot of ghee which drips over our elbows. “

“Of course we dress in new clothes and wear ornaments because it is only fit to appear in a proper manner in front of you who is the king of kings.”

“We will be wearing choodagam-bangle, thOLvaLai-jewelled armband, thodu, sevippoo , the ear ornaments and paadagam-anklet and wear new clothes.

“Not only that. While I said in the beginning, neyyuNNOm paaluNNOm, now that you have given us what we wanted, we will eat akkaaravadisil or sarkaraippongal , that too mooda ney peydhu muzhangai vazi vaara, ) with ghee overflowing and dripping through our elbows.”

The Lord said, “ why should you allow the ghee to drip down instead of eating it?”

“ It is because , when we offer it to you as naivedhyam we will be looking at your face and will forget to eat it.” Said Andal.

“You are verily the daughter of him who mentioned, neyyidai sorum (rice mixed with ghee) niyathamum atthANicchEvagamaum( the opportunity to do service to Him daily) kaiadaikkAyum(thAmboolam-betel leaves and nuts etc)kazutthukku pooN (neck ornament) kAdhukku kunNdalam (earrings)meyyidai nalladhOr sandham( fragrant sandal paste to apply on the body, when coming to serve me.” Said the Lord.

“But what we mean actually is that we will wear your signs and the ashtakshara manthra , dhvaya manthra and the caramasloka are the real ornaments for us. The bliss of being near you is like the sweet meat which drips of love like ghee from the sweet rice. The new clothes we wear is the awareness that we are your servants .We share the happiness of being with you which oozes out like the ghee dripping from the elbow ,on eating the sweet pongal.” Said Andal.

“When we imagined ourselves as 'Ayppadiselvacchirumeer' the girls fortunate in living in ayarpadi which denotes the sAlOkyam kind of mukthi, that is living in the same world you.. Reaching the abode of you , 'nandhagopan koil' implies sAmeepyam, the nearness of you.. In the previous pasuram we asked for all the signalia of the you, like pAnchjanya etc. which refers to the sAroopyam, the likeness of you. In this pasuram the union with you is meant, that is sAyujayam. The words pAlsOru moodanei peidhu and koodiyirundhu denote that the final state in devotion aspired for, that is, the constant union with the you and enjoy the bliss along with you.”

“You have called me as Govinda which is my favourite nama, said the Lord and Andal replied that it is the favourite of his devotees as well because it has grewta implications.

“Not once but three times I will call you so and I will elaborate on it in my next pasuram, “said Andal. The Lord said “ I am waiting eagerly to taste the sweet ‘paaRsOru that will come from you tomorrow, ” which made Andal feel humble and she expressed it beautifully in the next pasuram.

Pasuram28-karavaigal pin senru

karvaigaL pin senru kanam mEithunbOm

arivonrum illAdha Aikkulatthundhannai

piravipperundhanai puNNiam yAmudaiyom

kuraivonrum illAdha gOvindhA unthannOdu

uravEl namakkinru ozikka oziyAdhu

ariyAdha piLLaigalOm anbinAl unthannai

sirupEr azaitthanavum Seeri aruLAdhE

iraivA nee tharAi paraiyElOrempAvai

When the Lord praised her in the previous Pasuram, suddenly Andal was made aware of her insignificance which is the usual emotion a devotee feels when the Lord showers His grace. Nammazvar felt this and went and hid himself near a culvert thinking that he did not deserve the grace of the Lord. Arjuna felt this when Krishna showed him his visvaroopa.

Now Andal imagining herself as a gopi, says, “ Oh Lord, you are flawless and we are right opposite, being ignorant and thus do not deserve your infinite mercy. We do not know your greatness. Like the cowherds who follow their cows and eat when they graze and bring them back.”

“You are perfect without a blemish having innumerable auspicious qualities whereas we have nothing but defects. How can we understand your simplicity in becoming one among us and your mercy in making yourself easily available to all. ?”

“But we have one qualification. We have found out that you are the only true relative to us and we love you due to some previous punya. But out of love we might have treated you with familiarity as one of us like Arjuna did and we feel similar remorse. So please do not get angry but shower your grace on us.”

The Lord said, “ Did you ever wonder how I came to be born in the clan of cowherds? You said you have done some punya for that to happen, aaykkulatthu unthannai piRaviperumthanai puNNiyam yaam udaiyom. The punya of the aaykkula was the gorakshana or looking after the cows, as the cow has all the fourteen worlds in its body and circumambulating the cow three times is equivalent to going round the earth.”

“ You said , you were ignorant , aRivonRumilladha aaykkulam. I expect only love which at its height becomes bhakthi more than learning or austerities as I have said 'nAham vedhairh na thapasA na DhAnEna na chejyayaa----bhakthyA thu ananyayA sakyah,' To understand me in reality is possible only through bhakthi and not by penance, meritorious deeds or by performing sacrifices. Due to punya alone one gets bhakthi, which you have in abundance.”

Andal said,” Yes, that is why Sabari had done more punya than Guha as you did not eat what Guha brought but ate only from Sabari. This was because she had aachaarya smbandha. But to us , poor cowherd girls who is the acarya?”

The Lord replied that The cows themselves served as their acharya, like the King Dileepawho was told by Vasishta to serve Nandhini, the calf of Kamadhenu to get his wish of progeny.

, “The real aRivu or wisdom is only that about me. All the rest are only ignorance. Well I am waiting for your elucidation of the name Govinda,” said the Lord.

“You are Govinda ,” said Andal,” because, you give mukthi as gaa means svargam or moksham.

You acquired the astras from Visvamitra in Ramavatara and gaa means ishu or astras.

.You knew the cows gaaH , meaning , you knew them to be the rshis of dandakaranya.

You are known by the Vedas, ‘go’ also meaning Vedas.

You enabled Indra to get his vajra by advising him to go to Dhadheechi and beg him to give his backbone, gaa, meaning vajrayudha..

You have eyes everywhere as you are refereed to be sahasraakshaH sahasrapaath, gaah meaning eyes, plural form signifying more than two , thrinethra for instance as Narasimha as nammazvar says ‘muniyE naanmuganE mukkaNNapaa.’

You have a fiery form being in the centre of the orb of the Sun, suryamandalamaDhyavarthi as upanshad says, gaah also meaning jwaalaah or flames.

As the word ‘go’ means earth, water, vedas and sense organs, you brought out the earth as varaha , you resorted to the waters as mathsya and koorma, you are the real purport of the Vedas and you are the Lord of the indhriyas , as Hrsheekesa.”

“Astounding ,” said the Lord, “ I myself may have forgotten the various significance of the name. Above all this name is dear to you as your birthplace , ssrivilliputthur is referred to as govindan vaazhumoor.’”

“The most important meaning of the name is your lifting the govardhana , is not it so? “ Said Andal , ‘go’ being another rname for a mountain and also specially so as it was also go vardhan, the benefactor of the cows.”

“Your govindapattabhishekam is deemed as being even superior to your abhisheka in Ramavatara, my Lord. You know why?”

“Tell me,” said the Lord with an impish grin.

“Valmiki said that the abhisheka doem by vasishta was like that of Indra done by the devas. But here Indra himself did the abhisheka!” said Andal.

“When I am called Govinda I feel indebted to the devotee, said the Lord, as in the case of Droupadi who screamed with grief calling me Govinda when I immediately came to the rescue. Hence the name is not only dear to you but to me also.”

Pasuram 29

sitramsirukAlE vandhunnai sEvitthun

pottramarai adiye pottrum poruL keLAi

pettram meitthuNNum kulatthil pirandhu nee

kuttrEval engaLai koLLAmal pOgAdhu

ittraipparai koLvAn anru kAN gOvindA

ettraikkumEzEzu piravikkum unthannOdu

uttrEmE AvOm unakkE nAm AtseivOm

mattrai nam kAmangal mAttrElOrempAvAi

The Lord said , “finally you are now stating the real purpose in coming to me in

so early in the morning.”

Andal said, “Are you wondering why we coming to see you so early in the morning? We want to catch you before you go to tend the cattle. Moreover how else can we have the darsan of your beautiful lotus feet , sitru am siru kal, peeping a little outside from your bed? It is the golden feet, potraamarai adi, which drew us here , which we came to worship. The boon we are asking is this. We should belong to you for all the lives to come and should serve you alone. Remove all the other desires of ours.”

“But if you have called me I would have come by myself saving you the trouble of coming in the early hours in the cold weather , as you saidf , panitthalai veezha, “said the Lord.

Andal said, “. we do not expect you to come to us as you did to gajendra and Draupadi for we know that we have not acquired that kind of merit. But our only hope is that you have come down to the clan of cowherds and definitely you will not forsake us.”

“Sitram sirukaala is very auspicious as it denotes the brAhmamuhurtha when yogis and ages wake up and start their worship. That is why we chose it,” said Andal, while kAle means the time when the gopis start their work such as churning the milk. sirukAle is the time before that when they wake up.”

“The time you are found in Gokula is short because (i) as soon as the day breaks you will go to the forest to tend cattle.”

“ Moreover, to a devotee, the time he acquires the knowledge of you is the early morning because till then it was night spent in sleeping due to ignorance. The day starts when the love for you dawns in the heart.”

“we do not want anything else like gold or worldly pleasures but want only to serve you and therefore leaving everything we have come to you as Vibheeshana did, saying, 'thyakthva puthrAmscha dhArAmscha rAghavam SatraNam gathah' that is, "leaving my sons and wives I have surrendered to Rama."

“So, You want seven times seven births more but not mukthi,” said the Lord.

Andal replied, “the seven multiplied by seven births are like just one birth when we serve you. We do not ask for mukthi. Let us be born again and again if only we will remain in your service. Take away all our other desires which may give us further births but let us be born by your will alone. Being born in the clan of cowherds you cannot refuse our service to you.”

The Lord said , “ You know , I was called a farmer by Vedanta Desika in his dayasatakam. He says that I am a krsheevala, farmer who is intent on His harvest of prapannas. “

“It is quite true , sadi Andal, “ how can we but marvel at your great mercy oh Lord, when like a farmer guarding his crop you come down by your incarnations among your creations and also by your archavatharas by taking your place in temples as though to guard your children! “

“ You are only real relation to us for all our lives ( seven times seven) , because others belong to one life only.”

“Does not the upanishad say, 'na vA arE pathyuh kAmAya pathih priyO bhavathi, Athmanasthu kAmAya.' The worldly relationships are selfish-motivated. The husband is not dear for his sake but for the sake of oneself only, thus enumerating various relation ship and attachments sayong that everything not for their own sake but out of self interest only. You are the real self of all.”

The Lord said , ”through your pasurams you have delineated the principle of saranagathi.”

Andal said, “ The one to whom the sarangathi is done should have both sakthi and kaaruNya. That is why we , resorted to you and the divine mother together as Lakshmana did when he prayed to accompany you in your Ramavathara to the forest, whereas the surrender of you as Rama to the seagod was not fruitful because it was asmarThe samrThasya saranagathi, being done to one who had no power over you who was his overlord.”

“Saranagathi is like a yajna. Athamaa is the havis and you , Achyutha is the agni. PraNava is a bow and aathma is the arrow. The athma should be fixed in pranava and should hit the target which is Brahman, that is you my Lord.”

“Yes,” said the Lord, “your Thiruppavai is the mahayajna called aathmasamarpanam.”

This the last Pasuram as the next only serves as the phalasruthi.

Pasuram 30

Vangakkadal kadaindha mAdhavanai kesavanai

thingaL thirumugatthu sEyizaiyAr senrirainji

angapparaikonda Attrai aNipudhuvai

PaingamaltthaNtheriyal bhattarpirAn kOdhai sonna

sangatthamizmAlai muppadhum thappAme

ingipparisuraippar eerirandu malvaraitthOL

thingaL thirumugatthu selvatthirumAla

engum thiruvaruL pettru inburuvar empavai

This pasuram is by way of phalasruthi.

This work describing the entreaty of the girls with faces like moon and eyes like lotuses. to the Lord Kesava, of lovely locks, the Madhava, Lord of Lakshmi, who helped in the churning of the beautiful milky ocean, in order to acquire the necessary requirements for their pavai nonbu, is the composition of Godha of Srivlliputthur, the daughter of Vishnucchittha, (Periazvar) who wears the garland of lotuses and thulasi. Those who recite this 30 pasurams which are equal to sangatthamiz, will get happiness through the Lord's grace.

vangakkadal-This is not the Bay of bengal, as it may appear to the superficial reader but the word vanga means beautiful, and refers to the milky ocean. It is so called because it is associated with the Lord, and it gave out all the precious things and the amrtha in the end.Vanga also means full of waves.

kadaindha Madhavan-Madhavan means the Lord (Dhava) of Lakshmi(ma) He is mentioned here as the one who churned the ocean not only because He was instrumental in doing so by helping the devas by carrying the manthara mountain and dropping it into the ocean and supported it as koorma, but because he helped at every step, by churning it with them and lastly through His mohini avathara. As a result He also became maadhava, the Lord of Lakshmi.

yamunacharya says in his Sthothra ratna that the Lord took all the trouble to churn the ocean in order to obtain Lakshmi as He bridged the ocean later for her sake(to retrieve Sita )'yadharTham ambOdDHih amanTHi abanDHi cha.'

But if one starts thinking about the reason for His wish to get Lakshmi, for which the ocean was churned as Yaamuna says, it appears that He wanted her to make His hrdhaya her abode so that it will be full of mercy. So He wanted her not for Himself but for the world which will be benefited by her dhaya influenced by which alone the Lord shows His grace without minding our sins. This explanation looks appropriate especially when Andal calls Him as Madhavan, mAyah Dhavan- lord of Lakshmi.He not only churned the milky ocean but also churned the ocean of milk and curd in Gokula by his exploits of stealing butter, curd etc., and causing a great furore among the gopis, perhaps as a practice to churn the great ocean of army later the Mahabharatha war.

kEsavan- kEsa is hair and as Krishna has beautiful locks of hair he is called Kesava. It also means the slayer of the demon Kesi. Another meaning of Kesava is that ka is Brahma , isa means Siva and the particle va means the one who have them both in Him as Lord Naryana, synonymous with the Brahman of the Upanishads whose manifestations are the trinity. Kesava is also the adhishtana devatha of the month of Margazi. This is the end pasuram of Thiruppavai which started as paraman adi pAdi and ends with kesavanai which resembles a pAdhadhikeSAntha sthothra.

paingamalatthaNtheriyal bhattarpiran-Periazvar. as Vishnucchittha, the father of Godha was known as, used to wear the garland of lotuses and thulasi leaves. The former symbolises the Sridevi and the latter is of the Lord Narayana.

Kodhai sonna sangatthamizmalai-Kodhai in Tamil means garland and godha in sanskrit means gAm dhdhAthi ithi- or goDHa which means gAm dhaDHathE-one who give good words. Periazvar was proficient in both the languages and with foresight, he must have chosen the name which became appropriate.

Her words are extolled as being equal to the ancient Tamil works at the time of Tamil sangam and hence it is referred to as sangatthamiz mAlai. Sangam also means group, attachment and beauty. This work has to be enjoyed together in a group of devotees and without attachment to the worldly objects and also it is full of beauty.

ingipparisuraippAr- ingu is this world and the word parisu means the reward in the form of kainkarya.

eerirandumAlvaraitthOL- eerirandu, two and two ,that is four arms like mAlvarai, mountainous.

chengaNthirumugatthu- His eyes are like red lotuses ( not fully red but streaked with redness)

selvatthirumAl-He is rich with His auspicious qualities and association with Sri(thiru)

selvatthirumal is commented variously.

Thirumaal means srinivasan who is associated with Sridevi and hence even though He is rich , that is avaaptha samastha kaaman, has everything , He is also with dhaya.

He is selvetthirumaal because He has the selvam or richness of having innumerous bhagavathas.

He acquired the wealth in the form of the garland worn and given by Andal, soodikkoduttha maalai

Nammazhvar refers to Him as selvanaaraNan. So h eis rich by being addressed thus by the Azvar.

He was also called as SevappiLLai by Ramanuja when he went in search of the archa murthy of Melkote which was taken by the Sultan who was reigning in Delhinow and was given to his daughter. Ramnuja could not find the vigraha even though the sultan told him to search for it and take it becasedueit was in the inner apartment of the princess., hiiden in acloset. But Ramanuja called ‘SelavappiLLaay come,’ and the vigraha came out to his hands. Hence the utsavamurthy of Melkote is called sevanarayanan or sampathkumaran.

engum thirivaruL pettruinburuvar -blessed with His grace always and be happy. Those who learn this work will be happy in this world and the next till they unite with the Lord.

This pasuram contains what is known as anubanDha chathushtayam. For any work there are four requisites which are usuall mentioned either in the beginning or in the end.They are,

1.viashyam- subject matter of the work

2. grantham- the name of the work

3. aDhikari- those who are qualified to understand it or the author.

4. Phalam or fruit.

Vangakkadal kadaindha -----angappaRai konda aaRRai- the subject matter is mentioned by this, namely the girls approaching the lord for fulfilling their wish.The glory of both the Lord and the devotees are referred to by saying vangakkadal kadaindha MaaDhavan and KeSavan and the girls are described as thingaL thirumugatthu Seyiazaiyaar, who look lustrous like the Moon.

aNi pudhuvai ----bhattar piran kodhai---the glory of the author, Andal,the daughter rof Bhattarpiran who sang pallaandu to the Lord Himself.

Sangatthamizh maalai muppadhum- the glory of the work which is known a ssangatthamizmaalai. Sangam means group or collection. It implies that this should be enjoyed together by all. Sangam also means attachment or desire . here the desire should be to enjoy this work. Sangam means beautiful and this work is beautiful as it is musical set to metre. Finally sangam can refer to the Thamizh sangam and this work deserves to be included as sangatthamizh.

Thus ends the Thiruppavai of Sri Andal which have been explained by me to the best of my knowledge and ability following the commentaries of scholars and devotees of the past.

nachiyar.

Friday, December 30, 2016

Kalaksepam

Thursday, December 29, 2016

Poshana.

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Peacock blue.

Friday, December 23, 2016

differently abbled by Saroja R.

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