Saint Aandal's thirty hymns called Paasurams in celebration of Lord Narayana's multi faceted glory constitute a treasure house of Bhakti, of devotion unsullied by personal covetousness. Thiruppavai is a confluence of poetic elegance, religious ardour and philosophical sublimity. Although the whole poetic outpouring is placed in the context of pavai nombu the austerities of young maidens in quest of worthy partners in life. tiruppavai is very much more than a literary magnum opus.
To say that it is a depiction of the cultural mores of the cowhed community of the bygone age would be to overlook the fact that the practice of singing Tiruppavai during the month of margazhi continues to this day in Tamilnadu and where ever there is a congregation of south Indian Tamils. Sri Aandal and her legendary devotion to the Lord have transcended the confines of Tamil as a language. Her fame and the legacy of single minded devotion to Sri Krishna have become an integral part of the Bhakti movement all over.
The Hymns fall broadly into two groups yes there are thirty in no. the 1 - 15 constitute both the preface and the awakening part. maiden after maiden is awakened from sleep with the intention of helping them to participate in the austerities. It could well be that this is all an allegory suggesting that people are at different levels of spiritual dormancy and so there can be no one method of waking them up to higher levels of consciousness of the divine intervention in human affairs.
The second group of hymns 16 - 30 relates to the experience the rites and the rewards. here the hymns contain a wealth of spiritual insight. Bhakti devotion pure and noble involves the subordination of the ego of the devotee and the complete immersion of the self in the exhilaration of singing the infinite glory of God.
Further the verses 19 -24 cover the most important sequence in the allegorical representation of the participants in Paavai nombu invoking the blessings of Nappinnai and Sri Krishna, the divine couple. The Lord and his consort are inseperable and for the true devotee there is no salvation except through the grace of Sridevi which is the real key to mukti.
To say that it is a depiction of the cultural mores of the cowhed community of the bygone age would be to overlook the fact that the practice of singing Tiruppavai during the month of margazhi continues to this day in Tamilnadu and where ever there is a congregation of south Indian Tamils. Sri Aandal and her legendary devotion to the Lord have transcended the confines of Tamil as a language. Her fame and the legacy of single minded devotion to Sri Krishna have become an integral part of the Bhakti movement all over.
The Hymns fall broadly into two groups yes there are thirty in no. the 1 - 15 constitute both the preface and the awakening part. maiden after maiden is awakened from sleep with the intention of helping them to participate in the austerities. It could well be that this is all an allegory suggesting that people are at different levels of spiritual dormancy and so there can be no one method of waking them up to higher levels of consciousness of the divine intervention in human affairs.
The second group of hymns 16 - 30 relates to the experience the rites and the rewards. here the hymns contain a wealth of spiritual insight. Bhakti devotion pure and noble involves the subordination of the ego of the devotee and the complete immersion of the self in the exhilaration of singing the infinite glory of God.
Further the verses 19 -24 cover the most important sequence in the allegorical representation of the participants in Paavai nombu invoking the blessings of Nappinnai and Sri Krishna, the divine couple. The Lord and his consort are inseperable and for the true devotee there is no salvation except through the grace of Sridevi which is the real key to mukti.
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