Pasuram 25 of Andal's Thiruppavai

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Pasuram 25 of Andal’s Thiruppavai

http://www.scribd.com/doc/76214700/Andal-s-Thiruppavai-in-easy-to-read-

Tamil-text-and-English The full text of all 30 Pasurams may be found here.

Also, a scholarly discussion can be found at the link given below.

http://www.ibiblio.org/sadagopan/sundarasimham/ebooks/Thiru3.pdf

A word-by-word translation is given at http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/tpv/

See below the images of the English and Tamil texts of Pasuram No. 25 of Andal’s

Thiruppavai. For those who wish to read the text in other languages, please go to

http://www.prapatti.com

Andal is considered to be Sridevi’s amsaavataaram. She was born at Srivilliputoor

(close to Kanchipuram, also the city where Indira Gandhi’s son and Indian Prime

Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated), as the daughter of PeriyAzhwar. She is

also the only female among the 12 SriVaishNavite Azhwars. She longed for union

with Her Lord and insisted that she should be taken to Srirangam where she

eventually merged with Lord Ranganatha. You can read more about Andal at the

link given above (or click here). The immortal Thiruppavai, attributed to Her, is a

divine composition, filled with deep esoteric meanings, on which many

commentaries have been written over the centuries.

In the first pasuram, ANDAL invites Her friends for the Vratham observance. In

the second paasuram, She spells out the rites to be observed and the deeds to be

abandoned. In the third Paasuram, She describes the fruits of the Vratham. The

aacaaryas who have blessed us are considered to be like the milk giving cows with

overflowing udders. In the fourth Paasuram, Andal is directing her prayers to

Varuna (actually to KrishNa who had the complexion darker than the darkest rain

bearing clouds), the god of the rains, and comparing the bounty bestowing by

aacaryas to the bounteous rains showered by Varuna. In Pasuram 5 Andal tells us

that He would completely burn off all of our accumulated sins much like a fire

burns pieces of straw thrown into it.

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PAASURAM 25

Courtesy: http://www.prapatti.com/slokas/tamil/naalaayiram/aandaal/tiruppaavai.pdf

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Simple Word for Word meanings (http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/tpv/vstp25.html )

oruththi makanaayp piRan^thu * Or iravil

Some lady (as her) son(You were) born (on) one night

oruththi makanaay oLiththu vaLarath *

Some (other) lady (as her) son hiding (You) grew up .

tharikkilaanaakith thaan thINGku ninain^tha *

(Kamsa)unable to withstand You (You)harm(he)thinking of

Karuththaip pizhaippiththuk kaNYcan vayiRRil *

his very intent (you made)useless(by)(in) Kamsa's belly

neruppenna ninRa netumaalE! * unnai

(like a) fire standing (O) Lord of all . To you

aruththiththu van^thOm paRai tharuthiyaakil *

begging(we have)come emancipation to see if you will give.

thiruththakka celvamum cEvakamum yaam paati *

To match Lakshmi's beauty (and) service we sing

varuththamum thIrn^thu makizhn^thu

(our) sorrows (to be) free of (and be) happy

El Or empaavaay

Come (Let us do) (the penance of) paavai nOmbu

See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiruppavai

In Pasurams 6 to 15, Andal finishes waking up 10 different types of bhaktas and

they all join her in the performance of the Paavai nombhu. In Pasuram 16, the

arrival of the entire party at the palace of Nanda Maharaja is described. They ask

the doorkeepers to let them in. Pasuram 17 describes their entering the inner

bedchambers to wake up Nanda Maharaja, Mother Yashoda, Krishna and His

younger brother Baladeva. Each of them is praised. In Pasurams 18 to 20, Andal

and her friends try to wake up Nappinnai, the eternal consort of the Lord, since

attempts to wake up Krishna (Kannan) proved futile. In Pasuram 21, they address

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Krishna directly since Nappinnai has by now agreed to join them. Andal and her

friends plead that they have come to Him, on their own, unlike others, with no

other expectations other than His grace and to sing His glories. In Pasuram 22,

Andal and her friends are assembled at His bedside. They just want Him to glance

at them with His beautiful lotus-like eyes, like the cool moon, or the sun, when

they rise. In Pasuram 23, ANDAL describes how the Lord should majestically

come out of His chamber and be seated on the perfectly suited and well-deserving

throne; and then, May You kindly look try to understand the purpose of our

coming here (to awaken You).

In Pasuram 24, one of the most auspicious pasurams in the entire Thiruppavai,

Andal waxes into eloquent poetry with the repeated use of “PoTTRi”, which is

roughly equal to “Jai ho” in Hindi, or “All glories to You”. And with each PoTTRi

she describes one of the divine lilas of the Lord, performed in various incarnations.

In Pasuram 25, Andal sings about the glories of Krishna’s birth in the womb of one

(Devaki is not named) and His being raised as the son of another (Yashoda is also

not named). She also mentioned that both these happened on the same night – baby

Krishna was transported from the prison and placed on Yashoda’s bedside on the

very same night by his father Vasudeva (short ‘a’ vowel sound). Although Kamsa

wanted to kill baby Krishna, he grew up in Gokula hidden from the vile glance of

Kamsa. The fear and hatred that Kamsa felt consumed him like a fire in his belly.

Now, Andal and her friends see Him seated majestically and beg Him to bestow

His grace upon them and bless them with moksham. They desire nothing more

from Him. They want Him to erase all their wants and desires and accept their

prayers and make them one with Him.

From http://www.ibiblio.org/sadagopan/ahobilavalli/thiruppavai.pdf

MEANING OF THE 25th

PAASURAM (V. SADAGOPAN):

oruththi maganaay(p) piRandhu Or iravil oruththi maganaay oLiththu

vaLara- Kannan was born as the son of Devaki, but was brought up as

the son of Yashoda without the knowledge of the world. Without

making a specific reference, Andal uses the word “oruththi”, to refer

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collectively to both, the

mother who gave birth to

Krishna and the mother who

brought Him up. Her devotion

was so overwhelming that she

does not refer to Kannan’s

name for the fear of Kamsa

and his evil intentions. She

addresses Him as

Madhusudana, the son of

Devaki. He is extolled by the

Vedas themselves as the one

who killed the wicked Madhu

and restored the imperial

Vedas back to their pristine

glory. He enshrines Himself

in all sentient and

nonsentient as the indweller

and the innercontroller.

The sacrificial oblations of Dasharatha bore fruit and a noble

son was born to Him and Kausalya and also three other sons to his

other two wives making it four in all. Kannan on the other hand was

born as the only son to the foursome DevakiVasudeva

and NandagopaYashoda.

Devaki asked for a boon to stay away from her son for fear of Kamsa.

Though Krishna was born with a divine and most beautiful form with

four hands adorning the conch, discus and with a bejewelled attire, the

couple could not take delight in such a wonderful vision long enough due

to the fear of Kamsa. Kannan therefore bestowed the bliss of seeing

His incarnation to DevakiVasudeva and the bliss of seeing His playful

antics to YashodaNandagopa who, fed Him affectionately with milk,

rocked His cradle and cuddled Him with love.

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piRandhu – Out of compassion, He took to Himself, all the grief from us

who are destined to face the samasaric gale. He stayed in the womb of

Devaki for twelve months instead of ten.

Or iravil – On a chosen night, that was destined later to be called as

Srijayanthi, for it was the day chosen by the Lord to incarnate. If he

were to be born during the day, then it would not have been possible

for bringing the female child to Mathura in exchange for Kannan to

Gokula.

oLiththu vaLara – He was brought up without the vile glances of the

evil Kamsa from falling on Him. Oh Kannan! Who is now sitting

majestically in the grand hall, pray fulfil our wishes and protect us.

tharikkilaan aagi(th) thaan theengu ninaindha karuththai(p)

pizhaippiththu(k) kanchan vayitril neruppenna ninRa nedumaalE! –

Kamsan made up his mind to set out and kill the eighth child of Devaki

after being told by a voice from the heaven that the eighth child of

Devaki would slay him. He started killing all the babies in the land, who

were born on the day Kannan was born. The elders lived a life of fear,

always thinking of the possible dangers to Kannan from Kamsa. Kamsa

sent the likes of Putana, Shakatasura and others to kill Kannan. Krishna

however killed them all even when he was just a baby. Kamsa was struck

with terror and fear, as he knew that as the boy grew older, he would

one day come and slay him too. Kannan brought fear in Kamsa similar to

the way he had brought in the minds of the dwellers of Gokula. Upon

His birth, He brought a great deal of peace to Devaki and blessed her

womb similar to a flow of pure cool water. He blessed Yashoda’s womb

similar to a flow of nectar and milk. At the same time, He kindled fire

in Kamsa’s stomach, punishing him for all his transgressions.

Andal and her maids address Kannan as the divine one who would dispel

all vicious influences and bestow all around goodness on them. Kannan

then addressed them asking of their wants and the reason for their

nombu observances. The Gopis replied that they have come seeking Him

alone. Kannan again asks them of their aspirations and to the object of

their desire. The Gopis reply “unnai aruththiththu vandhOm paRai

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tharudhiyaagil” – Our aim is to attain you alone. That is the reason for

our nombu ritual. To attain you as our goal with you as our means is our

desire.

thiruththakka selvamum sEvagamum yaam paadi– The reason for us

having chosen to attain You is because you have been the object of

attainment of Sri, your divine consort. The devas and the asuras

churned the ocean in search of nectar. It was then that Thirumagal

emerged verily as the nectar from the ocean. She chose you over

everyone else and took Her lotus throne in the cosmos of your heart.

It was then that you became the Lord of Sri. Pray you take us into your

fold today and become the Lord of Gopis and the beloved of Gopis.

varuththamum theerndhu magizhndhu– We pray you, who is the object

of adulation and desire of Sri, to end all our torments due to

separation from you and to bestow us with the bliss of attaining your

divine communion.

The Lord inflicts punishment on those who commit transgressions

towards Him or towards His devotees. He at the same time bestows

the nectar like bliss on those who seek His lotus feet as their refuge.

The following taken verbatim from

http://www.ibiblio.org/sadagopan/sundarasimham/ebooks/Thiru3.pdf

Dear BhakthAs: Lord KrishNA's avathAra rahasyam is being celebrated

here. He is “ajAyamAno BahudhA vijAyathE” (He manifests Himself in many

forms although He has no birth). “Devaki mahanAi piRanthu, YasOdhai

mahanAi” vaLarnthAn. Swamy NammAzhwAr addresses Him as “piRantha

MaayA” (A master-trickster taking birth in this world as one of us) in a

ThiruvAimozhi paauram. The avathAra rahasyam of this MaayAvi is hinted

in another of Swamy NammAzhwAr's ThiruvAimozhi: “piRanthavARum

vaLarnthavARum” (How You were born, How You grew up and what

miracles You wrought --when I reflect on that, my soul melts). You were born

in Vada Mathurai as the son of Devaki and grew up in Gokulam as the son of

YasOdhai. Devaki did penance to have You (SarvEsvaran) born as her son

and got her wish fulfilled. The Lord moved to Gokulam on the head of His

father, VasudEvan on the same dark night of JanmAshtami (his birth thithi:

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ashtami) and grew up as the son of YasOdhai. The heart-broken Devaki cried

out over missing the enjoyment of seeing her son grow up and perform all

those miraculous deeds elsewhere, far far away from her: “ThiruvilEn onRum

peRRilEn, yellam dhaiva nangai YasOdhai peRRALE” (I do not have any

auspiciousness, I have not attained any soubhAgyam. All of those

auspiciousness has been attained by the divine woman, YasOdhai). Thus

complains Devaki.

In Her ThiruppAvai Paasuram, ANDAL does not mention explicitly the name

of Devaki or YasOdhai, but refers to both of them as “oruthi”. Here

“Oruthti” is a respectful reference to the matchless ones (adhvidhyALs), who

had the Bhaagyam of giving birth to Him and raising Him. SampradhAyam

suggests that we do not call the great ones by their given names, but refer to

them by their place of birth or vamsam (e. g: ThirukkOttiyUr nampi,

Vangipuratthu Aacchi et al) Following this sampradhAyam, MaNavALa

Maamuni refers to Swamy Desikan as “Ubhayukthar” (The great One). In

this traditional way, ANDAL refers to both Devaki and YasOdhai respectfully

as “Orutthi”. He was born to one (orutthi) and was raised by the other

(orutthi).

That sarvasaktha-EmperumAn hid all His glories and power and grew up in

Gokulam (oLitthu VaLara). He was defenitely not hiding from Kamsan, while

growing up at Gokulam. Because of His aasritha-VyAmOham (deep

attachment to His beloved devotees), He chose to grow up in Gokulam.

ANDAL reminds us of these tatthuvams with the first two lines of this

Paasuram: “Orutthi mahanAi piRanthu, Oriravil Orutthi mahanAi oLitthu

vaLara”. By choosing the word, “Oriravil”, ANDAL reminds us that the dark

night of His birth is the same rainy night, when the waters of YamunA

receded to let Him enter Gokuam to take residence (“piRantha nadu

nisiyum, puhuntha nadu nisiyum onRE”) in Gokulam.

AchAryAs are said to be born in Gayathri and to grow up in AshtAkshari;

they are also said to be born in Thrumanthiram and grow up in Dhvayam.

This AchAryan, who is JagadAchAryan revealing His avathAra rahasyam

was born to One and grew up with another. This JagadhAchAryan talks

about those noble souls, who comprehend His avathAra rahasyam in the

tenth chapter of His GithOpanishad:

yO maam ajamanAdhim cha vEtthi lOkamahEsvaram

asammUDa: sa marthyEshu sarva paapai: pramuchyathE

--Githai: 10. 3

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(Meaning): “He who knows Me as unborn and without a beginning and the

greatest Lord of the worlds--he among mortals is undeluded and is released

from every sin”.

the worlds--he among mortals is undeluded and is released from every sin”.

yEthAm vibhUthim yOgam cha mama yO vEtthi tatthvatha:

sOavikampEna yOgEna yujyathE naathra samsaya:

--Githai: 10. 7

(Meaning): “He who in truth knows this supernal mainfestation and

splendour of auspicious attributes of Mine, becomes, united with the

unshakable YogA of Bhakthi. Of this, there is no doubt”.

As UttamAdhikAris, the Gopis knew of this Bhakthi/Prapatthi route to the

Lord and declared in His presence “Unnai arutthitthu vanthOm, parai

taruthiyAhil, Thiruttakka selvamum sEvakamum yaamm paadi,

vaarutthamum theernthu MahizhvOm” (We have woken up all the

gOpis and we have come in a state of great purity to You seeking the greatest

of purushArthams. If You would grant us the boons sought by us, we will sing

about the great and matching wealth of You and Your PirAtti and engage in

sEvaka vruthti to You both and be rid of all of our dukkhams and attain bliss

(BrahmAnandham). “uRREn uhanthu paNi seythu unn paadham peRREn” is

One AzhvAr's Sri Sookthi (adiyEn became dear to You and joyfully

performed kaimkaryam for You and attained the parama bhAgyam of Your

sacred feet). The Gopis say in this context: “Thirutthakka Selvamum,

sEvakamum yaam paadi, varutthamum theernthu mahizhvOm”.

Lord KrishNa talks about those born to divine destiny (dhaivI sampadhi) and

the others born to demonic destiny (aasuri bhUthA:). The Gopis are the

dearest to Him since they have dhaivI sampadhi. The Lord resides in their

Hrudh puNDarIkams with great vaathsalyam. Kamsan and his ilk are the

aasuri (demonic) type and the lord stays inside their stomach as huge fire

(Kanjan karutthai pizhaipitthu vayiRRil neruppu yenna ninRa NedumAlE) to

destroy them.

Gopis arrive at the Lord's feet with prArthanA-poorvaka vijy~Apanam and

are rewarded. Kamsan and his ilk approach with arrogance, pride and conceit

and are destroyed like the firefly entering a blaze. Upanishad BhAshyakArar

describes the Lord staying as fire in the belly of Kamsan and and as the cool

beloved One in the minds of His devotees this way: “Kamsasya JaDarE anala

samAnatayA sTithavAn, aasritha vishayE dheerga vyAmOha-saalin”.

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The Gopis say: “unnai aruthtitthu vanthOm”. We have come to Your court

not to receive the PaRai (VrathOpakaraNams) but to get You as our boon.

The wealth of parai that we seek is the supreme wealth of Bhagavath-

BhAgavatha-AchArya Kaimkaryams. The inner meaning here according to

Abhinava Desikan is that the gOpis pray to the Lord to perform His Baahya

AarAdhanam (external aarAdhanam) well. In the earlier paasurams, they

had invoked the presence of the Lord (aavAhanam) for AarAdhanam, started

with antharyaj~nam and eulogized next His Svaroopa-Roopa-guna-gaNa-

Aayudhams in “anrivuulaham aLanthAi adip poRRI”). Here, they pray for

blessings to perform His BaahyArAdhanam to His satisfaction.

PERUKKARANAI SWAMI'S SVAPADESAMS

Oruriavil = In this dark samsAric world

oruthti mahanAi piRanthu orutthi mahanAi vaLarnthu

= being born as the son of Gayathri and growing up (puthalvanAhi) as the son

of Moola Manthram

oLitthu vaLara = and staying engaged in thoughts about the Supreme One

and discarding all perishable pleasures (siRRinbhams)

tarikkilAnAhi = (we) who cannot bear with the SamsAric tApams

thaann ninaintha = thinking about our current and previous (sins)

theenku karutthai pizhaippitthu = thinking about Your ways to quell the

power of those paapams and their phalans

kanjan vayiRRil neruppenna ninRa NedumALE!= thinking about the fierce

nature of these sins being destroyed in those with demonic nature and

thinking about You standing majestically like the JaadarAgni in

their stomach to destroy them. Oh Taapa thraya samanArthi! Oh Bhagavan!

unnai arutthitthu VanthOm = We have arrived at Your side seeking

Moksham.

Parai taruthiyAhil = If You are pleased to grant us Moksham

Thirut takka selvamum yaamm paadi sevahamum yaamm paadi = we will do

Saama GhAnam about Your heroic deeds and sing about the glories of You,

the wealth of Your PirAtti (PirAttikku anugunamAna varam EmperumAn

yennum nidhi) varuttham theernthu mahizhnthu= and will be rid of the

sorrows of samsAram and be immersed in paripoorna BrahmAnandham.

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Venkatesa Prapatti 12 and Andal’s Pasuram 24

The eloquent singing of the glories of the Lord that we find in Andal's Pasuram 24

is also mirrored in verse 12 of the Venkatesa Prapatti (the third part of the daily

prayers called Venkatesa Suprabhatam). The sloka is given below with a brief

translation.

Manmoordhni KaaliyaphaNe vikaTaataveeshu l

ShreevenkaTaadri shikarE Shirasi shruteenaam ll

Cittepyananya manasaam samamaahitau te l

Shree Venkatesa charaNau sharaNam prapadye ll 12 ll

Each of these verses end with the statement of total surrender (sharaNam

prapadye) to the two lotus feet (charaNau) of the Lord Venkateswara (in the last

line). Here the composer of this hymn is describing these two lotus feet.

In the previous verse, the devotee was thinking about the two lotus feet as the same

two lotus feet that were shown a long time ago to Arjuna, when he was asked to

surrender in the battlefield (Sarva dharmaan parityajya maam ekam sharaNam

vraja, chapter 18, verse 66 of the Gita). Now, the devotee invokes some more

imageries associated with these two lotus feet.

There was a powerful and poisonous snake called Kaaliyaa who lived in one of the

huge ponds of Gokula and had poisoned its waters. One day baby Krishna decided

to save the residents by killing this Kaliya. He did it simply getting on top of

Kaliya's hoods (Kaaliya phaNe) and dancing upon them. The devotee is says, “Let

those same two lotus feet also dance upon my (man) head (moordhni) as well (and

so liberate me, like you did Kaaliya).” The devotee is also recalling the two lotus

feet as the same two lotus feet that were seen to walk through all the dense and

fearful (vikaTa) forests (aTaveeshu) of DandakaaraNya and others in search of

Sita, to eventually kill RavaNa. This is also the imagery invoked by Andal in

pasuram 24 of the Thiruppavai.

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Then the devotee says that these are also the same two lotus feet that we now see

atop the peaks (shikarE) of Venkataadri, in the temple on the seven hills. These are

also the same lotus feet that are held dear and held high atop the heads (shirasi

shurteenaam) of all those who have gained the full knowledge of the Vedas (the

shruteenaams, as being the very essence of the Vedas). They are also the same two

lotus feet that are seen to dance and pound upon the hearts (the cittam, the whole

consciousness) of all those who can think of none other (ananya manasaam) than

You.

O Venkatesa, I surrender to those two lotus feet.

Vj Laxmanan Images of the lotus feet of Krishna

in the temple at Prabhas kshetram (about 5 km

from the famous Somnath temple, in Gujarat)

where Krishna went back to VaikunTha.