Thirupavai Pasuram 11

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/01/thirupavai-pasuram-10.html

This pasuram is a special pasuram because it removed the regret Lord Rama had during Ramavataram. In this pasuram, Nachiar proceeds to wake-up the sixth friend. The sixth girl who did not join the company was a rich girl. She lived in a large house with all her relatives. Hers was a big joint family.

kaRRu(k) kaRavai(k) kaNangaL pala kaRandhu

The girl’s family owned large herds of cattle. They didn’t have just one herd but many groups of herd. They had numerous cows in each group of herd. It was not only difficult to count the number of cows in a group but difficult to even count the number of groups owned by the girl’s family. The girl’s family was equal in status to Nanda Gopan and his family.

kaRRu(k) kaRavai(k) shows that each cow had a calf as it is prohibited by shastras to milk cows which did not have a calf. The girl’s family members were Karma Yogis because they followed the rules laid out by the shastras to the “T” and reared cattle according to the shastras. The cows have to be petted and praised with love prior to milking. The girl’s family treated the cows with love and respect.

kaRRu(k) kaRavai(k) also shows that the cows were very young in age almost the age of a calf. This was because as soon as Lord Krishna came to Gokulam the cows spent their time looking at His radiance. The radiance emitted from Lord Krishna’s Thirumeni reversed the age of the cows.

setraar thiRalazhiya(ch) chenRu seru(ch) cheyyum

The girl’s family also fought bravely in wars. This seems to contradict their inherent nature. The girl’s families rear cows and in general cowherds are timid in nature but this pasuram mentions that they fought in wars; the war mentioned in this pasuram is against the enemies of Lord Krishna. They did not destroy the enemies but reformed the enemies. This is the reason why Andal Nachiar considers the family of the girl to be very great because Nachiar doesn’t like Perumal to destroy His enemies as she always asks Him to reform His enemies. Lord Rama went to the place of His enemies to defeat them in wars and hence was called as Vijaya Raghavan but Lord Krishna never went in search of His enemies.

Bagawathas must consider the enemies of the Lord as their enemies and similarly the Lord considers the enemies of His devotees as His enemies. The following incident from the Mahabharata is a good example.

Lord Krishna went to Hastinapuram to conduct peace negotiations between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Lord Krishna’s son Sambhan had wedded Duryodana’s daughter Lakshmana. According to the shastras one must not refuse to break bread with one’s in-laws. Duryodana invited Lord Krishna to his house for dinner but the Lord refused stating that He had already accepted another invitation. Duryodana did not pry further into the matter as he assumed that the Lord must have been invited by Bhishmacharya.

Bhishmacharya invited the Lord and the Lord declined his invitation as well. Dronacharya was a Brahmin who had learnt the Vedas. According to shastras by eating food at the house of a Vedic Brahmin one’s sins are destroyed. It is said that even if the Brahmin doesn’t invite us to their home we must beg them to offer us either food or their Sri Pada Teertham. Dronacharya invited Lord Krishna and He declined this invitation as well. That day Lord Krishna had accepted the invitation of Vidura. Vidura was a Sudra as his mother was a maid at the palace. Despite the status of Vidura, Perumal had accepted his invitation over the invitations of His in-law Duryodana, Bhishmacharya and a Vedic Brahmin Dronacharya.

Duryodana soon came to know about Vidura’s invitation through his spies. He went to Perumal and questioned Him about His conduct.

‘Krishna, you are my in-law; is it fair that you declined my invitation to accept Vidura’s?’

‘Duryodana you know very well that according to the shastras one must not eat at the house of an enemy or invite an enemy to his/her home,’ replied Lord Krishna.

‘But I am not your enemy!’

‘How do you feel about the Pandavas? Are they your friends?’

‘Of course not! They are my enemies!’

‘The Pandavas are my life breath! You just replied that you hate my life breath. Therefore you are my enemy,’ replied the Lord.

Bagawathas must also treat the enemies of the Lord as their enemies. During the Ramayana war, Ravana met with Sugreevan.

‘Sugreeva you are the brother of Vali. Vali was like my brother and hence you are like my own brother. There is no enmity between us. Hence, come over to my side,’ said Ravana.

‘You kidnapped the wife of my Lord and hence you have become my enemy!’ replied Sugreeva.

The girl’s family had the same attitude like Sugreeva Maharaja. Any enemy of the Lord was their enemy.

kutram onRilaadha kOvalar tham poRkodiyE

This pasuram is a special pasuram because it removed the regret Lord Rama had during Ramavataram. In this pasuram, Nachiar proceeds to wake-up the sixth friend. The sixth girl who did not join the company was a rich girl. She lived in a large house with all her relatives. Hers was a big joint family.

kaRRu(k) kaRavai(k) kaNangaL pala kaRandhu

The girl’s family owned large herds of cattle. They didn’t have just one herd but many groups of herd. They had numerous cows in each group of herd. It was not only difficult to count the number of cows in a group but difficult to even count the number of groups owned by the girl’s family. The girl’s family was equal in status to Nanda Gopan and his family.

kaRRu(k) kaRavai(k) shows that each cow had a calf as it is prohibited by shastras to milk cows which did not have a calf. The girl’s family members were Karma Yogis because they followed the rules laid out by the shastras to the “T” and reared cattle according to the shastras. The cows have to be petted and praised with love prior to milking. The girl’s family treated the cows with love and respect.

kaRRu(k) kaRavai(k) also shows that the cows were very young in age almost the age of a calf. This was because as soon as Lord Krishna came to Gokulam the cows spent their time looking at His radiance. The radiance emitted from Lord Krishna’s Thirumeni reversed the age of the cows.

setraar thiRalazhiya(ch) chenRu seru(ch) cheyyum

The girl’s family also fought bravely in wars. This seems to contradict their inherent nature. The girl’s families rear cows and in general cowherds are timid in nature but this pasuram mentions that they fought in wars; the war mentioned in this pasuram is against the enemies of Lord Krishna. They did not destroy the enemies but reformed the enemies. This is the reason why Andal Nachiar considers the family of the girl to be very great because Nachiar doesn’t like Perumal to destroy His enemies as she always asks Him to reform His enemies. Lord Rama went to the place of His enemies to defeat them in wars and hence was called as Vijaya Raghavan but Lord Krishna never went in search of His enemies.

Bagawathas must consider the enemies of the Lord as their enemies and similarly the Lord considers the enemies of His devotees as His enemies. The following incident from the Mahabharata is a good example.

Lord Krishna went to Hastinapuram to conduct peace negotiations between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Lord Krishna’s son Sambhan had wedded Duryodana’s daughter Lakshmana. According to the shastras one must not refuse to break bread with one’s in-laws. Duryodana invited Lord Krishna to his house for dinner but the Lord refused stating that He had already accepted another invitation. Duryodana did not pry further into the matter as he assumed that the Lord must have been invited by Bhishmacharya.

Bhishmacharya invited the Lord and the Lord declined his invitation as well. Dronacharya was a Brahmin who had learnt the Vedas. According to shastras by eating food at the house of a Vedic Brahmin one’s sins are destroyed. It is said that even if the Brahmin doesn’t invite us to their home we must beg them to offer us either food or their Sri Pada Teertham. Dronacharya invited Lord Krishna and He declined this invitation as well. That day Lord Krishna had accepted the invitation of Vidura. Vidura was a Sudra as his mother was a maid at the palace. Despite the status of Vidura, Perumal had accepted his invitation over the invitations of His in-law Duryodana, Bhishmacharya and a Vedic Brahmin Dronacharya.

Duryodana soon came to know about Vidura’s invitation through his spies. He went to Perumal and questioned Him about His conduct.

‘Krishna, you are my in-law; is it fair that you declined my invitation to accept Vidura’s?’

‘Duryodana you know very well that according to the shastras one must not eat at the house of an enemy or invite an enemy to his/her home,’ replied Lord Krishna.

‘But I am not your enemy!’

‘How do you feel about the Pandavas? Are they your friends?’

‘Of course not! They are my enemies!’

‘The Pandavas are my life breath! You just replied that you hate my life breath. Therefore you are my enemy,’ replied the Lord.

Bagawathas must also treat the enemies of the Lord as their enemies. During the Ramayana war, Ravana met with Sugreevan.

‘Sugreeva you are the brother of Vali. Vali was like my brother and hence you are like my own brother. There is no enmity between us. Hence, come over to my side,’ said Ravana.

‘You kidnapped the wife of my Lord and hence you have become my enemy!’ replied Sugreeva.

The girl’s family had the same attitude like Sugreeva Maharaja. Any enemy of the Lord was their enemy.

kutram onRilaadha kOvalar tham poRkodiyE

Andal Nachiar describes the girl as the golden creeper born in the family of blameless Kovalars (cowherds). The word kovalar is in plural form and thus proves that the girl belonged to a large patriarchal joint family. Nachiar describes the girl as very beautiful. She has a golden complexion. The girl is slender like a golden creeper. She is the best mate for the Lord as she is equal in status to the Lord in beauty as well as wealth. Thus through this pasuram Nachiar invokes Rukmini Piratti. The word Rukmini means golden creeper in Sanskrit. 

http://www.stutimandal.com/gif_bhgvt/rukmini_sandesh.htm

Rukmini Piratti in her letter to Lord Krishna asked Him to marry her states that she belongs to a good lineage and is hence best suited to marry Him.

putru aravu alkul punamayilE pOdharaay

Nachiar calls to the girl, ‘You are a beautiful maiden! You look like a charming snake found in the wilderness from behind. Your lush hair is like the rich feathers of a peacock. From behind it looks as if the arch enemies the peacock and the snake rest peacefully in you! You have the two opposites!’

 We can see that this girl is truly beautiful as she is praised by Andal Nachiar. Normally women do not praise the beauty of other women.

During the Kurmavataram when the milky ocean was churned Goddess Lakshmi incarnated from the milky ocean. As she appeared from the milky ocean, Samudrarajan accepted her as his daughter. He gave her a garland and gave her permission to select a suitor.

Goddess Lakshmi looked at all the men gathered on the banks of the ocean. She was introduced to Lord Siva.

‘This is Lord Siva; he helped everyone by drinking the most potent poison which was released during the churning process.’

The goddess moved away from lord Siva as though he had helped the people he had Rajo gunam. She was then introduced to Lord Brahma but she moved away from him as well as he had Tamo gunam plus he had four heads. She didn’t select any of the rishis. She was disappointed in them because despite recognizing her as the Mother of all Beings, they still wished that she would marry them thinking that this was just an incarnation. She saw the Lord resting in the middle of the ocean. He was the only one who did not seek her. She recognized Him as the Supreme Being. She garlanded Him and sat on His Vakshasthalam.

Later on she was interviewed by a few people. They asked her why she had married the Lord as His complexion was very dark while she had a golden complexion. Thayar agreed that she was more beautiful when compared to Him but said that He was the best amongst those gathered at the milky ocean.

The Lord smiled and wanted to show that He was more pretty. He waited for a chance. Soon Lord Dhanvantri arrived with the pot of amrutham (elixir). The Asuras grabbed the pot and ran away. The Devas immediately sought the help of the Lord to get them their share of Amrutham. The Lord asked Goddess Lakshmi to step down from His vakshasthalam for a few minutes and watch the leelai He was about to play.

He soon took the form of a beautiful maiden. He looked very beautiful with lush hair and slender waist. He looked well dressed and stylish. He walked with grace like the swan. Everyone gathered at the shores of the ocean were mesmerized by the Lord’s beauty. He took the incarnation of Mohini.

Mohini walked towards the Asuras and requested to serve them amrutham. They were charmed by His beauty that they gave the pot of amrutham. Thus He prevented the Asuras from consuming amrutham.

We know that as Mohini Perumal looked very beautiful because Thayar herself felt that if only she had waited to incarnate after Perumal’s Mohini incarnation she could have appeared as a man and married Perumal.

Similarly Lord Oppiliappan married Bhumi Piratti. He promised to follow “eka pathni vratham” but Goddess Sridevi came and sat on His vakshasthalam. When He asked her to step down she said that she was charmed by Bhumi’s beauty and wanted to stay on the Lord’s vakshasthalam so that she can keep looking at Bhumi Piratti.

Thus a woman is truly beautiful if she is praised by another woman. We know that Sita Piratti was beautiful because Surpanaka praised her beauty.

sutraththu thOzhimaar ellaarum vandhu nin

mutram pugundhu mugil vaNNan pEr paada

siRRaadhE pEsaadhE selva peNdaatti nee

eRRukku uRangum poruLElOr empaavaai

Andal Nachiar said, ‘we have gathered on your courtyard singing the praise of our Lord called as “mugil vannan”. Even after hearing us sing you are not dancing but at least say something to us! You are the best consort of the Lord. You are equal to Him in every way. Why are you still sleeping even after hearing us sing His praise?’

The girl answered, ‘I wanted to see how you will express your disappointment in me.’

‘We can never be disappointed with you or be angry with you. Please come with us so that we can go to complete our ritual.’

Alternate Meaning:

kaRRu(k) kaRavai(k) kaNangaL pala kaRandhu

In this pasuram Nachiar invokes Nammazhwar. Kovalargal refers to the Acharyans as in Sanskrit “Go” refers to vak. The Acharyans learn the Vedas and follow the Vedic procedures like performing Yagam properly. Thus they are Karma yogis. Yagam is also known as karavai.

setraar thiRalazhiya(ch) chenRu seru(ch) cheyyum

The Acharyans participate in debates to subdue the people spreading propaganda against the Vedas.

kutram onRilaadha kOvalar tham poRkodiyE

Nammazhwar incarnated as the golden creeper amongst the Acharyans. He is also known as Parankusan. Like an elephant controller who subdues a rogue elephant with his angusam, Nammazhwar subdues the people spreading propaganda against the Vedas in debates.

Once a man approached Azhwar and mentioned that there was no God.

Azhwar said, ‘you belong to my team. Please come and take a seat near me!’

The man was surprised at the treatment given to him by Azhwar.

Azhwar asked, ‘When you say there is no God, where is he not there?’

The man replied, ‘everywhere’

‘Have you looked for Him everywhere?’

‘Of course not! Wherever I looked He was not there.’

‘so, He could be present in places you haven’t looked?’

The man couldn’t answer Azhwar and accepted defeat.

By poRkodiyE Nachiar refers to the most beautiful Azhwar. This is Nammazhwar because even the Lord was in love with the Azhwar’s meni. Andal Nachiar does not refer to the Azhwar’s physical beauty here but to his character.

Nammazhwar refrained from eating anything immediately after he incarnated. He spent his lifetime meditating upon the Lord and turned a blind eye to all materialistic stimuli. The Lord was in awe because the Nityatmas at Sri Vaikuntham exhibit such traits because their body is made up off suddha satvam but it was very unique to see someone at Bhulokam to exhibit such good traits.

The Lord of Thirumoghur wanted to grant moksham to Azhwar.

‘Azhwar I have come to grant you moksham. Come with me,’ called Perumal.

‘You haven’t released me from my body yet,’ said the Azhwar.

‘I want to take you to Sri Vaikuntham with your body,’ said Perumal.

‘But you had said that it is against shastras to do so. Please release me from my body’

‘I have the powers to bend shastras. Don’t worry about it.’

‘If you bend shastras people will speak ill of you and say that you are partial. I cannot be the cause for this. I will come only if you release me from my body,’ said the Azhwar.

Even when Perumal was ready to break the rule Azhwar was not willing to stray away from the shastras. This proves Azhwar’s superiority over us.

Once at the temple of Vijaya Raghavan a man was not permitted inside because he was wearing a shirt. According to the rules laid by Lord Vijaya Raghavan, men cannot were shirt inside the sanctum. The man refused to remove his shirt and left the temple. He mentioned the incident to an older man. The old man asked the man to accompany him to the temple and made a bet that he can enter with a shirt. The man was surprised to see that the old man was permitted inside with a shirt as he had paid for the day’s mandagapadi. Thus the younger man gave in to ego and refused to remove his shirt. The older man’s ego prompted him to break the rules of Lord Vijaya Raghavan and feel proud about it. The Bhattacharya bended the rules for the older man as, the older man was wealthy. Thus none of them cared about the rules laid by the Lord Himself whereas Nammazhwar refused to break the rule even when the Lord wanted to allow him this privilege as he did not want the Lord to be blamed for showing favouritism.

putru aravu alkul punamayilE pOdharaay

In the above pasurams Azhwar speaks about opposites like poverty and prosperity. Even if Perumal grants the opposites Azhwar is still happy.

kOmaLa vAnkanRaip pulgik *

gOvindhan mEyththana ennum *

pOmiLa nAgaththin pin pOy *

avan kidakkai Idhennum **

AmaLa onRum aRiyEn *

aruvinaiyAttiyEn petRa *

kOmaLavalliyai mAyOn *

mAl seydhu seyginRa kUththE

The Azhwar sings as the mother who is worried about her daughter’s obsessive love for Perumal. The mother says, ‘my daughter follows the calf and hugs them. She says the calf is soft because it was herded by Lord Krishna. This seems to be okay as there is no danger in hugging a calf but she also follows a cobra and hugs it because the cobra reminds her of the Lord’s snake bed Adisesha!’

sutraththu thOzhimaar ellaarum vandhu nin

mutram pugundhu

Nammazhwar always stayed under the tamarind tree. He never left the tree. Madura Kavi Azhwar came in search of him. Similarly all the Divya Desam Perumals came to him and asked him to sing pasurams about them. Nammazhwar never travelled to any Divya Desams only the Perumals of the Divya Desams visited him under the tamarind tree in Azhwar Thirunagari.

mugil vaNNan pEr paada

siRRaadhE pEsaadhE selva peNdaatti nee

eRRukku uRangum poruLElOr empaavaai

Azhwar loves Mugil Vannan. He dedicated all the 1002 songs on Lord Ranganathan whom he considered as Mugil Vannan. Azhwar sang 3 padigams on Azhagar, 1 on Aramudan but only 10 pasurams on Lord Ranganathan but in the last amongst the ten pasuram Azhwars mentions that he submits all the 1002 pasurams at the feet of Lord Ranganathan who is Mugil Vannan.

It is considered that only Lord Ranganathan is present in all other Divya Desams. During daytime the Lord Ranganathan sports around other Divya Desams but at night time returns to Sri Rangam to take rest. This is similar to us touring parks for fun during day time and then returning home at night time to rest.

Continued On: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/01/thirupavai-pasuram-12.html