Thirupavai Pasuram 3

 Continued from: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2012/12/thirupavai-pasuram-2.html

This pasuram is the favourite pasuram of Perumal; He asked for an encore. This is a very special pasuram. After Andal Nachiar specified the instructions for following the nombhu, a gopi girl approached her as she had a doubt.

Gopi asked, ‘Please specify the sankalpam we should make before starting this nombhu.’

Andal replied, ‘I told you that our sankalpam is a secret and should not be said aloud as the spies sent by the village elders might be nearby! Our elders have asked us to pray for rain while we will secretly pray to obtain Lord Krishna in our hearts!’

The gopi said, ‘I went to Sage Gargar’s ashramam today to supply curd. He was teaching some students. I heard the following story narrated by the sage. Once due to an argument between Devendra and Brihaspathi, Brihaspathi disappeared from Heaven. It seems the Devas can’t use their mouth to eat like us. Their hunger is only satisfied when offerings are made in a Yagnam. To ensure a steady supply of food, Brihaspathi performs a Yagam every day at Heaven. The Devas went hungry since they couldn’t locate Brihaspathi. Therefore they asked Vishwakarma’s son Vishwaroopan to act as the substitute Brihaspathi and perform the Yagam. Vishwaroopan agreed to perform Yagam but still the Devas continued to be hungry. They conducted an investigation and found that Vishwaroopan’s mother belonged to the Asura clan. As a result he chanted the manthrams to offer oblations to the Devas aloud while secretly chanting manthrams in his heart to send the oblations to the Asuras. As the manthrams chanted in secret in one’s heart is more powerful, all the oblations went to the Asuras.’

Andal replied, ‘Yes, it is right that the manthrams chanted in one’s heart are more powerful than the manthrams chanted aloud.’

The gopi continued, ‘I feel we will run into trouble! Outwardly we will chant the manthram “Vrishit siddhayatham” as sankalpam to get rain while in our heart we will all say “Krishna Siddhayatham”. As a result we will obtain Krishna but there will be no rain! How can we use the facility provided by our elders to promote our own wishes and thus cheat them from getting rain?’

Andal answered the gopi, ‘If we obtain Krishna, He will not only give Himself to us but He will also provide rain. He is like a large departmental store; He will provide dharma, artha, kama and moksham. He will make sure that we reach Sri Vaikuntham while making sure that we lead a happy comfortable life in this world.’

The gopi again asked a question, ‘what if we make a mistake while chanting the manthram for the Sankalpam? I heard Gargar narrate the effects of chanting the manthram incorrectly today at his ashramam. In the previous story I told earlier, when the Devas found that Vishwaroopan was cheating them, Devendra killed Vishwaroopan. As a result Vishwakarma became very angry and decided to perform a Yagam to beget a son who would kill Devendra. Vishwakarma made a mistake while chanting the manthram; instead of asking for a son who would kill Devendra he chanted “let me get a son who would be killed by Devendra”. As a result the second son born to Vishwakarma was also killed by Devendra!’

Andal replied, ‘don’t worry about making an error! It is very easy to rectify errors. All we have to do is meditate upon Lord Trivikrama and think about the way in which He measured all the worlds including Bali Chakravarthi with just three strides!’

Thus to rectify any errors made while observing the nombhu, Andal starts this Pasuram by singing the praise of Lord Trivikrama as “Ongi ulagaLandha uththaman pEr paadi

naangaL nam paavaikku(ch) chaatri neeraadinaal”

The Vedas also prescribe a manthram to meditate upon Lord Trivikrama to rectify mistakes which are made while performing yagams. As it is difficult for common people to chant manthrams, Andal gave us this manthram in the form of this pasuram.

Andal mentions about the glories of Hari nama sankeerthanam in this pasuram. Perumal is like a gold bar and his names are like jewellery. If we have an emergency we can sell the gold bar to get funds but we cannot wear a gold bar. Whereas we can wear the jewellery as well as liquidate it during emergencies to get cash. Even if Perumal is not nearby by chanting His names we can get relief from any danger. Draupadi was 1000 mile away in Hastinapuram while Lord Krishna was in Dwaraka. When Dushashana tried to humiliate Draupadi by disrobing her saree she cried “Govinda” and immediately was saved by the name of Lord Krishna; the Lord provided so many sarees that Dushashana fell down from exhaustion! Vedas are given a high status because each and every letter of the Vedas refers to the Lord’s names.

Picture Ref: http://www.teluguone.com/devotional/content/mythological-quiz---6-620-4871.html

Some people state that Andal Nachiar started the pasuram with ongi to show the sudden transformation of Vamana into Trivikrama. But “ongi” has another hidden meaning as well.

Most people think that most of Lord’s incarnations took place in North India whereas most Acharyans incarnated in South India. This is not true as the first avataram is Matsya Avataram which happened in Pandya Desam in South India; Andal also incarnated in Pandya Desam. The 1^st pasuram speaks about His Para avataram, 2^nd Pasuram about Vyuha Avataram and third pasuram about Vibhava Avataram. The 1^st Vibhava Avataram is Matsya Avataram. “Ongi” is a name for dolphin (fish) in Tamil. Therefore 1^st line can also mean He incarnated as a fish and then as Trivikrama; He is an Uttaman.

Immediately the gopis objected.

‘He cheated. He showed His tiny feet to Mahabali and begged Bali to give Him land equal to three strides measured by His tiny feet,’

‘Yes that is correct but He didn’t cheat!’ said Andal.

‘Of course He did! The moment Bali agreed what did He do? He became Trivikrama! He grew very tall and measured all the worlds and this Earth with just two strides! What do you call this behaviour? I say He cheated!’

‘Don’t call Trivikrama as Uttaman! He did cheat!

‘What do you expect Him to do? He was just a child and He grew-up very fast! Some children do grow-up very fast! He felt small because He had to seek alms from Bali but the little child felt elated when Bali agreed to His request. As He was feeling very happy, He no longer felt small and hence grew tall!’

Picture Ref: http://theharekrishnamovement.wordpress.com/category/krsna-is-the-source-of-all-incarnations/

‘I won’t agree with you. I still feel that He threw dust in Bali’s eyes!’

‘Please tell me the things Bali donated to Vamana ?’

‘He measured the Earth and the heavens with His feet which Bali donated to Him.’

‘That just makes two strides. What did He measure with His third stride?’ enquired Andal.

‘He placed His feet on Bali’s head and claimed Bali to be His third stride.’

‘Now tell me what He did he do with the donations He received from Bali .’

‘He gave the Heavens to Devendra.’

‘What did He do with Bali?’

‘He sent poor Bali to Patala Lokam!’

‘Of all the worlds Patala Lokam is the most beautiful and the most enjoyable world!’

‘Get out of here! How can Patala Lokam be the most enjoyable? Isn’t it located below ground?’

‘It is a misconception that Patala Lokam is engulfed in darkness. It is a very beautiful world and better than Devendra’s Swarka Lokam! Lord Trivikrama informed Bali that even Devendra was not aware of the wonderful qualities of Patala Lokam. Trivikrama donated the beautiful Patala Lokam to Bali Chakravarthi. Trivikrama crowned Bali as the king of Patala Lokam. There was a beautiful palace in Patala Lokam ready to be occupied by Bali Chakravarthi. Bali was taken by surprise when He saw the palace door keeper.’

‘Why was Bali surprised to see the door keeper?’

‘The door keeper was none other than Vamana Himself! He was guarding Bali ’s palace. His radiance illuminated the entire Patala Lokam! He was shining like one thousand Suns! He claimed Bali as His own with His third step. As Bali became His property, He personally protected Bali just like the way in which a bride groom protects his bride after receiving her hand in marriage. He gave the Earth and the heavens to Devendra but He never gave Bali to Devendra! He could have handed down Bali as a slave to Devendra but instead He kept Bali to Himself. Bali became His cherished treasure. He guarded Bali and protected Him from evil influence. You can also say that He gave Himself to Bali. The Rishis perform severe penance trying to catch a glimpse of Him; but, Bali obtained the grace of Paramatma very easily! Bali could see the beautiful Perumal shining like a blue sapphire everywhere in Patala Lokam! Bali obtained the priceless blue sapphire for giving up the Earth and heavens to Devendra. Isn’t this equivalent to trading a lemon for a diamond?’ 

Perumal in the form of Vamana Murthy to this day stays outside Mahabali’s mansion in Patala Lokam guarding him. Once prior to Ramavataram, Ravanan decided to go on a rampage and annex all the kingdoms. He arrived at Patala Lokam and asked Vamana to move so that he could find Mahabali.

Vamana said, ‘Stop! You are not allowed inside to see my master.’

Ravanan looked at the short security guard and laughed mockingly. He said, ‘Dwarf make way I have to see your master!’

‘My master is no ordinary man! He even made donations to Lord Vishnu. Step away before you are hurt.’

‘I will make you move!’ said Ravanan and tried to push past Vamana.

Vamana tapped Ravanan with His stick and hurled Ravanan like a football making him fall inside Lanka.

The same Lord Vishnu was also present as the commander in chief of the Devas called as Upendra when Ravana waged war against the Devas, Devendra asked Upendra to help them. Perumal threw His disc at Ravanan but the disc came back to Perumal’s hands without harming Ravanan as Perumal did not hurl the disc with the intention of harming Ravanan. He only pretended to participate in the war against Ravanan.

‘I am sorry,’ said Upendra, ‘I cannot help you since I have to respect the boon granted by Brahmma upon Ravanan.’ Saying so Perumal walked away without helping the Devas.

Andal continued, ‘He did not destroy anyone during Vamana Avataram. He didn’t do samharam but sought alms knowing very well that people may speak ill of Him and claim that He cheated. Therefore He is Uttaman.’

Piratti doesn’t like it when Perumal destroys people. She was very unhappy when He killed Hiranyakashipu during Narasimha Avataram. Therefore Perumal promised her that He will give people additional chance. This is why in Ramayana He let Ravana retire from the battle field when Ravana ran out of weapons and He gave 100 chances to Shishupala.

One of His names is Srishaha but it does not just mean the Lord of Lakshmi but per Parasara Bhattar the name means the one who is controlled by Sri is Srishaha. Perumal didn’t want to kill Mahabali since Bali was the grandson of His dear devotee Prahaladan. Mahabali was also a great devotee of Lord. As Mahabali took the kingdom of Devendra, Aditi did saranagathi requesting Perumal to help her sons. Perumal had to help Aditi since she performed saranagathi and yet He had to protect Mahabali as well. Therefore Perumal decided to seek alms and came in the form of a dwarf called Vamana to the yagna salai of Mahabali seeking donation. When Perumal placed His thiruvadi (3^rd step) on Mahabali’s head, Prahaladan was very agitated; he came running towards Perumal and asked Perumal how he could do such a thing?

Perumal replied that, ‘why do you look agitated? I am only blessing Mahabali!’

Prahaladan said, ‘Of course I know you are blessing Mahabali but I have a bone to pick with you! When you killed my father Hiranyakashipu did you ever think of blessing me in the same manner in which you are blessing my grandson?’

‘I did bless you! I placed you on my lap and placed my hand on your head to bless you!’

‘That is why I am not feeling happy! You placed your hand on my head but why didn’t you place your divine Thiruvadi on my head?’

‘I did place my Thiruvadi on your head when I measured all living creatures with my 1^st step.’

‘Then why did you place your Thiruvadi on Mahabali’s head once again?’

‘Because He didn’t realize that I placed my Thiruvadi on His head with my 1^st step. He requested me to place my Thiruvadi on His head once again.’

‘You have proved that you are partial by honouring Mahabali twice by placing your Thiruvadi on his head twice!’ Thus even Prahaladan felt jealous of Mahabali.

Trivikrama Perumal did not cheat Mahabali but conferred upon Mahabali His blessings by placing His Thiruvadi upon the head of Mahabali. With His previous two steps, Perumal also placed His Thiruvadi upon the heads of all living creatures to bless them even if the creatures did not seek Perumal’s blessings. Such is the compassionate nature of Trivikrama Perumal! In fact at Tirukovalur, Perumal holds His disc in His left hand and the conch in His right hand to indicate to Mahabali that He did not come to kill Mahabali but only to bless Him.

Picture Ref: viewphotos.org

Thus we can see that Perumal honoured Mahabali and conferred upon Bali the most Supreme blessing.

Perumal in Surya Mandalam is called as “Uthi” which means that He is not affected by any sins. Hence the name “Uttapa” refers to the name of Perumal and indicates that He is above all sins. In Thiruparkadal He is called as Uttharan & during Trivikrama Avataram as Uttaman. The names Uttharan & Uttaman are the comparative/superlative degree of Uthi.

Thus the third Pasuram also explains about Paduka Prabhavam since this pasuram speaks about Perumal placing His thiruvadi on Bali’s head. Swami Desikan stated that any yagam performed without realizing that it is performed for Paduka Devi is a waste!

Andal lists the pala shruthi of chanting the name of Lord Trivikrama in the following lines.

theenginRi naadellaam thingaL mum maari peydhu

The entire region will be blessed by beneficial rains. An example of beneficial rain is shown by the following story. Once a potter finished making a batch of pots; he went to the temple and prayed that the weather should remain sunny so that his pots could dry properly. At the same time a farmer had finished sowing seeds in the same village; the farmer also went to the temple and prayed for rain so that his seeds could germinate. Thus if it rained the potter would be ruined and if the weather remained dry the farmer would be ruined. Thus beneficial rain would bring prosperity to everyone by raining at the appropriate time and thus helping both the potter as well as the farmer.

The procedure for Ashwamedha Yagam is complicated. The king becomes tired while performing this Yagam. To rejunavate the king a short break is incorporated in to the Yagam in the form of a debate between the Hota and Brahma. The same set of questions is also chanted as manthram by Brahmins during the Shradham ritual. There are a total of twelve questions. The first question is about good rainfall.

Question 1: Kigiswid dasit poorvachitihi? What is essential for everyone?

Answer 1: The sky is essential for everyone as it carries the rain bearing clouds to shower rain to make the Earth prosperous.

Anyone who listens to this question will not affected by famine in the region they live.

Good rain showers should rain only when the people of the country wish for rain thus preventing crop damage from heavy as well as scanty rainfall. 

“Nikamenakamena parjanya varshatu” is a Vedic manthram which means, ‘It should rain whenever we wish for rain without causing hindrance to others. Nine days of dry weather followed by one day of rainy weather like clockwork.’

Ongu peRum senN nel oodu kayalugaLa(p)

 It should rain in such a way that good seeds like that of paddy should germinate very fast and attain rapid growth (ongu) to become large plants. There are many fish which live in the stagnant water in the paddy fields. The fish should find it difficult to swim in the water due to the thick growth of paddy plants.

poonguvaLai(p) pOdhil poRi vandu kaN paduppa(th)

As a result of the rains the ponds should be full with lotus blooms making the honey bees seek honey from the lotus blooms causing them to feel intoxicated after drinking the sweet nectar thus falling asleep inside the lotus blooms!

thEngaadhE pukkirundhu seerththa mulai patri

vaanga kudam niRaikkum vaLLal perum pasukkaL

All the cows in the village should look fat and healthy after feeding on the green pasture. As soon as the milking bucket is placed under their teats, they should rain milk thus completely filling the bucket.

neengaadha selvam niRaindhElOr empaavaai

Everyone should be wealthy. Wealth in Tamil is called as “selvam” because as it enters someone’s home it says “I am leaving” “selvom”. Thus wealth does not stay permanently in one place. Andal Nachiar prays that we should be blessed with sufficient wealth and that the wealth should never leave our homes. By chanting the names of Lord Narayana and thinking about His Trivikrama Avataram we get the complete blessings of our Lord. It is His natural quality to ensure that His Bakthas get the best in life. He is known as “nediyon” i.e. a tall person but He reduced His height to seek alms from Bali in the form of Vamana. He did this to protect the saranagathi of Aditi as well as to bless Mahabali. He sought as alms His own property. Even though He is the Lord of all, He sought alms from Mahabali. Thus by just chanting His names we are protected from all evil. He grants us abundant wealth to live comfortably without having to eke out a living. Thus Andal convinced the young gopis that even if they pray to get Lord Krishna, He will make sure that the village is blessed with rain thus ensuring prosperity.

Alternate Meaning:

 

Ongi ulagaLandha uththaman pEr paadi

naangaL nam paavaikku(ch) chaatri neeraadinaal

Shastras are called as “ulagam”. Thus the above lines speak about the glories of our Acharyans. The first line states that our Acharyans are “uttamans” because they spend time to read and analyse the shastras before instructing us. Acharyans are even superior to Perumal yet they are easily accessible to us. They state with great conviction the correct summary of the Shastras in debates. Lokam in Sanskrit is the name for that which is used to see things. The Tamil translation of Lokam is Ulagam. Since we use Shastrams to see the things which cannot be seen normally, Shastrams are called as lokams. From this Sanskrit word Lokam with its root Lok originated the English word “look”. There is nothing greater than singing the praise of one’s Acharyan. Madurakavi Azhwar did this when he sang Kanninum Siruthambu to sing the glories of Swami Nammazhwar. If we lead our life by singing the praise of our Acharyan with devotion then we would be blessed with the following.

theenginRi naadellaam thingaL mum maari peydhu

The Acharyans give us knowledge which is referred to as rain in the above line. As they lead us along the right way and if everyone living in a country gets access to the teachings of a good Acharyan then, the country will be free from violence, everyone will be a law abiding citizen.

Those who do not have an Acharyan face the danger of mistaking one’s body as the atma thus leading to recurring samsaric births but association with a sadacharyan removes this danger. There will be no more discrimination as the people will learn to treat everyone equally. mum maari peydhu refers to obtaining mantropadesam along with meaning for the three main manthrams known as rahasyathrayam (Thirumanthram, Dwayam and Charama Slokam) which will make us prosperous by granting us moksham.

Ongu peRum senN nel oodu kayalugaLa(p)

The rain of rahasyatrayam leads to the growth of good seedlings which are the people who seek refuge under the Lord’s divine feet. Lord Narayanan is like a farmer who keeps sowing new crops every year without fail even if the crops were destroyed by heavy rains in the previous year. Like this Perumal keeps trying to raise good crops (us) who will seek refuge under His feet. He keeps creating this Universe even when the previous creation fails to yield Him good result. With the grace of good Acharyan good crops are raised to please Perumal. Fish always stays wet similarly Perumal’s eyes are always wet as they are filled with compassion for us. Perumal will look at us who are the beautiful crop with His compassionate glance since we have Acharya sambhandham.

poonguvaLai(p) pOdhil poRi vandu kaN paduppa(th)

Acharyan’s blessings will make Perumal referred to as “ poRi vandu” to rest in our heart happily. Heart is often called as Hrdayathamarai or the “lotus in our heart”. This line speaks about realizing the Antaryami Perumal.

thEngaadhE pukkirundhu seerththa mulai patri

vaanga kudam niRaikkum vaLLal perum pasukkaL

Many Acharyans will incarnate in this world to shower the milk of knowledge on us even if we do not seek knowledge from them. The Acharyans are called as vaLLals because they always speak about the divine qualities of Perumal. VaLLals usually refer to donors who keep donating plenty to the needy. Acharyans are vaLLals because they donate to us the knowledge of Perumal’s qualities. They fill our heart and mind with images of Perumal. They bring the Perumal who is in Sri Vaikuntham to come and fill our minds. Thus they are vaLLal. It is impossible to do proper sambhavanai as the wealth they give us is priceless; therefore we can never match the wealth provide by them with our sambhavanai.

neengaadha selvam niRaindhElOr empaavaai

Through the grace of our Acharyans we will gain intelligence. Intelligence obtained by receiving the right knowledge is the supreme wealth as it can never be destroyed or stolen. Even if we exchange our knowledge with someone else it will only grow in size and never diminish. In order to clear the doubts of other people we will be forced to refer to more books thus increasing our wealth of knowledge. A person who has this permanent wealth would have obtained the wealth of “Kaimkarya Sri” and will dedicate his/her life to perform Bagawath/Bagawatha kaimkaryams.

Continued on: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2012/12/thirupavai-pasuram-4.html