Lord Krishna: "O Gopis! your words are selfcontradictory.
You say you have come for getting materials for the NONBU,and
in the same breath that it is for enjoying my company.
Those who desire my company need to eschew all other
desires.Moreover what is this vow you mention? who has
prescribed it and what are the accessories needed?"
Gopis - "The cowherds proposed this vow.As it came in handy
to see your face and sing your glory and as it is in no way
opposed to our primary purpose of enjoying your company we
readily responded.We do it also to express our gratitude
towards these cowherds who have brought about our union
under this pretext.
"Although there is no direct Vedic injunction ,we do it
because our ancestors have done it (Melayaar seyvanagal).
We give more importance to the practices of our very
learned ancestors,than to any other injunctions."
Age old customs,traditions and practices of our Acharyas
are to be respected and observed with great care - is
the message of Andal in this paasuram.By enumerating all
the accessories for the Nonbu,Andal is actually speaking
about SAAMYAAPATTI- where the delivered soul gets emblems
similar to the Lord's in Sri Vaikuntha; and the warm welcome
it receives there after casting off this human mantle.
MAALE -depicts the LORD's excessive,boundless and unlimited loving
care and affection for the soul.It is the meaning of MAAM
in Geeta Charama Sloka.
AALINILAYAAY -mentioning His immeasurable and most wonderful
prowess brings out the sense of AHAM in the same sloka.
MAAM shows His SOULABHYA (accessability) and AHAM His
omnipotence.
Sri Krishna,after hearing their list of articles needed for
the vow said- "O girls! If there is a God equal to Me then you
may find a conch equal to my Paanchajanya.You have asked
for 'many conches'I can give the conch blown at the temple
PULLARAYAN KOIL you mentioned in St.6,and the one I used
to blow to bring back the cattle from grazing and my
Paanchajanya.
"As regards PARAI - I can give the kettle drum JAAMBAVAAN
beat when I measured the whole universe; and the huge drum
beaten to celebrate my victory at Lanka;and the big one I
tie to my waist to attract all girls to my dance of the
pots (Kudakkoottu).
" PALLAANDU ISAIPPAAR - are your father Sri Vishnuchittar
and Sri Nammaazhwaar.
" KOLAVILAKKU - is Nappinnai; KODI - Garuda;and VITAANAM
(canopy) is Ananta.Are you satisfied ? Now you may go."
Gopis - "These are for the observance of our vow.But
after the vow we have to receive certain honours.They
are exclusively for us.You have to give them to all
to us."
This is the prayer of ANDAL in this paasuram;the inner
meaning being MUKTA BHOGA - the delivered soul's
enjoyment in the Lord's company at Sri Vaikuntha.
Incidentally Andal leaves a message for posterity.The
Lord can punish a soul for a wrong only if the the soul
is not prepared to take refuge unto Him i.e., only as
long the soul is bent on protecting himself by himself.
The moment he accepts His protection, the Lord cannot
punish him for his sins.This is the means to secure a
victory over him.This is the inner meaning of the first
line KOODAARAI VELLUM SEER.For ex: 1)Parasurama,instead
of confronting Rama with a bow and losing,could have
come with clasped hands,and won.This,perhaps he was not
aware of. 2) Ravana was allowed by Rama to get back to
his palace when he had lost everything and stood there
unable to defend himself.He came back the next day fully
furnished with with chariot and weapons,and lost his
life.Had he come without weapons he could have conquered
Rama.Gopis won Him over by their humble submission to
Him.
The ornaments referred to in this stanza are ornaments
not only for the body but the soul also.The food (SORU)
is the Lord; ghee and milk are His virtues (KALYANAGUNA).
MUKTA BHOGA is the quintescence of this stanza.
In the very first paasuram Sri ANDAL declared unequi-
vocally that Sriman Narayana alone was the Means(UPAAYA)
for getting emancipation and His Service."NarayananE
Taruvaan"- the "E" is very significant.Similarly Lord
Krishna in His CHARAMA SLOKA commanded "Maam EKAM
Saranam Vraja." - "EKAM" = Me ALONE. This is very well
brought out By Sri Andal in this verse.
A Prapanna who firmly believes that the Lord alone is
capable of putting an end to our ever-revolving cycle
of births and deaths should possess SIX essential
characteristics:
1.He should have no truck with any other "means" like
Karmayoga etc( this is his AAKINCHANYA).
2.Moreover to observe such Yogas he does not have any
legitimate right,as sanctioned by the Scriptures.He
has to declare his "lowness".(ANANYAGATITVA)
3.He has to keep thinking constantly of the Fullness
or unimaginable capabilities of Lord Almighty who
is the "MOOLA SUKRITA".
4.He should concentrate on the indissoluble relationship
that he has with God.
5.He should beg pardon of the Lord for all his countless
acts of misbehaviour in the past.
6.He should pray to God for the realisation of his
aspiration,namely Service to the Almighty.
Sri Andal in a very dramatic manner brings out all
these in this verse.
Sri Krishna observed,"O Girls! When your aspiration
is for the highest End - my Service (KAINKARYA),you
must have also performed the prescribed rites for it
like Karma Yoga etc. Have you done so ?"
Gopis: (emphatically) No,O Lord! To perform them we
should in the first place have learnt the Vedas by
sitting at the holy feet of a great Acharya(Prasaanta-
chittaaya samaanvitaya etc) reputed for his erudition
and practice of rites. But our "gurus" are the milch-
cattle and our vocation is tending them to fill our
stomachs.(KARAVAIGAL PIN SENRU etc)
To add to this we are born of a race which has no claim
for knowledge.(ARIVONRUMILOM)
Krishna: If that is the case I can't help you.
Gopis: We are imperfect creatures but your perfection
should fill up this gap.(KURAIVONRUM etc)
Krishna:Now you claim a relationship with me,but this
can be broken off very easily by performing a rite
called "Ghata Sraaddha"
Gopis:That rite is applicable only to the relationships
which are the result of Karma.But our relationship(namely
the one between the Soul and God)is indissoluble either
by you or us or both together.(UNTHANNODU etc)
Krishna: Now you correctly understand our relationship
and call me "Govinda" signifying my being one amongst
you.But in the past you have called me as 'Narayana"
which has caused me considerable pain.(NOTE: NARAYANA
indicates the Lord's relationship with every created
being,prapanna as well as non-prapanna;where as GOVINDA
was the title He received indicative of His special
Accessibility(SOULABHYA) and compassion towards calves,
cows and cowherds.)
Gopis: we apologise to you for this oversight on our
part.But after all we are innocent cowherd girls.Out
of our affection for you we lost our balance of mind.
Please forgive us.(ARIYAADA PILLAIGALOM etc)
Krishna then summoned NAPPINNAI and ordered her to
give them what they desired.
Gopis: No! she has played her role by recommending our
case to you.(PURUSHAKAARATVA).Now it is your turn.You
are the UPAAYA,the bestower of your very valuable and
much sought-after Service.(NOTE: in a similar case Sri
RAMANUJA in SARANAAGATI GADYA prayed to SRI LAKSHMI for
intercession and when she said ,"Astu te; tayaiva sarvam
sampatsyate", he proceeded to pray to the Lord for
Kainkarya.)Please do it.(IRAIVA etc)
"Sriman Narayana charanau...etc" - the First Line of
the DVAYA Mantra is well illustrated in this paasuram.
The stanza needs to be understood with an elaborate
explanation by an erudite Guru.The sum and substance
of the stanza is that He alone is the sole Means of
Salvation; and a person who has no claim for any Sat
Karma as the Means of salvation and a refugee, alone
is fit for surrendering himself unto the Lord.
This stanza clearly tells us of the highest Purushaartha
(the end of human life),explaining the meaning of PARAI.
Asking for Parai is a pretext; as the cowherds proposed
this "nonbu' for getting rain and as it came in handy for
Gopis(Andal) to keep looking at the face of Lord Krishna
for as long as they liked,they accepted it.Their real
intention is to get KAINKARYA (eternal service)at the
lotus-feet of the Lord.The word NARAYANANE used in the
first stanza was explained in the previous verse;the
word PARAI is explained here.
Both "Means" and "End" are the same in Sri Vaishnava
Sampradaaya;it is Sriman Narayana himself.If those who
take Him as the "Means' have contact with other "Means"
like Karmayoga etc,it is akin to pollution due to contact
with a dead body(because Karma Yoga etc are by nature
inert and need His Presence to give Result).And if they
consider their act of Surrender to the Lord
(Prapatti) itself to be the "Means", it is like accretion
of sin due to contact with a chandaala(because anything
which has the taint of the ego pollutes the purity of
the Prapanna).
Similarly regarding the "End" also there are two mistakes
which need to to be avoided: 1)Desiring other mundane
things from Him,which would be like desiring to eat poisoned
or contaminated food; and 2)serving the Lord for one's own
enjoyment rather than exclusively for His pleasure(Swaartha
Kainkarya),which would be like eating food left over from
another eater (Uchchishtha Bhojana).
Both these types of Purities (UPAAYA SUDDHI and UPEYA
SUDDHI) need to be strictly ensured by a Prapanna.The
previous verse (28) speaks of UPAAYA SUDDHI -"UNTANNAI..
..PUNNIYAM YAAM UDEYOM"- You ALONE are our Means.The
present verse enjoins UPEYA SUDDHI - "UNAKKE NAAM AAT_
SEYVOM" -We serve you for the sake of your happiness
ALONE,and we derive happiness on seeing your enjoyment.
Even the least trace of selfish enjoyment is to be
totally erased in the service of God.It is just as in
the case of sandal paste,cool breeze,flowers,ornaments
etc which give pleasure to man,without themselves feeling
any;the only difference being that man not being inert like
them feels happy looking at the pleasure of the Lord.
Krishna ordered His servants to bring the huge kettle-
drum (PARAI).Then Andal says,"O Wonder! you have not
understood us.We require only your everlasting,most
enjoyable service.We wish to be always born alongwith you,
and keep company with you always to serve you.(Like
Lakshmana who served Rama whether He was in Ayodhya
or in the forest.).Kindly guard us from evincing
interest in anything except you."
Just as the body serves a man,the Soul,which is the
body of the Lord (Yasya aatma sareeram),should serve
Him.This is the natural law.This is the message of
Andal in this crowning verse.
Those who study this Tiruppavai are forever acceptable to
Sri Mahalakshmi and Sriman Narayana - this is the gist of
this stanza.In days of yore,in Dwaapara Yuga,Gopis actually
performed this Nonbu.Later on Sri andal imitated them in
her heart.Both Gopis and Andal got the service of the Lord.
So also even without performing the rite or imitating it,
just by chanting this Divya Prabandha,people will get the
same fruit (Kainkarya).Sri PARASARA BHATTAR said,"Just as the
mother cow gives milk even in the presence of its dead and
stuffed calf (TOL KANRUKKUM IRANGUMAPOLE) so also the Lord
will bless us even though we are absolutely devoid of the
supreme devotion of Andal,merely because we are repeating
her words."
Gopis had surrendered themselves to Sri Krishna;but their
Saranaagati would gain fruit only through the PURUSHAKAARA
(recommendation) of Sri Mahalakshmi.The Lord had churned
the Milky Ocean to get her; and so the Gopis begin by chanting
that herculean effort of the Lord.VANGAKKADAL was churned
only to get Sri Devi who had remained hidden there.Thus
He became MAA(Lakshmi's)-DHAVA(husband).In stanza 2 Andal said
ADI PAADI- singing the glory of His Feet; here in 30 she
says KESAVANAI -of Him who has fascinating locks of hair.
Thus she enjoys the Lord's Form from His Holy Feet to His
Head (Aa paada choodam).
The meaning of the POORVA KHANDA (first half) of the DVAYA
Mantra is implied in this first line.
The word "SRIMAT" (He who is ever in the company of SRI) in
DVAYA mantra is represented here by MAADAHAVANAI.
" NARAYANA" in DVAYA means He who has the noble qualities
of VAATSALYA,SWAAMITVA,SAUSHILYA,SAULABHYA,GNAANA and SHAKTI.
These are brought out in the present paasuram as under:
1.KADAL KADAINDA -Lord Vishnu ,turning a blind eye (Kaanaa-
kkannittu) towards the blemishes of all the gods and demons,
churned the ocean to get them nectar;this is VAATSALYA.
2.He established His Supremacy by managing the entire
operation single-handedly; this is SWAAMITVA.
3.He even worked in cooperation with worst criminals -
the lowliest of the lowly; this is SAUSHILYA.
4.He took the guise of a charming cherub and personally
distributed the nectar;this is SAULABHYA.
5.He had the requisite knowledge,the know-how to churn
the ocean; this is GNAANA.
6.And He had the required strength to complete the task
up to the end; this is SHAKTI.
KESAVANAI- By referring to the locks of hair, His Form is
implied; that is the meaning of "CHARANAU" in the DVAYA.
Those who recite the Tiruppavai paasurams are sure to be
blessed by Him.They will get everything here and finally
attain Salvation.Sri PARASARA BHATTAR used to say,"every
one should every morning recite all the 30 verses;or at
least the 29th one-SITTAM SIRUKALE; if he finds even that
difficult, he should at least bring to his mind how much
exquisite joy WE added to our days and nights through
chanting,understanding,discussing and in fact living
with these Divine Verses (Naam irunda iruppai ninaippadu)."
Those who thus take refuge unto Him will serve Him for
ever and ever;no rebirth for them.Let us also chant these
sweet songs and make our mother SRI GODA DEVI's appearance
in this world useful and purposeful.
SRIMATYAI VISHNUCHITTARYA MANO NANDANA HETAVE
NANDA NANDANA SUNDARYAI GODAAYAI NITYA MANGALAM
