ThiruppAvai

Today is the day, when the MahA Prabhandam of Soodikkoduttha NaacchiyAr, Andal, comes to the stage of SaatthumuRai. It is the culmination of the nonbu vratham and the attainment of oneness with the Lord for Andal. It is UttharAyaNa PuNya Kaalam. It is Makara SankarAnthi dinam. May her endearing message for our upliftment to reach Her Lord's Lotus feet easily serve as a beacon light for us all!

Let us always, even unto our 7th birth (ezh Ezh Piravikkum) be with Thee, serving Thy will alone! Oh GovindhA! Change all other desires in us into this unique aspiration to be Thy humble servant. This is the last pAsuram in which Andal in the form of Gopis addresses the Lord.,asking for the true reason for the nonbu- the eternal bonding with the Lord - to serve him for ever.

This pAsuram highlights sharanagathi aspects: the helplessness (incapable of doing Karma/Gyana/Bhakti Yogas), understanding our relationship with Him, asking for forgiveness and surrendering to Him through an Acharya. We are mere cowherds, illiterate and ignorant, we are blessed to have you be born amongst us. Do not be angry at us if we called you familiar names- bless us despite our sins, says Andal

The most delectable of the pAsurams as we finally finish the vratam/Nonbu and get to enjoy the ghee laden Akkara Vadisal! A true divine experience of bliss at the sight of the Lord giving the Gopis the items they came seeking to sing His Glory! They call Him by the name "Govindan" for the first time. The closeness of the gopis in addressing the Lord whom they addressed 27 days ago as Narayana! They get so lost in Govinda, the next 2 pAsurams also refer to Him as Govinda.

Andal and the Gopis get to be with Krishna and are getting whatever they wanted from Him for the vow. The conch (produces the sacred 'Aum' sound, Narayana), Lamp (knowledge of the Lord), flags (sense of belonging to the Lord, Garuda), the Adisesha cover or pandal (enveloped in pure knowledge) and drums/parai (Vedas, symbolic of moksha, salvation).

Having seen Krishna, Andal sings that the gopis are overwhelmed by His presence and sing his glory and seek His company rather than get the Parai they originally sought from him

This pAsuram is one of the most auspicious one in ThiruppAvai. It sings the glory of Lord Narayana in the form of pallAndu! On a lighter note, this could be a description of a hexathlete- Long jump (ivvulagam aLandhaay), Archery ( then ilangai seRRaay, Ramavataram), Football (udhaiththaay), Discus throw (eRrindhaay), Weight lifting (edundhaay)and Javelin (Vel)

Andal invokes the Lion King of the World, Lord Narasimha, who protected his bhaktas and destroyed those who stood in the way of bhakti. The vision she paints is that of a majestic Lion waking up from restful slumber in its cave during a rainy season!

Approaching the Lord as Sharanagathas at His feet, Andal says bless us as we are like Arjuna, seeking only His presence

"Mattrar vazhi tholaitthu un vasarkan"- Your enemies turned devotees at your doorstep as they wait to be blessed by You. We Gopis too wait for you, having shed our egos, We totally surrender to You

Oh compassionate Lord who rescued the devas, Gajendra and others, won't you resuce us also from this Samsara

Using a traditional kutthu vilakku with its 5 faces/wicks as an analogy for 5 forms of the Lord, 5 knowledge sources, etc., Andal is pleading to Nappinnai and Krishna to wake up and bless them. They chide the piratti for not sharing the Lord's grace with them

In addition to the deep spiritual insight gleaned from the passages of this paasuram, one can not but fall at the sacred feet of ANDAL for Her immaculate poetic skills in the description of the advancement of dawn. Those who have seen the red hue of dawn shifting slowly into different degrees of whiteness as the Sun climbs up can relate well to Her choice words “Keezh Vaanam VeLLenRu”.

The Lord's consort, Piratti, holds an esteemed position of recommending devotees to be offered moksha. So it's customary to take her blessings before approaching the Lord. She is filled with love for the devotees and kind enough to overlook minor blemishes of the souls, unlike the Lord who would go strictly by the rules. This pasuram is therefore significant.

Having entered the palace, the gopis set about waking up the 4 occupants of the residence.

Having successfully woken up the Gopis, now they all approach the entrance of Nandagopala's palace. Here the plea is to the dwarapalakas, the gatekeepers to the palace, to let them all in

Last of the pAsurams waking up the most learned of the Gopis

Andal complaining to the learned Gopi who had promised the night before to wake up and take the rest of them to meet Krishna but is now sleeping comfortably.

Andal says share all that you know by being associated with Krishna! One who knows Rama and Krishna must share that knowledge with others like Ramanuja shared with everyone

Even the thought of the calf makes the buffalo produce milk which is flowing profusely throughout the house. This waste happens because someone forgot to do their mitts karma- daily duties

Andal invokes the hidden and patent qualities of the Lord and reminding that the learned bhakta is the one being woken up

Oh Learned one, don’t ignore us and enjoy the company of the Lord alone! Please let us experience the bliss, sings Andal

Here the awakening is of a great soul, one who’s already self realized

Continuing the waking up process. Describing all the sounds of the scene in VrindAvan - the birds chirping to clanging of bangles to the sounds of milk churning. I had the pleasure of singing this song with my father last year in Chennai- including that as our offering today! Special session!

Episodes 6-15 are about waking up the inner self

Last of the first set of 5 songs where Andal reminds us that surrendering to Krishna will absolve us of all our mistakes and sins

In this 4th pAsuram, Andal is seeking AchArya Anugraham by invoking Varuna, the God of Rain, for comparison. She wants the knowledge from the AchAryas to shower down upon us

The fruits of the vrtham are beautifully described here. The eternal bliss (Neengatha selvam) one can get from taking Lord Sriman Narayana's name - here in the form of Lord Trivikraman.

In this verse Andal gives directions on what a bhakta must do to attain the Lord's grace. The DOs and DONTs based on sAstras.

Essence of Andal's ThiruppAvai is captured in this first pAsuram. Hari nAma SamkIrthanam as a means to attain life's ultimate goal.

An Introduction to ThiruppAvai, songs composed by Andal. Source of explanations: 1. https://www.sadagopan.org/ 2. https://namperumal.tripod.com/TPMain.htm plus others Cover art courtesy of http://www.ramanuja.org/sv/alvars/andal/tiruppavai.html