Thursday, January 12, 2012

TIRUPPAVAI--28


kaRavaigaL pin senRu kaanam saerndhu uNbOm 
aRivu onRum illaadha aayk kulaththu un_dhannaip 
piRavi peRundhanaip puNNiyam yaam udaiyOm 
kuRai onRum illaadha gOvindhaa un_dhannOdu- 
uRavael namakku ingu ozhikka ozhiyaadhu 
aRiyaadha piLLaigaLOm anbinaal un_dhannai 
siRu paer azhaiththanam seeRi aruLaadhae 
iRaivaa nee thaaraay paRaiyaelOr embaavaay (28) 




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.

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