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SriRangaSri List Archive: Message 00054 Jan 2003

 
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Dear friends,

In Stanza#26 of the "tiruppAvai", the "aayarpAdi"
girls ask.... "vEnduvana-kettiyEl..." . And in Stanza#27, the Lord
immediately gives..."perum sammAnam" !

Both stanzas are set against a wonderfully dramatic
backdrop.

******* ****** ******

In Stanza#26, the girls beseech Krishna to provide
them with the wherewithal needed to complete their
sacrificial "vrata". They requisition 6 specific
pieces of equipment for the purpose:

"(1)"pOlvana sanghu" --- bugle-conches which they could blow
in order to herald their procession
(2) "sAlap-parai"--- drums to keep time and rhythm as
they sallied forth for their ritual bath
(3) "pallAndu-isaippArE" --- a band of benediction
chanteurs who would shower their blessings on us and
wish us success in our "vratam"
(4)"kOla-villakku" --- a tall vertical torch that
would glow and shed resplendent light along our
pathway
(5) "kOdi" --- a flag-post with our banner and
insignia emblazoned on it
(6) "vidAnamE" --- a canopy stretched above us to
shade us from the drenching mists of the morning."

The Lord patiently listens to the above demands and
then playfully asks the girls,"But tell me, my dear
girls, why are you all so keen to observe this
sacrificial "nOnbu"/"neerAtam" of yours?".

The girls answer in unison: "mArgazhi-neerAduvAn...
mElaiyAr seyyvanagal..!" i.e. "We must perform these
sacred "vrata-s" because our revered ancestors
("mElaiyAr") too observed them scrupulously since time
immemorial. These are "sishtAchArA-s"... the
conventions of life laid down by our elders... and we
must obey them as though they were Vedic
commandments."(Here, "pirAtti" is stressing the importance of
faithfully adhering to duties prescribed by ancestry and tradition
that are to be regarded as being as sacrosanct as those of hallowed
scripture).

The Lord is still in a mischievous mood and pulls
their leg once more, "But my dear girls, you ask me
for so many things to enable your "nOnbu"! What do you
think I am? A magician to conjure up all those things
for you? I am sorry I can't!".

To which the "aayarpadi" girls are very quick to
respond: "aalin-illaiyAy!"... and reduce Krishna
to shame-facedness. "O come on, Krishna!", they remind
Him, "Don't give us humbug! You who could even set
sail on a mere leaf-platter ("yillai-patram") on the
raging waters of the "Great Deluge" ("praLaya-kAla"),
you who accomplished a feat like that, surely, you
can easily gift us these little things?!".

The Lord does not relent and continues the playful
banter with them.

"Tell me, you girls, but what is the benefit you hope
to reap if you were to receive all the things you ask
for? What will you all gain by completing your
"nOnbu"?

The girls then cry out in succession and begin to
relate the numerous benefits they will reap: "We will
reap, O Lord, great and wonderful things if you grant
us our needs! We will have precious ornaments like
(1) "sudakamE" -- bracelets
(2) "tOlvaLayE"-- armlets
(3) "tOdE" -- ear-pendants
(4) "sevvipuvE"-- ear-studs
(5) "padagamE" -- anklets
and not to mention "adAi" (a fine wardrobe) and
"pAl-soru" ("milk-&-rice" porridge fit for a King's
banquet!)! We will receive all these as reward for our
efforts... "yAm perum sammAnam!".

The Lord patiently listens to all this talk in a mood
of high amusement and humour not because of the
gift of baubles they ask of Him,
but the endearingly naive manner in which they do it!
He sees the girls have all completely lost their
hearts to Him in an effusion of great "bhakti"... and
He is immensely pleased!

**** ***** ******

The dramatic setting of the above 2 stanzas may apear
to be simple and idyllic. But their poetic symbolism
is very profound. The "gift of baubles"
that the "aayarpAdi" girls ask of Krishna is no
ordinary gift.

If it is no ordinary gift then what is it?

The 6 pieces of equipment the "aayarpAdi" girls ask
for are interpreted by traditional SriVaishnava
"vyAkhyAna- kartA-s" in terms of 3 different
metaphorical sets viz.(a) "purAnic" or mythological
(b) "Agamic" or temple-related and (c) philosophical
or "swApadEsArthA"

In the first mythological-set, the 6 items of gift the
"aayarpAdi" girls ask for are said to convey "purAnic"
equivalents as follows:

(1)The expression "pAlanna vanna.... sanghu" is said
to represent conches that would send out bugle-notes
like the divine-conch, Panchajanya of Lord Narayana

(2) "sAlap-parai" represents drums that sound exactly
like those that Krishna had Himself sounded during the
"kudak-kutthu" he performed in his youthful days in
Gokulam... that extraordinary dance performed with
earthen pots balanced on His head..

(3) "pallAndu-isaippArE" is a reference to the Lord's
foremost benediction chanteurs ---- NammAzhwAr who
sang "pOliha, pOliha, pOliha" (T'mozhi: 5-2-1) and
Peri-AzhwAr who sang "pallAndu-pallAndu".

(4)"kOla-villakku" is poetic metaphor for the "torch"
that would shed resplendent light along our pathway...
like "Napinnai-pirAtti" who in her role of
"purushAkArA" leads us on the roadway unto Him

(5) "kOdi" is an expression that symbolises a
flag-post with an insignia emblazoned on it....
exactly the kind of flagstaff function which
"peria-tiruvadi", Sri.GarudAzhwAr performs for the
Lord

(6) "vidAnamE" ... canopy ... is the poetic equivalent
of the Lord's fabric that is thrown around Himself
like a shawl... vide TiruppAnazhwAr's description in
the "amalanAdipirAn" as "arai-sivandhavaaday".

The next set of metaphors is closely related to temple
conventions or modes of worship as per, say, some
"Agama-manuals". For example in the Srirangam temple
when the Lord is taken out in procession during the
month of "mArgazhi" one can hear the
(1) "sanghu", the blowing of conches (2) the beating
of drums ("parai") (3) the recitation of
"tiru-pallAndu" (4) one can see "dAsa-nambis" holding
fire-torches or lamps of "kOla-viLakku" (5) great big
banners ("kOdi") and (6) canopies too.

Traditional commentators however emphasise that the 6
gifts of the "aayarpAdi" girls are in truth the
philosophical metaphors for the following
qualifications that every devotee of God ardently
seeks to acquire:

(1) "sanghu" or conch symbolises "ananyArha-sEshatva
gnyAnam" embodied by the "pranavam". This refers to
the realization by the devotee of God that there is no
other means to liberation available to him except
through servitude to God

(2) "parai" or drum symbolises "pAratantriya gnyAna"
which denotes the devotee's absolute reliance on God
for absolutely everything in life here and the
hereafter

(3) "pallAndu-isaipArE" or benediction-chanteurs
symbolises "satsahavAsam" or the extreme importance
that the company of the godly holds for the devotee

(4) "villakE" or lamp or torch... which symbolises
"bhAgavatha-seshatva gnyAna" or the need for the
devotee to willingly serve God's elect

(5) "kOdi" or banner or flag-post symbolises
"bhagavath-kainkarya" or the yearning of the devotee
to be able to serve the Lord directly

(6) "vidAnamE" or canopy which symbolises
"bhOgdritva-nivritti" or the attitude of utter
selfless-ness which the devotee must cultivate.

Without the above "gifts" of mind and soul, the
devotee of God can never hope to attain God. So when
AndAl, through the "aayarpAdi" girls, asks for the
"gifts of baubles", we realize that she is in truth
asking for the greatest of "gifts" that God in His
Kindness can ever grant a human soul.

********** ******** *********

In Stanza#27, we see the 'aayarpAdi" girls enumerating
the great benefits they shall reap with the help of
the 6 pieces of equipment they ask Krishna to gift
them and they are:

(1) "sudakamE" -- bracelets
(2) "tOlvaLayE"-- armlets
(3) "tOdE" -- ear-pendants
(4) "sevvipuvE"-- ear-studs
(5) "padagamE" -- anklets

Here too, the traditional "vyAkhyAna-kartA-s" point
out that the above are symbolic of the marks that a
true devotee of God bears upon both his body and soul
for all the world to see. What are those marks? They
are:

(1) "sUdagam" which signifies the SriVaishnavite
caste-insignia or the 12 "urdhva-pundrA-s" or 12 marks
of "tirumann-srichurnam"

(2) "tOl-valai" signifies the marks of "Chakra" and
"sanghu" that is branded on the shoulers of every
SriVaishnavan during the "samAshrayanam" rite which is
obligatory in life for him

(3) "todu" symbolises the "tirumantra" or
"ashtAkshara" the sound of which is said to be ever 
reverberating in the ears of the true devotee

(4) "sevippu" symbolises the "dvaya-mantra",
realization of which shows up as a radiating halo or as an aura of
"bhakti" around the devotees ears and head

(5) "pAdagam" symbolises the Lord's "charam-shlokam"
(of 32 aksharA-s) which shows the devotee the path
on which he must tread to attain Him.

Thus, on a deep study of Stanza#26 and #27, containing
the very significant expressions ""vEnduvana-kEttiyEl"
and "yAm perum sammAnam"
we see how well our "pirAtti" of SriVilliputtur
uses poetic metaphor to convey lofty doctrine. 

AndAl tiruvadigalE sharanam,
dAsan,
Sudarshan


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