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        The 4 ?pUrUshArthAs? as mirrored in the
TiruppAvai
      
----------------------------------------------------

In the 3rd stanza of the TiruppAvai, we find a veiled
but clear allusion to the 4-fold scheme of
?pUrushArthAs? in 4 different metaphors of AndAl that
must certainly rank as timeless masterpieces in the
annals of Tamil poetry. It is worthwhile to study the
verse by way of word-for-word translation. Here is the
verse: 

Ongi ulagaLandha uththaman pEr paadi *
naangaL nam paavaikkuc caaRRi neer aadinaal *
theenginRi naadellaam thingaL mum maari peydhu *
Ongu peRuNY sen^n^el oodu kayal ugaLap *
poonguvaLaip pOdhil poRi vandu kaN paduppath *
thEngaadhE pukkirundhu seerththa mulai paRRi
vaangak * kudam niRaikkum vaLLal perum pasukkaL *
neengaadha selvam niRaindhElOr embaavaay

(General meaning): ?Praise Him who measured the three
worlds in two strides! Our winter vows shall bring us
joy! The monsoons shall not fail this virtuous land
but bring forth copious crops of golden paddy! In the
still waters where seedlings are planted, the swirling
fish will prance and dance! Lotus buds will sway and
cradle-rock the dreamy bees to slumber! The fat udders
of our herds of cows, bursting with milk, can hardly
be held within our milking palms! Inexhaustible wealth
shall be ours, indeed!?

(Word for Word meaning):
 
Ongi          grown tall
ulagu         world(s)
aLandha       measured
uththaman     best, highest One (Vishnu as  
              Trivikrama, Vamana)
pEr           name
paadi         singing

naangaL       we
nam paavaikku for our paavai vow
caaRRi        observing, in the name of (lit. 
              wearing)
neeraadinaal  bathe

theengu       evil
inRi          without
naadu ellaam  whole country
thingaL       (every) month
mum maari     three types of rainfall
peydhu        will fall (rain)

Ongu          tall, overgrown
perum         big
cen^n^el      high-quality paddy crops
oodu          amidst 
kayal         a type of small fish
ugaLa         will playfully swim around

poom          beautiful 
kuvaLai       a Tamil poetic landscape (neydhal); a 
              type of flower
pOdhil        in that flower
poRi          shining, beautiful  
vaNdu         bees
kaN paduppa   sleeping

thEngaadE     without moving (without any fear)
pukku         go inside
irundhu       staying
seerththa     bountiful 
mulai         udders
paRRi         grasp
vaanga        extracting

kudam         pots
niRaikkum     fill up
vaLLal        generous
perum pasukkaL big cows  
neengadha     unremitting, undecaying
selvam        wealth
niRaindhu     (the land will be) full of

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

In the above verse, the phrase ?theenginRi naadellaam
thingaL mum maari peydhu? immediately evokes in our
imagination the sight of a picturesque landscape lush
with rain-fed greenery everywhere. It is the
proverbial land of ?milk and honey? utterly drenched
in the sunshine of pure goodness; there is no want or
misery or disappointment anywhere; it is a land where
neither evil nor injustice (i.e. ?adharma?) ever cast
their faintest shadow. Such a haven on earth where
Goodness and Happiness prevail --? ?teenginRi naadu?
?-- such a place on earth is AndAl?s superlative
imagery for the first of the 4 Vedantic
?purUshArtha-s? viz.: ?dharma?.

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

Next, there is the phrase ?Ongu peRuN sen^n^el? used
by AndAl to evoke the picture in our minds of fertile
fields sprawled out on the countryside, healthy
paddy-crops standing tall and bounteous, and swaying
majestically in the morning breeze?? It is a glorious
sight of cornucopia, of brimming wealth and
prosperity, and it is AndAl?s fabulous metaphor too
for the second of the 4 Vedantic ?purUshArthas? viz.:
?artha? or ?porUL?.

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

Next, is the interesting expression ?poonguvaLaip
pOdhil poRi vandu kaN paduppa? which is AndAl?s
extraordinarily suggestive metaphor to denote the
Pleasure Principle of life i.e. the 3rd of the 4
Vedantic ?purUshArthas? viz.: ?kaama? or sensual
desire. The phrase immediately evokes the picture of
swarms of glimmering bees flitting about a garden in
full bloom crowded with riotously colorful flowers
like lotus, roses, jasmine etc. The bees {?pori
vandu?) buzz around searching for honey and then
discovering it in plenty inside the flowers, settle
themselves cozily inside the languid and luxurious
chamber of petals ?? Carried away upon a tide of
Pleasure (?kaama?) and giving themselves up
completely, so to say, to floral charms and
temptations, to the seductive fragrances of ?poom
kuvaLai? the bees simply lose all sense of themselves.


The metaphor of bees getting inebriated by the smell
of honey, and flitting from one flower to another in
endless quest of satiation, aptly sums up the
universal human condition of innate weakness for
sensual indulgence, the predisposition towards excess
and the human tendency to fall for the many
temptations of Pleasure (?kaama? or ?inbam?).
                        
                       *****************

Lastly, there is the most unforgettable metaphoric
imagery of all ?-- the expression of AndAl that best
sums up the true nature of the 4th and highest of
Vedantic ?purUshArthAs? viz.: ?mOksha? or ?veedu?. The
phrase is:

?kudam niRaikkum vaLLal perum pasukkaL *
neengaadha selvam niRaindhu?  

In this phrase, the poetess evokes the picture of
giant ?pots? (?kudam?) brimming over with rich, warm
froth of fresh milk drawn straight from the copious
udders of hefty, healthy cows (?perum passukkaL?).
This word-portrait of ?pots of milk? is pretty
commonplace metaphor in Tamil poetry and employed
quite often to denote plenitude of wealth and
prosperity. It is the following phrase of AndAl ---
?neengaadha selvam niraindhu? --- it is that brilliant
phrase however that transforms the commonplace
expression into an absolutely sublime one. 

All earthly wealth, of whatever nature and however
vast, is always subject to gradual and inevitable
diminution. The grandeur of kings and the glory of
empires past, which once were regarded in history as
mighty, limitless and enduring, did in the end, by
passage of time and circumstance, gradually wither,
decay and collapse, did they not? But is there
anywhere in the world a sort of wealth (?selvam?) that
one can say is plenary and permanent, irreducible and
inexhaustible, for now and forever (?neengaadha?)? 

Indeed there is such wealth, says AndAl in this verse
of the TiruppAvai! It is ?neengaadha selvam niraindu?!
It is ?Wealth? that never wanes or withers. It is that
which constitutes the 4th and the most superior of all
?purUshArtha-s? in life 
?-- ?mOksha? or ?veedu?: everlasting communion with
the Almighty in His divine abode.

                          ************* 
                        (to be continued)

Regards,

dAsan,
Sudarshan    


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