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Pasuram 20 of Andals Thiruppavai

http://www.scribd.com/doc/76214700/Andal-s-Thiruppavai-in-easy-to-readTamil-text-and-English The full text of all 30 Pasurams may be found here. Also, a scholarly discussion can be found at the link given below. http://www.ibiblio.org/sadagopan/sundarasimham/ebooks/Thiru3.pdf A word-by-word translation is given at http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/tpv/ See below the images of the English and Tamil texts of Pasuram No. 20 of Andals Thiruppavai. For those who wish to read the text in other languages, please go to http://www.prapatti.com Andal is considered to be Sridevis amsaavataaram. She was born at Srivilliputoor (close to Kanchipuram, also the city where Indira Gandhis son and Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated), as the daughter of PeriyAzhwar. She is also the only female among the 12 SriVaishNavite Azhwars. She longed for union with Her Lord and insisted that she should be taken to Srirangam where she eventually merged with Lord Ranganatha. You can read more about Andal at the link given above (or click here). The immortal Thiruppavai, attributed to Her, is a divine composition, filled with deep esoteric meanings, on which many commentaries have been written over the centuries. In the first pasuram, ANDAL invites Her friends for the Vratham observance (Sakhi JanAn aahvayanthi). In the second paasuram, She spells out the rites to be observed and the deeds to be abandoned (Karma Phalam upadisanthi). In the third Paasuram, She describes the fruits of the Vratham (Vrathasya Phalam Vadanthi). The aacaaryas who have blessed us are considered to be like the milk giving cows with overflowing udders. In the fourth Paasuram, Andal is directing her prayers to Varuna (actually to KrishNa who had the complexion darker than the darkest rain bearing clouds), the god of the rains, and comparing the bounty bestowing by aacaryas to the bounteous rains showered by Varuna. In Pasuram 5 Andal tells us that He would completely burn off all of our accumulated sins much like a fire burns pieces of straw thrown into it.

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PAASURAM 20

Courtesy: http://www.prapatti.com/slokas/tamil/naalaayiram/aandaal/tiruppaavai.pdf

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Simple Word for Word meanings (http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/tpv/vstp20.html )

muppaththu Thirty

mUvar amararkku mun cenRu * three immortals (gods) (He who) goes to thuyilezhaay * (You That) heroic one

kappam thavirkkum kaliyE fears (theirs) removes (please) wake up .

ceppam utaiyaay thiRal utaiyaay * ceRRaarkku Perfect one omni-potent one enemies (He who) veppam burn(s) kotukkum vimalaa thuyilezhaay * gives (up), (You That) Lord (please) wake up .

ceppenna men mulaic cev vaayc ciRu maruNGkul * Like a perfect vessel soft breasts red lips slender waist nappinnai naNGkaay thiruvE thuyilezhaay * (You) nappinnai (The Lord's consort) lady beautiful (please) wake up . ukkamum thattoLiyum than^thu un maNaaLanai * Fan (and) mirror give (to us) (please also wake up) your husband (The Lord) ippOthE emmai nIraattu right now (so) us (we can) bathe . El Or empaavaay Come (Let us do) (the penance of) paavai nOmbu In Pasurams 6 to 15, Andal finishes waking up 10 different types of bhaktas and they all join her in the performance of the Paavai nombhu. In Pasuram 16, the arrival of the entire party at the palace of Nanda Maharaja is described. They ask the doorkeepers to let them in. Pasuram 17 describes their entering the inner bedchambers to wake up Nanda Maharaja, Mother Yashoda, Krishna and His younger brother Baladeva. Each of them is praised. In Pasuram 18, Andal and her
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friends try to wake up Nappinnai, the eternal consort of the Lord, since attempts to wake up Krishna (Kannan) proved futile. Here Nappinnai is described as the daughter-in-law of the noble Nanda Maharaja. In Pasuram 19, Andal and her friends are again waking up Nappinai (this is the 2nd pasuram in which this continues) since Krishna does not seem to respond to them. Now, in Pasuram 20, they again address Nappinnai after finding Krishna unresponsive. The Lord always comes to the rescue of the devas (33 crores of them) and goes to battle for them. The Lord is always the protector of His devotees. He has all the power to inflict punishment on those who torment His devotees. Then why this delays in heeding the prayers of Andal and her friends. After getting no response, all of them once again turn to Nappinnai, who is always thinking of the welfare of the devotees. They praise her as being the most enchanting, with soft and lovely breasts, enchanting red lips, and an elegant slim waist. She can enchant the Lord and make Him shower His grace upon them all. Andal and her friends beseech her to come and bring all the articles like fan, mirror, and others for ritual observations and giving a bath to her Lord. They want Nappinnai to shower them as well, while she is showering the Lord lovingly. The three Pasurams where Nappinnai is addressed begin with the letters a, u, and m which together constitute the sound of PraNava or OM. From http://www.ibiblio.org/sadagopan/ahobilavalli/thiruppavai.pdf MEANING OF THE 20th PAASURAM (V. SADAGOPAN): This paasuram and the previous paasuram propagate that the Lord and His consort need to be upheld together as our final objects of adoration and attainment. In the previous verse, Andal and Her maids plead to Nappinnai and remind her that it is her essential nature to act as the intermediary between the Lord and His subjects and that she should have helped them in that direction. They further blame her for not even showing a bit of compassion, if not for helping them.

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Nappinnai on the other hand was trying to learn the Lord's volition and was waiting for a choice moment to forward this plead to Kannan. Being unaware of this and thinking that Nappinnai was indignant towards them, they again setout to awaken Kannan. muppaththu moovar amararkku mun senRu kappam thavirkkum kaliyE thuyil ezhaay Eight Vasus, eleven Rudras, twelve Adityas and two Ashwini kumarars. This is the classification of the 33 crore celestials. You save these celestials by taking various incarnations. When the celestials were tormented heavily by the demon Hiranyakashipu, you heeded to their pleas and took the incarnation of Nrusimhan and brought an end to the evil demon, thereby securing peace for the celestials. When you heard the words "Narayana! Oh Manivanna! NaagaNayaay" from the elephant that was in the clutches of the mighty crocodile, then you hurried to its rescue even without informing your consort. You killed the vile crocodile and protected the elephant. You have engaged yourself busily in protecting countless celestials. That being so, is it difficult for you to heed to our pleas who are so small in number and who have come to your doorstep craving for your
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protection? Moreover the celestials live an undying life. But we would cease to exist if not for your grace. The celestials supplicate to you only for material pleasures and pursuits. We on the other hand do not desire any material fruits. We seek you alone as our sole object of attainment and have been observing this nombu ritual for the past nineteen days and have been staying at your doorstep eagerly awaiting your grace. Could you not speak a word to us? kaliyE thuyil ezhaay Unlike the celestials who sought you only to have their lives and kingdom that they had lost to Bali, reinstated, we seek only the benevolent and benign glances of grace from your lotus like eyes on us. seppam udaiyaay Cheppam means protection. Sri Rama, as per the phrase "rakshithaa jiivalokasya" pursued the general path of protecting one and all. He also pursued a specific path of righteousness as per the phrase "sva janasya cha rakshithaa" and protected everyone who belonged to him. Why don't you at least follow Rama and pursue at least the path of protecting us who belong to you. thiRal udaiyaay You have in you the power and strength that protected the Pandavas from every possible danger from their enemies. Setraarkku veppam kodukkum vimalaa thuyil ezhaay You are known to have bestowed punishment to those who torment your devotees. But, this act of yours has inflicted punishments on your own devotees for no fault of theirs. Why this delay my Lord in blessing us with your grace? When all these words failed to get any favourable response from Kannan in terms of waking Him up and making Him speak, they again plead to Nappinnai, their go between and the consort of the Lord, as well. seppenna men mulai(ch) chevvaay(ch) chiRu marungul nappinnai nangaay thiruvE thuyil ezhaay Oh Nappinnai, the consort of the Lord who holds
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the heart of the Lord with Her always, who is the most beautiful in the universe and who owns the magnificent of features, pray you wake up and protect us craving souls. You need not be like Sita Piratti, who, for the sake of subservients, stayed in confinement for ten months without sleep and underwent lot of torments. It is sufficient if you just wake up and bless us with your benign glances. Nappinnai now asks as to what should she be doing once she wakes up. ukkamum thattoLiyum thandhu un maNaaLanai Oh Nappinnai, bring with you the articles for ritual observances like fan, mirror and your beloved Lord who performs according to the dancing steps of your eyebrows. ippOdhE emmai neeraattu The throngs of separation have withered us totally. We pray you to give us an auspicious shower along with Kannan. Though Sita was very dear to Sri Rama, He loved her more for the fact that Dasharatha had overseen Her marriage to Him. Likewise, though Kannan was of exquisite beauty and grace, the Gopis loved him more for the fact that He was bestowed to them by His consort Nappinnai. No matter who tries to dissuade, the Lord always rescues those who have performed Sharanagathi at His lotus feet. If the dissuaders are enemies, He punishes them for their offence and if they are friends, He makes them assent to his volition taking them into His fold. This is the hidden purport of this verse. The following taken verbatim from http://www.ibiblio.org/sadagopan/sundarasimham/ebooks/Thiru3.pdf Dear BhakthAs: This Paasuram is the final one awakening Nappinnai. Lord is also awakened here along with Nappinnai this way: aasritha vishayE aarjava-saalin! sathru-jana bhaya dhAyin! svaccha svabhAva! Jaagruhi! (SeppamudayAy ThiRaludayAy, SeRRArkku veppam kodukkum VimalA ThuyilyezhAi).
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. . Upanishad BhAshyakArar's Sanskrit translation of the third and fourth lines of the 20th ThiruppAvai Paasuram. sampuDa sadhrusa virahAsaha maardhava-yuktha kucha sONAdharasookshma-madhyamE! NeeLE! Samatha guna poorNE! hE SrI:! thvam Jaagruhi! (Seppenna menmulaic chevvAicchiRumarungal, Nappinnai NangAi ThiruvE ThuyilezhAi) Upanishad BhAshyakArar's Translation of the Fifth and the Sixth lines of the 20th ThiruppAvai Paasuram. LITERAL MEANING OF THE PAASURAM (DR. V. K. S. N. RAGHAVAN) Oh Valiant Lord, who removes the tremblings of the thirty three (crores of) gods, by going to battles (on their behalf) and by being in front of them (in such battles)! Kindly awaken from sleep. Oh Lord, who cares about our protection, and is fully equipped with enormous strength and valour! Oh Lord, blemishless and pure, and the One who defeats with vigor Your enemies! Kindly awaken. (now turning to His consort, Nappinnai) Oh the great Lady Nappinnai, possessing a charming physique --with a jar-shaped soft bosom, enchanting rosy lips and slim waist! Oh the embodiment of Goddess Lakshmi! Be pleased to rise up. May You give us a fan, a mirror and Your Lord as well, and at this time itself, may You help us to take our (ceremonial) bath. BACKGROUND COMMENTS ON THIS PAASURAM (PERUKKARANAI SWAMY) This 20th Paasuram houses the thoughts of Upanishads and Geethai. The Paasuram starts with MakAram; in ambaramE TannIrE (the 17th paasuram), akAram was the starting aksharam; in Unthumadha KaLiRRIN (18th Paasuram, UkAram was the prathamAksharam. Thus together the first letters of the 17th, 18th and the 20th paasurams (A+U+M) constitute the sacred Pranavam, the essence of Vedam. The 19th paasuram (Kutthu viLakkeria) comes in between U(18th) and M (20th) paasurams. The 19th paasuram stands thus for the Vibakthi over the combination of the letters A and U. Thus together the first letters of 17th to 20th Paasuram signify by integration the holy Pranavam, which houses the artha panchakam doctrines inside it.

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This sacred PraNavam also contains the essence of three kinds of relationships between BhagavAn, PirAtti and the Jevans inside it (sEsha-sEshibhAva Sambhandham /Supreme Master-servant relation, adhAraadhEya Sambhandham/the supporter and that is being supported relationship, niyanthru-niyAmya sambhandham/ commander and that is being commanded relationship). Here niyanthru is the Lord and the niyAmyan is the bhruthyan (servant or Daasan). INDIVIDUAL PASSAGES OF THE PAASURAM Muppatthu Moovar: The 8 Vasus, 11 RudhrAs, the 12 AdhithyAs and the 2 Asvini dEvAs add up to the Thirty three (Muppatthu-Moovar) gods. Munn senRU: Oh KrishNA! You should protect us even before harm comes our way, just as You do for the Muppatthu Moovar. Kappam tavirkkum KaliyE!: Oh Proud and valorous Lord, who stops the tremblings of the dEvAs, who fear their enemies. Kappam is derived from the Sanskrit word, Kampanam (Trembling). SeppamudayAi: this salutation recognizes the kalyANa guNam of Aarjavam (nErmai) of the Lord, the Sathya-parAkramasaali. ThiRaludayAi: the Saamarthyam and competence of the Lord as SarvalOka Rakshakan is being celebrated here. seRRArkku veppam kodukkum VimalA: BhagavAn has equanimity (Sama Buddhi) towards all in general, but when it comes to the enemies of the BhAgavathAs, He destroys latter. For instance, Lord NarasimhA did not kill HiraNyakasipu for displaying enmity towards Him, but for mistreatment of His Bhakthan, PrahlAdhan. VimalA: There are Four interrelated words here: Amalan, Vimalan, Nimlan and Nirmalan. Amalan means the One who destroys our sins. Vimalan means the One without the dhOsham of Aj~Nanam. Nimalan means One who is fearsome to approach by His enemies. Nirmalan (Ninmalan) means the One, who does not have the dhOsham of looking for faults in those, who seek His refuge. The Usage of the Naamam for the Lord here as Vimalan means that He is AadhippirAn. Swamy Desikan explores in great detail the Significance of the Naamam of Vimalan in his commentary on ThiruppANar's AmalanAdhipirAN Paasuram (Muni Vaahana BhOgam).

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Sepenna Menmulaic chevvAic chiRu marungal Nappinnai nangAi: This Paasuram paasage salutes the samudhAya anga soundharyam of Nappinnai PirAtti. ThiruvE: Nappinnai is addressed as MahA Lakshmi avathAram here. Actually She has involvement in PurushakAra kruthyam (the act of intercession with her Lord to protect the Jeevan) just as BhUmi and Sri Devi. That is why the AchAryAs say: Samastha JananIm VandhE. ukkamum TattoLium tanthu: Ukkam is fan for Bhagavath Kaimkaryam (ThiruvAlavatta Kaimkaryam done by Thirukkacchi Nampi for Lord varadarAjan). TattoLi is mirror, which is part of the ShOdasOpachAram for the Lord. Even today in Srirangam, the mirror is made of bronze and is shown before the Lord daily as a sign of wishing Him Subha Mangalam. unn MaNALanai ippOthE yemmai neerAttu: Please help perform our vratham related ceremonial bath through Your dear husband, who is Sarva karma SamArAdhyan. He should bless us with Moksham. He should not treat us as AprapannAs, but recognize us with Your intercession as true PrapannAs and should bless us with kaimkarya PrApthi and Jn~Ana vikAsam (the kaimkarya SaamrAjyam and blossoming of the Seshathva Svaroopa Jn~Anam). That is the NeerAttam, Bhagavath samslEsha anubhavam that we are seeking. Please bless us (Thyuil YezhAi).

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