Thiruppavai

Commentary by His Holiness

Poundarikapuram Srimad Andavan
Srimath Gopaladesika Mahadesikan

Translation in English By Sri C.G. Balaji
Edited by
Oppiliappan koil sri varadachari sathakopan
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CONTENTS

Samar panam 3
I nt r oduct ion 7
Thaniyan 9
Pasur am 1 10
Pasur am 2 12
Pasur am 3 15
Pasur am 4 18
Pasur am 5 20
Pasur am 6 23
Pasur am 7 26
Pasur am 8 29
Pasur am 9 32
Pasur am 10 35
Pasur am 11 38
Pasur am 12 41
Pasur am 13 44
Pasur am 14 47
Pasur am 15 50
Pasur am 16 53
Pasur am 17 58
Pasur am 18 61
Pasur am 19 64
Pasur am 20 68
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CONTENTS

Pasur am 21 72
Pasur am 22 76
Pasur am 23 79
Pasur am 24 82
Pasur am 25 86
Pasur am 26 89
Pasur am 27 92
Pasur am 28 95
Pasur am 29 99
Pasur am 30 102
Conclusion 107
Nigamanam 110

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+ ~lP6 lPl+=l4 +P- +
+ ~lP6|+Pl-6 Prl 7 |HTl4 +P- +
+ ~lP6 l 9ll4Prl 7 |HTl4 +P- +

ORIGINAL TAMIZH COMMENTARY RENDERED BY
HIS HOLINESS PARAMAHAMSETYADI PARAVAKKOTTAI SRIMATH ANDAVAN,
SRIMATH GOPALA DESHIKA MAHA DESHIKAN
[PANGUNIROHINI]
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~lP6 |+Pl-6 Prl 7 |HTl4 +P- + ~lP6 l 9ll4Prl 7 |HTl4 +P- +
~lP6 4 7l-6lPl+= Prl7 |HTl4 +P- + ~lP6 ~l|+4lBlPl+=Prl7 |HTl4 +P- +
~lP6 ~l|+4lB Prl 7 |HTl4 +P- + ~lP6 +ll4T Prl 7 |HTl4 +P- +
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~lP6 ~l|+4lB Prl 7 |HTl4 +P- + ~lP6 l 9l 7 |HT Prl 7|HTl4 +P- +

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SAMARPANAM
Sr imat h Poundar ikapur am Andavan Ashr amam at Sr ir angam is known f or it s
aust er it y and is ext olled as a place wher e Kali has not yet set in. Glor if ied by
an illust r ious Achaar ya par ampar ai, t he high seat is at pr esent being held by
H.H Par amahamset yadi Par avakkot t ai Sr imat h Poundar ikapur am Sr imat h
Andavan Sr i Gopala Deshika Maha Deshikan. Pr akr ut ham Swamy is ver it ably
held as Abhinava Vasisht a, having known f or his st r ict est conf or mance t o
anusht aanam. His pr ecinct s of knowledge ar e boundless and he beams
r esplendent ly as t he cent r al gem amongst all t he Achaar ya sar vabhoumar s of
pr esent day. He has been t ir elessly wor king t owar ds t he bet t er ment of Sr i
sampr adaayam f or near ly t went y f ive year s now, af t er he t ook t o t he Achaar ya
Peet am.
Swamy is ver ily t he incar nat ion of Git aachar ya or Kannan, t he Yadava cowher d,
who gave us one of t he Pr ast haanat r aya namely t he Bhagavad Git a. He has
come back again in t his Kali Yuga as Sr imat h Gopala Deshika Maha Deshikan
Swamy t o uplif t mankind f r om t he samsaar ic mir e and t o complet e his impar t s
t hat wer e not possible dur ing t he Dwaapar a Yuga. Kannan always ador ned a
musical f lut e in His hand. This f lut e t hat could not bear His separ at ion, has
manif est ed it self as t r idandam or st af f and now decor at es t he hand of asmad
achaar yar Sr imat h Gopala Deshika Maha Deshikan. We, his disciples, ar e all
Gopis indeed, await ing his benedict ion.
Thir uppavai of Andal needs no int r oduct ion. Though t hey ar e only t hir t y in
number , t hey ar e acclaimed t o be t he seed t o t he ent ir e imper ial collect of t he
Vedas. A minut e seed t hat spr out s int o a huge t r ee, gives r ef uge t o t he likes
of kings and emper or s. Similar ly, Thir uppavai enshr ines in it self t he f inest
t r ut hs of Vedant ha. Thir uppavai has been embellished wit h many aut hent ic
comment ar ies by t he Poor vachar yas. Out of Swamys inf init e mer cy, His
Holiness had assent ed t o give a ser ies of concise and succinct lect ur es on t he
t opic of t he most delect able Thir uppavai of Andal. These lect ur es wer e
br oadcast on Radio Tr ichy. The same was lat er br ought out in a pr int ed edit ion
f r om t he illust r ious house of Sr i Kanchi Per ar ulalan. This t amizh t r eat ise was
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r eleased dur ing t he occasion of Swamys shat habhishekam dur ing Vikr ama
PanguniRohini, year 2001. The or iginal t amizh t r eat ise has now been
t r anslat ed t o English f or t he benef it of a wider audience. This t r ibut e of
wor ds is placed at t he divine f eet of Sr i Andal Rangamannar , dur ing t he
auspicious mont h of mar gazhi. This t r anslat ion is pr esent ed t o Asmadachar yar
as a mar k of r espect f or Swamys inf init e mer cy and upakaar am.
The aut hor of t his t r anslat ion is t he t hir uvadi of t he 35t h pat t am Par akala
mat am J eeyar , H.H Sr imat h Abhinava Ramanuj a Br ahmat ant r a Swat ant r a
par akala Yat indr a Maha Deshikan. The aut hor is also t he r ecipient of Swamys
abundant gr ace and anugr ahams and has obt ained init iat ion int o Shr imat h
Rahasyat r ayasaar am of Swamy Deshika at t he lot us f eet of Shr imat h
Par avakkot t ai Andavan. I t is only t he par ama kat aaksham and anugr aham of
Swamy on t he aut hor t hat has made him at t empt t o celebr at e t he glor ies of
t he Lor d as t old by Andal and as celebr at ed by asmad Swamy. Swamys
anugr aham is so power f ul t hat it can even make an unwor t hy being like t his
aut hor at t empt t o wr it e on t he gr eat ness of t his divine wor k. The aut hor has
composed t his wor k wit hin t he limit s of his int ellect ual pr owess and
qualif icat ions.
The or iginal t amizh monogr aph of asmad Swamy is blemishless and is one of
t he most pr of ound comment ar ies t hat ar e available on Thir uppavai. The
or iginal t amizh t r eat ise is an out st anding example of asmad Swamys pr of ound
knowledge. I t s lilt ing st yle and power of expr ession makes it endear ing t o t he
per user . The aut hor t akes r esponsibilit y f or all t he mist akes pr esent in t his
t r anslat ion wor k and at t he same t ime r equest s t he mer cif ul indulgence of
asmad Swamy and Bhaagavat has in f or giving t he same. Wit h t hese wor ds
adiyen humbly pr esent s t his wor k at t he f eet of his mast er , Sr imat h Gopala
Deshika Maha Deshikan.
At t his t ime adiyEn would like t o r ecor d my sincer e t hanks t o Sr i B. Sent hil
f or t he beaut if ul images of soodikodut t ha naacchiyAr maar gazhi neer At t a
ut savam at Sr ivilliput t hur . adiyEn must also acknowledge t he wonder f ul
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cont r ibut ion of Smt . Kala Lakshminar ayanan f or assembling t his e-book and Sr i
Var adachar i Sadagopan of Oppiliappan Sannidhi f or kindly edit ing t his
monogr aph.


+ 4 7l-6B| Tl HTP 99H +
Achaar yachar anaambuj adaasa:
Vyaya Maasi Kr ishNa paksha DhvAdasi (14t h Feb 2007)

















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namper umAL - Sr iRangam
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~l|+4lB 9 O 6lV -Pl+
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+ ~lP6 ~l|+4lB Prl 7 |HTl4 +P- +
+ ~lP6 l 9l7 |HT Prl 7 |HTl4 +P- +


THIRUPPAVAI

INTRODUCTION
Andal, like Sit a Pir at t i was bor n at Rangamannar s nandavanam, j ust like t he
et her eal f r agr ance of t he t ulasi gr owing near by. Af t er she at t ained a
mar r iageable age, when Per iyazhwar was sear ching f or a gr oom, Andal said, I f
you get me mar r ied t o mer e mor t als, I shall not wish t o live, I shall not allow
you t o do so, I shall get wed t o Par aman alone. Whenever Azhwar used t o sing
t he glor ies of t he Per umals of t he hundr ed and eight divya deshams, and
whenever he ment ioned about Ar angan, His divine f or m and t he beaut y of His
t hir umeni, she used t o f eel mesmer ized and shed t ear s of j oy and at t he same
t ime f eel t hr illed. She, like t he gopikas of Nandagokulam, decided t o get
mar r ied t o Kannan alone and ador ned Her self wit h at t ir e similar t o t hat of t he
Gopis and would t alk hour s t oget her like t hem and obser ved t he Paavai nombu
or f est ival. These act ions wer e sung by her as Thir uppavai. This is also
r ef er r ed t o as Godai Tamizh t hat is a gir ls t amizh.
The Tamizh sung by t hose bor n as a f emale. Ot her divyapr abandhams ar e
t amizh, which have been basically sung by Azhwar s who wer e male wit h naayaka
naayaki bhavam or br idal myst icism.
Thir uppavai can give one a divine exper ience of unit y wit h Bhagavan.
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I t is based
on t hose pasur ams which wer e accept ed by t he changa palakai at Madhur ai,
t hat is Thir uvaimozhi. Kodai says , one
who sings t his gar land of pasur ams in changat t amizh, shall def init ely get t he
divine blessings of Thir umal. Ther e ar e cer t ain per iods f or Vedam, when it
should not be r ecit ed, but f or a f ew days, Thir uppavai can be r ecit ed at all
ot her t imes. The shast r as t aught t o us by our par ent s ar e t wo in number . The
f ir st one being Geet hai t aught by our f at her Kannan. The ot her one being
t aught t o us is by our mot her , which is Thir uppavai. I t s glor y is said t hus
, t hat is Vedam is t he basis f or ever yt hing.
And so it is said t hat one who does not know t hese (5 x 5 + 5 = 30) t hir t y
pasur ams of Thir uppavai is a bur den t o t he ear t h. Ther e ar e six main t opics in
Thir uppavai
1. Paavai nombu The obser vance of paavai f est ival
2. Going t oget her f or obser ving t he paavai nombu
3. Awakening Kannan
4. Singing t he glor ies of Kannan
5. Pr eaching
6. Shar anagat hi or Self sur r ender
Andal t alks about t he above in t he same or der ment ioned.
Andal becomes an achar ya t o Bhagavan f or having t aught him of his own dut ies.
The shast r as pr oclaim t hat a pupil can eat t he lef t over s of his achar ya. I t is
f or t he same r eason as t o why Rangamannar wishes t o ador n t he f lower gar land
of Andal af t er her having wor n it . This is conveyed by her name
. J ust like Gopis, Andal t akes all her f r iends and ot her s t o obser ve
t he f est ival of paavai and having pr eached t hem t he ult imat e t r ut hs, helps
ever yone t o per f or m shar anagat hi at t he lot us f eet of t he Lor d t o at t ain t he
et er nal bliss of moksham.

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THIRUPPAVAI

`[f [ vybf p< TAv ~]f daqf `rgf kbfK(pf )
p[f {tiRpf paAv(pf ) plfptiymf
;[f [iAcyalf paFkf ekaDtf taqf nbf pamaAl
p>maAl VF(kf ) ekaDtftaAq(cf) ecalf L
anna vayaRpudhuvai aandaaL arangaRku( p)
pannu t hi r uppaavai ( p) pal padhi yam
i nni sai yaal paadi kkodut ht haaL naRpaamaal ai
poomaal ai soodi ( k) kodut ht haaLai ( ch) chol l u

VF(kf ) ekaDtft Cdrf (kf ) ekaFEy etalf paAv
paF `Rqvlf l plf vAqyayf
naF nI Evgf kdvbf K '[fA[ viti o[f b ;mf mabfbmf
nagf kdva v]f]Em nlf K.
soodi ( k) kodut ht ha sudar ( k) kodi yE t hol paavai
paadi ar uLaval l a pal vaLai yaay
naadi nee vEngadavaRku ennai vi dhi onRa i mmaat r am
naangadavaa vaNNamE nal gu.
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PASURAM 1
marf kzi(tf ) tigfkqf mti niAbnf t n[f [aqalf
nI rad(pf ) EpaTvI rf EpaTmiE[a EnriAzyI rf
cI rf mlf Kmf ~yf pfpaF(cf ) eclf v(cf) ciBmI rfkaqf
Prf Evlf ekaDnf etazil[f nnf tEkap[f Kmr[f
"rarf nf t k]f ]i yEcaAt ;qmf cigf kmf
karf Em[i ecgfk]f ktirf mtiymf Epalf Mktf ta[f
naray]E[ nmkf Ek pAb tRva[f
paErarf p<kz(pf ) pFnf EtElarf 'mf pavayf

maar gazhi ( t h) t hi ngaL madhi ni Rai ndha nannaaLaal
neer aada( p) pOdhuveer pOdhumi nO nEri zhai yeer
seer mal gum aayppaadi ( ch) chel va( ch) chi Rumeer gaaL
koor vEl kodundhozhi l an nandhagOpan kumar an
Er aar ndha kaNNi yasOdhai i Lam si ngam
kaar mEni cengaN kadhi r madhi yam pOl mugat ht haan
naar aayaNanE namakkE paRai t har uvaan
paar Or pugazha( p) padi ndhEl Or empaavaai

Having decided t o obser ve t he paavai nombu, pr ovidence paved t he way f or an
auspicious day and t hat was t he mont h of mar gazhi. This mont h of mar gazhi is
ver y divine as Kannan in His geet hai says, Amongst t he mont hs, I shall be
mar gazhi. The Mar gazhi sky t hat is beaut if ul wit h a f ull moon is t he dawn of
t he day t o all t he Devas. On an auspicious day like t his, she along wit h her
f r iends bat hes in t he r iver and set s out t o meet Kannan and sing about Him.
Andal says, Dear gir ls, you wer e ear lier playing j oyf ully wit h Kannan. But ,
af t er you gr ew up t o a cer t ain age your par ent s st opped you f r om doing so.
But , now t hey have given you t heir per mission t o go wit h Kannan and obser ve
t his f est ival. The young maids, looking br ight and decked wit h beaut if ul
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or nament s, set out in gr eat delight , t aking wit h t hem all t hat was necessar y
f or t he t r avel. Our Aayar padi is f ull of gr eat her ds of cat t le. You ar e about t o
beget t he r ar e t r easur e of divine communion wit h our Lor d Kannan, who is
t ot ally blemishless.
Bef or e t he bir t h of our Kannan, Nandagopar was ver y mild and submissive. But
now he has become ver y st r ict and vigilant . The r eason f or t his is because he
does not want our Kannan t o get hur t in any way what soever . He even dr ives
away f lies and ant s wit h a shar p spear . You might be t hinking t hat Kannan who
at pr esent has such a t ight secur it y and luxur y might not be allowed t o come
wit h us t o per f or m t he nombu. But , do not f ear . He is t he lit t le lion cub of
Yashoda. J ust as Kausalya has gr eat f ame f or being Lor d Sr i Ramas mot her , so
does Yashoda f or being Kannans mot her . When Kausalya could per mit Sr i Rama
t o go t o t he f or est upon t he r equest of a sage, Yashoda might not obj ect t o us
t aking Kannan only f or t he obser vance of a nombu. I s He not a lion, t he
Nr usimhaavat aar am of Lor d Sr iman Nar ayana? The beaut y of His t hir umeni
which is of t he color of a wat er bear ing cloud, t he beaut y of His eyes which
look like a bloomed lot us ar e mesmer izing us and inspir ing us t o obser ve t his
nombu wit h Him. His f ace looks like a beaut if ully lit sky wit h pour nami chandr a
(f ull moon). His f ace is as power f ul as t he r ays of t he Sun, which punishes
evildoer s. For bhakt as (devot ees) like us, he pr esent s Himself as a beaut if ul
br ight moon. So let us shed all f ear s and go wit h Him and obser ve t he nombu.
He shall pr ovide gr eat music in sof t t ones t o our nombu. (
"). Let us achieve t he
ult imat e by wor shipping Lor d Kannan who is Sr iman Nar ayana and so come
quickly all of you said she.
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PASURAM 2
Avytf T vazfvI rf kaqf naMmf nmf paAvkf K(cf )
ecyf y< mf kiriAckqf EkqI Era pabf kdLqf
Apy(tf ) Tyi[f b prm[F paF
enyf y< ]fE]amf paL]f E]amf nadf kaEl nI raF
Amyidf D 'ZEtamf mlridfD namf MFEyamf
ecyf yat[ ecyf Eyamf tI kfKbAq(cf ) ec[f EbaEtamf
_yMmf picf Acy< mf ~nf tA[y< mf Ak kadf F
uyf y< maeb]f ]i uknf EtElarf 'mfpavayf .

vai yat ht hu vaazhveer gaaL naamum nampaavai kku( ch)
cheyyum ki r i sai gaL kELeer O paaRkadal uL
pai ya( t h) t huyi nRa par amanadi paadi
neyyuNNOm paal uNNOm naat kaal E neer aadi
mai yi t t u ezhudhOm mal ar i t t u naam mudi yOm
seyyaadhana seyyOm t heekkuRaLai ( ch) chenROdhOm
ai yamum pi chchai yum aandhanai yum kai kaat t i
uyyumaaReNNi ugandhEl Or empaavaai .

Having dipped her self in t he ever f ull pond of Bhagavad anubhavam, she makes
ever yone dr ink t he divine anugr aham of Kannan, which is like cool pot able
wat er and begins t o speak of t he means of sur r ender t o at t ain moksha and also
about t he divine qualit ies of noble people. She also invit es all t hose who ar e
int er est ed in seeing Kannan and exper iencing Him. She speaks of t he means t o
at t ain Bhagavan her e. She says, Having hear d of our gr ievances and
shor t comings, He shall come r unning t o pr ot ect us, but we should st ill per f or m
our or dained dut ies r egular ly. Those t hat should not be done and should be
avoided ar e six. Dur ing t he t ime of obser vance of t he vr at ham, one shall not
consume ghee, one shall not dr ink milk, one shall not use t hings t hat at t r act
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ot her s t owar ds t hem like applying collyr ium (mai) t o t he eyes or using f r agr ant
mat er ials, one shall not ador n f lower s, one shall not per f or m any f or bidden
act s, one shall not hur t ot her s by t heir wor ds and should conduct t hemselves
wit h discipline. One shall dip oneself in t he holy wat er , dance and sing in pr aise
of t he Lor d, shall give alms t o t hose who ask as well as t o t hose who do not ,
shall per f or m t heir or dained dut ies well and should happily sing and
cont emplat e on t he glor ies of Par aman who is r eclining at Thir uppaar kadal.
Cont emplat e on t he lot us f eet of t he Lor d and sur r ender unt o t hem and t hat
shall give us moksham. The Azhwar s sung t he holy f eet of t he Lor d and
sur r ender ed unt o t hem. Andals f at her Per iyaazhwar pr aised t he lot us f eet of
t he Lor d by singing . Swamy Deshikan sang
Thir uvengadamalai as .
Bhagavad Ramanuj a in his gadyam pr eached t o cont emplat e on t he dvaya
mant hr a, which showed t he way of sur r ender ing at t he Lor ds f eet .
Why is it t hat Godai her e r ef er s t o t he Par aman r eclining on t he milky ocean
(paar kadal)? I t is because when Par aman is in His r eclining post ur e, only t hen
can one enj oy His beaut y t o t he f ullest ext ent . Vishvamit r ar , who t r ied t o
wake Sr i Rama up, dipped himself in His beaut y and t ot ally f or get t ing his
pur pose, st ood admir ing Sr i Rama t hinking t hat Kausalya has been blessed
r eally t o exper ience t his divine beaut y of t he Lor d ever yday f or t welve year s.
Andal, who exper iences t his divine bhoga nidr a of t he Lor d, wishes t hat
ever yone should be blessed wit h t he same bhagyam. She t her ef or e sings in
pr aise of t he Lor ds lot us f eet t o spir it ually elevat e His subj ect s. She assur es
t hem t hat if t hey wake up ear ly in t he mor ning and t ake a bat h, t hen t hey shall
def init ely be t he r ecipient s of Bhagavad anugr aham. What is hunger in f r ont of
Bhagavad anubhavam? Once you ar e immer sed in Bhagavad anubhavam, you
would not have t he appet it e t o consume ghee or dr ink milk. Af t er t hat , t he
f ood you t ake, t he beet le leaves you eat or t he wat er you dr ink shall all be
Kannan alone.
Her e Paar kadal also means Gokulam. I n each house, healt hy cows give lot s of
milk and t he pot s get f illed and over f low. I s it not t o awaken Kannan who is
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r eclining in Nandagopas house t hat Andal is calling all of her f r iends t o j oin
her ? Also dur ing t he t ime of obser vance of t he f est ival, if an achar ya or a
br ahmachar i or sanyasi come t o us, t hen we should honor t hem by giving t hem
what ever we have wit h us. I f we have not hing wit h us t o of f er , t hen at least
we should help t hem by sending t hem t o t hose have t he capabilit y t o give t hem
somet hing.
I n t his way Andal pr eaches t he means t o at t ain moksham t o ever ybody in t his
samsaar a and helps him or her t o spir it ually elevat e t hemselves. She pr eaches
t he means of shar anagat hi, t hat is t he j ivat ma af t er having lost it self , decides
t o r elinquish all t he evil ways and t o accept t he r ight pat h and, wit h f ull
conf idence and belief in Par aman, pleads at His f eet f or pr ot ect ion and
submit s it self at His f eet along wit h t he bur den of it s pr ot ect ion.
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PASURAM 3
Ogf ki ulkqnf t utf tm[f Eprf paF
nagf kqf nmf paAvkf K(cf ) cabf bi nI raF[alf
tI gf ki[f bi naedlf lamf tigf kqf Mmf mari epyf T
Ogf K epBmf ecnf enlf UD kyLkq(pf )
p>gf KvAq(pf ) Epatilf epabi v]f D k]f pDpf p(tf )
Etgf kaEt p< kf kiRnf T cIrf tf t MAl pbfbi
vagf k Kdmf niAbkf Kmf vqfqlf epRmf pCkf kqf
nI gf kat eclf vmf niAbnf EtElarf 'mf pavayf

Ongi ul agaLandha ut ht haman pEr paadi
naangaL nam paavai kku( ch) chaat r i neer aadi naal
t heengi nRi naadel l aam t hi ngaL mum maar i peydhu
Ongu peRum senN nel oodu kayal ugaLa( p)
poonguvaLai ( p) pOdhi l poRi vandu kaN paduppa( t h)
t hEngaadhE pukki r undhu seer t ht ha mul ai pat r i
vaanga kudam ni Rai kkum vaLLal per um pasukkaL
neengaadha sel vam ni Rai ndhEl Or empaavaai

I n t his ver se Andal speaks about t he r esult s obt ained af t er obser ving t he act
of Shar anagat i. The f r uit s ar e basically t wo f old. The f ir st one being t he
et er nal bliss of moksham. At t aining divine communion wit h Kannan is a unique
achievement f or gir ls of Aayar padi alone. The ot her f r uit s exper ienced by all
t he f olks of Aayar padi ar e a good har vest due t o good r ains and lot s of f ood,
cat t le and wealt h. Having sung Sr ivaikunt hanat han in t he f ir st ver se, she t hen
moves on in t he second ver se t o sing Ksheer aabdhinat han in His yoganidr a, who
has come down a lit t le f r om Sr ivaikunt ham t o hear t o t he pleads of His
subj ect s and t o pr ot ect t hem. Fr om t her e, Andal embar ks on singing t he t hir d
ver se on Vamanan, who lived on t his Ear t h amongst us dur ing His incar nat ion.
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Mahabali r uled over all t he wor lds t hat belonged t o t he Devas. The Devas
pr ayed t o t he Lor d t o f r ee t heir wor lds f r om t he hands of Mahabali. Though
Mahabali had occupied t he pr oper t y of ot her s, He st ill was a ver y pious man
and lived like a sage. Due t o t his, Par aman did not wish t o kill him t o f r ee t he
lands of Devas. Mahabali once per f or med a yaga and gave lot s of gif t s in
char it y t o many pious people who had come t her e. Par aman having known t his
incar nat ed as t he son of Kashyapa Rishi and at t ended t he yagam of Mahabali
as a small boy and asked him t o give t hr ee f eet of land as dhaanam (char it y).
Though Shukr achar ya t r ied t o pr event Mahabali f r om giving t his dhaanam,
Mahabali was so pleased knowing t hat Par aman Himself is asking f or somet hing
f r om him and said, You ar e given t he land you asked f or . Vamanan t hen gr ew
as Tr ivikr aman and measur ed t he whole ear t h wit h one st ep and t he ent ir e sky
wit h t he second st ep; f inding no place f or t he t hir d st ep, Mahabali wit h f olded
hands r equest ed t he Lor d t o place His f oot on his head and gave away all t he
land of t he Devas he was r uling over .
I n t his way, j ust like t he way He pr ot ect ed t he Devas, Par aman shall
unf ailingly pr ot ect us who, (af t er bat hing in t he holy r iver ) per f or m
Shar anagat hi at His lot us f eet . So let us sing t he divine glor ies of Ut ht haman,
t he Lor d who pr ot ect s ot her s at His own expense. Singing t he names of
Keshavan is capable of giving mor e f r uit s of benef it t han by wor shipping Him.
J ust like how t he subj ect s of Ayodhya at t ained gr eat benef it s in t his wor ld
and in t he higher wor lds by singing Rama Rama Rama, let us do so and at t ain
t he same bliss.
One r ainf all f or t he gr eat knower s of Veda, one r ainf all f or t he vir t uous
(chast e) char act er of t he womenf olk and one r ainf all f or t he King who upholds
law and j ust ice. Similar t o t his saying, due t o t hese t hr ee kinds of r ainf all in
t he mont h, t he land is f r ee f r om t he evils of f loods and dr ought , it is r ich and
wealt hy wit h cr ops and t he cat t le ar e healt hy and give abundant milk. Along
wit h t his we also get our et er nal t r easur e, Kannan. So let us sing t he names of
Kannan and t ake a dip in t he Holy River and go t o meet Him. So saying she
called all of her f r iends and moved along.
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J ust like how a cow gives milk t o it s calf , achar yas f eed Br ahmaj nanam t o t he
pupils who sur r ender at t heir f eet . This is t he gist of t his pasur am.

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PASURAM 4
~zi mAz(kf ) k]f ]a o[f B nI Ak krEvlf
~zi uqf p< kf K Mknf T ekaD ~rf tf T "bi
Uzi Mtlf v[f uRvmf Epalf emyf kBtf T(pf )
paziyf `mf EtaQAd(pf) pbf p[ap[f Akyilf
~zi Epalf mi[f [i vlmf p<ri Epalf ni[f B `tirf nf T
tazaEt carf gf k MAttft cr mAz Epalf
vaz ulki[ilf epyf tidayf nagf kQmf
marf kzi nI rad mkizf nf EtElarf 'mfpavayf

aazhi mazhai ( k) kaNNaa onRu nee kai kar avEl
aazhi uL pukku mugandhu kodu aar t hu ERi
oozhi mudhal van ur uvam pOl mey kaRut ht hu( p)
paazhi i am t hOLudai ( p) paRpanaaban kai yi l
aazhi pOl mi nni val ambur i pOl ni nRu adhi r ndhu
t haazhaadhE saar nga mudhai t ht ha sar a mazhai pOl
vaazha ul agi ni l peydhi daay naangaLum
maar gazhi neer aada magi zhndhEl Or empaavaai

I n t his pasur am t he gr eat ness of t he devot ees of t he Lor d ar e being t old.
When Andal, along wit h Her f r iends set out t o t ake a holy dip, t he Lor d of r ain
comes and st ands in f r ont of t hem. All t he ot her celest ials would be wait ing t o
per f or m some ser vice t o t he devot ees of Par aman. Even Yama says t o his
f ollower s, Do not go near people who r ecit e t he holy name of Par aman. Such
is t he gr eat ness of Bhaagavat has.
Andal, t he ver y incar nat ion of mot her Ear t h af t er having seen t he Lor d of t he
r ains in f r ont of her or der ed him t hus You should make sur e wit hout
except ion t hat t he ent ir e land get s a good unif or m r ainf all r egular ly. Pir aat t is
compassion has no discr iminat ion. When t he demons set f ir e t o t he t ail of
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Hanuman, she had or der ed Fir e, you shall not har m Hanuman wit h your
scor ching f lames, but shall give him a pleasant cooling ef f ect . When Ravana
was making adver se r emar ks at Sit ai and t hough she had t he power t o bur n him
int o ashes, she did not use it . Andals compassion is similar in nat ur e. Oh! Lor d
of r ain, t ake lot s of wat er f r om t he ocean, and become dar k in hue like
Par aman, who is t he sole savior and t he mat er ial and inst r ument al cause of t his
univer se. Shine like t he discus in His r ight hand, r ever ber at e like t he valamur i
conch in His lef t hand and r ain down like t he ar r ows shot f r om His bow, says
Andal. Valmiki says, When Sr i Rama killed ar ound f our t een t housand demons
at J anast hanam, t hen nobody ever looked at Him t ake His bow, f ix an ar r ow
and dr ag t he st r ing t ill His ear and shoot it at light ening speed. Ever yone j ust
wat ched t he demons f all down. I t was Andals wish t hat a dr y Aayar padi should
be get t ing lot s of r ains, t hat is an achar ya and his deeds ar e being t alked
about in t his pasur am.
Achar yan is t he one who has f ull knowledge of Br ahman (Br ahma j nanam), who
has t ot ally dissociat ed himself f r om anyt hing ot her t han Par aman. He is t he
one who per f or ms t he or dained dut ies wit hout f ail (nit hya naimit t hika kar ma),
one who has dipped himself in t he ocean of divine at t r ibut es of Par aman, one
who const ant ly cont emplat es on t hese divine at t r ibut es of t he Lor d and sheds
t ear s of j oy. J ust like how a cloud t akes away pur e wat er f r om t he salt y
wat er s of t he ocean and shower s it as cool pot able wat er , an achar yan
pr eaches t he Bhagavad vishayam and t at vams (t r ut hs), which ar e t he most
dist illed essence of t he Vedas. Similar t o how t he clouds t end t o move wit h
br eeze and cause r ains at dif f er ent places, so does an achar yan move f r om
place t o place and cause (j nana mazhai) r ain of wisdom and t r ut hs.
J ust like a wat er bear ing cloud, an Achar ya is one who gives knowledge but
does not expect anyt hing in r et ur n. This pasur am t eaches us t hat it is only
t hr ough an Achar yans anugr aham t hat one could ever at t ain Par aman.
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PASURAM 5
mayA[ m[f {vd mTAr AmnftA[(tf )
T\y epR nI rf yMA[(tf ) TAbvA[
~yrf Kltf ti[ilf Eta[fBmf `]i viqkf Ak(tf )
taAy(kf ) Kdlf viqkf kmf ecyf t taEmatrA[(tf )
T\Eyamayf vnf T namf T\mlrf T\vi(tf ) etaZT
vayi[alf paF m[tf ti[alf cinf tikf k(pf)
Epay piAzy< mf p< KtRva[f ni[f b[v< mf
tI yi[ilf T\caKmf ecpf EpElarf 'mf pavayf .

maayanai mannu vada madhur ai mai ndhanai ( t h)
t hooya per u neer yamunai ( t h) t huRai vanai
aayar kul at ht hi ni l t hOnRum aNi vi Lakkai ( t h)
t haayai ( k) kudal vi Lakkam seydha dhaamOdhar anai ( t h)
t hooyOmaay vandhu naam t hoomal ar t hoovi ( t h) t hozhudhu
vaayi naal paadi manat ht hi naal si ndhi kka( p)
pOya pi zhai yum pugudhar uvaan ni nRanavum
t heeyi ni l t hoosaagum cheppEl Or empaavaai

This pasur am speaks of ways t o r emove all sins. One of Andals f r iends says,
We ar e going t o obser ve a f est ival. But ar e you sur e we will not have any
impediment s t hat will pr event us f r om obser ving t he nombu. I t is said t hat a
good deed has a t housand impediment s while a bad one has none. I t was sage
Vasisht ar who had f ixed a day f or t he cr owning cer emony of Sr i Rama, All His
subj ect s pr ayed t o t heir isht a devat hai (f avor ed God) f or t he cer emony t o go
wit hout any impediment . Even Sr i Rama and Sit a pr ayed t o Lor d Ar anga
t hr oughout t he night . But st ill, t he cr owning cer emony never t ook place. Why?
Anot her f r iend of Andal says, Good t hings begin t o happen if t he Lor d is
cont emplat ed upon always. Bad t hings begin t o dist ance t hemselves f ar t her . I t
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is similar t o dr inking t hick pur e cows milk t hat gives gr eat pleasur e and at t he
same t ime dr ives away pit t am. I f Par aman is pr ayed wit h all sincer it y, not only
can we f inish our nombu but also t he impediment s in it s way will aut omat ically
get dr iven away. But t hen how come Sr i Ramas cr owning cer emony was
st opped? Sr i Rama never heeded t o his own int er est s. Maayan is ver y st r ange.
He st opped his own cr owning cer emony (pat t abhishekam) so t hat t he cr owning
cer emonies f or his devot ees namely, Padukai, Sugr eevan and Vibhishanan can
be done f ir st . All His deeds and act ions ar e st r ange. He conver t ed a st one int o
a woman (Ahalya episode). Even as a cr awling baby, He killed Shakat aasur an. He
made t he wat er s consecr at ed by His f eet (padat eer t ham) as t he sacr ed Ganga.
He cr eat ed Par ikshit in Ut t ar as womb. He is a per son per f or ming st r ange lilas.
Not only t his. He was bor n in Mat hur a (vada madur ai) one of t he seven
kshet r ams like Kanchi, which pr ovide Mukt i t o aspir ant s. He j oyf ully t ook dips
in t he holy r iver Yamuna and sanct if ied it and would play happily on it s banks
enj oying t he f ood given t o Him by His mot her . Our devot ion incr eases t owar ds
Him af t er hear ing t o His playf ul lilas wit h Gopis t her e.
When Vasudevar was t aking Kannan t o Gokulam, Yamuna gave him way having
known who, Kannan was and His gr eat ness as well. J ust t o get Bhaagavat ha
t hir uvadi sambandham, Yamuna had a small amount of wat er f lowing in t he way.
Kannan out of mer cy allowed Yashoda t o t ie Him up wit h a r ope. I t lef t mar ks
on His st omach. These mar ks vouched t hat t heir bear er was Kannan, t he son of
Yashoda. I f such gr eat a Lor d wer e t o be wor shipped wit h pur it y of mind, soul
and body, and wit h pur e f r agr ant f lower s and t hulasi, by singing His names and
cont emplat ing on His glor ies and by sur r ender ing our selves at His lot us f eet ,
t hen all t he sins commit t ed by us t ill t oday, t he sins t hat we ar e commit t ing
now and t he sins t hat shall be commit t ed by us in f ut ur e shall disappear similar
t o t he way a piece of cot t on get s bur nt in t he f ir e. We also get t he f r uit of
our bhakt i. Our nombu will also get complet ed wit hout any impediment s.
Our mind, body and wor ds should always mean t he same t hing. That is one who
t hinks of somet hing in His mind and speaks of t he same and does t he same
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t hing wit h his hands is called a mahat ma or a noble soul. At t he same t ime one
who t hinks of somet hing, says some ot her t hing and does somet hing else is
called a dur aat ma or an evil one. Tr adit ion says t hat Par aman should be
cont emplat ed upon in t he mind, pr aised in wor ds and wor shipped wit h hands. I f
t his t r adit ion is not f ollowed, t hen af t er cont emplat ing on t he Lor d, dur ing t he
singing of His glor ies or dur ing wor shipping Him, our mind t r ies t o get diver t ed
and st ar t s t hinking of somet hing else. This can be exper ienced. Andal has
shown us a way t o avoid t his. Having said " wor shipping
wit h pur e f r agr ant f lower s, depict ing our act of wor shipping,
singing ver bally, depict ing our ver bal pr aise and
cont emplat ing on Him t hr ough our mind, depict ing our ment al cont emplat ion of
t he Lor d. But why does she say so? That is because Andal f eels t hat if one can
get associat ed wit h t he Lor d by wor k and wor ds, t hen a ment al associat ion wit h
t he Lor d f ollows aut omat ically.
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PASURAM 6
p< qf Qmf cilmf pi[ ka]f p<qf qAry[f Ekayililf
evqf Aq viqi cgf ki[f Eprrvmf Ekdf FAlEya
piqf qayf 'Znf tirayf Epyf MAl nwf C]f D
kqf q(cf ) ckdmf klkf kziy(kf ) kaElacf ci
evqf qtftrvilf Tyilmrf nf t vitftiA[
uqf qtfT(kf ) eka]f D M[ivrf kQmf EyakikQmf
emqf q 'Znf T `ri '[f b Eprrvmf
uqf qmf p< Knf T Kqirf nf EtElarf 'mf pavayf

puLLum si l ambi na kaaN puLLar ai yan kOyi l i l
veLLai vi Li sangi n pEr ar avam kEt t i l ai yO
pi LLaay ezhundhi r aay pEy mul ai nanchundu
kaLLa( ch) chakat am kal akkazhi ya( k) kaal Ochchi
veLLat ht har avi l t huyi l amar ndha vi t ht hi nai
uLLat ht hu( k) kondu muni var gaLum yOgi gaLum
meLLa ezhundhu ar i enRa pEr ar avam
uLLam pugundhu kuLi r ndhEl Or empaavaai

Andal wishes t o wor ship Bhagavan and exper ience His glor ies by going wit h
many of her f r iends and ot her s. Why? Ther e is an old saying, which st at es,
One shall not go alone and t r y t o at t ain somet hing most desir able. She want ed
t o make sur e t hat ever yone is an equal r ecipient of Par amans anugr aham. Such
is t he hear t of a mot her . I t is sweet er t o exper ience Par aman when our near
and dear ones ar e wit h us. And so, Andal wakes up one, who has not j oined t heir
gr oup yet , by saying, I t is alr eady mor ning. Get up and come wit h us. What is
t he pr oof ? asked t he maid. We all have woken up and come her e. Says Andal.
Do you have any ot her pr oof , asked her maid. Yes says Andal. Dont you
hear t he chir ping sounds of t he bir ds? We ar e also hear ing t he sound of t he
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conch t hat is blown in t he t emple dur ing t he () awakening of
Par aman, t he Lor d who has Gar udan as his vahanam. Andal is now t hinking of
t hat Lor d who hear d t he plead of a helpless elephant , when it pr ayed t o Him
t hus Come Oh Nar ayana! Manivanna! Lor d on t he ser pent bed, f r ee me f r om
t his pain and dif f icult y and she is enj oying t he beaut y of Bhagavan coming in a
f lash t o save His bhakt as.
Sages who always cont emplat e on t he Lor d and ascet ics who per f or m
medit at ion and yoga, get up f r om t heir bed dur ing t he ear ly hour s of t he day
slowly, wit hout causing any dist ur bance t o t he Lor d who r esides in t he lot us of
t heir hear t s, and sing his names af t er waking up. Af t er waking up in t he
mor ning, one should r ecit e t he name Har i: seven t imes and t hat shall r emove
all our sins. I n a calm at mospher e, t hey sing His name Har i: slowly in a way of
per f or ming ar adhanam t o t he Lor d. We ar e able t o hear t his divine sound so
melodiously. Ar e you st ill in doubt s?, says Andal.
I s it r ight t o r emain asleep yet ? Wake up Oh Child! Let s go and have a holy
dip. I t is said t hat in t en pasur ams st ar t ing wit h t his one, Andal is awakening
t he t en Azhwar s. As per t hat , t his Pasur am awakes Poygai Azhwar . This
Azhwar has sung t he episodes of Put ana vadham and Shakat asur a vadham
beaut if ully. Kamsa sent Put ana t o kill Kr ishna. She had come in t he guise of a
mot her who would f eed t he baby and had applied poison t o her f eeding par t s,
t hinking of killing Kannan by f eeding Him. She t ook Kannan on her lap and
pr et ending t o play wit h Him st ar t ed f eeding Him wit h poisoned milk. I t seems
Kannan f ound t hat milk ver y t ast y. He dr ank t he milk j oyf ully. But milk needs
sugar . I t is said t hat lif e is sweet as j agger y. So Kannan dr ank t he milk along
wit h her lif e. Those who t hink of t his st r ange episode of giving milk t o a baby
will not wish t o have anot her lif e t er m as a f eeding mot her , says Swamy
Deshikan. Kannan gave moksham t o Put ana f or having given Him poisoned milk.
Get up and come Oh child, like t he sages who wor ship Kannan, who is
r esponsible f or t he dest r uct ion of t he evil and pr ot ect ion of t he good and who
is t he causal f act or f or ever yt hing. Let us go t o t he banks of Yamuna and
wor ship Kannan and achieve et er nal bliss, says Andal.
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Her e t he bir ds ar e achar yan. The t wo wings ar e knowledge (J nanam) and
per f or mance of or dained dut ies (Kar manusht anam). The whit e conch denot es
pr anavam. The achar yas, who have j nanam and anusht anam, pr each t he pur por t
of pr anavam and help t heir pupils t o at t ain moksham.

Neer aat t a kuLam (Thir umukkuLam) in Sr ivilliput hur
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PASURAM 7
kI C kI C '[f B 'gf Kmf ~A[(cf ) catf ta[f klnf T
Epci[ Epcf crvmf Ekdf FAlEya Epyf (pf ) ep]f E]
kaCmf pibpf p< mf klklpf p(kf ) Ak Eprf tf T
vac nBmf Kzlf ~yf cf ciyrf mtfti[alf
OAc pDtf t tyirrvmf Ekdf FAlEya
nayk(pf ) ep]f piqf qayf naray][f YMrf tf ti
EkcvA[(pf ) padv< mf nI Ekdf d kidtf tiEya
EtcMAdyayf tibEvElarf 'mf pavayf

keesu keesu enRu engum aanai ( ch) chaat ht haan kal andhu
pEsi na pEchchar avam kEt t i l ai yO pEy( p) peNNE
kaasum pi Rappum kal akal appa( k) kai pEr t ht hu
vaasa naRum kuzhal aaychchi yar mat ht hi naal
Osai padut ht ha t hayi r ar avam kEt t i l ai yO
naayaga( p) peN pi LLaay naar aayaNan moor t ht hi
kEsavanai ( p) paadavum nee kEt t a ki dat ht hi yO
dhEsamudai yaay t hi RavEl Or empaavaai

Andals f r iend becomes t he leader of t he gr oup her e. She had made plans wit h
her f ellow Gopis t o wake up ear ly in t he mor ning and go t o wor ship Kannan. I n
spit e of knowing about t he t at vams, one of Andals f r iends seems sleepy and
does not wake up t o j oin t hem. They go t o her door st ep and st ar t awakening
her . Andal says, Oh lady, please get up. Let it dawn. What s t he hur r y? says
t he maid. Of cour se it is br ight day alr eady. Really? Ar e you not hear ing
t he chir ping (keesu keesu) sounds of t he bir ds (valiyan or bhar adhvaj a
spar r ows)? These spar r ows ar e now f lying out of t heir nest in sear ch of f ood
af t er st aying in t he nest t oget her dur ing t he night . They ar e making loud
chir ping noise f eeling sad about separ at ing f r om t heir f r iends says Andal.
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They keep chir ping even bef or e dawn says t he maid. I s it so? Even af t er
knowing t he f act t hat Bhaagavat has ar e gr eat er t han Bhagavan Himself , you
ar e making us wait at your door st ep. Oh spellbound gir l! The sound of t he
cur ds being chur ned by our f ellow woman f olk in Aayar paadi is so clear ly
audible. The sound of j ingling of t heir achchu t hali, aamai t hali, bangles and
ot her j ewels dur ing chur ning of cur d t o get but t er is so clear . Have you come
under t he spell of any spir it ? The women f olk of Aayar padi apply f r agr ant oil
t o t heir hair and have gr oomed t heir hair beaut if ully bef or e gr inding cur ds.
That f r agr ant smell has per meat ed ever ywher e. Ar e you not not icing t his
eit her ? Ar e you af f ect ed by a sense of super ior it y because you ar e our
leader ? The Gopis dur ing chur ning sing t he glor ies of Kannan so beaut if ully.
Af t er Kannan came t o Gokulam, all t he cows due t o His associat ion have
st ar t ed giving lot s of milk t hr ee t imes a day. Milking cows most of t he t ime
and chur ning cur ds has now become our j ob. So, j ust because somebody is
chur ning cur ds int o but t er , how can you say it s alr eady dawn? I have not been
af f ect ed by any spir it or by ghost , says one of her f r iends st ill dr owsy wit h
sleep.
They all t hen t hink of t elling t he danger s t hat had bef allen on Kannan, so as t o
make her get up in a f lash and come along wit h t hem. Oh lady! List en. A demon
by name Keshi has come in t he guise of a hor se and is f ight ing wit h Kannan.
Ther e was no r esponse f or t his. When Sit a who was in a cave in J anast hanam,
af t er hear ing t hat Sr i Rama had won over f our t een t housand demons, came
r unning t o Him j oyf ully and hugged Him. Having known t his, t hey t hought a
similar t hing will happen her e and said Kannan has won over Keshi and has
br ought him down. But t her e was no r esponse st ill. They t hen see t hr ough t he
window and obser ve t hat her f ace was br ight and j oyf ul af t er having hear d of
Kannans vict or y. Oh! What a beaut y is your s. Shouldnt we see it ? says
Andal. Af t er hear ing t his, t he maid immediat ely got up and came out .
This pasur am t eaches us t hat Vedams ar e t he cur ds t hat have been chur ned
by t he Achar ya t o get t he divine Asht akshar am and Dvaya mant r am, which is
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pr eached. I t is said t hat Bhoot hat haazhwar is being awakened her e.

"Veet r ir unda Thir ukolam : Neer aat t a Ut savam

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PASURAM 8
kI zf va[mf evqfeq[f B 'RAm ciB vI D
Emyf va[f prnf t[ ka]f mikf Kqf q piqf AqkQmf
Epava[f Epaki[f baAr(pf ) Epakamlf katfT u[f A[(kf )
Pv< va[f vnf T ni[f Ebamf EkaTklmf uAdy
pavayf 'Znf tirayf paF(pf ) pAb eka]f D
mavayf piqnf taA[ mlf lAr madfFy
Etvati EtvA[(cf ) ec[f B namf Ecvitf talf
~vaev[f B ~rayf nf T `REqElarf 'mf pavayf

keezh vaanam veLLenRu er umai si Ru veedu
mEyvaan par andhana kaaN mi kkuLLa pi LLai gaLum
pOvaan pOgi nRaar ai ( p) pOgaamal kaat ht hu unnai ( k)
koovuvaan vandhu ni nROm kOdhugal am udai ya
paavaay ezhundhi r aay paadi ( p) paRai kondu
maavaay pi Landhaanai mal l ar ai maat t i ya
dhEvaadhi dhEvanai ( ch) chenRu naam sEvi t ht haal
aavaavenRu aar aayndhu ar uLEl Or empaavaai

Andal speaks of t he gr eat ness of Kannans f lood of mer cy in t his pasur am. She
pr eaches ever yone t o per f or m Shar anagat i at t he f eet of Par aman and t o
obt ain t he et er nal bliss of moksham.
One of Andals f r iends is ver y close t o Kannan and Kannan ador es her a lot as
she is a ver y gr eat per son. Andal t hinks t hat if t his f r iend of her s wer e t o be
in t heir gr oup, t hey could at t ain Kannans anugr aham f ast er and so knocks at
t he door of t his f r iend t o invit e her .
Dear f r iend, t he east is alr eady lit up and you ar e st ill asleep! says Andal. I
dont t hink t he east er n sky is alr eady br ight , says her f r iend. You might get
up and see t he br ight ness f or your self , says Andal. Br ight ness? I t is not
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br ight ness on t he east er n sky. All of you ar e eager ly wat ching t he east er n sky
wishing it t o dawn soon. The br ight ness on your f aces is get t ing r ef lect ed
t her e. You all have f aces as br ight as a beaut if ul moon. The night might have
got shat t er ed being af r aid of dawn, says her f r iend. Say we ar e speaking
wit hout knowing. But how do you know it is not sunr ise yet ? says Andal. Let
me explain. List en t o me, says her f r iend.
Out of t he f ive lakh women f olk of Aayar padi, you might be a t housand of
t hem, who have come her e now. The absence of ot her s pr oves t hat it is not
dawn yet . Andal says, No, all t hose cat t le of Gokulam have alr eady been let
out on t he vast f ields gr azing t he most r ef r eshing dew gr ass. Her f r iend
r eplies, That is not cat t le. I t is night which lies shat t er ed af t er seeing your
br ight f aces. Andal says, You said t hat t he ot her s have not come yet . But ,
her e t hey ar e. Come out and have a look. They lef t in a hur r y being unable t o
st ay wit hout Kannan. J ust t o t ake you along wit h us, we have kept t hem
wait ing.
Her f r iend says, So what if t hey ar e going ahead of us? Andal r eplies, Going
t oget her in a gr oup on a pilgr image it self is a gr eat deed in it self . But wit h
your absence, t he ensemble loses it s char m. We have kept t hem wait ing her e
af t er having decided t hat it is impr oper t o leave you her e and go. We ar e
wait ing her e at your door st ep only t o t ake you along wit h us.
I t is gr eat pleasur e f or ever yone t o at t ain Kannan. He shall be wait ing f or
me, says her f r iend. You ar e a beaut if ul lady who has t he saamudr ikaa
lakshanam t hat should be pr esent in ever y woman. Kannan is so f avor able t o
you. He is t he ver y abode of love and af f ect ion and does not know about a
womans despair . And you, do not know our despair . I f you shall wake up and
come along wit h us, t hen we will be gr eat ly elat ed and pr oud. I f we go t o at t ain
Kannan wit h you in t he f or ef r ont , t hen we ar e sur e of success, says Andal
Let us wor ship Him by singing His glor ies along wit h t he vadyams of t he nombu
f est ival. That gr eat Lor d! Who, killed Keshi in t he guise of a hor se and
Musht ika and pr ot ect ed t he subj ect s shall def init ely heed t o our pleadings and
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shall pr ot ect us, says Andal. Achar yas r emove t he dar kness of aj nanam and
cause t he dawn of knowledge. I f we go t o wor ship Par aman, wit h such gr eat
devot ees in t he f or ef r ont , t hen it is def init e t hat Par aman will shower us wit h
his anugr aham. This is t he inner meaning of t his pasur am.

KaNNAdi sEvai - Sr ivilliput t hur Neer At t am

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PASURAM 9
T\m]i madtf T Cbf Bmf viqkf ekriy(tf )
T\pmf kmz(tf ) TyilA]Emlf k]f vqRmf
mama[f mkEq m]i(kf ) ktvmf tazf tibvayf
mamI rf `vAq 'Zpf pI Era u[f mkqf ta[f
UAmEya `[f bi ecviEda `[nf tEla
"m(pf ) epRnf Tyilf mnf tir(pf ) pdf daEqa
mamay[f matv[f AvKnf t[f '[f eb[f B
nammf plv< mf nvi[f EbElarf '[fpavayf

t hoomaNi maadat ht hu sut r um vi Lakker i ya( t h)
t hoopam kamazha( t h) t huyi l aNai mEl kaN vaLar um
maamaan magaLE maNi ( k) kadhavam t haazh t hi Ravaay
maameer avaLai ezhuppeer O un magaL t haan
oomai yO anRi sevi dO anant hal O
Ema( p) per unN t huyi l mandhi r a( p) pat t aaLO
maamaayan maadhavan vai kundhan enRenRu
naamam pal avum navi nREl Or empaavaai

I n t his pasur am, Andal est ablishes t hat Bhagavan' s holy names ar e mor e
power f ul t han Bhagavan Himself and t hey can gr ant t he wishes of t he devot ees
f ast er . Dr aupadi in or der t o get liber at ed f r om t he of f ence t hr ust upon her ,
pleaded t o t he Lor d chant ing His divine names "Shankhachakr agadaapaani!
Dwar akavaasa! Achyut ha! Govinda! Pundar ikaksha! I have sur r ender ed unt o
you" and in no t ime even as DucchAsana kept pulling her sar ee gar ment , t hey
j ust kept coming. Kannan was deep in wor r y when he was r eady t o go back t o
Sr ivaikunt ham af t er having hit by an ar r ow. He was wor r ied t hinking t hat He
could not help Dr aupadi, who had such a st r ong belief in Him. When he was t old
not t o wor r y as He had pr ot ect ed her maanam by pr oviding an unceasing supply
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of clot hing (sar ee), He said t hat it was only His divine names, which had done
t hat deed and He who was t he owner of all t hose holy names had done not hing.
Likewise, t he elephant t hat was caught in t he j aws of t he cr ocodile cr ied out
His divine names, Nar ayana! Manivanna! NaagaNaiya! Aadhimoolam and obt ained
pr ot ect ion f r om Him.
The Gopis move t o anot her house, which was t hat of a wealt hy lady. One could
see t hings enmeshed in pr ecious gemst ones (r at na and mani). Mangala deepams
wer e lit all ar ound and t he glit t er of t he wealt h r esembled sunshine. Seat s and
beds t hat wer e pr epar ed f or Kannan wer e beaut if ully decor at ed. Since it was
br ight ly decked, t hey could see t heir f r iend inside t he house. Amidst t he
sur r oundings f illed wit h r ich f r agr ance.
Oh gir l! How could you t ake pleasur e by sleeping on a sof t cushion, while we,
suf f er ing f r om t he pangs of separ at ion f r om Kannan ar e sensing t his f r agr ance
t o be ver y unpleasant and t he sof t bed of f lower s seems like a bur ning one.
She is t he one who has suf f er ed separ at ion f r om Kannan out of a playf ul
indignat ion. She now expect s Kannan t o come and t ake her wit h Him. Dont you
under st and t his you gir l! Open t he lat ch of t he door , said t hey.
Why dont you open t he door f or your selves, said she f r om inside. We ar e
not able t o see t he lat ch pr oper ly in t his glit t er , said t hey. Then her mot her
wakes up and says Get up oh child. How could you be asleep when so many
people ar e calling you f r om out side? Having hear d t his voice, her f r iends
st anding out side st ar t ed shout ing Oh! Aunt , could you kindly wake her up? But
t hey wer e not successf ul in waking her up yet .
One of her f r iends wit h anger said, Aunt , is your daught er dumb? Why doesnt
she speak? while anot her one said Oh! ar e you deaf ?, A t hir d one t hen said,
No, no, I f eel she has been wit h Kannan j oyf ully all t he t ime and has come j ust
now per haps and so is t aking some r est t o ease her st r ain. A f our t h one t hen
said I t hink someone must have cast a spell on her by using ammaanpodi or
sukku podi, t hat has made her sleep so long.
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To t his Andal says, Sing t he names of t he Lor d t o wake her up.
I s t hat so? Maamaayaa One who can at t r act gir ls wit h his magic, Madhava
One who is t he consor t of Lakshmi, Vaikunt haa
One who r esides in a supr eme place. They could not wake her up yet . They
t hen st ar t ed t o sing t he t housand holy names of t he Lor d, and soon her f r iend
was out of her sleep and j oined t hem happily.
Her e Andal r emains blind in seeing t he mist akes of ot her s, r emains dumb when
it comes t o accusing ot her s and r emains deaf when it comes t o hear ing ill about
ot her s and pr eaches t hat if t he sahasr anamam of t he Lor d is r ecit ed
ever yday, t hen t hat shall incr ease ones devot ion t owar ds Par aman and br ing in
all r ound happiness, at t he same t ime dr iving away all evil deeds.

Yennai kaappu
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PASURAM 10
Enabf B(cf ) Cvrfkf kmf p<Kki[f b `mf m[ayf .
mabfbMmf taraEra vaclf tibvatarf
nabf b(tf ) Tzayf MF naray][f nmf malf
Epabf b(pf) pAb tRmf p<]f ]iy[alf p]fD oR naqf
Pbf btf ti[f vayf vI zf nf t Kmf p kr]{mf
Etabf Bmf u[kf Ek epRnf Tyilf ta[f tnf taE[a
~bf b `[nf tlf uAdyayf `RgfklEm
Etbf bmayf vnf T tibEvElarf 'mf pavayf .

nOt r u( ch) chuvar kkam pugugi nRa ammanaay!
maat r amum t haar aar O vaasal t hi Ravaadhaar
naaRRa( t h) t huzhaay mudi naar aayaNan nammaal
pOt r a( p) paRai t har um puNNi yanaal pandu or u naaL
koot r at ht hi n vaay veezhndha kumba kar aNanum
t hOt r um unakkE per unt huyi l t haan t handhaanO
aat r a anandhal udai yaay ar ungal amE
t hEt r amaay vandhu t hi RavEl Or empaavaai

I n t his pasur am, t he gr eat ness of Shar anagat i (self sur r ender ) has been
br ought out . Af t er one per f or ms shar anagat i at t he f eet of Par aman, Par aman
Himself will look af t er all his needs and welf ar e. And so af t er having
per f or med shar anagat i, we place all t he r esponsibilit y of our pr ot ect ion at His
f eet . Af t er t his t he shar anagat han can be r elieved of all wor r ies and can
concent r at e on ser ving Him and can obt ain happiness and t he bliss of moksham.
The house of t he maid of t his pasur am is close t o Nandagopans house. Kannan
used t o pay visit s t o her house once in a while and she per f or med Shar anagat i
at t he f eet of Kannan. Now t hat t her e is no ot her upayam t o be per f or med,
she is asleep f r ee of all wor r ies. Not having r ealised t his, t hey ar e t r ying t o
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wake her up. When she lay asleep even af t er dawn t hey said Oh dear gir l! Our
Mist r ess! How do we obser ve t he nombu, if you r emain asleep like t his? As if
you would get t he benef it s of t his nombu wit hout obser ving it . (I n r ealit y she
was not int er est ed in obser ving t his nombu as she had alr eady per f or med
shar anagat i at t he f eet of Kannan). Oh gir l! We f eel t hat you could be our
guide and our companion and so ar e we invit ing you, but alas you ar e st ill
asleep.
But t his gir l never spoke a wor d. J ust as how Sit a mat ha at Ashoka vanam was
enj oying t he glor ies of Sr i Rama sung by Hanuman, so was t his gir l enj oying t he
glor ies of Kannan being t alked about by her f r iends at t he door . She r emained
silent as she was also a lit t le indignant owing t o t he f act t hat her f r iends
addr essed her as our mist r ess (Yaj amani), while she consider ed her self t o be
a slave of Kannan and his devot ees.
Her f r iends r emained at t he door blinking. They said t o each ot her Let alone
t he locked door . She is silent t oo. I f she is a r ich gir l, t hen she should welcome
bhakt as and guest s who come t o her door and exchange pleasant r ies wit h
t hem. I f she has given her self t o Kannan, she could give us her wor ds at least .
Oh Fr iend, should our eyes and ear s st ar ve f or not having been able t o see you
or hear f r om you?
The maid who was inside, now speaks, Oh my dear f r iends! You ar e put t ing
blame on me. Do you t hink Kannan is her e?
Her f r iends t hen spoke, Do you t hink you will be able t o keep t he f r agr ance of
t he t emple (chandanam) sandalwood past e away f r om us? To which, she r eplied
j ust because you smell t he f r agr ance of chandanam and t hir ut ht huzhaai
(t ulasi), does it mean Kannan should be her e?
Yes my dear maid, if Kannan held you close even once, t hen t he f r agr ance
wont go of f even af t er half a dozen bat hs. said t hey. How can Kannan get
int o a house t hat is so well guar ded, said she in anger . Her f r iends t hen
r eplied, Should Kannan t r y t o get t he door opened, like us? He only cannot
f ind his way out once he get s in.
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Having t hought t hat it is useless t o cont inue t his dialogue anymor e, she
st ar t ed t o act asleep and began t o snor e aloud. Oh f r iend! Do you list en? Did
Kumbhakar ana give you his sleep bef or e depar t ing f r om t his wor ld? He j ust
separ at ed one, and how could you sleep having separ at ed all of us? Why do you
f eel so lazy at t he cr ack of dawn? Not willing t o t ake t his blame, she
immediat ely woke up and came down. Seeing her coming down her f r iends said,
You wer e t alking t o us f r om upst air s t ill now and be car ef ul when you st ep
your way down. Let s go t o t ake a holy dip.

Pinnazhagu af t er Yennai Kaappu
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PASURAM 11
kbf B(kf ) kbAv(kf ) k]gf kqf pl kbnfT
ecbf barf tiblziy(cf ) ec[f B ecR(cf ) ecyf y< mf
Kbf bmf o[f bilat Ekavlrf tmf epabf ekaFEy
p< bf B `rv< `lf Klf p< [myiEl Epatrayf
Cbf btf T Etazimarf 'lflaRmf vnfT ni[f
Mbfbmf p<Knf T Mkilf v]f ][f Eprf pad
cibf baEt EpcaEt eclf v ep]f dadf F nI
'bf Bkf K ubgf Kmf epaREqElarf 'mf pavayf

kaRRu( k) kaRavai ( k) kaNangaL pal a kaRandhu
set r aar t hi Ral azhi ya( ch) chenRu ser u( ch) cheyyum
kut r am onRi l aadha kOval ar t ham poRkodi yE
put r u ar avu al kul punamayi l E pOdhar aay
sut r at ht hu t hOzhi maar el l aar um vandhu ni n
mut r am pugundhu mugi l vaNNan pEr paada
si RRaadhE pEsaadhE sel va peNdaat t i nee
eRRukku uRangum por uLEl Or empaavaai

Af t er t he bir t h of Kannan, it is believed t hat even t he old cat t le t ur ned back
t o t he younger days. I t is said t hat king Dashar at ha, f ound himself back in his
yout h af t er t he bir t h of Sr i Rama. Such is t he ef f ect of ones associat ion wit h
t he Lor d. I t is dif f icult t o keep count of t he cat t le individually. I t is also
dif f icult t o keep t r ack of t hem in her ds. Taking t his advant age, t he celest ials
descended on t he ear t h in t he f or m of cat t le and endear ed t hemselves t o Lor d
Kr ishna. Kannan is popular ly upheld as a mast er cowher d who milked t he ent ir e
her d. He made t he livest ock f lour ish wit h r ichness. The cowher ds would not
cont inue wit h t heir t r ading of milk and ghee. They pr oclaimed t hat t hey
f ollowed t heir pr act ice of milking t he cows, only t o f r ee t hem of f t heir
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sor eness. They wer e det er mined t o f ight t he of f ender s like Kamsa and t he
like, who would dar e t ouch upon t he pr ist ine glor ies of Kannan. They would not
har m one who had put t heir weapon down. They wer e akin t o Sr i Rama and
showed t he magnanimit y of allowing t heir opponent s t o r et ir e and came back
t he next day. Andal cont inues addr essing one of her mat es Oh illust r ious! The
one who is upheld as t he celebr it y of t he t own, oh beaut y per sonif ied! Your
bewit ching char m makes t he women f olk lament f or not having been bor n as
men. Your gr ace and t he beaut y of your t r esses t hat r esemble t he f eat her s of
a peacock do enchant Lor d Kr ishna and us. Ar ise t her ef or e and j oin us in our
j our ney.
The maid quest ions f r om inside Have t he ot her s j oined you yet ? To t his,
comes t he r eply You do know well about t he ent ir e habit at ion of Ayar pAdi. We
have all come and gat her ed in f r ont of your dwelling now. The maid r eplies,
Why did you choose mine? That place is r eser ved f or my Kannan when he
comes t o meet me. Andal r eplies, I t is indeed t o sing t he divine names of t he
Lor d who has t he hue of t he r ain bear ing cloud and who is t he obj ect of your
choicest delight . Having hear d of t he ment ion of t he Lor d wit h t he dar k hue
of t he cloud t hat r ef er r ed t o Kannan, t he maid plunged int o a delight f ul
ecst asy immer sing her self in Kannans glor ies and wit hdr ew her self back t o her
bed even wit hout t aking not ice of t he br eaking day.
Andal r eplies, You ar e his f avour it e wif e. Your hear t is now f illed wit h t he
bliss of having hear d t he glor ies of Kannan and you have immer sed your self in
his vir t ues. I t would be our f or t une if we get t o go t o our mor ning shower s in
your company. You have r et ir ed back t o your bed, r ef using our invit at ion. I s
t his r eally wor t h a t hing? The gr eat est bliss is indeed t o j oin in t he celebr at ion
along wit h t he Lor ds subser vient s. Why ar e you act ing like a r ecluse in self
exper ience? Why ar e you st ill in a slumber f or get t ing your ambit ion, f ailing t o
consider our desper at e pleas and at t he same t ime over looking t he possibilit y
of t he wonder f ul f or t une of j oining wit h Kannan. Had Kannan not been in your
house, and t hen you t oo would have par t icipat ed in our obser vances of nombu.
I s it not ?
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I nner pur por t Pr ecept or s who ar e like t he cat t le impar t t he milk of divine
t eachings t o t heir disciples who ar e like t he calves. Wealt h does not j oin a
J eevan in his spir it ual j our ney. I t only best ows moment ar y mat er ial pleasur e.
The divine names of t he Lor d, on t he ot her hand best ow one wit h t he et er nal
wealt h of beat it ude.

Sowr i Thir umanj anam

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PASURAM 12
kA[tf T ;qmf kbf ebRAm k[f Bkf K ;rgf ki
niA[tf T MAl vziEy ni[f B palf Ecar
nA[tf T ;lf lmf Ecbakf Kmf nbf eclfv[f tgfkayf
p[itf tAl vI z ni[f vacbf kAd pbf bi(cf )
ci[tf ti[alf et[f ;lgf Ak(kf ) EkamaA[(cf ) ecbf b
m[tf Tkf K ;[iyaA[(pf ) padv< mf nI vayf tibvayf
;[itf ta[f 'Znftirayf :et[f [ Eprf ubkf kmf
`A[tf T ;lf ltf taRmf `binf EtElarf 'mf pavayf

kanai t ht hu i Lam kaRRer umai kanRukku i r angi
ni nai t ht hu mul ai vazhi yE ni nRu paal sOr a
nanai t ht hu i l l am sERaakkum naR chel van t hangaay
pani t h t hal ai veezha ni n vaasaR kadai pat r i ( ch)
chi nat ht hi naal t hen i l angai ( k) kOmaanai ( ch) cheRRa
manat ht hukku i ni yaanai ( p) paadavum nee vaay t hi Ravaay
i ni t ht haan ezhundhi r aay eedhenna pEr uRakkam
anai t ht hu i l l at ht haar um aRi ndhEl Or empaavaai

kanait ht hu Andal goes t o t he house of one by name Sudama, in or der t o see
her f r iend who had not yet j oined t hem in spit e of r epeat ed invit at ions.
Sudama is t o Kannan as Lakshmana is t o Sr i Rama. They ar e never t o be
separ at ed and Sudama consider s it his gr eat est f or t une t o be always wit h
Kannan in his ser vit ude. Kannan blessed him wit h immense opulence. The cat t le
of Aayar pAdi had equal number s of cows and buf f aloes as well. He had
immense number of buf f aloes under his r oof . Having none t o milk t hem, t he
buf f aloes wer e lef t t o t hink of t heir calves, and in no t ime t heir milk st ar t ed
f lowing out similar t o a big shower of r ain. The f loor s wer e dr enched wit h milk
and it soon assumed t he looks of slush. J ust as how Lakshmana f ollowed Sr i
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Rama t o t he f or est s, t o be in his ser vit ude, similar ly Sudama consider ed, being
in t he ser vit ude of Kannan as his biggest f or t une and kept f ollowing him
neglect ing his household complet ely. Andal along wit h her mat es goes t o t he
house of Sudama, t o wake his sist er up. The door st ep is dr owned in a slush
f low of milk while t he mist y dew makes it s way f r om t he skies. Amidst t he
f loods of milk below and t he dew on t op, t he damsels wit h t he f lood of love f or
Kannan in t heir hear t s, Andal and her f r iends call t heir f r iend out by holding
f ir mly t o t he door gr ip. They say aloud Oh gr acious sist er of t he wealt hy
Sudama, come out at once and par t icipat e wit h us in obser ving t his nombu in
or der t o behold our beloved Kannan.
To t his, t he maid f r om t he house r eplies, To behold Kannan? Oh I would never
come. He knows not t he lament of a ladys hear t . He t r ies mor e wit h his
mischief . Shukachar ya and t he Azhwar s have elucidat ed Kannan t o have
incar nat ed in t hir t ysix ways. He is one who came as a t or t oise, f ish and lion.
But has he ever t aken t he guise of a damsel once? No. How would he know of
t he lament of a ladys hear t ? A f ew quot e his incar nat ion as Mohini, t he
celest ial beaut y. But he deceived ever yone only by his at t ir e and not by t aking
an incar nat ion. Thus she was adamant in not j oining t hem f or t he spir it ual
obser vances.
To t his t he maids said t hat Kannan and Sr i Rama wer e t he incar nat ions of t he
same supr eme Lor d and said t hat t hey wer e indeed pr aying t o avail an epiphany
of Sr i Rama and not Kannan. They cont inued saying t hat Sr i Rama had vowed t o
monogamy and had st r uggled his ways t hr ough t he dense f or est s in sear ch of
his wif e and f inally wit h t he assist ance of t he king of monkeys was able t o lay
siege t o t he beaut if ul cit y of Lanka and unf et t er ed his queen f r om t he evil
Ravanas clut ches. He even liber at ed Ahalya int o a beaut if ul woman, who,
st ayed ear lier as a st one. Having list ened t o all t hese r endit ions, t he maid f r om
inside f inally gave her appr oval t o j oin t he ensemble. Andal had equal love f or
Sr i Rama t oo and hence addr essed him as her beloved manat ht hukku
iniyaanai. Sr i Rama and his legend ar e indeed gr eat sour ces of solace f or t he
mind. Kannan and his deeds ar e likewise t o t he eyes. The t hiever y of cur d,
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clot hes and t he like only denot e t he pur por t t hat Kannan st eals all t he sins
f r om t hose who sur r ender unt o him complet ely. The incar nat ions of Sr i Rama
and Kr ishna ar e indeed of r emar kable impor t ance. Many a her mit s have lost
t heir hear t s t o t he beaut y of Sr i Rama and have lament ed f or not being bor n
as women. I t is said t hat t hese her mit s assumed t heir next bir t hs as t he
womenf olk of Aayar pAdi when Sr i Rama descended as Kannan. Dispose of f
your sleep and j oin us t o sing of t he beloved Sr i Rama said t hey all invit ing
t heir f r iend t o j oin t hem.
Pr ecept or s out of t heir compassion impar t t he milk of knowledge t o deser ving
disciples and ef f ect t heir uplif t ment . Such an Achar ya is t her ef or e mor e
beloved t o a disciple when compar ed t o Par aman Himself . As Swamy
Madhur akavi says .


Naachiyaar pinnazhagu af t er sowr i t hir umanj anam

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PASURAM 13
p< qf qi[f vayf kI]f daA[(pf ) epalf la `rkf kA[(kf )
kiqf qi(kf ) kAqnftaA[(kf ) kI rf tftiAm paF(pf ) Epayf (pf )
piqf Aqkqf 'lf laRmf paAv(kf ) kqmf p< kfkarf
evqf qi 'Znf T viyazmf ubgf kibfB
p< qf Qmf cilmf pi[ ka]f Epatri(kf ) k]f ]i[ayf
Kqf q(kf ) Kqir(kf ) KAdnf T nI radaEt
pqf qi(kf ) kidtf tiEya. pavayf . nI n[f naqalf
kqf qmf tvirf nf T klnf EtElarf 'mf pavayf .

puLLi n vaay keendaanai ( p) pol l aa ar akkanai ( k)
ki LLi ( k) kaLai ndhaanai ( k) keer t ht hi mai paadi ( p) pOy( p)
pi LLai gaL el l aar um paavai ( k) kaLampukkaar
veLLi ezhundhu vi yaazham uRangi RRr u
puLLum si l ambi na kaaN pOdhar i ( k) kaNNi naay
kuLLa( k) kuLi r a( k) kudai ndhu neer aadaadhE
paLLi ( k) ki dat ht hi yO! paavaay! nee nan naaLaal
kaLLam t havi r ndhu kal andhEl Or empaavaai .

I n t he pr evious ver se, Andal sung about t he beloved Sr i Rama. Aayar pAdi is
t he place wher e Kannan incar nat ed and would per f or m his j oyf ul deeds t hat
wer e t he obj ect s of adulat ion of each and ever y inhabit ant . I s it agr eeable t o
pr aise Shiva at t he abode of Thir uvar angan, t he cr own j ewel of Vaishnavism?
Having t aken t he name of Sr i Rama, many wer e moved t o a st at e of mild
disagr eement . Andal t her ef or e begins t o laud Kannan, who killed t he demon
Bakasur a sent by Kamsa in t he guise of a cr ane. One of her mat es who
int imat ely ador ed Sr i Rama was t hen moved t o a st at e of melancholy. To
soot he her , Andal cont inues wit h t he wor ds pollaa ar akkanai(k) kiLLi(k)
kaLaindhaan lauding Sr i Rama as one who plucked out t he t en heads of t he
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evil Ravana in one at t empt . Sr i Rama and Kr ishna wer e one and t he same t o her .
The killing of Bakasur a who was in t he guise of a cr ane and t he killing of t he
evil Ravana wer e one and t he same. Bot h wer e demons of super lat ive evilness.
The t er m may also be at t r ibut ed t o t he t ear ing of t he demon
Hir anyakashipu by Nar asimha. Sr i Ramas valour , beaut y and vir t ues inspir e one
t o celebr at e Him. Ravana admir ed t he valour of Rama, his sist er Shur panakha
f ell f or his beaut y while his br ot her Vibhishana dwelled upon Ramas auspicious
vir t ues.
Andal cont inues saying Enj oying and celebr at ing t hus, our ensemble has
alr eady r eached t he banks of Yamuna, wher e we would be blessed wit h t he
epiphany of Kannan. But you alas, ar e st ill in a st at e of slumber . The maid
r eplies Oh well it is st ill not daybr eak. Andal r eplies back saying Oh t hat
was anyt hing but int elligible. Shukr an has alr eady ascended t he hor izon while
Gur u has set . The mat e r eplies, Oh t hey might have got t hemselves deceived
by mist aking some ot her celest ial obj ect s t o be Gur u and Shukr an
Andal r eplies saying, Oh dear f r iend, you ador n t he eyes of a beaut if ul deer .
Your eyes also r esemble t he f lower s of Kuvalai. They ar e like beaut if ul f lower s.
You seem t o be avoiding t he holy dip in t he r iver bef or e daybr eak being af r aid
of losing your beaut y of t he eyes. You ar e indeed capable of ent hr alling Kannan
wit h t he beaut y of your eyes. He ador ns t he eyes of lot us and is t he r ef uge in
which all t he wor lds r eside. We ar e indeed capt ivat ed by t he beaut y of bot h of
your eyes and t hus der ive gr eat delight f r om it . All our expedit ions ar e gr eat ly
assist ed by your beaut y. The couch on which Kannan would have r est ed would
give out t he f r agr ance of Br ahma gandham. You have now pr ivileged your self t o
cuddle on such a couch. Do you not hear t he chir ping of bir ds? Our elder s have
also decided t o go wit h Kannan and obser ve t his nombu and have alr eady
assembled. Do not give up t his oppor t unit y. This is t he day when we will play
wat er spor t wit h Him in t he Yamuna and t hen would r est our selves on his laps
list ening t o His sweet music and enj oying his vir t ues. I f you give up t his, t hen
t he days t o come would be separ at ing us out . Do not miss out r elishing
somet hing t hat has come t o your clasp. Do not end up on t he bed in a r eclusive
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conver sat ion of Kr ishnan. Come out and j oin us in celebr at ing t he Lor d
t oget her
The samsar a is an ocean of high t ides. Amidst t his is our body wit h it s physical
f acult ies like t he island of Lanka. I t is r eined by an evil mind like Ravana wit h
it s t en heads of iniquit ous at t r ibut es. The Seet ha like J eevat hma is t or ment ed
by t he vicious inf luences of t he demons t hat ar e t he iniquit ous vir t ues of t he
evil mind. I n such a sit uat ion, a Hanuman like pr ecept or impar t s us wit h t he
essent ials of esot er ic knowledge (t at t vopadesham) and makes us at t ain t he
holy conf luence wit h our Lor d Sr iman Nar ayana and his et er nal ser vice in
beat it ude. This is t he hidden pur por t t hat goes wit h t he phr ase pollaa
ar akkanai(k) kiLLi(k) kaLaindhaan.

Thaayaar bef or e Mookkut t hi sEvai
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PASURAM 14
ugf kqf p< zkf kAd(tf ) Etadf dtf T vaviy< qf
ecgf kZ[I rf vayf enkizf nf T ~mfplf vayf Pmf pi[ ka]f
ecgf kbf epaF(kf ) PAr ev]f plf tvtf tvrf
tgf kqf tiRkf Ekayilf cgfkiDva[f Epat[f barf
'gf kAq M[f [mf 'Zpf p< va[f vayfEpCmf
ngf kayf 'Znf tirayf na]atayf nav< Adyayf
cgf EkaD ckf krmf "nf Tmf tdkf Aky[f
pgf ky(kf) k]f ]aA[(pf ) paEdElarf 'mf pavayf .

ungaL puzhakkadai ( t h) t hOt t at ht hu vaavi yuL
sengazhuneer vaay negi zhndhu aambal vaay koombi na kaaN
sengaR podi ( k) koor ai veNpal t havat ht havar
t hangaL t hi r ukkOyi l sangi duvaan pOdhanRaar
engaLai munnam ezhuppuvaan vaaypEsum
nangaay ezhundhi r aay naaNaadhaay naavudai yaay
sangOdu chakkar am Endhum t hadakkai yan
pangaya( k) kaNNaanai ( p) paadEl Or empaavaai .

The young womenf olk of Aayar pAdi had decided t o obser ve t he r it ual nombu
f or t he well being of t he ent ir e communit y. The lady in t his house had agr eed
t o j oin t he ensemble ear ly in t he mor ning and had t aken up t he r esponsibilit y
of waking up t he r est of t he gr oup. But she sleeps t ight having f or got t en t he
same. Andal and her maids t r y t o awaken t his f r iend of t heir s in t his ver se.
They say, "Oh dear f r iend, f lower s like lot us and senkazhuneer bloom in
splendor at daybr eak under t he r ays of t he r ising sun. Flower s like Aambal
(night queen) bloom while t he moon is in r ise and r emain so unt il daybr eak.
While on our way, we have seen t he bloom of senkazhuneer and t he dr oop of
t he Aambal int o a bud. You may see t he same among t he f lower s t oo." Thus did
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t hey t r y t o wake her up giving her e all t he signs of dawn. Andal cont inued
saying "You might accuse me of manually f lower ing t he beaut if ul bud. Let me
give you a mor e sat isf act or y elucidat ion".
"Ar e you not able t o hear t he r hyt hm of t he conch t hat is being blown f r om
t he t emple, by t he populace, who have f r eshened up t hemselves int o a neat
holy at t ir e af t er having spent an enchant ing night r elishing on beet le leaves
and nut s? I t is also t he t ime now f or pr ecept or s of t he monast ic or der t o t ake
t he holy bat h, per f or m t heir penances, t heir or dained dut ies and t he wor ship
of t he Lor d. Wake up now immediat ely and j oin us"
These pleas also went unhear d. Wit h an air of indignat ion, Andal cont inues, "Oh
f r iend, well. You t old us yest er day t o be r eady t o go t o t he Yamuna ear ly in t he
mor ning and t hat it would be your r esponsibilit y t o wake up all t hose who would
st ill be asleep. I t is indeed a noble vir t ue t o do, what one speaks. But it is
accept ably a dif f icult vir t ue t oo. I t is easy f or ever yone t o make st at ement s.
I t has come t r ue in your case t hat people do not do what t hey pr omise t o. You
have spent devot ed loving moment s wit h our Kannan. I t would t her ef or e not
bef it you t o be a liar ".
"Since you have been ver y int imat e t o Kannan and you have been pr ivileged t o
r eceive him and his glor ies complet ely in your hear t , we ar e det er mined not t o
go t o t he nombu r it ual wit hout you. Kannan would come only if you do so. Ar ise
t her ef or e and quench our cr avings f or Kannan" said t hey. These pleas went
wit h t he wind as bef or e. Cont inuing wit h indignat ion, t hey said "We ar e not
ashamed of you f or having wr onged on your wor d. Do not quest ion t he f act t hat
when so many of us ar e going, what is your necessit y t o be t her e. You ar e
pr ivileged wit h t he most wonder f ul ar t of speech. J ust as how Sr i Rama was
ent hr alled wit h Hanuman' s wor ds in his ver y f ir st meet ing, so will Kannan f all
t o your wor ds. We r equest you t her ef or e t o help us in uplif t ing our selves by
singing t he glor ies of Kannan, who dwells in t he love f illed hear t of your s and
who capt ivat es us by His divine f or m ador ning t he conch and t he discus and
who ent hr alls us wit h his beaut if ul eyes t hat ar e like t he lot us in f ull bloom and
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whose eye lashes ar e dr awn long and neat " Having list ened t o t hese wor ds, t he
damsel immediat ely r ushed out f r om her house t o j oin t he ensemble t o Yamuna.
The pr ecept or s who ar e wellver sed in t he shast r as, who ar e blessed wit h t he
wealt h of er udit ion, who ar e endowed wit h auspicious vir t ues, who behold
inher ent vir t ues like compassion and who have won over t he f acult ies, impar t t o
t he subj ect s of t he Lor d, t he ways and means t o emancipat e f r om t he cycle of
t r ansmigr at ing samsar a and t o at t ain t he et er nal bliss of beat it ude.

Mookut ht hi sevai

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PASURAM 15
'lf El! ;qmf kiqiEy ;[f [mf ubgf KtiEya
cilf '[fB `AzEy[f mi[f ngf AkyI rf EpatRki[f Eb[f
vlf Al u[f kdfDArkqf p]f Ed u[f vayf `biTmf
vlf lIrf kqf nI gf kEq naE[ ta[f ~yiDk
olf Al nI Epatayf u[kf ek[f [ EvBAdAy
'lf laRmf EpanftaEra Epanf tarf Epanf T ']f ]ikfekaqf
vlf ~A[ eka[f baA[ mabf baAr mabf bzikf k
vlf laA[ mayA[(pf ) paEdElarf 'mf pavayf

el l E! i Lam ki Li yE i nnam uRangudhi yO
chi l enRu azhai yEn mi n nangai yeer pOdhar ugi nREn
val l ai un kat t ur ai gaL paNdE un vaay aRi dhum
val l eer gaL neengaLE naanE t haan aayi duga
ol l ai nee pOdhaay unakkenna vERudai yai
el l aar um pOndhaar O pOndhaar pOndhu eNNi kkoL
val aanai konRaanai maat r aar ai maat r azhi kka
val l aanai maayanai ( p) paadEl Or empaavaai

I n t his ver se, Andal and her mat es awaken one of t heir f r iends who had a
sweet voice like t hat of a par r ot . I n t he pr evious ver se Andal sung about t he
Lor d who ador ned t he conch and t he discus. Having hear d of t his, t he maid
cont emplat ing upon Kannan and ext olling his glor ies went int o a devot ional
t r ance. Having hear d of t heir f r iends devot ional lyr ics, Andal and her
ensemble came about t o awaken her . They began wit h t heir sweet wor ds Oh
sweet par r ot ! Having been separ at ed f r om Kannan, we have lost our sleep and
have come t o t ake you along wit h us wit h t he f ond hope of being able t o r each
Him again. I s it t hen r ight f or you t o enj oy your slumber . All of us have been
blessed t o r eceive His company t oday. When many of t hem had f inished saying
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similar t hings, t he concent r at ion wit h which t he maid was cont emplat ing upon
Kr ishna was br oken. Wit h indignat ion she got back Oh what a dist ur bance. I
have been awake all t he t ime. The f olks out side r eplied I s t hat so? We do
know about your shar p t emper . To which t he maid says Oh f r iends, it is you
who ar e mif f ling my mind wit h your wor ds. Why should t her e be a need f or
unnecessar y exchange of wor ds? I t is indeed I who is at f ault and apologised
f or her har sh wor ds. This conduct is of much impor t ance. I f a t r ue
Sr ivaishnava is r epr imanded by anot her , t hen t he f or mer should t ake t he
blame on him, apologise f or t he of f ences and beseech t he f eet of t he Lor d f or
having r eminded him of his sins. Bhar at a was such a gr eat bhagavat ha. He said
t hat it was only due t o his sins because of which his br ot her Sr i Rama had t o
go t o t he f or est s and neit her Mandhar a not his mot her Kaikeyi may be held
r esponsible f or t his.
I f we ar e t o get r ebuked by ot her s, t hen we should f eel t hankf ul t o t hem and
should t r eat it as a r eminder f r om t he Lor d f or all our sins. We should t hen
appr oach t he lot us f eet of t he Lor d and should beseech his gr ace t o r elieve us
of f t hose t r ansgr essions. The maid of t his house is indeed a good
Sr ivaishnavit e of such an or der . And so she says, naanE t haan aayiduga. This
is indeed t he decor um of a t r ue Sr ivaishnava.
Knowing well, t he f act t hat when t he devot ees of t he Lor d ar e await ing at t he
door st ep, even t he cont emplat ion of t he Lor d is an act of t r ansgr ession, f or
t he devot ees should not be made t o wait , t he maid r ushes f r om inside and
opens t he door and r espect f ully inquir es as t o in what way could she be of any
ser vice t o t hem. To t his t he ensemble r eplies t hat t hey would t r easur e her
company t o t he Yamuna f or t aking a holy dip. The maid cont inues Oh is t hat
so? I shall be wit h you in moment s. But have t he ot her s alr eady j oined t he
gr oup? I f yes, please conduct t hem int o my house To t his t he ensemble
r eplies, We ar e delayed. Why dont you come and t ake count ? Kannan r elieves
us f r om our ego and pr ide j ust as how he t r ounced upon t he elephant
Kuvalayapeeda. J ust as how He myst if ied t he evil Chanur a and Musht ika,
similar ly He has changed t he mindset of t he elder s at home who wer e aver se
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t o our meet ing Kannan. He has t hus immensely suppor t ed us and let us all
t her ef or e make it quick t o sing his glor ies dur ing t he nombu r it ual and be
blessed wit h t he bliss of his divine epiphany and communion. Come t her ef or e
immediat ely. Having t aken ever ybody int o t heir ensemble in t his way, t hey
f inally r each t he palace of Nandagopa, wher e Kannan j oined t hem and t hey all
made it mer r ily t o t he banks of t he Yamuna.
I n t his wor ld, some do not accept t heir mist akes. Some accept it r eluct ant ly
af t er having lost all means of evading. While t her e ar e some who accept t heir
mist akes gr acef ully even wit hout ot her s bidding f or it . They ar e indeed t he
most out st anding of human populace like t he maid in t his ver se who had t he
sweet voice of a par r ot .

Sr i AndaaL Pinsevai
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PASURAM 16
nayk[ayf ni[f b nnf tEkap[f uAdy
Ekayilf kapf paE[. ekaF Eta[f Bmf Etar]
vayilf kapf paE[. m]i(kf ) ktvmf taqf tibvayf
~yrf ciBmiyEraMkf K `Ab pAb
may[f m]i v]f][f en[f [El vayf Enrfnf ta[f
T\Eyamayf vnf Etamf Tyilf 'z(pf ) paDva[f
vayalf M[f [mf M[f [mf mabfbaEt `mf ma. nI
Eny niAl(kf ) ktvmf nI kf EkElarf 'mf pavayf

naayaganaay ni nRa nandhagOpan udaya
kOyi l kaappaanE! kodi t hOnRum t hOr aNa
vaayi l kaappaanE! maNi ( k) kadhavam t haaL t hi Ravaay
aayar si Rumi yar Omukku aRai paRai
maayan maNi vaNNan nennal E vaay nEr ndhaan
t hooyOmaay vandhOm t huyi l ezha( p) paaduvaan
vaayaal munnam munnam maat r aadhE ammaa! nee
nEya ni l ai ( k) kadhavam neekkEl Or empaavaai

naayaganaay ninRa I n t he t en pasur ams t hat we have seen so f ar , Andal and
her f r iends went t o t he door st eps of all t heir f r iends who wer e st ill asleep
awakening t hem one by one. The ensemble t hen went t o Nandagopans palace.
They awakened t he sent r ies who st ood on guar d out side t he palace and at t he
door s of t he palace. Ar chakar s when coming out of t he sanct umsanct or um
af t er having f inished t he Lor ds wor ship, would pr ay t o t he weapons like t he
discus, conch and would also ent r eat t he Dwar apalakas f or t he saf et y of t he
Lor d. The Lor d is t he ser vient of His subser vient s and is most easily
accessible. Nandagopa had shielded Kannan impr egnably as if one would f or t if y
a t r easur e of immeasur able value. The ensemble of Gopis asked t he guar ds Oh
palace guar ds of t he noble Nandagopa, who is our mast er , pr ay let us in.
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Having passed t hr ough t his ent r ance, t hey t hen bowed and ent r eat ed t he
guar ds of t he main door st ep t o let t hem t hr ough. The Gopikas appr oached
Kannan as per pr ot ocol, j ust as how, when we ent er t he t emple, we f ir st pr ay at
t he dhwaj ast ambham, t hen t o t he Dwar apalakas, t o Vishwaksenar and t hen do
we ascend t he st eps t o t he sanct um sanct or um of t he divine mot her and t he
Lor d. I f one at t empt s t o r each t he Lor d wit hout t he espousal of t he Lor ds
int imat e, t hen one may have t o endur e t he sit uat ion t hat bef ell on
Shur panakha f or having t r ansgr essed t he pr ot ocol. Andal and her f r iends
supplicat ed t he sent inels at t he door s of t he palace j ust as how Vibheeshana
along wit h his band, pleaded t he devot ees of Sr i Rama t hat he and his men be
allowed t o see Sr i Rama immediat ely. They ext olled t he guar ds as envoys
capable of br inging t heir desir es t o f ulf ilment . Those t hat ar e best owed wit h
t he gr ace of an Achar ya ar e t he ones who ar e capable of at t aining t he Lor d.
And so t hey r ef er r ed t o t he sent inels as guar ds of Nandagopans t emple and
not as guar ds of Kannans t emple. The Lor d is t he subser vient of his
subser vient s and is at t he disposal of his ser vient s. Since t he Lor d her e has
assumed t he f or m of a child and since he is t oday obedient ly in t he par ent al
cont r ol of Nandagopa, Andal and her f r iends, pay t heir f ir st r espect s t o
Nandagopa. They bow down t o ever yone submissively ent r eat ing t hem wit h
r ever ence in or der t o alleviat e possible hindr ances of ever y kind.
maNi(k) kadhavu signif ies a beaut if ul door wit h ar t ist ic aest het ics enmeshed
wit h choicest pear ls. I t would ent hr al it s passer s by wit h it s char m holding
t hem back wit h amazement . The passer s by would st op a moment t o pr aise t he
ar t ist r y and exquisit eness of t he mansions f ur nit ur e. Kannan t oo would bind
one by t heir movement s keeping t hem capt ivat ed at his visage and char ms. The
maids plead t o t he guar ds t o open t he padlock of such a door .
The door keeper s r eply, Kannan is in danger f r om t he vile designs of Kamsa.
Who ar e you, who seek an audience wit h Him at t his hour of t he ear ly
mor ning?
The Gopis r eply He at whose cont emplat ion, t he f ear s of bir t h, old age, deat h
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would t ake t o t heir heels, why t hen is t her e a need f or f ear in t he pr esence of
such a Lor d? Mor eover we ar e f emales who would do no har m.
The sent r y r eplies Shur panakha was a f emale. Wasnt she? The maids r eply,
She was a demon. We ar e t he womenf olk of Ayar pAdi. The pr ogenies of t he
noble Yadavas who ar e always t hought f ul of t he saf et y of Lor d Kr ishna. The
guar d pr ompt ly came back saying But , af t er Put ana, even t he womenf olk of
Aayar pAdi ar e t o be looked wit h suspicion. The maids came back saying But
Put ana wor e a guise. I s it not ? The guar d t hen says, How ar e we t o know t hat
you have not disguised your selves decept ively?. The maids pleaded, The
womenf olk of Aayar pAdi ar e not known t o such unscr upulous t hinking. The
guar ds r eply, Vat sasur an also came in a noble gar b. Gopi r eplies, Kannan is
t he supr eme Lor d. We ar e subj ect s who have under st ood our essent ial nat ur e
of subser viency. This was well under st ood by t he sent r ies as t he Gopis used
t he t er m siRumiyar Om t hat r ever ber at ed t he Pr anavam and it s pur por t The
guar d t hen asks t hem t he pur pose of t heir visit . The Gopis r eplied t hat t hey
had come t her e seeking Kannans assist ance in obser ving t heir nombu r it ual and
t o get t he f r uit s of it s obser vances t her eby. The guar ds pr ompt ly t old t hem
t hat t hey would submit t his r equest t o Kannan, once he wakes up and r equest ed
t he Gopis t o wait unt il t hen.
maayan maNi vaNNan nennalE vaay nEr ndhaan The Gopis r eplied You need not
submit t his r equest t o him t oday. He has alr eady consent ed t o t his. He st ands
humbly amongst t he womenf olk of Aayar pAdi and has consent ed t o all t heir
pleadings.
maNi vaNNan One is never able t o t ake his eyes of f t he beaut if ul visage of
Kannan. His smile looks like t he r epeat ed blossoming of a beaut if ul f r agr ant
Lot us f lower . Oh guar ds, awake t hat Lor d of our s. When t he guar d st ill looked
at t hem wit h suspicion, t hey cont inued, Kannan had t old Dr aupadi, My wor ds
shall never f ail, even if t he sky comes down, t he Ear t h br eaks open, t he mist y
mount ains ar e r educed t o pieces or t he ent ir e ocean dr ies up When His wor ds
pr oved t r ue f or Dr aupadi, why would it pr ove f alse t o us? The guar d r eplied,
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Dr aupadi had always cont emplat ed upon Kannan. But you have come wit h a
dif f er ent int ent ion. I s it not so? The Gopis r eplied t oget her No. Asking f or
assist ance and t he f r uit s of our obser vances t her eof is only a pr et ext . Our
t r ue int ent ion is t o behold him, t o ext ol him wit h or songs and t o pr ay at His
lot us f eet . We have come her e as we expect t o see him now.
t huyil ezha(p) paaduvaan We have come her e t o sing him t he song of dawn
and t o see his beaut y when he wakes up and comes down t o see us. Even when
t he evil Kakasur an pur sued Sit a, f or get t ing all her inf lict ions, she st ill admir ed
t he beaut y of Sr i Rama who r eclined peacef ully and lauds t he beaut y of t he
opening of his eyes when awakened. The gr eat Vishwamit r a t oo, cr aved t o see
t he beaut y of Sr i Rama waking up t o t he mor ning bloom. We shar e t he same
desir e t oo. To t his t he guar ds welcomed and went ahead t o t hr ow open t he
door s f or t hem.
vaayaal munnam munnam maat r aadhE The Gopis humbly acknowledged t he
guar ds t elling t hem When Vibheeshana sought r ef uge in Sr i Rama, t he likes of
Sugr iva st r ongly opposed t he idea and plunged f or war d f or an at t ack. But
af t er having lear nt t he wishes of Sr i Rama, t hey t ook Vibheeshana as one of
t heir most int imat e f r iend and ally, t hus achieving glor y f or t hem. Oh Guar ds,
may you also be t he wor t hy r ecipient s of such unsullied glor ies.
The guar ds now in a f it of anxiet y said, We get wear y t hinking of t he f at e of
J aya and Vij aya. Pr ay open t he door your selves.
nEya nilai(k) kadhavam neekkEl We ar e unable t o open t he door s. Alike you,
t he door s t oo seem t o be wor r ied about t he saf et y of t heir mast er . Pr ay open
t he door please. Lor d Sr iman Nar ayana, ext olled as Nayakan, Nandan, Gopalan,
who r esides in t he Vaikunt am, who r eclines on t he milky ocean, who plays
ar ound in Aayar pAdi and who t akes His manif old f or ms as Par a, Vyuha and
Vibhava incar nat ions, is r ealised t hr ough t he esot er ical pur por t s por t r ayed by
t he esot er ical t r iad of Asht akshar a, Dvaya and Char ama shloka. Our
pr ecept or s ar e t he car et aker s of t hese esot er ical aphor isms. These
pr ecept or s open t he door s let t ing out t he sins and iniquit ous at t r ibut es t hat
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st and as impediment s t o us. They t hen make us go t hr ough t he aisle of bliss t o
at t ain t he bliss of beat it ude. I t is only nat ur al f or t he car et aker s t o be
suspicious of t heir sur r ounding keeping in mind t he obj ect in t heir car e. Sr i
Rama Lakshmana Guhan is a not able example.

Nachiyaar Thanga Kavacham
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PASURAM 17
`mf prEm t]f ]IEr EcaEb `bmf ecyf y< mf
'mf epRma[f nnftEkapala 'Znftirayf
ekamf p[arf kf K 'lf lamf ekaZnf Et Kl viqkf Ek
'mf epRmadf F yEcatayf `biv< bayf
`mf prmf Ud `Btf T Ogfki ulK `qnf t
umf prf EkamaE[ ubgf kaT 'Znf tirayf
ecmf epabf kzlF(cf ) eclf va plEtva
umf piy< mf nI y< [f ubgf EkElarf 'mfpavayf .

ambar amE t haNNeer E sORE aRam seyyum
ember umaan nandhagOpaal aa ezhundhi r aay
kombanaar kku el l aam kozhundhE kul a vi LakkE
ember umaat t i yasOdhaay aRi vuRaay
ambar am ooda aRut ht hu Ongi ul agu aLandha
umbar kOmaanE uRangaadhu ezhundhi r aay
sem poR kazhal adi ( ch) chel vaa bal adhEvaa
umbi yum neeyun uRangEl Or empaavaai .

The guar ds, af t er having r ealised t hat t he ensemble of Gopis was ver y dear t o
Kannan, t hr ew open t he palace door s f or t hem conduct ing t hem int o t he
cor r idor s. The ensemble t hen plans t o wake up Nandagopan, Yashoda, Balar ama
and Kannan. Fear ing t hat some Gopi might t ake away Kannan, Nandagopan was
asleep in t he f ir st couch. But is such a t hing possible? Yes it is. The land of
Shonit anagar a was r uled by Banasur a, t he son of Bali chakr avar t hi. He had a
daught er by name Usha. She lost her hear t t o Anir uddha, t he gr andson of
Kannan having seen Him in her dr eam. Her maid Chit r aloka, using t he power of
Yoga, br ought Anir uddha in his sleep along wit h his couch and pr esent ed him t o
Usha. Being war y of such sit uat ions, Nandagopa t her ef or e slept in t he f ir st
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couch.
ambar amE t haNNeer E sORE aRam seyyum ember umaan nandhagOpaalaa
ezhundhir aay Oh gener ous Nandagopa, who, dur ing t he t imes of dr ought ,
gave away in char it y, clot hing, f ood and wat er t o t he subj ect s of Ayar pAdi ,
awake t o best ow upon us t he supr eme Lor d Kannan, who is t he delect able most
of f oods and t he r elishable most of pot able wat er , t hat sat iat es our hunger
and t hir st . I n t his wor ld, dif f er ent r elat ions like f at her , mot her , br ot her , son,
f r iend et al, give us delight and make us happy in t heir own ways. Kannan on t he
ot her hand gives us pleasur e and delight in ever y way. You, who shall be
best owing upon us such an obj ect s of bliss is indeed our Lor d (). Wake up Oh
Lor d, wake up. Next t hey appr oach t owar ds Yashoda.
kombanaar kku ellaam kozhundhE kula viLakkE ember umaat t i yasOdhaay
aRivuRaay - The br anches of vanchi t r ee bend t hemselves t o of f er suppor t
dur ing t imes of t or r ent ial f loods. Similar t o t his, Yashoda gave happiness t o
ever ybody, over looking t he ef f or t and wear iness on her par t . Kozhundu She
was like t he maid in command t o all. She was int uit ive of t he dif f icult ies t hat
might come upon her f olks and would always help t hem in alleviat ing t he same.
Kulavilakke She st ood bedazzling as t he light of t he ent ir e woman communit y.
Having begot t en Kannan, Yashoda was like a sover eign t o t he whole univer se.
When Nandagopa, who best ows gr ace and benevolence upon us t hat do good t o
us in t ur n (hit am), is alr eady awake, is it cor r ect f or Yashoda, who best ows
upon us t he f r uit s of all our desir es (isht am), t o be asleep st ill? Will t her e be
any despair f or t he womenf olk, while t he knowledgeable Yashoda is awake?
Having t aken her per mission, t hey t hen behold, t hr ough t he window, t he divine
visage of Kannan, who is r eclining in t he next couch.
ambar am ooda aRut ht hu Ongi ulagu aLandha umbar kOmaanE -When t he Devas
sought back f r om you, t he kingdom t hat t hey had lost t o Bali, you assumed a
magnif icent f or m, so huge, t hat r ose over t he skies. The shadow of your lot us
f oot t ook ever yt hing in it s shade. Wit h your ot her f oot , you blessed ever yone
wit h munif icent gr ace j ust as how a mot her would car ess her babys head wit h
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dr ops of oil. You also ador ned t he celest ials, daily vot ar ies and all t he wor lds as
embellishment s t o your lot us f eet and made one and all Sr ivaishnavas.
uRangaadhu ezhundhir aay You have best owed your lot us f eet t o t hose who
knew you not and even wit hout t heir bidding. Ar ise oh Kannan, t o best ow your
lot us f eet upon us who ar e awar e of your essent ial nat ur e (svar upam) and who
have sought you as our r ef uge and our obj ect of delight f ul cont emplat ion.
Hanuman says t o Seet ha, Sr i Rama who is now separ at ed f r om you is always
awake and never sleeps. I f at all he sleeps f or a while, he t akes your name
sweet ly while waking up Andal says I s it cor r ect on your par t t o lay asleep
while you have act ually incar nat ed t o wake us up f r om sleep wit h your holy
names on our lips?. Kannan t hen dir ect s t hem t o Balar aman. As per pr ot ocol,
Balar ama should have been awakened f ir st and t hen Kannan. He is t he
incar nat ion of Adisheshan a gr eat devot ee and pr ecept or . Since he is t he sub
ser vient and also t he r eclining couch f or Per umal, he incar nat ed pr ior t o
Kannan. Having r ealised t heir over sight t hey appr oach Baladeva now.
sem poR kazhaladi(ch) chelvaa baladhEvaa Lakshmana was bor n lat er t o Sr i
Rama and engaged himself in Sr i Ramas ser vit ude. But , Balar ama was bor n
bef or e Kannan and st ayed in His ser vit ude. Balar ama housed himself in Devakis
womb bef or e Kannan. He had pur if ied Devakis womb wit h t he t ouch of his
f eet . I t is because of t his r eason t hat t he eight h child of Devaki did not have
t he same f at e as t he six t hat wer e bor n bef or e Balar ama. The t ouch of his
f eet br ought pr osper it y and auspiciousness.
umbiyum neeyun uRangEl Your br ot her Kannan is obedient t o you and so ar e
you t o him. Pr ay ar ise f r om your slumber , heeding t o our pr ayer s. At t imes
when Kannan would disappear , Balar ama would console t he weeping Gopis who
had lost t heir hear t s t o Kannan, wit h sweet and soot hing wor ds of j oy.
Subj ect s, who embar k upon wor shipping t he Lor d, should begin t he same
cont emplat ing upon t heir pr ecept or s and should t hen seek t heir appr oval f or
t he same. This pur por t gleams f or t h t hr ough t his ver se.
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PASURAM 18
unf T mt kqibfb[f Odat Etaqf vliy[f
nnf tEkap[f mRmkEq npf pi[f [ayf
knf tmf kmZmf Kzli kAd tibvayf
vnf T 'gf Kmf Ekazi `Aztf t[ ka]f matvi(pf )
pnf tlf Emlf plf kalf Kyili[gf kqf Pvi[ ka]f
pnf T ~rf virli u[f Amtf T[[f Eprf pad(cf )
ecnf tamAr(kf ) Akyalf cI rarf vAq olipf p
vnf T tibvayf mkizf nf EtElarf 'mfpavayf .

undhu madha kaLi RRan Odaadha t hOL val i yan
nandhagOpan mar umagaLE nappi nnaay
kandham kamazhum kuzhal i kadai t hi Ravaay
vandhu engum kOzhi azhai t ht hana kaaN maadhavi ( p)
pandhal mEl pal kaal kuyi l i nangaL koovi na kaaN
pandhu aar vi r al i un mai t ht hunan pEr paada( ch)
chendhaamar ai ( k) kai yaal seer aar vaLai ol i ppa
vandhu t hi Ravaay magi zhndhEl Or empaavaai .

I n t his ver se, Andal and her f r iends awaken Nappinnai, t he Lor ds consor t , who
is also t he int er mediar y bet ween t he J eevas and t he Lor d, who per suades t he
Lor d accept us t o His holy abode. Shur panakha disr egar ded Sit a and t r ied t o
at t ain Sr i Rama while Ravana disr egar ded Sr i Rama and t r ied t o win over Sit a.
Bot h of t hem met wit h similar f at es while Vibhishana who beseeched bot h
pr osper ed. Since t he awakening of Kannan went in vain, t hey sur r ender ed t o
Balar ama, t he pr ecept or and t hen at t empt ed t o awaken Nappinnai, t he Lor ds
consor t . I s it t hen not necessar y t o have an int er mediar y bet ween Pir aat t i and
us? Yes, t her e is. Her compassion it self does t his j ob. Wat er is needed t o put
down f ir e and wat er is suf f icient t o put down wat er .
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undhu madha kaLit r an Odaadha t hOL valiyan The ensemble now awakens
Nappinnai, t he daught er in law of Nandagopa. Nandagopa was as st r ong as an
elephant in high. His st r engt h mat ched t hat of an elephant and held a her d of
t hem in his possession. He held gr eat st r engt h in his ar ms and would never
t ake a st ep back in r et r eat . None had t o wor r y about t he evil despicable plans
of Kamsa as Nandagopa had t he power t o shield Kannan f r om each and ever y
one of Kamsas evil designs. Nappinnai is t he daught er in law of such gr eat a
noble man. She is t he daught er of Kumba, but yet Nandagopa t he f at her in law
was r ef er r ed and not her f at her . This is similar t o t he Ramayana episode. Sit a
t alks t o Hanuman pr oudly associat ing her self t o t he solar dynast y. She
int r oduces her self as t he daught er in law of Dashar at ha, whom she ador ed
mor e t han her f at her .
kandham kamazhum kuzhali kadai t hiRavaay Nappinnai is addr essed as one
having a r ich f low of t r esses and one who has devot ed her hear t t o Kannan
alone who has a divine f or m t hat disseminat es a collect ive f r agr ance of all t he
f lower s. They ent r eat her t o t hr ow open t he door and let t he t or r ent ial f lood
of t he f r agr ance of t heir divine unison per meat e t he air ar ound. Nappinnai
t hen says, What is t he hur r y. Let t he day br eak.
vandhu engum kOzhi azhait ht hana kaaN The day br eaks and t her es t he cr oak
of t he r oost er . Nappinnai r eplies Will t he mimicked cr oaking of one Gopi,
make t he Sun r ise? The Gopis t hen say No. Sever al r oost er s ar e cr oaking as
if t o br ush t he sunlight on one and all. Nappinnai t hen says, Some r oost er s
cr oak as soon as t hey wake up. The sleeping ones ar e t he r eal ones t hat cr oak
at day br eak. The Gopis cont inue, I s t hat so?
maadhavi(p) pandhal mEl pal kaal kuyilinangaL koovina kaaN The cuckoos t hat
slept on t he j asmine beds ar e awake and chir ping. You hold f amiliar it y wit h
each ot her . They look up t o you f or your compassionat e glances as t heir lif e
beat . Unable t o r each you in f locks, t hey have r esor t ed t o t heir sweet coo.
Having r eceived no r esponse f r om Nappinnai, t he ensemble of Andal and her
maids cont inued t o ext ol her saying pandhu aar vir ali I t seems t hat dur ing
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t he night bef or e, Nappinnai and Kannan wer e engaged in a game of ball and
Kannan lost t he game. Oh Nappinnai t he one who is holding on t o Kannan wit h
one hand in a t ight embr ace and t he ball in t he ot her hand, you have been t he
chosen obj ect of enj oyment of Kannan. You ar e t he gobet ween in t he ballgame
wit h Kannan. On one hand you hold t he J eevans while on t he ot her you hold on
t o t he Supr eme Nar ayana. You t her ef or e ar e t he divine mot her who guides and
walks t he J eevans and Sr iman Nar ayana as well, on t heir pat hs.
Nappinnai now quest ions t he r eason f or t heir assembling t her e, t o which t he
Gopis r eply, I t is t o be wit h you. When you and t he Lor d have a j oyf ul r if t , we
would like t o st ay on your side and sing t he Lor ds playf ul def eat . We would
t hen f ill your ear s wit h all his misdoings playf ully. (When par ent s ar e t oget her ,
t he childr en f ollow t hem. When t he t wo ar e in r if t , t he childr en st ay wit h t he
mot her ) Nappinnai t hen invit ed t hem all inside.
The Gopis t hen r eplied chendhaamar ai(k) kaiyaal seer aar vaLai olippa vandhu
t hiRavaay Pr ay you come and open t he door f or us delight f ully. Your hands
ar e t he ones t hat have won t he et er nal associat ion of t he beaut if ul, f r agr ant
and blossomed lot us. They ar e t he obj ect s of ador at ion of none but t he Lor d
Himself . They ar e t he benef act or s of all f r uit s of at t ainment . They have
acquir ed a r ed hue being engaged due t o t he clasping and t hr owing of t he ball,
dur ing t he game wit h Kannan. When you ar e in st r ide, your hands echo out an
auspicious r ever ber at ion of j ingling sounds due t o t he br ush of t he bangles
t hat ador n t hem. You, wit h Kannan should bej ewel us at t he end of our
obser vances. Pr ay come t o us and open t he door wit h your beaut if ul hands and
bless wit h t he vision of seeing your exquisit e bear ing.
Being subsumed by t he j oy of at t aining Kannan, a J eevan, in or der t o r each t he
Supr eme Lor d, needs t he divine Mot her as t he gobet ween af t er having
r esor t ed t o t he lot us f eet of a sadachar ya.

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PASURAM 19
Ktf T viqkf ekriy Ekadf D(kf ) kalf kdf Flf Emlf
emtf et[f b pwfc cy[tf ti[f Emlf "bi(kf )
ekatf tlrf p>gfKzlf npf piA[ ekagf Ak Emlf
Avtf T(kf ) kidnft mlrf marf pa vayf tibvayf
Am(tf ) tdmf k]f ]i[ayf nI u[f m]aqA[
'tf tA[ EpaTmf Tyielz odf dayf ka]f
'tf tA[EyLmf piriv< ~bf bkilf layalf
ttf Tvmf `[f B tkEvElarf 'mf pavayf

kut ht hu vi Lakker i ya kOt t u( k) kaal kat t i l mEl
met ht henRa pancha sayanat ht hi n mEl ERi ( k)
kot ht hal ar poonguzhal nappi nai kongai mEl
vai t ht hu( k) ki dandha mal ar maar baa vaay t hi Ravaay
mai ( t h) t hadam kaNNi naay nee un maNaaLanai
et ht hanai pOdhum t huyi l ezha ot t aay kaaN
et ht hanai yEl um pi r i vu aat r agi l l aayaal
t hat ht huvam anRu t hagavEl Or empaavaai

When Nappinnai st ood up t o open t he door , she was dr agged back by Kannan
int o a t ight embr ace. The ensemble t her ef or e now at t empt s t o awaken Kannan.
As Kannan was unwilling t o speak, t he ensemble again uses Nappinnai as t heir
int er mediar y. The ensemble now t r ies t o wake Nappinnai up again and r eminds
her t o wake up Kannan. One might lear n t he concer n t hat t he Lor d and His
consor t have f or t heir subj ect s. Once, t he divine mot her t hought of t est ing
t he Lor ds compassion. She accused one of t he devot ees of some wr ongdoing.
I mmediat ely t he Lor d came back saying t hat His devot ees would never do any
wr ong, and if t hey wer e t o do it t hen it was f or good. I f t he Lor d wer e t o
embar k on punishing a devot ee, t hen His consor t would immediat ely come in
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saying t hat t her e was nobody in t his wor ld, who did not commit a sin. I t may be
lear nt t hat bot h of t hem ar e equally and passionat ely concer ned about t heir
subj ect s.
kut ht hu viLakker iya The ensemble of Andal and her f r iends ent r eat Kannan
wit h t he wor ds vaay t hir avaay t o open His mout h and speak. They immer sed
t hemselves in t he beaut y of t he communion of t he Lor d and His consor t and
f or get t ing t he pur pose of t heir visit , did not ent r eat Kannan t o wakeup. The
maids say Why is it necessar y t o st ay on t he couch, admir ing t he beaut if ul
visage of Kannan, in t he shade of t he br ight ly lit oil lamp, when it is alr eady
daybr eak? I t is said at hiivar aamah shushubhe adhikaa mayaa Sr i Rama
shone f or t h wit h lust r e amidst t he br illiance of Sit as divine beaut y.
Similar ly, wher e is t he need f or t he oil lamp when you have t he glit t er ing aur a
of Nappinnais beaut y ar ound?
kOt t u(k) kaal kat t il mEl I t is indeed f or t unat e t o r ecline in company of a
valiant consor t , on a luxur ious couch t hat is dr essed up wit h t he f r agr ant
t r esses of seven yaks and has t he ivor y t usks of Kuvalayapeeda f or it s st ands.
met ht henRa The Gopis quest ion I s it cor r ect on your par t t o cont inue
sleeping and appr aising t he luxur ious couch wit hout speaking t o us, when so
many of us ar e wait ing her e f or you.
pancha sayanat ht hin mEl ERi The couch bed has t he f ive f old char act er ist ics
of being beaut if ul, pleasant , sof t , f r agr ant and br ight . Your couch is a sof t
cushion t hat has f ive layer s. You ar e r eclining on one such. For us who ar e being
t or ment ed by your separ at ion, even a couch of lot us seems like a bed of
t hor ns.
kot ht halar poonguzhal nappinai kongai mEl vait ht hu(k) kidandha malar maar baa
Nappinnai is now in t he divine company of Kannan. She has bedecked her self
wit h a f ine gar land of f r esh j asmine buds.
The buds in her t r esses have blossomed and ar e spr eading t he f r agr ant ar oma
ever ywher e.
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Sit a says t o Hanuman I am ver y t ir ed and shall f ind some sleep on t he lap of
my dear beloved Sr i Rama. He shall lat er r est on my lap. Likewise you ar e
t aking t ur ns t o r est on each ot her s lap. Seeing t he divine couple t oget her and
enj oying t he scene of t heir communion who ar e bot h t he obj ect and t he means
of at t ainment and being unable t o f or ce t hemselves as a dist ur bance, t he
maids plead wit h Kannan t o open his mout h and speak t o t hem using t he wor ds
malar maar baa vaay t hiRavaay
Sr i Rama said t o Sugr iva t hat He shall pr ot ect t hose who seek r ef uge in Him
even at t he cost of His own lif e. But you Nappinnai, on t he ot her hand ar e
neit her allowing Kannan t o speak out nor ar e you speaking t o us. I s t his
cor r ect ? Even if Nappinnai wer e t o st op you f r om coming t o us, you should have
st r engt hened our hopes assur ing us pr ot ect ion and should have at least spoken
wor ds of r elief . Having said so, Kannan get s r eady t o speak.
I mmediat ely Nappinnai st opped Kannan and spoke t o Him wit h her eyes
indicat ing t hat in her pr esence, t her e was no need f or Kannan t o wake up and
answer t he call of Gopis. The Gopis having r ealised t his, addr essed Nappinnai
as mai(t h) t hadam kaNNinaay.
You have capt ivat ed Him inside your beaut if ul eyes t hat have blossomed like a
beaut if ul lot us. He would come t o us only if he wer e t o be f r eed f r om t he
conf ines of t hose beaut if ul eyes. Sr i Rama, who was separ at ed f r om Sit a spoke
t o Lakshmana t hat he would not live f or mor e t han a mont h. My plight is like
na j iiveyam kshaNamapi vina t haam asiit hekshaNam! Ber ef t of t he beaut if ul
Sit a who had beaut if ul eyes of black, I shall not live even f or a single moment .
maiyit t u ezhudhOm malar it t u naam mudiyOm I n pr esence of we, t he devot ees,
Oh Nappinnai, help us in complet ing our obser vances, make us ador n t he st r eak
of collyr ium and t hen should you ador n one f or your self . Would a mot her ever
t ake t o eat ing when her child is st ar ving? We had assumed t hat your beaut y
and your glor ies would help us in our obser vances. But it has not happened so.
I s it cor r ect on your par t t o be st opping Kannan f r om coming t o us when you
should have act ually helped us at t ain Him?
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un maNaaLanai et ht hanai pOdhum t huyilezha ot t aay kaaN Sit a said kausalya
loka bhar t haar am sushuve, Sr i Rama is not only my mast er but t he mast er of
t he ent ir e wor ld. But you on t he ot her hand have made Kannan your s alone and
have not let him go even f or a moment . Seems like you f ear t o leave him t o us.
et ht hanaiyElum pir ivu aat r agillaayaal t hat ht huvam anRu t hagavu You would
not even bear a moment of separ at ion f r om Kannan. You ar e like t he saying
. He also maint ains an equal disposit ion t owar ds
you. He believes t hat in your absence, He would not be dr awn t owar ds any
ot her damsel. I t is due t o t his t hat we came t o you wit h t he f ond hope t hat
you would br ing us all close t o Kannan. But t hat has not happened at all. I t is
not r ight eous f or you t o have ignor ed our pleadings.
The Lor d best ows us wit h f r uit s t hat bef it our past deeds. Our pr ecept or s
impar t us wit h ar t ha panchakam t he f ive f old t r ut hs and sacr ament us wit h
t he r it es of pancha samskar am. They make us obser ve Pr apat t i t he f inal means
of deliver ance t hat has f ive f old t enet s and make us at t ain t he divine
communion wit h t he Lor d in His et er nal ser vit ude. Ther ef or e Andal and Her
maids, chose Nappinnai as t heir pr ecept or as well as gobet ween, and pr ayed t o
her in or der t o win t he communion of Kannan. I t is as per t he Vaishnava t enet s
t o chose t he divine mot her only as t he int er mediar y while bot h t he Lor d and
His consor t ar e t o be chosen t oget her as t he obj ect and t he means of
at t ainment .
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PASURAM 20
Mpf ptf T YMvrf `mrrf kfK M[f ec[f B
kpf pmf tvirf kf Kmf kliEy Tyilf 'zayf
ecpf pmf uAdyayf tiblf uAdyayf ecbfbarf kf K
evpf pmf ekaDkf Kmf vimla Tyilf 'zayf
ecpf ep[f [ em[f MAl(cf ) ecvfvayf (cf ) ciB mRgf Klf
npf pi[f A[ ngf kayf tiREv Tyilf 'zayf
ukf kMmf tdf edaqiy< mf tnf T u[f m]aqA[
;pf EpaEt 'mf Am nI radf EdElarf 'mf pavayf

muppat ht hu moovar amar ar kku mun senRu
kappam t havi r kkum kal i yE t huyi l ezhaay
seppam udai yaay t hi Ral udai yaay seRRaar kku
veppam kodukkum vi mal aa t huyi l ezhaay
seppenna men mul ai ( ch) chevvaay( ch) chi Ru mar ungul
nappi nnai nangaay t hi r uvE t huyi l ezhaay
ukkamum t hat t oLi yum t handhu un maNaaLanai
i ppOdhE emmai neer aat t El Or empaavaai

This paasur am and t he pr evious paasur am pr opagat e t hat t he Lor d and His
consor t need t o be upheld t oget her as our f inal obj ect s of ador at ion and
at t ainment . I n t he pr evious ver se, Andal and Her maids plead t o Nappinnai and
r emind her t hat it is her essent ial nat ur e t o act as t he int er mediar y bet ween
t he Lor d and His subj ect s and t hat she should have helped t hem in t hat
dir ect ion. They f ur t her blame her f or not even showing a bit of compassion, if
not f or helping t hem.
Nappinnai on t he ot her hand was t r ying t o lear n t he Lor d' s volit ion and was
wait ing f or a choice moment t o f or war d t his plead t o Kannan. Being unawar e of
t his and t hinking t hat Nappinnai was indignant t owar ds t hem, t hey again set
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out t o awaken Kannan.
muppat ht hu moovar amar ar kku mun senRu kappam t havir kkum kaliyE t huyil
ezhaay Eight Vasus, eleven Rudr as, t welve Adit yas and t wo Ashwini kumar ar s.
This is t he classif icat ion of t he 33 cr or e celest ials. You save t hese celest ials
by t aking var ious incar nat ions. When t he celest ials wer e t or ment ed heavily by
t he demon Hir anyakashipu, you heeded t o t heir pleas and t ook t he incar nat ion
of Nr usimhan and br ought an end t o t he evil demon, t her eby secur ing peace
f or t he celest ials. When you hear d t he wor ds "Nar ayana! Oh Manivanna!
NaagaNayaay" f r om t he elephant t hat was in t he clut ches of t he might y
cr ocodile, t hen you hur r ied t o it s r escue even wit hout inf or ming your consor t .
You killed t he vile cr ocodile and pr ot ect ed t he elephant .
You have engaged your self busily in pr ot ect ing count less celest ials. That being
so, is it dif f icult f or you t o heed t o our pleas who ar e so small in number and
who have come t o your door st ep cr aving f or your pr ot ect ion? Mor eover t he
celest ials live an undying lif e. But we would cease t o exist if not f or your gr ace.
The celest ials supplicat e t o you only f or mat er ial pleasur es and pur suit s. We on
t he ot her hand do not desir e any mat er ial f r uit s. We seek you alone as our sole
obj ect of at t ainment and have been obser ving t his nombu r it ual f or t he past
ninet een days and have been st aying at your door st ep eager ly await ing your
gr ace. Could you not speak a wor d t o us?
kaliyE t huyil ezhaayUnlike t he celest ials who sought you only t o have t heir
lives and kingdom t hat t hey had lost t o Bali, r einst at ed, we seek only t he
benevolent and benign glances of gr ace f r om your lot us like eyes on us.
seppam udaiyaay Cheppam means pr ot ect ion. Sr i Rama, as per t he phr ase
"r akshit haa j iivalokasya" pur sued t he gener al pat h of pr ot ect ing one and all. He
also pur sued a specif ic pat h of r ight eousness as per t he phr ase "sva j anasya
cha r akshit haa" and pr ot ect ed ever yone who belonged t o him. Why don' t you
at least f ollow Rama and pur sue at least t he pat h of pr ot ect ing us who belong
t o you.
t hiRal udaiyaay You have in you t he power and st r engt h t hat pr ot ect ed t he
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Pandavas f r om ever y possible danger f r om t heir enemies.
Set r aar kku veppam kodukkum vimalaa t huyil ezhaayYou ar e known t o have
best owed punishment t o t hose who t or ment your devot ees. But , t his act of
your s has inf lict ed punishment s on your own devot ees f or no f ault of t heir s.
Why t his delay my Lor d in blessing us wit h your gr ace?
When all t hese wor ds f ailed t o get any f avour able r esponse f r om Kannan in
t er ms of waking Him up and making Him speak, t hey again plead unt o Nappinnai
t heir gobet ween and t he consor t of t he Lor d as well.
seppenna men mulai(ch) chevvaay(ch) chiRu mar ungul nappinnai nangaay t hir uvE
t huyil ezhaayOh Nappinnai, t he consor t of t he Lor d who holds t he hear t of
t he Lor d wit h Her always, who is t he most beaut if ul in t he univer se and who
owns t he magnif icent of f eat ur es, pr ay you wake up and pr ot ect us cr aving
souls. You need not be like Sit a Pir at t i, who, f or t he sake of subser vient s,
st ayed in conf inement f or t en mont hs wit hout sleep and under went lot of
t or ment s. I t is suf f icient if you j ust wake up and bless us wit h your benign
glances.
Nappinnai now asks as t o what should she be doing once she wakes up.
ukkamum t hat t oLiyum t handhu un maNaaLanaiOh Nappinnai, br ing wit h you t he
ar t icles f or r it ual obser vances like f an, mir r or and your beloved Lor d who
per f or ms accor ding t o t he dancing st eps of your eyebr ows.
ippOdhE emmai neer aat t uThe t hr ongs of separ at ion have wit her ed us t ot ally.
We pr ay you t o give us an auspicious shower along wit h Kannan.
Though Sit a was ver y dear t o Sr i Rama, He loved her mor e f or t he f act t hat
Dashar at ha had over seen Her mar r iage t o Him. Likewise, t hough Kannan was of
exquisit e beaut y and gr ace, t he Gopis loved him mor e f or t he f act t hat He was
best owed t o t hem by His consor t Nappinnai.
No mat t er who t r ies t o dissuade, t he Lor d always r escues t hose who have
per f or med Shar anagat hi at His lot us f eet . I f t he dissuader s ar e enemies, He
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punishes t hem f or t heir of f ence and if t hey ar e f r iends, He makes t hem
assent t o his volit ion t aking t hem int o His f old. This is t he hidden pur por t of
t his ver se.

Naachiyaar Pinazhagu
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PASURAM 21
"bfb klgf kqf 'tirf epagf ki mI tqipf p
mabfbaEt palf ecariy< mf vqfqlf epRmf pCkf kqf
~bf b(pf ) pAdtfta[f mkE[ `biv< bayf
Ubfbmf uAdyayf epriyayf ulki[ilf
Etabf bmayf ni[f b CdEr Tyilf 'zayf
mabfbarf u[kf K vli etaAlnf T u[f vacbf k]f
~bf baT vnf T u[f `F p]iy< ma EpaEl
Epabf biyamf vnf Etamf p< kzf nf EtElarf 'mf pavayf

ERRa kal angaL edhi r pongi meedhaLi ppa
maaRRaadhE paal sor i yum vaLLal per um pasukkaL
aaRRa( p) padai t ht haan maganE aRi vuRaay
ooRRam udai yaay per i yaay ul agi ni l
t hORRamaay ni nRa sudar E t huyi l ezhaay
maaRRaar unakku val i t hol ai ndhu un vaasaR kaN
aaRRaadhu vandhu un adi paNi yumaa pOl E
pORRi yaam vandhOm pugazhndhEl Or empaavaai

When t he Gopis cont inued waking up Nappinnai, she f inally woke up and came
out t o speak t o t hem. She said, Oh Gopis, in enj oying a blissf ul communion
wit h Kannan, I shall be one amongst you. So let us all unit e t oget her and plead
unt o Kannan.
Et r a kalangaL edhir pongi meedhaLippa maat r aadhE paal sor iyum vaLLal per um
pasukkaL aat r a(p) padait ht haan maganE I n Ayar pAdi, t he huge vessels t hat
wer e used t o r eceive t he milk f r om t he cows, wer e over f lowing.
How many ever vessels be used, t he r esult r emained t he same. The cows t oo
had t he vir t ue of munif icence and gener osit y similar t o Kannan. The cowher ds
would t ake t he f ills of milk in vessels, but even if t hey did not do t hat , t he
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cat t le out of abundance would cont inue t o give milk cont inuously. These cows
t hat give f loods of milk in gr eat opulence ar e similar t o t he r iver s t hat give
sweet pot able wat er t o t he habit at s and like t he t r ees t hat best ow delicious
f r uit s. Due t o t he divine t ouch of Kannan, t hese cows looked as gigant ic as
elephant s. Nandagopan was one such chief t ain who had r eceived innumer able
cows of such kind f r ee of cost . Oh Kannan! The son of t he noble Nandagopa! if
not f or becoming t he heir t o Nandagopa, how would all t his asset s and chat t els
be inher it ed by you? Andal says t hat t hough t he Lor d is t he mast er of t he
ent ir e univer se t hat is in his possession, yet , t he most bef it t ing t hing about
Kannan is t hat He is t he mast er of t he ent ir e chat t els of Nandagopan.
maganE aRivuRaay I t is sur pr ising t hat t he allper vasive and t he allknowing
like you should be made t o r ealise it wit h such dif f icult y. You ar e per haps
wait ing f or all t hose people who ar e yet t o come and so ar e enj oying a good
sleep. Ar e you st ill in your slumber Oh Lor d! Wake up.
Her e Andal uses t he t er m aRivuRaay inst ead of ezhunt hiRaay. The inher ent
vir t ues of t he Lor d like compassion, humilit y, f or bear ance was wor t h not hing at
places like Sr ivaikunt ham, t he supr eme abode and Ksheer asagar am, t he milky
ocean. You incar nat ed amongst us j ust t o make sur e t hat you had an
oppor t unit y t o exhibit all t hese noble vir t ues. I f you do not come t o us and
exhibit t hose vir t ues, t hen t hey would be as good as being absent . Think it
over Oh Lor d! says Andal.
ooRRam udaiyaay Oh Kannan, you ar e a ser vant t o t he subser vient . Out of
compassion f or all of us, you have t aken t his f or m in t his wor ld. All t he pet als
of a lot us ar e always f acing each ot her . You know t hat you ar e indeed t he f inal
pur por t t hat is put f or t h by t he imper ial Vedas. You t her ef or e ar e per iyaay,
t he supr eme one whose limit s ar e not known even by t he might y Vedas.
ooRRam udaiyaay per iyaay Whoever r esor t s t o your lot us f eet , have been
assur ed of your pr ot ect ion. You dissuaded t he likes of Sugr iva and ot her s f r om
hinder ing t he gr ant ing of r ef uge t o Vibhishana. You t her ef or e have t he
capacit y t o br ing your wor ds t o f r uit ion. Though you best ow ever yt hing upon
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your subj ect s, you ar e yet dissat isf ied wit h it . Your glor ies ar e cr owned many
t imes when you best ow on t hem t he f r uit s of goodness t hat bef it your
immense glor ies. When t he soiled wat er is made f r ee of mud and dir t , t hen
what r emains below is t he pur e pot able wat er . Similar ly if we r emove t he vision
of our physical eyes t hat is r eplet e wit h t he blemishes of desir e, anger , gr eed,
passion, pr ide and j ealousy and see only t hr ough t he eyes of our unsullied
knowledge, t hen it is possible t o see you in ever yones hear t in your complet e
divine and magnif icent f or m.
Ulaginil t hORRamaay ninRa sudar E You may be gr asped by t he pr of ound
t eachings and esot er ical pur por t s put f or t h by t he imper ial Vedas, I t ihasas
and Pur anas. You ar e also t he br ight est light t hat may be r ealised by all t he
sent ient or der s like t he humans, animals, bir ds et c.
sudar E Your incar nat ion amidst us r esembles a blemishless j ewel st one t hat
lies amidst a heap of cow dung. t huyil ezhaay I f you do not come t o us now,
will not all t hose glor ies be of no value?
maat r aar unakku vali t holaindhu un vaasaR kaN aaRRaadhu vandhu un adi
paNiyumaa pOlE pORRiyaam vandhOm pugazhndhu The adver sar ies of your
devot ees, under t he f lood of your unf avour able gr ace, af t er f inding no ot her
r esor t , would come t o your lot us f eet f inally. We on t he ot her hand have
r esor t ed t o t he shadow of your lot us f eet having f ully r ealised your inher ent
divine at t r ibut es like compassion, mer cy and unassuming humble nat ur e. Unlike
Kakasur a, who sinned t owar ds Pir at t i and f inding no r ef uge and solace even
af t er r ounding all t he t hr ee wor lds, r esor t ed t o your lot us f eet f inally, we
have been dr awn t owar ds you by t he power of your divine vir t ues and glor ies.
We came her e t o sing you a song of dawn like Per iyazhwar , who sang you t he
f amous Thir uppalandu. Our unwaver ing f ait h in you br ought us t o you wit h no
doubt s in our minds as t o t he f ulf ilment of our goals.
A pr ecept or impar t s all t he essent ial pur por t s of t he esot er ical knowledge t o a
t r ue disciple who r esor t s t o his f eet and t akes up his ser vit ude. This is t he
hidden pur por t of t his ver se.
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Ar aiyar Sevai

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PASURAM 22
`mf k]f ma waltf T `rcrf `pima[
pgf kmayf vnf T ni[f pqfqi(kf ) kdf Fbf kI Ez
cgf kmf ;Rpf parf Epalf vnf T tAlpf epyf Etamf
kigf ki]i vayf (cf ) ecyf t tamAr(pf ) p>(pf ) EpaEl
ecgf k]f ciB(cf ) cibiEt 'mf Emlf viziyaEva
tigf kQmf ~titft{mf 'Znf tabf Epalf
`mf k]f ;r]f Dmf eka]f D 'gf kqf Emlf Enakf KtiEylf
'gf kqf Emlf capmf ;zinfEtElarf 'mf pavayf

am kaN maa NYaal at ht hu ar asar abi maana
pangamaay vandhu ni n paLLi ( k) kat t i R keezhE
sangam i r uppaar pOl vandhu t hal ai ppeydhOm
ki ngi Ni vaay( ch) cheydha t haamar ai ( p) poo( p) pOl E
sengaN chi Ru( ch) chi Ri dhE emmEl vi zhi yaavO
t hi ngaLum aadhi t ht hanum ezhundhaaR pOl
am kaN i r andum kondu engaL mEl nOkkudhi yEl
engaL mEl saabam i zhi ndhEl Or empaavaai

I n t he pr evious ver se, Andal having spoken of t he denial of self pr ide and
owner ship, r einst at es in t his pasur am wit h clar it y t hat t he ent ir e ensemble of
Gopis ar e subser vient s t o Kannan alone and none else.
am kaN maa NYaalat ht hu ar asar abimaana pangamaay vandhu nin paLLi(k)
kat t iR keezhE sangam ir uppaar pOl vandhu t halaippeydhOm I n t his vast
univer se, a f ew pict ur esque r ealms wer e capt ur ed by men t hinking high of
t hemselves t o be t he par amount s on land. I n t he cour se of t ime, having lost all
t heir possessions, t hey soon par t ed wit h t heir pr ide and lust r e. The once kings
who, came wit h a f eeling of soham now came t o you in a st at e of solit ude and
wit h ut t er humilit y and subser viency r ef lect ing t he f eeling of daasoham. They
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at t ained a mat ur e st at e of mind by which t hey r ef used t o accept t he r oyal
t hr one if best owed again. They came and f ound t heir f inal place of r ef uge
beneat h your r eclining couch of Adishesha. We, similar ly, af t er having
unshackled all our f acult ies f r om t heir wor ldly leanings, have assembled her e
at t he f oot of your r eclining couch t o sur r ender t hem unt o your ser vice and t o
be in your ser vit ude. The nobles sur r ender ed unt o you af t er having f ound no
ot her means. We on t he ot her hand have sur r ender ed unt o your lot us f eet
af t er having been dr owned in t he f lood of your inher ent auspicious at t r ibut es,
similar t o Lakshmana, who set out t o t he f or est accompanying Sr i Rama, having
been over whelmed by his divine auspicious at t r ibut es.
To t his Kannan asks, Alr ight now, what do you seek of me?
kingiNi vaay(ch) cheydha t haamar ai(p) poo(p) pOlE sengaN chiRu(ch) chiRidhE
emmEl vizhiyaavO You should gr ace us wit h your divine glances. Your eyes
r esemble a lot us bud now. Dur ing t he sunr ise, t he lot us buds bloom slowly.
I nit ially, it would bloom a lit t le and would r esemble a pear l. I n a similar way,
you should open your eyes slowly. Only t hen would we be able t o exper ience t he
vision of your exquisit e beaut y. Your lot us like eyes would blossom once t hey
see t he t or ment s t hat we ar e going t hr ough. I t would def init ely bloom seeing
t he ensemble of devot ees wait ing. The f ields of cr op t hat has seen enough
dr aught , at a t ime need t o be ir r igat ed in measur ed quant it ies only, t aking
measur es t o see t hat t hey ar e not f looded. Similar ly, t o us who have br oken
down complet ely having been bit t en by t he pangs of your separ at ion, your
mer cif ul glances f illed wit h t he wat er s of your gr ace need t o be allowed in
slowly. You should see us f ir st when you wake up. That would delight us j ust as
how it would delight t he cr ops t hat have been shower ed wit h munif icent r ain
af t er a r ough dr aught .
t hingaLum aadhit ht hanum ezhundhaaR pOl am kaN ir andum kondu engaL mEl
nOkkudhiyEl One of your eyes is like t he blazing Sun, t hat does not allow t he
vicious and t he vile t o near you, and would t ur n t hem down t o ashes. The ot her
eye is like t he cool moon, shower ing it s cool glances of mer cy and br inging
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delight int o ever yones hear t s. Pr ay see us wit h bot h t hese eyes of your s.
engaL mEl saabam izhindhu Your glances of gr ace on us, who have been cr aving
f or it , would r educe t he t or ment s on account of having been bit t en by t he
pangs of your separ at ion. J ust t he mer e glances of t he accomplished, who own
t he power s of mant r asiddhi is said t o be suf f icient t o f r ee one f r om t he
ef f ect of poison. Similar ly, we pr ay unt o you, t o cast your glances on us and t o
f r ee us f r om t he iniquit ous inf luences t hat impede us f r om at t aining t he bliss
of beat it ude. You should f r ee us of our t or ment s and should br ing delight t o us
similar t o Nr usimhan, who, wit h one eye, shower ed r age and f ur y on
Hir anyakashipu while wit h t he ot her shower ed munif icent and compassionat e
anugr ahams on Pr ahlada. Though a lion always bat t les t he elephant , it st ill
f eeds it s calf wit h ut most af f ect ion. Similar should be your anugr ahams
t owar ds us. A disciple due t o t he benevolence of his pr ecept or shower ed on
him r ealises t hat t he body is essent ially dif f er ent and dist inct f r om t he soul
and pr ays unt o t he lot us f eet of t he Lor d t o gr ant him t he et er nal bliss of
beat it ude.

Aar aat t hi bef or e Neer aat t am
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PASURAM 23
mari mAl MAzwf cilf m[f [i(kf ) kidnf T ubgf Kmf
cI riy cigfkmf `biv< bf B(tf ) tI vizitf T
Evri myirf epagfk 'pf paDmf Eprfnf T utbi
YMri nimirfnf T Mzgf ki(pf ) p<bpf pdf D(pf )
EpatRma EpaEl nI p>Avpf p> v]f ]a u[f
Ekayilf ni[f B ;gf gE[ Epanf tRqi(kf ) Ekapf p< Ady
cI riy cigfkac[tf T ;Rnf T yamf vnf t
kariymf ~rayf nf T `REqElarf 'mf pavayf

maar i mal ai muzhai nchi l manni ( k) ki dandhu uRangum
seer i ya si ngam aRi vuRRu( t h) t hee vi zhi t ht hu
vEr i mayi r ponga eppaadum pEr ndhu udhaRi
moor i ni mi r ndhu muzhangi ( p) puRappat t u( p)
pOdharumaa pOl E nee poovai ppoo vaNNaa un
kOyi l ni nRu i Nj ~ anE pOndhar uLi ( k) kOppudai ya
seer i ya si ngaasanat ht hu i r undhu yaam vandha
kaar i yam aar aayndhu aruLEl Or empaavaai

I n t his ver se, Andal seeks t o celebr at e and enj oy, t he exquisit e beaut y of
Kannans r eclining post ur e, t he beaut y of His waking up, t he beaut y of His
st r ide and t he beaut y of seeing Him seat ed maj est ically. I n t he Ramayana,
Tar a and Mandodar i wer e blessed wit h t he vision of t he st anding bear ing of
Sr i Rama. Valmiki showed t he beaut y of Sr i Ramas r eclining post ur e at
Dar bhashayanam. Sit a enj oyed t he r eclining post ur e of Rama at Chit akoot am
so int ensely t hat she even f ailed t o not ice Kakasur a having wounded her . The
her mit s and r ecluses of t he f or est enj oyed t he semblance of Sr i Rama being
seat ed maj est ically.
Her e t he Gopis st and aspir ing t o enj oy and imbibe t he beaut y of Kannan in it s
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ent ir et y. The Azhwar s t ook gr eat delight in enj oying t he beaut y of Kannan
sleeping as a baby in His cr adle, t he beaut y of Kannan waking up and t he beaut y
of Kannan t r ying t o st and holding on t o t he cr adle. They also celebr at ed and
ext olled t he r eclining, st anding and sit t ing post ur es of t he Lor d at var ious
divya kshet r ams.
Dur ing t he cer emonial pr ocessions of t he Lor d of Thir uvar angam, one get s t o
see his valor ous gait on t op of a hor se, His bewit ching and maj est ic mar ch on
an elephant , His f ur t ive and f uming st r ide on t op of a t iger and His r egal
semblance on t op of a lion, t hat is enough t o send shiver s down anybodys
hear t s. The Gopis say t hat similar t o t his, t hey have enj oyed t he beaut y of
Kannans sleep and His waking up. They r equest Him t o pr esent Himself on t he
t hr one in t he gr and hall. Only t hen would it be possible f or t hem t o enj oy and
celebr at e t he beaut y of His st r ide, t he beaut y of His divine f or m f r om all
sides and t he beaut y of His sit t ing post ur e. Kannan immediat ely usher s Himself
int o t he gr and hall.
That was a f east f or t he eye. Andal gives a panor amic descr ipt ion of t his
wonder f ul vision. She says, A lion r esides in t he dept hs of his mount ain cave
amidst t he pour ing shower s. I t r ouses it self and t hinks of moving out of t he
cave. I t sends out a f r ight ening r oar st r et ching it s legs and body. I t war ms up
it s body shaking it s mane and st anding high it sees it s sur r oundings complet ely.
I t maj est ically paces ahead and places it self head high on t op of a shor t clif f .
Kannan st r ides maj est ically, similar t o such a lor d of t he j ungle. He is indeed
t he cub of Yashoda. The Azhwar s have var iedly celebr at ed Kannan as a lion in
many of t heir sayings like , ,
.
Kannan empat hises wit h t he Gopis who had come walking in t he dar k of t he
r ising Sun under a shower ing mist , waki ng up t he damsels of Ayar pAdi, t he
guar ds on dut y at t he palace and his par ent s. He r equest s t hem t o ask of t heir
needs and assur es t hat he shall abide by t o best ow it on t hem.
The Gopis say, Oh Lor d, you ar e dar k hued wit h t he colour of t he kaayam
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f lower (poovaippoo vaNNaa).
Un kOyil ninRu iNj ~anE pOndhar uLi(k) kOppudaiya seer iya singaasanat ht hu
ir undhu yaam vandha kaar iyam aar aayndhu ar uL You have awakened f r om your
slumber . Pr ay seat your self on t he t hr one in t he gr and hall. We shall t ell you all
about us. The t hr one shall t hen make sur e t hat we ar e conf er r ed. The
st at ement at t he seashor e I shall gr ant r ef uge t o one and all and t he
st at ement on t he char iot I f sur r ender ed t o me alone, t hen I shall
emancipat e one f r om all his t or ment s ar e def init ely t r ue. But we cannot
believe your wor ds when you ar e st ill on your couch. Pr ay t ake t he t hr one, f or
t hen your wor ds will become t r ust wor t hy and decr ee.
Kannan t hen ador ned t he t hr one in a maj est ic gait . Having sat iat ed t hemselves
wit h t he beaut y of Kannans st r ide and His maj est ic seat ing st ance, t he Gopis
began t o ext ol Him wit h t heir songs like gar lands. Kannan t hen r equest ed t hem
t o expr ess t heir desir es. The Gopis t hen r equest ed, Oh Lor d, we need your
munif icent benedict ions. I t is possible f or one t o win over anyt hing wit h t he
Lor ds benedict ions on his side. Asking f or anyt hing else would only best ow
moment ar y af f luence.
The hidden pur por t is t hat a j eevan should always pr ay only f or t he Lor ds
benedict ions wit hout any self mot ives. I f done so, t he Lor d comes out of his
cave at Ahobilam and best ows upon t he soul t he f r uit s of all his desir es.
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PASURAM 24
`[f B ;vf v< lkmf `qnftayf `F Epabf bi
ec[f bgfK(tf ) et[f ;lgf Ak ecbf bayf tiblf Epabf bi
epa[f b(cf ) ckdmf uAttf tayf p<kzf Epabf bi
k[f B K]ilf ~evbinf tayf kzlf Epabf bi
K[f B KAdyayf 'Dtftayf K]mf Epabf bi
ev[f B pAk ekDkf Kmf ni[f Akyilf Evlf Epabf bi
'[f eb[f Bmf u[f EcvkEm "tf ti(pf ) pAb ekaqf va[f
;[f B yamf vnf Etamf ;rgf EkElarf 'mf pavayf

anRu i vvul agam aLandhaay adi pORRi
senRangu( t h) t hen i l angai seRRaay t hi Ral pORRi
ponRa( ch) chakat am udhai t ht haay pugazh pORRi
kanRu kuNi l aaveRi ndhaay kazhal pORRi
kunRu kudai yaay edut ht haay guNam pORRi
venRu pagai kedukkum ni n kai yi l vEl pORRi
enRenRum un sEvagamE Et ht hi ( p) paRai koLvaan
i nRu yaam vandhOm i r angEl Or empaavaai

Heeding t o t he ent r eat ies of t he Gopis, Kannan came and seat ed Himself on
t he t hr one. Capt ivat ed by t he beaut y of His st r ide and t he beaut y of His
sit t ing st ance, t he Gopis f or got t he r eason f or t heir visit and sung Him a song
of pallandu.
anRu iv ulagam aLandhaay adi pORRi You incar nat ed as Vamana and lat er t ook
t he gigant ic f or m of Tr ivikr ama, measur ing all t he celest ial wor lds and
sanct if ying t hem all wit h t he sacr ed wat er s f r om your lot us f eet and
consecr at ed t hem wit h t he shadow of your lot us f eet . Wit h t he second
measur e you placed your f oot on t he cr owns of one and all wit hout any bias
r elieving t hem of f t heir sins. You t hus upheld your inher ent vir t ue of
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souSeelyam, by associat ing your self equally well, wit h t he high as well as t he
low ones. Having made t he Lor d t ake st eps wit h such gr eat a t hir uvadi, t he
Gopis deemed t his t o be a t r ansgr ession and sought f or giveness f r om t he Lor d
and sung him a song of pallandu. The Gopis said wit h delight , Oh Lor d! You had
once walked int o t he sacr if icial ar ena displaying t he beaut y of your pace and
had r eclaimed t he wor lds f r om Bali in t he name of gener ous of f er ings. Today,
by best owing on us t he vision of t he same exquisit e gait , you have r eclaimed us
all, who had wit her ed in your separ at ion. That day, I ndr a got back his lost
kingdom f r om you. The subj ect s won t he associat ion of your lot us f eet on t heir
heads. But t oday, we have won you!
senRangu(t h) t hen ilangai seRRaai t hiRal pORRi Per iyazhwar sung t he glor ies
of t he Lor d in his pallandu as (un sevadi sevvi
t hir ukaappu). Similar ly Andal sung a mangalashasanam t o t he Lor d t o pr event
His lot us f eet f r om being t aint ed by t he devour ing looks of humans. Sr i Rama
was ext olled by His f at her . He sung him a song of pr aise wishing Him
over whelming success against t he evil. Similar ly, Andal sings a song of pr aise in
f avour of t he valour of Sr i Rama, who f ought t r iumphant ly wit h t he evil
demons in Lanka.
senRu Signif ies t he moving of t he ar my of Sr i Rama on t he br idge t hat was
built by t hem acr oss t he ocean. The ver y sight of it would nullif y all our sins.
Her e Andal ext ols not only t he hands t hat have ador ned t he bow, but also t he
lot us f eet . To keep Kannan away f r om t hinking t hat t hey have st ar t ed t o pr aise
Rama and not Him, she sings ponRa(ch) chakat am udhait ht haay pugazh pORRi
The car t guised Shakat asur a, r eceived a ghast ly kick, and was best owed wit h
t he same f at e as t hat of Mar icha. Oh Kannan, t he measur ing of t he wor lds and
t he winning over of Lanka, wer e all accomplished af t er r eaching manhood. But
you vanquished t he evil Shakat asur a, even as a t oddler . Wit hout even t he
suppor t f r om your mot her , you playf ully kicked him and saw his end. Long live,
such glor y and such gr eat ness.
kunRu kudaiyaay edut ht haay guNam pORRi One demon came in t he guise of a
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calf and t r ied t o kill Kr ishna. Anot her one t r ied t o hit him har d in t he guise of
a f r uit called vilaampazam. Having known t his, you t hr ew t he calf int o t he air
and killed t he evil Kapit ht hasur an as well. What a wonder ! J ust as how a t hor n
is pr icked out by anot her , you sent one asur a int o a whir l and smashed t he
ot her . Glor y t o your br ave and st r ong shoulder s t hat have accomplished such a
f eat , says Andal.
kunRu kudaiyaay edut ht haay guNam pORRi For seven days in a r ow, you held
alof t t he might y Govar dhana on your lit t le f inger and pr ot ect ed t he ent ir e
populace of Aayar pAdi along wit h t heir cat t le f r om t he onslaught s of t he
incessant r ains. You f ed t he cat t le and t he f olks wit h f odder and f ood. Having
seen st acks of gr ass, you impar t ed t he nect ar t o t he f olks of Aayar pAdi and
made t heir hunger disappear . You t hus subdued t he pr ide of I ndr a, who had
inf lict ed such t or ment s on your devot ees. Your glor ies ar e immeasur able and
beyond r each of mer e wor ds. Andal t hus ext ols t he inf init e auspicious
at t r ibut es of t he Lor d wit h special ment ion of his compassion and mer cy.
venRu pagai kedukkum nin kaiyil vEl pORRi Kannan ador ns t he spear in His
hand, in or der t o pr ot ect t he cat t le and t he cowher ds f r om any impediment s,
when t hey set out t o gr aze t heir cat t le in t he f or est . Also, t he discus in His
hand has many shar p spikes similar t o His spear . Sr i Rama was a r oyal pr ince
and so ador ned t he bow in His hands. Since Kannan is koor vEl kodundhozhilan
nandhagOpan kumar an, He ador ned t he spear per haps. Andal t hus sang in
pr aise of t he spear and t he discus t hat is Sudar shana Azhwar .
enRenRum un sEvagamE Et ht hi(p) paRai koLvaan Having paint ed t he pict ur e of
all your advent ur ous accomplishment s on t he canvas of our hear t s, we have
come her e singing pr aises and have assembled her e t oday t o r elish and
celebr at e your glor ies. We pr ay you t o best ow your compassion and t o shower
your benevolence on us.
The pur por t her e is t hat t he Lor d unf ailingly pr ot ect s t hose who seek r ef uge
at His f eet . I t may also be t aken as songs of glor ies in f avour of t he
pr ecept or s. Pr ecept or s like Bhagavad Ramanuj a, t r avelled f ar and wide,
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impar t ing spir it ual and esot er ical knowledge t o deser ving disciples, dispelling
t he iniquit ous at t r ibut es in t hem like pr ide and self ishness t hat wer e as vicious
as t he r uler of Lanka and t her eby showed t hem all, t he pat h t o deliver ance.
Andal sings t he glor ies of t he lot us f eet of such an Achar ya. This pasur am is
t he singing of glor ies of an Achar ya, who light s t he lamp of knowledge in us and
dispels t he dar kness of nescience, t her eby giving us supr eme bliss.

Neer aat t am


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PASURAM 25
oRtf ti mk[ayf (pf ) pibnfT Orf ;rvilf
oRtf ti mk[ayf oqitf T vqr(tf )
trikf kila[f ~ki(tf ) ta[f tIgf K niA[nf t
kRtf At(pf ) piAzpf pitfT(kf ) kwf c[f vyibf bilf
enRpf ep[f [ ni[f b enDmaEl., u[f A[
`Rtf titf T vnfEtamf pAb tRtiyakilf
tiRtf tkf k eclf vMmf EcvkMmf yamf paF
vRtf tMmf tIrf nfT mkizfnf EtElarf 'mf pavayf

or ut ht hi maganaay( p) pi Randhu Or i r avi l
or ut ht hi maganaay oLi t ht hu vaLar a( t h)
t har i kki l aan aagi ( t h) t haan t heengu ni nai ndha
kar ut ht hai ( p) pi zhai ppi t ht hu( k) kanchan vayi t r i l
ner uppenna ni nRa nedumaal E!, unnai
ar ut ht hi t ht hu vandhOm paRai t har udhi yaagi l
t hi r ut ht hakka sel vamum sEvagamum yaam paadi
var ut ht hamum t heer ndhu magi zhndhEl Or empaavaai

or ut ht hi maganaay(p) piRandhu Or ir avil or ut ht hi maganaay oLit ht hu vaLar a-
Kannan was bor n as t he son of Devaki, but was br ought up as t he son of
Yashoda wit hout t he knowledge of t he wor ld. Wit hout making a specif ic
r ef er ence, Andal uses t he wor d or ut ht hi, t o r ef er collect ively t o bot h, t he
mot her who gave bir t h t o Kr ishna and t he mot her who br ought Him up. Her
devot ion was so over whelming t hat she does not r ef er t o Kannans name f or t he
f ear of Kamsa and his evil int ent ions. She addr esses Him as Madhusudana, t he
son of Devaki. He is ext olled by t he Vedas t hemselves as t he one who killed
t he wicked Madhu and r est or ed t he imper ial Vedas back t o t heir pr ist ine glor y.
He enshr ines Himself in all sent ient and nonsent ient as t he indweller and t he
inner cont r oller . The sacr if icial oblat ions of Dashar at ha bor e f r uit and a noble
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son was bor n t o Him and Kausalya and also t hr ee ot her sons t o his ot her t wo
wives making it f our in all. Kannan on t he ot her hand was bor n as t he only son
t o t he f our some DevakiVasudeva and NandagopaYashoda. Devaki asked f or a
boon t o st ay away f r om her son f or f ear of Kamsa. Though Kr ishna was bor n
wit h a divine and most beaut if ul f or m wit h f our hands ador ning t he conch,
discus and wit h a bej ewelled at t ir e, t he couple could not t ake delight in such a
wonder f ul vision long enough due t o t he f ear of Kamsa. Kannan t her ef or e
best owed t he bliss of seeing His incar nat ion t o DevakiVasudeva and t he bliss
of seeing His playf ul ant ics t o YashodaNandagopa who, f ed Him af f ect ionat ely
wit h milk, r ocked His cr adle and cuddled Him wit h love.
piRandhu Out of compassion, He t ook t o Himself , all t he gr ief f r om us who
ar e dest ined t o f ace t he samasar ic gale. He st ayed in t he womb of Devaki f or
t welve mont hs inst ead of t en.
Or ir avil On a chosen night , t hat was dest ined lat er t o be called as
Sr ij ayant hi, f or it was t he day chosen by t he Lor d t o incar nat e. I f he wer e t o
be bor n dur ing t he day, t hen it would not have been possible f or br inging t he
f emale child t o Mat hur a in exchange f or Kannan t o Gokula.
oLit ht hu vaLar a He was br ought up wit hout t he vile glances of t he evil Kamsa
f r om f alling on Him.
Oh Kannan! Who is now sit t ing maj est ically in t he gr and hall, pr ay f ulf il our
wishes and pr ot ect us.
t har ikkilaan aagi(t h) t haan t heengu ninaindha kar ut ht hai(p) pizhaippit ht hu(k)
kanchan vayit r il ner uppenna ninRa nedumaalE! Kamsan made up his mind t o set
out and kill t he eight h child of Devaki af t er being t old by a voice f r om t he
heaven t hat t he eight h child of Devaki would slay him. He st ar t ed killing all t he
babies in t he land, who wer e bor n on t he day Kannan was bor n. The elder s lived
a lif e of f ear , always t hinking of t he possible danger s t o Kannan f r om Kamsa.
Kamsa sent t he likes of Put ana, Shakat asur a and ot her s t o kill Kannan. Kr ishna
however killed t hem all even when he was j ust a baby. Kamsa was st r uck wit h
t er r or and f ear , as he knew t hat as t he boy gr ew older , he would one day come
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and slay him t oo. Kannan br ought f ear in Kamsa similar t o t he way he had
br ought in t he minds of t he dweller s of Gokula. Upon His bir t h, He br ought a
gr eat deal of peace t o Devaki and blessed her womb similar t o a f low of pur e
cool wat er . He blessed Yashodas womb similar t o a f low of nect ar and milk. At
t he same t ime, He kindled f ir e in Kamsas st omach, punishing him f or all his
t r ansgr essions.
Andal and her maids addr ess Kannan as t he divine one who would dispel all
vicious inf luences and best ow allr ound goodness on t hem. Kannan t hen
addr essed t hem asking of t heir want s and t he r eason f or t heir nombu
obser vances. The Gopis r eplied t hat t hey have come seeking Him alone. Kannan
again asks t hem of t heir aspir at ions and t o t he obj ect of t heir desir e. The
Gopis r eply unnai ar ut ht hit ht hu vandhOm paRai t har udhiyaagil Our aim is t o
at t ain you alone. That is t he r eason f or our nombu r it ual. To at t ain you as our
goal wit h you as our means is our desir e.
t hir ut ht hakka selvamum sEvagamum yaam paadi The r eason f or us having
chosen t o at t ain You is because you have been t he obj ect of at t ainment of Sr i,
your divine consor t . The devas and t he asur as chur ned t he ocean in sear ch of
nect ar . I t was t hen t hat Thir umagal emer ged ver ily as t he nect ar f r om t he
ocean. She chose you over ever yone else and t ook Her lot us t hr one in t he
cosmos of your hear t . I t was t hen t hat you became t he Lor d of Sr i. Pr ay you
t ake us int o your f old t oday and become t he Lor d of Gopis and t he beloved of
Gopis.
var ut ht hamum t heer ndhu magizhndhu We pr ay you, who is t he obj ect of
adulat ion and desir e of Sr i, t o end all our t or ment s due t o separ at ion f r om you
and t o best ow us wit h t he bliss of at t aining your divine communion.
The Lor d inf lict s punishment on t hose who commit t r ansgr essions t owar ds Him
or t owar ds His devot ees. He at t he same t ime best ows t he nect ar like bliss on
t hose who seek His lot us f eet as t heir r ef uge.
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PASURAM 26
maEl. m]iv]f]a. marfkzi nI raDva[f
EmAlyarf ecyfv[kqf Ev]f Dv[ Ekdf FEylf
waltf At 'lflamf nDgfk Mrlfv[
palf `[f [ v]f ]tf T u[f pawf c c[f [iyEm
Epalf v[ cgf kgfkqf Epayf (pf ) paDAdy[Ev
cal(pf ) epRmf pAbEy plf la]f D ;Acpf paEr
Ekal viqkf Ek ekaFEy vita[Em
~li[f ;Alyayf `REqElarf 'mf pavayf

maal E! maNi vaNNaa! maar gazhi neer aaduvaan
mEl ai yaar seyvanagaL vEnduvana kEt t i yEl
NYaal at ht hai el l aam nadunga mur al vana
paal anna vaNNat ht hu un paancha sanni yamE
pOl vana sankangaL pOy( p) paadudai yanavE
saal a( p) per um paRai yE pal l aandu i sai ppaar E
kOl a vi LakkE kodi yE vi dhaanamE
aal i n i l ai yaay ar uLEl Or empaavaai

I n t his ver se, Andal and her maids seek f r om Kannan all t he pr er equisit e
mat er ials f or t heir nombu r it ual t hat was being obser ved on t he banks of t he
r iver Yamuna. Having obt ained Kannan, t heir only wish was t o have a blissf ul
t ime wit h Him. They decided t hen t o cont inue wit h t he nombu and pr ayed f or
t he mat er ials f r om Kannan.
To spend t he t ime delight f ully wit h Kannan, a ser ene place of solit ude is of
much need. On t he pr et ext of per f or ming t he nombu r it ual, t hey planned t o
t ake Him t o t he out skir t s of t he cit y t o t he banks of t he r iver Yamuna, which
is a place of solit ude and ser enit y. The nombu r it ual helped t hem t o behold t he
visage of Kannan in f r ont of t heir dwellings. I t helped t hem t o r ecit e t he
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inf init e names of Kannan wit h devot ion and also enabled t he elder s t o accept
t he Gopis mingling so f r eely wit h Kannan.
The Gopis say, Oh Maale! Who pr eser ves limit less af f ect ion f or t hose who
seek Him. Oh Manivanna! Whose divine f or m is of a dar k bluish hue. Sr i, who
was bor n in a beaut if ul lot us st ood capt ivat ed by your char m and t ook Her
t hr one in t he cosmos of your hear t . Similar t o t he pr eser ving of t he pr ecious
st one in t he t r esses of ones at t ir e, you have so humble a nat ur e t hat enables
ot her s t o r ule you over so easily.
Kannan t hen r equest s t hem t o speak out t heir want s. The Gopis r eply
maar gazhi neer aaduvaan I t is consider ed f or t unat e t o t ake a holy dip in t he
sacr ed r iver s dur ing t he mont hs of t hula and maasi. Similar ly, in t he mont h of
mar gazhi, it is pr escr ibed t o bat he ver y ear ly in t he mor ning and t o obser ve
t his nombu r it ual.
Kannan t hen quest ions t hem about t he aut hor it y of t his pr act ice, as He was
unawar e of it . The Gopis r eply mElaiyaar seyvanagaL We ar e only f ollowing
t he f oot st eps of our wise ancest or s. Have you f or got t en your st at ement in t he
Bhagavad Geet ha, t hat t he pr act ices f ollowed by post er it y based on t he
f oot st eps of t heir ancest or s is t o be consider ed as aut hor it at ive.
Kannan t hen says vEnduvana kEt t iyEl Fine. Please ask your needs and it shall
be best owed.
NYaalat ht hai ellaam nadunga mur alvana paal anna vaNNat ht hu un paancha
sanniyamE pOlvana sankangaL We need conches similar t o t he milk whit e
conch Panchaj anya t hat you hold in your hand. But we do not need t he conches
whose r esound shiver s t he whole univer se. Especially we do not need t he kind
of conch t hat you made use of on t he bat t lef ield of Kur ukshet r a t hat had sent
shiver s down Dur yodhana and his allies. We only need a conch t hat may be used
t o awaken ever ybody f r om t heir mor ning slumber .
pOy(p) paadudaiyanavE We need per cussion inst r ument s t hat ar e wide and
well sounding. They may be used dur ing pr ocessions.
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pallaandu isaippaar E We need savant s who would sing t he songs of Pallandu.
kOla viLakkE We need auspicious lamps f or ever yone t o car r y along on t he
pat h.
kodiyE vidhaanamE We need t all f lag post s t o let know t hat we ar e obser ving
t he nombu. To keep us away f r om t he shower ing mist we need a pandal t o be
er ect ed. Pr ay gr ant us wit h all t hese r equist es.
Kannan t hen says t hat he does not have all t hese in His possession.
The Gopis r eply aalin ilaiyaay You donned t he guise of a small baby and
swallowed t he ent ir e univer se and r eclined on t he palm leaf . I s t her e anyt hing
t hat you do not possess?
Kannan t hen says Fine. Her e it is. I have given you all. Take it and r et ir e back.
Gopis say ar uL Ret ir ing back? Wher e would we go wit hout you? J ust as how,
a day wit hout t he Sun, a night wit hout t he moon and cat t le wit hout t he ox, do
not have any appeal and do not bear any exquisit eness, similar ly we ar e not hing
wit hout Kannan. We t her ef or e pr ay unt o you t o bless us wit h your benign gr ace
and t o come along wit h us t o t he banks of t he Yamuna f or t he nombu.
The Gopis r einst at e wit h clar it y t hat wit hout His volit ion, not even an at om
would move.

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PASURAM 27
PdaAr evlf Lmf cI rf Ekavinf ta unf t[f A[(pf )
paF(pf ) pAb eka]f D yamf epBmf cmf ma[mf
naD p< kZmf prici[alf n[f bak(cf)
VdkEm Etaqf vAqEy EtaEd ecvipf p>Ev
padkEm '[f bA[y plkl{mf yamf `]iEvamf
~Ad uDpf Epamf `t[f pi[f E[ pabf EcaB
YMd enyf epyf T MzgfAk vzi var(kf )
PF ;Rnf T Kqirf nf EtElarf 'mf pavayf

koodaar ai vel l um seer gOvi ndhaa undhannai ( p)
paadi ( p) paRai kondu yaam peRum sammaanam
naadu pugazhum par i si naal nanRaaga( ch)
choodagamE t hOL vaLai yE t hOdE sevi p poovE
paadagamE enRanai ya pal agal anum yaam aNi vOm
aadai uduppOm adhan pi nnE paaR chORu
mooda ney peydhu muzhangai vazhi vaar a( k)
koodi i r undhu kuLi r ndhEl Or empaavaai

The Gopis had st umbled upon t heir biggest ever accomplishment having
obt ained t he company of t he invaluable supr eme soul, Kannan in solit ude. They
answer t o t he quest ion f r om Kannan as t o t heir needs.
koodaar ai vellum seer gOvindhaa You should shower your af f ect ion on us
similar t o t he way you shower compassion on t he cat t le. We should indeed
dr own in t he ocean of your compassion wit hout r eaching t he shor e. Even in your
pr evious incar nat ions, you have won over all t hose who have been your swor n
enemies, t hose who r an against you wit h t he might of t heir st r engt h or t he
might of t heir penance. You have given your self t o us af t er all t his. Many a
suit or s t r ied in vain t o win t he hand of Sit a by st r inging t he might y
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Shivadhanus. You came as Sr i Rama and st r ung t he bow wit h power , only t o
br eak it and br ing t he heads of t he ot her suit or s down in shame. Oh Kr ishna,
who won t he hand of Sit a dur ing Raamaavat haar am, pr ay shower your
benevolence on us.
The adver sar ies quot e t hat t he wor ld is a delusion. The r ealit y is void alone.
Ther e ar e no celest ial wor lds. Ther e ar e no J eevat hmans. The supr eme exist s
neit her . Ever yt hing per ceivable is only an illusion. You by means of your impar t s
t hr ough t he Bhagavad Git ha, have r ef ut ed all t hese adver sar ies t hor oughly. Oh
Govinda! You have af f ir med wit h clar it y t hat ever yt hing per ceivable is
absolut ely t r ue and r eal. You ar e one who has won over your adver sar ies wit h
ar r ows and weapons. At t he same t ime, wit h your af f ect ion, mer cy, beaut y and
highmindedness you have also won t hose devot ing t hemselves t o your lot us
f eet . We have been obser ving t his nombu r it ual f or t he past t went ysix days.
You ar e our sole obj ect of at t ainment and means of at t ainment . We pr ay t o you
along wit h your consor t Nappinnai t o best ow upon us t he highly acclaimed mer it
t hat bef it s us duly. undhannai(p) paadi(p) paRai kondu yaam peRum sammaanam
naadu pugazhum par isinaal nanRaaga, t hey said.
Kannan t hen asks as t o what mer it s ar e t hey aspir ing f or .
The Gopis r eply, When Sr i Rama was about t o be cr owned, Sit a came down t ill
t he door s and gar landed Him wit h her beaut if ul glances and saw Him t hr ough.
Sr i Rama t hen r emoved His gar land and decor at ed Sit ha wit h it . We seek such
mer it s f r om you Oh Kanna.
choodagamE t hOL vaLaiyE t hOdE sevip poovE paadagamE enRanaiya
palagalanum yaam aNivOm The wonder f ul hands t hat do ser vice t o your lot us
f eet , need t o be bej ewelled wit h bangles t hat ar e enmeshed wit h t he f inest of
all t he nine gems. The hands t hat cuddle you need t o be ador ned wit h t he
f inest of shoulder j ewelr y. You ador n t he makar akundalas (ear r ings) on your
ear . To mat ch t he gr eat ness of t hese, you should best ow a pair of diamond
ear r ings t o t he beaut if ul ear s t hat list en t o your sweet f lut e all t he t ime.
These ear s should be decor at ed wit h f lower s (chevippoovu) as well. You would
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t ouch our f eet dur ing t he obser vance of ammi midiyal dur ing our holy
mat r imony. Such legs need t o be decor at ed wit h t he or nament of j ingles
(paadagam). You should t hus gr ant us wit h all t he j eweller y t hat we seek.
Women decor at e t hemselves wit h j ewels bef or e clot hing t hemselves. For t his
we need f inest and f r agr ant most silk at t ir es wor n by you.
Kannan t hen says But I do not possess so much t o be given t o all of you.
The Gopis say, Pr ay get us our at t ir es f r om t he same place f r om wher e you
gr ant ed Dr aupadi wit h r olls and r olls of at t ir e, when she pleaded unt o you
t aking your holy names like Kr ishna, Govinda.
adhan pinnE paaR chORu mooda ney peydhu muzhangai vazhi vaar a(k) koodi
ir undhu kuLir ndhElOr Unt il we at t ained you, we wer e det er mined not t o t ake
ghee or milk and not t o decor at e our t r esses wit h f r agr ant f lower s. But we
have won you now. Fr om now on, we shall bej ewel our selves, wear gr and silk
at t ir e, get our t r esses decor at ed by you wit h f lower s and we shall r elish t he
sweet ness and delicacy of ksheer aannam (milk r ice) and t ake gr eat delight in
enj oying your unending company wit h us. The milk r ice should look like as if
being t aken out af t er having dipped in a t r ough of ghee. While r elishing it , t he
ghee should dr ip down t he wr ist t ill t he elbow. We should enj oy t he supr eme
bliss wit h you her e, similar t o t hat which is enj oyed by t he nit yas and t he
mukt as in Sr ivaikunt ham wit h you Oh Sr iman Nar ayana.
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PASURAM 28
kbAvkqf pi[f ec[f B ka[mf Ecrf nf T u]f Epamf
`biv< o[f Bmf ;lf lat ~yf (kf ) Kltf T unf t[f A[(pf )
pibvi epBnf tA[(pf ) p<]f ]iymf yamf uAdEyamf
KAb o[f Bmf ;lf lat Ekavinf ta unf t[f E[aD
ubEvlf nmkf K ;gf K ozikf k oziyaT
`biyat piqf AqkEqamf `[f pi[alf unf t[f A[
ciB Eprf `Aztft[Mmf cI bi `RqaEt
;Abva nI tarayf pAbEyElarf 'mf pavayf

kaRavai gaL pi n senRu kaanam sEr ndhu uNbOm
aRi vu onRum i l l aadha aay( k) kul at ht hu undhannai ( p)
pi Ravi peRundhanai ( p) puNNi yam yaam udai yOm
kuRai onRum i l l aadha gOvi ndhaa undhannOdu
uRavEl namakku i ngu ozhi kka ozhi yaadhu
aRi yaadha pi LLai gaLOm anbi naal undhannai
si Ru pEr azhai t ht hanamum seeRi ar uLaadhE
i Rai vaa nee t haar aay paRai yEl Or empaavaai

I n t he f ir st ver se Andal says naar aayaNanE namakkE paRai t har uvaan The
Lor d is one who is t o be at t ained by us. He is also t he means of t his
at t ainment . Andal elabor at es on t his in t his ver se and t he ver se t o f ollow. The
pat h of shar anagat hi has been t old her e on t he pr et ext of nombu obser vance.
Kannan says, I have alr eady accept ed t o give you all t hose t hings t hat you
have asked me f or , st ar t ing f r om choodagamE. But yet , it seems you have
somet hing else t o ask me of . What is it ?
The Gopis r eply, Our ear lier pleads wer e meant f or our own. You also
consent ed t o obser ve t he nombu r it ual wit h us. But now our sole aim is t o
at t ain t he bliss of your divine communion.
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Kannan asks, That f r uit is indeed deliver ance. I n or der t o at t ain t hat , one
should f ollow t he pat hs of eit her bhakt i or shar anagat hi. What pat h have you
chosen? One should per f or m t he sacr if icial oblat ions wit hout f ail, as per ones
st at us and should r ef r ain f r om seeking t he f r uit s of t he act ions t her eof . One
should r ealise t he essent ial nat ur e of t he self and should behold t he supr eme
soul t hat is t he indweller in all sent ient and nonsent ient or der s. Such a
supr eme soul needs t o be incessant ly medit at ed upon and at His lot us f eet
should a soul sur r ender it self . Now, what have you done?
The Gopis r eply, kaRavaigaL pin senRu kaanam sEr ndhu uNbOm The unwise
is of t en compar ed t o a cow. We do not possess a good mind like t hat of a cow.
We only f ollow t he cows and t ake t hem t o t he f or est t o gr aze. We t ake our
f ood t her e and come back wit h t he cat t le in t he evening.
Kannan cont inues, That aside, not being knowledgeable is not a big issue. Have
you at least sought impar t s f r om a noble t eacher ?
The Gopis say, To us, t he cat t le ar e like t he r ever ed pr ecept or s Vasisht a and
Vishwamit r a. We par t ake t he milk t hat is given by t hese cat t le. Wher e else
could we get a mor e r elishing f odder ? Mor eover , we do not live in t he lands
t hat ar e t he habit at of noble souls who would best ow t heir f ellowmen wit h all
good and auspicious t hings. We live in t he dense gr asslands. Mor eover we hail
f r om t he ancest r y of t he nave and t he unint elligent cowher ds.
Kannan says, Set t hat aside. At least you should have gr azed your cat t le in
t he f or est s of my liking like Ahobilam, Naimishar anyam, Badar ikashr amam and
Veekshar anyam in or der t o aspir e f or moksham.
The Gopis say, Oh we wer e not choosy about t he f or est s t hat we t ook our
cat t le t o gr aze. We j ust f ollowed t he cat t le and t he day as it went by.
Kannan comes back, Do you at least have any good mer it s (punyam) on your
side. How will I be able t o give moksham t o you, wit h no good mer it s of any
sor t ?
Gopis come back, We do not know t he pur por t s of t he shast r ams. But we know
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undhannai(p) piRavi peRundhanai(p) puNNiyam yaam udaiyOm We have done
such good deeds t o have made you, t he supr eme Lor d t o t ake bir t h in our
lineage. I s it not our mer it t hat we ar e best owed wit h t he f or t une of being
able t o say t hat Kannan, t he Lor d, belongs t o our Yadavakulam? Though we ar e
not deser ving, yet , you ar e t he unblemished and t he unsullied kuRai onRum
illaadha gOvindhaa. You ar e per f ect and absolut e. What ever be t he want of
t he devot ees, you best ow it on t hem plent if ully. Have you not t aken your bir t h
amongst us t o r elieve us f r om all our t or ment s and t o gr ant us wit h t he wealt h
of emancipat ion?
undhannOdu uRavEl namakku ingu ozhikka ozhiyaadhu The Gopis say, You ar e
our close r elat ive. Our r elat ion may neit her be disowned by you nor may be
r enounced by us. I t is also not plausible f or bot h of us t o r elinquish t his
r elat ion. I n t he mast er ser vient r elat ionship, t he mast er is t he one who
or dains and t he ser vient does it t o t he delight of his mast er . We have many
such bindings bet ween us. Oh Naar anane! I am not t her e wit hout you and you
ar e not t her e wit hout me. This is est ablished beyond doubt .
aRiyaadha piLLaigaLOm anbinaal undhannai siRu pEr azhait ht hanamum seeRi
ar uLaadhE Having f or gone your vir t ue of supr emacy, you have come and t aken
bir t h amidst us in t he lineage of t he Yadavas. You have endear ed your self t o us
unassumingly. Apar t f r om your supr emacy, you ar e t he indweller , t he
suppor t er , t he inner cont r oller , t he obj ect of at t ainment and t he means of
at t ainment . We had addr essed you wit h t he t er m Nar ayana, t hat r ef lect s all
t hese pur por t s complet ely. Have you been made indignant ?
Mor eover your supr emacy is unmat ched and we have been addr essing you
singular ly as Yadava, Kr ishna and ot her s. Has t hat made you indignant ? I f t hat
is so, wit h your abundant mer cy, kindly f or give us f or all t hose t r ansgr essions.
We might have commit t ed many t r ansgr essions out of our unbounded love f or
you. I f ones hands and legs commit mist akes, t hen is it cor r ect f or him t o
punish t hem? I f t he t eet h bit e t he t ongue, t hen do we t ear t he t ongue of f ? I s
it not your r esponsibilit y t o bear wit h all t he t r ansgr essions of your dimwit t ed
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subser vient s? We t her ef or e sur r ender our selves unt o you f or f or giveness.
iRaivaa nee t haar aay paRai Oh Lor d, pr ay best ow on us t he obj ect of our
desir e.
Though we ador e and wor ship t he Lor d wit h ut most devot ion, at t he end of it
we should seek His f or giveness and expr ess our gr at it ude t o Him f or bear ing
wit h all t hose t r ansgr essions t hat we might have commit t ed in t he name of
Bhagavadar adhanam. This is t he hidden pur por t of t his ver se.

Dhivya Dampat his in Mut hangi


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PASURAM 29
cibf bmf ciB kaEl vnf T u[f A[ Ecvitf T u[f
epabf bamAr `FEy Epabf Bmf epaRqf Ekqayf
epbf bmf Emyf tf T u]f }mf Kltftilf pibnf T nI
Kbf Ebvlf 'gf kAq(kf ) ekaqf qamlf EpakaT
;bf Ab(pf ) pAb ekaqf va[f `[f B ka]f Ekavinf ta
'bf AbkfKmf "zf "zf pibvikf Kmf u[f t[f E[aD
ubf EbaEm ~Evamf u[kf Ek namf ~df ecyf Evamf
mbf Ab nmf kamgf kqf mabf EbElarf 'mf pavayf

si RRam si Ru kaal E vandhu unnai sEvi t ht hu un
pot RRaamar ai adi yE pORRum por uL kELaay
peRRam mEyt ht hu uNNum kul at ht hi l pi Randhu nee
kuRREval engaLai ( k) koLLaamal pOgaadhu
i RRai ( p) paRai koLvaan anRu kaaN gOvi ndhaa
eRRai kkum Ezh Ezh pi Ravi kkum un t hannOdu
uRROmE aavOm unakkE naam aat cheyvOm
maRRai nam kaamangaL maaRREl Or empaavaai

I n t his ver se, t he Gopis seek t he supr eme f or t une of being in et er nal ser vice
t o t he Lor d.
siRRam siRu kaalE vandhu unnai sEvit ht hu un poRRaamar ai adiyE pORRum por uL
kELaay Oh Kanna, ear ly in t he mor ning, you would embar k on your j our ney t o
accomplish all t hose deeds in your volit ion. Dur ing t he day, it t hen becomes
impossible t o see you in solit ude. Hence we have come her e t o pr ay at your
lot us f eet dur ing t he ear ly hour s of t he mor ning wit hout heeding t he shower ing
mist . I t is t he t ime when t he sounds due t o t he chur ning of t he cur d by t he
cowher d ladies may be hear d. I t is t he t ime when saint s would wake up
chant ing t he holy name Har i cont inuously. I t is t he t ime when t he t amogunam
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and t he r aj ogunam see t heir lows while t he sat vagunam, r esponsible f or
st imulat ing t he cont emplat ion of t he Lor d, st ands head high. This is t he most
appr opr iat e t ime t o ser ve you and wor ship you wit h devot ion. Thus we have
come f or t he same. Devot ees, singing and dancing have been t hr onging your
door st eps. You should have in f act come t o meet us out of your own accor d,
j ust as how you went t o Guha, t he gr eat sages of Dandakar anya, Shabar i and
Sugr eeva. But we have come t o you out of our own year ning. I t is nat ur al f or
t he f emale genr e t o have a liking f or gold and f lower s. Your divine f eet ar e like
t he f inest gold t hat is of t he pur est f or m, br ight est in hue and super lat ive in
qualit y. They ar e like t he f lower s t hat ar e most delicat e, f r agr ant and
beaut if ul. We have ext olled such gr eat f eet wit h as anRu ulagam aLandhaay adi
pORRi chakat am udhait ht haay pugazh pORRi. We do so now also. When Kannan
was not paying t oo much at t ent ion t o t heir wor ds and was engr ossed in
obser ving who all had come and was obser ving t he expr essions on each one of
t heir f aces, Andal says, por uL kELaay We have come seeking an obj ect of
desir e. Pr ay lend your ear s and list en t o t he same.
peRRam mEyt ht hu uNNum kulat ht hil piRandhu nee kuRREval engaLai(k)
koLLaamal pOgaadhu We seek t o be in your ser vit ude f or t he r est of our
t ime. So f ar , we have been r unning t hr ough t he cycle of t r ansmigr at ion. We
seek an end t o t his and wish t o be in your et er nal ser vit ude. This f or t une shall
def init ely be our s. Oh Lor d! How wer e you bef or e and how ar e you now? You
ar e t he Lor d of Vaikunt ham and t he Lor d of ubhayavibhut i. You ar e t he consor t
of Sr i, t he goddess of all wealt h. You ar e inher ent ly vir t uous wit h inf init e
auspicious at t r ibut es t hat ar e t he obj ect of pr aise of ever yone. Your essent ial
nat ur e is of inf init e bliss. You ar e t he super lat ive of all or der s. But you have
chosen t o incar nat e in as low a lineage as t hat of our s, t he cowher ds. Our
lineage is a poor one wher e t he cowher ds gr aze t he cat t le all day long only t o
win a f ew measur es of gr ain. Why have you incar nat ed in such a lineage? Only
t o uplif t and enlight en t he impover ished ones like us. We do not eat our daily
br ead unt il t he cat t le ar e sat iat ed. We unf ailingly pr ot ect ever yt hing t hat we
ar e supposed t o. You ar e also t her ef or e obligat ed t o pr ot ect us, who consider
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you t o be t he f ood we par t ake, t he wat er we imbibe and t he (vet r ilai) beet le
leaves t hat we chew. Pr ay we t her ef or e unt o you t o best ow on us t he wealt h of
your unst int ed ser vice.
Kannan t hen says, You alr eady asked me f or saala per umpar aiyE, t he
per cussion inst r ument wit h a well r ever ber at ing sound. Her e it is, t ake it all. I
have one per per son.
iRRai(p) paRai koLvaan anRu kaaN gOvindhaa Kannan, when we said paRai, did
we mean t his inst r ument ? No. Never . Please t ake a look at our f aces. You seem
t o be t oo naive.
eRRaikkum Ezh Ezh piRavikkum un t hannOdu uRROmE aavOm unakkE naam
aat cheyvOm Not only in t his bir t h, but even if we wer e t o t ake many mor e
bir t hs, t hen in all t hose bir t hs we would wish t o be in your ser vice alone. I f you
bless us wit h t he bliss of beat it ude, t hen we would be in your et er nal ser vice
at your supr eme abode of Sr ivaikunt ham. The Vedas pr oclaim t hat a liber at ed
soul can at t ir e it self wit h many shar ir ams. Even if we happened t o do so, t hen
in ever y one of t hose bodies we would cont inue t o ser ve you alone and none
else.
Kannan says, I n t hat case ar e you not int er est ed in any ot her mat er ial
pleasur es?
mat r ai nam kaamangaL maat r u Pr ay bless us t o have no ot her desir e ot her
t han you.
Andal, in t his pasur am is elucidat ing t hat , having sur r ender ed unt o t he Lor d,
t he soul should only ask f or t he f r uit of per f or ming unst int ed ser vice t o t he
Lor d always, similar t o Lakshmana. This is t he hidden pur por t of t his pasur am.
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PASURAM 30
vgf k(kf ) kdlf kAdnf t matvA[ EkcvA[
tigf kqf tiRMktf T Ecyf ;Azyarf ec[f B ;Abwf ci
`gf k(pf ) pAb eka]f d ~bf Ab `]i p< TAv(pf )
Apgf kml(tf ) t]f etriylf pdfdrf pira[f EkaAt-
-eca[f [ cgf k(tf ) tmizf maAl Mpf pTmf tpf paEm
;gf K ;pf priCArpf parf :rir]f D malf vAr Etaqf
ecgf k]f tiRMktf T(cf ) eclf v(tf) tiRmalalf
'gf Kmf tiRvRqf epbfB ;[f p< Bvrf 'mfpavayf

vanga( k) kadal kadai ndha maadhavanai kEsavanai
t hi ngaL t hi rumugat ht hu sEy i zhai yaar senRu i Rai nchi
anga( p) paRai konda aaRRai aNi pudhuvai ( p)
pai nkamal a( t h) t haN t her i yal bat t ar pi r aan kOdhai -
-sonna sanga( t h) t hami zh maal ai muppadhum t happaamE
i ngu i ppar i sur ai ppaar eer i r andu maal var ai t hOL
sengaN t hi rumugat ht hu( ch) chel va( t h) t hi r umaal aal
engum t hi r uvar uL peRRu i nbuRuvar empaavaai .

This pasur am signif ies t hat t hose who lear n and r ecit e Thir uppavai will be t he
r ecipient s of t he choicest benedict ions of t he Lor d and His consor t . They
would at t ain t he f r uit s of all t heir desir es similar t o Andal and t he Gopis.
The Ramayanam says t hat bot h Sr i Rama and Sit a spent delight f ul days in t he
f or est s of Panchavat i. Lakshmana, who was in t heir ser vit ude, was also in a
st at e of gr eat bliss. Andal concludes Her Thir uppavai, saying t hat , by means of
being in Kannans ser vit ude, we t oo would at t ain a similar st at e of delight .
vanga(k) kadal kadaindha maadhavanai kEsavanai t hingaL t hir umugat ht hu sEy
izhaiyaar senRu iRainchi Kannan, who was so f ar ext olled by Andal, is now
addr essed as Keshavan by Her . Keshavan is t he f at her t o Br ahma, Rudr a and
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ot her celest ials. Andal eulogised Kannan, who is t he supr eme soul and t he Lor d
of all celest ials. Kannan was t he most beaut if ul f r om head t o t oe. As t he
Azhwar s say, rf People looking at his
lot us f eet would st ay capt ivat ed seeing His lot us f eet f or ever . Andal
addr esses Kannan as Keshavan, having been capt ivat ed by t he beaut y of His
t r esses. Keshavan denot es one who has beaut if ul hair . The f emale genr e has a
liking f or beaut if ul f lowing hair and wellpolished nails. Andal enj oys t he
f lowing t r esses dur ing t he act of chur ning. Madhava is t he Lor d of Lakshmi.
How did He beget Lakshmi? I t was dur ing t he chur ning of t he gr eat ocean. The
milky ocean has many boat s in it . Why? I t is t o f er r y us f r om t he ocean of
samsar a t o t he banks of Sr ivaikunt ham. The Lor d is Himself a f er r yboat . He is
t he f er r yboat f or t hose who sur r ender at His f eet . He t akes t hem f r om t he
ocean of sin t o t he bliss of beat it ude. Dur ing t he chur ning of t he ocean, t he
Lor d as a t or t oise (Kur ma) bor e t he might y mount ain Mandar a st eadily on His
back. He held on t o t he t ail of Vasuki and made t he chur ning possible. The
poison t hat ar ose f r om t his chur ning was r eceived by Shiva. The hor se, t he
elephant and t he nect ar wer e r eceived by I ndr a. Sr i Mahalakshmi was r eceived
by Par aman. Because of t his, He came t o be known as Madhava, t he consor t of
Lakshmi. Shiva t ook t he poison, celest ials t he nect ar and you Lor d t ook t he
hand of Sr i. Oh Lor d, pr ay accept me and t ake me int o your f old as you did
bef or e.
t hingaL t hir umugat ht hu sEy izhaiyaar senRu iRainchi anga(p) paRai konda
aaRRai - The Lor d has t he most beaut if ul f ace, similar t o t he f ull moon. Wit h
Andal and Kannan having ador ned all t heir f inest j eweller y, t he Gopis, sing and
ext ol t hat t hey shall r emain in t he Lor ds ser vit ude f or ever even if it meant
many mor e bir t hs bef or e beat it ude. Andal r emember s t he at t ainment of t he
kingdom of kainkar yam t hus. Due t o t he pr et ext of t he nombu r it ual f ollowed
by t he Gopis and due t o t he anugr ahams of Kannan, t he elder ly cowher d f olks
of Aayar pAdi r eceived r ains t hr oughout t he mont h and also a gr eat oppor t unit y
f or r elaxat ion. The Gopis on t he ot her hand at t ained t he divine communion wit h
Lor d Kr ishna. Godai in Her Thir uppavai has indeed t old such wonder f ul a
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biogr aphy.
aNi pudhuvai(p) painkamala(t h) t haN t her iyal bat t ar pir aan kOdhai-sanga(t h)
t hamizh maalai muppadhum I n t his wor ld, Sr ivilliput ht hur , st ands out
maj est ically as t he cent al gem in a pr iceless pendant of nine gems. Vishnuchit t a
also known as Bhat t ar pir aan Per iyazhwar was bor n in t his place. He ador ned on
his self a gar land of lot us f lower s and a gar land of t ulasi beads t hat ar e
r ecognised as t he t r ait s of a t r ue Sr ivaishnava. Ever yday, he would pr esent
gar lands of lot us f lower s t o Sr i Vat apat r ashaayi, t he t emple deit y. His
daught er is Godai and Her song is Thir uppavai. This is a gar land of t he
chast est t amizh. I t is a wor k t hat will give us an associat ion wit h Emper uman.
I t is a wor k t hat enshr ines t hir t y ver ses in it and should be enj oyed and
exper ienced by us.

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muppadhum t happaamE ingu ippar isur aippaar The loss of a single gem in a gem
st udded necklace makes t he necklace of no value. The loss of a single st one in a
diamond ear r ing br ings it s value down. Similar ly all t he t hir t y ver ses need t o be
r ecit ed wit hout f ail.
eer ir andu maal var ai t hOLsengaN t hir umugat ht hu(ch) chelva(t h) t hir umaalaal
Kannan shone wit h f our hands af t er t he slaying of Kamsa. He had t he most
beaut if ul and benevolent eyes t hat r esembled a lot us st alk. He is t he Lor d of
ubhayavibhut i and is always in t he company of Sr i, His consor t , wit h not even a
single moment of separ at ion. Wit h t he benevolence of such a Lor d, Kannan,
engum t hir uvar uL pet r u inbuRuvar t he J eevans would t ake delight in t his
wor ld and t he celest ial wor lds, having been best owed wit h t he choicest
anugr ahams of Pir aat t i and Her consor t Par aman.
vazi tiR nammf
EkaAt pibnf t Urf Ekavinf t[f vaZYMrf
Ecati m]i madmf Eta[fBmf Urf
nI tiyalf nlf l ptf trf vaZmf Urf na[f mAbkqf OTYMrf
vilf lip< tfT\rf Evtkf Eka{\rf
patkgf kqf tI rf kf Kmf prm[f `F kadfDmf
Evtmf `A[tf Tkf Kmf vitf taKmf EkaAt tmizf
_Aynf Tmf _nfTmf `biyat ma[idAr
Avymf Cmpf pT vmf p< .

tiRvaFpf p>rtf T ecktf Ttitf taqf vaziEy
tiRpf paAv MpfpTmf ecpf pi[aqf vaziEy
epriyazf varf epbfebDtf t ep]f piqf Aq vaziEy
epRmf p<T\rf maM[ikf Kpf pi[f [a[aqf vaziEy
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oR N\bfB nabf ptf T YM[f BArtftaqf vaziEy
uyrrgf kbf Ek k]f ]iy< knf tRqitaqf vaziEy
mRvaRmf tiRmlf li vq naF vaziEy
v]f p< TAv nkrf kf EkaAt mlrf pf ptgfkqf vaziEy




Thus concludes t he comment ar y on Thir uppavai r ender ed by His Holiness
Par avakot t ai Poundar i kapur am Sr i mat h Andavan Sr i Gopaladeshi ka
Mahadeshikan.
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+ ~l-+
+~l l 7l4 +P-+
+ ~lP6 4T=9T Prl 7 |HTl4 +P- +
+ ~lP6 lPl+=l4 +P- +
+ ~lP6 |+Pl-6 Prl 7 |HTl4 +P- +
+ ~lP6 ~l|+4lB Prl 7 |HTl4 +P- +
+ ~lP6 l9l7 |HT Prl 7 |HTl4 +P- +

CONCLUSION
The t r anslat ion of t his wonder f ul wor k has been possible only due t o t he divine
gr ace of Poor vaachaar yas and asmad Swamy, Poundar ikapur am Par avakkot t ai
Sr imat h Andavan Sr i Gopala Deshika Maha Deshikar . This wor k is pr esent ed as
a mar k of r espect t o asmadachar yan Par amahamset yadi Par avakkot t ai
Poundar ikapur am Sr imat h Andavan Sr i Gopala Deshika Maha Deshikan, who
beams as t he manif est at ion of Bhagavad Ramanuj a and Swamy Deshika.
We, his shishyas can wit h gr eat pr ide say t hat it is indeed our gr eat est
f or t une t hat we all have been blessed t o t ake bir t h on t his Ear t h dur ing t he
t ime of Sr imat h Gopala Deshika Maha Deshikan, our Achaar ya saar vabhouma.
To be r ecipient s of his kat aaksham and anugr aham and t o have t he dar shana
bhagyam of t his gr eat Achaar ya saar vabhouma is indeed t he f r uit of all our
penances.
As Swamy Deshikan says in his Subhashit a Nivi, An ar t ist can paint t he
pict ur e of t he Sun, but can he give it t he same r adiance? Similar ly our Swamy
has inf init e auspicious at t r ibut es like Par aman himself . I t would be impossible
f or any wor k on t his ear t h t o f ully exemplif y his kalyaana gunams.
Let us plead at t he f eet of divyadampat his f or t he glor ies of our Achaar ya
Gopala Deshika who is our monar ch, t o r each ever last ingness. Let us beseech
t he holy f eet of our par amount saviour Sr imat h Gopala Deshika Maha Deshikan
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who is also glor if ied as Vasisht a and Vamadeva. I t is our sincer e pr ayer t hat he
lives t o a Vedic span of one hundr ed year s wit h good healt h and may his benign
anugr ahams be like t he cool wat er s t o year ning seeker s of salvat ion on t he
sands of t ime. I t is our hear t f elt pr ayer t hat he cont inues t o bless us wor ldly
souls wit h his benevolent gr ace f or many year s t o come. We submit our selves
at his f eet t o r esign and t r anscend f r om t his wor ld and t o at t ain t he divine
bliss and communion wit h t he Lor d. We pr ost r at e at his t hir uvadi t hat ar e so
sanct if ied and pr ay t o him t o gr ant t he dust f r om his holy f eet as our last ing
r ef uge.

Let us sing his glor ies and sanct if y our lives. His t aniyan is as f ollows
~l4lB 9Tl P|+4l8 PltP T 4|6t4 4lPl-6P
Hl4| 9| 96 H+Hl l 9l 7 |HT P|+6 Hl~4lP-+
~lP6 l 9l 7 |HT Prl 7 |HTl4 +P-+
We seek r ef uge at t he sacr ed f eet of our r ever ed Achar yan, Sr i Gopala
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Deshika Maha Deshikan, who r eceived t he sacr ed r it es of Samashr ayanam,
Bhar a Samar panam f r om t he gr eat Achar ya, Sr i Sr inivasa Maha Deshikan
(Sr imat h Poundar ikapur am Andavan), Thur iyaashr amam f r om Sr i Sr inivasa
Maha Deshikan (Sr imat h Vennat r ankar ai Andavan) and t he wealt h of Ubhaya
Vedaant ham f r om Sr imat h Abhinava Ranganat ha Br ahmat ant r aSwat ant r a
Par akaala Yat indr a Maha Deshikan. He shines wit h illust r ious sadaachaar am and
is r esplendent wit h his limit less Achar ya Bhakt hi. Glor y t o t he
gr eat pr ecept or Sr imat h Gopaala Deshika Maha Deshikan.
Mangalam t o Swamy t he sadaachaar ya!
Mangalam t o Swamy ador ed by t he vir t uous!
Mangalam t o Swamy t he glor ious Achaar ya of Ramanuj a dar shanam!
Mangalam t o Swamy t he manif est at ion of Git aachar ya!
Mangalam t o Swamy t he incar nat ion of Yat ir aj a!
Mangalam t o Swamy who is bhushanam t o J nana, Anusht ana and Vair agyam!
Mangalam t o Swamy who dispels nescience f r om t he minds of t he Lor ds
subj ect s!
Mangalam t o Swamy t he beacon light on t he pat h t o deliver ance!
Mangalam t o Swamy t he unconquer able!
May our minds as a gar land of f lower s enchant our mast er Gopala Deshika!
May his vigr aham ador e t he t emple of our minds!
May his lot us f eet ador n t he wat er s of our hear t s!
May his t hought s begin our day!
May his gr ace ennoble our deeds!
May his wor ds keep us on t he r ight pat h!
May his wisdom make us knower s of Br ahman!
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May his f oot st eps be our guiding lamps!
May his glor ies enlight en t his wor ld!
+ 4 7l-6B| Tl HTP99H +

Andal Kalyanam, Sr i Ranganat ha Temple NY


Not e: For addit ional meanings and comment ar ies on t he
Divya Pr abhandams of Sr i AndAL
Please r ef er t o:
ht t p:/ / www.sundar asimham.or g/ ebooks/ ebook62.ht m - For Thir uppAvai
ht t p:/ / www.sundar asimham.or g/ ebooks/ ebook54.ht m - For nAcchiyAr
Thir umozhi