SrI
Srimathe ramanujaya namaha

Simple English Meaning for Thiruppavai

By

Sri.V.Satakopan


Selected Excerpts from MahA VidvAn Sri U.Ve. PerukkAraNai Swamy ' ThiruppAvai Monograph'
 

Twenty ninth Pasuram (siRRam siRukaalE..)

Dear BhakthAs:

This is the Third of the PradhAna- BhUtha Thiruppavai PaasurankaLs ( 27,28 and 29th) , where the name of Govindhan is invoked for the third time . In Sankalpam , we invoke the name of Govindhan thrice : Sri Govindha Govindha GovindhA . This paasuram is like Sankalpam for Bhagavath DhAsyam .The name of  "GODHA " is inside the name of Her lord:"GOvinDHA".
When we say Govindha, Govindha, Govindha three times , we invoke the name of GOdhA embedded in there .

This 29th paasuram is  the last of the ThiruppAvai paasurams ,  where ANDAL concludes Her Prabhandham in the role of
a Gopi describing the feelings of fellow Gopis performing  Paavai nOnbhu . In the 30th Paasuram (Vangakkadal Kadaintha ) ,
ANDAL speaks with Her own voice/ThAnAna Tanmayil Paadiyathu .

Until now , the Gopis under the leadership of ANDAL were mentioning "paRai" and were seeking it from the Lord.
In this paasuram , they elaborate on the meaning of that paRai . They state the true purposes of their performance
of the nOnbhu as threefold :

(1) Our objective (uddhEsyam)  is to perform nithya kaimkaryam at Your holy feet
(2)We can not live away form You  even for a second
(3)Please banish  any other thought or desire that might interfere with the fulfilment of the above two uddhEsyams (PBA Swamy).

SuddhAnandha Bharathi sums up the purport of this Paasuram as: " Let us always , even unto our 7th birth be with Thee ,
serving Thy will alone ! Oh GovindhA ! Change all other desires in us into this unique aspiration to be Thy humble servant " .

Upanishad BhAshyakArar describes the plea and goal of the Gopis this way: " Itha: Param , SarvEshu Janmasu thvath SwAmikA yEva Bhavaama:, tavaiva Kaimkaryam karavAma: , asmAkam vishyAnthara spruhAm nivarthaya".This is the summary ofthe meaning of "yeRRaikkum yEzhEzh piRavikkum unn-thannOdu uRROmEyAvOm ,unakke naamAtccheyvOm , maRRai namm kAmangal mArrElO".

In the previous paasuram , the angams of Prapatthi were alluded to. In this paasuram, the fruit (phalan) of the Prapatthi is described and the Phalan is placed at the sacred feet of the Lord ( Phala SamarpaNam).

The Literal Meaning of the Paasuram (Dr.Raaghavan )
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Oh Lord GovindhA! May You listen to us (the cowherd girls) (1) who approach You at the very small hours of the day-dawn , and (2) who bow down to You , the purpose and aim of our singing in praise of Your golden , lotus-like pair of feet. You, who took birth in the race of us,--the cowherds, earning our livelihood by grazing and rearing the herd of cattle , can not deny us the humble (divine) service (to be rendered unto You). Hearken , Oh Lord ! it is not only that we desire to receive the drum (from You) today
(lit. in this sojourn of birth) , but we desire , in fact , that let us be ever --throughout the births , sevens of generations --the kith and kin of You , let us perform all kinds of Kaimkaryams to You alone; You make us rid of other desires !

The commentaries on Individual paadha vAkyams
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(1)SIRRAM SIRU KAALE VANTHU : AruNodhaya Kaalam chosen by the Gopis out of great desire to assemble and arrive
at the mansion of the Lord is referred to here .They want KrishNA to know that the intensity that drove them to
undertake this nOnbhu inspite of the cold and time.

The time at which the Jn~Anam about the Lord happens is the siRRam siRu Kaalam .AzhwAr says in this context :
"kaalai nann jn~Anat thuRai padinthAdi" . The dawning of the Jn~Anam about EmperumAn through SadAchArya Upadesam
is this SiRRam SiRu Kaalai. The time from Prapathti to the shaking of the mortal coils is the SiRRam SiRu Kaalam for the Prapannan. This is the time , when MunivarkaL and Yogis rise gently and start Hari nAma sankIrthanam.

Gopis seem to say that it is difficult to see You (KrishNA) once the day has dawned. You would go on to the pastures to
graze the cows and that is why we have come to see You at the siRRam siRu Kaalai at Your mansion .

Andal reminds us of the KshaNa Karthavya upAyam of Praaptthi ( that which is done in siRiya kaalam )
with the invocation of the words, "siRRam sIRu kaalE".

(2)VANTHU UNNAI SEVITTHU:Gopis ask KrishNA to think about the way they came in that cold morning with
dew drops on their heads .They remind Him that they have come driven by their fears about their aakinchanyam and ananya gathithvam and have come to worship Him and pray for Kaimkarya Sri."Unnai" here reminds Him of His dayai towards aasrithAs for whom He has declared earlier that he will forsake everything dear to Him to protect them ( saraNAgathAs).
"Sevitthu" refers to the Veda Vaakyam: " BhUyishtAm tE NAMA Ukthim vidhEma".We have come here with anjali bhaddha
hasthams since we know about our mElayAr's saying : " Ohr anjaliyum uNDaRukka maattAthu". You melt like sugar
in water ,when a Bhakthan stands before You with anjali mudhrA . That indeed is anjali Vaibhavam. Therefore we have
come before You at the early dawn withfolded hands(sEvitthu).

(3)UNN PORRAAMARAI ADIYE PORRUMPORUL KELAAI: AzhwAr showed us the way: " KaRRinam mEyttha Yenthai KazhiLiNai  paNimin neerE ". Your Thiruvadis are Parama BhOgyam . "PoRRum " means the eulogy without expecting anything
in return. " PallANDu paaduvuthaRkku PallANDu paaduvathE Phalan "( the fruit of singing pallANDu is the singing of  pallANDu itself). With EmperumAn's anugraham , the one who sings pallANDu has the phalan of singing pallANDu (pORRi )
many , many times .This is the poruL of our pORRuthal.

(4)KURREVAL:KuRREval can be split into KuRu+yEval. This means sakyamAna-yEval or the Kaimkaryam commanded by the Lord . This is the " ozhivil kaalamellAm udanAi manni" seyyum Kaimkaryam. This is the "vazhuvilA " kaimkaryam with out
any blemish.

(5)YENKALAI ( KURREVAL YENKALAI): Here the Gopis say that KrishNA should not reject their kaimkaryams
(KurrEval yenkalai koLLAmaR pOhAthu).Gopis ask  for five items:

(1)You (The Lord) should accept our kaimkarayms

(2) We have not come here seeking drums and Kodi, but we seek uninterrupted kaimakryam to You

(3)We should never ever be devoid of  the relationship of Seshathvam ( You as Swami and us as Your servants: uRROmEaavOm) )

(4)Because of this seshathva-sambhandham , we are seeking Kaimkaryam

(5)Please bless us so that our minds will stay away from anything and everything other than You and permit us  to perform Sarva dEsa, Sarva Kaala , Sarva avasthA kaimkaryams .

As parmaikAnthis , the Gopis do not expect any rewards other than Kaimkarya PrApthi. The Gopis remind Him that it is not a situation of " dEhi mE dadhAmi tE" ( I will give You this and You will give me that).They seek  kaimkaryam at " Srimathou Hari Charanou" without any bhEram pEsuthal.

(6)MARRAI NAMM KAAMANKAL MAARRU: Here ,"Unn TannOdu uRRamOyAvOm " depicts the meaning of PraNavam in AshtAkshara Moola Manthram; "UnakkE aatccheyvOm "refers to NaarAyaNa Sabdham in Moola Manthram;
" MaRRai Namm kaamankaL maaRRU" refers to the "Nama:"sabdham .

(7) MAARRU: Our Lord has the power to transform attachment of any kind and turn it towards Him.He is Sarva VasIkaranan. He will never abandon a Prapannan. He will corect them , when they stray and bring them back to His fold once again.

The inner meaning of this Paasuram (PerukkAraNai Swamy)
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"Oh Lord! Please listen to the fruits of performing SaraNAgathi ( KshaNa Kaala Saadhyam) at Your lotus feet and engaging in MangaLAsAsanam of those holy feet !You (who was born in our kulam to bless us )should accept our ( pasu prAya Jeevans)kaimkaryams and grant us Moksham. We are not desirous of Isvaryam of the world and Kaivalyam . Oh Lord ! You as
sarvaj~nar ( Omniscient ) should comprehend this clearly.We will always be cognizant of our Seshathvam to You as Sarva Seshi.We will perform Sarva desa, Sarva Kaala , Sarva avasthA Kaimkaryams. We will deflect the joy of our Kaimkaryam to You alone ( Phala SamarpaNam).
 

Soodikkoduttha NaacchiyAr ThiruvadigaLE Saranam ,
Sarvam KrushNArpanam asthu
RaamAnuja Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SatakOpan


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