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AndAl tiruppAvai - "vedamanaittukkum vittu"

From the Bhakti List Archives

Velukkudi Krishnan • August 18, 1999 


contd ..
"nArAyananE nammakkE parai taruvan" - we saw how vedAnta, gItA and this 
verse give the same meaning. Now let us see how AndAl explains something 
more in the same verse.

In chapter 2 , 12th verse Krishna preached the difference between the 
"Reals", paramAtma and jIvAtma. In his caramaslOka - chapter 18, 66th verse 
- he says "mAm Ekam saranam vraja" , meaning - surrender "only" to me. By 
specifying "mAm Ekam - only me", whom does he negate. Is it the various 
others means like karma yOga or gnAna yOga, or other deities like brahma or 
indra. Not both. Because, by saying "sarva dharmAn parityajya" he advices to 
abandon all the other means. By saying "mAm saranam vraja" he advices us to 
abandon the other gods. When both these are cleared then what does he mean 
by adding the word "Ekam - only me"

"ittAl swIkArattil upAya bhAvattai tavirkiradu". This is a very subtle 
meaning in our sampradaya. Even when we surrender absolutely to the Lord, 
there will be a small feeling at one corner of our mind that "WE 
SURRENDERED" to the Lord i.e. we feel that "SaranAgati is a way I have 
selected to reach the Lord". This feeling is dangerous. We must be devoid of 
this feeling also. We must understand that "the Lord himself made me 
surrender".

TirumAlai 38th verse - "kAmbara talai Siraittu".
Here "talai Siraittu" would mean abandoning other means like karma or gnAna 
yOga. "kAmbara" would mean without even root of the hair - without even the 
feeling that "I surrendered".

Swami Desikan beautifully explains this as "swAmin swaSEsham swavaSam 
swabharatvE nirbharam, swadattam swadIya swartham swasmin nyasyasi mAm 
swayam". "Me - your servitude, your controlled,your protected, body given by 
you, knowledge given by you,for your sake, you made to surrender in your 
lotus feet" Is there anything which is left to us here ?

Nammalwar's divine words are " en unarvinulle iruttinEn - aduvum avanadu 
innarule" - that I meditate and focus on my Lord- is also due to his grace 
and not my effort.

This is meant by "Ekam " in gIta. All these meanings where just included in 
AndAl's verse by a single syllable "E" - "nArAyananE". If she has said 
"nArAyanan parai taruvAn" it would not have negated our thinking that we 
surrendered. By adding the syllable "E" - (Evakaram - avadhAranam), it means 
"He and only He - not even the SaranAgati which I perform, would be the 
means for attaining His feet"

The same meaning is explained in the following also :
nAganamiSai nambiran saran"E" saran,
mAm"Eva" ye prapadyante,
Arenakku nin pAdam"E" saranagattandu ozhindAi.

Sastra and gIta have put these meanings (difference between jIva and para, 
that the Lord fulfills desires,and that the Lord only is the means not even 
our thinking) in different places. But our incomparable andAl has neatly 
explained all these meanings in just 4 words in the same place "nArAyananE 
nammakkE parai taruvAn"

andAl tiruvadigalE Saranam.


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