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thiruppavai day one song one english

From the Bhakti List Archives

Ramani Naidu • December 15, 2002 


 
=====================================================================================================================================================Note from Moderator:
This is a short introduction to the series of postings on tiruppavai and other pasurams from Dr. N. Ramani Naidu,  that we hope to see in the coming month and may be in the future.  He is currently a Reader in the Dept. of English in the PSG College of technology, Coimbatore.  His area of interest includes vaishNavam, and his Ph.D. is in English and tamizh literature.  His Ph.D. thesis dealt with a comparison of the poetry of nammAzhvAr with that of Hopkins.  He is very involved in using and promoting computer methods for teaching.   In addition to his study of vaishNavam literature, he has undertaken the translation of a lot of literature covering areas of other faiths, writings of political personalities, etc. 

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THIRUPPAVAI - DAY ONE – SONG ONE

Transliteration

markaLith thinkaL mathi niRaintha nannALAl
nIrAtap pOtuvIr pOtuminO nEriLayIr
sIr malkum Ayppatic celvac cirumiyarkAL
kUrvEl kotum thozilan nanthakOpan kumaran
ErArnta kanni yasOtai ilan cinkam
kArmenic cenkan katirmatiyam pOl mukaththAn
nArayananE namakkE paRai tharuvAn
pAror pukazap patinthElOr empAvAy.

Translation

On the auspicious day full of the moon,
In the month of markazhi,
Let us go and bathe, you bejewelled maids.
You the girls, the treasure of beauty prevailing ayppati.
Narayana the cloud hued and the red eyed,
With a face dazzling like the sun with his rays,
The son of Nantagopan who holds the sharp spear
Whose business is to destroy (the foe),
The young lion of the beautiful eyed Yasoda,
Will bless us with his grace.
Let us bathe in His name (on the steps of the pond)
Much to the appreciation of the world.

The first song in Tiruppavai is a  call to the maids of Ayppati to prepare themselves after a bath in the pond to make obeisance to Krishna. Nantakopan is the Chief of the herdsmen clan who is the foster father of Krishna. Krishna is supposed to have been born in the prison. His mother Devaki had been imprisoned by her brother in fear of annihilation at the hands of  his sisterÂ’s son as predicted by astrologers.

Seven children were born to Devaki before Krishna and they were all girl children. Overdoing his act in fear, DevakiÂ’s brother, Kamsa, had thrown the children up in the air and killed them as they fell upon an upheld sword. Fearing the same fate to the only son begotten, Krishna had been carried stealthily with Divine assistance to the house of Nantakopan when his wife Yasoda had given birth to a girl child. Substituting the babies, KrishnaÂ’s father, Vasudeva returned to the prison. When DevakiÂ’s brother threw the girl child up in the air, the baby flew up to heaven instead of falling down on the sword. Meanwhile Yasoda took Krishna for her own child and brought him up. Therefore parentage is ascribed to Nandakopan and Yasoda.

The reference to the jewels of the maids being the treasure of Ayppati in effect means that they are at one and at the same time endowed with physical grace and spiritual qualities. Margazhi is supposed to be the best of tamil months. Even in the Gita, Krishna claims to be margazhi of all months. Thus the reference to the moon filled day in the month of margazhi is synonymous with divine association. The reference to the sharp spear and the business of destruction implies the valour of the chieftain of the herdsmen clan. Feminine beauty is associated with beautiful eyes in the case of Yasoda. The act of bathing in preparation of devoted worship and praise of God is a surety of Divine grace. Therefore is the assertion that Narayana will bless them with His grace. Thus right at the beginning of Tiruppavai, Andal comes out with a note of assurance of GodÂ’s grace to the devotee.

The Vaishnava faith is that uttering the name of Narayana in itself is a surety for His grace. Nammalvar in one of his songs will say , “Those of you who are inclined to reach the feet of Narayana! The very thought of  the name of Narayana is surety enough for salvation.”

kannan kazalinai nannum manamutaiyIr
ennum tirunAman tinnam nAranamE.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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