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On'gOpikA geetham and gOpikA manoharan'

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Ramaswami Vasudevan • February 22, 1999 


Subadra Vasudevan wrote:

> note: forwarded msg attached.
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> Subject: "GOpikA geetham and GOpikA monOharan"
> Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 09:12:54 -0800 (PST)
> From: Subadra Vasudevan 
> To: bhakti@lists.best.com
>
> Dear bAghavadhOTHamAls,
>                        My humble obeisance to the
> devotees of the Lord Sriman NArAyanan.Scholars have
> written time and again of the'DivyaPrabhandam' as an
> 'anubava grantham', and the coronation of 'TirupAvai'
> is done continuously by the multitude of 'swAnubavams'.
> Enlightened members of this group have written
> on'tirupAvai' in their extensive 'svAnubavams'.Kindly
> bear in your mind-bhaktAls may differ in their
> views,expression,allusions,by which we do not
> necessarily mean to oppose each other.
>   With utmost reverence to the AchAryAls,
> mahAns,elders and a host of scholars,who have blessed
> me,imparted knowledge to my otherwise dull mind,I
> embark to write on 'tirupAvai'.
> It never tires us to enjoy 'tirupAvai'for it is a
> commmemoration of 'Sri Vaishnava SiddhAntham'in
> myriad hues.In the first pAsuram(verse)SriAndAl is
> beckoning the damsels of 'AaypAdi'to take part in the
> 'nOnbu'.The verse ends on a note of promise by
> SriAndal to her friends,'NArAyananE namakE parai
> tharuvAn'.(Lord NArAyanA alone will grant us the
> coveted 'parai')
>    'andha NArAyananE indha aaichiyarkE edharkAka
> thara vEndum parai'. Why should that incomparable
> NArAyanan give to this unlettered women, the boon of
> 'parai'.The 'nONbu'has not started yet.AndAl has just
> extended an invitation,but even before the 'nOnbu' is
> performed comes Her assurance 'NArAyananE parai
> tharuvAn'.(parai-mOksham).
> Why should AndAl put on the countenance of an
> Aaychiyar or GOpi in Her rendition of
> 'tirupAvai'.Maybe this is probable with other
> AzhwArs,they had to don several roles before they
> sought the 'thiruvadi' of NArAyanA.From Her
> childhood, AndAl's relentless faith in SriKrishna has
> been undisputable.She also had an added advantage of
> being the beloved daughter of 'pEriAzhvAr'- who sang
> 'pallAndu'(glory) to the Lord.Above
> all,SriRanganAdhar had already reclined on the banks
> of the CauvEry to greet HIS consort.So AndAl could
> have addressed the Lord right away and asked for her
> union.Well,then,where is the room for the Aaychiyars
> to play such an important role.Of all the 'mahat
> upAsakAs' the PurAnas and epics have given to us why
> should AndAl seek for the 'Aaychiyars-GOpis'.High
> profile penances,time tested yan*gyAs are performed
> by Rishis -they hail SriKrishnA,plead to Him  to
> manifest Himself.Still the Lord would go to this
> 'gOkulam'and grant 'parai' to this Aaycchiyars-the
> GOpis who are steeped in ignorance and could not even
> distinguish between their right and left hand.So,
> 'andha NArayananE indha AachiyarkE EdharkAka
> thravEndum parai'
> SriAndAl thiruvadigalE charanam,
> With highest regards,
> Humbly,
> Subadra.
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