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One of the key messages of Tiruppaavai is that of collective salvation. While Andal could have sought salvation for herself, through the verses of Tiruppaavai, Andal persuades her friends (and us readers too!) to worship Krishna. Ramanuja behaved similarly when he publicly shared the Ashtakshara Mantra (‘Om Namo Narayana!’) to people of all caste and creed from the tower of the Tirukoshtiyur temple.

Both Andal and Ramanuja were not merely saints. They were reformers too who sought to change prevailing norms & customs.

Andal’s verses continue to inspire and endure.

Tiruppaavai – The First Set of Five

Andal as imagined by Anjana

Andal as imagined by Anjana

474. This is Margazhi – the best of all months! The pre-dawn sky is still moonlit. You dear lasses who are decked up in beautiful ornaments, blessed indeed are you for living in Gokulam! The son of Nandagopan who wields a spear to guard against enemies, the fearless lion cub of the beautiful eyed Yashoda, the one whose body is colored like the dark rain bearing clouds, the one whose eyes are shaped like red lotuses is here to bestow us all the boons that we ask for. Come and join us to worship him! (A year for us mortals is said to be equivalent to a day for those in Deva Loka. The month of Margazhi corresponds to the Brahma Muhurta hour for the Devas. This pre-dawn period is considered best for all spiritual activities. Thus the entire month of Margazhi is considered holy!)

475. Listen to what we girls have vowed! During our worship, we will consume neither ghee nor milk. We will apply kajal to our eyes and we will wear fragrant flowers on our tresses. We will bathe in cold water before dawn! We will neither do a forbidden thing nor utter a cruel word. We will meditate on the Lord who resides in the ocean of milk and sing his praises. We will give alms to the needy. Come and join us to worship him! (The fragrance of flowers like Jasmine and Rose that are commonly used by women to adorn their hair have medicinal value. They are reputed to address nervous, reproductory, skin and respiratory disorders.)

476. My friend, do you know the benefits of worshiping the Lord who measured the three worlds with his feet? It will rain on time and we will have a bountiful harvest. The fields will be fertile and there will be plentiful water in which fish will frolic and play. Intoxicated by honey, bees will slumber on colorful flowers. Cows will provide plentiful milk. This wealth is for us! Come and join us to worship him!

477. Oh Rain God! Go and dunk in the ocean, gather all the water from there, waste not a single drop and rise to the skies. Let your lightning streak the sky like the Sudarshana Chakra in the dark colored Padmanabhan’s hand. Let your thunder be heard loudly like the sound from the conch that the Lord holds in his other hand. Like the ceaseless shower of arrows from the Lord’s Saranga bow, bestow your rain on mother earth. We girls keeping vows this Margazhi will rejoice as we bathe! (A beautiful explanation of the rain cycle!)

478. We will sing the praises of the Lord who was born in North Mathura (South Mathura is Madurai!), the Lord who resides in the banks of Yamuna and the one who brought praise to the mother who gave birth to him. We will offer him flowers. When we dwell on him, the sins that we have committed so far as well as the ones that we unknowingly commit will burnt like cotton that’s brought close to the flame! Come and join us as we take the name of the Lord! (The Karma that we accumulate in this life is caused not just by the sins that we commit knowingly, but also by the sins that we unknowingly commit.)

Andal is special to father (like me) of daughters. Not only do we want our daughters to be well read like her, but we also want our sons-in-law to be like the God himself! May you be similarly blessed! 🙂