kAvAr

kAvAr

thiruppullANi 2

parakAla nAyaki wanted to go to tiruppullANi in the last tirumozhi. But she could not go. Her condition worsens. She finds difficulty in walking. Therefore she sends birds etc., as messengers to Him. She would not listen to the pacifying words of those standing nearby. This is expressed in the following pASuras.

1. kAvAr maDal peNNei anril arikuralum
EvAyinooDu iyangum engil kooDiyadAlO |
poovAr maNam kamazhum pullANi kaitozhudEn
pAvAi idu namakku OrpAnmaiyE AhAdE || One ||

There are palm groves in tiruppullANi the trees of which are green with plenty of leaves. There live anril birds which chirp causing more agony to the a heady suffering parakAla nAyaki. Their notes pierce her wounded heart like the poking of a spear in to the wound caused by an arrow. Oh! tOzhi! How well i made anjali to Him (ironically). This suffering is my very life. i find no escape from it.

‘kAvAr maDal peNNei’—periyavAchchAn piLLai comments – some dhanikas (rich men) keep taNNeer pandal (a place where water is offered to the passersby during summer). There come some rogues to rob the possessions of the suffering folks. Similarly parakAla nAyaki has come to the palm grove to sit under the tree afflicted as she is by the separation. She tries to write a letter to Him. The anril birds like those miscreants rob her of even that small pleasure by making sounds increasing her agony.

maDal eDuttal—A nAyaki writes the picture of the nAyaka on a palm leaf. She stares at it for some time. Her lover is gone and not yet come. She has no sleep, food, bath, etc., She has discarded sandal paste, flowers etc., She beats her head and breasts with the palm leaf, cries loudly and runs to the street with disheveled hair. She laments loudly beating herself ‘Ah! This wicked fellow has left me! He has no eyes, no heart, no sympathy! Alas! Alas! There can be no wicked person than He! They say He takes rAma and kriShNAvatAra to help His Baktas! It is a lie! He is a cheat! He is simply a fraud! She runs like a mad woman. The passers by look at her and tremble with fear.

anril -bird—It is called krauncha pakShi in Sanskrit. They live in one place always in pair. They never get separated. Even if one of them leaves the other for a short while in search of food etc., the other laments. They sleep with their beaks together. If in sleep the beaks slips, the other wakes up and cries. If one dies the other also dies of sorrow. ‘peNNei mEl pinnul avvanril pEdai vAi sirukuralum ennuDaiya nenjukku Or eervALAm enseihEn’—periya tirumaDal.

maDal peNNei kArAr anril—is also interpreted as ‘All the palm trees in the grove are full of anril birds. It should be read in the tone as ‘All the people of lanka are full of rAkShasis.

EvAi—E means arrow. ‘paNbuDai vaNDoDu tumbinAL paN mizhaTTrEimin puNpurai vElkoDu poovAr maNam kamazhum pullANi kai tozhudEn’- is not literally taken to mean i did anjali to tiruppullANi. parakAla nAyaki says sarcastically ‘Ah! The anjali i did to tiruppullANi is very good indeed!’ It is like an extremely hungry man who sat to eat food found it spoilt, telling His friend ‘Ah! i ate very well indeed’ sarcastically.

idu namakkOr pAnmaiyE AhAdE—They say suKa and duhKa come alternatively. But in my case it is duhKa alone continuously. periyavAchchAn piLLai—‘The nityasooris experience suKa alone (no duhKa). The samsAris experience both suKa and duhKa. i think BagavAn has created another viBooti (for my sake) where duhKa alone is experienced.

2. munnam kuraLuruvAi moovaDimaN koNDaLanda
mannan SaridaikkE mAlAhipon payandEn |
ponnam kazhikkAnal puLLinangAL pullANi
annamAi nool payandArku Angidanai SeppuminE || Two ||

parakAla nAyaki continues—‘Oh! Birds living in ponnangazhi! Go as a messenger for my sake to the emberumAn of tiruppullaNi who begged three feet of land for indra's sake and who took hamsAvatAra for brahma’s sake. To Him i lost my mind and complexion. Tell Him my condition.

munnam kukraLuruvAi—It is not that He doesn’t do anything for anyone. Didn’t He take the vAmana roopa to beg three feet of land for indra’s sake (who begs Him sometimes and fights with Him sometimes)? Didn’t He take hamsa roopa to bring back vEdas when brahma lost them? Didn’t He change His nityaroopa to take such mean forms (mAsuNA SuDaruDambAi malarAdu kuviyAdu)? Then why should He refuse to do anything for me alone? Did i expect anything in returns like indra? No. Not at all?

ponnangazhi—In tiruvAnamAmalai there is a pond called SETTruttAmarai (AzhwAr has given this name) and a forest called tEnamAmpozhil. In tirunAhoor there is a pond called tALatAmarai. Likewise in tiruppullANi there is a pond called ‘ponnangazhi’.

annamAi nool payandArku—There are two reasons for using the word ‘annam’. He brought back the vEdas when brahma lost them. Similarly He should bring back my lost complexion (pon payandEn). Also He took a bird avatAra (hamsa) to rescue the vEdas. So you need not fear Him. you can feel one with Him.

angidanai SeppuminE—parakAla nAyaki asks the birds to ask Him one question. Sree rAma lay on the darBAsana (mat of darBa grass) for seven days in order to make the sea god give way for Him to cross the sea, go to lanka and rescue seeta pirATTi. The nAyaki wonders whether He would take these troubles only for pirATTi’s sake, not for her.

The place is called darBa Sayana (pullaNai in tamizh) where later became pullANi.

3. vavvittuzhAi adanmEl Senru taninenjam
SevviyariyAdu nirkum kol? nittilangaL |
bavvattiraiyulavu pullANi kaitozhudEn
deivaSilaiyArku en SindainOi SeppuminE || Three ||

parakAla nAyaki asked the birds to act as her messenger. Here too she tells them to go and explain her mental agony to Him. Her mind, who was her only friend and companion, caught hold of a leaf of His tuzhasi mAla and went away with Him. It has not yet come back. She says ‘i don’t know the reason for the delay. It was my only companion. Please, Oh! Birds! Go and tell Him my condition. Do You want to know where He is? He is in tiruppullANi standing with a bow and arrow’.

4. pariya iraNiyanadAham aNiyuhirAl
ariyuruvAi keeNDAn aruL tandavA namakku |
porutiraihaL pOndulavu pullANikai tozhudEn
arimalar kaN neer tadumba anduhilum nillAvE || Four ||

emberumAn took narasimhAvatAra and tore the chest of hiraNya in to two with His beautiful nails. He resides in tiruppullANi. He does not care for me, for my agony, for my cries and for my tears. When i cry the profuse tears flow like river, my body becomes weak, the saree slips down. periyavAchchAn piLLai Sree sookti—i wanted to go to tiruppullANi and see the sea. BagavAn thought i am fond of water. Though He did not take me to the sea. He made my eyes shed tears which runs like river.

5. villAl ilangai malanga Saram turanda
vallALan pin pOna nenjam varumaLavum |
ellArum enrannai ESilum pESiDinum
pullANiyemberumAn poi kETTirundEnE || Five ||

parakAla nAyaki continues—till my mind which went behind Him returns i don’t listen to your words even though they are true. i shall listen to His words even though they are false.

parakAla nAyaki tells her friends, mother and others who are standing near by advising her ‘Oh! Girl! you never listen to our words of advice. you believe His false words and promises. Did He tell you He never cheat girls? Don’t believe Him. If you believe you will be ruined. Why don’t you listen to us, your well wishers? you are confused. you don’t discriminate as to whom to believe and whom not to. Listen to us even before it is too late. Leave Him, don’t believe Him. He is cheat!’

She replies—Oh! i have lost my mind! It has not returned yet. i can believe you and your words. i don’t think He cheats women. Didn’t He take so much trouble to make friendship with sugreeva, cross the ocean, fight the rAkShasas, kill rAvaNa and get seeta back? Won't He take a fraction of that trouble at least to get me back who is also a woman like seeta? Oh! My mind caught hold of His guNa and went away with Him. Even though what you say may be true i don’t listen to you. i trust Him, His words, His promises, His mercy and His love for me?

pullANi emberumAn poi kETTirundEnE—Perhaps what all of you say is true. But what of it to me? i believe Him whether He is true or false. i believe His words whether true or false. i don’t care. All that i care is they come from His mouth. That is enough for me.

BaTTar said ‘rAmAvatArattil meyyum (truth), kriShNAvatArattil poyyum (falsehood) namakku tanjam (refuge)’


6. Suzhanrilangu vengadirOn tErODum pOi maraindAn
azhanru kooDidAhi anjuDaril tAnaDumAl |
SezhundaDampoonjOlaiSoozh pullANi kai tozhudEn
izhandirundEn en tan ezhil niramum SangumE || Six ||

i thought i would somehow forget my sorrows looking at the sun which brings cheer and the cool-rayed moon which brings good pleasant memories. But Alas! The sun has set and the moon burns me. i desire so much to go to tiruppullANi and worship Him. But the mere desire itself caused the loosening of bangles and loss of complexion!

izhandirundEn—i thought i would have samslESha with Him. Hence i wanted to wear bangles and other ornaments. But the mere thought of Him made me lose what i already had. i am like a money lender, who out of greed to get more money from high interest, lends money and loses both interest and the principal!

7. kanaiyAriDikuralin kArmaNiyin nAvADal
tinaiyEnum nillAdu teeyil koDidAlO |
punaiyAr maNimADa pullANi kai tozhudEn
vinaiyEn mEl vElaiyum vendazhalE veeSumE || Seven ||

The bells hanging from the necks of cows returning from the pasture sound like thunder. Normally the sound of bells pleasing to the ears will bring hopes of the return of gOpas from the mountains and forests in the evenings. But parakAla nAyaki’s agony is increased in the evenings since His return is not seen. All my anjalis to tiruppullANi is a waste. The sea waves splash sparks of fire instead of water droplets. The nature too is against me.

8. toombuDai kai vEzham veruva maruppoSitta
pAmbinaNaiyAn aruL tandavA namakku |
poonjerundi pon Soriyum pullANi kaitozhudEn
tEmbaliLam piraiyum en tanakkOr vendazhalE || Eight ||

emberumAn pulled out the tusk of kuvaLayApeeDa, the mad wild elephant in kamsa’s court. He who is so powerful and valiant showered grace on me who is innocent! (a sarcastical remark). i do anjlai to Him who resides in tiruppullANi where punnai trees shower golden coloured flowers. Ah! The moon is also cruel like Him since he pours hot rays on me!

9. vEdamum vELviyum viNNum iruSuDarum
AdiyumAnAn aruL tandavAnamakku |
pOdalarum punnaiSoozh pullANikaitozhudEn
Odamum nAnum urangAdirundEnE || Nine ||

He who is the jagat kAraNa and who is vEdas, yajnas, the sky (pancha Bootas) luminaries etc., has done anugraha to me! (sarcastical statement). The consequence is i have lost sleep like the roaring sea which never sleeps. He resides happily in tiruppullANi, a beautiful city with flowering punnai trees.

10. ponnalrum punnaiSoozh pullANiyammAnai
minniDaiyAr vETkainOi koora irundadanai |
kannavilum tiNDOL kaliyan olivallAr
mannavarAi maNNANDu vANADum unnavarE || Ten ||

tirumangai AzhwAr has sung ten pASuras on the emberumAn residing at tiruppullANi, a beautiful city with plenty of punnai trees. Those who read and appreciate them will be ruling this earth as kings and then reach parmapada after leaving this body.