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Sri:

SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,

Dear Bhaktas,

On this most sacred Tiruvadi Pooram day, the Tirunakshatram of
Andal, adiyen wishes to share the following reflections.
Srivilliputtur, the birth place of Andal is sanctified because,
Andal chose to incarnate there. Unlike avatarams of the Lord where
He incarnated through GarbhavAsam, Andal was found by Periya Azhwar
in his flower garden. Therefore, Her birth was Avirbhava. It is
significant to note that two months of the year designated as Shoonya
masams are -Adi and Marghazhi. Significantly, both of these months
have been rendered sacred by Andal-Adi due to Her incarnation and
Marghazi due to the brilliant delivery of the Tiruppavai verses, at
the end of which She attained eternal union with Lord Narayana.
Significantly, Lord Krishna Himself declares in the Bhagavad
Gita "mAsAnAm marghashIrshOham"(among the months I am the
MargashIrsha) in anticipation of His union with Andal. For Andal,
expression of Her pangs of separation from Her Beloved (Lord
Narayana) came naturally. Therefore, She did not need to adopt Nayaki
Bhavam in her outpourings like Swami NammAzhwar or Tirumangai Azhwar.

Andal, being an Amsham of Bhumi Piratti is the epitome of
compassion. This is glorified in the Purusha Sooktam rk "HrIscha thE
lakshmIscha pathnyoU". The term Hri denotes compassion- Andal's
compassion. Since Lord Narayana is the father of the entire universe,
Andal as His consort becomes the mother of the entire universe. Her
limitless compassion for Her children (erring baddha jIvans, who are
subject to a seemingly endless cycle of births and deaths), who
perform SharaNagati manifests itself in the form of Her impassioned
appeals to Lord Narayana to forgive their sins. The act of granting
refuge to a Prapanna is a yajna performed by Lord Narayana. The term
Patni is reserved for exclusive use in the context of yajna. Andal's
elevated role in this yajna of protecting Prapannas is glorified in
the Bhu Sooktam Rk "shrungE shrungE yajnE yajnE viBhishaNIi"

A remarkable feature of Andal's incarnation is the harmonious unison
of theory and practice underlying SharaNagati. We may remember that
when Bhumi Piratti was rescued from the depths of the ocean by Lord
Narayana, in his incarnation as Varaha (jnAna Piran), her
overwhleming compassion for Her Children (errant baddha jivans) took
the form of a question seeking the upayam for redemption. The
response from Bhagavan Varaha is the famous Varaha Charma Shlokam,
which briefly outlines the theoretical principles underlying
SharaNagati. We may observe that Swami Desikan dedicates an entire
Chillarai Rahasyam entitled "rahasya shiKhamaNi" to the discussion of
the esoteric meanings underlying the Varaha Charma Shlokam.

Not satisfied with this, Andal's extreme compassion for Her children
is such that She undertook the performance of the Vratam (nombu ) of
SharaNagati to illustrate the jiVatma-ParamAtma relationship. The 30
verses of Tiruppavai contain a consummate description of this
relationship, which has been elaborated upon in the Upanishads and in
the Bhagavad Gita. It is instructive to note that recitation of Vedic
hymns have significant restrictions in that one must be aware of the
time and place to recite these hymns. Furthermore, not everyone is
qualified to recite these hymns. Some hymns can be recited only by
Gruhastas, while some are the privy of Sanyasis alone and so forth.
Whereas no such restrictions apply to the recitation of verses from
Tiruppavai. Also, the Vedas are quite cryptic in their reference to
the margam of SharaNagati. Therefore, they are often termed as Marai
(that which is not visible to the naked eye). However, Andal being an
Amsham of Bhumi Piratti beautifully intuited the nuances and
prescriptions of SharaNagati from the Vedas and described it a simple-
to-understand language using 30 delectable verses of Tiruppavai. The
following important messages are contained in this outstanding
literary masterpiece.

(1) Every jivAtma is irrevocably the property of the ParamAtma, Lord
Narayana, who is its Sheshi, ruler, Swami.
(2) The existence and activities of every jivAtma are solely for the
pleasure of Lord Narayana.

Andal illustrates (1) and (2) through the "ariyAdha piLLaihaLO"
salutation in the Tiruppavai.

(3) The surest way to restore the property (jivAtma) to its rightful
owner is through the path of unconditional, total surrender to the
Lord's Lotus Feet, i.e., SharaNagati
(4) The performance of sharaNagati is simply Atma vivAham, i.e., a
wedding between the jivAtma and the Paramatma
(5) The rules underlying the performance of this nOmbu are clearly
stated in the Tiruppavai. For example, verse 2 elaborates on the
yama and niyama exercises. The term yama means that which must be
given up, whereas the term niyama means that which must not be given
up, i.e., that which must be followed. Some of the rules contained
here are significant in that they echo important upanishadic
messages. First, upon waking up one must recite the name of Lord
Narayana-this seems to be the basis of Swami Desikan's Vaishnava
Dinasari, where he notes that upon waking up one must recite the name
Hari 7 times. Next, Andal discusses that which must be given up-
neyyuNNOm pAluNNOm. This is not interpreted to mean that one must
give up partaking of ghee and milk. However, it is merely an
instruction that these should be partaken only upon offering to Lord
Narayana. Further, Andal discusses what must be given in charity.
This is a remarkable echo of the Taittriya Upanishad
salutations "shraddaya DhEyam" and "shriyA DhEyam" and the Dharma
Shastras (Manu Smriti for example) which contain stipulations for
setting apart a percentage of one's income for
charitable/philanthrophic purposes. Exponents of Yoga have also
commented that verse 2 is a prescription for faciliatating the
realization that Lord Narayana who resides in the milky ocean is
forever resident in the lotus of one's heart. This illustrates the
Mahanarayana upanishad salutation "yOanta samudhrE kavayO vayanti"
(6) The thirty verses of the tiruppavai represent the condensed
essence of the esoteric messages contained in the three Srivaishnava
rahasyams. The gist of these three rahasyams is that (i) Lord
Narayana is the supreme being-Tattvam (ii) Performance of
SharaNagati (unconditional, total surrender) at His Lotus Feet is the
surest way of redemption-Hitam (iii) Upon performance of SharaNagati,
one must take delight in performing Kaimkaryam for Lord Narayana, His
Bhagavatas, and Acharyas. Nithya Kaimkaryam at the behest and for
the pleasure of the Divine Couple follows at the end of one's earthly
existence-PurushArtham
(7) It may be questioned as to what is the authority for performing
this Nombu of SharaNagati? Andal answers this through the
salutation "melayAr seyvanagal", i.e. treading the path established
by elders. The reference here is to the mahOpakaram of Swami
NammAzhwar-the Prapanna jana Kootasthar, who established the
efficacy of SharaNagati beyond doubt.
(8) The salutation "unakkE nAmAchaIvOm" is the condensed essence of
the sAma vedam, which glorifies Lord Narayana to the exclusion of
all other deities.
(9) The glorification of Lord Narayana as dhamOdharanE is a succinct
illustration of the Bhrahma
Sutra "janmAdhyasyayathOnvayAdhitharaThaschArthEshva vijnya svarAt"

Swami Desikan's Goda Stuthi seems to follow the path of Andal's 30
verses in letter and spirit. Specifically, Swami Desikan's opening
contains a surrender to the Lotus Feet of Goda ". In the concluding
verse of this Stuthi, Swami Desikan elqouently describes the fruit
of this surrender through the salutation "charaNa kamala sevAm
shAshvatIm abhyupAishyan". The bountiful blessings arising from the
performance of SharaNagati are also described by Swami Desikan as he
echoes the message of Andal's "shara mazhai pOl" salutation in the
Daya Shatakam verse "shArnga DhanvAnukampa" It is instructive to note
that in the war against Ravana, after the killing of Indrajit, Ravana
was grief stricken and orderd his fiercest hordes of demons to launch
a full scale offensive on Lord Rama and the Vanara army. The Vanara
army suffered heavy casualties as a result of this attack by the
asuras, who used the darkness of the night to full advantage. Lord
Rama entered the fray at this juncture and rained an unending stream
of arrows from his bow, which effortlessly repelled the attack of the
Asuras. Adikavi, Valmiki, states in the Ramayana that the arrows came
so swiftly from Lord Rama's bow that it appeared as if a multitude of
Ramas were present on the battlefield. This is illustrative of the
fact that every baddha jIvan is unaware of its true swaroopam and is
thus steeped in the darkness of ignorance on account of its bondage
to samsara by the rope of Karma. Sri Sookthis from Acharyas
bestow the light of knowledge upon the Baddha jIvan causing the
baddha jivan to realize its true swaroopam (eternal servitude to Lord
Narayana), resulting in the performance of Prapatti. The bountiful
fruits arising from the performance of Prapatti are akin to the
copious stream of arrows from Lord Rama's bow. This is indicative of
the Vedic messages "tamasOmA jyOtirgamayA" and 'mruthyOrmA amruthanga
mayA". The bliss arising from the performance of eternal Kaimkaryam
at the behest and for the pleasure of the Divine Couple is described
in the VishNu Sooktam Rk "Tad vishNO: Paramam padagam sadhA
pashyanthi soorayaha" and the Taittriya Upanishad salutations "sa
yEkO brahmaNa Ananda:", "AhamannAdO" and the Chandogya Upanishad
salutation "na cha purnarAvarthathE na cha purnarAvarthathE".

Happy Birthday Amma!

Namo Narayana,

SriMuralidhara Dasan








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