Nachiyar Thirumozhi Kama Deva Andal

Andal addresses Kama Deva with her Prayers to attain her Lord- Prayers continue from Margazhi to Panguni

‘If you don’t unite me with my beloved, your reputation as the God of Love will go for a toss’ – ANDAL to MANMATHA

Having spent the entire month of Margazhi making several vows and having undertaken severe austerities invoking the Lord’s blessings to attain him, a devoted Andal, unfazed by the Lord’s refusal to accept, continued her persistence into Thai. But this time she adopted a different approach turning to Manmatha, the God of Love to explain her unflinching love for Lord Krishna and seeking his help.

In the 1^st decad of 14 of the Nachiyar Thirumozhi, Andal focuses entirely on addressing Kama Deva wanting him to help her unite with her beloved. She praises him, lures him, requests and pleads with him to take her to her Lord before cautioning and threatening him on the consequences of not getting her united with her beloved.

Through these set of verses she sings praise of her beloved’s greatness, his personality and his achievements. She also describes the personality of Kama Deva and repeatedly seeks his help also cautioning and threatening him about the consequences of not providing her with the support to reach her Lord.

Thai Rituals - Mid January

She performs more rituals in Thai continuing from Margazhi. She says that she is purifying the place - by clearing all the impurities with water and cow dung- with devotional circles and diagrams (she refers to this as MANDALA in the very first verse of Nachiyar Thirumozhi) drawn on the ground in an effort to reach him. She beings her adddress to the God of Love referring to him as Anga Deva and praising him as one who is the source of all desires. Since she is now in a state of total love with Lord Krishna, she is of the view that Kama Deva is the right one to help her reach her beloved.

தையொரு திங்களும் தரை விளக்கித்

தன் மண்டல மிட்டு மாசி முன்னாள்

இய நுண் மண்ற கொண்டு தெருவணிந்து

அழகினுக் கலங்கரித்து அனங்க தேவா

Praise of Lord of Thiru Venkatam

She continues this attempt into the early days of Maasi as well by beautifying the streets with fine decoration drawing the attention of the God of Love and invoking his blessings and that of his younger brother Shyama pleading with them to allow her to perform continuous service to the Lord of Thiruvenkatam, whom she describes as one wielding the discus.

உய்யவுமாங் கொலோ வென்று சொல்லி

உன்னையும் உம்பியையும் தொழுதேன்

True Love and Andal’s Prayers

Andal explains further the efforts taken by her. Waking up early, she has had bath much before dawn in the cool chilly river. And then decorated the streets with fine white sand and presented thorn-less twigs for the sacrificial fire.

வெள்ளை நுண் மணற கொண்டு தெருவணிந்து

வேல்வரைப்பதன் முன்னம் துறை படிந்து

முள்ளு மில்லாச் சுள்ளி யெரி மடுத்து

முயன்று உன்னை நோற்கின்றேன் காமதேவா  

Having thus undertaken penance, she asks Kama Deva to take her to the Lord’s side by directing his loving arrows that she describes as being flowery inscribing it with her beloved’s name.

கள்ளவிழ் பூங்கணை தொதுடுத்துக் கொண்டு

கடல் வண்ண னென்பதோர் பேரெழுதி

She is so determined to attain her beloved that she says she is praying thrice a day with fragrant medicinal herbs and milk white weed fig flowers. She once again pleads with Manmatha to send his loving flowery arrows inscribing the name Govinda and to release the arrows from his bow in a way that it reaches her Lord at Thiru Venkatam.

மத்த நன்னறு மலர் முருக்க மலர் கொண்டு

முப்போதும் உன்னடி வணங்கி

She reminds Manmatha of the many things that she had presented to him. Did she not inscribe his name on the walls and offered him the Great Pandya Flag with that famous fish sign as well as the royal horses too. She made him bows of sugarcane and to keep him cool she had even prayed for the celestial beauties to fan him with the sacred chamaras.

And now is hoping that the destiny’s direction will help her reach the Lord of Dwaraka.

சுவரில் புராண நின் பேரெழுதிச்

சுறவ நற் கொடிகளும் துரங்கங்களும்

கவரிப் பிணாக்களும் கருப்பு வில்லும்

காட்டித் தந்தேன் கண்டாய் காமதேவா

Request turns to Caution

In the initial set of verses, Andal requests, pleads and asks for help from Manmatha to take her to her beloved. And as months pass by, one finds a sense of frustration at the delay. For the first time, she mildly cautions him that by not taking her to her beloved, he would be abusing a loving heart and that his reputation as the God of Love who is involved in uniting lovers may be spoilt.

Having started with the penance in Thai (after unsuccessful prayers in Margazhi), she has now moved into Panguni. Every day she is performing the special rites relating to Panguni in order to attain him chanting hymns and sacred verses from the Vedas along with other experts.

Threatening Comparison

Andal then provides a beautiful comparison to describe her mad love for the Lord and threatens Manamatha further.

A wily jackal made its way from the forest and pollutes the sacred place by licking the sacrificial offerings that Vedic seers had kept specifically and exclusively for the Lord. Similar to these sacrificial offerings, her body too is fully dedicated for the Lord who has conch and chakra as his distinctive features and if the God of Love had any plans to marry her off to any normal man (anyone other than the one whom she is seeking and madly in love with) similar to the cunning fox taking away the sacrificial offerings that were directed at the Lord, she may not live any longer and he would have to take the blame for that. He asks him to make note of this.

மானிடவர்கென்று பேச்சுப் படில்

வாழ கில்லேன் கண்டாய் மன்மதனே

From Margazhi, now to Panguni

Having begun the Nachiyar Thirumozhi with prayers in Thai, through the first decad, she has already moved a few months into Panguni. 

This is similar to her father’s description of Krishna’s infancy in the Periyazhvar Thirumozhi where he praised the celebrations around his birth and how days and months passed by in no time (நால்கலோர் நாள் ஐந்து திங்கள் அளவிலே) - That was more a happy time as a result of the child’s unique activities. However, here the time is passing by in the hope that Manmatha would finally relent and take her to the Lord.

Describes Lord’s Features

Andal describes the Lord as seen elsewhere in Nalayira Divya Prabhandham as well as in Paripatal as one of dark complexion like the rain cloud, the blue sea, Karuvilai flower and the dark Kaya flowers. She also praises the physical strength of the Lord describing him as a powerful one who could even tear open the deadly demon Bakasura.

கருவுடை முகில் வண்ணன் காயா வண்ணன்

கருவிளை போல் வண்ணன் கமல வண்ணத்

திருவுடை முகத்தினில் திருக் கண்களால்

திருந்தவே நோக் கெனக் கருள் கண்டாய்

Describing his eyes as being like red lotus, she asks Manmatha to get her Lord to set his beautiful eyes on her. She praises her Lord as a bachelor who had measured the entire world.

Luring Manmatha for Sweet Eats

Andal then lures Kama Deva with tasty food and sweeteners. She presents him with Paddy, Flaked Seeds, Rice and Syrup of Sugar and juice made of sugar cane.

காயுடை நெல்லோடு கரும்பமைத்துக்

கட்டி அரிசி அவலமைத்து

வாயுடை மறையவர் மந்திரத்தால்

மன்மதனே உன்னை வணங்கு கின்றேன்

Andal informs Kama Deva about the extent she is going with the severity of her penance.

Keeping her body filthy, her hair unkempt and her lips discoloured, she says she eats only once a day and worships Kama Deva thrice a day (as seen above). She implores him to take serious note of these initiatives in her endeavour to reach the Lord.

மாசுடை யுடம்பொடு தலை யுலறி

வாய்புறம் வெளுத்து ஒரு போதுமுண்டு

Praises Manmatha

And praising Manmatha as the Great God of Love and one who is handsome and brave, Andal asks him to protect her feminine charm by granting her the opportunity to press the feet of her Lord.

கேசவ நம்பியை கால் பிடிப்பா

லென்னும் இப்பேறு எனக்கு அருள் கண்டாய்

Beautiful Comparison and THE FINAL THREAT TO MANMATHA

Towards the end of this first decad, she reminds Kama Deva of her sincerity in presenting flowers at his feet thrice a day and threatens him yet another time. Comparing her current state to a bullock that is beaten by her driver and not fed good food at the end of the day despite having toiled hard and sincerely through the day, she says that if she too is denied the selfless and loving service to her beloved despite having offered her sincere prayers to the God of Love ( and to her beloved Lord), she will create a public scene and cry out loud with a deep sense of pain that will then affect badly his reputation as the God of Love and his ability to unite true love may be put into questions!!!!

பழுதின்றி பார்க்கடல் வண்ணனுக்கே

பணி செய்து வாழப் பெறாவிடில்

நான் அழுதழ தளமந்தம்மா வழங்க

ஆதரவும் அது உனக்கு உரைக்கும் கண்டாய்