The 14th
Decad of Nachiyar Thirumozhi is in the form of a rare Conversational Q & A
style
Lord has compassionate qualities and blesses the faithful with everything in life after testing them briefly- Andal presents a beautiful description of her beloved and his great qualities
Red face like a ‘Sun rising over the Eastern Mountain’, Glitters like Stars on a bright night, Sparkles like a 'lightening over dark clouds'
Through the first 13
decads of Nachiyar Thirumozhi, Andal addresses her grievances of not being able
to catch her beloved’s attention. Starting with Kama Deva in Thai (Paushyam)
she is seen making an earnest appeal as well as sending directions and
instructions to different groups. She gives life to the beautiful dark clouds,
addresses the different varieties of flowers seeking their help in reaching out
to her Lord and praises the sweet swinging cuckoo. She is almost envious of the
Conch that is always present with the Lord despite having been born in a not so
pious family. She also presents her dream of uniting with the Lord and
showcases the wedding formalities.
Finally, in the 14th
decad she is able to experience the Lord at Brindavan, the only time in the Nalayira
Divya Prabhandham when the place finds a mention.
Q and A Prabhandham
It is a rare conversational decad
in the Divya Prabhandham- the only
one in the form of a Q and A exchange
between Andal and her friends with enquiries about the whereabouts of her
beloved and the description of his movements in Brindavan.
Through these verses she
‘anoints’ him with many friendly negative titles – Unruly Rogue, Lord of
Inconsistencies, Butter Thief, Habitual Liar and ‘The Unsociable Lad’ involved
in trifling disputes.
And then swerves to the other extreme of showcasing his
great childhood qualities. After testing her out repeatedly on her true
devotion, the Lord finally provides darshan at Brindavan sending out the
message that those who have unflinching faith in him will be able to experience
him.
The Dark Majestic Bull
She refers to him as a dark
majestic bull and the younger brother of Balarama that had strayed away into
the wild and asks if anyone had seen him anywhere. They delighted her with the
news that they saw a young handsome boy with beautiful locks at Brindavan.
பட்டி மேய்ந்தோர் காரேறு
பலதேவர்க்கு ஓர்
கீழ்க்கன்றாய்
இட்டீறிட்டு விளையாடி
இங்கே போதக்
கண்டீரே
இட்டமான பசுக்களை இனிது
மறித்து நீருட்டி
விட்டுக் கொண்டு விளையாட
விருந்தாவனத்தே கண்டோமே
She hits out at him for having
left her unattended calling him a youthful butter thief who went into Ayarpadi.
Andal swings into the negative extreme
referring to him as an unruly rogue. But in the same breath recovers and
praises him as having curved eyebrows and wielding the Saranga bow.
அனுங்க என்னைப் பிரிவு
செய்து ஆயர்பாடி
கவர்ந்துண்ணும்
குணுங்கு நாறிக் குட்டேற்றைக்
கோவர்தனனைக் கண்டீரே
The Gopi friends lighten her saying
that they saw a lad at Brindavan who had a dark body and a red face that looked
like a ‘Sun rising over the Eastern Mountain’
He was born a lover. Was he not
the lover himself born as a bridegroom? She sways from praising him as a
handsome lad to calling him an inept liar. She refers to him as one with
inconsistencies.
தரும மறியாக் குரும்பனைத்தன்
கைச் சார்ங்கமதுவே
போல்
புருவ வட்ட மழகிய பொருத்த மிலியைக்
கண்டீரே
Praising the ornament on his
chest- the Vanamala- as a ‘lightening over dark clouds’ they say there was one
such lad playing with another bunch of boys in Brindavan. His eyes were as
beautiful as a Lotus and one that captivates anyone who glances at him. He was like
a chubby elephant calf that is decked with pearls.
Andal sings praise of her Lord as
being invincible comparing him to a boar that escaped. He is like the decorated temple bull calf that
is taken around the temple prakara. The Lord too looks handsome in his yellow
robe.
She says that he finds joy in
helping cows drink water from the pool. He plays as equals with other cowherds.
She praises Garuda as providing shelter to the Lord from the hot Sun and compares
her beloved to a young elephant calf that plays around happily. He is always
encircled with huge followers – boys and beautiful girls. He destroyed so many
asuras with such ease – Dhenuka, Baka, Kuvalaya Tusker – the list is just
endless. The Gopis tell her that they saw him in Brindavan returning after a
game of hunting.
காட்டை நாடித் தேனுகனும்
களிறும் புள்ளும்
உடன் மடிய
வேட்டையாடி வருவானை
விருந்தாவனத்தே கண்டோமே
Ordinary mind
cannot grasp him
Andal says the ordinary mind
cannot grasp him quickly. She also praises the physical features as being dark
like a cloud. Her friends praise the young boy whom they saw at Brindavan as
one glittering like stars on a bright night.
வெளிய சந்கோன்ருடையானைப் பீதக
வாடை யுடையானை
அலி நன்குடைய திருமாலை ஆழியானைக்
கண்டீரே
Through these verses, Andal presents
the message to the true devotees that the Lord seen with a white conch and
chakra and sporting a yellow robe has compassionate qualities and blesses the
faithful with everything in life. She also finally reconfirms that this is all
just a sport for the Lord and he is a pure one who takes care of the Noble.
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