Andal Brindavan Nachiyar Thirumozhi

The 14^th 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 14^th 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. 

Andal enduring Love Torture

Outpourings from a girl’s tender heart

 One needs to offer sincere prayers to the Lord and not be impatient with him for the Returns

Through the Nachiyar Thirumozhi, Andal describes her own experience when she tries to reach out to the Lord. It is a clear message to the devotees that it is not easy to attain the Lord and that one cannot get impatient with him. It is likely that the Lord is testing out the true devotion in the devotee by not acceding to his prayers instantly.

One has to continue to offer one’s prayers to the Lord irrespective of the reaction (or lack of it) from the Lord. In fact, at the end of this decad, frustrated at his lack of acceptance, Andal even goes to the extent of asking if she has to take another birth to attain him and if by doing so, whether she will be able to reach him when he has not answered her sincere prayers in this present birth.

She sought help from her relatives and friends to reach out to the Lord. But other than sympathy and a few words of advice, they were not able to assist her, further compounding her misery.

In this penultimate decad of the Nachiyar Thirmozhi, she pleads with them to at least bring some of the ornaments worn by her beloved that she hopes will bring some relief to her. She asks for his golden robe, the basil garland, the ornament on his chest, the nectar from his lips and even the left over mud created by the movement of his feet. She even seeks the spit from the hole of the flute that he plays.

Fan me with his yellow robe

Similar to the previous decad, Andal begins this one by ordering the world to stop their advice to her especially given the state of despair she has been in. If in the previous one, she retorted that any advice on her love would be like one given by deaf to a dumb, here she states that any talk of wisdom from the experts on love would amount to pouring tamarind over an already injured wound and is likely to add salt to her injury. She is not seeking pity from anyone.

‘Don’t you understand the feelings of a woman who is struck with grief?’

Instead if they truly cared for her well being, she asks them to bring the beautiful yellow silk robe from the waist of her beloved so she can be fanned with it and derive some comfort from it.

கண்ணனென்னும் கருந்தெய்வம் காட்சி பழகிக் கிடப்பேனை

புண்ணில் புளிப் பெய்தாற் போலப் புறம் நின்று அழகு பேசாதே

பெண்ணின் வருத்தம் அறியாத பெருமான் அறையில் பீதக

வண்ண வாடை கொண்டு என்னை வாட்டம் தணிய வீசீரே

Please control your tongue

She praises the Lord as one seen in a sleeping posture in Thiru Kudanthai. Asking them to stop their lectures and teasing her repeatedly with their words, she says it is hurting her and the words are particularly piercing her like a spear. After seeking his robe in the first decad, she now wants them to bring the Tulasi garland worn by him at Thiru Kudanthai.

வேலால் துன்னம் பெய்தாற்போல் வேண்டிற்றெல்லாம் பேசாதே

While he has sent out a message that he protects the good and asks them to fear not, she has not been able to see him despite her sincere prayers in Margazhi that was followed in the subsequent months of Thai and Panguni. She has sent several communications to him through various sources (as seen earlier in the Nachiyar Thirumozhi).

Yellow Robe, Tulasi Garland and now Vanamala

And she wants more of him. Her bosom is longing for him. If he does not play false, and agrees to part with the Vanamala that he adorns on his chest, she wants it to be brought to her and rubbed on her bosom to enliven her spirit and to rekindle her sagging energy.

Get me the nectar from his lips

Her desperation indicates that these are her last wishes to save her life and to unite with him. She lay in despair in a state that she sees is beyond repair. She asks for nectar to be brought from his sweet lips before it dries out to help renew her spirit. This may possibly be ‘the only thing that can save my life.’

ஆரா அமுத மனையான் தன் அமுத வாயி லூறிய

நீர்தான் கொணர்ந்து புலராமே பருக்கி இளைப்பை நீக்கீரே

Even the Spit from the Flute hole is sacred!!!

For long, she has wept and prayed expressing a desire to be caressed and embraced by him.  And yet he has not even shown his face. He is enjoying himself by grazing cows in the forest playing the flute to the delight of the birds and the animals there when the young girl is seeking his love. Her longing for him is so deep that she wants them to bring the spittle that dribbles from the hole in the flute to wipe the tears in her eyes that are trickling down her cheeks in a hope to freshen her face.

அழிலும் தொழிலும் உருக்காட்டான் அஞ்சே லென்னான் அவன் ஒருவன்

தழுவி முழுவி புகுந்து என்னை சுற்றி சுழன்று போகானால்

தழையின் பொழில் வாய் நிரைப்பினே நெடுமாலூதி வருகின்ற

குழலின் தொnலை வாய்நீர் கொண்டு குளிர முகத்து தடவீரே

Is there justice in this world?

She refers to this world as one where there is no law. She calls her beloved as the son of Nandagopala who has shown no signs of discipline and takes law into his own hands. He has compounded her injuries by kicking her mentally and crippling her. In such a state of despair, she says that it is okay to even smear the mud and the dust created by his foot prints on her face and all over her body.  She feels that even that will be refreshing for her in her current mood.

நான் போட்கன் மிதித்த அடிப்பாட்டில்

பொடித்தான் கொணர்ந்து

பூசிர்கள் போகா உயிர் என்னுடம்பையே

Relief from Pangs of Separation?

She has not allowed anyone to touch her breasts as these were meant exclusively for him. However he seems to continue to be unjust. Even his mother seems to have accepted him as a wonder child beyond her control. It is time to bind him firmly by the arms and bring him to justice. She will be relieved from the pangs of separation only when his broad chest embraces her loving breasts.

குற்ற முற்ற முலை தன்னைக்

குமரன் கொலப்பனைத் தோளோடு

அற்ற குற்றம் அவை தீர அணைய

அமுக்கிக் கட்டீரே

Extreme display of Love

Andal expresses her extreme state of frustration at the lack of attention from her beloved. She goes to the extent of calling him a highway ‘rogue’. While she is pleading for his love, he has not even enquired about her and replied to any of her many messages. He does not even care to know whether she is alive or not.

In anger, she says that when he arrives (which she expects will happen someday in her life), she will tear her breasts and fling at his handsome chest in a way to settle ‘old’ scores with him. That way the desire that has been burning in her heart will finally be extinguished and he will get a real fee of her love for him and how he has hurt her over time by not accepting the true prayers of a sincere devotee.

உள்ளே உருகி நைவேனை உளளோ இலளோ வென்னாத

கொள்ளைக் கொள்ளிக் குறும்பனைக் கோவர்தனனைக் கண்டக்கால்

கொள்ளும் பயனொன்றில்லாத கொங்கை தன்னைக் கிழங் கோடும்

அள்ளிப் பறித்திட்டு அவன் மார்விலெரிந்து என்னழலைத் தீர்வேனே

She wonders as to his ability to serve her breasts in his next life if he does not satisfy her in this present birth. Will it not be futile to have another birth. She wonders as to what penance will she be able to do in the next birth to convince him of her love.

Hug me or say I don’t accept you

She ends the decad providing two options. One is to hug her by her bosom to convey the acceptance of her love for him.

செம்மையுடைய  திருமார்வில் சேரத்தானேலும் ஒரு ஞான்று

மெய்ம்மை சொல்லி முகம் நோக்கி

விடைதான் தருமேல் மிக நன்றே

And if that is impossible and if he bids adieu, she will at least know ‘what his views are on her.’

Andal seeks help

Any advice to me on ‘Love and its futility’ is like one given by the deaf to the dumb - Andal

Lips have turned white, Appetite has been lost, Nights have turned longer, Body has lost its colour, mind has lost its thought process and her honour and dignity are corrupted

Having addressed the cuckoo and peacock, the conch and the clouds earlier in the Nachiyar Thirumozhi, Andal, in this 12th decad, now reaches out to the world at large and her relatives and friends asking them to take her to her beloved. She is upset with reactions of some of them and hits out at the people who scoffed at her love for the Lord. Andal calls herself as living in ecstasy in a world of love with the Lord. In such a delirious state any advice to her will seem like one given by a deaf to a dumb and is unlikely to have any impact on her. She will have no answers for such people.

Praising him as one who in his childhood had wrestled with ease, she asks to be taken to Mathura for a meeting with him.

மற்றிருந்தீர்கட்கு அறியலாகா மாதவனென்பதோர்   அன்பு தன்னை

உற்றிருதேனுக்கு உரைப்பதெல்லாம் 

ஊமையரோடு செவிடர் வார்த்தை

Her Love is no more a Secret

Her love for the Lord is no more a secret, now that everyone, including her neighbours, have become aware of it.  She threatens them saying that if they are genuine well wishers of her and if they want to do good to her, they should immediately take her to Ayarpadi without any further delay.

நாணி இனியோர் கருமமில்லை நாலாயலாரும் அறிந்தொழிந்தார்

பாணியாது என்னை மருந்து செய்து பண்டுபன்டாக்க உருதிராகில்

She says for long she has put up with the slander that she has strayed away from her parents and relatives and been lost in his thoughts. But she is undaunted by such criticism. She wants them to take her and leave her at the doorstop of Nanda’s house in the middle of the night.

She describes the contrasting scenario at that place. The young virgin maidens are sitting with broken hearts while Nanda’s son has been playing around with them taking advantage of their infatuation for him, in the process ruining their reputation.

தந்தையும் தாயும் உற்றாரும் நிற்கத்

தனி வழியே போயினாள் என்னும் சொல்லு

வந்த பின்னைப் பழி காப்பரிது

மாயவன் வந்து உருக்காட்டுகின்றான்

Her breasts have weakened thinking about him. With thoughts only of the conch wielding Lord, they keep away from other mortals and she says that her breasts are dedicated exclusively only to his embrace.

Describing the achievement of her Lord, she praises him as one who climbed the Kadamba tree and trampled the serpent Kaliya and danced on his hood. It is difficult for anyone to understand her feelings for him. But the only thing that she is seeking for in life is his caress and wants to be taken to the banks of the river where he had encountered the venomous demon.

Ill Effects of falling in Love

Her separation from the Lord has caused a lot of ill effects on her body. She has become pale and has been in a state of depression. Her lips have turned white. In recent times, she has had a loss of appetite. Her nights have been turning longer for she is losing ‘sleep over him’. ‘Her body has lost its colour, mind has lost its thought process and her honour and dignity are corrupted

The only thing that will get her back to normalcy is the union with her and the Lord presenting the Tulasi garland to her.

Interestingly she also praises the valourous ability of her beloved’s brother Balarama citing the example of his destruction of Pralamba by tearing apart the thighs of the asura.

வண்ணந் திரிவும் மனங்குழைவும்

மானமிலாமையும் வாய் வெளுப்பும்

உன்ன லுராமையும் உல்மெலிவும்

ஓதநீர் வண்ணன் என்பான் ஒருவன்

தன்னந்துழாஎன்னும் மாலை கொண்டு

குட்டதணியும் பிலம்பன் தன்னைப்

பண்ணழியப் பலதேவன் வென்ற

பாண்டிவடத்து என்னை உய்த்திடுமின் 

  

How to look at others with positivity

In another verse, Andal provides a great lesson on being positive in life. She warns the young ladies not to talk ill of her Lord that he only grazes cows, was born in a lower clan and stole butter in his childhood. It seems as if others are suggesting that she go after Rama instead of the lowly Krishna. This infuriates here and she hits back asking them to keep their learning to themselves. Do not insult him thus. There is no point listening to such things. Do they not remember how he protected the entire universe by holding the huge Govardhana Mountain with one hand, she asks.

கற்றினம் மேய்க்கிலும் மேய்க்கப் பெற்றான்

காடுவாழ் சாதியுமாகப் பெற்றான்

பற்றியுரலிடை யாப்பு முண்டான்

பாவிகாள் உங்களுக்கு ஏச்சுக் கொலோ

சுற்றன் பேசி வசையுணாதே

காளிகளுய்ய மழை தடுத்து

கொற்றக் குடையாக ஏந்தி நின்ற

கோவர் தனத்து என்னை உய்த்திடுமின்

Even the very parrot that is dear to her has started calling out his name much to her annoyance. In anger, she did not feed the parrot for a few days. And this backfired on her as to her surprise, the parrot started calling out his name even more loudly singing his praise as the one who measured the entire earth in a single stride.

கூட்டிலிருந்து கிளி எப்போதும் கோவிந்தா

கோவிந்தா என்று அழைக்கும்

ஊட்டம் கொடாது செறுப்பனாகில்

உலகளந்தான் என்று உயரக் கூவும்

Throughout this 12^th decad of the Nachiyar Thirumozhi, she expresses a desire to be taken to Dwaraka and Mathura, to Bhakta Vilochana where Balarama and Krishna were fed by rishis and to each of those sacred places where he displayed extraordinary strength to save the world and protect the devotees. Andal says her approach to attain her Lord is to visit places where her beloved played during his childhood.

Describing Dwaraka as a town with beautiful tall mansions, she wants to be taken there immediately, instead of constantly having to suffer abuse from the world of her slander.

Only those who have undergone the process of Saranagathi will realise the immediate need in reaching out to him and uniting with him. The only medicine to cure her from her current state is to see him with her own eyes and says that she is longing for his caress.