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 1st 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.
தையொருதிங்களும்தரைவிளக்கித்
தன்மண்டலமிட்டுமாசிமுன்னாள்
இயநுண்மண்றகொண்டுதெருவணிந்து
அழகினுக்கலங்கரித்துஅனங்கதேவா
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.
உய்யவுமாங்கொலோவென்றுசொல்லி
உன்னையும்உம்பியையும்தொழுதேன்
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
வெள்ளைநுண்மணறகொண்டுதெருவணிந்து
வேல்வரைப்பதன்முன்னம்துறைபடிந்து
முள்ளுமில்லாச்சுள்ளியெரிமடுத்து
முயன்றுஉன்னைநோற்கின்றேன்காமதேவா
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.
கள்ளவிழ்பூங்கணைதொதுடுத்துக்கொண்டு
கடல்வண்ணனென்பதோர்பேரெழுதி
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.
மத்தநன்னறுமலர்முருக்கமலர்கொண்டு
முப்போதும்உன்னடிவணங்கி
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.
சுவரில்புராணநின்பேரெழுதிச்
சுறவநற்கொடிகளும்துரங்கங்களும்
கவரிப்பிணாக்களும்கருப்புவில்லும்
காட்டித்தந்தேன்கண்டாய்காமதேவா
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.
மானிடவர்கென்றுபேச்சுப்படில்
வாழகில்லேன்கண்டாய்மன்மதனே
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.
கருவுடைமுகில்வண்ணன்காயாவண்ணன்
கருவிளைபோல்வண்ணன்கமலவண்ணத்
திருவுடைமுகத்தினில்திருக்கண்களால்
திருந்தவேநோக்கெனக்கருள்கண்டாய்
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.
காயுடைநெல்லோடுகரும்பமைத்துக்
கட்டிஅரிசிஅவலமைத்து
வாயுடைமறையவர்மந்திரத்தால்
மன்மதனேஉன்னைவணங்குகின்றேன்
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.
மாசுடையுடம்பொடுதலையுலறி
வாய்புறம்வெளுத்துஒருபோதுமுண்டு
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.
கேசவநம்பியைகால்பிடிப்பா
லென்னும்இப்பேறுஎனக்குஅருள்கண்டாய்
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!!!!
பழுதின்றிபார்க்கடல்வண்ணனுக்கே
பணிசெய்துவாழப்பெறாவிடில்
நான்அழுதழதளமந்தம்மாவழங்க
ஆதரவும்அதுஉனக்குஉரைக்கும்கண்டாய்