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.
மற்றிருந்தீர்கட்குஅறியலாகாமாதவனென்பதோர் அன்புதன்னை
உற்றிருதேனுக்குஉரைப்பதெல்லாம்
ஊமையரோடுசெவிடர்வார்த்தை
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.
நாணிஇனியோர்கருமமில்லைநாலாயலாரும்அறிந்தொழிந்தார்
பாணியாதுஎன்னைமருந்துசெய்துபண்டுபன்டாக்கஉருதிராகில்
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.
தந்தையும்தாயும்உற்றாரும்நிற்கத்
தனிவழியேபோயினாள்என்னும்சொல்லு
வந்தபின்னைப்பழிகாப்பரிது
மாயவன்வந்துஉருக்காட்டுகின்றான்
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.
வண்ணந்திரிவும்மனங்குழைவும்
மானமிலாமையும்வாய்வெளுப்பும்
உன்னலுராமையும்உல்மெலிவும்
ஓதநீர்வண்ணன்என்பான்ஒருவன்
தன்னந்துழாஎன்னும்மாலைகொண்டு
குட்டதணியும்பிலம்பன்தன்னைப்
பண்ணழியப்பலதேவன்வென்ற
பாண்டிவடத்துஎன்னைஉய்த்திடுமின்
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.
கற்றினம்மேய்க்கிலும்மேய்க்கப்பெற்றான்
காடுவாழ்சாதியுமாகப்பெற்றான்
பற்றியுரலிடையாப்புமுண்டான்
பாவிகாள்உங்களுக்குஏச்சுக்கொலோ
சுற்றன்பேசிவசையுணாதே
காளிகளுய்யமழைதடுத்து
கொற்றக்குடையாகஏந்திநின்ற
கோவர்தனத்துஎன்னைஉய்த்திடுமின்
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.
கூட்டிலிருந்துகிளிஎப்போதும்கோவிந்தா
கோவிந்தாஎன்றுஅழைக்கும்
ஊட்டம்கொடாதுசெறுப்பனாகில்
உலகளந்தான்என்றுஉயரக்கூவும்
Throughout this 12thdecad 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.