Thiruppavai - Goda's Gita Volume 3: Thiruppavai - Goda's Gita, #3

By Swetha Sundaram

Goda and her friends are ready to start the sacred ritual. When they arrive at the banks of the Yamuna, they notice that their ten friendsare missing. They go in search of their ten friends.The essence of ThiruppAvai is that ANDAL observed the month- long Paavai vratam to perform eternal service to Lord Krishna and gain the ultimate fruit of gaining Lord Krishna as Her husband.Everyone should learn the essence of the Bagawad Gita but, with over 700 slokams in the Bagawad Gita, it's not an easy text to study; but, what if there was a simpler way to learn the Bagawad Gita?Thiruppavai - Goda's Gita offers an easier way to learn the essence of the Bagawad Gita.The Bagawad Gita is the essence of the Upanishads, part of the Sanskrit Vedas. The Sanskrit Vedas are called as 'marai" in Tamil because it is not easy to decipher the meaning of the verses easily as they contain many hidden meanings. The AzhwAr Saints revealed the meaning of the Vedic Verses in Tamil. They composed the pasurams in such a way that it is easy to understand the meaning of the Sanskrit Vedas.The Thiruppavai is an anthology, part of the Tamil Vedas called 4000 Divya Prabandhams. It was composed by Andal (Goda Nachiar) who is none other than Goddess Bhumi Devi. ThiruppAvai has 30 Paasurams and it is eulogised as GodhOpanishad since it summarizes the sacred meanings of the Upanishads in just 30 verses. The Dhanur Maasa also called Margazhi Maasa in Tamil is dedicated to studying Thiruppavai. The author has brought out the commentary of the Godopanishad in the format of a novel " conversation between Goda and her friends. The commentary is based on formal lectures attended by the author.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Swetha Sundaram
• Release date: Aug 17, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393317968

Swetha Sundaram

Swetha Sundaram lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She is an Instrumentation and Controls Engineer working in Calgary. She graduated from B.S. in Engineering Honours Program from University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. She writes on a variety of subjects; some of the topics include, Sri Vaishnavism, health & diet, history and children’s books. She believes in promoting love and equality. She has travelled to many countries and has lived in many different countries. Apart from writing, her hobbies also include sketching, gardening and reading.

Book preview

Pasuram 11

‘Who should we visit next?’ asked Padma as the girls ran on the soft grass dripping with morning dew. The first light of the day filled the Eastern horizon in vivid colours of reds, oranges and pinks. Birds stirred from their nests and were getting ready to leave their nests in search of food. Buffaloes proceeded from their pens grazing on the short grass around their enclosures.  The swishing sound from the butter churn along with the melodious voice of the women singing the glories of Lord Narayana echoed through the streets. The village was slowly coming to life.

‘The girl who is the crowning glory of our clan,’ replied Goda. ‘Our friend has taken birth as the daughter of the dairy community who carefully takes care of their cattle and milks the cows, not for profit but to offer every drop to our Krishna. If Krishna is the shining gem of our community, our friend is the beautiful golden creeper of our community.’

‘Why do you describe her as a golden creeper?’ asked Charulatha.

‘With her golden complexion and tiny waist, she looks like a golden creeper. She reminds me of Rukmini Piratti. Ruk in Sanskrit is a term for gold and the name Rukmini means Golden Creeper.

‘Do tell us about Rukmini Piratti.’

‘She wrote the famous love letter to Krishna. She incarnated in the Kingdom of Vidharbha as the daughter of King Bhishmaka. She had five elder brothers; Rukmi, Rukmarathan, Rukmabahan, Rukmakesan and Rukmamali.  Rukmini Piratti grew up listening to the glories of Lord Krishna. The more She heard about the antics of our Krishna, the more She fell in love with Him. She told Her father that She wanted to marry Lord Krishna but, Rukmi, Her brother was against this idea. Rukmi was the friend of Shishupalan who spent his time cursing Krishna.

All the negative forces usually come together; Rukmi, Sishupalan and Jarasandhan formed a strong bond of friendship. Jarasandhan tried to encourage his son Sahadevan to wed Rukmini Piratti...’

‘Isn’t Sahadevan one of the Pandavas?’ interrupted Vrnda.

‘The Pandava brother is P. Sahadevan, Pandu’s son. This is J.Sahadevan.  If you go to South India, the name Srinivasan is quite popular. Like that the name Sahadevan must have been in vogue and both Pandu and Jarasandhan named their sons as Sahadevan.

Coming back to my story, Jarasandhan asked his son Sahadevan to wed Rukmini Piratti but he refused...’

‘Why?’ interrupted Shyama.

‘Although he was the son of Jarasandhan, he was a good man. He realised that Rukmini Piratti is Jagan Matha and that She is the Divine Consort of Lord Krishna.’

‘It’s a wonder that an evil-minded person like Jarasandhan had a good son!’

‘Didn’t Hiranyakashipu have Prahladan as his son?’ asked Goda. ‘Anyway, as Sahadevan refused, Jarasandhan encouraged Shishupalan to wed Rukmini Piratti. Without even informing Piratti, Her brothers fixed an alliance with Shishupalan the King of Chedi, a cousin of Lord Krishna. Bhishmaka was under the influence of his sons and agreed to the match. As they feared Krishna, they made the wedding arrangements in secret. Even Piratti wasn’t informed about the wedding arrangements.

A day before the wedding, Rukmini Piratti learnt about the arrangements. She immediately approached a Dwija and urged him to carry Her letter to Lord Krishna in Dwaraka.’

‘How did this Dwija cover the distance of around 1000 Km so quickly and return back to Vidharbha in time to stop the wedding? Did you say Piratti came to hear about the wedding arrangements a day before the wedding or was it perhaps a few days before the wedding?’

‘It was on the eve of Her wedding that Piratti found out about the wedding arrangements. When I reveal to you the identity of the Dwija, you will not be surprised.

tad avetyāsitāpāńgī

vaidarbhī durmanā bhṛśam

vicintyāptaḿ dvijaḿ kancit

kṛṣṇāya prāhiṇod drutam

The name of the person is not mentioned in Srimad Bagawatham; the rishi calls him as dwija.’

‘Aren’t Brahmins called as Dwija?’ asked Charulata.

‘Yes,’ said Goda. ‘Dwija is the name given to Brahmins because they take a second birth after the Upanayanam ceremony. Similarly, a tooth is called dwija because it falls down and regenerates as permanent teeth. Likewise, birds are also called Dwija because they take birth as an egg and then hatch from the egg. Now can you guess the identity of the Dwija?’

‘No,’ replied the girls.

‘The rishi did not refer to a Brahmin as Dwija since he could have also used other synonyms like Vipra. The rishi intentionally used Dwija, the name common to both Brahmins and birds. Can’t you think of a bird who is the best friend of Lord Krishna?’

‘Lord Garuda!’ exclaimed Padma.

‘Very good Padma,’ applauded Goda Piratti. ‘During Ramavataram, when Lord Hanuman conveyed Piratti’s message to Lord Rama, Perumal embraced Lord Hanuman with love. Lord Garuda looked at this scene from Sri Vaikuntam and yearned to be embraced by Perumal. He rushed towards Lanka when Lord Rama and Lord Lakshmana were bound by the Nagasthra hoping to be rewarded by Lord Rama with a hug.’

‘Well, did Lord Rama give him a hug?’ asked Padma.

‘No, Perumal didn’t embrace him. So, the disappointed Garudazhwar hugged Lord Rama instead but was taken aback when Lord Rama pretended not to know him. After Perumal returned to Sri Vaikuntam, Garudazhwar asked Perumal, ‘why didn’t you give me a hug?’

‘The reason I embraced Hanuman was because he came from Piratti. If you bring a message from Piratti I will also hug you.’ Promised Perumal

So, Garudazhwar with the help of Piratti got the job of the messenger and carried Piratti’s love-letter to Lord Krishna. As it was Garudazhwar, he could cover the 1000 km easily and had time to return to Vidharbha with Lord Krishna. Garudazhwar was welcomed with love by Lord Krishna. Garudazhwar was swept away by Krishna’s love that he even forgot about Piratti’s letter. He was given a scrumptious dinner after which Perumal pressed his feet while he took a nap. After Lord Garuda woke up from his nap, Lord Krishna asked him if he had any message. Only then, he remembered the letter from Rukmini Piratti.’

‘What had Piratti mentioned in Her love-letter?’ asked Mangala.

‘Rukmini Piratti opened her letter by stating that She fell in love with Lord Krishna after hearing Her acharyans sing His praise.  She covers the instruction of Sri Yagnavalkya Maharishi to his wife Maitreyi in Her first slokam. i.e, one can learn about Paramatma by first listening to His glories. She then introduced Herself as an equal to Krishna in every way. She belonged to a good lineage like Krishna and was His equal. She requested Perumal to come to Vidharbha and carry Her away from the clutches of Sishupalan.

‘Please come immediately and make me your wife,’ said Rukmini Piratti. ‘The Kshatriyas leave burnt offerings outside the temple of Kotavai Devi before going to war. It is a good omen if a lion smells the offering but, if a jackal smells it, they know that they will lose the battle. Please make sure that I am not carried away by the jackal. I know you will come because I have followed all the niyamams like Ekadashi fasting, I perform charitable work out of the allowance given to me by my father and I respectfully worship all the deities and Brahmmanas. I have done all the above with the sole intention of pleasing you.’

In just seven slokas, Piratti summarised the Bagawad Geetha and informs us that we must perform karma only to please Perumal.

‘The wedding is planned to take place tomorrow,’ informed Piratti. ‘Please come with an army headed by your commander in chief so that while they fight with the Chedi army we can get married. Don’t worry, you will be victorious! I am restricted to my inner quarters except in the morning when the bride is allowed to walk to the temple of Goddess Ambika. Wait for me in your chariot near the temple. Carry me away only after I have worshipped the Goddess. If you follow my advice, we can avoid fighting with my relatives.’ The compassionate Piratti didn’t want Perumal to hurt Her relatives and hence suggested the above plan to avoid direct confrontation.

After reading the letter, Perumal immediately started for Vidarbha with Garudazhwar. His charioteer Darukan drove Perumal’s chariot. Balarama heard the sound of Perumal’s chariot. After ascertaining the reason for Perumal’s trip, Balarama immediately started with a huge army to assist Perumal.

As Perumal neared the city limits of Vidarbha, Garudazhwar urged Perumal to travel faster so that they could inform the anxious Piratti.

‘We can inform Her from here itself,’ said Perumal. He took His Panchajanyam and blew the conch to inform Piratti that He had arrived. He then shook His tulasi garland and the fragrance from Perumal’s divine garland allayed Piratti’s anxiety.

As per Piratti’s instruction, Perumal waited till Piratti worshipped Goddess Ambika and as She exited the temple, He caught hold of Her hand, pulled Her into the chariot and drove away....’

‘But Goda,’ interrupted Vrnda. ‘Hadn’t Shishupalan and Jarasandhan arranged for security around the temple? Didn’t they expect any trouble from Perumal?’

‘They had arranged for tight security.’

‘What were the guards doing when Perumal caught hold of Piratti’s hand and lifted Her into His chariot?’

‘Jarasandhan asked them this question.

‘Fools,’ he thundered. ‘Why did you let Krishna drive away with Rukmini? Were you not paying attention?’

‘Our attention was only on Krishna and Rukmini but, when we saw them together, we got this urge to pay obeisance to them and we felt that they are our Divine Parents. By the time we were freed from this thought, they were gone.’

Do you all remember that last night while explaining to you the meaning of Mayanai Mannu pasuram, I had called Krishna as the Mayan? The Mayan who is the antaryami of all, made the guards drop their weapons while He drove away with Piratti.’

‘Goda, you often state that Sri Vaishnavas should worship only Goddess Mahalakshmi and Lord Narayana and that they must not go to the temples of other deities. This is as per the pathi vratha bakthi philosophy,’ said Radha.

‘That is correct.’

‘Then, why did Goddess Rukmini, the incarnation of Goddess Mahalakshmi visit the temple of Goddess Ambika?’

‘Swami Vedanta Desikan has provided an expanation in the Yadhavabyudayam. The following explanation is from Yadhavabyudayam. All the deities are appointed by Goddess Mahalakshmi and Lord Narayana and they bestow boons upon those who worship them as per their karma. I will use the example of our government to explain the roles played by these deities. Goddess Mahalakshmi and Lord Narayana are the empress and emperor. All the other deities like Brahmma, Indra, Agni et al are all appointed by them to govern the jeevatmas in leela vibhuthi. Goddess Rukmini visited the temple of Goddess Ambika to test Goddess Ambika. Rukmini Piratti wanted to see how well Goddess Ambika granted boons to worshippers. ‘

‘I still don’t understand,’ declared Radha.

‘I will give you an anecdote from the life of King Bhoja. King Bhoja had bestowed many grants to Brahmins with the condition that the Brahmins must take care of the poor and the needy. The king received complaints from a few people that the Brahmins of a particular village were not attending to the needy. The king decided to see for himself and went to the village in disguise. He pretended to be a mendicant and after arriving at the very first house, he knocked on the door and asked for a glass of water.

The lady of the house replied, ‘please wait for a few minutes.’

King Bhoja waited outside and a few minutes turned into a quarter of an hour and yet there was no sign of the lady of the house. Once again King Bhoja knocked on the door and the lady asked him to wait for a few more minutes.

‘How long is a few minutes?’ wondered King Bhoja. ‘Maybe the complainant is right and the Brahmins don’t attend to the needy.’ At that moment, the lady’s two-year-old child waddled towards the agnihothram fire. ‘Look at your son, ‘yelled King Bhoja. ‘He is going near the sacred fire!’ To the dismay of the King, the lady didn’t do anything. The toddler put his arm into the homa kundam but, instead of crying in pain, he laughed and started to play with fire as if it was sandalwood paste and not fire.  The king looked at this wondrous sight in amazement. Ten more minutes passed and finally, the lady appeared with a glass of water.

‘How come you didn’t do anything when your son went near the sacred fire and how come he isn’t hurt even after sticking his arm into the effulgent fire?’

‘My husband performs agnihothram regularly. Today after finishing his rituals, he wasn’t feeling well and rested with his head on my lap. I didn’t have the heart to wake him and this is why I asked you to wait. I also knew that my son wouldn’t be hurt because my husband and I fulfil all our duties faithfully.’

King Bhoja realised that the Brahmins of that village were very sincere in performing their duties. They were so sincere that they had the complete blessings of Sri Agni Bagawan. The point I was trying to make is, like King Bhoja who went to test the Brahmins by pretending to be a mendicant in need of water, Rukmini Piratti went to the temple to test Goddess Ambika.’

By this time the girls had arrived at the property line of their friend. Unlike the others, this girl lived in an acreage. They walked through the gate and admired the paddocks.

‘Look at the paddocks!’ exclaimed Charulata. ‘I have seen such a large number of paddocks only at Raja Nanda Gopan’s. Each breed of cattle is housed in one enclosure; this is why they have such a large number of enclosures. ’

‘Kankrej, Deoni, Gir, Sahiwal, Kosali, Goomsur, Sunandini, Kaangeyam, Krishnagiri, Tharparkar ....,’counted Mallika naming the native Indian cow breeds per enclosure.  ‘I haven’t seen so many varieties!’ she exclaimed. ‘I can’t even count the breeds they have let alone count the total number of cows!’

‘That’s only the cow breeds. Look over there at the breeds of buffalo and even goats!’ exclaimed Shyama. ‘ Surti, Nili-Ravi...’

‘Stop,’ cried Padma. ‘Don’t waste time counting the buffalo breeds! It’s impossible to count. Let us just say that they have an infinite number of breeds with infinite individuals per group! Its infinity times infinity!’

‘Infinity multiplied by infinity is infinity,’ said Goda with a smile. ‘Infinite like the number of jeevatmas; no one can count the total number of jeevatmas. Take the example of just an anthill; is it possible to count the number of ants in even just one hill? The cows are numerous like the army of Emperor Dasaratha. It was impossible to count the number of foot soldiers, horses and elephants in the Emperor’s army. The cows are countless like the number of births taken by us and the number of sins we have accumulated over our many births. The cows are uncountable like the number of Kalyana Gunams present in Perumal. As Heyaprathyaneekan, Perumal has zero defects and a countless number of positive attributes.’

‘What is meant by Heyaprathyaneekan?’ asked Shyama.

‘Heyaprathyaneekan is the name given to one who repels defects. When Sri Gargacharyar named Krishna as Vaasudevan, King Nanda asked why the sage was naming our Krishna after Vasudevar. To this Gargacharyar replied, ‘Vaasudeva is one of the names of Lord Vishnu. The name Vaasudeva is the original name of Perumal. It can be split into two syllables Vaasu + Deva, ‘Vaasu’ refers to a person who is omnipresent and lives everywhere.....’

‘If He lives everywhere, won’t He be affected by the defects associated with the place? For instance, if we go to the garden we may be bitten by insects like mosquitoes. Is Perumal affected by the ills present in the place?’ asked King Nanda.

‘The second syllable ‘Deva’ answers your question,’ explained Gargaccharya. ‘‘Deva’ means master and unaffected. Even though Perumal is omnipresent, He is unaffected by the pollutions present in the place. If we go and take a dip in a swamp we will smell bad, but Lord Vishnu is also present in the swamp, but He is unaffected by any of the negative aspects present in the swamp.’

‘How can that be?’

‘Sunlight spreads everywhere. It also touches the swamp. Does mud stick to Sunlight?’

‘Of course not!’

‘Have you eaten halwa?’ asked Gargacharyar.

‘It’s my favourite dessert.’

‘After eating halwa, do you scrub your hands with soap and water to remove the grease?’

‘Always.’

‘What about your tongue? Do you use soap to remove grease from your tongue?’

‘It is not required.’

‘Why not?’

‘Grease doesn’t stick to the tongue.’

‘Why is it so?’

‘Because, it is the nature of the tongue to repel grease,’ answered Nanda Gopan.

‘Exactly,’ said Gargacharyar. ‘Like the tongue that repels grease, Perumal repels everything that is flawed. He is unaffected by defects and as Apahatapapman, He repels sins.’ Said the sage,’ concluded Goda. ‘Also, the cows are infinite like the jeevatmas. In one body, there is one main jeevatma accompanied by an infinite number of jeevatmas like bacteria and cells in the cellular system.’

‘Aren’t jeevatmas free of defects? I thought you said that the jeevatma’s true swaroopam is free of any defects,’ asked Vimala.

‘That’s right,’ said Goda. ‘The jeevatma too is defectless but when it comes in contact with its body, it starts accumulating sins or merits. Sage Parasara Maharishi has explained this concept in the Vishnu Puranam.

Sage Parasara while explaining about the origin of Vedas to Sage Maitreya , narrated the story of Sage Vaisampayana and his disciple Sage Yagnavalkya. Sage Vaisampayana was a disciple of Sage Veda Vyasa. He spread Yajur Veda by teaching it to his disciples.

Once, many sages congregated in the Himalayas. The rules of the congregation stated that if anyone missed attending the congregation for even one day, then that sage would be affected by the Brahmmahathi Dosham. Sage Vaisampayana missed a meeting due to certain circumstances and four days later he accidentally stepped on the neck of his nephew.  The nephew died from his injury and Sage Vaisampayana was affected by the Brahmmahathi