Thiruppavai Pasuram28-karavaigal pin senru

02-20-2007, 08:45 AM

Pasuram28-karavaigal pin senru

karvaigaL pin senru kanam mEithunbOm
arivonrum illAdha Aikkulatthundhannai
piravipperundhanai puNNiam yAmudaiyom
kuraivonrum illAdha gOvindhA unthannOdu
uravEl namakkinru ozikka oziyAdhu
ariyAdha piLLaigalOm anbinAl unthannai
sirupEr azaitthanavum Seeri aruLAdhE
iraivA nee tharAi paraiyElOrempAvai.

We are simple folks with not much wisdom and we follow the cattle and
eat in the forest but we have done a lot of punya to have you in our
midst. You have no faults and we have no other relation than with
you.We are ignorant youngsters and if we call you as though you are
one of us do not get angry but shower your grace on us.

This pasuram reflects the words of Arjuna in the Gita,'sakhEthimathvA
prasabham yadhuktham hE krishna hE yadhava hE sakhethi;ajAnathA
mahimanam thavEdham,mayA pramAdhAth pranayEna vapi,' (BG.11-41) There
Arjuna asks forgiveness of Krishna on seeing His visvaroopa, that he
had been calling Krishna with familiarity, treating Him like a friend,
by names such as Krishna, Yadhava, friend etc. Here too Abndal
assuming the role of a gopi, says that they were cowherd girls ,
without intelligence and knew no more than looking after the cattle
and going to the forest with them and eating there etc.

arivonrum illAdha Aikkula ----puNNiam yAmudaiyOm- This is said to
denote the souseelyam and soulabhyam of the Lord. Souseelyam is moving
with the ignorant folk wirhout discrimination, 'mahathah mandhaih saha
neeranDHra samslesha svabhAvah.' And the soulabhyam is 'labDHum
suSakathvam,' easy accessibility. By being born im the yadhavakula the
Lord has displayed both the qualities.

kuraivonrum illAdha govinda- The Lord is ananthakalyaNa guNa visishta,
endowed with infinite ausoicious qualities and without a blemish.

uravEl namakkingu ozikka oziyAdhu- denotes the awareness that the
permanent relationship is only with the Lord which is undeniable.

ariyAdha piLlaigaLOm-means that we do not know the proper way of
worshipping you as we do not have any learning.

anbinAl----seeri arulAdhe- Not knowing your greatness we may have
treated you as one among us. So do not get angry.This is similar to
the words of Arjuna, quoted above.

Iraiva----parai elorempavai-On the other hand you have to show your
grace because we surrender to you as our only refuge.

punniam yamudaiyOm- even though they are ignorant they had the result
of past good deeds to have Krishna among them. The Lord expects only
love which at its height becomes bhakthi more than learning or
austerities. Krishna Himself says, 'nAham vedhairh na thapasA na
DhAnEna na chejyayaa----bhakthyA thu ananyayA sakyah,' To understand
Him in reality is possible only through bhakthi and not by penance,
meritorious deeds or by performing sacrifices. Due to punya alone one
gets bhakthi, whiich is meant here.

The name Govinda has great implications.:

The word 'go' has several meanings in sanskrit such as earth,
indriya,svarga,or mokshaastra Cow, veda etc. Based on that the
scholars explain the name thus:
1.Gaam(second case singular of 'go') , svargam or moksham
vindhayathi,secures ithi govindhah. He is govindha because He bestows
mukthi.

2.Gaam, ishum, meaning astras vindhathi - He acquired the astras from
Visvamithra in Ramavathara.

3.Gaah(accusative plural of 'go', pasu.) vindhathi. He knew the cows,
that is, He knew them to be the rshis of dandakaaranya in His
krishnavathara.Balarama is also implied by the word cow as He went
with Krishna for gorakshaNa

4.Gobhih (instrumental plural of 'go'meanind veda.) vindhyathe. He is
known through the vedas.

5Gaam, vajram, vindhayathi. He made it possible for indra to get
vajrayudha by instructing him to approach Dhadheechi and beg him to
give his backbone.

6.Gavaa (instrumental singular of 'go'meaning dhrk, look) dhrsaa
vindhathi. He knows all by His dhrk or appropriate kataksha.He knows
how to look at every one and when.

7.Gaah nethraaNi vindhathi- He has thrinethra, three eyes as Nrsimha,
and also eyes everywhere, 'sahasraakshassahasrapath'

8. Gaah, jwaalaah, vindhathi, has fiery form, being Suryamandala
madhya varthi.Chandhogya upanishad describes Brahman as 'Ya
eshahantharaadhithye hiraNmayah purushah dhrsyathe hiranyasmasru
hiranya kesa aapraNakhaath sarva Eva suvarNah'. The purusha seen
inside the orb of the Sun with golden beard, golden hair an
exceedingly effulgent even to the very tips of His nails. The purusha
here is paramaathman or Narayana.This is the passage where the
famous'kapyaasam pundarikam' occurs referred to in the charitra of
Ramanuja.
9.Gaam ,bhoomim vindhathi, brought the earth from the depth of the
ocean, Vatrahavathara and also Parsurama as He wandered all over the
earth and Trivikrama as He measured the earth with His feet.

10. Gaam , jalam vindhathi. resorts to the waters, Mathsya and Koorma.
11. Gaam vedam vindhathi. He alone knows the real purport of the
vedas. Refers to Hayagrivaavathara.
12. Gaam ,indhriyam vindhathi .The Lord of the indhriyas, Hrishikesah.
Makes the indhriyas enter into appropriate vishaya.

There are even more meanings mentioned by the saintly commentators but
These are the generally quoted meanings. Andal was fond of this nama
is also shown by her mentioning it in the three of her main pasurams.

Srivilliputhur is referred to as Govindhan vaazumoor.Commentators say
that Andal being the avathara of Bhudevi had more love for govindha
nama as the Lord saved her in Varahavathara..
Govindha pattabhishekam is extolled as being even superior than that
of Rama because Valmiki says 'vasavo vaasavam yathaa', of the
coronation of Rama comparing it to that of Indra but here Indra
himself did the abhisheka of Krishna as Govinda.
When the Lord is called Govinda He feels indebted to the devotee as in
the case of Droupadi who screamed with grief calling Him Govinda when
He immediately came to the resque.
Lord Srinivasa of Thirupathi is known as Govinda and when the devotees
sing the glory ofthe Lord they say only Govindanamasankirthanam. In
VenkatesapuraNa , Lord Srinivasa is asked as to whom the preliminary
poojs to be done, because He Himself cannot worship Himself. He was
told, 'thvAmEva vEdmi Govinda,' meaning 'I know only you.' Then He
mentioned the Narasimha of Ahobilam.
There are three places where He is known as Govinda, namely,
Thirupathi, Chidambaram and srivilliputthur.
Kurai onrum illAdha govinda- the commentators say that this term is
appropriate only to Krishna because he rectified the three seemingly
defective acts of Rama in this avathara. Of course these reasons are
given in light vein.
1. He redressed the wrong done to Vali, the son of Indra, by killing
him and giving the kingdom to the son of Surya, Sugreeva , by doing
the reverse in this avathara. He caused the death of Karna, the
Suryaputhra and got the kingdom for Arjuna,son of Indra!
2.Hanuman said to Sita 'nahi prakrshtAh prEshyanthE preshyanthE hi
ithare janah,' to reassure her. Usually the mightiest are not sent as
messengers but only others and when he himself has been able to cross
the ocean others, all of whom are mightier than him will certainly do
so. Perhaps the Lord thought that Anjaneya might have such notions and
hence considered himself to be inferior and to show the greatness of
Maruti as a messenger, He Himself went as one in Krishnavathara!
3. the name Ramayana was not the one given by Valmiki who called his
composition as 'seethAyah charitham mahath,' the great story of
Seetha. In Tamil it is termed as 'siraiirundhaval Ettram' the glory of
one who was imprisoned. Perhaps the Lord also thought that it is due
to her exemplary character exhibited when she was a prisoner in Lanka
and was a bit jealous about it and in krishnavathara He was born in
Prison itself!