thiruppavai-18-undhumadhakaLitRan

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Pasuram18-undhumadhakaLittran

 

UndhumadhakaLittran OdAdhathOLvaliyan

nandhagopAlan marumagalE nappinnAI

gandham kamazum kuzalee kadai thiravAi

vandhengum kOzi azaithana kAN mAdhavi

pandhalmEl palkAl kuyilinangaLkoovina kAN

pandhAr virali un maitthunan pEr pAda

senthAmaraikkaiyAl seerAr vaLai olippa

vandhu thiravAi magizndhElOrempAvai

 

NappinnA, of fragrant hair, the daughter- in- law of the valiant elephant -like Nandhagopa, who never flees from battle,come and open the door. See the cocks are crowing and the cuckoos are singing on the madhavi creeper. You who has ball in your fingers come and open the door with your lotus hand with jingling bangles when we sing the glory of your Lord.

 

To get the favour of the Lord one needs the grace of Lakshmi. So here she is awakened. With the glance of Sitadevi while she passed by the rsyamooka hill Sugreeva attained his kingdom.Hanuman went as Ramadhootha and after being graced by the glance of Sitadevi became Ramadasa and had the great fortune of being hugged by Rama.It is significant that she never looked at Ravana while talking to him. On the other hand the Kakasura whose offense to her was even worse than that of Ravana escaped death because of her glance.The word nappinnAi is also explained as nal=pinnAi, meaning Sita devi, the good one who followed (pin thodarndhaval) Rama to the forest.

 

The word marumagal, normally means daughter- in -law, is also explained to mean Lakshmi herself as she abides in the chest of the Lord in the form of a maru, mark in which case the Lord himself is the undhumadah-----nandhagopalan. Marumagal is also explained as maruvum magal, the one who is embraced by the Lord. Nappinnai is not only the daughter-in-law but also marumagal, niece of Nandhagopa, since she is the daughter of his sister.

 

vandhengum-----koovina kAN- he cocks are everywhere but the cuckoo is only found on the madhavicreeper.The sweet sounds and words are rare to find.

 

pandhAr virali- she was playing with Krishna with ball and slept with it in her hands.This signifies that all the beings are the leela kandhuka, play-balls for the Lord and Devi.

 

This pasuram is the 18th. The number 18 is very significant. Gita has 18 chapters, Mahabhartha war went on for 18 days, Bhagavatha purana has 18000 slokas etc.The sum of 1=8 is 9 a changeless number which when added or subtracted or multiplied by , the sum is 9 only.and this denotes Lakshmi who never changes her form while the Lord took a female form as Mohini. She always remained her merciful self in all avatharas.

 

kadai thiravAi, vandhu thiravAi-she is requested to come and remove the lock, that is , our sins ,which are the barrier between us and the Lord.

 

Vandhengum kOzi azatthanakAN-Like the cock which examines the garbage and takes what it wants we are also taking the essence of bhakthi by following you everywhere.

 

madhavi----Kuyilinangal koovina- kuyilinam, cuckoos may refer to the sages like Valmiki and Sukha who gave out the sweet song of the Lord taking the essence of the vedas.

 

PandAr virali-To Him we are only play- things but due to the grace of the divine mother we will become objects of His enjoyment.