mannu perumpugazh (545-555)

mannu perumpugazh

Requesting the Koil birds to call for Her Lord 

mannu perum puhazh mAdavan mAmaNivaNNan maNi muDi maindan 
tannai uhandadu kAraNamAha en Sangu izhakkum vazhakku uNDE | 
punnai kurukkatti nAzhal Serundi podumbinil vAzhum kuyilE 
panni eppOdum irundu viraindu en pavaLa vAyan vara koovAi || One || 

ANDAL asked “kooDalE kooDiDu”. Now she expected His arrival after she had the even number indicating her wish fulfillment. But she didn’t see Him coming. Pining for Him she sends the Cuckoo as messenger. The Cuckoos living in the forest full of various kinds of trees asks her how it can help her. She gives the description of kaNNa as ‘mannu perum puhazh’, ‘mAmaNi vaNNan’, ‘maNimuDi maindan’ etc. She tells the bird how she lost her bangles on seeing Him for she suddenly became lean out of love. She asks the bird to coo His names and ask Him to come fast.

veLLai viLi Sangu inDangaiyil koNDa vimalan enakku uru kATTAn 
uLLam puhundu ennai naivittu nALum uyir peidu koottATTu kANum | 
kaLLavizh SeNbaha poo malar kOdi kaLittu iSai pADum kuyilE 
meLLa irundu mizhaTTri mizhaTTrAdu en vEngaDavan vara koovAi || Two ||

Oh! kOkilE! You are drinking the honey (sAra) leaving out the asAra part of the flower like a guru who takes only what is to be taken leaving aside the unessential from the scriptures. He enjoys it as you enjoy the honey. You sing out intoxication like a guru who sings from Bagavat anuBava.

The kOkila asks ‘what is your problem?’ ANDAL says ‘I repeatedly ask kaNNan to show me His divya mangaLa vigraha, but He refuses. He is in tiruvEngaDam waiting for me. He tortures me sitting in my heart. Oh! Death also doesn’t come to me. He persists on His adamantine behavior. He enjoys my plight’. The kOkila feels sorry and sings to please her. She says ‘kOkilE! Don’t sing. Go to tirumala and ask Him to come here’.

 mAtali tEr munbu kOl koLLa mAyan irAvaNan mEl SaramAri 
tAi talai aTTru aTTru veezha toDutta talaivan varavengum kANEn | 
pOdalar kAvil pudu maNam nAra pori vaNDin kAmaram kETTu un 
kAdaliyODu uDan vAzh kuyilE en karu mANikkam vara koovAi || Three ||

Oh! kOkilE! You enjoy the courtship of your mate listening to the humming of the bees who are intoxicated after drinking from the freshly bloomed flowers of this forest. Don’t you see how I pine for my lover who doesn’t care for me? He took lot of pains to go to Lanka by building a bridge across of the sea and waging war with the rAkShasa king rAvaNa, a ten-headed monster. He cut off the ten heads repeatedly (they grew as soon as they were cut). But is it difficult for Him to just come and see me? He is not seen anywhere even though He knows very well that I suffer His separation. Please go and tell Him my condition and ask Him to come now.

enburuhi ina vEl neDungaNhaL imai porundA pala nALum 
tunba kaDal pukku vaihundan enbadOr tONi perAdu uzhalhinrEn | 
anbuDaiyArai piruvuru nOyadu neeyum aridi kuyilE 
ponburai mEni karuLa koDiyuDai puNNiyanai vara koovAi || Four || 

I tell you my pitiable condition. Oh! kOkilE! My bones melt. I can stand no more on my legs; I feel like collapsing. My eyes refuse to sleep day and night. I neither eat nor sleep. It is as if for so many days I have been submerged in the ocean of sorrow of separation. I don’t find any means of coming out. I cannot swim. If I get a ferry in the form of BagavAn, I may come out. I am being tossed about here and there in the ocean by the waves of sorrow. Oh! kOkilE! I am sure we can understand my plight, you would have undergone the same kind of experience when you got separation from your mate. Hence you will certainly take pity on me and call Him here to save me. He has garuDa flag; so He can come here fast. He is called dharma incarnation. Hence He cannot refuse my rightful demands.

mennaDai annam parandu viLaiyADum villiputtoor uraivAn tan
 ponnaDi kANbadOr ASaiyinAl en poru kayar kaNNiNai tunjA | 
innaDiSiloDu pAlamudu ooTTi eDutta en kOla kiLiyai 
unnoDu tOzhamai koLLuvan kuyilE ulahaLandAn vara koovAi || Five || 

My kaNNan is in Sree villiputtoor which has many lakes where live swans flying and playing everywhere. Oh! My Cuckoo! If you ask Him to come here I shall be grateful and present my pet parrot to play with you. His unbound mercy is proclaimed in His vAmana avatAra. I wonder why He should be averse to me alone.

ettiSaiyum amarar paNindu Ettum iruDeekESan vali Seyya 
muttanna veN muruval Seyya vAyum mulaiyum azhahazhindEn nAn | 
kottalar kAvil maNi taDangaN paDai koLLum iLanguyilE en 
tattuvanai vara koohiTTriyAhil talai allAl kaimmAru ilEnE || Six || 

Oh! kOkilE! You have a nice niche to sleep in the garden. You are very happy and contented. I am not so. My kaNNan doesn’t come here however much I cry. Of course He is great, worshipped even by dEvAs and nityasooris. His beauty is such that no one can stay alive without losing his senses. I am a very common Ayar girl; nothing special about me. But I am determined about one thing – I shall lose my life if He doesn’t come to me. If you accomplish this I shall be very grateful forever and do your bidding.

pongiya pArkaDal paLLi koLvAnai puNarvadOr ASaiyinAl en 
kongai kiLarndu kumaittu kuduhalittu Aviyai Akulam Seiyyum | 
anguyilE unakkenna maraindu uraivu Azhiyum Sangum oN taNDum 
 tangiya kaiyavanai vara koovil nee SAla tarumam perudi || Seven ||

Oh! kOkilE! You ask Him to come to me. I have a strong desire for samslESa. But He is lying in pArkaDal quite indifferent to me. It is said He lies in order to hear the artanAda (cries of affliction). How then He doesn’t hear mine? See! My breasts wait for Him eagerly. Please ask Him to come.

SArngam vaLaiya valikkum taDakkai chaturan poruttam uDaiyan 
nAngaL emmil irundu oTTiya kachchangam nAnum avanum aridum | 
tEngani mAmpozhil SendaLir kOdum Siru kuyilE tirumAlai 
Angu viraindu ollai koohiTTriyAhil avanai nAn Seivana kANE || Eight ||

 Oh! kuyilE! He has broad shoulders, long arms and is an expert archer. He is an excellent lover. We both have certain sankEta words and gesture that we alone know. But now He is far off. Hence kuyilE you go and call Him to come here. Watch how I am going to love Him when He comes.

paingiLi vaNNan Sireedaran enbadOr pASattu ahappaTTirundEn 
pongoLi vaNDiraikkum pozhil vAzh kuyilE kurikkoNDidu nee kEL | 
SangoDu chakkrattAn vara koovudal ponvaLai koNDu tarudal 
inguLLa kAvinil vAzha karudil iraNDattonrEl tiNNam vENDum || Nine ||

Oh! kOkilE! I am caught in the love net of emberumAn. There are only two ways to release me. If you listen carefully I shall tell you now. One is to bring Him here, the other is to bring me the lost gold bangles. If you want live in this beautiful forest you should do what I say.

 The two conditions are – kaNNan should come here or I should get my lost bangles. kaNNan doesn’t seem to come here in spite of my repeated pleadings. Oh! kOkilE! Make Him come here. If He persists in His refusal get my gold bangles back. I lost them because they slipped down from my hands. How? - Because I grew thin. Why? - Because I saw Him. So what? – His enchanting form, His looks, His chESTitAs, His guNAs, His everything made me fall for Him instantaneously. The result is – I lost my senses, my complexion, my buddhi, my weight and my bangles.

To get back the bangles, ANDAL should have His samslESa. Only then can she be her own self again. So ‘avan varudal’, ‘ponvaLai tarudal’ are not two separate things; they are but one in different forms. sAvitri, the wife of satyavAn pleaded for the return of His life at yama. He refused saying no dead man can return alive. She had an argument on dharma SAstra. yama was pleased at her knowledge and asked her what boon she wanted. She did not ask for her husband’s life but said she wanted children from satyavAn. yama agreed. But children cannot be had unless he comes alive. Similarly ANDAL bewilders the kOkila by making these two requests and says she certainly wants either one of them.

anru ulaham aLandAnai uhandu aDimaikaN avan vali Seyya
tenralum tingaLum ooDaruttu ennai naliyum muraimai ariyEn |
enrum ikkAvil irundu irundu ennai tadaittAdE neeyum kuyilE
 inru nArAyaNanai vara koovAyEl inguttai ninrum turappan || Ten || 

I desired the kainkarya of BagavAn who took trivikrama avatAra to measure the worlds out of extreme compassion. But He has no mercy to show on me. Ignoring all my requests He refuses to come. Already tormented as I am the soft breeze and the cool moon add to my agony. You too kuyilE! I thought you are my friend and will be great consolation to me. But you cheat me. ‘inguttai ninrum turappan’ – ANDAL never means to say ‘I shall drive you from here’. What she means is – if nArAyaNa doesn’t come today I shall not bear to live. If I die you will leave this place out of sorrow.

viNNura neeNDaDi tAviya maindanai vEr kaN maDandai virumbi 
kaNNura en kaDal vaNNanai koovu karunguyilE enra mATTram | 
paNNuru nAn maraiyOr puduvai mannan paTTar pirAn kOdai Sonna 
naNNuru vAchaha mAlai vallAr namO nArAyaNAya enbArE || Eleven ||

ANDAL, the daughter of periyAzhwar of Sree villiputtoor had sung these pASurAs with such a BAva in order to obtain the BagavAn and kainkarya to Him. Those who read these will get that same BAva and the Pala of anusandhana of aSThAkShara mantra ‘Om namO nArAyaNAya’.