AANDAAL’S ‘THIRUPPAVAI’- AN ADVENTURE IN

TRANSLATION

Presented byDr.SHOBHA RAMASWAMY

Assistant ProfessorDepartment of English

Kongunadu Arts and Science College (Autonomous)Coimbatore- 641 029.

• Aandaal’s Thiruppavai is a fascinating sequence of thirty verses, forming part of the Naalayira-Divya-Prabandam, the massive collection of the hymns of the twelve Azhwars or Tamil saint-poets belonging to the bhakti school of Sri Vaishnavism.

SRI ANDAAL- THE ONLY WOMAN AZHWAAR

• Aandaal, also known as Goda Devi lived in the eight century A.D. and is considered the predecessor of Meera. From a very early age, she devoted her life to the worship of Lord Krishna, whom she vowed to wed .Legend has it that she became his bride, merging with the divine image in the temple of Sri Rangam. In Thiruppavai, a sequence of thirty verses, she calls upon the young girls of her village to undertake a month-long penance in order to attain their goal of salvation.

• Her vivid imagination transforms the little town of Thiruvilliputthur into Brindavan, the young maidens into Gopis or girls of the cowherd clan and the temple into Krishna’s palace. The work is based on the philosophy of bridal mysticism in which the soul is envisioned as the bride to be wedded to the Eternal Bridegroom, the Saviour – a theme particularly appropriate to the only woman in the Azhwar canon

• The Song of the Maidens is a translation of Thiruppavai by the author of this paper. In its attempt to retain the lyrical simplicity and spiritual tone of the original, the free verse form has been adopted and slight deviations from the direct textual meaning have been made to ensure a smoother reading. Six representative pieces have taken up below for discussion.

• Verse I • In the month of Margazhi,• On the good full-moon day,• Let us bathe in the waters,• O virtuous ones!• Dear girls of the prosperous• Cowherd-dwellings!• Sharp-speared,• Hard-tasked• Nandagopa’s Son,• Firm-eyed Yasoda’s• Young Lion,• The Dark-formed• Red-eyed One,• With face like the radiant moon,• Narayana, Himself,• Will grant us salvation,• With the world’s blessings,• Let us offer worship,• O my Maidens!

Aandaal begins her ‘garland of verses thirty’ with this clarion call to the girls of the cowherd village to take a ritual bath on the full moon day in the invigoratingly cool early morning. The symbols of purification, renewal and clarity associated with the water, dawn and the full moon respectively promise a spiritual awakening. Here, the translator avoids literal rendering of the word ‘nerizyeer,’ meaning ‘those who take a central parting’ and resorts to the implied meaning, ‘those who follow the right path.’

• Verse 4• Lord of the rains, mighty as the ocean • Hide not your munificence,• But dip deep into the sea• And with thunderclaps,• Ascend the sky,• Dark as the form• Of the Ruler of Time,• Let lightning-shafts shine• Like the Discus• In the lissome hand• Of our mighty-shouldered• Padmanabha,• And vibrate• Like His conch-blast!• As arrows unceasing fly• From His bow Saranga,• Come with rain• This world to revive• And for us to bathe• And rejoice• In the month of Margazhi,• O my Maidens!

• The fourth verse is an invocation to the rain god, who is affectionately addressed as ‘Khanna’ [Krishna] of the heavy rain. Krishna, meaning ‘the dark one’ brings to mind the rain-clouds. In this verse, arrows are a simile for rain, the discus for lightening and the conch-blast for thunder. By this reminder of Lord Krishna’s weapons, Aandaal wishes to reveal that to the devotee, the Lord is omnipotent. The image of the water-carrier filling his pot in the ocean and emptying it from the sky is a poetic representation of a scientific fact, something which was not uncommon in those days when there was no dichotomy between science and religion.

• Verse 14• In your backyard pond• The rose-hued flowers smile

open• And the lilies fold close;• The austere monks• In their brick-dust-red robes• Move towards their sacred

temple• To sound their conches.• You, who promised to wake

us up,• Young maiden, unabashed,• Glib-tongued one!• Get up!• He who bears discus and

conch• In His majestic arms,• The Lotus-eyed one.• Sing unto Him,• O my Maidens!

• Verse 14 presents a homely scene with its mention of the backyard pond and the passers-by. The adjective ‘venpal’ or ‘white-toothed’ when applied to the ascetics obviously refers to their pratice of abstaining from betel leaves rather than to their dental hygiene. Therefore, in translation, the word has been rendered as ‘austere.’ The poet’s use of the differentiating word ‘avar’ meaning ‘their’ in connection to the monks’ temple has caused commentators to speculate that the allusion was to Jain monks, thus revealing the peaceful coexistence of diverse religions in that age.

• Verse 22• As the rulers of all the wide world• Gather in humility before your rooms,• Stand we with bowed heads.• As the lotus flower in half-bloom,• Like the belled ornament at Your feet,• May your lovely eyes • Open slowly upon us• Like the Moon and the Sun• Together rising!• If, with those two eyes• You gaze on us,• All our past sins• Will be destroyed,• O my Maidens!

• In Verse 22, it is seen that the young girls have crossed several obstacles and have sung their way into the inner chamber of the palace where Krishna lies in sleep. The principle of universal unconditional surrender as the path to salvation is expressed through the heightened use of figurative language. The bell which decorates the anklet is described as a lotus. The Lord is called upon to open his eyes like a slowly blooming lotus flower. The flower, in turn is metaphorised as the bell in an anklet. The beauty and brightness of the divine glance is compared to the utter glory of the sun and the moon rising in concert. Faced with the slight ambiguity of the last line, which could be interpreted as a) the Lord’s glance would destroy past sins. b) the Lord would be cursing his devotees by his glance , the translator bowed to the majority of the commentators and chose the first option.

• Verse23• As the lordly lion• Sheltered in the mountain-cave• The rains ceasing,• Wakes into awareness,• With sparks in his eyes,• Spreads his mane• And shakes off sleep,• Rises stretching• And with a roar emerges-• Thus come out,• Flower-blue One• From Your Temple• And here seated• On this sculpted throne,• Enquire into our mission• And grant us grace,• O my Maidens!

• The lion is associated with royalty and godliness in diverse cultures. In Verse 23, apart from evoking the majesty of the king of beasts, Aandaal gives a vivid description of a lion rising from sleep. The fierceness of the lion-like warrior Krishna is in sharp contrast to his role as sympathizer of innocent damsels. Therefore, the tone shifts sharply with the scene of the mountain cave changing to the aesthetically decorated palace audience chamber and the metaphor of the lion being replaced by that of the soft blue flower.

• Verse 29• The Maidens’ Pledge

• At the very break of day• We come to worship you• O listen as we sing always• The glory of your golden-lotus feet!• If you who are born into our cowherd-clan• Do desist from making us your servitors• And thus granting this instant our salvation,• See then, O Govinda!• For ever and through the seven-fold births,• Yours we pledge to be.• To You alone our bondage• All other desires transform,• O my Maidens!

• In Verse 29, Aandaal completes her song with an affirmation of faith. The use of child-like expression ‘koduppaaan andru kaan Govinda’ while pledging everlasting devotion stands as a touching testimony to the authenticity of its authorship.

• In conclusion it may be said that the verses are justifiably renowned for their literary as well as spiritual value. Pastoral scenes and homely images are juxtaposed with magnificent descriptions of the Divine. The metaphorical intricacy and assonance bear astonishing witness to the poetic acumen of the young devotee, while, at the same time posing a challenge to the translator.