Sri:

Srimathe Rāmānujāya Namaha

Srimad Varavara Munaye Namaha

VEDICS Foundation presents:

Kōdhayin Pārvayil

(Online Tiru-ādi pooram celebrations)

Srivaikuntha virakthāya, swami pushkarañi thate|

ramaya ramamāñāya, venkateśaya mangalam||

This is a mangala shlokam recited on a daily basis in all homes. It is a verse that prays for all auspiciousness to the Lord of the Tiruvenkata Hills, who decided to take up domicile on the banks of Swami Pushkarani (sacred pond) in order to sport with His Divine Consort, being indifferent and averse to (the pleasures and luxuries of) Srivaikuntham. The extents of his pastimes (leela) are unknown and the delights that we experience because of these manifestations of His are infinite. However, in spite of His many attempts to incarnate as one amongst us transmigratory humans, He has been found to be incapable of completely concealing His true nature - that of being the Paramatma, Sriman Narayana, Purushottama, Asmad Swamin (Supreme soul, Consort of Lakshmi and abode of living souls , Ultimate being among men, My Lord).

The one person who bears the unique distinction of being capable to have balanced both extremes of having incarnated from the Supreme Realm and conceal entirely amongst the transmigratory is Sri Āndal. As Swami Manavāla Māmunigal refers to in his Upadesa Rathinalamai (#22):

indro thiruvādi pooram, yemakkāga

andro ingu Āndāl avathariththāl – kundrādha

vāzhvāna vaikuntha vān bhogam thannai igazhndhu

āzhwār thirumagalārāi

Unable to bear the plight of our mundane existence, Sri Āndāl took birth as the divine daughter of Periāzhwār in Srivilliputhur. Commentrators for the above poem mention that as a mother would jump into a well to save her children, Mother Āndāl did the same for all of us. She jumped into this well that Nammāzhwār aptly describes as "thoorākkuzhi" in his Thiruvāimozhi. She lived as one amongst us and has led us all in our efforts to overcome this bondage and in our path to deliverance She has given us two beautiful prabandhams - Thiruppavai and Nāychiyār Thirumozhi. The Thiruppavai, comprising of 30 songs, is famous for its recitation during early hours of the day for the whole of the Mārgazhi (Dhanur - Dec to Jan) month. The Nāychiyār Thirumozhi is a collection of 143 poems, describes Āndāl's longing for the hand of the Lord in marriage. In all of her time here on Earth, she has always sought communion with Lord Krishnā, has done it at the behest of her Āchārya (preceptor - Sri Periāzhwār) and has made those around her accompany her all along. She assumes the role of a Gopika (cowherd girl) belonging to Vrindavan, assumes Srivilliputhiur to be Tiru-ayar-pādi (Vrindāvan), all the beings of Srivilliputhur to be her fellows and play-mates - all of whom she considers contemporaries of Sri Krishnā. She indulges the readers of her songs to be part of this group too and transports us to a realm of divine indulgence, where we feel that we can just reach out and touch our beloved Kannan Emperumān as well.

So, this Ādi month - Pooram asterism which happens to be the auspicious date of Andal's birth, let us all celebrate by spending a small amount of time listening to the glories of Āndāl as told to us by several scholars living in India. Several people across age, gender and other barriers have come forward to kindly share the glories of Āndāl. We hope you delight in this series of lecture-celebrations. Kindly share the joy of Āndāl's divine experiences with all your friends and family and invite them to be a part of Sri Āndāl's fold.

 The following are the details of the lectures:

Divyadesa Thondu by Sri U. Ve Therazhundhur Hari Sundar Swami

SriVaishnava Lakshanam by Sri. U. Ve. Paravasthu Varadarajan Swami

Acharya Nishtai by Smt. Asoori Sudha Ammangar

Indro Thiruvadippooram song by Anuvratha Narasimhan

Andalukku Arangan anuppiya Madal by Sri. U. Ve. Krishnamachariar swami ( SriVaishnavaSri Swami).

Sri Āndāl Thiruvadigale Sharanam

Azhwar Emperumānār Jeer Thiruvadigale Sharanam