It has been a different Margazhi this time. I haven’t posted anything about any of the Thiruppavai pasurams till date. I could attribute a variety of reasons for this. But nothing could pardon me for not writing anything about Thiruppavai, which has shaped the way I live presently. I could not have ignored writing about this unusual Tamizh divine poem. It is not something I should have done. As gratitude towards Andal who has taught the world so much, I should have penned a few lines at least. I am not concerned about what she has taught the world as much as what she has taught me. Thiruppavai has changed my life so drastically that even people not so close to me can see the changes. It was by hearing Velukkudi Swami’s discourse on Thiruppavai that I learned what real devotion to God was. It was from these divine verses that I realized how wrong I was in the way I was praying to God.
But the one good thing about this Margazhi is that I could be at Her sanctum on the first of the month. The darshan of Andal on Margazhi first wasn’t something I had planned for, though it was in my mind when we started our trip. Thanks to my son-in-law and his excellent planning we were able to be in Her holy presence on that day. Not that day one day of being there would satisfy me. But it was something that was unexpected. Added to that was the pleasure of being at Srirangam the very next day, paying my obeisance to the Divine Lord Ranganathan, Andal’s consort. It was almost as if She had sent me there with a message. I don’t know what the message was. He would certainly know what it is.
I had missed writing anything for the 23 Pasurams that were sung in the past 23 days of Margazhi. But today I had to write a few words about this Pasuram. The 24th one is my favorite. It is the Pasuram that marks Andal as above all the other Azhvars. Her father, the great Periyazhvar had worried about the well-being of the Lord Himself and sang for His long life. Andal has gone one step further and prayed for keeping His holy feet in good health. She frets about how people are only using His holy feet for their selfish purposes while not worrying about how much they would have pained when He used them to protect us.
In this Pasuram she lists out the various occasions where He used His feet to protect us. She worries about how they must have suffered when He walked miles in the forest in search of Ravana to finish him and rescue Sita. It is not only for Himself that He rescued Sita. Without Her holy presence, we have no way to salvation. She should recommend our case to the Lord and ask Him to pardon our sins and grant us the ultimate place alongside them in Vaikuntam. Let us also pray for the good health of His holy feet, which is the only tool for us to reach Vaikuntam.
