Today is the first day of Margazhi the month of Dhanu or Margashirsha (mid December to mid January). This is a very special month and the month in which Andal of Srivilliputhur observed the lent or Paavai Nonbu (Katyayani vrata) to attain the Lord and composed Thiruppavai the immortal verses in praise of the Lord and showing us the way to reach him in the simplest of language.
Andal who is the incarnate of Mother Earth, one of the consorts of Vishnu was named Goda by Vishnuchittar, her father who found her in a Tulsi garden and at a very young age itself she showed great devotion to the Lord. Thiruppavai is a series of 30 hymns where she addresses her own friends and assumes them all as Gopikas of Vrindavan.
In the first hymn for the first day, she exhorts her friends to take the lent and asks them to come to bathe early in the morning of Margazhi to worship and attain the son of Nandagopala who holds the spear and the beautiful eyed Yashoda, who like a lion cub, dark hued like clouds and red eyes, with the brightness of Sun and coolness of Moon is Narayana himself and that he will give us the liberation.
மார்கழித் திங்கள் மதிநிறைந்த நன்னாளால்;
நீராடப் போதுவீர்! போதுமினோ, நேரிழையீர்!
சீர்மல்கும் ஆய்ப்பாடிச் செல்வச் சிறுமீர்காள்!
கூர்வேல் கொடுந்தொழிலன் நந்தகோபன் குமரன்,
ஏரார்ந்த கண்ணி யசோதை இளஞ்சிங்கம்,
கார்மேனிச் செங்கண் கதிர்மதியம் போல்முகத்தான்
நாரா யணனே, நமக்கே பறைதருவான்,
பாரோர் புகழப் படிந்தேலோ ரெம்பாவாய்.
Illustrations and written by Rachana R
