(i) The famous author of ‘Ācārya Hṛdayam’ has succinctly brought out the superior excellence of the Āzhvār vis-a-vis the Ṛṣis. Whereas the Ṛṣis subsisted on the forest produce, such as roots, fruits etc, Lord Kṛṣṇa was the sole Sustainer for Nammāḻvār, the very food needed for appeasing hunger, the water required for quenching thirst and the betels one chews for pleasure, + Read more

(i) The mother enquiries of the little pūvai birds, the playmates of Parāṅkuśa Nāyakī, whether she would come back, at least for their sake. She is so dazed that she is not conscious of the fact that she can’t expect a reply from the speechless birds.

(ii) The mother is at a loss to understand why her daughter should at all go elsewhere, in search of the Godly, having + Read more

The mother says: “Even in her childhood days, when one could expect her to play with toys, my daughter revelled in singing the Lord’s holy names. It is not as if she was devoid of the means of sustenance and had to go elsewhere, in search of it. I don’t know why she has at all gone to Tiruk kōḷūr”,

There are two ways of looking at the Nāyakī’s behaviour. Those who have unflinching faith in salvation through the Lord’s redemptive grace and await the descent of such grace on them, in due course, would certainly not countenance the Nāyakī running about, courting the Lord, while those, who are all agog for the quick consummation, the acceleration of the union with the + Read more

Even during childhood, the Nāyakī’s sole pastime was to sing the holy names of the Lord while her playmates would want to indulge in routine recreation. And now, she has gone to the famous pilgrim centre, Tirukkōḷūr, abounding in lovely scenery, warming up her heart. The manner of her enjoyment will indeed be unique but the mother feels that she is not by the side of her

This song is but a follow-up of the preceding song, describing the manner of the Nāyakī’s rejoicing, at the other end.

The mother has now begun to suspect whether her daughter, weighed down by God-love, could have at all trudged along, to Tirukkōḷūr without getting bogged down on the way.

The mother thinks that the Nāyakī should have forsaken the former and gone to the Lord at Tirukkōḷūr, to worship the holy conjunction of the Lord and the Divine Mother (Lakṣmī), banking on Her support, sure and sweet. At the same time, the mother also apprehends whether the frail daughter could at all stand the strain of the journey to that place and make it all right

Whereas the worldlings would want all good things for themselves and their sons and daughters, Parāṅkuśa Nāyakī would, in the exuberance of her love for Lord Kṛṣṇa, insist that all good things be earmarked for His use. With such great wealth of God-love in her, where was the need for her to go anywhere else? This is what agitates the mind of the mother; rather, she feels + Read more

Unable to brook separation from her daughter, the mother feels that the Nāyakī has been away from her, for quite a long time. It was indeed high time, she had come back but then the mother visualises the possibility of the Nāyakī getting absorbed in the exquisite charm of the lotus-eyed Lord (Aravintalōcaṉa) standing in front of the Deity, all the time, with no intermission. + Read more

The Lord, as the Treasure supreme, can be freely drawn upon, by one and all, without any fear of extinction, being an inexhaustible fountain of bliss. The chanters of this decad will have none of the difficulties the Āzhvār faced, such as the confrontation between Mother and daughter; on the other hand, they can hold perfect sway over spiritual world.

(i) Seeing the Āzhvār’s disquietitude over His lying alone on a tender leaf during the deluge, the Lord hastens to reveal unto him a different setting altogether, pertaining to His Iconic Form where He is attended upon by the votaries in their full complement. Mention of just two pilgrim centres, in this song, should be taken as covering the numerous other pilgrim centres + Read more