A keerthana on Goda Devi

విరహ తాపముచేత విసిగెనిందాకాను
యిరవై మొక్కులు మొక్కీ నిదివోనీదేవుడు--పల్లవి--

చెంపల జెమటగారీ నెలవుల సిగ్గులూరీ
గుంపుగట్టి మూపుమీద గొప్పజారీని
పెంపుడుజిలుకచేత పీటమీదగూచున్నది
ఇంపుతోడ జిత్తగించు ఇదివోనీదేవుడు---విర--

మోమున గళలుమూగీ ముక్కున నిట్టూర్పురేగీ
వేమరు జన్ను లురాన బిఱ్ఱవీగీని
తామెరపువ్వుధరించి దండనె కాచుకున్నది
యేమని మాటాడనయ్య ఇదివో నీదేవుడు---విర--

కాయమెల్లా బులకించీ కాగిలిరతికి బొంచీ
తీయనికెమ్మోవిమీద తేనెలు మించీ
పాయపు శ్రీవేంకటేశ పానుపుపై నిబ్బుగూడె
యీయెడ నలమేల్మంగ ఇదివోనీదేవుడు---విర--
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సంపుటి-26 సంకీర్తన 202--రాగం-భైరవి

Pallavi:

virahathApamu chEtha visige nindhAkAnu

iravai mokkulu mokkI nidhivO nI dhEvuDu

CharaNam 1:

Chempala chemaTa kArI nelavula siggulUrI

gumpugaTTi mUpu mIdha goppajArIni

pempuDu chiluka chEtha pITa mIdha kUchunnadhi

imputhODa chitthaginchu idhigOnI dhEvuDu

CharaNam 2:

mOmuna kaLalu mOgI mukkuna niTTUrpu rEgI

vEmaru channulurAna biRRa vIgIni

thAmera puvvu dharinchi dhaNDane kAchukunnadhi

Emani mATADanayya idivO nI dhEvuDu

CharaNam 3:

kAyamellA pulakinchI kAgili rathiki ponchI

tIyani kemmOvi mIdha thEnelu minchI

pAyapu SrIvEnkaTESa! pAnupupai nibbu gUDe

ee yeDa nalamEl manga nidhivO nI dhEvuDu

 

Explanation:

According to annamAchArya and Vedanta dESika, Goddess Andal is Goddess Lakshmi Herself. This can be seen in Sri annamAchArya’s song on Goda Devi “chooDaramma sathulAla SobAna pADaramma” where He says She is Sri Mahalakshmi, mother of Manmatha, mother of the universe, sister of moon (when She incarnated in the milky ocean) and so on.

Sri Vedanta Desika says in his famous Goda Stuti first Sloka “sAkshAt kshamAm karuNayA kamalAm ivAnyAm”  which means “You are Goddess Bhudevi, the very embodiment of His forbearance. You are Goddess kamala or Lakshmi in Your mercy”.

On Tirumala, Goddess Lakshmi is known as alarmEl mangai or the Lady sitting on the lotus flower.

We have the golden icon of Goddess Lakshmi on God’s chest which is taken out during His sacred bath or Thirumanjanam on Fridays. During this period, Andal’s “nAcchiyAr thirumozhi” is chanted which was written by AndAL expressing Her desire to reunite with the Lord and at the same time providing assurance to the human-beings that the Supreme Being is there to take care of them.

The above song is written by Sri AnnamAchArya taking cue from nAcchiyAr Thirumozhi. Here he is addressing a fellow devotee explaining the longing of Andal to unite with Him and subsequent union as She sits with Him for marriage.

In Pandya kingdom, the nAyikA or heroine used to hold a parrot. Examples are Goddess Andal in Vaishnavism and Goddess Meenakshi in Saivism. In this song, the heroine alarmEl mangai holds a parrot and thus denotes Andal. It is worth noting that the Goddess on Lord’s chest (for quite sometime there have been two Goddesses on His chest) is decorated with a parrot during mArgazhi month when Andal’s ThiruppAvai is recited.

Below is the meaning of the same in English.

Pallavi:

She is frustrated out of her pangs of separation so far. She has vowed so many offerings to Him (mokkulu). See here, here is your Lord!

 

Charanam 1:

Sweat is flowing on her cheeks and she is blushing. The flowers are sliding and heaping up on her back. The lady on the lotus, Goddess Lakshmi (Andal) is holding her pet parrot in her hand and has sat on the wedding seat. Look at with affection, here is Your Lord!

Charanam 2:

With expressions on her face and sighs from her nose, and with her breasts tightened, she is sitting next to Him holding a lotus. What to say, here is your Lord!

 Charanam 3:

Thrilled with joy as she is eager to unite with Him, with Her red sweet nectarine lips, Oh Youthful Venkatesa! She joins you on Your divine bed.  My dear friend, see here, here is your Lord!

Note on charaNam 3: Lord reclining on the divine serpent bed symbolizes Jagad rakshaNa chintanam or His devising ways to protect the worlds. The Goddess is, in reality,  inseparable from Him and resides in His heart.

See below for an audio visual by Smt. Jayanthi Sridharan. This audio visual has the nAcchiyAr thirumozhi second Thaniyan where the Goddess is addressed as the parrot herself, and verse 12.9 from nAcchiyAr thirumozhi where she refers to a parrot that repeats the name "gOvindA".