A Jivatma who begins to seek God in earnest realises that it is not easy to reach Him. The path to the goal is a long process through various births during which many hurdles have to be surmounted.
Andal sings enthusiastically about the ‘all-pervading, all-knowing and all-powerful’ Lord who manifests in the Para, Vyuha, Vibhava, Archa and Antaryami states to enable His devotees to reach Him. She emphasises that His greatest glory is this compassion towards all those who seek His feet in surrender, making it easy for the Jivatma to attain Him, pointed out Damal Sri Ramakrishnan and Srimati Perundevi in a discourse.
Vaishnava tradition believes that together, the Lord and His consorts are engaged in the act of releasing the Jivatmas from samsara. Andal follows the practice of honouring the Bhagavatottamas when she approaches Nandagopa’s residence along with the other maidens to meet Krishna. This fosters mutual respect, trust, oneness and an unselfish attitude between them. If service to God is deemed a worthy act, service to the His devotees is also placed on a par with it, if not a shade higher.
The Lord’s penchant for His devotees is such that He would not brook any disrespect to them. She first addresses the gatekeepers to apprise them of the purpose of their visit. With their minds filled with thoughts of Krishna, and their hearts made pure by their devotion, they are fully qualified to see Him. Krishna had promised them the previous day that He would give them the materials for their vow and had asked them to meet Him in the morning.
They then sing the formal waking-up hymn, the Tirupalliyezhuchi, not merely to Krishna but also to Nandagopa, Yasodha, Balarama and to Nappinnai. With Nappinnai’s recommendation, it would be easy for them to seek Krishna’s grace. In the Ramayana, Sita mitigated Rama’s wrath against Kakasura even though he had humiliated her. As he ran to all the corners of the world seeking protection, he realised that none dared to challenge Rama’s arrow. He then came back to Rama Himself for help. As he lay prostrate, the compassionate Sita turned his head towards Rama’s feet to indicate the formal act of obeisance.
