Tiruppavai Pasuram 16

 

Tiruppāvai — Pāśuram 16

நாயகனாய் நின்ற நந்தகோபன் உடைய

கோயில் காப்பானே கொடி தோன்றும் தோரண

nāyakanāy ninra nanda gōpan uḍaiya

kōyil kāppānē koḍi tōnṟum tōraṇa

And now, after fifteen full days of the Pāvai Nōnbu, after moving patiently from house to house, waking, persuading, correcting, and gathering every sakhi, Āṇḍāḷ finally stands at the threshold.

These fifteen days have been days of sustained guidance. Āṇḍāḷ has asked the sakhis to rise early, to set aside comfort, to learn discipline of time, care in speech, and responsibility in action. She has carried them through hesitation and delay, through sharp words and their repair, accepting responsibility, shaping not just a group that moves together, but hearts that are ready.

That long preparation now leads them here — to the house of Nandagopan,

The abode of Krishna 

This has always been the destination. Not an abstract shrine, not a distant goal, but Krishna’s own dwelling, the place where he is present, where he may be seen, where one may simply be with him.

The tone changes at once.

Āṇḍāḷ no longer calls to awaken sakhis. She now addresses the gatekeepers of Nandagopan’s house. Flags and festoons mark the entrance. This is a guarded space, a place where one does not enter unannounced or unexamined. Speech here must be measured. Intention must be made clear.

She asks for the jeweled doors to be opened. She explains who they are — simple cowherd girls — and why they have come. They seek the parai, the gift promised to them. More than that, they have come to awaken Krishna and be in his presence, trusting the word he himself gave the previous day.

They speak without demand. They come pure — not merely outwardly, but in purpose. There is no insistence, no claim of entitlement, no reliance on their own effort. They ask only that they not be turned away at the threshold.

At another level, this moment reveals the true posture of devotion. The gōpis stand outside, fully aware that longing alone does not grant entry. They do not presume closeness. They wait, they ask, and they submit. The gatekeeper stands as the one who discerns readiness, who guides, who decides when the way may be opened. In pausing here, the gōpis show humility — the knowledge that one must be led in, not walk in on one’s own.

The door they ask to be opened is firm and steady, meant to protect what is precious. Āṇḍāḷ asks that it be opened not by force, but by recognition of love and preparedness.

At the end of this pāśuram, the entire journey comes quietly into view.

From Pāśurams 1 to 5, Āṇḍāḷ set down the vow — its purpose, its discipline, its inner direction.

Through the next stages, she shaped the collective — waking one sakhi after another, correcting tone, building unity, teaching patience and humility.

From Pāśurams 13 to 15, urgency, order, and responsibility were resolved, ensuring that the group could move together without fracture.

Only after all this does Āṇḍāḷ arrive here — at Nandagopan’s house, the abode of Krishna — not alone, not early, but with every sakhi prepared.

Pāśuram 16 marks this moment of arrival. Preparation gives way to approach. Instruction gives way to surrender. What has been built patiently over fifteen days now stands quietly before Krishna’s door.

Āṇḍāḷ Thiruvadigalai Śaraṇam