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Translation of the Tiruppavai

Following the grazing cows, eating together in the woods,
We are such ignorant folk, the cowherd clan of Gokul.
What merits did we earn for you to be born in our clan ?
Govinda you have no shortcomings
Do not behave as if we are not related to you.
Life here is not livable by us.
We are indeed ignorant children
Who out of affection call you by belittling names.
Do not be angry with us oh lord,
Instead give us the parai, my dear pavai.

Reflections

We belong to the clan or the nation to which Shri Krishna was born. We too are cowherds that milk the knowledge of divine. This birth is certainly due to meritorious actions done in the past. The upasana chosen to approach the Lord is not through the scholarly way of Jnana but through the simple way of Bhakti. The lord to whom we belong, cannot abandon us as we are indeed related to him. There is only one Creator and all creations and creatures are His, and His alone. To a bhakta caught in the throes of devotion, life is simply not livable without His Constant Presence. We recognize our limitations very well. Unlettered as we are with only love as our guide we may have crossed all formality and become too familiar with the Lord. Forgiveness is therefore asked of him. The authority to declare to the world the presence of the Divine, is the wish requested of Easwara, by these sadhaks on the basis of kinship alone.