The Divine Mother has
a slow and gentle manner of walking (gait).Her walking is compared here to that
of a swan.
With Her all powerful
and omniscient (knowing everything in this universe) status, does the Divine Mother really need
to have any anxiety at all? So She is relaxed and Her walking (gait) is slow, steady
and gentle.
The Divine Mother’s
lotus feet and swan are waterborne. Swans are attracted to lotus stalks.
This namam can be
viewed to mean that swans taught their gait to the Divine Mother. In return,
the swans learnt their squeaking sound from the Divine Mother’s anklet tinkle
or a steam of sweet sound coming out from Her anklets.
Some ancient great sages
had expressed different views on the Divine Mother’s gait or slow and gentle walk. All poets imagine beyond
facts and truth.
Mahakavi Kalidasa
thought that the Divine Mother got Her gait from the swans. Whereas the Adi
Sankarar another great sage in Soundariya Lagari 91 st verse recorded that the
swans learned their slow walking from the Divine Mother. He continued saying
that swans first failed to walk, but the Divine Mother with all Her passion for
the devotees taught the swans to walk by making them to follow Her anklets tinkle
or sweet sound. He further expressed that there can be no comparison in the
universe for the Divine Mother’s walking with Her feet adorned with anklets which
tinkle with sweet sounds.
Perhaps, to lighten up
on our intellect, we may need to understand the secret in the Divine Mother’s gait
or slow and soft walk. That will help us to follow Her like the swans mentioned
in this beautiful simple namam to learn the knowledge we seek from Her to eliminate
our ignorance and darkness.
Close meaning of
words used:
Marali: female swan
Manda: slow, moving slowly
or softly, sluggish, inert, soggy
Gamana: manner of going,
moving, going
Manda Gamana: a very mild
movement
Swan: a large water
bird with a very long flexible neck, short legs webbed feet usually living in rivers
and lakes, mostly whitish in colour. In some (western) cultures, swan is considered
as a symbol of motherhood, love, devotion and partnership.
Gait: a slow and gentle
manner of walking.
C N Nachiappun
Singapore, 11 March 2020.
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