“Elle Iḷangkiḷiye” : When Friendship Becomes the First Step to Bhakti
There is something strikingly modern about Aandal’s fifteenth Paasuram. Read it once, and you will feel you are overhearing a group of friends outside a house, teasing, arguing, sulking, laughing and finally walking together towards something meaningful. Replace the words 'elle', 'valleer', 'vallee' with “yaar!”, “buddy!”, “come on!” and the scene could belong to today’s hostel corridors or late-night group chats. And yet, this is divine poetry written hunderds of years ago.
It begins with “Elle Iḷangkiḷiye ! Are you still sleeping?” This is not a sermon but a knock on the door.
Aandaal's voice is not commanding but like a teasingly loving calls of a friend. The gopi inside responds, hurt: “Why are you speaking so harshly?”
Immediately, the tone changes. There is wit, gentle sarcasm, affection, and emotional honesty. Andal says, “Pande un vaai arithom, We know your sweet tongue very well.”
Anyone who has close friends knows this line. It’s what we say when someone pretends innocence but we know their brilliance, their sharpness, their capability, kind of, " Come on , don't I know? "
Andal describes the friends she is calling as
• Nangaai neer – Pure-hearted, virtuous
• Valleer – Smart, capable, efficient
• Vallee – Strong in goodness, inner strength
In short , appreciating the good and this is definitely a powerful guide for today’s youth.
Spiritual life is often misunderstood as boring, old-fashioned , a weakness or withdrawal. Andal says the opposite:
Strength, intelligence, and goodness together please the Gods. Krishna is not impressed by passivity. He is drawn to capable hearts with humility.
One of the most touching moments is when the gopi inside accepts her fault and asks What can I do now?” "naanEthaan aayiduga" This is not helplessness but melting of ego.
It is suggestively reminds us of Bharata blaming himself for Rama’s exile “NaanEthaan aayiduga” even when the fault was not his. True devotion is the courage to accept blame so harmony is preserved.
In a world obsessed with being right, Andal celebrates the soul who says, “Let me step back if it keeps love intact.”
Before stepping out, the gopi also asks: “Have all those who were supposed to come arrived?” She does not want to come unless everyone is included.
This is a very important lesson for our times when success has become personal, achievement is individual and faith private.
But Aandal reminds us that joy is incomplete if even one is missing. Bhakti is not a solo journey. It is a satsang, walking together, waiting for the slowest friend, calling out to the one who lingers behind.
In Pasuram fifteen, I felt like Andal is speaking directly to young hearts:
• To those who hesitate, thinking they are not ready
• To those who stay behind out of humility or doubt
• To those who fear harsh words and judgment
She calls out to each one, “Come out. Count us if you want. We are all here , with the purpose to sing glories of 'Vallaanai konRaanai maatRaaRai maatRazhikka
Vallanai, maayanai ppaadElOr embaavaay',
the mysterious Krishna who destroys ego and enemies alike. The same Krishna who crushed Kuvalayapeedam becomes bound by friendship and love.
This is the only Paasuram which is purely in a dialogue form. No description. No narration. Only voices. Because devotion is a conversation, a relationship, a connection.
Andal teaches us that the doorway to God often looks like a friend calling you out, a gentle argument or a shared walk with loved ones. She is standing outside your door, calling you, “Elle Iḷangkiḷiye…
We are all here. Come, let us go together.”
And in that one step from isolation to togetherness, Bhakti begins.
Paasuram 15 Thiruppaavai
EllE iLangkiLiyE! innam uRangudhiyO,
Sil enRu azhayEn min nangaimeer! pOdharukinREn
Vallai un katturaigaL pandeyun vAy aRidhum
ValleergaL neengaLE naanEthaan aayiduga
Ollai nee pOdhaay! unakenna veRudaiyai
Ellaarum pOndhaarO? pOndhaar pOndhu eNNikkoL,
Vallaanai konRaanai maatRaaRai maatRazhikka
Vallanai, maayanai ppaadElOr embaavaay.
R.Vimala, IAS,
Resident Commissioner & Secretary,
Government of Maharashtra &
PhD Scholar at IIT Bombay
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