The Tamil Veda of a Sudra Saint (part 2)

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This the second of several excerpts from a paper by Dr. Friedhelm

Hardy, entitled "The Tamil Veda of a Sudra Saint: The Srivaisnava

Interpretation of Nammalvar". Dr. Hardy has done extensive work

on the poetry and milieu of the Alvars and later Srivaisnava

tradition.

 

To facilitate easy reading, I will post excerpts of only 50-100

lines each.

 

EACH OF THE POSTINGS SHOULD BE RELATIVELY SELF-CONTAINED.

 

If you miss any of the postings, please ask me and I'll mail you

a copy.

 

The paper can be found in _Contributions_to_South_Asian_Studies_,

v. 1., Gopal Krishna, editor, Oxford University Press, 1979.

 

---- PAPER CONTINUES HERE ----

 

[...]

 

Nammalvar referred to himself as "naaTaN" and "vaLa-naaTaN"....

Various inscriptions, dating from the 11th to 13th century AD,

document the activites of the periya- or vaLa- naaTu, provincial

agricultural assemblies. One such organization mentions in an

inscription at the Trivikrama PerumaaL temple in TirukkOvalUr

(one of the 108 divya-deSams of the Srivaisnavas) that they had a

Bhoomi vigraha consecrated and were making a special endowment

for it. Clearly concerned not only with secular but also with

religious matters, this assembly introduces itself as:

 

We, the members of the citramEzhi periya-naaTu, who are

the children of the glorious earth-goddess and have been

born into all four varNas, have studied and understood

the fine Tamil and Sanskrit...

 

Thus affairs like those of a temple are dealt with by an

institution which consists of twice-born and sudras and which

prides itself on the fact that its members are conversant with

both the cultures of the North and the South. By including

sudras it transcends the division of "sabha" and "oor" on the

village level. The smaller organization called "naaTu" has been

described as `comprising various ethnic groupings whose social

and cultural interactions constituted a microregion'. It is

precisely this social and cultural interaction of all four varnas

in religious matters which is denoted by the symbol whose

evolution will be traced below.

 

[...]

 

[Note: The rest of the paper refers frequently to the

Tiruvaymozhi, Nammalvar's greatest composition --- over

1000 verses of intense bhakti and philosophy.]

 

Of the songs themselves, three are of particular interest here:

Tiruvaymozhi 4.10; 3.7; and 7.9. The first of these songs is

dedicated to the temple in Tirukkurugoor; apart from mentioning

the two names by which Visnu in that temple is referred to in

later works, viz., `aadippiraaN' (primordial lord) and `polintu

niNRa piraaN' (the lord who abounds in splendour), it concerns

itself with proclaiming Visnu's superiority over other gods.

 

[...]

 

Tiruvaymozhi 3.7 sings the praise of the true devotees of Visnu.

The poet sets up a new scale of values which supersedes the

(Sanskritic) varNa system. In verse 9 he says:

 

Our masters are those who serve the servants of the

enlightened ones who [have realized with clarity] that

they are the slaves of Visnu, although they may be [like]

CaNDaalas [even in the eyes] of CaNDaalas, not possessing

any respectability (nalam) whatsoever and being below any

of the four jaatis which are the basis for a noble lineage

(kulam).

 

Of particular interest in this verse is the metaphorical

master --- servant/slave symbolism of bhakti which replaces the

varNa system. Tiruvaymozhi 7.9 shows how the Alvar understood

his own activity as a poet:

 

What can I say about him ... who speaks inside me, himself

singing his own praise with my words, which arranging for

the sweet stanzas to be spoken by me in his words...?

 

The Most High makes me sing sweet verses about himself,

having taken me over [as his instrument] because of my lack

of talent to compose by myself fine poems, after seeing his

beauty...

 

Thus the Alvar feels `inspired' and impelled to compose his poems

by the experience of Visnu's beauty, and in fact regards himself

merely as an instrument for Visnu's own activity of revealing

himself to all men.

 

----------- FOOTNOTES & ADDENDA ----------------

 

1. CaTakOpaN: This is the name he himself used; among

Srivaisnavas he is much more frequently referred to by the

honorific title `Nammalvar', viz., `our saintly lord'.

 

2. ASPECTS OF NAMMALVAR'S HAGIOGRAPHY

 

The life-story of CaTakOpaN (1) which evolved in Srivaisnava

circles derives its essential themes from his works, ... a few

old 'taniyan' and 'muktaka' verses, and perhaps some locally

evolved traditions. But it appears to me that the legends are not

derived from any oral traditions of strictly historical value.

What we are dealing with is almost from the beginning of the

hagiographic developments a `vaibhavam', a legendary account of

the marvels and miracles in the life of a supernatural being.

 

The locality of Nammalvar is evident from the srutiphalas

[verses which conclude individual songs]: the temple town

Kurugoor on the pank of the Porunal (Skt. taamraparNI) --- today

Alvartirunagari in the Tirunelveli District. ... The poet refers

to himself as CaTakOpaN (this appears later sanskritized as

SaThakopa, SaThaari, SaThaarati, SaThavairI, etc.), CaTakOpaN

MaaRaN, MaaRaN CaTakOpaN, MaaRaN, and finally as Kaari MaaraN

CaTakOpaN. He describes himself as Vazhuti nATaN and VaLuti vaLa

nATaN, nakaraaN, kON, and also as turaivan. The interpretation

of these names and titles is difficult and complex, but certain

points seem clear. `MaaRaN' and `CaTakOpaN' are personal names

of the author (note that one is Tamil and the other Sanskrit),

which `Kaari' ought to be his father's name. The titles suggest

that he was a `chieftain' (turaivan) or `leader' (kON), an

`official' (nakarAN), and a dignitary in organizations in and

around Kurugoor. Once he mentions that `his chest is adorned by

a garland of makizh flowers', which gave rise to the Sankrit name

`BakulaabharaNa'.