ninRaan, irundhaan, kidandhaan, nadandhaan

[Guest guest]

The presence of the reigning CM of Tamilnadu is hard to

ignore in TN these days. Jumbo size "cut-outs" and

ridiculous titles like "sOdhanaigaL pala venRu perum

saathanaigaL padaiththidum dhiraavidath thaay,"

"ulagath thamizhargaLin iNaiyillaath thalaivi," etc. are

downright hilarious. For all her antics, charges of

corruption, and the high handedness of her "udanpiRavaa

sagOdhari" Sasikala, the unchallenged leader of ADMK,

the party owing direct allegiance to such great

"rationalist" leaders as C.N.Annadurai and

E.V.Ramasamy Naiker, J. Jayalalitha is the best thing

that has happened to temples in Tamilnadu in a long

while. Many of the temples I visited are undergoing

major repairs and reconstruction. One such temple is

Thirun^eermalai near Pallaavaram in Madras.

 

My brother-in-law was kind enough to take me along

one morning at about 8:00 a.m. on his way to work from

Shenoynagar to his factory about 8 KM off the highway

near Guduvancheri in Chengalpet district. Shenoynagar

to Pallavaram must be no more than 15 KM, but it took

almost an hour of adventurous driving to get to

Pallavaram. To drive in Madras you must have the car

horn and headlight in good working condition. It is your

responsibility to announce your transit through a busy

section by honking continuously. Otherwise, you may

be accused of not knowing even the basics of good

driving if, God forbid, an accident occurs. You need the

headlight to warn the oncoming traffic that you are about

to pass the vehicle in front of you and that they have to

break and get out of the way. Regardless of who is able

to safely pass, it is the person who hits the headlight first

that gets the right of way. Your driving expertise is a

function of how fast you can switch your headlight on.

Another accessory that you need while driving around in

Madras is a face mask to protect yourself from the

noxious fumes coming out the millions of lorries driven

by carefree maniacs. Fortunately for me, the day I went

to Thirun^eermalai, the driver was bearing the brunt of

the driving adventure and the air-conditioning in the car

protected us from the lorry fumes.

 

Less than 4 KM from the bustle of Mount Road near

Pallaavaram is the serene hillock that once was

surrounded by water due to continuous rain.

Thirumangai aazhvaar had to wait in a nearby village for

6 months before he was able to get to the temple. Thus

the hill got its name "neermalai" and the town where the

aazhvaar waited for the water to recede, "Thirumangai

aazhvaar puram."

 

This is a unique temple where the Lord presents Himself

in four forms, ninRaan (standing), irundhaan (sitting),

kidandhaan (resting), and nadandhaan (walking). The

Lord is in ninRa thirukkOlam at the foot of the hill. At

the top of the hill of about 150 steps are the other three

thirukkOlams. Let me present you with one of

Thirumangai aazhvaar's paasurams that celebrates these

four postures found in thirun^eermalai.

 

\bt

anRaayarku lakkodi yOdaNimaa

malarmangaiyo danbaLa vi,avuNark

kenRaanu mirakkami laadhavanukku

uRaiyumida maavadhu,irumpozhilsoozh

nanRaayapu naln^aRai yoorthiruvaa

likudandhai thadandhigazh kOvaln^agar,

ninRaanirun^ dhaan_kidan^ dhaann^adandhaaR

kidammaamalai yaavadhu neermalaiyE.

 

-- periya thirumozhi 2.4.1

\et

 

anRu : During Krishnavadhaaram

aayar kulakkodi yOdu : Nappinnai and

aNimaa malar mangaiyodu : periya piraatti

anbaLavi : were united in love with Him;

avuNarku : but, for the demons

enRaanum irakkamilaadha : He always shows no pity.

 

avanukku uRaiyumidam : Suitable abodes for Him are,

aavadhu

 

nanRaayapunal n^aRaiyoor : Thiru naraiyoor, Thiruvaali,

thiruvaali kudandhai Thirukkudandhai, and

thadanthigazh kOval n^agar : Thirukkovaloor

 

ninRaan : in standing posture at Thirunaraiyoo

irun^ dhaan : in sitting posture at Thiruvaali,

kidandhaan : in resting posture at Thirukkudandhai,

nadandhaaR : in walking posture at Thirukkovaloor;

 

One sees all the four postures at the:

idam maamalai yaavadhu : famed hill called

neermalaiyE. : Thiru neer malai.

 

Both the temples at the bottom and the top of the hill

are undergoing reconstruction with samprOkashaNam

scheduled for later this year. Therefore, we were able

to see only the uthsava moorthis and paintings of the

moolavars.

 

The top of the hill offers an excellent view of the

surrounding fields and the Mount road at a distance. It is

from this hill that one realizes that the madness of city

life and the misadventures of city commuting are

confined to a small band along the highway. The

serenity of a small village temple is just a few kilometers

away.

 

My brother-in-law dropped me off at Chrompet station

and I took the electric train back. I was back home by

10:30 a.m.

 

 

-- Dileepan