Candala Candalar

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Sri Vaishnava lifestyle - 2

 

 

After becoming a part of the "thoNdar kulam," clan of

devotees, what should be our attitude towards other

devotees? Namaazhvaar gives us an answer in

Thiruvaay mozhi 3.7.9:

 

kualanthaangu saathigaL naalilum

keezizinthu, etthanai

nalanthaa NnilaathasaN daaLasaN

daaLarga Laakilum,

valanthaangu sakkarath thaNNal

maNivaNNaR kaaLenRuL

kalanthaar, adiyaar thammadi

yaarem madigaLE.

 

"We are servants to the servant of Candala among

Candalas, a caste with no merit and is lower than the

lowest of the four castes, if he is a devotee of our Lord

who bears the disc and of emerald hue complexion."

 

This was indeed a bold and revolutionary statement for

the time in which it was written. Further, it was

accepted and given vEdic status, i.e. infallibility, by

generations of sri vaishnavaas starting from Sriman

Naadhamuni. The first person known to have put this

into practice is Sri Ramanuja's guru, Sri Periya nambi.

He attended to the needs of the aging saint and fellow

pupil of Sri Alavandhaar, MaaRanEri nambi, a Candala

by birth, and performed the last rites after his death. For

this he was ostracized and later accepted when his

daughter Aththuzhaay demanded justice by quoting

Azhvaar paasurams and Sri Ramanuja, by then the head

of the Sri Rangam mutt, intervened.

 

I am sure Sri Ramanuja drew inspiration from his guru

and Azhvaar paasurms for his social message. But, I

would place Sri Periya nambi's service at a higher plane

than Sri Ramanuja's, much like the Mongoose that

placed the benevolence of the poor brahmin in

GurukshEthram above that of Yuthishtiran.

 

Going back to Namaazhvaar paasruams, let me try and

address a couple of possible criticisms. Did aazhvaar

consider Candalas to be of no merit when he says,

"eththanai nalam thaan ilaatha Candala CandalarkaL

aagilum?" Absolutely not! Azhvaar was addressing

those who have joined the "thoNdar kulam" and still

have inhibitions about mixing with the so called "low

caste" devotees. The phrase in question is intended to

encourage them to cast away these feelings. Further,

Azhvaar says Candala CandalarkaLaagilum, i.e. EVEN

IF they are Candala among Candalas." From the

rhetorical nature of this phrase it is clear that it is not the

Azhvaar who thinks of Candala as having no merit.

 

Next, what if the"Candala Candalar" does not choose

"Chakkarath aNNal" (ChakrapaaNi) as the Lord? Would

the aazhvaar condone social illtreatment of him?

Absolutely not! We can view this paasuram not only as

a message to the upper caste devotees, but also a way

into social equality for the oppressed. Since the Azhvar

is deeply spiritual, the solution he offers is a spiritual

one. We may further conjecture that he will be equal in

tolerance or condemnation of those who reject Sri

Vaishnavam, without regard to their birth. In any case,

since the Azhvaar does not consider Sri Vaishnavam to

be an exclusive club, there cannot be any criticism.

 

 

-- Dileepan