ThoNdaradippodi thonnagaram

[Guest guest]

Thursday, December 21, 1995 (maargazhi, kEttai) is

ThoNdaradippodi aazhvaar's thiru nakshathram.

 

This aazhvaar was born as Vipra Narayana, in a place

called ThirumaNdangudi, near KumbakONam, about 3

KM from Thiru Adhanoor, one of the 108 Dhivya

DhEsams. I had the opportunity to visit this sacred place

in 1991. As we approached the town I was thinking of

the phrase "thoNdaradippodi thonngaram" (the old town

of ThoNdaradippodi) from the thaniyan to

ThiruppaLLiyezhuchchi, a poem by this aazhvaar. But, it

was no town, just a tiny tiny village.

 

The Sri Ranganatha temple in the village was deserted.

There was no easy approach to the temple. The

praaharam was full of thorny bushes making it extremely

difficult to do pradhakshaNam. Fortunately for us, a

bhattar was in the temple and by the grace of our Lord

Sriman Narayana, we had a good dharsan. It seems a

bhattar from the nearby Thiru Adhanoor visits everyday

about noon time for a quicky thiruvaaradhanai, or, mostly

just nEvEdhyam.

 

This sorry state of the temple must partly be due to the

indifference of the present-day ThirumaNdangudivaasees.

They seemed oblivious to the village's renown. The

aazhvaar himself moved to Sri Rangam early in his life

and dedicated himself to serving Lord Ranaganatha by

providing flowers for the daily worship (nandhavana

kaingaryam.) His life of devotion was disrupted by

DhEva DhEvi, a beautiful devadaasi. It took the direct

intervention of Lord Ranganatha Himself to turn the

aazhvaar back to a life of piety. As atonement for his

lapse the aazhvaar reverentially consumed the water he

used to wash the feet of devotees of our Lord Ranganatha.

Further, he adopted the pen name "ThoNdar adip podi"

(dust of the feet of devotees.)

 

Thondaradippodi graced us with two prabhandams,

ThiruppaLLiyezhuchchi and Thirumalai.

 

The ten beautiful paasurams of ThiruppaLLiyezhuchchi

are recited everyday to awaken our Lord in all Sri

Vaishnava temples. It may have served as inspiration for

composing VenkatEsa Suprabhaadham, I don't know.

 

Thirumaalai contains 45 paasurams. The verses show a

range of emotions from deep sorrow for past sins, to

impatience at people with no desire to worship our Lord;

to anger at those who oppose Sri Vaishnavam and what it

stands for; to pure joy and ecstasy at the beauty of Lord

Ranaganatha.

 

I would like to share one paasuram from Thirumaalai that

illustrates "kaarpaNyam," one of the five angaas for

prapatthi described by Swami Sri DhEsikan.

 

manaththilOr thooymai yillai vaayilO rinso lillai,

chinaththinaal seRRam nOkkith theeviLi viLivan vaaLaa,

punaththuzhaay maalai yaanE! ponnisoozh thiruva rangaa,

enakkinik kathiyen chollaay ennaiyaa Ludaiya kOvE!

 

-- Thiru maalai 30

 

"Am not pure of heart, neither am I of sweet words,

with anger I behold my adversaries,

and pour out fighting words,

O! my Lord Ranganatha! adorned with thuLasi garland,

surrounded by kaavEri water,

Who else but you can be my redeemer!"

 

Sri Rangam is the only temple ThoNdaradippodi aazhvaar

sang about. Thus, Sri Rangam, with 11 aazhvaars

praising Lord Ranganatha, leads Thiru vEngadam

(Thiruppathi) by one aazhvaar. Madurakavi is the

aazhvaar who did not sing in praise of Sri Rangam; he

sang only about his Lord, and ours, Nammaazhvaar.

 

 

 

-- P. Dileepan