More on Periya Thirumadal

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This note is my meager attempt to present an outline of

Thirumangai Azhvaar's Periya Thirumadal. This, I hope, will

provide a context for Parakala Nayaki's "threats" to our Lord

that Badri posted earlier.

 

Even though I lack critical knowledge of aazhvaar's works, I

embark on this difficult task motivated by nothing else but a

keen desire to write about them. Therefore, I seek the

forbearance of, and welcome additions and corrections from,

more knowledgeable members of this group.

 

Periya thirumadal is credited as the last prabhandham of

Thirumangai Azhvaar (vide Swami Sri Desikar's prabhandha

saaram). Right after the aazhvaar finished this prabhandham,

our Lord Sriman Narayana consummated His eternal

embrace with Parakala Nayaki (PN). Apparently, PN's

threats at the end of the prabhandham worked. It seems

threatening our Lord comes easy to Thirmangai Mannan; for

was he not the one who threatened our Lord with his sword

and demanded to be initiated into Thirumanthiram (vaaL

valiyaal mandhirangoL)?

 

However, before threatening to "expose" the "misdeeds" of

our Lord Sriman Narayana, PN pours out her heart with

intense passion and longing. PN starts the prabhandham by

first declaring that "mOksham" is only a theory and that

"kaamam" is the only real purshaarththam. The

other two purushaarththams, namely "dharmam" and

"arththam" ultimately results in "kaamam" as well. This

section of the prabhandham ends with:

 

"...aangu aNimuruval in amudham maandhi iruppaar

idhu anRE aRaththin payan aavadhu,

oN poruLum anna thiRaththathE,

aadhalaal kaamaththin mannum vazhimuRaiyE

niRRum naam."

 

(.... thus, one enjoys the sweet nectar of the lover's smiling

lips; isn't this the object of righteous living; verily this is the

object of wealth as well; therefore let us pursue this "divine kaamam")

 

When pursuing this divine kaamam what is one to do if it is

not reciprocated? Madaloordhal is a powerful weapon to

force the issue, but that is only for men. So, in the next

section, PN embarks on an elaborate defense of why women

must be allowed to undertake "madaloordhal." PN presents

two justifications. The first deals with the intolerable nature

of unfulfilled love. She pleads, "how can one bear to be

roasted by the flames shed by the full moon of open sky?"

("umbarvaay thunnu madhi uguththa thoonilaa neeL neruppil

tham udalam vEvathth thaLaraadhaar" - Oh! my, my). The

second justification deals with the repudiation of the Tamil

tradition that forbids "madaloordhal" for love stricken

women. PN cites several examples of women of northern

tradition including Seethaa piraatti and umai.

 

"thunnu veyil vaRuththa vemparalmEl panchadiyaal mannan

iraaman pin vaidhEvi.. "

 

( (having forced Sri Rama to take her along ...) She followed

Sri Rama, Her feet, soft as cotton, getting scorched by

walking on small sharp stones heated to cinder by the fierce sun)

 

Having established a woman's right to undertake

"madaloordhal", PN then claims that right for herself by

describing her own unbearable passion for our Lord:

 

"mannum maRikadalum aarkkum,"

 

(the calm seas seem to roar at me)

 

"madhiyuguttha innilaavin kathirum enRanakkE veythaagum,"

 

(the rays of the sweet moon strike me like scorching sun)

 

"thennan pothiyil sezhuncanthin thaathaLainthu,

manniv vulagai manangaLippa vanthiyangum,

inniLampoon^ thenRalum veesum eriyenakkE,"

 

(the delightful breeze from the south, fragrant with

sandlewood flowers, strikes me like harsh heat wave)

 

"munniya peNNaimEl muLmuLarik koottagatthu,

pinnumav vanRil pedaivaayc siRukuralum,

ennudaiya nencukkO reervaaLaam enseykEn"

 

(the sound of the sweet nothings the two love birds upon

a palmyra tree are exchanging sounds to me like a sword

cutting my heart into two pieces - what can I do!!)

 

 

"kannavilthOL kaaman karuppuc silaivaLaiya,

konnavilum poongaNaikaL kOtthup pothavaNainthu,

thannudaiya thOLkazhiya vaangi, - thamiyEnmEl

ennudaiya necE ilakkaaga eykinRaan,

pinnithanaik kaappeer_thaam illaiyE,

 

(Cupid is taking aim at my heart with his sugar cane

bow and flowery arrows, is there none to save me from

these deadly arrows?)

 

 

The desperate yearning PN expresses in this passage is most

exquisite. The "viraga thaapam" flows out like the waters of

Niagara falls. This is a far cry from the aazhvaar's earlier

laments "therivai maar uruvamE maruvi" (I wasted my time

seeking the pleasures of young women) in Periya

Thirumozhi. The transformation to womanhood is complete

when PN bares her heart for inseparable union with,

 

the Lord who severed the ten heads of Ravana,

 

the Lord who tore open the immense chest of Hirnyakasipu

with his nails,

 

the Lord who killed Hiranayakshakan with His boarish tusks

and rescued Boomi piraatti,

 

the Lord who churned the seas and secured "amritham" for the devas,

 

the Lord who spanned the skies and earth and sent Mahabali

to the underworld,

 

the Lord of Sri, ...etc., etc.

 

What follows is a captivating listing of dhivya desa

archaavathaaras with whom PN yearns for inseparable union.

Just a couple of examples:

 

"maamalarmEl annam thuyilum maNineer vayalaali

ennudaiya innamudhE"

 

(my sweet Lord of Thuruvaali surrounded by fields

filled with large lotus flowers with napping cranes)

 

"kOvaloor mannumidaikkazhi yemmaayavanai"

 

(the beguiling Lord of Thirukkovaloor who appeared

in a narrow passage to enjoy the company of the first

three aazhvaars )

 

For more on this, please see Sri Rengi Sampath's post.

 

PN ends this section with the ominous,

 

"emperumaan thennaruLum aagamamum thaaraanEl"

 

(if my Lord refuses to grant me His grace and union)

 

What follows is nothing short of extortion! See Badri's

post for details.

 

Azhvaar uses naayaki bhavam right from his first

prabhandham Periya Thirumozhi, but it is in the two

Thirumadals that "she" presents a completely transformed

womanly personality. Even in thirun^edundhaaNdagam,

aazhvaar betrays maleness when he signs off as "kaliyan

sonna" in the last paasuram. In the two thirumadals

aazhvaar shows no trace of maleness and thus our Lord

consummates union with PN right after she completes periya

thirumadal. This, I think, is an illustration of our true

nature, to be a member of our Lord's andhappuram.

 

It is interesting to note that the aazhvaar casts doubts about

the existence of "mOksham" in the beginning of the Thirumadal,

but at the end achieves just that!

 

Parakaala naayaki thiruvadigaLE saraNam

 

-- dhaasan parthasarati dileepan