Thiru maal irum sOlai - part 5 - AruL tharum Azhagar Malai

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Thiru maal irum sOlai - Part 5 - AruL tharum Azhagar Malai

 

In varaaha puraanam this malai or hill is discussed in the

chapter under the title "rishaabaathiri". "Rishabam" means a bull

or kaaLai. The hills around this malai are seen as the cows and

this malai alone is majestic and is seen tall and strong as the

bull or rishabam and that is one reason some people believe that

this malai is called as rishaabaathri. malaya parvatham or

pothiya malai is 10 Yojani from this malai and kauveri is 6

yOjanai north of this malai and varaaha parvatham or popularly

known as pazhani malai is 6 yOjanai west of this malai as

described in (sanka kaala ?) ancient literatures. Such malai is

also known as koodaloor naadu or maal irum kunRam or thiru maal

irum sOlai or vana giri and many other such names. Once yama

dharma raajan took the form of rishabam and did penance seeking

Lord vishnu's aruL in this malai. He requested Lord vishnu to

name this malai as rishaabaadri in memory of his thapas that was

done here. Subsequently dharma raajan also requested the Lord to

offer his sundara uruvam of sundara raajan for darsshan to

commeners in this malai and the Lord obliged. Darma dEvan

subsequently requested vishva karma to create a vimaanam and

Koil in this place and it is believed that vishvakarma

immediately made the most beautiful vimaanam (that is similar in

beauty to chandiran) for this sundara roopa Lord. And such is the

soma chanda vimaanam.

 

 

The divine features of azhagar malai is also delivered in great

details by Sri nammaazhwaar in thiruvaay mozhi in 11 exclusive

paasurams. Not many of the hills that emperumaan is living are

sung exclusively by aazhwaars to this extent. Instead of

revisiting the inner meanings I would like to post some

highlights of these 11 paasurams on azhagar malai as written by

Swami gopala desikan of Oppiliappan kOil and with little

additional comments by me. Any translation errors are mine and I

request the forgiveness from the Lord the author and all the

baagavathaaLs in case I have erred in my attempt to present

nammaazhwar mozhi on azhagar malai.

 

3002:

kiLar oLi yiLamai kedu vathan munnam,

vaLar oLi maayOn maruviya kOyil,

vaLar iLam pozil sooz maal irun cOlai,

thaLar vilar aagil saarvathu sathirE. 2.10.1

 

It is the most desirable thing to do when one is young and able

and such is to go and worship Lord Azhagar in thirumaal irum

sOlai.

 

3003:

sathir iLam adavaar thaaz chsiyai mathiyaathu,

athir kural saNGkath thazakar_tham kOyil,

mathi thavaz kudumi maal irun cOlai,

pathi yathu vEththi yezu vathupayanE. 2.10.2

 

Swami vangipuram navaneetham VN gOpala dEsikaachaariar writes in

Nrsimhap priya on "thriuvaay mozhi amutham" that as per azzwaar's

quotes, "azhagar malai is so tall and majestic that it touches

the chandra mandalam. He also quotes that this azhagar malai

provides nirmala parisuththa nyAnam on emperumaan which is

without samsayam, viparyayam, maRappu (forgetfulness). ie azhagar

malai clears the doubts that parama purushan is a devatha known

as brahmam and also the doubts that such is a devatha other than

sriman narayana. Such azhukku illaatha nyaanathai kodukkum. ie

azhagar malai provides a nyaanam that is pure and void of these

impure doubts. nammazhwaar says mathi thavazh kudumi maal irun

chOlai in thriuvaay mozhi. Since "mathi" is the word used for

chandran or moon, It is said that when this hill, crosses the

peaks of chandran, it also grinds the cliffs and by doing so

chandran is removed of its impurity and become pure or one

without dhOsham or kaLangam. Swami Gopala desikan continues to

interpret this in another way with a comparison from Sri koorath

thaazhwaar's "sundara baahoosthavam". It is believed that Sri

koortha thaazwaar conveys these sentiments of purifying chandran

by azhagar malai as a rasa. ie When the azhagar malai siharam or

peaks are reaching beyond chandran, certain monkeys living in

those peaks don't want to touch the chandran who is on the head

of rudran and that such rudra sambandam or association to rudra

has contaminated chandran's purity and that these monkeys fear

that such impurities of chandran may come to them if they ever

touch him.

 

ie

 

yatheeya siharaa kathaam sasaikalaam thu saakaamrukaa:

nireeshya "hara"sEkaree bavanam....

sprusanthi na hi thEvathaanthara samaasrithEthi (sundara

baahoosthavam)

 

hence it is derived that chandran comes to azhagar malai to

remove his asuththi. ie malam aRu - to remove the kaLangam or

dhosham or kuRai or impurities.

 

mathi - chandiran

sEr - senru adaiyum or reaches the

maal irum chOlai - azhagar malai

 

Those who feel that they missed seeing varaahap perumaal need not

feel sad anymore as varaaahap perumaal himself had come to

azhagar malai just to provide darshan for those. Remember that HE

rescued booma dEvi who surrendered to HIM and such booma dEvi

incarnation Sri ANdAL revisited here and conveyed the same

sentiment in naachiyaar thirumozhi. One of the paasuram conveys

such saraNagathi as per the vyaakyaanam of our elders.

 

 

3004:

payan alla seythu payan illai_nenchE,

puyal mazai vaNNar purindh uRai kOyil,

mayal miku pozil sooz maal irun chOlai,

ayanmalaiyadaivathathukarumamE. 2.10.3

 

"maal irun chOlai,

ayan malai yadaivathathu karumamE"

 

ie If one can reach any one of the malai that is closer to this

"southern thiru malai" or known in tamil as "theRku thiru malai"

 

3005:

karu mavan paasam kazithth uzanRuyyavE,

peru malai yeduththaan pIduRai kOyil,

varu mazai thavazum maal irun chOlai,

thirumalai yathuvE yadaivathu thiRamE. 2.10.4

 

"maal irun chOlai,

thirumalai yathuvE yadaivathu thiRamE"

 

ie Azhwaar says that it is the best thing one can do and such

would be to reach thiru malai thiru maal irum sOlai. Now he

extends his accessibility to this malai itself.

 

3006:

thiRa mudai valaththaal thIvinai perukkaathu,

aRa muyal aazip padaiyavan_kOyil,

maRuvil vaN sunai sooz maal irun chOlai,

puRa malai saarap pOvathu kiRiyE. 2.10.5

 

With one's saamarththiyam (smartness) and thEha balam (physical

strength) one must not continue to do kodiya papams or (very bad

sins). HE who takes care of HIS adiyaars and the one who has the

aazhi or thiru chakkaram as HIS weapon and such Lord is living

here. Such divya dEsam is the one that is surrounded by many

sunais or water fillets around that doesn't have any mud or sEru

(ie the quality of water from these ooRRu are so pure and

unsoiled) and is such divya desam is also known azhagar malai. If

one can merely *start* to reach any one of the malais that is in

the vicinity of this malai, it is then considered enough as a

best possible sEvai. Such is the specialty of this "theRku thiru

malai".

 

3007:

kiRi yena_ninaimin kIzmai seyyaathE,

uRi yamar veNNey undavan kOyil,

maRi yodu piNai sEr maal irun chOlai,

neRi pada vathuvE ninai vathu_nalamE. 2.10.6

 

Learn the following that is being told by me (azhwaar) on azhagar

malai as the best purushaarththam. Without getting involved in

the materials pleasures of this world, and without committing the

actions that will indulge one again and again in these material

pursuits, the Lord Who stole and ate the butter from the uRi (pot

hanged from the roof and such Lord) is living in this kOyil. And

in this Koil that the deer lives with its new born infants

(meaning it is so safe even for a deer to live here just after

its delivery), if one can meditate on this Lord azhagar that

would be the best purushaarththam. In the previous paasuram he

says if one is able to think that they must reach this azhagar

malai is by itself a good deed. And in the subsequent paasuram he

says that if one can even think of this azhagar malai that itself

would be a good purushaarththam. ie One need not even think to go

there but simply think about this malai and that by itself is a

great deed. The emperumaan who provide shelter for these deer

will also provide protection for us who are HIS children and

infants in his vibavam and once we think about HIM HE will never

let us go from HIM as similar to a deer that would not let its

infant leave it and wander in danger. In poorvach chaaryaar

vyaakyaanam it is said that it is the best deed even if one can

think of the path that leads to this azhagar malai. This path or

maargam is compared to the achchiraathi maargam that is described

by Lord Krishnar.

 

 

3008:

nala mena_ninaimin nara kazun dhaathE,

nila munam idandhaan nIduRai kOyil,

mala maRu mathi sEr maal irun chOlai,

vala muRai yeythi maru vuthal valamE. 2.10.7

 

 

malam Ara aNuguveer

 

aazwaar also says that when one reach the azhagar malai they also

must go there by observing the protocols and sentiments that HE

is param and we are HIS adiyaars. Please don't go close to him

with a thought of ego that jarasandhan and his fellow raakshash

approached paramporuL Sri Krishnar. Azzhwaar also says that If

one can go around perumal and the malai (giri valam) and live

there forever in nityaa vaasam, such is the best purushaarththam

one can do.

 

valam seythu

 

The strength and the able body and mind are provided and

maintained by HIS aruL and such strength be spent only for going

around HIS azhagar malai and going around azhagar and living

there in nityaa vaasam. And such is the genuine thing to do with

the mortal strength we all have been provided by the Lord.

 

 

valam seyyum maayavan

 

Adi kavi vaalmeeki says that Sri ramachandran strolled around the

thiruch chithrak koodam holding hands with seetha and such was

the case here in azhagar malai also where swami azhagar is

strolling around with piraati all the time as per aazhwaar. ie HE

gave us the strength only to worship HIM and HE also gave HIMself

the sundara archa roopam in azhagar malai that we can easily

worship HIM. Swami VN gopala desikan quotes from veda " ya

aathmathaa balathaa" to prove this point.

 

vaanOr valam seyyum sOlai

 

nitya suris and boolOga vaasis always do darshan of the two

malais ie thirup pathi thiru malai and azhagar malai. The reason

is provided by thirumangai azhwaar that all the nitya suris and

boolOga vaasis who are children of piraati are very fond of her

breasts as an infant and the two such breasts of booma dEvi are

the thirumalai and azhagar malai

 

ie thennnan uyar poruppum theyva vada malaiyum ennum ivaiyE

mulaiyaa vadivamaintha

 

- periya thiru madal

 

All these sentiments are in a way similar to kulasEkara

aazhwaar's sequential desires conveyed in perumaal thiru mozhi on

thirup pathi thiru malai.

 

The meanings of the last 4 pasurams will be discussed later.

 

3009:

valamseythuvaikal valaNGkaziyaathE,

valamseyyum_aaya maayavan kOyil,

valamseyyumvaanOr maalirunchOlai,

valamseythu_naaLum maruvuthalvazakkE. 2.10.8

 

3010:

vazakkena_ninaimin valvinaimoozkaathu,

azakkodiyattaa Nnamar_peruNGkOyil,

mazakkaLiRRinancEr maalirunchOlai,

thozukkaruthuvathE thuNivathusoothE. 2.10.9

 

3011:

soothenRugaLavum soothumseyyaathE,

vEthamunviriththaan virumpiyakOyil,

maathuRumayilsEr maalirunchOlai,

pOthavizmalaiyE pukuvathuporuLE. 2.10.10

 

3012:

poruLEnRivvulagam padaiththavanpugazmEl,

maruLilvaNkurukoor vaNsadakOpan,

theruLkoLLachchonna vOraayiraththuLippaththu,

aruLudaiyavan_thaa LaNaivikkummudiththE. 2.10.11

 

AndAL thiruvadikaLE charaNam

Sri Sridevi piraati thaayar samEthara Sri azhagar thiruvadikaLE

charanam

 

Sampath Rengarajan

 

 

Note: It is in deed the noblest is to think of this azhagar malai

and perhaps it is a small deed and a step if this adiyEn can

provide to everyone in simple terms and enable them to think of

this azhagar malai in some popular way. Such would be considered

as a service to naraaynaa by me. Few scenes of the kaaviyam of

movies "thillaanaa mohanaambaaL" written by koththamangalam subbu

is reminded by me for bringing easy memory for those who cannot

go right away to India or see pictures of this malai. At the

beginning of this movie the title of this movie itself is shown

for about 5 minutes with this malai and the azhagar kOil and the

kudhirai vaahnam and the surrounding malais and thiruvizhaas or

festivities. The movie itself is kicked off with a festival

being held in this malai with participation of various vidwaans

and artists performing in the thiru vizhaa for Lord azhagar.

naadaswaram of MPN ponnusaami and MPN sethuraaman of madurai in

inDolam (?) (nagumO GaNalE) starts in th ethiru vizhaa.

Subsequently the naatiyap pErOLi padmini and Nadikar thilakam

sivaji ganesan (who plays the role of naadaswara vidhawan

(earlier) sikkal sanmuga sundaram and he is the one who starts

with nagumO .. in nagaswaram (sikkal is by the way a very

important srivaishnava thalam) crosses each other with an

introduction and oodal and a challenge, the theme for the movie.

Then mOhanaa the dancer takes the podium and starts to dance. In

kavignar kannadaasan's words this oodal is presented as

 

"maRain thirunthE paarkkum marmam enna, swaami ?"

ahzagar malai azhagaa ? intha silai azhagaa ?"

 

ie.. what is the reason you are hiding and watching me my hero ?

Is this ahzagar malai is the most beautiful or this silai or

statue is most beautiful ?

 

There is a double meaning here. The whole song can be summarized

as the oodal between the hero and his lover. But it can also be

seen as the praise for the Lord ahzgar that ANDAL praised in her

oodal. Except for the usage of the words velavan and shanmugan to

suit the movie character, In some way kannadaasan *attempts* to

capture the oodal sentiments (nava rasa mum - the next sentence

in this song is shown with nava rasam or expressions of a female

in love and the subsequent words are "oru mOhaththilE ennai

moozhga vaiththu ; ie you made me immerse in mOham) ANDAL

conveyed when she reached this malai and naatiyap pErOLi never

missed this opportunity either to convey the expressions in dance

language or muththirai and abainayam and oyil. The question here

is if this malai is beautiful or the Lord Azhagar is beautiful ?

When these words are sung, mohana dances and makes muththirai of

pari mEl ahzhzar ie ahzagar in his horse carrier or kuthirai

vaahanam and then for malai she uses a majestic muththirai of

tall and one that has peaks in it. This question (azhagar malai

azhagaa ? (azhagar) intha silai ahzhagaa ?) is sung thrice in the

song and mohana makes unique muththirais each time for this

malai. The second time she makes a posture to convey its (azhagar

malai) width and density and the third time she shows how it

(azhagar malai) is spread around in a circular way. My wife who

learnt and did baratha naatiyam from very young age, had danced

for this song when she was only 8 years old. I learnt to see the

different muththirais from her review of this song. I hope

bakthaaLS wanting to think of azhagar malai but donot have access

to any photos or any oral account from earlier visitors, can see

these first few minutes of this kaaviyam and think of this malai

and Lord Azhagar with a pure mind.

 

 

adiyEn

Sampath Rengarajan