Tirumazhisi Alwar

[Guest guest]

Apropos Sri.Mani Varadarajan's note with which I am in general agreement.

 

I too did a quick bit of reference into my personal library and came up with

the following passage on Page 111 in "THE HOLY LIVES OF THE AZHVARS OR

DRAVIDA SAINTS" By Alkondavilli Govindacharya (Ananthacharya Indological

Research Institute, Bombay) which may be of interest to those amongst you

who are research-minded :

 

"... our Saint (Tirumazhisai Alwar) thought of presenting his homage to the

Lord Resident at Kumbhaghona -- the Ara-v-amudan -- and there spending some

time absorbed in thoughts of the special graces and beauties of the Deity,

as there made manifest. As soon the will was made, it was put into act.

Rapidly the saint journeyed on to the shrine and on the way he rested

himself a little in the village called Perum-puliyur, on the pial of a

house. In that very house,it so happened, there were Brahmanas assembled and

were reciting the Holy Vedas. But on seeing a foreigner they broke off. When

they wished to take up the thread, their memory would not help them, do what

they will. The Saint divined their perplexity and taking a black paddy grain

under his finger-nails chucked it on the floor. This act immediately brought

to their memory the thread of their broken recitation, for the passage(they

had been reciting) ran to the effect that in performing the Raja-suya

Sacrifice, the master of the ceremony should take the grains of paddy which

the housewife should husk with her finger-nails, then cook and oblate to

fire ("... krishNanAm vrIhINAm" etc. in Yajus I.8.9).At this they were

wonderstruck, and exclaimed :"He may be a low-caste Sudra, but he is not

really one, being godly" (..."na shUdrAbhagavadhbhakthA

viprAbhAvathAsmrthA:" vide. Bharatha), and they all came in a body, fell at

his feet and atoned for their mistake."

 

If the above is true, Sri.Mani, then perhaps you may have judged those poor

'brahmins' rather too harshly !!

 

Sudarshan