A timely salutation to Thirumazhisai AzhwAr

[Guest guest]

Dear members of the Prapatthi group :

 

Tomorrow is the day when Maka Nakshtram is

in ascendance during this Thai month ; this is the day ,

when Thirumazhisai AzhwAr was born as the son of

Bhargava Rishi at the end of his Dheerga Satra Yaagam .

There was no rupam at the time of birth and the new born " baby"`

had only pindAkruthi . The worried Rishi and his pathni placed

the "baby " without features in a bush of cane reeds and left .

With the anugraham of Sri Devi , Bhumi Devi protected the

"formless "mass of flesh that was the amsam of Sudarsanam

of the Lord . Thanks to the affectionate nurturing of the "Pindam " ,

perfect limbs took shape and a beautiful child came to be .

 

The child awakened to life was overcome by the experience of hunger ,

thirst and cold and cried . Sriman NarAyaNA appeared before the child

and blessed the child with the darsanam of His AarAvamudha Svavigraham

( archA svarupam of insatiable nectar like experience ). The child drank that

nectar to its heart's content . When the Lord disapepared , the child

screamed with pain over the loss of that most delectable anubhavam .

Vislesham from the Lord was too much even at that tender age and stage

of the AzhwAr . Nearby was a cane cutter by the name of ThiruvALan along

with his dear wife of the name PankayacchelviyAr busy with his occupation.

He heard the cry of a child and discovered the resplendent child lying

under the bush of canes. He lifted it up and gave it to his wife and they

took it home and raised the child as their own.

 

The child like NammAzhwAr did not partake of food

or water and was growing with its own yogic power.

A childless , older couple saw this wonder and offered well-boiled ,

sweet milk with cardamom and saffron petals to the child

in the early morning for many days. AzhwAr partook that milk

presented with great affection and suggested the couple to drink

the left over milk . The older couple drank the milk blessed by the AzhwAr's

use. They got younger and were blessed with a child .

The happy parents named the child born out of the grace of The AzhwAr

as KaNI KaNNan , who became the famous disciple of the AzhwAr later and

is associated with the happenings at the YathokthakAri Sannadhi at Kanchi.

 

The AzhwAr engaged in AshtAnga Yogam to learn about the Jagadh KaaraNa

Vasthu and investigated the truths offered by Saivism , Jainism et al and

dismissed them as unsatisfactory and chose SaraNAgathi at the lotus feet of

Sriman NaarAyaNan , the Jagadh KaaraNa vasthu , as the sole means of his

salvation . Lord Rurdan recognized the superiority of the AzhwAr's bhakthi

to Sriman NaarAyaNan and named him as " Bhakthi Saarar ".

 

In one of his journeys from ThiruvehhA to Thirukkudanthai to have

the MangaLAsAsanam of AarAvamudhan , who blessed him

during his pindAkruthi , the AzhwAr stopped at a village called

Perumpuliyoor and the incident discussed quite a bit recently amongst us

took place . He received Agra PujA from the Soma Yajee , Perumpuliyur

adigaL after the chastised reciters of Vedam saw the miracle of

the Archa murthy of the local temple turning His head in the direction

of the AzhwAr as he went around the veedhis bordering the temple.

It appeared that the The Archa Murthy would not stop following the azhwAr

with his benovolent gaze . When the AdigaL of Perumpuliyur offered

Agra Puja , some of the arrogant ones in the Vedasaalai objected still

to the honor being accordeed to AzhwAr .The amused AzhwAr prayed to

the Lord to stop the bickering of the Vedic scholars and requested

the Lord to appear in his body ( AkkarangaL akkarangaL yenru maavathen kolO ,

ikkurumbhai neeki yennai Eesanaaka VallayEl , ChakkarmkoL kaiyanE saDankar

vaai adangiDa , utkiDantha vaNNamE purmposindhu kAttiDE ). The Lord

being YathokthakAri obeyed the command of His BhakthA and

became visible on the body of the AzhwAr in the form of AarAvamudhan

resting on Adiseshan along with Bhumi and Sri Devis pressing his lotus feet .

The erstwhile offensive ones as well as the rest fell at the feet of

Thirumazhisai

AzhwAr and received his blessings. The AzhwAr continued his

journey to Thirukkudanthai and lived there rest of his life.

 

One day during his stay at Thirukkudanthai ,

he took his prabhandhams (Thirucchandha Viruttham and Naanmukhan

ThiruvandhAdhi ) and placed them in the floods of Cauveri river to show

his detatchment and to imply that the days of his kaimkarym to the Lord on

this earth were coming to a close and that he was readying himself to join

the Lord in His parama Padham . Lo and Behold ! The two prabhandhams

travelled upward against the direction of flow of Cauveri and landed at the

feet of the AzhwAr. The daughter of Sahya mountains , Cauveri mAthA

carried the holy prabhandhams upstream and placed them at the sacred

feet of Thirumazhisai . He then took the Prabhandhams in his hand and

carried them to the sannidhi of Aaravanmudhan and placed them at

the lotus feet of Hema Rangan . It is then he commanded the Lord to lift himself

up

from his reclining pose and speak to him ( KudanthaiuL

kidanthavaaruzhinthirunthu

pesu ). The Lord responded with alacrity and became UtthAna Sayee and

even today he has chosen Udhyoga sayanam for his ArchA from at Thirukkudanthai .

The grateful AzhwAr performed MangaLAsaasanam for the sowlabhya ,

aasritha Vaatsalyam of the Lord and offered long life to the Lord

(Vaazhi KesanE ) . The AzhwAr shook his mortal coils here at Thirukkudanthai

and joined the lotus feet of Sri KomaLavalli sametha Saaranga PaaNi .

 

Some of the excerpts from this famous AzhwAr who is the

first exponent of the VyuhA theory of PaancharAtra AgamA

are included below .

..

In his Prabhandham , Naanmukhan ThiruvandhAdhi , he

established that Sriman NaarAyaNA as the original

cause of all the worlds and the primal causality of

all the worlds to be NaarAyaNA . He is considerd as an

integral seer (BhakthisArA ) in whom knowledge

about the divine being has blossomed forth into

devotion and culminated in the divine vision . It has been

pointed out that the vision and anubhavam of Sriman NaarAyaNA

by this AzhwAr was " a completion of the paraJ~nana (transcendental

knowledge ) , Parabhakthi ( Transcendental devotion )

and Parama Bhakthi ( Supreme Devotion ) of the first three

AzhwArs . " The AzhwAr celebrated Sriman NaarAyaNA as

"sarva-vaachaka -sabdhan ( every word ultimately connotes

Him only ) ."

 

The AzhwAr celebrates the DayA of Sri RanganAthA in one

of his verses this way : " O Lord of Ranga! Thou who art

difficult to obtain through one's own efforts , Thou art

running after Thy devotees ". He offers the means for

our salvation this way elsewhere in one of his Paasurams :

" Let thy mouth praise , let thy eye adore , let thy ears hear

me! (O Intelligent Ones ! ) . Do thou offer cool , fresh

flowers , bend thy head low and with hands crossed

in anjali mudrA , think of the Lord adorned with TuLasi garland

and Nedu Mudi (high crown ) , who is attached to me

from beginningless time ". He proclaims loud that

he has made devotion to the Lord his vocation in the

81st verse of Naanmukhan ThiruvandhAdhi .

 

In his more erudite , philosophical composition,

Thirucchandaviruttham , he reveals his Upanshadhic

and Aagamic wisdom . Here he asks the question

" Should not the mind (of humans ) seek out that

happiness of being united to Thee alone ? ". He

laments the bad faith of men , who ought to know

the accessibilty of Sriman NarAyaNA ( Thirucchandha

Viruttham ) :

 

" Milk -white ( in krutha YugA ) , Copper-red

( in TretA yugA ) , moss-green ( in DvApara YugA ) and of

the hue of blue lotus enjoyed by the bees( in Kali YugA ) ,

are the hues taken by Thee in the four ages.

what color is the hue of the man on earth , who

does not enjoy the accessibility of YOU (Sriman NarAyaNA)

in all of these four ages ? ".

 

I will conclude this posting on Thirumazhisai with the Dhayana slokams

used by him for the divya Dampathis at Thirukkudanthai ,

which is recited even today :

 

***Sri KomaLavalli ThAyAr

 

sakala BhuvanamAthA sagarAdheesajAthA

pranamth avana kaamA Bhaskara kshethradhAmA I

sakalithabhayamoolA SaarngadhanvAnukoolA

pravimala mukhabimbhA paathu maam KomaLAmbhA II

 

*** Sri SarangapANi ( AarAvamudhan )

 

thrimsathkoti vasurudradivAkarAdhi

devaathi devagaNa santhatha sevyamAnam I

Ambhoja sambhava chathurnmukha geeyamAnam

VandhE sayAnamigaboghini SaarngapANim II

 

Sri KomaLa Valli Naayikyai Nama:

 

Sri AparyApthAmrutha Para BrahmaNE Nama :

 

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan