Madhurakaviyaazhvaar

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It was the early years of Kali yuga. An elderly scholar from the south was

on a pilgrimage of Northern regions of the country. One evening he noticed

a bright star in the southern skies. Drawn by its brilliance the scholar

followed the star. Many months later he reached a small town called

Thirukkurugoor and the star suddenly disappeared. The scholar took this to

be a sign that his journey is at an end. His enquiries with the locals led

him to a tamarind tree near the Athipiran temple. There he found a young

boy radiating like a brilliant star. The boy had taken refuge in a small

cavity in the tree and had not spoken in 16 years. The scholar realized

this was no ordinary boy. Mustering up some courage he asked the boy,

 

"periyadhu vayiRRil siRiyadhu piRandhaal adhu eththai thinRu engE niRkum?"

(If great begets little, what will it eat, where will it rest?)

 

To this the boy replied,

 

"adhu aththaith thinRu angE niRkum."

(It will eat that and it will rest there)

 

The scholar was astonished by the clever answer pregnant with sasthirc

meanings. Immediately the scholar fell at the feet of the boy and begged

to be accepted as a disciple. The boy was Nammaazhvaar and the scholar was

Madhurakavi Azhvaar. Then Nammaazhvaar started composing his four

prabhandhams that are considered the very essence of the four Vedhaas.

MadhurakavikaL faithfully wrote them down. Centuries later one of

Madhurakavi aazhvaar's descendants helped Sriman Nathamuni discover not

just the verses of Nammaazhvaar, but the entire Dhivya Prabhandham as we

know them now. Today (April 22, 97) is Madhurakai's birth star Chiththrai

in the month of Chiththirai.

 

Madhurakavi is the only Azhvaar who sang not in praise of our Lord, but

only about his Acharyan, Nammaazhvaar. These eleven verses are called

"kaNNinuN siRutthaambu". For him Nammaazhvaar was the only Lord (dhevu

maRRaRiyEn). Of the three types of bhakthi, Bhagavath bhakthi,

Bhaagavatha bhakthi, and Acharya bhakthi, Acharya Bhakthi is the foremost,

so says Swami Sri Desikan. Then, KaNNiuN siRuththaambu dedicated to

Acharya Bhakthi, must be the foremost among the Dhivya Prabhandhams.

Therefore, it cannot be an exaggeration to consider KaNNinuN siRuththaambu

to be the very essence of Sri Vasihnavam.

 

A careful study of the eleven verses of KaNNinuN siRuththaambu suggests

that Nammaazhvaar's verses were not readily accepted by the orthodoxy of

the time. Consider the fourth verse of the Prabhandham.

 

nanmai yaalmikka naanmaRai yaaLargaL,

punmai yaakak karuthuvar aathalin,

annai yaayaththanaay ennai aaNdidum

thanmai yaan, satakOpanen nambiyE.

 

(To the righteous Vedic scholars this may be lowly,

but to me Satakopan is my Lord,

He is my mother, He is my father, and He rules over me .)

 

Interestingly, in the 8th and 9th verses MadhurakavikaL declares that

Nammaazhvaar's paasurams contain the very essence of the Vedhaas. Given

below is the 9th verse.

 

mikka vEthiyar vEthaththin utporuL

niRkap paadiyen nenchuL niRuththinaan,

thakka seerch satakOpanen nampikku,aat

pukka kaathal adimaip payananRE?

 

(Satakopan sang the very essence of the Vedic truths and firmly planted

them in my heart. What better use is there for me than to be in loving

servitude to him?)

 

Opposition to Azhvaar Sri Sukthees continued even to the time of Swami Sri

Desikan. When formal worship at Sri Rangam was reinstated after the Muslim

invaders were repulsed recitation of Dhivya Prabhandham was not accepted

readily. Swami Sri Desikan had to intervene and settle the matter in favor

of recitation.

 

Mathurakaviyaazhvaar thiruvadigaLE saraNam

 

-- Dileepan