Thirumangai Azhvaar

[Guest guest]

Self-abasement by Thirumangai Azhvaar can be found

sprinkled all over his 1000 and odd verses. But it is in

the first and the sixth Thirumozhi of the first decad where

we find this sentiment most intensely expressed. In these

verses the first two lines detail the nature of his

transgressions and the rest describes how he was able to

transcend his sins by somehow taking refuge at the lotus

feet of Sriman Narayana.

 

The first Thirumozhi comes immediately after the

Azhvaar had upadesam from the divine couple. Having

understood the true nature of individual souls the

Azhvaar feels intensely penitent for all the sins he had

committed. He is full of remorse for having wasted his

time in the pursuit of worthless worldly pleasures. He

sings, "oomanaar kaNda kanavilum pazhudhaay

ozhindhana kazhindha annaaLkaL". Here the aazhvaar

compares his past days to the fantasies of a dumb. Like

the dreams of a dumb is of no value to anyone, my past

days have been worthless. The Azhvaar ends each of

these verses passionately declaring the efficacy of

Thiruvashtaaksharam for absolving his sins.

 

In the sixth Thirumozhi of the first decad the Azhvaar

repeats the same theme as in the first. Why should he

revisit this topic in the sixth Thirumozhi? Sri Utthamoor

Swami answers this question in his commentary. The

subject of the sixth Thirumozhi is NaimisaaraNyam.

Among all the kshEthraas the Rishis of yore considered

NaimisaaraNyam to be the foremost for destroying one's

sins. This is the reason the Azhvaar recounts all the sins

he had already sang about in the first Thirumozhi.

Among the most intense of these intense 10 verses is:

 

idumbaiyaal adarppuNdu iduminO thuRRu ennRu irandhavarku illaiyEyenRu,

neduncolaal maRuttha neesanEn andhO! ninaikkilEn vinaippayan thannai,

kaduncolaar kadiyaar kaalanaar thamaraal paduvadhOr kodumiRaiku anchi,

nadungi naan vandhu un thiruvadi yadaindhEn naimisaaraNiyatthuLendhaay!

 

-- Periya Thirumozhi 1.6.5

 

(thuRRu = a mouthful, kodumiRai = horrible torture,

naman thamar = Yama thoodhaas)

 

"I turned away the ones who begged for just a mouthful to pacify

their hunger brought on by poverty. Not caring for the sin that will

befall me, I firmly and repeatedly refused their pleas. What a low-

life I am. Now, being dreadful of Yama's servants waiting to put

me through brutal torture, I surrender unto your divine feet, O!

Lord of Naimisarayam."

 

What happens to those Yama thoodhaas after we surrender to the

Lord. Thondardippodi Azhvaar says we can dance on top of their

heads.

 

kaavaliR pulanai vaiththuk kalithanaik kadakkap paayndhu,

naavalitt uzhitharukinROm naman thamar thalaikaL meethE,

moovulagu uNdu umizhndha mudhalva! nin naamam kaRRa,

aavalip pudaimai kaNdaay arankamaa nakaru LaanE!

 

-- Thondaradippodi Azhvaar's Thirumaalai verse #1

 

"We let the mind and body wander into everything

without guard. However, to cross the ocean of sins we

learnt the names of the Lord who swallowed the three

worlds and then spit them out. (By repeating His names,

we are longer afraid of the Yama thoodhaas) we can

perform our victory dance on top of the heads of

Yama's servants."

 

 

-- adiyEn