Periya Thirumozhi- Introduction

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Sri:

 

Dearest Sisters and Brothers, Happy makara sankaranthi! Happy Pongal!

 

I pray to Divya Damapthis for Their blessings and AchAryAs and

ThirumangaiAzhwAr for Their anugraham for my yet another rash, brazen

attempt to enter into tranlsation kaimkaryam. Please forgive me for my

errors and mistakes. Anything good in it, I am not to be "blamed"; All

Emperumaan's grace and AzhwAr's and AchAryan anugraham. All mistakes,

blunders are mine; Please pat (slap) my back for that.

 

ThirumangaiAzhwAr's Periya Thirumozhi is what we are going to enjoy

next. All of you know well about this Great AzhwAr, and he needs no

introduction. However, for novices like me, just a quick account of his

biography:

 

In his early days, as a king, our Lord Narayana was far from AzhwAr's

thoughts. His spiritual journey started with a commitment he made to

his sweetheart Kumudhavalli in exchange for her hand in marriage. While

most women may have asked for her suitor's everlasting love, or a

diamond ring, or a golden bangle, all our gentle lady Kumudhavalli

sought from AzhwAr was that he must wear the marks of Sri Vaishnava and

serve food (amudhu) for 1,000 Vaishnavaas everyday for a period of one

year. This service, initiated as a price for carnal pleasure, turned

into a labour of divine love towards the devotees of our Lord Narayana.

Years rolled by. AzhwAr spent all his wealth in the service of

Vaishnavas. With his coffers empty, AzhwAr could not continue the

service. He could not bear the thought of having to turn away the

Vasihnavas who by then were accustomed to blessing his abode with their

presence.

 

The feeling of despair turned to anger at the sight of the greedy idle

rich strolling around with all their gaudy and ostentatious jewels and

showing contempt for the simple and devout Vasihnavas. This was enough

to drive our Great AzhwAr to actions. But it was not just fame that was

in store for our AzhwAr.

 

Our Lord Sriya: Pathih Sriman Narayana decided to intervene and turn

AzhwAr away from the ways of the sword. He and His consort, our divine

mother Sri, appeared before him as a newly wed couple bedecked with

priceless ornaments. AzhwAr, who hid himself at ThirumaNankollai,

stopped the couple and forcibly relieved them of all the jewellery.

But, there was one piece on our Lord's toe

that wouldn't come off however much AzhwAr tried. In frustration AzhwAr

put his head on the lotus feet of our Lord (!) with the intention of

biting the ring off. He asked the Lord as to what is the magic manthra

for removing? (The Lord must have mis understood that AzhwAr enquires

regarding samsaara bond!) and that sort of SaraNagathy did work! at that

moment AzhwAr was drawn in by the beauty of the lotus feet and realized

the true nature of the couple standing in front of him. The Lord then

instructed the esoteric meaning of the "magic manthra" i.e

"Thirumandhiram" or Ashtaaksharam for the Most Blessed AzhwAr, to get

initiated by the Lord Himself, with Their "thadutthaaTkoLLal".

 

Thus AzhwAr learnt of the efficacy of the divine name "Narayana" from

our Lord Narayana Himself!

 

He immediately burst out to sing the poem "Periya Thirumozhi" (Great

divine poem) consisting of 1,084 verses. The first ten of these verses

are dedicated to the name "Narayana." These first 10 emotional verses

give aid and comfort to people.

 

AzhwAr comes down hard on himself with intense self criticism for the

violence he had caused,

though for a good cause, for having sought fleeting worldly pleasures,

for having squandered his days on mundane pursuits. He ends each of

these ten verses with a celebration of the divine name Narayana, for

after finding this sweet name, AzhwAr declares, he was free from all the

sins and assured of the everlasting bliss at the lotus feet of our sweet

Lord Narayana (Biography passage -stole- from Sri Dileepan's post in

Dec 95- in bhakti list - Thanks, Dileepan!)

 

His compositions were : 1. Periya thirumozhi 2. Periya thirumadal 3.

SiRiya thirumadal 4. Thiru nedunthANdakam (TNT) 5. Thiru

KurunthANdakam(TKT) 6.Thiru vezhuk kurrirukkai. His pAsurams are

marvellous; excellent and have unsurpassed beauty in them. ParAsara

Bhattar made use of his TNT to win over his counter part, an advaitin

scholar in his arguments and later the advaitin became his disciple 'nam

jeeyar'.

 

Sri RanganAtha himself heard and was greatly pleased with that argument

re-enacted from Bhattar quoting from TNT (Please read excellent posts of

Sri V. SadagOpan on TNT and TKT during

Feb 96 from Bhakti Archives - a real feast to each one of you).

 

Thirumangai AzhwAr (a KING, a person who had all kingly royal comforts)

walked all the way and VISITED almost all temples. He is simply GREAT,

my dearest brothers and sisters. He is JUST S U P E R B AzhwAr. His

wordings are his outpourings straight from his heart.

 

It is told and declared by Tamil Poets of all kinds that His paasurams

contain ezhutthu (writing), sol,(words) poruL, (meanings), yaappu

(Grammar), aNi (figure of sppech?) etc.. His songs are so great and so

nice to recite! It is simple and quite lucid too for reciters and those

who know even little Tamil, can understand the lovely emotional

outbursts of AzhwAr and his bhakti.

 

His paasurams depict mainly the archaavathaarams of Divya dEsams, and

when He enjoys Them with the descrition of Divya Desams, they simply

immerse us in unbounded limitless bliss and pErAnandham.

 

Thai AzhwAr, when Kumudavalli had asked him to become a Srivaishnava,

got his pancha samskaaram done by ThirunaRaiyoor Nambhi. He got his

Thiru ManthrOpadEsam from Sri SowrirAja PerumAL; AzhwAr praises These

Lords individually with 100 pAsurams! Nambhi naamam sollil NamO

NaaraayaNamE".

 

This AzhwAr had Great regards for NammAzhwAr. He appealed and requested

Sri Ranganathan for lsitening to Thiruvaaymozhi from Kaarthigai sukla

Ekadasi and now all Sri vaishnava Divya Desams celebrate this uthasavam

of reciting Thiruvaaymozhi.

 

The essence of Periya Thirumozhi is: The worldly life is sorrowful; It

can be cured only by the grace of Sriman Narayanan; Hence, get saved by

paying obeisance to Him at His Divya Desams (106 Thiruppathis on this

Earth). AzhwAr visited almost about 80 Thiruppathis, all on foot; He

sang 1253 passurams, next only to NammAzhwAr; (but NammAzhwAr never went

to any Divya Desams; The Lords came to Him!)… Thirumangai AzhwAr padi

padi paraparappaay Thirndhaar…He declares: If one surrenders to Sriman

Narayanan, "enRum vinaiyaagina saaragilaavE"… (Never will sins accrue to

your account!)..

 

This prabhandham should be read, re-read, re-re read and enjoyed! So

nice are they… Last Kaarthigai Kritthigai nakshathram (during AzhwAr

Thirunakshathram) as instructed by our KaNNan Swami, I could recite

Periya Thirumozhi for ten days preceding his Thirunakshathram and

completed on his birthday. It was a great feeling of having read his

lovely Periya Thirumozhi. Dearest Sisters and Brothers, my attempting to

write these translation is: 1. Those who do not know Tamil, can get to

know the meanings, and enjoy. 2. Those who wish to know the meanings

(though we all know Tamil, it is still difficult to understand the

meanings) and 3. Being a self-centred person, I myself would like to

enjoy them, by reading the pAsurams and writing these translations.

 

May I request for all your aseervaathams and wishes for such a rash

attempt? (Fools rush in where angels fear to tread).

 

Thirumangai AzhwAr ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

 

"thunjum bOdhu azhaimin.. thuyar varil ninaimin… thuyarileer sollinum

nanRaam… (While you sleep, call… or when you feel depressed and

sorrowful… call… or no worries.. no problems.. stilll it is so sweet to

utter…. Call "Narayana Narayana" says "Thirumangai AzhwAr)

 

Regards

 

Narayana Narayana

 

Narayana dAsan Madhavakkannan

 

 

 

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