ThirunaraiYur Araiyar and Thirunarayanapuram

[Guest guest]

Dear BhAgavatOttamas

This is my first effort to post a message in this holy digest. Many of

the subjects being discussed in the digest are very involved philosophic

issues and often difficult to appreciate, still I believe that this

(bhakthi) association is more important than my understanding.

 

I wish to share the information about a DivyadEsam called

Tirunarayanapuram - not the Melakottai KshEthram dear to Udaiyavar. But

according to legends he had a small association with this KshEtram.

 

This village is on the bank of AkhaNdakAveri, about 40 KM from Srirangam

on the Tiruchy-Salem route, about 5 km from Thottiyam. A beautiful and

calm village amidst greenery of paddy fields, banana and betel leaf

plantations (vetrilai kodikkAl) criss-crossed by a number of small and

big irrigation canals.

 

The presiding deity of the temple is Sri VEda NArAyaNa Perumal and VEda

NAyaki is the thirunAmam of the Goddess. The Moolavar is reclining on

the AdhisEshan having the four VEdams as His pillows! The Utsavar has

one of the most beautiful TirumukhamaNdalam - the divine smile cannot be

described by ordinary persons like adiyEn.

 

This is an AchArya AbhiMana KshEthram. In the Srivachana bhUshanam,

first prakaranam, 84-th Choornai, the great Pillai LokhAchAryAr, writes

"PeryavudaiyArum pillai thirunaraiyoor araiyarum udambai upEkshittarkaL

...". Srimad MAmunigal gives the following explanation - I am just

giving a summary here (kindly pardon me if there are any mistakes):

Peria Udaiyar is Jatayu who sacrificed his life for Sri Rama. Similarly

Thirunaraiyoor Araiyar when he was visiting this temple with his family,

some miscreants (parasamyikaL) set the temple on fire. He made all

others to vacate the temple and died with his family while trying to

save the PerumaL The local Archakhas say that he and his family

literally covered the perumal with their bodies and saved him. Just like

Sri Jatayu, araiyar also gave his body in the cause of PerumaL.

(Ref: Sri Vachana Bhushana Vyakhyanam of Srimad ManavAla MAmunigal, in

Sr Vara Vara MunIndra Grantha MAlai, published by Sri P.B.

ANNangarAchAryar, 1966). The temple pamphlet mentions that one of

ThirukkOLUr PeNN PiLLai's questions (No 73) is 'udambai verutthEnO

thirunaraiyUr araiyaraippOlE ?' (Shri Jagathrakshakan of Azhwar Aaivu

Maiam, in his book ThirukkOLUr PeNN PiLLai Rhasyam writes that this

happened at ThirunaraiyUr itself, but I would believe in our

ParamAchAryan)

 

Pillai thirunaraiyUr araiyar is a great AchArya and pioneered the

araiyar tradition. It is said that he is referred to in Eedu a dozen

times. (Ref: 'Srirangam AdhyayanOthsavam', published by Sri Vaishnava

Sri, Srirangam, December 98;; there is a very interesting article in

this publication about Araiyar Sevai during the RAppatthu-Pahalpatthu

Utsavam, its origin etc.). As per one of the references in Nampillai's

Eedu mentioned in the above reference, Nanjeeyar had learnt ThiruvAi

Mozhi from ThirunaraiyYr araiyar.

 

Thus the above KshEthram is associated with this great AchArya. The

temple was very prosperous about forty years back. It has (had?!) nearly

100 acres of fertile land which was carefully leased to local farmers in

those days. But these days apparently PerumaL is willing to forego such

earnings - politico-economic situations in Tamil Nadu is such that many

temples are in dire straits. Now the temple is being renovated and the

very ThirumEni for which Araiyar sacrificed his body, is being

"repaired". Even though PerumaL along with SeshA's coil have

'Kal(stone)thirumEni's, the hood of SeshA is made of 'sudhai' (lime and

mortar) and had become precarious. The SamprOkshNam is scheduled to be

held on 7-7-2000, 23 rd Aani. BhakthAs desirous of adding their mite may

send them to Executive Officer, Arulmigu VEda NArAyanap PerumAL

Thirukkoil, ThirunArAyana Puram, Pin 621 203, Thottiyam Taluk, Trich

Dt., (tel. 04326 54338).

 

EmberumAnAr ThiruvadigaLE Charanam

Pillai Lokacharyar ThiruvadigaLE Charanam

ManavALa MAmunigal ThiruvadigaLE Charanam

 

Adiyen,

Srivenkatesan

Mumbai