Azhwars

[Guest guest]

Dear Bhagavathas -

 

Could some one tell me how the name azhwar came to be associated with the

azhwars ?

 

Yours humbly

 

Rajaram V.

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

:Om Namo Narayanaya:

Dear Sri Rajaram,

The meaning of the word Azhwar is "Protector".

Azhwars came to this earth when Bhakti was at the end stage in all of us.

They reestablished roots to the devotion on this earth when it was in end

stage.

Thats why they got the name Azhwars. If they were not there people may not

have faith in god by this time.

Dasan

~Balaji

 

 

 

Rajaram Venkataramani [v_raja_ram]

Monday, February 25, 2002 7:57 AM

bhakti-list

Azhwars

 

 

 

Dear Bhagavathas -

 

Could some one tell me how the name azhwar came to be associated with the

azhwars ?

 

Yours humbly

 

Rajaram V.

[Guest guest]

SrI:

SrImathE Ramanujaya namah:

Dear Sri Rajaram,

AzhwAr (a Tamil word) means "one who immerses himself..".

We too are AzhwArs (we have immersed ourselves in samsaaric affliction) and

we run after sensual, transitory pleasures and run amuck on materialistic

pursuits.

AzhwArs have immersed themselves deeply in the Bhagavth anubhavam,

forgetting (rathar ignoring) all other vishayam..

 

Trust it answers your question.

Regards

Namo Narayana

aDiyEn

----Original Message Follows----

Rajaram Venkataramani <v_raja_ram

bhakti-list

Azhwars

Sun, 24 Feb 2002 18:26:53 -0800 (PST)

 

 

Dear Bhagavathas -

 

Could some one tell me how the name azhwar came to be associated with the

azhwars ?

 

Yours humbly

 

Rajaram V.

 

 

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[Guest guest]

The meaning given by SrI Sadagopan and SrI Madhavakannan correlate. But I see

SrI Balaji has given a completely different meaning as protector. While this is

an appropriate glorification, is it justified literarily ?

My original question remains unanswered in part and I realize because the

question is ambiguous. However, thanks the ambiguity in my question, the

opportunity to hear the descripion of the meaning of the name and glimpse in to

the elevated state of pure devotion they are in came about. Let me restate my

original question :

The azhwars lived in different times. How is that the twelve were chosen to be

named so ? Who did that and when ?

Yours humbly

Rajaram V.

Madhavakkannan V <srivaishnavan wrote: SrI:

SrImathE Ramanujaya namah:

Dear Sri Rajaram,

AzhwAr (a Tamil word) means "one who immerses himself..".

We too are AzhwArs (we have immersed ourselves in samsaaric affliction) and

we run after sensual, transitory pleasures and run amuck on materialistic

pursuits.

AzhwArs have immersed themselves deeply in the Bhagavth anubhavam,

forgetting (rathar ignoring) all other vishayam..

 

Trust it answers your question.

Regards

Namo Narayana

aDiyEn

----Original Message Follows----

Rajaram Venkataramani

bhakti-list

Azhwars

Sun, 24 Feb 2002 18:26:53 -0800 (PST)

 

 

Dear Bhagavathas -

 

Could some one tell me how the name azhwar came to be associated with the

azhwars ?

 

Yours humbly

 

Rajaram V.

 

 

_______________

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[Guest guest]

SrI:

SrImathE ramanujaya namah:

 

Dear Sri Rajaram,

 

Possibly sri NathamunigaL would have addressed them as AzhwArs as he was the

one who compiled the pAsurams. AzhwArs really and very deeply immersed

themselves in their devotion and bhakti towards the Lord Sriya: Pathi

Sriman Narayanan. The AzhwArs are reported to be incarnations of

NithyasUris of Sri Vaikuntam, namely, the weapons, the Vanamaali, the

GarudA, et al. They lived like human beings and burst out bhakti laden

great works for the sake of humanity. The works of Alwars stood

mysteriously a replica of the Vedas themselves and therefore came to be

known as Dravida Veda. In fact, there is a view that even the great

Rishis are no match to the greatness of the Alwars because these

Rishis got their 'jnAnam' ( wisdom) as a result of their own actions of

'spiritual merit' ( Punyam) whereas the wisdom of the Alwars was the

direct result of the Lord's divine grace and therefore called ' Divyam'.

It is because of this that the works of Alwars is called ' Divya

Prabandham' are 4000 poems (pAsurams).

 

These works of AzhwArs are non-paralleled in every sense- be it in

sentiment, style or syntax.They take even a casual reader on a guided

tour into the esoteric exegesis of the Vedas without offending the

provisions of exclusions and prohibitions enjoined in the study of the

Vedas in original. (from Sri Anbil Ramaswamy's write up)

 

AzhwAr's paasurams (poems) called naalaayira dhivyap prabhandam

composed by twelve AzhwArs.The paasurams were collected and brought out

by one of the much revered Sri vaishnava AchAryAs called Sriman

Naathamuni. By the time of sriman Naathamuni (9th century A.D.) the

AzhwAr paasurams were not lost or unknown. It was by divine grace of

Sriman Narayanan that Sriman Naathamuni came to know of the Tamil poems

praising Lord Vishnu. It is believed that Sriman Naathamuni heard some

devotees visiting his home town of VeeranaaraayaNapuram (present day

kaattu mannaarkudi near Mayilaadurthurai or Mayavaram) singing a few (11)

Tamil songs starting with "aaraa amudhE adiyEn udalam" and ending with

 

"... kurugoor sadagOpan

kuzhalil maliyach sonna Or

aayiratthuL ippatthum,

mazhalai theera vallaar kaamar

maanEy nOkkiyarkE."

 

 

(NammAzhwAr's Thiruvaaymozhi 5.8.1 - 5.8.11)

Sriman Naathamuni was greatly excited and enchanted with the exquisite

beauty of the poems. He approached the devotees and enquired about

its origin. The ending of the 11 poems, "aayiratthuL ippatthu,"(means

this ten of the thousand) suggested that there are many more such

poems (may be thousand?). This possibility intrigued Sriman Naathamuni.

 

Unfortunately, the devotees were unaware of any other poems besides the

eleven they had just finished reciting. However, they suggested to Sriman

Naathamuni that he may try enquiring in the town of thiruk kurugoor,

present day AzhwAr thiru nagari near thirunelvEli. So he set out to

travel from kaattumannarkudi to thiruk kurugoor, a long journey indeed

in his time. There he found one paraangusa daasar. From him, Sriman

Naathamuni learnt 11 more paasurams called kaNNinuN sirutthaambu. These

were composed by Madhurakavi AzhwAr and all 11 paasurams are in praise

of kurugoor SadagOpan (NammAzhwAr). Sriman Naathamuni was excited to

have doubled his collection. But this only whetted his desire to seek out

the more than 1,000, promised in the first set of paasurams he fell in

love with at his home town.

 

Paraangusa daasar suggested that he repeatedly recite this great

kaNNinuN sirutthaambu (sung in praise of Sri Sadagopan- NammAzhwAr)

in the hope of pleasing the Lord. Sriman Naathamuni took his advice

sincerely and recited it about 12,000 times! It is said that NammAzhwAr

was impressed with Sriman Naathamuni's persistence and appeared

before him. NammAzhwAr was so impressed that he revealed to Sriman

Naathamuni not just the 1102 paasurams of his own "thiruvaay mozhi", but

also all the rest of the paasurams composed by the other eleven AzhwArs.

>From this, we may deduce that it is Sriman Naathamuni, who gathered the

Tamil treatise (these 4000 peoms) praising Lord Vishnu composed by the

twelve AzhwArs. Sriman naadhamuni called this collection of paasurams or

prabhandams naalaayira dhivya prabhandam or draavida vEdham.

 

Due perhaps to historical reasons, much of these treasures had been

lost to humanity for a while. It was given to the great Naathamuni to

retrieve and revivify them in their pristine glory for the benefit of

posterity. The long line of the lineage of preceptors who followed him

kept the torch burning and handed them over to successive generations .

We can justifiably be proud of the rich heritage . It is our duty,

therefore, to familiarize ourselves with the lives and works of these

preceptors , the least we can do as a token of our gratitude for the

invaluable treasures bequeathed to us.

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Dear Devotee,

 

It is my understanding that the definition provided by Sri Sadagopan and

Sri Madhavakannan is more in line with the accepted definition of the

term "AzhwAr." It is understood that this title, which only really

applies to twelve blessed souls, is derived from the Tamil root "Azh,"

which means "deep." The term itself - which the noted Professor of

SriVaishnavam, Dr. Vasudha Narayanan, states was probably first used in

SriVaishnava literature by ThirukurukaipirAn pillAn - is used to

describe the mystical experience of the twelve saints, who "dove deep -

immersed themselves, if you will - into their love for Sriman

Narayana." Analogies of bathing are used quite often in AzhwAr poetry

to describe this bliss of devotional love, and therefore it seems rather

apt for them.

 

The number of azhwArs and their hymns was revelealed to us by our first

achAryan, Sri Nathamunigal, in the 10th Century C.E. through a mystical

vision that he had of Sri NammAzhwAr, the greatest among the AzhwArs and

the only one among these mystical saints who is regarded to be part of

our achArya paramparai (lineage of

teachers). Through this vision, all of the 4000 verses of the azhwArs'

poetry were compiled by Sri Nathamuni, and later ordered, formalized for

ritual, and set to the unique musical tone that we hear traditional

scholars chant to this day.

 

While the history of India is filled with many saints, and many verses

to many deities, what makes the AzhwArs' poetry so unique is that it

clearly parallels the vEda in its content, and at times, even goes to

the point of clarifying the mysticism of the vEda itself. Since the

vEdas are considered complete, so too are these Tamil verses in

clarifying them and in revealing divine truths in a vernacular that is

available to anyone. Consequently, the number of the verses in the

divya prabhandam and the number of AzhwArs remains constant.

 

I hope this helps.

 

adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan

Mohan

 

 

 

Rajaram Venkataramani wrote:

> Let me restate my original question :

> The azhwars lived in different times. How is that the twelve were chosen to be

named so ? Who did that and when ?

> Yours humbly

> Rajaram V.

>