TIRU MAALAI & Thondar Adip Podi Alwar

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Dear Devotees,

 

Reading Shriman Madhavan's message in the last Post took me back in

memory's lane decades back when my father used to chant frequently

with great bhakti-filled emotion, Thondar Adip Podi Alwar 's 'UrilEn

kaaNi yillai uRavumaR Roruva rillai' :

 

" I have no cent of land; I have no earthly relationships;

In this world, my only refuge is your sacred feet.

O! Lord of dark hue! Only you are my refuge! Kanna! Don't you hear my pathetic pleas?

Who else other than you is there to save me?"

May I reproduce below for members' enjoyment an excellent article

written by Shriman Anbil Ramaswamy and posted in the Bhakti List

eight years ago, narrating the Azhwar's biography and giving a

selection of some of the well-known verses from Tirumaalai, with

meanings

..

Dasan

Krishnaswamy m.k.

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http://www.ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archives/jan97/0019.html )

Dear Bhagavatas,In connection with the Tirunakshatram of Thondar Adip

Podi Alwar whichfalls on December 7, 1997, I submit below my

respectful obeisance tothe Alwar.DasohamAnbil

Ramaswamy======================================================================================THONDAR

ADIP PODI ALWAR (Margazhi - Kettai)Vipra Narayana, as he was known,

Thondar Adip Podi Alwar, an incarnation of Vanamala (the divine

garland of Lord Vishnu) was born inTirumandamkudi in the Year

Parabhava, Margazhi month, Krishna Paksha Chaturdasi ( aTuesday) in

the constellation of Kettai, in the family ofa Sozhiya Srivasishnava.

He desired to live as a confirmed bachelor(Naishtika Brahmachari) and

was ' NEVER MARRIED'. LikePeriyalwar, he was also engaged in making

flower garlands for Lord Ranganatha in Srirangam.Once, a pair of

dancing girls returning after a dance performance in the Chola court

happened to stray into his flower garden. He was so immersedin the

thought of the Lord that he practically ignored the girls. The

younger of the two, by name Deva Devi felt offended and challenged

thatshe would entice him to be a slave to her charms though the elder

one warned her not to embark on such an adventure.Draped as a

Sannyasini, she sought to do any service that Vipranarayana assigned

to her. Not knowing the plot, he consented. One day, when itwas

raining heavily, Devadevi got drenched and was shivering. Seeing her

plight and out of compassion, he admitted her into his "SINGLE

ROOM'hermitage. Devadevi slowly played her charms on him and brought

him round. By rousing his sensual desires, she virtually enslaved

him. Indue cours, he became so enamoured of her that he could not

bear to be away from her even for a moment.After having intoxicated

him, Devadevi suddenly left for her home in Uttamarkoil, a suburb of

Srirangam. Vipranarayana had no more money tooffer her. True to her

profession, she spurned him. Vipranarayana returned not knowing what

to do to win her affection back again.At this time, Lord Ranganatha

appeared before Devadevi, calling himself as "AZHAGIYA MANAVALA

DASAN"- a servant of Vipranarayana and handed overto her the big

silver vessel used for Puja in the temple saying that Vipranarayana

had sent him for the purpose. Thereupon, Vipranarayana was let

in.Next morning, when the temple priests opened the doors of the

Sanctum Sanctorum, they found the vessel missing. Immediately, an

investigationwas ordered.Through the servant maid of Devadevi, news

reached that the vessel was in the house of Devadevi. Devadevi, when

questioned, pleadedthat it was Vipranarayana who had sent it to her

through his servant.He, however, swore that he had no servant and had

not sent it to her, as alleged. But, the king ignored his pleadings

and put him in jail. That night, Lord Ranganatha appeared in the

King's dream and informed him that Vipranarayana was innocent and

that He himself contrived the trick to redeem Vipranarayana from the

evil ways he had fallen into. Thereupon, the King released

Vipranarayana.Since then, Vipranarayana turned a new leaf, called

himself " THONDAR ADIP PODI"- meaning that he was like the dust at

the feet of thedevotees of the Lord and thereafter never looked back.

He composed two poems 'TIRUMAALAI"- a garland for the Lord and

"TIRUPPALLI EZHUCHI"-waking up the lord. There is a saying that " One

who does not know 'Tirumaalai' cannot know ' Tirumaal'-a Tamil name

for Lord Sri LakshmiNarayana. Having gone through the traumatic

experience with Devadevi, Tondar Adip Podi Alwar had been so

chastened that he became a staunchdevotee who was frank and

forthright in his frontal attacks on those who considered divinities

other than Lord Narayana as the Supreme deity.TIRU MAALAIHis

involvement on devotion to the Archa Moorthi (Idol) of Lord

Ranganatha was so intense that in the 45 verses of his Tirumalai,

hepours out his heart pathetically pleading to the Lord even

declaring that he would not like to trade in his opportunity of

serving in thetemple even if he were offered the heavens ruled by the

King of Gods, Indra.pachchaimaa malaipOl mEni pavaLavaay kamalach

chenkaNachchuthaa! amara rERE! aayar_tham kozhunthE! ennum,ichchuvai

thavira yaanpOy inthira lOka maaLum,achchuvai peRinum vENdEn

arankamaa nakaru LaanE! (2) " O! Lord! You have the physical

appearance as that of a majestic green mountain; your lips are red

as coral; Your eyes are like the lotusflowers; You never fail your

devotees; O! God of the Gods! Yet, you appeared as a youthful lad in

the cowherd family! Even if you grant methe Paramapada, I would not

prefer it to the beatitude I enjoy here and now at yor feet in

Srirangam"Some people imagine that the Alwar rejected Paramapadam and

wanted to live on earth. This is not correct. It is only to emphasize

theenjoyment of the Lord in the Archa form that the Alwar used a

hyperbole.In the very next verse, he says why he does not wish to

live and proceeds to spell out a numerical account of how life is

wasted on earth.vEthan^ool piraayam nooRu manisar_thaam pukuva

rElum,paathiyu muRankip pOkum ninRathil pathinai yaaNdu,pEdhaipaa

lakana thaakum piNipasi moopputh thunpam,aathalaal piRavi vENdEn

arankamaa nakaru LaanE! (3)' Even if one were to live for 100

years as laid down in the Vedas, half of it (i,e) 50 years goes in

sleep;the remaining 50 are also spent inchildhood, adolescence,

jeuvanile pursuits followed by vigorous youth indulging in worldly

pleasures yielding to the temptations of the fivesenses resulting in

untold diseases and suffering, proceeding to old age and finally

death. Since the whole life gets wasted in this manner, O!Lord of

Arangam!- Please spare me from further births."The Alwar mounts a

frontal attack on those who are either unaware of the grace of the

Lord or resort to other faiths and deities that areincapable of

granting liberation. He goes to the extent of saying that those who

resort to Jainism, Buddhism (the Nastika Darsanas) or Saivism( Those

who accept the Vedas but misinterpret it) are indeed mentally

diseased and given the chance and power, he would not hesitate

todecimatethem by beheading them, if need be.VeRuppodu samaNar muNdar

vithiyilsaak kiyar_kaL, ninpaalpoRuppari yanakaL pEsil pOvathE nOya

thaakikuRippenak kadaiyu maakil koodumEl thalaiyai aankE,aRuppathE

karumaNG kaNdaay arankamaa nakaru LaanE! (8)Addressing such misled

persons as fools who do not know that there is no other Supreme deity

than Sriman Narayana says that only in times ofdanger they would

realize the presence of this Supreme Lord (who out of grace tended

even the cows by personally taking them to the grazinggrounds). These

people forgot all about Him when the going was good maRRumOr theyva

muNdE mathiyilaa maani dankaaL,uRRapO thanRi neenkaL oruvanen RuNara

maatteer,aRRamE lonRa Reeyeer avanallaal theyva millai,kaRRinam

mEyththa venthai kazhaliNai paNimi NneerE. (9)The Lord of the

Devas, Lord Ranganatha has His abode in Srirangam where the bees hum,

the peacocks dance in the groves the trees of which growso tall as to

embrace the dark clouds in the skies and where the cuckoos sing. He

says that at least dogs are grateful but those who do not utterHis

name are utterly ungrateful. fools. Any food that is offered to such

ungrateful ones better be denied to them and given to the grateful

dogs.vaNdina muralum sOlai mayilinam aalum sOlai,koNdalmee thaNavum

sOlai kuyilinam koovum sOlai,aNdar_kO Nnamarum sOlai aNithiru varanka

mennaa,miNdar_paayn^ thuNNum sORRai vilakkin^aayk kidumi NneerE.

(14)The Alwar's mind melts on seeing the irresistable beauty of the

Lord- the Lord who is of the color of the sea; the Lord who reclines

on Hissepent couch with His head on the West, His feet to the East,

showing His back to the North and facing the South where Vibishana

rules over Lanka.kudathisai mudiyai vaiththuk kuNathisai paatham

neetti,vadathisai pinpu kaattith then_thisai yilankai

nOkki,kadaln^iRak kadavu Lenthai aravaNaith thuyilu maakaNdu,udalenak

kuruku maalO enseykE Nnulakath theerE! (19)Some Divya Prabandham

enthusists interpret Lord's turning His back to the North as

indicating His prediliction to the Tamil language of theSouth in

which the Tamil Veda is written in preference to the hard and

difficult Sanskrit in which the Vedas have been composed!. It only

showshow imagination runs riot when one is deeply attached to one's

language- a kind of linguistic fanaticism, this?.The Alwar then

expresses the Artha Panchakam in verses 29 to 31 and pleads to the

Lord to accept his prayer." I have no properties; no relations; I

know none other than your feet; O! Lord of the sky color! Only you

are my refuge! Kanna! Don't you hearmy pathetic pleas? Who else is

there than you to save me?"UrilEn kaaNi yillai uRavumaR Roruva

rillai,paariln^in paatha moolam paRRilEn parama moorththi,kaaroLi

vaNNa NnE!(en) kaNNanE! kathaRu kinREn,aaruLark kaLaik Nammaa!

arankamaa nakaru LaanE! (29)" What is my fate? Tell me O! My Lord

wearing the divine basil! I am not pure at heart nor have I uttered

any good word all through my life. Ihave been hostile and unjustly

angry at everyone, spouted fiery words on one and all; I have not

done any penance; I have no riches; I havewasted my whole life like

saline water which is useless for irrigation. I have always

committed crimes against humanity; have been a womaniserto the extent

of being hated by them; You have given me a life of utter

waste"manaththilOr thooymai yillai vaayilO rinso lillai,sinaththinaal

seRRam nOkkith theeviLi viLivan vaaLaa,punaththuzhaay maalai yaanE!

ponnisoozh thiruva rankaa,enakkinik kathiyen sollaay ennaiyaa Ludaiya

kOvE! (30)thavaththuLaar thammi lallEn thanampadath thaari

lallEn,uvarththan^eer pOla venRan uRRavark konRu

mallEn,thuvarththasev vaayi NnaarkkE thuvakkaRath thurisa

NnaanEn,avaththamE piRavi thanthaay arankamaa nakaru LaanE! (31)In

Verse 38, he characterizes Prapannas as lazy folk since after doing

Prapatti, they have nothing else to do for salvation except to

patientlywait at the doorstep of the Lord till the fall of the body.

The Alwar says that the Lord favours only such lazy folk. This is a

kind of 'Nindha Stuti'.mEmporuL pOka vittu meymmaiyai mikavu

Narnthu,aampari saRinthu koNdu aimpula Nnakaththa dakki,kaampuRath

thalaisi raiththun kadaiththalai yirunthu,vaazhumsOmparai ukaththi

pOlum soozhpunal arankath thaanE! (38)This Verse is considered to

the very essence of this Prabandham like the Charama Sloka of

Baghavad Gita. The term Meip Porul has been variouslyinterpreted by

commentators. Here, it is said to refer inter alia to "Bhagavata-

Lakshanam".VAAZHUM SOMBAR: Those who are unmindful and lazy about

their own living and live only for the Lord.KODUM SOMBAR: Those who

live for themselves unmindful of their duties towards the

Lord.============================================================TANIANS

ON TIRUMALAIBy Tiruvaranga Perumal AraiyarmaRRonRum vENdaa manamE!

mathiLarankar,kaRRinam mEyththa kazhaliNaikkeezh,- uRRathirumaalai

paadumseer_th thoNdaradippodiyemperumaanai, eppozhudhum pEsu."O! My

mind! Don't think of anything else. Always speak of Tondar Adip Podi

Alwar who has firm faith in the divine feet of the Lord whoreclines

in Srirangam and who tends the groups of cows, the Alwar of excellent

character who composed this Prabandham called ' Tirumaalai'TIRUP PALLI

EZHUCHILike Andal, who sang Tiruppavai to wake up her peers and the

Lord, the Alwar wakes up the Lord by referring to several phenomena

indicating thedaybreak and reasons why the Lord should wake

up.kathiravan kuNathisaich sikaramvan^ thaNain^thaan kanaviru

LakanRathu kaalaiyam pozhuthaay,mathuvirin^ thozhukina maamala

rellaam vaanava rarasar_kaL van^thuvan^ theeNdi,ethir_thisai

niRain^thana rivarodum pukun^tha irunkaLiR Reettamum pidiyodu

murasum,athir_thali lalaikadal pOnRuLa thenkum arankaththam maa!paLLi

yezhun^tharu LaayE. (2) (1)"O! Lord of Srirangam! The Sun has arisen

in the East; The darkness of the night has been expelled; The

beautiful flowers have blossomed anddrip with honey; Devas and Kings

vie with each other andf are gathered at the Southern gater to have

your Darshan. Along with them have comeherds of male and female

elephants;the sounds of the bands played reverberate like the roar of

the waves of the ocean.O! Lord! Please wakeup and shower your

grace"TANIANS ON TIRUP PALLI EZHUCHI1, By Tirumali

AandaanthirumalaiyaaNdaan aruLiyathuthamEvamadhvaa

paravaaSuthEvamrangEsayam raajavadharhaNeeyam-praabOthakeem yOgrutha

Sookthimaalaambakthaankri rENum bakavan^tha meedE." I praise Tondar

Adip Podi Alwar who deems the Lord of Srirangam reclining on the

serpent couch as the very Lord of Srivaikuntam and whocomposed the

Divya Prabandham called ' Tirup Palli Ezhuchi"2. By Tiruvaranga

Perumal AraiyarmaNdaNG kudiyenpar maamaraiyOr, manniyaseerththoNda,

radippodi thonnakaram, - vaNduthiNarththavayal thennarankath

thammaanaip, paLLiuNarththum piraanuthiththa voor." The wise and the

great used to call Tirumandamkudi as the ancient city wher the

Vaidheekas abound. That is the place where was born Tondar AdipPodi

Alwar who gave the wake up call to the Lord who reclines at Srirangam

which is surrounded by beautiful waterfronts"DIVYADESAMS CONSECRATED

BY TONDAR ADIP PODI ALWAR1. Tiruvarangam2. Ayodhya3.Tiruppaarkadal

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