The TiruppAvai starring Tondaradipodi !

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Dear Friends,

 

The TiruppAvai is a many splendoured gem.

 

It is sumptuous poetry. It is Upanishad 'sAram'. It is enchanting

'nOnbu pAdal'. It is love-song. It is the principal anthem of Bhakti

'mArgi-s'. It is 'nAmAvaLi' of a very special sort. It is

SriVaishnava doctrine. It was Sri.Ramanuja's bread-winner. It was

Sri.Parashara Bhattar's anesthesia. It was PeriavAchAn-pillai's

inspiration. It is the temple-choir's all-time favourite. It is the

environmentalist's manifesto. It is balladier's delight. It is the

"kutcheri" musician's curtain-closer...! The razzle-dazzle of the

TiruppAvai is simply impossible to describe!

 

The TirrupAvai is one more thing yet --- it is miniature biography

too!

 

Today's 'pAsuram' (#13), "pUllin vaay keendAnai pOllA arakkanai...",

talks of many things. It celebrates the victory of Rama over the

"pOllA arakkan", Ravana. It talks of birds ("pUllUm silambina kAn")

and flowers ("pOdarik-kanninaay"). It talks of the bliss to be

derived from 'nAma-sankirtanam" ("kIrtimai pAdi pOy"). And it issues

a clarion call for all God-lovers of the world to congregate

("kalandu elOr!")... But little do we notice, however, that in this

many-splendoured gem of a 'pAsuram', AndAl thought it fit to also

include a veiled biographical tribute to that great

"rangapati-vratan", Sri.Tondaradipodi AzhwAr!

 

There are many phrases in this "pAsuram" to strongly suggest that

AndAl probably had Tondaradipodi's life-story at the back of her mind

while composing this verse.

 

The details of Tondaradipodi's life-story all remind us of the old

and classic adage, "Every saint has a past and every sinner has a

future".

 

Tondaradipodi began life in the service of the Deity of SriRangam

temple. He used to perform daily "pushpa kainkaryam" and

"tirutULaay-kainkaryam" i.e. growing a flower-garden at home,

gathering flowers and basil leaves ('tulasi' leaves) from the garden

every day and offering the same to the Lord of SriRangam. The

rendering of this devoted service to the temple earned Tondaradipodi

the name:

 

"tuLavattondaay tOl seer tondar-adi-podi..."

(Stanza 45: "TirumAlai")

 

as well as the name:

 

"todaiyatta tuLavammUm koodaiyyUm pOlindhu tOnriya tOl

tondaradi-podi"

(Stanza 10:

"tiruppalli-ezhuchhi")

 

It is to the AzhwAr's eminence as one who devoted himself to growing

flowers for Lord Ranga that we see AndAl alluding in the phrase

"pOdarik-kanninaay". The word 'ari' refers to the plucking of flowers

(that look as "beautiful as the eyes of a young doe") and offering

them lovingly to the Almighty.

 

Then there is the phrase "nannALAL". It means a "day full of

auspiciousness and felicity". This phrase appears in the 1st verse of

the "tiruppAvai" ("mArgazhi tinggal madinirainda nannALAL..") to

signify the ushering in of the first day of the auspicious month of

"mArgazhi". Tondaradipodi AzhwAr was, in fact, born in this month of

"mArgazhi"!

 

The phrase "kallam tavirndhu" means "slipping into moral pitfall".

 

Tondaripodi was known in his early days by his other name,

VipranArAyanan. The young man, Vipranarayanan was quite a handsome,

arresting personality. One day, while he was working in his

flower-garden, a royal courtesan by the name of Devadevi passed by.

When she saw the handsome Vipranarayan, Devadevi vowed to seduce him

somehow. She contrived to get acquainted with him, then used all her

seductive wile and charms on the young man... Very soon, our

Tondaradipodi became her hopelessly enamoured slave. He could not

bear to be away from his paramour for even a moment and began to

spend all his time inside the warmth of her bed and embrace. This is

what AndAL hints at in that beautifully worded phrase --

"kullak-kulirak-kudaindhu ... pallik-kiddaitiyO!"

 

Very soon Vipranarayanan became so completely besotted with

Devadevi's physical charms he gradually lapsed into an abyss of moral

turpitude.... And this is what AndAl alludes to in the phrase "kallam

tavirndu". In the 'TirumAlai', the AzhwAr's famous Tamil masterpiece

in the 4000 'divya-prabhandham', Tondaradipodi himself recollects the

days of his debauchery with words of such painful remorse and

self-flaggelation that it wrences and pierces our hearts to even read

them today:

 

"sUdannaay kalvannAgi ...." (Stanza 16)

 

"kallamE kAdal seyydhu...." (Stanza 24)

 

"kallat-tEn nAnUm tondaay..." (Stanza 34)

 

 

Tondaradipodi however was eventually saved and rescued from the abyss

of moral depravity he had sunk into. Lord Ranga and Goddess

Ranganayaki blessed him with Grace and brought about a sea-change of

heart in him. Vipranarayanan soon woke up ("tuyill-edai") to the the

folly of his sordid ways and gave it all up. He became completely

reformed and soon reverted to his 'bhagavath-kainkaryam' with ever

renewed vigour and devotion... He rejoined the ranks of the greatest

'bhaktA-s' of Lord Ranganathan... And it is to that glorious return

of the 'prodigal son' that ANdAL refers to in the phrase "kalandhu

elOr!"

 

AndAl tiruvadigaLe saranam, tondaradipodi tiruvadigaLe saranam!

 

Regards,

 

dAsan,

Sudarshan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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