[sri ramanuja] Thirumangai AzhwAr Thirunakshathram today- Kaartthigai Kritthigai- wonderful write up by Smt KalyaNi Krishnamachari... - on KaNNan and Kaliyan by Sri PBA Swami

[Guest guest]

SrI:

SrImathE Gopaladesika Mahadesikaya nama:

 

Dearest all,

 

Today is kaartthigai Kritthigai- Thirunakshathram of

our Thirumangai AzhwAr. I was planning to send a post

for paying our obeisance to AzhwAr. I suddenly

remembered Smt KalyaNi Krishnamachari's wonderful post

few years ago - written by Sri PB aNNan Swami. [Thanks

to her for her permission].

 

AzhwAr ThiruvaDigaLE saraNam

Regards

Namo Narayana

dasan

**********

 

Following is the excerpt from the above mentioned book

compiled by SrI T. krishNamUrti. This topic deals with

tirumangai AzhvAr, who is also known by the name

kaliyan. SrI PBA gives 12 comparisons between KaNNan

and Kaliyan and shows that tirumangai AzhvAr shines

like Lord Kr*shNa.

 

SrI PBA gives the following verse (probably his own

composition) to bring out this comparison:

 

sUryatvAt sUcitatvAt apahruti-karaNAt

gokuloddhArakatvAt baddhatvAt SAstra-datvAt

paTu-jana-sahayOgAcca lakshmIpatitvAt nIlatvAt

nItimArgacyuti matibhajanAt antataScAvatArAt

SatrutvamSa utpaTatvAt kali-ripu-muni-rAt krishNa

tulyO vibhAti||

 

We will look into each of the twelve comparisons in

detail in the following paragraphs:

 

1. sUryatvAt:

 

When parASara maharishi talks about kaNNapirAn's tiru

avatAram in SrI vishNu purANam, he calls Him 'bhAnu",

which refers to sUrya:

 

"tatOkhilajagat padmabOdAya acyuta bhAnunA, devakI

pUrvasandhyAyAm AvirbhUtam mahAtmanA"

 

tirumangai AzhvAr is also called sUrya (divAkara)in

Kaliyan's stuti padyam (author is not specified):

 

"kalayAmi kalidvamsam kavim lOkadivAkaram" Thus both

kaNNan and kaliyan have been compared to sUryan (the

sun).

 

2. sUcitatvAt:

 

sUcitatvAt means that which has been predicted before

hand. Both kaNNan's and kaliyan's avatArams had been

predicted long before they happened. When devaki and

vasudeva were married and kamsan (devaki's brother)

was charioting them, the AkASa vANi declared that the

eighth child born to devaki will cause his destruction

and the saying came true.

 

In tiruvAimozhi(5-2-1),nammAzhvAr says: "kaliyum

kedum kaNdu koNmin". This is interpreted as

predicting the appearance of tirumangai AzhvAr,

uDaiyavar, etc. by maNavALa mAmunigaL in AcArya

hr*dayam:

 

kaliyum kedum kaNDu koNmin - Know ye that kali will be

destroyed with the avatAra-s of the likes of

tirumangai AzhwAr , udaiyavar etc.

 

Thus both the appearance of KaNNan and that of Kaliyan

were forecast. kaNNan destroyed kamsan; kaliyan

destroyed kali purushan.

 

3. apahrutikaraNAt:

 

kaNNan was well known as a kaLvan (thief); kaliyan

was also a famed thief. kaNNan stole butter and the

hearts of devotees; kaliyan stole riches to build the

SrI rangam temple gOpura prAhAra mandapam.

 

4. gOkulOddhArakatvAt:

 

kaNNan brought glory to gOkulam: "Ayar pAdikku

aNiviLakke", "Ayar kulattinil tOnRu maNi viLakkai" -

these expressions clearly prove this statement.

 

kaliyan also has done gOkulOddhAraNam. SrI PBA

derives how. He points out that we are all ignorant

'paSu-s' - j~nAnena hInah paSubhih samAnah, and the

AzhvAr took birth in our midst to uplift us, and he

has done the uddhAraNa of the gokula with all of us

paSu-s in it.

 

5. baddhatvAt:

 

That kaNNan was tied by YaSodA is a well-known fact:

"matturu kadai veNNai kaLavinil uravidaiyAppuNdu",

"kaNNikkuRunkayiRRAl kattuNDAn".

 

kaliyan was also jailed by the king, when he spent all

the king's money in bhaghavad ArAdhanam and bhAghavata

ArAdhanam.

 

Thus both kaNNan and Kaliyan were tied.

 

6. SAstra-datvAt:

 

Both gave SAstram, which delivers mankind from life.

kaNNan gave the great, enlightening SAstra for

cetana-s, namely, the gItA ("arivinAl kuraivillA agal

g~nAlattavar aRiya, neRiyellAm edutturaitta niRai

g~nAttorumUrti").

 

kaliyan gave the divyaprabandha mahA SAstram -

"nenjukkiruL kaDidIpam aDa~ngA nedumpiRavi na~njukku

nalla amudam, tamizh nannUl tuRaigaL anjukkilakkiya

mAraNa sAram, para Samaya pa~njukkanalin poRi

parakAlan panuvalgaLe".

 

Just as kaNNan's SAstram is called "gItOpanishad",

kaliyan's works are called "pongu pugazh ma~ngaiyar

kOn Inda maRai Ayiram".

 

7. paTujana sahayOgAt:

 

kaNNan had many sakhAs - friends; "tannErAyiram

piLLaigaLoDu taLar nadai ittu varuvAn"; He had many

accomplices for His mischiefs.

 

tirumangai AzhwAr also had friends to carry out his

works; nIr-mel naDappAn, nizhaLil odunguvAn,

tAl-UduvAn, tOlAvazhakkan were all his accomplices.

 

8. LakshmI patitvAt:

 

kaNNan is none other than nArAyaNamUrti or

lakshmIpati. kaliyan was married to kumudavalli whose

name was riginally "tirumAmagaL". When tirumangai

mannan wanted to marry her, she put several conditions

including one which required the AzhvAr to feed 1008

brahmins for one year continuously, and other

conditions which made him an ardent SrIvaishNava, and

made her the benefactor and protector of

SrivaishNava-s. Thus the AzhvAr ultimately married

kumudavalli, who proved to be a SrIvaishNava lakshmi,

and he was the pati of this 'lakshmi'.

 

9. nIlatvAt:

 

kaNNan was "karundeyvam" and as the statement

"kAnagamellAm tirindu un kariya tirumEni vADa" shows,

He was the blue-hued azhagan. tirumangai AzhvAr's

name was nIlan (" taNDamizh seyda nIlan tanakku" -

rAmAnuja nURRantAdi.

 

10. nIti mArga cyuti bhajanAt:

 

kaNNan's mischiefs, bordering on violation of all that

is considered fair, has been praised by all the

AzhvArs, svAmi deSikan, etc. ("maccoDu mAligai ERi

mAdargaL tammiDam pukku kaccodu pattai kizuttu kAmbu

tugilavai keeRi niccalum tImaigaL seyvAi".

 

So also Kaliyan has been praised for his bhagavad

kainkaryam even though he has done things that can be

considered outwardly not morally justified. In truth,

both KaNNan and Kaliyan are exemplary cases of those

who were followers of the nIti or justice.

 

When uttara's unborn child was being destroyed by

aSvattAmA's brahmAstra, Lord kr*shNa proclaimed "yadi

me brahmacaryam syAt satyanca mayi tishThati,

avyAhatam mamaiSvaryam tena jIvatu bAlakah" -

declaring that He never slips from the path of Truth,

and the child was brought back to life. In SrI

rangarAja stavam, SrI BhaTTar has pointed out that

tirumangai mannan is a person who has never swerved

from the path of justice.

 

11. antataSca avatArAt:

 

krishNAvatAram is the last vibhava avatAram (so far).

tirumangai is also the last of all the AzhwArs.

 

12. Satru-dhvamSa utpatatvAt:

 

kaNNan is a destroyer of foes ("dEnukan pilamban

kALiyan ennum teeppappodugaL adanga uzhakki"). AzhwAr

also was known as parakAlan ("aruL mAri arattamukki

adaiyAr seeyam", "oRRalar tangaLai vellum AdalmAvalan

kalikanRi"); he defeated enemies in other religions.

 

Thus, SrI PBA establishes 12 similarities between

kaNNan and kaliyan. It can be noted that some of the

comparisons can be applied to any devotee of our Lord

(for example, apahrutikaraNat can be applied to

vAlmIkI, baddhatvAt can be applied to rAmadAsar,

SAstra-datvAt can be applied to nammAzhwar, vyAsar

etc., Satru-vamSOtpatatvAt to SrI vedAnta deSikar, who

defeated others' religious outbursts. However,

Kaliyan is unique in having all these similarities

with Lord Kr*shNa, and this is the greatness that SrI

PBA brings out.

 

"nAmam nAn uyya nAn kaNDu konDEn nArAyaNA ennum nAmam"

 

adiyen,

kalyani Krishnamachari

 

 

 

 

 

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