Inputs for CD ROM : XII.2-- Thirumangai AzhwAr's Six prabhandhams: SiRiya Thirumadal and Periya Thirmadal

[Guest guest]

Dear BhakthAs :

 

Among the six prabhandhams of Thirumangai AzhwAr ,

the two known as SiRiya and Periya Thirumadals

are unique for the display of " Naayaka-Naayaki BhAvam " .

 

The mystic love that AzhwAr feels for Sriman NaarAyanan

breaks forth in torrents. The AzhwAr in the role of

ParAnkusa Naayaki feels rejected by her Lord and threatens

to embarass her Naayakan in public by riding on a MadalmA

(palmyra stalk representing a horse) to make her love

and humiliation public . In these two deeply moving

works , Thirumangai deals with the psychology of " KaamA "

leading on to to martyrdom (love unto death). IsAvAsya

Upanishad passage " VinAsEna Mruthyum teerthvA

sambhUtyamrutham asnutE " ( By death one crosses over

mortality and by birth one assumes the immortal).

 

Sri K.C.VaradAchAr swamy comments about the spirit of

the two madals this way : " The Madal is however a threat

to God , for its intention seems to be to show the world

that God is not the SaraNAgatha Rakshakan , the saviour of

the refugee , a threat which is fortunately never treated

by God as not worth taking notice of. God's assurance to

the soul(jeevan) that loves Him alone and to whom the soul

has totally dedicated itself , is of greatest spiritual

value to the soul , and it is on this truth of God's

word that the Madals revolve " .

 

Dr.N.S.Ananatharangacharya has some revealing commnets

on the approach that ParakAla Naayaki has taken in her

Madals:

 

" (1) Madal is a fanatic appeal to God to come down

from His transcendaental kingdom to accept the purest

flower of love offering ( kaama Pushpam).

 

(2) It is what the individual soul can not but do .

 

(3) It is the final act of throwing away all pride & vanity.

 

(4) It is a non-violent resistence. This is to be held as

an extreme step. It is the state in which love is

all-absorbing and the only refuge .

 

(5) Madal is used in a spiritual way for a spiritual goal

and as an anga to SaraNAgathi or self-surrender.

 

(6) The Madals are the dramatization of the acute psychosis

set up by Thirumangai's faith in absolute self-surrender

to the Lord.

 

(7) Bridal mysticism and the mental process behind it

elaborated by the Madals is one which transforms and

transports the mystics to a supra-physical plane .

Love of God is like love of a woman for a PurushA --

here for PurushOtthamA . "

 

SiRiya Thirumadal consists of 155 lines and Periya Thirumadal

consists of 297 lines of exquisite poetry.

 

The Taniyan for SiRiya Thirumadal Composed by Poet Kamban

***********************************************************

 

MuLLic-chezhumalarO tArAn muLai mathiyam

koLLikkennuLLam kothiyAmE,--VaLLal

ThiruvALan SIrkkaliyan kArkaliyai vetti,

maruvALan tanthAn Madal

 

(Meaning): The generous Thirumangai AzhwAr of infinite

auspicious guNams adorning the sharp sword and the MuLLi flower

garland has blessed us with the SiRiya Thirumadal and has cut

asunder the darkness of nescience of Kali yugam with his sword.

This great Azhwar has blessed me with SiRiya madal to quench

all the taapams caused by all objects --such as rising moon

burning me as fire-- as a result of my seperation from the Lord .

 

The Taniyan for Periya Thirumadal by PiLLai ThirunaRayUr arayar

***************************************************************

 

Ponnulahil Vaanavarum PoomahaLum pORRi-seyyum

NannuthalIr nampi NaRayUrar,--Mannulahil

Yennilami kaNDum irangArEyAmAhil

Mannu madalUrvan Vanthu

 

(Meaning):Oh Dear sakhis with beautiful foreheads!

The anantha kalyAna GuNa PoorNan listening to

the sthuthis of Nithya Sooris and Periya PirAtti

has descended in ArchA form to this earth at

ThirunaRayUr. He has not taken pity on my suffering

resulting from my seperation from Him. Once I am

convinced that he wont come to my rescue and unite

with me , then I will go everywhere He is and

perform madal Urthal (and let the world know

of what despicable state he has reduced me to).

 

Additional reading Material on the Two Madals

**********************************************

The poetic form of Madals and their deeper

meanings are covered in an longer article of adiyEn ,

which has been archived in Bhakthi Archives of Jan , 96:

 

http://www.ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archives/jan96/0191.html

 

In the next posting , adiyEn will cover the two

ThAndakams of Thirumangai Mannan .

 

Kaliyan ThiruvadigaLE saraNam,

Daasan, Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SatakOpan