mazhisai paranadiyE vAzhththu!

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Sri Parthasarathi thunai

SrimathE rAmAnujaya Namaha

Sri Vara Vara MunayE Namaha

Sri vAnAchala mahA munayE Namaha

 

“makAyAm makarE mAsE chakrAmsam bhArgavOtbhavam

maheesAra purAdheesam bhakthisAra maham bhajE”

 

Among the 12 azhvars we cherish in our sampradayam, each one of them have their

own speciality. One cannot be compared with the other though all of them

stressed the very same point and remained as “Eka kandargal” (people with single

mind and speech). The mudal Azhvars took avatharam first and paved path for the

flourishing ghosti of Azhvars. But they were not called “periyAzhvars”

(Periya-big/first). The same name was given to vishnuchiththar, the celebrated

father of our gOdhA nachiyar. Swamy mAmunikal gives the reason in upadesa

ratinamAlai as, “pongum parivAlE villiputtur pattarbiran pettrAn periyAzhvar

ennum peyar”. What the other Azhvars had on perumal is ‘parivu’ (soft corner)

but periyAzhvar had “pongum parivu” (a very deep flooding love). Swamy

nammazhvar is adorned as “krishnatrishnA thattvam” (one who was in the deep

thirst to attain lord Krishna) but even more celebrated is his disciple Sri

Madurakavi Azhvar who lived as “dEvumattrariyEn” (I know no other lord

other than Swamy nammazhvar). Kulasekarar shed his entire kingdom to obtain

the thilakam for his thirunettri (“van ponnippErAru pOl varum kannaneer kondu

arangan kOil thirumuttram sEru sei thondar sEvadi sezhunsEru ensennikkanivanE”).

ThiruppanAzhvar took avatharam to prove to this world that it doesn’t matter in

which kulam you are born it is only the devotion in the inner minds which really

matters and thondaradipodi azhvar showed to the world the difficulties faced due

to lowkika kAma (pleasures) and the happiness the ultimate bhagavath anubhavam

fetches. Thirumangai azhvar was a man of action. One who is involved in

kainkaryam cannot have his own anubhavam and the vice versa since if one is

involved in his own meditation then he cannot do kainkaryam physically but

kaliyan disproved this fact. He did not stay in one place like nammazhvar but

went from one divya desam to the other and sung beautiful mangalasasanams on all

the emperumans. Not stopping with this he did madhil

kainkaryam and many more kainkaryams to the divya desa emperumans. He is one

azhvar who got the arthas not with vinayam (politeness) but vigour directly from

perumal. He is the azhvar seen with a knife in all divya desams even today but

do you know! Not kaliyan but one other azhvar reserves the name of “uraiyil

edAdhavar” (one who doesn’t place his knife into its cover)?

 

Yes. Thirumazhisai azhvar is adorned as “uraiyil edAdhavar”. But in all divya

desams including azhvar’a avathara stalam “thirumazhisai” bhakthisArar is seen

only with folded arms and not holding a knife. In case of thirumazhisai azhvar

his knife is his own tongue. Azhvar is never frightened to express his views.

He doesn’t want to pacify others but puts forth his points in a very

straightforward way and his words cut through the arguments of veda bAhyas (one

who doesn’t accept the vedas) and veda kudrishti’s (one who accept the vedas and

give wrong interpretations) like a knife without any halt. Doubt may arise in

the words of nammazhvar when he says, “muniyE nAnmuganE mukkanappa” etc but

thirumazhisai azhvar’s pasurams gives no room for any such confusions. Why is

azhvar so strong? It is because he has plunged into all the philosophies.

“samanam kattrom, sAkiyam kattrOm sankaranAr Akiya Agama nool kattrOm” and

finally he was brought to the path of vaishnavism by a great

acharya, Peyazhvar. Moreover, thirumazhisai azhvar declares that he is the

single soul to understand the divine qualities of emperuman since he was blessed

with the same by emperuman himself. (“Arum ariyAr avan perumai” “appil

aruporulai yAn arindha vAru”). To get our minds clear of the doubts about the

parathvam of emperuman and other such issues it is wise to go through the

staunch words of thirumazhisai azhvar who is not only well versed in vaishnavic

philosophy but also in all other philosophies in this world. The life history

of thirumazhisai azhvar also shows that though born in a brahmana kulam he was

brought up by a velAlan and hence did not get the right to learn the vedas but

azhvar did know all the vedArthas due to the divine grace of emperuman. The

incident with the Brahmins stopping the vedas while azhvar passed that way and

how they forgot the place they stopped and how azhvar reminded them of the same

etc are known to all.

Moreover thirumazhisai azhvar had the greatness of making perumal himself walk

at the back of him (“painAgappAi surittikol”) and till today that perumal in

kanchi is adorned as “sonna vannam seitha perumal” (perumal who obeyed the

orders, yathOththakAri) and arAvamudan emperuman in kudandhai literally started

to sit up on hearing azhvar say, “ezhundirundhu pEsu” and stayed in the same

position (uttAna sAyee) on hearing “vAzhi kEsanE”. It is said that from that

day perumal and azhvar exchanged names and hence we say thirumazhisai pirAn and

ArAvamudAzhvan. Such was the speciality of thirumazhisai pirAn.

 

In the next posting we will enjoy the brief about his prabhandams and then will

try to understand the great prabhandam of thirumazhisai pirAn, Nanmugan

thiruvandhAdhi with the divine vyakhyanam of Sri Periya vAchan pillai and its

easy explanation by Sri sudarsanar.

 

Alwar EmperumAnAr Jeeyer thiruvadigalE sharanam

 

Adiyen rAmAnuja dAsee

Sumithra Varadarajan

 

 

 

 

Azhwar emperumAnAr jeeyar thiruvadigalE saraNam

 

Adiyen rAmAnuja dAsan/dAsee

 

Varadarajan/Sumithra

 

 

 

 

 

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