Four is a Crowd!

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

 

 

Four is a Crowd!

 

 

 

The month of Iyppasi is perhaps the best of all the twelve months in the

calendar. As a child, I remember having eagerly anticipated the month, right

from the previous Karthigai. The reasons are not far to seek. It is the month of

Deepavali, which brings with it a lot of gifts-new clothes, sweets, crackers,

etc. " Iyppasiyil adai mazhai " is the popular saying-it is the month which brings

copious rains, making farmers happy, for, rain in so crucial to crops and

therefore to farmers' own wellbeing. North Indians begin their new accounting

year this month and also celebrate the festival of lights as the day of return

of Sri Rama to Ayodhya, from His long sojourn in the jungles. After Purattaasi,

which is considered unsuitable (not because it is bad per se, but because it is

a month devoted to the worship of Pitru devatas during the Mahaalaya Paksham)

for secular functions, marriages and other such celebrations begin again in

Iyppasi. Thus, looked at from the popular angle, Iyppasi is indeed a month

everyone welcomes.

 

 

 

And for SriVaishnavas, Iyppasi has a triple bonanza, for it is the month of

appearance of three of the holiest sages of our Sampradayam, who are celebrated

as the forerunners of the band of apostles that Emperuman sent from Sri

Vaikunttam to Earth, for emancipating errant souls like us. There is no month

like Iyppasi, in which three of the Azhwars were born, that too on three

consecutive days of the month. Iyppasi is also the month, during which Sri

Tirukkurugai Piraan Pillaan, the foremost disciple of Sri Ramanuja and known as

his " Gnaana Putran " , took birth and later went on to compose the famous

" Aaraayirappadi " commentary on Tiruvaaimozhi, which is the seed from which the

later commentaries blossomed. Sri Ramanuja is known not to have written a single

word in Tamizh, nor to have quoted a single word from Azhwars' Aruliccheyal, in

his vast works. However, it is Sri Pillan's commentary, reported to be a

transcription of Sri Bhashyakara's lectures on Tiruvaaimozhi, which tells us how

dear Divya Prabandam was to Sri Ramanuja's heart and how deep his erudition was,

as far as Tamizh Vedam is concerned. And Iyppasi is indeed a red-letter month,

for it is the month of avataram of Sri Pillai Lokacharya, who gave up his life

in a gesture of supreme sacrifice in the defence of Sri Ranganatha and Sri

Manavala Mamunigal too, whose Aarti Prabandam and Yatiraaja Vimsati bring tears

to our eyes. Apart from Sri Varavaramuni, Sri Koorakulotthama Daasar and Sri Aay

Jananyaacharya of Tirunarayanapuram, (the author of the famous commentary on

Tiruppavai) were also born during Iyppasi. Sri Utthama Nambi, renowned for his

and his descendants' innumerable kainkaryams to Sri Ranganatha and who is

repeatedly mentioned with appreciation in Koilouzhugu, was also born in Iyppasi.

Strangely enough, none of the Acharyas belonging to Sri Ahobila Matham or Srimad

Andavan Ashramam, or for that matter, Sri Poundareekapuram Ashramam, appear to

have been born in Iyppasi-perhaps they did not want to divert devotees'

attention from the celebrations relating to the Mudal Azhwars. There are no

major utsavams at various sannidhis too during this month, perhaps for the same

reason. And Tulaa maasam, as it is known, is a month for teerttha sevai and a

dip in the Kaveri during this month is supposed to purify us and make us

eligible for the worlds above.

 

 

 

However, the emphasis of this article is not on Tulaa Maasam, but on the three

saints who descended to earth during this month and how they were eulogized by

Swami Desikan, who appears to have had special devotion for the trio.

 

 

 

The first of the three Mudal Azhwars, Sri Poygai Azhwar, incarnated on a golden

lotus in the temple tank (Poigai) of Sri Yathoktakaari Perumal at Kanchipuram,

as the " amsam " of Paanchajanyam, under the Lord's own asterism of Sravanam. Sri

Bhootattaazhwar appeared at Mahabalipuram (Tirukkadalmallai) in a Kurukkatthi

flower, when the star " Avittam " was in ascendance, as the amsam of Koumodaki,

the Lord's Magnificent Mace. Emperuman's sword Naandakam took birth as

Peyazhwar on a red lily flower, in the well of AdiKesava Perumal Sannidhi at

Mylapore, under the star " Sathayam " . It can thus be seen that these three

Azhwars came into the world without undergoing the mandatory imprisonment in a

womb. The coordinating hand of Emperuman is seen throughout the lives of the

Mudal Azhwars, first in their births, not out of a human womb, but on a flower,

secondly on successive asterisms in the same month and finally in their

providential meeting at Tirukkovalur. Though the three Azhwars were born

hundreds of miles apart and spent their early years apart, engaged in deep

spiritual search within themselves, oblivious to the outside world (which earned

them the rather unusual sobriquets of " Bhootam " and " Pey " ) the Lord decided to

bring them together, for the benefit of posterity and for His own benefit.

 

 

 

Before we see the beautiful connection between Swami Desikan and the Mudal

Azhwars, I would like to narrate a small tale which everyone would definitely

know, but which is still worth recounting. The Lord is an extremely playful

person, an " alagilaa vilayaatu udayaar " and a " teeraada vilayaaatu pillai " .

However, His play always has the effect of bringing into limelight the glory of

some devotee, who has hitherto remained without popular recognition. And the

current leela also was with the same aim, that of introducing three of His

matchless devotees to one another and to the world.

 

 

 

It was a dark and stormy night at Tirukkovalur, with rain coming down in

torrents, the threatening roar of thunder shaking all souls and with flashes of

lightning serving as the only illumination. It was a night when none would

venture out and everyone had shut himself up tight in his home. Yet, it was a

night on which three Yogis, who had the Lord entrenched in their hearts, chose

to be out and about. When they reached Tirukkovalur separately by different

routes, they found all houses shut, all choultries locked up, with the inmates

unlikely to open up. The first to reach was Poigayazhwar, who found a narrow

passage in the front portion of an ashramam belonging to Mrigandu Maharshi and

lay down, prepared to spend the night among the inhospitable and confined

environs. Sometime later, Bhootattaazhwar too discovered the same place and

finding someone already occupying the space, enquired whether there would be

room for one more person. The first occupant welcomed the stranger, saying that

if there was space enough for one person to lie down, two could sit there. An

hour or so passed and there came knocking another worthy, wet and drenched to

the skin and seeking shelter in the passage. He too was welcomed by the other

two, who thought that three could at least stand comfortably in the small space,

which could seat two and provide a bed for one. The three Azhwars were thus

standing in the pitch dark, sharing with one another their experiences of the

Lord and His auspicious attributes. All of a sudden, they felt rather tight

pressed. Where they were standing comfortably earlier, they now felt that the

available space had diminished, as if a fourth person, unknown to the other

three, had entered the narrow passage and was crowding them. Apparently, someone

had sneaked into the already constricted space without announcement and was

standing as one with them.

 

 

 

As it was pitch dark and they had no way of producing light, Poygaiazhwar hit

upon the idea of lighting a novel lamp. Using the elements of nature as

ingredients, considering the whole earth as a lamp, the waters of the salty seas

as oil and with the shining Sun as the wick, he lit a glorious lamp that would

shine forever and show up with clarity even the tiniest speck of dust. For his

part, Bhootattaazhwar lit another lamp, using entirely home-made ingredients,

all available within oneself and yet the hardest to find in any human being: he

fashioned a lamp out of his unafathomable love for Emperuman. Oil for the lamp

was his uncontrollable urge to see the Lord and the wick was his intellect, made

sweet and melting by constant contemplation of the Lord's auspicious attributes.

 

 

 

Such was the extraordinary illumination provided by the two lamps lit by these

two Yogis, that the third, Sri Peyazhwar, was able to see clearly the fourth

person who had been squeezing them tight. First and foremost, Azhwar's eyes

alighted on the glorious form of Sri Mahalakshmi adorning the broad chest of the

intruder- " Tiru kanden " sang out Sri Peyazhwar, exulting in the wonderful

spectacle that greeted his eye. Having realized, from the presence of the Divine

Consort, that it was none other than the Paramatma Sriman Narayana who had

entered the passage and was squeezing the trio, Azhwar's sight fell next on the

glorious golden tirumeni of the Paramapurusha- " Ponmeni kanden " . The brilliant

and blazing complexion of the stranger imprinted itself upon Azhwar's eyes,

prompting him to comment ecstatically on the same- " Tigazhum arukkan ani niramum

kanden " . The Lord's Divine Discus and the Cosmic Conch adorning His upper hands

presented a spectacular sight to the thirsty eyes of Azhwar- " Serukkilarum

Ponnaazhi kanden, puri Shankham kai kanden " .

 

 

 

The three Azhwars, inspired by the grand spectacle of Emperuman's glorious form

in their midst, poured out their devotion in a hundred beautiful verses each,

brimming over with Bhakti. These are the paasurams which served as forerunners

of the four thousand nectarine verses that were to be composed by the other

Azhwars. Though there is no direct internal evidence in the Divya Prabandas of

one Azhwar eulogizing another (except in the case of Sri Madhurakavi and Sri

Andal), Sri Nammazhwar refers to these three " pioneer " Azhwars as " Paaley

Tamizhar, Isaikaarar, patthar " , paying generous tribute to their devotion and

the beauty of their compositions.

 

 

 

Sri Nammazhwar's eulogy to the Mudal Azhwars is rather cryptic and concise; nor

have other Poorvacharyas rendered specific poetical tribute to these three

Yogis, but for Sri Amudanaar, who has devoted one paasuram each in his

Iraamaanusa Nootrandaadi. When you come to think of it, it is indeed strange

that our Poorvacharyas have somehow not composed paeans of praise (excluding

" Tanian " s) for these three Azhwars, as part of their Stotrams and Prabandams,

though commentators on the Tiruvandaadis have naturally spoken about them.

 

 

 

It was therefore left to Swami Desikan to bring out fully the glory of these

three Azhwars, in his inimitable poetic style. And being at home in Sanksrit and

Tamizh, the Acharya lavishes choice words of praise on these worthies. His

tribute to this trio is not limited to a single stotram, but extends to several

other compositions too. Dehalisa Stuti, Prabanda Saaram and Adhikaara Sangraham

are some of Swami Desikan's works, in which generous tributes are paid to the

Mudal Azhwars. In Dehalisa Stuti, which consists of 29 slokas, Swami Desikan

reserves not less than 6 slokas for singing the praise of the Mudal Azhwars-it

would appear as though in the guise of adulating the Emperuman of Tirukkoilur,

Swami Desikan really wanted to lavish praise on Poigai Muni, Bhootattaar and

Peyaazhwar. And each of these 6 slokas serves to bring out the glory of the

Azhwars in all its myriad facets. Here is a beautiful one for a sample:

 

 

 

Everyone knows that sugarcane grows well near rivers. Swami Desikan likens

Dehaleesan of Tirukkovalur to ripe and succulent sugarcane, grown on the banks

of the Penna river, near which Tirukkovalur is situated. And it is this

sugarcane which gets squeezed, when it tries to encroach upon the narrow space

already occupied by the three Azhwars on that stormy night at Tirukkovalur. What

happens when you squeeze sugarcane? Out flows its sweet juice. This juice is

nothing but the best of the Lord's auspicious attributes, viz., Souseelyam, the

quality which makes the Paramatma come down to the level of and move as one with

mundane mortals. The purport is that due to their matchless devotion, the Mudal

Azhwars succeeded in making manifest the Lord's ever-latent attribute of

Souseelyam. And this sugarcane juice mixes with the honey constantly flowing

from the Lord's lotus feet, ( " Tene malarum tiruvadi taamarai " ) making for an

extremely delicious and heady mixture, a new and unprecedented type of divine

and delectable sugar- " Nootana sharkkaraa " . Those who taste this special sugar

find themselves so enslaved by it that they spurn all other types of sweets-the

reference being to devotees who, once they have an experience of the Lord, find

themselves unable and unwilling to delight from any other pleasure. Here is the

slokam, for your enjoyment:

 

 

 

 

 

" Kaasaara poorva kavi mukhya vimarda janmaa

 

Panna tata ikshu subhagasya raso bahuste

 

Tvat paada padma madhuni tvat ananya bhogye

 

Noonam samaasrayati nootana sharkkaraa tvam "

 

 

 

We are now able to appreciate why Swami Desikan is acclaimed as a lion among

poets- " Kavi Simham " . To whom else would strike the idea of conceiving the three

Azhwars as the rollers through which sugarcane passes, squeezing out its

essence? And who else can contemplate the process generating a sugar of

immeasurable sweetness, when it mixes with the heady honey from the Lord's lotus

feet?

 

 

 

When he compares the Lord of Tirukkovalur to sugarcane, Swami Desikan's mind is

obviously musing over the lines of Tirumangai Mannan, (for, he is, after all,

" Kaliyan urai kudi konda karutthudayon " ) who too sings of this divine sugarcane

gracing the fields near Penna river, delighting itself with the sweet songs of

the honey bees thronging the cane fields. The bees here represent the Mudal

Azhwars and the songs, the first three Tiruvandaadis. Here is the relevant

portion of the beautiful paasuram-

 

 

 

" Konkarumbu sura punnai kuravaar solai kuzhaa vari vandu isai paadum paadal

kettu

 

Teenkarumbu kan valarum kazhani soozhnda Tirukkovaloor adanul kanden naane "

 

 

 

It is no surprise that during Trivikramavataram, all the three wide worlds were

easily measured by just three steps of the Lord's holy feet, avers Swami

Desikan. What is indeed surprising is that He made His huge, cosmic form small

enough to be accommodated in the narrow passageway at Tirukkovalur, squeezing it

in somehow along with the three Azhwars. The extent to which He reduced His

primordial form shows how much He was enamoured of the three Azhwars and wanted

to be one with them, on that stormy night.

 

 

 

" Chitram na tat trishu mitaani padeshu yat te

 

visvaani amooni bhuvanaani visankateshu

 

Bhaktai: samam kvachit asou bhavana ekadese

 

Maati sma moorti: amitaa tat iha adbhutam na: "

 

 

 

In another slokam, pondering over the possible reasons for the Lord's strange

conduct of squeezing in with three of His devotees in a narrow space, Swami

Desikan concludes that Emperuman's infatuation with Azhwars was due to their

having mastered Vedas and Yoga and the purity of their devotion. Having known

intimately about the Lord's auspicious attributes from the Shruti, Azhwars could

verily see the Lord through their deep Yogic saadhana. When these two

attainments combine with boundless love for the Lord, it is but natural that

Emperuman revealed Himself to them in all His glory, says the following slokam,

again from Dehalisa Stuti:

 

 

 

" Deepena kenachit aseeta ruchaa niseete

 

sneha upapanna parisuddha guna arpitena

 

dahra avakaasa nibidam dadarusu: bhavantam

 

svaadhyaaya yoga nayanaa: suchaya: kaveendraa: "

 

 

 

These Azhwars were not mere poets, but kings among poets- " Kaveendraa: " , their

divine poetry capable of moving not only men but the Lord Himself. They are to

be counted as the principals among poets- " Kavi mukhya: " Just as the Ganga

originated from the Lord's feet during Trivikramaavataram and split into three

huge streams, the beautiful compositions of the three Azhwars too originated

from the upraised feet of the Lord of Tirukkovalur (it was the Lord's beautiful

and gigantic form which inspired the three Tiruvandaadis of the three Azhwars).

To Swami Desikan, it appears as though the Lord's holy feet originated another

set of three streams, a new Ganga so to say, in the form of the three hundred

paasurams of Peyazhwar, Bhootattaazhwar and Poigaiyazhwar-

 

 

 

" Vetaala Bhoota Sarasaam apadisya vaacham

 

Praayena tat prasava bhoomim avaapa bhooya: "

 

 

 

Swami Desikan continues to describe how much Emperuman was enamoured of the

Azhwars. The Acharya says the Lord created a new and broad route through the

heavens to Sri Vaikunttam and took the Azhwars there personally. The upraised

feet of the Tirukkovalur Emperuman and His reddish nails are so luminous that

they cast their brilliance far and wide, appearing to light up a new route to

Paramapadam, created specifically for the Mudal Azhwars. As compensation for

having made their place of stay at Tirukkovalur congested by squeezing in with

them, Emperuman appears to have fashioned a broad and spacious route to His

abode, meant solely for these devotees, says Swami Desikan-

 

 

 

" Kreedaa parena bhavataa vihita uparodhaan

 

Aaradhakaan anuparodham udanchayishyan

 

Taamrena paada nakharena tadaa anda madhye

 

Ghantaa padam kamapi noonam avarttaya: tvam "

 

 

 

If such are Swami Desikan's tributes to the Mudal Azhwars in his Sanskrit

Stotras, he praises them no less in his Tamizh Prabandams. In Prabanda Saaram,

for instance, he tells us that Sri Poigayazhwar was divine mercy and compassion

personified- " Arul migutthathu oru vadivaai Kacchi tanil...vandu uditta

Punitha! " . Swami Desikan's devotion for the three Azhwars is such that he

addresses these Azhwars as " Vende! ( " Oh! My King! " ), " Deve! (Oh! My Lord!) " ,

" Parama! (Supreme Being) " , " Punitha! " (sacred and immaculate person) etc., all

of which are normally used to denote the Lord Himself. By calling himself

" Pazhavadiyen " , Swami Desikan signifies that not only he, but his predecessors

and forefathers for innumerable generations past, had been devotees of Mudal

Azhwars. Swami Desikan also tells us that hard-to-understand parts of the Shruti

can be understood only through the paasurams of Azhwars- " Teliyaada marai

Nilangal teligindrome " . In Adhikaara Sangraham, the Acharya praises Mudal

Azhwars as " Paatukku uriya pazhayavar " -ancient sages who knew how to adulate

Emperuman-- and the lamps lit by them as being Lamps of Truth, capable of

destroying the gloom of ignorance enveloping the whole world and highlighting

the eternal message of the Upanishads- " Naatukku irul sega, naanmarai andi nadai

vilanga, veetukku idai kazhikke veli kaattum am mey vilakke " . He swears further

that the contribution of the Mudal Azhwars is immeasurable and beyond

recompense-the Lord Himself would not be able to think of a suitable reward for

the Mudal Azhwars' yeomen service of lighting up the lamp of wisdom and

devotion, thereby driving away ignorance and sin from our souls-

 

 

 

" Etri manatthu ezhil gnaana vilakkai irul anaitthum

 

maatrinavarkku oru kaimmaaru Maayanum kaanakillaan "

 

 

 

and that the only way we can repay them even slightly is to constantly adore

them and to spread their glory for all to know.

 

 

 

While Swami Desikan's reverence to Azhwars in general is boundless, as can be

gauged from his various works, he seems to reserve a special niche of devotion

and a lofty pedestal of respect for the Mudal Azhwars, who take precedence over

other Azhwars not only chronologically, but also by their symbolic acts of

lighting up lamps of wisdom to drive away the demon of ignorance from our souls.

They had the unique distinction of enjoying and benefiting from the enlightening

company of one another, which no other Azhwar was blessed with. The reason for

Swami Desikan's empathy with the Mudal Azhwars is not far to seek-both were

responsible for lighting up lamps in darkened souls, banishing ignorance and

sin. Both (at least Poigayazhwar) were born under the star of Sravanam. Both

were " amsam' of nitya suris, sent to earth by the Lord for emancipation of

errant souls. Sri Amudanaar tells us that the three Azhwars were enshrined in

Sri Ramanuja's heart-

 

" Bhootat tiruvadi taalgal nenjatthu uraya vaitthu aalum Iraamaanusan " ,

 

" Poygai Piraan .erittha tiru vilakkai tan tiruvullatthe irutthum paraman

Iraamaanusan "

 

" Tamizh talaivan ponnadi pottrum Iraamaanusan " .

 

Anything or anyone so dear to Sri Ramanuja cannot but be the very pulse of Swami

Desikan's heart.

 

 

 

To conclude, shall we enjoy a couple of paasurams from the Upadesa Ratnamaalai,

which finds Sri Manavala Mamunigal in absolute agreement with Swami Desikan

about the glory of the Mudal Azhwars?

 

 

 

" Iyppasiyil Onam Avittam Sathayam ivai

 

Oppillaa naatkal ulagattheer-eppuviyum

 

Pesu pugazh Poygayaar Bhootatthaar Peyaazhwaar

 

Tesudane tondru chirappaal "

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mattrulla Azhwaargalukku munne vandu udittu

 

Nattramizhaal nool seidu naattai uyttha-pettrimayor

 

Endru Mudal Azhwaargal ennum peyar ivarkku

 

Nindradu ulagatthe nigazhndu "

 

 

 

 

 

Srimate Sri LakshmiNrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana

Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

dasan, sadagopan