E. Additional Comments by SrI. MK

It is not at all appropriate for us to talk of EmperumAn's Glory and Greatness. (We are not qualified!). Oh my dear people of SrI vaishNava kulam! ("namar") Come to the front and talk so that those atheists can hear the greatness of our PerumAL. Our Lord immediately alleviates the sorrows and destroys the sins of all devotees who cling to Him. For those, who are caught in the afflictions of five senses, and are stuck there immersing themselves in the enjoyment of those sensual pleasures, nIrmalai Lord is inaccessible. This tirunIrmalai is so beautiful, full of fertility, with bees humming on the most fragrant, honey dripping flowers.

 

***

 

PAsuram 2.4.10

NeDumAl avan mEviya

neDumAl avan mEviya nIrmalaimEl
nilavum pugazh mangaiyarkOn amaril
kaDamAkaLiyAnai vallAn kaliyan
oli sei tamizh mAlai vallArkku uDanE
viDumAl vinai, vENDiDil mEl ulagum
eLidAyiDum anRi ilangoli sEr
koDumAkaDal vaiyagam ANDu madik
kuDai mannavarAi aDi kUDuvarE.

A. SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan:

This is a great musical tirumozhi sung by tirumangai AzhvAr about tirunIrmalai.

AzhvAr is famous always, in all places. He is a valiant knight who can control even mad, war elephants. He is known by the name 'kaliyan'. Those who learn this padikam will get absolved of their severe karma-s. If they so desire, they will even attain the higher realms like heaven. If they wish material wealth in this world, they will get to rule the ocean-surrounded earth under white umbrella. Not only that, they will attain emperumAn's tiruvaDi.

 

B. SrI PVP:

neDumAl avan mEviya nIrmalaimEl –

About tirunIrmalai where the great emperumAn lives permanently

nilavum pugazh mangaiyarkOn amaril kaDamAkaLiyAnai vallAn kaliyan –

the famous leader of the place tirumangai, who can valiantly control furious elephants in battles and who is known as 'kaliyan'

oli sei tamizh mAlai vallArkku –

those who can chant or sing these tamizh songs composed by him (about tirunIrmalai)

uDanE viDumAl vinai –

will get their sins removed right away

vENDiDil mEl ulagum eLidAyiDum –

they can easily attain heaven if they want

anRi ilangoli sEr koDumAkaDal vaiyagam madik kuDai mannavarAi ANDu -

they will get to rule over the earth surrounded by noisy ocean waters, under the royal, white umbrella

aDi kUDuvarE –

and then, they will reach His divine feet.

Can AzhvAr, who did not care about material wealth in this world, list these as benefits of reciting these pAsurams? The answer is – there are a lot of people who are interested in earthly, material wealth and these will get used for bhagavat and bhAgavata kaimkaryams and step by step, they will get to reach paramapadam.

 

C. SrI UV:

This tirumozhi was composed by one who was blessed with kaimkarya lakshmI, who was a ruler with a lot of wealth and had the strength to defeat 'kali'. Hence, those who chant these songs will be blessed with all kinds of wealth and then obtain emperumAn's tiruvaDi.

 

D. SrI PBA:

This tirumozhi will bless us with two types of benefits - aihikam (that which pertains to this world) and Amushmikam (that which pertains to the other world)

 

E. Additional Comments by SrI. MK

These ten pAsurams are on the sarvAdhikAran- SarvEsvaran - Lord of tirunIrmalai. The singer is the Chief of tirumangai nagar- the great warrior like a huge male elephant, Kaliyan- tirumangai AzhvAr. Those who read these ten pAsurams, will have their sins run away immediately from them; They will get the taste of heaven very easily; they will be the rulers of this vast earth, and then be granted the eternal servitude at the Lotus Feet of Sriman nArAyanAn.

 

End of peria tirumozhi pAsurams 2.4

 

***

 

PERIA TIRUMOZHI 2.7.8

Alam kezhu

alam kezhu taDakkai Ayan vAy AmbaRkku
azhiyum Al en uLLam! ennum,
pulam kezhu porunIp puTkuzhi pADum
pOdumO nIrmalaikku ennum,
kulam kezhu kolli kOmaLa vallik
koDi iDai neDu mazhaik kaNNi,
ilangu ezhil tOLikken ninaitiruntAi
iDavendai entai pirAnE!

Comments by SrI MK:

tirumangai AzhvAr's desire to see the Lord keeps on increasing and here he gets into the nAyikA bhAvam. AzhvAr’s (ParakAla nAyaki's) mother requests the Lord for His mercy on her darling daughter.

My girl always says "My heart melts at the lovely, divine music from the flute held by the cowherd boy KaNNan, the One who holds the plough (alam-halam) in His strong Hands"; She also sings in praise of only tiruppuTkuzhi Sri VijayarAghavan. She says "Let us go to tirumalA"; She looks so cute like the doll of Kolli malai. She appear like beautiful creeper; She has got a narrow waist; Her large beautiful dark eyes always shed tears rolling down the smooth cheeks, like the stream of water flow; She has got lovely slender bamboo like shoulders; Oh Lord of tiruviDavendai! What is Your plan for her?

AzhvAr who had entered into tirunaRaiyUr, fearing and running away from women, enjoys t h e Lord o f tirunaRaiyUr, showing Himself so beautifully and gracefully at this charming divya desam, along with his Divine Consort permanently in this yet another excellent ten.

 

***

 

PERIA TIRUMOZHI 6.8.4

ODA ariyAy

ODA ariAy iraNiyanai Un iDanta
sEDu Ar pozhil sUzh tirunIr malaiyAnai
vADA malart tuzhAy mAlai muDiyAnai
nAL tOrum nADi naRaiyUril kaNDEnE.

 

Comments by SrI MK:

In this ten (Peria tirumozhi 6-8) tirumangai mannan enjoys the Lord of tirunaRaiyUr divya desam and blissfully reminisces the good deeds that he had done to the world.

In the fourth pAsuram, AzhvAr refers to tirunIrmalai as well.

The One who appeared as huge ferocious narasingan, and tore the body of hiraNyan; the One who is at tirunIrmalai; the One who has on His tirumuDi (Head), the tiruttuzhAy (tuLasI); - I have been searching of Him everyday- and now I have seen Him at tirunaRaiyUr.

வாடா மலர்த்துழாய் மாைல முடியான் (நன்றி: ஸ்ரீ லŠமிநரசிம்மன் ஸ்ரீதர்)

 

***

 

PERIA TIRUMOZHI 7.1.7

gatiyEl illai nin aruLalladu enakku
nidiyE! tirunIrmalai nittialattottE!
patiyE! paravitt tozhum toNDar tamakkuk
gatiyE! unaik kaNDu koNDu uindu ozhindEnE!

Comments by SrI MK:

EmperumAn consoles the AzhvAr saying "For you alone, I show Myself at divya desams!". AzhvAr gets excited and requests for removal of further births.

There is no other means or ways for me OTHER than your krupai.... Oh (my) wealth! Oh (my) most valuable pearl of tirunIrmalai!

திருநீர் மைலநித்திலத்ெதாத்ேத! (நன்றி: ஸ்ரீ லŠமிநரசிம்மன் ஸ்ரீதர்)

 

Oh patiyE! (like the the place where devotees find themselves conducive for enjoyment and living)! (like tiruppati.) (adiyEn's interpretation: my dearest hubby!- from ParakAla nAyaki!) Oh Gati (the only shelter and refuge) for Your servants (devotees), who surrender at Your Feet and pay their obeisance! Such Greatest You- I am blessed to have seen and be saved!

 

***

 

PERIA TIRUMOZHI 8.2.3

Aruvi cOr

aruvi cOr vEngaDam nIrmalai enRu vAy
veruviNAL, meyyam vinavi irukinRAL
perugu sIr kaNNapuram enRu pesinAL
uruginAl, un melintAL idu venkolO!

Comments by SrI MK:

The mother of ParakAla nAyaki goes on to lament about her daughter's falling crazy after tirukkaNNapuram PerumAL.

My girl babbles saying "tirunIrmalai, tiruvEngaDam et al, without knowing what she is speaking. tirumeyyam - when she hears she gets exasperated. She exclaims, "The most wealthiest tirukkaNNapuram", she melts at that statement, she gets thinner and thinner; she suffers languishing. What a pitiable sight to see my daughter suffering like this!

 

***

 

PERIA TIRUMOZHI 9.2.8

Mancu uyar

mancu uyar mAmati tINDA nINDa
mAlirum cOlai maNavALar vandu, en
nencuLLum kaNuLLum ninRu nIngAr
nIrmalai Ar kol? ninaikka mATTEn
mancu uyar ponmalai mEl ezhunta
mAmugil pOnRu uLar vandu kANIr
am ciRai puL onRu ERi vandAr
accO oruvar azhagiyavA!

ெநஞ்சுள்ளும் கண்ணுள்ளும் நின்று நீங்கார்!

Comments by SrI M.K:

tirumangai AzhvAr described the soulabhyam and vAtsalya guNA of EmperumAn who gave Himself to pANDavAs, in the last ten. Now AzhvAr enjoys tirunAgai EmperumAn. Sundhara vaDivan (The Most beautiful EmperumAn) and immerses Himself in it. AzhvAr enters into nAyikA bhAvam. She describes her suffering here to her friends.

This Lord, who lives on his own, happily at tirumAliruncOlai, and now he has come on His own into my eyes and my mind and will never ever leave me. He lives here as if he is there at tirunIrmalai. I am not able to tell as to who He is. He shines like huge dark clouds on the golden hued mountain. Look at Him by yourself. What an unparalleled beauty of His! ati AScaryam.

 

***

 

PERIA TIRUMOZHI 10.1.1

oru nal suRRam enakku uyir oN poruL
varu nal tol gati Agiya maintanai
nerunal kANDadu nIrmalai inRu pOy
karunel suzk kaNNa mangai uL kANDume.

Comments by SrI M.K:

In this Peria tirumozhi pAsurams - 10.1 set of ten pAsurams (oru nal suRRam), Kaliyan performs MangaLASAsanam for the perumALs of 18 divya desams (tirunirmalai, tirukkaNNamangai, tiruvEngaDam, tiruttaNkA, tiruvAli, tirunAngUr, tiruppEr, tiruveLLaRai, tirunaRaiyUr, tirumeyyam, tiruccERai, tirukkuDantai, tiruvazhuntur, tiruvehhA, tirumAlirumcOlai, tiruviNNagar, tirukkOTTiyUr and tirunAvAi).

In the last ten AzhvAr enjoyed the soulabhyam of EmperumAn showing Himself at tirukkOTTiyUr. Now here AzhvAr pays his obeisance to various divya desams PerumAL in one ten - inRu pOy karunel sUzh kaNNa mangaiyuL kaaNDumE… –

He, who helps us, on His own in moments of distress, who is an unparalleled “bandhu” (relative to us), who is my AtmA; who grants the parama purushArtham; who grants the SrivaikuNTha prApti after this sarIram perishes, who has an ever youthful divya MangaLa tirumEni; - (we) paid our obeisance to Him at tirunIrmalai; Today, (let us) go and pay our praNAmams (obeisance) to Him at tirukkaNNamangai, surrounded by fully grown paddy fields.

 

***

 

TIRUNEDUNTANDAKAM

PAsuram 18

KArvaNNam

'கருட வாஹனம்'

 

kArvaNNam tirumEni kaNNum vAyum
kaittalamum aDi iNaiyum kamala vaNNam,
pArvaNNa maDamangai pattar pittar
panimalarmEl pAvaikkup pAvam seydEn,
Er vaNNa enpEtai ensol kELAL
emperumAn tiruvarangam engE? ennum,
nIrvaNNan nIrmalaikkE pOvEn ennum
idu anRO niRaiyazhindAr niRkum ARE?

Comments by SrI M.K:

Oh youthful lady! Why are you madly in love with that grey haired purANa purusha (oldest primordial Chief) of tirunaRaiyUr (naRai Lord)? She utters loudly of His most exquisite Beauty, His lAvaNya, soundaryam as well as His love for the divine consorts and says that she would certainly visit all His divya desams where He resides on His own accord in pristinely purest form.

ErvaNNam -

most beautiful colored

en pEdai-

my small darling daughter;

en sol kELAL-

will (or does) not listen to my words

pAvam seydEn-

Thus, I have committed so many pApams (for me to see my daughter suffer like this and listen to her these words)

[and what she says is this:]

tirumEni-

His divine body (divya mangaLa vigraham) is kAr vaNNam is blue hued dark most beautiful one; “kaNNum vAyum kaittalamum aDi iNaiyum” the most beautiful large eyes, the mouth, the limbs, and the pair of His Feet kamalam vaNNam are like freshly bloomed red lotus flowers

vaNNam maDam pAr mangai -

the color and the feminity are aplenty in Goddess BhUmi PirATTi (and on Her)

pattar -

He is fond of; or is under control (of Her)

pani malar-

on cool red lotus flower

mEl pAvaikku –

seated is the most divinely beautiful Sri MahAlakshmi and on Her

pittar -

He is madly in love with emperumAn such greatest and wonderful Lord- Sarva Swami- My Lord

tiruvarangam engE-

where is His divine place?- asks she

nIrvaNNan the blue hued colored Lord’s nIr malaikku pOvEn - I will only go to His divine place

tirunIrmalai divya desam; - she is firm on.

idu anRo niRaivu azhindAr niRkkum ARu-

Isn’t the right way the women folk (who are insistent upon damaging themselves) need to abide and stand firm on? (I now understand..)

Look at His divine form; Look at His divya mangaLa vigraham. What a color!

What a beauty! What a lAvaNyam! And soundaryam! See that alluring attraction and charm of His divine form? How can one stay away from Him? My Lord is so beautiful. Matching His youthful form and beauty are His divine consorts Sri MahAlakshmi and Lakshmi’s priya sakhi SrI BhUmi PirATTi (madhavim madhavapriyAm). She (BhUmi PirATTi) is His beloved. It can be also read that the Mother (of ParakAla nAyaki) mentions this beauty and then tells that her daughter is now asking where is His divya desam. It could mean that the mother in law is admiring the son-in-law’s majestic beauty. (Er vaNNam- my beautiful colored girl). When she starts off describing her daughter’s beauty, it may mean that she can compete with her would-be son-in-law’s.

Also pattar, pittar- The Lord is madly in love with divine consorts. Here there is bahu vacanam (plural). Hence it is uttered by mother in law and is mentioned with respect. While the ParakAla nAyaki mentions nIr vaNNan (in singular) implies the love (nAyaki) can address Him in singular form with love or if it is uttered only by ParakAla nAyaki (for the whole verse), then when praising Him, plural; and when scolding Him or blaming Him (for saving her), singularly. She (mother) claims that she is a pApi for being blessed with such a daughter. She in fact is proud of such a girl. She implies her pride in such words- say pUrvAcAryAs. Indeed, the mother of ParakAla nAyaki is blessed.

 

***

 

SIRIYA TIRUMADAL & PERIYA TIRUMADAL

 

An Introduction by SrI V.Sadagopan:

 

Here is an introduction and write up on what is "maDal" and why tirumangai AzhVAr (in nAyaki bhAvam) chose to embrace this procedure. The themes and structure of the two tirumaDals: siRiya and periya TirumaDals.

 

Invocatory pAsuram for siRiya tirumaDal:

The Taniyan for this AruLicheyal is by Pillai tirunaraiyUr arayar.

It is appropriate an arayar associated with tirunaraiyUr is the author of this Taniyan in view of the special role played by the arca mUrti of tirunaraiyUr (suganda Giri nambi).

The Taniyan is as follows:

muLLic cezhumalarO tArAn muLaimadiyam
koLLikken uLLam kodiyAme – vaLLal
tiruvALan sIrkkaliyan kArkkaliyai veTTi
maruvALan tantAn maDal.

The mighty generous tirumangai, who wears both the flower garland of thorns and bearing a sword in his hand is the most auspicious AzhvAr. He has cut asunder the darkness generated by Kali Yuga and given me the maDals so that my mind tortured by grief over the separation from my Lord will not boil uncontrollably at the sight of the rising moon. (nAyakis suffering from the painful experience of pleasure–giving objects during the times of separation from their nAyakAs is alluded to here.)

 

The rules of tamizh poetry and the maDals and the Azhvar's breaking of the convention:

The rules of tamizh poetry require that the maDals should be set in the KaliveNpA meter. PannirupATTiyal describes further the form and content of the ancient style of maDal poetry as one set in KaliveNpA and having the poetic features of etugai and mOnai (Consonance and Rhyme).

The grammar for this poetry also restricts the subject matter to focus on inbam or kAmam at the expense of other three goals of life (PurushArthams) such as dharmam (aram), artham (PoruL), moksham (vIDu). In the tamizh poetry, maDal is a practice restricted to a male lover, who has been spurned by his lady love.

TiruvaLLuvar describes the maDal custom practiced by the lover as follows: "In ancient times those who had failed in their love used to ride over a horse- like carrier (contraption) made of dry palm-leaves (maDal). The pain (Self-torture) of pricking ride they endured in preference to their pain in failure (to win the hand of the lady-love)". This unusual testimony of love was aimed to soften the heart of the woman whom he loved and to win her over. Grief is shamelessly proclaimed in public through the stunt like act of riding on the jagged stems of palm leaves to shame the lady and hopefully achieve a change of her attitude of rejection.

Clearly, the performance of maDal (maDalerutal) is not recommended for women as an act of public protest and lamentation against her hard-hearted lover, who did not reciprocate her intense love. It was considered immodest for a woman to engage in such public displays.

Tirumangai, NammAzhvAr assumed the nAyika bhAvam in their respective bhaghavad anubhavams and adopted the practice of maDalerutal to express their intensity of suffering caused by their separations from their objects of Love (viz.), Sriman nArAyaNa. Both of them rejected the tamizh poetry traditions, which restricted maDalerutal to men, but followed the tamizh grammar recommendations that this type of ancient poem should deal with the worldly love and that it should be set in KaliveNpA.

Tirumangai justifies his practice of maDalerutal by referring to the extensive use of this type of demonstration in the Northern tradition and cites the behavior of Sita, Usha, Vegavati and ulupikai, the heroins of itihAsas like rAmAya Nam and MahA bhAratam. He says that they expressed openly their love and sought their company through a variety of means. He describes in the Periya tirumaDal the behavior of his role models this way: "Sita followed rAma and lived with him in the forest (against the advices of the elders); Vegavati went in search of her lover into the battle field, not heeding her brother's protest and she enjoyed her lover's company. ulupikai, a nAga woman made Arjuna be a prey to her lustful advances as alluded in MahA bhAratam. Usha, the daughter of baNAsura had her lover transported by her friend, Citralekha. Above all PArvati rejected her parents advise and engaged in arduous penance for union with Siva".

Tirumangai with his extraordinary mastery of tamizh poetry and its grammar decided to portray his acute pangs of separation from her nAyaka and decided to practice the ancient custom of maDalerutal, an act prohibited in south for women.

He had become ParakAla nAyaki to express his pain of separation and to taunt the Lord for his act of abandonment.