ThiruppullANi utsavar purappAdu

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PERIYA THIRUMOZHI

Thirumangai AzhwAr

Ninth Decad of 4^th Thirumozhi

 

Thirumangai Mannan as ParakAla nAyaki

 

Th Thirumozhi

In the previous ten verses Thirumangai Mannan as ParakAla nAyaki spoke to her friend and mind alternatively listing the various places where she enjoyed the company of EmperumAn (viz.) under the shades of the Punnai Trees, near the screw-pine bushes and how after making her believe in His false promises, her Lord left her, thereby plunging her into indescribable agonies. But at the end, ParakAla NAyaki says firmly that whatever be the tortures that she is subjected to, she will always only think of ThiruppullANi nAthan as her husband and lover. She further resolves to never give up the observances and practices of dharmAnushTAnams and always worship the sacred sthalam of ThiruppullANi, which would of its own bring auspicious results.

In the ten paasurams of the 4th Thirumozhi, Thirumangai Mannan as ParakAla NAyaki tells of how she left her home with her friend to have the darSanam of ThiruppullANi EmperumAn, but due to the late evening hours, she had to sadly break her journey midway and had to offer her prayers to ThiruppullANi from afar. She sends the birds as her emissaries to report to EmperumAn, asking them to describe her pitiable state and her sufferings due to the separation from her Lord. She asks the birds to please let her SvAmi know as to how emaciated she has become due to being parted from Him and how even the soothing cool moonbeams feel like hot iron being branded over her, due to the longing for union with her Swami. Inspite of all the hardships and unfortunate circumstances, she is firm in her resolve that come what may, no one is going to be able to stop her from eventually meeting with her Swami at ThiruppullANi. So she reconciles at the end to spend the rather long night ahead at that way stop, by meditating on His divya nAmam and to resume her journey towards ThiruppullANi, at the break of dawn.

Sri ThyAga Brahmam in his Abheri rAga kriti, "nagumOmu ganalEni naa jaali delisi nanu brOva rA rAdA SrI raghuvara nee" says: "Oh Raghu kula TilakA! Knowing that I suffer terribly after being deprived of the darSanam of Your radiant face, will You not hasten to help me?" This echoes the sentiments expressed by Thirumangai Mannan who is troubled by having to break his journey to ThiruppullANi and spend the long night away from EmperumAn. Kaliyan's paasurams on how unbearable his pain is being separated from his Lord and how he sends the birds as his ambassadors; reminds us of the ananya caranatvam expressed by Satguru SwamigaL in his SAvEri rAga kriti, "intakanna delpa taramA jagadeeSvara nE nIki taramA nItO". The charaNa vAkyams for this kriti goes like "nIvE tana kihaparamu rAma ninnu nammina kApuramu, nI karuNE rAjayOgamu mAku nI mAyamE rAjabhOgamu". Sri ThyAgarAjar says: "Oh JagannAthA! The Bestower of all auspiciousness! Like a lotus floating on the water surface, my jeevan depends on Your blessings to survive! You are all the happiness and wealth I seek in this world after having surrendered at Your feet! If I can be graced by Your compassion; that would be equal to being crowned as a king for me! To sing Your praises, to contemplate on nothing else but Your enchanting beauty and to obtain union with You is greater than all the kingly riches in this world for me!"

Let us now see the similarity of thoughts and sentiments in Sri ThyAgarAja Swami kritis and Thriumangai Manna's paasurams in our coverage of each of the ten paasurams of the 4th Thirumozhi.

 

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Pasuram 1

kAvAr madal peNNai anRil arikuralum,
EvAyin Udiyangu ehkil koDithAlO,
poovAr maNam kamazhum pullaaNi kaithozhuthEn,
pAvaay! idu namakkOr pAnmaiyE aagAdE. 9.4.1

Meaning:

Setting forth from her home with her friend, ParakAla NAyaki (Thirumangai AzhwAr) reaches the ocean shore which is full of swaying palm trees and the birds that nest in those trees. Either due to tiredness or the setting of the sun (sandhyA kAlam) she is unable to continue any further and is saddened by this break in her journey. So in the first pAsuram she says that she will offer her prayers from that distant place to ThiruppullANi nAthan.

ParakAla nAyaki tells her friend: "PaavAi! (Oh girl!) My very beautiful friend! I pray to the ThiruppullANi kshetram which is like a fragrant garden full of beautiful flowers, from this sea shore where I have to tarry tonight! (poo Aar maNam kamazhum pullANi kai thozhuthen). The pangs of separation from BhagavAn is absolutely torturing me! Especially when in this palm grove, the anRil bird (krauncha pakshi) on top of the palm tree is heart-breakingly calling to its absent mate and its sweet plaintive voice plunges like a sharp blade in my already wounded heart! ("PeNNai anRil arikuralum EvAyin ooDi iyangum ehkil koDithu?")"

The mention of krauncha pakshis reminds us of the story of the Krauncha mithunam (pair) told by Sri ValmIki. When the male bird in the pair was killed by a hunter, the female bird cried out in heart-broken sorrow. On hearing its screams of agony, Sage ValmIki was very moved and got angry with the hunter and cursed him thus: "

maa nishAda pratishThaam tvam agama: sAswatee: samA:|
yat kraunca mithunAt ekam avadhee: kaama mohitam||

Thirumangai Mannan compares his plight to that of the krauncha pakshi on top of the palm tree and finds that his lovelorn heart which has no other thoughts except of ThiruppullANi EmperumAn is feeling the same grief that is felt by the Krauncha bird that has lost its mate. He says that eventhough it has now become customary for him to feel this sorrow, he will not lose faith, but will continue to worship the EmperumAn of ThiruppullANi irrespective of whether it is fruitful to do so or not. He says that such prayer is also in his svabhAvam!

 

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Pasuram 2

munnam kuRaL uruvAy moovaDi maN koNDaLantha,
mannan carithaikkE mAlAgip ponpayanthEn,
ponnam kazhikkAnal puLLinangAL! pullaaNi
annamAi nool payanthaaRku aangu ithanaic ceppuminE. 9.4.2

Meaning:

In the second paasuram, ParakAla NAyaki remembers the sthala purANam of ThiruppullANi and addresses the birds on the banks of the Ponnankazhi (HiraNya nadhi) to act as her ambassadors to EmperumAn. ("PullANi annamAy nool payanthARku aangu ithanaic ceppuminE") Seeing the happily cooing birds on the banks of the HiraNya nadhi, ParakAla NAyaki requests them to convey her mirthless state to ThiruppullANi nAthan. The EmperumAn at ThiruppullANi is very ancient and He has been addressed with different names in different epochs (yugAs). The sthalapurANams state that due to Him being a caturveda svarUpi, He is called as "svarUpam", "annam", "Adhi",

"Deivac cilayAr" and hundred other names at ThiruppullANi. SrI Adhi JagannAtha PerumAL assumed the form of an annam (swan — hamsa rUpam) in the Kali Yuga, to teach the deeper meanings of the vedas to the sages on the banks of the Chakra Theertham at ThiruppullANi. Hence EmperumAn here is also called as "annamAi nool payanthaan". ParakAla NAyaki has beautifully interwoven this thirunAmam of His in the second paasuram.

ParakAla NAyaki says: "Long ago I heard the story of how BhagavAn came in the avathAram of VAmanan and measured the world with His ThiruvaDi. Ever since I have done nothing but gone mad thinking of this avatAra viSesham and have lost my golden complexion after pining away for Him. Oh Birds! Living on the banks of the HiraNya nadhi! Please tell Him about my sorry state and fetch Him hither to me!"

 

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Pasuram 3

vavvith thuzhaayathanmEl cenRa thani nenjam,
sevvi aRiyaathu niRkungol, niththilankaL
pavvath tiraiyulavu pullaaNi kaithozhuthEn,
deivac cilaiyaaRku en cindainOy seppuminE. 9.4.3

Meaning:

In the third paasuram ParakAla NAyaki asks the birds on the banks of the HiraNya nadhi (poonankazhi) once again to go as her emissaries to ThiruppullANi nAthan. Having earlier addressed Him as "annamAi nool payanthaan" in the previous paasuram, she now addresses Him as "deivac cilayAr" and asks the birds to covey her mental ailments resulting from worries of being parted from Him — "cinthai nOi ceppuminE". The name "deivac cialyAr" is based on the Sanskrit nAmam — "divya cApar". Bestowing His anugraham on SrI RAmacandramUrthy who in the VibhavAvatAram worshipped Him prior to the crossing of the Ocean and the Lanka war, SrI Aadhi JagannAtha PerumAL gifted SrI RAman with the divya Saarngam held in His hand. Hence He became known as "divya cApar" and "deivac cilayAr". Thirumangai Mannan is reminding us of this incident here in this paasuram.

In this paasuram ParakAla NAyaki retells the episode of how, when the time came for BhagavAn to leave her, she expressed an interest to retain the TuLasi garland (ThiruthuzhAi mAlai) that was worn by Him, as a token to remember Him by. But in His haste BhagavAn forgot to give her the garland and vanished quickly, leaving her bereft of even a token of rememberance and in utter desolation. So she now requests the birds to tell her Lord of how she suffers from the unfortunate circumstance of not having received His fragrant TuLasi garland!

"nithilankaL pavva tirai ulavu PullANi tozhuthEn" — In this line ParakAla NAyaki evokes the beauty of the kshetram by saying that she bows down in prayer to ThiruppullANi kshetram, where the waves of the ocean shine with the lustre of many pearls that floats on the surface.

 

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Pasuram 4

pariya iraNiyanathu aagam aNiyukirAl,
ariyuruvAyk keeNDaan aruL thandhavA namakku,
porutiraigaL pOndulavu pullaaNi kai thozhuthEn,
arimalark kaN neer tadumba anthukilum nillAvE. 9.4.4

Meaning:

In the fourth pAsuram ParakAla NAyaki says that she prays to BhagavAn with folded palms on the shores of ThiruppullANi where the never ending waves crash gently on the sands — "porutiraikaL pOndulavu pullANikai tozhuthEn". In this paasuram ParakAla NAyaki prays to BhagavAn as SrI Narasimhan, during which avatAram, He effortlessly lifted HiraNyan who was strong and powerful as a huge mountain and tore his chest apart with His bare hands and sharp finger-nails! ParakAla NAyaki says that as a result of meditating on this powerful rUpam she is overwhelmed by the thought that SrI Nrusimhan who appeared to protect His bhaktan, vanished quickly after the avatAra kAryam was achieved and did not stay longer so that she could have His darSanam too. So she is assailed with more tears and heartbreak and has now become so frail that her dresses no longer stay in place and fall away. She has become so weak and dejected that there remains no strength in her to straighten the garments that slip away! She is just barely able to survive against the onslought of tears and sadness.

The heart-rending verses of the fourth paasuram where parakAla NAyaki tells movingly about her plight when BhagavAn deserted her after being very intimate with her, reminds us of the PrahlAda bhakthi vijaya kriti in Husseini rAgam by Sanit ThyAgarAja. The kriti is given below:

pallavi

Emani vEgintunE SrI rAma rAma

anupallavi

Emani vEgintu nentani sairintu nA muddu dEvuDu nanu bAsE nayyayyo

caraNam 1

pAlinci lAlinci palumARu gaugilinci tElinci nanu baradESi sEya dOcenO

caraNam 2

ADina muccaTa nAdantarangamu niNDa nIDu lEdaniyuNTi nindAka sarivArilO

caraNam 3

eDabAyaka tyAgarAju nElu SrI harini dolli baDalika lArci nA caibaTTinadi talacucu

Sri ThyAgarAjar says:"Hey SrI RAma, my beloved! How can I tolerate the separation from You, if You leave me? After loving me and playing with me, have You now decided to cast me away as a beggar? Nothing will ever be greater than or equal to the intimately loving words that You spoke to me! How am I ever going to recover from the memories of the blissful unbroken closeness that I shared with You? My heart feels as if torn from its roots by the depth of my sadness". The words thus spoken by Saint ThyAgarAjar in PrahlAda bhaktha vijayam speaks volumes of the sorrow he felt on thinking about how SrI Hari disappeared in a second after blessing child PrahlAdan. These emotions are wonderfully similar to the aviraha bhakthi displayed by Thirumangai Mannan as ParakAla NAyaki.

 

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Pasuram 5

villAl ilangai malangac caram turanda,
vallaaLan pinpOna nenjam varumaLavum,
ellaarum en tannai yEsilum pEsiDinum,
pullaaNi emperumAn poy kETTirunthEnE. 9.4.5

Meaning:

In the fifth pAsuram ParakAla NAyaki says that her heart has followed the footsteps of the mahA veeran who made the denizens of LankApuri tremble with fear by the power of His KodaNDam. Hence her heart is no longer with her and she awaits the return of the same alongwith the Thief who stole it in the first place. Now she is the object of amusement and sarcasm amongst her friends and relatives because she is foolish enough to believe in the false promises and cunning words of her Lord and continues to wait and have faith that He will come back for her soon!

In this pAsuram AzhwAr as ParakAla NAyaki, highlights the importance of MahA viSvAsam and reitrates that irrespective of what others may tell or laugh about and irrespective of whatever happens in the future, she will never lose her faith in EmperumAn's words. Those words which everyone else says are just false promises appear to her as the sweetest and most beautiful words ever spoken.

The thoughts expressed in the above paasurams find an echo in the famous ThyAgarAja kriti in the Navarasa kAnaDA rAga known as "ninnu vinA nAma di endu niluvadE". In this kriti Satguru SwamigaL says: "SrI RAmA! Your divine beauty is so pleasing to the eyes! Your divine charitham (epic) is sweet music to the ears! Your auspicious divine name shines radiantly in my tongue! Every where I turn the world seems to be filled by Your Presence. I have now earned the title of being Your dAsan. Due to my accrued puNyams from previous births, I somehow feel elated even when I hear You speak cunningly to me! So my mind will settle on nothing less than You! Let others say whatever they wish to say, I do not care for their words! Even should You be lying to me, I will treat You as being honest and believe in Your words."

The emphasis on MahA viSvAsam which is an integral part of the SaraNAgati tattvam is as evident in the kriti vaakyams as they were in the paasura vaakyams above.

Pallavi

ninnu vinA nAmadi endu niluvadE SrIharihari

Anupallavi

kanulaku nI sogasentO grammi unnadi ganuka

caraNam 1

nIdu kathalu vInulandu niNDi unnadi rAma
SrIda nInAmamu nota jelagi unnadi ganuka

caraNam 2

nEnu ecaTa jUcinanu nIvE unnadi rAmA
bhAnu vamSa tilaka nIdu bhaktuDanucu pEru ganuka

caraNam 3

kapaTamau mATalella kammanainadi nA
tapamuyOkka phalamu nIvE tyAgarAja sannuta

 

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Pasuram 6

suzhanRilangu venkatirOn tErODum pOy maRainthAn,
azhanRu koDithAgi ancudaril thAnaDumaal,
SezhuntaDm pooncholai soozh pullaaNi kaithozhuthEn,
izhanthirundEn en than ezhil niRamum sangumE. 9.4.6

Meaning:

In the sixth paasuram, ParakAla NAyaki tells the reason for breaking her journey towards ThiruppullANi. It is because of the late evening hour and the surrounding darkness due to the setting of the Sun. She further adds that while she might have proceeded to journey towards ThiruppullANi after the Moon rose in the sky and shone on the path, the soft and cool moon beams felt like molten lead over her body already tortured by passionate thoughts of her SwAmi. Hence she just could not bear to go any further on the path at night! She says that pining away for His love, she has lost her complexion and the bangles have dropped out of her emaciated hands! So she discontinued her journey for that night and stayed near the sea shore and made her prayers from there itself to ThiruppullANi which was surrounded by gardens filled with lush and fragrant flowers.

The lamentations of Thirumangai Mannan in this paasuram are mirrored in the Saint ThyAgarAja kriti,"gAravimpa rAdA garuDa gamana rAma nanu" in ghanTa rAga.

Pallavi

gAravimpa rAdA garuDa gamana rAma nanu

Anu Pallavi

SrIrama manOharA Sritahrdaya vihAra cEra rAvadE ra SrI raghuvara dhIrA

caraNam 1

pErukaina lEdA pilicitE rArAdA sari vAralAda lEdA vini
varadA karuNa rAdA mArubalka vAdA mummAru nammalEdA

caraNam 2

tanayuDADumATa talli daNDrulakadi yATa gAdA ninu bADina pATa
vini nI muddunOTa yEmana valadE iccOTa mAdhava ika tEracATa

caraNam 3

rUka losagi konna sati rUpa meTlunna SrIkara guNamunna
celi celimi vIDaranna parAku nIku munna tyAgarAjavinuta bhinna

The kriti expresses the tortures experienced by Sri ThyAgarAjar's mind in its longing for the absent Lord. He asks BhagavAn, "Will You not show me an iota of respect? Why don't You hasten to me even after I call You with heart- wrenching cries? Oh Great Warrior of Raghu kulam! While I sing Your praises without pause, not a word is uttered through Your beautiful lips to enquire whether all is well with me! You continue to be silent! Is there now a screen that separates us from each other? Even if other women of low morals look exceedingly beautiful and attractive, the spouses whose wives are chaste and possess great character will never leave their wives for the other women. So why then are You avoiding me — Your chaste wife? May be You are used to being very deliberate in Your movements before, but cast away that leisure and hasten to give Your katAkshams to me at once!"

 

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Pasuram 7

kanaiyAr idikuralin kArmaNiyin nAvAdal,
thinaiyEnum nillaadu theeyiR koDithAlO,
punaiyAr maNimAdap pullaaNi kaithozhuthEn,
vinaiyEn mEl vElaiyum venthazhalE veesumE. 9.4.7

Meaning:

In the seventh paasuram, ParakAla NAyaki tells of another incident that happened on the shores of ThiruppullANi that multiplied the grief she already felt in being away from EmperumAn. She saw a running bull which had a bell tied around its neck and the noise from that bell as the bull ran sounded like loud thunder in her ears. The sound of the bell made her think of ThiruppullANi nAthan. Being so besotted with EmperumAn she feels like being devoured by roaring fires whenever she is reminded of anything about Him. She feels that the prayers to the kshetram of ThiruppullANi which is filled with lofty mansions and buildings only energizes the tongues of fire already consuming her and the cool sea breeze ends up inflaming the fire further and does nothing to soothe her.

 

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Pasuram 8

thoompuDaikkai vEzham veruva marupposittha
paambin aNaiyAn aruL thandavA namakku,
pooncerunti poncoriyum pullaaNi kaithozhuthEn,
thEmbal iLampiRaiyum en thanakku Or venthazhalE. 9.4.8

Meaning:

In the eigth paasuram ParakAla NAyaki finds the crescent moon to be another object of torture for her already long suffering from the absence of ThiruppullANi nAthan. She says that strange and mysterious indeed are the results (phalan) of her prayers to ThiruppullANi which is filled with the golden hued flowers of the Punnai tree! Dejectedly she says that the blessings given by that ParandAman, w h o rests on AdhiSeshan and who broke the tusks of KuvalayApeeTam — the royal elephant of Kamsan — and killed it as if by sport, has done nothing but exacerbate the longings in her and has made the cool and gentle crescent moon beams to feel like hot coals on her body!

 

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Pasuram 9

vEdamum vELviyum viNNum iru cuDarum,
aadhiyum aanAn aruL thannthavA namakku,
pOdalarum punnai soozh pullaaNi kaithozhuthEn,
Odamum nAnum uRangAthu irundEnE. 9.4.9

Meaning:

In the ninth paasuram, we see the beauty of the poetry as well as the depth of emotions felt by AzhwAr. As the nightime lengthens and the crescent moon shines in the sky, the noisy and restless waves of the ocean keep crashing against the shore and looking at that scene ParakAla NAyaki feels that the state of her mind is not dissimilar to the ocean waves, that rise and fall without any let! She prays to the Adhi Purushan — Adhi JagannAtha PerumAL of ThiruppullANi — as the Parama Purushan; the Primordial Cause for the creation of the whole universe.

In the lines "vEdamum vELviyum, viNNum iru cuDarum Adhiyum Aanaan", ParakAla NAyaki elaborates on the tattvams of Purusha sUktam which says "tasmAt virADa jAyata| virAjo adhi pUrusha:|". SayanAcAryAr's bhAshyam (commentaries) on Vedam, talks of how the ParamAtma who is sarva VedAnta Vedyan, out of his own Will (sankalpa mAyai) extended His Form (Viswarupam) and became the Cause, Support and Lord of the entire universe and shines radiantly as the Aadhi Purushan.

yObhirayam sarva vedAnta vedyA paramAtmA sa eva svakIyayA mAyayA deham brahmaaNDam SrshTvA tatra jeevarUpeNa praviSya viraaD brahmaaNDa abhimAnI devAtmA jeevobibhavat

Purusha sUktam elaborates on the story of creation of this universe and its jeeva rAsis. EmperumAn — Adhi JagannAthan created Catur-Mukha Brahma and the Four Vedas related to him, the Purusha sUkta yaj~nam was performed by that Brahma and from that Yajna~Purushan came the Chandran (from the mind of the Yaj~na Purushan), Sooryan (from the eyes), Vayu (from the prANan), Sky (from the navel), Svargam (from the Siras — head), Bhoomi (from the feet), Directions (from the ear) and so on. Every thing in the universe was created by the Will (Sankalpam) of the Adhi Purushan. The related Purusha sUkta vaakyams are as follows:

"……yat purusheNa havishA | devA yaj~nam atanvata |....tasmAd yaj~nAt sarvahuta: | Rca: sAmAni jajnire | chandAgumsi jaj~nire tasmAt | yajus tasmAd ajAyata.....yat purusham vyadadhu: | katidhA vyakalpayan | mukham kimasya kau bAhU | kavUrU pAdA ucyete.....candramA manaso jAta: | caksho sUryo ajAyata | mukhAdindracAgniSca | prANAd vAyurajAyata. nAbhyA Aseedantariksham | SeershNau dhyau: samavartata | padbhyAm bhoomir diSa: SrotrAt | tathA lokAgumm akalpayan ||.......vedAhametam purusham mahAntam | AdityavarNam tamasastu pAre | sarvANi roopANi vicitya dheera: | nAmAni krtvAbhivadan yadAste ||. "

The Parama Purushan Aadhi JagannAthan who is eulogised by the AzhwAr as "vEdamum vELviyum viNNum iru cuDarum Aadhiyum AanAn" created all the rUpams as stated in the Purusha sUkta vaakyam, "sarvANi roopANi vicitya dheera: | nAmAni krtvAbhivadan yadAste ||" and gave them appropriate names and maintains them as their YajamAnan and brilliantly shines as the Dheera Purusha. So AzhwAr says that as ParakAla NAyaki he prayed to that great Veda Purushan SrI Aadhi JagannAthan of ThiruppullANi and His choice place of residence, which is the very auspicious ThiruppullANi kshetram. The paasura vaakyam is "pOdalarum punnai soozh PullANi kai tozhutEn". AzhwAr proceeds further and says: "The blessings He gave me in return for my prayers are very strange and beyond comprehension. SrI Aadhi JagannAtha PerumAL promptly left me to waste away on this sea shore! So "Odamum nAnum uRangAthirunthEn" — just like the ocean created by Him never stops or sleeps, due to the ceaseless motions of its waves, EmperumAn has left me here as a companion to this ocean so that being besotted with Him I am also being tossed around like these sleepless waves in my passionate thoughts of Him. To add to this misfortune, He also lengthens the night and slows the time so that it is well nigh impossible to escape these tortuous emotions!"

The different analogies given by the AzhwAr over the course of the ten paasurams like; "Odamum naanum uRangadirunthEnE", "PullANi em PerumAn poi kETTirundEn", "arimalark kaNNeer thathumba" etc to tell us of the grief felt by him because of his unfulfilled, unrequited love for EmperumAn finds an immediate echo in the kriti in dharbhAr rAga; "rAmAbirAma ramaNeeya nAma", by Saint ThyAgarajar. The kriti vakyams are as follows:

Pallavi

rAmAbhirAma ramaNIya nAma samAja ripu bhIma sAkEta dhAma

caraNam 1

vanaja lOcana nIvu valasi alasiti nI manasuna dayalEdu mallADi phalamEmi

caraNam 2

manasuna celi nIkE marulu konnadi gAni canuvuna jeyi baTTi samrakshijn~acavu

caraNam 3

kOri kOri ninnu goluvaga nIku dAri vEREyai nadi dhAta vrAtEmO

caraNam 4

kamanIyamagu pAnpu gAvinciti nandu ramiyimpaka nannu racca jEsEvu

caraNam 5

dikku nIvani nEnu dina dinamunu namma yekku takkuvalandu enasedu guNamEmO

caraNam 6

nIkE dayabuTTi nIvu brOvavalE rAkEndu mukha tyAgarAja rakshaka SrI

Meaning:

"Oh SrI RAmachandra! The possessor of the most enchantingly beautiful name that is the thAraka manthram! You are the brilliant flame of the Kingdom of AyodhyA! You are the mahA Purushan who causes the enemies to tremble in fear! Your eyes are like red lotuses! My mind wilts at Your lack of compassion for me! What do You benefit from inflicting this pain and suffering on me?"

"My mind is like a woman fallen heedlessly in love with You and she is now suffering because You show no mercy! Your blessings to this woman who does nothing but plead with You and offer prayers to You, is quite strange! I do not know what is her fate! It does not appear as if moved by her pleas You are going to hasten to her aid! So tell me what plans do You have for this mad woman who is so enamoured of You! Here she has prepared a beautifully soft and regal bed ready for You to rest when you come and she eagerly awaits the day when she will find the safety in Your loving embrace! Instead of offering her Your helping hand, You seem to be deeply lost in thoughts taking no notice of her! Please show some dayA and protect me!"

As seen above, Sri Satguru SwamigaL has portrayed his mind as a woman madly in love with SrI RAman, which is comparative to the assumption of the ParakAla Nayaki role by Thirumangai AzhwAr. Sri Satguru Swamigal puts forth his appeal for mercy and compassion to the KalyANa JagannathAn who is the darbha Sayana RAman of ThiruppullANi.

 

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Pasuram 10

ponnalarum punnai soozh pullaaNi ammAnai
minnidaiyAr vETkai nOy koora irunthathanai,
kal navilum thiN thOL kaliyan oli vallAr,
mannavarAy maNNaaNdu vAnAdum unnuvarE. 9.4.10

Meaning

In the tenth and final paasuram Thirumangai Mannan who spent the days and nights of his life devoted to the puNya karmAs of Bhagavth smaraNam, dyAnam and keerthanam, tells us about the kinds of Sreyas that will come calling on those who read the paasurams written on ThiruppullANi nAthan.

AzhwAr says that those who read and understand the deeper meanings of the ten paasurams that poured out of him as an expression of his unbounded love and devotion to SrI Aadhi JagannAtha PerumAL, Who resides in the ThiruppullANi kshetram where the Punnai trees bearing golden hued flowers grow abundantly, and Who has been eulogized by the AzhwAr as:

• "deivac cilayAr" (Divya cApar)

• "annamAi nool payanthaan" (Hamsa rUpi)

• "moovaDi maN koNDaLantha mannan" (VAmaNa AvatAram)

• "iraNiyanathu Aagam aniyukirAl keeNDavan" (SrI Narasimhan)

• "villAl ilangai malangac caram turanda vallALan" (SrI RAman)

• "pAmbin aNaiyan" (SrI Maha VishNu)

• "vedamum vELviyum viNNum mannum iru cuDarum Aadhiyum Anavan" (Parama Purushan)

Such fortunate persons will "mannavarAy maNNANdu vAnADum unnuvarE" (i.e) they will live as kings on this earth and later they will attain Moksham and become nitya sooris at Parama Padam where EmperumAn resides permanently.

Just like Thirumangai AzhwAr, there are countless ardent devotees from time immemorial who have worshipped ThiruppullANi EmperumAn SrI Aadhi JagannAtha PerumAL, Darbha-Sayana RAman, PaTTAbhirAman, SrI PadmAsani thAyAr and SanthAna GopAlakrishNan. Given below is a ceyyuL (Verse-poem) from one such bhaktA of ThiruppullANi!

tEnE! kaniyE! teviTTAda
teL AaramudE! PullANik
kOnE! iniyAgilum aruLvai
guruvE iravi kulattOnE

Let us now see the meanings of two choice verses from a work called as "ThiruppullANi mAlai" written by another devotee who has based his writings on ThirukkuRaL written by Thiru VaLLuvar and interwoven the kuraL vaakyams in his ceyyuL. Appropriate to its name "ThiruppullANi mAlai" with its beautiful word-play and inner meanings is indeed a hAram (mAlai) worn with love by ThiruppullANi nAthan!

In the first ceyyuL (verse) in our selection, the author writes about BhagavAn's mahAtmiyam thus:

"vedankANavum eTTAn eDuttu viLakkavum eTTAn
seedangaLAr malarc celvikku vaitta tiruppullaiyAn
pAdangaL sErnduyka vancamanattAn paDiRRezhukkam
bUdangaL ayindumakattE naku menum punmaiyaRRE"

Meaning:

BhagavAn is Aagama mAtra pramANan (i.e) He can only be known through the Vedas and AagamAs. Countless Upanishads eulogize him as Satya, J~nAna Aananda SvarUpan and SaraNAgata satyan. Even the VedAs do not know Him completely "vedankANavum eTTAn" and He is beyond common human experience and explanations "eDuttu viLLakkavum eTTAn". He attains Eka Seshitvam at ThiruppullANi with SrI PadmAsani thAyAr and blesses His devotees. SrI PadmAsini thAyAr is the MandAra mAlai (MandAra garland) that decorates the head (Siras) of the VedAs as beautifully expressed by Swami Desikan "nigama vacasAm mauLi mandAra mAlA" in his SrI Stuti slokam. She resides very happily on the beautiful chest of SrI Aadhi JagannAtha PerumAL. Hence the "ThiruppullANi mAlai" says "pAdangaL sErnduyka". The ceyyuL further states through the kuRaL vAkyam (vancamanattAn ayindum akattE naku) woven inside the ceyyuL that by such a worship the impediments caused by the five senses (pancha indhriyams — aym pulangaL) will disappear and auspiciousness will abound!

In the next ceyyuL under study, the ThirukkuRaL vAkyam "poruLallavaraip poruLAkac ceyyum poruLallatillai poruL" is contained inside the body of the ceyyuL. The whole verse is as follows:

"aruLALanA manappullai vandAi poruLallavaraip
poruLAkac ceyyum poruLallatillai poruL enalAR
tiruvAr poruL celvam enganumtAnn nin tiruvaruLAl
varumAdalAlunnai mey poruLAka vazhuttuvanE"

Meaning:

The ceyyuL says that ThiruppullANi EmperumAn in the mey poruL — Supreme Truth! His blessing alone is the most important thing in this world and the rest are just fleeting, transitory pleasures that mean nothing. So the author of "ThiruppullANi mAlai" says that having understood this, he worships the ThiruppullANi nAthan with sincere devotion! Quoting the KuRaL vaakyams, the author says, "The Only One capable of making those that have nothing to become those that have everything is BhagavAn alone" ("poruLallavaraip poruLAkac ceyyum poruLallatillai poruL — epaRqlflvArpf epaRqakcf ecyfy<mf epaRqlfltilf^l epaRqf"). So the author concludes that except for BhagavAn and His anugraham, everything else in this world is not worth the pursuit or attainment.