Text with a Free Translation and Commentary)

 

 

 

Shri Bhutat Azhwar’s

Irandam Thiruvandhadhi

 

(Text with a Free Translation and Commentary)

 

by

N. Rajagopalan I. R. A. S. (Rtd.)

 

 

Published by

Shri. N. Rajagopalan

‘Shri Nidhi’, T-37A, 16th Cross Street,

Besantnagar, Chennai-600 090.

 

Processed and printed by Universal Print Systems Ltd. , Chennai-600 008.

ISBN 81-901287-3-4

Price : Rs. 80/-

Special Edition 2002.

1000 Copies.

All Rights Reserved With The Author.

 

DEDICATION

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO THE CHERISHED MEMORY

OF MY ELDEST BROTHER SRI. N. GOPALAKRISHNAN,

RETIRED CHIEF FINANCIAL CONTROLLER,

NEYYELI LIGNITE CORPORARION,

NEYYELI, TAMIL NADU.

 

FOREWORD

 

The four thousand hymns in Tamil (……. .) sung by the Azhwars (saints immersed in the Divine) from the South of India have been a treasure house of gems, which shed light on the philosophic tenets of the Vedas and the Upanishads elusive even to the most learned. Swami Deshikan, the great acharya and a renowned scholar of the 13a century A. D, had the following verse in Shri Guruparamparaa Saaram about the garlands of hymns woven by the Azhwars: …

They in fact inspired Shri Ramanuja to propound the Vishishta Advaita philosophy in later years. The adventof the Azhwars has been referred to in the Shrimad Bhagavata Puraanam (Sk. XI. 5. 39-40). The Azhwars all hailed from the region in Tamil Nadu adjoining the rivers Cauveri, Paalar and Tamrabarani. They were all from different walks of life; different social strata, but not all contemporaries. Yet they were amazingly unified in their vibrant divine experiences and their philosophic views. The causal principle underlying all existence for them was not an impersonal reality but the most Auspicious Person, Shriman Narayana with all the glorious attributes, the most important attribute being His compassion, represented by “Shri”, the divine mother Mahalakshmi, ever resident in His heart. They directly experienced the Divine in the totality of the creation and their love of the Divine flowed in the form of beautiful poetry, enriching the path of devotion or Bhakti. Their works convey the “Sareera-Sareeree-Bhava” implying that the physical world is the body of the Lord and the Lord represents the life and soul of the physical world. The unconditional compassion (“nirhetuka kripa”) the Lord has for His creation, is the means to overcome all bondage resulting from one’s actions. For them, the Lord was not only the way or the means but also the goal.

The first three of these great sages, namely Shri Poikai Muni, Shri Bhutat Azhwar and Shri Pey Azhwar, were called the Mudhal Azhwars for they were the pioneers. They were contemporaries. Shri Thirumazhisai Piran, the fourth in the list, also must have lived around the same time as the Mudhal Azhwars, since there is good internal evidence from the works of the Azhwars for this. The Mudhal Azhwars were from the vicinity of the modern city Chennai. The author has referred to the story of the origin of the Naalayira Divya Prabhandam in the coming together of the Mudhal Azhwars in Thirukkovaloor, one dark stormy night in a small corridor at the threshold of a house, and how the presiding deity from Thirukkovaloor temple, Lord Trivikrama, along with Shri Mahalakshmi, eager to mingle with His devotees, appeared amongst them although not revealing His presence. However, the Azhwars felt this indirectly as a sense of pressure in that small space. This led to the spontaneous outpouring of the three sweet and fragrant garlands of verses, each containing one hundred pashurams in the “andadhi” style, each following the other, beginning with Shri Poikai Muni, hisjx›eticarc1ightbeamingon the invisible Lord, in a resplendant cosmic vision then and there. This story is referred to in Shri Poikai Azhwar Mudal Thiruvandadhi (86)

Irandaam Thiruvandadhi is the work of Shri Bhutat Azhwar. It is a masterpiece of Tamil poetry; a beautiful garland of one hundred verses. While Shri Poikai Azhwar glorified the cosmic aspects of the Lord by … starting with “……”, Shri Bhutat Azhwar starts with “………”, lighting a lamp with devotion as the base, love as the oil, the sweet mind as the wick and the knowing Self as the shining flame offering all of them to the Lord. Shri Bhutat Azhwar had the special grace of the Lord from the early days of his life for he refers to the divine vision even as he was “in-utero”,

“Fire of knowledge burns all actions into ashes” says Shri Krishna in the Geetha (4-37).

While knowledge is essential for liberation, true spiritual knowledge leads naturally to superior devotion (“Bhakti”) which is intense love of the Divine. Perfect … often at the end becomes a superior …. For instance, Shri Aadi Shankara, a great also has done several works of pure devotion such as “Bhaja Govindam”, “Shri Ranganathashtakam” and others. This was true of all the Azhwars for their bhakti was based on true and clear spiritual knowledge. Shri Bhutat Azhwar exemplifies this quite clearly. Perhaps for this reason, Shri Bhuta Piran, although second in the list of the twelve Azhwars, is actually mentioned first in a single benedictory verse commonly recited: ….

The Azhwar points to the grace of the Lord as the underlying cause of the entire spiritual process. ….

While emphasizing the easy accessibility of the Lord, he points out that no one can fully comprehend this aspect of the Lord. (5)

The Azhwar’s devotion to the Lord is a complete offering of “Self” with total involvement, (65) and in his own word the love he has for the Lord is too overflowing for him to bear, (100)

The Azhwar practices and recommends immensely Naamasankeerthana namely reciting the glorious names of the Lord including the “Sahasranama”,

In several verses (2, 6, l4, 20, 38, 39, 44, 5l, 57, 64, 6d, 72, 73, 77, 92), he makes reference to the Lord’s name. Similar to Shri Thirumazhisai Piran, he also concludes that the Lord’s name is the ultimate meaning of all the Vedas and the Upanishads. (39)

Shri Bheeshma recommends recitation of the Sahasranaama of the Lord as the best Dharma to Yudhistira. Shri Bhudat Azhwar considers this as a penance. (77)

Shri “Poodattazhwar”, or Bhuta Yogi as he was known, was born in Mallai near modern Mahabalipuram. It was a great harbour city at the time of the great Pallava kings. They had left a rich legacy behind them in the form of the most beautiful sculptures, the relics of which stand even today on the seashores in Mahabalipuram. Many of the kings in their dynasty were great bhaktas themselves, and it would seem entirely possible that the exemplary Azhwar’s bhakti might have been the stimulus for this.

In order to fully appreciate Azhwars’ works, one will have to read them with the aid of one of the authoritative commentary of the great Acharyas. However, these original commentaries are in the old “manipravaala” style with Tamil admired with Sanskrit. In addition, the words used will often be unfamiliar even to the ardent modem day students. Shri Bhutat Azhwar’s Irandaam Thiruvandadhi is actually set in beautiful and rich literary Tamil (……). Thus it will be quite hard for most of us who are not proficient in literary Tamil. Therefore, there is a need for free translations which are based on the authoritative interpretations of the commentators like Shri Periya Vaachaan Pillar. The current free translation of the Irandaam Thiruvandadhi by Shri Rajagopalan is therefore a very welcome addition which will be greatly appreciated by everyone interested in the Azhwars’ works. The translation is clear and succinct with a fine style of presentation. This follows splendidly his previous elegant book in which he had rendered a similar translation of Mudhal Thiruvandadhi.

May the grace of the Azhwars and the Lord Shri Ranganatha …. as lovingly referred to by Shri Bhuta Piran) always shine on my brother Shri Rajagopalan and encourage him to continue in similar endeavours.

 

N. Ranganathan.

32, Cobblestone Dr

Willowdale, Ontario

Canada. M2J2X7.

May 21, 2001.