26. Alvar Saints and Their Celestial Songs
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ĀĻVĀR SAINTS AND THEIR CELESTIAL SONGS. N. Rajagopalan I.R.A.S. (Rtd.) Ex-Financial Advisor, (I.R.). Published by N. Rajagopalan Apt.2-A, ‘SRINIDHI’, T.37 A & B, 16 th Cross Street, Besantnagar, Chennai – 600090. i Front Cover Image: Sri Ranganātha and Sri Ranga Nāchiār at Srirangam Temple. Back Cover Image: Sri NammāĮvār at ĀĮvār Tirunagari. Front Inside Cover Image: All twelve ĀĮvārs and Kumudha-Valli Nāchiār. Back Inside Cover Image: ‘ĀĮvārs’ Sannidhi at Richmond Hindu Temple, Toronto, Canada. ISBN 81-9012873-6. First Edition – 2016. Printed & Processed by: Vibhgyar Graphix Price: Rs 250 For Sales enquiries: Tele. 91 44 24915326. Email: [email protected]. ii Dedicated to the memory of my parents Sri T.R. Narasimhachariar And Smt. N. Jayalakshmi iii Abbreviations used in the Book Tiruvāimoļi T.V.M. Jitante Stotram J.S. MudhalTiruvandādhi M.T. Stotra Ratnam S.R. IrandāmTiruvandādhi I.T. NārāyanaUpanişad N.Up. MunrāmTiruvandādhi Mu.T. MahānārāyanaUpanişad Ma.Na.Up. Tiruneduntāndakam T.N.T. PuruşaSūktham P.S. PeriaTirumoļi P.T.M. VishnuSūktham V.S. Nānmukan Tiruvandādhi N.M.T./N.T. BrihadāranyaUpanişad Br.Up. Tirucchandaviruttam T.V.C. ĀchāryaHrudayam A.H. Tiruviruttam T.V. SriVachanaBhushanam S.V.B. PeriaTiruvandādhi P.T. SriVaradarājastavam S.V,Sta. PerumālTirumoļi PML.T.M. Harivamsam Ha.Vam. PeriāļvārTirumoļi P.A.T.M. SriRangarājastavan Pur.Sat. S.R.S.P.S./Pu.S. UpadesaRattinamālai U.R.M. SrimadVālmiki RāmānusaNūtrandādhi R.N. Rāmāyanam S.V.R/S.R. NācchiārTirumoļi N.T.M. Mahābhāratham Mah.Ba. Tirumālai T.M. Mukundamālai M.M. Tiruppalliyezhuchi T.P. UpadesaRattinamālai U.R.M. SiriaTirumadal S.T.M. VishnuPurānam V.P. YajurVeda Ya.Ved. Godāstuti G.S. TaiitriyaUpanişad Tait.Up./ MundakaUpanişad M.U. T.Up. Vishnudharmam V.D. ChāndogyaUpanişad Ch.Up. SriRangarājastavam Brahmavalli Br.Va. UttaraSatakam S.R.S.U.S. AdhikāraSangraham A.S. SrimadBhāgavatham S.Bha. DēhaleesaStuti D.S. Dramidopanişad Bhagavad Gita B.G. TātparyaRatnāvali Dr.Ta.Ra. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1. ĀļvārsandtheoriginofDivyaPrabhandam 1-22 2. MudhalĀļvārs–Poygai,Putatt,andPey 23-40 3. TirumaļisaiĀļvār 41-64 4. Nammāļvār 65-106 5. MadhurakaviĀļvār 107-122 6. KulasekharaĀļvār 123-144 7. Periāļvār 145-168 8. Āndāl 169-224 9. TondaradippodiĀļvār 225-258 10. TiruppānĀļvār 259-278 11. TirumangaiĀļvār 279-350 ContributionofĀļvārstoSrivaishnava 12. 351-359 SampradāyaandViśiştādvaitaSiddhānta v Foreword TheSrivaishnavatraditionholdsontotheSanskritVedasand theNalayiraDivyaPrabandhamknownasDravidaVedam as the two authorities (Pramanam) for establishing the Siddhanta.AlltheAcharyasinthelineagewererigorously trainedandproficientinboththescripturesknownasthe UbhayaVedanta.ThetwoVedasareliketwoeyesthatenable us to get a whole, panoramic view of the Tatva, Hita and Purusharta.Themajordifferencesbetweenthetwobegin with their origin. The Vedas are ‘Apourusham’, meaning not created by anyone but the Nalayira Divya Prabandham hasthegloryofassociationwiththesacredtongueofthe Azhwar saints. The Vedas are vast and contain two parts namely the Karma Kandam and the Gnana Kandam. The former contain various prescriptions for day to day living, ritualsandceremonieswhilethelatterpart,theUpanishads areexclusiveVedanta.TheversesoftheAzhwarsaintsare pure,distilledexperienceoftheAlmightyflowingfromthe Yogic vision of the Seers. The Tamizh verses are melodious, magical and enable us to peep into the rapturous flood of emotion in the hearts of these mystics. The Azhwars themselves spoke of their verses in words filled with awestruck joy and declared that the Almighty too was enamoured with their songs. Thondaradipodi Azhwar’s last verse of Thirumalai where he pronounced that his work was sweet to the Lord “Empirrakku iniyavare” is just one example. When the MudalAzhwarsspoke,theLordstoodamidstthemeagerto soak in the adoration; he followed Thirumazhisai Azhwar captivatedbyhisverses;hebeggedNammazhwartoconfer hisversesofadulationonhisArchaforms.UnliketheVedas whichissuecommandsandspeakcrypticallytheAzhwars appealtouswithanunderstandingofhuman natureand the inexorable compulsions of life. vi TheVedascanbetaughtonlytoaselectfew,theBrahmins, that too only the males among them. The hymns of the Azhwar’s are open to all who have the desire to learn. The Azhwar saints condensed the substance of the vast, inscrutable, tough Srutis into nectar like classic Tamizh verseswhichpackthewisdomofallscripturesintothem. TheDravidaVedaisIntamizh,SentamizhandGnanatamizh. Swami Desikan has summarized the importance of the Nalayira Divya Prabandham in his Tamizh composition PrabhandaSaaramVerse18thus. Andamila aarana naalagi ninra adan karuttai azhwargal aayndeduttu Seyya tamizhal arul seyda vagay togayyum sindamal ulagankalvaazhavenru Sandamigu tamizhmarayon toopul tonrum vedantaguru mozhinda prabhanda saaram Sindayinal anudinamum sindiporkku semamadam thirumaltankarunayale. Interestingly Swami Desikan’s Tamizh works collectively knownasDesikaPrabandhamconsistsof24compositions equalingthetotalnumberofworksintheNalayiram.The Vedantacharya whose scholarship in the Ubhaya Vedanta was legendary, reveals his partiality towards the Tamizh Vedasbydeclaringhimselfa“Sandamigu tamizhmarayon”. IntheVedicwayoflifeitiscustomarytointroduceoneself stating the Gothram, Veda branch to which the family belongs as in ‘Bharadhwaja Gothram yajus saka adhyayi’. SwamiDesikan,proudlyproclaimshimself,asbelongingto theclanofchantersoftheTamizhVedas.Thisdeclaration sums his devotion to the Nalayira Divya Prabandham. His Prabhanda Saram is a rich tribute to the divine hymns of thesaintswhereintheVedantacharyawithusualbrilliance captures the uniqueness of each of the Prabhandhams, the livesofthesaintswhosangthem,thenumberofversesin vii eachwork.Allthisisachievedwithintheeighteenverses whichcanbeeasilystoredinmemory. TheAcharyawasaprolificwriterandhasleftbehindawide rangeofworksinSanskrit,Tamizh,PrakritandManipravala. He is perhaps the first in the Guru Paramparai to have written in the Dravida language. (Though there are a few verses like Tanians to Prabhandas attributed to Acharyas before him including Ramanuja). The parallel quality of the compositions in both Sanskrit and Tamizh is striking and isthedelightofscholars.ThebeautyofhisSanskritcanbe compared to the Stotras of Koorathazhwan and Parasara Bhattar while the sweetness of his rich Tamizh verses makesuswonderifthepoetryisthatoftheMudalAzhwars or Thirumazhisai piran. The Vedantacharya’s scholarship in each of the languages seems to add to the felicity of expression in the other. Every one of his compositions, as short as a Nyasa Dasakam or long as Paduka Sahasram flowfromcontemplationofthedivine,aresurchargedwith emotionandtaketheformofUpadesaforourwelfare.Inhis Prabhanda Saram, the Acharya issues a command repeating ittwice,withtheintentionofdrillingthemessageintous. The crux of the edict issued by him is “Studying the Nalayira Divya Prabandham should be a lifetime preoccupation”. “Eththisayum vazha ivar padi vaitta nalayiramum engal vaazhve!” “Tuyya tamizh irubattu nangin pattin togai nalayiramum adiyongal vaazhve!” All the Acharyas in the illustrious Guru parampara have, like Swami Desikan, reveled in the boundless, mystical depths of the Arulicheyal. Acharya Nathamuni the foremost intheAcharyaParamparaiafterSwamiNammazhwar,was fascinated by the melody of the verses and is credited to have brought back the hymns which were lost over time by Yogic contemplation. The classification of the twenty fourprabhandasintofourpartsastheyareusedtodaywas viii donebyNathamuni.WhatSageVyasadidtopreservethe VedaswasdonebythisAcharyatotheTamizhVedas.The ceremonial recital of Thiruvaimozhi started by Thirumangai AzhwaratSriRangamwasrevivedandexpandedtoinclude theworksofallAzhwarsbyNathamuni.TheNalayiramwas alsotunedtobesungintheLord’spresencewithtalamas these verses are not only chaste, classic Tamizh but are Isai Tamizh too! It was the melody of the decad ‘Aaravamude’ which ends with the line ‘Kuzhalin maliyach chonna orraayirattul ippattum’ that charmed Nathamuni. Anecdotes in the commentaries speak of the ecstatic anubhavam of Sri Alavandar, Thirumalai Nambi, Embar, Anantazhwan, Koorathazhwan, Bhattar, Nanjeeyar while dwelling on the versesoftheAzhwarsaints. Bhagavad Ramanuja is revered as the Thirupavai Jeer as he chantedThiruppavaiwithoutfailduringBhiksha.Ramanuja revived the ceremonial chanting of Nalayiram in temple worshipandtheartoftheAraiyars.Hewashailedasthe fostermothertoNammazhwar’sThiruvaimozhibyParasara Bhattar. “Eendra mudal tai sadagopan moympal valartta idaththai iramanusan”. The Acharya breathed life into the Tamizh Vedas by initiating the Vyakhyana tradition withPillan’sAarayirappadicommentarytoThiruvaimozhi. Ramanuja’s ability to reconcile the Bheda, Abheda and Ghataka shrutis can be directly traced to the profound understanding of Thiruvaimozhi says Azhagiya Manavala Perumal Nayanar in his Acharya Hrudayam “Bhashyakarar idu kondu sutra vakyangal orungaviduvar”. ThiruvarangathAmudanar’sRamanujaNootrandadispeaks of Ramanuja’s admiration and understanding of the verses of the Azhwars’ particularly Thiruvaimozhi in glowing words. “Pantarum maran pasuntamizh aanandam pai madamai vindida engal iramanusa muni vezham”, “Thiruvaimozhiyin innisai mannum idantarum …. Pukku nirkum ramanusan” are a few verses which capture this adoration. ix ThuswelearnfromthelivesandworksofourAcharyasthat a thorough study and uninterrupted contemplation of the Divya Prabandham is the surest means of understanding the Sidhanta. It is an enriching mystical experience and a medicineforallthatailsusinworldlylife.Theseworksare