||    Thirumangai AzhwAr's Dhivya Prabhandam    ||

Today is Marghazi Kettai (JyeshtA) Nakshathram. Today is the birthday of the Ranganatha PathivrathA, Thondaradipodi. Hence, I will focus only on the two Divya Prabhandhams of this AzhwAr to seek his blessings on his day of birth.

He was a contemproary of Thirumangai AzhwAr. When latter was building the walls for the Srirangam temple, he found the building, where Thondaradipodi assembled the flowers to construct the daily Tulasi and flower garlands for Sri Ranganathan. Thirumangai redesigned his mathiL (Rampart) construction plans and skirted the space used by Thondardipodi, so that there will be no disturbance to Thondardipodi's Kaimkaryam. The grateful Thondaradipadi AzhwAr named the goad he used to pick the flowers from trees as " aruL mAri " , which is one of the names of Thirumangai. Such was the mutual respect among the two AzhwArs.

Thondardipodi AzhwAr had prArabdha Karmam, which made him deviate for a few months from the Thiru Maalai Kainkaryam for the Lord of Srirangam. The divine intervention of Sri Ranganaayaki and Sri RanganaathA brought him back on track and established his greatness as one, who was totally devoted to Sri Ranganathan only. As a result, he did not perform MangalAsAsanam on any ArchA mUrthy of Divya Desams other than Sri Ranganathan. He saluted Sri Ranganathan for his divine intervention this way :

: mAtharAr kayirkaNenum valayutp pattazhinthuvEnaip pOtharE
yenru sollip punthiyirp puhunthu tanp paal Atharam peruha
vyttha " azhagan . --- passage from ThirumAlai Prabhandham

He composed two prabhandhams revered as ThirumAlai and ThiruppaLLiyezhucchi. ThirumAlai has 45 pasurams and the ThiruppaLLIyezucchi has 10 paasurams that awaken the Lord in a spirit of SuprabhAtham. Just as Sage VisvAmthrA awakened Sri RamachandrA in Brahma MuhUrtham with the slOkam,

"KausalyA SuprajA RaamA pUrvA sandhyA pravarthatE I
utthtishta nara sArdhUla karthavyam daivamAhnikam II "

Thondaradipodi woke up Sri RanganAthan with fragrant Tulasi mAlai in his hands at the ancient temple of Srirangam. Sri VaishNavAs use these 10 paasurams of ThirupaLLIyezucchi to awaken the Lord at home and the temples every day.

One of our AchAryAs with the apt name of ThirumAlai AndAn has saluted Thiondardipodi, who gave us ThirumAlai prabhandham with the following Taniyan that eulogizes the AzhwAr for blessing us with the divya Prabhandham of ThirupaLLIyezhucchi :

tamEva mathvA ParavAsudEvam
RangEsayam RaajavadharhaNeeyam I
prAbhothakeem yOkrutha sUkthimAlAm
BhakthAngrirENum bahgavanthameedE II

(Meaning): I salute that Thondardipodi AzhwAr (BhakthAngrirENu) filled with superior Jn~Anam who composed the paasurams that awaken the king of kings reclining on AdhisEshan at Srirangam with the power of knowledge that He is none other than the Para VaasudEvan of Sri Vaikuntam.

This AzhwAr born at Mandangudi at ChoLa dEsam is revered as "VaNdu thiNartthum Vayal Tennarangatthu ammAnai paLLi uNartthum PirAn". Thiruvaranga PerumAL arayar saluted the AzhwAr with the above words. Arayar described the AzhwAr, who did parmOpakAram through his suprabhAtham paasurams as the one, who appealed to the Lord of Srirangam reclining on His serpent bed in the middle of fertile, green paddy fields at His divya dEsam (BhUlOka VaikuNtam) to wake up and bless the bhakthAs awaiting at dawn for His darsana soubhAgyam.

Sri SrikAnth has recently translated the meanings of the ten paasurams of ThirupaLLIyezucchi for the proceedings of the Denver sathsangham. Hence, I will focus on the inspiration that Thondardipodi AzhwAr provided to his successors to compose their own ThirupaLLiyezucchi Paasurams/Krithis/SlOkams.

I will illustrate the unmistakable imprint of AzhwAr's paasurams on three suprabhAthams, (VIz)., ThiruvenkatamudayAn , Sri Oppiliappan and Sri RamachandrA . ANDAL, who preceded Thondaradipodi has many evocative images of the morning scene at SrivillipPutthUr as she woke up Her Lord in ThiruppAvai. The passages in ThiruppAvai paasurams (6 thru 8 and 14) have beautiful descriptions of the morning scene that might have inspired Thondardipodi's ThiruppaLLiyezucchi paasurams.

I will start with Saint ThyagarajA's awakening of Sri RamA on the banks of Cauveri at ThiruvayAru with deep feelings of love and affection. The bhaavam blended with the words of the Krithis of SuperabhAtham set in rAgAs BhowLi and SaurAshtram are testaments to the Hrudhaya BhAshA of the Saint that he used to address his Ishta Daivatham.

In the morning rAgam BhouLi, he prays to the Lord to wake up: "mElukOvayya mamElukO Raama mElaina SeethAsamEtha naabhAgyamA"

Saint ThyagarajA describes the scene in front of his pUjAgraham this way in the BouLi krithi:

" Oh SeethA RaamA ! Pray , wake up to protect the universe ! Sages like NaaradA are singing about Your kalyANa guNAs. It is already day-break.
Rise to partake of butter and milk. Celestial women are humbly praying for the opportunity to serve You. The jewele-set lights lit by the deities of eight siddhis, ANimA et al., have become dimmed. DevAs and kings are waiting to worship You ".

In his SourAshtra krithi, Saint ThyagarajA appeals to the Lord, who is the ocean of mercy to wake up. He points out that it is the time for Sun rise. He lets the Lord know that he is waiting with a golden cup filled with butter and milk. He begs the Lord to awaken and accept the naivEdhyam. He lets the Lord know that sages like NaradA, DevAs, BrahmA and Lord SivA are waiting to receive His blessings and to serve Him. He cajoles the Lord to wake up by pointing out that KubErA and the guardians of all directions have assembled in front of the pujA graham to learn statecraft from Him.

The assembly of throngs of BhakthAs, DevAs and demi-gods for the SuprabhAtha darsanam of the Lord is a theme common to ThiruppAvai and ThirupaLLiyezucchi:

thORRamAi ninRa sudarE ! thuyilezhAi !
mARRArunakku valitholaindhu unn vAsark kaNN
aaRRAthu vanthunnadi paNiyumApOlE ----
Thiruppaavai paasuram 21

angaNmaa gyAlattharasar , abhimAna
bhangamAi vanthu ninn paLLikkattir keezhE
sankammiruppaar pOl ----
Thiruppavai paasuram 22

VaanavarasarkaL vanthu vantheendi
yethir disai nirainthanarivarodum puhantha
irunkaLiRReetamum pidiyodu murasum
athirthalil ----
ThirupaLLIyezucchi: Paasuram 1

alangalan thodayal kondadiyiNai paNivAn
amargaL puhundanar ---
ThirupaLLIyezucchi: Pasuram 5

In the sixth paasuram, Thondaradipodi decribes the 12 AdhityAs with their bejewelled chariots, the 11 RudrAs, Lord SubramanyA, the 49 Maruth gaNAs, the 8 Vasus, the 33 crores of dEvAs assembled in front of Sri RanganathA's front gates and jostling for positions to get a closer darsanam of the Lord after He awakens from His yOga NidhrA.

The seventh, eigth and the ninth verses describe the arrival of Indra, Sundarar, VdhyAdharar, Sanga Nidhi, Padma Nidhi, KaamadhEnu, Holy sages, KinnarAs, GandharvAs, GarudAs, KimpurushAs, SiddhAs, YakshAs and Thondardipodi with garlands in hand and waiting for the Lord of Srirangam to wake up from His NidhrA.

We hear the echos of these passages in the suprabhAtham of Saint ThyagarAjA, PrathivAdhi Bhayankaram's SuprabhAtham on Lord SrinivAsan of Thirumalai and the Suprabhaatham slOkams of ThiruviNNagarappan (Sri Oppiliappan).

Examples of such anubhavam in Sanskrit are:

SlOkams 7 , 8, 9, 14 , 15 &16 0f Oppiliappan"s SuprabhAtham

SlOkams 4, 5, 6 ,9, 17, 18, 19, 25 & 27 of Sri VenkatEsa SuprabhAtham

The presence of AchAryAs in the SuprabhAtha ghOshti of Sri Oppiliappan is described in the slOkams 15-17.

The fifteenth slOkam in this series describes AcharyA Naathamuni, YaamunA and RaamunjA waiting for the Lord's darsanam with folded hands after their sacred bath in the AhOrAthra PushkaraNi of Oppiliappan Koil:

SrinAtha Yaamuna YatheendhramukhA mahAntha:
ahOrAthra pushkaraNikAvihithAvagAhA : I
dhAmanhtikEanjalibhrutha: prathipAlayanthi
tvAm vyOmapatthanapathE ! tava SuprabhAtham

The next slOkam makes particular reference to Swami Sri Desikan joining with his purvAchAryAs to offer his salutations to the Lord of ThiruviNNagar.

The happenings at the dawn hour at Swami PushkaraNi at Thirumalai is described in the Sri VenkatEsa SuprabhAtham:

SriswAmi PushkaraNikA -plava nirmalAngA:
srEyOrthinO hara-Virinchi -sanandhanAdhya: I
dwArE vasanthi varvEthra hatOtthamAngA :
Sri VenkatAchalapathE ! Tava SuprabhAtham II
SlOkam 14

(meaning) : BrahmA , MahEsvaran , the sage SanakA , SannadhanA and others aspiring for their kshEmams have now bathed in Your PushkaraNi and are thus sanctified. They are now waiting at the entrance after being counted by the cane strokes of VishvaksEnA. O Lord of VenkatAchalA! Please wake up ! May this be an auspicious dawn to Theee!

SEvAparA: SivasurEsakrusAnudharma-
rakshOmBunAtha pavamAna dhanAdhinaatha: I
BhaddhAnjali pravilasannijaseersha dEsA :
Sri VenkatAchalapathE ! Tava SuprabhAtham II

(meaning) : Lord SivA , IndrA , Agni , YamA , Nairuthi , VaruNA , Vaayu and KubErA stand with folded palms over their heads and are desirous of performng kiankaryam to You . Lord VenkatEsa! Please wake up ! may this be an auspicious dawn to Thee !

Thus Dhanur Maasam famous for Thiruppaavai and the birth of Thondaradipodi AzhwAr 's ThiruppaLLIyezucchi paasurams inspired many grantha karthAs of SuprabhAthams for the ArchA murthys of Divya Desams of the Lord.

Thondaradipodi AzhwAr was not a prolific composer of Paasurams like Thirumangai and NammAzhwAr. He left us with only 45 verses in the divya Prabhandham revered as ThirumAlai.

Inspite of the small number of Paasurams, the AzhwAr packed them with rasAnubhavam of a BhakthA climbing the ladder of SadhanA and sOdhanA.

For instance , we come across his VairAghyam , Nitya-Anithya vivEkam , bhagavatha prasamsA (praising of Bhagavathas and their dharmam) , Kama garhaNA (condemnation of sensual pleasures) , artha garhaNaa (Condemnation of material pursuits) , bhakthi mahima prasamsA (Praising of the supremacy of Bhakthi) , Naama MahAthmya (exaltation of the Lord's names) , asadh bhakthi garhaNA (Condemnation of pOli BhagavathAs and rituals , bare learning without devotion to the Lord) , ananya Bhakthi (exclusive devotion to Sri RanganathA), rupa -svarUpa , GuNa prasamsA of the Lord of Srirangam and other moods of a devout bhakthA of the Lord such as NirvEdam (sorrow over lost time chasing worldly pursuits at the expense of devoting time to the worship of the Lord) , NaicchAnusandhAnam (self-depreceation) , vitarkA (cogitation over what is going to happen if the Lord does not come to his rescue), DhainyOkthi (plaintive pleading for Lord's grace) and mahA viswasam.

In the very first Paasuram , the AzhwAr is in an ebullient mood of fearlessness arising from his success in his SadhAnA of reciting the names of the Lord and restraining his sensory organs from distractions. He confidently declares that he has placed his feet over the head of Yama (the Lord of Death) and his servants and is roaming fearlessly around fortified by the power of the Lord's nAmAs.

The power of the NaamA of the Lord and utter trust in the naamAs of the Lord reminds one of the experience and declaration of Saint ThyagarAjA in the charaNam of his KedAra rAga krithi, " Raama ! neepai thanaku prEma bhOdhu " :

jananee janakApthulanyulu dhanakanaka Guru vElpulu
dinamu neevE yanumAtalu anaga nivi naa bhUshaNamulu

(Meaning) : The words (naama Japam) that I utter daily that You alone are my father , mother , friend , wealth , gold , Guru and dEvAs constitute my ornaments (and armour).

In his second paasuram ( pacchai maamalai pOl mEni ) , AzhwAr declares that the anubhavam of Sri RanganAthA' s soundharyam leaves him fully satisfied and makes him totally disinterested in other blessings (boons) such as becoming the king of dEvAs and ruling Indra lOkam.

One hears the echos of this vivEkam in one of the CharaNams of Saint ThyagarAjA's SavEri Krithi ( 12th AND 13 th CharaNam of krithi , Sri Raama RaamAsrithalamu gAmA nEramA bhrOva BhaaramA ? ) The particular charaNam is as follows :

nEmamuga tOli nOmuna dorakina Raamuni JithakAmuni
seeluni sadhguNasAlini juchDE chAlunu ANYAMELANU ?

( Meaning ) : It is enough if I have darsanam of Sri RamA , whom I have obtained as a result of my worship in previous birth . He is the conqueror of desires , the model of rectitude and the embodiment of all virtues . WHY NEED ANYTHING ELSE ?

One can find many similar pasaages in Saint ThyagarAjA's krithis that are echos of Thondaradipodi's paasura vAkhyams. It is a wonderful treat to compare the experiences of these two parama ViashNavAs across centuries.

I will post some reflections on Thondaradipodi AzhwAr's Thirumaalai in this posting On his birthday. This divya prabhandham is considered the essence of VishNu Dharmam, a work in Sanskrit.

ThondaradipodiAzhwAr is recognized as the amsam of the VanamAlai (Vaijayanthi) that the Lord wears. This Maalai of the Lord is considered as a potent VaishNavi - asthram that destroys the mahA paapams and sets one on the course to Sri Vaikuntam. Therefore, it is the most sacred maalai ( ThirumAlai ) and assures us freedom from fear of death and helps us attain immortality and enjoy the bliss of paramAnandham at Sri Vaikuntam through Nithya Kainkaryam to Sriman NaarAyaNA. With all these symbolism in mind , Thondaradipodi , who was engaged in Maalai Kainkaryam for the Lord of Srirangam named his prabhandham as ThirumAlai.

For Sri VaishNavAs, an understanding and practise of the following great doctrines are considered essential to gain the boon of Moksham: The prabhAvam of the Lord's NaamAs , the glory of those who are engaged in Naama-Sankeerthanam , the supermacy of Bhagavathas and the redeeming sanctity of the dust ( rENus ) of the feet of those BahgavathAs. ThirumAlai focusses on these most important doctrines for our benefit.

Regarding the Naama MahimA and particularly its importance in Kali Yigam is indicated by the following slOkam:

" HarEr nAmaiva nAmaiva nAmaiva mama bhEshajam I
kalou nAsthyEva nAsthyEva gathiranyathA II "

This statement with its triple emphasis on the greatness of the nAmAs of Hari , as the sure medicine for the disease of SamsAram , is very emphatic .

The sacredness of the dust of the BhagavathA's feet led Thondaradipodi to choose that name. The uniqueness of the angri rENU of the BhagavathAs has been emphasized in mahA BharathA , PurANAs , and SamhithAs repeatedly.

The act of driving away one's paapAs by wearing the Sripaadha Theetham containing the dust of the BhagavathA''s feet is known as Bhagavadh-Bhaktha paadOdaka nisEvanam. This act is described by the SaasthrAs to be the equivalent of MahA PrAyascchittham and is prescribed as being far more powerful than bath in the waters of holy Ganga originating from the Lord's sacred feet.

The relationship of Thondardipodi with the Lord of Srirangam was a special one. He was a devout BrahmachAri deeply involved in the Garland Kainkaryam for the Lord of Srirangam like PeriyAzhwAr before him. He " fell from virtue and was redeemed " by the most merciful Lord of Srirangam . He was forever grateful for that intervention by the Lord. He refers these autobiographical incidents and his near spirtual death as a result of his disastrous encounter with DevadEvi in paasuram 16 of ThirumAlai :

SoothanAi kaLvanAhi dhUrtharOdu isaintha kaalam
matharAr kayark kaNN yennum valayuL pattu azhundhuvEnai
pOtharEyenru sollip punthiyil puhumdhu
tann paal Atharam peruha vaittha AzhahanUr arangamanrE ?

(Meaning) : At the time , When I spent my hours as a gambler and as a thief and was trapped in the net of a woman's fish-like eyes , I was hopelessly lost . At that time of spiritual disaster , was it not the beautiful Lord of Srirangam , who called me to His side and entered into my mind and made my love for Him grow many fold and thus rescued me ?

In the 25th verse of ThirumAlai ( KuLitthu mUnRanalaiyOmpum ---) , he makes another indirect reference to what happened to him and appeals movingly for the SaraNyan's dayA. The meaning of this verse is as follows:

O Lord of Srirangam ! I have lost my qualifications to be a Brahmin (VarNAsrama Dharmam) that required me to take thrikAla SnAnams and offer worship to the three Agnis in a faultless manner (without manthra lObham). I do not possess the aathma J~nAnam. With respect to Thee, I have become devoid of love for You. Which way can I (without compassion and virtue ) regain my lost status ? O Lord of anantha KalyANa GuNAs ! O Lord of Srirangam with the hue of the ocean ! I am imploring You with my loud appeals to make me the object of Your DayA and thus save me from this pitiable state.

In the thirty third verse, once again the AzhwAr recalls with a shudder the disaster that happened to him and his prayer that was answered by the Lord of Srirangam (MeyyallAm pohavittu virikuzhalAril pattu---). Here , the AzhwAr movingly describes himself as a false one three times in the last line of the paasuram :

" PoyyanEn vanthu ninrEn poyannEn poyannEnE "

The triple mention of his falsity (duplicity) refers to the mental, vocal and physical falsity. He describes himself as a " pOzhkkan " (one who has transgressed and lost his way). Kaayika, Vaachika and Manaseeka
aparadhams are covered here . The meaning of the entire slOkam is as follows:

O Supreme Lord of Srirangam! I am a pathetic one. I have let go of all that is true and worthy of preservation and got myself caught in the snares of women (DevadEvi). Fie me! Out of desire to receive Thy grace, I am standing now before You shamelessly . Alas ! False am I ! False am I ! False am I !

AzhwAr's prArabdha KarmAs got him ensnarled in the trap set by DevadEvi, who made a wager with her companion to attract the devout VipranArayaNA performing ThirumAlai kainkaryam to the Lord of Srirangam. She won in her wager and the AzhwAr lost his spiritual footing and wandered away from the Lord. He was saved from this disaster by the most compassionate Lord Himself at the prompting of His concerned Consort , Sri RanganAyaki .

Elsewhere in ThirumAlai, Thondaradipodi cries out to us in the role of a compassionate AchAryA and appeals to us to become the object of love of the most compassionate Lord and perform kainkaryam to Him and His BhagavathAs. He condemns false devotion, avaidhika mathams and declares
his ananya bhakthi in many of the ThirumAlai paasurams. I will cover some of them and relate them to the experience of another parama VaishNavA, Saint ThyagarAja in the concluding post on Thondardipodi AzhwAr.

Sri RanganAyaki SamEtha Sri RanganAyaka SwaminE Nama:
AzhwAr AchAryAL THiruvadigalE SarNam

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