||    Thirumazhisai AzhwAr    ||

Once upon a time, the saptha Rishis including BhArgava Rishi asked BrahmA about the most sacred place on Earth that was fit for the permanent residence to do penance. Brahma told them that Thirumazhisai KshEthram was the best and named it MahIsAra KshEthram. The Rishis stayed there. While being there, the wife of BhArgava Rishi gave birth to their child on a Thai Maham; on birth the new born child did not have any features such as hand, face or leg. It was of the form of a PiNdam (mass of flesh). The parents were sad and left this child without form by the side of a bush and moved on. This Pindam was Thirumazhisai AzhwAr, who is the amsam of the Lord's Sudarsana chakram. Few days after the parents left, the pindam developed a roopam and began to cry out of hunger and thirst. PerumAL appeared and blessed the child to be free of hunger and thirst. The satisfied child began again to cry. A local farmer by name ThiruvALan heard the sound coming from the side of the bush and rushed to see the cause of that sound. There, they saw a child with a radiant face. ThiruvALan and his wife took the child home and raised it. The child did not take milk and was free of bodily functions and yet grew day by day.

This wonder of a baby growing without partaking any food, attracted the attention of an older couple, who had no children of their own. They brought warm milk every day for the child and presented it. After few days, the child asked the elderly couple to drink the left-over milk. After drinking the milk, which was consumed partially by the child, the elderly couple regained their youth and in due time a child was born to them .They named it KaNikaNNan.

Meanwhile, The BhArgava Rishi puthran (Thirumazhisai AzhwAr) controlled his Indhriyams and practised AshtAnga Yogam. He studied all kinds of religions (Saaktham, Saivam et al) and rejected them all in favour of VaishNavam and recognized that Sriman NaarAyaNn is the Aadhara Moorthy and Jagath KaaraNa Vasthu (ParamAthmA). Azhwar stayed at Thiru AllikkENi worshipping GeethAchAryan and met there with the Mudhal AzhwArs.Few years later, Thirumazhisai AzhwAr settled at ThiruvehhA, where Poygai AzhwAr was born. KaNikaNNan served Thirumazhisai as his disciple.

At ThiruvehhA, an old lady also performed kaimkaryam for the AzhwAr. She sought the blessings of AzhwAr for regaining her youth. AzhwAr blessed her and she transformed into a beautiful woman. When the local king heard of that miracle, he approached KaNikaNNan and asked him to intercede on his behalf for a similar anugraham. KaNikaNNan refused the king's request and the king got angry and ordered KaNikaNNan to leave his kingdom. KaNikaNNan informed the AzhwAr of his need to leave and the AzhwAr addressed the PerumAL of ThiruvehhA and told Him to roll up His bed of AdhisEshan and leave the offending king's kingdom with him and his sishyan. PerumAL, who always takes the side of His dear devotees did as told and acquired the name of YathOkthakAri or Sonna VaNNam seytha PerumAL.

AzhwAr, KaNikaNNan and PerumAL with His bed travelled out of the city of ThiruvehhA and stayed overnight in a nearby village. After the departure of PerumAL and AzhwAr, ThiruvehhA became lustreless and inauspiciousness set in. The king recognized quickly his mistake and fell at the feet of Thirumazhisai AzhwAr and begged him to return. AzhwAr agreed and suggested to the Lord to return with him and KaNikaNNan, spread His bed back and resume His YoganidhrA at His temple. PerumAL once again followed the order of AzhwAr and auspiciousness returned to the land. AzhwAr came to be revered as BahkthisArar from then on.

Few years later, AzhwAr wanted to have the darsanam of AarAvamudhan at Thirukkudanthai and left ThiruvehhA. On the way, AzhwAr was received with hostility by haughty Brahmins performing Yaj~nam and AzhwAr put them in their place by revealing the reclining PerumAL on his chest region. The Brahmins recognized the greatness of the AzhwAr, fell at his feet and sought AzhwAr's forgiveness.

AzhwAr arrived at Thirukkudanthai and was ecstatic about the sevai of AarAvamudhan in the reclining position. AzhwAr composed two Prabhandhams at Thirukkudanthai known as Thirucchandha Viruttham and Naanmukhan ThiruvandhAthi. One day, he placed his prabhandhams in the Cauvery water and they did not sink; instead, they floated against the stream and arrived at his feet. AzhwAr took them in his hands and brought them back to the temple and placed them at the Thiruvadi of AarAvamudhan and asked the Lord to get up and talk to him about that mystery. The Lord obliged and began to lift Himself. AzhwAr was so moved by the Soulabhyam of the Lord that he performed mangaLAsAsanam with the benediction “Vaazhi KesanE" and the Lord stayed in the half risen position to please His Bhaktha SikhAmaNi. Even today, AarAvaudhan is giving His Seavi to us as UtthAna-Saayee enjoying His UdhyOga Sayanam. AzhwAr stayed many years thereafter worshipping AarAvamudhan and blessing the world prior to returning to Sri Vaikuntam.

Swamy Desikan's Tribute: In his Prabhandha Saaram, Swamy Desikan pays tribute to Thirumazhisai this way: Thirumazhisai was born in the MahIsAra KshEthram during one Thai month, when the Maha nakshathram was in ascendance. He examined many faiths and evaluated their deficiencies and through his "Naanmukhan ThiruvandhAthi Prabhnadham” revealed that Sriman NaarAyaNan alone is the Para Dhaivam (Supreme Being) fit for upAsanai and SaraNAgathi as per the teachings of timeless Vedams. He also established that Sriman NaarAyaNan is the quintessence of Vedaarthams. He blessed us with Thirucchandha viruttham containing 120 passurams and through that Prabhandham established that all the chEthanams and achEthanams of the universe serve as sarIram for the Lord. Swamy Desikan prayed to MazhisaippirAn to bless him with the power to recite his two Prabhandhams and comprehend fully their true meanings.

Thiruvarangatthu AmudanAr's Tribute
**********************************

AmudanAr states that AchArya RaamAnujA holds firmly the sacred feet of Thirumazhisai in his heart because of the AzhwAr's universal fame arising from his upadesam about VishNu Paaramyam (Supermacy of Sriamn NaarAyanan among all gods) through his visEsha Svaroopa Jn~Anam.Thirumazhisai AzhwAr is saluted as the One, who never put back his sword in its sheath , when it came to the subject of Para Tatthva NirNayam (Sriman NaarAyaNa's status as the ParamAthmA).

Naanmukhan ThiruvandhAthi
*************************

It has 96 paasurams containing commentaries on core Vaishnavite doctrines. The essence of this Prabhandham is about the highest bliss of God realization through the path of Surrender to the Highest Being (Sriman NaarAyaNan) alone; AzhwAr reveals to us that The Lord of Sri Devi is the ultimate cause and is "capable of sublimating the humans, even as He stated in His GitA that all (other) tastes are discarded, when the Ultimate (Para) is seen and experienced (param dhrushtvA nivarthatE). AzhwAr himself states in his first paasuram that "Lord NaarAyaNa is the primordial creator" and that we should contemplate on this tatthvam, remember it without fail and act on it.

Illustrative Paasurams of Naanmukhan ThiruvandhAthi
*************************************************

Dr.V.N.Vedanthadesikan explains With the help of PramANams like, "DhivyO Deva yEko NaarAyaNa:, yEka yEva JanArdhana:, yEkO ha yEva NaarAyaNa aaseeth, na BrahmA nEsAanaha", AzhwAr proves that Lord NaarAyaNa is the Jagath KaaraNan and the primordial creator. AzhwAr goes on to develop for the first time the VyUhA theory of PaancharAthra Aagamam in Dhivya Prabhandam. He takes on all the followers of Veda-Baahya mathams as well as the atheistic mImAmsa and refutes firmly their doctrines as unsound and untenable. He performs upadesam to the mImAmsakAs that Lord is the ordainer of all fruits and the granter of the results of all actions in His role as karmAdhyakshan (paasuram 2: yetthavam cheythArkkum aruL mudivathu AazhiyAn paal)).

In the fourth paasuram, AzhwAr points out that Sriman NaarAyaNan is the "Sarva-Vaachaka sabdha" svarUpi. Every word and name in the final analysis connotes Him only. AzhwAr recognizes the nearness (saamIpya) of the Lord to us in our struggles and points out that it is " only through His grace , not by our works or intellect or by our charity that we attain Him ".

In the seventh paasuram, AzhwAr has an intimate conversation with Sriman Naarayana and confides: "Oh Lord Naarayana! You are my Lord and Master. I am Your vassal and servant. This relationship is unconditioned and unbreakable. Your grace is to flow towards me, surely and certainly, whether be it today or tomorrow or after some time, however long it might be. This is well nigh certain. Because You can not exist without me (You calling Yourself , the Lord and Master) and I can not have an existence without You ( I being known as Your vassal and servant). What a wonderful relationship that binds us!”(Dr.V.N.Vedantha Desikan)

In the 12th paasuram, AzhwAr performs upadEsam to us and says that every one of our limbs should be devoted to serving Him in utter humility (jihvE keeerthya Kesavam slOkam of Mukundha Maalai).AzhwAr reminds us that Sriman Naarayanan is the true siddhOpAyam with the power to grant us Moksham (Paasuram 13).He chastises us for sinking deep into misery by not reciting His names (Paasuram 14). Sarva VyApakathvam of Sriman Naarayana is saluted by Azhwar in his 20th paasuram (Ulahu yellAm neeyE, ninnaruLE niRpanavum, neeyE tavatthEva dEvanum).

Azhwar has equal affection for Vibhava avathArams of the Lord as well as ArchaavathArams. He has a special affection for Bhaktha Vathsala Narasimhan (AzhahiyAn taanE Ariuruvan taanE PazhahiyAn taanE paNimin) and Prapanna SamrakshaNa-dhIkshitha Raaman, Nappinnai paramAnandhan, KrishNan. He is totally enchanted by ThiruvEnkatamudayAn (veRppenRu Venkatam paadinEn, veeDAkki ninRu ninaikkinREn/Paasuram 40) and RanganAthan (Paasuram 60).He had special affection for the ArchA moorhtys in Sayana ThirukkOlam (AarAvamudhan, YathOkthakAri, Kapisthalam, ThiruvevvuL, Anbil and ThiruppARkkadal: NaahatthaNai Kudanthai--Paasuram 36).In his 63rd Paasuram, AzhwAr describes how he spends his time on the Lord's earth (LeelA VibhUthi):"Oh Lord! I sustain my life by activities , namely ,of learning about You, writing about You , reading Your dhivya charithram ,prostrating before You , performing Thiru AarAdhanam for You and engaging in all types of Kaimkaryams to You. Indeed my life is sustained only because of such an engaging mode of existence"(Dr.V.N.VedAntha Desikan).

In the 85th paasuram, AzhwAr confirms that his job in this life is to chant the Lord's sacred naamams and that activity is his recreation as well. In his magnificent 85th paasuram (uLan kaNdAi nannenjE), AzhwAr describes himself as an upAya Soonyan (indigent and unqualified for the Lord's grace through appropriate anushtAnam ) and yet the Lord rushes to his rescue out of His limitless DayA gunam (TamiyERkku yen oppArkku tAnnAi uLan kaNN).

In yet another paasuram (paasuram 72) distilling the essence of Lord's charama slOkam of Bhagavath Geethai ,AzhwAr performs this upadesam for us: " It is not correct to assume that either the dharmAs of the four Asramams (Brahmacharyam et al)or the different paths (Karma , Bhakthiand Jn~Ana yOgams) themselves serve as means for Moksham. No action, no penance, no atonement by itself can yield the fruit of Moksham. All is NaarAyaNa, all is dependent on His grace and His will to grant,"Whomever He chooses, Whomever He likes, he or she will attain the Lord. Will anybody refuse this Tatthvam? No. Emphatically, I say, He is the Supreme UpAyam.This is the essence of the Lord's charama slOkam (NaraNanE eethu aavathu yenRu).

In a moving summation of Naanmukhan ThiruvandhAthi, Thirumazhisai reminds the Lord that he will never ever forget His RakshaNam (Kaapu maranthu aRiyEn: Paasuram 93) and concludes this prabhandham on a majestic note distilling the essence of Sri VaishNva doctrines:

iniaRinthEn IsaRkkum NaanmuhaRkkum dhaivam
iniaRinthEnem PerumAn unnai -iniaRinthEn
KAARANAM NEE KARRAVAI NEE KARPAVAI NEE , NARRKKIRISAI
NAARANAN NEE NANKARINTHEN NAAN --Paasuram 96

Meaning according to Dr.VedAntha Desikan: Oh My Lord! What have I learnt! I have learnt that You are the Lord to Siva and Brahma and the like. I have correctly comprehended Your innate nature. I have learnt also that You are the cause of all things; that You are the subject of all learning, that You are going to be the subject matter of all future knowledge as well. That is a, things learnt or to be learnt are all out of You and depend on You. All good acts constitute You (This is unlike what pertains to other gods). Thus by acquiring the wisdom on all fronts, I have become fully fit to speak of as 'my self' (only knowledge would signify the soul). Thus, I have acquired all the knowledge that should mark one in at the stage of Mukthi endowed with Jn~Ana VikAsam (blossoming of true Jn~Anam).

Thirucchantha Viruttham of Thirumazhisai Azhwar
*********************************************

The second prabhandham of Thirumazhisai is Thirucchantha-Viruttham with 120 passurams. They are the most plesant to listen and are set in the brisk chantham style. It is most auspicious and hence it has the prefix of "Thiru". It is Viruttham or vrutthAntham, a description of AzhwAr's deep Bhakthi for Sriman NaarAyaNan as the Supreme One. We will follow the commentary of Sri UtthamUr Swamy, who first wrote his scholarly commentary in 1955 and a reprint of that was released in 1999 as a part of the ongoing re-release of his out of print granthams.

Summary of Thriucchantha Viruttham
**********************************

In this dhivya Prabhandham, AzhwAr refers to the Tatthva-Hitha-PurushArthams in his first three paasurams. Next, AzhwAr salutes the Para, VyUha forms of the Lord and acknowledges the Lord as the One responsible for tha samashti, Vyashti and Sarva Srishti (Creation of every kind as Jagath-KaaraNan) and says that it is not easy for anyone to comprehend fully the SvabhAvam (true nature) of the Lord , who is the antharyAmi of all ChEthanams and achEthanams. AzhwAr states that the anugraham of the Lord has made it possible for him to understand His svabhAvam.

After the salutation to the mysterious Tatthvams of the MaayAvi, which defy comprehension (Yaavar KaaNa VallarE?), AzhwAr shifts to the enjoyment of the many avathArams of the Lord as HayagrIvan, Hamsam, Koormam, Narasimhan, Vaamanan, Raaman and KrishNan. AzhwAr expresses his disappointment that he could not enjoy them with his eyes now and comforts himself with the thought that the Lord exhibiting His Soulabhyam is offering now His sevai to him as ArchA Moorthys at the many dhivya dEsams like ThiruvEnkatam, Srirangam, Thirukkudanthai and other Thiruppathis. He wonders why the people do not resort to the worship the Lord, who is Sarva Sulabhan waiting to bless them in His most beautiful ArchA form. AzhwAr performs next upadesam for the deluded souls (SamsAris) and uses the references from vedam and PurANams to remind them that Sriman NaarAyaNan is the Supreme One and in His ArchA form, He can bless the SamsAris with the Moksha siddhi, when they adopt Bhakthi or prapatthi as the means (upAyam)to get His attention.

After performing Upadesam as a compassionate AchAryan, AzhwAr returns to his anubhavam of the Lord. AzhwAr assures the Lord of his deep and firm attachment to His Thiruvadi as the means for his ujjeevanam. He expresses his desire to perform Kaimkaryam to the Lord here and seeks uninterrupted Kaimkaryam in Srivaikuntam, when his kaimkaryam here is interrupted. He examines the upAyam for such a blessing and recognizes that the destruction of the cycles of births and deaths through MokshAnugrahm from the Lord is the only sure upAyam to achieve his deep desire.

At this stage, he begins to conclude his Prabhandham and seeks pardon from the Lord for deficiencies in the celebration of the Lord's anantha kalyANa guNams through his Prabhandham (Paasurams 110, 111). From the 112 to 115th paasuram, AzhwAr comforts his mind that the Moksha Siddhi is very near to attain and asks his mind not to be concerned about that boon anymore. He assures his mind that there will be no more suffering in samsAram through repeated cycles of birth (na punar aavarthathE aspect of Brahma Soothram). The 115th paasuram (Maanasa SambhOdhanam) is a moving one:

atthanAhi annayAhi aaLum EmperumAnumAi
otthu ovvAtha pal-piRappu ozhitthu nammai AatkkoLvAn
MutthanAr MukundhanAr puhunthu namm uLL mEvinAr
yetthinAl idar kidatthi yEzhai nenjamE ?

Meaning: Oh my poor mind worried about lack of upAyam to attain Moksha Siddhi! The blemishless Lord (MutthanAr), who is the granter of the boon of Moksham has made sure that the incongruous births full of suffering will not happen any more and has decided to accept us as His servants. For that purpose, He has entered into us as the Father (gariyAn Brahmadha:PithA)instructing us on the upAyam, as the compassionate Mother, who grows that Jn~Anam and as AchAryan who delivers us at the feet of the Dhivya Dampathis. Froom here on, Oh My mind! where is the reason for your worries about enjoying Saayujyam?

In the 117th paasuram, AzhwAr boldly announces that the Omnipotent Lord is going to banish all his physical illness, mental illness, deaths and rebirths in this world, the body and its infirmities and lift him upto His Parama Padham for nithya Kaimkaryam. The naamam that AzhwAr chooses for the Lord in this Paasuram is Achyuthan or the One, who will not falter (slip) in His effort to protect.

The last two paasurams (119 and 120) are joyous thanks to Sri RanganAthan for His anugrahm of Moksham. Azhwar states that in the 119th paasuram his aathma svaroopam admixed with dEham and Indhriyams and stuck in the mud of Paapams and PuNyams before has arisen now as a sparkling flame (Jyothi) over those limiting bonds and has attained the sacred feet of the Lord of Srirangam (Ponni Soozh ArangamEya Poovai VaNNan), rooted itself there forever without any Jn~Ana SankOsam.

The 120th paasuram is a great celebration over AzhwAr's parama BhAgyam of attaining Moksha Siddhi due to the grace of Sri RanganAthan :

iyakku aRAtha palpiRappil yennai mARRi inRu Vanthu
uyakkoLL Megam VaNNan naNNi yenn nilAyathannuLE
mayakkinAn tann mannu sOthi aathalAl yenn aavi thAnn
iyakku yellAm aRutthu aRAtha inbha Veedu peRRathE

Meaning: The Lord of Srirangam known for His play to redeem jeevans had given me earlier repeated births in varying bodies and now has charmed me with aj~nAtha Sukrutham and has entered into my HrudhayAkAsam (Daharam PuNdarIkam vEsama). Through this blenovolent act, He has torn to their roots and cast away all the karma vyAdhis that plagued my AathmA and has granted me the ParamAnugraham of the delectable (aanandha maya) Moksham (Veedu). From here on the ishta prApthi of nithya kaimkaryam and anishta nivrutthi( freedom from punar aavrutthi) are guranteed to me. Blessed indeed am I!

UtthamUr Swamy sums up the greatness of Thirumazhisai with a special slOkam:

anargha Bhakthi-bhAvitha Sruthi Smruthi prakrushta Dhee-
mahishta BHAKTHISAARA SOORI sookthaya: sudurgrahA:

Indeed, the Dhivya Sookthis of Thirumazhisai Known for his blemishless Bhakthi are incomparable in (1) rejection of the false doctrines (2) establishing Sriman NaarAyaNan as the Para Devathai and (3) interpreting Tatthva-Hitha-PurushArthams leading to Moksham in the most lucid manner.

Thirumazhisai AzhwAr ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Home      Back