Mother’s Blessings

SAMBANDHA WAS BORN in an orthodox brahmin family in the town of Sirkali, to Sivapada Hridayar and his wife Bhagavatiyar.

One day, when the boy was three years old, the father took him to Thirutonni Appar Koil. The father while immersed in the tank for a bath, began repeating the aghamarshana mantram. The child could not see his father in the tank, and looked around in fear and grief. There was no trace of the father. Not able to contain its grief the child wept aloud looking at the temple tower saying, “Mother! Father!” Parvati and Lord Siva appeared in the sky, seated on the sacred bull, and gave darsan to the little child. As desired by Siva, Parvati gave the child a golden cup full of milk from her breast – the sacred milk containing Siva Jnana (Knowledge of Siva). The child drank the milk, became free from sorrow, and the divine couple disappeared. The child was transformed into an inspired sage, wholly and solely dedicated to Siva. Consequently he received the epithet of Aludaiya Pillaiyar (‘the God’s own child’) and Thiru Jnana Sambandhar (‘he who is conjoined with divine wisdom’). Having drunk the milk of jnana, and feeling quite satisfied and happy, Sambandha sat on the tank bund with milk dribbling from the corners of his mouth. When the father came out from his bath, he saw the boy’s condition and angrily asked, flourishing a cane, “Who gave you milk? Can you drink milk given by strangers? Tell me who that person is or I will beat you.” Sambandha immediately replied by singing ten Tamil verses. The gist of the first verse is:

“The man with kundalas (sacred earrings),
the Man who rides the sacred bull, the Man who has the white moon on his head,
the Man whose body is smeared with the ashes of the burning ghat,
the thief who has stolen my heart.
He came to bless Brahma, the Creator, when Brahma, with the Vedas in his hand did penance.
He who occupies the sacred seat of Brahmapuri,
He, my Father, is there,
and She, my Mother who gave me milk, is there!”

So saying he described the forms of Siva and Parvathi who had given him milk, and also pointed out the temple chariot.

It was clear from the verses, that those who gave milk to the child were no other than Parvathi and Lord Siva. A large gathering of people witnessed this unique scene. From that day onwards, the boy’s poetic flow continued unimpeded.

Related: Letters

The Lord is Within Me

THE MADURA KING Pandyan was inclined towards Jainism.

His wife was the daughter of the Chola King and was attached to Saivism. She had heard of the great saint Jnana Sambandar, his powers. And she also came to know of his camping at Vedaranyam. The Pandyan Queen, with the help of a minister who was also attached to Saivism, sent an invitation to the Saint to visit Madurai and convert the king to Saivism. The Saint came accordingly. When the queen saw that he was a mere boy of about ten or even less, she had serious misgivings whether he could be a match for all the big Jain leaders surrounding the king and if by inviting this child she had put him in jeopardy.

When the Saint noticed this, he sang some songs, addressed to the queen and assuring her, “I am not in any way inferior to these Jains. The Lord is within me. Don’t, therefore, be afraid.”

A devotee added, “The songs mention the names of Jain leaders, referring to them in contempt and stating, ‘I am not inferior to all these, as the Lord is within me’. It is amusing to read those songs.”

Bhagavan added, “This was after the saint came to Madurai. When the invitation reached Vedaranyam and Jnana Sambandar wanted to start for Madurai, Appar (Tirunavukkarasar) who was with Sambandar pleaded, ‘Do not start today. The day is not auspicious for you. They, the Jains, are terrible and powerful persons’. Thereupon Jnana Sambandar sang the Kolaru Padhikam, in which he again says, ‘As the Lord is within me, in my heart, no days, no planets, can affect me adversely and every day of the week is equally auspicious’.”

In the afternoon a copy of Thevaram was brought and the above two songs were picked out and Bhagavan read a few of them aloud. In the Madurai hymn Bhagavan referred to the last stanza and said, “When I explained the first stanza in the morning I gave the meaning as ‘Because the Lord is within me’ though the words only mean ‘Because there is the Lord’. I was wondering whether I was justified in my interpretation. I find in the last stanza it is clearly mentioned by the saint himself that what he meant was ‘Because the Lord is within me’. Besides, the same is clear from the whole of the Kolaru padhikam. Look at the last verse in the Madurai decad. With what authority he sings, ‘No harm can approach those who sing these songs of the king of Shiyali (Sirkali) and the Master of Tamil’. Similarly in the last song he says, ‘By my order those who read these shall be saved’.”

Pilgrimage to Sri Arunachala

“IN SRI RAMANA LILA it is stated that while Sambandha was coming to Tiruvannamalai the forest tribes robbed him of his possessions. He was a man of wisdom and knowledge. What property had he?”, asked Suri Nagamma.

“Oh! That! He followed the path of devotion, didn’t he? Therefore he had golden bells and a pearl palanquin and other symbols of that nature according to the injunctions of Iswara. He also had a Mutt (an establishment) and all that a Mutt requires,” said Bhagavan.

“Is that so? When did he get all those?” Suri Nagamma further enquired.

Bhagavan replied with a voice full of emotion, “From the time when he acquired the name of Jnana Sambandha, that is, even from his childhood, he used to sing with uninterrupted poetic flow and go on pilgrimages. He first visited a holy place called Thirukolakka, went into the temple there and sang verses in praise of the Lord, keeping time with his little hands. By the grace of Siva, cymbals of gold inscribed with the mystic five letters were miraculously put into his hands, and with them he kept time to his songs. Thereafter he visited Chidambaram and other holy places and then went to a pilgrim centre called Maranpadi. There were no trains in those days, you see. The presiding deity in that place observed this little boy visiting holy places on foot. His heart melted with pity, and He created a pearl palanquin, a pearl umbrella and other accompaniments bedecked with pearls suitable for sannyasis. He left them in the temple and appeared to the brahmin priests and to Sambandha in their dreams, telling the brahmins, ‘Give them to Sambandha with proper honours,’ and told Sambandha, ‘The brahmins will give you all these; take them.’ As they were gifts from Gods he could not refuse them. So Sambandha accepted them with reverential salutations by doing pradakshina etc., and then got into the palanquin. From that time onwards, he used to go about in that palanquin wherever he went. Gradually some staff gathered around him and a Mutt was established. But whenever he approached a holy place, he used to alight from the palanquin as soon as he saw the gopuram (tower) of the shrine and from there onwards, he travelled on foot until he entered the temple. He came here (i.e. Arunachala) on foot from Tirukoilur observing the same principle since, as you know, the peak of Arunagiri is visible from there.”

A Tamil devotee said that that visit was not clearly mentioned in Periapuranam, to which Bhagavan replied as follows: “No. It is not in Periapuranam. But it is stated in Upamanyu’s Sivabhaktivilasam in Sanskrit. Sambandha worshipped Viratteswara, the presiding deity at Kilur and won the god’s favour with his verses and then he worshipped Athulyanatheswara, the presiding deity at Arakandanallur in the same way. From there he beheld the peak of Arunagiri and sang verses out of excess of joy and installed an image of Arunachaleswara in the same spot.

“While he was seated there on a mandapam, God Arunachaleswara appeared to him first in the shape of a jyoti (light) and then in the shape of an old brahmin. Sambandha did not know who that old brahmin was. The brahmin had in his hand a flower basket. Unaccountably, Sambandha’s mind was attracted towards that brahmin like a magnet. He at once asked him with folded hands, ‘Where do you come from?’ ‘I have just come from Arunachalam. My village is here, nearby,’ replied the brahmin. Sambandha asked him in surprise, ‘Arunachala! But how long ago did you come here?’ The brahmin replied indifferently, ‘How long ago? Daily I come here in the morning to gather flowers to make a garland for Lord Arunachala and return there by the afternoon’. Sambandha was surprised and said, ‘Is that so? But they said it is very far from here?’ The old brahmin said, ‘Who told you so? You can reach there in one stride. What is there great in it?’ Having heard that, Sambandha became anxious to visit Arunachala and asked, ‘If so, can I walk there?’ The old man replied, ‘Ah! If an aged man like me goes there and comes here daily, can’t a youth like you do it? What are you saying?’ With great eagerness Sambandha asked, ‘Sir, if that is so, please take me also along with you,’ and started at once with all his entourage. The brahmin was going in advance and the party was following behind.

Suddenly the brahmin disappeared. “As the party was looking here and there, in confusion, a group of hunters surrounded them, and robbed them of the palanquin, umbrella, golden bells, the pearls and other valuable items, their provisions and even the clothes they were wearing. They were left with only their loin cloths. They did not know the way; it was very hot and there was no shelter, and all were hungry as it was time for taking food. What could they do?

“Then Sambandha prayed to God, ‘Oh! Lord, why am I being tested like this? I don’t care what happens to me, but why should these followers of mine be put to this hard test?’

On hearing those prayers, God appeared in his real form and said, ‘My son, these hunters too are my pramatha ganas (personal attendants). They deprived you of all your possessions as it is best to proceed to the worship of Lord Arunachala without any show or pomp. All your belongings will be restored to you as soon as you reach there. It is noon time now. You may enjoy the feast and then proceed further’. So saying he disappeared. “At once, a big tent appeared on a level space nearby. Some brahmins came out of the tent and invited Sambandha and his party to their tent, entertained them to a feast with delicious dishes of various kinds and with chandanam (sandal paste) and thambulam (betel leaves). Sambandha, who was all along entertaining others, was himself entertained by the Lord Himself. After they had rested for a while, one of the brahmins in the tent got up and said, ‘Sir, shall we proceed to Arunagiri?’ Sambandha was extremely happy and accompanied the brahmin along with his followers. But as soon as they set out on their journey, the tent together with the people in it disappeared. “While Sambandha was astonished at the strange happenings, the guide who had been leading them to Arunachala disappeared as soon as they arrived there. Suddenly, the tent along with the people in it and the hunters who had robbed them previously appeared on all sides, and placing before Sambandha all his belongings which they had robbed him of earlier, they vanished. With tears of joy and with a thrill in his body, Sambandha praised the Lord, for His great kindness, stayed there for some days, worshipped Him with flowers of verses in praise of Him and then proceeded on his journey. Out of His affection for Sambandha, who was serving Him with reverence. God Himself, it seems, invited him to this hill.

“Jnana Sambandha thus became one of the most famous bhaktas and was much sought after. He led a vigorous and active life and went on pilgrimage to several places in South India. He got married in his sixteenth year. The bride and the bridegroom went to have darsan of God in the local temple soon after the marriage ceremonies were over. A large party went with them. When they reached the temple the place was a blaze of light and the temple was not visible. There was however a passage visible in the blaze of light. Jnana Sambandha told the people to enter the passage. He himself went round the light with his young wife, came to the passage and entered it as the others had done earlier. The Light vanished leaving no trace of those who entered it. The temple again came into view as usual. Such was the brief but very eventful life of the sage.”

So saying, Bhagavan assumed silence, with his heart filled with devotion and with his voice trembling with emotion.

Sambandhar and Appar

WHILE ON A pilgrimage, the twelve-year old Sambandhar and Appar reached Vedaranyam. The main gate of the Vedaranya temple was found locked. It seems that long ago the ancient Vedas took human shapes. They worshipped the Lord in the temple with abhishekam (pouring of water) and puja. On going away, closed the main gate and sealed it. Since then no one had the courage to open it and so a hole was bored through the wall and a side gate improvised for people for coming and going out. When Appar and Sambandhar enquired about the closure of the main gate, the watchman told them this story and suggested that they could go in by the side gate. They did not feel like using that gate and so decided to pray to Iswara for the opening of the main gate. Sambandhar suggested that Appar should pray. It was then that Appar sang a hymn of ten verses. Iswara is fond of Appar’s songs and it seems He was so absorbed in hearing them, that He forgot to open the gate. When the gate did not open even on singing the ninth verse, Appar was overwhelmed with grief and sang the tenth verse saying, “Oh Lord, has not your heart melted yet?” When even that had no effect, he sang the eleventh verse beginning, “Avakkanai Vavalaladar Thittaneer”, the purport of which is, “When Ravana lifted Mt. Kailas with his hands you struck him down with your little finger and inflicted trouble on him for a thousand years. That being so, how will you have compassion for me?” When this was sung, it seems that Iswara regretted the delay and immediately opened the doors.

After entering the temple and worshipping the Lord therein, they came out. Appar requested Sambandhar to pray to Iswara to close the door and when Sambandhar sang only one verse, the doors closed with a bang. On this occasion, Iswara tested Appar by not answering his prayers until he sang eleven songs and favoured Sambandhar by promptly closing the doors when he sang only one song.

On another occasion, it was Sambandhar that was put to a severe test while Appar was readily granted favour. From the time Iswara put him to a severe test at Vedaranyam, Appar felt aggrieved and began worshipping Iswara with greater devotion than ever. Subsequently both Appar and Sambandhar went on a pilgrimage with their respective retinue and reached a village called Tiruveelimalai. At that time the village was in the grip of a famine. Unable to bear the sight of the sufferings of the people they decided to stay in two different Mutts along with their attendants and distribute food to the people. They had of course no money with them and so went to the local temple to pray to Iswara. Pleased with their devotion, Iswara gave them a sovereign each every day. The sovereign used to be kept on the doorstep. The one given to Appar was accepted by the vendors of foodstuffs and the required articles were readily supplied. Food could therefore be given to the people before the afternoon set in. The sovereign of Sambandhar was however below the standard purity of gold and so the dealers offered to take it only at a discount. The attendants had therefore to come back to the Mutt to obtain Sambandhar’s consent, then return to the shop, buy the required articles and then feed the people rather late, by about 2 P.M. everyday.

In due course this delay came to the notice of Sambandhar. On enquiry he found that it was all due to the bad coins he was getting from the Lord daily. He went to the temple and sang ten songs beginning with “Vachiteerave Kachunalguveer”, which means, “Swami, why are you giving me coins which are not pure gold?” Then the Lord who is the embodiment of kindness, said, “Appar is worshipping me with his mind, speech and deed, while you are doing it with your mind and speech only”. Appar was daily cleaning the temple grounds, making them neat and tidy. “It was only to point out the difference that I have been doing like this. Henceforth, I shall give you also good coins. Don’t worry”. And from that day onwards good coins were given.

Saint Appar

APPAR WAS BORN in a village called Tiruvamur in the Thirumunaipadi region of a Vellala family of Saivaites. His father’s name was Pugazhanar and mother’s name was Madiniyar. His parents named him Marul Neekkiyar. He had only one sister by name Tilakavati. As he grew up he became proficient in all branches of knowledge. When Tilakavati was 12 years of age, the parents decided to give her in marriage to a commander in the king’s army. Just then there was a war and that commander went away saying he would marry her on his return. In the meantime Pugazhanar passed away and his wife Madiniyar committed Sati. The brother and sister were left alone. They awaited the return of the commander, but after some time they heard that the commander had died in the war. Tilakavati wanted to commit Sati as her parents had decided to give her away in marriage to that commander and she felt that her body was therefore his. Marul Neekkiyar with great grief, fell at the feet of his sister and told her that he looked up to her as his father and mother, and if she insisted on dying on the funeral pyre, he would also commit suicide. As she was anxious that her brother should live and prosper, she gave up her idea of committing Sati. She however did not marry but remained at home absorbed in the service of the Siva temple and in her own tapas (austerity).

Marul Neekkiyar realised that material wealth was transitory. Whatever money, gold and other valuables he had, he gave away, became a sannyasi, left home and in his wanderings reached Patalipuram (Tiruppadiripuliyur, i.e. Cuddalore). The most important place at that time was the Samana Mutt. As fate would have it, he went there and joined the Samana cult (a Jain cult), was given the title of Darmasena, and became the Head of the Mutt, the Purohit of the Raja and the Poet Laureate of the kingdom. He therefore stayed on there.

Thirugnana Sambandhar, Appar, Sundarar and Manikavasagar

Tilakavathi, who was staying at her native place, heard this news and felt sad. She went to their family deity, Veerasthaneswara, on the banks of the river Gedila and prayed to God several times to save her brother from following the ways of the heretics. One day Parameswara appeared to her in a dream and said, “O Tapaswini, you can now give up your mental agony. In his last birth, your brother was a sannyasi, but did not perform tapas properly. There was a flaw in his tapas. As a result of that, he has now joined that heretic (Pashanda) cult. I shall now save him by making him suffer from stomach ache. Give up your grief and relax.”

Immediately thereafter, Dharmasena had a violent stomach ache. Several people in that Mutt who were well versed in mantras and tantras tried their best to cure him but could not succeed and so gave up all hopes. Dharmasena could not bear the agony any longer. He then remembered his sister. Hoping she might be of some help, he sent a man to fetch her. She refused to give up her own dharma and go to the Samana Mutt. On hearing that, Dharmasena regretted his having given up his own dharma, namely Saivism, and without the knowledge of other people in the Mutt, left the Mutt at night, with two servants for his native place. When he tapped at the door and called his sister, she recognised his voice and opened the door. He fell at her feet and requested her to forgive him. She received him with open arms and overjoyed at the kindness of Parameswara, and after giving him holy ash, taught her brother the Panchakshari Mantra. He smeared the holy ash all over his body and repeated the mantra.

Tilakavati took her brother to the temple of Veerasthaneswara. When he prostrated and got up, Marul Neekkiyar began composing songs in Tamil in praise of Siva. The first of the Ten Verses (Padikam) begins with ‘Kootrayinavaru’. His stomach ache ceased immediately. That is why there is a belief that whoever recites these songs gets relief from all illness.

After that, he took up Sannyasa and went on a pilgrimage singing his Padikams (containing 10 verses each). In due course he reached Chidambaram. After worshipping Nataraja there, and singing the Padikams, he went with his followers to nearby Sirkali. He had heard that Sambandar had become a saint by drinking the milk of the mother of the universe, Parvati, when he was a little child. Hearing that he was coming, Sambandar with his followers went out to meet him. As soon as they met, Marul Neekkiyar fell at the feet of Sambandar. The latter lifted him up with his hands with great affection, and as a show of respect, called him ‘Appah’. Appar immediately claimed that he was the Dasan (servant) of Sambandar. From that time onwards, Marul Neekkiyar came to be known as Appar.

Subsequently both of them went together to the temple of Brahmapureeswara. Sambandar then asked Appar to worship the Lord, which Appar did with his Padikams. After that, they went together to several temples and sang Padikams in praise of the Lord. You have already heard of Vedaranyam and the sovereigns. There are several other stories like that. After his contact with Appar, Sambandar went to Patalipuram, defeated the people of Samana Mutt by arguments and established Saivism. They always used to be together.

There is Nothing Without

Umadevi, a Polish lady had travelled in Kashmir and brought some photos which were shown to all in the old hall. Bhagavan humorously remarked, “We have seen those places without the trouble of travelling.” A devotee thereby said, “I wish to go to Kailas.”

Sri Bhagavan said, “One can see these places only if destined. Not otherwise. After seeing all, there will still remain more – if not in this hemisphere, may be in the other. Knowledge implies ignorance of what lies beyond what is known. Knowledge is always limited.” After sometime Sri Bhagavan related the following story.

APPAR WAS DECREPIT and old and yet began to a travel to Kailas. Another old man appeared on the way and tried to dissuade him from the attempt, saying that it was too difficult to reach there. Appar was however obdurate and said that he would risk his life in the attempt. The stranger asked him to dip himself in a tank close by. Appar did so and found Kailas then and there. Where did all this happen? In Tiruvayyar, nine miles from Tanjore. Where is Kailas then? Is it within the mind or outside it? If Tiruvayyar be truly Kailas, it must appear to others as well. But Appar alone found it so.

Similarly it is said of other places of pilgrimage in the South, that they are the abodes of Siva, and devotees found them so. This was true from their standpoint. Everything is within. There is nothing without.

With the Moon in His Crown

THE VENERABLE SUNDARAMURTHY was born in the amsa of Aalaala Sundara, who emanated from the reflection of Lord Siva, the Somasekhara (with moon in his crown). He acquired the friendship of the Kerala king, Cheraman Perumal Nainar, in the course of his wanderings as a pilgrim, and together they both went to Madurai on pilgrimage. The Pandyan king as well as his son-in-law, the Chola king, extended a very warm welcome to them and expressed their happiness at being their hosts. Sundaramurthy worshipped God Sundareswara, the consort of the goddess Meenakshi, and sang hymns in praise of the Lord with his poetic skill. Accompanied by the Chera king he visited and worshipped at the sacred shrines of the south, namely Thirukuttralam, Tirunelveli and Rameswaram. From there he visited the sacred shrine of Thirukkedeswara in Lanka Dwipa (Ceylon) and offered worship. There he remembered Thrisulapuram (Thiruchuli) which is the Muktinagar (city of salvation) and proceeded thither. As they approached that city, the crowds saw them both resplendent as though the sun and the moon appeared at the same time. Sundaramurthy was happy to have the darsan of Lord Bhuminatha and offered worship with the song beginning ‘Oona uyir Puhalai’ and was overwhelmed with devotion. He decided to stay in that holy place for a while, and resided in the Mutt on the bank of the river Kowndinya. One night during his stay there, Lord Siva appeared to him in a dream with a ball in his hand (ball is the symbol of kingship) and a crown on his head, as a youth of incomparable beauty. With a smile dancing on his lips, he said, “We stay in Jyotivana (Kaleswara).” On hearing these words, Sundaramurthy woke up with excitement and recollected the glorious kindness of the Lord who appeared and showered benevolence on him, and narrated the wonderful vision to the Chera king with joy. There and then he sang, overwhelmed with devotion, the Thevara Pathikam commencing with the words, ‘Thondar Adithodalalum’ on Lord Kaleswara.

From there they started to visit the far off holy place, Thiruppunavayil. Even as they started, God Kaleswara (who appeared in the dream of Sundaramurthy) and Amba approached them in the guise of an old brahmin couple. When Sundaramurthy asked them, “Who are you? Where do you come from?” they replied, “We shall talk about that later. First give us food. We are hungry.” Sundaramurthy consented, got the food prepared and looked for the couple, but they were not to be seen anywhere. All the lanes and by-lanes of the village were searched but they could not be found anywhere. They came back to the Mutt only to find that the food had disappeared and the leaves in which the food was eaten were scattered all over the place. Sundaramurthy was wonder-struck and exclaimed, “Ah! What a wonder is this! What can this be except the leela (play) of the Lord of the Universe?” As he arrived at this conclusion he heard an invisible voice: “Where do you intend going without seeing us who reside in the Jyotivana?” Sundaramurthy was wondering where that Jyotivana was and how to go there. The invisible voice once again said, “We are proceeding there on the vehicle of the sacred bull Nandi. You may also come there, following its footsteps.”

Sundaramurthy followed the footsteps, accompanied by the devotees, but suddenly the track disappeared. As he stood there in confusion the invisible voice was heard to say, “Look carefully”. As he followed carefully the footsteps he saw a particular place full of Siva Lingas. There was no space even for a single step forward and he and the other devotees stood there bewildered. Suddenly he saw a narrow footpath and they went along it, on and on until at last they beheld the temple of Kaleswara. They all took their bath in the tank in front of the temple, and as they were thinking of going into the temple, all of a sudden the temple with its tower disappeared.

Sundaramurthy was wonder-struck and sang some songs in praise of the Lord, conveying the idea: “Is this the result of my not having come for worship in your temple before bathing?” At once a whole view of jyoti (light) appeared and the peak view of a temple tower and then the temple itself with its compound wall. He was overjoyed, had a darsan of God, worshipped Him, sang songs in praise of Him, and then proceeded on his pilgrimage. This is a wonderful story. There are many more stories of him.

Swami is Everywhere

An American lady unaccustomed to squatting on the floor, somehow managed to sit in the hall by stretching her legs towards Bhagavan’s sofa. One of the attendants suggested to her that she sit cross-legged. When Bhagavan saw that, he said smiling, “When they find it difficult even to sit down on the floor, should you force them to sit cross-legged also?” “No, no! As they do not know that it is disrespectful to stretch their legs towards Bhagavan, I merely told them so, that is all,” said the devotee.

“Oh is that so! It is disrespectful, is it? Then it is disrespectful for me to stretch my legs towards them. What you say applies to me as well.” Saying this in a lighter vein, Bhagavan sat up cross-legged. Even though the rheumatism in Bhagavan’s legs rendered them painful and stiff after ten minutes of being folded, he continued to sit cross-legged stretching them from time to time, saying that it might be deemed disrespectful. Even after the visitors took leave he kept his legs folded saying, “I do not know if I can stretch them. They say it is not good manners.” The attendant stood by Bhagavan’s side crestfallen and repentant. Bhagavan, full of compassion, stretched out his legs as usual and began telling this story.
Avvaiyar meets Lord Murugan

SEEING THAT SUNDARAMURTHI was going away on a white elephant which had come from Kailas, the Rajah of Chera whispered in the ear of his horse the panchakshara mantra and got upon it to go to Kailas. Avvaiyar, who was at the time doing puja to Lord Ganesa, saw them both going to Kailas and so tried to hurry up her puja as she too wanted to go to Kailas. Seeing that, Ganesa said, “Old woman, don’t hurry. Let your puja be performed as usual. I shall take you to Kailas before they reach it.” Accordingly, the puja was performed in due course. Waving his hand around, he said, “Old lady, close your eyes.” That was all. When she opened her eyes, she found herself seated in Kailas in front of Parvati and Parameswara. By the time Sundaramurthi and Chera Raja reached the place, they found her already seated there. Surprised at that, they asked her how she had got there and were overjoyed at her bhakti.

After all, she was very old. So she sat facing Parameswara with her legs stretched out like me. Parvati could not bear that sight. She was worried because to sit with legs stretched out towards Swami, she felt, was a great insult. She respectfully suggested to Parameswara that she should be permitted to tell the old lady about it. “Oh, don’t speak, don’t open your mouth. We should not say anything to her.” How could Parvati put up with that insult? She therefore whispered into the ear of her maid to tell the old lady, who said, “Grandma, Grandma, don’t keep your legs outstretched towards Iswara”. “Is that so?” She replied, “Tell me on which side Iswara is not present. Shall I turn this side?” asked Avvaiyar. So saying, she turned her outstretched legs to another side and Iswara got turned to that side; and when again she turned to a different direction, He also got turned to the same side. Thus Swami got turned to whichever side she turned her legs. Looking at Parvati, Iswara said, “Do you see now? You would not listen to me. See how she turns me this side and that. That is why I told you not to open your mouth.” Then Parvati requested the old lady to excuse her. It is similar to that when people are asked not to stretch their legs towards Swami. Where is He not present?

Sundaramurthi’s Bond of Servitude

Tirunavalur in Thirumunaippadi region in the Siva Brahmana caste called Adi Saivam, to a Siva priest named Chadayanar alias Sivacharya and his wife Isaijnaniyar. He was named by his parents Nambiyarurar. One day, while he was playing in the street with a toy cart, the king of the place, by name Narasinga Muniyar, saw him and took a fancy to him. He requested the father, Sivacharya to let him have the boy. The father agreed and the boy was brought up by the king as his foster son. Even so, the brahminical usages regarding thread ceremony and vedic instructions were carefully observed and he became well-versed in all the arts.

When he came of age, his marriage with the daughter of a relative by name Chatangavi Sivacharya was decided upon, and invitations were issued to all relatives for the function. Sundaramurthy went through the usual premarital ceremonies a day before the marriage, and on the marriage day, properly dressed as the bridegroom accompanied by his relatives, he went to the bride’s father’s house in Puttur village, quite early in the morning on horseback. On reaching the bride’s house, he alighted from the horse and sat on the wedding seat in the marriage pandal in accordance with the usual custom. Drums were sounded and the arrival of the bride was awaited.

Just then, Lord Siva approached the marriage pandal in the garb of an old brahmin, and announced, “All of you please listen to what I have to say.” On their assenting, the old man told the boy, “Look here, there is an agreement between you and me. First fulfil it and then marry.” The boy replied, “If there is an agreement, let it be so, but tell us first what it is.” The old brahmin told the audience, “Sirs, this boy is my servant. I have with me the deed of service executed by his grandfather in my favour.” Sundaramurthy replied, “Oh! Madman, Enough! We are hearing for the first time that a brahmin is the servant of another brahmin. Go, get away!” The brahmin replied, “I am neither a mad man nor a devil. I am not offended at your remarks. You have not understood me at all. Stop this childish talk and come and serve me.” Sundaramurthy then said, “Show me the deed.” “Who are you to decide after seeing the deed?” said the old man. “If the people in the audience see the deed and agree that it is true, you should begin to serve me.”

Sundaramurthy got very angry and pounced upon the man to snatch the deed from him. The brahmin ran away, but the boy pursued him, snatched the deed at last, and tore it to pieces. The old man caught hold of Sundaramurthy and began shouting. The marriage guests got agitated over that, separated the two and said to the brahmin, “You are speaking of arrangements unheard of in this world. Oh! Quarrelsome old man! Where do you come from?” The brahmin replied, “I belong to the village of Thiruvennainallur. Don’t you agree that this boy Nambiyarurar has confirmed his servitude to me by unjustly snatching away the service deed from my hands and tearing it to pieces?” Sundarar replied, “If indeed you are a resident of Thiruvennainallur village, your claim can be decided there, can’t it be?” The brahmin replied, “Yes. Come with me. I shall produce the original deed before the Council of brahmins there and establish my claim that you are my servant.” Accordingly the brahmin walked ahead and Sundaramurthy and all the other brahmins followed him.

As soon as they all reached the Council of brahmins in the other village, the cunning old brahmin filed his claim petition before them to the effect that the boy Nambiyarurar tore up the service deed in his favour. The councillors said, “We have not heard anywhere in this world that brahmins become servants of brahmins.” The brahmin replied, “No. Mine is not a false claim. The deed that this boy tore up is the deed of service executed by his grandfather to be my servants.” The councillors asked Sundaramurthy, “Can you win your case by merely tearing up the deed executed by your grandfather? What do you say?” He replied, “Oh virtuous men, learned in all the vedic lore! You all know that I am an Adi Saiva. Even if this old brahmin is able to establish that I am his servant, you must please consider it a piece of magic beyond the reach of mental reasoning. What can I say of such a claim?” The councillors told the brahmin, “You must first prove to us that he is your servant. To decide an affair of this nature, three things are needed – custom, written evidence and oral evidence. Should you not produce at least one of these three items?” The brahmin replied, “Sir! What he tore up is only the duplicate copy; the original deed is with me.” The councillors demanded the production of the original deed, and gave him an assurance that it would not be torn up by Sundaramurthy. The old man took out the original deed from the folds of the cloth around his waist, and showed it to them. The village Karnam who happened to come there unexpectedly then, was asked to read it. He bowed before the councillors, opened the folds of the original document and so as to be heard by all, he read it out aloud as follows: ‘I, Adi Saiva by caste and Arurar by name, residing in Thiruvennainallur village have executed this deed of service gladly and out of my own free will, undertaking to do service by me and by my successive descendants, to Pitthan (mad man) residing in Thiruvennainallur village. (Sd.) Arurar.”

The witness to the deed were those very councillors and they all identified and confirmed that the signatures were their own. The councillors asked Sundaramurthy to verify if the handwriting in the deed was his grandfather’s.

The man pretending to be a brahmin said, “Sir! This is a mere boy. How can he identify his grandfather’s writing? If there is any other paper available containing his grandfather’s writing, please send for it and compare.” They all agreed, and the relatives of Sundaramurthy searched, and produced a paper containing his grandfather’s handwriting. The councillors compared the two papers and confirmed that the writings in the two papers were identical. They told Sundaramurthy, “Boy! There is no way of escape for you. You have lost. It is your duty to do service according to this old man’s orders.” Sundaramurthy was stupefied at this and said that he would obey the order, if fate had decreed that way.

They had compassion on the boy, and had still some doubts about the brahmin, and questioned him, “Sir! This deed says that you belong to this very village. Can you show us where your ancestral house and property and all that are?” The brahmin pretended surprise, and said, “What! You are all of this village, so learned, so intelligent, so elderly – does not even one among you know my house? How surprising are your words! Come with me then!” So saying, he led the way, and they all followed. They saw the brahmin enter Siva’s temple called ‘Thiruvarul Thurai’, and they were stupefied.

Sundaramurthy thought, “The brahmin who made me his servant has entered the temple of my God Parameswara! What a wonder!” So thinking, he followed alone eagerly the footsteps of the brahmin and entered the temple with great desire and shouted, “Oh brahmin!” At once Lord Siva appeared in the company of Goddess Parvathi, seated on the sacred bull, and said, “My son! You are Aalaala Sundara, one of my pramatha ganas (chief attendants). You were born here as a result of a curse. You requested me to have you as My own, wherever you might be, even during the period of the curse. I therefore made you my servant here.”

As soon as Sundaramurthy heard those words of the Great Lord he was overjoyed like the calf that heard the mother-cow’s call. With his voice trembling with emotion and eyes filled with tears of joy, he made prostrations to Him, and with folded hands said, “Oh Lord! You are gracious to my worthless self, hold me fast to you like the cat holding on to its kitten, and make me your own. What gracious kindness!”, and praised Him. The Great Lord was pleased and said, “My son! Because you have disputed with me, you shall have the name of ‘Van Thondan’. The service to be rendered hereafter by you to me, is to worship me with flowers of verses. Compose verses on me and sing them.” With folded hands, Sundaramurthy said, “Oh Lord! You came in the guise of a brahmin and preferred a claim against me, and I contested and argued with you, not knowing your greatness. You are the great Lord that gave me recollection of my past and saved me from falling into worldly actions and behaviour and getting drowned therein. What do I know of your limitless great qualities, and what shall I sing of them?” Iswara said, “You already called me Pithan, mad man. Therefore, sing of me as the Mad Man.” So saying, he disappeared.

Sundaramurthy immediately sang the Sri Padikam, commencing with the verse: ‘Pittha pirai sudi’.”

Manikkavachakar

MANIKKAVACHAKAR WAS BORN in a village called Vaadavur (Vaatapuri) in Pandya Desa. Because of that people used to call him Vaadavurar. He was sent to school very early. He read religious books, absorbed the lessons therein, and became noted for his devotion to Siva, as also his kindness to living beings. Having heard about him, the Pandya king sent for him, made him his Prime Minister and conferred on him the title of “Thennavan Brahmarayan” i.e., Leader among brahmins in the south. Though he performed the duties of a minister with tact and integrity, he had no desire for material happiness. His mind was always absorbed in spiritual matters.

Feeling convinced that for the attainment of jnana, the grace of the guru is essential, he kept on making enquiries about it. Once the Pandya king directed the minister to buy a few good horses and bring them to him. As he was already in search of a guru, Manikkavachakar felt that it was a good opportunity and started with his retinue, carrying with him the required amount of gold. He visited all the temples on the way and reached a village called Tiruperundurai. For about a year before that, Parameswara had assumed the form of a school teacher and was teaching the poor children of the village seated on a street pial, near the temple. He had his meal which consisted of only cooked green vegetables, in the house of his pupils everyday by turn.

Well aware of the mental maturity of Manikkavachakar, Iswara anxiously awaited his arrival. By the time Manikkavachakar came, Iswara assumed the form of a Siddha Purusha (realised soul) and sat under a Kurundai (yellow amanth) tree within the temple. Many sannyasis had gathered around him. Manikkavachakar came to the temple, had darsan of the Lord in the sanctum sanctorum, and while doing pradakshina around the temple, saw the Siddha Purusha. He was thrilled at the sight and tears welled up in his eyes. Spontaneously, he lifted his hands above his head in salutation and prostrated at the feet of Iswara. He then got up, and prayed that he, a humble being, may also be accepted as a disciple. Having come to earth solely to bestow grace on Manikkavachakar, Iswara, through His mere look, gave him jnana upadesa (initiation into knowledge). Manikkavachakar felt indescribable happiness and the upadesa given by Iswara took deep root in his heart. With folded hands and tears of joy, Manikkavachakar went round the guru, offered salutations, stripped himself of all his official dress and ornaments, placed them near the guru and stood before him with only a kowpeenam on. A deeply felt inspiration resulted in his spontaneously composing and singing beautiful and moving devotional songs in praise of his guru. Iswara was pleased, and addressing him as ‘Manikkavachaka’, commanded him to remain there, worshipping Him and singing His praise. His mission fulfilled, the Lord disappeared.

Fully convinced that he who had blessed him was no other than Iswara Himself, Manikkavachakar was stricken with unbearable grief and fell on the ground weeping and saying, “Oh! My lord, Why did you go away leaving me here?” The villagers were very much surprised at this and began a search for the person who was till then working in their village as a schoolteacher but could not find him anywhere. Then they realised that it was the Lord’s leela. Some time later, Manikkavachakar got over his grief, decided to act according to the injunctions of Iswara, sent away his retinue to Madurai, spent all the gold with him on the temple and stayed there alone.

Hearing all that had happened, the king immediately sent an order to Manikkavachakar to return to Madurai, but then how could he go to the king without the horses?
If he wanted to purchase them, where was the money?

Not knowing what to do, he prayed to Lord Siva for help. That night Lord Siva appeared to him in a dream, gave him a priceless gem and said, “Give this to the king and tell him the horses will come on the day of the Moola star in the month of Sravana”. Startled at that vision he opened his eyes but the Lord was not there. Manikkavachakar was however, overjoyed at what had happened, put on his official dress and went to Madurai. He gave the gem to the king, discussed the auspicious time when the horses would be arriving and then anxiously waited for the day. He did not however, resume his official duties. Though his body was in Madurai, his mind was in Tirupperundurai. He was merely biding time. The Pandyan king, however, sent his spies to Perundurai and found out that there were no horses there meant for the king and that all the money meant for their purchase had been spent in the renovation of the temple. So he immediately imprisoned Manikkavachakar making him undergo all the trials and tribulations of prison life.

Meanwhile, as originally arranged, on the day of the Moola star, Iswara assumed the guise of a horseman transformed the jackals of the jungle into horses, and brought them to the king. The king was astonished at this, took delivery of the horses and according to the advice of the keeper of the stables, had them tied up at the same place where all his other horses were kept. He thanked the horseman profusely and after sending him away with several presents, released Manikkavachakar from prison with profuse apologies. The same night, the new horses changed into their original forms, killed all the horses in the stables, ate them, created similar havoc in the city and fled. The king grew very angry, branded Manikkavachakar a trickster and put him back into prison.

Soon, in accordance with Iswara’s orders, the waters of the river Vaigai rose in floods and the whole of the city of Madurai was under water. Alarmed at that, the king assembled all the people and ordered them to put up bunds around the river.
For that purpose, he ordered every citizen to do a certain amount of work with the threat of dire consequences, should they fail to do their allotted work.

There was in Madurai an old woman by name ‘Pittuvani Ammaiyar’. She was a pious devotee of Lord Siva. She was living alone earning her livelihood by daily preparing and selling ‘Pittu’ (Pittu is sweetened powdered rice pressed into conical shapes). She had no one to do her allotted work on the river bund nor had she the money to hire a person to do it. She was therefore greatly worried and cried. “Iswara! What shall I do?”

Seeing her helplessness, Iswara came there in the guise of a coolie, with a spade on his shoulder, and called out, “Granny, granny, do you want a coolie?” “Yes”, she said, “But I do not have even a paisa in my hand to pay you. What to do?” He said, “I do not want any money and would be satisfied if you gave me a little Pittu to eat. I shall then do the allotted work on the river bund.”

Pleased with that offer, she began making Pittu, but they did not come out in full shape but were broken. Surprised at this she gave all the bits to the coolie. He ate as many of them as he could and went away saying that he would attend to the bund-raising work. Surprisingly, the dough with the old woman remained intact even though she had prepared and given bits of the Pittu to the coolie. The coolie went to the work-spot but instead of doing the work lay down there idly coming in the way of others doing their work.

The king went round to inspect the progress of the work and found that the portion allotted to Ammaiyar remained unattended to. On enquiry, his servants told him all about the pranks of that coolie. The king got infuriated, called the coolie and said, “Instead of doing the allotted work, you are lying down and singing”. So saying, he hit the coolie on the back with a cane he had in his hand. The hit not only recoiled on the king himself, but on all living beings there, and all of them suffered the pain on that account. The king immediately realised that the person hit by him was Parameswara Himself in the guise of a coolie. The king stood aghast. Parameswara vanished and soon a voice from the sky said, “Oh king! Manikkavachakar is my beloved devotee. I myself did all this to show you his greatness. Release him and seek his blessings.”

Soon after hearing that voice, the king went to see Manikkavachakar and on the way, he stepped into the house of Pittuvani Ammaiyar to see her. By that time she had already got into a vimanam (a heavenly car moving through the skies) and was on her way to Kailas. The king was greatly surprised and saluted her and from there he went straight to Manikkavachakar and fell at his feet. Manikkavachakar lifted him with great respect, and enquired of his welfare. The king said, “Please forgive me and rule this kingdom yourself.” Manikkavachakar, looking at the king, said with kindness, “Appah! (a term of endearment) As I have already agreed to serve the Lord, I cannot be bothered with the problems of ruling a kingdom. Please do not mistake me. Rule the kingdom yourself looking after the welfare of the people. Henceforth you will have nothing to worry about.”

So saying, smilingly, he put on the dress of a sannyasin and went about visiting holy places singing the praise of Siva.

How the Tiruvachakam was Written

MANIKKAVACHAKKAR WAS GOING from one place to another until he came to Chidambaram. While witnessing Nataraja’s dance he started singing heart-melting songs and stayed in that place itself. Then one day Nataraja, with a view to make people know the greatness of Manikkavachakar and to bless the people with an excellent collection of hymns, went to the house of Manikkavachakar in the night, in the guise of a brahmin. He was received cordially and when asked the purpose of the visit, the Lord smilingly and with great familiarity asked, “It seems you have been singing hymns during your visit to sacred places of pilgrimage and that you are doing it here also. May I hear them? I have been thinking of coming and listening to you for a very long time but could not find the required leisure. That is why I have come here at night. I suppose you don’t mind. Can you sing? Do you remember them all?”

“There is no need to worry about sleep. I shall sing all the songs I remember. Please listen.” So saying Manikkavachakar began singing in ecstasy. The Lord in the guise of a brahmin sat down there writing the songs on palm leaves. As Manikkavachakar was in ecstasy he hardly noticed the brahmin who was taking down the songs. Singing on and on, he completely forgot himself in the thought of God and ultimately became silent. The old brahmin quietly disappeared.

At daybreak, the dikshitar (priest) came to the Nataraja temple as usual to perform the morning puja and as he opened the doors he found in front of the Nataraja image, on the doorstep, a palm-leaf book. When the book was opened, and scrutinised the words Tiruvachakam were written as well as an explanation that the book was written, as dictated by Manikkavachakar. It was signed below Tiruchitrambalam, i.e. Chidambaram. The stamp of Sri Nataraja was also there below the signature. Thereupon, all the temple priests gathered in great surprise and sent word to Manikkavachakar, showed him the Tiruvachakam, and the signature of Nataraja and asked him to tell them about the genesis of the hymns.

Manikkavachakar did not say anything but asked them to accompany him, went to the temple of Nataraja and standing opposite the Lord said, “Sirs, the Lord in front of us is the only answer to your question. He is the answer.” After having said that, he merged into the Lord.

As he narrated the story, Bhagavan’s voice got choked. Unable to speak any more he remained in ecstatic silence.