Wednesday, October 21, 2015

முதல் ஆழ்வார்கள் ~ Poigai Azhwar Sarrumurai - Sri Ranganathar purappadu 2015

வாய் அவனை  அல்லது வாழ்த்தாது கையுலகம்*
தாயவனை அல்லது  தாந்தொழா - பேய்முலை
நஞ்சூணாகவுண்டான் உருவோடு பேரல்லால்*
காணாகண் கேளா செவி.

~ astounding words of faith in Muthal Thiruvanthathi.  Poigai Azhwar speaks of Lord Krishna who strolled on Earth as a child, drank poison with relish from the breasts of ogress… Alwar proclaims that his hands will salute none other than Him; lips shall not extol anybody else; eyes will not see – other than His form ~ and ears would not hear anything other than the name(s) of Sriman Narayana.

We live – we pray – we go to temples….. in Sri Vaishnavism, in the various forms of God – the one which is easiest and the form in which the Supreme God makes Himself available to us daily is ‘Idol worship’ in Divyadesams and other temples – this is known as ‘Archai’ ~ Archavatharam, where the Supreme Lord Maha Vishnu manifests Himself in various idol forms and comes near us to shower his munificence to us ………..


Our great saints – “Azhwars”  have given us  beautiful verses on Sriman Narayana in sweet Tamil, collectively known as “Sri Nalayira Divya Prabandham’…… one must ponder over the greatness of the ‘mayarvara mathinalam arulap perra Azhwargal’ ~ those Azhwars were supreme in their wisdom and were showered specially by God Himself with abundance of knowledge and devotion to thyself…….. to the Azhwars, the transcendental reality was not merely an abstract principle ~ the life was not illusion… to them their very purpose of birth and living and their confinement on earth was for service to Lord Sriman Narayana – serving Him in the most servile manner with all glorious, flawless and auspicious attributes which included floral worship and lyrical – those of verses on Supreme Lord.  They realized that the entire cosmos of all sentinent and  insentinent entities were alive with the underlying divinity of Emperuman being the inner controller or the soul; they realized the need for not just feeding this earthly body but more of the ‘soul – the athma’ inside.

Among the 12 Azhwaars of Srivaishanva Tradition, Poigai Azhwar, Boothath Azhwar and Peyazhwar – were the ones to have descended on this Earth earlier.  They were contemporaries and are praised as “Muthal Azhwars (the first among the Azhwars).  They were born in the month of “Aippasi: in the thirunakshathirams of ‘Thiruvonam, Avittam, Sathayam’ respectively. This divine trio met on a rainy day at Thirukkovalur – when they sang 100 verses each which now form part of Moonravathu Ayiram (Iyarpa) in Naalayira Divyaprabandham. 

ஐப்பசியில் ஓணம் அவிட்டம் சதயம் இவை - ஒப்பிலவா நாள்கள் உலகத்தீர் – என ஸ்ரீமணவாள மாமுனிகள் தமது  'உபதேசரத்தினமாலையில்' எடுத்து உரைத்தார்.  இவை எப்புவியும் பேசு புகழ் "பொய்கையார், பூதத்தார், பேயாழ்வார்' – இவ்வுலகில்  வந்துதித்த நாள்கள்.  பன்னிரு ஆழ்வார்களில்  முதலில் வந்துதித்ததனால் முதல் ஆழ்வார்கள் எனபெருமை பெற்றவர்கள் இவர்கள்.  


In the Thondai Naadu,  the land of radiance  and nature's beauty,  is  Thiru Vehkka, nearer the Thiru Kachi Sri Devathirajar temple, also called as "Yadothakaari Sannadhi"  [sonna vannam seitha perumal ~ the God who did as ordained by His devotee].  Nearer to the Yadothakari temple, is a Poigai (small pond),  full of beautiful, fresh lotus flowers. In this Pond was born Sri Poigai Azhwar in the month of Aippasi and on Thiruvonam nakshathiram being the amsam of Panchajanyam – the weapon of Lord.   Alwar was extremely devoted and led his life in service to God only, going to several Divyasthalams and doing service to Lord and His followers

The muthalazhwargal vaibhavam is a very interesting one… the trio came together for the first time at Thirukkovalur on a rainy day when there was lightning accompanied by thunders – in the front passage [idai kazhi] of a house referred as ‘dehali or rezhi’……….. the place being very small – it was good enough for Poigai Azhwar to lie down; when Boothathazhwar joined him, they were able to sit ~ and then came Peyalwar who was invited to their fold saying that ‘one can lie; two can sit while there is sufficient place for all the three to stand’……. They were sharing their peregrinations in their divine journeys, they felt strange pressure in total darkness as there was some one more amidst……  being great sages with total dedication to Lord they lit light ~ how great and mighty in their bakthi they were….  Poigai Azhwar made the Great Earth  as the lamp; Ocean as the oil; the Sun as the light – all to be placed at the Lotus Feet of the Supreme Lord  and he sang 100 verses ~ Muthal Thiruvanthathi.  Sri Boothathalwar followed – making ‘love as the lamp; eagerness as the oil – the endearing thoughts as the wick to the lamp and the lit the lamp of wisdom’ – Sri Peyalwar having had the benefit of these lights rendered his ‘Moondram Thiruvanthathi’.



Today 21st Oct 2015  being ‘Aippasiyil Thiruvonam’ marks the birth of first among them – Sri Poigai Azhwar. Today assumed added  significance for being  birthday of a great Acharyar – Pillai Logachariyar ~ a person of great wisdom who underwent untold sufferings in ensuring that the primordial Lord Thiruvaranganar is safe [more on this on a later post…].


At Thiruvallikkeni divyadesam on all sarrumurai days of Azhwar / Acharyargal – there will be purappadu with Sri Parthasarathi.  This day coming during Navarathri celebrations – it was Srimannathar [Sri Ranganathar] purappadu with Poigaialwar and Ulagariyar.  Here are some photos of the purappadu at Thiruvallikkeni

Adiyen Srinivasadhasan.


21st Oct 2o15.









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