After quite a gap, I got the opportunity to enjoy both the மடல்கள் at the Pomona Ranganatha temple during the Chariot festival. I am referring to சிறிய திருமடல் and பெரிய திருமடல். My thoughts went back to the commentary I had very briefly explored a few years back. I revisited this and thus this blog on a small piece of சிறிய திருமடல்.
Thirumanghai Azhwar (by his own account) was going about his life getting involved in worldly matters. When perumal decided to get him back on track, he decided that advice /discourses would not help as Azhwar was a devotee of beauty. So perumal revealed his beauty and hooked him. After that he wanted to enforce it as a pure emotional hook can always loosen and so revealed thirumantra and through that the nature of everything to Azhwar. Azhwar was hooked and started his outpouring of pasurams.
Perumal shows him the limitations of this life due to its limitations and so Azhwar starts to literally beg perumal to take him to the divine above @ the end of Periya Thirumozhi. Why does not perumal do that? The traditional commentary of the acharyas go like this. When a child recovers from digestion issues and starts feeling hunger again, the mother does not give the best items (சர்க்கரை பொங்கல் ) immediately. She waits to make sure that the recovery is full and proper before doing that. Perumal does the same thing here. He waits to make sure that Azhwar's desire is complete.
When some is thirsty (say wandering around in a desert) and finds a pond or a small stream, he basically goes overboard, splashing water all over him and drinking just a little. Azhwar does the same in திருகுருந்தாண்டகம் enjoying perumal's attributes and so on. Once you do something like that, the thirst hits you again. Same for Azhwar and feeling desolate again, surrenders to perumal in திருவெழு கூ ற் றிருக்கை. Perumal waits for some more time, setting the stage for the BOSS to throw spectacular tantrums :-) (sorry for the crude description but I guess I am jumping around trying to type this).
He gets angry and thinks that if perumal does not pay heed, whats the point in him existing!! And so decides to destroy perumal's attributes and his divine dwelling places in the different Divyadesams!! Talk of revenge!!
So the sequence is this. (1) பெரிய திருமொழி ending in Azhwar begging perumal to take him away from this world (2) திருகுருந்தாண்டகம் - Where enjoys perumal's attributes and ends up feeling desolate again (3) திருவெழு கூ ற் றிருக்கை - Azhwar surrendering to Perumal again (4) சிறிய திருமடல் - Azhwar getting angry and trying to destroy the attributes and divyadesams of perumal.
Naturally he takes the Nayaki form, more specifically, the one from திரு ஆய் பாடி of a gopika who wants to enjoy the குடமாடு கூத்தன் and undertakes ம்டல்.
When Nayaki is separated from Nayakan or vice versa, depending upon who the culprit is, the other one undertakes madal. There are lot of details around this in literature .. examples involving the Nayakan sitting on an animal (bullock or Donkey) with unruly hair going around the town saying the Nayaki had let him down and so on. Such an extreme is not allowed for Nayaki in tamil literature. There are obviously very restrained reactions for the Nayaki as allowed in the culture. But Azhwar is so mad that he takes up the Sanskrit literature as reference even though he is singing in tamil, where the Nayaki goes the whole way :-)
Setting the stage for சிறிய திருமடல் !!!
Thirumanghai Azhwar (by his own account) was going about his life getting involved in worldly matters. When perumal decided to get him back on track, he decided that advice /discourses would not help as Azhwar was a devotee of beauty. So perumal revealed his beauty and hooked him. After that he wanted to enforce it as a pure emotional hook can always loosen and so revealed thirumantra and through that the nature of everything to Azhwar. Azhwar was hooked and started his outpouring of pasurams.
Perumal shows him the limitations of this life due to its limitations and so Azhwar starts to literally beg perumal to take him to the divine above @ the end of Periya Thirumozhi. Why does not perumal do that? The traditional commentary of the acharyas go like this. When a child recovers from digestion issues and starts feeling hunger again, the mother does not give the best items (சர்க்கரை பொங்கல் ) immediately. She waits to make sure that the recovery is full and proper before doing that. Perumal does the same thing here. He waits to make sure that Azhwar's desire is complete.
When some is thirsty (say wandering around in a desert) and finds a pond or a small stream, he basically goes overboard, splashing water all over him and drinking just a little. Azhwar does the same in திருகுருந்தாண்டகம் enjoying perumal's attributes and so on. Once you do something like that, the thirst hits you again. Same for Azhwar and feeling desolate again, surrenders to perumal in திருவெழு கூ ற் றிருக்கை. Perumal waits for some more time, setting the stage for the BOSS to throw spectacular tantrums :-) (sorry for the crude description but I guess I am jumping around trying to type this).
He gets angry and thinks that if perumal does not pay heed, whats the point in him existing!! And so decides to destroy perumal's attributes and his divine dwelling places in the different Divyadesams!! Talk of revenge!!
So the sequence is this. (1) பெரிய திருமொழி ending in Azhwar begging perumal to take him away from this world (2) திருகுருந்தாண்டகம் - Where enjoys perumal's attributes and ends up feeling desolate again (3) திருவெழு கூ ற் றிருக்கை - Azhwar surrendering to Perumal again (4) சிறிய திருமடல் - Azhwar getting angry and trying to destroy the attributes and divyadesams of perumal.
Naturally he takes the Nayaki form, more specifically, the one from திரு ஆய் பாடி of a gopika who wants to enjoy the குடமாடு கூத்தன் and undertakes ம்டல்.
When Nayaki is separated from Nayakan or vice versa, depending upon who the culprit is, the other one undertakes madal. There are lot of details around this in literature .. examples involving the Nayakan sitting on an animal (bullock or Donkey) with unruly hair going around the town saying the Nayaki had let him down and so on. Such an extreme is not allowed for Nayaki in tamil literature. There are obviously very restrained reactions for the Nayaki as allowed in the culture. But Azhwar is so mad that he takes up the Sanskrit literature as reference even though he is singing in tamil, where the Nayaki goes the whole way :-)
Setting the stage for சிறிய திருமடல் !!!
Love your analysis! This makes it digestible for folks like me.
ReplyDeleteCarry on, you are on the right line of reading, studying and enjoying nuances and essnce of what Azhwars wanted to convey.
ReplyDeleteAll d best
Rajaaaaaaaaah
Stating the obvious, the traditional commentary covers all these aspects rather brilliantly.. so I am simply reproducing it (rather picking and choosing) :-)
ReplyDelete