DEIVATHIN KURAL # 23 (Vol # 5) Dated 15 July 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 23 (Vol # 5) Dated 15 July 2011

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by PeriyavaaL of Kanchi Kaamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from the page No 140 of Vol 5 of the Tamil original. The readers may note that herein 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://Advaitham.blogspot.com updated constantly)
88. The Aazhwaar said, “Kani KaNNan is leaving. Do not keep lying down like this. I am a man who says with courage whatever is truth without adding or subtracting. I am a poet whose tongue is red due to always telling the truth and saying things as they are.” I quote, “KaNi KaNNan poginraan, kaamaru poongachchi maNivaNNaa! Nee kidakka vendaa! ThuNivonrich chennaap pulavon yaan selginren, neeyum unran painaagap paai suruttikkoL”.
89. “I fearlessly speak the truth. If you keep lying down without any responsibility, I will tell the whole world, you better watch out!” The song goes on as though Aazhwaar is giving a fair warning to God not to remain unaffected at this grave turn of events. “Poor child is going out of this town and Empire. Unable to bear it I am also leaving. What is the meaning of your lying about unconcerned?” Further raising his voice as though, he says, “You also get up fast rolling up your snake bed” – ‘neeyum unran painaagap paai suruttikkoL !’ This word ‘paai’ means a mattress on which people sleep. Here the ‘paai’ is made up of ‘painnaagap paai’ – that is the Adi Sesha, the thousand headed snake! (Saying this PeriyavaaL raises his voice, giving his narration a dramatic effort, giving the order to God in the tone and seriousness of a command!)
90. When God is lying, the Adi Sesha with thousand hoods is his bed. When God is on the move, this Aadi Sesha is the Umbrella giving adequate cover for God’s head. Poigai Aazhwaar’s Thiruvandaadi No. 53 says, “senraal kudaiyaam” – the mobile umbrella! When God came in to this world as KrishNa, within a few minutes of his birth the baby had to be taken from Dwaraka to Brindavan across the River Yamuna in torrential rains. At that time too it was Adi Sesha who acted as the mobile umbrella!
91. Even while ordering God the Aazwaar’s care and concern for God is no less! He did not simply order him to just get down from his bed and follow them. Instead, so that he may not be troubled by rain and Sun’s rays, with utmost care he is instructing God to roll up his snake mattress and bring it with him. Once ordered PerumaaL also did not wait for long. In a jiffy almost, he gathered his wherewithal, rolled up his bed / mattress and followed suit! ‘Doing as ordered – sonna vaNNam seidadu’ does not end there! By the time they started out, it was dark. They had gone hardly any distance, may be just the outer limits of the city proper! God also wished to play the human game I suppose. He said, “It is already dark and it is night time. Let us not travel now. Let us halt here in this very point in space tonight and after a night’s rest, commence our journey tomorrow morning!” Whether God said this or Aazhwaar said this, it is not important. God was after all displaying implicit obedience, did he not? They spent the night on the shores of the River Paalaaru under a tree, where there was a beautiful breeze blowing.
92. By this time there was total chaos in Kanchipuram. Since Bhagawan left the city, Maha Lakshmi who is forever on his ‘Vaksha-sthalam’ (the chest) also vacated the city automatically. When She leaves there is only darkness and desolation. The place known by the title of awe and admiration as, ‘Nagareshu Kanchi’ was a pale replica of its original splendour! It was total darkness. Lights and lamps refused to burn! In all the temples without lights there was no pooja! There was confusion, doubt and darkness in people’s minds too! Everywhere there was fear of the unknown and panic!
93. All the people rushed to the King and prayed. He was already in a state of collapse full of anxiety and consternation. From their complaints he realized that it is all due to PerumaaL leaving the town that all this disquietude had come about! He started out immediately saying, “Just now I will go and fall in PerumaaL’s feet and beg him to return to his abode!” It was a Herculean task to bring that King to the city limits, since a King is not permitted to move about without proper protection organised! By the time this caboodle reached the Paalaaru River bank where PerumaaL was staying with the Aazhwaar and KaNi KaNNan, it was morning.
94. Even then the King was not conscious of the fact that he was the culprit and cause for all the chaos! He was not thinking of apologising for having first made an undeserving demand for regaining his youth and then for having misbehaved with KaNi NaNNan in banishing him out of his country! He was simply unaware of his own ‘King-pin role’ in the episode! Whether the PerumaaL was in the Archai form or in the mobile form like any other human being of this world; is not very important. The King fell flat in God’s feet (Ashta Anga Namaskaaram) and prayed to God, “PerumaaL’s absence has rendered the temple desecrated! Similarly the whole town wears a look of desolation! All the people are in panic! Whatever may be the improper behaviour on behalf of anyone of us PerumaaL may kindly pardon us and return to your abode in Kanchipuram please!”
95. PerumaaL told him, “I did not start out on my own. Aazhwaar ordered and I simply obeyed. Unless he says so, I will not come back.” (If God was in Archai form, we can presume that there was an incorporeal voice from the heavens that answered the King.) Having no other recourse, the King fell in the feet of Aazhwaar now and requested him to tell God to return to his temple. Aazhwaar said, “I cannot live even a second without my God! So I cannot tell him to go with you and remain here.” The King pleaded again “Your Highness also is requested to come back please! I am waiting for that only.” Now Aazwaar also answered like God only. “I did not come on my own. When you banished KaNi KaNNan from your kingdom, he did not wish to continue staying in your lands even for a second more. He started out immediately and as I do not wish to be separated from him I followed him. So instead of falling in my feet, you better apologise to him for your behaviour and cancel your orders of banishment. Then if he agrees to return to Kanchipuram, I will come back and also tell PerumaaL to get back to his temple!”
96. Then what else? Raja fell in KaNi KaNNan’s feet in all repentance for his crudeness and requested him to come back. Being a kind hearted person KaNi KaNNan did not even let the King touch his feet but quickly lifted the King and agreed to abide by the King’s wishes. He immediately headed back home to Kanchipuram followed by Aazhwaar – he being followed by the Yatoktakaari PerumaaL – followed by the King and his entourage! The place where PerumaaL, Aazhwaar and KaNi KaNNan spent the night on the banks of the River Paalaaru got the name of ‘Oru iravu irukkai’ (that is ‘one night stay’), that over time became ‘Orikkai’, as it is known today! Once they returned to Kanchipuram, the place got back its resurgent liveliness and the fear and confusion from people’s minds vanished! After coming back to the temple PerumaaL was still standing. He had been told to roll up his bedding and start. Now having returned, he was waiting for orders to lie down again! So he continued to stand till told to assume the prone position. That is the seriousness with which he is bound by the words of the devotee! That is why, he is known as ‘Bhakta paraadeenan’!
97. Seeing this Bhagawaan PerumaaL who is the ultimate destination of all devotees, standing like this, Aazhwaar’s heart was moved to tears! Now he did not say, “Me who could never be without you, have come back is it not so? Why are you still standing? Why do you not spread Sesha Sayanam and lie down?” Instead he slightly changed the words of his earlier poem to mean that since after all KaNi KaNNan has returned you have to resume your original place and status to take care of him.
98. He said, “KaNI KaNNan pokkozhindaan”. Instead of leaving he has decided to stay here only. With a slight change in the words, he has turned around the meaning completely! “In the bargain, I am also back here and so you can also reopen your snake bed mattress.” Then he said ‘suruttikkoL’ meaning ‘roll it up’ and now he says, ‘virittukkoL’ meaning ‘reopen’. Earlier he said ‘nee kidakka vendaa’ meaning ‘you cannot continue to be lying around’ and now he says ‘nee kidakka vendum’ meaning ‘you have to please resume your Bhujanga Sayana posture’!
“KaNi KaNNan pokkozhindaan, kaamaru poonkachi maNi vaNNaa! Nee kidakka vendum! – ThuNi vonrich chennaap pulavon yaan selavozhinden, neeyum unran pai naagap paai virittukkoL”
99. “KaNi KaNNan has also returned and given up his idea of leaving. I have also cancelled my earlier decision to go! We are going to be here only. Looking at the shock and trauma that the people of this city have undergone, the King or the people or anybody is not going to ask us to leave here anymore. So now you can also unroll your bed with the mattress of Aadi Sesha snake and resume your prone posture happily. I feel bad for your quandary. May be you are wondering what further order this small human being is going to give you, that you are still standing with your rolled up mattress! Please lie down my Dear Sir! ‘pai naagap paai virittukkoL’!” Only now PerumaaL again lied down in his bed of Aadi Sesha. He is the one amongst many of the temples of Kanchipuram, known as the ‘Yatoktakaari’ or ‘sonna vaNNam seida PerumaaL’! There others known as ‘Pachchai VaNNa PerumaaL’ and ‘PavaLa VaNNa PerumaaL’ in Kanchipuram. This is the one and only ‘Sonna VaNNam Seida PerumaaL’!
100. Later Thiru Mazhisai Aazhwaar went visiting all the important such temple towns of Maha VishNu PerumaaL in a Kshetraadanam. Finally he reached KumbakoNam known as Thirukkudandai another of VaishNava Divya Desams and attained to Maha Samaadhi! As I said earlier, the Saivites call their sacred stations as ‘Paadal Petra Sthalangal’ and Vaishnavites call their important sacred destinations as ‘Divya Desam’!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.