Miscellaneous - Religion   

Birth of saints

CHENNAI : The Supreme Being incarnates from time to time in the world to re-establish Dharma. In this Kali yuga when Dharma is on the wane it is all the more necessary that there should be spiritual leaders for humanity to look up to and it is to fill this need that God deputes the eternal beings in His transcendental abode to the world as saints and preceptors. The Puranic tradition has foretold the birth of mystics on the banks of the holy rivers in the southern region of this country (Dravida desa) and hagiological literature revere the mystic saints, Azhwars, as such saviours born to redeem humanity from bondage.

In his discourse, Sri M.V.Anantha Padmanabhachariar said just as weeds had to be uprooted for the crop to flourish, so also was it necessary to nurture the spiritual tradition from the onslaught of heretical systems. The birth of Tirumazhisai Azhwar is a case in point. His two compositions, the Nanmukan Tiruvandadi and the Tirucchanda Viruttam, have internal evidence to corroborate the Lord's supremacy from his experience. He was no ordinary mortal. Tradition relates that he was born in the holy abode of Mahisara kshetra (presently known as Tirumazhisai) as the offspring of Sage Bhrigu.

There is an interesting aside about the sanctity of this place. Once when the sages approached the creator, Brahma, to seek his advice about where they should engage in penance to derive the maximum benefit, he asked Viswakarma to make a balance and placed the Earth on one pan and Mahisara kshetra on the other, and it descended thereby proving that Mahisara's sanctity was more than all the holy spots in the world. The sages performed penance there and Indra became afraid of Bhrigu's intense meditation and sent a heavenly maiden to disturb his concentration. The sage's momentary attraction to her resulted in the birth of a baby, which she abandoned in a bamboo thicket, and he also retired to do penance.

It is recounted that the Lord and His consort graced the infant till a childless couple fostered it attracted by its lustrous face. Many extraordinary incidents have been documented in Tirumazhisai Azhwar's life. He practised different faiths before he became a staunch devotee of Lord Narayana through the influence of Peyazhwar.

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