Miscellaneous - Religion   

Consummate devotion

CHENNAI: The hymns of the 12 Azhwars were codified by Nathamuni in the Nalayira Divyaprabandham, which comprises nearly 4000 verses. They have been categorised into four sections with more or less a thousand verses in each. These mystics belonged to different times, and the sequence in which their hymns appear in the collection do not reflect the order of their births. The hymns of the first three Azhwars (Poygai, Bhutam and Pey), for instance, are in the fourth part of the Prabandham.

In her discourse, Dr. Sudha Seshaiyan said there was a thematic rationale underlying the classification of the hymns in the Prabandham. The first part begins with the hymns of Periazhwar, his foster-daughter Andal and Kulasekara Azhwar, who is more popularly addressed as Kulasekara Perumal. They do not predate the Mudal Azhwars and yet the anthology opens with their works. It is traditionally said that Periazhwar earned his name (meaning great) because he became the father-in-law of the Lord Himself and he is also considered great because he sang the benedictory hymn, Pallandu, for the Almighty. Andal’s greatness lies in her unique status. She was not only a mystic but one who became His consort, and Her compositions, the Tiruppavai and the Nacchiar Tirumozhi, are unparalleled in the genre of bridal mysticism.

Kulasekara Azhwar was a Chera king who spurned his kingdom to devote himself to God and the invocation to his hymn, the Perumal Tirumozhi, states that he earned the name “Perumal” (Lord) by his adoration of Lord Ranganatha in Srirangam (who is addressed in tradition as Perumal). Kulasekara Perumal’s yearning for eternal service to God finds its best expression in a decade of verses on the deity of Tirumala in which he says he wished to be anything in this holy abode—a penitent stork in the temple tank, a little fish in a stream in the hill, a flower to be offered at His feet, a golden peak on the hill or a footpath in its cool enchanting groves. Finally he longed “to lie as a doorstep at the portals of Your temple where devotees, celestials and Rambha stand and wait, for a glimpse of Your coral lips constantly,” so that he could always behold the Lord.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Cartoonscape
The Hindu Crossword No. 9262
Solution No. 9261
Consummate devotion
dated June 28, 1958: Technical aid
dated June 28, 1958: Economic trends in U.S.
dated June 28, 1958: Governor’s tribute
Weather

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu