Thirumangai AzvAr' s Preference to Northern cult to Tamil one
When Thriumangai AzvAr Proclaimed in ThriuNedunthANdakam 'senThiRatha Thamizh
Osai vada sollAGi' ThirunedunthANdakam 4,the classical divine tamil, indeed
shows up the collar, a tribute from none other than nAlu kavip perumAL.
However, when it comes to emotion packed romance, love and affection,the pangs
of separation pushes Thirumangai mannan to relegate tamil cult to backseat when
AzhvAr opts fornorthern practices -vaDa neRiyEa vEANdinOam'.
There is another instance where Kaliyan endorses this view. When ParakAla
nAyaki's mother places her in an isolated place, ParakAla nAyaki looks around
to get a glimpse of the divine spot 'ThriukkaNNapuram'. The mother decidedly
felt that having put her in a secluded spot, the communication would get
snapped and so the relationship.
However, her predicament is realised by the holy messenger who goes on a
singing mission, bridges the gap, functions the job of router and concretises
the communicatin culminating in togetherness of the loved ones.
Generally, this singing missionary -pANan- is sent by the thalaivan -male
counterpart to assuage the hard feelings of the female counterpart -thalaivi.
This is the practice in tamil cult.
'nEnilA muTRAthE ninRivaL nOKKinAL,
kANumOA kaNNapuram enRu kATTinAL,
pANANAr thiNNamirukka ini ivaL
nANumOA? nanRu nanRu naRaiyURarkEa' Periya ThiruMozhi 8-2-2;
However, in northern cult, this can be done by female part to the male part
(refer Rukmini PirATTi's emissary to Lord KrshNA)
This line is toed by ParakAla nAyaki who mentions that the pANaNAr is in a
mission to ensure their togetherness and therefore she is unperturbed.
The swApadhEsam -AchAryan is the pANAnAr who ensures the prapannan with
EmperumAn.
(Heard from upanyAsam-s)
dASan
vanamamalai padmanabhan
----- Original Message -----
From: sadagopaniyengar
To: malolan_net@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ; Oppiliappan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ;
tiruvenkatam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ; ramanuja@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Sunday, December 11, 2005 8:11 PM
Subject: [Oppiliappan] The Shameless Strategy
Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
The Shameless Strategy
You would have seen a recent TV commercial for a mobile phone, in which a
youth climbs to the top of a skyscraper under construction and bawls out for
all to hear, 'Monica! I love you! Please accept me' and so on. Given the large
degree of exaggeration that characterises all advertisement, I wondered idly
whether someone would really resort to such tactics to persuade his beloved to
accept his attentions. All said and done, love is a private matter and none
would like others to know about it prematurely, till it is confirmed to be a
two-way affair. However, what can the boy do if, despite his most sincere and
industrious pursuit, a girl refuses to accept or even acknowledge his
affections? He can't really throw in the towel and look at other eligible
females, because his love for this particular girl is really deep and has
reached a stage where he can't live without her. He has tried all the routine
strategies for communicating with her, like letters, SMS, messages through her
friends, etc., but nothing seems to work. It is in sheer desperation, knowing
not what else to do to win her affections, but convinced that he must do
something, he climbs to the top of the tower under construction and shouts his
love for her, literally from the rooftops, so that people who hear his forlorn
message would perhaps take pity on him and intercede with the girl on his
behalf, or the girl herself would realise from this shameless act the depth of
his love for her and would be sufficiently moved to return his affections.
Whether the strategy succeeds or not is a different matter-but its adoption
indicates to us the desperation behind the youth's action, the almost suicidal
sincerity underlying his love and his brazenness in not caring whether the
entire world knows about his innermost feelings.
Given that love is a basic emotion and has been afflicting boys and girls
from time immemorial, it is no surprise for us to find mention of the
phenomenon is ancient Tamizh literature. In fact, the type of exhibition youth
put on in desperation to attract the notice of their beloved, during times
past, appears to be much more excessive than any even the current day
youngsters have come up with so far (which is definitely saying something). We
are told that in the face of a studied silence on the part of their beloved
despite all forms of entreaties, boys and girls used to forsake food and sleep,
tormented by constant thoughts of the beloved. They drew a portrait of their
darling and used to go anywhere and everywhere along with it, gazing at it with
adoration and yearning. Friends of the lover used to take him or her in a
procession through the town, portrait and all, especially through the street
where the unresponsive beloved resided. At the height of the malady, the boy or
girl used to fall at the feet of the portrait and even die in the same posture,
having given up basic life-saving functions like eating, sleeping and bathing.
This type of rather bizarre behaviour prompted by excessive and unrequited
love, has been given the name Madal Oordal, in Sangam literature. However,
whatever be the circumstance and however excessive be the emotion, women were
not expected to adopt such strategies for securing the attentions of their
beloved. Tiruvalluvar tells us that the ideal girl, whatever be the
provocation, never resorts to such tactics-
'Kadal anna kaamam uzhandum madal era
Pennil peruntakkadu il'
The hoary culture of ancient Tamils placed such premium on modesty and
continence in women, that though society was prepared to countenance bizarre
behaviour in males, prompted by a surfeit of love, it preferred women never to
be excessively demonstrative of their affections, even if the separation from
the beloved were to result in the girl's life being lost. It was alright for
women to rant, rave or grieve the absence of their beloved, all within the four
walls of the home, but it was not considered the done thing for females to
resort to Madal Oordal or similar publicly demonstrative strategies for
consummating their love.
We are therefore surprised to find Sri Tirumangai Mannan, the doyen of Tamizh
poets and sporting the title Naalu Kavi Perumal, taking a diametrically
opposite stand vis-à-vis accepted norms of behaviour for Tamizh women. In fact,
Azhwar quotes these norms and makes fun of such women for not adopting the
tactics of Madal Oordal. We thus find Azhwar running contrary to Tamizhar
Panpaadu (Tamizh Culture), not even by oversight, but with studied
deliberation. Sri Kalian spurns the mores of Tamizh women and prefers those of
North Indian girls, who are much more venturesome in their endeavours for
attaining their beloved.
If you find this hard to believe, here are the poignant words of the
peripatetic poet Parakala-
'Anna nadaayaar alar esa aadavar mel
mannu madal ooraar enbador vaasakamum
ten urayil kettu arivadu undu-adanai yaam teliyom
mannum vada neriye vendinom'
'I have indeed heard Tamizh poets pontificate that women of good birth and
upbringing never resort to Madal oordal for achieving union with their beloved,
even if the prolonged separation is likely to cost them their lives. However, I
do not agree with this school of thought and would much prefer to follow the
models set by Sanskrit literature, where we find such strategies freely adopted
by women to achieve their ends' says Sri Kalian, in his 'Periya Tiru Madal'.
Not content with voicing his disagreement with the Tamizh poets, Sri
Tirumangai Mannan goes on to make fun of the heroines of these poets, who hold
their emotions in such tight check that one wonders whether their love is
really that intense. These girls do not appear to experience any of the torment
that characterises true and unrequited love. These women very obviously do not
realise the deleterious effects of cool sandalwood paste (which burns the skin
instead of cooling it) on those suffering from pangs of separation. They fail
to feel the sadness that sweet strains of music induce, in the absence of the
beloved to share them with. They fail to be moved by the mellifluous chimes of
bells around the necks of mating bulls. The cheery chirping of bird couples in
the throes of conjugal delight fails to move these southern damsels, whereas
their northern counterparts would have been tormented at the thought of what
bliss they too could have enjoyed in the company of their beloved. To sum up,
Sri Kalian concludes that since these women portrayed by Tamizh poets fail to
be moved by romantic sights and sounds, their love must be rather shallow.
Azhwar prefers to toe the line of other girls acclaimed by Sanskrit
literature, who are thrilled to the very core of their being by the company of
their beloved and are pushed to the verge of suicide by separation, displaying
the unfathomable depths of their emotion for those they love.
He prefers to say with the Divine Couple in Srimad Ramayanam that he would
not live an hour more, without the precious life partner-'Oordhvam maasaat na
jeeveyam tam vinaa asitekshanaam' .
Sri Kalian's (or the Parakala Naayaki's) words in the two Madals (Siriya Tiru
Madal and Periya Tiru Madal) drip with romance for the Supreme Being, full of
bridal mysticism, the pain of parting, sorrow at what he/she is missing,
longing for reunion with the elusive Divine Lover, determined to attain Him by
any and all means, even at the cost of throwing her modesty to the winds (as
portrayed by the bizarre behaviour of Madal Oordal mentioned above).
The Madals represent a radical departure in phraseology and approach, from
the sedate paasurams of Kalian's 'Vaadinen Vaadi', 'Angan maa gyaalam anja',
'Virperu vizhavum', etc.---. the latter represent the sober words of an Azhwar
describing the Lord, His auspicious attributes and exhorting Samsaaris to
surrender themselves to the Supreme Being. However, the former (Madals)
represent the uncontrollable outpourings of a lady love longing for union with
her beloved. The pangs of separation become all the more unbearable and prompt
shameless behaviour, considering the boundless beauty and auspicious attributes
of the person sought to be courted.
One may wonder whether such romancing is in tune with Azhwar's avowed
objective of Bhagavat anubhavam. Normally, when you want to concentrate on the
Lord, such thoughts prove to be a definite hindrance. However, Sri Kalian's
strategy appears to be to reserve all such passion solely for Sriman Narayana,
in tune with Sri Amudanar's dictum-'Kannanukke aamadu kaamam'-love, in all its
myriad facets, is to be reserved for Emperuman.
If Sri Periazhwar could compose a Pillai Tamizh, placing himself in the
position of a fond mother to Sri Krishna, Sri Parakala puts himself in the
position of a lady love pining away for Emperuman, deriving delirious pleasure
in His company and feeling down in the dumps upon separation. And the depth of
his love for the Lord is such that he is prepared to adopt any strategy, fair
or foul, for achieving his object of union with the Ultimate, adhering to the
maxim 'All is fair in love and war'. And Madal Oordal is perhaps a small price
Azhwar is willing to pay for the coveted prize of Bhagavat laabham. He cares
little, like the youth on the tower top described in the opening para of this
piece, of what the people around him would think of him for adopting such a
brazen strategy-in this, he follows the precedent set by Sri Parankusa, who too
is willing to go to the extreme extent of Madal Oordal for attaining Emperuman,
who is playing truant-'Annai en seyyil en oor en sollil en'. 'Let the whole
world watch me resorting to Madal: let all the women in the town call me
shameless and brazen. I care little for all the criticism, as long as I am able
to win the affections of the Emperuman with the Divine Discus and Cosmic Conch
adorning His broad shoulders' says Sri Nammazhwar too, from whom Sri Tirumangai
Mannan appears to have derived inspiration for adopting the Madal route to
attaining the Lord. Here is Sri Nammazwar's poignant paasuram, contemplating
resort to the extreme step of Madal oordal-
'Yaam madal oordum em Aazhi angai Piraan udai
Toomuruval tondai vaai malar kondu chooduvom
Aamadam indri teruvu toru ayal tayyalaar
Naa madangaa pazhi thoottri naadum iraikkave'
The Madals teach us that nothing, but nothing at all is precious, including
one's self-respect and standing in the eyes of society, when the goal to be
attained is exalted, being none other than the Paramapurusha. Shedding one's
ego completely and broadcasting one's love for the Lord from the rooftops is
not at all unthinkable for Azhwars, who exhort us too to abandon our
inhibitions and demonstrate our adoration for Emperuman for all to
see-'Perumayum naanum tavirndu pidattrumin pedamai teernde'
Emperuman is said to be accompanied by His two Consorts, Sridevi and
Bhoodevi, at Sri Vaikunttam. It would appear that in this world too, He had two
Mahishis, the Paraankusa Naayaki (Sri Nammazhwar) and the Parakaala Naayaki
(Sri Tirumangai Azhwar), whose love and affection were no less than those
showered on Emperuman by His Consorts in the Eternal Worlds.
Srimate Sri Lakshmi Nrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana
Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
dasan, sadagopan
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