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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

Four is a Crowd!

 

The month of Iyppasi is perhaps the best of all the twelve months in the 
calendar. As a child, I remember having eagerly anticipated the month, right 
from the previous Karthigai. The reasons are not far to seek. It is the month 
of Deepavali, which brings with it a lot of gifts-new clothes, sweets, 
crackers, etc. "Iyppasiyil adai mazhai" is the popular saying-it is the month 
which brings copious rains, making farmers happy, for, rain in so crucial to 
crops and therefore to farmers' own wellbeing. North Indians begin their new 
accounting year this month and also celebrate the festival of lights as the day 
of return of Sri Rama to Ayodhya, from His long sojourn in the jungles. After 
Purattaasi, which is considered unsuitable (not because it is bad per se, but 
because it is a month devoted to the worship of Pitru devatas during the 
Mahaalaya Paksham) for secular functions, marriages and other such celebrations 
begin again in Iyppasi. Thus, looked at from the popular angle, Iyppasi is 
indeed a month everyone welcomes.

 

And for SriVaishnavas, Iyppasi has a triple bonanza, for it is the month of 
appearance of three of the holiest sages of our Sampradayam, who are celebrated 
as the forerunners of the band of apostles that Emperuman sent from Sri 
Vaikunttam to Earth, for emancipating errant souls like us. There is no month 
like Iyppasi, in which three of the Azhwars were born, that too on three 
consecutive days of the month. Iyppasi is also the month, during which Sri 
Tirukkurugai Piraan Pillaan, the foremost disciple of Sri Ramanuja and known as 
his "Gnaana Putran", took birth and later went on to compose the famous 
"Aaraayirappadi" commentary on Tiruvaaimozhi, which is the seed from which the 
later commentaries blossomed. Sri Ramanuja is known not to have written a 
single word in Tamizh, nor to have quoted a single word from Azhwars' 
Aruliccheyal, in his vast works. However, it is Sri Pillan's commentary, 
reported to be a transcription of Sri Bhashyakara's lectures on Tiruvaaimozhi, 
which tells us how dear Divya Prabandam was to Sri Ramanuja's heart and how 
deep his erudition was, as far as Tamizh Vedam is concerned. And Iyppasi is 
indeed a red-letter month, for it is the month of avataram of Sri Pillai 
Lokacharya, who gave up his life in a gesture of supreme sacrifice in the 
defence of Sri Ranganatha and Sri Manavala Mamunigal too, whose Aarti Prabandam 
and Yatiraaja Vimsati bring tears to our eyes. Apart from Sri Varavaramuni, Sri 
Koorakulotthama Daasar and Sri Aay Jananyaacharya of Tirunarayanapuram, (the 
author of the famous commentary on Tiruppavai) were also born during Iyppasi. 
Sri Utthama Nambi, renowned for his and his descendants' innumerable 
kainkaryams to Sri Ranganatha and who is repeatedly mentioned with appreciation 
in Koilouzhugu, was also born in Iyppasi. Strangely enough, none of the 
Acharyas belonging to Sri Ahobila Matham or Srimad Andavan Ashramam, or for 
that matter, Sri Poundareekapuram Ashramam, appear to have been born in 
Iyppasi-perhaps they did not want to divert devotees' attention from the 
celebrations relating to the Mudal Azhwars. There are no major utsavams at 
various sannidhis too during this month, perhaps for the same reason. And Tulaa 
maasam, as it is known, is a month for teerttha sevai and a dip in the Kaveri 
during this month is supposed to purify us and make us eligible for the worlds 
above.

 

However, the emphasis of this article is not on Tulaa Maasam, but on the three 
saints who descended to earth during this month and how they were eulogized by 
Swami Desikan, who appears to have had special devotion for the trio. 

 

The first of the three Mudal Azhwars, Sri Poygai Azhwar, incarnated on a golden 
lotus in the temple tank (Poigai) of Sri Yathoktakaari Perumal at Kanchipuram, 
as the "amsam" of Paanchajanyam, under the Lord's own asterism of Sravanam. Sri 
Bhootattaazhwar appeared at Mahabalipuram (Tirukkadalmallai) in a Kurukkatthi 
flower, when the star "Avittam" was in ascendance, as the amsam of  Koumodaki, 
the Lord's Magnificent Mace.  Emperuman's sword Naandakam took birth as 
Peyazhwar on a red lily flower, in the well of AdiKesava Perumal Sannidhi at 
Mylapore, under the star "Sathayam". It can thus be seen that these three 
Azhwars came into the world without undergoing the mandatory imprisonment in a 
womb. The coordinating hand of Emperuman is seen throughout the lives of the 
Mudal Azhwars, first in their births, not out of a human womb, but on a flower, 
secondly on successive asterisms in the same month and finally in their 
providential meeting at Tirukkovalur. Though the three Azhwars were born 
hundreds of miles apart and spent their early years apart, engaged in deep 
spiritual search within themselves, oblivious to the outside world (which 
earned them the rather unusual sobriquets of "Bhootam" and "Pey") the Lord 
decided to bring them together, for the benefit of posterity and for His own 
benefit. 

 

Before we see the beautiful connection between Swami Desikan and the Mudal 
Azhwars, I would like to narrate a small tale which everyone would definitely 
know, but which is still worth recounting. The Lord is an extremely playful 
person, an "alagilaa vilayaatu udayaar" and a "teeraada vilayaaatu pillai". 
However, His play always has the effect of bringing into limelight the glory of 
some devotee, who has hitherto remained without popular recognition. And the 
current leela also was with the same aim, that of introducing three of His 
matchless devotees to one another and to the world. 

 

It was a dark and stormy night at Tirukkovalur, with rain coming down in 
torrents, the threatening roar of thunder shaking all souls and with flashes of 
lightning serving as the only illumination. It was a night when none would 
venture out and everyone had shut himself up tight in his home. Yet, it was a 
night on which three Yogis, who had the Lord entrenched in their hearts, chose 
to be out and about. When they reached Tirukkovalur separately by different 
routes, they found all houses shut, all choultries locked up, with the inmates 
unlikely to open up. The first to reach was Poigayazhwar, who found a narrow 
passage in the front portion of an ashramam belonging to Mrigandu Maharshi and 
lay down, prepared to spend the night among the inhospitable and confined 
environs. Sometime later, Bhootattaazhwar too discovered the same place and 
finding someone already occupying the space, enquired whether there would be 
room for one more person. The first occupant welcomed the stranger, saying that 
if there was space enough for one person to lie down, two could sit there. An 
hour or so passed and there came knocking another worthy, wet and drenched to 
the skin and seeking shelter in the passage. He too was welcomed by the other 
two, who thought that three could at least stand comfortably in the small 
space, which could seat two and provide a bed for one. The three Azhwars were 
thus standing in the pitch dark, sharing with one another their experiences of 
the Lord and His auspicious attributes. All of a sudden, they felt rather tight 
pressed. Where they were standing comfortably earlier, they now felt that the 
available space had diminished, as if a fourth person, unknown to the other 
three, had entered the narrow passage and was crowding them. Apparently, 
someone had sneaked into the already constricted space without announcement and 
was standing as one with them. 

 

As it was pitch dark and they had no way of producing light, Poygaiazhwar hit 
upon the idea of lighting a novel lamp. Using the elements of nature as 
ingredients, considering the whole earth as a lamp, the waters of the salty 
seas as oil and with the shining Sun as the wick, he lit a glorious lamp that 
would shine forever and show up with clarity even the tiniest speck of dust. 
For his part, Bhootattaazhwar lit another lamp, using entirely home-made 
ingredients, all available within oneself and yet the hardest to find in any 
human being: he fashioned a lamp out of his unafathomable love for Emperuman. 
Oil for the lamp was his uncontrollable urge to see the Lord and the wick was 
his intellect, made sweet and melting by constant contemplation of the Lord's 
auspicious attributes.

 

Such was the extraordinary illumination provided by the two lamps lit by these 
two Yogis, that the third, Sri Peyazhwar, was able to see clearly the fourth 
person who had been squeezing them tight. First and foremost, Azhwar's eyes 
alighted on the glorious form of Sri Mahalakshmi adorning the broad chest of 
the intruder-"Tiru kanden" sang out Sri Peyazhwar, exulting in the wonderful 
spectacle that greeted his eye. Having realized, from the presence of the 
Divine Consort, that it was none other than the Paramatma Sriman Narayana who 
had entered the passage and was squeezing the trio, Azhwar's sight fell next on 
the glorious golden tirumeni of the Paramapurusha-"Ponmeni kanden". The 
brilliant and blazing complexion of the stranger imprinted itself upon Azhwar's 
eyes, prompting him to comment ecstatically on the same-"Tigazhum arukkan ani 
niramum kanden". The Lord's Divine Discus and the Cosmic Conch adorning His 
upper hands presented a spectacular sight to the thirsty eyes of 
Azhwar-"Serukkilarum Ponnaazhi kanden, puri Shankham kai kanden". 

 

The three Azhwars, inspired by the grand spectacle of Emperuman's glorious form 
in their midst, poured out their devotion in a hundred beautiful verses each, 
brimming over with Bhakti. These are the paasurams which served as forerunners 
of the four thousand nectarine verses that were to be composed by the other 
Azhwars. Though there is no direct internal evidence in the Divya Prabandas of 
one Azhwar eulogizing another (except in the case of Sri Madhurakavi and Sri 
Andal), Sri Nammazhwar refers to these three "pioneer" Azhwars as "Paaley 
Tamizhar, Isaikaarar, patthar", paying generous tribute to their devotion and 
the beauty of their compositions.

 

Sri Nammazhwar's eulogy to the Mudal Azhwars is rather cryptic and concise; nor 
have other Poorvacharyas rendered specific poetical tribute to these three 
Yogis, but for Sri Amudanaar, who has devoted one paasuram each in his 
Iraamaanusa Nootrandaadi. When you come to think of it, it is indeed strange 
that our Poorvacharyas have somehow not composed paeans of praise (excluding 
"Tanian"s) for these three Azhwars, as part of their Stotrams and Prabandams, 
though commentators on the Tiruvandaadis have naturally spoken about them. 

 

It was therefore left to Swami Desikan to bring out fully the glory of these 
three Azhwars, in his inimitable poetic style. And being at home in Sanksrit 
and Tamizh, the Acharya lavishes choice words of praise on these worthies. His 
tribute to this trio is not limited to a single stotram, but extends to several 
other compositions too. Dehalisa Stuti, Prabanda Saaram and Adhikaara Sangraham 
are some of Swami Desikan's works, in which generous tributes are paid to the 
Mudal Azhwars. In Dehalisa Stuti, which consists of 29 slokas, Swami Desikan 
reserves not less than 6 slokas for singing the praise of the Mudal Azhwars-it 
would appear as though in the guise of adulating the Emperuman of Tirukkoilur, 
Swami Desikan really wanted to lavish praise on Poigai Muni, Bhootattaar and 
Peyaazhwar. And each of these 6 slokas serves to bring out the glory of the 
Azhwars in all its myriad facets. Here is a beautiful one for a sample:

 

Everyone knows that sugarcane grows well near rivers. Swami Desikan likens 
Dehaleesan of Tirukkovalur to ripe and succulent sugarcane, grown on the banks 
of the Penna river, near which Tirukkovalur is situated. And it is this 
sugarcane which gets squeezed, when it tries to encroach upon the narrow space 
already occupied by the three Azhwars on that stormy night at Tirukkovalur. 
What happens when you squeeze sugarcane? Out flows its sweet juice. This juice 
is nothing but the best of the Lord's auspicious attributes, viz., Souseelyam, 
the quality which makes the Paramatma come down to the level of and move as one 
with mundane mortals. The purport is that due to their matchless devotion, the 
Mudal Azhwars succeeded in making manifest the Lord's ever-latent attribute of 
Souseelyam. And this sugarcane juice mixes with the honey constantly flowing 
from the Lord's lotus feet, ("Tene malarum tiruvadi taamarai") making for an 
extremely delicious and heady mixture, a new and unprecedented type of divine 
and delectable sugar-"Nootana sharkkaraa". Those who taste this special sugar 
find themselves so enslaved by it that they spurn all other types of sweets-the 
reference being to devotees who, once they have an experience of the Lord, find 
themselves unable and unwilling to delight from any other pleasure. Here is the 
slokam, for your enjoyment:

 

 

"Kaasaara poorva kavi mukhya vimarda janmaa

Panna tata ikshu subhagasya raso bahuste

Tvat paada padma madhuni tvat ananya bhogye

Noonam samaasrayati nootana sharkkaraa tvam"

 

We are now able to appreciate why Swami Desikan is acclaimed as a lion among 
poets-"Kavi Simham". To whom else would strike the idea of conceiving the three 
Azhwars as the rollers through which sugarcane passes, squeezing out its 
essence? And who else can contemplate the process generating a sugar of 
immeasurable sweetness, when it mixes with the heady honey from the Lord's 
lotus feet?

 

When he compares the Lord of Tirukkovalur to sugarcane, Swami Desikan's mind is 
obviously musing over the lines of Tirumangai Mannan, (for, he is, after all, 
"Kaliyan urai kudi konda karutthudayon") who too sings of this divine sugarcane 
gracing the fields near Penna river, delighting itself with the sweet songs of 
the honey bees thronging the cane fields. The bees here represent the Mudal 
Azhwars and the songs, the first three Tiruvandaadis. Here is the relevant 
portion of the beautiful paasuram-

 

"Konkarumbu sura punnai kuravaar solai kuzhaa vari vandu isai paadum paadal 
kettu

Teenkarumbu kan valarum kazhani soozhnda Tirukkovaloor adanul kanden naane"

 

It is no surprise that during Trivikramavataram, all the three wide worlds were 
easily measured by just three steps of the Lord's holy feet, avers Swami 
Desikan. What is indeed surprising is that He made His huge, cosmic form small 
enough to be accommodated in the narrow passageway at Tirukkovalur, squeezing 
it in somehow along with the three Azhwars. The extent to which He reduced His 
primordial form shows how much He was enamoured of the three Azhwars and wanted 
to be one with them, on that stormy night. 

 

"Chitram na tat trishu mitaani padeshu yat te

 visvaani amooni bhuvanaani visankateshu

Bhaktai: samam kvachit asou bhavana ekadese

Maati sma moorti: amitaa tat iha adbhutam na:"

 

In another slokam, pondering over the possible reasons for the Lord's strange 
conduct of squeezing in with three of His devotees in a narrow space, Swami 
Desikan concludes that Emperuman's infatuation with Azhwars was due to their 
having mastered Vedas and Yoga and the purity of their devotion. Having known 
intimately about the Lord's auspicious attributes from the Shruti, Azhwars 
could verily see the Lord through their deep Yogic saadhana. When these two 
attainments combine with boundless love for the Lord, it is but natural that 
Emperuman revealed Himself to them in all His glory, says the following slokam, 
again from Dehalisa Stuti:

 

"Deepena kenachit aseeta ruchaa niseete

 sneha upapanna parisuddha guna arpitena

 dahra avakaasa nibidam dadarusu: bhavantam

 svaadhyaaya yoga nayanaa: suchaya: kaveendraa:"

 

These Azhwars were not mere poets, but kings among poets-"Kaveendraa:", their 
divine poetry capable of moving not only men but the Lord Himself. They are to 
be counted as the principals among poets-"Kavi mukhya:" Just as the Ganga 
originated from the Lord's feet during Trivikramaavataram and split into three 
huge streams, the beautiful compositions of the three Azhwars too originated 
from the upraised feet of the Lord of Tirukkovalur (it was the Lord's beautiful 
and gigantic form which inspired the three Tiruvandaadis of the three Azhwars). 
To Swami Desikan, it appears as though the Lord's holy feet originated another 
set of three streams, a new Ganga so to say, in the form of the three hundred 
paasurams of Peyazhwar, Bhootattaazhwar and Poigaiyazhwar-

 

"Vetaala Bhoota Sarasaam apadisya vaacham

 Praayena tat prasava bhoomim avaapa bhooya:"

 

Swami Desikan continues to describe how much Emperuman was enamoured of the 
Azhwars. The Acharya says the Lord created a new and broad route through the 
heavens to Sri Vaikunttam and took the Azhwars there personally. The upraised 
feet of the Tirukkovalur Emperuman and His reddish nails are so luminous that 
they cast their brilliance far and wide, appearing to light up a new route to 
Paramapadam, created specifically for the Mudal Azhwars. As compensation for 
having made their place of stay at Tirukkovalur congested by squeezing in with 
them, Emperuman appears to have fashioned a broad and spacious route to His 
abode, meant solely for these devotees, says Swami Desikan-

 

"Kreedaa parena bhavataa vihita uparodhaan

 Aaradhakaan anuparodham udanchayishyan

 Taamrena paada nakharena tadaa anda madhye

Ghantaa padam kamapi noonam avarttaya: tvam"

 

If such are Swami Desikan's tributes to the Mudal Azhwars in his Sanskrit 
Stotras, he praises them no less in his Tamizh Prabandams. In Prabanda Saaram, 
for instance, he tells us that Sri Poigayazhwar was divine mercy and compassion 
personified-"Arul migutthathu oru vadivaai Kacchi tanil...vandu uditta 
Punitha!". Swami Desikan's devotion for the three Azhwars is such that he 
addresses these Azhwars as "Vende! ("Oh! My King!"), "Deve! (Oh! My Lord!)", 
"Parama! (Supreme Being)", "Punitha!" (sacred and immaculate person) etc., all 
of which are normally used to denote the Lord Himself. By calling himself 
"Pazhavadiyen", Swami Desikan signifies that not only he, but his predecessors 
and forefathers for innumerable generations past, had been devotees of Mudal 
Azhwars. Swami Desikan also tells us that hard-to-understand parts of the 
Shruti can be understood only through the paasurams of Azhwars-"Teliyaada marai 
Nilangal teligindrome". In Adhikaara Sangraham, the Acharya praises Mudal 
Azhwars as "Paatukku uriya pazhayavar"-ancient sages who knew how to adulate 
Emperuman-- and the lamps lit by them as being Lamps of Truth, capable of 
destroying the gloom of ignorance enveloping the whole world and highlighting 
the eternal message of the Upanishads-" Naatukku irul sega, naanmarai andi 
nadai vilanga, veetukku idai kazhikke veli kaattum am mey vilakke". He swears 
further that the contribution of the Mudal Azhwars is immeasurable and beyond 
recompense-the Lord Himself would not be able to think of a suitable reward for 
the Mudal Azhwars' yeomen service of lighting up the lamp of wisdom and 
devotion, thereby driving away ignorance and sin from our souls-

 

"Etri manatthu ezhil gnaana vilakkai irul anaitthum

  maatrinavarkku oru kaimmaaru Maayanum kaanakillaan"

 

and that the only way we can repay them even slightly is to constantly adore 
them and to spread their glory for all to know.

 

While Swami Desikan's reverence to Azhwars in general is boundless, as can be 
gauged from his various works, he seems to reserve a special niche of devotion 
and a lofty pedestal of respect for the Mudal Azhwars, who take precedence over 
other Azhwars not only chronologically, but also by their symbolic acts of 
lighting up lamps of wisdom to drive away the demon of ignorance from our 
souls. They had the unique distinction of enjoying and benefiting from the 
enlightening company of one another, which no other Azhwar was blessed with. 
The reason for Swami Desikan's empathy with the Mudal Azhwars is not far to 
seek-both were responsible for lighting up lamps in darkened souls, banishing 
ignorance and sin. Both (at least Poigayazhwar) were born under the star of 
Sravanam. Both were "amsam' of nitya suris, sent to earth by the Lord for 
emancipation of errant souls. Sri Amudanaar tells us that the three Azhwars 
were enshrined in Sri Ramanuja's heart-

" Bhootat tiruvadi taalgal nenjatthu uraya vaitthu aalum Iraamaanusan",

"Poygai Piraan .erittha tiru vilakkai tan tiruvullatthe irutthum paraman 
Iraamaanusan"

"Tamizh talaivan ponnadi pottrum Iraamaanusan".

Anything or anyone so dear to Sri Ramanuja cannot but be the very pulse of 
Swami Desikan's heart.

 

To conclude, shall we enjoy a couple of paasurams from the Upadesa Ratnamaalai, 
which finds Sri Manavala Mamunigal in absolute agreement with Swami Desikan 
about the glory of the Mudal Azhwars?

 

"Iyppasiyil Onam Avittam Sathayam ivai

Oppillaa naatkal ulagattheer-eppuviyum

Pesu pugazh Poygayaar Bhootatthaar Peyaazhwaar

Tesudane tondru chirappaal"

 

 

 

Mattrulla Azhwaargalukku munne vandu udittu

Nattramizhaal nool seidu naattai uyttha-pettrimayor 

Endru Mudal Azhwaargal ennum peyar ivarkku

Nindradu ulagatthe nigazhndu"

 

 

Srimate Sri LakshmiNrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana 
Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

dasan, sadagopan

 





    

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                
                                                   


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