SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
Glories of thirumangai AzhwAr
thirumangai AzhwAr was born in thirukkuRaiyalUr dhivyadhEsam. He is also known as neelan, kaliyan, and parakAlan. He was a great warrior and also has had extraordinary prowess. Thus, he was aptly called kaliyan (warrior). He was like a kAlan (god of death) for those who preached other philosophies, hence, he was also called as parakAlan. He has won many debates with people of other philosophies. It could also be said that he got his name as parakAlan because even emperumAn was very fearful of seeing his debates. He was born in the month of kArthigai, in the star – kArthigai. He has mercifully given six prabhandhams – periya thirumozhi, thirukkuRundhANdagam, thiruvezhukURRirukkai, siRiya thirumadal, periya thirumadal, and thirunedunthANdagam respectively. He was very devoted to thirunaRaiyUr nambi and thirukkaNNapuram saurirAjap perumAL. These two emperumAns are in the position of an AchArya for thirumangai AzhwAr. He has sung mangaLAsAsanams to many dhivyadhEsams by going on his horse – AdalmA. thirumangai AzhwAr alone has sung mangaLAsAsanams for more than forty dhivyadhEsams. If not for his mercy, we would not have known about those dhivyadhEsams. Not only that, but he has also performed many kainkaryams to many dhivyadhEsams including SrIrangam. He is the last of the AzhwArs in the sequence of AzhwArs. He was very devoted to nammAhwAr. The four prabhandhams of nammAzhwAr are celebrated as equivalent to the four vEdhams. Just like the six limbs of the four vEdhas, thirumangai AzhwAr’s six prabhandhams are the six limbs for nammAzhwAr’s four prabhandhams.
thirumangai AzhwAr vAzhi thirunAmam
kalandha thirukkArththigaiyil kArththigai vandhOn vAzhiyE
kAsiniyil oN kuRaiyalUrk kAvalOn vAzhiyE
nalam thigazh AyiraththeNpaththu nAluraiththAn vAzhiyE
nAlaindhum ARaindhum namakkuraiththAn vAzhiyE
ilangkezhukURRirukkai irumadal IndhAn vAzhiyE
immUnRil irunURRirupaththEzhIndhAn vAzhiyE
valam thigazhum kumudhavalli maNavALan vAzhiyE
vAtkaliyan parakAlan mangkaiyar kOn vAzhiyE
thirumangai AzhwAr vAzhi thirunAmam explanation
kalandha thirukkArththigaiyil kArththigai vandhOn vAzhiyE
May thirumangai AzhwAr, who was born in the month of thirukkArththigai, in kArththigai star, live long!
kAsiniyil oN kuRaiyalUrk kAvalOn vAzhiyE
thirumangai AzhwAr was born in a place called thirukkuRaiyalUr, a radiant place on earth. He served as its guardian, protecting the city, which later became known as ‘thirumangai dhESam’. He was a celebrated king of this land. He was instructed and blessed by emperumAn with true knowledge. May this great thirumangai AzhwAr live long!
nalam thigazh AyiraththeNpaththu nAluraiththAn vAzhiyE
thirumangai AzhwAr has mercifully given us periya thirumozhi prabhandham with 1084 pAsurams. In this pAsuram, he reveals his condition in this material world to emperumAn by saying “vAdinEn vAdi varundhinEn” (vAdinEn – I suffered, vAdi – having suffered, varundhinEn – I experienced sorrow). Similar to thiruvAimozhi that is considered as the essence of vEdham, periya thirumozhi also has many profound meanings in it. May thirumangai AzhwAr, the one who has mercifully given periya thirumozhi consisting of one thousand and eighty four pAsurams live long!
nAlaindhum ARaindhum namakkuraiththAn vAzhiyE
nAlum (4) aindhum (5) – i.e. 20 (product of the 2 factors). ARum (6) aindhum (5) – i.e 30 (product of the 2 factors). thirumangai AzhwAr mercifully gave us two great prabhandhams – thirukkuRundhANdagam with 20 pAsurams and thirunedunthANdagam with 30 pAsurams. May he live long. parASara bhattar was very involved in thirumangai AzhwAr’s last prabhandham – thirunedunthaNdakam. By quoting the pAsurams from thirunedunthaNdakam, parASara bhattar won his debate with mAdhavAchAryar; parASara bhattar reformed him and brought him into SrIvaishNava sampradhAyam. After this, mAdhavAchAryar was highly celebrated and came to be known as nanjIyar. May thirumangai AzhwAr, who gave us this great prabhandham – thirunedunthaNdakam that is celebrated highly as SAsthram, live long!
ilangkezhukURRirukkai irumadal IndhAn vAzhiyE
In this prabhandham thiruvezhukURRirukkai, thirumangai AzhwAr performed SaraNAgathi to thirukkudandhai emperumAn, ArAvamudhan. The pAsurams in this prabandham are written in a beautiful way such that a chariot can be drawn from its poetic structure. It uses the numbers 123 in one line, then uses 12321 in the next line, and in the next uses 123454321, followed by 12345654321, and so on in such a way to form the shape of a chariot.
thirumangai AzhwAr has also composed two beautiful prabandhams – siRiya thirumadal and periya thirumadal. In these two prabandhams, AzhwAr assumes the position of pirAtti, and due to the sorrow in separation, composes these pAsurams describing his desire to perform madal. He has composed these two prabhandhams assuming a feminine mood as prakAla nAyaki. madal is an activity performed between lovers – man/woman, when one refuses to acknowledge the love of the other. In such a situation, one will accuse another in public places. This is done to bring defamation so that the other person fearing the general public, would accept the love and be united. But this act of performing madal is svarUpa virOdham (contradictory to the nature of jIvAthmA). But we are able to understand through commentaries (vyAkhyAnams) of our pUrvAchAryas that AzhwAr out of extreme love for emperumAn and his inability to exist in separation from emperumAn, compelled by his strong desire to attain emperumAn, has revealed such dire acts in his pAsurams. May thirumangai AzhwAr, who has composed these great prabhandhams – thiruvezhukURRirukkai, siRiya thirumadal, and periya thirumadal live long!
immUnRil irunURRirupaththEzhIndhAn vAzhiyE
The total number of pAsurams in these three prabhandhams – thiruvezhukURRirukkai, siRiya thirumadal, and periya thirumadal, equal two hundred and twenty-seven. May thirumangai AzhwAr, who mercifully gave us two hundred and twenty-seven pAsurams through these three prabhandhams live long! Note: While these prabandhams are said to be single pAsuram prabandhams, this is an alternative view.
valam thigazhum kumudhavalli maNavALan vAzhiyE
kumudhavalli nAchchiyAr is never separated from thirumangai AzhwAr; she is always present to the right of thirumangai AzhwAr. It is through kumudhavalli nAchchiyAr’s motivation that thirumangai AzhwAr became very involved and devoted to emperumAn. neelan (who was later known as thirumangai AzhwAr), attracted by the beautiful kumudhavalli nAchchiyAr, wished to marry her. But kumudhavalli nAchchiyAr put forth a condition that she will only marry a SrIvaishNava who has had pancha samskAram from an AchAryan, and agrees to accept him as her husband only when AzhwAr performs thadhiyArAdhanam for one full year for 1008 SrIvaishNavas every day without fail. AzhwAr agrees, fulfils her condition and then marries her. May thirumangai AzhwAr, who has kumudhavalli nAchchiyAr to his right, live long!
vAtkaliyan parakAlan mangkaiyar kOn vAzhiyE
May thirumangai AzhwAr, also known as kaliyan and parakAlan, who holds a sword in his hand and who is the king of thirumangai dhESam live long!
This concludes the vAzhi thirunAmam of thirumangai AzhwAr.
adiyEn chithrA rAmAnuja dhAsi
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