SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: Sri varavaramunayE nama:
Glories of nAthamunigaL
nAthamunigaL – kAttu mannAr kOyil
nAthamunigaL’s real name is SrIranganAthamuni. Later, this name itself came to be known as nAthamuni. His birth place (avathAra sthalam) is kAttu mannAr kOyil also known as vIranArAyaNapuram. His thirunakshathram (birth star) is anusham, in the month of Ani. He has graced us with the following granthams – nyAya thathvam, yOga rahasyam, and purusha nirNayam. But his works are not available now. We are also able to understand that he was an expert in yOga SAsthram and music. He had the ability to identify accurately the precise person providing the beat (thALam) and the number of beats provided by that person in a group consisting of several people.
As we already know, it was only through him that we have received the nAlAyira dhivya prabandham. During his stay in kAttumannAr kOyil, some SrIvaishNavas who visited from the western region of dhakshiNa bhAratham (i.e., thirunArAyaNapuram), recited pAsurams related to thirukkudanthai ArAvamudhan perumAL. After nAthamunigaL heard those pAsurams, he observed the words “kurugUrch chadagOpan” and “AyiraththuL ippaththum” at the end of the padhigam (decad) and went to AzhwAr thirunagari in search of nammAzhwAr. There, he enquired about these pAsurams. But the people there in madhurakavi AzhwAr’s lineage said, “We are only aware of madhurakavi AzhwAr’s ‘kaNNinuN chiRu thAmbu’ pAsurams”. They also said, “We also know that when one sits under the tamarind tree (thiruppuLiyAzhwAr), where nammAzhwAr stayed and recites ‘kaNNinuN chiRuth thAmbu’ pAsurams 12,000 times, they will have the divine vision of nammAzhwAr”. nAthamunigaL, an expert in yOga SAsthram, sat under that thiruppuLiyAzhwAr and recited the pAsurams 12,000 times; nammAzhwAr appeared before him and asked him, “What do you want?”. nAthamunigaL asked, “Mercifully give us the 1000 pAsurams composed by dhEvarIr”. nammAzhwAr not only gave all the prabandhams composed by him (thiruvAimozhi, thiruviruththam, thiruvAsiriyam, periya thiruvandhAdhi, respectively), he also gave the prabandhams composed by other AzhwArs and gave him the entire nAlAyira dhivya prabandham, assuming the role of AchAryan. Along with this he also gave the detailed explanation for all the prabandhams to nAthamunigaL. Like this, we understand how nAthamunigaL became nammAzhwAr’s Sishya.
He appeared 4000 years after the advent of kali yugam. Until dhvApara yugam, the vEdham remained as one without any classification; but after that vyAsa bhagavAn classified vEdham into four. Similar to that, nAthamunigaL divided the prabandhams he received from nammAzhwAr into four (each consisting of 1000 pAsurams) and gave it to us. In order for people in kali yugam with diminished intelligence and strength to understand them easily, he divided the prabandham into four parts so that people can understand them. Since he was also an expert in music, he taught the prabandhams (except for iyaRpA) with their musical tunes to his nephews, kIzhaiyagaththu AzhwAn and mElaiyagaththu AzhwAn, and ensured that these hymns became widely popular. The tradition of araiyar sEvai that happens even today during adhyayana uthsavam in many dhivyadhESams like SrIrangam, thirunArAyaNapuram, AzhwAr thirunagari, SrIvillipuththUr was commenced by nAthamunigaL. He has also performed many kainkaryams in SrIrangam. He also reinstated the adhyayana uthsavam in SrIrangam that was celebrated during thirumangai AzhwAr’s time.
nAthamunigaL vAzhi thirunAmam
Ani thanil anudaththil avathariththAn vAzhiyE
ALavandhArkku upadhEsam aruLivaiththAn vAzhiyE
bAnu theRkiRkaNdavan sol palavuraiththAn vAzhiyE
parAngusanAr soRprabandham parindhukaRRAn vAzhiyE
gAnamuRath thALaththil kaNdisaiththAn vAzhiyE
karuNaiyinAl upadhEsak kadhiyaLiththAn vAzhiyE
nAnilaththil guruvaraiyai nAttinAn vAzhiyE
nalandhigazhum nAthamuni naRpadhangaL vAzhiyE
nAthamunigaL vAzhi thirunAmam – Explanation
Ani thanil anudaththil avathariththAn vAzhiyE – May nAthamunigaL who appeared in the month of Ani, in anusham star, live long (pallANdu)!
ALavandhArkku upadhEsam aruLivaiththAn vAzhiyE – nAthamunigaL’s reverend grandson is yAmunAchAryar who is also known as ALavandhAr. nAthamunigaL had the foresight to know that ALavandhAr would grow to be a great acharya in future and spread the SrIvaishNava sampradhAyam. Through uyyakkondAr and maNakkAl nambi, he provided upadhESam to ALavandhAr and ensured that he emerged as a great AchArya.
bAnu theRkil kaNdavan sol palavuraiththAn vAzhiyE – bAnu means sun. In SrIvaishNava sampradhAyam, the word ‘bAnu’ refers to emperumAn. emperumAn is called as ‘sun’ since he removes the darkness of samsAram from the chEthanas by giving them the knowledge. nammAzhwAr is also celebrated as vakuLa bhUshaNa bhAskaran. nammAzhwAr, wearing the vakuLa garland, dispelled the darkness, the ignorance, and provided knowledge to the people in this world. That nammAzhwAr was seated under the tamarind tree (thirupuLiyAzhwAr) in AzhwAr thirunagari. madhurakavi AzhwAr who was engaged in kainkaryam in the north was attracted by the radiant light of nammAzhwAr in the south. He followed the light and traveled south and reached AzhwAr thirunagari. Upon reaching AzhwAr thirunagari, without any other thought, focussed only on performing kainkaryam to nammAzhwAr. This sentence says – nAthamunigaL recited ‘kaNNinuN chiRuth thAmbu’ pAsurams 12,000 times that was composed by madhurakavi AzhwAr, the one who found the southern sun – nammAzhwAr. Also, nAthamunigaL made sure the tradition of adhyayana uthsavam that was stopped after thirumangai AzhwAr’s period and the uthsavam that celebrates nammAzhAr’s ascent to paramapadham continued in SrIrangam. May nAthamunigaL with such glories live long (pallANdu)!
parAngusanAr sol pirabandham parindhu kaRRAn vAzhiyE – parAngusan refer to nammAzhwAr. May nAthamunigaL who learned nammAzhwAr’s prabandhams (thiruviruththam, thiruvAsiriyam, periya thiruvandhAdhi, and thiruvAimozhi) with passion live long (pallANdu)!
gAnamuRath thALaththil kaNdisaiththAn vAzhiyE – nAthamunigaL set dhivya prabandham hymns to music with rhythmic beats (thALam) and made it known to many. May he live long (pallANdu)!
karuNaiyinAl upadhEsak kadhiyaLiththAn vAzhiyE – He mercifully bestowed his upadhESam in order for SrIvaishNava sampradhAyam to flourish like a big tree. He revived the SrIvaishNava sampradhAyam which had been paralysed after nammAzhwAr’s time; due to his enormous compassion he made the experiences he gained accessible to everyone in the world.
nAnilaththil guruvaraiyai nAttinAn vAzhiyE – nAnilam means the world consisting of the four regions – kuRinji (mountainous region), marudham (agricultural region), mullai (forest region), and neydhal (coastal regions). May nAthamunigaL who established our guruparamparai in this world live long (pallANdu)!
nalam thigazhum nAthamuni naRpathangaL vAzhiyE – May the divine feet of nAthamunigaL who possesses good qualities live long (pallANdu)!
Thus concludes the vAzhi thirunAmam of nAthamunigaL.
adiyEn chithrA rAmAnuja dhAsi
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