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
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 ?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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