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SriRangaSri List Archive: Message 00083 Dec 2002

 
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Dear Friends,

The TiruppAvai is a many splendoured gem. 

It is sumptuous poetry. It is Upanishad 'sAram'. It is enchanting
'nOnbu pAdal'. It is love-song. It is the principal anthem of Bhakti
'mArgi-s'. It is 'nAmAvaLi' of a very special sort. It is
SriVaishnava doctrine. It was Sri.Ramanuja's bread-winner. It was
Sri.Parashara Bhattar's anesthesia. It was PeriavAchAn-pillai's
inspiration. It is the temple-choir's all-time favourite. It is the
environmentalist's manifesto. It is balladier's delight. It is the
"kutcheri" musician's curtain-closer...! The razzle-dazzle of the
TiruppAvai is simply impossible to describe! 

The TirrupAvai is one more thing yet --- it is miniature biography
too!

Today's 'pAsuram' (#13), "pUllin vaay keendAnai pOllA arakkanai...",
talks of many things. It celebrates the victory of Rama over the
"pOllA arakkan", Ravana. It talks of birds ("pUllUm silambina kAn")
and flowers ("pOdarik-kanninaay"). It talks of the bliss to be
derived from 'nAma-sankirtanam" ("kIrtimai pAdi pOy"). And it issues
a clarion call for all God-lovers of the world to congregate
("kalandu elOr!")... But little do we notice, however, that in this
many-splendoured gem of a 'pAsuram', AndAl thought it fit to also
include a veiled biographical tribute to that great
"rangapati-vratan", Sri.Tondaradipodi AzhwAr!

There are many phrases in this "pAsuram" to strongly suggest that
AndAl probably had Tondaradipodi's life-story at the back of her mind
while composing this verse.

The details of Tondaradipodi's life-story all remind us of the old
and classic adage, "Every saint has a past and every sinner has a
future". 

Tondaradipodi began life in the service of the Deity of SriRangam
temple. He used to perform daily "pushpa kainkaryam" and
"tirutULaay-kainkaryam" i.e. growing a flower-garden at home,
gathering flowers and basil leaves ('tulasi' leaves) from the garden
every day and offering the same to the Lord of SriRangam. The
rendering of this devoted service to the temple earned Tondaradipodi
the name:

"tuLavattondaay tOl seer tondar-adi-podi..." 
(Stanza 45: "TirumAlai") 

as well as the name:

"todaiyatta tuLavammUm koodaiyyUm pOlindhu tOnriya tOl
tondaradi-podi"
(Stanza 10:
"tiruppalli-ezhuchhi")

It is to the AzhwAr's eminence as one who devoted himself to growing
flowers for Lord Ranga that we see AndAl alluding in the phrase
"pOdarik-kanninaay". The word 'ari' refers to the plucking of flowers
(that look as "beautiful as the eyes of a young doe") and offering
them lovingly to the Almighty.

Then there is the phrase "nannALAL". It means a "day full of
auspiciousness and felicity". This phrase appears in the 1st verse of
the "tiruppAvai" ("mArgazhi tinggal madinirainda nannALAL..") to
signify the ushering in of the first day of the auspicious month of
"mArgazhi". Tondaradipodi AzhwAr was, in fact, born in this month of
"mArgazhi"!

The phrase "kallam tavirndhu" means "slipping into moral pitfall".

Tondaripodi was known in his early days by his other name,
VipranArAyanan. The young man, Vipranarayanan was quite a handsome,
arresting personality. One day, while he was working in his
flower-garden, a royal courtesan by the name of Devadevi passed by.
When she saw the handsome Vipranarayan, Devadevi vowed to seduce him
somehow. She contrived to get acquainted with him, then used all her
seductive wile and charms on the young man... Very soon, our
Tondaradipodi became her hopelessly enamoured slave. He could not
bear to be away from his paramour for even a moment and began to
spend all his time inside the warmth of her bed and embrace. This is
what AndAL hints at in that beautifully worded phrase --
"kullak-kulirak-kudaindhu ... pallik-kiddaitiyO!" 

Very soon Vipranarayanan became so completely besotted with
Devadevi's physical charms he gradually lapsed into an abyss of moral
turpitude.... And this is what AndAl alludes to in the phrase "kallam
tavirndu". In the 'TirumAlai', the AzhwAr's famous Tamil masterpiece
in the 4000 'divya-prabhandham', Tondaradipodi himself recollects the
days of his debauchery with words of such painful remorse and
self-flaggelation that it wrences and pierces our hearts to even read
them today:

"sUdannaay kalvannAgi ...." (Stanza 16)

"kallamE kAdal seyydhu...." (Stanza 24)

"kallat-tEn nAnUm tondaay..." (Stanza 34)


Tondaradipodi however was eventually saved and rescued from the abyss
of moral depravity he had sunk into. Lord Ranga and Goddess
Ranganayaki blessed him with Grace and brought about a sea-change of
heart in him. Vipranarayanan soon woke up ("tuyill-edai") to the the
folly of his sordid ways and gave it all up. He became completely
reformed and soon reverted to his 'bhagavath-kainkaryam' with ever
renewed vigour and devotion... He rejoined the ranks of the greatest
'bhaktA-s' of Lord Ranganathan... And it is to that glorious return
of the 'prodigal son' that ANdAL refers to in the phrase "kalandhu
elOr!"

AndAl tiruvadigaLe saranam, tondaradipodi tiruvadigaLe saranam!

Regards,

dAsan,
Sudarshan









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