Sundaramurthi Nayanar flourished in the 8th century. He was a great devotee of Lord Siva. He is one of the Tamil Samaya Nalvar(four Tamil religious Teachers). Sundarar had the Sakhya Bhava or the attitude of friend towards the Lord. He freely demanded the Lord whatever he wanted. Sundarar was always seen in the bridegroom posture due to the divine intervention of the Lord during his marriage.
Sundaramurthi Nayanar sang the glories of Lord Siva at all the sacred places that he visited all over Tamil Nadu. The hymns sung by Sundarar, Appar or Tirunavakkarasar, and Tirujanana Sambandar are called Thevaram. The hymns of Thiru Manickavachagar are called Thiruvachagam.
Sundaramurthi Nayanar in his
previous birth was Aalala Sundarar. Alala Sundarar, was an ardent devotee of
Lord Siva. When the Milky Ocean was being churned by Devas and Asuras, a deadly
poison began to spread on the surface of the ocean threatening the existence of
all beings. Then Alala Sundarar collected that poison in his hand and gave it
to Lord Siva Who drank it for the protection of the world. Hence, Sundarar got
the word Alala (for Aalahala, the poison) prefixed to his name.
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Alala Sundarar was living by the side of Lord Siva in the Mount Kailas, serving the Lord and bringing flowers from the garden for his worship. One day when he went to collect these, two beautiful maidens who served the Goddess Shakti were also there to collect flowers. Alala Sundharar was attracted by their beauty. Lord Shiva called Alala Sundarar and said: ‘Sundara, since you fell in love with these girls, all three of you will go down to the earth and take a human birth. You will marry them and enjoy the pleasures of the world’. The devotee Alala Sundharar begged to the Lord to rescue him in time from the worldly deeds and lust. The Lord blessed and agreed to do so.
There was another cause for
Sundarar’s human birth. To an ordinary man it may appear that Sundarar was a
victim to lust, even in the divine realm of Kailasa. It was not so. Sundarar
was only an instrument in the hands of God. It was Lord Siva’s wish that
Sundarar should sing Thiru Thonda Thogai for the benefit of mankind.
Sundaramurthi Nayanar was born in Thiru Navalur village located in Thirumunaippadi Nadu [Cuddalore District, Tamil Nadu] where the entire atmosphere was full of spiritual vibrations and Saivism was well established. In this place, there lived a respected Brahmin by name Sadaiyanar whose ancestors were all ardent devotees of Lord Siva and Isaignaniar was his dutiful wife. She gave birth to a divine child who was named “Nambiarurar”.
The king of that place, Narasinga
Munaiyar, happened to see the beautiful child. He fell in love with the child
and wanted to bring him up himself and asked for the parents permission,
Sadaiyanar, whose mind was full of dispassion and who was not attached to
anything in this world, immediately complied with the king’s wish. As we shall
see later, he and his devout wife are also regarded as Nayanars. The young
Sundarar, grew up as a royal child and simultaneously learned the Vedas too. At
the proper age, the parents wanted to get their son married. Sadaiyanar sought
Sandakavi Sivachariar’s consent to obtain his daughter’s hand for his son,
Arurar. Sivachariar gladly agreed.
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On the day of the wedding, adorned
in wedding fineries Sundarar set forth in a big procession riding a horse, to
the wedding hall. Lord Shiva, who had given the word that he would
rescue Alala Sundharan (Sundarar) in time, came disguised as an
old man with sacred ashes on his body, rudraksha around his neck and matted
locks on his head. The relatives welcomed the respectable old man. There the
Old man asked Sundarar to settle an old account between them before going
ahead with the marriage. On asking what it was, to everyone's
surprise, the old man declared that bridegroom Sundarar is his slave and
has a document signed by his grandfather as proof.
At Tiruvennai Nellur, before an assembly of wise men the old Brahmin produced
the palm leaf document given by Sundara’s grandfather which read as follows:
“I, Aruran, the Adi Saivite of Tirunavalur, execute this bond of slavery with
heart and soul. I and my progeny for all time to come are bond-slaves to Pithan
of Tiruvennai Nellur, and we are bound to serve him.”
After examining the witnesses cited in the document and verifying the grandfather’s signature, the assembly confirmed the old man’s claim. Sundarar had to accept it as God’s will. On being requested by the court to show them his house in the town, the old man asked them to follow Him and entered the Thiruvarutturai (abode of Grace) temple in Thiruvennainallur, and there he disappeared. Sundharar and others were shocked. Sundarar understood that it was the Lord Shiva who had appeared as the old man to save him from the shackles of Samsara. Then the Lord appeared on the Holy Bull Nandi and told that He came to rescue Alala Sundharan (Sundharar of Kailash days).
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Because Sundarar had quarrelled with Lord Shiva, the Lord Himself called him “Vanthondan” (the devotee who used harsh words) and asked him to sing His glories. ‘My dear child, you called Me Pithan (madman) during your quarrel. So, begin with this word and compose a poem.’ Sundarar did so: the result was that inspiring poem “Pitha Pirai Soodi”. The Lord Himself came to be known as Taduthatkonda Iswar (the Lord prevented and saved him from Samsara).
Sundarar came to Adigai Virattanam, the sacred
place where Appar served the Lord Viratteswarar and was blessed. Sundarar did
not like to place his foot on the sacred ground and so stayed on the outskirts
of the village.
That night when Sundarar was asleep, the Lord in the guise of an old man
entered the Mutt. He lay down close to where Sundarar was sleeping and
pretended to sleep. He then placed His feet on the head of Sundarar. When
Sundarar objected to this, the old man apologised. Sundarar went over to another
corner of the room. There, too, the old man repeated the same action. Sundarar
did not lose his temper. He calmly asked him for his identity and explanation
for the abnormal behaviour. ‘Oh friend, don’t you know me?’ asked the Lord and
disappeared. Sundarar realised that it was again the Lord Shiva. Since he had
not gone into the temple for Lord Shiva’s Darshan, the Lord Himself had come
out to where the devotee was! Sundarar prayed: ‘Oh Lord! How kind and merciful
You are! Even devotees who are well versed in Vedas and Agamas cannot touch
Your feet. Out of love towards this poor creature, you left Your abode and came
here to bless me with Your Holy Feet.’
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Sundarar again continued his
pilgrimage. At Tillai (Chidambaram), he went into a trance even as he saw the
temple tower. In his ecstasy he rolled on the ground and shed profuse tears of
love. He had the Darshan of Lord Nataraja. He then visited many other shrines
and came to Tiruvarur.
The Lord appeared to the Brahmins of Tiruvarur and asked them to receive Sundarar with due honours. They did so. As Sundarar was worshipping the Lord in the temple, he heard a heavenly voice: ‘Sundarar! I have made you My friend. I prevented you from getting married. Hereafter you will appear for ever as a bridegroom and sport on earth.’ Immediately, Sundarar became a handsome bridegroom. People called him Tambiran Thozhar (friend of God).
In Tiruvarur, there was a chaste woman by name Paravayar who was none other than Kamalini, the attendant of Parvathi in Kailasa. Daily she would go to the temple and worship the Lord with faith and devotion and sing His glories. One day, she came to the temple, as usual, with her friends, to worship the Lord. At the same time, Sundarar, with his devotees entered the temple. Prompted by past Karma, Sundarar was attracted by Paravayar’s beauty. He wanted to marry her and entered the shrine of the Lord with this thought. The Lord was his friend, and so, he expressed his desire to lord Shiva. Paravayar who had seen Sundarar in the temple also fell in love with him and wanted to marry him.
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The marriage was pre-ordained by Lord Siva Himself and it was now His duty to
bring it about. He appeared to both of them in their dreams and told them that
they would get married. He also commanded His devotees in dream to arrange for
the wedding of Paravayar and Sundarar the very next day. This was done
accordingly, to the joy of both Paravayar and Sundarar.
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One day, Arurar went into the temple and found a number of devotees of the Lord there. He wanted to sing their glories. The Lord Himself sang the first line of the famous poem Tiruthonda Thogai and by His grace, Sundarar completed it.
During his stay at Tiruvarur, a Vellala by name Kundaiyur Kizhar who was very
highly devoted to him, was regularly supplying Paravayar with enough grains and
groceries which was later on given to all devotees. Suddenly there was famine
in the district and people suffered for want of food. Kundaiyur Kizhar was also
affected. He was afflicted at heart because he could not supply the needs of
Sundarar.
Lord Siva appeared in his dream and promised enough grain! Kubera, the God of wealth, did the needful, as commanded by the Lord. The next morning, Kundaiyur Kizhar found huge heaps of grain. At the same time the Lord appeared before Sundarar and informed him of the incident. At once Sundarar left for Kundaiyur to meet Kizhar. They met half-way. Sundarar saw the heaps of grain at Kundaiyur and knew that it was Lord Shivas leela. He went to a nearby temple and sang the praise of the Lord, and entreated him to have the grain moved to Tiruvarur. A celestial voice immediately assured him of this. Sundarar returned to Tiruvarur and informed Paravayar of all that happened. That night the Bhuta Ganas, the servants of Lord Siva, removed the heaps of grain and filled the entire town of Tiruvarur with it! Paravayar offered repeated prostrations to the Lord and sang His glory. She asked the people to take the grain to appease their hunger. Thus the famine came to an end. All the people glorified the Lord and Paravayar.
Kotpuli Nayanar of
Tirunattiyattankudi, the Commander-in-chief of a Chola King, and an ardent
devotee of Lord Siva came to Sundarar and entreated him to grace his house with
his presence. Sundarar agreed to this and went. After worshipping Sundarar,
Kotpuli Nayanar prostrated himself at Sundarar’s feet along with his two
daughters, Singadiyar and Vanappahaiyar, and pleaded that Sundarar should marry
the two daughters. Sundarar, however, placed them on his lap and fondled them,
treating them as his own daughters. Then Sundarar went to the temple and sang
in praise of the Lord, a song in which he called himself Singadiappan, since he
took Singadiyar as his daughter.
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Sundarar then returned to
Tiruvarur. It was Paravayar’s custom to distribute plenty of money and other
articles in charity on Panguni Uttaram, a festival day. Sundarar went to
Tirupugalur and prayed to the Lord to give him gold for the sake of Paravayar.
That night he slept there with a few bricks as his pillow. The next morning, he
woke up to find that all the bricks had been converted into gold. Sundarar was
surprised at this miracle of Lord Siva and sang His glory and returned to
Tiruvarur.
On the way he had a vision of the Lord at Tiru Panaiyur. After visiting many holy places again and singing hymns in praise of the Lord, Sundarar came to Tiru Pachilasramam. There he worshipped the Lord and asked for a gold coin. He did not get it immediately. He sang a Padigam (song) and the Lord at once gave him a heap of gold. The Lord was so fond of hearing Sundarar sing.
Then Sundarar came to Vridhachalam. He worshipped Lord Shiva and sang a Padigam
expressing his desire for gold coins. The Lord gave him 12,000 pieces of gold.
Sundarar prayed to the Lord to move these gold pieces to Tiruvarur. The Lord
asked him to throw them into the river Manimukta and to receive them back at
Tiruvarur. Sundarar did so, keeping a piece for identification. On return to
Tiruvarur, Sundarar and Paravayar went to the tank to get back the gold pieces.
Sundarar dived into the eastern side of the tank and searched for the gold, as
though he had put them there. He could not find them. Sorely afflicted at
heart, he sang a pathigam, Sundarar got the gold. But, on identification, it
was found that the gold was inferior in value to the piece that Sundarar had
kept back with him. He sang a song and the Lord restored to them their original
value.
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Sundarar went out on another pilgrimage again. On the way, he was afflicted with hunger and thirst. Lord Shiva, erected a water-shed and was waiting for Sundarar there in disguise as Brahmin. Sundarar and the devotees entered the shed, singing the Panchakshara. The Brahmin offered him food and water and asked him to rest awhile. All of them appeased their hunger, but the quantity of the food remained the same. When they were resting, after food, the Lord disappeared. They knew that it was none other than the Lord Himself. Sundarar sang a song alluding to this incident.
Later on, he went to Tiruvotriyur and stayed there for some time, worshipping the Lord there. Aninditiyar, the other maid-servant of Parvathi in Kailasa, who had also taken a human birth, was now Sangilyar in Thondai Nadu. Her father was Jnayiru Kizhar, a Vellala by caste. He was also a staunch devotee of Lord Siva. Sangiliyar was devoted to Parvati from her very childhood. Once her parents mentioned that she should get married, but the very word ‘marriage’ made her faint. Later, a respectable Vellala wanted to marry her. He sent some people to approach the girl’s father. Jnayiru Kizhar did not like even to speak to his daughter about it. He sent them away with an evasive reply. Soon after, the boy who wanted to marry Sangiliyar, and the party that went to negotiate, —all of them died. When Jnayiru Kizhar heard this, he understood the greatness of his daughter. He took her to Tiruvotriyur and built a small Ashram for her there.
It was part of Sangiliyar’s Sadhana to make garlands for the Lord in the
temple. She regularly visited the temple and worshipped the Lord. One day
Sundarar and the devotees went to the temple. After the worship, they came to
the place where some devotees were making garlands for the Lord. Sangiliyar was
also there. Sundarar was attracted by her beauty, wanted to marry her, and
expressed this wish to the Lord. The Lord promised to fulfil his wish.
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The Lord appeared in Sangiliyar’s dream and said: ‘Oh noble soul, I am highly pleased with your devotion. Now I tell this for your own good. Sundarar wants to marry you. He is My friend and asked Me to arrange the marriage. So, marry him. You will be happy.’ Sangiliyar prostrated before the Lord and said: ‘Oh Lord, I will obey Your command and marry him. But he may desert me since he is already married.’ The Lord asked her to get a promise from Sundarar that he would not part from her under any circumstance.
He again appeared before Sangiliyar and said, ‘Oh noble soul, Sundarar has agreed to your condition. But ask him to make this promise, not before the Lingam in the temple, but in front of the nearby tree.’
The next morning Sangiliyar came to the temple. Sundarar was waiting there for
her. Sangiliyar’s friends told him that she wished the promise to be given in
front of the nearby tree. He was taken aback but accepted the proposal. The
promise was given. The marriage was immediately solemnised.
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In Tiruvarur, Vasanta Utsavam was being celebrated on a grand scale. Sundarar remembered the festival and longed to go there. He also recollected that Paravayar would sing and dance there in front of the Lord. At the same time, he could not part from Sangiliyar. For a long time, he struggled between the two conflicting duties. Finally, he decided to leave.
When he crossed the border of Tiruvotriyur, he suddenly lost his eyesight and fell down on the ground. Sundarar slowly regained his consciousness. Immediately he realised his fault and prayed to the Lord for forgiveness, asking for the grant of the eyesight. Inspite of his blindness, his thirst to have darshan of Lord Shiva did not end. With the help of some people on the way he came to Tiru Mullaivayil, Thiruvembakkam and many other temples and pleaded for mercy.
Sundarar came to Kanchipuram, after visiting many temples on the way. He worshipped Mother Kamakshi and expressed his sufferings to her and pleaded to her to relieve him of his sufferings. Sundarar then worshipped Lord Ekambareswarar. Parvathi was already moved by Sundarar’s prayer, Lord Siva understood this and restored vision to Sundarar’s left eye. In ecstasy he rolled on the ground, shedding profuse tears of love.
After spending some days there, singing the glories of the Lord, Sundarar proceeded to go to Tiruvarur. At Tiruvavaduthurai, he again prayed to the Lord to forgive him and restore sight to the other eye, too. Sundarar then came to Thiruthurithi. The Lord asked him to take a dip in the northern tank there. Sundarar did so and came out of it. To the surprise of all, his body had become as bright as polished gold. People were amazed at this change. Sundarar went into the temple and prayed.
Sundarar reached the outskirts of Tiruvarur. He grieved that, due to his
partial sight, he could not get a complete Darshan of the Lord. The very sight
of the temple tower entranced him. Sundarar wanted to feast both his eyes on
the beauty of the Lord and so prayed to Him to restore vision to his other eye
also. Sundarar’s supreme devotion moved the Lord’s heart. He at once cured the
other eye also. Sundarar was extremely happy. He worshipped the Lord and
remained completely absorbed in divine bliss.
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In the meantime, people whom Paravayar had sent to greet Sundarar found out that he had married Sangiliyar. They went back and told Paravayar about this. Paravayar was sunk in grief. Paravayar’s people refused to allow Sundarar’s devotees to enter the house. When Sundarar heard of this, he was afflicted at heart. He sent some elderly devotees to Paravayar, to bring about a reunion. They failed. At midnight when all the devotees were asleep, he prayed to the Lord for His help in pacifying Paravayar. The Lord appeared before him and assured him of His help. The Lord disguised Himself as a Brahmin priest and went to Paravayar’s house. The Brahmin pleaded Sundarar’s cause and asked her to accept him back. She refused, though she herself was grief-stricken at the separation from Sundarar. Her annoyance at his second marriage was so great! The Lord coolly returned to Sundarar, who was anxiously awaiting. When the Lord informed Sundarar of all that had happened, Sundarar fell on the ground, in grief. ‘If You do not help me, Oh Lord, I will give up my life.’ The Lord seeing Sundarar’s pitiable condition, assured him of help and again set out to go to Paravayar’s house.
In the meantime, Paravayar had understood that the Brahmin was no other than
the Lord Himself and was suffering from terrible anguish for not recognising
Him. The Lord again went to her house in his real form. Paravayar at once
prostrated before Him. The Lord said: ‘ I have again been sent by Sundarar to
plead his case. Do not refuse this time. He is undergoing terrible agony on
account of separation from you. Accept him and allow him to come to your
house.’ Paravayar prostrated to the Lord again, with folded palms and said: ‘Oh
Lord, first You came in the guise of a Brahmin but I did not recognise You. Oh
Lord, how kind You are! You have graced my hut and showered Your grace on me.
You have taken so much trouble this midnight, for the sake of Your friend. How
can I go against Your wish? I will accept and obey Your command.’ The Lord was
immensely pleased with her. He blessed her and returned to Sundarar. The Lord
informed him that he had pacified Paravayar and that he could now return to her
and then disappeared. Sundarar was overwhelmed with joy and sang the Lord’s
glories.
In the meantime, Paravayar had decorated her house beautifully and was eagerly
waiting for her husband. Sundarar, along
with his devotees, entered the house and Paravayar fell at his feet and they re-united
after a long separation.
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The news that Sundarar had sent
Lord Siva Himself as his messenger, had reached the ears of Eyarkon Kalikama
Nayanar of Thiru Perumangalam in Ponni Nadu. He was a great devotee of Lord
Siva. He was terribly angry with Sundarar for treating the Lord as a messenger
to settle a domestic quarrel. Lord Shiva
in a mysterious manner brings about reconciliation between the two Nayanars
[Sundaramurthi Nayanar and Kalikama
Nayanar], when we read about Kalikama Nayanar. Equally interesting is the way
in which the Lord unites in friendship Sundarar and Cheraman Perumal Nayanar,
another royal devotee of the Lord.
In the company of Cheraman Perumal,
Sundarar went on several pilgrimages, and met many of the kings of South India.
Once, when they were at Tiru Kandiyur, they saw Tiruvaiyar on the opposite bank
of the river. Cheraman desired to visit that place also. The river was in
flood, and it was impossible to cross it. Sundarar sincerely prayed to the Lord
to help them. He sang one of his songs which easily pleased the Lord. At once
the river gave way, leaving a sandy tract through which they could walk across
to the other bank. As soon as they reached the other bank, the river resumed
its former form. They were delighted at this miracle of the Lord.
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Cheraman then took Sundarar to his
own place, with great honour and pomp. Sundarar stayed with Cheraman for some
time. He suddenly remembered the Lord of Tiruvarur and wanted to go there.
Cheraman could not accompany him and was therefore grief-stricken. Sundarar
consoled him and asked him to stay behind and rule the country wisely and
justly. Cheraman prostrated himself before him and gave him rich presents. He
sent his own people to carry these presents, and to accompany Sundarar. It was
the Lord’s wish that Sundarar should receive gifts only from Him! How could His
friend receive from others? Hence, He desired to deprive Sundarar of what
Cheraman had given him. When Sundarar and his party were passing through
Tirumuruganpondi, the Lord sent His Servants to rob Sundarar of all the riches
that he had received from Cheraman.
The Lord’s Servants disguised
themselves as hunters and attacked the party that was carrying the presents.
The party dropped everything and fled. They went to Sundarar and reported to
him what had happened. Sundarar went to the local temple and sang a Padigam. He
came out of the temple and to his surprise he saw there all that they had been
robbed of. Now, it was a gift from the Lord Himself, and so Sundarar, God’s
friend, could have it.
After some time, Sundarar again
desired to see Cheraman Perumal. On the way back he passed through Avinasi. As
he was walking through the streets of Avinasi, he heard simultaneously
auspicious as well wailing sounds emerging from different houses.
On enquiry, he learnt how two Brahmin boys of the same age, from these two
houses went to tank for a bath; and how one of them was caught by a crocodile,
and the other escaped, providentially. The latter was being invested with the
sacred thread that day, and hence the auspicious sound from that house. The
people in the deceased boy’s house were bemoaning the loss of the boy, sore at
the feeling that, had he been alive, he would also be celebrating the sacred
thread ceremony that day. Sundarar wanted to console the sad family. As he
stood in front of the house, the people stopped wailing and came out to receive
Sundarar. Intensely moved by this, Sundaramoorthy Nayanar went to the tank
where the boy was killed an year ago by the alligator and sang a song[pathigam] praying to
Lord Shiva to resurrect the dead child and his prayer was answered. The empty
tank started surging with water from which emerged the crocodile and ejected
the child as a fully grown boy of 8 years.
To the wonder of all, the boy was
much more handsome than when he met with the accident, and he showed signs of
growth, appropriate to the lapse of time. All were amazed at this miracle of
Sundarar. The parents of the boy were immensely pleased and embraced Sundarar's
feet. Sundarar took the boy to the temple and worshipped Lord Avinasiappar.
Sundarar himself performed the sacred thread ceremony for the boy.
At Kodunkolur, Cheraman, who had already come to know of the crocodile miracle, received Sundarar with still greater love and veneration than before. Sundarar stayed with the king for some time. One day Sundarar visited the temple alone and worshipped the Lord. The very sight of the Lord sent him into trance. He was tired of worldly existence and so requested the Lord to take him back to Kailasa.
The Lord, desiring to take Sundarar back to His Abode, commanded the celestials to bring him to Kailasa on a white elephant. He also informed Sundarar of this. Sundarar came out of the temple. The white elephant was waiting for him there. He mentally wished to take Cheraman Perumal also with him to Kailasa. Then he climbed the elephant and proceeded towards Kailasa.
Cheraman learnt by intuition of Sundarar’s departure for Kailasa. At once, he mounted a horse and came to see Sundarar. There he saw Sundarar going along the sky on the celestial elephant. At once Cheraman pronounced the Panchakshara in the ears of the horse. The horse flew up and reached Sundarar. Cheraman worshipped Sundarar there. Both of them went to Kailasa in their spiritual body.
At the Gate of Kailasa, Sundarar was allowed to enter, while Cheraman was not.
Sundarar went into His presence and praised His mercy: ‘Oh Ocean of Mercy, you
have pardoned my sins and taken me back into Your fold. He then informed the
Lord that Cheraman was outside the Gate. To please His friend, Lord Siva, sent Nandikesvarar
to bring Cheraman also in. The Lord asked Cheraman how he could come to Kailasa
without His permission. Cheraman replied that when he saw Sundarar proceeding
to Kailasa, he could not bear separation from him and so accompanied him. Lord
Shiva was impressed by the true friendship and let him stay in his abode.
Sundarar, as before, engaged
himself in Lord Shiva’s service with all his heart and soul. Paravayar and
Sangiliyar, being purged of their Karmas, also reached Kailasa. They resumed
their original duty as the servants of Mother Parvathi.
Sundarar is believed to have
visited 84 temples and rendered around 3800 pathigams (hymns). However, only
100 hymns (1000 verses) are available today. It is significant to note that he
travelled to all these temples by foot, covering at least a few thousand
kilometres.
There are many more miracles of Sundaramurthi Nayanar and I have only a few of them in this post. I will keep updating in my future writeups.
Sundarar’s pathigams “Thiruppattu”
are collected into the seventh volume of the Thirumurai along with the
compositions of Thirugnanasambanthar and Appar.
The popular compositions of
Sundarar are Ponnar Meniyane, Piththa Piraichudi etc. Saint Sekkizhar’s Periya Puranam speaks in
great details about Sundaramurthy Nayanar’s life.
Star: Swathi Nakshtram
Month: Aadi
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தென்னாடுடைய சிவனே போற்றி!
எந்நாட்டவர்க்கும் இறைவா போற்றி!
நற்றவா உன்னை நான் மறக்கினும், சொல்லும் நா நமச்சிவாயவே.
Even if I were to forget you, my
tongue would always utter your name, Namashivaaya.
OM NAMAH SHIVAYA
THIRUCHITRAMBALAM
Have a great day and keep reading…
until then I am signing off...
Ilayankudi Mara Nayanar was born in Illyankudi
- one of the oldest town in Chola Kingdom, presently Sivagangai district of Tamil
Nadu. He was named as Maaran at birth and acquired great wealth by agriculture.
Although he was wealthiest, he worked hard on his farm fields and serves the
devotees of Lord Shiva. Maara Nayanars love and devotion to Lord Shiva was so
great that he considered each and every Shivan Adiyaar as Shivan himself.
Illayankudi Maara Nayanar stands fourth in the list of 63 Nayanars.
Read more about Nayanmars here...
Illayankudi Maara Nayanar visualized Lord on the very appearance of his devotees on their smeared mark of ashes, Rudraksha and matted hair. He receives his guests – devotees of Lord Shiva with utmost reverence, he prostrates before them and wash their feet with water, he consumes the Charanamrita Thirtha of the devotees, he worships the devotees with Deepam, Dhoopam, Nivediyam as similar to the offerings made to Lord. He pleases his guests – devotees of Lord with his nectar like speeches and send them off after paying due respect and honor. This Sadhana is known as Maaheswara Puja (or worship of the devotees of Maheswara or Lord Siva).
Ilayankudi Mara Nayanar firmly
believed that the wealth he had possessed were the blessings of Lord and it
belonged to lord Shiva. He was very meticulous to utilize them only
for serving Lord and his devotees. Lord Shiva was pleased at the
devotion of Ilayankudimara Nayanar and desired to reveal his sincere devotion
to the world.
Years passed by, Ilayankudi Mara
Nayanar’s wealth started to melt away, but his virtues remain the same. Though
he found it difficult to meet both the ends, his self-less devotion to Lord and
his devotees grew more intensely. Finally, he was left with no
wealth; he had to sell everything to meet the daily needs and receive his
guests – Shivan Adiyaars.
Nayanar and his virtuous wife Punithavathi had to face the dreadful face of poverty. They had to spend several days without food; they amicably handled the awful state of their living. Once it was raining heavily, Nayanar and his wife had no food and soon they both fell asleep due to hunger. Immediately, they heard a knock at the door. Nayanar rushed to open the door and found a devotee of Lord; he was all soaking wet due to heavy rain. At that time Ilayankudi Maranar did not know that Lord Shiva has come in disguise to his house to show the world about the greatness, selflessness and happiness Maaranar finds in feeding the people.
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Nayanar forgot all his tiredness and received his guest with utmost respect and offered him with fresh clothes to wear. Nayanar requested his guest to relax for some time and promised to be back with food to appease his hunger.
Though Nayanar promised to be
back with food to his guest, he became very uneasy at the thought of nothing
has left at home to offer his guest. His wife Punithavathi suggested
that they could go to the backyard and collect the grain-seeds that they had
just sown that very day.
Nayanar with greatest pleasure approached the place where his guest was relaxing. Maara Nayanar tried to wake up the Sivan adiyaar saying, “please wake up, you can have the meal and then go back to sleep”. Shivan adiyaar woke up and disappeared in no time. At the same time Jothi appears in front of them, Ilayankudi Mara Nayanar and his wife were awestruck on seeing Lord Shiva along with Parvathi in the Jothi.
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Lord Shiva and goddess Parvathi sitting on the Rishaba Vahanaa showered blessings on Ilyankudi Mara Nayanar and his wife and said, “Oh noble souls, I am highly pleased with your devotion and service [pooja] to Shivan Adiyaar. You have shown the world that wealth and money are not important, and you only need love to serve the Shivan Adiyars. You will soon attain my abode and live there for ever”.
Ilayankudi Maranar is especially
associated with Rajendra Chozheeswarar temple – dedicated to Shiva – in his hometown
Ilaiyangudi. While the formal temple is derived from inscriptions of the
king Rajendra Chola I (reign: 1012–1044 CE), the locals call the
temple Jyotishvara or Lord of the flame, alluding to the legend of the Nayanar.
Ilayankudi Mara Nayanar was praised as Annadhana Prabhu and is called so until
this date. Guru Poojai for Illayankudi Maara Nayanar is done in the month of
Avani on Magam Nakshatram.
A shrine is dedicated to the
Nayanar in the temple. On Avani Magam day, statues of Ilayankudi Maranar and
his wife Punithavathi as well as the presiding deities Shiva and Parvati is
paraded in the village in a temple chariot (Chapparam). The Naivedhya (food
offering) of sirukeerai is offered to Lord Shiva of this temple. Devotees also
emulate the Nayanar by practising Annadana (charity in form of food).
The Nayanar's house and field – situated near the shrine – are venerated as “ MulaiVari
Amudhu Alitha Nattrangal”, means the land in which rice paddy was grown and
offered as Naivedhyam for Lord Shivan. Since Ilayankudi Mara Nayanar attained
mukthi by doing Annadhanam[charity in the form of food] in this place, even now people donate food to
the needy and pray to lord Shiva.
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தென்னாடுடைய சிவனே போற்றி!
எந்நாட்டவர்க்கும் இறைவா போற்றி!
நற்றவா உன்னை நான் மறக்கினும், சொல்லும் நா நமச்சிவாயவே.
Even if I were to forget you, my tongue would always utter your name, Namashivaaya.
OM NAMAH SHIVAYA
THIRUCHITRAMBALAM
Have a great day and keep reading…
until then I am signing off...
Adipatthar or Adhipattha Nayanar was a fisherman born in Nulaipadi near Nagapattinam. He is one of the 63 Nayanmars. He was a sincere devotee of Lord Shiva and lived in the Chola kingdom - present day Naagapattinam (referred in sangam literature as Naagai) by the seashore.
Adipatha Nayanar was the head of
his group of people called Baradhavar. The main source of income and food for
them was fish gotten from the sea. As a way of expressing love
to God Siva, Adipatthar would toss the very first fish he earned every day back
into the sea, dedicating the fish to Lord Shiva. He would practice this
ritual even if he got just one fish on a day, thereby deciding to stay hungry
the entire night. Lord Shiva decided to show his greatness to the world.
The dancing God of golden court decided to test his love and patience. Therefore, Adipatthar was able to catch only one fish for many consecutive days. Even then, the ardent devotee left them back to sea happily saying, "Let this be to Lord Shiva who is our father and Mother". In course of time, due to this act, he became very poor and was starving to death.
Days passed in the same way and one
day his clan saw a miracle. They got a big golden fish filled with nine different
types of gems in their net. Adipatthar admired the fish and told
"This wonderful fish shines like the Sun. It is the first one we got today,
and we are blessed to give it back to Shiva". He then left it back to the
sea. Having felt his sincere love, Lord Shiva blessed Adipatthar and his people
saying "Let you and your people be with me forever". Adipatthar thus
attained the glorious place near God Himself. This story is given by Sundarar
and also recorded in Periyapuram, the
history of 63 Nayanmars written by Sekkizhar.
Adhipatha Nayanar was a great Nayanar who never thinks about himself and his family, but only thought about Lord Shiva and praised his glories.
Birth Star: Aayilayam
Birth Month: Aavani
Birth Place: Thiru Naagai [Nagapattinam]
Thiru Adhipatha Nayanar story in Naagai Kaayarogana Swami temple.
Honoring Adipatha Nayanar, residents of Nambiyar Village, every year, celebrate the age old “Golden Fish Festival” with great zest and pride. Processions are held by carrying the silver and gold coloured fish throughout the village. As a part of celebrations, on a packed motorised boat, temple priests, fishermen and village representatives dipped the fish idols into the sea off the coast of Nagapattinam. Adipatha Nayanar idol is also held high on the boat [depicting the scene of Adipatha Nayanar giving away the rich fish to lord shiva].
Precious fish dedicated to lord shiva and Godess Parvathi
புனையும்
விரிகொன்றைக் கடவுள் புனல்பாய
நனையும்
சடைமேலோர் நகுவெண் தலைசூடி
வினையில்
லடியார்கள் விதியால் வழிபட்டுக்
கனையும்
கடல்நாகைக் காரோ ணத்தானே.
-
Thiruganasambandhar
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தென்னாடுடைய சிவனே போற்றி!
எந்நாட்டவர்க்கும் இறைவா போற்றி!
நற்றவா உன்னை நான் மறக்கினும், சொல்லும் நா நமச்சிவாயவே.
Even if I were to forget you, my
tongue would always utter your name, Namashivaaya.
OM NAMAH SHIVAYA
THIRUCHITRAMBALAM
Have a great day and keep reading…
until then I am signing off...