Chapter 17 - Arisirkaraiputhur or Aricirkaraipputtur (Hymn 9)

I

A description of the beauty of the holy city was attempted in the previous hymn. Holiness and beauty are not separable. This implication of the previous hymn is made explicit in this hymn on Arisirkaraiputhur, the new city on the banks of Aricil, the river. The conception of beauty of the divine harmony and the purity of the unselfish divine love have been growing steadily in the previous two hymns. This hymn of Puttur delivers this truth as the important message. God is spoken of as Beauty and Purity in its alternate verses respectively (See the introductory part of our thesis following the suggestion of Campanian’s hymn on this temple. This is the very message and importance of the puranic stories.

II

The flaying of the elephant (1), the destruction of the three cities (1), the ride on the bull (1), the begging tour (1, 8), the eightfold form (3), the worship by the Devas (5), the destruction of Daksa’s sacrifice (7), His lady-love (the Mother), and the Ganges (9), His ornaments of serpents (8, 9) and bones (9), and the feast of poison (10) are described in relation to the beauty aspect of the Lord. The nipping of Brahma’s head (2), Visnu’s worship (2), the destruction of the three cities (1, 4) and of Kama (4) the bestowing of His blessing upon Pukalttunai Nayanar (6), His grave dance (8), and His ornaments of serpents (8) are thus mentioned with reference to both the aspects and this gives a clue to the correct understanding of the message. The beauty is the beauty of harmony, an expression of divine Grac.: and unselfish love and, therefore, it becomes the moral beauty of purity. What appears to be two different aspects on surface are found to be one and the same at bottom. The last verse, therefore, refers only to divine purity (11). These mythological stories have this meaning and that is why the poet asks, “Why this and

what for?” (4, 5, 7, 8, 9). The language of mythology helps him, therefore, to deliver the message to the world, easily and impressively and in a fitting manner in a language used by the devotee classes.

III

The verses addressing the Lord as the Beautiful (1,3,5,7,9,10) couple Him as such with the beautiful city of Tirupputtur on the bank of the Aricil, whose floods the poet describes at length, whilst the verses addressing the Lord as the Pure (2,4,6,8,11) have no such description, but after the enumeration of the puranic feats of the Lord they all exclaim, “You are the only pure One of Puttur, full of groves”. It looks as though there is an inter connection between the Beauty and the description of the river, suggesting perhaps that the floods reflect this Beauty.

The Lord flays the elephant, destroys the three cities and goes a-begging at every door; the flood tumbles up tusks of elephants and horns of stag, tossing up hither and thither the peacock feather and the ‘akil’, only to reach through the river our city (and our homes) (1). If the Lord cut away the head of Brahma to beg therewith, (2, 3) the flood breaks down the sandal tree with its leaves along with the bamboo, carrying them all with its noisy hands of waves and dashing and collecting them against the banks even as the beggar gathers alms little by little (3). Here also Nature is described in such a way as to suggest, it is a mirror held up before God.

The begging tour amidst the loving souls contemplating which the Great become chastened, is reflected in the flood where rush in, the varieties of fish making the smaller fish jump up in groups whilst the swan observing this, feels miserable at first and thereafter becomes chastened (5). The destruction of the sacrifices of Daksa is reflected in the destructive flood which pushing along the peeping feathers of peacock and cardamom carries along the gems, pearls, and gold (7). The Lord of the Mother and the Ganges adorning Himself with the serpents, bones and ashes is reflected in the flood robbing on its way the sugar-canes and the fruits of the plantains and the arecanut palms, and calling all to share this booty at the beautiful city of Puttur (9). The feast of poison seems to be reflected also in the flood which seems to be forcibly drawing the thundering clouds to rain, whilst the stream which runs on either sides, beats against the banks with its resounding hands of waves (10)—a war on the two banks, throwing up the bamboos and akil carried in the stream after the showers of the dark cloud (11).

In some cases, it is very difficult to explain how the particular description of the flood can be the particular description or reflection of the Lord. If the message is understood, there will be no difficulty. The cruel and frightful feats of the Lord turn out to be acts of the unselfish love intended to save the very person seemingly destroyed. So does the devastating flood appear as cruel and destructive whilst in reality it is the flow of love coming to feed us all. The suggestive force behind the description of the flood beautifully brings out the esoteric meaning of the mythological stories. God is not merely All Power and Cruelty, but also a Beggar at our doors hungering for love. The importance of this begging inspires the poet to mention it often and often (1, 3, 5).

IV

The contemplation of the saints is another trend of his hymns and their worship is not here forgotten. The worship of Visnu and his self-sacrifice (2) and of the starving Pukalttunai (6) are elaborated in two different verses of his hymn. They give us their all to win His unselfish love.

V

The Lord is the purest and the most holy. The joy of beauty arises out of our love and this conception of beauty is our experience of that purity. Beauty thus is an aesthetic experience and takes form in the expression of the great Truth which is Purity—a subjective experience of the Absolute—a poet’s vision or a vision of the mystic—unique as the vision of a particular mystic soul expressed in its language giving an expression and a poet’s organic form to the inexpressible Truth. “Tirupputturp punitartammai......alakal uraippar”—this is very important in explaining this aesthetic theory of Nampi Arurar. Beauty is heavenly; Purity is divine. Therefore, according to our poet, those who can experience aright aesthetically this hymn, will along with the beauty loving denizens of heaven reach the Shivaloka of purity.