Chapter 21 - Thirukalayanallur or Tirukkalaya Nallur (Hymn 16)

I

The same idea of the holy place appearing as the Heaven of innocence, beauty, joy and duty continues to retain the central place in the mind of our poet. There is now no more feeling of seeming contradiction between the acts of divine punishment and the appearance of Beauty. Contradiction is resolved in the underlying divine love.

II

This hymn on Thirukalayanallur (Ur is a city, from ‘Ura’ or ‘Ula’ to move about. Nallur is one variety of cities called as such because of its greatness—‘Nanru peritu akum’ —or goodness or holiness: See Vennei Nallur, Karivalam vanta Nallur, Tirunallurp perumanam, Tiru Nallur. Kalayanallur is the city of kalai or arts. The description ‘kalai atainta’ in the 4th verse seems to support this view. Kalayanar, (the saint may be Kalainanar, the learned in arts), emphasizes the loving beauty of the Lord and His place. If He is the life, Nature is His body. Life takes the body that befits it. This hymn is a masterpiece of poetry and music full of rhythmic assonance and sweet flow. Its verses are what we call ‘En cir kali netil ati aciriya viruttam’ or ‘Irattai viruttam’ each line of eight feet splitting into two halves of four feet—three kays’ and one ‘ma’. The first halves of the verses describe the story of the Lord and the second halves describe the beauty and greatness of Kalayanallur. The pattern of the sentence in every verse is the same. “If you ask what is the city of this Lord of these activities, look ye, it is this Kalayanallur!” The second lines always end in ‘Ur vinaviVand the fourth lines always end in ‘Kalayanallur kane!";

III

The joy and the holiness given expression to in these hymns are, indeed, so infectious that the author himself feels that those who can sing this musical ten, with love, will be rid of all their misery and sin and, therefore, recommends its daily recitation (11). There are a few significant descriptions of the Lord in the light of which this hymn has to be read. The Lord is the Lord of the Devas—‘Vinnavarkon’ (1); the king or the All Pervasive—‘Iraiyavan’ (2); He of the Natural Beauty—‘Vitankan’ (3); of the art form of Beauty—‘Vikirtan’ (5); the Best, Uttaman (4); the Loving Shiva—‘Arul peruku Civaperuman’ (6); the blotless—‘Nirmalan’ (7); the Supreme—‘Paran’ (10); the Beyond—‘Paraman’ (11).

IV

The hymn begins with the story of the Lord marrying the damsel of Tapas—He is the Lord of the eye in the forehead which burnt Kama (1). The Lord is again described as the father of the Destroyer of Tarakasura—the father who burnt Kama (9). These, apart from representing the Love aspect of God as the Mother, also suggest the correct attitude towards married life. Married life is divine, provided it is a life of tyaga where one is the master and not a slave of passions. There is a play of the consort coming from behind and closing the eyes of the Lord and its results are described. The Lord is all pervasive and the whole world becomes blind and enshrowded in darkness which necessitates the Lord creating for Himself an eye in His forehead (4). He is All Pervasive (2). He is everything—the five elements of the Universe, the firmly rooted things of the world and the moving lives (7). But He is beyond them and, therefore, »not contaminated by their blots or defects. He is the Great, beyond the reach of Visnu and Brahma (8)—the loving Lord of the crescent moon (8), the All Merciful swallowing poison (8), the Lord of the Bull and of the Mother Goddess (8) and the Begging bard (11). There are the stories of the burning of the three cities (5), of the destruction of Daksa’s sacrifice (6), of the crushing down of Ravana (7) and of the victory over Andaka (2), Indra (2) and Jdlandhara (2). These are victories of His love—“Teyvittu arul peruku Civperuman (6)—the Lord Shiva of ever increasing Grace which takas the form of His crushing moon”.

Visnu was blessed with the discus which killed Jalandhara revealing the mystery of the act of the Lord’s Grace which at once becomes a salvation for Jalandhara and a gift for Visnu (2). This story of Visnu is a story of his worship with his very eye as the flower (2). There is again the story of the worship by Brahma in a befitting manner (10). Above all, there is the worship by Candesvara renouncing all mundane relations (3). The Lord goes ever in quest of him to receive his services. This reminds us of the Christian conception of the Good Shepherd. The Vaishnavites speak of the soul as the life jewel of God. If the soul goes astray the loss is His and, therefore, He goes in search of it; He is never happy till He regains it and the soul is saved.

V

The description of the place as a fitting receptacle of Divine Love follows. The bees slowly approach the buds. The insects of six legs sing. The row of peacocks dance in the beautiful groves. Nearby, the blue lilies sleep beside the sugarcane, as though the song were a lullaby. The lotus blooms and beams up with joyful face as though enjoying the concert and the dance. In passing, it may be noted that there is an implied suggestion that the Love of God affects various people according to their spiritual development and nature, even as the same tune of the bee acts as a lullaby to some and a waking up song to others (1).

If the Lord of Nampi Arurar is All Pervasive, our poet has a broad heart of love to which everything makes a poetic appeal. The great intellectual giants engrossed in the spiritual significance of the Vedas recite them aloud out of pure joy. There comes the rhythmic sound of the musical drums perhaps in accompaniment to music and dance in the feasts and festivities, public and private. Groups of chilaren jump and play creating their characteristic sound. These sounds from innumerable groups swell up. The buffaloes in confusion dash into the water; the frightened carps rush to the lotuses for safety wherefrom the scared bees which have drunk deep the honey of the lotuses flee away. Here is another attempt of a higher joy scaring the foolish away (2).

There are the works of art and architecture—Mantapas (Halls), Gopurams (Towers), Malikais (Palaces) with culikais (Terraces)—everywhere in this holy place where the sacred sounds of the Vedas and the sounds of festivals overflow and fill up all streets.

The hearts of the sight-seers are full. More than these architectures, this sacred music commotion of the festivals, their minds and eyes are captivated by the natural pond of lotuses where joyfully dive and bathe the beautiful damsels—a harmony of the beauty of art and nature, of spiritual and secular music (3).

VI

This place is on the southern bank of the river Aricil which our poet has already described. The waters heave up in waves of the flood, tumbling the tusks of elephants and pushing forth ‘akil’ and sandal wood (4). The flood, like the crown of the Lord harmonizing various conflicting things brings out a harmony of the white chaurie, the blue tail of the peacocks of the animal life—and of the Venkai and konku flowers of the plant life, the streets in the zephyr full of fragrance of the honey of the flowers of the arecanut palm (10). The flood brings about harmony of all things of enjoyment: fruits, gems, gold, flowers and fragrant woods—but all these are under the terrifying and loathful exterior of muddy water which whilst appearing to be dirty, washes clean all things it casts forth. Does not this remind of the world where people escape from the Lord’s Grace even as the carps rush away from the honeyed flowers of the floods to the shallow fields? (7)

There comes the river Aricil on whose southern bank stands this Kalayanallur appearing beautifully as a group of clouds because of the smoke of sacrifice performed, for driving out the evils of the Kali age, by the Antanar or Brahmins in whom the Arts and knowledge have taken refuge (4). There these Brahmins reside and live everywhere happily studying the arts, listening to and learning the various aspects of the Lord, praising Him and reciting many hymns and Vedic songs full of meaning words (5). (The significance of this description has been explained elsewhere). These are the people of melting heart—loving and sympathetic heart, falling at the feet of the Lord in the morning and in the evening, so much that Nature seems to resonate with their worship (8). The cuckoos of the grove call out and the beautiful peacocks dance; the bees hum the musical tune whilst the green parrots recite and repeat the praises as the central worshippers in accompaniment to music and dance (8).

The dark waters whip up white waves battering on the two banks and throwing up and down the fragrant cardamom and cloves. On the banks of the river stands Kalayanallur surrounded by the shining and fragrant groves where occurs a series of metamorphoses—worthy of Ovid’s song—the dark trees of Punnai with buds like white pearls and these are metamorphosed into flowers of gold and again changed so as to exhibit the beauty of the coial (9).

The waves of the floods reaching the river Aricil dash against the spreading creepers of Mullai, Mallikai and Cenpakam and on the southern bank of the river stands the city of fields which present the sight of the most natural schools where the milch cow with its motherly instinct feeds on the fragrant Kalunir flower whilst her group of calves learn to graze the sprouts of sugarcane—a lovely rendezvous of love and learning with a message to the modern leaders of education (6). Thus the descriptions become more and more centering round the worship of the Lord.