Chapter 23 - Thirumazhapadi or Tiru-Malapati (Hymn 94)

I

In this hymn the poet makes a personal appeal to the Lord. He is also making a self-surrender. Here, therefore, comes another trough of the wave of his spiritual experience, which we had already explained. The Puranic stories are casual, not occupying any central place in this hymn. “The golden form, the tiger’s skin, the lightning-like mat-lock, the ‘konrai’ flower (1) the Mother Goddess (2), the crescent moon (7), the beautiful ear-ring (7), the deer in the hand (9) and the destruction of the three cities (10) are referred to. As already pointed out, this is a hymn of worship and self-surrender and, therefore, it refers to the worship of Brahma and Visnu (9) and to the beautiful flowers with which the sun and the other Devas worship the Lord (8). The beautiful red (cemmai-ceyya) flowers showered on Him by the devotees keep Him firm in the righteous (cemmai) path (8)—here is a pun on the words ‘cemmai and ceyya’ which mean red, beautiful and upright. The beauty of the Lord appeals to our poet and he often refers to the Lord as precious ruby (manikkam) in his hymns. Here, in this hymn, he addressed the Lord in every verse as the ruby of Thirumazhapadi—Malapatiyul manikkame’— the great and famous precious ruby (1-9) and ‘Mamani’ in (1).

The Lord is all forms of relationship, implying that others whom we call relations, are not really such (3) or, are so only because of the Lord within them. This is another idea which our poet often repeats and he takes refuge in Him as the great one who is all kinds of relationship—the mother (Anne’—1), the lover (Kel—2), the father (Entay— 7), the brother (Anna—5), the hero (Al—fi), the chief (Aiya— 8) the Lord (Amman— 3), He who is the Universe (Anta—4), the Intellect (Anive— 9)—the words denoting these relationships occur in a prominent place in every verse as the beginning of the fourth lines emphasized further by ‘etukai’ or assonance.

The other aspects of God are also emphasized. He is spoken of as the Path (Neri— 9), the symbol or the target of Linga (Kuri— 9), He who is without any blot (Ninmalan— 9), he who stands firm in His upright path (Miku cemmaiyul ninravan— 8), He who is good, affable and beautiful (Nirmaiyan— 9), the Wise, the Perfect (Vittakan— 7), the Idea and the Significance of the seven worlds (5), the sweet musical Tamil (5), the Great beyond everything (5) (the significance of these terms we tried to explain elsewhere).

II

The beauty of the holy place is also casually mentioned. Taking refuge from the world of misery into the cool shade of the Lord’s feet, our poet naturally emphasizes the cool shade of the holy place, (Maiyar pum polil—8), full of flower groves overcast by clouds; (Maimmam pumpolil—3) the beautiful mango grove dark with shade, the grove of flowers, full of bees (Vantar pumpolil—4), the grove expressing the fertility of the soil and full of the artistic beauty (5), the lovely grove (Maintar colai—7).

III

In this beautiful place, into the feet of the Lord of those beautiful forms and excellent qualities described above, the poet takes refuge. “My father and my Mother cannot be any prop unto me even to the extent of the seed of the sesame” (3). “In this illusion of birth, I was born and I died many a time. I have thus become thoroughly eaten away by exhaustion” (3). “From old times, I am your servant” (4). “I dedicated myself completely to the service of all the servants of your followers” (4). “I cut myself away from the faults without their ever following me” (4). “Before the Lord of the appointed day or Yama comes and afflicts me, I have taken refuge in You alone, completely as your servant—pray, accept me as well, O Lord!” (6). “Renouncing everything, I have worn only a waist string and a loin cloth besmearing my body with the sacred ash and I have come and taken refuge in your feet; pray, accept me” (2)—so singing, the poet takes refuge in the Lord, asserting nine times that he has none to think of except the Lord—Winnai alal ini arai ninaikkene’—“Whom shall I think of except Yourself?” That is the very life of the poem and its refrain. The renouncing of the worldly relationship (3), the fear of death (6), the misery of birth (3) egg him on to get rid of his faults and misery through the service to the followers of Shiva (4)—finally to give up all egoistic efforts and to surrender to the Lord with nothing but a loin cloth on him and the sacred ash (2).

Those who sing this hymn which expresses the experience of the poet when he has completely renounced this world and has reached something beyond this world—the Paraloka, will also, according to Nampi Arurar, reach the same happiness and joy of the Beyond (10).

IV

It is very difficult to believe that this hymn of complete renunciation could have been sung at this stage while he was living with Paravai, unless the description of the loin cloth is to be taken symbolically or as referring to the Lord Himself, (‘Meypuci’ will then become the noun)—interpretations which will be very forced and artificial in the context of the hymn. It will be, therefore, more appropriate as coming at the fag end of his life, in that period of his life when he sang the Thiruvanchikulam hymn (Hymn 4, see especially verse 8) which even Cekkilar feels was sung when Nampi Arurar wanted to renounce the domestic life (Periya Puranam, Vellanaiccarukkam, v. 29). The same may be said of the following hymns as well and that is one reason why we have grouped them all in a separate chapter for being considered to have been sung in his pilgrimage after our poet met Ceraman Perumal. The geographical agreement is not affected as these songs are sung at the period of his visit to Tiruvaiyaru a place for which there is a hymn which is even according to Cekkilar sung only when our poet had met Ceraman Perumal. That is why we had grouped together all these hymns on the basis of Cekkilar.