Chapter 24 - Thiruvanaikaval or Tiruvanaikka (Hymn 75)

I

Love for a person reaches its zenith when anything connected with the person also excites the same love. The extreme point of our love to God according to Vaishnavites is the love felt for the followers of God. In various places of the previous hymns starting from his Thiruthondathogai, Nampi Arurar has been hinting at this truth. In the Tirutontattokai, soon after the realization of this truth, we saw him fall at the feet of every one of the Bhaktas whose names have become popular in his days, crying, “I am the servant of His servants”. In other places, he has furnished particulars about their worship, their leadership and his following their path and thus becoming saved.

In the previous hymn he has told us that it was service unto them that had enabled him to cut himself away from all paths of sins. In this present hymn, born of his experience, he makes an objective statement of truth that those who take refuge in the pair of shining rosy feet (5) of the Lord accepting Him as their Master with the solemn affirmation of love, those who worship the Almighty as their father (4), God (2) and Lord (1), everyday contemplating on Him and feeling merciful (7), praising Him day and night (8) are the Lords of us all as well, Lords who have us too as their servants accepting our service and offering us salvation. Herein he gives the characteristic features of the Bhaktas, those who take refuge in Him (1), who accept Him as their Lord (1) and father (4), contemplating on Him and praising Him every day and being full of mercy (7).

II

Thus contemplating on the Bhaktas, our poet feels that he has himself become one who is now capable of leading a worthy life contemplating on the Lord being inspired by such contemplation with mercy standing firm in the shady golden feet of the Lord Who is the beginning of everything and remaining firm as a Ton-tan under that Feet as his great refuge. That is how the hymn works a spiritual revolution in the minds of its readers and therefore our poet assures us that those who are masters of this munificent Tamil garland of a hymn will not only be rid of their seven births but also accept us all as their servants to bring out our salvation (10).

III

How Bhaktas contemplate on the Lord or how the Lord appears to Nampi Arurar in the present context becomes interesting from this point of view. “The Lord is all the four Vedas and all other things, the Lord of hymns and all walks of life, the Ancient and the Good” (1). “He is the blotless, He is the father, the Mother and the inner principle of this world. He is the Lord who is all attachment upto the true tapasvins” (4). “He is the great Master and Guru (Tiruvatikal) of those who are full of good qualities” (4). “For those who go round Him, He is the medicine which cures their chronic karma” (9).

IV

The Puranic stories are also referred to and must be taken to signify the same truths about the Lord. “The poison arose and spread out and the people in order to save themselves cried out, “Eat” and as a simpleton He ate the poison and His throat turned blue. He makes this description dramatic by calling them ‘vancar’, the cheats, for pretending that the poison was something eatable” (2). The description suggests that the Lord is full of mercy even to swallow the poison to save others, though He is the learned one, who had given forth to the world the works of various knowledge (ankam otiya— 2). The poet refers to the konrai flower, the damsel of the river, the crescent moon and the serpents—all on the ruddy mat-lock of our Father who sits under the banyan tree (3). The story of the destruction of the three cities is also given (5) along with the description of the Lord riding on the bull in the company of the Mother (6) clothing Himself with the skins of deer and tiger (8), wearing ornaments which cannot be valued ‘vilaiyili’ (6). There is a pun on the phrase ‘vilaiyili’ which may mean precious and valuable, or valueless or beyond valuation, for, His ornaments, the serpents, the bones and the ash appear to be valueless to those who do not understand their significance, while to the mystics they appear to be full of significance and value. The stories of the destruction of the Kalan (Death) (9) and Kaman (9) and the gift of the discus to Visnu are also referred to (10). The local story of the Cola losing his necklace or pearls whilst bathing in the Kaviri which is often spoken of as the wife of the Cola, and praying to God that He may accept his lost necklace, when the Lord in the temple of Thiruvanaikaval in response to his request accepted the gift and appeared with the necklace (7) of pearls—a story which once again proves the miracle revealing the greatness of worshippers like this king and the love the Lord who is ready to fulfil their requests.

V

The beauty of the holy place is also described in relation to the flowing Grace of the Lord readily answering the prayers of Bhaktas, the Grace suggesting the flow of the river Kaviri of beautiful and resounding waters of ripples and waves—the cool and lovely river coming to embrace (and save) the world.