The Religion and Philosophy of Tevaram (Thevaram)

by M. A. Dorai Rangaswamy | 1958 | 410,072 words

This page describes “koyil (hymn 90)” from the part dealing with the Pilgrim’s progress (to Chola/Cola, later?), which represents the development of Arurar’s Mysticism as gleaned from his hymns. The 7th-century Thevaram (or Tevaram) contains devotional poems sung in praise of Shiva. These hymns form an important part of the Tamil tradition of Shaivism

I

We had already seen the fear of death and the fear of hell helping our poet in inspiring in the minds of his readers a love for God about whose mercy the poet is confident. In this hymn the poet almost jumps with joy at the discovery of this great treasuretrove, i.e,, the Lord of Cirrampalam. This is the refrain of this hymn repeated at the end of every verse, “puliyurc-cirrampalattem Perumanai-p perram anre”—“This Lord will make us turn from the wrong path and thus help us to escape from the inflictions of the Lord of Death”—(inflictions which we have discussed elsewhere)—this idea also is repeated in every verse.

II

According to tradition, our poet saw God at Citamparam in the form in which the Lord danced at Perur on the banks of Kdnci in the western Konku country while he visited that place. This story we have considered in relation to the description of the form of dance in verse No. 10 herein. This, therefore, must have been sung after his visit to the Konku country which according to us took place only in the last part of his life. “Matittatum ati” (1), the bent foot may be taken as referring to the ‘kuncita pada’ of the kuncita dance so dear to the Bhaktas, which Appar has lovingly described as ‘Inittam utaiya etutta porpatam’. Atimai generally means a slave probably as one always obediently lying at the feet. Here, it means service unto the Lord, by being in communion with His feet submerging our ego in the feet which dance.

The phrase ‘Tatuttatkolvan’ is repeated very many times in this hymn and we know that the title of that part of Periyapuranam giving us the story of Arurar has been given the name Tatuttatkonta Puranam’ by Cekkilar. ‘TatuttatkollaV is a phrase, therefore, very dear to Nampi Arurar, a phrase which the later day generations considered as giving us the very quintessence of his life history. It is a beautiful phrase expressing the mercy of the Lord as coming and preventing us from following our usual path of ignorance and misery and saving us through His loving Grace so that we may follow His path of love.

III

The poet describes in the form of advice to his own mind, the mercy of the Lord saving the erring souls. He is the Lord who will save us from the inflictions of the Lord of death not only when we are in His service but also all through our life, possibly because whatever the followers do becomes His act. He advises his mind to leave off that mad race for physical pleasures of this body enjoying those pleasures and roaming about everywhere. “We will not be in need of anything. Every day and for ever the Lord—that mad Dancer—will remove our sins” (6). “The Lord is in quest of us. Pray, therefore, do something good. He will ever save us from the inflictions of death” (9). “The hearts of us, Bhaktas (7) who think of Him as we ought to, not only melt as a stone will melt, but we also become perfect that we need nothing. O, mind! He will save us from the inflictions of death” (8)—thus he assures the mind.

In another verse he describes his own experience as that of mercy shown to the Bhaktas in general, thus rising that to a universal level instead of expressing his own subjective feelings. “Those who have incessantly followed the path of passions are away from Him, full of egoism. But once they turn away from that path, the egoism disappears. They fall at His feet before Him, ever thinking of Him, bearing no separation even for a moment, full of His most famous love. That is their great wealth; and them, the Lord saves. That is His greatness” (2). “Those who leave off the duplicity of their fox-like cunning (or those who leave off their characteristic feature of being identified with the body which after all becomes a kind of hiding place for the cunning fox) ever think of Him as the beloved of the Lord bearing no separation, going and falling before Him at His feet with their mind devoid of all egoism; and them, the Lord saves from the inflictions of Death” (3). “He cuts away the fetters of death, giving the Bhaktas His own rare abode, and showering His never ending bliss” (4). “He rids the sins and karmas of those who contemplate on Him as His Bhaktas (7).

IV

Our poet as usual refers to the Puranic descriptions of the Lord, of His dance (1), of his holding in his hand the drum (1), the fire (1) and the serpent (1), of the destruction of the Lord of Death (5), of the skin of the elephant (5), of His mat-lock (5), of His laurel of the crescent moon (5), of the destruction of the egoism of Ravana (7), of the company of the Mother (10) and of His bull (8). The poet also calls him ‘Peralar’ (2), ‘The famous’, ‘Peruvian (5), ‘The Great’, ‘Pittati , (6), ‘The Mad Dancer,’ ‘Tampiran (10), ‘the Chief and the Patron’, in loving terms which emphasize His greatness and love.

V

Here the poet does not describe the holy place except as “Puliyurc cirrampalam”. In one place he describes the Lord as of the form well known to all as that worshipped by the three thousand (7), worshipped thrice without fail, every day. The three thousand are the three thousand Brahmins of Citamparam whom he had described in the very beginning of Tinittontattokai as ‘Tillai vol antanar’. In his joy of discovery of the Lord as the treasure trove, he does not specifically mention any good following the recitation of this hymn other than this very joy.

VI

The last verse gives only the poet’s name Arurar. This hymn is very important because herein he adumbrates the Divine Right theory of Kings (4); it is here that he speaks of the Lord creating confusion amidst those wfip fail to pay tribute to the Pallava king ruling the world. In commenting on H. 35, we had occasion to refer to the poet’s relationship with the kings and chiefs ol his age. Probablv our noet was a friend of the Pallava king himself.

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