Chapter 68 - Thirumullaivoyal or Tirumullaivayil (Hymn 69)

I

The poet on his way to Thiruvarur passed through Tirumullai-vayil, which had grown into importance in the Pallava Period, thanks to the tradition, that a ‘mullai’ creeper wound round the legs of the state elephant of the Pallava and that the Lord became manifest to the Pallava for enabling that king to receive the infinite bliss—a tradition referred to by our poet in verse 10.

II

This city is described as being on the northern bank of Pali or Palaru (5). But now, Palaru runs many miles south of this place. Our poet describes the Palaru in floods, carrying the roots of the sandal tree, the logs of ‘akil’, the peacock tail, the elephant tusk, heaps of pearls and heaps of creeper-like corals and coming down pushing everything in front (5). Now the Kutatalaiyaru alone runs at a little distance.

The poet, after he has sung the precious hymn, had his peace of mind restored though his miseries have not disappeared altogether. The metre of the verse is the traditional metre of seven feet of the scheme, ‘rila’, ‘ma’, ‘vila’, ‘ma, ‘vila’, vila’, ‘ma’. In the last line of every verse (except the fourth verse), the last five metrical feet and in the words, ‘patutuyar kalaiyay pacupata parancutare— ‘Weed out the sufferings that inflict me, O, Supreme Light.’ O, Pacupata!” (On the word ‘Pacupata’, please see: Vol. II). Perhaps ‘MullaivayiV was an important place where assembled the members of the Pasupata school as their central place of influence). One can appreciate the poet who is now blind addressing the Lord as the Supreme Light.

III

Our poet also refers in this hymn to the Thiruvennainallur incident; “O, our Lord! that day at Venneinallur you saved me and made me a dog, your servant” (8).

IV

He gives expression to his subjective experience of the Lord and his inner life; “Thinking that your famous feet are to me the Beauty, the true Reality, and Wealth (Wealth as representing the inspiration for activity and conduct is goodness. Thus God is Beauty, Truth and Goodness—the three eternal values.), doing all that is not proper and flaring up in resentment, I showed no respect to anyone. I roamed about obstinate this way. O, Lord! O, Supreme Light! Weed out my miseries that inflict your slave that praises you with the words of his tongue” (1). “Weed out the miseries that inflict your slave who out of love had sung the great fame of yours” (2). “O, Lord of that great quality which removed my eyes because of Cankili! Weed out the miseries that inflict your slave” (3). “Bless me, who out of love for your fame sing in Tamil of varied beauty” (4); (this ending varies from the endings in other verses). “Weed out my miseries, destroying the fetters” (5). “O, Munificent Patron! Who else can be blessed with all that I have been blessed with? Even if I speak, and commit mistakes, it is your policy to accept all these as good qualities. Because of this ideal of yours, I had committed many excesses. I am your slave; I have no other support. Weed out the miseries which had come to inflict me” (6). “Night and day, I performed your services. Weed out my miseries” (7). I have roamed about in quest of you and you are the precious gold that I have found.” “Weed out the miseries your slave is suffering from” (8). (This refrain is repeated in verses 9 and 10).

V

The description of Tirumidlaivayil shows, the poet has now become extrovert. There is a sweet fragrance there (1). It is a place surrounded by garden of champaka groves (3), a place of fields of paddy full of beauty and goodness, wherein roam about the crabs usually sleeping on the beautiful and comfortable seat of lotus flowers, sleeping to the lullaby sung by the bees beautified by dots and lines, bees which have become intoxicated with the fresh smelling honey of the fields yielding gold (4). It is a place embraced by thick groves where does not cease the rare dance of the damsels of beautiful carp-like eyes, of gem-like red lips, of white teeth, of black and long tresses of hair and of a suffused beauty of the peacock (7). The waters full of waves or ripples surround this holy place (11). Apart from these natural beauties, it is a place of man’s art for it is surrounded by golden palaces (8). It is also the place where throng the Devas, who cry to Him and exclaim ‘Where are you?’ (2) for the Lord is the king of the Devas (3). It is also a place where the good men praise Him (10).

VI

The Puranic stories are also referred to: His dance in the presence of the Mother (2), the Lordship over the Vedas (3), the flaying of the skin of the elephant (3), the destruction of the three cities (6), the swallowing of the poison (8), the destruction of the Lord of Death rushing on the young one (Markandeya) (9), the Lord growing up taller and taller (as a pillar of Fire) to frighten Visnu and Brahma (11).

VII

The Lord is called ‘Nampan’— ‘Our man’ (8), ‘He of Mullai-vayiV (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), or ‘the wealth of TirumullaivayiV (7, 9, 11), ‘the Lord of TirumullaivayiV (10), ‘the Lord of the beautiful or loving eyes’ (2), the most beautiful (2), the meaning and significance of the Vedas (2), ‘Cittan’ (9), ‘the wise and the learned’, ‘Rattan’ (9), ‘the learned Doctor who is the author of the rich Vedas’, ‘Palkalaipporul’ (10), ‘the meaning and significance of all arts’, ‘Paimpon’ (8) ‘the fresh gold’, ‘Masilamani’ (5), ‘the blotless gem, (we know we have noted our poet has partiality for this gem—the name of the deity of this temple)’, ‘Sambhu’ or One who creates happiness (8), Traivan’, the Sovereign (10), ‘Natan’ the Lord (10). Thus the aspects of Beauty, Value, Knowledge, Bliss and Power of the Lord are emphasized, at the same time emphasizing his nearness to us. The hymn is important as giving us the doctrine of Grace that the Lord loves our faults (6) (even as the cow loves the dirt on its calf).

VIII

Our conclusion, that the poet has regained his mental peace and equanimity is confirmed by what our poet assures his readers. He has himself experienced a calm and cool mind whilst singing this hymn, when all mental agitations thus ceased, he must have felt transported to regions of the higher beings completely obvious of the miseries of the world inflicting him in the form of grey hair, wrinkles, old age and other sufferings. He, therefore, assures those who recite these five and five verses of this garland of words of ‘Naval Aruran’ and who are capable of praising the Lord with a calm and cool mind, that they will attain the sovereignty over the people of Heavens without any grey hair, wrinkles, old age and other sufferings—a kind of existence which is considered heavenly.