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Inputs for CD ROMs : Part XI.1 -->Swamy NammAzhwAr

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Sadagopan • February 26, 2001 


NamO NaarAyanAya!

Dear BhakthAs: adiyEn will cover the life and 
Sri Sookthis of Swamy NammAzhwAr , our Kula pathi
in this posting.

The Vaibhavam of Swamy NammazhwAr: AvathAram
*********************************************
Among the AzhwArs, NammAzhwAr is considered 
as the Master.All the others are considered 
as his limbs (avayavams). He is the amsam of 
VishvaksEnar , who is the commander-in-Chief 
of Sriman NaarAyaNan.

He was born in Pandya Naadu at ThirukkuruhUr on
the banks of TamraparaNi river during a VaikAsi
VisAkam day.His father was KaariyAr and His mother
was Udaya Nangai from the MalayALa dEsa Thiruppathi
of ThiruvaNN ParisAram. Both the parents belonged
to vELALa kulam . During one of the occasions , when 
KaariyAr was traveling with his wife to her birth place,
the couple stopped at ThirukkuRunkudi .There , KaariyAr
prayed to the Lord for the boon of progeny and the Lord
responded through His archakar that a son will be born
to them soon .ThirukkuRunkudi PerumAl commanded
VishvaksEnar to incarnate as NammAzhwAr on the 43rd day
after the start of Kali Yugam at ThirukkuruhUr. 
He also commanded AdhisEshan to incarnate as 
the divine Tamarind tree inside the temple of 
Polinthu-ninRa PirAn of ThirukkuruhUr to protect
the infant NammazhwAr from the Sun and the rain.
On a BahudhAnya ( BhaudhA+anya) VaikAsi VisAka
PourNami day , AzhwAr was born in KaavyavAsara 
Karkataka lagnam.

AzhwAr's growth 
****************
The child born to KaariyAr and Udayanamgai
was unlike other infants in that it did not
partake of Mother's milk and yet grew with
dhivya tEjas. It did not cry; it did not open
its eyes. The concerned parents named their 
unusual child as Maaran , since it was different
in behavior ( mAri iruppathAl) from other children.
They took MaaRan to PerumAL Sannidhi and placed Maaran
in a golden cradle under the tamarind tree there .
For sixteen years, Maaran , who drove away the Sata
Vaayu with a hoonkAram kept his eyes closed and 
observed Mounam . PerumAL instructed VishvaksEnar to
teach Sakala SaasthrArthams to Maaran SatakOpan 
so that he in turn can redeem the people of 
the world with His dhivya prabhandhams.VishvaksEnar 
thus served in the role of AchAryan for SatakOpan.

Madhura Kavi's arrival at ThirukkuruhUr
****************************************
An older Brahmin by the name of Madhura Kavi
from the neighboring ThirukkOLUr was visiting
northern dhivya desam of AyOdhyA , when SatakOpan was
reching the age of sixteen.At night , Madhura Kavi 
saw a splendid jyOthi in the southern sky and 
tracked it to see where it was coming from. 
His journey concluded at the foot of a tamarind 
tree at ThirukkuruhUr , where SatakOpan was seated
with His eyes closed in deep dhyAnam. Madhura Kavi
wanted to test SatakOpan's hearing and dropped a
pebble near him. SatakOpan woke up from his Yogic
samadhi and looked at Madhura Kavi. Latter wanted
now to test whether SatakOpan can speak . Madhura Kavi
posed the question of " Setthathin VayiRRil siRiyathu
piRanthAl , yetthai thinRu yenghu kidakkum?". SatakOpan
responded : "atthai thinRu angE kidakkum". Madhura Kavi
recognized instantly the greatness of SatakOpan and chose
him as his AchAryan and performed prapatthi at SatakOpan's 
sacred feet. Swamy NammAzhwAr accepted Madhura Kavi as his 
dear disciple . At that instant , Sriman NaarAyaNan
appeared on the back of Garudan before Swamy NammazhwAr
and blessed him. Swamy NammazhwAr was filled with bliss
over the darsana soubhAgyam of the Lord and His dayaa and 
expresed his anubhavam in four prabhandhams containing
deep tathvArthams in chaste Tamil language.

The Four Prabhandhams of Swamy NammazhwAr
******************************************
These four prabhnadhams of SatakOpan are consdiered 
the essence of the Four Sanskritic Vedams . Yajur Vedam
has seven cantos. SatakOpan composed ThiruvAsiriyam 
with seven paasurams to seve as the essence of Yajur 
Vedam. He blessed us with Periya ThiruvandhAthi
(87 paasurams)as the saaram of AtharvaNa Vedam.
Thiruviruttham (100 paasurams)contained the essence 
of Rg vedam and ThiruvAimozhi's "thousand" paasurams 
(actually 1102 Paasurams) served to distill the essence 
of the thousand-branched Saama Vedam.SatakOpan taught 
them all to Madhura Kavi, who propagated them in all 
eight directions to eulogize the glory of his AchAryan's 
dhivya Sookthis for redeeming the people from samsAric 
afflictions.AzhwAr used to wear the VakuLa Pushpa Maalai 
worn by Polinthu NinRa PirAn of Thirunahari( ThirukkuruhUr) 
and was therefore called VakuLAbharaNar .The fragrance of 
those VakuLA flowers are contained in SatakOpan's prabhandhams.
After a few years more in the Lord's LeelA VibhUthi, SatakOpan 
was eager to return to his Swamy's nithya VibhUthi 
to perform nithya kaimkaryam there . SatakOpan ascended hence
to parama Padham thereafter . Madhura Kavi performed
prathishtai to Swamy NammAzhwAr's vigram at AzhwAr Thirunahari
and spent the rest of his life singing his AchAryan's prabhandham
every where and teaching them to all people .Madhura Kavi
composed the marvellous prabhandham of "KaNNinuNN 
SiRutthAmpu" to immortalize his AchArya Bhakthi .

Swamy NammazhwAr ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam ,
RaamAnuja Daasan, Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SatakOpan
  

        


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