Ramalinga Adigal

Ramalinga Adigal who is commonly known as Vallalar  was born on  05.10.1823 at Marudhur, a village 20 kms from Chidambaram in Tamilnadu.  He was the youngest of the five children of Ramiah pillai, who was a teacher in the local school and an ardent devotee of Lord Siva.  He was named Ramalingam.  The year after his birth, his father passed away and his mother Chinnammaiar shifted with children to her mother’s place near Ponneri.  After two years she again shifted the family to Chennai to stay with her eldest son, Sabapthy, who was working as a teacher there. When Ramalingam was five years old, Sabapathy put him to school.  But Ramalingam had no interest in formal education and he preferred to spend his time in the precincts of local Murugan temple known as Kandakottam.  Being a teacher himself, Sabapthy was upset with what he considered as the self-destructive behaviour of his younger brother and as a punitive measure he instructed his wife, Parvathi, not to give him any food. Parvathi being a compassionate person secretly fed him and gently prevailed upon him to pursue his studies at home. Ramalingam relented on condition that he is given a separate room which was agreed to.

Now in the solitary confines of the room Ramalingam set up a mirror and in front of it lit a small lamp and started mediating before it.   Unlike the other children of his age, he was totally disinterested in the usual games and pleasures of childhood.  He was proficient in Tamil language and his inclination was totally towards God.  He could compose wonderful devotional songs from a very early age of nine. Sitting before a mirror and meditating and composing poems and visiting the Kandakottam temple became the daily routine. He felt intensely devotional and poured out his devotion in the form of poems like Deiva Mani Malai, Kandar Sarana Pathu etc. One day Sabapathy who used to give religious discourses could not attend one engagement due to ill-health and he requested Ramalingam to convey the message of his inability to perform to the organisers.  As the organisers could not make alternative arrangements they requested Ramalingam to take up the role of his brother. A reluctant Ramalingam took the stage. His brilliant exposition and uninterrupted flow of words while enunciating a verse from the `Periyapuranam', and his brilliant exposition of Saiva Siddhantha kept the audience spell bound and awestruck.  “No ordinary person can perform a divine discourse as effortlessly and magnificently as Ramaligam” was the remark from the audience. Sabhapathy on coming to know of this felt proud of him and also ashamed that he could not recognize the greatness of his own brother.

Now his brother recognized that Ramalingam was a precocious child genius and let him carry on his routines undisturbed. The family also tried to anchor him to worldly life by getting him married.  Due to their insistence he married Danammal, his sister’s daughter. But he had no heart in the marriage and on the night he was supposed to consummate the marriage, Ramalingam recited his favourite work, Manickavasagar’s Tiruvachakam, to the bride. Marriage was no distraction from his spiritual yearning and religious activities and he did not lead an active married life. 

In 1858, Ramalingam accompanied by a few spiritually oriented friends and a disciple, journeyed southwards towards his birthplace. After worshipping in temples in places like Vaitheeswarankoil, Tiruvaarur, Seerkazhi and Chidambaram, he settled at Karunguzhi, near Chidambaram, where the village official of Karunguzhi, Venkata Reddiar, placed his house at his disposal. During his stay there Ramalingam used to be writing poems day and night.  On one day the people of the house had gone out to a nearby village and stayed there itself that night.  Ramalingam, whom we shall refer to as Adigal hereafter, was alone and writing.  As he was writing the lamp ran out of oil and absorbed in writing, he poured the contents of the vessel left by his side without looking into it, into the lamp and continued writing the whole night. The vessel had contained only water for his use which he had not noticed.  Yet the lamp continued burning on water.  Next day when the family members returned home they found the vessel empty and the lamp filled with water and burning.  After this miracle the people who were revering him as saint started to look upon him as God. 

There are also many other miracles attributed to him here and elsewhere. People now started seeing him not only as a saint and a poet but also as a mystic who can perform miracles to help them.   Adigal was not against performing miracles, as they formed the powers and plays of the Divine. However he was not for miracle mongering. But many started flocking to him not attracted by his teachings but only by his miracles and for deriving benefit from his power of Siddhis. So he later remarked regretfully towards the end of his life “கடை விரித்தேன், கொள்வாரில்லை” (I opened the shop, only to find there were no buyers). 

Adigal  gave beautiful expression to his devotion and his teachings through his poems. He composed many poems and 5818 of them divided into six Thirumurais were published under the title ‘திருவருட்பா”(Thiruvarutpa) i.e. Divine song of Grace, in 1867 by his first disciple, Velayutha Mudaliar, with his permission.  Thiruvarutpa is considered as an outstanding work of literature and of soul-stirring devotion, like Thiruvachakam, the work Adigal admired most.  Disciples thronged to hear these poems and drew immense inspiration from them.  There is an interesting incident connected with the name ‘Arutpa’.  Arumuga Navalar of Jaffna, Sri Lanka, an eminent Saiva Siddhanta scholar, filed a suit against Adigal in the court of the District munsif at Manjakuppam praying for a decree for the withdrawal of the name ‘Arutpa’ by the defendant, contending that it is ‘Marutpa’ (hymns of illusion) only.  On the day of hearing, Navalar was present in the court before time. Soon the Munsif resumed his chair and the defendant was called by name. Adigal entered the hall and the plaintiff, Navalar, stood in reverence and greeted Adigal with folded hands.  Munsif himself got up from the chair and paid reverence to Adigal automatically. After hearing the arguments from both sides, Navalar was asked why he stood up for Adigal and he admitted that Adigal was a nice and noble person blessed with mystic powers. The court in its judgement held that ‘Arutpa’ was a valuable treasure to the world of Tamil devotional literature and it is an outcome entirely based on Divine inspiration and also cited Navalar’s opinion of Adigal and his reverence to Adigal.  The court also held that in as much as it is admitted that Adigal is a wise spiritual soul, it cannot be argued that his renderings were of a worldly nature. So it decreed the case in favour of the defendant. The district munsif is the one who later became an eminent judge of Chennai High court, Justice Muthuswami Iyer. 

 In 1865, Adigal formed the ‘Sanmarga Sangh’ to preach his principles of one God, compassion towards fellow beings, jeeva karunyam, and adherence to vegetarianism, annadhanam etc.  In 1867, Vallalar established Dharmasala at Vadalur as a centre to give hospitality to the fatigued travellers, food to the indigent elders and medical aid to the patients without resources.  This Dharmasala continues to feed the poor every day since then and the kitchen fire has not been put out since it was first lit. As people started thronging the place at Vadalur, Adigal in search of solitude shifted to Mettukuppam, a village 5 kms from Vadalur. The hut where he stayed was named by him as ‘Siddhi Valagam’ which means ‘Place of Attainment’. Here he continued his long fasts and meditation and he also used to disappear and reappear without anybody knowing his whereabouts.

One day Adigal declared his wish to build a temple according to a design made by him. The devotees started work on it. It was inaugurated on January 25. 1872, and was called Sathya Jnana Sabhai.  This is not a temple in the usual sense as no offerings of fruits or flowers could be made, and no blessings were given. It was open to people of all castes except for those who ate meat, who can only worship from outside.  It was hexagonal shaped and had a lamp in its main altar. Daily pujas were performed for this lamp only. Puja consisted of one ritual only i.e. Deepa aradhana. There is a mirror in front of the lamp and the altar is behind curtains of black, blue, green, red, golden and white and multi colours, representing the veils of ignorance. When the curtains were removed, the Jyothi could be seen through the mirror.  Adigal lit the lamp on the inaugural day and it continues to burn to this day. There are no other rituals inside this Jnana Sabhai except the simple burning of camphor. There is a board restricting entry to vegetarians only.  The அருட்பெருஞ்ஜோதி அகவல் (Arutperunjothi Agaval) of Adigal is engraved here. 

In 1873 he started the movement Samarasa Suddha Sanmarga Sathya Sangam, giving collectively to those present the "அருட்பெரும் ஜோதி” (ArutPerum Jothi) Mahamantra.  He said God is "அருட்பெரும் ஜோதி" and He is personification of mercy and knowledge. He said the path of compassion and mercy is the only path to God. He explained Samarasam as the the concept that encompasses all religious thoughts and respects all faiths and religions; Suddham as standing for purity and sublimity that is achieved through Indriya Ozhukkam, Karana Ozhukkam, Jeeva Ozhukkam, and Athma Ozhukkam;  Sanmargam standing for right and truthful path i.e. the one where there is no distinctions between humans. He underlined the principles which formed the foundation of Samarasa Suddha Sanmargam as:

1)  God is one. He is ArutPerum Jyothi, the Vast Grace of Light.

  2) All are children of one God and there is no caste, religious or regional differences.

  3) One should recognize the divinity in every soul, respect it and live in peace and prosperity, in a spirit of love and unity.

  4) Compassion towards all fellow beings and compassion towards all lives such as animals, birds etc. should form the basis of all actions.

  5) To reach God, tread the path of simplicity and humility and not through rituals or extravagant ways of worship. 

  The essence of his teachings he outlined as “பசித்திரு, தனித்திரு, விழித்திரு” (Pasithiru, Thanithiru Vizhithiru);  பசித்திரு representing the hunger for Moksha, தனித்திரு the freedom from delusions and விழித்திரு watchfulness over senses.

  On Thursday the 30^th January, 1874 he told his disciples that he would be leaving his body and entering all the bodies of creation and asked them to continue the lamp worship as laid down by him leading a life of compassion, purity and simplicity.  After taking leave of all those present he locked himself inside the room in the Siddhi Valagam.  The news that Adigal had locked himself up in his room became known widely and it gave rise to all sorts of rumours necessitating Government intervention.  When the officials broke open the door there was not any trace of Ramalinga Adigal in the room. The police examined Siddhi Valagam and its surroundings extensively and later the collector and Revenue Member conducted an enquiry and it was finally concluded that there was no evidence to suspect any foul play as nothing could be found ‘’to lend the least support for any sort of suspicion’’. His disappearance was gazetted in Government records. His disciples concluded that he had merged with the Great Light of Grace, changing his body into subtle, invisible deathless body or as we would put it, realized total union with God.

  

   Ramalinga Adigal was a revolutionary bhaktha who took the role of a reformer seeing the many ills plaguing the society. Steeped in ignorance, people were following certain outmoded customs, dogmas, beliefs and practices. He felt the need of the hour was transformation in socio-religious practices changing wrong concepts. He wanted everyone to live in the spirit of universal brother-hood, showing compassion towards all lives. He was opposed to superstitions and rituals. He perceived God not as an identifiable image, not necessarily in the form of an idol or form restricted to a class or religion. He perceived God as all-pervading Divine Power. So he introduced the universal and uniform concept of Jyothi worship and Suddha Sanmarga besides advocating a casteless society and preaching that path to Moksha was through service to mankind only.  He says in one of his songs:

  சாதியிலே மதங்களிலே சமயநெறி களிலே

சாத்திரச்சந் தடிகளிலே கோத்திரச்சண் டையிலே
ஆதியிலே அபிமானித் தலைகின்ற உலகீர்
அலைந்தலைந்து வீணேநீர் அழிதல்அழ கலவே
நீதியிலே சன்மார்க்க நிலைதனிலே நிறுத்த
நிருத்தமிடும் தனித்தலைவர் ஒருத்தர்அவர் தாமே
வீதியிலே அருட்சோதி விளையாடல் புரிய
மேவுகின்ற தருணம்இது கூவுகின்றேன் உமையே

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Kannappa Nayanar & Saakiya Nayanar

Ananya Bhakthi with unconventional worship

Narada Bhakthi Sutras in Sutra 2 defines Ananya Bhakthi as one of Supreme love directed towards Lord.  In Sutra 81 it further explains that it can be expressed in one or more of the following 11 ways: 

1)    Through love for glorifying His qualities

2)    Through loving attachment to His Divine Form

3)    Through love of ritual worship

4)    Through love for constant remembrance of Him

5)    Through love of service to Him as a servant

6)    Through love of attachment as to a friend

7)    Through love as to one’s beloved

8)    Through love as to one’s own child/parent

9)    Through love for a total surrender of oneself

10)  Through love for complete absorption in Him

11)  Through love as expressed in pangs of separation for one’s beloved 

Kannappa Nayanar is an Ananya Bhaktha whose bhakthi cannot be categorised under any of these eleven.  Of him another Ananya Bhaktha, Manickavasagar, whose life was described in an earlier blog titled “Manickavasagar – Jijnasu Ananya Bhaktha” states:

“கண்ணப்பன் ஒப்பதோர் அன்பு இன்மை கண்டபின்

என் அப்பன் என் ஒப்பு இல் என்னையும் ஆட்கொண்டருளி”    (திருக்கோத்தும்பி)

Even after seeing that I do not have Bhakthi comparable to that of Kannappar, my Father has graciously blessed me also.

Kannappar did not hesitate to give even his eyes to Lord seeking nothing in return and let us see his life and Love for Lord briefly in this blog.  Kannappar was not the name his parents gave him, which was Thinnan.  He was born in a hunting family in Uduppoor near Kalahasthi and his father was the chief of the hunting tribe.  Thinnan  was brought up like any other lad in the tribe. unlettered, with forest as the school and the hunting arts the only lessons.  When Thinnan grew up as a big lad his father asked him to lead the hunt and sent him with other hunters.  In the hunt chasing a wild boar he and his two friends, Kaadan and Naagan, got separated from the tribe.  Thinnan killed the boar only as they neared the base of the Kalaththi Mountain.  The mountain cast a spell on Thinnan and he wanted to explore it. His friend Naagan told him there was Kudumi Thevar there whom people worshipped. What Naagan referred to as Kudumi Thevar was only the holy Shiva Lingam

Leaving the hunted boar under the guard of Kaadan, he went up the hill to see Kudumi Thevar, led by Naagan.  The instant he saw the holy Lingam, his heart melted for the Lord who was there all alone by Himself, with no person to serve Him and with no weapons to defend Himself against wild animals. Then he noticed some flowers and food strewn there and wondered who would have done this.  Then Naagan explained to Thinnan that he had once seen in a hunting trip a Brahmin bathing him with water, putting the flowers murmuring something and placing the food there before leaving.  Now Thinnan decided to stay there guarding Him and to look after Him as Naagan told, bringing water, flowers and food.

 His friends’ protest did not shake him.  He told his friends to convey to his parents that he had decided to stay and look after Kudumi Thevar.  They left him with his new-found concern for Kudumi Thevar.  He plucked some wild flowers and decked himself with them. He chose choice pieces of meat of roasted boar after testing it through tasting. He then filled his mouth with water.  Then he took all the three to Shiva Lingam uphill.  He then poured the water from the mouth on the Lingam, adorned the Lingam with the flowers brought decked in his head and the meat which he had tested, before the Lingam and entreated the Lord to accept them, in his own way. Armed with his bow, he kept vigil there that night.

 The next morning he went for hunting to find food for the Lord.  The priest came as usual and finding meat at the site, hurriedly cleaned it thinking that some wild animal had come and had its kill there or some hunter had desecrated that place. After cleaning, he bathed again in the river, and then with fresh water and flowers went on with his routine worship and left.  Sometime after he left Thinnan came with water in the mouth, meat in hand and flowers on head. Cleaning the site of flowers the priest had used, he went on with his routine of spitting, adorning and offering and entreating, happy in his worship.

 The following morning when the priest saw the repeat of previous day he concluded somebody was desecrating the place and he made a prayer to Lord that this act of desecration be stopped.  This routine of priest and Thinnan alternating their worship in their own way, each cleaning the others’ and the priest lamenting over his inability to prevent the act of “desecration” continued for six days.  On the sixth day Lord appeared in the priest’s dream and told “What you consider desecration is an act of worship by my devotee who loves me dearly.  Tomorrow you watch, hiding yourself from his sight, and see for yourself how deep is his devotion for me”. 

Next day the priest finished his routine and hid behind a big tree to watch what was going on.  Thinnan came as usual, with meat in hand, water in mouth and flowers on head.  When he approached the Lingam, he saw blood oozing from its right eye.  He dropped everything on hand, went hither and thither in search of the miscreant who perpetrated this.  Finding none, he collected some medicinal leaves and squeezed the juice on the bleeding eye but blood did not stop.  As he was worrying about his inability to stop the bleeding, he remembered an old saying “Treat flesh with flesh”.  He unhesitatingly  plucked out his one eye using his arrow and pasted it on the bleeding eye and the bleeding stopped; maybe the first eye transplant operation.   When the bleeding stopped,  he danced in ecstasy that his treatment had worked and Kudumi Thevar was cured.

But this happiness was only short-lived as blood started oozing from the left eye.  This time he was not worried as he knew the cure and he had also one more eye to give.  But then a doubt came to him that if both eyes were not there how could he know where to paste?  Only for a moment he hesitated and then marking the spot on the Ligam by placing his foot there, he proceeded to pluck out his other eye. Then the Lord revealing His full form held his hand and said “Halt Kannappa, Halt” and Thinnan fell at Lord’s feet with awe and reverence.   His plucked out eye was now restored and his name too changed to Kannappar.  Both Kannappar and the priest, who was a witness to all this, were blessed with Moksha. 

His intense boundless selfless love for Lord is Ananya Bhakthi only, earning for him Lord’s vision and blessings of Moksha, however unconventional and outrageous be his mode of worship which the orthodox priest considered even revolting.  He is revered as one of the 63 Saivite saints called Nayanmars and called Kannappa Nayanar.  His worship and Bhakthi is portrayed in Sivananda Lahari by Sri Adi Sankara, without mentioning the name, as follows:

  मार्गावर्तितपादुका पशुपतेरंगस्यकूर्चायते

 गण्डूषांबुनिषेचनं पुररिपोर्दिव्याभिषेकायते

 किंचित्भक्षितमांसशेषकवलं नव्योपहारायते

 भक्तिः किं न करोत्यहो वनचरो भक्तावतंसायते ॥63॥

 Marga varthitha paduka pasupathe rangasya koorchayuthe,

Gandoo shampoo nishechanam pura ripo divyabhishekaa yathe,

Kinchid bhakshitha maams sesha kabalam navyopaharayathe,

Bhakthi kim karoth yaho vana charo bhaktha vatam sayathe.     

The footwear repeatedly used on the road and worn-out becomes adornment to the Lord,  water carried in the mouth and spouted becomes divine bathing, the remnants of a partly-eaten piece of meat becomes freshly prepared offering to the Lord and the tribal living in the forest becomes the crest-jewel of devotees of the Lord.  Wonder of wonders! What is there that devotion to the Lord cannot do?  

Another Ananya Bhaktha of similar unconventional worship is Sakhya Nayanar, whose mode of worship is mentioned in Sivananda Lahari in verse 89 in the following words.

धनुषा मुसलेन चाश्मभिर्वा

वद ते प्रीतिकरं तथा करोमि 

Dhanusha musalena chasmabhir vaa,

Vada they preethikaram thadha karomi.

Please tell me whether I should propitiate you by bow and pestle or by stones and I will do as you bid me.

Saakkiya Nayanar, whose original name is not known, was deeply interested in truth and in his quest for truth went to Kanchi to study various religions.  He was attracted to Buddhism and became a Buddhist monk.  But after a time he got disenchanted with the atheist philosophy of Buddhism, and decided that through the worship of Lord Siva only he can attain the goal of liberation.  He chose to worship Him as Lingam, the Rupa-Arupa manifestation of Lord Siva.  But he did not change his religion or his attire of a Buddhist Monk.  He became an ardent devotee of Lord Siva and he wanted to be initiated in the formal worship of the Lord as Lingam.  He was looking for a Guru, when he spotted an elderly ascetic doing pooja of a Lingam in an open place.  When he approached the ascetic for initiation, seeing his attire of a Buddhist Monk, the ascetic thought he was making fun of his pooja.  So to chase him away he threw a stone at him.  This act itself Saakiya Nayanar took as initiation and started throwing a stone daily at this Lingam as an act of worship with selfless devotion.  

Daily only after this ritual he will take food.  Other times he had no thought other than that of the Lord. One day he forgot this ritual and remembered this at the time of  taking food.  Immediately he got up without taking food and fasted the whole day.  Next day as first thing in the morning he went to that place and throwing a stone at the Lingam, he pleaded tearfully for forgiveness of the Lord for forgetting to offer worship to Him the previous day. His sincere supreme love for Lord moved the Lord, who appeared before Saakiya Nayanar and blessed him with Moksha.

Both above cases show that with Ananya Bhaktha , it is not only the fruit, flower, leaf or even water that Lord gladly accepts, as stated by Him in Gita 9-26, but even the stone and the meat;  for in Bhakthi, Bhava is more important than form.  Faith and sincerity in the worship and unconditional boundless reverential Love for Lord in whom total trust is placed, and from whom nothing for oneself is sought are the important criterions that distinguish the Ananya Bhakthi from ordinary Bhakthi. And this Kannappa Nayanar and Saakiya Nayanar demonstrated in their unconventional worship of the Lord and were blessed with Lord’s vision and Liberation by the Lord.  

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Manickavasagar - Jijnasu Ananya Bhaktha

உளையா அன்பு என்பு உருக ஓலமிட்டு

அலைகடல் திரையினார்த்து ஆர்த்தோங்கித்

தலை தடுமாறா வீழ்ந்து புரண்டலறிப்

பித்தரின் மயங்கி மத்தரின் மதித்து

நாட்டவர் மருளவும் கேட்டவர் வியப்பவும்ங்

கடக்களிறேற்றாத்  தடப்பெரு மதத்தின்

ஆற்றேன் ஆக அவயவம் சுவைதரு

கோற்றேன் கொண்டு செய்தனன்.

Thinking of your unsolicited love I cried loudly until even my bones melted. My loud cry is like the roar of the waves in a raging sea. And like the waves I roll around and cry.  I lose control over senses like one possessed and gone mad.  Those who saw me were shocked and those who heard about me were surprised.  I am like the mad elephant struggling with its keeper who is trying to mount it to control it.   This intoxicating love is pervading my whole body and make it feel sweet all over as if honey is flowing through all the veins of my body.

The above is how Manickavasagar felt when he was soaked in Sivananda, after the Deeksha received from the Lord himself, as told in his own words in Thiruvandappahuthi of Tiruvachagam.  This flood of ecstatic emotion of love for divine is called Mahabhava, a superior state in Para Bhakthi, which some ananya bhakthas only attain at times, like  Sri Ramakrishna Parmahamsa and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in recent times.  This Mahabhava is described in sutras 6 of Narada Bhakthi sutras, as quoted below:

यज्ज्ञात्वा मत्तो भवति स्तब्धो भवति आत्मारामो भवति ॥ (yanjnyaatva maththo bhavathi, sthabdho bhavathi athmaramo bhavathi i.e. knowing which one becomes intoxicated, ecstatic and enjoys bliss in the Self)

We shall now see under what circumstances Manickavasagar who had been a Jijnasu bhaktha blossomed into an ananya bhaktha experiencing Mahabhava. 

Manickavasagar was born in a pious Amatya Telugu Brahmin family, devoted to Lord Siva, who lived in Tiruvadavoor, near Madurai. Amatya Brahmins are ones who were engaged in other than priestly jobs, as compared to Vaidhik Brahmins who served as priests.  His original name is not known and he is referred to by his place of birth as Vadavoorar and we will be also using this name.  Vadavoorar was pious and brilliant as a student and he was also interested in the study of scriptures.  His scholarship, brilliance and pious disposition attracted the attention of King Arimardhana Pandian, who employed him as his minister and also honoured him with the title, “Thennavan Brahmarayan”.  He served the king faithfully but at the same time he was also looking for a right Guru who can guide him further in his quest for liberation. 

On one occasion, the king sent him with money for purchase of high quality horses that were coming from Arabia to his coastal town.  Vadavoorar offering worship in the temples on the way proceeded on his mission.  In the town of Tiruperundurai, he passed a Saivite saint seated with his disciples under a tree, near the temple.  He was attracted to the saint like a magnet, and when he went closer, he instinctively felt, that saint was the Guru he was looking for.  He fell at his feet seeking acceptance as a disciple.  The sage initiated him with the Mantra “Shivaya nama” and his touch electrified Vadavoorar who now sang at his feet Sivapuranam starting with Nama Shivaya. The sage now christened him as Manickavasagar for singing gem of a hymn with sparkling ruby-like words.  When Manickavasagar wanted to stay with him as his disciple, he said he should bide his time for that and asked him to attend to renovation of the temple there and disappeared.

Immediately Manickavasagar realised it was Lord Himself who had come as an ascetic to be his Guru and bless him with Deeksha Mantra.  He was transported into an ecstatic state which he later described in Thiruvandappahuthi, a portion of which we saw in the beginning.  When he became normal he was a transformed person. He forgot all about the king and horses and devoted his time and mind in renovating the temple and feeding the devotees of Siva.  In that process he spent all the money that the king gave for the purchase of the horses.  The king hearing about his activities in Tiruperundurai was upset and summoned him to the court and asked when the horses are coming.  Manickavasagar had a flash in the mind and on that basis told the king that they will be arriving in Madurai on Avani Moolam day.  When there was no sign of the horses anywhere in the kingdom even two days prior to Avani Moolam day the king ordered his minister to be jailed for dereliction of duty and misappropriation of funds.  Manickavasagar made no protests and endured the torture in the jail with indifference to pain and discomfort, immersed in thoughts of the Lord. On the Avani Moolam day the horses arrived led by a handsome young horseman with imperial looks.  The king was greatly impressed and after the horseman left, he met Manickavasagar in the prison and apologised for doubting him and released him.  Manickavasagar knew that it was Lord’s leela and took the king’s apology in its stride as he took his earlier wrath and incarceration, neither depressed then nor elated now.

That night the horses turned into jackals and howling loudly attacked and killed the other horses in the stable and then ran away.  The king was furious at this turn of events.  Raging with anger that Manickavasagar had played a trick on him, he ordered his arrest and torture. He was made to stand barefoot on hot sand-bed of Vaigai in the scorching heat of midday Sun carrying a heavy boulder on the head.  Unperturbed Manickavasagar stood in hot sands, carrying the big boulder on the head thinking of the Lord and chanting His name, surrendering himself to His will.  Suddenly there were heavy floods in the river and flood waters entered the town all over. The king ordered the river bank to be raised and each family was ordered to send one able-bodied member for this work.

There was an old lady in the town who lived all alone and who was a great devotee of the Lord. She earned her living by making and selling puttu.  There was no family member she could send nor had she money to hire a person. Fearing the punishment that maybe inflicted for not being able to depute a person, she prayed to Lord for help. As she was praying, an able-bodied young man came to her and offered to help in return for puttu.  She gladly gave him fresh puttu and he went to work on her behalf.  But he did not concentrate on the work.  He was singing, dancing and resting, in between short spells of work and disturbing others as well with his song and dance.  The king, who was inspecting the work, saw this and got angry. He hit him with a stick.

The young man disappeared  but the blow was felt by all including the king and the flood also subsided as suddenly as it came.  Then the king realized that the horses turning into foxes earlier and the sudden floods now are all Lord’s work only and that Lord Himself had come as horseman earlier and now as a young man, to reveal to king, his devotee’s greatness.  He repented his treatment of Manickavasagar, rushed to him and setting him free, fell at his feet seeking his forgiveness for inflicting punishment on him not knowing his greatness.  Manickavasagar merely said it is all Lord’s leela only and wanted to be relieved of the ministership to fully devote himself to Lord.  The king agreed and Manickavasagar left on a pilgrimage to various shrines of Siva before settling finally in Chidambaram. 

Hearing about the glory of Chidambaram from a devotee of Lord Siva, the chief Buddhist monk in the court of the king of Sri Lanka boasted to the king that he will go to Chidambaram and establish the supremacy of Buddhist doctrines there and win those Saivites to Buddhism.  The king also accompanied the monk with his dumb daughter to Chidambaram.   When the Buddhist monk came and challenged the priests for a debate on respective philosophies, they agreed and deputed Manickavasagar to represent them, as earlier Lord had appeared in their dreams and asked them to depute Manickavasagar to argue on their behalf.  In the course of debate, unable to stand the monk’s denigration of Saivam with blatant lies, Manickavasagar prayed to Saraswathy Devi to stop this tirade.  Suddenly the flow of words from monk’s mouth ceased and he sat there dumbstruck unable to utter a word. The King realizing Manickavasagar’s greatness pleaded with him to make his daughter speak.  Manickavasagar again prayed to Saraswathy Devi to bless the king’s daughter with speech.  Then the little girl not only started to speak but also cogently and convincingly started exposing Monk’s lies and false arguments.  Now the king along with the monk changed to Saivam. Manickavasagar then prayed to Saraswathy Devi for forgiveness of the monk and he got back his speech. 

Manickavasagar had not recorded his hymns of Tiruvachakam .  One day an elderly Brahmin approached him and requested him to recite the hymns of Tiruvachagam so that he could record them and read them repeatedly to get freed from the shackles of samsara. Manickavasagar started singing for him his entire work of Tiruvachakam.  The day passed into night and that too passed as Manickavasagar lost himself  in singing.  Even after it was over, he was in a state of trance and did not notice the Brahmin collecting the palm leaves and leaving. The next morning when the temple doors were opened the priests found a bundle of palm leaves wherein was written “ As recited by Manickavasagar. Tiruchitrambalam Udayan”  They took them to Manickavasagar to ask who wrote that.  Manickavasagar came out of the trance when he saw them and guessed it was Lord Himself who came as a Brahmin to record his works.  He led them back to the temple.  There he stood before the shrine, pointed at the Lord and said  “There is the answer to your query” and  merged into the Lord. 

Along with Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar, Manickavasagar is revered as one of the four spiritual leaders of Saivam.  Their works constitute the first eight volumes of Panniru Thirumurai.  But the songs of Appar , Sambandar and Sundarar together are called Thevaram and their life history also figures in Sekkilar’s Peria puranam,  while Manickavasagar’s life story is gleaned from Thiruvilaydal puranam and Vadavoorar puranam.  Appar lived from later part of sixth century to the middle of seventh century.  Sambandar, who was a contemporary of Appar lived in early part of seventh century.   Sundarar’s time is much later than these two but much earlier to  Manickavasagar’s time.  So Sundarar did not refer to him in his work, Thiruthondathogai  and  Periya puranam which is based on Sundarar’s work also did not contain Manickavasagar’s life story, runs one school of thought.

Manickavasagar’s path of Bhakthi is said to be Sanmarga i.e. as of a Bhaktha to God.   While serving as minister he was a jijnasu bhaktha seeking a Guru for guidance to get Jnanam for liberation and so he is called jijnasu ananya bhaktha.  After he was blessed with Jnanam by Lord Himself through  Deeksha in Tiruperundurai,  Manickavasagar’s attitude changed to one of total surrender, with no “my, mine” feeling and with no feeling of himself as doer or enjoyer. This can be seen from his following  simple song which needs no explanation:

அன்றே என் ஆவியும்

உடலும் உடைமை எல்லாமும்

குன்றேயானையாய் என்னை

ஆட்கொண்டபோதே கொண்டிலையோ

இன்று ஓர் இடையூறு எனக்குண்டோ

எண்தோள் முக்கண் எம்மானே

நன்றே செய்வாய் பிழை செய்வாய்

நானோ இதற்கு நாயகமே.                (குழைத்த பத்து – 7)

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