Chapter 77 - Thiruvarur Paravaiyunmandali or Tiruarur Paravaiyunmantali (Hymn 96)

I

The poet reaches Thiruvarur. He enters the temple within the fortress wall. On the one side, he feels the Lord’s superiority and his inferiority; on the other side, he feels the sufferings and he laments for them expressing however his own firm faith in the Lord. Every verse ends in this hymn with the own words, ‘Paravai un mantali Ammane’—“O, Lord of the Temple in the Fortress wall”. The famous Fortress wall with its shrubs of ‘karantai’ and ‘mattam’ and trees of ‘vanni’ and ‘ktivilam' reminds the poet of the Lord, who is the Lord of these flowers as much as the Lord of this Temple of the Fortress (10). The conception of Holiness has taken root in him. He begins by addressing the Lord as the Lord of holy tongue (or mouth) and this is appropriate to the occasion for he prays to the Lord that He may exclaim in pity, ‘Alas”; our poet sings, “Will you not protect those who perform your services, from the sufferings inflicting them? The five (sensations) have noted this and if even they prevent one, I will praise you with my tongue expressing good ideas in good words. Pray, out of pity for me cry ‘Alas!’ O, my father of the earthen temple in the Fortress Wall!” (1). The same idea he repeats in the fourth verse, “I always contemplate on you. The five (sensations) prevent me from contemplating on good things (This is according to the reading, ‘Nallana nokkamaik kakkinran’. There is another reading ‘kakkinray’— You prevent me from seeing other good things of the world). The five have noticed this. Even if they prevent me and keep a watch over me, I find you in my mind with the garland of words of speech, O, my father of Paravaiyul mantali!” (4).

II

He tries to reach the universal stage forgetting his individual sufferings but feeling them as the sufferings of all the followers of the Lord. He begs of the Lord to hearten them with the assuring words, “Fear not”. “With their mind beautified by you, getting elevated and hastening, they contemplate and think only of you. Tell them, “Fear Not”” (5). The Lord is here referred to as being in the company of the mother and with the blue throat, all symbolic of this love and Grace to which alone the poet is addressing.

“Without even changing from their wonted path, these followers ever speak well of you. What is their fate? You are the Lord of virtue (Punniya), the very embodiment of virtue (Punniya-ma/na/ne). (It looks as though it were a rebuke. For, the Lord in the view of the poet is not evidently virtuous in His dealing with these followers). “What is it that is good for you, you who dance in joy in the graveyard of corpses which the ghosts do not leave?” (3). The poet seems to suggest that these followers are not worse than the ghosts. (We had elsewhere pointed out the pure mind of the followers is the real graveyard where dances the Lord).

Our poet, a scholar himself, thinks of the followers of the Lord, who are scholars and poets and describes God as their Lord. Their greatness makes him feel that the Lord is a special boon to them all. “You are the gold unto the scholars. Your fame can be praised by these poets, though, you are the self-luminous light yourself, praising your form by yourself. You are the lightning—a flash in the darkness of isolation when first experienced. You are like the young rising sun in the dawning sky of rose (i.e., the gradually developing light of love after the night of suffering and darkness).” (There is no prayer in this verse. When the Lord has showered blessing where is the necessity for any prayer?) (2).

“My father, the Great Lord, showering your Grace on those following the path of Agamic rites and great for such great conduct, the Lord and father of the chief of Pitavur, the chief of great love and mercy (Probably a well known chief of Arurar’s age. Others take it as referring to the Lord Himself), the only father and Lord of those who live happily by their knowledge or erudition of the cool Tamil works!” (6). Here also there is no prayer. This makes our poet think of the Lord as something supreme above everything and everyone. “You are Heavens. You are the Highest thought, up above the Higher spheres up above the High regions. All the letters, words and subject matter—are but your eyes (i.e.₃ three eyes—or, it means you have created all these). [Having addressed everything as His eye, he prays to the Lord,

“O the Lord of (or the form of) the Universe! Show me those to be seen through your eye (by blessing me with an eye which I had lost and which when received will be holy as being your gift)]” (7).

This universal vision inspires the poet to praise the Lord and His Grace: “You are the wind, you are our speech (kurru is taken by others as the Death unto Death), shining with the throat blue like the clouds. You are of the (pure and sacred) ash, with the damsel of the beautiful bangles sharing your form. You are the Lord of the river full to its brim, remaining there upon your long mat-lock” (8)—these suggest His miraculous Grace and mysterious powers. Our poet forgets even to pray for anything because he stands enchanted by the thought and form of His Grace.

III

Thus contemplating on the Lord’s greatness and Grace, our poet becomes conscious of himself as contrasted with the Lord. Naturally a feeling of self-condemnation arises. The poet condemns himself—“I am a sinner; I am the condemned, doing no good act amidst all my activities. I am the cruel one hankering after everything I see. I am your slave, but I am one who does not describe your services as I ought to (kurumaru or describe your services so as to embrace you, for, kutumaru is another reading)” (9).

But this condemnation is a passing phase; it has made the poet pure, holy and whole. He feels that he is full of divine knowledge and divine love. He describes himself ‘Nirampiya Uran’—‘Uran who is full of perfection’. He sang of God that He is the highest conception, high above those of high spheres, higher than those of the still further higher spheres. The experience of perfection which came over him whilst singing this hymn in a communion with highest conception of Godhead, inspires him to assert that those who love this hymn of ten uttered by him with the experience above described, are like God, those who are the highest, higher than the people of a high spiritual sphere who are themselves higher above the people of the high spiritual sphere (10).

In this hymn, the poet has referred to the puranic descriptions of the Mother (5), His ruddy form (2), His dance in the graveyard in the company of the ghosts (3), His sapphire and cloud like throat (5), His three eyes (7), His mat-lock with the river (8) and His favourite flowers of karantai, vanni, mattam and kuvilam (10)—descriptions which become one with the contexts. The idea that His three eyes are the letters, words and subject matter is significant (7) to the Tamils, as explained elsewhere especially in this hymn which speaks of the Lord as the father and Lord of the Tamil scholars. He refers to the worship with the garland of speech (4), a worship which is probably the special greatness of poets and scholars. The Agamic path and conduct are also mentioned. The path of contemplation on God as the highest possible conception is also hinted at.