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‘W hom did you awaken in the “keesu keesu” pasuram?’
‘I awoke my mentor Thirumahizhai Azhwar. ‘
‘Why is Sri Thirumazhisai Azhwar your mentor?’
‘When my father learnt that I wished to wed Lord Ranganatha he tried to discourage me.
‘It is not possible for you to marry Lord Ranganatha. He is in archai form and hence will not even speak with you. Let me find you a good Sri Vaishnavan groom. After you get married you can perform kaimkaryams to the Lord along with your husband,’ he said.
‘But, father you told me that the Lord Aramuthan of Thirukudanthai Divya Desam spoke with Thirumahizhai Azhwar! Didn’t the archai form of Lord Aramuthan get up from His reclined posture when Thirumahizhai Azhwar asked Him to get-up and welcome the Azhwar? Isn’t this the reason why Aramudan Perumal is called as Aramudan Azhwan and Thirumahizhai Azhwar as Thirumahizhai Piran because Perumal obliged to Azhwar’s request by getting up from His reclined position? Even today we can worship Aramudan Perumal in His semi-reclined posture.
Didn’t you also narrate how Yathothakari Perumal got-up from His snake bed, packed His bed and followed the Azhwar out of the Pallava Kingdom? Isn’t this the reason why Yathothakari Perumal is called as “sonna vannam seida Perumal” in Tamil?’
My mentor Sri Thirumazhisai Azhwar has always conversed with Perumal in Archai form. By “kalandhu pesina pecharavam kettilayo” I wanted to remind everyone about his conversations with Perumal.’
‘Tell us in detail about the conversations Sri Thirumazhisai Azhwar had with Perumal,’ requested Radha.
‘Once, Sri Thirumazhisai Azhwar visited Thirukkudanthai Divya Desam. When Azhwar visited Thirukkudanthai, Sri Aramudhan Perumal was fully reclined like Sri Ranganathar. The moment Sri Thirumazhisai Azhwar entered the sanctum, he was mesmerized by the beauty of Sri Aramudhan Perumal. Azhwar wished to carry on a conversation with Perumal and he wished to see Perumal get up from His snake bed to welcome Azhwar with love. Sri Thirumazhisai Azhwar started to sing the pasuram “nadanda kaalgal nondhavo..”
He asked Perumal, ‘Is your feet aching after walking miles in search of Sita Piratti during Ramavataram or because you measured all the worlds with your foot during Trivikramavataram? You must be tired and aching all over after rescuing Bhumi Devi from under the ocean. Is this why you are resting here surrounded by River Cauvery? I understand that you are tired and don’t want to get up but, at least speak with me? You don’t have to get up completely but raise yourself a little and speak with me.’ The moment Azhwar started singing this pasuram, Perumal started to get up from His snake bed. Azhwar looked at the semi-reclined posture of Perumal and found this posture very enthralling and requested Perumal to stay in this semi-reclined posture called as Uthana Sayanam.
Another time Azhwar with his disciple Kanikannan lived in the Divya Desam of Thiruvekka. They used to meditate upon Perumal continuously for many days. One day while they were in deep meditation, an old lady happened to pass through their ashramam. She saw them in deep meditation and wished to serve them. She quickly took up a broom and cleaned the surrounding area. After a while, Sri Thirumazhisai Azhwar’s disciple Sri Kanikannan opened his eyes. He saw the old lady at work and was moved by her sincerity.
‘Dear lady,’ said Kanikannan.‘I am moved by your desire to offer service at Sri Thirumazhai Azhwar's ashramam. Even though you are bent with old age and your joints are stiff with rheumatism, you still want to serve by cleaning the ashramam. I am bowled over by your sincerity. Ask me a boon and with the blessings of my acharyan, I will make it come true.'
'The only thing I want is the ability to offer my services without facing the obstacles created by ageing. It is said that the highest fruit a person can realise is the opportunity to serve devotees. This is the fruit I seek as well but, unfortunately, my ageing body prevents me from serving devotees with energy.'
'Don't worry. I will make you youthful. You will not only regain youth but, you will also never age. Blessed with the strength of youth, continue the good deed you are performing by serving devotees.' He transformed the old lady with the help of his yogic powers into a beautiful maiden. The King of Kanchipuram saw this maiden and fell in love with her. Not realizing that she was an old woman, he married her. After a few years, the king noticed that his wife never showed signs of ageing. The king wished to know her anti-ageing secret and learnt about the boon bestowed upon her by Sri KaniKannan. The king immediately sent for Sri Kanikannan. 'Are you the Kanikannan who gave perpetual youth to my wife?'
'I prayed for an old lady who was eager to serve devotees to be bestowed with perpetual youth.'
'And I married this lady,' said the King. 'I noticed that while I have started getting grey hairs, my wife continues to be youthful. I am worried that very soon I will look too old to be her husband. Bestow perpetual youth upon me too so that I can always be the perfect match for her.'
'I am sorry,' apologised Kanikannan. 'I cannot make your wish come true.'
'Why not?'
'Your intentions are wrong. I shall not try to make your wish come true.'
'Do you dare to defy me, the King of Kanchipuram!'
'I only obey Perumal and my acharyan. I stand by my decision.'
'Then, I banish you from my kingdom!' ‘
‘What happened to Sri Kanikannan and where did he go?’ asked Radha.
‘Sri Kanikannan paid his obeisance to his acharyan Sri Thirumazhisai Azhwar. 'I was lucky to get an opportunity to become your disciple and to serve you but now, I am forced to take leave.'
'Why? What happened?'
'The king has banished me from this kingdom.'
'Why did he banish you?'
'He wished me to bestow perpetual youth upon him so that he could always remain the best suitor to his wife. I refused because his intentions were speared by bad desire.'
'Did you explain your decision to him?'
'I did but he refused to listen and banished me.'
'If the king has banished a great devotee like, this kingdom will become doomed. I refuse to stay in a kingdom where devotees are mistreated. I too will come with you. Come with me to the temple at Thiruvekka so that we can take leave of Perumal.'
The moment azhwar worshipped Perumal, he didn't feel happy about leaving Perumal in the kingdom ruled by such a king.
‘Kanikanna is leaving because he has been banished. I too am leaving because I don’t wish to stay in a kingdom where devotees are not treated properly. Why should you stay here after we have left? Pack up your snake bed and follow us.’
The moment Azhwar asked Perumal to follow them, Perumal obediently got up from His bed and pulled Sri Adiseshan around His neck and started to walk behind Kanikannan and Azhwar. When the other deities like Sri Ekambareshwar at Kanchipuram heard that Perumal has followed Azhwar, they too decided to leave the kingdom as the king didn’t treat devotees with respect. They thought that there was no point in staying at a place which had been abandoned by Paramatma. The following morning when the temples around Kanchipuram were opened for worship, all the Bhattacharyars were shocked to see that Perumal and all the deities were missing. They rushed to the palace and filed a complaint with the king. By then, news of Perumal travelling with Azhwar and Kanikannan had reached the king. The king realized his mistake and went in search of Kanikannan. He found the trio at a place near Kanchipuram called “Ore Irukkai”. He apologized to Kanikannan and begged him to return. Kanikannan forgave the king and decided to return to Thiruvekka. Azhwar agreed with Kanikannan and also decided to return home. Azhwar looked at Perumal who was standing obediently behind him and said,
‘Kanikannan is returning and I too have decided to return home. Now that we are going back to Thiruvekka, you too can return home and take your place once again on your snake bed.’ Perumal obediently followed Azhwar and Kanikannan back to Thiruvekka. The moment Perumal returned to Thiruvekka, all the other deities returned to their respective temples. Since Perumal obeyed Azhwar, at Thiruvekka He is called as “Yathothakari” in Sanskrit and as “ Sonna Vannam Seidha Perumal” in Tamil.
‘But, why is he Pei Penne?’ asked Champaka Latha.
‘He is “Pei penne” because he is the disciple of Pei Azhwar. ‘Sri Thirumazhisai Azhwar lived on this Earth for over 4000 years. He spent all his time in religious research. He researched every religion which was popular on Earth. One day he was passing through the hometown of Sri Pei Azhwar called as Thiru Mayilai (Present day Mylapore in Chennai). Sri Pei Azhwar was sitting in his verandah when he saw Sri Thirumazhisai Azhwar. The moment Pei Azhwar looked at Sri Thirumazhisai Azhwar, Azhwar realized that his research on religion was wasted since he didn’t study the right concept. He immediately approached Sri Pei Azhwar and requested to become his disciple. This is why he is known as “Pei Penne”.
Thirumahizhai Azhwar always used the style of “venba” for his pasurams since he ended his pasuram with the “oo” sound in Tamil. I have also tried this style for “kaasum pirappu” by ending the verse in “oo” sound.
Narayanan Moorthy is another clue about Thirumahizhai Azhwar since he explained about the meaning of Narayana Shabtham in Thiruchanda Vritham.
Azhwar was also the first Azhwar to explain the meaning of the name Kesavan as the creator of Ka and Isan. That is Lord Narayanan is the Supreme Being and is the creator of Brahma known as “Ka” and Sivan known as “Isan” and is thus superior to Lord Siva and Lord Brahmma. It was Thirumazhisai Azhwar who explained the Lord Siva and also Lord Brahmma are jeevatmas like us since they are also created by Perumal. He conveyed this message in the Nanmughan Thiruvandhadhi.
“Naanmuganai narayanan padaithaan .Naanmuganum thanmugamai shankaranai thaan padaithan yaan mugamai.
Andadhi melittu arivithen aazhporulai sindhmal konmineer therndu.”
In this pasuram, I wanted to awaken Thirumahizhai Azhwar.
The final clue to the identity of Thirumahizhai Azhwar in the pasuram is when I addressed him as “dhEsamudaiyaay “.Thirumahizhai Azhwar is the incarnation of the Lord’s Sudarsana Chakram and hence he is considered to be the most radiant amongst the Azhwars.
Would you like to hear another anecdote involving Sri Thirumazhisai Azhwar?’
‘Definitely! Azhwar’s life history is very interesting.’
‘One day Sri Thirumazhisai Azhwar was travelling through a village called Perumpuliyur. It so happened that the Brahmin of that village were performing a yagam. When they saw Sri Thirumazhisai Azhwar, they were captivated by Azhwar’s radiance and wanted to honour him. There were also some Brahmins who objected to Azhwar receiving the honour. When they spoke ill of Azhwar, Sri Thirumazhisai Azhwar prayed to Perumal and to the utter surprise of everyone, Perumal appeared as an image in Azhwar’s chest and showed everyone the cause of Azhwar’s radiance.