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Inputs for CD ROM : XII.2-- Thirumangai AzhwAr's Six prabhandhams: SiRiya Thirumadal and Periya Thirmadal

From the Bhakti List Archives

Sadagopan • April 11, 2001 


Dear BhakthAs :

Among the six prabhandhams of Thirumangai AzhwAr ,
the two known as SiRiya and Periya Thirumadals 
are unique for the display of "Naayaka-Naayaki BhAvam ".

The mystic love that AzhwAr feels for Sriman NaarAyanan
breaks forth in torrents. The AzhwAr in the role of 
ParAnkusa Naayaki feels rejected by her Lord and threatens
to embarass her Naayakan in public by riding on a MadalmA
(palmyra stalk representing a horse) to make her love 
and humiliation public . In these two deeply moving 
works , Thirumangai deals with the psychology of "KaamA"
leading on to to martyrdom (love unto death). IsAvAsya
Upanishad passage " VinAsEna Mruthyum teerthvA 
sambhUtyamrutham asnutE " ( By death one crosses over
mortality and by birth one assumes the immortal).

Sri K.C.VaradAchAr swamy comments about the spirit of 
the two madals this way : " The Madal is however a threat
to God , for its intention seems to be to show the world 
that God is not the SaraNAgatha Rakshakan , the saviour of 
the refugee , a threat which is fortunately never treated 
by God as not worth taking notice of. God's assurance to
the soul(jeevan) that loves Him alone and to whom the soul 
has totally dedicated itself , is of greatest spiritual 
value to the soul , and it is on this truth of God's
word that the Madals revolve". 

Dr.N.S.Ananatharangacharya has some revealing commnets
on the approach that ParakAla Naayaki has taken in her 
Madals:

" (1) Madal is a fanatic appeal to God to come down 
      from His transcendaental kingdom to accept the purest 
      flower of love offering ( kaama Pushpam).

  (2) It is what the individual soul can not but do .

  (3) It is the final act of throwing away all pride & vanity.

  (4) It is a non-violent resistence. This is to be held as
      an extreme step. It is the state in which love is 
      all-absorbing and the only refuge .
  
   (5) Madal is used in a spiritual way for a spiritual goal
       and as an anga to SaraNAgathi or self-surrender.

   (6) The Madals are the dramatization of the acute psychosis 
       set up by Thirumangai's faith in absolute self-surrender
       to the Lord. 

    (7) Bridal mysticism and the mental process behind it 
        elaborated by the Madals is one which transforms and 
        transports  the mystics to a supra-physical plane .
        Love of God is like love of a woman for a PurushA --
        here for PurushOtthamA ."

SiRiya Thirumadal consists of 155 lines and Periya Thirumadal
consists of 297 lines of exquisite poetry. 

The Taniyan for SiRiya Thirumadal Composed by Poet Kamban
***********************************************************

MuLLic-chezhumalarO tArAn muLai mathiyam
 koLLikkennuLLam kothiyAmE,--VaLLal
ThiruvALan SIrkkaliyan kArkaliyai vetti,
 maruvALan tanthAn Madal

(Meaning): The generous Thirumangai AzhwAr of infinite 
auspicious guNams adorning the sharp sword and the MuLLi flower 
garland has blessed us with the SiRiya Thirumadal and has cut 
asunder the darkness of nescience of Kali yugam with his sword.
This great Azhwar has blessed me with SiRiya madal to quench 
all the taapams caused by all objects --such as rising moon 
burning me as fire-- as a result of my seperation from the Lord .

The Taniyan for Periya Thirumadal by PiLLai ThirunaRayUr arayar
***************************************************************

Ponnulahil Vaanavarum PoomahaLum pORRi-seyyum
  NannuthalIr nampi NaRayUrar,--Mannulahil
Yennilami kaNDum irangArEyAmAhil
  Mannu madalUrvan Vanthu

(Meaning):Oh Dear sakhis with beautiful foreheads!
The anantha kalyAna GuNa PoorNan listening to 
the sthuthis of Nithya Sooris and Periya PirAtti 
has descended in ArchA form to this earth at 
ThirunaRayUr. He has not taken pity on my suffering
resulting from my seperation from Him. Once I am
convinced that he wont come to my rescue and unite
with me , then I will go everywhere He is and
perform madal Urthal (and let the world know
of what despicable state he has reduced me to). 

Additional reading Material on the Two Madals
**********************************************
The poetic form of Madals and their deeper 
meanings are covered in an longer article of adiyEn ,
which has been archived in Bhakthi Archives of Jan , 96:

http://www.ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archives/jan96/0191.html

In the next posting , adiyEn will cover the two
ThAndakams of Thirumangai Mannan .

Kaliyan ThiruvadigaLE saraNam,
Daasan, Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SatakOpan 
 

   

    
          


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