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n^am kaliyanO!

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Vijay Triplicane • February 11, 1998 


Let me address the second one first. 

Smt. Kalyani Krishnamachari asked:
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2.  When tirumangai AzhwAr tried to steal the ring from either perumal
or tAyAr in the forest, it seems perumAl said "nam kaliyanO?".

What does 'kaliyan' mean?  Is this why tirumangai AzhwAr is called
'kaliyan'?
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	Yes. That is why thirumaN^gai AzhvAr is called kaliyan. It
means 'bhalam udaiyavan, than bhalam therin^dhu adhanAl midukku
udaiyavan' (the strong one). 

He is unique in that respect. "vAL valiyAl man^dhiram koL maN^gaiyar
kOn'!!


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1. [..]
tirukkamala pAdam vanden kaNNin uLLana vokkinRadE is chanted as 

tirukkamala pAdam vanden kaNNin uLLana vokkinnadE

Does this have anything to do with the vallina Ra following the 'n'
sound?
The pronunciation pattern is not consistent though.  When we learn to
chant, are we supposed to learn it as 'vokkinnadE' or 'vokkinRadE'?
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	This is supposedly an attempt to have a smooth mellifluous
recital. They say, the strong vallinams would hurt perumAL's ears. But
as you have observed, it is not consistent. 

(A related interesting info: In Srirangam, inside perumAL sannidhi,
they won't break coconuts. Because, the perumAL is considered 'old'
and out of great care and concern for His comfort, they don't make
such hard noise. It is just an anubhavam. The same bhattAchAr would
offer Him the hardest ever muRukku /vadai and stuff to eat! He is a
'nithya youvanan' anyway!

	One can also hear the colloquial thamizh that we speak, where
we make such changes. 'n^inRu' => n^innu', 'kanRu kutti' =>
'kannukkutti', 'panRi' => 'panni'... 

	(The entire gOshti will stare at you if you say 'vokkinRadhE',
in any dhivya dhEsam, though :)) .)

adiyEn
-Vijay Triplicane
(Viji)