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Re: PeriyAzhwAr Thirumozhi: Exemplary Model of SharaNAGathi

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Visu9 • May 30, 2002 


Shri RAmAnujasya Caranou Sharanam PraPadhE

NamaskAram.

Today is your birthday. What will you do? Will you think of a birthday of 
your father or mother or even of your child that is coming seven days hence? 
Surely not!  What will we think of a person who does so?

Yet, this is the case with PeriyAazvAr. He was born in the ThiruNAL of SvAthi 
and seven days from that ThiruNakschathram falls the ThiruNAL of ThiruvOnam, 
the sacred birth star of Lord Shri KrishnA.  Song No 252 of ThiruMozi reads 
in part in the words of Shri YashOdhA:

ThriuNAL ThiruvOnam InRu EEzu NAL: 

So on his birthday, the great AazvAr [assuming the role of YashOdhA in the 
unfolding drama] asks the "PaNNErMoziyAraik KUvi" ---- after calling for the 
cheerful singing maids] Blesses the forthcoming ThiruNAL and has already had 
them prepare the food items for the coming ThiruNAL of KaNNan. 

Before we take a look at some of the words used masterfully, let us take a 
moment to address the dramatic element in the poem. Obviously, the number 
seven is of no consequence unless it has a local interest in the drama. It 
happens that the 7th NakschathrA before ThiruvOnam is Svathi. (In the forward 
count, the day from which the counting takes place is counted as zero.). It 
has no interest for YashoDhA, but surely it has interest for the writer whose 
birthstar happens to be SvAthi. Thus the writer gets excited on the day not 
for his ThiruNAl, but for the Lord''s, which will be soon. 

Having observed the day count of the forthcoming function, YashOdhA has 
gotten the rice grain (Arici) separated from the whole grain (Nel) and gotten 
the rice ready for cooking on the day. It is all set to go. Aricyum Aakki 
VaiththEn. 

The harder part comes in the previous line. The vegetables have to be gotten 
ready one week in advance. Sure enough, she has them stored in a vessel!  
Perhaps on the day or the previous night, the vegetables will be cut and 
gotten ready for the actual cooking.

PeriyAazvAr uses a new word, which  I did not know before: KaNNAlam Ceyyak 
KaRiyum Kalaththadhu! 

Kalam is a vessel, what we call in English "pots and pans". The verb 
Kalaththudhal is new to me. It means to put the things in a pot or pan and 
store them for a later purpose! Very simple Thamiz, but to the point!  

Even a more striking word is "KaNNAalam". This word had a neagtive 
connotation in my mind. I thought that the word is a caricature of the sacred 
word "KalyAnam". Why? In an old movie of about 50 years ago, in a Thamiz 
movie, as usual there were secondary couples acting in supportive roles. An 
young man (I think the actor "EezuMalai") presented as somewhat retarded asks 
for the hand of an young vibrant woman. He is shy and so goes through the 
usual motion of AshtaVakram, when he asks the girl's hand in marriage. The 
woman pooh-poohs him and sort of makes a mockery of the whole thing. The 
mockery was woven into the movie by the use of the word "KaNNALam". The man 
asks to "KaNNAalam Kattikka",  not "KalyAnam Kattikka".

So after so many years when I first encountered the word in ThiruMozi, I was 
astounded. But I was also rewarded. The word has a beautiful application in 
mathematics as used by AazvAr. 

What is KaNNAalam? It is the set of all events that can be witnessed by our 
own eyes in a given situation. However it is not any situation. The set of 
events has to be fairly large. The eyewitnessing is imporatnt as it is 
indicative of personal participation. Here in the song the people including 
AazvAr as actress is going to witness the great celebratiion where the whole 
community is going to participate. The range of activities is breathtaking, 
and the domain of eyes that witness the celebration is also large involving 
the eyes of all the visitors from the community. 

KaNNAaLam has two components: KaN (a domain) and AAlam (a range).  KaN is 
indicative of people witnessing, for without the witnessing a celebration is 
no celebration. Aalam is a word for AalaMaram -- the banyan tree, whose 
shadow is famous for its range. There is a famous song comparing the 
AAlaMaram and PanaiMaram: The banyan tree and the palm tree. Can any one 
please tell me he missing line below:

Thelliya AAlin CiRuPazaththoru Vidhai

. . . . . .

ThEmbadu Panaiyin ThiralPazaththoru Vidhai
VAnuRA Oongi VaLam PeRa VaLarndhidinum
Mannarkku Irukka Nizal AakAdhE.

Meaning: The small seed of a banyan tree grows to a tree under whose shadow 
verily a king's entire batallion can rest from the ho sun.  The palm tree's 
large seed sure enough produces a trre that indeeed grows tall but is useless 
for the army of the king.

Aalam is a profound word used by ThiruNavukkaracu as "En Anbu AalikumARU"! 
What an expression! 

Coming to mathmatics, what is the concept which has a domain and range or an 
argument and a range. It is the most imporatnt word in modern  math. I vote 
for the word "KaNNAlam". The range is "AAlam" and the domain or argument is 
"KaN". Here are additional rewards: Functions of one variable: ORRaiKAN 
KaNNAalnkaL.

Two variables: IrattaikKAN, and onto ParattaikKAN. 

Great works produce great rewards indeed.

Vandhanam.

Naha SvIKurvakasman KrupAm.

Visu



Tomorrow (Friday) is Song No. 252 of PeriyAazvAr ThiruMozi 


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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