Thiruppaan Alvar
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Thiruppaan Alvar is one of the 12 Alvar saints of South India, who are known for their affiliation to Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. The temples reverred by these azhwars are termed Divya desam. He was born into a community, then considered as outcastes and untouchables. Birth being no requisite qualification for devotion towards Sriman Narayana, he is traditionally listed among the twelve great Alvars. Thirupaan Alvar has composed one collection on Srirangam divya desam containing 10 paasurams (verses) - AmalanAdhipiran.
It is said that Alvar is the amsam(form) of the small mole (legend has it that all alvars are avatars of some part of the Lord), called as Srivatsam on the chest of Sriman Narayanan. Having a veena(string instrument) in his hand, he was always to be seen singing the glories of Sri Vishnu. He was soon famous in and around these tamil lands of Southern India. His skills as a bhakti(divine) musician and his abilities to express and invoke bhakti amongst his listeners, drew audiences from afar. He was soon to be known as "Paanar perumal".
One of the strictures on outcastes was that they were not to come anywhere near the Cauvery river , considered scared and pure by the people of the region. Following this stricture Paan Perumal did not come anywhere near the Kaveri river, but mostly stood alongside its banks facing the Srirangam temple and sung his praises to the Lord.[1]
One day, a devout brahmin in the service of the temple, by name Loka Saaranga came to the river for taking water for use in the temple. He motioned to Paanar to move away. But, PaaNar was so engrossed in the rhapsody of his music that he did not hear this. Lokasaranga threw a small stone in his direction to shake him up. But, the stone accidentally fell on the forehead of PaaNar and it started to bleed. PaaNar quietly retired.
Unaware of the injury caused , Loka Saaranga returned to the temple. He was taken aback on seeing blood oozing out from the forehead of the image of Lord Ranganatha. But, none could connect the two incidents. That very night, the Lord appeared in the dream of Loka Saaranga and commanded him to fetch Paanar to the temple the next morning. Accordingly, Lokasaranga requested PaaNar to come to the temple. But, PaaNar referring to his low birth declined even to set foot on the holy earth of Srirangam lest he pollute the holy place. When he was told of the Lord's commandment, PaaNar was beside himself and was lost in a deep trance. Loka Saaranga said that if that were his objection PaaNar could get on his shoulders and he offered to carry PaaNar to the temple. Loka Saaranga carried Paanar who was in a state of trance.This also earned the Alvar title, the sobriquet, Munivaahanar (the one astride a priest).
When they reached the Sanctum Sanctorum, PaaNar experienced the bliss of Ranganatha and composed the 'Amalan Adhipiraan' a poem describing the beauty from head to foot of the Lord in 10 verses and laid his life at the feet of the Lord. The poem is considered to be sweeter than even the 'sound of music' of the Veena.
He explains in his ten paasurams(hymns) about the clean saffron cloth which is worn on the body of Ranganathar, his jewels the thiru vayiru(stomach) from where Lord Brahma originated, the broad chest, the red lips and finally on explaining the beauty of the two broad eyes, he fell down. After some time, Thiruppaan Alwar was not found and he went in to the body of Thiruvaranganathan. Like Andal, whose thoughts were always on Aranganathan, and was enraptured by the love of the Perumal, Thiruppaan Alwar was also captured by this love and he became a part of the Lord along with his mortal sheath.
Thiruppaan Alwar has composed a total of ten paasurams, where he has explained about how a human life should be lived. His principal purport in them is : "Perumal is the principal supreme entity and our aims and aspirations should be to attain Him through total surrender to him signified by our placing all of ourselves at his lotus feet." [2]
Unda vayan en ullam kavarndhanai
Andar kon ani arangkan en amudhinaik
Kanda kangal marronrinaik kanave
Meaning:[3]
I have seen the One whose color is like dark rainclouds
He is the one with the mouth that swallowed the butter of cowherds,
He is the Lord of the devas,
He is Lord Ranganatha,
He is my nectar, my life!
My eyes have seen my Lord and will not see anything else!
Swami Vedanta Desikan was moved very much by the Composition of this Alvar and wrote a commentary called 'Munivahana Bhogam' in Sanskritized Tamil - Manipravalam. He also composed four verses in Tamil in His 'Prabhanda Saaram' to elaborate on the significance of the contribution of this Alvar. He went on to compose a Stotram(divine text) in Sanskrit known as 'Sri Bhagavad Dhyana Sobhaanam'.
Sri Vedanta Desikan was so moved by the ten verses of Amalanaadhipiraan that he paid multiple tributes to the Alvar. Swami Desikan was so overwhelmed by the profoundity of the alvar's bhagavad anubhavam that he declared the ten verse compendium to be the essence of countless Vedic texts.
Contents |
Birth in the Paanar community
Thiruppaan Alvar was born in Purthurmadhi year, Kaarthigai(Nov-Dec) month, on a Wednesday in the Rohini Nakshatra(star) in a small village of Alagapuri near Srirangam in the 8th or 9th century C.E. He was born in Paanar Cheri. Paanars are a community of musicians and traditional songmakers who are capable of moving their audiences to states of ecstacy and bliss. Because of these skills they had an influence over the Devas (demigods) and Sages. The Paanar community were considered as outcastes and were victims of the social dynamics of their times.It is said that Alvar is the amsam(form) of the small mole (legend has it that all alvars are avatars of some part of the Lord), called as Srivatsam on the chest of Sriman Narayanan. Having a veena(string instrument) in his hand, he was always to be seen singing the glories of Sri Vishnu. He was soon famous in and around these tamil lands of Southern India. His skills as a bhakti(divine) musician and his abilities to express and invoke bhakti amongst his listeners, drew audiences from afar. He was soon to be known as "Paanar perumal".
One of the strictures on outcastes was that they were not to come anywhere near the Cauvery river , considered scared and pure by the people of the region. Following this stricture Paan Perumal did not come anywhere near the Kaveri river, but mostly stood alongside its banks facing the Srirangam temple and sung his praises to the Lord.[1]
Reaching Srirangam
The following incident in the life of the Alvar, is considered a "divine play" or lila of the Lord. The supreme bhakti and devotion that Paanar held within him had to be brought out and explicated as an example of devotion to the supreme. As is the wont of the Lord, the other bhaktas(devotees) of the world had to be made aware of such a soul in their midst.One day, a devout brahmin in the service of the temple, by name Loka Saaranga came to the river for taking water for use in the temple. He motioned to Paanar to move away. But, PaaNar was so engrossed in the rhapsody of his music that he did not hear this. Lokasaranga threw a small stone in his direction to shake him up. But, the stone accidentally fell on the forehead of PaaNar and it started to bleed. PaaNar quietly retired.
Unaware of the injury caused , Loka Saaranga returned to the temple. He was taken aback on seeing blood oozing out from the forehead of the image of Lord Ranganatha. But, none could connect the two incidents. That very night, the Lord appeared in the dream of Loka Saaranga and commanded him to fetch Paanar to the temple the next morning. Accordingly, Lokasaranga requested PaaNar to come to the temple. But, PaaNar referring to his low birth declined even to set foot on the holy earth of Srirangam lest he pollute the holy place. When he was told of the Lord's commandment, PaaNar was beside himself and was lost in a deep trance. Loka Saaranga said that if that were his objection PaaNar could get on his shoulders and he offered to carry PaaNar to the temple. Loka Saaranga carried Paanar who was in a state of trance.This also earned the Alvar title, the sobriquet, Munivaahanar (the one astride a priest).
When they reached the Sanctum Sanctorum, PaaNar experienced the bliss of Ranganatha and composed the 'Amalan Adhipiraan' a poem describing the beauty from head to foot of the Lord in 10 verses and laid his life at the feet of the Lord. The poem is considered to be sweeter than even the 'sound of music' of the Veena.
Ten Paasurams
The first pasuram(hymn) sung by Alvar is on Arangan's feet. On seeing the Thiruvadi(lotus feet)of Aranganathan he sang:Neel madhil Arangathamman thrukkamalpadham vandhu en Kanninullana okkinrathe.He then started to see the whole thirumeni (body) of Emperumaan and he sung a total of ten paasurams(hymns) which explain the beauty of Sri Ranganathar from his thiruvadi(foot) to thirumudi(head).
He explains in his ten paasurams(hymns) about the clean saffron cloth which is worn on the body of Ranganathar, his jewels the thiru vayiru(stomach) from where Lord Brahma originated, the broad chest, the red lips and finally on explaining the beauty of the two broad eyes, he fell down. After some time, Thiruppaan Alwar was not found and he went in to the body of Thiruvaranganathan. Like Andal, whose thoughts were always on Aranganathan, and was enraptured by the love of the Perumal, Thiruppaan Alwar was also captured by this love and he became a part of the Lord along with his mortal sheath.
Thiruppaan Alwar has composed a total of ten paasurams, where he has explained about how a human life should be lived. His principal purport in them is : "Perumal is the principal supreme entity and our aims and aspirations should be to attain Him through total surrender to him signified by our placing all of ourselves at his lotus feet." [2]
One of the Paasurams
Kondal vannanaik kovalanay venneyUnda vayan en ullam kavarndhanai
Andar kon ani arangkan en amudhinaik
Kanda kangal marronrinaik kanave
Meaning:[3]
I have seen the One whose color is like dark rainclouds
He is the one with the mouth that swallowed the butter of cowherds,
He is the Lord of the devas,
He is Lord Ranganatha,
He is my nectar, my life!
My eyes have seen my Lord and will not see anything else!
Commentary and Interpretations
Thiruppaanaalvar's 10 verse Amalannadhipiraan and the Alvar's Bhagavad Anubhavam(experiences of the divine) moved many of the Vaishnava Acharyas(gurus). These ten verses are housed in the Sixth Prabhandam of the Mudalaaiyram of the Divya Prabandha. This Alvar by tradition is considered to be Ayonija or one, who is not born of mortal human beings.[4] He is also considered as an Amsa of (Sri Vatsa mark, the mole on the chest ) of Sriman Narayana. He was brought up however as a foster-child by a childless couple of the Paanar caste (wandering minstrels akin that of Neelakanta Yazhpaanar, who accompanied Thiru Gyana Sambhandar in Tamil Saivite tradition).Swami Vedanta Desikan was moved very much by the Composition of this Alvar and wrote a commentary called 'Munivahana Bhogam' in Sanskritized Tamil - Manipravalam. He also composed four verses in Tamil in His 'Prabhanda Saaram' to elaborate on the significance of the contribution of this Alvar. He went on to compose a Stotram(divine text) in Sanskrit known as 'Sri Bhagavad Dhyana Sobhaanam'.
Sri Vedanta Desikan was so moved by the ten verses of Amalanaadhipiraan that he paid multiple tributes to the Alvar. Swami Desikan was so overwhelmed by the profoundity of the alvar's bhagavad anubhavam that he declared the ten verse compendium to be the essence of countless Vedic texts.
Audio Link
Audio Link of amalanAdhipirAnReferences
- ^ "Birth of Paan". divyadesamonline.com. Archived from the original on 2007-06-29. http://web.archive.org/web/20070629011559/http://www.divyadesamonline.com/alwars/thiruppaan-alwar.asp. Retrieved 2007-07-22.
- ^ "Amaladhipiran". ibiblio.org. http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/srirangasri/archives/srsvol/msg00134.html. Retrieved 2007-07-22.
- ^ "koNdal vaNNanaik". www.ramanuja.org. http://www.ramanuja.org/sv/alvars/paan. Retrieved 2007-07-22.
- ^ http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/vdesikan/munivahana_bhogam/index.html#commentary
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