Dear viewer, the video content in this page is in Tamizh.
The embedded video content in this page and their respective copyrights belong to the original content owners and have been shared here for informational purposes only.
Dear viewer, the video content in this page is in Tamizh.
The embedded video content in this page and their respective copyrights belong to the original content owners and have been shared here for informational purposes only.
In pothapi nADu (name still in vogue in Andhra Pradesh), in a tribal village called uduppUr, was born this glorious nAyanmAr named kaNNappa. His father nAgan was the chief of the hunters & mother was the tattai. Both parents had a leonine appearance as befitting their heritage.
cEkkizAr’s account of kaNNappa consists of 181 verses & spends many of it beautifully describing the way of life of the tribal hunters. nAgan & tattai were destined for greatness; they were destined to be the parents of kaNNappa. But, for a long time, they had no child.
And then the parents held a great festival for Murugan (skanda) and as a result of his grace, a child was born.
They named this boy tinnan as he was too heavy for his parents to carry, reflective of the weight of his glory that the world will soon see. He was the apple of his parents’ eye. He would play with rolling toys & with the dogs that the hunters raised.
The boy was a little bit of a bully too. At only 6, he would kick the toy-houses built by his female friends. But he also tenderly played with the infants. Ah! How fortunate were they? For the three-eyed god, the king of dice-players, would play a game with tinnan’s fate……
Soon, tinnan was initiated in the art of archery & sacrifices to the gods were made to mark this. Years passed & nAgan (tinnan’s father) felt the effects of an ageing body. The bow, he held skillfully for decades, was no longer gracing him. The time had come to pass the mantle..
nAgan called for the priestess, an elderly woman, to perform sacrifices to the gods, to procure the divine blessings for his son’s first hunting expedition. The day arrived & cEkkizhAr describes in detail how he was adorned (geared up) and prepared for the hunt.
He describes every detail. The woolen bandana around his head, the bracelets for his wrists and gear for his shoulders, the belt & the scabbard….And when he’s all prepared, the elderly priestess comes with the remains of the sacrificial offerings of toddy, honey, meat & rice.
So, tinnan left for the hunting expedition with the entire troop of hunters. This is how cEkkizhAr describes tinnan’s march with his men:
The hunting dogs are unleashed upon the forest. Hogs, deers, bears, wild buffaloes, elephants and tigers fall prey to the hunters’ arrows. cEkkizhAr describes the gruesome state of the kill in graphic terms: the heads, slit necks, severed legs, entrails, etc….
At last, one boar speeds away from tiNNan & his 2 companions, nANan & kADan. The latter 2 run after but are exhausted & at a loss for breath. But tiNNan, held by some to be arjuna, was going to claim this boar all for himself; unlike the boar over which shiva competed with arjuna.
The 2 companions, made hungry by the chase, asked tiNNan’s permission to fry the boar-meat while tiNNan was thirsty. Ah! This is a thirst that will mark the beginning of the end of all of tiNNan’s thirsts! nANan tells tiNNan of the cool river called ponmugali in the nearby hills.
Ponmugali is the tamil name of svarNamukhi river, running through and cooling the territory of the three-eyed lord of kAlahasti.
nANan tells tiNNan about the kAlahastIshvara liNGa in the hills and even before setting off, tiNNan’s heart is filled with a longing to see bhagavAn. cEkkizhAr compares the steps on the hill that tiNNan climbs to the 36 tattva-s which, in shaivam, make up the universe.
cEkkizhAr describes the look of grace of tripurAntaka (3 cities symbolically representing the 3 impurities of ANava, karma & mAyA) falling upon tiNNan, and tiNNan’s first encounter with the lord of kAlahasti. (Translation by T.N. Ramachandran: http://shaivam.org/devotees/the-puranam-of-kannappa-nayanar)
He sees remains of flowers and leaves (the remains of an Agamika pUjA) but thinks that his bhagavAn should have proper food (i.e. meat):
tiNNan takes the meat of the recently hunted boar that kADan was guarding, and without speaking much, as if possessed by a spirit, (They did not understand that he was possessed by the anugraha of the three-eyed god), took the meat as it was being fried and would chew to test it and he went back to the lord of kAlahasti and offered the choicest portions of the meat which he had chewed and tested. The next morning, a pious shaiva ascetic, the remains of whose proper pUjA were the leaves and flowers, arrives and shrieks at what he sees:
And this happens on a daily basis. tiNNan sets off in the morning to procure meat whose suitability for the lord of kAlahasti he determines by chewing it first before bringing it to offer.
At morning, shivagocarin, the orthodox shivabrAhmaNa ascetic, comes to find the remains of the previous night’s offering, deemed highly polluting by the hallowed Agama-s. He sweeps them away with a broom, performs the purificatory rites, does the Agamika pUjA, & leaves for tapas.
The work of the three-eyed lord who bears the feared poison in his neck as a sapphire-like ornament began at the very moment the lord of kAlahasti looked upon tiNNan, even before tiNNan saw him; the work of anugraha (grace) had begun.
shivagocarin implores mahAdeva to bring an end to this ghastly daily routine of removing bones & meat from the ground before doing pUjA. The great god appears in the dream of the pious tapasvi that very night & reveals that every act of tiNNan is an act of love & pleases him.
mahAdeva tells the sage that if he stands behind the tree the next day, he’ll get to witness the blemishless love of tiNNan for himself. And so, that fateful moment arrived. shivagocarin stands behind the tree & tiNNan returns from the hunt, bringing flesh & water for the deva…
The lord of kAlahasti makes one of his eyes bleed profusely. tiNNan panics and tries to wash off the blood, but to no avail. He applies the juice of the herbs he has, to no avail. He then resolves,
He gouges out his eye with his arrow & places it on the three-eyed lord and the blood stops gushing. tiNNan, overjoyed, goes into a frenzy-filled dance, in tune with his character & background. But the three-eyed lord was not done showing the greatness of tiNNan.
He gouges out his eye with his arrow & places it on the three-eyed lord and the blood stops gushing. tiNNan, overjoyed, goes into a frenzy-filled dance, in tune with his character & background. But the three-eyed lord was not done showing the greatness of tiNNan.
The god who drank poison so that the others could drink nectar; he could bear no more. He appears at that very spot and stays the hand of his servant, possessed of a zealous & violent love.
The muni of deep shivaj~nAna saw this wonderful act. All the devas headed by brahma came to shower flowers upon him. The vedas reverberated through that forest. “Be at my right side forever”, said mahAdeva & made tiNNan, made kaNNappa his own.
Thus we end the recollection of the story of kaNNappa, one of the 63 nAyanmArs. The story of kaNNappa gives rise to a lot of interesting questions about Agama, bhakti, etc. I hope to discuss them at some point of time soon.
For adīkṣitas (the uninitiated), dhūrtas (rogues), birds, animals & trees; to remove their ills & confer good upon them; utsavas are necessary.
This is from Mahotsava-Paṭala of Śrīmat-Uttarakāraṇāgama. The śloka is often cited by learned Śivācāryas in the context of explaining the importance of temples in every town.
Sure, they are for the benefit of Dīkṣitas & Bhakta-s in general. But at least they have immediate access to Śiva’s grace by virtue of the blessings they have. A Dīkṣita initiated into the Śaiva wisdom has his daily rites; the Bhakta has Śiva’s name on his lips.
But what about others? Although Śiva’s grace is omnipresent, it is not readily accessible for all. That the Āgama mentions those less fortunate classes first shows its profound concern for the well-being of those who stand removed from an immediate access to Śiva’s grace.
But what about others? Although Śiva’s grace is omnipresent, it is not readily accessible for all. That the Āgama mentions those less fortunate classes first shows its profound concern for the well-being of those who stand removed from an immediate access to Śiva’s grace.
For this reason, so that the mantras residing with Śiva & mediating His grace to us do not withdraw from us due to the bondage & impurities we exhibit, purificatory rites are performed for the mūrti when the utsava is over & the mūrti returns back to the temple.
In Māpāṭiyam, Civañāṉa Cittiyār is referred to, by one hundred and sixteen Cupakkam Bhagas, seventy Civappirakāca Bhagas and seventeen ñāṉāmirta Bhagas.
He also takes nine songs from Thiruvarutpayan. Also eight eight songs from Tirukkaḷiṟṟuppaṭiyār and Caṅkaṟpa Nirārākaraṇam respectively are referred by him. Six hymns from Tukaḷaṟu Bodham and five hymns from Pōṟṟip Paḥṟoṭai.
All three hymns are quoted from Civañāṉa Cittiyār Parapakkam and Uṇmai Viḷakkam respectively. Also two songs each from Tiruvuntiyār, Viṉā Veṇpā, Aṉupūti Viḷakkam, Catamaṇik Kōvai, Neñcu Viṭu Tūtu.
Each of the hymns from Irupā Irupaḥtu, Koṭikkavi, Tāyumāṉavar, Ciṟṟampala Nāṭikaḷ Kalittuṟai respectively, are quoted by the sage.
In this way, by quoting the eighteen philosophical texts of Shivjnana Sidhyar etc., one can know the vast philosophical knowledge of the sage.
We have a huge duty to put them(children) on this path for which we have to prepare ourselves.
First we have to realise it ourselves then expound it to others for them to realise.
To be able to realise the superiority of Saivam, one should have knowledge of
- Thothiram
- Sathiram
- Puranam
The story of 63 nayanmars were.
- Thoguthavar – Sundarar (Tiru Tonda Thogai)
- Vaguthavar – Nambi Andar Nambi (Tiru Tonda Puranam)
- Pirithivar – Sekkizhar (Periyapuram)
What one conveys and what one intends to convey are two different things.
Not everyone is capable of differentiating between the two. Most listeners are capable of only seeing what is conveyed and not what actually is intended, for it requires a deeper understanding of the nuances and experience.
That’s why the scriptures by our ancients have to be looked at with, what is intended rather than only looking at what is conveyed.
Vazhaku: presenting a thing logically (good case)
Sazhaku: bad case
Both these words come in Periyapuram.
- Aandror Vazhaku: how a learned person with explain a thing.
- Seyyul Vazhaku: how it has been explained in a scripture of verse
- Ulaga Vazhaku: how it has been explained in common parlance
- Izhi Vazhaku: taboo or something that can be said only in private
Vinaiyen: karma tainted myself (since G.U.Pope accepts that there is no one single word to translate Vinaiyen)
There is a cinema actress called Asin, meaning opposite of Sin.
In tamizh there is no negative prefix (vaimai x poimai and not avaimai)
Puranam : the stories which are beyond human timelines and human intelligence and different from human species
We have not seen devas, rakshasas, gandarvas etc., but it does not discount their existence just because we have not seen them. In Kanda Shashti, there are explanations of how many types of peis (ghosts) and pisasis (goblins?) are there. Even in Tirukural, Tiruvalluvar accepts it.
If there is debate for long on whether a certain thing exists or not, then it does exist. E.g., God, Soul, Karma etc., because it has not been disproved.
In law there are three
- Proved – established.
- Disproved – established as not existent.
- Not proved – neither proved nor disproved.
Tiruvalluvar explains it in a single verse that all that our ancients said as existing, there will be those who will say it does not exist.
This is the reason a lot of people nowadays say « does not exist » since one does not have to learn anything. The problem arises only when one says something exists as it must be proved.
The difference between Sathiram and Thothiram.
Thothiram: praises / glorifies God. All praise to God.
Sathiram: what are the specialities? Why should one read them? What are the benefits of reading them?
Some people who are Saivaites demand that Saivaites should not even use the word Hinduism.
Even Satguru SivayaSubramunyaSwami introduces it as Saivaite Hinduism.
The major difference between sastras and thothirams is that sastras will not have imaginations, literary descriptions and episodes.
Sastras have certain characteristics.
The Tirumurais will not have lexicons (for ex., Advaitam is not present hence people say that it’s a north Indian word) but this raises problems since pradosham, Sivaratri does not occur in Tirumurai, and we cannot leave them out.
In thothirams, the order of things will or can be changed but in sastras, the order of things are followed and things are explained step by step:
Thothirams do not follow logic / epistemology (darga sastram / Alavei nool) whereas sastras should have logic/Alavei:
One who lives (vazhum uyirrukku – said by Tiruvalluvar):
Refutation through reasoning: In a democracy, when too much rights are given, there is very much the possibility that everything falls off the rails. It has more possibility of getting misused.
Terminologies from Upanishads and agamas will be used in sastras:
Grammar and applied grammar:
Concept/explanation of Principles:
வான்முகில் வழாது பெய்க மலிவளஞ் சுரக்க மன்னன்
கோன்முறை யரசு செய்க குறைவிலா துயிர்கள் வாழ்க
நான் மறை யறங்க ளோங்க நற்றவம் வேள்வி மல்க
மேன்மைகொள் சைவ நீதி விளங்குக வுலக மெல்லாம்.
ORIGINAL SCRIPT
Vaanmugil valaathu peyga malivalam surakka mannan
Kohnmurai yarasu seyka kuraivilaa thuyirgal vaal.ga
Naan marai yaranga lohnga natravam veylvi malga
Meynmaikol saiva neethi vilanguka vulaka mellaam.
TRANSLITERATION
The explanations for the darsanams are available only in sastras in which the comments of the saints have been recorded.
How does the duty of learning /studying these sastras for a Saivaite comes about?
Sastras Arivu (intelligence)
Sastras unarvu (experience)
Sastras payirchi (practice)
without any effort it will come via sastras introduction, Sastras Education and sastras practice.
Payirchi: it means parsing. Means it should not tell the meaning but grammatical aspect of word. In tamizh it’s called « ilakanam kurippu » or « Si vigiri petra thozhil peyar »
Without knowing the « parsing / ilakana Kurippu » one should not explain the tamizh words. That is why « pulavars » were very much important and respected in those days.
In english its root, in Sanskrit its Tharu.
When the present participle does the function of a noun, it’s called a gerund. In tamizh it’s called thozhil peyar. Languages have many similarities. Even english has so much depth and only by learning at such depth, will mastery of a language occur.
Dear viewer, the video content in this page is in Tamizh.
The embedded video content in this page and their respective copyrights belong to the original content owners and have been shared here for informational purposes only.
Dear viewer, the video content in this page is in Tamizh.
The embedded video content in this page and their respective copyrights belong to the original content owners and have been shared here for informational purposes only.
La secuencia de festones en la casa durante las ocasiones festivas es parte del programa de decoración. La entrada a la casa está suspendida con festones y se cuelgan alrededor de la plaza de la puja. La moda moderna es comprar gaiteros hechos de tela colorida, cortarlos en bonitas figuras y ponérselos. Pero hasta el final del primer cuarto de este siglo, los festones de papel no tenían parte en las festividades. La gente hacía decoraciones muy artísticas. pero sin costo alguno. Los brotes tiernos de hojas de coco y los brotes de hojas de palmira se utilizaron para preparar festones. No había necesidad de invertir dinero en estas áreas. Todos estaban en el jardín de cualquier aldeano. La gente cortaba una o dos hojas, sacaba cada pieza por separado, la cortaba a la longitud requerida con un cuchillo afilado y las tejía en las formas requeridas de una manera muy artística. Los brotes tiernos eran todos de color blanco y alternando con las hojas de mango verde oscuro, tenían un contraste de color agradable a la vista. Los festones de coco se secaron y marchitaron en unos dos días, pero los brotes de palmira nunca se marchitaron. Se mantuvieron frescos por un tiempo. Entonces, después de una ocasión, fueron cuidadosamente sacados y almacenados, para ser utilizados para la próxima ocasión.
Además, muchos nenúfares estaban disponibles en piscinas y estanques locales para la decoración. Los lirios generalmente estaban disponibles en blanco, rosa y escarlata, y a veces en nilotpala azul; tomados con el tallo largo, también se colgaban como festones y coronas.
Se dan entre sí trabajando diseños elaborados como loros y otras aves de corral, carbones, sonajeros, etc. en festones de coco y hojas de palma.
L’enchaînement des festons dans la maison lors d’occasions festives fait partie du programme de décoration. L’entrée de la maison est suspendue avec des festons et ils sont accrochés autour de la place de la puja. La mode moderne consiste à acheter des joueurs de cornemuse en tissu colorés, à les couper en jolies figures et à les enfiler. Mais jusqu’à la fin du premier quart de ce siècle, les festons de papier n’avaient aucune part aux festivités. Les gens ont fait des décorations très artistiques. Mais sans frais. Les tendres pousses de feuilles de cocotier et les pousses de feuilles de palmyre ont été utilisées pour préparer des festons. Il n’était pas nécessaire d’investir de l’argent dans ces domaines. Ils étaient tous dans le jardin de n’importe quel villageois. Les gens coupaient une ou deux feuilles, sortaient chaque morceau séparément, le coupaient à la longueur requise avec un couteau tranchant et les tressaient dans les formes requises d’une manière très artistique. Les pousses tendres étaient toutes de couleur blanche et alternant avec les feuilles de manguier vert foncé, elles présentaient un contraste de couleur agréable à l’œil. Les festons de noix de coco ont séché et flétri en environ deux jours, mais les pousses de palmyre n’ont jamais flétri. Ils sont restés frais pendant un certain temps. Ainsi, après une occasion, ils ont été sortis soigneusement et stockés, pour être utilisés pour la prochaine occasion.
En outre, de nombreux nénuphars étaient disponibles dans les piscines et les étangs locaux pour la décoration. Les lis étaient généralement disponibles en blanc, rose et écarlate, et parfois en nilotpala bleu; pris avec la longue tige, ils étaient également suspendus comme festons et comme couronnes.
Ils se donnent les uns avec les autres en travaillant des dessins élaborés comme le perroquet et d’autres volailles, le char, le hochet, etc. sur les festons de feuilles de cocotier et de palmier.