Jai Sriman Narayana !!
Jaya Jaya Sankara Hara Hara Sankara !!
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| Thiru Gnana Sambandhar, Appar, Sundarar & Manikkavasagar |
Thiruvadhavur / Manikkavasagar was
born to a pious Brahmin couple lived in the Kingdom of Pandya. He was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva from a
young age, he was mastered all the scriptures and attained profound knowledge
in Veda Sastra. He earned the hearts of
saintly people and scholars with his virtues and extraordinary intelligence. He gained lots of admiration from the people
of the Pandya Kingdom. The King Arimardhana
Pandya of Madurai who was on the search of an efficient administrative person
to manage his ministerial affairs was heard of the wisdom and charming
personality of Thiruvadhavur. Eventually
Thiruvadhavur was appointed as chief of ministerial affairs. Thiruvadhavur proved his immense capability
to perform the duties and responsibilities in an ideal manner; this added the
honor to Thiruvadhur with the titile ‘Thennavan Paramarayar’. His dispassion grew towards the material life
and realized the eternal truth that birth, illness, death are inevitable and painful. He felt the urgency of a spiritual master who
can lead him to perfection and get rid of all the miseries and attain liberty
from the cycles of birth and death. He
was perfect at his duties, also found time in the discussion with the Vedic
scholars to learn the intricate quintessence of the same.
In the meantime, Thiruvadhavur
was assigned with the task of buying new horses to train the soldiers to fight
on horseback. He was proficient in all
the subjects and ministerial works was entrusted with adequate wealth to buy
horses from the right place.
Thiruvadhavur was extremely happy at the new project with the hope that
this journey would help him to find an ideal master. He sincerely offered prayers to the Lord of
Lords, smeared ashes all over the body and with the holy Panchakshara Manthras
on lips proceeded to Thiruperumthurai.
Thiruvadhavur arrived at
Thiruperumthurai with his men. He was
mesmerized at the tranquility of this place and the grandeur of the temple of
Avudaiyar at Thiruperumthurai. There he
found a pious Brahmin giving lecture on the ultimate knowledge about Lord Shiva
and Shaiva Siddhantha, he was surrounded by a few disciples. In a moment,
Thiruvadhavur was immersed at the divinity of the Brahmin who was sitting under
the Kuruntha tree in the vicinity of the temple of Avudaiyar. Thiruvadhavur entered the sanctum sanctorum
of the temple and absorbed in prayers and shed tears in ecstasy. The vibrant voice of chanting the names of
Lord took all his attention; he was passionately drawn near the Brahmin, who
was none other than Lord Shiva himself and the disciples were the Ganas of
Lord. Thiruvadhur was fervently rushed
to his feet towards the Brahmin and prostrated before him. He earnestly prayed to Lord to accept him as
his disciple, Thiruvadhavur attained eternal wisdom from the Supreme Lord, he
immersed in the eternal bliss, he sung
praising the glories of Lord in a
state of absolute transcendental, words flew
out of his mouth were like gems came to known as Thiruvasagam. Thiruvadhavur revealed his firm devotion and
dedication towards Lord through his compositions; Lord was highly pleased at
him and fondly addressed him ‘Manikkavasagar’. Lord instructed him to reside in
Thiruperumthurai to continue his services and vanished. The separation from his spiritual master/
supreme Lord caused intense pain and distress to Manikkavasagar, he was completely
withdrawn himself from the material affairs, led a secluded life and completely
absorbed in meditation, he failed to
remember his responsibility as a minister to King Arimardhana Pandiya. The King’s men were startled at the sudden
changes in Thiruvadhavur, they were reminded him about their mission. Thiruvadhavur politely answered them that
their mission of buying horses will be completed in a month and will be
delivered to Madurai. The messengers
informed the mental state of Thiruvadhavur to the King. King Arimardhana Pandya was disturbed at the
irresponsible behavior of Thiruvadhavur, he decided to wait patiently for a
month as informed by Thiruvadhavur.
Manikkavasagar immersed at the
service of Lord of Thiruperumthurai and contributed the whole wealth for the
construction and modification of the temple.
After a month, the messengers of the King arrived with an urgent notice
and it was clearly mentioned that Thiruvadhavur should be present before the
King immediately otherwise he may have to face dire consequences. Manikkavasagar was distressed and earnestly
prayed to Lord. On that night Lord
appeared in his dream and calmed him saying that the required horses will be
delivered before the King on the day of Avani Moolam and blessed him with a
diamond and instructed Manikkavasagar to proceed to Madurai.
Thiruvadhavur arrived at Madurai
in his ministerial attire and reverentially greeted the King. He informed the King that the horses
purchased were already on their way to Madurai will be reached on the
propitious day of Avani Moolam and presented the diamond before the King. For a moment, the King felt apologetic for
his impression towards Thiruvadhavur and ordered to build a stable for the
horses. The entire Kingdom anxiously
waited for that promising day.
Manikkavasagar was already
renounced the material comforts which causes fear and pain. He lived a life of ascetic; he mystically
turned out fearless and surrendered at the feet of Lord. He was worried about nothing; his mind was
fixed upon the eternal bliss. He had no
attachments towards his body or not even to the necessities of life. His
attachment was only towards the Supreme Lord, destroyer of the sins and
protector from all the evils. He was not
worried about the wealth he had spent for the construction of the temple. He was totally surrendered himself at the
Lotus feet of Lord, holy ashes were the perfume for him to
purify his mind and soul, holy rudrakshas were the shield for him that destroys the sins of previous
and present life.
The King’s men were quite skeptical
about the attitude of Thiruvadhavur.
They informed the King that whatever told by Thiruvadhavur was not true
and the wealth provided were already spent for the construction of temple at
Thiruperumthurai. This added the
suspicion of the King, he sent men to confirm the same. Soon the King’s men were returned with the
message that the information was true and Thiruvadhavur was proved to be
wrong. King Arimardhana Pandya was furiously
ordered his men to carry out physical torture for the breach of contract;
Thiruvadhavur without uttering a single word underwent the severe punishment focusing
his thoughts upon the Lotus feet of Lord of Lords. The King’s men were surprised to see the
endurance of Thiruvadhavur.
As promised by Thiruvadhavur, exceptional
horses were brought to the Kingdom of Madurai by a trader on an Avani Moolam
day. The King and his men were astonished
to see excellent horses and the men on horseback were majestically displayed. King
Arimardhana Pandya was felt terribly unhappy about his irrational verdict to
punish Thiruvadhavur. King graciously apologized
to Thiruvadhavur and both of them were returned to oversee the horses. Kingly was extremely happy to see fine horses
and the charming trader. Thiruvadhavur
instantly realized that the trader was none other than Lord Shiva, he closed
his eyes and mentally prostrated before the Lord.
On that night, the place where
the horses were stationed was turned into mayhem. All the fine horses were assumed their
original form as jackals and created a huge disarray, some of the real horses
were injured and some of them were ran off
and some of the old jackals remained in the stable itself. King was terribly hurt and irritated at the
untrustworthy act of Thiruvadhavur, he ordered his men to put him into severe
punishments. As ordered by the King,
Thiruvadhavur was forced to stand on the extreme hot sand as punishment. Soon, the entire atmosphere was turned gloomy
and started raining heavily, the crowds witnessed were ran off to different the
places and soon the whole city was flooded with water. Manikkavasagar (Thiruvadhavur) hurried to the
temple of Lord Siva and completely absorbed in meditation. King Arimadharna Pandya was alarmed at the unusual
torrential rain that engulfed the city.
An order was released to meet the emergency crisis, according to the announcement
every citizen should engage in the work of construction of barricade on the
river bank.
There was an old lady Vanthi, a
passionate devotee of Lord Shiva was lived in this village. She sells sweetened pudding/ cooked dessert
for livelihood. It was her habit to
offer sweet pudding to Lord before sale.
She was totally devastated at the present situation and worried about
her inability to follow the order of the King.
Soon there appeared a handsome young well-built adult offering his helping
hand to her. Vanthi wholeheartedly thanked
the adult and offered him with sweetened pudding as wage for his work. The boy was gracefully accepted the offerings
of Vanthi. He enthusiastically carried
out his work, singing to the tunes and filling the sands in a basket, throwing
them forcefully on the river bank and relaxes for some time. In
this way, he spread cheeriness in the environment and endless pleasure in the
heart of Vanthi as well. The King
arrived at the sight and carried out the supervision, he found the boy relaxing,
and King frustratingly hit the adult hardly with a stick. He threw a basket full of mud that fell on
the barrier with a knock and it was perfectly closed entire water flow and the strike
on the young adult was experienced by everyone.
Suddenly, there was a mysterious voice addressed the King and narrated
that Manikkavasagar was earned intrinsic worth for the King by his good deeds by
donating wealth for the construction of temple and for the service of devotees
of Lord. But the King was failed to admire
his devotion and dedication instead of that tortured him mentally and
physically. The supernatural act of
horse turning into Jackal and a torrential rain was the test of Lord to save
his devotee Manikkavasagar. The
mysterious voice instructed the King to change his attitude and learn from the
lessons.
Manikkavasagar who was in rapt
meditation opened his eyes immediately after a sudden strike. King Arimardhana Pandya hurried to the temple
Thiru Alavai where Manikkavasagar was settled.
On his way, he watched the old woman Vanthi left her mortal coil and
moved to the abode of Lord. King
Arimardhana Pandya prostrated before Manikkavasagar and requests him to accept
the regime of Pandya Kingdom. Manikkavasagar
graciously refused to accept the same and requested permission to leave to
Thiruperumthurai. Manikkavasagar
proceeded to Thiruperumthurai, shortly King Arimardhana Pandya renounced the
royal life and attained the abode of Lord.
Manikkavasagar arrived at the
temple of Thiruperumthurai and passionately
sung praising the glories of Lord. He
earnestly prayed to Lord to reveal his form as spiritual master to him once
again. The compassionate Lord appeared
before him as desired by Manikkavasagar and instructed him to visit
Chidambaram. Manikkavasagar visited many
shrines on his way to Chidambaram and sung praising the eternal glories of Lord
with a request to appear before him in the form of spiritual master as he was enchanted
at the first sight in Thiruperumthurai. At Utharakosa Mangai his request to Lord was
not fulfilled, he wept bitterly like a child; finally Lord has to yield to the
desire of his ardent devotee. Finally Manikkavasagar arrived at Chidambaram;
the mere sight of this sacred temple took him to a state of bliss. He fervently rolled on the ground in ecstasy. He
settled in the garden of Thillai temple and composed beautiful verses ‘Thiruvasagam’
praising the splendor of Lord.
An ardent devotee of Lord Shiva
was lived in Ela Nadu (Sri Lanka) who used to repeat chanting of Vazhka
Ponnambalam , the Buddha King ruled in this city was anxious to know about the
meaning of the same. The ascetic was
invited to the palace and the King demanded him to explain what he was reciting
all the time. The ascetic narrated the
glorious temple of Lord Nataraja of Thillai located in Chola Kingdom. He described the enthralling beauty of Lord
Nataraja in his cosmic dance form and the significance of Shiva Gangai
Theertham that has the capabilities to cure all the illnesses and sins, and the
holy dip in this pond provides abundance devoutness and salvation to the
devotees. He narrated the story of son
of Manu, King Hiranyavarman who underwent severe austerities and took holy dip
in this pond and eventually got rid of his leprosy. The ascetic highly praised the glories of
Thillai to the Buddhist King. The Buddhist
spiritual master who was present in the assembly of the King was displeased at
the explanation of the devotee of Lord Shiva.
He decided to confront the shivaites of Thillai and overpower the
philosophies and faith in Lord Shiva.
Buddhist King and his dumb daughter along with their spiritual master
left to Thillai. The message of visit of
Buddhist King of Ela Nadu along with his spiritual master and the purpose of
their visit to have a debate with the Shivaites was duly informed to the
Brahmins of Thillai. The Brahmins of Thillai were sincerely prayed
to Lord shower his blessings to win over the debate with the Buddhist monk. On that night all the Brahmins of Thillai had
a dream in that Lord Shiva instructed them to assign the task to Manikkavasagar who was the only one intellectual
capable to win the debate. Manikkavasagar enthusiastically agreed for
the debate, he offered sincere prayers to Lord Nataraja and the fiery debate was
initiated in the grand hall of Thillai.
Manikkavasagar sat behind a curtain and readily answered the queries of
the Buddhist Monk. The Buddhist monk
poured with wary questions; Manikkavasagar mellifluously answered with simplicity,
authenticity and ultimate conviction about the Shaiva Siddhantha and the principles
and philosophies of Shivaism. The Buddhist
monk realized his stupidity to question an authoritative faith of Shaivism and
its principles; eventually he was defeated in the argument and turned into
dumb. The Buddhist King appreciated the intelligence
of Manikkavasagar and approached him with great admiration. King revealed an opinion that if his dumb daughter
turns into normal with speaking abilities he would embrace Shaivism. Manikkavasagar earnestly prayed to Lord to
bless the daughter of Buddhist King with speech. As everyone was witnessing, the girl started
to speak like any normal person and finally the entire dumb Buddhist monk also
regained their speeches and realized the supremacy of Shaiva Siddhantha and the
beliefs in Lord Shiva.
Lord Shiva had a desire to listen
to Thiruvasagam from Manikkavasagar.
Lord disguised into a Brahmin and approached Manikkavasagar, the Brahmin
was reverentially received by Manikkavasagar and enquired him the reason for
his visit. The Brahmin graciously
replied that he would like to listen to Thiruvasagam and would be lettering
them on a palm leaves simultaneously.
Manikkavasagar enthusiastically sang praising the eternal glories of
Lord and it was written in palm leaves by the Brahmin. Suddenly the Brahmin vanished from the sight;
Manikkavasagar realized that the Brahmin was none other than Lord Shiva; he was
distressed for not recognizing the presence of Lord. On the very next day, the entire villagers
assembled at the sanctum were witnessed the palm leaves on the Panchakshara
steps of Chit Sabha in this glorious temple of Thillai. It was mentioned at the end of the verses
that it was written by Manikkavasagar.
The Brahmins gathered were requested
Manikkavasagar to explain the essence of the same, but Manikkavasagar
graciously took them to the sanctum sanctorum and declared that these verses
were belonged to the Supreme Lord and merged at the feet of Lord of Lords.
Jaya Jaya Sankara Hara Hara Sankara !!
Jai Sriman Narayana !!
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