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Thiru Aalavaai Kaandam

Episode 49: A snake defines the boundaries of Madurai city.

After SugunaPandian, twenty two kings of Pandian dynasty ascended the throne one after the other. The twenty third king was KeerthiBhushana Pandian. During his regime there occurred a great deluge. All the seas and oceans rose and engulfed the land mass. Every living thing was washed away as well as inanimate things. Those withstood the onslaught of the nature were the the temple of Angayarkanni,the divine Vimanam of Lord Somasundarar, the golden-lotus pond and the hills around Madurai which came into being because of Lord's Thiruvilayadals viz., Idabamalai, Pasumalai,Yaanaimalai,Nagamalai and Pandrimalai (Varahamalai).

Lord Sivaperuman started the Creation again. He created all living beings including humans. He also created the three Thamizh Royal dynasties, Chera,Chola and Pandias. The Pandian dynasty saw Vangiasekhara Pandian as the ruler. He established a small city around the temple of Madurai. As the years passed by, the city grew in size because of ever- increasing population. The king oneday went to the temple and prayed to Lord thus: “Oh Lord, this city is too small to accommodate the present size of population. I am unable to know what was the boundaries of the erstwhile city of Madurai. Only you can help me out. Please help me.”

Lord, His merciful decided to help. He came as a Siddhar like in previous instances. This time every thing in his person was of snakes. His loin-wear, sacred thread, ear rings,garland,wrist-wear and anklets were all of snakes of different types. He ordered the snake He wore on his wrist to show the boundaries of erstwhile city of Madurai.

The snake obeyed but put forth a request. It requested that the new city be named after it. Lord granted its wish. It immediately went to eastern side and laid its body along the periphery of the erstwhile city until its own tail touched its head, thus showing the boundaries to Pandian.

Then it went back to the wrist of Siddhar who disappeared forthwith.

The king got a great boundary wall constructed and expanded the city bound by it. The new city came to be known as Thiru Aalavaai.

(Aalavaai – a synonym to snake in Thamiz ).

Episode 50: A war was won with the arrows of Lord Sundareswarar.

Vangia sekhara Pandian's regime saw all round growth of prosperity in Pandian kingdom. But those peaceful times were disturbed by his contemporary Chola king by name Vikrama Cholan.

He decided to wage a war with the Pandian. He mustered the support of a few kings of northern states and approached the Pandian kingdom with a huge army. Pandian learnt about the size of the enemy's army through his spies. He was worried about the miniscule size of his own army which was not a match to enemy's army. He thought that his saviour could be only Lord Somasundarar. He rushed to the temple and pleaded to Lord for help. At that time a divine voice from heaven reassured him and advised him to go and face the enemy. It said that he would get timely help.

Pandian was happy and he engaged the enemy with his army. A fierce battle started. Simply because of the numbers, the Chola's army out-performed Pandian army. The defeat of the Pandian was imminent. At that time Lord Somasundarar appeared in the battle field as a hunter and assumed the leadership of the Pandian army. He shot an arrow carrying a super-scription of His name “Sundaresan“ on it. It multiplied several hundred times and attacked the Cholan's army.

Several hundred men fell at a time. Vikrama Cholan was astonished.

He sent for one of those arrows and was stunned to see the the name

“Sundaresan” super-scribed on it. He immediately understood that Pandian was being assisted by Lord Sundareswarar Himself. Gripped

by fear, he decided to withdraw from the battle field. But the kings of northern states admonished Vikrama Cholan and boosted his morale.

With renewed vigour Cholan fought back. But Lord in the guise of the hunter was too much for Cholan and his forces. Hundreds and thousands of arrows from the hunter's bow totally destroyed Cholan's army.

Vikrama Cholan was defeated. Lord also disappeared.

Pandian celebrated his victory and arranged a grand pooja for Lord Sundareswarar at the temple. He got a bow and arrow made of gold with the name “Sundaresan” engraved on the arrow. He submitted them to Lord with great reverence and continued to rule the kingdom efficiently.

Episode 51: Lord gifts a miraculous seat to Thamizh Sangam As Vangiasekharan was ruling Madurai, Brahma the Creator Performed ten Aswamedha yaahams at kaasi. At the end of the tenth yaaham, Brahma went for a holy dip at river Ganges with his three wives, Saraswathi, Savithri and Gayathri. On the way, Saraswathi's attention was drawn by the song of a celestial woman passing across the sky. She stayed awhile listening to the song. Others reached the Ganges. Brahma, after waiting for some time, took bath with his other two wives leaving Saraswathi behind. Saraswathi was annoyed at his act when she reached Ganges belatedly. She questioned Brahma as to why he did not wait for her. Saraswathi's anger infuriated Brahma and he cursed Saraswathi to take birth as forty eight humans on the earth.

Saraswathi pleaded should it happen to her, his beloved wife.

Brahama consoled her stating that those forty eight people would be none other than the forty eight letters of the Sanskrit script. He further said that they would become great poets in Thamizh and Lord Sivan Himself would lead them. Brahma thus modified his curse. (Sarawathi being the very personification of manthras, the Sanskrit letters represent her.)

Those forty eight poets, born at various places, achieved great fame for their poetic skills and they congregated at Madurai. They met the Pandian king, who acknowledged their excellence in Thamizh. He founded a Thamizh Sangam and made those poets meet there and pursue their literary endeavour. Driven by jealousy, many other poets and scholars competed with those forty eight but ultimately had to bite the dust.

Oneday all the forty eight poets went to the temple and pleaded to Lord thus: “Oh Lord, many poets and scholars challenge us in literary genius and poetic excellence. So, please give us a means of judging their skills”. At that time Lord Somasundarar appeared as a poet in front of them. He gave them a seat of about one foot by one foot and said that it was a miraculous seat which could accommodate poets of real excellance by expanding in size but it would reject people of poor knowledge. The poets were extremely happy. They decorated the divine seat with flowers and performed pooja to it. The great poet Nakkeerar sat first on the seat followed by poet Kabilar and Baranar.

Then climbed on it the rest of forty five poets. The miraculous seat accommodated all of them by growing in size.

As the days passed by, the fory eight poets wrote several literary works. Being poets of great caliber, sooner it became difficult to tell one's work from that of other due to sheer excellence. At that time Lord again appeared as a poet, segregated their work and compiled them properly. The poets were astonished at that feat and requested Lord in the guise of the poet to climb the miraculous seat. It grew in size and accommodated Him too. He sat in the centre surrounded by the forty eight poets. Thus Lord Himself was a poet in Thamizh Sangam. After sometime Vangiasekhara Pandian conducyed coronation for his son, Vangia Soodamani and then reached heavens.

Episode 52: Gifting Dharumi a pouch of gold

Vangiasoodamani Pandian got a beautiful garden made where a number of flowering plants were grown. Flowers from there were offered to Lord Somasundarar daily. Lovely Shenbagam flowers from the garden were used in the garlands that adorned Lord. The king was particular in getting Lord adorned with Shenbagam flowers. So he came to be known as Shenbaga Pandian as well.

In one spring season, Mother Nature was at her best. The trees and bushes were in full bloom. The people of Madurai were enjoying the beautiful ambience. It was a perfect setting for the young men and women to indulge in romantic escapedes. The king was also enjoying the beauty of Nature with his queen in the palace –garden. At that time he suddenly felt a very sweet fragrance in the gentle breeze. It was hitherto unknown to him. After looking around for the source of that fragrance, he found that it emanated from the hair of the queen sitting beside him. He was fascinated but was confused also. A doubt arose in his mind- “could the tresses of women have natural fragrance or was it the result of various perfumes they use?” He couldn't come to a conclusion. So he decided to pose that question to scholars and elite persons. He ordered to hoist a pouch of one thousand gold coins at the gate of the Thamizh Sangam and got it announced that any one who could dispel the doubt in the king's mind would deserve that pouch of gold. Several scholars and poets including the forty eight poets of Sangam tried their hand but they could not clear the doubt of the king.

There lived in Madurai a bachelor Brahmin by name Dharumi.

He intended to get married but could not because of his poverty. His parents were also no more. He went to the temple and pleaded to Lord to help him get the pouch of gold. Lord took pity on him and gave him a palm leaf containing a poem in Thamizh written by Lord Himself.

Lord asked Dharumi to present it to the king and claim the pouch of gold. Dharumi was extremely happy and carried that poem to the king.

The king was very much pleased as the subtle meaning of the poem

effectively cleared his doubt. It claimed that the locks of hair of beautiful women did possess natural fragrance. As that idea was appealing to him, the king ordered that Dharumi be awarded the pouch of gold. But alas! Dharumi's happiness was short-lived. Poet Nakkeerar raised an objection. He said that the poem of Dharumi had a flaw in it. Dharumi felt deprived. As he was not a Thamizh scholar, he could not face Nakkeerar. He rushed back to the temple and prayed,”

Oh Lord, the fortune which was within my reach had slipped away.

Even that did not bother me. But there is some one to find fault with you and criticize your own poem.”Suddenly Lord appeared in front of him in the guise of a poet. Taking Dharumi with Him, He reached Thamizh sangam.

There He demanded to know the person who found fault with the poem. Nakkeerar came forward and said fearlessly that he was indeed the person who found the poem unacceptable. Lord asked him what the flaw was. Nakkeerar replied that the purported meaning of the poem was not correct because no woman could have hair of natural fragrance and the fragrance was the result of using various scents, perfumes etc. Lord in the guise of the poet asked,” Is it true with the hair of women of great lineage and that of celestial girls too?”

Nakkeerar maintained his stand. Then Lord asked with indignation,”

Do you mean that Goddess Parvathi you worship everyday too does not have hair of natural fragrance?” Nakkeerar stuck to his guns and replied that even Goddess Parvathi was no exception. Upon this arrogant reply Lord opened His third eye on His forehead slightly.

Nakkeerar realized who was standing in front of him. Neverthe less he did not relent. But unable to bear the heat directed on him by the third eye of Lord, he ran towards the Golden-lotus pond and plunged into the water. Lord too disappeared.

Episode 53: Nakkeerar gets rescued from the Golden-lotus pond Scorched by the third eye of Lord, Nakkeerar suffered much and could not think of coming out of the pond. All other poets and the king felt very sad. The Sangam without Poet Nakkeerar lost its charm.

So the poets went and prayed to Lord Somasundarar to forgive Nakkeerar. Lord too took pity on Nakkeerar and appeared on the banks of the Golden-lotus pond along with Goddess Angayarkanni. With His boundless mercy, He extended a helping hand to pull Nakkeerar out of the pond. At that very instant Nakkeerar was relieved of the effects of the third eye of Lord. Repented for his folly of arguing with Lord and showing disrespect to Goddess, Nakkeerar fell on the feet of Lord and asked Him to forgive his action. Praising Lord Somasundarar, Nakkeerar composed a litteray work of verses called “Kailai pathi Kalathi pathi”. Lord was pleased and asked Nakkeerar to be present at the Thamizh Sangam as before. Dharumi who narrowly missed the pouch of gold was later awarded with that by the king.

Episode 54: Nakkeerar was taught Thamizh Grammar

Poet Nakkeerar, after the above incident was worshipping Lord Somasundarar with great reverence. Lord with his divine will felt that Nakkeerar's knowledge in Thamizh grammar was wanting in certain aspects. Sensing His thoughts Goddess Parvathi suggested that Poet Nakkeerar be taught Thamizh grammar by Sage Agasthiar. Lord approved Her suggestion. This was because Sage Agasthiar learnt Thamizh and its grammar directly from Lord Sivaperuman.

Accordingly Lord directed Sage Agasthiar to go to Madurai. Sage Agasthiar reached Madurai with his wife Lobamuthrai and worshipped Lord Somasundarar at the temple. Poet Nakkeerar was also available by his side at that time.

Lord directed Agasthiar to teach Nakkeerar the various aspects of Thamizh grammar in detail. Nakkeerar was pleased to be the

disciple of Agasthiar and learnt Thamizh grammar in depth. Later Lord conceded to the wish of Agasthiar to return to his place. Goddess was curious to know why Lord Himself did not prefer to teach Nakkeerar. Lord said that it was due to Nakkeerar's jealousy to wards Dharumi. Nakkeerar with his newly acquired knowledge, went through his earlier works and rectified his own mistakes and errors. He was moved by the mercy of Lord and worshipped Him with even more piety and humility.

Episode 55: Settling of the disputes among the sangam poets Many literary works were born at Thamizh Sangam. But every poet considered his or her own work superior. Though the competition was considered healthy, at times it led to disputes, claims and counter-claims. So the poets pleaded to Lord Somasundarar to show them a way out. Lord appeared as a poet in front of them and said,” There is a merchant by name Dhanapathi in this city. His wife is Gunasalini.

Lord Murugan has born as a child to them. But the boy is dumb. You read out your works to him. He will decide which of your works are superior.” The poets sought to know how a dumb boy of a merchant could decide about the greatness or otherwise of a literary work. For that Lord replied ,” Whenever the boy feels a particular work is rich in poetry and substance, he will react by nodding his head and showing expression of great delight on his face.”

The poets found Dhanapathi and brought his son to the Thamizh Sangam. Every poet read out his/her work in turn to him. The dumb boy expressed great delight while listening to every stanza of the works of poets Nakkeerar, Kabilar and Baranar. So it became clear that the works of those three poets only were superior and thus the dispute was settled once and for all.

Episode 56: Removing the despair of the poet Idaikkadar.

After Shenbagamara Pandian, several kings of Pandian dynasty ruled the State. During the rule of Kulesa pandian, he was famous for his literary genius. At that time, a poet by name Idaikkadar came visiting Pandian with a literary work he made. He was a friend of Poet Kabilar too. But when Idaikkadar read out his work, Kulesa Pandian did not show any expression of appreciation or delight though the work deserved recognition. This behaviour of the king saddened Idakkadar. His self-respect was hurt. With a heavy heart he went to the temple and prayed to Lord,” Oh Lord, I heard that Kulesa Pandian is a scholarly poet and a member of the Sangam. So I came with great expectations to present my work in front of him. But he disregarded me and my work by putting up an expression-less face. He had not only insulted my work but also insulted you, the very embodiment of words and their meaning.”

Idaikkadar's despair echoed as an unbelievable development.

Lord Somasundarar who was present as the Sivalingam in the sanctum sanctorum disappeared at night from there and appeared as a new Sivalingam* on the southern banks of river Vaigai. Next morning when the priests opened the Sanctun Santorum, they were stunned by the absence of the Sivalingam. With fear gripping their heart, they rushed to the palace to inform the king. On hearing the incident, Pandian's mind was paralysed. At that time some of the citizens came running and informed the king that a new temple had sprung up on the southern bank of the river with the God and goddess in it. Still confused, Pandian ran towards the new temple and found Lord Chokkanathar and Angayakanni ammai enshrined in it. He fell on the ground and worshipped Lord. He pleaded to know what went wrong to cause Lord to leave the main temple.

At that time a divine voice rose in the sky which said,” Pandia!

Though there are countless places known as Sivasthalams, sixty four among them are great. Among the sixty four, eight are even more

important because the lingams there were worshipped by Devas guarding the eight directions. Among the eight, this lingam was worshipped by Kuberan. I moved into this lingam out of my own will.

Still there is a reason for the disappearance of the lingam at the main Temple. It is because you showed disrespect to Idaikkadan.”

Pandian realized his blunder. He begged to be pardoned. He invited Idaikkadar and received him with all reverence at his palace.

He listened to his work, appreciated it and awarded Idaikkadar sumptuously. Lord reappeared in the santum santorum of the main

He listened to his work, appreciated it and awarded Idaikkadar sumptuously. Lord reappeared in the santum santorum of the main