by: Sri Swami Sivananda
In Tiruvadavur in the
Pandya kingdom there lived a pious Brahmin. He and his dutiful wife, due to
merit earned in past lives, got a worthy son whom they named Vadavurar, after
the native place.
As the child grew, his
wisdom increased as well. Soon he had mastered all the scriptures. He also
shone as the embodiment of all virtues and won the love and esteem of all. Even
learned Pundits and saints were attracted by his personality and wisdom. The
king of Madura, Arimardana Pandyan, heard of Vadavurars qualities and
discovered that he was an all-rounder and was proficient in administration
also. The king made him his Prime Minister. Even here Vadavurar shone with
extraordinary brilliance and won the title of Tennavan Paramarayar.
As days passed, however,
dispassion grew in Vadavurars heart. He had realised the unreality of the
world. To him everything was painful: birth, disease, death, rebirth, etc. He
wanted to enjoy the eternal bliss of Sivanandam. Even while he was
administering the affairs of the state, his mind was fixed on the Lotus Feet of
the Lord. He would invite learned men and discuss with them the intricate
points in the Vedas. Soon, he realised that a Guru was necessary for real
spiritual progress. He longed to meet the real Guru. Whenever he went out on
duty, he also searched for his Guru.
One day, while the king
was holding his Court, the head of his cavalry entered and informed him that
the cavalry needed immediate replenishment, as age, death and sickness had
greatly depleted its strength. The king immediately ordered the purchase of
good horses. The task of buying good horses from the right place was entrusted
to Vadavurar. He was extremely happy, as he was sure that he would find his
real Guru, during that tour. It was a God-sent opportunity for him. He offered
sincere prayer to Lord Somasundarar in His temple and, besmearing His holy ash
on his body and with His name on his lips, Vadavurar started on the errand of
buying horses, with enough money. He reached Tiru Perunturai.
Lord Siva, Who is the
Indweller of all hearts and so knew Vadavurars mental condition, had decided
to take him to the divine fold. In the guise of a Brahmin and with a copy of
the book Siva Jnana Bodam in his hand, the Brahmin was seated under a
Kurunta tree near the temple at Tiru Perunturai. He was surrounded by
others (the celestial servants in disguise). Vadavurar entered the temple and
stood motionless before the Lord, in intense prayer. He shed tears of God-love.
Then he went round the temple. Near the tree he heard the holy vibrations of
the Lords Name (Hara, Hara) which melted his heart. The Brahmins magnetic
personality attracted him. With overflowing love and devotion, Vadavurar ran to
the Brahmin, as a calf to its mother, after a long separation: and he fell at
the Brahmins feet.
By His grace, Vadavurar
was able to recognise him as his real Guru. Holding his feet with his hands
Vadavurar prayed: Oh Lord, kindly accept me as your slave and bless me. The
Lord was waiting for this! He cast a graceful glance on Vadavurar. This at once
removed all his sins and purified his heart. Then the Lord initiated him into
the divine mysteries of Siva Jnana. This very initiation entranced him. He
tasted the divine bliss and was self-forgetfully absorbed in it. Then Vadavurar
regained his consciousness and again fell at the Gurus feet. He prayed: Oh
Lord, Who has come to initiate me into the divine mysteries! Oh Lord Who has
captivated me by a mere look! Oh Lord Who has melted my mind! Oh Lord Who has
made me surrender all wealth, body, mind and soul! Oh my Jewel! Oh Wealth Imperishable!
Oh Ocean of Bliss! Oh Nectar of Immortality! Prostrations unto You! Singing
His glories thus, Vadavurar removed all his belongings and offered all at the
Feet of the Guru. He had become a Sanyasi. Smearing his body with sacred ashes,
fixing his mind on the lotus feet of the Guru, Vadavurar plunged into deep
meditation. When he awoke from this meditation, he was filled with an eagerness
to sing the glories of the Lord. With love as the string and his nectarine
words as the gems, he made a garland and offered it at the Gurus feet. The
Lord was highly pleased with it, and called him Manickavachagar since
the hymns sung by him were like gems in wisdom. The Lord asked him to stay on
at that place, and disappeared.
Separation from the Lord
and Guru, made Manickavachakar suffer intense pain and anguish. Soon, he
consoled himself and lived in the remembrance of the Lord and Guru. The kings
servants who had accompanied Vadavurar thought that he had forgotten the
mission, and, so, after waiting for a few days, gently reminded him.
Manickavachagar sent them back to the king with the message that the horses
would reach Madura within one month. When he heard of what had happened to
Vadavurar, the king was angry: but, waited patiently for a month.
At Tiruperunturai,
Manickavachagar was devoted to the Lord, forgetting the king and the mission:
and he spent the money he had brought, in the construction of a temple. After
waiting for a month, the king sent him an angry note reminding him that one
should be as alert in dealing with the king as one would be when dealing with a
cobra, and asking him to appear before the king at once. Manickavachagar was
upset. He went to the temple. He prayed for the Lords protection. Moved by his
sincere prayer, the Lord appeared in his dream that night in the same form of
the Guru who initiated him and said: Oh noble soul, fear not. I myself will
bring the best horses to Madura. You can go in advance. Tell the king that the
horses will arrive there on Avani Moolam. The Lord disappeared after placing a
very costly diamond in his hands.
The next morning,
Manickavachagar took leave of the Lord of Perunturai and donning his
ministerial robes started for Madura. He bowed before the king and gave him the
diamond. He explained: Your Majesty, I have already purchased the horses for
the entire money I had taken. I was waiting for an auspicious day on which to
bring the horses here. Avani Moolam is an auspicious day. In the meantime, as
commanded by Your Majesty, I have returned. The horses will reach here on the
auspicious day. The king apologised to him for the rash note he had sent.
Manickavachagar built a big stable for the horses.
His relatives,
apprehensive of the real state of Manickavachagars mind, appealed to him to
look after them and not to renounce the world. He laughed and said: Oh
friends, the day the Lord initiated me. I have offered everything at His Feet.
I have now no relatives except the Lord and His devotees. I have no connection
with this body, even. My only attachment is with the Lord Who is the remover of
all our sins and bestower of Immortal Bliss. Birth is painful. Death is
painful. Everything that is not connected with the Lord is painful. I do not
worry about anything in the world now. I will beg happily with my palm as my
begging bowl and appease my hunger with the food that is received by chance.
When the earth is ready to give me shelter, why should I resort to a special
dwelling place? The perfume I smear my body with is the sacred ash. My only
belonging is the garland of Rudraksha which destroys the sins of many births.
Oh friends, when I am under His protection, why should I fear anybody?
With his thought fixed on
the Lord, Manickavachagar was expecting the auspicious day. In the meantime,
one of the ministers had told the king that in truth Manickavachagar had spent
all the money in the construction of temples and that Manickavachagars
statement was false. The kings suspicion increased. He sent some messengers to
Perunturai to see whether the horses were really there. They returned with a
negative reply. Only two days remained now. The king did not get any
information about the horses. So, he ordered his soldiers to torture
Manickavachagar and get the money back.
They informed Manickavachagar of all
that had happened in the Court. He kept quiet. They tormented him, according to
the kings orders. He bore everything, fixing his mind on the Lord. The Lord
Himself bore all the torture, and the Bhakta was relieved. The soldiers could
not understand the secret of his endurance. They tortured him further! He
prayed to the Lord. The Lord heard His Bhaktas prayer and wanted to play His
Lila. He willed that all the jackals of the place should assume the form of
horses. He also sent His celestial servants to act as horsemen. He Himself
assumed the form of a trader in horses. He reached Madura. The dust raised by
the gallopping horses filled the sky. The people were wonderstruck to see the
fine horses. That day was Avani Moolam. The thought that he had unnecessarily tortured
Manickavachagar pained the kings heart. He at once released him and apologised
to him. Both of them went to the place where the horses had been stationed. The
king was happy to see the good quality of the horses. The merchant was also
very handsome. Manickavachagar knew that it was the Lord Himself and so
mentally prostrated to Him. The kings servants led the horses to the stable.
Day passed into night. In
accordance with the Lords will, the horses assumed their original form of
jackals, broke the reins and fled from the stable, howling. Some of them
injured even the real horses. A few old jackals remained in the stable. The
next morning, the horsemen did not find any of the horses and there were only a
few old jackals in the stable. They immediately reported the matter to the
king. The king got terribly angry with Manickavachagar who, he thought, had
deceived him by magic. The kings soldiers again began to torture him and
Manickavachagar prayed to the Lord for His help.
At once the Lord caused a
heavy flood in the river Vaigai. There was panic everywhere in the town. The
people could not understand the cause of this untimely flood. The soldiers who
were guarding Manickavachagar also fled. He went to the temple. He worshipped
Lord Somasundarar and was completely absorbed in meditation. The king was
puzzled. He wanted to save the city from destruction. So, he ordered everyone
in the city to bring one basketful of mud and throw it on the bank of the river
to stem the flood. Everyone, except an old woman by name Vandi, did so. She
sold Pittu (a sweetmeat) and eked out her livelihood. She was so much
devoted to Lord Somasundarar that she would daily offer it to Him first and
then sell it. She was in distress.
She prayed to the Lord
for help. Lord Siva, out of His compassion, appeared as a labourer before the
old woman and offered his services in return for a handful of Pittu. With a
dirty cloth around his waist and a basket on his head, he would sing and dance
and then put the mud on the bank of the river. He ate her kind offering and
threw the mud with such force that it caused new breaches! For some time he
would sit idle and again sing and dance. The kings servants found the breach
not closed where the Lord was working and reported the matter to the king. The
king who personally supervised the work, noticed the idleness of the labourer,
and hit him with a stick. The Lord threw the mud on the breach and it was
closed. The blow, however, was felt by all beings in the whole universe. The
king at once understood that it was all the Lords Lila. He recognised the
greatness of Manickavachagar. At that time, he heard an invisible voice: Oh
king, your entire wealth was spent on Me and My Bhaktas. By this act
Manickavachagar earned for you great merit. Instead of being grateful to him,
you have tortured him. The jackals turning into horses, and this sudden flood,
were all Lilas performed by Me for the sake of My devotee. At least now open
your eyes and learn a lesson for your future.
In the meantime, Manickavachagar
had reached the temple and was absorbed in meditation. He, too, felt the blow
that the king gave the Lord. He got up from meditation. The king was in search
of him. On the way he learnt that the old woman had been taken to the Lords
Abode in a celestial car. He came to the temple in Tiru Alavai and prostrated
before Manickavachagar. He requested Manickavachagar to accept the rulership of
the kingdom. The saint refused this offer but asked to be permitted to go to
Perunturai. Both of them came to Madura and worshipped the Lord.
Manickavachagar then left for Perunturai. The king also renounced everything
soon after this and reached the Lords Abode.
At Perunturai,
Manickavachagar sang highly inspiring songs and prayed that he should see the
Lord in the form of the Guru, as He appeared at first. The Lord fulfilled his
wish. He asked him to go to Chidambaram. On the way he visited many shrines. In
every shrine, unless the Lord appeared in the original form of the Guru, he
would not be satisfied. At Tiru Uttarakosha Mangai, he wept bitterly when he
did not see Him as the Guru. The Lord had to accede to his wish! By stages he
reached Chidambaram and rolled on the holy ground. He stayed in a garden near
the temple and sang the famous Tiruvachagam. The people of Tillai heard
the songs and enjoyed its bliss.
In Ezha Nadu (Ceylon)
there was an ascetic who was constantly repeating Long Live Ponnambalam. The
king of the place could not understand this, as he was a Buddhist, and had
called the ascetic to him. The ascetic went to the palace and sat down in front
of the king with the same words! Upon being asked by the king to explain the
meaning, the ascetic said: Oh king, Ponnambalam is a sacred place in the Chola
kingdom. This place is also called Chidambaram. Here the Formless God takes a
Form, of Nataraja, the divine dancer, for the welfare of the world. The object
of His dance is to free the souls from the fetters of Maya. Inside the temple
there is a tank called Siva Jnana Ganga tank. In this tank Hiranyavarman, the
son of Manu, took his bath and got his leprosy cured. Those who take a bath in
this sacred tank and then worship Lord Nataraja are purified of all sins. For
them there will be no more birth. They will attain Eternal Bliss.
The Buddhist Guru who
heard all this questioned: Oh king, how can there be a God other than Lord
Buddha? I will myself go to Chidambaram and defeat the Saivite in argument and
convert the temple into a Buddhist shrine. So saying he left for Tillai. The
king also accompanied him, with his dumb daughter.
The Saivites sent a
message to the Chola king asking him to arrange a debate with the Buddhists
when the latter had arrived at Chidambaram. The day prior to the appointed day,
the Brahmins prayed to Lord Nataraja for success in the debate. That night the
Lord appeared in their dream and said: Approach Vadavurar and request him to
oppose the Buddhist Guru in argument. The next morning, the Brahmins
approached Vadavurar who readily agreed. He went to the temple, worshipped the Lord,
and entered the hall of the debate. He did not like to see the face of the
Buddhists: so, he sat behind a curtain. The Buddhists opened the debate.
Manickavachagar explained the principles of Saivism. The Buddhists could not
offer counter-arguments. They went on repeating their arguments!
Manickavachagar prayed to the Lord for help. At His instance, Devi Sarasvathi
withdrew Her grace from the Buddhists, and they became dumb. The Buddhists were
defeated in argument.
The Buddhist king
understood Manickavachagars greatness. He said: You have made my teacher and
all his disciples dumb. If you can make my dumb daughter speak, I and my
subjects will embrace Saivism. Manickavachagar asked him to bring his
daughter. He prayed to the Lord for His help and then asked the girl to give
proper answer to the questions put by the Buddhist Guru on Lord Siva. The dumb
daughter not only began to speak but gave fitting answers to those questions.
They were all wonder-struck at this miracle. The king and the Buddhists recognised
the superiority of Saivism and embraced it. Manickavachagar restored speech to
the Buddhists also.
One day Lord Siva desired
to hear Tiruvachagam from the lips of Manickavachagar and bestow Moksha on him.
He went to Manickavachagar in the disguise of a Brahmin. Manickavachagar
welcomed the guest with respect and enquired of his needs. Lord Siva told
Manickavachagar: I want to hear Tiruvachagam from your own holy lips. I shall
write it down, so that I can learn it and with its help free myself from the
shackles of Samsara. Manickavachagar recited the Tiruvachagam. The Brahmin
(Lord Siva) wrote it down on palm leaves. Then he suddenly disappeared! At once
Manickavachagar knew that the Brahmin was the Lord Himself. He felt terrible
anguish for not having recognised Him.
The Lord wanted to
immortalise Manickavachagar and to spread his glory. So, He kept these songs on
the step of Panchakshara of the Chit Sabha. The Brahmins of Tillai were
surprised to see them lying there. They opened the leaves and read the
contents. In the end it was written Manickavachagar repeated this, Tiru
Chitrambalam wrote this. The Brahmins wanted to know the meaning of these
verses: so they showed this to Manickavachagar who took them to the temple,
and, pointing out to the image of Lord Siva, said: This Tillai Nataraja is the
purport of these stanzas. He at once merged himself at the Feet of Lord
Nataraja.
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