It was a devotional night at
Thiruvali – Thirunagari, an ancient Divya Desam about 10kms from Sirkazhi, with
over 5000 devotees witnessing the unfolding of a dramatic set of events
relating to Vedu Pari episode on the streets of Veda Raja Puram, a remote
village near Thiru Kuraiyalur, the birth place of Thiru Mangai Azhwar. While versions of Vedu Pari are enacted, in
parts, in different Divya Desams, the one at Veda Raja Puram was truly special and
original with the entire sequence of events being played out in full in the
most traditional way last Tuesday giving the devotees a unique experience of
that dramatic night well over a thousand years ago at this very location. It
was this episode relating to the late night robbery act that brought about the
transformation in Mangai Mannan and was instrumental in him being crowned as
Thiru Mangai Azhwar.
‘Pandha Kaatchi’ – Over a 100
Ghee Lit hand held Lamps
The
newly married couple (Vayalali Manavala and Amruthavalli Thayar), sporting
glittering jewellery had arrived at Veda Raja Puram at 10pm after their Thiru
Kalyanam earlier in the day at Thiruvali. A couple of kms away at Thirunagari,
Mangai Mannan was alerted by his ministers about this ‘Golden’ opportunity to loot.
Just
after 1am, the entire village was abuzz as the thief made a rapid entry into
Veda Raja Puram with his retinue. For the next couple of hours, the entire
episode of Vedu Pari was enacted with Mangai Mannan trying to make do his loot,
the police inspector verifying the correctness and safety of the jewels and
finally the newly married couple displaying their real identity providing a
Garuda Sevai darshan to Mangai Mannan. The entire place reverberated with
sacred chanting, by Prabhandham experts, of the first set of verses of Thiru
Mangai Azhwar’s Periya Thirumozhi where he recommends chanting the Narayana
Mantra to free oneself from wrong thoughts. Following this, Vayalali Manavala,
Amruthavalli Thayar and Thiru Mangai Azhwar made their way back to Thirunagari on
a joint two hour procession amidst recital of over 200 verses of Periya
Thirumozhi.
As the clock ticked towards 5am,
a delighted Thiru Mangai Azhwar having just been initiated with the Ashtakshara
Mantra showcased his joy by performing a 30 minute Vaiyali (special fast paced
dance run) in the Agraharam opposite the Tirunagari temple that proved to be a
fitting finale to the Vedu Pari Utsavam.
Mangai
Mannan fell in love with the beautiful Kumudavalli of Annan Koil. Wanting to
get him initiated into the devotional path, Kumudavalli laid tough ‘wedding’
conditions, one of which was to feed 1008 Vaishnavites every day. Mangai
Mannan, in this attempt, lost a lot of his wealth. But determined to fulfil her
conditions, he turned a thief and resorted to ‘stealing’.
One night, Mangai Mannan way laid a newly married couple at Veda Raja Puram and threatened to lash out his spear even going to the extent of trying to bite and remove the expensive anklets. Having packed the jewellery into a sack, he was unable to lift the bag and wondered if the person in front of him wielded a magic mantra. It was then that the couple displayed their real character. The thief of a few minutes ago received enlightenment and transformed into a Saint Poet. It was after this episode that he went on to contribute over a 1000 verses in the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham.
Ministers’ ‘Dhoothu’
Historically, the story goes that
the ministers of Mangai Mannan who heard of a rich newly married couple coming
the way of Veda Raja Puram informed their chieftain of an opportunity to
bolster their treasury that would help him feed the Vaishnavites. As a first
step, the ministers requested the couple to hand over a part of their wealth but
they refused. It is only after the Ministers’ ‘Dhoothu’ that Mangai Mannan
rushed from Thirunagari (at midnight) to Veda Raja Puram on his Horse Vahana to
try to loot their belongings.
This legendary event was enacted
at the Thirunagari Divya Desam by two members of a family that has been
presenting the ‘Dhoothu’ for several centuries based on a historical document
relating to the Vedu Pari episode. At Veda Raja Puram, the cousins also
presented the mediation episode between the Thirumangai Azhwar and the Lord
immediately after the initiation of the Ashtakshara Mantra asking the Lord for
forgiveness of the robbery act of that night. At the end of the Vedu Pari
Utsavam, they presented ‘Mangalam’ at Thirunagari after the Vaiyali enactment as
a thanking gesture to the Lord and Thayar.
Police Inspection
after the Robbery Act
Minutes after Vedu Pari, K Govindarajan
of Veda Raja Puram, donning the role of a Police Inspector, followed the foot marks
made by the horse to track down Mangai Mannan and conducted a thorough check to
ensure that he had not whisked away any of the expensive jewellery. He came
back to inform the couple that their jewellery was indeed safe. His family has
been performing this ‘jewellery inspection’ for over 5 generations on the night
of the Vedu Pari as a service to the Lord without any remuneration.
Govindarajan feels blessed to play this sacred role, one that his fore fathers,
who were all farmers, were assigned centuries ago.
The first verses after the Enlightenment -Vadinen Vaadi....
The first verses after the Enlightenment -Vadinen Vaadi....
Thiru Mangai Azhwar in his first
set of sacred verses ‘Vaadinen Vaadi Varunthinen..’ composed after he was
initiated with the Narayana mantra looks back at his life that had until then
been one of distress and provides a realistic solution to devotees with a
troubled mind based on his own experience.
He says that in the first part of
his life, he went about seeking worldly pleasures and wastefully spent time
down the wrong path. He bemoans that those days spent in pursuit of physical
pleasures were distasteful. He had found it difficult to stop his wavering
thoughts and control his unstable mind. Frustrated at his own constant craving
for physical pleasures and realising that seeking such pleasures was a futile
and endless exercise, he probed his mind, seeking redemption. And thankfully
before it was too late, he was directed into a new life with God’s grace.
Having been initiated with the
Narayana Mantra, his life turned around for the good and softened him as a
person. He concludes that chanting Narayana’s name is the perfect mantra for
redemption from the past misdeeds and is sure to give purity of thought, love
and strength to face all challenges in life.
Thiruvali / Thirunagari in ancient times
Thiru Mangai Azhwar refers to
Thiruvali as a ‘radiant’ town where the sounds of conches and the Vedic chants
never seem to cease. He praises the Vedic Seers as those living for generations
in Thiruvali learning and teaching the sacred verses and performing the rituals
with great devotion amidst the beautiful Ashoka, Punnai and Serundi trees. Peacocks
are seen dancing in big numbers. The fish caught in the paddy fields are seen
jumping out on to the face of the farmers and moving into the sugarcane fields. Cool lakes are filled with swans and blue
water lilies. Male crabs are resting on lotuses while the bees are heard
humming sweet tunes and are seen sipping nectar from the Jasmine and Shenbagam
flowers.
( A part of this story featured today in The Hindu Friday Review)
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