2
Kazharchinga
Nayanar and Seruththunai Nayanar
Thanjai... The land where river Cauvery meanders in all
her glory!
The farming community is busily
and vigourously occupied in growing rice paddy and making it a land of plenty
and making it ‘The granary of the world’.
Both men and women are engaged in the farming activities to ensure
bumper harvest three times in a year.
Seruththunai is however leading a life of
detachment from everything. His daily routine consist of waking up before day
break, toiling in the field, having a meal at midday, returning home after
sunset , cooking the food for dinner and keeping the leftover for the next
meal.
One day as he was going to the
field before sunrise, he sees two women walking ahead. He can hear their talk
very clearly.
Woman
1
Hey? Have you ever seen that one
speaking to anyone normally?
Woman
2
Whom are you referring to? What
can I assume if you say this and that!
Woman
1 (irritated)
Oh! That one... Seruththunai...
What a funny name his mother has given him! It is difficult even to pronounce!
The moment he hears the name,
Seruththunai goes uptight with his blood bulging his veins.
Seruththunai (to himself, cooling down)
Those two are unaware that I am
following them! Let me hear what they are going to speak about me.
He follows them calmly.
Woman
2
He is a precious pearl born in the clan of farmers! How dare you
call him this and that? Do you know what
will happen to you if he hears of this? He will cut off your tongue.
Woman
1 (irritated)
Do you mean that I will meekly
submit?
Woman
2
But, why are you so irritated by
him?
Woman 1
He is six-foot tall with broad shoulders
and rippling muscles due to hard farm work. If he goes to the battle front, he
is brave enough to tackle ten enemies at a time. But what is the use? He
remains single all these years. Not having a wife and children whom he could
cuddle, he not only looks irritable but also
gives harsh look to everyone all the time. He is farming ten acres of
land without any help. The money earned
all these years by selling the paddy will be colossal. But there is none to
enjoy it! If speaks with people normally and shows at least some accommodation,
plenty of women will come running to marry him. Out of concern that he was
toiling all alone, one day I asked him whether he was in need of a working
hand! He did not answer but gave me such an angry look that I was scared to
death. I just ran away. A normal man speaks nicely to others and
helps the needy. He has none of these qualities. Though he can see even animals like goats,
cows, hens and dogs live happily as a community, he remains aloof and glum.
What more can I say?
Woman
2
Let us walk faster as otherwise
we will be late.
Both of them speed up their pace.
But Seruththunai stands transfixed hearing the opinion people have of him. A
little later, dropping his plan of going to his fields, he returns to the village.
The day breaks with a bright sun
radiating his rays all around.
Seruththunai
(to himself)
Where to go?
(Seeing a Sivalayam ahead)
How many years have passes since I visited the
kovil? Let me go today.
He reaches the temple and enters
the sannathi. Iraivan, in the form of
Lingam is seated in all His glory.
As he looks up Iraivan, a feeling
of heartfelt emotion engulfs him. Tears start flowing down his cheeks. He lifts
both his hands and joins them above his head in great piety.
Seruththunai
(to himself)
After the death of my mother,
this is the first time I am shedding tears. Ayyane! Is life is living from one
day to the next? Is it a must that a man must get married and raise a family?
Is he born only to toil for himself, then for his family and ultimately die of
disease without being useful to any others?
All these questions are burning my mind! What for I am born? What I am
supposed to do? Am I to wither away like the dried leaf of a tree? My mother
told me in her deathbed that I have been born to be an achiever! What am I
going to achieve? Will You not answer me?
The temple tolls at that time and
a large number of adiyavars enter the sannathi repeatedly chanting
Panchaksharam aloud. He sees a bright
light as if a million stars have exploded in front of his eyes, the moment he
hears the Panchakshara mantram. At that very moment, the trumpeting temple
elephant runs towards the adiyars in the sannathi. The adiyavars shout for help
seeing the elephant coming in to attack them. The next second, Seruththunai, in
great fury runs and blocks the way of the running elephant. The elephant becomes limp the moment its eyes
meet those of Seruththunai.
Seruththunai
(ordering the elephant)
Get out of here!
The elephant turns back and goes
out of the sannathi meekly. Giving a
sigh of relief, the adiyavars surround Seruththunai.
Adiyavar
1
We are convinced that Iraivan
Himself has sent you here... Had you not been here, we would have been crushed
to death by the mad elephant. For the
elephant became meek as a cat before you, ought to be the act of none other
than Mahesan himself! Perumanare! You
have saved the adiyavars. Long live your heroism! Long live your fame!
After they bless Seruththunaiyar and leave, he
stands in front of Easan unable to stir because of the events that have
happened in a fleeting moment.
Seruththunaiyar
Iraivane! Is this Your way of hinting indirectly that
safeguarding the welfare of Adiyavars alone will be my duty in future?
He comes out of the temple and
the temple elephant waiting to garland him!
****
Seruththunaiyar starts off on his pilgrimage. As he walks sporting his sword at
his waist in a majestic gait, he commands both fear and respect of the
passersby. He becomes a terror for those who trouble any adiyavar and his mere
presence drives them away. He makes it his routine to stay in all the religious
places for a few days for praying to Easan residing there. Taking as his bounden duty for having born on
this earth, he feeds, clothes and gives other comforts needed by the adiyavars living there.
One fine day he reaches
Thiruvarur....
******
In the temple of Valmiganathar,
he stands in great raptures seeing Easan and losing himself unaware of the time
passing by. Iraivan also is giving His benign look. It is now the closing time
of the temple. The Gurukkal not wanting to disturb the adiyavar standing
totally immersed in Easan leaves the temple without closing it.
It is almost midnight. Easan
takes pity on His adiyavar who is standing without food and water in front of
Him. Suddenly a lizard makes its typical call. In the prevailing total silence
in the temple, its call resounds and Seruththunaiyar opens his eyes to locate
the source of the sound. His goes eyes red in anger but he clams down seeing
the lizard and looks at Easan who glitters like a great Jyothi. He prostrates
and gets up. Bending his shaking body he keeps standing with his hands cupped.
Tears flow in torrent down his cheeks.
Seruththunaiyar
Ayyane! I have seen You in Your
Jyothi form! How great is your mercy for this insignificant soul! From now on I
am Your salve forever. All Your adiyavars will be my owners... I will do their
bidding and carry out any work they give me. This temple where You reside will
be my home. To take care of it will be my life’s mission.
He again prostrates and gets up. The Jyothi
starts diminishing in intensity and disappears slowly. Seruththunaiyar looks around.
Seruththunaiyar
(to himself)
What is this? How come there is
no one around!
He realise that it is almost midnight. Feeling thirsty and hungry, he comes out of
the sannathi. Finding a plate covered
with a leaf and a pitcher of water kept nearby, he concludes that they are kept
only for him.
He sits there and takes a gulp of
water and after praying to Easan for the prasadam kept in the plate he takes a
morsel which tastes divine.
Seruththunaiyar
(aloud)
The Gurukkal is very learned... I
suppose he left me undisturbed seeing that I was absorbed totally. Foreseeing
that I would be thirsty and hungry whenever I opened my eyes, he has left the
water and food. His act is truly remarkable.
I must thank him, the first thing in the morning. Also I must meet the
Temple-in-Charge and tell him that my duty will be to look after the temple
from now onwards and take over that responsibility.
He lies down on the floor and
soon falls asleep. Iraivan looks at His adiyavar sleeping on the bare floor. A
gentle breeze blows over him.
******
Next day ...
Gurukkal enters the temple at
daybreak and observes the temple spic
and span as never before. He is pleased
to see Seruththunaiyar carrying water filling the container for Easan’s
abhishekam. On seeing the Gurukkal Seruththunaiyar walks up to him and bows.
Seruththunaiyar
I am indeed very grateful to you
for having kept food for me last night.
Gurukkal
(surprised)
Food for you! I never kept any food for you.
Seeing you absorbed in Easan totally and not wanting to disturb you, I left you
there. What is that you said something
about food?
Seruththunaiyar thinks of Easan.
Seruththunaiyar
(to himself)
Appane! Did you provide water and
food knowing that I was thirsty and hungry?
He stands with tears in his eyes
for the mercy shown by Easan in silence.
Gurukkal
Adiyavare! You have not answered my question!
Seruththunaiyar
Oh! That is nothing.
As he continues with his work the Puravalar
(Temple-in-Charge) comes there. Seruththunaiyar bows to him.
Puravalar
Ayya... Adiyavare! How single handedly, you have done all the
work! The whole temple premises are looking beautiful and shining!
Seruththunaiyar
I shall ever remain a slave of
Easan, Who provided me with food! Please allow to me carryout all the temple
work from now onwards!
Puravalar
(looking at the sword hanging at his waist in fear)
Do you always keep this sword by
your side?
Seruththunaiyar
I am keeping this only to
safeguard the adiyavars and to punish those who create sacrilege in the temple
premises.
Puravalar agrees to his request
and permits him to stay in the temple precincts.
*****
Year roll by...
Completing all the temple work
and then be of service to Adiyavars who come there by feeding them and
providing them their needs become a
daily routine for Seruththunaiyar.
Aware of his short temper and rough handling, the villagers are careful
not to commit any nuisance in the temple. The temple remains well kept and
clean. One day a Guru accompanied by a large number of his disciples reach
there. After praying to Easan in the sannathi, they all come to the mantapam
outside. The Guru gets seated on the stage and his disciples get seated on the
floor facing him.
The
Monitor (standing up sings the glory of Guru)
Wisdom by seeing the sacred physique of Guru,
Wisdom is hearing the holy name
of Guru,
Wisdom is hearing the sacred
sermon of the Guru,
Wisdom is keeping him in one’s
mind!
தெளிவு குருவின்
திருமேனி காண்டல்
தெளிவு குருவின்
திருநாமம் கேட்டல்
தெளிவு குருவின்
திருவார்த்தை கேட்டல்
தெளிவு குருவுரு
சிந்தித்தல் தாமே!
All the students get up and bow
to Guru and resume their seats.
Seruththunaiyar stands in a
corner observing all these quietly.
Guru
Do you know the meaning of the
poem just sung?
A disciple stands and bows and
the Guru signals his permission.
The
Disciple
To see the Guru, to hear and
chant his name, to listen to his teachings and to keep him in one’s mind will
give Gyanam.
As he was about to resume his
seat, the Guru asks him to remain standing.
He remains standing worried that perhaps he has uttered some thing
wrong.
Guru
Who is referred to as Guru here?
I am standing in front of you as
your Guru! Will you get gyanam by seeing me? Will you get gyanam by chanting my
name? Will get Gyanam listening to me? If you keep thinking of me will you
attain Gyanam?
The disciple stands bewildered
not knowing the answers to this string of questions. The other disciples are
equally silent. Seruththunaiyar is also curious like the disciples to know the
answers. The guru starts to answer his questions not finding anyone coming
forward.
Guru
Thirumoolar is the composer of
this song. He refers to Dhakshinamoorthy who alone Gyana Guru! He is the one
who gave us Sivagyanabhodam. By seeing the sacred feet of Dhakshinamoorthy,
chanting His holy name, listening to His teachings and keeping Him firmly in
one’s heart one can beget Gyanam.
I am a Vidya Guru! I teach Vidya
and nurture knowledge. There is another type of Guru. They are called Diksha
gurus. The third variety is Gyana Guru!
Iraivan alone is Gyana Guru! Only Diksha guru and Gyana guru can get humans to
attain Mukti or freedom from birth. I
keep referring to the term Gyanam. What is gyanam?
He looks at the disciples to
elicit an answer but they remain seated unable to reply.
Guru
(continues)
All Aanmas are Pasu. The Peraanma
is Pati. For the Aanma to unite with
Peraanma, it has to get rid of Pasam.
Pasam denotes the worldly connections. How to get rid of Pasam? Is that
a commodity that can be thrown away? The knowledge that enables one to get rid
of Pasam is Gyanam alone! How to obtain Gyanam? Is that something that can be
bought from a shop? No... Gyanam can be obtained only through a Guru that too
only by those who are eligible for it. So the one who shows the way to get rid
of Pasam is Guru alone! The process of getting one rid of Pasam is called
Theekkai, Deekshai or Diksha. In the Sanskrit language ‘Di’ means give and
‘ksha’ means remove. To remove Agyanam and impart Gyanam is called as ‘Diksha’
by them.
Deekshai is of three types. They
are Samaya Deekshai, Visesha Deekshai and Nirvana Deekshai. I will describe
them now. Listen...
Those who want to totally devote
themselves to religious activities and carry out activities of Aanmeegam as a
service are given Samaya Deekshai by their Guru. Those who want to immerse in
the thoughts of Iraivan day in and day out are given Visesha Deekshai. Those
who want to occupy the seat of Aacharyan are given Nirvana Deekshai. Only those
who have obtained Nirvana Deekshai alone are entitled to assume the role of
Guru and impart Deekshai to others.
There are seven methods of
imparting Deekshai.
Nayana
Deekshai is
imparted by a mere look of the Guru. In Thirupperumthurai Manickkavachagar is
given Deekshai by Gyanaguru the moment He looks at him.
Thodu
Deekshai or
Sparisa Deekshai is imparted by touching the Agnyachakra of the disciple by the
Guru. Gyanaguru crowned Manickkavachagar with His sacred feet thus imparting
him Deekshai. Thilakavathiyar by smearing thiruneeru on the forehead of her
brother Thirunavukkarasar at
Thiruvadhikai gave him Deekshai.
Likewise when Viranmindar was hugged by Iraivan when he emerged after
having a dip in the sacred tank, he was given Deekshai. When Annai fed the crying three year old
Gynasambandar with milk, it was also imparting of Thodu Deekshai only.
By reciting the Moolamantram in
the ear of the disciple Vasa Deekshai is
imparted. In Siva Deekshai, the Panchaksharam, ‘Om Namasivaya’ is the
Moolamantram. The disciple gets the Deekshai the moment he hears it.
Mana
Deekshai is imparted through mind. When a Guru identifies his disciples he
imparts Deekshai through his mind.
Kalanginathar imparted Deekshai to Bogar on seeing him by this way.
Sastra Deekshai is imparted by
teaching Sastras.
Yoga
Deekshai is
imparted by Iraivan alone. Yogam means union or joining. This Deekshai enables
one to unite with Easan. All the Nayanmars are graced with Yoga Deekshai.
By constructing agnikundam and
going around it to get rid of Pasam, one is supposed have attained Agni Deekshai.
All these can be imparted only by a Guru. But there is an eighth type also! This is not
imparted by a Guru!
It is granted by one’s own self
by becoming own Guru. This type of Deekshai is called Swayam Deekshai.
In this world people are going about doing
things for their routine life. They are awake during day and asleep during
night. This is an apparent fact! In actual fact all these people are always
asleep! Only those who have obtained Diksha are awakened! “Anbe Sivam” is what
Thirumoolar has enunciated. The Sivam here is not denoting Sivan, Easan! It
denotes the philosophy! It is the route to attain Gyanam. The love that is
shown to all creatures alone will get one Gyanam. The one who has Gyanam of own
self alone can be said to have obtained Swayam Deekshai.
Look there... See that adiyavar standing with
folded hands...
He points to Seruththunaiyar and
all the disciples look in that direction.
Guru
(continues)
He is the one who subdued a rogue
elephant and saved the Adiyavars by standing in front of it...He is doing all
the work of the temple and serving all adiyavars single handed. All these are
because of the love he has for the adiyavars. He is a living example of the
saying “Anbe Sivam”. He has obtained Swayam
Deekshai by virtue of his gyanam of love.
Chanting aloud Panchaksharam
thrice, he gets up. All the disciples bow to him and Seruththunaiyar.
Seruththunaiyar stands
dumbfounded.
******
At about the same time...
The Pallava King Kazharchinganar
returns after completing his victorious campaign in North bringing many
kingdoms under his reign. He drives down
the streets of Kanchi in a chariot with his new bride to a colourful welcome of
his subjects. In the palace his other earlier wives welcome them ceremoniously
and lead them inside to the accompaniment of auspicious music.
Amaichchar (to himself sadly)
He has married a large number of
women in the hope of begetting a son and is still waiting for one. Though being
an adiyavar of Easan how come he is still ignorant that it is ‘Easan who grants
him progeny’!
*****
In the Royal Court ...
The King, Kazharchinganar, is
seated on the throne. Amaichchar and other high ranking officials are seated on
both sides in their respective seats. The public are standing on one side to
witness the happenings in the royal court.
Amaichchar
(Standing up)
Mannar Manna! A peculiar case has
come up for hearing in the court today.
The affected parties want to present their cases before your royal
presence personally themselves. May I be permitted to call them in?
On getting his permission, Amaichchar signals the guard who brings two people
inside. The assembled people let out a laugh on seeing a Kuravan and Kuraththi
entering with a lot of gusto. On seeing the king, they become quiet and folding
their hands and bending their body in supplication and then they stand in a corner. The Kuravan folds his hands and bow towards
the public who start laughing once again. Amaichchar looks at the public with a
stern face and silence returns.
Amaichchar
Mannar Manna! These two belong to
the lands of Kurinji! They are called Kuravars.
Though they live in mountains, they come down the plains from time to
time for trading. The people laughed at them as their dress and manners are
different from ours. They have come to plead their case before the king.
(Looking at the Kuraththi)
Hey! Woman! State your case now.
Kuraththi
(bowing to mannar)
Sami! My salutations to you! Pray
tell me! How many women a man can
marry?
The question shocks the entire
court as the king himself has more than a hundred wives! Only the king remains
undisturbed.
Mannar
Penne! What is your case? Tell me
that first.
Kuraththi
We belong to the tribe of
Kuravars. Kannappar, the hunter, is our
tribal deity. He has given his one of his own eyes to Easan Himself... Kalaththi is the place where he was given
Mukti by Easan. It is ordained by our ancestors that every one of us must pay
visit to Kalaththi at least once in our life time. To fulfill that, we were on
our way to Kalaththi through your kingdom.
He got infatuated with a woman here and is adamant to marry her. He has
already married six women including me. This will be his seventh. There has to
be a limit for everything. That is why I asked the question as to how many
women a man is entitled to marry!
The Kuravan squirms embarrassed.
The Amaichchar is wondering what the mannar is going to say.
Mannar
(looking at the Kuravan)
What do you say for this?
Kuravan
(bowing to Mannar)
It is a permitted custom in our
tribe to marry many women. There is no rule as to how many one can marry.
(Haughtily) If one can afford he can even marry more than a hundred women.
Mannar looks at the Kuraththi for
her response. The public in the court are wondering the way the case is being
dealt with.
Kuraththi
(shedding tears)
I married him with full faith on
him. I am the first wife... When he came told me that he would marry a second
time, I consoled myself that he is also like other men folk. Now there are already six wives... He is now
going for the seventh ... How many more there will be, I do not know!
She starts crying silently. The
public look at her in great sympathy.
Kuravan
(in a loud voice)
Who brings glory to a
household? It is the wife!
Who brings glory to the house
wife? It is the son she begets!
So the glory of the woman is to
beget a son! If she cannot accomplish that, it is very well permissible in law
for the husband to marry another woman.
This is what our elders have
propounded and I am also a little literate to be aware of this.
The people are amazed by his
logical argument. The mannar is curious to hear how the Kuraththi is going to
respond to this!
Kuraththi
(looking at her husband in a pleading voice)
Suppose I am destined to be
barren, how come all the other women you married are also barren? Suppose the
seventh wife also does not conceive, will you marry an eighth and then a ninth
and so on? Is that the only job of men
folk? The elders say that the progeny is a gift because it is given by Sami. If
he prays to our deity, Kalaththinathar,
and begs for a child, Will He not grant that?
The One who has created this entire universe, all its creatures
including all these people standing here, this king and all these ministers ...
If you beg Him, will he not grant our wish of begetting a son?
Though the question was posed to
the Kuravan, the Mannar is jolted by her arguments as if a thousand
thunderbolts have hit him and swoons on his throne. There is commotion on
seeing the mannar collapsing. The Kuraththi and the Kuravan vanish from there.
*****
In the private quarters of the
king in the palace...
The mannar is lying on the cot
with the senior most queen sitting by his side while a few of the other queens are standing around and many of them outside the room due to lack
of space. The Chief Amaichchar comes with a Vaidhyar and both of them manage to enter inside with
considerable difficulty as the whole place is crowded by the queens. The
Vaidhyar starts his examination of the mannar. The queens are sobbing outside
and the senior most queen orders them to keep quiet. After the Vaidhyar completes his tests he
comes outside and seeing his cheerful countenance, the senior queen assumes
that there is nothing alarming in the king’s health.
Vaidhyar
The pulses of the mannar are steady and good.
What he needs is fresh air and total rest.
The senior queen gets up and signals all the
other queens to leave. She also walks out leaving the Vaidhyar and Amaichchar
with the mannar. After a few minutes, the king opens his eyes and enquires as
to what has happened.
Vaidhyar
From your tone itself, I can make out that you
are coming back to normal. If you take rest for a couple of hours it will be
enough.
He bows to the king and departs.
The king looks up at the Amaichchar.
Amaichchar
Mannar manna! You swooned in your
throne in the Royal court. We have brought you to your private quarters.
Mannar
Where are that Kuravan and Kuraththi?
Amaichchar
In the commotion after you
swooned, we are not able to make out where they went. I sent the guards to
locate them and they also came back unable to locate them.
Mannar
(surprised)
They came seeking justice! How
come they have left without hearing the verdict?
Amaichchar
But you have already given your
verdict!
Mannar
How could I have given the
verdict as I became unconscious while the Kuraththi was deposing her
arguments?
Amaichchar
Your fainting is itself the verdict!
Seeing that the Mannar is
bewildered by his statement, the Amaichchar repeats the whole argument of
Kuraththi.
Amaichchar
You swooned when she said of her husband and
pleaded, “If he prays to our deity,
Kalaththinathar, and begs for a child, Will He not grant that? The One who has created this entire
universe, all its creatures including all these people standing here, this king
and all these ministers ... If you beg Him, will he not grant our wish of
begetting a son?”
The reason for you to faint is because you
have also married scores of women for the sake of getting a child. You swooned
because you realised your folly of not seeking the grace of Easan for begetting
a child thinking marrying again and again is the only solution. By fainting you
have delivered the correct verdict.
Mannar
(agreeing)
Yes! It is true! The arguments of
Kuraththi hit me like a thunderbolt from the sky! I have now realised my folly.
Now I will visit all the temples of Easan and pray to Him. Wherever there are
no temples, I will build new ones. Will not Easan, the creator of this entire
universe and the creatures there in, fulfill my longing for a child, if I pray
to Him in earnest? That Kuravan and
Kuraththi have opened my eyes. From now onwards, my mission is to build temples
where there are none and renovate the existing ones.
Let my work start tomorrow
itself!
Amaichchar leaves the palace greatly
enthused!
*****
Thiruvarur...
The news that the king,
Kazharchinganar is coming to the temple is spread through the town-crier and
the whole town becomes busy and excited. Seruththunaiyar, as usual, keeps the
temple premises spic and span single handed. The Brahmins assemble in the
entrance of the temple to receive the king and its entourage with traditional
welcome. Seruththunaiyar stands with his sword tied to his waist near the flag
post to see the king.
As the Mannar reaches the temple
the Dundhubis are sounded to herald his arrival. The king and the queen alight
from the royal elephant and bow to the
Brahmins. A large number of palanquins also reach there and the innumerable
queens of the king alight from them. The Brahmins chanting the Veda mantras
receive the King and lead them inside the temple to the accompaniment of
auspicious music. Seruththunaiyar feels disgusted to see the king with so many
of his wives.
Seruththunaiyar
The thiruneeru spread over his
forehead indicates that he is an adiyavar. But the number of wives he is
parading proclaims loudly that he is a man of passion! What kind of a man is he?
He leaves the place in anger and goes towards
the mantapam where the flower garlands for the Easan are made. Mannar and his
entourage reach the sannathi after crossing the flag post. Deeparadhanai is conducted and mannar stands
there in great devotion.
Mannar
(to himself)
Iraiva! Not realising the power
and sanctity of Thiruneeru, I have married a large number of women yielding to
my impulse. Please pardon me! With Your
grace and blessings, why I need to have any worry anymore? Everything happens as per “Sivan Siththam”
alone!
He stands immersed in Easan least
realising the passing time. The other queens leave the mannar and the senior
queen in the Sannathi and go around the temple.
Attracted by the fine aroma of the flowers and herbs, they reach the mantapam
where the garlands are being made. There the garlands are being made at a
furious speed for the evening puja of Easan. As if fated by Easan, a lone
sampangi flower lies on the floor on the path where the wives of the king are
walking and is noticed by the youngest queen.
She picks it up from the floor fondly and smells it. The King and the senior queen, who happen to
reach there also, observe this. At that very moment, Seruththunaiyar sees only
the act of putting the flower to her nose and smelling it. Losing his temper...
Seruththunaiyar (angrily)
Penne! You have smelt the flower meant for
making a garland for Easan. You have thus done a sacrilege.
I will not let you go unpunished!
He takes out his sword from his
waist.
Seruththunaiyar
(with his eyes red in fury)
Is this not the nose that smelt
the flower meant for Siva aaradanai?
So saying, he chops off her nose with his
sword and the queen falls down in a pool of blood. The other queens stand
around her in shock. The king along with the senior queen rush there. Pushing
them aside the mannar sees the fallen young queen. As he look up, he is even
more shocked to realise that it is a sivanadiyar who has chopped off the
queen’s nose.
Mannar
(to himself)
Ayyo! What is this paradox? My
wife picked up the only flower that has fallen on the path. Thinking mistakenly that she has smelt a
flower meant for Easan, the Adiyavar by chopping off her nose has now become
liable for punishment by me! How will I bear the blame of punishing an
adiyavar? What should I do?
Coming to a decision quickly,
Mannar
(in a loud voice so that Adiyavar can hear)
Adiyavare! You have punished the
nose that was instrumental in doing the ‘Siva Aparadam’. But was it not the hand that lifted that
flower? Shouldn’t you have first cut
off the hand first?
He chops off the hand of his
youngest wife.
There the booming sound of conch shell is
heard.
Iraivan with Annai appears on the
Nandis vahanam. As His hand rises, the youngest of the queens whose nose and
hand has been cut off gets up with her limbs totally restored without even a
scar. A shower of flowers falls from the heavens.
Iraivan
Seruththunaiyare! You have demonstrated to the world, by
chopping off the nose of the queen, that anyone who commits Siva Aparadam is
liable for punishment irrespective of his status, unmindful that you would be put to death as
punishment. You shall remain on My right
side forever. You will unite with Me after you complete your service to the
people in due course of time.
Kadavarkon Kazharchinga Nayanare!
Fearing that the Adiyavar is liable for punishment for his misdeed, you chopped
of your wife’s hand to justify his act! You have thus shown to the world that
the welfare of Adiyavar is supreme! You are to be worshipped by one and all. I
grant you, your wish of a progeny. You will also unite unto Me in due course of
time. The name and fame of both of you
will remain so long as the Erath remains. Whosoever worships Me will worship
you both as well!
Easan blesses them and there is a shower of
flowers from the heavens. Seruththunaiyar, Kazharchingar and all others raise
their hands above their heads and a resounding ‘Onkaram’ rise to the sky.
Thiruchchitrambalam
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