16.AADHI MOOLAM- THE FIRST CAUSE

WITH  THE  GREAT

Scene depicting Gajendra Moksham. Deogarh temple, UP
By Bob King.[CC BY 2.0 creativecommons via Wikimedia commons]

16.  AADHI  MOOLAM!
THE FIRST CAUSE வாழ்முதலாகிய பொருளே

Gajendra Moksham is an episode that gladdens the hearts of all devotees. In the olden days, children used to learn about it in musical discourses. Now, our children only learn 'baa baa black sheep'!

That Lord Vishnu came to  the rescue of an elephant is as much a tribute to the kindness of Bhagavan, as a celebration of the fact that devotion practised in a lifetime never goes waste.This is what the Gita assures us.

 Na mae bhakta pranasyati  9.31
My devotee is never destroyed.

Paartha naiveha naamutra
 vinaashasthasya vidyatae
Na hi kalyanakrut kaschid 
durgatim thaatha gachchadi.     6.40

O Partha! One who strives after spiritual advance never comes to grief. There is destruction for him neither here (in this world) nor in the hereafter.

Poorvaabhyaasena thenaiva
 hriyatae hyavashoapi sa:          6.44

By that previous practice alone, he is carried forward in spite of himself (in the next birth- mentioned in 6.41,42.)


Tyagaraja Swami celebrates this event in his kriti 'Ksheera sagara sayana':

Vaarana raajuni brovanu vaegame
vachchinathi vinnaanura.....Rama.

O Rama! I am aware how fast you came to rescue the king of the elephants.

In the kriti 'Mari mari ninne', he again sings:

Kari mora vini saraguna chana neeku
kaarana maemi sarvaantaryami!

O the One pervading everything! What is the reason you ran fast , hearing the pleading of a mere elephant?

So here Tyagaraja hints that there must have been a reason why Bhagavan ran so fast to rescue the elephant.

Pahari miniature painting. 18th century.
indianminiaturepaintings.blogspot.com.

This episode is covered in Skanda 8 of Srimad Bhagavatam, chapters 2-4. It is revealed there that Gajendra was the Pandya king Indradymnan  in a previous birth: Raaja Paandyo Dravida saththama:. He was a great devotee of Bhagavan Vishnu, observing all the austerities (Vishnu vrata paraayana:), but was cursed by Agastya to be born an elephant. The crocodile was a gandharva in a previous birth, cursed by Rishi Devala. Both had their relief at the hands of Bhagavan.

We have heard that Gajendra called out "Oh,Aadhi Moolam". His actual prayer is very long, very learned, full of philosophical niceties! Bhagavatam says (chap.2, slokas 32 &33; chap 3,sloka 1) that Gajendra determined with its buddhi that its affliction was due to fate, that it could not come out of it by its own efforts. It focused its mind, and recalled the prayers it had said in the previous birth and started reciting them.

Aevam vyavasitho buddhya
 samaadhaaya mano hrudi:
Jajaapa paramam jaapya
 praag janma anusikshitam  3.1

So we see here the truth of Gita statement that what is done in one birth is never lost.

aberdeentemple.org.uk
site since suspended.

Our delight Kambar sings about this:

போதகம் ஒன்று கன்றி இடங்கர்மாப் பொருத போரின்
ஆதியெம் பரமே யான் உன்  அபயம் என்று அழைத்த அன்னாள்
வேதமும் முடிவு காணா மெய்ப்பொருள்  வெளி வந்தெய்தி
மா துயர் துடைத்த வார்த்தை மறப்பரோ  மறப்பிலாதார்.

our master Arunagiri sings about it with great exuberance in several hymns.

இசையுற வேயன் றசைவற வூதும் 
   எழிலறி வேழம்                                    எனையாளென்
றிடர் கொடு மூலந் தொடர்வுடனோதும்
  இடம் இமையாமுன்                              வருமாயன்.

(நசையொடு தோலும்)


ஆனைமடு வாயிலன்று மூலமென ஓலமென்ற
ஆதிமுதல் நாரணன் 

(சால நெடுனாள் மடந்தை)


மலர்த்தே னோடையி லோர்மா வானதை
             பிடித்தே நீள்கர வாதா    டாழியை
மனத்தா லேவிய    மாமால்

((அனுத்தே னோர்மொழி)


மதசிகரி  கதறிமுது  முதலைகவர்  தரனெடிய
மடுநடுவில் வெருவியொரு விசைஆதி  மூலமென
வருகருணை  வரதன்

(சீர் பாத வகுப்பு )

Kambar, and following him Arunagiri, both state that Gajendra called out to Bhagavan as Aadhi moolam. And Arunagiri says that it called only once (oru visai). And Bhagavan acted with great compassion (varu karunai varadan, manaththaaleviya). And he came in the twinkling of an eye (imaiyaamun) And the one who came is the First Cause- Narayanan (aadhi mudhal Naaranan). The elephant surrendered completely, giving up all its efforts (yenai yaalendrothum, volam) [This is what Draupadi too did in the end]

From: The Brooklyn Museum.

This incident has several lessons for us. While God is compassionate, we have to seek it by appropriate sadhana. Otherwise, it amounts to saying that God is indiscriminate: if he rewards those who do sadhana, and those who do not, then why should anyone do any sadhana? Gajendra had done it in the previous birth. Thus the efforts made in one birth do surely benefit (affect) us in another- they never go in vain.

There is another interesting aspect. It is generally held that in the process of evolution, human birth is the last. One exists as stone, plant, animal, etc before being born as a human being. Can a man take an animal  birth again? (Well, there are many who are animal like even in human form!) This episode shows that it is quite possible- reverse engineering,perhaps! Yet, Indradymna was lucky to be born an elephant. According to Indian philosophical and psychological insights, animals have 5 senses, while man has 6. But Tholkappiar states that some animals are also endowed with 6 senses.He gives the three specific examples of elephant, monkey and parrot! Even according to scientific evidence, the elephant is the most intelligent among animals, capable of a large range of human emotions and advanced communication, even across distances.

But the greatest message of this episode is one of hope- our devotion to God never goes waste!

An old-style print which we had seen as children!
Chitrashala Press, Pune c.1910.


NOTE:

Melpathur Narayana Bhattathri has, in his Narayaneeyam given us the essence of Bhagavatam.In the 26th Dasakam he has described the story of Gajendra moksham. He has also given us some rare insights. Gajendran had been a great devotee in the previous birth. Yet, why did he undergo this suffering? He answers:

प्राप्ते काले त्वत्पदैकाग्र्यसिध्यै
नक्राक्रान्तं हस्तिवर्यं व्यधास्त्वम् ॥६॥

Praapta kaale tvatpada aekaagrasiddhyai
Nakraakraantham hastivaryam  vyadhasstvam. 6

Lord, did you not allow the elephant to be caught by the crocodile, when the time came for it to attain your Vaikunta?  (tvat pada aekaagra siddhi= to attain unity with your place).

The implication is that it was necessary for Gajendra to go through this in order to shed any remaining feeling of ego- the sense of 'I'. It was only then that it gave up its own efforts and surrendered to Bhagavan fully.

हस्तीन्द्रं तं हस्तपद्मेन धृत्वा
चक्रेण त्वं नक्रवर्यं व्यदारी: ।
गन्धर्वेऽस्मिन् मुक्तशापे स हस्ती
त्वत्सारूप्यं प्राप्य देदीप्यते स्म ॥९॥

Hasteendram tam hastapadmaena dhrutvaa
chakraena tvam  nakravaryam vyadaree:
Gandharvaesmin  muktashaapae sa hastee
Tvatsaaroopyam praapya daedeepyatae sma.  9

Lord! You held that elephant king with your lotus-like hands and tore the huge crocodile with your Sudarshana. Released from its curse, it resumed its form as Gandharva. The elephant attained your Saroopyam ( a form of Liberation ).

This again is important. The crocodile too received Bhagavan's attention, but it only resumed the form of the Gandharva it had been. But the elephant attained Bhagavan's Saaroopyam!

Gandharva is a typal being- it cannot progress to Liberation. Only human being can, because of devotional sadhana. The elephant had done all the sadhana in the previous birth, and when it was released from its elephant body, it reached Bhagavan whom it had worshipped in the previous birth. This again shows the importance of the human birth and sadhana.

There may be people among us who wonder whether such things are possible. Such people should read the story of Gajarajan Guruvayur Keshavan, which served the Lord of Guruvayur for more than 50 years. It attained Bhagavan's feet in the Brahmamuhurtham on Guruvayur Ekadashi day, 2 December,1976,listening to the Keshadipada description from Narayaneeyam- Dasakam 100, with tears in its eyes, facing the temple, and with its raised trunk as its mark of prostration! And it had fasted the whole day!

from: shaijavalliketri.blogspot.in

The story can be read in this book: (original in Malayalam)

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform!

10. TRAVERSING THEOLOGIES

WITH  THE  GREAT

Kalyanasundara from Ellora Caves-1. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via wikimedia commons.

10. TRAVERSING THEOLOGIES

Sri Ramakrishna used to say that only a few among even the religious people can help others. He would give the example of the piece of wood that would float on the Ganga, but would sink the moment a bird like crow sat on it. Yet there were huge ships carrying many people! He would say that only the  person who got a command from God could teach others.

Phalashruti

We have a huge store of religious literature of all types. And all types of claims are made about them.Who could vouch for their effectiveness? 

Most of them contain 'phalasruti'- verses promising or claiming the benefits that would follow if those are read or recited. Consider this from the Vishnu Sahasranamam:

itīdaṁ kīrtanīyasya keśavasya mahātmanaḥ |
nāmnāṁ sahasraṁ divyānāmaśeṣeṇa prakīrtitam || 1 ||

Thus was told,
All the holy thousand names,
Of Kesava who is great. 

ya idaṁ śṛṇuyānnityaṁ yaścāpi parikīrtayet |
nāśubhaṁ prāpnuyāt kiñcit sōmutreha ca mānavaḥ || 2 ||

He who hears or sings,
It all without fail,
In all days of the year,
Will never get in to bad,
In this life and after.

( From: www.swami-krishnananda.org.)

 One is not sure who wrote them- whether the original authors themselves, or some later ones. In the South we are aware of three authorities who  made such claims.

Three Big Claims

By Thiago Santos (Child Saint Sambandar. Uplpaded by nmadhubala)CC BY-SA 2.0 creative commons via Wikimedia commons.

The first is Jnanasambandha. He is so authoritative. At the end of every decad (பதிகம்) he includes a stanza which spells out what benefits would follow. In many, such lines come in the middle too. In some he says it is by his order 

ஆணை நமதே.

 In one he has promised it in the name of the Lord:

அவ்வினைக் கிவ்வினை யாம் என்று கூறுமதரிவீர்
உய் வினை நாடாதிருப்பதும் உந்தமக்கு ஊனமன்றே
கைவினை செய்து எம்பிரான் கழல் போற்றுதும் நாம் அடியோம் 
செய்வினை வந்தெமை தீண்டப்பெறா திருனீலகண்டம்

(You people who keep saying that our present suffering is due to past karma, are you not ashamed that you do not seek a remedy? We shall engage in the worship of the Feet of our Lord, with our hands (and other faculties). In His name, I promise that our past karma will not touch us.)

Compare here what Krishna says in the Gita 9.31: Kaunteya pratijaani: na mae bhakta pranasyati. Kaunteya! Proclaim boldly that my devotee is never destroyed!

We students of Tiruppugazh know that Jnanasambandha was an Avatar of Subrahmanya and so, such authority on his part is only to be expected!



Sri Tyagaraja is our next example. In one of his kritis he says:

"bhukti mukti galgu nani keertanamu bodhinche vaadu". 

That is, he says that the good (nani) keeratanas were taught to him by Rama. And these conferred on one both worldly welfare (bhukti) and liberation (mukti).(Ika-para saubhagyam  இக பர சௌபாக்யம் in the words of Arunagirinatha).

Tyagaraja's kritis reveal an austere person who was strict with himself. He did not even say 'he' ie "I" wrote the kritis. He always said Tyagaraja as if he was referring to someone else! He was so unselfconscious, he would not make any claims for himself. So those words escaped him of their own!

We have a clue to this. Once there was a discussion in the presence of Ramana Maharshi on music. Someone said that one could do "nadopaasana" and reach God and cited the example of Tyagaraja. Bhagavan asked them:

 பெற்றதைப் பாடினாரா, பாடிப் பெற்றாரா? 
( Did he sing of what he realised, or did he realise by singing?) Everyone fell silent. The implication was that Tyagaraja was a God-realised soul and he sang after the God experience. 

And the matter of "நாதோபாஸன" 'nadopasana'  is not so simple. In the Begada kriti நாதோபாஸன சே சங்கர  நாராயண விதுலு

.(Nadopasana che Sankara Narayana Vidhulu)Tyagaraja says  that Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma are doing nadopasana! So, it is something mystical, and not mere singing of the swaras and sahitya!  In the circumstances what Tyagaraja has claimed as the fruits of his kirtans must be taken seriously.

Note: 
There are two incidents connected with Bhagavan Ramana. When the first edition of his 'Collected Works' was being published, there was a discussion among devotees about a 'preface' to it, as was customary. But no one dared to write one.It was far into the night. Finally, Bhagavan asked T.K.Sundaresa Iyer why he could not write. So he wrote one and brought it to Bhagavan for approval.As he walked away with the approved sheet, Bhagavan called him back and changed one word. TKS had written that it was HOPED  நம்புகிரேன் that the study of the work would confer spiritual welfare. Bhagavan changed the word to CERTAIN.  திண்ணம்.We can  realise its importance now!

When Muruganar's 'Ramana Sannidhi Murai was published, it elicited  great admiration from the leading Tamil scholars of the day like  U.Ve. Swaminatha Iyer,M.Raghava Iyengar etc. One resident devotee Vishvanathan also wanted to write a verse in praise. He started writing but could not proceed beyond .அகத்தாமரை மலர்மீதுரை அருணாசல ரமணன். He quietly left the sheet on the seat of Bhagavan when he was away, and left. When Bhagavan returned , he saw the sheet, took it up and completed the verse, and wrote below it: 'Visvanathan'! This is the verse completed by Bhagavan:

அகத்தாமரை மலர்மீதுரை அருணாசல ரமணன்
நகைத்தானுர  விழித்தான் அறச் செகுத்தான் எனதுயிரை
மிகத்தானருள் சுரந்தானென முகவாபுரி முருகன்
செகத்தாருய வகுத்தான்  முறை திருவாசக நிகரே

(It says that Arunachala Ramana residing in the lotus of the heart looked at me and smiled, and lo! my ego was felled. Mugavaapuri Murugan has composed this work, equalling Tiruvachakam, so that people would be saved.)

Muruganar with Bhagavan. Photo from Sri
Ramanasramam.
நமோ  ரமணாய  நலம் பெற வாழ்க
விமோசன மெய்யன் விரை மலர்த்தாள்  வாழ்க.

One can assess its importance. Did Bhagavan give his view, or expressed what was in the mind of Viswanathan? Bhagavan alone knows!

Our master Arunagirinatha comes between them historically.

In the Tiruppugazh hymns he states the benefits of reciting it.In the Alankaram, he says:










முடியாப் பிறவிக் கடலிற் புகார்முழு துங்கெடுக்கு
   மிடியாற் படியில் விதனப் படார்வெற்றி வேற்பெருமாள்
      அடியார்க்கு நல்ல பெருமாள் அவுணர் குலமடங்கப்
         பொடியாக் கியபெரு மாள்திரு நாமம் புகல்பவரே.   ...     33 

Those who chant the name of our Lord with the victorious spear, who destroyed the clans of the Asuras- they will not enter the limitless ocean of samsara. Nor will they be troubled by poverty here. Thus they will get both bhukti and mukti. Indeed, his two consorts symbolise this very fact.

There is one hymn where he says what would happen to those who ridicule the devotees who recite Tiruppugazh:

சினத்தவர் முடிக்கும் பகைத்தவர் குடிக்குஞ்
     செகுத்தவர் ருயிர்க்குஞ் ...... சினமாகச்

சிரிப்பவர் தமக்கும் பழிப்பவர் தமக்கும்
     திருப்புகழ் நெருப்பென் ...... றறிவோம்யாம்

நினைத்தது மளிக்கும் மனத்தையு முருக்கும்
     நிசிக்கரு வறுக்கும் ...... பிறவாமல்

நெருப்பையு மெரிக்கும் பொருப்பையு மிடிக்கும்
     நிறைப்புக ழுரைக்குஞ் ...... செயல்தாராய்

We know that Tiruppugazh is like fire that will destroy the heads of those who get angry with those reciting it. It will destroy the clan of those who oppose them.So will it destroy those who laugh at them and ridicule them.

On the other hand, it will grant one's wishes. It will melt one's heart. It will end rebirths, so that one does not have to enter the womb again as foetus. It is the fire which will destroy all other fires. It will powder the hills.  Lord, please so ordain that I will be engaged in reciting it.

In the three extraordinary hymns praising the Spear, Peacock and the Rooster,  ( Vel Viruttam, Mayil Viruttam. Seval Viruttam) he has packed details of their exploits. Vallimalai Swami has declared that they have the power to ward of evils and difficulties.

So the truth of claims made about the effectiveness of the hymns depends upon the integrity of persons making those claims! And our experience. Some sources are tried and tested over generations.  Valmiki Ramayana, Vishnu Sahasranama etc are proven to be effective like this. Tiruppugazh too belongs to this category.

Though Ramayana and Mahabharata are both Itihasas, it is remarkable that only Ramayana is used for Parayana! There is even a belief in the South that Mahabharata should not be read at home!  The Bhagavata is purana, but it has connections with the Mahabharata.

Somehow, Bhagavata has not become popular in Tamil Nad. It may have something to do with the cult of Ramanuja, which follows 'Visishtadvaita' philosophy. Though the Bhagavata deals with the various manifestations of Vishnu, it is Advaitic in import. Mainly Smartas study it, though parts of it are read by others. Alwars have sung of the individual incidents narrated there.

(Cover of a book from Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai)

Samudra manthan

Sri Arunagirinatha has no problems with any philosophy! He sings of many incidents from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagavatam. References to them are strewn throughout his works.

ஆடக மந்தர நீர்க்கசை யாமலு ரம்பெற நாட்டியொ
     ராயிர வெம்பகு வாய்ப்பணி ...... கயிறாக

ஆழிக டைந்தமு தாக்கிய நேகர்பெ ரும்பசி தீர்த்தரு
     ளாயனு 

(வேடர் செழுந்திணை)

Here, Arunagiri talks about the churning of the ocean, dealt with in Skanda 8 of the Bhagavata.

Firmly fixing the golden Mandara mountain (as the churning rod) in the milky ocean, catching the Vasuki snake with a thousand heads emitting fire, churning the ocean , causing the nectar to surface, and feeding the many Devas so that their hunger was satisfied- this was done by this Vishnu who came in the Yadava dynasty!

Those who read it in the original , and study what our master has written-word by word- will marvel at the way he has described the matter with such details, in so few words.

வடப ராரை மாமேரு கிரியெ டாந டாமோது
     மகர வாரி யோரேழு ...... மமுதாக

மகுட வாள ராநோவ மதிய நோவ வாரீச
     வனிதை மேவு தோளாயி ...... ரமுநோவக்

கடையு மாதி கோபாலன் 


( அடைபடாது)

Our master is so fascinated with the incident, he continues with it. Here he gives one more graphic description.

The big mountain  in the North,with a wide base, was taken and fixed firmly in the ocean. In order to obtain the nectar, the seven seas with huge waves and the whales were churned, with the luminous Vasuki with its crown (as the rope), causing it intense pain. The moon which was fixed to the mountain also felt intense pain. The thousand petalled lotus which was the seat  of Lakshmi also felt the pain. So  the Original Gopala (Aadhi Gopala) churned the seas. (It can be taken also that Lakshmi is always with Vishnu.Here He is imagined as bearing her on His thousand shoulders, which also felt the pain. All this indicate the stupendous strain involved in the churning!)

The beauty of the Tamil passage can hardly be conveyed in English, by any type of translation or paraphrase. The expression "Aadhi Gopala" is fantastic. It means Gopala, the Original, the First. Which means our master is looking upon Gopala as the Original Cause ie Bhagavan! How freely he traverses the various theologies- and transcends them! 

Samudra manthan at Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok, Thailand.


NOTE:

Grateful thanks to kaumaram.org from whom the Tamil lyrics have been taken.

6.RAMA-KRISHNA: OUR TWO EYES!

WITH  THE  GREAT

Tiruvannamalai- the Hill and the temple!
Beautiful picture by Govind Swamy (Own work) CC BY-SA 3.0
Creativecommons via Wikimedia commons.

6. RAMA-KRISHNA: OUR TWO EYES!

Who is Arunagirinatha?

We have not understood the greatness of Sri Arunagirinatha. His life is covered by all sorts of legends, which depict him as having indulged in debauchery in his youth, losing his wealth and health in the process.On the point of committing suicide, he is rescued by the Lord and his life is transformed. He dedicates his life thenceforth to singing the praises of Muruga,as directed by Him, visiting temples. Such legends are based on supposed internal evidence from his writings. But these are neither historical, nor consistent. In fact, in respect of none of our old poets/saints we have any authentic record.

Two points should be noted here.

1.Arunagirinatha has indeed stated at many places about his bad ways. Yet, can we take them as  personal references? All great poet-saints  assume all the ills of society on them. We see in the life of Sri Ramakrishna that when a person with a wound or injury on his body touched him, he felt the pain! Manikkavachaka repeatedly calls himself as being like a dog (Naayaen). Was he so? This is a poetic tradition in Tamil and we should not jump to conclusions about personal life on this basis.

2.Arunagirinatha has given  detailed descriptions of the ways of public women in many poems. Many people considered them to expound sringara rasa.This too has to be understood in context. Prostitution was an accepted part of Tamil culture in the so called Sangam age(which is always glorified), and openly practised.(along with drinking and meat eating.) This is plainly recorded in the literature of the age. It is only in the moral literature of a later age that prostitution is condemned. Thus Tiruvalluvar has condemned adultery in ten Kurals (141-150) and harlots and  those who visit them in ten Kurals (911-920) along with condemning meat eating  (251-260) and drinking.(921-930) Arunagirinatha was giving detailed descriptions to show how despicable and disgusting things were. We cannot take them as referring to him personally.He might have felt the attractions of the flesh as normal men do, but took them seriously. He prayed for a life free from sense attractions and  for dedication to God.This was granted.

We see from his works that he had attained complete mastery over the philosophical, religious and literary classics in  Tamil and Sanskrit, having attained extraordinary proficiency in them and the languages.After 6 centuries, this height has not even been remotely approached by anyone else.

Divinely inspired poet

Arunagirinatha is accepted as a divinely inspired poet. Yet, what does this mean? Does it refer to the excellence of language and other merits? NO. Divine inspiration refers to the expression of Truth that could save souls. "Where words come out from the depth of truth", as Tagore said in Gitanjali. It is this quality that is outstanding in the works of Arunagirinatha. Other poets could perhaps imitate the style and the words, but not imbibe the power and authority behind them.

Another aspect of divine inspiration is that the life of the person is completely transformed, and his teaching does not vary or alter or grow with time. We see this clearly in the lives of all great saints. They don't write detailed manuals either, but give us clear and precise directions. Arunagirinatha gave only one teaching: Pray to God and save yourselves by His blessings.As an aid to such a life of prayer and dedication, he composed songs on all aspects of Lord Subrahmanya: His mount, the dancing peacock; His spear, which represents Jnana, and His flag, from which the cock awakens us from our slumber of ignorance. In the process, Arunagirinatha takes us on a tour of our Purana-Itihasa literature. We will see how he deals with them.

In the beginning...was the Word!

Tradition has it that he was inspired by Lord Subrahmanya with the words "muttai taru" and the fountain of his poetic genius was opened. This is how this hymn goes:

முத்தைத்தரு பத்தித் திருநகை
     அத்திக்கிறை சத்திச் சரவண
          முத்திக்கொரு வித்துக் குருபர ...... எனவோதும்

முக்கட்பர மற்குச் சுருதியின்
     முற்பட்டது கற்பித் திருவரும்
          முப்பத்துமு வர்க்கத் தமரரும் ...... அடிபேணப்

பத்துத்தலை தத்தக் கணைதொடு
     ஒற்றைக்கிரி மத்தைப் பொருதொரு
          பட்டப்பகல் வட்டத் திகிரியில் ...... இரவாகப்

பத்தற்கிர தத்தைக் கடவிய
     பச்சைப்புயல் மெச்சத் தகுபொருள்
          பட்சத்தொடு ரட்சித் தருள்வதும் ...... ஒருநாளே

I have taken only the first four lines, germane to our theme. In these lines, he refers to several incidents from Purana/Itihasa. The traditional account holds that Lord Muruga himself gave the first words. If so, this hymn acquires extraordinary sigificance in that our Purana/ Itihasa heritage stands confirmed by the authority of Lord Subrahmanya Himself- the Jnanapandita!

Simply stated, these lines state:

1.O Lord of Devasena, with the smiling countenance, conferring the wealth of Liberation!
2.O Lord originating in darba vana, and wielding the Shakti spear!

3.Who was hailed as the Guru who shows the way to Liberation by Shiva, to whom you taught the meaning of pranava!
4.O the One  whose feet are worshipped by all the Devas of the 33 kinds!
5.O the One praised by the cloud-coloured  Vishnu who-

• released  the powerful arrow  such that the ten heads of Ravana jumped off the body
• churned the ocean with the mighty mountain
• converted day into night with his discuss
• drove the chariot for his devotee.

Will that day come when you will save me?

Each of these refers to a Puranic /Itihasic incident.

Devasena first

Why is Devasena mentioned first- in the first verse for which the first words were given by the Lord himself?

This is based on the story from Skandam and relates to the very secret of Subrahmanya's origin. The Devas were harassed by the Asuras for ages. The Trinity could not deal with them, for they had themselves given the boons to Asuras. So, the Devas arranged for the marriage of Shiva-Parvati and Subrahmanya came forth! He became the commander of the Devas (Devasenapati) and ensured victory for them. In gratitude, Indra gave his daughter Devasena  (Devyani) in marriage to Subrahmanya, so that in that sense also he became Devasenapati! That the Devas worship the Lord's feet is mentioned at 4 above and Devasena is to be connected with that. (The 33 kinds of Devas are: Aditya 12, Rudras 11, Vasus 8. Aswini Devas 2 . It is not 33 crore as people commonly take.)

This is celebrated in another work of Arunagirnatha which speaks of the might of the spear in the hands of Muruga.

வெங்காள கண்டர்கைச் சூலமுந் திருமாயன்
வெற்றிபெறு சுடர் ஆழியும்
விபுதர்பதி குலிசமுஞ் சூரன் குலங் கல்லி
வெல்லா எனக்கருதியே

சங்க்ராம நீசயித் தருளெனத் தேவருஞ்
சதுர்முகனும் நின்றிரப்பச்
சயிலமொடு சூரனுடல் ஒருநொடியில் உ ருவியே
தனிஆண்மை கொண்ட நெடுவேல்

This is from the work called Vel Viruttam.

Here it says that Brahma and the Devas considered all matters. They thought that the Trishul in the hands of Shiva, who burnt the Tripuras; the blazing,victorious Sudarshana of Vishnu and the Vajraaudha of Indra would not eliminate the Asura clans completely and win. They went to Subrahmanya, the War Lord and requested him  to win the war. And the Devasenapati obliged them by drawing out his Uniquely Powerful Spear in a trice.

See how even here, while praising the Spear of Subrahmanya, Arunagirinatha does not denigrate the Trishul. Sudharshan or Vajra! In fact he has glorified the Sudarshan- he says: Tiru maayan vetri peru sudar aazhi= the victorious and blazing chakra in the hands of the great Vishnu!

Skanda, from Kannauj.
8th century.
By Zippymarmalade (Own Work)
CC BY-SA 3.0 Creativecommons via Wikimedia Commons.

Jnana Shaktidhara Skanda!

Devasena is taken in Muruga circles as "mukti tarum maadhu"- one conferring Liberation. She represents the Higher world. The marriage is commemorated at Tirupparankunram, near Madurai, one of the six important centres of Shanmukha. Incidentally, Nakkeerar, the Sangam poet, too begins his Tirumurugatrupadai, which is held at the top of 18 Sangam works, with this place!

Hailed as Guru by Shiva!

This refers to the incident involving Brahma. Once, Brahma started reciting the Veda, and began with 'Om'. Subrahmanya asked him to stop and enquired whether he knew the meaning! Brahma admitted that he did not know. Then Muruga said that he was unfit to continue with his work of creation, and himself assumed that work. Lord Shiva felt that it was a bit too much for Kumara. He therefore asked Kumara whether he knew the meaning. He said that he knew, but would reveal only if Shiva asked him in the proper manner- as befits a disciple. Shiva role-acted: made Kumara sit on a pedastal, and with right hand held to the mouth, bowed before him. (Remember Gita 4.34 here: Tad viddhi pranipaatena paiprasnaena sevaya:) Subrahmanya then gave the instruction in the right ear of Shiva! So, Subrahmanya became the Gurunatha! (In Tamil He is popularly referred to as "thagappan swami"- one became master of his father!

This incident is commemorated at Swamimalai, another of the six main centres of Subrahmanya worship.



A painting at Swamimalai  

Churning the milky ocean: Bhagavata

This refers to the churning of the milky ocean by Devas and Asuras, in order to obtain 'amrut'.  Mandara  mountain was taken as the churning rod and Vasuki the mighty serpent as the rope. The Devas could not match the Asuras in strength and at last Vishnu had to lend a helping hand to tilt the balance in their favour! This episode is described in the Bhagavata.Skanda 8.

A detailed painting from around 1820.

Ramayana!

Incidents from the Ramayana are described in many hymns of Tiruppugazh. Here, he has briefly  referred to the killing of Ravana. There are two other hymns where this is stated in more or less the same way. That the heads jumped off is stated explicitly.

தடையற்ற கணைவிட்டு மணிவஜ்ர முடிபெற்ற
     தலைபத்து டையதுட்ட ...... னுயிர்போகச்

சலசத்து மயிலுற்ற சிறைவிட்டு வருவெற்றி
     தருசக்ர தரனுக்கு ...... மருகோனே

(Kadalotta)

Here, Subrahmanya is called the son in law of the Chakra-bearing Vishnu who sent the arrows which could not be stopped, and took the life of the rascal (dushtan) with ten heads, all wearing bejewelled crowns, and freed Sita ( like the peahen) from the prison, and thus obtained victory.

தலைமுடி பத்துத் தெறித்து ராவண
     னுடல்தொளை பட்டுத் துடிக்க வேயொரு
          தநுவைவ ளைத்துத் தொடுத்த வாளியன் ...... மருகோனே

(Mulaiyai maraiattu)

You are the son in law of the One who sent the arrow from his bent bow, so that the ten heads of Ravana jumped off the body and his body was pierced resulting in the body shaking with pain.

Perhaps, it indicates Rama's fury at Ravana causing a bad name to the Ikshvaku dynasty. As we see later in the Ramayana, at the conclusion of the war, Rama states plainly that he has restored the name of the Ikshvaku dynasty, showing that it was foremost on his mind. (See Valmiki Ramayana, Yuddha kanda,sarga118)

Mahabharata

Two incidents are recalled here.

The first refers to Krishna coming to the rescue of Arjuna in his fight with Jayadratha. Arjuna had vowed that he would kill Jayadratha  before sun set on the 14th day of the war, for Jayadratha had facilitated the death of  Abhimanyu, by preventing Arjuna from reaching the vyuha. The fight was continuing and Jayadratha was eluding him. Sun set was approaching, and fighting would cease for the day at sun set. If he did not kill Jayadratha, Arjuna would kill himself, as per his vow.. Krishna sent his Sudasthana to hide the sun, and it appeared that sun had set. Jayadratha came out of his hiding, and Arjuna killed him. The discuss removed, the sun shone again, and it was not yet sun set and Arjuna had fulfilled his vow. Our Master Arunagirinatha is celebrating this in his first hymn! How greatly he must have valued this incident! To what extents Krishna would not go to save his devotee! Did he not say in the Gita: na mae bhakta pranasyati- My devotee is never destroyed 9.31

The slaying of Jayadratha.

The second incident is Krishna assuming the role of the charioteer for Arjuna. Our Swami indicates clearly that it was done for his devotee- Bhaktarku rathathai kadaviya.

Those who are aware of our Upanishadic lore  will readily recall that Krishna driving the chariot is symbolic of Atma directing our life, controlling the senses which are the wild horses.. 

Thus in the very first Tiruppugazh, our Swami is showing how he shares the incidents, sentiments and ideas that are the common heritage of Bharatvarsha. In this, he has no distinction of sects, languages, and philosophies. 

Arunagirinatha's spirit is thus Universal.


NOTE:

The Lord is called by many names. Each name in Sanskrit has a special significance; Skanda, Kumara, Senani, etc. In Tamil they call Him Muruga, which means beauty. 'Subrahmanya' conveys  deeper ideas. 

Tamil Tiruppugazh text is taken from kaumaram.org by their kind permission. Infinite thanks.
Vel Maral text is from murugan.org. Grateful thanks.