WITH THE GREAT
from: rainbowstampclub.blogspot.in
24. ARUNAGIRI AND MAHABHARATA
Arunagirinatha is unique among our Saint-Singers. He was a devotee of Muruga and had no need to sing of any other Deity. But he was a true son of Bharat, soaked in its spirit. Indian religion is not exclusive.It stresses personal experience over dogma and theology. God is One, but is experienced and enjoyed in different ways. A true spiritual master will never deny other Deities, no matter what his own favourite is. Dogmas may differ, but God is one.
Rama and Krishna are avatars of the One God. Later, different sects claimed them as their own, but they did not form sects! They represented our dharma. They are our common heritage. Arunagirnatha not only shares this,but celebrates it with uncontained exuberance. For him, Rama,Krishna and all the Avatars are one, of Vishnu. In this, he follows the conventional Hindu view.
Arunagirinatha does not lower the importance or significance of other Deities in order to exalt his own. For him, all are great and his own is related to all of them, though for his upasana, he would follow his! Muruga is the younger brother of Vinayaka, mighty in his own way.He wrote the Mahabharata on the Meru mountain, as requested by Vyasa. Arunagiri sings about it in several places.
இலகுக டலைகற் கண்டு தேனொடு
மிரதமு றுதினைப் பிண்டி பாகுடன்
இனிமையி னுகருற் றெம்பி ரானொரு ...... கொம்பினாலே
எழுதென மொழியப் பண்டு பாரதம்
வடகன சிகரச் செம்பொன் மேருவில்
எழுதிய பவளக் குன்று
Here, he details it. Ganapati has a big stomach! He is fond of eating! What does he eat?
He eats chana gram, with sugar candy, honey, cereal flour,with sugar syrup! With that, he comes to remove our obstacles. Vyasa requested him to write the Mahabharata (as he dictated.) So, in the olden days, he broke one of his tusks and wrote it on the Northern slopes of the golden Meru mountain- that is Ganapati, of the complexion of the coral.
Lord Ganesa writing the Mahabharata. from: www.dollsofindia.com
This has several beauties. Ganesa eats several things- but all of them are Satvika in nature! Ganapati is especially invoked as the remover of obstacles. If he has to accede to the request of Vyasa, how great Vyasa must be! That he broke his own tusk to write Mahabharata which deals with Dharma shows that everything else has to be subordinated to dharma. That it was recorded on the Meru is symbolic of its permanence.
Rama who killed Ravana is also the one who drove the chariot for Arjuna!
முப்பதுமு வர்க்கசுர ...... ரடிபேணி
பத்துமுடி தத்தும்வகை யுற்றகணை விட்டஅரி
பற்குனனை வெற்றிபெற ...... ரதமூரும்
பச்சைநிற முற்றபுய ல
For Arunagiri, all Avatars are one!
Hari sent the arrow to remove the ten heads of Ravana. All the 33 kinds of Devas fell at his Feet. He of that dark-green complexion, like the thick cloud, drove the chariot of Arjuna so that he could win!
from:mystampsandfdcs.blogspot.in
Lord Krishna had said that he would not touch weapons in the great war. But once or twice, be broke this word- for the sake of his devotee. Once, he got down from the chariot with great fury with his chakra in hand and rushed towards Bhishma. Another time, he sent the chakra to hide the sun, so as to create the appearance of darkness, to help Arjuna kill Jayadratha. This we saw in the very first Tiruppugazh. He repeats that here:
பட்டப்பகற் பருதி விட்டத் தமித்ததென
In broad daylight, he released his Chakra (to hide the sun)and darkened all around, as if there had been sun-set!
(Arjuna had vowed that he would kill Jayadratha before sun set on that day,failing which he would kill himself; but Jayadratha was hiding from Arjuna, and the day was fast progressing. Krishna did this to draw out Jayadratha from his hiding. He had to save his devotee.)
Lord Krishna has really no friends or enemies. All are equal to him. But people's own attitude determines how Krishna will see them! Jaya-Vijaya, attenders at his entrance, wanted to be his opponents, so that they could rejoin him faster! So they were born as Asuras who fought Bhagavan in three births and yet attained him! Bhagavan chose to bless them as they desired! In the Mahabharata, not all people recognised Krishna's divinity. They took sides in the war- Bhishma standing in the opposite camp. But in the end, Krishna blesses all. Here is a touching incident.
வெயில்வீசிய கதிராயிர வருணோதய விருணாசன
விசையேழ்பரி ரவிசேயெனு ...... மங்கராசன்
விசிகாகவ மயல்பேடிகை படுபோதுசன் னிதியானவன்
It involves Karna.
What a great blessing it was for Karna to behold the Lord at the lost moment!Of Surya- with thousands of his bright rays, who removes the darkness of the world at the time of Sunrise, who rides the chariot with the 7 fast-moving horses- Karna is the son, the king of Anga. In the war where countless arrows flew, he was killed by the arrow sent by Arjuna, who had once been a eunuch! But Krishna (Vishnu) came before him and gave him his darshana!
Arunagirinatha does not just narrate the incidents, he always provides some rare insights. And he compresses so much of history in so few words. Here is one such instance:
விதுரற்கும ராக்கொடி யானையும்
விகடத்துற வாக்கிய மாதவன்
விசையற்குயர் தேர்ப்பரி யூர்பவன்
This deals with an important matter. It states:
Madhavan brought about difference of opinion between Vidhura and Duryodhana. He drove the superior chariot for Arjuna.
This covers some important events. Krishna went to Hastinapura to negotiate peace with Duryodhana on behalf of the Pandavas. But he stayed with Vidura in his humble abode, spurning the opulence of the palace. Who can know the Lord's mind? Vidura had a bow, which was Vishnu's- the Kothandam, whereas Arjuna's Kandiva was Brahma's, which could not win against Kothandam. Vidura was very pleased with the visit. When he went to Duryodhana the next day, the latter was angry and questioned him how he could extend hospitality to a cowherd! He accused Vidura that though he ate Duryodhana's food, he was favouring the Pandavas. What better could be expected of the son of a servant woman! Vidura got wild, and retorted to Duryodhana that though he could cut his tongue and kill him, he refrained from doing so to avoid the blame of holy men.But he would not stay in Hastinapura so long as Duryodhana was alive. So saying, he broke his bow into two and left. Thus one source of potential trouble for Arjuna was removed! By his mere stay with Viduara, Krishna had brought estrangement between the two! Villiputtur Alwar records this in his Mahabharatam:
சொல் இரண்டு புகலேன் இனிச்சமரில்
நின்று வெங்கணை தொடேன் எனா
வில் இரண்டினும் உயர்ந்த வில் அதனை
வேர் இரண்டுபட வெட்டினான்
மல்லிரண் டினையும் இருவராகி முன்
மலைந்த காளமுகில் வந்துதன்
இல்லிரண்டு தினம் வைகுதற் குலகில்
எண்ணிலாத தவம் எய்தினான்.
Arunagirinatha simply uses just two words to convey all this!
விகடத்துற வாக்கிய.
In fact, Arunagirinatha is indulging in some fun here! Krishna caused estrangement, but here Arunagiri says "vura vakkiya" ie created relationship! But that was strange- with differences- "vikataththu"! It shows how much Arunagiri is enjoying himself!
Arunagirinatha has sung about the events of the Mahabharata in many hymns.
NOTE:
Tamil lyrics of Tiruppugazh taken from kaumaram.com. Gratefully acknowledged.
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