2. tasmai namō madhujidaṅghrisarōjatatva jñānānurāga mahimātiśayāntasīmnē

nāthāya nāthamunayē~tra paratracāpi nityaṃ yadīya caraṇau śaraṇaṃ madīyam

madhujit aṅghri sarōja tatva jñāna anurāga mahimātiśaya anta sīmnē - Unto the border line of greatness arising out of true knowledge about and matchless love towards the lotus feet of the Lord,

nāthāya - unto my lord,

tasmai nātha munayē - unto that Nāthamuni,

namaḥ - I submit my salutation.

atra - Here, in this world

paratra ca api - and even in the eternal world of salvation,

yadīya caraṇau - whose divine feet

madīyam śaraṇam - are my refuge

nityam - forever,

tasmai nātha munayē - unto that Nāthamuni,

namaḥ - I submit my salutation.

I submit my salutation to Nāthamuni, who is limit of greatness arising due to true knowledge and devotional love regarding the lotus feet of the Lord. Nāthamuni is my Lord. Both in this material world and in the eternal world of salvation, his divine feet are my constant refuge.

Svāmi Yāmuna Muni is not satisfied with composing a single verse about Svāmi Nāthamuni. Nāthamuni's unique greatness draws him further and the ācārya composes an additional couple of verses in the experience of his greatness. Nāthamuni's greatness is unparalleled and his contribution to our tradition unmatched. We wouldn't be chanting the hymns of Āzhvārs, which uniquely distinguish our tradition, had it not been for Nāthamuni's efforts. The history of Nāthamuni is full of incidents where he loses himself as well as the rest of world, beholding only Lord Śrīmannārāyaṇa in every movement of the universe. He possessed the ability to directly communicate with the Lord through Yōga. He made elaborate plans to popularize and systematize the rendition of Aruḷicceyal hymns. He also advised his disciples to carefully hand over the spiritual wealth of our tradition to his grandson, Āḷavandār whom he regarded would contribute immensely to our tradition. Hence, Āḷavandār is full of gratitude towards Paramācārya Nāthamuni, who revived the tradition after the age of the Āzhvārs.

(madhujit) One who trounced the demon Madhu. Madhujit is the name of Lord Viṣṇu. (aṅghri sarōja) The lotus feet of the Lord. (tatvajñāna) True knowledge. While it is sufficient to say 'true knowledge of the Lord' (madhujit tatvajñāna), it is said 'true knowledge of the lotus feet of the Lord' (madhujit aṅghri sarōja tatvajñāna). This is for a reason. The bosom of the mother is most desirable to a baby. Likewise, His lotus feet are the most desirable to knowers of truth. Nāthamuni's love towards His lotus feet is also intense. To show that there are no equals in comparison for this knowledge and love, and that these attributes are present in their complete forms in the great seer, Yāmuna Muni calls Nāthamuni as (mahimātiśaya anta sīmnē) the border limit of greatness. As Nāthamuni is the upper bound on knowledge and love regarding the Lord, the knowledge and love of others fall well below his greatness and are not comparable.

Now comes a philosophical point - (atra paratra ca api nityam yadīya caraṇau śaraṇaṃ madīyam) Yāmuna Muni says that Nāthamuni is his refuge both in the world and in the world beyond. How is this possible? The word śaraṇam or refuge indicates both upāyam (means) and upēyam (end). In this world, the divine feet of Nāthamuni are the means. In that world, the same divine feet become the end. That is, those divine feet rescue the soul in this world and uplift it to mōkṣa. Upon reaching Śrīvaikuṇṭha, the soul begins to serve and enjoy the same lotus feet. This is the meaning.

Is it possible that the feet of Nāthamuni can be the end? Isn't the ultimate goal, the divine feet of Śrīmannārāyaṇa? Contrary to the premise on which this question is based, in everyday language, when a person leaves for Paramapada, they say, 'He has attained the lotus feet of his ācārya'. It is not only in custom, it is in our spiritual doctrine as well. Svāmi Nammāzhvār asks, 'When would I join the groups of devotees?' in Tiruvāymozhi and Svāmi Kūrēśa says, 'in joining my lords who are Thy devotees' in Śrīvaikuṇṭhastavam, while speaking about the ultimate end of salvation. The world of Śrīvaikuṇṭha is also called 'world of the devotees', according importance to the souls of that world, who are great Śrīvaishṇavas. Salvation is regarded by our elders as the opportunity to ceaselessly serve the devotees of the Lord. Hence, the position, that Nāthamuni's divine feet are the refuge of Yāmuna Muni even after salvation, is a true highlight of our tradition.

1. namō~cintyādbhutākliṣṭa jñāna vairāgya rāśayē

nāthāya munayē~gādha bhagavadbhakti sindhavē

acintya adbhuta akliṣṭa jñāna vairāgya rāśayē - To the personification of a variety of attributes like knowledge and detachment, which are unthinkable, wondrous and obtained without difficulty by the causeless mercy of the Lord

agādha bhagavad bhakti sindhavē - to the deep ocean of devotional love

nāthāya munayē - to the sage called Nāthamuni

namaḥ - I offer obeisance.

I offer obeisance to Nāthamuni, who is the personification of unthinkable and wondrous attributes of groups of knowledge and detachment, which are obtained effortlessly by the causeless mercy of the Lord and who is akin to a deep ocean of devotional love to Lord Nārāyaṇa.

Svāmi Āḷavandār sets the trend for all preceptors to follow by offering at the outset, salutations to the great sages and preceptors of the past, in whose tradition he himself is a part. He offers his salutations to Śrī Raṅganātha Muni, famously known as Nāthamuni. Nāthamuni is the grandfather of Yāmuna Muni and precedes him two stages earlier in the preceptor sequence (with Uyyakkoṇḍār and Maṇakkāl Nambi continuing the tradition interim). The former is thus the physical and spiritual cause of the latter and it is only appropriate that Nāthamuni is saluted first.

What is the nature of Nāthamuni? He is an ocean of love for the Lord. One would exclaim with awe that he is a personification of attributes like knowledge and detachment.

(namaḥ) I offer my obeisance. (acintya) It is not possible to think that the knowledge and detachment of Svāmi Nāthamuni are comparable to those of any other. It is not possible to think of them because they are boundless. (adbhuta) As his greatness is unthinkable, only a small fraction of his glory appeals to our meagre intellects. Even that small fraction that is subject to our cognition grips us with awe and wonder. (akliṣṭa) The said glory had been obtained effortlessly. Unlike sages like Parāśara and Vyāsa, who earned their knowledge and the state of detachment through severe penance, Nāthamuni obtained them effortlessly in the manner of Āzhvārs due to the causeless mercy of the Lord. (jñāna vairāgya rāśayē) It appears as if groups or varieties of knowledge and detachment have taken the collective form of Nāthamuni.

When knowledge and detachment are single virtues by themselves, why are they referred as groups? Though knowledge is a virtue by itself, it is not the intended meaning here. The different types of knowledge are those of the Lord's true character, true nature, auspicious attributes, sovereignty and glory. Likewise, detachment is of several types such as those from wealth, relations and other material benefits. These are the groups or varieties of knowledge and detachment described here.

(agādha bhagavad bhakti sindhavē) When it comes to love towards Śrīmannārāyaṇa, Nāthamuni is like an immense ocean. The ocean's depth and expanse is difficult to behold and it remains stable even if it were attempted to destabilize it. Nāthamuni's love for the Lord is similar to that. By different grammatical compounds, it can be understood as either 'Nāthamuni is the ocean of devotional love' or 'Nāthamuni is the repository of an ocean of devotional love'. As Bhakti or devotional love is superior to knowledge and detachment, it is regarded separately by a special description.

(nāthāya munayē) Nāthamuni is a reduced form of Śrī Raṅganātha Muni. (muni) One who reflects on the Lord always.

An ancient scripture lost to time, revived by curiosity and kept alive by genealogy — is the one line story behind the Araiyars. They are a sect dedicated to the coalescence of literature with music, expression and commentary.

Today the Araiyar community, whose population has steadily dwindled over the centuries, can be found at just three places in the state: Srirangam (Tiruchi), Srivilliputhur and Tirunagari. In Srirangam, the community once occupied an entire quadrangle called Senthamizh Paaduvan Veedhi (Classical Tamil Singers' Street) of the present day agraharam (Brahmin settlement). Today there are just two families left. Meet the survivors of time.

“The word araiyar in Tamil means arasan (king). Araiyars are hence also known as paatuku thalaivar (kings of song),” says Araiyar Lakshminarayanan, the head of one of the Araiyar families in Srirangam. Giving a brief on the history of this tradition, this former Deputy General Manager of BHEL says the lost 4,000 verses of the Dhivya Prabandham (written by Vaishnavite saints) were revived by a person called Naadhamunigal.

“To ensure that it was never lost again, he set the verses to a tune called Devaganam (music of the lords), choreographed it with relevant abinayams (expressions) and taught it to his two nephews, who became the very first Araiyars.”

Descendants of Naadhamunigal, the Araiyar community has since then been performing the ritualistic Araiyar Sevai on select festivals at Vaishnavite temples. The ancient scripture, inscribed on olai chuvadis (palm leaf manuscripts) has been handed down through the generations, along with a unique costume. “Only two copies of this palm leaf script exist now in Srirangam and it is in the Nagari script (Tamil combined with Sanskrit),” says Araiyar Srirangachari, who is practicing agriculture. The olai chuvadi is hand preserved with a concoction made of coal powder and the juice of green leaves, which is rubbed onto the leaves gently with cottonwool. “Our interpretation of the script, which forms the vyakyanam (commentary) part of the sevai, will differ from that of Araiyars elsewhere. Ours is based on the Thambiran padai, written by our ancestors,” he adds. A conical hat named kullai, the traditional panchagachham and two hand-held cymbals make up the costume.

Araiyar Renganathan, Superintendent of accounts with the Tiruchi Corporation quotes a combination of reasons for the gradual withering away of the community. “Many Araiyars did not father boy children (girls are not allowed to perform the service), learning the nuances of the performance took around 18 years of unwavering dedication, and the service being honorary alone, was not enough to sustain their families for most,” he says. People started abandoning the tradition for want of financial stability and started entering regular careers, leading to a steady drop in the number of Araiyars in the community, according to the surviving Araiyars in Srirangam.

Araiyar Baradwajan and Araiyar Madhavan are from the next generation of this community. Hoping to be a civil aviation pilot and an engineer respectively, these two youngsters along with the few others in the other Araiyar family, embody the community's future. For Araiyar Madhavan it has been a natural progression in his life to enter the service.

“Right from the age of four, we are taken along to watch our elders perform and we spend all our free time learning the verses, the abinayams and the commentaries,” he says. An understanding that money is the major factor that drove most families into deserting the tradition, these youngsters are keen on finding careers that would give them the finances as well as the time to keep it alive.

Quoting incidents from their childhood, the family recalls how they were allowed to take exams separately when the need arose, the respect and adulation they received and the high levels of interest among their audience. “The larger community and their patronage continue to be a point of motivation for the Araiyars, though the number of people who understand the relevance of our performance has dropped,” says Araiyar Lakshminarayanan. Commenting on the administrative changes that have been happening at the various temples, he feels that the government could protect several such traditions through the people it appoints as authorities.

“If people, who understand the cultural heritage of such traditions, are placed in appropriate positions, that by itself will ensure the longevity of the respective communities,” he says.

 Srimathe Ramanujaya Nama:

Srimath Varavaramunaye Nama:

Swami Sriman-Nathamunikal

[Based on the work by Sri Kanchi Swami]

namo cinthyadhbhuthaklishta gnana vairagya rashaye |
nathaya munaye agadha bhagavadbhakti sindhave ||