Episode 01 - Preface - Kaetathellaam Tharuvaan, Thandavanthotathullane!.
“KETTATHELLAAM THARUVAAN…
THANDAVANTHOTTATHULAANE”
(“கேட்டதெல்லாம் தருவான்… தாண்டவந்தோட்டத்துளானே.”)
(A compilation of over one hundred Thamizh devotional verses which are dedicated to
the presiding deities at a Perumal Koil (Temple for Sri Maha Vishnu) in Thandavanthottam (now known as Thandanthottam)
This compilation is the work of the author spread over a long period of sixteen years. Some parts arose as part of a definite thematic idea – like adoring the ten avataras of Sri Maha Vishnu, verses for his early morning wake up (suprabatham), verses calling Him for His divine bathing, verses of lullaby for his bedtime, etc. Some are woven around spiritual tenets but focusing on the presiding Deity here. Some are poetic exclamations of Mother Nature’s bounties which are unexpectedly interspersed with her punishing catastrophes. Some articulate the author’s fervent wishes to be united with Him and address the distance and the obstacles. A few follow the adorations contained in Sri Vishnu Sahasra Namam (which is believed to have been sung by Bhishma while on his bed of arrows, with Sri Krishna, the object of these one thousand name adorations, standing in rapt attention, listening in.) Some are composed as ‘Nindha Stutis’ – reverence, faking irreverence.
The first few verses are in the format of classical Carnatic music style – with a Pallavi, Anu Pallavi and Saranams. All the rest are in old Thamizh classical verse format, (like the Divya Prabhandam verses or Thevaram or Tiruvacakam) though not adhering strictly to Thamizh verse grammar. The author exonerates himself of this ‘look-alike’ grammar flaw by confessing, in the short chapter - ‘அவையடக்கம்’(obeisance to the assembly). The author would plead –
மொழியுழுது தளைச்சீர் வழுவகற்றி எதுகை மோனை மரபு முறை
வழியெழுது வகையறிந்து யாப்படுக்கு முறைதெளிந்து கோர்த்டுமைக்
கழி*யெழுது கலைதன்னைக் கற்றேனல்லேன்… எழிலுருவாம் கனியமுதைக்
கழலிணையைக் கலியமுதாம் கடைக்கண் வழியருளைப் பொன்னனைய
வடிவழகைப் பால்வடியும் திருமுகத்தை உயிரனைத்தும் நிலைத்தவுந்தன்
குழல்வடியும் இசையமுதை, மழலையதை, கடலனைய கருணையதைத்
தழுவியதால் நினைவழிந்து நெஞ்சமதில் விழியதுவில் பிழிவழியல்
கழுவியதாம் பாமரனென் பாவின்சொற்கள்! தமிழன்னை தனைவருத்தும்
பழியெதுவும் எனக்கில்லை! தாண்டவந்தோட்டத்திறைவா! நினதியக்கம்!
*மைக்கழி - பேனா - pen.
The blurb heading – ‘KETTATHELLAAM THARUVAAN” – He shall grant you all your wishes - has a background in its making. The presiding deities are known to be ‘vara prasadhis’ – readily granting the prayed wishes of the devotees. A few real-life instances flagging this divine attribute of the deities are narrated in the preface. These are verifiable.
The thematic verses are a mixture of known puranic lores and divine history and the associated bhakti emotion of the author. The four verses beginning ‘சந்தமிகும் தமிழ் மறையால்’followed a moment of inspiration while the author was praying at the sanctum of the temple; he felt these words whispered in his ears. Some other expressions occurring through the compilation could also be said to be sudden inspirational interjections – not from an cogent thought process – e.g ‘கண்ணேறு மைபோன்று முகவாயில் தனையிழந்து மொய்க்குமொரு வண்டாகும் வரம் தா’verse 33
The two verses right at the end of the compilation are about the author’s approaching sunset, seeking His Grace for continuing to be of service to Him till the end comes.
The village – Thandanvanthotam (now Thandanthotam) has a grand history. The ‘Thandanthottam copper plates’ are an integral part of South Indian history books. The preface documents the connection between the Perumal Koil – Sri Maha Vishnu Temple – where the Deities presented in these verses offer their Grace and the copper plate inscriptions. The preface further documents the fact that this ancient temple may have become dilapidated and out of service, at the time when the author’s great grandfather, Sri Gopala Iyengar, arrived at the village from the nearby Kodavasal where his father had his establishment. Sri Gopala Iyengar took charge as the village ‘karnam’ (munim) around 1830 CE. Around that time, the copper plates were found in an excavation of the dilapidated compound wall of the Siva Temple at the village; along with the copper plates were found some granite and copper alloy statues pertaining to the Perumal Koil. Family lore has it that Sri Gopala Iyengar wanted a Perumal Koil (Temple for Sri Maha Vishnu) should be built and these statues should be established there for the village community to pray at. A temple was thus built – apparently after several hundred years after the copper plate times.
Sri Gopla Iyengar’s son, Sri Soundaraja Iyengar, the author’s paternal grandfather, followed the footsteps of his father and was the karnam of the village for a long number of years. The temple’s maintenance was his charge then. When Sri Soundararaja Iyengar migrated to Chennai to live with his eldest son – the author’s father, Sri Uppili Srinivasan – in 1931, the upkeep of the temple gradually diminished and the precincts got dilapidated and were in disuse. The author along with his siblings and a few village elders initiated the renovation of the temple and a ‘Maha Samprokshanam’ was held in the month of June 2000. (It was then that the first few verses of this compilation were released.) After 12 years, in 2012, a further ‘Maha Samprokshanam’ was held. It was then that the fuller compilation (then 77 verses) was published.
The author expresses his gratitude for the very kind and highly informative forewords (in Thamizh) by Sri Velukkudi Krishnan, Sri B.S.Raghavan IAS (Retd), Dr.Chandra former Controller of Examinations of Sri Chandrsekarendra Saraswaty Viswa Mahavidyalaya University and the late Sri N.K.Lakshmi Narasimhan, B.A., B.L., the maternal uncle of the author’s wife, Aravinda. The compilation is also graced by a remarkable poetic approbation by ‘Kavi Kannan’, a remarkable poet of divine grace.