Journeying through the songs..

Either way I would have come here. Even if there was no treasure or I didn’t happen to know anyone here. It was not exactly a pilgrimage. This, in fact was an invitation through centuries.” Come to Thiruvananthapuram today “is what he had told. He changed my perception of God. He was a mystic, he was a poet. I looked upon to his songs when I was sitting alone in clinic, when I felt down, sometimes as a routine, and at times to compare with other sufi saints.

 The invitation 

 கெடும்இடராயவேல்லாம் கேசவா என்ன நாளும் 

கொடுவினை  செய்யும் கூற்றின் தமர்களும் குறுகக்கில்லார் 

விடமுடை அரவில் பள்ளி விரும்பினான் சுரும்பலற்றும் 

தடமுடை வயல் அனந்தபுர நகர் புகுதும் இன்றே.

நம்மாழ்வார் 

"Under the venomous hood,
 In fields where drones abuzz,
He beckons to his abode
Ananthapuram is the name,
Death's vassals would dare come,
troubles efface,
Chant 'Kesava" each day, come
hither, to his place.."
Nammazhwar

 Kaveri and bhavani were dry, and hogenakkal was stripped bare of only rocks. Meena wanted to get off to some place to soak in water. Maybe tirparappu, the last time we went there, though in summer, the waterfalls were brimming with abundant clear water and surprisingly less people to jostle there. Unfortunately we discovered the falls only by afternoon and our bus was booked early in the evening. So, we had to make a quick exit. 

I never thought that the falls was so near to Thiruvananthapuram, and another temple very close to it. The songs to reckon written by the same mystic poet, Nammazhwar. The weather was partly cloudy with occasional drizzle, and dark clouds gathering in the horizon. After padmanabhapuram palace and the falls we had come to the temple around 3 pm. We had to wait for quite some time till the nadaithirappu. Adithya was in a playful mood and he was swinging Meena’s pallu and twirling his shirt over his head. We then had an uninvited guide who took us through the temple and its history. Though not exactly deserted, there were very few people for the “opening of the door”. We were amazed at the intricate rosewood carvings of the temple. I had my own share of ecstasy that evening. Life and death are blessings. Let the cycle repeat. I don’t wish to be a zombie attaining “Mukthi”.

தலை  மேல தாளினைகள் தாமரைக்கண் என்னம்மான் 

நிலை பேரான் என் நெஞ்சத்து எப்பொழுதும் எம்பெருமான்.

மலைமாடத்து அரவணை மேல் வட்டாற்றான் மதம் மிக்க 

கொலை யானை மருப்பொசித்தான் குரைகழல்கள் குறுகினமே.

நம்மாழ்வார் 

"Bearing his feet on my crown,

of the lotus eyed one..

Residing over a serpant pedestral,

The lord of tiruvattaar,

Surround by facade rising high,

unflinching, he settled owning me,

and ME,

Acknowledged his claim"

- nammazhwar

another song which  I stumbled upon..by ?Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma translated by K. Shesha Iyer.

" What makes me king?

The gaudy thing,

The diadem I wear?

Not that, indeed, the regal crown

For me whom He has made His own,

The king of Kings, whose lotus feet

upon my head I bear!

They for my crown, those lotus feet!

They make me king!"

We started early through the next morning to trivandrum temple. The temple would be open to the general public after the salutations of the erstwhile Travancore descendants. Though we were talking continuously, this song about beckoning to Trivandrum was ringing in my mind.  Legend says that Nammazhwar never moved from Alwar Tirunagari in tirunelveli district. Here, he has described about tiruvananthapuram, surrounded by the various trees (he mentions about their names), the rivulets and the lapping waves of the sea. Tiruvattar, he says that the lord resides in a temple on a little elevated area, surrounded by high walls. He would have come here, I thought. He would have seen this reclining god and his summon is echoing through centuries.

And when I went near the sanctorium, the reclining lord arose from his slumber, came alive, connecting the songs, the mystic poet and his invitation to meet him.

NB: photographs of tvm were all lost since my cellphone software got corrupted. Those which were remaining  were sent immediately to my friend and retrieved later on.