Pattinathar / பட்டினத்தார் - Part 3

Pattinathar / பட்டினத்தார் 

Life story of Saint Pattinathar - Part 3

"காதற்ற ஊசியும் வாராது காண் கடைவழிக்கே" - Even an eyeless needle won't accompany you in your final journey.

Pattinathar left town after his mother's cremation and taught villagers on impermanence of life and to focus on attaining salvation by means of God. 

His command of Tamil language and poetry skills were exceptional. His songs were like words flowing on a honey coated tongue (Thenozhuga). He sang with Edugai and monai (Tamil: எதுகை மோனை ) and in praise of the lord/village he is visiting. 

At Thiruvaiyaru (tamil: திருவையாறு) (thiru = sacred; ai = five; aaru = river, Thanjore district, the lord here called "Lord of five rivers") he sings with five "aru" - tamil word for river as well as to cool/to abate.

மண்ணும் தணல் ஆற வானும் புகை ஆற
எண்ணரிய தாயும் இளைப்பாறப் - பண்ணுமயன்
கையாறவும் அடியேன் கால் ஆறவும் காண்பார்
ஐயா திருவை யாறா

Mannum Thanalara (1), Vaanum pugai ara (2),
Ennariya thaimar ilaiparavum (3),  pannumayan 
kai araavum (4), adiyen kaal araavum (5), kanbaar
aiya thriru vaiyara.

Meaning (From Variyar discourse): He thinks of how many births he has to take and cause suffering for the following before reaching god and laments: How many times do i need to be cremated - let the sand become cool (1), let the sky be clear of smoke because of repeated cremations of me (2), Let the mothers who is going to carry me during pregnancy be relaxed (3), let the god who write my fate take a break (4), in each birth i had to suffer running and searching for you, let me also relax my legs (5) - see of Lord of Thiruvaiyara.

Another one, this time at Irupaiyur:

மாதா உடல் சலித்தாள்; வல்வினையேன் கால் சலித்தேன்
வேதாவும் கை சலித்து விட்டானே -நாதா
இருப்பையூர் வாழ் சிவனே, இன்னுமோர் அன்னை
கருப்பையூர் வாராமற் கான்.

Matha udal salithal; valvinayen kaal salithen;
vedhavum kai salithu vittana - natha
irupaiyur vazh sivane; innumor annai
karupaiyur varaamar kaan.

He prayed: 
   "My mother got tired carrying me and giving me birth. 
    My legs were aching being in many mother's womb. 
    Even lord brahma (veda) got tired of writing my fate again and again. 
    Oh Siva of Irupaiyur, please save me from being born again (womb - karupai)".  

At Kanchi:

பிறக்கும் போது கொண்டு வந்ததில்லை; பிறந்து மண்மேல்
இறக்கும் போது கொண்டு போவதில்லை; இடை நடுவில்
குறிக்கும் இச்செல்வம் சிவன் தந்ததென்று கொடுக்கறியாது
இறக்கும் குலாமருக்கு என் சொல்லுவேன் கச்சி ஏகம்பனே

Pirakkum pothu kondu vanthathillai; piranthu manmel
irakkum pothu kondu povathillai; idai naduvil
kurikkum echelvam sivan thanthendru kodukariyathu
irakum kulamaraku en solluven kacchi ekambane!

We did not bring materials to this world when  born,
nor we are going to take anything with us when we die on this earth,
What wealth you accumulate in the meantime is nothing but what God gave,
you misers die without realizing this, what can i say Oh Ekamba of Kanchi.


At Srikalahasti:

வாளால் மகவரிந்து ஊட்டவல்லேன் அல்லேன்; மாதுசொன்ன
சூளாலிளமை துறக்கவல்லேன் அல்லன்; தொண்டுசெய்து
நாளாறில் கண்ணிடத்து அப்பவல்லேன் அல்லன்நான் இனிச்சென்று
ஆளாவது எப்படியோ திருக்காளத்தி அப்பருக்கே? 3

Vaallal magavarinthu utta vallen allaen; maadhu sonna
soolalilamai thurakavallen allaen, thondu seithu
naallaril kannidathu appavallaen allaen; naan ini sendru
allavathu eppadiyo thirukaalathi apparukae?

[Siru Thondary story]I'm not capable of slicing my son's flesh and feed you;
[Thiru Neela kandar story]Due to the challenge of a woman, i'm incapable of losing my youth;
[Kannapa Nayanar story]Nor can i give my eye like Kannapar;
How can i surrender and become one with you Oh Lord of Thiru Kaalathi (Sri Kalahasti).

Pattinathar / பட்டினத்தார் - Part 2

Pattinathar / பட்டினத்தார் 

Life story of Saint Pattinathar - Part 2

Sri Pattinathar

"காதற்ற ஊசியும் வாராது காண் கடைவழிக்கே" - Even an eyeless needle won't accompany you in your final journey.

Pattinathar and Sivakalai were happily married and successful, but had concern after many years they did not have a child.

After five years his mother started to worry that he didn't have any kids and suggested he look for a second wife. He refused and told his mom to not talk about this any further. You can make a cot at will, but cradle can be given only by God's blessings (Kattil undu thottil illai). They did what everyone in their situation does - pray to god and visit temples.  Sivakalai was in tears. When he wiped her tears, he heard a baby's cry. Thinking it was a miracle, he went to bed. 

When asleep, he had a dream, where an old couple is sitting on the front porch. He gave them water to wash and asked what they wanted, they replied, not much, but please save our child. He didn't see a baby in their hands and inquired where they came from and where is the child? They replied they came from Thiruvottiyur and the baby is in Thiruvidaimaruthur. It didn't make any sense. They gave an old saree and asked him to make a cradle/thottil (swinging cot). When he opened the saree, he saw a Nandhi from Chidambaram temple and after that they disappeared.

He woke up from sleep yelling. Told the story to his wife and later to his mother and said it appears God is playing an experiment. His mom told them to go for a pilgrimage between those temples and gave some jewellery for donation. His sister mocked him hearing the news, that after this many years they are suddenly going to find a baby in the temple? She is of the thought, without any heirs to her brother, the wealth will finally belong to her. There is no relation if we look for nuisance.

On the way, Sivakalai began to sweat in cool weather and began to cry. When he wiped her tears, he heard the same cry. Is that an illusion? Outside the temple, he saw a tree and an old couple sitting with a cradle hanging from the tree. They appeared to be the ones from the dream. He approached them and asked where they were from? Thiruvidaimaruthur was the reply. The cradle was made with the same saree, same nandhi picture. When he asked about the child, they said, The baby is ours and is born after a long time. We were very poor. We had a dream to hand this baby to Pattinathu Chetty and get some gold in return. We were on the way to meet him, and took a break to rest.

His eyes were watery, and when Pattinathu Chetty wiped the poor man's tears he heard a baby laugh. He took them back to his place. No doubt this child is godsend. They decided to adopt the child and made arrangements for a big ceremony. His sister was arguing not to adopt a baby from different caste. Ignoring her, he set for the gold weighing for the baby (Thulabaram - presenting ones weight in gold). It appeared to pull more gold than babys' weight - finally when he put the gold chain he bought for the temple, the scales were equal. 

[[Editor's note: There are variations found to this story - Variyar's discourse explains that Lord Shiva went into the poor man's dream and asked him to handover the baby found on the temple grounds to Pattinathu Chetty in exchange for money and he himself took the form of baby]].

Pattinathar / பட்டினத்தார் - Part 1

Pattinathar / பட்டினத்தார் 

 

Pattinathar Swamigal

 

Life story of Saint Pattinathar - Part 1

"காதற்ற ஊசியும் வாராது காண் கடைவழிக்கே" - Even an eyeless needle won't accompany you in your final journey.

 

I'm excited to finally write about the topic that bears the name of this blog. Tamilnadu had seen its fair share of saints and sages blessed with their wisdom. Life story and wisdom of Pattinathar is unique. There is a common saying in Tamilnadu, that only when one suffers, they realize pattinathar (Patta piragu than pattinathar puriyum).

His life history is not documented clearly and many of his songs were passed from one generation to another, now found in collections such as "Siddhar Padalgal" or "Pattinathar Padalgal". However most pin the events around 10th century CE. While researching this topic, i found wide variations and sometime minor differences in the life events of this great saint. Majority of the notes below is derived from the following sources: Variyar's discourse in Tamil "Pattinathar", Kannadasan's Arthamulla Hindu Matham - Volume 5 ("Birth of wisdom/Gnanam Pirantha Kadai" - translated in my blog post), Movie pattinathar, Book "Pattinathar Padalgal" and various web sources both in Tamil and English. Key differences and points are annotated either inline or at the end of post.

His mastery in language and poetry shows in his songs with proper grammar (edugai and monai) and flow. It took a considerable time to find translation and proper meaning for some words. Those who can understand Tamil, i recommend listening to Sri Kirupananda Variyar's discourse in Tamil titled "Pattinathar" or watching the movie for a quick refresh. Sri Variyar delivers the discourse in his usual mesmerizing way. 

Hope you find this post useful. Please use comments for any input/communications.

Sri Variyar swamigal started his discourse with a wonderful introduction. Here it is.

Introduction: 

There are many niyāyams in sanskrit. One of the six piramāṇam is Aruthapathi(அருத்தாபத்தி /aruttāpatti) which means implied or deduction. If he says, he didn't eat meat the last three days, it implies he ate before. 

Agasthiyar (Agastya) is a revered sage. Arunagirinathar sings about Agasthiyar, "Sivanuku nigar" - the one who is equal to Siva. Everyone goes to see Lord Rama, but Rama himself went to see Agasthiyar.  The sage was waiting outside his ashram to receive Lord Rama. Rama reaches the ashram and bows to him. Agasthiyar is shorter than Rama - how to tell this? Kamban Azhwar uses Aruthapathi to describe the scene - "Nindravanai sendra nediyon adi paninthan" (Nediyon - the taller one). He would've sung "Nindravanai sendra Nimalan adi paninthan (Nimalan - god) or niruban adi paninthan". Instead, he used "Nediyon", implying agasthiyar is shorter.

Likewise, since this saint is called as "Pattinathar" (city dweller or city person), it implies all the other saints were born in smaller towns or villages. He was born in Poompuhar (Puhar) presently known as Kaveri poompattinam, a coastal city which served as capital for many Chola kings.

It is important for all hindus to take pilgrimage and visit many temples and kshestras. Lord Kuberan is a good friend of Lord Shiva. He worships Shiva with his consorts in Kailasa. He made a request to Lord shiva to accompany him in visiting various temples. The ever kind Shiva granted his wish and they both set for a yatra/pilgrimage. 

Kedaram is the first stop - worshiping there will destroy the bad karma and that is the truth (Kedaram, ange vanaginal vinai sedaram, aduve namaku adaram - Variyar). They continued to Gowri kundam, Budha Kasi, Rudra prayagai, Deva prayagai, Haridwar, Naganatham, Varanasi. They were worshiping all the 12 Jyothir lingams. They traveled south to Sri Kalahasthi, Kancheepuram and then to Thirvannamalai Arunachaleswar. Chidambaram, Seerkazhi, Pullirukkuvelur (Vaitheeswaran temple) and Mayuram. 

Finally, they reached Kaveri poompattinam (now known as Poompuhar), once ruled by Karikala cholan. There are two padal petra Siva temples - sayavanam, Pallavaneeswara Swamy Temple [Padal petra sthalam - temples revered in verses of Saiva Nayanars - source: Wikipedia]. He prayed and immersed himself in the god. Kuberan liked the temple and its surrounding beauty and thought it'll be nice to stay a few days here before proceeding further. 

Where does god live?  In our mind, in our words, in our thoughts. Siva called Kubera and inquired his thoughts. Kubera, you wanted to stay here for a few days right? Why not stay and spend a lifetime here? He said and went back to Kailash. Think about this, for just one thought Kubera got a life on earth. How many thoughts we have and think of how many lives we need to live to make it equal.

If the thoughts were good, the birth is good. Bad thoughts will have a lower birth. Whether it is good or bad thought, both are karma - doesn't matter if the handcuffs are made of gold or iron, it is still a handcuff. We have to face the justice for our thoughts and get rid of them.

Arunagiri sings, "Iruvinaimum malamum ara, eraviyodu piravi ara, eka bogamai, neeyum nanumai, irugumvagai parama sugam athai arulidai maruthil, ekanayaga, loga nayaga". Only when you get rid of the good and bad karma, pain of birth disappears and attain moksha. Please don't confuse this with deeds or duties. You can still perform your duties, but without attachments - which determines the karma.

இருவினைமு மலமுமற இறவியொடு பிறவியற
     ஏக போகமாய் நீயு நானுமாய்
இறுகும்வகை பரமசுக மதனையரு ளிடைமருதில்
     ஏக நாயகா லோக நாயகா இமையவர் பெருமாளே.
 

Story:  

Kaveri poompattinam. When the Chola Kings are crowned, it is customary for the wealthiest in the nation to hand the crown for coronation. For three generations, the family of Sivanesan Chettiar had the honor of crowning the king. A known philanthropist he is also called Sivanesa Guptar (Guptar - philanthropist - right hand doesn't know what the left hand gives). His wife is Gnanakalai. They had a daughter Thillaiammai. The business was doing well. He had 12 ships, one for personal use. More than twenty crews were working for him. Each ship had a private room maintained to keep him feel at home. He had twenty stores in the city, with four in the streets where overseas business is usually conducted.