pOdhalarntha

pOdhalarntha

thirunAngur thiruppathi 11: 4. thiruth dhEvanAr thogai

Perhaps dEvas had come here and worshipped BagavAn hence the name. dEvanAr tOhai means group of dEvas.

pOdalarnda pozhil SOlai puram engum poru tiraihaL
tAdudira vandalaikkum taDamaNNi ten karaimEl |
mAdavan tAn uraiyumiDam vayal nAngai vari vaNDu
tEdenavenru iSaipADum tiruttEvanAr tOhaiyE ||

On the southern bank of maNNiyAru lies the divya dESa called tiru dEvanAr tOhai where lies forests with honey laden flowers irrigated by the waters of the river. The force of the water causes the pollen grains fall on the ground. The bees sing often drinking the honey from the flowers and sing ‘tenna’ ‘tenna’. Here lies emberumAn called mAdavan perumAL sannidhi.

yAvarumAi yAvaiyumAi ezhilvEda poruLhaLumAi
moovarumAi mudalAya moorti amarndu uraiyum iDam |
mAvarum tiNpaDai mannai venri koLvAr mannu nAngai
dEvarum Senrirainjum pozhil tiruttEvanAr tOhaiyE ||

All the chEtanas and achEtanas are His body—so says all the SAstras (vEdas). He Himself is the trimoortis —brahma (doing creation), viShNu (maintenance) and rudra (destruction) respectively. He resides in tiru dEvanAr tOhai where live vaidikas who defeated the king at war; where nitya sooris come and worship. mA varum tiN paDai mannai venri koLvAr—

There is a story in itihAsa. It is said the brAhmaNas opposed the pANDiya king in a war in this city and defeated Him.

periyavAchchAn piLLai has another interpretation—tirujAna sambandar, a saivait saint wanted to come to this divya dESa and worship BagavAn, The vaiShNava brAhmaNas made him leave the city without allowing him to worship the emberumAn.

vAnADum maNNADum maTTruLLa palluyirum
tAnAya emberumAn talaivan amarndu uraiyum iDam |
AnAda perunjelvattu arumaraiyOr nAngaitannuL
tEnErum malar pozhil Soozh tiruttEvanAr tOhaiyE ||

BagavAn possesses both nitya viBooti and leelA viBooti. They are He alone and He is the Lord of the beings. He resides in tiru dEvanAr tOhai—which is fortunate to possess both vEdic and earthly aiSwarya. The vaidikas always chant the vEdas and practice the dharma. The forests in the city is full of lowers whose honey attract bees.

indiranum imaiyavarum munivarhaLum ezhilamainda
Sanda malar chatumuhanum kadiravanum Sandiranum |
endai emakku aruLena ninru aruLum iDam ezhilnAngai
Sundaranal pozhilpuDaiSoozh tiruttEvanAr tOhaiyE ||

All the dEvas including indra, dEvas, riShis, lakShmi, brahma, the sun god and the moon god pray to Him ‘Oh! swAmi! Please bless us and do anugraha to us’. So saying they stand there worshipping Him who is in tiru dEvanAr tOhai. emberumAn replies ‘I shall certainly do so’ and does so in order to please them.

aNDamum ivvalaikaDalum avanihaLum kulavaraiyum
uNDapirAn uraiyumiDam oLimaNi Sandahil kanakam |
teN tiraihaL vara tiraTTum tihazh maNNi ten karaimEl
tiN tiralAr payil nAngai tiruttEvanAr tOhaiyE ||

emberumAn swallowed all the aNDas, the roaring oceans, the islands and mountains during praLaya in order to save them from getting destroyed. He resides in tiru dEvanAr tOhai—where the river maNNi (on whose southern bank is the city) brings sandal trees, ahil trees, precious gems, gold etc as if to offer them at His tiruvaDi. Here reside the brAhmaNas who fought with the pANDiya king and defeated him.

jnAlam ellAm amuduSeidu nAn maraiyum toDarAda
pAlakanAi Alilaiyil paLLi koLLum paraman iDam |
SAlivaLam peruhivarum taDa maNNi tenkarai mEl
SEluhaLum vayal nAngai tiruttEvanAr tOhaiyE ||

emberumAn lies on a small banyan leaf as a small child after swallowing all the worlds. This is beyond the conception of even the vEdas which pride itself as the main pramANa of BagavAn. He resides in this divya dESa tiru dEvanAr tOhai—where the maNNiyAru irrigates the fields of red paddy which grows unhindered and where the fish jump and play.

ODAda vALAriyin uruvAhi iraNiyanai
vADAda vaLLuhirAl piLandaLainda mAladu iDam |
EDEru perunjelvattu ezhil maraiyOr nAngaitannuL
SEDEru pozhil tazhuvu tiruttEvanAr tOhaiyE ||

emberumAn split open the chest of hiraNya with His sharp strong nails and dipped His hand in the blood. This unique form of narasimha is worshipped by the vaidikas of tiru dEvanAr tOhai who practice dharma so well that therein life can be written in book like rAma charita or kriShNa charita. The divya dESa is beautiful with thick forests and flowering trees.

vArArum iLangongai maidiliyai maNam puNarvAn
kArAr tiNSilai irutta tanikkALai karudum iDam |
ErArum perunjelvattu ezhilmaraiyOr nAngai tannuL
SeerArum malar pozhil Soozh tiruttEvanAr tOhaiyE |

Sree rAma—who broke the huge bow to marry seeta pirATTi—who has beautiful breasts by a breast band—resides in tiru dEvanAr tOhai, a divya dESa in tiru nAngoor, where there are vaidikas whose wealth is vEda and charm is dharma. Here are found plenty of trees with beautiful flowers.

kumbamihu madayAnai pAhanODum kulaindu vizha
kombadanai parittu erinda koottan amarndu uraiyum iDam |
vambavizhum SeNbahattin maNam kamazhum nAngai tannuL
Sembon madiL pozhil puDai Soozh tiruttEvanAr tOhaiyE ||

emberumAn’s actions are ‘divya’ and unimaginable. He killed both kuvaLayApeeDa and its mahout, pulling the tusk easily with leela. This ‘koottan’ resides in tiru dEvanAr tOhai where the SeNbaga trees shed their fragrance everywhere and where the city has golden forts and fresh green trees everywhere.

kArArnda tirumEni kaNNan amarndu uraiyum iDam
SeerArnda pozhil nangai turttEvanAr tOhai mEl |
koorArnda vEl kaliyan koorutamizh pattum vallAr
ErArnda vaihundattu imaiyavarODu iruppArE ||

tirumangai AzhwAr has sung ten pASuras on emberumAn residing at tiru dEvanAr tOhai at tiru nAngoor which is a place rich in vaidikas, sacrifices and forest wealth. Those who read and contemplate on its meaning will live in paramapada where there is infinite Ananda by serving His tiruvaDi.