Having experienced the twin-kshEtrams, tiruvAli-tirunagari in the previous article it is time for us to understand the life and exploits of this AzhwAr who was the only one among the 12 AzhwArs to receive a personal benediction from the lord in order to initiate the erstwhile feudal king/warrior/robber baron into a staunch devotee and saint. ThirumangaiyAzhwAr was born in a place called KuRaiyalUr which is 3 km from tirunagari in what was called AlinADu in Chola kingdom. His given name at birth was nIlan . He was born in the month of KArthikai under the krittikA star. His father (AlinADAr) was a local military commander serving the Chola Empire. nIlan grew up learning the martial arts such as archery and sword fighting and learnt Thamil and Sanskrit. When his father grew old, the king appointed nIlan as successor to his father as a general besides bestowing the title of king for the territory called tiurmangai after nIlan conquered enemy territories for the Chola king. Thus the name tirumangai mannan got affiliated with him. Thereafter he sought sensual pleasures and lived a very mundane life until he met a damsel in a nearby village.
Encounter with Kumudavalli: It is time to travel back in time when a group of celestial nymphs came down to earth and visited a hermitage. Upon sighting a rather unsightly sage, one of the nymphs named Sumangali uttered some insult at him. The sage (Kapila) cursed her to be born on earth and be a mortal. Accordingly she was born in the region of AlinADu in a lily pond. A local medicine man found her and raised her as his own daughter. He named her Kumudavalli. She grew up to be a beautiful maiden and her fame spread around. Thirumangai mannan heard about her beauty, saw her, fell in love with her and wanted to marry her. Kumudavalli agreed to marry him upon fulfilling two conditions. The first was he should become a true Vaishnavaite, and the second was that he should feed 1000 vaishnavaites every day for a year. nIlan agreed and accordingly went to a place called tirunaRaiyur, prayed to the lord there and got ordained by the lord himself as the guru with the conch/discus insignia inscribed on his upper arms (the pancha samskara ritual). Later, in gratitude, he sang 110 pAsurams (the most by any AzhwAr on a single divya dEsam) on the lord of this shrine addressing him as tirunaRaiyUr nambi . He then married Kumudavalli and started fulfilling the second condition, namely feeding 1000 vaishnavaites everyday.
Royal trouble: Thus he became a true devotee and enjoyed the feeding of the vaishnavaites. In due course his treasury got depleted and he defaulted in sending dues owed to the Chola king. The king sent some of his warriors demanding payment. nIlan did not have the money but fought with the warriors and defeated them. The king himself came with a further battalion and fought with nIlan. nIlan still could not be defeated but at the end nIlan surrendered his sword to the king in view of his allegiance to him. The king imprisoned him in the perumAL temple till the tax was paid. nIlan prayed to the lord to absolve him of his indebtedness to the king. The lord told him in a dream that he should go to KAnchipuram and find a hidden treasure by the riverbank. The king permitted him to go there with a few of his soldiers. Per the dictate of the lord nIlan found the treasure and paid the dues to the king. He was then back to doing his charity work.
Rendezvous with the Lord: Soon money ran out. nIlan started indulging in robbing the rich to feed the devotees. It was time, the lord decided, to bring all this adventure to a conclusion. He and his consort came down to earth as newlyweds and with a huge procession came through the region called vEdarAjapuram in AlinADu. nIlan got word of a wealthy marriage party and with his ministers in tow confronted the groom and threatened to kill them if all the jewels were not given to him. The lord agreed and got all the jewels bundled up. However, nIlan could not lift the bundle. He thought the bridegroom cast a spell on the bundle and asked him to undo the trick so that he could lift and carry the bundle away. Thereupon the bridegroom called him closer, revealed himself to the robber and preached the ashTAksharam (Om namO nArAyaNa--- in his ear. That started an instantaneous and total transformation of the hunter/warrior/robber baron into a devotee of the lord and a saint revered by all vaishnavaites.
Sainthood: Since then nIlan (also known as Kaliyan) embarked on a vast pilgrimage, visited 84 kshEtrams and sang the lord’s praise in 1253 pAsurams on shrines like Badrinath all the way north to tirukkuRunguDi in the south. He is also known to have built the ramparts of the third enclosure in Srirangam by stealing and melting the golden Buddha statue from nAgappaTTinam monastery. Thus Kaliyan became tirumangaiyAzhwAr. He is the second most prolific author of pAsurams, ranked next only to nammAzhwAr (1296 verses). His works are compiled into 6 prabhandams which are recognized as six limbs of the four Thamil vEdAs of nammAzhwAr, by later devotees. They are: 1. periya tirumozhi , 2. siRiya tirumaDal , 3. Periya tirumaDal 4. Tiru kuRuntANDagam , 5. Tiru neDuntANDagam , and 6. Tiruvezhuk kURRirukkai . He is considered the incarnation of the lord’s bow.
The very first verse he sang after getting the ashTAksharam preached to him by the lord was the following verse (periya tirumozhi 1.1.1)
Meaning: Having been born into this body, a receptacle of immense sorrow, and pining and crying, I am overwhelmed with self-pity. I sought carnal pleasures afforded by young beautiful dames. Then I searched all around and ultimately realized there is a greater goal that will yield eternal happiness. I have now found that state in the delectable name of NARAYANA.
Thirumangai AzhwAr is known by several other names in his pre-sainthood days which he mentions in one of the pAsurams. In pAsuram #1187 he affixes his signature mentioning all his 8 titles which are: AlinADan , aruLmAri , araTTamukki , aDaiyAr sIyam , kongumalark kuzhaliyar vEL , mangai vEndan , parakAlan , and kaliyan.
It is believed that in a debate arranged by the disciples of the saint Sambhandar, tirumangai AzhwAr composed 10 verses, extempore, on the lord at kAzhic cIrAma viNNagaram and thereby earned the title “nAlu kavip perumAL” from the shaivaite saint and also got presented with the spear that Sambhandar carried with him. In many divya dEsams the AzhwAr idol is seen riding a horse with the spear in his hand. He is the only AzhwAr (among the 12) whose wife is given equal recognition in the idol form. He is reported to have lived in the 7th century CE, but the date is subject to some uncertainty.
Thirumangai AzhwAr Thiruvarasu in tirukkuRunguDi is the place where Thirumangai AzhwAr attained salvation (mOksham) after rendering service to various divyadEsams. The small temple is located in the middle of dense fields. Unlike in other temples where the AzhwAr is seen with sword or other weapons, here he is seen sans any weapon and with folded hands shelving all material possessions. ThirukuRunguDi is situated 47 km from TirunelvEli past NAngunEri. VaLLiyUr is the nearest railway station.
Special Recognition: Thirumangai AzhwAr holds a special status so as to warrant a special festival in his honor. It is called “tirumangai mangaLAsAsana utsavam” held every year in the Thamil month of tai (Jan-Feb) the day after the new moon day in tirunAngUr. The famous GaruDa sEvai is celebrated with 11 deities brought on GaruDa mounts from the 11 tirunAngUr divya dEsams to the shrine of maNimADak kOvil. The idols of tirumangai AzhwAr and Kumudavalli are brought on hamsa mount. His pAsurams dedicated to each of the 11 temples are recited. Then maNavALa mAmunigaL does the mangaLAsAsanam to tirumangai AzhwAr. The festival lasts 3 days.
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