Among the Azhwars, Periyazhwar stood out with his Thirumozhi. The only one to have rendered verses for the welfare of the Lord, he is referred to as ‘periya’, the ‘big one’. The avatara utsavam of the prodigious saint-scholar was celebrated in his home town Srivilliputhur recently. It included Periyazhwar’s procession and enactment of episodes that led to his winning of the title ‘Bhattar Piran.’
Vishnu Chittar (later Periyazhwar) dedicated his entire life in the service of God. Once Pandya King Vallabha Deva of Madurai, while doing rounds of the town at night, was troubled by the thought — ‘What you want after death should be accumulated in this life itself.’ He summoned his chief priest Selva Nambi to find an answer for it.
Selva Nambi invited many scholars to a debate, promising huge prize money to the one providing the right answer. Among the invitees was Vishnu Chittar. The answers of most of the scholars were less satisfactory. And when it was Vishnu Chittar’s turn, he stunned the Pandya King with his description on the greatness of Lord Narayana by citing various references from Vedic scriptures. Pleased with this explanation Vallabha Deva gave him the prize money and conferred the title of ‘Bhattar Piran.’ He was also taken out on a royal procession on the Elephant mount around the streets of Madurai. As he moved along the procession, Vishnu Chittar suddenly had darshan of the Lord along with Goddess Lakshmi on the Garuda mount. The sight prompted him to render verses in praise of the deity.
A similar elephant procession was taken at Srivilliputhur on the sixth day of the avathara utsavam of Periyazhwar. The day, coincided with Aani Pooram, the birth star of his daughter Andal. And to mark the event, Periyazhwar was seated at the avatara mandapam of Andal in the temple garden, that was specially created by him to offer different varieties of flowers to the Lord every day.
Seated alongside his daughter in that mandapam and surrounded by devotees, Periyazhwar was treated, for over an hour, to the beautiful verses of Thiruppavai rendered by the prabhandham experts of Srivilliputhur.
As part of the concluding festivities, Veda Piran Bhattar Sudharsanan narrated the story of Periyazhwar, rich with historical insights, at the Doddacharya Mandapam.
Residing in the 1000-year-old Thirumaligai opposite the Andal Sannidhi, Sudharsanan (27), is a Computer Applications graduate who also holds an MBA degree. He quit his job, to perform kainkaryam at the Andal and Vadabadra Sayee temple, Srivilliputhur.
From the birth of Periyazhwar, the creation of the nandavanam, the now famous trip to Madurai and his anointment as ‘Bhattar Piran’ after his great victory in the debate, Sudharsanan took the listeners through Periyazhwar’s life journey.
Of particular interest was the way he retold the story of the ‘Pallaandu’ verses where Periyazhwar sings for the security of Lord Vishnu. Sudharsanan explained that Periyazhwar saw himself as the father and the Lord as his child. Hence was concerned about His safety. Sudharsanan also narrated how Periyazhwar spent the prize money (gold coins) in building the then biggest rajagopuram (196 ft), 11 gateways, 11 kalasams, big walls and prakarams.
When Tamil poet Kamban came to Srivilliputhur, he was so stunned by the gigantic temple tower that he compared it to the Meru Hills and penned a verse in praise of the tower.
Also, Kamban, who belonged to the Chola kingdom, was so thrilled to hear the Prabhandham verses of Andal that he gifted her the ‘Kamban Kunjam’, an ornament that he had won after defeating the Pandya poets in a debate. In memory of this event, Andal adorns this special ornament to this day every year in the month of Thai.
