Shanmukha Kavirayar of Sri Vaikuntam village, in Tamil Nadu, was a pious man, whose wife Sivagama Sundari was equally religious minded. They named their son Kumaraguruparan. But the parents were worried because the child could not speak. They went on a pilgrimage to Tiruchendur to pray to Lord Shanmukha. They stayed in Tiruchendur for some days, and visited the temple every day with a prayer for their son.
One day, Kumaraguruparan began to speak. He became a great poet. To express his gratitude to Lord Shanmukha, Kumaraguruparar sang verses in praise of the Lord and called the collection Kandar Kalivenba. In the concluding verse he said, “Show me Your lotus like feet, and shower Your blessings on me.”
Kumaraguruparar had great regard for his teacher, Masilamani Desikar, and to show his gratitude to his guru, he composed Pandara Mummanikovai.
When Kumaraguruparar was in Madurai, he composed Meenakshi Pillai Tamizh. He saw the Goddess as a child, when he composed this set of verses, said Malayaman in a discourse. It is said that Goddess Meenakshi Herself listened to his verses with relish. She was so pleased with Kumaraguruparar’s devotion that She gave Her strand of pearls to him.
The saint went to Varanasi and stayed there for a long time. He continued his spiritual service in Varanasi too. While there, he composed Kasi Kalambakam and also a work on Vinayaka. Unfortunately, the latter is lost to us.
Kumaraguruparar also gave discourses in Varanasi in Hindi! It is said that his discourses on Kamba Ramayanam influenced Tulsidas. It is a tribute to his genius that he gave discourses in Hindi before an audience for whom it was their mother tongue!
