Periyazhvar sang pallandu for Lord Narayana. These verses were to ward off evil eyes! Periyazhvar’s concern for the Lord was that of a parent, and so, naturally, he was anxious about the safety of the Lord. His Pallandu verses reflect this anxiety, said M.A. Venkatakrishnan in a discourse.
Periyazhvar sees every aspect of the Lord as cause for worry, even the ones that inspire us with awe! We see this clearly in his words about the Narasimha avatara. But what is there to worry about the avatara that was taken in an instant, and where the Lord destroys Hiranyakasipu in the most terrible manner. In fact, the avatara was taken to save the boy devotee Prahlada, and shows His mercy towards His devotees. But it is in the details of the avatara that Periyazhvar’s worry lies. Hiranyakasipu had obtained certain boons, one of which was that he should not be killed during the day. Devas are powerful during the day, but the Lord came during twilight. Demons become powerful as it gets closer to night-time. So Periyazhvar wants to know why the Lord took risks by coming when daylight was fading!
Periyazhvar uses a very interesting word — bandanai. Periyavachan Pillai says this means a shiver. Periyazhvar prays that Narasimha’s shivering should stop! But how can the Lord shiver, and why should He? Here again, it is the parental attitude of Periyazhvar that is the cause for such an expression. Krishna killed Kamsa when He was 16 years old, and Rama was much older than that when He killed Ravana. But Narasimha faced a demon soon after His appearance. So Periyazhvar sees Him as a just born infant. A baby just entering the world shivers, because it has exited the warmth of the mother’s womb. And Periyazhvar prays that this shivering should be absent in Narasimha!
