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Chendhanar History

chEn^dhanAr is one among the nine devotees who sung the Divine Music thiruvichaippA, which is the ninth thirumuRai. His compositions form the second set in the thiruvichaippA. He was working as the head clerk of pattinaththadikaL(1). (There have been many people with the name chEn^dhan in the history.kOvai thudichaikkizAr refers to vIzich chEn^dhanAr as the composer of thiruvichaippA and n^AN^gUrch chEn^dhanAr as the composer of thiruppallANdu. There was one identified as dhivAkaram cheyviththa chEn^dhanAr who lived in ambar. One more was the one chEn^dhanAr adored by grammar text vIra chOziyam and he was a budhdhist.) chEn^dhanAr was from the town n^AN^gUr near thiruveNkAdu. (Some say he was from a town called cheppuRai). He lived in the end 9th and start 10th century A.C.E.

When he was the head clerk of pattinaththAr, on his order chEn^dhanAr opened pattinaththAr's exchequer to public. The relatives of pattinaththAr made the chOza king arrest chEn^dhanAr. pattinaththAr prayed to God and got chEn^dhanAr released. Later chEn^dhanAr went along with his wife and family tothillai. He was cutting the woods and leading a life out of the meager income that came out of that. In spite of that this devotee who had in his breath the ethics of shaivam used to feed one devotee of Lord who has never-departing wealth, everyday. The Lord who enjoys the sincerity and love of the devotees one day came as a devotee and ate the cooked grain balls ( kaLi) he offered and exhibited in public his love by showing the excess of that food on His sacred body.

Once in a thiruvAdhirai(2) festival when the chariot of the thillai temple was stuck and stopped, he sang thiruppallANdu and the chariot without anybody pulling ran and reached the shed ! He later founded a monastery in thiruvidaikkazi and stayed there worshipping Lord murugan. It is said that the king donated the land for his monastery which was called chEn^dha maN^galam. thiruvidaikkazip purANam states that he got to the Feet of the Flame like Lord on the thaippUcham(3) day. The blessed follower has sung the thiruppallANdu(4) which in spite of being a small 13 hymn song in the huge nectar ocean of thirumuRai is always sung as part of panycha purANam(5) in the prayers. He has also composed thiruvichaippA(4) on thiruvIzimizalai, thiruvAvaduthuRai, thiruvidaikkazi.

 

.....chempon ambalaththu vEndhan thanakku ,...........pazaiya avizai anbAgiya paNdaip paRaich chEndhankodukka adhuvum thiruvamir dhAgiyadhE     - kOyil thiruppaNNiyar viruththam

See Also:
1. Pattinaththadika
2. Thiruvadhirai
3. Thaippucham
4. Thiruppallandu and Thiruvichaippa 
5. Panycha puranam

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Oh Immortal ! Long Live !