The life of Sundaramurti Nayanar is narrated throughout the Periya Purnam instead of being contained in one section, unlike the life accounts of other devotees. The Periya Purnam is organized in such a way that it first describes the incarnation of this great devotee from the abode of the Lord, through him, narrates the accounts of the 62 great devotees and the 9 groups of devotees and then describes his return to the abode of the Lord. Out of his reverence towards the devotees of Shiva, Sundaramurti Nayanar dedicated his work, the Tiruthondathokai, to them. Here, his life is presented in a continuous narration by piecing together the brief accounts from the various parts of the Periya Purnam.

The Introduction

The abode of the Lord, the great Mount Kailash, is revered as the most sacred of all holy places. Reverberating with songs and chants, dances by different groups of bhuta-s and praises from the gathering of divine beings, is this great place of the Lord guarded by the venerated Nandi, the foremost of those who attained Sarupya. Within the precincts of that sacred mountain, adorned by his devotion for Lord Shiva, lives the sage Upamanyu, the guru of Shri Krishna. Once while he was sitting in his hermitage surrounded by yogi-s, there appeared a splendid luminance, bright as a thousand suns. The yogi-s wondered what that was. By the grace of Lord Shiva, Sage Upmanyu divined that it was the arrival of Sundaramurti Nayanar back to His abode. The devotees around the sage were inspired and wanted to know about that wonderful devotee. Thus, the great Sage began to narrate the story of Sundarar.

The Origins

On the holy mountain of Kailasha there was an attendant of Lord Shankara by name Alala Sundara who served the Lord by bringing flowers and water for worship. One day when he went to fetch flowers from the garden, two beautiful girls who served Goddess Shakti also came there to pick flowers. Alala Sundara was attracted by their beauty. The girls too were captivated by him. They completed their task of picking flowers and returned to their respective places. The Lord, inseparable from Uma, pointed out the desire that had taken root in Alala Sundara’s heart and asked him to be born in the world to fulfil it. The trembling devotee’s entreaty to be rescued in time was granted by the Lord. By the boon bestowed to the land in the southern peninsula of Bharata, that marvellous saint was born there to bless the world with hymns of love for his Lord.

The Incarnation

In the land of Tirumunaipadi Nadu was the town of Tirunavalur, the birthplace of two remarkable saints of Shaivism – Isaignaniyar and Sadaiyar. Sundarar was born to this devout couple in the tradition of Adi Shaiva Brahmins. The child, born as a boon to this world, was named Nambiyarurar. One day when he was playing on the street with a toy chariot, the king, Narasinga Munaiyaraiyar saw the charming child and adopted him with great love. The young Sundarar grew up in the royal household but at the same time learnt the Vedas and culture in accordance to his Vedic tradition into which he was born. His father Sadaiyar found a suitable match in the daughter of Sadangaviyar and arranged Sundarar’s wedding.

On the day of wedding the charming Sundarar was bathed with scented substances, dressed in the wedding robe, perfumed with sandal and other fragrances and adorned with garlands. The attractive Sundarar saluting the Holy Feet of the Lord, besmeared his forehead with Holy Ash. Riding a horse, in a big procession, he went to the hall where the wedding had been arranged by the family of the bride. The Lord who had promised to rescue Sundarar in time, came as an old man, carefully concealing His third eye with Holy Ash, with His hair, white, resembling the rays of the moon adorning His crown and the holy three-stranded thread decorating His chest. He entered the wedding hall and called for attention. The relatives welcomed the respectable old man and listened to what He had to say. The old man demanded that Sundarar settle an old account between them and then go ahead with the wedding. The good natured Sundarar, though surprised, asked Him about the old pending transaction between them.

The Lord, who had in His service the great divinities including Brahma and Vishnu, declared that bride-groom Sundarar was His slave. "Are you mad (pithan)?" - the crowd and Sundarar scoffed at Him. The Old man, to become whose slave great beings perform long austerities, acted scared and said that mocking him or calling him mad would not deter Him from getting what was His. He added that He had proof in the form of a palm leaf document given by his grandfather stating that Sundarar was His slave. Shocked and irked, Sundara dared Him to show the document. The Old man, in whom all creatures take refuge, acted fearful of Sundarar and said He would show it only at the local court and rushed out. The blessed Sundarar followed Him, following whom painful bonds ceased their pursuit.

The Old man appeared in the local court and put forward His claim. He further charged Nambiyarurar of tearing up the document evidence! The court questioned the petitioner on how a brahmin was given as a slave to another brahmin. They asked Him about the town from which He hailed. The Old man replied He was from Tiruvennainallur and claimed that He had the original document still with Him. He said He would appeal in the court of brahmins of Tiruvennainallur. Nambiyarurar ridiculed Him and challenged Him to put forth the claim in His town court as He wanted. The Old man went to Tiruvennainallur and Nambiyarurar followed like a magnetised piece of iron. The Old man put His case at the court in Tiruvennainallur. The jury bench asked the Old Man to substantiate His claim with either a document or an eye-witness. The Old man, after getting an assurance from the bench that He would come to no harm, produced before them what He claimed to be the original document. The document read - "Aruran of Navalur (Sundarar's grandfather) writes – To the revered pithan (madman) of Tiruvennainallur, I and my descendants will be slaves. This is my authorization." The court verified the signature with the old documents and miraculously found them to be the same! The court passed the judgement that Nambiyarurar was indeed the slave of the Old man.

Guru Pooja: Aadi / Svati or Karka / Svati

Har Har Mahadev

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Sundaramurti Nayanar - Part II - Vanthondar - (The Argumentative Servitor)

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