(tandi atikaL nAyanAr purANam - Periyapuranam as English poetry)

 
 
        "I am a serviteur of Tandi of great insight" 
         
                        - The Tiru-th-Tonda-th-Tokai 
 
1.     Tandi Atikal had wrought such glorious tapas 
    As to get born in Tiruvaaroor; the Lord dances 
    To the hymning of the Vedas by the celestials; 
    As if he would envision only the two dancing feet 
    Of the Lord, dazzling like ruddy gold, with his 
    Inner eye and see nothing else which is externally 
    Witnessed by eyes of limited vision, 
    He was sightless from his very birth.                (3592) 
 
2.     His conviction was that the fruit of sight was 
    For true servitorship; he ever desired to foster love 
    For the adoration of the hallowed feet of the Lord 
    Of Tiruvaaroor, the opulence of which is to be worthily 
    Guarded; he was poised in firm and sacred servitorship 
    Which the Devas could not comprehend even distantly.        (3593) 
 
3.     He would adore Devaasiriyan of opulent Poongkoyil  
    Where abides the Lord whose matted hair is decked 
    With flowers, circumambulate the shrine, 
    And chant always the redemptive and graceful pentad-- 
    NAMASIVAYA--, sweet to chant, in all love; 
    This was his routine, and in this he thrived.            (3594) 
 
4.     As the mutts of Jains increased encroaching 
    Upon the area of the tank which was west of the holy 
    Temple of the Lord whose mount is the red-eyed Bull, 
    Tandi Atikal who came to know of it mused thus, 
    In great devotion: “I must here deepen the tank and help it  
    Regain its former extent.” Up he rose, thus resolved.        (3595) 
 
5.     He drove pegs into the places for excavation 
    In the tank; ropes fastened thereto ran upto the posts 
    Planted at moderate height on the bank of the tank; 
    Feeling his way through the rope and without 
    Ever missing it, he dug the earth and removed it; 
    He repeated without interruption this process, 
    All the time removing the earth; as he plied himself 
    In this service, he chanted the mystic pentad.            (3596) 
 
6.     As the great serviteur in growing love plied himself 
    Daily in the task of deepening the Lord’s tank, 
    The Samanas who witnessed it could not endure it; 
    They came to Tandi Atikal and addressed him thus: 
    “If you dig the earth, beings that live there 
    May die; desist from such exertion.”                (3597) 
 
7.     When he heard the dirty and stinking Samanas speak thus, 
    The serviteur of evr-increasing radiance said: 
    “O you of utter spiritual indigence! Can you ever 
    Know that all sevices rendered to the Lord 
    Whose fragrant sandal-paste is His Holy Ash, 
    Are at once flawless and holy?”                    (3598) 
 
8.     When he of boundless wisdom spake thus, 
    The ignorant ones that heard him, said: 
    “You would not listen to our thoughtful words 
    of dharma; are you deaf too?” 
    Then he answered thus: “Dull consciousness, 
    Blindness and deafness are truly yours in this world.” 
    The serviteur subjoined and said:                (3599) 
 
9.     “I will not behold aught but the lotus-feet 
    Of the Lord who with His bow burnt the triple 
    Hostile cities; who are you to comprehend that?” 
    This said, he threw down a challenge when he said: 
    “O you of mutable plight! If losing light, 
    Your eyes turn blind, and I be endowed with eyes 
    To behold, in the presence of men on earth, 
    What will you then do?”                        (3600) 
 
10.     Hearing his words the Samanas said: “If you gain 
    Your sight by the grace of your Lord, we will not 
    Thereafter abide in this city of increasing uberty.” 
    This said, they that had plucked their pates, 
    Snatched his basket, and pulled out the pegs, 
    Posts and rope which helped him feel his way.            (3601) 
 

 
 
11.     Incensed by the evil act of the violent ones 
    Tandi Adikal came before the beauteous Poongkoyil 
    Of the blue-throated Lord and prayed thus: 
    “O Lord! This day the Samanas put me to shame! 
    I wilt  very much; You must bless me with fulfillment.” 
    Thus he prayed, and fell prostrate 
    On the ground in adoration.                    (3602) 
 
12.     For the extirpation of the blame , the serviteur 
    Having hailed the Lord and appealed to Him, 
    Adored Him and entered his matam; disabled 
    To render his holy service that day, he wept; 
    When that night he slept, the Primordial Lord 
    Who guards all the worlds, appeared to him 
    In his dream and graced him thus:                (3603) 
 
13.     “Be rid of the misery that pervades your heart; 
    You will see that whereas your eyes will be able  
    To see, the sight of the truculent Samanas will vanish; 
    Fear not.” Thus the Lord graced him; that very night 
    In dense darkness He appeared in the dream 
    Of the King and graced him thus:                (3604) 
 
14.     “The Samanas who witnessed the deepening 
    Of Our tank by Tandi, unable to endure it, 
    Have forcibly prevented him from doing so; 
    He is therefore extremely wroth; may you call 
    On him and implement his intent.” 
    The Lord who delights to do away with the misery 
    Of His devotee, disappeared having ordered 
    The removal of His devotee’s misery.                (3605) 
 
15.     When the King woke up from his dream, the hair 
    On his thrilled body stood erect; he hailed the Lord 
    Who wears the cool and beauteous konrai flowers; 
    When it dawned, he called on the devotee 
    And narrated to him his dream; when the devotee 
    Listened to the king, he thought on the grace 
    Of the Lord and spoke to the king of the happenings:        (3606) 
 
16.     “O king, listen to me! When I tried to deepen 
    The tank of the Lord whose mount is the young Bull, 
    The Samanas came there in their strength and said: 
    “This is not piety!” They also spoke many harsh words 
    And uprooted the pegs over which I had fastened 
    The rope to feel my way; they also snatched 
    From me the basket that I kept for carrying 
    The earth.” He subjoined and said:                (3607) 
 
17.     “They told me that I, a blind man, was also 
    Brainless.” I riposted and said: “If by the grace 
    Of milord I come by sight, what will you do?” 
    Then they wagered thus: “In that case, we will not 
    Abide in this city.” This is indeed what had 
    Happened; it is for you to adjudge.”                (3608) 
 
18.     The king sent for the Samanas and enquired  
    Into the matter; they admitted the facts; 
    The serviteur walked before them and the king 
    That came after him stopped beside the flowery tank 
    And addressed the heroic serviteur thus: “O you  
    Of ever-increasing tapas! Be pleased to demonstrate 
    The gift of vision to yourself by the grace 
    Of the Lord.” Thus told, the great one said:            (3609) 
 
19.     “If I be a fitting serviteur unto Siva, while I  
    Gain my sight in the king’s presence, the Samanas 
    Of Tiruvaaroor will lose theirs; I hereby affirm 
    That the end of ends is the mystic pentad of Siva.” 
    Thus saying and chanting the Panchaakshara 
    The serviteur plunged into the beauteous tank.            (3610) 
 
20.     The devotee who surfaced up the water adoring the Lord 
    Was blessed with pure and flower-like eyes; 
    The celestials rained ethereal flowers, which as they 
    Blanketed the sun, made it difficult to tell the time; 
    Though wide-eyed, the brainless Samanas had lost 
    Their sight; they began to toddle; witnessing this, 
    The king was convinced that Jainism which did evil, 
    Perished; then he spake thus:                    (3611) 
 
21.     “The base Samanas who bet and lost against 
    Tandi Atikal, shall forthwith quit Tiruvaaroor 
    Hailed by the celestials; if henceforth they are 
    Seen here, they shall be driven out of sight.” 
    Thereupon the warriors in throngs smote them; 
    The eyeless Samanas wilted, bewildered.                (3612) 
 
22.     Down they fell in pits and puddles; they languished; 
    A few of them said: “Lo, we do not even have a stick 
    To walk with. “A few fell over bushes saying, 
    “This indeed is our way!” a few said: “Lo, we are decad.” 
    Some of them would blame their own men, saying: 
    “As we banked on that which was perishable, 
    We perish here” A few would question thus: 
    “Is the king to be blamed?” Those that in the past 
    plucked from their pates the hair, would not lose 
    Their mats that served for their clothing.            (3613) 
 
23.     Not finding their peacock-feather-bunches 
    They would proceed without them; they would 
    Ere long, stand bewildered; a few would trip 
    Over stones and suffer fracture of arms and legs; 
    They would march on, in dense throngs, but would 
    Hi against each other; their minds would wilt 
    And break and they would languish unable 
    To perceive their path.                        (3614) 
 
24.     The king that witnessed the commotion 
    Of the Samanas at Aaroor, had them chased away 
    According to their plighted word; he then had 
    The encroaching matams and schools 
    Razed to the ground, and retrieved the former extent 
    Of the bank of the tank; then in great delight 
    The king called on the devotee and fell at his feet.        (3615) 
 
25.     When the king paid obeisance to him and went away. 
    Tandi Atikal hailed and adored the golden feet 
    Of the Lord unknowable to Vishnu and Brahma; 
    Then he pursued his interrupted service 
    And brought it to a successful close; he chanted 
    The Panchaakshara with all his mind and was 
    Poised in this way; eventually he became oned 
    With the feet of the Lord of fulgurant matted hair.        (3616) 
 
26.     Having hailed the feet of the sacred serviteur 
    Of inconceivable glory who though unendowed 
    With the light of his eyes, yet excavated a tank, 
    With the aid of rope fastened to pegs, we now 
    Proceed to historicise the deeds of Moorkkar, 
    A glorious devotee of ever-increasing inward greatness, 
    Of Tiruverkaattoor the Lord of which at the request 
    Of the celestials, smote the triple hostile citadels.        (3617) 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
Verse No. 
 
   1.    He was sightless from his birth: St. Sundarar hails his as “Naattamiku Dandi”  
    (Dandi with vision endowed). 
 
   2.    The tank: This is called Kamalaalayam. 
 
   6.    If you dig the earth. . .  exertion: No doubt, the Samanas had reverence  
    for lives.  They did not pursue their conviction in an intelligent or intelligible  
    way.  An extremely strict adherence to any rule may eventually wind up as an  
    exercise in stultification. 
 
   8.    Dull consciousness. . . in this world: Not all men are endowed with true  
    consciousness.  Men endowed with eyes and ears, more often than not, live as blind  
    and deaf men. 
 
   9.    I will not. . . cities: For once Drudaraashtra was blessed with vision.  
    He had a Visvarupa darshan of Sri Krishna.  Then he said, let me become  
    blind once again.  Let me not see aught else.  St. Appar said:  
    “Tillaicchitralmbalavan Tiruvadiyaik kanda kann kondu matrinik kaanpathenne!”  
    (with eyes that beheld the sacred feet of the Lord of Chitrambalam at Tillai,  
    what else is there to see at all!) 
 
        The lesson that the common man can learn from this Puranam is  
    this.  Sites allotted for communal purposes must be preserved intact.  A tank  
    that serves a town and its temple is sacro sanct.  No encroachment that will  
    diminish the extent of the tank is permissible.  Any encroachment is an offence  
    against the public.  It is the duty of the ruler of the realm to maintain tanks,  
    lakes and the like in a proper manner.  To-day people suffer as sites earmarked  
    for communal purposes are being eaten away by politicians and their proteges. 
 
            Here ends the Puranam of Tandi (Dandi) Atikall 

Sincere thanks to Sri. T N Ramachandran of thanjavur, for permitting his English rendering of the holy text periyapurANam be published here.

See Also: 
1. dhaNdiyadigaL nAyanAr purANam in English prose 
2. தண்டியடிகள் நாயனார் புராணம் (தமிழ் மூலம்) 
3. thiruththoNDar purANam main page
4. 12 shaivite thirumuRais