18.1. Vēmpaṟṟūr Cōḻiya Smārtha Brāhmaṇas Around the beginning of 13th century, a group of 2008 Vedic Brāhmaṇas from Vēmpaṟṟūr near Kumbakōṇam in Cōḻas country, were invited to the Pāṇḍya country and were settled near Madurai. This group was called “Vēmpaṟṟūr Cōḻiya Smārta Brāhmaṇa”. They were also settled in different places upto Tirunelveli, Tenkāsi and other villages. They were great Vedic scholars who took great interest in Tamiḻ language and literature. Over the centuries, a galaxy of scholars of these families, took up well known Sanskrit texts and translated them into excellent Tamiḻ poetry. One of them known as “Vīrai Kavirāja Paṇḍitar” who settled at Vīra-chōḻa-nallūr, also called “Vīrai” translated the famous poem, Soundarya-lahari of Śaṅkarācārya into Tamiḻ. He also translated another Sanskrit work Ānandalahari. The most celebrated work of another poet “Perumpaṟṟap-puliyūr nambi” also called Tillai-nambi translated the 64 sports of Śiva, the presiding deity of Madurai. This text was called “Tiru-ālavāy-puraṇam” from a Sanskrit text called “Sāra-samuccayam”. This work has been edited by Dr. U.V. Swaminatha Ayyer, who has paid encomiums on his families’ contribution in general and Tillai Nambi in particular. He has shown that this work written sometime before 1220 CE, in the time of one Pāṇḍya ruler Māravarmaṉ Sundara Pāṇḍyaṉ, who was the first to check the greatness of the Imperial Cōḻa dynasty. He calls the Pāṇḍya Sundara Māravarmaṉ, in this work. The settlement of Vēmpaṟṟūr Cōḻiya Brāhmaṇas in Pāṇḍya country is attributed to one Kulaśekara Pāṇḍya, a predecessor of Sundara. The following are the books by others of the family given by Ayyar.
1. Alavantāṉ Mādhava Bhaṭṭaṉ - who translated Jñāna vāsiṣṭham into Tamiḻ 2. Śrī Bhaṭṭar, translated Bhagavat Gīta 3. Tatvarāya – wrote Pāḍuturai 4. Ambikāpati wrote Parāparaimālai. 5. Tirunelveli Perumāḷ Ayyar wrote Nellai-varga-kovai. 6. Sevvai Sūduvār –Śrīmad Bhāgavatam in 5000 verses 7. Kavi Kuñcaram Ayyar – who wrote Aḻagarkalampakam 8. Swāmi Kavikala Rudra - Aḻagarpiḷḷait-tamiḻ 9. Muttu Venkaṭa Subbha Ayyar –Prebandha dīpika 10. Īśvara Muṇivar – was a teacher of Varatuṅgarāma Pāṇḍya of Tenkāsi.
Each one of these works are a gem by itself and that we should remember the authors were Vedic Cōḻiya Brāhmaṇas. They were residents of a number of villages in the Pāṇḍya countries – like Vīra Cōḻam also called Vīrai, Tenkāsi, Kiḻappavūr, Vaḷḷanāḍu, Iluppaiyūr, Karivalam-vanta-nallūr, Kaṟkuḷam, Paṉaiyūr, Kuruṅgāvaṉam, and others. Many of these Brāhmins were called Nambis. The Vēmpaṟṟūr of Pāṇḍināḍu, near Madurai, where they were originally settled, was called Kulaśekhara-caturvedi-maṅgalam alias Vēmpaṟṟūr after king Kulaśekhara Pāṇḍya who settled them. This Vēmpaṟṟūr Perumpaṟṟapuliyūr Nambi, who wrote the 64 sports of Madurai Chokkanātha, belonged to Kauṇḍinya gotra.
There is a village named Vēmpaṟṟūr in Cōḻanāḍu near Kumbakōṇam, from where they migrated to Pāṇḍināḍu was a great centre of Tamiḻ poets from the Saṅgam age. A certain Vēmpattūr Kumaraṉ, has composed Tamiḻ poems which are included in the Saṅgam anthologies. The place continued to be a great Brāhmin settlement in the Pallava age. The Pallava ruler Teḷḷārerinda Nandi established a Brāhmin colony named Avaninārāyaṇa-caturvedi-maṅgalam here. His successor Nṛpatunga pallava has visited Tiruvisalūr near Vēmpaṟṟūr and performed a Tulābhāra rite there. A Pallava brick temple of 8th century has survived still in Vēmpaṟṟūr, in somewhat ruined condition. It has traces of Pallava paintings on its interior wall. Rājarāja Cōḻa I, the great visited this village and had Tulābhāra rite with his queen and established another Caturvedi-maṅgalam here. A certain Nārāyaṇaṉ of Vēmpaṟṟūr sang an Antāti of one hundred Tamiḻ poems, on the Lord of Tiruccirāppaḷḷi hill, which remains there inscribed on the back wall of the upper rock out cave. Thus, up to the end of the Cōḻa rule this village of Cōḻiyas, Vēmpaṟṟūr has produced master Tamiḻ poets, who continued their work. That is a sterling example of one family of Vedic scholars who have greatly enriched Tamiḻ language and literature for over one thousand years.
In this work of 64 sports of Śiva, he pays impressive range of tributes to Tamiḻ. He says Tennāḍu (southern country) means Tamiḻnāḍu. He also says Madurai means the city of Tamiḻ. He also calls the Lord Sundareśa as “Tamiḻ Arasaṉ” and “Tamiḻ pāvalaṉ” (Tamiḻ poet).
Interestingly Tillai Nambi mentions three Saṅgam Tamiḻ poets, in his work on the sports of this city: 1. Agattiyar, 2. Nakkīrar and the third 3. Iḍaikkādar. Lord Sundareśvara is himself said to have taught Tamiḻ to all these three poets. This suggests these Tamiḻ Vedic scholars of Vēmpaṟṟūr had held Tamiḻ as equal to Veda, taught by Lord Śiva himself. According to Vedic tradition, Śiva himself taught the Vedas to Ṛṣis. So, this poetic work says Tamiḻ Veda was taught by the same Lord. We have seen much earlier Saints Sambandar and Appar have sung in the same vein and held Tamiḻ a Veda. This tradition is proof, if proof is required, that Vedic Brāhmaṇas were never against Tamiḻ language as propounded by some speculators. On the contrary, they have developed Tamiḻ to great heights. No other single family of Tamiḻnāḍu, can boast of personal contribution to Tamiḻ as this Vēmpaṟṟūr Cōḻiya Vedic Brāhmaṇas, consecutively for over one thousand eight hundred years.
The first story in “the 64 sports of Śiva” is that of Nakkīrar, a great poet, the author of Tiru-murugāṟṟuppaḍai, but was full of jealousy and arrogance in the Saṅgam age of Madurai. Once, the king was fascinated by the fragrance, emanating from the hair of his queen. He asked the poets whether the hair of women have natural fragrance, or it was added perfumes. He announced a prize for one who gives the correct answer.
In order to help a poor Brāhmin Śiva himself wrote a poem and gave it to him. When the Brāhmin presented the poem in the Saṅgam, Nakkīran got up and faulted the poem. Śiva himself appeared before the Saṅgam and explained the meaning. But Kīran stood firm and said that women’s hair had no natural fragrance but only artificial. Śiva asked him whether the observation is applicable to the divine women too. Kīran firmly said, it is the same and the hair of divine women also had no natural fragrance. This annoyed Śiva, who asked Kīran, whether the fragrance of Gauri’s hair is also artificial. Kīran refused to budge. Śiva’s anger appeared on the third eye on the face. Kīran crossed his limit when he said whether for show your third eye or other it is fault to describe women’s hair have natural fragrance. The fire of Śiva’s third eye emitted heat and unable to bear Kīran out of arrogance fell into the waters of the lotus tank and was drowned. This is the first part of the story.
The second story is connected with sage Agastiyar. Once all the celestials the Devas, Gandharvas, Siddhas, Cāraṇas, and all others assembled at the Kailasa mountain (according to other story, it was to witness the marriage of Śiva and Pārvati. But Tillai Nambi’s text does not mention the marriage of Śiva for the congregation of the celestials). As all the celestials assembled, the northeastern part of the Himalayas started going down due to weight. The Devas and sages got frightened and requested Śiva to send someone equal to him to go to the south to restore the equilibrium. Śiva looked at sage Agastya, indicating Agastya was equal to Śiva in all aspect and sent him to the south. Agastya accepted the command so the southwest part of the earth could be balanced. He told Śiva the southern country is the country of the Tamiḻs, and he is blessed to go there. Śiva smilingly looked at Agastya that he himself was an all-knowing scholar and blessed him with Tamiḻ language consisting of script, words, and sentences (eḻuttu, col and poruḷ) and initiated Agastya by sight (nayana dīkṣa) who got ready to depart to the south.
Kīran, the great poet was suffering in the lotus pond. Śiva took pity on him, and brought him out and taught him, the Sūtras on Ahapporuḷ. This text came to be called “Iraiyanār Ahapporuḷ”.
Śiva now asked Agastya to expound to the world, the Ahapporuḷ, as taught by Kīran. Agastya went to the south, to the Malaya Mountain, and composed literature, music, and dance in Tamiḻ that came to be popularly called Mut-Tamiḻ (the three Tamiḻs, iyal: literature, icai: music, nātakam: dance and drama). Thus, the first Tamiḻ set of texts on literature, music and dance were written by Agastya. As this was the teaching of Śiva, it was called Veda in Tamiḻ and attained same status as the Vedas. It is important to note that Agastya is the originator of Tāntric tradition and that was given by Śiva through Agastya. Ever since Ahapporuḷ dealing with Sriṅgāra also came to be venerated.
This episode of Agastya receiving the knowledge of Tamiḻ and Ahapporuḷ from Śiva is given a divine origin and as Śiva himself sent him to the south. Agastya was the first human agency to teach Tamiḻ and give it a classical status and treated it as Veda in Tamiḻ land. Thus, eminence given to Tamiḻ was by a Vedic sage. There was always a tendency to treat Tamiḻ on par with the Vedas out of love and veneration by the Vedic Scholar and there was no antagonism that is foisted now by vested interests. The story of Śiva teaching Tamiḻ to Agastya brings out two important factors 1. Tamiḻ was raised to the status of Veda by Agastya and 2. the Vedic scholars exhibited this episode with supreme joy. The propaganda, that “the Vedic Brāhmins were against Tamiḻ, they suppressed Tamiḻ, and had they been living in Tamiḻnāḍu, they would not have allowed Tamiḻ to develop” are all political gommocks, contrary to facts. We must recall here that all the royal charters of the Pāṇḍyas repeatedly declare they learnt Tamiḻ from sage Agastya and established the Saṅgam at Madurai, to develop Tamiḻ.
As mentioned above the contribution of Agastya and the Vedic Brāhmaṇas must be acknowledged, based on evidence. We may also note at the beginning of this text, the author Nambi gives the origin of this work, find a number of sages assembled and told the sage Agastya, that there was none equal to him, to confer the greatness on the southern country. It is this sage who narrated the glories of Tamiḻnāḍu, saying that the land of Pāṇḍya (Ten-nādu) of the south, is fertile and prosperous, and is like praṇavam (“Om”) of the vedic mantras, and is the very life of the goddess of earth.
The sages who listened to his narration were Vedic sages Jamadagni (Paraśurāma), Parāsaraṉ, Viśvāmitraṉ, Sādhu Nārada, Vedavyāsaṉ, Sanakādi (Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatsujāta and Sanatkumāra), Bhṛgu, Gautamaṉ, Bharadvājaṉ, Kauśikaṉ, Kāsipaṉ, Vānmiki and others.
So, this Tamiḻ legend was listened to with great attention, and it is said that this is an abridged version of a Sanskrit text called “Sāra-samuccaya” forming part of Uttara-mahā-purāṇam. Agastya is praised as one who maintained the balance of the Southern country by staying at Podigai hill, a master of all literature, who drank the seven seas with his little fingers and an expert scholar in the Vedas and music.
Evidently, this legend says that this work was told by Agastya. We may recall that this work is assigned to c.13th Century, almost one hundred years after Sēkkiḻār wrote his Periya-purāṇam in 12th century. Sēkkiḻār states that the Periya-purāṇam was told by the sage Upamanyu. There is another purāṇam called “Agastya-periya-purāṇam” said to have been narrated by Agastya. Also please note that Sēkkiḻār’s Purāṇam is called Periya-purāṇam (Mahā-purāṇam).
Describing the greatness of Pāṇḍināḍu, the poet says – “look, is there any country which is equal to paṇḍya country, the land of cool Tamiḻ, from where the great lord of all the three worlds, the lord who is beyond the reach of the ancient four Vedas, with his scepter, descends on earth as a human being, marries the daughter of the Pāṇḍya king and with that scepter, she rules this world. That is the praise of Pāṇḍya country of the Tamiḻs”.
The other story of Iḍaikādar does not have much to offer except that a poet of the Saṅgam age is a player in this text as well. As a great poet, he composed once a poem on the Pāṇḍya king and read it to him. The Pāṇḍya did not appreciate it, instead spoke disparagingly of the poet. The broken-hearted poet went to the temple and told the Lord his condition and left the city. Lord Chokkanātha also followed him and left the city and stayed at its outskirt. The people of Madurai, were startled at the sight of their lord, deserting the temple. They rushed to the King and informed him. The king realized his foly and rushed to the lord and prayed forgiveness. The lord pardoned the king and returned to his temple with Iḍaikkāḍar.
The story demonstrates the affections of Lord Chokkanātha on Tamiḻ poets. But what is interesting is that a historic poet, Iḍaikkāḍar who lived a thousand years earlier is made the lead character in this story. This shows that the Saṅgam Tamiḻ poems and the poets were popular among the people of Madurai for over one thousand years showing the extraordinary interest of the Tamiḻ people in poetry. An exact counter part of this story was told several centuries later by the Vaiṣṇavites in the story of Kanikaṇṇan in the Sonna vaṇṇam ceyda perumaḷ temple of Kāñcīpuram.
We will not deal with all the stories here but study the last chapter of the text. It is related to the story of study of the Vedas. This conventional write up is interesting. It shows by the time of the text, Vedic studies, has fallen among the Brāhmins.
The chapter begins with four yugas and in the fourth age of Kaliyuga, the Brāhmins had abandoned the study of the Vedas, the Vedic life had taken to despicable professions. It illustrates incidentally what is a Vedic study and what constituted Vedic way of life. In ancient times there was single hearted devotion to the study. There was a discipline for the twice borns. (the twice borns were those who were authorized to wear sacred thread and study the Vedas). They used to tend their sacrificial fires Āhavanīyam, Gārhapatyam and Dakṣiṇāgni. They followed four-fold āśrama life namely Brahmacarya, Grahasta, Vānaprastha and Sanyāsa. They also performed regularly the “pañca-mahā-yajñas”, the five great sacrifices, to devas, ṛṣis (sages), pitṛs (ancestors) manuṣya (human beings) and bhūtayajñas (to other living beings like animals and birds). They were to be offered food daily called pañca-mahā-yajñas. It was the duty of the Brāhmaṇas to study the original Vedic texts, the ṣadaṅgas, dharma texts, and music with seven notes.
As there was no respect for heritage, those who studied the Vedas in different regions did not seek their meaning and those who learnt the meaning of the Vedas, did not teach others because of jealousy says a poem.
Though this is a conventional poetic format, to praise the revival of Vedic life through this text under this environment, it seems to suggest what is Vedic lifestyle.
It is interesting to note that this text ends up, with lord Sundareśvara teaching Vedas and revive the sagging Vedic tradition as the concluding story. As he is a Vedic scholar, the composer of this text, Tillai Nambi prays for the revival of the Vedic tradition, and all the stories dealt with in the text are told with that aim. Concluding this work, the author calls this text “Māmadurai purāṇam”, the legend of the great Madurai. It also says that the city was protected by Kanni (Kanyā Durgā) Viṣṇu, Kāḻi and Īśa.
The author mentions, what was taught by Vyāsa and Vālmiki and Yakṣan in their elaborate works, what was said in 64 lakh poems, was abridged by sage Agastya in 3000 poems. This poet followed him by composing this text. This is a very important suggestion that Vyāsa who taught Mahābhārata and Vālmiki through Rāmāyaṇa, this text was written as an extension of the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata. iAccording to Śaṅkarācārya, the establisher of Advaita Vedanta, the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata, were intended to bestow knowledge on those who had no time for the study of the Vedas. Thus, the sthala purāṇa of Madurai, would bestow mokṣa. Nambi cities the Dharma Śāstra and gives his name and compositions as Tillai Nambi and says he was a resident of Cellinagar and belonged to Kauṇḍinya-gotra and his name was Perumbaṟṟapuliyūr Nambi, who sang the 64 sports.
In another concluding verse, he says his Cellinagar was also called Parasurāmac-caturvedi-maṅgalam in Kappini-nāḍu in Kār-maṇḍalam. He also had the name Tillai-nambi. Kārkol-maṇḍalam is identified with Maṅgaḷanāḍu near Madurai, as it bears an alternate name “ilaikku punai koḍutta maṅgaḷa nadu”. This is an illustrious contribution of Vedic Brāhmins to Tamiḻ Language and literature by the 13th century.
18.2. Vidyāraṇya The learned Prof. K.A. Nilakanta Sastri has given an account of the founding of Vijayanagara empire. Hermann Kulke says that Vidyāraṇya came in contact closely only with Bukka's last phase of rule in 1375 CE and holds that Vidyāraṇya inspired Harihara brothers to found Vijayanagara empire was a myth created in 16th century. It is an irresponsible statement. There is a copper plate charter from Mudiyanūr in Kolar district of Mysore written in Nandi nāgari script and in Sanskrit language in the reign of Bukka which is dated March 23, 1344. Two centuries earlier than Kulke's date. There is a specific reference in that epigraph to Vidyānagara established by Vidyāraṇya. Kulke's chronology is totally wrong.
The second point in which Kulke falters is regarding the religion of Vidyāraṇya. He says Vidyāraṇya was a Śaivite and a sectarian leader. Vidyāraṇya is called in many plates "Brahmādvaitin" of the Śaṅkara school and is addressed as Paramahamsa Parivrājakācārya, and the very Śri Śaṅkarācārya, who was an Advaitin. Advaitins went beyond sectarian religion and are different from Saivavādi. The Oxford university press in its latest history of South India projects him as a sectarian religionist. It is doing great injustice to Indian history. There is every reason to reject this rubbish. In other places also Kulke called Vidyāraṇya a Śaiva teacher indicating that he does not know the difference between Śaivas and Advaitins. विद्याभिधान नगरी विजयोन्नतिशालिनी विद्यारण्य कृता तस्याम् रत्नसिम्हासने स्थित This Vidyānagara came to be Vijayanagara the famous capital of Vijayanagara dynasty. During the first meeting with the sage Harihara, saw the sage as the very “Śiva himself” says the Kāppalūru grant. Vidyāraṇya's influence on Harihara and his brothers was profound so much, so they mention him in many of their records till his demise and till the very end of Vijayanagara rule.
Recently Herman Kulke and Vasundhara Filliozat, have questioned some of these conclusions. This relates to the capture of Hari Hara and Bukka by the Delhi Sultan, converting them to Islam and sending them back as their governors to Karnāṭaka where they returned to their mother faith based on the chronicles of Muslim writers. But the copper plate and other Hindu records give a different picture. As is the usual practice, the Muslim chronicles are held as absolute truth and the original records are held unreliable!
Vidyāraṇya's contributions vary from original works like Sangīta-sāra, Pañcadasi, Sarva-darśaṇa-saṅgraha, and other but he has concentrated on commentaries like dīpikas, sāra, and vyākhyā. His works are some of the most popular works of great utility. It is possible that some of the works were written before he took Sanyāsa. There is an important record epigraphically which gives the date of his Paripūrṇa-siddhi which reads as श्रीविजयाभ्युदय शकवर्ष १३०९ क्षयसम्वत्सरद ज्येष्ठबहुल १३ रविवारदलु श्री मन् महाराजाधिराज राजपरमेश्वर श्री वीरप्रताप हरिहरमहारायरु श्री विद्यारणय श्री पादङ्गलु परिपूर्णराहदल्लि पम्पाक्षेत्रदल्लि श्रीविरूपाक्षदेव सऩिधियलि आराम देवेण््देयदोलगन यतिगणाग्रगण्यम् आत्मविद्या निधिद्हयानमानमानसम् अपरम् इव शङ्कराचार्यम् परमहम्स परिव्राजकाचार्यम् आचार्यम् आत्मन: अवन्दिष्ठ साष्ठाङ्गम् भक्त्या भक्त्या यतीनद्रम: व्यभावयच्च महानुभावस्य अस्य चरणसरसीरुहयुगलवरिवसनाद् ऋते मया सद्य: तापत्रयावलेपन Sage Vidyāraṇya was one of the greatest personalities of India who services both to religion and country' s history remain unequalled to this day and for all his contributions he was a Sanyāsin of the Śaṅkara's lineage. He was a Brāhmaṇa belonging to Bhāradvāja gotra and follower of Bodhāyana sūtra, hailing from Karnātaka region. His father's name was Māyā and Mother Śrī Māyī. His date of birth is not known but is said to have lived for 119 years. One inscription on the side wall of the inner gopura of the Varadarāja temple of Kāñcīpuram in Grantha script of 13th – 14th century gives detail about his family as follows. It speaks of the ruling king as Saṅgama bhūpati. It also speaks about Mādhava, (identified with Vidyāraṇya of later days), who was the eldest son of Māyana, Sāyana the second son and Bhoganātha, the third son. श्री मायी जननी पिता तव मुनि्बोधायनो मायणो ज्येषठो माधव --- भृष्णुरनुज: श्रīभोगनाथो कवि: सवामी सङ्गमभूपति कविवर: श्रीकणठनाथो गुरु: श्री भारद्वाज कुलेश सायन गुनै: त्वत्तस्त्वमेवाधिक: According to this record, Mādhava has not embraced Sanyāsa yet. The guru of the king is mentioned as Śrīkaṇṭhanātha, obviously, Mādhava's family was known for its learning for his father is called a Muni and his brother a Kavi. As this Sāyana's inscription is found in Kāñcīpuram he might have come here on a pilgrimage. Saṅgama, the ruler chieftain had five sons, Harihara, Kampa, Bukka, Māra, and Mudda. These brothers were probably serving Hoysal Ballāla lll, and later asserted their independence. Hari Hara I got himself crowned in 1336 CE and was assisted by his brothers Bukka I and others, each one of them were great warriors. This was the time when Muslim power was expanding its influence particularly in the south and there were frequent fights between them and the Harihara brothers as well. Before his coronation Harihara went on a hunting expedition to the southern bank of the river Tuṅgabhadrā. There, he saw the temple of Virūpākṣa and Pampādevi and worshipped the same. By the side of the temple, he saw Vidyāraṇya, an embodiment of knowledge and piety. The Kāppalūru grant of Harihara mentions this episode and the meeting with Vidyāraṇya. As this plate issued in 1336 mentions the sage as Vidyāraṇya, he must have embraced sanyāsa by 1335 CE. There is a legend which says that Harihara saw a ferocious hound in the forest chasing a hare which stood up and gazed at the hound. The hound stood stand still. When Harihara sought the meaning of this event, the sage told him that this forest was a great place of power and knowledge advised him to build a city there which was named Vidyānagar. 18.3. Bhārati tīrttha vaiāsikya nyāyamālā Bhārati tīrttha was the tenth head if Śrīṅgēri matha, who was the great guru (guru's guru) of saint Vidyāraṇya. He wrote brief summary on the 181 topics dealt with by Vyāsa in his Brahma Sūtras and commented by Ācārya Śaṅkara. These are in the brief verses on each topic - adhikaramas. The sutra dealing with liberation of Śūdras is dealt with in Brahma Sūtras as sutra 9th adhikaramas of the 3 patala of first Adhyāya. It was Śaṅkara who gave detailed arguments about the subject.
The study of the Vedas is restricted to only the twice borns – Brāhmaṇa, Kṣatriya, and Vaisya who are authorized to wear upavita. As Śūdras are not prescribed to wear sacred threads they are not eligible for the study of the Vedas. The main question is whether Śūdras are eligible for mokṣa or not. Śaṅkara does not question the eligibility of study of the Vedas by the upper three castes. He raises the question what the meaning of Mokṣa is. He then defines Mokṣa as the "obtaining the result of knowledge "Jñānaphala prāptih mokṣa”. Jñāna can be obtained by anybody, and no one can prevent the fruits of knowledge to any jñana-phala-prāpti cannot be prevented by any.
We saw earlier about Śaṅkara citing two examples, one Vidura mentioned in the Itihāsa Mahābhārata, and Dharmavyādha from the Puraṇas, both of them were not dvijas and yet they were considered the fore most jñānis. Thus, Śaṅkara says they and others like them no doubt were liberated souls. Śaṅkara also cites authorities who say all the four Varṇas should be made to listen the Jñāna and by listening to them they will certainly attain mokṣa.
This declaration of Śaṅkara that Śūdras were also eligible to mokṣa has not received proper attention. It is necessary to note that Śaṅkara distinguishes the right to study the Vedas is conferred only after the rite of Upanayana. As a vidhi, prescription to learn the Veda adhyayana, must be preceded by Upanayana and Śūdras are not eligible for this rite and cannot learn the Vedas. Śaṅkara cites very interesting smṛti passage that says the rites are meant for purification and that Śūdras have no impurities and so have no purificatory rites like Upanayana. What has lost significance is Śaṅkarā's assertion that Śūdras can attain knowledge by simply listening to Itihāsa and Puraṇas and will attain the liberation like others. This is the most important conclusion of Śaṅkara which shows that can go beyond the Vedas. Though he upholds the Avaidika path he goes beyond it. Śaṅkara was the first Indian orthodox philosopher to declare boldly one can go beyond the Vedas and that the Śūdras had the right to that knowledge. So, he distinguishes right to adhyayana and right Vidyā and one can attain mokṣa through any means. What is more important is that all the scholars following Śaṅkara's Advaita school consistently held the view that Śūdras had the same right to knowledge as others. For example, the great guru Bhārati Tīrtha who wrote a summary of all the adhikaranas declares under these adhikaranas and in the eye of as smṛtis, Vidyā is not barred for Śūdras. 18.4. Sadāśiva, a Pāśupata at Tiruvānaikkā One of the most eminent poet-philosopher of the 17th Century C.E. was Sadāśiva Brahmam. A number of inscriptions found at Tiruvānaikoil, throw valuable light on his life and work. Sadāśiva, his father and his grandfather, have contributed to the greatness of Jambukeśvara temple, Tiruvānaikoil, Tiruchy, in the 16th and the 17th Century. Many structures and maṇḍapas in the temple were built by Sadāśiva. Sadāśiva was the son of Mahādeva Dīkṣita and the grandson of Śrīkaṇṭha Ākāśavāsī Chandraśekhara Vājapeyayāji, also called Chandraśekhara guru, who was made the head of Pāśupata maṭha, with the rights of “Arccanai”, “Tirukkaṇ cāttu muddirai”, “Kovil Kēḷvi”, “Kaṇakkeḻuttu” and “Mura-suvantiram” in the temple in Saka 1506 (C.E. 1584). Chandraśekara guru was a gṛhastha (married) heading a maṭha. Usually heads of maths were Sanyāsins recluses. The inscription referring to this appointment, mentions a number of religious works such as: • Parāśara samhitā • Kālāgni Rudropaniṣad • Sanatkumāra samhitā • Ṛg Brāhmaṇa and • Yajña karaṇa The rules enumerated in them for the followers of Pāśupata-vratins are they can be Brahmacāris, Gṛhasthas, or Sanyāsins. It also states that Upamanyu, Dadhici, Agastya, Rāma, and Kṛṣṇa were gṛhasthas who observed Pāśupata-vrata. According to the inscription Śruti and Smṛti are to be closely followed. Chandraśekara guru was commanded to be a Gṛhasta Pāśupata, conduct yajña and other rights and enjoy privileges in the temple. As mentioned earlier he performed Vājapeya sacrifice and was called Vājapeyayāji. Evidently, Chandraśekhara guru was a Vaidika Pāśupata.
Chandraśekhara was succeeded by his son Mahādeva-makhin who also performed a number of yajñas and was called Sāgnijit, Sarvajit, Mahārātrayāji. Tirumalai Nāyak of Madurai gifted lands to Mahādeva makhin in 1662 CE. Sadāśiva makhin was appointed heir apparent to the Maṭh in 1654, during the life of his father. Mahādeva makhin passed away in 1665 and his wife in 1678.
Like his ancestors, Sadāśiva makhin performed a number of sacrifices. In 1674, he performed Paśuka Cāturmāsya and Vājapeya sacrifice in the temple and to commemorate that, provided an evening service, pradoṣa-katṭṭaḷai, by gifting lands. From then on, he came to be called Sadāśiva Vājapeya Jīyar Ayyar. Sadāśiva was called by various names as Sadāśiva-swāmi, Sadāśiva-dīkṣhita, Sadāśiva-dīk****endra, Sadāśiva-makhin and Sadāśiva-vājapeya-Jīyar Ayyaṉ. He was the Dharmakartā of the temple for 60 years from 1654 CE.
According to epigraphs, he constructed a number of maṇḍapas like the Dārukāvana-vilāsa and made other additions in the Tiruvānaikka temple. The Utsava-maṇḍapa called Ayyan-maṇḍapa was constructed by him. He provided for offerings to God Chandraśekhara, on Amāvāsya and Saṅkrānti days. Likewise, the maṇḍapa north of this Utsava maṇḍapa was built by him. It bears an inscription calling it Sadāśivasvāmi maṇḍapa. The preceding maṇḍapa was built by a certain Saṅgama. The Śaṅkarālaya in the third prakāra and several maṇḍapas and tanks are said to have been built by him.
He was a great follower of Śrīkaṇṭha's “Śivādvaita” school; mention has been made that his ancestors belonged to the Śrī-Kaṇṭha Ākāsvāsī santāna. According to epigraphs, Sadāśiva composed a number of prabandhas on the greatness of Śiva of Kāvai (Ānaikkā). A few of them are found engraved on the temple. One of the verses states that he alone is a learned man who interprets “Praṇavam” in the Advaita sense. Another verse praises the three names of Śiva. A number of verses praise Sadāśiva and the three names of Śiva and the Śiva cult he propagated. There are also inscriptions recording Sadāśiva's literary attainments. He erected a Jayasthambas, bearing Śivanāma-traya (Śiva, Śamkara, and Sambhu) in Jambukeśvara and Māturbūteśvara temples. These pillars bearing epigraphs, still exist in the temple.
This Sadāśiva guru is probably identical with the celebrated Sadāśiva Brahmendra Sadguru, considered a great Advaita saint. In fact, he was a Śivādvaitin of the Śrīkaṇṭha school. He has written a commentary called Brahmatatva Prakāśikā on the Brahma-sūtras and a glossary Yoga-sudhākara on Pātañjala sūtras. His work “Daharavidyā Prakāśikā”, and a Commentary on Śiva-Gīta, extol the supremacy of Śiva and at the same time pay homage to Viṣṇu. According to tradition, Sadāśiva was a diciple of Paramaśivendra Saraswati, the 57th head of Kañchī Kāmakoṭi Pīṭha. Being a Pāśupata Siddhāntin, he believed in Māyā and hence was a great devotee of Akhilāṇḍanāyaki. According to one tradition, there lived two Sadāśiva as contemporaries, one the Pāsupata and the other was the Advaitin. On account of intense devotion to Śrī Śiva and being a great Pāśupata he became an “avadūta” (naked sayasin) towards the end of his life and attained samādhi in Nerūr near Karūr in 1714.
18.5. Narayaṇa Tīrthar Nārāyaṇa Tīrtha was a Telugu Smārtha Brāhmaṇas who lived between 1650 and 1750. He lived in Varahūr near Tiruvaiyāru, in Tañjāvūr district and was one of the greatest contributors to the bhajan sampradaya and has contributed to Advaita Vedānta by his works and was a great exponent of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and Kriṣṇa and Rāma Bhakti. Like his contemporaries, he has composed dance dramas on Pārijātapaharaṇam both in Telugu and Sanskrit. He wrote the famous dance composition on Kṛṣṇa-līla-taraṅgiṇi in dance in bhajan style. Some of the poems of this composition are immortal songs sung to this day. He took Sanyāsa and left his mortal coils. It is amazing to note that it was the age of great sanyāsins especially of the Advaita order who spread Rāma Bhakti and Kṛṣṇa Bhakti during this period. He joins the galaxy of lumiriaries like Tyāgarāja, Sat sadgurumaharāj of Marudanallūr, Alaṅgudi Swāmikaḷ, Bodendrāḷ and others. They electrified the bhakti movement in the 17th and 18th cent by their devotional songs. He has also written a text Haribhakti Sudhārnavam a text on the dasamas kandha of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. 18.6. Saint Tyāgarāja Two documents that were in the possession of Mr. V. Narayanaswami Iyer, Advocate, Tañjāvūr, throw valuable light on the ancestry of Saint Tyāgarāja. They are in Modi script and in Marathi language with a few verses in Sanskrit in Nagari characters.
The documents are dated in the Saka year 1657, and in the cyclic year Rākṣasa, month Puṣya, Trayodasi-Makara Śaṅkrānti day corresponding to December 30, 1735. The documents were issued as dāna-patras (gift deeds) by the queen of the Mahratta ruler Ekoji II. The queen states in the deed, “I have created an Agrahāram and Ekamahār ājapuram near the village Mahimālaiya VīraCōḻa Peṭṭai on the road to Dipāmbāpuram. Eighty-seven vēlis and 31/2 mā of land were gifted by me for this purpose in the hands of Peṣva to build a Śiva temple, a Viṣṇu temple, a pāṭaṣāla, maṭha for Jñānis, houses for Brāhmins and a grazing ground for cows. Out of this, 3/4 vēli of wetland is assigned as sarvamānya (total gift) to the performer of Bhāgavatameḷā, Girirāja Kaviśvara, the son of Ahobala Śāstri and grandson of Gopāla Bhaṭṭa”.
Unfortunately, the document is badly mutilated. Luckily, a careful copy of the document made in 1943 is available. The other document, well preserved (illustrated here) is identical with the first except for the name of the donee, who is mentioned as Venkatēśa Kavi, son of Venkatagiri Kavi and grandson of Ahobala Śastri. According to the grant, Venkatēśa Kavi belonged to the Lohita gotra, Darbha Kula and Āpastamba sūtra. The deed also bears the royal seal of the Mahrātta court. Apparently, a number of Brāhmin families were given shares in the villages as śrotriyam and would have received similar documents.
That Girirāja Kavīśvara (the receiver of the first grant) was the maternal grandfather of Saint Tygārāja is known. The other recipient was a son of Girirāja's brother Vēṅkatagiri who was also an eminent poet. In his Telugu version of the "Abhinayadarpaṇa", he says that he belonged to the Lohitagotra, Darbhakula and Āpastambai sūtra. He makes a specific reference to his elder brother Girirāja Kavīśvara (Girirāja Kavīśvara anuja). That each of the brother's family got a share in the “EkIojirāja Agrahāram” is borne out by these documents.
Girirāja Kavi was an illustrious composer of music and dance drama and served in the court of four Mahratta rulers Shaji II and Ekoji I, Tukkoji and Ekoji II (1736-1739). He composed a number of Yakṣagānas (Bhāgavata-melas) like the “Rāja-mohini-Kuravañci” and “Lilāvati-Kalyāṇam” in which the Marātta rulers Shaji II and Saraboji I figured as the heroes. He has composed several excellent musical compositions; over 200 of “Sriṅgārapadas” are preserved in the Sarasvati Mahal library, Tañjāvūr. Girirāja Kavi was considered a leading luminary in the 18th century.
Girirāja Kavi's daughter Seethalakshmi was married to Rāma-brahmam of Tiruvārūr who expounded the Rāmāyaṇa in the Maratta Court of Tañjāvūr. Tyāgabrahman, born to them, remembers his mother in the famous lines of his song “Girirāja sutātanaya”. The present documents show that Girirāja Kavi was not merely a composer of music and dance but also conducted and acted in Bhāgavata-melas (Girirāja Kavīśvara Bhāgavata mela yamsa). It is not known whether these Bhāgavata-melas (more than five are known) were enacted in Tañjāvūr or at Ekojirājapuram which is near modern Sāliyamaṅgalam where the Bhagavatamela tradition has continued to this day. As Girirāja Kavi tops the list of great composers in the court of Shāji and that he continued to receive patronage in the courts of four Maratta Kings till 1736, it is not unlikely that he was enacting Bhāgavata-melas in Tañjāvūr.
It is against the background of this Bhāgavata-mela tradition, both in his own family and also in villages near Tiruvaiyāru like Melattūr (where the composition of Saint Nārāyaṇa Tīrtha were enacted), the two Bhagavata-mela compositions of Saint Tyāgarāja, the “Nauka Charita" and “Prahlāda Bhakti Vijaya" should be viewed. The dance drama “Nauka Charita”, purely Tyagaraja's creation is full of Sṛṅgāra emotions. Probably it was composed during his early years. It is not unlikely, that following his maternal grandfather, Tyāgarāja participated in the Bhāgavata-melas in his youth. His compositions indicate his interest in Nāṭya and his command over Nāṭya science. For example, in his song “Vidulamrokkeda Sangeetako” set to rāga Māyāmālava-gauḷa he pays obeisance to Bharata, Someśvara, Sāraṅgadeva and Nandideva besides others who were great Master of Dance.
V. Narayanaswami Iyer, who was 89 years of age when he showed the document and in whose possession these documents were preseerved is a descendant of Kavi Venkatagiri. As Girirāja Kavi had only one daughter (the mother of Tyagarāja), his share of 3/4 Veli at Ekojirājapuram also came to Venkatagiri's family. Nārāyaṇaswāmi Iyer's paternal grandfather Vīraswāmi was an astrologer in the court of the last Mahratta ruler Sivaji II (1833-1855). A portrait painting of this court Josya is preserved in Nārāyaṇaswāmi Iyer's house. But far more important is a painting of Rāma, Sīta, Lakṣmaṇa and others done in the tradition of the Tañjāvūr school in silver sheet with paintings, preserved in the house, portraying Samartha Rāmadās on one side and Kabīrdas on the other. Below the panel is shown in miniature, Saint Tyāgarāja in his traditional costumes. The painting would have been made in 1860s by Vīraswāmi, within 15 or 20 years of the demise of the Saint (in 1847). This could be one of the authentic portraits of Saint Tyāgarāja that has survived to this day. Also under worship in this house is a group of metal images, small in size of Rāma, Sītā, Hanuman, Bharata and Śatrugṇa affectionately adored as Rāma Pañcāyatana. These images assignable to the 18th century are said to have been originally worshipped by Kavi Vēṅkatagiri, the brother of Girirāja Kavi. It is virtually a pilgrimage to a histsoric family to see the documents, images and paintings worshipped by generations of a family that has enriched the country by its contribution to art and culture.
