Srinivasa Perumal Temple,
Sorkapallam – Legends
Nathamuni (823 CE–951 CE)
was a Vaishnava theologian who collected
and compiled the Nalayira Divya Prabandham. He is considered
the first of Sri Vaishnava Aacharyas. He is also the author of Yogarahasya and Nyayatattva.
Nathamuni is generally considered to have been born in 823 AD and to have died
in 951 AD. His birth name was Aranganathan however he was known as Nathamuni or
literally the Saint lord (Nathan-lord, muni-saint).
An alternative view is that he
was born in 582 AD and died in 922 AD. Yet another view is that Nathamuni
was born at Veeranarayana Puram sometime shortly after
907 AD and flourished in the 10th century. The traditional view that he lived
for than 400 years is untenable. It is likely that Nathamuni lived for slightly
over a hundred years in that region controlled by the Chola kings before they rose
to the peak of their greatness. His birth star was Anusham.
Though there is difficulty in
fixing Nathamuni's date of birth and age, he is considered to have lived during
the lifetime of Madhurakavi Alvar's Parampara. That
Nathamuni was in contact with Nammalvar is
attested by the Guru-Parampara, Divya Suri Charita and Prappannamrta.
The Prappannamrta also attests that Nathamuni was born in the village
Viranarayana. Viranarayana is today generally identified as Kattumannar
Koil. His Thiruvarasu, from where he left for eternal abode on
Magha Sukla Paksha Ekadasi, is located at Sorkapallam, Gangai Konda Cholapuram.
His father's name was Isvara Bhatta
and his son's name was Isvaramuni. His grandson was Yamunacharya who
was probably named in commemoration of a pilgrimage that Nathamuni took to the
banks of the Yamuna along with his son (Isvara Muni) and daughter-in-law. It is
believed that his other names were Sadamarsana Kula Tilakar, Sottai Kulathu
Arasar and Ranganatha Acharya.
He spent time travelling in
north India. He came to know about Nalayira Divya Prabandham, but he heard
only 10 hymns. He wanted the rest. He recited 12000 times, Kanninun Siruthambu,
a poem in praise of Nammazhvar. Nammazhvar appeared and gave the 4000 hymns (Nalayira
Divya Prabandham). He was the one who brought back the 4000 hymns. In addition
to teaching the hymns to his two nephews at Srirangam,
he introduced them into the Srirangam Temple Service at the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam where
he was the Temple Administrator.
The story goes that Nathamuni,
while at the Vishnu temple at Mannargudi, his native place, heard some Brahmins
from the Southern end of the Peninsula recite Tamil verses of Satakopa
addressed to the Vishnu God of Kumbakonam and was charmed with their sense and
diction. He also found that these verses concluded with the words “These
10 out of the thousand, composed by Satakopa”. Nathamuni thus placed in the
track of research seems to have finally recovered the whole of Satakopa’s works
and then rearranged them and the extant works of the other Alwars into four
collections of about a thousand stanzas each.
The ritual of worship as
followed in Vishnu Temples is based on two early standard works. The first
being Vaikhanasa Sutra which probably belongs to the Krishna
Yajurveda school. The other is the Panchratra Agama which belongs to
the extensive Tantra literature, believed to have been composed by
Narayana himself. The Agama has a peculiar philosophy of its own, the Bhagavata
Cult, which is very old and is referred to in the Mahabharata
and Badarayana Sutras. Nathamuni, made a provision for the recitation of
Tamil Vedas on appropriate occasions during the main festivals of the lord.
He is thought to be the
originator of the Araiyar Sevai. The modern days
'Thathachariars' a sect of Tamil
Nadu Iyengars are the descendants of this
Aacharya, housing a lot of great people in Sri
Vaishnavism ranging from Sri Alavandar ( Sri Yamunacharya),
Sri Thirumalai Nambikal, Sri Emberumanar, Sri Kurugesar, Sri Panchamatha
bandhana Thatha Desikan, Sri Kotikannikadhana Sri Lakshmi Kumara Thathachariar.
The disciples of this Aacharya known as 'Melayagaththalwan' and
'Keelayagaththalwan' families propagated this Aarayar Sampradaya.
Nammazhwar's songs are sung to
this day at Srirangam and other places of where Vishnu is worshipped. Nathamuni
is said to have set them into music after his discovery of these verses. During
that period, a dancing girl sang songs in the same celestial tune (in which
Nathamuni set the Prabandhams into music) at the court of the Chola king
in Gangaikonda Cholapuram. The
tune was rare and could not be appreciated by the common folk and hence the
king slighted the dancer.
The dancer travelled to the Veeranarayanapuram Vishnu
temple and sang before God in the same celestial tune. This was appreciated by
Nathamuni who understood the nuances of the tune. On hearing that Nathamuni
himself had appreciated the dancer's singing, the king visited the temple and
enquired why Nathamuni had appreciated that unfamiliar tune. To display his
prowess, Nathamuni ordered several cymbals to be sounded and determined the weight
of the cymbals from the pitch of the sound that they produced. This impressed
the king and he accepted the superiority of the celestial tune.
There is an inconsistency in
this anecdote. During the time of Nathamuni (late 9th century), Uraiyur was
the capital of the Chola kings, and Gangaikonda Cholapuram had
not been founded yet. However, it is possible that the site of the city was
used as an alternative capital or had a palace that was frequented by the
kings. One of Nathamuni's most illustrious disciples was Pundarikaksha, who
hasn't left any literary work behind him. It is believed that Nathamuni had a
vision where he foresaw the birth of his grandson Yamunacharya and
deputed Pundarikaksha to be his spiritual guru (who in turn deputed his
disciple Ramamisra to guide Yamunacharya).
It is said that Nathamuni once
asked Pundarikaksha to escort his wife Aravinda Pavai to the residence of
her father Vangipurathachi. On reaching the house of Vangipurathachi
he was served stale food as he was from an inferior caste among Brahmins. Yet
he never resented the apparent slight and indignity but accepted it cheerfully.
When Nathamuni heard of this incident, he realized that it was a mark
of high spiritual advancement and called him by the name
of Uyyakondar - “Savior of the new dispensation”.
