The 'King of Madurai' who quit his kingdom to offer selfless service to the Lord of Srirangam
Provides a specific methodology for prayer in his Perumal Thirumozhi
Born in Thiru Vanjikalam in
Kerala on Maasi Punarvasu, Kulasekara Azhvaar married a Pandya princess and
ruled the Chera kingdom from Vanji and later won over Madurai. In his verses he
refers to himself as the King of Madurai and a Chieftain of Koodal. He also
refers to himself as the head of Kozhi and hence may have expanded his kingdom
to his favourite city of Srirangam (Uraiyur) as well.
Later he passed on his kingdom to
his son and chose a path of service to the Lord. He moved to Srirangam and began his work (referred
to as Perumal Thirumozhi in the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham) with praise of Lord
Ranganatha who seemed to be his favourite. In all he contributed to 105 verses in
the Divya Prabhandham.
In his 3 decads of praise of the Lord
of Srirangam, he has showcased the way to invoke the blessings of the Lord.
He says one should immerse oneself in prayers
while seeking the Lord and also provides a methodology for a prayer with
interesting specifics such as ‘bow down with humility’, ‘simply melt in
devotion’ in front of the Lord, ‘pray sincerely with folded hands’, stand in
front of the Lord and try to experience him with tears in your eyes, mingle
with like-minded devotees at the temple and repent for every wrong deed of
yours.
He has dedicated a couple of
entire decads showcasing the merits of devotees of Srirangam much in the way Periyazhvaar
praised the devotees of Thirukoshtiyur. He says that it is important to pay
reverence to the devotees of the Lord and that is integral to worship to the
Lord. Probably the most interesting insight in the first three decads of his
unflinching praise on Ranganatha is a lesson that is quite relevant for the
devotees even now.
‘The fact that he relinquished his kingdom and dedicated his entire time
in devotion to the Lord did not go well with many who considered him as having
taken an action in haste and went to the extent of branding him as Mad. However
he hits back at them pointing out to them that it is they who are mad for they
do not realise as to how blessed he is having been taken away from the world of
materialistic desires to one of true life time devotion.’
Contrary to the normal thought
process of not wanting another life, he says that he is okay to be born again
even as a fish or a bird or an ant or any other creature if it provides him an
opportunity to be close to the Lord ( of Tirumala).
His verses of praise on the Lord
of Vittuvakodu are addressed to provide motivation to a devotee in trouble and showcasing
the importance of total Surrender to the Lord.
While Devaki gave birth to
Krishna, she had to let him go soon after his birth and rarely had the fortune
of seeing him grow. However Kausalya was lot more fortunate and her son Rama
grew into a young handsome boy right in her presence and she sings lullabies to
Rama.
The verses relating to Dasaratha
and his laments are sorrowful and apologetic as he presents his state of having
to send his son out of the kingdom based on an old promise handed to his wife
right on the eve of his coronation.
Kulasekara Azhvaar presents the
entire story of the Ramayana in the final decad praising the Lord of
Chidambaram ( Thillai Nagar).
He spent his final days in
Brahmmadesam ( Mannar Koil) where he has a temple named after him and a
separate Sannidhi with Dwajasthambam, the only one of its kind (http://prtraveller.blogspot.in/2009/11/kulasekara-perumal-koil-in-mannar-koil.html)
.A series on Perumal Thirumozhi follows....
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