Among the six prabhandhams of Thirumangai alwar the two well known as Siriya and Periya Thirumadals are unique for the display of “Nayaka Naayaki Bhavam”.
The mystic love that Alwar feels for Sriman Narayana breakforth in torrents. The alwar in the role of Parakala nayaki feels rejected by her lord and threatens to embarrass her naayakan in public by riding on a madalm to make her love and humiliation public.
According to “Sangam “ Tamil tradition Madal Oordhal a madal erudhal is performed by man smitten by a woman. Roughly transalated this would mean “riding a palmyra Stem.’
Love in ancient Tamil tradition falls into two large divisions, Kalavu and Karpu. In Kalaavu love is at first sight. But on some occasions this love will be one sided called Kaikkilai. In such cases the affected person will try to convey the love through his / her friends. If the love is still not accepted, the male usually takes recourse to the madal Erudhal. The male or thalivan wants to publicise that he was denied by his lady love. He makes a harse panai olai (Palm leaves) and draws or paints his lovers picture on a cloth and hangs it as a flag on the horse and wears tattered clothes, and erukkam poo maalai and spreads ash all over his body. His friends will then carry him around in alankolam and along the way the love sick man will cry out to the public about the merciless female and her family who denied him, in the hope that the woman would at least now agree to marry him.
Here Thirumangai alwar portrayed himself as parakaala Nayaki a female performing madal oordhal as an expression of intense and insatiable love for the Lord. He threatens the Lord that if he will not present his darshan to him he will do madal erudhal. As parakala naayaki the course taken is.
1. Madal is a fanatic appeal to God to come down from his transcendental kingdom to accept the purest flower of love offering (kaama Pushpam)
2. It is what the individual soul can not but do.
3. It is the final act of throwing away all pride and vanity.
4. It is a non violent resistence. This is to be held as an extreme step. It is the state in which love is all absorbing and the only refuge.
5. Madal is used in a spiritual way for a spiritual goal and as an anga to saranagathi or self surrender.
6. The madals are the dramatization of the acute psychosis set up by Thirumangai’s faith in absolute self surrender to the Lord.
7. Bridal mysticism and the mental process behind it elaborated by the madals is one which transforms and transports the mystics to a supra physical plane. Love of God is like love of a woman for a purusha…. Here for purushotthama.
Siriya thirumadal consists of 155 lines of exquisite poetry. The Taniyan for siriya Thirumaadal composed by poet kamban.
MuLLicchezhumalaro tArAn mulai mathiyam koLLikkennuLLam kothiyAmE… VaLLal
ThiruvaLan Sirkkaliyan kAkaliyai Vetti maruvAlan tanthAn Madal.
The generous Thirumangai Alwar of infinite auspicious gunas adoring the sharp sword and the MuLLi flower garland has blessed us with the SiRiya Thirumadal and has cut asunder the darkness of Nescience of Kali yugam with his sword. This great alwar has blessed me with SiRiya madal to quench all the taapams caused by all objects such as rising moon burning me as fire.- as a result of my separation from the Lord.
Gods assurance to the soul that loves Him alone and to whom the soul has totally dedicated itself, is of greatest spiritual value to the soul, and it is on this truth of God’s word, as prophasised in the Mahabaratha that the madals revolve.
The alwar thus seeks gods intervention not being able to bear the separation from his only aim in life to reach and serve God.
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