nammalwar hymn

A devotee who was very addicted to chewing betel nut used to carry a very small Salagram, one of the self-manifested forms of the Lord, in his pocket and worship it regularly by chanting the hymns compiled by Nammalwar. The devotee used to often mistake the Salagram for a betel nut, as he used to carry both Salagram and betel nuts in similar boxes, and used to put it in his mouth. Immediately after realizing his mistake he used to take the Salagram out of his mouth and perform abhisheka to the Lord while singing Nammalwar’s hymns to atone for the sin that he had committed.

Unable to quit his habit and being disgusted with himself, the devotee handed over the Salagram to a pious Brahmin thinking that his Salagram would be properly taken care of. However, the Lord appeared in the Brahmin’s dream and told him to return His Salagrama form to the devotee who gave it to him. The Lord also told the Brahmin that though the said devotee used to often put the Salagram in his mouth mistaking it to be a betel nut, He liked the manner in which the devotee used to sing the hymns that Nammalwar had compiled with love.

May all glories be to the lotus feet of Nammalwar and his disciple, Madhurakavi-alwar and blessed be the devotees who read the glories of Nammalwar, who is included among the greatest devotees.

The Pandya King who ruled over Thirunagari and its surrounding areas had passed a law making it mandatory for every poet to submit his works to the council headed by the court poet, Kambanatt-azhwan, for its scrutiny. As Nammalwar’s works did not have the approval of the council, the Pandya king, sent his men to summon Madhurakavi-alwar. The King’s soldiers asked Madhurakavi-alwar to bring Nammalwar to the court and present all his works before the council for its scrutiny. Being enraged at the arrogance of the soldiers, Madhurakavi-alwar told them that his master, Nammalwar, would not even budge from the place where he is sitting and gave them a palm leaf that contained one stanza from one of the hymns of Nammalwar and asked them to place it before the council for its scrutiny.

The passage engraved in the palm leaf read, “Kannan-kazhal inai nannu manam udayir ennum tiru-naman tinnam naraname,” which means “Those whose hearts are in love with the lotus feet of Lord Krishna, take this mantra for meditation, it is indeed the holy name of the Lord.”

After reading that particular passage the council consisting of 300 scholars and the court poet, Kambanatt-azhwan, became the disciples of Nammalwar.

According to popular belief, Nammalwar stayed on this planet till he turned 32 and the Lord Himself came to Vaikuntha’s door to take him in. To commemorate this, Vaikuntha Ekadashi is celebrated in all Vishnu temples. 1,296 hymns were compiled by Nammalwar during his lifetime.

A crown with the lotus feet of the Lord on the top of it is kept in the Sri Vaishnava temple, signifying Nammalwar’s intense desire to dwell under the lotus feet of the Lord. The crown represents Nammalwar’s head.  This crown is named Shatari and is symbolically placed on the heads of the believers who visit the temple to show the Lordship of the Supreme Lord as well as to signify our eternal servitude to His lotus feet.