PAZHAMUDHIR CHOLAI

Pazhamudir cholai or Thirumal iruncholai

Korum Adiyargal kurai theerkum mugam ondre

Salutations to the face that removes all miseries from the lives of the supplicant devotees

The temple town of Madurai whose presiding deities are Lord Soma Sundareswara and Meenakshi has to its north and south two shrines (Padai veedu) dedicated to Lord Murugan. Azhagar malai also known as Rishaba hills is considered to be the mortal remains of the divine bull Nandi who came down to the earth to save the city of Madurai from the onslaught of a demonic cow created by the adversaries of Shaivas (followers of Lord Shiva) through their abichara (nefarious) yagna.

In these pleasant hills is situated a very ancient and beautiful temple dedicated to Lord Sundararaja Perumal called as Kallazhagar. The Lord is considered to be the chieftain of the robber clans that abut the hills who earn a living through robbing the wayfarers who travel from the north to the city of Madurai. The Lord is of exquisite beauty and hence is called Azhagar, the most beautiful. It is therefore in the fitness of things that the Lord’s nephew Muruga who eclipses the Lord of Love Manmada in beauty, takes His lodgings along with His uncle in the beautiful Azhagar malai. The temple of Lord Muruga is situated in the hills above the temple of Maha Vishnu on the way to an eternal spring called Nupura ganga as it flows from a rock supposed to be an ornament worn on Her toes by Devi Kali.

The Lord here gives darshan with His two divine consorts, Valli and Devayanai representing the Iccha and Kriya Shakti with the gnana shakti Velayudam on His hand.  It is said that in ancient times there was only a Trishulam in this place and it was only later that the Lord’s present image was installed. As Arunagirinathar’s song mentions, the Lord answers the prayers of His devotees and removes their grief and fulfills their wants.  If the Lord is all knowing why there should be a prayer for fulfillment of wants and removal of grief is the question that comes to our mind.  The other angle to this is, if the Lord is only a Karma Phala datha and is a silent onlooker like the upanishadic bird, what is the use for praying to him?

Our latent tendencies or vasanas carried over from innumerable births relentlessly push us towards experiencing our karma phala. We have a choice, either to exercise our free will or to just leave everything to God and take things as they come. If we choose the former, we would only be responsible for the resultant experience, whereas if we accept things as they come, we shall be in a state of equipoise. So, if our prayers are for the fulfillment of our desires or removal of sorrow, depending on our karma phala, the Lord will grant our wish to the extent we have the bank balance of karma phala.  If on the other hand our prayers are for requesting the Lord to give us what we deserve, then we can always be in a state of satisfaction even if our desires are not fulfilled.

The Lord who is the karma phala dhatha resides in Phazahm Udir cholai, which means the forest where the fruits fall on their own accord. This signifies that the Lord makes the fruits of action mature on their own so that no further action or karma ensues on account of the experience of the fruits. The Maha Mrutyunjaya Mantra states when one worships the Lord with three eyes and everlasting fragrance, the freedom from the cycle of birth and death shall happen in the most natural way like the cucumber separating from its vine when it is mature. Thus, Lord Subhramanya blesses those who pray to him with the annihilation of the fruits of action (karma phala) by making the fruits fall down from the tree of samsara.

There is a story about the grand old Tamizh lady Avvaiyar and the playful boy Murugan.  In the Pazhamudir cholai, Murugan was sitting on the branch of a guava tree laden with fruits. When Avvai requested the boy to pluck and throw some fruits to her, the boy asked her what she would like to have – grilled ones or ungrilled ones (sutta pazham venuma sudaatha pazham venuma) ?  Who ever had heard about baked fruits? Avvaiyar chose to have baked fruits and the Lord gave her darshan mounted on the beautiful peacock with Valli and Devayanai by His side. Therefore grilled fruits mean the ripened fruits of action whose seeds will not germinate for the simple reason that they have been subject to heat, that is, they have been treated by the Lord in His own way that they do not give rise to further action.

Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathiyar says that the Lord gives us the fruit, but when we are half way through eating the same, He would take it away from us and when we once again beseech Him, He would take a bite and then give the rest to us.  How beautifully Bharathiyar has described the Divine intervention in helping us annihilate our karma!!

Thirumal irum cholai represents the Manipooraka chakra. This chakra is situated in the navel region of the human body and its presiding deity is Lord Maha Vishnu. Kallazhagar (Vishnu) is the presiding deity of Azhagar malai of which Pazhamudir cholai is a part. The Manipooraka chakra is a repertoire of jewels (Mani – pooraka), the jewels of past, present and future experiences. To attain this chakra, the first knot of Brahma grandhi which comes after the Swadishtana chakra needs to be crossed. Once this chakra is attained, it opens up the path to spiritual progress in the seeker. It is only because of the activation of this chakra in humans that humans are able to walk erect unlike animals that walk on all fours. There are ten fires and ten vayus (wind power) that are controlled by this chakra. Lord Maha Vishnu with His consort Maha Lakshmi blesses the devotees with both material and spiritual wealth if only one should care to ask for the same (Ask and it shall be given).

Let us pray to Lord Murugan who is Mayon Marugan with Valli and Devayanai at Pazhamudir cholai to bless us with whatever He considers best for us and we shall not be found wanting materially and spiritually.

OM TAT SAT