Kediliappa Pillai, an administrative officer in the Nayak Kingdom, and Gajavalli offered their son Siva Chidambaram in adoption to his elder brother, as his brother Vedaranyam had no child of his own. Moving to Trisirapuram from Vedaranyam, on the invitation of the Minister Govindappa to serve the King Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha’s court, both Kediliappa and Gajavalli now frequented Lord Thayumanavar seeking for another child. The good Lord blessed them with one who they named Tayumanavar. After his father’s demise Tayumanavar was offered his father’s job. Although he had access to the royal kingdom and its luxuries, all these did not lure Tayumanavar from his keen yearning to know the Lord.
Tayumanavar who frequented the rock-temple for his daily worship, met his master there and immediately asked that he take him into his fold and allow him to follow and serve him. Mauna Guru was an embodiment of Lord Dhaksanamurthy. He hardly spoke. But he made an exception then.
Dr B Natarajan in his translation of SONGS OF SAINT TAYUMANAVAR describes the meeting between Tayumanavar and his guru, Mauna Guru.
"Master" said the disciple, "I shall follow Thee, renouncing home and royal service."
"Wait, good soul!" admonished the Teacher, "be a householder until you beget a child. Then I shall come to initiate you in meditation."
The master put him on a regime to follow and left,
"Be silent. Rest in peace. Keep quiet (Summa Eru). Have faith. You will reach the supreme state of Bliss".
Thayumanavar followed the master’s teachings faithfully.
At the invitation of his brother Siva Chidambaram, Tayumanavar with his disciple Arulayya left for his hometown Vedaranyam. He was married to Mattuvarkuzhali and later had a son Kanakasabhapati. When his wife passed away, he entrusted his son to his brother’s care and waited for the return of his master. The master came as promised.
Dr B Natarajan writes further,
"The Master came one day when he was meditating before the vast sea near Vedaranyam. Thayumanavar fell at his feet crying:
"Master, by Thy Grace, I am free to follow Thee. Bless me with Thy Grace. Let me enter the high plane of superconscious trance. Let my being thrill with the nectar of immortality"
The Master graciously looked at the ripe soul and said, "My darling, your psychic being is ripe enough to receive that yoga. My son, hear from me the ancient wisdom taught by Sri Mula (Thirumular) and Satyadarsi and sing it to humanity."
The Divine Master, then initiated the faithful disciple in super conscious trance, poured his energy into him and watched his progress for a few days before he disappeared.
Many years later, Tayumanavar willed to shed his mortal frame. He entered his room and closed the door leaving a note outside which read, (Dr B Natarajan's translation)
"Dear friends, withdraw the mind from the senses and fix it in meditation. Control the thought-current. Find out the thought-centre and fix yourself there. Then you will be conscious of the Divine Self; you will see it dancing in ecstasy. Live in that delight. That Delight-Consciousness, is the God in you. He is in every heart. You need not go anywhere to find Him. Find your own core and feel Him there. Peace, bliss, felicity, health - everything is in you. Trust in the Divine in you. Entrust yourself to His Grace. Be as you are. Off with past impressions. He who lives from within an in-gathered soul-life is a real Sage though he may be a householder. He who allows his mind to wander with the senses is an ignoramus, though he is learned. See as a witness, without the burden of seeing. See the world just as you see a drama. See without attachment, Look within. Look at the inner light unshaken by mental impressions. Then, floods of conscious bliss shall come pouring in and around you from all directions. This is the supreme Knowledge; realize! Aum Aum!"
Arulayya broke open the door and was confronted by the body of his guru in union with the Lord. Tayumanavar went into samadhi in the Tamil year of Subakiruthu, Tamil month of Thai, Visaka Natchathiram which coincided with a full moon day, of 15th of January 1742.
My family and I witnessed a miracle at Lord Tayumanavar's Temple at Trichy which was the last leg of our tour of India last October. After paying our respects to Lord Ganapathy at the start of our climb, we arrived at Tayumanavar's Temple. We were dazed for a while as to which way to go to get the darshan of the Lord. That is when we hear a clap. A man clad in white shirt and dhoti beckoned us to approach him. He only made hand gestures and sounds. Immediately he hurried away looking back occasionally to see if we were following him. He took us around the temple complex, touching the deities and motioning us to follow suite. At one spot he stopped in his tracks and got down on his knees, motioning us to do so to. And then he pointed out to us a Shivalinga, visible only through a small opening, snuggled on a level below the one we stood on. He then lead us to Ambal's sannadhi. Then he motioned us to go up a couple of steps and we did as directed, while he stayed behind. There was Lord Shiva seated majestically in the form of a Shivalingam. As we came down the steps he was waiting on us. He then lead us out of the inner chambers to the passage where we joined the other devotees. He pointed the way to Uchipilaiyar's Temple. We were still in a daze, now more dazed then ever as to what had transpired a moment ago. Who was this soul who came to our aid?
Vedaranyan has a special place in our hearts too. This was where Agathiyar opened his eyes in his granite statue in his temple at Agasthiyampalli, Vedaranyam just as he had promised in the Nadi reading. This is also the very first temple built for Agathiyar by a Asura King Kuberan at the start of Kali yuga in recognition of Agathiyar curing him and his subjects by feeding them. This revelation was made known to Dr V.M Jayapalan of Bangalore during his meditation. The Dr narrates the historic turn of events in the following video.
My family and I witnessed a miracle at Lord Tayumanavar's Temple at Trichy which was the last leg of our tour of India last October. After paying our respects to Lord Ganapathy at the start of our climb, we arrived at Tayumanavar's Temple. We were dazed for a while as to which way to go to get the darshan of the Lord. That is when we hear a clap. A man clad in white shirt and dhoti beckoned us to approach him. He only made hand gestures and sounds. Immediately he hurried away looking back occasionally to see if we were following him. He took us around the temple complex, touching the deities and motioning us to follow suite. At one spot he stopped in his tracks and got down on his knees, motioning us to do so to. And then he pointed out to us a Shivalinga, visible only through a small opening, snuggled on a level below the one we stood on. He then lead us to Ambal's sannadhi. Then he motioned us to go up a couple of steps and we did as directed, while he stayed behind. There was Lord Shiva seated majestically in the form of a Shivalingam. As we came down the steps he was waiting on us. He then lead us out of the inner chambers to the passage where we joined the other devotees. He pointed the way to Uchipilaiyar's Temple. We were still in a daze, now more dazed then ever as to what had transpired a moment ago. Who was this soul who came to our aid?
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| At Agathiyar's Temple, Agasthiyampalli, Vedaranyam. Photo courtesy of Tavayogi Thangarasan Adigal |
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| Agathiyar as he appears in Vedaranyam in 2009. Photo courtesy of Varadaraj of the Bronze Creative, Swamimalai |
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| Agathiyar at Vedaranyam in 2012. Photo courtesy of Suren Selvaratnam |
A replica in bronze of Agathiyar in Vedaranyam beautifully sculpted by Varadaraj of the Bronze Creative is being worshiped at Agathiyar Vanam in Malaysia following Agathiyar's directives in the Nadi reading.
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| Agathiyar performs the same feat of opening his eyes to bless his devotees in the replica of his form at Agathiyar Vanam, Malaysia. Photo courtesy of Praba Shanmugam Avadaiyappa |
(The above biography of Tayumanavar is based on Dr B Natarajan's translation available at http://www.mountainman.com.au/thayumanavar/bkground.htm, http://www.scribd.com/doc/211340505/The-Songs-of-Tayumanavar and at https://www.himalayanacademy.com/view/the-songs-of-tayumanavar)