Credit for their resurrection goes to VT Subramania Pillai (1846-1909) who published them in six parts. He is said to have composed over 16000 songs of which only 1300 or so survive. Arunagirinathar must have been a contemporary. Putting legends to one side, historians have identified Praudha Deva Raja to be King Deva Raya II of Vijayanagar (ruled 1421 to 1448 AD). The tower from which he flew as a parrot is said to be the “kiLi” (parrot) gOpuram in the Tiruvannamalai temple. The composer then resumed his natural form. The saint left his mortal body and assuming the form of a parrot, flew into the heavens and brought back the dEva pArijAtam, a divine flower, which restored the King’s sight. An interesting legend says that when the King was suffering from poor vision, he sought Arunagirinathar’s help. Some of his compositions speak of a King by name Praudha Deva Raja. Lord Subrahmanya is said to have manifested on one of the pillars in support of his devotee. He is said to have subdued those who believed in human sacrifices, in a duel fought at the sixteen pillared hall near the Sivaganga tank inside the temple precincts. It is with Tiruvannamalai that the composer is most closely associated. In addition he also composed hymns at the panca bhUta sthalAs of Kanchipuram, Tiruvanaikka, Tiruvannamalai, Kalahasti and Chidambaram. ![]() He then proceeded to visit many of the great shrines of Subrahmanya in India and Sri Lanka and sang of them. Later he is said to have visited Vayalur (a Subrahmanya shrine near Tiruchirapalli) where he is said to have begun composing in real earnest. The verse beginning with the word muttaittaru is considered to be his first composition. As per one version, the Lord himself gave the composer the first word for his songs namely “mutti”. ![]() He gave up all thoughts of putting an end to his life and burst into song, singing of his patron deity. As he was about to perpetrate the act, Lord Subrahmanya appeared before him and with his vEl (spear) inscribed the words OM SHARAVANABHAVA on his tongue. ![]() At a certain stage in life Arunagirinathar appears to have become disenchanted with his lifestyle and contemplated suicide. This cannot be accepted as a fact completely, for it is customary for bhakti composers to ascribe all worldly sins unto themselves as a method of helping the laity understand the common temptations that lead one away from moral uprightness and devotion. In his verses he claims that his youth was spent in debauchery. It is believed that Arunagirinathar lived circa 1450 AD. ![]() Details on the great composer’s life are at best sketchy and his biography as we know it today has been essentially culled out from the internal evidence that his compositions present. Saint Arunagirinathar is among the foremost in the pantheon of such devotees who were steeped in bhakti. To sing the glory of God was the chosen mission in life of many great savants. Tiruppugazh – the matchless prayer in verse This article was written as a sleeve note for a CD in which Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi and SP Ramh have sung verses from the Tiruppugazh.
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