4000 DIVYA PRABANDHAM: KULASEKARA AZHVAR

Shree GurubhyO Namaha

KULASEKARA AZHVAR

KulasEkara AzhvAr was deeply attached to Lord rAma just like “iLaiya perumAL- LakshmaNa". Lord rAma appeared in AzhvAr's dream and gave him the title “kulasEkara perumAL”. He has also authored “MukundamAlA”, a soulful sanskrit poem on Lord KrishNa.

பெருமாளை அறியாதார் பெருமாளை அறியாரே!

perumALai ariyAdAr perumALai aRiyArE!

Reflecting on the above adage, let us travel through kulashEkara perumAL’s spiritual journey in 105 tamizh pAsurams with the blessings of our AzhvArs and AchAryas.

KULASEKARA AZHWAR'S PRABANDHAM : PERUMAL TIRUMOZHI

READ KULASEKARA AZHVAR'S PERUMAL TIRUMOZHI

KULASEKARA AZHWAR CHARITRAM

KulasEkara AzhvAr was an incarnation of Koustubha (The divine jewel worn by Lord ViShNu). He was born in the beginning of “Kaliyuga” in punarvasu star, in the tamil month of mAsi at Tiruvanjikalam, Kerala in the royal dynasty. An efficient ruler of the chEra dynasty, He later expanded his territories to rule the pANDyas and the chOlas. Hence is known by the titles kolli kAvalan - the protector of kolli malai, central tamilnadu/kerala, kooDal nAyakan - the Lord of Madurai, kOzhikOn - the master of uraiyur/tirukkOzhi/kOzhiyoor), kongar kOn - the leader of the kongu region/eastern kerala.

Though he was a king of great valour, his interest was towards purANas and itihAsas. AzhvAr was especially fascinated by SRIMAD RAMAYANA. He would immerse himself in rAmAyana so much that he would forget everything else. Once, when he heard a scholar explain the distress of seetA's separation from rAma and the war taking place between rAma and rAvaNa, KulasEkara really got his army ready to go and fight on behalf of rAma. The king lead the army through the forest, lakes and seas. The depth of the sea receded to the knee level to allow AzhvAr pass through it. RAma along with seetA and LakshmaNa appeared and convinced him that seetA has been rescued and that he can go back to his kingdom. Such was his devotion.

KulasEkara was also known for his unparalleled bhAgavata kainkaryam (serving devotees). His ministers who were against his increasing bhAgavata bhakti wanted to divert him. So, they secretly hid a necklace (hAram) from the statue of rAma and reported to the king that one of the bhAgavatas had stolen it away. To prove them wrong, kulasEkara went into a rage and put his hand into a pot containing a poisonous snake, to prove the purity of the bhAgavatas. To the astonishment of the ministers the snake spared him from biting. Such was his reverence towards bhAgavatas.

SRIRANGAM

KulasEkara AzhwAr once visited Srirangam temple and was awestruck with the beauty of the Lord. Moreover, the utmost devotion of achAryas, arayars and bhAgavatas visiting RanganAtha humbled AzhvAr so much so that He considered wearing triumaN kAppu using the dust of their feet. He has dedicated a whole decad in his PerumAL Tirumozhi 2 (tETTArum tiraL) for bhAgavata sEshatvam.

KULASEKAR AZHVAR BOWS TO BHAGAVATAS IN SRIRANGAM, TETTARUM TIRAL

CHERAKULAVALLI NACHCHIYAR

He had a devout daughter called chErakulavalli who also fell in love with Lord RanganAtha. KulasEkara gave her in marriage to Lord RanganAtha on Ramanavami day and thereafter, she set herself in the service of the Lord in the shrine. To this day, we can witness the sErthi of NamperumAL and cheRakulavalli nAchchiyar on Ramanavami day in Srirangam temple.

NAMPERUMAL CHERAKULAVALLI NACHCHIYAR SERTHI

After getting His daughter married, KulasEkara offered much of his wealth to Srirangam temple, built the third gate in Srirangam temple called as 'kulasEkara chuRRu' and retired from His kingship. He set off on pilgrimage visitng diya desams like Uraiyur, TiruvittuvakOdu, Tirumala, Tirukannapuram and AyOdhyA.