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Nanaday:- ‘Nan’ here means Ahamkara, and our Alvar had no
Ahamkara at all even when he was on the shoulders of a sage, but simply said “Adiyarkku-ennai atpadutta
vimalan.” (Amalanadhipiran St.1).
Navudaiyay:- Sri Vedanta Desikar said ‘Pan perumal arul ceyda padal pattum, pala
maraiyan porul enru paravuginrom’ (Amrithaswadhini, 37).
The phrases ‘Chankodu chakkaram enthum tadakkaiyan’ and Pangayak-kannanai’
fit in well with Tiruppanalvar, for he also sang, “Kaiyinar suri chankanal Aliyar” (Amalanadhi,
7) and “Kariyavagip pudai milirndu cevvari odi ninda ap-periya vaya kankal”. (Amalanadhi,8).Then the
expression ‘ungal pulaikkadai’ suggests his abode suited to his supposed
low caste.Some scholars (Jeeyar School) hold the view that, in this pasuram is awakened a girl
resembling Nammalvar. The delineation is as follows:-
The expression ‘ungal pulaikkadai’ connotes that the
backyard of her house possesses a peculiar feature, viz., that the sun’s rays will never penetrate through the thick
foliage of trees in her garden; so also the ‘jatavayu’ cannot approach this Nammalvar who was thick with ‘Parama-jnana’.
further, by quoting a natural phenomenon which occurs in her own backyard, as a sign, the ‘bhava’ is that
she is one who has not ventured much out of her foot of
the tamarind tree, where he took his abode, immersed in ‘jnana’.Then, the words ‘sengaluneer’
and ‘ambal’ will denote respectively ‘jnana’ and ‘ajnana’ in swapadesartha
and thus we can deduce, that the ‘inner darkness’ which cannot vanish before Aditya, the
sun, disappeared in toto when the Vahulabushana Divakara began to shed its rays of Tiruvaymoli. Further, just
as the Bhagavan is said to reside in the midst of the sun, so also He
resides in the heart of Nammalvar and this can be attested by the Alvars’s own words:-
“Kankal civandu periavay vayum civandu kanindu ulle
Venpalilagu sudarilagu
ilagu makara kundalattan
Kondal vannan sudar
mudiyan nangu tolan kuni sarngan
On Chankathai val
aliyan oruvan adiyen ullane.” (8-8-1)
(The eyes are large and of a red tint. The mouth
is scarlet. The teeth inside are white. The fish-rings shine with a luster. The colour of the body
is that of dark cloud. The crown is glowing with Divine Effulgence. There are four arms. There
is a well bent bow. There is a beautiful conch-shell. There is the club. There is the sword.
There is the disc. The one who possesses all these is in my heart)
Moreover, just as the ambal flower closes its buds as soon
as the sun makes its apperarence, so also as soon as the name of Nammalvar is mentioned when reciting
his Tiruvaymoli, everyone will close his hands in ‘anjali’ in reverence to him. This can
be evidenced by the words of Kamban in Sadagoparandadi:-
“Aranattin, Padieduttuk-konda Maran enral padumak-karangal,
Mudi eduttuk-konda
Antanar.” (St. 28).
Further the line ‘Engalai munnam eluppuvan vay pesum’
clearly refers to Nammalvar; Nammalvar occupies the first place in Acharya Paramparai; in addition
he is known as ‘Prapannajanakutastar’ Villiputturar also refers to him in the following stanza as the foremost
of all:-
“Chit-achittodisanenru ceppuginra muvagait-
Tattu-vattin mudibu
kanda chaturmaraip-purohitan
Kottavilta solai mannu Kurugai adhi”.
(Vth-Por-carukkam,
St.1.)
Sri Vedanta Desikar states that we have attained the
lotus feet of the Lord through the grace of Nammalvar, our chief and foremost guide. The idea that Nammalvar is the
chief guide for all chetanas can be attested by the following pasurams beginning with “Vidumin
murravum” (1-2-1), “Kandom Kandom kannuk-kiniyana kandom”(5-2-2).
Vay-pesum:- Moreever, he wanted
to awake others from the disillusionment of Samsara in this world, and began to preach to
them about the essentials of His philosophy, and commenced with “Vidumin murravum”
(1-2-1); but at the next stage, when he
began to preach “pattudai adiyavarakku-eliyavan etc., ” pasuram (1-3-1),
he fell flat unconscious having been lured by the Saulabya guna of the Lord
and he had to be awakened instead from this stupor. Similarly, he fell unconscious entrapped
by the Lord’s qualities in “Pirandavarum valarndavarum” (5-10-1) and in “Kankal
civandu”. (8-8-1).
Then the expressions ‘nangay’ and nanaday’ and ‘navudaiyay’ fit in well
with Nammalvar.
Nangay:- Nammalvar is perfect in
his knowledge and he has preached the fruits of philosophy in such a marvelous way
in his Tiruvaymoli, that even the Sarvajna Iswara
appreciated him.
Nanaday:- This can be seen in his utterances:-
(a) “Kangulum pahalum kan tuyil
ariyal “ padikam(7-2-1 to 10);
(b) “Ten tirup-pereyil virrirunda
nangal piranukku ennenjam Toli!
Nanum niraiyum ilandanave.” (7-3-3); and
(c) “
Nagaramum nadum piravum terven nan enakkillai en Tolimirgal! (7-3-10).
Navudaiyay:- Nammalvar is noted for the excellence of his tongue which bespeaks his erudition.
The Silappadhikaram says that ‘that tongue is not fit to be
called tongue’ which does not speak of Narayana’ and our Alvar speaks about the
Lord in more than a thousand pasurams with his silvery tongue. Compare the line, “nan
Madurakavi vanangum Navveeran valiye” in the Vali Tirunamam.
Chankodu chakkaram enthum tadak-kaiyan:- The same idea
is mentioned by Nammalvar in:-
“Changu Chakkaram
Ankaiyil Kondan
Engum tanaya
Nangal nathane”. (1-8-9)
Moreover, ‘ Pangaiyak-kannanip-pada’ denotes “to sing only about the Lord aqnd
not about men”:- Compare the following utterances of Nammalvar in the same strain:-
(a) “Sonnal virodamidu agilum colluvban kenmino
Ennavil in-kavi yan oruvarkkum kodukkilen” .
(3-9-1).
(‘If thus I speak, it means hostility. Yet speak I will, so hark to me!…. never
to man shall be the gift of my lips minstrelsy.’
(b) “ Kannan allal illai kandir
saran.” (9-1-10).
(Behold ! If Krishna
is not your refuge you have no others.)
(c) “ Ilingat-titta puranattirum
samanarum sakkiyarum
Valindu vattu ceyvirgalum marrum deivamumagi ninran
Malindu cennel kavari visum Tiruk-kurugur adanul
Polindu ninra kandir
onrum poyyil-lai porrumine. (4-10-5)
(You men! Eager to establish the statements of the Puranas about Linga! ‘you
sramanas’ ! and you sakyas! You all discuss and dispute with great zeal. He is you all. He is all
your Gods. He resides in Holy Kurugur where the fields bend to wave with red-paddy crops.
There resides the self-shining God, the doer of good. You must all praise
Him only. There is no falsehood in my statement.)
Also note Nammalvar also singing ‘Pangayak
- kannan engo’ (3-4-3.)
Acccording to Guru Paramparai, Sriman Nathamunigal
is awakened in this pasuram, (vide the expression Sriman Nathamunaye Namaha).
By his Yog-nishtai, he was able to get good ‘jnana’ by dissipating
his ‘ajnana’. This is derived from the Swapadesartha for ‘sengaluneer vay nehilndu ambal
vay kumbina kan’. Besides he was not ashamed (nanaday) in the least
to learn the Divya-prabhandas under Nammalvar, who belonged to the last varna. | 
