By There was once a childless couple. This couple then prayed to the lord. They said Oh lord please bless us with a son that is equivalent to you. The lord said so be it. Then the couple got a baby. They named the baby and put him in a cradle. The baby got out from the cradle and sat underneath the tamarind tree. From then without talking, eating, drinking and sleeping Nammalwar meditated on the lord. Soon this became known to everyone and Nammalwar’s parents realized they had given birth to no ordinary child. They had given birth to lord himself. Since that day Nammalwar remained in the same pose for many years.
The miraculous child remained him Maaran but soon the name changed to Nammalwar. Nammalwar never used to par take any food or milk ect. The couple grew worried. They took the baby to the temple of Lord Adi Natha and left the baby under a tamarind tree in the temple. The couple had in this pose as if he was waiting for someone or something to arrive. Nammalwar composed lots of poems. They are divided into four groups and are equivalent to the vedas. They are Thiruviruttam, Thiruvaasiriyam, Pariya Thiruvandhhaadi and Thiruvaimoozhi.
Pandya King who ruled over Thirunagari and its surrounding areas had passed law that is it mandatory for every poet to submit his/her works to the council headed by the court poet, Kambanatt-azhwan, for its scrutiny. As Nammalwar’s works did not have the approval from the council, the Pandya king, sent his men to summon Madhurakavi-alwar. The King’s soldiers asked Madhurakavi-alwar to bring Nammalwar to the court and present all his works before the council for scrutiny. Being enraged at the arrogance of the soldiers, Madhurakavi-alwar told them that his Guru, Nammalwar, would not even budge from the place where he is sitting and
gave a palm leaf that contained one stanza from one of the hymns of Nammalwar and asked them to place it before the council for its scrutiny.
The passage engraved in the palm leaf read, “Kannan-kazhal inai nannu manam udayir ennum tiru-naman tinnam naraname,” which means “Those whose hearts are in love with the lotus feet of Lord Krishna, will take this mantra for meditation, it is indeed the holy name of the Lord.”
After reading that particular passage the council consisting of 300 scholars and the
court poet, Kambanatt-azhwan, became the disciples of Nammalwar.
It is believed that Nammalwar stayed on this planet till he turned 32 and the Lord
Himself came from Vaikuntha’s door to take him in. To commemorate this, Vaikuntha Ekadasi is celebrated in all Visnu temples. 1,296 hymns were compiled by Nammalwar during his lifetime. A crown with the lotus feet of the Lord on the top of it is kept in the Sri Vaishnava temples , signifying Nammalwar’s intense desire to dwell under the lotusfeet of the Lord. The crown represents Nammalwar’s head. This crown is named Shatari and is symbolically placed on the heads of the believers who visit the temple to show that the Supreme Lord’s supremacy as well as to signify our eternal servitude to His lotus feet.
This proves that a small boy like Nammalwar can compose their own poems and they are equivalent to the vedas.
