The Tamil Hermeneutics and Metaphysics - Part 29

 IraavaNaa : He who Transgresses Ethics

Mythology is NOT simply a communicative devise the intelligent njanies devise to educate the intellectually incompetent.

It is a language by its own that embody AXIOMATIC TRUTHS, the piramaaNas in the sense of Meykandar that even the most intelligent entertain. It is dumb and mute but precisely because of that, immensely communicative of TRUTHS beyond the cluster of words and clangs of mantras.

The myths encrypt a deep truth that require deciphering and understanding and this can take the whole lifetime but even then there is no guarantee that the truth will be grasped. Like the Athicudi of Auvaiyar who invented the strategy to teach moral principles along with the Tamil alphabets (like 'aRam ceyya Virunbu" : you should love to do the good), a person learns as a 5 year old child these aphorisms only to ponder over them for the rest of his life to understand them.

The myths stay in the mind of both the njanies and the commoners flashing out INSIGHTS into the workings of the world and thereby LIGHTING UP UNDERSTANDING so that existence becomes something they understand.

IraavaNaa has figured more in the hymns of Nayanmars than Rama . This is specially so in the hymns of Appar where in almost every patikam there is a verse concerning defeat of IraavaNaa in the hands of Civa. Thus this mythical theme must have been something enormously MEANINGFUL and certainly something to do with Bakthi.

IraavaNaa, among other things is also the one who ventured to SHAKE the foundations of World Process itself, the Kailash where resides Civa with His beloved Parvathy. IraavaNaa is a prototype for anyone who, feeling mighty powerful on his own, cannot stand any CONSTRAINT whatever for his actions, someone wants to be a foundation unto himself and becomes the arch dissenter, the destroyer of whatever that stands as an authority.

But of course EXISTENCE has its own ETHICAL constraints and no matter how powerful an individual is, he too is bound to live by these elements of Dharma, and any attempt to throw them out or transgress will only result in losing everything, including the good health.

So reasons Appar in the following verse.


Appar 144

kadukiya teercelaatu kayilaaya miitu
karuteel un viiramozi nii
mudukuvatu anRu tanmammena ninRu paakan
mozivaanai nanRu muniyaa
viduvidu venRu cenRu viraivuRRu arakkan
varaiyuRRu edukka muditooL
nedunedu viRRuviiza viraluRRa paata(m)
ninaivuRRatu en tan mananee


Meaning:

Thinking that there should be NO rivals to him, including the Godhead, IraavaNaa dared to visit on a chariot Kailash itself where resides Civa with Parvathy and to shake it down destroy. The charioteer noting this with regret advised IraavaNaa saying that no chariot can ever enter Kailash and also such an act would be supremely unethical, IraavaNaa nevertheless urged on further being also very angry with him. On reaching the mountain he bent down to shake the foundations but Civa noting this pressed a little with his toes whence IraavaNaa's crown as well as the body shattered to pieces. Unable to bear the pains he cried loudly. The feet of Civa that made IraavaNaa cry thus is something I recall now in view of the current circumstances.

Commentary:

In almost every patikam Appar never fails to recall IraavaNaa and how he was humiliated by Civa and made submissive to him. Perhaps in the personality of the Mahendra Pallava, the mighty emperor who persecuted him, Appar saw the presence of IraavaNaa, the archetypal figure, the embodiment of the Evil and Unethical and in this a Saivite Anti-Christ of a sort. IraavaNaa, as the archetypal figure is something that all us are capable of becoming and hence something deep within us and hence something that can erupt into our consciousness and take possession of us
and transform our personality into something evil and of course extremely arrogant, a ten-headed fierce figure.

IraavaNaa wants to shake the very Kailash where resides Civa with his Parvathy, the WOMAN who is His equal half. Residing there HE RULES the whole universe making sure the Tanmam or Tarumam (Sanskrit Dharma), the ethical principles are NOT violated but adhered to.

Everything in the world is ruled by ETHICS with a stubbornness that we cannot overcome and hence be free. No matter how powerful politically we are, finally there is the transpersonal ETHICALITY of the actions we do and hence ultimately we are accountable to BEING in terms of the actions we do. We CANNOT transgress the ethical regulation of our praxis and which is NOT purely a matter of economical issues or even that of sharing political powers and so forth. The Ethics is there guiding our journey into the metaphysical realms and finally the Kailash , the Saivite version of the Paradise the mythical rendering of CiRRambalam, Citambaram or Tillaiampalam , the realm of absolutely Pure Consciousness and where shines Civanjanam.

IraavaNaa in the Tevaram corpus is the prototypical figure who DARES to challenge even this ethical foundation of existence itself and after destroying it rebuild it as HIS OWN, i.e. Displace Godhead and emplace himself in His place so that his will become that which is GOOD for everybody and hence that which is ethical. In other word, IraavaNaa becomes the prototypical figure of a man who would, instead of approaching BEING with genuine Bakthi, would try to become God Himself -- saying or implying "I am God" , "I am the Way" etc.

But of course IravaNaa is taught a lesson -- though mighty as an Emperor but in comparison with BEING who has the Cauldron of Power itself, Parvathy, as His equal Half, his is infinitesimal and on account of which Civa just has to press a little the hill with his toe to destroy everything that is the source of power for IraavaNaa.

He loses his crown i.e. all his political powers. And on top of that he loses his mighty shoulders, that which stands for the extremely strong physical body. For the body can become weak through diseases and old age which begin to afflict a person if he is arrogant and UNETHICAL. 

What is IMMORAL elicits the aaNavam the poison that kills if not regulated and kept under control by the Dancing Feet of BEING as Civa Nadarajah. Diseases that make a person shudder with fear and lose all the bodily strength is what comes to prevail when the ethical principles are violated.

ULLAGANAR

( editing and re-paragraphing by his student )