Periya Tirumoli
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| Periya Tirumoli | |
|---|---|
.jpg){kind=avatar} The Matsya avatar of Vishnu, extolled in this work. | |
| Information | |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Author | Tirumangai Alvar |
| Language | Tamil |
| Period | 9th–10th century CE |
| Verses | 1,084 |
The Periya Tirumoli (Tamil: பெரிய திருமொழி, romanized: Periya Tirumoḻi, lit. 'Grand sacred verses') is a work of Tamil Hindu literature, consisting of 1,084 hymns. It was written by the poet-saint Tirumangai Alvar.[1] It forms a part of the compilation of the hymns of the Alvars, called the Nalayira Divya Prabandham.[2][3]
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| Vaishnavism |
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According to Sri Vaishnava tradition, Tirumangai Alvar converted to Vaishnavism due to the influence of his wife, Kumudavalli. He resorted to robbing the rich in order to feed and assist all those who shared his faith. Once, he attempted to rob a wedding party, not knowing that the bride and groom were Andal and Ranganatha. Unable to remove the beautiful toe-ring from the feet of the groom, he placed his head down, intending to bite it off the feet. He immediately realised that the feet were divine, and belonged to Vishnu himself. He gave up robbery, and composed the Periya Tirumoli to extol the deity after the latter taught him the Narayana mantra.[4]
The opening ten verses of the Periya Tirumoli describe how Tirumangai was transformed after the meaning of the Narayana mantra dawned on him, which Sri Vaishnavism tradition acknowledges as the quintessential nature of the Vedas. The Periya Tirumoli is the magnum opus of Tirumangai Alvar, a composition of devotional verses dwelling on the greatness of several Vaishnava shrines, and the auspicious attributes of God as experienced by a bhakti saint. There are also hymns that explore human suffering caused by bondage, and the ways of overcoming this concept, ultimately leading to the attainment of the Ultimate Reality. As Vedanta Desika puts it, "the Periya Tirumoli provides a deep insight into the spiritual knowledge (arivu taruṁ Periya Tirumoli)."[5]