Pattinathar (Tamil: பட்டினத்தார், romanized: Paṭṭiṉattār) is a name identified with two different Tamil individuals, one of 10th century AD and another of 14th century AD.[1]
The 10th century AD Pattinathar was a poet whose five works are included in the sacred Shaivite canon. Tirumurai.[1]
Statues of 14th century Pattinathar and his contemporary Pattirakiriyar, at a temple in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu.
14th century Pattinathar
He was born in the port-town Kaveripoompattinam to a wealthy mercantile family, who himself was a merchant before giving up his materialistic way of life.[2] He became the guru and contemporary of another ascetic philosopher, Pattirakiriyar.[3] Pattirakiriyar was a king of Kongu Nadu before becoming a religious mendicant under Pattinathar.[4]
Search for divinity
The divine child grew up and followed in his father's footsteps. Once the father sent him on a ship with a good lot of merchandise and when he came he just brought back sacks full of paddy husks. The father was angry and locked him up in a room and after going to the harbor, threw the husks out. He was surprised to see they were all gold; every dried piece of the husk turned out to be gold dust and also had precious gems in the sack. He hurried home to see his son. He was not in the locked room. His wife gave him a small box the son had given before he disappeared. In it was a palm-leaf manuscript and a needle without an eyelet. On the script were the following words (in English for understanding):
"Not even an eyeless needle will accompany you in the final journey of life."
Artistic impression of Pattinathar
Pattinathar (Thiruvengadar) realized the philosophy and wisdom of the words, and renounced everything – his wife, his wealth, his kith and kin and all other mundane attachments. With only a loin cloth he left.[5] He sang many philosophical songs to enlighten people on the blissful state of renunciation.[6] He sang about the human life and its complex dimensions, made his lyrics more appealing to the common man.[7] He urged repeatedly not to be attached to the body and its pleasures, for the body perishes and becomes food for animals and worms. Think of God and surrender at God's feet.[8]
Pattinatthar worshiped Shiva at the Srikalahasti temple, which has inspired great poetic and musical works.[9] The samadhi [attained salvation in this place] of Pattinatthar is a historic landmark located on the Ennore Expressway in Tiruvottiyur.[10] It is believed to be around 500 years[11] to 1100 years old.[12]
Inside the Nandrudayaan Vinayagar temple in Devadhanam, Tiruchirappalli, an idol for Pattinatthar is found.[13]
Folklore of Bharthari and Pattinathar
Artistic depiction of Pattinatthaar
Bharthari was the elder son of King Gandharva-Sena, and received the kingdom of Ujjain from the celestial god Indra and the King of Dhara.[14][15]
When Bharthari was king of 'Ujjayani' (modern day Ujjain) in his state there lived a Brahman who after years of austerities was given the fruit of immortality from the celestial tree of Kalpavriksha. The Brahman presented the same to his monarch, Raja Bharthari, who in turn, passed it on to his love, the beautiful, Pinglah Rani or Ananga Sena (as per Maha Kavi Kalidas), Raja Bhartrhari's last and youngest wife. The queen, being in love with the Head police officer of the state, Mahipaala, presented the fruit to him, who further passed it on to his beloved, Lakha, one of the maids of honour. Eventually, Lakha being in love with the king presented the fruit back to the king. Having completed the circle, the fruit revealed the downsides of infidelity to the king, he summoned the queen and ordered her beheading, and ate the fruit himself. After that he abdicated the throne, to his younger brother Vikramaditya, and became a religious mendicant.[14][16]
He later became a disciple of Pattinatthar (Swetharanyar is poorvashram name of this saint from Poompuhar, Tamil Nadu) who first indulged in an argument about samsari and sanyasi with king Bhartrhari. Later during the conversation Pattinathar said that all women have 'dual mind' and it might be the true case even with Parameswari. King conveyed this news to rani Pingalah and she ordered Pattinathar to get punished and to sit in 'kalu maram' (Tree, whose top portion would be sharpened like a pencil and whole tree is fully coated with oil, a person who is punished to sit in the top will be split into two pieces), they tried to kill Pattinathar, but kalu maram started burning and nothing happened to Pattinathar, the king received this news and proceeded to Pattinathar and asked him to prepare to die the next day, but Pattinathar replied, "I'm ready right now, to die". The next day king came with tears in his eyes and released saint from jail because he actually noticed queen Pingalah in love with horsemen that night. He relinquished his empire, wealth, even full coat dress and dressed in a simple kovanam (loin cloth), and the king became a disciple of Pattinatthar and got mukthi (salvation) in Tiruvottiyur temple.
His Disciple Bharthari, or Bhadhragiri (as he is called in popular Tamil folk culture) wrote a collection of Tamil poetic verses called Meignana Pulambal[17]
In popular culture
In 1935, Saint Pattinathar film was released, starring C. S. Sundaramurthy Odhuvaar in the title role. In 1962, a later day version came out with T. M. Soundararajan as the Saint Pattinatthar.[18]
References
^ abLal, Mohan (1992). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Sasay to Zorgot. Sahitya Akademi. p. 4093. ISBN9788126012213.
^Indian Literature. Vol. 44. Sahitya Akademi. 2000. p. 159.
^Subrahmanian, N.; Hikosaka, Shu; Samuel, G. John; Thiagarajan, P. (1998). Tamil social history. Institute of Asian Studies. p. 283.
pattinathar, other, uses, disambiguation, tamil, பட, னத, romanized, paṭṭiṉattār, name, identified, with, different, tamil, individuals, 10th, century, another, 14th, century, contents, 10th, century, 14th, century, search, divinity, folklore, bharthari, popula. For other uses see Pattinathar disambiguation Pattinathar Tamil பட ட னத த ர romanized Paṭṭiṉattar is a name identified with two different Tamil individuals one of 10th century AD and another of 14th century AD 1 Contents 1 10th century Pattinathar 2 14th century Pattinathar 3 Search for divinity 4 Folklore of Bharthari and Pattinathar 5 In popular culture 6 References 7 See also10th century Pattinathar EditThe 10th century AD Pattinathar was a poet whose five works are included in the sacred Shaivite canon Tirumurai 1 Statues of 14th century Pattinathar and his contemporary Pattirakiriyar at a temple in Rameswaram Tamil Nadu 14th century Pattinathar EditHe was born in the port town Kaveripoompattinam to a wealthy mercantile family who himself was a merchant before giving up his materialistic way of life 2 He became the guru and contemporary of another ascetic philosopher Pattirakiriyar 3 Pattirakiriyar was a king of Kongu Nadu before becoming a religious mendicant under Pattinathar 4 Search for divinity EditThe divine child grew up and followed in his father s footsteps Once the father sent him on a ship with a good lot of merchandise and when he came he just brought back sacks full of paddy husks The father was angry and locked him up in a room and after going to the harbor threw the husks out He was surprised to see they were all gold every dried piece of the husk turned out to be gold dust and also had precious gems in the sack He hurried home to see his son He was not in the locked room His wife gave him a small box the son had given before he disappeared In it was a palm leaf manuscript and a needle without an eyelet On the script were the following words in English for understanding Not even an eyeless needle will accompany you in the final journey of life Artistic impression of Pattinathar Pattinathar Thiruvengadar realized the philosophy and wisdom of the words and renounced everything his wife his wealth his kith and kin and all other mundane attachments With only a loin cloth he left 5 He sang many philosophical songs to enlighten people on the blissful state of renunciation 6 He sang about the human life and its complex dimensions made his lyrics more appealing to the common man 7 He urged repeatedly not to be attached to the body and its pleasures for the body perishes and becomes food for animals and worms Think of God and surrender at God s feet 8 Pattinatthar worshiped Shiva at the Srikalahasti temple which has inspired great poetic and musical works 9 The samadhi attained salvation in this place of Pattinatthar is a historic landmark located on the Ennore Expressway in Tiruvottiyur 10 It is believed to be around 500 years 11 to 1100 years old 12 Inside the Nandrudayaan Vinayagar temple in Devadhanam Tiruchirappalli an idol for Pattinatthar is found 13 Folklore of Bharthari and Pattinathar Edit Artistic depiction of Pattinatthaar Bharthari was the elder son of King Gandharva Sena and received the kingdom of Ujjain from the celestial god Indra and the King of Dhara 14 15 When Bharthari was king of Ujjayani modern day Ujjain in his state there lived a Brahman who after years of austerities was given the fruit of immortality from the celestial tree of Kalpavriksha The Brahman presented the same to his monarch Raja Bharthari who in turn passed it on to his love the beautiful Pinglah Rani or Ananga Sena as per Maha Kavi Kalidas Raja Bhartrhari s last and youngest wife The queen being in love with the Head police officer of the state Mahipaala presented the fruit to him who further passed it on to his beloved Lakha one of the maids of honour Eventually Lakha being in love with the king presented the fruit back to the king Having completed the circle the fruit revealed the downsides of infidelity to the king he summoned the queen and ordered her beheading and ate the fruit himself After that he abdicated the throne to his younger brother Vikramaditya and became a religious mendicant 14 16 He later became a disciple of Pattinatthar Swetharanyar is poorvashram name of this saint from Poompuhar Tamil Nadu who first indulged in an argument about samsari and sanyasi with king Bhartrhari Later during the conversation Pattinathar said that all women have dual mind and it might be the true case even with Parameswari King conveyed this news to rani Pingalah and she ordered Pattinathar to get punished and to sit in kalu maram Tree whose top portion would be sharpened like a pencil and whole tree is fully coated with oil a person who is punished to sit in the top will be split into two pieces they tried to kill Pattinathar but kalu maram started burning and nothing happened to Pattinathar the king received this news and proceeded to Pattinathar and asked him to prepare to die the next day but Pattinathar replied I m ready right now to die The next day king came with tears in his eyes and released saint from jail because he actually noticed queen Pingalah in love with horsemen that night He relinquished his empire wealth even full coat dress and dressed in a simple kovanam loin cloth and the king became a disciple of Pattinatthar and got mukthi salvation in Tiruvottiyur temple His Disciple Bharthari or Bhadhragiri as he is called in popular Tamil folk culture wrote a collection of Tamil poetic verses called Meignana Pulambal 17 In popular culture EditIn 1935 Saint Pattinathar film was released starring C S Sundaramurthy Odhuvaar in the title role In 1962 a later day version came out with T M Soundararajan as the Saint Pattinatthar 18 References Edit a b Lal Mohan 1992 Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature Sasay to Zorgot Sahitya Akademi p 4093 ISBN 9788126012213 Indian Literature Vol 44 Sahitya Akademi 2000 p 159 Subrahmanian N Hikosaka Shu Samuel G John Thiagarajan P 1998 Tamil social history Institute of Asian Studies p 283 Kamil Zvelebil 1975 Handbook of Oriental Studies BRILL p 242 ISBN 9789004041905 Power of detachment The Hindu India 14 May 2009 Archived from the original on 19 May 2009 Trials undergone by Pattinathar The Hindu India 26 December 2002 Archived from the original on 16 March 2004 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint unfit URL link Tradition vs modernity dilemma in Tamil literature The Hindu Coimbatore India 25 June 2010 The Perishable body The Hindu Chennai India 7 June 2010 Archived from the original on 9 November 2012 The tale of Kalahasti The Hindu India 4 June 2010 Archived from the original on 5 January 2011 Immaculate inside filthy outside The Hindu Chennai India 28 May 2007 Archived from the original on 7 December 2007 Pattinathar temple Dinamalar India Retrieved 31 January 2012 Pattinathar temple kumbmela in Daily thanthi 22 1 2015 Title Vinayaka in unique form The Hindu India 10 October 2003 Archived from the original on 26 October 2003 a b Introduction Vikram and The Vampire by Richard Francis Burton 1870 Footnote 13 Vikram and The Vampire by Richard Francis Burton 1870 The Sikh Religion Volume 1 Max Arthur Macauliffe 1842 1913 Oxford University Press 1909 Chapter XIV https mio to album Veeramani Kannan Bhadragiriyar Meignana Pulambal 282009 29 dead link Pattinathaar 1936 The Hindu India 17 October 2008 Archived from the original on 21 February 2009 See also EditPoems of Saint Pattinathar பட ட னத த ர ப டல கள Shaivam Website Archived 24 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine Biography of Saint Pattinathar பட ட னத த ர வரல ற Thevaraam Website Shaivism Nayanars Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Pattinathar amp oldid 1113751633, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
