Natha muni and Nalayira Dhiva Prabandham

Natha muni and Nalayira Dhiva Prabandham

Compiled by

P.R.Ramachander

   The original   Name of Nathamuni was sri Ranganathan.Due to his sagely qualities he was   called as Natha muni. He was working in the Veera Narayana temple of Kattu mannar gudi.One day  some devotees   from outside the town came to the temple .They sang the ten stanzas composed by Nammazhvar on Kurukoor Sadagopan .He took it down  and made his life’s mission toi collect   all the 4000  Songs sung by the 12 Azhvars  in 108  temples of Lord Vishnu  spread  all over the country( From Kerala to Nepal) .

In his search he happened to meet Parangusa dasar   who was the disciple of Madhura Kavi aazhvar   who was the direct   disciple of Nammazhvar.Parangusa dasar   taught him  The great prayer  “Kanni nun chiru thambu” composed by Madhura Kavi aazhvar(my translation  https://stotrarathna.blogspot.com/2019/03/kanninun-chirutthambu.html  )  on his Guru Nammazhvar .He instructed Nathamuni to repeatedly    chant this great prayer.When he completed chanting it 12000  times Nammazhvar   appeared before him    and gave him all  the 4000 verses known as Nalayira  Diviya Prabandham .

   Nathamuni divided the 4000  songs in to 4 sections. Out of which three sections could be sung with   Raga  and one section was just poems.He then taught these to his nephews “Melai Agathu Azhvan”    and “Keezhai agathu AAzhvaan”.

There is a belief that one day some two men armed with bow and arrow , accompanied by a lady and a monkey came in search of him.When his daughter told about this Nathamuni  immediately knew that it was Rama, Lakshmana, Sita and Hanuuman

    But for this great devotee  of Vaishnavism , we would have lost the inimitable treasure   of devotion in Tamil called  “Nalayira Dhivya Prabandham.