Thondaradippodi Alwar

Thondaradippodi Alvar is also known as Vipra Narayanan; he is one of the twelve always of South India. These alwars were saint-poets who composed songs or hymns on Lord Vishnu as they were the advertisers of Vaishnavism. They greatly influenced people to follow Vaishnavism, and it is said that every alwar was an incarnation of some weapon of Lord Vishnu.

Nalayira Divya Prabandham is the holy catalog in which all these verses are kept. All these verses are regularly sung in the 108 temples, which are known as Divya Desam. Thondaripodi Alwar is the tenth alwar of all who believed to be lived between the 5th and 9th centuries AD.

The Hindu legend says that the alwar was called Vipra Narayanan when he was born. Since his childhood, he was devoted to Lord Vishnu in his avatar Ranganatha, a prime deity of the Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple. His work includes ten verses known as Tiruppalli Ezuchi and Tirumaalai having forty verses. Both of these are a part of the Nalayira Divya Prabandam, which contains 4000 verses in total.

Like other alwars, the work of Thondaradipodi alwar was a great contribution to Vaishnavism's philosophical and theological ideas. Their work and devotion toward Lord Vishnu also greatly influenced Pallava kings, which changed the religious geography from Buddhism and Jainism to the two sects of Hinduism.

Thondaradipodi azhwar is worshipped in South India; many temples have their images and festivals associated, which are celebrated on certain dates. Such as there is a festival called Vasantha Utsavam which is celebrated in Srirangam; the celebration goes on for nine days. In the temple, the work of all the alwars is also recited on a daily basis and on the occasion of festivities too.

Birth and Early Life

Thirumandangudi Chola was the name of the village where Thondaradippodi Alvar was born. It was the Prabhava year and Margazhi month. On Tuesday, under Kettai (Jyestha) Nakshatram, Thondaradippodi took birth. His father's name was Veda Visaradhar, who was a part of the Kudumi Sozhiyap Brahmanar" community. His father himself used to worship Lord Vishnu as their daily routine and work, and hence the son was always devoted to Vishnu.

His family also taught him the importance of devotion toward Lord Vishnu, and hence he was given well mental conditioning, which helped him being a fine human being. It is said that he was the owner of a beautiful face and personality. Despite this, he never developed pride and treated all human beings equally while respecting elders and old age people.

Works of Thondaradippodi Alvar

Thirumalai was one of the prime works of Thondaradippodi, in which there were 45 verses. Tiruppalli Ezuchi was another token given by Thondaradippodi with 10 verses. The verses which are in Tiruppalli Ezuchi are based on the theme of waking up the Lord; all the verses admire Lord Vishnu and particularly his avatar Sri Ranganathaswamy.

Thondaradipodi was also a person who never supported the caste system; according to him, devotion and serving Lord Vishnu was the only way to reach heaven. He also knew that Rangatha is a form of Krishna, who is ultimately the form of Lord Vishnu. He explains in his verses how Krishna has its soul, and once the body leaves the earth, the soul merges in God.

Pachaimamalai pol meni is one of the most popular verses of Thondaradipodi who is chanted in all Vishnu temples in South India on a daily basis and on festivities too. It is believed that Tirupalli Ezhuchi was first sung in the Tirupalli Ezhuchi itself.

Culture

As a culture, the Srirangam temple celebrates the birthday of the Azhwar twice a year. The celebration happens in the Tamil month of Margazhi. Vasantha utsavam is a prominent nine days festival during which Ranganatha Swany, the presiding deity of the temple, is worshipped.

According to the Hindu legend, Thirumangai Azhwar built the surrounding walls of the temple. If, during this period, devotees become a part of the Jothista Homam, it helps the soul to attain the Moksha and reach the abode of Vishnu.

During the festival, Lord Ranganatha is brought to the garden; in the olden days, Devadasi Community also used to offer dance in front of the image of the Lord.