52 (a). THE POEM CONTEST. Vangiya Choodaamani succeeded Vangiya Sekara Paandian as the new king. He was a sincere devotee of Lord Siva.
He maintained a beautiful garden which yielded fresh flowers for the tri kaala pooja of Lord Siva. Fresh flowers adorned the Lord, in the mornings, noons and evenings. The king was particularly fond of the golden-hued shanbaga flowers. They looked so good on the Lord. He would get all the different kinds of garlands made with those flowers and worship the Lord. Now the name of the God became Shanbaga Sundaresar and the name of the king became Shanbaga Maaran. It was spring season. The king and queen were seated in the shanbaga vanam – spreading its fragrance. The king could smell another fragrance which was quite new to him. He wondered where it came from and what it was? He then realized that it was emanating from the hair of the queen. His next doubt was this! Was it natural or artificial? He could not come to any conclusion. He announced a contest. Anyone who could find out the question bothering his mind and clear his doubt in the form of a poem would be awarded a bag of one thousand gold coins. No one could guess the question bothering the king’s mind since he had a hundred different things to worry about. The prize money was hung in the sanga mandapam, where the sanga poets resided. 52 (B). THE PRIZE WINNING POEM. Tarumi was a Saivite. He was an orphan and a very poor Brahmachari. He wished to get married to a suitable girl but his poverty blocked all his marriage prospects. He wished with all his heart that he should win the prize money, get married and settle down in life. He prayed to God to make him win in the contest. Siva was moved to pity. He decided to help Tarumi win the prize money. He produced an exquisite Tamil poem which cleared the king’s doubts. Tarumi as overjoyed and ran to the sanga mandapam with the poem. The verdict of the poets was unanimous. This was the prize-winning poem. It had a depth of meaning and beauty of words! The king was overwhelmed that someone could actually guess his doubt and clear it so well. He ordered Tarumi to take possession of the prize money. Nakkeeran stopped Tarumi and told him that the poem was not worth winning the prize. It had certain defects. Tarumi was in tears. “How true it is that there is many a slip between the cup and the lip!” He told the Lord,” How can a mere mortal find fault with your poem?” The lord emerged as a great Tamil poet. He wore the ornaments and the dress worn by the great poets of that time. He had a group of disciples. Together they went to the sanga mandapam. 52 (C). “A MISTAKE IS A MISTAKE!” The Siva turned poet spoke, ”Dear Sanga poets! Which of you found fault with this man’s poem?” Nakkeeran said undaunted, ”It is me!” Siva asked, “What is the defect you have found in his poem?” Nakkeeran said, “The words are not defective but the idea conveyed by it is defective!” “Can you point out the defect to the benefit of everyone here?” “There is no natural fragrance in ladies’ hair. They attain fragrance from the flowers worn by them” “Is it the rule governing all women?” “Yes! There is no exception to this rule!” “Think well before you reply! What about the Padmini type women?” “They too get the fragrance from the flowers worn by them” “What about the women in Heaven?” “It is the same with them too” “What about the consort of Siva you worship?” “It is the same even with Shakti Devi!” Siva became very angry and opened his fiery third eye slightly. Nakkeeran said, “Even if you threaten me by opening your third eye, I stand by my opinion!” Siva opened his third eye. The red heat flashing out of it was too much for Nakkeeran to bear. He jumped into the Lotus pond and did not surface again! The angry poet left with all his disciples. No one knew the real fate of Nakkeeran! <http://groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/worldmalayaliclub/> *வாழிய செந்தமிழ்! வாழ்க நற்றமிழர்!* *வாழிய பாரதமணித் திருநாடு!* *வணக்கம்* *சுப்பு* [image: n1kF-nR6rJfj4WeWRL3jFrjR-PCyGA8NvAr3N3EbS1rI4Kn3wfD8tJcMPEDJ9S5x.jpg] -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
