‘MATHARPIRAIKANNIYANAI…’
Saint Sekkizhar in about fifteen quatrains hymned Saint Appar’s surfacing at the Thiruvaiyaru pond; beholding God and Goddess; the grand scene of Mount Kailash and Saint’s state of ecstasy. In that the grand and magnificent milieu of Mount Kailash is described in six quatrains. The silver lined Mount Kailash filled with the divine atmosphere, preparing for the darshan of the Supreme deities. Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma and Lord Indra are waiting in the forefront, the recitation of all the four Vedas are heard in high decibels, the celestial beings viz., Devas, Asuras, Siddas, Yakshas, great Rishis, are present, the percussion of muzhvu by the celestial dancers and their singing reach the seven oceans. All the divine Rivers including the Ganges are present, the ganas roaming busily preparing and some are handling instruments that create divine acoustics, the blessed Nandi roaming in the middle of all heading the preparation for the darshan of the God and Goddess.
But in the Airavatesvara narrative series Saint Appar standing in front of the Thiruvaiyaru temple is shown but the transformation of Thiruvaiyaru into magnificent Mount Kailash is absent, instead the scenes of one of the Thiruvaiyaru pathigam ‘Matharpirai kanniyanai’ is depicted. This soul rendering song was sung by the Saint as he saw the glorious scene of Mount Kailash at Thiruvaiyaru after a long pursuit. It is one among the very few songs of Saint Appar referred by Sekkizhar in his Thiruthondarpuranam.
As per the narration, after beholding the vision of Lord Siva and Goddess Uma, Saint Appar was proceeding towards the Iyyarappar temple and on the way he beheld all the species of life both movable and immovable accompanied with its mates, reflecting the principle of duo, Siva and Sakthi. He hymned his visional experience for the deliverance of the world in the soul rendering pathigam ‘Matharpirai kanniyanai’.
The saint proceeded in ecstasy by singing and dancing, in each quatrain he mentioned a bird or animal with its mate that he envisaged; Elephant, fowl, quail, peacock, glossy ibis, boar, deer, stork, parrot, cattle and for him it reflects the concorporate of the God and Goddess. He also stated that he saw ‘Their Holy Feet’, and experienced wonders that never ever had happened.
In the Airavatesvara series, the visional experience of the Saint is shown in three panels. In the first panel the Saint is shown beholding the courtship of cow and bull elephants, he and she fowls, cock and hen quail and the cock and hen.
In the second panel the saint is shown beholding peacock and peahen, cock and hen glossy ibis, boar and sow and in the third panel doe and stag, cock and hen heron, cock and hen parrots, finally the cow and bull are shown. Saint Appar draped in his usual short attire, bright smile and spade resting on his shoulder, is shown in anjali hasta along with each pair.
Sekkizhar narrated the state of Saint Appar in his Thiruthondarpuranam as
மாதர் பிறைக் கண்ணியாணை மலையான் மகளொடும் என்னும் கோதுஅறு தண் தமிழ்ச் சொல்லால் குலவு திருப்பதிகங்கள் வேத முதல்வர் ஐயாற்றில் விரவும் சராசரம் எல்லாம் காதல் துணையொடும் கூடக் கண்டேன் எனப்பாடி நின்றhர் 384 பெரியபுராணம்
கண்டு தொழுது வணங்கிக் கண்ணுதலார் தமை போற்றிக் கொண்ட திருத்தாண்டகங்கள் குறுந்தொகை நோpசை அன்பில் மண்டு விருத்தங்கள்பாடி வணங்கித் திருத்தொண்டு செய்தே அண்டர் பிரான் திருஐயாறு அமர்ந்தனர் நாவுக்கரசர் 385 பெரியபுராணம்