திருக்கடையூர் ஸ்ரீ மார்கண்டேய்னின் மரணமிலாபெருவாழ்வு (tirukkaḍaiyūril sri mārkaṇṭēyṉiṉ maraṇamilāperuvāḻvu -immortal liberation of sri markandeya at thirukadayur)

 திருசிற்றம்பலம் (tiruciṟṟambalam – sacred wisdom revealed)!

 ௐ நமசிவாய / ॐ नमशिवाय (oṃ namacivāya / oṃ namaśivāya)! 

Let us get into one of the most sophisticated kinds of liberation – the अमृत मुक्ति (amṛta mukti – immortal  liberation). Before proceeding further, let us synch up with some basic concepts on eternity and immortality. Firstly,  we need to understand that the term immortality is generally overloaded with multiple meanings, and denotes slightly different concepts in different philosophical contexts.  For example, according to the eminent British Philosopher Anthony Flew, the term immortality is used in three different contexts viz.

• Immortality in the sense of eternality of the soul: This doctrine reflects that the soul is a नित्य पुरुष (nitya puruṣa - eternal being) which can never be created nor be destroyed. Eastern Religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism etc. believe in such eternity of the soul. Similarly Greek philosophers like Plato, Pythagoras etc. believe the same. Moreover, even later day Cartesian schools lead by Descartes do believe in the eternity of a im-material soul.    

• Immortality in the sense of survival / transmigration of the सूक्ष्मशरीर (sūkṣmaśarīra – atral body) beyond physical death: As we already discussed earlier, man as an जीवात्मन् (jīvātman -  individual soul) is a highly complex bundle of energy attached to स्थूलशरिर (sthūlaśarira –  gross physical body) in the lower and multiple planes of सूक्ष्मशरीराणि (sūkṣmaśarīrāṇi- subtler bodies).

• Immortality in terms of the resurrection of the material body along with the soul as a liberated and spiritualized  self, as believed in Judaism, Christianity, Islam etc. In simple terms, it refers to the spiritual raising from the death, as testified by St. Paul in the 1 Corinthians: 

“So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body”. 

    As show cased above, the process of जीवन् मुक्ति(jivan mukti – living liberation)  followed by विदेह मुक्ति (videha mukti - disembodied salvation) also falls under this category.  

The important point to understand is that, these models are not water tight compartments and are conceptually overlapping. For example, the first model viz. the eternity of the soul is the underlying basis for the remaining two models. Please remember that the soul is by default always eternal, i.e. it can neither be created, nor be destroyed and hence is beyond the limitations of time. This is concept of the नित्य पुरुष (nitya puruṣa - eternal being). This fact is very clearly testified by श्री यमधर्मराज (śrī yamadharmarāja) himself in the sacred verses from कठोपनिषद् (kaṭhopaniṣad)

Original	Transliteration	Translation
न जायते म्रियते वा विपश्चिन्नायं कुतश्चिन्न बभूव कश्चित् । अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे ॥ हन्ता चेन्मन्यते हन्तुँ हतश्चेन्मन्यते हतं । उभौ तौ न विजानीतो नायँ हन्ति न हन्यते ॥	na jāyate mriyate vā vipaścinnāyaṃ kutaścinna babhūva kaścit | ajo nityaḥ śāśvato'yaṃ purāṇo na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre || hantā cenmanyate hantum̐ hataścenmanyate hataṃ । ubhau tau na vijānīto nāyam̐ hanti na hanyate ॥	The intelligent self is not born, nor does It die – it did not come from anywhere, nor did anything come from It. It is unborn, eternal, everlasting and ancient, and it is not slain when the body is slain. If the slayer thinks he slays It and if the slain thinks of It as slain, both these do not know, for it does not slay nor is It slain. -Translation by V. Panoli.
Sanskrit Reference: कठोपनिषद् (kaṭhopaniṣad) (1.2.18,19)

However, by the माया शक्ति (māyā śakti – mystery force) of the ब्रह्म संकल्प (brahma saṁkalpa - Divine Will), the soul attaches itself to a body during birth and detaches itself from it on death. We already discussed that between these points of birth and death, lies the typical mortal life of a soul during which time the soul switches between different bodily forms depending upon the state of consciousness in which it is operating in viz. स्थूल्  देह (sthūla deha  - gross body), सूक्ष्म देह (sūkṣma deha  -subtle body) & कारण देह (kāraṇa deha  - causal body) during the जाग्रत् ( jāgrat  - wakeful), स्वप्न (svapna - dreaming) & सुषुप्ति (suṣupti - sleeping) consciousness respectively. And on death, the marriage between the body and soul comes to an end.  And subsequently based on its karmic balance sheet, the soul takes up its next birth, life and death. So goes the vicious संसार चक्र (saṁsāra cakra – metemopsychosis).  This is the typical case of ordinary mortals.

However, in the case of evolved personalities, who have transcended beyond the ordinary planes of consciousness, the soul is liberated from the cycle of rebirths and attaining salvation समाधि अनुभव (samādhi anubhava – atonement expereicne) through various modes of मोक्ष  (mokśa - liberation) like जीवन्मुक्ति (jīvanmukti – living liberation), विदेहमुक्ति (videhamukti – bodyless liberation) etc., based on their individual state of maturity in the evolution of the soul.

If you observe carefully, you can infer that in most of the popular liberation processes that we talked about so far, death was an inevitable event for every embodied soul, irrespective of its state of evolution. That is, whenever there is birth, death is inevitable.  In fact, that is why even சுந்தர மூர்த்தி நாயனார் (sundaramūrtti nāyanār) is known to have declared thus in one of his poems

Original	Transliteration	Translation
தோற்றம் உண்டேல் மரணம் உண்டு துயரம் மனைவாழ்க்கை மாற்றம் உண்டேல் வஞ்சம் உண்டு நெஞ்ச மனத்தீரே நீற்றர் ஏற்றர் நீல கண்டர் நிறைபுனல் நீள்சடைமேல் ஏற்றர் கோயில் எதிர்கொள் பாடி என்ப தடைவோமே.	tōṟṟam uṇṭēl maraṇam uṇṭu tuyaram maṉaivāḻkkai māṟṟam uṇṭēl vañcam uṇṭu neñca maṉattīrē nīṟṟar ēṟṟar nīla kaṇṭar niṟaipuṉal nīḷcaṭaimēl ēṟṟar kōyil etirkoḷ pāṭi eṉpa taṭaivōmē.	O, Hearts given to meditate on! For all, if birthing be, so on the other end dying be! In the middle the whole of life be to lament merely. If words there be to requiem it, by and large they bleat heartless and bay in deceit! To be relieved of them all, resort may we to Him the Holy Asher, Bull Rider, Blue Neck, Container of floods upon long locks, and reach may we unto His temple in Ethirkolpaadi! -translation by S. A. Sankaranarayanan
Tamil Reference : சுந்தரர் தேவாரம் : திருவெதிர்கொள்பாடி (sundarar dēvāram : tiruvetirkoḷpāṭi) (7.7.2)

While in the case of विदेह मुक्ति  (videha mukti – corporeal liberation), it is very obvious from its very name, that the soul is  liberated only after undergoing the process of death, even in the case of जीवन्मुक्ति (jīvanmukti), although the soul attains ब्रह्म ज्ञान  (brahma jñāna - spiritual enlightenment) even before death, yet it will continue its saintly life in the mortal body to discharge its previous accumulated प्रारब्ध कर्म (prārabdha karma – ripened events) and then goes through the process of death before its final liberation. And subsequently in both the cases, the soul is free from rebirth and hence death as well.

However in the case of souls attaining अमरत्व (amaratva – imortality/ deathlessness), the very process of death itself is transcended, as the soul attains complete liberation while in this life itself without going through the cumbersome process of death. I would call it a kind of double promotion – an advanced stage of जीवन्मुक्ति (jīvanmukti – corporeal liberation), where the soul not only attains ब्रह्म ज्ञान  (brahma jñāna - spritual enlightenment), but also pure अमरत्व (amaratva – immortality/ deathlessness). In fact, this is a state of परिपूरणता (paripūraṇatā - holistic perfection), technically called as ¬Á¡Ú (aamaaRu – deathless perfection) in the occult language of ¾Á¢ú º¢ò¾÷ þÄ츢Âõ (tamizh sidhdhar ilakkiyam - Tamil Siddha literature). Sri Aurobindho explains such पूरणता अमरत्व (pūraṇatā amaratva – holistic immortality/ deathlessness) thus,

”By immortality we mean the absolute life of the SOUL as opposed to the transient and mutable life in the body which it assumes by birth and death and REBIRTH and superior also to its life as the mere mental being who dwells in the world subjected helplessly to this law of death and birth or seems at least by his IGNORANCE to be subjected to this and to other laws of the lower Nature.”

Religious Testimonies

The religious heritages across the globe can proudly claim to have reached great heights and mastery in the சாகாக்கல்வி (sāgākkalvi – science of immortality). சாகாக்கலை / अमृतसिद्धि (sāgākkalai  / amṛtasiddhi – art of immortality / accomplishing deathlessness) has been one of the most important spiritual goals for the anscient seekers from time immemorial. For example, the verses मृत्योर् म अमृतङ्ग मय (mṛtyor ma amṛtaṅga maya - Lead me from death to Immortality) from the बृहदारण्यकोपनिषद् (bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣad), very crisply highlights the inherent thirst of the वेद ऋषि (veda ṛṣi – Vedic seer sages) for अमरत्व (amaratva – immortality/ deathlessness). According to the वेद शास्त्र (veda śāstra), सोम (soma – ritualized juice)  is a sacred portion, specially prepared from extracts of magical herbs (believed to belong to the ephedra class of shrubs), the consumption of which leads to अमरत्व (amaratva – immortality/ deathlessness). The following वेदमन्त्र (veda mantra – vedic hymn) from the sacred ऋग् संहित (ṛg saṁhita) for example, testifies that drinking the sacred सोम (soma – ritualized juice)  leads to immortality

Original	Transliteration	Translation
अपाम् सोमममृतां अभूम अगन्म ज्योतिरविदाम देवान्। किम् नूनमस्मान् कृणवदरातिः किमु धूर्तिरमऋत मर्तस्य॥	apām somamamṛtāṁ abhūma aganma jyotiravidāma devān| kim nūnamasmān kṛṇavadarātiḥ kimu dhūrtiramaṛta martasya||	May we drink the Soma and become Immortal. May we come to the Light and find the Gods. What can the enemies, the non-doers give to us? O Immortal, one causing harm, what can he do to (even if we are) mortals? -Translation by R.L. Kashyap
Sanskrit Reference: ऋग्वेद (ṛgveda) (8:48:3)

In fact, the सोम मण्डल (soma maṇḍala), the 9^th  book of  ऋग्वेद संहिता (ṛgveda saṁhitā), for example, has around 114 hymns explicitly highlighting the importance and power of सोम (soma – ritualized juice). Interestingly, the ancient Zorastrian (Persian) traditions calls it ‘haoama’. Their scriptures, namely the Zend Avesta, also has a dedicated yāśti to it. A similar philosophy is also reiterated in the Babylonian Giligamesh epic poem wherein the Sumerian king is instructed by a divine spirit by name Uthnapishtim to bring home a magical plant that brings immortality.

भक्त मार्कण्डेय (bhakta mārkaṇḍeya)

The legend of the child saint sage भक्त मार्कण्डेय (bhakta mārkaṇḍeya), son of मृकण्डु महऋषि (mṛkaṇḍu mahaṛṣi) also establishes the fact that death can be transcended. According to the legend, मृकण्डु महऋषि (mṛkaṇḍu mahaṛṣi) and his wife मरुध्वति (marudhvati) were pious couple who lived a ascetic life in the forests. They were childless for very long time and hence they performed several years of intense तपस् (tapas - penance) praying to Lord परमशिव (paramaśiva) seeking from him the boon of begetting a child. Eventually God appeared before them and decided to grant them the desired boon, however with a conditional clause. He offered the couple of choosing between a pious, wise and spiritually exemplary son but having a very short life span (18 years of mortal life only) on the one side or select a mundane child with average intelligence but with a very long life span. The wise couple, opted for the former choice and accordingly they were blessed with मार्कण्डेय (mārkaṇḍeya) as their begotten child. And as expected मार्कण्डेय (mārkaṇḍeya)  grew up as a very wise and religious person and a great devotee of Lord परमशिव (paramaśiva). Time passed by soon and on the fateful day of his 18^th birth day, as originally destined,  यमधर्म (yamadharma) came looking for him. When the teenage boy was challenged by यमधर्म (yama dharma), the lord of Death, he took refuge at the holy feet of his beloved God, by hugging the शिवलिङ्ग (śivaliṅga) consecrated at திருகடவூர் (tirukaḍavūr) - the sacred place where God had descended as an अर्चावतारमूर्ति (arcāvatāramūrti– iconic incarnation).

The compassionate lord immediately rushed to the rescue of his beloved devotee and kicked away death. This is why the deity is called as काल संहार मुर्ति (kāla saṁhāra murti – destroyer of death), and as திரு அமிர்தகடேசுவரர் /श्री अमृतघटेश्वर  (tiru amirtakaṭēcuvarar / śrī amṛtaghaṭeśvara - bestower of ambrosia). In fact, the name of the place where the episode is believed to have happened is also pregnant with esoteric meaning. திருக்கடவூர் (tirukkaḍavūr – sacred transcendent abode) is derived from the root words திரு (tiru – divine / sacred), கட (kaḍa– transcend), and வூர் (ūr - abode), which, in other words, represents the place where death was transcended with the help of இறையருள் (iṟaiyaruḷ - Divine Grace). Alternatively, this दिव्यक्षेत्र (divyakṣetra – divine abode) is also called as திருக்கடையூர் (tirukkaṭaiyūr – sacred final abode) as it can be split as திரு (tiru – divine / sacred), கடை (kaḍai – final), and வூர் (ūr - abode).

The noble saint திரு அருட்பிரகாச இராமலிங்க வள்ளலார்  (tiru aruṭpirakāsa iramaliṅga vaḻḻalār) highlights as to how from life of भक्त मार्कण्डेय (bhakta mārkaṇḍeya) on can infer the spiritual lessons that his immense faith in Lord परमशिव (paramaśiva) and His महातारकमन्त्र (mahātārakamantra) has the potency not only to move mountains, but also serves as நற்றுனை  (naṟṟuṉai - best support) even to conquer death itself. This fact is testified by the saint-poet in the following verses from the famous பதிகம் (padigam - decad) titled “நற்றுனை விளக்கம் (naṟṟuṉai viḷakkam – explanation of best support)”.

Original	Transliteration	Translation
ஓடு கின்றனன் கதிரவன் அவன்பின் ஓடு கின்றன ஒவ்வொரு நாளாய் வீடு கின்றன என்செய்வோம் இனிஅவ் வெய்ய கூற்றுவன் வெகுண்டிடில் என்றே வாடு கின்றனை அஞ்சலை நெஞ்சே மார்க்கண் டேயர்தம் மாண்பறிந் திலையோ நாடு கின்றவர் நாதன்தன் நாமம் நமச்சி வாயம்காண் நாம்பெறும் துணையே.	ōṭu kiṉṟaṉaṉ katiravaṉ avaṉpiṉ ōṭu kiṉṟaṉa ovvoru nāḷāy vīṭu kiṉṟaṉa eṉceyvōm iṉi'av veyya kūṟṟuvaṉ vekuṇṭiṭil eṉṟē vāṭu kiṉṟaṉai añcalai neñcē mārkkaṇ ṭēyartam māṇpaṟin tilaiyō nāṭu kiṉṟavar nātaṉtaṉ nāmam namacci vāyamkāṇ nāmpeṟum tuṇaiyē.
Tamil Reference : திருவருட்பா (tiruvaruṭpā) (2.5.5)

Yes, भक्त मार्कण्डेय (bhakta mārkaṇḍeya) by the sheer purity of his devotion, has won the இறையருள் (iṟaiyaruḷ – Divine Grace) and was able to conquer death. His life serves as a perfect case study for what saint திருவள்ளுவர் (tiruvaḷḷuvar) declares 

Original	Transliteration	Translation
கூற்றம் குதித்தலும் கைகூடும் நோற்றலின் ஆற்றல் தலைப்பட்டவர்க்கு	kūṟṟam kutittalum kaikūṭum nōṟṟaliṉ āṟṟal talaippaṭṭavarkku	E'en over death the victory he may gain, If power by penance won his soul obtain Translation by G.U. Pope
Tamil Reference : திருக்குறள் (tirukkuṟaḷ) (269)

A similar message is also conveyed in the ancient புறனாணூற்று சங்க இலக்கிய பாடல் (puṟaṉāṇūṟṟu caṅka ilakkiya pāṭal – song from Tamil literary assembly) from பொருநராற்றுப்படை (porunarāṟṟuppaṭai)

Original	Transliteration	Translation
…தவம் செய் மாக்கள் தம் உடம்பு இடாஅது அதன் பயம் எய்திய அளவை மான,…	…tavam cey mākkaḷ tam uṭampu iṭā'atu ataṉ payam eytiya aḷavai māṉa,…	...patrons, much like ascetics who do penances and attain the benefits of their bodies without abandoning them. -translation by Vaidehi Herbert
Tamil Reference : பொருநராற்றுப்படை (porunarāṟṟuppaṭai) (91-2)

Again, the revered mystical poet and Saint நம்பி ஆரூரான் (nambi ārūrān),  more popularly known as சுந்தரர் (sundarar) in his தேவாரம் (dēvāram) beautifully summarizes the whole episode thus, in his ecstatic mood,  

Original	Transliteration	Translation
வன்சயமாய் அடியான்மேல் வருங்கூற்றின் உரங்கிழிய முன்சயமார் பாதத்தால் முனிந்துகந்த மூர்த்திதனை மின்செயும்வார் சடையானை விடையானை அடைவின்றி என்செயநான் பிரிந்திருக்கேன் என்னாரூர் இறைவனையே	vaṉcayamāy aṭiyāṉmēl varuṅkūṟṟiṉ uraṅkiḻiya muṉcayamār pātattāl muṉintukanta mūrttitaṉai miṉceyumvār caṭaiyāṉai viṭaiyāṉai aṭaiviṉṟi eṉceyanāṉ pirintirukkēṉ eṉṉārūr iṟaivaṉaiyē	Lord with His victorious foot angrily kicked, rending the chest of Yama, who proceeded on His devotee to gain forceful victory, and then revived him. Without reaching the Rider of the bull, with long matlocks bright like lightining, for what to do, can I stay over separated from my Lord of Arur. Translation by Dr S.N. Kandhasamy
Tamil Reference : சுந்தரர் தேவாரம் : திருவாரூர் (sundarar dēvāram) (7.51.7)

 

Of course, this mythologic episode at திருகடவூர் (tirukaḍavūr) has deeper esoteric significance particularly in the context of occult yogic practices and the meaning behind which is explained by திருமூலர் (tirumūlar), in the following verses

Original	Transliteration	Translation
மூலத் துவாரத்து மூளும் ஒருவனை மேலைத் துவாரத்து மேலுற நோக்கிமுற் காலுற்றுக் காலனை காய்ந்தங்கி யோகமாய் ஞாலக் கடவூர் நலமாய் இருந்ததே	mūlat tuvārattu mūḷum oruvaṉai mēlait tuvārattu mēluṟa nōkkimuṟ kāluṟṟuk kālaṉai kāyntaṅki yōkamāy ñālak kaṭavūr nalamāy iruntatē	The Kundalini Fire coiled in Muladhara Upward He coursed it to Hollow on top; That Fiery Yoga Way He scorched the God of Death That was at Kadavoor, the holy shrine here below. -Translation by B.Natarajan
Tamil Reference : திருமந்திரம் (tirumantiram) (2.2.7)

ௐ நமசிவாய / ॐ नमशिवाय (oṃ namacivāya / oṃ namaśivāya)! 

திருசிற்றம்பலம் (tiruciṟṟambalam – sacred wisdom revealed)!

Appendix - Further Reading

The noble saint திரு அருட்பிரகாச இராமலிங்க வள்ளலார் (tiru aruṭpirakāca irāmaliṅka vaḷḷalār) is one of my all-time favorite इष्टगुरु (iṣṭaguru – chosen guru). In this series of blogs, I would like to share my humble thoughts on His Holiness, focusing on the following topics:

 

Index	Topic	Link
Topic -1	வள்ளலார் - ஒரு அறிமுகம் (vaḷḷalār oru aṟimugam - Vallalar -  an introduction)	https://whatisgod-iraamalingavallalaar.blogspot.com/p/oru-arimugam-introduction.html
Topic-2	வள்ளலாரின் சரியைகருமமார்கம் (vaḷḷalāriṉ cariyaikarumamārgam - disciplinary servitude path of vallalar)	https://whatisgod-iraamalingavallalaar.blogspot.com/p/vallalarin-cariyaikarumamargam.html
Topic-3	வள்ளலாரின் கிரியாபக்திமார்கம் (vaḷḷalāriṉ kiriyābaktimārkam - ritualistic-devotion path of Vallalar)	https://whatisgod-iraamalingavallalaar.blogspot.com/p/vallalarin-kiriyabaktimarkam.html
Topic -4	வள்ளலாரின் பக்தியோகமார்கம் (vaḷḷalāriṉ paktiyōkamārgam - yogic-devotion path of Vallalar)	https://whatisgod-iraamalingavallalaar.blogspot.com/p/vallalarin-paktiyokamargam-yogic.html
Topic-5	வள்ளலாரின் மெய்ஞான விஞானம் (vaḷḷalāriṉ meyñāṉa viñāṉam - Vallalar's spiritual science)	https://whatisgod-iraamalingavallalaar.blogspot.com/p/vallalarin-meynana-vinanam-vallalars.html
Topic-6	வள்ளலாரின் நோக்கில் இதிகாசபுராணங்கள் (vaḷḷalāriṉ nōkkil itikācapurāṇaṅkaḷ - Vallalar's perspective on epics and mythologies)	https://whatisgod-iraamalingavallalaar.blogspot.com/p/testing-puranas.html
Topic-7	வள்ளலாரின் மரணமிலாப் பெருவாழ்வு (vaḷḷalāriṉ maraṇamilāp peruvāzhvu - Vallalar's immortalized supreme living)	https://whatisgod-iraamalingavallalaar.blogspot.com/p/vallalarin-maranamilap-peruvazhvu.html
Topic -8	வள்ளலார் குறித்த சர்ச்சைகளும் அடியேனின் தெளிவுரையும் (vaḷḷalār kuṟitta carccaikaḷum aṭiyēṉiṉ teḷivuraiyum - my humble clarifications on Vallalar related controversies)	https://whatisgod-iraamalingavallalaar.blogspot.com/p/tester-deymystification.html