He squandered all his sister's wherewithal and left her a complete pauper. In the meantime, Arunagiri contracted many diseases and suffered much. The helpless lady could do nothing except pray to the Lord to save Arunagiri.
Slowly, he began to snatch away, one by one, the ornaments of his sister, sometimes with her knowledge and sometimes otherwise. Thus, did Arunagiri indulge in sex heedlessly and depleted all the wealth hoarded by his mother. The poor sister could not do anything drastic, lest she should be harsh to Arunagiri or displease him, which would mean breaking her promise to her mother. But nothing could prevent Arunagiri from his infatuated love for women. His sister, who came to know of this conduct of Arunagiri, tried her best to extricate him from the traps of public women. Arunagiri's sister understood the anxious mental condition of her mother and gave her a word of promise that she would leave nothing undone to please Arunagiri and keep him happy.Īs Arunagiri grew in age, he found the company of women more pleasing than his studies, which he virtually neglected and sought the pleasures of enchanting courtesans. She loved the boy so much that while she was in the death-bed, she entrusted Arunagiri to the care of her daughter (i.e., the elder sister of Arunagiri) with specific instructions not to do anything that would displease him. At his seventh year of age, his mother passed away. When the boy attained the age of five, he was put to school. It is also said that Arunagiri was born to Muthu from the famous mystic saint of Tamil Nadu, Pattinathar, in an unusual manner. He was the son of a Daasi (a dancing girl) named Muthu and had an elder sister by name Adhi. It is as follows:Īrunagiri was born in Thiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, and is believed to have lived in the middle of the fifteenth century A.D.
He composed the puranam about Arunagirinathar about the year 1865. This is mostly based on the earliest written poetic work on the life of Arunagirinathar entitled, "Arunagirinathar Swamigal Puranam" by a saintly Swami Thandapani Swamigal who also goes by the names of Murugadasa Swamigal and Thiruppugal Swamigal (1839-1898). This has come down to us through generations by way of hearsay. (MP3 - 20MB | Artist: Kripananda Variar | © Kripananda Variar) Whatever it be, one thing is certain that Arunagirinathar was a saint of no ordinary attainment as could be assessed from a study of his different works. I leave it to the readers to take what appeals to them. But, at the same time, I could not help writing something about Arunagirinathar's life, as I felt the book would be incomplete without the illustrious Saint's life, especially this being the only English rendering of "Kandar Anubhuti." Hence, I have tried here to collect and consolidate only those versions which have some reliable sources under three headings (listed below) with, of course, some stress on the view that appeals to me as more intelligible, reasonable, and supported by some kind of evidence. the life of Arunagirinathar) untouched, lest I should add to the confusion which is already there enough. Even the few books that I could obtain and go through made me feel that I better leave this subject (i.e. I say confusion because different authors say different things without any source, basis, or authority, except their love for the Lord and the Saint. The more one reads, the more confusion is created in one's mind. When one goes through them, one is at a loss to know which is right and which is not.
And today, we have a number of versions of Arunagirinathar's life and that too with countless variations in minor details. This has naturally led to much speculation about his life. Nothing definite is known about his birth, caste, etc. He lived at Thiruvannamalai the Agni Kshetra one of the Pancha Bhuta Sthalas, which is sacred and famous for many other reasons as well.Īs is the case with most of the saints and sages of the past, no authentic record of Arunagirinathar's life is available. Saint Arunagirinathar is revered as one of the foremost among the acharyas (spiritual teachers) of the Kaumaras. The Kaumaras those who regard and worship Lord Kumara, Skanda, Shanmukha, or Karttikeya as the Supreme Being are one of the six sects of Hinduism.