According to tradition, Bhoothath Alwar appeared the day after Poigai Alwar, in a kurukkathi (madhavi) flower at Thirukkadalmallai. This is today's Mamallapuram on the sea coast south of Chennai, where Sthalasayana Perumal rests on the bare ground. His name is traditionally explained as "one who truly came to be": his life began in earnest when he knew the Lord.
He was the second to reach the small hermitage passage at Thirukkovalur on that rainy night. He asked for shelter and Poigai Alwar made room for him, and the two sat together until Pey Alwar arrived. Then all three felt the Lord Himself among them.
When Poigai Alwar lit his lamp, Bhoothath Alwar lit a second one, a lamp of love (Irandam Tiruvandadi 1). His Irandam Tiruvandadi (100 verses) sings of how near the Lord comes to those who love Him, and praises divya desams such as Thirukkadalmallai and Thiruvenkatam.
Teachers often explain the two lamps together: Poigai Alwar's shows the Lord by the light of knowledge, and Bhoothath Alwar's warms that knowledge into love. With the vision of Pey Alwar that followed, the three Tiruvandadis are honoured as one continuous offering.
A pasuram to begin with
Irandam Tiruvandadi 1 · verse 2182 of the four thousand
At Thirukkovalur, Bhoothath Alwar lit the second lamp, a lamp of love, beside Poigai Alwar's.
Meaning
With love as the lamp's bowl, longing as its ghee, and a mind melting with joy as its wick, melting in goodness, I lit the radiant lamp of knowledge for Narayana: I, who was given the Tamil of wisdom.
Word by word
- aṉpē
- love
- takaḷiyā
- the bowl of a lamp
- ārvamē
- longing
- ney
- ghee
- iṉpu uruku cintai
- a mind melting with joy
- iṭu tiriyā
- the wick laid in
- ñāṉac cuṭar viḷakku
- the radiant lamp of knowledge
- nāraṇaṟku
- for Narayana
- ñāṉat tamiḻ
- the Tamil of wisdom
The verse is from the e-text of the Nalayira Divya Prabandham by Project Madurai. The meaning is a simple rendering in the light of the acharyas' commentaries, and is awaiting a scholar's review.
Ask Sri Paduka about this pasuram →All the pasurams
Bhoothath Alwar sang 100 pasurams. Each one is here in English letters, with a simple meaning and the meanings of its key words.