Letters from Sri Ramanasramam, by Suri Nagamma

One devotee asked Bhagavan, “Is it a fact that Appar
got that name only because Sambandar was calling him
Appah?”
“Yes. That is a fact. The name given to him by his parents
is Marul Neekkiyar. As his voice was pure, he later got the
name of Vageesa but it was mainly because Sambandar called
him Appah (father) that he got the name Appar,” said
Bhagavan.

“Which was his native place?” enquired some one. Then
Bhagavan related the full details about Appar:
“Appar was born in a village called Tiruvamur in the
Thirumunaipadi region of a Vellala family of Saivites. His father’s
name was Pugazhanar and mother’s name was Madiniyar. He
had only one sister by name Tilakavati. As he grew up, he became
proficient in all studies. When Tilakavati was twelve years of
age, the parents decided to give her in marriage to a commander
in the king’s army. Just then there was a war and that
commander went away saying he would marry her on his
return. In the meantime Pugazhanar passed away and his wife
Madiniyar committed Sati.* The brother and sister were left
alone. They awaited the return of the commander, but after
some time they heard that the commander had died in the
war. Tilakavati wanted to commit Sati as her parents had decided
to give her away in marriage to that commander and she felt
that her body was therefore his. Marul Neekkiyar, with great
grief, fell at the feet of his sister and told her that he looked up
to her as his father and mother, and if she insisted on dying on
the funeral pyre, he would also commit suicide. As she was
anxious that her brother should live and prosper, she gave up
her idea of committing Sati.

“She however did not marry but remained at home
absorbed in the service of the Siva’s temple and in her own
tapas (austerity).

“Marul Neekkiyar realised that material wealth was
transitory. Consequently, whatever money, gold and other
valuables he had, he gave away, became a sannyasi, left home
and in his wanderings reached Patalipuram (Tirup-
podiripuliyur, i.e., Cuddalore). There the most important
place at that time was the Samana Jain Mutt. As fate would
have it, he went there, joined the Samana establishment, was
given the title of Dharmasena, became the head of the mutt,
the Purohit of the Rajah and the Poet Laureate of the
kingdom. He therefore stayed on there.

* Self-immolation by falling into the funeral pyre of the husband.

“Tilakavati, who was staying at her native place, heard
this news, felt sad, went to their family deity —
Veerasthaneswara — on the banks of the river Gedila and
prayed to God several times to save her brother from
following the way of heretics. One day Parameswara appeared
to her in a dream and said, ‘O Tapaswini, you can now give
up your mental agony. In his last birth, your brother was a
Sannyasi but did not perform tapas properly. There was a
flaw in his tapas. As a result of that, he has now joined that
heretic (Pashanda) cult. I shall now save him by making him
suffer from stomachache. Give up your grief and relax.’
“Immediately thereafter, Dharmasena had a violent
stomachache. Several people in that mutt who were well
versed in mantras and tantras tried best to cure him but could
not succeed and so gave up all hopes. Dharmasena could
not bear the agony any longer. He then remembered his
sister. Hoping she might be of some help, he sent a man to
fetch her. She refused to give up her own Dharma and go
over to that Samana Mutt. On hearing that, Dharmasena
regretted his having given up his own Dharma, namely,
Saivism, and without the knowledge of other people in the
mutt, left the mutt at night, with two servants, for his native
place. When he tapped at the door and called his sister, she
recognised his voice and opened the door. He fell at her feet
and requested her to forgive him. She received him with
open arms, and overjoyed at the kindness of Parameswara,
taught her brother the Panchakshari Mantra (Om Namah
Sivaya) after giving him holy ash. He smeared the holy ash
all over his body and repeated the mantra.

“Tilakavati took her brother to the temple of Veera-
sthaneswara. When he prostrated and got up, Marul Neekkiyar
began composing songs in Tamil in praise of Siva. The first of
the Ten Verses (Padikam) begins with ‘Kootrayinavaru.’ His
stomachache ceased immediately. That is why there is a belief
that whoever recites these songs gets relief from all illness.

“After that he went on a pilgrimage singing his Padikams
(containing 10 verses each). In due course he reached
Chidambaram. After worshipping Nataraja there, and singing
Padikams, he went with his followers to Sirkali, which was
nearby, as he heard that Sambandar had become a saint by
drinking the milk of the Mother of the Universe, Parvati,
when he was a little child. Hearing that he was coming,
Sambandar with his followers went out to meet him. As soon
as they met, Marul Neekkiyar fell at the feet of Sambandar.

The latter lifted him up with his hands with great affection
and as a show of respect, called him ‘Appa’ (father). Appar
immediately claimed that he was the Dasan (servant) of
Sambandar. From that time onwards, Marul Neekkiyar came
to be known as Appar. Subsequently both of them went
together to the temple of Brahmapureeswara. Sambandar
then asked Appar to worship the Lord, which Appar did
with his Padikams (ten verses). After that, they went together
to several temples and sang Padikams in praise of the Lord.

You have already heard of Vedaranyam and the sovereigns.

There are several other stories like that. After his contact
with Appar, Sambandar went to Patalipuram, defeated the
people of Samana Mutt by arguments and established Saivism.

They always used to be together.”