Dr Sankaradevi’s talks after the bi-weekly pradosham pujas are over at the Nandhikeswara temple are always so rich and full of insight. We can rarely sit through them all, but that is no indication of their importance and value to the revitalisation of both the Nandhikeswara temple practice and to the community as a whole – keep in mind that this temple sits on the edge of what was once the Sankaran kulam, where all the brahmin communities who were associated with the old, un-destroyed Vedapuriswara Koyil once stood. This history is indicated now only by the remnant that is the Shankara Vidyalaya school; all else including the Periya Paarpan and Chinna Paarpan (big and small brahmin) street names are gone, replaced by ostensibly more modern and certainly deracinated ones. Anyway, this evening as we are waiting for prasadam, Dr Sankaradevi recites these lines from Thirumoolar, which reverse the relationship between things–the elephant hides the tree, the elephant is hidden by the tree (in a sculpture). And so on, for Param and this world. Lovely explanation here by G. Sither, who is the very Sither sir I met in Thanjavur once, investigating heritage rice cultivation.
மரத்தை மறைத்தது மாமத யானை
மரத்தில் மறைந்தது மாமத யானை
பரத்தை மறைத்தன பார்முதல் பூதம்
பரத்தில் மறைந்தன பார்முதல் பூதமே
The great furious elephant concealed the wood;
Within the wood, the great furious elephant disappeared.
The elements, starting with the earth, concealed the Supreme (Param);
Within the Supreme, the elements, starting with the earth, disappeared.