“Thirukkanden, Ponmeni Kanden”

“Thirukkanden, Ponmeni Kanden” enters the narrative as a devotional verse whose performance helps bring a strained royal audience to a quiet close. Sung by Azhwarkkadiyaan alongside Poonguzhali’s hymn, it forms part of a paired musical offering that accompanies Sundara Chozhar’s visible transition from distress to sleep.

Identity and Context

The verse is identified through Azhwarkkadiyaan’s selection of an Aazhwar paasuram. It is paired with a Thevaram pathigam sung by Poonguzhali, placing devotional compositions associated with distinct traditions in the same intimate courtly setting. The passage does not supply the verse’s full text; its significance here lies in its choice and performance.

The singing follows the Maharani’s request to end the day’s audience because physicians had strictly warned against overtaxing the emperor. She proposes that Poonguzhali sing, believing the young woman’s voice would give Sundara Chozhar pleasure. Aniruddhar then offers his disciple as a participant, noting Azhwarkkadiyaan’s flair for Aazhwar paasurams. The verse is thus introduced not as a public performance but as a response to the emperor’s fatigue and the need to soothe him.

Performance in the Chamber

Poonguzhali begins with “Kootraayinavaaru vilakka kileer …”; Azhwarkkadiyaan follows with “Thirukkanden, pon meni kanden …”. The sequence gives the two singers distinct devotional material rather than making them perform the same piece. Azhwarkkadiyaan’s contribution is specifically associated with the Aazhwar tradition, while Poonguzhali’s is named as a Thevaram hymn.

Their singing takes place before the emperor and the small group gathered in his chamber. The performance changes the atmosphere without interrupting the scene for explanation or debate: the verses begin, and attention shifts to Sundara Chozhar’s response.

Effect and Narrative Function

As the verses sound, Sundara Chozhar closes his eyes. The wrinkles in his distraught face smooth, his expression settles into tranquility and peace, and his laboured breathing becomes steady. Within moments, he has fallen into deep sleep. The narrative presents the two performances together as the immediate setting for this change; it does not attribute the effect to Azhwarkkadiyaan’s verse alone.

With daylight fading and twilight arriving, the audience leaves the chamber quietly. Vaanama Devi remains beside her husband for a few moments, then departs at Kundhavai’s gesture. Stillness settles, broken only by the rise and fall of Sundara Chozhar’s faint breathing. The verse’s role in the scene is therefore both devotional and structural: its performance accompanies the emperor’s rest and helps close an audience that began under medical caution and ends in silence.