The country of Bharat has been very fortunate to have had countless God-realised Saints and Sages traverse the length and breadth of its land. It is rightfully known as ‘The land of Spirituality". The Saints always had an in-depth understanding of the nature of life. They have not only revived spirituality from time to time but performed miracles, contributed to literature ( in the form of devotional hymns, incantations and songs), and guided people towards spiritual awareness. One such powerful Saint admired by the people of Tamil Nadu is Saint Pamban Swamigal.

Early Years

Pamban Swamigal was born in the late 1840’s as “ Appavu”, in Pamban, Rameshwaram. His father was Satthappa Pillai, and his mother was Sembhagavathi Amma. He had lived for a few years on Pamban Island. Since he was an ardent devotee of Lord Muruga, he was called Pamban Gurudasa Swamigal. Later, he came to be known as Pamban Swamigal.

During his childhood, Appavu was a bright and curious boy. He ranked top of his class consistently. Though he was fluent in English, His favourite subject was Tamil.

From a very young age, he showed deep reverence towards Lord Muruga. He would often meditate for long periods. One day, Appavu had a miraculous vision of Lord Muruga and was inspired to write poems on the Lord. Every day, Appavu would write a poem on Lord Muruga. The writing continued for 100 days. Appavu took the Saint Arunagirinathan to be his manasika Guru.

One day, a priest and scholar, by the name of Sedhu Madhava Iyer saw the compositions of Appavu and was amazed. He gave Upadesam on Vijaya Dasami day at the Agni Thirtham (located in Rameshwaram seashore temple) and taught him to read Sanskrit.

Pamban Swamigal took over his family business after his father passed away. He won many legal cases related to his family business. He believed that Lord Muruga had graced and had won cases for him.

Marriage and family

Appavu’s parents were keen to get their son married early. He was mostly doing poojas, offering prayers or meditating. His parents were increasingly worried that he would become a sannyasin. The Saint fulfilled their wishes. However, he still lived like a saint, meditating and offering prayers. Out of his marriage to Kaali Muthu Ammal, they had a son and two daughters. Though Pamban Swamigal married in order to please his parents, he later took to Sanyasam in 1895. He then moved to Chennai.

After he became a sanyasi, he had a premonition of the passing away of his mother and his eldest son. Before the telegram came, he had instructed not to be disturbed and that he was a Sanyasin and had no family bindings.

Miraculous events in Swamigal’s life

Faith and Viboothi

One day, the daughter of Pamban Swamiga fell ill. She cried non-stop. His wife begged him to cure the child. But Pamban Swamigal refused and advised his wife to pray and surrender to Lord Muruga. He then proceeded with his meditative practices. She did as she was directed. After some time, Pamban Swamigal found that his daughter was sleeping peacefully. When he asked his wife about the change, she replied that a saintly figure had appeared before her. He had blessed their daughter, applied Vibhuti and disappeared before she could ask him his name or offer water/milk. As a result, the child recovered from her illness. The mother believed that Lord Muruga had healed her suffering daughter.

One day, Pamban Swamigal was suffering from severe diarrhoea. He fainted and fell. His wife, who was with him, fainted as well, seeing the state of her husband. Lord Muruga visited their home and tapped on Kallimuthu Ammal with his stick. She woke up. Lord Muruga then asked her to smear Viboothi on the body of Pamban Swamigal. Kallimuthu Ammal was reluctant and refused to do so as she was in her mensural cycle. Lord Muruga insisted that there was no prohibition at the time of emergency. She did as she was told. As a result, Pamban Swamigal was cured immediately.

The one time that Swamigal lied

One day, a friend of Pamban Swamigal was going to Palani - the divine abode of Lord Muruga. Pamban Swamigal wanted to visit the temple badly and left his family without informing anyone. The friend enquired if he had told the family about the visit. Pamban Swamigal lied to his friend and said that he had their permission. But, that night, Lord Muruga appeared in Pamban Swmaigal’s dream and asked him to return to his home. Lord Muruga further asked Pamban Swamigal to promise that he would not go without his permission. So, Pamban Swamigal returned home. He stayed there for many years and would not visit Palani without the permission of Lord Muruga.

Cobbler and the Slipper

Once, Pamban Swamigal was walking on a rough road. A big thorn pricked him. It caused him immense pain. Pamban Swamigal had tears in his eyes and prayed to Lord Muruga. On the same night, Lord Muruga appeared in the dreams of a cobbler and asked him to make a pair of slippers for the Saint. The next day, the cobbler made the slippers. He approached Swamigal and recounted his dream the previous night. Pamban Swamigal was deeply stirred by this act of kindness and thanked Lord Muruga for looking after him.

Never ending Annadhanam

Once, during a Shasti pooja, Pamban Swamigal was present. The devotees were offering food. They had prepared food for about 100 people. But, the number of devotees exceeded 400 people. The devotees in charge of food distribution were a little worried and approached Swamigal. He smiled and asked them to serve food. The vessel that contained rice kept filling itself by magic. More than 400 people ate that night. They had to prepare extra sambar, rasam and vegetables to serve the devotees that day.

A Terrible Accident

In December 1923, Pamban Swamigal was involved in a serious accident on Thambu Chetty Street in Chennai. He was run over by a cart and rushed to the hospital. The doctors assessed his condition and determined that his ankle was completely broken. They concluded that the only way to address the injury was to amputate the leg.

In response to this dire situation, Pamban Swamigal began chanting the Shanmuga Kavacham and prayed to Lord Muruga. On the 11th day of his ordeal, he experienced a remarkable vision: he saw a pair of peacocks dancing in front of him, along with the image of a young infant lying beside him. Upon looking closer, he realized that the infant was none other than Lord Muruga himself.

Meanwhile, Pamban Swamigal had a close associate named Chinnaswami Jothidar. He heard about the accident and started chanting Shanmuga Kavacham. That night, he had a vision of a Vel entering the leg of Pamban Swamigal. He had faith that Lord Muruga would heal the Saint.

The doctors were astonished to see that the broken ankle of the Saint, had completely healed without any surgery. There is a saying in Tamil that goes, “Velum mayilum thunai”, ( The vel and peacock of Lord Muruga will protect the devotee), and the life of Pamban Swamigal is an apt example.

Samadhi State

Pamban Swamigal knew that his final days arrived. He called Chinnaswami Jothidar and asked him to look for a piece of land in Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai. Pamban Swamaigal marked the corners of the land with his feet and, he wanted that part of the land to be purchased. All the arrangements were made. On 30th May 1929, Pamban Swamigal knew that his time to leave Earth had come. He called for his followers to gather around him, and asked all the people gathered to have faith in Lord Muruga. At 7:15 am, Pamban Swamigal took a deep breath. He went into the Samadhi State. One can visit the Jeeva Samadhi of Pamban Swamigal at Thiruvanmayur.

Compositions

In the year 1891, Pamban Swamigal gave the world “ SHANMUGA KAVACHAM”. A Kavacham means an Armour. This powerful 30-verse hymn composed by Pamban Swmaigal is said to protect the devotees of Lord Muruga from any illness to the body or mind. This Kavacham also acts as a shield against animals, poisonous creatures and foes. Devotees, who recite this hymn with all their heart will see miraculous benefits.

Pamban Swamigal has also composed the “ PANCHAMRITHA VANNAM”. This is a poem that glorifies the feats of Lord Muruga. It is believed that Lord Muruga has himself told an old lady at Thiruchendur that he would be present whenever and wherever this song is sung with devotion. Hence, if anyone sings this song with devotion, it is considered equal to performing an abishegam to the Lord.

Another of his famous compositions includes THIRUVORUMALAI KOMANGAN. It is famed as the fastest composition of any poet. He finished 125 verses of this poem within a short time of an hour.

To get the blessings of Lord Muruga one can read the KUMARASTHAVAM. It is another famous work of Pamban Swamigal. It is considered to bring health, drive away bad vibrations and give confidence to face any situation. This contains 44 verses to pray to Lord Muruga.

One of the well-known works of the Saint is the THAGARALAYA RAGASIYAM. This was written when Swamigal was in Chidambaram.

There are many more compositions by Pamban Swamigal. He composed more than 6500 poems. Pamban Swamigal loved the Tamil language. He is the only saint who has composed more than 50 poems on Lord Muruga in pure Tamil ( without using any words from other languages). He knew Sanskrit as well. He once said that those who speak ill about Sanskrit were not a friend of his. He stated that both Tamil and Sanskrit languages are like two eyes, and one cannot live without the other.

Many devotees of Pamban Swamigal still gather at the Thiru Mayuranathar temple at Mayurapuram, Thiruvanmiyur. This is the temple where Pamban Swamigal spent his last days. The priests and the devotees believe that one will be completely cured of any illness when devotees witness the pournami pooja at this temple. They believe that Swamigal would help them overcome all their difficulties. There is a small bronze statue of Pamban Swamigal in the Sanctum Santorum.

Vaishnavi Gurusankar is a passionate educator, a wife and a mother. She has over a decade of experience as an educator and has been closely working with teachers and children of all ages. She is also an active parenting blogger and founder of Magical Unicorn, an exclusive parenting blog founded on Indian ethos, values and stories at its core. She has also authored the book "Bharatyam : Science behind Hindu Practices & Way of Life"