KULASEKARA AZHWAR – 3

The Great Exchange — The Ladder of Rejection

Let us pause for a moment and look at what Kulaśēkhara Azhwār is actually doing here.

This is not a king giving up his throne.

This is not even a devotee expressing love.

This is a mind thinking aloud.

At each step, he seems to say:

“Let me be this…”

And almost immediately:

“No… even this will not do.”

He goes on like this — choosing, rejecting, refining —

until finally, nothing remains to be chosen.

In the earlier parts, we saw how Kulaśēkhara Azhwār slowly turned away from worldly life and began to seek only one thing — constant proximity to the Lord at Thirumalai.

In this decad (Uneru), that search becomes intense, almost restless.

The Ascent through Letting Go

Verse 1: Crane

Undesirable: Heavenly kingship

Substitution: A crane in the sacred waters of Thirumalai

Movement: But a bird can fly away.

Verse 2: Fish

Undesirable: Heavenly pleasures and earthly kingdom

Substitution: A fish in the same sacred waters

Movement: The bird may fly away — but even a fish can be caught or eaten.

Verse 3: Vessel (Human Server)

Undesirable: Even a secure place in nature is not enough

Substitution: To be the one who holds the vessel in the Lord’s presence

Movement: Close to the Lord — yet still human, and open to distraction.

Verse 4: Champaka Tree

Undesirable: Human life with its ego and distractions

Substitution: A flowering tree offering itself to the Lord

Movement: But even a tree can dry up.

Verse 5: Pillar

Undesirable: The display of kingly power — making people step aside in fear

Substitution: A pillar in the temple

Movement: Silent and still — causing no fear, yet always present near the Lord.

Verse 6: Hill Peak

Undesirable: Even the pleasures of heaven — like those of Menaka and Urvasi

Substitution: A peak on the Tirumalai hills

Movement: High and steady — but only a few can reach it.

Verse 7: Mountain Stream

Undesirable: Being fixed in one place without serving

Substitution: A flowing stream in the forest

Movement: Useful — but it may dry up or disappear.

Verse 8: Path

Undesirable: Being something that just exists on the hill — like a tree, rock, or stone

Substitution: A path leading to the temple

Movement: Used by everyone — yet walked over and unnoticed.

Verse 9: Step

Undesirable: All these earlier forms — bird, fish, tree, pillar, hill, stream, even the path — each with its own limitation

Substitution: The step at the temple entrance

Here, for the first time, the search comes to rest.

But what makes this “step” so final… so complete?

That is what we will pause and see next.

Verse 10: The End of Choosing

Up to now, he has been choosing and rejecting.

Here, that movement ends.

“I will become anything.”

Anything is enough —

as long as it keeps him there.

Closing Reflection

What begins as rejection becomes refinement.

What appears like descent reveals itself as ascent.

At every step, he lets go — not out of denial, but out of clarity.

Not because the world has nothing to offer, but because nothing it offers can equal the joy of nearness.

And so the king who once ruled a kingdom now seeks only this:

Not heaven.

Not power.

Not even identity.

But a place — however small, however unnoticed —

where he will never have to leave.

There is one image still waiting — simple, almost unnoticed —

and yet, it holds the answer to everything he has been searching for.

We will return to that.

“Yedenum Aaven” — I will become anything.

To be near is greater than to be great.