Subramania Iyer :

Known as Subbu Thatha is from

Arumugamangalam, was responsible for the development of Bajanai
madam. He also composed a few songs invoking Lord Subramania, the
Presiding deity of the Bajanai madam. His knowledge of music and
literature are transparent from these songs for which he composed the
tunes also.

Arumugamangalam village is
located in the erstwhile Tirunelveli and
present Tuticorin District,
Srivaikuntam Taluk.
Another well known personality from
this place is Thirupugazh Raghavan
is a son of the soil. Handicapped at
birth he was restored by the grace of
Lord Subramania of Thiruchendur by miracle. He has devoted his life for
singing Thirupugazh and such devotional songs. He has organised
societys for this purpose in various places having head quarters in
Chennai.

. . ,

.
.

. .
,

. . ,

. .

.

'

'

.
. .

.
.
.

.
.

. ',

'
2

. ,

.
.

.
,

. . .
. .
? .

.

.

. ,

1000 .

', .

. ,
,

'

. .
.
.

. ',

'
4

. 100

', ,
.

100

.
'

.
'

. ,

. 100

'

. '
900 ?'

. ' '

. , '

900

.
,

100 '

.
,

. .
.

.
6

. ,

.
.

. .

. ,
.

. .
.

',

!' . , ',

. ,

' .

? .

.
.

. ,

, .

. ,

.
.

.
.

.
9

. ,
.

, , '

.
'

'

'

10

, .

, . ,
. ' ?'
' '

' ?'

, '

11

!' . ',

' . , ' ,
!'

. '

, ,

'

.
.
. .
.

' ?'

. ' '

. . '

' . ', .

' .
'

?' . '

5 . '
. ' ?' . ' ,
. '
.

. .

. 5 .

25 .

. , ',

12

' .

. ,

.
.

. .

. ,

,
,

.
,

. ! ,

?
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x

13

, ,

? :
,
.

! ,
! , .

.
.

. .

.
.
1000

, 100
14

 . .

,

, '

. .
.

. 1000

.
100

' .

1000

, 100
.
'!

. 100

'

?
.

. ?' .
'

15

. ,

? :
,
.

. .

.
.
.
!
.
.
.

. .
,

.
16

.
,
, ,

. ' ,

?'

. , ',

' .
' ?'

.',

'

.' , ?

'

',

'

,
17

'

!'

.
.
.

.
.

!
'

? '
?

. ! !'

18

. , '

 .
.

;
.

. ' !

? ,

!'

? .

19

 ! ? ,
'

'

' ' . ' '

.

. ! ,

. , ,
.

20

. .

. ,
.

' '

' '

, ,

. . ,

, ,

21

'! .

! , ! .

'

. '
22

. ?'

. ?

. ,

,
.
.

.

,

,
!'

.
.

23

. , '

,
.

. ,

, ,
.
'! !'

. .
.

'

'

24

. ,

, , ,

. ,
,

, .

.
'

'

. , ' .

'

'

'

. ,

25

.
.

. .

. ,

!
!

. .
.

.
.
' ,

''

.
26

, ,

. ! , !'

.
. .
.

. .

''

, !

. ,
, .
,

27

, ! -
! .

. ' '

.
.

, ,

.
.

. .

. !

. , '
!'
. .

.
28

'

!' .
.

.
. '

, !' .

. .

.!

. ! .

29

, .

A King for the Frogs

The Frogs in a lake were grieved at having no king

for themselves. They sent ambassadors to Jupiter
pleading for a king. In response to their innocent plea,
he cast down a huge log into the lake.

.
The Frogs were terrified at the splash caused by its fall and dove deep into the
depths of the pool. The frogs saw that the huge log was motionless. So, they swam
back to the surface of the water and fearlessly climbed upon the log.

. ,
,

After some time they began to think themselves cheated in the appointment of so
inactive a Ruler. They sent a second team to Jupiter to pray to seek another King.
This time Jupiter sent them an Eel. The new king's easy good nature too did not
please the Frogs.

30

.
They yet again prayed to Jupiter for another King. Jupiter was unhappy with all their
complaints and sent a Heron. The new king feasted upon the Frogs day after day till
there were none left to pray for another king.

. ,

.
( : ()

?
! ',

!
.

, .

31

. ,
. ;

'

. , '

. ,

. '

' . ,

. .

. '

...?'

. , .
. .
... , .,
. .
. ... ,
.

32

. .

. .

. .
',

' .
.
.

, ,

33

. .
,

. .

. . ' !

!' .

' , .
!

'

. '
!

' .

Two neighbors went to Jupiter and prayed him to grant

them boons. One was full of avarice, and the other was
consumed with envy.

. ,

Jupiter decided to punish them both. He said 'You might

34

have whatever you wish for yourself. But there is a condition, your neighbour will have
twice as much'.
. '
.

' .

The Avaricious man prayed 'Lord, give me a room full of gold.' Even before he could
complete his prayer, it was granted. But all his joy became grief when he found that his
neighbour had two rooms full of glittering gold.
', '
.

Then came the turn of the Envious man. He could not bear to see his neighbour's joy. So
he prayed 'God, please take away one of my eyes.' Because, that would mean that his
neighbor would become totally blind!

'

35

. ' ,

. ,

Vices are their own punishment.


The Tortoise that wanted to fly

A Tortoise was lazily basking in the sun. It complained to the sea-birds 'See my fate! no
one would teach me to fly.'

' !

'

An Eagle, hovering near, heard this. He said, 'Don't you worry. I will take you to the skies
and float you in the air. Tell me, what will you give me in return?'

?'

. , '.

'I will give you,' said the Tortoise, 'all the treasures of the Red Sea.' 'Good then. I will
teach you to fly," said the Eagle. The Eagle clutched the Tortoise in his talons and carried
her.
'
'

36

. ' ,

The Eagle reached almost the clouds. Once there, suddenly he let the Tortoise go. The
poor Tortoise fell on a lofty mountain, shattering her shell to pieces. In the moment of
death the Tortoise exclaimed: "I have deserved my present fate; for what had I to do with
wings and clouds, who can with difficulty move about on the earth?'

. ,

. , '

!'

If men had all they wished, they would be often ruined.

,
.

A fawn once said to his Mother "You are larger

than a dog, swifter, more used to running and
you have strong horns. O Mother! How come
you are afraid of the hounds?"

"

, , ,

?"

She smiled, and said: "I know full well, my son, that all you say is true."

: "!

."

37

"But when I hear even the bark of a single dog I feel ready to faint, and fly away as
fast as I can."
",

."

All the weapons of a coward are of no use.

The Fisherman with a flute

A fisherman was skilled in flute. He took his flute and his

fishing nets to the seashore.

.

Standing on a rock, he played several tunes. He hoped

that his music would attract the fish and they would come
and fall into the net on their own. Even after a long time,
nothing of that sort happened.

He, then, cast his net into the sea and made a rich haul of fish. Caught in the net, now
laid upon the rock, the fish leaped and danced all over.

38

. ,

, .

The fisherman remarked, "When I piped you did not dance, but now that I don't play the
flute, you dance joyfully!"

. "

!" .

The Boy and the Nettle

A boy was stung by a nettle. It hurt him.

He complained to his mother, "I touched it

gently, but the nettle stung me hard. It is not
fair."
, "
,
.
"

"It stung you because you touched gently" said his mother.
"

" .

"The next time you touch a nettle, grasp it boldly. It will be soft to your hand, and not
hurt you at all."
39

"

, ."

Whatever you do, do with all your might.

( :

).

The Man and the Lion

A man and met a lion while traveling through a

forest. They walked some distance together.

Soon each began to boast of their respective

superiority in strength and prowess.


.
On the way, they passed a statue which represented a lion tamed by a man. The
traveler said: "How strong humans are! We are perfectly capable of taming even the
King of the Forest."

. , " !

" .

40

The Lion replied, "This statue was made by someone like you. If lions were to carve
statues, it will be about a man gored by a lion."
"

" .
Every coin has two sides.

Balu and Velu were friends.

One fine day, they were traveling through a forest

area. They sighted a bear that was coming towards
them. Both of them wondered how to escape from the
bear. Balu knew tree climbing, while Velu did not know
it. Balu did not wait for Velu to figure out how to
escape, but he went climbed up the tree.

Velu thought of a tactic quickly and lied down still. Bear came near Velu and smelt Velu
from tip to toe. Since it thought Velus body was dead, it left.
.

41

After bear left, Balu came down from the tree and asked Velu, What did bear tell
you?. Velu replied to Balu, Bear told me not to believe the friend who runs away
during dangerous times.

"

. "

"

"

A friend in need is the friend deed.

.

The Dancing Monkeys

A Prince had some Monkeys which were trained to

dance.

.
As the monkeys were great mimics, they danced like
the other courtiers. They were decked up in fine
ornaments, masks and attire to appear like real
dancers.

. ,

.
The performances were a great success untile one day a courtier decided to expose
the truth. He threw a handful of nuts upon the stage while the monkeys were dancing.
42

The sight of the nuts excited the monkeys and they forgot their dancing. True to their
nature they discarded their finery and started fighting with one another for the nuts.
, .

, ,

Not everything you see is what it appears to be.

.

A Shepherd was grazing his sheep near the sea

shore. The Sea was very calm.

.
He wanted to take a voyage with some merchandise
and sell it abroad. He sold all his flock, bought a
cargo of dates, and set sail.

,
.

43

While the ship was mid-sea, a huge storm broke out. The ship was in danger of sinking.
He threw his cargo of dates overboard, and managed to escape with his life.

.
Some time later, he was again on the shore, grazing sheep. Someone who came that
way said "The sea is beautifully smooth!". "It is again hungry for dates and that is why it
appears quite," the Shepherd was quick to remark.

, " !" .
, " ,

"

The Lioness

Once there broke out a dispute among the beasts in a

forest. Every animal claimed credit for bearing the
greaest number of whelps at a birth.

Time went on and tempers rose but there seemed to

be no solution in sight.
, ,

They decided to approach the Lioness for settlement of the dispute. "O Lioness the
Queen! How many sons did you bear at a birth?" they asked.
44

?"

, " !

"Me! Only one, but he is a Lion Cub" said the Lioness proudly.
"! .

"

.
Value is in the worth, not in the number.

, .

The Dog and the Bel

A dog used to run up quietly behind people, and to bite them without notice.

His master suspended a bell about his neck

so that people might notice the Dog's
presence.

.
Thinking it a mark of honor, the Dog grew proud of his bell and went tinkling it all over
the town
.
45

.
An old hound saw this and told him, "Do not make such a spectacle of yourself. That
bell around your neck is not an order of merit, but a mark of disgrace. It is warning to
the public to avoid you as an ill mannered dog."

, "

.
.
"

Notoriety is often mistaken for fame.

A cat caught a rooster. He wondered how to find a

reasonable excuse for eating him.

.
"You have this bad habit of crowing aloud in the night
time and disturbing the sleep of men!" accused the cat.
"

!"

The rooster said, "It is useful to them. They rise in time for their daily chores."
"

"

46

The cat replied, "You are good at giving specious excuses, I shall not remain
supperless"; and he ate him up.
" .

"

THE SICK LION
An old Lion was unable to hunt. He had to starve. The Lion resolved to get animals into
its lair by trickery.

Lying down in his own den, he pretended to be sick, taking care to advertise his
sickness. Beasts of the forest visited him one after the other and expressed their
sorrow. The Lion devoured them all.

. .
The Fox got to know the Lion's ploy. He stood
outside the cave at a respectful distance, and
enquired about his health. "Well, getting no better"
replied the Lion, "but why do you stand so far
away? Pray come in and talk with me."
.

. "

,"

, "

" .
47

"No, thank you," said the Fox. "I find many foot prints entering your cave, but none of
them is leaving."
", ,"

, "

"

.
The Wise learn from others' experience.

A Coward does not Know his Strength

A fawn once said to his Mother "You are larger than

a dog, swifter, more used to running and you have
strong horns. O Mother! How come you are afraid
of the hounds?"

"

, , ,

?"

She smiled, and said: "I know full well, my son, that all you say is true."

: "!

."

"But when I hear even the bark of a single dog I feel ready to faint, and fly away as
fast as I can."
48

",

."

All the weapons of a coward are of no use.

The Boasting Traveler

1. A man who had traveled in foreign lands

returned to his own country. He boasted very
much of the many wonderful and heroic feats he
had performed in the different places he had
visited.

.
,

.
2. "Among other things," he said "when I was at
Athens I had leaped to such a distance that no
man of my day could leap anywhere near me."

"

"

.
3. "Many people in Athens saw me do it and I can call them as witnesses, if
you want" he claimed.

"

"

4. One of the bystanders interrupted him, saying: "Well, my friend, if this is

all true there is no need of witnesses. Suppose this to be Athens, and leap for
us."
49

 , "

,

"

.
Easier said than done

, .

A jar of honey had overturned in a house. A large number of flies flocked to

the spill.

.
They planted their feet in the honey and ate it greedily. They enjoyed the
taste so much that they smeared themselves in the honey.
50

.
In the end, they could not release themselves from the spread of honey and
the choked.
,

.
When they were dying, they lamented, "How foolish we are! When the going
was good, we did not know where to stop. For that indiscretion, we are paying
with our lives!"
, "

"

.
Discretion in enjoyment leads to prolonged happiness.

51

A merchant drove his ass to the seashore to buy salt. He had to cross a stream on
the way. While returning his ass accidentally fell into the stream. When he rose up,
his load was considerably lighter, as the salt had dissolved into the water.

. .
.

The merchant went back and refilled his sacks with a larger quantity of salt than
before. The ass fell down on purpose again in the same spot and felt lighter. He
brayed triumphantly at this.
,

.
.

The merchant saw through his trick and drove him for the third time to the coast.
There he bought sacks of sponge instead of salt.
,

.
.
52

The ass played its trick again on reaching the stream. But the sponges had become
swollen with water, greatly increasing his load.
, .

And thus his trick recoiled on him, for he now carried on his back a double burden.
,

The Miser and his Gold

A miser sold all that he had and bought a bar of gold.

He buried it in a hole in the ground in the garden and
went to look at daily.

One of his workmen observed this. He soon discovered the secret of the hidden
treasure, and stole the gold.

The Miser, on his next visit, found the hole empty and began to tear his hair and to
make loud lamentations.

, ,

A neighbor, seeing his grief and learning the cause, said, "Please do not be sad; but
53

go and take a stone, and place it in the hole, and imagine that the gold is still lying
there. It will serve the same purpose; for when the gold was there, you had it not, as
you did not make any use of it."

", ;

. .
!"

The Dancing Monkeys

A Prince had some Monkeys which were trained to

dance.

.
As the monkeys were great mimics, they danced like
the other courtiers. They were decked up in fine
ornaments, masks and attire to appear like real
dancers.


. ,

.
The performances were a great success untile one day a courtier decided to expose
the truth. He threw a handful of nuts upon the stage while the monkeys were
dancing.
.

54

The sight of the nuts excited the monkeys and they forgot their dancing. True to their
nature they discarded their finery and started fighting with one another for the nuts.
, .

, ,

Not everything you see is what it appears to be.

.

The Bear and the Two Travellers

Two men were traveling together, when a

Bear suddenly came them on their path.

One of them climbed up quickly into a tree and

hid himself in the branches. The other, seeing
that he may be attacked, fell flat on the ground. The Bear came near and felt him
with his snout, and smelt him all over. He held his breath and pretended to be dead
as much as he could.

55

The Bear soon left him, for it is said he will not touch a dead body. When he was
quite gone, the other Traveler descended from the tree, and jocularly inquired "What
did the Bear whisper in your ear?"

, "

?"

."He gave me this advice,"

his companion replied. "Never travel with a friend who deserts you at the approach
of danger."
"

"

Misfortune tests the sincerity of friends.

.

Two pots
Two pots, one made of earthenware and the other of
brass, were floating down the river.

The Earthen Pot said to the Brass Pot, "Pray keep at

a distance and do not come near me."
, "

, "
.
The Brass Pot asked, "Why do say that?"
" ?"

56

"If you touch me ever so slightly, I shall be broken in pieces. Besides, I by no means
wish to come near you," said the Earthern Pot "
"

"

Equals make the best friends.

.

,
The Farmer and the Snake

It was winter. A Farmer found a Snake frozen stiff

in the field. He took pity on it.

. .
He took the Snake and kept it in his bosom. The
warmth of his body revived the Snake, which was
quick to resume its natural instincts.
.

.
.
The Snake inflicted a mortal wound on the Farmer swiftly.

."Oh," the Farmer lamented with

his last breath, "I am rightly served for pitying a scoundrel."

"!

"

57

Even the greatest kindness will not bind the ungrateful.

...

.
.

,
", ,

, ,

?.

?" .

.
"

?"

"

. ,

? "

58

. .

, ,

? ,

?
,
.

. .

, , .
.

, .

59

.
, ,

.
60

"

"

. ,

. ''

. 'Political correctness' - ( .
' [...]
! !

,

() .

. ,

61

, ....! !

. , !....
!

. , ,

;
.

.{Pranic healing)

. .

.
? ? .

62

 ...

!


!

63



!


!

Compiled by - CNU-Pune

64