While the young champan^dhar was pleasing the Lord of chIrkAzi with his honey like songs, one day thirun^IlakaNta yAzpANar(1) along with his wife madhaN^ka chULAmaNiyAr, the couple who were living the worship of the Lord who is the sound of praNavam with music as their life, came to chIrkAzi. Coming forward to welcome them champan^dhar took them to the temple and asked them to play the yAz ( a string instrument very famous in ancient thamiz land) in the ears of the Lord. The attractive music that came with superior devotion accompanied by their melodious voice could make even the bees to stop and listen for a moment. Even the gan^dharva and vinychaiyars started to play along with them. champan^dhar was pleased with their talence. He hosted them and took care of them. They played his rich padhikams in the nice yAz music. They requested to stay with him and play his unsaturating hymns in yAz forever. He accepted it as the grace of God and they lived with great affection and respect for each other.
Yearning to get the dance of the Lord to see, champan^dhar conveyed his wish to go to chithambaram to his devotional father. He happily agreed and they along with yAzpANar and other devotees went to the highly praised land chithambaram that is surrounded by beautiful gardens. When he arrived at the southern entrance of the temple the town was there to welcome him with the raising rhythm of vEdas and musical instruments. Prostrating the seven stage tower of the temple he entered temple with the sky scrapping eagerness to salute the Dancing beauty. He saw with joy flooding mind, head upholding the folded patel like hands, eyes exhibiting the explanation-beyond expressions from inside, the Lord who dances as the wholeness of wisdom in the hall of his heart, dancing in that abode visible for even bare eyes to see and rejoice. He danced, delighted in His dance, drowned himself in the nector praising the simplicity of the bliss of Lord shiva which beyond analysis comes straight in the feelings, appeared in the form tangible for even the senses to feel and worship. Praising the worship of the priests of the abode he sang the glory of the God kaRRAN^keriyOmbi.
Staying in thillai-chithambaram the saint went and worshiped the nearby abodes of the Homeless God, thiruvEtkaLam, kazippAlai, thiruvuchchi singing the Ultimate Wisdom that sang the shR^itis. yAzpANar was wondering at the boon the priests of thillai got to be close to the King of Dance. When he was returning to thillai from thiruvEtkaLam along with champan^dhar the Lord showed to them the holy priests of thillai as the leaders of shiva's army (gaNan^Atha). They went to the ruby hall (ratna sabha) to adorn the Dancing marvel with the song AdiyAy n^aRun^eyyodu pAlthayir. Prostrating very many times they took inseparable departure from the Lord of thillai. On the request of yAzppANar they went to thiruerukkaththampuliyUr, the birth place of the melodious musician yAzpANar. The prodigy told, "Oh reverend! For you to be born this place should have done sincere penance". They worshiped the Father of Lord kumara with wet heart and eyes to get blessed. Praying the places of the Lord of daughter of mountain they reached in thirumudhukunRam (virudhdhAchalam). Singing the Lord who reside on the bank of river muththARu with many words of love that flowed like a river, including murachadhirn^dhezum, stayed there for many days. Then thirunyAna champan^dha n^AyanAr proceeded to peNNAkadam to salute the Lord on thiruththUN^kAnai mAdam.
The Remover of reincarnation for one who repeats His holy five letters had the healing abode in thiruvaraththuRai where champan^dhar was going to. Unlike the previous travels when he was taken by his loving father on his shoulders this time out of high enthusiasm to bow down to the Lord he with his delicate flower like young feet with uncompromising determination in that tiny age walked ahead followed by his father and other devotees in the hot Sun. With the sacrad name of Lord and His heart-stealing form stamped in the mind he went ahead with salutations and without any botheration of his physical pain. How great is the Lord's grace and how great is the craze of His devotees for Him that this young child who in the age of putting his feet only on silk like carpets walks over the stone and thornful paths without hesitation ! When they reached a place called mARanpAdi the hot Sun fearing about the fatigue of the fame-mount like devotees reached the western horizon. All the devotees stayed there for the night in the hospitality of the local loveful. How can the Lord - the loving mother of one who depend only on Her, overlook the hard efforts of the child ? He appeared in the dream of the devotees of thiruvaraththuRai to order them to take palanquin, carved umbrella and symbols to blow musically made of pearls from Him and receive the thirunyAnachampan^dha who was coming to Him.
Surprised at this they rushed to the temple. When they opened the temple to pray in the dawn worship to their wonder saw the shining pearl made palanquin, umbrella and symbols. Praising the enlightening God of lords they went with all music reverbrating the sky to welcome the young devotee. While this was happening the Lord came in the dream of the saint and asked him to accept those things as His blessings. champan^dhar told the grace of the Lord to his father and other devotees. As it became morning they got up adorned themselves with the holy Ash after completing the duties of the morning. By then the vEdic chanters and devotees of thiruvaraththuRai came and saluted the saint and bowed to him to accept the things the Lord gave pleased. Thanking and holding His uncomparable merciful feet on his head the young poet sang His praise. Chanting the unforgettable honey of the Holy Five Letters he boarded the beaming bright pearl palanquin, the great saint who came to enlighten the entire world.
The ocean of devotees who bathed in the flood of tears of joy with the vibration of the percussion instruments hailed the fame of the child slave of Lord shiva which appeared to be echoed back from the heavens. That ocean of devotees moved on the winds of devotion on earth to come to the center of the thiruvaraththuRai where the Mount of mercy was blessing. The small peerless saint prostrated down to praise the Lord of the grace of considering even him as worth. That humble devotee circumambulated the abode saluting It again and again. On the days that he was in thiruvaraththuRai he went to n^elveNNai to wonder the Wonderful Lord of the weak. With the form of the perinniel Couple of thiruththONipuram attracting him he wished to come back to chIrkAzi. He humbled himself before the Lord of thiruvaraththuRai and started his journey on the palanquin. He sang hymns rich in the music with the blend of appealing combination of the seven swarams saluting the Lord in thirup pazuvUr, thiruvichayamaN^gai, vaikAvUr, thirup puRampayam. On reaching thiruch chEynyalUr feeling high about that abode of the Lord worshipped by 'ka.ndha for the great deed of chaNdIsha n^AyanAr(2) he got down from his palanquin to prostrate and enter the town. He worshiped the Lord of splendid lovers and went ahead to salute the Lord at thiruppanan^thAL, pan^dhaNai n^allUr, OmAmpuliyUr, vALkoLip puththUr, kadambai, n^AraiyUr, karuppaRiyalUr and many other abodes and reached in chIrkAzi.
Note:
At thirun^anipaLLi singing the padhikam kAraikaL kUkaimullai, samban^dhar with the divine grace turned the desert like (arid) land of that town into a fertile shore land (pAlai n^eythal Anathu). This is not described in periya purANam. However n^ambiyANDAr n^ambi has referred to the same in his compositions
"n^Atha nanipaLLi cUzn^agar kAnaka mAkkiyaqthE
pOthin malivaya lAkkiyakOn"
"kaLLam poziln^ani paLLith thaDamkaDam AkkiyaqthE
veLLam paNin^eytha lAkkiya viththakan"
"nyAlaththinAr aRiya mannun^ani paLLiyathu
pAlaithanai n^eythalAkkiyum"
"thAzunycaraNac cathaN^kaip paruvaththE
pAlaiyum n^eythalum pADavallAn"
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