73. udambai veRuththEnO naRaiyUrAraip pOlE

Pillai Thirunaraiyur Araiyar was a noble Srivaishnava acharya. One time he and his family went to a place called Thottiyam to worship at the Vedanarayana Perumal temple there. At that time, some antagonists set fire to the temple. Seing that everyone ran away from the temple. Araiyar saw that the divine archa rupam of the Lord was about to catch fire. Unable to tolerate that, he embraced the Lord's form and protected Him. Seeing that, his family including his children too offered their bodies to protect the Lord. In the fire, they all lost their lives.

His devotion and love for the Lord is celebrated by Pillai Lokachariar in his Sri Vachana Bhushanam - "upEyaththukku iLaiya perumALaiyum periya udaiyAraiyum piLLai thirunaRaiyUr araiyaraiyum chinthayanthiyaiyum pOlE irukka vENdum" and "periya udaiyAraiyum piLLai thirunaRaiyUr araiyaraiyum udambai upEkshiththArgaL, chinthayanthikku udambu thannadaiyE pOyththadhu".

Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I let go of my body for the sake of the Lord like Pillai Thirunaraiyur Araiyar did?"