In Western Countries, it is impolite to call a person, deaf and dumb or blind. They have coined new words to give them more respect and recognition. They call them people with hearing impairment or hard of hearing (deaf and dumb) and visually impaired (for the blind). Hindus have several stories of miracles surrounding the deaf and dumb or the blind. They believe that God’s grace can make even a dumb, a great speaker. There is a Sanskrit sloka:
Mookam karoti vachalam, Pangum langhayate girim
Yat krupa tamham vande, Paramanand Madhavam
(I salute Lord Madhava by whose grace the dumb can become eloquent and the lame can cross over mountains).
There are several stories like Kalidasa, Tenali Rama who have become men of wit and wisdom by the grace of Goddess Kali. Hindus believe that Goddess Kali appeared before them and wrote Mantras in their tongues.
Tamil Dumb Miracle
There is an interesting story about a dumb person settling the dispute among Tamil Sangam poets. Though this story comes from a very late book like Tiruvilaiyadal Puranam of 17[SUP]th[/SUP] century, it is not impossible to come across a situation like this. 2000 years ago, Tamil Sangam poets fought among themselves due to jealousy. They blamed each other of writing sub standard poems. When they went to Madurai temple to pray to god Shiva to solve their problem, a poet appeared before them and told them to go to a dumb child of Madurai to settle their dispute. They were surprised to hear that a person who could not even hear them is capable of finding a solution. But the saintly poet told them to recite their verses in front of him. He told them, “If he listens to you and enjoies he will shed tears of joy, then that poem is of high standard. If he remains indifferent or doesn’t shed tears of joy, then that poem is not of high quality.
The dumb boy’s name was Rudra Sarman. He was the son of a wealthy business man called Upprikudi kudi Kizan. Rudra Sarman could not speak. When all the poets went to him and recited their poems one by one, he shed tears of joy to the poems of Nakkeeran, Kapilar and Paranar. This standardization settled their dispute and the poets became friends again.
Hasthamalakar Miracle
Adi Shankara, the giant among the Indian philosophers travelled through the length and breadth of India. He went to Mahabaleswar Temple at Gokarna and did Bilvarchana to Shiva on a Shivratri day. Then he went to Mukambika and to Srivali. He was lecturing about Advaita every day. Prabhakara Bhattar was the most reputed scholar in the town. But his son was dumb. His parents were very much worried about the future of the handsome teenager. They took him to Shankara. The dumb youth fell at his feet and did not get up. When Shankara lifted his head and asked who he was, he started talking high philosophy: “ I am not a human being, I am not a Deva; neither I am a Brahmin nor a Kshatriaya, Vaisya or a Shudra. Neithr I am a Brahmachari (bachelor) nor a Grahastha (house holder), nor a Sanyasi (ascetic). I am Brahmam”.
Hearing this Shankara told him that you have explained what you are ‘like a goose berry in the hand’ (Hastha Amalaka). This is a phrase in Tamil and Sanskrit used to express extreme clarity of a thing or subject. From that day he was known as Hasthamalaka and he became one of the main disciples of Shankara.
Nammazvar and Kumarakuruparar
Nammazvar, one of the 12 Vaishnavaie saints of Tamil Nadu also did not speak a single word for long time. He was under a tamarind tree in Azvar Thirunagari for 12 years. When saint Madhurakavi went to him and asked questions, he opened his mouth to answer his question. Nammazvar became the foremost among the 12 saints.
Kumarakuruparar who was born dumb developed eloquence at the age of five when he went to Tiruchendur temple. Both Nammazvar and Kumarakuruparar composed verses of high literary merit. Their hymns were sung by millions of Tamils every day. Nammazavar lived 1200 years ago. Kumarkurupara lived in 17[SUP]th[/SUP] century.
Manikkavasagar episode
Manikkavasagar is one of the Four Great Saivaite saints of Tamil Nadu. He must have lived some time before Gnana Sambandhar who lived around 7[SUP]th[/SUP] century. Mankikkavasagar’s Tiruvasagam is very popular. During his life time he had to meet many challenges from the king and the scholars from rival religions. One of them was a Buddhist leader (Bhikshu) who travelled all the way from Sri Lanka to Chidambaram with the Sri Lankan king whose daughter was dumb. It is said that the Buddha Bikshu came with a group to challenge the 3000 Priests of Chidmbaram ( Thillai 3000). They asked Manaikkavasagar to represent them. While the heated argument reached its peak, Manikkavasagar made the Buddhist leader literally speechless. Sri Lankan king was amazed to see this and requested the saint to make his dumb daughter speak. The saint made her not only to speak but also to answer the questions of the rest of the Buddhist team. Sri Lankan king embraced Hinduism.
There are innumerable anecdotes in Hindu scriptures o show that faith can work miracles. Faith can cure illness. It will make even the dumb speak, sing and compose poems and songs.
