Vaazhi Parakalan Vaazhi Kalikandri

If there is one alwar we owe extreme allegiance to it, it can be to non other than Thirumangai Aazhwar (Of course not including Nammazhwar). He was the person solely responsible for bringing most of the temples hitherto unknown under the single banner of the Shri Vaishnava Sampradyay. From the far flung Vadari(Badri) to the literally unknown interior TN sthalas.

He is an immense source of inspiration to me. For I am a traveller by birth. :)) Not sure what it means though. His movement across the plains and rivers of India, accurate geographical pointers and in the times when travelling was next to impossible on a higher scale : It is something to be proud of. Also of the reigns of kings and the path of rivers..

Without mentioning the beauty and lucidity in the verses of His tamil pasurams. "Theninum iniya tamil pasurams". Many many interesting stories are narrated about this war hero. A brief one here:

Born Neelan in the chola district of Thiruvali Thirunagari, Parakalan (meaning "Enemy of others") was this extremely dashing army chieftain in the chozha's army. Being a naturally aggresive warrior, he was the favorite of his king and was patronized to an extent of being made a "Sittrarasan". He had his young ladies and in his right enjoyed enormous power.

But doesnt the beauty of the Lord lie in recognizing true bhakti even if it is hidden and envelope it in His broad chest?

So He did in the case of Parakalan also. Parakalan fell in love with a beautiful young girl, Kumudavalli. He asked for her hand in marriage. But Kumuda being of a devout Shrivaishnava family, refused on the grounds that he had in his wars killed people that would have heaped "pavas" on his head. When asked how he could absolve himself, Kumuda suggested that he feed 100 brahmins for 365 days. Now. This requires a huge amount of wealth(Brahmins being aggressive attackers when the palate is concerned) which parakala even in his status of a chieftain did not possess.

He used up his wealth, stopped paying taxes to his king, borrowed and finally resorted to stealing to accomplish this. His devotion to the Lord had multiplied over his love for Kumuda ,a 1000 times during this journey of realisation.

The Lord finally relented. In the guise of a young bride and groom, He and the Mother, came down to the earth. When Parakalan attempted to rob them, only a small minji was left on the Lord's foot and Thayar her Thirumangalyam and metti. He put his teeth to the divine foot of the Lord. He at once realised the truth and sang hymns in praise of the Lord standing revealed in His glory.

He leaves at once, his marriage to Kumudavalli now secure, to Vadari(Badri). From there He descends to the plains of Ganges, Hrishkesh, Haridwar, Thirupreethi, Mathura, Ayodhya, down the valleys of Gothavari to the plains of Cauvery.

His hymns have not only been a source of intense self repentance, realisation and the pure joy of one united with the supreme being but also provide very vital geographical pointers to the lands of His time. He is said to be amsam of Sarangam, the Lord's bow.

Vaadinen Vaadi Varunthinen, manaTHal

ePperunthuyar idumbaiyil piranthu

Koodinen koodi, iLayavar thaModu

avar tharum kaLaviye karuthi

odinen odi uyivathor poruLal

unarvenum perum patham thirinthu

Nadinen Nadi nan kandukonden

Narayana ennum namam.

(may have made some mistakes with the intonation. please forgive)

He has sung thousands of hymns literally on various temples all over India. Most famous of them being Siriya Thirumadal, composed in honour of Lord Srinivasan in Thirunaraiyoor.

Thirunaraiyoor is the temple closest to the heart of our saint. He received the Astakshara mantram from the Lord's own lips who also performed Samasrenam for the alwar thus embracing him into the Shri Vaishnava fold. Thus the Lord became the Acharya for Thirumangai alwar.

In this hymn, the alwar assumes the pose of Parakala nayaki and sings of her love towards the Lord. What can't be denied is reiterated in this situation. Even of the highest ideals, purest love towards a "purusha" can only be attained by a "shri" and not by any other.

I can go on writing about Thirumangai Alwar for 10000 more blogs. But. I guess I need to start a blog on Him alone that I adore. He was the alwar who sanctified Thiruvallikeni where I had the blessing of being born.

Manuthan pozhilum vaaviyum mathilum

mada maligaiyum mandapamum

Thennan Thondaiyarkon seitha nan myilai,

Thiruvallikeni nindranai

Kanninan maada mangaiyar thalaivan

kamaruseer kalikandri,

sonna sol maalai pathudan vallar

sugam inithalvar vanulage!

Vaazhi Parakalan. Vaazhi Kali kandri.

Back with Kanchi. Trivia.

Till we took a detour with the Diwali video, we had been discussing Kanchi and its allied diyvadesams.

Some more interesting facts about Kanchi. It is a potpourri given below. Mixed from different temples. Pray bear with me. It is a long one.

1. Kanchi was one of the ancient cities of India. It was a seat of learning and religion. Various dynasties and rulers made Kanchi their capitol. Most famous being the Pallavas, the most ancient of rulers.

2. Kanchi is one of the seven cities that can bestow moksha. One of the seven cities called "gateways to heaven and immortality". Few others are : Avantika, Maya, Dwarka, Kasi, Mathura. I dont remember one more.

3. Kanchi is the seat of the Kamakshi Peetam, of the famous Adhi Sankaracharya's mutt.

4. Iithiga has it that it was at the Kamakshi ammam temple, the Jaganmatha performed tapas to marry Lord Shiva and did so at the Ekambareshwarar temple nearby. There is no Shiva Vigraha in the Kamakshi ammam temple.

5. Interestingly, on the other hand, it houses a divya kshetram of the Shri Vaishnavaites : Thiru Kalvanur. Here the Lord and His consort have taken positions in an ante room behind the sanctum of Shri Kamakshi. Special permission is required to behold the Lord. But if one asks, the authorities generally comply. Padasthalam : Thiru Kalvanur. Mangalasasanam : Thiru Mangai Alwar (1 pasuram).

6. "Ekambareshwarar sannithi is the famous shrine wherein the age old mango tree that bears a different type of fruit in four different branches is present. The age of the tree cannot be determined" --so went the guide, though I had my doubts about it.

7. Ekambareshwarar sannithi is also one of the pancha lingams and is the prithvi kshetram.

8. Here the Lord and His consort are not seen separately and the Linga has vadiva of both. It is both the male and female together -- or this was what I gathered. (I really did not listen properly! May the Lord forgive me.)

9. The Ulagalantha Perumal sannithi(Thiru Karagam) is very very close to the Kamakshi ammam sannithi. We shall see it in the coming blog. We shall also cover Thirukovillur again with it.

10. Each of the 108 divya desas has some speciality associated with it. In some it is the beauty of the Lord Himself, in others a way of ritual followed till date in the temple.

11. Lord Varadaraja's shrine in Vishnu Kanchi is world renowned for its "Kudai Azhaghu". "Nam Perumal Nadai Azaghu, Varadan Kudai azhaghu" nu periyava solli kettu erupom. We added a line with it saying, " Sarathy Vadai azaghu". Parthasarathy Perumal kovil Vadai : Amrutham.

12. Also during purapadu, there is a special style associated with Kanchi. Just before and just after the porapadu, the Lord rests in a place called, "Vahana Mandapam". In any temple.

But the speciality in Kanchi is that as He is about to leave, the "Shri Padam Thangigal" throw up the entire arrangement, the Lord, the Vahana and the structure binding the setup and catch it three times. Maybe I shouldnt say throw up. The Iithiga is that the Lord is so happy on leaving for the procession that He literally jumps in joy.

It is really a site to behold and man!!. Aha.

13. Again, the spectacular event of "Koda poduthal" wherein the famous Umbrellas are hoisted on the the vahanam is also something to be seen and enjoyed.

14. Another of the interesting legends associated with Lord Varadarajar is that :
There used to be a great devotee of the Lord named "Doddacharyar". He used to live at Kadichalam(aka Sholingur). He used to arrive at Kanchi for the Varadar Garuda sevai during the Brahmotsavam and behold the Lord. His only purpose in life was to see the Lord. This continues year after year. But one day the inevitable happened and he fell sick. He could even move as he had become old. He, at the time of porapadu, shouted "Varada Varada" from his house.

The Lord hearing that and seeing that His devotee could not make it to Kanchi, left the temple at the time of porapadu :Read as disappeared and gave darshan to His devotee in Sholingur. He then after the aged Doddacharyar had been satisfied came to Kanchi to resume porapadu.

This ithigam is still respected and held year after year on the Garuda sevai day to remember the ailing devotee who was not forgotten by the Lord. It is called "Doddacharyar seva". At the mouth of the temple, the Lord pauses for a minute(60 seconds) and is covered completely. It is believed that He appears in Kanchi for that minute. The thirai is removed after 60 seconds, the "kodai poduthal" happens and the Lord rides out in His majestic stride.

Vazhga Emperuman. Vazhga Avan Adiyargal.

Alwar, Acharyan, Emperuman Thiruvadigale Saranam.

Sarathi in full swing..

The above link holds the most beautiful movie I ever made in my father's digicam. Hope you like it. It is Lord Parthasarathi setting out on a porapadu on AADI POORAM, the birth star of Shri Andal.

And before I forget :

HAPPIEST OF ALL DIWALIS TO YOU...

Thiru Vekka.

Sonna Vannam Seitha Perumal..

I wonder from where the alwars and bhaktas coin such names for the Lord. Many many interesting instances where the Lord delivers His devotee prompt such awesome pure tamil names..

The kshetra we are talking about is Thiru Vekka. And the Lord Yathothakari. The name translates into pure tamil as "Sonna vannam seitha Perumal". The Lord who did as instructed. Funny.

The legend behind the temple goes as follows. We have already come across the Vegavathi River which runs as a rivulet near by. This was where the Lord laid down to prevent Saraswati from washing away Brahma's yagna. So Perumal Prathyaksham for Brahma and Saraswati.

The moolavar is in sayana thirukolam(lying down) and the sayanam is Bhujanga sayam. Saraswati and Brahma are seen offering their respects to the Lord. Swami Pratyaksham for Thirumazhisai alwar, Boothaalwar and Kanikannan.

The speciality of this temple is that the Lord reclines in the right to left direction instead of the usual. The story goes like this :

It was a period of kings and empires. Kanchi was always a seat of power. This was also where Swami Thirumizhisai alwar had taken up. He prayed to the Lord at Thriu Vekka every morn and went about his duties. He had a very devoted disciple Kanikannan. Now Kanikannan was trained in poetry and songs. He wrote various songs on the Lord and His devotee : Thirumizhisai.

The King hearing of his singing prowess summoned him to court.He asked Kanikannan to compose a song and sing it. But Kanikannan staunchly refused saying that hewould not sing else other than the Lord and his master. Angered, the king banished Kanikannan from the city of Kanchipuram from daybreak on the morrow.

Kanikannan took leave of his master and the Lord and proceeded to exit Kanchi. Thirumizhisai alwar, not bearing to be separated from his disciple, packed his belongings too. He then turns to the Lord and says,

"Kanikkannan pogindran Kamarupoongachi Manivanna,

Nee kidakka venda,

Senna Polavanan nannum pogindren

Un painaga payaiy suruttikol."

meaning,

" My disciple is leaving, Manivanna of the beautiful Kanchi,

Why are you lying down?(rhetorically)

The poet I am, I am also leaving

Fold up the snake that forms your bed (and come with me)"

The Lord not wanting to stay without His devotee humbly packed the serpent under his arm and walked behind the Alwar. The city seeing the strange procession : Kanikkannnan, Alwar and Perumal with His bed were astonished and sad that the Lord was leaving. They immediately packed up their stuff and walked away with these four.(K,A,L and snake).

Kanchi became a ghost town in a day. The King realising his mistakes ran to the Alwar and asked him for forgiveness. Alwar pointed him towards Kanikkannan who readily accepted the apology. So All'w ell that ends well!!

But stay! The Lord and His serpent??? What of them? Now that everything is over and "ellarum rasi agitathunala" Alwar turns around and says,

"Kanikkannan Pookozithan Kamarupoongachi manivanna,

Nee nadaka Venda,

sennna polavan nannum pookozinthen,

Un pai nagappayay viruthukoll."

meaning,

"Kanikkanan has consented to come back, Manivanna,

You dont have to walk away,

Me the poet, have also decided not to move,

Roll out our bed, the snake."

The Lord afraid of irking the alwar if He took too long to resume position rushed to His place and rolled out the snake and reclined. but in His haste, He forgot the direction and lay down right to left. "Acho. Pavam"

Both these pasurams are my favorite and they are just beautiful. I shall somehow try to get the rendition online. Maybe recite it myself :)) . No. I wont.!! Rest assured.

I think you might have no doubts regarding the stunning name of the Lord here!! I love this temple and have a lot of personal experiences that have brought Him closer to me. Shall not bore with those. But shall be back with the trivia associated with this temple. Soon.

Au Revoir

Differences in similarity.

I have always been interested in the visages of the Lords of the temples I go to. The speciality of a Lord's appearance : His Nose, His sculpted cheek that looks like a fresh mango, Eyes, Thiruman..everything fascinates me and I stare like 10 minutes to remember each and every detail of the Lord. I feel I should be able to recognise them even if they appear in my dreams.

Lord Varadarajar's smile, Parthasarthy's wounds, Narasimhar's dimple, Lord Vishnu in Ananthalwar sannithi in Kanchi, His nose..I think I should be by far able to recognize atleast 20 divyadesams If I am showed the pictures. Working on it..

Coming to the topic at hand. There are specialities in the visages of Gods. One of them are the wounds on the face of Lord Varadar and Lord Parthasarathy. That is the similarity.

Lord Varadar as we saw in the previous post arose from the agni of Brahma's yaga and the fire as it grazed His face left scars.

Lord Parthasarthy was in defense of Arjuna in the war. To save His favorite from Bhisma's and any other errant arrow took them all in His face and had It scarred and pitted.

There is a very interesting legend associated with the Two.

There is something called "Porapadu". This is when the Lord proceeds from the temple premises to the lands that He supervises and hears the complaints and happiness of His people.

In Thiruvallikeni, when it is raining, the Lord if he is in a porapadu returns abruptly to the temple. It is because The Thirumeni is covered with blood wounds from the battle. If water flows on these kinds of wounds, it is unbearable. That too piercing rain water.

It is also due it, the prasada preparations in the temple use milagu instead of chilli. So that the Lord is not heart by the karam touching the wounded lips. His favorite is Sakara pongal and you would have to travel very very far to find a better one. I havent till date.

Again in Thiru Kacchi, the Lord was hurt due to fire and so water is good for fire wounds. So if it is raining in His porapadu, it is not rain on His parade. He sets out with more vigour and totally enjoys it. To see Lord Varadarajar in rain is a sight that can set your heart into fire. Oh so Handsome is He!!!.

I have attached the closest ever photo I have ever got of both of them. Have a good time and stay safe..

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT DOWNLOAD AND USE FOR YOUR PURPOSES.

Adhi Moolamey!

First of all, I am sorry to have taken so long to write about Kanchi. My patti always told me that things will happen in their own time like the arul of Emperuman which can only be got at some moments when He deems it. Same with this post.

Talking about Varadar, Gajendra Varadar is the first connotation of this Lord. When the raja, immersed in His prayers was cursed to be an elephant, he patiently waited his time knowing that the Lord shall come to his succor. When the crocodile clutched his legs, the Lord at Vaikunta heard the cry "Adhi Moolameyyy", He rushed to the aid of His devotee.

It is said that Garuda, the steed was not able to match the speed of His Lord and was left behind to catch up later giving a clue to the response of the Lord to His devotee's calls. The Lord rushed to the spot, killed the crocodile and gave succor to both the celestials ensconsed in their inhuman form.

The Lord at Thiru Kacchi, is Lord Varadarajar. Pratyaksham to Brahma. The story behind the temple is very interesting.

Once the eternal debate of the greatest among the trinity's better halves ensued afresh. It presented itself to Lord Brahma. Saraswati went to Brahma and asked him to procliam the greatest. Brahma did so and said "Lakshmi was the greatest for the virtue of being Lord Narayana's wife". Saraswati became livid and snatched from Him the "Brahma dandam"- the staff that aided creation and disappeared promptly.

Now. Creation stopped and Knowledge left the world for good. Lord Brahma was in serious trouble and the poeple of the world soon were in ruins. They appealed to Lord Vishnu. He directed Lord Brahma to do 1008 "Ashwamedha Yaga". Some quote it as "Chatra yaga". Once they were done, He would appear and give the staff anew to Him. Lord Brahma was dismayed. To do even one it would take long long years. But to do 1008, it was unimaginable. Totally. Even for Brahma.

So He renewed His prayers. Lord Vishnu now directed Him to a place on the earth where to pray once to pray 1008 times. So He dould just do one yaga and get the Brahma danda. Lord Brahma arrived at the place. He started the yaga. Saraswati was watching this. The yagay takes a long time and it was easy to make mistakes. She was waiting for this to happen. But Brahma was very diligent. As the yaga was nearing completion, knowing that Her wrath would be in vain, when Brahma got the staff back, She took the form of a torrent of water and rushed towards the spot were the Yaga was being conducted; Brahma prayed to Vishnu to save Him.

The Lord went to the spot and lay down before the stream. Saraswati, so that she may not touch the body of an "anniya purusha" moved away from the path and the homam was saved.

The Yaga was completed and the brahma danda returned to the creator. The Lord appears in a Punya koti Vimanam and Saraswati realising Her mistake prays to the Lord. Creation was resumed and knowledge restored to the world. The place where Saraswati realises Her fault and the spot where the Lord laid don is worshipped as "Thiru Vekka" and is in Kanchi. We shall learn of it soon.

Brahma prays to the Lord to stay at the spot and grant speedy relief to His devotees.(Akin to tatkal:no pun intented). In this kshetra, if we pray even once it is equivalent to praying 1008 times. The Lord called Varada, which literally means the Lord who grants all our wishes. Anything prayed for in this kshetra, if it is for the good of us, is granted immediatly.

Thus was the world saved from disharmony by the infinite mercy of the Lord.

Swami : Varadarajan(a.k.a PeRaruLaLan, Lord of infinite mercy)
Thayar: Perundevi thayar(Thanni kovil Nacchiyar, Padi thanda Pathini)
Other Sannithis: Chakrathalwar Sannithi, Azhagiri Singar sannithi , Andal Sannithi, Danvanthri Sannithi, Alwar matrum Aacharyan sannithi, and Athi Varadar sannithi(inside pushkarini)
Sannithi : Hastagiri ennapadum athigiri
Vimanam: Punya koti Vimanam
Pushkarini: Vegavathi theertham(The river whose form Saraswati took)
Anantha saras
Sesha Theertham
Varaha Theertham
Brahma Theertham

Vaazhi Arulalar Vaazhi ani Atthigiri

Vaazhi YethirAsan vachagathor --

Vaazhi Saranagathy yenum saarvudan maRRonRai

aranahak-kollathaar anbhu

--Swami Desikan

Hastagiri Arulalane!!

The Lord @ Athigiri engira Vishnu Kanchi is hailed by that epithet by Thirumangai alwar. A mis nomer that many make from the 4000 is that they believe that it was sung at each temple by the alwars and then collected. Actually this is not so.

The division of temples into 108 was in a period very very later than the Prabhandam and might be erroneous too. The hymns were read and the temples identified with the help of the geographical pointers present. "Thiruvallikeni kandene" prompts that the song could only be on Thiruvallikeni. But for names long forgotten and places ruined under the age of time, only guesses could be made.

For example, for the temple @Kabisthalam also called Kannan Kabisthalam, the only song sung sang of a Krishna temple on a river's bank. Using this the spot was guessed as Kabisthalam. Similarly with Thirupreethi in the North. Temple on the banks of Ganges was the only pointer. They could not locate it and arbitrarily chose Joshir Mutt as the one.

The reason I wish to acclimatise the reader with this is because there are lot of inconsistencies with the Prabhandam itself. To get a round number of 4000, many hymns were condensed into one. Thirukurunthandagam, Periya Thirumadal and Siriya Thirumadal are all examples. So was the grouping of the 108 Thirupathis. For example, the shrine of Sri Varahar in Sri Moshnam was not sung by any alwar even though Thirumangai had visited and sung shrines 10 miles away. And it is one of the syamvrata kshetras which says that the Lord is syambhu like Sri Srinivasar.

The temple town of Kumbakonam was sung and resung by the 11 alwars but nobody even lay claim to Sri Rajagopalan of Mannargudi even though there is reference to a "kal sthambam" which is a solid granite second Dwajasthambam in the premises of the temple. We shall go over this when we talk about Kumbakonam.

This inconsistency comes to play at Kozhiyur enapadum Thiru Urayoor. There is not direct song for Urayoor. Expert analysts of the 4000 claim that a passing reference as "Kozhiyur" in a song sanctifying another divyadesam refers to Uraiyoor.

The reason behind going prolonged in this discussion is the hurt that I bear for there is no song in the 4000 glorifying Lord Varadarajar of Athigiri. No alwars had sung this Lord. As experts claim. There is a reference in another hymn as "athigiri arulalanukke". Which could only only only refer to Shri Varadar as we shall see but the claim was rejected.

But the Lord at Hastagiri could not be denied as the temple is one of the oldest and most sanctified of the temples in India and dates back to most alwars.

It is the third most important of all Vaishnavaite sthalas and is so because it is the pillar of Shri Vaishnava Sampradyayam. The Vadagalai philosphy was evolved and rooted here. Also the Vishistadvaitam of Shri Ramanuja. We shall learn more of the temple in the next blog.

Adipaninthen Athigiri Arulalanukke!!!

Thiru Kachi

Kanchi, the land of the pallavas, the land of temples, the seat of ancient learning, the gateway to moksha, one of the seven ancient cities, the seat of Vaishnavism, the land of Ramanuja, koorathalwar and many many more..

All these epithets and more cant be enough or more well suited. The third of the 108 thirupathis, it is home to around a 1000 pillayar temples(My favorite) apart from Kamakshi amman Kovil, Ekambareshwarar sannithi and 14 Vaishnava divyadesams.

Each time we say we went to "the temple", it only means we went to Srirangam. Each time we say we went to Perumal Kovil, we inadvertently refer to Varadarajar sannithi.

Kanchi has been my adopted kshetra for long. My first visit to Kanchi was just deja vu. I have been here. I have seen this Lord. I lived here a few janmas were my thoughts.

The divya desams in Kanchi are :
1. Thirukachi , Hastagiri enapadum Varadar sannithi
2. Pavala vannan sannithi
3. Thiru Vekka enapadum Sonna Vannam seitha Perumal sannithi
4. Thiru Vellukai enapadum Azhagiyasingar sannithi
5. Parameshwara Vinnagaram enapadum Vaikunthanathar sannithi
6. Thiru Thoopul enapadum Deepaprakasar sannithi
7. Thiru Uragam enapadum Ooragathan sannithi
8. Thiru Neeragam enapadum Neervanan Sannithi
9. Thirupadagam enapadum Pandavathootha Perumal Sannithi
10. Thiru Nila thunga Thundapperumal Sannithi
11. Thirukalvanur enapadum Kalvan sannithi
12. Thiru Astabujakara Perumal Sannithi
13. Ulaganatha Perumal sannithi
14. Thiru Karvannan
15. Thiruputkuzhi enapadum Vijayaragava Perumal Sannithi.(not in kanchi but around 10 kms away).

These divya desams form a part of the Thondaimandala Divya desams along with Thiruvallikeni, Thiruvallur, Thiruninravoor, Thiruneermalai and Thirukadigai.

Each of these temples is rich with vivid history and interesting tales. We shall proceed to each in the "to -come" episodes.

Nandri. Meendum varuga.

Thirukkanden!!!

Coming back to the original theme of this blog, alwars and Nayanmars have done a great deal for the Hindu religion to be what it is today. The rest we have contributed!! They in the process also accelerated the easy entry of vernaculars into the divine tongue. Tamil. Where sanskrit used to hold sway in the form of Vedas, Divya Prabhandham, Devaram, andhadhis and much more entered as popular hymns thus taking the religion and language to greater heights and lower stratas of the society.

One of my favorite "trinity" as I would attribute has been the mangalasasanams from Thirukoviloor, Ulagalandha Perumal Sannithi.

It was one rainy evening in the earlier eras of mankind. When religion was being celebrated and God literally deified.

Poigai alwar, Boothath alwar and Pei alwar were three of the twelve alwars of Vaishnava sampradayam. All three of them wanted to worship Ulagalandha Perumal in the Thirukoviloor district. Poigai alwar reached first and as it was late in the evening, the temple was closed. He was shown to a house where accomodations for the night was available. The landlord declared as the alwar entered "Oruvar Padukalam" meaning one person can lie down. The alwar promptly entered and fell asleep.

Boothathalwar who was a bit more late was shown to the only set of rooms. Now the land lord said "Iruvar Amaralam" which was "two could sit comfortably". Poigai alwar obliged and took the new guest into the room where they both sat down.

Now the last entrant was Pei alwar and now the diction was "Moovar Nirkalaam". Translate to "Three can stand comfortably". Both the alwars stood up and the third guest was accepted cheerfully. Now these were the days when Edison(I know there is a lot of opposition to this. But I use the accepted version) had not yet come along with his brilliant bulb. So they did not even have a lamp as it was anyways late night.

As the three of them were standing together, they suddenly got a nudging sensation of a fourth person trying to squeeze in among them.

You could have from the land lord's description gathered that the room was small enough for three. How could a fourth be possibly put up with!! And that too unknown.

But it was the late night. No door had been opened. How comes a stranger in their midst?

The alwars decide to find out by :

Poigai alwar :

"Vaiyam Thagaliya, Var kadale Neiyaga,
Vaiyakkathiron Vilakagachheya,
Sudaraazhiyaan Adikke soodinen sonn malai,
Edarazhi Neengugave endru!!"

"As the earth as the vessal, the sea to be the oil,
the Sun lord himself to be the guiding light,
I garland, the feet of The One who wields the shining discus, with words,
May the trouble be dispelled if there it be!!! "

But the light did not show clearly even though it revealed a fourth person amongst them.

Boothathalwar goes :

"Anbe thagaliya, Arvame neiyaga,
Inburu sinthai Idu thiriya,
Nanburugi, Gnanachudar villaketrinen, Naranarke,
Gnanath Thamizh purintha nan."

"As love the holding vessal, my sincerity as the very ghee that sustains the lamp,
As the happy mind the lead of the light,
Bowed down by affection do I light this lamp,
I who sing hyms of enlightenment. "

The Lord is revealed in all His shining glory. Resplendant with His conch and discus, The Thayar shining benovelantly from His chest,..

Pei Alwar :
"Thirukkanden, Thirumeni kanden,
Thigazhum Arukan ani niramum kanden,
Serikillarum Ponnazhi kanden,
Puri sangam kaikkanden
Enazhi vannan pal Indru" .

"I saw His persona, I saw His person too,
I saw the blue body of His,
I saw the brilliant shining Chakra(Aazhi),
and the sounding conch,
On my cloud coloured Lord".

The Lord stands in the happy company of His devotees. Be it night or day, where would be better company than of His devoted bhaktas? That too, those who sing His praises all day? Who would not like it if somebody with a pure heart sang their praises all day??

The Lord perceiving His devotees to be stranded due to the weather and the closed sanctum had without a moment's delay rushed to be with them.

What would more glory be than to praying to the Lotus feet of My Lord?

Amen. Good Lord. Amen.

Om!

Archaryan thiruvadigale charanam :

The pranava mantra. The sound that is supposed to have been originated with the start of the universe.

It is some kind of a mystery that surrounds this mantra. It is the starting syllable of all mantras. It is believed to have been the combination of the three syllable : aa, oo and ma.

The base sound of the universe. The mantra that Subrahmanya explained to Brahma thus ridiculing his position as the creator. The mantra for which if the meaning is known we become "Brahmans".

I do not know much about it. I was just wondering on what to discuss today and my fingers typed OM. Hence this blog. If any of the readers know much about it, please share your knowledge as a comment.

In Hindu mythology, each of the pancha bhoothas are associated with a property. The property of the sky, akasham is Shabdam. There are two meanings associated with this word. "Sound" and if interpreted as "sapta" the number seven.

If we take it to be shabda then the property of the sky is sound. But the only thing that cannot pervade empty space is sound as modern science claims. The sky or interchangeably the space does not possess a material medium for sound to pass through.

But the pranava mantra is the sound that originated with the universe and is throbbing in it. I strongly feel that shabdha refers to sound or the pranava that pervades the universe.

Just a byword. Please choose to enlighten me by your comment. Thanks!!!

A measure of Bhakti

As we all aware of, Lord Shri Krishna and Arjuna were the closest of cousins among the Pandavas. This was not only due to the fact that Arjuna idolised Krishna but also because they are a pair of divine twins. "Nara-Narayanargal" as they are hailed. Also as Jishnu-Vishnu.

But as a human that he is, Arjuna could not escape the folly of ego and self pride. He pompously went about saying that he was Krishna's favorite and there can be none other who could beat him in his devotion to Lord Krishna.

But Krishna in a number of occasions took time off to prove that there was no measure to bhakti and also that He was impartial to all His devotees.

I can recall atleast five occasions in this context. Once with Anjaneya, once with Karna, once with a brahmana,once with Bhima and one more time with satyeki.

The encounter with the brahmana is my favorite and here goes:

Once Arjuna thinking that he was the most favored of Krishna was behaving very arrogantly. Lord Krishna who observed this decided to teach him a lesson. He took Arjuna aside for a walk in the forest.

As they proceed into the depths, they see a "Brahmana", who is a Vedic scholar by profession wielding arms with dexterity. He was sword fighting with an invisible opponent and doing it extremely well.

In those days, the kshatriyas were the only warriors and all others were protected by them. Lord Krishna pointed him to Arjuna and asked him to enquire the reason without revealing his identity.

As Arjuna was a kshatriya, he went to the brahmin and said "Oh, Learned scholar, It is not right according to the dharma of your caste to wield arms. Can you tell me the nature of your foe and the cause of your anger? If it is justified, I shall protect you as I am a Kshatriya by birth".

The brahmin stopped practising and said, "No. It is my personal score.I shall need none to fight on my behalf. But I can tell you why. I am a devotee of Lord Krishna. I need to find and kill,
Draupadi, Narada and Arjuna ".

Now. You could imagine the fright that Arjuna got at those words. He went on to enquire why and what enimity he possessed with the above named.

The brahmana replied, "Draupadi without even realising that the Lord was enjoying a day of rest with His consort, summoned Him to the court of the Kauravas to help her from humiliation.
Narada without even realising that the Lord might be sleeping keeps of calling "Narayana Narayana!". As the Lord hearing the bhakta's voice keeps His eyes open and can never sleep.

Arjuna! The worst of the three!!! He, with his ego made the Lord his "sarathy"(Charioteer). The Lord suffered from innumerable cuts on His face while that fellow escaped without a scratch. When I get my hands on him!!!!"

The brahmana went on the give the invisibe foe aka Arjuna a sound thrashing...

Arjuna left the scene without so much a glance at the Lord. He had got the message of the drama enacted and realised that there were more devotees, beyond count who would do anything for their Lord though they might not be as mighty as him..

Sri Hari:

Lesser Known tales from Mahabharata...

The Mahabharata never ceases to astonish me. A huge epic. Complete and replete with morals and thoughts as young as the day we read it. It has and will always be the true treasure of India.
Coming to trivia about the epic, it is all well known that Veda Vyasar dictated it to Vinayaga, who wrote it down with one of His tusks.

Did you know that the Mahabharata in all its completeness is 60 lakh Granthas. (Each Grantha a set/verse) Of these 60 lakhs, 55 are with the Devas, 4 with the asuras and only 1 lakh with humans, the lesser mortals that we are.

Even if it is only a lakh, it is complete in itself. Unlike TV serials of today that can even stretch to 30 weeks and still leaves loose ends and unanswered questions..Even the one lakh is pristine in its preservation.

Not even one character is unneccessary or left behind in the grand scheme of things. Everything done and every word said and deed done has a repurcussion.

It is this beauty which pulls any reader towards the Bharatha. I would like to share with you a story that I came to know of very recently from patti : only on my trip home this time.

"Animithra Maharishi and the Pandavas" would have been an ideal title.

The Pandavas were on exile. After having played the dice a foolish second time and losing everything..they were banished to the forests for 13 long years. During this time, it can never be denied that it was only due to the vigilance of Shri Krishna over His beloveds that helped them stay even alive.

Draupadi was the apple of eyes of the pandavas. During her hardship in the forests, they were ready to do anything that could make her feel like a queen. And she severly taxed the pandavas for their weakness.

This time it was Arjuna who was the scapegoat of Draupadi's desires. As they were walking down the eaves of the jungle, they came upon a splendid tree. The tree was full in bloom. But it had only one fruit. The fruit hung tantalisingly before their eyes. Draupadi looked at the fruit and Arjuna read in her eyes a desire to possess it. Ever ready with his arrows, he shot it down.

Now, Krishna without whom the pandavas could even have survived a day in the jungles was immediately aware of this. He rushed to the spot in all haste and "Draupadiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii...."

She was stopped from ingesting the fruit just in time. Why was krishna so anxious to stop a fruit being consumed? What is this strange tree that bears just a fruit?

As Krishna began, the answers to these question began to unravel. The tree was in subjucation to a Rishi called Animithra Maharishi. The tree only bore one fruit and just for him and for nobody else. When the season came, it would bloom, bear fruit and wait. The rishi would come along, consume the fruit and not eat anything else till the next fruit came along.

If the fruit was not there, He would die. Now. The pandavas were in a fix. What would they do now? They had been driven out of their land and were now threatened by curses.

They looked at Krishna and sought Him to deliver them from this predicament. Krishna said there was a way to make the fruit a part of the tree again. But they had to speak out the thought that was uppermost in their minds at that moment. So saying He looked meaningfully at Draupadi who blushed and bent down. What they uttered must be the truth by Dharma. If a lie was uttered nothing could save them from the curse.

Yudishtra started. He said that all deeds in the world must be bound by Dharma.

Lo!! The fruit rose a few feet to the sky.

Bhima, Arjuna and Nakula-Sahadeva went forth. As each spoke the truth, the fruit rose a few more feet to the tree's branch.

It was Draupadi's turn. Krishna ruled that only if Draupadi completed the tale, the fruit would move to the branch else all was in ruin.

Draupadi looked at Krishna and smiled. For He who knew everything was asking for the words out of her mouth. She replied, "I was thinking that how nice it would be in Karna had also been one of my husbands with the Pandavas."

The fruit stuck to its branches. The Rishi came along and consumed the fruit. He blessed the sixsome and smiled at Krishna.

Why was this drama staged? Was it in reality a way to chastise Draupadi into not asking anything again?

No. It was the Paramporul's intention to find voice for the innermost thoughts of the Pandavas and make them understand themselves better. Just because of Draupadi's words, it does not make her any less a Pathivrata. It was way to tell the pandavas,which they unfortunately did not undertsand that Karna was kith and kin.

Whatever. The story was nice and made for a midsummer afternoon's siesta.

Merci Beaucoup pour toi attention!!!

Vannakam, Vandhanam, Vaazthukkal

Hello!!

I guess I can't just stay away from blogging. I am in a rare mood of creation and decided to plow ahead before I can out think myself. Here I go again...Trying to get across a few glimpses from a huge book called PATTI..

She who cradled me as a infant, lulling me to sleep with innumerous stories of which Krishna invariably was the hero. She who was the sole cause of me winning laurels in school and through college regaling people with stories and interpretations.

This is an ode to the immense culture called Hinduism. To their marvellous folk lore and imagination that gave us epic such Mahabharata and Ramayana.

This blog will also hope to depict the rich lives of Indians, try to trace important trivia and history. It will be an attempt by this blogger to try to get people more in touch with Prabhandham and Thiru Kovils especially the 108 Thirupathis of the Sri Vaishnava trend.

Mistakes are to borne with and will be corrected as soon as pointed out. Criticisms and comments are welcome.

Thank you for your patronage.

Hamsadhwani