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