Baahu Ramasya Samshrutha!

Adiyen. It has literally been years since I wrote. So please do excuse me if my thoughts seems confused or do not flow or for grammatical and other errors if any.

Last year has been really a mixed bag. My Acharyan who saved my life, who was responsible for everything that I am today passed over to the eternal abode. An Acharyan who I would even grudge Emperuman for taking Him away from me.

But sometimes Emperuman has the knack of revealing that I am still in very safe hands. So year end - Margazhi - I had the good fortune of being in India and to go to Mumbai to pray to the present HH Azhagiyasingar, 46 Jeer of Ahobila Mutt in Sancharam in Chembur, Mumbai.

So this time when I was in Mumbai in my MIL's maternal home, her brother being a very very close devotee of the mutt and a very learned person, handed my husband a copy of Thirukundathai Aandavan's "Acharya Ramamrutham" - a transcripted version of Swami's Ramayana Upanyasam. My husband had been reading it in London and had quoted a few instances from it to me. I had meant to blog about  one particular sloka but had never gotten around to do it.

He was very happy to get a copy from his uncle's hands in Mumbai and opened it randomly to a page which miraculously contained this very Sloka.

'' Gajam va, veekshya simham va, vyaghram vaapi varananaa;
         Naaharayathi santhrasam, Baahu Ramasya Samasrutha"

         (Valmiki ramayanam; Ayodhya Kandam - 60-20 )

The situation unfolds : Rama leads Sita into the forest followed by Lakshmana. The sarathy of Dasaratha, Sumantara, returns back home to the castle and reports that they have been led to the jungle and left alone there. Dasaratha very anxious to know about his daughter in law and her safety asks, ''Was she very afraid? Was she, the darling daughter of Janaka, upset about her safety in the forest? Was she frightened?''

To this Sumantara replies with the above Sloka.

"I watched her go into the forest with Rama. Come may elephants (Gajam) or lions ( Simham) or tigers (Vyakram), {Here Sita is referred to as Varaananaa - one who has a lovely face) She still has no trace of fear on Her lovely face. But why is this so? Bahu - one who the strong arms is common name for Rama. Sundara Bahu, Sahasrabahu, Ajanu Bahu - are all names of Rama. That arm is around her to protect Her.

{Let} elephants come, or Lions yet or Tigers, She
has no fear at all on Her lovely face, for the arm of Rama holds {protects} Her yet.

This sloka is quoted often by my husband whenever I have any fear, confusions, paranoia or anything that pushes me into darkness. So it is something that I have derived strength and comfort from. That all of us need - the arm of Sri Rama around us. It is ever present to protect us.

How has all these survived for so many years? Janmas even? The anubhavam. As long as there is one more drop of nectar left in the flower, the bee keeps returning, does it not? The same way, each anubhavam is so different and so enchanting for each one of us. As we look at every facet of a sloka, as seen by various Acharyas and Vyakyanakaras - how much did they really enjoy unravelling each sloka as the thick matted skin of the jackfruit and pulling out each fruit that is the Lord's name and love from it to present to us?

Another beautiful explanation given by another Acharya (I think it was the 42nd Jeer of Ahobila Mutt; not sure - will clarify) is as follows:

The sloka says, "May elephants come! May lions yet! Or tigers!" If we think about this, elephants are a breed themselves. But lions and tigers? Are they not supposed to similar carnivores? So why should you mention tigers when you have already talked of lions? why not one or the other? Surely both are ferocious, both possess equal strength. Why mention both?

In a forest, even wild elephants are dangerous. You do not know whether they will attack a human or not. But when there is a lion around, the two animals tend to attack each other. Not a human. This is the hierarchy of the forest. Natural order of enmity. But if there is a tiger around - it will always attack the human whichever animal else might be on the scene. So if there is a lion and an elephant, you can be safe and watch even. So even when there is a tiger on the scene which will come for her throat - she is not afraid.

But here Acharyan goes a step further - She is not only afraid. But She is very anxious and so holds Rama's hand - not in fear. But in fear. That Rama might think that She is afraid and harm the poor creatures which are around in the jungle - so that He might not take the arrow and shoot the poor beast down.

That is the karunai of Thayar - the mother of this world who seeks to protect even a beast which does not know who She is and comes for Her. This aspect is highlighted again and yet again in the Ramayana - as She saves Kaakasura, as She even says She will forgive Raavana if he only lets Her go. This is the karunai of the mother who will not strike standing apart from the father whose arrow swiftly finds its mark.

This is the highlight of the Shri Vaishnava Sampradayam - wherein without Her word,  - there is no mercy from the Lord, no Prapathi and no Saranagathi. But with Her look, He pardons even the greatest of sinners.

Though the slokam itself brought me strength - it was not the end of the chapter.  We were discussing this sloka late at night around 2:00 AM as it was quite late when we returned from the temple and then sat talking. HH 46th Jeer had asked us to be at the Vishwaroopam form Malolan the next day at the mutt. This traditionally (in margazhi) takes place around 4:30 AM. So we really did not have much time. We were back at the temple for the Vishwaroopam and HH Thirupaavai Upanyasam of the day after 2 hours.

HH 46th started the upanyasam with the paasuram of the day and finished with this very sloka and its meaning which was quite surprising and unusual that at the very minute we were talking about this arm of God, HH was actually thinking about the very pasuram that says that the Lord protects us.

For all of us - Baahu Ramasya Samsrutha!

Naamangal Udaya Nambi

One thing that is reinforced again and again in our Sampradaya is the power of Namasankeertana. The pleasure that is derived from chanting Emperuman's names. More than anything these names are our weapons against darkness - within and outside of ourselves.

We know of the wonderful story when the Lord, being praised for His swift help to Panchali to restore her dignity, disarmingly replied - it is not Me who saved her - it was My name - Govinda. The instance of Gajendra who shouted a single word 'Adhi moolame'  and the Lord came running to him.

Time and again Azhwars and Acharyans highlight this fact that only Emperuman's name is succour to all of us who are lost in this samsara and kaliyuga. I was trying to learn Thirumaalai when Swami Thondaradipodi azhwar's words struck me speechless. I am not fit to describe the pasuram and its power but it made me feel that everyone must know this.

The pasuram goes :
                           Namanum Murkalanum pesa
                                Narahil nindraargal ketka
                           Naragame suvargamagum
                                Namangal udaya Nambi!

Finding its roots in the puranas, this story itself is very interesting. One day this soul called Murkalan went to the gates of Hell. Naman (Lord Yama) came outside and started talking to him. They were talking about the Lord's names and their power. The lost souls inside gates happened to hear this conversation and hereby the Lord's name. Soon hell became heaven and Lord Yama did not have a job anymore.

In a previous pasuram, azhwar has already gone over this :

          "Moondrezhthu udaya peyaral, Kathirabandu andre Parangathi kandukondan!"

This is true to our inner hell as well. As humans we are subject to varying emotions. Anger, jealousy, envy, hatred, fear - anything evil pictured outside comes only from inside. The root is still within us. His name becomes a medicine for these ills as well. It converts our inner hell into heaven every single day we live on this earth. Gives clarity, peace and purpose to us. Guides us to Him who is both the path and the end. Becomes our weapons and  win wars for us.

Naragame Suvargamagum namangal udaya nambi!

Love for the Lord

The relationship between the Lord and the bhakta is a very complicated one. One really does not know who is manipulating whom. The Bhakta thinks that it is the Lord who loves him less and that His love is ever wavering. All the while though, it is the Lord who should be hurt and pained. But He does not for obvious reasons. He only strings the bhakta along for a ride standing by him should they fall and suffering more with every pain to the bhakta than the bhakta himself.

What I really wanted to write about was the various instances in Divya Prabhandam which made me think about this. How deeply should they have loved the Lord for them to cease thinking, even breathing to try and express their love.

Thiruppanazhwar in his amalanathipiran raptures, "seiya vaai - aiyo - en sinthai kavarnthathuve!" and yet again as "Neela meni aiyo! Nilai kondathu en ninjinaiye!

Every one knows that the Lord carries a conch. He blows it at the start of the Mahabharat. The conch is meant to blown from the mouth. Who else but the Naachiyar herself will realize and proclaim " Thirupavazha sevvai than thithuthu erukumo? - sol aazhi vensange!" (Why did not I ever think that the conch has seen the insides of His mouth? :((( )

Periazhwar who became renowned forever and has the starting honours of the Divya Prabhandam as Muthalayiram - He sings paalandu for the Emperuman Himself and worries that no one should cast an evil eye on the Lord.

Periazhwar's description of young Krishna beckoning to the moon (personifying himself as Yashoda) are beyond compare. The way He describes Krishna as "Yen siru kuttan".

Even those pasurams wherein he describes the love of the gopas and gopis of Nandagokula - "Engum arivazhindhanar Aayipadi ayare!" - They lost their senses by merely thinking of the Lord.

Swami Nammazhwar praying for eternal servitude for the Lord - "Ozhivil kallam ellam udanai manni vazhuvila adimai seiya vendum naam!!"

Thirumangai azhwar asking us to think about the Lord - when we are asleep, when we are struck by sadness - "Thunjum pothu ninaimin, thuyar varil ninaimin, thuyarileer sollinum nandram!"

Thirumangai again when he cries out " Emperuman Arullanna - Anthamil varaiyal mazhai thaduthaanai" on Thiruvallikeni Perumal

But when one thinks of Siriya Thirumadal, there seems to be nothing more pining than love of that young maiden lying in a swoon forgetting her parents, her name and why! Even herself by merely thinking about the one with the thousand names!

But then there is the Naachiyar Thirumozhi in which Thayar sings about all Her wishes to be united with Her own Lord - She dreams, she observes fasts, she sends messages, cries and pants to be with Her Lord.

I know so little about the 4000 that these are the only ones I was able to quote. How many 1000s more must there be!

But everything else is nothing compared to the Lord's own love to the bhakta as Thirumangai azhwar - "Petra thaiyinum ayina seiyum" - One who cares for His bhakta more than the mother who gave birth to him.

The love for the Lord opens the eyes of the bhakta to his follies; makes him see the maya in the world; raises aspirations in him to achieve the perfect being; reminds him of his faults and makes him forgiving and accommodating to the faults of other beings like him. It destroys his ego and makes him impervious to illness, pain, hunger, wretchedness, darkness and self pity. It elevates him to a rank above the rank of Siva and Brahma by the thought of never aspiring for those positions himself and wishing only for Saranagathi and Vaikunta Prapthi.

What can be more uplifting to the bhakta than his love for the Lord? Only the thought that the Lord loves him even more.

Madal

I was listening to Siriya Thirumadal today and I was reminded of something that my husband had shared with me. He has had the blessing of listening to the Kalakshepams of HH the 45 Jeer of Ahobila Madam in His Poorvashramam - which refers to the period of life prior to becoming the Jeer. From when he was literally in the cradle - around one and half years of age, M has been attending the lectures with amma. HH had also given Kalakshepams in my MIL/FIL house at one point.

There are things which give a deep sense of loss in one's life. As though we have lost something - something which we may never have been aware at that point of time. For me, it has been never been to listen to MSS -though she was performing at a point of time when I realized music was divine and she was divinity herself. The next thing which I realized only after I got married - The association of great people and listening to their words - their Asirvadams which is higher and difficult to get - even than Emperuman Anugraham.

This was association with the then Villivalam swami , now the 45th Jeer of Ahobila Mutt - My Acharayan. But there was a difference in the cases. In this instance Emperuman was kind enough to give me Aacharya Sambandam. But the voice of MSS, I lost permanently. But that is a different story altogether. I cannot compare.

So back to what I started with. I was listening to Siriya Thirumadal which is from 4000 Divya prabhandam and is sung by Swami Thirumangai alwar. Thirumangai Alwar is special in many respects esp. that Thirunaraiyur Nambi, Srinivasan - The Emperuman Himself was His Acharyan. He performed Samashreyanam to the Alwar in His very Sannidhi in Thirunaraiyur - Naachiyar Kovil.

A popular epithet of the the Lord is " Azhwargal madal edukkum azhagudaiya Peruman!"

Madal refers to a set of poems where the the lover - expresses his/her love for the beloved through poems and gestures,etc. But tamil grammar has a whole different set of rules regarding madal or madal erudhal which I do not seek to elaborate.

In this set of hymns, Azhwar assumes Himself to be "Parakala nayagi", a woman who is not able to bear her love for the Lord and is totally lost to the world sunk in her love for Him -who might not even be attainable. Her parents do not know who this Man is - who has bewitched their daughter. So goes the madal.

So has Swami Nammazhwar written as Parangusa Nayagi.

But the azhwars are basically men. They are not women. So they do not realize what a woman may shy away from in public when approached by her lover. This is reflected in their hymns when they ask the Lord to come to their "imagined female form" and ask Him to show His affection for them in a very public form.

But Aandal who was a woman knew that certain displays of affection are not welcome to a woman even when she has been long separated or is pining to see her lover. So she says to the Lord in her hymns not to bother her with these public gestures which embarass her to a point unimaginable.

Swami HH had commented on this to a gathering that even though Azhwars composed madals, they truly were only imagining. Andal was the only one among them who could most realistically pine for and then enjoy His love for Her as a lady.

Adiyen has not expressed this well at all. Blame a part of it to English and most of it to me. Yet it was a eureka moment for me.

Chakara kaiyane acho acho!

One day in the cool glades of Dwaraka, spanned by the great ocean, Arjuna and Krishna are strolling with the former asking his usual questions. Krishna was playing the part of a Guru to His favorite disciple.

Finally Arjuna, the eternally doubtful, comes to the point when Krishna in the avatar of Vamana, buries underground the king who had given Him alms. Well! A small smile playing on His lips, Swami starts to explain.

The situation goes :

Lord Vishnu has ten avatars. The fifth avatar was Vamana, a brahmin dwarf born to Aditi, the mother of the Devas. He is born to wrench from Maha Bali's hands the throne of the Devas due to their insistent prayers.

Maha Bali is the Lord of the Asuras. He is much famed, renowned for his Dharma aside from hating the Devas which is the national sport of the Asuras. He is righteous towards his subjects, generous to a fault(Which soon consumes him), devoted disciple, loving husband and much much more. Also not to forget :the great grandson of Prahalada, one of the Lord's favorites.

He was holding a Mahayagna for the victory over the Devas. The rules of the Yagna was that you must give away whatever the attendees wanted esp. the Brahmanas. Now this was the loop hole that the Lord was after.

Popularly called Vamana, the dwarf, He takes a umbrella in His cherubic hands, Kamandala in His right and strides to where the Yagna was going on.

Seeing the beautiful Brahmin kid, captivated by His charm, Mahabali comes down and asks what he could do for Him.

The Child says, "I want land that is equal in measure to three paces of my feet".

Smiling, the King replies, " Is that all? Ask for more, jewels, money, cattle, villages, anything will be yours".

The Child : "No. That is all I need"

The Kula-Guru of the Asuras is Sukracharya. He is the much famed Venus which is equivalent to the brightness of the Sun in the evening sky and is renowned as the Evening Star.

Sukracharya : "O mighty Lord of the Asuras, I perceive through my tapas that this is no mere boy. His tejas and persona are reflective of the Lord Himself. Do not be deceived by His charms. Refuse Him anything He asks."

Mahabali : "O much revered Acharya! I salute thee! But this young one? How can I not refuse whatever He asks? Already my heart wants to embrace Him and take Him to be my own? Also, what can even the Lord do in such a small form? I will give up anything He asks for"

Sukracharya not knowing what to do and being the Kula-Guru, takes the form of a "vandu" or the bee and sits in the spout of the kamandala that is used for the dhana - renouncing purposes. So when Bali tilts the spout to water away the three paces of land, the water does not flow.

The Lord smiles, captivating and bewitching everybody in the process, takes a small "dharpai" or sacred grass and punctures whatever is blocking the spout. Lo Behold!! The bee's eye is pierced and it flies out allowing the water to flow in its wake. This is the reason why Sukracharya has only one eye.

The Lord (As usual!!!) rises to Viswaroopa and stands as Thiru Vikrama and takes the Earth in a pace, Heavens in another. He looks formidably at MahaBali and asks Him for the third measure.

Humble and gracious as ever(without a feeling of remorse) offers his head to the Lord. Swami then pushes him underground. But love and affection abounded in His heart for the most generous of the Asura Kings and He spares his life and grants him a boon becoming his Guardian forever.

Back to the current avatar:

Arjuna : "The king was gracious and generous. You took unfair advantage of him.

Krishna : "No. He disobeyed his Guru who asked him not to give me anything? Is this not a crime? Are you not supposed to listen to anything that your Guru says?"

Arjuna : "Well. Then why was Sukracharya punished? He wanted to save his kulam and the king"

Krishna : "He tried to prevent a person from giving alms which is not righteous at all and definitely not the manner of a Guru"

Thus ended one of the most famous repartees in Mahabharata. Alwar further glorifies the Lord's actions to posterity by

This beautiful chapter in Mahabharata expostulates the importance of listening to ones'Guru and also the benefit in giving alms: even though you know not what comes out of it, it will save you.

" Sukiran kannai thrumbal kuthiya
chakara kaiyane acho acho"

Acho Acho!

Thirumalerumcholai enthai!

I was randomizing my playlists on the ipod when suddenly sprang the words ,
"Unnai allal deivam illai, Thirumalerumcholai enthai".
Wow!!!

Prabhandam flowed out of the ipod springing goose pimples to my skin. "Senniongu than thiruvenkatamudaiyai, Ulagu thannai vaazha ninna Nambi..", "Paravai eru param puruda, nee ennaikk kaikkkondapin.." Aha! I wish I was able to recite and write each one of them a thousand and crores of times over.

Hearing it delivered by Sri. Venkatakrishanan swamigal of Thiruvallikeni(Adiyen originating in Thiruvallikeni) is really scintillating. This got me thinking about the beauty of the tamil in the lyrics and devotion of the Alwars. Nayanmars too wrote amazing and perfect tamil even making the layman wonder if Tamizh originated from this bhakti rasa or was it otherwise?

Tamizh. It is a divine language. So proclaimed by the Lord of the universe. He goes after the bhaktas who recite the Divya Prabhanda while sanskrit in the Vedic form runs behind Him to get His notice. The lingua franca of Bhakti of the kali yuga.

I must confess, when I was in school, I was exceptionally bad at thamizh and also hated the language. But when I got initiated to the temple and listened to the lyrics of the Prabhandam being recited over and over again..enough to decipher the words and much trips to the walking lexicographers : amma,appa and patti: I grew to be fiercely protective and defensive about the language. But that forms the basis for another discussion which we shall defer to Srishti and not here.

The names of the Lord, so charmingly formed after His attributes and His deeds. His creed, and His joy. Aha! It just melts the heart. I think it is the Nalaam pathu of the Mudhalayiram. Not sure. There is a set of hymns/poems that describe Krishna as a lovely little toddler who stumbling at His feet looks up at the sky and...discovers the moon. Beckons the Moon God to come His way, waving His chubby arms. Aha! Just that.

I think I can actually relate to Thiru Paanazhvar when He cries ,"aiyo, en nenju nilai kondathuve!" seeing the divine beauty of the Lord. (albeit in a much humbled and ignorant manner)

Or when in Thiruch Chanda Vrutham, Swami Thirumazhisai azhvar sings, "Nandatha Kallgal nonthavo? Nandu gnalam ennamai,
Idantha mei kulungavo, vilangu maal varaichuram
parantha kaal kidantha kavirikk karai kudanthaiyul
kidanthavarru ezhunthu erunthu pesu aazhikesane!
Or Shri Andaal in Her divine exposition,
"vallainai kondranai, mattrarai matraazhikka vallanai"

The appellations that the divine bears to please His. Sarangapani is named or called lovingly as "En appa, En Irudikesa." And the Moolavar's name in the divyadesam(Thirukkudanthai) is "Abari Aapthamrutham : Aravamudham" Saranga...

Arulmakkadal : Kripa samudra Perumal : Thiru Sirupuliyur. Thayar : Dhaya Nayagi.

Talking of Thayar thirunamams, I think it would be blasphemy not to mention Thiruninravoor : Her name is Ennaipetra Thayar. Amma.

What will I list? what to miss? One of my favorites is Paal Pandian from Thirumeyyam. :)) It sounds so rowdyish and so boyish.

And of course of my own Lord, Swami Varadarajan from Thiru Kacchi, PerAruLaLan. Sonna Vannam seitha perumal : Yathokthakari from Kanchi. Aha!

I think it was probably to say, repeat and savor the flavor of the tongue that utters the name, and the happiness that springs forth in the mind that "Vedam thamizh seitha vithagan" Swami Sadogopan translated the Vedas into thamizh as Divya Prabhandham.

"Ponnaikk kondu uraikal meethe
niramezha uraitharpol,
Unnaikk kondu en navagam paal
matrindri uraithukk konden,
Unnaikondu ennil itten,
ennaiyum unnil itten,
En appa! En Irudikesa,
en uyir kavalane!"

Like gold is scratched to insignificance
when tested for purity against the touchstone
So I wore my tongue down to utter nothing but Your name,
I cast Yourself in me
So did I throw myself into You(in belief and love)
My Father! My Lord of Hrishikesh,
He who protects my soul and life!

There is also another circumstance when (I guess) Thirumangai alwar writes "Nathazhambu erave nan uraipen, Narayana ennum Namam!"

Probably this is why Nama samkeerthana is the best way to please the Lord. It actually gets us to think about His deeds and His "Kalyana Gunas" which increase our belief in Him and also on the side gives some activity to the otherwise idle mind.

Adiyen Vedantha Desika Dasi.

thalathu unathu adiye!

ValLal Aruthuchchudinum maruthuvaN paal
MalLatha kathal NoYalan pol
mayaththal MeelLa thuyar tharinum
VithuvakoTammane,
Thalathu unathadiye parpen adiyene!

Though he, the medicine man, brandishing a fire and sword,
cauterizes my wounds so one lives,loving forever the
hand that puts us through pain..
Like that My Lord,
even though put me through countless and endless travails,
You will, with your maya,
I shall not give up your Lotus Feet nor the devotion

Thiruvadipoorathil Jagathudhithaall Vaazhiye!

This day, A few hundred centuries back, maybe even many hundred centuries back, was born Godha under a Thiruthuzhai(Thulasi) tree. She was found by Shri Vishnuchittar in the temple town of ShriVilliputhur. As she grew into a beautiful maiden, she was consumed by the love of the Lord.

I guess all of us would be familiar with the story of the garlands she wove for the Lord. Before sending it through Her father to the temple, she used to adorn it Herself. When Her father discovered this practice, he put an end to it immediately. What a blow! The Lord Himself refuse to wear the pristine unadorned garland the next morning. Such was Her love and devotion to the Lord.

Is it such a surprise? Wasn't She the Mother incarnate? Born to bless mortals with Her devotion and consequent acceptance by the Lord, Her life stands example to the fact even one janma is too short to be accepted by the Lord. Only love matters.

Her name itself was designed to set free sins. An interesting side note :

In the Ramavatar, the Lord bereft of His consort,Sita, ran over panchavati crying Her name aloud and asking animals, trees, the sky and rivers about Her whereabouts. Of all those, the river Godavari, which knew Her direction as Ravana had flown over her, hid the fact and remained silent, afraid of Ravana's wrath. She was cursed by truth for hiding it. Her waters ran accursed for a long time. But taking pity on her, rishis assuaged her anguish by promising her that a time would come when the Mother Herself would be reborn on the earth. At that time, She would be named Godha, and then the waters shall run pure again.

So it happened and the curse was lifted.

Thus even with Her very birth, She sanctified those around Her.

As she grew older, Her love for the Lord manifested itself in poems and hymns composed with the love of a young woman towards Her Lord and Master. The bhakti rasa stands out in the beautiful songs. The compositions are the Thirupaavai and Nacchiyar Thirumozhi(143 lyrics) which literally means The words of the Goddess. Of these the Thirupaavai and Varanamayiram are very famous. My favorite is :

Karpooram Narumo? kamala poo narumo?
Thirupavazha sevvaithan thithuthu erukumo?
Marupusitha Madhavan than
Vaai chuvaiyum natramum viruputtrukk ketkiren,
sollaazhi ven sange!


Does the camphor smell divine? or does the lotus?
Is the beautiful read coral lips taste sweet?
The sweet taste and the divine aroma of the
mouth of the Lord,
is what I need of you, white conch of His(of Paanchasanniyam)

The thought that struck me was, I knew, the world knows of the fact that the conch was blown by Him during the war. I never imagined it the angle that it was the only one which had seen the insides of the Lord's mouth. It is not about visualizing the Lord as being flesh and blood. But even the most mundane stuff misses out when we don't really observe at all.


When asked, learned elders speak of the Thirupaavai as the Vedas themselves. The sara of the Vedas is the Mahabharata, the sara of the Mahabharata is the Gita. That of the Bhagavad gita is the Sahasranama, of that is the Thirupaavai, of the Thirupaavaai, the name "Govinda". The beautiful lyric immortalized by The Mother herself, "kurai ondrum illatha Govinda" has been struck into Hindu hearts all over with the simple song "kurai ondrum illai.." by the brilliant stateman and Man of India, Shri Rajaji.

Another interesting side note, Once the Lord was listening to His bhaktas speaking about Him. Suddenly one of them mentioned,"Couldnt He have been more merciful towards the Pandavas? Did He have to kill all of Draupadi's kids after the war? Did He have to..? Did He have to..?" without really understand His deeds. But the Lord for once took it to His heart. He fell silent and grew melancholic. All the devotees were now worried. What happened to the cherubic young handsome dashing Krishna? Then She who knows decided to take it into Her able hands. She said,"kurai ondrum illatha Govinda..." , which mean,"You who have no faults..". The Lord became happy again.

So if we go to a temple, we must always pray to the Lord as, "You have given me everything. I have no wants, no worries and no regrets. Thanks My Lord." Whatever be our personal sorrows, there are people who are suffering more but bearing it happily.("He who bears it best, serves Him best.."Milton Paradise Lost) Then, go to the Mother and explain your situation. Not as a complaint but as a counselor. She will at the right time alleviate our sorrows.

Getting back to the topic, Godha was beckoned by Her Lord to come to SriRangam and was wedding to Him in pomp and glory. You can see the small house She stayed in Srirangam for a night at the end of the Chithira veethi in Srirangam. Also is well preserved at the temple of ShriVilliputhur is the house that She abided in. You can also see the well in whose waters She saw Herself after dressing Herself in the temple. Shri Villiputhur Raja Gopuram held the feat of being the tallest gopura in Asia for a number of years. Also it adds pride to every government insignia in Tamilnadu by decorating the seal of the TN Govt.

Also almost as famous is the Paal gova that is sold by the stalls by the temple. :))

Shrivilliputhur is a shrine of extreme importance and prominence. Do take time by visiting the temple and worshiping to the girl who ruled the Lord. Aandal.

Sarathi

This time when I was in THiruvallikeni, I had the honour of making a movie that starred the Lord Himself. It came out so perfectly that I was thinking of a premier and here it is :

http://locker.uky.edu/~gsamp2/Porvai Kalaithal.MOV

For some reason, it refused to be loaded on to the link page and hence this inconvenient attachment. Also if your browser is slow, you might have a waiting :(. Sorry. But I hope it is worth waiting for.

The occasion being the ninth day of the Chithirai Brahmotsavam of Thiruvallikeni Shri Parthasarathy Perumal Kovil.

This particular shot is on the morning of the ninth day and is called "Porvai Kallaithal". The video itself explains the naming. Significance in next post.

Adiyen.

Mahalakshmisthu Devatha

This is after a long hiatus. I was walking by the temple in Thiruvallikeni the other day when I was in Madras. It was as vibrant as ever. Brahmotsavam was in full progress. We were waiting for the thirai to be removed to behold the Lord. Jasmine and 'Shenbagam' strands vied with one another for the favor of the Lord's feet. The strong scents of the temple, if you what I mean, were just sending my head spinning.
Mama in panchagajams and Mamis in madisaars and diamonds. Man!! There were two of these specimens standing right next to me and talking loudly like they were discussing an arms deal between India and USA. I stood shell shocked listening to them discuss the wealth of the populace around them. If there is one statement that irk me to no end, it is this :

" Ellam pana thimiru!! panam vanthuduthuna manushan eppdi ellam panran!!"
leading to,"Lakshmi vantha thimiru vanthidum. Saraswati on the other hand brings calm and peaceful".!!!!!!!!!!!!

This statement I will excuse attributing sheer ignorance.

Money never never never can be attributed to Lakshmi Kadaksham. If somebody is merely rich, he is not endowed with the benovelence of the Mother Goddess.

Even if somebody is well studied, it doesn't mean that he is endowed with the same of Mata Saraswati.Lakshmi Kadaksham can be found in a simple hut while it may not be even if searched for high and low in a mansion.

The true benovelence of the Goddess lies not in bestowing wealth but in the quality of mind that goes with it.The gaze of the Lady who adorns The Chest is given away by Her qualities themselves.

Humbleness, generosity, contentment, well being, well wishing, ego less existence, wishing well for all, prayers, belief, auspiciousness, faith, amicable to all, taking genuine interest in the well being of all His creations,
above all : Goodness to relatives and unfortunate souls. People whose hands overflow when giving to somebody :

Now that is Lakshmi Kadaksham.
If somebody utters these in your presence, do take the time to correct it.. Thiruvarul can be attained in getting just what you need. Not more.

The wealth accrued may be just result of a punya committed in the previous janma and may be wiped out in the next one. But Lakshmi Kadaksham that comes from goodness retains itself in long janmas; For it is the
goodness of the soul that is indestructible!!!

Thayar thiruvadigale saranam

A moment of doubt

In my present state of mind, I guess both my blogs will probably pointing to the same issues. My indecision. My loss. My course.

If for a small situation as this, we feel deprived, depressed and incomplete. Most of us do have a lot of issues. Issues whose magnitude we tend to grossly exaggerate or underestimate.

Yesterday while I was walking down the lane to my house, I could the house, the balcony, my roommate happily chatting away. The sparrows warbling. The sun bright and the sky blue. The whole universe seemed to be unaware of what was ripping my heart apart. It was only my mind that was in turbulence. All around. It was peace. Calm and Happy. I decided to think that in the grander scheme of things, my sufferings as I choose to name them are really nothing. I am in Lexington, KY, USA, Earth, Solar system, Milky way, the Universe as we know it, The Universe as we dont know yet, The Universe we shall never know about.

Isnt it really laughable? Man! I am puny. If I am so, about the troubles that are racking me? Only in my mind? Arent they smaller still?

I thought of Arjuna. He was standing with the Lord. He was standing beside the Lord of the Universe. He who is everything. Vishwa. So the enormity of his situation was so huge. He had the world in two opposing ends. His loved ones on his side. His loved ones on the other side. How could he quantify his love? Could he say, "Look, the sum total of the loved ones on this side are more than those on the other?" Bhisma? His mentor? Drona? His Acharya? He could not.

But he had the Lord on his side. The Lord who was the avenging Almighty then. As he quavered, laid down his weapons and was ready to leave everything and be deemed a coward, Lord took him and made him fight. The Gita.

"If you win, you will rule over this world,

If you die, you shall be in Heaven,

Be Resolute, O son of Kunti

Arise and fight."

-The Lord in His Infinite mercy

I am Apasmara

(photo courtesy : Internet. No plagiarism intended)

I was just pondering over the Soundarya Lahari which seems to have captured my mind for the past few days. I studied the image of The Mother trying to recapture the feelings that went through the muni who captured Her in his lyrics. Of Adi Sankarar who later completed it. I went through Her beautiful form, Her face, neck, body, legs, feet and ended up feeling that if I was a dust in the ashes of the dust that cling to her toe, I would consider myself the most blessed.

As I was studying Her image as humans seem to portray, I pictured Her as Durga, the Mother. She has always prevailed on me as The Mother Goddess. As Gayathri, as Parvathi, as Durga. As the Mother personified in the Soundarya Lahari. I saw her raise Her weapon, look with pity at the asura standing in ignorance in front of Her, Strike into his thoughts Her consciousness. As she dances on him, the ultimate realization brought home.

At that moment I wanted to be him. To have the pleasure of being brought to divinity, immortalized by Her. By Her.

It was then it struck me that Jaya and Vijaya, the divine doorkeepers at Shri Vaikuntam had also wanted the same blessing. When asked whether they would be born as devotees for 10000 births or be born as villains to be cast down by the Lord for three janmas, they sought the latter. As the quickest way back home and also to enjoy the pleasure that the Lord's Hand would itself touch them.

The train of thought continued to Mahabali, the great-grandson of the asura Hiranyakashippu slayed by Swami Nrisimhar. I suddenly realized that Bali's head was pressed to the soil by the Lord's feet in the Vamana Avatar.

Then the third instance is that of Lord Nataraja. He dances the cosmic dance on Apasmara, the little demon of ignorance, ego and sin : in short man personified.

The similarity between the three struck me. The Mother, Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva. The personifications are different but the ideologies are just the same.

The dance of good over evil. The dance of realization. The destruction of ego, ignorance and injustice. The restoration of balance. The path.

I drew the inference that whatever the Lord may be. In whatever form He is personified, it is just the realization that the world is a virtual reality. It exists solely for realizing that it does not exist at all.

The attributes that we attach so much importance that we notice it prominently in others but conveniently turn our backs on ourselves, like ego, jealousy, anger, sorrow why, even the physical states of hunger, lust and enervation are only in the mind.

When we realize, there is no other feeling or sense left. Only the mind or the soul, and the universe which is now empty and full at the same time.

I am Apasmara. None but he!!!

Udanga and Krishna

Sages wander. They usually do not stay at a place. So when they move back and forth, they have to cross deserts and rivers and mountains alike. They are put to extreme discomfort and pain. They suffer themselves to bear it all as they have renounced the "physicality" of the world.

Udanga was no exception to this rule. But, he, by his constant prayers, love and devotion to Lord Krishna, won the boon that he would find water whenever his throat was parched. He just had to think of water and Lo! Behold! He would have it.

Krishna was extremely proud of a devotee like Udanga. He was of the opinion that Udanga was one of a kind : No ego, extremly pleasant, no racial prejudices and all renouncing.

Once Indra, the king of the devas, had called on Krishna. The discussion came to rest on Udanga. As Krishna was extolling the virtues of the sage, Indra sneered and said nothing. Krishna stung, asked Indra why he did not hold the sage so high.

Indra replied that Udanga was a racist. He did not think much of lower castes and considered it a sin to be associated in any way with them.

Now this was a serious insult and slur. No sage would ever ever do this, as to him, the world, universe, man and animal are the same.

Krishna wanted to clear the slur on His favorite and so said, "Ok. Now you have cast the blame. Prove it to me. For my part, I hold Udanga to be blameless."

Indra replied calmly," Since you hold so much belief on him, I would think him to be worthy of anything. As you are the Lord himself. Even Amirtha which you know is not for anyone other than the devas. I will offer him even that. But in the guise of a tribal man. Not just a common tribal but a tribal leader. Let's see what happens."

Krishna,seemingly sure, of the reaction of Udanga accepted the challenge.

Now the scene shifts to a desert. Extremely hot and dry. Udanga is walking slowly on the sifting sands. He feels extremely thirst and crys out, "Krishna".

Lo! There appears Indra himself holding the pot of nectar disguised as a sand pitcher in the garb of a tribal king. Udanga is scandalized. He refuses to take the water and cries, "Krishna! What sin have I committed to have water forced upon me by this tribal? Answer me my Lord. I would die of thirst than to accept this water!"

Indra vanishes and his place is taken by Krishna. Extremely angry and mortified, He shouts at Udanga, "Oh Sage! Till date I had thought of you as one equivalent to the greatest of the illumined. But you,in this issue, have brought shame on yourselves. What is the sin committed by the tribal that the water offered by him be unpalatable to you? Was it poisoned by his touch?
You have a very long path to traverse. You have not yet even been qualified to see the hallowed halls of the truly devote.
And as a punishment you shall know what you missed. You rejected the amirtha which Lord Indra himself freely offered to you. Now go! Repent."

So saying, He left Udanga to repent over his attitude.

Udanga proceeds further. To reach what now seems unattainable to him.

So. Here we come atlast. The point behind such a drama. Did not the Lord know the true capability of His devotee? Did He not know the outcome of the wager? He did. But He wanted to give Udanga a chance to see his error and correct himself.

Mistake or a wise decision. Every man attains the fruit of his deeds. He might or might not in his present janma. So many a time the consequence of a deed does not strike us at all. But when it does so all at once, we are either elevated to a position never so glorified or brought to our knees crumbling before the world.

Here Udanga sees his mistake come back to hit him so hard that his years and years of penance reduce to naught.

Also the equality of the caste which seems to be the "strike out" moral of the story is re-emphasized. After all, the Lord himself has chosen to be a Brahmin in only 2 of His avatars. In one of which he publicly renounces all dharma attached to it.

Hari Om:

Udanga

It is said that everything in this world will happen in its own sweet time and in a predetermined manner. (Evolutionists: dont argue at this spot) Whatever is happening is for the good and happy is he who realises it.

This morning for no reason at all I was reminded of Udanga Maharishi and his devotion to the Lord. This character is one that is publicly trounced for all his devotion.

Udanga as a young sage was the disciple of Sage Vishwamitra. Now, who hasn't heard of the legendary anger of him? As soon as Udanga completed his education, Vishwamitra extremely pleased with him told him that he did not have to pay Guru Dakshina. But Udanga argued and counter argued to a point that the sage completely went berserk and asked him to bring 48 horses of a given Sabhurikha lakshana.

Now these horses are extremely rare and were owned by a king who lived eons away. And also there were only 48 horses in the entire world. The king also had 48 beautiful daughters of a lakshana found nowhere else.

Udanga was dismayed and pleaded with Vishwamitra. But now, the sage would hear nothing of it. Udanga set out and reached the king after a long and wearying journey.

The king refuses to part with even one of his horses. But as Udanga pleads, begs and points the wrath of Vishwamitra if he returns without the horses, he finally yields.

But as fate would have it, Udanga gets caught in a storm near a river on his way back with the 48 horses. Three of them go wild and jump into the river to be swallowed forever. The storm stops and Udanga is disconsolate. He rushes back to the king and begs with him.

But now there is nothing that even he can do. So he offers 3 of his daughters in place of the horses. Shaking with fear and trembling as a leaf, Udanga reaches Vishwamitra. He narrates the issue and seeks forgiveness. But to his surprise and mortification, the sage bursts out laughing.

He says,"Udanga, If you had any real brains, you would have got the 48 daughters of the king than the horses."

Udanga leaves the ashram ashamed and chastised.

So what do we have here? Is it that Vishwamitra is a womanizer? Or is the lesson that Udanga learnt was that women are better than horses?

Not at all. The lesson is that blind obediance to the Guru is required. He definitely knows what is going to come. If Udanga had only listened to his guru instead of thinking himself to be capable of much more than what the Guru could ask, he would not have been subject to such discomforts and humiliation.

Either he must have got all the 48 horses or the 48 daughters. Now he has got an incomplete number of both. The application of the knowledge imparted is not present. It is not to be assumed here that Vishwamitra prefers the 48 daughters. He is a sage who has won the senses.

So Udanga is left to no doubt about the incompleteness of his knowledge: application to practical issues and the inferiority to his guru.

He sets out to seek the permanence that exists beyond all and the knowledge that he craves for.

We shall see more of Udanga in the coming days

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