Swamy Parasara Bhattar the son of the great Acharyar Swamy Koorathalwan ardent devotee of Lord Ranganathar had immense love for the Lordships.
Once Swami Parasara Bhattar was going to have darshan of Lord Ranganathar at Srirangam. He saw few mendicants singing in the street and seeking alms.
Their faces were glowing with joy .
Bhattar thought how fortunate these mendicants were who could have the prasada left over by the vaishnavas that was offered to the Supreme Lord .(Shesha Prasada) .
He thought that there cannot be anyone more blessed than these people who were just under the shelter of the Supreme Lord always …
He instantly composed a sloka whose meaning goes like this ..
A man even if he becomes a King Emperor , is not contented .
Thinking of the momentary ephemeral joys and expecting that it would be better to experience permanent joys , aspires to have an earthy body even in heaven .
Further , looking at the royal glories of Indira he wishes to take the position of Indira. ..
On another side , Indira may aspire to take the position of Parama Shivan and ParamaShivan may look at the position of Brahma , being the first person well versed in all vedas and creator of this world.
Brahma may think it would be better to leave this world and gain wisdom by being a mukthpurusha …
The Mukthapurusha may aspire to become Nityasoories in Srivaikuntam.
The Nityasurees would aspire to better go to Srirangam and become a mere alms seeker at the entrance of the Supreme Lord’s temple .
They would imagine that mere sparsha of the offerings to LORD is elixir (which have been offered to the Supreme Lord as shesha prasada .).
My LORD !!
how great was your affection to the meek seekers of your help .
You who with a mere thought are capable of creation , preservation and destruction of this thought , came running to the help of an elephant which in some corner of the vast world sought your divine help when it was caught in the jaws of a crocodile .
My Lord !!!
After arriving in fractions of few seconds , you showered your affection , by holding and gently patting the feet of the fortunate elephant , feeling sorry for the injuries inflicted on the elephant and seeking apologies for the inability to help a devotee before the wounds were inflicted ….
One morning , Swamy Parasara Bhattar was reporting to the temple to carry out his duties as Chief Priest .
A devotee who was some what skeptical came out of the temple and informed Swamy Parasara Bhattar silently that a stray dog had entered into the temple and therefore a group of people were conducting Saanthi Homam and Purification ceremonies to purify the inner precincts .
Swamy understood that the group had some personnel benefits in carrying out the ceremony .
Bhattar instantly composed a sloka and submitted under the lotus feet of Supreme Lord whose meaning ..
Oh , Supreme Lord !!
A shanthi homam is being performed under the pretext of a stray dog entering this holy shrine .
You know !! That event however did not happen .
Oh Lord !!
What are You going to do now ?
…………….with this lowest creature that arrived into your holy shrine ..
and sees you very often ?
What kind of purification ceremony are you going to get done to sanctify ?
That was the devotion of Bhattar for the Supreme Lord Ranganathar
Once Bhattar was asked by one of his dear disciple , whether he would indeed like to go to Sri Vaikuntam .
Swamy replied with emotion ..
Definitely ” Yes , I would travel to Sri Vaikuntam and have the darsanam of Lord VaikuntanAthan to satisfy my curiosity .
Adiyen would whether
HE is as opulent , gracious , enthralling and captivating as our Supreme Lord Ranganatha .
And If Lord VaikuntanAthan does not match up to my expectations , I would return right back to Srirangam by jumping from the sky and land here and continue to serve our Supreme Lord Rangan .
Swamin …
Adiyen has no interest in the sastras declaring that there is no return to this earth for one , who reaches Sri Vaikuntam ” .
Sri Paraasara Bhattaaryas Sri Rangesa Purohitah | Sri Vatsaanga Suthas Srimaan Sreyase Mae Asthu Bhooyase ||
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan
Pics Credits : Advanced devotees of Lord who shared these pics in social media
ThirupAan azhwar appeared during the month of Karthikai in the Rohini thirunakshatram at Uraiyur near Srirangam
Azhwar was a ardent devotee of Lord Ranganatha and used to sing songs in praise of the Lord with the accompaniment of his veenai . Azhwar used to walk from Uraiyur to Srirangam which was almost 20 miles , but did not attempt to go inside the temple due to the practices followed by the temple those days .
He used to stand at the southern bank of river Kaveri facing the temple and used to glorify the Supreme Lord singing on his veenai . This was going on for a long time.
One day early in the morning hours , he was singing song in praise of the Lord with deep devotion and was in a absolute trance.
LokaSarangar, the chief priest of Lord Ranganatha’s temple came to river Kaveri as a…
All Merciful “Lord Sriman Narayana” appears in five different forms as para, vyuha, vibhava, archai and antaryAmi . To uplift the fallen souls Lord advises the Nityasurees to incarnate in the mortal world and spread the message of divine love and true knowledge for a common man to come back to God head .Thus Azhwars were the incarnations of of Lord Sriman Narayana’s divine weapons and ornaments (“Azhwar” in Tamil means ‘one who is immersed’). Since the advanced saints were always immersed in the Lord and His qualities, they were glorified as Azhwars and the places which was glorified by Azhwars are earmarked as Divya desams . Out of the 12 azhwars, 4 Azhwars appeared towards the end of Dwapara yuga and Eight Azhwars appeared during Kali yuga.
Poigai Azhwar – Panchajanya ( Lord Krishna’s conch)
Bhootha Azhwar – Kaumodakee (Lord Maha Vishnu’s Mace/Club)
Pey Azhwar – Nandaka ( Lord Maha Vishnu’s sword)
Tirumazhisai Azhwar – Sudarshanam ( Lord Maha Vishnu’s discus)
Nammazhwar – Vishvaksena ( Lord Maha Vishnu’s commander)
Madhurakavi Azhwar – Vainatheya ( Lord Maha Vishnu’s , Garuda)
Kulasekara Azhwar – Kaustubha ( Lord MahaVishnu’s necklace)
PeriyaAzhwar – Garuda ( Lord Maha Vishnu’s eagle
Andal – Bhoodevi
Thondaradippodi Azhwar – Vanamaalai ( Lord Maha Vishnu’s garland)
Tiruppaan Azhwar- Srivatsa (An auspicious mark on Lord Maha Vishnu’s chest)
TirumangaiAzhwar – Sharanga ( Lord Rama’s bow)
The Srivaishnava Divyadesams are the temples glorified by 12 azhwars. Among the 108 Divyadesams, 105 temples are located in India and one in Nepal. The remaining two temples are in the celestial world glorified as Sri Vaikuntam and ThiruParamapadham.The 106 temples are classified into six divisions –
Chozha Nadu divya desam – 40 temples situated in Central Tamilnadu around Trichy,Kumbakonam,Mayavaram, Srikazhi,Nagapatinam
Pandya Nadu divya desams– 18 temples situated in southern part of Tamilnadu around Madurai,Tirunelveli, Ramnathapuram, Sivakasi
Nadu nadu divya desams – 2 temples in the northern part of Tamilnadu located near Virudhunagar and Cuddalore
Thondai nadu divya desams -22 temples in the northern part of Tamilnadu located in and around Chennai(4),Kanchipuram (15), Arakonam(3)
Malai nadu divya desams – 13 temples out of which 2 are in Southern tip of tamilnadu and the rest 11 temples are in Kerala scattered around Trivandrum,Chenganoor, Ernakulam, Thrissur
Vada nadu divya desams – 11 temples out of which 2 are in Andhra Pradesh, 1 in Gujarat, 4 in Uttar Pradesh, 3 in Uttaranchal and 1 in Muktinath.
The 4000 Divya Prabandham(Naalayira Divyaprabhandham) also known as “Dravida Vedas” are the out pouring of the Azhwars who appeared in Southern India few thousand year ago as per the divine commands of Lord Sriman Narayana to uplift the humankind and thus composed the divine pasurams which all the vaishnavas make it a law to recite . In Srimad Bhagavatam, Lord declares that HIS devotees would be born in Kaliyuga around the banks of Tambaraparani ,Cauvery rivers. As the recitation of vedas is restricted tto only few (women and low caste are not allowed to recite them), the compassionate Lord made azhwars appear on the earth for the upliftment of one and all and compose the pasurams in nectarian Tamil so that it could be relished by all.
Thirumangai Azhwar, the last among all the Azhwars was the only Azhwar who has glorified the maximum number of temples -86 divya desams and he alone has the credit of glorifying 47 divya desams exclusively.
Azhwar appeared on the 397th year after the advent of Kaliyuga as per “Guru Parampara prabhavam” composed by Sri.Pinbhagzhagiya Perumal Jeeyar a disciple of Swamy Nampillai,,,
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Neelan as he was called appeared on a bright Thursday in Nala varushey(year name), Karthigai maasey (karthigai month as per tamil calender[Nov-Dec])on Krithikai star on Pournami in Kallar kulam at Thirukuraiyalur – a small village near Thirunangoor about one hour drive from Sirkazhi
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His parents –Aaliaaduudaiyaar(father) and Vallithiru (mother) named him as “Neelan” as he was Neelavarnan . He had various other names which he himself mentions in the last verse of his works (pasuram) dedicated to Sirkazhi Perumal as “Aali naadan”, “Arulmaari”, “Aratamukki”, “mangai vendhan”, “parakaalan”, “kaliyan”,”thirumangai mannan”, “Naalukavi Perumal). Lord (Perumal) addressed him as “kaliyano??” .
As he was like kaalan for people who refuted “paran”(perumal), he came to be known as “Parakaalan”. He was an expert in composing different types of poems in different meters as per Tamil grammar which earned him the name “Naalu Kavi Perumal”.
In thanian ( Introductory verses ) for Peria Thirumozhi, Swamy Embaar says “Engal gathiye Ramanusa muniye…..mangaiyar kon eendha marai aayiram anaithum thangumanam enaku thaa” which means Swamy Embaar submits to Swamy Ramanuja grace for remembering the 1000 pasurams sung by the famous Thirumangai Azhwar and hence the Sattaree is “Ramanuja Padhuka” who in turn is considered as “Thirumangai Azhwar’s padhuka” at Tirunagari divya desam
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Swamy Manavala Maamunigal in the ninth verse (pasuram) of the great work Upadesaratnamalai glorifies the appearance day of Thirumangai Azhwar as “VEERUDAYA KARTHIGAIYIL KAARTHIGAI NAAL”as this azhwar exhibited his veeram (valour) in getting Perumal’s anugraham.
Its a great day as Azhwar , Acharyar Nampillai and Asmath acharyar-Sri Kumara Venkatacharyar( descendant of Swamy MudaliAndaan ) also appeared on the same day
Three important festivities are celebrated grandly in this village.
(1) Thai Amavaasai for 3 days (Jan-Feb)
(2)Thiruvedupari utsavam on Panguni-Pooram (March-April)
(3)Thiru avataara utsavam-10 day utsavam during Karthigai month culminating on Karthigaiyil Karthigai
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Neelan was very valiant and brave which earned him a position as army chief in Chola kingdom . He was later elevated to the position of a king for a small territory named “Aalinaadu” . Thus we have “Thirumangai mannan” who had that power , fame , position which took him to material pleasures like any human . The possessions and power engulfed him . Blinded by daring heroism, Neelan was indulged in sensual pleasures
(Azhwar himself admits in his pasurams that he was behind dove-eyed beautiful women).
By Perumal’s nirukethu sankalpam, he happened to meet Kumudavalli daughter of a physician in Thiruvellakulam who played a vital role in transforming Neelan into Azhwar. Her appearance also was a divine plan to correct Neelan in the right path …
Kumudhavalli a damsel (apsaras) who was named Thirumaamagal/Sumangalai along with her friends descended on Himalayan forests mocked at a siddhar who was being imparted knowledge by Kapila maharishi. The infuriated rishi cursed her to descend to earth and get married to a human being .
When she repented for her mistake and asked for a means to go back to the heavenly planet, the sage advised her to transform Neelan(an amsam of Saarangam) and make him a great devotee and get married to him.
After accomplishing her mission, he blessed her that she would be able to get back to her heavenly abode. Thus , she appeared as a small girl on the banks of Swetha Pushkarini(Thiru vella kulam) in front of Srinivasar Kovil in Thirunangoor.
A physician who happened to pass by was attracted to the small kid. He learnt from her about the cause of her appearance and adopted her as his daughter. As he was childless for a long time, he considered to be Lord Srinivasar’s blessings .As she was seen holding Kumudha flower, he named her as Kumudavalli.
Once Neelan , the ruler of the province around Thirunangoor happened to come to Thiruvellakulam. He was mesmerized by Kumudavalli’s beauty and expressed his ardent desire to marry her. He approached her parents and expressed hos desire .
The Parents were overjoyed as the King was at their doorstep . However , Kumudavalli expressed her desire “to marry only to a person who sported Thiruman kaapu ( Tilak ) on his forehead and got pancha samskaaram ( initiation ) done”.
Immediately Neelan set out in search of an Acharya to get initiated (pancha samskaaram in srivaishnava sampradaya) done.
No one dared to initiate him considering his qualities.
The ever compassionate Lord Srinivasar of Thirunaraiyur appeared before him as a Priest and did panchasamskaaram to Neelan. Later, Thirukannapuram Lord Sowriraja Perumal imparted the intricate meanings of Ashtakshari to him. Hence, these two Lordships are considered as “Acharyar” for Azhwar.
Having fulfilled her condition, Neelan approached Kumudavalli . She replied
Oh Prince ! Am glad with your desire in entering a relationship with me .But please understand as your better half I have another condition . I wish you undertake to carry out the bhaagavatha dhadhiaaradanam to 1000 people for one year which gives me immense satisfaction.
Neelan accepts the condition with a smile as she would be his queen soon .
Now , the couple did dhadhiyaaradhanam for one year and continued with the kainkaryam later. The place where he did dhadhiyaaradhanai kainkaryam is known as “Mangai maadam”.
It was a grand feast every day . A vast area was covered with pandals .for devotees thronging daily . It became a sacred shrine with hundred of devotees gathering daily with vaishnava tilaks and glorifying Lordships with songs . Few were discussing the greatness of Neelan and kumudha .Filled with bhagavathas , the place became more vibrant with devotion.
Neelan loved the new role. He never questioned the spending even the coffers of Thirumangai was coming to a stock out position . The Ministers whispered about the coffers getting emptied , but he continued the services selling his jewellary and other precious things .
The news reached the chozha king. He summoned Neelan to return the entire money or face repercussion. As Neelan didn’t oblige, the king had to send an army . Neelan defeated the army with ease . Shocked , the king came in person to wage a war.
Knowing Neelan’s might, the king with the help of his minister, conspired a plan to trick Neelan and arrested him.
Neelan was locked up in a temple for 3 days without food and water.(very similar to bhakta Ramadasar). The ever compassionate Lord Varadarajar of Kanchipuram appeared in Neelan’s dream informing that he could use the wealth lying on the banks of Vegavati river in Kanchipuram to clear the king’s dues.
The next day , Neelan informed the king that he would return the entire money given a chance . The King sent Neelan along with his soldiers to the banks of Vegavati river.
The search could not find any wealth . The Soldiers were instructed to harm Neelan If the search was untrue.
Lord appeared in Neelan’s dream again and informed him the exact location of the wealth. Neelan , overjoyed once again marched to the river and thus found the wealth. He cleared the king’s dues and kept the balance with him for continuing the bhagavatha kainkaryam which he got infected to.
The greedy king along with few others who realized that Neelan had wealth , claimed that their dues were not fully settled and asked for more wealth.
Neelan prayed to Lordships to help him out . The Compassionate Lord asked him to measure the sand on the banks of Vegavati river using “marakkal”( a measure) and settle the dues.
Obediently , Neelan accordingly collected the sand and handed over the same in gunny bags. This infuriated the king that Neelan was giving them sand instead of wealth.
But as the soldier who was trying to put the same in treasury , it turned into gold dust. The king realized that Neelan was not an ordinary person. He begged forgivance and after rewarding him sumptuously , released him forever,
It was a home coming . Neelan resigned from the king’s service and dedicated his full time for bhaagavatha kainkaryam. To continue the kainkaryam, Neelan resorted to looting wealth from the rich peasants who were egoistic selfish and greedy .
He did that by waylaying with the help of his four friends -Neermel nadappan(one who could walk across water), nizhalil odhunguvaan(one who was an expert in following a person’s shadow), thaaaludhuvaan (one who could open any lock without key), tholavazhakkan(one who could not be defeated in any argument).
As the looting expedition was also getting a bad name to Neelan who was doing a great kainkaryam ( service ) Lordships of Thiruvaali divyadesam along with Thaayar had to intervene.
The Lordships appeared as a newly wed couple fully bedecked with costly jewels and set out on a closed palanquin to Thiruvaali .
Neelan’s friends who came to know of this, informed Neelan that if the bridal party is looted, they would have enough wealth to support lifelong bhagavatha kainkaryam. Neelan was very pleased . He immediately galloped on his horse(Aadalmaa) followed by his thief-friends and reached the place which is presently known as “Thirumanan kollai”.
On reaching the place, Neelan threatened the couple to part with their entire jewellery. Accordingly , the couple surrendered all their jewellery except the toe ring on the bride as it could not be removed.
Though Neelan had the entire loot , Lord veiled a maya on him which made him to lure for the toe ring too which was very attractive. Neelan himself bent down to remove the ring but as his efforts were futile, he tried to remove the ring with the help of his teeth by his mouth.
Unknowingly, he surrendered to Thayar’s lotus feet for the material wealth .But , by coming into contact with Goddess (Thayar’s) lotus feet, wisdom dawned on him. He was mesmerized and choked with no words . He attempted to move quickly and thus bundled the entire loot in a big cloth. Looking at the divine couple , he tried to lift the baggage but for its weight .
Shocked that the small booty could not be lifted , Neelan thought that the bridegroom must have cast a spell on the bundle . He wanted to frighten the bridegroom now . He threatened them with a dagger to reveal the secret which made that booty so heavy that he couldnt lift it .
The mischievous bridegroom smiled and agreed to share the secret with him . He advised him to purify himself in the nearby stream and wait under the banyan tree (arasa maram).
Neelan did as advised and the bride groom uttered the sacred Ashtakshari mantram on Neelan’s right ear.
Wisdom dawned on Neelan and there was an instant flash …. he repented for all his deeds. He understood his real purpose of his birth . The divine couple appeared as Lord Lakshmi-Narayanan on Garuda vahanam and blessed their child .
Lord addressed him as Thirumangai mannan as he had the blessing of Thiru (Thayar first).
Now the jeevatma “Thirumangai mannan” in ecstasy repenting for all his misdeeds outpours torrential verses instantaneously in presence of Divyadampathigal starting with the most beautiful verse ….
“vaadinen vaadi varundhinene manathaal……”
concluding each phrase glorifying “Narayana” naamam…..
The name N A R A Y A Y A N A itself can give stature and wealth. The name destroys miseries .This Holy name gives a seat in heaven a seat in Paramapadam .It will give you strength It will give you everything .This lovely name will give more that what a loving mother can give …And thus Azhwar reveals saying ..
.I have found such a good word in HIS holy name….
This wonderful incident is recapitulated every year in the holy place and is celebrated grandly as “Thiru vedupari utsavam” on the night preceding Panguni Uthiram in the month of March-April . As part of 10 day brahmotsava celebrations at Thiruvaali, on the sixth day, Lord (Perumal ) arrives to wed Goddess ( Thayar ) and set out on a “moodu pallaku”. The divine wedding (thirukalyanam) takes place in the afternoon and saatrumarai goshti gets over by 9 p.m .
Later the divine couple set out on a palanquin slowly and head toward Thirumangai maadam and rest in a mandapam. Azhwar sets out from Thirunagari temple at midnight and swiftly reaches the mantapam and goes round the couple thrice.
A screen is drawn and it is presumed that all the ornaments are removed. Lord gets ready to give darshan on Garuda vahanam along with Thayar. Meanwhile Thirumangai mannan is taken to a nearby mandapam where thousands of devotees throng to have the beautiful sight of Azhwar riding on the horse for about an hour.
Later Azhwar is taken towards Perumal who imparts the Eight syllable mantra “Ashtakshari. The bhog is offered to the Lordship. Azhwar circumblates around Lordships with benevolence.
Lord blesses Thirumangai Azhwar with prasadam, maalai, parivattam. The assembled goshti start reciting “Vaadinen vaadi….” slowly and after completing of the first 10 pasurams, mangalaaarthi is given to both Perumal and Azhwar.
This incident happens around early hours 2-3 a.m. The entire group return to Thiruvaali temple and on the way , the entire Peria Thirumozhi ( the compositions of Thirumangai Azhwar ) is recited by the goshti.
One devotee relished his experience that when the azhwar sets out from the temple to loot the Lord, his valour ,pride ,strength ,determination can be seen on Azhwar’s thirumugam and when he returns after having Perumal’s darsanam, Azhwar’s speed is reduced as he becomes submissive having shed away his pride and takes about 4 hours to reach the temple as the procession moves slowly.
Coming back to the divine incident , Neelan who becomes transformed to Thirumangai Azhwar decides to visit all the holy shrines and glorify the Lordships .
Lord captivated his attention by giving HIM beautiful darshan in all the temples. In his divine pasurams, he vividly describes the Lord, location of the holy place , surroundings and the opulence .
Azhwar , personally visits the divya desams beginning with the Northern side temples starting at Thirupiridhi ( JoshirMutt ) and submits his glorifications to the Lord . Every verse he puts before LORD moves the person with tears reciting them .
The struggle of a jiva in this material world seeking true knowledge with stiff opposition of maya draws comparision with all of us .
Thirumangai Azhwar composed six prabhandhams which are treasures .He stands second to Swamy Nammazhwar in the contributions to Divya Prabhandam.
Thirumangai Azhwar’s six prabhandhams are the six angams for Maaran’s four works (Nammazhwar’s four prabhandhams-
Thiruvaimozhi,
Thiruvirutham,
Thiruvaasiriyam ,
Peria Thiruvandhadhi)
Azhwar’s compositions are:
Peria Thirumozhi comprising of 1084 pasurams
Thirukurunthandakam comprising of 20 pasurams
Thirunedunthandakam comprising of 30 pasurams
Thiruvezhukootruirukai comprising of 1 pasuram
Siriya Thirumadal consisting of 155 lines considered as 1 pasuram
Peria Thirumadal consisting of 297 lines considered as 1 pasuram
Details of 86 temples glorified by Azhwar starting from Srirangam with PRABHANDHAM reference are given below:
CHOLA NADU DIVYA DESAMS (Trichy,Kumbakonam,Thanjavur,Mayavaram ,Sirkazhi)
Srirangam – 73 (PT, TKD, TND, STM, PTM)
Thirukozhi(Uraiyur) -Uraiyur near Trichy – 01 (PT)
Thirukarambanur(Uttamar kovil) – 01 (PT)
Thiruvellarai -13 (PT,STM, PTM)
Thirupernagar -19 (PT,TKD,TND, STM,PTM)
Thirukandiyur – 01 (TKD)
Thirukoodalur -10 (PT)
Thirupullamboothangudi -10 (PT)
Thiruaadhanoor -01 (PTM)
Thirukudandhai -25 (PT,TKD,TND,STM, PTM, TVKT)-only Perumal who was referred to in all the 6 prabhandams
Thiruvinnagar -34 (PT,TND,STM,PTM)
Thirunaraiyur -110 (PT, TND,STM, PTM)
Thirucherai -13 (PT,STM, PTM)
Thirukannamangai -14 (PT,STM,PTM)
Thirukannapuram -104 (PT, TND, STM,PTM)
Thirukannangudi -10 (PT)
Tirunaagai – 10 (PT)
Thiruthanjhaimaamanikovil – 03 (PT)
Thirunandipuravinnagaram – 10 (PT)
Thiruvelliangudi – 10 (PT)
Thiruvazhundur -45 (PT, TND,STM,PTM)
Thirusirupuliyur – 10 (PT)
Thiruthalaisanganaanmadiyam – 02 (PT)
Thiruindhalur -11 (PT,PTM)
Thirukaavalampaadi – 10 (PT)
Thirukaazhiseerama vinagaram – 10(PT)
Thiruarimeya vinnagaram – 10 (PT)
Thiruvanpurudothamam – 10 (PT)
Thirusemponseikovil -10 (PT)
Thirumanimadakovil -12 (PT,PTM)
Thiruvaikuntavinnagaram – 10 (PT)
Thiruvaali Tirunagari – 41 (PT, TND,STM,PTM)
Thirudevanaar thogai -10 (PT)
Thiruthetriambalam -10 (PT)
Thirumanikoodam -10 (PT)
Thiruvellakulam -10 (PT)
Thirupaarthanpalli – 10 (PT)
Thiruchitrakoodam – 21(PT,PTM)
NADU NADU DIVYA DESAMS(near Cuddalore,Vizhupuram)
Thiruvahindrapuram – 10(PT)
Thirukovalur – 18 (PT, TND, STM,PTM)
THONDAI NADU DIVYA DESAMS(in and around Kanchi, Arakonam,Chennai)
Thirukachi athigiri – 04 (PT,TKD, TND)
Thiruashtabuyakaram – 11(PT, PTM)
Thiruthankaa -02 (PT,TND)
Thiruvellukai – 01 (PTM)
Thiruneeragam – 01 (TND)
Thirupaadagam -02 (PT, PTM)
Thirunilathingalthundam – 01 (TND)
Thiruooragam – 04 (TND, STM, PTM)
Thiruvekka – 06 (PT,TND,STM,PTM)
Thirukaaragam – 01 (TND)
Thirukaarvaanam – 01 (TND)
Thirukalvanoor – 01 (TND)
Thirupavazhavannam – 01 (TND)
Thiruparameswara vinnagaram -10 (PT)
Thiruputkuzhi – 02 (PT, PTM)
Thirunindravoor -02 (PT)
Thiruevvul – 11 (PT, PTM)
Thiruallikeni -10 (PT)
Thiruneermalai -19 (PT, TND,STM,PTM)
Thiruidavendhai -13 (PT,STM,PTM)
Thirukadalmallai -26 (PT,TKD,STM,PTM)
Thirukadigai -03 (PT,STM)
VADA NADU DIVYA DESAMS(Andhra,Gujarat,Uttar Pradesh,Uttaranchal,Nepal)
Thiruayodhi – 01(PT)
Thirunaimisaranyam -10 (PT)
Thirupiridhi -10 (PT)
Thiruvadhariasramam -21 (PT, STM)
Thirusalagraamam -10 (PT)
Thiruvadamadurai -04 (PT, STM)
Thiruvaayarpaadi -07 (PT, STM)
Thirudwaarakai -02 (PT)
Thirusingavelkundram -10 (PT)
Thiruvenkatam -61 (PT, TKD,TND,STM,PTM)
MALAI NADU DIVYA DESAMS(Kerala)
Thirunaavai – 02(PT)
Thirumoozhikalam – 03(PT,TND,PTM)
Thiruvallavaazh -11 (PT,PTM)
Thirupuliyur -01 (STM)
PANDYA NADU DIVYA DESAMS(near Madurai,Tirunelveli,Sivakasi,Ramnad,Trichy)
Thirukurungudi -25 (PT,TND, PTM)
Thiruthankaal -04 (PT,TND, STM, PTM)
Thirukoodal – 01 (PT)
Thirumaliruncholai – 33(PT, TKD,STM,PTM)
Thirumoghur -01 (STM)
Thirugoshtiyur – 13 (PT,PTM)
Thirupullani – 21 (PT, PTM)
Thirumeyyam – 09 (PT, TKD,PTM)
DIVYA DESAMS NOT IN THIS WORLD
Thirupaarkadal – 11 (PT, TND)
Thiruparamapadam – 01 (TKD)
As per the great compositions of “Peria Thirumozhi” Azhwar started from north, has sung ranging from minimum 10 pasurams to 100 pasurams . Azhwar’s pasurams details the geographical locations . Peria Thirumozhi is divided into 10 hundreds and in each of the 10 pasurams, Ahwar glorifies only that particular divya desa Perumal. ONly in the 10th hundred pasurams, azhwar has sung pasurams on multiple divyadesams. IN Peria Thirumozhi, azhwar eloborates about 50 divya desams and the remaining 36 divya desams(out of 86 glorified by him) have been referred to in other prabhandhams.
While one recites them, the ambience feeling and the quench to have darshan of the Divya dampathees draws us closer and gives the soul to rejoice in bliss knowing its identity in seeking our loving Lord….
Divya desams as per Peria Thirumozhi are given below:-
VADA NADU DIVYA DESAMS
Thirupiridhi (10) – Joshirmutt in Uttaranchal
Thiruvadhiri (20) — Badrikasramam in Uttaranchal
Thirusaalagramam (10) — Muktinath in Nepal
Naimisaaranyam (10) — near Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh
Singavelkundram (10) — Ahobilam in Andhra Pradesh
Thiruvengadam (61) — Tirumala Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh
THONDAI NADU DIVYA DESAMS
Thiruevvul (11) — Thiruvallur near Arakonam in Tamil nadu
Thiruvellikeni (10) — Triplicane in Chennai
Thiruneermalai (19) –Pallavaram in Chennai
Thirukadalmallai (26) –Mahabalipuram near Chennai
Thiruvidandhai (13) — near Mahabalipuram
Thiruvattabuyakaran (11) — Ashtabhuja perumal in Kanchipuram
Thiruparameswara vinnagaram (10) — In Kanchipuram
NADU NADU DIVYA DESAMS
Thirukovalur (18) – in Vizhupuram-Thiruvannamalai route
Thirukoodalur (10) -Kumbakonam –tanjavur route near thiruvaiyaaru
Thiruvellarai (13) -20 kms from Trichy near Thuraiyur
Thiruvarangam (73) -Srirangam -12 kms from Trichy
Thirunandhipuravinnagaram ( 10) – Nathan kovil-4 kms south of Kumbakonam
Thiruvinnagar (34) -Oppiliappan kovil -7 kms from Kumbakonam
Thirunaraiyur (110) – 9 kms from Kumbakonam enroute to Thiruvaarur
Thirucherai (13) – 24 kms in Kumbakonam-Thiruvaarur route
Therazhundhur (45) -21 kms from mayavaram enroute to Komal
Sirupuliyur (10) -3 kms from Kollumangudi station-
in Mayavaram-thirvarur route
Thirukannamangai (14) – 7 kms from Thiruvaarur
Thirukannapuram (104) – 2 kms from Thirupugalur on Nagapatinam-
Nannilam route
Thirukannangudi (10) – 1 km from Aazhiyur on Nagapatinam route
Thirunaagai (10) – Nagapatinam
PANDYA NADU DIVYA DESAMS
Thirupullani (21) -near Ramnathapuram
Thirukurungudi (25) -12 kms from Nanguneri near Tirunelveli
Tirumaliruncholai (33) -20 kms from Madurai
Thirugoshtiyur (13) – near Karaikudi
MALAI NADU DIVYA DESAMS
Thiruvallavaazh (11) -Tiruvalla on Ernakulam-Kollam route
In most of the pasurams , Azhwar repents starting with “vaadinen vaadi….” and claims that he has got everything now with the great Narayana thirunaamam.
He confesses to Lord Srinivasar at Tirumala for all his misdeeds and praises his mind for having resorted to the Lord’s holy feet.He says that he was under the illusion that his parents,wife etc are everything -did many mistakes when he was in youth,later he strived hard for serving his family and now with repentance approached the Lord like a dog and prays to Lord to accept him. (Azhwar who is an amsam of Lord couldn’t have been so but just to uplift us, he demeans himself)
In pasurams dedicated to Lord Narasimhar of Ahobilam, the place is only accessible to devas.
IN the pasurams dedicated to Naimisaranyam, he surrenders to the Lord Devarajan for upliftment. He addresses the Lord as “mother-Naimisaaranyathul enthaai…” .
He addresses all the five forms of the Lord at Thiruvellikeni-Parthasarathy, Thelliya singam, Gajendra Varadar,Ramar,Ranganathar.
During his course of enlightened journey the Divya dampathees ( Lordships in the temples ) were eager to meet their child which can be authenticated by citing a divine incident. During his journey Azhwar by oversight skipped Thirunindravoor near chennai and after doing mangalasaasanam at Thiru-evvul, he directly proceeds to Thiruvellikeni and in due course reached Mahabalipuram.
Goddess Sudhavalli Thayar-the divine consort of Lord Bhaktavatsalan persuades Lord to invite Azhwar as he had missed them by oversight. . Lord appeared at his next destination Thirukadalmallai and while glorifying the Lordships at Thirukadalmallai, Lord Bhaktavatsalan gave a vision to azhwar which made him take HIS name.
In the course of his travel, Azhwar glorified (mangalasaasanam) at 86 divya desams and finally reached Srirangam and undertook various construction and renovation activities.
However, Lord commanded to continue his services as HE wanted to relish the nectarine outpourings of Azhwar. (Very similar to Annamacharyar’s life)
Later he composed Thirukurunthandakam comprising of 20 pasurams where he begs Lord (Perumal) expressing his craving to have HIS darshan (as Perumal wanted him to reach the highest transcendental bliss)
Thirunedunthandakam comprising of 30 pasurams(in the first set of 10 pasurams, Azhwar sings with his own identity , in the 2nd set of 10 pasurams, azhwar assumes the role of a mother expressing her daughter’s plight and in the last set of 10 pasurams , donning the role of a girl expresses her desire to attain Perumal to her friend ) .
Our most revered Acharyar Swamy Parasara bhattar used to always contemplate on this prabhandham and thus invited Nanjeeyar into Srivaishnavism by a debate based on this lovely prabhandham. During Adhyayana utsavam , this is recited on the first day and the goshti is honoured with medicated oil to be smeared on the vaishnavas neck who would recite as a honrarium.
Thiruezhukootruirukkai comprising of one pasuram glorifies Lord Aaravamudhan of Thirukudandhai.
In Siriya Thirumadal Azhwar assumes the role of a lovelorn lady who suffers pangs of separation from her lover-. She holds his picture in her hand, longing for her lover’s association. She contemplates on how to defame the various archa murthis but faith prevails upon her which makes her restrain from doing so. She waits patiently and with confidence that her Lord would come to take her. The emotional outpourings takes us to transcendental heights.He composed both the madals at Thirunaraiyur as the Lord of Thirunariayur is considered as the acharyar for him.
In Peria thirumadal, Azhwar becomes restless for poor response from the Lordships. He starts lamenting how the Lord who had taken various forms and resides in various divyadesams didn’t concede her request even after repeated pleading . Realising that the Lord cannot be confronted in commanding , he decides by just surrendering to HIM he would be pleased and respond.
Thirumangai Azhwar personally visited all the above holy shrines on his courageous horse “aadalma”.
He has done mangalasaasanam (glorified) to 86 divyadesams and has the special honor of glorifying the Lord exclusively in 47 divya desams. The 47 divyadesams which was glorified by Thirumangai Azhwar alone are as follows ….
He was more inclined to have darshan of Archa Moorthy at the holy shrines on the earth rather than the Lord in Paramapadam. Azhwar’s pasurams serve as a guide for visiting various divya desams.
Azhwar continued with his divine services in various divya desams especially at Srirangam.
His ardent desire to construct vimanam, mandapam, big walls around Srirangam, gopuram, kitchen etc. for Srirangam temple needed financial support .
Azhwar priorities was service to Perumal and HIS children for which he went to any extent of getting wealth by looting, robbery etc. Coming to know about the golden Buddha vigraham at Nagapatinam from a passerby , he decided to try his skills to possess it . He was informed that the vigraham was being protected by a revolving wheel.
He managed to pick the golden Buddha idol from Nagapatinam to construct the compound walls of Srirangam temple . On follow ups from them, he issued a promissory note to the Buddhists saying he would return even the little finger unscathed and after one year, he just gave them the little finger and won them by argument.
After the completion of the projects , he did not have sufficient money to pay them . Still he assured all of them that they would be paid for their divine deed . The laborers who were travelling by a boat got drowned due to some imbalance in the middle of the river.
Unknowingly , the kith and kin of the laborers approached the Azhwar. Azhwar cooly replied everything that has happened was with Lord’s will .To reveal their state he advised them to come the next day.
Lord Ranganathar with abundant mercy appeared in Azhwar’s dream and advised him to ask the relatives of the deceased to enter into Srirangam temple after taking a dip in Kaveri. On reaching the temple, Lord Ranganathar made them have a vision of not only their deceased ones but also their great ancestors.
The muktas applauded Azhwar’s contributions and felt fortunate to be associated with him. They advised their kith and kin that they would attain the highest position by serving Azhwar who was performing devotional service which would assure them salvation.
Extremely pleased with Azhwar’s services one day Lord Ranganathar called Azhwar and asked him to choose a boon.
Azhwar expressed his deep desire to have darshan of the dasa avataarams of Lord. Lord Ranganathar fulfilled his desire immediately .
Thanking Lord , Azhwar requested Lordships to honour Swamy Nammazhwar’s Thiruvaimozhi for 10 days starting from Vaikunta Ekadasi which was immediately accepted . The grand “Thiruvadhyayana utsavam” at Srirangam was started by Thirumangai Azhwar. Azhwar arranged to get Nammazhwar’s idol from Azhwar Thirunagari and in the presence of Namperumal in the newly constructed mandapam, Azhwar arranged for recitation of Nammazhwar’s Thiruvaimozhi for 10 days. Initially, Adhyayana utsavam was celebrated for 10 days during azhwar’s time. Later Nathamunigal arranged for 21 day festival by including recitation of the entire divyaprabhandam by dividing it as “Pagal pathu” and “Raa pathu ” utsavams.
As per Lord’s instructions, Thirumangai Azhwar constructed a mandapam for Namperumal to listen to Nammazhwar’s nectarian Thiruvaimozhi.
Lord also blessed Azhwar that whoever reads the six prabhandams composed by Tirumangai Azhwar considered as the six angams for Swamy Nammazhwar’s works will be blessed with salvation.
As a mark of confirmation ,Lord commands Azhwar to throw his Vel ( spear) assuring that the entire place where the spear falls, if a person’s last rites are performed , he would be liberated .
This special place is on the northern banks of Kaveri. ( “Paadiya vaalan Padithurai” where last rites are performed for the departed even today).
As days passed one day Azhwar requested Lord to liberate him from this samsara . Lord out of abundant compassion advised Azhwar to go to Thirukurungudi a holy divya desam which is known as “Siriya Veedu”to serve MalaiNambee perumal .
Azhwar overjoyed leaves Srirangam. Like a newly wedded girl who before leaving for her inlaws place bids goodbye to her relatives, Azhwar recollects Lordships at various divya desams .
Thirumangai Azhwar reaches Thirukurungudi and continues his services at this temple On a Vaikunta Ekadasi day with Lord’s mercy he attained salvation . Even today we can have darshan of this holy place which is about 3 kms from Thirukurungudi temple
Azhwar doesn’t have a spear and is seen with folded hands along with Kumudavalli Naachiyar.
After few years , Swamy Manavala maamunigal visited Thirunagari to have darsanam of Azhwar. He was in ecstasy and composed “Vadivazhagu Choornikai “-a beautiful poem vividly describing the beauty of Azhwar.
This deity of Azhwar was installed by Tirumangai Azhwar’s brother in law as per Lord Ranganathar’s instructions in Thirunagari temple at Tirunangoor – a small village near Sirkazhi and is being worshipped since time immemorial.
Freely translated, Swamy describes Azhwar’s beauty as the one who is holding spear(vel), with folded hands, wearing thiruman, lips slightly opened in such a way as if he is uttering “Omkaram”, having a sharp nose, cool face, broad eyes, curly hair, ears slightly bent as if to listen to Ashtakshari ( Eight word syllable )being imparted by Lordships , long ear rings, body bent at 3 places (thribangam) near neck, hip and feet , standing benevolently to obtain Lord’s grace.
He glorifies further about Thirumannankollai-the place where Perumal ( Lord) imparted ashtakshari –how he threatened Lakshmi’s husband with a knife forcing him to reveal the spell and how Lord gave the precious mantra extolled by the vedas to him and having received the mantra how realisation dawned on him and he got transformed into a devotee and humbly stood in front of the Lord with folded hands .
Swamy concludes that his eyes are blessed to see the broad chest holding the spear, one who utters the eight lettered mantra , the beautiful face and the holy feet.
O Great Sage ! I am deeply attached to my devotees.
In fact , I am controlled by them .
Therefore I am incapable of doing anything
out of my own volition in such cases involving any offense to my dear devotees .
My love for my devotees is greater than that for Myself or My consort ,
Maha Lakshmi ……
Oh sage !!!…
Penance austerity and knowledge are fruitless without humility……
A true seeker of LORD will always respect the devotees of Lord . He will never distinguish about their inheritance of birth and caste while seeking their association . A devotees glory can be seen with that deep knowledge and practices which takes them nearer to LORD .
Elders advise us that It would be a boon serving such advanced devotees .
Sastras command that ” Even if one is born in a lower caste and still follows the Nine types of devotional services and surrenders to Lord unconditionally , he automatically becomes very close to Lordships . Consuming such devotees Sripada Theertham ( charan theerth) is a great blessing and serving him is most pleasing to LORD .
The most advanced devotee Nampaaduvaan sang in praise of Lord Thirukkurungudi Nambi .
The stage was set at Thirukovilur and the divine plan was already about to reveal. Lord Sriman Narayana achieved this by making the Azhvars meet and become the harbingers in the effort towards the composition of the holy Dravida Vedas.,,
Thus Lord arranged a divine plan and made each of them go to the town Thirukovilur which is located 75 kms from Cuddalore and about 200 kms from Chennai.The rain clouds had overcast the sky and cover of darkness spread all around in the holy town of Thirukovalur . The torrential rain began pouring generously . It was as if the sky will tear open to give its opulence .Proceeding the temple streets , Poigai Azhwar found out a small front passage ( dehali or rayzhi , thinnai in tamil ) in front of Mrikanda Ashrams hut ( the present Thirukovalur temple sanctum sanctorum ) which was fit for one person to lie down.
“Azhwar” are saintly souls who had immersed themselves in the exclusive devotion to Lord Sriman Narayana in unconditional surrender. The advanced saints, were the supreme devotees of Lord propagating Sri Vaishnavism among the masses through their poetical compositions glorified as Divya Prabhandams highlighting the beautiful effulgent form, auspicious attributes and divine deeds of the Supreme Lord in His various incarnations based on their personal mystic experiences. They lived as human beings and burst out bhakti laden great works for the sake of humanity. The direct result of the Lord’s divine grace on Azhwars made their outpourings special and therefore called ‘ Divyam’. It is because of this that the works of Azhwars are called ‘ Divya Prabandham’ and are 4000 poems (pAsurams).
The Divya Prabhandams of the Azhwars are, therefore, held in as great veneration and reverence as the Vedas in Sanskrit. All the Azhwars held the view that Lord Sriman…
Lord Sriman Narayana incarnated in different avatharas in this world, for spreading the message of the liberation for the jeevatma from this material bondage .
Anathya swaroopam
Unsatisfied , LORD summoned His serpent couch, the nitya-soori (eternally free soul) .
Adisesha, and instructed,
My dear Adishesha !
“Go down to the mortal world and live there for 200 years, and through your exhortations, empower the people with knowledge about their true nature and make them come to..
My world, so that they enjoy “eternal bliss” forever …….
Accordingly, Adishesha appeared as “Swamy Ramanuja” in the age of Kali, where Adharma was in the forefront due to the karmic vasanas .
Swamy Ramanuja followed LORD;s directives by spreading the divine message of Azhwars and the true knowledge to seek Lord’s mercy and disappeared at the age of 120.
The Lord was not satisfied with the developments and felt the mission was incomplete Hence he once again advised Swamy Ramanuja to complete the original assignment of remaining in this material world for complete 200 years and uplift the jivatmaas .
With implicit obedience, Adishesha who appeared as Swamy Ramanuja once again appeared as Azhagiya Manavala Perumal Nayanar at Sikkil Kidaaram . In his early years he was trained by his father Tigazhaakkidanthan on Vedas and the Divya Prabhandam .
He moved from Sikkil Kidaaram to Azhvar Thirunagari to become the disciple of the revered Acharyar Thiruvaimozhipillai who was the disciple of Loka Acharyar Swamy Pillai Lokacharyar .
Thus our Saint Vara Vara Muni was the last of the poorvacharyas amongst the grand galaxy of preceptors of Srivaishnavam.
It is believed , AdisEsha, in his previous incarnation as Swamy Ramanuja, was very much attracted to Nammazhvars’ s appearance and his divine outpouring (thiruvAimozhi), and hence, earned the appellation “mAran adipaNindhu Uynthavan”.
In keeping with this overwhelming love for Swamy Nammazhvar, the second time AdisEsha selected Azhvar Thirunagari as the place most suited for his appearance and thus Swamy appeared in the month of Aipassi under the star Moola and was named “Azhakiya maNavALapperumAL nAyanAr by his parents .
This was an year after Swami Desikar ascended to Srivaikuntam
Swami Azhakiya maNavALapperumAL nAyanAr excelled as the disciple of Swamy Tiruvaimozhi pillai .
One day Swamy Tiruvaimozhi pillai while meditating on the great qualities of saint Ramanuja, pondered over those stanzas of Thiruvarangath-amudanar………….
depicting Swamy Ramanuja as a staunch devotee of Saint Nammazhvar proclaiming to the inhabitants of this wide world, end to end, the great glory of the Azhvar’s hymns.
Swamy Tiruvaimozhi pillai ( Srisailesar) decided for raising a fitting memorial for Swamy Ramanuja, right at the appearance place of Swamy Nammazhvar (Azhvar Thirunagari). This took concrete shape soon thereafter.
Tiruvaimozhi pillai with the support of the villagers after clearing the wild vegetation at Azhvar-thirunagari took all initiatives in bringing back the sacred deity which was lost during invasions .
Swamy thus had erected a temple at Azhvar-thirunagari for Swami Ramanuja and installed Sri Ramanuja’s deity ( Swamy Ramanuja’s Bhavishyad Acharaya vigraha ) which had been presented to Sri Madhurakavi Azhvar that lay buried at the foot of the famous Tamarind tree few hundred years back .
The surrounding streets were named as Sri Ramanuja Chaturvedi Mangalam and were permanently inhabited, exclusively by the ardent worshippers of Swamy Ramanuja.
The zealous disciple, Azhakiya Manavala Nayanar, was called upon by Srisailesar to stay in this new colony and look after the daily routine of the temple.
Nayanar s extra-ordinary devotion to this great cause earned the unstinting approbation of his Acharyar
Srisailesar, who started calling him a Yateendra Pravanar signifying the enormous love and devotion borne by him for Swamy Ramanuja, the Prince of ascetics a name which became immortal .
Over a period of time , Swamy Tiruvaimozhi pillai ordered his ardent disciple Azhakiya maNavALapperumAL nAyanAr who had learnt all sastras , to propagate the divya prabandham ( azhvar’s 4000 hymns and their commentaries) to the world.
He wished that living in Sri Rangam and propagating the true tenets of the Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya as given in the hoary aruLiccheyal (divya prabandham) was the need of the hour. Hence advised him to proceed .
The devoted disciple that he was, Azhakiya maNavALapperumAL nAyanAr did act according to the commandments of his Acharyar Thus Azhakiya maNavALapperumAL nAyanAr spent his time in giving divine discourses at Srirangam .
Once during this period , few relatives passed a message about some asowcham ( impurity ) which was coming in the way of service to the Lordships .
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Not being able to be kept out of service even for few days, Nayanar decided to take up sanyasam and requested LORD’S permission.
After accepting sanyasa, Nayanar offered benedictions to namperumal for uninterrupted services forever . Pleased with nAyanar, NamperumAl blessed him with theertham, thirumAlai, thiruparivattam, and Sri sadagopam and gave him a honorable name
AZHAGIYA MANAVALA JEEYER.
Thus the bonding between LORD and his disciple became closer and closer .
Lord Ranganathar ( Peria Perumal ) had a desire to be accomplished through Azhagiya Manavala Jeeyer in Srirangam.
He seized the golden opportunity and ordered him to give a public discourse on the Eedu (36000 padi), the super-commentary of Swami Nampillai on Thiruvaimozhi along with other commentaries, in alluring style for having the good fortune of being trained by the esteemed Acharyar Thiruvaimozhip pillai .( Srisailer )
In order to accommodate unhindered conduct for the divine discourses all festivities of the temple was kept in abeyance . History reveals that for a whole year, Namperumal had enjoined cessation of all festivals which proves the dedication of the disciple and the Acharyar .
On the final day of the discourse , and uplifting event occurred , which was interestingly, by the “Ani thiru-moola” star.
And hence the Sri Vaishnava-world attaches equal importance to this Ani moola star auspicious day also, in a manner akin to the day of Acharyar’s “Aippasi Thirumoola” appearance day.
Lord appeared amidst the august assembly of Acharyar and galaxy of sri vaishnavas, in the guise of an archakar’s (priest) son by the name Aranga Naayakam and brushing aside the opposition getting into proximate presence to Swami mAmunikaL’s seat
recited the following stanza in
His inimitable, majestic voice resembling the thunder of a rumbling cloud……………
LORD in the guise of an archakar’s (priest) a small boy ( kept a palm leaf containing the above sloka on a golden plate full of flowers, fruits, coconuts and other sacred paraphernalia of guru dakshiNa (token of appreciation) and after offering it at the holy feet of Swami mAmunikaL, walked towards the sanctum & disappeared.
To add to this magnificent miracle, Periya Perumal, the Lord Ranganatha Himself, immediately ordered through the archaka……….
let this slOka be recited at the beginning of all divya prabhanda recitations just as a Vedic recital begins and ends with the sacred
‘Om’
so also all recitals of the tamil veda, the divya prabhandam, shall commence and end with
These holy verses extols Swamys contributions to continued existence and prosperity of Sri Vaishnavaism, the followers, their holy temples, scriptures, traditions, and the well being of the whole world, and concludes with the prayer, that the great saint Swamy Manavalamaamuni live for another hundred years for fulfilling that purpose.
Swami mAmunikaL’s life was punctuated by many events that demonstrated that he was no ordinary person. In fact, authentic accounts of Sri Vaishnava literature and lineage, position Swami maNavALa mAmunikaL at the very pinnacle of the orthodox lineage of Sri Vaishnava AchAryas (called `OrAn vazhi’) and with the above divine incident , identify him as the Acharya (guru) for Lord RanganAtha himself!!
The apparent conflict between 100 years and perpetuity is resolved, when one understands the key link of devoted Sri Vaishnava devotees, their ongoing practice of the prayer and traditions as a “Vaazhaydi Vaazhai”, for the perpetuation of the faith.
Thus the 100 and more number of years down the line there will be faithful chanting of the divine prayers for the same for the infinite future.
Among several disciples the foremost eight disciples were very special . They are glorified as as “Ashta Dhig Gajams” or the mighty elephants guarding the eight directions of earth who are as below (1) VaanamAmalai Jeeyar (2) BhattarpirAn Jeeyar (3) ThiruvEnkata RaamAnuja Jeeyar (4) Koil aNNan (5) PrathivAdhi Bhayankaram aNNan (6) ErumpiappA (7) aAppiLLai and (8) AppiLLAr .
Swamy Erumbiappa, one of the astadiggajas glorified 100 verses adorning the divine qualities of Swamy Manavalamamuni .
In Srivaishnava sampradayam, Azhvar it indicates to only nammAzhvar, the term swamy refers only to Swamy Ramanuja and Jeeyer is a special term indicating Periya Jeeyer, our Sri Vara Vara Muni.
The verses of Swamy erumbiappa are called as Vara Vara Muni sathakam .
Swamy prathivAdi bayankaram annan had also glorified the divine qualities of his Acharyar .
Swamy Maamuni had the highest regard for Swami Desikan and used to refer him with great affection as ” ABHIYUKTHAR ” OR THE REVERED ONE likewise Swami Desikar had the highest regard for the Achaarya of Swamy Maamuni’s own Achaarya, Swamy Pillai LokAcharyar.
Swamy has been glorified with several names like Varavaramuni, Periya Jeer, Vichatavak Shikhamani , Sowmyajamatrumuni, ramyajamatra muni, Sowmyopayanthrumuni, Sundarajamatrumuni, , YatheendraPravanar .
“Upadesa Ratinamala” is a wonderful work composed by Swamy Mamunigal which has 73 verses that gives the details of Azhwars and Acharyas appearance & their divine works.
Swamy Erumbiappa composed the 74 th verse and pleaded Lord Ranganathar requesting LORD to accept them and hence as a result of Lord’s command, the following verse was included in Upadesa Ratinamala.
The verse goes like
“mannuyir_kAL ingE maNavALa mAmunivan *
senkamalappOthukaLai * –
unnis siraththAlE theeNdil
amAnavanum nammai *
karaththAlE theeNdal kadan “
The Meaning of the above verse ………….
“Oh my dear devotees who desire for Moksha seeking Swamy Mamunigal’s lotus Feet listen ….
taking refugee at the Lotus feet of Swamy Mamunigal will definitely lead us to the blessings of “Amanavan” who allows us at the entrance into Sri Vaikuntam” as we are Swamy Manavala mamuni’s disciples …
Swami Manavala Mamunikal is compared favorably with the kind of divinity exuded by Swami Ramanuja. After all, they were both the incarnation of our Lord’s dear serpent servant Adi sEsha.
. Fortunate are the devotees who are at Srirangam and Azhwar Thirunagari celebrating the grand dayof Aani Thirumoolam
Oh Lord !! Tirupati Venkataramana! Could you not remove the screen,
the screen of anger, delusion ,arrogance and jealousy, which is taking a firm stand within me,
Oh Lord ! that screen which keeps me out of the reach of dharma and other four Purusharthas Dharma ,Artha, Kama and Moksha?
Oh Lord !!! This screen which effectively hides me from vision, the immaculate light of the lamp, Jnana. And…………………
My Lord !!! by the existence of this screen, this mind gets caught by evil, just as ignorant beasts are got into the Hunter’s net…….
Oh Lord !!! I have been following you faithfully…….
Oh Lord I pray sincerely ….. please please remove the screen and allow me to have your darshan………..
The kirtan was so melodious and Lord was listening ..
It was the time LORD wished to see his devotee .
Suddenly !!the screens fell without any one attempting , much to the astonishment of all the devotees . …..
Innumerable Emperors , Kings , Rich , poor , people following different religions have worshiped Lord Venkateshwara at Tirumala from times immemorial and have been blessed with prosperity . There is never any person who had darshan only once .The thirst to seek HIS mercy takes one to the Holy abodes several times . The Glory of of the Lord of Seven Hills is vast and is beyond words to describe Every devotee will have a experience to share .
The unique status of those blessed to have His darsanam at Tirumala is hinted by Kulasekhara Azhwar in one of the verses of Mukunda Mala ……
For him , who had the darsana sowbhagyam of Lord Venkateshwara , this wide earth is a small speck , the rolling oceans a water drop , the raging fires a mere spark , the shoreless winds a mere breath , the…
A true seeker of LORD will always respect the devotees of Lord . He will never distinguish about their inheritance of birth and caste while seeking their association . A devotees glory can be seen with that deep knowledge and practices which takes them nearer to LORD .
Elders advise us that It would be a boon serving such advanced devotees .
Sastras command that ” Even if one is born in a lower caste and still follows the Nine types of devotional services and surrenders to Lord unconditionally , he automatically becomes very close to Lordships . Consuming such devotees Sripada Theertham ( charan theerth) is a great blessing and serving him is most pleasing to LORD .
The most advanced devotee Nampaaduvaan sang in praise of Lord Thirukkurungudi Nambi .
with abundant compassion granted the fruit of the song sung by him to LORD to a Brahmin turned BrahmaRakshasa -SomaSharma and thus converted him back into a Brahmin.
Was it not a singer of the so referred low caste who rescued a upper caste Brahmin?
The great devotee Guhan ( boatman ) was accepted by Lord Rama as his own brother .
Lord Krishna preferred to stay with Vidhura to any other when He came as a messenger to meet the kauravas .Though having many friends and Elders he preferred Vidhura Hence status is no criteria to decide one’s Bhagavad Sambandham.
Lord Rama left Ayodhya – the land of the learned scholars to join with the innocent monkeys .He embraced Hanumanji lovingly and accepted Sugriva and Vibhishana as His Brothers. The funeral of dasi putra Vidhurar was done by Yudhishtra , bird Jatayu by Lord Rama and Swamy Alavandar’s disciple Maraneri nambi ( a low caste born ) by Acharyar Periya nambi.
In the Rajasooya yaga the Agrapooja was done to Lord Krishna.
At Thirupuliyur, the Priests performed Agrapooja to Thirumazhisai Aazhwar who was brought up by a woodcutter.
Kurumbarutha Nambi was a great devotee of Lord Venkateshwara and he stayed at Tirumala. For his devotion to LORD he was respected and glorified by the revered great king a Kshatriya Thondaiman Chakravarthy.
JagathAcharyar Swamy Ramanujacharya learnt true knowledge from Sri Thiru Kachhi nambi who conversed daily with Lord Varadarajar at Kanchi.
At Srirangam the temple priest Lokasarangamuni carried Thirupannazhwar on his shoulders into the temple sanctum as commanded by LORD .
During daily rituals to Lord , ( Thiruvaradhanam) , Swamy Ramanujar used to hold the hands of Sripillai Urangavilli Dasar as Kayasuddhi.
After Thiruvaradhanam, Sri Nampillai used to receive Prasadam from Pillai Eru Thiruvudaiya Dasar.
During Graha Pravesha, Sri Vadakku thiruveedi Pillai asked Sri Pillai Ramanuja Dasar to enter His house first thus proving devotion is supreme .
Once Sage Durvasa met the King Ambarisha who was observing Ekadashi Vratha . The next day was Dwadasi and in order to honor the sage and due to constraints of time to break the fast without any iota of offense , the king sipped Sripada Theertham The sage became furious. He pulled a hair from his matted locks ordering a fierce demon to harm the King .
The King obediently folded his hands and surrendered . At the same time Sudarshan disc destroyed the demon and started chasing the sage Durvasa . The Sage who went to all the worlds seeking protection finally surrendered to Lord SrimanNarayana who replied …..
O Great Sage ! I am deeply attached to my devotees.
In fact , I am controlled by them …….
Therefore I am incapable of doing anything out of my own volition in such cases involving any offense to my dear devotees . My love for my devotees is greater than that for Myself or My consort , Maha Lakshmi ……
Oh sage !!!…
Penance austerity and knowledge are fruitless without humility……
The ones who do not understand the quoted simple truth remain as decorated corpses. There is no discrimination for devotees in the eyes of the Almighty.
He is waiting for those who have devotion in their minds.
HE accepted the coarse grains offered by Vidura.
HE protected child Prahalada in the house of demons.
At Pandharpur , HE helped Rohitdas to dye clothes.
HE helped the great saint Kabir to weave clothes ….
As Vittala HE helped Sajan, the butcher selling meat.
HE helped the great devotee in Maharashtra Sawata Mali in petty agricultural operations.
HE helped the great saint Narhari in performing chores of a goldsmith.
HE helped Chokhamela by grazing his cattle.
HE drove the chariot of Arjuna.
HE accepted with great love the beaten rice offered by Sudama.
In the homes of milkmen HE undertook the task of maintaining cows.
HE acted as a doorkeeper for King Bali.
HE repayed loan of Santh Yekoba.
HE drank that glass of poison for Saint Meerabai.
HE transformed as a low breed person to pay off loan of Santh Damaji.
HE carried earth for Santh Gora Kumbhar. HE repayed loan of Santh Narsi Mehta.
HE is Our Lord Vittal
HE who is still standing on a brick for all of us ….
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan
Pics credits : Google images
videos : Thanks to Sri Hariprasad for uploading Annamya kirtanas sung by Sri Balakrishna prasad garu
Many years ago there was a severe drought in melnadu located near present coimbatore . The drought continued for almost 12 long years . An old couple who were living there decided to leave to the banks of cauvery and reside near the holy Sri Ranga Kshetra . They shifted their camp near to the Lord’s temple . Good or bad is Lords divine will .They surrendered to the Lordships and managed their daily lives .
One day they observed huge number of srivaishnavaites following Swamy Ramanuja to the banks of cauvery . Curious to know about the following , they followed Swamy Ramanuja and found the entire place were his followers . The elderly lady was charmed by the divine tejas of Swamy Ramanuja . She walked near the banks and asked the villagers ,Who the revered swami was and those followers .
On the upcoming auspicious eve of “ SRI RAMA NAVAMI” an attempt has been made to present
Sri Sundarakandam prose in tamil for daily recitation ..
The entire nectarine discourse was given by His Holiness Sri Sri Krishna Premi Maharaj ( Sri Anna ) .which was attended by a advanced devotee Smt Malathy Kesavan .
She had made a handwritten synopsis of the entire Samshepa Sundarakandam .
The handwritten prose was given to adiyen’s wife in tamil .
The nectarine prose is being shared through a digital print for daily recitation ….
Click the appended link for printouts and non stop reading ….
The most revered Acharyar in Srivaishnava sampradayam was Swamy Srisailesar . Srisailer was disciple of the legendary revered saint Swamy Pillai Loka Acharyar.
( The most respected and adored saint who played a very important role in Lord Ranganathar’s safety during the Turks invasion few hundred years back )
Swami Srisailesar appeared in a illustrious village kunthinagaram near Madurai. His parents named him as “Thirumalai azhwaar”.
A very intelligent and highly talented young lad who assimilated all types of knowledge including administration with dedication was loved by one and all . He had samashrayanam (initiation ) done from his Acharyar Swamy Pillai Lokacharyar and was given a name as Satagopa dasar.
Those were the times when the illustrious Pandyan Kings were ruling Madurai. King Kulasekhara Pandyan had two sons Sundara Pandyan and Veera Pandyan.
Contrary to tradition, the king proclaimed that his younger son would succeed him. Sundara Pandyan was agitated and by a coup occupied the throne .
The local chieftains swore allegiance to younger brother Veera Pandian and thus a civil war broke out . Sundara Pandyan was defeated and was forced out of the country. He sought help from Sultan Ala-ud-din Khilji who entrusted the task to General Malik Kafur to handle the problem .
With Sundara Pandyan’s assistance, the army entered Madurai and looted the city for their benefit . They plundered the wealth from all the temples .
The citizens were in fear and the threat of being killed by these ruthless invaders .
To their worst nightmare Sundhara Paandyan passed away . It was chaos all around the whole city of Madurai as the invaders looted the nearby areas and the people had to suffer in the enemy’s hands . Sundhara Pandyan legal heir “Paraakrama Pandya” who was very young occupied the throne . It was a tough task managing the kingdom in such a deep crisis . As the prince was too young to take up the responsibilities , the queen requested the learned Swami Srisailesar to take care of the administration of the kingdom .
Swami Srisailesar understood it was need of the hour to protect the Kingdom. He took over the responsibilities as defacto King and as an able administrator was managing the show with long sighted acumen thus protecting the prince and the kingdom.
Years passed , Thirumalai azhwar was missing his favorite service of attending to the revered saints and Acharyas association in learning true knowledge . He developed deep interest in sampradayam and quenched his thirst by knowing several esoteric truths from scholars regularly by inviting them to the royal chambers .
Day by the day the thoughts to resign from the assignment given to him became stronger and love to the Lordships increased manifold. Over a period of time as things settled down , he decided to quit the job and seek Acharyar’s lotus feet once for all .
In the other part of the kingdom , Swamy Pillai lokacharyar instructed his chief disciple, Sri Koorakulothamadasar to enlighten Srisailesar by teaching our sampradayam who would be succeeding him in Acharya parampara.
(Similar to how Manakal nambi based on Nathamunigal’s instructions personally interacted with Yamunacharyar who was a king and taught him about our sampradaya and made him a prominent Vaishnava acharyar) .
Due to his advanced age, Sri Pillai Lokacharyar attained Acharyar’s lotus feet ( leaving his mortal coils at Jyotishkudi near Madurai .
( The divine pastime is appended in the blog post url ..
During the plundering expedition of Malik Kafur, one of the worst period in Srirangam, Sri Pillailokacharyar’s disciples took our adorable Lord Azhagiya Manavalan ( Namperumal ) to Thenaikidambai, a village near Kozhikode, Kerala from Jyotishkudi after Swamy PillaiLokacharyar’s heavenly sojourn.
In other part of the Kingdom , due to the invaders torture ,parallely to protect saint Nammazhwar’s deity , few devotees from Azhwar Thirunagari carried the Lordships and reached this place carrying swamy Nammazhwar…
May be It was Lord’s arrangement !!!
Lord Namperumal and Swamy Nammazhwar met at this very holy place .What else can be the divine plan when both the Lord and his dearest devotee move out from their respective abodes and purify the nearby places by giving opportunities to his dearest disciples to carry them .
Nammazhwar was duly honored with Lord’s (Perumal’s parivatam) royal clothes , (kavacham made of pearls) . Both the teams discussed about the future plans in protecting the Lordships . They had to part ways for further safety .
From this holy place the disciples carried Lord Namperumal towards Melkote and later to Tirumala…..
Lord Ranganathar enjoyed the company of Lord Venkateshwara for almost 40 years .
We can have the darshan of the divine abode Of that mandapa where Lord Ranganathar stayed at Tirumala .
The devotees led by Swamy Thozhappar carried Swamy Nammazhwar diety and proceeded towards Kerala and halted at a place ” Munthirupu” .
The revered Acharyar Thozhappar was carrying out the divine service for months traveling avoiding eye contact with the ruthless invaders carefully avoiding the army who were looting the temples and the Priests .
As it was too hectic and difficult to face the invaders they carefully had Azhwar’s diety put inside a well covered box hid the same in a valley. In the tough task being carried out by the team , Thozhapar attained Acharyar’s lotus feet .
With no other option left out , the disciples slowly proceeded towards Madurai to seek Srisailesar’s help in safeguarding the deity .
At Madhurai , Srisailesar by Azhwar’s grace, was now detached from the royal affairs Srisailer who had resigned from the ministerial post approached his Sri Koorakulothamadasa for receiving the instructions from Acharyar ….
As per Acharyar Swamy Pillailokacharyar’s orders and Koorakulothamadasar’s instructions, Srisailer approached Swamy Pillailokacharyar disciples.
As similar how Swamy Ramanujar approached five Acharyas , Srisailesar also approached .
Swamy Vilaancholai Pillai taught him the intricate meanings of Srivachana bhooshanam the magnum opus work by Swamy Pillai Lokacharyar at Thiruvananthapuram.
Swamy Thirukannangudi Pillai taught him the divine pasurams of Thiruvaimozhi .
Swamy Nalloor Pillai taught him the intricate meanings of 3000 vyakhyanam
Swamy Thiruputkuzhi Jeeyar taught him the intricate meanings Thiruvaimozhi
Nallooraachan pillai-the illustrious son of Nalloor pillai continued to teach him the meanings Eedu 36000 .
Thus another versatile Acharyar was guiding the sampradayam .
Thozhappar’s disciples reached Madurai and approached Srisailer . The mission was divine . Srisailer was eager to have darshan of Azhwar .He along with the disciples proceeded to Munthirupu and located the valley . With Azhwars grace , they were able to locate the deity .With all honors, the deity was safely kept at Thirukannambi.
Time passed quickly , and one fine day, Lord appeared in Srisailer’s dreams and advised ,
My dear Thirumalai aazhwar , the temple near Thirukurugoor is in a dilapidated condition which needs to be attended immediately .
He immediately started towards Thirukurugoor along with few disciples .Praying Lord for his mercy he started searching the village . Somewhere far , he felt there could be Perumal sannidhi and Nammazhwar sannidhi. But was not sure if he was at the right place. A barren and waste land nearby made him go closer . He was confused thoroughly because he did not even expect the place to be in such a poor condition.
He met the villagers and requested them to guide him in locating the temple of Azhwar and Perumal . The villagers were also in poor memory .They informed that due to the Moslem invasion in the Pandyan kingdom all of them were scattered and they were also cognizant of the poor state of azhwar and Perumal sannidhi.
They feared that due to invasion, the whole area became like a waste and barren land . One old villager came running and offering obesiances said ,
Revered swamin …….
From childhood I have been going to Azhwars temple for serving the Acharyas . I remember during the looting expedition by the invaders , the brahmins keeping the security of Swami Nammazhwar in mind, carried Lordships and Swamy Nammazhwar deity to a place in Kerala that was engulfed by forests.
I was told by my elders that they had kept azhwar’s vigraham in a cave in that forest.
Srisailer was overjoyed . Thanking Swamy Nammazhwar for his mercy he proceeded to Thiruvananthapuram (capital city of Kerala) and approached the king there.
The King was kind to receive the saint . He ordered his minister to extend all the help to Srisailer . Using their help, he located the place where Swami Nammazhwar resided . The place was called “Thirukanaambi”.
The entire group was overjoyed having darshan of Swamy Nammazhwar who was safely residing in a small box inside a valley . Glorifying the Lordships and Azhwar the group lead by Swamy Srisailer proceeded towards Thirukurugoor.
Now the task as allotted by Lord himself was taken up enthusiastically . All the villagers started to clear off the engulfed forest like area. One day ,while Srisailer was passing on pitch dark night, with a small lamp in his hand, he saw the ( Tamarind ) “Urangaapuli” tree and also the surrounding vimanam around it .
He was overjoyed . Realizing the importance of the holy place recollecting those divine pastimes of Swamy Nammazhwar and dear disciple Swamy Madhurakavi Azhwar, he called the villagers and explained the glory of the holy place . The mission was to make the divine place just like place it was during the heydays of Swamy Madhurakavi azhwar.
With the abundant grace of Ahzwar’s and Lord Polindha nindra piraan’s anugraham, the mission of renovating the temple was accomplished in grand scale .
Glad with the service of Srisailer’s services and his recitation along with nectarine explanation of Thiruvaaimozhi, Swami Nammazhwar himself christened the name of “Thiruvaaimozhi pillai”.
Now , Thiruvaaimozhi pillai started to revive all the lost and hidden traditions of the great place called “Thirukurugoor” ( “Aazhwar Thirunagari”). He took interest in educating the villagers.
With their active cooperation he got the forest area cleared and constructed a temple for Swamy Ramanujar who is worshipped as “Bhavishyad Acharyar” which is know glorified as Chaturvedi mangalam (called “Raamanuja chaturvedhi mangalam” ).
Thiruvaaimozhi Pillai used to contemplate on the divine pasurams of Thiruvaimozhi explanations always given in Eedu .
His attachment to Thiruvaimozhi was so much that he instructed his prominent disciple, Sri Manavala Mamunigal to always contemplate on Thiruvaimozhi .
.
Sri Azhagiya Manavala Perumal (Manavala mamunigal) belonged to Azhwar thirunagari and was direct disciple .He got his initiation from Srisailesar. Sri Azhagiya Manavala Perumal was Srisailesar’s favourite student who later on took sanyasam and came to be known as Swamy “Manavala Maamunigal” who rendered EEdu vyakhyanam in the presence of the processional deities in Srirangam (Azhagiya Manavalan/Namperuamal) for one full year .
The famous invocatory sloka rendered Supreme Lord Sriman Narayana residing as Sri Ranganathar in Srirangam which every Srivaishnava recites daily at the beginning and end of Thiruvaraadhanam starts with the words
SriSailesa Daya patram DhiBhakti Adi Gunarnavam
Yatindra pravanam Vande Ramyaja Mataram Munim
This invocatory verse was given to Swami Manavala maamunigal by Lord Ranganathar himself .
The Lord addresses Acharyar Mamunigal as “Srisailesa Dayaa paathram”-one who is the recipient of Srisailesa’s mercy.
Among-st the august gathering ,the Lord disguised as a boy came forward and gave the glorification verse (thanian.) ….through the Archaka .
He accepted Swamy Manavala Mamunigal as HIS acharyar. The Lord also gave HIS serpent bed, Adiseshan to Swamy Manavala Mamunigal as aasanam.
The kalakshepa mandapam in Manavala Mamunigal’s Thirumaligai at Srirangam is called as “Thiruvaimozhi Pillai mandapam”
Swamy Manavala Mamunigal in his wonderful work “Upadesa Ratnamala” starts the invocation verse ( thanian) as
“Yendhai Thiruvaimozhi Pillai Inn arulaal……”
He attributes everything to the lotus feet of his acharyar.
Upadesarathinamalai,’ has 74 verses.
As the name indicates it is a jewel of noble precept – gems, a treasure house of essential knowledge for Srivaishnavas. These verses are chanted by the congregation (goshti) in temples and all vaishnava homes .
Swamy Mamunigal states in the very first verse that these essential precepts were received by the grace of Thiruvoimozhi Pillai, his preceptor-Acharya.
After explaining an authoritative chronology of the appearance of revered Azhwars into this world with their appearance day details and places of birth, the hymn introduces the greatest of our acharyas, Swamy Ramanujar..
Elucidating further the commentaries by our acharyas on the hymns of the Azhwars, the importance of Nammazhwar’s Thiruvoimozhi is brought out by an enumeration of the five commentaries, of different lengths, that have appeared for these eleven hundred verses and how the ‘Eedu’ (36,000) commentary came to be written and propagated.More emphasis on the precious jewel, ‘Srivachana Bhushanam’ and the greatness of this ‘secret’ document is glorified .
The conclusion of this great treatise is that the grace of the preceptor-Acharya is the surest-gateway to salvation .
The sacred verses concludes that a reverent study of ‘Upadesarathinamalai’ is certain to beget the generous grace of Swamy Ramanuja.
The final (74) verse was an addition by Erumbiappa disciple of Swamy Mamuni that the fortunates heads who seek the holy feet (Sandals) of Sri Manavala Mamunigal are certain to be touched by Amanava at Srivaikuntam . This contact would cleanse the emancipated soul of the last traces of karma and render it pure to enter the land of Bliss.
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan
Inspired from a discourse rendered by a revered Acharyar
Lord Krishna’s appearance day (Aavani (tamil month) Rohini nakshatra ) also coincides with a very revered Acharyar Swami Periyavaachan Pillai appearance day .
Periyavaachan Pillai elucidates about a revered venerated great teacher .
We have glories to Periya perumal ( Lord Ranganathar) Peria Azhwar ( Bhattarpiran ) Periya Jeeyar ( Swamy Manavalamamuni) and Periyavaachanpillai ( our great teacher) .
Thirumangai Azhwar, the last Azhwar was affectionately called as Kaliyan . He was the valiant army chief of the then Chola King.
For his valour the king gifted him with a small territory to rule over. Hence, he was known as Thirumangai Mannan .
Thirumangai Azwar had initiated lot of services to our LORD at Srirangam. The hundred pillar mandapam for the yearly festival adhyayana uthsavam was his contribution .
He also built the north and south gopurams at Kulasekaran thiruveedhi ( streets ) the fourth compound wall ( Mathil suvar) which is called Maharlokam .
The outburst 1253 of HIS EMOTIONAL OUTPOURING BLISS was shared through the divine pasurams sung instantly during his sojourn to almost about 86 divyadesam temples.
His compositions were Periya thirumozhi ,Periya thirumadal , SiRiya thirumadal ,Thiru nedunthANdakam , Thiru KurunthANdakam , Thiru vezhuk kurrirukkai.
During his piligrimage to Divyadesams , one day Azhwar majestically marches to Thirukkanamangai a divine place located in Tanjore district of Tamil Nadu which is around 8 kms from Tiruvarur amidst a huge tank Darsha Pushkarini near Western banks.
This temple is 25 miles from Kumbakonam and is among the Pancha Krishnaraya kshetram. The others being Therazhandur, Thirukannapuram, Thirukanankudi, Thirukannamangai and Thiru kapisthalam. Few include Thirukolur.
This holy place is also called as “Sapthamirtha Kshetram”
Azhwar offers poetic glorifications to Lord Bhakthavatsala perumal .Azhwar keeps comparing the Lordships here to the sugarcane and also refers to the village as the place where blue lotuses bloom.
Azhwar swooned in the beauty of Lord and both exchange words …
Lord speaks … My dear Azhwar !!
How is that you instantly pour the nectarine pasurams …?
For which Azhwar humbly submits ..Lord !!
ven cengamon erndiya kanna
nin tanakkum kurippakil
karkalam kaviyin porul taaney… ( 7-10-10 )
meaning .. Kanna ..the bearer of the white conch ..should you be so inclined …
You can also do that ….
This offer by Azhwar could not be accepted by Lord for the protocol of Archavatara ..
Thus after few years ,
Swamy Periyavaachan Pillai appeared in the same aster ism as Lord Krishna namely Rohini star in tamil month of Aavani
and the illustrious Acharyar Swamy Nampillai appeared in the same asterism of Thirumangai Azhwar namely Krittika asterism in the tamil month karthikai.
Periyavaachan Pillai appeared at Chenganoor near Thiruvelliyangudi divyadesam. At a very young age he went to Tirumala on piligrimage .He was blessed by Lord by giving him a deity of Lord himself which he carried and worshiped all through out his life.
Later he moved to Srirangam and became a direct disciple of the illustrious Acharyar Swamy Nampillai . Under his Acharyars care , he learnt several commentaries of Srimad Ramayana and sastras. He thus inherited the widest and richest legacy of srivaishnava sampradayam from his Acharyar . The desire was thus fullfilled by Perumal himself.
Swamy Periya vachan pillai is the only Acharyar who had written commentaries of all the 24 compositions of Naalayiram DivyaPrabhandam.
Pacurappadi Ramayanam is a great work which has not a single word of his own.
With sentences , phrases and divine words recognisably found in DivyaPrabhandam , Acharyar had reconstructed the whole Ramayana in just two pages without omission of any important incident .
The legacy was carried further to his disciple named varadarajan who was very ordinary person serving Acharyar in all means . Once few disciples of the celebrated poet “Appaya Deekshittar” an advaitik scholar reached Swamy’s Ashram .
They started discussing about the incidents of Srimad Ramayanam . The discussions attracted Varadarajan to come out of the kitchen and find out what was the discussion about .
He approached a vedantin and requested him to share the content of the topic being discussed . The Vedantin looking at ignorant cook , with arrogance replied .
Oh !! yeah … Its your content of work we are discussing …
Yes about Musalakisalayam…. ( The wooden pestle used for dehusking the grains )
The group left after meeting Acharyar .
Varadarajan was eager to know about the vedantin words .
He approached Acharyar and begged to know about the Musalakisalayam..
The Acharyar replied there was no book about Musalakisalayam .The group just made fun out of him . Varadarajan was deeply hurt. He wept and holding Acharyar’s feet seeked mercy to make him of some worth in understanding scriptures.
In course of time Acharyar with merciful attention taught him several topics and thus he became a revered scholar .
He was glorified as Vadikesari Azhagiyamanavalla Jeeyar .
Azhagiya Manavalla Jeeyar wrote commentaries on Thiruvamozhee called Pannirayarappadee which is an authority giving word by word meaning to the treasure given to us by Poorvacharyas ....
Swami also wrote a book naming it MUSALAKISALAYAM …
All glories to Acharyar Swami Periyavaachan Pillai
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan
Pics credits : Advanced devotees who have uploaded in Facebook, Google pics
This Viswaroopam of Lord is glorified as Trivikraman . One can have darshan of this Divya Roopam at 3 Srivaishnava divya desams in Tamil nadu- namely,
Kaazhiseerama vinnagaram (Sirkazhi )
Ulagalandha Perumal kovil at Thirukovalur
Ulagalandha Perumal kovil at Kanchipuram.
As per elders version, in Sirkazhi, Lord Trivikraman measured the first step. Vamana murthi grew in size and taking the Viswaroopam measured the world with HIS left foot here which is on the air.
” paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam dharma-samsthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge.
(In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to re establish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium.)
The Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared at various times to protect the good and eradicate the evil. Out of the prominent Dasa-avatarams, Vamana avataram has a special significance .
Bhakta Prahalad’s grandson Mahabali Chakravarthy had conquered all the worlds including Deva lokam as a result of which the devas headed by Indra had to leave Devalokam and sought their mother, Aditi’s intervention. Kashyapa rishi and Aditi prayed to Lord SrimanNarayanan for protecting the devas. The All compassionate Lord appeared to them as their own child during the…
The Uttana Ekadasi glorifies this divine pastime which happened few hundred years ago near a remote village Thirukurungudi which is briefed in the next few lines . Kaisika Ekadesi is a very important day for all Sri Vaishnavites . As per Elders ,even Vaikunta Ekadesi festival stands next to this glorious day . Kaisika Ekadesi is celebrated during the Tamil month of Karthigai ( December ) which precedes Vaikunta Ekadesi.
A true seeker of LORD will always respect the devotees of Lord . He never distinguishes about their birth and caste in seeking their association . A devotees glory can be seen with that deep knowledge and practices which takes them nearer to LORD . It will be a boon serving such advanced devotees .
The most advanced devotee Nampaaduvaan sang in praise of Lord Thirukkurungudi Nambi at Thirukkurungudi temple . He submitted the fruit of the punya earned by him to a brahmin turned BrahmaRakshasa SomaSharma and thus converted him back into a Brahmin.
The Uttana Ekadasi glorifies this divine pastime which happened few hundred years ago near a remote village Thirukurungudi which is briefed in the next few lines .
Of the Ekadasi marking the annual calendar, the interval between the Sayana and the utthana ekadasi represents the span of yoga nidra (cosmic slumber) of Lord Sriman Narayana .
During a journey few hundred years ago , Lordships was traveling along with the His holiness Sri Sri Athipattu Azhagiya singar 34th jeeyar and disciples along with entire paraphernalia . A local affluent devotee approached his holiness and offered ingredients to prepare Ksheerannam as bhoga for the Lordships .
Blissful are the experiences of our Poorvacharyas and Peetathipathis .The mystic experiences shared by the great souls instill confidence in a devotee in his spiritual advancements.
Appearing out of a pillar neither man nor an a animal and yet both man and lion HIS avatara bespeaks of LORD’s supremacy and transcendence . Lord appeared from this place because the devotee child prahalada wanted him to appear ….
Thirumangai Azhwar visualised Lord Lakshmi Narasimhar in Ahobila Kshetra as the Lord who had thousand shoulders and sang several pasurams glorifying this holy place and the Lordships .On his journey to Ahobilam he sang few pasurams which speaks about the tough conditions prevailing those days to seek Lords darshan ….
Senru kandarku Ariya koil
A temple where one cannot go with ease and offer worship to Lord
Deiva mallal sella vonna
Except for devas no one can attempt to seek darshan here
This wonderful temple can be reached by travelling about 15 km from Mayiladuthurai towards Thiruvarur Route . From Kollumangudi, the temple is just 2 km. Sirupuliyur (Thiru sirupuliyur) which is one of the 108 divya desams in Tiruvarur district near to Mayavaram The Lord of this temple is Arulmaakadal, Sthala Sayana Perumal who gives darshan in bujanga sayanam posture facing south.
Gauthama Maharishi was a great devotee of ParamaSivan . The Rishi used to offer fruits and fresh blossomed flowers for worship daily . For the same , he had to climb trees with great difficulty to pluck the same .
In order to continue his services with ease he prayed Paramasivan to grant him sharp eyes and claws like a tiger .Thus he got the name Vyangraapadha rishi. Rishi Vyangraapadha undertook penance at Chidambaram invoking the blessings of Lord Nataraja for salvation .
However , ParamaShivan instructed Vyangrapadha rishi ( Vyangra =Tiger ) ( Pada = feet) to proceed to Srirangam and worship Lord Ranganathar . Owing to his poor eye sight, the rishi lost his way, went southward and reached Krupa Samudiram Perumal near Mayavaram . Unable to walk any further, he sat in penance at Sirupuliyur.He did penance at Sirupuliyur for attaining Srivaikuntam by worshipping Lord SrimanNarayana .
Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita says , “ A Yogin is the one who, out of a sense of identity with others on account of the perception of the same Self in all, feels their joy and suffering as his own………………………
Nallan was a disciple of Swamy Ramanuja .He was an ardent devotee of LORD VARADAR at Kancheepuram . Attending classes at Ashram of Swamy Ramanuja , his bhakthi towards Lord Varadar increased manifold . Any services for his Acharyar was cheerfully obeyed .
Once it so happened , Swamy Ramanuja had to leave Kancheepuram on an important mission . Nallan accompanied till the banks of the river vegavathi and seeked permission to return .
While returning on the banks of the river he found some object floating from a far distance .He moved near the banks and saw a corpse floating . He looked closely and found the corpse bore vaishnava symbols of discuss and conch on its shoulders . Nallan immediately jumped into the river .He carefully brought the corpse to the shore .
With deep respects he carried out the funeral rites . The ceremony went on well…
Several legends that are related to the Kadamba tree are famous to relish . Under the Kadamba tree, Lord Krishna used to swing from the branches and dance in festivity with all the gopikas of Vrindavana.
Once while grazing the cows along with the gopas near GOVERDHAN near a village Sammai our little krishna saw a elder gopa distributing kheer ( payasam ) to bhagavathas .
Our little krishna approached the elder gopa and asks Bhayya !! what about my share ??The elder gopa smilingly asks ( chinni krishna ) kanhaiyya to get a cup for collecting the Kheer not knowing what our chinni krishna can do …
The association of Kadamba tree with Lord Krishna is most memorable . The Kadamba tree is consecrated by all the the devotees of Lord Krishna and its flowers are used as offerings to LORD at various temples.
Several legends that are related to the Kadamba tree are famous to relish . Under the Kadamba tree, Lord Krishna used to swing from the branches and dance in festivity with all the gopikas of Vrindavana.
Once while grazing the cows along with the gopas near GOVERDHAN near a village Sammai our little krishna saw a elder gopa distributing kheer ( payasam ) to bhagavathas . Our little krishna approached the elder gopa and asks Bhayya !! what about my share ??
The elder gopa smilingly asks ( chinni krishna ) kanhaiyya to get a cup for collecting the Kheer not knowing what our chinni krishna can do …
This divya desam is located about 12 kms from Aluvai/Alwaye near Ernakulam(40 kms) and can be reached either by bus or by car. This place can also be accessed from Karikutti railway station which is about 5 kms and also from Angamaali. We visited this temple on 15th December morning after having darshan at Thirukaatkarai. (It may take about 4-5 days to cover Kerala divya desams if travelling by public mode of transport and about 2 days by car. )
Out Of the 108 Divya desams, 13 divya desams are categorised as Malai Naatu divyadesams. (Kerala Divya desams), even though 2 of those 13 divyadesams are in Tamil Nadu today.
Malai nadu divya desams are classified due to its location mostly located in Kerala that are scattered from North to South Kerala.
Introduction to the Kerala Divya desams are appended in the below post
A brief note about the nearest town /city from where these holy temples can be accessed is given below
North Kerala:– Thiruvithuvakodu near Pattambi and Thirunaavai near Kuttipuram can be accessed along with Guruvayur.
1) Thiruvithuvacode:– popularly known as “Anjhu murthy kovil” on Shoranur-Kallikatai rail route. Bus from Pattambi to Kootupatha ( app one hour bus drive) and from there to take an auto to go to temple.
2) Thirunaavai :– Shoranur -Kuttipuram bus route. Bus from Guruvayoor to Kuttipuram…
At this temple ,to seek the LORDS darshan a devotee recollects at entrance of this temple 18 steps reminding us of the 18 chapters of Srimad Bhagvat Gita given to us by LORD Pundareekakshan. Proceeding further we come across 4 steps that are 4 Vedas and later one reaches the Bali Peetam. It is believed that one’s wishes submitted to the Perumal at the Balipeetam with the turmeric kappu are automatically taken care by Him. Abhishekam is done to the Bali Peetam only . From here, we enter the Perumal sannidhi by ascending 5 steps further representing the PanchaBhoothams (Fire, Water, Space, Air and Earth) and slowly crossing the Naazhi Kettaan Vasal. Now we see 2 entrances Dakshinaayana Gate and Utharaayana Gate which are alternately opened for devotees during the Dakshinayana/ Utharayana six month periods. to climb 18 Steps at the entrance . As One climbs further 8 steps we are reminded of Ashtaakshara mantra and further we move ahead another 24 steps reminding us of Gayathri Mantram to arrive at the sanctum sanctorum,where we have divya darishnam of our LORD Senthaamarai Kannan (Pundareekaakshan) along with His consort Pankajacchelvi Naacchiyaar.
This Divyadesam is located at about 20 km north of Trichirappalli, enroute to Thuraiyur and situated in a 14 acre site and resembles like an Old fort with strong compound walls The temple is older than Srirangam and built ahead of LORD Rama’s avataram . Hence the name Aadhi Vellarai. Tiruvellarai in tamil means white rock and this grand temple is situated on a white granite hill which is almost 90 to 100 feet high .
Lord Pundareekaksha Perumal. ( LORD with Lotus Shaped eyes) graces the devotees with abundant mercy . This temple is surrounded by a 36 feet high wall and resembles almost like a fort . The second tower entrance leads us inside the temple which has huge sculptures on the wall painted . The Bali peetam here is a huge one which has special significance . The third tower leads us into the inner sanctum of the temple.
The procession reached the Srirangam temple entrance .
Godha got down and paced towards the sanctum quickly as if she was so familiar . She walked straight into the sanctum sanctorium after crossing Garuda mantapam… She came near the main temple … And …kept walking briskly with her anklets jingling in the background .. The temple sanctum sanctorium where only the priest enters arrived ..
LORD who was also eager to meet Godha had a bewitching smile ………………She stepped in ..and reached seshapanpu ( fourteen folds of Adhishesha ) walked over the folds of Adhishesha and reached the lotus feet twain of Lord and sat at HIS lotus feet .She touched those wonderful sacred feet with her tiny beautiful tender hands and dissolved in HIM once for all ….
Periaazhwar was watching .He was speechless . Standing motionless with tears and grief he went near the sanctum and with a quivering body and lips shivering , expressed in broken words ..Lord !! Where is my child Godha ? Oh Ranga !! My child Godha … a small girl who was everything to me ….. and just stood like a pillow gazing at LORD …
A pin drop silence for few minutes prevailed ……………………….
Srivilliputtur beautiful village turned ” town” houses two famous temples- Lord Vatapatrasayee kovil ( sri vaishnava divyadesa kovil) and Andal kovil(Godadevi’s residence).
Located in Virudhunagar District about 75 kms away from Madurai from north and about 70kms away from Tirunelveli from south ,this temple is famous for Andals appearance and presently the Rajagopuram of the temple which has eleven tiers and 192″ height being one among the tallest towers of temples in the state is Tamilnadu Government’s official symbol .
This place is worshipped as Varaha kshetram. Bhrigu and Markandeya maharishis were performing penance at this holy place .The demon Kalanemi was troubling them causing hindrances . Lord killed Kalanemi using Sudarshana Chakram. The sudarshana chakra cleansed its blood stains by taking a dip in this tank located inside the temple in which the rivers Ganga , Yamuna and Saraswathi reside . Hence, this temple…
The above sloka …. reverberates in all srivaishnava temples and homes glorifying the rich sampradaya we have inherited from our poorvacharyas ….Swamy Nathamunigal and Swamy Alavandar, the two great acharyas have been pillars to Srivaishnava sampradayam, took their avatara at the holy place Kattumannar koil, which is 25 kms from Chidambaram in Cuddalore district of Tamil nadu, South India.
Kattumannarkoil (situated on the banks of the vast Veeranam Lake) hallowed by the birth of these Acharyas is the only place with magnificent temples dedicated to Swamy Nathamunigal and Swamy Alavandar.
Swamy Nathamunigal was the foremost Acharya of Srivaishnava sampradaya .
Nathamuni mastered himself in Vedas at a very young age.
He was devoted to Lord Veera Narayana Perumal and spent most of his time performing daily ( aaradhanai) poojas for the Lord here.
One day, during his pilgrimage to Thirukudanthai ( present day Kumbakonam ) Temple he was attracted to the Archakas chanting the divine nectarine verse …. Aaravamuthey song….
The devotees ended the song with the words… “ these 10 out of the 1000” verses .
“ Aaraavamudhe Adiyen Udalam,
Ninbaal Anbaaye
Neeraal Alainthu Karaiya Urukinra Nedumaale
Seeraar Sennel Cauvery Veesum,
SezhuNeerth ThiruKudanthai
EraarKolam Thigazhak Kidanthaai, Kanden Emmaane”
Swami Nathamuni was drawn to these songs and pleaded them to sing the rest of the 990 verses.
However, they expressed ignorance and said they knew only these 10 songs which they were reciting daily following their ancestors .
Seeking to find the remaining of these divine songs, Swamy Nathamuni proceeded from Kattu Mannar Koil and went to Kumbakonam, where Lord Aaravamudhan appeared before him and asked him to go to Thirukolur for knowing more ..
Swamy proceeded to Thiru Kolur, where he got initiated with the great Acharyar Madhura Kavi Azhvaar’s holy verses of Kannin Siruthambinaal.
Madhurakavi Azhwar was a direct disciple of Swamy Nammazhwar .The divine pastime of Azhwar can be read in the below appended post
He came back to Thiru Kurugur and meditating under the Tamarind tree, recited these divine verses 12000 times.
On completion of which the all compassionate NammAzhvaar is said to have appeared before him and shared the entire 4000 songs the “Divyaprabhandam” —Naalaayira Divya Prabandham which we are able to relish glorifying the LORDSHIPS .
Lord Veera Narayana Perumal is then said to have called Swami Nathamuni back to Kattu Mannar Koil where the Vaishnavite Saint chanted and shared the “Naalayira Divya Prabandham”.
Thus, Nathamuni of Kattu Mannar Koil, was instrumental in bringing back to the world the 4000 verses of the Azhvaars.
He also initiated the Sri Vaishnava Sampradayam from here.
As Lord Narayana came here as ‘Mannan’ to wed Mahalakshmi and asked Nathamuni to share the Divya Prabandham and the Vaishnava Sampradayam to the world at large, he was referred to as ‘ Kattum’ ‘Mannan- Aanaar’ (the Lord who came aa kings and later presented the entire prabandham through Nathamuni).
In course of time, Kattum Mannan-Aanaar became Kattu Mannar.
Nathamuni’s grandson was named as ‘Yamunai Thuraivan’(Alavandar) .
Born in Kattu Mannar Koil, Aalavanthar would travel to Srirangam and spread the message of SriVaishnavism. Swamy Ramanuja was nominated by him as the ’to be’ next Acharyar of the great sampradhayam after his disappearance .
Alavandar’s disciples include Periya Nambi, ThiruKoshtiyur Nambi, Thiru Kachi Nambi and Srirangam Araiyar.
A clip was taken during our in which Bhattar elaborately explains in tamil about the glorious Srivaishnava Sampradayam.
Swamy Nathamuni set the 4000 Divya prabhandam to tune and music and taught to his dear disciples Melai agatthazhwAn and Keezhai agatthazhwAn (his nephews) and propagated the divine nectar in various divya desams.
Nathamuni re arranged 4000 nectarine verses equivalent to Vedas into four parts and introduced the same as part of recitation in Divya Desams, as part of worship in all temples
During the period ,once , the Chozha King got down along with his wives to have darshan of Lord at Viranarayanapuram temple at Kattumannar .
Looking at the Royal couple in such great ornaments, crown, and silk cloth, Nathamuni who was a transcendental devotee , for a moment lost himself and thought Lord Krishna with His devis would have come from Dwarakai.
He fell at the feet of the king seeing him as Lord Krishna .
The king was shocked and immediately sprung to lift Nathamuni and realized the deep devotion the Sage had .He immediately submitted himself for his offense .
During another occasion, the king had just completed discussing with the Sage about Lordships divine pastimes. He took Acharya’s permission to leave.
He started walking towards the chariot. When he was about to board, (as usual, the king used to call the chariot driver on whose shoulder he used to set his foot to jump into the chariot), the driver was there for the king to jump in.
After he jumped in, he saw below and it was Nathamuni’s shoulder.
The king was shocked . He got down to apologize for his grave offense .
He felt ashamed and said ! Swamin …. “What have I done! Stepped on your shoulders! that too my Acharyar !!!
I have committed a great apacharam!”
Nathamuni thought it was Lord Rama who had come by the chariot along with Sumanthrar.
Hence, he offered his shoulders for Lord to step into the chariot. That was Nathamuni’s unalloyed devotion who was always in transcendental bliss always seeing LORDSHIPS everywhere .
One day Swamy Nathamuni was in deep meditation .
The Chozha king passed near Veeranarayanpura with his soldiers after a hunting exercise.
The sage, interrupted in his meditations by the attendant bustle, opened his eyes and, construing the party to be the divine Lord Rama and his brother in the streets ,( on whom his thoughts were wholly bent in meditation ) followed the track of the party and walked with weary steps till the very gates of the Chozha capital Gangaikondapuram from Kattumannar Koil and went searching ..
Nathamuni already in that bliss imagined ” Lord Rama with his brother Lakshmana and Mother Sita have come to grace him .
He fainted at a place in a divine bliss and reached Lord’s abode on an Ekadasi day.
All glories to Swamy Nathamunigal
Swamy Natha Munigals appearance day is being celebrated on 25-06-2018 ( Aaani Anusham ) in all Srivaishnava temples .
All glories to the devotees participating in all the temples
Oh ! Lord adorning the mighty Sudarshana chakram , Tell me………… Do you need the divine chakra ? ..In this entire creation there is NO ONE who can oppose your supremacy and cause difficulties Having the chakra is to protect people like me .. All your weapons are for protecting your children……………………
This whole world is moving according to the plan of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There is a specific plan being carried out in this material world. What is this plan? The cosmic manifestation is a chance for the elevated souls to go back to Godhead. .
As they overcome the material nature, they slowly get conditioned. One who can understand the plan of the Supreme Lord and cultivate Krsna consciousness gradually becomes intelligent. He slowly realises the creation and destruction of the cosmic manifestation are under the superior guidance of Lord . The Battle of Kuruksetra was fought according to the plan of LORD . Arjuna was refusing to fight, but he was told that he should fight and at the same time desire the Supreme Lord
Lord Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, the Song Celestial, tells his dearest friend and disciple, Arjuna, “Nimitta matram Bhava Savyasachi”. You…
Once the revered Acharyar Nadathoor Azhwan was on the way to a nearby temple . He met a learned srivaishnava friend who had come to accompany Azhwan upto the temple . En route they were discussing the divine experiences of Azhwars and Poorvacharyas .
Suddenly they came across another srivaishnava with Tilak but was belonging to a lower caste . As was the custom those days on seeing the two revered Acharyas he moved to another side of the road and waited obediently for them to leave .
The learned vaishnava friend who was accompanying Azhwan looked at the passerby and started shouting at him for trespassing …….. and was too harsh on him …..
Nadadoor Azhwan who heard his shouts , fell down in a swoon . He was brought back to consciousness . The learned Vaishnava asked Azhwan………………. If his health was fine and why did he swoon ?
Azhwan who was already in a deep shock explained ..
My dear scholar .. ………………..
Do you know , who was that srivaishnava whom you misbehaved with ? ……………….
——The learned vaishnava put a blank face .
Azhwan continued….
That great soul belonged to the family of Thiruppan Azhwar who with his just 10 verses of Nectarine Amalanadhipiran pasurams merged in Lord’s lotus feet and got liberated .
My dear Swamin !!
It has been repeatedly said and proved that If one indulges in a transgression involving a devotee ( Bhagavatha Apachara ) even the brahmavidya will be rendered ineffective in combating the effects of the karma.
Among the different types of transgressions for a devotee the first arise out of disrespectful reference to another’s birth . It is a severe offense to brand a person for his low caste as all are vaishnavas , without reference to caste are worthy of worship .
This vaishnava is also a great devotee who has qualities of abundant mercy and compassion and that was the reason he respected you and just moved away .
Do you know ,
He can recite all the 4000 Divya Prabhandams pasurams .
He is so fortunate to be born between the two cauveries .
You have misbehaved with a great soul just because of his appearance and caste …..
Am I not a low caste person when I claim I am Independent dear scholar .. ..
Azhwan listed out several pastimes from ( Revered saints ) Poorvacharya’s works to drive his point and takes a verse from anthimOpAya nishtai………..
madh bhaktham svapachamvApi nindhAm kurvanthi yE narA:
padhmakOti sathEnApi na kshamAmi kathAchana
Those men who insult my devotees, even a chandala , are never excused by me even after the passage of millions of years.
yA prIthirmayi samvruththA madhbhakthEshu sadhAsthu thE ………. avamAnakriyA thEshAm samharathi akilam jagath
My love for My devotees is ever increasing, so much so that it would go to the
extent of destroying the whole world if they are disrespected…..
Azhwan submitted , with tears ………………..
Will Lord ever forgive us for this great transgression for which he was a mute spectator………………
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan …
Pics credits : Google images
Video credits : Sri Kuldeep pai
( Excellent recitation of Sri Annamaya kirtana by lovable kids )
Swamy Mudumbai Nambee Ananthacharya was one amongst the 74 Simhadipathees nominated by Jagathacharyar Swamy Ramanuja .
Swamy Ananthacharyar belonged to the illustrious family of the great srivaishnava stalwarts Swamy Pillai Lokacharyar and Vadakku Thiruvidhi pillai . .
During 1360 , Swamy Ananthacharyar was blessed with a son who was named as Hasthagiri Ananthar Anna being ardent devotees of Lord Varadaraja . ( Lord Varadaraja has been giving darshan to the devotees at this holy place called “Hasthi giri”. ‘Hasthi’ means elephant and “giri “ means hill) .
The young boy was very attractive and devotional right from his childhood .The boy was admitted in to the school of Swamy Nayana varadacharyar , the direct descendent of Swamy Vedanta Desikar . He received the Vedic inputs from his Acharya and progressed in leaps and bounds by his sheer devotion .
During this period , a staunch Advaitin Narasimha Mishra had come to Kancheepuram . He decided to debate with the learned scholars in that area in proving the supremacy of Advaitam and thus convert the opponent and his followers into his fold .
As his mission was incomplete , he invited Swamy Nayana varadacharyar for a debate as was done during those days .The bet was announced that the one who looses will follow others faith along with his followers . Swamy Nayana varadacharyar was not keen to interact with the scholar and not able to decide how to ignore his request too . It was the last day .The young boy could see his Acharyar’s concern .
He wanted to somehow make his Acharyar happy . He understood from his senior disciples what made his Acharyar sad . He never wanted the rich heritage of Vishishtadwaitam being taken for a ride by the vedantin .It was a high time to make the world believe the glorious sampradaya Jagathacharyar Swamy Ramanuja had given us . The young boy approached his Acharya and pleaded him to be allowed to take upon the vedantin . Swamy Nayanavaradacharyar was glad that the young boy was also thinking in the same lines .Confident of his victory , he blessed the child with Sri Hayagreeva Upadesa mantra and wished him the best .
The young lad Hasthagiri Anna with the blessings of his Acharyar walked into the debate hall which had revered scholars from different places . The locals also assembled to watch the Vedantins arguments. He looked at the learned scholars and the great vedantin Narasimha Mehta . He was amused with his looks and the arrogance in his speech . The vedantin chuckled at the boys entry for his age and size . He said this boy is of no match to me .Anyway as his guru has sent him on his behalf , let me bundle him up with simple questions !! he thought .
Hasthagiri Anna looked at the vedantin and said .. Hey Vedantin .. Are you going to wage a war against me ? Why does size or stature matter to you .For a person like you I am the best match .Let me not disturb my Gurudeva ..The debate is to convince you and all these so called scholars the illustrious sampradaya of Jagath Acharyar Swamy Ramanuja is supreme .If you have any doubts , questions ask me else accept the sampradaya which will give you moksha .
The Vedantin was surprised with the boys daring words . He decided to quiz him in shastras and then take him on about the sampradaya . The outpouring of Vedic knowledge , apt recitation with intricate meanings made vedantin shocked . The debate was almost looking like a repeat of Swamy Yamunacharya debate with the Vedantin few hundred years ago and Swamy Yamunacharya was glorified as Alavandar the King…
Few onlookers rushed to their Acharyar to inform him about Hasthagiri Annas mastery in handling the vedantin with esoteric truths .The Old Acharyar walked along with his disciples to see the brave boy’s confidence . Hasthagiri Anna presented many verses in the Vedic texts to demonstrate the supreme position of Swamy Ramanuja’s Vishishitadwaitam . The debate ended with the vedantin accepting the supremacy of the sampradaya . All the scholars unitedly agreed with jubilations about the young boy defeating the arrogant vedantin in his own den.
Overjoyed the Acharyar hugged Hasthagiri Anna and said henceforth you will be called as Prathivadi bhayanakaram Anna . Meanwhile the Vedantin along with his followers rushed to Anna accepting defeat and pleaded to be taken in their fold . The Acharyar blessed both of the disciples and handed over the reins of the school for him to take over due to his old age .
Swamy Annan was carrying out the Theertha kainkaryam at Kancheepuram as done by our Jagath Acharyar Swamy Ramanuja . One day he took permission from Lord Vardaraja for having darshanam of Lord Sreenivasa at Tirumala after getting immersed in the Nammazhwar’s description of Tirumala and Lord Srinivasa in Thiruvamozhi .
Anna became associated with Swami Ananthanpillai descendants and was engaged in serving Lord Srinivasa by collecting and preparing the water required for His worship every day.
One day, while returning from Akasha Ganga after having gathered the holy water to be taken to the Lord, a devotee from Srirangam came across his path. As divine will would have it, they entered into a conversation. The devotee from Srirangam narrated the glories of the revered saint Svami Mamunigal and his extraordinary service in Srirangam. Anna was deeply moved on hearing about Swamy’s devotion to Lordships and the zeal to carry out the mantle of Jagathacharyar Swamy Ramanuja’s philosophy all over . In the process of hearing the satsangath , he completely forgot about the holy water he was supposed to deliver to the Lord.
Having exhausted with their patience, the priests from the temple came out in search of Anna and hurriedly collected the pots of holy water from him and rushed back to the temple to complete the worship according to established protocol . Anna was confused and hence rushed to the temple to inform the priests that he had not yet prepared the water by mixing in it fragrant substances, as was the norms . But as it was too late the worship had already begun and nearing completion . Anna was cursing himself for overlooking the protocol that was followed . He was dejected for not compiling with the procedures thus committing an offence . Standing all alone inside the temple Anna was seeking forgivance .
Lord Srinivasa , all compassionate Lord , broke his silence .There was a divine voice coming from the deity form, addressing him , “Oh My dear Anna! The holy water you delivered today had the best fragrance and quality. I am pleased with your service!” Don’t be dejected !!!
This was a shock to Anna, who had not added any fragrance at all that day. On pondering , Anna realized that the water must have got fragnant by the mere mention of the account of Swami Manavala Mamunigal vaibhavam . Realizing the glory of the saint, Anna took permission from Lord Sreenivasa and left Tirumala heading towards south to srirangam to have Swami manavala maamuni’s darshanam .
On reaching Srirangam , Anna has darshan of the Lordships and goes straight to attend the discourse of Swamy Manavala mamuni which impresses him very much . He waits patiently for having Acharyar’s darshanam . Amongst all the disciples , Swamy Manavala Mamuni calls him and asks Oh! You are that srivaishnava called as Prathivadi Bhayankaran in a lighter vein .
Anna humbly offers obesiances and replies Swamy , that he is Prathivadi Bhayankaran to his opponents and a servant of servants to srivaishnavas . Swamy is pleased with his commitment in protecting our rich sampradaya and honours him with another title “SrIvaishnava dAsan”.
Later , Anna moves to Tirumala for serving Lord Srinivasa . Swamy Manavalamamuni joins him at Tirumala and taken by the glory of Lord Srinivasa, he ordains his disciple Prathivadi Bhayankaram Anna to compose hymns on Lord Srinivasa through which Lord’s glory is well understood and enjoyed by all walks of people. Anna taking his Acharyar’s command composes hymns on LORD that shed light on the greatness of the Lord of the Seven Hills.
Annan, pens the morning song suprabhatham slokas comprising of (29 verses , stotram 11 verses , prapatti 16 verses and mangalam 14 verses) The holy verses has four aspects Suprabhatam, which is the actual awaking of Lordships Sree and Vishnu, Stotram, which is essentially a glorifications and the last Prapatti through Sree and the beautiful Mangalam to Lordships which serves as a conclusion.
These four hymnal renditions of Anna are the hallmark of worship that are conducted in Srivaishnava parlance. The Vaishnava Agamas require the Lord to be worshipped and honoured at least as much as a king is. The Suprabhatam or wishing of an auspicious dawn is not only analogous to the service offered normally to the royalty but also an expression of Mangalasasanam. Mangalasasanam is the highest virtue recognized in Srivaishnavism.
It is It is the exalted state of devotion where the devotee is not worried about his own welfare or the welfare of others, but only about the welfare of the Lord (which automatically ensures the well being of everyone and everything else). He serves the Lord, sings His benediction and longs for His auspiciousness always and the Prapatti is another core concept of Srivaishnavism that teaches the complete resignation to the saving grace of the Lord. The final goal of a Srivaishnava is to please the Lord with one’s services. One of the most important forms of service is the service of singing the Lord’s praise. He is sthavapriya: or one who is pleased with stotrams. The Venkatesa Stotram serves this purpose. Through the four works, Anna captures the entire essence of Srivaishnavism as he sings the glory of Lord Venkatesa. The pleased Lord listens to these hymns several times every day during the course of His worship in several temples…
Swamy Manavala Mamuni then ordered his disciples , that every day except in the month of Margazhi, these four stotras must be recited at the time of opening of the temple sanctorum in the morning which is being religiously followed till date .
Thus we have an advanced Acharyar Swamy Prativadi Bhayankaram Annan of Tirupati Suprabhatam fame who was a disciple of both Swamy Vedantha Desika’s son and Swamy Manavaala Maamunigal, indicating that there was no remarkable differences in following between the two sects .
His treatises establishing the unifying nature of all of our acharyas are a treasure for several generations .
A detailed description of THIRUMANJANA SEVA at Tirumala is appended in the below linked post
Swamy Parasara Bhattar, the famous acharya in Srivaishnavam Sampradaya was the eldest son of Swami Koorathazhvan. . Bhattar was the chief priest at Srirangam temple and appeared out of the grace of the Lord of Srirangam.
Swami parASara bhaTTar appeared in this world through the divine aravanai prasadam (the prasadam that is offered to the Lord just before the nightly closing of the temple) of Namperumal, which was offered to Andal, the wife of swami Kurathazhvan.
Not only by birth did swami bhattar, as he is addressed by all, show his greatness, but also by his sharp intelligence, kind actions and inspiring spiritual practices throughout his life.
A toughest enemy would also adore Bhattar on listening to him. Bhattar’s skill in answering a person’s question even before the questioner has finished asking the question was marvelous, and offers food for our thoughts , thus pondering the filthy mind which always rests in the ocean of egoistic approach .
Two divine pastimes mentioned below awakens one to work on our approach and seek Lord’s lotus feet unconditionally .
Once Bhattar went to a temple with his disciples to worship his beloved Lord Ranganatha .
Unfortunately, the shrine was closed to the general public. In those times, the closing of the shrine to the public was usually expressed through a divine servant shouting out the words “netrapaani, netrapaani”.
While this was happening, swami Bhattar was inside the enclosure created by the screen that separates namperumAL’s shrine and the outside.
One of the close servants in the temple , without knowing the divine closeness of Bhattar with Lord Namperumal, shouted at Bhattar and uttered inappropriate words much to the surprise of the crowd ,
Bhattar simply smiled at him. but , the disciples of Bhattar couldnt accept and hence started to shout back at the person .
Bhattar looked at his disciples and politely asked them “Why are you taking revenge at me?”
The disciples were shocked and taken aback,. They were confused on hearing these unusual words from their guru Bhattar.
One of the disciples, with a bit of courage, asked Bhattar
“Swami, we are not taking revenge at you, but only at the person who inappropriately, misbehaved at you”.
Bhattar explained to them “The person at whom you are shouting has done a great favour to me .
And by shouting at him, you are showing ungratefulness and are becoming a nuisance to him by shouting at him”.
All the disciples were stunned;
Bhattar simply continued –
“It is the duty of every Sri Vaishnava, while worshipping the Lord, to speak out his own bad qualities and the Lord’s kalyana guNas.
Our Namperumal is very busy with so many utsavams and does not find enough time to listen to my bad qualities which are innumerable to be told completely.
Given that this is the case, this swami serving the LORD has indirectly helped me and has taken up my task in his shoulder and put forth the bad qualities of me before the Lord and the Lord is also very pleased to hear.
Why are you disturbing him from doing a favor to me?”
Swami Parasara bhattar, simply smiled at that person who committed the slip , took one valuable necklaces from his neck, and offered it to that swami and told him “Swami –
Even though this will not equal the favor done by you for me, it is my humble offering to you”.Please keep it with you …
Once Swamy was proceeding to attend a festival in nearby temple away from Srirangam . He had to walk into deep bushes .
En route he met a hunter.
The hunter was spellbound looking at Bhattars composure and tejas . He immediately offered obesiances to Swamys lotus feet and offered a seat to Swamin .
Srivaishnava acharyas had the unique trait of looking at everyone with respect and hence Bhattar also made him sit along with him .
A srivaishnava is a person who never cast anyone as low or high by how he looks or where he lives.
The instinctive prejudice that has diseased the society was never in their midst and hence the respect and love from the common folk was visible .
Having taken his seat, Swamy, with his usual inquisitiveness, asked the hunter of the daily routine in and around the forest.
The hunter was excited to have the audience of the distinguished seer and sharing dais with his holiness .
He mentally rehearsed what he can reveal and decided to tell a strange incident that he came across .
He humbly said ..
“Swamy, a few days back, I did not get food throughout the day. Due to pangs of hunger ,
I decided to find food at any cost and headed towards a rabbit habitat.
I was overjoyed when I found a little baby rabbit .
Holding it by the ears, I started walking home.
Having walked a few steps, I sensed something nibbling at my feet.
To my surprise, I found the mother of this rabbit was at my feet.
Its behavior was very strange.
It kept nibbling at my toes and quickly ran around my feet and came back to the toes.
This kept on happening for some time and I couldn’t put a foot forward.
A strange feeling entered in my heart. Feeling pity at the behavior of the Mother rabbit
I suppose , my heart felt for the little one and her mother……
My mind stubbornly directed me to make my supper with the rabbit BUT my heart overruled the mind and demanded the release of the little rabbit.
I was overcome with compassion and remorse that I put down the child rabbit. Both the rabbits went around me a couple of times and merrily jumped may be blessing me for letting them go safely .
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And to my surprise, this feeling overpowered my hunger and I was feeling my stomach seemed full.
The Acharya listened to the entire narration with eyes wide open and exclaimed
“Oh Lord Ranga! My Swamin ….
How can we narrow down the concept of Surrender to a certain set of rules?
This small incident where a man devoid of any shastric learning melts down to the surrender of a rabbit and forgoes his hunger.
A rabbit, absolutely devoid of any sort of tatva gnyanam instinctively surrenders at the feet of the hunter and seeks the release of its child!
How can unconditional surrender have stringent rules?
It is a simple yet highly effective concept for the mankind to learn from the rabbit to surrender seeking Lords Lotus Feet unconditionally .
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan
Pics credits : Google images uploaded by several advanced devotees
Near Tirunelveli -Thiruchendur route at the northern banks of the holy river Tambaraparani river , there is a glorious temple of Lord Vaikuntanathar .
Lord rests on Aadhishesha facing the east holding a wonderful mace in his divine lotus hand .
In this small village few hundred years ago there was a thief ,kaladhooshakan .
He was a nice devotee of the Lord .
He used to visit the temple in the day and pray Lord for a good booty in the night .
It was a one to one conversation. He made it a practice to offer fifty percent of his loot for some service to the Lord. Though it was always petty thefts , he wished he somehow looted the royal chambers .
He ardently prayed LORD for his mission to be accomplished .He meanwhile worked with a plan to navigate the royal chambers for the d-day in his looting expedition.
Days were passing and his prayers became more frequent.
It was Karthika Pournami day .
He went to temple and offered his obeisances to the great Lord.
He said , Lord ! Today I will be entering the royal chambers and with this loot , I would offer you a majestic diamond studded crown .Please be with me ..
You have always been with me all my life …
Very energetic and enthusiastic , he moved out of the temple .
He called his friends and said .
Friends …Today is very special day for us …With this royal loot we would be forever happy .
I want all of you to coordinate as per our plan and make this loot memorable and bounty full .
I am sure we will be successful as Lord has assured all the support as he is doing already . Lets all assemble before the temple tonight before we leave to the royal palace .
It was midnight .
The moon was glowing in full radiance . Kaaladhooshakan arrived in disguise .
He was at the temple doors .
Ardently praying , he looked at the temple top and with reverence bowed down seeking Lord’s permission to proceed .
His friends quickly joined him with all the tools needed for the challenging task.
Together they crawled in the dark night in different routes to reach the destined place as per their plan .
The royal palace was huge and the compound walls were strong .
Kaaladhooshakan was waiting for this day .It was an Olympics moment .
He waited for his friends to arrive meanwhile working out his mind how best can his mission can be accomplished .
As his friends approached , he said .. My dear friends !! This is a wonderful opportunity .
Just be with me I will make your lives happy forever without any one to do petty works . Just signal me If the guards are approaching me .
Each one of you will transmit some cheeky noise for me to be alert . I shall go there inside those royal chambers and all of you have to just keep a vigil no one comes while I am on my job.
All of them agreed to follow the plan meticulously .
Kaaladhooshakan managed to climb the compound wall with a strong rope . He looked around to see If their were any guards watching him .
Thus, managed to quickly reach the royal chambers .
Not having much problem with the darkness as the moon was always following him giving sufficient light to trace his jewellery destination he crawled into the dark night .
The huge balcony was unguarded . He managed to make his way into the room .
The room was full of ivory cupboards and had royal touch .
Kaaladhooshakan was stunned to see the opulence .
He quickly looked into the ivory cupboards that had precious jewellery.
Every jewellery he picked , his mind raced to adorn the Lord with them .
All the time he imagined each jewellery would have been more attractive had it been with our Lord . He started quickly pushing all those jewellery into his gunny bag .
The bag was full with the precious jewellery .His mission was accomplished .
Thanking LORD for his support , he quickly marched towards the compound walls for making his way back home.
The dogs looking at his friends who were waiting near the compound wall , started barking .
The guards immediately pounced on them and questioned .
Looking at their speech and body language the guards arrested them for further questioning .
At the royal chambers , the theft was noticed the next day .
The guards paraded Kaaladhooshakan friends before the King .
At the village , Kaaladhooshakan got nervous .
As the sun rose , He quickly rushed towards the temple and pleaded LORD to save him .
All compassionate Lord appeared before him as a Priest and assured him everything will be for his own good .
Kaaladhooshakan promptly left the temple with an assurance from Lord .
Meanwhile as per the directions of the friends who were already caught , the guards reached the temple to find about the whereabouts of Kaaladhooshakan .
Lord now appeared before the guards as Kaaladhooshakan and submitted before the King in all opulence .
The King was stunned to see Kaaladhooshakan .
The bewitching smile and the magnetic aura he carried made the entire court spellbound .The eyes carried a special effect.
The King was just watching his glowing face .Meanwhile , the minister questioned him for the reason his stealing .
The thief ( LORD ) said I have stole that part of the wealth which is as per dharma. Your majesty has not protected the dharma as a King and hence we had to interfere .
The King was shocked to hear Kaaladhooshakan quoting vedic scriptures and thus proving his innocence .
The spark in the eyes of Kaaladhooshakan made the King keep looking at him without any whisper .He realized he was not an ordinary thief but LORD himself who had come to enlighten him .
He immediately ordered his minister to renovate the temple and release Kaaladhooshan and his friends and ensure they had a decent living .
For the divine leela enacted ,Lord is glorified as Kallar –piran/Chora-nathar(head of thieves) A rare incident happens during the 6th day of Chithirai month .
Sun rays falls directly on the lotus feet of Lord Vaikuntanathar .
Lord is also glorified as Paal pandiyan as a token of acceptance from the pandyan king who had constructed this temple and arranged for daily milk abhishekam to the Lordships.
This temple Lordships is glorified by our Nammazhwar .The temple is one of the 108 srivaishnava divya desams .
The temple is also classified as a Navatirupathy , the nine temples revered by Nammazhwar located in the banks of Tambaraparani river.
There are as such Eight Divyadesam but nine temples called as Navathirupathi which are situated at north bank of tambarabarani river and last three divyadesams are situated at south bank
During the last days of his illustrious sainthood , Nanjeeyar was bedridden. One new disciple came to him and pleaded Acharyar “May I now request you Swamin, to chant the “Dwaya Mantra”?
Nanjeeyar looked at him and said Child ! “Why do you recommend the chanting to me? Do you not want it?” Is the holy mantra be chanted only by a bedridden man and not by a wandering soul?” The disciple on hearing this became dumb founded and felt ashamed of himself. Nanjeeyar continued
“Dwayam Mantra” must be chanted by all times irrespective of any condition of the body . As body needs oxygen to survive , soul needs Dwayam to progress ..
Another disciple of Nanjeeyar was hearing the conversation .He thought that there was some unfulfilled wish of Acharyar . He humbly approached his Acharyar and asked respectfully Swamin ! Kindly give us the opportunity to fulfill …
Once , Swamy Ramanuja proceeds along with his disciples to Azhwar Tirunagari near Thirunelvelli , the appearance place of Swamy Nammazhwar and offers his obeisances to Lord Aadi deva perumal .
Further he proceeds towards Thirukkolur with the object of having darshan of Lord Vaithamanidhi Perumal . Divyakavi Pillai Iyengar in 108 Tirupati Andhadhi reveals that it is of no use enjoying luxurious life and eating good food if the tongue does not utter the word “Thirukurugoor” atleast once in a lifetime. Blessed are those who utter this sacred word Thirukurugoor and attain “moksha”
Being the appearance place of Madhurakavi Azhwar it had special significance and is believed that one who reaches this place and has darshan of the Lord here seldom wishes to leave the place due to the incomparable divine beauty of the LORD at this place .
This is the place where Nammazhwar imagined himself as a beautiful maiden and sings the wonderful pasuram ..
Unnum sorum.. pasuram ……..
Recollecting the below sweet verses Swamy Ramanuja walking along with his disciples to have Lord’s darshan . En route , all people from the nearby villages had arrived to seek Jagathacharyar blessings .
Among them a lady humbly prostrated and offered obeisances . Swamy Ramanuja pleased with her devotion asked her as to where was she coming from.
The lady replied that she was leaving Thirukkolur once for all . Swamy Ramanuja smiled and quoted a line from Nammazhwar’s paasuram
and said my child !!
how is that when all women are waiting here to go to Thirukkolur whereas you have decided to leave the divine place…
My child !! You know ….Thirukkolur is a holy place and most sought by the devotees who rush to be among the wonderful people there worshiping the Lordships .
The lady who was glowing with effulgence replied eloquently in a free flowing and unimpeded manner a set of eighty rhetorical questions, which referred to various divine incidents in the lives of sages, saints and the Lordships on her eligibility to stay at Thirukolur .
In each of the questions she compares the depth of devotion displayed by the immortal characters and thus submits her ineligibility to worship the Lordships and had no right to expect that Lord would treat her in a special way.
This great work is called ” Thirukkolur Pen Pillai Rahasyam” written by the great Acharyar Swamy Thiruvaimozhi Pillai provides deep insights for a aspiring devotee to spiritually progress in a material world.
The 81 questions referred have been briefly reflected below along with english translations .
( The inner meanings and reflections shared by advance devotees in their discourses shall be shared separately in the coming posts )
The Thirukkolur Pen Pillai Ammals questions …….
Holy sire !!!
What is my eligibility in staying at this holy place …??
Did I go on a holy mission like the great devotee Akrura ?
Azhaiththu varugiren endreno akroorarai pOle…
Did I entertain Vidhura in my home ?
Agamozhiththu vitteno vithurarai pole…
Did I cast off my body like the Rishi’s wife ?
Dhegaththai vitteno rishi paththiniyai pole…
Did I cause a demon Ravana to be killed like Sita
Dhasamuganai setrenO piraattiyai pOle…
Did I raise like the dead like Tondaman Chakravarthy
PiNam ezhuppi vittenO thoNdaimaanai pOle…
Did I offer a corpse like Ghantakarana
PiNavirundhittenO gantaakarNanai pOle…
Did I adorn Goddess Sita like Anusuya
ThaaikkOlam seydhenO anasooyaiyai pOle…
Did I seek a father like Dhruva
Thandhai engE endREnO Dhruvanai pOle…
Did I repeat the 3 lettered name like Kshatrabandhu
Moondrezhuththu sonneno kshathra bandhuvai pOle…
Did I get trodden like Ahalya
Mudhaladiyai petREnO agaligaiyai pOle…
Did I ripen while yet raw like Andal
Pinjaai pazhuththEnO aaNdaaLai pOle…
Did I glorify Lord Narayana like Peria Azhwar
Did I ransack religions like Thirumisai Azhwar ?
Aaraaindhu vittEnO thirumazhisaiyaar pOle
Did I realise LORDSHIPS as the subtlest like Nammazhwar
Avan (Naan) siriyan endREnO aazhwaarai pOle
Did I say anything like Kulasekhara Azhwar
Edhenum endreno kulasekararai pOle…
Did I say ! I pledge my word like little krishna
Yaan saththiyam endreno krishnanai pOle…
Did I give clues to Lord Rama like Kabandha
Adaiyaalam sonneno kabandhanai pOle…
Did I reveal secrets like Trijatha
Andharangam sonnenO thirijadaiyai pOle…
Did I recognize LORD like Mandodari
Avan dheivam endREnO mandodhariyai pOle…
Did I say know thee like sage Vishwamitra
Aham vEdhmi endREnO vishwaamiththirarai pOle…
Did I say I know “No god” like Madhurakavi Azhwar
ThEvu matRaRiyEnO madhurakaviyaarai pOle…
Did I give birth like Devaki
Dheivaththai petREnO dhEvakiyai pOle…
Did i say conceal thy discuss like vasudeva
Aazhi marai endREnO vasudhevarai pOle…
Did I bring up the cowherd like Yasoda
Aayanaai (Aayanai) valarthEno yasodhayai pOle…
Did I do a mite of service like the squirrels..
Anuyaathirai seydheno anilangalai pOle…
Did I take beaten rice like Kuchela
Aval poriyai eendhEnO kuchelarai pOle…
Did I bestow weapons like Agastaya
Aayudhangal eendheno agasthiyarai pOle…
Could I enter the war mentally like sanjaya
Andharangam pukkeno sanjayanai pOle…
Could I by works obtain bliss like Janaka
Karmaththaal petREnO janakarai pOle…
Did I bite the toe and see HIM like Kaliyan ( Thirumangai Azhwar )
Did I behold HIM in a nook like the foremost Azhwars
Idai kazhiyil kandEnO mudhalaazhwaargalai pOle…
Did I guard the two princess like sage valmiki
Iru mannarai petREnO vaalmeekarai pOle…
Did I offer the two garlands like Tondaradipodi Azhwar
Iru maalai eendhEno thondaradipodi Aazhwaar pOle…
Did I obtain truths like Thirukachi Nambee
Avan uraikka petREnO thirukkachchiyaarai pOle…
Was I absorbed into God like Tiruppan Azhwar
Avan mEni aanEno thiruppaanarai pOle…
Did I say send them like vashista
Anuppi vaiyum endREnO vasishtarai pOle……….
Did I worship sandals like Kongil Piratee
Adi vaanginEno kongil piraattiyai pOle…
Did I offer clay flowers like Kuruva Nambi
Mann poovai ittEno kurava nambiyai pOle…
Did I exclaim Oh ! The originator like Gajendra
Moolam endru azhaithEno gajaraajanai pOle
Poosa koduthEno kooniyai pOle…
Did I offer wreaths like Malakara
Did I keep my assigned place like Bharata….
Vaiththa idaththu irundhEno bharathanai pOle…
Did I serve on the way like lakshmana
Vazhiyadimai seydhEno lakshmananai pOle…
Did I land on the other shore like Guha..
Akkaraikke vittEno guhaperumaaLai pOle…
Did I fight with the demon Jatayu ?
Arakkanudan porudhEno periyavudaiyaarai pOle…
Did I land on this shore like Vibhishina
Ikkaraikke sendrEno vibheeshananai pOle…
Did I offer sweet fruits like Sabari
Iniyadhendru vaiththEno sabariyai pOle
Did I say Here he is like Prahalada
Ingum undu endrEno prahlaadhanai pOle…
Did I hide Little Krishna like Dhadhibandha the cowherd
Ingillai endrEno Dhadhipaandanai pOle…
Did I go to the forest like Lord Rama’s followers
Kaattukku pOnEno perumaalai pOle…….
Did I proclaim discovery of Mother Sita like Hanumanjee
Kandu vandhEn endrEno thiruvadiyai pOle…
Did I relinquish both hands like Draupadi
Iru kaiyyum vittEnO Dhraupadhiyai pOle…
Did I say the excuse Milk boils over like Vaduga nambee
Ingu paal pongum endrEno vaduga nambiyai pOle…
Did I hold my throat like Selva pilai
Iru midaru pidiththEno Selva pillaiyai pOle…
Did I deserve the command STOP HERE as Idaiyaitrukkudi nambi..
Nillena petrEno idaiyaatroor nambiyai pOle…
Did I carry the message He is dead like Marutiyandan
Avan pOnAn endrEnO maaruthi AndAnai pOle…
Did I go in pursuit like Nathamiunigal
Nedundhooram pOnEno naatha munigalai pOle…
Did I say I want HIM not like kuresa
Anukoolam sonnEno maalyavaanai pOle………
Did I refute Advaita like swamy Ramanuja
adadhwaitham vendrEnO emperumAnArai pOle…
Ananthapuram pukkEno aaLavandhaarai pOle…
Did I go to Anantapuram like Alavandar…
Did I feel separation like Teyvavariyanden
Aariyanai pirindhEno dheivaari aandaanai pOle…
Did I compose Andhadee like Malyavan
Andhaadhi sonnEno amudhanaarai pOle…
Did I opine mere ocean roar like Mahapurna
SooLuravu kondEno thirukkottiyooraarai pOle…
Did I exact promise like Goshtipurna….
yaan siriyan endrEnO Thirumalai nambiyai pOle…
Did I obtain mercy like a dumb person
Uyiraaya petrEno Oomaiayai pOle…
Did I give up my body like Tirunariyurariyar
Udambai veruththEno thirunaraiyooraararai pOle…
Did I profuse insignificantly like srisailapurna
Sutri kidandhEno thirumaalaiyaandaanai pOle…
Did I force my finger into snakes mouth like Embar
Vaayil kaiyittEno embaarai pOle…
Did I vanquish a pundit by showing marks on arm like Bhattaraya
ThoL kaatti vandhEno battarai pOle
Did I seek secluded spot like Villiputhur bhagavathar
Turai veru seydhEno bagavarai pOle…
Did I jump into water like kannapurattammal
On hearing these questions and her deep understanding , Swamy Ramanuja was thunderstruck. Swamy Ramanuja delivered a sweet discourse that made her reconsider her hasty decision in leaving the holy place .
The lady very respectfully offered obeisance’s to Swamy Ramanuja and requested Swamy to initiate a system to be adopted at the temple where the Lord is offered traditional poojas daily , fortnightly ,monthly and annual festivals with pomp and show . This would increase the glory of the holy place and force the people to stay there forever .
Swamy Ramanuja ,Ammai along with the disciples entered the holy place Thirukolur The pious lady invited Swamy Ramanuja to her house and offered prasada to be honoured by Jagathacharya . Swamy gladly accepted the same . Later all of them went to the temple at Thirukoloor and offered prayers to the Lordships.
Thus the glory of Thirukolur spread and the great spiritual treasure……
Thirukolur Penpillai rahasyam (Thirukkolur Ammal Varththaigal ) became a legendary guideline for ardent devotees seeking Lords lotus feet .
He blessed her and saw to that the due performance of all festivals connected with LORDSHIPS and Madhurakavi Azhwar are celebrated grandly as emphasised by shastras .
( The inner meanings and reflections shared by advance devotees in their discourses shall be shared separately in the coming posts in detail very soon by Acharyar’ s abundant mercy )
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan
Photos credits : Google images
Video credits : Thanks to “Sharp videos” / Thirukoshtiyar Vembu/ 4000 divyaprabhandam/ Sriman Udaykiran for telugu Swami Ramanuja’s song
THIRUKOLUR” signifies in tamil ( THIRU + KOLUR ) which means this is a treasure house of wealth. Few hundred years ago , Swamy Ramanujar during his travel to this divine place , saw a lady leaving the village with all her belongings near the boundary of the Thirukolur village . Swamy was surprised and hence asked her why she was leaving such a holy place when many come from far distances to render service the the Lord here worshiped by the great Nammazhwar ?
Swamy Ramanuja along with his disciples proceeded on a pilgrimage to divyadesams glorified by Azhwars . He reached Thirunagari the holy place where Swamy Nammazhwar appeared .He prostrated the Lordships at Sri Aadhinathar swamin.
Later proceeded towards Thirukolur with the thirst to serve the Lordships who were glorified by Swamy Nammazhwar as ” Sri Aravindalochana and Sri Vaithamaanidhee perumals.
It is said that one who has darshan of this holy dhaam and Perumal here will not wish to leave the place .
Swamy Ramanujar proceeded further to the holy spot with entourage .He was overjoyed to reach the divine place where Sri Madhurakavi azhwar appeared . He recollected Swamy Nammazhwar pasurams in the sixth sataka of Thiruvaimozhi –..”Unnum soru parugu neere pasuram ..
Nammazhwar knew none other than Lord Krishna true to his divine pasuram
One is reminded with the divine incident when Sage Valmiki requests Narada to name a person who is known for having all the sixteen opulent qualities. Narada unhesitatingly replies that Lord Sri Rama, the Emperor of Ayodhya is the embodiment of all the sixteen qualities. Among the sixteen great qualities Goodness Honesty Sweetness Simplicity
Compassion , Strength , Humility , Bravery , Valour, Talent , Prowess, Success , Memory , Trustworthiness , Heroism, Genuinity we humans get attracted to the quality of Daya(compassion) as it is only due to Lords mercy , our pile of sins are forgiven and thus redeemed from the cycle of birth and death.
Lord Sriman Narayana incarnated as Lord SRI RAMAR to personally demonstrate the world the teachings of Vedas and adhere to the path of DHARMA in all circumstances. Azhwars, acharyars, and innumerable saints and advanced devotees like Tyagarajar, Bhakta Ramadas, Kabirdas, Tulsidas, Kambar and countless worshipped Lord Rama who personally blessed them all. Our elders suggest us to read Srimad Ramayanam, especially the first sargam in Sundara kaandam for self realisation .
Nammazhwar in his emotional out pourings “Thiruvaimozhi 7-5 reveals “kaRpaar Ramapiraanai allaal maRRum kaRparO?…”
Sri Rama ruled the entire world from Ayodhya for 11,000 years and when he was reminded by Brahma through Dharmaraja to return to Sri Vaikuntam, Lord Rama shed all the royal robes and walking barefoot from the royal palace, clad in pure white holding dharbha reached the banks of Sarayu to ascend to Sri Vaikuntam.
The Lord took everything (the Grass, the creeping…
This Vaishnava Divya desam temple is believed to have been built during the 7th century by the Pandyas . A granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all its shrines. The temple has a five-tiered gopuram and the gateway tower is located behind a fort .
Thirumeyyam is one of the eighteen Pandya nadu divya desams located near Tiruchirapally . It is about 13 miles from Pudukkottai on Pudukkottai-Karaikudi route and takes about two hours car drive from srirangam to reach this place.
As the temple opens late around 7.30- 8.00 a.m., one can plan to have Viswaroopa darshan in Srirangam in the early hours and reach this place. The temple is administered by Pudukottai Endowment Department whereas the fort is under the control of Archeological Department.
This cave temple is slightly older and dated to closing decades of seventh century. The temple has a main gateway on the east in the lowermost wall with shrines for guardian deities like Ganesa, Hanuman and Bhairava.
There is a moat around the lower wall. On the top of the rock is bastion with cannon of british origin.
The other side of the Fort has three rock-cut temples, two of them dedicated to ParamaSivan and the third to Sri Maha Vishnu
Lord ( Perumal) in this big temple is glorified as Meiyappar/Sathyamurthy and Goddess ( Thayar) as Ujjevana Thayar
Lord MahaVishnu who protected Satya devathai from asuras’ atrocities- the Lord who answered Adiseshan’s prayers in removing his tamasic qualities- the Lord who blessed Chandran and consented to prevail over Chandra mandalam,- the Lord of Lords who granted Garudan’s wish to remain as the divine vehicle for the Lord, the Lord with whose cool benevolent grace Dakshagan was redeemed from curse, the Lord who bestowed moksha to Satyavratha rishi and King Pururuvas- the Lord who appeared to King Indradyumna ordering him to construct a temple for HIM resides at this holy place
Divya desam Perumal gives darshan in two forms as Meiyappar also known as Adi Ranganathar in Sayana Thirukolam (sleeping posture) and as Satyamurthy in Nindra thirukolam(standing posture) under Satyagiri vimanam on the banks of Satya theertham /Kadamba pushkarini) a satyavanam (venu vanam).
As the Lord is the personification of truth, HE is glorified as Meiyappar/SAtyamurthy and the place came to be known as Thirumeyyam.
The temple consists of an ardha-mandapa in front of the rectangular sanctum Along with the LORD , other deities like Garuda, Chitragupta, Markandeya, Brahma, the Devas, the Vasus, and the Kinnaras give darshan . There are two demons near the lotus feet of the Lord .
Legend reveal that Lord Ksheerabhidhinathar in sayana thirukolam ( sleeping posture ) at this temple. Thirumeyyam is considered to be the largest and older than Sri Ranganathar at Srirangam. Hence the Lord is also known as Adi Rangan.
While Lord was in Yoga Nidarai(yogic sleep), two demons named Madhu, Kaitapa were creating trouble .Goddess Sridevi took asylum in Perumal’s chest while Bhudevi resorted to Perumal’s thiruvadi ( lotus feet ) .
Adiseshan who did not want Perumal’s slumber to be disturbed, chased away the rakshasas by emitting poisonous fumes which is beautifully depicted on the wall behind the deity .
The ( demons ) rakshasas are seen fleeing away near Perumal’s feet.
Adiseshan apologized to Lord ( Perumal) as he felt guilty for having done this act without Lord’s permission. The compassionate Lord placed HIS right hand on Adiseshan as a mark of gesture and love .
A lotus stalk emerging from the navel of Perumal and on the lotus ,chatur mukha Brahma seated on along with 33 crore devatas worshiping the Lord is beautifully depicted on the walls.
Apart from the above , Chitraguptan, Markandeyar, Brahma, Madhu, Kaitapar along with devatas can be seen inside while having darshan of Lordships .
There are deities of Sudarshanazhwar , Andal, Narthana Krishna on the left side and Sri Lakshmi Narasimhan on the right side in the Moolasthanam.
UTSAVA MURTHY-SATHYAMURTHY WITH SRIDEVI,BHUDEVI, ANDAL
The utsava murthi-Lord Meiyappar along with ubhaya nachiyars give darshan in the Moolasthanam. The Moolasthanam is on a pedastal and one has to climb about 4 steps to have a closer view of the ever compassionate gigantic Perumal.
For devotees Lord ‘s thirumukham(face) and Thiruvadi(feet) can be viewed from outside through two small window openings.
Lord Satyamurthy’s sanctum is to the right side of Lord Meiyappar sannidhi. The utsava murthi gives darshan along with Sridevi,Bhudevi and Andal.
LORD MEIYAPPAR ALONG WITH SRIDEVI,BHUDEVI INN STANDING POSTURE
Ujjevana Thayar has a separate shrine. As the name depicts, the goddess gives ujjeevanam to the devotees. The childless couple offer special prayers to this Goddess for progeny .
Opposite to Satyamurthy’s sanndihi is Garuda bhagavan’s sannidhi.
GARUDAZHWAR SANNIDHI OPPOSITE TO MEIYAPPAR SANNIDHI, THIRUMEYYAM
On the right side , we can have darshan of Sita-Ramar along with Lakshmanan in a separate sannidhi opposite to which is Hanuman’s sannidhi. Andal gives darshan on the left side in a separate shrine.
Brahmotsavam is performed for 10 days during Vaigasi(*May-June) culminating on Visagam (10th day with Theerthavari on that day).
Garuda utsavam on 4th day of Brahmotsavam attracts huge crowds.
The Thiru-ther utsavam on 8th day is equally important.
Perumal appeared to Satya maharishi on Vaikasi-Pushyam day.
Thiruaadipooram, Adhyayana utsavam during Margazhi(Dec-Jan), Sri Krishnashtami are few festivals which are performed grandly. The temple follows vaikhanasa agamam .
STHALAPURANAM
Sathyagireeswaran( ParamaSivan) and Satyamurthy(Vishnu) temples are carved out of a single rock within the fort.
Asuras defeated the devas and started ruling the world inflicting troubles on all living beings. There was no place for sathyam(truth) and dharmam(righteousness). Dharma devathai took the form of a bull and reached Azhagar koil for prayers while Satya devathai took the form of a deer and entered venu vanam(as this place was full of bamboo trees) and meditated on Lord Vishnu for help.
Lord Maha Vishnu appeared before Satya devathai and promised to annihilate the asuras and restore satyam and dharmam. Satya devathai prayed to Perumal to stay at this place forever. Hence, we see the Lord here as Truth personified. HE is known as Satyanathan and the utsavar is known as Mei-appan(Mei in tamil means truth)……
Adisesha, the foremost servitor of the Lord assumes various forms and does kainkaryam to Perumal and Thayar eternally.
A verse in Prabhandam goes like ….
Sendral kudaiyam,
Irundhal sinhAsanamam,
nindral maravadiyam,
neelkadalul endrum punaiyam
(, manivillakkAm ,
poompattAm,
pulgum anaiyam thirumArvukku aravu).
Freely translated,
Adisesha acts as Umbrella when the Lord walks, he becomes simhasanam for the Lord to sit, he becomes padhukas to hold the tender lotus feet of the Lord when HE walks, he is the cosy bed and pillow on which the Lord rests in Vyuha form in Thirupaarkadal , he acts as light to the Lord and as silk cloth for the Lord. As Lakshmana , the service what he rendered to Sri Rama is remarkable.
The thousand hooded Adisesha came down from Ksheerabdhi and traversing through the bowels of earth reached this place.
Assuming the five hooded form , Adisesha contemplated on the Lord at this place .Lord appeared and granted his wish to give darshan in Sayana Thriukolam as HE is in Thirupaarkadal.
Hence,we have darshan of the Lord as Ksheerabdhinathan.
Legends reveal that once , Sathyavatha Maharishi was doing penance sitting on Chithrasilai under a banyan tree named Pathiravadam near Pushpathirai river at the foot of the Himalayas.
He went into the woods for collecting sticks for daily homam ( havan ) .
He unknowingly cut his finger in the process , which he was unaware as it did not cause any pain or blood oozed.
By the time he returned to his hermitage, the finger grew .
Gandharvas observed this strange incident to Indran.
Indran and his brother,Upendra disguised as hunter and a boar came into the vicinity of the Rishi’s ashram .
Mahavishnu who had taken the form of boar appeared as if he was hit by the arrow reached the ashram and sought asylum.
Tracing the foot prints of the boar, the hunter approached the rishi and requested him to tell him about the whereabouts of the boar so that he could save his family who were on the verge of death due to starvation.
The rishi was in a dilemma because if he told the hunter about the boar’s hiding place, the hunter would kill the boar and he would not be able to keep up his promise of protecting the boar.
The rishi ,who was an embodiment of knowledge, philosophically explained the actual truth and advised the hunter to refrain from this crime.
Lord Vishnu and Indra appeared in their true forms before the rishi and praised him for his devotion. Lord Vishnu advised him to go to Sathya kshetram and continue his penance and assured him of salvation along with Pururavas Chakravarthi.
The rishi expressed his gratitude towards the rock named Chithrasalai on which he sat, the banyan tree which gave him shelter and the river Pushpathirai in which he had bath. Perumal replied that the rock and the banyan tree would be transported on Iravatam, Indra’s elephant to Satya kshetram and the river would appear there as theertham. River Pushpathirai now flows as Satya Pushkarini, the rock is now the big cave in which the temple is built and the banyan tree is the sthala vruksham.
Thirumangai azhwar has composed several pasurams on great Lord in Peria Thirumozhi . Azhwar quotes LORD of Thirumeyyam in several pasurams while glorifying the LORDSHIPS in other divya desams which shows is deep affection to our LORD here . Azhwar refers our Lord at Thirumeyyam as Lord Rama .
Lord holding the Kodandam Bow that pierced seven sala trees is memorable . Azhwar has a deep desire to hug the Lord’s broad chest at least once for his valor .
In another pasuram , while glorifing Srinivasa Perumal at Thirunaraiyur who happens to be Azhwar’s acharyar, Azhwar glorifies the Lord at Thirumeyyam as the one who in Krishnaavataram burnt the Kandava vanam. In another pasuram Azhwar takes the role of a mother whose daughter is in deep love with Perumal and suffering from pangs of separation.
The mother says that her daughter is lamenting by taking the names of Lord of Thiruvenkatam, Thiruneermalai,Thirukannapuram, Thirumeyyam and asking the whereabouts about Thirumeyyam.
In another pasuram , Azhwar compares the dark complexioned Lordships residing at Thirumeyyam to the dark sea, mountain, dark clouds ready to pour rain, compares to Kuvali flower(dark flower) and says that the hands which do not fold in front of Thirumeyyam Perumal are not considered to be hands at all.
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan
Pics credits : Google images /All advanced devotees who have uploaded the same .
The gem of a work presented to us by Jagath Acharyar Swamy Ramanujar is ” SRI BHASHYA”.
The illustrious Sri Vaishnava preceptor Swamy Alavandar wanted Swamy Ramanujacharya to take over spiritual leadership of the Sri Vaishnava community.
Swamy Ramanuja set off to meet Alavandar as per the instructions , but before the meeting could materialize, Swamy Alavandar departed from this world. Swamy Ramanuja was sad for the sudden turn of events .
He noticed that three of Swamy Alavandar’s fingers remained folded. Swamy Ramanuja asked the Elders assembled there why was it so. They replied that Swamy Alavandar had three unfulfilled wishes. On inquiring further it was revealed that the great Acharyar Alavandar wanted to write a commentary for Brahmasutra, but he could not get round to doing it because of his busy occupations .
Hence the first folded finger indicated this unfulfilled desire. Secondly, he wanted to do something to honor the contributions of the revered sages Vyasa and Parasara and thirdly, he wanted to write a commentary on Nammazhvar’s Thiruvaimozhi.
Swamy Ramanuja instantaneously promised to carry out all the three wishes unfulfilled by Swamy Alavandar. Miraculously , all the fingers restored its normal course .
Swamy Ramanuja’s Brahmasutras is glorified as Sri Bhashyam. Ramanuja named his disciple Kooratazhvan’s sons Parasara Bhattar and Vedavyasa Bhattar, thus the second wish of Alavandar was fulfilled. Upon the command of Swamy Ramanuja, his disciple Sri Kurukesa (Pillan) wrote a commentary for Thiruvaimozhi. Thus Swamy Ramanuja ensured that all of Acharyar Alavandar’s three wishes were fulfilled.
The efforts made by Swamy Ramanuja to take up the important task of his Acharyar must be cherished by every vaishnava . The comprehensive commentary of this outstanding work was given the name Srutha Prakashika.
The legendary Acharyas after our Jagath Acharyar who explained this beautiful commentary were Kurukeshwaran disciple of Swamy Ramanuja , Vishnuchittar disciple of Swamy Kurukeshwaran , Varadacharyar disciple of Vishnuchittar and Sudarshanabhattar disciple of Varadacharyar ( Nadaadhoor Ammal)
The great devotee of Lord Varadarajar of Kancheepuram ” Swamy Nadaadhoor Ammal wrote a book with all the understandings gained from the Elders in the form of arguments answers and counter arguments about the great work Sri Bhashya.
This work was called as PRAMEYAMALA .
He continued his writing with monumental works like Tatwa sara and Prapanna Parijata. Swamy was respected as the most authoritative commentator on Sri Bhashya and several disciples used to approach him for learning the esoteric truths .
A great devotee and an obedient disciple Sudarshana suri was keen to meet the Acharyar for the same . He traveled to Kancheepuram after taking permission from his aged mother . Always attentive and serving his Acharyar Ammal he was learning the rich truths from the commentaries daily. He was always there to attend the class , no matter even If he had already attended the same .That was his interest . He was always in the mood of being near to his Acharyar serving him .
One day it so happened all the disciples were awaiting for the class to begun . Acharyar also had come . But he was waiting for Sudarshana arrival . The disciples were upset for the special care given to Sudarshana The disciples expressed their unhappiness for the special care given to Sudarshana as they found him to be a dull witted person attending the same classes repeatedly without any knowledge.
The next day Ammal conducted the class as usual . He paused at a verse … and looked at Sudarshana and said ……..
My Child ! Please repeat what was explained about this verse . Sudarshana bhattar obediently got up and with folded hands replied ..
Acharya … Please command me !!! Which adhikarna ? This verse was given wonderful explanations in every discourse .Please tell me which explanation are you seeking ? The first class OR the last class ?
The disciples were dumb folded . Ammal continued . My child ! Please tell me both of them ..
Sudarshana explanations was a continuous flawless flow of words that mesmerized all the disciples .He was simply excellent in reproducing the content as explained by his Master ..
Acharyar praised him for his comprehension diction and dedication . All the disciples rushed towards Sudarshana and requested him to elucidate all the meanings .
Sudarshana attempted to codify all the texts and bring together the various commentaries of Elders as the gem Sri Bhashya.. The disciples all together edited the various commentaries of the Acharyas and hence the name …
SHRUTA PRAKASHIKA ….…
THAT WHICH IS HEARD HE MOST AUTHORITATIVE
This treasure is considered as a full mail of diamonds for Sri Bhashya like a kavacham ( shield ) This great commentary has provided answers to various onslaughts made on it in the form of questions and the doubts raised by people with limited vision .Because of this lovely work Sri Bhashya withstood firmly the many arguments and counter arguments of mayavadis .
Once this wonderful work was completed Sudarshana seeking blessings of Acharyar returned to Srirangam . He was shocked to see the tyranny of Ulugh Khan the Moslem rulers . There was chaos everywhere .
The tyrants were pulling down the towers of the mandapams .The people were living in deep fear .The palm leaf manuscripts stored in the houses of advanced srivaishnavas were being burnt .
Many elders lost their lives saving the treasures of commentaries . Sudarshana was sad . He carried the manuscripts to his aged mother and pleaded her to save this jewel which was his life breath . He approached the elders to contribute his services in protecting the LORD ..
The young Swamy Desikar , Swamy Sudarshana and other Acharyas assembled , and met Swamy Pillai Lokacharyar inside the Srirangam temple .They all concluded it was Ulugh Khan the army commander sent by Tuglak who was creating this tyranny to loot the temple . They had to take a quick decision .
All of them informed the temple priests for staying beside the deities at all cost , and gave some important tasks to be completed without any delay .
.Swamy Lokacharyar called the Chieftain and the Elders of the temple and advised them what could be the steps that may have to take facing the invader inside the temple .The objective was not to confront the enemy but to focus their efforts to ensure that the moola virat was not desecrated.
All of them decided that they shall form three groups . One group shall be headed by the eldest Swamy Pillai Lokachariya, who shall carry the deities of Lord Ranganatha and His concerts in a covered palanquin and proceed southward with few disciples .
Sudarshana who had just arrived took up the task of erecting a stone wall in front of the main sanctorum to misguide the invaders . Thus a stone wall was constructed with support of many disciples in a short time .
The third team was to provide cover for the team lead by Swamy Pillai Lokachariya [the team with the deities of our lord and his consorts so that swami had enough time to maintain safe distance from the enemy.
Swami Desika who was the youngest among the Acharyas was requested by Shri Sudarsana to go with the third party and somehow save himself so that he at least might be left to propound Sri Vaishnavism and the teachings of Jagatha Acharya Shri Ramanuja.
There was not much time left . Sudharsana entrusted his two young sons and manuscript “Sruta prakaasikA” to Swami Desika asking him to save this treasure for future generations Swami Desika earnestly prayed LORD that this great work must at any cost be saved . Swami as instructed immediately took up the directions from Sudharsana Suri and was about to leave towards northward with the little boys .
At the temple town , all of them decided in one voice that they will not oppose the army , but behave as if nothing is so serious .. There was a regular update about the Invaders who were approaching . The people were in two moods whether they should remain in town or flee.
Who was to decide and advise them? The people were utterly confused .They decided to take counsel from Lord Ranganatha himself then decided to appeal to the LORD Himself . They all dropped chits (Tiru Ulla seettu) expressing their opinion and with devotion they drew up one chit which said that all could remain at Srirangam itself.
They decided in was the Lord’s order and remained facing the situation bravely.The same evening, the invaders marched inside the Srirangam town from Samayavaram . Thousands of the town’s citizens were harassed and injured .The terror in which the enemy looted the prosperous town speaks about the bravery of the srivaishnavas there .
It was a very sad plight and the bloodbath that followed who resisted will make one cry for our great forefathers who sacrificed their lives . This had been recorded in the History of Srirangam Temple known as Koil-Ozhugu . The sad bloodshed of 12,000 Sri Vaishnavas at Sri Varahaswamy Sannidhi makes it the worst day in the temple town .
Inside the Hall , Swamy Desikar saw heaps of corpses lying around . He somehow braved the boys to lie down unnoticed to give an impression that no one survived . The little boys stretched underneath along with some of them and our dear Swami also lay down next to them along with the holy book.
Swamy Desikar thus concealed the two boys and himself amidst a heap of corpses and passed the night with caution . The enemy troops assumed that they were corpses and did not bother to probe. Observing the enemy troops moving away , Swamy Desikar slowly took the frightened boys before dawn unnoticed in North-Westerly direction .
He suddenly saw some gaurds chasing them. He managed to hide near the mud rocks at the banks of river kaveri. With caution , hiding the young boys beneath the mud rocks he dug one yard deep pit in the sands of the river and buried the great work giving mother kaveri a rare tribute .
He somehow managed to lay down covering himself with the kaveri sand escaping any detection . When the gaurds moved he regained his position and quickly moved away to Satyamangala with the treasure book and the small kids . He made few copies of the manuscripts and taught the contents to all his disciples .
Our Poorvacharyas have struggled to give us this treasure and hence It is the bounden duty of every vaishnava to proudly say…..
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan …..
I am Ramanuja dasan … and thus protect /propogate the works of our Poorvacharyars and our sampradaya ..saying .
All glories to Swamy Pillai LokaAcharyar
All glories to Swamy Sudarshan suri
All glories to Swamy Vedanta Desikar…………
All glories to Poorvacharyas for their abundant mercy …
“shrImAn venkaTa-nAthAryaH kavitArkika-kesari | vedAntAcharya-varyo me sannidhattAm sadA hridi | kavithArkika simhAya kalyANa guNa Saline Srimathe vEnkateSAya vEdhAntha guravE namaha
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan …..
Adapted from a discourse shared by an advanced devotee .
Pics Credits : Google images/sri varavara muni /All devotees of Lord
Few hundreds year ago at Srirangam inside an Ashram , the revered Srivaishnava Acharyar Swamy Aaachaan was delivering a discourse to his disciples .
Trailokyai Ammal happened to be there hearing the Master speak .
Acharyar begun .. My dear children ……
The best means to salvation is LORD himself and to attain is two fold .
One by Bhakthi or loving him with all the energy of ones own will and the other, is Prapatti loving him with all the force derived from the Supreme LORD himself …
When you resign from your own will and place all your hopes in the sweet will of the providence the process of change begins .
Many spiritual texts advises that surrender to the lotus feet of the Supreme is the best means to attain Moksha .
The Taitriya Upanishad explores the different paths and the effectiveness for attaining Moksha ..
Srirangam Sri Ranganathaswamy Kovil
Satyam Practice of Truth
Tapas Reducing bodily needs
Damas Control of one’s senses
Sama Control of inner senses
Daanam Giving liberally
Dharma Practice of duties
Agneyah tending sacred fires
Agnihotra offering to devas through fire
Yagna sacrifices
Maanasa meditation
Nyaasa surrender
Among all the above paths Surrender is the Ultimate . Bhakthi needs to be practiced for a long duration until the prarabdha karma gets exhausted .
Bhakthi needs Jnana and shakthi and its a continuous sustained attempts whereas Prapatti is total surrender to LORD in any state .
Trailokyai Ammal liked the discourse .
She sincerely approached Master and requested him to allow her to attend classes . Acharyar allowed her for the dedication .
Ammal served the disciples and the Master with care and affection simultaneously listening to the esoteric truths ..
One day, it was informed that a revered Acharyar from Tirumala had arrived .
Ammal loved Tirumala very much .
The hymn of Nammalvar on Tirumala always made her swoon in imagination to the holy place .
She took permission from her Acharyar to take blessings from the Acharyar who had arrived . With great anxiety she met the revered master .
Offering obeisances repeatedly she seeked a favor to serve him all the while during his stay .The Master was none other than the great Swamy AnanthAzhwan who had spontaneously agreed to leave to Tirumala to serve Lord Venkateshwara as per Jagath Acharyar Swamy Ramanuja’s command .
Days passed , Ammal was taking care of all the needs of Acharyar and had to take leave when Swamy proceeded back to Tirumala.
Aaachan looked at Ammal and asked her ,
My Child ….
Tell me ….whether Swamy taught you lessons which was not covered by me past so many years. Ammal responded ..
Yes ! Master …
I learn t the most important lesson from Swamy Anantha Azhwan. Seeking refuge from the lotus feet of Acharyan. is ultimate , whereas your honor said we need to seek lotus feet of Supreme Lord .
She continued … trust at the lotus feet of the savior my Acharyar will give sure protection and hence decided to seek the lotus feet of Acharyar who she could directly see .
She elaborated …Master !!! Should I let go the water in my palm looking at the clouds for the water ? Achaan agreed with her innocent talk and praised her devotion …
Another incident took place in Srirangam ….
It so happened a dumb and deaf person approached Swamy Ramanujar and appealed in a moving manner unable to utter a single word .
The ever merciful Acharyar was moved .
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He clasped his hand with the person and both proceeded inside the Ashram. He closed the doors of his personal room. All the disciples were wondering who could be the new person ? There was silence ….
Swamy Kooresa arrived to find out who was the person Acharyar clasped his hands with Noticing he has gone inside the private chambers of Acharyar he felt he was a great Mahaan . It took some time .
Very inquisitively he peeped inside the chambers from the key hole.
Inside Jagath Acharyar Swamy Ramanuja in sign language was asking the dumb person what was his desire . It looked the person was holding swamy’s feet tightly with tears seeking refuge and pleading Acharyar to place his feet on his head and bless him . Acharyar with compassion placed his lotus feet on his head and blessed him .
Koorath Azhwan observed this . He bemoaned that he was not as fortunate as the deaf dumb person to get that total grace of Jagath Acharyar Swamy Ramanuja…
There is a beautiful saying in tamil ……………………………….
‘Uyiya oreyy vazhi Udayavar thiruvadi’
meaning …..
..‘To achieve salvation the surrender at the lotus feet of Swamy Ramanuja is the only way’.
Swamy Pillai Lokachariar says in his wonderful work…..
” Sri Vachana Bhushanam ……….. ‘Acharya Abimaname Uththaragam’ –
meaning …
“Acharyan feeling happy about his disciple and showering his grace can be the Saviour of the highest kind”.
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan
Pics credits : Google images/ Sri varavaramuni group
At Tirumala , Lord Sri Venkateshwara’ awakes with Annamayya’s melukolupu, and follows the day’s rituals, ends with the great saint poetess Vengamamba’s Mutyala Harathi
At Tirumala , Lord Sri Venkateshwara’ awakes with Annamayya’s melukolupu, and follows the day’s rituals, ends with the great saint poetess Vengamamba’s Mutyala Harathi
.
Mutyala Harathi’, is the last ritual performed during ‘Ekantha Seva’ to Lord Venkateswara in Tirumala .This seva is symbolic gesture of the Lord’s love for His devotees.
The ritual was started by saint-poetess Tarigonda Vengamamba and for almost the last three centuries is being performed on par with ‘Lalipata’, ( Lullaby) introduced by another great devotee Sri Tallapaka Annamacharya. Performing both the rituals during ‘Ekantha Seva’ to the Lord is remembering these great devotees who had surrendered to Lord . The speciality of Ekantha seva is glorified as
‘Tallapaka vari Lali, Tarigondavari Harathi’ among the devotees.
Swamy Parasara Bhattar the great successor of Jagath Acharyar Swami Ramanuja was a prolific writer of great distinction.
Acharyar’s works in Sanskrit and tamil bear amazing scholarship and command . Swamy’s works in Sanskrit include Ashtasloki, BhagavadgunaDarpanam , SriGunaRatnakosam, SriRanganathaStotram, Sri Ranganatha Stavam.
Swamy Parasara bhattar was officiating as the chief-priest in SriRangam temple, and hence was known as Purohita of Lord Ranganatha, SriRangesa Purohitah.
Swamy’s transcendental life was full of divine incidents and anecdotes, which are cherished by all .
The below mentioned incident happened a few hundred years ago at Srirangam the capital of Srivaishnavas .
The Sastras proclaim that whenever there is a transit of a planet from one sign to another sign of the zodiac , it is necessary to perform holy bath ( Abhishek ) to the Lordships .
Accordingly all arrangements were being made inside the temple .
A vedantin who had several doubts on srivaishnava mode of worship happened to enter the temple to offer respects to the Lordships to have darshan of Lord Ranganatha .
Inside the temple , Swamy Parasara bhattar was in ecstatic mood .
While having darshan he noticed the revered Acharyar Swamy Parasara bhattar was reciting a verse which kept all the devotees spellbound . The verse was new to his disciples . They were very eager to learn about the meaning of the divine verse .
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The curtains were drawn . The Lordships were being dressed with royal garments amidst divine fragrance. The disciples approached Acharyar and submitted .
Acharya …
The sloka which was recited was very new to us .
Kindly explain us the content for us to recite .The vedantin also was keen to hear the commentary .
Acharyar replied ,
My dear children ……..
that was an emotional outpour having darshan of our LORD .
The divine verse interpretation attracted the vedantin closer .
He had several doubts to be cleared and by the discourse he could understand the esoteric truths from the legend himself.
Acharyar words were crystal clear .
Swamy began …………
My children ..
There is always a tussle going on time to time immemorial between the Jiva and Paramatma .
Though the absolute truth is “LORD is independent ” and ” we jivas are beholden in him and dependent” , ,……..
this jiva ……………….is infatuated with material pursuits which makes him ignore the subtle truth .
Due to sheer ignorance and blinded by the three gunas he oversees the truth .
And, due to his arrogance, boasts about his independence , thus suffers succession of sorrows.
The all compassionate Lord feels sad for him ( jiva ) and says
Tvamme..
YOU ARE MINE … and YOU ARE MY FAVORITE…
If you recognise this truth …I WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU …
The arrogant Jiva replies …
How can I be yours ?
I cannot be yours and
I cannot be dependent on you and……………………….
at NO TIME ..I can be your servant ..
I AM TOTALLY INDEPENDENT ……………………
Lord out of abundant love smiles and asks ………. Kutastat ?
How is that ?
and ...how did you arrive at that conclusion ?
The Jiva due to his unlimited arrogance replies ..
OK…………………….. Fine ..then ……
Now how would you answer the same question if it was from me ?
that you are my Lord and I am yours ..???
The Ocean of Mercy LORD smiles and replies
...Yes ………..My child …
For my statement the vedas are the authority ..
pathim visvasyaa…daasa bhootah svaiah sarve…
The Jiva argues again without understanding the subtle truth …
From Time immemorial I lived as an INDEPENDENT PERSON …
and I continue to live and thus quoting vedas written in old palm leaves manuscripts are no longer valid for me to be convinced ….
Tarhi saakroshayeva …
Once again LORD out of abundant compassion replies …….
My dear child …..
Are you advancing with false arguments , though you do not have proper knowledge ?
I have always taken care of you ….
I have always been there ……..and objected independence for your own good …..
my dear ……
kvaa krosah kasya ..
The jiva with no remorse once again out of pride replies
NO ONE HAS RAISED ANY OBJECTION AT ANY PLACE ABOUT MY FREE WILL AND INDEPENDENCE
..(including the court) ..
Gitaadishu mama viditah ..
Lord smiles at the ignorant jiva and …replies patiently ..
My dear child ..
In this world there are two kinds of sentient beings ..
Atma quality-less and attribute-less gets combined with this prakruti, and forms different senses (both subtle and gross) and thus gets different material natures.
This combination of atma and qualities arising from prakruti is you the jivatma…..
apareyam itas tv anyāṁ prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat BG – 7.5
mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati BG – 15.7 and all the living entities in this conditioned world are my eternal fragmentation parts.
Due to conditioned life, the struggle is felt .
Besides the (insentient matter), O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is another, superior energy of Mine, which comprises the living entities who are exploiting the resources of this material, inferior nature.
Unperturbed , with a casual approach the jiva demands proof and objects the statements of LORD ….
The jiva seeks for witness to claim his argument ..
Sudheeh syaat …
Paramatma once again replies stating everyone who read Srimad Bhagavad Gita are his witness
Hasta tvatpakshapaate sah ….
The Jiva replies that
It cannot accept the witness as the so called readers of Srimad Bhagavad Gita ,would just go around seeking livelihood by mentioning your name only ?
The argument goes to no end due to the jiva’s arrogance and false illusion …
The all compassionate LORD thinks that there can be only one alternative left for him …
Generally in this material world .. when arguments and counter arguments go on between two persons , one of the person to prove his statements , indicates he would wear a wet cloth and stand before a tree and take an oath stating that he was speaking ONLY truth
Lord thought that as there was no other alternative to convince his children …
.takes the ultimate step to be in wet clothes ….
Mrugyamadyasthharat tvam ….
Acharyars in his deep musings with tears looking at LORD in wet clothes submits ..
Oh ! Supreme Lord !! Not able to convince obstinate people with your explanations …
My LORD ..Are you adoring yourself with wet clothes to convince this fallen jiva ….
Mruya madhyastha ……..
and thus Acharyar shares his emotional musings …..
which enlighten their opinion ..
The vedantin approaches the Acharyar and humbly submits ….
Swamin ..Just give me a gist of the summary ….
Acharyar replies ……
Swamin ….It is not really essential for a person to take a dip in the Holy rivers like ganges and visiting pilgrim centers .. …
It is enough if one doesn’t doubt the LORD who is the in dweller in the heart and functions in a manner of being beholden to him ..
When knowledge of self arises in one , like the rising sun , the arguments which one advances due to ignorance would abrade..
The innumerable references to the interpretations Swamy Parasara Bhattar to azhwar’s hymns and his wonderful repartee to his disciple Nanjiyar’s questions are source of immense delight to all devotees ……
Another divine musings about his pangs of separation with LORD is appended in the below mentioned url post …where he mentions …
He was explaining the three stages of love to LORD …
Recollection , Trance and Rallying …
Recollection is recollection of all the past ravishments of soul ..vouchsafed by LORD
Trance or Fainting is consequent on desolation at this recollection not yielding to the present enjoyment
Rallying is the sudden lucidity whilst in this state of trance which is considered as a extreme advanced state in devotion which our Azhwar’s possessed..
Swami Ramanuja indicated to MudaliAndaan about the auspicious happening and told him he would be blessed with a progeny soon. In due course , a son was born to Andaan. Thus, Andaan vamsam (family) were called Kandadayar family. It is said that a whole street [north mADa street] in Srivilliputthur bears the name ‘kandadaiyar vithi’, to signify the importance of the illustrious family.
Swami Mudaliandan was the foremost disciple of Swami Ramanuja. Mudaliandaan is considered as being an Avathara of the Lord Rama Himself. Lord Rama was so pleased with Adiseshan’s service to him as Lakshmana that he wanted to serve him in future Avatharas. As a result, He bestowed the Avathara of Balarama to Adiseshan and himself as Krishna. Adiseshan incarnated as Swami Ramanuja , and LORD Rama became his daasan. ( Daasarathe his original thirunamam) .
Once, while serving Swami Ramanuja inside a temple Andaan expressed his anxiety about blessing him with a progeny to continue services to Asmath Acharyar and his mission . During the conversation , Swamy Ramanuja received maha prasadam from the temple which was covered with a garment (Kandadai – Gandam + aadai – a piece of cloth with fragrance) worn by Lord’s thirumeni (Lord’s archamurthy).
Swami Ramanuja indicated to MudaliAndaan about the auspicious happening…
Swami Thiru-kachchi Nambi occupies a very unique position, both as an Acharyar, and as an advanced devotee in srivaishnava guru parampara . Swamy Nambi is one of the very few devotees with whom the Lord Himself conversed regularly. Swami Thirukkachchi nambi appeared in a place called poo irunda valli (currently called poonamallee, near Chennai ) which falls on 19th Feb 2024 Maasi Mrigasira Nakshatra this year . Swamy moved to kAnchIpuram, and started performing devotional service to LORD Varadaraja at Kancheepuram templ. His unique service was to fan the Lord of Kanchi, Swami Varadaraja, everyday in the late morning-early afternoon, and in the night before Lord takes rest . While doing the fanning service (called thiru-Ala-vatta Kainkaryam in tamil), Lord Varadaraja used to converse with Swami thiru-k-kachchi nambi about the happenings around the world. The topics used to be anything from how the temple was being run, to the happenings in the city of Kanchipuram and esoteric topics about philosophy. The Lord considered swami thiru-k- kachchi nambi as His closest friend, and talked to him just like any friend would. All this was due to the great qualities of swami thiru-k- kachchi nambi – his supreme devotion to Lord Varadaraja, his being devoid of any ego, and his being a true servant of the Lord, wanting no other thing but service to the Lord. One incident in his life is used to show how much Lord cared for him. One morning, after the morning holy rituals were completed in the temple, everyone left as usual. Lord Varadaraja and Swami thiru-k- kachchi nambi were discussing , with Swami thiru-k-kachhci nambi performing the usual Kainkaryam of fanning the Lord. They were immersed on some interesting topic, and time passed without both of them noticing. Suddenly , It began to rain very heavily. The time for thiru-k- kachchi nambi to go home for his afternoon prasadam arrived, and Lord seemed to be resting. So, swami thiru-k-kachchi nambi took leave from Lord, and went outside the covered Mantapam. It was raining very heavily, and hence he could not move out . He was getting concerned that if he is delayed now, then he will be delayed coming back to the temple for evening services. Suddenly, an aged Sri Vaishnava person appeared with an umbrella, and told swami thiru-k-kachchi nambi that Lord Varadaraja had instructed him to accompany swami thiru-k-kachchi nambi to his home with the umbrella, and bring him back. Swami thiru-k-kachchi nambi was very moved with this kindness, and thanked the Sri Vaishnava and the Lord for the great help … Evening came, and swami thiru-k-kachchi nambi was delayed a little bit in starting for the temple. The Sri Vaishnava who accompanied him to his house was still there, waiting for him, so that he could accompany him back to the temple. Meanwhile, in the temple, the priests arrived to start performing the evening rituals. When they entered the sanctum sanctum, they were shocked and taken aback. The Lord was not there in the temple! They looked everywhere, and the Lord was not there! They were much worried, and were waiting for swami thiru-k- kachchi nambi to come back so that they can ask him if he knew where the Lord went, or if the Lord was upset with some mistake that might have happened. After sometime, Swami thiru-k-kachchi nambi came along with the SriVaishnava. The priests immediately went to him, and explained the situation, and asked him with great concern if he knew anything. Swamithiru-k-kachchi nambi told them he had no idea about what might have happened, and immediately started shedding tears . After all, Lord Varadaraja was not just the Supreme Being to him… He was also his closest friend. Swami thiru-k-kachchi nambi was anxious about the sudden happenings . Offering prayers silently he attempted to check all the places he was familiar inside the temple ,like how a father would search for his lovable child so as to get any clues from there. He went to the usual place of the Lord, and lo and behold, the Lord was there,smiling and with a very satisfied look on His lotus face!
Immediately, swami thiru-k-kachci nambi rushed to the priests and conveyed the happy news about the great Lord arrving … Everyone wanted to celebrate, and looked for the Sri Vaishnava who had accompanied swami thiru-k-kachchi nambi so that they could invite him to join the celebrations too. They could not find him. He had vanished. When the priests went near the Lord to start performing the services ,they saw water droplets on Him! Everyone now realized what had happened. The Lord Himself, unable to bear the thought of swami thiru-k-kachchi nambi getting wet by the rain, had accompanied him to his home. Not only that, He waited there so that He could accompany swami thiru-k-kachchi nambi back to the temple! Such was the greatness of the revered Acharyar Swami thiru-k-kachchi nambi… Later during his last days , once Swamy Thirukachi nambhigal while continuing his fanning service to Lord Sri Varadaraja Perumal his aalavattam (fan) slipped and fell down…. Very disturbed he realized his body was not supporting his most blessed kainkaryam …. Thirukachi Nambh was sad .. He realized that the time for him to leave this materialistic world had come as the body was not serving its purpose of serving the Supreme Lord Nambhi offers obeisances and submits to LORD and requests Perumal to grant him liberation as he is not able to be of any use to Lord with his physical body . Lord Varadaraja Perumal smiles and replies My dear Nambee !!… granting Moksham needs “Bhaagavatha Sambhandham”. Your fanning made me speak to you ..
“Neer Veesiner, Naan Pessinen”. Thirukachi Nambhigal understands that devotees association is paramount in the process of Moksha. He decides to “earn” some Bhaagavatha Abhimaanam by serving the pure devotees . He takes permission from Lord Varadaraja and proceeds to the home of the great Acharya Thirukostiyur Nambhi at Thirukoshtiyur a place near to Madurai He realises that Thirukostiyur Nambhi (Swami Ramanuja’s acharya) would not accept as a domestic help someone whom Lord Varadaraja himself had conversed with. So Thirukachi Nambhigal under the guise of a common peasant meets some of his disciples and introduces himself as Gajendra Dasan (his Birth name) and requests for some small work at their ashram … Unaware that he was the great devotee , Thirukostiyur Nambhigal asks his disciples to engage him to take care of his cows and bullocks in the Goshala . Always in the mood of serving Lord Varadaraja he takes up the new service of go seva Thirukachi Nambhigal was relieved and happy that he has had got an opportunity to serve a great Acharya. Days pass …
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The routine service in the Goshala , grazing the cows , fetching fodder , milking the cows , farming with bullock by the disciples was supervised by Nambhigal .. One rainy day the Goshala boys report to Thirukostiyur Nambhigal about few cows missing from the cow shed due to thunder and unexpected rain . Acharyar asks for Thirukachinambi as he doesn’t want the boys to get drenched in the heavy rains and blowing winds. Thirukostiyur Nambhi decides to look for the cows by himself . Thirukachi Nambhigal very eager to serve Acharyar , instantly replies .. “Adiyen”… your servant is awaiting for your instructions …. Thirukostiyur Nambhi is surprised as the voice is unique …and looks in the direction of the voice. To his wonder, Thirukachi Nambhigal had already brought the cows home and covered them with his own clothes . Thirukoshtiyur Nambhi is instantly pleased at Thirukachi nambhigal’s devotion . He calls his wife and advises her to honor the disciple with prasad…. Since his Master had called him as his own disciple he is overjoyed that signifies a relationship ….and hence Bhagavatha Sambandham Nambhi is overjoyed ….
Thirukoshtiyur Nambi is shocked to see Nambigal real identity . He honours him and discuss esoteric truths. He reveals his identity and narrates the sequence of incidents that led him to coming as Gajandra dasan to Thirukostiyur Nambhigal. Thanking his Acharyar for the association he takes leave to Kancheepuram. Lord Varadaraja is happy to see his dear devotee friend . Like an eager mother expecting her child back, Lord Varadaraja with open arms welcomes Nambhigal right at the steps and praises Thirukachi Nambhigal’s steadfast devotion and affection. The emotional outpour “Devaraja Ashtakam”,glorifying the Lord’s boundless love for His Bakthas is revealed ……and the pains of this materialistic world!
Swamy Nambhigal attains moksham to serve Sriman Narayana in Sri Vaikuntam permanently . 19-2-24 is Swamy Thirukachi Nambi 1015 th appearance day ( Thirunakshatram) …. lets pray for steadfast devotion from our revered Acharyar … Adiyen Ramanuja dasan Pics : Courtesy Google images and several advanced devotees Videos : Sri Devanathan & Sri Padmanabhan..
The great disciple of Nammazhwar Swami Madhurakavi Azhwar approached his Guru who was ( the divine boy who was meditating deeply with his legs crossed and hands in chin mudrai pose. )
Madhurakavi thought that the boy could be deaf and dumb.
To draw his attention ,he took a small stone and threw it in the lotus pond nearby.If a small one is born into a dead thing, what will it do ? and where will it be”? The inner meaning mentions that when a soul enters a body, the body gets life and the soul forgets its true nature , thus thinks that the body is everything The soul enjoys and suffers everything through the body.
It eats and lives on whatever the body earns as sin and virtues . Once the body is dead, the soul departs. Till the time the soul is present, it has to suffer and enjoy all the feelings of the body.
The reply was “It will eat that and stay there”.
Nothing could be understood if not for our great achaaryas who had provided us with the inner meaning of this important quote
In Srimad Bhagavatha Mahapurana as part of a discussion between King Nimi and sage Karabhajana the advent of the Srivaishnava Azhwars appearance in the Kali age is revealed .
” In the Kali age men devoted to Lord Sriman Narayana will be born in large numbers near the Dravida territory where in the rivers Tamaraparni, Vaigai , Paalaar the most sacred Kaaveri flows .”
True to the epic , both Swamy Namaazhwar and Madhurakavi Azhwar appeared on the banks of Tambaraparni river . It is said that just after 40 years of the disappearance of Lord Krishna , Nammazhwar appeared . Periyazhwar and Sri Andal appeared in a place close to river Vaigai , the Mudal Azhwars and Thirumazhisai Azhwar appeared near Paalaar and Thodaradippodi Azhwar, Thiruppaanaazhwar and Thirumangai Azhwar appeared near river Kaaveri.
The most holy place Thirukurugur “Alwar Tirunagari” is about 30kms east of Tirunelveli on the Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur highway off the Southern banks of Tamaraparani .
Acharyar Varadaguru the revered Acharya had the deepest bhakti to Lord Varadaraja. At Kanchipuram , one evening Varadaguru was serving ” LORD” in an ecstatic mood. As a part of the regular service , the temple priest brought very hot milk to the Lord as offering .
Acharyar Varadaguru was deeply distressed looking at the boiling milk . He was disturbed as he felt , offering the hot milk would burn the tender tongue of the Lord!
He stopped the priest from offering the hot milk. He pleaded him to wait .He began cooling it down until it was warm enough to be offered to the Lordships.
The Lord himself was moved by the Vatsalya bhava of Varadaguru and called him ‘Amma’ – my mother!
From then onwards Varadaguru became Nadadoor Ammal….
After this episode, in a dream one night, Lord Varadaraja commanded Ammal to erect a Mantapam for conducting Vasantotsavam.
Accordingly Ammal fulfilled the Lord’s desire, just as a mother would fulfill the wishes of her son in spite of unexpected difficulties.
Another glorious pastime remains to be cherished .
Once Ammal and his disciples undertook a pilgrimage to Tirumalai hills. The graceful personality and humility of Acharyar attracted the people there..
A Chieftain Kandavaran was the leader of that Lada race . He was annoyed and irritated to see the crowd falling the the feet of Acharyar.
He decided to disturb them. With his mantric power he made the disciples unconscious. Ammal meditated and chanted the Sudarsana maha mantra
and his own composition ‘Hetipungavastotram’ and broke the spell.
The angry Kandavaran called Ammal for a debate and when defeated surrendered to the Acharya himself. The benevolent guru not only excused him but also made him a Srivaishnava by offering him Panchasamskaras.
With the money offered by Kandavaran, Ammal established a beautiful village and named it ‘Ladagraharam’ and continued his journey. On the way, the Lord himself came as a young brahmachari and appeased the hunger of the pilgrims with curd and rice. At the same time, there was a big commotion in the temple as the silver vessel with the naivedyam had suddenly disappeared.
Lord Venkateswara Himself announced to the temple authorities that He Himself fed his dear Ammal and his disciples and that they should receive Ammal with all temple honours who will be arriving shortly . Swami Engalazhwan was Acharya of Nadathur Ammal , who was the direct disciple of Thirukkurukaippiran Pillan .
The month of ( March – April ) in tamil (Panguni ) is sacred as it is the appearance month of – Lord Ranganatha on Panguni Revathi and Goddess Sri Ranganayaki Thayar on Panguni Uthiram both occur during this month.
This is the only day on which the Divya Dampatis of Srirangam are seen together in Utsavam.
The Utsavam takes place at the royal court located at the western entrance of the great Temple of Lord Ranganatha.
Interestingly, this is the only entrance which does not have a Rajagopuram.
Incredibly Swamy Ramanuja chose this blessed day for reciting the wonderful hymns the Gadya Trayam- Saranagathi gadyam, Sriranga gadyam and Vaikunta gadyam, unambiguously outlining the doctrine of Surrender .
(SharaNagati-which is atma Vivaham) wedding of the jivAtma to the paramAtma.
On this day Panguni Uttaram , Swamy Ramanuja gathered all his disciples and approached the great Temple of Lord Ranganatha.
Our Paramacharya was greatly moved by the majestic sight of the Divya Dampatis beautifully decorated in Utsavam at the Royal Court .
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As a result of this Anubhavam, Swamy Ramanuja poured out his heart in an extremely soulful, highly intimate, and deeply intense SharaNagati ( TOTAL SURRENDER ) in the Sharanagati Gadyam and the Sri Ranganatha Gadyam.
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The most important and the oldest Brahmotsavam called as “Adi Brahmotsavam” is performed during this month for 10 days and culminates on the next day of Panguni Uthiram.
During this brahmotsavam, Lord Ranganatha marries Kamalavalli Nachiyar of Uraiyur divyadesam.
Many devotees make it a point to have darshanam of Lordships on this day specially to have kataksham by Divine Parents .
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Few days before Panguni Uthram(when Asilesha star is in ascendant), Lord Namperumal visits Goddess Kamalavalli Nachiyar at Uraiyur and marries the princess..
And , only on this day, Perumal gives darshan with Kamalavalli Thayar at Uraiyur for one full day.
Incidentally this is the place where our great Thiruppan Azhwar appeared .
On the 9th day of Brahmotsavam, the serthi (divine union) takes place at Srirangam.
On this day alone, Namperumal gives darshan along with Ranganayaki Thayar.
An interesting event cherished as ” Pranaya Kalagam Uthsavam ” takes place on Panguni Uthiram day morning and in the night , Gadyathrayam (threee gadyams) are recited in presence of the Supreme Lordships which is followed by Thirumanjanam (Holy abhishekam) to Namperumal and Ranganayaki Thayar .
Thirumanjanam is performed for 18 times reminding us of Swamy Ramanujar’s visits to Thirugoshtiyur. which are sequel to this sweet visit.
Our Mother Sr Ranganayaki comes to know of LORDs visit to Uraiyur nachiyar and gets upset. ( a vatsalya bhava )
The dramatic events on the Panguni Uthiram day unfold as Sri Ranganachiyar vents her Pranaya Kobam on Lord Namperumal and how Lord pacifies her and how in the end the divya dampathis join together to bless the devotees makes this festival a feast to the soul .
In the morning hours , Lord aware of Goddess mood goes around the four mada streets without any musical instrument being played ( Nadaswaram ) to collect kanikai ( gifts ) from devotees and thus gives darsanam to everyone .
The devotees are given an opportunity to serve Rajadhirajan (Lord of the Universe) with offerings . He stops at every house asking His devotees to support Him when He faces the queen Goddess Sri Ranga Nachiyar.
With the temple elephant (Andal) leading the way followed by the vedic pundits reciting dhivya prabhandha goshti LORD enters the temple and walks towards the sanctorium (sannidhi) of Goddess (Thayar) after literally moving around for three hours around the prakarams.
When Sri Ranga Nachiyar understands that Lord Ranganatha coming towards Her, the temple doors are shut.
For the next couple of hours, Pranaya Kalagam Uthsavam (household quarrel between the Lord and His consort) takes place that is wonderfully enacted by Arayar swamy..
The conversations between Namperumal and Ranganayaki Thayar are communicated through Arayar swami (for Namperumal) and through Pandari swami (for Ranganayaki Thayar) and they never face each other during this kalagam Utsavam .
The Lord pleads innocence and tries to appease the goddess in many ways but all his submission is out rightly rejected .
Few questions asked by Goddess make this utsavam very interesting …
Goddess questions Lord about his scratch marks on His Thirukkazuthu (neck) and reason for His Thirukkangal (eyes) becoming so red.
She also asks why His Thiruman kappu ( Tilak ) and His Thirukkuzal (hair) are all messed up.
She also goes on to ask Him why His Thiruvadharam (lips) are white and ……
why He has kungumappoo (Saffron powder) all over his Thirumeni (body),
His ThiruvadigaL (lotus feet) are red.
Hence, She was very unhappy because of HIS indifference to her .
The Lord out of divine love responds back to each question.
My dear …. Listen …
Being the protector of the universe (Jagadhrakshakan), riding the horse in the night and fighting against all evil forces to protect my devotees I had to be awake and thus the eyes have become red.
These Hair locks are messed up because of the fierce winds which faced me while I was galloping on the horse.
And listen dear ….
This Thiruman kappu had dissolved because of the harsh sun rays during my horse ride
And my lips are white because i was fighting against the asuras (demons) with single pointed concentration
My neck was scratched by those thorns while I was riding through thick forests to fight the same Asuras.
Lord further continues .. my .dear Listen , these legs were red because I had to ride the horse with the feet tightly hooked in the stirrup and finally this kungumappoo is all over my body because the Devathas were happy and praised us after the victorious campaign by showering me with flowers.
Thus, Lord submits to Goddess that He was late because of all the battles he had to wage with the Asuras and due to this calamity he had lost the ring in the river Kollidam while returning.
And had to get a new ring and some flowers before he meets Her.
This caused Him to be late.
Goddess is still not convinced and refuses all His gifts and flowers and commands him to never come inside and return back to Uraiyur where HE had been a couple of days ago.
Lord Namperumal with a very innocent look replies saying that He doesn’t know the place called Uraiyur and has never been there. Ranganayaki Thayaar asks the Lord to prove His statements.
To prove his innocence Lord offers to put His hands in a vessel full of snakes ,
cross any ocean of Goddess choice ,
and offered to promise on His devotees that He has never seen Uraiyur.
Sri Ranga Nachiyar rebukes HIS explanations. She replies /.
He, the one who sleeps on a bed of Adhi Sesha ( Serpent bed ) would never be harmed by any snakes. He, the one who lies in the great milk ocean (ThiruppArkadal) and for whom the river Yamuna parted to let Him through as baby Krishna will have no problem crossing any ocean. Also, HE, whose lotus feet are sought after by all His devotees would never be betrayed by them. Unmindful , she exhibits her annoyance of Pranayakalpa by throwing milk, curd, butter and flowers on Him .
Lord Ranganatha now pleads innocently then says that He has come to meet Her after going through such difficulties and She is not letting Him in. He says He feels very depressed and embarrassed as She shut the door in His face. The Lord says – “andha avamanam umakku andri yamakku illai” meaning “this embarrassment is not for me but for you.”
Seeing the Lord is feeling very sad, our great Nammazwaar, acts as the mediator and approaches mother Sri Ranganayaki and says that if the supreme Lord and Goddess are upset against each other, then that would be the end of all known universe (Pralayam).
He requests Mother and prays that the Lord is for all and She has to understand that He is sought after by all and so She should be able to let Her Azhagiya MaNavalan go to His devotees too as well for granting their prayers and uplift them finally So, He humbly requests that Sriranganachiyar forgive the Lord and allow Him to enter Her premises.
Goddess Ranganayaki understands Nammazwars reasoning and commands Her assistants to let Her Lord enter inside. Lord Ranganatha and Ranganayaki come together and exchange garlands, Kasturi Thilakam, turmeric and necklaces making a benchmark of a divine couple .
As soon as the door is opened, Lord Azhagiya Manavalan is delighted and rushes in to be with His consort. A beautiful scene transpires here.
The Lord does not go immediately to our Sri Ranganayaki sannidhi . But rather goes to the mudhal mandapam and stands there, as if to ascertain whether our Thayar has really accepted and forgiven him.
Lord sends his vastram across to Thayar, which is accepted by the Thayar. After this the Lord then directly heads towards and Thayar Sannidhi and then he seats directly across Sri Ranganayaki Thayar.
Now our Aranganathan looks at our Lokamatha Thayar’s eyes directly as if to ask “why did you make me go through this struggle” and Thayar in turn asks him “Why did you go away without telling me”.
At this point of time other than the Sri Ranganayaki’s Archakas and our Sriranganathan’s Archakas, no one is allowed to be present.
Thus sweet conversation takes place between our Lord Aranganthan and Ranganyaki Thayar as it would take place between any husband and wife.
After they have talked for a long time, our Azagiya manavalan asks Thayars permission to go and complete the Panguni uthram thirunal as several devotees are waiting. Thayar replies that how can she let him without having performed any upacharam. She then gets delicious and sumptuous “Akkara adasil” ( Sweet pudding ) prepared for him, with copious amount of milk, rice, dhal ( lentils ) , jaggery and lots pure ghee.
Both our Lordships now grace together and have the delicious “Akara adisil” ! The happiness of the Lord and Thayar can be seen in the eyes of lord who cannot take his eyes away from the Thayar! After this beautiful sight, the lord then decides to head towards the beautifully renovated Panguni Uthram mandapam. As soon as our Azagiya manavalan reaches the mandapam in the afternoon, our Thayar immediately, but silently and surreptitiously enters the mandapam as if she doesnt want anybody to talk about or ask her about what had happened .
After this the Lord and Ranganayaki Thayar give darsanam to several devotees who have thronged to see them. It has to be mentioned that here only the Thayar is adorned with a garland and not then Lord himself!
Also, Namperumal doesn’t face the audience but looks uninterruptedly at Thayar.
The recitation of the Gadhya Thrayam begins at about 11 P.M. . Those heavenly chants fill the air with beatitude and immense happiness. At this time the whole srirangam is very festive and people make sweets and savories as if there is a marriage in their own house.After all, it is a happy and beautiful unification between the Royal couple! The Gadhya Thrayam starts with the chant of “Vaikunta Gadhyam” and then proceeds with the “Sri RangaGadhyam” and at last ends with the beautiful chant of the “Sarangadhi gadhyam”!
Lord Namperumal (Sri Ranganathar) and Peria pirattlar (Sriranga nachiar) are seated together. Lord (naMperumAL) is standing majestically as usual and more beautiful and graceful today due to the compassionate looking pirAtti and is enjoying the beauty of Her Lord without taking Her eyes off Him even for a second This was the right opportunity for LokaAcharyar Swami Ramanuja to ask for favors from our DIVINE PARENTS.
He submits to the LOTUS FEET through his divine outpourings Gadyatrayam. Swamy Ramanuja worshipping them, submits his deep fear of samsara (association with the body in a cycle of births) and begs the Lord to save him. Swamy Ramanuja surrendered his all to the Lord and begged Him to be his sole savior. In the Three Gadyaas, Swamy Ramanuja’s prayed swamies innermost feelings of deep devotion to the Lord break all restrictions and flow freely towards the Lord and His consort.
These are prima facie a spontaneous outburst of devotional experience and not coldly labored compositions. The inner voice of the devotee addresses Sri and the Lord and they do reply clearly through the same inner voice.
In the Saranagati gadya, Swamy Ramanuja first addresses Sri as the mother of the Universe, as his own mother, and as the loving consort of his Lord, and seeks her intercession on his behalf. This is itself a saranagati addressed to the mother.
Happy at being addressed this, Sri replies ‘So be it’; “let your prapathi bear the proper fruit of being accepted as a devoted servant” The commentators have it that this assurance is not only for the Acharya but for all his spiritual progeny. The boon that Lord granted to Swamy Ramanuja applies to his spiritual heirs. It is worth noting that once he gets the assurance from Sri of her sure mediation, he addresses himself directly to the Lord seeking Him as the sole savior.
The LokAcharya then addresses the Lord speaking of His incomparable glory, “His immense wealth, His power, His retinue, His divine weapons, His beautiful ornaments, His loving consorts, of His infinite compassion and other admirable qualities words which are a rhapsody of devout fervor which can come only from the very depth of a realized soul. Swamy Ramanuja holds out prapathi as the highest message he had for his followers.
The Sriranga gadyam is a shorter piece and is essentially the same as the Saranagati gadyam.
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It is addressed directly to Sriranganatha.
” Sriranganatha!
mama natha!
namostu te”
are the words of the acharya.
To the seeker of salvation who has taken to the path of Prapathi, it is essential that he should spend his time in devoted service of the lord; in serving his devotees; by meditating on Him and singing His praise; by repeatedly uttering the Dvaya mantra (this is an enjoyable and sweet pastime).
The acharya gives expression to all these, briefly, in confidence to the lord at Srirangam. His intention is that this short text may be repeated easily in the presence of the Lord by devotees intent on the fruit prayed for.
Immensely pleased , Lord assures Swamy Ramanuja that He and all his disciples will be surely uplifted for attaining the paramaporul Moksha for sure . Later, Thirumanjanam to Namperumal and Thayar are performed for 18 times. This signifies Sri Ramanujar’s visit to Thirugoshtiyur to learn the dwayam mantra artham. All the upacharams are performed for 18 times.
Later, saatrumarai goshti is done at Udayavar (Ramanujar’s )sannidhi in the early hours. At about 7 A.M. the next day, Perumal reluctantly leaves thayar and goes back on Goratham.
After all this, the Lord then requests Thayar’s permission to go and complete the remaining procession. At this request, our Ranganayaki thayar’s face drops and looks downcast, which indicates her reluctance to part with the Lord at this point of time. But , thayar then mentions that First she will leave and return back to her Moolasthanam after which the Lord can start.
This shows the patience, forbearance and the humility of our beloved Thayar. The Lord then starts to leave towards the “Goratham (Chariot), before which he peeps into Sri Ranganyaki Thayrs sannidhi, as if to take a glimpse of his beloved wife and say “Bye” before proceeding . After this the Lord starts for the procession. Anywhere in the world a woman has to undergo lot of troubles and hardships and still put up a smile to make everyone in her family happy.
On Panguni Uthiram day, only Thayar sannidhi is kept open and it is not possible to have Sri Ranganathar(moolavar) darsanam on that day.
All adiyars know that the Lord and Thayar are above all such domestic quarrels taking place in our lives all the time. We also know that He is the fountainhead of all things in the universe and there is nothing like He should be going after several women etc. when He himself is paramporul ( The ultimate ) . Secondly the big question will Thayar ever quarrel with the Lord? So what is the significance ??
Elders clarify that the significance of all this drama is that Namperumal and Thayar are doing a play act to demonstrate to ordinary mortals like us how to run the household with harmony in the face of upsets. They also show the deep love , mercy and compassion true ladies have and why we have to give the ladies great respect and exalted position in our society. Azhwar describes Srirangam as the abode of the supreme Lord who had sixteen thousand devi’s (as he married all of them in His Krishnavataram by their deep devotion and request ). When he has already taken sixteen thousand consorts which Sri Rukmini Devi whole heartedly accepted, where is the question of getting upset about one Kamalavalli nachiyar? of Uraiyur . Our Perumal is Paramatma and the jivatmas represented by Thayar are all wedded to Paramatma with Thayar doing the purushakaaram(bridge between Perumal and the fallen souls)
Andal nachiyar explains:- “Peyyu ma mukil pol vanna, un pechum seikaium engalai Maiyal erri mayakka un mukam maya mandiram than kolo”
Hey, dark skinned Lord, your words, acts and your innocent looking face are all designed to cast a spell over us. The Lord will always cast his spell over His devotees to protect them. And Maya Jagan Mohini Thayar always assists Him in his spell!
When the Lord knows that Nachityar is upset with him, He is planning to pacify her indicating thereby that all of us should try earnestly to take care of the ladies’ concerns.
In this entire drama, what stands out is the “Paraspara Anyonyam” of the Divya Dampathis.
When Thayar is angry Lord understands and adopts a seemingly submissive posture. And Thayar relents when overlooking the factthat it is the only day in a year she is with Him and He has been to another nachiyar. She sets an example of kindness and forgiveness for all the womenfolk.
When Thayar allows Lord to enter Her Sannadhi, He at first stops at first mantapam and sends His Vastram to her. He does not rush in all the way. Thayar also understands His intention and accepts the vastram.
She knows He will be hungry and gets a sumptuous Akkara Adisil ( sweet pudding) prepared for Him. In these days of hurried life when both the partners sometime go to work, can you imagine such understandings . Later She silently follows Him so that the devotees do not smell any difference between them! It is truly amazing that Divya Dhampathis had set examples which are relevant even today………
Arangan Vazhga, Arangamaanagar Vazhga
Let Lord Ranganatha protect us Let Shri Ranganachiyar bless us always …
Sri Ranga MangaLa nidhim karuna nivAsam Sri Venkatadhri SikharAlaya KaaLamegham Sri Hastigiri Siksrojvala Paarijatham Sreesam namAmi Sirasa yadhusaila dheepam Seeking the Lotus feet of Narayana
ENN AMUDHINAI KANDA KANGAL MATRU ONDRAIYUM KAANAVEY
May the Lord and Thayar bless all devotees with such anyonyam. Let the eyes which had darshan of the Supreme Lord who ate plenty of butter and who has conquered my heart view nothing else.
All glories to devotees who are having darshan on the auspicious day 30.03.2018 in several divya desams
Adiyen must have committed apacharas in expressing this wonderful utsavam which is due to adiyens mandha budhee and seeks forgivance to all the bhagavathas who are reading this ..
Vachaka Dhosham Kashamikkavaum………….
Pics : Courtesy Google images /and all the great devotees who shared in social media
Adapted from Sriman Narasimha bhattar article .. Adiyen Ramanuja dasan
This day is very special for us , It was a prized darshan … distant dream come TRUE
Thanking LORD repeatedly for the mercy praying ardently hearing the vedic chants my eyes look at the divine beauty …
Am in a trance suddenly ……….the soul in me rejoices …..Before us stood the great Lord of Lords in all his glory . HE is like the sun which had just risen from the east. The divine face was as cool as the moon. He is as dark as the rain bearing clouds … The eye vision magnified …and zoomed…. and HE grew taller and taller and filled up the whole world space .. Now , the whole world was in HIM and several universes are in HIM
He is limitless , Imperishable , Omniscient residing in the ocean of my heart , the cause of happiness of the universe , the supreme end of all striving ( manifesting HIMSELF) in the ether of the heart which craves for HIM alone ………………………..Suddenly I realize I am in a body …..and watch through my eyes …………..
The Lord of the seven hills is the Lord of the universe. The special significance of Lord Venkateswara temple at Tirumala lies in the fact that it is the oldest religious institutions in the world where unbroken religious worship is being carried on for over 1,500 years by revered Acharyas and millions of pilgrims reach the holy abode more than any other temple in the world .The temple is held in high veneration by many devotees
The average number of piligrims who seek darshan is about 50,000 to 1,00,000 daily and on festivals double this .The emotional outpourings of the great Azhwars makes one rush to this sacred hills to have HIS darshan . Mere listening to the wondrous compositions of his noblest and humblest devotees, like Annamacharya Tyagaraja and Purandara Dasa suffices. They combine the quintessence of the Vedas and the Upanishads.
Thirumazhisai is a holy place located equidistant to Kancheepuram , Mahabalipuram and Mylapur in the present chengelpet district ( Tamilnadu) . This place is very famous for Lord Jagganatha Perumal temple .
The holy place has cool streams fruit and flower grooves yielding abundant fruits. The blossoming flowers all through makes it a perfect place for a nature lover .
Several seers , sages , nomadic saints , bhikshukas relax and perform penance at this place for eternal peace .
In such an wonderful place , Thirumazhisai Azhwar appeared much earlier than the advent of Kaliyuga .( The appearance day being ( Thai Magam )
It is believed , Azhwar lived for almost 400 years glorifying the Lordships .
Thirumazhisai Azhwar was a junior contemporary of the foremost Azhwars Pogai , Pey and Bhudath Azhwar who laid a solid foundation for vishistadvaita long long ago .
Azhwar was brought up by his foster parents at Thirumazhisai . It is believed Azhwar left them at a very young age and practiced Ashtanga Yoga .
With the main aim of seeking absolute truth he performed severe austerities and penances .
He studied and practiced all religious ideas existed during those days Jainism , Buddhism , Carvaka etc one by one until he got disillusioned with each of them . Slowly he came into the fold of saivism through a siddar and started practicing their faith . He was given a name Sivavakyar . However his search to the absolute truth was not finished . It so happened by divine will he happened to see the effulgence of Pey Azhwar at Kanchipuram.
Peyazhwar was maintaining a garden and Siva Vakyar used to pass that way. Keen to know the secrets of the divine knowledge , both used to discuss about the faith they followed and wanted to conclude about the ultimate truth . Peyazhwar decided to practically demonstrate the absolute truth to his friend .
One day Peyazhwar took a weak rope with knots and a pot with holes .He drew water from the well through this pot and poured it to the plants that he planted upside down.
Siva Vakyar saw this strange act and was surprised to see PeyAzhwar’s behaviour . Peyazhwar asked him why was he disturbed .
Thirumazhisai replied Holy Sire ! I am surprised with your strange act! being so learned , How will the purpose of watering the plants serve in this method , as the plant is planted upside down and the pot that contained holes will water the plants?
Peyazhwar was glad that he had started pondering over the truth .Peyazwar told him that the rope was the example for his Atma which is searching through different faiths to find the Absolute truth , but has not succeeded in its search for the truth and still going on searching wasting precious time .
Peyazhwar further explained , My dear young man , Our ancestors had explained in the following verse“ Thirumaal is like the root of the plant and is the only ParamporuL.
From the root only , the leaves, branches, flowers and fruits appear . Similarly all the demigods took forms only from the root and so they might wither away at some time or other.
Hence it is poor understanding to think that the other parts of the plant are superior to the root, meaning without the root the plant cannot survive. “Persons engaged in the worship of demigods are not clear , although such worship is indirectly offered to Me.” For example, when water is poured on the leaves and branches of a tree instead on the root, he does so without sufficient knowledge or without observing regulative principles.
The process of watering a tree is to pour water on the root. Similarly, the process of rendering service to different parts of the body is to supply food to the stomach. The demigods are, so to speak, different directors in the government of the Supreme Lord. One has to follow the laws made by the government only , not by the others . Similarly, everyone is to offer his worship to the Supreme Lord only. That will automatically satisfy the different demigods who are working under the the Lord.
Peyazwar’s explanation put Siva Vakyar in deep thought. He realized that he was still searching for the true knowledge , but couldn’t find it. He requested Peyazhwar to accept him as his disciple. Peyazhwar named him Bhaktisaara .
He started following vaishnavism and serving Peyazhwar for more lessons .
Later he took leave of Peyazhwar and went on divya desa yathra. After visiting few divya desams he went back to Thiruvekka ( Kancheepuram) and stayed there. Kanikannan a devotee , requested Bhaktisarar to accept him as his disciple. Azhwar accepted him as his disciple.
It so happened at Thiruvekka in his ashram an old lady used to come and clean his place, and perform small service to him. One day she prayed him that being old she felt that she may not be able to serve him longer and regretted for joining this pious service after becoming old.
Azhwar was touched with her devotion and sincerity and blessed her regain her youth .
One day the king of Kanchi happened to see this lady who was so beautiful after Azhwars blessings. He instantly fell in love with her.
He married her and took her to his palace.
As years rolled by the king was becoming old, but his wife was as young as she was when he got her married. He asked her what was the secret and she revealed about Azhwar’s blessings.
.She suggested the King to ask the disciple KaNaikaNNan to request Azhwar to be invited to the palace. . The king sent for KaNIkaNNan and told him to summon Azhwar and compose a verse in his praise and to restore his youth.
KaNikaNNan replied .. Oh King …. Azhwar would never compose verses praising mortals. Azhwar will only glorify the Lordships and no one else ..and cannot accept his request ..
The King orders both of them to leave the kingdom immediately. KaNikaNNan informs Azhwar all that had happened. Azhwar decides to leave the kingdom with his disciple . He submits to Lord to join along with them . He prays with the verse ….
kanikannan pogindran kamuru punkachi
Manivanna Ni kidaka Vendi Thunivudaya
Chennapulaven naanum Poogindren Neeyum
Undan Pinaga payeyi Churuttikoll…..
meaning … Kanikannan is going out of Kanchi O! Manivanna, You don’t have to lie here anymore. Since, as the fluent poet that I am also leaving with him, you also roll your serpent bed and follow me” And, accordingly all of them left Kanchipuram and stayed at Orikai for one night.
Lo presto! What a surprise! The Lord obeyed his true devotee’s order, He got up and followed his devotees out of the city, folding His snake-bed and sticking it under arm.
The next moment the whole city is plunged into darkness .. The king is frightened with the calamities about to happen . He quickly summons his ministers for immediate remedy. The ministers explain his blunder in committing a grave offense on an advanced devotee and said it was a grave sin expelling the saint .
They advised there was no other alternative, but to go and ask for his pardon and beseech him to come back.
The king along with his courtiers reached the place Orikai where Azhwar and KaNikaNNan were staying for the night. The King fell at their feet and begged them to return to the city.
Azhwar forgiving the king accepts to return back . He once again requests the Lord to return….
Kannikannan pokoindan kamaru punkachi
Manivanna Ni kidaka Vendi Thunivudaya
Chennapulavan Nanuum pokoindan Neeyum
Undan Pinaga Payeyi Virithu Koll…..
Meaning …. ” Kanikannan has changed his mind and rescind his decision to leave Kanchi. Since, as the fluent poet that I am also returning with him, You may also return and lie down on your serpent bed as before.
All of them return accordingly and Kanchipuram regains its lost glory.
Since the Lord obeyed as he was told by the Azhwar, he is glorified as ‘Yatotkari’ and ‘Sonna vannam Seitha Perumal’-meaning ‘the Lord who acted as told’
From then onwards the Lord got the name Sonna VaNNAm Seytha Perumal and in Sanskrit Yathokthakari. This divine incident had been glorified by Arunagirinatar and Kumaragurupanar both devotees of Paramasivan and Skandar in their works .
The place they stayed for the night got the name…(Orikkai ) Oriravu Irukkai and at present is known as Orikkai where a Mani Mandapam is erected.
Poigai Azhwar, Peyazhwar,Thirumzhisai Azhwar, Nammazhwar and Thirumangai Azhwar have sung in praise of the Lord here. KOMALAVALLI thayar is the consort. Sri Vedantha Desikar had composed his VEHHA SETHU STOTRAM glorified the Lord here.
It is said , Swami Manavala Mamunigal gave discourses on Sri Bhashyam in this beautiful temple for one year. Swamy in preaching posture graces the devotees .
A special feature of Thirumazhisai Azhwar at the Jagannatha Perumal temple in Kancheepuram is that he is seen with a third eye.
Thirumazhisai Azhwar later moved to Thiru Kudanthai ( Kumbakonam ) and glorified the Lord there .
Thirumazhisai Azhwar’s contribution to the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham includes over 200 verses (Naanmugan Thiruvanthaathi and Thiruchandha Viruththam) of praise.
It is construed , Azhwar expresses after thoroughly convincing himself about the futility of all the other faiths of his first hand experience and affirms LORD SRIMAN NARAYANA is the supreme and absolute reality .
The second composition “Thiruchandha Viruththam” has 120 pasurams which is included in the first thousand of the DivyaPrabhandam .
The composition is so charming that the chanter is tempted to swoon himself to the lilting chants coming out naturally in the divine composition .
The rhythm goes like tana tana tana tana tana tana Tanana…
Thiru Adhyayana Utsavam is an enlightening festival for all vaishnavas and is an assembly of devotees reciting of Vedic Verses. This divine incident is celebrated as the Thiru Adhyayana Utsavam in all the Sri Vaishnava temples starting on Margazhi Amavasai ( Dec-Jan ) with the Divya Prabhandam pasurams of Thirunedunthandakam (10 days before Vaikunta Ekadashi).
The 4000 Divya Prabandham are the out pouring of the Azhwars who appeared in various divyadesams few thousand year ago as per the divine command of Lord Sriman Narayana and composed the divine pasurams which all srivaishnavas make it a law to recite .
The Divya Prabhandham has 4000 divine verses (Pasurams) and is the Dravida Vedam popularly glorified as “Nalaayiram Divya Prabhandam “ in Tamil. It is also glorified as Dravida Tamil Veda.
Once at Srirangam the capital of Srivaishnavas , the last of twelve Azhwars , Thirumangai Azhwar sang one of his divine prabhanda (Thiru-Nedun-Thaandakam ) glorifying Lord Ranganathar .
Lord was pleased by Azhwar’s recitation and thus granted two boons to Thirumangai Azhwar.
The Azhwar overjoyed , prayed Lord Ranganatha for his grace in giving equal status to the 4000 Divya Prabhandams in terms of authority as Vedas. He also pleaded audience in listening to the divine pasurams of Swami NammAzhwar which was granted .
Azhwar overjoyed with Lord Ranganathar’s command proceeded to Azhwar Thirunagari from Srirangam with his followers on Thirukarthigai in Karthika month(Nov-Dec) to Azhwar Thirunagari to invite Swamy Nammazhwar to srirangam.
It was almost 350 kms travelling from Azhwar Thirunagari (which is in Tirunelveli) to Srirangam .
The day when Thirumangai Azhwar along with Swami Nammazhwar arrived at Sri Rangam was Vaikunta Ekadasi.
Swamy Nammazhwar was received with due honors and was adorned with Muthangi seva and Namperumal with Rathnangi. Thus this divine festival was conducted with pomp and show singing Lord’s kalyana gunas .
Starting from Vaikunta Ekadasi succeeding next nine days, Azhwar along with the devotees recited Swami Nammazhwar’s Thiruvamozhi in the royal presence of Lord Ranganathar. This was followed for several years…
However after Thirumangai Azhwar disappearance , the practice was slowly overlooked .
It was JagathAcharyar Swami Ramanujar, who started the practice once again. And as the practice of welcoming Swami Nammazhwar’s Thirumeni from Azhwar Thirunagari was cumbersome ,
Swamy Nammazhwar Thirumeni ( deity ) was installed with all the purificatory rites at Srirangam itself .
Swamy Ramanujar further advised to glorify Lord’s Kalyana gunas by reciting the entire Naalayirum Divya Prabhandam and hence added ten days before the Ira Paththu and called them Pagal Paththu. These ten days, the divya sukthees of other Azhwars are recited.
As a mark of recognition to Thirumangai Azhwar’s divine service , the day before the Pagal Paththu Uthsavam first day, Namperumal listens to Thirumangai Azhwar’s ThiruNedunthandagam pasurams .
It is also said that Swamy Parasara Bhattar in the process of bringing the great Vedanti Madhavacharyar in srivaishnava fold won a debate and thus convinced him joining our sampradaya by the esoteric truths contained in the thirty verses of Azhvar’s “thirunedundhaaNdhakam”.
Upon Bhattar’ triumphant return to Srirangam, Lord Ranganatha asked Bhattar how he was able to defeat the great scholar . Bhattar explained that it was through the Thirunedundhaandakam.
It happened to be one day before the pagal patthu arambham, and hence in Srirangam, there is a special recitation of the Thirunedundhaandakam before the regular Adhyayana utsavam begins, because of Bhattar’s great service in bringing “Nanjeeyar” to our sampradaya .
The great festival started as ten days festival by Azhwar and was later celebrated as Twenty one day festival (+one day for ThiruNedunthandagam) by Swami Ramanuja.
Unlike other Divyadesams Thiru Adhyayana Utsavam is celebrated for 23 days in Tirumala. This is usually held from the night of AmAvAsya preceding Vaikunta Ekadasi in Dhanurmasa.
In the absence of Swamy Nammalwar’s deity at Tirumala, the vigraha of Nammalwar’s Acharya Sri Senapathi Alwar along with Swamy Ramanuja conduct this festival .
Lord Venkateshwara exclusively listens to Ramanuja Nootrandhadhi on the last day as a mark of respect to the great acharyar who offered Thiru sankhu chakram to the Lord of the Universe and thus re-established sri vaishnavism.
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The Lord thus fulfilled Anantazhwan’s, (the dearest disciple of Swamy Ramanuja) desire to have sannidhi for Ramanujar and honour our JagathAcharyar .
To equate the Divya Prabhandams with the Vedas Adhyayana and Anadhyayana kalams are issued as in the Vedas and during a specific period (during a year) they are not chanted and this period is called Anadhyayana kalam .
Also another reason cited by elders is that during Swami Nammazhwar journey from Azhwar Thirunagari to Sri Rangam most of the devotees were in the process of welcoming Nammazhwar and the troupe carrying the Lordships and the euphoria was focused at one place .
The devotees of Azhwar Thirunagari waited for Swamy Nammazhwar to return from Srirangam before they resumed the chanting of the divya prabhandam which happened to take some time and when they arrived it was almost one month Thai Hasta Nakshatra the appearance day of the most advanced srivaishnava Acharya Sri Koorathazhwan.
The Anadhyayana kaalam (period of non-recital of prabhandham) is observed from Karthigaiyil Karthikai(from Karthika Pournami) to Thai Hastam(which happens to be Sri Kooratazhwan’s appearance day).
This is observed in houses of all Sri vaishnavas . During the 21 days around Vaikunta Ekadasi, prabhandham is recited in temples only.
During this time, srivaishnavas at home glorify acharyars works like Naalayira Thanians, Desikar prabhandam , upadesarathinamalai , thiruvamozhi nootrandadi, Aarthi prabhandham etc.
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan
Photos credits : Sri Vakulabharan , Sri kesava bhasyam and other advanced devotees
video credits : with humble obeisances to sri kesavabhashyam
To reaffirm the faith of HIS devotees, LORD conversed with HIS devotees time to time . There are three incidents which our Elders keep saying about the compassion of the LORD in temples .
At Tirumala – Tirupathi, Lord Venkateshwara used to converse with the King Thondaman Chakravarthy . In Kancheepuram, Lord Vardarajar used to converse with his dear devotee Swamy Tirukachi Nambigal who used to fan him daily .
Similarly at Srirangam Lord Ranganathar used to converse with “Tiruvilakku pichan”the temple servant who used to light the lamps in the temple . It is a general practice all the devotees surrender to LORD and express their gratitude pain and love for the LORD in this material world. Few devotees develop extremely intimate relationship with the Lord conversing freely and interact almost daily treating him as a human friend.
Few decades ago , in the holy shrine of Tirumala there lived a devotee by the Chinnaya .He was a favorite devotee of Lord Srinivasa .He used to enter the temple sanctum and sing songs with devotional fervor which was liked by Lord .
He wished LORD would dance to his tunes as done in Krishna avatara and the songs had that depth to invite LORD to dance .
His prayers were sincere .
He wished to have darshan of Lord Krishna dancing .
Lord out of abundant compassion appeared and granted him his desire .HE danced to the tunes of the singer . Chinnaya was overwhelmed with Lord’s kindness .He continued to sing hymns and enjoy the divine time with Lord .
Swamy Ramanuja came to know about this ardent devotee through his disciples .Once it so happened ,he met him near the temple .He inquired about his welfare and asked Chinnaya to kindly ascertain from the Lord whether he ( Swamy Ramanuja) may hope for Moksha ( Liberation ) .
Channaya agreed .
The next day Chinnaya walked inside the temple and sang a wonderful composition ..and Lord arrived , and reverently submitted Swamy Ramanuja’s petition.
Lord answered
Certainly !! he shall be saved …
There was a another question …
And I …Lord ?asked Chinnaya …….with more confidence ……..
NO!………………… My child replied the LORD
But ..Lord !!! Have I not sung to Thee all these days ?
Lord smiled and replied ……………………………………
True !! and so I danced to the tunes too ..as often as you sang ..
Lord ! Then I am undone … Pray …Show me the way of salvation …
By no means I can imagine to miss salvation ..
The Lord answered …….
My child …………………
Submit to the Acharya who made you ask me this question ..
Our Ramanuja and seek HIS holy feet for your salvation …………………….
He is the Acharyar who can grant you salvation .
Chinnaya rushed to the Ashram and seeked Swamy Ramanuja’s lotus feet …
This incident illustrates that Salvation is won not by bargain but by grace alone ..
It is only HE who can command and all our acharyas and we follow his command .
Swamy Ramanuja is the only acharya who is referred with utmost respect and followed by all other schools in vaishnavism like chaitanya, vallabhacharya, Swamy narayan as the margadayee .
Uyya Ore Vazhi Udayavar Thiurvadi!
(only way for spiritual upliftment is to take refuge in Yathiraja Padhuka
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan
Pics : Courtesy Google images uploaded by deveral devotees
Out Of the 108 Divya desams, 13 divya desams are categorised as Malai Naatu divyadesams. (Kerala Divya desams), even though 2 of those 13 divyadesams are in Tamil Nadu today.
Malai nadu divya desams are classified due to its location mostly located in Kerala that are scattered from North to South Kerala.
Introduction to the Kerala Divya desams are appended in the below post
A brief note about the nearest town /city from where these holy temples can be accessed is given below
North Kerala:– Thiruvithuvakodu near Pattambi and Thirunaavai near Kuttipuram can be accessed along with Guruvayur.
1) Thiruvithuvacode:– popularly known as “Anjhu murthy kovil” on Shoranur-Kallikatai rail route. Bus from Pattambi to Kootupatha ( app one hour bus drive) and from there to take an auto to go to temple.
2) Thirunaavai :– Shoranur -Kuttipuram bus route. Bus from Guruvayoor to Kuttipuram and from there another bus to Thirunaavai (app. travel time 2.5 hours by bus)
The travel time from Thiruvithuvakodu to Thirunaavai is about one hour by car. Guruvayur is about 40 minutes drive from Thirunaavai and as the temple closes at 1 P.M., we can visit this temple a bit late
Central Kerala:– Thirumoozhikalam,Thirukatkarai near Ernakulam; Aranmula, Thiruvanvandoor, Thirukodithanam, Thirupuliyur, Thiruchenkundroor (popularly known as Pancha Pandava prathista temples) and Thiruvallavaazh can be accessed from Chenganoor.
These temples are located in different directions from Chenganoor and can be covered within 7 hours(to start very early)
3) Thirumoozhikalam:– In Alwaye-Ernakulam bus route- 7 kms from Kaladi road and 12 kms from Alwaye. Take bus from Ernakulam to Alwaye-Change bus to Edapally at Alwaye . From Edapally take an auto to go to the temple. Total travel time app. 1.5 hours
4) Thirukaatkarai:- Take bus from Alwaye-Thirukatkarai and from there auto to go to temple which is about 3 kms away.(travel time app 1 hour)
Ernakulam-Chenganoor travel time is app. 2.5 hours. Six divya desams can be accessed from Chenganoor
5) Thiruchitraaru(Dharman temple)- 2 kms from Chenganoor station
6) Thirupuliyur (Bhiman temple)- 6 kms west of Chenganoor/ 16 kms from Aaranmula
7) Thiruvaranvilai/Aaranmula(Arjunan temple)-10 kms from Chenganoor
8) Thiruvanvandoor (Nakulan temple) -4 kms north of Chenganoor
9) Thirukodithanam(Sahadevan temple) – 2 miles east of Chenganachery on Thiruvalla-Kottayam road
10) Thiruvallavaazh- one hour by bus from Chenganoor
South Kerala:- Thiruvananthapuram and the 2 malai nadu temples in Tamilandu namely, Thiruvataaru and Thiruvanparisaaram can be visited together.
11) Thiruvananthapuram:– 1 km from Trivandrum railway station
12) Thiruvaataru:- Trivandrum to Nagercoil bus , change at Thakalai / by car 40 kms short cut
13) Thiruvanparisaaram– 4 kms from Nagercoil/ 40 kms from Thirukurungudi
The Lord who graced Sri sooktham (Thiru mozhi) to Sri Haritha maharishi and who is fondly addressed as “Appan” by Swamy Nammazhwar and as “lord of devas” by Tirumangai Azhwar gives darshan on the banks of Bharatapuzha river as Sri Sookthinathar/ Thirumoozhikalathan in this Kerala divya desam which is 12 kms from Alwaye in Ernakulam-Thrissur route.
This divya desam is located about 12 kms from Aluvai/Alwaye near Ernakulam(40 kms) and can be reached either by bus or by car. This place can also be accessed from Karikutti railway station which is about 5 kms and also from Angamaali. We visited this temple on 15th December morning after having darshan at Thirukaatkarai. (It may take about 4-5 days to cover Kerala divya desams if travelling by public mode of transport and about 2 days by car. )
Lord Srisuktinathar (also glorified as Thirumozhikalathaan) gives darshan in standing posture facing east under Soundarya vimanam. Lord holds sankhu in HIS upper left hand and Prayoga chakram in upper right hand, HIS lower left hand placed on HIS hip and holds gada with HIS lower right hand. The Lord adorned with a silver kavacham, attracts all of us with HIS smiling face and benevolent glance .
The Goddess Maduraveni Thayar adorns Perumal’s thirumaarbhu(chest).There is no separate sanctum for Thayar . The theertham is known as Sankhu theertham named after Bharata who is an amsam of Shankhu and also as Perunkulam as Lakshmana who is considered as Adiseshan had bath and as Chitraaru as it is a small stream.
This temple was constructed by Lakshmana swamy to atone for the sin of suspecting his brother Bharatha . As he committed this unknowingly under a saints advise he constructed this temple and hence the temple is more popularly known as “Lakshmana Swamy temple”.
Likewise, the divyadesams around Chenganoor are popularly known by the names of Pandavas as they were instrumental for constructing them.
For ex., Imayavarappan temple at Thiruchenkundroor is known as “Dharmar/Yudhistira temple,
Mayappiran temple at Kuttanadu Tirupuliyur is known as “Bhiman temple”,
Parthasarathy temple at Aaranmula as Arjunan temple,
Pambanaippan temple at Tiruvanvandoor as Nakulan temple,
Athputha Narayanan temple at Thirukodithanam as Sahadeva temple..
On the left side of the sanctum while circumbulating, we see a small door with no deities inside it. It is believed that Lord SitaRamar are being worshiped there by Lakshmana Swamy for whom Lord SitaRamar was everything. For Lakshmanaswamy , Lord Srirama was “Unnum sorum, parugu neerum, thinnum vetrilaiy “.
The priest accepted our plate of offerings and carefully adorned the Lord with the vastram and performed archana to the Lordships along with our yatra deities- Guruvayurappan, Sri Sitaramar and Swamy ramanujar. While distributing chandanam and tulasi prasadam, the priest informed that during Karkataka maasam (Aadi in Tamil-July-Aug), utsavam is performed in a grand scale. Makara masam utsavam is also performed in a grand scale.
The deities of Lord Srirama, Lakshmana,Bharata and Shatruguna which were worshipped by Lord Krishna during Dwapara yuga got lost during deluge after Lord Srikrishna’s descent to Vaikuntam. These idols were later found by fishermen who approached the Namboodris for advise. As per the astrological calculations, these idols were installed at the above four places- Srirrama at Thriprayar, Bharatan at Inranjalakudi, Lakshmana at Thirumoozhikalam and Shatruguna at Payammal.
It is usual practice for devotees to recite entire Srimad Ramayanam during Karkataka maasam and do “Naalambalam”(circumbulation of four temples) – most prevalent practice in Kerala where parikrama around all the four temples dedicated to Lord Sriramar at Thriprayar, Bharatan at Iranjalakudi (Koodalmanikyam temple) Lakshmanar at Thirumoozhikalam (Sri sukitnathar), and Shatruguna at Payyammal in a single day starting from Thriprayar Ramar temple is done.
As per the sthalapuranam, Haritha maharishi(Sage Viswamitra’s son) contemplated on the Lord at this place and Lord HIMSELF taught him the sri sookthis(thiru mozhi in tamil). Hence, the Lord is known as Srisookthinathar /Thirumozhikalathan which later got corrupted as Thirumoozhikalathan
Lakshmana swamy as per the instructions of Lord Rama , while travelling in incognito to find out the welfare of the citizens reached this place and met the great Haritha maharishi. The rishi reminded him of suspecting Bharata’s motives while he was serving Sita-Ramar in Chitrakoot.
He advised Lakshmana to continue to stay in this place and offer worship to the Lord for atoning his sins. Thus , Lakshmana constructed the temple and made all arrangements for worship of the Lord. Meanwhile, Bharata who had also set out for the same purpose of knowing the citizen’s opinion reached this place. The repentant Lakshmana sought forgiveness from his elder brother,Bharata. Bharata who is an embodiment of all virtues embraced Lakshmanaswamy saying that he had the good fortune to serve their elder brother,Sri Ramar in exile.
As there was sweet exchange of words between brothers, the place came to be known as “Thiru mozhi kalam”.
Nammazhwar has composed 10 pasurams on this Lord in Thiruvaimozhi 9-7.
He takes the role of Parankusa nayaki(the female mood of a devotee) and exhibits his suffering from pangs of separation and sends clouds/ cuckoos, swans, storks, herons as messengers . Parankusa nayaki sends bees as messengers and requests the bee to utter her name in Perumal’s ears who always wears Tulasi garland and remind HIM of her while HE is enjoying with HIS consorts at Thirumoozhikalam.
Nammazhwar emphasises acharyar sambandham (messengers in this case) who recommends us to Perumal in Thayar’s presence. By referring to Tulasi, azhwar emphasises bhagavatha(Devotees) sambandham too. In other words, to attain Perumal, we need devotees’ association, acharyar’s intervention and Thayar’s anugraham. Nammazhwar opines that acharyars are non-different from Perumal. Perumal exhibited HIS quality of menmai, soulabhyam(one who is very soft and compassionate to the devotees)/ by making azhwar recollect of the happy days they had together. Nammazhwar states that all jivatmas are part of Emperuman’s thirumeni whereas my atma is antharangam for this Perumal who has resolved to stay at Thirumoozhikalam to take the atmas back to Godhead.
Tirumangai Azhwar has glorified Lord in Peria Thirumozhi, Siriya Thirumadal and Thirunedunthandakam. He addresses the Lord as the one who is as sweet as a nectar and a ripened fruit/ who is as beautiful as a coral necklace and who is ever ready to confer grace on HIS devotees. He addresses the Lord as the” light of Thirumoozhikalam “ in Peria Thirumozhi and Siriya Thirumadal. He compares the Lord to a light which dispels darkness. Similarly, this Lord dispels the darkness of ignorance . He refers to this Lord along with the Lord at Thirupiridhi(Joshirmutt) and his acharyar,Thirunaraiyur nambi. Another interesting fact is Tirumangai Azhwar has taken this Lord’s name while addressing his acharyar,Thirunaraiyur Srinivasa Perumal thus endorsing Nammazhwar’s view of Acharyar sambandham.
In Thirunedundhandakam, ( pasuram no. 2061 -10th pasuram) Tirumangai Azhwar addresses the Lord as the protector of the Universe , devas and mortals like us, the Lord who saved the Universe from destruction and as the Lord who protects us like a mighty elephant from all four sides in the form of Srinivasar at Tirumala in the north, as Azhagar in the South, as Aramaudhan in the east and as Ranganathar in the west.
In Siriya Thirumadal, pasuram 129, Tirumangai Azhwar declares he will fall at the feet of the Lord who is the head of devas and who is the light of Thirumoozhikalam.
Divyakavi Pillai Iyengar who has composed one song on each of the 108 divyadesams in his work”108 Tirupati Andadi” glorifies this Lord as the Creator of the entire Universe, Sun,Moon, Shiva, Brahma, Indra and other devas.
There is a small shrine for Paramasivan and while circumambulating the temple, we come across a very small shrine for little Krishna . Kannan wears a small peacock feather on HIS head and is seen holding flute in right hand.
Important festivals are (1) Nalambalam darsanam and Ramayana parayanam in Karkataka maasam (Aadi masam in Tamil) -July16th -Aug 15th)
(2) Prathistai festival in Makara maasam(14th Jan-14th Feb) on Anusham star(Anuradha star) (Tamil month Thai -Anusham
(3) 10 day festival during April-May starting on Hastam star and culminating on Thiruvonam day..
Out Of the 108 Divya desams, 13 divya desams are categorised as Malai Naatu divyadesams. (Kerala Divya desams), even though 2 of those 13 divyadesams are in Tamil Nadu today.
Malai nadu divya desams are classified due to its location mostly located in Kerala that are scattered from North to South Kerala.
Introduction to the Kerala Divya desams are appended in the below post
A brief note about the nearest town /city from where these holy temples can be accessed is given below
North Kerala:– Thiruvithuvakodu near Pattambi and Thirunaavai near Kuttipuram can be accessed along with Guruvayur.
1) Thiruvithuvacode:– popularly known as “Anjhu murthy kovil” on Shoranur-Kallikatai rail route. Bus from Pattambi to Kootupatha ( app one hour bus drive) and from there to take an auto to go to temple.
2) Thirunaavai :– Shoranur -Kuttipuram bus route. Bus from Guruvayoor to Kuttipuram and from there another bus to Thirunaavai (app. travel time 2.5 hours by bus)
The travel time from Thiruvithuvakodu to Thirunaavai is about one hour by car. Guruvayur is about 40 minutes drive from Thirunaavai and as the temple closes at 1 P.M., we can visit this temple a bit late
Central Kerala:– Thirumoozhikalam,Thirukatkarai near Ernakulam; Aranmula, Thiruvanvandoor, Thirukodithanam, Thirupuliyur, Thiruchenkundroor (popularly known as Pancha Pandava prathista temples) and Thiruvallavaazh can be accessed from Chenganoor.
These temples are located in different directions from Chenganoor and can be covered within 7 hours(to start very early)
3) Thirumoozhikalam:– In Alwaye-Ernakulam bus route- 7 kms from Kaladi road and 12 kms from Alwaye. Take bus from Ernakulam to Alwaye-Change bus to Edapally at Alwaye . From Edapally take an auto to go to the temple. Total travel time app. 1.5 hours
4) Thirukaatkarai:- Take bus from Alwaye-Thirukatkarai and from there auto to go to temple which is about 3 kms away.(travel time app 1 hour)
Ernakulam-Chenganoor travel time is app. 2.5 hours. Six divya desams can be accessed from Chenganoor
5) Thiruchitraaru(Dharman temple)- 2 kms from Chenganoor station
6) Thirupuliyur (Bhiman temple)- 6 kms west of Chenganoor/ 16 kms from Aaranmula
7) Thiruvaranvilai/Aaranmula(Arjunan temple)-10 kms from Chenganoor
8) Thiruvanvandoor (Nakulan temple) -4 kms north of Chenganoor
9) Thirukodithanam(Sahadevan temple) – 2 miles east of Chenganachery on Thiruvalla-Kottayam road
10) Thiruvallavaazh- one hour by bus from Chenganoor
South Kerala:- Thiruvananthapuram and the 2 malai nadu temples in Tamilandu namely, Thiruvataaru and Thiruvanparisaaram can be visited together.
11) Thiruvananthapuram:– 1 km from Trivandrum railway station
12) Thiruvaataru:- Trivandrum to Nagercoil bus , change at Thakalai / by car 40 kms short cut
13) Thiruvanparisaaram– 4 kms from Nagercoil/ 40 kms from Thirukurungudi
The Lord who graced Sri sooktham (Thiru mozhi) to Sri Haritha maharishi and who is fondly addressed as “Appan” by Swamy Nammazhwar and as “lord of devas” by Tirumangai Azhwar gives darshan on the banks of Bharatapuzha river as Sri Sookthinathar/ Thirumoozhikalathan in this Kerala divya desam which is 12 kms from Alwaye in Ernakulam-Thrissur route.
This divya desam is located about 12 kms from Aluvai/Alwaye near Ernakulam(40 kms) and can be reached either by bus or by car. This place can also be accessed from Karikutti railway station which is about 5 kms and also from Angamaali. We visited this temple on 15th December morning after having darshan at Thirukaatkarai. (It may take about 4-5 days to cover Kerala divya desams if travelling by public mode of transport and about 2 days by car. )
Lord Srisuktinathar (also glorified as Thirumozhikalathaan) gives darshan in standing posture facing east under Soundarya vimanam. Lord holds sankhu in HIS upper left hand and Prayoga chakram in upper right hand, HIS lower left hand placed on HIS hip and holds gada with HIS lower right hand. The Lord adorned with a silver kavacham, attracts all of us with HIS smiling face and benevolent glance .
The Goddess Maduraveni Thayar adorns Perumal’s thirumaarbhu(chest).There is no separate sanctum for Thayar . The theertham is known as Sankhu theertham named after Bharata who is an amsam of Shankhu and also as Perunkulam as Lakshmana who is considered as Adiseshan had bath and as Chitraaru as it is a small stream.
This temple was constructed by Lakshmana swamy to atone for the sin of suspecting his brother Bharatha . As he committed this unknowingly under a saints advise he constructed this temple and hence the temple is more popularly known as “Lakshmana Swamy temple”.
Likewise, the divyadesams around Chenganoor are popularly known by the names of Pandavas as they were instrumental for constructing them.
For ex., Imayavarappan temple at Thiruchenkundroor is known as “Dharmar/Yudhistira temple,
Mayappiran temple at Kuttanadu Tirupuliyur is known as “Bhiman temple”,
Parthasarathy temple at Aaranmula as Arjunan temple,
Pambanaippan temple at Tiruvanvandoor as Nakulan temple,
Athputha Narayanan temple at Thirukodithanam as Sahadeva temple..
On the left side of the sanctum while circumbulating, we see a small door with no deities inside it. It is believed that Lord SitaRamar are being worshiped there by Lakshmana Swamy for whom Lord SitaRamar was everything. For Lakshmanaswamy , Lord Srirama was “Unnum sorum, parugu neerum, thinnum vetrilaiy “.
The priest accepted our plate of offerings and carefully adorned the Lord with the vastram and performed archana to the Lordships along with our yatra deities- Guruvayurappan, Sri Sitaramar and Swamy ramanujar. While distributing chandanam and tulasi prasadam, the priest informed that during Karkataka maasam (Aadi in Tamil-July-Aug), utsavam is performed in a grand scale. Makara masam utsavam is also performed in a grand scale.
The deities of Lord Srirama, Lakshmana,Bharata and Shatruguna which were worshipped by Lord Krishna during Dwapara yuga got lost during deluge after Lord Srikrishna’s descent to Vaikuntam. These idols were later found by fishermen who approached the Namboodris for advise. As per the astrological calculations, these idols were installed at the above four places- Srirrama at Thriprayar, Bharatan at Inranjalakudi, Lakshmana at Thirumoozhikalam and Shatruguna at Payammal.
It is usual practice for devotees to recite entire Srimad Ramayanam during Karkataka maasam and do “Naalambalam”(circumbulation of four temples) – most prevalent practice in Kerala where parikrama around all the four temples dedicated to Lord Sriramar at Thriprayar, Bharatan at Iranjalakudi (Koodalmanikyam temple) Lakshmanar at Thirumoozhikalam (Sri sukitnathar), and Shatruguna at Payyammal in a single day starting from Thriprayar Ramar temple is done.
As per the sthalapuranam, Haritha maharishi(Sage Viswamitra’s son) contemplated on the Lord at this place and Lord HIMSELF taught him the sri sookthis(thiru mozhi in tamil). Hence, the Lord is known as Srisookthinathar /Thirumozhikalathan which later got corrupted as Thirumoozhikalathan
Lakshmana swamy as per the instructions of Lord Rama , while travelling in incognito to find out the welfare of the citizens reached this place and met the great Haritha maharishi. The rishi reminded him of suspecting Bharata’s motives while he was serving Sita-Ramar in Chitrakoot.
He advised Lakshmana to continue to stay in this place and offer worship to the Lord for atoning his sins. Thus , Lakshmana constructed the temple and made all arrangements for worship of the Lord. Meanwhile, Bharata who had also set out for the same purpose of knowing the citizen’s opinion reached this place. The repentant Lakshmana sought forgiveness from his elder brother,Bharata. Bharata who is an embodiment of all virtues embraced Lakshmanaswamy saying that he had the good fortune to serve their elder brother,Sri Ramar in exile.
As there was sweet exchange of words between brothers, the place came to be known as “Thiru mozhi kalam”.
Nammazhwar has composed 10 pasurams on this Lord in Thiruvaimozhi 9-7.
He takes the role of Parankusa nayaki(the female mood of a devotee) and exhibits his suffering from pangs of separation and sends clouds/ cuckoos, swans, storks, herons as messengers . Parankusa nayaki sends bees as messengers and requests the bee to utter her name in Perumal’s ears who always wears Tulasi garland and remind HIM of her while HE is enjoying with HIS consorts at Thirumoozhikalam.
Nammazhwar emphasises acharyar sambandham (messengers in this case) who recommends us to Perumal in Thayar’s presence. By referring to Tulasi, azhwar emphasises bhagavatha(Devotees) sambandham too. In other words, to attain Perumal, we need devotees’ association, acharyar’s intervention and Thayar’s anugraham. Nammazhwar opines that acharyars are non-different from Perumal. Perumal exhibited HIS quality of menmai, soulabhyam(one who is very soft and compassionate to the devotees)/ by making azhwar recollect of the happy days they had together. Nammazhwar states that all jivatmas are part of Emperuman’s thirumeni whereas my atma is antharangam for this Perumal who has resolved to stay at Thirumoozhikalam to take the atmas back to Godhead.
Tirumangai Azhwar has glorified Lord in Peria Thirumozhi, Siriya Thirumadal and Thirunedunthandakam. He addresses the Lord as the one who is as sweet as a nectar and a ripened fruit/ who is as beautiful as a coral necklace and who is ever ready to confer grace on HIS devotees. He addresses the Lord as the” light of Thirumoozhikalam “ in Peria Thirumozhi and Siriya Thirumadal. He compares the Lord to a light which dispels darkness. Similarly, this Lord dispels the darkness of ignorance . He refers to this Lord along with the Lord at Thirupiridhi(Joshirmutt) and his acharyar,Thirunaraiyur nambi. Another interesting fact is Tirumangai Azhwar has taken this Lord’s name while addressing his acharyar,Thirunaraiyur Srinivasa Perumal thus endorsing Nammazhwar’s view of Acharyar sambandham.
In Thirunedundhandakam, ( pasuram no. 2061 -10th pasuram) Tirumangai Azhwar addresses the Lord as the protector of the Universe , devas and mortals like us, the Lord who saved the Universe from destruction and as the Lord who protects us like a mighty elephant from all four sides in the form of Srinivasar at Tirumala in the north, as Azhagar in the South, as Aramaudhan in the east and as Ranganathar in the west.
In Siriya Thirumadal, pasuram 129, Tirumangai Azhwar declares he will fall at the feet of the Lord who is the head of devas and who is the light of Thirumoozhikalam.
Divyakavi Pillai Iyengar who has composed one song on each of the 108 divyadesams in his work”108 Tirupati Andadi” glorifies this Lord as the Creator of the entire Universe, Sun,Moon, Shiva, Brahma, Indra and other devas.
There is a small shrine for Paramasivan and while circumambulating the temple, we come across a very small shrine for little Krishna . Kannan wears a small peacock feather on HIS head and is seen holding flute in right hand.
Important festivals are (1) Nalambalam darsanam and Ramayana parayanam in Karkataka maasam (Aadi masam in Tamil) -July16th -Aug 15th)
(2) Prathistai festival in Makara maasam(14th Jan-14th Feb) on Anusham star(Anuradha star) (Tamil month Thai -Anusham
(3) 10 day festival during April-May starting on Hastam star and culminating on Thiruvonam day..
Swami Nammazhvar the most celebrated amongst all the Azhwars quotes in one of his paasuram 6.9.5 ( 3435)
“vinmeediruppAi, malaimElnirppAi, kadal sErppAi
manmeeduyalvAi evattrul engum maraindhuraivAi
enmeedhiyandra puravandaththAi enadAvi
vunmeedhAdi vurukkAttAdhE olippAyO?”
The above pasuram reveals that LORD existence at
paravatam .. vin meediruppAi .. (staying in the sky/heavens)..
malaimEl nirppAi ….to archai (staying in divya desams like Tirumala , thirumAlirunchOlai , Sholinghur , Bhadri , Saalagramam …
(Standing on hills/mountains) kadal sErppAi refers to vyuha moorthi, (Residing in sea)
…..man meedhuyalvAi ….refers to vibhavams (HE …came down due to causeless mercy as Lord Rama and Krishna) (Walking on earth)….
evattrul engum maraindhu vuraivAi ……refers to antaryami who stays inside each one of us , being invisible to all , beyond comprehension and beyond one’s understanding and stay in the entire vast universe and protect us.
Merciful “Lord Sriman Narayana” appears in five different forms as
para,
vyuha,
vibhava,
archai and
antaryAmi .
Lord Sriman Narayanan appears in the above five forms.
LORD in response to the ardent prayers of revered saints and various advanced devotees appeared to them and conceded their request of continuing to grace with darshan in the same form for the benefit of the future generations . The deities were duly consecrated with various hymns and temples were constructed by various generous kings.
Archai Murthies are the Lordships who grace us inside the temples and the temples which have been glorified by revered Azhwars through their emotional out pours are called Divya Prabhanda pasurams.
Azhwars were the incarnations of of Lord Sriman Narayana’s divine weapons .(“Azhwar” in Tamil means ‘one who is immersed’. Since these advanced saints were always immersed in the Lord and His qualities, they were called Azhwars ) And the places which was glorified by Azhwars are earmarked as Divya desams . Out of the 12 azhwars, 4 Azhwars appeared towards the end of Dwapara yuga and
Eight Azhwars appeared during Kali yuga.
The Srivaishnava Divyadesams are a group of 108 SriVaishnava Temples. Among the 108 Divyadesams, 105 temples are located in India and one in Nepal. The remaining two temples are in the celestial world glorified as Sri Vaikuntam and ThiruParamapadham.
These temples are very old and have been renovated by pious kings and advanced devotees periodically .
These 106 temples are classified into six zones-
Chola Nadu divya desam – 40 temples situated in Central Tamilnadu around Trichy,Kumbakonam,Mayavaram, Srikazhi,Nagapatinam
Pandya Nadu divya desams– 18 temples situated in southern part of Tamilnadu around Madurai,Tirunelveli, Ramnathapuram, Sivakasi..
Nadu nadu divya desams – 2 temples in the northern part of Tamilnadu located near Vizhupuram and Cuddalore
Thondai nadu divya desams -22 temples in the northern part of Tamilnadu located in and around Chennai(4),Kanchipuram (15), Arakonam(3)
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Malai nadu divya desams – 13 temples out of which 2 are in Southern tip of tamilnadu and the rest 11 temples are in Kerala scattered around Trivandrum,Chenganoor, Ernakulam, Thrissur
Vada nadu divya desams – 11 temples out of which 2 are in Andhra Pradesh, 1 in Gujarat, 4 in Uttar Pradesh, 3 in Uttaranchal and 1 in Muktinath.
MALAI NADU DIVYA DESAMS
Malai nadu divya desams are classified due to its location mostly located in Kerala that are scattered from Central , North to South Kerala.
Devotees keen to have darshan can start from Thrissur which is in the North Kerala , come downwards to visit Chenganoor, Ernakulam and go further south to visit Thiruvananthapuram, Thiruvataaru,Thiruvanparisaram else start from South and complete the yatra in the reverse direction.
Kerala as we believe is God’s own country aptly deserves the name. The pristine nature with plenty of water resources with lush greenery and calm surroundings add beauty to the divya desams in this serene location .
Kerala experiences tropical climate and as nature is still preserved, it enjoys beautiful weather with frequent rains.
Hence, the houses and temples are constructed in such a way that the conical roofs do not retain the rain water. Another interesting feature of the temples are the beautiful murals made of teak wood .
A brief note about the nearest town /city from where these temples can be accessed is given below:-
North Kerala:– Thiruvithuvakodu near Pattambi and Thirunaavai near Kuttipuram can be accessed along with Guruvayur.
1) Thiruvithuvacode:– popularly known as “Anjhu murthy kovil” on Shoranur-Kallikatai rail route. Bus from Pattambi to Kootupatha ( app one hour bus drive) and from there to take an auto to go to temple.
2) Thirunaavai :– Shoranur -Kuttipuram bus route. Bus from Guruvayoor to Kuttipuram and from there another bus to Thirunaavai (app. travel time 2.5 hours by bus)
The travel time from Thiruvithuvakodu to Thirunaavai is about one hour by car. Guruvayur is about 40 minutes drive from Thirunaavai and as the temple closes at 1 P.M., we can visit this temple a bit late
Central Kerala:– Thirumoozhikalam,Thirukatkarai near Ernakulam; Aranmula, Thiruvanvandoor, Thirukodithanam, Thirupuliyur, Thiruchenkundroor (popularly known as Pancha Pandava prathista temples) and Thiruvallavaazh can be accessed from Chenganoor.
These temples are located in different directions from Chenganoor and can be covered within 7 hours(to start very early)
3) Thirumoozhikalam:– In Alwaye-Ernakulam bus route- 7 kms from Kaladi road and 12 kms from Alwaye. Take bus from Ernakulam to Alwaye-Change bus to Edapally at Alwaye . From Edapally take an auto to go to the temple. Total travel time app. 1.5 hours
4) Thirukaatkarai:- Take bus from Alwaye-Thirukatkarai and from there auto to go to temple which is about 3 kms away.(travel time app 1 hour)
Ernakulam-Chenganoor travel time is app. 2.5 hours. Six divya desams can be accessed from Chenganoor
5) Thiruchitraaru(Dharman temple)- 2 kms from Chenganoor station
6) Thirupuliyur (Bhiman temple)- 6 kms west of Chenganoor/ 16 kms from Aaranmula
7) Thiruvaranvilai/Aaranmula(Arjunan temple)-10 kms from Chenganoor
8) Thiruvanvandoor (Nakulan temple) -4 kms north of Chenganoor
9) Thirukodithanam(Sahadevan temple) – 2 miles east of Chenganachery on Thiruvalla-Kottayam road
10) Thiruvallavaazh- one hour by bus from Chenganoor
South Kerala:- Thiruvananthapuram and the 2 malai nadu temples in Tamilandu namely, Thiruvataaru and Thiruvanparisaaram can be visited together.
11) Thiruvananthapuram:– 1 km from Trivandrum railway station
12) Thiruvaataru:- Trivandrum to Nagercoil bus , change at Thakalai / by car 40 kms short cut
13) Thiruvanparisaaram– 4 kms from Nagercoil/ 40 kms from Thirukurungudi
Most of the Kerala divyadesam temples have divine connection with the two great epics-
Srimad Ramayanam and Mahabharatam .
The divyadesams around Chenganoor are popularly known by the great heroes of Pandavas as they were responsible for constructing them.
For example ..
Imayavarappan temple at Thiruchenkundroor is known as “Dharmar/Yudhistira temple, Mayappiran temple at Kuttanadu Tirupuliyur is known as “Bhiman temple”,
Parthasarathy temple at Aaranmula as Arjunan temple,
Pambanaippan temple at Tiruvanvandoor as Nakulan temple,
Athputha Narayanan temple at Thirukodithanam as Sahadeva temple
Likewise, there are temples related to Ramayanam too.
(There may be a slight variation in the distances as mentioned in the write up which was shared by the locals .)
The four temples around Ernakulam popularly known as “Nalambalam” meaning Naalu(four) ambalam(temples) are known by the name of Srirama at Thriprayar,, Lakshmana at Thirumoozhikalam, Bharata at Iranjalkudi and Shatruguna at Payammal.
It is usual practice in kerala for devotees to recite entire Srimad Ramayanam during Karkataka maasam and do “Naalambalam”(circumbulation of four temples) – most prevalent practice in Kerala where parikrama around all the four temples dedicated to Lord Sriramar at Thriprayar, Bharatan at Iranjalakudi (Koodalmanikyam temple) Lakshmanar at Thirumoozhikalam (Sri sukitnathar), and Shatruguna at Payyammal in a single day starting from Thriprayar Lord Ramar temple is accessed .
The temple at Thiruvaataru is glorified as the place associated with Brahma Samhita. As told by a devotee inside the temple ,
the Acharyar of Gaudiya sampradaya His holiness Sri Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is believed to have accessed one part of this Brahma Samhita which forms the basis of Gaudiya Vaishnavism.
Utsavam ( Festivals) is performed in almost all the temples for about 10 days and during that time, Srimad Bhagavatam would be recited .
The inaugural day is known as “Kodi Etram” and the final day is known as “Aaratu”. Only during sevali (Sri veli) which is performed after bhog is offered to Lord, when the processional diety goes around the temple to supervise the food offerings to the guarding deities, musical instruments are played except in one divya desam .
In Thiruvananthapuram, Thirukatkarai excellent stay facilities are available. In Tirupuliyur, pilgrims amenities are provided taking into consideration the influx of pilgrims.
All the temples in Kerala open by 4 A.M. and close by 11 A.M. and in the evenings, the temples are opened for a shorter duration from about 4.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.
The timings are strictly followed without any deviation. Also, out of the 13 temples, in 11 temples Lord gives darshan as as Sri Vishnu murthy adorning Sankhu, Chakram, Gada,Padmam in standing posture. Only in Thiruvananthapuram and Thiruvaataru, Lord gives darshan in reclining posture. Another common feature is there is no separate sannidhi for Thayar in all these temples except Thirunaavai.
Kerala is located on a hilly location and hence the travel time taken is more compared to the plains. Also, there are state run buses available which are quite cheap but the only drawback is the name boards will be in Malayalam and we may not be able to understand !!!!
In our first trip during 2001 we traveled from North to South and covered these divya desams in five days as we commuted through public transport.
A recap of the journey done is reproduced in the below url..
By Acharyar’s blessings we decided to club Pandya nadu and Malai nadu divya desams darshan hiring a vehicle from Srirangam..
A distance of about 900 kms to and from Srirangam covering around 32 temples within a span of 4.5 days could be possible by sheer mercy of Acharyar and the Divyadesam Perumals ..
Prostrating at the lotus feet of asmath acharyar,H.G.Sri Sri Mudaliandan Swami and JagathaAcharyar Swamy Ramanujar, adiyen wishes to share the recent travel details of the 18 Pandya nadu divya desams, 13 Malai nadu divya desams,Guruvayur(abhimana sthalam) commemorating the Sahasrabhdhi celebrations of Swamy Ramanujar within a span of five days(4.5 days precisely) .
We commenced our yatra on the auspicious Kaisika Ekadasi with blessings of our Acharyar and Elders -10 th Dec 2016 with prayers to our Thirumaligai Perumal.
Seeking blessings from Asmath Acharyar HIS HOLINESS SRI SRI MUDALIAANDAN SWAMY before commencing the journey
After obtaining Asmatha acharyar’s anugraham at Mylapore, we proceeded to srirangam by car . We reached midnight and were fortunate to have darshan of Lord Namperumal adorned with 365 silk clothes .( Kaisika Ekadashi special) Namperumal blessed us with theertha,prasadam .
We carried our yatra deities (Sri Sita ,Lakshmana, Hanumath sametha Sri Ramachandran, Swamy Ramanujar )along with Lord Guruvayurappan-the aradhana deity of our advanced devotee friend to all the temples and puja was performed to them along with the divyadesam Perumals.
Our yatra commenced from Srirangam at 5 A.M on Dwadasi day immediately . . We were joined by a advance devotee couple Smt & Sri Thiruvengada ramanuja dasan who resides in Srirangam serving Acharyar, His holiness Sri Sri Rangaramanuja Jeeyar.
THE DIVINE JOURNEY BEGINS …..
The approximate distance from Srirangam to visit Pandya nadu and Malai nadu divya desams and drop at Srirangam is about 900 kms. …..
We opted to visit these divya desams by engaging a nice devotee cab driver sri .Ramu-(a devotee from Kumbakonam who is very familiar with the location of the temples and the priests ).
He can be contacted on 94866 56052.
Our route details ……………
(1) Srirangam -Thirumeyyam ( 85 kms via Pudukkottai)
(2) Thirumeyyam-Thirugoshtiyur – (40 kms)
(3)Thirugoshtiyur-Thirupullani ( 130 kms via Manamadurai, Paramakudi,Ramnad);
(4) Thirupullani-Thirumoghur ( 165 kms via Ramnad, Madurai)
(7)Thirukoodal-Thiruthankaal(75 kms via Virudhunagar)
(8) Thiruthankaal-Srivilliputtur(25 kms via Sivakasi),
(9) Srivilliputtur-Varaguna-mangai (Alwar Tirunagari) (140 kms via Tirunelveli),
(10) nava tirupati divya desams in and around Azhwar Tirunagari(total 35 kms); (11)srivaikuntam(navatirupati)-Vaanamamalai(70 kms via Tirunelveli/Palayankotai);
(12) Vaanamamalai-Tirukurunkudi (18 kms)
(13) Tirukurunkudi-Thiruvanparisaaram(40 kms short route);
(14) Tiruvanparisaaram-Thiruvaataru(60 kms via Padmanabhapuram);
(15) Thiruvaataru-Thiruvananthapuram(40 kms via Maarthandam);
(16) Thiruvananthapuram-Chenganoor (150 kms via Athur/Kottarkadai)
(17) six divya desams in and around Chenganoor upto Chenganachery (60 kms);
Those were the days when Swami Nampillai the distinguished Acharyar was delivering religious discourses at Srirangam temple attended by many devotees . As Swamys discourses were absolutely soul stirring due its sweetness in delivery devotees used to throng in thousands inside the temple . Many occasions there was a confusion about the crowds pouring inside the temple whether some festival was going on there , as the numbers used to match with the number of devotees in Utsavams .
His reputation was increasing and consequently the reputation of other Acharyas was being overlooked.
A contempory of Swamy Nampillai was Sri Kandadai Thozappar , grandson of Swamy Mudali Andaan the foremost disciple of Swamy Ramanuja .
Swamy Thozhappar was very knowledgeable . Somehow he became increasingly jealous about the fame and reputation of Swamy Nampillai which was going up day by day.
One evening while he was returning from the temple shrine , by divine will he noticed Swamy Nampillai proceeding into the shrine with few hundreds of disciples . Because of the unbearable envy Thozhappar instantly abused Swamy Nampillai in strong words inside the shrine itself amongst the disciples .
Swamy Nampillai was calm and polite accepting the pungent words . Inspite of the humiliating abuses heaped on him , Swamy Nampillai unshaken approached LORD and offered his worship seeking forgivance wondering whether inadvertently he had committed any transgression to the great devotee Thozhappar .
Upset , he reached home and was seeking pardon repeatedly mentally to the great Acharya .
Swamy Kandadai Thozhappar reached home relaxed , after insulting the great seer . Thozappars wife was an advanced devotee with deep insight and divine knowledge . She was through her fathers side disciple of Swamy Nampillai .
She came to know about the misconduct of her husband which pained her deeply. True to her Acharya bhakthi , she abandoned all the household work as she was convinced that because of the arrogant behavior of her husband both would be doomed for the bhagavatha apachara.
She was grief stricken and ignored her husband. Thozhappar who was casual wondered with her sudden change in behaviour .
He was used to see his wife welcoming him with affection and attended on him with love and praise . Amazed , He was forced to question her unusual way of behavior especially for the very first time he experienced with her conduct .
With uncontrollable grief she replied ,
Swamin ..
Do you know what type of bhagavtha apachara you have committed ?
Swamy Nampillai is reincarnation of Swamy Nammazhwar.
You have dared to abuse a noble soul who is enlightening many many bhagavathas day in and out by his lucid divine commenteries on Lords vaibhavam.
And you dared to insult him in the shrine itself without any remorse. What privilege do you think you will have when one abuses his own Acharya. You have committed a great sin and you are also aware of it .
Since I am your wife , you may have right over my body and can punish me but remember I am alive because of my Acharya , who is Swamy Nampillai. I cannot forgive any one who abuses the devotees of the LORD .
You are also aware of the aphorisms . The sin you have committed is grave and you pretend to be ignorant . Hence forth there can not be any connection between us . And I do not wish to continue to live with you and never wish to destroy myself ( soul ) .Let me seek my path of life which takes me to Acharyans Lotus feet .
Thozhapar was shaken with the turn of events .
He deeply introspected himself and belonging to a distunguised srivaishnava family was disturbed with his behaviour.
He understood that this rude behaviour was because of his envy and jealousy.
He appreciated his wife for revealing the truth and enlightening him .
He found solace in her words and seeked a solution to bridge his unruly behaviour by seeking forgivance and amend the same.
His wife said if anything is lost in river , we must seek the same in river and not in a pond .
Similarly , she said , Swamy Nampillai is a great Acharya with a kind heart . You need to just fall at his feet and plead forgivance .
If he forgives , you will be saved and seeking forgivance from the LORD also will not save you .
Thozhappar politely replied , that he was too harsh on Swamy and was afraid to face him. Insulting the revered Acharyar in the temple amongst many people makes him shiver in meeting him.
Ashamed with this conduct , my feet tremble to meet the seer .
With humility he requests his wife to accompany him so that Swamy will be appeased and being his disciple he may pardon for her association .
As it was too late in the night , both of them agree that the first thing they will do the next morning was to seek Acharyars forgivance .
At the other end , Swamy Nampillai was greatly upset .
He sent all his disciples away . He gave up his food for the night and was questioning his own flaws that could disturb Thozhappar which resulted in his outbursts.
He felt strongly that he must have somehow misbehaved with the distinguished vaishnava .
He decided that he will seek his forgivance as the sin accredited in misbehaving with a vaishnava shall be severe .
His mind was wavering .
He decided he will not waste time till the next day .
He immediately left to Thozhappars residence covering himself with a white blanket . As the doors were closed , he did not wanted to disturb them .
He decided he will rest near the pial at the entrance of the house the whole night and the next day when Thozhappar opens the door he will fall at his feet to seek pardon .
The next day , in the early hours , both Thozhappar opens the door
To the surprise they find some person with a white blanket covered standing .
As the lighting was poor they enquire about him .
Swamy Nampillai replies ..Swami !!! I am a great sinner .
Thozhappar was shocked ..
Unexpected of his approach He asked him , What was the need to rest on the pial before his house the same night .
Have you come to quarrel with me early in this day for the abuses hurled by me yesterday ??
Nampillai with all humility submitted to Thozhappar .
Swamin !!! Please forgive me !!
Adiyen had just come here to ascertain that any misconduct of mine should not disturb your peace of mind .
Having born in a distinguished family of Swamy MudaliAndaan , adiyen requests your kindness to please let me know the misconduct to earn abuse by a revered Acharyar like you .
Please forgive me for any misconduct either in words or deeds .
Swamin !! If not you , who will be kind enough to forgive me ..
Thozhappar was astounded at the humble appeal of Swamy Nampillai. He was at loss of words and at the unexpected turn of events , especially when he himself was proceeding to seek forgiveness from Nampillai .
With tears he pleaded Swamin ” True to my wife’s words what a big heart you possess . It is very difficult to see people with such humility .
I was under an illusion that you are Acharyar for a few disciples . I know realise that you are a teacher ( Acharyar ) of the whole world.
Henceforth I shall propagate devareer as Lokacharyar . Thozhappar welcomed Nampillai and washed his feet and accepted him as his Acharyar .
Swamy Manavalamaamuni mentions this incident one of his pasuram in the great work Upadesarathinaimala saying..
pinnai UlahAriyan yenum pEr NampiLLaikku Ongi vilahAmal ninRathu yenrum mEl.. verse .(51)
Translated in English ..
ThOzhappar of wide fame belonging to the KanthAdai vamsam with joyful respect asked o NampiLLai once ” Are You THE teacher of the Universe (LOkAchAryan)? ” out of respect for his extraordinary scholarship and humility .
From that day onwards , that name of LokAcchAryan stayed with NampiLLai as a mark of his srivaishnava guNa visEsham .Later, NampiLLai’s sishyar, Vadakku- Thiruveedhi PiLLai gave the name of LokaachAryan to his son out of his own deep reverence for his AchAryan .
This son – who became a very famous AchAryan later – came to be revered as PiLLai Lokam Jeeyar .
Later , Thozhappar had to leave to Kancheepuram and serve the Lordships there .He conducted the Thirukalyana utsavam for Kanchi Devaperumal with Andal Naachiyaar.
In turn, Varadar as a measure of showing his love towards Thozhappar, arrived in Thozhappar’s thirumaaligai.
He revealed in Thozhappar’s dream that the deity being worshipped was the Shatberam in Thozhappar’s thirumaaligai.
Thozhappar, on seeing the grace of the Lord became very happy and named him ‘Aahuya Rakshaka Hari’ (Azhaithu Vaazhvitha Perumal).
This deity darshan can be had in MudaliAndaans Thirumaligai ( Ashram )
Swamy Nam pillai became Lokacharyar because he did not loose his temper with even the ones who abused him , instead showed the qualities of patience and mercy of sri vaishnava which converted others too.
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan
Pictures : Courtesy Google pics uploaded by devotees
Thus Azhwars were the incarnations of of Lord Sriman Narayana’s divine weapons and ornaments (“
The 106 temples are classified into six divisions –
Thirumangai Azhwar, the last among all the Azhwars was the only Azhwar who has glorified the maximum number of temples -86 divya desams and he alone has the credit of glorifying 47 divya desams exclusively. 
Azhwar appeared on the 397th year after the advent of Kaliyuga as per “Guru Parampara prabhavam” composed by Sri.Pinbhagzhagiya Perumal Jeeyar a disciple of Swamy Nampillai,,,
The Divya Prabhandams of the Azhwars are, therefore, held in as great veneration and reverence as the Vedas in Sanskrit. All the Azhwars held the view that Lord Sriman…
Nammazhwar in his emotional out pourings “Thiruvaimozhi 7-5 reveals “kaRpaar Ramapiraanai allaal maRRum kaRparO?…”
Asuras defeated the devas and started ruling the world inflicting troubles on all living beings. There was no place for sathyam(truth) and dharmam(righteousness). Dharma devathai took the form of a bull and reached Azhagar koil for prayers while Satya devathai took the form of a deer and entered venu vanam(as this place was full of bamboo trees) and meditated on Lord Vishnu for help. 
The third team was to provide cover for the team lead by Swamy Pillai Lokachariya [the team with the deities of our lord and his consorts so that swami had enough time to maintain safe distance from the enemy.
The Jiva argues again without understanding the subtle truth … 
The deities of Lord Srirama, Lakshmana,Bharata and Shatruguna which were worshipped by Lord Krishna during Dwapara yuga got lost during deluge after Lord Srikrishna’s descent to Vaikuntam. These idols were later found by fishermen who approached the Namboodris for advise. As per the astrological calculations, these idols were installed at the above four places- Srirrama at Thriprayar, Bharatan at Inranjalakudi, Lakshmana at Thirumoozhikalam and Shatruguna at Payammal.
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