kazhiyur varadan's blog

 The  holy hill Goverdhanagiri , more popularly addressed as “GIRIRAJ GOVERDHAN” is located in the middle of the town Goverdhan which is 24 kms from Vrindavan and approximately 26 kms west of Mathura. The routes to Vrindavan and Goverdhan from Mathura are different .

Many buses and share autos ply to Goverdhanagiri from Mathura and Vrindavan round the clock. Radha Kund, Shyam Kund and Manasi Ganga are in the precints of the hill.

This  HOLY DHAAM  is considered as the most sacred place in  Vrindavan and  performing Pradhikshana is most auspicious .

Few lacs  number of devotees perform Pradhakshina during Karthik maas and few thousands every day ….

 

Goverdhana hill is formed in the shape of a peacock. Radha Kund and Shyam Kund are the eyes. Dan Ghati is its long neck. Mukharavinda is the mouth and punchari is its back and tail feathers. As the hill is very sacred , pilgrims are prohibited from climbing  the hill. There is a fencing all around the Goverdhana hill .

Goverdhana giri is the most blessed devotee as it had  Lord Sri Krishna sambandham everyday during Krishnaavataaram which even Himalayas did not have. Krishna Himself chose Goverdhana giri for HIS various pastimes. Of all the devotees , Goverdhana Hill is the best because it supplies Krishna and Balarama with all types of necessities.

In Srimad Bhagavatham, Lord mentions that HE and Goverdhanagiri are identical. As per the scriptures, Krishna used to go to Goverdhanagiri from Vrindavan for gazing cows and would visit the nearby forests with HIS friends.  Lord Krishna at such an young age ,  used to walk about  50 kms to and fro everyday from Vrindavan to Goverdhan without footwear .

This makes us  recollect Periazhwar’s pasurams in Yasodha bhaavam

“Naalai thottu kandrin pin pogale kolam seiyudhu enge iru….” .,

Peria azhwar’s feelings when he expresses mother’s anguish to see her child returning from forest without slippers and umbrella.) .

It was customary for the gopas headed by Nanda Maharaja to perform yaagam to please Indra, the king of devas and give their offerings as they felt that Indra was responsible for rains. Krishna ,who was just 7 years old convinced elders that Indra was only doing duties assigned to him and there was no necessity to worship demigods.

The Lord added that Goverdhanagiri was providing with their daily requirements including enough grass to the cows which in turn yielded good milk resulting in their prosperity.

 

The Supreme suggested that instead of Indra, Brahmins, cows and Goverdhanagiri have to be worshipped to which the elders agreed. On the day of pooja, all the gopas and gopikas performed GOW-pooja (pooja for cows), offered dakshinai to Brahmins, circumbulated the hill and offered huge quantities of various food items to the hill.

On  Lord Krishna’s order, everyone closed their eyes while food was being offered. Lord Krishna assumed a great transcendental form like that of the mountain, declaring that HE was Goverdhana Hill and accepted all their offerings while little Krishna stood with his relatives and offered prayers to the mountain which was HIMSELF .

HE announced that Goverdhana Hill is non-different from HIM. Later when the gopas were asked to open their eyes, they were surprised to see the palates empty and were convinced by Krishna that the mountain had accepted their offerings.

The gopas returned happily. The identity of Sri Krishna with Goverdhana Hill is still honoured and devotees take goverdhana shila (-small  impressions  from Goverdhana Hill and place it in the altar and worship. (In order to preserve the hill, devotees are now restrained from taking them) .

The glorification of Goverdhana giri was not liked by Indira  .The torrent rains  under the authority of Indra  poured for seven days causing misery.

Lord Krishna  lifted a mount and held it upside down like an umbrella.

As  Lord Krishna Himself did parikrama to the hill and as He mentioned that both are identical, devotees in huge numbers perform parikrama ( pradikshana ) to this sacred hill with sincerity and devotion even today .

To commemorate the above incident, Krishna’s great grandson Vajranabha constructed a temple for the Lord. . The residents of Vrindavan, Goverdhan and the devotees of the Lord do parikrama around Goverdhana hill and offer huge quantities of 56 varieties food preparations (chappan bhog) .

All the devotees are sumptuously fed with the mahaprasad offered to the Lord and Giriraj. ) As the Lord protected the cows and the people in Goverdhan, He got the name “GOVINDA” .

Deepavalee has special significance for all vaishnavas . On the fourth day of the five day Diwali festival Sri Goverdhana Puja and Annakoot Utsavam is celebrated in Vrindavan  and other  temples amidst chanting of “Giriraj Dharan ki Jai” (Glory to the lord who lifted Goverdhan on his  little  finger) reverberates .

 There is very interesting pastime of Shri Giri govardhan raj connected with  bhaktha hanumanjee.  When Lord Rama along with the vanaras were  building the bridge to Lanka in the Ram lila, Hanuman  made an attempt to pick up Govardhan to use him in the noble service .  Govardhan was so happy to be engaged in the service of the Lord but just as he was about to lift him, a voice from the sky said “the bridge is finished”.

 

Therefore Hanuman did not lift Govardhan.  Giri Govardhan was sad.  

When Lord Ram was returning from Lanka with  Mother Sita he stopped here and spoke to Govardhan saying “do not worry, the next time we appear, we will personally pick you up and personally engage you that happened in the Krishna avatar.

As per Srimad Bhagwatam Lord was lifting the huge Sri Goverdhan Parvat for seven days  continously prior to Diwali,  and rested him back  on earth & asked the citizens to worship the  holy mountain.

Jai Jai Girigovardhan ki ………………..Jai .Jai

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Photos : Courtesy ..Google

The  revered  Azhwars and Acharyars  take up upon themselves the burden of saving men who LORD gives up hopelessly for the reluctance in seeking HIM .

Do Acharyars really possess these virtue ?

An example is quoted from scriptures

By a Rishi’s curse a saint was consigned to the nether region , the hellish planets   . The saint he was continued to follow his  devotional  practices with all sincerity .

The demons  noting that the person could be a  faction from devas , harassed him with their weapons . But as he was a devotee of LORD Sriman Narayana he proved invulnerable to them .

The worried demons approached their guru Shukra for a suggestion to wound the  arrived devotee .

Shukra suggested ,

My dears !!

Begin by abstracting his love for Sri Hari  and rest is assured for him to be in your grip …

The demons put on the disguise of devotees and making friendship  with the saint practically explained that Sri Hari had neglected him so far even down to his confinement in the nether regions  and hellish planets ,  and thus could certainly not be worthy of worship .

They spoke ill about Sri Hari relating to his  deep misfortune .

All the efforts to rob his love to Sri Hari  proved futile , but parallel y the saint exhibited a great compassion in his heart for the demons at sight  of the profundity of their sinfulness.

The saint  supplicated  LORD to exhibit his abundant mercy on these  sinful men  for their offenses . The saints prayers had instant effect .

The demons turned into friends and were anon taken to Lord’s abode of bliss .

Thus the power of salvation vested in LORD manifests itself with redoubled vigor in the members of HIS holy  abode …

 Kulasekshara Azhwar wonders at the propensity of people to live lives steeped in sin, when there is any number of the Lord’s names, which one could chant and think about, capable of instantly cleansing of them of all sins.

Why could one not say

“Ananta”,

“Vaikunta”,

“Mukunda”,

“Krishna”,

”Govinda”,

“Damodara”,

“Madhava”  and several holy names ……

which are incredibly sweet on the tongue and also act as purifiers, wonders Azhwar in the verses of ” Mukunda mala”

“ananta Vaikuntta Mukunda Krishna GOvinda DAmOdara MAdhava iti

vaktum samartthOpi na vakti kaschit ahO! JanAnAm vyasana abhimukhyam!”

We have seen how terrifying hell and  the demons  were in the episode ..

Azhwars speak of an occasion when the entire  hell was transformed into a heavenly abode.

How could this be possible ?

  Azhwar elaborates in the following  “TirumAlai ” pAsuram—

 

“namanum Murkalanum pEsa, narakil nindrArgaL kEtpa

narakamE Svargam Agum nAmangaL udaya nambi

 In a glowing tribute to the glory of the Lord’s holy names, Sri Tondarappodi Azhwar recounts the episode of a conversation between Mudgala and Yamadharma raja. Mudgala was a  wicked person, guilty of several sins.

On one occasion,  unknowingly , he gifted a cow to a brahmin , accompanying it with the words,

“Let this be for Krishna” (“KrishNAya nama:”) as he heard this verse many times from others .

When he  left his mortal coils , and reached YamalOka,   Yamadharmaraja   received him with all respects and  honour .

Mudgala was surprised and  sought the reason for the unusual reception given to him .  Yamadharmaraja  replied ,  the single word “Krishna” uttered by  you  during the “GodAnam”  , had got  rid him of all  the evil.

 The beneficial effects of the single utterance of the Krishna nAma did not stop with Mudgala.

Those residing in the hell  who listened to the conversation between Yama and Mudgala, and heard  Krishna nAmA, were instantly absolved of their sins. What is more, the entire hell was immediately transformed into heaven, lock, stock and barrel.

 Such indeed is the efficacy of the holy name of the Lord, which is capable of benefiting even those who utter or listen to it, by sheer accident, without any instinct of devotion or adulation.

For those who are unable even to utter the short and sweet names of the Lord, Azhwar has another prescription for saving them from the fires of hell.

A mere mention of the hallowed abodes of Emperuman would, by itself, ensure that none goes to  Hell , indeed, if everyone were to just say the name of a divyadesam once, it would render the hellish worlds uninhabited and desolate, says Azhwar in the following pasuram—

“arivilA manisar ellAm arangam endru azhaippar Agil

poriyil vAzh narakam ellAm pullezhundu ozhiyum andrE”

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Pics : Credits Google images

Video Credits : manumithra and singer sri Udayalur kalyanaraman

Few hundred years ago at Srirangam the capital of SriVaishnavam , the King of Ascetics , Jagath Acharyar Swamy Ramanuja showered his mercy on several citizens . Far away from the Srirangam temple there was a poor peasant named Pattini Perumal born in the fourth varna . An ardent devotee of LORD Ranganathar he used to sing the Azhwars pasurams with devotion and was always immersed in the depth of his emotions .

Swamy Ramanuja used to take the route to the kaveri river bank daily along the side of his hut . One day listening to the divine outpourings from the poor man , he stopped and went inside the hut to see the great devotee . Pattini perumal was shocked to see Jagath Acharyar entering his hut .

He offered his obeisances and seeked blessings .Both of them were immersed in the sweet ecstasy of Azhwar hymns not knowing how time passed .Swamy Ramanuja advised Pattini perumal to join the Ashramam for his devotion which was unexpected . Thus Acharyar had a congregation of great devotees of LORD irrespective of caste and creed .

One more interesting incident is chronicled as having taken place at the holy temple of Srirangam. At the ashram , the washerman employed to wash the clothes of agraham , one day washed LORD Ranganathar’s royal garments as well . The obedient washerman showed the clothes to Swamy Ramanujar with all humility .

Swamy was immensely pleased with his services .

He at once took him inside the temple and walked directly inside along with the washerman.

The washerman was overjoyed with Swamy’s mercy .

Swamy Ramanuja with all humilty prayed and said .

Oh .Lord! Jagathrakshaka …!!

Look at this man’s service to your royal highness .

He has been so careful in washing your garments and our Agraharam garments and been very eager to serve the temple on many occasions .

Please shower your abundant blessings on this soul for his upliftment ..

Lord smiled ! and replied ….

My child Ramanuja ……………………

For the loving services rendered to us this day by him , we forgive the offence of his ancestor the washerman during our Krishna avataram.

And to this day it is the custom for the LORD to receive the royal clothes from the washerman just as he brings them and use it for the Lord .

 

No approach thus attaches to the glorious Acharyas in upliftment of a seeker .

No case of caste , creed and colour enter their judgements .

They are benevolent to the fallen souls and their only service to LORD is by uplifting the fallen souls .

Such incidents though trivial are fraught with great significance and important issues as affecting and moulding the society ..

Every man / woman regardless of caste colour joined Swamy Ramanuja’s vasudeva kutumbam community ..

Jagath Acharyar Swamy Ramanuja with His towering personality, Fair complexioned- with dwAdasa oordhva pUndram (12 ThirumaN kaapu ), the pristinely pure saffron yati (sanyaasi) robe (that adds beauty to the fair complexion further), the dark tresses curly hair of sikhA which is so charming on His moon like divine smiling face laden with compassion ( dayA) on us, (Charming and most graceful Thirumukham), the white bright pooNool (yagnOpaveedham), the strong thridhaNdam, the lovely Lotus feet..

Oh Lord! What a sight ………

It could have been, to those Srivaishnavas must have been blessed with!

How fortunate must have the citizens been those days to be graced by Acharyar walking so gracefully with such an enchanting personality, with great revered disciples Swamy KooratthAzhwAn, MudaliANdaan, Embaar, young Bhattar, Kidaambhi Acchaan, Nadathur Azhwan, Thirukkurugai piraan pillan, Ananthazhwan, kidambi Acchan, seven hundred Yathis , seventy four simhadhipathis who have given us abundant wealth of knowledge ..

As the dear disciple of Swamy Ramanuja , Thiruvarangath Amudanar quotes ,

kaNdukoN dEnem iraamaa NnusanRannai kaaNdalumE
thoNdukoN dEn_avan thodtar_poR RaaLil_en thollai ven^n^Oy
viNdukoN dEn_avan seerveLLa vaariyai vaaymaduththin
RuNdukoN dEn,innam uRRana Othil ulappillaiyE….

Having seen Swamy Ramanuja- what a sight it is indeed, which makes one eager to serve the golden feet of his devotees;

Now that taken just a sip from this ocean of auspicious qualities all my past karmaas have been destroyed.

Satyam satyam Punah Satyam, YathirAjO Jagath Guru…………………

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Pics : Credits Google images, cover pic : credits : JET

video credits : Melkottai Emprumanar Thirumanjana kattiyam by Prasanna Swamigal ( Thirukoshtiyur vembu) Sri Ranga padmanabhan , sri venkata krishnan

The Priest was about to  perform Mangala Haarathi  and he was amazed to notice  Lord Shrinathjis head bowed.

 

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 with his  dedication . However his relatives abandoned him . During the final rites  when food was to be  served to the brahmins . No one supported his noble en devour  in taking places .

Exhausted , he prayed his adorable LORD VARADAR to help him ……………………

All of a sudden ,  an  attractive  vedic priest  approached  him . He was looking very handsome  showering opulence .

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Braving himself , he offered his obeisances and requested him to  accept the food being served . The priest smiled  at him and  accepted the honors .

Nallan could not move his eyes from his radiance .He had tears gushing on the priests  humility in accepting his service when the entire village were aghast with his noble act .

At the end , he took his blessings and  thanked him for considering his request , when the whole village were  against him  .The priest replied with a bewitching smile …….

.. Nattuku Pollan ..Namakku nallavan ….. …. ….meaning ….

 Though the whole world is against you ..We are always for  you … and then vanished in thin air ……..

Nallan understood …

It was Lord Varadar who walked down to save him …

 Another incident similar to this took place in Maharashtra few hundred years back . Santh Eknath was an ardent devotee of Lord Panduranga  of Pandharapur . An advanced saint who moved with all  the people seeing Hari in every one .

One day Eknath was performing his ancestral rituals. Two strangers   happened to pass by his house and understood that a feast was being prepared smelling  the aroma in the surroundings . They were discussing that it would be good if they could get this food. Eknath on listening , called them and  offered them the food that was being prepared. They were pleased with Eknaaths humility .

The invited  Brahmans who had come for the ceremony  could not digest the respect given to the strangers  .They immediately left the place on seeing this.  The news spread like a fire .

All  the Brahmins in the village on  hearing  this started speaking ill  for  distributing  the food that was prepared for ancestral ceremony to some out castes before completing the ceremony.

They decided that no one  shall attend the  ceremony . They then  decided  that none  in the village would mingle with him and  have any contact with him .

Eknath had to prepare food again for the ceremony  though it was getting late .  Eknath was now worried that he would not be able to feed the Brahmans after the ritual is over as no one would come to his house .

Eknath  offered prayers to Sri Hari and  started performing the rituals . As no one was prepared to attend the ceremony , he kept the 1st kurcham thinking of Sri Hari .  Lord Vitthal  arrived  and sat down to have the food.

As soon as LORD arrived , other  demi gods  along with  his forefathers who were  invited  during the ceremony came down and took the food directly. After the ceremony ,  they blessed Eknath  and disappeared.

. Another  incident in the life of Santh Namdev is related to illustrate this truth. Namdev along with fellow devotees once undertook the pilgrimage  and brought  the holy water of the Ganga  on return .

This pilgrimage was undertaken at a time when there was no transport available and devotees often undertook the entire journey on foot. The weather was unbearably hot and the terrain they had to traverse tested the endurance of even the most faithful among them.

When they had almost reached their destination they came upon a frail donkey on the verge of dying due to thirst. Everyone except Namdev passed by without any consideration for its predicament but not the saint. He stopped and alleviated the donkey’s misery by quenching its thirst with the holy Ganga water he was carrying with him.

All his friends were taken aback by his act and ridiculed Namdev for throwing away all the merit he would have gained by completing the pilgrimage. No sooner had they chided Namdev the donkey became transformed  to the wonder of his friends. The saint had seen only the Lord suffering in the form of the donkey and hence did not hesitate to offer it water.

True to the unitize vision Namdev had,  LORD HARI  appeared to him at the spot   as he made his offering……

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………………………

Adapted from a discourse shared by an advanced devotee 

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Pics : courtesy google images 

 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 pilgrims who seek  Lord’s darshan  ranges from  50,000 to 1,00,000 and more   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 emotional  compositions of his noblest and humblest devotees, like Annamacharya  Tyagaraja  and Purandara Dasa suffices. They combine the quintessence of the Vedas and the Upanishads.

Everything begins and ends or is reduced to sunyam (nothingness) before him, while the infinite world pens to the sincere seeker with an infinitesimal offering. This is because spiritual wealth through devotion is the basis of life .

VenkaTAdri samam sthAnam  brahmANDe nAsti kinchana

venkateSa samo devo    na bhUto na bhaviSyati!

There is no place in the entire universe that equals Venkatadri ,

the place where …

Lord resides ……..

.and there is no Lord,

either in the past nor in the future…….                                                           

who  shall equal   our Lord Venkateswara.

  Tirumala is one of the seven Swayam Vyaktha Kshetrams .

Tradition has it, that hands of man did not work for the dhruva bera   ( Main deity  )  of Lord Venkateswara .

Lord out of His own will, and abundant mercy had appeared at TIRUMALA and continues to stay here for this age Kaliyuga

  This ageless temple of Lord Venkateswara is located a top the Tirumala Hill at an elevation of 3,000 feet .

The abode of Lord Venkateshwara  stands unique as an embodiment of man’s eternal quest for the divine and  seeking His infinite grace.

A pilgrimage to the sacred Hills is a soul-stirring experience cherished by every devotee. Even atheists and rationalists admit a sense of humility and the presence of the Lord here .

As one approaches the  inner sanctum ,  a strong pull towards LORD is experienced.

The soul identifies its existence in this body and regrets its foolishness in remaining in several bodies for several births and ignoring HIS love for us.

Lord Venkateswara is  glorified as Pratyaksha Daivam (manifest divinity) who  helps all  his devotees in distress .

 The great  saint  Swamy Nammazhwar categorically relives his musings in a verse…

pOkinRa kaalangaL   pOya kaalangaL*    pOku kaalangaL,

* thaay thandhai  uyi-raaginRaay*

unnai _naan adaindhEn viduvEnO,?

paaginRa tholpugaz moovulakukkum*

naathanE! paramaa,*

thaNvENGkadam mEkinRaay*

thaNdhuzaay virai_ naaRukaNNiyanE.

At all times past, present and future ……..

Oh Lord!!! 

You are my mother, my father my very life itself

…and …

your holiness having reached you, 

Oh Lord!!

Will I ever let you go?

Oh lord of the three worlds …  

Oh Supreme One!

With your eternal fame,

so far-reaching, with the fragrant cool garland of tulasi leaves …….

You grace the cool Venkata hill.

  Few come out with rain of tears and a few feeling relived, and a few want more to just be there looking at HIM.. ….

doing  nothing more ……like an infant cuddling in the arms of his mother asking nothing ……………………………

All men irrespective of religion, status, caste, and creed make several trips in their lives to worship the LORD, as they are our divine parents for ever.

 At Tirumala  apart from having sarva darshanam , devotees participate in   daily  Arjitha sevas such as Suprabatha seva  , Thomala seva, Archana Seva , Kalyanaotsavam,  Arjitha brahmotsavam, dolotsavam, Sahasradeepalankarana seva , vasanthothsavam, Ekantha seva conducted at different times in a day .

            Apart from the daily seva , weekly sevas  that comprises of Vishesha pooja on Monday ,  Ashtadalapada padmaaradhana on Tuesday , Sahsrakalshabhishekam on Wednesday, Thiruppavada sevai on Thursday and   Abhishekam             ( Vastralankarana sevai ) on Friday   conducted in a grand manner .

Among all the above darshanams ,the Vastralankara seva   ( Abhishekam )/(Thirumanjanam)  on Friday early hours  is most cherished  darshan for any devotee , as  one has the great fortune to be in the temple inner sanctum for more than two hours having  continuous uninteruppted darshan of the Supreme  Lord amongst vedic chants and  azhwars’s  divya prabhanda sevakalam

For this wonderful darshan the devotee is supposed to report one day in advance on Thursday.

We had the great fortune to attend this wonderful darshan few years ago by Lord’s abundant mercy …

Appended below is a brief  submission for being selected few in having the darshan………

On Friday early hours around 2 AM, the ubhaydhaare reports at Vaikuntam queue complex for Arjitha seva ticket verification.

 Hearing suprabhatam being recited inside the temple and silently chanting the same………

we walk in the queue………….

. ( the origin of the suprabhatam or wishing of  an auspicious dawn was penned by His holiness sri P.B.Annan 600 years ago * the divine pastime is shared in the below appended post )

Continue reading “At Tirumala …. Lord Venkateshwara Abhisheka vaibhavam …….. VenkaTAdri samam sthAnam brahmANDe nAsti kinchana … venkateSa samo devo …. na bhUto na bhaviSyati……..” →

It is revealed when Acharyar’s gracious eyes falls on a person , his salvation is for sure even if he is deaf or dumb , fool or wise , old or young , man or woman . Swamy Ramanuja was showering his mercy on all the mortal beings at Srirangam few hundred years ago .

The Chola King during those days was against the Srivaishnava sampradaya and did not like the citizens worshipping Lord Narayana . He was bent upon destroying the Sri Vishnu temples and prosecuting the srivaishnavas . The King who lived in Gangaikonda cholapuram was so bigotted and adherent that he adopted coercive measures to bring all the citizens into the fold he followed .

He was called Krimikanta Chola ( the worm necked ) . He embarked on a crusade of sacrilegious iconoclasm . He tried his best to ravage them but could not succeed .  His goal was to destroy Srirangam and the nearby temples  . His advisors told him that Lord Ranganatha  were of specifically mystically consecrated class and the thought of demolishment would be followed by his own death .

The King was pondering on any other method to adopt his nefarious plan . One general approached the King and reflected upon the device of appointing a competent sorcer who would make himself invisible by applying to his eyes a magical collyrium ,  thus unseen he would  enter the temple sanctum sanatorium.

From here he would extract the spiritual power from the deity and then destroy  them . The King was overjoyed . He commanded to assemble all the noted sorcers for the mamoth task and announced they would be rewarded in bounty .

The news reached Jagath Acharyar Swamy Ramanujar . Deeply upset with the Kings tyranny and grave concern for Lord Ranganathar , he quickly  marched to the Ashram of his Acharyar Swamy  Peria Nambigal.

With dejection he said …

Acharya !!

Am sad that the King who is supposed to protect the  temple and  citizens has turned out to destroy the legacy . Am afraid  what is in store for our Lord …

Acharyar was listening to Ramanuja with attention ..

No … Never … such things will never happen …No harm will enter this divine place . My child !

Listen …With mercy of Peria Perumal , let me provide a cordon of protection  …

Ramanuja he said …

. I need a disciple of your’s to come with me for this task

and………………………..

he should simply follow me with no questions .

He must be following me and obey my instructions . He  must be submissive  and well resigned as if he is my shadow without any iota of thought of self as having an independent will of his own ….

He must be a gem among the disciples .

Swamy Ramanuja was confused …  Acharya !! he said ..

Peria Nambi remarked ..

You have Kooresa a soul to be sure …

Swamy Ramanuja was immensely pleased .

He advised Kooresa to meet Acharyar immediately .

Both the great revered Acharyas walked all around the boundaries of the holy town of Srirangam on a full moon day in the night ,  marking with some auspicious powder  silently chanting  sacred hymns praying Supreme Lord to protect ……

Swamy KoorathAzhwan further sacrificed his eyes when the cruel King punished him for not  embracing the faith he followed .Read the divine pastime in the appended blog post

https://atomic-temporary-2692795.wpcomstaging.com/2015/02/07/kooresa-the-disciple-who-gave-his-eyes-for-swamy-ramanuja/

.Thus both condoned the entire town of Srirangam which resulted in our srivaishnava sampradaya flourishing ..

  The most revered srivaishnava Acharyar  Swamy Parasara Bhattars  was conducting a class at his Gurukulam .

He was explaining the three stages of love to LORD …….

Recollection   ,  Trance    and Rallying … 

Recollection is recollection of all the past ravishment’s  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……..

Bhattar continued with an example from Swamy Nammazhwars hymnal 1000 verses called Thiruvamozhi dedicated to LORD Ranganathar of the Holy  Capital SriRangam ..

Swamy Nammazhwars amorous longing and panting to see LORD found vent in a pasuram ( song ) of his in which Azhwar considers  himself to be a mistress in love with LORD and seized with deep emotions swoons .

The speechless heart at such juncture is however revealed orally  through  another person which Azhwar  himself adorns as a mother of the helpless daughter and describing the latter’s condition to her neighbors  are out poured  on the spot …..

Day and night she  does not sleep

In floods of tears her eyes swim

Oh Discuss …Oh Conch  she cries …

And clasping her hands , and bowing to them

Oh Lotus eye one…she weeps and reels

Ah !! how is that without you I can bear

She pants and feels all earth for HIM……………………………

Oh Lord Ranga …………………abiding where      waters abundant flow …

and where fish  maddened with joy all leap and dance……

How …and…… How with my daughter will you deal …

Bhattar meditated on this verse and with intense emotion placed both his palms over his head and shed tears  and felt   sad ……………………………..

Stone hearted  we are … …….

……..how are we going to realize the depth of Azhwar’s love as uttered in this divine pasuram …..

we who cannot realize  in the least of his sentiments ……..

we who cannot understand his heart ……. …

when  SUPREME LORD is eager to be with us …..

 

 

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Pics : Courtesy Google images uploaded by advanced devotees

Video credits : HG Ranga  Padmanaban

In the Gurukulam at Srirangam , the revered Acharyar  Swamy Parashara Bhattar was explaining the incident in Srimad Ramayana the scene about  the Ocean King  .

When Lord Rama decided on coercing the King of Ocean to put in his appearance by driving a shaft into his bosom , the  ocean king was stuck with terror .He forthwith offered humble obeisances to Lord Rama and offered apologies for ignoring his call.

Lord was  pacified but said that  the bow is never lifted in vain .Once lifted  its fury must vent somewhere and so as pleaded by the Ocean king the arrow was fired at northward direction where the Abhirakshas lived .

Thus Lord pardoned the king and transferred the punishment prepared for  him  to  his  enemies .

There was a new disciple who was not looking convinced with the explanation  . Bhattar  understood the mood of his disciple and thus related with a comic anecdote.

He said , my child Listen !!  There was a  land owner whose head was bald . He was busy measuring out the new harvested paddy on his land .

A beggar approached him and said …Sir ! How are you ? and How is it you are busy with grains while your fine locks uncared for ?   He praised the landowner  repeatedly ….

 

The landowner was glad to hear  him .. as it was music for his ears and replied ..

How is that friend,  you came so long and what brings you here ?   The beggar replied … Nothing particular ..I just came to simply see you my master …..

The landowner was pleased .He  offered one sack of grain and placed the same on his head . The beggar was pleased and  en route when a wayfarer inquired about the unusual  full sack of grain being carried by him , he  replied …

Look …there that bald headed man gave me this .

The wayfarer went to the landowner and told him the impolite way the beggar spoke about him .

The landowner became too angry . He gave the beggar a hot pursuit .

The beggar turning around said .. Oh Master !!     Listen …..

What makes you run this fashion thy fine locks so dancing ?

The Pride of the landowner was flattered again and forgetting his own baldness said ..

My friend………  I just came to remind you that you were supposed to take one more sack of grain along with you ..

When anger turns to friendship by praise even among men ….

How much more so is LORD won by dependence and devotion …

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Pics : Courtesy Google images

 

 

One morning Swamy Ramanuja was conducting  a discourse  about the doctrine of free grace to frail humanity as illustrated in Srimad Ramayana.

Swamy narrated the wonderful  incident of surrender to Lord Rama by Vibhishana the  rakshasa .

Pillai Urangi dasar the new disciple was listening .

( More information  about this great disciple  of Swamy Ramanuja .. ..please click  here …

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https://atomic-temporary-2692795.wpcomstaging.com/2015/05/14/caste-verses-virtue-swamy-ramanujas-lesson-to-disciples/

Swamy continued Vibhishina though born among Rakshasas ( demons) was quiet saintly in nature .

He tried his best to dissuade his sibling Ravana from his evil ways , but he would not listen .

With disappointment , he severed himself swiftly from all connection with him and his kingdom , Vibhishana  soaring into the sky crossed the ocean along  with four  of his attendants to surrender to Lord Rama. 

Lord   was encamped with his army on the other shore  Sethu near Rameshwaram.

Vibhishana descended from the skies and with folded hands approached the august assembly …and spoke ..

Oh Lord !! I am Vibhishina ..Ravana’s brother , disgraced by him !!!

I seek  refugee …..

From Lanka , ..

I left my  wealth , honor  friends ,children and my wife and come here for life …Please accept me  my Lord ……he pleaded ….

The vanara chief was watching the rakashas .. ..

He got up and  pleaded LORD to permit him to  punish him  and kill all of them having come from the enemy camp ….

Bhaktha Hanuman swiftly  interrupts  and  certify s  vibhishana  good qualities .He confirms the assembly that Vibhishina  follows  dharma  and he has seen his behavior in the royal palace . 

Looking at the vanaras discussing in confusion  ,

Lord  Rama  smiles and announces  my dear friends …………………………….                              .  “not only Vibhishanan, 

even If Ravana approaches me  with remorse I shall protect him too  .

I am accepting vibhishana as my brother immediately …..

On hearing the sweet pastime , Dhanurdasar stood up and cried………………………… My Master !!    

  If  Vibhishina who left his wealth , honor , wife , children and all in order to seek refuge with Lord Rama deserved to be punished   by the vanara chief ,       

how much more indeed do I deserve that kind of treatment as  I who have made no renunciation at all like Vibhishina !!

Swamy Ramanuja with abundant compassion replied , Listen to me my son ! I will unfold the secret of salvation ……..Sridevi  the spouse of Lord Narayana ever stands by HIM as our mother -mediator  .

She is the personification of the most exalted attribute of Lord , grace of mercy ..

When our Lord through Sridevi is ever anxious to shower HIS mercy unstintingly on HIS erring children on earth , what fear is there for us ?We have a unbroken chain of apostles reaching down from LORD ..first grace to Sri the next  saint Satagopa and he has declared in unmistakable terms that he has obtained salvation ( Moksha) .

As he has won ,

Saint Nathamuni has won  and as  Nathamuni has won , our Yamauna has won , and Yamuna winning my  guru above me  Periya Nambi ,Manakal Nambi , Periya Thirumala Nambi , Thiruvarangathu Arayar ,Thirukachi Nambi , Thirukoshtiyur Nambi have won and as all of them have won , 

I have surely won and when I have won indeed all of you have won …...

Child !!!  Take comfort from this thought ..

   Dwayam  mantra which has been initiated on all of you declares that  the unity of Lord with His grace Sri and an unbroken chain binds LORD and his creatures in one bond from which it is impossible to escape and stand aloof.

My child !!

When Vibhishana was  allowed to approach Lord Rama , no separate invitation was needed for the four attendants who accompanied him,  and  had the vanara chiefs wished to drive those four separately ..and remember , With me goes my entire flock ….the flocks have more merit than the shepherd ..

Shatruguna had more merit in following  Bharata and

Bharata had more merit  in following Lord Rama ,

and our Madhurakavi Azhwar had more merit in following Nammazhwar ..

\and Andaal had more merit  following Peria Azhwar

……….Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Images : Google pics

  Continue reading “..Aandaal… the goddess who rules the Supreme Lord …. …..” →

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

soorai kaatru kattu theeyai akasam varaiyil kondu sllugirathu

The devilish whirl wind blew with such force that the flames of the forest fire in that hill almost reached the sky……

kanaitha theeum kallum atta villudai vedarumai

the blazing fire and the cracking noise of the dry heat is resounding in the hills.

Thinai thanayum sella onna

It is very difficult to go near this holy place even for few minutes..

All the above said , Lord  Narasingha deva out of abundant mercy   to uplift the jivas decided to make himself available for darshan by  commanding  the the first Pontiff His holiness Sri  Sri Adivan Satakopa Yateendra Mahadesika Jeeyar during the period 1400 to take him to places and instruct  jivas  in the Ashtaksharam , Dwayam and the charama sloka and  guide them in spiritual insights for salvation ….

The presiding deity Sri Lakshmi Narasimhar glorified as Malola  ( The lord who is always fond of his consort Mahalakshmi  as the meaning conveys ) .

To prove this point the LORD is seen with HIS left hand wound around the divine mothers slender waist  .

HIS  glance overlooks our faults  . 

Lord Malola  wears a paduka indicating his divine will to grace us by traveling places

Azhagiya Singar in tamil means beautiful Lion and has been used from time immemorial to glorify Lord Narasingha deva and in recent centuries  as a mark of  respect to  presiding Pontiff of Sri Ahobila Matam …..

A divine incident reveals the greatness of the Lordships and Acharyar both of whom are lovingly called as Azhagiya Singar

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 .

Accordingly the sweet preparations was made and several huge vessels of the nectarine dish covered  to the brim  with  ghee and milk and pieces of cashew nuts , dried grapes , diamond sugar  floating over  the offerings were placed before Lord Malola as naivedyam and  the curtains were drawn.

The bells were  rung  along with the auspicious  drumming  and cymbals being played with devotion .

 The Jeeyar with a beatific look folded hands and gleeful heart entreating the LORDSHIPS to have a morsel of bhoga .  The divine chants of glorifying the Lordships begun …..

  A morsel from  Acharyar  Azhagiyasingar’s hand , the LORD would certainly have with great relish .

BUT …. ..Today ??

No ..Nothing of that kind  happened ………………

 Lord Malola a did not stir from his royal seat .

The Jeeyars importunity , prayer and beseechment did not invoke  any response  from the LORD …………..

He implored the Lord to give him some reason in rejecting the offering  ..

At last the LORD spoke .

Swamin …

This food contains few strands of human hair ..and hence we would not have this …….

With tears Jeeyar sought repeated  forgiveness ,  and rushed to the devotees and advised them to immediately prepare  a  fresh offering  to the Lordships . The kainkaryaparas were informed about the grave mistake committed  . At his instance Pongal was prepared quickly and offered to Lord with all reverence  .

However the cooks who prepared the Ksheerannam possessed of curiosity , began to examine the contents of the several vessels . The count went on …the first vessel ..the second …the third …..fourth,   fifth ……sixth …..

Nothing was discovered …

One of the cooks even expressed  a derisive laughter as only two more vessels  remained  to be checked   .

The last vessel was being cleared now ..

And to the astonishment from under its depth…………. strands of hair stuck out !!

The cooks were dumbfounded…

They realised that the Jeeyar was indeed having a dialogue  with Lord daily..

Unable to contain their awe and reverence like a fallen staff all of them prostrated at the lotus feet of Jeeyar seeking pardon …

.Such  was the greatness of both…….

the Azhagiyasingars ..the Acharyar

and

Azhagiyasingar  Lord Lakshminarasimha deva  ..

Let us glorify our LORD …

Ugram  Viram   Maha Vishnum    Jvalantam      Sarvato Mukham

Nirisimham     Bhishanam      Bhadram    Mrutyur Mrutyum       Namamy Aham..

Ugram – the ferocious one

Viram – The most courageous

Mahavishnum – The all-pervasive one (Lord Maha Vishnu)

Jvalantam – the effulgence of fire

Sarvato Mukham – Having his face everywhere (manifested throughout the universe)

Nrisimham – The Lion-man form

Bhishanam – The terrific

Bhadram – The auspicious

Mrutyur Mrutym – death of death

Namamy Aham – I bow down and revere

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Pics : Courtesy Google images uploaded by several advanced 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 vast sky a pin hole….

O Lord! May Your unbounded Majesty excel !! ”

Azhwars advise in their pasurams, the purpose of this Life is  to seek HIS lotus feet in this birth without wasting time 

It was during the year  1839  the great devotee of Lord Rama   Sri Thyagaraja visited Tirupati,  on a piligrimage . A staunch Lord Rama’s devotee trekked the holy hills in the mood of seeking Lord’s darshan . Always absorbed in the divine pastimes of Lord Rama ,absorbing Lord’s kalyana gunas the devotee used to emotionally outpour the krithis which have become a prayer book to all of us . 

The trek was long as those days there was no proper roads and one had to cross  the jungles and stay over night en route.  . Thyagaraja was eager to seek Lord’s darshan  .He was told by several devotees about Lord’s magnificent appearance and the speciality of Tirumala . 

It took almost 1 full day to reach the holy shrine  and happened to be Friday. Thyagrajar walked uptil Swamy Pushkarani the holy tank besides the temple  and took a  dip .  He  quickly  walked  towards   Sri Varahaswamy temple and had darshan .

Overjoyed he proceeded towards Ananda Nilayam . The eagerness to have darshan of Lord was at its peak . Being Friday , Lord after having his ceremonial holy bath was being adorned with Royal clothes by the temple priests and hence the  screen  was put  .There were several pilgrims eagerly awaiting Lord’s darshan near the entrance  .

 For a moment Thyagaya was sad as he had to wait for Lord’s darshan . His eagerness to have Lords darshan was suddenly stopped by the  screen . He was always in the mood of Lord Rama’s glories …..

He mentally prayed  …Oh Lord Venkatesha … Every one says ,You are the Supreme LORD  gracing every one who surrender to you .

Oh Lord !!! I cannot  wait further without seeing your majestic form ..

He  emotionally bursts out with a  melodious kirtana which was specially sung for Lord !!!

“Teratiyagaraadaa” whose meaning is

 

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 . 

Lord’s darshan to saint Thyyagaraja was just one to one .Thyagayya was shell shocked . With copious tears he addressed Lord with choked voice ..

Oh ! My Lord Venkataramana …. My saviour !!! What a magnificent darshan 

!! Oh Lord !! am blessed to see this wonderful form , I am immersed in that deep nectarine experience ……..

On that divine  forehead , I see the bright  Urdhva Pundram . The Peetambaram , the sahsranamamala  ,the nandakam , the lotus hand that is pointing your Lotus feet .My Lord  !!!  Your two lips shine in their redness like the ripe bhimbha fruit  and those lips sport a gentle smile arising out of Your  abundant  grace on me …

Oh Lord !!  May that beautiful face with such beauty marks  appear before my mind always ! ! Am blessed ..truly blessed to have this darshan …

and the great devotee of Lord Rama emotionally  sings ……………………………

“Venkatesha ninu sevimpa”………….. in his happiness on seeing the Lord.

Oh Lord!! To have this darshan !!! these two eyes are insufficient … I need few  more thousands of eyes my Lord !!

Oh Lord! Pankajaksha …. What’s my eligibility to have your wonderful darshan ..

Its your kindness and  mercy on me .. Else which mortal can be  here ….

Saint Thyagaraja had a unique combination of the  devotion of Prahlada, the music of Narada . The Pancharatna Kritis are the most representative of Saint Thyagaraja’s art as a composer. The Divyanama and Utsava Samprathaya Kritis composed  are melodies. The vanity of wealth or the pomp of power never tempted the great saint .Thyagaraja was constantly repeating the Rama Shadakshari mantra for  over 21 years and  had  completed almost  96 crores of Rama Nama. It is believed  Lord Rama appeared before him  in his dream and assured him salvation.

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Pics : Courtesy Google Images

Video credits :  i dream music/

 Sri Shenkottai  bhagavathar for the Abhang  uploaded by Sri Parag Guptha

 

It was during 1783-84 , a time when the atrocities of the foreigners were unbearable .

Their hatred for idol worship made the locals tremble, not in fear for their lives,

but in fear of the possible damages that the age old holy idols in their ancient temples would suffer. Drastic measures were made to save the deities from disrespect. However the demons used to destroy them and if that was not possible, deface them. The smaller utsavar idols made of the expensive Panchaloha were carried off in large heaps to Delhi, to be melted into new ornaments.

The priests did their very best to cover the sanctum with bricks and send the smaller idols for safekeeping with trusted families. The forces however, kept driving further in conquest.

People mourned the deaths of their near and dear in the struggle .

The invaders were ruthlessly attacking the temples and looting the jewellery .

It was a dark period for the Hindus .

Hyder Ali thus invaded the Chandragiri Fort and marched in the surrounding areas to loot the temples . The ones who opposed were punished and were exiled.

It was a bright sunny day . The green meadows and the hilly terrain was a treat to the eyes .Galloping on the horses they reached the foot of the Tirumala hills .

The magnificent Hills were a feast to watch . The aroma from the trees the water falls around tempted the general to march ahead .

All of them looked closely around .

The magnificent mountains and the seven peaks were looking stunningly beautiful with the glowing sun .

The news about the ruthless invaders reached the temple priests at Tirumala .

They were very scared to face the enemy .

The news that they were looting other temples was already known to them,but they never imagined that they would reach Tirupaty.

The Annual Brahmotsavam festival was in all glitters …

All of them assembled at the temple premises and chalked out a plan . The Senior Priest announced , My dear Swamin ! There is no escape now . We will be finished in no time the moment the evil forces reach here .

Let us attempt to save our Lordships by carrying him along with us .

A old devotee replied , How are we going to leave the Hills ? Why not face the enemy bravely and sacrifice our lives than being cowards running away .

This is VarahaKshetra and Lord Venkateshwara has his own plans . Let us seek his lotus feet and then decide . The suggestion was well taken …

All the devotees rushed to the temple sanctorum , offered a mangala haarathi and pleaded LORD for his mercy . Oh Lord !Our Savior …. https://youtu.be/2KeR275CXN8

We are in utter confusion ..

We will sacrifice our lives but will not allow the enemy to enter the temple .

Please save us from this agony.

Its your DIVINE WILL that’s final .

The Elder Priest announced , Look children ! Its our turn .Let us face them bravely .

When HE is there why worry ? LORD will never leave us …

All of them decided to sacrifice their lives than remaining as a mute spectator . This was the last darshan .

With copious tears each went up near the LORD had the last darshan feast fully and left the temple . They descended the Hills with anguish imagining that was their last darshan . The sun was radiating severe heat .

Passing the terrains and the hillocks the priests along with the devotees marched fearing sudden attack . They managed to reach some where near to the foot of the Hills .The commotion was pathetic as the families also joined them fearing death and few escaping into the jungles calmly .

They reached the last hillock and to their shock they saw a battalion of armed forces on their horses looking all around .They had weapons and looked ferocious . It seemed they had travelled from Chandragiri Fort . The courage and enthusiasm to face the army suddenly vanished .

All of them were trembling with fear .

There was a shout from the battalion . A stout man looked like the General screamed …Hey !!! All of you come here ….He was looking dreadful ..

. He was speaking in Urdu . He screamed again …

UUPAR KAUN HAIN ? ( WHAT IS THERE OVER THERE ?)

Once again he yelled ….

Hey Bomman ……………… Uupar kyaa hain ?

( What is there over there )

The Priests were calm . All of a sudden they heard a sweet voice among them .

All turned around . They saw a small boy glowing with divine aura smiling and bravely walking before the army chief .

The voice was clear and gracious and in the same language . For a minute the Army Chief Hyder Ali was bewildered . The Priests were shocked to see the new entrant .

Who is this boy ? He was not seen when we descended .Did he join us enroute ? Many questions were being whispered among them .

The boy bravely walked before Hyder Ali and replied .
Haan …. Iss jagah pavitra hain …………Varah kshetra hai …

( This place is holy and is resting place of Varaha )

. Isey
Aadhi Varaha Kshetra kahatey hain

Hyder Ali is stuck with the boys beauty .

Naturally even a stone hearted person also will get intoxicated with HIS looks ….

He said …….. Yeh bolo . …… Varaha matlab kyaa hain ?

( What do you mean by Varaha ? )

The moment he asked this question ,suddenly there was a loud noise from the hillocks . To the surprise of the devotees , Hundreds of wild boars in herds rushed in lightening speed making the army tremble and run for their lives .The whole battalion vanished in no time looking at the huge boars chasing them .

The place this divine leela happened was Adi Padi ( foot path in tamil ) and over a period of time got corrupted as Alipiri came from Ali-Phiri (Ali- returned). …( May be as Ali ..Hyder Ali left ).

The Priests understood the divine boy was LORD himself who appeared to save them …

They chanted the holy names of LORD and ascended the HILLS with vigour and joy …

Pilgrims take a vow to go on foot from this place Alipiri the gateway to to Tirumala to have darshan of LORD .

There are two footways. 1) Alipiri footway and 2) Srivari mettu foot way from the other side of the Hillocks near to Sri Kalyana Venkateshwara swamy Temple at Tirupathi.

Alipiri , most used footway by piligrims is 9 km trek . Enroute a pilgrim finds solace in the holy hills trekking watching hundreds of devotees chanting the HOLY NAME .

The pathway is laid with comfortable steps and shelters. There are around 3500 steps and it takes approximately 3 – 4 hrs to climb as per once health and age Pilgrims can keep their luggage at Alipiri luggage center and can proceed to Tirumala. TTD runs two free buses from the Tirupati Railway station to Alipiri, with a frequency of 30 minutes. Pilgrims who intend to walk up the hills to Tirumala can use these buses.

Apart from buses there are many auto rickshaws to Alipiri from Bus stand, Railway station. Elders advise one to have a holy dip at Azhwar Theertham

( DETAILS OF AZHWAR THEERTHAM IS APPENDED IN THE BELOW POST

https://atomic-temporary-2692795.wpcomstaging.com/2016/07/07/azhwar-theertham-at-tirupati/

( Presently called as Kapila Theertham ) and proceed to trek the Hills.

Adapted from a discourse shared by Elders

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Pictures : credits Google Images uploaded by several Hari Bhaktas

Videos: Thanks to Go Tirupaty web site , SaiGV and Sri Hare Srinivas ( Tirumala Tirupati )

Thirukkannamangai temple is one amongst the srivaishnava divya desam in Kumbakonam. This divine place is located in Tanjore district of Tamil Nadu. Around 8 kms from Tiruvarur amidst a huge tank Darsha Pushkarini this temple is located near Western banks . Azhwar keeps comparing the Lordships here to the sugarcane and also refers to the village as the place where blue lotuses bloom. While those flowers may not be so visible now, the sweetness of the shrine cannot be denied.

About 25 miles from Kumbakonam, the temple is among the Pancha Krishnaraya kshetrams– the others being , T mihirukannapuram, Thirukanankudi, Thirukannamangai and Thiru kapisthalam. This holy place is also called as “Sapthamirtha Kshetram”.An unique darshanam for the devotees at this temple is of Mahalakshmi thayar. This sannidhi where Abhishekavalli thayar is in a resident posture . ( Erundha thirukolam ).The sanctum has an artha mandapam and maha mandapam too. In this artha mandapam, there are beehives in the rectangular windows on the south and north walls.

The gopuram has four levels and the sub-shrines to the Goddess Abhisheka Valli and Andal have wagon-vaulted roofs to the pavilions fronting them.

Peria Thiruvadi ( Garudalvar ) gives darshanam in standing posture and is considered to be a very powerful giver of boons. He is not clad in the standard red bordered white dhoti but in a multi-coloured silk sari! And on his neck is placed a sweetmeat offering that is unique to Tirukkannamangai. It goes by the name of Amrita Kalasam and resembles a laddu. Maha Abishekams are performed for Garudalwar every Sunday.


. It is believed that the four Vedas took the form of four pillars and the pavilion goes by the name of Veda Sagara.

The Goddess is in a shrine to the left of the outer corridor. Abhisheka Valli derives her name from the legend that she was ceremonially bathed with the holy waters of the tank before her marriage to Maha Vishnu. A beehive is seen inside the temple that waxes and wanes with the seasons .

The bees shift home every six months, residing to the left of the Goddess during the Dakshinayanam (July to December) and to her right during Uttarayanam.( January to June).The 33 crore devas took on the form of these divine insects to witness the heavenly wedding of the Lord and goddess as per the legend.

The same was sung in one of the hymns of Thirumangai Azhwar”Kalivandaraiyum pozhilsoozh Kannamangaiyal kandhu kondene” It is believed that the bees are the Gods who came to attend the wedding and decided to stay on, being enchanted with the holy place Tirukkannamangai .

On other side of a bigger mandapam , there are eight pillars .Each pillar features a painting of one each of the asthalakshmis.

The presiding deity of this temple is Bhaktavatsala perumal who gives us darshanam in standing posture and thayar is glorified as Abhisekhavalli thayar .
A very important divine pastime must be cherished .

In this Srivaishnava Divya desam there lived a great devotee by the name Thirukkanna mangai AndAn who was a disciple and nephew of a great srivaishnava Acharyar Swamy Nathamunigal and the foremost disciple to learn Naalayira Divya Prabhandam from his Acharyar . He was performing daily services in the temple unconditionally without any desires .He used to pluck the grown grass and make the pathway clean for the devotees such that the devotees are taken care of .He used to be always ready to do any menial service that was fit for the temple and the devotees who visited the temple


One day, he saw two dogs fighting with each other. The sight of this fight drew the attention of the owners of these dogs . Each lost their cool protecting their dogs stance in barking . The quarrel extended to them and out of fury to protect their dog they beat each other to the extent they both got badly injured and one almost lost his life .

Thirukkanna mangai AndAn witnessed this. He thought to himself, “if the owners of the dogs have so much affection and sense of ownership for their loyal dogs that they are ready to give up their lives, then why would not our LORD who owns this dog- “Thirukkannamangai AndAn,”
if dedicated to Him, not come to his protection?”

Thinking this way, he served the LORD and entered the kOvil and rested on the floor in a small room near the entrance.
Deeply engrossed in his realization to serve the LORD , the very next second, he attained the lotus feet of LORD .
Renouncing the intent of protecting himself, he subjected himself to the mercy and protection of LORD .
The Priests in the temple could see some unusual object gushing inside the temple sanctum confirming the great devotees love to the LORD .

As per legend it is told one who spends a night in the vicinity of the temple attains Moksha .( Also glorified as Dakshina Pushkarani .)

Aani Sravanam is the appearance day of the great devotee Thirukkanna mangai AndAn.. )

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Pics \ Courtesy : Google images

The absolute sense of surrender echoes the feeling that we have none other to protect us  other than our divine parents and seek their lotus feet .Our karmic parents , husband , wife friends even the demi gods will not be able to rescue us  and it is LORD SRIMAN NARAYANA alone who can take care of  us all the time .The divine feet constitute the ultimate solace for all sorrows.

Peria Azwar expresses his musings about Lord Krishna’s  stay at Gokulam , Mathura and Vrindavan in his divine out pourings Naalayira Divya Prabhandam ( Appended link below about the divine pastimes )

https://atomic-temporary-2692795.wpcomstaging.com/2015/09/04/chinni-krishna-and-peria-azhwar/

The holy feet which walked on the ground had impressions they called it as  samrajya lakshanam .

All those divine marks on the soles of his lotus feet , those lovely impressions were visible on the ground in gokulam .

Azhwars and Acharyas have expressed their divine thoughts about the lotus feet of Lord Krishna in several slokas . The holy feet is so tender that even when the goddess mahalakshmi the divine consort massages with love and tenderness the feet becomes red .

Jagath Acharyar Swamy Ramanuja surrendered to the lotus feet of  Lord Ranganatha

Swamy Desikar surrendered to the lotus feet of  Lord Varadarajar.

 In the Holy Epic ,  Srimad Bhagavatam at one place the great devotee   Akrura comes to Vrindavana to meet Lord  Krishna.

  He  has the darshan of the the footprints of the Lord on the dust of Nanda-grama. 

Immediately , with tears  he at once  jumps  on the  holy spot  of Vrindavana and rolls  about among those footprints  overjoyed and   expresses …

”  My fortune !!!!!  This is the dust from my master’s feet! How wonderful and blessed I am …

All together,  around  eleven  distinguishing marks are decorated  on the soles of Lord’s  lotus feet.”  (  Few scholars conclude there are Nineteen ) …

The  auspicious marks on the soles of Lords feet   bears the marks of a banner , a pot of ambrosia , an umbrella , a thunderbolt , a lotus , a  kalpavruksha , a conch  , the ankusa/spade, a fish , a rose apple   and  a disc  .

Similar feelings were experienced by the  advance devotees of Lord , the gopis of Vrindavana seing Lord  Krishna’s footprints in the dust.

  The gopis became overwhelmed simply by seeing those marks  imprinted on the ground.  

 When Krishna went away from Vrindavana the Gopis could not forget their Lord . On the land of Vrindavana are the impressions of His footprints, that are the residence of the goddess of fortune.  

Just by seeing Krishna’s all-attractive footprints, the gopis  remembered many  divine pastimes with  Krishna.

The divine feet is the most important place for any devotee ….

At several places Lord reveals this place pointing one of his lotus hands towards HIS feet hinting that is the place we need to seek salvation .

A sloka from Rig veda  glorifies …….

Tad vishno: paramam padam sadaa pasyanti sooraya: | 

diveeva chakshuraatatam  …

Tad vipraaso vipanyavo 

jaagruvaagum sassamindhatae

vishnor yat paramam padam

   Acharyas have expressed the auspicious qualities of the imprints , viz: 

the conch bestows knowledge to the devotees ,

the disc ensures the Lord shall destroy the enemies and get rid of our sins ,

the kalpavruksha  fullfills all our wishes ,

the banner captures the attention of the devotees , 

the umbrella  protects him with shield from material desires ,

as a fish cannot live without water a devotee cannot live without LORD’s association ,

the lotus lends fragrance to those who seek succor at HIS lotus feet ,

the spade controls the elephant mind and bestows boons to a sincere seeker in his up liftment ..

In this manner, the Lord’s lotus-feet destroy all the inauspicious qualities of His devotee and confer  him  with supreme bliss.

Lord Srinivasa graces through   His lotus  Feet to  the devotees  by pointing His right Hand down and asks them to surrender for their redemption. Nammazhwar in his divine out pourings expresses  his  ineligibility ,  helplessness and having no one else to save and protect him. 

Having no qualifications, disability to pursue any other means  be it Jnyana Yoga , Karma Yoga , Bhakthi Yoga  and  realizing the eternal nature of being His servant  only always- seek HIS lotus Feet.

The lotus feet of the Divine are ageless and faultless, they eradicate all our misdeeds –

so goes one Vedic mantra …

caraNaM pavitraM vitataM purANaM yena pUtas-tarati dushhkRtAni. 

The steps that the Divine Feet took  are so great that LORD  is glorified  as ‘the Great Lord who measured  the whole Universe’  ulagalanda-perumAL (in tamil) details mentioned in the below  link …

https://atomic-temporary-2692795.wpcomstaging.com/2015/09/02/the-lord-who-measured-the-worlds-brahma-kadigina-padhamu/

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

 

The great  devotee of Lord Vittala , Namadeva  used  to go to a  nearby village Gopalapur  to pen  his  emotional filled   divine abhangs on Lord without any disturbance.  

One day ,  it was  getting delayed and he did not turn home for lunch.

 

Namadev’s  wife who was concerned  for the delay ,  walked along with the  lunch to Gopalapur.  She requested her husband  Namadeva that he should have his lunch as it was getting late . But Namadevar was in a different mood completely .His thoughts were filled with Lord Vittala .

He advised her to leave the lunch in the basket and  carry on with her daily works

 

Rajayi his wife   with respect   kept  Namadeva’s lunch in a bag near him and left the place .   A dog  quickly  got hold of the chapathis  in the lunch bag and ran away with the food .  Namadeva  who was filled with thoughts of Lord Vittala watched the animal . He   immediately took  some ghee  and sugar along with  milk  got up and ran behind the dog. This surprised the passerby’s .
jai nama deva

The dog unexpected this and hence  ran as fast as it could.

 

Namadeva  too chased it as fast as he could  by calling

…Vittala ..Vittala …..

and finally succeeded in trapping the dog near a bush with caution .

 He  offered obeisances to the Lord he  saw  in the  animal  .He fondly took him  on his lap  and  attempted to feed  him  with sugar and ghee and later some milk . He  brushed him with affection  and said

“Panduranga! My Lord !!!  This  raw  chapathi will make your throat dry. Please have ghee, sugar and milk  along with this .” Saying this , he opened  opened the animal’s  mouth to feed him.

That very instant,  a wonderful thing happened .He could have darshan of  Lord Panduranga there itself !

 

With tears he said  ‘Oh!  Vittala !!! My Father !!!   Why should you take this  form ”and make this old man run …..

Lord Panduranga replied, ” Namadeva, I am free  enough to take any form I desire. But,  what is surprising and  amazing  me is  that, you are able to  recognise  me  irrespective of the form that I take.”

 Another great saint ,  Sant Jnaneshwar  was ridiculed by the villagers and the pundits for his  plain devotion when  he requested a  buffalo   to recite Sama veda to prove the omnipresence of Lord ….

Watch the below clip recorded at Paithan where the incident took place few hundred years back..

 

 

The buffalo began to recite vedas  and this place is  located at  Naag ghat near  Paithan in Maharashtra .

 Another   revered saint Sant  Tukaram  saw  Lord Vittala  in all  the creatures. Out of divine will once he was asked to guard a corn field. He enjoyed  this job as it did not hinder with his daily routine of chanting Lord’s holy names .  Earlier ,the birds would see human presence  in the field and  fly away without eating the corns. But as  Sant Tukaram got immersed in his  emotional out pourings abhangs, the birds started to feed on the corns. Seeing   Lord Vittala  in all the birds, he, instead of scaring the birds away, fed the birds with more corns from the field that he was supposed to guard, thus gaining the wrath of the owner which later made the owner realise the saint was not a very ordinary human.

The saints  believed that God is within all living beings .An important spiritual practice followed by them  was the chanting of Lord’s holy names . Remembering Lord and repeating his Holy Name  was most important . Another  ingredient for the spiritual life was kirtana or bhajans, the singing of hymns of praise of the Lord . All these spiritual practices helps in  transforming  the body, emotions, thoughts, and one’s very existence into expressions of the soul, our true identity and spiritual essence. This makes it  easier to have enough peace of mind and  enter the world of the supreme soul  seeking bliss .

 

 

 More information about the advanced saints of Maharashtra is available in the appended blog post

 

https://atomic-temporary-2692795.wpcomstaging.com/2015/03/18/pandharpur-yatra-bhajey-pandurangam-a-pilgrims-diary/

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Credits :  The black and white pics have been borrowed from the paintings of Painter – Mr  Raghuveer Mulgaonkar

 

 

 

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 ant, the living and non-living, everyone and everything, – both animate and inanimate- all that was born or created by Brahma- all that existed in His Ayodhya to the supreme  position (moksham).

That was Lord SriRama  so merciful and compassionate that He took ALL (irrespective of their jnanam, bhakti, knowledge, scholarship, or even an inclination to think of moksham) out of His own  unlimited compassion  .

Kulasekhara Azhwar confirms this in Peria Thirumozhi “ Andru Saraasarangalai Vaikunthathuku Yetri….”.

 Lord took the entire living and non-living thing to Sri Vaikuntam. Once again Mother Andal glorifies Lord  Rama as “Manathukku Iniyaan”-the one who is dear to heart.

 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 Rama exhibited this quality of dhaaya to  many of the humans  . Ayodhya vaasis, Kakasuran, the rakshasa who attacked him in Panchavati  , Kaikeyi   and most of the characters in the Ramayana ….

 

 It is said Once , Parvati devi questions ParamaShiva as to on whom he contemplates while meditating. ParamaShiva replied that he always keep chanting the most sacred naama of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.- the  sweetest name RAAMA .

ParamaShiva emphasizes the importance of the innumerable names of the Lord composed by Bheesmacharyar known  as Vishnu Sahasranama stotram.

Parvati devi out of motherly compassion questions Parama Shiva as to what is the alternative if a person is not able to chant the  entire thousand names of the Lord.

ParamaShiva answers that uttering the holy name of SRI RAMA  will  bestow the benefit of reciting the  entire thousand names of  Lord Sri Hari. 

                               Such is the power of RAAMA NAAMAM.

In Varanasi,  ParamaShiva personally utters the Tharaka mantram in the ears of the person leaving this mortal body and ensures that the jiva atma  attains moksham. When Bharata along with raja maatas and entire retinue met Sri rama in Chitrakoot, Bharata abuses his mother for her sinful action and seeks pardon from Lord . 

 

 

 

 

 

Lord Rama chastises Bharata for accusing Mother Kaikeyi and remained untainted with her behaviour.  He showed the same respect to her. Indra’s son Jayantan was captivated by  Mother Sita’s looks .

He took the form of a crow and while Lord Rama and Sitadevi were resting in Chitrakoot, he inflicted injury on Sita maata by perching her .

Lord  Rama who was lying on Sitadevi’s lap was fast asleep, Mother Sita endured the pain without disturbing  the Lord .  But the evil Kakasuran took it as an advantage and continued with his evil act until Lord Rama got up. 

 

 

 

 

Lord Rama was furious with Kakasuran and as he did not have Kodhandam with HIM at that time, HE took a grass, uttered Brahmastram and aimed at Kakasuran which chased him until he  fell down on the same rock where Sita and Rama were resting.

Mother Sita out of compassion slowly turned him towards Lord Rama’s holy feet and made him seek refuge.

  The most compassionate Lord, who is  spared his life by  defacing  his eye.

Lord Rama’s daya gunam was exhibited.  Spatik shila in Chitrakoot is the place where this incident took place. While in Panchavati, when 14000 rakshasas headed by Kara and Dhooshana attacked , Lord Rama  killed everyone but spared one rakshasa as he donned a saree and escaped. 

 

 

 

 

Lord Rama’s dhaya gunam was so much that even though he knew him to be an enemy, he spared him because he was in woman’s attire! Lord Rama performed the final rites to Jataayu, the eagle king who fought valiantly with Ravana and tried to rescue Sita .

Lord Rama affectionately took the ailing Jatayu in HIS arms and  conferred moksha .

  The holy place where Lord Rama completed his incarnation  is  glorified  as Gupthar Ghat located in Faizabad about 15 kms from Ayodhya. Driving past the military areas in Faizabad roads really grand , we reached Gupthar Ghat in half an hour’s time from Ayodhya few years ago as a part of our Sri Rama Anu Yatra .

 

 

 

 

 

River Saruyu also known as River Gargha considered as Sage Vasishta’s daughter was  very calm. The bathing ghats at River Saruyu are meaningfully constructed and are well maintained. After purifying ourselves in the sacred waters and offering morning oblations, Adiyen was engaged in routine morning rituals when a group of devotees headed by Sri Gomadam Swami of Sri Rangam reached the banks of Sarayu .

Looking at us near the ghat, they chose to have bath in the same place.  When we approached Swami to pay our respects,  the revered swamin  was delighted to know about our trip and blessed us. He said that it was due to the divine will of the Lord that we drove all the way from Ayodhya to have holy bath in Saruyu at this place because usually devotees have bath in Ayodhya itself .

 

Swami mentioned about the greatness of Gupthar Ghat and appreciated us for having chosen this place for purifying ourselves.

More details of this holy place at this appended link :

https://atomic-temporary-2692795.wpcomstaging.com/2011/01/26/piligrim-diary-to-sri-rama-holy-abodes/

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Videos courtesy :  Sri Balakrishna Prasad garu/ Sri Naveen kumar

Pics : Few from social media and  Google images

( Thanks to all the devotees who have uploaded them ) 

 

 The Himalayan mountains are divided into various mountain ranges, Garhwal Himalayas, Central Himalayas, Annapurna ranges and so on.

They stretch from Jammu up to Nepal. The Himalayas are the abode of Gods and innumerable saints contemplate on the Lord at this place.

“PRAYAG” means confluence of  rivers.  Panch Prayag means “Five Confluences” referring to the five confluences of  the holy river Alaknanda with Dhauli Ganga, Nandakini, Pindar, Mandakini and Bhagirathi . The rivers join  at Vishnu Prayag, NandaPrayag, KarnaPrayag, RudraPrayag and Devprayag respectively.

 

 

 

From Rishikesh,  Devprayag is the first  destination  among  Panch Prayags.  Devprayag is 73 kms uphill and will take 3 hours by car. Devprayag is the most important of all prayags  where rivers Bhagirathi, Alaknanda & the mythological river Saraswati (flowing underground) meet to form Ganga.

The Alaknanda flows from the left, and is an eye-catching shade of light blue whereas the Bhagirathi light shade of green. However, in the changing weather, the colours seem to alternate. The Alaknanda has its origins in Alkalananda glaciers at Alkapuri,  beyond bhadrinath ,where  the demigod Kuber settled. Alaknanda is  calm and flows gently, whereas Bhagirathi river flows with much vigor .

When the two merge and flow as one, the colour of Gangaji turns into a beautiful emerald.

From here one road goes by the side of river Bhagirathi to Yomunotri ( via Tehri ) and other road along the side of river Alaknanda goes to Kirtinagarg, Srinagar and Kedarnath.

 

 There is a small suspended bridge that  connects the prayag to the river bank where the highway (more like a lane) is situated. We have  to walk a few hundred meters down the hill, in a narrow lane, to reach the prayag .

Proceeding further we climb  106 steps and  enter   Lord Sri Raghunathji temple.

This Srivaishnava divya desam is glorified by Azhwars  

as  “KANDUM ENNUM KADINAGAR” .

There are 4  Sri Vaishnava divya desams in the Himalayas itself. 

“Kandam ennum Kadinagar” popularly known as Dev Prayag is one among them. Periya Azhwar has glorified the LORDSHIPS here with   divya prabhanda pasurams . Azhwar recollects the pastimes enacted by the Supreme Lord as Trivikraman, Raman, Krishnan in his pasurams. Azhwar elaborates how the Lord who is “Purushottaman” (the best among purushas) approached Bali for 3 measures of land and grew gigantically in size to measure the Universe.

While doing so, when the Lord’s lotus feet reached Satyalokam, Brahma washed the feet with water from his kamandalam which became the Ganges.  ParamaShivan the foremost Vaishnavite adorned  this water on his head and released the flow of water in different directions.  Referring to  Lord Sri Rama avatar, Azhwar says that the Lord who  disfigured  sister’s nose and brother’s head (referring to Soorpanaka and Ravana) resides here.  Referring to  Lord Krishnavatar, he cites how child Krishna killed Kuvalayapeetam, wrestlers and finally killed Kamsa now resides at this place.

The Lord who holds various weapons like conch, sudarshna chakram, gada, saarngam-the bow, kadgam-the sword to reassure the devotees of HIS protection doesn’t have any work with these weapons  as because of holy bath in Ganges, the sinners get cleansed of their innumerable sins.  So these weapons are like ornaments to the Lord.  Peria Azhwar  declares that the one who recites these pasurams will be absolved of all sins by the “Sreepaadha theertham of Lord Vishnu” which is known as Ganges and will be blessed to render service to the Lotus feet of the Supreme Lord , Vishnu on the banks of Ganges at this divya kshetram. The context says when Azhwar was glorifying the Lordships here the kali purusha quietly moved away ….

 The Moolavar ( main deity ) is worshipped as Neelamega Perumal , Purushothaman,   .The  locals worship the Lord as Sri Raghunathjee  and the goddess vimala, pundarikavalli thayar .

The holy theertham is ganges herself .It is believed that to atone the brahmahathi dosha committed in killing the demon Ravana , Lord Rama came to this place for doing penance .

The place where Lord Rama did penance is in the temple premises and is  worshipped as “RAM GADDI”(the place where  Lord Rama meditated).On special festivals such as Vijayadasami, Basant Panchami, Sriramanavami  the utsavar  deity  arrives at this holy spot and give darshan to the devotees assembled . This temple is surrounded by hills on three sides. The hill in front is known as Dasaratanchal, right side is known as Narasimachal, the temple itself is located on Giridhachal.

Continue reading “THE HOLY PLACE UNAFFECTED BY KALI (.. Kaliyum kedum kandu konmin) “KANDUM ENNUM KADINAGAR”.. .” →

 This incident took place 30 years ago  . The  Annual Brahmotsavam for Lord Varadaraja was  being celebrated with piety and fanfare at the temple town of Kancheepuram.

 

 

The big day  “Garuda Sevai”  is conducted in Kancheepuram in the Tamil month of Vaikasi is of special significance.

The Lord of  Lords  was showering his abundant mercy on all the devotees assembled . A staunch devotee of Ahobila Jeeyar was fortunate to undertake the divine service to hold and carry the Royal umbrella that overspreads on the Lordships as the procession proceeds in the streets of  Kancheepuram.

The festive mood is a fortune to watch . The procession was lead by the Temple Elephant ,  a cow , a  horse and the fire crackers specialists . Few   thousand thronged to witness the Lordships in escastcy .

 

 

 

The drummers and pipers  followed behind them. Adhyapakas reciting Divyaprabhandam chants proceeded .Then followed the fortunate bearers of Lordships on their shoulders. The dandikas which they carried joyfully walking amidst  emotional  joy of singing…

 

Govindaa ..Govindaa ..Varadaa .

Govindaa ..Govindaa ..Varadaa .

Govindaa ..Govindaa ..Varadaa ….

was reverberating all around pulling all the starving souls nearer …

Behind them were the pundits  chanting vedic hymns  .

 

 

 

On the Pandal the Archakas stood close to the Lordships and behind the gaily decorated deity on the dandika stood the disciple who was  a bit old , solemnly holding the stem of the pole carrying the spotless canopy that spread shade and splendor over the magnificent Lord who was pouring abundant mercy on the devotees who were thronging multitude.

The bearers of the divine Lordships out of devotion ran , sometimes walked , triumphantly displaying the weighty  divine encumbrance on their shoulders .

The Priests had to balance themselves and  handle the stage with caution perched  in precautionary standing .As they proceeded after a brief halt in front of  a devotees house  the  disciple devotee noticed an electric wire in front of him that was posing as an obstruction to the  royal umbrella he was holding  .

 

Before he could raise any alarm the dandikas ran fast as a result the electric wire pushed the Umbrella . The umbrella is a very heavy structure and before he could really manage he along with the umbrella were about to tumble down .

Helpless though he was ..his sincere devotion to Acharya made him think to recite the holy hymn Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Karavalambam Strotram  so that Prahalada Varadar would give him HIS helping hand .

As he did not have that much time ,  confused  he decided to utter the holy name ..Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Karavalambam and thus completely surrendered to the Lord

This train of thoughts occurred in split of seconds before he could hit the ground and miraculously he landed gently as if by a parachute his firm grip on the pole in tact .

Tears of joy rolled in his eyes .He stood awe in shock as nothing happened as he imagined . The Umbrella was intact and Lord was  gracefully  smiling at him .

His instant prayer recitation of one line gave him instant succor …

 

 

Jaya Jaya Prahalada varada 

Jay Jay Lakshmi Narasimha

 Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

 

Pics courtesy : Anudinam.org /Google images/varavara muni

videos : hindutara

Adapted from Narasimha Priya Magazine

 

 

 

After the Lordships Sita Rama wedding at Janakpur in Nepal , the royal family along with their guests were returning to Ayodhya . It was getting dark .The Royal family decided to retire for the night at this very holy place Punouda which is located near Sitamarhi in the state of bihar

The place where Lokamatha Sita devi’s palanquin (“doli”) alighted under a banyan tree is marked by a hound covered with red cloth. Beside this banyan tree the deities of Lordships Sita-Ramar is worshipped by the local people .

A stone inscription mentioning Lord Rama’s encounter with Parasurama and the divine incident of Lord Rama taking over the Vishnu dhanush is mentioned in the marble slab . It was revealed that the banyan tree is very sacred. The locals believe all disputes of any kind are solved at this place . A Elderly person commented , No one lies here !! If someone dares to tell lie, he would be punished immediately.

Another strange aspect of this holy tree is that the roots of the banyan tree get coiled to the main trunk itself and they do not touch the earth at all .

Exactly one month after Sri Rama navami festival , Seetha Navami is celebrated all over the world .And throughout Janakpur and Sitamarhi, this festival is celebrated for 10 days culminating in Sita Navami to be celebrated on April 28th this year 2023. (in the Tamil month of Vaigasi (May-June). Everyone in this entire belt , feels delighted to be associated with Sita Devi who is eternally remembered for her “PATIVRATA DHARMAM”.( As Ayodhyavasis associate with Lord Rama the Sitamarhivasis associate with mother sita)


Sita an embodiment of purity and wifely devotion and the consort of Lord Ram. Sita Navami is observed on the ninth day of the Shukla Paksha (waxing phase of moon) of Vaishaka month (April – May). Sita Navami in Vaishaka month is more famous with Hindu communities in western and eastern parts of India.

The locals glorify Sita and Rama and go to the extent of declaring that Sri Rama gained so much recognition because of HIS association with our mother SITA DEVI .
Every evening, Sri Ram charitra Manas is recited under this tree .A dance ballad also accompanies the troupe Nearby this tree , there is a small tank known as “Sita Kund” . Near this kund under a tree, small utsava murthis of Sita ,Ramar, Lakshmana and Hanuman along with a doli(wooden palanquin) is worshipped .

The priest informed that these deities belonged to Sitamarhi temple and it is customary for them to take the deities in procession to Janakpur and while returning from Janakpur, to halt at all the holy places sanctified by Mother Sita Devi.
The priest was was quoting verses from the holy text written by the great saint Tulsidas. He also referred to slokas from Valmiki Ramayanam. He said that in that village, there was neither a police station or panchayat since ages . Any dispute would be solved under this tree . The offender would fear to commit any offense due to the outcome which he would face internally . A net is tied around the tree to ensure that dried leaves do not fall on the ground and protect the sanctity of the place.

The priest informed that many devotees do “ Mithila Parikrama” starting from Sitamarhi , reach Janakpur and on their return visit Panth Pakar, Punouda and other places which are on the way to Sitamarhi and end their parikrama on Sita Navami at Sitamarhi.…..
Jai Jai Sita Ram
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

 

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

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   .Check this post for more details  :https://atomic-temporary-2692795.wpcomstaging.com/2015/06/14/the-glory-of-thirukkolur/Thirukurugur  Vaishnava  divyadesam  is located  on the banks of the river Tamaraparani  and is one of the 108 divya desams in Pandiya Nadu. This was later known as Alwar thirunagari after  the great Nammazhwar’s  appearance . Legends reveal there  lived a pious devotee  Kaariyaar    an advanced bhaktha who was  serving  the  devotees from his agriculture earnings . Udaiya Nankaiyar from Thiruvanparisaram was  his wife  who was equally pious and served the devotees with all dedication . They had no progeny  for a long time .Their prayers were answered by the mercy of Lord   of  Thirukurungudi  . Udaiya Nankai  gave birth to a male child on Vaikasi  month  in Visakam star( who is considered to be the incarnation of  Senai Mudaliyar the commander in chief of Lord Sriman Narayana) . His parents named him Maran  (  being different from others ) and he also had other names Parankusa and  Satakopan .
The boy was not an ordinary kid  nor did he have an ordinary life . He displayed none of the usual characteristics of a baby, neither would he cry nor attempt to drink milk. Looking at the strange behaviour of the divine child, the parents went to the temple for divine interference. All of a sudden the child crawled and went under a tamarind tree inside the temple  where he remained almost for sixteen years in yogic trance under the trunk . The divine incident became the talk of the town. After many years one day a elder Vaishnava who was on a pilgrimage to Ayodhya observed a  shining light emanating from a far off place .He followed the light and reached Thurukurugoor. As he enquired around the place , he was directed into the temple . He was surprised  looking at the divine aura  being emitted from the young boy  and attempted to go near him .

More details of  Madhurakavi Azhwar can be read in this appended  linked post

https://atomic-temporary-2692795.wpcomstaging.com/2015/08/04/tevu-marrariyen-i-do-not-know-of-any-lord-other-than-my-acharyan-swamy-nammazhwar/

 He approached  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.

Lo presto ! the boy opened his eyes  and Madhurakavi could see the divinity  in his eyes with golden hue.

Madhurakavi wanted to test the boy further  whether he could reply.

Thus  he asked a question

 “Seththathin vayitril siru kutti pirandhaal etrai thindru enge kidakum?

A divine voice was heard with a smile

“Atrai thindru ange kidakum”.

The answer to his question made the madhurakavi ponder about the divine presence of the boy and the esoteric reply.

The peripheral meaning of the question…

“If a small one  is born into a dead thing, what will it do ? and where will it be”?

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

 The inner meaning of the question:

“Seththadhu” – body,

“siru kutti” – soul.

“vayiru” – stomach.

 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.

But once the soul realizes its true nature that it is the servant of  Lord Sriman Narayanan and  surrenders , the soul gets liberated from the cycle of births and deaths.

Swami Madhurakavi azhwar was amazed by azhwar’s knowledge and fell at his feet and pleaded him to accept him as his disciple. Azhwar  agreed and asked him to help him in composing his  divine works.  Thus came out the  fountain  of divine out pouring of Lord’s kalyanagunas . Madurakavi Azwar wrote  all of them in Palm leaves which were called ‘ pattolai. The divine out pourings were

1. Thiruviruttam (100 verses)
2. Thiruvasiriyam (7 verses)
3. Periya ThiruvandhAdhi (87 verses)
4. Thiruvamozhi  (1102 verses )

A  grand festival is celebrated for ten days marking the appearance day of Azhwar at this  holy  place every year ending  with a holy bath ( Abhishekam ) and ‘Theertha vari’ on Vaikasi Visakam day .

  The Vaikasi Visakam celebrations are being  held  past 500 years or more .

 The temple at Thirukkurugoor was under the direct administration of  our revered Acharyar Swamy Manavala Mamunigal.

Adiyen is recollecting the wonderful  darshan  we had few years back at Azhwar Thirunagari

The most important day for Srivaishnavas is  Swami Nammazhwars Thirunakshatram     ( Apperance day ) which happens to be on Saturday 21 ,2016  this year .

Nava Tirupathi is a cluster  of Nine  temples of Lord Sriman Narayana.

Nava Tirupathi is part of the 108 Divya Desam temples .

Located around the banks of the River Thamarap arani, the 9 temples of Nava Tirupathi are Thiruvaikundam,

Thiruvaragunamangai,

Thirupulinkudi,

North & South temples of Thirutholaivillimangalam,

Thirukkulanthai,

Thiruperai,

Thirukolur and

Thirugurukoor.

 This otherwise  a calm village is  overcrowded with devotees for the 10 day grand festival.

Almost all the  chathirams, Ramanujar koodams and houses were  packed with devotees who  come to witness the Nava garuda sevai from long distances .

 A  big mandapam in front of the main  temple known as ‘PANDAL MANDAPAM” is decorated for the grand festival to happen .  This pandal  was built by  an ardent  devotee Sri Pandala Ramaswamy Nayaakar  during 1807 .He  took initiative in  starting this wonderful  Nava garuda Sevai utsavam and made arrangements for  the mandapam and other paraphernalia . In honour of his devotional service the mandapam  is named Pandal Mandapam.

.

 

  All the Perumals  ( Lordships ) of the Nava Tirupatis come to

Thirunagari to grace our  most beloved Nammazhwar .

Swamy Nammazhwar   had darshanam of all the 108 Divya

desam perumal staying in Azhwar Thirunagari itself .

In the pandal “ Abhishekam for Azhwar  is done with due honours by the recitation of vedic hymns being watched by a large groups of devotees .

 Meanwhile ,there was an alert by the bhagavathas that the Nava Tirupathigal Perumal have already started from their temples “ Thirukolams “and after crossing the beautiful Tambaraparani River are arriving at Pandal Mandapam.

 We rejoiced to see Perumals coming from different directions with a troupe of Nadaswaram goshti and the recitation of pasurams by Elders.

All  Perumal started arriving to Pandal Mandapam. Every Divyadesam  Perumal  arrive  in a well decorated palanquin with full  temple honours.

Here Azhwar receives the Perumal and does Pradakshinam to Perumal thrice. Azhwar is then blessed with satari, peedambaram and prasadam which were offered to the Perumal.

 After this, managala haarathi  is  given to Perumal and Azhwar and Perumal enter  the main temple. This procedure is  followed for all the Perumals. This function takes place for about 2 to 3 hours.

 All the Perumals alight  inside a huge  mandapam inside the temple. Parallel arrangements like decorating Peria Thiruvadi ( Garudazhwan ) for the evening function is done for the Garuda sevai.

The  villagers share a wonderful hospitality inquiring about the details of stay, food etc of all the visitors . Most of the Thirumalagais are eager to serve the devotees with Prasadam.

The same evening around 5 P.M., Thirumanjanam ( Abhishekam ) would start for all the Perumals. Several groups of devotees coming from far off places assemble and chant azhwar pasurams with music. At 5 P.M  the Vedic Pundits carrying silver kudams filled with holy water arrive  . The water for Neeratam is brought from the river Thamparaparani with full honours (an umbrella, Nadaswaram)

The holy abhishekam “ Thirumanjanam”  for all the Perumals are performed at the same time.  Thirumanjanam  is performed for all the Perumals inside the mandapam.   It takes about 2 to 3 hours for the alankaranam to get completed.

Around 8 P.M. the much awaited garuda sevai starts

In the Nava Garuda Sevai,  the  lordships ( Perumals )  are seated on Garuda vaahanam.  Azhwar is seated on a Hamsa vaahanam and his dearest devotee, Madurakavi Azhwar is seated on Pirangi Naarkaali (a chair)

Azhwar waits just outside the Maha dwaaram of the temple to receive the Perumals from all the Nine Divya desams . The temple doors are closed and Azhwar along with his favourite devotee Madurakavi Alwar wait for the Garudaseva Utsavam to happen.The Mahadwaram doors are opened amidst the mangala Nadaswarams .

Azhwar is the first to have darsanam of Perumal. Perumal is given Mangala karpoora aarthi and  managalasaasanam done to the particular Perumal by the Azhwar . The recitation of the Mangalaasanams with the divyadesam pasurams by Elders drives one to spiritual ecstasy. Similar to  Srirangam, Araiyar sevai is followed  tradition here

 The sevai is a special treat to the eyes and fill LORDs grace unlimited . And  being among-st our Azhwars and the advanced srivaishnavas its sheer bliss

The order in which the Perumals appear in Garuda vaahanam along with the paasuram number is mentioned for devotees  sung by Azhwar is given below:

PERUMAL PASURAM NOS.

1)  Sri Adinatha Perumal of Thirukurugoor             3106,3116
2) Sri Vaikuntanatha Perumal of Srivaikuntam      3571,3575
3) Sri Vijayasanar Perumal of Natham (varagunamangai) 3571
4) Sri Kaichinavendan of Thirupulingudi                3473,3568-78
5) Sri Mayakoothan of Perungulam(Thiuukulandhai) 3561
6) Sri Devapiran of Irattai Tirupati }
7) Sri Aravinda Lochanan of Irattai Tirupati }     3271-3281
8) Sri Bhoomipalar of Then Thirupperai              3359-3369
9) Sri Vaithamanidhi of Thirukolur along with Madurakavi Azhwar 3293-3303,3473

After this, neivedyam is offered to Perumal, Azhwar and Madurakavi Azhwar and Perumal leaves the place . All the Perumals assemble at East Mada street and from here all the Nava tirupathi Perumal are taken in procession in the 4 mada streets of Thirunagari with the Nadaswaram troups for each perumal , Veda goshti .

The  devotees burst crackers and lit the roads with dazzling light. The local residents receive Perumal by sweeping the roads and decorating the roads with kollams etc.The zeal in their offering fruits and karpooram at the time of Perumal’s oorvalam is a  great blessing. Almost the entire village are well versed with Perumals arrival. This procedure of waiting near the entrance,  offering  karpoora aarthi and rendering mangalasaasanam on that particular Perumal is followed for all the Perumals.

 By the time the ninth Perumal Sri Vaithamanidhi of Thirukolur leaves the place, Adinatha Perumal of Thirukurugoor who left first comes back to the temple. After all the nine Perumals assemble, Azhwar pays his deep respects to all the Perumals and all the Perumals get inside the mandapam. Madurakavi Azhwar who has organized this function, payshis respects to Nammazwar who  is pleased with his disciple.

The function  concludes  around 4 A.M. The next day morning, all the Perumals leave to their respective  temples gracing all the devotees  and Nammazwar  accompanies  them  till the entrance of the temple as a Royal guest  . Nammazwar ‘s hamsa vaahanam is  placed in such a manner that he  looks at the proceedings until  Perumal  leaves the temple  street

Temple	Perumal	Thayar	Distance from SriVaikuntam
Srivaikundam	Vaikundanathan Kallapiran	Vaikundanaayani Sooranathanayagi	–
Srivaragunamangai Natham	Vijayasanar Emmiderkadivan	Varagunamangai Varagunavalli	2 KM
Thiruppuliyangudi Puthan	Boomipaalagar Kaaichinaventhar	Nilamagal Pulingudivalli	3 KM
Erattai Thirupathi	Srinivasan Thevarpiran	Alamelumangai	10 KM
Erattai Thirupathi	Aravinason Chenthamarai Kannan	Karunthdankanni	10 KM
Thirukuzhanthai Perungulam	Venkadavannan Maayakoothar	Kamalavathi Kulanthivalli	12 KM
Thenthiruperai	Maharenedun Kuzhaikaathar Niharilmukil vannan	Kuzhaikaathu valli Thiruperal Nachiyar	10 KM
Thirukkolloor	Vaithananidhi Nichopavithan	Kumuthavalli Kollor Valli	8 KM
Azhwarthirunagari Viyazhan	Aadinathan Polinthunintrapiran	Aadinatha Nayagi	5 KM

 

 

The Perumals leave the Mandapam around 7.00 –7.30 AM . Only after the sight of Perumal completely disappears, Nammazhwar  leaves  inside a bit sad due to the departure of the perumals to their respective divyadesams.

All glories to the devotees who are at Thirukurogoor seeking the grace of Azhwar and Perumal ….

Prostrating vaishnavas ,Azhwar and Lordships for their abundant grace  adiyen silently walk behind Azhwars Palanquin asking for forgiveness and his grace in attending many more Satsangs…

 

Adiyen Ramanuja dasanPics courtesy :  Google images ,  web site ; heritagetown .orgVideos :  Thanks to Sri Govindarajan  

Puranas states that out of many thousands of gopis, sixteen thousand are predominant and among them  108 gopis are very close , eight are still more prominent . Radharani and Candravalli are very  prominent  and  Srimathi Radharani is the most prominent. Because Radharani possesses all the charm and sweetness to attract Lord Krishna .

Introduction about the Ashta sakhis  is appended in the below linked post

https://atomic-temporary-2692795.wpcomstaging.com/2015/11/07/lord-krishnas-ashta-sakhi-temples-near-barsaana-vrindavan-an-introduction/

Braj Bhumi  is the most sacred dham spread over  168 miles-  42 miles on each direction with  Mathura as the center.  The holy place  comprises of Mathura,  Goverdhan, Gokulam Barsana ,Vrindavan and the  surrounding  12 forests. 

The Supreme Lord manifested Himself as Lord Krishna along with HIS attendants and enacted various pastimes 5000 years ago in Dwapara yugam which attracts millions of devotees to have darshan of this holy dhaam repeatedly .

Lord Krishnavataaram is the POORNA AVATARAM of  Lord Maha Vishnu. Every inch in this place is  sacred because of its association with  Lord Krishna’s  lotus  feet (as He walked over all these places).  

Anyone who visits this sacred place is bestowed with   divine love . This is one  of the seven mukthi tharum kshetrams , the rest being Ayodhya,  Avatnti, Kasi,Kanchi, Puri, Dwarka.  Also, Mathura is very dear to Lord Vishnu as it has Lord’s association in all the four yugams.  Lord eternally resides in this place.

Braj Bhoomi, is spread over a area of around 5,000 square kilometers   spanning Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, Bharatpur district in Rajasthan and Hodal Subdivision of Palwal Dist. of Haryana. On its northern fringe, Braj Bhoomi starts at a distance of around 115 KMs from the border of India’s capital New Delhi, along the National Highway 2. From New Delhi , Vrindavan and Mathura, the popular townships of Braj are thre to four hours drive (145 Kms) on the Delhi-Agra National Highway  . Vrindavan and Mathura are at a distance of around 10 kilometers along the NH 2.

Lord Sri Krishna lived in Vrindavan upto HIS 10th year and later moved to Mathura to annihilate the demon  Kamsa.  After this episode ,  Lord stayed in Mathura and later shifted to Dwarka.  Though Lord Krishna resided in Dwaraka by constructing a beautiful city in the sea and was served by 16,108 wives and innumerable assistants,

HIS HEART ALWAYS CRAVED FOR THE GOPIKAS AFFECTION IN VRINDAVAN.  

The Lord was physically present in Dwaraka but always resided permanently in the hearts of the Gopis and Gopikas of Vrindavan.

Of the 16,108 wives of Lord Krishna, eight are more prominent who are collectively known as Ashta mahishis.  They are  Rukmini, Sathyabama, Jambhavati, Kalindhi, Mithravindha, Sathya, Badra and Lakshmana. Likewise, out of lakhs of gopis in Vrindavan, eight gopikas(Ashta sakhis) along with Radharani are very prominent.

The Eight Gopis who are the foremost, dearest and most beloved friends of Shri  Shri Radharani  are  glorified  as Asta-sakhis  Gopis . Their names are Lalita, Visakha, Chitralekha, Champakalata, Tungavidya, Indulekha, Rangadevi and Sudevi.

Radharani was always surrounded and served by her thousands of gopi-friends out of which eight of them are very prominent and are collectively known as Ashta sakhis.  They are Lalitha , Vishaka, Tungadevi, Rangadevi, Indulekha, Chitralekha, Sudevi and Champakalatha.  These sakhis appeared in different villages around Barsana.

Lalitha at Ucchagaon,

Visakha at Kamaai,

Champakalatha at Karela,

Tungavidya devi at Dabaara,

Rangadevi at Raakoli,

Sudevi at Sunera,

Chitradevi at Chiksoli,

Indulekha at Anjhanak.

These sakhis individually had many assistants under them for serving Radha Krishna. Few of them are elder to Radharani and others are younger to Radha.

The appearance days of all these sakhis coincide with RAdhastami- Radharani’s appearance day which is celebrated after Sri Krishna Janmashtami. Starting from Sashti thithi upto Pournami, the appearance days of these ashta sakhis are celebrated  and Radharani’s appearance day celebrated on RAdhashtami. The details of the Ashtasakhi temples are as follows .

Barsana to Chiksoli Chitrasakhi temple          — 2 kms

Chiksoli to Dabara  Tungadevi sakhi temple  — 2 kms

Dabara to Rakoli RAngadevi sakhi temple     — about 4 kms  and return to Barsana.

Take another route from Barsana to visit Lalitha sakhi and Sudevi sakhi temples

Barsana to Oonchagaon Lalitha sakhi temple — 2 kms

Oonchagaon to Sunera Sudevi sakhi temple   — 3 kms

and return to Barsana to take Delhi route to visit Indulekha, Vishaka and Champakalatha temples

Barsana to Anjanauk Indulekha sakhi temple– 5 kms

Anjanauk to Kamai Vishaka sakhi temple         — 3kms

Kamai to Karela Champakalatha temple (Rajasthan route)– 4 kms  and return to Barsana.

Sudevi, the twin sister of Rangadevi is the last among the ashta sakhis.  Goddess  temple is  located at Sunhera village about 5 kms from  Barsana and about 2 kms from Oonchagaon.  She was  born to Rangasara and Karuna on Bhadrapad maas Chathurdhasi thiti (one day before Pournami and 7 days after Radharani’s appearance day and  was always engaged in the devotional service.

She used to decorate Radharani with flowers, apply kajal and chandan to RAdharani and was an expert in massaging the transcendental body of Srimati RAdharani, apply mehendi on Radharani’s feet.   She used to dress up RAdharani so beautifully that even Krishna used to say that HE is  incompetent and not capable in dressing up Radharani!! like Sudevi

She was  an expert in training parrots . By training them to repeat Krishna’s names  she used to   console Radharani from the pangs of separation from Krishna.

 She was good at reading omens and predictions .  She was also good at gardening and ensured that choicest flowers bloomed to decorate Srimati Radharani.

Links to other  Ashta sakhis

https://atomic-temporary-2692795.wpcomstaging.com/2015/11/17/lord-krishnas-ashtasakhis-of-radharani-tungavidya-sakhi/

https://atomic-temporary-2692795.wpcomstaging.com/2015/11/09/lord-krishnas-ashta-sakhi-indulekha-sakhi/

https://atomic-temporary-2692795.wpcomstaging.com/2015/11/04/lord-krishnas-ashta-sakhi-chitra-sakhi/

https://atomic-temporary-2692795.wpcomstaging.com/2015/11/09/lord-krishnas-ashta-sakhi-lalitha-sakhi/

https://atomic-temporary-2692795.wpcomstaging.com/2015/11/11/lord-krishnas-ashta-sakhi-champakalatha-and-the-crown/

Jai Sree Radhey

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Pictures credits : Google images

video credits :  Saadaya..

  Amongst the several revered disciples of Jagath Acharyar  Swamy Ramanujar Swami  AmudhanAr  earlier  known as Peria Koil Nambi  was  transformed    disciple of  JagathaAcharyar .  

Nambi  appeared at a place called Thirumungirkkudi on  Panguni Hastham  day a divine place  near to Srirangam.

 

He became the most  dearest  disciple of Swamy Ramanuja .

However , before becoming a disciple  of Swamy Ramanuja  ,  he was  the  Head Priest at Lord Sri Ranganathar   Temple, Srirangam .

   Filled with  pride  due to his position in the temple he had no   respect  towards Acharya  Swamy Raamanuja for the  command   that was  granted  by Lord Ranganatha to Acharyar . 

He used to get  upset  with Swamy’s  raising popularity .Out of ego he placed many obstacles in the routine of temple services  while  Swamy   followed during the temple administration.

 Swami Ramanuja was upset with his approach that obstructed the services to Lordships .   Swami wished that   Nambi   must be  relocated  in any other service  in the temple for smooth functioning  . This will help in continuing the service to LORD  and  the smooth running of the affairs of the temple was ensured.

However , Lord  Ranganathar had some other plans for Nambi   . He  appeared in  Swami Ramanuja’s dream and  commanded , that the temple priest  Periya Koil Nambi  was   serving him past several years and is dependent on  him . 

Hence , he must be taken care off  in all  reverence   .

Swami Ramanuja shared his dream with his  close disciple Kuresan and concluded that the Lord did not want him to dismiss Periya Koil Nambhi from the present  service ,  instead   Lord wanted Nambi to be engaged in some other kaimkaryam close to him , other than purohitham.

Kuresan responded  to Acharyars request and felt  that the Lord wanted  Swamy Ramanuja to correct the flaws of Nambi and instead  engage him in Acharyar kaimkaryams .

Swamy Raamanuja suggested that Kuresan himself  should correct Nambi’s destructive ways and bring him back to the fold of Bhagavathas.  Kuresan accepted the suggestion of his Acharyan as commanded  and engaged the scholarly Periya Koil Nambi in discussions  daily inside the temple and slowly   changed  his attitude in pure  devotional service  .

One day ,  Nambi’s mother passed away and   he  was performing her Charama kaimkaryam  in seclusion. This happened  due to  his  arrogant behavior. Many vaishnavas avoided to officiate the ceremonies which he had invited .

This news reached Swamy  Ramanuja  . Swamy realized the desperate state  of Nambi  and suggested that Kuresan  must take part in the ceremony and bring  some change in him  .

In this important srarddha ceremony, there is a stage, when the brahmin chosen to accept the ritual food  is supposed to  say,

” I am satisfied with the offerings given by the kartha  ( doer )

However , when that stage arrived, Kuresan  remained silent  and did not reply the  expected word of  ……

“ThrupthAsma :” (  meaning he was satisfied) .

Nambi was deeply disturbed and  hence pleaded   …..

My  Master … Kuresaa

What  needs to be done to satisfy you swamin  ? 

Acharya Ramanuja had  the desire  that  Kuresan  would  ask  Nambi  the following as as dhanam,  

   1) Purohitham and

 2) Purana  patanam for Sri RanganAthan, in his temple , which were the hereditary rights of Nambi’s  family.

When Kuresan asked for these two boons , Nambi  had no choice except to agree.

 Acharya Raamanuja  glad with the outcome handed over the  Srirangam  temple administration  to the advanced devotee  Kuresan. 

He appointed him  to serve as the chief priest and pouranikar for the Lord.

Nambi was glad that the responsibility was handed over to a advanced devotee like Kuresar. Nambi   liked  Kuresar  unstinting devotion to LORD .The daily rituals performed meticulously with utmost devotion  made Nambi change his attitude towards the devotees and especially Swamy Ramanuja

Lord Ranganatha was very pleased with the turn of events.   . Looking at the change in behaviour of Nambi ,  Kuresan  requested  Nambi  to accompany him to Ashram  and both of them went to   Swamy Raamanuja’s  .  Nambi  surrendered to the lotus  feet of Swamy Ramanuja with repentance .

Acharya Ramanuja was overjoyed at the transformation in Nambi  and recognized that extraordinary scholarship .

He   recommended that Kuresan become the Acharyan to Nambi instead of him.

 

The changed personality and his  sweetness of speech  earned him  the name of “AmudhanAr”  by Swamy Ramanuja himself .

From then on, Periya Koil Nambi came to be known as ” Thiruvarangatthu AmudhanAr “. He was also addressed with reverence as “PiLLai AmudhanAr”. AmudhanAr  coming very close to Swamy Ramanuja and his Acharyar Sri Kooresar was moved by the dayaa of  Swamy RaamAnuja and  with utmost devotion composed the 108 paasurams of Sri Raamanuja Noorrandhathi and recited in front of  Lord NamperumaL.

Lord Ranganatha commanded Swamy RamAnuja not to accompany Him on His Raaja Veedhis  procession . He also advised not to play any Naadaswaram ,   and stopped all  the musical instruments .He commanded the  Sri Vaishnavas to recite Raamanuja Noorrandhathi.

From then on, Noorrandhathi is recited after Iyarppaa  Prabhandam at Perumal and Thayar sannidhis as per  the command of Lord  NamperumAL. Acharya Ramanuja obeyed the wish of Lord RanganAthA and included the recital of NooRRandhAthi at the end of Iyarppaa recitation, just as KaNNinuNN SiRutthAmpu is recited at the end of Mudal Aayiram.

Thus AmudhanAr is to AchArya RaamAnujA just as Madhura Kavi is to Swamy NammAzhwAr. The two prabhandhams by Madhura kavi and Thiruvarangatthu AmudhanAr are like Naayaka rathnams adorning the gem necklace.

In Sri In VaishNava sampradhAyam, AchAryan is recognizedas the avathAra visesham of Sriman NaarAyaNan.Therefore, one worships one’s AchAryan in  form of  Perumal .

In every one of his NooRRandhAthi paasurams, AmudhanAr placed the ThirunAmAm of Swamy RaamAnusar for our benefit….

 

iniyenn kuRai namakkemperumAnAr ThirunAmatthAl muni tanatha nooRRettu SAAVITHRI yennu nuNNporuLai kani tantha senjcholl KalithuraiyandhAthi paaDithanthAn punithan ThiruvarangatthamuthAhiya PuNNiyanE

(meaning We have nothing missing in our lives , now that we have the prapanna Gavathree — the 108 pasurams of RaamAnuja nooRRandhAthi celebrating our AchAryan’s sacred name in andhAthi, blessed by puNya moorthi , ThiruvarangatthamudanAr .

Meditating on the deep meanings of this Prabhandham , we do not have any more wants in this world . We do not lack any thing.

This prabhandham is otherwise called as Prapanna Gayathri, i.e it is the gayathri manthra to all Prapannaas the ones who have surrendered . (Prapanna is a sanskrit word that means complete surrender/dedication.) to LORD lotus feet….

A prapanna is one who has totally surrendered at the lotus  feet of Lord  Sriman Narayana.  Our most  revered  Acharyar  Swamy  Pillai Lokacharya lists the qualities of a prapanna in  his works . A Prapanna  must not wish that harm should befall the one who has caused him anguish. He must feel sorry for the tormentor, for even if he forgives the tormentor, the Lord will not forgive one who has tormented His devotee.

The prapanna must laugh at the one who hurts him, because the tormentor has not realised that no hindrance can be caused to the prapanna’s attainment of moksha.

The prapanna also laughs at such people, because of their ignorance. They think that a prapanna cares about worldly problems, when actually such things do not bother him.

Pillai Lokacharya further says that we should actually be grateful to those who harm our bodies and our material possessions.

A prapanna thinks of the body and of material wealth as enemies.

So if a person harms any of these, he is actually harming the prapanna’s enemies!

The prapanna is also grateful to those who harm him in this world, because they make him aware of his faults.

  A Prapanna woul be feeling 

Look … “At a time when I have forgotten my flaws, here is someone who has reminded me of them. So I must be grateful to him ” . .

 Naalooraan was the one, at whose instigation, a Chola king blinded Kooratazhvan. But Kooratazhvan prayed to Lord Varadaraja that Naalooran too should be granted moksha. Kooratazhvan is an example of one who wanted someone who had harmed him also to be blessed. Such is the attitude of a prapanna.

            It is said , Once  amudanAr  while    penning  this prabandha  Swamy rAmAnuja came along  with his  disciples .The lovely  pASura  ‘sezhundirai   pArkaDal’ was written and he was about to write the next one……. ‘iruppiDam vaihundam’. 

With great love seeing Acharyar ,  swamy  wrote the next three pASuras in presence  of Swamy  rAmAnujar  and  others.

His  AchArya  AzhwAn  said  these  three pASuras  would be chanted as SATTru  pASuras       (whereas  in other prabandhas only the last two are SATTru pASuras). This practice is still followed.

  Elders advise to meditate on Swamy Ramanujas thirumeni mentally as all the Poorvacharyas are his personification .The  comparisions is made as follows .All the holy thirumeni is equated with revered Acharyas …..

Eyes : Uyyakondar

Forehead Thiruman Kaapu : Sri Vishvakshsenar

Head : Nammalawar

Face : Nathamuni

Cheeks : Mannakal Nambee

Abdomen : Thiruvarangaperumal Araiyar

Hands : Thirugoshtiyur nambee

Heart : Allavandar

Neck : Perianambee

Lower back : Embaar

Chest : Thirumala nambee

Back : Thirumalai Andaan

Waist : Thirukachhi nambee

Tridandam : Sri Mudali Andaan

Tulasee mani  malai : Thirukurugai Piran pillan

Shawdow : Pillai Urungavilliidasar

Holy Yagnopaveetham : Swamy Koorathazhwan

The Safron dress : Vaduganambee

The thighs : Nampillai

The Holy feet : Swamy Pillai LokaAcharyar

Padukas : Swamy Manavala maamuni

Feet Elbows : Parasara bhattar and Namjeeyar

Knees : Vadakku thiruvedi pillai

Feet marks : Thiruvazhmozhi pillai

Fragnance : Swamy Desikar

RAAMAANUJASYA CHARANAU SHARANAM PRAPADYE.

SRIMATHE  RAAMAANUJAAYA NAMA

 Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Photos : Courtesy Google images

Videos :   Vijay TV, Social media clips  and Thanks to the devotees who uploaded .

All glories to Spiritual masters .

           Once  JagathAcharyar Swamy Ramanuja was  giving a discourse on the magnum opus  “Nachiyar Thirumozhi ” from the  4000 Divya Prabhandam composed by Azhwars   .

The disciples were engrossed with the  inner meaning of  “Nachiyar Tirumozhi ”  a set of 143  divine verses that was composed by Andaal the only women saint   among the Azhwars .

Mother  Andaal’s  eagerness to meet Lord Krishna is wonderfully described in these emotional outpourings .

Andaal   attempts various methods  to attain union with  Lord Krishna  which forms the major part of this epic ” Nachiyar Thirumozhi” .

Among these verses ,”Varanamaiyeeram ”  is recited at  all srivaishnava wedding  ceremonies compulsorily . The divine verses narrate   Mother  Andaal’s  experiences with her friends  on her way to submit herself to  the Lordships and  thus fulfill  her purpose of birth .

 

 

 

 

 

Another set of verses are chanted  daily in Srivaishnava houses while offering the bhoga to the Lordships ..The verse goes like this ……in tamil

nAru narum pozhil mAlirunchOli  nambikku

nAn…… nooru  thadAvil vennai vAi nErindhu parAvi vaiththEn…

nooru thadA  niraindha   akkAra vadisil sonnEn……….

Aruthiruv udaiyAn endru vandhu evai kollungolO??

..In the above   verses Andaal amma  prays to Lord Sundararajan of  “Thirumaliruncholai”  a  srivaishnava divya desam near Madurai  .

She  submits ..

Oh Lord !!   I  would place before your Lordships  ,

One hundred vessels of butter and another one hundred  vessels of  nectarine  sweet pudding ( Akkarav adishil  …. Payasam of rice cooked in Milk with jaggery and ghee ) and If  my Lord   you accept them…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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  I  would place another one hundred thousand more …………………………..

(This  Nooru Thada (vessel ) utsavam is celebrated to this day in Melkote at Mysore)

 Swamy Ramanuja stopped at this verse  . He looked at his disciples and said ..

Why not we proceed to this Holy shrine “Thirumaliruncholai”  at once…

and carry out our Goddess  Andaal’s wish ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So saying this,  they all rose and journeyed to the holy place and spread a great feast before the LORDSHIPS chanting the  divine pasurams .

The occasion was too special for Swamy Ramanuja .

After completion , they  proceeded to Srivilliputtur the appearance place of Goddess Andaal. With tears he submitted his prayer before her in giving him an opportunity to serve the Lordships with by offering the nectarine bhoga ….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  As he entered the ardha Mandapam of Andaal’s temple , he was surprised to see  Goddess Andaal eagerly  waiting for him in person to appreciate  for the services he rendered on her behalf to the Lordships  at Thirumalirumcholai .

She moved out of the Inner sanctum  and waited   near the ardha Mantapam  to greet her “elder brother ” for carrying out her task  after  the span of  few centuries just as a responsible elder brother would fulfill the dear wishes of his younger sister.

She  suddenly broke  the protocol of  archa silence and called Swamy Ramanuja as her annan ( brother )  .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She never went back into the sanctum and stays even today at the Ardha Mantapam with Her consort.

Ramanuja is therefore  glorified  with the title KOIL ANNAR .

 

 

 

 

 

With humble reverence ,  Swamy Ramanuja proceeds to Azhwar Tirunagari  the appearance place of Swamy Nammazhwar and  offers  his obeisances to Lord Aadi deva perumal .   Further he proceeds  to Thirukkolur with the object of having darshan of Lord Vaithamanidhi Perumal .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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  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 eligibity 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 )

Kadiththu avanai kandeno thirumangaiyaarai pOle

Did I become an Umbrella like Adhisheshan

Kudai mudhalaanadhu aaneeno ananthaazhwaanai pOle…

Did I carry HIM like Garuda

Kondu thirindhEno thiruvadiyai pOle…

Did I keep up the promise like Nampaduvan

Ilaippu vidaai theertheno nampaaduvaanai pOle…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 and social media pics uploaded by  several devotees

Video credits :   Thanks to  “Sharp videos” / Thirukoshtiyar Vembu/                                     4000 divyaprabhandam