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Every year the holy Panchasamaskara Vybhavam of Swamy Ramanujar is celebrated at Madhurantakam in grand manner during Avani Month in Sukla Paksha Panchami Thi-thi. ( the very next day after the Vinayaka Chathurthi ).

The Pancha samaskara Vybhavam is enacted under tree very same Maghizam tree where original event took place long long ago every year .

 

videos  courtesy : Sriman Ranganathan Srinivasan

Pics courtesy  : Shared by several devotees in social media

Few hundred years ago   Gangaikonda Chozhapuram a place  in Tamil Nadu ,  was ruled by the Cholas  who  were active patrons of the arts , poetry, drama, music and  dance .  The Chola kingdom grew  into an extensive and well-knit empire, efficiently organized and administered by the King .

One fine day  two courtesans from other kingdom  came  to meet the King for his generosity in encouraging their talents . One of them  could sing according to a  pattern  called deva‐gana (celestial mode) and  the other  could sing in the normal method   manushya gana (human mode). Each thought their music was the best  and   excelled the other. Their objective of having an audience with  the King was to settle the dispute  between them  as the King was well versed in those forms of art .

The king  summoned his  royal artists and ordered  the  council to meet, for them to  perform .  In the process ,  the council of royal artists agreed that the courtesan who sung with manushya gana was better than the deva gana  . Thus   the dispute was decided in favor of  the manushya gana .  Rich presents  was  bestowed on that performer with all the honours  while the other was considered to have failed.

The lady of the deva‐gana thought thus  “My method of singing, cannot be appreciated by normal  humans and hence  I shall  submit  the same to the Devas (celestial beings)” in all the temples . So with  deep concern ,  she went to the temples  from one Holy Shrine to another  displaying her art to the deity and seeking their blessings

 In due course  she reached Viranarayanapuram a place near to Kattumannar koil .  She went to the Shrine of  Lord Veeranarayana Perumal  and  sang her song  among  the  opulence audience of our great  Sage Nathamuni  the torch bearer of Srivaishnavam . Nathamuni  was pleased with her recitation  and as a mark of his appreciation  blessed  her   with the tirtha and prasada of  Perumal and encouraged her  with blessings .

The lady thanked  Swami Nathamuni for his  patience and accepting her song  and blessing  on her . Overjoyed ,  she then went to king Chola and said    Oh Highness !! Atlast  “there is one soul, at least in your kingdom , who can understand the inner truth  of my devaganam .  Swamy Nathamuni,  who is the blessed devotee of Lord Mannanar at Viranarayanapuram is the reason for your country’s prosperity .

The king was curious to know about the sage . He sent  his messengers to  Swamy Nathamuni, begging him to visit his  royal palace .  Swamy  Nathamuni ,  on receiving the invitation, thought  “We have set the blessed Divya  Prabhandhas to exquisite music. Let us visit the king’s court, and take this opportunity of making these holy hymns  known to the world. Thus he went to the king’s court taking it as Lord’s command .

On his arrival, the king rose and welcomed  the Sage with every mark of honor,  and offered him a suitable seat. Whereon the Sage blessed the king, and inquired as to his object in inviting him. The king  submitted  “Holy sage can you distinguish between the  two patterns of ragas sung by these courtesans  ? Can we be enlightened about this inner secret ?

Swamy Nathamuni  requested that the performance be given  once again before the audience .  When this was done, he addressed the king  and said  “You all have ears  to receive the flow of  the manushya‐gana only.  The other one can be understood by  the Devas  only .

 “But”, the king respectfully asked, how can we be made to hear it? There upon  Swamy Nathamuni  directed that the 400 kinds of tala (rhythm) be marked, and explained to the king the rate of each. The king understood from this explanation the  harmonical progression and symphony  in which this  is composed  to the deva‐gana music, which produced in him a bliss never  experienced before  .

 A small demonstration was also shown among the elated arts lovers .A  pair of cymbals was placed near a consecrated post while  the deva‐ gana was sung. Over a period of time , it was found that the post began to melt. The singing was stopped  , and when an attempt was made to lift the cymbals, they stuck to the post  and when the music was once again played they came off.  It is said that Nathamuni directed a number of bronze cymbals of different weights to be sounded together and forthwith described correctly their different weights from a perception of the acute differences in the pitches of the notes. The king went into raptures over this, and falling at the feet of the Sage proposed to reward him abundantly.

But the Sage, to whom even the offer of Lordship over worlds was no temptation, politely declined the presents offered and blessing the king, returned to Viranarayanapuram. Thus with this incident the King  became a disciple of Swamy Nathamuni and spent his time at Kattumannar learning the esoteric truths regularly .

Swamy  Nathamuni set the 4000  Divya prabhandam to tune and music and taught to his dear disciples  Melai agatthazhwAn and Keezhai agatthazhwAn (his nephews) and propagated the divine nectar  in various divya desams. Nathamuni re arranged 4000 into four parts and introduced the same as part of recitation in Divya Desams, as part of worship.  

Once , the King  got down  along with his wives to Viranarayanapuram temple . Looking at the Royal couple  in such great ornaments, crown, and silk cloth,  Nathamuni for a moment lost himself and thought  Lord Krishna with His devis have come from Dwarakai. He fell at the feet of the king to prostrate. The king was shocked and immediately sprung to lift  Nathamuni . The King realised the deep devotion of the Sage and submitted himself .

During  another occasion, the king had  just completed discussing with the Sage about Lordships and  took Acharya’s permission to leave. He started walking towards the chariot. When he was about to board, (as usual, the king used to call the chariot driver on whose shoulder he  used to set  his foot to jump into the chariot), the driver was there for the king to jump in. After he jumped in, he saw below and it was  Nathamuni’s shoulder. The king was shocked . He got down to apologize  for his grave offence . He felt ashamed and said ! Swamin ….  “What have I done! Stepped on your shoulders! I have committed  a great apacharam!”

Nathamuni thought it  was Lord  Rama who had come by the chariot along with Sumanthrar. Hence, he offered his shoulders for Lord  to step into the chariot. That was  Nathamuni’s unalloyed devotion who was always in transcendental bliss always seeing LORDSHIPS everywhere .

One day  Nathamuni was in Samadhi Yoga. The  Chola  king  passed near Veeranarayanpura with his soldiers   after a hunting exercise.  The sage,  interrupted in his meditations by the attendant bustle, opened his eyes and, construing the party to be the divine Lord  Rama and his brother, on whom  his thoughts were wholly bent in meditation, followed the track of the party and walked with weary steps till the very gates of the Chola capital Gangaikondapuram  from Kattumannar Koil  and went searching ..

Nathamuni  already in that bliss  imagined that Lord Rama with his brother Lakshmana and  Mother  Sita is have come to  grace him .

He  fainted  at a place in a divine bliss  and  reached Lord’s abode  on an Ekadasi day.

More details about this great saint can be seen in the appended  linked post below

https://atomic-temporary-2692795.wpcomstaging.com/2015/01/09/lakshmi-natha-samarambham-nathayamuna-madhyamam/

All glories to Swamy Nathamunigal

 

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Pics : Google images

Though Thiruputkuzhi at Kancheepuram is considered as Jatayu Mokshaa kshetram , as per Srimad Valmeekee Ramayanam , Taket near Nasik is considered as the holy place where Lord Rama met the great devotee Jatayu .

This  Holy Dhaam is about 65 kms from Nasik on Igatpuri Road in Mumbai Highway road . Igatpuri is  in Daudhra village, Maharashtra,  which is about 45 kms from Nashik .A slight diversion from the Highway has to be taken to reach this village. This is the place where the devotee vulture, Jatayu Maharaj fought valiantly with the  demon  Ravana with the intention of rescuing  Mother Sitadevi and  gave his  life at the lotus feet of  Lord Sri Rama.

In this holy place , a replica of the vulture made from cotton is hung at the temple entrance . A priest recapitulated all the incidents – how  Maharaj Jatayu fought valiantly with  the demon Ravana, and left his body in the arms of  Lord Sri Rama informing the whereabouts of Loka Matha Sita .

Lord Rama performed last rites of Jatayu here . He  brought sacred water required for performing rites by shooting an arrow in the earth  , all sacred rivers assembled in the kund in front of the temple except for Prayag who is separted at a distance from the pond. (It is said that he hit the arrow into the ground for water and the kund here is therefore called  Sarva tirtha kund.)

The water level in Prayag pond always remains the same at all times., A tree under where Loka matha Sitadevi was observing the valiant fight between Jatayu and Ravana can be  seen. Lord Rama consoles Jatayu who informs  about Sitadevi’s abduction before breathing his last. Srirama blesses Jatayu by sending him to Paramapadam while Lakshmana looks on . Lord Rama performs  the last rites to the bird devotee for 13 days. Even Dasaratha did not get this  fortune  as  he  could perform only Jala tharpanam at Chitakoot.

 There is another Divyadesam which is connected to Jatayu.  Thiruputkuzhi is located 12kms west of Kanchipuram . It is the most sought vaishnava divya desam of Sri Vijaya Raaghava Perumal temple as it relates to the episode of Jataayu Moksham in the Srimad Raamaayana.

 

The 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/

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

The Astha-sakhis display the zenith of spiritual love for Radha and Krishna. No one can equal or exceed the love they bear for the Divine Couple. To increase the transcendental ecstasy of Radha and Krishna, the Parama-preshta Gopis show partiality; sometimes they favour Krishna, sometimes Radha. These Eight Gopis are the leaders of all the other gopis. Although these Varishtha Gopis are the leaders of millions of other gopis, because they are very greedy to earn Radha’s love , they always prefer to serve under the command of Radha and try to please her in every way possible. These gopi friends decorate their own dear friend Srimati Radharani   and they take Radharani’s side whenever she has a lover’s quarrel with Lord Hari. 

They please the Divine Couple by expertly singing, dancing and playing instrumental music. At the appropriate time they beg to be engaged in various appropriate services.

They serve palatable meals to the Divine Couple and afterward relish tasting the remnants left by Them. Their minds are pure and they are very expert and intelligent, so they serve Radha and Krsna very appropriately.  Lalita-devi is the leader and controller of all these exalted and worshipable young gopis.

How to reach:-

Barsana—–Anjanak(5 kms)——Kamai(3 kms)——Karela (4kms)

Karela village which is the appearance place of Champakalatha sakhi is about 12 kms from Barsana(Varsana)

Champakalatha sakhi is the third among the varishta ashta sakhis.  She is one day elder to RAdharani  and her  appearance day falls on Sapthami thithi in  Bhadrapad maas (one day before Radhashtami).   Her parents were  Arama and Batika  who were  at Karela , a tiny village which is about 12 kms from Barsana and 3 kms from Kamai Vishakha sakhi’s temple.

Champakalatha was an  expert cook .

She used to  offer  sweet delicacies for little Krishna and Radharani.   Her service included  offering  jewels and garlands  , beautiful clay dolls to please the Lordships .

As per the version of Brajvasis the divine sport  Rasakreeda started at this place-Karela.

The priest pointed towards a photograph  and shared an interesting incident .

Lord conceded to the request of Jamanda deva who was meditating on the transcendental pastime of Rasa kreeda-the divine dance performed by chinni Krishna with the gopikas at Vrindavan on Sharath Poornima.

The Lord appeared in his dream and said that his wish would be fulfilled.  The Lord instructed him to assemble the  few children of Braj and enact the Rasakreeda and assured that HE and Radharani would manifest in the children and presented two crowns to him to be adorned to the children depicting as Radha and Krishna.

 As  announced , Lord out of abundant mercy  appeared in the villager’s dream and instructed them to send their children along with the sadhu.  Next day, Jamand dev approached the brahmins to send their children and they obliged to his request immediately .  Jamand dev brought the children to this temple and decorated them as Krishna, Radha and gopikas.  As per Lord’s instructions, he adorned the children acting as Radha and Krishna with the crown.

 The moment they  were crowned , the children disappeared.The sage was perplexed and worried .  He started contemplating on the Lord and prayed to him fervently.  Lord appeared and  showed him the children who were already performing the Rasa kreeda grandly.

The Sadhu was pleased and offered obesiances to LORD for the mercy .

The   Lord  commanded  the brahmins of the village to spread HIS pastimes in other places too  .

The brahmins started executing the Lord’s orders.  In due course, they reached a place in Madhya Pradesh  wherein  the  king of that territory   asked them to perform Kalinga Narthanam on  a real  snake else they would be punished severely.

 The perplexed brahmins shared the king’s orders with the children.  The boy who was playing the role of Krishna advised  the brahmins to accept the request without any hesitation  . The entire episode of Kalinga Narthanam which took place during Krishnavataram was re-enacted  before the arrogant King.

Lord  Krishna HIMSELF took on the boy’s role and started dancing on the hoods of the snake and suddenly disappeared into the waters and there was no trace of the boy for nearly three hours .

The brahmins and the king  who believed that it was a divine will were worried about the boy’s welfare.  The king with fear submitted to LORD .He  was worried that he had committed brahma hathi dosha(sin by killing a brahmin boy) and sought forgiveness at the lotus feet of Krishna.  Krishna appeared on the banks of the river and everyone was glad to see the boy alive.

 The king, who by now was repenting for his foolishness presented a 5 kg makut (crown) to be adorned to Krishna.  This crown is kept in Mathura in safe custody.

It  is brought once in a year to this temple with paraphernalia and Lord Krishna adorns it on Bhadrapad Pournami day.  A big festival takes place and all the devotees ,especially sadhus are fed sumptously  reminding this divine leela .

As a part of our Piligrimage yatra  recently , when we went to the temple, as part of the forthcoming celebrations, Srimad Bhagavata saptaham was  being recited .

Jai Sri Radhey Shyaam

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

The Skanda Purana 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; o 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 .

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

The Astha-sakhis display the zenith of spiritual love for Radha and Krishna. No one can equal or exceed the love they bear for the Divine Couple. To increase the transcendental ecstasy of Radha and Krishna, the Parama-preshta Gopis show partiality; sometimes they favour Krishna, sometimes Radha. These Eight Gopis are the leaders of all the other gopis. Although these Varishtha Gopis are the leaders of millions of other gopis, because they are very greedy to earn Radha’s love , they always prefer to serve under the command of Radha and try to please her in every way possible. These gopi friends decorate their own dear friend Srimati Radharani   and they take Radharani’s side whenever she has a lover’s quarrel with Lord Hari.

The introduction details can be read from this appended post linked below

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

Indulekha is the sixth varishta gopi among the ashtasakhis who was always engaged in the transcendental services of Radha and Krishna. She appeared on dwadasi day after Radhastami to SAgara and Vela devi .  There is a separate temple dedicated to her at Anjanauk which is about 5 kms from Barsana.

She was constantly engaged in the services of Srimati RAdharani and Sri Krishna, especially fanning the Lordships with chamaram. She belongs to the village of Anjnauk and her home is in Yavat.

The temple priest explained about an interesting incident related to this place. The ashta sakhis were dressing up RAdharani  with the finest jewellery and flowers in an attractive way to please little Krishna but forgot to apply kajal  (collyrium)   for HER eyes.  Little Krishna came much before the anticipated time . The priest pointed out to Anjan shila , a small  black stone inside the temple saying that the shila offered to be of service to Radharani  and produced kajal which was applied to RAdharani’s eyes thus enhancing HER beauty.  Even today, when we rub our finger on the stone, we get kajal.

Jai Sree Radhey Shyaam

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

The  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 .

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.

The Astha-sakhis display the zenith of spiritual love for Radha and Krishna. No one can equal or exceed the love they bear for the Divine Couple.

To increase the transcendental ecstasy of Radha and Krishna, the Parama-preshta Gopis show partiality; sometimes they favour Krishna, sometimes Radha. These Eight Gopis are the leaders of all the other gopis.

Although these Varishtha Gopis are the leaders of millions of other gopis, because they are very greedy to earn Radha’s love , they always prefer to serve under the command of Radha and try to please her in every way possible. These gopi friends decorate their own dear friend Srimati Radharani   and they take Radharani’s side whenever she has a lover’s quarrel with Lord Hari.

The introduction details can be read from this appended post linked below

LORD KRISHNA’S ASHTA SAKHI TEMPLES NEAR BARSAANA VRINDAVAN.. An Introduction

In most of the temples, in Braj bhoomi, we  have darshan of  Radharani  and  Lord Krishna being flanked by two sakhis, Lalitha and Visakha.  Among them, Lalithasakhi  is the  leader and chief  of all the Ashta sakhis.

She is the constant loyal companion and follower  of Radharani and always takes HER side. Her only desire is to serve RAdha and Krishna always , and Lord KRishna who is bound by bhakti alone, keeps her beside HIM.

Lallitha sakhi temple, Ooncha gaon— preparations for abhishekam

She is  elder to Radharani. But as per the prevailing custom, her appearance day is celebrated as “Lalitha Sashti” which occurs two days before Radhashtami.  She appeared at a place called  Karhela to Visokha and Sarada devi . Her parents later shifted to Ooncha gaon where there is a big temple dedicated to her. Ooncha gaon is 2 kms from  Barsaana.

Route:-   Barsana——Ooncha gaon(2kms)——Sunera(3 kms)——- Barsana

But as it was the appearance day of Lalitha sakhi, we were told that abhishekam would start at noon and hence we drove straight to Sunera which is 3 kms beyond Oonchagaon to have darshan of Sudevi and then returned to Ooncha gaon.  Lalitha sakhi’s temple is situated on a small hillock. The big hall in front of the altar was already crowded with devotees who unmindful of the scorching heat were immersed in bhajans.

To have the feel of the transcendental bliss , devotees  advise   we should first have the grace of Lalitha sakhi, then Giri Goverdhan and River Yamuna.  Lalitha sakhi is so merciful that she can read one’s mind longing for Krishna and voluntarily convince and compel Radharani and Krishna to grace the person  and ensures that the fallen souls attain Lords’ lotus feet.

 The great saint  Srila Rupa Goswami, one of the shat-goswamis of Vrindavan sought refuge at Lalitha sakhi’s lotus feet to enjoy the Madhurya rasam of Radha and Krishna.  The followers of Rupa Goswami, known as Rupanugas, first pray to Lalitha sakhi for her grace.

Lalitha sakhi is sharp witted and always immersed  in the pastimes of Radha and Krishna.

Lalitaji  appearance  in the village of Karhala where  Dadhi Daan (a ritual celebration of Sri Krishna’s appearance  involving the throwing of dahi mixed with turmeric) takes place every year. Karhala is considered the navel of Braj.

Her appearance day is celebrated grandly.  In fact, the appearance days of Radharani and ashta sakhis starts with Lalithaji’s appearance day only .

Our god-brother , H.G Shri.Rajagopalan ( Mouni baba) was kind to accompany us  to all the intricate places in Braj bhoomi and  offered all the paraphernalia  required for Lalitha sakhi devi’s abhishekam . We had handed over all the abhishkeam articles in the morning itself…

The temple premises was jam packed.  Despite the scorching heat, the assembled devotees were doing bhajan and few artistes were performing dance accompanied by songs in Braj language in front of the mandapam where the abhishekam ritual was to be held.

Myself and Sri.Rajagopalan were ushered inside and were allotted a place to sit  on the dias and watch the abhishekam.  It is a usual practice for everyone to  observe fast by not even taking water and were so engrossed in Krishna bhakti and were chanting loudly “Radhey Radhey” .

This made me realise and recollect  our poorvacharyars craving to be associated with  Braj bhoomi.  Parasara bhattar, the prominent Srivaishnava acharyar used to lament that he was not born in Braj bhoomi amidst these innocent gopis .  

Bhoomidevi who appeared as Kodhai(Andal) in Srivilliputtur and was brought up by Periazhwar imagined HER to be one of the gopis of Vraj and did paavai nombu.  Such is the greatness of Braj mandal.

 Every inch vibrates with Krishna bhakti.  One has to personally go there to have a feel of this.

Unlike South Indian tradition, these pujaris have a different way of performing abhishekam. It is usual practice in South Indian temples to place the dieties on the abhishekam table, offer shodasa upacharams, pour sanctified water, milk,curd,honey etc through conch and adorn the dieties with various garlands.  We use sahasradhaara plate to gently give shower to the dieties amidst chanting of pancha sukhtam.  But here, the custom is different.

At noon, Lalitha devi-the chief of ashta sakhis was  brought to the mandapam and a silver vessel was placed on a table .

These pujaris who have herditary right assembled together and one of them held the diety above the vessel.  A holed mud pot was  held above Lalitha sakhi’s head and through it the remaining priests start pouring milk,curd, honey, juice, ghee, butter etc simultaneously.

 All the people having hereditary rights were given a chance to pour these abhishekam items on her.  

This ritual took place for about 10 to 15 minutes after which the curtains are drawn and the deity was  taken inside for decoration.

 Later chappan bhog is offered to the diety and distributed amongst the devotees.

 Appended above are the video clips and pictures

Jai Jai Sree Radhey shyaam

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

 

Chinni  Krishna is  worshipped  at  Guruvayur temple in  Kerala  for ages.

HE  is the same    LORD  whom  Vasudeva worshipped as per  the puranas  at  Mathura. The holy town of Mathura has the presence of Lord Sri Hari always.

  

Chinni Krishna who  graces us  in Guruvayur was originally   at Adikeshava temple before arriving to Guruvayur.

  
It is verily the  Aradhanai performed to  Chinni  Krishna that Lord  appeared  to Vasudeva and Devaki. In other words, the Guruvayur  Chinni Krishna bestowed us with Lord Sri Krishna ,  Srimad Bhagavatam and Narayaneeyam . 

 Vasudeva continued  worshipping  this LORD  in Adikeshava temple along with chinni krishna .   It was during Jarasandha adventure , the denizens of Mathura along with  Lord Krishna vacated Mathura and settled in Dwaraka .

 Vasudeva couldn’t part with  Lord Adikeshava  .  Hence he took the Lordships  along with him  to Dwaraka and established a temple for his worship . When Lord Sri Krishna was about to depart from his earthly sojourn, he  advised   his dear friend Uddhava that Dwaraka would be submerged in the sea soon after his departure and instructed him to  worship  Lord  Adikeshava ( Krishna). As per Krishna’s ordinance, Uddhava was worshipping the Lordships . That is verily the reason why the Lord in Guruvayur is a connoisseur of Srimad Bhagavatam.

 

 Uddhava  proceeded  to Bhadrikashrama   as Dwaraka was getting submerged in the  sea waters . Guru and Vayu  on a divine  command  carried   the  Lordships to Narayana Saras where ParamaShivan was  residing  and meditating  in a temple. On seeing  the Lordships , it is said that  ParamaShivan moved out of the temple and shifted to a place called Mammiyoor.

So  ParamaShivan  gave his own place to Lord Krishna and that is verily where Guru and Vayu consecrated Krishna.  Lord  has  bestowed HIS grace to several devotees  and their life stories inspire us to seek HIS mercy to swim out from this mundane life .  

 Narayaneeyam, considered to be a magnum opus of  the great devotee  Sri Meppathur Narayanabhattathiri,  is a masterly summary of  Srimad Bhagavatam in 1034 sanskrit slokas of great poetic merit.

 

 The great devotee  Sri Narayana Bhattadri  appeared  in a Namboodri family in a place near Shoranoor  four hundred years ago  .

His Guru  Achyuta Pisharodi  was suffering from severe arthritis.  The obedient disciple he was , could not see his Acharyar with the pain .

With  humility , Narayana Bhattadri took upon himself the disease of his Guru as Guru Dakshina. 

 

Bhattadri could not bear the  chronic pain . He approached Ramanuja Ezhuthachhan another blessed devotee  for a remedy .

 Ezhuthachhan advised him to go to Guruvayoor and  submit to the LORDSHIPS  and glorify HIS divyaleelas .

Bhattadri who was in early thirties   shifted to Guruvayoor and started his  divine work  and aptly named  the epic Narayaneeyam.

 Recollecting the divine leelas from the Srimad Bhagavatha Purana  he composed the  nectarine  work .  

 

With the chronic arthritis pain he used to walk up to the temple and in a day he would  compose  10 verses .  

The grand epic  took  the ardent devotee quiet some time   .

As per the legend , the work  was started  during  1584 and  almost took three years .

Though he did not mention any thing about his sickness and suffering in the first two chapters, the third chapter is essentially a plea by him to Lord of Guruvayur to cure hi, in one verse, he says that he may not be able to continue what he was doing.

 

From then on, in the last verse of every chapter, he mad e a plea to God to cure him.
The first 36 chapters dealt with various incarnations of Lord Vishnu, and chapters 37-88 deals exclusively with the story of Lord Krishna. Chapters 89-99 dealt with the extolling of Vishnu as a primeval God as well as several philosophical concepts. The last chapter is a mellifluous description of the lord from head to foot.

It was completed on 27-11-1587 as denoted by the last words of the great work, which also means, long life, health and happiness. People believe that when reciting the last Chapter Melpathur was able to see Lord Guruvayurappa before him and once he completed this chapter he got completely cured of his disease.

 

Bhattadri had an understanding with Lord  Guruvayoorappan that unless and until HE nodded in ascent about his composed work  recited, he would not go to the next verse.

Thus this work is what LORD  himself has approved and that is why the greatness of the work. 

The nectar “Narayaneeyam”  comprises of 1034 verses in Sanskrit.

It is Bhagavata Saram.

 Vishnu Sahasranamam was recited in presence of Lord  Krishna by Bhishma lying on the bed of arrows  and  Narayaneeyam got  LORD’s sanction .

 The Holy epic  ” Narayaneeyam”   has detailed the descent of the Lord from Hamsa Avatar, Marichi, Brahma, Devas, Rishis Kapila, Koorma,  Parasuramar along with  the Poorna Avatarams  Sri Rama and Sri Krishna.

The work can be read as poetry or recited as slokas or can be set to music.

 It is believed that the Lord gave darshan to Bhattadri as  Lord Narasimhan and   Lord Venugopalan.

The Bala Leela of Sri Krishna infatuated him and his verse starting with “Kesha Pasha” is the most enticing sloka.

While describing  Lord  Narasimha avatar, he was so much in awe and wonder that after stating “Sthambe Kottayathi” he could not proceed further on this  wonderful avatar. He proceeded to sing in praise of Lord Guruvayoorappan.

During the Vamana avatar, when Brahma, Sooryadeva , Kubera and others had gifted many things necessary for a Brahmachari mother Aditi not knowing what to give, finally gave him a Koupikam  ( piece of cloth made of red cloth to HIM).

During the nirmalya seva even today  Lord  Guruvayoorappan gives darshan to HIS devotees in this piece of red cloth bereft of all HIS accessories. ( This  divine pastime shall shared  in  a separate  post soon  ) 

While  he was contemplating on   Lord  Krishna avatar, Bhattadri asks Guruvayoorappan ……..

Oh Lord !! “ Did you appear  with Shanku, Chakram and Mahalakshmi on your Vakshasthala on a rainy day at midnight with your neelamegha shyamala  complexion?” Oh Lord !!!  When you gave darshan to Vasudevan and Devaki with your Sarva alankara was not the jail lighted because of the bright complexion of Mahalakshmi? …

The mood of  Bhattadree takes us into the deep insights of a craving soul to have his divine company …

  It  is confirmed that after he completed Narayaneeyam, he got cured of his chronic  arthritis.

Another contemporary of Bhattadri was one Poonthanam (author of Gnana Paana) in Manipravalam (Malayalam). He also hailed from Shoranoor. Poonthanam used to visit Guruvayoor on every Ekadasi and he watched Bhattadri writing about Guruvayoorappan.

He had also heard about the greatness of this great disciple . On one such occasion, Poonthanam with all humility approached Bhattadri with his work Gnana Paana to go through the same and offer his comments.

Bhattadri in his arrogance would not touch the work of Poonthanam as it was in Malayalam and not in Sanskrit.  

Poonthanam dejected went back to Shoranoor. Next day when Bhattadri sat down to continue his Narayaneeyam, to his surprise he realized he could not do so.

He asked Guruvayoorappan the reason for the same.

The Lord replied

“You have insulted my devotee yesterday and unless you go ask Poonthanam for his pardon and read his work, you will not be able to continue your work!”

Lord continued “Language is no barrier to Bhakti”.

 Bhattadri went to Poonthanam’s house and apologized  for the  offense . 

In Kerala it is a practice to recite Narayaneeyam at a stretch in one day and  the  devotees get dressed as per the avatar that was being recited .

The Priest  informed that the  28th Vrichikam is that glorious day  when  the nectarian  “Narayaneeyam” was completed few hundred years ago and  is celebrated at  Guruvayoor Temple   as “Narayaneeyam Day” and this year on Dec 13  th 2020  Discourses on Narayaneeyam  is  given by eminent scholars .

 

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Pics credits : Google images and advanced devotees

video credits :  Om shantih ,zeereddy

 Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

 Manarppakkathu Nambi   was an ardent devotee of  Lord Devaraja Perumal  of  Kancheepuram.  Nambi  was  residing  near the temple   and was   performing several  divine services daily  .  

For his unstinted devotion and service ,  Lord of Kanchi   Devaraja Perumal out of abundant mercy  taught him  few  esoteric truths  in his dream and  commanded Nambi,   My child  !! “Now that you have absorbed esoteric subjects from   me,  please  go to the  holy land between two rivers and await for the rest ……  

  (iraNdAtthukku naDuvilE centru kEtkkalAm)” 

 you  shall get the rest from there       .    

  Manarpakkam Nambi  was overjoyed with Lord’s  abundant  grace . He  faithfully  moved to           Srirangam and with the locals support built a small temple  for  Lord Varadarajar . As done earlier he  quietly lived there worshiping  the LORD    reflecting on the esoteric  meanings revealed by  Lord .

One day ,  Swamy Pillai  Lokacharya   the most respected Acharyar  along with disciples visited  the small  temple for having darshan of LORD   . Acharyar  was very pleased to see the ambiance around . Offering his obeisance’s  to LORD VARADARAJA  he felt like spending some more time inside the temple .

Observing   the quiet nature of the place  he began teaching his disciples   few  meanings of  esoteric truths .  Nambi  who was serving the Lordships  inside  the sanctum  was listening to  the discourse . He noticed Acharyas command in the subject  and related  the  meanings  quoted were  almost the same as revealed  by Lord Varadar in his dream .

Overjoyed ,  he rushed to the dais  amongst the advanced devotees and  bowing at  Swamy Pillai  Lokacharya’s  lotus feet, offered obeisance’s   and asked him…

Swamin !!

    avarO nIr?! avarO nIr?!      

(are you him? Are you the one?)……………………

To that    Swamy Pillai Lokacharyar  replied smilingly

    AAm.       seyvathu En?        

“Yes, my child !!  and why do you ask?”. Manarpakkam Nambi  submitted  his dream to him. .

Pillai Lokacharya  was glad to note about his  unstinted devotion to Lord . He showered his blessings at the young devotee  and took him as his disciple.  Swamy  advised him to join the assembled group of devotees and  taught  him the meanings  in detail .  

 The entire summary of these esoteric truths turned  out to become  ” Sri Vachana Bhushanam  ”  the most  important book  for all the  srivaishnavas .

“however  lower in caste one is born doesn’t matter for me, if he is a bhAgavathOththaman,  he is my swAmi”. Having these meanings in mind the  divine outpourings are summed up …..

Pillai Lokacharya’s primary disciples were Koorakuloththama Dasa, Manarpakkam Nambi, Kollikavala Dasa , Kotturilanar and Vilanjsolai  Pillai.

Pillai Lokacharya authored several works including the eighteen rahasya granthas known together as Ashtadasa  Rahasya and Gadyatraya Vyakhyanam.

Pillai Lokacharya  expresses in his works , that  LORD  sees this sorry state of affairs of  jivatmas  and thinks of  simple  ways and means of correcting  them who have strayed  in the wrong path.  Lord’s abundant  mercy  blesses them  to seek salvation by making them understand the real purpose of life . They seek a good  teacher  in understanding the esoteric truths and start serving LORD  .The dangers  of this life with its temporary pleasures but permanent derailment in taking repeated births  makes them  worried . They realize that life in this world is comparable to the life of a helpless frog caught in the mouth of a snake . A doe caught in a forest fire running hither and thither not knowing where safety lies. Realising  their fate is none better than that of a helpless ant caught between the two ends of a burning stick and  torn  by the five senses seek refuge ..Swamy Pillai Lokacharya wrote 18 rahasyas books expounding the fundamental vaishnavite philosophy and shastras. The Archiradhi is one such rahasya   .Swamy  Pillai Lokacharya’s magnum opus  “Sri Vachana Bhushanam”  is  an ornament of  divine outpourings from  our revered Poorvavacharyas. This great work consists of  almost 465 aphorisms which all sri vaishnavas must strive to follow by Acharyars  krupai and revelation .The master piece of the work discusses in detail about Lord , Goddess, bhakthi and   Prappathi   ,  service to Acharya and Acharyar as a means to obtain the  goal , the greatness of the ones who follow the above path , the great ones who are scholars in the scriptures and their joy in attaining the desired goal.

Lokacharyar Sri Pillai Lokachariar was instrumental in saving our rich legacy of darisanam by  taking the most privileged service of bringing  Namperumal safely out of Srirangam during the  tyrant Malik Kafur  invasion during the year 1323.

Lokacharyar along with many disciples went through the rough terrains, forests, and so on, carrying our LORD safely  .

When they reached Jyothiskudi, near to  Madurai , Swamy Pillai Lokachariar realized that he cannot carry on any more, so he decided to stay in Jyothishkudi itself serving the LORD incognito . He  advised  his  disciples  to  remain devoted to LORD always . Lokaacharyan was rightly glorified as ulagAriyan – ( teacher of the universe).

While Swamy was about to leave this world and reach  Acharyan’s Lotus feet, he started touching the ants and other such insects near  to him with compassion … ( as all  such living beings  will get to reach Sri Vaikunta if they have got that service  done by a Sri Vaishnava).

Such was Sri Pillai Lokacharya’s Karunya towards the living beings.

Tomorrow November 4th is Appearance day of our Acharyar

Lokaachaarya gurave krSHNapaadhasya soonave |
samsaarabhogi sandhaSHta jeeva jeevathave namaha ||

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Pics : Courtesy Google images

 

Once  , Thirumisai Azhwar came to have a darsanam  of Lord  Aaraamudha perumal   near Kumbakonam at Tamilnadu.    Azhwar  was very much impressed by  Lord’s  beauty .

He instantaneously recited ..

Nadanda kalgal nondhavo nadunga gnala menamai

Idanthamei kulungavo vilangumaal varaichuram

Kadanda kaal parandha kavirikarai kudanthaiul

Kidanthava yezhundirundu pesu vazhi kesane

Meaning O lord !  your lotus  feet must be  feeling the pain walking  the worlds  covered  with  mountains,   thorns etc  .

Your lotus feet are very soft that even Mother Lakshmee  feels her  service may hurt  LORD if she touches them. 

 

AzhwAr then realizes that  as LORD  went to the pAtALa lOka to rescue Mother during varAha avatAra, perhaps  due to this   LORD  should be relaxing in this pose .

While Azhwar was enquiring ,  Lord casually  lifted up His head to get up and reply to  AzhwAr  as he said said ‘pESu’ in his divine verse  ( speak my LORD ) ..

  Azhwar did not  want  to disturb his yoganidra  and hence  prayed LORD   to remain in the same posture so as to bless each devotee  coming  to HIM praying  .

The Azhwar  thus requested  LORD  to remain in the reclining position as this posture of  LORD looked very attractive .

 The  divine pose of  LORD Aara Amudhan is called as Uthra Sayanam and he is thus called as Uthanasai. 

Lord Aramudhan like Sonnavanam saitha Perumaal of Thiruvekha Divya Desam  at Kancheepuram has also received credit for obeying His dear devotee Thirumisai Azhwar.

 Due to the above reason  LORD  is  glorified  as Aramudha Azhwan  and the Azhwar as Thirumahizai Piran.

The word Piran means Lord.

As Thirumahizai Azhwar asked Perumaal to get up from His  serpent bed, Azhwar was given the title of “Piran” by  LORD .

Aramudhan took the title “Azhwan” to show us HIS  love  towards  Azhwar.  Lord’s sparkling  darshanam  of his cheeks (so chubby )  pulls our soul to  just be there for ever .

 Lord’s coral lips   invites HIS devotee which has a   half-smile (“Punmuruval”) indicating  HIS mercy and  pleasure  seeing us.  Lord’s  broad forehead is adorned by a sparkling green gem, triangular in shape .

 Lord’s long thighs and then  legs, resembles  the trunk of a magnificent tusker,  encased in soft and supple silk, while the broad and beautiful chest sports several strands of gold and pearl necklaces ,  with goddess  Mahalakshmi.

Mother Sri Devi and Bhoodevi  grace us  on either side of the Lord, in postures of devotion.   As noticed in Thiruvellarai Divyadesam , similar  feature of this beautiful temple is that the sanctum sanctorum has two entrances, each with nine steps-one used during Dakshinaayanam and the other during Uttaraaayanam.

 Everything about the Lord  here is elixir .

check the video

None  of the devotees will exclaim  “I have had enough of this Lord”, the desire to see Him and be with Him increases  with every  darshan .

Among the Azhwars seven  out of twelve have immersed there divine thoughts and glorified the boundless beauty of  Lord Aaraavamudan and devoted around 51 nectarine verses  in the DivyaPrabhandam .

This nectarine Lord is sweet not only to our external senses like the eye, ear and the nose, but provides an incomparably pleasurable sensation all over, inside and out and in the soul too-

 “Aaraavamudaai adiyen aavi agame tittippaai”. 

When we relish  something very sweet  we become sick eating the same  recipe  repeatedly . This is true for all material  and  worldly enjoyment all through in our lifestyle.  But once we engage  our senses towards the omnipotent LORD  we find that we can  relish HIM   continuously without  any hindrances and  not getting  bored.

 Once we follow the Nava Vidhi Bhakthi  as advised by Elders viz:   Shravanam  , Kirtanam  Smaranam ,  Pada sevanam , Archanam , Vandanam  Dasyam ,  Sakhyam and finally   Atma Nivedhanam  the purpose of our Life is realised . The more we  start enjoying  the nectar that is LORD HIMSELF , the more we want to continue enjoying this nectar as our desire for this nectar becomes insatiable .

 Aaramudhan means  “the pure nectar which can never produce satiety”.  NammAzhwar glorifies LORD as  “Ara Amude” and  expresses Oh Lord !! ,

‘When I  have your divine darshan !  my body melts in the love  and the separation from your divineself  means  am washed out   with a  torrent force of a  flood away .  

Oh Lord!  such  overflowing emotions……..  grace me  because of your  abundant mercy you have for me.

Lord Aramuda Perumaal compassion on HIS devotees is unlimited .  When all of us celebrate Diwali in our houses , LORD  performed last rites for one of His  ardent devotees.

 The divine pastime goes like this .

There lived a devotee  named ” Lakshmi Narayana ”  in this holy place . Narayana spent his entire life doing  services to Lord Aramudhan. He was  the one who built the Rajagopuram  which is app  44-m tall, 11-tiered tower by collecting  small small donations from devotees and strived hard to finish the task  . 

He had surrendered all his wealth and everything in the noble service .Narayana swamy  who became old   ,passed away, on  a  Deepavali Amavasya day .The  devotees  were worried about performing his last rites as he had no progeny and neither he adopted any one .  His entire life was serving the LORDSHIPS  with total surrender .

When the  Priest  entered the sanctum  sanctorium of Lord Aramudhan he noticed that  Lord  was wearing the yagnopavithram in the direction worn while performing last rites. The Priest  thought that he had made a mistake while decorating LORD  on the previous day.

Therefore he corrected the direction of the yagnopavithram but to his utter amazement found that the yagnopavithram switched direction again. The Priest  realized that it was  Lord’s  way of saying that He was going to perform the last rite for his devotee  Narayana .

 And ever mindful of His duties, He continues to perform the annual shraaddham for this sincere  devotee , to this day.  Narayana’s  sculpture with folded hands adorns one of the pillars in the pradikshina marga .

 Lord performed the last rite for Jatayu during Rama Avataram and as  Lord Aaramudhan performed the rites for  his devotee Narayanaswamy.

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Pics : Credits  Google images ( Thanks to all the devotees who uploaded them )

 

  Swamy Ramanuja  went to meet  Acharyar  Peria Nambi    .

With all humility he prostrated himself  and apologized for  any  offense he had  committed in falling short of having the darshan of  “His Holiness  Acharyar Swamy Yamunacharyar”.

 Swamy Ramanuja expressed his misfortune in not being able to serve the legendary Acharyar Swamy Yamunacharyar and missing his elderly counsel in a whisper  .

Gurudeva !  said Ramanuja  I need that knowledge  !!

With great delight  the  Acharyar replied

  My child ,

The essence of  our Holy faith is embedded in the Dwayam  Mantra  !!

The  power and the purifying meritorious  essence is  absolute healing ..

My dear child !  Remember  !! 

 

There is but One God  and He is All merciful  and is therefore   is our only  way  .

He is all knowing and All mighty and is there for our sake   .

The souls destination  and aim is therefore uplifting ourselves in the  living service at his lotus feet forever . 

My child ,

I wish you personally meet the great Acharyar Thirugoshtiyur Nambee  for knowing the eternal meaning of the Dwayam mantram along with the significance  of the  great  Eight syllabled   Thirumantra   . 

  May all auspiciousness be with you .

Ramanuja was overwhelmed with his Acharya’s advise .

He decided to immediately leave to Thirugoshtiyur to have Acharyar Tirukkottiyur Nambi’s  lessons .

Thirukoshtiyur can be reached  from Srirangam about  two hours by a vehicle .  But in those days one had to walk about 150 miles distance to reach the holy place.  Thirukoshtiyur is  worshipped as the srivaishnava divya desam of Lord Sowmya Narayana Perumal  .  

 

The place  name is  derived from its nativity  Thiru-kotiyur. (Repeatedly attacked by the demon Hiranyakashipu  during Kritha yuga the  devatas , Saptharishis along with  Brahma and Paramashivan  met at one place to discuss about the future and submitting to Lord SrimanNarayana .

All unanimously chose Thirukotiyur as the meeting place ) As  all  of them met at this place  name came to be glorified  as Thirukoshtiyur, koshti means in group or as a team. Since this was the place where the Lord decided to  appear ,  

Peria Azhwar sings in his very first pasuram of 4000 Divyaprabhandam  that this was the holy  place of  Lord Krishna appeared ……  and hence becomes the very first Srivaishnava Divyadesam as Azhwar begins  glorifying the Lord   from Thirukoshtiyur Divya desam.

The  magnificent temple revered as the southern Badrinath has a  Lord Santhana Krishnan deity  in the main sanctum ..

 The deities can be worshipped in all three postures -standing, sitting and relaxing . In Ground floor  Lord Krishna graces us  in dancing posture –depicting Bhoolokam.

In the next level  LORD  is in Sayana Thirukolam a posture resting on Adhisesha – depicting Devalogam. Directly above this the Lord is in Iruntha Kolam – depicting Indralogam.

And top most level in standing posture as Sri Sowmya Narayana Perumal – depicting  Sri Vaikuntam”.  Swamy Thirukoshtiyur Nambi lived at this holy place serving Lord Sowmya Narayana Perumal.

Ramanuja  reached  Thirukoshtiyur. The village was vibrating with   a serene atmosphere with  peace everywhere . He  offered his obesiances to the temple gopuram………

and finding few passer-by’s   around he asked them , 

I am Ramanuja from Srirangam ,

please guide me to the place where the revered  Acharyar Thirukoshtiyur Nambee lives .

The villagers were surprised to hear this name . They knew there was vedic chanting  regularly being heard from the street besides the temple …

They said ,

Acharyar Thirukoshtiyur Nambee   !..

for some time they were pondering  .

Suddenly one said ! Oh yeah the learned one where we hear the vedic chants

Oh yes !.

There that Swamin  lives in that small  hut.

.

 Swamy Ramanuja immediately falls like an uprooted tree looking at the hut offering his obesiances .

It is told by our elders , swamy ramanuja did not walk , instead prostrated  offering obesiances  ( dandaavats)  until   he reached the acharyans residence .

 

The villagers were surprised to note that they were living amongst a great personality and never knew his opulence for his mere  simplicity  .

Eager to meet the Acharyar , Swamy Ramanuja waits for His permission at the entrance of the hut  .

There is silence .

Ramanuja calls ,  Acharya  !!  Acharya  !! 

Swamy Mahapurnar sent me here ….

Acharyar Nambi walks to find out who the person was as he had referred Swamy Mahapurnars name…  

  He gets a reply ……

who is that ???

  Ramanuja offers obesiances and  replies 

Acharya !  I am Ramanuja .

My Acharyar Mahapurnar  has sent me to learn the esoteric truths of Dwayam and Thirumantram .

Acharyar  Nambi looks at Ramanuja and in order to test the strength of Ramanuja’s  steadfastness  tells him in a different tone..

Swamin !   

What I have to tell and to whom ? and thus gave no countenance  .

  Ramanuja never spoke  another word either way  .

He just prostrated  Acharyar   and returned to Srirangam .

Few days later , Thirukoshtiyur Nambi had to attend the temple festival at Srirangam .

He came to Srirangam and paid obeisance’s to the Lord  and was honored by the temple priests .

Lord Ranganathar commanded through the officiating priest  …

Acharya Nambee ..

” Do reveal all the divine knowledge to Ramanuja  who seeks  it in all the occult love of faith …..

. Thirukoshtiyur  Nambi  with all humility submits

Oh Lord !  It is your divine instructions to share the transcendental knowledge only to the deserving  and  am just carrying your instructions ….

I am just waiting to test Ramanuja for his dedication and absolute surrender to your lotus feet .

Not so in his case my dear Nambi ,  

commanded Lord Ranganatha as he is fully qualified according to the requirement of the text by body  and  mind  .

Looking at Ramanuja    who was serving the Lordships  ,

Acharyar spoke ..

Come to my place  soon  Ramanuja ….  and thus he  left Srirangam with due honours .

Ramanuja thanking the Lordships once again leaves to Tirukoshtiyur … .

……………..But ………he is for a surprise ……

No !!  Not this time Ramanuja ,

Can you go and come again  my child . 

Thirukoshtiyur Nambi replies ……………….

Ramanuja never ever imagined of a protest or felt irritated but simply reflected on the truth and calmly went back .

This happened for  almost 18 visits .

Thirukoshtiyur  Nambi was testing Ramanuja’s faith and the zeal in a ordeal of probation to see if his spirit was strong and capable of overcoming  the turbulent mind .

Thirukoshtiyur  Nambi  felt that  the occult truths are for the deserving and not for the ones who are waylaid by the material instincts . 

Ramanuja returned for the 18th time now. 

He had tears at the futility of his repeated efforts and was found deeply revolving in his mind as what was stopping Acharyar to reveal the knowledge .

He was inside the temple in  the mood of surrender for  Lord to somehow grace him  in seeking the revered Acharyars Thirukoshtiyur Nambi’s blessings .

All of a sudden he found a disciple of Thirukoshtiyur Nambi had come to Srirangam to attend the temple festival .

  Ramanuja enquired about  Acharyara Thirukoshtiyur Nambis welfare and requested the disciple to reveal the eligibility to seek Acharyar’s  good will and audience .

The disciple was calm . He prayed Lord for Ramanuja’s prayer to be answered as he saw in close quarters Ramanujas sincerity  . 

The disciple left to Tirokoshtiyur  and explained  Acharyar  about Ramanuja’s steadfastness to seek the esoteric truths .

 Thirukoshtiyur Nambi was pleased . 

He said …

Oh !!  Has he such keen appetite !!

Then I must feed him immediately .

He instructed his disciple to immediately leave to Srirangam and inform Ramanuja to appear along with his staff and pennant .

Ramanuja was delighted .

He  along with Dasarathi and Kooresa  swiftly left to Thirukoshtiyur . 

All the three fell at the  lotus feet of Thirukoshtiyur Nambi   ..

Nambi was surprised to see Dasarathi and Kooresa along with Ramanuja. 

Ramanuja understood .

He  said ! Holy Sire !

Am just following your commands  .

“Staff and Penant was your order”  .

Dasarathi ( MudaliAndaan ) is my staff and Kooresa is my pennant .

I am never without them.

Thirukoshtiyur  Nambi was pleased with Ramanuja’s  exemplary conduct .

The Acharya said , the one who has the direct blessings of  Lord Ranga himself revealed in his dream is bound to be given the sacred truths now . 

He took Ramanuja to a secret  chamber of his hut and revealed the truths of the Thirumantra .

He said        …. Ramanuja !!

  This mantra is the granter of every boon , promoter of devotion and dispassion .This is the mantra all sages and saints constantly recite and bestower of eternal bliss .

 

He then gave him the inner meanings of Dwayam Mantra in detail .

Ramanuja was reverently receiving the divine teaching for which he had made 18 visits .

Ramanuja could not contain the truths to himself though it was imparted under the pledge of secrecy .

He pondered Why these truths are so secret and guarded ?

If LORD is not for sinners ! who will uplift them ?

and how can they be uplifted without knowing the method .

He was concerned about his fellow jivas .

How and when will all of them reach the Supreme Personality of Godhead  .

Compassion and love for them burned in his heart . He was under  a fix . What If this transcendental knowledge is shared to so many jivas .

Will all of them not be uplifted ?

Will LORD not be pleased to see so many jivas uplifted ..

There were also few doubts ! what will  Acharyar feel ?

Will I not be punished for overlooking the secrecy . 

He recollected Azhwar’s soothing   verse 

” Kulam Tharum Selvam Thanthidum

Adiyar Padu Thuyar Ayinavellam

Nilam taram seyyum Neel Visumbhu arulum

Arulodu Perunilam alikkum

Valam Tharum Marrum Thanthidum

Petra Thayinum Ayina Seyyum

Nalam Tharum Sollai Naan Kandukondein

NARAYANA ennum Namam“

    Ramanuja finally decided he will go with his heart .

The next day he entered a big hall and invited all  the   interested people to assemble near the temple  . Glad to see the people his heart flowed to them in turbulence revealing the  transcendental nectar for their souls  to nourish which was soothing .

He discussed the truths for the spirit to get uplifted following the guided procedures tuning the mind , body for the souls emancipation .

The celebration of revealing and uplifting them made Ramanuja in bliss praying all the Acharyas and Lordships to uplift every jiva in this material world .

The news reached Thirukoshtiyur Nambi’s chamber .

Upset , he commanded Ramanuja to immediately report to him  and asked in tone of anger  Why did he overstep his instructions in revealing the noble truths of religion to the undeserved .

Ramanuja obediently replied……………….

Holy Sire ! I confess I am guilty of disobedience !

But……

I  revealed the truths to glorify  your authority  and the transcendental teachings

Thirukoshtiyur  Nambi was not satisfied .

He angrily said …….

Do you know the punishment for disobedience ?

Ramanuja replied Disobedience surely deserves me Hell .

I must be sent ,

No doubt at all………..

But  Master !! May I submit that it is a little sacrifice for one sinner to make in as much as it brings salvation to many .

It was compassion for the mankind that made me blind ! I seek forgiveness !

Please do whatever you wish   I deserve .

Am here just before with remorse …..

I surrender  to  your lotus feet  now …

 Thirukoshtiyur  Nambi was dumbstruck .

His heart moved looking at Ramanuja’s concern for the humankind .

His face said it all .

This thought never came to my crippled heart  he thought .

He could now understand  why   Ramanuja  was the favorite  child of Lord .

My heart never thought of this  he said .

I never felt that all love is  for mankind.

Thus vehemently forth new and strange emotions he rushed towards Ramanuja   and embraced  him .

You are EMBERUMANAR !!   truly  my   Yatiraja !!!!  my child !!!!

He had tears watching his magnanimity for the love for the fellow beings .   

   My child !! 

Henceforth these teachings will be glorified as   ” Emberumanar teachings” .

Ramanuja  replied  , Master! I am not to lay down low of you ..

Had I in the least thought that there were yet other secrets , I would have restrained but somehow the compassion for the human mankind gave me  into this pious act  .

I hold my peace .

It is for your holiness to decide what more I deserve to be taught .

Thirukoshtiyur  Nambi continued with emotion filled heart …..

My child  let that be deferred now !!

Come again Sure !! But Mind it !!

Come alone ……

Ramanuja fell at Nambis feet like an uprooted tree seeking forgivance and mercy repeatedly and proceeded to Srirangam .

Some time later Ramanuja came back to meet Thirukoshtiyur Nambi and humbled himself before the holy sire . 

Nambi clasping Ramanuja’s hands lovingly took him to a sequestered spot and adopting every precaution that no one may disturb them said ….

Listen …….

My dear Arjuna !! the secret of secrets I say it is good for you and as my dear friend and devotee It is the last word of the spiritual science

Give up entirely all other ways

Choose ME alone as the way

Thee from all sins I will absolve

No more than shalt thou mourn

My  child  !! Reveal not these holy truths to the undeserving , un serving , haters of Lord .Nambi continued,

 Ramanuja   If you value these truths then let not atheists and heretics hear them .

Guard them against such .

These  noble truths are to be shared only with the qualified and the deserving  .

Thirukoshtiyur Nambi summed up the full meaning of the eight syllable mantra and the other noble truths hidden in the other Rahasya mantras .

The short meaningful sentences offered by Nambi are very useful commandments for all srivaishnavas. 

The gist of the teachings are the pre requisites to be qualified to be eligible for the Thirumantra and Dwayam   teachings . 

A true  Vaishnava  is one who develops detachment being amongst  the family . Its similar to  a worm which lives in the dirty filth but not attached to the surroundings .

Wisdom engulfs the realized who knows this .

Over indulgence and  developing attachment to the body and people related through this body defeats the purpose of self awakening .

 Feeling depressed when others are seen happy takes us to a futile decision .

Surrender all the evil qualities ..

Dont develop Ego , Attachment , Craving , Arrogance , Pride etc  the qualities which will shatter your purpose of life .

 Avoid sensual pleasures that ruins your self.

Kill that I in you .

The I which identifies the world around you by calling I , Mine etc .. pulls you to bottomless pit of miseries slowly and invisibly .

My name , My caste , My wealth My love all goes on well till your body exists . Realise  always  , you are not this body but the self .

The name remains only with the body . We are a component of the divine spark always remaining in bliss . There are No likes or dislikes ….

Taking birth as a brahmin doesn’t qualify one’s birthright to become srivaishnava .

One needs to aspire to  become a Srivaishnava who  sees LORD in all the beings .

A Srivaishnava is not identified with his appearance with his Tilak ( Thiruman) nor the tulasimala .

He just lives for helping others .

Sri Vaishnavam is not a caste,  a group or association, with which one has to associate to reach HIM. It is open to one and all independent of caste, creed, gender and scholarship of the individual.

Our Sri Vaishnava siddhantam is as old as Veda itself.  All the vedas, upanishads, ithihasa puraanas and the Pancharatra and Vaikanasa Vaishnava agamas undoubtedly establish the supremacy of Lord Sriman Narayana, who is worshipped through the Ashtakshari Mantra .

 The moment you identify that you are a srivaishnava you get satvaguna by default . Azhwars have always preached the glory of Namasankeertana and seva.

Once you are in this mood ,  You reach the satwic  state  both by words and actions .

Slowly out of respect to Poorvacharyas and Azhwars you become humble , follow dharma and become a srivaishnava in all aspects .

You will slowly have attraction to the Holy name  and turn to devotion by  absolute surrender.

You will slowly realise being a devotee means you  must follow the dharmic principles ,  and due to that you start loving the devotees .

You will seek them , love them and be amongst them always .

The only job will be to discuss , recite and celebrate Lords glories and remain in this blissfull state always .

Nothing becomes important except HIS service and HIS devotees service .

Once you start developing these spiritual means in your daily life , Lord descends to be with you .

Lord out of his causeless mercy lives with you in every moment As the devotee has attained this blissful state , he prays LORD that this state remains forever .

Thus he is always in the devotees association . With this , the devotee decides to remain a servant to the LORD in all aspects just serving HIM with sheer love and depend on HIM for even the breath he inhales ..

The devotee slowly identifies his purpose of life and gradually lives seeking it by total surrender .

Once you reach this state,  the esoteric truths  learnt will become clear and the  mantra works in your favour  and then the emancipation happens automatically .

 Ramanuja felt to himself that as Lord Krishna preached eighteen chapters to Arjuna before revealing the final word , in order to test Arjuna’s mind  the eighteen trips imposed upon me by  Acharyar  was to  condition my  spirit in seeking the nectar of instructions .

Swamy Ramanuja’s is glorified at various holy places by the following names….

SriRangam                                      Koil Udayavar

ThiruAllikeni                                 Lakshmana Muni

Tirumala                                           Bhashyakaar

Melkote                                             Pesum Yathirajar

 

Madhurantakam                            Thiruppavai Jeeyar

Sriperambadoor                              Bhuthapuri Elayaazhwar

Thirukostiyoor                                  Goshtipuram Emperumanar

Thiruvaali Thirunagari                   Godagrajar

Srivalliputhur                                      Koil Annan

Azhwar Thirunagari                          Bhavishyad Acharyar

Thondanoor ( Karnataka)                 Sri Ramanujar Sheshavataram

Video credits : The Healthy 2010,  Hariprasad , RamyaGiri , Ammaskrishna

Pictures : Google images uploaded by several  advanced devotees /

Thanks to  Sri Varavara muni/Geethacharyan

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Once a disciple of the great Acharya Sri Periavachanpillai asked his Guru ,

Swamin ! My attempts to control the  EGO is  always ineffective and this EGO is not getting rid of me  .

Few  occasions this is  becoming more prominent and making me to  misconduct myself  repeatedly .

Gurudeva , adiyen is enslaved by my nature and am scared.

 Is there still any scope for me to attain the  Supreme Lord ?? or will this behaviour of mine throw me in the deep pit of hell .

The disciple was in distress .

The revered Acharya replied  ,

My Child !!

It is wrong for the jiva to think that he is the enjoyer or that he is totally independent . Once Lord decides to save the Jiva, he  makes him do good things and If  HE  wishes him to push him down  HE  makes him to do the evil deeds ….

 

 Pride is an alternative name for EGO .

The feeling  that  I am Independent , strong , wealthy , intelligent  , handsome etc compared to others invites this EGO with open arms .

 Such EGO is responsible for disrespecting Elders .

  The one who keeps EGO at a distance is alone eligible for God Realisation .

The paramour that accompanies the EGO  is the feeling of I ness or the feeling of mine .Whenever any attractive thing is perceived the mind wants to claim it or possess it .This feeling is  the wife of the EGO and as a chaste wife she will never leave her husband EGO .The children born to this couple are anger and jealousy .

The mischief created by these kids destroys the peace of the Jiva .

And to get rid of this couple  !!!! the jiva suffers ….

Its like this my child !!

The head of the family is EGO .

If one has to destroy him the wife will also end her life .

Due to their absence the kids jealousy and anger  also will vanish .

Whatever the Jiva does is under the control of the LORD .

Just as the minister  functions under the limited delegation conferred  by the King  even  the jiva  is   totally dependent  on Paramatma .

The jiva enjoys only the fruits showered by the Lord .

Just as the independent one and the one who confers the rewards is the King , the totally Independent Lord is the complete enjoyer .

The Lord who creates this universe is constantly at work and enjoys  the fruits also  .

We enjoy only the balance that is given to us , because we have served the Lord  in full faith and love .

We do not have  a life  of our own ( that is independent of hIM ) We are there to be used , where and when as required by HIM ..

The Lord is the principal enjoyer  .

It is to be understood that we are here to be enjoyed by Him .

Assume , a  person has  gifted a Jack fruit to a King .

The King receives  the entire fruit together with the skin and the fiber  .

But when he desires to eat the fruit the King enjoys the inner kernel after removing the fibre and the skin which are not needed .

In the same  manner LORD  who is the principal enjoyer accepts the Jiva even though he may have qualities that are not favoured for his up liftment .

When the LORD wishes to enjoy the offering he removes the offending qualities of the jiva  .He accepts whatever is offered with joy .

A pasuram from Divya Prabhandam by  revered  Nammazhwar  goes as below

Theernda adiyavar  thammai thiruthippani kollavalla ardnapugal achuthan

says Nammazhwar….

It means LORD is an ocean of mercy with a big heart ….

and

HE accepts all those who have a desire for liberation and even though they are covered with evil qualities which are sticking to them like dirty mud , HE ensures the same is cleaned  thus correcting  them (thiruthI ) and accepts them to HIS presence .

And finally he who has offered himself to LORD in his Saranagathi  has nothing to fear at all .

The LORD himself will rid the person of the undesirable qualities and being the real enjoyer will accept him .

The devotee was pleased and was relieved to receive the  advise .

It was a eye opener for him too to surrender his Freewill and accept the divine will .

The lesson was simple but crystal clear .

Any act of kindness , devotion , charity , cheerfulness obedience , love makes us near to LORD and  its  reverse  takes us  away from LORD .

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Pics courtesy : Google images and several social media uploaded by several devotees

 Gauthama Maharishi    was a great devotee of  ParamaSivan .  The Rishi  used to offer  fruits and fresh blossomed   flowers for worship daily . For the same , he had to climb trees with great difficulty to pluck the same .

 In order to continue his services with ease  he prayed Paramasivan  to grant him  sharp eyes  and  claws like a tiger  .Thus he got the name Vyangraapadha rishi.  Rishi Vyangraapadha undertook penance at Chidambaram invoking the blessings of Lord Nataraja for salvation   .

However , ParamaShivan instructed  Vyangrapadha rishi  ( Vyangra =Tiger ) ( Pada = feet)  to  proceed to Srirangam and worship Lord Ranganathar .   Owing to his poor eye sight, the rishi lost his way, went southward and reached Krupa Samudiram Perumal  near Mayavaram . Unable to walk any further, he sat in penance at Sirupuliyur.He did  penance at Sirupuliyur  for attaining Srivaikuntam by worshipping  Lord SrimanNarayana  .

  The Lord appeared in his full sayana posture like the one at  Srirangam. Since the sage was not able to swallow  the big form with his feeble eye sight, Lord  appeared in the form of a child – Baala Sayana.

As a mark of respect to the great saint the saint’s  idol is  seen  under the feet of the Perumal in the Moolavar Sannathi.  There is another divine pastime enacted at this holy place . Garuda and Adhisheshan were discussing about the services rendered to Lord by them .In the course of discussion ,Garuda pointed it was his service which was more  compared to Adhishesha . Both the servants , surrendered to the LORD for judgement .

Lord who overheared Garuda’s egoistic words , sided with Adhisheshan to correct Garuda for his words of “I”.

Another important feature of the temple is we can have darshan of  Adhisheshan sannithi  separately. In this temple  the  Garuda sannithi  is at a lowest level compared to other sannithi.

This wonderful  temple can  be reached by travelling about 15 km from Mayiladuthurai towards Thiruvarur Route . From Kollumangudi, the temple is just 2 km.

Sirupuliyur (Thiru sirupuliyur) which  is one of the 108 divya desams in Tiruvarur district near to  Mayavaram The Lord  of this temple is Arulmaakadal, Sthala Sayana Perumal who gives darshan in bujanga sayanam posture facing south.

. The temple tower is a 75-foot structure and  has two enclosures around.  The Processional deities Krupa Samudra Perumal /  aruL mA kaDal perumAL   and Goddess Dayaanayagi grace the devotees with abundant mercy.

(ii) Video credits : Ranganathan Srinivasan

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan…

The association of Kadamba tree with Lord Krishna is  most memorable . The Kadamba tree is  consecrated by all the  the devotees of Lord Krishna and its flowers are used as offerings to LORD at various temples.

Several legends that are related to the Kadamba tree  are famous to relish . Under the Kadamba tree, Lord Krishna used to swing from the branches and dance in festivity with all the gopikas of Vrindavana. 

Once

while grazing the cows along with the gopas near GOVERDHAN near a village Sammai our little krishna saw a elder gopa distributing kheer ( payasam ) to bhagavathas .

Our little krishna approached  the elder  gopa and asks Bhayya !!

what about my share ??

The elder gopa smilingly asks  ( chinni krishna ) kanhaiyya to get a cup for collecting the Kheer  not knowing what  our chinni krishna can do  ..

.

 The butter thief he was   goes near the Kadamba tree and asks for a leaf Cup .  

Yes Master !!!  

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The Kadamba tree  with all obedience  bows  down  to the Master and  gives its leaf in the form of a small cup for kanhaiyya to have that Kheer .

This  divine leela  which was enacted few thousand years ago  still continues in the sacred dhaam of Vrindavan near  Giriraj Goverdhan  .

As a part of our Vraj Dhaam yatra ,  during Sri Goverdhan Parikrama  , we were eager to have darshan of the divine cup .

We had to go inside the village from the Goverdhan parikrama marg upto  almost 3 kms  in search of the kadamba trees .  

Praying LORD for his grace we were trying  to request vrajwasi to help us in having a darshan of the leaf cup which is rarely visible .

A brajwasee passing by entered the scene , but was not very sure about the location .

  Our chant of the Holy name somehow attracted a dark skinned young boy who suddenly appeared under a tree  smiling at us . He was nowhere around when we searched .

It was all of a sudden he appeared and the miracle happened……..

 He  called another vrajwasee ( who was also not seen for few seconds ) , and told him to go to a particular Kadamba tree and come with the divine cup .

Within seconds the divine cup arrived  and it was a blessing to  have a darshan of the butter  leaf cup from the kadamba tree which was  graced by a vrajwasee himself   .

This  divine anubhutee can be felt even after 5000 years the kadamba tree gives that divine cup to the lovable brajwasees ..

We later spent some divine time with this young lad (!) discussing some esoteric truths on Premabhava of gopikaas and Lord’s love to his devotees ..

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All of us were in tears for the mercy LORD showered on us …

 All glories to the Divine leela
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Jai Sree Radhey shyaam

Hare Krishna

 

 

Swamy Nampillai just finished his daily worship and was about to conduct a discourse .

His ardent disciple  Pinbalagaram Perumal Jeeyar  had a doubt to be clarified. 

He approached Swamy Nampillai and submitted his question

.. Acharya !!  

Please tell me , whenever a person is in difficulty  we approach our Acharya and seek his blessings to ward off the problems .

 

Acharyar also blesses by abundant compassion ” shubena manasa dhyaatam ”  adding Thathasthu …and the problem is solved .

Such incidents have happened several times in the past and continue to happen .

Adiyen wants to know whether this is because of Acharya or the Lord ?

Swamy Nampillai  in a   composed  mood , clarifies his disciple that all the good that was happening was because of Lord himself .

 Pinbalagam Jeeyar   again  once again submits  ,  Acharya !!  in that case   can we approach LORD directly ?

Swamy Nampillai   with compassion   replies  !

My child …….

It is incorrect to directly approach the Lord .

In order to seek LORD’s grace we must first seek HIS devotees blessings .  

LORD ensures that the blessings showered by HIS pure devotees are  always effective . There is no other way to seek HIS grace .

Pinbalagam Jeeyar was convinced with the answer , but expected more .

Swamy Nampillai continued !

Look my child !!

In Mahabharata,  Jayadhrata the powerful warrior killed Abhimanyu ( Arjuna’s son ) after leading him into the Padmavyuham             ( Lotus formation )  .

Arjuna deeply upset vowed that before the sunset he would kill Jayadhrata else  he would kill himself.

Having coming to know about Arjuna’s vow the kauravas were very happy . They decided to protect Jayadratta till sunset to see the end of Arjuna . Meanwhile ,  Arjuna was searching for Jayadratha everywhere in the battle field  till the evening . Time passed swiftly and the sun was about to set . The Kauravas were overjoyed . They were keen to see Arjuna killing himself as per his vow .

Lord Krishna  watching   Arjunas anxiety ,  released his Sudarshana chakra  and covered the sun thus appearing the night has arrived  .

The kauravas  were overjoyed . Jayadratta also came out from the hiding place . Looking at Kauravas ,  Lord Krishna ordered Arjuna to behead Jayadrata  which was immediately obeyed   and simultaneously  recalled the sudarshana chakra  . The sun came back in its own glory which amazed the kauravas  . The vow announced by Arjuna was fulfilled by Lord Krishna . Lord ensured that HIS help is always available for HIS devotee. This pastime proves that LORD alone is responsible for the blessings of the devotee to be effective .

  Swamy Nampillai further continued  ,  Koorath azhwan  the  ardent disciple  of  Swamy Ramanuja  was humiliated by the bigoted  cruel  king  Krimikanta .

He along with Peria nambi  lost their eyes in the process of saving the rich srivaishnava sampradaya . Koorathazhwan returned to srirangam in great distress . The tyrant king passed an order that all those who had any connection whatsoever with Swamy Ramanuja shall not be permitted to enter the temple in Srirangam. 

Unknowingly , one day  Koorathazhwan makes an entry into the SriRangam temple .  The temple guards stop him from entering  . However one temple guard allows him to enter into the temple to have darshan of Lord Ranganatha .  Kooresan  was  curious to know what was the reason for his special favor towards him  ? The temple guard replied  Oh Seer ! you seem to look like a person with good qualities  though a follower of Swamy Ramanuja  and that is the reason you were being allowed . Kooresa was shocked .

He  exclaimed ..

Are you concluding that the followers of Swamy Ramanuja have bad qualities ?? and If my good qualities entitle me to enter the temple  are the followers of Swamy Ramanuja bad ?

In that case I do not wish to sever my relationship with Swamy Ramanuja and will avoid entering into the temple    ………

For realisation of the self, my  association  with Swamy Ramanuja is essential .  No prayer pleases Lord without Acharyar’s mercy.  Kooresan politely refuses to accept the gaurd’s  honor and walks back to his house . This pastime establishes the supremacy of Acharya sambandham with our poorvacharyas …

  A  lotus  which is not in  the water , will not be allowed to blossom by    the sun ..   Not only that  It will  fade away  soon …….

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Pics credits : Google images

Amongst the 12 Azhwars  ,  Vishnuchittar was  glorified  as ” Peria Azhwar” . Our poorvacharyars comment that though he  appeared   after  Mudal azhwar, Nammazhwar, Thirumazhisai Azhwar, he was honoured with the title “Peria Azhwar   because while all other azhwars  glorified  Lord as Supreme Personality,  Azhwar had “pongum parivu”           ( vatsalyabhava).

  Swamy  Manavala Mamunigal in  ” Upadesa Ratnamala ”  says “Pongum parivaale petraan Periazhwar ennum peyar”   meaning that because of the vatsalya bhaavam  like a mother towards the Lord, he was conferred with this title. Periyazhwar  was  overwhelmed to have darshanam of  the Lord after winning the debate  called by the  Pandyan King  at Madurai few hundred years back .  Having darshan of  Lord Koodal Azhagar Perumal , along with the Goddess who had come to witness  the  marathon procession honours done by the King to the Azhwar ,   on Garuda Vahanam ,  Periyazhwar  was worried that such a beautiful   form  of Lord may  attract evil eye .

He innocently  takes the bell from the elephant’s neck   from where he was  riding  (as symbol  warding off the  evil  ) and starts   glorifying Lord  with his mangala shasanam  instantly , by chanting the introductory verses of Divya Prabhandam “Thirup PallaNdu”

 “pallaaNdu, pallaaNdu PallAyiratthAndu PalakOdi NoorAyiram”

(Long live for many years, Long live for many years for Hundreds of thousands of years! my Lord !!!!)  

  Out of the vatsalya bhaavam which he had for the Lord, he considered himself to be Mother Yasodha and experienced all the divine pastimes which the Lord displayed during HIS avataram.  Out of the 473 pasurams which he composed known as “Periazhwar Thirumozhi”, about  190 pasurams are about the divine pastimes of Lord Krishna …..

 Periya Azhwar was  an incarnation of  Garuda (the divine  vehicle of Lord Maha Vishnu).

 Azhwar was serving  Lord  Vatapatrasayi  perumal at Srivalliputhur . During  a recitation  event of Srimad Bhagavatam inside the temple , Azhwar was struck to one incident which inspired him to take up the  garland service to Lord .  This  sweet pastime of  Lord Krishna meeting a person at Mathura  moved him .   Lord Krishna meets a person who was carrying garlands to the demon king kamsa . Lord asks him to part with a flower garland much to the surprise of the villager.

The innocent man he was ,  replied  Oh Lord !!!  ” several saints perform austerity and devotional service to seek your company  and I am humbled with your mercy on me . Please take this wonderful garland as a small gift ..  I surrender even If  Kamsa kills me ….

The lord   was very pleased with his service and blessed him  . The  incident left a strong impression on  azhwar’s mind and he concluded that preparing and offering flower garlands to the Lord was the best kaimkaryam  to HIM  and thus  he  cultivated flower gardens all around the temple and used to prepare  a small flower garlands  with different varieties of flowers.  The list included   Tulasi, lotus,  lilly roses and other perfumed flowers  ( shengazhaneer, mallikai mullai ) which he offered  to Lord daily with deep love . He used to offer eight varieties of flowers which would blossom at different times in  a day . The divine couple competed amongs’t themselves to bless this devotee.  Bhoomi devi, the Lord’s eternal consort appeared as his daughter whom he named “Kodhai”/ Andal  His love for Lord Krishna was ultimate . Always in the mood of  serving LORD as little Krishna he used to swoon in bhakthi bhava of Yasodha . 

  After being conferred “Bhattar pirAn”, PeriaAzhwAr continued on his  garland service  while  singing  the pasurams on Lord Krishna  .The mood in which Azhwar sung  was as if he became His mother, yasOdhA. He bathed him, fed Him, dressed Him up  played with him and enjoyed  every part of his beauty . Azhwar   imagines  all  his childhood mischief  which yasOdhA had undergone. The Child’s  naughty  mischief, divine  leelAs, were all sung by periyAzhwAr at a stretch which is  a  prayer book of all vaishnavas .

All  the  pAsurams of Azhwar  are to be  sung , re-sung  and enjoyed.

All were bhakti laden pAsurams and shall  taste like a ripe  grape fruit soaked in honey by the devotees .

 Azhwar  ,   takes over the  scene from LORD’s appearance ,  wherein all  citizens  of Mathura  are  happy  on  the  appearance   of  Lord Krishna.  Here  he  considers   Thirukkottiyur  a place  near Madurai  as Mathura  and   paints   the  picture  of  people  going  ecstatic,  unable  to  contain  the unlimited joy  of LORD’s appearance  . His  choosing   of words  are  so  perfect  that it  can bring  the   divine scene  before  the   devotees eyes . He  reveals the ecstatic  joy encountered  by the  gopas  .

 Azhwar immerses himself into the emotional outpourings  of  Yashoda maa  that  keeps the reciter to  visualize   the mood of a mother    giving   holy bath  to little Krishna   while  cleansing the  tiny  mouth of  the  Lord  in his pasurams .   The  verses  keep  the reciter  emotionally charged   with several divine pastimes of Lord Krishna in the  following  verses  .

Azhwar observes   the  seven  worlds  or  universe  itself inside the little mouth !  Next,   he   enjoys   the  beauty  of  the   parts  of LORDs  body from  the  Holy Feet  to  the  lovely  Locks of hairs and  as a mother   he invites  other  gopis  to  partake  in  his  transcendental  bliss .

As  Lord  Krishna  was  hid  from  the demon  Kamsa notice   and  secretively  brought  up,  Azhvar  innocently says  that this   child    was  born  in   ascendant  star  that  is  tenth  from  Hastam star !  Counting  forward  tenth star  from  Hastam  is Thiruvonam  ( Sravana ) which  is  Lord Narayana’s  star  and  counting  backwards from  Hastam  is  Rohini,  Star  of Lord  Krishna.  This is he does to ensure the demon kamsa does not harm little Krishna  after knowing his whereabouts .  Azhwar   intelligently announces  this  for the safety of this child in his wonderful pasurams  .

Azhvar  further proceeds  by singing a  Lullaby  for  Divine Child  and  lists out the  various  presents  made  by  different  celestials    Brahma, Rudra, Kubera,  Varuna, Indra,  Sri Mahalakshmi,  Bhumadevi and  Kali  .

Azhwar    visualises  Yashodamma    along  with little krishna and shows him the moon.  She  invites  the  moon  to  come  near  as  child  is  eager  to  play  with  him. She pleads the moon to   come  quickly  as He  is  feeling  sleepy  after  His  food  and  if  He  sleeps  late  the  food  will  not  be  digested  properly !  She   also cautions  Moon  not  to  ignore  him  saying  He  is  no doubt  a  small  kid  and don’t take him lightly as one incident   (reminds  him  of  the  experience  of  Mahabali  with  this  small  one !)

In the next few pasurams   Azhwar visualises as   mother  keeping   the  child  and  sways  him forward  and  back like a see saw   . The outpourings further   highlight   about the  dwarf   and the  faltering  steps.   Azhwar like any mother quotes  ………………

Acho Acho  …………for the child’s bravery  for his little steps…….

While  feeding the Lord and the ear boring ceremonies  , he  visualizes and  sings   the  Twelve Holy  Names of  the  Lord  ,

KESHAVA,   NARAYANA  ,MADHAVA,   GOVINDA,  VISHNU,    MADHUSUDANA   TRIVIKRAMA,   VAMANA,   SRIDHARA,   HRISHIKESHA,  PADMANABHA &  DAMODARA   

and advises the ordinary  mortals to name their kids with the holy names of Lord to be attached to the supreme personality .

Azhwar  now visualises   the holy oil  bath (  Neerattam )  of little krishna . Krishna is  not keen to join his mother for taking  a bath . Yasoda  pleads him with several quotes amusing the reciter .  Little Krishna refuses and runs away every attempt . She entreats him saying-  Kanna !! “Having besmeared your body with butter and mud, I will not let you soil your bed tonight. See! For how long I have been waiting with oil, scented soap-nut powder etc.  O! Lord! Narana! who is beyond anybody’s reach. Please do come and have your bath”.

Yashoda  having failed convincing ,  finally tricks  him into a sense of shame by saying “I might even like to leave you go with all the dirt on your beautiful body smeared by you, while playing in the cattle-shed but others ‘will not like it a bit   and  more  importantly, if your darling Nappinnai  ( Radha rani ) sees you in this state, she will laugh at you!.

Are you so shameless to let this happen to you? Come,Quickly finish your bath and get ready” –   This  hymn  is recited in all  the Srivaishnava temples   during  Abhishekam  Tirumanjanam (ceremonial bath) to the Lord.  Azhwar amuses  him by  calling  Kakkai (crow ) to  groom  the  hair, to  get  a  Stick  for  Him  to play.

Further  Azhwar visualises   decorating  the  Lord with  variety  of   eight flowers which is taken out immediately once it blooms .  Azhwar dresses him with finest  sandal perfume   and to ward of the evil eye  for his nectarian beauty he  keeps a   Rakshai  …

The Naughty  divine pastimes of   little Krishna and the casual  complaints  of  the neighbours  on   little Krishna is interesting .

The verses take the reciter to many moods of a mother . Affection , Emotion , Deep love concern etc …. (  why not !!!! And it has a message for  ordinary mortals  like us )  At one stage  , Yashodamaa  is  in  awe  of  child  is  refusing  to  feed  her  breast  but  only  solid food.

She   feels   sorry that  she  had  to  send   child  to  tend  the  calves   for grazing ,  and worried about  his  safe return   . The Gopikas   getting  enamored  of  Lord  coming  behind  the  Cattle.   The verses conclude with some of the finest pictures of Krishna playing the flute in the forest.

The incident of  Lord Krishna’s  lifting  Govardhana Hill  follows with glories to the Hill and the Lord who lifted saving the entire inhabitants  . He  gives  vivid  description  of  mountain  itself.  Azhwar visualises   Lord  Krishna’s  playing  Flute  mesmerizing   the Gopis, Cows,  the  birds   the  trees  and   the  celestial  in  heaven.  Periazhwar describes  Lord Krishna’s flute-playing in 10 mellifluous verses.

Azhwars   often express their love  as  a  mother   OR of  a daughter OR a lover   meaning  their  own  Souls  longing  for  union  with  the   Supreme Lord.  Most of his 473 verses in Divya Prabandham, collectively known as “Periazhwar Tirumozhi” speak of the early years of Krishna. Azhwar became the father- in- law of Lord  Narayana  when his  daughter  Andal   marries the Lord. – – an honor none else  could claim.

Our poorvacharyars comment that though he  appeared   after  Mudal azhwar, Nammazhwar, Thirumazhisai Azhwar, he was honoured with the title “Peria Azhwar   because while all other azhwars  glorified  Lord as Supreme Personality,  Azhwar had “pongum parivu”( vatsalyabhava).

  Swamy  Manavala Mamunigal in  ” Upadesa Ratnamala ”  says “Pongum parivaale petraan Periazhwar ennum peyar”   meaning that because of the vatsalya bhaavam  like a mother towards the Lord, he was conferred with this title. Periyazhwar  was  overwhelmed to have darshanam of  the Lord after winning the debate  called by the  Pandyan King  at Madurai few hundred years back .

Having darshan of  Lord Koodal Azhagar Perumal , along with the Goddess who had come to witness  the  marathon procession honours done by the King to the Azhwar ,   on Garuda Vahanam ,  Periyazhwar  was worried that such a beautiful   form  of Lord may  attract evil eye . He innocently  takes the bell from the elephant’s neck   from where he was  riding  (as symbol  warding off the  evil  ) and starts   glorifying Lord  with his mangala shasanam  instantly , by chanting the introductory verses of Divya Prabhandam

“Thirup PallaNdu”

 “pallaaNdu, pallaaNdu PallAyiratthAndu PalakOdi NoorAyiram”

(Long live for many years, Long live for many years for Hundreds of thousands of years! my Lord !!!!)  

The appended post below describes  about the divine pastime ( Click )

https://atomic-temporary-2692795.wpcomstaging.com/2015/01/08/long-live-hundreds-thousands-and-crores-of-years-my-adorable-lord/

  Out of the vatsalya bhaavam which he had for the Lord, he considered himself to be Mother Yasodha and experienced all the divine pastimes which the Lord displayed during HIS avataram.  Out of the 473 pasurams which he composed known as “Periazhwar Thirumozhi”, about  190 pasurams are about the divine pastimes of Lord Krishna …..

 Periya Azhwar was  an incarnation of  Garuda (the divine  vehicle of Lord Maha Vishnu).

 Azhwar was serving  Lord  Vatapatrasayi  perumal at Srivalliputhur . During  a recitation  event of Srimad Bhagavatam inside the temple , Azhwar was struck to one incident which inspired him to take up the  garland service to Lord .  This  sweet pastime of  Lord Krishna meeting a person at Mathura  moved him .

  Lord Krishna meets a person who was carrying garlands to the demon king kamsa . Lord asks him to part with a flower garland much to the surprise of the villager.The innocent man he was ,  replied  Oh Lord !!!  ” several saints perform austerity and devotional service to seek your company  and I am humbled with your mercy on me . Please take this wonderful garland as a small gift ..  I surrender even If  Kamsa kills me ….

The lord   was very pleased with his service and blessed him  . The  incident left a strong impression on  azhwar’s mind and he concluded that preparing and offering flower garlands to the Lord was the best kaimkaryam  to HIM  and thus  he  cultivated flower gardens all around the temple and used to prepare  a small flower garlands  with different varieties of flowers. 

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 The list included   Tulasi, lotus,  lilly roses and other perfumed flowers  ( shengazhaneer, mallikai mullai ) which he offered  to Lord daily with deep love . He used to offer eight varieties of flowers which would blossom at different times in  a day . The divine couple competed amongs’t themselves to bless this devotee.  

Bhoomi devi, the Lord’s eternal consort appeared as his daughter whom he named “Kodhai”/ Andal  His love for Lord Krishna was ultimate . Always in the mood of  serving LORD as little Krishna he used to swoon in bhakthi bhava of Yasodha .  

After being conferred “Bhattar pirAn”, PeriaAzhwAr continued on his  garland service  while  singing  the pasurams on Lord Krishna  .The mood in which Azhwar sung  was as if he became His mother, yasOdhA. He bathed him, fed Him, dressed Him up  played with him and enjoyed  every part of his beauty . Azhwar   imagines  all  his childhood mischief  which yasOdhA had undergone. The Child’s  naughty  mischief, divine  leelAs, were all sung by periyAzhwAr at a stretch which is  a  prayer book of all vaishnavas .

All  the  pAsurams of Azhwar  are to be  sung , re-sung  and enjoyed.

All were bhakti laden pAsurams and shall  taste like a ripe  grape fruit soaked in honey by the devotees .

 Azhwar  ,   takes over the  scene from LORD’s appearance ,  wherein all  citizens  of Mathura  are  happy  on  the  appearance   of  Lord Krishna.  Here  he  considers   Thirukkottiyur  a place  near Madurai  as Mathura  and   paints   the  picture  of  people  going  ecstatic,  unable  to  contain  the unlimited joy  of LORD’s appearance  .

His  choosing   of words  are  so  perfect  that it  can bring  the   divine scene  before  the   devotees eyes . He  reveals the ecstatic  joy encountered  by the  gopas  .  

Azhwar immerses himself into the emotional outpourings  of  Yashoda maa  that  keeps the reciter to  visualize   the mood of a mother    giving   holy bath  to little Krishna   while  cleansing the  tiny  mouth of  the  Lord  in his pasurams .   The  verses  keep  the reciter  emotionally charged   with several divine pastimes of Lord Krishna in the  following  verses  .

Azhwar observes   the  seven  worlds  or  universe  itself inside the little mouth !  Next,   he   enjoys   the  beauty  of  the   parts  of LORDs  body from  the  Holy Feet  to  the  lovely  Locks of hairs and  as a mother   he invites  other  gopis  to  partake  in  his  transcendental  bliss .

As  Lord  Krishna  was  hid  from  the demon  Kamsa notice   and  secretively  brought  up,  Azhvar  innocently says  that this   child    was  born  in   ascendant  star  that  is  tenth  from  Hastam star !  Counting  forward  tenth star  from  Hastam  is Thiruvonam  ( Sravana ) which  is  Lord Narayana’s  star  and  counting  backwards from  Hastam  is  Rohini,  Star  of Lord  Krishna.

 This is he does to ensure the demon kamsa does not harm little Krishna  after knowing his whereabouts .  Azhwar   intelligently announces  this  for the safety of this child in his wonderful pasurams  .

Azhvar  further proceeds  by singing a  Lullaby  for  Divine Child  and  lists out the  various  presents  made  by  different  celestials    Brahma, Rudra, Kubera,  Varuna, Indra,  Sri Mahalakshmi,  Bhumadevi and  Kali  .

Azhwar    visualises  Yashodamma    along  with little krishna and shows him the moon.  She  invites  the  moon  to  come  near  as  child  is  eager  to  play  with  him. She pleads the moon to   come  quickly  as He  is  feeling  sleepy  after  His  food  and  if  He  sleeps  late  the  food  will  not  be  digested  properly ! 

She   also cautions  Moon  not  to  ignore  him  saying  He  is  no doubt  a  small  kid  and don’t take him lightly as one incident   (reminds  him  of  the  experience  of  Mahabali  with  this  small  one !)

In the next few pasurams   Azhwar visualises as   mother  keeping   the  child  and  sways  him forward  and  back like a see saw   . The outpourings further   highlight   about the  dwarf   and the  faltering  steps.   Azhwar like any mother quotes  ………………

Acho Acho  …………for the child’s bravery  for his little steps…….

While  feeding the Lord and the ear boring ceremonies  , he  visualizes and  sings   the  Twelve Holy  Names of  the  Lord  ,

KESHAVA,

  NARAYANA  ,

MADHAVA,  

GOVINDA,  

VISHNU,    

MADHUSUDANA  

TRIVIKRAMA,  

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VAMANA,  

SRIDHARA,  

HRISHIKESHA,

 PADMANABHA &  DAMODARA 

 and advises the ordinary  mortals to name their kids with the holy names of Lord to be attached to the supreme personality .

Azhwar  now visualises   the holy oil  bath (  Neerattam )  of little krishna . Krishna is  not keen to join his mother for taking  a bath . Yasoda  pleads him with several quotes amusing the reciter .  Little Krishna refuses and runs away every attempt .

She entreats him saying-  Kanna !! “Having besmeared your body with butter and mud, I will not let you soil your bed tonight. See! For how long I have been waiting with oil, scented soap-nut powder etc.  O! Lord! Narana! who is beyond anybody’s reach. Please do come and have your bath”.

Yashoda  having failed convincing ,  finally tricks  him into a sense of shame by saying “I might even like to leave you go with all the dirt on your beautiful body smeared by you, while playing in the cattle-shed but others ‘will not like it a bit   and  more  importantly, if your darling Nappinnai  ( Radha rani ) sees you in this state, she will laugh at you!.

Are you so shameless to let this happen to you? Come,Quickly finish your bath and get ready” –   This  hymn  is recited in all  the Srivaishnava temples   during  Abhishekam  Tirumanjanam (ceremonial bath) to the Lord.  Azhwar amuses  him by  calling  Kakkai (crow ) to  groom  the  hair, to  get  a  Stick  for  Him  to play.

Further  Azhwar visualises   decorating  the  Lord with  variety  of   eight flowers which is taken out immediately once it blooms .  Azhwar dresses him with finest  sandal perfume   and to ward of the evil eye  for his nectarian beauty he  keeps a   Rakshai  …

The Naughty  divine pastimes of   little Krishna and the casual  complaints  of  the neighbours  on   little Krishna is interesting .

The verses take the reciter to many moods of a mother . Affection , Emotion , Deep love concern etc …. (  why not !!!! And it has a message for  ordinary mortals  like us )  At one stage  , Yashodamaa  is  in  awe  of  child  is  refusing  to  feed  her  breast  but  only  solid food.

She   feels   sorry that  she  had  to  send   child  to  tend  the  calves   for grazing ,  and worried about  his  safe return   . The Gopikas   getting  enamored  of  Lord  coming  behind  the  Cattle.   The verses conclude with some of the finest pictures of Krishna playing the flute in the forest.

The incident of  Lord Krishna’s  lifting  Govardhana Hill  follows with glories to the Hill and the Lord who lifted saving the entire inhabitants  .

He  gives  vivid  description  of  mountain  itself.  Azhwar visualises   Lord  Krishna’s  playing  Flute  mesmerizing   the Gopis, Cows,  the  birds   the  trees  and   the  celestial  in  heaven.  Periazhwar describes  Lord Krishna’s flute-playing in 10 mellifluous verses.

Azhwars   often express their love  as  a  mother   OR of  a daughter OR a lover   meaning  their  own  Souls  longing  for  union  with  the   Supreme Lord.

 Most of his 473 verses in Divya Prabandham, collectively known as “Periazhwar Tirumozhi” speak of the early years of Krishna. Azhwar became the father- in- law of Lord  Narayana  when his  daughter  Andal   marries the Lord. – – an honor none else  could claim.