The whole Brajbhoomi vibrates with the name “Radhey Radhey”. Radharani, the dearest gopi of Krishna is “personification of bhakti”. To attain Krishna’s lotus feet, one must pray to RAdharani for HER divine intervention and grace. She alone is capable of uniting us with Lord Krishna. Srimati Radharani, the personification of bhakti and the foremost dearest […]
Radharani ki Jai….. Maharaani ki jai …..
Many years ago there was a severe drought in melnadu located near present coimbatore The drought continued for almost 12 long years . An old couple who were living there decided to leave to the banks of cauvery and reside near the holy Sri Ranga Kshetra . They shifted their camp near to the Lord’s […]
Kongil Piratti worships Swamy Ramanuja padukas……
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 […]
Swamy Ramanujars Panchasamaskara vaibhavam at Madurantakam
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 […]
“Dvayam Vilaindha Tiruppathi” Swamy Ramanujars Panchasamaskara vaibhavam at Madurantakam
Braj Bhumi is the most sacred dham spread over 168 miles- 42 miles on each direction with Mathura as the center. The holy place comprises of Mathura, Goverdhan, Gokulam Barsana ,Vrindavan and the surrounding 12 forests. The Supreme Lord manifested Himself as Lord Krishna along with HIS attendants and enacted various pastimes 5000 years ago […]
LORD KRISHNA’S ASHTA SAKHI TEMPLES NEAR BARSAANA VRINDAVAN.. An Introduction
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, […]
Chinni Krishna’s butter cup ( Dhonai leela ) at Vrindaavan
Originally posted on kazhiyur varadan’s blog:
Whichever devotee desires to faithfully worship a particular form, I fortify his faith in exactly that (form).
A divine pastime happened few hundreds year ago near the banks of Cauvery river. One sunny day few srivaishnava boys were playing on the banks of Cauvery river . As they inherited their parents daily rituals , the boys smartly erected a small temple and installed an idol…
Thirukannapuram Divyadesam Sowriraja Perumal Temple is located 30 KM from Kumbakonam on the way to Thiruvarur, Tanjore District, Tamilnadu which is one among the Five Krishraranya Kshetrams. The Main Deity is glorified as Thiru Neelamega perumal along with Sridevi and Bhoodevi Thayar . The Processional deity is worshipped as Lord Sowriraja perumal. Lord Sowriraja […]
ThiruKannapuram Lord Sowriraja perumal and Vibheeshana
Mother Yasodha was on lookout for her little naughty child Krishna .She was worried about his pranks. He was not seen in his usual place where he used to play. The kitchen, cow sheds, porch and the huge storage room for curds and yogurts.
The little fellow dark as the clouds had unusual craving for the yummy curds, butter and yoghurt especially in their colony milk maid’s houses and he ensured he tastes their curds more frequently.
She recollected the little fella’s pranks and guessed that he was into some mischief. She called him loudly much to the surprise of the cattle around. The name was so sweet to call and sweeter to hear.
Krishnaaa ..Kanna … where are you. .I am tired searching for you … The calves looked around with curiosity .
Suddenly at the entrance there was a commotion. All the milkmaids from the colonies assembled and called names. Oh Yasodha ! Your son has done his part once again. He has robbed all the pots full of butter that was in the kitchen. Am done.
I guess whether you are really feeding the poor child as much he wants. There words were pungent and piercing.
Yasodha was upset. She could not accept the comment.
She decided to punish the little one. She ran like a girl of twelve searching for the little master.
In the process she reached at a place surrounded by a pond. The calves and cows were grazing peacefully .The Peacocks were on the trees making noise .It was a pleasant site. Far away over a small hillock she saw the dark child climbing over few small pots to reach the bigger pot with care .He somehow managed to put his tiny hands on the large pot that had yummy butter. Yasodha was surprised how the little fella could carry that huge pot which a fully grown adult also cannot do it alone. He took the yummy butter and blabbered …now you come … show me your hand …. And this is how you must eat …
Yasodha was curious to find who he was feeding… She slowly marched behind the hillock to see. She was amazed to see little monkeys were standing in a row to collect the butter.
She shooed away all the monkeys and approached the little one. She knew he must have brought all those pots from the milkmaid’s house.
The sight was a feast to watch. But the anger was not subsiding. She grabbed him and started dragging him away carrying him briskly saying he deserved a punishment. The little fella was watching his mother innocently thinking what mistake he had done by serving those little monkeys. The cattle were watching the drama patiently.
Yasodha now reached her home. She saw a stone mortar lying near to a cow shed. AH! Yes I must bind him here. She saw a rope around. Yes Imprisonment to this little fella is the best punishment .She brought the rope and started tying him to the mortar .But she couldn’t as the rope was short .She looked around, there was another piece of rope lying. She brought the same and made a knot and once again tied the rope to the child. But even then the rope was not fitting his little size. She looked around and found heap of tiny ropes lying that was used to tie the cattle. She made knots with the ropes and said now this length will be enough to bind him. Somehow once again the rope fell short to bind him. The kid was watching innocently the daring moments and thought why mother was so angry.
Yasodha looked at the child and saw those dark eyes that can dissolve even a huge whale. A tear stain on his cheeks was something strange. The sun light reflecting on the tear showed a huge rainbow. She could not resist in hugging the child, but was firm. He needs to be punished. She looked at the sky and prayed the Supreme Lord to help her in tying the kid.
The lord of the high skies, Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient being bound by an ordinary, illiterate milk maid who was standing before her like an innocent kid was blinded by that pure love .
And yes the Lord reciprocated by getting binded to the mortar to teach the world what love is….The Supreme one who can be blinded with love and only pure love …
Not for grand sacrifices or great rituals. And any day you will prefer the tear stained cheeks to the grand mansions and other material comforts.
And the Lord not only obeyed his mother for her prayer, but proved the world by bearing the marks of this rope on his waist all the time. When Lord gave us the greatest philosophy in the battle field, those rope marks made him remember the mothers love.
And when Lord laid down in this kaliyuga as a statue in Srirangam , he made those ropes impressions visible to all the man kind to proclaim his abundant love for all the mothers and his own children making this world full of unconditional love ….
The indulgent smile of little Krishna made everyone faint ..
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan
Photos : Courtesy Google images
Videos : Social media
THIRUTHANKAAL This is one of the Srivaishnava divya desams in Tamilnadu between Sivakasi and Virudanagar. The wonderful temple is located on a hillock in a serene atmosphere . As per the legend , the banyan leaf on which Perumal laid during Pralaya was converted into this hillock. The Soma Sandha Vimanam is clearly visible even from […]
THE TEMPLE WHERE LORD KRISHNA ALONG WITH FAMILY GIVE DARSHAN
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” […]
Chinni Krishna and Peria Azhwar
Pandava Dhootha Perumal Temple ( Thirupadagam ) Kancheepuram Pandava Dhootha Perumal Temple ( Thirupadagam ) is located in Kancheepuram in Tamilnadu. 1 km West of Kanchipuram Bus Stand we can proceed to this temple to have a darshan of LORD KRISHNA which is very special We can see LORD Krishna in […]
LORD KRISHNA’S VISHWAROOPA DARSHAN TEMPLE AT KANCHIPURAM.
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 […]
… Lord of abundant grace.. KripasamudraPerumal…ThiruSiripuliyur….
Neeraja was a gopi who came to Gokulam as the daughter-in-law to a Gopa family. She was beautiful and humble and loved the new place which had some special vibrations . Her husband and in-laws cautioned her about a dark skinned cowherd boy who was very mischievous and warned her to be away from his […]
LORD KRISHNA LEAVES HIS FLUTE
Lords chariot waits for Swamy Peria Nambee Swami Alavandar is universally considered to be the Acharyar of Sri Ramanujacharya, though he had never spoken once to Swami Ramanuja till he lived. Whatever he taught Ramanuja he did it only through his disciples. Alavandar’s disciples were priceless gems. Perianambi, Thirukoshtiyur Nambi, Thirumaalaiyaandan and Peria Thirumalai Nambi […]
Lord waits for his dear devotee “Peria Nambi” during Rathayatra..
This whole world is moving according to the plan of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There is a specific plan being carried out in this material world. What is this plan? The cosmic manifestation is a chance for the elevated souls to go back to Godhead. By the imperceptible power of time, the greatest of […]
Journey to the Eternal world …Introduction….
Once the ardent devotee of Lord Venkateshwara of Tirumala Hills , Swamy Ananthazhwan was engrossed in making garlands for Perumal . Lord sent for him through asuri voice and ordered him to come to the sanctum sanctorum at once. Ananthazhwan waited for sometime, completed the garland and entered the sanctum sanctorum. The Lord was unhappy […]
Lord Venkateshwara’s “Pranayakopa” (anger in love) on Ananthazhwan…
Sanandhana was dejected!! What use of my austerity and sadhana? When a normal person won Lord mercy by his sheer love without any iota of pride. He understood Lord was looking for his innocent and unconditional love . Check the appended post for the full story https://atomic-temporary-2692795.wpcomstaging.com/2016/04/21/lord-narasingha-and-the-hunter-mata-narasimha-pita-narasimha-bratha-narasimha-sakha-narasimha-vidyaa-narasimha-dravinam-narasimha-swami-narasimha-sakalam-narasimha/ The spiritual pride of Sanandana was shattered with […]
***** Sanandana to Padmapada ***** …….. Jai Jai Nrsimha …Govinda keshava janardana vasudeva vishvesha-vishva madhusudana vishvarupa shri padmanabha purushottama pushkaraksha narayanachyuta nrisimho namo namaste
Swami Nammazhvar the most celebrated amongst all the Azhwars quotes in one of his paasuram 6.9.5 ( 3435) “vinmeediruppAi, malaimElnirppAi, kadal sErppAi manmeeduyalvAi evattrul engum maraindhuraivAi enmeedhiyandra puravandaththAi enadAvi vunmeedhAdi vurukkAttAdhE olippAyO?” The above pasuram reveals that LORD existence at paravatam .. vin meediruppAi .. (staying in the sky/heavens).. malaimEl nirppAi ….to archai (staying […]
An Introduction to Kerala Divyadesams. (Malai Nadu Divyadesams)
Srimathey Ramanujaya namah Sri Kumudavalli sametha Thirumangai Azhwar Thiruvadigaley saranam Sri Aravindavalli Nayika sametha Sri Badri Narayanaya namah : —————————————————————— Saptha BAdri are a a group of seven temples dedicated to Lord Maha Vishnu which are located in the Garhwal Himalayas. (Some consider ARdha Badri as one of the Sapta Badri and omit Narsing Badri) […]
JAI BHADRIVISHAAL…..PILIGRIMAGE TO SAPTHA BHADRI TEMPLES
Srivilliputtur beautiful village turned ” town” houses two famous temples- Lord Vatapatrasayee kovil ( sri vaishnava divyadesa kovil) and Andal kovil(Godadevi’s residence). Located in Virudhunagar District about 75 kms away from Madurai from north and about 70kms away from Tirunelveli from south ,this…
..Aandaal… the goddess who rules the Lord …. ThiruAadi Pooram festival ( July 26, 2017 Wednesday)
Swamy Mudumbai Nambee Ananthacharya was one amongst the 74 Simhadipathees nominated by Jagathacharyar Swamy Ramanuja . Swamy Ananthacharyar belonged to the illustrious family of the great srivaishnava stalwarts Swamy Pillai Lokacharyar and Vadakku Thiruvidhi pillai . . During 1360 , Swamy Ananthacharyar was blessed with a son who was named as Hasthagiri Ananthar Anna being ardent […]
“Swamy Prativadi Bhayankaram Annan” Lord Venkateshwara’s Suprabhatham glories…
Swamy Mudumbai Nambee Ananthacharya was one amongst the 74 Simhadipathees nominated by Jagathacharyar Swamy Ramanuja . Swamy Ananthacharyar belonged to the illustrious family of the great srivaishnava stalwarts Swamy Pillai Lokacharyar and Vadakku Thiruvidhi pillai . . During 1360 , Swamy Ananthacharyar was blessed with a son who was named as Hasthagiri Ananthar Anna being ardent […]
“Swamy Prativadi Bhayankaram Annan” Lord Venkateshwara’s Suprabhatham glories…
It was during 1783-84 , a time when the atrocities of the foreigners were unbearable . Their hatred for idol worship made the locals tremble, not in fear for their lives, but in fear of the possible damages that the age old holy idols in their ancient temples would suffer. Drastic measures were made to […]
ALI.PIRI…THE GATEWAY TO TIRUMALA
venkaTAdri samam sthAnam brahmANDe nAsti kincana; venkateSa samo devo na bhUto na bhaviSyati This sloka taken from the Puranas claims ………… There is no place in the entire universe that equals Venkatadri, the place where the Lord resides and there is no God, neither in the past nor in the future who equals Lord Venkateswara. Everything begins and ends […]
VenkaTAdri samam sthAnam brahmANDe nAsti kinchana; VenkateSa samo devo na bhUto na bhaviSyati
Swamy Parasara Bhattar had a new disciple . The disciple wanted to know how to identify a srivaishnava ? Swamy sent his new disciple from Srirangam to Tirumala to ascertain from the great devotee Ananthazhwan as what was the quality of a srivaishnava . The disciple though bit amused with his Gurus instructions proceeded […]
WHO IS A SRIVAISHNAVA ?
Sundare sundaro ramah …… Sundare sundari katha………. Sundare sundari sita ………… Sundare sundaram vanam, Sundare sundaram kavyam…….Sundare sundarah kapih ……… Sundare sundaram mantram…….Sundare kim na sundaram……. The beautiful Sundara Kanda is the chapter of the Srimad Ramayana which speaks about the great devotee Hanuman’s selflessness, strength, and devotion to Lord Rama .. Hanuman was fondly called”Sundara” by his […]
SUNDARAKANDAM PLACES IN SRI LANKA-DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Azhwar proceeded to Thiruvali his native place .Overjoyed to see the wonderful lushy green fields and the magnetic aroma of divinity sang several verses on the Lordships of Thirunangoor. He proceeded to Thiruvindaloor . Lord mischievously disaaperaed after appearing for few seconds sending Azhwar into grief . He recited the nectarine pasuram …. Vasi vallir […]
Thirumangai Azhwar at Nagapattinam …………… A divine pastime…
Lord Sriman Narayana incarnated in different avatharas in this world, for spreading the message of the liberation for the jeevatma from this material bondage . Unsatisfied , LORD summoned His serpent couch, the nitya-soori (eternally free soul) . Adisesha, and instructed, My dear Adishesha ! “Go down to the mortal world and live there for […]
As per Lord’s divine command ..Adishesha who appeared as Swamy Ramanuja once again appeared as Azhagiya Manavala Perumal Nayanar…..
SriSailEsha dayA pAthram dheeibhakthyAdi guNarnavam Yetheendra pravaNam vandE ramyajA mAtharam munim ——————————————————— Swamy Ramanuja had to to complete the original assignment of 200 years as ordered by LORD to uplift fallen souls . With implicit obedience, Adishesha appeared to this world as Swami maNavALa mAmunikaL. AdisEsha, in his previous incarnation as SriRamanuja, was very much […]
‘Let this sloka be recited at the beginning of all Divya prabhandam recitations … just as a Vedic recital begins and ends with the sacred ‘Om’ ordered LORD RANGANATHA
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 […]
Swamy Nathamuni and the 4000 Divya prabhandam
Millions of devotees all over the world gather at Pandharpur on the eleventh day of the waxing moon in June -July ( Aashaada Suddha Ekadasi) and in October -November ( Karthik Suddha Ekadasi ) . The lovely devotees mostly are Varkaris . Kari means one who undertakes .. Vari means periodical piligrimage .. Varkaris are […]
“Aashada Ekadasi ” darshan to Santh Kurmadasar
Few hundred years ago , King Vallaba Deva the Pandyan king was going around his kingdom in a disguise . Somewhere near a temple he saw an old man sleeping on a pial (thinnai) in front of a house.. The King out of curiosity , woke him up and asked him who he was […]
Long live ….Hundreds, thousands, and crores of years..my adorable LORD …
Puri” means fullness. This holiest temple town is in the form of a conch. It is also known as Jagannath dhaam-the abode of Jaganath, Purushotama kshetra, Nilachala Nilagiri- the blue mountain, Sri kshetram-the abode of Sri(Lakshmi). The holy dham vibrates with Mahamantra and other holy names of the Lord. It is also known […]
The Chariot festival …
We know, what a dear friend Arjuna was to Krishna.
He was such a dear friend to Krishna that he used to lay down with Krishna. Krishna became his chariot driver. Krishna was so conquered by the love of Arjuna, that he became a menial servant. Being a driver, is a humbling relationship. Is it not?
And in Mahabharta, what Krishna did for Arjuna? When Arjuna had to kill Jayadrata by sunset, the whole Kuru Army was in front between Arjuna and Jayadrata. Every single man in the entire Kuru Army, tens and millions of people, their only service, that they were blocking Arjuna. Dronacharya, such great souls were there and Krishna, he was just supporting Arjuna as a chariot driver.
Those horses were going so fast, so fast, so fast and Arjuna was fighting and fighting and Krishna was empowering him to fight and He was driving.
Arjuna was getting all the glory and Krishna was just a driver. And the horses were tired, Krishna was brushing the horses, giving them water, while Arjuna was doing the heroic work of fighting. What Krishna did, for Arjuna. Krishna was the menial servant of Arjuna, why?
Because of Arjuna’s love. Krishna also spoke Bhagvad Gita. He gave all the credit of the greatest war in history to Arjuna. Because of Arjuna’s love.
So once Arjuna was asking Krishna, “I want to understand the love of Vrindavan, I want to understand the love of your Gopis, I want to understand the mercy of Radharani”.
So Krishna told Arjuna that this is an impossible subject to discuss. It’s too confidential for you to understand.
Just imagine His best friend, he cannot understand these things, who are we?
Krishna told Arjuna, “you cannot understand, what is Gopis love, what is Radha’s love, what is Vrindavan’s love? You can only understand, if you experience it.
Then, he told him to go to Mother Parvati, and appeal to her and through her He [Krishna] will give the means.So Arjuna expressed Krishna’s instruction to Parvati and she gave him mantra and told him how to do various types of tapasya.And ultimately she took him to a lake and he bathed in that lake for purification and he was met by a Gopi and that Gopi took him to a lake in Vrindavan.
And he bathed in that lake of nectar and when he came out, he was not Arjuna, he was ‘Arjunia’. He had a female body of a Gopi. And he completely forgot his previous identity. There was no trace of recollection.So this Gopi took her into the assembly of other Gopis and they were very curious to see this new Gopi.
They said “please tell us who are you, where are you coming from, why have you come”.
And Arjunia said, I don’t know who I am, and I don’t know where I am coming from and I don’t know why I am here. The only thing I remember in my whole life is that I am coming out of a lake and I am a Gopi”.So they taught her how to chant various mantras. And then brought her into a Kunja, where she was brought before goddess Srimati Radharani.And Arjunia, seeing the beauty, the mercy, the love of Sri Radharani, surrendered at Her feet, fell at Her feet in complete surrender and Sri Radharani presented her to Krishna.
And Krishna sported with Arjunia in the forest.
And then Sri Radharani said to him to go to the lake and take your bath again. He took his bath and became Arjuna. But that he did not forget.
Moral of the incident:
1) So, even Arjuna closest friend of Krishna is longing to experience the love of Vrindavan. And what is the love of Vrindavan?, the abode of Vrindavaneshwari, Sri Radharani, who is the Supreme goddess of Vrindavan.
2 ) For receiving mercy of Krishna we need blessings of another devotee as Arjuna get blessings of Paravati and the gopi.
3 ) In spiritual life nothing is cheep. One need to do tapasya and some endeavor to show Lord intention of achieving him.
4 ) Mantra is arrow and Lord is target. By power of mantra we can achieve the Lord.
When we understand our relationship with God then we all will be happy. It is an essential factor for establishing peace in the world.
Joy can only be experienced when we offer our love to Krishna.
Please accept my humble obeisances
Those were the glorious days when the most revered Acharyar Swamy Yamuna Acharyar was living . A great devotee Nambi also lived near srirangam . One day, Swamy Yamunacharya was on the way to a village . To his surprise he saw Nambi who was working in the field was drinking the mud water in […]
THE DISCIPLE WHO TOOK THE PAIN OF HIS ACHARYAR (Maran Err Nambi Vaibhavam )
“ Jagannatha? Who Jaggantha …..
Who is He?
Where is He?
What can He do for us?
Can He kill the whale with a weapon ?
Can He save the ship?” retorted the captain.
A trace of a smile came over the old man’s face. He appeared so calm and composed at that moment of crisis.
“ Lord Jagannatha is my only resort.
Any danger is dispelled if one prays to Him,” the old man said passionately.
“He makes a human response.
His mystery is inscrutable, even to the demigods, what to speak of mere human beings. Yet when we call to Him, He comes and helps us instantly .”
Few hundred years ago the King of Puri, Purusottama Deva, was to marry the princess who was the daughter of a king, Maharaja Salluva Narasingha, from the southern state .
That was the period the Annual Ratha-Yatra festival was to take place . The King of Puri invited the father of the princess for the great festival . However , the King sent his minister Chinnu bhatta Godaranga instead.
The Minister carefully observed the kingdom to give the inputs to his King . The Rath Yatra date arrived . The King of Puri along with his ministerial staff went to the temple performed pooja and with the permission of the Supreme Lord the tradition of sweeping the road in front of the carts was done by the King .
The visiting minister was shocked to see the King hold the broom , Rather , being impressed with the devotion of the King for Lord Jagannatha, he did not agree of him sweeping the road, even if it was for the Supreme Lord.
He took leave and reported this incident to King Salluva Narasingha. The king too was unhappy and objected to the idea of his daughter marrying the King of Puri as he was merely a street sweeper. He informed through his counsel about his ejection for the alliance .
Purusottama Dev was extremely angry that he, as the servant of Lord Jagannatha, would be insulted for his service to the Supreme Lord . He gathered his army troupes and went to the southern state to teach King a lesson.
Unfortunately, King Purusottama Dev was badly defeated.
Upset , with a downcast mood, he approached “Saikatacharya”, who was a great ascetic, and a householder devotee of Lord Jagannatha.
The Sadhu said , My dear King You had forgotten to ask permission from Lord Jagannatha before you went to Southern state . It was your mistake . You are King but Lord Jagganath is Emperor. Please take his permision before waging a battle
With this realization, the King returned to Puri and rushed to the temple of the Lord, crying over his defeat, asking why the Lord had let this happen. He spent the entire night in the temple, and with doors closed, before the night came to an end, the King heard a voice asking why he was so distraught over such a simple thing.
The divine voice said … my dear Purusottama Please go and gather our troupes again, and we two brothers, Jagannatha and Balarama, would go along to fight on the your behalf.
The King was astonished . He did all that as Lord commanded . As the news spread, many people, both old and young, joined the King’s forces to fight along with their Lordships. However, as they proceeded , the King was filled with some doubts whether their Lordships were really coming along with him.
While the King along with his army went onward, far ahead were two soldiers who rode , one on black horse and one white horse.
They were looking majestic from behind . They stopped to quench their thirst at a small village near Chilika Lake by buying some yogurt from a devotee named “Manika”.
Manika offered them yogurt looking at their beauty . She was awe stuck and just could not move her eyes away from them . The soldiers looked at Manika and smiled . They said they did not have any money to give her . She just kept looking without uttering any word . The dark soldier shook her and said , Manika ..we don’t have money but I have my ring that will be your payment for the sweet yoghurt . Please give this to your King and collect the gift he gives . Both of them smiled and proceeded
The King was fast approaching behind them . Curious he was , he caught up to the lady, who flagged him down to give him the ring and asked for payment for the soldiers’ drink.
The king was shocked to see the ratnamudrika ring of Lord Jagannatha and then regained his confidence that, indeed, their Lordships had certainly come along with him.
Overjoyed , In payment for the ring, the king gave her the whole village, which is still named “Manikapatna”.
The king and his troupes effortlessly won the battle and as planned he also took King Sallowo’s daughter back to Puri.
The King did not marry her after the insult her father had given him.
He instructed his minister to see that she get married to a most qualified sweeper.
Exactly after one year, Ratha-Yatra date was announced . As per traditional guidance , the King again took blessings from Supreme Lord and performed his sweeping of the ground before the Rath .
The king’s minister felt pity for the princess and announced that the king was the most qualified sweeper, since he swept for Lord Jagannatha, and that the princess, Padmavati, should marry him.
Amongst the crowds Maharaja Purusottama Dev married the princess and she later gave birth to “King Prataparudra” the great devotee of Lord Chaitanya Maha Prabhu .
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan
Pictures& Videos : Courtesy from advanced devotees who uploaded in social media
Jai Jai Ramakrishna Hari Jai Jai Panduranga Hari Jai Jai Ramakrishna Hari Jai Jai Panduranga Hari Sri Rakumaayi sametha Sri Panduranga parabrahmane namah Srimathey Ramanujaya namah Jai Jai Ramakrishna Hari Pilgrimage to Pandharpur near Sholapur in Maharashtra and having darshan of Lord Vittal is incomplete without having the darshan of the great saints Sri […]
Jai Jai vittala Jai Hari Vittala
Swamy Parasara Bhattar the great successor of Jagath Acharyar Swami Ramanuja was a prolific writer of great distinction. Acharyar’s works in Sanskrit and tamil bear amazing scholarship and command . Swamy’s works in Sanskrit include Ashtasloki, BhagavadgunaDarpanam , SriGunaRatnakosam, SriRanganathaStotram, Sri Ranganatha Stavam. Swamy Parasara bhattar was officiating as the chief-priest in SriRangam temple, and […]
The In-dwellers deep love
Originally posted on kazhiyur varadan’s blog:
“tEvu maRRariyEn” …….. I do not know of any LORD other than my AchAryan, Swamy NammAzhwAr
Madhurakavi Azhwar appeared at a holy place in Thirukolur, a small village near Alwarthirunagari, Tamilnadu . Once he undertook an pilgrimage to Ayodhya. He was very moved by the beauty of deities of Lord Rama, Sita Devi, Lakshmana & Anjaneya and decided to stay in Ayodhya for sometime. During…
In Srimad Bhagavatha Mahapurana as part of a discussion between King Nimi and sage Karabhajana the advent of the Srivaishnava Azhwars appearance in the Kali age is revealed .
” In the Kali age men devoted to Lord Sriman Narayana will be born in large numbers near the Dravida territory where in the rivers Tamaraparni, Vaigai , Paalaar the most sacred Kaaveri flows
.”
True to the epic , both Swamy Namaazhwar and Madhurakavi Azhwar appeared on the banks of Tambaraparni river .
It is said that just after 40 years of the disappearance of Lord Krishna , Nammazhwar appeared . Periyazhwar and Sri Andal appeared in a place close to river Vaigai , the Mudal Azhwars and Thirumazhisai Azhwar appeared near Paalaar and Thodaradippodi Azhwar, Thiruppaanaazhwar and Thirumangai Azhwar appeared near river Kaaveri.
The most holy place Thirukurugur “Alwar Tirunagari” is about 30kms east of Tirunelveli on the Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur highway off the Southern banks of Tamaraparani .Check this post for more details :https://kazhiyurvaradanblog.in/2015/06/14/the-glory-of-thirukkolur/
Thirukurugur Vaishnava divyadesam is located on the banks of the river Tamaraparani and is one of the 108 divya desams in Pandiya Nadu. This was later known as Alwar thirunagari after the great Nammazhwar’s appearance .
Legends reveal there lived a pious devotee Kaariyaar an advanced bhaktha who was serving the devotees from his agriculture earnings .
Udaiya Nankaiyar from Thiruvanparisaram was his wife who was equally pious and served the devotees with all dedication . They had no progeny for a long time .
Their prayers were answered by the mercy of Lord of Thirukurungudi . Udaiya Nankai gave birth to a male child on Vaikasi month in Visakam star( who is considered to be the incarnation of Senai Mudaliyar the commander in chief of Lord Sriman Narayana) .
His parents named him Maran ( being different from others ) and he also had other names Parankusa and Satakopan .
The boy was not an ordinary kid nor did he have an ordinary life .
He displayed none of the usual characteristics of a baby, neither would he cry nor attempt to drink milk.
Looking at the strange behaviour of the divine child, the parents went to the temple for divine interference.
All of a sudden the child crawled and went under a tamarind tree inside the temple where he remained almost for sixteen years in yogic trance under the trunk . The divine incident became the talk of the town. 
After many years one day a elder Vaishnava who was on a pilgrimage to Ayodhya observed a shining light emanating from a far off place .He followed the light and reached Thurukurugoor. As he enquired around the place , he was directed into the temple . He was surprised looking at the divine aura being emitted from the young boy and attempted to go near him .
More details of Madhurakavi Azhwar can be read in this appended linked post
He approached the divine boy who was meditating deeply with his legs crossed and hands in chin mudrai pose. Madhurakavi thought that the boy could be deaf and dumb. To draw his attention ,he took a small stone and threw it in the lotus pond nearby.
Lo presto !
the boy opened his eyes and Madhurakavi could see the divinity in his eyes with golden hue.
Madhurakavi wanted to test the boy further whether he could reply.
Thus he asked a question
“Seththathin vayitril siru kutti pirandhaal etrai thindru enge kidakum?
A divine voice was heard with a smile
“Atrai thindru ange kidakum”.
The answer to his question made the madhurakavi ponder about the divine presence of the boy and the esoteric reply.
The peripheral meaning of the question…
“If a small one is born into a dead thing, what will it do ? and where will it be”?
The reply was “It will eat that and stay there”.
Nothing could be understood if not for our great achaaryas who had provided us with the inner meaning of this important quote
The inner meaning of the question:
“Seththadhu” – body,
“siru kutti” – soul.
“vayiru” – stomach.
The inner meaning mentions that when a soul enters a body, the body gets life and the soul forgets its true nature , thus thinks that the body is everything
The soul enjoys and suffers everything through the body.
It eats and lives on whatever the body earns as sin and virtues . Once the body is dead, the soul departs. Till the time the soul is present, it has to suffer and enjoy all the feelings of the body.
But once the soul realizes its true nature that it is the servant of Lord Sriman Narayanan and surrenders , the soul gets liberated from the cycle of births and deaths.
Swami Madhurakavi azhwar was amazed by azhwar’s knowledge and fell at his feet and pleaded him to accept him as his disciple.
Azhwar agreed and asked him to help him in composing his divine works. Thus came out the fountain of divine out pouring of Lord’s kalyanagunas .
Madurakavi Azwar wrote all of them in Palm leaves which were called ‘ pattolai. The divine out pourings were
A grand festival is celebrated for ten days marking the appearance day of Azhwar …….
at this holy place every year ending with a holy bath ( Abhishekam ) and ‘Theertha vari’ on Vaikasi Visakam day .
The Vaikasi Visakam celebrations are being held past 500 years or more
The temple at Thirukkurugoor was under the direct administration of our revered Acharyar Swamy Manavala Mamunigal.
Adiyen is recollecting the wonderful darshan we had few years back at Azhwar Thirunagari
The most important day for Srivaishnavas is Swami Nammazhwars Thirunakshatram ( Apperance day ) which happens on Monday june 9th ,2025 this year .
Nava Tirupathi is a cluster of Nine temples of Lord Sriman Narayana.
Nava Tirupathi is part of the 108 Divya Desam temples .
Located around the banks of the River Thamarap arani, the 9 temples of Nava Tirupathi are Thiruvaikundam,
Thiruvaragunamangai,
Thirupulinkudi,
North & South temples of Thirutholaivillimangalam,
Thirukkulanthai,
Thiruperai,
Thirukolur and
Thirugurukoor.
This otherwise a calm village is overcrowded with devotees for the 10 day grand festival.
Almost all the chathirams, Ramanujar koodams and houses were packed with devotees who come to witness the Nava garuda sevai from long distances .
A big mandapam in front of the main temple known as ‘PANDAL MANDAPAM” is decorated for the grand festival to happen .
This pandal was built by an ardent devotee Sri Pandala Ramaswamy Nayaakar during 1807 .
He took initiative in starting this wonderful Nava garuda Sevai utsavam and made arrangements for the mandapam and other paraphernalia .
In honour of his devotional service the mandapam is named Pandal Mandapam.
.
All the Perumals ( Lordships ) of the Nava Tirupatis come to
Thirunagari to grace our most beloved Nammazhwar .
Swamy Nammazhwar had darshanam of all the 108 Divya
desam perumal staying in Azhwar Thirunagari itself .
In the pandal “ Abhishekam for Azhwar is done with due honours by the recitation of vedic hymns being watched by a large groups of devotees .
Meanwhile ,there was an alert by the bhagavathas that the Nava Tirupathigal Perumal have already started from their temples “ Thirukolams “and after crossing the beautiful Tambaraparani River are arriving at Pandal Mandapam.
We rejoiced to see Perumals coming from different directions with a troupe of Nadaswaram goshti and the recitation of pasurams by Elders.
All Perumal started arriving to Pandal Mandapam. Every Divyadesam Perumal arrive in a well decorated palanquin with full temple honours.
Here Azhwar receives the Perumal and does Pradakshinam to Perumal thrice. Azhwar is then blessed with satari, peedambaram and prasadam which were offered to the Perumal.
After this, managala haarathi is given to Perumal and Azhwar and Perumal enter the main temple.
This procedure is followed for all the Perumals. This function takes place for about 2 to 3 hours.
All the Perumals alight inside a huge mandapam inside the temple. Parallel arrangements like decorating Peria Thiruvadi ( Garudazhwan ) for the evening function is done for the Garuda sevai.
The villagers share a wonderful hospitality inquiring about the details of stay, food etc of all the visitors . Most of the Thirumalagais are eager to serve the devotees with Prasadam.
The same evening around 5 P.M., Thirumanjanam ( Abhishekam ) would start for all the Perumals. Several groups of devotees coming from far off places assemble and chant azhwar pasurams with music. At 5 P.M the Vedic Pundits carrying silver kudams filled with holy water arrive . The water for Neeratam is brought from the river Thamparaparani with full honours (an umbrella, Nadaswaram)
The holy abhishekam “ Thirumanjanam” for all the Perumals are performed at the same time. Thirumanjanam is performed for all the Perumals inside the mandapam. It takes about 2 to 3 hours for the alankaranam to get completed.
Around 8 P.M. the much awaited garuda sevai starts
In the Nava Garuda Sevai, the lordships ( Perumals ) are seated on Garuda vaahanam. Azhwar is seated on a Hamsa vaahanam and his dearest devotee, Madurakavi Azhwar is seated on Pirangi Naarkaali (a chair)
Azhwar waits just outside the Maha dwaaram of the temple to receive the Perumals from all the Nine Divya desams .
The temple doors are closed and Azhwar along with his favourite devotee Madurakavi Alwar wait for the Garudaseva Utsavam to happen.The Mahadwaram doors are opened amidst the mangala Nadaswarams .
Azhwar is the first to have darsanam of Perumal. Perumal is given Mangala karpoora aarthi and managalasaasanam done to the particular Perumal by the Azhwar . The recitation of the Mangalaasanams with the divyadesam pasurams by Elders drives one to spiritual ecstasy. Similar to Srirangam, Araiyar sevai is followed tradition here
The sevai is a special treat to the eyes and fill LORDs grace unlimited . And being among-st our Azhwars and the advanced srivaishnavas its sheer bliss
The order in which the Perumals appear in Garuda vaahanam along with the paasuram number is mentioned for devotees sung by Azhwar is given below:
PERUMAL PASURAM NOS.
1) Sri Adinatha Perumal of Thirukurugoor 3106,3116
2) Sri Vaikuntanatha Perumal of Srivaikuntam 3571,3575
3) Sri Vijayasanar Perumal of Natham (varagunamangai) 3571
4) Sri Kaichinavendan of Thirupulingudi 3473,3568-78
5) Sri Mayakoothan of Perungulam(Thiuukulandhai) 3561
6) Sri Devapiran of Irattai Tirupati }
7) Sri Aravinda Lochanan of Irattai Tirupati } 3271-3281
8) Sri Bhoomipalar of Then Thirupperai 3359-3369
9) Sri Vaithamanidhi of Thirukolur along with Madurakavi Azhwar 3293-3303,3473
After this, neivedyam is offered to Perumal, Azhwar and Madurakavi Azhwar and Perumal leaves the place . All the Perumals assemble at East Mada street and from here all the Nava tirupathi Perumal are taken in procession in the 4 mada streets of Thirunagari with the Nadaswaram troups for each perumal , Veda goshti .
The devotees burst crackers and lit the roads with dazzling light. The local residents receive Perumal by sweeping the roads and decorating the roads with kollams etc.The zeal in their offering fruits and karpooram at the time of Perumal’s oorvalam is a great blessing. Almost the entire village are well versed with Perumals arrival. This procedure of waiting near the entrance, offering karpoora aarthi and rendering mangalasaasanam on that particular Perumal is followed for all the Perumals.
By the time the ninth Perumal Sri Vaithamanidhi of Thirukolur leaves the place, Adinatha Perumal of Thirukurugoor who left first comes back to the temple. After all the nine Perumals assemble, Azhwar pays his deep respects to all the Perumals and all the Perumals get inside the mandapam. Madurakavi Azhwar who has organized this function, payshis respects to Nammazwar who is pleased with his disciple.
The function concludes around 4 A.M. The next day morning, all the Perumals leave to their respective temples gracing all the devotees and Nammazwar accompanies them till the entrance of the temple as a Royal guest . Nammazwar ‘s hamsa vaahanam is placed in such a manner that he looks at the proceedings until Perumal leaves the temple street
The Perumals leave the Mandapam around 7.00 –7.30 AM . Only after the sight of Perumal completely disappears, Nammazhwar leaves inside a bit sad due to the departure of the perumals to their respective divyadesams.
All glories to the devotees who are at Thirukurogoor seeking the grace of Azhwar and Perumal ….
Prostrating vaishnavas ,Azhwar and Lordships for their abundant grace adiyen …..
silently walk behind Azhwars Palanquin asking for forgiveness and his grace in attending many more Satsangs…
Adiyen Ramanuja dasanPics courtesy : Google images , web site ; heritagetown .orgVideos : Thanks to Sri Govindarajan
In Srimad Bhagavatha Mahapurana as part of a discussion between King Nimi and sage Karabhajana the advent of the Srivaishnava Azhwars appearance in the Kali age is revealed . ” In the Kali age men devoted to Lord Sriman Narayana will be born in large numbers near the Dravida territory where in the rivers Tamaraparni, Vaigai , Paalaar the most sacred Kaaveri flows .” True to the epic , both Swamy Namaazhwar and Madhurakavi Azhwar appeared on the banks of Tambaraparni river . It is said that just after 40 years of the disappearance of Lord Krishna , Nammazhwar appeared . Periyazhwar and Sri Andal appeared in a place close to river Vaigai , the Mudal Azhwars and Thirumazhisai Azhwar appeared near Paalaar and Thodaradippodi Azhwar, Thiruppaanaazhwar and Thirumangai Azhwar appeared near river Kaaveri.The most holy place Thirukurugur “Alwar Tirunagari” is about 30kms east of Tirunelveli on the Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur highway off the Southern banks of Tamaraparani .
Check this post for more details :
https://kmkvaradhan.wordpress.com/2015/06/14/the-glory-of-thirukkolur/Thirukurugur Vaishnava divyadesam is located on the banks of the river Tamaraparani and is one of the 108 divya desams in Pandiya Nadu. This was later known as Alwar thirunagari after the great Nammazhwar’s appearance . Legends reveal there lived a pious devotee Kaariyaar an advanced bhaktha who was serving the devotees from his agriculture earnings . Udaiya Nankaiyar from Thiruvanparisaram was his wife who was equally pious and served the devotees with all dedication . They had no progeny for a long time .Their prayers were answered by the mercy of Lord of Thirukurungudi . Udaiya Nankai gave birth to a male child on Vaikasi month in Visakam star( who is considered to be the incarnation of Senai Mudaliyar the commander in chief of Lord Sriman Narayana) . His parents named him Maran ( being different from others ) and he also had other names Parankusa and Satakopan .
The boy was not an ordinary kid nor did he have an ordinary life . He displayed none of the usual characteristics of a baby, neither would he cry nor attempt to drink milk. Looking at the strange behaviour of the divine child, the parents went to the temple for divine interference. All of a sudden the child crawled and went under a tamarind tree inside the temple where he remained almost for sixteen years in yogic trance under the trunk . The divine incident became the talk of the town.
After many years one day a elder Vaishnava who was on a pilgrimage to Ayodhya observed a shining light emanating from a far off place .He followed the light and reached Thurukurugoor.
As he enquired around the place , he was directed into the temple . He was surprised looking at the divine aura being emitted from the young boy and attempted to go near him .
More details of Madhurakavi Azhwar can be read in this appended linked post
“tEvu maRRariyEn” …….. I do not know of any LORD other than my AchAryan, Swamy NammAzhwAr
He approached the divine boy who was meditating deeply with his legs crossed and hands in chin mudrai pose. Madhurakavi thought that the boy could be deaf and dumb. To draw his attention ,he took a small stone and threw it in the lotus pond nearby.
Lo presto ! the boy opened his eyes and Madhurakavi could see the divinity in his eyes with golden hue.
Madhurakavi wanted to test the boy further whether he could reply.
Thus he asked a question
“Seththathin vayitril siru kutti pirandhaal etrai thindru enge kidakum?
A divine voice was heard with a smile
“Atrai thindru ange kidakum”.
The answer to his question made the madhurakavi ponder about the divine presence of the boy and the esoteric reply.
The peripheral meaning of the question…
“If a small one is born into a dead thing, what will it do ? and where will it be”?
The reply was “It will eat that and stay there”.
Nothing could be understood if not for our great achaaryas who had provided us with the inner meaning of this important quote
The inner meaning of the question:
“Seththadhu” – body,
“siru kutti” – soul.
“vayiru” – stomach.
The inner meaning mentions that when a soul enters a body, the body gets life and the soul forgets its true nature , thus thinks that the body is everything The soul enjoys and suffers everything through the body.
It eats and lives on whatever the body earns as sin and virtues . Once the body is dead, the soul departs. Till the time the soul is present, it has to suffer and enjoy all the feelings of the body.
But once the soul realizes its true nature that it is the servant of Lord Sriman Narayanan and surrenders , the soul gets liberated from the cycle of births and deaths.
Swami Madhurakavi azhwar was amazed by azhwar’s knowledge and fell at his feet and pleaded him to accept him as his disciple. Azhwar agreed and asked him to help him in composing his divine works. Thus came out the fountain of divine out pouring of Lord’s kalyanagunas . Madurakavi Azwar wrote all of them in Palm leaves which were called ‘ pattolai. The divine out pourings were
A grand festival is celebrated for ten days marking the appearance day of Azhwar at this holy place every year ending with a holy bath ( Abhishekam ) and ‘Theertha vari’ on Vaikasi Visakam day .
The Vaikasi Visakam celebrations are being held past 500 years or more .
The temple at Thirukkurugoor was under the direct administration of our revered Acharyar Swamy Manavala Mamunigal.
Adiyen is recollecting the wonderful darshan we had few years back at Azhwar Thirunagari
The most important day for Srivaishnavas is Swami Nammazhwars Thirunakshatram ( Apperance day ) which happens to be on May 22nd ,2024 this year .
Nava Tirupathi is a cluster of Nine temples of Lord Sriman Narayana.
Nava Tirupathi is part of the 108 Divya Desam temples .
Located around the banks of the River Thamarap arani, the 9 temples of Nava Tirupathi are Thiruvaikundam,
Thiruvaragunamangai,
Thirupulinkudi,
North & South temples of Thirutholaivillimangalam,
Thirukkulanthai,
Thiruperai,
Thirukolur and
Thirugurukoor.
This otherwise a calm village is overcrowded with devotees for the 10 day grand festival.
Almost all the chathirams, Ramanujar koodams and houses were packed with devotees who come to witness the Nava garuda sevai from long distances .
A big mandapam in front of the main temple known as ‘PANDAL MANDAPAM” is decorated for the grand festival to happen . This pandal was built by an ardent devotee Sri Pandala Ramaswamy Nayaakar during 1807 .
He took initiative in starting this wonderful Nava garuda Sevai utsavam and made arrangements for the mandapam and other paraphernalia . In honour of his devotional service the mandapam is named Pandal Mandapam.
All the Perumals ( Lordships ) of the Nava Tirupatis come to
Thirunagari to grace our most beloved Nammazhwar .
Swamy Nammazhwar had darshanam of all the 108 Divya
desam perumal staying in Azhwar Thirunagari itself .
In the pandal “ Abhishekam for Azhwar is done with due honours by the recitation of vedic hymns being watched by a large groups of devotees .
Meanwhile ,there was an alert by the bhagavathas that the Nava Tirupathigal Perumal have already started from their temples “ Thirukolams “and after crossing the beautiful Tambaraparani River are arriving at Pandal Mandapam.
We rejoiced to see Perumals coming from different directions with a troupe of Nadaswaram goshti and the recitation of pasurams by Elders.
All Perumal started arriving to Pandal Mandapam. Every Divyadesam Perumal arrive in a well decorated palanquin with full temple honours.
Here Azhwar receives the Perumal and does Pradakshinam to Perumal thrice. Azhwar is then blessed with satari, peedambaram and prasadam which were offered to the Perumal.
After this, managala haarathi is given to Perumal and Azhwar and Perumal enter the main temple. This procedure is followed for all the Perumals. This function takes place for about 2 to 3 hours.
All the Perumals alight inside a huge mandapam inside the temple. Parallel arrangements like decorating Peria Thiruvadi ( Garudazhwan ) for the evening function is done for the Garuda sevai.
The villagers share a wonderful hospitality inquiring about the details of stay, food etc of all the visitors . Most of the Thirumalagais are eager to serve the devotees with Prasadam.
The same evening around 5 P.M., Thirumanjanam ( Abhishekam ) would start for all the Perumals. Several groups of devotees coming from far off places assemble and chant azhwar pasurams with music. At 5 P.M the Vedic Pundits carrying silver kudams filled with holy water arrive . The water for Neeratam is brought from the river Thamparaparani with full honours (an umbrella, Nadaswaram)
The holy abhishekam “ Thirumanjanam” for all the Perumals are performed at the same time. Thirumanjanam is performed for all the Perumals inside the mandapam. It takes about 2 to 3 hours for the alankaranam to get completed.
Around 8 P.M. the much awaited garuda sevai starts
In the Nava Garuda Sevai, the lordships ( Perumals ) are seated on Garuda vaahanam. Azhwar is seated on a Hamsa vaahanam and his dearest devotee, Madurakavi Azhwar is seated on Pirangi Naarkaali (a chair)
Azhwar waits just outside the Maha dwaaram of the temple to receive the Perumals from all the Nine Divya desams .
The temple doors are closed and Azhwar along with his favourite devotee Madurakavi Alwar wait for the Garudaseva Utsavam to happen.The Mahadwaram doors are opened amidst the mangala Nadaswarams .
Azhwar is the first to have darsanam of Perumal. Perumal is given Mangala karpoora aarthi and managalasaasanam done to the particular Perumal by the Azhwar . The recitation of the Mangalaasanams with the divyadesam pasurams by Elders drives one to spiritual ecstasy. Similar to Srirangam, Araiyar sevai is followed tradition here
The sevai is a special treat to the eyes and fill LORDs grace unlimited . And being among-st our Azhwars and the advanced srivaishnavas its sheer bliss
The order in which the Perumals appear in Garuda vaahanam along with the paasuram number is mentioned for devotees sung by Azhwar is given below:
PERUMAL PASURAM NOS.
1) Sri Adinatha Perumal of Thirukurugoor 3106,3116
2) Sri Vaikuntanatha Perumal of Srivaikuntam 3571,3575
3) Sri Vijayasanar Perumal of Natham (varagunamangai) 3571
4) Sri Kaichinavendan of Thirupulingudi 3473,3568-78
5) Sri Mayakoothan of Perungulam(Thiuukulandhai) 3561
6) Sri Devapiran of Irattai Tirupati }
7) Sri Aravinda Lochanan of Irattai Tirupati } 3271-3281
8) Sri Bhoomipalar of Then Thirupperai 3359-3369
9) Sri Vaithamanidhi of Thirukolur along with Madurakavi Azhwar 3293-3303,3473
After this, neivedyam is offered to Perumal, Azhwar and Madurakavi Azhwar and Perumal leaves the place . All the Perumals assemble at East Mada street and from here all the Nava tirupathi Perumal are taken in procession in the 4 mada streets of Thirunagari with the Nadaswaram troups for each perumal , Veda goshti .
The devotees burst crackers and lit the roads with dazzling light. The local residents receive Perumal by sweeping the roads and decorating the roads with kollams etc.The zeal in their offering fruits and karpooram at the time of Perumal’s oorvalam is a great blessing. Almost the entire village are well versed with Perumals arrival. This procedure of waiting near the entrance, offering karpoora aarthi and rendering mangalasaasanam on that particular Perumal is followed for all the Perumals.
By the time the ninth Perumal Sri Vaithamanidhi of Thirukolur leaves the place, Adinatha Perumal of Thirukurugoor who left first comes back to the temple. After all the nine Perumals assemble, Azhwar pays his deep respects to all the Perumals and all the Perumals get inside the mandapam. Madurakavi Azhwar who has organized this function, payshis respects to Nammazwar who is pleased with his disciple.
The function concludes around 4 A.M. The next day morning, all the Perumals leave to their respective temples gracing all the devotees and Nammazwar accompanies them till the entrance of the temple as a Royal guest . Nammazwar ‘s hamsa vaahanam is placed in such a manner that he looks at the proceedings until Perumal leaves the temple street
| Temple | Perumal | Thayar | Distance from SriVaikuntam |
| Srivaikundam | Vaikundanathan Kallapiran | Vaikundanaayani Sooranathanayagi | – |
| Srivaragunamangai Natham | Vijayasanar Emmiderkadivan | Varagunamangai Varagunavalli | 2 KM |
| Thiruppuliyangudi Puthan | Boomipaalagar Kaaichinaventhar | Nilamagal Pulingudivalli | 3 KM |
| Erattai Thirupathi | Srinivasan Thevarpiran | Alamelumangai | 10 KM |
| Erattai Thirupathi | Aravinason Chenthamarai Kannan | Karunthdankanni | 10 KM |
| Thirukuzhanthai Perungulam | Venkadavannan Maayakoothar | Kamalavathi Kulanthivalli | 12 KM |
| Thenthiruperai | Maharenedun Kuzhaikaathar Niharilmukil vannan | Kuzhaikaathu valli Thiruperal Nachiyar | 10 KM |
| Thirukkolloor | Vaithananidhi Nichopavithan | Kumuthavalli Kollor Valli | 8 KM |
| Azhwarthirunagari Viyazhan | Aadinathan Polinthunintrapiran | Aadinatha Nayagi | 5 KM |
The Perumals leave the Mandapam around 7.00 –7.30 AM . Only after the sight of Perumal completely disappears, Nammazhwar leaves inside a bit sad due to the departure of the perumals to their respective divyadesams.
All glories to the devotees who are at Thirukurogoor seeking the grace of Azhwar and Perumal ….
Prostrating vaishnavas ,Azhwar and Lordships for their abundant grace adiyen silently walk behind Azhwars Palanquin asking for forgiveness and his grace in attending many more Satsangs…
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan
Pics courtesy : Google images ,
One day, during the recitation of the Srimad Ramayana by the Royal guru, King Kulasekhara heard the following passage:
There twice seven thousand giants stand
with impious heart and cruel hand.
Here Rama stands, by virtue known;
how can the hero fight alone?
On hearing the lines “How can the hero fight alone?” King Kulasekhara rose in a frenzy of devotion for Lord Rama and commanded his army to march with him to where Lord Rama was fighting alone and helpless.
To relieve Kulasekhara’s distress, the ministers silently arranged for a battalion of soldiers to meet him as he was going out and tell him that Lord Rama had been victorious thus avoiding the King’s confusion. In spiritual delirium, Kulasekhara believed their tale and returned home
The daily recital of Srimad Ramayana went on as usual andevery important event which was read, was celebrated with great pomp and rejoicings, and taking Lord Sri Rama’s deity along with all the family members in huge procession throughthe streets of his city with royal endeavours ending with the sumptuous feedings to devotees and donations to sages and with distribution of charities and whatever a King could offer in celebration of the Emperors of the celestial world .That was the great Kulashekara Alwar a great devotee of Lord Rama
Knowing the peculiar temperament of the king, and his keen spiritual susceptibility which carried him to the stigmata-stage, the reader (to the king) of Ramayana exercised utmost caution during the daily recitation of Srimad Ramayana
However, one day, the reader Royal Guru was obliged to be absent himself, as other business called him elsewhere. He deputed his son to do the recital in his place.
The son was unaware of the king’s abnormal religious fervour; and so he read and expatiated on all passages of the Srimad Ramayana alike. And the incident of Sita’s abduction by the demon Ravana, came to be read.
Instantly, it lit fire to the King’s imagination, his wrath roused, and his enthusiasm burst forth.
Come on … “Immediately, he roared
Yes !!! I must take charge and ,”across the ocean,” he raved, ‘”reduce Lanka to ashes, slay its ruler, Ravana, with all his crew of brothers, friends and relations, rescue my weeping mother Sita and join her with my Father Sri Rama.”
As he raved, he rose, armed himself, bid his army. He rushed immediately along with his armies forth to the sea-shore, looking towards Lanka, plunged into it without a thought of the dire consequences which must follow from such rash and reasonless act.
The ministers and others were shocked in anxiety and dread, and wonder staring in their faces, eagerly watched the King’s procedure. They were so staggered as not to be able even to think how to advise him against his head strong impulses, nor dare to move to prevent him from giving action to his impulses.
As they could not think anything at this critical juncture, they simply stared.
As they stared, the King had already plunged into the sea, and was neck-deep in water, resolved to swim the vast stretch of the ocean beyond, to reach the shores of Lanka.That was the deep devotion he had for the Lordships
All compassionate Lord SriRama who was being worshipped in our Saint’s Home-Shrine, was watching throughout, the course of events.
Now matters had assumed a critical aspect. There was noalternative.
I must appear now to my child said HE and lo! as the King was about to swim forward in the delirium of his frenzy, he saw before him the most enchanting sight of our Lord Sri Rama approaching him, with his dear consort sita, clinging to His powerfularm.
Addressing his devout servant, our King-Saint Kulasekhara-
Lord Sri Rama spoke, O my dear Kulasekhara ! My child
We are returning victorious from the battlefield. Our foe-men have all perished. Our illustrious Partner we have rescued. Your .venture for our aid has been forestalled, and your wish has been fulfilled.
Pray let us all return to thy city. Let me lift and carry you to the shore, even as souls are lifted and carried by us from the larger and deeper sea of Samsara, to the shores of Heaven beyond.
“So saying, Sri Rama caught hold of His king-servant, brought him safe to the shore, and accompanying him as far as the city, vanished out of sight.
The ministers and the crowd surrounding him whispered ..
“God-sick is our king; what is the remedy for this disease?
Let us diagnose. Ah, we find the cause row.
It is the association with the Godly and the Saintly -the Vaishwavas—that has brought the king to this pass
.Let us wean him then from such associations.” Such were the cogitations of the poor ministers who surrounded the king.
The king who, on the other hand,was daily sighing to go to Sri Rangam and live there forever, was now in earnest.He ordered preparations to be made for his bidding adieu to his kingdom and join the Kingdom of God.
The ministers thought: —”When the king goes there, he will never return. The association with the Godly there, is even of a worse (!) type than here.
Irresistible associations abound there; let us devise a plan to foil the king’s designs. He is so attached to Godly men—the vaishnavas that he looks upon them as God’s•own ; and being so, worthy of first worship, or worthy of worship even before God Himself.” So, whenever the king essayed to go to SrlRaniga Shrine, the ministers had a batch of Srl-Vaishnavas ready as hailing from one Holy Shrine or the other. The king would postpone his journey on their account. In course of time, the ministers found that their plan proved but a case of ‘out of the frying pan into the fire,’ for the king’s court, hispalace, his private apartments as well as public places all became swarmed with vaishnavas who came and went regularly.
The Vaishnavas were allowed free access and familiarity, and the king literally venerated and adored them according to the procedures as Sastric injunction say that ‘ a Srt vaishmiva even once worshipped’ carried the merit of worshipping the Supreme Lord himself The ministers found these Godly folks a nuisance and were in a fix as to what to do.
They felt worried as any move will upset the King . If they tried to wean the king from his Srt-Ranga journey, they had to suffer the Godly people assembling in huge numbers and to assemble and accumulate-but their crowd was becoming unmanageable-
but if they tried to eradicate this root of the king’s divine ailment,— asthey thought always by bringing about their evacuation from the country, the king would say farewell to his dominions and depart.
“Supposing we could by some means calumniate these people , in the king’s eye, “they thought, “then he would certainly awake from his delusion of believing: these are godly men.
If the godly,-as he thinks-were proved ungodly, there is a good chance of re claiming the king from his odd ways.
” They thus hit upon a method:–Out of the box ‘ containing the valuable jewellery of the king’s darling deity Lord Sri-Rama, they secreted a precious necklace, unknown to anyone. It would be missed, and reported to the king of course.
He would hold an inquiry. And who should be the culprit ?
Surely these seeming vaishnavas , who arc the warders and guarders of the jewellery, the appointed priests as they were for fulfilling the function of daily worshipping Sita Rama and therefore directly concerned in constantly using the jewellery. So, the necklace was missed and a report was made to the king that the Sri Vaishnavas who had the management in their hands of the worship-department, were culpable; and were to be subjected to trial and punishment.
The king heard it all but at last exclaimed in a loud tone
“Hear hey … ministers,
True Lovers of God are incapable of stealing.
It is impossible that even a notion of vice can enter into their thought, motto say of act. Be hold ! I can swear to what I say. To prove this truth of my conviction and prove the falsity of your accusation against my Innocents, let a vessel, with a live venomous cobra imprisoned in it, be brought to me. I shall thrust my hand into it.” As soon said as done. And the King, before his Court in solemnconclave assembled, said : “If my Innocents are straight In thought, word and deed, I cannot be bit by thiscobra ; but if they are crooked, let it bite me and kill.”
So saying, he fearlessly plunged his arm into the vessel of death, but drew it forth as clean as when he thrust in . The ministers were put to shame they hung
their heads.
It was useless, they thought, to dodge and trifle with the king, who was to’o much for them ;fell at his feet, confessed their trick, brought the necklace and placed it before him in fear and respect.
The king pardoned them even as Kama pardoned the vile culprit Kakusura, the crow,—and the King was Lord Rama’sdiscipl and bid them from that away forward to be the slaves of his Innocents.
” No more will I dwell with these vile and scheming ministers “, the king thought within himself, “l am disgusted with all of them.
Why them ? well the whole worlds weary to me.
With the world and with the worldliness feel as if I would rather allow myself to be placed in the midst of flaming fire than keep company with them.
Brutes are those who are turned away from God
” So determined, our Saint would no longer bear to remaining his kingly estate, but called his son named Dridhavrata(so called after his grand-father), and entrusted him with the charge of his government, and accompanied by his daughter,—who, it is recorded, was a divine daughter of the Amsa of devi went to the Shrine of Ranga, — his heart’s Eternal Hunger. And there he gave his daughter in marriage to Lord Ranganatha Himself and remained there for a length of time engaged in conducting manifold services to the
Majestic Lordships and his devout servants
At intervals he undertook pilgrimages to Holy Shrines as Tiruvewgadam( Tirupati ,Ayodhya, Chitrakutam, and all divine places and as an embodiment of the divine emotions and enjoyments which came to him on all these occasions, is penned to us as the Dravida Prabandha, called Perumal Tirumozhi, consistingof one hundred and five stanzas .
He undertook a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Swamy .Nammnzhvar, (Tirunagari near Tirunalvelli),
It was this Royal Saint who sang the gem of strotas MUKUNDA MALA
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan
Pics : Courtesy Google images and Pics shared by devotees from social media
Madhurakavi (meaning in sanskrit the sweet poet ) appeared at a holy place in Thirukolur,, Tamilnadu which happens today (chitrai nakshatram)
Once Madhurakavi Azhwar undertook an pilgrimage to Ayodhya.
He was very moved by the beauty of deities of Lord Rama, Sita Devi, Lakshmana & Anjaneya and decided to stay in Ayodhya for sometime.
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During his stay, one night he saw a bright light in the sky emitting from the southern direction .
He couldn’t comprehend if it was a bright star, a forest fire or anything else. Amazed with the strange happening , he decided to follow the light and see it for himself.
Unmindful walking long distances , he followed the light .
After days of voyage, he finally reached Azhwarthirunagari a remote village and the light suddenly disappeared .
He was surprised at the phenomenon.
He enquired from the villagers about anything strange happening in their village assuming the dazzling light could have some prophecy too .
The villagers replied in negative, but expressed that a boy has been meditating under a Tamarind tree for past 16 years without even opening his eyes.
He had crawled to the tree as a baby 16 years back and remained in the tree thereafter.
Madhurakavi Azhwar was amazed with the villagers expression .
He decided to see the child for himself. Azhwar goes close as near to the tree and finds the divine child with tejas . Eyes closed and meditating the boy was glowing with radiance which was what he saw at Ayodhya .
The place was filled with divine aura and true the boy was looking too divine as much as Lordships themselves ..
Azhwar attempts to question the divine boy about what is True knowledge and gets convinced with his instant replies .
He immediately accepts the divine boy who is none other than our great Swamy Nammazhwar as his ACHARYAN
Sri Madurakavi AzhwAr becomes an ardent disciple of NammAzhwAr and serves him with utmost devotion . With all humility he submits the 11 verses of the grand KaNNinunchiRuthAmbhu glorifying his Acharyan Swamy NammAzhwAr / Sri SaTakOpar with all humility equating to Lordships .
A devotee can dwell and enjoy these verses for ages on the divine works of Madhura kavi AzhwAr’s grand
“KaNNinunchiRuthAmbhu” .
Azhwar declared in this Prabhandham
“tEvu maRRariyEn”
( I do not know of any God other than my AchAryan, Swamy NammAzhwAr).
After NammAzhwAr departed from this earthly world to srivaikuntam , MadhurakaviAzhwAr was worshipping deity of Swamy NammAzhwAr with deep devotion
which he consecrated and performed ThiruvarAdhanA and uthsavams in his honour.
Impressed by Swamy NammAzhwAr’s works he wanted to stage NammAzhwAr’s works in front of other scholars .
Azhwar used to contemplate on the divine knowledge shared by Acharyar .
Vaikaasi visaakam the appearance day of Swamy NammAzhwar was celebrated in a grand manner .
One particular year, when Swami Madhurakavi azhwar was taking azhwar’s deity in a procession during the celebrations, few poets from Madurai Thamizh Sangam objected to Swami Madhurakavi azhwar and said .
“Oh! Madhurakavi!!
You are worshiping Nammazhwar who is a just a ordinary devotee not Perumal and reciting verses glorifying him ..
Are those verses “sangam” certified? and authenticated by the great Madurai Tamil Sangam as “ the original and of the highest quality”?
and is he really qualified enough to translate the Vedas into tamil ”?
Azhwar was completely disappointed hearing these critics .
He politely went to Azhwar’s sannidhi and pleaded “Azhweer!!
These people are objecting to adiyen’s only kainkaryam which is my only purpose of life ..
Please do something that will not come in the way of my service to you . Nammazhwar pleased with his devotion appeared before Swami Madhurakavi azhwar in a disguised form.
Dressed like an old man he asked Swami Madhurakavi azhwar about his reason for his grief. Swami repeated the story to the old man.
The old man replied please do not worry about these trivial issues. Submit this pAsuram of “kaNNan kazhaliNai…” and see the miracle “saying this he disappeared.
“Kannan Kazhalinai”
will support you always”.
Madhurakavi obeyed as instructed and proceeded to Madurai to meet the so called great sangam poets .
All of them were debating in a boat discussing the authenticity of the literature .
Madhurakavi offered the holy verse to the poets .
(Madhurakavi azhwar had offered the divine verses in a small leaf which was used during olden times and the divine verse “Kannam Kazhalinai…” from Thiruvaaimozhi was ever glowing )
The poets read those verses and laughed at Swami Madhurakavi azhwar for his childishness and threw it aside .
Suddenly the whole boat top sided all the poets much to their surprise .
They swam hard and with great difficulty reached the shore. To their astonishment, they found that the boat retained only that palm leaf .
The poets read it patiently and were of opinion that Swamy Nammazhwar was not any ordinary saint and apologised for their foolishness . Thus their ego was shattered
Azhwar further says that For a true devotee of Lord Krishna ….
all is Lord Krishna the Food – eaten to satisfy the appetite,
water drunk to quench the thirst,
the betel leaves consumed after the food, are all Lord Krishna .
Chanting HIS holy name, speaking of HIS qualities, and thinking of HIM , HIS devotee will feel the hunger and the thirst and all other needs satisfied.
thaanE ulagelaam
thaanE padaiththidandhu
thaanE undumizndhu
thaanE aaLvaanE
aaLvaan aazi_neer
kOLvaaya aravaNaiyaan
thaaLvaay malarittu
naaLvaay naadeerE.naadeer naaLthORum
vaadaa malar_kondu
paadeer avan_naamam
veedE peRalaamE.mEyaan vEngadam
kaayaa malarvaNNan
pEyaar mulaiyunda
vaayaan maadhavanEmaadhavan enRenRu
Odha valleerEl
theedhonRum adaiyaa
Edham saaraavE.saaraa EdhangaL
neeraar mugilvaNNan
pEr aar Othuvaar
aaraar amararEamararkku ariyaanai
thamargatku eLiyaanai
amarath thozuvaargatku
amaraa vinaikaLEvinaival iruLennum
munaigaL veruvippOm
chunai nan malarittu
ninaimin nediyaanEnediyaan aruL soodum
padiyaan sadakOpan
nodi aayiraththippaththu
adiyaarkku aruL pERE
Pics : Credits to antaryami.net, Smt Geetavasudevan, divyadesam all the advanced devotees who captured the picsVideos : Credits 4000 Divyaprabhandam
Srimathey Ramanujaya namah
Sri Kumudavalli sametha Thirumangai Azhwar Thiruvadigaley saranam
Sri Aravindavalli Nayika sametha Sri Badri Narayanaya namah :
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Saptha BAdri are a a group of seven temples dedicated to Lord Maha Vishnu which are located in the Garhwal Himalayas. (Some consider ARdha Badri as one of the Sapta Badri and omit Narsing Badri) . However , the entire Garhwal Himalayas are BhadriNarayana Kshetram. The area spreading from Satopanth 24 kms above Badrinath to Nand Prayag is known as Badri Kshetram as this area was once Badri vanam and as these temples of Lord Maha Vishnu are in this area, they are popularly known as Sapta Badri Kshetram.
The Seven temples are listed as below •
Badri Vishal- the main temple which is located at 3133 mtrs.-23 kms from Yogdhyan Badri
• Yogdhyan Badri – enroute from Joshirmutt to Badri Vishal at Pandukeshwar at an atltitude of 1920 mtrs.
• Narasing Badri– also known as Thirupiridhi vaishnava divya desam.
Some consider this as one of the Sapta Badri kshetrams
. • Vridha Badri– located at Animath village between JOshirmutt and Helang. About 7 kms from Joshirmutt on the way to Urgam
• Dhyan Badri-located 1 km from Urgam village.
• Bhavishya Badri– 20 kms from Joshirmutt near Tapovan by vehicle and from there 6 kms trek up the hill at an altitude of 2744 mtrs. THE FUTURE BHADRINATH temple will be at this place .
Adi Badri is located 17 kms from Karna Prayag. The cluster of 16 temples constructed by Adi Sankaracharyar. Dhyan Badri and Narasing Badri(Joshirmutt) are not included in Pancha Badri kshetrams. Yogdhyan Badri,Vridha Badri,Dhayan Badri, Bhavishya Badri can be accessed from Joshirmutt as base.
Badrikshetram also has Theertha mahimai as the Pancha Prayags –confluence of holy rivers are located in this area. An important information is except for the main temple, Badri Vishal the other temples scattered in remote villages remain open all through the year because they are at a lesser altitude.
Badrinath is one of the eight swayam vyakta kshetrams located in Garhwal Himalyas , referred as Gandha Madhana Parvatham in our scriptures like Srimad Bhagavatam.
It is also one of the 108 vaishnava divya desams glorified by Thirumangai Azhwar in his 20 pasurams .
In one of the pasuram , Azhwar advises us to seek and have a darshan of Lord Bhadri Vishaal in our youth itself , as
later the KALA (TIME) swallows our age invisibly
thus it will be too late for an old person to visit the holy bhadri
associated knee pain , joint pains and the body does not cooperate making a mockery of ones self for wasting ones precious life .
Here Lord incarnated as Narayanan and graced the sacred ashtakshara mantram upadesam to Naran. Naran and Narayanan are believed to be meditating at this place for the welfare of the world.
The temple is situated on Urvashi peetam between Nara and Narayanan mountains on the banks of River Alakananda.
The temple is open during April-October (starting from Akshaya thrithiyai and closed during Deepavali) and is closed during peak winter. Ganesh Gufa, Vyas Gufa, Mata murthi temple, Vasudhaara Falls, Satopanth,Bhim pool, origin of River Saraswathi are near Badrinath.
There are jeeps and cars plying from Badrinath temple to visit the above places which are situated in Mana village-the last village on Indo-China Border. It takes 3 hours to and fro to visit Mana village. There is a Mata Murthi temple is on the way to Mana village.
As per legend, Dharma and Murthi were the parents of Naran and Narayanan (who were the incarnations of Lord Vishnu).
They transformed themselves into mountains to avoid distraction. To fulfill the desire of HIS mother Mata Murthi, once in a year, the Lord visits this temple. Uddhavar who is considered as the utsava murthi in the temple is brought to this place with paraphernalia.
The famous Vyas Gufa is the place where Sage Vyasar compiled the four Vedas, recited Mahabharatam while Yaanai Mugathaan(Lord Ganesha) penned the same while the former dictated. Ganesh Gufa is beside Vyas Gufa. Nearby, we can find the origin of River Saraswathi who flows as Antharvahini till she reaches Triveni Sangamam. River Saraswathi darshanam can be had here only .
There is a small temple dedicated to the River Goddess. The flow with which she appears on this earth in inexplicable.
Near to Badrinath temple , Bheem Phool and Satopanth are places associated with Pandavas . Pandukeshwar,also known as Yogdhyan Badri is on the way to Badrinath is the birth place of Pandavas. Vyas Gufa and Ganesh Gufa are related to Mahabharatam. Pandavas along with Draupadi on their way to Swargam (satopanth) reached this place and when Draupadi could not cross River Saraswathi, Bheem is belived to have thrown a boulder across the river to enable her to cross over.
This is Bheem pool. This is located on the way to Satopanth- Draupadi,Sahadeva,Nakula, Arjuna, Bheema left their bodies on the way whereas Dharmaraja Yudhistira was able to go to Swargam from Satopanth. VAsudhaara Falls is about 3-4 kms from Mana village on a higher altitude. Villagers believe that if a drop of water falls on us, we get redeemed from all our sins. It will take about 4-5 hours to go to Vasudhaara Falls and return to Mana village due to the altitude and climatic conditions.
To visit Vasudhaara Falls, we must allocate one full day.WE planned to visit Vasudhaara Falls from Badri but due to time constraint,we couldn’t visit. But the ever merciful compassionate Perumal blessed us by giving HIS darshan in the evening and to watch (Abhisheka seva) Thirumanjana seva.
Our pilgrimage lasted for about five days
First day :- Entire day driving from Haridwar to Joshirmutt-Night stay at Joshirmutt
Second day :- Entire day at BAdrinath
Third day – Visited Badri Vishal, Yogadhyan Badri, Vridha Badri,Dhyan Badri, Narasing Badri, Vishnu Prayag-Temples
Fourth day :- Visited Bhavishya Badri, Karna Prayag Temples-night stay at Karna Prayag
Fifth day – Visited Adi Badri, Nand Prayag, Dev Prayag temples and reached Haridwar –
INTRODUCTION
We had darshan of Sri Bhadri Narayana Perumal during 2003 but were not conversant with the other temples . The travel details was done in pdf format for piligrims convenience and is available in the below link
TRAVEL DETAILS
We boarded the evening flight to New Delhi and reached Delhi at 10 P.M. The flight was delayed by half an hour. From airport, we took a Metro to New Delhi railway station to board Dehradun AC train at 2355 hours. Reached Haridwar at 4 .M. Our cab driver , Narendra was waiting to pick us up at Haridwar station.
We had already booked a cab and fixed the tour plan. We drove to ISKCON, Haridwar where we had actually planned to check in and then go to Hari Ki Pauri for purification . Being a small ashram and as there was no response from ISKCON, we straightaway drove to Hari KI Pauri which was already crowded.. After purification and cow_puja, we drove to Rishikesh as we wanted to have darshan of Lord Venkateswara Swamy before proceeding further.
Wayback in 2003, only after praying to Lord Srinivasar, we could get bus tickets to go to Badrinath and on our return, we stayed at Andhra Bhavan for 2 days and participated in all the sevas. So, this time also we wanted to take the Lord’s darshan. Reached the temple at about 9 A.M., performed archanai and paid for the next day’s abhishekam to the Lord. On the way, we stopped at Lakshman Jhoola to take printouts of our accommodation and for recharging Airtel mobile as BSNL network connectivity was poor.
Hari Naam sankirtan was continuously played in the car all through our journey. Chanting the holy names of the Lord and contemplating on the Lord while admiring the nature’s beauty-the tall peaks covered with thick trees trying to touch the sky and the gentle flowing Alakananda on the other side as if guiding us to her place of origin…. I wish I were a poet to describe the scenic beauty.
WE were happy to note the developments in this lORD’s holy land –construction of Hydel Power projects, dams etc….We learnt from our driver that only experienced and specially qualified persons to drive in the ghat region would be permitted to drive and they are strictly supposed to wear uniform and carry their permit with them always.
After driving for about 2 hours , we reached Dev Prayag about 70 kms away from Rishikesh located at an altitude of 618 m at mid-noon. As the temple would be closed, we proceeded to Rudra Prayag which is about 2 hours drive from Dev Prayag, stopping for a while at Srinagar to fuel our car. GHMVNL has guest houses at all important places.
We had to turn on the AC becoz we couldn’t withstand the sweltering heat . We thought the drive would be pleasant as we were in Himalayas but it turned out to be otherwise. Added to this, construction work was going on all through the way and so there was pollution. Enroute we halted for a while at Rudra Prayag to have lunch and then proceeded with our journey. Reached Joshirmutt and checked in at GMVNL Guest House located in Main Bazaar at about 6.30 p.m..From Rishikesh upto Rudra Prayag , the route to chardham is the same .
The route to Badrinath diverges at Rudra Prayag. Joshirmutt always has floating population of pilgrims and mostly pilgrims halt at this place. So, we can find innumerable lodges in this congested area . As we had prior booking, we checked into this guest house where we were allotted a compact deluxe room which had no ventilation and fan.
WE wanted to have a bigger and better room but as the rooms were not available, we had no option and retired for the night. Joshirmutt is basically a cold place and the rooms are constructed in such a way out of wood with limited or no ventilation so that the room is kept warm. There is no provision for ceiling fans as there is no requirement. The room rates are high during the peak season depending upon the demand.
The minimum rent is about Rs.1000/-per day. We can find the room tariffs displayed in the reception mentioning the room rents during various seasons. We practically experienced the impact of global warming. We didn’t have any choice other than having dinner in the restaurant itself. On 15th June, we started our journey to Badrinath at 7 A.M . Had to wait for sometime for the gates to open . Reached Badrinath via Pandukeshwar , Deva Darshani. The snow clad mountains were shining when the sun rays touched them which is a feast to the eyes. We went to Chinna Jeeyar Swami Mutt which is near Ambani’s guest house where we were allotted 2 rooms for Rs.450/- each.
We met Sridhar Swami who was referred by our friend and expressed our desire to go to Vasudhaara Falls after having darshan of Lord Badrinath. Sridhar Swami informed that it would take minimum 2 hours to have darshan in the temple due to heavy crowd and it would not be possible for us to go to Vasudhaara Falls which is 4 kms beyond Mana Village as the weather there was unpredictable and it would get dark by 5 P.M.
He said that it would take one full day to go to Vasudhaara Falls and return. So, we dropped the idea of going to Vasudhaara Falls with a heavy heart thinking that he was trying to demotivate us.
With a set of clothes for changeover, we left the Mutt at about 11 A.M. and went to Tapta KUnd in our vehicle to have bath. It is customary to purify ourselves in the hot springs of Tapta Kund before getting inside the temple for darshan. There are separate bathing places for ladies and gents and separate rooms but the entire place was over crowded. Seeing the crowd, we felt as if we were in Tirumala during Brahmotsavam!. We were shocked to see serpentine queue for darshan. While adiyen went to buy some seva ticket, my daughters joined the queue. WE learnt from the authorities that during day time, there is no special ticket and darshan is common for everyone and that the temple would close by 12.30 and everyone would get a chance to take darshan of the Lord. We joined the queue and finally had darshan of Lord Badrinarayanan for few minutes who was beautifully decorated with flowers. One of the pujaris looking at the tilak on adiyen’s daughter’s forehead, allowed her inside for darshan.
How fortunate!!!
While we were reciting Sahasranamam, a saintly person whose dressing resembled that of Jada Bharathan(he had jadai and was wearing soiled clothes but his face was glowing ) approached us and advised us to have the Maha Prashadam which would be distributed shortly. WE purchased 2 paper plates for Rs.2/-each and joined the queue . We realized the Lord’s ever compassionate quality when we ,the most fallen souls, were given the mahaprasadam comprising of rice, dal , curry.
With tear filled eyes, all five of us partook the prasadam. Adiyen approached the nearby counter where tickets were being issued for special sevas. Tickets for Gita Paat and Nirmalaya darshan were already sold out but only one ticket for Abhishekam for next day morning was available. We booked abhishekam ticket for next day morning seva in which 2 persons are allowed and Sahasranama Archanai Seva for children in the evening. Went back to Chinna Jeeyar Mutt at 2 p.m. and had prasadam. The reporting time for Sahasranama archanai seva was 5 p.m. and hence we didn’t visit Mana Village Instead , we Went to the temple at 5 P.M. for darshan.
There were long queues for various sevas to be conducted in the evening. While our children joined the queue, aidyongal sat in front of the utsavar sannidhi and took a sankalpam to recite Vishnu Sahasranamam atleast 11 times. The utsava murthi who is a replica of the moolavar is made of silver with chatur bhujam. The temple management has recently constructed a separate sannidhi for the utsava murthi within the temple precincts .
The new clothes given by devotees to the diety as part of their offering are hung in the sannidhi. Hardly we completed 6 rounds, a group of ISKCON devotees from Delhi entered the temple singing Hare Krishna Maha Mantra. The electrifying kirtan went on for about one hour while everyone present was dancing and chanting in ecstasy the holy names of the Lord . We profusely thanked Perumal for this association to chant the holy names at the holiest place on the holiest day,Ekadasi. After making few purchases, we retired for the night.
On 16th June, at 2 A.M. adiyongal went to Tapta Kund and entered the temple for participating in Thirumanjana seva . The reporting time for the seva is 4 a.m. and we joined the organized queue.
WE felt blessed to be in one of the eight swayam vyakta kshetrams (where the Lord’s image is not sculpted by anyone but Lord out of HIS free WILL manifested in this place) Perumal appeared in this place in Padmasanam posture with chatur bhujam- the two lower hands resting on HIS lap and the remaining 2 hands holding sankhu and chakram. And as he was in meditation, the ever inseparable Thayar (Agalagillene Irayium Endru…) appeared as a badri vruksham to protect Perumal from the harsh weather. Hence, Perumal is known as Badri Narayanan.
Lord descended from Sri Vaikuntam to the bhooloka to give mantropadesam to naran(human) at this place. Shiva who was meditating at this place moved to Kedarnath. Lord bestowed a boon upon him that a devotee visiting this place must first have darshan of Siva and then take HIS darshan. Hence , we find a small Siva lingam in front of the temple. This idol of Badri Narayanan was recovered by Adi Sankaracharyar in 8th century from Tapta Kund and was duly installed by him. Also, there is a sannidhi for Adi Sankaracharyar as he retrieved the vigraham.
Before entering the temple, we visited these shrines . Vaikuntanathan resolved to preach the sacred Ashtakshari Thirumantiram to the mortals (Naran) and appeared as Naran and Narayanan- the sons of Dharma Devathai(Yaman) and his wife (Murthi). As they didn’t want to get disturbed and distracted by anyone , they assumed the form of 2 mountains and meditated on the banks of River Alakananda. Indra tried to disturb the penance and sent apsaras from Devalokam little realizing that Perumal is beyond all such illusion. Out of Perumal’s will, a beautiful lady emerged from HIS thigh who surpassed everyone’s beauty and presented her to Indra. As the damsel appeared from Perumal’s thigh, she was known as Urvashi and the place where Perumal meditated is known as “Urvashi Peetam” on which the present day temple is existing .
AS Lord Krishna mentioned in Bhagavad Gita, Lord Narayanan imparted the sacred Tirumantram to Naran at this place. Hence this place is renowned as Ashtakshari kshetram and chanting of the mantram give thousand fold benefit. Contemplating on the Lord and reciting Tirumantram, we waited in the queue until we were ushered in by the authorities.
There are about 15 deities inside the garbagriham.
All through the day, the beauty of the Lord is hidden as HE is fully bedecked with jewellery and flowers . Only during Nirmalya darsanam and during Thirumanjanam , the Lord’s pristine beauty can be enjoyed. During Nirmalaya darsanam which is the last seva in the night, jewellery is removed and Lord is adorned with fresh chandan and flowers. During thirumanjanam, even those are removed and the dhivya mangala swaroopam of Perumal can be enjoyed. Devotees throng to have these darshans.
At the Centre we can have darshan of Lord Badri Narayanan in meditative posture. As HE is a tapasvi, Thayar is not physically present but is present as Badri Vruksham which cannot be perceived by mortal eyes On HIS right, we have darshan of Garudar- Kuberan on HIS right – the demigod incharge of wealth. Kubera’s capital is Alakapuri which is beyond Badrinath. The materialists usually place few coins in front of Kubera and bring them back for worship. He is predominant amongst others as he is decorated in silver.ON the left side in the front, we can have darisanam of Uddhavar who is treated as Utsava murthi in this temple.
He is taken in palanquin to Maata Murthi temple once in a year as Perumal’s representative. In Srimad Bhagavatam, it is mentioned that Lord Krishna instructs Uddhavar to go to Gandhana madhana parvatam (the present Badri Kshetram) and do penance.On the left side, behind Uddhavar , we have Deva rishi Naradar ‘sidol who appeared in the nearby Narada Kund. It is believed that Sage Naradar eternally lives in this place always contemplating on the Lord.Nara- Narayanan –becoz of whom this place became sacred. Lord Narayanan gives darshan with naachiyars- Sridevi, Bhudevi,Niladevi, The deva loka damsel Urvashi who appeared from Lord Narayanan’s thigh is beside Niladevi.
Rewal, the celibate Keralite Namboodri head priest is the only person who is allowed inside the garbagriham. (He is like Ekaangi in Tirumala , the bachelor who alone is allowed to touch the divine Thirumeni of Perumal). The Rewal draped in a dhoti and black long thick Kurta and with his mouth covered with a cloth is the only eligible person to touch the divine idol of the Lord.
He removed carefully the flowers from the Lord’s thirumeni and carefully removed the chandana kaapu from the Lord’s thirumeni and gave it to his assistant. We were fortunate to get some chandan from him. Thirumanjanam to the swayambhu Perumal and HIS associates started amidst chanting of Pancha Suktham by the pundits who were sitting on either sides near the entrance on an elevated seat .
The Rewal , ( priest) who was now playing the role of an affectionate mother Yasodha, gently anointed Til oil to the divya Thirumeni of Perumal and others. Later holy water was poured through sankhu followed by milk ,curd, honey . The dhivya mangala swaroopam of Perumal can be clearly seen doing milk thirumanjanam. Adiyongal recited softly Neeratam pasurams after the priests completed Pancha Suktam recitation .The REwal gently pressed a silk cloth to wipe the Lordships. During alankaram, the priests recited Vishnu Sahasranamam while the Rewal applied sandal oil to the Tirumeni of the Lord and dressed them in new silk clothes. Within no time, the Lord was beautifully bedecked with fine jewellery. The Lord was smeared with chandana kaapu and decorated with flowers. All this is done in the devotees presence .
The holy water was later distributed to the assembled devotees and a small prasadam pack comprising of few sweets, tulasi , chandan etc were given to the participants. The entire process takes about 60-90 minutes. While doing pradakshinam, we purchased a small bottle of holy water for Rs.20/- which is being sold inside the temple . We Came back to Chinna Jeeyar Mutt and after honouring prashadam, left the holy abode with an intense desire to revisit the dhaam in the near future. Sridhar Swamy was very kind to pack lunch for us. Left Badri Vishal at about 8A.M. and drove to Pandukeshwar which is 20 kms away from Badrinath on the way to Joshirmutt. Yogadhyan Badri –one of the Sapta Badri Kshetrams is located in Pandukeshwar at an altitude of 1829 mtrs. .
To reach the temple, we need to get down off the main road , and climb down the steps to reach the temple. This is the place where King Pandu along with his wives,Kunti and Madri did penance and is the birthplace of Pandavas. Pandu who was cursed attained salvation here and after Mahabharata war, the Pandavas after handing over their kingdom to Parishit ,did penance at this place to atone for their sins. This temple was constructed by Pandavas. In the sanctum sanctorum, Lord Lakshmi Narayanan is in the centre with Sridevi towards HIS right and Bhudevi on the left. To the left of Bhudevi is Madri’s idol. We were told that there is a Shiva linga worshipped by Pandu beneath inside the garbagriham.
From there, we visited Vishnu Prayag- the confluence of Alakananda and Dhauli Ganga.
This is on Badrinath-Joshirmutt route in Chamoli district at an altitude of 1372 mtrs. As per legend, Sage Narada did penance and Lord appeared at this place. After having darshan of Lord Vishnu, Goddess Mahalakshmi and Kubera who is on the left side of Perumal , we went down few steep steps to the actual place of confluence to collect the holy water but in vain as the force was more.
Driving past Joshirmutt, on the Joshirmutt –Rishikesh Road, between Joshirmutt and Helang near Pipalkote , we reached Animath village which is about 7 kms from Joshirmutt to visit Vridha Badri at an altitude of 1380 mtrs.. This is on the way to Urgam, our next destination. We had to trek down few steep steps and occasionally climb and get down to reach Vridha Badri.
It takes about 15-20 minutes to walk down from the main road. This temple is neatly maintained surrounded by beautiful garden tended with great care by the priest family. We could see a wide range of beautiful flowers which are used for worshipping the Lord. Lord Vishnu appeared to Sage Narada as an old man and hence this place is known as Vridha Badri. We offered dry fruits to the Lord and the pujari honoured us with tulasi leaves . The serenity induces everyone to meditate on the Lord calmly without any distraction. Here Lord Badrinarayanan is alone in standing posture holding Sankhu, Chakra,Gada Padmam .
We proceeded to Helang and from there drove to Urgam village at an altitude of 2135 mtrs. The roads on the regular route from Rishikesh to Badrinath via Dev Prayag, Srinagar,Chamoli, Joshirmutt are broad, well maintained and secure but the roads on the other parts are not yet developed to that extent. This can be seen while going to Dhyan Badri. One needs to take a diversion from Joshirmutt-Rishikesh road to visit Dhyan Badri.
Here the muddy ghat roads pose threat and driving is challenging due to unleveled roads and obstructions caused due to landslides like boulders on the sides. There are no “taar roads” and a strong wind is enough to engulf the glass with dust and thus obstruct our view fully. The roads get blocked due to the debris caused by landslides which are not immediately attended to by BSFs as there is not much traffic. Occasionally, jeeps and local buses ply from this village to Joshirmutt and nearby villages .Like in Nepal, these buses are over packed with people literally sitting on the bus.
The bus tilts towards one side unable to bear the weight. From Urgam , we can visit Dhyan Badri , ARdha Badri which is about 2 kms from Dhyan Badri and beyond 5 kms is Kalpeshwar-one of the Pancha Kedar temples. The drive was really challenging . Our hearts nearly skipped a beat when our driver had to put a sudden break while turning. A chill ran through my spine when the driver pointed to a six seater white car which had a fatal end just recently claiming lives of 5 people. The Lord’s holy names were constantly on our lips which eased out our tension .
We reached Urgam at about 1 P.M. We relaxed in a nearby tea stall . The inmates made some hot rotis for us to have along with puihora prasadam given by Sridhar Swamy, At about 2 P.M., started walking down amidst green fields for about 15 to 20 minutes to reach Dhyan Badri temple which is about 1-1.5 kms from Urgam. The stony path is well laid though it is narrow.
Watching the green fields surrounded by peaked mountains, we reached the temple which was closed. There is a very small pond inside the temple compound which reminded us of the holy Saligramam pond near Melkote which was sanctified by our Acharyar.
A teenage boy who happens to be the pujari’s son opened the temple doors to enable us to have darshanam.
The garbagriham houses the main diety of Lord Narayanan in sitting posture in the centre. There are also vigrahams of Lakshmi Narayanan, Kubera and Siva lingam. Beneath we can find small idols of Lord Ranganatha with Sridevi and Bhudevi. Perumal appeared to Shiva who was meditating at this place. Perumal also did penance (dhyan) at this place before manifesting HIMSELF at Badri Vishal. Hence, this place is known as Dhyan Badri.
On enquiry, we learnt that Ardha Badri is a small temple which would be closed for darshan now and hence we returned to Urgam. As we were tired, we didn’t visit Kalpeshwar. WE came back to Urgam and drove back to Joshirmutt and reached the temple at 5 P.M. Joshirmutt is considered as one of the 108 divya desams , known as” Thirupiridhi”. Some count this as one of the sapta badri Kshetrams instead of Ardha Badri where there is only half figure ). Whatever it is , we wanted to have Lord Narasimhar’s darsanam .
Fortunately, the temple was open and the priest offered our dry fruits to Perumal. Here, Lord Narasimhar is in sitting posture and it is believed that when HIS left wrist wanes , the Badri temple would be permanently closed for darshan and Lord would manifest HIMSELF at Bhavishya Badri near Joshirmutt in near future. There are various idols in the sanctum.
From right, we can find Chamundi,Kubera,Udhavar, Badri Narayanana, Narasimhar in the centre, on the left is Garudar, Lakshmana, Rama , Sita . Lakshmana and Goddess Sita are in white whereas the thirumeni of Lord Rama is in black(shyamaa sundaran). The utsava murthi is Narasimhar Hanumar. During winter, when the main shrine at Badri Vishal remains closed for 6 months, the utsava murthi is brought down to this temple. This temple remains open all through the year. We then visited Vasudevar sannidhi who is believed to be the divya desa Perumal. Lord Vasudevar is in Nindra Thirukolam (Standing posture) holding Lotus and Gadam in HIS upper right and left hands and sankhu and chakram in HIS lower hands. There are also sannidhis for Sankarshana, Shiva, asthabhuja Ganesh, Kali and Bharivan around the temple. We were happy to note that one of the pasurams from naalayira divya prabhandham about this divya desam is written in Tamil and hung at the temple entrance.
While we were coming out, we happened to have darshan of one of the Shankaracharyars appointed by Adi Sankaracharyar to take care of these temples. WE checked into GMVNL guest house at Main Bazar and fortunately this time we were provided a better accommodation. Thanking Perumal for allowing us to have HIS darshan at 5 places in Badri kshetram, we retired for the night. ON 17th we checked out by 7 .A.M. and drove to Saldhar which is about 19 kms from Joshirmutt. The weather was pleasant and chilly and we were reminded of Tirumala ghat road.. We saw an arc mentioned as Tapovan. This is a serene place for meditation. Driving ahead, we reached the starting point of our trekking. Bhavishya Badri is located in Subhain village and one has to trek the hill for 6 kms in a lonely path . We just found a small arch mentioning Bhavishya Badri.
We five of us were in a lonely place. Initially there were few steep steps laid as a pathway for about a kilometer. Singing Annamacharyar keerthanas and chanting the Tirumantram, we prayed God for HIS darshan in this lonely place and started trekking. There are no sign boards, no indication about the route . The Lord seated as Antharyaami was guiding us..
We didn’t even know whether the route taken by us was right or not. We were enthralled to see a villager from whom we enquired about the route. Felt happy to note that we were on the correct path and as per his directions, we continued our way. Beyond the first settlement, there is no pathway at all. There was greenery everywhere and the different varieties of wild flowers which had blossomed were so colourful and pleasing to our eyes impelling the children to burst into some song. WE could see chameleons, colourful butterflies, squirrels , forest ants and humming sound of bees from far. However, we realized that the forest shrubs and plants which were growing on either sides of this so called tiny footpath was hostile. The leaves were sharp and accidentally if our hands touched the leaves, that part in our hand which came in contact with the leaf would get swollen immediately. WE had to be cautious while trodding the path so as to avoid stamping on some forest snail/snake/ant etc.
The path is slippery and my daughter who made a wrong choice of wearing heels had to remove her slippers and walk bare footed all through the way. Of course all these didn’t matter because we were focused on our destination. Once in a while, when we came across some passerby , we used to take directions from him and proceed on our adventurous trip. As we are not used to altitudes, we treaded slowly taking occasional rests . Somehow we were all energetic singing the glories of the Lord and enjoying nature’s beauty. In lighter moments, cracking jokes on each other once in a while to ease out the stress, we kept on ascending the hill. While trekking so, we suddenly got confused as the so called footpath was leading to two ways and we didn’t know which one to take. My niece found a Lays wrapper and suggested that the path would be inhabited. Children were enjoying the adventure guessing the route,pulling each other….It was a real holiday for them. We were imagining as to how Thirumangai Azhwar would have reached Badri Vishal which would have been unexplored like this at that time. There was no one to enquire and we were getting nervous as to whether the path taken by us was right or not. After walking for about half an hour, we met a lady who said that the route taken by us was wrong and she volunterred to take us to the correct path. We felt that it was God in disguise who appeared to help us out. We were once again left to ourselves and continued with our journey. After trekking for about 2 hours, we were exhausted and were searching for a place to relax. Luckily, we found a shop on the way . As we wished to remain light while trekking, we didn’t have breakfast and now the children badly needed something to re-energise themselves. The shop provided all sorts of snacks, cool drinks , medicines, water etc.
After replenishing ourselves, we continued onwards our 2 kms trek journey. This particular settlement was much better compared to other isolated places. We continued trekking and once again left with no one around. WE could not locate any path way and didn’t know which side to take-left or right!! WE took the wrong path and after some time, we saw a person down the hill and screamed for help. He informed that he is the temple priest and he was also going to Bhavishya Badri. Our joy knew no bounds. He accompanied us for some time, and as we couldn’t cope up with his lightning speed, he gave us directions and left. He said that the temple was only one km away . WE were now on a bigger plain surface. Surrounded by snow clad high mountain peaks on all sides, sun rays falling through the tall eucalyptus trees and gentle breeze full of medicinal properties accompanied by Dhauli Ganga flowing as a small stream , green vegetation in the surrounding places and the sound of cuckoos as if welcoming us , we were in ecstasy looking at the marvelous creation of the Lord. We have seen this in movies but now we are here experiencing them with our own eyes but for deers and peacocks.
Even after trekking for hours, we were still energetic and bubbling with joy as we were near to our destination. Two local women farmers were passing by us suggested us to taste the crystal clear cold water from the Dhauli Ganga stream. Pure unadultered tasty water was like nectar. They accompanied us to the temple. We reached the temple past noon.
AS the pujari met us on the way, he was waiting for us.
All of us had very good darshan of the Lord. The pujari explained to us that 10 years ago, there was only a sketch mark on the rock but now we can see the Lord’s figure emerging out of the cave.
The Lord is in the form of Narasimha bhagavan. The pujari pointed us to the various features in the half emerged idol attributing its form to that of Lord Narasimha. How fortunate and blessed we are to have Lord Narasimhar as Bhavishya Badri Narayanan. In the present Badri Vishal, the Lord is in the form of Narayanan whereas here HE is going to assume the form of Bhakthavatsalan, Lord Narasimhar whose avataram is for the sake of devotee. JAI NARASING DEV!! WE offered our dry fruits to the deities and did kirtan for about half an hour.
ADIYEN& FAMILY PERFORMING KIRTAN AT BHAVISHYA BHADRI TEMPLE
A mahamantra sticker is at the entrance which was pasted by ISKCON PAADAYATRA troup who visited this temple some time ago. WE were imagining that when Thirumangai Azhwar visited Badri Vishal few thousands of years ago, that place would have been similar to this one now.
After spending about an hour, we started our return journey which as per the locals would take half the time, but for us it took almost 3 hours to return. WE came down at about 5 P.M. and proceeded to Karna Prayag which is about 3 hours from Saldhar at an elevation of 1450 mtrs.. Checked into GMVNL guest house located near the confluence itself and retired for the night. Excellent room . This was the best guest house where we stayed in our trip. On 18th morning, after witnessing the confluence of River Alakananda with Pindar river , proceeded to Adi Badri which is about 19 kms from Karna Prayag and takes about one hour drive. Adi Badri is not on Rishikesh-Badri route , one needs to visit Adi Badri via Karna Prayag. Adi Badri is the oldest temple comprising of 16 temples . While Adi Sankaracharyar was residing in Himalayas ,somewhere near Karna Prayag, the Lord appeared in his dream and told him about HIS whereabouts and ordered him to construct a temple for him. The place where the Lord appeared to Adi Sankaracharyar is presently known as Adi Badri and is considered as one of the Sapta Badri Kshetrams.
Adi Sankaracharyar spread Hinduism from this place and built a temple. Out of the cluster of 16 temples, many were built under the guidance of Sankaracharyar and about 5 temple were built later during Gupta era. In the olden days, when approach to Badri Vishal was tough, people worshipped Lord Vishnu here. It is believed that in future when Badri Vishal becomes inaccessible and Lord manifests in Bhavishya Badri, Bhavishya Badri would be known as Badri, Badri Vishal would be known as Adi Badri and the present Adi Badri would be known as Yog Badri. The temple is on the main road itself and it is easily approachable. All the temples look similar.
From there, we drove to Dev Prayag and reached the place at about 5 P.M.
We visited Raghunathji temple at Dev Prayag which is one of the 108 divya desams. While ascending the 100+ steps, we recollected our earlier visit to this kshetram along with my father and shared the Lord’s pastimes. Had darshanam of the mantapam where the utsava murthis are placed for public darshan, the banyan tree which is considered to be the one not affected by Pralayam and after thanking Perumal for enabling us to visit Saptha Badri kshetrams , especially Bhavishya Badri , we left the place. The confluence of Alakananda with Bhagirathi at Dev Prayag is eye captivating.
Reached Haridwar at 10 P.M., and after settling the accounts with the car driver, we had our dinner in a nearby Jain hotel and were waiting for our train recollecting our trip to the holy abodes. It was like a dream come true. Boarded Dehradun-New Delhi AC train in the wee hours 0040 hours which was supposed to reach New Delhi at 5 A.M. and take the onward flight to Srinagar at 9 A.M. and return back to Delhi by 3P.M. flight and take the connecting flight to Hyderabad at 7 p.m. Due to technical snag in the train, it was delayed by almost 3.5 hours. WE landed in New Delhi railway station at 08.30 a.m. and rushed to the nearby Metro station to take the train to airport. Reached airport at 9 a.m. and by the time the formalities were completed, we missed the flight . As we availed LTC, it was mandatory to produce Delhi-Srinagar-Delhi boarding passes and hence we had to be in Srinagar at any cost. WE were left with no other option than cancelling this ticket and book in the next flight. The scheduled departure of AI flight was at 11 hours and it takes about 2 hours to reach Srinagar. As we had a breather of an extra hour, we booked the tickets. To add to our dismay, this flight got delayed by 2 hours and now we were really perplexed because if we miss the Delhi bound Srinagar flight at 1500 hours which was the last one, we would miss our connecting flight to Hyderabad!!. Tickets were not available for the next 4-5 days as it was end of LTC season..!!The authorities were surprised to note that we wished to return on the same day without visiting Srinagar. Had to inform that we had visited Kashmir earlier and as there was an emergency, we were constrained to leave on the same day. They informed that it would not be possible for us to take the 3p.m. flight as the formalities would not get completed. I literally pleaded with the top most authority to help me out . He was kind enough to issue a Delhi Boarding pass (which would be issued at Srinagar) from Delhi itself which is against rules using his power. Thanked him for his gesture. Reached Srinagar at 3 p.m. . The scheduled departure of the 3’o clock flight was delayed by half and hour because the same flight returns.
Within this 30 minutes, we had to compulsorily go through all the formalities (especially in Srinagar, there is strict security norms which cannot be skipped)-we had to come out and again get into the airport. We were stopped at the entrance because the time was up and were informed that the time for taking boarding pass was over. When we produced the Boarding Pass, the authorities were surprised and doubted us. Meanwhile,we could hear our names being announced to board the flight as it was about to depart… We were quickly frisked by the authorities and our luggages were put in a hand driven trolley . An official took me aside to enquire as to who issued the boarding pass which was against the rules and I had to request him that due to an emergency , I had to rush back while my perplexed wife was eagerly waiting to join me. The flight didn’t take off for 20 minutes until we boarded it. We safely reached Delhi by 5.30 p.m. and boarded the Hyderabad bound flight at 7 p.m. without any hurdles. Reached our home Thiruvengadam at midnight and the first thing what we did was to open the altar and fall at Divya Dampadhigal and Acharyars’feet for making this possible.
JAI JAI SHRI BADRI VISHAL
Please check all the clips for a clear darshanam of the holy dhaam
Adiyen Ramanuja Dasan
Kazhiyur village is located near Cheyyar in North Arcot district about 81 km towards east of Thiruvannamalai and about 103 KM from Chennai .
Almost 130 years ago Sri vaishnavaite Aiyyangars migrated from Mannargudi another holy place in Tanjavur and came to settle down in this village.
It is said that a plague like epidemic made people leave Mannargudi long long back .
The srivaishnavas were disciples of His Holiness Sri Sri Sri Mudaliandaan swamigal who is the first and the dearest disciples of Swami Ramanuja.
It is believed that the srivaishnavas , carried the deity of Lord Adhi Keshava Perumal all the way from Mannargudi on their head to Kazhiyur the present place and worshipped the LORD by constructing a temple with the locals support . Elders believe that the deity was sculpted from a meteorite that had fallen from the divine abode .
It is not a practice to abandon Perumal even in adverse circumstances.
The Lordship gives darashanam in Nindra Thirukolam ( standing posture).
After their resettlement in Kazhiyur, the village became a cradle of Vedic scholars, purohits and astrologers.
The devoted families lived in the Agraharam (first row of houses built around the temple and occupied by the temple priests)
.
The Agraharam is located around the temple of ‘Sri Adhi Keshava Perumal Swamy’, which was also built and maintained with financial support from the local Mudaliars and many devotees . Kazhiyur has been a great centre of Vedic Astrology.
They have been uniformly well versed in astrology and are keepers of the most ancient astrological knowledge in the world. https://video.wordpress.com/embed/7UzGVxNE?hd=0&autoPlay=0&permalink=1&loop=0&preloadContent=metadata&muted=0&playsinline=0&controls=1&cover=1
Almost all of them have been treated like the religious leaders and the astrological guides from time immemorial.
Many Kazhiyur families have been practicing astrology for more than seven generations in an unbroken tradition since they first arrived in 1840.
It is believed that in ancient times there was a temple dedicated to Goddess Kali near to the main temple and hence the village is called ‘Kazhiyur’ the home of Goddess Kali.
After moving to Kazhiyur the srivaishnavaites engaged themselves in agriculture apart from performing the temple services .
Due to this reason they are also called the Mannar Mudumbai families a direct connection to Lokacharyar Swamy Pillai Lokacharyar’s legacy . https://video.wordpress.com/embed/ndFIr3Vi?hd=0&autoPlay=0&permalink=1&loop=0&preloadContent=metadata&muted=0&playsinline=0&controls=1&cover=1
They were orthodox and are considered to be an authority on Sri Vaishnavism.
Unlike other South Indians who carry the name of village and the name of the father as their initials the Kazhiyur srivaishnavas use the initials
K. M. meaning Kazhiyur Mannar.
It was an attempt to retain the Mannargudi identity.
The priests from Kazhiyur have been serving in some seva or other in almost all the 106 Sri Vaishnavite temples and the majority of them at Tirumala , Sholingur , and southern side vaishnava divya desams .
The first Priest who served even in the Temples at United states of America are from Kazhiyur . https://video.wordpress.com/embed/icSZSYkd?hd=0&autoPlay=0&permalink=1&loop=0&preloadContent=metadata&muted=0&playsinline=0&controls=1&cover=1
Kazhiyur is also closely connected with the Sri Ramar Sannadhi and the temple of Shree Govindaraja at the foothills of the Tirupati temple.
Srivaishnavas from Kazhiyur were also chosen to carry the offerings from the Lord of Seven Hills at Tirumalai to the temple of Govindaraja at foothills.
The priests walked bare-footed all the way down the hill carrying the offerings on their head.
Kazhiyur has been very closely linked to Kancheepuram from the very inception. Every year during the month of January, July and December, the utsavar ( processional deity ) of Lord Adi Keshava Perumal , shri Varadar is taken in a procession to the Iyengar Kulam, a lake at the outskirts of Kancheepuram.
About forty people start the procession and many more join them en-route to Kancheepuram. The procession travels on foot for the entire stretch of 18 km. After arriving at Iyengar Kolam, the Lord is given a ceremonial bath in the kolam and then taken back to Kazhiyur with pomp and show .
This custom has been inspired from the grand festival ( Lord Varadharaja going to ‘Padai Seevaram’ on the day of Chithirai Poornima at Tirupati) . This ritual is also known as ‘Parvettam’ (forest hunting).
Today out of few houses in Kazhiyur Agraharaham , only few houses are occupied and the remaining are kept locked.
However, every year during the month of April, on the day of Chittirai Revathi, the birth star of Lord Adi Keshava which is tomorrow April 29 , 2022 ….
kEsavan thamar * kIzh mEl emar Ezh ezhu piRappum *
mA sadhir idhu peRRu * nammuDai vAzhvu vAykkinRavA! **
Isan en karumANikkam en sengkOlak kaNNan * viNNOr
nAyagan * empirAn emmAn * nArAyaNanAlE…….
Kazhiyur srivaishnavas from all over the world gather in the village to celebrate the annual festival.
Shri Kodandan swamy was serving the temple past two decades leaving his lucrative job .
Adiyen is blessed to be born in this glorious village and feel honored to be among st the illustrious and glorious elders .
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan
Pics : Courtesy Google images
Videos : Courtesy DD Podhigai
“Nachet Ramanujet desha, Cathurat Chathurakshari
Kamavasthan Prapadhyanthe Janthavo Hantha Madrusha:”
The above solka by our Poorvacharyas, brings out how our Acharyar Swamy Ramanujar appearance leads us to Sri vaikuntam, and he is called “Vishu Loka Mani Mandapa Marga Dhayee” (one who shows way to Sri Vainkuntum) in Dhaati Panchakam and he was the first revolutionist who called Harijan as “Thiru kulatthar”
When he discovered that certain categories of people were barred from entering the temple, he bunched them all together as Thirukulathar and admitted them into the folds of the temple for serving the supreme LORD …He charted the work flow of a temple’s administration in a holistic manner. From the priest to the man who plays the mridangam, to the flower seller, everyone’s role in the running of the temple was factored in. To this day, the Vaishnavite temples adhere to his vision.
The gem of a work presented to us by Jagath Acharyar Swamy Ramanujar is ” SRI BHASHYA”.
The illustrious Sri Vaishnava preceptor Swamy Alavandar wanted Swamy Ramanujacharya to take over spiritual leadership of the Sri Vaishnava community.
Swamy Ramanuja set off to meet Alavandar as per the instructions , but before the meeting could materialize, Swamy Alavandar departed from this world. Swamy Ramanuja was sad for the sudden turn of events .
He noticed that three of Swamy Alavandar’s fingers remained folded. Swamy Ramanuja asked the Elders assembled there why was it so. They replied that Swamy Alavandar had three unfulfilled wishes. On inquiring further it was revealed that the great Acharyar Alavandar wanted to write a commentary for Brahmasutra, but he could not get round to doing it because of his busy occupations .
Hence the first folded finger indicated this unfulfilled desire. Secondly, he wanted to do something to honor the contributions of the revered sages Vyasa and Parasara and thirdly, he wanted to write a commentary on Nammazhvar’s Thiruvaimozhi.
Swamy Ramanuja instantaneously promised to carry out all the three wishes unfulfilled by Swamy Alavandar. Miraculously , all the fingers restored its normal course .
Swamy Ramanuja’s Brahmasutras is glorified as Sri Bhashyam. Ramanuja named his disciple Kooratazhvan’s sons Parasara Bhattar and Vedavyasa Bhattar, thus the second wish of Alavandar was fulfilled. Upon the command of Swamy Ramanuja, his disciple Sri Kurukesa (Pillan) wrote a commentary for Thiruvaimozhi. Thus Swamy Ramanuja ensured that all of Acharyar Alavandar’s three wishes were fulfilled.
The efforts made by Swamy Ramanuja to take up the important task of his Acharyar must be cherished by every vaishnava . The comprehensive commentary of this outstanding work was given the name Srutha Prakashika.
The legendary Acharyas after our Jagath Acharyar who explained this beautiful commentary were Kurukeshwaran disciple of Swamy Ramanuja , Vishnuchittar disciple of Swamy Kurukeshwaran , Varadacharyar disciple of Vishnuchittar and Sudarshana bhattar disciple of Varadacharyar ( Nadaadhoor Ammal)
The great devotee of Lord Varadarajar of Kancheepuram ” Swamy Nadaadhoor Ammal wrote a book with all the understandings gained from the Elders in the form of arguments answers and counter arguments about the great work Sri Bhashya.
This work was called as PRAMEYAMALA .
He continued his writing with monumental works like Tatwa sara and Prapanna Parijata. Swamy was respected as the most authoritative commentator on Sri Bhashya and several disciples used to approach him for learning the esoteric truths .
A great devotee and an obedient disciple Sudarshana suri was keen to meet the Acharyar for the same . He traveled to Kancheepuram after taking permission from his aged mother . Always attentive and serving his Acharyar Ammal he was learning the rich truths from the commentaries daily. He was always there to attend the class , no matter even If he had already attended the same .That was his interest . He was always in the mood of being near to his Acharyar serving him .
One day it so happened all the disciples were awaiting for the class to begun . Acharyar also had come . But he was waiting for Sudarshana arrival . The disciples were upset for the special care given to Sudarshana The disciples expressed their unhappiness for the special care given to Sudarshana as they found him to be a dull witted person attending the same classes repeatedly without any knowledge.
The next day Ammal conducted the class as usual . He paused at a verse … and looked at Sudarshana and said ……..
My Child ! Please repeat what was explained about this verse . Sudarshana bhattar obediently got up and with folded hands replied ..
Acharya … Please command me !!! Which adhikarna ? This verse was given wonderful explanations in every discourse .Please tell me which explanation are you seeking ? The first class OR the last class ?
The disciples were dumb folded . Ammal continued . My child ! Please tell me both of them ..
Sudarshana explanations was a continuous flawless flow of words that mesmerized all the disciples .He was simply excellent in reproducing the content as explained by his Master ..
Acharyar praised him for his comprehension diction and dedication . All the disciples rushed towards Sudarshana and requested him to elucidate all the meanings .
Sudarshana attempted to codify all the texts and bring together the various commentaries of Elders as the gem Sri Bhashya.. The disciples all together edited the various commentaries of the Acharyas and hence the name …
SHRUTA PRAKASHIKA ….…
THAT WHICH IS HEARD HE MOST AUTHORITATIVE
This treasure is considered as a full mail of diamonds for Sri Bhashya like a kavacham ( shield ) This great commentary has provided answers to various onslaughts made on it in the form of questions and the doubts raised by people with limited vision .Because of this lovely work Sri Bhashya withstood firmly the many arguments and counter arguments of mayavadis .
Once this wonderful work was completed Sudarshana seeking blessings of Acharyar returned to Srirangam . He was shocked to see the tyranny of Ulugh Khan the Moslem rulers . There was chaos everywhere .
The tyrants were pulling down the towers of the mandapams .The people were living in deep fear .The palm leaf manuscripts stored in the houses of advanced srivaishnavas were being burnt .
Many elders lost their lives saving the treasures of commentaries . Sudarshana was sad . He carried the manuscripts to his aged mother and pleaded her to save this jewel which was his life breath . He approached the elders to contribute his services in protecting the LORD ..
The young Swamy Desikar , Swamy Sudarshana and other Acharyas assembled , and met Swamy Pillai Lokacharyar inside the Srirangam temple .They all concluded it was Ulugh Khan the army commander sent by Tuglak who was creating this tyranny to loot the temple . They had to take a quick decision .
All of them informed the temple priests for staying beside the deities at all cost , and gave some important tasks to be completed without any delay .
.Swamy Lokacharyar called the Chieftain and the Elders of the temple and advised them what could be the steps that may have to take facing the invader inside the temple .The objective was not to confront the enemy but to focus their efforts to ensure that the moola virat was not desecrated.
All of them decided that they shall form three groups . One group shall be headed by the eldest Swamy Pillai Lokachariya, who shall carry the deities of Lord Ranganatha and His concerts in a covered palanquin and proceed southward with few disciples .
Sudarshana who had just arrived took up the task of erecting a stone wall in front of the main sanctorum to misguide the invaders . Thus a stone wall was constructed with support of many disciples in a short time .
The third team was to provide cover for the team lead by Swamy Pillai Lokachariya [the team with the deities of our lord and his consorts so that swami had enough time to maintain safe distance from the enemy.
Swami Desika who was the youngest among the Acharyas was requested by Shri Sudarsana to go with the third party and somehow save himself so that he at least might be left to propound Sri Vaishnavism and the teachings of Jagatha Acharya Shri Ramanuja.
There was not much time left . Sudharsana entrusted his two young sons and manuscript “Sruta prakaasikA” to Swami Desika asking him to save this treasure for future generations Swami Desika earnestly prayed LORD that this great work must at any cost be saved . Swami as instructed immediately took up the directions from Sudharsana Suri and was about to leave towards northward with the little boys .
At the temple town , all of them decided in one voice that they will not oppose the army , but behave as if nothing is so serious .. There was a regular update about the Invaders who were approaching . The people were in two moods whether they should remain in town or flee.
Who was to decide and advise them? The people were utterly confused .They decided to take counsel from Lord Ranganatha himself then decided to appeal to the LORD Himself . They all dropped chits (Tiru Ulla seettu) expressing their opinion and with devotion they drew up one chit which said that all could remain at Srirangam itself.
They decided in was the Lord’s order and remained facing the situation bravely.The same evening, the invaders marched inside the Srirangam town from Samayavaram . Thousands of the town’s citizens were harassed and injured .The terror in which the enemy looted the prosperous town speaks about the bravery of the srivaishnavas there .
It was a very sad plight and the bloodbath that followed who resisted will make one cry for our great forefathers who sacrificed their lives . This had been recorded in the History of Srirangam Temple known as Koil-Ozhugu . The sad bloodshed of 12,000 Sri Vaishnavas at Sri Varahaswamy Sannidhi makes it the worst day in the temple town .
Inside the Hall , Swamy Desikar saw heaps of corpses lying around . He somehow braved the boys to lie down unnoticed to give an impression that no one survived . The little boys stretched underneath along with some of them and our dear Swami also lay down next to them along with the holy book.
Swamy Desikar thus concealed the two boys and himself amidst a heap of corpses and passed the night with caution . The enemy troops assumed that they were corpses and did not bother to probe. Observing the enemy troops moving away , Swamy Desikar slowly took the frightened boys before dawn unnoticed in North-Westerly direction .
He suddenly saw some gaurds chasing them. He managed to hide near the mud rocks at the banks of river kaveri. With caution , hiding the young boys beneath the mud rocks he dug one yard deep pit in the sands of the river and buried the great work giving mother kaveri a rare tribute .
He somehow managed to lay down covering himself with the kaveri sand escaping any detection . When the gaurds moved he regained his position and quickly moved away to Satyamangala with the treasure book and the small kids . He made few copies of the manuscripts and taught the contents to all his disciples .
Our Poorvacharyas have struggled to give us this treasure and hence It is the bounden duty of every vaishnava to proudly say…..
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan ….. https://video.wordpress.com/embed/pHcG4AIA?hd=0&autoPlay=0&permalink=1&loop=0&preloadContent=metadata&muted=0&playsinline=0&controls=1&cover=1
I am Ramanuja dasan … and thus protect /propogate the works of our Poorvacharyars and our sampradaya ..saying .
All glories to Swamy Pillai LokaAcharyar
All glories to Swamy Sudarshan suri
All glories to Swamy Vedanta Desikar…………
All glories to Poorvacharyas for their abundant mercy …
“shrImAn venkaTa-nAthAryaH kavitArkika-kesari |
vedAntAcharya-varyo me sannidhattAm sadA hridi |
kavithArkika simhAya kalyANa guNa Saline
Srimathe vEnkateSAya vEdhAntha guravE namaha
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan …..
Adapted from a discourse shared by an advanced devotee .
Pics Credits : Google images/sri varavara muni /All devotees of Lordships
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 .
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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 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 )
When I have your divine darshan ! my body melts in the love and the separation from your divine self means am washed out with a torrent force of a flood far far away .
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