A mere mention of the hallowed abodes of Emperuman would, by itself, ensure that none goes to Hell , indeed, if everyone were to just say the name of a divyadesam once, it would render the hellish worlds uninhabited and desolate, says Azhwar in the following pasuram—
The revered Azhwars and Acharyars take up upon themselves the burden of saving men who LORD gives up hopelessly for the reluctance in seeking HIM .
Do Acharyars really possess these virtue ?
An example is quoted from scriptures
By a Rishi’s curse a saint was consigned to the nether region , the hellish planets . The saint he was continued to follow his devotional practices with all sincerity .
The demons noting that the person could be a faction from devas , harassed him with their weapons . But as he was a devotee of LORD Sriman Narayana he proved invulnerable to them .
The worried demons approached their guru Shukra for a suggestion to wound the arrived devotee .
Shukra suggested ,
My dears !!
Begin by abstracting his love for Sri Hari and rest is assured for him to be in your grip …
KANCHIPURAM, popularly known as “ Temple town” is situated 70 kms to the southwest of Chennai -30 kms from Arakkonam and about 25 kms from Sriperumbudur-the birth place of Swamy Ramanujar. It takes about 2 hours to reach this place from Guindy, Chennai (subject to traffic) and about 1 hour from Arakkonam .
Plenty of buses ply from Chennai at frequent intervals to this place. It takes about one and half hours by car from Chennai Airport. Cab charges from Arakonam to Kanchi is fixed as RS.1,200/-. whereas from Chennai Airport it is about Rs.1000/-app.
As Brahma (KA) worshipped Vishnu in this place, it is known as KANCHI.
Kancheepuram is the only mukti kshetram located in South India out of the seven mukthi kshetrams, the others being Ayodhya, Mathura , Maya, Kasi, Avanthi, Dwaraka which are located in the NOrthern India.
SRIRANGA MANGALA NIDHIM KARUNA NIVAASAM
SRI VENKATADRI SHIKARALAYA KALAMEGHAM
SRI HASTHISAILA SIKORAJWALA PARIJATHAM
SRISAN NAMAAMI YADHUSAILA DEEPAM
The above famous sloka refers to the four most important Vishnu shrines-namely Srirangam(also known as “Bhoga Mandapam”),
Venkatadri(Tirumala)( “Pushpa Mandapam”),
Srihasthisailam(Kanchi)(“Thyaga mandapam”) and
Yadhusailam(Melkote) (known as “Jnana Mandapam”).
The above Perumals were worshipped by famous devotees in the four yugas.
Lord Ranganatha of Srirangam (known as “Kovil”) was worshipped by Lord Rama who later presented HIM to Vibhishana in Treta yuga
Lord Thirunarayanan of Melkote was worshipped by Lord Krishna in Dwapara yuga,
Lord Venkateswara of Tirupati (known as “Malai”) is being worshipped by Adisesha and us in Kali yuga whereas
Lord Varadarajar in Kanchipuram (Perumal kovil) is being worshipped in all the four yugas-
by Brahma in Satya yuga,
by Mahashaantan Maharishi who asssumed the form of Gajendran in TReta yuga
by Devaguru Brihaspathi in Dwapara yuga
by Ananatazhwan(Adisesha) in Kali yuga
The sthalavaralaaru mentions that Adisesha (the serpent on which Lord Vishnu eternally resides) emerged from Patala to worship the Lord. This place is now known as “Ananta saras” pushkarini where Lord Athi Varadar resides in water. There is a snake pit(putru) near Nammazhwar sannidhi in the temple premises which is considered to be Adiseshan’s dwelling place.
Ananta saras is the only temple pushkarini in the world which has association with Lord always as HE dwells in the sacred waters of the pushkarini. In all other temples, LOrd visits the pushkarini only for theerthavari and in most of the cases it is the Sudarshana chakram which has holy dip in theerthams.
Brahma-the lotus born who emerged from Lord Vishnu’s naval at the time of creation desired to have darshan of Lord Vishnu and undertook penance. Lord appeared in the form of water at Pushkar in Rajasthan and later in the form of forest at Naimisaranyam near Lucknow. He wished to have darshan of the Lord with chathurbhujam and was advised by an asareeri to perform 100 Aswamedha yagams. AS he felt he was incompetent to perform 100 yagams, he was advised to perform one aswamedha yagam at Sathyavratha kshetram as any act done at this holy place would reap 100 times benefit.
Brahma brought athi (“Dhaaru”-a rare type of wood) known as “DHEVA UDUMBARAM” from DEvalokam on an elephant and Viswakarma -the divine architect carved out Vishnu murthi holding sankhu , chakram, gadam and right hand in abhaya hastham. He installed this murthi and started Aswamedha yagam. The speciality of this wood is it gains lustre when in contact with water unlike normal wood which gets spoilt quickly when kept in water. By placing a piece of wood in a tree trunk, the tree would start growing. This tree can be found only in two places -Athiyur(kanchi) and Gaya. (There are very few temples like Thirukovalur, Thiruvellarai, Puri and Kanchi where the Lord made of wood is worshipped which adheres to agama sastras)
This place came to be known as “Kanchi” as “KA”(Brahma) worshipped Vishnu here. He begun the yagna alone with the help of SAvitri and Gayatri (his other consorts), without his main consort Sri Saraswati.(It may be recalled that in Pushkar also, Brahma did penance without Saraswati’s presence. this can be observed in the Brahma temple. )
Angered by this negligence, Saraswati decided to stop the yaga ( A divine play by LORD) . First, she put the entire world in darkness. The Lord out of abundant compassion to Brahma appeared as Sri Deepaprakasa on Chitra Revati ( Now glorified as DeepaPraksha temple ) . Darkness was driven out. On the auspicious day in the month of Chitra(Apr- May) on Revati star day which is considered as the appearance day of Lord Deepaprakasar , Perumal along with Swami Vedanta Desikar visit Varadaraja temple .
Again when Brahma wanted to start the yagna, Saraswati sent a demon with bird and beast features to stop the yagna. Immediately, the Lord appeared with Eight arms –Sri Ashtabuja Perumal This place is in another separate Kshetram within Kanchipuram. This happened in Chitra Rohini . The demon was driven away and lord Brahma restarted the yagna . Not to rely on others to stop the yagna, then Saraswati decided to stop the yagna herself and took the form of a rushing river – Vegavati .
The Lord now took the reclining pose and as a bridge stopped the flow of the river. This happened in Vekkha and thus the Lord is Sri Yatothkari . This wonderful incident happened on Chitra Punarvasu day . Thus the Lord appeared in Three forms in the month of Chitra in Revati, Rohini and Punarvasu as Sri Deepaprakasa, Sri Ashtabuja Perumal and Sri Yatoktakari. ( One must have darshan of the Lordships in these temples which is very near to Main temple ) .
At conclusion of yaga, Lord Varadarajan emerged out of the scared fire pleased with Brahma’s devotion, in Punyakoti vimanam on the northern banks of River Vegavati.
As Perumal ( Utsava Moorthy ) appeared from fire, the marks on caused due to heat in the form of many small dots can be seen on utsavar’s Thirumugam ( divine face ) . Perumal gave darshan with chathurbhujam holding sankhu, chakram, gadam with HIS lower left hand and lower right hand in .abhaya hastam on Chithirai month chathurdashi thithi on Hastham star. “Ka” – means Brahma and “Anjitham” – means who was worshipped.
As Perumal granted all the boons of Devas, He is known as “Varadar” meaning “giver of boons”. As He is very compassionate, He is known as “Perarulalan.
As He is the master of Devas, He is Devadirajan,
as he resides at Attiyur (this place was once surrounded by Athi maram),
He is known as Attiyuran,
Hastagirinathan as He resides in Hastagiri. Airavatam-the celestial elephant on which Brahma brought the diety assumed the form of a hill to shelter the Lord. Hence , the hillock is known as Hastagiri. (Indra who was cursed by Mahalakshmi to become an elephant prayed at this place and was redeemed from curse.
As the Lord is bestower of boons to , HE is known as “Varadan“
Athivaradar carved out and worshipped by Brahma was the presiding diety whom Azhwars and Acharyars have glorified. The deity of Lord Varadarajar glorified as Athiyuran was the main deity in the Garbagraha of this temple until 15th Century. But as per the stone inscriptions in Thayar sannidhi, in 1487 , the murthi was replaced with shila murthi by Virupakshanayakan (a local king) under the rule of Narasinarayar of Vijayanagar empire.
During the Muslim invasion, in 1687 A.D.,the main deity (Lord Varadarajan) is said to have been under threat by the invaders. The mughals eyed on temples to plunder the abundant wealth kept in the temples . In order to preserve the deity and to avoid desecration of the Lordships, the elders constructed a mandapam inside the tank and placed Athivaradan (moolavar diety) secretly in a silver casket and immersed in the temple tank- Anantha saras . (As per Dr.M.A.Venkatakrishnan, the deity is placed in the tank without silver casket. ). To protect the deity from floating, statues of eight naagas considered to be Adisesha swaroopam were installed around the diety for protection.
The utsava murthi of LOrd Varadarajan and Perundevi Thayar were shifted to Udayarpalayam near Trichy. The temple was in a deserted condition for 22 years. After peace was restored, an advanced devotee named Sri. Aathan Jeeyar who was the guru for Thodamal-the army chief of Arcot king (whose statue can be seen inside Tirumala temple) arranged to restore the utsava murthis in 1711 . AS they could not trace the whereabouts about Moolavar as most of the elders had migrated from Kanchi or left the world, there was none to reveal the whereabouts . It was decided to install a new Moolavirat from a rock in Pazhaya seevaram (a small hillock)-about 15 kms from Kanchipuram. . A replica of Athivaradar was thus carved out and consecrated as per vedic injunctions which we worship today. To mark this incident , every year during Thai maasam(Jan-Feb) , the utsava murthi Varadarajan visits Pazhaya seevaram. The newly consecrated idol was being worshipped along with the utsava murthis.
(After 40 years, due to divine will , when the temple tank Ananta saras got dried up (either due to drought or for cleaning purpose), the Lord revealed HIMSELF in the pushkarini. The Lord was placed in a nearby mantapam for worship as there was already a moolavar inside the temple.
(As per stone inscriptions in the temple, Athivaradar was found in the temple tank in 1781 on July 30th on saturday dasami thithi . )
Later, Lord appeared in a temple priest’s dream commanding him to put back the Lord in the cool waters of Ananta saras as HE was still experiencing the heat generated during Brahma’s yagam. Lord conceded to the devotees’ request to give darshan once in 40 years for a period of 48 days. Thus the practice of taking out the Lord from Ananta saras approximately once in 40 years for a period of 48 days begun. (As per records, it was taken out in 1892,then after 45 years in 1937, later after 42 years in 1979 and now after 40 years in 2019.)
Lord is placed in two postures -lying posture and standing posture . (As per Dr.Venkatakrishnan, the water from the puskarini is completely drained out and on an auspicious day during JUly-Aug when there are not many utsavams, the Lord is taken out carefully from Anantasaras, given holy bath and decorated .NO preservatives are used for protecting the divine form of the Lord. The Lord is placed only to have darshan, six times pooja as per Pancharatra agamasastras are not performed.
Ananta saras is the most sacred temple tank in the whole world because of its association with the LOrd of Universe always. Sprinkling holy water from this pushkarini redeems us of all the innumerable accumulated sins . In all other temples, either the utsava murthi of Perumal or ” sataari ” is dipped in the temple puskarini during culmination of brahmotsavam usually once in a year whereas in Ananta saras, the Lord dwells eternally.
It was Lord Varadar in the form of hunter couple who saved Ilayazzhwan(Swamy Ramanujar) from Yadavaprakasa who had planned to kill him. The most compassionate Lord VAradar along with HIS consort Perundevi Thayar disguised as hunter couple accompanied Ramanujar on the dark night in the forests near Vindhya mountains when Ilayazwan had lost way. Overnight, he was transported to Kanchipuram. When Ilayazhwan went to fetch water to quench the hunter-lady;s thirst, the Lord disappeared .When the perplexed Ilayazwan enquired about the whereabouts , he was pointed towards “Punyakoti vimanam”. Ilayazhwan realized that it was Lord Varadarajan who escorted him to this place and continued to stay here doing theertha kainkaryam. Also, Swamy Ramanujan embraced Sanyasam as per the Lord;s instructions by having a holy dip in the Ananta saras and was given orange robes by the Lord HIMSELF. Swamy Ramanujar did theertha kainkaryam to the Lord until he was ordered to shift to Srirangam to fulfill Thiruvaranga araiyar’s boon bestowed by Lord Varadar who was immensely pleased with Araiyar sevai performed by him.
Another interesting incident:-when Ramanujar ordered Kooratazhwan who became blind while trying to save him ordered him to prayto Varadar, Kooratazhwan composed VAradaraja stavam comprising of 102 slokas in praise of this Lord. When Lord asked him for a boon, he prayed that he should be given vision to see the holy form of the Lord and his acharyar only. He didn’t want to see the material world.
Like Puri Rathyatra performed 10 days prior to Aashada Ekadasi, the Annual Garuda seva performed on the third day during Vaigasi Brahmotsavam (May-June) especially attracts huge crowds from near and far. The streets are very wide like in Puri.
Another similarity between Puri and Kanchi temples is the dieties are made of wood . IN Puri Jaganath temple, once in 12 years, the moolavar dieties of Lord Jagannath, Subhadra and Baladeva are replaced whereas in Kanchi Varadar temple, Athivaradar-the Lord carved out from athi wood by Brahma is preserved inside the temple tank and is taken out for worship once in 40 years.
This town is sanctified with many Acharayas -Sri Thirukachinambigal, Sri Ramanujar, Sri Desikar, Sri Sankaracharyar to name a few. Also , this is the headquarters for many religious peetams like Kanchi Kamakoti peetam, Sri Mudaliandan swamy Thirumaligai, Sri Appan Swamy Thirumaligai and other associate maaligas of Sri Ramanujar’s sishyas. One of the shatberams(6 utsava murthis) was given by the LOrd HIMSELF to our acharyar-Sri Mudaliandan Thirumaligai.
VAradaraja Sthavam by Kooratazhwan, Varadaraja Panchasat by VEdanta Desikar, Devaraja Ashtakam by Thirukachi nambigal are few famous renderings on this Lord. Thyagaraja has also composed a beautiful kirtan on this Lord.
Our poorvacharyars attribute the word “amararukku athipathi ” of the first pasuram in Nammazhwar Thiruvaimozhi to this Perumal.
MOOLAVAR
SRI VARADARAJAR, PERARULALAN, DEVADIRAJAN, DEVAPPERUMAL, ATTIYURAN
This temple town is dotted with many temples of which there are 14 important shrines dedicated to Lord Vishnu and 13 temples for Parama Shivan. The sthalapuranam for all the Vishnu temples is inter connected with Brahma’s penance. Brahma who started Aswamedha yaga without his wife SAraswathi had to face many hurdles and everytime Lord Vishnu appeared in various forms to encounter SAraswati’s obstacles until Brahma successfully completed the yaga.
The temples are located in Little Kanchi and Big Kanchi. Out of 22 divya desams in Thondai naadu, 14 are in Kanchipuram itself and another at Thiruputkuzhi, the details of which are briefly given:-
PERIA KANCHIPURAM:-
Sri Nilathingal thundathan Perumal, (in Ekambareswarar temple)
Sri Ulagalandha Perumal , Ooragham
Sri Jagadeeswara Perumal, Neeragam in Ulagalandha Perumal temple prakaram
Sri Karunakara Perumal, Kaaragam in Ulagalandha Perumal temple prakaram
Sri Kaarvannan (Kalva) Perumal, Thirukaarvanam in Ulagalandha Perumal temple prakaram(all these temples are in Ulagalandha Perumal kovil itself)
Sri Aadivaraha Perumal, Thirukalvanur (in Kamakshi temple)
Sri Vaikuntanatha Perumal, Thiruparameswara vinnagaram
Sri Pandava dhootha Perumal, Thirupadagam
Sri Pavalavannan Perumal, Thirupavazhavannam(also,Perumal gives darshan as Pachaivarnan beside this temple)
(CHINNA KANCHI)
Sri Varadaraja Swamy temple, Thirukachi
Sri Ashtabuja Perumal, Thiruattabuyakaram
Sri Deepaprakasa temple, Thiruthanka
Sri Azhagia Singar temple, ThiruVelukkai
Sri Yathothkari temple, Thiruvekha
With Kanchipuram as base town , devotees can also have darshan of Thiruputkuzhi Divya desam (1 hour drive from Kanchi). If you start early, you can finish visiting Kanchi temples by noon. Thiruputkuzhi, Sriperumbudur, Kooram can be visited in the second half of the day.
Check out the divine pastime in the appended blog post. Click the link
Of these, Sri Varadarajar temple with its imposing towers , Sri Kamakshi temple, Sri Ekambareswar temples attract many pilgrims including foreign tourists daily.
The famous Lord Varadarajar temple wears festive look daily .
Around 280 Utsavams happen in this temple all around the year
Lord Devaraja has captivating beauty and it is said that Swami Ramanuja was totally attracted by His shoulders
Perundevi Thayar, the consort of Devadirajan does not come out of the garbagriham like SriRanganayaki. Even the utsava murthi of the Thayar is not taken out for procession beyond the four walls of the temple. Whenever Perumal is taken out in procession inside the temple, HE is accompanied by Perundevi Thayar .
The Theppam (float festival) is celebrated in Anantasaras tank. The temple pond known as Anantha Saras /Amrutha saras never dries up , the Vimanam is known as Punyakoti Vimanam.
Every Friday , Thayar comes in a procession within the 4 walls of the temple. Almost 280 utsavams are performed to Lord whole year . Brahma in Kreta Yuga, Gajendran, the elephant in Tretha yuga, Brihaspathi in Dwarpara yuga and Adiseshan in Kaliyuga offered their prayers to Lord here .
The wonderful temple is located on a 23-acre complex and has 3 outer precincts (prakaram) namely Azhwar Prakaram, Madai Palli Prakaram and Thiru Malai Prakaram. The main sanctum faces west and can be entered through a 130 feet tall, 7-tiered rajagopuram (main gateway tower).
The eastern gopuram is taller than the western gopuram, which is contrasting to large temples where the rajagopuram is the tallest one. There is a 100 pillared hall has sculptures depicting Ramayana and Mahabaratha .The main shrine of Varadarajaswamy is on a small hillock 10m tall and a fleet of 24 steps, termed “Hasthagiri..
The temple has 5 prakarams. The first prakara which is on the Hastagiri hill houses the garbagriha and the pradakshinam path. The garbagriham is known as “Vayya maligai” – earthly mansion of the Lord(Leela Vibhuti) .
A flight of steps from the lower hill, known as Varanagiri which houses Narasimhar, leads us to the garbagriha where we can have darshan the Lord in His pristine glory.
The second prakaram is known as Thirumalai pradakshinam as it runs round the hill.
The third prakara known as Madapalli prakaram/ Alavandar prakaram houses the temple kitchen, numerous shrines and mantapams for Garuda, Adisesha, Perundevi Thayar, the abhsiheka mantapam where the utsava murthis are given abhishekam, pavitrotsava mantapam where the Lord’s vaahanams are kept, the unjal mandapam etc.
The fourth prakaram known as Azhwar Thiruveedi houses the vigrahams of all Azhwars , Acharyars, Krishna, Varaha, Sri Ranganathar etc and the Anantasaras tank.
The fifth prakaram is known as “Mada veethi “ and it was here that Sri Alavandar first saw Sri Ramanujar and blessed him that he would be the foremost for propagating Vaishnavism by declaring “Aam invan mudhalvan” meaning yes, he is the foremost.
As mentioned earlier, the Garbagriham is located on top of Hastagiri hill with enclosures on all sides. However on one particular day after 15 days from Chithira Pournami, the sunrays fall directly on Moolavar’s Thirumugam . (Similarly in Vaikunta Perumal kovil(popularly known as Kallapiran) in Pandya naadu, the sunrays fall on the moolavar’s thirumugam twice in a year)
Even the stones on the compound wall are 24. The pushkarini also has 24 steps. Gayatri mantra has 24 syllables. Therefore, it is no wonder that the Lord, Who has Gayatri as His body, has everything, around number 24. Apart from this, according to Visishtadvaita philosophy, achit entities are 24. That is inanimate entities are 24. When we cross the 24 steps we land on the top floor and that is the 25th entity, Jeevatman. From this floor we have to climb some more steps to reach the garbha gruham of Lord Devaraja Perumal. We come to the corridor on the floor and we go round that. One end of the corridor is famous for two things.
One of the ancestors of Lord Rama named Asmanjhan and his wife who were cursed to become lizards were redeemed from their curse at this place by the Lord. Hence, it is believed that touching the golden and silver lizards would cure us of all ailments. Crowds throng to touch these lizards for getting rid from material ailments forgetting that the Lord of the UNiverse standing as Varadarajan saves us from this “Samsaram” and gives “MOKSHAM”
Another adjoining mandapam, Kachhikku vaithan mandapam follows the corridor . Every evening the Lord would arrives at this mandapam, and Swami Thirukacchi Nambi would start his fanning service Thirukachi nambigal, the great Vaishnavite saint had the bhaagyam of conversing with this Perumal while fanning the Lord(Alavatta kainkaryam). This is beside the “lizard mantapam”
It is believed that Brahma comes here once a year on the full moon day in the Tamil month of Chitrai (April-May) around mid night, for a darshan of Lord Varadarajan. On this day, it is the practice for the priests to place food inside the sanctum and to wait outside for 24 minutes. At the end of this, the food is said to smell sweeter.
It was thus decided by Elders that LORD has to be taken out from the temple tank once in 40 years and various pooja shall be performed for 48 days and then kept in the bed of the Pushkarini for the next 40 years.
The 96th Pasuram of Irandam thiruvanthathi glorifies LORD as
Bhoodathazhwar addresses the Lord as “athiyooran” who is fond of garuda seva(pullai oorvan -pul =bird. Kanchi Garuda seva is world famous.
Thus Lord Athi Varadhar gives His darshan to the devotees only once in 40 years and that too for a period of 48 days.
Close darshan of Athi Vardar
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The Rising of Athi Varadhar” happened in the years 1739, 1779, 1819, 1859, 1939, 1979 and Now in the year 2019 and fortunate are those who are having darshan .
Athi Varadar
Athi Varadar thus graces the devotees once in 40 years . Lord arrives from the Anantha saras and alights outside for public worship for a period of 48 days. This event took place last in 1979 and now in 2019 darshan has already commenced now . Lord gives darshan in reclining posture during the first 24 days and later gives darshan in standing posture for the remaining 24 days.
The Great Priests who were involved in the Rising of Athi Varadar from the Anantha Saras
Vendittrellaam tarum vallal Manivannan” is how our Nammazhwar describes the Lord. Whatever we ask, the Lord is ready to give us the same and much more, however exalted be the boon we seek.
Check out the url links below on abundant mercy of the Lord of the Lords ..
The above sloka …. reverberates in all srivaishnava temples and homes glorifying the rich sampradaya we have inherited from our poorvacharyas ….Swamy Nathamunigal and Swamy Alavandar, the two great acharyas have been pillars to Srivaishnava sampradayam, took their avatara at the holy place Kattumannar koil, which is 25 kms from Chidambaram in Cuddalore district of Tamil nadu, South India.
Kattumannarkoil (situated on the banks of the vast Veeranam Lake) hallowed by the birth of these Acharyas is the only place with magnificent temples dedicated to Swamy Nathamunigal and Swamy Alavandar.
Swamy Nathamunigal was the foremost Acharya of Srivaishnava sampradaya .
Nathamuni mastered himself in Vedas at a very young age,.He was devoted to Lord Veera Narayana Perumal and spent most of his time performing daily (…
The above sloka …. reverberates in all srivaishnava temples and homes glorifying the rich sampradaya we have inherited from our poorvacharyas ….Swamy Nathamunigal and Swamy Alavandar, the two great acharyas have been pillars to Srivaishnava sampradayam, took their avatara at the holy place Kattumannar koil, which is 25 kms from Chidambaram in Cuddalore district of Tamil nadu, South India.
Kattumannarkoil (situated on the banks of the vast Veeranam Lake) hallowed by the birth of these Acharyas is the only place with magnificent temples dedicated to Swamy Nathamunigal and Swamy Alavandar.
Swamy Nathamunigal was the foremost Acharya of Srivaishnava sampradaya .
Nathamuni mastered himself in Vedas at a very young age,.He was devoted to Lord Veera Narayana Perumal and spent most of his time performing daily (…
Pilgrimage to Pandharpur near Sholapur in Maharashtra and having darshan of Lord Vittal is incomplete without mentioning the great devotee Pundalikan.
Pundalaikan who hailed from southern part of India undertook a pilgrimage to kasi along with his parents and family . As his old parents couldn’t withstand the long journey they camped on the banks of Bhima river in the present Pandharpur.
As there was no improvement in their fitness and due to their old age , they decided to stay there forever serving LORD and his devotees .
Pundalikan was a caring and obedient son .
Always in the service of his parents chanting the holy name he continued to start a fresh life being at this new place.
The Divine Name of ‘ Jai Jai Ramakrishna Hari Jai Jai Vasudeva Hari’ ever reverberating in this holy town made him swoon into transcendental bliss .
Pundalikan was so concerned that he changed the course of the river so that it would pass by his hut to enable his parents for taking their daily bath .
Even today we can see the shape of this river looks like a crescent of moon and hence the river came to be known as “Chandrabhaga” river.
All compassionate Lord Krishna in Dwaraka, wanted the world to know about this great devotee Pundalikan who was serving his parents with utmost sincerity .
The cheerful obedience mixed with devotion attracted Lord personally to visit his hut to bless him. It was a direct meeting of the great Lord with his favorite devotee .
Lord arrived near his hut silently and was immersed in listening to his devotees Nama sankirtana.
Lord walked inside his hut like a normal man and looking at his devotee called him.
Pundalikan was engrossed in the Holy name and was serving his old parents by comforting their legs .
The voice was melodious …… unheard ….
My son !!
Lord once again called
Pundalikaa…..
Look ..
Pundalik was in trance and that bliss he was already enjoying the holy name in his transcendental mood and hence he did not want to come out of that mood ..
and he did not want to disturb his old parents sleep as they too were engrossed in the Holy name ..
He attempted to whisper slowly his helplessness ,that he couldn’t come and receive the honorable guest due to his position .
He requested him to please wait .
He presumed that once his parents were fast asleep he could take leave from them and attend the respected guest .
He innocently requested the revered guest to rest .
Lord replied , I find only bricks around . Any way as desired by his devotee he just stood on a small brick which was lying nearby.
The demigod Indra to atone for his brahmahathi dosham immediately took the form of brick awaiting Lord’s arrival so that the Lord would place HIS lotus feet. The divine incident was happening at the great devotees hut.
Once he observed that his parents were fast asleep , he comforted them and looked around .
Pundalikan had a glance of the wonderful darshan .
Lord Krishna as Vitthala, standing on a brick, hands on hips, with a smile on his lips.
He scanned the lovely form further . His eyes were starving for that darshan .Torrent of tears flowed ..Speechless . His soul now rejoiced in pure love ..
His breath that was synchronized with the holy name could swim deep in that ocean of sheer bliss ..
.Panduranga …
My Lord !! Vittala…
Nothing more ..Let this remain with me .
..Oh ! Lord …
Ocean of Compassion … You came to see this worm …
And..
LORD ! Please forgive me for asking you to stand on the brick ..
Pundalikan was inconsolable ….
Lord Panduranga, Lord Vittala the enchanter of the Universe, wearing ‘Makara Kundala’ (fish shaped ear stud) in his ears, …….
Peethambara (clad in yellow silk), wearing exquisite royal ornaments, a bewitching smile playing on His lips and having the insignia of Goddess Lakshmi on His chest, two palms on His hips was looking at Pundalikan ..
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Pundalik was overwhelmed and touched .
He submitted to LORD for HIM to stay there forever.
Lord with a enchanting smile replied ..
My dear son !
Now an forever will I remain on this brick standing to see all my children seeking me…
Rukmini ,SAtyabhama arrived later , assumed the same posture of Lord and blessed Pundalikan.
AT the behest of Pundalikan, Lord resides here and gives darshan to millions of devotees . As Lord stands on Vittu(brick) , HE is glorified as as Vittalan.
The place where the Lord stands is the present temple.
The Saints like Namdeo, Dnyaneshwar to Tukaram wove their life around Vitthala and saw in Vitthala their brother, father, friend and a compassionate Lord who could bless them with ultimate salvation.
“Vittala ” is our Compassionate Lord who mingled with all the devotees by taking various roles like a cobbler, barber, servant, potter, gardener thus assisting his devotees in household chores and helping them in their own spiritual up liftment and seek salvation
Pundalikan and his parents attained Lord’s feet after the divine darshan . The Pundalika Temple is about half a km from the Vitthal Temple.
This temple marks the spot where Pundalika, the Lord’s devotee, spent the last years of his life and also is the place of his Samadhi. It is on the riverbank of Chandrabhaga.
Great Bhagavathas have composed wonderful Naama sankirtana which swoon even a rock to breath the holy name and reach HIS holy abode ..One such kirtan is presented below sung by Sri Kadyanallur Rajagopal feeds the soul with a grand feast of holy names .The lyrics is shared below for the feel …
Shanka Chakra Dhara Vaijayanthi Dara Pithambaradara Govardhanodhara Tulasimala Shobhita Gala Garuda Gamana Hari Pankaja Nabha Vittala Yere Pandhari Raya Mastaka Linga Swaroopa Linga
Roopa Banga Sajjana Sangha Yadukula Thilaka Manmatha Janaka Pathitha Pavana Dena Dayalo Vittala Yere Pandhari Raya
Thirumazhisai is a holy place located equidistant to Kancheepuram , Mahabalipuram and Mylapur in the present chengelpet district ( Tamilnadu) . This place is very famous for Lord Jagganatha Perumal temple . The holy place has cool streams fruit and flower grooves yielding abundant fruits. The blossoming flowers all through makes it a perfect place for a nature lover .
Several seers , sages , nomadaic saints , bhikshukas relax and perform penance at this place for eternal peace .
In such an wonderful place , Thirumazhisai Azhwar appeared much earlier than the advent of Kaliyuga .
Azhwar lived for almost 300 years glorifying the Lordships .
Thirumazhisai Azhwar was a junior contemporary of the foremost Azhwars Pogai , Pey and Bhudath Azhwar who laid a solid foundation for vishistadvaita long long ago .
Azhwar was brought up by his foster parents at Thirumazhisai . It is believed Azhwar left them at a very…
It takes about one hour to reach the caves on top of a hillock ascending through steep narrow steps. There are three caves which have been identified as Sitadevi’s captivity.
With the blessings of Asmath Acharyar and Elders we could have darshan of all the holy places related to Srimad Ramayana , in India during 2010 which is briefed as “SriRama Anu yatra” travelogue
The inert desire of visiting the holy places in Srilanka fructified this August 2018. Our Thirumaligai deities accompanied us all through ..
After obtaining Asmath acharyar’s blessings ,and with the grace of our Kula deivam-Kazhiyur Adikesava Perumal and Lord Srinivasa, we undertook this yatra overseas ..
The prayers were with utmost faith . Oh Lord! I am new to your place . I have come here on a mission .Please help me in succeeding in the mission .To everybody’s surprise Clive had completely recovered by next morning. Thanking the Lord he marched along with his men to Arcot .
During the years 1690 to 1800 , the Nawabs of the Carnatic (also referred to as the Nawabs of Arcot), ruled the Carnatic region of South India. They had their capital at Arcot near Vellore region in Tamil Nadu . The temple town Kanchipuram was ruled by the Arcot Nawabs .
Robert Clive from East India was serving as a clerk could not digest the French expansion taking place at different parts of India .He was too upset with the British response to the French onslaught during the Carnatic wars .
He could see the French advancing in the areas around Madras with the Muslem kings . He was moved and hence proposed a plan to the governor at Madras to somehow defend this . He wished he could somehow challenge the strong Franco-Indian forces at Trichinopoly by taking a strike at Arcot, Chanda Sahib’s capital city, with the…
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 as “Yamanika tirtha”-the place where Yama,the God of death cannot enter.
The greatness about the holiest shrine Puri is mentioned by LORD
HIMSELF in Narada Purana as:
“PRATIMAAM TATRA TAAM DRISTVAA SVAYAM DEVENA NIRMITAAM ANAAYAASENA VAI YAANTI BHAVANAM ME TATO NARAAH
The Supreme LORD reveals to Mahalakshmi”
Jagannath Puri is one of the four holy dhaams (Sacred places) located on the eastern part of India near the shores of Bay of Bengal. The other three dhams are Badrinath located in the North, Rameswaram in the South, Dwaraka in the West. Sripad Sankaracharyar, Swamy Ramanujar, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu are the prominent acharyars who have visited this place.
The great saint Sankaracharya established a mutt at this place and composed the famous “JAGANATHASHTAKA” in which he prays Lord to help him cross over the ocean of samsara.The temple is situated over Nilachala mountain.
Out of the 4 entrances to the temple, the eastern gate is glorified as the “Simha dwaaram”. At the entrance, we can find small replica of Lord Jaganatha and Sri Ganesha. deities .
Rath Yatra is held in the month of Aashada, when the Lord HIMSELF steps out of the temple to give darshan to all the lucky souls. Usually we find Dwaja sthambham in front of all the Sri Vaishnava temples. But at Puri, we find Aruna sthambham.
A huge stone pillar is erected on top of which is Aruna,the charioteer of Sun God with folded hands waits for Lord Jaganaths commands . It symbolizes that those who worship the Lord will be enlightened . The figure of Aruna is kept in a height which equals the height of the Lord in the garbagriham.
We have to trek 22 steps to reach the garbagriham which split into sets of 5 more steps. One has to climb 5 steps, walk few distance, again take another flight of 5 steps and so on.
These steps denote that one has to leave aside the 5 worldly fetters-lust, anger, greed, jealousy and pride.
The first five steps represent the five outer sense organs-eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin.
The next 5 steps represent the 5 pranas or life airs-prana, apaana, vyaana, udaana, samaana.
The next five steps represent the inner sense or tanmaatras-rupa(sight), rasa (taste), gandha (smell), sabda (sound), sparsa (touch).
The next five steps are tha panch maha bhutas- earth, water, air, fire and ether.
The last two steps represent buddhi or intelligence and ahankara or false ego-the false conception of identifying the soul with the body.
One by one all the must be purified before passing into the Inner sanctum of the temple and having darshan of LORD Jaganath
Huge mud vessels containing offerings to lord that becomes maha prashad (every day 56 items of bhog (food offerings) is offered to the Lord eight times.
Elders point out that the Lord gets up at Tirumala , has lunch at Puri, and relaxes at Srirangam.
The moment one thinks of Puri, he is immediately reminded of the Mahaprashad.
As is customary in all the Sri Vaishnavite temples, we offered our obeisances to (Peria Thiruvadee)Garudazhwan before having darshan of the Lord. Here , Garuda is in the form of a wooden log. In the big hall in front of the garbagriham, there is a pillar which devotees circumbulate .
This is the place where Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu visited this place to have darshan of the Lord, he fell into ecstasy looking at the mohana roopam of the Lord.
He was in a trance for many hours totally absorbed in the Lord. (Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is an incarnation of Lord Krishna and Radharani.
He appeared to promote prema bhakti as the easiest means of attaining the Lord in Kali Yugam. He taught that chanting the Lord’s names as in Mahamantra is the easiest way to reach the lotus feet of the Lord .
Most of the teachings of Mahaprabhu connects to the principles of Sri sampradaya followed by JagathAcharyar Swamy Ramanujacharyar’s )
In another instance, when an old lady was struggling to have darshan of the Lord, Mahaprabhu carried her on his shoulders so that she could have Lord’s darshan clearly. This incident in carved in the pillar .
Subhadra, Lord Krishna’s sister , painted in yellow marking auspiciousness is in the middle On HER right is Baladeva in white and to HER left is Jagannath, the Lord of the Universe who is Neelavannan(darkish) in colour Lord Baladeva and Lord Jaganath are on the either sides of Subhadramaata. Near Lord Jaganath’s is Goddess Rukmini Devi’. Lord Jaganath is the tallest among all – Sri Sudarshana chakram also graces the devotees .
The outstretched arms of the Lord were like inviting to embrace us.
The Lord’s eyes are wide open(without eye lids) so that HE can constantly pour HIS abundant grace on us.
A darshan of Lord Jaganath relieves one from the cycle of births and deaths.Holy bath is given only once in a year which is celebrated as Snana Yatra on Jeshta Pournami day before Rath Yathra.
On other days, a mirror is placed in front of the deities and the holy bath (abhishekam is performed to the Lords’ reflection .)
Kathopanishad says:- Atmaanam rathinam viddhi shareeram rathamevatu Buddhim tu saarathim viddhi manah pragrahameva cha
The body is the Chariot and the soul is the deity installed in the chariot. The wisdom acts as the charioteer to control the mind and thoughts. Rath Yatra is celebrated in Puri in the month of Aashadam(June-July) on the second day of the waxing moon (After Amavasya) in Sukla paksham with great pomp.
Lakhs of devotees assemble at Puri to participate in this and get a chance to pull the chariot unmindful of the stampedes.
A glimpse of Lord Jagannatha on the chariot is considered to be very auspicious and saints, poets and scriptures have repeatedly glorified the sanctity of this special festival.
The sanctity of the festival is such that even a touch of the chariot or even the ropes with which these are pulled is considered enough to confer the results of several pious deeds or penance for ages.
THE MAKING OF THE HUGE CHARIOTS
The wooden logs cut from Phassi, Dhausa tree are initially set to float in Mahanadi river and are brought to Puri by road.
Every year new chariots are made for Rath Yatra using these logs of wood. The construction of the 3 chariots starts on the auspicious day of Akshaya Trithyai-(the 3rd day in the bright fornight)in the month of Visakha- about two and half months before the Rath Yatra.
Only the descendants of the original carpenter are privileged to construct the chariots . After performing yaga, the construction of the chariot commences amidst chanting of mantras. During this time,some important events like Chandan Yatra, Snana Yatra and the Lord falling sick take place in the temple.
Lord Jaganath along with Subhadra and Baladeva leave the main temple and go to Gundicha temple which is about 2 kms north of the temple.
The Lordships leave in 3 separate chariots specially made for this purpose and give darshan to all the devotees including the persons who are not allowed inside the temple.
They stay at Gundicha temple for 9 days and return on the 10 th day.
Gundicha temple is also known as Janaka Puri , Yajnavedi(as this was the place where Brahma performed first fire sacrifice), Adapa Mandapam (mandapa where the deities are isolated).
The Lord moves about as per HIS free will the travel time cannot be ascertained.
There were instances where the Ratham would not move for days .
As the three chariots move about simultaneously, the road through which the chariot passes is very wide and is known as Grand Road like in Kanchipuram.
To enact that everyone is same in front of the eyes of the Lord, before the procession starts, in olden times, the king of the state used to clean the way using a golden broom.
(This practice was started by King Prataparudra who was a great follower of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
He expressed his humbleness by sweeping the road before the procession started, he used to press Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s legs to gain his audience.
A narration about Rath Yatra without mentioning Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s leela is incomplete.
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu after embracing Sanyasrama spent most of his time at Puri in the Lord’s presence . he used to sing and dance in ecstasy for hours together in front ofLord Jagannathar.
Once during Rath Yatra, Mahaprabhu was leading His sankeertana. His disciples were in groups at different locations and chanting the Mahamantra. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in all the nine groups singing and dancing in ecstasy at the same time.
This was observed by His foremost devotees. He thus revealed that he was an incarnation of the Lord in Kali Yuga. Puri is still vibrant with Gaudiya Sampradayam established by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The procession winds slowly through the Grand street and reaches Gundicha temple. This is considered to be Lord’s aunt’s place. Some refer Gundicha as King Indradyumna’s wife.
In the Gundicha temple, the deities are placed in the respective altars and offered puja for 9 days. Devotees throng to this temple to have Lord’s darshan as it is considered to be beneficial for one’s upliftment. On the 10th day when the deities return to the main temple, they are adorned sith golden crowns,necklaces,belts, golden hands, feet and weapons. This is known as “Suna vesa”.
May all auspiciousness and unstinting bhakthi to LORD JAGGANTHA be with us Please forgive this servant of yours for committing any offence by my inabilty to glorify LORD as no words are enough to speak about LORDS opulence.
Our Sri Sri Gour Nitai deities at Thiruvengadam ( Residence ) who had arrived from Sri Jagganath Puri Dhaam ..
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 .
The spiritual pride of Sanandana was shattered with that incident …
True!! He recollected his guru’s teachings …” when devotion enters a man he becomes humane” . The hunter was a truly humane.
He realised it was Lord’s divine will to reveal HIMSELF. He quickly walked out of the jungle accepting the Lord’s instructions praying continuously chanting the ” Mantra Raja Pada ” sloka and humming Lords holy names . It is almost end of the jungle .Suddenly he hears a chorus of Hari Naama sankeertanam
Rushing into the crowd, he finds few sadhus chanting “Rama nama” .. Immensely pleased that he reached…
it was Bharata to be praised as the most supreme devotee among the devotees of Lord Ramachandra .The reasons quoted are enlightening .
Though Bharata and Lakshmana were both immensely devoted to Lord Rama and wished to serve him , the one who obeyed was Bharata .
He submitted to Lord Rama by ruling Ayodhya for 14 years patiently bore the sorrow of separation and ruled the kingdom to the joy of the people .
Even though he was the King , he wore matted locks and the bark of a tree , denied himself the prosperity of the Kingdom , slept on the floor and led a harsh life .
Out of the innumerable avatars , Lord Maha Vishnu incarnated as Lord Rama…
Lord appeared to establish dharma in the world by following the rules and regulations laid down as per the Shastras.
The purpose of his appearance was to annihilate the evil forces torturing the world in the form of Rakshasas headed by Ravana and establish dharma .
Dasaratha Chakravarthy who ruled the world from Ayodhya performed Putrakameshti yagam and was blessed with NECTAR which was distributed amongst his three wives- Kousalya who was given half the share, then to Sumitra with one-fourth share , and then to Kaikeyi who was given one-eighth share and the balance of one-eighth was again given to Sumitra. Kousalya consumed first, followed by Kaikeyi and then Sumitra who had two shares consumed the one-fourth share and then one-eighth share. Based on this sequence, four lovely sons were born to Dasaratha…
Before the one omnipotent Lord , all the devas ( demigods) tremble and crouch . One such incident happened during the time of Pillay Uranga Villi dasar .
Pillai Uranga Villidasar was a favourite disciple to Swamy Ramanuja .He became very close to his Master so rare that was his piety though belonged to a lower caste he had privileges conferred upon him .
He was previously a wrestler who by grace of JagathAcharyar turned to become Swamy Ramanuj’s disciple .
His turning into disciple can be read in the appended blog post
One of Villidasar’s land tenant was put into torture by the village deity called Aiyanar .
“Aiyyanar” shrines are located at the peripheries or boundaries of rural villages, and the village deity is seen with a sword riding a white horse who eternally ,fight against demons and evil spirits vigilantly who threaten the villagers .
Lord Krishna in Guruvayoor stands out and has enticed everyone the most. The beautiful stature of Lord Guruvayoor attracts the devotees to come in large numbers and imagine to hug the Lord.
Guruvayoor is located in Trichur district in Southern India.
Sri Narayana Bhattatri composed the beautiful Narayaneeyam, containing thousand slokas which is sung in most of the houses in India .
Guru and Vayu adorned the deity of Lord Krishna to Narayana Saras and ParamaShivan was residing in a temple. On seeing Lord Krishna, it is said that Shiva moved out of the temple and shifted to a place called Mammiyoor.
So ParamaShiva gave his own place to Lord Krishna and that is verily where Guru and Vayu consecrated Krishna.
The little Krishna stands there as “Guruvayurappa” even today. ParamaShiva’s temple in Mammiyoor is about a kilometer away from the Guruvayur temple. It is believed that Shiva looks at Lord Krishna and is doing penance in Mammiyoor.
Poonthanam was a great devotee of Lord Guruvayurappan . (Kerala ) . He was an ordinary and simple man . He was not familiar with Sanskrit . He used to sing praises of the Lord in Malayalam which was his mother tongue.
Out of sheer love he wished to chant Sri Vishnusahsranamam .
He started reciting Vishnu Shahasarnamam .
Among the 1000 holy names at one particular place , instead of reciting the Holy name as “Amara Prabhuhu” he recited it as “Mara Prabhuhu”.
Amara connotes Devas and Amara Prabhuhu means the ‘Lord of all Devas’.
Another great devotee of Lord Krishna ( Guruvayurappan ) Bhattathiri a Sanskrit scholar the author of the epic Srimad Narayaneeyam , who was passing by , heard Poonthanam reciting the nama as Mara Prabhuhu.
The next day, Poonthanam again recited the name as Mara Prabhuhu. Bhattathiri who was passing by became upset hearing Poonthanam’s recital of Vishnu Shasarnamam He walked near to his place and roughed him not to chant Vishnu Shasarnamam since he had not learnt it properly. Poonthanam was sad for the offence .He pleaded LORD to forgive for his poor knowledge in Sanskrit.
That very night, the all compassionate Lord Krishna arrived in Bhattathiri’s dream and commanded him that he was pleased with Poonthanam’s devotion more than Bhattathiri’s scholarliness.
He also clarified that the holy name he chanted was correct and is indeed “Mara Prabhu” which connotes “Lord of all human beings, plants and animals”. Lord says my dear child , I am the bhagawan of amarars, then are you are the prabhu of trees. Because It is I who created the marars themselves. If a child is reading, don’t you know the meaning of it, being a maha pandit.
Asvatthah sarva-vrikshanam (10.26), have I not told you in the Gita,
Among trees, I am the sacred Ashvattaha!
Why dont you say so?
Therefore I don’t need your vibhakthi, but I need Poonthanam bhakthi only,
‘Coming to terms , Bhattadri realises the offence he had committed .
The very next day, Bhattathiri rushed to his house and prostrated unto Poonthanam and that “Amara Prabhuhu” and “Mara Prabhuhu” are indeed correct and requested him to continue chanting the nama verse as “Mara Prabhuhu”.
It was indeed a divine play of the Lord to show that he was indeed “Mara Prabhuhu”.
There was a follower of Poonthanam who would string garlands to Lord Guruvayurappan. She would offer the garland to the Lord every evening.
One day she was running a little late as she had some chores to complete. By the time she reached the temple, the Dolotsavam was over and the temple was closed.
There was no one else in the temple and she saw Poonthanam, who was the last person to come out of the temple. She offered her obeisances to Poonthanam and expressed her sadness that she was not able to get the garland Lord on time
Poonthanam took her near a tree before the temple and asked to offer the same .This tree called “Manjulal” is housed outside Lord Guruvayurappan temple.
One would first have the darshan of the holy tree before entering the temple.
Since the Lord was “Mara Prabhuhu” who is the Lord of trees [Mara], Poonthanam requested the girl to offer the garland to this tree. She implicitly obeyed Poonthanam and offered the garland to Manjulal.
The next morning, when the priest opened the temple to wake up the Lord, they saw the same garland around the Lord’s neck. Such was the Lord’s compassion on that little girl who verbatim obeyed a devotees words.
Of the five fold manifestations of the SUPREME LORD ( Param , Vyuham , Vibhavam , Archa and antharyami ) , the worship able form of Archa moorthy is easily accessible and takes one into permanent state of bliss .
The reason being Lord as Parama padha nathan is always surrounded by the divine planets and the Oceans and it is not of easy to access for the ones residing on earth with this material body.
The second manifestation of the Lord as ” Ksheerabdinathan” is in the middle of the milky ocean. LORD graces as Ksheerabdinathan to the demigods and the revered blessed sages . Even this darshan is not accessible with our material bodies.
The third manifestation of the LORD is what we have been celebrating as Lord Rama and Krishna avatars . The blessed manifestation was cherished by the great devotees of those times , the gopikas and…
After obtaining Asmath acharyar’s blessings ,and with the grace of our Kula deivam-Kazhiyur Adikesava Perumal and Lord Srinivasa, we undertook this yatra overseas ..
The Introduction is appended in the below URL 
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