Sri Rama Anu Yathirai(PART 2 )- A Piligrim’s Diary

          Part (1) has been published in below link

https://kazhiyurvaradanblog.in/2011/01/26/piligrim-diary-to-sri-rama-holy-abodes/

SRI  RAMAJAYAM

Sriman Narayanaya Charanau Saranam Prapathye  

   Srimathey Narayanaya namah

SrI SIta Lakshmana Bharatha Kshatrughna HanUmat sametha

 SrI  RAmachandra  Parabrahmane namah :

Apadam-apahartAram dAtAram sarva sampadAm
lokAbhirAmam shrIramAm bhooyo bhooyo namAmyaham

Adiyen bows again and again to Lord  Sree Rama who removes (all) obstacles and grants
wealth and pleases all.

ArtAnAmArtihantAram bheetAnAm bheeti-nAshanam
dvishatAm kAladanDam tam rAmchandram namAmyaham

He who annihilates the pain of the distressed, He who destroys fear in the minds
of the fearful, He who is like the Weapon of Death to his enemies, that
Lord Raamachandra do I worship.

Srimathey Ramanujaya namah

Sri Dasarathaya Namah

Sri Kooresaya namah

Sri Mudaliandan Swamy Thiruvadigaley Saranam

Prostrating at the  lotus feet of  LORD SITA RAM , Adiyen wishes to share travelogue  of   our second phase of our Sri Rama Anu Yatra which was a blissful experience

In the first phase of our yatra, we visited

Bittoor(the place where the sacred epic  SRIMAD RAMAYANA was written),

Ayodhya-the birthplace of Lord Sri Rama ,

Buxar-the place where Sri Rama killed Tataka the demoness

Siddhasramam– where Sri Rama protected Viswamithra’s yaaga

Ahori    -where the padhuka prabhavam of Lord Rama was revealed to the world by redeeming Ahalya from the  curse of the saint

Sitamarhi-the  appearance  place of Mother Sita,

Janakpur-in NEPAL where LOKA KALYANAM took place .

Nandigramam– in Ayodhya-Allahabad route from where Bharata ruled the kingdom as  Lord Srirama’s representative for 14 years. 

Here,  Bhaktha Hanuman saved Bharata’s life by informing him about  Lord SriRama’s arrival. Also, the place where Srirama and HIS  brothers  laid down their  attire which they wore for 14 years during HIS exile and dressed in royal robes.

Srungaberipuram-where Lord Rama spent  for the first time  in exile at Guha’s place

Triveni sangamam– where Sri Seetha Rama offered prayers to the holy Ganges

Chitrakoot-where Sri Ramar,Sita and Lakshmana lived during THEIR exile and where Sri Rama gave HIS padhukas to Bharata

Nasik – where Surpanaka was humbled by Lakshmana and Sri Rama defeated 14000 demons

Panchavati–  Lakshmana built a beautiful hermitage for  Lord SriRama  to dwell and  the place the demon Ravana committed the offence

Taket- the place where the valiant eagle,Jatayu fought against Ravana and lost his life for the service of the Lord.  The place where Lord Rama performed last rites to the bird.

In the first phase, we visited the places mentioned in Uttara kandam,    Bala kandam,  Ayodhya kandam,      Aranya kandam.

In the second phase, we planned to visit the remaining places mentioned in Kishkinda kandam,   Sundara kandam(part),     Yuddha kandam(part) in India and finish our  Lord Sri Rama anu yatra at Srirangam and then proceed to Tirumala-the ultimate destination  for thanking LORD for his abundant mercy in the divine journey .

The ever compassionate Lord who is eager to give HIS darshan to devotees made our journey comfortable and most memorable.

Circular journey details:- (9^th oct-18^th Oct 2010) Secunderabad-Hospet-Hubli-Mysore-Vanchimaniyachi-Tirunelveli-Rameswaram-Srirangam-Tirupati-Secunderabad

Eager to take up this divine pilgrimage , Adiyongal undertook  Sri Sundarakandam parayanam for successful completion of the yatra.  With ( home )  aathu Perumal’s anugraham, adiyongal started our yatra on 9^th Oct.  

We boarded Kacheguda-Yeswantpur Express at 2100 hours on 9^th Oct and reached Hospet at about 0700 hours on 10^th morning.

Our KISHKINDA YATRAI  started  from this place .

The holy place Kishkinda in Treta yugam is present day Hampi.  

The greenery the  hillocks and the  mountains , big boulders at  various places give us the feel that this was truly the VANARA KINGDOM and aptly  connected to  the holy epic  Srimad Ramayanam .  Mother Sita was abducted by  the demon Ravana at Panchavati as per a divine plan for LOKA SAMRAKSHAKA .

 

Lord  Sri Rama and Lakshmana  after the unfortunate incident walked  into these woods in search of  Mother Sita and in due course arrived at Taket  near  present Nasik where they noticed  the  devotee bird Jatayu maharaj .  

The ultimate devotee Jatayu informed the whereabouts of Mother Sita  and narrated the incident of the demon  Ravana  abducting mother and  proceeding towards south  direction  and his efforts to stop him was futile and caused his injuries and leave this world . (The demon   Ravana cut his wings and wounded him severely) .

After informing  Lord Rama about Mother Sita’s whereabouts, Jatayu breathed his last . Lord Rama performed his final rites and gave him Moksha . 

Based on Jatayu’s words,  Lord Rama  set their search operation towards south. Lord  Rama and Lakshmana were caught by Kabandhan- a cursed  huge demon who tried to swallow them. 

Lord Rama and Lakshmana defeated the demon who was redeemed by the touch of Sri Rama.   Again by the divine will Kabandha informed that  Lord Rama would be successful in HIS endeavour and suggested him to befriend Sugriva , a vanara who was in exile with whose help HE would be able to defeat  the demon Ravana and rescue Mother Sita.

Enroute , Lord Rama visits  Matanga muni’s ashram and graceds Sabari- a great old devotee who was waiting for  Lord Sri Rama’s arrival as per her Guru’s instructions.  Th devotee  affectionately served Ramar with fruits and in his presence attained moksham. This place is in Hampi.

There is a beautiful pond  ( saras ) full of white lotuses known as Pampa saras and a flight of steps leads us to a small temple which was Matanga muni’s ashram.

From here Lord  Rama and Lakshmana set out on their journey go find out Sugriva’s whereabouts.    Bhaktha Hanuman disguised as a Brahmin meets  Lord Rama and Lakshmana to find out about their intentions .  Satisfied that they were not sent by Vali, Hanuman carries Rama and Lakshmana  on his shoulders to Sugriva’s hiding place  at Rishyamukha parvatham.  Sri Rama and Sugriva  become friends and take an oath in agni’s presence to help each other.

  Sri Rama coronates Sugriva as Vanara King and Sugriva promises to help Rama in finding out Sita .

At the place where their friendship solemnized, we now have a beautiful Kodandaramar temple on the banks of River Tungabhadra.  The place from where  Lord Ramar killed Vaali, the place where Rama stayed for four months during monsoon, the place where  Bhaktha Hanuman hands over the choodamani to Sri Ramar , the madhuvan where the vanaras satisfied their hunger and destroyed the beautiful garden are all located in  and around Hampi.  Added to this, we can  have darshanam of the great devotee Swami  Purandaradasar mandapam- the place where  Swamy Purandaradasar stayed during his last days, the Vittal temple and other places of interest which should not be missed.

Travelling past green lushy fields, we reached Hampi in about  one hour.    Purified ourselves in the holy Tungabhadra river near Kodandaramar temple.

The river   is surrounded by Rishyamukha and Matanga parvathams on either sides.

Sri Sita Lakshmana Hanuman Sugreeva sametha Sri Kodandaramar is  carved out of a single boulder –

Lord Sri Ramar coronated Sugriva as King of Vanaras at this place even before killing Vali.

Lord Rama is seen in Chathurbhujam holding sankhu, chakram,bow and arrow. The priest narrated in detail all the incidents  .Jai Jai Sree Rama

Few yards from this temple, we have Yanthrothkari Hanuman temple.  Usually we  can have darshanam of  Sri  Sudarshana chakram and Narasimhar together.  But here we have Sudarshana chakram and Hanumar together .

The diety here is very powerful and fulfills the wishes of the devotees.  Our only wish was May LORD always give us satsangh and May we keep meeting LORD RAMAS devotees .

We had darshanam of  ( abhishekam )  Thirumanjanam   for  the yantram when we visited this temple.  Vanaras honoured Hanuman with holy bath after his return from Srilanka.

Hampi , the important  place  of Vijayanagaram Empire  was the erstwhile capital of  King Krishnadevarayar  is famous for stone sculptures.

On the way to Malyavanta hill which is located on the other side of Tungabhadra, we visited Virupaksha temple.

Enroute we can have darshanam of  Lakshmi Narasimhar statue about 6.7 mtrs carved out of a single rock , 3 feet Linga carved out of a single rock,  Bhaktha Purandaradasa mantapam surrounded by water 

( The great devotee Purandaradasar spent his last days here)  , Vittal temple where Lord Panduranga of Pandirpur was worshipped for sometime by King Ramarayya-the brother of Krishnadeva rayar.

SRI NARASIMHAR CARVED OUT OF A SINGLE ROCK, HAMPI

Lord Sri Rama and Lakshmana stayed at Malyavanta parvatham for four months due to  monsoon.

Our Maryada Purushotama Lord Sri Rama used to lament thinking of Mother Sita and the troubles she would be undergoing like any human being  and Lakshmana used to pacify the Lord.

Lord Rama used to swoon away recollecting the good days they spent together and the turmoils which Lokamatha was undergoing now.

Lord Srirama is seen  in meditative posture. In the small cave, we can find a boulder on which  Lord Rama  rested.  Recollecting the divine pastimes we had tears .

 A beautiful sculpture of  Lord Sita Rama in sitting posture, Lakshmana serving the Lord standing,and  bhaktha Hanuman in kneeling posture  can be seen.

Akhand Ramayana parayanam was  being recited  in a close by mantapam which had the reverbations of the HOLY DHAAM .  The place bhaktha Hanuman offered “choodamani” to Lord Rama,  has a  beautiful temple for  Sri Seeta,Ramar, Lakshmana and Hanumar.  

We can have darshanam of Bhaktha Hanuman kneeling before  Lord Sri Rama submissively handing  over the choodamani to Lord  Sri Ramar.  There are beautiful pictures from Srimad  Ramayanam on the temple walls.  The priest was kind to narrate the incident while showing  mangala haarathi.

Later we proceeded to  Madhuvan and had darshanam  of the huge  bhaktha Hanuman deity who was covered by sindhoor all over.  While giving aarthi to Hanumar, the priest explained how the vanaras led by Hanuman and Angadhan  entered Madhuvanam and after taking Angadha’s consent, they drank honey to their satisfaction and trampled the garden  overjoy with the good news from Anjaneyar .  

Sugriva’s uncle who was the guardian , approached  Sugriva and complained about the vanaras  enthusiasm and their unusual behaviour  expecting Sugriva to rebuke them 

SRI ANJANEYAR TEMPLE IN MADHUVAN, HAMPI

But the wise Sugriva understood that the vanaras would have found Mother Sita and were thus celebrating their joy .  He  was also  overjoyed with the news  and instructed his uncle to send the vanaras immediately to Malyavan parvath where  Lord Sri Rama and Lakshmana were eagerly waiting to hear about  LOKA MATHA’S  welfare.  There is a beautiful pic of Panchamukha Anjaneyar in this temple.

We  proceeded  to Chintamani- for having darisanam at the place from where Lord  Sri Rama aimed arrow at the Vanara king  Vali who was seen on the farther side .

 

Sugriva who was not aware of Sri Rama’s prowess showed the Lord the mortal remains of Dundhubi who was earlier killed by Vali . Lord Rama also demonstrated  his power ( as if he was a normal king )  by kicking the body which flew and fell many miles away.  To once again show HIS valour and instill faith in HIM, the Lord  with a single arrow destroyed the seven sala trees (   A big pillar with bow and arrow marks the event.

An interesting fact is from the place where Sri Rama stood and aimed arrow at Vali, we can see the place where Vali and Sugriva fought but the reverse is not true.  It takes about one hour by road to reach the spot where Vali fought with Sugriva.  Here, we can have darshan of Sri Rama  padhuka as Sri Rama approached Vali while he was breathing his last and answered all his queries and justified HIS action of killing him from hiding.

This temple is situated on a small hillock with Tungabhadra flowing on one side.  A wonderful place full of greenery . We can have darshan of  Lord Sri Rama padhuka at the place where HE stood and aimed arrow at  vanara king Vali.

We then  proceeded to  Rishyamukha parvatham , the place where  Lord Sri Rama and Sugriva met for the first time.   This is the place where  Sugriva shows  the jewels  dropped by Mother Sita enroute  from the air.   Bhaktha Hanuman had gathered the jewels from the hillock dropped by Mother Sita and gave it to Sugriva who preserved them.

Lord  Sri Rama identified the jewels and lamented uncontrollably for Sita’s loss and to see the jewels without Sita who added beauty to them.  Our poorvacharyars say that to attain Lord’s mercy, Mother’s intervention is compulsory.  Here Mother Sita graced the vanaras with HER benevolence in the form of jewels.  On the Rishyamukha parvatham, there is a small cave with platforms on either sides on which   Sri Rama and Sugriva sat.

There is also a small yaga kundam ( havan spot )  at the place where Lord  Sri Rama and Sugriva solemnized their friendship and  mutually agreed to help each other in the presence of Agni. (Agni saakshi).

From Rishyamukha parvatham, we proceeded to Matanga muni ashram on the banks of Pampa saras (a small pond filled with white lotuses).  A flight of steps led us to a small temple.   Lord Sri Rama accepted the fruits offered by Sabari at this place. A serene place ..could feel the fragnance of the flowers and the bhakthi of the great devotee Sabhari.

Having visited the important places in Kishkinda, we proceeded  from Hampi to Hubli which is about 3 hours drive to take the night train to our next destination, Mysore. ( We  Paid Rs.2000 for the car)  .  We reached Hubli at about 7 p.m. and after having dinner boarded Dharwar-Mysore express at 2115 hours  which  reached Mysore at 7 a.m. on 11^th Oct.

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On 11^th Oct, we hired a cab for Rs.2000 to  have darshanam of  the  Lakshmana Theertha which is about 120 kms from Mysore Near Nagarhole.

We  drove past Rajiv Gandhi National Park where we spotted  animals like deers,elephants, peacocks.

The road is excellent for a drive . Appreciating nature’s beauty accompanied by HARI NAAM kirtans, we reached Lakshmna Theertham after about 2 hrs drive from Mysore .

We reached Lakshmana Theertha  locally called  as Iruppu Falls.  It was a wonderful site .

Just imagined the scene in RAMAYANA and had tears .  A narrow stone laid pathway leads us to the top.  The weather was chilly and pleasant.

As soon as  Bhaktha Hanuman narrated the whereabouts of Mother Sita,  LORD Srirama set off immediately with the vanara sainyam retinue to Sri lanka.  Srirama instructed the vanaras not to pass through the villages and cause disturbance to the residents there .  As per  Lord Srirama’s instructions, Sugriva ordered that they take the forest route.  Sri Hanuman carried Srirama and Lakshmana on his shoulders.  While they were passing through Brahmagiri mountains, the vanaras felt thirsty and Srirama ordered Lakshmana to quench their thirst.  Immediately Lakshmana aimed an arrow in the hill and water sprouted and thus the vanaras quenched their thirst.

This water contains medicinal properties and is capable of washing away the accumulated sins.  We were delighted to have a dip at the altitude where the water was gushing like hari ki paudi ( similar to ganges falling in Haridwaar)  After having bath in the fresh waters, we approached Rameswara temple for darshanam.

AFter reciting the related sarga from Srimad Ramayanam, we proceeded  back to Mysore  to board Tirunelveli Express at 1745 hours and reached Vanchimaniachi at about 1030 hours on 12^th Oct.

From Vanchimaniaachi,  we  hired a cab to  reach  Mahendragiri parvatham ( the holy hill from where Bhaktha Hanuman leapt to Srilanka )  near Tirukurungudi via Nanguneri and drop at Tirunelveli station.

Enroute, we bathed in Tambaraparani river, the river from where Swamy Nammazhwar’s vigraham appeared.  After purifying ourselves, we went to Vanamamalai temple  and had darshan of  Lord Sri Deivanayaga Perumal and Thayar.  When we went to Vanamamali mutt, saatrumarai was going on and we were fortunate to get theertha prasadam.It looked that all was arranged by HIS abundant mercy .

No one could guide us to Swamayamprabha cave which is mentioned in Ramayanam.  (As per Sri Velukudi Swamin’s second trip, this is situated in Ramapuram near Kadiyanallur .There is a beautiful Hanuman vigraham inside the cave along with the image of Swayamprabha.) We just offered our dandaavats to the holy place and   proceeded to Tirukurungudi  At this wonderful place ,  we took a jeep to go to malai nambi temple.  Mahendra giri parvatham from where Hanuman leapt in search of Sita is located here.  Here,Malai nambi Perumal-one of the five nambis of Thirukurungudi gives darshan.

Driving up the hill on unleveled roads was really challenging.  This drive was similar to the drive for visiting the nava Narasimha kshetrams in Ahobilam.  Chanting Sriman Narayana Kirtans we  thanked LORD for his mercy . The driver pointed us to other jeeps which were numbered saying that all the jeeps were used for Sri Velukudi Swamin’s trip.  Sprinkled  the holy  water from Nambi aaru.

The vanaras were spotted everywhere reminding us about bhaktha hanumans journey to Sri lanka . Yes ! SUNDARAKANDAM entry … With  all humilty offered pranaams to all the living , non living things in this holy dhaam . To our surprise the main temple was open   The archakar  was kind to explain the glory of the place .He performed archanai to Malai nambi Perumal and shared with us about Nampaduvan’s charitram which is mentioned in Varaha puranam Kaisika Mahatmayam adding that this Perumal is fond of music. Adiyongal sang few devotional songs.

We returned to Tirukurungudi temple by 5 p.m.

We had  darsanam of  Lord Vaishnava Nambi Perumal, the asanam on which Swamy Ramanujar  relaxed  and gave upadesam to Perumal which is adjacent to the garbagriham .   ( Dakshina Bhadri)

We also had darisanam of Tiruparkadal  Perumal  and reached Tirunelveli station to board Rameswaram express

The archakar took us to our favourite Azhwar’s Tirumangai Azhwar Thiruvarasu which is about 2 kms away from the main temple. The youngest among 12 Azhwars reached Lord’s holy feet at this place.  Here Azhwar is seen in Anjali mudra and is not holding spear as he is usually seen in other places.

From  Rameswaram station, we engaged  a car to visit Navapaasham, Sethu samudram, Thirupullani temple,Dhanushkodi  for Rs.2000/-   Navapaasham  is the holy place  where  all the Navagrahas  together offer obesainces to LORD to protect them from the demon king Ravana .As per locals it was told that all the Navagrahas had offered prayers from the sea for LORDS appearance .

From Navapaasham, we went to Sethukarai .  after having samudra snanam at Sethukarai, we visited  Lord Sita,Ramar  temple. It was here Vibhishana saranagathi took place. (Vibhishana along with his two rakshasa friends approached  Lord Srirama seeking asylum from the Lord.  Sugriva and others argued  that he should not be given shelter because  the person who left his brother during crisis was not trust worthy. However, Hanuman vouched for Vibhishana as he was a dharmatma.   Lord Srirama declared to the world that HE would grant asylum even to Ravana,the gravest offender on the earth and it was HIS DHARMA to  protect the person who has done saranagathi to HIS lotus feet. Sri Rama granted saranagathi to Vibhishana and did Pattabhishekam to Vibhishana then and there. This charama slokam is imparted by our acharyars to us at the time of initiation and everyday we recite recollecting the assurance given by the LORD.  A beautiful picture of Vibhishana saranagathi along with the charama slokam attracted our attention.

Our poorvacharyas comment that the  saranagathi done by Vibhishana was successful because he left everything including his family and took shelter at  Lord Sri Rama’s lotus feet.  He was personification of dharma who chastised his brother  Ravana for his demonic act and advised him to return Mother Sita to Sri Rama. He restrained Ravana from killing Hanuman by citing rajadharam that a messenger should not be killed and thus protected Hanuman.   As Ravana didn’t heed to his repeated advise, he decided to leave his brother and continue to tread in the path of Dharma and sought shelter at Sri Rama’s lotus feet with total submissiveness.  (It is stated that when a devotee does total surrender to the Lord with utmost faith, the Lord gives HIMSELF to the devotee.  This has been proved in Vibhishana’s case.  Vibhishana did total surrender to Srirama and the Lord not only coronated him but also gave HIMSELF to him in the form of Lord Ranganatha.)

WE  proceeded to  Thirupullani temple to have darsanam of Lord  Dharbasayana Ramar which also happens to be one of the 108 divya desams and as per the sthalavaralaaru,King Dasaratha  worshipped  the presiding diety Sri Adi Jagannathar for progeny.  The Lord graced us by giving darshan in Ekantham, even the priest had gone to prepare prasadam.  So we were left to ourselves to  dissolve in the beauty of the Lord in sayana thirukkolam(sleeping posture) and sang few BHAKTA RAMADASU kirtans and 108 Rama naamvalee  before  the Lordships. The Priest informed  that installing naagams sculpted on stones) will fulfill the desire of progeny. WE can find many such naaga prathishtai in the inner courtyard.  There is a separate sannidhi for Adi Jagannathar.

The priest performed archanai  to the Lordships  and narrated as to why  LORD Srirama is seen in this unique asanam and posture. Usually, we  have darsanam of  Sriramar in Nindra Thirukolam(standing posture) holding Kodandam whereas here , LORD gives darshan  in “dharbasayanam thirukkolam”(lying posture on darbha grass.). WE can find Samudra rajan accompanied by his wife praying to Sri Darba sayana Ramar inside the garbagriham on one side and Vibishana Azhwar standing with folded hands on the other side of Perumal.

The vanara army had reached Thirupullani but didn’t know how to cross the ocean and approached  Lord Srirama for guidance.   Lord Srirama  prayed Samudrarajan (the ocean) to pave  route  for them  for the mission taken up . Lord Rama fasted for 3 days to invoke the Samudra   king to respond  and  rested  on darbham ( kusa grass )  . (Our poorvacharyars opine that the saranagathi done by Srirama to the ocean did not fructify because  the person who surrenders must be totally incapable and in this case , the Supreme Lord who is the creator, protector and sustainer  of the Universe, did not comply with this requirement.  Also, the refuge from whom it is being sought must be capable to give refuge.  Only the Lord can give refuge to everyone and hence the saranagathi done by Srirama was not effective.

When the ocean didn’t reciprocate,  LORD was upset  and was about to destroy the ocean by aiming HIS powerful arrow.  Immediately  out of fear , Samudrarajan appeared before the Lord seeking forgiveness and requested the Lord to purify him by constructing a bridge over the ocean.  Samudrarajan suggested that the bridge could be built by throwing boulders and rocks under Nala’s supervision and he would hold them.  When Srirama said that the  arrow already taken out  cannot go waste, Samudrarajan humbly requested the Lord to aim the arrow at his demonic enemies who were on the north western side of the ocean.(near present day Dwaraka)  Srirama fulfilled the  kings wish by killing the demons.This  place is the famous Thar desert now .  Sri Kooratazhwan wonders in Athimanushasthavam about  Lord Sri Rama’s valour.  He concludes that how much ever the Lord tries to conceal HIS true identity, it is difficult for him to do so.  Srirama had the capability to vanquish Ravana even without physically going to Srilanka but the Lord took the help of vanaras, bears and squirrels to construct a bridge and go all the way to Srilanka to kill Ravana and rescue Mother Sita whereas HE destroyed the demons who were thousands of miles away from Sethukarai just by aiming a single arrow at them.  Our poorvacharyars glorify the Lord that HE enacted this only to place HIS holy feet on the land which was to be ruled by his dear devotee, Vibhishana.

Offering repeated obesiances , we  moved  to go as close to Dhanushkodi which has been destroyed by  recent Tsunami.  There is a stretch of bridge connecting the land with the sea.  It takes about 20 minutes driving.  On the way, we could see clearly the stones floating on the water.  This was the bridge constructed by the vanaras for crossing the sea.  WE reached Lord  Ramar temple on the shores.   We were keen to have darshanam of the place where Lord Srirama sighted the ocean for the first time .  SriRama along with the vanaras travelled from Hampi via Lakshmana theertham and landed at this place.  The Lord  spotted  the ocean from here and then decided the future course of action-praying to Samudrarajan, deciding to construct a bridge, giving saranagathi  ( shelter ) to Vibhishana .

The priest narrated all the incidents.  Nearby , there is a small well  surrounded by sea water.  This is known as “Villundi Theertham”(the water which appeared as a result of  Lord Srirama’s bow),  The priest narrated that after defeating the demon  Ravana, Sri Rama along with Mother Sita and other vanaras were returning .To quench Mother Sita’s thirst, Sri Rama aimed at the ground and Ganga sprang up to quench Jaganmatha’s thirst.  The water from the well is sweet .There is a small pathway to the well.

The priest gave us a vessel to draw water from the well and taste it.  It was potable. (This incident does not appear in Valmiki Ramayanam.  As per Valmiki Ramayanam, Lord Rama along with Sitadevi,Lakshmana, Vibhishana, Sugriva and other vanaras mounted on Pushpaka vimanam from Srilanka and stopped enroute at Hampi so that the vanara wives could join them to go to Ayodhya.  Srirama stopped at Hampi and at Bharadwaja muni’s ashram in Allahabad before meeting Bharata at Nandigramam.)  As mentioned earlier, there are many such incidents linked to Ramayanam though not mentioned in the Adi kavyam.  While returning to Rameswaram, we stopped at a small temple dedicated to Sugriva.  Sugriva is supposed to have refreshed at this place.  There is a small pond beside the temple and a local caretaker gave aarthi and narrated this. After paying our respects at Rameswaram temple, we reached station to board Srirangam train .

Our second phase of Sri Rama Anu Yathirai culminated at Srirangam in  SriKodandaramar sannidhi.

Offering obesiances  to  Lord Sri Ranganathar, the kula-dhanam of Sri Ramar, we recited pattabhishekam sargam at  Sri Kodandaramar sannidhi on the banks of Chandra Pushkarini in the temple premises. 

The gigantic divya mangala swaroopam of  Lord Sri Sita,Lakshmana, Hanumath sametha Sri Kodandaramar , especially the Lord’s  lotus eyes, kodhandam etc is still vivid in adiyen’s memory.  The entire  Srimad Ramayanam in the form of Thanjavur paintings beautifully decorate the walls of the temple and it was like a quick recap for us reviving our entire tour in the sannidhi.   WE then had darshanam of Sita Ramar in Pattabhisheka Thirukkolam in the nearby Pattabhiraman sannidhi.

Seeking forgiveness for all our shortcomings and requesting the Lord to shower HIS benevolent grace on us and thanking zillion times the vaishanava reformer of the present era , Shri  Sri.Velukudi Swamin for his initiative which imbibed the desire in us to visit the various holy places, we retired for the day.  Next day, we reached the holy Tirumala Hills to have darshanam of Lord Venkateswara  along with our siblings.  While having Moolavar’s darsanam, Sri Sita ,Lakshmana sametha Sri Kodandaramar who appeared to Swami Ramanujar once again poured THEIR benevolent glance on us and graced us during Oonjal seva .

After reaching Hyderabad, we offered vada malai to  Bhaktha  Hanumar in Kushaiguda temple.  The entire trip was possible only due to the abundant grace of Sri Rama bhakth Hanuman who saved and guided us all through the journey. Swamy  Hanuman is considered as “paramaguru” in Ramayanam as he plays a vital role in joining the Jivatma with Paramatma. Our poorvacharyars compare Lanka with our body, 10 headed Ravana as our 10 senses, Jivatma is Sitadevi , Srirama is Paramatma.  Paramacharyar Hanuman destroys the body and the evil senses which induce us to do evil acts, uplifts our atma and offers it to Paramatma.

Likewise,   Asmath acharyar ,Sri Mudaliandan Swamy graced our kudil in November  performed Dhaati Panchakam homam invoking Jagadacharyar-Swami Ramanujar, initiated adiyen’s daughter, gave mantropodesam to us and allowed us to perform his Thirunakshitram at our kudil.

Holy water which we had collected from all the sacred rivers-Sarayu,Ganga,Yamuna,Saraswati,Godavari,Tungabhadra, Kaveri, Samudram, Swami Pushkarini theertham were all used for performing Sahasradhaara abhishkem to our acharyar amidst chanting of Vedic hymns and playing of musical instruments.   That was the benedictory fruit given to the Lord for our attempt.   The benevolence of our Acharyar cannot be described in words.

Adiyen just can’t   describe in  words to share the experiences which we had in this trip.  May the Lord bestow HIS cool and benevolent grace on all the jivatmas  and always protect  his children .  May Lord Hanuman bestow us with the opportunity of visiting Sri Lanka . Though some refrain from visiting this place which caused suffering to Mother Sita, adiyen recollects the incident where Srirama after HIS victory asks Sita to cast HER benevolent glance on that land which was to be ruled by HIS dear devotee,Vibhishana.  Also, this is the place where  Lord Srirama placed HIS foot and killed the demonic king,Ravana.  Likewise, may Lord Rama kill the demonic qualities in us and make us a better devotee and live in  our hearts forever.

Adiyen  Ramanuja dasan

Kazhiyur Varadan

JAI SITARAM

Adiyen humbly thanks Srirama bhaktaas for being kind to read this travelogue . Please forgive me for any errors and mistakes which was due to adiyens poor understanding .

Please accept adiyens pranaams for kind words and may all the auspiciousness be with all. I end this travelogue with mangala slokam recited by Sri Manavala Mamunigal.

Mangalam Kosalendraya , mahaneeya gunabhdhaye,

Chakravarthi thanujaaya sarva bhoumaya Mangalam.

Vedavedantha vedhyaya , Megha Shyamala moorthaye,
Pumsaam mohana roopaya , punyaslokaya Mangalam.

Viswamithrantharangaya , mithila nagari pathe,
Bhagyaanaam paripakaya , bhavya roopaya Mangalam.

Pithru bhakthaya sathatham brathrubhi saha seethaya,
Nandithakhila lokaya , Ramabhadraya Mangalam.
Thyaktha saketha vasaya , chithra koota viharine,
Sevyaya sarva yaminaam , dheerodhayaya Mangalam.

Soumithrina cha janakya chapa banasi dharine,
Samsevyaya sada bhakthya , swamine mama Mangalam.
Danda karanya vasaya , khara dhooshana sathrave,
Grudhra rajaya Bhakthaya , mukthi dayasthu Mangalam.
Sadaram Sabari datha phala moola abhilashine,
Soulabhya paripoornaa, sathvodrikthaya Mangalam,
Hanumath sama vethaya , harresabheeshta dhayine,
Bali pramadhanayasthu , Maha dheeraya Mangalam.
Srimathe Raghu veeraya , sethullangitha sindhave,
Jitha rakshasa Rajaya , Rana dheeraya Mangalam.
Vibheeshana kruthe preethya , lankabheeshta pradhayine,
Sarva loka saranyaya , Sri Raghavaya Mangalam.
Asadhya nagarem divyamabhishikthaya Seethaya,
Rajadhi rajaya Rama Bhadraya Mangalam.
Brahmadhi deva sevyaya , brahmanyaya mahathmane,
Janaki prana nadhaya , Ragu nadhaya Mangalam.
Sri soumya jamathru mune krupaya smanu peyushe,
Mahathe mama nadhaya , Raghu nadhya Mangalam.
Mangala sasana paraiir madacharya purogamai,
SArvescha poorvairacharyai , sathkruthayasthu Mangalam.
Ramya jamathru muneena , mangala sasanam krutham,
Trilokyadhipathi Sriman , karothu Mangalam sada.
Ithi Sri vara vara muni swami krutha ,

sri rama mangala sasanam sampoornam

svasti prajabhyam paripalayantham nyayeana margena mahim maheesah
gobrahmanebhya shubamsthu nityam lokah samastha sukhino bhavanthu

May there be well being to the people;
May the kings rule the earth along the right path;
May the cattle and the Brahmins have well being forever;
May all the beings in all the worlds become happy;
Peace, peace and peace be everywhere!

Jai Jai Jai Sree Sita Rama