The EGO is not getting rid of me Gurudeva ! Please help !!

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

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

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

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

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

The disciple was in distress .

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The revered Acharya replied  ,

My Child !!

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

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 Pride is an alternative name for EGO .

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

 Such EGO is responsible for disrespecting Elders .

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

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

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

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

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Its like this my child !!

The head of the family is EGO .

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

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

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

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

The jiva enjoys only the fruits showered by the Lord .

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

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

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

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

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The Lord is the principal enjoyer  .

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

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

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

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

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

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

A pasuram from Divya Prabhandam by  revered  Nammazhwar  goes as below

Theernda adiyavar  thammai thiruthippani kollavalla ardnapugal achuthan

says Nammazhwar….

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

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

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

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

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

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

The lesson was simple but crystal clear .

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

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Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

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

… Lord of abundant grace.. KripasamudraPerumal…ThiruSiripuliyur….

 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 .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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(ii) Video credits : Ranganathan Srinivasan

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan…

Chinni Krishna’s butter cup ( Dhonai leela ) at Vrindaavan

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.

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

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

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

what about my share ??

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

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

Yes Master !!!  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 All glories to the Divine leela
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Jai Sree Radhey shyaam

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Hare Krishna

 

 

Swami Appachiaranna *Appearance day * Avani Hastam * September 9 th 2021

Swamy Mudali Andan  was the  foremost  disciple of Jagatha Acharyar Swamy Ramanuja .  AndAn  was sad that he did not have a male heir to continue the kainkaryam of Lord Ranganathar  at Srirangam.

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Lord out of abundant mercy enacted a divine play .  Inside the temple at the same time , Swamy Ramanuja received prasadam from the temple  priest which was covered with a garment (Kandadai- Kandal Gandam + aadai – a piece of cloth with fragrance) worn by Lord ( Lordships ).

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Swamy Ramanuja indicated to Andaan about the auspicious happening and told him he will be blessed with a son soon.  As per the divine will , during  the tamil Masi Month , Poonarvasu thirunakshatram , Swamy Mudali AndAn was blessed with a child with divya thEjas.

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Mudaliandan took the young boy wrapped in  the  cloth that  was  used to dry periya perumal after his ritual bath . The  torn cloth was smelling of gandham ( sandal ) . Swamy Ramanuja took the little boy  and blessed him . and said he came in a torn cloth, but he shall be with a golden heart and spread Sriman narayana’s moola mantram to the world and hence will be called Kandhadai .

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Years passed ,  the child grew up and came to be known as KanthAdai AndAn . KanthAdai AndAn was  just  28 years old when his father Swamy MudaliAndaan  reached Srivaikuntam  .

Swamy Ramanujar consoled him, took him to NamperumAls Sannidhi and gave him the duties and responsibilities performed by his father Mudali AndAn .

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KanthAdai AndAn also discharged the responsibilities like his father  . Among this great lineage  another great Acharyar  Swamy Appachiaranna appeared .

Swamy Appachiaranna was  the direct descendant of  Swamy  Mudaliandan Swami and  occupies  the nineth (9) position in the  legacy .

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Appachiaranna was addresed by Swami Manavala Mamunigal as “Nam Appachiarannao”.  Swamy  Manavala mamunigal  out of abundant compassion  gifted  two similar deities of   himself  to Appachiaranna (one for the worship of Sri Appachiaranna Swamy himself and the other for Swamy Vanamamalai jeer Swami, the Acharya of Appachiaranna) , made from the theerthapathram used by Swamy Ramanujar  received by  Swamy manavala mamunigal which was  in a  poor condition and later named as  ‘RAMANUJAN’.

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Swamy  Manavala Mamunigal also gave Appachiaranna the  deity  of ” Lord  Teemanam Keduthar”, the Perumal worshipped by Sri Atkondavilli Jeer.

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As directed by Swami Manavala Mamunigal, Appachiaranna lived at Kancheepuram at Swamy  Mudaliandan thirumaligai performing Nithya Thiruvaradhanam to “Sri Azhaithu Vazhivithavar” (the Lordships  given to kandhadai thozzappar by ( Lord Varadarajar)  Perulala perumal himself) one among the shad bheras of Kanchi Perarulalan .

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In the foot steps of Swami Ramanuja, Appachiaranna also spent his life time doing the Salaikinaru Kainkaryam for the ( Abhishekam )  thirumanjanam of Perarulalan and Perundevi Thayar.

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Swamy Appachiaranna’s thirunakshatram is Avani Hastham  falls on25th of  August 2017.

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This grand festival  is being celebrated for 5 days  from August 21st 2017 , at Sri Sri Mudaliandan Swami Thirumaligai ,  Singaperumal Koil, Thirunarayanapuram & Srirangam .

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On this grand occasion, Chellapillai Perumal and Swami Ramanujar  grace Swamy  Mudaliandan Thirumaligai at Thirunarayapuram ( Melkote)  to bless all Sishyas and abhimanis. This  grand festival is taking place for many years as practiced by our Poorvacharya’s.

 

 

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Shreemadh vaana mahaashaila raamaanuja munipriyam |
Vaadhoola varadhaachaaryam vandhe vaathsalya saagaram ||

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Pics credits : mudaliAndan.com  website

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

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

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

He approached Swamy Nampillai and submitted his question

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.. Acharya !!  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Swamy Nampillai   with compassion   replies  !

My child …….

It is incorrect to directly approach the Lord .

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

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

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

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Swamy Nampillai continued !

Look my child !!

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

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

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

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Srirangam Sri Ranganathaswamy Kovil

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

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

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

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

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

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He  exclaimed ..

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

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

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

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

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Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Pics credits : Google images

Chinni Krishna and Peria Azhwar

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

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

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

 “pallaaNdu, pallaaNdu PallAyiratthAndu PalakOdi NoorAyiram”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Pics  credits : Courtesy : Google images uploaded by devotees

video  credits: Shri Ananthanarayana for MS Amma’s clip

 

.THE SUPREME LORD WHO MEASURED THE WORLDS……… Brahma kadigina padhamu …

         Lord Krishna declares in Bhagavad Gita

” paritranaya sadhunam              vinasaya ca duskrtam
dharma-samsthapanarthaya      sambhavami yuge yuge.

(In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to                           re establish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium.)

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The Supreme Personality of Godhead  appeared  at various times to protect the good and  eradicate  the evil. Out of the prominent Dasa-avatarams,  Vamana avataram has a special significance .

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Bhakta Prahalad’s grandson  Mahabali  Chakravarthy had conquered all the worlds including Deva lokam as a result of which the devas headed by Indra had to leave Devalokam and sought their mother, Aditi’s intervention. Kashyapa rishi and Aditi prayed to Lord SrimanNarayanan for protecting the devas.  

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The All compassionate  Lord appeared to them as their  own child   during the month of Sravanam when the star Sravanam was ascendant which is celebrated as Vamana Jayanti. This place is presently in Buxar, Bihar .

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        The revered parents in the presence of rishis,devas and demi-gods performed yagnopaveetham (thread ceremony) to the divine child .

 The demi gods  attended in large numbers and presented deer skin, stalk, kamandalam, umbrella etc to the divine child who immediately left for the place where Bali Chakravarthy was performing a yaaga.

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Though Bali Chakravarthy was born as an asura, he was dharmic and a great devotee of Lord  MahaVishnu.   Out of pride , he  conquered  the  Devalokam  and occupied Indra simhasanam  which could be attained only  after performing  100 aswamedha yagas. As the Lord had promised Prahalad earlier that HE would not kill any one his descendants and as Bali himself was a great devotee, Lord resorted to approach Bali Chakravarthy asking for alms.

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As per the sastras only a brahmachari and a sanyasi can go for alms.   The all-compassionate Lord  arrived in  the form of brahmachari for seeking alms.

 

 This divine scene makes  Andal glorifiy  the Lord in Thiruppavai as “ONGI ULAGALANDHA UTTHAMAN PERE PAADI…..”  She addresses Perumal as “UTHTHAMAN” because the all opulent Perumal resorted for seeking alms  for the sake of saranagathaars (who took refuge in HIS LOTUS FEET )

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Looking at the divine aura of  Vamana murthi who was approaching Bali’s yaagam, Bali Chakravarthy went forward to welcome him.  Bali Chakravarthy with reverence offered athithi sathkaaram and pleaded the boy to ask for anything.

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 The boy replied that HE needed only 3 measures of land measured by HIS holy feet to which Bali immediately consented.  Bali’s guru, Sukracharyar guessed who the guest was and warned his disciple to refrain from fulfilling the grant.  Bali didn’t listen to his guru and went ahead to make the offering.

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The guru cursed him that he would loose all his wealth.  His guru, in order to protect his disciple, assumed the form of a bee and obstructed water from passing through the kamandalam with which Bali was offering.

 

 Lord Vamana  poked the hole with a dharbai which resulted in Sukracharyar losing an eye.   Bali was an exalted devotee who was prepared to forego everything for pleasing the Lord who was their kula dhanam.

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The moment Bali Chakravarthy finished oblations,  Lord  grew gigantically and with HIS first foot measuring  the earth, with HIS second foot measured the above worlds .

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When the holy FEET reached Satyalokam, Brahma immediately did paada puja(washed the Lord’s Lotus Feet).  The water which washed the holy feet became the holiest river, Ganges which Parama Shiva adorns on his head.

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Annamacharyar says “Brahma Kadigina Paadhamu…….” Lord who had taken the Viswaroopam showed HIS two fingers saying that HE had conquered the entire Universe and asked as to where HE should place HIS third foot.  Bali Chakravarthy with reverence offered his head  to the Lord for him  to place HIS LOTUS FEET.

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Prahalada appeared before Lord  and praised him  for the mercy HE showered on his grandfather.  

Lord  pleased with his bhakti ordered him to rule the Patala loka and granted Bali’s prayer to have HIS darshan always by remaining as a guard in Patala loka!!!!! such was  the Lord’s compassion…..

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This Viswaroopam of  Lord  is  glorified  as Trivikraman .

One can have darshan of this Divya Roopam  at 3  Srivaishnava divya desams in Tamil nadu- namely,

  1. Kaazhiseerama vinnagaram(Sirkazhi ).,

2) Ulagalandha Perumal kovil at Thirukovalur and  

3) Ulagalandha Perumal kovil at Kanchipuram.

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As per elders version, in Sirkazhi, Lord Trivikraman measured the first step.  Vamana murthi grew in size  and taking the Viswaroopam measured the world with HIS left foot here which  is on the air.

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WE can have darsanam of right thiruvadi ( divine foot)  along with  Vamana murthi at this place only once in a year on Vaikunta Ekadasi when the kavacham from Thirumaal’s thiruvadi is removed.   Here in garbagriham,  Lord  gives darshan all alone. Compared to the other divya desams mentioned above, the Lord ‘s thirumeni ( roopam )  is smaller in size . The main deity in this temple is glorified  as ‘Kaazhicheerama Vinnagaram‘, and ‘Thavitu Paane Thadalan‘, the King of World.

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LORD TRIVIKRAMAN AT SIRKAZHI

The Thirivikarama Perumal Temple  is located near  Seerkazhi of Tanjore district in Tamil Nadu. It’s about half mile away from the Seerkazhi Railway station.  . Lord Thiru Vikrama is otherwise called “Thadalan”. As Lord scaled the world with his foot He is called “Thadalanperumal”.

              Andal  in her verses praise  the glory  of LORD THIRUVIKRAMANARAYANA calling  him ‘THAADALAN’.

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As LORD scaled the world and sky with his FOOT so he is called ‘THAADALA PERUMAL’.THAAL in tamil   means‘THIRUVADEE’ (foot) and AALAN means MEASURING or SCALING.

Thirumangai Azhwar  glorifies the LORD here with the below pasuram :

Oru kuralai irunilam moovadi mannvendi

Oolagamanathium Eeradiyal odukki onrum

Tharaga ena maavaliya sirayil vaitha

Thaadalan thaalanaiveer thakka keerthi

Arumaraiyin thiral naagum velvi ayinthum

Angamgal avaiyarum esaigal yezhum

Theruvil malivizha valamum sirukkum kazhi

Srirama vinnagare sermin neere

 The next Divya desam  is Thirukovilur located 75 kms from Cuddalore,  36km  from Villupuram, 36 km  from Thiruvannamalai, and 40 from Kallakurichi .  

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 This holy place is   celebrated as one of the  108 Divyadesam  and  more  significant in the Nadunadu region.  Lord in Thirukovilur  adorns  shankhu and chakaram as abharanam  whereas  in Thiru uragam of kanchipuram  he is unarmed and  raises  his left and right lies up in order to scale the whole world by his foot,  a majestic darisanam . But at Seerkazhi, Lord Narayana gives darshan  as Thirivikrama with all his five weapons with his left hand extending upto the left foot, which is folded upwards.

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The Thirukovalur darsanam of the Lord measuring the nether worlds with HIS second foot is majestic  .   This place is very important  because this is

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(1)  one of the Pancha Krishna kshetrams   with the temple  tower is 192 feet tall  , third biggest in Tamilnadu.

(2) the place where Poigai Azhwar from Kanchi, Bhoodath Azhwar from Mahabalipuram and Pey azhwar from Mylapore met for the first time  on a rainy night.  Perumal appeared to them and was glorified by each of these azhwars in 100 stanzas.  This is the place where Naalayira Divya Prabhandham began.  

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(3) Another interesting feature is Thiurmangai Azhwar has glorified Vishnu Durga, a demigoddess here. Sukra, the teacher of the demon king has a temple here.

(4) Lord  gives darsanam as Trivikraman. with  HIS right thiruvadi  raised , Lord  is seen measuring heaven.  On the right side top, Brahma from heaven is seen  offering water to Lord’s  thiruvadi  which turned to be the sacred Ganges.  Here, near the left Thiruvadi of Lord , Bali’s son is seen doing puja.

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As this is the place where Mudal Azhwars met, we can have darsanam of Mudal Azhwars on the left side of Perumal and Mruganda rishi in whose hamlet  Lord  appeared to the Mudal Azhwars is seen on the right side.  The Moolavar is seen in Pachai varnam.  (Like in Tirukurungudi, they have now adorned   Moolavar’s thirumeni with different colours using herbs. )

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LORD TRIVIKRAMAN AT THIRUKOVALUR

Finally, the darsanam of the Lord placing the third foot on Mahabali’s head can be had at Kanchipuram in Ulagalandha Perumal temple. Ulagalandha Perumal (Trivikraman) is about 35 feet high with HIS left  foot raised and right foot  on Bali’s head.Lord’s   2 fingers on HIS left hand pointed upwards symbolising measuring of the entire Universe with HIS  two feet and  pointing out one finger of HIS right hand downwards towards Bali as to where HE has to place HIS third foot.    Ulagalantha Perumal Temple is glorified in Nalayira Divya Prabandham, the Vaishnava canon, with hymns sung by the  great saint Thirumazhisai Azhwar

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The Lord’s form is so captivating that it remains fresh in the minds of devotees. The beautiful floral design on Perumal’s vastram can be clearly seen on Perumal’s thirumeni.   Perumal is under Srikara vimanam, the Pushkarini is known as Vamana Pushkarini, thirumanjanam is performed in Ekantham, the priest lights a lamp attached to a stick to enable us to have HIS  gigantic darshan.

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As Bali Chakravarthy who was under the Lord’s feet (as nammazhwar says “adikeezh pugundu….. in 6-10) wanted to have darshan of Perumal, the Lord appeared in a very small form of adisesha and fulfilled his wish.  This form of the LOrd is known as Ooragathan and is one of the divya desams.  

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The priest clad in wet clothes  with complete fasting  performs abhishekam to the Lord and offer milk payasam to this Lord here on Fridays and Sundays.

Pictures credits : Google images

Video credits : HG Balagovindadasa for Brahmakadigina padamu

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

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