Author: Kazhiyur Varadan

ThirupAan azhwar appeared during  the month of Karthikai in the Rohini thirunakshatram at Uraiyur near Srirangam

Azhwar was a ardent devotee of Lord Ranganatha and  used to sing songs in praise of the Lord with the accompaniment of his veenai .

 Azhwar  used to walk from Uraiyur to Srirangam which was almost 20 miles , but did not attempt to go  inside the temple due to the practices followed by the temple those days .

 He used to stand at the southern bank of river Kaveri facing the temple and used to glorify the Supreme Lord  singing on his veenai . This was going on for a long time.

 One day early in the morning hours , he was singing song in praise of the Lord with deep devotion and was in a absolute trance.

LokaSarangar, the chief priest of Lord Ranganatha’s temple came to river Kaveri  as a routine , to  collect kaveri  water for ( abhishekam ) thirumanjanam to the Lordships . As he found ThirupaNazwar who was in a trance , obstructing his path, he told him to leave the place .

ThirupaNazwar who was in a different mood ,  did not hear anything as he was totally immersed in Lord Ranganatha’s glory and  oblivious to his surroundings.

Lokasarangar got very angry . He picked up a stone and threw it at ThirupaNan  to disurb him from the mood. 

It struck ThirupaNa’s forehead and  thus he suddenly came out of his trance.

A true devotee , he pleaded with  the Priest Lokasarangar to forgive him for his mistake and left the place hurriedly .

Lokasarangar reached the temple with the kaveri water . He was  panicked to find Lord was unhappy with his arrogance  and  was  worried.

That night Lord Ranganatha appeared in his dream and told him that by hurting His true devotee he had committed a grave mistake. He ordered him to bring ThirupaN to the temple, carrying him on his shoulders.

Next morning Lokasarangar went in search of he great devotee  ThirupaN with  other devotees . 

He located the devotee  at the bank of Kaveri singing in deep devotion .  Running  towards him , he fell at his feet and pleaded him to forgive him for the act .

He requested Azhwar,  that the Lord had ordered him to bring him to the temple.

ThirupaN was aghast and told Lokasrangar,

“Swami, I come from a low caste and I am not allowed even to set foot in Srirangam.

How can I go into the temple and have  Lord’s darshan?”

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 The Priest Lokasarngar  replied …

  Swamin !!!  “You do not have to set foot, but  

…. Please allow me to  carry you on my shoulders as per the Lord’s order.”

As ThirupaN was still hesitating, Lokasarangar had to convince him to accede to his request as it  was from Supreme Lord ……

When Lokasarangar carried Thirupan on his shoulders surrounded by  vedic pundits , the people of Srirangam watched with astonishment.

It was a celebration …

The devotee was being carried by the Chief Priest .

The group  reached the temple and Lokasarangar took him to the sanctum .

ThirupaN was in total bliss to  get darshan of  the Lord’s Sayana Thirukolam.

He was so bewitched to see the Lord’s beauty.  He  immediately started singing describing the Lord’s beauty from….

( Lotus feet to his blossoming divine face )Thiruvadi to Thirumudi in ten  wonderful pasurams.

This outpouring during his very first darshanam of LORD  glorified as “Amalan Aathipiraan.” which is among the 4000 Divya prabhanda pasurams .

As ThirupaNazwar finished singing he merged with Lord Ranganatha while the onlookers were looking dumb-founded. Thus he was also blessed like Andal to merge with the Lord.

* koNdal vaNNanaik *

kOvalanAy veNNey uNda vAyan *

en uLLam kavarndhAnai **

aNdar kOn aNi arangkan *

en amudhinaik kaNda kaNgaL *

maRRonRinaik kANAvE

 Having  seen the One whose color dark like   rain clouds
and  the one with the mouth that swallowed the butter of cowherds,
He is the Lord of the devas,
He is Lord Ranganatha,
He is my nectar, my life !
My eyes  that have seen my Supreme  Lord and will not see anything else!

In Amalanaathipiraan   ThirupaN Azwar describes Lord’s beauty from His Kamala Thiruptham to His thirumudi part by part and also sangu, chakram .

The Lord  once again reconfirms that  caste, colour or creed is no bar for a true devotee to  reach his lotus feet . Lord’s grace and benevolence is showered on his true bhakthas without any discrimination.

Azhwars Appearance day is celebrated  today Dec 11 , 2019  in all Srivaishnava temples in grand scale.

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Photos Courtesy :  Google images  uploaded by advance devotees

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The grand epic  took  the ardent devotee quiet some time   .

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

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

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

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

It is Bhagavata Saram.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He asked Guruvayoorappan the reason for the same.

The Lord replied

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

Lord continued “Language is no barrier to Bhakti”.

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

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

The Priest  informed that the  28th Vrichikam is that glorious day  when  the nectarian  “Narayaneeyam” was completed few hundred years ago and  is celebrated at  Guruvayoor Temple   as “Narayaneeyam Day” and this year on Dec 14th 2019  Discourses on Narayaneeyam  is  given by eminent scholars .

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Pics credits : Google images and advanced devotees

video credits :  Om shantih ,zeereddy

 Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

A true seeker of LORD will always respect the devotees of Lord . He never distinguishes about their birth and caste in seeking their associationA devotees glory can be seen with that deep knowledge and practices which takes them nearer to LORD .
It will be a boon serving such advanced devotees . The most advanced devotee Nampaaduvaan sang in praise of Lord Thirukkurungudi Nambi at Thirukkurungudi temple .
He submitted the fruit of the punya earned by him to a brahmin turned BrahmaRakshasa SomaSharma and thus converted him back into a Brahmin. The Uttana Ekadasi glorifies this divine pastime which happened few hundred years ago near a remote village Thirukurungudi which is briefed in the next few lines . Of the Ekadasi marking the annual calendar, the interval between the Sayana and the utthana ekadasi represents the span of yoga nidra (cosmic slumber) of Lord Sriman Narayana . This shukla paksha Ekadasi during the karthika month is celebrated as Uttana Ekadasi / kaisika ekadasi when Lord wakes up from his yoga nidra on this day after the chathurmasyam period .

Kaisika Ekadesi is a very important day for all Sri Vaishnavites . As per Elders ,even Vaikunta Ekadesi festival stands next to this glorious day .

Kaisika Ekadesi is celebrated during the Tamil month of Karthigai ( December ) which precedes Vaikunta Ekadesi.

The belief that those who undertake fast and recite / listen to the Kaisika Puraanam on the Kaisika Ekadesi day, are said to be fortunate devotees .

The word kaisikam means swaram .

This kaiSiki raga, is favorite to Lord as per the Srivaraha puranam. The divine message behind the auspicious day reverberates the fact that caste is not a hindrance in attaining LORD and true bhakthi alone is enough.

Lord varaha Perumal explains to Mother Sri Bhumidevi the greatness of those devotees who glorify him unconditionally without possessing any knowledge but just devotion and love towards HIM .

Lord assures that such a devotees even if they go to other planets , they would not think of the pleasures in such places and instead keep singing deeply moved in the mood of just glorifying HIM alone thus eventually they acquire HIM without any doubt.

This divine pastime happened in the beautiful Sri vaishnava divyadesam of Thirukurungudi where Lord appeared as vaduganambi the close disciple of JagathAcharyar Swamy Ramanuja in a divine pastime appended below……

https://kmkvaradhan.wordpress.com/2015/05/07/vaduga-nambi-the-dearest-disciple-of-swamy-ramanuja/

Once there lived a advanced devotee Nambaduvaan who was born in the fourth varna . ( Swamy Parasara bhattar aptly names this pious soul as nampaduvan since the purana does not speak about the devotees name .

May be Acharyar wanted an appropriate prefix to represent the great avatara purushas like Swamy Nammazhwar , swamy Nampillai , Swamy Nam Jeeyar )

He was a great devotee of Lord Kurungudi Nambi. Every night, he would walk several miles to the Thiru Kurungudi Nambi temple and with utmost devotion for hours together would stand before the Lord with his Veena and glorify the Lord with his ballads and before dawn, he would go back to his place, so no one noticed his presence at the temple.

This was his daily routine This almost happened for about ten years

Once during the month of Karthigai ( November- December ) month Nambaduvaan left to Lord Kurungudi nambi temple to observe his Ekadasi fast and glorify the LORD as done earlier.

As he was passing in the dark night through the village he was way laid by a Brahmarakshasa on the way to temple.

The Rakshasa was looking very fearful and demanded its share of food and threatened him .

Nambaduvaan was shocked. He pleaded with Brahmarakshasu that, he would return back soon after his austerity is done with the last darshan of Lord ThiruKurungudi Nambi.

The Rakshasa was not prepared to believe him . Nambaaduvan pleaded the Raakshasha to allow him to go to the temple for a night which may be his last , so he could sing praise of the Lord one last time and that he would come back in the morning for the Raakshasha to consume him.

The Raakshasha laughed out stating no one in this world would be foolish enough to let go a handy prey. Wanting to meet the Lord one last time, Nambaaduvan requested the Raakshasha several times.

Finally he submits with all humility that he will accrue the related sins mentioned below in case he ignores the promises .

Nambaaduvan now clearly makes those 18 such promises that night and states that if he fails even in one of those 18 promises, he will be a party to committing of all these 17 deadly sins.

The 18th promise of Nambaaduvan is the essence of the Kaisika Puraanam and the reason why Kaisika Ekadesi and Kaisika Puraanam are most important to a Sri Vaishnavite is revealed in this statement

Nambaaduvan says

“If one ever tries equating Lord Sriman Naarayana to anyone else in this world, I will be a party to that biggest sin And may I never get Moksham from this cycle of births”

This promise reinforces the belief that ….

Lord Naarayana is the one and only supreme force and is incomparable. …….

This bold statement by Nampaduvan instills faith in the rakshasa about his sincerity . The Rakshasa says Oh ! Nampaduvana !!!

None would dare to say this .

Anyway , I believe on you, and shall wait till you return.

Nambaduvaan glad that he was allowed , happily marches to Sri Kurungudi temple, observes his jAkratha vratham , glorifies LORD with his songs for the last time and thanks HIM for his mercy seva for almost 10 years .

The next day Nambaduvaan walks back to submit himself to the Brahmarakshasa as promised . Lord ThiruKurungudi Nambi out of abundant compassion comes before him dressed as an old man (Nambi kizhavan ) .

He asks him why is he was returning in such a hurry ? Nambaduvaan explains about the incident.

LORD advises Nambaduvaan to take another path to escape from the Brahmarakshasa . Nampaduvan tells him about the 18th promise and being a devotee of LORD he does not want to loose that identity in befooling the Rakshasa

The old man replies “It’s usual in this world to save one’s own life from an enemy, one can promise on various things, but it’s not necessary to fulfill all those vows”.

Nambaduvaan replies that he would stand on Dharma being LORDs devotee and accepts whatsever comes on the way instead of this diminishing life .

Lord Thirukurugur Nambi is pleased with his devotion and blesses Nambaduvaan.

Now as decided Nambaduvaan meets Brahmarakshasa as promised and submits himself to consume him.

The Brahmarakshasu is shocked with Nambaduvaan’s humility and requests Nambaduvaan to bestow the punya credited by his songs on LORD which he sang last evening .

Nambaaduvaan states that his glorifying the LORD was not done with any motive. The Rakshasa pleads him to at least credit his punya he got from the songs he sung last night . Finally the Rakshasa falls at Nampaduvan’s feet pleading him . Later with further openness the Rakshasa reveals that previous birth he was a Brahmin vidwan Soma Sarma and used to conduct Yaagams ( Havans ) . Due to his arrogance of considering himself as the all knowing, he committed many sins including not completing a Yaagam.

Hence, he had to take the ugly form in this birth.

Hearing the pleas of the Brahmarakshasa, Nambaduvan again says that he never glorified LORD with any motive . But , still he shall pray LORD Thirukurungudi Nambhi to releive him from all his sins. LORD gives the merit of the last song and relieves Brahma Rakshasa of its sins.

This divine pastime strongly reiterates that true bhakthi is enough to attain Him and caste of a person is totally insignificant.

Kaisika Puranam, is a part of Sri Varaha Puraanam and comprises of several hundred slokas which glorify Lord Narayana as the ultimate supreme .

Thiru Kurungkudi is said to be the home to the Sri Vaishnava tradition of ‘Kaisika Ekadesi’ and Kaisika Natakam (drama) worship of the Lord through dance, music and drama is a special event at the Thiru Kurungudi Nambi temple .

On the Kaisika Ekadesi day an event that dates back several hundred years is enacted . There is a mandapam known as Kaisikga Mahatmyam mandapam where Perumal along with naachiyars, azhwars and acharyars give darshan.

Just ten days before this event , the temple servant who is all around in charge of the temple premises and another two persons belonging to devadasi vamsam take the blessings of Nambi perumal , undertake a (vow ) vratham, and are given coconut as prasadam. They stay in seclusion beside the sannidhi for 10 days, cook food offer it to Perumal and partake the prasadam for 10 days.

On ekadasi night, they once again take Perumal’s blessings, take the brahmarakshas’s mask which is kept behind Perumal and the person acting as brahmarakshas is adorned with the mask .

The drama is enacted amidst the august gathering all through the night till the early hours next day.

Later in the evening, Lord gives darshan on Garudan.

At Srirangam , on this day Lord Namperumal is offered 365 new vastrams and later in the night, descendants of Sri Parasara bhattar read out kaisika puranam along with bhattars commentary. After this, purapadu of namperumal takes place .

Elders command that ” Even if one is born in a lower caste and still follows the Nine types of devotional service and surrenders to Lord unconditionally , He automatically gets liberated . He becomes a scholar by word and deed because of Lord’s mercy on him.

Consuming the devotees Sripada Theertham is a great blessing and serving him is most pleasing to LORD . Many incidents appended below reveal this important lesson for a devotee to progress in spiritual world.

The great devotee Guha was accepted by Lord Rama as his own brother . Lord Krishna preferred to stay with Vidhura to anyother when He came as a messenger to meet the kauravas . Though he had many friends and Elders he preferred Vidhura . Hence status is no criteria to decide one’s BhagavadSambandham.

Lord Rama left Ayodhya the land of the learned scholars to join with the innocent monkeys and embrace Hanumanji lovingly and accepted Sugriva and Vibhishana as His Brothers. The sacred funeral of Vidhurar was done by Dharma putra, Jatayu by Lord Rama and Maraneri nambi by Periya nambi .

In the Rajasooya yaga the Agrapooja was done to a gopala by name – Krishna. At Thirupuliyur, the Priests performed Agrapooja to Thirumazhisai Aazhwar who was brought up by a woodcutter. Kurumbarutha Nambi was a great devotee at Thirumala(Pushpa Mandapam) was worshipped and reverred by a great king and Kshatriya Thondaiman Chakravarthy.

JagathAcharyar Swamy Ramanujacharya learnt from Sri Thiru Kachhi nambi who alone was able to talk to Lord Varadar at Kanchi. At Srirangam the temple priest Lokasaranga carried Thirupannazhwar on his shoulders into the temple sanctorum

During Thiruvaradhanam, Swamy Ramanujar used to hold the hands of Sripillai Urangavilli Dasar as Kayasuddhi. After Thiruvaradhanam, Sri Nampillai used to receive Prasadam from Pillai Eru Thiruvudaiya Dasar.

During Graha Pravesha, Sri Vadakku thiruveedi Pillai asked Sri Pillai Ramanuja Dasar to enter His house first

Our Poorvacharyars have written commentary on Vishnu Puranam and Kaisika Puranam only. Vishnu puranam by Engalzwan and Kaisika Puranam by Swamy Parasara bhattar.

Swamy Paraasara Bhattar had presented a wonderful commentary for the entire Kaisika Puraanam .

This Divya Desam is located about 30 kms South East of Tirunelveli and near Nanguneri .

One can have darisanam of all the Five temples of Nambi Perumal.

All glories to the devotees who are attending the great festival at this Holy place on December 8th , 2019 .

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Pics credits : Google images

video credits : Advanced devotees who attended this seva.

 This  whole world is moving according to the plan of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.  There is a specific plan being carried out in this material world. What is this plan? The cosmic manifestation is a chance for the elevated souls to go back to Godhead. . 

As they overcome the  material nature, they  slowly get  conditioned. One who  can understand the plan of the Supreme Lord and cultivate Krsna consciousness   gradually becomes intelligent.

He slowly realises the creation and destruction of the cosmic manifestation are under the superior guidance of Lord .

 The Battle of Kuruksetra was fought according to the plan of LORD . Arjuna was refusing to fight, but he was told that he should fight and at the same time  desire the Supreme Lord 

Lord Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, the Song Celestial, tells his dearest friend and disciple, Arjuna, “Nimitta matram Bhava Savyasachi”.

You just become an instrument.

So the man of God feels in the inmost recesses of his heart that he is a mere instrument. He works for God, he lives for God.

He feels that God Realisation is not enough.

He feels that God Manifestation here on earth is of paramount importance.

One divine pastime  chronicled as  Azhwar’s musings is being shared for a vivid description of a jiva seeking Lord’s lotus feet ….

…

The youngest Azhwar among the illustrious revered twelve Srivaishnava  Azhwars was Thirumangai Azhwar He was also glorified with the names  Kalivarimuni ,

Parakalamuni and had a title “Kaviloka divaakarah” .. ( the sun of the world of poets ) as glorified below …

kalayaami kalidhvamsam

kaviloka divakaram

yasyagobhih prakaasaabhih

aavidyam nihatam tamah …

The magnum opus “Periya Thirumozhi” consisting of 1080 pasurams in the Naalayira Divya Prabhandam speaks about Azhwar’s deep love to Lord .

The below post describes about Azhwars past and his attraction to LORD in his later life ..Please click the link below and relish your souls thirst with Azhwar’s divine experiences ..

https://kmkvaradhan.wordpress.com/2015/03/23/the-divine-loot-by-azhwar-at-seerkazhee-in-tamilnadu/

https://kmkvaradhan.wordpress.com/2014/04/16/the-grand-day-when-azhwar-got-thirumantra-upadesam/

https://kmkvaradhan.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/vedipuri-utsavam-thirumanthra-upadesam-to-azhwar/

The supremely devoted Azhwar after having darshan of the  Sri vaishnava divyadesams  by glorifying the Lordships in every divya desam  was pondering about his position ..

Though his mission was accomplished in uplifting the fallen souls in seeking Lord’s lotus feet unconditionally thus surrendering  to the only HIM the Supreme Lord Sriman Narayana ,

Azhwar had some musings for not able to obtain immediate results.

Azhwar became anxious and perplexed as how much longer he would have to bear his karma and when would he attain the bliss of emancipation.

He had a unexplained  fear whether LORD would continue to keep him in the material world all together .In this perplexed mood he entered into a casual discussion with Lord of the Lords Sriman Narayana ..

Looking at the Lord !! he laments ,

Oh My Master !!      you had pushed me away ..far far away ..by throwing me long long long ago in a  bottomless pit  full of material and mire in this world …

 Oh Lord !!! Am I not yours like the Nitya muktas .

Am I stranger to your highness ?

Devareer could have kept me amongst the Nitya surees for serving your highness …

Azhwar submits …

It is  described in Srimad Bhagavatham

Na me dveshyosti na priyah

You declared no one in particular is beloved to you and neither you hate any one .

It is  also declared Samoham Sarva bhuteshu and look upon everyone equally ….and announced the supremely pure Jiva is like a kausthubha jewel that is effulgent with knowledge bliss …

Oh ! Lord does this give you any happiness seeing your children suffering in this infected material world ?

You have thrown me in this muddy samsara …a bottomless pit …

Lord  with compassion replies !! with a bewitching smile …

Oh Parakala muni ……………….

Am I cause for your difficulties ? which……

you invited due to various sins committed by you in different lives you have taken since immemorial..

My child …   Yes!

I appeared several times and taken various incarnations to punish the evil doers  and reward the one who did virtuous deeds .

I took all the pain in seeing that people like you are uplifted ..

But am sad ..you never ever sought me and preferred to be Independent .

Never you showed inclination towards me ..

You evaded and avoided me and slowly moved  away from me  as if you had taken a vow that you would not see , hear , speak and seek me at all.

You were always seeking material pleasures and thus enjoyed the ephemeral worldly pleasures and indulged in sinful  deeds.  entertaining  hatred every moment towards my devotees ,

My Child ….

You are therefore ..

cause for the succession of sorrows which have chased  you for the gross misdeeds.

Kaliyan … Now don’t  impute me for your misdeeds .

Azhwar humbly responded …..

Oh Lord !!

The Mind is the cause for a person to entertain a desire or wish in favor of a particular object and this crazy mind is under YOUR control ..

as you declared in SBG……

Sarvasya chaaham hridi samnishtah.”

As HRISHIKESHA you are the cause of the good and bad thoughts …

Azhwars have proclaimed

Ennaitheemanam Keduthathaai

and YOU alone have ensured that my mind is diverted from the evil thoughts which forces me to commit these sins

..Maruvithozhum maname thandhaai…

Oh ! Lord !!

This mind you gave me which with love seeks your refugee ……………………….

and you gave this sinful mind ..

and then threw me in this ocean of samsara

..Lord !! Please show compassion and uplift me ..

Lord once again smiles and replies…………..

Oh Parakaala muni …My child …

From time immemorial ….

You never sought me .

To attain specific fruits and get rid of difficulties you had performed certain yagas and yagynas and seeked fruits .

You overlooked me.

With that faith you had overlooked me and thus you had several succession of lives doing good and bad deeds thus falling in the unending cycle of karmas in this samsara .

Now tell me ..

How can I be a part of your sins ?

Azhwar shakes up and with moist eyes .

He continues to plead ..

Oh Lord !!

Please don’t say that I  forgot you ..

I entertained the faith and trust that some actions would give specific results and that therefore I had distanced from you my LORD out of ignorance …

What authority do I have to do good or bad karma .

.My Lord …

Lord !!

Being LORD of LORD’s ,

please do not put me in the karmic code of life .

For my own upliftment  please bear me ..

Lord !!

As per knowledgeable people what pleases you is a virtuous deed and that angers you is a sinful deed ……………

annaadah vasudaanah…

Lord !!

This verse proclaims you decide the fruits of our  karma..

. In that case Lord !!

Can your grace not flow on us to do good karmas only ?

You are everything ..

Please exhibit that divine power by uplifting this fallen soul ..

Lord  with abundant mercy smiled….

and said ..

Oh ! Azhwar ……

Are you an insentient being like a  stone or that rock …

You have knowledge,  a body and the senses .. With all these , You acted independently ..

You are the enjoyer

.. You seek .. 

You attain …

and

then you enjoy your might…………………………

As a jiva you are supposed to use your Jnana to discriminate between good and bad .

In Spite of having  Jnana and the freedom to act independently you have yourself become the cause of your evil consequences

.Child ! I am of no fault at all ..

Azhwar  disappointed , once again pleads and begs LORD …

Lord ! You are Omnipotent and my Indweller ..

Yasya prithivee sariram

Yasyaatmaa sareeram

Sarvam vai karestanuh

Jagatsarvam sareerantey…

Lord !! Your entire body is this entire world …

Lord you enter matter in a very subtle manner and then you take control of this matter in the same way which Jiva controls or conduct the decaying body ..

For this entire matter……

Lord!!

you are the primary cause ….

Just as a charioteer directs the horses which draw the chariot ………

I act only as per the directions given by you and…..

If you oppose I cannot perform and become powerless

Oh Lord !!

Is it not your gesture to look after your own child and this body  is of that Atma (Jiva) which belongs to you alone ..

and the protection of all the jivas like me  is Lord !

Your responsibility  as you are the nature of Eternal Atma

Lord !! In the Ashtakshara mantra it is proclaimed that there are nine types of connection which are with us and cannot be overlooked ..

Oh Lord !! Am shivering with fear as how much longer You who are Independent will push me into this abyss of samsara .Lord

………………..

Please don’t make me a victim of your divine leela ,….

instead make me an instrument in your service

The discussion echoes an ordinary Jiva’s struggle and plight in emancipation .

Azhwar further  continues

Maattramula aagilum solluvan makkal

Thottrakkuzhi thottruvippaaikal Endru innam

Aaattrankarai vvzhmarampol anjugindren

Naattrachchuvai ooru oliyaagiya nambhi

Oh Lord …

The taste , touch , vision etc which are seen in the earthly and the five elements are being indicated as the qualities which are in you ..

You are the essence in water , sound in the sky , scent in the earth and in short sap and essence in everything..

..Lord !! Nothing can exist without you ..

Oh Lord …

With all these  qualities that are substances which induce desire and hence creating problems that commits sins  thus forgetting you ,………………

Lord due to ignorance and mad illusion thus falling in this bottomless pit repeatedly ..

We are just small puppets .

Though you have given us the knowledge , the senses in this body are uncontrollable horses which have caused my befall Knowing fully well that the physical pleasures are ephemeral , temporary and very minute which leads to great difficulties that resulted in deep sorrow ..

yet like a drunken mad monkey this mind runs swiftly and this body is like a fruit full of worms which have already begun to eat me inside ..

Lord ………………

You pushed me into this deep pit with a noose called karma and punish me by giving this body which has full of worms ..

As a tree which is on a bank of a rapidly flowing river fiercely cutting into the banks is all the time not knowing as and when the tree is washed out even my life is like that

…Lord !! Am trembling with fear now

Lord out of abundant compassion and like a father who painfully tweaks the cheeks of a child and enjoys the cries thought …chuckles and thinks …

Umn !!

That’s true..

I allowed you to fall and that was for your own good ..

I have got rid of your atheistic beliefs and cruel conduct once for all

I taught you the Ashtaakshara mantraa

which made you sing Naan kandu kondain Naarayana ennum Naamam and made you aware of the True Knowledge ..

Its just a matter of few more years ..

I will accept and uplift him permanently .

.as  you have  to just accept  your Prarabhdha karmaa .

Lord now replies pretending to be unhappy …

Oh Parakala Muni …

What is this unusual behaviour from you

..Its your Prarabhdha karma which is causing pain .

Have you forgotten your unbearable misdeeds and hatred towards my devotees ?

Why is this anxiety bothering you ..

If you can find any other person who can uplift you ………..Please carry on …

Azhwar immediately submits sobbing uncontrollably ..

Oh Lord !!  

Am a insignificant being .

.Please forgive me ..

You are an ocean of compassion and abundant mercy ..

How could I ever imagine to get your benevolent grace ….

.

Please forgive me………………………

Ashtaakshari is my only bread  butter and life force .

Lord !

I am suffering with unlimited anxiety for the fear that I may  be again pushed into this samsaara ..

Seetramula aagilum seppuvan makkall

Thottrakkuzhi thottruvippaikolendranchi

kaatrathidaippatta kalavar manam pol

Aattrathulangaanirppan Aazhivalvaa

Oh ! Lord adorning the  mighty Sudarshana chakram ,

Tell me…………

Do you need the divine chakra ?

 ..In this entire creation there is NO ONE who can oppose your supremacy and cause difficulties

.Having the chakra is to protect people like me ..

All your weapons are for protecting your children……………………

The totality of the evil deeds of any devotee will be obliterated by the Sudarshana chakra if only such devotee were to have the insignia of the chakra on his shoulders ,

Oh Lord !! I am travelling in a boat which is caught in the middle of the ocean surrounded by  agitated waves due to the winds of passion ..Oh Lord !! Please pardon me …

Azhwar submits with unconditional surrender ..

Knowing LORD is eternal , he submits

 Lord  when  a  child who is full of mischief falls into a well , the entire world blames the mother  .though Mother is no way responsible  for the event …

A story used to be shared by our great revered Acharyar Swami Peria Vachan Pillai …

The great war of Mahabharatha concluded ..

The revered saint Udanka was upset .

He approached Lord Krishna and enquired 

Lord …

You revealed Srimad Bhagavad Gita and said ..

..na me dveshyosthi na priyah …..

For you all were same .. 

You could have very well changed the minds of Kauravas thus preventing this catastrophe ….

Lord was silent ..

These were the words

nimitta mattram bhava savyassaachin

mayaivaite nihataah poorvameva

LORD was speechless when Azhwar addressed him with this revelation..

Azhwar was special to LORD ..

he  earned his love for the devotion and  unconditional surrender…..

….. …………………………..

Many elevated souls  have realized this highest  transcendental truth…

.They do not care much for earthly good or evil. They care only for Lord’s inner dictates.

Constantly they listen to the dictates of their Inner Pilot

( The Lord as Antharyamee)  and then on the strength of their oneness,  the inseparable oneness with their Inner Pilot, they offer their selfless, dedicated service to humanity

 They try to offer  divine knowledge to aspiring humanity.

Again, they tell humanity that Lord Realization is not their sole monopoly.

 Everyone needs to  fulfill his  dharma on earth, fulfill the  duties, the reason why we are  here and then  hand our existence over to existence and let life itself play its tune on  us , the hollow bamboo flute. just let destiny fulfill itself through us , emptying our self of all the  selfish ego desires and illusions and  then realize the divine which is acting in us  through  in order to bring blessings and final up liftment

 Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Inspired by a discourse shared by an advanced Spiritual guru…

Pics : Courtesy Google images

videos : Thanks to  Sri Balaji .M

  “Azhwar” are  saintly souls who had  immersed  themselves in the exclusive devotion  to  Lord  Sriman Narayana  in  unconditional surrender.  The advanced  saints,  were the supreme devotees of Lord  propagating  Sri Vaishnavism among the masses through their poetical compositions glorified as  Divya Prabhandams   highlighting the beautiful effulgent form, auspicious attributes and divine deeds of the Supreme Lord in His various incarnations based on their personal mystic experiences.  They lived as  human beings and burst out bhakti laden great works for the  sake of humanity.  The direct result of the Lord’s divine grace  on Azhwars  made their outpourings  special and therefore  called ‘ Divyam’. It is  because of this that the works of Azhwars  are  called ‘ Divya Prabandham’  and are 4000  poems (pAsurams). 

The Divya Prabhandams of the Azhwars are, therefore, held in as great veneration and reverence as the Vedas in Sanskrit. All the Azhwars held the view that Lord  Sriman Narayana is the Supreme Personality of Godhead  and  one’s  only  goal of life  was to attain Him. And, the path that each one of these Azhwars advocated was  chanting the Divine Name of the Lord!  which  is  the easiest path to  attain the lotus feet of  Lord. 

     Of the twelve Azhwars , the first three — Poigai Azhwar, Bhoodhatazhwar and Pey Azhwar were believed to be of mystic birth dating back to  Dwaapara era. The fourth, Thirumazhisai Azhwar was said to have been brought up by a  couple who had the good luck to have his darshan in a  forest  . Kulashekara Azhwar was a Chera king. Periazhwar, Thondaradippodi Azhwar  and Madhurakavi Azhwar  were born into brahmin families. Nammazhwar was born in a farmer’s home and Thiruppannazhwar belonged to the Pana community. The only female  among them was Godha (Andal)   glorified  for  “Thiruppaavai  pasurams ”  even to a common man and  celebrated  as an incarnation of Mother Earth (Bhoodevi).  Thirumangai Azhwar, the youngest of the Azhwars was a chieftain of a Chola king.

The first three AzhvArs – Poigai AzvhAr,

Bhudhath AzvhAr and

Pey Azhvar  were  “ayOnijAs” –

“ones who were not born from a womb”.

They appeared on water-flowers  at  three different water sources.

Poigai AzhvAr manifested on a lotus flower at Kancheepuram  Lord  YatthOkthakAri perumaL temple tank  on  the  ” sravanam” star during the month of “aippasi”  (November ) .

The second Azhwar was Bhudhath AzhvAr who appeared on a nIlOthphala (kurukkaththi flower in tamil ) near  the seaside at thiru-k-kadal-mallai (present day Mahabalipuram)  on the day subsequent to Poigai  Azhvar (month of Aippasi, Avittam star ). 

The third Azhwar “Pey Azhvar”  appeared on a sengazhuneer flower in a well in thiru-mayilai (present day Mylapore,  the temple of Lord  Adikesava perumal  on the day after Bhudath Azhvar appeared (aippasi month, sathayam star).

All the three Azhwars were blessed by the Lord with supreme knowledge, and as a result, they lived a life focused on divinity, worshiping the Supreme Lord at different temples, and living a  life of ascetics.  

To them the entire cosmos , all sentient  and the insentient entities in it were alive and vibrating  with the underlying divinity of Lord represented  by HIS body and HE being the inner controller of  the soul .

Azhwars point out very clearly in their outpourings the most important attribute of Lord is  HIS immense compassion represented by HIS divine consort Sri: the divine mother forever residing in HIS heart and most easily accessible and who helps in the ultimate redemption of the embodied souls .

  Since the appearance of such great souls is invariably tied to a reason of divine intent,

the three Azhvars had to meet to fulfill the purpose of their appearance, to wit, give the world the esoteric truths  in a manner accessible to  common man  .

The stage was set at Thirukovilur and the divine plan was already about to reveal.  Lord Sriman Narayana achieved  this by making the Azhvars meet and become the harbingers in the effort towards the composition of the holy  Dravida Vedas.

Thus   Lord  arranged a divine plan and  made each of them go to the town  Thirukovilur  which   is  located 75 kms from Cuddalore and about 200 kms from Chennai.

                        The rain clouds had overcast the sky and cover of darkness spread all around in the holy town of Thirukovalur . The torrential rain began  pouring  generously .  It was as if the sky will tear open to give its opulence .

Proceeding  the temple streets ,  Poigai Azhwar  found out a small  front  passage ( dehali or rayzhi , thinnai  in tamil )   in front of Mrikanda  Ashrams hut  ( the present Thirukovalur  temple sanctum sanctorum )  which was fit for one person to lie down. 

Thanking Lord for his mercy ,

Poigai Azhwar   moved in and  occupied the space to lie down . 

Meanwhile , Bhoodath Azhwar  coincidentally arrived there looking for a shelter.

Poigai Azhvar welcomed him and said , Holy Sire ! Please come !!  

“we have enough space for one to be supine, two to sit ,…  please  come in”.

Both the Azhwars were now seated , and were indulging in bhagavad guna anubhavam (recounting the innumerable auspicious qualities of the Lord) .  

Meanwhile  pEy Azhvar  also came at the same time to the same Ashrama.

The two Azhvars already present in that little room said…..

Swamin !!

“in this place, one can lie down, two can sit, and three can stand …. please come in”.

PEy AzvhAr joined them, and the three Azhvars continued their joy filled discussion of the Lord’s auspicious qualities and  divyaanubhutee which was one of the most auspicious moment to be remembered in the history of Thirukovalur. 

Lord pleased with the divine outcome now decided to be amongst HIS favourite devotees .

The darkness became denser and inside the small room they were not able to see each other.

In the  thunders and  lightning that flashed across, the trio could see a  fourth person  exquisitely charming  entering the room  and they felt as if  they were overpowered with a sublime, divine feeling.

The trio could immediately realize that the fourth person was none other than Lord  Sriman Narayana Himself huddling among them.  Poigai Azhwar , wishing to witness the charming divine effulgence of the Supreme Lord  again and again, instantly   lit a spiritual lamp to the Lord of the lords and the outpourings  ….

vaiyam thagaliyA, vArkadlE neyyAga
veyyakkadirOn viLakkAga
sudarAzhiyAn adikkE soottinEn son mAlai
Idar neenghugavE enRu…

which means “using the earth as the physical lamp structure, the sea of ether as the ghee for the flame, and the lit flame being verily the Sun himself!.”

 thus   the first Azhwar composed hundred  verses glorifying the Lordships …. now glorified as “Mudhal thiruvandhAdhi (first poem of the type andhAdi, meaning the last word becomes the progenitor of the thought for the following verse) which is among the Naalayiram Divya Prabhandam …………….

 Bhudaththu Azhvar, in turn offered a lamp using his yogic powers too, yet  in a little different  fashion

 – “anbE thagaliyA, ArvamE neyyAga 
inburugu sindhai idu thiriyA
naNpurugi GnAna chudar viLakku EtrinEn
Gnana thamizh purindha nAn 

using his immense love for the Lord as the lamp structure, and his longing for union with the Lord as the energy engendering the flame. He composed a  beautiful set of 100 divine  verses known as “iraNdaam thiruvandhAdhi” (second poem of the type andhAdhi)….

The two sacred  lamps of spiritual love, lit by Poigai Azhvar and Bhudhath Azhvar, allowed  all the three Azvhars to  experience the Lord in  opulence  proximity. That ambrosia  filled experience inspired the third , Pey  AzhvAr to  glorify the Supreme Lord instantaneously …

“thiru-k-kaNdEn, pon mEni kaNdEn .

thigazhum aruKKan aNi niramum kaNdEn..

seRukkiLarum ponnAzhi kaNdEn

purisangam kai-k-kaNdEn……..

en Azhi vaNNan pAl inRu”

meaning,

“I had the darshan  the divine consort of the Lord – Maha Lakshmi I  had the darshan of  the divine body of the Lord ,  

the beautiful complexion of the Lord and the auspicious discus (chakra) verily the remover of obstacles that prevent us reaching the Lord, and the beautiful  white, divine conch in the hands of the Lord”.

This becomes  the first verse of ” Munraam  Thiruvandhadhi (third poem of the type andhadi), which is a set of 100 verses too  counted among the Naalayiram Divya Prabhandam .

This uplifting divine experience bound them into a state of togetherness.

They traveled across various parts of  India spreading the  divine message of the Lord for attaining HIS abode and  remaining in that bliss  through there divine pasurams   (The  three thiruvandhadhis).

The one hundredth verse in turn hooks up to the first verse forming a lovely garland of verses maintaining the eternal thread of continuity .

To all the Azhwars LORD was a living presence experienced in the totality of HIS being and manifestation in HIS myriad creation . 

HE lived in them and they lived in HIM  ..

November “4”  2019 is the appearance day of “Poigai Azhwar”  followed by “Bhudhath AzhvhAr” on 05-11-19 and   “Pey Azhvar”  on 06-11-19…

All glories to Azhwars

Video Credits : Sri Sunder rajan Parthasarathy

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Deepavali has special significance for all hindus in common .

On the fourth day of the five day Diwali festival Sri Goverdhana Puja and Annakoot Utsavam is celebrated in Vrindavan  amidst chanting of “Giriraj Dharan ki Jai”

(Glory to the lord who lifted Goverdhan on his  little  finger) reverberates .

 There is very interesting pastime of Shri Giri govardhan raj connected with  bhaktha hanumanjee.  When Lord Rama along with the vanaras were  building the bridge to Lanka in the Ram lila,..

Hanuman  made an attempt to pick up Govardhan to use him in the noble service .  Govardhan was so happy to be engaged in the service of the Lord but just as he was about to lift him, a voice from the sky said “the bridge is finished”.

Therefore Hanuman did not  use the service of Sri Giri rAJ Govardhan.

 Giri Govardhan was sad.  

When Lord Ram was returning from Lanka with  Mother Sita he stopped here and spoke to GiriRaj Govardhan saying  …My dera child ..

“do not worry, the next time I appear, ……

I will personally pick you up and personally engage you that happened in the Krishna avatar.

As per Srimad Bhagwatam Lord was lifting the huge Sri Goverdhan Parvat for seven days  continuously prior to Diwali,  and rested him back  on earth & asked the citizens to worship the  holy mountain Sri Sri GiriRaj …

Lord Krishna , then appeared in two forms.

One as Sri Goverdhan hillock itself, i.e., deity to be worshiped and second as resident to offer food to  GIRIRAJ .

Thus on this day, the devotees offer their gratitude to Lord Krishna for his blessings in making their lives complete. 

This holy hill Goverdhanagiri , more popularly addressed as “GIRIRAJ GOVERDHAN” is located in the middle of the town Goverdhan which is 24 kms from Vrindavan and approximately 26 kms west of Mathura.

The routes to Vrindavan and Goverdhan from Mathura are different . Many buses and share autos ply to Goverdhanagiri from Mathura and Vrindavan round the clock.

Radha Kund, Shyam Kund and Manasi Ganga are in the precints of the hill.

This  HOLY DHAAM  is considered as the most sacred place in  Vrindavan.

DESCRIPTION OF THE HOLY GOVERDHAN

Goverdhana hill is formed in the shape of a peacock.

Radha Kund and Shyam Kund are the eyes.

Dan Ghati is its long neck.

Mukharavinda is the mouth and punchari is its back and tail feathers.

As the hill is very sacred , pilgrims are prohibited from climbing  the hill. There is a fencing all around the Goverdhana hill .

Goverdhana giri is the most blessed devotee as it had  Lord Sri Krishna sambandham everyday during Krishnaavataaram which even Himalayas did not have.

Lord Krishna Himself chose Goverdhana giri for HIS various pastimes.

Of all the devotees , Goverdhana Hill is the best because it supplies Krishna and Balarama with all types of necessities.

In Srimad Bhagavatham, Lord mentions that HE and Goverdhanagiri are identical.

As per the scriptures, Krishna used to go to Goverdhanagiri from Vrindavan for gazing cows and would visit the nearby forests with HIS friends.

 Lord Krishna at such an young age ,  used to walk 50 kms to and fro everyday from Vrindavan to Goverdhan without footwear .

This makes us  recollect Periazhwar’s pasurams in Yasodha bhaavam

“Naalai thottu kandrin pin pogale kolam seiyudhu enge iru….” .,

Peria azhwar’s feelings when he expresses mother’s anguish to see her child returning from forest without slippers and umbrella.) .

It was customary for the gopas headed by Nanda Maharaja to perform yaagam to please Indra, the king of devas and give their offerings as they felt that Indra was responsible for rains. Krishna ,who was just 7 years old convinced elders that Indra was only doing duties assigned to him and there was no necessity to worship demigods.

The Lord added that Goverdhanagiri was providing with their daily requirements including enough grass to the cows which in turn yielded good milk resulting in their prosperity. The Supreme suggested that instead of Indra, Brahmins, cows and Goverdhanagiri have to be worshipped to which the elders agreed.

On the day of pooja, all the gopas and gopikas performed GOW-pooja (pooja for cows), offered dakshinai to Brahmins, circumbulated the hill and offered huge quantities of various food items to the hill.

On  Lord Krishna’s order, everyone closed their eyes while food was being offered. Lord Krishna assumed a great transcendental form like that of the mountain, declaring that HE was Goverdhana Hill and accepted all their offerings while little Krishna stood with his relatives and offered prayers to the mountain which was HIMSELF .

HE announced that Goverdhana Hill is non-different from HIM. Later when the gopas were asked to open their eyes, they were surprised to see the palates empty and were convinced by Krishna that the mountain had accepted their offerings.

The gopas returned happily. The identity of Sri Krishna with Goverdhana Hill is still honoured and devotees take goverdhana shila (-small  impressions  from Goverdhana Hill and place it in the altar and worship. (In order to preserve the hill, devotees are now restrained from taking them) .

As  Lord Krishna Himself did parikrama to the hill and as He mentioned that both are identical, devotees in huge numbers perform parikrama ( pradikshana ) to this sacred hill with sincerity and devotion even today .

To commemorate the above incident, Krishna’s great grandson Vajranabha constructed a temple for the Lord. .

The residents of Vrindavan, Goverdhan and the devotees of the Lord do parikrama around Goverdhana hill and offer huge quantities of 56 varieties food preparations (chappan bhog) .

All the devotees are sumptuously fed with the mahaprasad offered to the Lord and Giriaj. ) As the Lord protected the cows and the people in Goverdhan, He got the name “GOVINDA” .

Jai Jai Girigovardhan ki ………………..Jai .Jai

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan
Photos : Courtesy ..Google

Lord Sriman Narayana  incarnated in  different  avatharas in this world, for spreading the message of the liberation for the jeevatma  from this material bondage .

Unsatisfied ,  LORD summoned His serpent couch, the nitya-soori (eternally free soul) .

 Adisesha, and instructed,

My dear Adishesha !  

“Go down to the mortal world and live there for 200 years, and through your exhortations, empower the people with knowledge about their true nature and make them come to..

My world, so that they enjoy “eternal bliss” forever …….

Accordingly,  Adishesha appeared as “Swamy Ramanuja” in the age of Kali, where Adharma  was in the forefront due to the karmic vasanas .

Swamy Ramanuja followed LORD;s directives by spreading the divine message of  Azhwars  and the true knowledge to seek Lord’s mercy  and disappeared at the age of 120.

 The Lord was not satisfied  with the developments and felt the mission was incomplete Hence he once again advised  Swamy  Ramanuja  to complete the original assignment of remaining in this material world for complete  200 years and uplift the jivatmaas .

With implicit obedience, Adishesha  who appeared as Swamy Ramanuja once again appeared as Azhagiya Manavala Perumal Nayanar at Sikkil Kidaaram . 

In his early years he  was  trained by  his  father Tigazhaakkidanthan  on Vedas and the Divya Prabhandam .

He  moved from Sikkil Kidaaram to Azhvar Thirunagari to become the disciple of the revered  Acharyar  Thiruvaimozhipillai who was the disciple of Loka Acharyar Swamy Pillai Lokacharyar .

Thus our Saint Vara Vara Muni was the last of the poorvacharyas  amongst  the  grand galaxy of  preceptors of Srivaishnavam.

Check the appended blog post for more details

https://kmkvaradhan.wordpress.com/2017/09/23/thiruvaaimozhi-pillai-vaibhavam-parama-guru-of-lord-ranganathar-swamy-manavala-mamuni-attributing-everything-to-the-lotus-feet-of-his-legendary-acharyar/

It is believed , AdisEsha, in his previous incarnation as Swamy Ramanuja, was very much attracted to Nammazhvars’ s appearance and his divine outpouring (thiruvAimozhi), and hence, earned the appellation “mAran adipaNindhu Uynthavan”.

In keeping with this overwhelming love for Swamy  Nammazhvar, the second time AdisEsha selected Azhvar Thirunagari as the place most suited for his  appearance  and thus Swamy  appeared   in the month of Aipassi  under the  star Moola  which falls on November 1st 2019 ,  and was named “Azhakiya maNavALapperumAL nAyanAr by his parents  .

This was an year after Swami Desikar ascended to Srivaikuntam 

  Swami Azhakiya maNavALapperumAL nAyanAr   excelled as the disciple of Swamy Tiruvaimozhi pillai . 

One day  Swamy Tiruvaimozhi pillai  while meditating on the great qualities  of saint Ramanuja, pondered over those stanzas of Thiruvarangath-amudanar………….
depicting Swamy  Ramanuja as a staunch devotee of Saint  Nammazhvar  proclaiming to the inhabitants of this wide world, end to  end, the great glory of the Azhvar’s hymns.

Swamy Tiruvaimozhi pillai ( Srisailesar)  decided  for  raising a fitting memorial  for Swamy Ramanuja, right at  the  appearance  place  of Swamy  Nammazhvar (Azhvar Thirunagari).  This took concrete shape soon thereafter.

Tiruvaimozhi pillai  with the support of the villagers after clearing the wild vegetation at Azhvar-thirunagari  took all initiatives in bringing back the sacred deity which was lost during invasions . 

Swamy  thus  had  erected a temple at Azhvar-thirunagari for Swami Ramanuja and installed Sri Ramanuja’s deity ( Swamy Ramanuja’s Bhavishyad Acharaya vigraha ) which had been presented to Sri Madhurakavi Azhvar that  lay buried at the foot of the famous Tamarind tree few hundred years back .

The surrounding streets were  named  as Sri Ramanuja Chaturvedi Mangalam   and  were permanently inhabited, exclusively  by the ardent worshippers of  Swamy Ramanuja.

The zealous disciple, Azhakiya Manavala Nayanar, was called upon by Srisailesar  to stay in this new colony and look after the daily routine of the temple.

  Nayanar s extra-ordinary devotion to this great cause earned the unstinting  approbation of  his Acharyar 

Srisailesar, who started calling him a  Yateendra Pravanar  signifying the enormous love and devotion borne by him for Swamy  Ramanuja, the  Prince of ascetics  a name which became immortal .

Over a period of time , Swamy Tiruvaimozhi pillai  ordered his ardent disciple Azhakiya maNavALapperumAL nAyanAr who had learnt all sastras , to  propagate the divya prabandham ( azhvar’s 4000 hymns and their commentaries) to the world.

   He wished that living in Sri Rangam and propagating the true tenets of the Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya as given in the hoary aruLiccheyal (divya prabandham) was the need of the hour. Hence advised him to proceed .

The devoted disciple that he was, Azhakiya maNavALapperumAL nAyanAr   did act according to the commandments of his  Acharyar    Thus Azhakiya maNavALapperumAL nAyanAr  spent  his time in  giving divine discourses at Srirangam  .

Once during this period , few relatives passed a message about  some asowcham            ( impurity ) which was  coming in the way of service to the Lordships .

Not being able to be kept out of  service  even for few days,  Nayanar decided to take up sanyasam and requested  LORD’S  permission. 

After accepting sanyasa, Nayanar  offered benedictions   to namperumal for uninterrupted services forever . Pleased with nAyanar, NamperumAl blessed him with theertham, thirumAlai,   thiruparivattam, and Sri sadagopam and  gave him a  honorable name 

                                     AZHAGIYA    MANAVALA   JEEYER.

Thus the bonding between LORD and his disciple became  closer and closer .

Lord Ranganathar ( Peria Perumal ) had a desire to be accomplished through Azhagiya Manavala Jeeyer  in Srirangam.

He seized the golden opportunity  and  ordered him to give a public discourse on the Eedu (36000 padi), the super-commentary of Swami Nampillai on Thiruvaimozhi along with other commentaries, in  alluring style for having the good fortune of being trained by the esteemed  Acharyar  Thiruvaimozhip pillai .( Srisailer )

 In order to accommodate unhindered conduct for the  divine  discourses all festivities of the temple  was kept in abeyance . History  reveals   that for a whole year,  Namperumal had enjoined cessation of all festivals  which proves the  dedication of the disciple and the Acharyar .

On the final day of the discourse , and  uplifting event occurred ,  which was interestingly, by the “Ani thiru-moola”  star. 

And hence the  Sri Vaishnava-world attaches equal importance to this Ani moola star  auspicious day also, in a manner akin to the day of  Acharyar’s  “Aippasi Thirumoola” appearance  day.

 Lord appeared amidst the august assembly of Acharyar  and  galaxy of sri vaishnavas, in the guise of an archakar’s (priest) son by the name Aranga Naayakam and brushing aside the opposition getting  into proximate presence to Swami mAmunikaL’s seat

recited the following stanza in

His inimitable, majestic voice resembling the thunder of a rumbling cloud……………

“SriSailEsha dayA pAthram dheeibhakthyAdi guNarnavam
Yetheendra pravaNam vandE ramyajA mAtharam munim”

  LORD in the guise of an archakar’s (priest) a small boy   ( kept a palm leaf containing the above sloka on a golden plate full of flowers, fruits, coconuts and other sacred paraphernalia   of guru dakshiNa (token of appreciation) and after offering it at the holy feet of Swami mAmunikaL, walked towards the sanctum  & disappeared.

To add to this magnificent miracle, Periya Perumal, the Lord Ranganatha Himself, immediately ordered through the archaka……….

let this slOka be recited at the beginning of all divya prabhanda recitations  just as a Vedic recital begins and ends with the sacred

‘Om’

so also all recitals of the tamil veda, the divya prabhandam, shall commence and end with

‘srI SailESa dayA pAtram’.

adiyArgaL vAzha arangka nagar vAzha
sadakOpan thaNdamizh nUl vAzha * –

kadal sUzhndha mannulagam vAzha *

maNavALa mAmuniyE * innum oru nURRANdirum *

These holy verses extols Swamys contributions to continued existence and prosperity of Sri Vaishnavaism, the followers, their holy temples, scriptures, traditions, and the well being of the whole world, and concludes with the prayer, that the great  saint  Swamy Manavalamaamuni live for another hundred years for fulfilling  that purpose.

Swami mAmunikaL’s life was punctuated by many events that demonstrated that he was no ordinary person. In fact, authentic accounts of Sri Vaishnava literature and lineage, position Swami maNavALa mAmunikaL at the very pinnacle of the orthodox lineage of Sri Vaishnava AchAryas (called `OrAn vazhi’) and  with the above divine incident , identify him as the Acharya (guru) for Lord RanganAtha himself!!

The apparent conflict between 100 years and perpetuity is resolved, when one understands the key link of devoted Sri Vaishnava devotees, their ongoing practice of the prayer and traditions as a “Vaazhaydi Vaazhai”, for the perpetuation of the faith.

Thus the  100 and more number of years down the line there will be faithful chanting  of the divine  prayers  for the same for the  infinite future.

 Among several disciples  the foremost eight disciples  were very special . They are glorified as  as “Ashta Dhig Gajams”  or the mighty elephants guarding the eight directions of earth who are as below

(1) VaanamAmalai Jeeyar

(2) BhattarpirAn Jeeyar

(3) ThiruvEnkata RaamAnuja Jeeyar

(4) Koil aNNan

(5) PrathivAdhi Bhayankaram aNNan

(6) ErumpiappA

(7) aAppiLLai  and

(8) AppiLLAr .

 Swamy Erumbiappa, one of the astadiggajas  glorified   100  verses  adorning the divine qualities of  Swamy Manavalamamuni  .

In  Srivaishnava  sampradayam,  Azhvar it indicates to only nammAzhvar, the term swamy refers only to  Swamy Ramanuja  and Jeeyer is a special term indicating Periya Jeeyer, our  Sri Vara Vara Muni.

The  verses  of  Swamy erumbiappa are called as Vara Vara Muni sathakam .

Swamy   prathivAdi bayankaram annan  had  also  glorified the divine qualities of  his Acharyar .

 Swamy Maamuni had the highest regard for Swami Desikan and used to refer him  with great affection as ” ABHIYUKTHAR ” OR THE REVERED ONE  likewise Swami Desikar  had the highest regard for the Achaarya of  Swamy Maamuni’s own Achaarya, Swamy  Pillai LokAcharyar.

 Swamy has been glorified with several names  like  Varavaramuni,     Periya Jeer,   Vichatavak Shikhamani ,  Sowmyajamatrumuni,  ramyajamatra muni,   Sowmyopayanthrumuni, Sundarajamatrumuni, , YatheendraPravanar .

“Upadesa Ratinamala” is  a  wonderful work composed by   Swamy Mamunigal which  has 73 verses that  gives  the details of Azhwars  and  Acharyas appearance  & their  divine works.

Swamy  Erumbiappa composed the 74 th  verse and pleaded  Lord Ranganathar requesting  LORD  to accept them and hence as a result of Lord’s command, the following verse  was included in Upadesa Ratinamala.

The verse goes like

“mannuyir_kAL ingE maNavALa mAmunivan *  

senkamalappOthukaLai * –

unnis siraththAlE  theeNdil

 amAnavanum nammai *

karaththAlE  theeNdal kadan “

The   Meaning  of the above verse ………….

“Oh  my dear  devotees  who desire  for Moksha seeking Swamy  Mamunigal’s lotus Feet listen …. 

taking refugee   at  the Lotus  feet of Swamy  Mamunigal will definitely lead us to the  blessings of “Amanavan” who allows us at the  entrance into  Sri Vaikuntam” as we are Swamy Manavala mamuni’s disciples …

Swami Manavala Mamunikal  is compared favorably with the kind of divinity exuded by Swami Ramanuja. After all, they were both the incarnation  of our Lord’s dear serpent servant Adi sEsha.

. Fortunate are the devotees who are at Srirangam and Azhwar Thirunagari celebrating  the grand  festival of Aani Thirumoolam

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Swamy Manavala maamunigaley thiruadigaley  sharanam

Pictures credits : Advanced devotees  serving Lord

videos : At Sri MudaliAndaans swamy Thirumaligai

Sundare sundaro ramah …… Sundare sundari katha……….

Sundare sundari sita ………… Sundare sundaram vanam,

Sundare sundaram kavyam…….Sundare sundarah kapih ………

Sundare sundaram mantram…….Sundare kim na sundaram…….

The fifth kaandam in Sriramayanam known as “SUNDARA KAANDAM” is the most popular kaanda.  Unlike names of other kandams which are self explanatory, this kandam is known as “Sundaram-beautiful” as everything ..

-Hanumanji’s Rama bhakti, Sitadevi’s chastity, Srirama’s plight to rescue HER, their concern for each other, torments in samsaara  are so beautifully described by maharishi.  The characters of the trio makes even a stone melt.  That’s the reason even after so many lakhs of years, we read Sundarkandam with reverence.  Also, reciting Sundarakandam is considered equivalent to reading the entire Ramayana as Hanuman and Trijata narrate all the incidents-past,present and future in the august presence of Sitadevi.

             After  coronation of  Sugreeva as the King of Vaanaras,  Lord Srirama and Lakshmana spent four months during monsoon   in Malyavan parvath in Prasvanagiri  in Hampi, Karnataka.

  Lord  Srirama experienced unbearable pain due to separation from  our mother Sitadevi.  The Lord was worried about Sitadevi’s welfare and  used to lament uncontrollably. 

At the end of monsoon, Sugreeva deputed crores of vaanaras and bears in all directions in search of Sitadevi giving them one month’s  time to trace the whereabouts and inform for taking up next course of action. 

 Sugreeva explained geographical  particulars  about all the places  around  the world in detail .

The vanaras headed by  Prince Angadha and supported by senior  Jambavan and Hanuman were assigned the task of searching in the southern direction.  Lord Srirama handed over HIS finger ring to Hanumanji  who was standing in a corner.

Our poorvacharyars give reason as to why Srirama selected Hanuman to give his  finger ring .  It was the time  at Kishkinda  when Lord Rama was in search of Mother Sita .   Hanumanji  was in thoughts  to see Srirama lamenting for a lady.

Hanumanji a brahmachari was wondering as to why a person of high stature like  Lord Srirama  tutored by rishis like Sage Vasishta, Vishwamitra was so emotional .

Lord   Srirama  our antaryami   sensed Hanumanji’s  feelings .  To make Hanuman realise the greatness of    Sitadevi, Srirama selected Hanuman and handed over HIS finger ring with HIS holy name engraved on it. 

And it was also an indication that Paramatma  laments for all the  jivaatma in the same lines .

It was because of the  holy ring that Hanuman could cross the ocean and meet  Mother Sitadevi and obtain HER blessings.  When Hanumanji saw Sitadevi’s steadfast devotion towards   Lord Srirama, he regretted for his thoughts initially   .

Having understood HER greatness , Hanuman visualised both of them together in his heart and offered prayers.

                           Hanumanji introduced to  mother Sitadevi that he was “Rama dhoothan” whereas when he returned to Lord Rama as “Sitadevi’s messenger” to convey the good news about Sitadevi’s welfare, he addressed himself as “Raama daasan”. With Mother’s grace, our ego vanishes.  Our poorvacharyars comment that when Hanuman went as “rama dhootan”-, he was gifted with fire on the tail whereas when he returned as Sita dhootan, he was embraced by Lord Rama.  

The vanaras who went in the southern direction explored all the places until they reached  SWayamprabha caves in Kadayanallur near Tirunelveli in Tamilnadu .  

Swayamprabha an  advanced Sathwi  was the guardian for the magical cave owned by Mayasuran.   Anyone who entered could not come out.  She hosted the vanaras  and later  transported the vanaras to the seashore( about 150 kms away from Kadayanallur) after knowing about their devotion to Lord Rama with her powers . 

 Having reached the seashore, the vanaras were worried because the stipulated time of one month   fixed by their King Sugreeva  was over and they could not trace Sitadevi. They knew for sure that Sugreeva would not spare them and decided to end their lives as they did not have the courage to face Srirama  who was already suffering pangs of separation.

Angadha had lit a big pyre for them to sacrifice their lives.

He started lamenting about Sitadevi’s abduction, Jatayu sacrificing his life in Ramaseva after fighting with Ravana , their search expedition and failure in the assignment.

Sampaati-the eagle bird summoned Angadha and introduced himself as Jatayu’s elder brother , shared how he lost his wings while protecting Jatayu from the scorching heat of sun in the process loosing his wings and became immobile.

Sampaati was informed about Jatayu’s Raama kainkaryam and he too resolved to do the same.  He informed the vanaras about Sitadevi’s whereabouts with his sharp vision in the far away land, Lanka.  Having done this Raama kainkaryam, Sampaati regained his lost wings and flew away.

Now that the whereabouts of Sitadevi were known, the vanaras started contemplating as to who would cross the ocean which was measuring 100 yojanas (1000 miles) to meet   mother Sitadevi. Each vanara  expressed their  ability to cross few yojanas .  Angadha said that he could cross 100 yojanas but would not have the energy to return. The aged Jambavaan who knew Hanuman’s capabilities approached Hanuman and started enumerating his strength and skills.  When Hanuman was a child, he mistook Sun to be an apple and leapt in the sky to hold it.

      He was hit by Indra with vajrayudham on his chin(hanu) and hence was called Hanuman.  Vayu, hanuman’s father stopped air which made the whole world breathless.  To appease his anger, brahma and other devas bestowed many boons on Hanuman. 

Brahma cursed him to forget his  prowess but would get back his strength when someone reminded him at an apporpriate time.  Jambavan reminded him of his capabilities and requested Hanuman to undertake Rama kainkaryam.  (Sage Agastya extolled Hanuman’s greatness  to Srirama in Uttara kaandam)

He confidently proclaimed that he would finish the yeomen task of locating  mother Sitadevi saying that like  Sri Rama’s arrow which never failed to hit its target, he would accomplish the task.

All the vanaras vowed to observe fast until Sitadevi was found.  Reposing confidence to the vaanaras,  Hanuman stood on Mahendragiri parvatham in Thirukurungudi beyond Tirunelveli in Tamilnadu and after offering prayers to Suryan, Indran, Vayu,  Sri Rama , He increased in size and leapt on the sky to cross the ocean.

Thus starts Sundarakandam,-the most beautiful kaandam as everything is beautiful in it.  Every household in India has a copy of Sundarakanda .  It is a normal practice in Srivaishnava wedding to present Sundarakandam to the groom as it is considered very auspicious. 

Our poorvacharyars have clearly indicated that

Lord Rama is the Paramatma

MOther Sita is the Jivatma suffering in this material world for reunion with Paramatma

Lanka is the samsara(material world)

Our manas is Ravana and the ten senses are considered as the ten heads of Ravana

Hanuman is the acharya(gurudeva) who extols Paramatma’s qualities to Jivatma, gives the holy name to Jivatma,  submits Jivatma’s plea to Paramatma,  destroys Lanka(samsaara) with the fire of knowledge and finaly reunites Jivatma with Paramatma.

The jivatma who gets illusioned with material world, leaves Paramatma and ends up in trouble loitering in the material world until an acharya intervenes and imparts supreme knowledge about the Lord, gives us the mantra to attain  HIM, submits our plea to the Lord and ensures our union with the Supreme Lord by destroying our desires (samasara)

                              And our journey to Sri Lanka to have the darshan of all the holy places fructified in August 2018 and an attempt is being made to reproduce the divine bliss to millions of Hari bhaktha . 

     Hanumanji must have entered Srilanka from the north-western part via Thiruketeeswaram near Mannar, proceeded southwards and landed on Ramboda hills.  The places related to Sundarakandam are mostly located in Central Srilanka upto Sigiriya in the north and Ussangoda in the south.  

Valmiki maharishi beautifully describes Hanuman’s flight.  Hanumanji increased in size and stretching his hands wide leapt  from Mahendragiri mountain causing its residents to leave the place.  The flowers from the trees had covered Hanuman who was now resembling a flowered mountain. 

Hanumanji  faced the first hurdle which was a friendly gesture by Mynaaka parvatham who was  a close  friend of Vayu bhagavan ( Hanumanji’s father ). He offered fruits and asked Hanuman to take rest but he refused politely by embracing the mountain for its gesture saying that he intended to reach Lanka by evening and was lacking time.

Hanuman won Mynaakam  with his friendly gesture. He didn’t succumb to any temptation.

The second hurdle came in the form of Surasa who was a Naagamaatha( mother of snakes).  The devas prompted her to test Hanuman’s capabilities.  Surasa obstructed Hanuman’s way saying that she wanted to swallow Hanuman to satiate her hunger.

Hanuman informed her about his mission promising her to return and satiate her hunger but she didn’t budge saying that as per Brahma’s words, none could pass by her without fulfilling her wish.  He asked her to open her mouth wide enough for him to get into , started increasing in size.  Surasa also widened her mouth to match his size.  The witty Hanuman suddenly decreased in size , went inside her mouth and came back even before she closed her mouth, offered obeisances to her and having satisfied her wish continued his journey.  As she was a well wisher , Hanuman won her with his intelligence and presence of mind  and didn’t kill her.

Surasa  was pleased with Hanuman .She blessed him assuming her true form.

 The place where this incident took place is known as Nagadweepa, also known as Nayanateevu,  is an island near the North-western part of Srilanka (between Mannar and Jaffna) is now identified as the place where this incident took place.

  There is a big temple for Naagamaatha known as Nagapooshani temple. This is also considered as one of the eighteen shakti peetams.

To reach this place, one has to drive from Jaffna for about 38 kms upto Pungudutheevu .  From Pungudutheevu drive for about 15 kms on a bridge to reach jetty. 

Our journey to this wonderful place is recorded in this video

                   Regular boat services at an interval of one hour is available to go to Nagadeepa.  The fare for the boat ride is LKR 50/- and will take about 20 minutes .

It is one way-the boat stops near the buddhist monastery and the return would be pick up from Nagapooshani temple or vice-versa .  Autos ply between these two places for a nominal charge of Rs.10/- LKR. 

NAGAPOOSHANI AMMAN TEMPLE NAGADWEEPA

BUDDHIST MONASTERY NAGADWEEPA

In Nagadeepa, there are two places to be visited- the first one is the Buddhist monastery as Buddha had visited this place and changed the factionist Naagas into pious people and made them follow Buddhism. Nagapooshani amman temple  can be reached by auto.   Devotees perform  milk abhishekam to the naagas in the temple. 

The third hurdle for Hanumanjee  was   a rakshasi  named Simhika.    Lying on the ocean  she had the power to pull the shadow of anyone flying over her.   She  used her strength to   reduce  Hanuman’jis  speed by pulling his shadow. 

Hanumanji realised the gravity and the unexpected hurdle . She opened her mouth widely and with all her might, she tried to swallow Hanuman  who entered into her mouth and came out swiftly  piercing her stomach  thus killing her.  Simhika was in a pool of blood.  Hanumanjee thus  encountered the third hurdle who was an enemy in reality  with his strength.

This place is identified as Thiruketeeswaram near Mannar on the North-western part of Srilanka (between Jaffna and Anuradhapura) about 116 kms  north-west  of  Anuradhapura-a famous site for Buddhists. 

Also, Kethu-one of the navagrahas who is Simhika’s son prayed to Shiva at this place.  Hence this place is known as Thiruketeeswaram.

  Mandodari’s father built this temple.  Presently the Shiva temple is undergoing renovation.

Hanumanji landed on Suvela parvatham in Srilanka . This place is now known as Ramboda. Chinmaya mission have constructed a beautiful temple for 16 ft Hanumanjee .  There are 3 sets of deities of  Sita-Rama Lakshmana  in the temple premises. 

Chariot procession takes place during  December . As Hanumanji alighted on this parvath on Pournami (Valmiki rishi mentions that Hanuman started his search operation on Pournami and the full moon helped Hanuman with his cool light to see things clearly ), special poojas are performed here. Guest house accomodation(LKR 6600/-for more than 2 PAX) and food court (AnnapurnaVeg.restaurant) are being operated by the mission. (Srirama viewed Lankapura from this placE)

After sunset, Hanumanji took a miniature form to search for Mother Sita.  He marched towards Lankapura city after crossing forests.  Being an island, Lanka was protected by sea on all four sides which was a natural barrier, it has many mountains ,lakes and rivers. Lankapura was situated on one such mountain known as Trikuta parvatham(Sigiriya) and the surrounding places around Kandy are also considered part of this . The historical importance of Sigiriya (a world heritage site ) now is being attributed to King Kasyapa who was an unjust king very similar to Ravana and hid at this place.  (Research relating to Ramayana reveal that this was Ravana’s kingdom) 

It was well guarded on all sides by armed soldiers right from the foot of the hill. The beautiful city was built by Mayasuran-architect for asuras and Ravana’s father in law. Valmiki rishi has aptly described this location which can be found even today.    There were tunnels connections various mountains to which only Ravana had access.  Also, there were aircraft centres at various places which was used by Ravana to fly on his pushpaka vimanam.     

Hanumanjee   was encountered by Lankini- a rakshasi who was a personification of Lanka when he was trying to enter into Lankapura. Hanuman politely told  her that he would return after viewing the beautiful city but the raksasi didn’t accede. Though she hurt  Hanuman  by  hitting with a mace, hanuman pitied her and slightly hit her with his left fist which was unbearable for her.  She accepted defeat and recollecting Brahma’s words that when she would be defeated by a vanara, Lanka’s destruction would be inevitable, she  blessed Hanuman to be victorious in his mission.  

Lankapura is considered as the places around Sigiriya and Kandy.

RAvana ruled from Sigiriya Fort

Hanuman defeated Lankini and started searching for Sitadevi in all the places including the Pushpaka vimanam, palaces of RAvana’s queens, Ravana’s palace, Mandodari’s palace, kitchen ,etc. Lankapura was situated on Trikuta parvatham(Sigiriya rock ) making it inaccessible to intruders. 

Ravana’s court, palace, his queens’ palaces were all situated around this.  Right from the foot of the hills, every place was well guarded. The fort was surrounded with mouts, lakes with crocodiles is it . There are about 

 He came across stationed armies well equipped guarding the kingdom. 

The place where Pushpaka vimanam was kept is now known as Gurulopotha near Sita Kotuwa about 100 kms north east of Kandy. (There is  only a name board and a buddhist temple ).  Likewise Mandodari palace is now known as  “Sita Kotuwa” as Sitadevi was first kept here. This is an archeological site about 3 hours drive from Kandy. 

A guide from the archeological survey office accompanies the visitors to the place. (Guest house facility and a small restaurant serving cool drinks,water, snacks  is run by them.)  We need to walk down the steep terrain for about an hour to reach Sita Kotuwa.    The place where the army was stationed is known  as Weragantota. Gurulopotha and Weragantota are situated near Sita Kotuwa. 

  He found heaps of food in the kitchen but didn’t have the slightest temptation to eat.  He searched every nook and corner of Lanka but could not trace  mother Sitadevi. Hanuman was worried that he  had to look  many ladies which was against his brahmachari vow. But he convinced himself that if you have to search for a deer, you will have to search amongst deers.  Likewise, a woman has to be searched amongst women.  AS he respected all women as his mother and sister, his mind was very clear and was only focused on our Mother’s ( Thayar’s ) welfare.

After searching for the second time, Hanumanji was worried .He  sat on a rock  and decided to end his life as he knew that if he returned without seeing Sitadevi, he would be the cause for destruction of Ishvaku race and the vaanaras. 

Hanuman however regained his determination and realized his mistake. 

He understood that though he  prayed to all the gods  he  forgot to offer prayers to  Mother Sitadevi

Recollecting HER appearance as an ayonija,  

He immediately prayed to Sitadevi guarded by Rama and Lakshmana to disclose her whereabouts similar to the way SHE chose to appear to King Janaka.

 By the grace of Sitadevi,  Hanumanji spotted Ashoka vanam- a beautiful garden which he had missed to explore. 

This place where Hanuman sat and contemplated on Mother Sita is identified as MANIKATUTHER located between Ramboda and Nuwara Eliya.

It is about 20 kms from RAmboda hill and Nuwara Eliya is about 50 kms from Manikatuther. 

Manikatuther is located in Labbookelle Tea Estate in Kondakalai village on a hill bgetween Nuwara Eliya and Ramboda.  WE need to take an auto to go up the hill which has a muddy path from the base. AFter reaching a certain point, we have to trek up the hill through Labbookelle Tea Estate .

The scenic beauty is inexplicable. When we visited this place, the whole area was engulfed in fog , it was drizzling and cool breeze was soothing . ( As the muddy road was drenched with rain, we were told that it would not be possible to go there by our guide.  But we insisted to be taken there and because of Hanuman’s grace, two auto drivers agreed to take us and we could visit the place.)  Presently , there is only a small shiva linga under a tree. 

Sri.Kanakaraj, a disciple of Chinmaya Mission who accompanied us informed that on a clear day, we can view both Ramboda and Nuwara Eliya.

Reaching Lanka, Ravana held Sitadevi captive in Mandodari’s palace which is now known as Sita kotuwa.  Indra prayed to Sitadevi to sustain herself by partaking heavenly sweet for the world’s welfare .  Ravana later shifted HER to Ashoka vanam(presently known as Hakgala Gardens in Nuwara Eliya)

presuming SHE would like the hill station and the natural beauty of his kingdom and succumb to his wish. The village is named as Kondakalai because while Ravana was forcibly taking Sitadevi to Ashoka vanam, Sitadevi’s hair got deranged.

He also informed that the food given by RAvana to Sitadevi was thrown away by HER which fell scattered in the surrounding forests.  The remains became  fossils  known as “SITA GOOLI” have been certified by American researchers as vitaminised rice balls dating few   thousands of years . These balls are considered as symbol of auspiciousness.  We were fortunate to get them to be placed in our altar.

Near Manikatuther, there is a  temple for Sriman Narayana seated on Garuda with Sridevi and Bhudevi.  Mahavishnu is bluish in complexion .  But the locals address this temple as “Rama temple”. 

During Margazhi,(Dec-Jan), early morning Pooja is performed and bhajans are conducted in the nights during the whole month. Few rare beautiful pics from Ramayanam are hung on the walls inside the temple.

When Hanumanji entered Ashoka Vanam (presently known as Hakgala Botanical Gardens in Nuwara Eliya), the flowers blossomed , birds chirped and the weather was very pleasant.  Some flowers dropped on Hanuman’s body which added to his beauty.

Hanuman jumped from one tree to the other in search of Sitadevi.  Finally, he found a sobbing distressed lady glowing with effulgence under a tree and looking at her appearance, the colour of her sari  and the jewels which were hanging from the tree, Hanuman guessed that it was Sitadevi.  His joy knew no bounds.

He was contemplating as to how he has to pick up a conversation with her. Meanwhile, RAvana arrived and started persuading  Sitadevi.  

Mother Sita underwent all these troubles to put an end to Ravana’s atrocities who was slave to lust thus causing harm to womanhood all over the world.  (Poorvacharyars reason that as the wives of celestial persons  were held captive by him, Mother Sitadevi came to Lanka to rescue them ).  Just as a mother who will ensure to protect all the children,
Sitadevi who is the mother of Universe  advised him to restore HER back to Lord Rama and get saved mentioning Sri Rama’s nature to forgive anyone who came for asylum even if it had committed the gravest sin.    When Sitadevi rebuked him by recalling his cowardly act of stealing HER in Srirama’s absence , he became so wild that he wanted to harm her but was stopped by his wife Daanyamaalini. 

The egoistic Ravana  left after warning her that she would be killed and served as breakfast at the end of two months in case she doesn’t concede to his request.

The rakshasis who were threatening her were chastised by Trijata-Vibhishana’s daughter who disclosed the dream she had. 

Trijata revealed her dream in which  she saw victorious Lord Rama seated with Sitadevi wearing white silk clothes on Pushpaka vimanam ,Ravana’s death, anhilation  of rakshasa clan, Vibhishana’s coronation and advised the rakshasis to stop  torturing Sitadevi as SHE alone could protect them from SRirama’s wrath. 

The rakshasis stopped harassing and slept.  Sitadevi who was totally devastated, decided to end her life by hanging HERSELF from Simshuka tree with her hair.

Hanumanji who was sitting on the Simshuka tree became worried at HER approach.  To save HER from this disaster, Hanuman softly sang Srirama’s story  starting from HIS appearance,wedding, banishment , Ravana’s foul play in kidnapping Sitadevi, Jatayu’s death, Sugreeva’s friendship, their search operation etc. Hanuman presented himself as Rama’s messenger and sugreeva’s minister.

He described in detail about Srirama and enquired about devi’s identity.  When Sitadevi got convinced that he was Rama’s messenger, Hanuman presented the holy ring given by Srirama to her and pacified HER that SRirama would kill Ravana ,resuce HER and return to Ayodhya to rule the world. Just as our acharyar gives us the holy name (Tirumantram) to us during Samasrayanam, Hanuman gave tthe holy ring with SRirama’s name engraved on it.  Looking at the ring, Sitadevi wept uncontrollably remembering their separation and suffering .

Thus , the entire Ramayana was sung by Hanuman. This place is known famously known as “SITA ELIYA-SITA AMMAN TEMPLE” located about 4 kms from Nuwara Eliya on a lower altitude. Nuwara Eliya,also known as “Little England” located in the Central highlands of Srilanka  is a hill station and one of the coldest regions in Srilanka .

The thought that Sitadevi sitting under the tree in the cool Ashoka gardens without any protection against the harsh weather conditions made us feel depressed.

Hanuman convinced Sitadevi that Srirama would come at the earliest and rescue HER.  Unable to tolerate Sitadevi’s distress, Hanumanji offered to carry HER on his shoulders and unite HER with Srirama.  He expanded his form to convince about his capabilities.  So, we can see  two sets of footprints in Sita Amman temple-one small and the other one huge .  

Hanuman pacified Jaganmatha assuring HER of Srirama’s arrival to resue HER and consoled her thus saving HER life.  When Hanuman requested Sitadevi  to give some token of identification to present to Srirama, Sitadevi handed over the “choodamani ” and shared few incidents with Hanuman including Kakasuran’s episode , about how the Lord applied thilak so that HE would believe Hanuman as these incidents happened in solitude.

After taking Sitadevi’s blessings, Hanuman decided to meet Ravana and convey Rama’s message.  So, he uprooted the trees in Ashoka vanam .  He defeated the rakshasas who came to fight, destroyed one-fourth of Ravana’s army including 80000 kinnaras, five army chiefs, Ravana’s son-Akshakumara and finally voluntarily got bound by Indrajit’s brahmastra as vayuputra wanted an audience with Ravana.

All these incidents took place at “” Hakgala Botanical Gardens”.  

Hanuman was taken to RAvana’s assembly in Sigiriya Fort. 

Hanuman introduced himself as Sugreeva’s minister and Srirama’s messenger , informed the killing of Vali who had humbled RAvana earlier ,  advised Ravana to return Sitadevi and save his clan from Srirama’s wrath which infuriated Ravana .

Ravana ordered Hanuman to be killed but was intercepted by Vibhishana who said that a messenger should not be killed but could be punished. 

Ravana ordered that Hanuman’s tail be burnt and taken along all the streets .  Hanuman’s tail was wound with cloth dipped in oil and fire was lit. The jubilant rakshasas unaware of Hanuman’s prowess abused him and insulted him by throwing stones and took him through all the places.  Hanuman unmindful of the pain thought that it was a good opportunity so that he can once again see Lanka in the day light.  Few rakshasis rushed to Sitadevi to inform about the happenings.    Sitadevi experienced intolerable grief for the punishment.  She washed her hands in the nearby stream , lit a pyre and prayed to Agnideva to protect Hanuman by proclaiming that if she was chaste and if it is true that sirama would resuce her, Agni should not harm Hanuman.  

Hanuman realised that though his tail was burning, he didn’t feel any burning sensation or pain. He realised that it was because of Sitadevi’s compassion , the fire didn’t harm him.  Hanuman wanted to express his gratitude to firegod by offering the tall mansions to agni. Hanuman freed himself from rakshasas’ clutches and jumping from one building to the other including RAvana’s palace and assembly , he lit fire in all the places.

AS  the golden Lankapura  was on a hill where heavy winds blow, the fire spread immediately . The whole of Lanka was in flames.

Hanuman burnt the whole Lanka including Ravana’s airports at WEragantota , Ussangoda (the southern tip of Lanka). 

Hanuman cooled his burning tail in the waters near Ussangoda near Hambantota- a sea coast about 83 kms from Galle.The sand  here is red in colour.  Usually red sand would be wet whereas here it is as hard as rock.  No vegetation grows here. This is a protected site.  It is advisable to visit this place in daytime .

 Hanuman became worried about Sitadevi’s welfare as the entire Lanka was burning.  But he heard from celestial beings about Sitadevi’s safety and Vibhishana’s house not burnt.  The pleased Hanuman returned to Ashoka vanam and after personally seeing Sitadevi assured her about Rama’s arrival and returned to Kishkinda after taking Mother Sita’s blessings. Assuming a huge form, Hanuman took off from “Arishta” parvatham from Lanka to cross over the ocean to reach Mahendragiri.  Unable to bear his weight, Arishta parvatham got submerged into the sea with only the top visible.  This is considered as “Andaman islands” (this info was shared by Andamanese during our visit-not sure about the authenticity but there is a similarity in the names-Arishta—Andaman)

Hanuman returned to the vanara camp and shared with them Sitadevi’s welfare.  He informed them in detail about his entire journey.  They started the return journey to Kishkinda to inform the good news to SRiram, Enroute  stopped for a while at Madhuban near Hampi to satisfy their hunger. While all the vanaras were satiating their hunger by drinking honey and eating fruits, Our Hanuman was relising   the nectarian names of Lord Rama  which was his lifeline.

Hanuman and other vanaras headed by Angadha returned to Maalyavan parvath and informed about Sitadevi’s welfare and presented the choodamani to Srirama.  A beautiful temple for the Lordships at the place where this incident took place can be seen in Hampi.  Srirama praised Hanuman and  embraced him for completing the mission thus emphasising that HE COULD BE ATTAINED ONLY WITH HANUMAN’S GRACE.

Our poorvacharyas say that  when Hanuman submittd to Srirama without Sitadevi, his tail got burnt but when he got Sitadevi’s blessings, he was blessed with  Lord Rama’s  embrace . 

This emphasizes  Thayar’s intervention as PUrushakaaram in our Srivaishnava sampradayam.   Thus ends  the wonderful prose Sundarakandam.

Pics credits  :  Few from Social media 

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

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

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

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

It was during the time , when the news came that  Swamy Alavandar was  sick and desired to meet  Swamy Ramanuja .   Swamy Ramanuja meanwhile had association of the great devotee Swamy  Tirukkachi Nambi  who obtained from Lord Varadaraja the famous ‘ Six Words ‘ and    the six words provided the guidelines for   Swamy Ramanuja  to follow.

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( i ) that Lord  Sriman Narayana is the Paramatma.  (ii ) that the individual souls were different from Paramatma.  (iii) that Prapatti is the means to attain salvation.  (iv)  that the last remembrance of the Lord on the part of the departing  soul was not necessary.  (v)   that Moksha can be obtained only on laying off the mortal coils        (Videha Mukti) and   (vi)  Ramanuja   should take refuge at the feet of Periya Nambi.

Accordingly,  when he  met  Periya Nambi at Madurantakam he pleaded to perform Samashranayam without wasting any time . And thus  under the shade of  Vakula tree Periya Nambi performed Pancha Samskara to him.

As he was initiated  into the esoteric of Dvaya Mantra at Madurantakam, the place came to be known as  “Dvayam Vilaindha Tiruppathi”

videos  courtesy : Sriman Ranganathan Srinivasan

Pics courtesy  : Thanking several devotees  who uploaded in in social media