10 gms of gold .
Whilst going through Ranganatha Paduka magazine came upon an appeal.The new head of Andavan ashram ,the son of the late Andavan,has kindly acceeded to the requests of devotees and is therefore undertaking the Kaingaryam-viz service to the Lord -Narayana of providing gold padukas to encase Sri Varadarajar Swamy's sacred feet at Vardharajar temple at Kanchipuram and also to encase Sri Villakoli Perumal's sacred form with gold Pithambaram at Villakoli perumal Temple at Kanchipuram.
The total gold requirement being 3 and a half kilos a member of the ashram has made an appeal to all devotees to contribute to this project in cash or in gold in any denomination as it is the participation in this Kaingaryam that is important.
He further appealed to all in general and to NRI's in particular that even if 300 subscribers of the Ranganatha paduka magazine contributed 10 gms gold or its equivalent in cash the required amount viz 3 kgs of gold will be met since a devotee had already contributed 500gms of gold.It can be done even on line.
When i read this i felt a current pass through me from head to foot .I was simply besides myself !I have been trying for the past 10 years to do some material service --viz Kaingaryam to Varadhar, but somehow could never achieve it .Either i stalled or others stalled it .I can never provide 3 kilos of gold but i can contribute a part of it and thus participate in this Kaingaryam.
I had a 4gm gold coin .Will that do?Pondered over it .Why stall my participation in this once in life time chance with my miserliness?And decided to donate 10gms of gold and so on that very day went and bought the remaining 6 gms gold coin from a famous jewellry shop.Though there is the head quarters of Andavan ashram near my house in Chennai where the coins can be deposited i decided to hand over the coins personally to Sri Andavan who is camping at His Ashram in SriRangam as a evidence of my gratitude at his undertaking a project that would fructify my long pending desire to do some kaingaryam to Varadhar.Luckily i was also to leave for Srirangam in a weeks time as our Nithyapadi date or annual kaingaryam at Srirangam temple was around the corner.
From the windows of the lodge where i stayed in Sri Rangam i could see several Gopurams of the temple.Each of which was built by rulers down the ages.The need and the unquenchable thirst to build huge temples and towering gopurams displaying architectural skills seems to have taken leave from our people.Every gorgeous or gigantic temples is of the past.Genorosity in form of liberal donations in form of money labour , craftmanship and other resources is also of the past.Deep belief and the convictions of rulers and wealthy men that it is punyam or meritorious deed to build such huge temples for the deities is also of past.True that soon after independance there were many temples built like the exquisite marble temples built by Birlas.After that spate there was lull which is continuing.
A boundary made of solid rock ran around the lodge .Did Thirumangai aazhwar build it?He is said to have built a boundary wall around SriRangam Temple between in 9th centuryAD.
A variety of birds flew around in flocks.A mynah circumbulated the white Gopurum thrice! A rare sight indeed.Perazhwara has sung in 8th cent that bees hovering over the blackishblueflowers which take the prime position in adorning Sri Ranganathar in Srirangam hum Govinda's name.In 21 st cent a i spotted a mynah bird circumbulating a gopurum.Pity that i donot possess the poetic skills or the unfanthomably deep bhakthi of aazhwars to sing about that birds devotion towards Ranganathar.
Visited RanganayakiThayar's sannidhi in the evening.As my eyes were glazed with fatigue after the train journey and from a wound in my eye couldn't focus much into the dim interior of the sanctum housing two moolavars of Thayar one behind the other.The processional deity of Ranganayaki Thayar placed at front of the main deities and nearer to the entrance caught my eyes.
Petite and beautiful and glittering like a bronze doll .Pure silk saree adorned Her beautiful form.Seven stone diamond ear rings with matching matil with two rows of diamond intersped with seven stone diamonds arranged like a flower at two points on that row caught the light from the oil wick lamp and spliced it all around in the seven colours of the rainbow.
Mother Ranganayaki smiled pleasantly from within this circle of dazzling cool blue fire.
Her ethreal smile and Her shimmering adornments made me forget all my physical and emotional travails .She filled me with a glow that lightened my thoughts and my steps.
Next morning, our Nithya padi day we proceeded to Sri Ranganathar's sanctum .Had to wait for an hour or so in a huge hall in the temple as daily rituals conducted by the priests which are not for public viewing was going on within.I started reciting slokas silently.Several others who were also waiting for the darshan were also spending the waiting period by reading slokas or, reciting them .Some were meditating with closed eyes .
After finishing my recitation i looked around .I wondered whether the space in front of me , a huge hall that was right in front of the sanctum would have been the place where devotees of yore as per Kulasekara azhwar would have sung about Ranga's valorous deeds and danced with ecstatic bhakthi shedding copious tears that drenched the mud and turned it into slush?Was that the place that the saint King longed to scoop that tear stained wet mud respectfully and then apply it lovingly it on his forehead as sacred namum?
A visit to SriRangam makes me emotional .The moment I step into this temple town ,its glorious and tragic history always rushes into my memory.In Tirumalai temple it is not its past history that touches me but the terrific bhakthi of the 1000's of devotees .The glazed look on some, the teary eyes of several, the total humility in many,the awe of several and the emotion laden Govinda Govinda chant moves me and makes me emotional.
In here it is a but a fraction of that crowd of devotees .Darshan's are easy But the fact that in days gone by this temple commanded immense reverence from saints and acharyas most of whom resided in and around this temple town , leaving thier original homes , moves me.
Every time i step into SriRangam I remember Tondaradi podi azhwars exquisite hymns to awaken Ranganathar.When i see the fortress like wall running around the temple and the granaries i remember Thirumangai azhwar who built them.When i see acquatic birds flying i remember Periazhwar and his hymns on Ranganathar that are interlaced with poetic description of SriRangam .
I can visualise with a prick in my eyes our great acharyas like Alavandhar and Ramanujar and Desikan who were great scholars,poets, philosophers ,intellectuals and also full of bhakthi and walking down the very streets i am walking begging for food from house holders , as was the norm for sanyasis and poor Brahmin's in those days.I can aslo visualise them standing before the sanctum of Ranganathar and paying thier obseince, where i would also stand,to do the same.
I also never fail to feel thier shock and pain at having to be forcibly exiled from thier favourite temple for more than 12 years!Whilst Ramanujar had to leave this town owing to threat to his life from severely sectarian Chozha ruler Deesikan had to leave owing to invasion of roughTurkish hordes from North.Whilst the former castigator blinded Ramhujars 2 close disciples but didnt descerate the temple though kept in under lock and key till his death so that no puja could be performed the latter killed 1000's of Brahmins fighting to safeguard the temple from the iconalasts and stomped into the sacred percinicts on horse backs looting the jewels and silver whilst searching for the deity so as to behead it.
I always think of Desikan who was present at that caranage and luckily escaped with his life,by fainting over the corpses of his friends.What was his reaction ?wasn't he shocked out of his mind to see the temple he so venerated being shattered thus?He had on a single night written 1000 slokas on the padukas of Ranganathar deriving inspiration from Bharta's reverence to Rama's padukas.He had eugolised all the azhwars and acharya s who had visited this temple with utmost respect and admiration.Would he have ever imagined that one day this most sacred place on earth whose deity he worshipped everyday would receive such a despicable treatment andthat he would be a witness to it?Was he terrorised or furious? Did his faith in Narayana and Ranganathar crumble?Was he swearing revenge?Apparently none of the above.The philosopher and the scholar he was made him take it in his stride.His deep faith in Narayana and Ranganathar never waned.The fact that no where does he mention this historical fact shows how he brushed away this shocking incident as minor obstacle in his objective of praising narayana and his consorts with his poetic skill and in writing treatise on Visishta dwaita philosophy.The only sloka he mention this incident is the Abbeedhistavam which he wrote in his exile in Satyagala --a tiny village in Karnataka.He wrote these slokas to allay the fear fellow men who were terrorised by the plunder of turkish hordes.Truly a great man.
In one stanza he implores Narayana to use his weapons to annihilate the invaders.In another he states with weariness that his hair had turned white and his only aim is to lead the rest of his life in a peaceful manner along with his friends and family and requests Ranganathar to grant this wish.His wish was granted after twelve years of hardship when a ruler belonging to rayar dynasty drove away the invaders and restored peace and Desikan returned to Srirangam.
I know that the processional deity num perumal is the original deity of this temple as there are historical records that some brahmins took him just before the temple was breached, and hid in several places .In a forest, in a hill and finally placed him in the safe environs of Tirumala temple and brought him back once the invaders were driven away.
But what about the Moolavar? He is huge and cannot be carried to a safe spot in a moments notice. Was the original moolavar broken to pieces by the iconalasts?Am i seeing a replacement and not the original moorthy which is said to have been worshipped since in ancient times ? If so hasn't the deity lost its original power and charm?So what is the point of worshipping a 700 year old moorthy and not the thousands of years old moorthy which was worshipped by azhwars and acharyas?And when i enter the temple am i not treading on the floor overun by boots of turkish brutes stomping over corpses .Haven't they removed its sacredness?That bit of revulsion also assails me .
As per temple sources when the Brahmin priests came to know that the enemy was on the way with the intention of breaking idols, they quickly built a wall around the sanctum enshrining Ranganathar and thus covered him from sight.Hence the moolavar and his sanctum escaped the sword.This wall was dismantled once the threat from invaders was removed and all the daily pujas and rituals were resumed.So the moolavar is undoubtedly the original moolavar as per temple sources .
About desecration of temple i think i should shed the revulsion since it is the belief of Hindus that temples can be cleansed of defilement by performing homamas like for eg Pavitra utsavam , in the temple premises and it is accepted.This must have been done before resuming the daily rituals and its efficacy accepted by pandits, if not would Desikan a traditional orthodox Brahmin , have entered this temple again to worship Ranganathar?
Similariy Moolavar of Ranganayaki Thayar's was carried away from her sanctum and buried under a bilva tree near the sanctum.Since the brahmins who hid the moolavar died in the carnage carrying the secret with them, for several years after invaders were driven away nobody knew as to where she was hidden and therefore a new moolavar was enshrined.Few decades later some one discovered the original moolavar and She was also enshrined in Thayar sanctum.Hence now there two Moolavar of RanganayakiThayar , one behind the other in her sanctum
There are more than 100 pasurums on Ranganathar.All the twelve azhwars have sung His praise There are thousands of slokas on Ranganathar written by all the important acharyas of SriVaishanavas.
Why is Ranganathar so special?I there a truth in the legend that the entire set viz the huge and handsome moolavar --the reclining form of Narayana , the vimanum and the delicate processional deities were worshipped by Rama in his palace at Ayodhya since they were the family heirloom of ishvaku dynasty?And that Rama gifted them to Vibeeshan when he started his return trip to Lanka after His coronation as King . ?And that when Vibeeshan paused at SriRangam for rest Moolavar and vimanum refused to budge from that place and he had to leave for lanka without this gift from Rama but satisfied with the assurance of a local Tamil king that he would duly enshrine the deity and build a temple.This sthala purana or story of this temple is written in the hall of the temple that houses a huge Garuda.
Then the question rises why should Rama who was bhagwan MahaVishnu/Narayana worship Himself?Acharyas explain that as a avatar of Vishnu/Narayana . Rama did all that a ordinary person would normally do.So He was worshipping Sri Ranagnathar in Ayodhya as it was the deity His anscestors of the family, He chose to be born, were worshipping.
To me every grain of sand and every bit of soil around the temple and every stone, be it pillar in mantaps or in the floor near the sanctum resonates with the history of this temple , its devotees and the resilient spirit of Hindus.700 years back they were terrified but were not cowed done .They waited it out and reclaimed this temple.It is the practical nature of sanatana dhrama that made re worship in this temple possible.It has a answer to every situation and provides a solution.The temple was purified, the hidden moorthies re installed and then it was business as usual , like as if nothing calamatious happened .Even today homamas are conducted every year in temple to purify the temple and its moorthies of any defilement whether caused knowingly or not. No wonder that Hinduism has survived so many invasions .
When we were let in saw that the crowd was sparse.Reached the sanctum.A small one for enshrining such a huge moolavar.
I couldnt see His eyes as it was covered with gold replica but saw It is straight and sharp.Can a nose be beautiful?.Well Ranganathar's nose is.It is acquiline and bewitching Has any azhwar described His nose?Have to check. His two long limbs stretched in a relaxed manner over the serpent bed of Adi sesha, were adorned in a splendid pure white silk dhothi with reddish gold magenta border.An indescrible wonderful sight .
Utsavar Numperumal along with His two consorts Sri Devi and BhuDevi were resting at the front of Moolavar.Num Perumal looked tiny and was nearly dwarfed by Moolavar's gigantic size.But His charismatic presence was in no way diminished by His dimunitive form .
A triangular green gem adorned the centre of His forehead which covered most of His eyes as well.But his lips were smiling and did I see a dark trace of pencil line moustache over his upper lip?Or was it the stain of wear and tear of ages ?
On seeing him i felt a catch in my throat.This is the effect he has on me without fail, on every visit of mine to his temple.He is so small , petite, helpless and full of trust at all the people around him to take care of him that he evokes the protective instinct .It was like seeing a dear friend and a cuddlesome pet who will be with me in all my ups downs , no matter what.Soon it was time to leave and I left with the memory of His reassuring smile.
Had to walk a lot to visit other sannidhis .This is a huge and sprawling temple .It is very well maintained .It is spick and span.Strips of green lawn has been laid on the side of the long circumbulatory passage which is pleasing to the eye.Rows upon rows of red flowers were swaying merrily in a well laid out garden which was huge .Maybe they will be used to make garlands to adorn Ranganathar.In here every thing is hugeThe crumbling graneries have been re built and they look glossy and pasurums of all azhwars that have been inscribed in granite have been laid near this granery.
Visited Ramanujar's Brindavanam.Brindavanam is the spot where acharyas who are sanyasi's are buried.They look like mini temples.Ramanujar's Brindavanam is within the temple complex.Some how burials near temples put me off and i always felt this discomfort at Ramanujar's Brindavanam every time i visited it .
But this time i didn't feel that slight revulsion .Last year i read his commentry on Gita and ever since my admiration for his intellect, knowledge, his deep faith in sanatana dhrama and the pains he has taken to interpret Gita on those lines and his patience to explain the fundamental philosophy of Gita in a simple manner so that any layperson will understand it , has gone up in leaps and bounds.
This man was no ordinary mortal.
For the first time in my in all my visits to his brindavan till date,I really bowed with reverence at front of his image which is installed above the place where he was buried 1000 years back.
Then reached a small office and handed the vastram to the priest incharge.He took only the dhothi for Ranganathar and asked us to hand over the sari in Thayar sannidhi.He further added that Ranganathar is adorned only with pure silk dhothi but said hastily seeing the disappointment in my face that the vatram i gave will cover the sacred form of Ranganthar on a Friday when Ranga is smeared all over by herbal oil before his abhishekam and that the dhothi i gave will adorn him first soon after the abhishekam so that the silk dhothi placed over it will not get oily patches.
Then visited Thayar sannidhi and handed over the sari to the priest in charge who immediately had it draped over the original Moolavar 's shoulders.Both the Moolavar thayars looked beautiful.
After noon took a auto to Andavan's ashram The road was dangerously narrow with villages fields and river kollidam below it on both sides. It reminded me of the road to Badrinath, only this wasn't all that high.
Since Andavan was to meet the public after 40 minutes , i walked around the ashram .The construction of Brindavanam of the Andavan , the current Andavan's predessecor who was recently deceased was going on near the entrance.That late Andavan Swamy had taken great interest in retreiving the Sanskrit books on Bramha sutras and upanishads written and published by my great grand father Kapisthalam Desikacharyar and had published two of them.
There is a huge well on one side .It looked green .Was it moss? Leaves floated on its top.Tulsi and nandivatai plants lined that huge well.There was a plantain grove where 3 peahens were walking in single file in a very purposeful manner.
The ashram looked clean alright but not glossy.Hedges werenot trimmed .No fancy bricks to mark the pathways boundary.Why was this place like this?It looked decreipt..Lack of funds or what?
Sat on a long blackstone ledge .Few old women were also seated on them .They were also waiting to see Andavan swamy.Watched long dhothis fluttering in a clothes line tied at a very level.
Then it struck me.This is a real sanyasi's ashram.I was comparing it with fancy ashrams of high flying babas and gurus.Those ashrams were spotlessly clean, with trim lawns and carefully nurtured flower beds.Those gurus may know our shastras like gita etc but thay are not sanyasis in the true sense.They are bent on attracting rich fans and wealthy devotees to thier meditation camps etc but Andavan swamy is a real sanyasi.He has taken the vows prescribed for taking sanyasam, follows the strict regime a sanyasi has to follow .He knows the Vedas and all the shastras.He is heading this mutt so as to perform all the rituals and promote our religious activities like offering material and physical services to Temples, teach Vedas, Upanishads , Gita , epics, Puranas and Ramanujars philosophy.He also performs the important SriVaishnavaite rituals like pancha samaskaram and bharanyasam on Andavan mutt's followers.
In India there is a craze for Godmen.Men who declare themselves as god and then command a huge following.None of our azhwars or acharyas have ever claimed themselves to be God.though they were full of ascetism , bhakthi and scholarship.They act only as intermediaries .
Soon we were called in .Varahar Andavan swamy was seated on a low wooden stool.He was wearing ashort saffron dhothi and no upper garment.He smiled at us.I was struck by the luminiosity of his face .He is above 50 but looked fresh .His presence vibrated tranquility.
I told him the purpose of our visit viz to hand over 10 gms gold to him for encasing Varadhar's sacred feet.He smiled and i couldnt hold myself .No sooner did i prostrate before him than i told him as to how grateful i was to him for taking up this project and added how for 10 long yeasr i couldnt fulfillmy wish to do some material service to Varadhar swamy and that he [andavan swamy ] came and will fulfill it.
I thanked him for allowing me to contribute what I can afford.He said when we make a garland for a deity we string together various types of flowers and all of them adorn him.A person who has offered 800 gms and your offering of 10 gms are those flowers in a garland which will feel his sacred form in equal measure..
Got a receipt from the manager.An old man who has volunteered .While he was writing the receipt his cell rang .He cut it off and said that is my alarm to inform me to take my tablets.I am a heart patient He said.excuse me for pausing midway and took his tablet and then resumed writing out the receipt.He said that the 10 gms gold i handed over was the first gold to come to this ashram since all the materials and cash are donated at the Chennai headquarters of the mutt , Though that office is near my house i wanted to personally hand it over to Andavan himself owing to my gartitude to him for making long time wish to come true.
While returning visited Nachiar Koil whose processional deity of thayar looked similar to Ranganayaki thayar .When i commented on this the priest was quick to correct me saying that whilst nachiar koil deity is moorthy of a woman [maybe avatar ] RanganayakiThayar is real Mahalakshmi and that her sacredness is infinite and cannot be compared with nachiar koil's deity.
On my return to our lodgings as the auto ploughed slowly through through traffic i thought of my various attempts over past 10 years to do some material service to Sri Varadharaja SwamyI at the very beginning wanted to renovate the Dasar avathara koodum.But it never came through as i quite didn't trust the person offering to do the repair nor did i have the energy to oversee the work.Next i wanted to donate sliver article like aarti plate but some one beat me to it .After that there was this idea of donation of Vensamaram and that also didnt fructify as the person who suggested is too embroiled involved in the court battle defending the right to recite Desikan's prabhandam at that temple.
Where as for Venakateshwara i could get my services done within a year but kaingaryam to Varadhar elusded me.In fact it was the first temple i felt sort of healed of my sudden loss very soon after that loss when i visited Varadhar's temple when pavitrautsavam was being conducted..It was whilst watching the homamas and hearing the recitation of vedas that i suddenly felt a release from some invisible chords wound tightly around my mind that was choking the outlets to my emotions.
Why couldn't I do any service to Varadhar so far?Was I lacking in devotion?Since Srinivasar is always my first choice was Varadar refusing to give in?How can that be? Both are archa avatara of Narayana .
Few months back i started by hearting Desikan's slokas on Varadhar as tribute to Desikan on his 750 th birthday.It has a line -"Accept my service Vardha"- Suddenly out of the blue the new Andavan swamy announced this project making it possible for me to actually render my services to Varadhar.Finally!
As i watched the traffic it struck me that it is Varadhar's heart that has melted to give this oppurtunity. It was also coupled with my determination not let go of this oppurtunity despite many hurdles thrown in my way by those intent on preventing me from leading a hindu way of life that made me endure all the physical and mental tortures meted out to me which intesified once i decided to see it through, that made my kaingaryam to Vardhar possible at last!If not i would stillhave that regret in the back of my mind, a regret that i was carrying for 10 years and may have carried it for another 10 years.
This is a terrific experienceVaradhar's power sort of humbled me and must have also shaken all those throwing as many obstacles as possible in my religious activities.They couldn't beat Varadhar once he decided that he was going to accept my services.It also reminded me once again that when all the avenues i bank upon are shut firmly against me and making me feel helpless and wretched a new avenue opens.An avenue which i would have never imagined or deduced to exist .opens up all of a sudden to fullfill my innermost longings and all that i need is to be alert enough to make use of that oppurtunity properly.
Night caught a train back home
The total gold requirement being 3 and a half kilos a member of the ashram has made an appeal to all devotees to contribute to this project in cash or in gold in any denomination as it is the participation in this Kaingaryam that is important.
He further appealed to all in general and to NRI's in particular that even if 300 subscribers of the Ranganatha paduka magazine contributed 10 gms gold or its equivalent in cash the required amount viz 3 kgs of gold will be met since a devotee had already contributed 500gms of gold.It can be done even on line.
When i read this i felt a current pass through me from head to foot .I was simply besides myself !I have been trying for the past 10 years to do some material service --viz Kaingaryam to Varadhar, but somehow could never achieve it .Either i stalled or others stalled it .I can never provide 3 kilos of gold but i can contribute a part of it and thus participate in this Kaingaryam.
I had a 4gm gold coin .Will that do?Pondered over it .Why stall my participation in this once in life time chance with my miserliness?And decided to donate 10gms of gold and so on that very day went and bought the remaining 6 gms gold coin from a famous jewellry shop.Though there is the head quarters of Andavan ashram near my house in Chennai where the coins can be deposited i decided to hand over the coins personally to Sri Andavan who is camping at His Ashram in SriRangam as a evidence of my gratitude at his undertaking a project that would fructify my long pending desire to do some kaingaryam to Varadhar.Luckily i was also to leave for Srirangam in a weeks time as our Nithyapadi date or annual kaingaryam at Srirangam temple was around the corner.
From the windows of the lodge where i stayed in Sri Rangam i could see several Gopurams of the temple.Each of which was built by rulers down the ages.The need and the unquenchable thirst to build huge temples and towering gopurams displaying architectural skills seems to have taken leave from our people.Every gorgeous or gigantic temples is of the past.Genorosity in form of liberal donations in form of money labour , craftmanship and other resources is also of the past.Deep belief and the convictions of rulers and wealthy men that it is punyam or meritorious deed to build such huge temples for the deities is also of past.True that soon after independance there were many temples built like the exquisite marble temples built by Birlas.After that spate there was lull which is continuing.
A boundary made of solid rock ran around the lodge .Did Thirumangai aazhwar build it?He is said to have built a boundary wall around SriRangam Temple between in 9th centuryAD.
A variety of birds flew around in flocks.A mynah circumbulated the white Gopurum thrice! A rare sight indeed.Perazhwara has sung in 8th cent that bees hovering over the blackishblueflowers which take the prime position in adorning Sri Ranganathar in Srirangam hum Govinda's name.In 21 st cent a i spotted a mynah bird circumbulating a gopurum.Pity that i donot possess the poetic skills or the unfanthomably deep bhakthi of aazhwars to sing about that birds devotion towards Ranganathar.
Visited RanganayakiThayar's sannidhi in the evening.As my eyes were glazed with fatigue after the train journey and from a wound in my eye couldn't focus much into the dim interior of the sanctum housing two moolavars of Thayar one behind the other.The processional deity of Ranganayaki Thayar placed at front of the main deities and nearer to the entrance caught my eyes.
Petite and beautiful and glittering like a bronze doll .Pure silk saree adorned Her beautiful form.Seven stone diamond ear rings with matching matil with two rows of diamond intersped with seven stone diamonds arranged like a flower at two points on that row caught the light from the oil wick lamp and spliced it all around in the seven colours of the rainbow.
Mother Ranganayaki smiled pleasantly from within this circle of dazzling cool blue fire.
Her ethreal smile and Her shimmering adornments made me forget all my physical and emotional travails .She filled me with a glow that lightened my thoughts and my steps.
Next morning, our Nithya padi day we proceeded to Sri Ranganathar's sanctum .Had to wait for an hour or so in a huge hall in the temple as daily rituals conducted by the priests which are not for public viewing was going on within.I started reciting slokas silently.Several others who were also waiting for the darshan were also spending the waiting period by reading slokas or, reciting them .Some were meditating with closed eyes .
After finishing my recitation i looked around .I wondered whether the space in front of me , a huge hall that was right in front of the sanctum would have been the place where devotees of yore as per Kulasekara azhwar would have sung about Ranga's valorous deeds and danced with ecstatic bhakthi shedding copious tears that drenched the mud and turned it into slush?Was that the place that the saint King longed to scoop that tear stained wet mud respectfully and then apply it lovingly it on his forehead as sacred namum?
A visit to SriRangam makes me emotional .The moment I step into this temple town ,its glorious and tragic history always rushes into my memory.In Tirumalai temple it is not its past history that touches me but the terrific bhakthi of the 1000's of devotees .The glazed look on some, the teary eyes of several, the total humility in many,the awe of several and the emotion laden Govinda Govinda chant moves me and makes me emotional.
In here it is a but a fraction of that crowd of devotees .Darshan's are easy But the fact that in days gone by this temple commanded immense reverence from saints and acharyas most of whom resided in and around this temple town , leaving thier original homes , moves me.
Every time i step into SriRangam I remember Tondaradi podi azhwars exquisite hymns to awaken Ranganathar.When i see the fortress like wall running around the temple and the granaries i remember Thirumangai azhwar who built them.When i see acquatic birds flying i remember Periazhwar and his hymns on Ranganathar that are interlaced with poetic description of SriRangam .
I can visualise with a prick in my eyes our great acharyas like Alavandhar and Ramanujar and Desikan who were great scholars,poets, philosophers ,intellectuals and also full of bhakthi and walking down the very streets i am walking begging for food from house holders , as was the norm for sanyasis and poor Brahmin's in those days.I can aslo visualise them standing before the sanctum of Ranganathar and paying thier obseince, where i would also stand,to do the same.
I also never fail to feel thier shock and pain at having to be forcibly exiled from thier favourite temple for more than 12 years!Whilst Ramanujar had to leave this town owing to threat to his life from severely sectarian Chozha ruler Deesikan had to leave owing to invasion of roughTurkish hordes from North.Whilst the former castigator blinded Ramhujars 2 close disciples but didnt descerate the temple though kept in under lock and key till his death so that no puja could be performed the latter killed 1000's of Brahmins fighting to safeguard the temple from the iconalasts and stomped into the sacred percinicts on horse backs looting the jewels and silver whilst searching for the deity so as to behead it.
I always think of Desikan who was present at that caranage and luckily escaped with his life,by fainting over the corpses of his friends.What was his reaction ?wasn't he shocked out of his mind to see the temple he so venerated being shattered thus?He had on a single night written 1000 slokas on the padukas of Ranganathar deriving inspiration from Bharta's reverence to Rama's padukas.He had eugolised all the azhwars and acharya s who had visited this temple with utmost respect and admiration.Would he have ever imagined that one day this most sacred place on earth whose deity he worshipped everyday would receive such a despicable treatment andthat he would be a witness to it?Was he terrorised or furious? Did his faith in Narayana and Ranganathar crumble?Was he swearing revenge?Apparently none of the above.The philosopher and the scholar he was made him take it in his stride.His deep faith in Narayana and Ranganathar never waned.The fact that no where does he mention this historical fact shows how he brushed away this shocking incident as minor obstacle in his objective of praising narayana and his consorts with his poetic skill and in writing treatise on Visishta dwaita philosophy.The only sloka he mention this incident is the Abbeedhistavam which he wrote in his exile in Satyagala --a tiny village in Karnataka.He wrote these slokas to allay the fear fellow men who were terrorised by the plunder of turkish hordes.Truly a great man.
In one stanza he implores Narayana to use his weapons to annihilate the invaders.In another he states with weariness that his hair had turned white and his only aim is to lead the rest of his life in a peaceful manner along with his friends and family and requests Ranganathar to grant this wish.His wish was granted after twelve years of hardship when a ruler belonging to rayar dynasty drove away the invaders and restored peace and Desikan returned to Srirangam.
I know that the processional deity num perumal is the original deity of this temple as there are historical records that some brahmins took him just before the temple was breached, and hid in several places .In a forest, in a hill and finally placed him in the safe environs of Tirumala temple and brought him back once the invaders were driven away.
But what about the Moolavar? He is huge and cannot be carried to a safe spot in a moments notice. Was the original moolavar broken to pieces by the iconalasts?Am i seeing a replacement and not the original moorthy which is said to have been worshipped since in ancient times ? If so hasn't the deity lost its original power and charm?So what is the point of worshipping a 700 year old moorthy and not the thousands of years old moorthy which was worshipped by azhwars and acharyas?And when i enter the temple am i not treading on the floor overun by boots of turkish brutes stomping over corpses .Haven't they removed its sacredness?That bit of revulsion also assails me .
As per temple sources when the Brahmin priests came to know that the enemy was on the way with the intention of breaking idols, they quickly built a wall around the sanctum enshrining Ranganathar and thus covered him from sight.Hence the moolavar and his sanctum escaped the sword.This wall was dismantled once the threat from invaders was removed and all the daily pujas and rituals were resumed.So the moolavar is undoubtedly the original moolavar as per temple sources .
About desecration of temple i think i should shed the revulsion since it is the belief of Hindus that temples can be cleansed of defilement by performing homamas like for eg Pavitra utsavam , in the temple premises and it is accepted.This must have been done before resuming the daily rituals and its efficacy accepted by pandits, if not would Desikan a traditional orthodox Brahmin , have entered this temple again to worship Ranganathar?
Similariy Moolavar of Ranganayaki Thayar's was carried away from her sanctum and buried under a bilva tree near the sanctum.Since the brahmins who hid the moolavar died in the carnage carrying the secret with them, for several years after invaders were driven away nobody knew as to where she was hidden and therefore a new moolavar was enshrined.Few decades later some one discovered the original moolavar and She was also enshrined in Thayar sanctum.Hence now there two Moolavar of RanganayakiThayar , one behind the other in her sanctum
There are more than 100 pasurums on Ranganathar.All the twelve azhwars have sung His praise There are thousands of slokas on Ranganathar written by all the important acharyas of SriVaishanavas.
Why is Ranganathar so special?I there a truth in the legend that the entire set viz the huge and handsome moolavar --the reclining form of Narayana , the vimanum and the delicate processional deities were worshipped by Rama in his palace at Ayodhya since they were the family heirloom of ishvaku dynasty?And that Rama gifted them to Vibeeshan when he started his return trip to Lanka after His coronation as King . ?And that when Vibeeshan paused at SriRangam for rest Moolavar and vimanum refused to budge from that place and he had to leave for lanka without this gift from Rama but satisfied with the assurance of a local Tamil king that he would duly enshrine the deity and build a temple.This sthala purana or story of this temple is written in the hall of the temple that houses a huge Garuda.
Then the question rises why should Rama who was bhagwan MahaVishnu/Narayana worship Himself?Acharyas explain that as a avatar of Vishnu/Narayana . Rama did all that a ordinary person would normally do.So He was worshipping Sri Ranagnathar in Ayodhya as it was the deity His anscestors of the family, He chose to be born, were worshipping.
To me every grain of sand and every bit of soil around the temple and every stone, be it pillar in mantaps or in the floor near the sanctum resonates with the history of this temple , its devotees and the resilient spirit of Hindus.700 years back they were terrified but were not cowed done .They waited it out and reclaimed this temple.It is the practical nature of sanatana dhrama that made re worship in this temple possible.It has a answer to every situation and provides a solution.The temple was purified, the hidden moorthies re installed and then it was business as usual , like as if nothing calamatious happened .Even today homamas are conducted every year in temple to purify the temple and its moorthies of any defilement whether caused knowingly or not. No wonder that Hinduism has survived so many invasions .
When we were let in saw that the crowd was sparse.Reached the sanctum.A small one for enshrining such a huge moolavar.
I couldnt see His eyes as it was covered with gold replica but saw It is straight and sharp.Can a nose be beautiful?.Well Ranganathar's nose is.It is acquiline and bewitching Has any azhwar described His nose?Have to check. His two long limbs stretched in a relaxed manner over the serpent bed of Adi sesha, were adorned in a splendid pure white silk dhothi with reddish gold magenta border.An indescrible wonderful sight .
Utsavar Numperumal along with His two consorts Sri Devi and BhuDevi were resting at the front of Moolavar.Num Perumal looked tiny and was nearly dwarfed by Moolavar's gigantic size.But His charismatic presence was in no way diminished by His dimunitive form .
A triangular green gem adorned the centre of His forehead which covered most of His eyes as well.But his lips were smiling and did I see a dark trace of pencil line moustache over his upper lip?Or was it the stain of wear and tear of ages ?
On seeing him i felt a catch in my throat.This is the effect he has on me without fail, on every visit of mine to his temple.He is so small , petite, helpless and full of trust at all the people around him to take care of him that he evokes the protective instinct .It was like seeing a dear friend and a cuddlesome pet who will be with me in all my ups downs , no matter what.Soon it was time to leave and I left with the memory of His reassuring smile.
Had to walk a lot to visit other sannidhis .This is a huge and sprawling temple .It is very well maintained .It is spick and span.Strips of green lawn has been laid on the side of the long circumbulatory passage which is pleasing to the eye.Rows upon rows of red flowers were swaying merrily in a well laid out garden which was huge .Maybe they will be used to make garlands to adorn Ranganathar.In here every thing is hugeThe crumbling graneries have been re built and they look glossy and pasurums of all azhwars that have been inscribed in granite have been laid near this granery.
Visited Ramanujar's Brindavanam.Brindavanam is the spot where acharyas who are sanyasi's are buried.They look like mini temples.Ramanujar's Brindavanam is within the temple complex.Some how burials near temples put me off and i always felt this discomfort at Ramanujar's Brindavanam every time i visited it .
But this time i didn't feel that slight revulsion .Last year i read his commentry on Gita and ever since my admiration for his intellect, knowledge, his deep faith in sanatana dhrama and the pains he has taken to interpret Gita on those lines and his patience to explain the fundamental philosophy of Gita in a simple manner so that any layperson will understand it , has gone up in leaps and bounds.
This man was no ordinary mortal.
For the first time in my in all my visits to his brindavan till date,I really bowed with reverence at front of his image which is installed above the place where he was buried 1000 years back.
Then reached a small office and handed the vastram to the priest incharge.He took only the dhothi for Ranganathar and asked us to hand over the sari in Thayar sannidhi.He further added that Ranganathar is adorned only with pure silk dhothi but said hastily seeing the disappointment in my face that the vatram i gave will cover the sacred form of Ranganthar on a Friday when Ranga is smeared all over by herbal oil before his abhishekam and that the dhothi i gave will adorn him first soon after the abhishekam so that the silk dhothi placed over it will not get oily patches.
Then visited Thayar sannidhi and handed over the sari to the priest in charge who immediately had it draped over the original Moolavar 's shoulders.Both the Moolavar thayars looked beautiful.
After noon took a auto to Andavan's ashram The road was dangerously narrow with villages fields and river kollidam below it on both sides. It reminded me of the road to Badrinath, only this wasn't all that high.
Since Andavan was to meet the public after 40 minutes , i walked around the ashram .The construction of Brindavanam of the Andavan , the current Andavan's predessecor who was recently deceased was going on near the entrance.That late Andavan Swamy had taken great interest in retreiving the Sanskrit books on Bramha sutras and upanishads written and published by my great grand father Kapisthalam Desikacharyar and had published two of them.
There is a huge well on one side .It looked green .Was it moss? Leaves floated on its top.Tulsi and nandivatai plants lined that huge well.There was a plantain grove where 3 peahens were walking in single file in a very purposeful manner.
The ashram looked clean alright but not glossy.Hedges werenot trimmed .No fancy bricks to mark the pathways boundary.Why was this place like this?It looked decreipt..Lack of funds or what?
Sat on a long blackstone ledge .Few old women were also seated on them .They were also waiting to see Andavan swamy.Watched long dhothis fluttering in a clothes line tied at a very level.
Then it struck me.This is a real sanyasi's ashram.I was comparing it with fancy ashrams of high flying babas and gurus.Those ashrams were spotlessly clean, with trim lawns and carefully nurtured flower beds.Those gurus may know our shastras like gita etc but thay are not sanyasis in the true sense.They are bent on attracting rich fans and wealthy devotees to thier meditation camps etc but Andavan swamy is a real sanyasi.He has taken the vows prescribed for taking sanyasam, follows the strict regime a sanyasi has to follow .He knows the Vedas and all the shastras.He is heading this mutt so as to perform all the rituals and promote our religious activities like offering material and physical services to Temples, teach Vedas, Upanishads , Gita , epics, Puranas and Ramanujars philosophy.He also performs the important SriVaishnavaite rituals like pancha samaskaram and bharanyasam on Andavan mutt's followers.
In India there is a craze for Godmen.Men who declare themselves as god and then command a huge following.None of our azhwars or acharyas have ever claimed themselves to be God.though they were full of ascetism , bhakthi and scholarship.They act only as intermediaries .
Soon we were called in .Varahar Andavan swamy was seated on a low wooden stool.He was wearing ashort saffron dhothi and no upper garment.He smiled at us.I was struck by the luminiosity of his face .He is above 50 but looked fresh .His presence vibrated tranquility.
I told him the purpose of our visit viz to hand over 10 gms gold to him for encasing Varadhar's sacred feet.He smiled and i couldnt hold myself .No sooner did i prostrate before him than i told him as to how grateful i was to him for taking up this project and added how for 10 long yeasr i couldnt fulfillmy wish to do some material service to Varadhar swamy and that he [andavan swamy ] came and will fulfill it.
I thanked him for allowing me to contribute what I can afford.He said when we make a garland for a deity we string together various types of flowers and all of them adorn him.A person who has offered 800 gms and your offering of 10 gms are those flowers in a garland which will feel his sacred form in equal measure..
Got a receipt from the manager.An old man who has volunteered .While he was writing the receipt his cell rang .He cut it off and said that is my alarm to inform me to take my tablets.I am a heart patient He said.excuse me for pausing midway and took his tablet and then resumed writing out the receipt.He said that the 10 gms gold i handed over was the first gold to come to this ashram since all the materials and cash are donated at the Chennai headquarters of the mutt , Though that office is near my house i wanted to personally hand it over to Andavan himself owing to my gartitude to him for making long time wish to come true.
While returning visited Nachiar Koil whose processional deity of thayar looked similar to Ranganayaki thayar .When i commented on this the priest was quick to correct me saying that whilst nachiar koil deity is moorthy of a woman [maybe avatar ] RanganayakiThayar is real Mahalakshmi and that her sacredness is infinite and cannot be compared with nachiar koil's deity.
On my return to our lodgings as the auto ploughed slowly through through traffic i thought of my various attempts over past 10 years to do some material service to Sri Varadharaja SwamyI at the very beginning wanted to renovate the Dasar avathara koodum.But it never came through as i quite didn't trust the person offering to do the repair nor did i have the energy to oversee the work.Next i wanted to donate sliver article like aarti plate but some one beat me to it .After that there was this idea of donation of Vensamaram and that also didnt fructify as the person who suggested is too embroiled involved in the court battle defending the right to recite Desikan's prabhandam at that temple.
Where as for Venakateshwara i could get my services done within a year but kaingaryam to Varadhar elusded me.In fact it was the first temple i felt sort of healed of my sudden loss very soon after that loss when i visited Varadhar's temple when pavitrautsavam was being conducted..It was whilst watching the homamas and hearing the recitation of vedas that i suddenly felt a release from some invisible chords wound tightly around my mind that was choking the outlets to my emotions.
Why couldn't I do any service to Varadhar so far?Was I lacking in devotion?Since Srinivasar is always my first choice was Varadar refusing to give in?How can that be? Both are archa avatara of Narayana .
Few months back i started by hearting Desikan's slokas on Varadhar as tribute to Desikan on his 750 th birthday.It has a line -"Accept my service Vardha"- Suddenly out of the blue the new Andavan swamy announced this project making it possible for me to actually render my services to Varadhar.Finally!
As i watched the traffic it struck me that it is Varadhar's heart that has melted to give this oppurtunity. It was also coupled with my determination not let go of this oppurtunity despite many hurdles thrown in my way by those intent on preventing me from leading a hindu way of life that made me endure all the physical and mental tortures meted out to me which intesified once i decided to see it through, that made my kaingaryam to Vardhar possible at last!If not i would stillhave that regret in the back of my mind, a regret that i was carrying for 10 years and may have carried it for another 10 years.
This is a terrific experienceVaradhar's power sort of humbled me and must have also shaken all those throwing as many obstacles as possible in my religious activities.They couldn't beat Varadhar once he decided that he was going to accept my services.It also reminded me once again that when all the avenues i bank upon are shut firmly against me and making me feel helpless and wretched a new avenue opens.An avenue which i would have never imagined or deduced to exist .opens up all of a sudden to fullfill my innermost longings and all that i need is to be alert enough to make use of that oppurtunity properly.
Night caught a train back home
posted by K.C. Sujata at
2:47 AM
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