Abhishekam of Sri Varadaraja perumal at Kanchipuram temple .
I attended the abhishekam of Sri Vardharaja perumal at Varadhrajar temple at Kanchipuram recently.I had expected 1 to 2 hour long ritual but it was over in 30 minutes !
Saw Varadar without his ornaments , flower garlands and garments .He doesn't look jet black the way his images tend to portray him .but is grey with flecks of white like the stone grinders we used once upon a time to grind batter for idli .
He is huge and tall moorthy but is housed in a small sanctum with just a little space above his long crown .I used to think that the crown was separate adornment but no ,the moorthy himself has along crown on his head sculpted in stone.He has four hands . Two in the back hold the sanku and chakram .Their gold covering was not removed .Of the two in front the left hand rests on a Gadha /mace and the right hand is in the blessing posture.The gold shield on gadha was also not removed .Only the hand blessing his devotees was free of any ornaments or covering in gold .
The moorthy of Vardar has a number of ornaments carved on to it starting from crown , to ear rings to necklaces , poonal --the sacred thread,armulets , anklets and pithambaram .On the right side of upper chest is a small carving of his consort viz Mahlakshmi.Only a small white dhothi was tied around his navel.
There were nearly 40 or more people who had paid to attend this ritual that takes place every Friday after 12 noon They were all asked to sit on the steps and on the floor of a hall right at Vardar's front .The utsavar and his two consorts were taken away from the sanctum and placed on a table at the end of the hall .They were facing the moolavar/prime deity .I got a place very near the sanctum , just a step away.It was so near that i could have a very good view of his sacred feet that was long with human like but beautifully shaped nails in his toes .But to look up at Varadar's face i had to crane up my neck .He is so tall .Could be 10 feet tall.He has long fish like eyes that look straight ahead and has smiling lips.
Without all his finery Varadar looked vulnerable .The constant reiteration of our azhwars and acharyas that Sriman Narayana is easily accessible to his devotees seems to be very true since i felt very close to him as i beheld his beautiful and majestic form in that of Varadhar.
A young priest asked us all to repeat the 'sankalpam' enmasse after each of us placed our hands on a silver vessel holding milk and after we announced our gotrams .The priest asked each family head to tell their gotra ..All those present mentioned the usual gotras except one devotee who said that he belonged to Siva gotra which means that he didn't know his actual gotra or did not have one .This is what i learnt from the Internet that persons who didn't know their gothram because their family heads have forgotten it or no elder was present to enlighten them use either the names of one of the two gods viz Siva or Vishnu as their gotra .
My first initiation into the great store Hindus lay upon Gotra was when i read the Sagothra act in my college days at law university.It formed a part of the course on Family laws That bill was passed by Britishers maybe in 1930's .This bill removes the bar on marriages between members of same Gotra , holding such marriages as valid
Next was when jats in Haryana were in news [maybe 2010-2011]for going on a rampage over marriages between lovelorn couples of same gotra.They were revolted by marriage between brother and sister since that is what Sagothra implies .Till such time i had thought that only brahmins had gotra it is not so.Every Hindu has a gotra .
What is gotra .Mahabharata the great epic is actually the story of Bharat .It has been wrongly translated to mean a account of warfare .In its early chapters a lot of sections are devoted to origin of mankind and the immediate descendants .It mentions manu as the progenitor of all mankind and he populated the world with the help of seven rishis.sWe have all descended from one of the seven rishi's and we bear his name as our gotra.
I knew of Adam and eve because as i t is used widely in popular culture but i did not know whom Hindus considered as their progenitors ,till i read Mahabharata ,this is the case of most Hindus. Due our long long history we seem to have forgotten the meaning and importance behind some of the basic belief's of hinduism.of course i knew about gotram but didn't know as to what was its actual significance .
One has to state one's gotra before ,alliance is fixed and during marriages and other ceremonies and in archanas performed in temples .
Some may say that it was Christian conspiracy that induced British to pass the Sagothra act that it was their intention to axe age old Hindu beliefs that it is just opposite to Christian view on birth of mankind.We have seven different forefathers though all sprang up at same time and not just one and eons before .Next we do not consider our birth to be sinful but a highly prized gift and are therefore proud of our primogenitors and hold them in such reverence that we keep remembering them in all our important ceremonies whether at home at home and or at temples .
Practically speaking due to rolling of centuries and tremendous increase in population it is possible that i could be removed from my sagothrist by a gap of 100 generations!Our common ancestor could have been a person who lived 1000 years back .Hence there would not be any biological connection between us now.So i do not fault Sagothra act.
I also wondered about jats going in such a rampage over gotra.I read in history that they were descendants of tribes of central Asia(may be Huns) who often attacked India in first century BC.Apparently they have been absorbed into Hindu society over the centuries so much so that they are fiercely guarding the basic beliefs of Hinduism but they seem backward who seem to keep their women under veil
Brahmins community in Tamil nadu is considered as forward, grandmothers watch cricket,mothers perform classical arts like bharatnatayam and carnatic musics and play tennis whilst daughters live on their own in US to study and earn,and are all highly educated scholarly with innumerable legal luminaries etc but when it comes to fixing an alliance the first step is to exchange horoscopes to calculate the suitability and if the gotra stated in it is similar then that alliance would be rejected outright.
Whether a Hindu is backward or forward his revulsion to sagothra marriage is same.This is the importance a gotra has in Hindu's life
Sagothra Act may validate a marriage but it has not succeeded in stopping the Hindu belief that marriages between same gothra is no no .
Browsing the internet i came upon a enterprising Tamil astrologer .He says he will find out the gotra of any one with the help of his birth star.Birth star can be found out by stating ones date of birth and time of birth .Some of our astrologers are terrific .they predict and calculate the exact time a lunar or solar eclipse occurs a year before it actually occurs .Temples issue a panchangam every new year Tamil new year that has these dates .it always tallies with the date and timing given by modern astronomers .This shows the systematic and keen observation of the skies and cosmic happenings in the skies by our anscestors in ancient times .They must have spent an enormous time spanning centuries scaning the skies in order to enable astrologers to predict and calculate the date and time of occurence of eclipses every year . 'Pazhia panchangam' is a derogatory name ascribed to traditional and orthodox people.It must be given by those who cannot appreciate the exact calculations made by astrologers with regard to occurrences of celestial events .it could also be used to deride the Hindu practise of remembering thier pitrus and conducting simple ceremonies on such days viz new moon, eclipses .
He has assigned a gotra or its subsidiary gotra to every each of the 27 stars in the Hindu almanac which are taken as our birth star.I know my gotra .i tried finding if my birth star tallied with the gotra he has listed .It didn't.
How ever those who do not know their gotra or those who are outside the gotra can use this table and acquire a gotra and feel one with Hindu society.
In a way the belief in gotra and bar on sagotra marriages creates a feeling of kinship across this vast country . Any one living up North or East or West ,speaking a different language, eating different cuisine from mine will however be considered to be my brother or sister if we have the same gotra .although our common ancestor from whom our families branched apart may have taken place 100 's of generations before and 1000's of years back!And for the reason of belonging to same gotra ,marriage alliances between our families will be barred !.
Ok back to abhishekam It was swift and hasty .A priest started reciting some slokas whilst a older priest went behind Varadar and stood on a high stool .The young priest chanted the first few slokas of Vishnu shasarnamam --Shuklam baradharam ---i don't know why i found this inappropriate maybe due to the injunctions of our elders that sahsarnamam has to be chanted only in evenings and aren't priests in temples more strict than we are?May be it is that temple's practise which i do not know of .First the milk from the silver vessel which we had all touched earlier was poured over the crown of Vardar whilst the other priest started chanting Purush suktum but cut it short after chanting only the first four lines ! This was again out of the ordinary ..It is the normal practise to recite Purushasuktum when abhishekam of moolavar or processional deity is performed .The abrupt termination of this ancient mantra seemed to be out of place and uncharacteristic .It sort of punctured the ancient aura around this ritual .I felt disappointed.
Several pots of milk was poured over Varadar over his crown .The white spray laced his face ,dripped down his shoulders , running down drenching his broad chest and slim waist and then flowed down his long tapering legs ,washed his feet and formed a small puddle on the floor .Several of us scooped a bit of the milk and sprinkled it over our heads.Milk was followed by curds and then by sandal paste and finally by honey .Water was poured intermittently to wash away the fluids.
Then it was all over ! No fragrant paste was applied to the body of Varadar.In the madri [replica] telecast of abhishekam of Srinivasar at Tirumala on every Friday a priest very lovingly and gently smears fragrant bathing paste made from haldi , chandan ,etc to the entire body of Srinivasar starting from his face .It is thrilling to watch it.In here this was not done .Nothing was applied to Varadars body , The priests did not make any physical contact with Varadar They were pouring the liquids without any contact .This was also disappointing . It was a pleasure i was looking forward to.
Despite all these disappointments the abhishekam or bathing of Varadar was a touching sight.The majestic deity to whom we take our woes and seek protection looked vulnerable and as frail as we are by allowing himself to be subject to bathing in full glare of his devotees , by exposing every part of his body to us.This is a humbling experience .
This made me feel closer to Narayana who is some where up there beyond my mind and grasp .I am sure that i would have to take several re births to cure myself of my various karma's so as to reach him .but for the present the essence and form of Sriman Narayana which has been consecrated in this tall moorthy of Varadar - is within my reach and grasp.This is a great consolation.
Saw Varadar without his ornaments , flower garlands and garments .He doesn't look jet black the way his images tend to portray him .but is grey with flecks of white like the stone grinders we used once upon a time to grind batter for idli .
He is huge and tall moorthy but is housed in a small sanctum with just a little space above his long crown .I used to think that the crown was separate adornment but no ,the moorthy himself has along crown on his head sculpted in stone.He has four hands . Two in the back hold the sanku and chakram .Their gold covering was not removed .Of the two in front the left hand rests on a Gadha /mace and the right hand is in the blessing posture.The gold shield on gadha was also not removed .Only the hand blessing his devotees was free of any ornaments or covering in gold .
The moorthy of Vardar has a number of ornaments carved on to it starting from crown , to ear rings to necklaces , poonal --the sacred thread,armulets , anklets and pithambaram .On the right side of upper chest is a small carving of his consort viz Mahlakshmi.Only a small white dhothi was tied around his navel.
There were nearly 40 or more people who had paid to attend this ritual that takes place every Friday after 12 noon They were all asked to sit on the steps and on the floor of a hall right at Vardar's front .The utsavar and his two consorts were taken away from the sanctum and placed on a table at the end of the hall .They were facing the moolavar/prime deity .I got a place very near the sanctum , just a step away.It was so near that i could have a very good view of his sacred feet that was long with human like but beautifully shaped nails in his toes .But to look up at Varadar's face i had to crane up my neck .He is so tall .Could be 10 feet tall.He has long fish like eyes that look straight ahead and has smiling lips.
Without all his finery Varadar looked vulnerable .The constant reiteration of our azhwars and acharyas that Sriman Narayana is easily accessible to his devotees seems to be very true since i felt very close to him as i beheld his beautiful and majestic form in that of Varadhar.
A young priest asked us all to repeat the 'sankalpam' enmasse after each of us placed our hands on a silver vessel holding milk and after we announced our gotrams .The priest asked each family head to tell their gotra ..All those present mentioned the usual gotras except one devotee who said that he belonged to Siva gotra which means that he didn't know his actual gotra or did not have one .This is what i learnt from the Internet that persons who didn't know their gothram because their family heads have forgotten it or no elder was present to enlighten them use either the names of one of the two gods viz Siva or Vishnu as their gotra .
My first initiation into the great store Hindus lay upon Gotra was when i read the Sagothra act in my college days at law university.It formed a part of the course on Family laws That bill was passed by Britishers maybe in 1930's .This bill removes the bar on marriages between members of same Gotra , holding such marriages as valid
Next was when jats in Haryana were in news [maybe 2010-2011]for going on a rampage over marriages between lovelorn couples of same gotra.They were revolted by marriage between brother and sister since that is what Sagothra implies .Till such time i had thought that only brahmins had gotra it is not so.Every Hindu has a gotra .
What is gotra .Mahabharata the great epic is actually the story of Bharat .It has been wrongly translated to mean a account of warfare .In its early chapters a lot of sections are devoted to origin of mankind and the immediate descendants .It mentions manu as the progenitor of all mankind and he populated the world with the help of seven rishis.sWe have all descended from one of the seven rishi's and we bear his name as our gotra.
I knew of Adam and eve because as i t is used widely in popular culture but i did not know whom Hindus considered as their progenitors ,till i read Mahabharata ,this is the case of most Hindus. Due our long long history we seem to have forgotten the meaning and importance behind some of the basic belief's of hinduism.of course i knew about gotram but didn't know as to what was its actual significance .
One has to state one's gotra before ,alliance is fixed and during marriages and other ceremonies and in archanas performed in temples .
Some may say that it was Christian conspiracy that induced British to pass the Sagothra act that it was their intention to axe age old Hindu beliefs that it is just opposite to Christian view on birth of mankind.We have seven different forefathers though all sprang up at same time and not just one and eons before .Next we do not consider our birth to be sinful but a highly prized gift and are therefore proud of our primogenitors and hold them in such reverence that we keep remembering them in all our important ceremonies whether at home at home and or at temples .
Practically speaking due to rolling of centuries and tremendous increase in population it is possible that i could be removed from my sagothrist by a gap of 100 generations!Our common ancestor could have been a person who lived 1000 years back .Hence there would not be any biological connection between us now.So i do not fault Sagothra act.
I also wondered about jats going in such a rampage over gotra.I read in history that they were descendants of tribes of central Asia(may be Huns) who often attacked India in first century BC.Apparently they have been absorbed into Hindu society over the centuries so much so that they are fiercely guarding the basic beliefs of Hinduism but they seem backward who seem to keep their women under veil
Brahmins community in Tamil nadu is considered as forward, grandmothers watch cricket,mothers perform classical arts like bharatnatayam and carnatic musics and play tennis whilst daughters live on their own in US to study and earn,and are all highly educated scholarly with innumerable legal luminaries etc but when it comes to fixing an alliance the first step is to exchange horoscopes to calculate the suitability and if the gotra stated in it is similar then that alliance would be rejected outright.
Whether a Hindu is backward or forward his revulsion to sagothra marriage is same.This is the importance a gotra has in Hindu's life
Sagothra Act may validate a marriage but it has not succeeded in stopping the Hindu belief that marriages between same gothra is no no .
Browsing the internet i came upon a enterprising Tamil astrologer .He says he will find out the gotra of any one with the help of his birth star.Birth star can be found out by stating ones date of birth and time of birth .Some of our astrologers are terrific .they predict and calculate the exact time a lunar or solar eclipse occurs a year before it actually occurs .Temples issue a panchangam every new year Tamil new year that has these dates .it always tallies with the date and timing given by modern astronomers .This shows the systematic and keen observation of the skies and cosmic happenings in the skies by our anscestors in ancient times .They must have spent an enormous time spanning centuries scaning the skies in order to enable astrologers to predict and calculate the date and time of occurence of eclipses every year . 'Pazhia panchangam' is a derogatory name ascribed to traditional and orthodox people.It must be given by those who cannot appreciate the exact calculations made by astrologers with regard to occurrences of celestial events .it could also be used to deride the Hindu practise of remembering thier pitrus and conducting simple ceremonies on such days viz new moon, eclipses .
He has assigned a gotra or its subsidiary gotra to every each of the 27 stars in the Hindu almanac which are taken as our birth star.I know my gotra .i tried finding if my birth star tallied with the gotra he has listed .It didn't.
How ever those who do not know their gotra or those who are outside the gotra can use this table and acquire a gotra and feel one with Hindu society.
In a way the belief in gotra and bar on sagotra marriages creates a feeling of kinship across this vast country . Any one living up North or East or West ,speaking a different language, eating different cuisine from mine will however be considered to be my brother or sister if we have the same gotra .although our common ancestor from whom our families branched apart may have taken place 100 's of generations before and 1000's of years back!And for the reason of belonging to same gotra ,marriage alliances between our families will be barred !.
Ok back to abhishekam It was swift and hasty .A priest started reciting some slokas whilst a older priest went behind Varadar and stood on a high stool .The young priest chanted the first few slokas of Vishnu shasarnamam --Shuklam baradharam ---i don't know why i found this inappropriate maybe due to the injunctions of our elders that sahsarnamam has to be chanted only in evenings and aren't priests in temples more strict than we are?May be it is that temple's practise which i do not know of .First the milk from the silver vessel which we had all touched earlier was poured over the crown of Vardar whilst the other priest started chanting Purush suktum but cut it short after chanting only the first four lines ! This was again out of the ordinary ..It is the normal practise to recite Purushasuktum when abhishekam of moolavar or processional deity is performed .The abrupt termination of this ancient mantra seemed to be out of place and uncharacteristic .It sort of punctured the ancient aura around this ritual .I felt disappointed.
Several pots of milk was poured over Varadar over his crown .The white spray laced his face ,dripped down his shoulders , running down drenching his broad chest and slim waist and then flowed down his long tapering legs ,washed his feet and formed a small puddle on the floor .Several of us scooped a bit of the milk and sprinkled it over our heads.Milk was followed by curds and then by sandal paste and finally by honey .Water was poured intermittently to wash away the fluids.
Then it was all over ! No fragrant paste was applied to the body of Varadar.In the madri [replica] telecast of abhishekam of Srinivasar at Tirumala on every Friday a priest very lovingly and gently smears fragrant bathing paste made from haldi , chandan ,etc to the entire body of Srinivasar starting from his face .It is thrilling to watch it.In here this was not done .Nothing was applied to Varadars body , The priests did not make any physical contact with Varadar They were pouring the liquids without any contact .This was also disappointing . It was a pleasure i was looking forward to.
Despite all these disappointments the abhishekam or bathing of Varadar was a touching sight.The majestic deity to whom we take our woes and seek protection looked vulnerable and as frail as we are by allowing himself to be subject to bathing in full glare of his devotees , by exposing every part of his body to us.This is a humbling experience .
This made me feel closer to Narayana who is some where up there beyond my mind and grasp .I am sure that i would have to take several re births to cure myself of my various karma's so as to reach him .but for the present the essence and form of Sriman Narayana which has been consecrated in this tall moorthy of Varadar - is within my reach and grasp.This is a great consolation.
posted by K.C. Sujata at
8:43 PM
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Lovely Description
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