kattumannar koil-- tour diary --29.10.13

The next place of visit the next day was Kattumannar koil the birth place of Sri Nathamuni and Alavandar--Sri Vaishnavaite acharyas , former the grand father of the latter.

The 50 kms of the distance from cuddalore ,was a treat to weary eyes .Green fields of rice stretching on both sides was a balm .Thank god urbanisation hasn't as yet spread  its tentacles in these life sustaining lush pockets , though a few , very few concrete houses amidst green fields have appeared giving me a sour feeling.

The line of swarthy skinned peasants sowing or weeding  in  a single file in the hot sun stirred my gratitude. If not for them [ tho' it is their ancestral vocation for livelihood] who will supply me rice?It is also amazing how mother earth never tires of her bestowing her bounty though used and reused for centuries!

The town was medium sized and quite dirty like most such towns in India.When will they ever become neat and tidy as those in us or UK etc?

Vishnu is enshrined as Vasudevar in this ancient temple .It has two separate sannidhis for the  2 most important sons of that soil--Sri nathamuni and Alavandhar.Sri Nathmuni of 10 th cent ad , collected and compiled 4000 Tamil hymns of aazhwars-saints of preceding centuries ,that were scattered around and nearly forgotten.He revived Sri Vaishnavism by dint of sheer perseverance and tireless efforts and re established the eminence of Tamil hymns in Hinduism at par with Vedas.

It is a wonder how some persons from somewhere arise and is a spark to revive and re vitalise Hinduism or  a branch there of.

The next spark is Alavandar, his grand son.who awoke to his real vocation --that of propagating Sri Vaishnaviam after a stint  as a very successful and prosperous ruler & householder ,the kingship that was gifted to him due to his precocious scholarship,and relinquishing his kingdom  and taking up sanyas ,after being gently reminded of true lineage by his late grandfather's loyal disciple.

He settled at Srirangam and wrote commentaries on shastras , gita, and so on and has written a beautiful Sanskrit's sloka known as strotramala which has all the ideas and seeds that helped Desikan few centuries later to work upon.

The priest pointed out to the nathamuni's sannidhi abutting the sanctum,  as the place of his original residence .
What propelled him to undertake such a onerous and daunting task? The proximity of the deity within coupled with the deep grief of losing his only and youthful married son  ?

If not for his single pointed devotion to restoration i wouldn't be enjoying the poetry's and hymns of saints/azhwars of yore and deriving strength and solace from them ,by mere thumbing through pages .
I registered my gratitude silently before his and his grandson's idols in unspoken words.

written on 30.10.1`3 1 pm

Periya aazhwar's thirumozhi turned the tables?

I wanted a bit of spiritual literature to enliven the day and the hymns i chanced upon in my book of translations [done by me]were that of 8 th cent vaishnavaite saint cum poet Peryiahzwar .His hymns  apart from devotion and bhakthi are full of wit ,wisdom capped by beauties of nature as well as natural happenings  .
For our purposes i' ll quote two of them which i read at 11.30 am today that may have a bearing in sudden twist and turns in the political scenario.

**378 .Before you are wrapped up in new clothes from head to foot and placed on the bier and taken to the cemetery,
and before your relatives converge and weep loudly lamenting  only about your good deeds ,
Like a pack of jackals hovering around a pot full of jaggery ,
If you merge yourself into Govinda ,one who is adorned with kuasthuba jewel , by placing him in your heart ,
then you can skip yama's   domain.

The above verse is guidelines to householders to overcome fear of gruesome punishments that may be meted out by yama the god of death at time of death.


**369.When a fistful of grains is sold for exorbitant amounts as during famines,
The residents of thirukottiyur are famous nation wide for their large heartedness and kindness ,in willingly parting with thier food to those in need,
Without hiding their scarce resources and without expecting anything in return,
To those residents of T kottiyur who also worship bhagwan calling aloud ,
Kesava, purushotama  !the self illumined vamana ! ,
I am willing to enslave myself and do their bidding!

This hymn is in praise of  Koshtiyur a sacred Narsimhar sthalam at Tn.

My skin pricked with the shafts of 1ooo stares and felt like as if  i was licked by spiky tongue of a poisonous pup as i read on , an itchy feeling that had lost its intensity after i joined bjp[i am not a full fledged activist at the ground ,which may explain the indifference of that party or its sheer inability and exploitation of the space thus ceded, to its perceived advantage by the ruling party,what ever i am sticking to bjp] only its intensity and not its omnipotence, it is clear now and it lasted  for quite sometime.

The news at 2pm was that fgn minister was supporting his colleague--defence,

the news at 3 pm , a jolt from the blue that the food security bill had been tabled, presided over by a very smiling speaker whilst the opposition leader sputtered in indignation and helplessness .

An cruel example of the dictum 'Victors take it all and the losers have to grin and bear it '.

 6 pm read the news item of 6 Aug in Sankara daily that rss chief has asked all units to help modi to win.
could that explain the mental pressure i was subject to that whole day [with accompanying itchiness] and the day before , but i held my tongue to the obvious disappointment of kgb---pale face displayed by kicking and kicking the scooter..[having been trained by constant symbolism for past one year  i have to hazard guesses.]

Now why should the buzz around modi [the info reg his political moves i am pretty ignorant of but is at the finger tips of kgb, ppt's and co]make me the recipient of the works [covert pressures --gadgets, aroma , etc]
and needle me to speak or act in a manner that would goad the leadership or decision takers of Cong to arrive at a instant decision and act swiftly?Weird! Why is my mundane every day life getting more and more inextractibly connected with modi's very active political life?

An eccentricity /perversion cum superstition of those in very high places.The irony of it all is that i have never had my horoscope or my family members read nor did i ever consult the Almach -panchangam for auspicious or inauspicious time in all my life so far.

 

Stotra ratna by Alavandar/Yamunacharya

பெருந்தேவி தாயார் ஸமேத ஸ்ரீ தேவராஜ பெருமாள் -ஸ்ரீ வரதராஜ கோவில் -காஞ்சிபுரம்

The Strotra Ratna are   pearl like hymns in Sanskrit on Narayana strung  together with deep devotion and eloquence by Yamaunacharya also known as Alavandar ,in the 10 th century AD.He is regarded as a very important acharya by Sri Vaishnavaites.

At the age of 36 ,he relinquished his kingship and suzerainty over Madurai and large tracts of neighbouring regions .He had originally gained these  when the reigning king of Madurai kept his part of the bargain and promise to cede these if young Alavandar could defeat the most renowned scholar of his court which was against all odds ,owing to the tender age of alavandar. Alavandar a precocious child  how ever defeated the pompous scholar as easily as a child's play and the king as was the dharma of those days honoured his promise and immediately handed over half of his kingdom. Alavandar relinquished his kingdom which he had governed well  and also had  extended it on coming to know about his lineage, that he had descended from Nathamuni [his grand father] who was  deeply devout and committed to the cause of Vaishnavism,  by the patient efforts of  one of the aged disciples of Nathamuni who gently made him realise that it was his[ alavandars] duty, to which he was naturally disposed to carry on the work of teaching the essential  principles of Sri Vaishnavism that was slowly going into abeyance due to lack of good acharyas to carry it, forward.

Alavandar's innate spiritualism submerged under polity and materialism  was awakened when he read a few lines of Gita ,showed to him by that aged disciple of Nathamuni .He immediately renounced his kingdom and life of a house holder and proceeded whole heartedly thence forward into the realms of spirituality.
It was Alavandar at  ripe old age who recognised young and bright Ramanuja as his succesor and the fit person to carry the mission of teaching and propagating Sri vaishnavaite faith and philosophy.

The following is sloka  from the Strotra ratna
                                  _________-
               ஸ்ரீமதே யமுனார்ய மஹா தேசிகாய நம :
                         Srimathe Yamunaarya MahaDesikaya namaha

                                         ஸ்தோத்ர ரத்னா
                                            Stotraratna

60**पिता त्वं माता त्वं दयितत नयस्त्वं प्रिय सुहृत्
        त्वमेव त्वं मित्रं गुरुरसि गति च असि  जगताम्
        त्वदीयसत्वत् भ्रिदत्य स्तव परिजन स्तव गतिरहं
      प्रपन्न क्षैवं सत्यह मपि  तवै वासिम हि भर :|| 

பிதா தவம் மாதா தவம் தயிதா த்னயாஸ்தான்
ப்ரிய ஸஹத்வ மே த்வம் மித்திரன் குரூர் சிகதி சாக்ஷி
த்வதீய ஸத்வத்ர த்வஸ்தான்  பாரிஜன்ஸத்வ  த்ராத்திரஹன்
ப்ரபந்ந ஷ்ரேவம் சத்யா ஹம்பி தவை வாசிம் ஹீ பார் ||

**Pitha  tvam ,matha tvam  dayithathnaysathan
priya sahthva mev tvam,mitran gurur sigathi  shaksi jagatham
tvadheeya sathvadra tyasthan parijansathva drathirahan
prapann shrevam sathyahampi thavai vasim hee bhar|

meaning:
You are the father.You are the mother.You are the dear son,
you alone are the friend.you are the ally .you are the teacher and the refuge of the world.
I am yours.Your servant,your associate .you are my goal,
I have taken refuge in you .When such is the case i am really a burden to you alone.

           ஸ்ரீமதே  யமுநார்ய    மஹா தேசிகாய நம :  
           Srimathe Yamunaarya Maha Desikaya namaha

                        ____________________
Dated 9.6.13   -- written and published 9.30.-10.30 AM

Salutations to Sri Rama by Sri Desikan and Khambar.

Sri Rama, Sita Devi , Lakshman  at SrinivasarTemple at Tirumala

**Chathur mukai ,kshvarmukahai ,putra  pautradhi shaline|
Namaha seetha samethaiya Ramaya grihamedhine..................from Mahavira vaibhavam by Sri Desikan.

meaning: Salutations to Sri Rama the father of four faced Brahma and grand sire of Siva and who beholds the entire universe as his household,with Sita always at  his side.

**Nanmaiyum selvamum naallum nalgume ,
thinmaiyum pavamum sidhaindhu theyume,
janmamum maranamum indri theerume,
immaiye Rama yedrirende yezhuthinaal......................From Kambha Ramayanam by Khambar

Meaning:  Good fortune and wealth will increase daily,
misfortune and sins will disintegrate and wane,
the problem of the cycle of birth and death will be solved ,
Now itself ,by uttering just two letters Rama   ['Rama' is encompassed within  two letters in Tamil]

Thirupavai---22.

Angannama gyallatharasar abhimana pangamai vandhu nin pallikatirkeezhe,
sangam irruparpol ,vandu thalaipeidhom                                                                                                      Kingini vai seidha thamarai poo pole,
sengann sirisiridhe yemmel vizhiyavo?
Thingalum adhithanum yezhundarpol angan irrandungkondengal mel nokkudhiyel,
yengal mel sabham izhindhe lorembpavai.

Meaning:
A huge crowd of rulers who have held sway over vast tracts of bountiful lands ,preening in their pride of being unchallenged in their superiority in the earth  have all assembled, humbled ,at your bedside.
We the ordinary mortals have also joined them and are yearning to reach you.
Won't your eyes ,that is as red as a lotus bud that has unfurled its petals only slightly to the size of the mouth of tiny bells adorning anklets[sadhangai] look in our direction?
Kindly bless us to be free of the curse of separation from you by favouring us with a divine look of those two eyes which posses the brilliance of the sun as well the coolness of the moon that have risen together.