Varkala shree Janardana swami temple!

     Radhekrishna ! The word Janardanan is referred to as a synonym for Mahavishnu in amara kosa! A group of asuras who lived beyond the sea were called as 'janam'. Since the Lord suppressed the asuras He got the name Janardana! 'Janam' also means humans. Humans pray for the 4 purusharthas - dharmam, artham, kaamam, moksham - to the Lord. So He is 'Jana-ardana' ! Lord Janardana destroys birth or 'janmam'. He destroys the janamas - bodies as Hara. He is praised in Vishnusahasranam as :-

'Sarvaga sarvavid bhanur vishvakseno janardanah.'

Lord Mahavishnu Himself is the virat purushah, Vishvaksena and Janardanah! 

        Varkala Sree Janardanaswamy temple is situated about a few kilometers from Thiruvananthapuram. It is a very old and popular place of pilgrimage. Among all the Vishnu temples of India it is only here, the deity of Janardana is consecrated.  . The greatness of Varkala temple is referred in Brahmanta purana. This temple existed much before the Ramayana period. The history of this temple is very strange. 

         Brahma the grandfather of all beings was seated presiding the  Brahmasabha in 'sathyaloka' amidst Indra, devas, ashtavasus, Rishis etc. At that time the great devotee 'Narada' carrying his veena 'Mahathi' singing songs in praise of Lord Vishnu came there. Enthralled by his singing the Lord was following him closely. Seeing the Lord immersed in Narada's music Brahma hurriedly got up in respect with folded hands followed by others who saw him getting up. When the Lord realised He was in sathyaloka He immediately disappeared unmindful of Brahma. The the navaprajapathis (devas) who were present,  failed to see the Lord who had come there due to their ignorance. Seeing only sage Narada they felt that Brahma had broken the protocol by getting up in respect before his son. By his act they feared that the world will be misled and good manners of respecting elders will disappear from the people. So they raised their objection in strong voice. 

      Brahma who got upset because of the prajapathi's complaint without realising the truth behind his act and cursed them to be born as humans in earth. The prajapathis realised it was all due to their ignorance and ego that they lost their intelligence and got the curse. They became terrified since they didnt know where to stay or what to do. They pleaded with sage Narada to help them.  Sage Narada moved by their fear advised them to go to the divine Bhargava kshethra (Kerala) on the banks of the southern seas. There near Kanvashramam is an aswatha (pipal) tree! He told them to do penance in that place and get relieved of their sins. To help them find their place saint Narada threw a 'valkalam' - clothing to the earth. The prajapathis followed the valkalam and reached the pipal tree. So this place got the name 'valkala kshethram' which turned out to be Varkala now. 
     Meanwhile Narada reached Vaikunta and informed the Lord of the state of the prajapathis. Bhagavan told Narada that all has happened due to their prarabdha karma only. He said moksha will not be granted to them until He is convinced of the purity of their bhakthi. The prajapathis sat under the pipal tree chanting the ashtakshara manthram of the Lord in full penance. Pleased by their penance the Lord sent His Sudarsana disc to where they were doing penance. The disc with brilliance equal to 1000 suns brought the sacred Ganges along with it from Patala. It became a small pond near the pipal tree. The prajapathis became very happy and praised Sudarsana who is a weapon in the Lord's hand. Sudarsana uttered 'Om' and disappeared. 

       Blessed by Sudarsana the prajapathis took bath in the divine pond and became blemishless. They returned to their abode. Brahma also blessed that a bath in the pond would remove all the sins of humans and the place where Narada's valkalam fell down will be full of sanctity. This kshethra was there much before Lord Janardana came here. Once Brahma conducted  a Vishnu Yagam in this place, to bring prosperity to the earth . At the conclusion of the Yagam Brahma wanted to offer unlimited food made to somebody who deserves that. He did not feel the devas, or maharshis qualified to receive his offering. He waited patiently even forgoing his 'srishti karma' or creation. Knowing this the Lord appeared as an old brahmin before him. Seeing Him Brahma felt He was the right person to accept his offerings. So he invited the old brahmin to accept the food items as much as He wanted from the Yagasala. 
       The brahmin entered the kitchen and within a short time finished all the food items prepared and kept there. Then Brahma realised this was no ordinary man. Immediately He hurried towards the brahmin. By this time the brahmin was about to finish the last morsel kept on His right palm. Brahma caught hold of the hand and stopped Him from finishing that morsel of food. He prayed to the Brahmin that he knew it was Sri Hari Himself. He knew that if the Lord finished the last morsel then the world will disappear.and so begged Him not to do so. He agreed to obey whatever the Lord orders. Bhagavan attained His divine form and told Brahma that he was pleased with Brahma's yagam and ordered him to start srishti or creation. He was ready to fulfill Brahma's any wish now. 
      Immediately Brahma bowed before Bhagavan and requested Him to be present in this divya  kshethra as Lord Janardana with His unfinished food on His right palm. The Lord agreed and stayed there as Lord Janardanan. Brahma did abhishekam to the Lord with the divine water from the 'chakra thirtha'. All these happened during thretha yuga much before Ramavathara period. This place was popular during dwapara yugam too. The deity worshipped by Brahma in the long run of time got under sea due to sea erosion or so. It was reinstalled by a Pandya king named Shubhra yasass.
       Due to brahmahathya papa the King Shubhra yasass became a lunatic and wandered all over the country. He was followed by his minister who was sincere and true to the King. The minister took the king to almost all punya kshethras in Bharatha. Finally they reached Agasthyashramam in Varkala. Immediately there was sudden changes in the king's behaviour. When they reached under the Pipal tree the king's insanity vanished and he became normal. The minister bathed him in the Chakra thirtha and his brahmahathya sins were lost. The king was very happy.
     He saw a Rishi doing penance in the ashram built by the Prajapathis. They approached the saint and seeked his blessings. He smiled and blessed the king. He told the king that he has an important accomplishment to do. On enquiry the Rishi told him he dreamt that the deity of Lord Jagannatha was lying under the sea. The deity had lost its right hand. Lots of flowers will appear on the sea where the deity was lying underneath. The deity should be taken out, right hand refixed and consecrated in the temple again.
       Next day when the king went to the sea they saw numerous flowers floating far away on the sea.The king ordered the place to be searched. Attendants spread nets in the sea and searched. The deity with its right hand damaged was caught. The king made the necessary repairs on the deity and consecrated it beside the pipal tree. A temple was built over it. A Siva linga brought from Mandara mountain was also consecrated there along with Sastha and Ganapthy. Jagadguru Sankaracharya has visited this temple.The deity was consecrated on uthram star in the month of 'Meenam'. The annual festival is conducted on this day every year. On the 'arattu day the Lord is taken in procession to the sea for the holy bath and again at the Chakra thirtha. 
        The funeral ashes of the loved ones are offered by people in the sea sanctified by the Lord's presence. It is believed that the pithru karmas done here bring moksha for their loved ones. The temple surrounded by natural beauty stands defying time and sea erosion attracting pilgrims. The sacred river Ganges rising from the Lord's feet as papanasini here destroys the sins of devotees. Visitors to Trivandrum should necessarily visit this punya kshethra and get the blessings of Lord Janardana ! !

Radha - the Gopi.

           The following story appeared in the magazine Bhaktha priya a few days back.

     About  70 years ago everybody who came to Guruvayur  could see a cow roaming around. It was a red cow with white dots and its neck was tilted to one side.  Otherwise it had all the features of a beautiful cow.  Devotees and the local people called her by the name Radha.  She came there as an offering to Lord Guruvayurappan. She had unusual beauty and intellegence.  There is a story behind her coming to Guruvayur.

       She was born in a village near Mananthavadi at Wayanadu in North Kerala.  Even as a calf she was very attractive and was loved very much by the family which brought up her with much care and affection.  So she grew up very fast.  The centre of attraction of the whole family turned to her first pregnancy.   They were all over joyed at that. God’s ways are strange indeed. We can never understand the reason behind them.  He designs  each and everyone’s life according to their vasanas and prarabdhas.  This Radha – the cow who was leading a very peaceful and comfortable life at the place suddenly found everything totally changed. 

       It was at the advanced period of her pregnancy that a tiger attacked her in the cowshed one night.  Hearing her cries the family members woke up and were shocked to see the tiger holding the cow’s neck with its cruel jaws.  It was a fairly big tiger which tried to cut her neck off.  She was keeping her neck tilted to one side due to the weight of the tiger which was sprawled on her back and drinking her blood from the neck.  Nobody dared to go near her as the tiger was very ferocious. The members of the family began to shout aloud for help. Hearing that people around the neighbourhood came running there.  Inspite of people gathering there the tiger was busy trying to kill her.  The heart rending cries of the cow went in vain.

         At last the locals tried to throw fire torches towards the tiger in an attempt to distract it.  When the tiger was inflicted with burns it was forced to  release its hold from the neck of the cow.  It ran away from the place in order to save itself from the people.  Shocked and full of pain, Radha – the cow was lying down with broken neck.    The members of the family thought this pregnant cow would die due to the injuries.  The cut in the neck was very deep.  There was injury on its back also. Anyway they did whatever they could to save her life.  They consulted gypsy doctors, and vetenerary doctors and started special treatment for her. Slowly she showed signs of recovery. She started stretching her neck and drinking water and by and by started eating also.  The whole village became astonished at her recovery.  It was indeed a miracle to survive the attack of a ferocious tiger.  The family members  prayed to Lord Guruvayurappa and made a vow that if she recovered she would be offered to Him.

        The ocean of mercy, Lord Guruvayurappa heard their prayers and decided to accept Radha as his Gopi. Soon she became normal but for the tilt in her neck.  The pregnant cow was given as an offering to the Lord.  Many people came to see the strange cow with tilted neck who was miraculously saved by Lord Sri Krishna.  The devotees began to love this special gopi.  She comfortably delivered her first pregnanacy in Guruvayur itself.  After delivery, care and attention were given to her in the proper way by the temple officials.  Visitors and devotees gathered to see Radha and her first calf.

          Her health started improving.  She became an asset to the Guruvayur Devaswom. She started giving  milk for her Guruvayurappan. She was milched twice a day.  Always there was never ending flow of milk in her breasts. Her milk was taken for abhishekam in the morning as well as for palpayasam  nivedyam for the noon puja. Still there was excess milk which was sold out.  Within six months the mother and the cow started roaming around Guruvayur temple and became a sight for visitors.

       Daily during Seeveli she would come and stand near the lamp post at the east nada. She was never tied and always roamed around with full freedom wherever she wanted. Devotees used to feed her with offerings like plantains, payasam, malar, and appam which is offered to the Lord at night. She joyfully accepted those things as they are the Lord’s nivedyam.  She  bore 12 calves, both male and female.  All of them were handsome and beautiful.  In fact each of her delivery was celeberated as a function by the local devotees. There was great competetion among devotees in bidding tenders to take her calves home to be brought up.

       As years rolled by Radha the cow became weak with old age.  After dedicating her milk, calves and her whole life itself for her Kannan one day, facing the Devaswam office gate she breathed her last.  The last rites for her body were done in the presence of a large crowd of devotees, in a devotee’s  mango grove. Her body was covered with yellow silk cloth,  a thyulasi garland adorned her neck, and on both her horns bhagavan’s two garlands were tied.  Sandal paste was applied on her forehead and incense sticks were kept all around the pit where she was to be buried.  The chanting of Hare Rama Hare Rama.....Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, arose from the throats of all the people gathered there when she was buried.  Thus the Gopi left her abode in this earth after a dedicated life for her Kannan.

        Reminiscing we would be wonderstruck at the turn of events in her life.  On the outset  though one might feel that the attack of a tiger was a set back in her life, on deep analysis we can find that the incident came as a blessing in disguise for her.  If the tiger had not attacked her,  Radha the cow would never have seen Guruvayur in her life.  Her previous owners made the decision of giving her to Guruvayurappan only with the intention of saving her life.  Otherwise they would never have thought of giving her away.  Only because she came to Guruvayur she had the fortune of having darsan of her beloved Lord daily when He came out for Seeveli.  Also she could offer the sweet milk from her body to the Lord of Lords which made her janma fruitful.  She was a Gopi in her heart of hearts and wanted to serve her Kannan.  Lord planned the tiger’s attack on the cow in order to bring her over near Him.   So it was only a divine drama!

Radha’s life story teaches us a lesson that whatever happens in our life we should never lose our faith. Be assured that Bhagavan is doing only good for us! Radhekrishna! Radhekrishna!

Thirtha Yathra 2 !!

      Radhekrishna! We will continue from the last post. We reached Thiruvannamalai our destination by around 11 pm. As we had booked our accommodation earlier we could settle ourselves within a short time with the decision to get ready by 6-30. Morning by 6-30 we all got ready and came out of our lodge. The view was astounding. In front of us was sprawled, the mighty Thiruvannamalai, the mountain form of Lord Arunachaleswara. The place was charged with divinity. We stood staring at the mountain for sometime took some snaps and entered Ramanashramam. Ramana - the great soul was above the 4 ashrams of Brahmacharyam,  Sanyasa, etc. We circumbulated the samadhi and mid way we had the pleasant surprise of seeing the mahathma Swamy Shanthananthapuri the great disciple of Swamy Purushothamananthapuri of Vasishta Guha, Rishikesh.
         We prostrated at his feet and moved. We met an acquaintance from our home town there unexpectedly. He invited us for a sapthaham which was being conducted in Thiruvannamalai to be started from that day. So after arathi at the samadhi we went to the sapthaham venue. Guruji gave a discourse on Naraharisonar quoting how Lord Vittala attracted Naraharisonar who was a great devotee of Lord Siva and said likewise Lord Arunachaleswara had pulled Guruji a staunch Krishna devotee towards Him. We then went to Ramanashram to meet the mahathma Swamy Shanthananthapuri maharaj.   
         When we entered his room the Swamiji pushed a chair towards Guruji and requested him to be seated on that.But Guruji politely declined the offer and said he preferred sitting down before mahathmas. Then the Swamiji started saying there is no difference between down or up. Then he quoted a story from Ribhu Gita how the sadguru makes his disciple understand the real truth. His words were like sweet nectar and all of us listened enchanted. Then Swamiji asked Guruji to speak. Guruji then talked on Vittala since it was Ashada Sukla Ekadasi day and concluded saying when we happen to meet great bhakthas, or mahathmas it would naturally lead us to the Lord.
      We could see that guruji was immersed in Ananda. He reclined on to the Swamiji's lap and enjoyed his divinity. Meanwhile Swamiji was talking to us on various form of bhakthi and grace of the Lord. He also quoted two or three anecdotes on Ramana maharshi. Then he told us about his sadguru Swamy Purushothamananthapuri maharaj of Vasishta Guha. Time was flowing smoothly and we never realised. It was time for swamiji to go out to attend a special puja organised by the ashram on that day. So we took leave from the Swamiji reluctantly with a promise to meet him again in Chennai when he said he would be coming there after a week.
         We decided to skip the puja functions since we had to see around the place. We started climbing the mountain. It was not hot and humid but only pleasant with mild breeze. We could see Guruji was slowly loosing himself in the atmosphere. He became silent and was enjoying in himself. Since we had limited time we had to cut short our climb midway and return. Guruji was forced to leave the place. 
      We then proceeded to see Lord Arunachaleswara since Guruji wanted to see the Lord who pulled the great mahathma Ramana maharshi towards Him. The temple complex is huge. We kept walking towards the sanctum. As we were nearing the gateway meant for queue a bhattar whom we don't know came to Guruji and said 'vaango' as if he was expecting us. Without much words he led our group away from normal route towards the sannidhanam. Inside the sanctum we were seated so near the deity as if we were sitting by the Lord's feet. We hadn't taken any offerings with us for the Lord. The bhattar did archana arathi etc. while we had a very very luxurious darsan of the Lord. He then took us to the divine mother's sannidhi too where the rituals were repeated. Then he gave prasadams to us and garlanded guruji and the 4 men. Everything was happening as if in a dream. With the blessings of Lord Arunachaleswara and Unnamulai thayaar we started back.
       We did a hurried giri pradakshinam on car itself before lunch. Evening we started towards Thirukovalur where the first three azhvars met 'yadruchayaa' on a rainy night. 'Poykaiyazhvar, Bhoothathazhvar and Peyazhvar decided to visit Thirukovalur divyadesam on the same day itself. Poykaiyazhvar who reached first found the temple doors had closed decided to stay back and enjoy the darsan the next day. He approached a Rishi who was staying nearby for accommodation for a night's stay. The Rishi showed him a small verandah enough for a single person to lie down. As he was lying down the two other azhvars too reached there one by one and together they managed to stand on the small verandah and spend the night in divine sathsangam. They were introducing themselves and talking about the Lord when they found a fourth person had squeezed inside without their permission. Since it was very dark they couldn't see who that person was. So Poykaiazhvar lit a lamp of earth with the sea of oil etc. followed by Bhoothathazhvar who lit the lamp with love. eagerness etc. while the third one saw the Lord along with the divine mother in that light. Ultimately the divyaprabandham originated at that small verandah.
        On the way to Thirukovalur guruji noted Gnyanananda Thapovanam on our right and so our car stopped there for the holy darsan. We saw Thapovan also which was not in our original agenda and then proceeded towards Thirukovalur.  We were thrilled as we entered the temple premises. The curtain was drawn so we stood waiting there in the queue. Then another group of about three or four walked in. An old lady from among them squeezed in among us which looked very much awkward. Then she moved behind us. Slowly the queue was becoming longer. Suddenly somebody from the back shouted 'hey why are u squeezing and crowding like this?'. We were startled to hear those words and immediately burst into laughter. The Lord had proved His presence for us there. Didn't He squeeze in to the three azhvars who were standing on the Rishi's verandah?!! 
        The curtain was removed and we were allowed inside. Lord Thrivikrama was standing huge with the right  foot raised upwards towards the sky measuring the whole universe. We could see the divine mother also on His chest. Mahabali, Namuchi, Mrikantu maharshi, the three azhvars are all present inside the sanctum.  Guruji explained us in detail while the bhattar showed everything to us. We received thirtham prasadam etc. and came out. As we had decided to visit Madhuranthakam before it closes we started without any delay. After about an hour we suddenly noticed a small board indicating 'Paranur' was just 3 km. away. Seeing that Guruji immediately asked the driver to turn the car and go to Paranur where the mahathma Sri Krishna Premi had consecrated a temple for 'Bhaktha Kolahalan'! As it was Ashata Sukla Ekadasi we could very well expect Sri Anna to be there. The car proceeded through a forsaken route and reached Paranur a very inconspicuous village.
       We could hear Anna's voice even as we got out of the car. We eagerly rushed towards the temple where hundreds had gathered to see and hear Sri Anna. Each of us managed to get space for standing somewhere and we stood hearing the 'amrita vachans' of the sadguru.  Sri Anna finished his talks and moved away. We went to see Kolahalan who was so excited seeing so many bhakthas thronging there. Afterwards we moved to where Sri Anna was standing and giving darsan. The crowd was thronging to meet Anna. He was responding to every devotee. At last our Guruji had his opportunity and garland Sri Anna and prostrate before him. Sri Anna blessed us with a quick look at us and a flashy smile.
        Fully contented we decided to move. Guruji said as it was so late we had no chance of getting into Madhuranthakam in time. So Guruji advised us to postpone Madhuranthakam visit and so we proceeded homewards.  Guruji was reminiscing the whole trip making us realize the power of mahathmas. The whole trip has become an unforgettable experience for all of us. Everybody could feel that only Bhagavan was leading us throughout. We can only prostrate at our guru's holy feet again and again and express our gratitude for him. We can only conclude with these words - 'anirvachaneeyam premaswaroopam'! Radhekrishna! radhekrishna!

Thirtha Yathra !!

     Radhekrishna! When the Lord is described the saying goes as "Anirvachaneeyam....." meaning words cannot explain. Words fail to present the thirtha yathra we enjoyed recently with our Guru. But still the heart wants to share the experience with everyone. It all started with a marriage to be conducted in Thiruvidayenthai divyadesam. When we got the 'invitation' from the Varahamoorthy perumal we were indeed blessed. So ultimately the Lord took 6 of us along with our beloved Guruji for a very special thirtha yathra.
       We started at 5 am. from our place towards our Guruji's place. From there we reached Thiruvidayenthai divyadesam by 6-45. The marriage party had already reached and the rituals were going on. We first entered the temple to have the darsan of the divine Nithyakalyana Perumal - meaning the ever new groom! Yes! Lord Varahamoorthy in that divyadesam is a new groom everyday!     
         Kalava Rishi had 360 daughters to be married off. He was an ardent bhaktha. Bhagavan pleased with his devotion came as an old man in search of a suitable wife. The Rishi told the old man that whoever from among his 360 daughters was ready to accept the old man, would be given in marriage to Him. But by divine will all the girls wanted to marry the old man who looked nava yauvana purusha to them. So the Lord said to have married the girls one by one everyday. To this day the Lord is adorned in a new groom's attire daily. 
        The main deity of the temple is Lord Varahamoorthy lovingly hugging Bhoomi devi the mother Earth seated on His left lap. The Lord is giving upadesa to the divine mother. It is said that the Lord took the Varaha avathara to save Bhoomi devi from the demon Hiranyaksha.  He rescued the earth from where she was kept hidden. The mother was thankful that the Lord saved her, His wife and also His disciple. She pleads to the Lord that she was worried about the fate of her children who are on earth. At that time the Lord   promises her "whoever in the prime of health and youth, when the mind and body are vigilant, remembers and worships me always will be remembered by me at the fag end of his life when he becomes immobile and bedridden, incapable of even thinking of Me. I will then take him to my ultimate abode."
         We enjoyed the lustrous form of the Lord from close quarters. Then we did the circumbulation of the sanctum and then attended the marriage ceremonies. The newly weds were very fortunate to have our Guruji witness the rituals. Guruji started chanting and we all followed. The couple were blessed by Guruji before leaving. We finished our breakfast there and started for our next destiny - Sthalasayana Perumal temple of Mahabalipuram.
      We reached the temple by 40 mts. We went inside and had good darsan of the Perumal. There is a story of Pundalika maharishi here too who got a thousand petalled beautiful lotus from a pond. He wanted to offer it to the Lord. But on his way to meet the Lord he confronted the sea. In his intense desire to reach the Lord he began to drain the sea with both his hands. He never thought it was impossible for him. Seeing his devotion the Lord's heart melted. The karunya swarupa appeared before him as an old man again and said He was very hungry. He asked the Rishi to get some food for him while he continued draining the sea. The Rishi felt pity for the old man and went out to collect food for him. 
      When the Rishi came back he was astound to see the Lord reclining on the earth itself with the lotus on His feet. The Rishi understood that the old man was none other than the Lord and was very happy. He requested the Lord to remain there as such for the sake of devotees. The Lord agreed and remained there as such. The original temple is near the sea and is very much frequented by sea water gushing in. But now under the archaeological department. A King on a later period built a new temple much away  from the sea and consecrated another deity which resembles the original one. Now Pujas and worships are done in this temple only. We visited the old temple also where we could actually touch and enjoy the deity there. 
         We accompanied Guruji to another not so popular temple of Thiruvidayenthai Varahamoorthy there. A King who was an ardent devotee of Thiruvidayenthai Lord could not visit the temple one day for some reason. When he felt sorry the Lord Himself appeared there for the bhaktha's sake. Here the Lord poses with Goddess Lakshmi on his right lap. This temple is not frequented by many said the pujari. It was guru kripa that we had the fortune of having darsan of that Lord. 
          From Mahabalipuram we moved on  towards Kanchipuram the city of temples. First the car was taken to salai kinaru - the well from which Swami Ramanuja carried water for goddess Perunthevi thaayaar. The story runs like this. Once Swamy Ramanuja lost his way roaming around the Vindhya forests trying to escape an attempt of murder by some jealous people. In despair he called out to Lord Varadaraja of Kanchipuram. The Lord along with His consort Perunthevi appeared before Ramanuja as a hunter and His wife. Swamy Ramanuja was immensely delighted to see them who could converse in his mother tongue Tamil in the midst of the deep forest. The couple treated Ramanuja as their own son and Ramanuja also considered them as his parents. 
         To the pass the time the couple requested Ramanuja to tell them the story of Rama. Swamy Ramanuja happily narrated Ramayana to them. After a long time they took rest under a tree. Then the hunter's wife said she was feeling terribly thirsty. As it was nearing dawn Swamy Ramanuja went in search of water and found a well from which some ladies were drawing water. He collected some water on a lotus leaf and carried it to the hunter's wife who happily drank it and asked for more. So Ramanuja went back a second time and brought water for her. But to his dismay the couple were seen nowhere. 
         Disappointed that he could not fulfill the lady's desire for water he came back and enquired with the ladies about that place. They showed him the punyakoti vimanam of Varadaraja temple and said it was Kanchipuram. Swamy Ramanuja was totally taken aback by this reply. He couldn't believe he has crossed so many miles in a single night and reached safely. After revealing everything to his mother he contacted Thirukachi nampikal a great devotee of Lord Varadaraja who was doing the service of fanning the Lord, to ask the Lord as to what he should do now. The Lord used to converse with Thirukachi nampikal freely. He instructed Ramanuja to do thirtha kainkaryam for Perunthevi thaayaar from salai kinaru. We stood  before the same well from which Swamy Ramanuja used to carry water to Perunthevi thaayaar ! There is a sannidhi for Swamy Ramanuja nearby. We sat there for a while when Guruji explained the story to us. 
    We proceeded towards Kanchipuram town and reached near Ulakalantha Perumal temple. Guruji decided to see the temple first and so we entered the temple. Lord Thrivikrama is the main deity of the temple. The deity is of huge size. We had a wonderful darsan of the Lord there as there was not much crowd around. In front of the sanctum on the leftern side is Lord Ooragathan in the form of many hooded snake. Around the temple ground we can see three more divyadesams - Neeragathan, (where there will be water oozing all the time) Karagathan, and Karvarnnan.
         From there we reached the temple of Lord Varadaraja. We stood in queue and went inside. The temple is situated on a  raised mount. The place is also known as Hasthigiri in sanskrit and Athigiri in Tamil. We climbed the steps to reach the sanctum. The Lord stands with a beautiful welcoming smile which is very unique. We stood entranced before that towering form. In His right hand it is written as "Maa shucha:" meaning don't worry. The archaka patiently showed us the deity explaining in detail. We filled our heart with the divine darsan. We moved on towards the divine mother's sannidhi. She was all smiles full of grace. After offering our respects to Her we moved out. 
      An archaka who knew Guruji met us and offered prasadam to us. We had the sweet payasa prasadam and started to go. Just then the archaka said that in a few minutes there would be Garuda Seva of Swamy Varadaraja outside the sanctum. He said it was the Lord's divine will that we stay back and view that. We couldn't ignore the 
loving order of the Lord. So we stayed back to watch the wonderful Garuda Seva !!! After about 30 minutes the heavy Garuda vahana came out carried by priests. The Lord sitting on Garuda was a real sight to see. The Lord moves out of the temple on important days to give darsan for those who are unable to come to the temple to see Him. As the procession started we also started out.
         Our next destination was Orikkai a village near Kanchipuram. A mani mandapam has been raised in honour of Kanchi mahaperiyava poojya Sree Sree Chandrasekharendra Saraswathy swamy. There is another story behind the place called Orikkai. It is actually oriravu irukkai, meaning one night's stay. Thirumazhisai Alwar was in Kanchipuram doing penance. His disciple Kanikannan was serving him. An old lady used to kainkaryam for them daily by cleaning the place, plucking flowers etc. Her sraddha or sincerity in her kainkaryam inspite of her difficulties of old age impressed Kanikannan. He blessed her with undiminished youth. 
        The lady happily continued with her services One day the king happened to see the young woman accidentally and wanted to marry her, The woman did not reveal her identity and agreed to marry the king, They lived happily for years. The king started aging slowly. But he wondered how his wife was looking the same. On repeated enquiry the woman had to tell him about the boon she got from Kanikannan.
           The king sent his minister to Kanikannan seeking the same boon for himself. Kanikannan who was a good disciple and a perfect devotee refused to oblige the king for the sake of money. Angered the king ordered Kanikannan to get out of his country. So Kanikannan went to his master to get permission to go. Thirumazhisai alwar decided to follow his sishya Kanikannan. He approached the Lord Yathokthakari and asked Him to wind up His
Adisesha bed and accompany the alwar. Bhagavan immediately obliged winding up His snakebed and keeping it under His arms started behind the alwary.
       Seeing this goddess Lakshmi devi and other deities too followed suit. In a short while the whole city wore a deserted look. The clever minister understood this and warned the king of the happenings. The king realised his mistake and followed the entourage. The group reached a village and stayed there for a night, That place is called Orikkai meaning oriravu irukkai. The king begged Goddess Lakshmi to come back to his kingdom.She pointed her hand towards the Lord. The king pleaded with the Lord to come back. The Lord said He was requested by the alwar to accompany him. So the king approached the alwar with folded hands and invited him to come back to his country. The alwar said he had come with his sishya there and so the king must first ask the sishya's permission to go back.Thoroughly defeated king apologised with Kanikannan and requested him to come back along with all. Kanikannan agreed and with his guru's permission left back for the country. Thiumazhisai alwar walked behind followed by the Lord, Goddess and other deities. 
          Once when mahaperiyava Sri Chandra Sekharendra Saraswathy swamy stayed in this place during chathurmasya vratham. He found the place full of divinity with the presence of great souls. A mani mandapam has been constructed in memory of the sage in the place.  From Orikkai we proceeded towards Thiruvannamalai where we planned to spend our night, Radhekrishna ! To be continued..

Guruvayur mahathmyam - 2 (contnd)

     
       Radhekrishna! We will continue the story of the poor cooks! The egoistic brahmin by that time finished his bath and oblations. He slowly entered the agrasala expecting the shanthis struggling to finish their work. He was awestruck with wonder at what he saw. The preparation was almost over. Kalan, Olan, Erisseri, Aviyal, pazham nurukku, 4 types of pickles, banana chips etc were already finished. Pal payasam, Eratti payasam, and Palada payasam were in the finishing stage. They announced that everything would be ready within half an hour. The egoistic brahmin had the blow of his life. He utterly failed in degrading these shanthis and also he himself was degraded by this. Unnecessarily he had asked them to make so much of food items. If there were not enough people to eat this much  this would be a wasteful act. He became worried. He understood that Guruvayurappan will never let down His dasas. He cannot bear to see them insulted.

      When realisation dawned the brahmin fell at the shanthi's feet and begged their pardon. He told them that it was only with the intention of insulting them he had organised this feast. Now he felt sorry for that. The shanthis said that it does not matter. Everything is done with the Lord's knowledge only. Since he has realised his mistake it is alright now. They said they didn't have any hard feelings with him anymore. They requested him to start the sadya at the earliest so that they could reach Guruvayur before arattu. 

      All were seated and the serving started. Everybody felt that the taste was very unique. Some people doubted whether all these items were brought from Guruvayur kitchen only. The old men also finished their food and received their share of honour from the nampoothiri and started back. But the young nampoothiri didnt wait for any of these and rushed away much before saying He should be present there before arattu. 
        The brahmin cooks happily walked back to Guruvayur before arattu was over. In the midst of the crowd they spotted the young man who had helped them. So they called out to him.The uncle full of love for his nephew patted him on his shoulders and asked him why he rushed back away without receiving any remuneration. The young man looked blank and didnt understand a word of what the old brahmin said. The old nampoothiri again reminded him that after doing a lot of work at the egoistic nampoothiri's place he ran away without even waiting for some remuneration. The young man again looked puzzled and told them he had not gone anywhere. 
       Now the nampoothiris looked puzzled. They again tried to remind him how he had scraped lots of coconuts, and how he had helped them finish all the dishes just a day before. Now the young man refused having come to anyplace after pallivetta. He said since he was tired he was sleeping during the day. The nampoothiris could not gather what had happened. Suddenly they felt the boy was right. Yes! It was the Lord Himself who had come in the young man's form to help them. Tears started rolling down their cheeks. Together they cried out "Guruvayurappa! Guruvayurappa!"  They were choked with emotions. 
       The tale was rendered to Mallisseri Nampoothiri and others who were all wonderstruck. Who can explain the vivid leelas of the Lord? He is karunasagara and rushes to the rescue of His devotees who are in distress. Jai Guruvayurappa!

Guruvayur mahathmyam - 1

       Paripalaya na: krupalayethyasakruth jalpitham

athma bandhava!

Murali mrudula swananthare vibhu:

aakarnayitha katha nu na:? 

        Radhekrishna! I cry out to the Lord - "Hey the source of mercy! Please take care of me!" When will the mentor of my soul (athma bandhava:) be able to hear my pleas, over the sweet music flowing out from His flute? - Leela Suka - Krishna Karnamrutham.

The Lord is always lending His ears for our cries. An incident which happened in Guruvayur around 300 years back stands as a proof !

       One kodiyetru day (flag hoisting for annual festival) there was a great feast sponsored by a devotee for brahmins at the temple. Both affluent brahmins and ordinary poor brahmins were all part taking in the feast. The serving was supervised by temple chief priest Mallisseri nampoothiri. One brahmin commented that the taste of Guruvayur's 'namaskara sadya' is something special! The keezh shanthi nampoothiris' expertise in cooking is also beyond comparison! Everything is due to Guruvayurappan's great mercy only! This comment was not well appreciated  by another affluent nampoothiri who was also sitting there. He didnt like the praise showered on the Guruvayur keezh shanthis. He was of the opinion that those poor shanthis were not well educated in vedas or thanthras. They were just paricharakas (servants) who made offerings for Guruvayurappan in the temple daily. He also had a feeling that he was more experienced in organising feasts etc. 'If these keezh shanthis have so much expertise then let them prove it' he thought.

       After the feast everybody gathered before the sanctum for 'ucha puja' (noon) darsan. The egoistic nampoothiri suddenly turned to Mallisseri nampoothiri and told him that he wanted to conduct a namaskara sadya at his illam (home) on arattu day (final day of the festival, since it was not possible to conduct that in the temple. He said he knew it was a very busy day but inspite of that Mallisseri should send the shanthis for preparing food at his home. Now Mallisseri nampoothiri was in a fix. The rule is that after the flag is hoisted for festival then no one from guruvayur should go outside the place. But the nampoothiri who has requested this was an affluent person in the society with lots of influence among big people. He did not want to hurt him by refusing. Ultimately he was pressurised to agree to his demand. 

           Mallisseri called the shanthis and told them everything. The shanthis told that if Mallisseri asks them and Guruvayurappan permits them they were prepared to go. Mallisseri was relieved. On the day of pallivetta - divine hunting, the nampoothiri who had promised to take the work became worried. Who would he send for the work there? Actually they should be there at least a day before the namaskara sadya day. Since it was pallivetta day he had to prepare varieties of payasam here for offering Guruvayurappan. Finally he decided to send 4 old brahmin shanthis for preparing the feast. They left from guruvayur early morning on the pallivetta day and reached the egoistic brahmin's house by dusk. 

        The brahmin had provided immense things for a grand feast. They were to make at least three types of payasams (kheer). Seeing all these things they were aghast with wonder as to how they would be able to do all these within the short time. The Nampoothiri came to meet them and saecastically said 'you people cant even stand properly, and how are you going to make this grand feast. You could have brought at least 3 or 4 men to assist you. I see you have come here with the intention of getting good money as remuneration'! People around laughed at his mean joke and the shanthis felt humiliated very much. They just kept chanting Narayana! Guruvayurappa! The nampoothiri asked them to take bath and have their dinner. He had given strict instructions that fire should be lit in the kitchen only after 'ahass' (a ritual) in the morning. 

      After dinner the shanthis looked around the agrasala. They could see big heaps of coconut and other things. They sighed in worry. They were not sure whether it was the Lord Guruvayurappan or the nampoothiri who was testing them. Is the Lord punishing us for coming here leaving His pallivetta and arattu? Or is the nampoothiri trying to test our talent in cooking? they wondered. They surrendered to the Lord whole heartedly. 'Hey bhagavan You should save us from this predicament. Otherwise only You will be blamed for this.' Whole night they couldnt sleep and so kept chanting the Lords name. 

        When dawn came they all got up and went for bath wondering how they would be able to finish all the preparation within 3 or 4 hours. The brahmin had made clear to them that everything should be ready by the time of guruvayurappan's ucha puja. It was a real challenge for them by the brahmin. But they didnt utter a word taking this as the lord's service.  When they reached the pond for taking bath they were surprised to see a young nampoothiri, sitting brushing his teeth. "When did u arrive?" they asked Him. He replied that He had heard that these old people have come here, and as He had no particular work there thought would join them here and help them. He can also reach Guruvayur before arattu. He said He started immediately after pallivetta in Guruvayur. Saying this He had a quick dip in the tank and went to the agrasala. Nothing more could please the old nampoothiris than His arrival. 

       They were relieved that the Lord had saved them in time. They finished their bath, daily oblations as quickly as possible and proceeded towards the agrasala. They were struck with wonder with what they saw there. Fire was going in full swing in 4 or 5 stoves. Huge vessels like chempu, varppu etc were hosted on the stoves with enough water in them. Coconut scraping was going on in high speed. Everything was going on in lightning speed. They wondered whether the fellow had two hands or more? Were his hands very long to reach everywhere needed? Anyway their confidence very much boosted with this they fully involved themselves in their work. 
        What happened then? We will see in the next issue. Radhekrishna!

                                 (source:- Sri Guruvayurappan magazine.)

The wonder of Thrichambaram temple!

      

     If we go through the history and the different rituals of various temples in our country, we will come across many interesting informations. Thrichambaram Temple is situated 20 km from Kannur dist of Kerala state. It is near Taliparamba town, famous for its spices trade. The temple is believed to have got the name from Thiru Shambara or the holy shambara in reverence to Maharishi Shambara. Sri Perumthrikovilappan at Sree Rajarajeswara Temple is an older temple situated near Thrichambaram temple. It is said that to mellow the ferociousness of the Sree Rajarajeswara deity that Thrichambaram deity was consecrated there by Parasurama Himself.  Thrichambaram is a famous Sri Krishna temple. The deity is supposed to be of the Lord after Kamsa vadha.
           According to the legends Lord Sri Krishna and Balarama though were born in Devaki's womb were taken away to Gokul. Lord Krishna had promised Devaki and Vasudeva that one day He along with His brother Balaram in the divine form bedecked with all jewels, adorning peacock feathers and peethambara, would come to show the divine spectacle of their childhood Leela’s in the dense sambara forest. Sage Sambara remembered the Lord's promise made in the dwapara yuga. He was patiently waiting to see the divine appearance. True to His words Bhagavan appeared with Balarama and performed the holy dance which was witnessed by all the devas, gandharvas etc, along with Vasudeva, Devaki, Nandagopa and Yasoda from the heavens. 
      Lord Parasurama who was watching this fell at the feet of Sri Krishna and prayed Him to make a visit to the forest every year. Bhagavan gave him the promise and Parasurama constructed a temple in the place and consecrated the deity of Balakrishna. Lord Narada gave Parasurama two deities of Balarama and Krishna for the holy rituals of the festival. He instructed that the deities should be carried on the heads of two brahmins and the holy dance should be performed by them. The idols should be kept near the main deity inside the temple.
         One of the important offerings in this temple is 'aayirappam' meaning thousand appams.  Incidentally appam is Bhagavan's most favourite dish.  In Srimad Bhagavatham we come across the story of 'viprapathnis' (wives of the Brahmins) who rush to meet Krishna and Balarama with their gopa friends, carrying varieties of dishes to offer them. Here in Thrichambaram temple the ritual followed reminds us of this incident. 

      Usually the offerings for the deity will be made in the temple kitchen by the pujari brahmins only. But here in Thrichambaram the main offering of 'aayirappam' is prepared by the antharjanams (lady nampoothiris) of the village only. Also it is not prepared in the 'thidappalli' - temple kitchen, but in the agrasala adjacent to it. There is a rule that an antharjanam should only enter the temple  carrying the appam. The least number of appam one should carry is a minimum of three. If at all they are not able to take appam in their hand then they should take the rice for making it. The ritual is called 'appam thozhal'.  It is a routine of the antharjanams of Perinchallur village to do appam thozhal every month.

             Once the village girls get married they would go out anywhere only after doing their appam thozhal in Thrichambaram temple.  Likewise during the fifth month of pregnancy also the they should offer appam thozhal in the temple which will be followed by another appam thozhal during the annaprasanam or choroonu of the baby. The appams should be offered in the order of three, six, twelve, twenty four, fifty one, hundred and one or thousand. Offer can be made according to one's capacity. The most important offering is aayirappam. It is of course an expensive offering.  The ingredients needed are as follows:

Raw rice - 15 kgs, Jaggery - 30 kgs, ripe bananas (nenthrappazham) - 45 kgs, coconut - 25, jeera - 1/2 kg, pure cow's ghee - 6 ltrs. 

The ingredients would be brought to the agrasala on the previous day itself. It is the duty of 'varasyars'  (ambalavasis) to organise the firewood needed for cooking. The antharjanams will be present in the agrasala on the previous day itself. They get up by 2-30am, take bath, light a lamp (nilavilakku), prostrate towards east and west and then soak the rice. The varasyars of the temple will powder the rice in the agrasala itself in stone mortars. 

         Great care is taken while making the appams. The ripe bananas are steamed first. Rice will be powdered. Syrup is made with jaggery, coconut is cut into small pieces and all the ingredients are mixed well to make the batter. Large appakkaras (appam mould) would be kept over the fire with ghee. When the ghee gets heated, the batter would be poured with hands into the moulds and appams would be pricked out of the ghee with small sticks. The appams would be collected in a chembu - wide vessel with large rings on two sides for easy carrying. The counting is also done in a special way. One appam is kept in the hand while counting. Last twelve appams are strewn in a stick and kept across the chembu.

      By this time sun would have risen and the appams would be taken for offering during the puja.The ladies only carry the chempu holding it with a long wooden rod. The varasyar will go with a lighted lamp in front. The chempu would be kept on the mandapam in front of the deity. All the appams except those strewn on the stick would be taken inside. The antharjanams would themselves offer the appam in the stick from the mandapam. After offering 500 appams  would come out from inside. 
       If any child asks for the appam before offering it should be given immediately. That is the rule here. Once upon a time an antharjanam was making appam in the agrasala. A little boy approached her with extended hand for appam. Not only did the irritated lady refuse to give but burnt his hand with the hot dripping ghee. The kid ran away crying in utter pain. Nobody saw the boy again. But the melshanthi (poojari) saw burnt marks on the deity's hand. For some reason the lady also could not offer her appam. Ultimately they knew that it was the Lord Himself who came as a boy. 
      The taste of Thrichambaram appam is unique and matchless. The annual festival starts from 22nd day of kumbha masa (march 6th) with kotiyetram or flag hoisting and ends by 6th of meena masa (march 20th) with koodipiriyal. On the first day of festival there will be appam thozhal. But after that the antharjanams cannot enter the temple during the festival. The day after the festival is over they again come for appam thozhal. Nobody can offer appam without the presence of the antharjanams of the village. If anybody wishes to do the offering it should be done through them only. 
        Great is our country with its diversities in worship! Jay Bharath Matha! 
                                 (source - Bhakthapriya magazine and internet)