SAPTHAGIRI 33

2017 - MARCH4

4

SAPTHAGIRI 5

5

Ugadi its Significance- Dr. G.S.R.K. Babu Rao - 7

Float Festivals- J.C. Gnanaprasuna - 10

Srivari Friday Abhishekam at Tirumala- A. Ramakrishna Deekshitulu - 13

The Birth, Manifestation and Glory ofSri Mahalakshmi

- Prof. Rani Sadasiva Murty - 17Sri Kodandaramaswami Temple,

Tirupati- I.L.N. Chandra Sekhar Rao - 20

Kulasekhar Alwar's Ecstatic Verseson Tirumala

- Smt. Radha Muralidhar - 22Navavidha Bhakti in AnnamaiahSankeerthanas

- T.S. Rajalakshmi - 24Tirukkachchi Nambi

- Dr. M. Varadarajan - 31A Religious Entity of Matsya Avataram

- Dr. P. Chinnaiah - 34Architecture of Srivari Temple at Tirumala

- Smt. Anusha Ramakrishna - 38Bhagavad Ramanuja's Pilgrimage in Spreadof Visishtadwaita Tenets - T.K. Krishnaswami Thathacharya- 43Sri Mahabhagavatam of Arulaladasar

- Dr. Premananda Kumar - 47Panchakarma-The Ayurvedic Treatment

- Dr. Harshavardhan Appaji K - 49Karna A Great Warrior

- N. Sai Sanath Reddy - 52Puzzle

- T.S. Jagan Mohan - 53

Vol. 47 No.10

Front Cover : Float Festival to Srivaru, TirumalaBack Cover : Sri Kondandaramaswami, Tirupati

2017 - MARCH6

6

UGADI – THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA

Seasons change.So are theaccomplishments

that seasons give to us. Becauseof variations, nature is alwaysjuvenile. The trees which shed theirleaves in winter, sprout new leaves

in spring and flourish with dexterity. Ofall the seasons, spring is the most invigoratingand appealing. Lord Krishna says that“Rutunaamkusumaakarah”, I am the Springin seasons. Because of this reason, thebeginning of the new year will be countedfrom this season. The first month in Springis “Chaitram”. In the case of thidhi, Paadyamiis accredited as the first. Brahma Puranasays that Lord Brahma had commenced thecreation of this universe on this day in theaeon. This is the starting of a Yuga. Thisday is celebrated by all Telugu people as thefirst festival because all the above werecommenced on this day in yore.The learned also said that, Lord Rama hadbeen crowned; and Lord Krishna ceased hisincarnation on this day. The beginning of KaliYug was also on this day. As per thecomputations of Varahamihira, theastronomer and the astrologist, Chaitra is thefirst month in a year. On this great day, hehad consecrated the first Panchangam(Almanac) to us. Famous kings l ikeVikramaditya and Andhra king, Salivahanaascended the throne on Paadyami thidhi ofChaitra month.Ugadi Pachhadi (chutney) : The momentyou think of Ugadi, then comes instantly toanybody’s thoughts is “Ugadipachhadi”. Mixingup the green mangoes, neem flowers, freshjaggery, tamarind, chilly, and salt, the UgadiPachhadi is made reflecting the six tastes oflife which are the spokes of happiness andsadness. However, keeping this aside, it ismentioned in Ayurveda that, consuming thispachhadi on Ugadi day will definitely removesphlegm, gas and many other health

problems. The neem acts as antiseptic,antibacterial. It also removes skin diseases.Raw Mango cures the defects in bloodcirculation in the body. Tamarind helps indigestion. New jaggery reduces the heat inthe body. The chilly cures earache, throatswelling. Salt restricts growing of fat in veins.Normally this chutney is made in new earthenpots and hence keeps the body cool. Somepeople also add pieces of sugarcane andbanana to the chutney.Panchanga Sravanam (Rendering ofAlmanac) : This is invariably done on Ugadiday. There is a meaning in this. This is thescientific way of show casing our rituals. Thereare five parts. Thidhi, Vara (week), Nakshatra(star), Yoga and Karana.Chatra Chamara Sekarana : (Collection ofumbrellas, handfans) – Commencing from themonth of Chaitra, the rays of Lord Sun getsintense and hence people collect umbrellasand handfans to protect themselves from thescorching heat.Pravadana Prarambham (Starting ofProviding Cool Water) : Prava means “coolhut” and Prasaadanam means sources ofproviding cool water. Such huts set up forproviding cool water are also started on thisday.Vasanta Navaratri Utsavam (Celebrationsof Nine nights) : Starting from Ugadi,celebrations are done for nine days. Peoplepray Lord Rama during these nine days tobless them with good luck during the entireyear.Even though small changes occur, there isalways an inherent meaning and purpose inour customs and rituals. Our elders thus madesuch festivals as part of our daily life.May the Lord Sri Venkateswara with hisconsort goddess, Padmavathi bless us allduring this “Hemalambi” year.“Welcome to this new year, Hemalambi”“May all people in the world be happy andpeaceful”

SAPTHAGIRI 7

Festivals

Festivals are the cardinal occasions ofIndian culture, tradition and customs. Everyfamily celebrates festivals because they infusehappiness and new spirit in them. They helpfamilies and friends to join together, therebythey inculcate the spirit of togetherness. Also,the spirit of religious thinking [Athyadhmika]germinates and develops in the family.

‘Athyadhmika’ is an expression to ponderabout Atma and inculcate an outlook relating tosuch matters. Some feel Athyadhmika meansrenunciation of everything. That is not true. It isnot escaping from all the mundaneresponsibilities and burdens and transferringthem onto God. It just means ascribing all of

them to inner Atma. The chief responsibility offestivals is to cause and foster such thinking inhumans.

Ugadi

Spring is the first among the annualseasons. Similarly, Chaitra is the first Telugumonth. Shukla Paksh (Growing Moon) comesbefore Bahula Paksh [diminishing moon].Padyami is the first day (thithi) in the fortnight.Thus Ugadi is the forerunner in a number ofways. That’s why it is called Ugadi the colloquialexpression for Yuga adi. Therefore we celebrateit on the first Padyami day of Chaitra month.History tells us that earlier it was celebrated inthe month of Vaisakha, and also in Ashwija,Kartika, Margasira, Pushya, Madha, Phalgunamonths.

Our ancient rishis have ear-marked festival days depending upon the seasons,the movement of the stars, seasonal changes, special significance to specificGod/Goddess etc. Through them, they enlighten us to about the rituals to befollowed, which food items to be taken in which season to live happily and healthily.

SAPTHAGIRI 7

2017 - MARCH8

Stories from the Puranas

1. Matsya Avatar [Incarnation as Fish] wasthe first avatar among dasa [ten] avatars of SriMaha Vishnu. It is told that he donned this avatarthis day.

2. According to Sri Ram devotees, it is thisday that Lord Sri Rama returned to Ayodhya andascended the throne after the exile and slayingRavan.

3. There is also a story that it was this daythat Dharma Raja returned to Hastinapur andascended the throne after suffering in the forestsand fighting the Kurukshetra war.

4. Some feel that it was this day LordKrishna ended his life and concluded DwaparaYug. According to them, Kaliyug commencedthis day.

5. Ugadi is also a story associated withSage Narada. As requested by Narada, LordVishnu granted him a boon to become a lady —Naradi, whom a king marries. They beget 60children who are named — Prabhava,Vibhava…. and so on. Once due to acute famine,the king and their children perish. Vishnuconverts Naradi into Narada again. Yet, Naradawas not able to attain detachment from themundane attachments. Hence Vishnu grants aboon to Narada that the names of his 60 childrenwould be given to the years which come in acyclic form and thus their names will beremembered eternally. Thus, Sage Narada isassociated with Ugadi.

Stories from History

1. Another historical story is that it was onUgadi day Emperor Salivahana [in whose namean era is calculated] was anointed and ascendedthe throne.

2. One more version is that it was on Ugadiday Vikramarka era has commenced. He toowas anointed and ascended the throne on thesame day.

3. It is also said that world renownedMathematician Varaha Mihira released the firstalmanac on Chaitra Sudh Padyami day.

2017 - MARCH8

Ugadi Customs

Those who celebrate Ugadi followcertain customs. Some of them are:

1. Bath with Oil

People smear oil over the body and thehair before taking the bath one day before thefestival, especially before the sunrise. Thebelief is that by doing so, people receive theblessings of Ganga mata and Laxmi Devi.Such baths are indicative of wellbeing. Further,Ayurveda explains that such baths arebeneficial to good health.

2. Hoisting the flag

This is also called Dhwajarohan. But thiscustom is prevalent only in few regions andfew families, especially families fromKarnataka and Maharashtra. A bamboo pole iserected in the centre of rangolis [floral designson the ground] and a silk cloth with silverthread work [jari] is tied up like a flag. Thebamboo pole is also adorned with mango leafgarlands and flowers. A small empty kalash[brass/copper vessel] is put on the top of theflag post. Some people tie a coconut insteadof a vessel. But this custom is less prevalentin Telugu states.

3. Ugadi Chutney

Ugadi Chutney is also known with someother names such as UgadiGojju,UgadiRasayana. On the day of the festivalafter taking the bath, the Chutney is preparedand offered to God as naivedya. Then it istaken as first intake of the day with the fondhope that the forthcoming year would be joyful.

Ugadi Chutney is a combination sixtastes – (1) sweet (2) sour (3) acrid (4)bitter (5) salty (6) spicy. A chutney which is acombination of the above six tastes will ofcourse be palatable. For sweetness peopleadd jaggery (some use sugar instead), forsourness ripe tamarind is used, for acrid

SAPTHAGIRI 9SAPTHAGIRI 9

taste, tender grated mango is used, forbitterness the flowers of margosa [neem] treeor the tender leaves of the same tree. Saltand for spiciness, green chilies are used.Each of these tastes are representative ofdifferent experiences– sweet is for comfort,bitterness for misery. Similarly, the othertastes also represent different moods andexperiences of life. The obvious concept isthat we should accept life as a mixture ofdifferent moods and experience. It is in a wayto prepare ourselves for such phases in theforthcoming year.

Ugadi Programmes

As a mark of welcome to the new year,cultural activities, poetry recitals are arranged inTelugu states. Some businessmen commencetheir accounting in the New Year that day.

a) Cultural Programmes

People arrange cultural programmes,dance performances, plays that day to mark thedawn of the new year. Music recitals are alsoarranged. It may be noted that the first WorldTelugu Meet was commenced on Ugadi day. Invillages sports and games meets are held andbullock cart races are also arranged.

b) Poets Meet [kavisammElan]

Telugus have a distinct way of celebratingUgadi through a Poets Meet. They recite theirpoems welcoming the new year, explaining thesignificance of the new year’s name, of theSpring, They also dwell on Ugadi Chutney, itssix tastes, contemporary social, political andeconomic issues. problems, with theirmetaphors and pleasing prosody. In someplaces, in addition to the poets meet,Ashtavadana/ Satavadhana programmes [Inthese programmes the expert poet handles 8 or100 scholars and answers their queries thoughexpert repartee. He composes poetry extempore in the meter and prosody that isdemanded of him.]

Life is a fragrant mixture of six tastesI wish to extend this to all the TelugusAnd convey my good wishes, sirs,On the occasion of Ugadi, today.

4. Panchang Sravan

This is a very important ritual followedon Ugadi festival. Panchang means fiveattributes] and Panchangam is an astrologicaldiary that gives useful information to theastrologers. They are (i) Tidhi (ii) Vara (iii)Nakshatra (iv) Yoga (v) Karana. Lord Vishnulives in Tidhi. The circling of the earth roundLord Vishnua is Varam (week); nakshatra isStar which saves humans from kshata[destruction]; the period the Moon stays witha specific star is called yoga; Karana is theEM (Ending Moment) of half of a Tithi.One Karana equals 6 degrees differencebetween Moon and Sun.

On Ugadi, people listen to Panchang,usually in temples in the evenings. A templepriest or someone who is knowledgeablereads out the predictions for the year – rainfallfor the country/state, crops situation,calamities, political situation etc. For theindividuals, their income and expenditure,appreciation and insults etc. The purohit orthe astrologer informs the name of the newyear, and also the names of the gods whogovern rains, crops etc., for the forthcomingyear. It is said that such listening [sravan]equals the virtue of bathing in river Ganga.

2017 - MARCH10

‘Teppotsavam’ (Float festival) is a Hindureligious festival used to celebrate in the templesin many parts of South India, especially in Tirumalaand Tiruchanur. It is called ‘Tirupalli Odai Tirunal’ inTamil. It is also called ‘Teppa Tirunallu’ in Telugu.Float means boat or ship. Sri Tirumala Swami iscomfortably seated in a well decorated float andenjoys float-trip in the Swamipushkarini inTirumala on the day of float festival.

It is known that these float-festivals werebeing celebrated from times immemorial. SriSaluva Narasimha constructed a ‘mandap’ in themidst of ‘Swami Pushkarini’ in 1468 in order tocelebrate these festivals. This ‘mandap’ is called‘Neeraali mandap’. ‘Nivedana’ was being offeredto the Lord during the stay in the mandap in thosedays. These festivals were being held especiallyon the day of Sankranthi, on Kanuma (the dayafter Sankranthi) during the Brahmotsavs and onsome other different special occasions.

Sri Annamaiah (Telugu poet and staunchdevotee of Lord Srinivasa) belonged to the 15th

century eulogized the sanctity and significance ofthe float festival and the glory of theSwamipushkarini. Pedda Tirumalaiah made a

successful attempt for the repairs and thecleanliness of the ‘Neeraali Mandap’ and the

‘Swamipushkarini’.

Oh! Lord! why do You like this floatYou are rich and resplendent in this float

In the Milk of Ocean Your posture onAdisesha floating

Reminds one of Your resting postureon a banyan leaf floating

The Mandhara mountain in theOcean for nectar floats

The hoods of Kaalinga with Your feet floatsYour dance in the river Yamuna on

these hoods floatsThe sweat of sixteen thousand gopikas

are like floatsIn the great ‘koneru’ the Lord floats

during this festivalOh! Lord! Every year we extol this festival- Annamaiah’s Adhyatmasankeerthana – 143

(Vol. -2-1981)

These regular festivals came to a standstillfor reasons unknown. Sri Mahant Prayaga Dastook initiative for the continuation of these festivalsin the year 1921 i.e. on Phalguna Suddha Ekadasi

SAPTHAGIRI 11

in Telugu year Durmati for a period of five days.Since that day, these festivals are beingperformed regularly and grandly.

At present these festival are beingcelebrated in the month of Phalguna every yearfor a period of five days i.e., from SuddhaEkadasi to Pournami. Usually these festivals areheld in the months of March / April.

During the five-day float festival, on the firstday of Ekadasi at 6 p.m. followed by thetraditional courtesies of the temple like theholding of Chatra (Umberella) and Chamara(Fan) the archamurthies of Sri SitaramaLakshmana swami start from the temple andreach the ‘Swami Pushkarini’ through mahapradakshana path of the temple and occupy thewell-decorated float. These ‘murthies’ make threerounds in the celestial ambience of scintillatinglights, the tunes of the auspicious musicalinstruments, listening to the ‘keerthanas’ of SriAnnamaiah. The devotees feel rejoiced on seeingthe glorious occasion sitting on the steps of the‘Swami Pushkarini’. The float festival to Srivaruwill be celebrated from 8-3-2017 to 12-3-2017.

On the first day after the threecircumambulations, ‘Nivedana’ and ‘Harathi’ willbe offered to the ‘utsava murthies’. The devoteesof the Arjit (Paid) Seva are being given the ‘vastrabahumanam’. The ‘utsava murthies’ Sri SitaramaLakshman swami occupy the palanquin with thetraditional courtesies and go back to the temple.Thus, the float festival comes to an end on thefirst day.

On the second day i.e., on Dwadasi, LordKrishna and His consort Rukmini after the threecircumambulations, ‘Nivedana’ and ‘Harathi’ willbe offered to the ‘utsava murthies’ The utsavamurties’ of Sri Rukmini with Lord Krishna occupythe palanquin with the traditional courtesies andgo back to the temple. Thus, the float festivalcomes to an end on the second day.

On the third day i.e., on Trayodasi, LordMalayappa Swami with His consorts Sridevi andBhudevi after the three ‘circumambulations’,‘Nivedana’ and ‘Harathi’ will be offered and

occupies the palanquin with the traditionalcourtesies in the midst of scintillating lights,listening to the tunes of the auspicious musicalinstruments, the Vedic chants and in the brightsounds of burning fireworks and go back to thetemple. Thus, the float festival ends on the thirdday.

On the fourth day Lord Malayappa Swamiwith His consorts Sri Devi and Bhudevi after five‘circumambulations’, occupies the palanquin withthe traditional temple courtesies. ‘Nivedana’ and‘Harathi’ will be offered and go back to the temple.Thus, the float festival ends on the fourth day.

On the fifth day Lord Malayappa Swami withHis consorts Sri Devi and Bhudevi after the seven‘circumambulations’, occupies the palanquin withthe traditional courtesies. ‘Nivedana’ and ‘Harathi’will be offered and go back to the temple. Thus,the float festival ends on the fifth day.

By paying the prescribed fees, the devoteescan also participate in these float festivals of LordVenkateswara in cool waters of the SwamiPushkarini during the moon light (Pournima) daysin the very beginning of summer.

Float festivals of Tirumala TirupatiDevasthanams in its affiliated temples :

Tirupati Sri Govindarajaswami Temple

The float festival is celebrated in the monthof ‘Maaga’ in the star of ‘Pournami’ day. This ritualwas celebrated for 7 days. On the 1st day floatfestival was celebrated to Sri KodandaramaSwami; On the 2nd day to Parthasaradhi Swami;On the 3rd day to Sri Kalyana VenkateswaraSwami; On the 4th day to Sri Krishnaswami andAndal Devi; On the 5th, 6th & 7th days to SriGovindaraja Swami. This float festival wasperformed from 04-02-2017 to 10-02-2017.

Nagalapuram Sri Vedanarayanaswami Temple

The float festival was celebrated in themonth of ‘Meena’ for five days. On the first dayfloat festival will be performed to SriramachandraSwami with Seeta Devi and on the rest four daysfloat festival will be performed to Sri Vedanarayana

SAPTHAGIRI 11

2017 - MARCH12 2017 - MARCH12

Swami with Sri Vedavalli. This float festival will becelebrated from 24-03-2017 to 28-03-2017.

Tirupati Sri Kodandaramaswami Temple

The float festival will be celebrated in themonth of ‘Chaitra’ in the star of 'Pournami' day.This festival will be celebrated for 3 days. On allthe three days the float festival will be performedto Sri Kodandarama Swami with Sita Devi andLakshmana Swami. This festival will be performedfrom 08-04-2017 to 10-04-2017.

Devnunikadapa Sri Lakshmi VenkateswaraSwami Temple

The float festival will be performed in themonth of ‘Vaishaka’ in the star of ‘Pournami’ day.This festival will be celebrated for 3 days. All thethree days together, the float will perform to SriLakshmi Venkateswara Swami. This festival willbe performed from 08-05-2017 to 11-05-2017.

Tiruchanur Sri Padmavati Devi Temple

The float festival will be performed in themonth of ‘Jyesta’ in the star of ‘Pournami’ day.

This festival will be celebrated for 5 days. On thefirst day the float festival to Sri Krishna Swami;On the second day to Sri Sundararaja swami; andon 3rd, 4th and 5th days to Sri Padmavati Devi willbe decked on the float to bless Her devotees. Thisfestival will be performed from 05-06-2017 to 09-06-2017.

Narayanavanam Sri Padmavathi with SriKalyana Venkateswara Swamivari Temple

The float festival will be celebrated in themonth of ‘Karthika’ in the star of ‘Pournami’ day.This festival will be celebrated for 5 days. On the1st day float festival will be performed to Sri RamaSwami; On 2nd day to Sri Krishnaswami, Sri Andaldevi. On the 3rd, 4th and 5th days to Sri KalyanaVenkateswara Swami. This festival will beperformed from 30-10-2017 to 03-11-2017.

The float festivals will be celebrated in allthe T.T.D. temples on 'Pournami' day

only. The readers are requestedmake note of this.

DAY DAY UTSAVAMS NIGHT UTSAVAMS

11-04-2017 -- Ankurarpanam

12-04-2017 Dwajarohanam Peddaseshavahanam

13-04-2017 Chinnaseshavahanam Hamsavahanam

14-04-2017 Simhavahanam Muthyapu Pandirivahanam

15-04-2017 Kalpavrukshavahanam Sarvabhupalavahanam

16-04-2017 Mohini Avatharam Garudavahanam

17-04-2017 Hanumadvahanam Gajavahanam

18-03-2017 Suryaprabhavahanam Chandraprabhavahanam

19-04-2017 Rathotsavam Aswavahanam

20-04-2017 Chakrasnanam Dwajavarohanam

NagulapuramNagulapuramNagulapuramNagulapuramNagulapuramSRI VEDANARAYANASWAMISRI VEDANARAYANASWAMISRI VEDANARAYANASWAMISRI VEDANARAYANASWAMISRI VEDANARAYANASWAMI

WITH SRI VEDAVALLI AMMAVARIWITH SRI VEDAVALLI AMMAVARIWITH SRI VEDAVALLI AMMAVARIWITH SRI VEDAVALLI AMMAVARIWITH SRI VEDAVALLI AMMAVARIBrahmotsavamsBrahmotsavamsBrahmotsavamsBrahmotsavamsBrahmotsavams

2017 - MARCH12

SAPTHAGIRI 13

‘The SukravAraabhishEkam’ or ‘The FridayAbhishekam’, as it is popularlycalled as, is one such wonderfulritual and is very ancient, whichdates back to the time evenbefore the consecration of LordSrinivasa as an icon insideSanctum of Tirumala Hillshrine.For all Srivari devotees, it is quitesurprising to even think that aweekly seva has such greatantiquity. Undoubtedly, it is amost precious good fortune for adevotee to have the privilege ofwitnessing the divine ‘SukravAraabhishEkam’ of LordVenkateswara. Because it is onlyduring this time that the devoteecan witness the self-manifested,the divine Salagrama Archamurthy of Srivaru, bereft of all theglittering ornaments, flowerdecorations and gilt coverings. Itis the moment of happiness and

2017 - MARCH13

2017 - MARCH14

comes well within our inner experience, and itsauthenticity is beyond doubt.”

The first and foremost service

One might have queries like - How is theAbhishekam, the first service to Lord Srinivasa?How it was done and in what situation was itperformed? And who performed this service?Also while Lord Srinivasa was being given thesacred bath for the first time on this earth, wasHe in Archa rupam or Nija rupam? These queriesare answered if we take a glimpse into thePuranas. There’s an interesting account thatrefers to Abhishekam as a service to LordSrinivasa given in the Puranic narration of SriVenkatachala Mahatyam. Hence, from this wecan assert that the Abhishekam is the first andforemost service offered to Lord Srinivasa, afterHe descended from Sri Vaikuntam to Bhulokam.

Legend

Once upon a time Sage Kashyapa andother sages performed a great Yagna on thebanks of the sacred Ganges. Narada attendedthe Yagna and questioned those in charge of it:“What is the purpose of this Yagna? Who is therecipient of its fruit?”. The sages were perplexedand could not give a proper answer. Theydeputed Sage Bhrighu, the learned Maharshi, togo and test the Trinity (Brahma, Vishnu andMaheshwara) personally and report hisconclusions. Sage Bhrighu approached LordBrahma first. The rulers of the eight cornerswere present. Vedas were being recited.Saraswati was busily playing Her veena. Bhrighuprostrated before the four headed Lord Brahma.Brahma remained silent. “This is an ignorantone!”, the Maharshi thought and immediately leftfor Kailash, the abode of Lord Siva.

The three-eyed Lord Siva was in hisprivate chamber with his consort Parvati. He didnot notice the visitor at all, however GoddessParvati, noted the intruder and felt ashamed.“Leave me, my Lord. A sage has come!” shepointed out. Siva released her from his embraceand tried to kill Bhrighu for his unauthorizedintrusion at that moment of amour. The sagegrew wild and cursed Siva thus “You will not beworshipped in the world in your true form. You

the time the devotee discovers a new finding,that, true beauty and wealth, lies not in all thehumongous wealth found in the hill shrine, butit is at the very center of this beautiful Self-manifested Archa icon of Lord Srinivasa.

The Elegant Icon

Words fail to describe our feelings,whenever we stand in front of this icon, onFriday mornings, bewitched by its beauty,charmed by its grace, and overwhelmed by itsmajesty. For the enlightened souls, it remindsthe Vedantic truth that He is also the infinitespiritual reality (Brahman) from which theuniverse emerges, in which it rests, and intowhich it converg back, leaving no trace behind,like waves in the sea as we glean from theTaittiriya Upanishad which defines Brahmanprecisely in this manner. Tasmin jayate liyateaniti (That in which the universe is born, inwhich it merges, in which it vibrates/breathes/lives). For all of us mere mortals, the beautifulicon of Lord Srinivasa, is truly a remarkablework of art, perfect in every detail, and mostcompelling in its appeal. Its spiritual attractionis too well-known to need any mention of it andthere is no doubt whatsoever that “Thousandeyes would not be enough to look at this God”- nAtham prEkshitumanjanAchalataTE nALamsahastram dRushAm ||

As such Lord Srinivasa’s Divya archarupam is praised beautifully in Varaha Purana –

“Who can ever comprehend your formas it truly is? Severaltimes myriad-headed,myriad-eyed and myriad-footed; sometimeswith but two arms, and at times four-armed;sometimes devoid of all limbs and subtlypervasive like sky. At times, you become easilyknown to our minds, and at other timesperceived only in deep contemplation. Forsome, you are full of forms, shapes, qualitiesand aspects; and for others, totally devoid ofany identifiable form or attribute. Some realizeyou as pure awareness, and some only aspure existence. However, what we prefer is theview that you have a magnificent andbewitching form, charming our hearts andbringing hope and succour to our lives. It

SAPTHAGIRI 14

SAPTHAGIRI 15

country was then ruled by a Chola King.Everything was available in abundance. Onaccount of timely and copious rains, fieldsyielded the maximum. The people of the countrylived happily and peacefully.

In the Ant-hill, Lord Vishnu started sufferingwith the characteristic pangs of being in humanform, hunger and thirst. In order to assistVishnu, Brahma, the Creator assumed the formof a cow and Siva became the calf. Lakshmitransformed herself as the wife of the cow-herd.They all descended to the earth to the kingdomof Chola King. The cow and calf were then soldto the king by their master. The King allottedthem to a cattle herder. The cow’s milk was tofeed the king’s son. The cow used to go toVenkatachala daily, along with a thousand othercows. She used to approach the ant-hill in whichthe Lord was dwelling and released her milk atthe tip of the ant-hill. Milk rained on LordSrinivasa and it was also consumed by Him.Thus, this is the first instance, where LordSrinivasa was given a sacred bath with cow’smilk which was performed by Lord Brahma andLord Siva.

A beautiful white boar

The second instance, when Abhishekamwas performed is connected to a divine tale andLord Srinivasa himself revealed in detail to hisdevotee, Nishadha, How to perform thisparticular Abhisheka? We read in Sri Varaha

will acquire fame in only in the form of Linga,which alone will be worshipped.”

Bhrighu then straight-away went toVaikunta and visited Sri Hari. The Lord was inhis bed chamber, relaxing on serpent couch.Lakshmi was also there. But both of them didnot notice the sage. Bhrighu, with great anger,approached Sree Hari and the Lord got uphurriedly and fell on the feet of the Sage, tookhim within his arms and asked him courteously:“O Great Sage, why have you kicked me whichneither gods nor men can eventouch? It is eighttimes harder than a diamond. But your feet areso tender. By contacting my rough body what anamount of pain your feet have suffered!”. Sosaying, he held the feet of the sage and washedthem with hot water and sprinkled the holy wateron his head and said: “Sage, by your darshan allthe worlds get purified”.

Bhrighu returned to the assembly of sagesand announced his verdict: “Hari is the SupremeGod. After Him comes Lakshmi. Next comeBrahma and Saraswati”. Gods have their rankingjust like Suras, Asuras and humans. Sree Harihas been allotted the first rank. So, the Yagnawas dedicated to that Supreme being. Soonafter Bhrighu left, Sree Vishnu and his consortwere alone. “I am leaving you and going, O Lordof Lords,” declared Lakshmi. “The sage haskicked your body embraced by me. I am goingaway.” Thus proclaiming Lakshmi bid good-byeto the Lord and reached Pathala, where SageKapila worshipped her. She stayed there forsometime, and then left to Karavirapura.

A holy dip in Swami Pushkarini

Sree Hari also left Vaikunta in search ofLakshmi and in the process, came to SriVenkatachala hills near the holy riverSwarnamukhi, at the tail end of Sreesaila. Onthe hill lies sacred Swami Pushkarini. Fortunateare those who have a holy dip in it as it the birthplace of all Theerthas. Lord Srinivasaconsidered Venkatachala as greater than SreeVaikunta. He went in search of a suitable placeon it for his stay. He saw an ant-hill beneath atamarind tree to the south of Swami Pushkariniand entered it and started meditating. Severalyears passed. The era of Kali entered. The

2017 - MARCH15

2017 - MARCH16

Purana – Uttara bhaga, Chapter:10 and thestory goes like this, Once the emperorTondaman, who was a devotee of LordVenkateswara, was ruling the Narayanapuram,which is a part of Tondamandalam territory.During his reign, there was a hunter in theTirumala hills, who cultivated some millet in hisown fields. Every day, Lord Varaha as a WhiteBoar used to eat away the syAmAkagrains (Atype of Millet) in the fowler’s field. The hunterwas following the footmarks of the White Boarand searching for it but couldn’t succeed. Onenight, the hunter was vigilant and looking for thetraces of White Boar, suddenly he found abeautiful White Boar glowing with a bright light.He followed the Boar, which was glowing like amoon in those fields; it ran and ran throughoutthe night and the hunter found it disappearinginto an Ant-hill. He was surprised and got angryat the same time, and dug open the ant-hill.Bhu-Varaha Swami appeared within and thehunter fell unconscious upon seeing theLordvaraha. His son, who was accompanyingthe hunter, then offered prayers to Varaha, whowas happy with his prayers and advised him toapproach the King and consecrate his icon.

kRushNagOkshIrasEkEna valmIkamkshAlayEnnRupa: ||

vaIkhAnasairmunivaraI: archayEttonDamAnapi ||

atha gatvA SrInivAsamvalmIkAvRutapaddvayam |

kapilakRushNagOkshIrasEchanaI:kshAlayEcHhanai: ||

(Varaha Purana 1.10. 28-32 Slokas)

In the process, Lord himself revealed thatto take out the icon of Varaha Swamy from theant-hill, the ant-hill must be rained upon with themilk of a black cow (Kapila Govu) until the ant-hill completely disappears and the icon isremoved of all traces of mud. The Lord alsorevealed that there will also be present, the iconof Lord Srinivasa covered with an ant-hill untilknees, and this icon shall also be removed fromthe ant-hill by washing away the mud also withmilk as said above. After taking the two iconsfrom the ant-hill, it must be consecrated byVaikhanasas, as per Sri VaikhanasaBhagavachhastra. He also dictated instructions

as to the placement and consecration of boththe icons thus found. The same is mentioned inSri Venkatesa Ashtottara Sata Namavali, whichis recited two times a day in Tirumala temple,during mAdhyAhnika and sAyankAla Aradhana,in nama: 87

nIla dhEnu payO dhArA sEkadEhOdbhavAya SrI VenkaTEsaya nama: ||

Salutations to Lord Srinivasa, whotrancends beneath a torrent of milk from a blackcow!

The same procedure of extracting iconsfor consecration using cow’s milk is explainedin the Vaikhanasa text by Sage Atri, insamUrtArchanAdhikaraNam. It is also acoincidence that Vaikhanasa Sage Atri alsooffered worship to Lord Srinivasa as mentionedin a sloka of Garuda Puranam –‘SrInivAsEratrirarchayEt ||’

SilAyAm dRuvabEram tu darSanIyacha sundaram |

jIrNam sarvam samAlOchyapratishTApya samarchayEt ||

If a Vaikhanasa Acharya finds a beautifulstone icon of Lord Vishnu in a forest, banks ofan ocean or any other place, then the icon maybe taken out by removing the dust and otherremainings, cleansed thouroughly, and afterthat it must be duly consecrated andworshipped.

And hence for the second time, thesacred Abhisheka Kainkaryam was performedto Lord Srinivasa’s archa rupam, beforeconsecrating the icon. And hence this‘Abhisheka’ Kainkaryam is the first servicerendered to Lord Srinivasa according to SriVenkatachala Mahatyam and it was offered bythe first Vaikhanasa Archaka of Tirumala temple'Sriman Gopinatha Deekshitulu' assisted bythe King Tondaman.

We will further discuss about thesignificance of performing Abhishekam onFridays and why Friday is selected forperforming the sacred Abhisheka Kainkarya toMulavirat, What do the Vaikhanasa textssuggest in performing Abhishekam toArcha murthies, in the next issue.

||SrInivAsO vijayatE ||

SAPTHAGIRI 16

SAPTHAGIRI 17

THE BIRTH, MANIFESTATION AND GLORY OF SRIMAHALAKSHMI

- Prof. Rani Sadasiva

Murty

Sri Mahalakshmi, the Goddessof riches and adorable to all theregions of the Universe, is the divinespouse of Sri Maha Vishnu. Herrelation with Maha Vishnu isinseparable as that of the moonlightwith moon. She is the divinemanifestation of prakruti (nature) thematerial cause of the Universe whileVishnu is Parama Purusha, theUniversal inner consciousness.

An Account in the Devi Bhagavata:

It was in the beginning ofcreation when the universe was full ofwaters. Lord Vishnu in the form of alittle child floating on waters, lyinghimself on a Banyan leaf. He was ina state of confusion and wonderabout the secrecy of the cause of theuniverse. Then Goddess AdiparasaktiHerself manifested before Him in theform of Maha Lakshmi with four handswielding Sankha (Conch), Chakra(Disc), Gada (Mace) and Padma(Lotus) in a beautiful and divine attire.She appeared before him along with

her team of Goddesses Mati, Kirti, Smriti, Dhriti, Rati, Bhuti,Gati, Daya, Metha, Sraddha, Kshudha, Nidra, Svadha,Svaha, Kshama, Lajja, jrmbha, Tandra, Tushti and Pushti asher companions. She further told him that, She asMahalakshmi is the Sattvik aspect of Adi Parasakti andwould be His spouse and would forever dwell on His bosom.According to this account Goddess Lakshmi is Swayambhu(self emergent) Goddess.

Mahalakshmi in the Clan of the Sage Bhrugu

Khyati was the wife of the sage Bhrugu. Though theyhad many male children but no female child, Khyati with thepermission of her husband did penance in praise ofGoddess 'Jagadamba'. Having been pleased with her,

The birth or origin of Goddess SriMahalakshmi in different Puranasgive different accounts. The causefor the difference is due to thedifference in the Time frame ofKalpas mentioned in differentPuranas.

LAKSHMI JAYANTI ON 13-03-2017

2017 - MARCH17

Emergence

2017 - MARCH18

Jagadamba graced her to have afemale child like Jagadamba herself.She also said that the very presence ofthat child would provide all kinds ofwealth wherever she stays.

Accordingly they had a child andnamed her 'Lakshmi'. As she was bornto sage Bhrugu was popular with theother name 'Bhargavi'. As She was theonly daughter of the ascetic pair shewas nourished with lot of love and care.As a result She grew into a woman ofpride. She was offered by the sageBhrugu as the spouse of Lord 'Vishnu'.

Lakshmi having come to Vaikunthawas thinking that, She was the solecause of all the riches of Lord Vishnu.He understood Her mind but remainedsilent. She started bestowing wealth andriches upon whoever were praising Her.Because of Her grace, even thedemons became rich. Lord Vishnuhaving noticed such harmfuldevelopments in the world told her toend Herself as the daughter of Bhruguand to take birth again. She got angrywith Her husband, and ended Her lifewith a status as the daughter of Bhrugu.

As the daughter the KsheeraSaagara (The Milky Ocean)

According to another versionfound in the Bhagavatha and otherPuranas, all the gods and demons oncestarted churning the Milky Ocean toattain Amrut (elixir) for achievingeternality. In that process they chose themountain Mandara as the churning stick.Vasuki, the king of the serpents, madethe churning rope. The Milky Oceanwas being churned and churned bythem. In that great task first the dreadfulpoison came out. It was swallowed byLord Shiva and all the worlds weresaved. Then gradually Kalpa Vriksha,Kamadhenu, Airavatha, and other divine

things emerged. They were all taken by Lord Indra.Indra started praying Jagadamba for riches. By thegrace of Jagadamba, Goddess Lakshmi was born withthe name 'Indira' as the daughter of the Milky Ocean(Ksheera Saagara Putri). Lord Vishnu accepted herhand as His spouse.

Birth as Padmavathi at Tiruchanur

This account is found in the Padma Purana.According to which once Bhrugu came to Vaikuntha totest the greatness of Lord Vishnu. Vishnu at that timewas in meditation and didn’t observe the arrival of thesage. So the sage was angry with Him and kicked Himon his bosom. Then Vishnu came out of the meditation,held the holy feet of Bhrugu as if it were to respect himand plucked out the additional eye of Bhrugu whichwas in his right foot. When it was plucked out, the egoof the sage also was destroyed and the sage requestedHim to pardon. Goddess Lakshmi got angry with theunusual behaviour of the sage and also with theexcessive mercy of Vishnu. She said that the bosom ofVishnu was her abode and was insulted by Bhrugu bykicking. She could not bear with such an insult, shedecided to abandon her husband. Thus Lakshmi havingleft Vaikuntha reached the Ashram of the sage Kapilaand started residing there. Vishnu mounting on Garudawent in search of her to all the worlds but could not findHer. He spent some time in Kolhapur which was theearlier abode of Mahalakshmi on the Earth. Even aftera long time, He could not trace Her.

SAPTHAGIRI 18

SAPTHAGIRI 19

Then a formless divine voice advised Himto undertake penance on the banks of the riverSuvarna Mukhi near the Sri Parvatha (presentTirumala Hills) with golden lotuses carried fromthe heaven. Accordingly Vishnu sitting on Garudareached the Tirumala Hills. He carriedoutablutions in Swami Pushkarini and visited theabode of Varaha Swami. There from, He reachedthe banks of Suvarna Mukhi. There in a nearbyplace, He dug a lake and sent Garuda to Heavento bring the seeds of the golden lotus and sowedthem in this lake. He further constructed a templeand invited Sun God to stay there forever to makethe golden lotuses of the lake bloom. Ever sinceVishnu started His penance worshippingGoddess Lakshmi with golden lotuses for 12 longyears reciting her divine mantra consisting threedivine syllables of Sakti, Sri and Kama aspectsin it.

Reunion of Maha Vishnu and GoddessLakshmi

At the end of the 12th year, GoddessMahalakshmi having greatly been pleased withthe prayers of Vishnu emerged before Him onthe fifth day of bright fortnight of Karthika Monthin the middle of the lake of golden lotus flowerssitting in a beautiful thousand petaled GoldenLotus. She was surrounded by four divineelephants. Her form was bright and brilliant. Hereyes were resembling the long petals of lotus.Her hands were like the lotus stalks. Her feetwere like lotus flowers. The splendour of her bodyalso was resembling that of a lotus. Then thedivine couples Brahma and Saraswati, Siva andParvathi came there. In the presence of all, whileall the divine clans were showering flowers fromthe sky, Sri Mahalakshmi bashfully adorned LordVishnu with a garland of Lotus flowers. Thus thereunion of Vishnu and Lakshmi filled the hearts ofall the people of all the worlds with great joy.

Padmasarovar

Due this event and due to her closeresemblance with lotus flowers, GoddessLakshmi is called Padmavati. The lake from

which she emerged got the name PadmaSaras (Padmasarovar). In Dravidian languageshe is called 'Alarmelmanga' (The MotherGoddess seated on the elevated Lotus). Theplace where Vishnu worshipped her is knownas 'Tiruchanuru' which is near Tirupati. Thisword Tiruchanuru according to some scholarswas derived from Tiru (Divine) Jana (woman’s)Uru (Village) in South Indian regional language.This Tiru – Jana – Uru through passage of timehas become 'Tiruchanuru'.

Boon to all

In this manner Goddess Mahalakshmi’sincarnation as Padmavathi has turned out tobe a boon to all the devotees and Tiruchanuruis considered as a very great holy place next toVaikuntha. It is a proved experience of millionsof devotees to be pleased with the ever gracefulkindness of the Mother GoddessPadmavati or Mahalakshmi of thisplace.

6

8

11 13

9

14 15

10

1 2 3 4 5

7

12

AAAAA

PPPPP

EEEEE

SSSSS

UUUUU

KKKKK

RRRRR

AAAAA

NNNNN

RRRRR

TTTTT

DDDDD DDDDD AAAAA MMMMM AAAAA AAAAALLLLL

AAAAA AAAAA HHHHH

MMMMM MMMMM DDDDD

IIIII RRRRR IIIII

SSSSS SSSSS

AAAAAYYYYYWWWWWGGGGGAAAAA

VVVVV AAAAA RRRRR

OOOOO

OOOOOEEEEE

EEEEEIIIIIVVVVVRRRRR

UUUUU AAAAA

DDDDD AAAAA LLLLL SSSSS SSSSS

SOLUTION SOLUTION SOLUTION SOLUTION SOLUTION TTTTTO PUZZLEO PUZZLEO PUZZLEO PUZZLEO PUZZLE

2017 - MARCH19

2017 - MARCH20

Tirupati is a city at the foot of the Tirumala Hills.A Devotee wishing to worship Sri VenkateswaraSwami of Tirumala has to reach this town. Tirumala isalso called Tirupati from immemorial. The rural peopleused to call the hills of Lord Venkateswara as 'EguvaTirupati' (Upper Tirupati) and foot hill place as 'DiguvaTirupati' (Lower Tirupati). From 7th century A.D. to14 th Century A.D. Tirupati was calledThiruvengadam or Thiruvengada Kottam. Thereis another name for Tirumala hills, which areknown as 'Velikondalu' that means white hills. InTamil, the hills are called 'Velkadam'. The wordSri was preceded to the word 'Velkadam' and itbecame Tiruvelkadam. In due course of time ithas become Tiruvengadam. In Tirupati, ‘Tiru’means ‘Sri’ and it refers to the GoddessLakshmi Devi. ‘Pathi’ means Husband. Since,the husband of Goddess Lakshmi (tiru) isresiding on the hills the place was known asTirupati.

Legends according to Puranas

Let us now turn to the Sthalapurana of this temple. There is aninteresting Sthala purana about thetemple. After completion of the warwith Ravana at Lanka, SriRamchandra Murthi along with SitaDevi, Lakshmana, SugreevaHanumantha, Angada and othersleft for Ayodhya. Before reachingAyodhya, Sri Rama along with

20

SAPTHAGIRI 21

the followers went to Bharadwaja MaharshiAshram and spent some time. After that, SriRama along with followers left for Ayodhya. Onthe way to Ayodhya he spent some time atTirupati and took bath in the Pushkarini. Afterspending some time in Tirupati, he left forAyodhya. At this juncture, the Jambavanthainstalled the Archa murthies of Sri Rama, Sitaand Lakshmana and performed puja where SriRama took rest in Tirupati. This happened inTreta Yug. During the Dwapar Yug, the KingJanamejaya renovated the temple andperformed puja to Sri Rama.

During Mahanth's reign

It is known from the historical evidencethat the temple was constructed during the 9th

century A.D. The main entrance gopuram wasconstructed by the Vijayanagara rulers. During1480-81 the main temple was rebuilt byNarasimha Modaliar and during 1817-18,vimana prakaram and the holy tower over thegarbagriha i.e., Vimanam on sanctumsanctorum were built. Mahanth Dharmadasutook the work of goldplating to the Dwajastambaand donated Silver crowns to the idols of SriRama, Sita and Lakshmana and also presentedsilver bow to the Lord Rama. MahanthBhagavandas donated a number of goldornaments to the God. Mahanth Prayagadasbeautified the premises of the temple. Atpresent, the temple is under the administrationof the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams.

Temple Structure

The temple faces West and it was built inlarge area. The main entrance has three tiertower. There are balipeet and Dwajasthambh infront of the main temple in the premises. Themain temple consists of four mandaps i.e.Mukhamandap, Arthamandap, Antarala andGarbhagruha. In Mukhamandap, there isGarudalwar in front of the mulamurthi (Maindeity). In Artha mandap there are shrines ofVishwakshena and Sriman Ramanujacharya. Atthe entrance of Antarala we can find the idols oftwo dwarapalakas Jaya and Vijaya. In mainSanctum Sanctorum, we find the idols of Sri

Kodanda Ramachandramurthi adorned withbow and arrow. The idols of Sri Sita Devi andLakshmana Swami are on either side of SriRama.

Rare Appearance

Generally, in all Sri Rama temples, theidol of Sita Devi will be in the left side,Lakshmana Swami will be to the right of SriRama. But, the speciality of this temple is that,the idol of Sita Devi is to the right of Rama andLakshmana Swami to the left of SriRamachandra Murthi. Because of this, it isauspicious to worship Lord Sri Rama to fulfillthe desires of the devotees. Moreover, wecannot find Sri Anjaneya Swami alongwithmulavirat (main Deity). The reason for theabsence of Sri Anjaneya Swami was that, SriAnjaneya was the minister of Sugreeva hence,Jambavantha did not install Sri Anjaneya swami.In addition to Mulavirat, we can see theutsavamurthies, bhakta Anjaneyaswami,Vennamudda Krishnaswami and Sri ChakratAlwar in garbhagruha.

We can see Kalyana Mandap, potu(kitchen), Aswarthanarayana tree and UnjalMandapa in the temple premises. To theopposite side of Sri Kodandarama Swamitemple, we find the temple of Sri AnjaneyaSwami.

Sevas to the Lord

In the temple, every day Suprabhataseva, Viswaroopa Darshana seva, TomalaSeva, Sahasranamarchana and Ekanta sevaare performed. On every Saturday, Abhishekamis performed to the Lord. During punarvasuNakshatram every month, Kalyanam will beperformed. Annual Brahmotsavams will becelebrated in the month of Phalguna month fornine days in a grand style (This yearBrahmotsavams will be held from March 25th toApril 2nd). Various Vahan sevas and Rathotsavwill be performed to the Lord during brahmotsavgrandly. Sri Ramanavami, Vaikunta Ekadasi andDhanurmas utsavs are performed every yearwith pomp which is feast to the eyes.

The visit to the temple of Lord SriKodandarama Swami in Tirupati givespeace and joy to the devotees.

2017 - MARCH21

2017 - MARCH22

Gushyate yasya nagarerangayatra dinedine ITamaham shirasa vanderajanam kulasekharam II

This beautiful sloka is aninvocatory prayer chanted inpraise of Kulasekhar Alwar. Itpoignantly captures the divine lifeof the Alwar who incarnated inthe Punarvasu Asterism of theMaasi (February-March) monthas the Amsa of SrimanNarayana’s Kaustubam. TheAlwar was a big king whosekingdom covered the Chera,Chola and Pandya regions asmentioned by him in his verses

(Kozhiyarkon, Kollikavalan,Koodalnayakan). He cherished agreat desire to make a pilgrimageto the foremost Vaishnava DivyaDesam Srirangam. Every day hewould set out on this mission buthis ministers would remind him ofmany urgent, compelling stateduties that needed his attentionand bring him back to the palace.Knowing their king well they fearedthat if he had darshan of theglorious form of the PeriyaPerumal, he may choose torenounce the crown and settledown at Arangam permanently. Thestate officials would inviteVaishnava devotees frequently topartake lunch in the palace wellaware of the king’s devotion tobhagavats. The king’s yatra planswould be postponed as hostingdevotees should get precedenceover all other matters. Thus in theAlwar’s capital the plans for ‘RangaYatra’ echoed every day butbetween his stately duties andcommitment to serve devoteesthey did not materialize for a longtime.

The Alwar saints weremystics who poured out theirintense experience of the Almightyin chaste, sweet and musical Tamilverses. Kulasekhar Alwar wasperhaps the only one among themwho sang in Tamil and Sanskrittoo! His Tamil work “PerumalThirumozhi” of hundred and fiveverses is part of the Mudalayiramof the Nalayira DivyaPrabhandham. The devotionalSanskrit hymn “Mukundamala”authored by him is a very popular

SAPTHAGIRI 22

SAPTHAGIRI 23

heaven as Devendra. Initially he wanted to beborn as a crane living in the Swami Pushkarinibut then he was worried that a bird by naturalinstincts may fly away from the Kshetra. Hethen wondered if it would be a better choice tobecome a fish in the sacred tank as there is noway it can go away from the waters. The blissof contact with the feet of bhagavats wasassured too as all the pilgrims will surely takea dip in the sacred tank. Gradually the Alwar’sflight of fancy conjured up various elaboratedreams where he wants to become a temple‘Kainkaryapara’ who will have easy guaranteedaccess to the Lord’s presence. It is obviousfrom his words that darshan at Tirumala wasdifficult even in his days. He could be aChampaka tree shedding fragrant flowers onthe slopes or could be a part of the windingpath that is trodden by thousands of devotees.He could take the form of a peak in the mountainrange or just stand as an inert pillar or asparkling rapid that flows in the kshetra.

As the lovely experience unfolds, theAlwar enters the shrine where Devatas jostlewith the devotees eager to catch a glimpse ofThiruvengadamudayan. He realizes that thebest position to be in would be the steppingstone in front of the Lord from where he couldrevel eternally on the coral like lips of thesupreme charmer. Having explored all thepossibilities the realization dawns that it doesn’treally matter what you are as long as you areon this holy land. Kulasekhar Perumalconcludes the exquisitely beautiful decad onTirumala with the soulful plea“Thiruvengadamennum emperuman pon malaimel edenum aavene!”. There is a movinganecdote about Tirumala Ananthalwan whoraised a big garden to perform PushpaKainkaryam to the Lord of the Hills. Ananthalwanwho adored these special verses onThiruvengadam considered every object on theholy hills as re-incarnations of devotees like theAlwar. Once while trekking down the hills hecarried a packet of curd rice for partaking onthe journey. Having reached the base he openedthe parcel to find the food infested with ants.The first thought that arose in his mind was “Ihave been instrumental in bringing these antswho want to live on Tirumala down. They maybecelestials or devotees like the Alwars!” Withoutwasting a second Ananthalwan rushed up todeposit the bundle safely on the hills. Such isthe impact of the magical verses of theAlwar on the devout.

“Alwar Thiru Adigale Saranam”

stotra which is hauntingly perfect too like hisTamil verses. In both the compositions the Alwarspeaks fervently about his desire to besurrounded by bhaktas, to serve them and toadorn his head with the sacred dust under theirfeet. Swami Vedanta Desikan described him as“Thuyya Kulasekharan” meaning the pure one ashe personified the ultimate state of love for theLord which is Bhagavata Nishtai. The words ofKulasekhar Alwar inspired Thondaradipodi Alwarto renounce his name Vipranarayana and callhimself as Thondaradipodi.

This Alwar was specially devoted to theLord’s Ramavatara and had a lot in common withthe Prince of Ayodhya. Born in the same asterismof Punarvasu, Kulasekhar was a just, righteousKing like Raja Ram and loved to hear theRamayana from learned scholars. His decad on‘Thillai Nagar Thiruchitrakkoodam’ condenses thevast storehouse of Rama bhakti enshrined in hisheart, in ten nectar like verses which can bechanted daily to get a complete Ramayanaexperience. In Vaishnava parlance, Rama iscalled, as “Perumal” and Lord Ranganatha whowas worshipped by the kings of the Ikshvakudynasty including Rama is called as 'PeriaPerumal'. Kulasekhar Alwar who was particularlypartial to the Lord’s incarnation as the son ofDasaratha and to Sri Ranganatha among Archaforms, is addressed as ‘Kulasekhar Perumal’.

Relationship with Tirumala

Kulasekhar Perumal handed over the reinsof the empire to his son to fulfill his lifelong dreamto make a pilgrimage to Divya Deshas. From hisverses we gather that he visited Srirangam,Thiruvengadam, Thiru Vittuvakkodu, ThiruchitiraKoodam and Thirukannapuram. TheSrivaishnava tradition adores the verses ofPerumal Thirumozhi and cherishes his words intemple lore by calling the innermost steppingstone in the sanctum sanctorum as “KulasekharaPadi”. What started in the temple of the Holy hillsis now a regular practice in all Vishnu temples.

Tirumala, believed to be Vaikunta on earthis resplendent with all the splendor of nature, thelofty peaks kissed by dark clouds, the denseforest cover enriched by the countless watersources. As one ascends the long winding pathup the hills the devout prayer of Kulasekhar Alwar(Perumal Thirumozhi- 4-10) which says “May Ibe blessed to be born as some object on thisgolden hill” resounds in the heart. This Alwar whocame from a very privileged royal lineage spurnedall the riches and declared that he desired to bereborn not as a king in this terrestrial world or in

2017 - MARCH23

2017 - MARCH24

Annamaiah also known as Annamacharya, fromTallapaka, is a renowned Telugu composer-singer whoprimarily had sung and written many keerthanas on LordVenkateswara of Seven Hills. He is considered to be theincarnation of “Nandaka, the sword of Lord Vishnu”. Hewas completely involved throughout his life, serving theLord of Tirumala. Most of the songs are composed inTelugu and few are in Sanskrit. He had composed32000 keerthanas dedicated to Lord Srinivasa.

Nava Vidha Bhakthi elaborates the BhakthiRasas in various stages and forms. It can be alsoconsidered as Ragamalika - Vanamala (the garland) toLord Venkateswara by Annamaiah through hiskeerthans. All the compositions are only throughBhakthi. And, the bhakthi is blossomed into “NavavidhaBhakthi”. Few compositions by Annamaiah entangledby Navavidha Bhakthi are here under for the readers ofSapthagiri.

SHRAVANAM

It is the foremost Bhakthi wherehearing the names and glories of the Lord,one will start getting immersed in thebhakthi.

Madhava Kesava Madhusudana VishnuSridhara padanakham cimtayamiyuyam |...Vamana Govinda Vasudeva PradyumnaRama Rama Krishna Narayana Achytha II

The above Sankeerthana describesthe names and praises of Lord Vishnu. Allthe avataras of Lord Vishnu are alsomentioned and finally he wishes to servethe Lord. It is also fortunate to hear theLord’s name and get sanctified.

Vinaro Bhaagyamu Vishnu KathaVennubalamidivo Vishnu Katha ....yillide Sri Venkatesvaru namamuVelligolipe ni vishnukatha ||

In this Sankeerthana, Annamaiahdescribes that, It is a fortune, the VishnuKatha! backbone, is this, Vishnu Katha! akinto Vedas, is Vishnu Katha! Sages likeNarada enlightened this Vishnu Katha!Praised by Veda Vyasa, is this famed,pristine, Vishnu Katha! the sacred namereveals this Vishnu Katha!

KEERTANAM

Keertanam is chanting the Lord'sglories always. This will reap benefits to thelife that we live. The chanting of “Hari Nama”will ensure happiness. This should be ahabit so that one can get rid of faults donein the previous births. One will getdetachment of the self and will get

Annamaiah's Sankirtanas dazzle in poetic excellence and with a chiselled structure andcarryout outstanding musical element along with strong emotional element, enhancing theirmelodic, aesthetic and rhetorical value.

Hearing the Lord’s divine attributes, beauty, valour through Annamaiah’s sankeerthanasmakes everyone elevated in life and be one with the Lord. The world should be thankful toAnnamaiah for his ecstatic contributions. The greatness in his sankeerthanas is that, LordSrinivasa himself had personally heard and enjoyed his mellifluous sankeerthanas. So, oneshould daily sing Annamacharya’s sankeerthanas which will make Lord Sri Venkateswara happyand bless us too.

2017 - MARCH24

SAPTHAGIRI 25

enlightened in this Kaliyug. This will relieve fromcycle of birth and death. The root of eternalhappiness is only the Keerthana and chanting allthe times as Bhagavatham emphasize that inKaliyug, “Nama Sankeerthanam” will lead to goodprosperous life.Hari Naamamu kadu Aananda karamumarugavo marugavo marugavo manasaa ...adiyaalambila ati Sukhamulamutadavavo, tadavavo, tadavavo manasa ||

The name of 'Hari' is supremely blissful!He is the destroyer of Sins of 'Kali', the destroyerof 'hell', the one which is benevolent for the entireworld, the one with attributes beyond the gunas,the origin of supreme bliss.

SMARANAM

Smaranam is the beautiful bhakthi for truebhakthas, as they always remember the Lord andhis glories. This could be at all times and have theinner feeling of Lord’s presence within oneself.

Bhaavayami gopaala baalam mana sevitamtatpadam chintayeyam sada ......Tiru venkatachala sthita manupamamharim parama purusham gopala balam ||

In this Sankeerthana, Annamaiahmeditates upon the child Gopala, who shinesbrilliantly, decorated with gems, who played withbutter, who shines in the thoughts of divinities,who resides eternally on Tiru Venkatachala.

Bhaavamulona baahyamu nandunuGovinda Govinda yani koluvavo manasaa….Achyuthudu Sri Venkatadri meeda nideAchyutha Achyutha Sarananavo manasa ...II

In this Sankeerthana, Annamaiah chantsGovinda, Govinda and pays reverence! Vishnualone is the innerself of the entire universe.Achyuta alone is the beginning and the end isAchyuta Himself.

PAADA SEVANAM

Paada Sevanam is a perfect 'Seva' to theLord's feet. All the devotees' wish to performPaada seva to Lord as His feet is the only way toget salvation. And as per this seva, one can attain'Saranagathi'.

Brahma Kadigina Paadamu -Brahmamu Taanenee Paadamu.........Tiru Venkatagiri Tiramani Cupina -Parama Padamu Nee Paadamu II

In thissankeerthana,A n n a m a i a hpraised theLord's feet indifferent ways.He said that,the feet whichLord Brahmawashed withreverence, feetworshipped byVasudha, footm e a s u r e dentire sky, feetplaced onKaliya's head,the feet grantsalvation!

ARCHANA

Archana isworsh ipp ingthe Lord withflowers withu t m o s tdevotion.

Deva Devam bhaje divya prabhavamraavanaasura vairi rana pungavam...lankaa visosanam laalita VibhisanamVenkatesam Saadhu vibudha Vinutam ||

In this sankeerthana, Annamaiah praisesthe Lord of Gods, the divinely glorious one! To theenemy of the demon Ravana, to the lion in thebattle field! To the prominent among kings, themoon of the sun-clan, one who wields the bow,whose body like the blue ocean, protector ofdharma, who broke bow of Janaka, conquerer ofLanka, praised by sages and all!

VANDANAM

Vandanam is to offer bow before Lordwhich is submitting our ego. Often Vandanam ismade by praising the wonders of Lord. It is oftenmentioned or practice is 'Sri' Sampradaya thatone should first get the blessings of belovedmother Mahalakshmi and then Lord Vishnu.

SAPTHAGIRI 25

2017 - MARCH26

Marali Marali jayamangalam soridinichchalunu Subha mangalam ..........

This Sankeerthana emphasizes that,praising Goddess Mahalakshmi, Goddess Bhoodevi as well as Lord Sriman Narayana all the threedeities together by performing Aarati.

DAASYAM

Daasyam, is compassionate serving theLord continuously. This can be equally treated toservice done by Nityasuris in Vaikunta. Livingbeings in this world get relief from the worldlyclutches by serving Lord. The song 'MadhavaKesava Madhusudhana' mentions Sravanamends through 'Daasya Bhakthi' towards the Lord.

SAKHYAM

Sakhyam is friendship with the Lord.Annamaiah always treats God as friend at all timesas Lord had helped him in every aspect of his life.Whenever he was in trouble - like wronglypunished by the king or when the learned menwanted to burn all his sankeerthanas (divinesongs), Lord saved him from the evil clutches.Every time, he dedicates beautiful keerthana toLord as a token of gratitude. The song “NagadharaNarasimha” exhibits the nine kinds of rasas shown

by Little Krishna and his splendor and thanks theLord as he was his true friend in need.

AATMA NIVEDANAM

Aatma Nivedanam, the final bhakthi whichis the total surrender of oneself to the Lord. Thisis also termed as “Saranagathi” or “Prapatti”. Thebhaktas that are heard in Puranas have followedthis bhakthi. The Nityasuris residing in Vaikuntaare void from birth and death as they have done“Aatma Nivedanam” to Lord and thus reside inVaikunta always.

Srimannarayana SrimannarayanaSrimannarayanani Sripadame saranu...

Srimannarayana, our shelter is at yourdivine feet! One who loves the lotus, one whosustains Brahma, one who is higher than thehighest! One is the most subtle form, you are'The' shelter!

Annamaiah was truly a blessed child, andinded he was a Parama - Bhagavatha and lead alife of Servitude under the foot stool of LordVenkateswara.

Om Namo Venkatesaya!

2017 - MARCH26

SAPTHAGIRI 31

The second millennium was a landmark in

the religious history of India. During the beginning

of the era, several Acharyas emerged and played

important role in unearthing the lore of Sri

Vaishnavism through their service to the Lord and

enriching the disciples. Among the acharyas,

Tirukkachchi Nambi’s life and service to the Lord

are always enlivening. Born in the Star of

'Mrugaseersha' in Masi month in Sowmya year

(1009) at Poovirundavalli, now called

Poonamalle, near Chennai, Tirukkachchi Nambi

was an amsa of 'Vishwaksena'. It is said that he

was born as a fourth son by the grace of

Tirumazhisai Alwar in a Vysya family to

'Veeraraghava and Kamalai'. Since he was born

with the blessings of Tirumazhisai Alwar, his

parents named him 'Bhargavapriya'. He is

popular with a name, 'Kanchi Purna', a name to

cajole as he accomplished jnana, bhakti and

vairagya. Yamunacharya named him 'Perarula

Dasar'.

SAPTHAGIRI 31

2017 - MARCH32

Nambi was a King of

Poovirundavalli. With the blessings of

Tirumazhisai Alwar, he was doing

flower weaving service to Lord

Varadaraja at Kancheepuram. Having

satisfied with his service, Lord with so

much of love called him 'Tirukkachchi

Nambi'. Since then he was popular

with that name. He was looking for an

opportunity to do daily service to Lord,

by donating the properties which were

given by his father, to bhagavats.

Kainkaryam (Service)

One day, the Lord appeared in

his dream and ordered him to do

service at Kancheepuram. He obeyed

His order and prayed for allotting a

service acceptable to Him. Since the

Lord emerged from the Yaga kund, the

Lord blessed Nambi to do fanning

service. Pleased with him, the Lord

used to speak with him. At a later

stage, he requested the Lord to grant him moksha. The

Lord told him that having done fanning service and

speaking with him, he would obtain liberation only when

he became a disciple of an Acharya. Then Nambi went to

Srirangam and with the assistance of Periya Nambi, he

had pancha samskara from Yamunacharya. He was doing

service in the house of Periya Nambi for some time looking

after the cows, besides doing service to Periya Nambi.

Periya Nambi used to call him with so much affection as

‘Nam Tirukkachchi Nambi Dasar’. Having been blessed by

Periya Nambi, Tirukkachchi Nambi desired to do fanning

service to Lord Ranganatha. Since the Lord is in the midst

of Kaveri river, He denied the fanning service and asked

Nambi to visit Tirumala and do service to Lord

Tiruvenkatamudayan. So, Nambi left for Tirumala and

prayed the deity to accept his fanning service. He was

also denied the service, as He is residing in the chilly

weather and advised him to do service to Lord Varadaraja,

who emerged from Yaga kund. Accordingly, Nambi

reached Kancheepuram and permanently did fanning

service to the Lord.

One day, he prayed to the Lord to give him a name

which is applicable to his soul. Then the Lord, who was

worshipped by Gajendra some time ago, thought of

naming Nambi as Sri Gajendra Das. At one time,

Yamunacharya visited Kancheepuram and after

worshipping the Lord, Tirukkachchi Nambi showed Sri

Ramanuja who was in the midst of pupils of

Yadavaprakasa. Nambi requested Yamunacharya to bless

Sri Ramanuja to become the crusader of our Darsana. At

the instance of Nambi, Yamunacharya did saranagathi at

the feet of Lord. Hence, Sri Ramanuja became our

Crusader of Sri Vaishnava Darsana, later this sampradaya

is known as 'Sri Ramanuja Darsana'.

He used to stay at Sri Ramanuja’s house in

Sriperumbudur for overnight while visiting Kancheepuram,

it is said that, Sri Ramanuja desired to become his

disciple. But Nambi refused. He wished to take leftover

food of Nambi. But Sri Ramanuja’s wife did not

accomplish this. Nambi ordered Sri Ramanuja to do

2017 - MARCH32

SAPTHAGIRI 33

service in bringing water from the well for

Lord Varadaraja’s Tirumanjanam. It was

Tirukkachchi Nambi who cleared the doubts

of Sri Ramanuja by having dialogue with

Lord Varadaraja. The meanings of the six

tenets (Aru Varthai) are as follows:

1. Aham Eva Param tatvam (I alone am

the Supreme Being).

2. Dharsanam Bheda eva cha (Difference

between the Lord and man is the main

philosophical truth).

3. Mokshopaya Prapattih syath (total

surrender is the means of liberation).

4. Antima Smriti Varjanam (remembering

me at last moment of one’s life is not

necessary.

5. Dehaasane Mokshah syat (liberation is

possible only after the end of the

physical body).

6. Purnayam tu Samasraye (but you

have to resort to Mahapurna as your

spiritual guide.

The very first text Vedartha Sangraha

of Sri Ramanuja is the elaboration and

establishment of supreme being as

mentioned in the first verse of Lord

Devaraja. Tirukkachchi Nambi wrote a

Stotra on Lord Varadaraja, called Devaraja

Ashtakam, containing eight slokas. There

are two tanians for this stotra written by Sri

Ramanuja and Mudaliyandan. There is a

saying that these two taniyans were written

by Ramanusa pillai, a disciple of Pillai

Lokam Jeeyar, in his text Sri Kanchipurna

Satakam. In the first taniyan, Sri Ramanuja

called Nambi as Kanchi Muni. Muni means,

not a saint, as he is meditating Brahma vidya. Since

he is not a saint, he desired to take food in the house

of Sri Ramanuja, when he was not there. This is the

first Stotra on Archavathara Deity among 108 Divya

Desas. It is said that in Sri Kanchipoorna Vimsati

that Tirukkachchi Nambi is the amsa of Satakopa

and Sri Ramanuja is the amsa of Sri Madhurakavi.

Hence, the relationship of Tirukkachchi Nambi and

Sri Ramanuja is in resemblance with Satakopa and

Madhurakavi, He also composed two invocatory

hymns on Tirumazhisai Alwar and his Prabandham

Tiruchchanda Viruttam. He lived for 91 years.

SAPTHAGIRI 33

SAPTHAGIRI

Board of Trustees

represented by the

Executive Officer on behalf

of T.T.D., Tirupati

STATEMENT ABOUT OWNERSHIP AND OTHERPARTICULARS ABOUT

(MONTHLY)FORM IV

See Rule 8

1. Place of Publication : TIRUPATI

2. Periodicity of its Publication : Monthly

3. Honorary Editor : Dr. D.Sambasiva Rao, I.A.S.,

Executive Officer, TTD

4. Printer's Name : Smt. M.Gowthami, M.B.A.,

Whether citizen of India : Yes

Address : Dy. E.O., (Publications and Press)

T.T.D., Tirupati.5. Editor & Publisher's Name : Dr.K.Radha Ramana,M.A, M.Phil, Ph.d

Whether citizen of India : YesAddress : Chief Editor,(F.A.C),

Sapthagiri,T.T.D. Journal, Tirupati.

6. Name and address of

individuals who own the

Newspaper and partners or

shareholders holding more than

one percent of the Total Capital

I, K.Radha Ramana, hereby declare that the particulars given

above are true to the best of my knowledge and belief.

TIRUPATI (Sd.) Dr.K.Radha Ramana

Date : 28-2-2017 Signature of the Publisher

2017 - MARCH34

Matsya is said to have rescued the first man Manu froma great deluge. Matsya may be depicted as a giant fish oranthropomorphically with a human torso connected to the rearhalf of a fish. The earliest accounts of the legend associateMatsya with the creator God Prajapati (Brahma). However,Puranic scriptures incorporate Matsya as an avatar of Vishnu.Matsya forewarns Manu about an impending catastrophic floodand orders him to collect all the grains of the world in a boat.All living creatures are also to be preserved in the boat explainedin some parts of the story. When the deluge destroyed theworld, Manu accompanied by the seven great sages survivedby boarding the ark, which Matsya pulled to safety. The sacredtexts, Vedas were hidden by a demon, whom Matsya slayed.Manu is rescued and the scriptures were recovered. The taleis in the tradition of the family of deluge myths, common acrosscultures.

Matsya is depicted in twoforms: as a zoomorphic fish orin an anthropomorphic form. Inthe latter form, the upper half isthat of the four-armed man andthe lower half is a fish (anexception is a sculpture in theChennakesava Temple,

Somanathapura), whereMatsya was portrayed as afish-headed human. The upperhalf resembles Vishnu andwears the traditionalornaments and thekiritamakuta, tall conical crownas worn by Vishnu. He holds intwo of his hands theSudarshana chakra (discus)and a shankha (conch), theusual weapons of Vishnu. Theother two hands make the

2017 - MARCH34

SAPTHAGIRI 35

gestures of varadamudra, which grants boonsto the devotee and abhayamudra, whichreassures the devotee of protection. In anotherconfiguration, he might have all four attributes ofVishnu, namely the Sudarshana chakra, ashankha, a gada (mace) and a lotus.The humantorso generally wears a shawl and a garland.The shawl worn over his elbows may bewrapped, so that the switch between the humantorso and fish half is hidden. Matsya may bedepicted alone or in a scene depicting hiscombat with a demon. A demon called'Shankhasura' emerging from a conch issometimes depicted attacking Matsya with asword as Matsya combats or kills him. Both ofthem may be depicted in the ocean, while theGod Brahma and manuscripts or four men,symbolizing the Vedas may be depicted in thebackground. In some scenes, Matsya is depictedas a fish pulling the boat with Manu and theseven great sages (Saptarishi) on it.

Myth in Hinduism

The Shatapatha Brahmana is the earliestextant text to mention Matsya and the delugemyth in Hinduism. It identifies the fish withPrajapati Brahma. The central characters arethe fish (Matsya) and Vaivasvata Manu orSatyavrata, who becomes the progenitor ofmankind. Vaivasvata Manu, the legislator and theancestor of two mythical royal dynasties andwho later became the progenitor of mankindwas mentioned in this version. Water is broughtto Manu for his ablutions and while Manu waswashing and taking bath, he caught a small fishin his hands was told in this version. The tinyfish appealed to Manu to protect him, so that hewas not eaten by a bigger fish and in returnpromised to rescue Manu from an impendingflood. The fish requested Manu to keep him in ajar and allow him to grow and thereafter dig a pitand transfer him there. As he outgrew the pit, heasked to transfer him into the ocean, where asa large fish, he will then become indestructible.

He also informed the time, when the greatdeluge will occur. He then asked Manu to buildan ark to save himself from the flood and callhim, when the ark was ready. Manu rears thefish as instructed and then leaves it free in theocean. On the predicted day, the devastatingfloods flowed and Manu entered the ark he hadbuilt, as the waters rose. The fish then swam tothe ark and Manu tied the rope of the ark to hishorn. The fish took it safely to the high groundsof the northern mountains, interpreted asHimalayas. The ark was then tied to a tree andthe fish instructed Manu to get off the ark andslowly step on to the mountain the waterrecedes. After Manu descended onto themountain after the water receded, he was thesole survivor on the earth, as all other creatureswere washed away by the floods.

Manu then took upon the task of creatingthe new human race. Seeking procreation, hethen started austerities and worshipped godsby performing sacrifices, offering butter, milk,curd and ghee to the sacrificial fire. Within ayear, his prayers were answered. A beautifulwoman called ‘Ida’ appeared and he married herand together they initiated the race of Manu, asAryans called themselves. Matsya pullingManu’s ark to the Shatapatha Brahmanaversion, but also differs in some ways. Manu isintroduced as Vaivasvata Manu - Vaivasvatabeing a patronymic - the son of the sun godVivasvan (Surya) and a powerful rishi (sage)equal to Brahma in glory. While Manu isperforming religious rituals on the banks of theChervi, he finds the fish. The legend moves inthe same vein with minor modifications in thatthe fish grows in size, gets transferred from anearthen pot to a tank or lake and then to themighty Ganges (called the spouse of theOcean) and finally to the sea.

The fish navigated it with great forcethrough the turbulent and salty waters of the

SAPTHAGIRI 35

2017 - MARCH36

ocean and reached the safe heights of theHimalayas. As directed by the fish, the vesselwas tied to the peak of the Himalayas, whichbecame known as the Naubandhana (theharbour). Matsya tells the sages that he isPrajapati Brahma, the lord of all beings andtheir saviour who rescued them from danger inthe form of a fish. The fish informed that Manuwould create all beings - gods, demons andmen and other movable and immovable things- by the power of his austerities. The fishvanished and Manu acted on the advice ofBrahma, creating all beings.

According to Matsya Purana

The Matsya Purana scripture tradition isidentifying the fish (Matsya) with Vishnu insteadof Brahma. The Purana derives its name fromMatsya. It starts with the legend of Manu. King

Manu renounced the world, handing his throneto his son and set off to the Malaya mountainsto perform tapas (austerities). Pleased with theausterities, Brahma granted his wish to rescuethe world at the time of pralaya (dissolution ofthe universe). Like in the other accounts, Manumeets the tiny fish. The fish is placed in a jar, ina reservoir that is two yojanas in height, andeventually ends up in the ocean. Astonished bythe fish’s accelerating growth, Manu realizesthat the fish is none other than Vishnu. Vishnuas Matsya reveals his real identity and informsManu that a pralaya would soon come as a Yug(epoch) and a kalpa (Brahma's day) would soonend. Matsya preparing to slay the demon,Brahma sleeps in his night and his creationdissolves, submerging the earth and all theother worlds in the cosmos in the primevalocean. Vishnu promises to return to rescueManu at the time of pralaya and orders him tobring all living creatures and seeds of all treeson a boat, which the gods would gift him. Aspralaya came, Matsya came and pulled the boatwith the serpent Sesha as the rope, fastened tohis horn. In the journey towards the top of theMalaya mountains, Manu asks Matsya questionsand their ensuing dialogue constitutes the restof the text.

According to Bhagavata Purana

The Bhagavata Purana adds anotherreason for Vishnu to appear as Matsya. At theend of a kalpa, a danava (demon) calledHayagriva (“horse-faced”) steals the sacredVeda texts when they come out of Brahma’smouth when he yawns at the start of his night,fatigued by the creation of the universe.Meanwhile, Satyavrata (also known asVaivasvata Manu), who was the current Manu(there are multiple Manus in Puranic texts), andthe king of Dravida country, South India, wasperforming severe austerities, sustaining only onwater. Once when he was offering water oblation

2017 - MARCH36

SAPTHAGIRI 37

in the Kritamala River, a tiny ‘Shaphari’ fish wascaught in his folded hands. As the king wasabout to throw away the fish, the fish pleadedwith him not to be thrown into the water, wherelarger fishes would devour it. Assuring the fishprotection, the king put it in a small jar and tookit with him. But the fish grew larger by the dayand requested for more space; the king movedit into a small pond, but the fish soon outgrewit. As the fish outgrew water reservoirs,Satyavrata transferred it to a lake, then to largerreservoirs and ultimately requested Satyavratathat it was afraid of the dangerous marinepredators of the ocean. Bewildered by thesewords, the king asked the fish to reveal his trueidentity, but soon deduced that the supernaturalfish was none other than Vishnu andsurrendered to him. Matsya-Vishnu declaredthat a great deluge would come in seven daysfrom then and engulf the universe. He orderedSatyavrata to assemble the seven great sagesand with their counsel, gather all kinds ofseeds, herbs and various beings to load themonto an ark that would be sent by Vishnu onthe fateful day. He instructed that the serpentVasuki should be used as a rope to tie the boatto Matsya along with the Vedas as infants tohis fish-horn. Promising that he would sail theboat through the waters throughout the night ofBrahma, Matsya along disappeared after hisrevelation and reappeared as a horned fish onthe day of the deluge, when torrential rainsdrenched the earth. Satyavrata did as Vishnubade him and fastened the ark to the hornedfish (Matsya).

As Matsya swam through the floodwaters, he discoursed the king on varioustopics and revealed to him the knowledge ofthe Vedas, Puranas, Samhitas as well as theSupreme Truth. After last waves of the floodreceded, Matsya slew Hayagriva and rescuedthe Vedas and handed them over to Brahma,

who woke up after his night. The narrative endswith the narrator Sage Shuka praying to Matsyaand declaring that whoever listens to this tale isabsolved of sin and remembering Matsya dailygrants success to the devotee.

Manu’s boat is representative of moksha(salvation), which helps one to cross Himalayasis treated as a boundary between the earthlyexistence and land of salvation beyond. God asthe fish guides one to salvation. The horn of thefish is symbolic of “sacrificial values”. Thepresence of fish seems to be an allusion to theIndian “law of the fishes”, an equivalent to the“law of the jungle”, when the fish seeksprotection from being eaten by a larger fish.Treated as a parable, the tale advises a goodking should protect the weak from the mighty,reversing the “law of fishes” and upholddharma,like Manu, the progenitor of mankind and inparticular two royal dynasties, thus an ideal king.In the tales where the demon hides the Vedas,dharma is threatened and Vishnu as the divineSaviour, rescues dharma, aided by his earthlycounterpart, Manu - the king.

According to Agni Purana

The Agni Purana version is similar to theBhagavata Purana version, but mentionsVaivasvata Manu only collecting all seeds (nonliving beings) and assembling the seven greatsages similar to the Mahabharata version. It alsoadds the basis of the Matsya Purana, being thediscourse of Matsya to Manu, to the BhagavataPurana version. Matsya is believed to symbolisethe first stage of evolution, as aquatic life wasthe first beings on earth. The tale of Matsya maybe interpreted as a creation myth where Manucreates beings of the world and men after theyhad been destroyed in the flood, though thecreation is never the focus of the legend.Some may consider the tale not a floodmyth, but symbolic in nature.

SAPTHAGIRI 37

2017 - MARCH38

In this feature of the TempleArchitecture series, we discuss in detail,the various structures and pavilions inthe Sampangi Prakaram or the outerpassage around the Vimana Prakaram(inner circumambulatory path). It is thepathway that the devotee comes acrossas soon as he enters the main entry wayof the temple. There are severalimportant and interesting structures inthis passage way.

Sampangi Pradakshinam

Previously this pathway did nothave any enclosing walls. It was an openarea with many separate structures andthe path was full of Champaka trees.Thus it was known as ‘SampangiPradakshina’ (also Champak Aavarana)even today. In the Northwestern cornerof this prakaram is a spring known asViraja Nadi, whose waters are presentlyunusable.

Emperor Saluva Narasimhaconstructed four pavilions in the fourcorners of the Sampangi Pradakshina in1470. These were simple structuressupported by four plain pillars. He named

them after his wife, two sons andhimself. Often the processional deitywas brought out during specialoccasions and a court or Asthanam washeld and prasadams were distributed tothe pilgrims. The outer Prakara wallswere later constructed enclosing thesefour corner mandapas. Also severalrooms were constructed long the innerside of the walls for various purposes.These included the Ugrana (storeroom), Pattadi (a room for preservingsilk garments), Ramanuja Kootam(constructed in 1450, where pilgrimswere offered free food), Padi-potu, thetemple kitchen for preparing variousPrasadams and also the Yamuna –turai(the room where flower garlands werekept before adorning them to the Lord).The other important pavilions andmandapas included the RangaMandapam, which was an independentouter structure, the Tirumala RayaMandapam, the Aina Mahal, theDhwajasthamba Mandapam. All of themalong with the main entry way arediscussed further below.

2017 - MARCH38

SAPTHAGIRI 39

Architecture of Srivari Temple at Tirumala

Mahadwara or Padikavali or Main Entry

As we approach the Mahadwaram ormain entry way of Lord Venkateswara temple atTirumala, one may notice faded inscriptions onthe side walls. The inscriptions appear familiarand unfamiliar at the same time. Also many acoin stuck in crevices between slabs of ancientstone remind us of pilgrims of bygone decades.Gushing cool waters near the threshold washaway the pains of tired feet and the devoteeexperiences inexplicable relief upon reachingthe main doors of Kaliyuga Vaikunta.

The Mahadwara gopuram stands on aquadrangular base. It is constructed in thetraditional South Indian style with wide stonework sills and soffits. The stone door framesare placed symmetrically on either side.Theupper threshold has a downward Kumbha.Huge folding doors are hung on pivots andconsist of latticed wood work. On the back theyare supported by stout wooden batons. A smalltrap door is also present on the left door whichis used before opening the Main Door duringthe predawn ritual ‘Suprabhatam’ and only byspecific people. There is no actual proof of thedate of construction of this particular compoundwall and gopuram. But a date can be arrivedafter a careful study of the inscriptions on theouter walls. It appears that the outer gopuramwas constructed before 1217 A.D, and it wasonly a flat terrace until 1260 A.D. The tiers ofthe first gopuram seem to have beenconstructed at a much later date. The presenceof fragments of incriptions of the Pandya periodimplies that the gopuram must have beenerected at a period when the inscriptions werealmost destroyed. This inference is madebecause the inscriptions on the outer walls ofthe Inner Prakaram (The VimanaPradakshinam) belong to the period ofJatavarma Sundara Pandyan (1251 A.D). Thefive tiers were constructed between 1472 -1482A.D. when Saluva Narasimha made anendowment for the construction of the gopuram.It is a very ordinary Shikhara when compared tothe humongous and awe inspiring gopurams ofother renowned temples of South India,especially the gopuras of temples in TamilNadu. The statues and carvings are quitemundane and a renovation made in 1953 hasnot contributed much to the beauty of thegopuram. A carving of Gaja Lakshmi may beseen facing outward on the entrance of thegopuram.

An interesting point may be notedregarding the placement of the stone slabs inthe construction of the temple walls. They aremarked with the letters “Om, Na, ma, ha, Si ,va, ya, si, dha , ye, na , ma , ha” in Telugu script,followed by the letters “ a, A, i, I,” the telugualphabets. Also another letter to indicate thedirection of the wall is also used (U, Uttara forNorth; da for dakshina or South, Pa, forpaschima or West and pu, for poorva orEast).The circumambulatory path within theseouter walls is known as Sampangi Prakaram.

The threshold of the main entry way isflanked on both sides by the bronze icons ofShankhanidhi and Padmanidhi, as theDwarapalakas. The compound walls are fourfeet thick, with the tower being more than 50metres above ground. Also the walls are 414feet East to West and 263 feet North to South.Thus these great walls serve the temple moreas a fortress and enclose the entire two acresof the shrine within its folds.

Pratima Mandapa

As the devotee proceeds further, he entersa rectangular quadrangle. It is 27’ wide and 24’6"in length, leaving a passage of 16 feet in themiddle and two wings nearly 10 feet wide oneither side. This area is known as the PratimaMandapam because of the various statues andstatuettes placed here. There are a total ofsixteen pillars supporting the mandapa and itswings. To the right of the devotee entering thequadrangle is a set of life size copper statues.They are exceptionally attractive and belong tothe most famous ruler of the VijayanagaraEmpire, Sri Krishnadeva Raya (1509-1530) andhis two wives Rani Tirumala Devi and RaniChinna Devi. These statues were set up by theemperor himself on 2nd January 1517.

Similarly on the left side or the Southernwing, we come across the copper cast statuesof Venkatapati Raya (1570), the ruler of Aravidudynasty of Chandragiri. The names of theserulers and their spouses are inscribed on theshoulder of the statues. Also beside VenkatapatiRaya stand the stone icon of Achyutaraya, thesuccessor of Sri Krishnadeva Raya and his wifeVaradaji Amman.

It is interesting to note that though thestatues belong to that of great rulers, they are all

SAPTHAGIRI 39

2017 - MARCH40

in a pose of surrender in front of the Lord. Thestatues are made well within the rules of theAgama that prescribe that any other statue ofa mortal within the temple walls must alwaysbe in a supplicant mode; also the attire shouldbe humble as can be seen in these statues.The ruler or emperor is allowed only his crownas a jewel as can be seen in this instance.

Thulabharam

It is near these statues that theThulabharam scales were placed in theSouthern wing from the year 1987. They arehuge weighing scales in which the devoteeweighs himself against gold, silver, jaggery orcoins and offers the equivalent to the Lord aspart of their (devotees) vows. Previously thisset up was near the Koppera or Hundi rightacross the hall near the Sanctum Sanctorum.

As the devotee walks ahead a few stepsin the Pratima mandapa, he comes acrossancient and awe inspiring structures all aroundhim. The eyes of the devotee are a bitconfused as to where they should rest and heeagerly tries to take in all he can see in theshort window of time that he is allowed tostay. To his left is the enigmatic RangaMandapam, straight ahead is theDhwajastambha Mandapam and to his right isthe enchanting Ayina Mandapam. Also furtherto the left is the ever daunting Tirumalarayamandapam. All of these structures areindependently discussed and describedbelow.

Ranga Mandapam

Nesting between the Southern andEastern walls of the outer boundary of thetemple is the famous Ranga Mandapam. Themandapam stands on a basement and issupported by delicately carved pillars of theVijayanagara style. The Paimayishi account(an administrative report prepared by theBritish for their own reference) describes thepresence of a Simhasana Mandapa withslender pillars in a shrine at the South corner,adjacent to it on the West was a Pindi sala,the rice flouring room, a room for keepingtorches and also a separate kitchen for LordRanganatha. Until a few decades ago theRanga Mandapam was used to performcongregational religious rituals such asKalyanotsavam. Now, several vahanas

(processional vehicles) are placed here and acouple of rooms are now being used as storage.Also Veda Aseervachanam (Vedic blessings) isgiven to VIPs in this place.

The Ranga Nayakula Mandapam alsocalled Ranga Mandapam is one of thoseenclosures of the temple that has witnessedwithin its walls, a number of known and unknownmysteries. The name itself is derived from ahistorical incident.The shrine at the far end ofthe Southern corner of the Mandapam measures12 square feet and is closed at all times. Thissacred space is believed to have been theabode of Lord Ranganatha Swami of SriRangam fame. Lord Ranganatha’s deity (onlythe processional deity as the enclosure is quitesmall) is said to have been placed here duringHis stay in the years 1310-1320 A.D. Locallegends as told by the Vaikhanasa priests is that,Lord Ranganatha was brought here during theperiods of pillaging led by Malik Kafur rampant inthose times. Hence Lord Ranganatha and Hisvaluables were carefully hidden here until thedanger passed. History shows that, themanagers of Tirumala temple along with thepriests agreed to pay a certain sum every monthto keep away the ransackers. The same systemwas also followed to keep away the British andthe East India Company received a huge purseas revenue regularly. The Ranga Mandapamwas fairly large and sufficient to hold largecongregations of Pancharatra Vaishnavites, whooffered their prayers and obeisances to LordRanganatha installed here. This was a separateindependent Mandapam when Lord Ranganathawas being worshipped here as per the tenets ofPancharatra Agama, since according to SriVaikhanasa Bhagavachhastram, the governingprinciple of Tirumala Hill Shrine, it is not possible

2017 - MARCH40

SAPTHAGIRI 41

to offer worship in bothPancharatra and Vaikhanasamodes. From this we can inferthat RanganayakulaMandapam was a separateindependent Mandapa andafter Lord Ranganatha’sUtsava icon is shifted back toSri Rangam temple, theSecond Prakara of Tirumalatemple was constructedincluding this Ranga Mandapa.

Tirumala Raya Mandapam

A spacious pavilion nextto the Ranga Mandapa is noneother than the Tirumala RayaMandapam. It measures 40feet East to West and about80 feet from North to South. Itbasically consists of two parts,an older inner pavilion and amuch later addition. The inneris believed to have beenconstructed by SaluvaNarasimha in the mid 15 th

century. He instituted the AnnaUnjal Tirunal in the year 1473A.D and insisted that it shouldbe celebrated in this particularmandapam. A renovation wasmade to the same at the endof 16th century by Aravidu

Tirumalaraya. Thus it derived the present name after its builder.Special festivals such as Vasantotsavam were also performedhere during Tirumalaraya’s reign.

The inner pavilion has magnificent pillars which haveseveral interesting carvings. One such pillar depicts a warrior ona horse on its hind legs. Also there is another one of an elephanthelping its rider to get down. There are two specific pillars for theswing but also a small mandap between the two pillars. Thismandap measures about 6 square feet. It is supported bybeautiful ornamental pillars carved in the Vijayanagara style.Another pavilion in an almost square shape and considerablylesser height was constructed in continuum with the oldermandap. It faces the Dhwajasthamba Mandap. Lord Malayappaand His two consorts (processional deities of Tirumala) hold courtin the evening after the Dhwajarohanam (flag hoisting ceremony)during Brahmotsavas every year. Also Tirumala Raya is said tohave instituted an endowment for offering of ‘Pongali’ Nivedanaon the day of Dwajarohanam in the Annual Brahmotsavams everyyear, and it is popularly known as ‘Tirumala Rayani Pongali’.

Further ahead of Tirumala Raya Mandap is a platform onwhich bronze statues of ‘Lala Khem Ram’, more popularly knownas ‘Todar Mal’, his mother ‘Mata-Mohana’ and his wife, ‘Pita Bibi’are placed. The names are inscribed on the shoulders of thestatues. Todar Mal was a trusted chieftain of Sadat Ulla Khan, theNawab of Arcot in 1714 A.D. He was administering the Carnaticregion then. The statues are incompletely made; they are withoutfeet and one of them (Lal Khem Ram) has no legs; but all threeof them stand folding their hands in a ‘Namaskar‘ pose and bowtheir heads in reverence to the Lord of Seven Hills. Thus, it isquite evident that Sri Venkateswara bestows His divine blessingsto any and all devotees irrespective of their caste or religion. Theonly way to reach Him is through the path of complete surrender!

Dhwajasthamba Mandap

The Dhwajasthamba or the flagpole plays a very importantrole in a temple. Many festivals begin only after offering pooja tothe holy flagpole as per Vaikhanasa text Bhrigu’s Khiladhikara. Amandap or pavilion for a flagpole is very rare, only severe weathermay have been the reason for its construction at Tirumala. Thispavilion measures 36 square feet and is supported by 20 carvedstone pillars. Its location too is as per Agamic rules whichprescribe that the Dhwajasthamba may be located between themain entryway and the Balipeetham which is directly in front ofthe entrance. The raised platform for the Balipeetam is around 5and a half feet and square in shape. The sacrificial stone (Bali-peetam) has a diameter of one feet on top. It is the altar wherethe temple priest ritually offers food for the attendant deities duringthe Bali ritual. The Dhwajasthamba and Balipeetam wererenovated in the year 1982 by T.T.D. and the whole structure wascovered in gold plated gilted metal sheets. Before the renovationpilgrims were allowed to go around the Sampangi prakaram forcircumambulation. The Dhwajasthamba is a long roundedwooden pole and is as long as the temple’s Shikhara; in this

SAPTHAGIRI 41

2017 - MARCH42

case it is as tall as the Ananda Nilayam. Thisis in congruence with the Agamicrecommendation that the flagpole must beequal to or half or quarter of the height of theShikhara of the temple. (As quoted in Bhrigu’sKhiladhikara)

During Brahmotsavams the Garuda Flagis ceremoniously hoisted to mark the beginningof the 10-day celebration of the Lord’smanifestation on Tirumala hills. TheDhwajasthamba Mandap is specially decoratedwith beautiful, colorful and rare varieties offlowers for special festivals such as theBrahmotsav, Ugadi, Deepavali, etc. Under thebrightly lit glow of chandeliers, the courtyard ofTirumala temple looks resplendent andheavenly. Thus the devotee craves to spendmore time near the Dhwajasthambam.

Aina Mahal

Just opposite to the Ranga Mandap isthe Aina or Addala Mahal, which means the hallof mirrors. It is about 12 feet away from thePratima Mandap. It has a sanctum (23’ x 2’9")within an enclosure measuring about 41’9" x42’ whose walls are covered with large mirrorsand a central aisle covered in grills. There isalso a larger square portico (43’13" x 43’6")with six rows of six pillars each.

This structure seems to be a lateraddition to an otherwise open space. PresentlyDolotsavam, a ritual of swinging MalayappaSwami and His consorts, which is an Arjitaseva is performed everyday around 2 p.m hereat the Aina Mahal. This pavilion was previouslyused for administrative purposes and also forstoring Laddu prasadams. Also around 100years ago, during the administrative period ofthe Mahanths, the icon of Varaha Swami wasplaced here when the Varaha Swami templewas being renovated.

The pilgrim crosses all these mandapasand enters the Silver entrance way (VendiVakili). He further passes through the MahaMani mandap, crosses the threshold at theGolden Threshold (Bangaru Vakili) and reachesthe very heart of the Tirumala. It is here at theSanctum that he is blessed with the divinegrace of the Lord. All hardships forgotten, all

desires forgotten but filled with immense bliss,the pilgrim continues outward through theVimana Pradakshinam. The Vimanaprakaramand other details were discussed in the previousissues. The Pilgrim now crosses the Vendi Vakili,with his chief mission accomplished, tries toremember his divine encounter with the Lord ofVengadam hills, carrying his own impression. Henow enters the path way, where severalprasadam counters are seen distributing SrivariNivedana Prasadam. It is customary in SriVaishnavaite shrines to accept prasadams withutmost respect. The devotee now partakes thefood offered to Srivaru and proceeds to the northside of Sampangi Prakaram.

Padi Potu (Temple Kitchen) and Yamuna-turai

The temple kitchen also called as PadiPotu is along the Northern side of the SampangiPrakaram. It is where huge amounts of dailyofferings to Lord Venkateswara are prepared withutmost devotion. Prasadams like Laddus, Vadas,Jilebi, Murukku, Poli are made with pure gheeand offered on specific occasions. Inside thePadi-potu is a shrine specifically dedicated toPotu Thayar or Potu Lakshmi.

Yamuna Turai is an adjoining area withinthe Padi – Potu Mandap. It is also known asPoola Ara or Pushpa Mandap. It is the lastapartment in the Sampangi Prakaram complex.Flower garlands of prescribed sizes for everydayuse and special occasions are prepared andstored here. There is a stone image of LordKrishna and images of Rukmini and SatyaBhama facing South. The other images such asLord Viswaksena and Sri Ramanujacharya in theYamuna Turai are also present here.

Thus the pilgrim completes his Tirumaladarsan successfully and comes out alreadyplanning for his next visit. Such is the divinepower vested within the swayambhu (selfmanifested) icon of Lord Venkateswara. In thenext issue let us look at the architectural andhistorical details of other shrines such as VarahaSwami temple, Swami Pushkarini, Bommalagopuram, Bedi Anjaneya Swami temple,etc, which are closely related to Srivaritemple at Tirumala.

2017 - MARCH42

SAPTHAGIRI 43 SAPTHAGIRI 43

2017 - MARCH44

Pilgrimage is an essential part of SriVaishnavas to worship at important DivyaDesas (sacred places) mentioned by Alwarsand Acharyas.

A Visit to Thiruvananthapuram

Bhagavad Ramanuja too had the desireto worship Gods of the temples of differentDivya Desams in North and Southern parts ofIndia. The purpose of visit was to spread hisconcepts or Siddhanta.

He first started his journey from SriAnanthapadmanabha Swami Temple,Thiruvananthapuram. He prayed at the feet ofLord Ananthapadmanabha who is in a recliningposture. Later he moved to Dwaraka andprayed to the Lord Srikrishna of Dwaraka.

Whenever the Acharyas eulogize thegreatness of the Lord, it is mentioned as“Mangalasasanam”. They praise the God witha reference to the Vedas or from the Alwars'Divya Prabandhas or praise in the form of apoem of the presiding deity of that particularplace. Ramanuja did Mangalasasanam of LordKrishna. He was very much moved with LordKrishna who came to rescue Kuchela, (hisclassmate in the Sandeepani Ashram) a poorBrahmin. Since then, to this day, there is apractice followed by learned Sri Vaishnavas oftouching the soil of the sacred place and doSashtangapranam before entering the city orplace of the temple.

Bhagavad Ramanuja after visitingDwaraka went to Brindavan (Vraja Bhoomi). Hewas elated on arriving at Brindavan, didSashtangapranam to Brindavan from adistance. He recited a sloka extempore fromSrimad Bhagavatam.

In the pure waters of Yamuna riverRamanuja took bath reciting Goda Devi’sTiruppavai repeatedly. He also visited Akroora

theertham, Mathura Adivaraha Swami, Druva’splace of penance Madhuvanam, the place whereKrishna killed Dhenukasura, Govardhanagiri(Here he performed Annaprasada distribution toall), Govinda Pushkarini, the temple ofLakshmana in Deergapuri Sri Nara Narayanatemple at Adi Badri Uddhavas, Sri LakshmiNarayana wedding place at Kame Vanam,Nandagramam, Gokulam, Sri Seshasayeetemple, the place where Gopikas did penance inthe Tapovanam.

At some places he became highlyemotional and swooned. His sishyas (disciples)attended on him and requested him to proceedto Bilvavanam. There he did Mangalasasanam(prayer) for Mahalakshmi. Here in this Bilva foresthe prepared pongal as prasadam and distributedto all those that were present. There he didThadeeyaradhanam or Annadanam to all theVaishnava Bhaktas.

The Annadanam (Thadeeyaradhanam inVaishnava terminology) has become apermanent scheme which was started byBhagavad Ramanuja in Brindavan and otherplaces. Even today this is being followed by theVaishnavas there. In some places this Kootam(The place where annadanam is performed) isknown as Alavandar Kootam and in some otherplaces it is called Ramanuja kootam. InBrindavan, Ramanuja became emotional andimagined himself as a Gopika (Nayika Bhavam)in longing for Sri Krishna and deeply felt theseparation from the Lord. As he becameexcessively involved in Nayika Bhava, his sishyastook him to Salagrama Kshetra (Muktinath).There at Muktinath (Salagrama Kshetra) eachand every stone looks like a mountain and it lookslike the body of the Lord.

The Nepal King who was a Shaivaite, tookto Srivaishnavism after seeing the personalityand graceful look of Ramanuja. He established

2017 - MARCH44

SAPTHAGIRI 45

Ramanuja kootam, constructed temples ofVishnu, and Monastries (Mutts). He passed anorder that every house in Nepal should possess"a salagram stone” (a replica of Vishnu).

Great Debate

Bhagavad Ramanuja defeated thousandsof pandits in the debate and changed them asSrivaishnavas. Through them he got thepropogation of Sribhashyam in Nepal. In manytemples, Alavandar Stotra Ratnam andGadyathrayam recitations (Saranagati gadya SriRanga gadyam and Sri Vaikunta gadyam) arestill in vogue.

After completing his successful tour ofNepal, he went to “Saketh Dham” (Ayodhya),offered prayers to Lord Rama and had holy dipin the river and offered ablution. He stayed inAyodhya and presented discourses of SrimadRamayana and spread the essence ofSaranagati (surrender). His impact waseffective on many a pandit. He could convincea great pandit Ramananda and could make himhis disciple. The followers of Ramananda havebeen doing cow protection (Seva) and SadhuSeva even to-day as per Ramanuja’s order. Hisorder was Divyagya (Ramanujarya Divyagya)order.

From Ayodhya, Bhagavad Ramanujawent to Badarikasram (Badarinath). He tookbath in Alakananda and offeredmangalasasanams to Nara Narayana. He satunder Badari tree, did kalakshepam (religiousdiscourses). When he went for debate in mostof the places in North India, Ramanuja spoke inSanskrit with the pandits. His scholarlypresentation in Sanskrit and gift of gab hasmade the opponents spell bound and madethem fall at his feet. He went to Naimisaranyaand prayed to Lord Narayan who dwells in theform of forest. He did Sribhashyam discourseat Naimisaranya. Then he went to Pushkar

(Rajasthan) and did prayers to the Lord who wasin the form of sacred water there. He establisheda mutt (monastry) in Pushkar. He visited somemore temples and proceeded to Kashmir SaradaPeetham. There he criticised the Advaitaphilosophy distorting the word “Kapyasam” (Thebeautiful Lotus eyed face of Lord Narayana wasmisinterpreted) which changed totally thecompany of Yadava Prakash his teacher. InKashmir he gave excellent discourse on the topickapyasam quoting the sruti with commentary ofthe subject. The audience present there weremuch attracted with his logical and referencesmade from the Vedas. His scholarship, strongdoctrine, expressions and excellent discoursesin Sarada Peetham made him to receive the title“Sri Bhashyakara” from Goddess Saraswati orSarada Devi who appeared before him andlauded his interpretations. The King of Kashmirbecame his disciple. The Kashmir pandits wereopposing his doctrine and argued for many dayswith Sri Bhashyakar. Finally they were defeatedby Ramanuja and they accepted their defeatwhen the points put forth by Ramanuja quotingfrom Vedas, Upanishads and Geetha made themspeechless. In order to create trouble toRamanuja, they implied black magic. Ramanujaover came such spell by his faith in God andrepelled them back to those who planned againsthim. They all fell at his feet and became hissishyas by taking Sripada theertham (Holy waterof Ramanuja’s feet).

All the pandits became Srivaishnavas.Sarada Devi felt happy and gave him the idol ofHayagreeva which she was worshipping.Ramanuja also felt satisfied and stayed inKashmir for some days and did Aradhana(worship) of Hayagreeva and Sarada Devi.

A Visit to Kasi

From Kashmir, Ramanuja went to Kasi.There at Kasi he worshipped Sri Bindu Madhava.

SAPTHAGIRI 45

2017 - MARCH46

Even there he changed most of the panditsinto Sri Vaishnavas and established Mutt(Monasteries).

A Visit to Puri

Bhagavad Ramanuja then came to Puriand worshipped Lord Purushothama,Balabhadra, Subhadra, Jagannatha, Nrusimhaand renovated the temple of Mahalakshmi.There he established a Mutt and startedpreaching his Siddhanta on Visishtadwaita. Heagain over rode the pandits in the debate. Hewanted them to be neat, clean and follow thecustoms of Srivaishnava cult. They did notagree. Sri Ramanuja went and appealed to theking of Puri to advise the pandits to followproper “Acharya Vyavahara”. All the Archakashad a lot of bhakti on Lord Jagannatha butcould not follow the fixed rule of conduct in lifeor customary law as envisaged in Vaikhasanaor Pancharatra Agamas. They appealed to LordJagannatha that they will worship him asbefore. Lord is always kind to Bhaktas. Hewants bhakti and not austere service from theinnocent Archakas. Then Lord Jagannathacame into the dream of Sri Ramanuja and said,His Archakas are His Bhaktas, though they maynot be knowing strictly the procedure ofworship. When once the Lord said thesewords, Sri Ramanuja understood the realBhakti of the Archakas sans procedure forworship. He did Mangalasasanam to all at Puri.

A Visit to Sri Kurmam, Simhachalam,Ahobilam & Tirumala

After leaving Puri, Ramanuja reachedSrikurmam. There he took bath in the pushkarini(holy Tank). The Lord who was facing to theeast turned to west to give darshan toBhagavad Ramanuja. There he started VaidikaAradhan to the Lord and even to-day the samecustom and its usage is followed. From there,he went to Simhachalam and then to Ahobilam.Finally he arrived at Tirumala and prayed toLord Srinivasa.

2017 - MARCH46

His pilgrimage ended successfully aftervisiting Lord Varadarajaswami at Kanchipuram.He stood with joyful tears in front of LordVaradaraja to have blessed his successfulpilgrimage of the North and Southern parts ofIndia.

Bhagavad Ramanuja’s pilgrimage to theNorth & South by laying paths for thousands ofkilometers shows his will power to complete thetask given by Almighty to spread Vaishnavism.Trekking through hazardous routes on foot withhis Sishyas (disciples) was an extraordinary zealand enthusiasm to go ahead with his mission.He had a well built personality and his divineglow added feather to his crown. He hadextraordinary talent, he was a hardworker, thebest student, the best teacher and a greatdebator. At every congregation pertaining to thedebate against opposite groups he debated welland won with proper concepts, conviction andconfidence. He had the mastery in Sanskritlanguage. He debated with North Indian Scholarsof different religions in Sanskrit quoting hisarguments with reference to the Upanishads, theBhagavadgeeta and the Vedas. He became aJagadguru and is known throughout the world asa great crusader - saint of VisishtadwaitaSiddhanta. He succeeded in his North Indianexpedition due to proper foresightedness, poeticskills, explanatory skills. Above all, he was a greatdevotee of Srimannarayana. He establishedRamanuja Darsana for the welfare of thehumanity in toto.

All roads lead to Sriperambudur to worshipthe great saint who lived for 120 years (1017 CEto 1137 CE). He was a great spiritual reformertoo. The wonderful great event of completion ofthousand years of this great Jagadacharya(1000th year event) is on 10th May 2017.

“Ramanujarya Divyagya Vardhatham

Abhivardhatham"

“Let Ramanuja's order prevail

ever and Forever”

SAPTHAGIRI 47

53. Krishna Receives the Message

Accepting the words of blessing from the

Brahmin, Krishna made enquiries. What had

brought him to Dwaraka? Who had sent him?

What is the city of his residence? Pleased with

this welcome, the Brahmin replied:

King Vidharba rules Kundinapura.He is held in high esteem by the wise.Thanks to his good deeds in past livesHe has become the father of a lovely girl,Verily Lakshmi who rose out of the ocean.

SerialShe is blessed with all good qualities.Verily a swan of peerless chastity.A complexion which none can conveyIn a painting; pearl-like laughter;A face rivaling the full moon.A forehead shining bright.”

So the Brahmin went on describing

Rukmini’s beauty and goodness, as Krishna

listened to it all willingly and happily. He then

prompted the Brahmin to tell him what exactly

was the message of the Vidarbhan princess.

Immediately the Brahmin began to describe how

weak Rukmini has become, overcome by love

for the Lord. She had heard of Krishna and now

wanted to marry only him. She has lost all sleep

and desire for food. She is weeping all the time.

She mistakes the dark clouds as Krishna

himself. No more is she interested in learning

music. Her fond pets, the parrots, have been

totally neglected. She has given up decorating

her tresses with flowers. Not for her the lovely

swing. She speaks of nothing else except

reciting your names.

Rukmini has given up playing with her

friends. She has no thoughts but you. O Lord

who drank the breastmilk of the ogress along

with her life! O Lord who came in the Yadava

dynasty! The lad who brought down the Arjuna

trees! O Murari! O Madhava! Such is her

constant murmur. Thus the Brahmin went on

without missing any information about Rukmini

and her love for Krishna. Then he handed over

Rukmini’s letter to the Lord.

“My Lord! King of Mathura!Your beloved from KundinapuraOverwhelmed by love is writingThis letter for your kind attention.

Listen to my word, kindly.You had come to the succour

SAPTHAGIRI 47

2017 - MARCH48

Of cowherdesses when they sufferedAs Indra had sent down heavy rains.

Resident in the Vedas! You are the flameRevealed by the Vedas.Unable to see you, meet you,I am now dejected in the extreme.”

After expressing her affection and

conveying her feeling of frustration, Rukmini

writes that she will not marry anyone else except

Krishna. Ever since she heard that her brother

Rukmi had favoured Rukmini being given in

marriage to Sisupala, she had been feeling

restless.She had been living only in the hope of

seeing Krishna sometime. It was time he came

fast to Kundinapura and saved her by marrying

her. In case he failed to do so, she would jump

into the fire and end her life.

The Lord was deeply moved by Rukmini’s

affection for him, anxiety to marry him and

decision to end her life in case her desire was

not fulfilled. Of course he knew that this was the

Ocean-born Lakshmi who had incarnated as

Rukmini to marry him. He told the Brahmin that

on the morrow he would come to Kundinapura

and marry Rukmini. The messenger should go

back immediately and tell Rukmini that Krishna

would come on the morrow and save her.

Krishna also removed the Tulasi garland that he

was wearing and asked the Brahmin to give it to

Rukmini as an assurance. This incident is not

found in the Sanskrit Bhagavatham. Srivilliputhur

Kannan Swami says the idea may have been

suggested by Nammalvar ’s 53 rd verse in

'Tiruvirutham':

“It is my Lord’s glory has caused her sickness;Fan her gently with His tulasi wreath;At least a leaf of the plant, a branch, or its root;Or even the mud where grows the holy plant!”

Indeed Arulaladasar was a close studentof the hymns of the Alwars which is revealed bythe easy movement of his Tamil style.

Krishna now sent away the Brahmin in aspecial chariot that could move very fast so thatRukmini would get Krishna’s message andgarland before dawn. The Brahmin was delighted,expressed his gratitude, praised the Lord andstarted his journey home. Meanwhile Rukminiwas all anxiety and was unable to sleep. O shewent out into the garden to watch nature andthereby gain some calm of mind. Presently theBrahmin returns with good news and gives all

the details.

“O lady! I met him whose hand wields the bowAnd lips stroke the flute; One who speaks wordsAuspicious; the flame revealed by the Vedas four.Verily a blue mountain handsome to behold.Even cupid feels defeated by Krishna’s form.”

In fact Rukmini would need a thousand

eyes to have her fill of the Lord! Then the

Brahmin had given her letter, and Krishna had

been overjoyed. He had said immediately that

the very next day he would rush to Kundinapura

and marry Rukmini. Also, he had sent the Tulasi

garland he was wearing as a symbol of his

promise.

All this poured into her ears like nectar for

Rukmini. The moment she pressed the garland

to her heart, she felt a cool breeze surround her.

She pressed it to her eyes and wore it on her

crown.

“O Brahmin! You came fast from DwarakaBringing the Tulasi garland from KrishnaAnd that way saved my life and chastity.How can I thank you enough?

You are like Hanuman who crossed the seasAnd reached Lanka as night lay over the city;He then met Janaki and gave her the ringSent by the son of the great Dasaratha.”

Rukmini then gave him plenty of gifts like

gem-studded golden jewels. Receiving them, he

blessed her heartily and returned to his home

feeling happy and fulfilled.(to be continued...)

2017 - MARCH48

SAPTHAGIRI 49

Panchakarma is the purification therapyused in Ayurvedic medicine. The wordPanchakarma means 'five actions' and refersto five procedures intended to intensivelycleanse and restore balance to the body, mind,and senses (emotions). Panchakarma is usedby Ayurvedic physicians as a treatment of awide variety of diseased and health conditionsand as a preventative measure.

The ideas behind Panchakarma haveinfluenced other alternative treatments.Environmental medicine studies shows howthe accumulation of environmental substancesin the body would cause disease, and howdetoxification therapy utilizes cleansing thebody as its central treatment.

Benefits of Panchakarma therapy

Panchakarma is used in Ayurvedicmedicine to treat almost all diseases,particularly that are chronic, metabolic orstress-related in origin. Panchakarma hasbeen used to treat Skin-related diseasesymptoms like Kandu (itching), Daaha(burning sensation), and Vaivarnya(discoloration) allergies, asthma, with the helpof remedies like vamana and virechana. In theG.I. (Gastro intestinal) tract an excellent resultwas achieved in symptoms like Amlodgara(hyperacidity), Hrillas (nausea), Udardaah

(abdominal burning), Urodaah (heartburn),and Vibandh (constipation) by implementingvamana and virechana. Vamana gave goodresult in a patient with hypertension; a systolicpressure of 160 dropped to 140 after the therapyand was stable at 140 even after Samsarjankrama! 

Vasti karma gives immediate relief, thepain in case of sciatica and arthritis. Cancer,chronic fatigue syndrome, colitis,high cholesterol, depression, diabetes, digestivedisorders, heart disease, hypertension, immuneproblems, infections, inflammation, nervousdisorders, obesity, can be cured by implementingthis therapy.

Nasya is good for sinusitis, DNS, andrespiratory allergy. Symptoms like Kaas( c o u g h i n g ) ,   N a s a r o d h   ( n a s a lobstruction), nasastrav (runny nose),and Kshavthu (sneezing) are relievedimmediately after nasya therapy.

Panchakarma

Panchakarma may be used alongwithintensive conventional treatments includingchemotherapy and surgery, to support healingand recovery. Panchakarma is safe and non-toxic, and can be used as a preventive measureto increase general well-being. Panchakarma is

SAPTHAGIRI 49

2017 - MARCH50

limited in treating traumatic injuries, insomnia,acute pain, and conditions requiring immediatesurgery or invasive procedures.

Description

The first step of any Ayurvedic treatmentis a thorough examination and diagnosis by anAyurvedic practitioner, who determines the typeand extent of Panchakarma treatment required.According to Ayurvedic theory, physical andemotional traits are classified as three doshas—vata, kapha, and pitta. Each individual has allthree doshas with one predominating. If anyimbalance occurs, diseases / conditions appear.Panchakarma rebalances the doshas, bringingthem back to equilibrium and the individual backto good health. The physician may prescribeherbal remedies and recommend dietary andlifestyle changes that may be enacted before,during and after panchakarma.

Ayurvedic doctors believe that diseasegenerally starts in the digestive tract. Due topoor diet, bad health habits, and other causes,

digestion gets impaired, causing a productionof toxic substance called 'ama' to accumulatein the body. Ama interferes with normalfunctioning and the flow of energy, creatingimbalances and disease. One goal ofPanchakarma is to cleanse the body withexcess ama, and to restore the body’s digestivepower (agni).

In Panchakarma, there are two main typesof therapies.  'Shamana' is the supportivetherapy that include the preparation and post-therapy measures. The main treatment iscalled 'shodhana' and refers to pancakarma’sfive main cleansing and elimination procedures.During preparation for Panchakarma, oiltherapy (termed snehana in Ayurveda) is thefirst treatment. Patients are given oilmassages—'abhyanga' is full body massageand shirodhara is forehead massage.

They are fed dietary oils to lubricate thedigestive tract, and sometimes areadministered oil enema. For stress-related andmental conditions, a special oil massage is

2017 - MARCH50

SAPTHAGIRI 51

given during which oil is steadily poured onto thepatient’s forehead. Oil therapy may be used for aweek before the main treatment. Sweatingtherapy (swedana) is another preparation that usessaunas, steam rooms, heated clothing, herbalpoultices, and exercise.

The five main methods of Panchakarma aretherapeutic vomiting (vamana), purgation(virechana), enema therapy (niruha vasti formedicated enemas and anuvasana vasti for oilenemas), and nasal cleansing (nasya).Depending on the health problem, one or more ofthese methods are used to cleanse the body andpromote healing. Other Ayurvedic therapies maybe used in conjunction as well.

The 'Vamana' treatment is used in someherbal solutions or salt water to induce vomiting.This treatment is used for skin problems, asthma,diabetes, chronic sinus or lunginfections, epilepsy, heart disease, and digestivedisorders. The 'Niruha basti' treatment is used inspecial herbal solutions, and this treats skindiseases, liver problems, abdominal tumors,parasites, and chronic fevers. For therapeuticenemas and medicinal oils, the herbal solutionsare used to cleanse the lower bowels. 'Niruha'and 'Anuvasana basti' is used to treat problemssuch as constipation, arthritis, nervous disorders,colitis, headaches, muscle weakness, and lowerback pain. During nasya, medicated oils orpowders are administered into the nostrils tocleanse the sinuses. This therapy is used to treatimbalances of the head, such as mentaldisorders, headaches, ear, nose, and throatproblems.

After cleansing, some methods areperformed, in which patients undergo an importantaftercare stage called 'paschata karma'. Patientsare advised to rest, avoid certain activities, andoften receive attention from nurses and doctors.Psychological care and counseling may be partof the healing program, as Panchakarma strivesto cleanse the patient of emotional problems inaddition to physical ones. Patients are also

counseled about preventative practices.Dietary changes are carefully planned, andlifestyle considerations are examined andrecommended. Exercise programs, suchas yoga, and stress-management techniques,including meditation, may be introduced topatients during or after Panchakarma, andherbal remedies may be prescribed as well.

Panchakarma treatment can vary inlength from a couple of days to several weeks.For some treatments, in-patient services,during which patients are intensively treatedround the clock with medical supervision,dietary therapy, exercise, yoga, meditation,massage, and other therapies. Most clinicsoffer out-patient services, during whichpanchakarma treatments may take two ormore hours per day till its completion. Someclinics provide accommodation for patients,who visit often.

Precautions

Certain Panchakarma methods are notappropriate for specific health problems, andsome should not be performed on children,pregnant women, and the elderly.Panchakarma treatments should only beadministered by qualified Panchakarmaspecialists and experienced Panchakarmapractitioners.

Side effects

During Panchakarma, fatigue, malaise,headaches, congestion, general illness, andan increase in symptoms may occur as sideeffects. Also, because Panchakarma seeks torelease stored emotional problems from thepatient, some people can experience mentaldisturbances and depression during thetreatment. Mostly it may be due to the ayogaor atiyoga (excess or non utility) of theprocedures which could not be appliedappropriately by the In-efficient doctoror technician and could have turnedas side effects.

SAPTHAGIRI 51

2017 - MARCH52

Karna’s character evokes feelings of

Sympathy and indignation in the hearts of

anyone, who wishes to imbibe such

characteristics from the great epic Mahabharata.

His life is full of exciting events, which serve as

lessons relevant in our lives even today.

Karna’s childhood and early youth was a

tale of great ironies. However, his inherent

qualities of bravery and courage were very

apparent to his Gurus as well as the

Kauravas. The main lesson to be learnt is

that inspite of having many good qualities

he was not fruitful in using them in proper

way. Karna was not only brave and a true

Kshatriya, but was also an extremely

generous person. He was also known as

“Daana Karna”.

Karna was aware of many

unpleasant facts throughout his life. He

realized that though he was a Pandava

sibling, his fate was chalked up in an entirely

different way. He had neither the

opportunities to become a royal prince, nor

could he ever claim his true parentage and

gain the advantages. He did not claim his

true birthright. It was indeed sad that though

in reality, he was Suryaputra he could only

acknowledge a humble charioteer as

his foster parent to the whole world.

N. Sai Sanath Reddy7th Class E/MNarayana E-Techno SchoolKuppamChittoor Dist.

SAPTHAGIRI 53

‘Sapthagiri’ invites spiritual & Moralstories related to our ancient Hindutradition to inculcate good habits amongchildren and youth. The interestedchildren, youth and adults may write onthe above topics and send them to theaddress given below or mail us toenglishsubeditor@gmail.com

AN APPEAL

The Chief EditorSapthagiri Office,K.T. Road, T.T.D.,Tirupati – 517 507Ph : 0877-2264543

Presented byT.S. Jagan Mohan

1. Goda Devi (5)

6. Be wrong (3)

7. Compete (3)

8. Male deer (4)

9. Path (Jumbled) (3)

11. Raga in Karnatic music (5)

14. Increase (3)

15. Goddess Lakshmi (5)

ACROSS

123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212

CLUES FOR PUZZLE

1. Copy somebody (3)

2. Son of Atri (7)

3. Brother of Kusa (4)

4. Visit (3)

5. Son of Kartaveerya (5)

8. Father of Devayani (5)

10. Another Raga in Karnatic Music (4).

12. Goal or Intention (Jumbled) (3).

13. Help (Jumbled) (3).

DOWN

PUZZLE

6

8

11 13

9

14 15

10

1 2 3 4 5

7

12

Edited and Published on behalf of T.T.Devasthanams by Dr. K. Radharamana, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D., Chief Editor (F.A.C.), TTD and Printed at TTD Pressby Smt. M. Gowthami, M.B.A., Dy. E.O., (Publications & Press), T.T.D. Manager, T.T. Devasthanams, Press, Tirupati - 517 507.545454545454

1. Name and Address :

2. Language : Telugu Tamil Kannada

English Hindi Sanskrit

3. Annual / Life : Rs. 60/- Rs.500/-

4. Subscription Renewal :

Number :

Language :

5. Mode of Payment :

D.D. No. / IPO : Date :

6. Amount :

Place :

Date : Signature of the Subscriber

TIRUMALA TIRUPATI DEVASTHANAMS

ILLUSTRATED RELIGIOUS MONTHLY

(Cheques are not accepted)

w

w

w

w

SAPTHAGIRI

( Must write neatly inCAPITALS)

Ple

ase

cut

her

e

Please cut here

PINCODE COMPULSORY

Don't be cheated!

It came to our noticethat some persons

indulged in collecting theamount towards the

Subscription of Sapthagirimonthly magazine bysaying that they will

arrange for Srivari darsan,Prasadams etc.

Don't believe suchpersons and be careful

with them.There is no connection

for Sapthagiri magazinewith the Srivari darsan or

Prasadams etc. Pleasesend the Subscriptionamount directly to the

Chief Editor's Office, T.T.D.,Tirupati. (or) You can pay

cash in the Sapthagiricounter at Srinivasam,

T.T.D. Tirupati.T.T.Devasthanam did notappoint any individual tocollect the Subscription

amount.Don't pay extra amount!Don't believe the touts!!Annual Subscription Rs.60/-, Life Subscription Rs.500/- ; Please send the

D.D. drawn in favour of Chief Editor, T.T.D., Tirupati.

Those who wish to join as New or Renew the Subscription, Pleasefurnish the full details in the coupon or on a seperate white paper. Forcomplete information please contact the address given below. Pleasesend the amount to the Chief Editor's Office, T.T.D, Tirupati only. Don't becheated by paying the amount to others.

Please furnish your details in the moneyorder coupon and send to theaddress given below.

Annual Subscription only for Sanskrit Language.

Our contact address: Chief Editor, Sapthagiri Office, T.T.D. PressCompound, K.T. Road, Tirupati - 517 507.

STD Code : 0877Phone Numbers :

2264359, 2264543Call Center No. :

0877 - 2233333

CHANTOM NAMO VENKATESAYA

Subscription Form