KARTHIGAI DEEPAM

KARTHIGAI DEEPAM

The month of Karthigai called as Vrischigam is the eighth month of the Hindu samvatsara (calendar). Months are named according to the passage of the sun through the zodiac as per the Sauramana almanac as Mesha, Vrishabha and so on and when the Sun enters the zodiacal sign scorpio called Vrischigam, the month is called Vrischigam.  According to the Lunar calendar, Chandramana almanac, it is the ascendency of the star during the full moon day that gives the month its name. Chaitra is named after the star Chaitra which occurs on the full moon day, Vaishaka as the star Vaisahaka is in the ascendency and so on. So in the month of Karthika, the star Karthigai is in the ascendency on the full moon day.

This month is held very holy for the sanatana dharmic followers as like the previous month, Tulam, this month is also held auspicious for taking bath in sacred rivers. It is a month favoured for the worship of Lord Shiva and the Soma vara vritham is performed during the Mondays of the Karthigai month.  On this day in the Shiva temples of the south, sahasra sankabhishekam, that is, ablation is performed to the main deity using water filled in a thousand conches. Lord Maha Vishnu is called Narayana that is the one who dwells in waters. He also resides in the conch. The sankabhishekam denotes a confluence of Shiva and Vishnu thathvas from which emanates Hari Hara Putra or Sri Dharma Sastha. It is therefore significant that the month of Krithiga is also the mandala puja time in the Sabhari Sastha temple.

Householders perform the Uma Maheswara vratham on Mondays also known as Soma Vara Vratham to propitiate the Primordial divine couple (Adhi Dhampathi) and pray for prosperity and auspiciousness in their lives. In the north too, abhishekam is performed to the Shiva Lingam in temples by devotees by bringing water from sacred rivers. In some places devotees carry water in pots tied to a stick slung across their shoulders from sacred rivers and they make the journey to the nearest Shiva shrine by walk. The Soma Vara vratham was first observed by the Moon or Soman who when cursed by Dhaksha Prajapathi to wane away into nothingness, propitiated Lord Shiva and earned the position of decorating His matted locks and the boon to grow again.

Yet another event associated with the advent of the month of Karthigai is the starting of the 40 day penance for going to the holy Sabhari hills.  Lord Dharma Sastha, an incarnation of Lord Shiva and Vishnu has taken His abode in the holy hills of Sabhari and remains there in His yogic posture blessing the devotees with fulfillment of their desires.  As the Lord had taken the vow of celibacy in His incarnation as Manikandan, the son of the king of Pandalam to annihilate the demonness Mahishi, the devotees who visit this shrine which is tucked into the deep forests of the western ghats also observe the vow of celibacy for forty days. The main function in the temple falls on the day of Makara Sankaranthi, when the Lord is believed to awaken from His yogic trance to give darshan to the descendants of the Pandala royal race. The temple which is normally kept open only for a few days during the beginning of the Malayalam month will  be kept open starting from the first day of Karthigai for the Mandal kala puja and thereafter for the Makara villakku festival which falls in mid January. The Aiyappa (the name of Sri Dharma Sastha in Sabhari hills) devotees take the vow of celibacy on the first day of Karthigai by wearing the holy Tulasi or Rudraksha mala from a guruswami who had initiated them into the worship of the Lord.  They observe austerities and prayers for a period of forty days before they embark on their journey to the sacred hills. They carry on their head a cloth bag containing offerings for the worship of the Lord – a coconut filled with ghee and other materials for performing puja as also materials for their day to day sustenance during the arduous journey.  In the olden days pilgrims used to travel through the long route believed to have been taken by Manikantan in his pursuit of the demonness Mahishi covering a distance of about forty miles and reach the temple. Nowadays there is facility to travel up to the Pampa river bank (the same Pampa mentioned in the Ramayana) and the trek up the hill is only five KM.  On reaching the temple, the devotees break open the coconut and offer the ghee as abhishekam to the Lord.  The Lord is believed to be in the form of Light or Jyoti and manifests Himself on the evening of Makara Sankaranthi as a celestial star on the horizon.

Krithika Pournami is the day on which the supreme Lord manifested Himself as a divine pillar of light before Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu who were having a debate on who was supreme. When the Creator and the Preserver of the Universe could not find the source or end of the Pillar, their pride humbled, they prayed to the Supreme Brahman to reveal Himself which He did as the mountain Arunachala.  Another story associated with Arunachala is the story about how Devi Parvathi earned through her intense tapas the left half of the Lord on the Karthika pournima day. She became inseparable from Lord Shiva in His form of Ardha Nareeshwara – Half Male and half Female, in which way the Supreme has manifested itself in all its creation. To mark the occasion, elaborate festivities are conducted in the temple of Arunachaleshwara at the base of the mountain.  A huge lamp is lit on the Karthigai Pournami day on the top of the hill which is visible from many miles away. The ritual is also carried out in all the Shiva temples in South as well as in the households. The people light rows of little earthen lamps on the front porch and balconies of their houses like what the northerners do during deepavali.  People flock to the temples to have darshan of the Supreme Lord in the form of light and pray for the divine light to permeate their lives. After all, are we not part of the great effulgence and one day would ultimately merge with the same?

The sage of Kanchi Maha Periyaval has brought out the significance of the Krithigai deepam in one of his discourses.  The Supreme Being can be worshipped in many forms and images according to our dharma shastras. Divinity can be invoked in images of stone or other material or in water kept in pots or in the form of light in lamps.  The two manifestations of the Supreme are Shiva and Vishnu or Hari and Haran. Hari is invoked in a lighted lamp as Damodara with His consort Maha Lakshmi and Hara is worshipped as Tripuranthaka with Uma devi.  Damodara is the form of Sriman Narayana whose navel region is adorned by a rope. In His avatar as Lord Krishna, the Supreme Being allowed Himself to be bound by a rope around His waist by His mother Yashoda and tethered to a mortar. The mischievous child dragged the heavy mortar around and got the same entangled in the cleft between two Maruda trees and when he pulled hard, the trees came down with a terrible crash liberating the two sons of Kubera from their curse. The Lord allowed Himself to be bound a second time in His avatar, this time by Sahadeva the youngest of the Pandavas who bound the Lord not using rope, but using his love for the Lord. Damodara is invoked along with Mahalakshmi in a lamp and puja is offered to Him on the night of Karthigai.

The Lord Tripurantaka is an aspect of Lord Shiva who with His mere laughter destroyed the three Asuras and their cities. The three demon brothers had got a boon that they will rule the three worlds in their respective cities which will keep floating in space and their end could come only at a time when the three cities come together and burnt by Lord Shiva. They were confident that this would never happen as their trajectories were different. Elaborate arrangements were made by the Devas for this event to happen to escape the torment of the demons and they also made the weapons of war for Lord Shiva to kill the demons. The bow was made from the Meru mountain, with the Serpant king Vasuki becoming the bow string, the arrow shaft was Lord Brahma and Lord Maha Vishnu the arrow head. A big chariot was designed by the divine carpenter Vishwakarma and the devas requested Lord Shiva to mount the chariot and kill the demon using the divine weapons fashioned by them.  No sooner than the Lord stepped on the chariot, its axle was broken by Lord Ganapathi because the first worship was not offered to Him by the devas in designing the chariot. Lord Shiva stood on the chariot and seeing all the paraphernalia laughed out aloud. At the very moment the three cities of the demons came together by divine will and the fire that emanated from Lord Shiva’s laughter burnt the cities and the demons.  Lord Shiva as Tripurantaka is the embodiment of Fire and to cool Him, the devas performed sahasra sankabhishekam in the month of Krithgai.  The Lord is invoked with devi Uma in a lamp and worshipped in the night of Krithika Pournami.

The tradition of lighting lamps in the houses and on top of the temple spires (gopurams) has a deeper significance according to Paramacharya.  Lighting of the lamps is done with a prayer for the well being of not only ourselves, but all creation starting from a mere bug and covering all beings including trees, shrubs and grass.  The relevant mantra states that by seeing the light lit in the houses and on the temple spires all the Lord's creation rejoice and are rid of their accumulated vasanas. When we light the lamps in our houses this Karthigai let us pray for the welfare of all creatures, vegetation and of course fellow human beings.

Devi in Her form of Mahishasura Mardhini performed austerities in Arunachala and got relieved of the dhosha of killing Mahishasura.  Arunachala has been the home of many a saint and jeevan mukta. Even in the present times many sidha purushas walk amidst ordinary people in this divya kshetram.  In the words of sage Ramana Maharshi, Arunachala is like the heart in the human body and attracts pious people from afar as it had done to him. Saint Seshadri swami is another mahan who lived in Arunachala for forty years playing in its streets and blessed indeed were those who could have his darshan.  Circumambulating this holy hill which is considered to be the form of Lord Shiva Himself will bring both material and spiritual gains. The route around the hill is 11 Kms, eleven being a significant number in the worship of Lord Shiva (Sri Rudram has eleven anuvakas, There are eleven Rudras, etc.).  Dotted along its periphery are eleven shrines, eight of them dedicated to the ashta dik palakas and the remaining three dedicated to Soorya, Adhi Arunachala at the back of the hill and the main Arunachaleshwarar temple in the eastern direction.  From the southern face is visible a peak shaped like Nandikeswara, the divine mount of Lord Shiva. The northern face offers an excellent view of five shikaras which look like the five faces of the Lord. While the southern and western sides are full of greenery and cool like the Devi while the northern and eastern sides are barren and burn like fire. The original temple is supposed to have been situated on the western side of the mountain – the Adhi Arunachala temple and in later years the temple on the eastern side gained prominence.
Pournami or the full moon day is significant in the worship of Devi whose countenance is always equated with the cool and shining face of the moon.  On this day or rather night, the sun and the moon will be on either side of the earth and hence their gravitational pull on the earth would be more balanced rather than on the new moon day (Amavashya) when both the sun and the moon are aligned together vis-à-vis the earth and their pull will be combined and stronger. When there is equilibrium, then there is no action and hence the Pournami day signifies the Statue (Sthanu) like Shiva. The interplay of both Shiva and Shakti is to be worshipped as Ardha Nareeshwara on the Krithiga pournami day and in the night, they are to be worshipped in the form of Light or Jyothi, the light of blessings and compassion ad infinitum (Arut perum jyothi thani perum karunai). It is only through the blessings of the Lord that one can even think of Him and it is again His unlimited compassion that draws us to Him. Having taken birth in this karma bhoomi, we should not let go of this opportunity to capture the divine light in our hearts during this month which is auspicious for worshipping the two forms of the Supreme manifestation as Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu, especially on the full moon day.

OM TAT SAT 

THIRUTHANIGAI OR KUNDRATHUR ADAL

Thiruthanigai or Kundruthor adal

Valliyai manam punara vandha mugam ondre

Salutations to the face that came to marry Valli

After the conquest over Soorapadman and his brothers, the devas got back their positions and resumed their duties of protecting the universe. The king of gods Devendra offered to Lord Subhrahmanya the hand of his daughter Devayanai who as seen in one of the earlier chapters was the daughter of Lord Maha Vishnu who along with her sister performed austerities to seek the hand of the Lord Murugan.  Lord Skanda appeared before them and blessed them that their wish would be fulfilled in their next birth and they should incarnate as the daughters of Indira the king of gods and Nambiraja a chief of the hunter clan, when He would fulfill their wish.  The king of gods had also offered his vehicle Airavatham and a sandal stone which can provide an inexhaustible supply of sandal paste. 

The Lord, after marrying Devayanai, his Kriya Shakti, in Thiruparankundram, came to Valli Malai where Valli Devi had manifested herself to the hunter king Nambirajan as a small babe.  The king discovered the doe eyed baby lying in a bush and watched over by a doe. The king took the baby in his arms and took her to his wife and they adopted the little baby girl. Sage Narada appeared before the king and blessed him. He informed the king that the girl would one day marry the God of the mountains Skanda and asked him to name her Valli. Valli devi grew up as a sprightly young maiden with the resolve to marry Lord Murugan, the lord of the hills. 

The Thinai grain in the fields was ripe for harvest and it was the time when the birds came in hordes to devour the grains.  Valli, with her attendants took charge of watching over the fields to protect the grains from the onslaught of the birds. Her weapon was a sling and stones and she would sing melodious tunes to keep herself and her companions awake. It was morning and Valli had finished her bath in the forest stream and was returning to the fields when Lord Murugan accosted her as a hunter youth and sought her hand. Valli was furious at this impudence and curtly told the youth that she would marry none other than her beloved Murugan. Just then Nambirajan and his sons were returning from a hunting expedition and immediately Muruga turned Himself into a tree. When they departed, he came again, now in the form of an old man and sought something to eat. Nambirajan and his retinue once again returned to bring Valli some eatables.  Seeing her in the company of an old man, Nambirajan felt secure and left. Valli offered the old man the Thinai flour and honey with fruits and the old man devoured them with gusto and then asked for some water to drink, Valli led him to the stream in the forest and after drinking to his fill, the old man made overtures and asked Valli to marry him. The horrified Valli declined and was about to leave the place in a huff when a wild elephant blocked her way. Valli was afraid of elephants and turned back to find the old man with his arms open. Literally caught between the devil and the deep sea, Valli chose the devil and sought protection from the elephant. The old man agreed to make the elephant go away if she agreed to marry him. The hapless girl agreed and the elephant, none other than Lord Ganesha, Muruga’s brother disappeared.

Valli now reneged on her promise saying that it had been obtained under duress and walked away. Again came the elephant and she rushed back to the waiting arms of the old man, this time promising to marry him in right earnest. She opened her eyes and saw that the old man was not there and in his place was her own dear Muruga. King Nambirajan was overjoyed to hear this and sage Naradha Maharshi performed the marriage.

The story part should not make us think that the supreme is also like humans with feelings and emotions, achievements and failures, and the like. Primarily, puranas are there to attract our attention towards the divine, When we listen to a story we get inclined to relate ourselves with the characters depicted and slowly try to imbibe the good qualities that we observe in the divine beings which in turn elevate us further and further when ultimately the story fades from our memory and the truth that the story conveys only lingers on.

Lord Skanda represents the manifestation of the supreme Godhead when His help was sought to dispel the dark forces of the demons that torment us as evil thoughts urging us towards a life of vices that will bind us to the cycle of birth and death. In our sincere efforts to break this vicious circle, our good deeds done in the past (Punya karma) make us turn to our inner core (the Higher self called God) and supplicate ourselves to the Lord to rescue us from falling into the abyss. The Lord manifests Himself and through His power of Wisdom (Gnana Shakti) in one blow destroys the evil tendencies and makes our mind resplendent, pure and truthful like the peacock and the cock. Having overcome the evil forces as we turn to our goal of self realization with vigour, we should get the Lord’s blessings to act in a fitting manner to earn His grace and to have for ever within us the drive to reach the goal. The action is represented by Kriya shakti and the will to pursue our goal with a single pointed effort is the Iccha shakti. However, these two forces are not our own, but given by the Lord when we pray for the same (Avan Arulaale Avan thaal vanangi). When our prayers reach culmination the three forces of Ganana, Kriya and Iccha unite and are absorbed in the Supreme Self with whom we can now easily identify ourselves.

The sporting of the Lord to woo Valli is also not without significance.  The Lord does not discriminate amongst His creations like we do. For Him all are equal, whether it is Indira the king of gods or Nambirajan a tribal hunter. God Himself seeks out His devotees. All that is required is that we need to take the first step forward and He will walk ten steps to come near us. If Valli’s love for her Lord was unparalleled, it was the Lord who sought her out. We might have our own conception of God and we are entitled to do so; but the trick is that God will appear as He pleases and it is for us to recognize Him. It is for this reason we need a Guru who can point out or drive us into His arms like Lord Mahaganapathi who  came in the form of an elephant. When we ultimately realize that whatever form the Lord had taken, He is the same as what we had all along been thinking, our joy knows no bounds.

After the marriage with Valli, the Lord Subhramanya reached Thiru Thanigai Malai where He sat in absolute tranquility and bliss with His two consorts, Devayanai and Valli. Thanigai in Thamizh means ‘to reduce’. The Lord’s anger against the demons Soorapadman and His desire for Valli had subdued representing the subjugation of Kama and Krodha and He sat as Suddha Sivam – Pure Conciousness Bliss, with all His three powers withdrawn into Himself in Thanigai Malai.  Access to His temple which sits atop the hill are through 365 steps each step representing a day of the year or simply ‘Time or Kalam’. One has to keep trudging through time to reach the end of one’s journey. We also infer that the Lord is timeless and to reach His abode we should lose the sense of time and transcend from the gross to the subtle as the gross is always ruled by the three factors of Space, Time and Cause and Effect. The elephant Airavatham and the huge Sandal stone given by Indira stand testimony to the puranic lore. Intrinsically, Airavatham represents ego and sandal stone our vasanas or tendencies, which we leave behind as we enter the Lord’s precincts.  We then feast our eyes on the divine spectacle of the Lord Subhramanya with His parivaram of Valli, Devayanai, the peacock and the cock along with His Vetri Vel.  We move from Samiibhyam (being near) to Saalokyam (being able to see) and then become one with His forms (Saaroopyam) and finally dissolve ourselves into Him (Saayujyam).

Many a saint have been blessed with the divine darshan of the Lord in Thiru Thanigai amongst whom are Arunagiri nathar, Vallimalai Swamigal and Sri Muthuswami Deekshitar, one of the music trinities who earned the sobriquet ‘Guru Guha’ used by him in his krithis, from the Lord in Thiruthanigai.

Thiruthanigai represents the Aagjnya chakra, the sixth and final chakra through which the great power Kundalini passes. Aagjnya means to command. The command centre for the entire nervous system is the Pons, a part of Medulla brain in our body. It is considered to be the seat of the supreme Atman or life force. The Chakra also is believed to be our third eye or the eye of wisdom.  It has two petals which whirl around the central point which is of the shape of an eye or a spear head. The two nadis Ida and Pingala originate from the Mooladara chakra and meet at the three granthis and finally at the Aagjnya chakra. The central Nadi Sushumna stands like a ramrod (Vel) piercing all the six chakras and ends in the Aagjnya chakra.  The two nadis are like the two vallis (creepers), Valli and Devayanai which intertwines the Gnana Vel, carrying the supreme energy Kundalini to the Aagjnya.  This is the seat of the six faced Lord (shadanana) whose colour is pure white (shukla varna) and whose guna is Satvic. At the base chakra, the foothill of the mountain, sits Ganapathi in red colour representing Rajasic guna and at the top is His brother Skanda as Shanmukha resplendent in His Satvic form with six faces.

A darashan of the Lord in Thiruthanigai is sure to dispel our vasanas and afflictions and guide us on our path to salvation.

TIRUCHENDUR

Tiruchendur or Thirucheer alai vai

Marupadu soorarai vadaitha mugam ondre

Salutations to the face that annihilatesthe differing personalities called asuras

Lord Skanda took the Vel fromHis mother Goddess Durga and led the army of the Devas into battle againstSoorapadman and his brothers who were tormenting the three worlds havingoutclassed the devas in battle. On His way the Lord was confronted by a demoncalled Krauncha who was cursed to take the form of a mountain, but yet trappedpassers by in his fold and gobbled them up. As he tried his pranks on youngSubrahmanya, the boy playfully threw the Vel and it shattered to a thousandpieces the rocky demon.  The Lord pitchedcamp in Thiru Chendur on the east coast of south India and challengedTarakasura the youngest of the three brothers. Taraka came with a huge army toattack Skanda and the devas but Kumara’s Vel consumed the army of the demonsand in a trifle annihilated the demon Tarakasura. 

Soorapadman, after defeatingthe devas did not occupy the throne of Devendra and make Alakapuri as hiscapital for the simple reason that Indira’s dominion will change wheneveranother Indira emerges by performing the requisite yagnyas. He thereforecreated his own city par excellence called Maha Indra Puri (Mahendrapuri) whichwas full of magic. Skanda led the army of devas to the gates of Mahendrapuriand sent Veerabahu, his trusted lieutenant to counsel the demon to return tothe Devas whatever had been usurped from them or meet their end in the battlefield.  Soorapadman laughed at thesuggestion, and expressed surprise at the fact that a mere child had come tochallenge him, forgetting for a moment that the boy was Shiva Kumara andaccording to the boon he had got from Brahma, he had chosen to be conqueredonly by the son of Lord Shiva.

In the battle that followed,there were huge losses on both sides as the armies of the devas and the asurasfought valiantly and without any let up. Banugopa, the son of Soorapadma was killed by Veerabahu and Ajamuki alsomet a similar fate from him.  Simhamukafought with great force, but was no match for Skanda and felled to theVel.  Soorapadma was distraught at the deathof his beloved brother and came on to take Kumara in single combat. All theastras (weapons) used by the Asura against Skanda were futile.  When the demon launched the Maha PasupathaAstra against Kumara, the three worlds trembled, but Siva Kumara caught theastra with one hand and laid it aside. The dumbfounded asura vanished from thebattle field and returned the following morning with his army regrouped. He sawSkanda in His Virat form and went down on his knees to worship him. But thiswas momentary as Skanda resumed his original form of a boy and the demonmounted his magic chariot to fight his adversary. Skanda took away the magicchariot of Soorapadma and showered a volley of arrows on the Asura who againdid the vanishing act and appeared as a huge bird. Skanda blessed Indira tobecome a peacock and mounted the huge bird and clipped the wings of Soorapadma.The relentless demon came back as a lion and an elephant which were speared bythe Vel and finally came as a huge tree to crush Karthigeya.  Out went the spear Vel from the hands of SivaKumara and cleft the tree into two, one portion of which became the cock andthe other the peacock which the Lord took as His banner and mount.

With the annihilation of thedemons peace returned to the three worlds and devas regained their luster andDevendra his throne. The good and evil tendencies within us are constantly atwar with each other vying for supremacy. When we give up our austerities andallow desires to take over, we are pushed into an abyss, but when our times aregood and we realize our folly and turn to God to rescue us, He appears as thelight to show us the way. He dons the mantle of the Guru (Gu-darkness Ru-light)and takes us through the dark passages of the life dominated by tamasic andasuric tendencies as we have to experience these tendencies as part of our karmaanubhava and cannot avoid it. We can definitely avoid the pitfalls if we haveGod as our guide.  The Devas prayed toLord Shiva for such a guide and Shiva Himself manifested as the six sparks ofwisdom which combined to form Guru Guha and sent Him to lead the devas intobattle with the asuric forces. Tarakasura represents the thought of me and mine (Madham) which like anelephant trounces all that comes in its way, thinking only about itself,oblivious to the fact that it might itself fall one day. When the gnana Veltouched him, Taraka was no match and hence surrendered to the might of the Vel.When our alter ego gets a beating we come down to reality.

Simha mukha is the embodimentof lust and anger (Kama and Krodha) and again he is destroyed by true knowledge(gnanam) represented by the Vel. Ajamukhi is the tendency to stick to ones own beliefs and dogmas likethe goat which always follows the clan wherever they go. Unless we getourselves free from the shackles of beliefs and dogmas we will never be able togo beyond our conditioned mind which is the greatest obstacle in selfrealization. We need to have no conditions in our spiritual pursuit and shouldcultivate the mind to accept whatever comes our way as the present of God, inother words, to live every moment in the present.

The final obstacle in thepath is of course EGO. Even when we get rid of all our bad qualities and becomevirtuous, ego takes pride in it and this would send us back in our path. It iswell nigh impossible to drop ego and live without a trace of it. Here we reallyrequire the grace of God to cut off the final chord that binds us to the cycleof innumerable birth and death. While there are many paths to release ourselvesfrom this bondage, it is ultimately true knowledge or gnana that can fullyliberate us. Karma yoga leads to Bhakti yoga which ultimately leads to gnanayoga which alone can burn away our ego. The spear or the Vel in the hands ofthe Lord represents knowledge and single pointed unwavering concentration(ekagra chitta) on the ultimate goal. The shape of the Vel is like a leaf standing firmly on a long rod withits tip tapering off to a sharp point. The rod represents our faith which should be firm and steady. Theportion above that which looks like the leaf of the Arasa tree (Sacred fig alsocalled as Bodhi tree) is our spiritual practices represented by Karma yoga onone side and Bhakti yoga on the other. The tapering point is Gnana Yoga which cleaves its way into the darknessfelling the demonic traits in us and ultimately destroys the ego which is theumbilical chord that binds us to the cycle of birth and death.  Soorapadman prostrated before the Lord whenhe saw His virat rupam, but his natural tendency did not allow him to retainthe vision and hence when he saw it was only the small child Murugan, his egogot better of him and he continued to battle him.  It is necessary for us, therefore, to clutchand hold on to the vision of the divine when and if it becomes manifest so thatwe do not slide back to our nefarious ways once the vision disappears.

Unlike the annihilation ofother demons like Shumba and Nishumba, Hiranyaksha, Hiranyakasipu, Ravana andthe like where the demons were killed, Soorapadman when he was split into twoby the Vel became the cock and the peacock which in turn became the banner andvehicle to the Lord.  The basic physicsteaches that in this universe matter is neither created nor destroyed, but onlychanges. In the death is another birth and in birth there is death. The waterin the sea changes into vapour, only to cool and return as water. In the deathof a demon, the physical body falls, but the evil might live on and take birthagain and again in different forms and names. The Lord Shanmugha was very kindto change the evil in Soorapadma to good and accept him as his banner andmount.

The Cock represents Sound andthe Peacock the Light in the beauty of creation. The banner is carried in frontof the procession and this gives an indication to the onlooker on who iscoming.  The Cock gives the clarion callto us to awaken from our deep slumber enmeshed in Tamo guna and heralds thearrival of the Lord who rides the beautiful Peacock.

The Peacock is a bird withoutparallel. Although it cannot fly high or long distances, its very gait ischarming and its dance exquisite. It represents strength and victory over evilforces. The splash of colours in its tail unfolded when it dances makes themind happy. The peacock therefore represents all that is bright and spectacularin God’s creation, in other words, Nature in its full glory. This is calledPrakriti or bojyam that which is created to be enjoyed and the Purusha, theSupreme Being is the bhokta or enjoyer. We are all part and parcel of thisdivine drama and it is the ONE which has split itself into many for thispurpose.

The Peacock holds firmly inits feet a snake with the risen hood and another in its beak. Some interpretthis as the evil tendencies in us which are held in check by the Lord’s mountin order to help His devotees. Another explanation is that these two snakesrepresent the Ida and Pingala nadis that intertwine the ramrod like Sushumnanadi meeting at the three granthis (knots). When Kundalini raises, it should bechannelized only through the Sushumna and not through Ida or Pingala becausethen there would be severe imbalance in the flow of energy and it wouldpermanently impair the physical and physiological bodies of the sadhaka.  That is the reason that such practices areconfined to a few who do it under the watchful eyes of the Guru. We find todaymany advertisements that seek to bestow this immeasurable knowledge onunsuspecting people for a paltry fees. Suffice to add here that the celestialmount of Lord Shanmuka keeps in check the Ida and Pingala nadis and allows theprimordial energy to raise only through the Sushumna nadi represented by theVel. When the energy rises thus and flows into the Sahasrara and back again, itfills the other two nadis which in turn carries the energy to the other partsof the physical and subtle body thereby fulfilling its task.

Tiruchendur represents theVishuddhi chakra, the fifth chakra, which can be attained after crossing onemore granthi (knot), the Rudra Granthi. Rudra is the Lord of dissolution andone has to cross the illusion of birth and death to reach the stage ofimmortality. Vi – Shuddhi means the highest form of purification which happensin the throat chakra.  We are familiarwith the narration of how Lord Shiva swallowed the terrible Hala Hala poison tosave the universe and Devi Uma stopped the poison in the throat region of theLord which became blue, giving the Lord the name Neela Kanta. The poison HalaHala was neutralized by the Lord in the throat region and hence this chakra iscalled Vishuddhi. Once we pass through the Rudra granthi all our vasanas areleft behind and so are our emotions. From here it is a passage through thesublime realms of spiritualism where we come face to face with various siddhisand riddhis which we need to transcend to see our TRUE SELF.

Speech is called Vak. Thereare four components that go to make the thought become words and thenspeech.  The vibrations that start in theabdomen (nabhi) is called ‘Para’ or indiscernible power. When this vibrationmoves up to the heart region it becomes ‘Pasyanti’ or perceptible as it merges withthought and takes shape. Further up, it is called ‘Madhyama’ when it reachesthe region of the vocal chords and makes them vibrate and finally it is called ‘Vaikari’or ‘Vak’ when it flows out of the mouth with the action of the tongue as words.It is in the Vishuddhi chakra that the thoughts crystalise and become thespoken word through the vibration of the vocal chords. When Thought, Words andAction match one another then we infer that it is Truth. When there is anydistortion of what is thought and said and done, then there is no truth. As weutter words which are not truthful, the Vishuddhi chakra tries to stop thisdisharmony and this has an effect on the five sense organs which reveal to the factto the onlooker. If we learn to control our speech and speak only what istruthful then we will not hinder the working of the Vishuddhi chakra which willthen allow us to progress further. Skanda in the Vishuddhi chakra is ‘Vak’. The deaf and dumb child Kumara gurupara was blessed with the power ofspeech and the ability to create poetry by the Lord and he instantly composedhymns in praise of the Lord. We should pray to Vageeswara to bless us with suddhaVak (truthful speech).

In Tiruchendur the Andavan(God) stands alone with the Vel and Kodi (banner) in His arms. Just behind thesanctum sanctorum there is a chamber where five Shiva Linga murthis are housed.These are the murthis worshipped by Lord Skanda after destruction ofSoorapadman and his clan to rid Himself of the Brahmahathi dosha of killing thedemons who hailed from the lineage of Brahmins. The sea here is calm and serenewith the waves rocking against the outer wall of the temple rhythmically andhence the place is called Seer Alai vai the place where the waves play to arhythm, the rhythm of the primordial sound OM. Tiruchendur is also consideredto be one of the Navagraha kshetras dedicated to Brihaspathi or Guru. The LordHimself is called Kumara Guru Para or the supreme preceptor in the form of ayoung boy. Any defects in the horoscope of a person pertaining to the planetJupiter will vanish when one comes here, takes a bath in the sea and a sweetwater spring called Nazhi kinaru which is on the sea shore and worships theGod. Worshipping the Lord here along with Lord Ganapathi and Shakti and thefive Shiva murthis is believed to shower the grace of the Lord for a long andpeaceful life on earth and thence eternally in the abode of Skanda.

ANNABISHEKAM

ANNABHISHEKAM

Annam means food. Without food no living beings can sustainthemselves. We can go without food for a few days, but can’t live without food.Food is both nourisher and consumer. It consumes the one who consumes it – so saysthe Taitreeya Upanishad (annam – annadam). Annamaya kosham is the grossest veil covering the subtle veils of Prana(vital force), Manas (Mind), Vigyana (Intellect and the power of inquiry) andultimately Ananda (supreme bliss).  Weare born of food, live by it and ultimately are consumed by it. Although Annamgenerally means food, in particular it refers to cooked rice as it is the maincourse and nourisher of the body. It is decreed by the Vedas that Annam shouldnever be ignored or wasted. Anna dhanam or feeding the hungry is considered tobe the highest form of dhanam – ‘Undi koduthor Uyir koduthore’.

During the full moon day in the Tamizh month of Aiprasi(Tulam), in the Shiva temples in the southern parts of our country, especiallyin Tamilnadu, the main deity, Shivalingam would be adorned with cooked rice. Theorigin of this festival, to my knowledge does not have a Puranic background.Since there are two main harvests in south, one in the month of Aipasi beforethe rains start and another before Thaipongal, this custom might have evolvedwith the farmers offering cooked rice to the Lord before they partake of thenew harvest. The Pongal festival in the month of Thai (January) is also aharvest festival of thanks giving to the Lord as Soorya the Sungod.

Elaborate arrangements would be made in the temples for thisfestival. The Lord would be anointed with oil and abhishekam of variousingredients like milk, curd, honey, panchamrutham would be performed andfinally Annabhishekam would be done and the image of the Lord would bedecorated with fresh vegetables and flowers to make the deity come alive. Thisdarshan is believed to remove one of the pangs of hunger. The decoration wouldbe removed after a couple of hours and Maha abhishekam will be performed beforefinal aarathi.  The rice used for theabhishekam would be immersed in the waters of rivers or ponds as an offering tothe butha ganas of Lord Shiva.

The intrinsic meaning of offering annam which is thesustainer of life to the Lord is to offer that which is most dear to us and inthe process we offer ourselves to Him. When we surrender our gross body to the Lord,we pray for the Lord’s blessings that our consciousness be shifted from thegross to the subtle so that we can remove one by one the five veils (Koshas)and discover our true self as Ananda gana – a journey from Annam to Anandam.

OM TAT SAT

THIRUPARAMKUNDRAM - PART 2

The facts about Thiruparankundram are mentioned in Sathyagiri mahatmyam one of the minor puranas.  As mentioned in the first of these essays, Skanda or Karthigeya is unique to Tamilnadu so much so that he is called as the god of Tamils (Thamizh kadavul).  In the north people consider Subhramanya as the eldest son of Shiva Parvati and worship him as a bachelor.  In haryana there is a temple dedicated to Lord Karthigeya where he is worshipped as a brhamachari and women are forbidden from entering the temple like the sabhari hills in Kerala where Lord Aiyappa is worshipped as a bachelor god. probably that is the reason for Murugan's marriage with Valli devi not getting much prominence in the north.  Valli Devi and Devayanai devi are believed to be the daughters of Lord Maha Vishnu.  They performed severe penance to get Lord Subhramanya as their husband. While Devayanai was adopted by Lord Indira, Valli Devi manifested herself in a community of hunters and performed penance to marry Lord Murugan.

The Vel is considered to represent the Sushumna Nadi which is located between the two Nadis Ida and Pingala which intertwine the same like creepers. Incidentally Valli means creeper and Valli and Devayanai are like the two creepers that embrace Subhramanya who stands in the middle like the Vel. 

Shiva and Vishnu are two aspects of the supreme and there it is a sin to create difference (bedha) between these two manifestations. Ariyum Aranum Onnu ithai ariyaathavan vaaiyil Mannu (death) is an old saying.  While the Vaishnavas and Shaivas fight it out between themselves as to whose God is supreme, the Puranas add fire to this debate with one Purana saying the Shiva is supreme and Vishnu worships him while another states otherwise. If we understand that Puranas have come up only to make it easy to comprehend the doctrines expounded by the Vedas, we will not have any ground to quarrel as only the name and form differs and the entitiy remains the same.  Smarthas who follow the Advaitic principles accept this as for them everything is Brahman and everything rests in the Brahman.

I do not know whether the great Vaishnavite saint Sri Ramanuja was hounded out of Tamil Nadu by the shivites as depicted in the film Dasavatharam, but it is a fact that he was not tolerated by the members of his own sect when he defied his guru and gave the Ashtakshari to the masses by standing on the unfinished tower of Srirangam temple. Ultimately Udaiyavar came to Srirangam and his jeeva samadhi is there in the temple precincts.

BRINDAVANA DWADASI

THE STORY OF THULASI

Thulasi or Basil is one of the most sacred of plants revered by people of all faiths, if not for its use in the worship of Lord Maha Vishnu, for its medicinal properties. When Lord Krishna proclaims in the Bhagavad Gita that He is satisfied with a leaf, a flower or a drop of water, the significance of the Thulasi leaf in the worship of the Lord becomes clear. Called Brinda, she attracts Krishna who loves to reside amongst the Thulasi plants in Brindavana.

Once Narada Maharishi taunted Sathyabhama, the wife of Lord Krishna that her devotion to the Lord was a little less than that of Lord Krishna’s other wife Ruckmani.  Sathyabhama, in a moment of vanity, immediately retorted that she would give anything to please the Lord. Naradha muni told her to offer whatever she wanted to the Lord by His weight to prove her statement.  So, when Lord Krishna came along, a big scale (Tula) was set up and Sathyabhama reverentially requested Krishna to sit on one of the scales and heaped her jewels on the other scale. She kept on adding to the other side but however much she added, the scale where Lord Krishna sat always tipped low. Admitting defeat as her pride was humbled, Sathyabhama gave way to Ruckmani who removed all the jewels and placed just one Thulasi leaf which to wonder of all those assembled made the scales even.

How the Thulasi became so dear to Lord Mahavishnu is narrated by the Puranas.  Goloka is the celestial abode of Lord Krishna who rules over the entire universe with His consort Radha Rani. Sudhama was the Lord’s favourite and Brinda was one of the chief attendants of Radha devi.  One day during Rasa leela the Lord was espied by Radha to be close to Brinda. Krishna vanished and the poor Brinda, afflicted with the sudden separation from the Lord fell to the ground and when she was found in this state, Radha cursed Brinda to be born on earth.  Radha devi also chided Lord Krishna for His antics and Sudhama intervened and earned the wrath of Radha. He was also cursed to be born a dhanava (demon).  Quickly realizing her mistake, Radha devi made amends and blessed Brinda with final union with Krishna and Sudhama to wed Brinda in the earth and to return back to Goloka when the curse waned.

Brinda, born in the earth performed sever austerities to attain Narayana as her husband. She was blessed by Lord Brahma who narrated her previous life in the Goloka and asked her to marry Sudhama who had taken birth in the lineage of sage Kashyapa as Sankachooda. Brinda was also told by Brahmadeva that she will unite with Narayana and then will return to Goloka and remain there for ever dear to Lord Krishna. As destined, Sankachooda met Brinda and both were happily wedded and spent many years in marital bliss. Sankachooda was urged by the other asuras to wage war against the devas and prove their supremacy. Armed with invincibility with the boon from Brahma that none can defeat him till the amulet of Lord Vishnu given to him by Brahma was worn by him and till such time his wife remained chaste of which not even a speck of doubt could arise, Sankachooda defeated the devas and usurped their powers as a result of which vedic dharma declined and all the worlds suffered.  The devas approached Brahma and in turn went to vaikunta and offered their obeisance to Lord Maha Vishnu and prayed for deliverance from the clutches of Sankachooda.  Maha Vishnu decreed that the end of the asura would come from Lord Shiva and He himself will play a vital role in the defeat of the asura.

Approached by the hapless devas, Lord Shiva came to battle Sankachooda, who matched the Lord weapon to weapon and blow for blow.  At this point of time, Lord MahaVishnu approached the demon as a Brahmin and sought as alms his amulet which Sankachooda gladly gave away (reminds of the story of Karna). In the meantime Lord MahaVishnu came to Brinda disguised as Sankachooda and declared that he had returned from the battle field.  Brinda welcomed her lord and united with Him when she realized that she had been duped and it was Sriman Narayana who had come under the guise of Sankachooda.  She cursed the Lord to become a stone. The Lord pacified her and reminded her of the boon she had got from Brahma that she will be united with Lord Maha Vishnu as she had prayed for the same. He also blessed her that she would now return to the Goloka and be for ever with Lord Krishna adorning him as a garland (Thulasi dhama bhooshana). Her remnants on earth would turn into a beautiful river Gantaki  as well as the holy Thulasi plant which would be most suited for the worship of the Lord.  It is therefore in the Gantaki river, the Lord resides as small black pebbles which to this day are worshipped as Salagramam.  Lord Shiva blessed Sankachooda to return to the Goloka as Sudhama and be in service of the Lord there. His remnants were scattered over the oceans and turned into beautiful conches. 

We go through many births in our pursuit to attain the lotus feet of the Lord. We take the form of insects, plants, birds, animals and above all humans and depending on the austerities performed in our lives as humans we evolve further into gandarvas, devas and so on.  The Lord is our master in all our births and if we realize this and dedicate ourselves to the service of the Lord, we shall be ever near Him.  Whatever actions that happen are a reflection of the supreme will and we can pray for acceptance of the same as His divine grace.  We may be born a demon or a dame, but if love for the Supreme is embedded in our heart, it would guide us to Him ultimately.

Thulasi is worshipped on the twelfth day of the new moon in the month of Karthikai. The day is called Uttana Dvadasi or Brindavana dvadasi.  On this day, lighting a ghee lamp near the Thulasi plant, decorating it with flowers and offering our prayers to Thulasi devi will bring us immense happiness and joy and ultimate union with Lord Krishna.

OM TAT SAT

THIRUPARAMKUNDRAM

Thiruparankundram or Sathyagiri

Kundruruva Vel vaangi nindra mugam ondre

Salutations to the face that took the Mountain like Spear

The Spear or the Velayudham is the gnanashakti of Lord Subhramanya and used by Him to rid the world of the torture heaped on the people and rishis and the devas by the terrible demons Tarakasura and Soorapadman.  Both Taraka and Soorapadman had performed intense tapas to gain boons of invincibility from Lord Brahma which they used to torment and torture the three worlds.  On the sixth day of the advent of Skanda as Shiva’s son, He took the form of a six year old and was crowned as the commander in chief of the vast army of the Devas (Deva Senani). In order to overcome the invincibility of the demon Tarakasura, Murugan chose to perform tapas seeking the blessing of His mother Goddess Durga.

He chose Sathyagiri near the famous temple town of Madurai and performed intense tapas invoking Durga who appeared before Him and blessed Her boy with the Spear, nay She Herself became the Spear in the hands of Her son. That is why the Vel is called Shakti. The term Durga has many meanings – Fort, Hill, that which cannot be crossed and that which is invincible. So, to fight the demons who had the power of invincibility, the Lord was armed with Shakti, His own mother in Her form as Durga the terrible. Arunagirinathar beautifully describes this by the term ‘Kundru Uruva’ which means in the form of a hill. Durga, as seen above also conveys the meaning of hill which cannot be crossed. Although Taraka got a boon from Lord Brahma that he should meet his end at the hands of the son of Lord Shiva, he did not bargain that his end would come from the VetriVel which was none other than Shakti thrown playfully at his chest by the little boy Subhramanya.  The same Velayudam was used by the Lord for laying low Soorapadman and his siblings.

There was once a contest between Adhisesha, the serpent bed of Lord Mahavishnu and the god of Wind, Vayudeva as to who was stronger. They both decided that Adisesha would hold tight the five peaks of Mount Maha Meru with his thousand hoods, Vayudeva would try to dislodge the peaks with his force. The contest began in right earnest and Vayu shook the mountain with all his might while Adisesha held the mountain intact by tightly coiling his body around the mountain and held together its peaks. In the tussle a small fragment of one of the peaks got dislodged and was blown away by the force of the wind and landed itself near Madurai and got embedded in the earth.  This peak came to be known as Sathyagiri or the mountain of truth.

The absolute truth is one and is the primordial Sound OM called Nadam. Its form is pranava which is denoted as Bindu from which has sprung the universe. This is also called Para or the Supreme which is beyond everything. Param is the term which denotes that which is beyond and when associated with the absolute truth it becomes Para Brahman. The Para Brahman has two aspects – Nirguna, that is without any name and form or qualities and Saguna in which it takes a name and form and the resultant qualities.  In the Nirguna form it is called Shiva and denotes potential energy which is pure consciousness where matter and energy are latent. When this equilibrium is disturbed it leads to the flow of energy activating inert matter to start creation. The energy is called Shakti and the flow is called Vishnu (that which moves fast). When matter is energized the first movement is spanda or rotation on its axis and the second movement is spurana, revolution around another. Together these two constitute the basis of creation.  Vishnu denotes the male aspect and is called Purursha and Shakti denotes the female aspect and is called Moola Prakriti.  They are considered to be brother and sister and together they manifest themselves as the universe and all the bodies that are present in the universe.

Thus the Holy trinity of Shiva, Shakti and Vishnu are considered to be the different aspects of the primordial Parabrahman and are denoted by the term Param.  When the three aspects of the absolute decided to take lodging in the dislodged peak of Mount Maha Meru lying embedded in the earth, the hill itself became home for the absolute truth and hence called Sathya Giri (Truth mountain).  Lord Shiva, called Satyagiri Ishwarar is in the form of Shiva lingam facing west and in a bass relief are the images of Lord Shiva and Shakti behind the lingam.  Facing the sanctum sanctorum of Lord Shiva is the shrine for Lord Mahavishnu who gives darshan with Maha Lakshmi. As Lord Mahavishnu is positioned facing Lord Shiva which rightfully belongs to Lord Nandikeswara, the temple is called Mal Vidai kshetram (Mal – Vishnu, Vidai – the divine bull Nandi and kshetram – temple), that is the temple of Maha Vishnu in the place of the divine bull.  That Nandikeswara is Shiva Himself and hence Vishnu, is another matter. The name of Shakti is Govardanambikai and Her shrine is situated separately one tier below the main temple.  Again the name Govardanam is associated with Lord Mahavishnu in His Krishnavataram and hence the relationship between Maha Vishnu and Shakti is established. 

To the right of the shrine of Satyagiriswarar, facing south is the shrine of Karpaga Vinayagar who was worshipped by Lord Skanda before He entered into tapas. As the name denotes, Lord Vinayaga will instantly grant whatever one prays for like the celestial tree Karpaga vriksham.  To the right of the sannidhi of Lord Karpaga Vinayagar and again facing south is the shrine of Goddess Durga who manifested Herself as the divine spear Vel when Muruga prayed for Her blessings to conquer the asuras.  The shrine of Subhramanya is situated next to the shrine of Durga and again faces south. The Lord is swayambhu and the image is reinforced with a mixture of various ingredients to give an appropriate shape.  The Lord’s image is in the sitting posture with the Sungod and Moongod in bass relief on either side on the top and the images of sage Naradha and Goddess Devayanai in sitting posture on either side of the image.  This is the depiction of the marriage of Lord Skanda with Devayanai after the annihilation of Surapadma and other asuras.

Lord Mahavishnu had two daughters who performed severe penance to get Lord Subhramanya as their husband.  They were blessed to grow up in the care of the king of Gods, Devendra and the king of hunters as Devayanai and Valli.  Skanda was offered the hand of Devayanai after the extinction of the scourge of asuras Soorapadman and his brothers, by Devendra and the marriage is believed to have taken place in Param Kundram or Satyagiri. Devendra represents the indriyas or faculties in a human being. His daughter therefore represents Kriya shakti, that is the action which follows the functioning of the faculties. Valli devi is the Icha shakti or the desire that impels one into action. Marriage of Devayanai to Murugan after the asuras were conquered would signify that after annihilation of the bad tendencies (vasanas), there is rightful action which leads one to the union with the supreme.

Sage Parasarar was the father of Sage Veda Vyasa. He had six other sons who were cursed to become fish. When they prayed for deliverance, they were told to perform penance in a small pond called Saravana Poigai on the foothills of Sathyagiri and that when they have the vision of Lord Skanda, they would be redeemed from their sin. The muni kumaras waited for the return of Lord Subhramanya from the conquest of the asuras and when He returned, His glance fell on them and they regained their position. The images of Sage Parasara and Sage Vyasa are present in the temple as testimony to this tale.

Nakkeerar was a poet par excellence during the sangam period.  He had challenged Lord Shiva by finding fault in a poem written by the Lord Himself and was chastened by the Lord and given a new lease of life. He was directed to take upadesa from Lord Skanda in Tamil grammar and hence he performed tapas in Thiruparam kundram. One day when he was performing Shiva pooja beside the Saravana poigai, he was distracted by the tussle between a stork and a fish.  The stork had caught hold of a big fish and was unable to pull it out of the water as the fish was too huge and kept dragging the stork into deeper waters.  Immediately a demon caught hold of Nakkeerar and imprisoned him in a cave where there were ninety eight others who had violated the code of conduct while performing Shiva puja. The demon was in search of the hundredth victim so that he could complete his number for sacrificing them to Goddess Kali.  Nakkeerar was non plussed and sought the intervention of Lord Skanda and sang the beautiful hymn Thiru Muruga Atru Padai and no sooner than the hymn was completed, the Lord’s spear Shaktivel came out of the Lord’s hand, clove the cave into two and killed the demon too.

Satyagiri represents the Anahata chakra which is associated with the heart, mind and its functionalities.  The presiding deity of the Anahata chakra is Lord Shiva.  The mind has four functionalities known as Manas or the mind, Buddhi or the intellect, Chitta or the thought and Ahamkara or ego. Kundalini shakti after crossing the manipuraka chakra has to cross one more knot called Vishnu granthi which opens the gates of the heart chakra. Here begins the transformation from the gross to the subtle realms in spiritualism. The heart is the seat of emotions triggered by ego acting on the Mind. If the mind is controlled through the intellect, there will be purity of thoughts (Chitta sudhi) which will in turn subdue the ego and make it absorbed in Shiva.  Shiva represents limitless love and compassion. Love when released from its limitations caused by attachment to ones near and dear, kith and kin and so on, becomes pure and limitless and embraces Shiva whose form is Love supreme. In this state the aspirant experiences sublime bliss caused by contentment.

Satyagiri stands for the absolute truth with manifestation of Maha Vishnu as Sad (energised matter), Goddess Govardanambikai as Chit (consciousness) and Parameshwara as Ananda and hence is the whole (poornam). Subhramanyam is the pure form of the absolute Brahman as Shiva putra and worshipping Him with His consort Devayanai (kriya shakti) along with the holy trinity of Shiva, Shakti and Vishnu at Sathyagiri, He will touch us with His gnana Vel which will immediately dissolve all our past karmas and make us realize the truth of ourselves being the Supreme Brahman.