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.

PAZHAMUDHIR CHOLAI

Pazhamudir cholai or Thirumal iruncholai

Korum Adiyargal kurai theerkum mugam ondre

Salutations to the face that removes all miseries from the lives of the supplicant devotees

The temple town of Madurai whose presiding deities are Lord Soma Sundareswara and Meenakshi has to its north and south two shrines (Padai veedu) dedicated to Lord Murugan. Azhagar malai also known as Rishaba hills is considered to be the mortal remains of the divine bull Nandi who came down to the earth to save the city of Madurai from the onslaught of a demonic cow created by the adversaries of Shaivas (followers of Lord Shiva) through their abichara (nefarious) yagna.

In these pleasant hills is situated a very ancient and beautiful temple dedicated to Lord Sundararaja Perumal called as Kallazhagar. The Lord is considered to be the chieftain of the robber clans that abut the hills who earn a living through robbing the wayfarers who travel from the north to the city of Madurai. The Lord is of exquisite beauty and hence is called Azhagar, the most beautiful. It is therefore in the fitness of things that the Lord’s nephew Muruga who eclipses the Lord of Love Manmada in beauty, takes His lodgings along with His uncle in the beautiful Azhagar malai. The temple of Lord Muruga is situated in the hills above the temple of Maha Vishnu on the way to an eternal spring called Nupura ganga as it flows from a rock supposed to be an ornament worn on Her toes by Devi Kali.

The Lord here gives darshan with His two divine consorts, Valli and Devayanai representing the Iccha and Kriya Shakti with the gnana shakti Velayudam on His hand.  It is said that in ancient times there was only a Trishulam in this place and it was only later that the Lord’s present image was installed. As Arunagirinathar’s song mentions, the Lord answers the prayers of His devotees and removes their grief and fulfills their wants.  If the Lord is all knowing why there should be a prayer for fulfillment of wants and removal of grief is the question that comes to our mind.  The other angle to this is, if the Lord is only a Karma Phala datha and is a silent onlooker like the upanishadic bird, what is the use for praying to him?

Our latent tendencies or vasanas carried over from innumerable births relentlessly push us towards experiencing our karma phala. We have a choice, either to exercise our free will or to just leave everything to God and take things as they come. If we choose the former, we would only be responsible for the resultant experience, whereas if we accept things as they come, we shall be in a state of equipoise. So, if our prayers are for the fulfillment of our desires or removal of sorrow, depending on our karma phala, the Lord will grant our wish to the extent we have the bank balance of karma phala.  If on the other hand our prayers are for requesting the Lord to give us what we deserve, then we can always be in a state of satisfaction even if our desires are not fulfilled.

The Lord who is the karma phala dhatha resides in Phazahm Udir cholai, which means the forest where the fruits fall on their own accord. This signifies that the Lord makes the fruits of action mature on their own so that no further action or karma ensues on account of the experience of the fruits. The Maha Mrutyunjaya Mantra states when one worships the Lord with three eyes and everlasting fragrance, the freedom from the cycle of birth and death shall happen in the most natural way like the cucumber separating from its vine when it is mature. Thus, Lord Subhramanya blesses those who pray to him with the annihilation of the fruits of action (karma phala) by making the fruits fall down from the tree of samsara.

There is a story about the grand old Tamizh lady Avvaiyar and the playful boy Murugan.  In the Pazhamudir cholai, Murugan was sitting on the branch of a guava tree laden with fruits. When Avvai requested the boy to pluck and throw some fruits to her, the boy asked her what she would like to have – grilled ones or ungrilled ones (sutta pazham venuma sudaatha pazham venuma) ?  Who ever had heard about baked fruits? Avvaiyar chose to have baked fruits and the Lord gave her darshan mounted on the beautiful peacock with Valli and Devayanai by His side. Therefore grilled fruits mean the ripened fruits of action whose seeds will not germinate for the simple reason that they have been subject to heat, that is, they have been treated by the Lord in His own way that they do not give rise to further action.

Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathiyar says that the Lord gives us the fruit, but when we are half way through eating the same, He would take it away from us and when we once again beseech Him, He would take a bite and then give the rest to us.  How beautifully Bharathiyar has described the Divine intervention in helping us annihilate our karma!!

Thirumal irum cholai represents the Manipooraka chakra. This chakra is situated in the navel region of the human body and its presiding deity is Lord Maha Vishnu. Kallazhagar (Vishnu) is the presiding deity of Azhagar malai of which Pazhamudir cholai is a part. The Manipooraka chakra is a repertoire of jewels (Mani – pooraka), the jewels of past, present and future experiences. To attain this chakra, the first knot of Brahma grandhi which comes after the Swadishtana chakra needs to be crossed. Once this chakra is attained, it opens up the path to spiritual progress in the seeker. It is only because of the activation of this chakra in humans that humans are able to walk erect unlike animals that walk on all fours. There are ten fires and ten vayus (wind power) that are controlled by this chakra. Lord Maha Vishnu with His consort Maha Lakshmi blesses the devotees with both material and spiritual wealth if only one should care to ask for the same (Ask and it shall be given).

Let us pray to Lord Murugan who is Mayon Marugan with Valli and Devayanai at Pazhamudir cholai to bless us with whatever He considers best for us and we shall not be found wanting materially and spiritually.

OM TAT SAT

THIRUVERAGAM

Thiruveragam or Swamimalai : Easurudan gnana mozhi pesum mugam ondre

Salutations to the face that talks of true knowledge with the Supreme Lord

Swamimalai is a small sleepy town near the temple city of Kumbakonam. The principal deity is Lord Subrahmanya who stands atop a small man made mound which gives the appearance of a small hill. Like Pazhani, the Lord’s form is that of a small boy, a brahmachari, in standing posture with a danda and the Vel on His right hand and the left hand deftly placed on His hip.

After the annihilation of all the asuras tormenting the devas like Taraka, Soorapadma, Simha muka and the rest, the playful boy Muruga once went to Brahmaloka and was received with due honours by Lord Brahma. Skanda innocently asked Brahmadeva to explain to him about the source of all creation which Brahma replied was the Omkara or Pranava and also explained its meaning. Karthikeya was not satisfied, but Lord Brahma felt that being a little boy, He was probably not able to comprehend the meaning of his explanation of the intrinsic truth most difficult to understand even by the most advanced divine beings.

Sensing the vanity in Lord Brahma, little Murugan decreed that Brahma was unfit to carry on with his ordained duty of creation and put him behind bars.  The news reached Lord Shiva the supreme Lord who summoned Karthikeya and asked Him what happened. The boy sweetly replied that He did not get a satisfactory explanation from Lord Brahma on the meaning of Pranava. Lord Shiva asked His son whether He knew the meaning as it would not be possible to judge someone or something without first having knowledge of the subject. Lord Subrahmanya replied in the affirmative. Lord Shiva asked Kumara to explain to Him and those assembled the meaning of the ultimate truth Omkara, but Skanda declined saying that the meaning of Pranava can be explained only by a guru to his sishya and if Lord Parameswara wished to know the meaning of Omkara, He should approach him as a guru and seek the explanation.  The Supreme Lord immediately came down on His knees and lifting the small boy Skanda to His right shoulder, He reverentially requested Skanda to explain the meaning of the Pranava.  Muruga explained the meaning of the absolute truth to the one who was absolute truth Himself. Skanda released Brahmadeva from the prison and a chastened Lord of creation resumed His office.

The Vedas are believed to have originated from the single syllable Omkara. This is called as the ‘word’ and ‘lagos’ by ancient religions. The Bible says that ‘First there was the word and word was with God’. Lord Brahma creates with the help of Vedas which have their origin in the Pranava. Pranava is called the Nada Brahmam or Shabda Brahmam and this primordial sound together with Light called Bindu is the source of all creation.  This is also postulated by the scientists of today in their ‘big bang theory’ on the creation of the universe. Brahmadev had become a bit complacent and although He was aware of the valour of Skanda, He was skeptical about the knowledge of the little boy who dared to question Him, the Lord of creation on the basis of creation!!

Subrahmanya, who is none other Lord Shiva Himself as He had come out as sparks from the five faces of the Lord representing the five syllables called Panchakshara, together with the Pranava which came from Lord Shiva’s mind, is Pranava Himself and Brahmadeva should have known this fact and with this mistake landed Himself in the prison. What is a prison? It is a place of seclusion and is meant for self contemplation. Skanda bade Brahmadeva to contemplate and find the true meaning all by Himself.  The prison itself was the primordial sound Omkara from which emanated Sriman Narayana floating on a ashwatha leaf from whose navel had sprung Brahmadeva. The supreme Shakti had only manifested Herself as the primordial sound and light and sheathed in the same She created the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara.  As She is sheathed in Pranava, She is called the parrot in the cage of Omkara. As Taitireeya Upanishad states, it is the supreme brahma shakti which created this universe and entered the same as its life force. This supports the statement ‘Omkara Panchara Suki’ as it is the divine Shakti that is imprisoned in all Her creations of Her own volition.  Thus Lord Brahma returned back to His origin when He was imprisoned by Karthikeya in Omkara and came out to resume His work with more vigour.

It is decreed that no Mantra may be learnt or explained unless through a guru. Lord Shiva was no exception and Muruga made the Supreme Lord Himself as an example to establish this.  When approaching a guru, there shall be no ego in the mind of the student. Even if the student had some glimpse of what the Guru would explain or even if he had full knowledge of the subject, he should never show off and approach the guru with a clean mind. Lord Parameshwara, who is none other than Pranava took the mantle of the disciple and reverentially requested His own son to explain the meaning of the Pranava. Subrahmanaya Himself being a part of Shiva-Shakti and hence Pranava, gave the upadesha to His own father and hence earned the sobriquet ‘Swaminatha’, one who is the god to the Supreme. Swami means that which master and Natha means Lord or Protector and the term Swaminatha means one who is the master (guru) to the supreme Lord (Shiva).  There is another meaning when we consider the term Swami Nada. Nada means sound and Swami Nada means the Master of Sound. As all sound emanates from the Omkara, Swaminada means Omkara itself. The difference is only in Samskrit and in Tamizh the two words are written in the same way.

Lord Dhashinamurthy taught the absolute truth to His four disciples, Sanaka, Sanaadi, Sanandana and Sanathkumara for eons and ultimately fell silent with the chinmudra in His hand allowing the disciples to learn by themselves the meaning of Omkara.  As seen earlier, it was Sanathkumara who had come as Skanda and perhaps He wanted an affirmation from Lord Shiva (Dhakshinamurthy) on His understanding of the Pranava as contemplated and understood by Him in His advent as Sanathkumara !!!

Swami Malai is the Swadishtana kshetra which is the second chakra situated a little above the Mooladara and is associated with Lord Brahma.  Swa means own and Adishtana means resting place. The fiery serpent Kundalini sleeps in the Mooladara chakra coiling herself three times and a half and resting her head on the second chakra Swadishtana. When she awakens, she releases her grip on the chakra and proceeds to pierce the Brahma granthi the first knot, to travel upwards to the next chakra.

Worshiping the Lord in His form as Swaminath(d)a bestows knowledge of the absolute truth depicted by the Pranava mantra. He is the Guru of all Gurus and hence is Parama Guru. When we supplicate to Him, He is always beside us to guide us in our endeavours.