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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

                       The Lord’s Day Out

 

One of the most engaging and endearing traits of the ParamAtmA is His soulabhyam or accessibility. In spite of His exalted nature and stature, He made Himself visible to those who were around at the time of His various avataras, moved as one among them, lowering Himself to their levels and participating like an intimate family member in their joy and sorrow. And though the times of the avataras are long past, to sustain His inalienable connection with mortals, the Lord takes the form and shape they wish Him to and reigns resplendent in the various temples they construct for Him, whether it be palatial abodes like Srirangam, Tirumalai or Perumal Koil, or just a thatched shed with a mere wick-lamp to provide light. He obediently stands, sits or lies down as they wish Him to (“suvar misai sArtthiyum vaitthum tozhuvar”), bathes and eats when He is told to by the arcchakAs, to whose every whim and fancy He subjects Himself, becoming a total “arcchaka parAdheena:”.

 

None would hence dispute that the Lord’s arcchAvatAra provides the best demonstration of His endearing Soulabhyam and enchanting Souseelyam. The Lord, who is beyond the ken of the mortal eye (“na sandrisE tishttati roopam asya, na chakshushA pasyati kascha nainam” says the Taittiriya Upanishad, which Sri Nammazhwar summarises in a single word, “Katkilee”) not only makes Himself visible to all our eyes, without distinction, during specific hours of the day as if He is a museum piece, He also condescends to partake of the measly fare (in most of the sannidhis, it is merely “veLlai sAdam” or unseasoned rice, that He is offered) that is submitted to Him, with absolutely no complaint.

He gets up late when the arcchakA turns up late at the sannidhi (having overslept) and goes to bed early, when the arcchaka has some errand to perform and decides to leave home early.

 

There is, however, one act of Emperuman, which marks the epitome of His souseelyam, and soulabhyam, more than any enumerated above. One might wonder whether there could indeed be any thing other than what has already been said, for all of them reflect the two sterling qualities in abundance. There indeed is, and it is the practice of the Lord at various sannidhis to go around the mAda veedhis or the streets encircling the temple, periodically. We call this “Tiruveedi PurappAdu” in chaste Tamizh and “utsavam” in Sanskrit. While the Tamizh word is self-explanatory, the word “Savam” refers to a Yagya or sacred sacrifice and the prefix “ut” denotes its superlative character. Thus the term “utsavam” indicates a YAga of the highest order. As we know, all YAgAs and Yagyas are after all rituals performed with the sole objective of pleasing the Lord. And that which generates the greatest pleasure for Him is “utsavam”. The word hence indicates that organising the Lord’s outing gives Him quite a lot of pleasure and is therefore equal to the highest of exalted sacrifices.

 

Why does His periodical outing afford Emperuman such pleasure? There are several reasons for this.

 

 First and foremost, it is the joy caused by the opportunity to meet so many of His devotees. Even if a temple is nearby, we know from experience that our “busy” schedule enables us to visit the Lord only occasionally. The topsy-turvy priorities that we city-dwellers have adopted, affords us adequate time for anything and everything and the most frivolous of pursuits, but not enough for spiritual endeavours. It is thus that we end up not visiting the Lord at His abode, even if it is quite proximate. We, with our hearts of stone (“irumbu pOl valiya nenjam”), might survive without seeing Emperuman for any length of time—however, He, with His heart melting with compassion and irrepressible love, is simply unable to tolerate our absence. This is why He takes to the streets once in a while, just to have a “dharshan” of us. This is a case of the mountain coming to Mohamed, even if the latter doesn’t go the former. The Lord is so enamoured of His offspring that like a doting parent, He comes out to visit us, even if we stay away. Doesn’t this remind us of the saying, “Pettra manam pitthu, piLLai manam kallu”?

 

Secondly, even if some of us do wish to visit temples, we are unable to do so due to some crippling malady or the other, like Arthritis, cardiac problems and the like and are forced to lead a life of confinement to the bed or wheel chair. It is to afford an opportunity to such invalids too, to have a purifying and ecstatic glimpse of Him, that the Lord takes to the streets. When we are hale and hearty, of sound body and mind, in full possession of our faculties, we should visit as many sannidhis as possible, storing within us the joyful pictures of the glorious Lord in His various forms. If we do this, even if we are unable in old age to visit Him, He comes out to us, enabling us to have a blissful eyeful of His magnificent form. This is only a natural corollary of the VarAha Charamaslokam—

 

“StthirE manasi susvastthE shareerE sati yO nara:

 dhAtu sAmyE stthirE smartA Visvaroopam cha mAm ajam

 Tata: tam mriyamANam tu kAshtta pAshANa sannibham

Aham smarAmi mat bhaktam, nayAmi paramAm gatim”

 

“If you think of Me when you are well, I shall think of you and take care of you, when you are not”, says the Lord in this beautiful sloka. And true to His word, He comes out running to see you if you are an invalid, in the guise of “Tiruveedi PurappAdu”.

 

A third reason for the Lord’s outings is His anxiety to attract to His fold, as many uncooperative people as possible. We have come across several persons, who have absolutely no faith in God and wouldn’t take shelter in a temple, even if it were raining cats and dogs. Despite their attitudes, the Lord is not prepared to abandon them or write them off as incorrigible, for they too are His children—prodigal children, but His progeny all the same. The Lord’s beauty and splendour are such that even His sworn adversary loses himself in the divine magnificence, as did ShoorpanakhA, after her nose was cut. Despite the indignity inflicted on her, all that she is able to recollect about Sri Rama and Lakshmana are their broad, lotus eyes, becoming dresses of tree bark and deerskin and their overwhelming youth and beauty—“PuNdarIka visAlAkshou cheera krishNAjinAbarou” says she, describing the offenders to her brother Ravana. It is in search of such hard nuts too that the Lord undertakes outings, so that they too could be conquered by His irresistible splendour, floored by His irresistible lotus eyes and made to fall at His feet despite themselves, thoroughly won over (“JitamtE PuNdarIkAksha!, namastE”) and brought around to the path of righteousness and devotion.

 

Recollecting the impartiality with which the Divine Feet traversed the three worlds and imprinted themselves on all beings during the TrivikramAvatAra, Sri Alavandar yearns for a similar, sacred touch of the Lord’s tiruvadi on his (Alavandar’s) head—“  kadA…..Trivikrama! Tvat charaNAmbuja dvayam madeeya moordhAnam alankarishyati!”. It is to bless us all with a purifying touch of His holy feet, represented by the SathAri (which the arcchaka, walking ahead of the Lord during “purappAdu”, places on the head of devotees) that the Lord comes out on the streets, forming a fourth reason therefor.

 

Another and fifth reason is the Lord’s desire to show us all how enamoured He is of the incredibly sweet verses of Azhwars. Though these PrabandAs are recited in the temple too, Emperuman wants to show us His partiality for aruliccheyal by following the adhyApaka ghOshti, who move ahead reciting the lilting and beautiful pAsurams, with the Lord apparently running after them to hear more of the same. We must remember here that it was Emperumans of various divya dEsams who paid a visit to the tamarind tree, seeking Sri Nammazhwar’s paeans of praise in their favour, while Azhwar stayed put on his perch in the treehole. Thus, the Lord is extremely partial to the devotion-filled verses of Divya Prabandam and demonstrates His passion by following those who recite the same.

 

By the same token, the VEda pArayaNa ghOshti which follows the Lord indicates to us that the Shruti is forever seeking to fathom the extent of at least one of His auspicious attributes, but is doomed to failure because the kalyANa guNAs are indeed unfathomable—“YatO vAchO nivartantE, aprApya manasA saha”. Nevertheless, since the search itself is so pleasurable, the Shruti doesn’t give up and continues its unending voyage of discovery.

 

The Lord’s liking for a day out can be gleaned from the frequency with which He trots out to the streets. EkAdasi, AmAvAsyA, the first day of the month, the Star of ShravaNam, the birthdays of Azhwars and Acharyas—you name the occasion and you would find the Lord on an outing. It would appear at divya dEsams like TiruvallikkENi that few are the days on which Emperuman confines Himself to His abode, preferring to go out with His Consorts at the drop of a hat. And the Lord really has a treat during the BrahmOtsavams, which mean for Him an outing twice a day for at least ten days, decked up in all His finery, astride various vAhanams, to the accompaniment of music and dance and surrounded by an adoring army of devotees. Those who are fortunate enough to have their eyeful of the utsavams find themselves bewildered at what to see and how to see the same fully, for the Lord’s magnificent tirumEni, His beautiful Consorts, the particular vAhanam which has the unimaginable good fortune of carrying the Lord that day, the adhyApaka ghOshti melting the minds of listeners with their melodious rendering of verses dripping with devotion, the VEda pArAyaNa swamis intoning the majestic litany of the magnificent Shruti—all these compete for the onlooker’s attention simultaneously and ensure that he never has his fill of the indescribable delight that the cumulative picture presents.

 

I consider myself extremely fortunate to have spent my childhood at Tiruvallikkeni, running away to the temple or the nearest mAda veedi at the distant beat of the drums heralding the Lord’s arrival, finding Him ensconced on the broad shoulders of GarurthmAn, with innumerable pieces of new cloth lovingly offered by devotees draped around His own and His carrier’s shoulders, running along with the “YAnai” vAhanam with the SrIpAdam thAngIs simulating an elephant on the rampage, with the added and hilarious attraction of a Bhattar dressed in a flowing gown trying to imitate a mahout,  pulling the sturdy iron chains of the Lord’s Chariot, simultaneously drinking in the graceful beauty of its slow and swaying progress, revelling at the sight of fireworks that used to be let off ahead of the Lord’s arrival and reacting with amusement at the sight of Emperuman trying His best to look like His beautiful Consort in the NAcchiyAr TirukkOlam but failing miserably because He can’t simulate the loving and  mercy-filled eyes of TirumagaL. We children practically used to live at the temple, getting in the way of kainkaryaparAs, accompanying the Lord to the vAhana mandapam, breathlessly awaiting His dramatic emergence, in all His regal splendour, ensconced on the vAhanam of the day, from behind the thick screens and walking or running with the vAhanam through the streets of Tiruvallikkeni. And we would go home only after seeing the Lord back to the temple, safe and sound from His outing and after “TiruvandikkAppu” was performed.  All these are indeed indelible imprints on the mind’s eye, which enthral me even after 30 years and fill me with sadness that the Lord has chosen to keep me away from all the fun, frolic and fanfare of His utsavams ever since then.

 

And it was definitely not my imagination, but the Lord did seem to sport a more beaming smile on His beautiful countenance when on Tiruveedi purappAdu, than when He was confined to His temple. The sight of all those devotees, come to participate in the festival dropping whatever personal or official work they had, all for His sake, intent on savouring His splendour bit by bit, must have made Emperuman so happy as to broaden the smirk on His divine visage.  

 

Is there any wonder then that Swami Desikan prefers to have a regular feast of witnessing the Lord’s utsavams at divya desams like Kanchi, rather than a life of boundless bliss at Sri Vaikuntam? The Acharya doesn’t want even to blink while drinking in the beauty of the deity, for fear of missing one second of irreplaceable anubhavam.

 

“Turaga VihagarAja syanadana AndOlikAdishu

 adhikam adhikam anyAm Atma shObhAm dadhAnam

 anavadhika vibhootim HastisailEsvaram tvAm

 anudinam animEshai: lOchanai: nirvisEyam”

 

“Satyam shapE VAraNa shailanAtha! Vaikuntta vAsEpi na mE abhilAsha”

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

dasan, sadagopan

 



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