You are here: SriPedia - Oppiliappan - Archives - May 2006

Oppiliappan List Archive: Message 00002 May 2006

 
May 2006 Indexes ( Date | Thread | Author )
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]


A wonderful writeup on the noopuram. The reference to noopuram by Lakshmana is 
poignant considering he accusation Sita hurls at hinm when he refused to go 
after Rama on hearing Marica's cry.Our heart moves for poor Lakshmana 
remembering this sloka 'noopuram thu abhijaanaami.'
  Another thing I wanted to clarifyregarding the noopura ganga.Thereis a 
sannidhi at the top of Azagar hills , plausibly of the deity Ganga and now they 
have deified it calling Rakkaayi amman and explain that the water flowing from 
her feet is only used to in tirumanjanam of Azagar. Iraised my doubt but they 
were firm in their tale.i Aenquired one Vaishnava in the temple and he also 
said so. But all our literature on noopuraganga tell that it came from the feet 
of Lord Narayana. On hearing the xplanation I regretted why I took the trouble 
of climbing so many steps  only to acquire leg pain. Can you resolve this 
doubt. Why should this misguidingexplanations be allowed ? ActuallyI wanted to 
write about this soon after my return from Madurai but forgot.
  SarojaRamanujam

sadagopaniyengar@xxxxxxxx wrote:
  Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:



                                                            Noopuram



There are a number of ornaments women are fond of wearing. Jewels embellish and 
enhance a lady's beauty and sometimes even bring out latent beauty. Ornaments 
thus serve as inseparable companions of womenfolk, who would rather be seen 
dead than without their adornments. Be it ear rings, nose-rings, chains of 
various designs and types, ranging from simple, single stranded ones to those 
with multiple strands and pendants, dazzling golden belts (Oddyaanam), anklets 
of shining silver-all these add considerably to women's looks.



Jewels are thus an integral part of our lives and deserve occasional words of 
appreciation. However, have you heard of an entire work of epic proportions 
devoted to a single ornament? I am definitely not exaggerating, for a famous 
Tamizh poet has considered the jewel to be important enough to spin an 
engrossing tale around the ornament and the incidents it gives rise to. It is 
again no exaggeration to say that this single jewel was responsible for the 
death of an exalted monarch and his consort, apart from causing untold loss to 
life and property, flowing from the burning down of an ancient city by a 
wronged woman, whose property the jewel was.



By now, readers would have guessed that I am talking about the Silambu or 
Noopuram as it is known in Sanskrit. There would be none who has not heard of 
Silappadhikaaram and the way it revolves around the ornament. The Kaavyam is 
considered among the five great ones of Tamizh literature, is avidly perused by 
the learned and unlettered alike, and is still the subject of hot debates at 
Patti Mandrams.



Apart from its forming the subject matter of Silappadikaaram, does the Noopuram 
have any significance in the Sampradayam? The answer is Yes, and we shall see 
here a few occasions where the ornament comes in for appreciative mention in 
our spiritual lore.



As with every thing else, we shall turn first to that eternal guidebook, Srimad 
Ramayanam, for inspiration. And the Epic doesn't fail us, for we find an 
extremely heartening reference to the Noopuram in the Kishkinda Kaandam. Sri 
Rama and Sri Lakshmana reach Kishkinda, searching en route for the abducted 
Mythily. Sri Hanuman takes them to Sugriva, who promises to make all-out 
efforts for locating Sri Janaki. Some members of Sugriva's army then show Rama 
a bundle of ornaments cast off by a woman who was being dragged by Ravana in 
the skies. Sugriva requests Sri Rama to identify whether the jewels are those 
of Sita. Sri Rama is overwhelmed by emotion at the sight of these jewels and 
His eyes cloud with copious tears at the thought of beloved Sita, making it 
impossible for Him to look at the ornaments, much less identify them. He turns 
to the faithful Lakshmana and advises him to see if the jewels are those of 
Sita. 



It is here that Lakshmana comes out with an extremely moving speech, which 
amply demonstrates his devotion towards his brother's wife and his attitude of 
extreme rectitude and propriety. ''Since I have never looked at my respected 
sister-in-law in the face and have always had my head bowed with devotion while 
in front of Her, I have never had occasion to see the ornaments adorning the 
upper portion of Her tirumeni. However, I can readily identify the Noopuram 
which She wore on Her feet, since I prostrate before Her daily. That is, in 
fact, the only ornament I am familiar with, my glances being forever 
concentrated on Her holy feet, in devotion and propriety'', says Lakshmana. 
Here is the beautiful slokam of Sri Valmiki- 



'Naaham jaanaami kundale, naaham jaanaami keyoore

Noopure tu abhijaanaami nityam paada abhivandanaat'



It is not only Sita Devi who wears a Noopuram-even Sri Goda Devi's feet are 
adorned with gem-studded Silambu. And when She walks gracefully, these 
Noopurams emit a sweet sound that is nectar to the ears of Her Divine Consort, 
says Swami Desikan in Goda Stuti-



'Tvat preyasa: shravanayo: amritaayamaanaam

Tulyaam tvadeeya mani noopura sinchitaanaam'



For those who wonder whether the sounds of a Noopuram could be as sweet as all 
that, here is confirmation from Sri Valmiki, who describes Sri Hanuman as being 
impressed by the strong and sweet resonance emanating from the Lankan women's 
ornaments, when they moved-



'Sushraava Kaanchee ninaadam, noopuraanaam cha nissvanam'



'Noopuraanaam cha ghoshena Kaancheenaam ninadena cha

Mridanga tala ghoshaischa ghoshavadbhi: vinaaditam'



>From all the aforesaid, you would arrive at the conclusion that the Noopuram 
>is an entirely feminine ornament, serving as an adornment for ladies' tender 
>feet. However, you would be entirely mistaken, for many are the instances in 
>our religious lore which describe the Lord's feet too to be adorned with the 
>Silambu. Here is a beautiful slokam from Srimad Bhagavatam, attesting to this-



'Shanka chakra gadaa padma vanamaalaa vibooshitam

Noopurai: vilasat paadam koustubha prabhayaa yutam'



Here is another couplet from the same source, painting a glorious portrait of 
Sri Krishna, adorned from head to foot with various ornaments-among them the 
Noopuram-- and gladdening the eyes and minds of onlookers beyond measure-



'Kaanchee kalaapa paryastam lasat kaanchana noopuram

Darsaneeyatamam shaantam mano nayana vardhanam'



The Adhyaatma Ramayana tells us that not only Sri Krishna, but Sri Raghava too 
was adorned with Noopuram-



'Noopurai: katakai: bhantam tathaiva vanamaalaya

Lakshmanena dhanu: dvandva karena parisevitam'



Even at SriVaikunttam, the Lord's feet are adorned with Noopuram. This we come 
to know from Sri Ramanuja's Gadyams-'Peetaambara kaanchee guna noopuraadi 
aparimita divya bhooshana', says the Bhashyakara, reserving for the Noopuram a 
pride of place among the innumerable ornaments fortunate enough to adorn 
Emperuman's tirumeni, by reserving its mention at the end of a long list of 
jewels.



Lest you think of the Noopuram as just another ornament, Swami Desikan tells us 
that it has a glory all of its own, having been responsible for originating a 
magnificent river known as the Silambaaru or Noopura Ganga. All of us know that 
when, during Trivikramaavataram, the Lord's feet reached Satyalokam in the 
process of measuring the second foot of land promised by Mahabali, Brahmaa 
performed Tirumanjanam for the Tiruvadi, the resultant flow becoming the holy 
Ganga. However, a part of the water which touched the Noopuram on the Lord's 
feet became a separate stream and fell atop the Tirumaalirum solai hills, 
attaining the name Noopura Ganga. Swami Desikan tells us that this Noopura 
Ganga is much holier than the famed Ganga, as the former is unpolluted by the 
touch of other Devatas. While Ganga, on its way from the worlds above to earth, 
had to be borne by Sri Rudra in his matted locks, to lessen its destructive 
speed, the Noopura Ganga fell straight from the Lord's
 Noopuram to earth, thus making it more sacred and pure. And the waters of the 
Noopura Ganga are sweeter too (I can personally attest to this, having spent 
some time on the banks of the Ganga at Varanasi). This episode is chronicled by 
Swami Desikan in Hamsa Sandesam thus-



'Yasyotsange Bali vijayina: tasya manjeera vaantam

Paatho divyam Pasupati jataa sparsa soonyam vibhaati'



The Hamsa Sandesam has another interesting tale to tell about Sri Sita Devi's 
Noopuram, the only ornament with which Sri Lakshmana is familiar. The Noopuram 
found by the Vaanara veeras at Kishkinda was the one worn on Sita Devi's right 
foot. Once She reached Lanka and was imprisoned at Ashoka vanam, Sri Janaki 
removed the other Noopuram on Her left foot and kept it, along with the other 
ornaments, tied in a piece of cloth to the branch of the Simsupa tree, 
underneath which She was forced to spend Her time, watched constantly by the 
demoniac minions of Ravana. Though She was unmindful of the other jewels, Sita 
used to take out the Noopuram frequently and heave a sigh of sorrow at the 
plight of the ornament, which was personally fitted on Her foot by Sri Raghava. 
At the other end, Sri Rama too fondly looks at the other Noopuram, seeing Sri 
Mythily in it, finding it as sweet-sounding as a swan's song, eagerly awaiting 
the day when He would be able to restore it to its rightful
 place on Sri Janaki's left foot. Here is the beautiful slokam, which 
establishes Swami Desikan's credentials as a poet par excellence, much superior 
to Kalidasa-



'Vaktum maargam kilava sumateem jagmusha: tat padaabjaat

Manjeerasya tvat upama rute:  dakshinasya asya tulyam

Ankaaroode charana kamala mat karena upadeyam

Vaamam shaakha shikara nihitam veekshya gaadam vishannaam'



The Noopuram has made me wax rather long. We will wind this up with a quote 
from Sri Venkateswara Suprabhatam, which tells us to surrender to the lotus 
feet of Sri Srinivasa, adorned by Noopurams which are covered by fragrant 
flowers-



           'Aa noopura arpita sujaata sugandhi pushpa 

Sourabhya sourabha karou sama sannivesou

Sowmyou sadaa anubavanepi navaanubhaavyou

Sri Venkatesa charanou sharanam prapadye'



Srimate Sri Lakshmi Nrisimha divya paduka sevaka Srivan Satakopa Sri Narayana 
Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama: 


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



  SPONSORED LINKS 
        Fund raising   Beliefs   Religion 
    
---------------------------------
  YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS 

    
    Visit your group "Oppiliappan" on the web.
    
    To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
 Oppiliappan-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    
    Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. 

    
---------------------------------
  




                  May god bless you,
        
                 Dr.  Saroja Ramanujam, M.A., Ph.D, Siromani in sanskrit.
  










                
---------------------------------
Get amazing travel prices for air and hotel in one click on Yahoo! FareChase 

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> 
Join modern day disciples reach the disfigured and poor with hope and healing
http://us.click.yahoo.com/lMct6A/Vp3LAA/i1hLAA/XUWolB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~-> 

 
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Oppiliappan/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    Oppiliappan-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
 



[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index ] [Thread Index ] [Author Index ]
Home Page
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia
oppiliappan-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To subscribe to the list