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Ramanuja List Archive: Message 00044 Mar 2004

 
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Five Forms in One
Episode III:

In the third Episode when Lord Ranganatha in Archa revealed HIS ?Vibhava? was 
that of Godha of Srivilliputhur. Sri Vishnuchitta, a Vaishnavite Brahmin was 
very much devoted to the presiding deity of Srivilliputhur viz. Lord 
Rangamannar. He was very much engaged in the service of Lord by carrying 
garlands made of flowers and Tulasi. For this purpose he developed a garden 
wherefrom he picked the fresh flowers and Tulasi with dew on them. Whileon this 
divine duty in the garden he stumbled on a beautiful female child which he 
carried home and become her foster father. It was the Tamil month of ?Adi? and 
the star was ?Pooram? on that day. The foundling was brought up by Vishnuchitta 
in an atmosphere which exuded nothing but divine fragrance. As the Tulasi plant 
possessed the natural smell, the child had the instinct of divinity in her. She 
was given the name ?Godha? which according to scholars carries different 
meaning and connotations.

She was influenced by the stories on Bhagavatham and Ramayanam from his foster 
father who was fully immersed in ?Krishnamritham? as is seen from his 
?Thirumozhi?. He deals with Lord Krishna?s childhood and his pranks in the form 
of Tamil hymns. It is considered to be a compendium of Bhakavatham in Tamil so 
to say. She likened Srivilliputhur to Brindavanam and thedamsels of the place 
to ?Gopikas? and herself assumed the role of a leader of those innocent Shepard 
ladies. She enacted what all happened in dwaparayuga forgetting that she was in 
Kaliyuga. Godha was so much involved inBhakthi that she did not realize what 
she was doing by adorning herself with the garland that was kept by her father 
to be taken to Vatapatrasai. Shesaw her reflection through the placid waters of 
well within the temple complex, with a view to satisfying herself as a suitable 
match for the Lord. She then kept the garland back in its original place and 
was silent as if nothing happened. On returning home
from the garden Vishniuchitta went straight to carry the garland to the temple. 
He was aghast to find a bit of hair in it. He was upset that the garland had 
been desecrated. He questioned his daughter whether she knew anything about it. 
Godha accepted her folly and displayed penitence. A fresh garland was made and 
Vishnuchitta took it to the sanctum sanctorum of Vatapadrasai, when he heard 
the divine voice proclaiming that He preferred only the garland that was worn 
by ?Godha?. Vishnuchitta concluded that his daughter was not of that ordinary 
but had divinity in her. From that date onwards Godha is called ?Choodikodutha 
Nachiyar?

In her immortal songs numbering thirty called ?Thirpavai? in which Godha has 
given to the world the quintessence of Vedas. On becoming an adult Godha 
appealed to Lord of seven hills, the Azhagar of Thirumalirunsollai of her state 
of being forlorn and her desire to join Lord Rangantha of Srirangam. Her 
expressions of love and seperation from the Lord in the form of Tamil verses 
are called ?Nachiyar Thirumozhi? numbering one hundred and forty three.

When Vishniuchitta disclosed his desire to find a suitable spouse for Godhashe 
immediately reacted in the nature of a repartee saying that her physical frame 
is intended only for the lord, and warned that if any attempt is made to marry 
her to mortal, she would no more be alive. Vishnuchitta in a quandary without 
knowing what to do and concluded that his daughter was referring from some 
psychic condition. At last Vishnuchitta had to yield t o the wish of Godha and 
decided to take her to Srirangam and for that purpose he requisitioned two 
palanquins one for himself and the other for Godha fromVallabha Pandian. They 
set off for the Holy place and it was dusk when they reached the banks of 
Cauvery. Vishnuchitta took leave of his daughter fora while to reach the river 
for the evening oblation. After completing the ritual he returned to the place 
where his daughter was waiting in the palanquin and was alarmed to find it 
vacant. He had to guess that Lord Ranganthahad taken he away to
his abode and bemoaningly he declared that He had only one daughter and that he 
had brought her up as Mahalakshmi; perhaps Lots eyed ?Thirumal? had carried her 
away.

Thus Godha obtained the name Andal and joined Lord Rangantha of Srirangam. This 
is also an instance of Vibhava out of Archa. We can deduce that lord Ranganatha 
is very much in Vibhava as He is in Archa and Srirangam mnay be taken as the 
confluence of Five forms of Lord Vishnu and is being called Bhooloka Vaikunta.  

This article was written by Late Sri L.P.Sampath Iyengar

Comments and feedback are welcome to suprajaiyengar@xxxx

CONCLUDED


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