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