Srimathe Ranga Ramanuja Maha Desikaya Namaha: Sri Rukmini Sathyabhama Sametha Sri Venugopala Para Brahmane Namaha: Report on Prana Pratishtapana Mahothsavam Celebrations held in Edison, NJ on September 11th 2004 The Uthsavam celebrations for Prana Pratishtapana of Sri Rukmini Sathyabhama sametha Sri Venugopala Perumal started 10 days earlier i.e., from September 1st 2004 in Edison, New Jersey with grand parayanams of sri sookthis arranged for the occasion. This included Swami NammAzhwAr's ThiruvAimozhi,Sri Valmiki RAmAyanam's Sundara KAndam, SwAmi DEsikan's entire DEsika prabhandham and DEsika Sthothram.These recitations took place every day from Sept 1st 2004 for 2 hours between 07:30 PM to 09:30 PM ET. On the 10th day of the Uthsavam (Sep 10th), entire Sri Ranganatha Paduka Sahasram recitation took place in the morning. It was a wonderful sight to see so many bhagavathas turning up for each day of the uthsavam with lots of dedication and bhakthi even it was a weekday. Also so many bhagavathas far and wide across the country had the fortune of participating in the uthsavam every day albeit remotely through the telebridge facility. The religious rituals started on the 9th day of the uthsavam ie on Sep 9th for the prana pratishtapana of Sri Venugopala Perumal. Jaladhivasam,dhanyadi vasam, homams and kalasa pujas were performed by Sri Sampath bhattar of New Jersey to mark the occasion. On the day of prana pratishtapana of Sri Venugopala Perumal, purnahuthi was performed after the conclusion of kalasa puja and homams. Perumal with His Parivaram that comprises of thayars-Sri Rukmini and Sathyabhama, Garudan, Bhagavath Ramanuja,Swami Desikan left for a Hall nearby where the mahothsavam was arranged. Perumal with His parivaram were majestically seated in a Silver Dolai(swing) during the purappadu. It is interesting to note that Perumal and entire parivaram along with silver dolai was specially prepared under the direct supervision of His Holiness Srimath Srimushnam Andavan Himself ! Adiyen is astonished by the beauty of perumal and his parivaram that one should definitely pray to get a glimpse of Him ! On the morning of 11th Sept 2004, The mahothsavam started off sharply at 08:30 AM with traditional seva kalam recitation followed by Sri Vishnu Sahsranamam and Sri Lakshmi Ashtothram. Following this, the important event of Prana Pratishtapana muhurtham took place between 10:35 AM and 10:45 AM where Netra UnmeeLanam(opening of eyes) for Perumal took place. At this time, a special chAya darsanam( through a kannAdi-Mirror) was arranged for the bhagavathas to see Him through it. Slowly by then bhagavathas started pouring in and it was amazing to see a huge turn out (close to 300 bhagavathas) to have the darshan of Perumal. Immediately after the conclusion of prana pratishtapana, a GRAND thirumanjanam was performed for the deities by the bhattar amidst veda gosham reverberating the ambience. Pancha sooktham with taitriyopanishad were recited with full fervor during Perumal's neerattam. We had more than 60-70 bhagavatha goshti alone in the sathsangam. The atmosphere was filled with energy and devotion from the bhagavathas which took us literally to being in a divya desam in India during an uthsavam. One has to experience to say this ! It was adiyen's bhagyam to have been present on such an auspicious occasion. During the alankaram of Perumal and bhashyakarar, divya prabhandham was recited as songs by couple of devotees in a melodious, lilting tone to please the perumal. At the completion of alankaram, a GRAND THIRU KALYANA UTHSAVAM was performed for perumal and thayars. This was truly a rare occasion witnessed in North America far away from our Holy motherland where close to 150 bhagavathas sponsored for the FIRST KALYANA UTHSAVAM of Sri Venugopala Perumal. Indeed the bhagavathas were blessed to be part of this holy kainkaryam ! At the conclusion of Thiru Kalyana Uthsavam of Sri Venugopala Perumal, a grand sathumurai took place chanting sri sookthis of our purvacharyas. The resonance it carried was a treat to ears ! This was immediately followed by Acharya Sambhavana for all our PurvacharyAs. Theertha goshti followed this where Swami Desikan's and Srimath Periandavan's vazhi thirunamam was recited followed by Sri Desika Mangalam and Srimath Periandavan Mangalam. As it has been a customary recitation here in the United States by Srimath Andavan sishyas, the entire dhanian of all our purvacharyas of Srirangam Srimath Andavan Periashramam was recited during the theertha goshti. It was amazing to see all the assembled bhagavathas line up in queue to wait for their turn to have the Perumal theertham, SatAri, Sri Bhashyakar theertham and paduka theerthams of the all the purvacharyas of Srirangam Srimath Andavan Periashramam. Adiyen is not exaggerating - it took almost an hour to distribute the theertha prasadam for the assmbled bhagavathas. The discipline followed by them was truly exemplary ! A special Maryadhai for the perumal came from Sri Ranganatha Temple, Pomona,NY. Some sweets were also brought from the temple as "seer" for the Kalyana Uthsavam of perumal. A grand feast(prasadam) was arranged for all the devotees who came for the uthsavam. It was amazing to see that with so many devotees turning up, no one went back disappointed without having food. Such was the meticulous preparation undertaken by organizers. A grand Dolothsavam(swing ceremony) was performed for Sri Rukmini Sathyabhama Sametha Sri Venugopala Perumal who were seated in the silver dolai decorated with beautiful flowers. The alankaram done for the deities was truly a great sight to behold. Cultural events were organized during the dolothsavam. Soul stirring Songs were rendered on Perumal by various devotees that included small children also. Nama sankeertharnam was also arranged which went for about 30 minutes. Finally the mahothsavam concluded with a captivating 45 minute play on Sri Koorathazwan which was organized by devotees who came from Washington DC area for the occasion. This uthsavam was truly once-in-a-life time event which the devotees will cherish in their memories for years to come. The entire credit goes to the organizers and volunteers who worked through minute details to have successfully arranged the event of this magnitude !! So many devotees had a heavy feeling that the uthsavam was coming to end. They were longing for more and more of this sathsangam on a frequent basis. adiyen is sure Sri Rukmini Sathyabhama sametha Sri Venugopala Perumal will show us a way in realizing their wishes. Dasan, Venkat Sreenivasan For Sri Ramanuja Mission of Srirangam Srimath Andavan Asramam --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - 100MB free storage! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> $9.95 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything. http://us.click.yahoo.com/J8kdrA/y20IAA/yQLSAA/VkWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SriRangaSri/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: SriRangaSri-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
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