You are here: SriPedia - Oppiliappan - Archives - Jan 2004

Oppiliappan List Archive: Message 00055 Jan 2004

 
Jan 2004 Indexes ( Date | Thread | Author )
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]


"na deivam deSikAt param, na param deSikArcanAt"

[There is no god greater, and none more worthy
 of worship - than deSika]

Dear bhaktas:

adiyEn wishes to narrate to you his personal
experience of (albeit for very short period)
having been a sevArthi at the divya kshetrams
of Kanchi, Thooppul and SriPerumbuthoor.

In doing so, I hope that those among us who
have the desire to support the nitya kainkaryam
to AchArya sArvabhouman swami deSikan at his
avatAra sthalam of thooppul, will experience
the same devotion and dedication that adiyEn
felt in the presence of a noble son of Kanchi,
Sri Satagopa tAthAchAryar.

A lamp which revealed the existence of another
- "viLakkukkE oru viLakku"... such was swAmi
deSikan to Sri marakathavalli sametha Sri
viLakkoLi deepaprakASa perumAL - that lord
whose moola archai itself manifests with ubhaya
nAcchiyArs, as if in honor of the avartAra
vaibhavam of swAmi deSikan.

And for a confused fledgling like me, Sri
Satakopa tAthAchAryar [13th generation
 descendant of kotikanyAdAnam Sri tAthadeSikan
 and grandson of Sri sudarSana tAthAchAryar, a
 great scion of that vamSam more commonly known
 as "ChuChu" swami]...
became a "viLakku" that showed the way to the
birthplace of swAmi deSikan himself, and while
doing so, enlightened everyone on the many
wonders of swami deSikan's life.

adiyEn's vacation to India in Dec 2003
materialized rather suddenly, and with my
parents' help I planned to travel to the four
important kshetrams of "kodai, vadai, nadai,
and mudi".  Hours before leaving USA on Dec 07,
I sent an email to Sri Sadagopa tAthAchAryar
(SST) hoping that he might be in kanchi that
week.  By deivAnugraham, SST swami was already
there, he too on vacation from his present job
in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala!

Thus my wife, motherinlaw, parents and myself
all traveled to kanchipuram 12 Dec 2003.  We
reached the entrance of the great VaradarAjar
kovil around 8 pm, where SST swami was awaiting
us.  From this very first moment, SST swami's
sheer tejas and vidwat became evident to us.
His humble demeanor only complemented those
qualities!  Once inside the prAkAram, SST swami
began to explain how this granite temple complex
dated back to the pallava dynasty.

So we walked past the amazing nooru-kaal mandapam
on our left, and swami desikan sannidhi on our
right (which was now closed at this hour), and
past the majestic dhvajasthambam and up 2 flights
of stairs towards the sannidhi of perundevi
nAcchiyAr.  This is perundevi thAyAr, adiyEn
reflected... the one who inspired swAmi kooratth
Alvan to turn away from his ancestral wealth and
towards uncha vrtthi.

Having paid our obeisance to thAyAr, we proceeded
towards of course, deva perumAL himself. En route
were the corridors to "kacchivAytthAn mandapam",
where the scene of thirukacchi nambi's deference
of rAmAnuja's doubts to SrI deva perumAL has been
immortalized in metal carvings plating the mandapam.
SST swAmi continued his captivating explanations of
all these aspects of the kovil, and the combined
effect of listening to his discourse and being in
front of kacchivAytthAn mandapam, was a completely
surreal experience for us.

"pratiSThApita vedAntaH..." recalled SST swami
with pride, quoting nadAdhUr ammAL's benediction
to the child venkatanAtha, after it prompted the
great scholar at the point where he had halted his
SrIbhAshya kAlakshepam... all of which occurred
right here, in these hallowed halls leading to
the kacchivAythAn mandapam - and painted in frescos
along the ceiling.  As many of us know, the wall
paintings in this great kovil are sadly,
unmaintained and in continuous deterioration.

As we walked up the steep steps leading to the
moolavar SrI deva perumAL sannidhi, a "nityotsavar"
puRappAdu was seen outside. This, SST swAmi
explained, was like an utsavar of the utsavar(!),
having daily puRappAdu.  We reached the sanctum
of varadarAja perumAL himself, adiyEn's very first
darSanam of kanchi varadar in this life; and
immediately awe-struck by his grandeur - especially
the captivating smile which was all-knowing,
welcoming, and teasing at the same time!

It was this captivating smile of SrI deva perumAL,
that would not let me pay attention to much else
- except perhaps, his abhaya hastam that displayed
a bejewelled "mA SucaH" in tamil letters.  His
AbharaNams glowed resplendent in the dark night,
with flame from the oil lamps revealing hues of
gold, silver, and diamond, all complementing his
enchanting smile.  Walking down from the uLsannidhi,
SST swAmi pointed out - that *ONLY* swAmi deSikan
puRappAdu had the privilege of entering this
sannidhi past the dvArapAlakars... a fitting
recognition for this great AchAryan who had held
SrI deva perumAL in his mind and heart, every
moment of his bhoololkam life.

Suddenly my wife asked, "why does deva perumAL
smile so much"?  to which SST swAmi replied
- "BECAUSE HE IS DEVAADIRAAJAN..., THE LORD OF
ALL GODS, ONE TO WHOM EVEN THE VEDIC DEVATAS
PAY THEIR RESPECTS..."  And with great abhimAnam
for deva perumAL, SST swAmi continued - "WHOEVER
SAID, ALVAR DID NOT SING ABOUT OUR DEVAADIRAAJAN??
NAMMALVAR HIMSELF HAS SAID, 'ayar vaRum amarargaL
athipathi yavan avan'... THAT IS, WHO IS THE ONE
LEADING THE THOUSANDS OF DEVATAIS?  IT IS OUR
DEVA PERUMAL ALONE.  THAT IS WHY HE SMILES,
BEING IN THE POSITION THAT HE IS, AND LOOKING
COMPASSIONATELY AT ALL JEEVANS".

- To be continued -

SrIrangapriya daasan,
-Srinath C.


 

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