Srimate
SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika yatindra Mahadesikaya nama: Quiet Flows The Cauvery Historians aver that all civilisation
is river-based, and point to the
ancient cultures that thrived on the
banks of the Nile, the Sindhu ( Indus), the Gangetic Plains, etc... Measured by this standard, the one that
flourished on the banks of the Cauvery is no less significant. Apart from the other hall marks of
civilisations, the one the Cauvery gave birth to, appears to have been endowed
with a unique feature which the other cultures could not boast of-
Spirituality. Is there something special about the
waters of the Cauvery, which has been the subject matter of so much disputeand
discord in recent years? The answer would appear to be “Yes”, if we were to go
by Azhwars’ averments. Divya Prabandas are replete with references to this
beautiful river and the Azhwars appear incapable of avoiding the Cauvery,
whenever they sing the praises of the Lord who lies on its banks. True to their
love for Nature and its magnificence, reflecting the multi-faceted splendour of
the Lord’s Creation, Azhwars wax eloquent while singing of the Cauvery and its
bounties. Ponni, as it is fondly called in Tamil
literature, is much more than a mere river. It has been the unfailing Provider
for thousands of farmers cultivating lands within its jurisdiction. It journeys
over hill and dale, irrigating thousands of acres of land turned golden with
fertility, rushing headlong into valleys when laden with freshets, but adopting
a sedate pace when it reaches Srirangam, the pace of a person who has put
behind him the years of frenetic activity spent in the pursuit of materialistic
pleasures and one on whom the spirit of service (kainkaryam) has dawned at
last. Eschewing
the fairly straight course it has towed during its long journey from Coorg,
Cauvery makes a detour and flows in the shape of a “U” when it reaches
Srirangam, eager to form a natural garland for Sri Rangaraja, lapping gently at
His feet, apparently enquiring as to what further service it may be of to the
Lord. The waters of the great river appear to wash the Lord’s tiruvadi gently
and massage it with its wavy hands-“Tiruvaranga peru nagaruL teNNeer Ponni
tirai kaiyAl adi varuda paLLi koLLum karumani” says Sri Kulasekhara Azhwar. The
name Cauvery is synonymous with that of Sri Ranganatha, who is identified by
Azhwars as “Ponni sEr Tiruvaranga!”-you can’t think of Sri Rangaraja without
Cauvery occupying your thoughts simultaneously, and vice versa. The river is so
adoring, so enamoured of its great good fortune in hosting the Lord in its
midst, that it brings Him all sorts of precious stones from far and wide and
offers them as tribute at His holy feet- “pon
sidari maNi koNarndu karai mEl sindi pulam paranda nilam parakkum Ponni” is how Sri Tirumangai Mannan speaks
appreciatively of the bounties Cauvery brings Emperuman as offering. For
good measure, he reiterates this in the Pullamboothankudi pasuram— “minnu
sOdi nava maNiyum vEyin mutthum sAmarayum ponnum
Ponni koNarndu alaikkum Pullamboothankudi tAnE” All
the nine types of precious gems, fragrant wood like Sandal and Agil, the purest
of pearls originating from tall shoots of bamboo, thick, fragrant and delicious
honey acquired from constant association with bees, the pearly white tusks of
elephants who fell into the river—these are some of the tributes the Cauvery
lovingly submits at the feet of the Lord at Srirangam, according to Sri Kalian. We
regard Srirangam reverentially as Paradise on earth—“bhoolOka Vaikuntam”. There
is a popular sloka, which equates the divyadesam with Srivaikuntam, and the
Cauvery to the VirajA nadi which has to be crossed to reach
Paramapadam—“Cauvery VirajA sEyam Vaikuntam Ranga mandiram”. Thus, for devotees,
the Ponni is indeed as holy as the VirajA, in which every emancipated soul has
to have a dip before reaching the blissful company of the Lord. It is perhaps
with this in view that Poorvacharyas like Sri Ramanuja and Swami Desikan, upon
reaching the borders of Srirangam, did not rush straightaway to see the Lord,
but had a sacred bath in the Cauvery first, as is learnt from their holy
histories. Sri
Bhattar, a staunch votary of the Lord of Srirangam and the Lord’s own purOhit,
apart from being His adopted son, was compelled to endure an enforced exile
from Srirangam, for some time. During the time he was away, Sri Bhattar pined
away for the invigorating company of the Lord, recounting vividly in his mind’s eye the bewitching
beauty of Rangaraja. While doing so, the Acharya was unable to keep out
thoughts of the Cauvery, which is very much an integral and inseparable part of
the Lord’s environs. Sri Bhattar longed for the day he would return for a
cleansing dip in the holy river, its pure waters washing away all dirt,
internal and external—“kadAham Cauvery vimala salilE veeta kalushO bhavEyam?”. Not
only are the river’s flows invigorating and purge one of all impurities, but
the cool, shady and verdant groves on the river’s banks offer the weary
traveller respite and relaxation from the long trek through life’s thorny, hot
and dusty trails. Sri Bhattar yearns for a sojourn in these groves on Cauvery
banks, prior to performing mangalasasanam of Sri Ranganatha— “tat
teerE shramamushi vasEyam Ghana vanE”.
The greenery lining the river’s banks on both sides comes in for
favourable comment from Sri Tondaradippodi Azhwar in Tirumalai— “Aartthu
vaNdu alambum sOlai” “Surumbu
amar sOlai” “VaNdinam
muralum sOlai, mayilinam Alum sOlai koNdal
meedu aNavum sOlai kuyilinam koovum sOlai” Azhwar
devotes as many lines to the depiction of the glorious Ponni flowing aroundthe
Lord, as he does to Emperuman Himself, with captivating portraits of its
waters. When
in spate, the waters are swift and muddy, laden with all the fertile alluvium
collected over its long journey—“teLivilA kalangal neer soozh Tiruvarangam”.
When there are strong winds, the waters turn choppy, with huge waves pounding
the shores— “eriyuneer
verikoL vElai”. The mood of the river changes suddenly, as it approaches the
Lord’s abode, and it softens its pace so as to the greet the Lord with a soft,
cool spray— “ini
tirai tivalai mOda, eriyum taN paravai” . The reference here is to a broad and
sprawling body of waters—“paravai”. At times, the river acquires speed in its
eagerness to touch the sacred tiruvadi of Rangaraja and rushes headlong—“pAyum
neer arangam”. Augmented by timely rains, the Cauvery’s flows are as copious at
the height of summer, as during the monsoons—“pongu neer parandu pAyum
poompozhil arangam”. If this is the state of affairs even during ordinary
times, need we speak of the river’s dimensions, when laden with freshets from
the SahyAdrIs? During the Varsha Ritu, the river expands to such an extent that
it overruns its banks and floods nearby groves and fields—“veLLa neer parandu
pAyum viri pozhil arangam”. Not
only does the Cauvery equal the famed Ganga in its dimensions, but she also
exceeds the latter in holiness. Ganga may have the distinction of having
originated from the Lord’s tiruvadi (“Vishnu pAdAbja sambhootE! GangE! Tripada
gAminI”). However, during her journey to the earth, she was contained by the
matted locks of Rudra, for slowing down her frenetic pace of descent. Cauvery,
on the other hand, suffered no such imprisonment or impediment and has been
gently massaging the tiruvadi of Sri Rangaraja with her wavy hands, from time
immemorial, with absolutely no dEvatAntara sambandham. While the Ganga can
boast of only a few divyadesams on its banks (like BadarikAshramam, Tiruppridi,
Kandam ennum Kadinagar), many more are located on the banks of the Cauvery
(Tirukkudandai, Tiruvinnagaram, TiruppEr nagar, TiruvindaLUr,
PuLlamboothankudi, TiruvAdanUr, ThirukkUdlUr, Nandipura ViNNagaram, Kapisthalam
etc., to name but a few). Though Azhwars are a dozen, Kodai Nacchiar, who wove
a garland, both of flowers and verses for the Lord, occupies a special place.
Similarly, Cauvery too is holier than the Ganga, for she turns herself intoa
garland for Rangaraja and flows in a U shape at Srirangam (and also at
Srirangapattinam near Mysore). On account of all these factors, the Cauveryis
held by Sri Tondaradippodi Azhwar to be superior to the Ganga in sacredness— “Gangayil
punidamAya Cauvery”. Sri
Bhattar too is in perfect agreement with this tenet—“phEnai: hasanti iva tat
GangAm Vishnu padItvam mAtra mukharAm HEmApagA hantu agham”. The
same Azhwar paints a bewitching picture of the Cauvery at sunrise: the surface
of the clear waters is dotted with beautiful lotus blooms, opening their petals
slowly to the rising Sun, making it appear as though the river is carrying them
in its wavy hands, to offer a floral tribute to the Lord of Srirangam. The slow
rise of the orb of fire in the horizon is breath taking, with the rays reaching
out their soft fingers to jog the Lord of the Universe into wakefulness. While
traivarNikAs offer the river’s clear waters in their cupped hands to the
Paramatma, their beautiful wives, with extremely narrow midriffs, ascend from
the river to the banks, having had a cool, refreshing and purifying dip in the
Cauvery, wringing their long hair dry and drying it in the balmy early-morning
breeze. Here is the beautiful pasuram from Tiruppalliezhucchi— “kadi
malar kamalangaL malarndana ivayO, Kadiravan guna disai muLaittanan ivanO tudi
idayAr suri kuzhal pizhindu udari tugil udutthu Erinar soozh punal arangA! todai
ottha tuLavamum koodayum tOttriya seer Tondaradippodi ennum adiyanai ALian
endru aruLi un adiyArkku AtpadutthAi paLli ezhundaruLAyE” The
glory of Ponni is such that Azhwars appear incapable of adulating Emperuman,
without devoting a line or two for this magnificent river. Lest it be mistaken
that tributes to Cauvery are confined to the Tamizh marai, here is a quote from
the BhAgavata Purana, in which Cauvery is mentioned ahead of other sacred
rivers, on the banks of which would be born saints and seers— “kvachit
kvachit mahAbhAgA: dramidEshu cha boorisa: Cauvery nadI yatra KritamAlA payasvinI……” Our
eyes fill with tears and hearts with despair, when we look at the Cauvery at
Srirangam today. Gone are her glory and magnificence. Due to natural and
man-made impediments, due to the interminable disputes over her flows, the
sight that greets our eyes at Srirangam and other spots is that of a parched
river bed, to which water has become a stranger. Even the undercurrents have
dried up, with bores sunk in the riverbed failing to yield the life-giving
liquid. The tirumALigais of Srivaishnavas at Srirangam display only dried-up
wells, with their women carrying colourful plastic pots and searching far and
wide for water, having become a common sight. There are serpentine queues
before public taps and quarrels galore about who should have “mudal teerttham”.
Unbridled quarrying of sand from the riverbed has wreaked its own havoc, adding
to the contribution from indiscriminate damming and gross misuse of the waters.
Pollution on the river’s banks has reached endemic proportions, with absolutely
no one having a care. The verdant groves flanking the Cauvery have all but
disappeared, no longer able to sustain themselves on the river’s munificence.
The fertile fields filled with green corn waving its head in the breeze area
thing of the past, with the parched land unable to support anything but cactus
and weed. With successive monsoon
failures resulting from akritya karaNam and kritya akaraNam, with politicians
busy with the blame-game and unconcerned with remedial measures or popular
welfare, with the continued mining of the river bed for meeting insatiable
building requirements—with all these against us, our only hope seems to be
prayer. The plea which we daily utter at the end of Srimad Ramayana parayanam,
should now be intoned with all sincerity and as an impassioned entreaty— “Cauvery
vardhatAm kAlE, kAlE varshatu VAsava: Sri
RanganathO jayatu, Sriranga SrIscha vardhatAm” “Oh
Lord! Please grant that the rains may be timely and adequate, that the holy
Cauvery’s flows are copious and the fortunes of Srirangam are on the
ascendant”. Srimate
Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra
Mahadesikaya nama: Dasan,
sadagopan |
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