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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:



" Holy Smoke!"



Quite a huge crowd has collected. As is common to such gatherings, none seems 
to know what exactly the excitement is about, except perhaps the original 
members of the inner circle, though others at the periphery keep hazarding 
guess after erroneous guess as to what exactly the crowd is for. Everybody 
seems to be staring at the distant horizon, from where thick smoke is 
billowing, blotting out the entire landscape with a black pall. Those who have 
gathered arrive at the instant conclusion that some huge building or other must 
be on fire.



The presence of Smoke thus automatically presupposes the existence of a fire. 
The process by which the existence of a fire is arrived at from the presence of 
Smoke is known as "anumAnam" or Deduction. This, along with Pratyaksham, the 
Shruti, etc., constitutes the principal PramAnAs or sources of knowledge. 
However, the subject of the present piece is not anumAnam but Smoke. This does 
appear to be a rather smoky and nebulous topic to write on, but one would be 
surprised to find that quite a lot has been said on the subject by people of 
eminence. Here are a few samples.



First and foremost, we find that Smoke resulting from yAgAs and yagyAs 
performed by VaidikAs merits frequent mention in the Divya Prabandas, 
especially in Peria Tirumozhi of Sri Tirumangai Mannan. While singing of 
TirunarayUr near Oppiliappan Koil, Sri Kalian comments on the thick smoke 
emanating from the sacrificial fires at the homes of Brahmins. The smoke is so 
luxuriant and widespread that it blocks out the entire sky-



"marayArum peru vELvi chezhum pugai pOi vaLarndu engum

nirayAra vAn moodum neeL selva TirunarayUr"



That such smoke resulting from sacrificial fires was considered auspicious and 
to be a symbol of prosperity and well-being, is brought out by the words "neeL 
selva TirunarayUr". This is understandable, for Vaidikas would engage 
themselves in yAgAs for universal welfare, only if other circumstances are 
conducive therefor. That such smoke is extremely beneficial to the physical 
welfare of the residents has been proved beyond doubt by the survival of a 
family at Bhopal, which performed Agnihotram daily, and was saved thereby, when 
poisonous gas from the Union Carbide plant claimed several thousand victims.



The smoke caused by offering Ahutis of pure ghee in the sacrificial fire, to 
the accompaniment of the relative Veda mantras like "agnayE svAha, SOmAya 
svAhA" etc., covers the entire divyadesam of TiruvazhundUr, remarks Sri Kalian-

"anthaNar tam Ahutiyin pugayAr selvatthu aNi azhundUrE"



This is the scene at Srirangam too, says Azhwar. However, the smoke originating 
from the sacrificial fires mingles with the perfumed smoke used by women to dry 
their hair after bath and to keep it sweet-smelling, emanating from the various 
towering mansions tall enough to touch the skies-



"Manju sEr mALigai needu agil pugayum

marayOr senchol vELvi pugayum

kamazhum Ten arangamE"



This "akil pugai" is primarily used as "dhoopam" for the Lord, to prevent His 
catching a cold after bath and is offered to Him lovingly during 
TiruvArAdhanam. Lest offering the smoke directly make His eyes water, 
discerning archakAs first capture the smoke in an absorbent cloth, thereby 
imprisoning its essence in the cloth, and gently touch the Lord's tirumEni with 
it, thus ensuring that only the fragrant and medicinal essence of the smoke 
reaches Emperuman and not the smoke itself, which may sting His gentle lotus 
eyes. The simultaneous offering of such dhoopam to the Lord from all the homes 
of Tiruvarangam, along with that emanating from the temple of Rangaraja, is so 
thick and pervasive as to make the entire town fragrant, says Sri Kalian.



At TiruvazhundUr too, smoke emanating from burning "akil" (a fragrant wood 
which gives off extremely sweet-scented smoke) is so widespread and the manors 
from which it emanates so tall, that the smoke seems to mingle with puffy 
clouds populating the sky-



"akilin pugayAl mugilEykkum

aNiyAr veedi azhundUrE"



The smoke is so dense and so pervasive that it resembles rain-bearing clouds, 
giving an impression of imminent precipitation.



Three sources of fragrant smoke have been identified by Sri Parakala, as 
indicated above-that originating from dhoopam offered to the Lord, that 
emanating from the sacrificial fires of yAgAs and yagyAs and the third from 
akil burned by women for drying and perfuming their hair. Sri Kalian says that 
there is a fourth too-



"Alai pugayAl azhal kadirai maraikkum veedi azhundUrE"



This pasuram gives the lie to the popular impression that all industry has 
developed only after the Industrial Revolution that occurred in England. Even 
during Azhwar's times, there appear to have flourished huge factories for 
crushing sugarcane and for extraction of sugar. As if to attest to this, for 
miles around Tiruvazhundur and its environs, we find that the principal crop is 
still sugarcane, till today. The smoke billowing out of these cane-crushing 
plants effectively shuts out the rays of the hot Sun and makes the weather 
quite cool, says Sri Tirumangai Mannan.



An important inference to be drawn from this is that contrary to the current 
concerns about industrial effluents and environmental pollution, the plants of 
yore were designed with concern for the atmosphere, the earth and its 
inhabitants. 



We are also told that several cane fields had their own small-scale crushing 
plants, which generated sweet-smelling smoke. This is at ArimEya ViNNagaram, 
one of the TirunAngur divyadesams.-

"AdEru vayal Alai pugai kamazhu NangUr

arimEya viNnagaram vaNangu mada nenjE"



Apart from the four sources of Smoke enumerated above, Sri Kalian indicates a 
fifth too, this one confined to Tiruvengadam. The tribal inhabitants of 
Tirumala, consisting of hunters, gypsies, etc., make fires for cooking, warming 
themselves during cold winter evenings, etc. For this purpose, they use wood 
cut from 'Akil" trees, which are found aplenty in the forests of Tirumala. The 
smoke emanating from the fires so made makes the entire hills fragrant, says 
Sri Parakala-



"KAnavar idu kAr akil pugai Ongu Venkadam mevi"



Thus the smoke generated by hunters from fires meant for their own use, serves 
to spread fragrance in the entire hills of TiruvengadamudayAn, resulting in a 
"YAdrucchika sukritam" or incidental kainkaryam for the bestial tribes. For 
those who wonder whether even undiscerning gypsies would use precious "akil" 
trees as firewood, the only answer we have is that familiarity breeds contempt, 
and the plentiful availability of any item only reduces its preciousness, 
resulting in widespread and indiscriminate use for any odd purpose.



Let us conclude this Smoky tale with an itihyam relating to Sri Bhattar and his 
illustrious disciple, Sri Nanjeeyar. Sri Nammazhwar comes out with a beautiful 
formulation in Tiruvaimozhi (1-6-1), which runs as follows:



"Parivadil eesanai pAdi virivadu mEval uruvIr

pirivagai indri nanneer tooy purivaduvum pugai poovE"



Azhwar tells us in this pasuram that we should not be put off by the Lord's 
eminence and our own insignificance before Him, nor need we, in worshipping 
Him, search for the best of materials for ArAdhanam and face bewilderment in 
the process. He is satisfied with any common garden flower, water from none too 
pure a source and any ordinary dhoopam without insisting on the best of "akil" 
or sandalwood. What He expects is sincerity and devotion and a heart brimming 
with bhakti. The Eedu MupatthArAyirappadi has beautiful things to say here 
-"Dravya tAratamyam pArppadillai: idugiravan nenjil eeramE Ayittru pArppadu". 
The Lord is not bothered about the preciousness or otherwise of the materials 
used for His worship-He is concerned more about the way in which they are 
offered to Him and the piety and love which accompany the offering.



While normally only smoke generated by burning incense or fragrant wood from 
"akil", "karumugai" or Sandalwood trees is used to offer "dhoopam" to the Lord, 
what matters more is offering the same with unadulterated bhakti, without 
expecting anything in return, prompted purely by kainkarya ruchi and 
uncontainable love and affection for the Lord. If these qualities accompany the 
offering, the Lord is eminently pleased with even smoke generated by burning 
ordinary firewood or even rubbish-"chedugai ittu pugaikka amayum"-says Sri 
Bhattar. Conversely, the Lord would turn His tirumukham away, even if the most 
scented of smoke is offered, if the same is presented with indifference, 
insincerity and lack of devotion.



What Sri Bhattar emphasises is that along with the dhoopam, along with the 
relative Veda Rk ("dhoorasi dhoorva dhoorvantam dhoorvatam yOsmAn dhoorvati tam 
dhoorvayam vayam dhoorvAma: tvam dEvAnAm asi.".),what is an indispensable 
component is an all-consuming love for the Lord. The whole process of offering 
incense to the Lord thus takes on the hue of "preeti kArita" kainkaryam and not 
merely a "smoky" affair. Fragrant smoke offered to the Lord in this fashion 
bestows on the devotee eternal fame, says Sri Nammazhwar-

"sAndodu viLakkam dhoopam tAmarai malargaL nalla

Ayndu kondu Ettha vallAr andamil pugazhinArE".



Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana 
Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

Dasan, sadagopan





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





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