[parthas@...: Varadharaajar's beauty (fwd)]

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[Posted on behalf of Partha Ranganathan, parthas]

 

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>From parthas Sat Mar 15 12:14:30 1997

Re: Varadharaajar's beauty

 

Thirumalai Anandanpillai said:

>

> Sri Sadagopan writes about the beauty of the Lord of Atthigiri,

>

> >Here Swami celebrates

> > the MahOthsavams of the Lord , when He has distinctly different

> > umbrellas , fans and dresses . He (Varadaraja) comes on bhavani

> > on the back of the horse , Garudan . He is also carried in the palanquin

> > or he adorns His ThirutthEr ( Car festival ) .On each of these

> > occasions , His beauty is distinct , different and delectable.

>

> The beauty of dEvaraajan is something that everyone who has a chance

> should experience.

 

Thanks to Sri Varadhan for a wonderful description of the ustavams at

Kanchee. The beauty of the lord there is truly something that one has to

experience in person.

 

Personally, my most favorite parts of the utsavam are the parts after the

lord comes back from his purappadu, and retires from his vaahanam. There is

a wonderful half an hour period during the time when the lord goes around

the inner prakaram of the temple thrice before entering the Kannadi

Maligai. This is the time when the lord is very simply adorned and you get

to have a really close look at the Perumal. The nadaswaram music, the

swaying of the lord to the music, the temple atmosphere, the kannadi sevai,

all combine to make it a really incredible experience, and I would urge

anyone who happens to be at Kanchee during the utsavams to not miss this

for anything in the world. It has left such a lasting impression on me,

that whenever I close my eyes and think about it, it is almost like being

there and seeing the Lord. In fact, the last time I was there, one good man

(a complete stranger to me) was kind enough to let me wave the chamaram at

the lord, and I still remember how thrilled I was at that honor.

 

My grandparents used to live in Kancheepuram, and I still remember how, as

children, my cousins and I used to be so fascinated by the various special

things in each utsavam (I still am!) -- the "kulukkal" before the

procession, the stealing of the kodai by Thirumangai Alwar during the

Kudarai vahanam, the poo-pandhu sevai, the sevai in the aayiram-kaal

mandapam, and so on. There is also another interesting tradition in

Kanchee, that during the month of Margazhi, the utsavar is adorned with a

silk coat that has the first few words of that day's thiruppavai

embroidered in gold on it. The moolavar is also really beautiful and it is

just a pleasure to be in the garba griham looking at the Moolavar and

Utsavar together.

 

As a consequence of the Sri Sadagopan and Sri Varadan's postings, I spent a

wonderful half-hour reliving my memories of Kanchee. It is only now that I

realize the amount of time and effort that must go into the postings of

other people on the mailing list, who so seemingly effortlessly convey the

beauty of the lord, the temples, and the verses of the alwars in their

writings. I spent a major portion of the time I spent on this mail

grappling with the right way to translate the visual images in my head into

words on my editor! As Swami Desikan points out, the multifaceted beauty of

the lord is truly something that is best experienced by each individual. My

sincere thanks to all the people on the mailing list who have been so

successful in giving us a "pen-picture" of the beauty of the lord or the

verses of the lord's disciples. I am really looking forward to a series on

Kanchee similar to the ones that Sri Sampath and Viji have been posting.

> > Swami Desikan states that the possession of two eyes are not

> > enough to enjoy the multifaceted beauty of the Lord.

>

> How true... Not only are two eyes not enough, but also no amount

> of time is enough to enjoy His beauty. I grew up in Kanchipuram

> and have had the fortune of being in Kanchipuram for all the

> major utsavams every year in my 20 years in India

> before I came here, and I think that I did not have enough time to

> enjoy His sight. My sincere prayer to Him is that He will find me worthy

> enough to spend as much time as possible in the rest of

> my life at His feet in Kanchipuram.

>

> PEraruLaaLan perundEvith thaayaar thiruvadigaLE saranam,

> Aazhwaar emperumaanaar jeeyar thiruvadigaLE saranam,

> Varadhan

>

> PEraruLaaLan perundEvith thaayaar thiruvadigaLE saranam,

> Aazhwaar emperumaanaar jeeyar thiruvadigaLE saranam,

 

-- Parthasarathy

 

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Parthasarathy Ranganathan Graduate Student

Dept of ECE, MS 366 Office: Duncan Hall 3028

Rice University email : parthas

Houston TX 77251-1892 Phone : 713-527-8101 x2887

Webpage : http://www-ece.rice.edu/~parthas

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