Guest guest Posted May 29, 1997 Report Share Posted May 29, 1997 On Wed, 28 May 1997, usdeiva wrote: > > >From T.S. Sundara Rajan, care Uchani Deivachilai, Memphis. > [..] > It is, of course, tirukkurunguDi one thinks of to mention > the kaiSika E which is considered (in the 'sampradAyam') > to be dedicated to vaDivazhakia nambi, sundara-paripoorna- > perumAL of this divya-deSam. The kaisika E anecdote is > staged here as a play before perumAL. There is a very nice description of the play and translation of the Purana in an article in "Religious festivals in South India and Sri Lanka" (edited by Guy R. Welbon and Glenn E. Yocum), published by Manohar Publications, Delhi, 1982. The same book also has other articles on Pancaratra texts, the utsava cycles in the Madurai temples, Triplicane Parthasarathy temple, etc. In this connection, is the Rathasaptami utsavam more important than Pongal at the Parthasarathy temple? The author of the article on this temple, Mr. James Martin, mentions both of them in the same breath, but he seems to have been confused by the fact that both festivals happened on the same day in one particular year. S. Vidyasankar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 29, 1997 Report Share Posted May 29, 1997 At 07:10 PM 5/28/97 -0500, usdeiva wrote: I enjoyed this posting. I had read about ekadasi in mahabharata, srimadbhagawatam etc. The padmapurana one and the kaiseeka puranam is news to me. I would like to read them if I get a chance. I got a copy of padma samhita. this is different and is a part of pancharatra agama. This book only has the details of aradhana / yoga kramas. Krishna Kalale >mgansten wrote: >> >> My thanks to those who clarified the question of tithi vs. nakshatra in SV >> tradition for me. Now, I have a somewhat related question: what importance >> is given to the observance of Ekadashi in Sri Vaishnavism? Is fasting, >> waking etc regarded as obligatory, and if so, do Sri Vaishnavas fast from >> all foods, or only from certain items, such as rice? And what is the special >> importance of Vaikuntha Ekadashi, to which I have heard many refer? >> >> As usual, many thanks in advance. >> >> Martin Gansten >> mgansten > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > >>From T.S. Sundara Rajan, care Uchani Deivachilai, Memphis. > >Re: Martin Gansten's query reg: EkAdaSI. > >The most extensive theme-account of EkAdaSI is available >in the padma purANam which (despite its own quota of >visibly irrelevant and banal interpolations) could be >termed as the most authentic vaishnava purANam, reckoned >as such after the vishNu p., varAha p., and bhAgavata p. > >Being on a visit from Srirangam to Memphis, I do not >readily have my copy of padma p. with me; hence write >from memory. > >padma.p. devotes a chapter to each EkAdaSI of the year, >each of them bearing a distinct name. (EkAdaSI, as is >well known, literally means the ordinal 'eleventh', and >stands for the corresponding day/date of the waxing/waning >phase of the moon; this 'tithi' occurs twice in a month.) > >Of all the formal 'vratam' prescribed, the EkAdaSI is the >most cherished and exclusively vaishnava vratam. The >observance consists of fasting through the day and overnight >vigil, dedicated throughout to devotional activity like >reading the scriptures, telling the rosary, recitation of the >'stotram'/'keertanam' etc. [it is interesting that the >purANam prohibits the woman from fasting as such; with the >exception that she may, with her husband's consent, fast for >half of the EkAdaSI day.] The EkAdaSI is completed only >with the pre-dawn bath the next morning (i.e. of the dvAdaSI) >and breaking the fast (pAraNA) by imbibing 'tulasI' >(ocimum sanctum) in holy water. > >nArAyaNa bhaTTattiri's work, 'nArAyaNIyam', a marvellous >condensed retelling of SrImad-bhAgavatam, identifies >EkAdaSI inter alia eight objects/observances identified with >deliverance and Grace, viz., (GanGa water, the celebrated >krshna-arjuna dialogue bhagavad-GeetA, the GAyatrI mantram, >the tulasI plant, the oordhva-puNDra mark drawn with Gopi >sandal powder, the devotions offered in the SALagrAma >(ammonite) stone, observance of the EkAdaSI vratam, >recitation of the (sahasra-) nAma. Even though a later-day >(15th cent.?) work, 'nArAyaNIyam' has all the inspiration >and verity of an authentic 'sAmpradAyika' work, and has the >status of good literature and a reliable religious document. > >"GanGA GItA cha GAyatrI api cha tulasikA GopikA-chandanam tat >SALaGrAmAbhipoojA, para-purusha, tathaikAdaSee nAmavarNAh >EtAnyashtAn-ayatnAn-yayi kali-samayE tvat-prasAda-pravrddhyA >kshipram mukti-pradAnee-tyabhidadhu(h) rshayah tEshu mAm > sajjayethAh!" > >Of the EkAdaSI marking the annual calendar, the interval >between the Sayana- and the utthAna- EkAdaSI represents the >span of yOGa-nidrA (cosmic slumber) of SrIman-nArAyaNa, and >is observed as the chAtur-mAsyam (the Four Months) when the >itinerant 'sannyAsI' should remain rooted in one place. >These two EkAdaSI are observed with great rapture and devotion >in panDharpur in mahArAshtra, the home of 'haridAsa' movement. > >The utthAna E. is observed in SrIrangam and tirukkurunguDi >as 'kaiSika E.', named after a melody in which the hymn was >set for worship on this E. day. This E. is two E. precedent >to the great vaikuNTha E. The illustrative anecdote >of kaisika E. is contained in the varAha purANam (which >~~ unlike the other purANams recorded by SrI vEdavyAsa, and >vishNu p. by his sire sri parASara ~~ has the status of >bhagavacChAstram, being verily from the Lord himself). >SrI parASara-bhaTTa had written the Sloka-wise tamizh >paraphrase of the varAha p. anecdote, and this work is >recited by the bhaTTa descendants before namperumAL in the >arjuna-maNDapam on the midnight of kaiSika E. The absolute >tranquility of the midnight hour, the audience of devotees >absorbing the enchantment of namperumAL's visage, and bhaTTar >reading the kaiSika-purANam and the exalted tamizh paraphrase >out of the palm manuscript against the backdrop of the golden >crest of Sriranga-praNavAkAra-vimAnam ~~ all these blend to >produce the alchemy of an incomparable beatitude which is >hard to describe in words. > >It is, of course, tirukkurunguDi one thinks of to mention >the kaiSika E which is considered (in the 'sampradAyam') >to be dedicated to vaDivazhakia nambi, sundara-paripoorna- >perumAL of this divya-deSam. The kaisika E anecdote is >staged here as a play before perumAL. > >The vaikunTha E. is the event and festival held to be most >precious in SrIrangam, and would constitute a full-book >theme in itself. This E. is especially sacred and dear to the >vaishnava as marking the full recitation and glorification >of the AzhvAr aruLiccheyal (divya-prabandham) hymns. > >The 3 important EkAdaSI were marked as follows over the last >3 years in the Srirangam kOyil vAkya-panchAngam: > >samvatsaram. mAsam & tithi. Xian Y/M/D. EkAdasI. >----------- ------------- ---------- ------- > >ISvara. dhanus 24. 1998 Jan 8. VaikunTha/ > Bheeshma. > Vrschika 25. 1997 Dec 10. utthAna/kaiSika. > mithuna 32. 1997 July 16. Sayana. > >dhAtr. dhanus 5. 1996 Dec 20. Vai/Bh. > vrschika 6. 1996 Nov 21. utthAna/kaiSika. > kataka 11. 1996 Jly 26. Sayana. > >yuva. dhanus 17. 1996 Jan 1. Vai/Bh. > vrschika 16. 1995 Dec 2. utthAna/kaiSika. > mithuna 25. 1995 Jly 9. Sayana. >------------------------- > > Krishna Kalale 619-658-5612 (phone) 619-658-2115 (fax) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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