SrIgOvinda

[Guest guest]

Mohan Sagar wrote:

>

> My thanks to Sri Sundara Rajan for clarifying the issues surrounding the

> name bAlAji. Although I very much enjoy reading sthala purAnAs of various

> temples, when it comes to "malai koil" in particular, I must concur that:

>

> >There is little historic content, poetic beauty, elevating philosophy ,

> >or devotional inspiration in 'sthala-purANam' [sP] as a genre, which

> >is being sustained through the oral tradition of 'archaka'/gurukkaL in

> >the various temples.

>

> Often times, I find a number of the popular stories about the Lord's temple

> on the hill and its associated temples in Tirupati difficult to accept,

> particulary from a SriVaishnava perspective. One such story is the history

> behind Sri Govindaraja Perumal Temple in Tirupati. The popular notion is

> that the Deity in the Temple is Srinivasar's older brother, and that he

> counts the money that is being collected to remit to Kuberan. And because

> of the burden of responsibility associated with the huge sums of money that

> are pouring in, he reclines on adisEshan. But, what does not make sense to

> me is that He is known as Govindararaja, is worshipped and adored in the

> same manner as Perumal would be, and His Consort is Andal. My understanding

> from speaking with people who live around the temple is that, popular views

> aside, the temple was built by EmperumAnAr himself, and is dedicated to the

> same Lord as the one residing in Chidambaram. I would appreciate some

> clarification on this from Sri Sundara Rajan or others.

>

> adiyEn,

>

> Mohan

> msagar

> mohan.sagar

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Speaking of SrIgOvindarAja

 

[i appreciate that Sri Mohan should be vexed with the

banal 'faith' narrations that circulate around tiru-vEnkaTam-

uDAiyAn. SrIgOvindarAja was brought from Chdambaram

to Tirupati in 11th cent.AD, and the temple consecrated by

EmperumAnAr, 1017-1137 AD.

 

To think of SrInivAsa perumAL as an organiser of sweepstakes is

characteristic of the sterile religious beliefs and practices that are

getting established to-day. I am aware that a very organised group has

been at it by putting up a plastic mega-representation of perumAL and

'encouraging' the public to think that their elaborate worship-pageant

was inspired by perumAL Himself. This group set up some time in

1983-84 in Talkatora Gardens in New Delhi and rolled it up with the

participation of everybody who was anybody in the Capital.]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

 

"gOvinda, gOvinda!"

-------------------

EmperumAnAr had had to leave Srirangam on account of

being targeted for the chOzha king's sectarian persecution

of SrIvaishNava(s). The 'hoySaLa' king biTTidEva, who

ruled from tondanUr [in to-day's district Mandya, Karnataka],

received uDAiyavar with great reverence, and himself became

a convert [from jain-ism] to SrIvaishNavam and was bestowed

the name of 'vishNu-vardhana'. The hoySala rule is redolent

in our history with its benignity and surpassing art traditions,

especially sculpture.

 

SrIrAmAnuja lived for nearly twelve years in mElkOTe which

he re-named tiru-nArAyaNa-puram. It was during this interval

that vishNu-vardhana initiated the building of five temples to

nArAyaNa ~~ known as 'pancha-nArAyaNa-pratishThA' ~~

all under the supervision of SrI mudali-ANDAn [=dASa-rathi],

the nephew of SrIrAmAnuja. The lithic inscription of

SrI ANDAn is said to be on the ceiling of the temple at gadag,

east of dhArwad. The temples were (allowing for my memory -

I'd request someone knowledgeable from Karnataka to

check out on the list),

 

~ cheluva-nArAyaNa at mElkOTe

~ nambi-nArAyaNa at toNDanUr

~ SALagrAmam in district Hassan (?)

~ chenna-kESava in haLebIDu

~ vIranArAyaNa in gadag.

 

SrIrAmAnuja's twelve-year retreat in mElkOTe was marked by

crystal achievements. Despite its own log of pillage and

rapine, mElkOTe and its environs still retain the great traditions

of 'ubhaya-vEdAnta' scholarship, an excellence frozen in time.

It could take a multi-volume book to comprehensively record

an account of the AchArya's affection for the deities

tiru-nArAyaNa and Selvap-piLLai.

 

mElkOTe has the pride of place in the 'sampradAyam', being

known as the 'jnAna-manDapam'. SrI-dEvapperumAl sannidhi

in kAnchI is the 'tyAga-manDapam', tiru-vEnkaTam is the

'pushpa-manDapam', and SrIrangam the 'bhOga-manDapam', as

per the esoteric work 'AchArya-hrdayam'. At least three

personages from mElkOTe had eventually received great reverence

and scholastic renown far beyond the region; SrI nanjIyar who

was 'recruited' and brought over to Srirangam by no less than

Sri parASara-bhaTTar and who wrote a commentary for

tiru-vAi-mozhi; tiru-nArAyaNa-purattu Ay [jananyAchArya] who

wrote vyAkhyA for SrIvachana-bhUshaNam and tirup-pAvai;

and SrI rAmAnanda who migrated to vAraNAsi [where the Sufi

mystic Sant kabIr became his disciple] and started the great

'haridAsa' movement which wafted over the vast Indo-Gangetic

plains as a healing breeze.

 

Above all, it was in mElkOTe that SrIrAmAnuja composed the

moving prayer

 

"SrIman! SrIranga-Sriyam anupadravAm

anudinam samvardhaya!"

 

which is recited by all SrIvaishNava(s) daily as a 'mantram'

empowered by the AchArya-colossus himself.

 

While every moment that SrIrAmAnuja spent in his mElkOTe

retreat was benign to him and precious to the 'sampradAyam',

there were simultaneous afflictions to the SrIvaishNava

religion on the home-ground under chOzha rule. As and when

chOzha kulOttunga(1) passed away, SrIrAmAnuja returned to

SrIrangam to resume his stewardship of the community. It was

then that he heard that the shrine of SrI-gOvinda-rAja-svAmi

in tillai-tiruc-chitra-kUTam (to-day's chidambaram) had been

desecrated, and the 'archA-vigraham' cast off in the waves of the

sea. Thanks to some alert and resourceful devotees, the 'archA'

had been recovered and reached to tirupati (foot-hills).

 

In 'periya-tiru-maDal', tirumankai-mannan hymns SrIgOvindarAja

of tillai, and tiru-vEnkaTam-uDaiyAn together:

 

"ten-tillaic-chittira-kUTatten Selvanai,

minni mazhai tavazhum vEnkatat-ten vittakanai!"

 

After returning to SrIrangam, uDAiyavar absorbed the

disheartening report on tillai shrine, and repaired to tirumalai.

After making his submissions to tirumalai-entAi, uDAiyavar

descended from the hill to reach tirupati. He had the 'mUla'

image of SrIgOvindarAja fashioned in the 'ananta-Sayana'

posture [as was originally, and as is to this day, worshipped

in tillai], and had both the 'archA' [brought from tillai] and the

'mUla' properly consecrated at tirupati foot-hills. pinbazhakiya-

perumAL-jIyar poignantly records that it moved uDAiyavar

to tears to think that the periya-tirumaDal hymn had proved

prophetic, in that it took a persecution to bring SrIgOvindarAja

and tiruvEnkaTam-uDAiyAn together in the same 'divya-dESam'.

To recall this episode of history does cause a tightening of the

chest, but it would be a real loss if we fail to remember against

what odds -- the ruler's power, and distances -- had uDAiyavar

struggled and succeeded in nurturing the 'sampradAyam'.

 

It was perhaps to commemorate this that uDAiyavar is said

to have started the practice of invoking the 'gOvinda-nAmam'

while climbing up and down tiru-vEnkaTam hill. [This practice

still endures, and reminds us of Sri samartha-rAmadAsa svAmi

who established the common social greeting, SrIrAm-jayarAm,

all over northern India.] Lest anyone ascribe local colouration

to the gOvinda tiru-nAmam, it may be remembered that this

sacred name is particularly prescribed for prayer-in-distress;

as in drAupadI's "gOvinda...raksha mAm SaraNAgatAm!",

and SrIkrshNa's acknowledgment,

"gOvindE/ti yadA/krAndat krshNA mAm dUravAsinam

rNam pravrddham iva mE hrdayAn-nApasarpati !"

 

I remember that on a visit to tirupati on official business in

August 1989, I had the fortune to meet a district education officer,

Sri Ranganath (?), whose ancestor had volunteered to have his

house demolished to widen the 'parikramam'/'prAkAram' as

uDAiyavar was considering the ground plans for the temple,

so as to facilitate SrIgOvindarAja's procession ['purappADu'].

May we preserve the inheritance with such devotion!

 

aDiyEn rAmAnujadAsan

T.S. Sundara Rajan, @ Memphis.

<usdeiva

[Guest guest]

rangaswamy_m wrote:

>

> Dear Sriman Sundararajan,

>

> Thank you very much for a most illuminating account of

> Sri Govindaraja Perumal. Doesn't the name Govindarajan have its

> origin in the Vedas?

>

> Adiyen, Muralidhar Rangaswamy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Dear Sri Rangaswamy,

 

'gAuh' stands for cow, and is also the homonym for

vEda, and also the earth. 'gOvinda' is one who sports with any of these

[gObhi: saha vindatE].

 

The name 'gOvinda' is one of the names very dear to the Lord ['ukandu

aruLina tiru-nAmam], as conferred on him by the elders of 'gOkulam' [the

land of kine], when he sportively lifted the 'gOvardhana' mountain and

held it over the common folk as a protective umbrella against the

vicious downpour of indra. The relevant chapter in 'harivamSam' is

known as 'gOvinda-paTTAbhishEkam'. "kurAivonRum illAda gOvindA!" is

how ANDAL adores this name.

 

aDiyEn rAmAnujadAsan, T.S. Sundara Rajan, @ Memphis.

<usdeiva