Sri Ranganathar Temple construction : Part 2

[Guest guest]

Dear BhakthAs of Sri RanganAthA :

 

The thoughts about Sri RangEsa PurOhithA ,

Sri ParAsara Bhattar are still swirling my head .

I will dwell some more on this extaordinary

devotee of Sri RangarAjA .

 

According to one anecdote , during the last moments of

his life on earth at Srirangam , Bhattar was asked by

one of his grief-stricken shishyAs , whether he would

indeed like to go to Sri Vaikuntam . The great devotee

of Sri RanganAthA replied with feeling : " Yes , I will

first travel to Sri Vaikuntam and have the darsanam of

Sri VaikuntanAthan there to satisfy my curiosity whether

he is as enthralling and captivating as our RanganAthA .

If Sri VaikuntanAthan does not match up , I will return

right back to this bhUlOkam and continue to serve

our Rangan .I do not really pay much attention to

the SaasthrAs declaring that there is no return to

this earth for one , who reaches Sri Vaikuntam " .

That speaks volumes about the devotion of Bhattar

for Sri RanganAthA .

 

In a similar spirit , ThiruppANa AzhwAr

declared that " yenn amudhanaik kanda kaNNgaL

maRRonrinaik kANAvE " in one of his ten paasurams .

AzhwAr declared here that his eyes will not care to see

any one or anything after soaking in the nectar of

the beauty of Sri RanganAthAn .

 

It is pertinent to point out that Swami Desikan chose

the title of Sri Bhagavadh DhyAna sOpAnam for

a sthOthram he composed in honor of Sri RanganAthA .

He did not name it , " Sri RanganAtha DhyAna sOpAnam "

because he wanted to emphasize the nature of RanganAthA

as the supreme BhagavAn with the six auspicious attributes .

 

Coming back to Parasara Bhattar's enjoyment of

Azhagiya MaNavALan , the whole pUrva sathaka of

Sri RangarAja sthavam of Bhattar instructs us

about the blessings and grandeur of worshipping

Sri RanganAthA at Srirangam. The kramam (sequence )

is as follows :taking a sacred bath in Cauvery ,

entering the grand temple ,taking another

purificatory bath in chandra pushkariNi ,

worshipping the AzhwArs , offering salutation to

Sri Ranga VimAnam , and then standing next to the

special pillar inside the garbha graham known as

KalyANa sthambham ( maNat thUNN ) and being lost

in the bliss arising from the darsanam of

the Sesha sAyee with His divine consorts .

 

Worshipping the AzhwArs and particularly NammAzhwAr

through the recitation of his paasurams on Sri RanganAthA

( Thiruvaimozhi 7.2) was very important to ParAsara Bhattar.

In these paasurams , NammAzhwAr describes his pathetic

state of existence resulting from his seperation

( vislEsham ) from his Lord . He cries out in viraha

tApam as ParAnkusa Naayaki . According to traditional

accounts , Bhattar was overcome by the depth of feelings

of NammAzhwAr for "her" nAyakan in these paasurams

and used to say :

 

" We are not fit to appreciate the AzhwAr's intensity of

love nor can we fathom his yearning and desire for

the union with the Lord .We are simply reciting these

paasurams without understanding even an iota of

the AzhwAr's true feelings " .

 

Sri RanganAtha eulogized by eleven AzhwArs

( pathinmar paaDiya PerumAL ) resides in

" the aarAtha aruLamudham pothintha Koil "

according to Swami Desikan's description in

AdhikAra Sangraham . He listens to the thousand

verses dedicated to Him by NammAzhwAr ( vaan

thihazhum solai mathiLarangar vaNN puhazh

mEl aanRa Tamizh maRaigaL aayiram ) and allocates

that naivEdhyam to the ArchA mUrthys of other

divya dEsams .The adopted child of Sri RanganAthan ,

Parasara Bhattar refers to this allocation of

Thiruvaimozhi paasurms by Sri Rangapureesan .

 

Parasara Bhattar's nirvAhams(intrepretations )

of Thiruvaimozhi are famous . He was fond of

quoting Thiruvaimozhi Paasuram relating to

the Lord reclining on AdhisEshA :

 

" pAmpaNayAn seer kalantha soll ninainthu

pOkkArEl , soozh vinayin aazh thuyarai yenn

ninainthu pOkkuvar ippOthu ? "

 

( Meaning ) : How are they (people )going to banish

the sorrows of their samsAric afflictions , if not

by reflecting on the words glorifying the anantha

kalyANa guNAs of the Lord reclining on his serpent

bed at Srirangam now ? " .

 

That is why the AzhwAr/AchAryA's divya sUkthis are

important for us to recite instead of saying something

on our own .The power of their anubhavam lasts

even today and will last forever. The Lord relates to

it , when we recite them .

 

One such divya sUkthi is the Sri RanganAtha SthOthram

of Parasara Bhattar consisting of 6 main slOkAs and

two more stray verses . As a result of his displeasure

over the BhAgavadhApacharam committed by the ruling king

( Veera Sundara Bhramma rAyan )of Srirangam , Bhattar

reluctantly left Srirangam and settled at GOshtipuram

( ThirukkOttiyUr ) for a short time . There , he missed

the sevai of Sri RanganAthan and the nithyOthsavams at

Srirangam . He pined for the darsanam of Sri RanganAthan

and mentally invoked the Lord reclining on the five-headed

Adhi sEshan in the middle of Cauveri and KoLLidam in

the first slOkam of his Sri RanganAtha sthOthram in an

evocative manner :

 

saptha prAkAra madhyE sarasija-

mukuLodhbhAsamAnE vimAnE

KaavEri madhya dEsE mridhutara-

paNirAt bhOgya paryanka bhAgE I

nidhrA mudhrAbhirAmam katina-

katisira: pArsva vinyastha hastham

PadmAdhAthree karAbhyAm parichitha-

charaNam RANGARAAJAM bhajEham II

 

( Meaning ) : In the center of Ubhya KaauvEri and

in the middle of the seven ramparts ( prAkArams )

and under the Sriranga vimAnam resembling a giant

lotus bud rests our beautiful Lord RanganAthA on

His beautiful bed of Adhi SeshA in the state of

Yoga NidhrA with His right hand close to His crown and

the left hand on the left side pointing to His

sacred feet . I pay my obesiance to that SaraNyan ,

Sri RangarAjan .

 

Now , Bhattar is overcome with sorrow over the thought

of being separated from his Lord and pines for the darsana

soubhAghyam of Sri RanganAthan in his second verse :

 

kasthUree kalithOrdhva punDra-

tilakam karNAnthalOlEkshaNam

mugdha smEra manOharAdharadalam

mukthA kireetOjjvalam I

pasyan maanasa pasyathOhara-

rucha:paryAyapankEruham

SrirangAdhipathE : kadhA nu

vadhanam sEvEya bhUyOpyaham II

 

( Meaning ) : When am I going to have the blessings

of enjoying the beautiful face of the mind-stealer

(chitthApahAri), Sri RanganAthA adorned by the fragrant

urdhva punDra tilakam made up of kasthUri parimaLam ,

possessing the steady eyes that extend up to His ears ,

having the lips enriched by the most natural captivating

smile, the shining pearl crown and the face

resembling in softness and beauty of

a just-blossoming lotus ?

 

In the third slOkam , Bhattar laments about his

durbhAgyam and asks the Lord , when he ( Bhattar )

is going to stand next to Him and sing about His names :

 

kadhAham kAuvEreetaDa parisarE RanganagarE

sayAnam BhOgeendrE satha maNi syAmaLa ruchim I

upAseena: krOsan Madhumathana! NaarAyaNa ! HarE !

MurArE ! govindEthyanisam apanEshyAmi divasAn II

 

( Meaning ) : When am I going to have the bhAgyam of

standing next to that Lord with the hue of Indra neela

gem resting on Adhi SeshA and have his darsanam and

sing raptourously His names , " Madhumathana !

NaarAyaNa ! HarE ! MurArE ! Govindha ! " and

spend the days of my life this way ?

 

Such longings continue and in the next slOkam ,

Bhattar longs for the day of return to Srirangam

and taking his purificatory bath in the sacred

waters of KaavEri river :

 

kadhAham kAvEri vimala salilE veetha kaalEshu

bhavEyam tattheerE sramamushi vasEyam ganavanE I

kadhA vaa tam puNyE mahathi pulinE mangala guNam

bhajEyam RangEsam kamala nayanam sEsha sayanam II

 

( Meaning ) : When am I going to have the blessings

of sevaa bhAgyam of the lotus-eyed Lord , Sri RangEsan ,

resting on His soft and comfortable serpent bed ?

When am I going to be blessed to take my snAnam

in the cool and sacred waters of KaavEri river

and become sinless? When am I going to gain

the boon of living in the verdant groves on

the bank of this sacred river and worship my

Bewitching Rangan ?

 

In the subsequent slOkam , Bhattar is deeply

worried about his good fortune that would permit him

to return to the kshEthram of his beloved Lord

and he laments :

 

pUgee kaNDa dhvayasa sarasasnighdha neerOpakantAm

aavirmOdhasthimitha sakunAnudhitha bhramaghOshAm I

maargE maargE pathika nivahai: unchyamAnApavargAm

pasyEyam thaam punarapi pureem Srimatheem RangadhAmna : II

 

( Meaning ) : Will I ever have the soubhAgayam

to return to the sacred Srirangam , where the waters

of KaavEri flow up to the neck of the arecanut ( kamuhu)

trees with its sweet and plesant waters ? will I

ever have the darsana soubhAgyam of the happy birds

( SaarikA birds ) , which repeat the Veda manthrams

in their state of Joy as residents of Srirangam

and where the throngs of the bhAgyasAlis

gather together the assembly of

wealth ( sampath Samriddhi ) known as Moksham

as a result of their visits ? Will I ever have

the good fotune to visit that KshEthram of

Sri RanganAthA ?

 

Like Kulasekara AzhwAr begged Sri VenkatEsA

of Thirumalai to be born as anything on the sacred

hills, Bhattar asks in the next slOkam to be born

even as a lowly dog in Srirangam . Here is his prayer:

 

na jAthu peethAmrutha mUrchithAnAm

nAkoukasAm nandhavADikAsu I'

RangEsvara! tvath puram aasrithAnAm

rathyAsunAm anyatamO bhavEyam II

 

( Meaning ) : Oh , RanganAthA ! I will never want

to be one of the devAs , who drink nectar in

the gardens of IndrA and feel inebriated with

joy from that kind of experience . May I be blessed

instead to be born as a dog in the streets of

Your Sriranga KshEthram ( to be near You and

have Your darsanam as you go around the streets

of Your rajadhAni during Your Uthsavams ) .

 

With the above slOkam , the Sri RanganAtha

SthOthram is over . There are however two more

stray verses( Mudhagams) , which are always recited .

These two might have been composed at another time by

Bhattar . The first of the two has connections

to the wish to be born as a lowly dog in Srirangam .

 

One morning , Bhattar was rushing to the temple

to execute his duties as SrirangEsa PurOhithar .

A devotee came out of the temple and told the passing

Bhattar that a dog strayed into the Sannidhi and

therefore a group of people were conducting Saanthi Homam

and puNyAhavAchanam to purify the inner precincts .

This devotte was somewaht skeptical about the motives

of those performing the homam and mentioned that

the group was doing the homam for their own personal

benefit .On hearing that , the amused Bhattar composed

this slOkam and placed it at the feet of His Lord :

 

asannikrushtasya nikrushtajanthO-

mithyApavAdhEna karOshi sAnthim I

tathO nikrushtE mayi sannikrushtE

kaam nishkruthim RangapathE karOshi ? II

 

( Meaning ) : Oh , RanganAthA ! You are having

the saanthi homam performed under the pretext

of a dog that entered Your sannidhi . That event

however did not happen .What are You going to do now ,

when the lowliest of the lowliest , myself has

arrived at Your side ? What kind of santhi homam

are you going to get done to sanctify Your sannidhi ?

 

This is the context of the origin of Bhattar's

seventh slOkam that we recite .

 

In the concluding slOkam , Bhattar lists a number of

Divya desams like Srirangam dear to AchAryA RaamAnujA's

heart :

 

Srirangam karisailam anjanagirim

thArkshyAdhri Simhaachalou

Sri kUrmam PurushOtthamam cha

BhadareenArAyanam naimisam I

Srimadh DwAravathee PrayAga-

MadhurA AyOdhyA GayA: Pushkaram

SaaLagrAma girim nishEvya

ramathE RaamAnujOyam muni: II

 

( Meaning ) : Our great AchArya RaamAnuja

had stayed with affection ( uhandhu yezhuntharuLinAr)

at Srirangam , Hasthigiri ( Kaanchi ) , Thiru Venkatam ,

AhObilam , SimhAchalam , SreekUrmam , PurushOtthamam

( pUri Jagannatham ), BhadrikAsramam , NaimisAraNyam ,

Srimadh DwArakai ,PrayAg , Vada Madhurai , AyOddhi ,

Gaya , Pushkaram and SaalagrAmama giri .

 

The greatness of the mukthi kshEhtrams

is saluted here with Srirangam at the

front end .

 

Such Srirangam and its KshEthranAthan is

going to take His residence at Pomona , New York

in few months . May I appeal to you to help

generously to complete the temple fit for His

residence and be there to receive Him with

Poorna Kumbham on the day of His arrival soon ?

 

Please contact me or Dr.Venakat Kanumalla

( kanumalla ) for information on

how you can accelerate this Kaimkaryam towards

its finish line .

 

The birthdays of the divya dampathis

of Srirangam ( Revathi for Sri RanganAthan and

Uttaram for Sri RanganAyaki ) are fast approaching .

Sri Rama Navami is coming close . The new Tamil ,

Telegu and kannadA new Year is about to be born.

During the occasion of these auspicious events ,

May I appeal to you all to help in every way

you can with this kaimkaryam ?

 

In the next posting on Sri RanganAthA , I will

cover the salutations of Saint ThyagarAja

( Sriranga Pancha Rathnam ) and Sri Mutthuswami

Dikshithar's tribute to Sri RanganivAsan in raagams

BrindhAvana SaarangA and others .

 

Sri RangEsa CharaNou SaraNam PrapadhyE

ParAnkusa Daasan ,

Oppiliappan Sannidhi VardAchAri SadagOpan