Ganesh @ vishnu temple ?

[Guest guest]

The following verses are recited to pray for smooth and hurdle-free

observance of 'vaidika' rites:-

 

"SuklAm/bara-dharam vishNum, SaSi-vaRNam chatur-bhujam

prasanna-vadanam dhyAyEt, sarva-vighnO/pa-SAntayE." (padma-purANam).

 

[Lord Vishnu is to be meditated upon for warding off of all kinds of

mis-haps. (The meditation will visualise Him as)

**donning white robes ~~ instead of the usual ochre ones, peetAmbaram,

**with the glow of the moon ~~ instead of His characteristic lustre of

dark-sapphire, 'karu-maNi',

**four-armed,

**of his naturally beneficent visage.]

 

"yasya-dvirada-vaktrAdyA:, pArishadyA: paraS-Satam

vighnam nighnanti satatam, vishvak-sEnam tam ASrayE."

(parASara-smr*ti ?)

 

[i seek the shelter of Lord Vishvak-sena, 'sEnai-mudaliyAr', who ever

destroys obstructions. He is the one who holds court with hundreds of

personages like the elephant-faced one.]

 

It is thus an elephant-faced deity is found in the tiru-viN-Azhi

pradakshiNam around Sriranga-vimAnam. And hence the following from the

parama-prAmANika, Sri parASara bhaTTa :-

 

"vidadhatu sukham vishvak-sEnasya tE prathamE bhaTAh

kari-mukha-jayat-sEnau kAlAhva-simha-mukhau cha nah

jagati bhajatAm tat-tat pratyooha-toola-davAnalAh

diSi diSi divA-rAtram Sriranga-pAlana-karmaThAh."

(Sriranga-rAja-stavam I:52).

 

[ May the principal minions of Sri vishvak-sEna / sEnai-mudaliyAr grant

our well-being. These are named the elephant-faced one (kari-mukha),

jayat-sEna, kAla, and the lion-faced (simha-mukha). They burn up, like

so much cotton-wool, the malefic influences charging the 'prapanna'.

These are the ones who, day and night, hold the vigil over the city of

Srirangam. ]

 

The exchange of postings on this issue (extracts reproduced below)

indicates a sad distortion and tampering that has taken place in the

kAnchi dEva-p-perumAL sannidhi.

 

Since the Saiva cult-image of 'piLLaiyAr' keeps receiving the widest

media hype, it does create a confusion of identity as between the

original vaishNava divinity of dvirada-vaktra and the later-day Saiva

cult-image of 'piLLaiyAr'.

 

I accordingly reproduce at the end (an updated version of) my original

posting on the subject, extracted from the Bhakti List archives of the

year 1997.

 

aDiyEn rAmAnuja-dAsan

T.S. Sundara Rajan @ Srirangam.

 

=========

Mon, 4 Jun 2001 19:11:51 +0530

"nvaradar" <nvaradar

<vitesse_iyengar, <bhakti-list>

 

We often find in Vishnu Temples a SanNadhi for Lord Vinayaka and he

is referred to as ThuMbikkai AzWar by Vaishnavites.

There is a SanNadhi at Sri Varadaraja Perumal temple at Kancheepuram

also for Him AdiYen, Varadaraja Dasan.

=========

Wed, 6 Jun 2001 09:54:11 -0700 (PDT)

suderson <suderson

 

<<But the vinayaka sannidhi in kanchipuram was installed recently, about

3 decades back by sri chandrashekarendra saraswati swamigal of kanchi

kamakoti peetham. The idol in that sannidhi does not have oordhva pundra

vinayaka but a vibhuthi dhara ganesha. It may not be propoer to call him

thumbikkai azhwar(vishvaksena).dAsan Suderson.>>

=========

Fri, 8 Jun 2001 21:01:19 +0800

"B.Haresh" <hareshb

<srirangan CC: <bhakti-list>

 

Dear Sri Ranganathan,

 

Vishvaksena is represented as a four armed deity in seated posture with

Shanku and Chakram and is considered to be the "alter ego" of Lord

Narayana,In Both Vaikhanasa and Pancharatra Agamam Sri Vishvaksena is

invoked at the start of any auspicious event and most prominently before

the commencement of Brahmotsavam. He drives away all dhushta devatas

before Perumal comes on procession. Also in Thiruvaradhanam there are

upacharams paid to Vishvaksena

 

It is important to note that he does not have an elephant face.

Vishvaksena can be seen here on TTD homepage :

 

http://www.tirumala.org/tempmap_vishwaksena_p7.htm

 

The image you are referring to is that of Sri Gajanana Azhvan who is

also a Nitya Suri under the command of Vishvaksena and in the acharya

parampara he is associated with Nathamunigal.

You may wish to clarify with the many elders on this list.

Adiyen, Haresh.

==================================================================

FROM BHAKTI LIST ARCHIVES.

"piLLaiyAr" ~~ usdeiva (usdeiva)

Tue Sep 09 1997 - 21:27:53 PDT

 

Shri Mani Varadarajan wrote:

>Sri Vaishnavas generally do not do pUja to lesser divinities such as

Ganesha....

>As part of our "paramaikaantika dharma" (extreme focus of mind), we worship

only God, and God's intimate associates.

 

Reacting to this, Shri Raja Krishnaswamy remarks:

>I take pride in calling myself an iyengar belonging to the vadagalai

sampradhAyam and my kula dheivam is shrI BhUmi dEvi samEdha shrI uppili appan of

thiru viNNagar near KumbakONam.

>I however can not call other divinities as a "lesser God".

 

==============================-o0o-===================================

 

[A CLARIFICATION] - by T.S. Sundara Rajan.

 

There is no religion [living or defunct] but proposes a hierarchy of

divinities. SrIvaishNavam simply happens to lodge in the core

monotheistic religion of the 'vEda', despite that the early western

Indologists assumed that the vEda represented a pantheistic-polytheistic

religion; this was because the vEda names of a multiplicity of

divinities personifying 'nature elements'. The vEda nevertheless does

identify the Supreme and Transcendent by the name of

SrIman-nArAyaNa/vishNu.

 

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

Several of the 'upanishad' have very un-ambiguous affirmations: ~~

following quotes from memory ~~

 

"agnir-dEvAnam avamah, vishNuh parah" [agni is the least of the

divinities; vishNu the Supreme];

"vishNu-mukhA vai dEvAh" [the divinities look to vishNu];

"harim harantam-anuyanti dEvAh, viSvasyESAnam vr*shabham matInAm"

[the divinities follow hari,the One that draws forth; He regulates the

universe; He is the (strident) master of (our) thoughts];

"nArAyaNah param brahma, tatvam nArAyaNah parah"

[nArAyaNa the 'para-brahma'; nArayaNa the Truth Transcendent];

"sarvE vEdAh yat-padam Amananti... tat-tE padam sangrahENa bravImi,

Om ityEtat... yastu vijnAnavAn bhavati sa-manaskas-sadA-Suchih, sa-tu

tat-padam-ApnOti yasmAd bhUyO na jAyatE, vijnAna-sArathir-yastu

manah-pragrahavAn narah, sO/dhvanah pAram-ApnOti tad-vishNOh paramam

padam"

[i shall briefly speak to you of the post which is hymned by the

entirety of the vEda; it is Om... He who becomes the Knower, in his

mind and in his purity, verily does he reach that post from where he

does not return ; the man who is piloted by Knowing and reins in his

mind, he gets across the limbo region; there unto the Supreme Abode,

which is of vishNu.]

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

 

The 'sahasra-nAma-mahA-mantram' occurred in answer to yudhishThira's

clear queries:

"kim Ekam dAivatam lOkE ? kim vA api Ekam parAyaNam ?"

["Which is the One God of the scripture?" ~~ 'lOkah' is 'scripture', as

is 'the world'; here I remember kAnchi SrI prativAdi-bhayankaram

aNNangarAchArya svAmi who gave the etymology.

"And, which verily the unique shelter?"]

 

SrI-bhIshmAchArya responds with equal directness:

"vishNum sarva-lOka-mahESvaram...dAivatam-dAivatAnAm"

["vishNu the Supreme Lord of the entirety of worlds/scriptures, God

among divinities"].

This very attribute "dAivatam-dAivatAnAm" has been dedicated

to 'periya-perumAL' in SrIrangam by svAmi-dESika in the first SlOkam of

'bhagavad-dhyAna-sOpAnam' ~~

"antar-jyOtih...dIna/nAtha-vyasana-Samanam dAivatam-dAivatAnAm".

 

The skanda-purANam proposes a four-tier hierarchy of divinities:-

 

"ArOgyam bhAskarAt iCChEt, dhanam iCChEt hutASanAt,

ISAnAt jnAnam anviCChEt, mOksham iCChEt janArdanAt."

 

[seek health from the sun, wealth from agni, realisation from ISAna,

and deliverance from janArdana.]

 

The elephant-faced deity of the Saiva pantheon is singularly missing in

the works of even the great poet, kAlidAsa, who is identified as

Saiva; not to mention the Tamil sangham classics which are the best

bet there be for textual integrity, and which contain several hymns to

vedic rudra, subsequently transmogrified into Siva.

 

The skanda purANam (more than the innovative upa-purANam of gANapatyam)

contains the basic genesis and profile of the deity 'piLLaiyAr' (itself

a later-day Tamil lingo-ism) fusing into vighnESvara, proposing that he

be propitiated in order that he withholds troubles and impediments.

The primitive concept of God incorporates inter alia a fear-driven

attitude.

 

nArAyaNa as the One God is essentially described as the One who cares

per se for his creatures ["rakshAika-dikshE", as in the invocation to

SrIbhAshyam], eliminates fear ['bhaya-nASanah'], bestows Grace

['su-prasAdah'], and runs obstacles down. This is why the padma-purANa

SlOkam ==

 

"SuklAmbara-dharam vishNum SaSi-varNam chatur-bhujam

prasanna-vadanam dhyAyEt sarva-vighnOpa-SAntayE",

 

is recited at the commencement of any auspicious rite, vaidika-kriya, as

invoking vishNu as 'vighna-hartA', to quell the impediments.

 

It is curious that Sri SEnkAlipuram ananta-rAma dIkshitar, as well as

the Ramakrishna Mission, have carried this SlOkam in their publications,

but constantly translating 'vishNu' into Tamil as 'piLLaiyAr'. This

unethical newspeak has become so prevalent that Sri Krishna Premi svami

was obliged to clarify in Srirangam (in his current series of lectures

on 'tiru-c-chhanda-viruttam') on Saturday (June 9 2001) that 'vishNu'

occurring in the dhyAna-SlOkam "SuklAmbara-dharam vishNum" stands for

'vishNu' and not for (the later-day Saiva cultist) 'piLLaiyAr'.

 

This strategy of disinformation extended to appropriating for later-day

icons the role-names ["nAmAni gauNAni...mahAtmanah, r*shibhih

parigItAni"] of the One God drawn from ancient texts

['gaNAnAm tvA gaNapatim', 'vishvak-sEnO', 'SastA' etc], and hurriedly

putting together a kitsch-n-pastiche mythology to 'enhance' such icons.

 

It is a sad irony that the SrIvaishNava community had neglected to know

about the 'prasthAna-traya bhAshyam' of SrI Sankara-bhagavat-pAdAh; SrI

Sankara is indeed a beacon-light of vaishNava religion. The AchArya

propounded 'advaitam' and remained a profound vaishNava; for that

matter, krshNa-miSra the author of the

allegory play 'prabOdha-chandrOdayam', and mahApurush SrI SankaradEva of

Assam, were also vaishNava and advaiti-dialecticians at the same time.

 

Some of our outstanding literary figures who were professed Saiva,

such as kAlidAsa, or bANa-bhaTTa (author of 'kAdambarI'), or leelASuka

have paid natural high tributes in ample measure to the theme of vishNu

'paratvam'. SrI leelASuka says ~~

 

"SaivA vayam na khalu tad vichAraNIyam,

panchAksharI japa-parAh nitarAm tathA/pi,

chEtO madIyam atasI-kusumAva-bhAsam,

smErAnanam smarati gOpavadhU-kiSOram."

 

[We are Saiva, and no questions about it; we constantly recite the

five-syllabled 'mantra' ~~ namah SivAya.

This despite, my heart dwells on the blue lotus, that is the dear visage

of the infant of the gOpa lady ~~ yaSOdA.]

 

To identify the philosophy of 'advaitam' with Saiva sect is entirely

unwarranted; this would yield the corollary that 'vaishNava' should

include 'smArta' who, however, have their own practices and mode of

worship, but with a basic fidelity to the vEda, same as the vaishNava.

 

No SrIvaishNava would denigrate other beliefs, other practices, others'

gods; even in instances when a caprice generates a cult, a cult grows

into a religion with its own 'prophet' and protocol; such (morbid and)

closed systems are aplenty in India, as in the US. It is each

individual, ultimately, to his own god and diversions (and identifiable

orgies). However, when issues of fact are raised about a particular

scripture, then one cannot brandish such personal opinion, but has to

produce the evidences.

 

Even if a motivated synthesising of religion is granted simply as

something that goes on, the SrIvaishNava need not be on the defensive,

but can be expected to:-

 

(A) expose blatant inroads into vaishNava institutions [like

tiru-vem-pAvai conferences populistically and insidiously clubbed with

established tiru-p-pAvai recitation/exposition in vishNu temples, or use

of 'kAli' mask in 1996 over the visage of alamElu-mangai tAyAr in

tiruc-chAnUr.] While on a visit to vaDuvUr near tanjAvUr in Jan'97, I

noticed huge chalk-sketches of 'aiyappA' and 'piLLaiyAr' drawn on the

flag-stone 'parikrama' of SrIrAma temple there.

(B) challenge the distortion of historic facts, and the deliberate

corruption of religious and other relevant texts.

[To cite an instance, the kAmakOTi SankarAchArya-svami of recent memory,

had once taken it upon himself to announce to his wide following that an

expression in the 'tiruppAvai' verse 'vAiyattu' was denigrative of the

aphoristic classic 'tiru-k-kuraL'; it said 'tIkkuraLai', the 'vile

kuraL' ~~ so went the commentary of the learned preceptor!

It was kAnchi SrI prativAdi-bhayankaram aNNangarAchArya svAmi who

pointed out that 'tIkkuraLai' was in nominal case,

prathama-vibhakti/vERRumai, and meant 'foul language', as a thing to

abjure especially during austerities; this was NOT the objective case,

dvitIya-vibhakti, of the word 'kuraL', and hence would in no way

denote or denigrate the classic of that name, as made out by the

kAmakOTi-svami.

"bibhEt-yalpa-SrutAd-vEdO mAmayam pratarishyati", [the vEda

winces that the man of little learning would subvert it!]

Also, "apriyasya tu pathyasya vaktA SrOtA cha durlabhah".

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

 

aDiyEn rAmAnuja-dAsan, T.S. Sundara Rajan.