ThirukkuRungudi& Kaisiki Natakam Revival: Srimathi Anita Rajyalakshmi Rathnams' mahOpakAram

[Guest guest]

Dear BhakthAs:

 

This year , Kaisika EkAdasi Falls on

November 26 . Srimathi Anita Rajyalakshmi of

the TVS family and a leading dance artist/Teacher

of Chennai will be organizing the Dance drama

of Kaisika EkAdasi MahAthmyam at the Lord's Temple

at Thirukkurungudi, her family's ancestral home.

 

I wrote an article (Aug 26, 2000)about the background of

this celebration,its connection to Swamy ParAsara Bahttar

and the revival of this dance drama at Thirukkurungudi under

the leadership of Srimathi Anita Rathnam.

 

Excerpts from that archived article (Bhakthi List )

is reproduced for memory jog.

 

Please attend this rare artistic and devotional

event at Thirukkurungudi this year . The performance

would last over 3 Hours with the particpation of

a large cast .

 

Daasan, Oppiliappan Koil V.SaThakOpan/Sadagopan

 

 

Sadagopan <SGOPAN

bhakti-list

;CC: anitaratnam

ThirukkuRungudi& Kaisiki Natakam Revival: Srimathi Anita

Rajyalakshmi Rathnams' mahOpakAram : Part I

Sat, 26 Aug 2000 15:09:28 -0400 (EDT)

 

Dear BhakthAs :

Among the 108 dhivya desams dear to Sri VaishNavas,

there is one in Paandya Naadu , which has deep links

to Sri VaishNava sampradhAyam. This dhivya dEsam is

27 miles from ThirunelvEli .It is not far from

AzhwAr Thirunahari ( ThirukkuruhUr ) , where Swami

NammAzhwAr , our Kula Pathy was born and blessed us

with the four Dhivya prabhandhams . This dhivya dEsam

is none other than Thirukkurungudi.

 

The Mahimai of this KshEthram

******************************

 

The KshEthram Deatails:

************************

 

 

The TVS family

***************

Srimathi Anita Ratnam has done a mahOpakAram by

reviving(reconstructing) the ancient dance-drama

known as Kaiski Natakam . Three years of tireless

work led to ther first performance on the last

Kaisiki natakam (November 19, 1999)based on

NampAduvAn's unique worship of Thirukkurungudi

Nampi on Kaisiki Ekadasi day.

 

In the Varaha PurANam , our Lord tells MahA Lakshmi

about His great joy in being worshipped through

dance and music. The Kaisiki Natakam is a dance-

music-drama going back to seven hundred years .

The story of NampAduVan born in a chandaLA caste

and his promise to the Brahma Raakshasan about

being his food AFTER the worship of ThirukkuRungudi

Nampi and the happy resolution with the intervention

of the Lord is a pious story that transcends

the divisions of class and caste, when it comes to

the BhakthAs of BhagavAn.

 

The Kaisika EkAdasi is as sacred as Sri Vaikunta

EkAdasi ; AasthikAs fast that day and listen to kaisika

PurANam being read at Srirangam or the Kaisika Naatakam

performed at ThirukkuRungudi and listen to the music

and dance in praise of Nampi PerumAL .There is an

audio casette rendition of this kaisika PurAnam by

the Sri Vaishnavite scholar ,Dr.VenakatakrishNan of

ThiruvallikkENI.

 

The great ParAsara Bhattar and Kaisika PurANam

***********************************************

The precocious kumArar of KurEsar ,ParAsara Bhattar

has written a commentary on Kaisika PurAnam , which

forms the 48th chapter of Varaha PurAnam (VAP).

This section of VarAha purANam celebrates

the importance of singing the glory of the Lord

at Brahma MuhUrtham .

 

There are 92 slOkAs in the 48th chapter of VAP.

On one Kaiski EkaAdasi day , ParAsara Bhattar

recited and intrepreted the Kaisiki PurANam before

Lord RanganAtha , who was immensely pleased

and accorded the honor of Brahma ratham

carriage in a palanquin by Brahmins) at

the end of that recital. This tradition is

carried out at Srirangam temple even today

by the descendants of ParAsara Bhattar.

 

May this tradition of Bhakthi thrive forever !

 

Daasan , Oppilaippan Koil VaradAchAri SatakOpan