My recent One week trip to Tamilnadu & Andhra PradEsh: In the foot steps of Swamy Desikan : Part III---SaayamkAla Sevai at Thiruppathi and ThiruviNNagar(Oppiliappan Koil)

[Guest guest]

SrI:

 

Dear BhakthAs:

 

Continuing with the reflections on this journey , adiyEn had

the bhAgyam of sEvai of Uhtsavars at Thirumalai ( Malayappa Swamy)

and ThiruviNNagar ( Ponnappan ) during the sandhyA kaalam on

two different days. Lord ParthasArathy at ThiruvallikkENi

and Lord RanganAthA also blessed adiyEn with their Saaya RakshA

sEvai. adiyEn will describe those joyous anubhavams at

ThiruvallikkENi and SrIrangam later.

 

At Thirumalai , Lord SrinivAsan blessed adiyEn with His

SahasrAra DhIpa alankAra Sevai . At ThiruviNNagar , Lord

Ponnappan blessed me with His Tanga ratham sEvai and let me

pull that golden chariot across the inner prAkAram ( known

previously as Kaattu prAkAram ) with family and friends .

 

Thirumalai DhIpa sEvai and Tanga RaTa sEvai at ThiruviNNagar

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

As background for the SahasrAra DhIpa alankAra sEvai that

takes place between 5.30--6.00 P.M , adiyEn refers you to

the official web pages of of Thirumalaiappan:

 

http://www.tirumala.org/sevas-daily-disc.htm#sahasra

( if this is not accessible , please use www.tirumala.org

URL and click on daily sevas).

 

There You will have the sevai of the Param JyOthi against

the background of thousand lamps enjoying the Oonjal uthsavam

with His Ubhaya NaacchiyArs. This is at the Oonjal maNdapam

outside the temple .Exactly at 6.00 P.M , He takes off like

an arrow and one can have anuyAthra upto the temple doors.

He has to attend to the bhakthAs awaiting Him inside .adiyEn

will write about this wonderful experience of Sahasra DhIpa Sevai

and the thoughts that sEvai evoked.

 

The detailed anubhavam of Lord VenkatEsa as enjoyed by the AzhwArs,

AchAryAs and NaadhOpAsakAs is archived in the special web pages created

for the Lord of Seven Hills by SrI Haresh Balasubramanyan and

adiyEn:

 

http://Srimannarayana.net/links.html

 

The JyOthirmaya sEvai of the Lord of ThiruviNNagar

in RathnAngi and His resplendent form filling

His golden chariot can be enjoyed in yet another

URL created with the help of SrIman ShrEyas Sarangan:

http://oppiliappan.org

 

ThiruvEngadamudayAn and ThiruviNNagarappan are the

same JyOthirmaya SrIman NaarAyaNan seated at the center of

the orb of the Sun as the witness of all that happens .

He is " the Tath Savithu: varENyam Bharga: " He is at

the center of Soorya MaNDalam as Soorya NaarAyaNan with

His tEjomaya vigraham. Hence adiyEn's thoughts wandered

around four Rg Veda manthrams celebrating that JyOthirmaya

Purushan , whom we invoke for accepting our aathmaa as Havis in

the Prapatthi Yaj~nam . These Rks are found in the following

cantos:

 

1) Rg Vedam I.136.1-7 (particularly I.136.3)

 

2) UttarArchika Saaman: 1031(IV.I.1)

 

3) Rg Vedam III.39.5 and III. 39.8

 

4) Rg Vedam VIII.58.3

 

All of these manthrams commence with "JyOthi " sabdham.

 

Rg Vedam : I.136.3

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

 

This manthram salutes the Lord as full of luminosity

and celestiality. It recognizes the Lord inside the orbit

of the Sun as the ordainer (niyanthA ) and animator of

the people.

 

The other companion manthrams (I.136.1-2 and 4-7)

salute the eternal nature of the Soorya NaarAyaNa

Moorthy and salute Him in His Summer and Winter forms.

The manthram begs the Lord inside the Sun to accept

the copious adoration of the worshipper.The JyOthirmaya

Lord inside the thousand rayed Sun is comprehended as

the sustainer of the Cosmic law and as the law giver.

 

Saama Vedam UttarArchika Saaman:1031)

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

jyOthir-yaj~nyasa pavatE madhu priyam

pitA dEvAnAm janithA vibhUvasu:

dadhAthi ratnam svadhayOr apIchyam

madhintamO matsara indriyO rasa:

 

(meaning): Here the Lord is viewed as the elixir

and as the brilliant light of the cosmic sacrifice

(Yaj~nam).He is recognized as the parent of the nature's

bounties and as the generator of all and endowed with

immeasaurable wealth of every kind.This param jyOthi

empowering the Sun is saluted as the most exhilirating ,

exciting and nourishing elixir (amrutham) that supports

the seen and unseen treaures of heaven and earth.

 

That is ThiruvEngadamudayAn seen amidst the 1000 points

of light at the evening swinging on the Oonjal.This is

ThiruviNNagarappan seated in His Tanga RaTam with BhUmi

DEvi.

 

Rg Vedam III.39.5

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

 

JyOthir vrNItha tamasO vijAnann ArE syAma duritAdh abhikE

imA gira: sOmapA: somavriddha jushasvEndra purutamasya kArO:

 

(meaning): The persistent search of the JeevAthma for

the inner jyOthi resident in the heart cavity is being

described here. The resplendent Self (Jeevan) seeks to find

the inner light (the Lord) with the help of nine devoted friends

( the 5 vital breaths and the four tatthvams: mind,

conscience , intelligence and ego)and the other ten

helpful friends ( five organs of senses with their

five cognitions: color , taste ,smell , touch and sound).

Ultimately , the searching Jeevan attains success in

discovering the true light of the Sun (Svayam PrakAsa

ParandhAman on the top of the seven hills) lying so far

concealed in the darkness of the innermost cavity (Hrudhaya

guhai)as the same one shining on top of the seven hills .

 

Rg Vedam III. 39.8

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

jyOthir-yaj~nyAya rOdasI anu shyAd ArE syAma duritasya bhUrE:

bhUri cidh dhi tujathO martyasya supArasO vasavO barhaNAvath

 

(meaning): Here is a moving prayer to the JyOthirmayan

amidst His thousand petalled seat of lustre: Let there be

(guiding) light through both the realms of body and mind

for performing sustained worship . May we be far away from

evils that would overpower us! May Thou as the grantor

of prosperity (mangaLams) accept our offerings and increase

our spiritual affluence !

 

Rg Vedam VIII.58.3

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

jyOthishmantham kEthumantham thrichakram

sukham raTam sushadham bhUrivAram

chithrAmagA Yasya yOgE dhijaj~nE tam

vaam huvE athi riktham pibadhyai

 

(meaning): This is a splendid invocataroy prayer

to the SooryAnthargatha NaarAyaNa Moorthy:

" I invoke that One , who is radiant and bright,

rich in enlightenment , who possesses a comfortable

chariot yoked with three wheels , that comes rolling

lightly , and at whose yoking , the marvellous treasures

are obtained ". I invoke that Supreme Being to join this

Aathma samarpaNa yaj~nam and enjoy the divine havis.

 

Next morning was SuprabhAtha and SaaRumuRai inside

the garbha graham at Thirumalai. The day after Tanga RaTam

at ThiruviNNagar was the day when the Moolavar had

Summer (kOdai) Thirumanjanam.adiyEn will write about those

anubhavams later.

 

Punar Darsana PrApthirasthu

SrImath Azhagiya Singar ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam,

Daasan Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan