pEyAzhvar MangalAsAsanam!!!

[Guest guest]

Sri Parthasarathi thunai

Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha

Sri Vara Vara MunayE Namaha

Sri VanAchala mahA munayE Namaha

 

Wow! What a wonderful place we wonder as we walk down the big,

colourful and brightly lighted road on the beach shore in chennai.

The beach road is being beautified each day as a part of the singara

chennai project. But will the natural beauty which emperuman blessed

on this place return back? Today artificially the road is lighted

with number of colourful lamps. But once, this very place was

lighted naturally not with electrical lamps but…...

 

Thanks to peyazhvar who has visualized the same in his paasuram.

 

“vandhudaiththa veNthiraigal sempavalam veNmuththam

andhivilakkum ani vilakkAm – endhai

oruvalli thAmaraiyAl ondriya seer mArvan

thiruvallikeniyAn sendru”

(moondrAm

thiruvandhAdhi-16)

 

Meaning: The Sea was so rich that in those days the waves used to

bring to shore very precious jems like corals and pearls. The light

of the dusk (moonlight) falls on these jems at the shore and it glows

with beautiful colours. Amidst this beautiful scenary, we are able to

have darshan of the emperuman, Sri Parthasarathi on whose chest rests

the divine mother who stays always on top of a lotus. The scenary

itself has become a jewel decorating the lord. To have this beautiful

site at once go to thiruvallikeni (this mangalasasanam can be

considered to be for mannathan, Sri ranganathan who came to

thiruvallikeni for the very purpose of marrying the divine mother of

this place, Sri vedavalli thayar who was born in the allikeni-lilly

pond,

kairaveni pushkarini).

 

“Oruvalli thAmaraiyal ondriya seer mArvan” is Srinivasan

(“agalagillEn eraiyum endru alarmEl mangai urai mArvan”) reminding us

that only that lord on the thirumala hills is now glowing in

thiruvallikeni as Venkata Krishnan (according to the stala puranam of

brindaranya kshetram)

 

Peyazhvar, is the third among the mudal Azhvars. He was the azhvar

who got the darshan of emperuman along with piratti due to the light

lighted by the first two Azhvars and sang, “thirukkandEn ponmEni

kandEn”. Peyazhvar has always got a special affection towards

piratti and that is why he has started and ended his prabhandam,

moondram thiruvandhAdhi with “thiru” not seen in any other azhvar’s

prabhandams. Peyazhvar was born in a well in thirumayilai (some say

it to be the today’s mylapore whereas some say it to be

thiruvallikeni itself as thiruvallikeni was part of mayilai in those

days as per thirumangai mannan’s paasuram “mAda mAmayilai

thiruvallikeni kandEnE”).

 

In thiruvallikeni, there is a separate street called the ‘peyazhvar

Koil Street’ which hosts a separate sannadhi for peyazhvar with the

well in which he is supposed to have taken avataram. Special 10-day

utsavam is celebrated for peyazhvar during the iypasi month. On the

sattrumarai day, Sri Parthasarathi himself visits the sannadhi and

undergoes thirumanjanam with peyazhvar (generally all other Azhvars

and acharyas undergo thirumanjanam only in the mandapam in front of

the main sannadhi) and in the evening Peyazhvar comes in purappadu in

front of Parthasarathi around the four mada veedhis.

 

Leaving what happens during the iypasi month, there is one special day

in puratasi when peyazhvar from “Adikesava perumal sannadhi, mylapore”

comes to thiruvallikeni to do mangalasasanams to all the emperumans

over here. This practice has been abandoned for quite a long

duration but has been revived due to the continued efforts of some

bhagavatas for the past 3 or 4 years. This divine day happens to be

22nd sept.(Monday), this year. It is also said by some elders that

in those days even thirumazhisai pirAn from thirumazhisai used to

visit thiruvallikeni once in a year for mangalasasanam that has also

been abandoned due to practical difficulties.

 

On this day, azhvar will start from mylapore around 2.00 or 3.00 in

the evening and will reach thiruvallikeni by 5.00 or 5.30. Azhvar

will be first welcomed by the divine padhukai of emperuman, the Sri

sadagopan at the entrance of the mada veedhi (thulasinga perumal koil

street) with respective honours. And then azhvar will proceed to do

mangalasasanams to the emperuman’s inside the temple. Then

Parthasarathi emperuman and peyazhvar will undergo alankaram. Then

peyazhvar enjoys the purappadu along with Sri Parthasarathi around

the mada veedhis of thiruvallikeni (as it is ekadasi on this day,

Parthasarathi undergoes Periya mada veedhi purappadu). Peyazhvar’s

moondrAm thiruvandhAdhi is recited by the ghosti during the veedhi

purappadu. Peyazhvar joins the ghosti in such a way that we will

consider azhvar to be in vibhava dasai and not as an archai. After

reaching the temple, Parthasarathi gives piriyA vidai (bids goodbye)

to peyazhvar who starts his journey back with ultimate grief to take

leave from parthasarathi emperuman.

 

It is really a great day. It is adiyen’s humble request to all

bhagavatas in chennai to make it up to the wonderful occasion and get

blessed with the divine grace of peyazhvar and Parthasarathi

emperuman.

 

Alwar EmperumAnAr jeeyar thiruvadigalE sharaNam

 

Adiyen Ramanuja dAsee,

Sumithra Varadarajan