Five forms in one

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Sri Nikamantha Maha Desikaya Namaha

Sri Adi Van Satakopa Yatheendra Maha Desikaya Namaha

Sri Van Satakopa Sri Narayana Yatheendra Maha Desikaya Namaha

 

 

Five forms in One

Lord Narayana manifests himself in five stages, viz., ‘Param’

,‘Vyuham’ ‘Vibhavam’, ‘Antaryami’, ‘Archai’ in different forms and

places. Many a writers have narrated in detail about the significance

of these divine appearances of Sriman Narayana. Hence it would be

redundant to dwell on what had been already said and written.

 

As an exception to this conception and in support of it we find that

the five stages of Lord Sriman Narayana are well concentrated in one

place called Srirangam and lets us see how it is ubiquitous.

 

Paravasudevar

On the Pranavakara Ranga Vimanam of Lord Ranganatha can be seen

Paravasudevar, the first form of Sriman Narayana viz. ‘Param’. His

reclining on Adisesha depicts the second forn called ‘Vyuham’. His

pervading the universe and residing in the hearts of His creations as

soul, independent of the physicalbody is named ‘antharyami’, the

fourth stage in the order, and His presence in the form of images

installed and conscrated in the temples by the devotees for the

worship is called as Archa, the fifth in the order. This is

considered to be the most suitable for the mortals in the ‘Kaliyuga’

to evoke His grace. The devotees centralize their thoughts on the

charm of the idols and remain dumb founded in a meditative mood in

communion with the Almighty.

With a view to establishing that Lord Ranganatha in Archa

coexists with “vibhavam” could be found from the episodes in which He

appeared in “Vibhavam” also as aforesaid and of his many such

manifestations, three have been taken to substantiate the existence

of it.

 

Episode I: Vipranarayana whose native place was “Thirumandangudi” in

Tanjore district migrated to Srirangam to serve Lord Ranganatha by

undertaking to make garlands out of fresh fragrant flowers to adorn

Him everyday. For this purpose, he raised a flower garden on the

banks of the Cauvery.

He was devoted in this service to Lord and derived an

inexplicable ecstatic pleasure there from. Not a day would pass by,

without his presence in the precincts of the great temple more

particularly in the sanctum sanctorum with basket full of flower

garden dangling down his shoulders. Lord Ranganatha and Pirrati

Ranganayaki were happy to find a devoted soul having an unflinching

faith in them. However, the Lord desired to play His part by

demonstrating to the world His omniscience and omnipotence and to

install faith in te worship of “Archamurthy”. Vipranarayana spent

more time in the meticulous maintenance of the garden so as not to

allow a lapse from his sacred duty.

It was after the dusk of a day when clouds gathered it

rained cats and dogs with thunder and lightening. Vipranarayana came

out of his dwelling and went to the garden to clear the water logging

as his concern was the upkeep of the plants that gave him flowers to

carry out his much avowed mission in life. The flowers possessed

extra fragrance by his touch and they were cheerful over reaching the

Lord’s resplendent body and also be of service to Him in this process.

While in the garden a lurking silhoutte of a person caught

the eye of Vipranarayana and out of curiosity he went near and found

it to be that of a young beautiful belle with contours of her frame

palpably visible owing to drenching. The intruder was hesitant to

enter the premises without permission, when Vipranarayana came close

to her and enquired about her and learnt that she was a “Devadasi” by

name Devadevi and that she was returning from Uraiyur. She sought a

temporary asylum there, to change her wet clothes. Seeing her

predicament and out of sympathy he acceded to her request by

permitting her to enter his cottage. Alas! Her sparkling eyes,

aquiline nose, chubby cheeks with a dimple, voluptuous lips and the

symmetry of her body created in the mind of a pious Vipranarayana

erotic sensation which resulted in infatuation and a slip

from his clean and blemish less life. He fell prey to Devadasi’s

antics and had to sacrifice his celibacy and the dancing girl her

chastity. A victim of circumstances Vipranarayana forgot his garden

that he so nicely got up and endeared, and with it his service to

Lord Ranganatha. He followed Devadevi to her residence where he lived

with her enjoying the ephemeral pleasured that were provided by her.

In the great temple of Srirangam Pirrati Ranganayaki

questioned Her divine spouse as to why such a devoted soul should

suddenly fall down from the pinnacle of lofty ideals of his mission

to the nadir of leading a life with a lecherous lady. Lord replied

that he desired to exhibit to the world how even devoted persons

would succumb to the worldly pleasures owing to quirk of fate and

return to senses when such a life ended in a debacle. He replied

Pirrati to wait and see the developments whereby Vipranarayana would

be retrieved from the quagmire of mundane pleasures and attachment.

Vipranarayana lost all his possessions including his

self-respect and the reverence he commanded and the harlot drove him

out of her house. He continued to remain outside the closed doors

with a slender hope that she would take him back out of sympathy.

Meanwhile the plants and flowers in the garden withered without

anybody to tender them and they felt unfortunate and looked mournful

over the adverse change that had taken place in their not being able

to adorn the Lord and His consort. As the suffering of the devotee

became acute Pirrati could not contain herself and pleaded again with

the Lord and to see that Vipranarayana got free from the tentacles of

the evil designs of Devadasi. Here we observe the essential

ingredient of Vaishnavism in that Pirrati with Compassion overflowing

recommends to her Lord to pardon the sinners whatever

be the magnitude of the sin is, and to bring them back to righteous

path. After the cessation of the hostilities did not Sita appeal to

the monkeys not to harm the demonesses even when she was subjected to

both physical and mental torture?

Lord Ranganatha designed a strategy to bring back

Vipranarayana to his former fold and in execution thereof, He, with

an appearance of a Vaishnavite Brahmin from Srirangam knocked at the

doors of Devadasi and gave her a golden vessel disclosing that he was

sent by Vipranarayana with instructions to hand it over to her, as a

present. Her happiness knew no bounds and Devadasi received the guest

with reverence. Before she could extend her hospitality the Brahmin

had abruptly disappeared from the place.

When the ay dawned and the doors of the Sannithi of Lord

Ranganatha were opened for “Vishwaroopa seva”, to utter consternation

and dismay of the Archakas it was found that one golden vessels

forming part of the pooja articles was missing. The matter as

reported to the temple authorities. As it was but natural for anybody

to put blame on the archaka on duty in such circumstances he was

admonished and asked to express the truth to which he pleaded

ignorance. The archaka was remanded to custody until the

investigations were completed. After a long search it was found that

the stolen vessel was in possession of Devadevi who in order to save

her skin disclosed that it was given as a present by a Brahmin

calling himself as one from Srirangam and had come as a messenger of

Vipranarayana. This revelation not only besmirched the fair name of

Vipranarayana but also made him and the archaka scapegoats to undergo

intolerable physical torture by the authorities.

As Pirrati Ranganayaki could not anymore keep quiet when

the devotee was put to untold suffering, she requested the Lord to

vindicate the truth immediately and to prove Vipranarayana’s

innocence in this incident. Lord Ranganatha through the Archakas

narrated the entire episode and the part played by Him to rescue a

Bhaktha who deviated fro sometime from the righteous path.

Vipranarayana repented for his temporary departure from the high

sense of mortality by clear expressions of penitence through his

verses in praise of Lord Ranganatha. He called himself as servant of

those who served Lord Ranganatha ardently and he desired to collect

the dust their feet and smear it on his head thereby to be name

“Thondar-adipodi”

To be continued........

This article was written by Late Sri L.P.Sampath Iyengar

Comments and feedbacks are welcome to suprajaiyengar

 

 

 

 

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