The Lord Goes on the River

[Guest guest]

Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika

Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

The Lord Goes on the River

 

The heart brims over with emotion. Eyes are clouded with tears of joy.

Each and every individual hair on the body stands erect with the

intensity of blissful experience. The head bows involuntarily at the

magnificent spectacle. When you try to speak, you find your voice

quavering with passion. You want to speak at length, but somehow

words fail you, despite there being so much to describe. You want to

share the intensity of the experience with someone, but you find

every one, from babes in arms to doddering old men with backs bent

like a question mark, in the same state, overwhelmed by emotion.

There is none who has eyes for anything other than the scintillating

spectacle, none who is not mesmerised by the gripping scene, none on

whose lips there are words other than the name of the Distinguished

Guest. What could be the event, which evokes such a heart-warming

response in us?

 

Every month in the year has its own rich and varied devotional fare to

offer. VaikAsi brings us the glorious Garuda sEva of Kanchi, Ani too

affords us the spectacle of Sri Koodal azhagar resplendent on Sri

GaruthmAn, in Adi we celebrate TiruvAdippooram on which day Sri Andal

took birth among us to uplift and emancipate us, PurattAsi takes us to

Tirumala for the BrahmOtsavam of MalayappaswAmy, and if it is

Kartthigai, our destination is TiruvAli for the glorious VEdupari

utsavam. In Tai we are able to witness the multiple treat of Twelve

Garuda SEvAs at TirunAngUr, in Masi the Lord at various divyadEsams

goes on a float (TeppOtsavam), and when it is Panguni, we are at

Srirangam, to worship the Lord and His Consort on the auspicious

aphorism of Uttaram.

 

The reason for leaving out Chittirai from the aforesaid list is that

it deserves separate treatment. Just as it is the hottest of months,

it offers too the richest of fare to the devout. We have the

celebrations all over the globe on account of Sri Ramanuja Jayanti

and GajEndra MOksham episode (where the Lord came running all the way

from Vaikunttam to solve a mere pachyderm’s problems) is enacted

at several divya dEsams.

 

However, the star attraction of Chitthirai is the event at Madurai on

the ChitrA PourNami, when Sri KaLlazhagar enters the Vaigai. None

would dispute the magnificence of the utsavam, which attracts

thousands of devotees, rich and poor, young and old, erudite and

unlettered, all of whom throng the Vaigai on the morning of the

appointed day, to witness the grand spectacle. People in their

thousands flock to the river, all attired in their best and making an

extremely colourful sea of humanity, waiting patiently and with eager

anticipation for the Lord’s arrival from distant Azhagar Koil.

Many of them, unable to contain their impatience, go on to receive

Him en route and have an advance glimpse of the glorious Lord, in

what is known as “edir sEvai”.

 

What makes the Lord come all the way from far-away TirumAlirumsOlai to

Madurai? Without doubt, it is the love and devotion with which the

multitude awaits His arrival at the river. Though He would like to

rush in a headlong ride from His abode to Madurai, His progress is

impeded by frequent halts at the various mandapams constructed on His

way to the city, where devotees compel Him to stay at least a few

minutes, offering Him new clothes, fruits and sugar candy with love.

And unable to resist their ministrations, the Lord too slows down,

making His ride slow and majestic. Though He leaves His abode on the

previous day itself, Sri Azhagar arrives at Vaigai only the next

morning, attesting to the numerous halts He is forced to make en

route.

 

To mark the occasion, the entire city wears an extremely festive look.

People are clad in their best clothes, feasts are prepared at every

home in honour of the distinguished guest, infants are tonsured at

the site, the devout burst into Bhajans extolling His praises and a

carnival-like atmosphere pervades the city, with everyone

participating enthusiastically in the event in their own individual

ways. The stinking rich jostle with the abject poor to have a

glorious glimpse of the Lord, in the event, which is marked by rare

social amity and goodwill.

 

If the Lord came all the way from Sri Vaikunttam in response to the

elephant’s call, here, He covers the entire distance from

TirumAlirumsOlai to Madurai on horseback. And what a horse! The

splendour and magnificence of the Horse is to be seen to be believed.

Made of glittering gold, the Horse wears TirumaN like a paramaikAnti,

with its sharp features standing out. With its forefeet raised for a

gallop, the horse presents a picture of pride and prowess—pride

at the rare privilege of carrying the Paramapurusha on its back. Its

gait is indeed majestic and varying. At times, it walks sedately,

when confronted by a crowd of devotees, affording them the

opportunity to have a leisurely glimpse of the Lord. At times, when

the road is fairly empty, it breaks into a gallop, anxious to reach

the Lord in time for a reunion with waiting devotees at Vaigai. At

times, it appears to go berserk, bucking furiously up and down,

unable to contain the joy of carrying the Supreme Lord on its back.

 

The Lord on horseback, with a goad in His hand, presents a magnificent

spectacle, recalling to us His intimate association with the five

horses of Arjuna’s chariot, as PArtthasArathi. He has a red

silk cloth around His headgear and wears green or white silk around

His midriff. The colour of the Lord’s apparel is a matter of

suspense every year to devotees, who wait with bated breath to see

whether He is draped in white silk or green.

There is a highly discernible, broad beam on the Lord’s

countenance, reflecting His huge enjoyment—at His outing, at

riding horseback, at rushing all the way to meet millions of

devotees, at being the focus of the proceedings, very much like a

Matinee Idol who is the cynosure of all eyes.

 

Another reason for the Lord’s delight at the entire

proceedings—He indulges in His favourite sport, viz., Jala

kreedA. It is a well-chronicled fact that the Paramapurusha is

enamoured of water sport. We are told that the Yamuna was a second

home to Sri Krishna and the scene of many a boisterous bash, with

vigorous participation from His equally unruly friends and loving

GOpIs.

 

While it was He who wielded the water gun (“BhastrA

Yantram”—Sri GOpAla Vimsati) and drenched all and sundry

during Sri Krishnavatara, the Lord is at the receiving end during the

ChitrA utsavam, with the clan of KaLLars, intimate devotees of the

Lord, spraying Him with streams of water from their equipments. One

wonders—it would appear that the arcchAvatAra Emperuman is

allergic to water from external sources, except during Tirumanjanam

and ritual worship. We witness the spectacle of BrahmOtavams during

the monsoon season being conducted under the protective canopy of a

tarpaulin, especially at Tirumala. And arcchakAs are so caring and

concerned at His getting wet, that they rush Him to the nearest

shelter, lest even a drop of rainwater fall on His tirumEni.

 

Contrary to all these, we find the spectacle of the Lord being sprayed

with jets of water all through His journey from Azhagar Koil to

Vaigai, with devotees drenching Him in streams of aqua, with

impunity. Not only the Bhattar, standing by with a watchful eye,

allow such goings on, but he also remains a smiling spectator of the

entire proceedings. In fact, along with the Lord, he too is soaked to

the skin and presents a bedraggled appearance, with several jets of

water drenching him copiously. It is perhaps only at this divyadEsam

that such liberties are taken with the Paramaprusha, reflecting the

Lord’s penchant for revelry with His fans.

 

And it isn’t mere exuberance that prompts the devotees to train

their water guns on the Lord. The normal ChitrA weather being

scorching hot, the KaLLars try to make it tolerable for the Lord by

giving Him the “Water Treatment”, ensuring that the

extremely delicate tirumEni of Sri KaLlazhagar suffers not from the

enervating heat. It is this maternal concern of the KaLlars that

entitles them to such liberties as spraying water on the Lord, which

is probably contrary to all known Agamic provisions. And one wonders

too whether it is all those GOpis who were drenched by Sri Krishna,

who have taken birth as these KaLlars, to take sweet revenge by

pelting the Lord with streams of water. Not to be outdone, the clouds

also take the opportunity to perform Tirumanjanam to the Lord by

gently sprinkling rain drops—it is not a torrential rain which

would inconvenience everyone, but a soft and light drizzle, enough to

bring down the temperature. The Lord, who played truant with Sri

Yasoda when called upon to take a bath and required so much

persuasion, comes all the way from azhagar kOil, to be virtually

given a bath at the hands of loving devotees.

 

Srimad BhAgavata Purana tells us that some of the Gopis, unable to

tolerate separation from Krishna, dressed up like Him and regaled

each other with stories of His exploits, forgetting His absence for

the nonce. We find a similar scene at the Vaigai too, with many of

the KaLLar devotees attired very much like the Lord, with a colourful

silken “talai pAgai”, silk clothes similar to those worn

by the Lord, etc.

 

A lone Garuda circles the skies right above the Lord, perhaps jealous

of all the good fortune, that has befallen the horse, that should

normally be his, as the official carrier of Sri Vaikunttam. His

presence brings to our mind Sri Andal’s lines, “Vinathai

siruvan siragennum mElAppin keezh varuvAnai VirundAvanatthE

kaNdOmE”. And when you consider the matter, the place is no

less than BrindAvanam, with its proximity to MathurA (Madurai).

 

His programme at the Vaigai over, the Lord turns His horse homewards

to azhagar kOil. His journey, however, is much slower than when He

was coming to Madurai, expressing in every step His reluctance to

move away from the adulating multitudes. En route to

TirumAlirumsOlai, Sri Azhagar visits VandiyUr to confer relief to

MandUka Maharshi from the crippling curse which turned him into a

frog. And at the RAmarAyar mandapam, the Lord re-enacts the

DasAvatArAs, to the delight of devotees. Many of the devotees who

thronged the Vaigai accompany the Lord at least for some distance,

loathe to parting with Him, as is He from us—for, both must

wait for a year more for next ChitrA PourNami, for the next reunion.

 

We wend our ways home slowly, our hearts heavy—heavy in more

than one sense—heavy with the sadness of separation from the

Lord and heavy also because He has entered our hearts, unbeknownst to

us, to take up permanent residence, as He did in the case of Sri

Nammazhwar. The saint just mentioned the name of His abode,

TirumAlirumsOlai, and Emperuman, treating it as reason enough,

immediately entered Azhwar’s heart, never to leave again. We

learn this from the Azhwar’s own immortal words—

 

“TirumAlirum sOlai malai endrEn, enna

TirumAl vandu en nenju niraya pugundAn”

 

In our case too, the Lord, who looks for the flimsiest of reasons and

the minor-most of gestures on our part, appears to have treated our

visit to the Vaigai to witness the grand annual spectacle as an

excuse for entering our stony hearts and filling its every nook and

cranny with His glorious presence, making us tingle all over with the

bliss of His association, as described in the opening paragraph of

this piece.

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrisimha divya paduka sevaka Srivan Satakopa Sri

Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

dasan, sadagopan