Thiru Arangan Ula- the sojourn of the Lord. – 6. The sojourn begins

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Thiru Arangan Ula- the sojourn of the Lord. – 6. The sojourn begins

 

 

 

namperumAL desired to visit kulasEkara AzhwAr’s land. He also wanted to visit

all the forests, hills; He wanted to shower His blessings on all living beings.

Hence, He decided to go on an adventurous trip and grace people from the

different lands, hence this whole episode of the conquest, the journey, was in a

way a result of the Lord’s desire. The Lord had many desires: He wanted to visit

the ThirumAl irum chOlai, for it is the very place where Sri periyAzhwAr left

his body; He also wanted to visit ThirunArAyanapuram, the town which was very

dear to Swami rAmAnujA; He wanted to spend atleast one year at Thirumala, His

place of origin (according to amalanAdipiran).

 

 

 

The VaishnavAs of Srirangam acceded to namperumAL’s desire. SwAmi piLLai

lOkAchAryar, the most senior and respected AchAryA at Srirangam, was leading all

the SrivaishnavAs in this endeavor. They started to act swiftly. They covered

the entrance to the main altar of the Lord with bricks and cement, so that the

enemy won’t be able to identify the main Sanctum Santorum. In order to ensure

that the enemy should not break through the bricks looking for the main deity,

they placed a smaller deity in front of the brick-wall and lit a lamp, so that

the enemy would get duped.

 

 

 

As for ranganAyaki, the consort of the Lord, they dug a hole beneath the Vilva

tree opposite her sanctorum, and placed her processional deity in that pit. They

took just few of the important pieces of jewelry for the Lordships. The

following number of VaishnavAs set out on this adventure with namperumAL:

 

 

 

1) 2 priests and 4 of their assistants

 

2) 10 SrivaishnavAs to carry the deities

 

3) Pillai lOkAchAryar and 7-8 of his disciples

 

4) An old lady

 

 

 

Thus, the small group of VaishnavAs carried namperumAL in a palanquin and

started leaving Srirangam for the south, during nighttime. They don’t know what

the future holds; all they have is just love for namperumAL and their desire to

protect his diving deity.

 

 

 

Just after the day they left, the thousands of islamic soldiers from the north

entered Srirangam and started attacking the VaishnavAs. Based on the account by

PiLLai lOkam Jeeyar, more than 12,000 SrivaishnavAs lost their lives, most of

them being decapitated. All the AchArya purushAs (descendants of the great

AchAryAs) ran helter-skelter to different parts of Tamilnadu. Just as

anticipated, the enemy headed to the Sanctum Sanctorum, and saw the idol there.

Assuming that idol to be the main deity, they broke that idol, melted it and

made a sword from that molten metal. The main enemy camp was now stationed at

the main sanctorum of the temple!! Camels and horses were tied to the pillars-

it was a scene of total destruction and desolation.

 

 

 

Swami vEdAnta dEsikan was present in Srirangam during this time. He ventured to

save srutaprakAshikA, the commentary on Swami rAmAnujA. srutaprakAshikA was

written by utthAnda bhattar, who was the grandson of vEdavyAsa bhattar, the

brother of the illustrious parAsarabhattar. srutaprakAshikA was the only script

available on SribhAshyam, and it was important that it should be saved, and that

was the instruction of SwAmi PiLLai lOkAchAryar to swAmi dEsikan. Hence, swami

dEsikan, along with the two sons of utthAnda bhattar (who was killed in the

attacks by the Muslims) and holding the great work of srutaprakAshikA,

camouflaged with the corpses of the dead SriVaishnavAs, and finally managed to

escape to the dense SathyamangaLam forest. It is where Swami Desikan wrote

Abhiitistavam, expressing his yearning for return of peace in Srirangam. It is

indeed an irony that the forest visited by such a great AchArya like Swami

dEsikan later became the hideout for the notorious sandalwood smuggler

Veerappan.

 

 

 

namperumAL and the SrivaishnavAs led by piLLai lOkAchAryar now pass through the

rough and tough terrains rife with thorns and sharp stones, on their way to

ThirumAlirunchOlai, where the beautiful Lord Soundararajan (Kallazhagar)

resides. In those days, there was a fort surrounding the temple of

ThirumAlirunchOlai, and the SrivAishnavAs were seeking protection in that fort

(which was later destroyed by Hyder Ali). As they were just about to enter the

town, SwAmi piLLai lOkAchAryar felt extremely tired and weak. He was 95 years

old; it was indeed amazing that he could leave Srirangam which such speed at

such an advanced age!! What devotion!! What motivation!! Dear Sri VaishnavAs, we

should all feel proud and honored to have such an AchAryA in our sampradAyam.

 

 

 

Since he was old and was slowing down, he asked the other SrivaishnavAs to

proceed and he would follow them slowly. Incidentally, the SrivAishnavAs were

attacked by a group of bandits who found their loot in the jewels of namperumAL.

When Swami piLLai lOkAchAryan came to know of that, he proceeded to meet the

bandits. The robbers, whose community is called “KaLLar”, were wielding

dangerous weapons. But, the moment they saw SwAmi piLLai lOkAcharyan, all of

them drop their weapons automatically, just by looking at the glowing face of

SwAmi piLLai lOkAchAryan- a face filled with love and compassion.

 

 

 

True to his name which meant “The Guru for all”, SwAmi piLLai lOkAchAryan

started preaching to the bandits and performed upadEsams and panchasamskarams to

them, thus turning them to vaishnavAs!! Dear friends, even to this day, the

devotion shown to Lord Kallazhagar by the members from the kaLLar community is

evident when they flock to the temple by the thousands every year during the

annual celebrations at ThirumAlirunchOlai, whereas there won’t be even 100

SrivaishnavAs. Let us all please shed whatever ego that we have because of our

births as brahmins/iyengars etc, as the devotion/faith showed by VaishnavAs of

other communities far exceeds whatever little faith that some of us exhibit,

that would definitely include me.

 

 

 

(I implore all of you my friends, to listen to the audio MP3s and hear Sri

ArangarAjan Swamin give spectacular comments on the Annual Celebrations at

ThirumAlirunchOlai.

 

The lord Sundararajan (Kallazhagar) enjoys the company of the kaLLars, for he is

their Lord, and they too hold him very special. The interactions between the

Lord and his devotees at ThirumAlirunchOlai are nectarine to listen; I don’t

want to spoil the mood by my inefficient, mistake-prone writing. I have asked

Sri Mukundan Swamin to upload the entire MP3s. Kindly download the MP3s ladies

and gentlemen, and let us all elevate our spirits by listening to the pastimes

of the Lord, who is indiscriminating in showing his grace to everyone,

immaterial of caste/creed)

 

 

 

(To

be continued……)

 

 

 

 

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