Five forms in one

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Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha

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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