The Lord's Day Out

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

 

 

The Lord's Day Out

 

 

One of the most engaging and endearing traits of the ParamAtmA is His soulabhyam

or accessibility. In spite of His exalted nature and stature, He made Himself

visible to those who were around at the time of His various avataras, moved as

one among them, lowering Himself to their levels and participating like an

intimate family member in their joy and sorrow. And though the times of the

avataras are long past, to sustain His inalienable connection with mortals, the

Lord takes the form and shape they wish Him to and reigns resplendent in the

various temples they construct for Him, whether it be palatial abodes like

Srirangam, Tirumalai or Perumal Koil, or just a thatched shed with a mere

wick-lamp to provide light. He obediently stands, sits or lies down as they wish

Him to ("suvar misai sArtthiyum vaitthum tozhuvar"), bathes and eats when He is

told to by the arcchakAs, to whose every whim and fancy He subjects Himself,

becoming a total "arcchaka parAdheena:".

 

 

 

None would hence dispute that the Lord's arcchAvatAra provides the best

demonstration of His endearing Soulabhyam and enchanting Souseelyam. The Lord,

who is beyond the ken of the mortal eye ("na sandrisE tishttati roopam asya, na

chakshushA pasyati kascha nainam" says the Taittiriya Upanishad, which Sri

Nammazhwar summarises in a single word, "Katkilee") not only makes Himself

visible to all our eyes, without distinction, during specific hours of the day

as if He is a museum piece, He also condescends to partake of the measly fare

(in most of the sannidhis, it is merely "veLlai sAdam" or unseasoned rice, that

He is offered) that is submitted to Him, with absolutely no complaint.

 

He gets up late when the arcchakA turns up late at the sannidhi (having

overslept) and goes to bed early, when the arcchaka has some errand to perform

and decides to leave home early.

 

 

 

There is, however, one act of Emperuman, which marks the epitome of His

souseelyam, and soulabhyam, more than any enumerated above. One might wonder

whether there could indeed be any thing other than what has already been said,

for all of them reflect the two sterling qualities in abundance. There indeed

is, and it is the practice of the Lord at various sannidhis to go around the

mAda veedhis or the streets encircling the temple, periodically. We call this

"Tiruveedi PurappAdu" in chaste Tamizh and "utsavam" in Sanskrit. While the

Tamizh word is self-explanatory, the word "Savam" refers to a Yagya or sacred

sacrifice and the prefix "ut" denotes its superlative character. Thus the term

"utsavam" indicates a YAga of the highest order. As we know, all YAgAs and

Yagyas are after all rituals performed with the sole objective of pleasing the

Lord. And that which generates the greatest pleasure for Him is "utsavam". The

word hence indicates that organising the Lord's outing gives Him quite a lot of

pleasure and is therefore equal to the highest of exalted sacrifices.

 

 

 

Why does His periodical outing afford Emperuman such pleasure? There are several

reasons for this.

 

 

 

First and foremost, it is the joy caused by the opportunity to meet so many of

His devotees. Even if a temple is nearby, we know from experience that our

"busy" schedule enables us to visit the Lord only occasionally. The topsy-turvy

priorities that we city-dwellers have adopted, affords us adequate time for

anything and everything and the most frivolous of pursuits, but not enough for

spiritual endeavours. It is thus that we end up not visiting the Lord at His

abode, even if it is quite proximate. We, with our hearts of stone ("irumbu pOl

valiya nenjam"), might survive without seeing Emperuman for any length of

time-however, He, with His heart melting with compassion and irrepressible love,

is simply unable to tolerate our absence. This is why He takes to the streets

once in a while, just to have a "dharshan" of us. This is a case of the mountain

coming to Mohamed, even if the latter doesn't go the former. The Lord is so

enamoured of His offspring that like a doting parent, He comes out to visit us,

even if we stay away. Doesn't this remind us of the saying, "Pettra manam

pitthu, piLLai manam kallu"?

 

 

 

Secondly, even if some of us do wish to visit temples, we are unable to do so

due to some crippling malady or the other, like Arthritis, cardiac problems and

the like and are forced to lead a life of confinement to the bed or wheel chair.

It is to afford an opportunity to such invalids too, to have a purifying and

ecstatic glimpse of Him, that the Lord takes to the streets. When we are hale

and hearty, of sound body and mind, in full possession of our faculties, we

should visit as many sannidhis as possible, storing within us the joyful

pictures of the glorious Lord in His various forms. If we do this, even if we

are unable in old age to visit Him, He comes out to us, enabling us to have a

blissful eyeful of His magnificent form. This is only a natural corollary of the

VarAha Charamaslokam-

 

 

 

"StthirE manasi susvastthE shareerE sati yO nara:

 

dhAtu sAmyE stthirE smartA Visvaroopam cha mAm ajam

 

Tata: tam mriyamANam tu kAshtta pAshANa sannibham

 

Aham smarAmi mat bhaktam, nayAmi paramAm gatim"

 

 

 

"If you think of Me when you are well, I shall think of you and take care of

you, when you are not", says the Lord in this beautiful sloka. And true to His

word, He comes out running to see you if you are an invalid, in the guise of

"Tiruveedi PurappAdu".

 

 

 

A third reason for the Lord's outings is His anxiety to attract to His fold, as

many uncooperative people as possible. We have come across several persons, who

have absolutely no faith in God and wouldn't take shelter in a temple, even if

it were raining cats and dogs. Despite their attitudes, the Lord is not prepared

to abandon them or write them off as incorrigible, for they too are His

children-prodigal children, but His progeny all the same. The Lord's beauty and

splendour are such that even His sworn adversary loses himself in the divine

magnificence, as did ShoorpanakhA, after her nose was cut. Despite the indignity

inflicted on her, all that she is able to recollect about Sri Rama and Lakshmana

are their broad, lotus eyes, becoming dresses of tree bark and deerskin and

their overwhelming youth and beauty-"PuNdarIka visAlAkshou cheera

krishNAjinAbarou" says she, describing the offenders to her brother Ravana. It

is in search of such hard nuts too that the Lord undertakes outings, so that

they too could be conquered by His irresistible splendour, floored by His

irresistible lotus eyes and made to fall at His feet despite themselves,

thoroughly won over ("JitamtE PuNdarIkAksha!, namastE") and brought around to

the path of righteousness and devotion.

 

 

 

Recollecting the impartiality with which the Divine Feet traversed the three

worlds and imprinted themselves on all beings during the TrivikramAvatAra, Sri

Alavandar yearns for a similar, sacred touch of the Lord's tiruvadi on his

(Alavandar's) head-" kadA...Trivikrama! Tvat charaNAmbuja dvayam madeeya

moordhAnam alankarishyati!". It is to bless us all with a purifying touch of His

holy feet, represented by the SathAri (which the arcchaka, walking ahead of the

Lord during "purappAdu", places on the head of devotees) that the Lord comes out

on the streets, forming a fourth reason therefor.

 

 

 

Another and fifth reason is the Lord's desire to show us all how enamoured He is

of the incredibly sweet verses of Azhwars. Though these PrabandAs are recited in

the temple too, Emperuman wants to show us His partiality for aruliccheyal by

following the adhyApaka ghOshti, who move ahead reciting the lilting and

beautiful pAsurams, with the Lord apparently running after them to hear more of

the same. We must remember here that it was Emperumans of various divya dEsams

who paid a visit to the tamarind tree, seeking Sri Nammazhwar's paeans of praise

in their favour, while Azhwar stayed put on his perch in the treehole. Thus, the

Lord is extremely partial to the devotion-filled verses of Divya Prabandam and

demonstrates His passion by following those who recite the same.

 

 

 

By the same token, the VEda pArayaNa ghOshti which follows the Lord indicates to

us that the Shruti is forever seeking to fathom the extent of at least one of

His auspicious attributes, but is doomed to failure because the kalyANa guNAs

are indeed unfathomable-"YatO vAchO nivartantE, aprApya manasA saha".

Nevertheless, since the search itself is so pleasurable, the Shruti doesn't give

up and continues its unending voyage of discovery.

 

 

 

The Lord's liking for a day out can be gleaned from the frequency with which He

trots out to the streets. EkAdasi, AmAvAsyA, the first day of the month, the

Star of ShravaNam, the birthdays of Azhwars and Acharyas-you name the occasion

and you would find the Lord on an outing. It would appear at divya dEsams like

TiruvallikkENi that few are the days on which Emperuman confines Himself to His

abode, preferring to go out with His Consorts at the drop of a hat. And the Lord

really has a treat during the BrahmOtsavams, which mean for Him an outing twice

a day for at least ten days, decked up in all His finery, astride various

vAhanams, to the accompaniment of music and dance and surrounded by an adoring

army of devotees. Those who are fortunate enough to have their eyeful of the

utsavams find themselves bewildered at what to see and how to see the same

fully, for the Lord's magnificent tirumEni, His beautiful Consorts, the

particular vAhanam which has the unimaginable good fortune of carrying the Lord

that day, the adhyApaka ghOshti melting the minds of listeners with their

melodious rendering of verses dripping with devotion, the VEda pArAyaNa swamis

intoning the majestic litany of the magnificent Shruti-all these compete for the

onlooker's attention simultaneously and ensure that he never has his fill of the

indescribable delight that the cumulative picture presents.

 

 

 

I consider myself extremely fortunate to have spent my childhood at

Tiruvallikkeni, running away to the temple or the nearest mAda veedi at the

distant beat of the drums heralding the Lord's arrival, finding Him ensconced on

the broad shoulders of GarurthmAn, with innumerable pieces of new cloth lovingly

offered by devotees draped around His own and His carrier's shoulders, running

along with the "YAnai" vAhanam with the SrIpAdam thAngIs simulating an elephant

on the rampage, with the added and hilarious attraction of a Bhattar dressed in

a flowing gown trying to imitate a mahout, pulling the sturdy iron chains of

the Lord's Chariot, simultaneously drinking in the graceful beauty of its slow

and swaying progress, revelling at the sight of fireworks that used to be let

off ahead of the Lord's arrival and reacting with amusement at the sight of

Emperuman trying His best to look like His beautiful Consort in the NAcchiyAr

TirukkOlam but failing miserably because He can't simulate the loving and

mercy-filled eyes of TirumagaL. We children practically used to live at the

temple, getting in the way of kainkaryaparAs, accompanying the Lord to the

vAhana mandapam, breathlessly awaiting His dramatic emergence, in all His regal

splendour, ensconced on the vAhanam of the day, from behind the thick screens

and walking or running with the vAhanam through the streets of Tiruvallikkeni.

And we would go home only after seeing the Lord back to the temple, safe and

sound from His outing and after "TiruvandikkAppu" was performed. All these are

indeed indelible imprints on the mind's eye, which enthral me even after 30

years and fill me with sadness that the Lord has chosen to keep me away from all

the fun, frolic and fanfare of His utsavams ever since then.

 

 

 

And it was definitely not my imagination, but the Lord did seem to sport a more

beaming smile on His beautiful countenance when on Tiruveedi purappAdu, than

when He was confined to His temple. The sight of all those devotees, come to

participate in the festival dropping whatever personal or official work they

had, all for His sake, intent on savouring His splendour bit by bit, must have

made Emperuman so happy as to broaden the smirk on His divine visage.

 

 

 

Is there any wonder then that Swami Desikan prefers to have a regular feast of

witnessing the Lord's utsavams at divya desams like Kanchi, rather than a life

of boundless bliss at Sri Vaikuntam? The Acharya doesn't want even to blink

while drinking in the beauty of the deity, for fear of missing one second of

irreplaceable anubhavam.

 

 

 

"Turaga VihagarAja syanadana AndOlikAdishu

 

adhikam adhikam anyAm Atma shObhAm dadhAnam

 

anavadhika vibhootim HastisailEsvaram tvAm

 

anudinam animEshai: lOchanai: nirvisEyam"

 

 

 

"Satyam shapE VAraNa shailanAtha! Vaikuntta vAsEpi na mE abhilAsha"

 

 

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana

Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

dasan, sadagopan