Fw: The Ganga kAveri Debate-1

[Guest guest]

The GangA kAVeri Debate

 

adiyEan's recent visit to the Holy Badrinath Shrine took me along the ganges at Haridhwar, Rishikesh, Devaprayag, Rudraparayag, karnaprayag, Nandaprayag , VishNuprayag.

 

One thing we could not miss was the reverence the gAnges commanded and the temples dedicated to her. The evening Harathi at Rishikesh and Haridwar, paying obesience to the river is indeed a scene to be watched. It reflects the dedication of the people and the emotional attachment.

 

The picture of people thronging the haridwar and Rishikesh during the evening hArathi:

 

http://www.pbase.com/svami/the-ganges

 

 

Every DeepAvali invariably some of my relatives ring up early long before sunrise and wake me up and shoot the typical question "GangA snAnam AchA?'

 

Did you have bath in the sacred Ganges? Though, we all are away from the Ganges, the fact that Ganges cleanses us from all the sins is the emphasis here.

Even the word Ganges is effective to obliterate the bad effects says PeriyAzvAr

 

"Gangai -Gangai enRa vAsagathAlEa kadu vinai kaLaindhigiRkum .." 4-7-1 of PeriyAzvAr Thirumozhi;

Why is it so?

 

The very origin of Ganges itself elevates her to this esteemed position. When the Lord Thrivikraman measured the Worlds with His divine feet, BrahmA cleansed the feet -the divine pAdha pUjAi- with water which flowed down and was happily taken by ShivA on his head. No cock and bull story.

 

Here is periyAzvAr narrating this event precisely and bringing the scene to our front

 

' chadumugan kayil -chaduppuyan thALil -sankaran sadayinil thangi

kadhir muga mani koNDizhi punal gangai.." 4-7-3;

 

Sri PeriyAzvAr had talked high of Gangai all along the pAsuram-s dedicated to kaNDam ennum kadi nagar at Devap Prayagai.

 

 

Sri KUlasEkarazvAr who underlines the fact that Gangai bathing is a goal in itself can be equated only with the bhAgavatha thiruvadi

 

'gangai nEr kudaindhAdum VEATkai ennAvadhEa" This is PerumAL ThiruMozhi 2-2;

 

Thirumangai Aazhwar is no exception. He reiterates the fact that the ganges which was in the heavens came down with the great efforts of bageerathan

 

'thavam purindhuyarndha mAmuni koNarndha gangayin karai mEal vadhari AsramthuLLAnEa" Periya Thirumozhi 1-4-8 and stresses the importance of Gangai in each and every pAsuram of this thriumozhi

'vAnavar vaNangum gangaiyin karai mEal'

 

The picture of the ganges flowing at the footsteps of the Holy Badrinath Shrine

http://www.pbase.com/svami/image/60995949/original

 

'mandhirathizhindha gangaiyin karai mEal and so on.

 

That Ganges does not represent us just conceputally but also begot issue and commenced the great lineage of bhEshmA is no secret.

 

No doubt the Ganges is being revered and considered very sacred -the source being the Lord's divine feet. What else can one ask for?

 

NOthing else can be at par then with the ganges, is it not so?

 

I hear somebody is murmuring the word 'kAveri-thiru-kAveri'

 

that we shall discuss in the ensuing part

 

adiyean

vanamamalai padmanabhan