[sri ramanuja] 'Saala-grAmam' .

[Guest guest]

Dear Sirs,

 

I was reading the Pancharatra Pradipa -Supplement to Volume One ( an

ISKCON publication) and these excerpts about Salagrama Sila from Page 60

and 61 are relevant to the current thread.

 

Salagrama Silas are direct form of the Lord who appear in the Kali

Gandaki river, in the Himalayas of the present day Nepal.

 

The Silas most often chosen for worship are the

small,round,black,lustrous ones with a "pitha", a flat surface that

serves as a base. These are most suited to decoration with a crown and

tilaka and are most satisfying for darshana. But if such a Salagrama

Sila is not available,then you may worship any genuine Salagrama Sila.

 

Because the Lord is directly present in all Salagrama Silas,it is

offensive to buy or sell Them or consider Them to have faults.

 

One who puts a price on a Salagrama Sila, one who sells that

Salagrama Sila, and one who agrees to buy the Salagrama Sila for that

price , as well as one who inspects a Salagrama Sila for good qualities

or faults -- all go to hell until the final devastation. (

Visnu-dharmottara,quoted in the Hari-Bakti-Vilasa)

 

Though a Salagrama Sila may be broken,cracked,or chipped,one should

consider it faultless. Thinking of Salagram Sila as perfect or less than

perfect is for persons worshipping with fruitive motives.( Brahma

Purana,quoted in the Hari-Bakti-Vilasa).

 

I understand that the references above are from an ISKCON text which is

not Pramanam in our Sampradayam. But the words above helped me to feel

more awe and reverence for Salagrama Sila.

 

Pardon me for any mistakes I have made.

 

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasan,

Sourirajan

 

 

 

ramanuja, Tirumanjanam Sundara Rajan

<try_surangam wrote:

>

> The 'Saala-grAmam' , as everyone knows, is the 'svayambhu' sacred

fossil stone highly venerated in the worship of Vishnu-Narayana. (The

commentaries of Sri Sankara bhagavat-pAda contain several references to

it.) The name probably comes of the ('Saala-grAmam' gathering) spot

which was marked by a dense growth of the tall 'saala' trees. The fossil

stone is also described in the Purana literature as 'chakra-SilA' and

'sudarSana-SilA', and is held to make for unlimited merit ('puNyam')

when presented or received in all ' vaidika' ceremonies like birth

rites, weddings, funeral rites, pilgrimages etc. The Padma Puraanam

avers that the stone is 'svayam-vyaktam' (sui generis) and hence there

is no pre-requirement of consecration ('pratishThA') for worship. The

Puraanam says,

>

> "Saala-grAma SilA yatra, yatra dvAravatee tathA,

> tulasee-kAnanam yatra, tatra san-nihitO hari:"

>

> [Where there is the Saala-graama stone, or the (marine pre-coral

fossil of) dvAravatee, or the clump of 'tulasee' / basil plants, Hari is

there in established presence.]

>

> 'Rudra' does not stand for 'rough', even though the 'brAhmanam'

contains the declaration, "rudrO vai krUra:" (Rudra is ruthless, cruel).

The name comes of 'rud', meaning to cry and wail. "rudati iti rudra:",

he wails, that is why. Also, "rOdayati iti", he drives people to tears

of agony. "aksha" (seed, nut) is different from "aksharam" (letter of

the alphabet). The explanation contained in the posting given below is

therefore fanciful.

>

> I have noticed in a science shop in the Mall of Charlottesville,

Virginia, USA, very large spiral 'Saala-grAmam' collections on sale. The

English connotation for it is 'ammonite' stone, after the spiral-shaped

horns of the pre-Christian Egyptian deity of that name.

>

> The 'Saala-grAmam' fossil is generally available upstream of river

Gandaki and west of the divya-dESam Muktinath-SaalagrAmam (hymned by

Tirumangai Aazhvaar), but the fossil field is far extensive beyond this

site, almost equal to the Tethys sea which, in a geological upheaval

millions of years ago, threw up the Himalayan range of mountains. The

fossil is also available in the Lahul-Spiti district of the Himachal

Pradesh State and perhaps in the eastern region of Ladakh in Kashmir.

(The name of Tibet, situated in the region, is said to be the popular

form of 'tri-vishtapa' signifying the three-fold geo-layers formed

during the upheaval. The name could well suggest faint racial memories

of the Boar-incarnation, varAha-avatAra, when the Lord dug into the

oceanic depths and hoisted the submerged earth. Hence the name of the

site, Baaramullah, corruption of Varaaha-moolam ~~ this name occurs in

Kalhana's Kashmir chronicle of Raja-tarangini ~~ situated on the Indian

line of control in Kashmir.)

>

> Please do visit the Government of Tamil Nadu handicrafts emporium

'poompukAr' in any city, to buy SPURIOUS 'saala-graamam' stones made of

cement mixed with black dye and stamped with spiral or web design !!!

>

> Best wishes from

> T.S. Sundara Rajan

> (Srirangam)

>

>

> ramanuja, vanamamalai,

 

> "SubaShree Ranganathan" subasri.ranganathan

> Wed, 22 Nov 2006 10:57:03 +0530

> [sri ramanuja] Doubt about Saalagramam

>

>

>

> Dear Devotees,

>

> I am having a doubt about meaning of Saalagrama Silai.

>

> Why it is called Saalagramam.

>

> As I know:

> Rudraaksha means : at it is very rough surface, rudra as Sanskrit word

for Rough,

> It is used to chant or count aksharas,

>

> The combination is Rudraaksha.

>

> So In this manner is there any meaning for Saalagramam also?

>

> Kindly let me know.

>

> aDiyan

> Ranganathan

>