Tirupati Grand Opening Day

[Guest guest]

The 30th morning, someone came to our door requesting my presence in the

purnahuti, the last yajna. As I mentioned before, on the north side of the new

temple there was a large thatched yajna shala. It must have been 90 feet long

and 30 feet wide with palm thatch and toward each end of the roof there was a

window coming out on each side something like you see in an old English

thatched roof. On the main entrance at the eastern side there were the

figurines of two large colorfuly decorated elephants on each side.

 

In the very center of the yajna shala was a large raised platform begining with

four square steps with the green head, four feet, and tail of Kurma coming out

from underneath. Then there were what appeared to be two trapezoids stacked on

one another such that it appeared to have a waist and then again a square

platform at the top. It was quite gaily colored and it was pointed out to me

that there were actually fourteen bands of colors representing the fourteen

worlds. On top of that was the metal Maha Kalash surrounded by so many clay

pots. All were wrapped with threads criss crossing and covered with small harer

nama chadars, garlands, and topped off with mango leaves and brown coconuts.

 

I asked whether these represented the different demigods, remembering the

installation of Krishna Balaram Mandir. No, no! These are Sri Vaisnava

brahmanas and they are very strict. First on the four sides are the

Caturvyuhas, then Keshava, and all the expansions whose name we chant when we

put tilaka. Then it was pointed out that along the walls of the yajna shala

were the demigod pots, all praying for the appearance of the Lord.

 

In front on the eastern side was a large square yajna kunda. Then on the south

side was the half moon, or "D", on the west, round, and on the north, triangle

shaped yajna kundas. Then toward the auspicious northeast corner, another

square one. Behind that was another platform made of bricks smeared with cow

dung and reddish earth on top of which was a typical ISKCON altar, complete

with Radha Krishna, large Giriraja sila, pictures of pancha tattva, six

goswamis, guru parampara, etc. Toward the southeast corner of the central

platform, there was another brick platform smeared with cow dung and reddish

earth with white designs painted on the sides like conch and discus. On top of

this there was elaborate designs made not only with colored rice, but also what

appeared to be semi-precious gems and crystals, with lotus flower in the

center. This was representing Goloka, I was told.

 

Then in the western portion of the yajna shala there were four more large

square kundas, the southermost of which was manned by our own ISKCON panditas

led by Sitalanga Gauranga where our Gaudiya style homans were being performed.

So in all there were nine yajna kundas. Behind these four were two more square

platforms with beautiful white designs painted on the reddish cow dung. On top

of these in the center were a large metal kalashes surrounded by the clay water

pots as described before. One represented the Raja Gopuram and the other the

Vimana.

 

Everywhere there were South Indian brahamanas mostly with their distinctive

sikhas where they shave about two inches back from the forhead and around the

ears and tie all their hair in a bun at the back. Some had sikhas similar to

ours, and all had the white Ramanuja tilaka with the red line in the center on

all the twelve places of their bodies. Some were young, some were old, and most

were quite pot-bellied. They were all led by the head pujari of the Tirumala

temple, a very devoted dark young fellow who was only 31 years old. His name

was Balaji. Everyone's eyes were reddish from the smoke of two days of yajnas.

 

I sat at our ISKCON kunda with a few other sannyasis and devotees and we were

offering homas with 108 Gopala Mantras. Throughout, there was the typical South

Indian ensemble with the wooden mridungas and long wooden horns playing along.

After that we were called to the main yajna kunda. At that point, the chief

priest of the Tirumala Temple, His Holiness Padajiyar Maharaja appeared along

with his assistants. He was an eighty year old short jolly sannyasi carrying

the danda peculiar to Sri Sampradaya, three canes of bamboo tied together at

various places, rather than covered with cloth like ours, and a little white

flag at the top. He came yesterday and was so impressed he again came today.

 

Then they gave each of us a shallow 3 foot basket with some flowers and a red

cloth tied with all kinds of herbs, dried coconut, roots, and other auspicious

things. We carried these on our heads circumabulating the yajna shala and then

we each went to a different yajna kunda. Then this red cloth was tossed into

the yajna kunda with a large rectangular spoon. Then different sets of

brahmanas chanted mantras from the different Vedas. The ones from the Sama Veda

were the most noticeable, being quite different from the other types of

chantings. I later heard there were more than 50 Brahamanas engaged in the

rituals.

 

All the big metal kalashes and other water pots were given to different

devotees to carry. Then the utsava Deities of Radha Govinda, Tirupati Caitanya

Candra, and Laksmi Narasimha were being given to different devotees to carry.

Laksmi Narasimha with is large Ananta Sesa behind was quite heavy and required

two devotees to carry. Someone handed me Gauranga Mahaprabhu who was maybe 30

inches from base to tip of his hands. We then went in a big procession to the

temple room.

 

When we got to the entrance, they stopped us and began offering aratika with

camphor and chanting mantras. Then we chanted our own Gaudiya mantras and

someone started chanting Brahma Samhita. The Deities were getting heavier all

the time. Finally I realized that rather than hold Lord Caitanya up, if I just

let my arms stretch down, then there was no problem. Luckily they only chanted

a few mantras of Brahma Samhita and we were about to start the procession

toward the altar, when someone appeared with a book and started chanting all

the rest of the verses. Balaji came to our rescue and cut him off with some

other mantras and started the procession again. We placed the Deities on a

raised bathing platform in front of the altar. On the the temple floor in front

of the altars there were more than 400 clay pots all wrapped in harer nama

chadars with coconuts on top. There were placed in about 5 different groups.

 

Then the brahmanas began offering all the different upacaras and very devotedly

doing their rituals and chanting their mantras. But there was a palapable

tension in the air. Everyone was waiting for the abhisheka to get going. I have

to admit, I was sitting one step up on the altar and right in the middle and

found myself nodding out. Suddenly Balaji waved his hand for our kirtan party

to start kirtan. Gauravani Prabhu began a rolling beautiful tune and the

tension was broken. Although everyone was sitting down, you could almost see

the devotees were dancing in ecstacy in their hearts. The whole atmosphere

became electric, with ecstacy flowing in all directions as we chanted the holy

names. Padajiyar later remarked to Revati Raman, that your Holy Name is so

powerful, it has cut all our rituals. The Holy Name is the ultimate, and our

rituals are only secondary!

 

Then the abhisheka got going. It was like an assembly line with the pots being

passed forward, someone untied the harer nama chadar and threw them in a basket

where someone was folding them up, and the coconut went in another basket. They

still don't accept Lord Caitanya as the Supreme Lord, so they would always

bathe Govinda, Radha, Laksmi Narasimha, and finally Lord Caitanya. Anyway that

day is coming soon. Today they were seeing what was ISKCON, thousands of

devotees from all over the world, even 45 from China all ecstatically chanting

the Holy Names. Balaji was very devotedly pouring the pots over Their Lordships

with a sweet smile on his face. He looked just like Mother Yashoda bathing her

little Lala. He's a special person indeed.

 

This went on for well over two hours, occasionally punctuated with aratikas

with camphor in a shallow clay pot and the playing of the long wooden horns and

drums. Eventually Radhanatha Swami took over and brought the kirtan to newer

and newer heights. And this was just one abhisheka, the maha abhisheka was to

come the next day!

 

Later in the evening there was netronmilinam or opening the eyes of the Deities

and other ceremonies. Unfortunately after the wonderfully opulent lunch

prasadam, I had gone into deep sleep. Somewhere before midnight, I happened to

awake and realized I missed it. But I still heard kirtan going on. I walked out

to the veranda and someone told me it's still going on. As I stood there,

suddenly there was a wonderful fireworks display. Even if I hadn't woken up

already, that would have woken me up any way. It was quite nice, by Indian

standards, and quite colorful. But after you're spoiled by firework displays in

the west, it left a lot to be desired. None of those ones that go high in the

sky and explode with a sound you feel in your heart, filling the sky with a

huge burst that changes colors as it advances, and you go, "Ooooohhh!" Thus

ended the second day of the Grand Opening of Tirupati Temple.

 

In service of Srimati Vrinda Devi,

Deena Bandhu dasa