Hantha Bhagyam Jananaam!

[Guest guest]

THE GREATNESS OF GURUVAYOOR .

HANTHA BHAGYAM JANANAAM!

 

The

concluding words “ HANTHA BHAGYAM JANANAAM !â€,

(Wonderful indeed, is the fortune of mankind !) of the first sloka of this

great work, NARAYANEEYAM, have become

the watch-word of Guruvayoor, because NARAYANEEYAM,

an epitome of Srimad Bhagavata Mahapuranam 

is identical to the Lord.  

Devotees consider themselves extremely fortunate and blessed even to

have a Darsanam of the Lord, who is the same as Brahman, the Supreme Consciousness.  One can find these words inscribed right at

the entrance of the shrine. 

 

The idol of the Lord at Guruvayoor, supposed to be of

divine origin, is said to have been worshipped by Vasudeva and then by Lord

Krishna Himself at Dwaraka.  Before the

divine ascent of Lord Krishna back to His abode in Vaikunta-loka at the conclusion

of His incarnation, He had instructed Uddhava, His devotee and minister that

this image would come floating when Dwaraka would be engulfed by the sea, after

His departure.  At Uddhava’s behest, Guru

(Brihaspati, the Deva-guru) along with Vayu 

(the Wind-god) looked for a suitable spot, and as instructed by Lord

Siva,  installed  the same at the present location, which later

came to be known as “ GURU-VAYU-OORâ€, meaning the place of Guru and Vayu, the

sanskritised name being “GURU-PAVANA-PURAMâ€. 

As the Divine ascent was at the beginning of Kali-yuga, the temple is

supposed to be about 5,100 years old.  As

the image had its origin at Vaikuntam, devotees consider this shrine as

Vaikuntam on earth, or Bhooloka-Vaikuntam.

 

The following story stands testimony to the antiquity of

the image, as narrated in the Guruvayoor Mahatmyam.

 

[Long time ago, in the period  Swayambhuva Manvantharam, King Suthapas,

along with his spouse Prisni, desirous of begetting a child, did penance  for twelve thousand divine years before the

idol of Lord Vishnu,  given to

them by Lord Brahma.  Immensely pleased

by their devotion, the Lord appeared before them in the form of Lord Vishnu and

asked them to seek any desired boon. 

Filled with great joy and ecstasy on seeing the comely divine form that

appeared, Suthapas prayed thrice with considerable desire: " It would be

good if a son equal to Thee is born " . 

The Lord, lover of devotees that He is, stated: " Only I am equal to

Me.  Therefore, I shall Myself incarnate

as your son, in order to fulfil your desire. 

Since you have repeated your prayer thrice, I shall be assuming the

aspect of your son in three births. "   

Saying thus, the Lord disappeared. 

Not long afterwards, the Lord manifested Himself under the name, "

Prisnigarbha " , as the son of Prisni and Suthapas. 

 

It is the same couple who

were born as Kasyapa and  Adithi in the

next birth.   They also worshipped and

prayed to the same idol of the Lord as in their previous birth.  Thereafter, Adithi, who was very sad at the

plight of their sons, the Devas,  who

were being tormented by the Asuras, observed the austerity known as

" Payovratha " (details of Payovratha are given under the commentary of

Sloka 2, Dasakam 30 which deals with the Vamana Incarnation.) and as a result

of that, the Lord  manifested Himself as

their son, Vamana. 

 

Later, the self-same

couple, in their third birth, were born as Vasudeva and Devaki in the city of Mathura.  Sage Dhoumya presented them with the same

idol of the Lord which was worshipped by them 

in  the earlier births.  Owing to the force of habit or " Vasana " ,

Devaki and Vasudeva worshipped that idol again with unstinted devotion.  The Lord manifested Himself as their son, in

this, their third birth also, as Sri Krishna.  

It was to remind them of the story 

of the two earlier births, that the Lord manifested Himself with the

signs and symbols of Lord Vishnu at the time of His birth. 

 

After slaying Kamsa, the Lord Himself

installed and consecrated at Dwaraka, His own idol, the very same divine idol,

which, in times gone by was given by the Lord to Brahma, by Brahma to

Prisni-Suthapas, then to Adithi-Kasyapa and then to Devaki-Vasudeva. That idol

became the object of worship by all, including the Lord.  Later, at the time of the Ascent of the Lord,

at His own behest, the idol was recovered and reinstalled at the present

location at Guruvayoor by Guru (Bruhaspati or Jupiter) and Pavana (Wind-god)

for worship by those born in Kali- yuga ! Fortunate indeed is mankind!  HANTHA BHAGYAM JANANAAM

]

 

There are numerous

instances which have happened even in the recent past showing the affection of

the Lord of Guruvayur to His devotees. Though many a common man has experienced

these, one or two incidents which occurred in the life of the great devotee,

Sengalipuram Brahmasri Anantharama Dikshitar, whose erudite discourses earned

him the title of “Upanyasa Chakravarti†and whose Tamil commentary on NARAYANEEYAM made this hymn very popular

outside Kerala, are worth mentioning here.

 

In his book titled “SrimanNARAYANEEYAMâ€

in Tamil (First edition, 1960, reprint 1989), at the beginning of his

commentary covering each dasakam, he has narrated his own experiences and

various anecdotes in order to bring out the greatness of the Lord of Guruvayoor

and the efficacy of prayers focused on Him, some of which are shared below:

 

·        

During his discourse at Alatur (Palakad Dt.,

Kerala) during the fifties, Dikshitar expressed his desire to visit the temple

at Guruvayoor, and his host, banker Sri. M.N. Ramaswami Iyer readily agreed to

take him.  He reached Guruvayoor around 7

P.M.  As he reached the temple, a member

of the Cochin

royal family, who was conducting Bhajanas there, and who had not even seen

Dikshitar earlier, came running and conveyed to Sri. Dikshitar that he had told

the devotees present, of his impending Bhagavatam discourses, and they have

been awaiting his arrival since 4 P.M.  

As no advance information was given about his going to Guruvayoor,

Dikshitar was very much surprised at this and on enquiry was told by the member

of the Cochin Royal Family with tears of joy that Guruvayoorappan Himself was

flashing such a thought along with Sri. Dikshitar's image to him from 4 PM.

Needless to say, Dikshitar stayed there for a week and conducted discourses on

Srimad Bhagavatam and NARAYANEEYAM.

 

·        

It was on 4th August 1957, when Sri

Dikshitar found himself without a suitable anecdote for inclusion at the

beginning of a particular dasakam while writing his Tamil commentary on NARAYANEEYAM. Suddenly, the popular

Ghatam Vidwan Alangudi Ramachandran entered and shared his own experience:  Ramachandran's wife had been ailing for a

long time, when a devotee came and told him that if he  vowed to offer ' Pattu Koupeenam’ (Silken

Loin cloth) for bracing the Lord for 7 days, his wife would be cured.    He also said that the Lord might come even

as a messenger. Ramachandran made a vow on the same lines and also gave

Ayurvedic treatment for his wife in Kerala.    

She got completely cured.

 

·        

Similarly a famous doctor's wife had been

ailing since long with paralysis affecting all her limbs below the hip and

crippling her movement.    No medicines

worked. It was then that on crystal glass gazing, they were advised that she

would get cured if a NARAYANEEYAM

Saptaham is conducted in their house. 

They approached Sri. Dikshitar and the Saptaham was rendered.  On the fourth day itself, she could move

around on her own with ease, and she gained steady improvement and got

cured.  This occurred in November 1958.

 

Dikshitar himself appears

to have been cured of a chronic ailment by praying to the Lord of

Guruvayoor---a miracle wrought by the fervent

recitation of NARAYANEEYAM.

 

The above and many

similar anecdotes go to show that the Lord is amidst us, guiding and steering

us ahead.  Let us rededicate ourselves to

selflessly sing in His praise!

 

[Guest guest]

Dear brother,

 

Bhakti is eternal.

 

A fabulous and elaborate description on the subject, in a lucid language.

May God bless you.

Let me also congratulate Brother Leju Pillai for putting the question, which contributed to bring full details of the Lord.

 

With love and regards,

 

Sastry

 

--- On Thu, 8/6/09, K.V Gopalakrishna <gopalakrishna.kv wrote:

K.V Gopalakrishna <gopalakrishna.kv[Guruvayur] Hantha Bhagyam Jananaam!guruvayur Date: Thursday, August 6, 2009, 1:48 PM

 

 

THE GREATNESS OF GURUVAYOOR .

 

HANTHA BHAGYAM JANANAAM!

The concluding words “ HANTHA BHAGYAM JANANAAM !â€, (Wonderful indeed, is the fortune of mankind !) of the first sloka of this great work, NARAYANEEYAM, have become the watch-word of Guruvayoor, because NARAYANEEYAM, an epitome of Srimad Bhagavata Mahapuranam is identical to the Lord. Devotees consider themselves extremely fortunate and blessed even to have a Darsanam of the Lord, who is the same as Brahman, the Supreme Consciousness. One can find these words inscribed right at the entrance of the shrine.

 

The idol of the Lord at Guruvayoor, supposed to be of divine origin, is said to have been worshipped by Vasudeva and then by Lord Krishna Himself at Dwaraka. Before the divine ascent of Lord Krishna back to His abode in Vaikunta-loka at the conclusion of His incarnation, He had instructed Uddhava, His devotee and minister that this image would come floating when Dwaraka would be engulfed by the sea, after His departure. At Uddhava’s behest, Guru (Brihaspati, the Deva-guru) along with Vayu (the Wind-god) looked for a suitable spot, and as instructed by Lord Siva, installed the same at the present location, which later came to be known as “ GURU-VAYU-OORâ€, meaning the place of Guru and Vayu, the sanskritised name being “GURU-PAVANA- PURAMâ€. As the Divine ascent was at the

beginning of Kali-yuga, the temple is supposed to be about 5,100 years old.. As the image had its origin at Vaikuntam, devotees consider this shrine as Vaikuntam on earth, or Bhooloka-Vaikuntam.

 

The following story stands testimony to the antiquity of the image, as narrated in the Guruvayoor Mahatmyam.

 

[Long time ago, in the period Swayambhuva Manvantharam, King Suthapas, along with his spouse Prisni, desirous of begetting a child, did penance for twelve thousand divine years before the idol of Lord Vishnu, given to them by Lord Brahma. Immensely pleased by their devotion, the Lord appeared before them in the form of Lord Vishnu and asked them to seek any desired boon. Filled with great joy and ecstasy on seeing the comely divine form that appeared, Suthapas prayed thrice with considerable desire: "It would be good if a son equal to Thee is born". The Lord, lover of devotees that He is, stated: "Only I am equal to Me. Therefore, I shall Myself incarnate as your son, in order to fulfil your desire.

Since you have repeated your prayer thrice, I shall be assuming the aspect of your son in three births." Saying thus, the Lord disappeared. Not long afterwards, the Lord manifested Himself under the name," Prisnigarbha", as the son of Prisni and Suthapas.

 

It is the same couple who were born as Kasyapa and Adithi in the next birth. They also worshipped and prayed to the same idol of the Lord as in their previous birth. Thereafter, Adithi, who was very sad at the plight of their sons, the Devas, who were being tormented by the Asuras, observed the austerity known as "Payovratha" (details of Payovratha are given under the commentary of Sloka 2, Dasakam 30 which deals with the Vamana Incarnation. ) and as a result of that, the Lord manifested Himself as their son, Vamana.

 

Later, the self-same couple, in their third birth, were born as Vasudeva and Devaki in the city of Mathura. Sage Dhoumya presented them with the same idol of the Lord which was worshipped by them in the earlier births. Owing to the force of habit or "Vasana", Devaki and Vasudeva worshipped that idol again with unstinted devotion. The Lord manifested Himself as their son, in this, their third birth also, as Sri Krishna. It was to remind them of the story of the two earlier births, that the Lord manifested Himself with the signs and symbols of Lord Vishnu at the time of His birth.

 

After slaying Kamsa, the Lord Himself installed and consecrated at Dwaraka, His own idol, the very same divine idol, which, in times gone by was given by the Lord to Brahma, by Brahma to Prisni-Suthapas, then to Adithi-Kasyapa and then to Devaki-Vasudeva. That idol became the object of worship by all, including the Lord. Later, at the time of the Ascent of the Lord, at His own behest, the idol was recovered and reinstalled at the present location at Guruvayoor by Guru (Bruhaspati or Jupiter) and Pavana (Wind-god) for worship by those born in Kali- yuga ! Fortunate indeed is mankind! HANTHA BHAGYAM JANANAAM ]

 

There are numerous instances which have happened even in the recent past showing the affection of the Lord of Guruvayur to His devotees. Though many a common man has experienced these, one or two incidents which occurred in the life of the great devotee, Sengalipuram Brahmasri Anantharama Dikshitar, whose erudite discourses earned him the title of “Upanyasa Chakravarti†and whose Tamil commentary on NARAYANEEYAM made this hymn very popular outside Kerala, are worth mentioning here.

 

In his book titled “SrimanNARAYANEEYAM†in Tamil (First edition, 1960, reprint 1989), at the beginning of his commentary covering each dasakam, he has narrated his own experiences and various anecdotes in order to bring out the greatness of the Lord of Guruvayoor and the efficacy of prayers focused on Him, some of which are shared below:

 

· During his discourse at Alatur (Palakad Dt., Kerala) during the fifties, Dikshitar expressed his desire to visit the temple at Guruvayoor, and his host, banker Sri. M.N. Ramaswami Iyer readily agreed to take him. He reached Guruvayoor around 7 P.M. As he reached the temple, a member of the Cochin royal family, who was conducting Bhajanas there, and who had not even seen Dikshitar earlier, came running and conveyed to Sri. Dikshitar that he had told the devotees present, of his impending Bhagavatam discourses, and they have been awaiting his arrival since 4 P.M.

As no advance information was given about his going to Guruvayoor, Dikshitar was very much surprised at this and on enquiry was told by the member of the Cochin Royal Family with tears of joy that Guruvayoorappan Himself was flashing such a thought along with Sri. Dikshitar's image to him from 4 PM. Needless to say, Dikshitar stayed there for a week and conducted discourses on Srimad Bhagavatam and NARAYANEEYAM.

 

· It was on 4th August 1957, when Sri Dikshitar found himself without a suitable anecdote for inclusion at the beginning of a particular dasakam while writing his Tamil commentary on NARAYANEEYAM. Suddenly, the popular Ghatam Vidwan Alangudi Ramachandran entered and shared his own experience: Ramachandran's wife had been ailing for a long time, when a devotee came and told him that if he vowed to offer ' Pattu Koupeenam’ (Silken Loin cloth) for bracing the Lord for 7 days, his wife would be cured. He also said that the Lord might

come even as a messenger. Ramachandran made a vow on the same lines and also gave Ayurvedic treatment for his wife in Kerala. She got completely cured.

 

· Similarly a famous doctor's wife had been ailing since long with paralysis affecting all her limbs below the hip and crippling her movement. No medicines worked. It was then that on crystal glass gazing, they were advised that she would get cured if a NARAYANEEYAM Saptaham is conducted in their house. They approached Sri. Dikshitar and the Saptaham was rendered. On the fourth day itself, she could move around on her own with ease, and she gained steady improvement and got cured. This occurred in November 1958.

 

Dikshitar himself appears to have been cured of a chronic ailment by praying to the Lord of Guruvayoor-- -a miracle wrought by the fervent recitation of NARAYANEEYAM.

 

The above and many similar anecdotes go to show that the Lord is amidst us, guiding and steering us ahead. Let us rededicate ourselves to selflessly sing in His praise!

 

[Guest guest]

HARI AUM

 

Getting to know the blessing - HANTHA BHAGYAM JANANAAM! - itself is a blessing and when reminded with real experiences deepens the sweetness beyond any measure.

 

We hope to recieve more of such deightful stories as your time and health permits.

 

Regards

 

Balagopal

 

NARAYANA NARAYANA NARAYANA

 

Looking for local information? Find it on Local

[Guest guest]

Dear Balagopalji,Radhe Krishna!I should have been posting many many more like this.   Presently I am in a Sapthaham at the Radhakrishna Temple at Sanjay Nagar.  I am also too busy preparing the second edition of the Bhaktaranjini Commentary.

I shall certainly be back at the service of the Lord  and the Bhaktas at the earliest.LoveKVG.On Fri, Aug 7, 2009 at 11:38 AM, balagopal ramakrishnan <rbalpal wrote:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HARI AUM

 

Getting to know the blessing - HANTHA BHAGYAM JANANAAM! - itself is a blessing and  when reminded with real experiences deepens the sweetness beyond any measure.

 

We hope to recieve more of such deightful stories as your time and health permits.

 

Regards

 

Balagopal

 

NARAYANA NARAYANA NARAYANA 

 

Looking for local information? Find it on Local

[Guest guest]

Hari Om!

 

Respected KVGji

 

It is nice to know you are participating in the Bhagavatha Sapthaham in Radhakrishna Temple.  May Lord shower all his blessings on you and give you enough and more strength to complete it successfully.

 

By the way, loads of thanks for giving a detailed explanation about " Hantha Bhagyam Jananam " .

 

Best regards

2009/8/7 K.V Gopalakrishna <gopalakrishna.kv

 

 

 

 

Dear Balagopalji,Radhe Krishna!I should have been posting many many more like this.   Presently I am in a Sapthaham at the Radhakrishna Temple at Sanjay Nagar.  I am also too busy preparing the second edition of the Bhaktaranjini Commentary.

I shall certainly be back at the service of the Lord  and the Bhaktas at the earliest.LoveKVG.

On Fri, Aug 7, 2009 at 11:38 AM, balagopal ramakrishnan <rbalpal wrote:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HARI AUM

 

Getting to know the blessing - HANTHA BHAGYAM JANANAAM! - itself is a blessing and  when reminded with real experiences deepens the sweetness beyond any measure.

 

We hope to recieve more of such deightful stories as your time and health permits.

 

Regards

 

Balagopal

 

NARAYANA NARAYANA NARAYANA 

 

 

Looking for local information? Find it on Local

 

 

 

-- Best regardsJayasree MenonBangalore+9900149461my blog link: http://www.pythrukam.blogspot.com/--

A well-thought out plan, execution excellence, market timing, personal leadership are drivers of the growth   trajectory.

[Guest guest]

Respected KVG ji, Viswanathan ji, AK ji, Achuthan nair ji, Indu ji, Dr. Sastry ji

and other dear Devotees.,

Thank you for explaining the valuable details of HANTHA BAGYAM JANANAM! The holy sentence was very familiar but the source and the meaning and other details are very new to me.

And special thanks to KVG sir for the history of King Suthapas, Prisni devi & Sri Prisnigarbha / Maharshi Kasyapa, Adithi devi, Sri Vamana / Sri Vasudeva, Devaki devi & Sri Krishna. Let us hear & be blessed with more puranams like this.

Good Luck & God Bless to All

 

Regards

Leju, --- On Thu, 8/6/09, Dr.B.G.Y Sastry <drbgysastry wrote:

Dr.B.G.Y Sastry <drbgysastryRe: [Guruvayur] Hantha Bhagyam Jananaam!guruvayur Date: Thursday, August 6, 2009, 8:31 PM

 

 

 

 

 

Dear brother,

 

Bhakti is eternal.

 

A fabulous and elaborate description on the subject, in a lucid language.

May God bless you.

Let me also congratulate Brother Leju Pillai for putting the question, which contributed to bring full details of the Lord.

With love and regards, Sastry

--- On Thu, 8/6/09, K.V Gopalakrishna <gopalakrishna. kv (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:

K.V Gopalakrishna <gopalakrishna. kv (AT) gmail (DOT) com>[Guruvayur] Hantha Bhagyam Jananaam!guruvayur@grou ps.comThursday, August 6, 2009, 1:48 PM

 

 

THE GREATNESS OF GURUVAYOOR .

 

HANTHA BHAGYAM JANANAAM!

The concluding words “ HANTHA BHAGYAM JANANAAM !â€, (Wonderful indeed, is the fortune of mankind !) of the first sloka of this great work, NARAYANEEYAM, have become the watch-word of Guruvayoor, because NARAYANEEYAM, an epitome of Srimad Bhagavata Mahapuranam is identical to the Lord. Devotees consider themselves extremely fortunate and blessed even to have a Darsanam of the Lord, who is the same as Brahman, the Supreme Consciousness. One can find these words inscribed right at the entrance of the shrine.

 

The idol of the Lord at Guruvayoor, supposed to be of divine origin, is said to have been worshipped by Vasudeva and then by Lord Krishna Himself at Dwaraka. Before the divine ascent of Lord Krishna back to His abode in Vaikunta-loka at the conclusion of His incarnation, He had instructed Uddhava, His devotee and minister that this image would come floating when Dwaraka would be engulfed by the sea, after His departure. At Uddhava’s behest, Guru (Brihaspati, the Deva-guru) along with Vayu (the Wind-god) looked for a suitable spot, and as instructed by Lord Siva, installed the same at the present location, which later came to be known as “ GURU-VAYU-OORâ€, meaning the place of Guru and Vayu, the sanskritised name being “GURU-PAVANA- PURAMâ€. As the Divine ascent was at the

beginning of Kali-yuga, the temple is supposed to be about 5,100 years old.. As the image had its origin at Vaikuntam, devotees consider this shrine as Vaikuntam on earth, or Bhooloka-Vaikuntam. The following story stands testimony to the antiquity of the image, as narrated in the Guruvayoor Mahatmyam. [Long time ago, in the period Swayambhuva Manvantharam, King Suthapas, along with his spouse Prisni, desirous of begetting a child, did penance for twelve thousand divine years before the idol of Lord Vishnu, given to them by Lord Brahma. Immensely pleased by their devotion, the Lord appeared before them in the form of Lord Vishnu and asked them to seek any desired boon. Filled with great joy and ecstasy on seeing the comely divine form that appeared, Suthapas prayed thrice with considerable desire: "It would be good if a son equal to Thee is born". The Lord, lover of devotees that He is, stated: "Only I am equal to Me. Therefore, I shall Myself incarnate as your son, in order to fulfil your desire.

Since you have repeated your prayer thrice, I shall be assuming the aspect of your son in three births." Saying thus, the Lord disappeared. Not long afterwards, the Lord manifested Himself under the name," Prisnigarbha" , as the son of Prisni and Suthapas.

It is the same couple who were born as Kasyapa and Adithi in the next birth. They also worshipped and prayed to the same idol of the Lord as in their previous birth. Thereafter, Adithi, who was very sad at the plight of their sons, the Devas, who were being tormented by the Asuras, observed the austerity known as "Payovratha" (details of Payovratha are given under the commentary of Sloka 2, Dasakam 30 which deals with the Vamana Incarnation. ) and as a result of that, the Lord manifested Himself as their son, Vamana.

Later, the self-same couple, in their third birth, were born as Vasudeva and Devaki in the city of Mathura. Sage Dhoumya presented them with the same idol of the Lord which was worshipped by them in the earlier births. Owing to the force of habit or "Vasana", Devaki and Vasudeva worshipped that idol again with unstinted devotion. The Lord manifested Himself as their son, in this, their third birth also, as Sri Krishna. It was to remind them of the story of the two earlier births, that the Lord manifested Himself with the signs and symbols of Lord Vishnu at the time of His birth.

After slaying Kamsa, the Lord Himself installed and consecrated at Dwaraka, His own idol, the very same divine idol, which, in times gone by was given by the Lord to Brahma, by Brahma to Prisni-Suthapas, then to Adithi-Kasyapa and then to Devaki-Vasudeva. That idol became the object of worship by all, including the Lord. Later, at the time of the Ascent of the Lord, at His own behest, the idol was recovered and reinstalled at the present location at Guruvayoor by Guru (Bruhaspati or Jupiter) and Pavana (Wind-god) for worship by those born in Kali- yuga ! Fortunate indeed is mankind! HANTHA BHAGYAM JANANAAM ] There are numerous instances which have happened even in the recent past showing the affection of the Lord of Guruvayur to His devotees. Though many a common man has experienced these, one or two incidents which occurred in the life of the great devotee, Sengalipuram Brahmasri Anantharama Dikshitar, whose erudite discourses earned him the title of “Upanyasa Chakravarti†and whose Tamil commentary on NARAYANEEYAM made this hymn very popular outside Kerala, are worth mentioning here. In his book titled “SrimanNARAYANEEYAM†in Tamil (First edition, 1960, reprint 1989), at the beginning of his commentary covering each dasakam, he has narrated his own experiences and various anecdotes in order to bring out the greatness of the Lord of Guruvayoor and the efficacy of prayers focused on Him, some of which are shared below:

· During his discourse at Alatur (Palakad Dt., Kerala) during the fifties, Dikshitar expressed his desire to visit the temple at Guruvayoor, and his host, banker Sri. M.N. Ramaswami Iyer readily agreed to take him. He reached Guruvayoor around 7 P.M. As he reached the temple, a member of the Cochin royal family, who was conducting Bhajanas there, and who had not even seen Dikshitar earlier, came running and conveyed to Sri. Dikshitar that he had told the devotees present, of his impending Bhagavatam discourses, and they have been awaiting his arrival since 4 P.M.

As no advance information was given about his going to Guruvayoor, Dikshitar was very much surprised at this and on enquiry was told by the member of the Cochin Royal Family with tears of joy that Guruvayoorappan Himself was flashing such a thought along with Sri. Dikshitar's image to him from 4 PM. Needless to say, Dikshitar stayed there for a week and conducted discourses on Srimad Bhagavatam and NARAYANEEYAM. · It was on 4th August 1957, when Sri Dikshitar found himself without a suitable anecdote for inclusion at the beginning of a particular dasakam while writing his Tamil commentary on NARAYANEEYAM. Suddenly, the popular Ghatam Vidwan Alangudi Ramachandran entered and shared his own experience: Ramachandran' s wife had been ailing for a long time, when a devotee came and told him that if he vowed to offer ' Pattu Koupeenam’ (Silken Loin cloth) for bracing the Lord for 7 days, his wife would be cured. He also said that the Lord might

come even as a messenger. Ramachandran made a vow on the same lines and also gave Ayurvedic treatment for his wife in Kerala. She got completely cured. · Similarly a famous doctor's wife had been ailing since long with paralysis affecting all her limbs below the hip and crippling her movement. No medicines worked. It was then that on crystal glass gazing, they were advised that she would get cured if a NARAYANEEYAM Saptaham is conducted in their house. They approached Sri. Dikshitar and the Saptaham was rendered. On the fourth day itself, she could move around on her own with ease, and she gained steady improvement and got cured. This occurred in November 1958.

Dikshitar himself appears to have been cured of a chronic ailment by praying to the Lord of Guruvayoor-- -a miracle wrought by the fervent recitation of NARAYANEEYAM.

The above and many similar anecdotes go to show that the Lord is amidst us, guiding and steering us ahead. Let us rededicate ourselves to selflessly sing in His praise!