My foot

[Guest guest]

Dear bakthAs

 

We all have seen in many Indian films that whenever the heroin

enters(after the usual wedding) her inlaws house her inlaws(mother in

law in particular) invites her and say " valadhu kAlay yeduthu vachu

vulla vAmA "

 

That is to say she invites her daughter in law .as follows .. " please

step in with first your right leg in to our house. "

 

The above is also is in practice in almost all houses even now.

 

Now there is a deep significance to this.

 

Let us see how this is related to SriVaishnava nithya karmAnushtAnams..

 

In the morning when a prapaNa gets up he does the usual chanting of

slokAs while sitting on the bed.

then he keep his LEFT foot first on the ground and then recites as follows

 

" namosthu priyadhathAya....... pAdha sparsam kshamasva " ithyadhi slokams..

 

That is in essence he prays to bhOmE pirAti " Oh mother earth please

pardon me for stepping on you " and praises her..

 

Now dharma sAsthrAs say whenever there is a sankalpam or thought or

desire for a " jayam " .. that is victory or mangalam one has to step with

his left foot first and whenever someone is in submission one must

first use his right leg to step.

 

See the relevance of the same here in a prapanA's nithya karmAnushtAnam..

 

Whenever he gets up after reciting the necesary slokams as many of us

know.. a prapanA then prays to mother earth to pardon him for stepping

on her and requests her assent and grace to him to have a victorious

joyful day with no obstacle for his kainkaryams (that is

nithyakarmAnushtAnams (sandhyAvandhanam bramha yagnam bagavath arAdhanam

etc)) so he uses his left foot first.

 

Now observe a srivaishnAva (prapaNa) when he enters his achAryans

thirumAligai (house) or a dhivya dhesam or perumal aRai (room) he first

steps in with hisRIGHT foot.

 

This signifies humility submission respect inability. veneration etc..

 

Now adiyen wont mention why a woman must step in always with her right

leg first in to her inlaws house as adiyen is well aware of recations

from them -

 

It is left to each and every individual (men) bakthAs here in the list

which foot to use when they enter their inlaws place and yes it depends

on the situation as adiyen can here someone saying so -

 

But if someone questions you about the usage of right and left foot

please bear the above in mind.

 

regards

venkatarAghava dhAsan