[RamanujaMission] Saligramam articles - 2

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Shri:

 

Shrimathe gopala desika mahaadesikaya nama:

 

 

 

Pancha thrimshaadikai: pancha shathai: pancha sahasrakai: saaligraama:

 

Saaligraama murthies are of various kinds. There are totally 5535 types of

aaligraamams. Amongst these 513 are the best ones - so says the Prameya

ratnaakaram. Though we often say " saalagraamam " , " saaligraamam " is the right

term, as told in the Paaraananda sutram, the tantric book. The connotation

of the word Saaligraama is as follows :-

 

Shaalaya: ishwara: thaeshaam shaaliinam graama bhhoothoyam

 

prasthara: tasmaath saaligraama:

 

athavaa

 

saalaya: sushaa: ganaa: theshaam graama: tasmath saaligraama:

 

Saalaya: denotes

 

One who is capable of doing everything i.e. the avataaras of MahaVishnu in

the orm of vyuha, vibhava, antaryami, archa and the archa rupas in the divya

deshas

>>graama: denotes a group of these.

 

>>Saaligraama together connotes a group of all the above mentioned forms of

Mhavishnu. This is a small stone found in the Gandaki river.

 

>>Saaligraama is a place where all the forms of the Lord take sannidhyam

(are found together) as one and benedict the worshipper.

 

Saaligraama can also be understood as a collection of thousands of small

stones which are endowed with divinity.

 

nityam sannidhi: yetaasu parasya paramaatmana:

 

na pratishta vidhhaathavyaa na chaiva aavaahanaadhaya:

 

na aavaahanam na pratishta na shaanthi: na eva nishkriti:

 

dugdhena snaapayaeth bramhan sparshaadhyai: dooshithaa yadhi

 

The Lord Purushottama takes nitya sannidhaanam in the saaligraamam. Unlike,

igraha murthies this shila does not require Prashitaapana or consecration.>

>One need not perform the aavahana of Swarupas like Rama, Krishna in this

urthy. Shaanthi and rituals for correction of doshas need not to be

performed. Ifany ashudhdham - transgression of code of conduct towards the

saaligraama murty- occurs, it suffices to perform thirumanjanam to the

saaligraamam with cow' milk - these are told in Paadma Samhita and Vishnu

tilak samhita.>

Mantra upachaara vidhhibhi: heenamapi asya poojanam>

muktim dadhaathi saaroopyam dashapoorvai: dashaapari:

yaa kaapi murthi: sampoojya gandakii sambhava shila

There is no rule that only certain vishnu murthies amongst the saaligraamas

have to be worshipped. Whatever may be the murthy, if it has been taken out

of the river Gantaki, then it is fit for aaradhanam. However, if it has a

chakra mark on it, it is special.

 

Chaandilya smriti says that Saaligraama Aaradhanam assures moksha to the

performer and all the people who belong to generations preceding and

anteceding the performer upto a maximum of ten generations, above and below

that of the performer; this holds good even if the saaligrama aaraadhanam is

performed with some blemishes like omitting an act or mantra or a prayoga.

 

Generally, Lord in the Archa murthy has a lot of saulabhyam; especially so

in saaligraama murthies, in which saulabhyam is maximum. Hence, we pray to

Naaraayana that more and more people perform saaligraama aaradhana everyday

without fail.

 

Narayana narayana narayana

 

The above is a translation of the article in Tamil by HH Paravakottai Swami

of Prakrutam Aandavan of Poundarikapuram Ashramam, SriRangam