The Bachelor and the Bridegroom

[Guest guest]

Kuralappan

 

It was a unique procession. The bride was being brought to Srirangam in a

palanquin. The entourage was huge, headed by the one and only Periazhwar, soon

to be " ...svashuram amaravandhyam ranganathasya sakshath... " the genuine or

obvious, father in law of the God of gods, Ranganatha. The lovely bride got down

on the banks of the Kaveri, worshipped her and was then taken towards the

Temple. She again got down at a nearby sanctum where her favorite deity was

ensconced. She was very young and could not have been tall. The deity in the

sanctum too was renowned for His lack of height. Her works were hailed as " vedam

anaithukkum vithu " the seed of all Vedas. He too was like an acorn that hides

within it a huge tree. As the Adikavi describes in Ramayana-Bala Kanda: Udake

sprashta mathre tu visvarupa dharo Harih... Hari assumed the humongous form of

the cosmos - Trivikrama, as soon as the water touched Him. It was from this

sanctum that the lovely daughter of Periazhwar, Andal, proceeded to the sanctum

sanctorum of Sri Ranganatha and was seen no more.

She sings of both Kuralappan and the Lord of Srirangam who reposes on the

serpent bed in the same stanza, the 5th of the eleventh decad of Nachiyar

Tirumozhi, viz.

 

Pollakkural uruvay porr kaiyil neer etru

ella ulagam alandhu konda emperuman

Nallargal vazhum naliraranga naganaiyan

illathom kaiporulum ezhudavan odhu ulle

 

The Lord took water from Bali's palms; in one stride he took the world as well.

Living amid good people in Arangam, he plans to plunder us poor folk now.

The Srirangam " koil olugu " has this to say about this temple " ... since time

immemorial, on the northern bank of the holy southern Kaveri this has been the

sandhyvandana mattam " .The Olugu also adds that " ...Thiru Kuralappan

puranasiddham... " Thiru Kuralappan is mentioned in the Puranas. it is believed

that Vamana's sacred thread investiture " poonal " ceremony was held here. Even

today it is considered most appropriate to have " poonal " ceremonies of young

boys done here. This hoary temple is situated about ten metres from the

magnificient southern tower of the Sri Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam. In

the perpetual shadow of the gigantic Rajagopuram built by the 44th Jeeyar of Sri

Ahobila Math, the sanctum of Thiru Kuralappan is managed not by the Sri

Ranganathaswamy Devasthanam but by a clan, " Srirangam Rayaguru yezhu

Thirumaligai Tathacharyars " . For centuries this has been so and it pains us to

state that the present condition of this important temple leaves much to be

desired. The sincerity and depth of devotion of the present trustee in charge of

the temple is beyond question but it is obvious that funds are wanting.

When Thirumangaiazhwar got the consent for the original ten day

" adhyayanauthsavam " (it was named thus, later) from Lord Ranganatha, he requested

Sri Madhurakaviazhwar to come to Srirangam accompanying the icon of Sri

Nammazhwar. When Sri Madhurakaviazhwar, with his precious burden, reached

Srirangam, Thirumangaiazhwar rushed to welcome the group at the sanctum of Thiru

Kuralappan which in those days was on the northern banks of the Kaveri. Now a

days Kaveri is approximately 1.2 kms away. This was also called the

sandhyavandhana mattam as it was used for the prescribed daily chores by

Brahmins. The Srirangam Koil Olugu informs us that this temple used to get

submerged annually due to Kaveri being in spate. In 1198 during the reign of

Kulothunga III, the great Kuranarayanajeeyar changed the course of the mighty

Kaveri and since then this temple has stayed above the high water level.

This hallowed site associated with Periazhwar, Andal, Sri Madhurakaviazhwar and

Thirumangaiazhwar houses the sanctum of our Lord in the form of Vamana, the

dwarf. Being centuries old and without proper maintenance it is in a pitiable

state today.

The entrance is anything but imposing. In fact it is often missed. A flower

vendor has set up shop there along with a dealer in old books. One enters the

premises and is taken by surprise by a huge hall with supporting columns, a

mandapa. Directly to the west is the sanctum sanctorum. Just before that, to the

south is an ill lit sanctum of Kamalavalli Thayar. After securing Her blessings

we stand in front of Sri Kuralappan.The archaka mama kindly invites us inside to

a ardha mandapa of sorts. Our Lord stands facing east and has two arms and as

usual has a winsome " thirumukham " visage and beautiful eyes and holds a closed

umbrella high in His left hand. It reminds us of the Parijata flower held by

Veera Anjaneya in the Tiruppaanazhwar sannidhi in the Temple. He sports a tuft,

sikha, and low in His right hand our Lord has a kamandalam, a kettle like

spouted vessel. These two appurtenances are a must for a bala brahmachari, a

young celibate and our Lord who is a thespian par excellence played the role

perfectly. Down to His left is an icon of Sridevi in a standing posture. Our

world weary eyes search thirstily for Andal but she is not to be seen. When

asked the archaka directs our attention to the southwest corner. Light is poor

and we can barely make out a small icon of Godha Devi.

The utsavar is Lord Vardharajan with Sri and Bhoomi devi. Garuda stands in a

submissive posture down to the left. Hanuman is absent and this is the first

time we see Garuda on the left. We drink in Vamana through our eyes and come

out. Lot of surprises are in store.

As we come out, to our left is a small enclave where there are three icons of

preceptors, acharyas. It is their descendants who manage this temple. One

utsavar ,processional icon of " kotikannikathanam Lakshmikumara tatha Desikan "

and two mulavars are to be seen. They originally belonged to Kanci hence the

presence of Lord Vardharajan in the sanctum. These ancient acharyas were

preceptors of repute, hence there presence, which again is not common.

To the right is another unusual sight. Six great acharyas are lined up in the

form of an inverted L.. On the southern limb we have Nammazhwar, Nathamuni and

Alavandar. On the western limb of the L we see, surprise of surprises, Peria

Tirumalai Nambi and Thiru Kurugaipiran Pillan and of course Vedanta Desika.

This may be the only site in Srirangam, where one can behold Peria Tirumalai

Nambi and his son Thiru Kurugaipiran Pillan. Of course we may be wrong. We come

to know that Peria Tirumalai Nambi and Thiru Kurugaipiran Pillan were the

original acharyas of the the family that runs this temple. We contemplate on

these two greats, pere et fils, intimately associated with Udayavar. Peria

Tirumalai Nambi was Ramanuja's preceptor who taught him the Ramayana in all its

esoteric details. Pillan was Ramanuja's disciple, nay his " manasika putra "

intellectual son, so to say. Nambi's(Sri Saila Purna) service to the Lord of

Tirumala is the stuff of legends. Pillan was authorised by Ramanuja to pen the

first ever commentary, the " aarayirapadi " - the six thousand - on Nammazhwar's

Tiruvaimozhi. He did it in heavily Sanskritised Tamil called Manipravala and

was also the first Ubhaya Vedantha Simhasanadipathi, the occupant of the throne

of the dual streams consisting of the Tamil prabhandas of the Azhwars and the

Sanskrit Vedas and its accessories.

We come out into the main hall and find that the base of a nearby pillar to the

south is covered with cloth. A stone plaque above proclaims " Bhadra Narasimhar " .

In the poor illumination try as we may we are not able to make out the details

of " ...Nrsimham Bheeshanam Badram... " Once again the kind archaka peels away the

cloth and we are blessed by the sight of Nrisimha emerging out of a split

pillar. This again is unusual. To the best of our meagre knowledge there is no

other " Bhadra Narasimhar " rushing out of a cloumn in Srirangam. Srirangam is

literally filled with Nrismhas of various sizes and shapes but none like this.

After worshipping the peerless Man-lion our attention is drawn towards another

black stone slab filled with Tamil script. We rush to it thinking it may be

" paasurams " from the Divya Prabhanda. To our shock it reads like a legal

document, a court order in fact, dated somewhere in the early part of the last

century. This again is the first time we are reading an forensic edict in a

SriVaishnava temple. Wonders will never cease!

We leave the hall by its southern portal to circumambulate the sanctum

sanctorum. We are nonplussed to see that though there is path it is blocked by

a wall in the west. We are told that many families have set up homes there and

rent owed to the temple is rarely if ever paid. The rent is ridiculously low,

belonging to an era three quarters of a century ago. Suits have been filed and

as usual the sightless Lady with the scales is taking her own sweet time to

decide. In the mean time the temple is slowly decaying.

This is the status of a sacred sanctum associated with the likes of Periazhwar,

Andal, Sri Madhurakaviazhwar and Thirumangaiazhwar.

The Lord of lords, Namperumal visits this site yearly but the cool grace of His

" kataksha " sight, is yet to fall on this temple. Here is to hoping that this

temple will soon regain its past splendour and grandeur .

 

The following has been taken from a brochure issued on the occasion of the

investiture of the idol of Lakshmikumara Tathadesikan at the ThiruKuralappan

temple on 25 Nov 1998. The brochure has a " srimukham " by HH Parvakottai Andavan

of Srimath Poundrikapuram Srimath Andavan Ashrama, Srirangam. Sri U.Ve.

Thirumanjanam Sundarrajan has written the article. The translation of Azhwars'

paasurams are taken from the book by Srirama Bharathi.

 

Among the ten well known incarnations of Sriman Narayana the fifth in Kritha

yuga is actually a " two in one " Vamana-Trivikrama avatara. Vamana means

handsome. This handsome celibate " brahmachari " stands at the southern entrance

to the great town of Srirangam. The path from here traversing the seven

ramparts leads to the " pranavaakara vimana " wherein is ensconced the Supreme

made of " suddha sattva " as the effulgent Azaghiamanavalan-Namperumal- the

handsome bridegroom ,our Lord. The bachelor leads to the bridegroom.

It is well known that Sri Rama gifted his family treasure, kula dhana, to

Vibishana for services rendered. This gift nonpareil was none other than

SriRanganatha in the pranavakara vimana. On the way back to Lanka, as per the

wishes of our Lord, Vibishana stationed Him on the Sesha peetha on the island in

the Kaveri, now famous as Peria Koil.

From the Padma Purana, in the first Srishti kanda, we learn that once Sri Rama

visited Lanka when Vibishana was ruling.When the much delighted Vibishana was

attending to Sri Rama, Vayu the Wind

god came and requested Rama to transfer and install an icon of Vamana, which

was very dear to Mahabali and worshipped daily by him, to Kanyakubja.

Ihaasthi Vaishnavimoorthih poorva baddho Baliryaya

Tham nayasva mahabagh Kanyakubje Pratishtya

Accordingly Sri Rama duly worshipped Vamana and took the icon in His Pushpaka

vimana to Mathura where His younger brother the peerless Shatrugna was ruling.

SriRama then installed the deity as per scriptural edicts at the nearby Mahodaya

on the bank of the Ganges and also appointed priests for daily worship. In

March 1978 at Meerut, Mavanna a magnificient idol of Vamana was excavated and

can be seen in the state museum at Mathura, UP.

Thus in return to being gifted Ranganatha, Vibishana gave SriRama the icon of

Vamana which had come to him generations after being worshipped by Mahabali

himself. As if to remind us of Vibishana's yet another service to SriRama our

Lord seems to have set up the sanctum of Kuralappan at the very gate of

Srirangam. After all Ranganatha and Rama are one.

The two unequalled benefits of Vamana-Trivikrama avatara are 1. the descent of

Ganges as Vishnupadi when Trivikrama's ascendant foot was washed by Brahma in

Satya loka and 2. our Lord's boon to Mahabali that " ... Deepavali, the festival

of lights will for ever be celebrated in thy memory... Deepapradan namaso tav

bhavi mahotsavah " .

Sri Vedanta Desika hailed Thiru Kuralappan as " raksha vamana " and the creator of

Gita-Govinda, Jayadeva extolled Him as " adbhuta vamana " .

The greatness of Thiru Kuralappan has been well delineated in Ramayana and

Periazhwar's hymns.

Dont be fooled by his lack of height and youth, remember He recaptured the three

worlds from Mahabali.

" Baloyam ithi vignyay na chavgnyatumarhasi, balena Vishnuna lokastrayah krantasi

trivikramaih "

Almost identically Periazhwar says the same " Siriyennru enelansingathai ikhayel

kanday sirumaiyin varthathaiyai mavaliyidaichenru kel " . As Yasodha who is trying

to feed Krishna he cautions the moon high in the sky " dont ridicule my lion cub

for His smallness, to know the consequence of His smallness go and ask

Mahabali " .

The " Guru-parampara-prabhava " informs us that the great Thirumangaiazhwar by

singing a hymn on his favourite Vamana, subdued the arrogance of one of another

creed.

 

Orukuralay irunilam muvadi manvendi ulagaanaithum eeradiyalodukki

Onrum tharukavena mavaliyaic chiraiyil vaithu thadalan thalnaiveer

Thakkakirthi arumaraiyin thiralnangum velviainthum angangalvaiarrum isaikelezhum

Theruvilmali vizhavalmum sirakkum kazhisiramvinnagare serminire

 

One day this two feet tall manikin came and asking for three steps He measured

the whole earth. For the third step He Mahabali king rule of the nether world

benevolently.

With the sound of Vedas four, sacrfices five, six angas,seven svaras He resides

in streets filled with gaiety in festive Kali Seerama Vinnagar, O people, go to.

 

Peria Tirumoli 3-4-1.

 

The Katopanishad says " ... madhye Vamanam aasinam nityayuktha upasathe " Vamana

situated in the middle is always being worshipped by His devotees. He is far

more important than the upwardly mobile " prana " and the downward traversing

" apana " in the body of all.

Like Andal, Thirumangaiazhwar worshipping at the feet of the Lord of

Thiruvarangam refers to Thiru Kuralappan

Pandu ivvaiyamallapaan sendru mavali kaiyil neeru kondu

Aazhithadakai Kuralan idamenparal

Vandupadum mathuvarpunal vandhizhi kaveri

Andanatrumpozhil soozhundhu azhagar tenaranagame

 

Oh they say the Southern Arangam, -- surrounded by waters that flow through

beautiful groves wafting their fragrance everywhere, buzzing with bees that

drink nectar and sing,-- is the abode of the discus weilding Lord who came as a

manikin to Mabali's sacrifice and took the Earth as a gift from him.

 

Peria Tirumoli 5-4-3.

Thirumazhisai Piran emphasises that the Handsome Vamana as Thiru Kuralappan, who

has stationed Himself at the portal of the Big Temple of the Handsome

Bridegroom, Azhagiamanavalan, at Srirangam grants endless and never decreasing

prosperity viz. " sukatah naikatah " .

 

Arinthu arinthu Vamanan adiyinai vananginal

Serinthu ezhunthu gnanamodu selvamum siranthidam

Marinthu ezhunthu then thiraiul mannu malai vazhthinal

Parinthu ezhunthu thivinaikal patru arruthal paanmaiye

 

For those who worship Vamana through knowledge and through learning Him

The wisdom of a wakened one and wealth of all the world betide

For those who praise the Lord above who lies reclining in the sea

The bond of karmic past will break with ease and leave the soul

 

Tiruchanda Viruttam - 74

 

Sri Vamana stuthi is as follows:

 

Namo namah karanavamanaya Narayanayaamithavikramayah

Srisarangachakrasigadhadharaya namosthu tasmai purushottamaya

 

Vamana puranam ch 95.

 

 

 

Dr.S.Sundar Rajan MS ortho

Trichy 31 Oct 2009

[Guest guest]

Dr. Sunderrajan :

Thanks for such an informative article about Sri VarAhar's sannidhi and the

many treasures there .

NamO Sri NrisimhAya,

V.Sadagopan

-

" sundar " <kuresadasan

<Oppiliappan >

Monday, November 02, 2009 11:00 AM

The Bachelor and the Bridegroom

 

 

> Kuralappan

>

> It was a unique procession. >

>