na deivam deSikAt param - I

[Guest guest]

" na deivam deSikAt param, na param deSikArcanAt "

 

[There is no god greater, and none more worthy

of worship - than deSika]

 

Dear bhaktas:

 

adiyEn wishes to narrate to you his personal

experience of (albeit for very short period)

having been a sevArthi at the divya kshetrams

of Kanchi, Thooppul and SriPerumbuthoor.

 

In doing so, I hope that those among us who

have the desire to support the nitya kainkaryam

to AchArya sArvabhouman swami deSikan at his

avatAra sthalam of thooppul, will experience

the same devotion and dedication that adiyEn

felt in the presence of a noble son of Kanchi,

Sri Satagopa tAthAchAryar.

 

A lamp which revealed the existence of another

- " viLakkukkE oru viLakku " ... such was swAmi

deSikan to Sri marakathavalli sametha Sri

viLakkoLi deepaprakASa perumAL - that lord

whose moola archai itself manifests with ubhaya

nAcchiyArs, as if in honor of the avartAra

vaibhavam of swAmi deSikan.

 

And for a confused fledgling like me, Sri

Satakopa tAthAchAryar [13th generation

descendant of kotikanyAdAnam Sri tAthadeSikan

and grandson of Sri sudarSana tAthAchAryar, a

great scion of that vamSam more commonly known

as " ChuChu " swami]...

became a " viLakku " that showed the way to the

birthplace of swAmi deSikan himself, and while

doing so, enlightened everyone on the many

wonders of swami deSikan's life.

 

adiyEn's vacation to India in Dec 2003

materialized rather suddenly, and with my

parents' help I planned to travel to the four

important kshetrams of " kodai, vadai, nadai,

and mudi " . Hours before leaving USA on Dec 07,

I sent an email to Sri Sadagopa tAthAchAryar

(SST) hoping that he might be in kanchi that

week. By deivAnugraham, SST swami was already

there, he too on vacation from his present job

in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala!

 

Thus my wife, motherinlaw, parents and myself

all traveled to kanchipuram 12 Dec 2003. We

reached the entrance of the great VaradarAjar

kovil around 8 pm, where SST swami was awaiting

us. From this very first moment, SST swami's

sheer tejas and vidwat became evident to us.

His humble demeanor only complemented those

qualities! Once inside the prAkAram, SST swami

began to explain how this granite temple complex

dated back to the pallava dynasty.

 

So we walked past the amazing nooru-kaal mandapam

on our left, and swami desikan sannidhi on our

right (which was now closed at this hour), and

past the majestic dhvajasthambam and up 2 flights

of stairs towards the sannidhi of perundevi

nAcchiyAr. This is perundevi thAyAr, adiyEn

reflected... the one who inspired swAmi kooratth

Alvan to turn away from his ancestral wealth and

towards uncha vrtthi.

 

Having paid our obeisance to thAyAr, we proceeded

towards of course, deva perumAL himself. En route

were the corridors to " kacchivAytthAn mandapam " ,

where the scene of thirukacchi nambi's deference

of rAmAnuja's doubts to SrI deva perumAL has been

immortalized in metal carvings plating the mandapam.

SST swAmi continued his captivating explanations of

all these aspects of the kovil, and the combined

effect of listening to his discourse and being in

front of kacchivAytthAn mandapam, was a completely

surreal experience for us.

 

" pratiSThApita vedAntaH... " recalled SST swami

with pride, quoting nadAdhUr ammAL's benediction

to the child venkatanAtha, after it prompted the

great scholar at the point where he had halted his

SrIbhAshya kAlakshepam... all of which occurred

right here, in these hallowed halls leading to

the kacchivAythAn mandapam - and painted in frescos

along the ceiling. As many of us know, the wall

paintings in this great kovil are sadly,

unmaintained and in continuous deterioration.

 

As we walked up the steep steps leading to the

moolavar SrI deva perumAL sannidhi, a " nityotsavar "

puRappAdu was seen outside. This, SST swAmi

explained, was like an utsavar of the utsavar(!),

having daily puRappAdu. We reached the sanctum

of varadarAja perumAL himself, adiyEn's very first

darSanam of kanchi varadar in this life; and

immediately awe-struck by his grandeur - especially

the captivating smile which was all-knowing,

welcoming, and teasing at the same time!

 

It was this captivating smile of SrI deva perumAL,

that would not let me pay attention to much else

- except perhaps, his abhaya hastam that displayed

a bejewelled " mA SucaH " in tamil letters. His

AbharaNams glowed resplendent in the dark night,

with flame from the oil lamps revealing hues of

gold, silver, and diamond, all complementing his

enchanting smile. Walking down from the uLsannidhi,

SST swAmi pointed out - that *ONLY* swAmi deSikan

puRappAdu had the privilege of entering this

sannidhi past the dvArapAlakars... a fitting

recognition for this great AchAryan who had held

SrI deva perumAL in his mind and heart, every

moment of his bhoololkam life.

 

Suddenly my wife asked, " why does deva perumAL

smile so much " ? to which SST swAmi replied

- " BECAUSE HE IS DEVAADIRAAJAN..., THE LORD OF

ALL GODS, ONE TO WHOM EVEN THE VEDIC DEVATAS

PAY THEIR RESPECTS... " And with great abhimAnam

for deva perumAL, SST swAmi continued - " WHOEVER

SAID, ALVAR DID NOT SING ABOUT OUR DEVAADIRAAJAN??

NAMMALVAR HIMSELF HAS SAID, 'ayar vaRum amarargaL

athipathi yavan avan'... THAT IS, WHO IS THE ONE

LEADING THE THOUSANDS OF DEVATAIS? IT IS OUR

DEVA PERUMAL ALONE. THAT IS WHY HE SMILES,

BEING IN THE POSITION THAT HE IS, AND LOOKING

COMPASSIONATELY AT ALL JEEVANS " .

 

- To be continued -

 

SrIrangapriya daasan,

-Srinath C.