The most handsome Manathukku iniyan

[Guest guest]

Sundara Raman

 

Rupa guna audaryayai pumsam drishti chitta apaharinim

 

By His form, qualities and munificence he steals the vision and hearts

of men. What about women? What a futile question! Lentil doughnuts

were threaded onto a staff and hung high overnight so that the

" vadais " could be safegaurded from bandicoots and relished the next

day. The next day on being asked to fetch it the answer came that the

staff was missing. Is there a need to ask about the tasty " vadais " ? As

it is He is favorite among women for being a confirmed mongamist,

unlike that dark enchanter of Gokul. Women not only lose their vision

and hearts, they just melt in His presence. Just one example will

suffice. She was so huge that her nails were as big as cane plates

used to separate chaff from rice. She was uglier than hell and her

whole appearance was frightening even to the agents of Death. She was

besotted at the first meeting itself and her ardour had to be cooled

by cutting off her ears and nose. That Surpanakha, in severe pain due

to both injury and insult, couldn't help praising the handsomeness of

both the sons of the Emperor:

Tarunou Rupa Sampanou Sukumarou Mahabalaou

Pundareeka Vishalakshou Cheera Krishnamjinabarou

 

" Both are youthful, physically well endowed, gentle but powerful

with eyes like huge lotuses and wearing bark and deerskin "

 

Men were so enamored of His handsomeness that they wished to be born

as women to fully enjoy His company. These were not your worldly men,

slaves of the senses. These were men of awe inspiring austerity,

almost masochistic in nature. They were the sages of Dandakaranya.

They had gathered to complain to Him about their woes and loss of

limbs at the hands of the ogres. One was noseless and another had a

gaping hole in the thigh. One had lost his ears and another his hands.

They awaited Him eagerly. His arrival was sensed by some perceptive

rishi by the fact that the woods were slowly taking on a dark

bluish-green hue. All turned to see Him and were bedazzled. He was

without any ornaments and was wearing tree bark and deer skin as to

the manner born. His shapely and huge shoulders bore the marks of the

kingly warrior. His arms were long and the hands extended upto the

knees. Though His coiffure was dusty and entangled it still pointed to

His royalty. His huge red rimmed eyes were oceans of grace as He

looked down upon the ill dressed motley crowd of ascetics from His

great height.

The great rishis, men of superhuman control lost their senses. They

stood their gazing at the Vision. All had the same desire. " Wish we

were born as women to enjoy this Purushottama, the supreme among men " .

[The same used to be said of that dark enchantress Krishnaa,

Draupadi. Her servant maids when bathing her used to think that it was

their misfortune that they weren't born as men to experience her

ravishing beauty fully.] Our Lord sensed their inner yearning and in

the next avatara as Krishna enthralled them during Rasa Krida. These

spartan mahatmas were born as Gopikas and are the objects of envy ever

since. The peerless azhwars and latter day preceptors have recorded

their jealousy and wailed that why they weren't blessed in a like manner.

 

The great Emperor who was capable of steering the war chariots in ten

directions and whose help was sought by the gods and who had seen

60000 summers became a 25 year old just by watching his Son walk. He

used to call Him and as he came he would enjoy His anterior beauty. As

He left he would relish the form of His beloved Son from behind. He

piteously pleads with his second wife " Dont send Him into exile. I'll

become blind as my eyes will follow Him to the jungle. They dont heed

my commands, they willfully follow Him. "

 

He was the perfect male as per " Samudrika lakshana " . In this age when

maleness is at a premium and half and quarter males are hailed as

handsome it is a pity that He incarnated in that distant Kritha Yuga.

But wait ! We can still enjoy His gorgeous form. All one has to do is

travel to rustic Vaduvur on the Thanjavur - Mannargudi road. The most

handsome Kothanda Rama is waiting to grace you there.

Adiyen may be wrong but usually the Righteous Rama is portrayed in a

serious mein. He may sport a smile but it is usually minimal. His form

is always formidable and one can at once recognise His physical

prowess from the size and shape of the icon. Contrarily the Dark One

of Dwaraka is always depicted with a mischievous smile and is well

nigh irresistible. This Rama, pardon the expression, is irresistable

too. One can easily come to the conclusion that the icon of Rama in

Vaduvur and that of Rajagopalan in Mannargudi were wrought by the same

hands. Both are roughly of the same height (for " utsavars " ,

processional deities, they are really tall!) and are mesmerising.

Being totally prejudiced one insists that Vaduvur Rama outclasses

Mannargudi Rajagopalan in both " lavanya " and " soundarya " . According to

Samudrika Lakshana, the tome that classifies and standardises beauty,

both masculine and feminine, " soundarya " means the beauty of

individual parts and " lavanya " means beauty as a whole, i.e. of the

person.

 

Rasikas, ardent devotees, are wont to hold beauty pageants. Adiyen

hastens to add that it is not for ill clad women but the reigning

deities in the various divya desas. For the " moolavars " adiyen cannot

accept any winner other than our Periya Perumal, Ranganatha. He grows

on one and soon one is inescapably ensnared and cannot break free from

the clutches of His " lavanya " and " soundarya " . Of course this verdict

is totally subjective and is anything but objective. It can be

considered akin to match fixing! As far as the " utsavars " ,

processional deities, are concerned almost everyone agrees that the

aptly named Soundararaja Perumal of Nagapattinam is way ahead of all,

followed by Vijayaragahavan of Tiruevvul, Gosakan of Therazhandur,

Sowrirajan of Tirukudanthai and so on. Of course all tend to agree to

disagree on this score.

In adiyen's humble opinion Vaduvur Rama is the winner. Soundararaja

Perumal of Nagapattinam is in a " divya desa " in a temple glorified by

the peerless Kaliyan. Vaduvur Rama is in a small temple in a hamlet

unsung by the " Pathimber " the ten azhwars. Looked after by the locals

led by the venerable Ganapadi Desikachar mamma, whose eightieth

birthday was celebrated about three months back, our Rama is not by

any means pampered. But for the tireless efforts of Desikachar mamma

it would not be out of place to say that the upkeep of the temple

would have suffered. Under the circumstances one has to declare

Vaduvur Rama as the winner.

He wears " lipstick " during the procession on Sesha vahana, the

manyheaded serpent vehicle. To look at Him in that " makeup " so to say,

and remain unmoved, one has to have an adamantine heart or maybe no

heart at all. Those who have not been graced by the vision of Vaduvur

Rama have not fully utilised their eyes.

The temple is by the side of a huge pond or a small lake which seems

to be like a bird sanctuary in the last month of the year. Even the

birds, probably from the frozen north, realise that Vaduvur is " The

Sanctuary " but most humans are sadly unaware. The temple houses One

who has taken the oath that He will provide refuge for any being who

has sought asylum at His feet just once.

Our Rama is tall and in a standing posture with His bow Kothanda in

His left hand held high above the left shoulder. Recently the bow has

been gold plated and gems have been inlaid. In His right hand He has

an arrow with a crescent point. He doesn't stand straight but has

three curves which adds to His charm. His hip is convex to the right

and the left shoulder above and the legs below, convex to the left. It

is this posture with three inflections that allows Him to be dressed

beautifully. No one, but no one, wears pancha kaccham as handsomely as

He does. The bunch of small keys at his waist makes Him well nigh

irresistible. He has powerful shoulders but like His limbs they are

shapely and perfectly proportioned. One now understands why Hanuman

beseeched Him to cover His shoulders to ward off evil eyes. It is as

if He is about to start walking. Usually devotees go to their Lord,

but Rama walked all the way from the foothills of the great northern

mountain ranges to the ocean deep in the south just to grace all His

devotees. The drama about Ravana's misdeeds and subsequent killing was

just a sideshow! To prove this point, even today He appears to be on

the point of stepping out from the sanctum in Vaduvur.

It is His smile that is truly hypnotic. There is nothing mysterious

about it and neither is it half hearted. It is as if He is immensely

pleased that one has come to have His " darshan " . It is a smile that

vanquishes fatigue and fills one's very soul with fizz. It is a smile

that reassures one that one's transgressions have been forgotten and

forgiven and emancipation is waiting to be bestowed. It is a smile

that promises bliss in His eternal abode. It is a very friendly smile

and not that of a Boss. Rama's smile is all the more alluring because

He has a reputation for being serious. This smile in a cherubic face

has a hint of mischief as if to say, " So you thought that only Krishna

could smile mesmerisingly. His smile is nothing before Mine! " None

can negate that.

Upturned lips do not a smile make. It is the combination of the

lips,cheeks and most importantly the eyes that go up to make the

whole. Vaduvur Rama's eyes are seas of kindness. The eyes and the

smile reinforce one another and they together form a snare from which

there is no escape. But this is captivity for which sages have been

performing 'tapa " for milleniums. We, in this epoch of Kali, can

attain it just by visiting Rama at Vaduvur and prostrating at His

feet. It can't get easier than this,now,can it?

On His forhead we see the silver triangular " urdhva pundram " inlaid

with stones and an emerald at the center. It seems to be pointing

downwards towards the eyes and the smile.

The left foot seems to be forward due to the curved posture. It is

said that a forward left foot signifies that He is stepping forwards

to do battle. With a ready arrow in the right hand and the bow in the

left and left foot appearing to be in front there cannot be any doubt

that He is ready for war. What war? It is the war against our

ignorance. We are still not sure as to who is the Supreme who can

relieve us from this entanglement of repeated rebirths. He gave us the

scriptures but our interpretation is flawed. He sent down azhwars and

acharyas to show us the way but we turned a deaf ear to their

teachings. The only weapon left with Him is His handsome form. Down

the ages none has escaped this weapon of His. So He shows us His

flawless transcendental beauty and pulls us towards Him. Once we are

in His web the only way left for us is deliverance which He kindly

provides.

Seetha Piratti standing to His right has her left hand in an

" ahvahana " posture. She seems to be requesting us to come and enjoy

the handsomeness of Her husband. The left fingers are folded inwards

as if She is calling us in.In many sanctums our Lord adopts this

posture. To adiyen's limited knowledge this is the only place where

Piratti has Her hand in this " mudra " so to say. She is as beautiful as

always but here She is literally and figuratively overshadowed by her

Spouse. The " ahvahana " posture is understandable as She is the most

reliable mediatrix between Him and us.

To Rama's left stands the ever reliable Lakshmana in an identical

posture but on a smaller scale. Like Seetha Piratti he too sports a

smile but his face is less chubby than his Brother's as if emphasising

the fourteen years of sleepless service to his Brother and His Consort

in exile. Hanuman of this Rama Darbar is really small almost like the

santhana Anjaneya at the Kothanda Ramaswamy sanctum on the banks of

the Chandra pushkarani in the Sri Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam.

As always he is standing with folded hands, the very quintessence of

" Bhakti " .

The local history, " sthala purana " , tells us that the Maratta king was

besotted with Rama and was preparing to take Him away to his palace.

The residents of Vaduvur pleaded with the king to maintain status

quo. The king complied (it was His will!) and the Emperor's Son stayed

back in a hamlet, forgoing the comforts of a palace. Well, He had done

it once before and He did it again! Ramaavatara is talked about for

highlighting His qualities of " susheela " (affability) and

" saulabhaya " (accessibility) and in Vaduvur He has once again

demonstrated it.

In the nearby sanctum we see Gopala with His consorts. Another sanctum

at the very entrance houses Sri Lakshmi Nrisimha and this is

maintained by the Sri Ahobila mutt. The present pontiff of Sri Ahobila

mutt HH the 45th Azhagiya Singar never misses a chance to get the

grace of Vaduvur Rama. In fact HH as sanctioned and assisted in a lot

of " kainkaryas " for Him.

To the right of the main sanctum is a small sanctum wherein one can

have " darshan " of Lord Lakshmi Hayagriva, Nammazhwar, Ramanuja and

Vedantha Desika. Local lore has it that Vedantha Desika here is a

" vara prasadi " bestower of boons,especially to students. That is not

surprising considering just the literary output of the master, a mind

boggling 128 in number! If that is not bounteous what is? A lifetime

is not sufficient to enjoy the nectar of his works. His unique

composition on Rama the " Mahaveera gadyam " or as it is often called

" Raghuveera gadyam " appears to have been written just for our Vaduvur

Rama. Adiyen hastens to add that there is no evidence that he visited

Vaduvur.

 

We tend to visit divya desas sincerely but give temples like this a

miss. Adiyen requests all to pay a visit to Vaduvur. Due to four

laning of the national highways the road from Trichy to Thanjavur is

really bad. One has to take the bypass road, without entering into

Thanjavur. On this road towards Tiruvarur the fourth right turn is to

be taken, beneath the arch of Karikala Chozha. At the next Y

intersection the left road is to be taken and this leads directly to

Vaduvur and onwards to Mannargudi. " Always enquire before taking

turns " is an adage not be ignored.

 

Have the " darshan " of Vaduvur Rama and you will spontaneously exclaim

" Adhya safalam me janma... " The purpose of my birth has been achieved.

 

Dr.S.Sundar Rajan MS ortho

Trichy.

Jan 06 2009.