Quite flows the Cauvery

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

Quiet Flows The Cauvery

 

Historians aver that all civilisation is river-based, and point to the

ancient cultures that thrived on the banks of the Nile, the Sindhu ( Indus),

the Gangetic Plains, etc... Measured by this standard, the one that flourished

on the banks of the Cauvery is no less significant. Apart from the other hall

marks of civilisations, the one the Cauvery gave birth to, appears to have been

endowed with a unique feature which the other cultures could not boast of-

Spirituality.

 

Is there something special about the waters of the Cauvery, which has been

the subject matter of so much dispute and discord in recent years? The answer

would appear to be " Yes " , if we were to go by Azhwars' averments. Divya

Prabandas are replete with references to this beautiful river and the Azhwars

appear incapable of avoiding the Cauvery, whenever they sing the praises of the

Lord who lies on its banks. True to their love for Nature and its magnificence,

reflecting the multi-faceted splendour of the Lord's Creation, Azhwars wax

eloquent while singing of the Cauvery and its bounties.

 

Ponni, as it is fondly called in Tamil literature, is much more than a mere

river. It has been the unfailing Provider for thousands of farmers cultivating

lands within its jurisdiction. It journeys over hill and dale, irrigating

thousands of acres of land turned golden with fertility, rushing headlong into

valleys when laden with freshets, but adopting a sedate pace when it reaches

Srirangam, the pace of a person who has put behind him the years of frenetic

activity spent in the pursuit of materialistic pleasures and one on whom the

spirit of service (kainkaryam) has dawned at last.

 

Eschewing the fairly straight course it has towed during its long journey from

Coorg, Cauvery makes a detour and flows in the shape of a " U " when it reaches

Srirangam, eager to form a natural garland for Sri Rangaraja, lapping gently at

His feet, apparently enquiring as to what further service it may be of to the

Lord. The waters of the great river appear to wash the Lord's tiruvadi gently

and massage it with its wavy hands- " Tiruvaranga peru nagaruL teNNeer Ponni tirai

kaiyAl adi varuda paLLi koLLum karumani " says Sri Kulasekhara Azhwar.

 

The name Cauvery is synonymous with that of Sri Ranganatha, who is identified by

Azhwars as " Ponni sEr Tiruvaranga! " -you can't think of Sri Rangaraja without

Cauvery occupying your thoughts simultaneously, and vice versa. The river is so

adoring, so enamoured of its great good fortune in hosting the Lord in its

midst, that it brings Him all sorts of precious stones from far and wide and

offers them as tribute at His holy feet-

 

" pon sidari maNi koNarndu karai mEl sindi pulam paranda nilam parakkum Ponni "

is how Sri Tirumangai Mannan speaks appreciatively of the bounties Cauvery

brings Emperuman as offering.

For good measure, he reiterates this in the Pullamboothankudi pasuram-

" minnu sOdi nava maNiyum vEyin mutthum sAmarayum

ponnum Ponni koNarndu alaikkum Pullamboothankudi tAnE "

All the nine types of precious gems, fragrant wood like Sandal and Agil, the

purest of pearls originating from tall shoots of bamboo, thick, fragrant and

delicious honey acquired from constant association with bees, the pearly white

tusks of elephants who fell into the river-these are some of the tributes the

Cauvery lovingly submits at the feet of the Lord at Srirangam, according to Sri

Kalian.

 

 

We regard Srirangam reverentially as Paradise on earth- " bhoolOka Vaikuntam " .

There is a popular sloka, which equates the divyadesam with Srivaikuntam, and

the Cauvery to the VirajA nadi which has to be crossed to reach

Paramapadam- " Cauvery VirajA sEyam Vaikuntam Ranga mandiram " . Thus, for devotees,

the Ponni is indeed as holy as the VirajA, in which every emancipated soul has

to have a dip before reaching the blissful company of the Lord. It is perhaps

with this in view that Poorvacharyas like Sri Ramanuja and Swami Desikan, upon

reaching the borders of Srirangam, did not rush straightaway to see the Lord,

but had a sacred bath in the Cauvery first, as is learnt from their holy

histories.

 

Sri Bhattar, a staunch votary of the Lord of Srirangam and the Lord's own

purOhit, apart from being His adopted son, was compelled to endure an enforced

exile from Srirangam, for some time. During the time he was away, Sri Bhattar

pined away for the invigorating company of the Lord, recounting vividly in his

mind's eye the bewitching beauty of Rangaraja. While doing so, the Acharya was

unable to keep out thoughts of the Cauvery, which is very much an integral and

inseparable part of the Lord's environs. Sri Bhattar longed for the day he would

return for a cleansing dip in the holy river, its pure waters washing away all

dirt, internal and external- " kadAham Cauvery vimala salilE veeta kalushO

bhavEyam? " .

 

Not only are the river's flows invigorating and purge one of all impurities, but

the cool, shady and verdant groves on the river's banks offer the weary

traveller respite and relaxation from the long trek through life's thorny, hot

and dusty trails. Sri Bhattar yearns for a sojourn in these groves on Cauvery

banks, prior to performing mangalasasanam of Sri Ranganatha-

" tat teerE shramamushi vasEyam Ghana vanE " . The greenery lining the river's

banks on both sides comes in for favourable comment from Sri Tondaradippodi

Azhwar in Tirumalai-

" Aartthu vaNdu alambum sOlai "

" Surumbu amar sOlai "

" VaNdinam muralum sOlai, mayilinam Alum sOlai

koNdal meedu aNavum sOlai kuyilinam koovum sOlai "

 

Azhwar devotes as many lines to the depiction of the glorious Ponni flowing

around the Lord, as he does to Emperuman Himself, with captivating portraits of

its waters.

When in spate, the waters are swift and muddy, laden with all the fertile

alluvium collected over its long journey- " teLivilA kalangal neer soozh

Tiruvarangam " . When there are strong winds, the waters turn choppy, with huge

waves pounding the shores-

" eriyuneer verikoL vElai " . The mood of the river changes suddenly, as it

approaches the Lord's abode, and it softens its pace so as to the greet the Lord

with a soft, cool spray-

" ini tirai tivalai mOda, eriyum taN paravai " . The reference here is to a broad

and sprawling body of waters- " paravai " . At times, the river acquires speed in

its eagerness to touch the sacred tiruvadi of Rangaraja and rushes

headlong- " pAyum neer arangam " . Augmented by timely rains, the Cauvery's flows

are as copious at the height of summer, as during the monsoons- " pongu neer

parandu pAyum poompozhil arangam " . If this is the state of affairs even during

ordinary times, need we speak of the river's dimensions, when laden with

freshets from the SahyAdrIs? During the Varsha Ritu, the river expands to such

an extent that it overruns its banks and floods nearby groves and fields- " veLLa

neer parandu pAyum viri pozhil arangam " .

 

Not only does the Cauvery equal the famed Ganga in its dimensions, but she also

exceeds the latter in holiness. Ganga may have the distinction of having

originated from the Lord's tiruvadi ( " Vishnu pAdAbja sambhootE! GangE! Tripada

gAminI " ). However, during her journey to the earth, she was contained by the

matted locks of Rudra, for slowing down her frenetic pace of descent. Cauvery,

on the other hand, suffered no such imprisonment or impediment and has been

gently massaging the tiruvadi of Sri Rangaraja with her wavy hands, from time

immemorial, with absolutely no dEvatAntara sambandham. While the Ganga can boast

of only a few divyadesams on its banks (like BadarikAshramam, Tiruppridi, Kandam

ennum Kadinagar), many more are located on the banks of the Cauvery

(Tirukkudandai, Tiruvinnagaram, TiruppEr nagar, TiruvindaLUr, PuLlamboothankudi,

TiruvAdanUr, ThirukkUdlUr, Nandipura ViNNagaram, Kapisthalam etc., to name but a

few). Though Azhwars are a dozen, Kodai Nacchiar, who wove a garland, both of

flowers and verses for the Lord, occupies a special place. Similarly, Cauvery

too is holier than the Ganga, for she turns herself into a garland for Rangaraja

and flows in a U shape at Srirangam (and also at Srirangapattinam near Mysore).

On account of all these factors, the Cauvery is held by Sri Tondaradippodi

Azhwar to be superior to the Ganga in sacredness-

" Gangayil punidamAya Cauvery " .

Sri Bhattar too is in perfect agreement with this tenet- " phEnai: hasanti iva tat

GangAm Vishnu padItvam mAtra mukharAm HEmApagA hantu agham " .

 

The same Azhwar paints a bewitching picture of the Cauvery at sunrise: the

surface of the clear waters is dotted with beautiful lotus blooms, opening their

petals slowly to the rising Sun, making it appear as though the river is

carrying them in its wavy hands, to offer a floral tribute to the Lord of

Srirangam. The slow rise of the orb of fire in the horizon is breath taking,

with the rays reaching out their soft fingers to jog the Lord of the Universe

into wakefulness. While traivarNikAs offer the river's clear waters in their

cupped hands to the Paramatma, their beautiful wives, with extremely narrow

midriffs, ascend from the river to the banks, having had a cool, refreshing and

purifying dip in the Cauvery, wringing their long hair dry and drying it in the

balmy early-morning breeze. Here is the beautiful pasuram from

Tiruppalliezhucchi-

 

" kadi malar kamalangaL malarndana ivayO, Kadiravan guna disai muLaittanan ivanO

tudi idayAr suri kuzhal pizhindu udari tugil udutthu Erinar soozh punal arangA!

todai ottha tuLavamum koodayum tOttriya seer Tondaradippodi ennum adiyanai

ALian endru aruLi un adiyArkku AtpadutthAi paLli ezhundaruLAyE "

 

The glory of Ponni is such that Azhwars appear incapable of adulating Emperuman,

without devoting a line or two for this magnificent river. Lest it be mistaken

that tributes to Cauvery are confined to the Tamizh marai, here is a quote from

the BhAgavata Purana, in which Cauvery is mentioned ahead of other sacred

rivers, on the banks of which would be born saints and seers-

" kvachit kvachit mahAbhAgA: dramidEshu cha boorisa:

Cauvery nadI yatra KritamAlA payasvinI...... "

 

Our eyes fill with tears and hearts with despair, when we look at the Cauvery at

Srirangam today. Gone are her glory and magnificence. Due to natural and

man-made impediments, due to the interminable disputes over her flows, the sight

that greets our eyes at Srirangam and other spots is that of a parched river

bed, to which water has become a stranger. Even the undercurrents have dried up,

with bores sunk in the riverbed failing to yield the life-giving liquid. The

tirumALigais of Srivaishnavas at Srirangam display only dried-up wells, with

their women carrying colourful plastic pots and searching far and wide for

water, having become a common sight. There are serpentine queues before public

taps and quarrels galore about who should have " mudal teerttham " . Unbridled

quarrying of sand from the riverbed has wreaked its own havoc, adding to the

contribution from indiscriminate damming and gross misuse of the waters.

Pollution on the river's banks has reached endemic proportions, with absolutely

no one having a care. The verdant groves flanking the Cauvery have all but

disappeared, no longer able to sustain themselves on the river's munificence.

The fertile fields filled with green corn waving its head in the breeze are a

thing of the past, with the parched land unable to support anything but cactus

and weed. With successive monsoon failures resulting from akritya karaNam and

kritya akaraNam, with politicians busy with the blame-game and unconcerned with

remedial measures or popular welfare, with the continued mining of the river bed

for meeting insatiable building requirements-with all these against us, our only

hope seems to be prayer. The plea which we daily utter at the end of Srimad

Ramayana parayanam, should now be intoned with all sincerity and as an

impassioned entreaty-

 

" Cauvery vardhatAm kAlE, kAlE varshatu VAsava:

Sri RanganathO jayatu, Sriranga SrIscha vardhatAm "

 

" Oh Lord! Please grant that the rains may be timely and adequate, that the holy

Cauvery's flows are copious and the fortunes of Srirangam are on the ascendant " .

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana

Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

Dasan, sadagopan