Spiritual Stories by Ramana

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WITH THE MOON IN HIS CROWN

 

THE VENERABLE SUNDARAMURTHY was born in the amsa of Aalaala Sundara,

who emanated from the reflection of Lord Siva, the Somasekhara (with

moon in his crown). He acquired the friendship of the Kerala king,

Cheraman Perumal Nainar, in the course of his wanderings as a pilgrim,

and together they both went to Madurai on pilgrimage. The Pandyan king

as well as his son-in-law, the Chola king, extended a very warm

welcome to them and expressed their happiness at being their hosts.

Sundaramurthy worshipped God Sundareswara, the consort of the goddess

Meenakshi, and sang hymns in praise of the Lord with his poetic skill.

 

Accompanied by the Chera king he visited and worshipped at the sacred

shrines of the south, namely Thirukuttralam, Tirunelveli and

Rameswaram. From there he visited the sacred shrine of Thirukkedeswara

in Lanka Dwipa (Ceylon) and offered worship. There he remembered

Thrisulapuram (Thiruchuli) which is the Muktinagar (city of salvation)

and proceeded thither.

 

As they approached that city, the crowds saw them both resplendent as

though the sun and the moon appeared at the same time. Sundaramurthy

was happy to have the darsan of Lord Bhuminatha and offered worship

with the song beginning `Oona uyir Puhalai' and was overwhelmed with

devotion. He decided to stay in that holy place for a while, and

resided in the Mutt on the bank of the river Kowndinya.

 

One night during his stay there, Lord Siva appeared to him in a dream

with a ball in his hand (ball is the symbol of kingship) and a crown

on his head, as a youth of incomparable beauty. With a smile dancing

on his lips, he said, " We stay in Jyotivana (Kaleswara). " On hearing

these words, Sundaramurthy woke up with excitement and recollected the

glorious kindness of the Lord who appeared and showered benevolence on

him, and narrated the wonderful vision to the Chera king with joy.

 

There and then he sang, overwhelmed with devotion, the Thevara

Pathikam commencing with the words, `Thondar Adithodalalum' on Lord

Kaleswara. From there they started to visit the far off holy place,

Thiruppunavayil. Even as they started, God Kaleswara (who appeared in

the dream of Sundaramurthy) and Amba approached them in the guise of

an old brahmin couple. When Sundaramurthy asked them, " Who are you?

Where do you come from? " they replied, " We shall talk about that

later. First give us food. We are hungry. " Sundaramurthy consented,

got the food prepared and looked for the couple, but they were not to

be seen anywhere. All the lanes and by-lanes of the village were

searched but they could not be found anywhere. They came back to the

Mutt only to find that the food had disappeared and the leaves in

which the food was eaten were scattered all over the place.

 

Sundaramurthy was wonder-struck and exclaimed, " Ah! What a wonder is

this! What can this be except the leela (play) of the Lord of the

Universe? " As he arrived at this conclusion he heard an invisible

voice: " Where do you intend going without seeing us who reside in the

Jyotivana? " Sundaramurthy was wondering where that Jyotivana was and

how to go there. The invisible voice once again said, " We are

proceeding there on the vehicle of the sacred bull Nandi. You may also

come there, following its footsteps. "

 

Sundaramurthy followed the footsteps, accompanied by the devotees, but

suddenly the track disappeared. As he stood there in confusion the

invisible voice was heard to say, " Look carefully " . As he followed

carefully the footsteps he saw a particular place full of Siva Lingas.

There was no space even for a single step forward and he and the other

devotees stood there bewildered. Suddenly he saw a narrow footpath and

they went along it, on and on until at last they beheld the temple of

Kaleswara. They all took their bath in the tank in front of the

temple, and as they were thinking of going into the temple, all of a

sudden the temple with its tower disappeared.

 

Sundaramurthy was wonder-struck and sang some songs in praise of the

Lord, conveying the idea: " Is this the result of my not having come

for worship in your temple before bathing? " At once a whole view of

jyoti (light) appeared and the peak view of a temple tower and then

the temple itself with its compound wall. He was overjoyed, had a

darsan of God, worshipped Him, sang songs in praise of Him, and then

proceeded on his pilgrimage. This is a wonderful story. There are many

more stories of him.