Greatness of Kanchi Mahaswami - 5.

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5 - MahaperiyavaL's Magical Timepiece!

 

Kanchi Paramacharya was once camping with his entourage in a choultry

at Pudukottai, Tamilnadu, on his way to Tirunelveli. After completing

the Chandramouleesvara puja on the night he reached there, Swamiji

was seated before retiring for the night.

 

He called Nagarajan, a youth who was assisting and told him, " Appa,

Nagu! I need to get up at three-thirty early morning tomorrow for my

snAna. You remember it! "

The youth Nagu with great reverence replied, " As you order,

Periyavaa! As you told me now, at exactly three-thirty in the

morning, I shall sing the namAvali hara hara sankara... jaya jaya

sankara. "

 

Swamiji smiled as he understood Nagu's words. He asked him, " Since it

won't be proper to say 'I shall wake you up at three-thirty

Periyavaa', you said you will sing hara hara sankara... jaya jaya

sankara! "

 

Nagu grinned sheepishly. He did not know what to answer.

 

" Alright, do as you please! " Swamiji went to his room.

 

It was eleven in the night. The choultry was steeped in sleep.

Swamiji had also retired. Nagu couldn't sleep. Worry caught hold of

him. There was not a single wall clock or alarm timepiece in that

choultry. What he had was a very old watch presented by his uncle on

the occasion of his upanayanam. He was not used to wear it on the

wrist as he was with the sage most of the time. The watch was taking

refuge in his old trunk. He did not touch it after winding it up

every day and setting the time.

 

The apprehension 'How could I wake up Periyavaa, if I wasn't awake at

three-thirty?' took hold of him. Coming to a final decision, he went

to the store room and retrieved his watch from his trunk. He came

silently to the entrance of Swamiji's room and seated himself on the

floor. He started chanting Vishnu Sahasranama silently, taking care

that no sound escaped from him. Looking at his watch now and then, he

was reciting the verses in repeated cycles.

 

When it was 3:30 exactly, Nagu got up, wiped his eyes, folded his

hands, looked at Swamiji's room sang the hara hara sankara... jaya

jaya sankara in a low voice. Within moments, the door opened.

AcharyaL came out smiling, with the tejas of Lord Shiva himself and

gave Nagu his suprapAda darshan. Only Nagu had the blessing to get

this darshan on that day.

 

AcharyaL slowly walked up to the entrance of the choultry. Nagu

rushed to make arrangements for the sage's bath. The choultry woke up

gradually.

 

The next night, and the next, Nagu's pattern of staying awake,

singing Vishnu Sahasra Namam and the hara hara sankara namavali

continued.

 

On the fourth night when Nagu was doing his routine, tucking his

watch at his waist, he fell asleep inadvertently. Suddenly he was

awakened by a divine voice singing hara hara sankara... jaya jaya

sankara. Jolted out of sleep, Nagu saw the smiling AcharyaL, his face

replete with compassion.

 

Swamiji said with vAtsalya, " My child! It is exactly three-thirty

now. Seems you slept because of tiresomeness. With a full day's

service, it is natural you would have the strain. " Smiling, Swamiji

started walking slowly towards the entrance of the choultry. Nagu

confirmed that the time was 3:30 from his watch at his waist.

He was wonderstruck and confused at the sage waking up at the right

time. The divine voice singing the namavali echoed in his ears

repeatedly. He hadn't heard such a song from the sage earlier.

 

It was eleven on the next night. Swamiji had retired. Nagu vowed to

himself that he would stay awake at any cost the whole night. He had

also brought water in a small brass pot, to wipe his eyes if he was

overwhelmed by sleep.

 

The time was 2:30 in the night. Though he had managed until then,

Nagu couldn't stay awake any further despite his best efforts, so he

folded up sleeping on the floor.

 

The door opened. AcharyaL came out slowly. He saw the sleeping Nagu

and the brass water pot on his side. He understood and laughed.

 

" hara hara sankara... jaya jaya sankara. Appa, Nagu wake up! " Swamiji

called softly. Nagu got up, jolted to wakefulness and saw the smiling

sage before him.

 

" Nagu, it is exactly three-thirty. Poor boy, you couldn't get up in

time today also. Alright, arrange for my bath. " Swamiji proceeded to

the entrance as he did usually. Nagu wondered as he checked the time.

 

After the afternoon puja, Swamiji was seated alone. Nagu went and

prostrated to him and stood nearby meekly without uttering a word.

 

Swamji began the conversation: " Appa Nagu, from your namaskaram it

seems that you want to know something from me. What is it, ask me,

and don't feel shy. "

 

Nagu hesitated and tried, " It is nothing, Periyavaa. " Swamiji

laughed. " I understand what your mind wants to ask me. When you

couldn't stay awake with a watch on you, you are confused as to how

Periyavaa could get up at the exact time, when he does not have any

sort of timepiece! Right? "

 

Slightly emboldened, Nagu said, " Yes, Periyavaa. In spite of my best

efforts, I somehow went sleeping at the time when I should have been

awake. And you got up and awakened me at the exact time of three-

thirty. I am ashamed Periyavaa. How does Periyavaa know the exact

time... "

 

Swamiji interrupted him and said, " You have the doubt that some karna

yakshini tells me the time! " and laughed loudly.

 

" It was not that Periyavaa. Just a curiosity to know... " Nagu

hesitated.

 

Swamiji continued: " No yakshini told the time in my ear. It was a bus

that told me the time! The T.V.S. bus of Madurai T.V. Sundaram

Iyengar's company. When I came out on the first morning after you

awakened me with your namAvali, I noticed a bus pass by the choultry

gate. On the next two mornings also a bus got past the choultry gate

at three-thirty! On inquiry, I was told that it was the first bus of

the T.V.S. Company in the morning that arrives at Pudukottai from

Madurai. There was not a second of difference in the exact time of

three-thirty when the bus passed by the gate, day after day. People

used to say that you can adjust your watch using the time of arrival

of a T.V.S. bus at a particular place. I understood they were right!

From the fourth morning, I got up as I heard the noise of the bus.

There is no other secret in this, Nagu! " Swamiji laughed, absorbed in

himself.

 

Nagu was just looking intently at the face of Swamiji, as he finished

his reply.

Author: Sri Ramani Anna (in Tamil)

Source: Sakthi Vikatan issue dated Dec 04, 2006

 

Glossary

 

karna yakshini - god of the ears

snAna – bath

namaskaram - the action of prostrating

namAvali - a series of God names

suprapada darshan - having darshan of a sage when he gets up in the

morning

tejas - divine splendor

upanayanam - the Hindu thread ceremony

vAtsalya - affection