Greatness of Kanch Mahaswami - No.9.

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9-Paramacharya Stuns a Landowner!

 

A Citra full moon day, many years back. An abhishekam was performed

in a grand manner with mahAnyAsa rudra japam at Sri Mahalingaswami

Temple, Tiruvidaimarudur. The person who conducted it with 11 Vedic

pundits was the landowner Narayanaswami Iyer of Tiruvarur. The

rudrAbhiSekam that started at eight in the morning came to a

completion around one in the afternoon.

 

The landowner Narayanaswami Iyer was extremely devoted to Kanchi Maha

SwamigaL. He decided 'this rudrAbhiSeka prasAdam should be submitted

to Periyavaa somehow.' He reverentially kept the prasAdam on a banana

leaf and folded it inside a new silk cloth. That same evening, he

boarded the Madurai Madras passenger train at Tiruvidaimarudur

railway station. He got down at Chengleput station in the early

morning, took a bus and arrived at Kanchipuram.

There was a large crowd at the maTham on that day. Finishing his bath

and other chores, the landowner waited for Periyavaa's darshan. At

about 12 o'clock in the noon, Maha SwamigaL came and sat down, after

finishing his Chandramouleesvara puja. The crowd of devotees rushed

forward. The landowner couldn't approach SwamigaL. He showed the

prasAda bag and begged everyone, " All of you please make way! I have

brought Tiruvidaimarudur Mahalingaswamy rudrAbhiSeka prasAdam for

Periyavaa. I have to submit it to him. "

 

No one seemed to make way. An employee of the maTham who saw the

anxiety and haste of the landowner, created a trail for him among the

people and brought Narayanaswami Iyer near PeriyavaL. When he saw

PeriyavaL, the landowner became insensate, dropped down heavily for a

prostration and got up. Maha SwamigaL looked at him raising his head.

He raised his brows as if he inquired what the matter was.

 

With his hands shaking, the landowner babbled, unpacking the prasAdam

bag, " prasAdam, prasAdu Periyavaa " . " What prasAdam? " asked PeriyavaL

and looked at him. In the meantime, the landowner managed to extract

the prasAdam. He kept it on the cane plate found there and submitted

it to PeriyavaL. On that plate were found in a small banana leaf,

vibuti, kunkumam, sandal paste together with some bilva dalam, two

parts of a broken coconut, and some poovan banana fruits.

 

Maha SwamigaL asked, " All these are prasAdam of which kshetra? " and

looked at the landowner once again. The landowner calmed himself and

said with humility, " Periyavaa! I performed the rudrAbhiSekam for

Mahalingaswami at Tiruvidaimarudur yesterday. It was a large

abhishekam with mahAnyAsa rudra japam. This is that prasAdam. Since

Periyavaa would be happy, I have rushed here to bring it, boarding a

train; you must receive it and bless me. "

 

Looking at that prasAda plate sharply for some time, Periyavaa

asked: " Narayanaswami! You are a big landowner yourself. Even then

you performed this rudrAbhiSekam for Swami, teaming up with some

other people to meet the expenses? "

 

The landowner replied, " No, Periyavaa! I performed it myself, out of

my own expenses, " stressing the 'myself' part a little.

 

PeriyavaL smiled to himself. He did not leave it at that. " So you did

for loka kshema at Madhyaarjuna kshetra " , he added.

 

The landowner replied with some uncertainty, " No, Periyavaa! For the

last two or three years there was no yield in my fields. Some fields

were even barren. I checked up with Tiruvidaimarudur Muthu Josyar. He

advised me, 'On a Citra full moon day perform rudrAbhiSekam for

Mahalingaswami. That will give you an abundant yield!' Only on that

belief I performed it, Periyavaa " .

 

The prasAda that was kept before the sage remained untouched.

AcharyaL did not accept it. Saying, " So it seems that you did not

perform this act either for AtmArtam or for loka kshemArtam " , he

closed his eyes and dropped into meditation.

 

AcharyaL opened his eyes after fifteen minutes. There was such

clarity in his face! And a knowing look of having understood many

things within those fifteen minutes. Everyone around was very quiet.

SwamigaL continued, " Alright... How many Vedic Brahmins attended the

rudrAbhiSekam? "

 

" I had arranged for eleven Vedic pundits, Periyavaa! "

 

SwamigaL persisted, " Did you know who the vaidikaLs were and which

place they belonged to? Was it only you who made all arrangements? "

 

The devotees who were witnessing the scene were surprised at the

detailed inquiry Periyavaa was making. They also understood that he

wouldn't do anything without a reason. The landowner took a piece of

paper that he had tucked in his waist.

" I am reading out, Periyavaa. Tiruvidaimarudur Venkatrama SastrigaL,

Seenuvasa Ganapadigal, Rajagopala ShrautigaL, Marutthuvakkudi

Santhana Vaadyhar, Sundaa SastrigaL, Subramanya SastrigaL,

Tirumangalakkudi Venkittu Vaadhyar, and then-- "

 

AchargaL interrupted him and asked easily, " All experts only, who you

have arranged. Alright, check if your list has the name

Thepperumaanallur Venkatesa GanapadigaL. "

 

Seething with happiness, the landowner replied, " It is there,

Periyavaa! He also attended the japam " , showing surprise in his voice.

Though the devotees were taken by surprise at such detailed inquiry

about an abhishekam that was over, no one said anything. Everyone was

silent and attentive.

 

SwamigaL said, " Besh, besh! So you had engaged Venkatesa GanapadigaL

also for the japam! A very good thing. Maha Veda vid! GanagadigaL is

now very aged. Even difficult for him to raise his voice. He would

feel it hard to control his breathing and intone the japam. "

As if he waited for this remark, the landowner replied, his tone

raising, " Yes, Periyavaa! What you have said is very correct. He did

not chant the rudram well. Sometimes he was sitting silent with

closed eyes. Often he yawned. All these resulted in the shrinkage of

the counting of the japam numbers. He gave much trouble yesterday. I

regretted having engaged him for the japam. "

 

SwamigaL swelled with indignation. " What you said... What did you

say? So you have the temerity to talk anything because you have the

money? What do you know about the yogyatAMsam of Thepperumaanallur

Venkatesa GanapadigaL? Would you match the dust of the feet of that

Veda vid? How can you talk such words about him? I have now

understood what happened yesterday at the Mahalingaswami Sannidhi!

You answer my question now! When the GanapadigaL was sitting quiet

with closed eyes at the time of the japam yesterday, did you not

shout harshly at him, 'EngaaNum, are you not getting the money, you

are sitting still with a shut mouth without doing the japam?' Tell

me, did you shout these words to him or not? " The landowner was

appalled. The crowd was amazed.

 

Narayanaswami Iyer fell at SwamigaL's feet, his eight limbs touching

the ground. SwamigaL did not say anything. The landowner got up

himself. He closed his mouth and replied shivering, " My mistake,

Periyavaa! It is true that I used the very same words you spoke know

to the GanapadigaL in the Swami Sannidhi yesterday. Periyavaa should

kindly pardon me. "

 

Periyavaa did not stop. " Wait, wait. Did you do that mistake only?

You did honour the vaidikaLs with money, right? How much did you give

each vaidikaL? "

 

The landowner gulped and said weakly, " I paid ten rupees for each

head, Periyavaa. "

 

SwamigaL did not leave him with that. " Tell me correctly! I know

everything! Did you pay all the vaidikaLs equally with ten-ten rupees

each? "

 

The landowner stood silently. But the AcharyaL did not

relent. " Listen, I shall tell you what you did yesterday. Perhaps you

feel shy to talk it out. You seated the vaidikaLs in a row at the

Sannidhi and was giving the sambhAvanA of ten rupees to each of them.

When the turn of Thepperumaanallur Venkatesa GanapadigaL came, you

decided, 'This man did not chant the rudram properly. Why should I

give him ten rupees as I did for the others?' and gave him just seven

rupees. You had the thought that somehow you had taken revenge on

him. Did he care anything about it all? He just accepted what you

gave him and tied it to the edge of his vastram. " AcharyaL asked him

hotly, " Tell me, is not what I am saying correct? "

The devotees were stunned. No one did say anything. They wondered how

PeriyavaL came to know what took place in Tiruvidaimarudur temple

yesterday.

 

The landowner prostrated to the sage and said, " A gross mistake,

Periyavaa! It was out of ignorance that I behaved like that! I won't

behave in such a fashion henceforth! Kindly pardon me! "

Before he finished, PeriyavaaL continued, " Wait, wait! It would have

been less worse had it ended there. " He asked, " For the japa

brahmins, you arranged for the meals at the house of Ramachandra Iyer

of Mahadhana Street, right? "

" Yes, Periyavaa! "

" You served sumptuous meals, of course, with a feeling of immense

happiness. You had arranged for cooking very tasty sweet pongal, with

lots of cashew nuts and raisins added to it, and you served it with

your own hands, with ghee dripping from it in the meals session,

right? "

 

Narayanaswami Iyer was more and more appalled. He closed his mouth

and spoke with uncertainty, " Yes, Periyavaa! In the session I served

only the sweet pongal with my own hands. "

" Alright, does your conscience admit that you did it with the dharma

for serving a meal? " SwamigaL asked him sternly.

 

The landowner did not open his mouth. AcharyaL said himself, " You

need not tell me, I shall tell you! When you served the sweet pongal,

since it was very tasty, the vaidikaLs asked for repeated helpings.

And you obliged them. But when Thepperumaanallur Venkatesa

GanapadigaL, giving up his reticence asked you many times, 'Serve me

more of the sweet pongal, it is very tasty...' did you not carry on

without serving him more, though you heard him? How many times did he

ask you, giving up his normal reticence! And you did not serve him

more! You committed the sin of partiality in a meals session! Was it

dharma? You insulted a great sadhu! " SwamigaL fell into silence,

overwhelmed with distress.

 

The landowner stood with bowed head. The devotees were amazed and

speechless. Closing his eyes and folding both his legs behind him,

AcharyaL sat upright. His divine frame looked like the Lord

Parameswara Himself. He sat motionless.

 

Fifteen minutes passed by in complete silence. Then AcharyaL opened

his eyes. Everyone was silent. AcharyaL continued his talk, looking

at Narayanaswami Iyer: " MirasudarvaL! You should know one thing.

GanapadigaL is eighty-one years of age now. He had done rudra japam

in countless kshetras since his sixteenth year. Sri Rudram is always

coursing his veins and nerves and breath. He is such a mahAn. The way

you behaved to him is an act of great sin... an act of great sin! "

PeriyavaL stopped, unable to continue further, and closed his eyes.

He resumed again after sometime: " Your act of partiality in the meals

session affected him deeply. You know what he did? I shall tell you,

listen. He did not go back to his native place Thepperumaanallur

yesterday evening. Instead, he went to Mahalingaswami temple. He did

pradakshiNa of the outer courtyard three times. Went straight to

Mahalingaswami and stood before Him. You know what he prayed for,

joinng his palms? " PeriyavaL couldn't continue. He steadied himself

and then resumed his talk.

 

" With tears streaming down his eyes, he spoke to the God, 'Appa,

Jyoti Mahalingam! I am your steadfast devotee. Since my early days I

have recited mahAnyasa rudra japam countless times in your sannidhi.

You have listened to it. I am now eighty-one years old. I have the

mental strength, but that strength is gone in my speech! It can't be

that you wouldn't know what happened this afternoon when we were

dining. I asked that landowner many times, leaving my shyness aside,

for more of that pongal, since it was very very tasty. Though he

heard me, the landowner moved away as if he did not hear my request.

You know that I have an immense fondness for sweet pongal. Though I

asked him out of temptation, I was grieved that he did not serve me

more.

 

'But then only after I had finished my meals, washed my hands and sat

on the thinnai it occurred to me whether I could have such a jihvA

sabalam at this age. This is the reason I am now standing before you,

Appa Mahalingam! With you as the mediator, I take a vow from this

moment. Everyone gives up some favourite edible when they go to Kasi.

It is only you who is in Kasi, as well as here. Therefore I take a

vow before you that I will not touch the sweet pongal or any other

sweet dish from now on until my soul goes out of the body! This is a

promise Mahalingam.' With that vairAgya pramANam he said, 'Appa Jyoti

Mahalingam! I take leave of you now, " and did shASTaanga namaskaram

twelve times. Tears were flowing down GanapadigaL's eyes, as he left

for his place. Now, you tell me... What you did was dharma? Will

Mahalingaswami agree to it? "

 

Periyavaa stopped. It was then three o' clock in the afternoon. " I

don't want any bhikshA today " , said SwamigaL. No one moved from

there. Not even for their lunch. Total silence prevailed. Tears were

seen in everyone's eyes. The landowner Narayanaswami Iyer stood

transfixed. He could not raise his tongue to speak. Everyone's wonder

was, 'How does Periyavaa narrate everything that happened yesterday

at Tiruvidaimarudur as if he witnessed them personally?'

Falling down to Periyavaa's feet, the landowner started sobbing

vehemently. His tongue slurred as he said, " Periyavaa! What I did was

a great sin! I did it out of vanity. Kindly pardon me. Never again

shall I behave this way in my life. You should say 'I have pardoned

you'! " The landowner patted his cheeks loudly.

AcharyaL did not open his mouth. The landowner was persistent. " I

pray to you, Periyavaa! You should accept this Mahalingaswami

rudrAbhiSeka prasAdam. Kindly pardon me! " He pointed his hands

towards the prasAdam plate.

 

AcharyaL said, " Let it be, let it be there. That Mahalingaswami

Himself will give me the prasAda anugraham. "

Before he finished his words, a voice was heard outside the

crowd: " Make way, make way! " Everyone moved to make way.

 

Only a tuft of hair knotted at the end on the head. A bright five-

folded dhoti on the waist, with a silky green cloth covering it. A

large rudraksha garland on the neck. A noble man, who could be around

sixty-five years old, arrived near PeriyavaL, carrying piously a

brass plate on which was the prasAdam preserved in a silk cloth. He

submitted the prasAdam plate reverentially to AcharyaL and said, " My

name is Mahalingam. I am the arcakA of Tiruvidaimarudur

Mahalingaswami temple. Yesterday a rudrAbhiSekam was performed for

Swami. A landowner conducted it. My elder sister is given in marriage

to this place. I came to submit the prasAdam to AcharyaL and then

look her up. Periyavaa should do me the anugraham. " SwamigaL

prevented him as he proceeded to prostrate.

 

Saying " You people have been given Shiva dIkSA, you shouldn't do

namaskaram to me " , AcharyaL accepted the prasAdams brought and asked

the Sivacharya to be given the MaTham's honours in return. Meantime,

the SivacharyaL saw the landowner who was standing at some

distance. " Periyavaa, it is this man who had conducted the

rudrAbhiSekam there yesterday. He has come himself come here! " With

these words, Mahalingam Sivacharya left the place, taking leave of

the sage.

 

The landowner Narayanaswami Iyer again prostrated AcharyaL and patted

his cheeks loudly. He pleaded, " Again and again I pray to you,

Periyavaa. It is a great sinful act I have committed. Only you should

tell me the remedy for this act. "

 

SwamigaL got up briskly. " I cannot tell you the remedy for this. Only

Thepperumaanallur Venkatesa GanapadigaL can tell you the remedy. "

" Will the GanapadigaL tell me the remedy for the deed of this paavi,

Periyavaa? " the landowner asked with grief.

 

SwamigaL said in a slightly raised voice, " If you have the prAptam,

he will certainly tell you! " and hurried inside. He did not come out

at all.

 

The landowner waited for a few hours. And then, having come to a

decision, he left the place and arrived at Chengleput boarding a bus.

He caught a train and arrived at Tiruvidaimarudur on the next

morning. He finished his bath in the Kaveri river there and with

firmness of heart started walking towards Thepperumaanallur. He

walked briskly with the resolution that he would somehow meet

Venkatesa GanapadigaL, fall shASTaangam at his feet, ask for his

pardon, perform the remedy he would suggest and obtain paapa

vimocanam.

 

The landowner entered the Thepperumaanallur agrahAram. He inquired

the first man he came across, the address of the GanapadigaL. The man

pointed to a house on the street before which was a crowd of people

and said, " You have come to offer your condolences? That is the home

of Venkatesa GanapadigaL. Early this morning, he suddenly passed

away. A painless, peaceful death. Go and have a look. "

Narayanaswami Iyer was stunned. He felt as if someone had hit him on

the head. The firm words of AcharyaL at the MaTham yesterday seemed

to ring in his ears. If you have the prAptam, he will certainly tell

you! " He now understood that PeriyavaaL known yesterday itself that

the landowner would not have the prAptam.

 

The landowner went to GanapadigaL's house, offered his condolences,

and prostrated to the gross body of the GanapadigaL, seeking his

pardon mentally. Then he moved away from the place.

Later, the landowner met with different kinds of adversities and

happened to lose all his wealth. He went North and did service at the

temple kitchens, finally arrived at Kasi kshetra and attained his

mukti there.

Author: Sri Ramani Anna (in Tamil)

Source: Sakthi Vikatan issue dated Nov 05, 2006

 

Glossary:

 

abhishekah - ablution

agrahAram - royal donation of land to Bra1hmans, land or donation

given us. In practical usage, agrahAram refers to the street

inhabited by brahmins, which surrounds a temple like a garland up

front, hence the name agra + hAram.

aMsa – share

anugrahaH - blessings, favour, kindness, acceptance

arcakA - one who performs a worship ritual

bhikSA - alms, offered food

bilva - the wood-apple tree, commonly called Bel

Citra - the month of April

dalam - leaf, petal of a flower, part, division

dIkshA - initiation in general, consecration for a religious ceremony

EngaaNum - (Tamil) a brahmin usage meaning 'why, you!' or 'hey, you!'

jihvA - tongue, tongue of fire (flame)

josyar - (Tamil) astrologer

kshema - prosperity, ease, welfare

kshetram - holy place

kunkumam - vermillion, saffron

loka - earth, world, subjects, people

maTham - ashram, hermitage

MirasudarvaL - (Tamil) a respectful address of a landowner

mukti - release, liberation, deliverance

nyAsaH - gathering, placing, depositing, establishing

paavi - (Tamil) pApin - sinner, criminal, wicked

pongal - a popular South Indian rice dish

poovan - (Tamil) a variety of banana

pradakshiNa - on the right side, go clockwise

pramANam - size, shape, limit, determined testimony or proof

prAptam - (Tamil) prAptiH - fate, luck, interference

prasAdam - a sample of a holy offering

sabalam - (Tamil) temptation

sambhAvanA - paying regard to, respect, thought

sannidhiH - nearness, union, presence of

sAshTaanga namaskaram - prostration with the eight body limbs

touching the ground

thinnai - (Tamil) a raised sit out at the entrance of a house

Vaidika - derived from or conformable to the Vedas; Vedic

vaidikaL - (Tamil) one who performs a Vedic ceremony

vairAgya - freedom from worldly desires

vastram – cloth

vibhUtiH - holy ashes, power, valor, omniscience, omnipotence

vid - a learned man, conversant

vimocanam - liberation, deliverance, unyoking, alighting

yogyatA - skill, ability, fitness