ஆழ்வார்கள் நால்வரின் பாடல்களில் உள்ள ஒற்றுமை

பொய்கை ஆழ்வார், பூதத்தாழ்வார், பேயாழ்வார் ஆகியோர் முதல் ஆழ்வார்கள் மூவர் என அழைக்கப்படுவார்கள். ஒரே காலத்தில் வாழ்ந்தவர்கள். திருமழிசை ஆழ்வார் அவர்களும் இம்மூவர் காலத்தைச் சேர்ந்தவர் என்று நம்பப்படுகிறது.

பொய்கை ஆழ்வார் காஞ்சிபுரத்திற்குப் பக்கத்தில் உள்ள திருவெக்கா என்னும் தலத்தில் அவதரித்தவர்.
பூதத்தாழ்வார் திருக்கடல்மல்லை என்னும் மகாபலிபுரத்தில் அவதரித்தவர்.
பேயாழ்வார் திருமயிலையில் அவதரித்தவர்.

இம்மூவரும் திருக்கோவலூர் என்னும் தலத்தில் ஒருவரை ஒருவர் சந்தித்தனர். ஒவ்வொருவரும் திருமால் மேல் நூறு பாடல்கள் (அந்தாதியாக) பாடினார்கள். முறையே முதல் (1), இரண்டாம்(2) மற்றும் மூன்றாம் (3) திருவந்தாதி என அழைக்கப்படும்.

திருமழிசை ஆழ்வார், சென்னை - திருவள்ளூர் இடையே அமைந்திருக்கும் தலமான திருமழிசை என்னும் ஊரில் அதே காலகட்டத்தில் அவதரித்தவர். திருச்சந்த விருத்தம் என்னும் 120 பாடல்களையும், நான்முகன் திரு அந்தாதி என்று 96 பாடல்களையும் பாடியுள்ளார். நான்முகனை என்று அந்த தொகுப்பு தொடங்குவதால், நான்முகன் திருவந்தாதி என்று கூறப்படுகிறது. நாலாம் (4) திருவந்தாதி என்றும் கூறுகிறார்கள்.

முதல் ஆழ்வார்கள் ஒருவரை ஒருவர் சந்தித்துக்கொண்டனர். ஆனால் திருமழிசை பிரான், இவர்களைச் சந்தித்தாரா என்பது தெரியவில்லை.

பொய்கை ஆழ்வாரின் முதல் திருவந்தாதியில், பத்தாம் திருமொழியில் உள்ள ஒன்பதாவது பாடலின் (1.9.9) முதல் இரண்டு வரிகளும், பேயாழ்வாரின் மூன்றாம் திருவந்தாதியில், நான்காம் திருமொழியில் உள்ள பத்தாவது பாடலின் (3.4.10) முதல் இரண்டு வரிகளும் மற்றும் திருமழிசை ஆழ்வாரின் நான்முகன் திருவந்தாதியில், ஒன்பதாம் திருமொழியின் ஆறாம் பாடலின் (4.9.6) முதல் இரண்டு வரிகளும் ஒரே வரிகளாக உள்ளன. முறையே கீழே பார்ப்போம்.

பொய்கை ஆழ்வார் - முதல் திருவந்தாதி - 10 ஆம் திருமொழி - பாடல் 9

உளன்கண்டாய் நன்னெஞ்சே உத்தமன் என்றும்
உளன்கண்டாய் உள்ளுவார் உள்ளத்து - உளன்கண்டாய்
வெள்ளத்தின் உள்ளானும் வேங்கடத்து மேயானும்
உள்ளத்தின் உள்ளனென்று ஓர்

பேயாழ்வார் - மூன்றாம் திருவந்தாதி - 4 ஆம் திருமொழி - பாடல் 10

உளன்கண்டாய் நன்னெஞ்சே உத்தமன் என்றும்
உளன்கண்டாய் உள்ளுவார் உள்ளத்து - உளன்கண்டாய்
விண்ணொடுங்கக் கோடுயரும் வீங்கருவி வேங்கடத்தான்
மண்ணொடுங்கத் தானளந்த மன்

திருமழிசையாழ்வார் - நான்முகன் திருவந்தாதி - 9 ஆம் திருமொழி - பாடல் 6

உளன்கண்டாய் நன்னெஞ்சே உத்தமன் என்றும்
உளன்கண்டாய் உள்ளுவார் உள்ளத்து - உளன்கண்டாய்
தன்னொப்பான் தானாய் உளன்காண் தமியேற்(கு)
என்னொப்பார்க்(கு) ஈசன் இமை

இது போல, பூதத்தாழ்வாரின் இரண்டாம் திருவந்தாதி, இரண்டாம் திருமொழி, முதல் பாடலின் (2.2.1) எல்லா வரிகளும், திருமழிசை ஆழ்வாரின் நான்முகன் திருவந்தாதி, ஆறாம் திருமொழி, ஐந்தாம் பாடலின் (4.6.5) எல்லா வரிகளும் ஒத்துப் போகின்றன.

கடைநின்(று) அமரர் கழல்தொழுது நாளும்
இடைநின்ற இன்பத்தர் ஆவர் - புடைநின்ற
நீரோத மேனி நெடுமாலே நின்னடியை
ஆரோத வல்லார் அவர்

பெரியோர்களின் மனம் ஒன்றையே நினைக்கிறது. அந்த ஒன்றையே பாடுகிறது. அது சில சமயங்களில், அவர்கள் வாக்கு மூலமாக தெளிவாக நமக்குத் தெரிய வருகிறது. ஒருவரையொருவர் சந்தித்தாலும், சந்திக்காமலும் எப்படி ஒரே வரிகளை இவர்கள் பாடியுள்ளார்கள்? இறைவனின் கிருபை என்று சொல்வதை விட வேறென்ன!

Great Minds think alike!

கொட்டாப்புளி (kottAppuLi)

நாம் பொதுவாக, குழந்தைகள் தூங்காமல் வெகு நேரம் விழித்திருந்தால் சொல்லும் ஒரு பதம் - அடக் கொட்டாப்புளி!

கொட்டாப்புளி என்பது தச்சர்கள் பயன்படுத்தும் ஒரு வகையான சுத்தியல். மரத்தால் ஆனது. ஆனால் மிருதுவான குழந்தைகளுக்கு எப்படி இப்படி ஒரு பெயர் வந்தது? கண்ணெறி பட்டுவிடுமோ என்று அவ்வாறு கூறுகிறார்களா? எனக்கு அதில் திருப்தி இல்லை.

எங்கிருந்து இந்தக் கொட்டாப்புளி என்ற வார்த்தை வந்தது என்று எனக்குப் பல நாட்களாக ஒரு கேள்வி.

சமீப காலமாக திவ்ய பிரபந்தம் படித்து வருகிறேன். அதனால் அதற்குச் சம்பந்தப் பட்ட கதைகள் படிப்பதில் ஆர்வம் அதிகம் எழுந்தது.

நம்மாழ்வார் பற்றிப் படிக்கையில், பிறந்ததிலிருந்தே கண்களைத் திறக்காது, அழவும் அழாது கிடந்த குழந்தையான நம்மாழ்வாரை, அவரது பெற்றோர்கள், ஆழ்வார் திருநகரி கோயிலில் உள்ள ஒரு புளிய மரத்தின் கீழ் விட்டுவிட்டனர்.

பெருமாள் சந்நிதியில் இருந்தால் குழந்தைக்கு எந்த ஆபத்தும் நெருங்காது, குழந்தையும் சரியாகி விடுவார் என்ற நம்பிக்கையில் ஆதிநாதனிடம் சமர்ப்பித்தனர். ஆனால், குழந்தை, பிறந்ததிலிருந்து பகவத் தியானத்தில் இருந்தது அவர்களுக்குத் தெரியவில்லை. 16 ஆண்டுகள் கழித்தே கண்ணைத் திறந்தார். அது பெரிய கதை.

இப்போது புளிய மரத்திற்கு வருவோம். அந்தப் புளியமரம், ஒரு நாளும் தூங்குவது இல்லை. அதாவது, அதன் இலைகள் எப்போதும் விரிந்த நிலையிலேயே இருக்கும். இம்மரத்தில், பூக்கள் பூக்கும், அவை காயாகும். ஆனால் பழமாக அவை மாறாது.

உறங்காப் புளி என்று இந்த மரத்தைக் கூறுவார்கள். 5100 ஆண்டுகளுக்கு மேல் பழமையானது.

ஆதிசேஷன் (இலக்குவணன்) இம்மரமாக, துர்வாச முனிவரின் சாபத்தால் ஆனார் என்றும், இராமபிரானே, நம்மாழ்வாராய் அங்கே அவதரித்தார் என்றும் கூறுவார்கள்.

உறங்குதல் என்றால் கண் கொட்டல் என்று சொல்வதுண்டு. கண் கொட்டாப் புளி = உறங்காப் புளி.

இதுவே நாளடைவில் கொட்டாப்புளி ஆகிவிட்டது என்று எண்ணுகிறேன்.

அதனால் குழந்தைகளை கொட்டாப்புளி என்று சொன்னால், இனி இந்தப் புளிய மரமும், நம்மாழ்வாரும் நினைவுக்கு வர வேண்டும்.

பி.கு. - இது முற்றிலும் என் சொந்தக் கருத்தே. நம் முன்னோர்கள், இறைவன் சம்பந்தப் பட்ட விஷயங்களைக் குழந்தைகளோடு சேர்ப்பது வழக்கம் என்னும் நம்பிக்கையில் எழுதினேன்.

English Translation:

We (in Tamil Nadu) use to call the children who stays awake for long time as kottAppuLi. I was in search of the reason behind using this word 'kottAppuLi'. KottAppuLi is a hammer made out of wood, used by carpenters. How come tender child are called with this rigid name? Some says to overcome the ill omens (kaN dhrishti) casted by people, they say like this. But I was not satisfied with that answer.

Recently I read a short version of Sri NammAzhwAr's life. It gave me the answer.

NammAzhwAr was born in a place called kurugoor (AzhwAr thiru nagari) near Tirunelveli. From the second he was born, he neither cried nor did he opened his eyes. His parents were so worried and they left him under a tamarind tree (puLiya maram) in the Adhi nadha perumaL temple in kurugoor. They believed that, the Lord will take care of the child and all his problems will be solved. They seldom knew that the child was constantly thinking of the Lord from the moment it was born. After 16 years only NammAzhwAr opened his eyes. Thats a big story.

Let us come to this tamarind tree in the temple.

The history says that Lakshmana prevented Sage Durvasa from meeting Rama when Lord Yama was talking with Lord Rama. So, getting angry with Lakshmana, the sage cursed him to become a tamarind tree. It is said that Lord Rama himself was born as NammAzhwAr and resided under the tamarind tree.

This tree is more than 5110 years old. The speciality of this tree is, it will never sleep. That is, its leaves will always be open. It's leaves won't shrink during sun set as other trees' leaves will do. So it is called as uRangAppuLi or the tamarind tree that will never sleep. One can see flowers blooming in this tree. Raw Tamarind being borne from the flowers. But one cannot spot a single tamarind fruit in this tree.

In Tamil, for sleep, we have another word viz. kaN kottal. So, the tamarind tree without sleep can also be called as kaN kottAp puLi. From this kottAppuLi word should have come.

So if we call a child as kottAppuLi hereafter, we should immediately think of nammAzhwAr and the sacred tamarind tree at AZhwar thiru nagari.

Please note that this is just my view. I have a belief that the words of our ancestors will definitely have some connection with the almighty. So I wrote.

Anbil Vishnu temple

Anbil is the fourth temple out of 108 divyadesams. Sri Tirumazhisai azhwar has sung in praise of this kshetram.

Perumal is known as Sundararaja perumal and thaayaar is Sundaravalli thaayaar. Lord Brahmma and Sage Suthaba worshipped the perumal here. Sage suthaba was cursed by Sage Durvasa to become a frog. So in the form of frog, sage Suthaba worshipped the perumal here and got his curse relieved. This temple is very near to Kollidam river and the river itself is the pushkarani, called as Mandooka Pushkarani. Mandookam means frog.

The lord  appeared infront of Brahmma as a handsome boy and conquered Brahmma's pride that he was responsibile for creating beautiful creatures. So, perumal is known as sundara rajan or vadivazhagiya nambi.

Sundararaja perumal is seen reclining on Aadhi seshan (serpent bed), facing east. Here, Sree devi and Bhoomi devi are seen touching his feet. So one cannot see the lord's feet here. The two consort's darshan is equivalent to Perumal's paada darisanam. Brahmma is seen on a lotus from Perumal's navel region.

Sundara valli thaayar sannidhi is to the right side of Perumal's sannidhi. As we move around the prakaram, we can see the paramapadha vaasal, viswaksena sannidhi too. Very calm and beautiful temple. Moolavar's beauty is beyond explanation. Glittering and mesmerising indeed.

Few photos:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1dKHchy26ehw4LGQG_ixf2FeGfh9Q8jdU

Tiruveezhimizhalai

This temple is located on the banks of Arasal aaru (A distributary of Kavery river, Hari sol aaru, meaning the movement of the river will produce a sound hari hari). Being praised by saivaite saints Appar, Sudarar, Sambandar and Manikkavachagar, this is one of the paadal petra sthalam in Chola nadu, on the southern bank of Kavery river. Reference to Arasal aaru, read this earlier post.

Lord Shiva is known by the name Veezhinaathar and his better half is known by the name Sundara kujambigai in this temple. A huge tank (full of water) welcomes  the devotees. This is indeed a treat to our eyes. In these days, where temple tanks are giving a parched sight, this is infact a boon to us. Opposite to the tank is the main gopuram (small in size) which leads to another large gopuram with full of sculptures depicting Shiva ganas, nataraja's dance etc. Before entering this gopuram, to the right one could see a majestic hall, but completely dark. This is known by the name vowaal mandapam (hall of bats), mainly due to non usage of the hall. The roof architecture of this hall resembles chidambaram temple. Once upon a time the celestial marriage celebrations were performed in this hall. But now a days since the population has grown and due to some difficulties in providing lighting arrangements, this celebrations are shifted inside the temple premises in a open hall. Marriage is performed to the utsava moorthis, kalyanasundara moorthi - kathyayani ambal in the month of chithirai on magam nakshatram day. This is performed in the evening time.

Mahavishnu's chakra lost its power and it was by worshipping lord shiva here, he got back his chakra in full power. He performed pooja with 1008 lotus flowers. While completing he was short of one flower and for that he offered his one eye as a lotus. Shiva was happy with that and asked Vishnu to take back his chakra from the temple tank. Hence the name veezhinathar (nethrarpaneswarar).

By worshipping lord shiva, one could get the illness related to eyes cured. Also by worshipping kalyanasundaramoorthi and kathyayani, unmarried ones could get married to good individuals.

We enter the large gopuram and find ourself amidtst broad open prakara that hosts the dwijasthambam and bali peetam. In front of this is a peetam where the lord offered coins to saint Tirugnanasambandar. Further we find a mandapam and this has a lingam Tirumoolanathar.

We come around this outer prakaram and there are three other peetams on the other three sides. Peetam where Saint Sundarar is offered jewels, then on the back side there is the peetam where Saint Tirunavukkarasar was offered coins. Here we find the sannidhi of padikkasu vinayakar who offered coins to the saints on behalf of Lord Siva, during famine times, for building the temple. We also see another gopuram after this sannidhi. We come to the prakaram and move further to find the peetam where manikkavachagar was shown the paadam by the lord. There is also a separate small sannidhi for mahalinga swamy and mayuranatha swamy.

We come to inner prakaram, where there are two temples. One for Veezhinathar and the other for Sundarakujambigai. Before entering the sannidhi, there is a nandhi which is located at a lower level. This is known as Patala nandhi.

There are few steps known as maasa padi, to climb the main sannidhi. On the other side, for exit, there are another set of steps known as Graha padi. We enter the sanctum sanctorum of Veezhinatha peruman. There behind the linga, there are idols of Siva - Parvati in kalyana kolam. Very few temples have these kind of arrangements in the garba graham. To the right, there is the sannidhi of Kalyanasundaramoorthi and Kathyayani in kalyana kolam. There is also a nandhi to the left of Siva. The arrangement is in such a way that siva keeps his hand on nandhi in a resting posture.

Inside the mandapam hosting garba graham, there are places for other utsava idols like Balambal, Bikshandar, Mahavishnu(getting his chakra back by bathing in the temple tank) and few more.

We come around this inner prakara and we see Dakshinamoorthi. Here there is no muyalagan below his feet. Instead, his feet rests on a lotus. There is a hole on the back side of siva sannidhi through which parrots use to worship lord shiva daily. Usually, lingothbhavar will be in this place in all other temples. This is a rare one. There are many other linga structures like Ekambreswarar. The sthala vruksha is Jack tree (palaa maram). Even now a days in villages in and around this place, in all houses there will be jack trees and jack fruit is one of the favourite fruit for the people here. The vahanas are also present in the mandapams in this prakaram. Other sannidhis for Nataraja - Sivakami, Vaidyanathar, Suryan, Chandran, Bhairavar, Murga, Irattai Vinayakar are seen in the front entrance of ths prakaram.

We then enter the temple of sundarakujambikai (azhagiya mamulai amman). This too has a gopuram, to enter from the outer prakaram, but it is rarely opened. Normally we enter from shiva temple. This gopuram has sculptures, predominantly female deities. This has a sannidhi where sundarakujambigai blesses her devotees in a standing posture. With four hands, top two holding sangu and chakra and bottom two with varada abhaya mudras, this deity is said to have beautiful breasts full of grace and hence the name azhagiya mamulai amman. There is a sannidhi for Vinayaka on one side and Muruga on the other side in this prakara.

This temple is maintained by Tiruvavaduthurai aadheenam. Nice temple to have darshan.

Uttamar Kovil

This temple has something special and unique when compared to all other temples. Yes.. This has the shrines of Brahmma, Vishnu and Shiva with their consorts. Vishnu is known by the name Purushottama perumal and hence the name of the place - Uttamar Kovil. Goddess Lakshmi is known as Pooranavalli thayar, who grants the boon to give a complete satisfaction to the devotees. Shiva is known by the name Bikshandar and this place has another name - Bikshandar kovil too. Soundarya Parvathi is the name of Lord shiva's consort in this temple. As the name says, the ambal is so beautiful. For lord Brahmma who does not have a form in this bhoolokha, this temple is an exception. There is a separate sannidhi for Brahmma. Goddess Saraswathi with veena, akshamala also sits in a separate sannidhi, bestowing boons to the people is found in this temple. This is one of 108 divya desams (praised by Tirumangai alwar) and is known by the name Thirukkarambanoor and the sthala vruksham is Banana tree. Banana are found to be grown on the banks of river cauvery. One more temple tiruppaigneele near Trichy is also said to have banana as sthala vruksham.

This is a small temple in terms of area. If we enter from No.1 tollgate bus stop, past Kollidam (coleroon) river in Trichy, we are welcomed by a dwajasthambam. Before that stands the garudazhwar (Periya thiruvadi) sannidhi. Opposite to this is the shrine of Purushottama perumal. Perumal lays on his serpent aadhi sesha - similar to Sri Ranganatha swamy of Srirangam. To the left of this sannidhi is Sri Mahalakshmi thayar, who is adorned with beautiful ornaments. To the right of perumal sannidhi is the sanctum sanctoram of Hanuman(Chiriya thiruvadi). All these are built with in a mandapam. To the left of this mandapam is another mandapam, that hosts the sannidhi of Poorana valli thaayar.

We come around the temple to find the small sannidhis of Twin Vinayaka (Irattai pillayar), Bala lingam (a tiny lingam). Then we come to the Dakshina moorthi sannidhi. Here they call dakshinamoorthi as Siva guru. Then we enter a hall which has the shrines of Bikshandar and Soundarya parvathi (sakthi guru). Nandi deva stands in front of Bikshandar. There are also some idols of utsava moorthis, Lord Subrahmanya, vinayaka in this hall.

Again in the path where we circum ambulate, we find the sannidhis of Lord Rama with Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman and a separate sannidhi for Lakshmi Narayana.

We cross the nandi and reach a small mandapam that has the sannidhi of Lord Venugopala. we move further to see the navagraha sannidhis and Durgai amman. There is another small sannidhi of Lingam that was worshipped by King Dasaratha and the name of that lingam itself is Dasaratha lingam.

We complete the round and come near the dwajasthambam in front of perumal. There on our side we find another mandapam hosting sannidhis of Varadharaja perumal (called as vishnu guru), aazhwars. Brahmma and saraswathi are seated in separate sannidhis.

This sthala is also known by the name saptha guru sthalam. They are Deva guru (brahaspathi), Asura guru (Sukracharya), Siva guru (Dakshina moorthi), Sakthi guru (Soundarya parvathi), Vishnu guru (Varadharaja perumal), Brahmma guru (Brahmma), Gnana guru (Subrahmanya).

Rama Namam

With prayers to Lord Rama on the day after Sri Rama Navami of Vijaya Samvatsaram (2014 April 08), I am writing this blog.

Rama is a two letter mantra derived out of the ashtakshara (Aum Na mo Na ra ya na ya) and Panchakshara (Na ma Shi va ya) as we all know. Many saints have spoken about the power of this RaMa nama.

Goddess Parvathi asked Lord Shiva which is told in Sri Vishnu Sahasranama of the Mahabharata epic. "Keno Payena lakuna vishnoor naama sahasrakam - Patyathe pandithair nithyam srothumicchyaamyaham Prabho". She asked, "how a lay man can achieve the fruits of reciting vishnu sahasranama that can be read by learned person?". Lord Shiva answered, "Just tell rama rama rama. Rama nama has the essence of Vishnu sahasranama or 1000 names of Lord Vishnu". This is told in the sloka "sri raAa rAma rAmEthi ramE rAmE manOramE sahasranAma thathulyam rAma nAma varAnane".

In my childhood days I have heard a bhajan "Rama namame kalkandu" i.e. Rama nama is sugar crystals. This is the taste of nama. Bhadrachala Ramadasa, an ardent devotee of Rama sings, "Entha ruchira rama yemi ruchira - sri rama ni namam yemi ruchira - O rama ni namam entha ruchi". How sweet is rama namam... aaah.. so sweet... he says.

A composer Tanjore Shankara Iyer, sings in his composition -
Maduram maduram sri ramanamam
Manadhirkku inbam alithidum namam
Yedhu vandhu nammai yedhirtha podhum
Innarul purindhu rakshikum namam
Yenniya karumangal inidhe mudiyum
Rama nama mahimai adhuve aagum
Vinnavarum Pottrum tharaka manthram
Veeramum alithidum avan thiru namam

Rama namam is so sweet as a nectar. It gives happiness to the mind. Whatever comes in our way as an obstacle, Rama namam will protect us. What we desire to have, we get it. That is the prowess of the nama. The celestials too sing the pride of this taraka mantra and it installs bravery in one's heart.

After performing several crores of Ramanama, even in 19th century, one great soul got the vision of Sri Rama with his Bow. He is Saint Tyagaraja. He has composed numerous songs on Lord Rama. Who is equal to you Rama?, he asks in his kriti Rama Ni samanam evaru. Also he says Rama nama will give such a comfort to one who says it in another kriti Sukhi evvaro rama nama. In another kriti "rama katha sudha", he says Listening to Ramayana is so soothing and one will get dharma, artha, dhairya and ananda and more good deeds. Above all, rama bhakti (devotion to rama) will fetch you kingdom (Rama bhakti Samrajya).

The power of Rama nama is depicted by Hanuman (Ever living - chiranjeevi). He crossed the ocean by chanting the Rama nama. Rama built a bridge across the ocean to reach Lanka, but hanuman just like that crossed the Ocean by just chanting Rama nama. So this means, Rama nama is mightier than Lord Rama himself.

A small song (composer unknown) depicts the characteristics of rama nama.

Ramanin namame tharaka namam
Vendum varangalai thandhidum namam
Anjanai maindhan aanjaneyanukku
alaikadal thandida udhaviya namam
Jai jai ram ram jai seetha ram
Jai jai ram ram jai seetha ram

Narayana enum ashtaksharathil
Ra venum aksharam olithidume - adhu
Namasivaya enum panchaksharathil
Ma enum jeevanil inaindhidume
thondriyadhe rama namame
thudhithiduvome rama namame
Jai jai ram ram jai seetha ram
Jai jai ram ram jai seetha ram

Hariyum Sivanum ondre endru
anaivarum unarndhu thudhippome
Igaparam irandilum inbam alithidum
Inai yilla namam thudhippome
Adiyavar idargalai pokkidum namam
Arumarundhagiya annalin namam
Amudhamanaya sri ramanin namatthai
anudinam paadi avanarul peruvom
Jai jai ram ram jai seetha ram
Jai jai ram ram jai seetha ram

Ramanamam is the tharaka namam, that gives all you want. It helped Hanuman to cross the ocean. It was born out of the ashtakshara and panchakshara mantras. Let us all chant it. Hari and siva are one and Rama nama gives happiness both in this birth and in the next birth. It erases the difficulties of the deveotees, cures the illness. Let us all chant the nectar like Rama nama daily and get His blessings.

Nanmaiyum Selvamum naalum nalgume
Thinmayum Papamum sidhaindhu theyume
Janmamum maranamum indri theerume
Immaiye Ra Ma yendra irandu yezhuthinal

As quouted by Kambar in his Kamba Ramayanam, if one says RaMa in this birth, it will give him goodness, money for ever. His sorrow, sins will all be evacuated. He will be free from births and deaths. Let us all chant Rama Nama whenever possible (atleast 12 times a day) and get His blessings.

One more note: Samartha Ramadas (who was guru of Chatrapati Sivaji) was an ardent devotee of Rama. He has asked Rama to go in front of a person who has chanted RamaNama 13 crore times in his life. Also he asked Rama to keep the count himself as human may make mistakes while counting. So Rama's Bow (Kodhandam) which has a bell will hit once if a devotee completes 1 crore name. With this the devotees work is easy. He need not have to keep count. He need not bother about that. His only work is to chant Rama nama. Let us start from today.

Rama Rama Rama Rama..........

AnandatAndavapuram Sri AyyanAr

Sri sokkAyi udanurai tiruvarasamoorthy ayyanaar - Well the term says about a graama devatha ayyanaar. But this ayyanaar is none other than the dharma sAsthA (Ayyappan). Famous musician Sri G.N.Balasubramanian has sung a song in praise of this lord at anandatandavapuram (small village near mayiladuthurai - place where the composer Sri Gopalakrishna Bharati lived). Yes. That song is mamakulEswaram shAsthAram in the rAga tOdi, set to Eka tAlam.

The song goes like this.

Pallavi
mama kulEshvaram shAstAram santatam cintayEham
Ananda tANDava puravihAram

Anu pallavi
shamita nata jana duritam nIlAmbara shObhitam
amita sukha shrIpradam atulita divya guNAnvitam

Charanam
kamala rucira karadhrta kAshAyudha vibhUSitam
amara munIshvara bhUta vaTuka nAyaka sEvitam
kamanIya nava yauvana sundarAmbA sahitam
sumashara guhAgrajam shrI rAjam harihara sutam

madhyama kAlam
rAkA shashinibha vadanam ravi sOmAnasa nayanam
rayagati turanga gamanam rakSita samasta bhuvanam

In this kriti, GNB declares that sri ayyanar of anandataandavapuram is his family deity.

mamakuleshwaram - mama (my) kula (family) eeswaram (deity)

I always think about my family deity, sAsthA, who resides at anandatandavapuram. The lord, drives away the sins of the bhaktas who pray to him and he looks great in blue coloured garment that he wears. He grants joy to them and he is an embodiment of sevaral virtues.

He holds a weapon made out of grass (kAshAyudha) in his lotus like hands. He is worshipped by the best of devas, rishis and vedic brahmins. He is accompanied by sundarAmbA who attracts all by her beauty and youthfulness. He is the elder brother of manmadha, muruga. He is the mighty king, son of vishnu and shiva. He has a face like full moon. His two eyes are the sun and the moon. He moves swiftly like that of a water current and protects the whole world.

Many thanks to rasikas.org which guided me with the exact lyrics and meaning of this great song.

In tamil, the goddess is called sokkAyi, which means, a lady who attracts every one by means of her beauty. The same word gets translated to sundarAmbA in sanskrit. Normally Ayyanaar is accompanied by poornA and pushkalA. In this place, he is with sundarAmbA, which is very unique.

Singing Pallandu

Pallandu singing is for blessing some one. Normally a younger one will be blessed by an elderly person. Or more learned person will bless less learned person. But if you see periyazhwar has sung pallandu for Maha vishnu. In what way Periyazhwar is elder than Maha Vishnu who has no origin, no birth? Or in what way he is wiser than the omniscient narayana? But his sheer love on god qualified him to sing pallandu. Periyazhwar was given a respectable position by the pandya king. Yet he is a normal down to earth person who is thinking of the lord always. Though he is seated on top of an elephant his thoughts were fixed on namperumal.

When azhwar visualizes lord vishnu with his consort lakshmi, ascended on the garuda, he didnt think that lord should have come down to bless the devotees. But he had a different view. A view of a mother. He thought the lord is so handsome and when he ascends on the garuda, the beauty knew no bounds. He should be protected from the evil eyes. So azhwar sings pallandu thinking that it will protect the lord from the evil. Such an affection periyazhwar had on Vishnu. Even in his other pasurams he use to think him as lord krishna's mother and when he danced on the serpant kalinga, he was very much worried that the poison emitted from the snake should not harm his child lord krishna!

Beyond the yugas

In hinduism (Sanathan Dharma) it is considered that vedas existence is beyond the yugas. There are 4 yugas. Krita yuga which lasted for 17 lakh years, Thretha yuga which lasted for 11 lakh years, dwapara yuga which lasted for 8 lakh years and the present kaliyuga whose span is 4 lakh years. Lord Maha Vishnu is worshipped in all vedas. It was he who took the Matsya avataram in the krita yugam for saving the vedas from the asuras. This incident proves as an evidence that vedas were there in existence even before the krita yuga. So one can say the vedas are approximately 36 lakh years old (summing up the span of all 4 yugas).

We also say that 4 yugas form one maha yuga. Also 1 Maha yuga is Brahmman's day time in his 1 day. Yet another maha yuga is his night time of a day. Like this we dont know how many days were happened before the present maha yuga. So the age of vedas cannot be computed. Its really a great thing that this vedas are in existence still. The 4 yugas keeps on rotating in an order.

Like the vedas existence being beyond yugas, Veda Purusha Narayana's existence and his worship is also beyond yugas. The tirumala that we see today is headed by Srinivasa Perumal. In the before yugas it was Sri Varaha moorthi who was the presiding deity. This varaha moorthi's incarnation dates back to krita yuga.

Peyazhwar in one of his paasuram (divya prabandam) states that Lord Narayana is everyone's antaryamin (inner soul). He alone resides in his heart too.

Boodhathazhwar states that even the monkeys which use to behave so naughty in other places, will be so disciplined and will offer flowers and worship the varaha moorthi there at tirumala.

Such a fantastic place is Tirumala and so is our India. Even in the sankalpa mantra that forms the important part of all hindu rituals, we use to say baaratha varshe, bharatha kande, jambu dvipe (in the indian sub continent). Such an importance is being given to the nation. So the vedas, sri man narayana and of course our nation India has been there for many yugas.

VEnu gOpAla swAmi - pAlur

vEnugAna lOlu nigana vai ganulu kAvalanE- so sang saint TyAgaraja in his kEdaragowla rAga kriti, describing lord krishna who in the form of vEnugOpAla (with flute in his hands, surrounded by cows) as the protector (kAvalanE).

I heard this from someone that this song was composed by saint tyAgarajA at the residence of veenai kuppier (another contemprory composer). He should have written this song having pAlur vEnugOpAla swami in his mind.

pAlur is a small, quiet village near kudavasal in kumbakonam district. It is also called as mElapAlaiyur. Not many buses are there to access this village. One need to take a cab or go by walk from the main road that leads to kudavasal.

After moving through the green fields on the road side, we could see a sivan temple that marks the beginning of the agrahAram. There after for few meters one could move on a concrete road. That road takes us to the vEnugOpAla swami temple. Its a small temple dedicated to vishnu on the western side of the agrahAram.

Behind the temple there is a huge tank with some water that belongs to the temple. Surrounding the tank, there are large number of trees offering an awesome treat for our eyes.

The main deity here is Sri Lakshmi Narayana. Venugopala along with rukmini and sathyabama are the procession deities or utsava moorthi. The lord is adorned with expensive ornaments. Krishna by himself will shine brightly with the intensity of thousands of stars. His lusture, after being adorned with diamonds and other gems need no further explanation or description. Even if I try to give one, it will be definitely never upto the mark.

Coming to the tyAgaraja kriti, in the anupallavi, he describes the ornament worn by venugopala. It goes like this - vEnu lella dhrishti chutti vEyuchu brokuchu rAga - says the chutti (ornament worn on forehead) grabs one's attention first when he sees the deity.

He then describes about the lord's lotus like face, graceful eyes - vikasitha pankaja vadanulu vivitha kadulu nAtaka - okari kokaru karamula niti Orakannula jootaka - sukaravamulu kala tharunulu sogasugAnu pAtaka - sakalasurulu tyAgarAju sagunivEdaka vachchuchu.

Once if we see vEnugOpAla, standing in the sanctum sanctorum, welcoming his devotees, we can never get a feeling to move away from that place. During gOkulAshtami times, the village will have celebrations like uriyadi, adding to the fun index of the entertaining function.

NAchchiyAr kOvil

This is the 14th among the 108 divya dEsams. It is located on the way to KumbakOnam from kudavAsal. This is famous for the kal garudan or garudA made out of stone. There is an interesting fact behind this.

During the temple festival, the lord and is taken on the back of garudA for procession. While starting, 4 people will be lifting the lord along with garuda vAhanam. The weight of the garudA keeps on increasing, demanding extra people at every furlong. 4 increases to 8, 16, 32, 64 and at last to 128. On return the garudA's weight will start diminishing. So 128 gets reduced to 64, 32, 16, 8 and so on. While entering into the garudA's place, there will be just 4 people holding the statue as it was at the start.

Another aspect of this garudA is that he has 10 serpants on his body. Near his eyes (2), ears (2), shoulders (2), throat (1), chest (1), arms (2). Usually there will be 4 or 6 serpants on garudA in other temples.

Vishnu is called by the name Srinivasa and Lakshmi is called as Vanjulavalli thAyAr. It is believed that, garudA spotted the pretty girl vanjula valli near nAchchiyAr koil and persuaded Sri Vishnu to marry her and he indeed performed the rituals. Vishnu became happy and offered GarudA status equal to him.

In this temple there is no separate sannidhi for thAyAr as other vishnu temples have. Both perumAL and thAyAr are in the same place. And Srinivasa is in the form of a human with just two hands as opposed to other temples where he use to have 4 hands.

If you observe, Maha Vishnu will be standing some what in the corner, leaving the center place to vanjula valli thAyAr. This signifies about the importance that one has to give to their wife. Surronding the couple who are standing in the wedding posture, there are 5 people who attended the marriage. BrahmmA, BalarAmA, AniruddhA, PurushOtthamA and PrathyumnA.

The temple has a nice prakAram, rAja gOpuram. Holy tank or pushkarani is located outside the temple and it is definitely a feast for our eyes.

Thirucherai

This is the 12th divyadEsam among the 108 divyadEsams or vishnu temples.

This sthalam is located on the way from kudavasal to nachiyarkoil. The main deity is sAranAtha perumAL. His consort, thAyAr is given the name sAranAyaki. Thi vimAnam is sAra vimAnam and pushkarani or holy tank is called as sAra pushkaraNi.

When we approach the temple, the majestic tank (there was some water in the tank :)) welcomes us all. Opposite to the tank, there lies the huge gOpuram or main tower of the temple. Crossing that gopuram, we find a dvijasthambam and a large prakAram or corridor, through which we can walk around the temple. We enter into the main mandapam and reach the place where Maha Vishnu resides.

In the sanctum sanctorum, the lord is in a standing posture (nindra thirukkOlam) with 4 hands. Conch and chakra in the upper two hands and the lower right hand offering protection (abhayam) and the lower left hand offering boons (varam). In his chest, lives goddess lakshmi. The utsava moorthi has two consorts - neela devi and bhoomi devi. Sri devi resides in his chest.

Apart from them, to the right side of the lord, sage mArkaNdEyA is seated, seeking salvation. River Kaveri seated to the left of the lord. There is also an idol of Santhana krishna (krishna as a small child) in the sannidhi.

There is a separate sannidhi for Lord Narasimha. Here he is blessing everyone along with goddess Lakshmi and gets name as Lakshmi Nrusimhar.

Coming out of the mandapam, we take a right turn to reach the thAyar sannidhi. sAranAyaki thAyAr, seated on a lotus is welcoming all her visitors with a nice smile. Praying to her, we move around the inner corridor and complete a round at the thAyar sannidhi and come out to the outer corridor. After completing the round in the outer big corridor, we offer our namaskArams to the lord and the goddess at the dvijasthambam seeking their blessings.

Sri Adhi kEsava perumAL

Sri Mayooravalli thAyAr samEdha sri Adhi kEsava perumaL, thirumayilai is a scintillating sthalam. Hundreds of years ago, sri pEyAzhwAr had performed thiruppani for this temple. The majestic dvijasthambam is the one that we see first on entering the temple. Under the shades of the dvijasthambam, we have garudAzhwAr standing with his arms bowed to the lord. It also appears as though garudA is welcoming his master's devotees to the temple. Moving on, we enter the sanctum sanctorum of the lord who is in nindra thirukkOlam, with shangachakra - varadha abhaya hastham. His majesticity knew no bounds to us. That much gambheeram. On the doors, the dasAvathAram - From Matsya to kalki has been carved. pEyAzhwAr who is the amsam of perumAL's sword, has found a place inside the sanctum sanctorum itself. After having his dharshan we come out of the sanctum sanctorum to perform a circambulation around the temple.

Sri KulasEkara Azhwar sannidhi is seen first. After offering our salutations to the AzhwAr, we enter into the sannidhi of sri mayoora valli thAyAr. She is the embodiment of grace. As told by sri subrahmanya bharathi, "nambinOr keduvathillai ithu naangu marai theerppu - ambikaiyai saranadaindhAl, adhika varam nAm peralAm" (one who have got faith in God, they will be never ruined. That too if we surrender at the lotus feet of ambikai we can get more boons), thAyAr is the manifestation of grace.

After seeing her, we move to the sannidhi of sri chakrathAzhwAr. He is also called as sri sudharsanAzhwAr. On his back, stays sri nrusimha moorthi. To enable devotees to have a look of sri nrusimhan, a mirror has been placed on the side of chakrathAzhwar. We bow to chakrathAzhwAr and sri nrusimhar and then move to the right. We reach the AndAL sannidhi. AndAL was decorated with a silk saree tied as madisAr (saree style of brahmins) and she was standing with a sense of proud for she being the better half of sri mahA vishNu. The mAngalyam was studded with shining stones and whether it glorifies AndAL or AndAL glorifies the stones is a topic that cannot be debated upon.

Moving further, we come to the other end, which is obviously the front right end of the temple. We bow to the veera AnjanEyar and come near the dvijasthambam and offer our namaskArams to the lord.

One important thing, Oops! I forgot to mention. On the way to the sannidhi of Adhi kEsava, we have a room where great saints and Acharyas like Sri Ramanujar, Sri MudhaliAndAn, sri maNavALamAmunigaL, sri kooraththAzhwan, sri vEdantha dEsikan and many more were seated. It appeared as though these great people were involved in deep discussion about the grace, fame of namperumAL. Let the blessings of namperumAL be showered on us.

aum namO nArAyanAya!

A trip to Tiruvallur

It was on May 1 2009. We were sitting at our home. Time was around 9 AM in the morning. That day being "May day", we were planning for some outing. The discussion was started with a suggestion, "shall we go for a movie tomorrow?". I had been fed up with now a days movies. I said, "Movie.. Movie... Movie.... Always Movie?? Try for something different!". Immediate response was "Where?". I said "a temple". Another member of our family said, "I had never been to Madhuranthakam. Shall we go to the yEri Kaatha Raamar temple?". At the same time I added, "Any where.. either to Madhuranthakam or to Tiruvallur.. Any place Ok for me.". After taking into considerations the distance etc.., we came to a final conclusion that we shall go to Tiruvallur. We arranged a taxi and started to that place by 4:15 PM.

It was nearly a one and half hour journey. We went via Guindy - Porur - Thirumizhisai and reached our destination Tiruvallur. It was a nice town. We entered "Kanakavalli sametha Vaidya Veeraraghava perumal" temple. Sri Aanjaneyar was welcoming the crowd from his sannidhi located at the very entrance of the temple. In front of aanjaneyar sannidhi was the mantapam, holding the gopuram. On that day there was some procession I guess. I could see the hanumantha vaahanam near the main entrance. The priests were preparing for another procession on the anna pakshi (swan) vahanam and of course there was the garudan (vahanam of Vishnu).

To the left of the temple was the big holy tank - "Hruth thaaba pushkarani" that cures all illness and anxiety. It was a majestic tank. Very huge in size of course. But the water content was very very less. Of the large area, only at the center near the neer aazhi mandapam (hall in the middle of the pond), there was water. Remaining portions were full of sand and the corners were converted into a park with beautiful flowers and small benches made out of stone to sit.

Surrounding the temple, there were large number of shops selling flowers, betel leaves, photos of the deity, salt etc. People have the practice of offering salt to the deity to cure their illness and grant happiness. An area near the dwijastambam has been allocated for the same. I have also heard of people dissolving jaggery in the pond in earlier days as an offering. But now I could seldom see that.

We entered the temple. We were directed to the sanctum sanctorum of Sree Vaidya Veeraraghava Perumal. Perumal here lies on his serpent bed - Sri Aadhi Sesha. Sri Devi sits by the side of his feet and Saint Markandeya sits near his head. Veeraraghava Perumal's right hand is touching the saint's head. Veeraraghava was so large in size, that one cannot have his full darshan at one shot. While entering we need to have a look on his upper half (from his face) and while leaving we need to see the remaining half (from his feet).

We moved out of his sannidhi and circumnavigated the temple in clock wise direction. There came the Kanakavalli thaayar sannidhi. Had a good darshan of thaayar and the priest offered us the kunkuma prasadham.

On the way we saw Sri Ramar sannidhi. Here Rama was accompanied by Sita and Lakshman alone. Hanuman was missing. Perhaps he must have went out and sat at the entrance, welcoming the devotees.Then came the sannidhi of Sri Venugopala, flanked on both sides by Rukmini and Sathyabama. After having the darshan of Sri Venugopala, we had darshan of great poets, saints - Sri Ramanujar, Sri Vedanta Desikar and few more.

Went out of the temple with a sense of satisfaction and got into our car. On the way the driver said, "In the morning also I had been to a Perumal temple." I asked where he had been in the morning. The answer was "Madhuranthakam yEri Kattha Ramar temple!". I smiled silently and we reached our home.

Srirangam

This is the first among the 108 divya dEsams or sacred temples dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The shrines here are Sri RanganAtha, Ranga nAchiyAr or AranganAyaki thaayaar and Andal nAchiyAr. The history of srirangam was given by me in my earlier blog dedicated to Uchi pillayar temple

Out of the 12 AzhwArs (poigaiAzhwAr, boodhathAzhwAr, pEyAzhwAr, periyAzhwAr, tondaradipodiAzhwar, nammAzhwAr, AndAL, kulasEkarAzhwAr, thirumangaiAzhwAr, madhurakavi AzhwAr, thiruppanAzhwAr, thirumazhisaiAzhwAr), 11 (except madhurakavi AzhwAr) have sung pAsurams on this temple. Saint TyAgaraja has sung the sriranga pacharatna (collection of 5 songs) and Muthuswamy dikshithar has song another 5 songs on various deities over here.

This ksetrA is described as bhoolokha vaikundam. Saint tyagaraja has mentioned this in his kamboji raga composition O ranga Sayee. In his todi composition raju vedala juda murare, he has mentioned about the purity and divinity of the river kAvEri.

Dikshithar has mentioned the structure of the vimanam in the song RanganAyakam in the rAga nAyaki as "pranavAkAra divya vimAnam". He has also sung on the mEla pattAbhirama present in the west side of the temple in his brindAvana sArangA song - sri rangapura vihArA.

Tanjore Ponnaiyah pillai has also composed a song - RanganathudE in the rAga sourashtram.

There are 7 prakArAs in the temple. The name of the seven prakArAs are given below:
1. Garbagriha
2. Trivikrama chozhan suttru
3. Kili chozhan suttru
4. Thirumangai aazhwar suttru
5. Kulasekara aazhwar suttru
6. Rajamahendra chozhan suttru
7. Dharmavarma chozhan suttru

But these have another name also. The other names in the same order as above -
1. Bhoolokham
2. Buvarlokham
3. Suvarlokham
4. Maharlokham
5. Janoolokham
6. Thapolokham
7. Sathyalokham

The vimanam of the temple is called - pranavaakaara vimanam. (It will be in the shape of Omkaaram)

Aren't these 7 names identical to one of the mantra - Om bhoohu, Om buvaha, oohum suvaha, om mahaha, om janaha, om thapaha and oohum sathyam that will come during sandya vandanam?

So the 7 prakaaraas are the form of these 7 mantras with Omkaaram (main vimanam) at the centre.

Sri Abheeshta Varadharaja perumal

Sri Abheeshta Varadharaja perumal temple is located at Vishnupuram in Tiruvarur district.

This temple has its reference in the puranas. The Lord in this temple is holding the "Chakra" which is some what special when compared to the other temples. The history goes as follows:

Maha Vishnu after killing asuras, found that his chakra has lost its power. So to reinstantiate the lost power in his chakra, He went to Kalish, the abode of Lord Shiva and prayed to Him. Shiva asked Vishnu to go to Bhoolokha (the Earth) and offer pooja to shiva at a place called "Thiruveezhimizhalai" (located very near to Vishnupuram mentioned above). So Vishnu went there. He called the river Kaveri to help him in pooja, by giving water. Since kaveri came on the request of Vishnu (Hari) the river running on the side of thiruveezhimizhalai and other near by places is called by the name "Hari sol aaru" or the river that heeded to the words of Hari. It is now known as Arasal aaru after several transformations to the name by People.

Vishnu made the kaveri water to flow to the temple tank and he performed abhishekams to the deity (shiva) using that water and the 1008 lotus flowers that use to bloom on the temple tank daily. One day, Vishnu when he was about to complete his offerings, found that there was a shortage of 1 lotus flower. But he want to complete his pooja at any cost. So he plucked one of his eye from his face and offered it as a compensation to the flower that was found to be missing. Shiva became very happy with Vishnu. In no time he appeared before Vishnu and gave the sudharsana chakra back to him, now with more power and tejas than it was before.

The shiva at thiruveezhimizhalai who was offered the lotus eye of Vishnu came to be known as Nethrarpaneswarar or veezhinatha swami in Tamil. The place where Vishnu stayed and worshipped Shiva came to be known as Vishnupuram.

The Varadharaja perumal at Vishnupuram is known to cure eye related disorders and grant a happy and peaceful life to all the devotees who surrender themselves to his lotus feet. Also one will get all good things that they wish for from the Perumal as he is holding the powerful chakra that he got after praying.

Uchi Pillayar Temple

Rockfort - My native place.

Located in Trichy, the central district of Tamil Nadu, has reference to several historical events.
River Kaveri flows through the city and makes agriculture one of the key sector here.

The rockfort temple is a famous temple. It is built out of rocks by the chola kings. The pallava kings (Mahendra varman especially) added new sculptures to the areas in and around the temple. There will be a rock cut cave near the temple, that was created by the pallavas. There are two temples - Uchi pillayar temple and Thaayumaanava swami temple.

Origin of Uchi pillayar temple dates back to the Ramayana period. Vibheeshana, the younger brother of Ravana, who won the favour of Lord Rama, after surrendering to Him, was returning from Ayodhya, after the enthronement ceremony of Rama, as the king. He was carrying an idol of Lord Vishnu who was lying on the serpant - Aadhi sesha to Lanka. This idol was given to him by Rama as a gift. Rama warned Vibheeshana that if he place the idol down some where then he would not be in a position to take it out and asked him to be careful about that. Vibheeshana agreed and he was on the way to Lanka with the idol in his hand and he was crossing Trichy (also known as Tiruchirapalli).

The river Kaveri attracted him by its beautiful course. He was tempted to take a bath in the river. But alas! He dont have anyone near by to hold the idol in their hand. Then came a boy by his side. Vibheeshana requested the boy to hold the idol in his hand so that he can have a bath in the river. The boy agreed, but with a condition that Vibheeshana should return before he counts 10, otherwise the idol will be kept down. Just 10 seconds was given for Vibheeshana to have a bath. Vibheeshana agreed. He went down the river and took a dip. The boy was almost to count 10. Still Vibheeshana didnt reach the boy. He was completely lost in the comfort that the river water provided. The boy counted 10 and placed the idol down with it's face facing the direction of Lanka, i.e, south.

Vibheeshana, struck by the memory of idol, realised that it was late and hurriedly advanced towards the boy. But all in vain. He had kept the idol down. It got fixed in that place. Vibheeshana tried to move it. But he couldnt. Vibheeshana became very angry and he chased the boy who had kept the idol down. The boy ran and climbed up the rock that was at a distance and settled on a small stone. Vibheeshana after reaching the hill top, hit the boy hard on his forehead.

Then came the surprise. The boy before him turned into Lord Vinayaka. It was a divine plan that was made to retain the idol in India itself and not to let it go outside India. Vibheeshana offered his prayers, got the blessings of Vinayaka and left for Lanka. He ruled Lanka with fairness.

The rocky place got converted to Uchi pillayar temple. The vinayakar was known by the name "Uchi vinayakar" (Vinayaka who sat on the top). The place near river Kaveri where the idol was kept is known by the name "Srirangam", with the idol - known by the name - Sri Ranganatha swamy as the presiding deity.

Since Vibheeshana hit the boy on his forehead, one could see the cavity on the right side of the forehead of Uchi vinayakar, even today.

One need to climb more than 700 steps to reach the Uchi Pillayar temple.