Thiru maal irum sOlai - part 9 - the gala festival at vagai aaRu for azhagar

From the Bhakti List Archives

• February 10, 1997


Thiru  maal irum sOlai - part 10 - the gala festival  at
vagai aaRu for azhagar

Once  the  Lord puts HIS feet into the river, sri  Veera
rAgava  perumAL comes in front and receives HIM. Million
and a half people comes to madurai to have their darshan
from  all over the state of Tamil Nadu. This is the most
popular  event in the whole of Tamil Nadu  in  terms  of
maximum   attendance  in  a  year.  For   mahAmaham   in
kumbakonam also more people come from all over India. TN
govt.  and  madurai district authorities make  elaborate
arrangements to cover this festival.  However  it  takes
place  once in 12 years. When azhagar reaches  RamaRayar
mandapam,  the  fire works and dances  and  music  (both
country  music, real folk songs (researchers  on  contry
music and folk songs of tamil, please note)  and have  a
gala  celebration  of  this holy  occasion   of  azhagar
stepping  down in vaigai river with Sri ANDAL's garland.
They  dance  around as they dress themselves in  various
bright  and  colorful dresses and carry the  tail  lamps
(thiri  viLLakku  or  a type of torch)  all  around  and
glorify  this  place  and  shout  and  chant  loudly   "
gOvindA, gOvindA, gOvindA" and such "gOvinda nAmam" will
be  echoed in the sky and the air will be filled in this
gOvinda  smaranai.  When I saw it first  time  my  heart
resonated  and my eyes watered without my  knowledge  in
deep  emotion. This part of the festival is a real feast
for  the eyes and a "divine tune up" for the aathman and
a  holy  touch  for the bakhthi that is dwelling  in  us
without any ego and complete with the nyAnam that Sriman
nArAyanA is the param and  seeking HIS holy feet is  the
ultimate illakku (aRivin payanE, - amuthE nammalwaar  on
thiruk kudanthai amuthan).



Sri ANDAL samEtha Sri KaLLazhagar thiruvadikaLE charaNam
Sampath Rengarajan