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Sri Jagannathan"s moving description of his stay with mobile Ahobila Mutt .

From the Bhakti List Archives

V. Sadagopan • April 12, 1997 


Dear Friends ;
It was a very moving experience to read Sri Jagannath's
posting . It makes one long to have this wonderful and
unique experience atleast once in one's life time ..

Sri Jagan has asked for the translation of the last 
Paasuram of ThiruppaLLIyezhucchi . I guess he had
Bhagavata sEvaa in mind . Here is that Paasuram and 
its translation according to Dr.Raghavan , Reader of 
SrivishNavism  Dept, University of Madras  : 

kadimalark kamalangaL malarndana ivaiyO?
kadiravankanaikadal muLaittanan ivaiyO?
tudiyidayAr surikuzhal pizhindhudari
tuhiluduttherianr soozhpunalarangA ! 
todaiyottha tuLavamum kudaiyum polidhu 
tOnriya tOL thondardippodi yennum
adiyanai ,aLiyanenraruLiyunnadiyArkku
aatpadutthAy! paLLiyezhundaruLAyE 

(Meaning ) " O Lord of Srirangam surrounded by the sacred waters 
of the river Kauveri ! it is already early morning , for the sweet 
smelling lotuses have blossomed; the sun (with lustrous rays ) 
has risen from the eastern ocean that is neighing aloud ; 
the womenfolk of slender waist and curly tresses (after taking bath in 
the river ) and rinsing and drying their clothes , have worn their 
garments and got up (on the river bank ). (This is my earnest 
prayer) . O Lord , Please wake up and make me , your humble
devotee, be ever keen on doing service to your ardent worshippers;
let me submit that I am your devotee named Thondaradipodi  
 (one who rejoices in besmirching my  whole body with the dust 
of the feet of your devotees ) whose shining shoulders always 
hold the flower basket with garlands of fragrant TuLasi leaves 
(and other sacred flowers) fit enough to be worn and adorned 
by You , the Lord of Srirangam ."

The extraordinary importance of Bahgavatha sEvA is implied by
the name that this AzhwAr chose( BhakthAnghri rENu in Sanskrit
and Thondardipodi in Tamil ) . The sanskrit verse says : samastha 
PaapAnAm Prayascchittham nirNitham Bhagavadh -Bhaktha 
PaadOdaka Nisevanam -- yasya murdhni sthitham yaavadh 
VaishNavAnghri rajassubham gangAdhi sarvatheerthAni 
tavattisthantyasamsayam .

This slokam states that there is only one remedy/cure 
for the destruction of  all human sins and that is 
the partaking of the water that washed 
the holy feet of BhagavathAs and BhakthAs of the Lord . The 
sacred dust of the feet of the above have also to be placed 
on one's head and those dusts are as sacred as the holy
waters of the river GangA and others in their sanctity( without
doubt) in their ability to destroy our sins .

Dr.Raghavan also quotes the passuram sections of
NammAzhwAr  , PeriyAzhwAr , Kukasekhara PerumAL
and MaNavALa Maamuni's Upadesa Rathna maalai 
in  support of the greatness of the sacred dust of the BhakthAs
of Sriman NaarAyaNA . These passages are :

Thiruvaimozhi 4.6.6: MAAYAN TAMARADI  NEERU  koNdaNiya--

PeriyAzhWar Thirumozhi : 4.4.6 (meaning ) :

This world is indeed blessed by the contact with the dust of the feet
of the BhagavathAs , who roam around eulogizing  and saluting 
Lord Narasimhan .

Kulasekhara AzhwAr 's PerumAL Thirumozhi : 2.2

What will happen to us interested to fulfil our desire to bathe in 
the sacred waters of GangA , when we get blessed with the contact
of  the dust of the servants of the Lord ? ( The AzhwAr asks a rhetorical
question and answers it by suggesting that there is no need for taking
GangA SnAnam for removing our sins , if we get blessed to have the 
dust of the BhagavathAs on our head ) .

MaNavALa Maamuni in his Upadesa Rathna Maalai (verse 4)
equates Thndaradipodi to " Anbar TaaL thooLi " . Anbar refrs to
those , who are dear to the Lord .

The Ahobila matam kainkaryaparALs are in the same category of
service to the blessed Jeeyar , who has dedicated his earthly moments
to serve Sri MaalOla Narasimhan refereed to by PaeriyAzhwAr 
as " Naathanai Narasinghanai Navinru yEtthuvArgaL Uzhakkiya 
Paada thooLi paduvathAl ivvulaham Bhaaggiyam seythatE " .
This world is indeed blessed by the dust raised during the 
travels of the Jeeyar in perpetual service to the Lord of Ahobilam 
and his fellow BhagavathAs , who accompany him and serve the 
Lord , who descended from the hills of Ahobilam .

SrimanSrivaN Sri NaaraayaNa Yatheendhra Mahaa DesikAya Nama:
Sri RanganAtha ParabramhaNE Nama: 
Sri Lakshmi Narasimha ParabrmhaNE Nama: 

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan