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thiru adhyayana sEvai - part 24 - paNitthuLigal pOdum iarvu puLLigaL !

From the Bhakti List Archives

Sampath Rengarajan • December 8, 1999 


Srimadh Azhagiya singar thiruvadikaLE saraNam
Sri RanganAyikA samEtha Sri RangarAjan thiruvadikaLE saraNam

thiru adhyayana sEvai - part 24 - paNithuLigal iarvugaL pOdum puLLi !

Dear bAgawathAs,

eeratthil icchai parantha mAmarangaL
thooratthil pacchai niraintha panthalgaL
paNitthuLigal pOdum iravup puLLigaL
arangatthil kathirkOlam kAnbathu arithu.

meaning:
The wet breeze  is brushing the mango trees. The mangoes are ripe
and the vAsam that is  coming  past  these  trees  will creat  an
icchai in everyone's mind.  However  these mango trees have their
own icchai. They want their yield to  be  seved  to  Sri Arangan.
They  took  thier  birth  in Srirangam only to serve Sri Arangan.
(One can easily  know  these  fragrance  of   mAmbazham when they
pass mAmbazha sAlai). On the far side near the kauveri banks the
green trees are all  appearing  as if they have made a pacchai or
emerald canopy  for  welcoming  the bhaktALs to Srirangam for the
uthsavams. The woman known as night time is beginning  to  make a
kOlam using small  droplets  of water or the dew.  But she is shy
to see the Sun  and  leaves  the  kOlam  incomplete.  The  Sun is
feeling guilty that the kOlam is incomplete on the streets of Sri
rangam. PerumAL's purAppAdu has to come through these veethis and
all these kOlams have to welcome perumAL. So the  Sun  decides to
complete the kOlams using its own morning  rays  knwon  as  kAlai
kiraNangaL. This is a rare scene only can be seen in Srirangam.

Uthsavam details:
         "While WE were seated on the Sri chEra pAndiya throne or
simmAsanam placed above the couch  of Sri HarihararAyar and below
the  pearl  canopy  of  Sri  Sundara  pAndiyar  in  the  Azhagiya
maNavALan thiru maNdapam and listening to the  verses  of Kaliyan
(Sri thirumangai AzhwAr) the chiefs of  the  temple  servants  or
kainkarya barAL and the Sri vaishnava  dignitaries approached  US
and appealed to US that WE  should  repeat the honour done to our
Sri SadakOpan (Sri namAzhwAr) once  before.  Hence WE are sending
our used mantle, sandal paste, and  garlands, (to Sri nammAzhwAr)
through thalayiduvAn".

    The sthAnikA now commands that "Write it, read it again". The
epistle is written by a scribe on an "Olai" or a palm leaf and is
tied to the forehead of the thalaiyudvAn. It is treated as a holy
crown and the rituals of coronation or pattAbhishEkam are briefly
conducted.  The  epistle is this carried to the shrine of Sri nam
AzhwAr and handed over to Sri nammAzhwAr.  The  thalaiyiduvAn  is
the chief of  the temple  kainkarya barALs and along with him all
the other temple servants  or  kainkarya baraLS including bearers
also goto the shrine of  Sri nammAzhwAr. The thalaiyiduvAn or the
sEnAthipathy of all kainkarya baraLs comes back with a priest who
carry Sri nammAzwAr back to the  mahA  mandapam  using his hands.
This is known as kai thala sEvai. This ends the  thiru kArtthigai
month festivals. Next is thiru adhyayana ursavam.

Srimadh Azhagiya singar thiruvadikaLE saraNam
Sri RanganAyikA samEtha Sri RangarAjan thiruvadikaLE saraNam
thiruk kudanthai Rengarajan

Note: Thiru adhayana uthsavam begins today in Srirangam with thiru
nedunthAndagam.
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