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kapAla-mOksham

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Tssundararajan • June 29, 2000 


The gesture of Sri ananta-padmanAbha-p-perumAL patting the 'lingam' 
representation of  rudra-dEva is explained in the ' tiru-vAi-mozhi ' decad (" 
keDum iDAr Aya-vellAm kESavA enna !") . The episode ( ' aitihyam ' ) is 
narrated in extenso in the padma-purANam.  

As it goes, rudra-dEva had, in rage, yanked off one of the heads of 
brahma-dEva and forthwith caught the ' fratricide' curse of ' brahma-hatyA '. 
      The skull ( ' brahma-kapAlam ' ) stuck to his hand and Sri kESava got 
Sri-dEvi to drop alms of rice into the skull, and the skull fell off, thus 
ending the agony of rudra-dEva.  

The Lord's grace was manifested in vAraNAsi, where there is a not-well-known 
shrine dedicated to Sri kESava, and where Sri-dEvi is known as ' 
anna-pooraNee '.   The spot where the skull dropped off is known (even 
to-day) as ' kapAl-mOksh ' ghAT in vAraNAsi.   AzhvAr has recalled the 
episode in the lines

"kumaranAr tAtai-tunnbam tuDaitta emm gOvindanArE !"  and

"kapAla-nan-mOkkattu-k kaNDu-koNminn !"

This episode is also commemorated in the name of the Lord, 
hara-SApa-mOchana-p-perumAL in tiru-viNNARRan-karai in the outskirts of 
tanjAvUr, a corruption of the Tamil word ' tanjam ' (= refuge) granted to 
rudra-dEva.   The tAyAr  is named ' tanjam ' .

aDiyEn rAmAnuja-dAsan, tirumanjanam Sundara Rajan.

Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 20:16:56 -0000
   From: DeeMurali@yahoo.com
Subject: Anantha Padhmanabha Swamy

Devareer,

I need clarification from the learned Bhavathals of this sadhas regarding the 
statue of Lingam found under the palm of Sri Anantha Padhmanabha Swamy 
moorthis. What is the aidheeham behind it?

Adiyen,
Muralidharan Desikachari.

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