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[parthas@rice.edu: Re: Varadharaajar's beauty (fwd)]

From the Bhakti List Archives

Mani Varadarajan • March 16, 1997 


[Posted on behalf of Partha Ranganathan,  parthas@rice.edu]

-
>From parthas@rice.edu Sat Mar 15 12:14:30 1997
Subject: Re: Varadharaajar's beauty

Thirumalai Anandanpillai said:
> 
> Sri Sadagopan writes about the beauty of the Lord of Atthigiri,
> 
> >Here Swami celebrates
> > the MahOthsavams of the Lord , when He has distinctly different
> > umbrellas , fans and dresses . He (Varadaraja) comes on bhavani
> > on the back of the horse , Garudan . He is also carried in the palanquin
> > or he adorns His ThirutthEr ( Car festival ) .On each of these
> > occasions , His beauty is distinct , different and delectable.
> 
> The beauty of dEvaraajan is something that everyone who has a chance
> should experience.

Thanks to Sri Varadhan for a wonderful description of the ustavams at
Kanchee. The beauty of the lord there is truly something that one has to
experience in person.

Personally, my most favorite parts of the utsavam are the parts after the
lord comes back from his purappadu, and retires from his vaahanam. There is
a wonderful half an hour period during the time when the lord goes around
the inner prakaram of the temple thrice before entering the Kannadi
Maligai. This is the time when the lord is very simply adorned and you get
to have a really close look at the Perumal. The nadaswaram music, the
swaying of the lord to the music, the temple atmosphere, the kannadi sevai,
all combine to make it a really incredible experience, and I would urge
anyone who happens to be at Kanchee during the utsavams to not miss this
for anything in the world. It has left such a lasting impression on me,
that whenever I close my eyes and think about it, it is almost like being
there and seeing the Lord. In fact, the last time I was there, one good man
(a complete stranger to me) was kind enough to let me wave the chamaram at
the lord, and I still remember how thrilled I was at that honor.

My grandparents used to live in Kancheepuram, and I still remember how, as
children, my cousins and I used to be so fascinated by the various special
things in each utsavam (I still am!) -- the "kulukkal" before the
procession, the stealing of the kodai by Thirumangai Alwar during the
Kudarai vahanam, the poo-pandhu sevai, the sevai in the aayiram-kaal
mandapam, and so on. There is also another interesting tradition in
Kanchee, that during the month of Margazhi, the utsavar is adorned with a
silk coat that has the first few words of that day's thiruppavai
embroidered in gold on it. The moolavar is also really beautiful and it is
just a pleasure to be in the garba griham looking at the Moolavar and
Utsavar together.

As a consequence of the Sri Sadagopan and Sri Varadan's postings, I spent a
wonderful half-hour reliving my memories of Kanchee. It is only now that I
realize the amount of time and effort that must go into the postings of
other people on the mailing list, who so seemingly effortlessly convey the
beauty of the lord, the temples, and the verses of the alwars in their
writings. I spent a major portion of the time I spent on this mail
grappling with the right way to translate the visual images in my head into
words on my editor! As Swami Desikan points out, the multifaceted beauty of
the lord is truly something that is best experienced by each individual. My
sincere thanks to all the people on the mailing list who have been so
successful in giving us a "pen-picture" of the beauty of the lord or the
verses of the lord's disciples.  I am really looking forward to a series on
Kanchee similar to the ones that Sri Sampath and Viji have been posting.

> > Swami Desikan states that the possession of two eyes are not
> > enough to enjoy the multifaceted beauty of the Lord. 
> 
> How true... Not only are two eyes not enough, but also no amount
> of time is enough to enjoy His beauty. I grew up in Kanchipuram
> and have had the fortune of being in Kanchipuram for all the
> major utsavams every year  in my 20 years in India 
> before I came here, and I think that I did not have enough time to
> enjoy His sight. My sincere prayer to Him is that He will find me worthy
> enough to  spend as much time as possible in the rest of
> my life at His feet in Kanchipuram. 
>
> PEraruLaaLan perundEvith thaayaar thiruvadigaLE saranam,
> Aazhwaar emperumaanaar jeeyar thiruvadigaLE saranam,
> Varadhan
> 
> PEraruLaaLan perundEvith thaayaar thiruvadigaLE saranam,
> Aazhwaar emperumaanaar jeeyar thiruvadigaLE saranam,

-- Parthasarathy
 
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