Oh,When!
From the Bhakti List Archives
• October 3, 2001
Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama: Oh! When Adiyen was recently transferred from Chennai to Coimbatore, and while leaving for the new place of posting, adiyen went to the temple of Sri Parthasarathy Swamy at Tiruvallikkeni, for saying “Bye” to adiyen’s favourite Perumal, in whose temple and surroundings adiyen had spent nearly rwo decades and a half,right from adiyen’s childhood. Adiyen would have taken part in innumerable utsavams in all those long years, and Srin Parthasarathy was more a family member, to whom one used to rush, be it with glad tidings,ddifficulties, problems or just mundane developments. And on the days that adiyen did not visit the temple,the deit6y would come in search of me, on a tiurveedi purappadu. Bhagavatas aquainted with Tiruvallikkeni would vouchsafe for the fact that few are the days that the Emperuman remains within the temple confines-on some pretext or other-pancha parvas, brahmotsavams , acharya tirunakshatrams, etc- He is always awaiting an opportunity to go on a jaunt in the mAda veedis- that was perhaps what prompted Kodai Nachiar to exclaim, “VeediyAra varuvAnai VirundAvanattE kandOmE”, and Swami Desikan to proclaim, ’Turaga vihagarAja syandana AndOlikAdishu adhikam adhikam anyAm Atma shObhAm dadhAnam anavadhika vibhootim HastisailEsvaram tvAm anudinam animEshai: lOchanai:nirvisEyam”, and “Vaikunta vAsEpi namE abhilAsha:” Adiyen is not a very emotional person, more inclined to the type described by Sri Tondaradippodi AzhvAr as “irumbu pOl valiya nenjam”. But on that day of leave-taking, when adiyen stood before Sri Parthasarathy, a weight descended in adiyen’s heart, my throat clogged with emotion, and my eyes were coated with a film of tears- all of it occasioned by the thought of being away from Him and the uncertainty of when we would meet again. For, though Coimbatore is only 500 km away, official constraints and family preoccupations would preclude frequent visits to Chennai, and more particularly, to Tiruvallikkeni. An unfathomable sadness seized adiyen, something adiyen had not experienced even while taking leave of a host of close relatives at Chennai. Controlling adiyen with great difficulty, adiyen bid “au revoir” to Perumal, and made adiyen’s way homewards. The episode set adiyen thinking- if a worthless,insincere,and hypocritical mortal like adiyen could be so moved- even if only for a few minutes- what would have been the state of mind of Poorvacharyas like Sri Parasara Bhattar, Sri Bhashyakara , Sri Desikan and others, who had to endure prolonged seperation from their ishta devatas, what immeasurable pain they would have undergone for each second of their seperation from Emperuman. One could also understand the logic behind the decision of Jaya and Vijaya,( the keepers of the Lord’s doors at Sri Vaikuntam, when cursed to a mundane existence by Bhrigu Maharshi), to be born thrice as the bitterest enemies of the Lord, rather than take innumerable janmAs as sAtvic mortals, which would have meant a period of interminable seperation from Sria:pati. Sri Bhattar, who was born and brought up in the environs of SriRangam temple and who was acclaimed as the veritable son SriRanganachiar,9 and whose boundless bhakti towards the Divine Couple gave birth to several gems like Sri Gunaratnakosam,Sri Bhagavatguna darpanam,Sri Rangaraja Stavam,etc.),once had to leave Srirangam due to a difference of opinion with a chieftain of Srirangam, for a long sojourn at Tirukkoshitiyur. Every day of his stay there, he pined away for a glimpse of Azhagia Manaalan, and his anguish at the seperation found expression in the form of a beautiful stotram (it is indeed remarkable how the sorrow of great people is often translated into immortal epics-Sri Valmiki is a shining example). Listen to these stanzas- “Kastoori kalita oordhvapundra tilakam -, karnAnta lOlEkshaNam mugdAsmera manOharAdalam muktA kireetOjvalam pasyan mAnasa pasyatO hararuche: paryAya pankEruham SriRangAdhipatE: kadAnu vadanam sEvEya bhooyOpyaham” Sri Bhattar,unable to see Periya Perumal physically, recalls in his mind’s eye the enthralling details of His bewitching tirumukham, resplendant with a glittering tirumankappu, a sparkling headgear of pearls, and eyes that have been the subject of endless attempts at realistic description, and graphically described by Sri Tiruppanazhvar as “ kariavAgi, pudai parandu, milirndu, sevvariyOdi, neenda ap periavAya kaNgaL”. Overwhelmed by the thought of what he was missing, Sri Bhattar wonders, “kadA” (OHhttp://phone.yahoo.com -------------------------------------------------------------- - SrImate rAmAnujAya namaH - To Post a message, send it to: bhakti-list@yahoogroups.com Archives: http://ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archives/ Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
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