In and around chennai itself we have Lord Parthasarathy in "Thiruvallikeni", divadesa perumal, perumal for whom the azhwars have done the mangalAsAsanam, Sthalasayana perumal in "Kadalmallai", Nithyakalyana perumal in "Thiruvidandhai", the avathara sthalams of peyAzhwar and bhootatAzhwar, Thirumazhisai azhwar in "Thirumazhisai" village near chennai, veeraraghava perumal in "Thiruvallur" for which the mangalAsAsanam was done by azhwars. Now close to Thiruvallur is "Thiruninravur" where the bhaktha vatsala perumal is present, a little further on is "Thiruppukuzhi" where the mangalAsAsanam of Vijayaraghava perumal was performed by azhwars.
All these are places of great importance. If we read through the history, the place we call "pallavaram" today is indeed "pallava puram" because the pallava kings ruled over these provinces. Pallava puram over time was shortened to pallavaram. Similarly the place we call "velachery" is in fact "velvi cheri". "velvi" actually means "yAgam". Because in this place there were lots of yAgas performed, it came to be known as "velvi cheri". velvi chery came to be replaced with velachery. Likewise we say "Teynampettai", which was actually called "devanampriyan pettai". This now got replaced by Teynampettai. In Parrys, we have a street called "armenian street", so it came to be known as people from armenia had came to stay there. "Mint street" was called "thangachAlai" (not mention of gold here) but "vidangam", we say "saptha vidangam" isnt it, then "dangan" street became "thangam street" and in English finally became translated to the name of Mint street. All these are historical information about Chennai.
All these are places of great importance. If we read through the history, the place we call "pallavaram" today is indeed "pallava puram" because the pallava kings ruled over these provinces. Pallava puram over time was shortened to pallavaram. Similarly the place we call "velachery" is in fact "velvi cheri". "velvi" actually means "yAgam". Because in this place there were lots of yAgas performed, it came to be known as "velvi cheri". velvi chery came to be replaced with velachery. Likewise we say "Teynampettai", which was actually called "devanampriyan pettai". This now got replaced by Teynampettai. In Parrys, we have a street called "armenian street", so it came to be known as people from armenia had came to stay there. "Mint street" was called "thangachAlai" (not mention of gold here) but "vidangam", we say "saptha vidangam" isnt it, then "dangan" street became "thangam street" and in English finally became translated to the name of Mint street. All these are historical information about Chennai.
Vedanta desikar who was born in "Thuppul", lived first in asthagiri and then went to another divyadesham called "Thiruvahindipuram", the perumal here was called "devanathan", and the thAyyar being the daughter of brighu was called "Bharghavi" or "HemAmbhujavalli". There is a river running here called by the name of "gadila nathi", it is not actually "gadila" but indeed "garuda nadhi". With his nose, GarudAzhwar drew a line here and this river formed as a result which now came to be known as "garuda nadhi". In "Thiruvahindipuram" the perumal lives in the base of the mountain, atop the mountain is "Hyagreeva perumal" who is the OLDEST Hyagreevar in the whole of India. Even though we can find numerous Hyagreevar temples in India, the oldest is this Hyagreevar atop the mountain in "Thiruvahindipuram". This mountain is named as "Aushada giri". Why was it so called, because in cuddalore under the garuda nadhi there is a small temple for Hanumar, the sannadhi of AnjanEyar. If we look at the AnjanEyar we can see AnjanEya holding the sanjeevini mountain in his hand. When Hanumar was taking the sanjeevini mountain on his way to lanka, a small portion of this mountain fell on this place and this mountain being a part of sanjeevini, a medicinal mountain, therefore came to be known as aushada giri.
In this aushada giri Swami Vedanta desikan performed tapasya. From there Vedanta desikan came to Srirangam and under the shelter of Lord Sri Ranganathar attained paramapadam. Even today that home is there in Srirangam.
We often say Poonthamallee, the place is indeed called poovirantha mallee. There were lots of flower gardens here. If the soil is good only then the flowers will bloom.
When we speak of mallee even today we say madhuramallee, the mallee that we buy from Madurai will have a scent of its own. Again near Rameshwaram, in pambam the gundumallee grows like anything, when we smell its so nice. Chandana mullai, which in certain places they would sell and from which would emanate such a wonderful scent. Likewise Jaathi mallee, many such flowers each of them have so many varieties of smell even though they belong the same mallee family. The poovirantha mallee was a land suited for the growth of flowers. In this place lived the famous "Thirukatchinambi" who was ordained as an achArya by enperuman himself
In 1009 AD, Maasi month, with the star of mrigasirisha, Thirukatchinambi was born for the couple named veerarAghavan Kamalai. The acharyan name was GajendradAsan. Thirukatchinambi would setup a lot of gardens in pooviranthamallee, planting lots of thannanthuzhal, vrikshi, mallee, mullai flowers and grow lots and lots of flowers and producing flower garlands everyday, would take them to offer to peraruzhalan in Kanchipuram, just like how periyAzhwar did the pushpa kainkaryam for vadabhadrasayee in Srivilliputthur, thondarapodiazhwar did the pushpa kainkaryan for Ranganathar and ananthAzhwar did the pushpa kainkaryam for thiruvenkatudayAn in thiruvenkatam. As he had the bhakthi for peraruzhalan in asthagiri within Kanchipuram, he came to be known as "Thirukatchinambi".
The Flower must be kept very sacred. In those days they would offer flowers first by closing their mouth with a cloth, why, because, while plucking the flowers, when they are speaking with someone, the saliva from the mouth may fall on the flower. Just silently we should not pluck the flower, we should keep chanting bhagavannamam and our mouth should be closed and our breath should not fall on the flower. We should not scratch our heads and touch the flower offered to the lord. If the flower has hairs in it, this should not be offered to the lord. We should not throw flowers anywhere, in the dining table we eat food and therefore we should not keep the flower in the dining table as we would have touched the mouth during eating. The extent to which you are with shraddha, so much so the bhagavan kripa will be there for you. Isn't shraddha the bhakthi itself. Like that with great care, making the soil good, planting, seeding new creepers, removing old creepers, with great shraddha plucking the flowers and creating a garland, he would take like that to Kanchipuram. Just not for one or two days, this kainkaryam is happening constantly. PerarurAzhan in kanchipuram sees all this and observes Thirukatchinambi becoming old day by day. Even when old, Thirukatchinambi has not stopped with this kainkaryam, getting up early in the morning, going to the garden, collecting all the flowers from the garden, he would be aiming to reach kanchipuram before the thiruvArAdhana kAlam for the perumal happens. Think about the distance he would need to walk. When he is walking, he would rest for a while at Sriperumbudur in bhootapuri where Sri Ramanujar would be a small child then. By the grace of peraruzhalan, for Sri Ramanujar the first sangam that happened was with Thirukatchinambi only. Day and night he would listen to the gunam and anubhavam of the bhagavan and enjoy the bliss of the enperumAnAr. As Thirukatchinambi, even in his old age was performing the flower kainkaryam, peraruzhalan would say, "why do you come all the way from pooviranthamallee and perform sEva to me here. I feel very sad that you face difficulty walking this distance in your old age, so please do not walk all this distance". But how can Thirukatchinambi be without doing the kainkaryam. The reason human being has been given hands and feet are only to perform sEva to the bhagavan. Either bhagavatha sEva, Acharya sEva or bhagavan sEva is the fruit of having begot these hands. When Thirukatchinambi protests that how can he be without doing any kainkaryam, perumal sees him and says, "From now on you do the Azhavatta kainkaryam (fanning the lord)". Thirukatchinambi therefore does the Azhavatta kainkaryam. Perumal would speak without any formalities with Thirukatchinambi.
Nearby in Kooram, having built a palatial house and for the visiting bhakthas offering food and thence looking if no more devotees are coming, our koorathAzhwar would close the doors of his palatial house. The sound of the doors closing can be heard even in kanchipuram. koorathAzhwar, having performing the thadiAradhana will close the doors of the thirumAligai when the bell tone of the thiruvArAdhana of perumal at Kanchipuram is heard. The sound of doors closing after thirukAppu of peraruzhalan will be heard even in kooram by koorathazhwar. So in the night, when the thirukAppu is placed for the perumal and the huge doors are being closed, the sound will fall on the ears of koorathazhwar at kooram. Usually after ascertaining that no more sevakas or devotees are coming, koorathazhwar will decide that he can now close the place where the thadiAradhana was performed and will perform the thirukappu and close the doors of his house. One day what happened was the sound of the thirukAppu of Varadaraja perumal was not heard and koorathazhwar was waiting and waiting and then thinking that the thirukAppu was over, he closed the door of his house. As the huge doors were being shut, in those days the doors will have bells fitted and as the doors are being pulled there would be heard loud ringing tones from the bells. Now when Thirukatchinambi was fanning the perumal, perumal asks Thirukatchinambi "where is the sound of bells ringing coming from?" Immediately Thirukatchinambi replies that koorathazhwar after performing the thadiAradhana for the bhagavath bhakthas, thinking that no more bhakthas are going to come in was now performing thirukAppu of his house and that is the source of these bells ringing. Perumal says "There is no limit for the riches of koorathazhwar". Listening to these words, Thirukatchinambi feels a great Anandam for koorathazhwar being so gifted to get these words uttered from the bhagavan himself. He is waiting for the morning to come when he can go to koorathazhwar and deliver this message to him. Going to the home of koorathazhwar in the morning, he conveys the message that yesterday perumal was talking about him and koorathazhwar listens with great happiness that perumal, peraruzhalan had spoken about him. "What did peraruzhalan speak about me". Thirukatchinambi says that is why he came running to see him in the morning itself. Wanting to tell him about this and to see his face bathed in Anandam when hearing about it, he came running. koorathazhwar asks "what did perumal say about him". Perumal said "What is the limit of the aiswaryam of koorathazhwar?". When this was said, koorathazhwar face became dull instead. koorathazhwar did not become happy. Even when someone has just 10 rupees, it is called mahalakshmi kataksham and this mahalakshmi herself is in the vakshasthalam of the perumal and the words are coming from HIM, would not anyone be happy but koorathazhwar says, "I am just a tiny speck of dust in the feet of enperumar, a drop of the saliva in the mouth of enperumar, did not perumal say that I am a part of him. When thinking about me, why did perumal think only of my aiswaryam? Not being told that I am a devotee of Ramanujar and probably my Acharya bhakthi is not sufficient enough" he lamented, what can be said of the Acharya bhakthi of koorathAzhwar then?
Subham
Radhe Radhe
Read more translations of the other episodes at: http://aranganinarumai.blogspot.com/
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