tirukkachchi (kanchipuram) divya desam

Transcription

1 tirukkachchi (kanchipuram) divya desam Varadaraja PerumAL and PerundEvi thayar The City of KAnchIpuram: PushpEeshu jathi, purusheshu VishNu, narishu ramba, nagareshu kanchi (Jasmine is the one among flowers, VishNu is the great one among gods, ramba is the choice among women, and KAnchIpuram is the best among cities). That is how the poet KALidAsa described the city of KAnchIpuram. This verse is quoted often to describe the glory of KAnchIpuram, especially during the reign of the pallava dynasty in the period 5 th -8 th centuries CE. The city of KAnchIpuram, situated on the banks of the river PAlARu (known as VEgavati River in the legends), is 75 kilometers south of Chennai. Yuan Chwang, the Chinese traveler, visited the city in the 7 th century CE and described the bravery, piety, and the veneration of learning and knowledge that were characteristic of the inhabitants of the city, in his travelogue. KAnchIpuram is one of the seven sacred cities for Hindus. It was the capital city for the Pallava kings. The ChOzha kings ruled the place from the 10 th to 13 th centuries CE and it was under the Vijayanagar reign from 14 th through 17 th centuries. The city is informally divided as Chinna KAnchIpuram (little KAnchi), also known as Vishnu KAnchi, and Big KAnchIpuram (also known as Siva KAnchi). There are hundreds of temples in the city, of which 14 are VaishNavaite shrines known as divya desams (sacred shrines). It is the birthplace of PoygaiyAzhwAr and SwAmi VEdAnta desikan (AchArya). Tirukkachchi nambi (guru of Sri RAmAnujar) lived here. Let us describe the VaradarAja PerumAL temple in VishNu KAnchi in this article.

2 History: While the Pallava kings built several temples in the city, it was the ChOzhas who built the VaradarAja PerumAL temple in the so-called VishNu KAnchi in the year 1053 CE. The ChOzha kings shored up the base of the hill to signify a cave in the hill wherein the idol of Lord Narasimha is located in a seated posture facing west. There is a two-storied corridor surrounding the hill with colonnades of uniform pillars forming a central courtyard in typical ChOzha architecture. During the reign of KulOttunga ChOzha and his son Vikrama ChOzha (in the 11 th century) the temple was expanded to a great extent. Later the rulers of the Vijayanagar Empire added more halls, embellished the existing ones, and developed the entire 23-acre complex. The architecture of this temple is a marvel characterized by several mandapams (halls) including a 100- pillar hall adorned with stone chains. The 9-tiered east tower rises to a height of 180 feet and the western gopuram is 160 feet high. Rajagopuram Inner Courtyard Temple Tank Temple Features: VaradarAja PerumAL temple is known as aththigiri (hastigiri). The name probably derived from the episode of gajendra moksham (salvation of the elephant) and from the legend that Indra s elephant iravatam in the form of a hillock bears the image of Lord VishNu. Another legend has it that the original image of the Lord was carved from an aththi (fig) tree (Ficus glomerata) and accordingly the Lord is also called aththiyuran. The wooden image is kept at the bed of the temple pond and is taken out once in 40 years for worship for a period of 10 days. The next viewing of the wooden idol is supposed to be in the year The first enclosure of the temple is on the holy mound called Hasthigiri. The main sanctum is at a height of 40 feet with 43 steps to climb. In the basement level there is the idol of azhagiya singa perumal (Lord Narasimha) in a seated posture. The main deity here is VaradarAja PerumAL in a standing posture (ninra kolam) facing westward, also known as DEvarAjan. His consort (housed in a separate shrine in the same complex) is known as PerundEvi thayar (also known as MahAdEvi). The holy tank is known as Ananthasaras. The river VEgavati is also considered part of the temple

3 environment. The crown structure over the sanctum (vimanam) is known as punyakoti vimanam. There are other shrines in the same complex for Krishna, the AzhwArs, Rama, KariamANikka PerumAL, ANDAL, and VarAha PerumAL. Three AzhwArs have sung the praise of the Lord in 7 pasurams. VEdAnta desikan wrote VaradarAja panchasat in praise of Lord VaradarAja. MaNavALa mamuni wrote devaraja mangalam. Sri RAmAnujar and Tirukkachchi nambi also wrote verses on Lord VaradarAja. Legends: There are several legends associated with this temple. One narrates that Brahma worshipped VishNu at this location in the Krita Yuga. The name KAnchIpuram is supposed to have derived from Ka (Brhama) and anjitha (worship). Pleased with the yagna of Brahma the Lord granted a boon and hence He is known as vara (boon) daraja. Another legend states that Brahma worshipped the Lord in this place without his consort Saraswati. Saraswati took the form of VEgavati River and flooded the place. Lord VishNu blocked the river flow by lying down in its path. There are two lizards carved in stone in the sanctum plated with gold and silver and are supposed to represent the Sun and the Moon. Viewing them and touching them are supposed to remove any accumulated curse thereby ensuring the welfare of the worshippers in addition to negating the ill effects of the eclipses. Festivals: The annual BrahmOtsavam is celebrated in the Thamizh month of VaikAsi (May-June) for 10 days. GaruDa sevai (procession on GaruDa mount) and ratha yatra (procession in a chariot) are important elements of this festival. Adyayana utsavam (recitation of Vedic scriptures) is celebrated in the month of MArgazhi (Dec-Jan). NavarAtri festival is celebrated for 10 days in PuraTTAsi month (Oct-Nov) and the grand celebration of VaikunTha EkAdasi is celebrated in the month of MArgazhi (Dec-Jan). AzhwAr pasuram: Three AzhwArs (peyazhwar, BhUdattAzhwAr, and ThirumangaiyAzhwAr) wrote a total of 7 pasurams on Lord VaradarAja. Let us look at one written by BhUdattAzhwAr. BhUdattAzhwAr is said to have appeared in a flower called "kurukkaththi" (a flowering creeper) in a garden at kadalmallai port of pallava rajyam (kingdom) in MahAbalipuram (south of Chennai). He was an incarnation of Divine mace (called kaumodaki) of Lord VishNu. BhUdattAzhwAr

4 அத த ய ர ன ப ள ள ய ர வ ன, அண மண ய ன த த த சர ந கத த ன மல த ய ல வ ன --ம த த ம றய வ ன ம கடல நஞ ச ண ட ன தனக க ம இ றய வ ன எங கள ப ர ன NDP 2277 atthiyuran pullai yurvan, animaniyin tutthiser nagattinmel tuyilvan--mutti MaRaiyAvAn makadal nanjundan tanakkum iraiyavan engal piran Meaning: He is a resident of atthigiri (KAnchIpuram). He rides the bird GaruDa. He sleeps on the bed formed by the serpent (AdisEsha) which has a beautiful hood marked by spots of precious gems. He is the embodiment of all the vedas. He is worshipped by the Lord (Shiva) who swallowed the primordial poison which came out of the great milky ocean. He is our Lord. Musical Eulogy: Muththuswamy dikshitar sang three kritis (varadarajamupasmahe in the ragam SAranga, varadaraja pahi in SankarAbharaNam, and varadaraja avava in Ganga tarangini) on Lord VaradarAja. His kritis are generally descriptive of the features, characteristics, and exploits of the deity in question. He invokes the blessings of the Lord in all his kritis. Let us look at VaradarAjam upasmahe here. वरद र जम प मह - र ग स रङ ग - त ळ र पकम पल ल व वरद र जम प मह वनज सन द प जतम अन पल ल व म रळ धर श भ -कर म र खर द दष ट हरम चरणम न ल म घ जत शर र नर तशय नन द-कर क ञ च नगर वह र क ळ र क षत च रम (मध यम क ल स हत यम ) क ल द ष हर त थर भ व ग र ग ह द नत क पल श क द सन न त गर ड व ह र हतम Pallavi varada rajamupasmahe vanajasanadi pujitam anupallavi murali dhara SObhA-karaM mura kharadi dushta haram caranam nila megha jita SarIraM niratisayananda-karam kanci nagara viharam kali rakshita coram (madhyama kala sahityam)

5 kali dosha hara tirtha prabhava guru guhadi natam kapila SukAdi sannuta garuda vaharohitam Meaning: I worship VaradarAja, the one worshipped by the lotus-seated one (Brahma). He is beautiful and holds a flute. He is the one who annihilated Mura and Kara. His body sports a hue which excels the dark-hued rain clouds in beauty. He delivers supreme bliss. He dwells in KAnchi city. He is the (mischievous) thief who was protected by KALi. He has the fame that goes with eliminating the evil of the Kali yugam. He is worshipped by guru guha and Kapila and Shuka. He rides on the bird GaruDa. Saint Thyagaraja too composed a kriti, VaradarAja ninu kori in the ragam svarabhushani (in Telugu) on Lord VaradarAja at KAnchIpuram. ప. వరద జ న క వ చ ర క క అ. స ర ల మ న ల భ -స ర ల చ ట ట చ ట ట (వ) చ. వర క ఠమట వ ణ ప తరమ క దట రజ ర లన రకలల చ ద ర రయ ద వట వర య గ జ న త గర డ వ డ (వ) P: varada raja ninu kori vacciti mrokkera A: surulu munulu bhu-surulu cutti cutti sevince (varada) C: vara giri vaikunthamata varnimpa taramu kada nirjarulanu tarakalalo candrudai merayuduvata vara tyagaraja nuta garuda seva juda (varada) Meaning: Oh, Lord VaradarAja, I have come to seek you. I salute you. You are worshipped by the celestials, sages, and brahmanas by circumambulating you many times. It is said that the sacred hillock (aththigiri) is indeed VaikuNTham. It is said that it is not possible to describe your beauty. It is said that you shine like a moon among the stars (celestials). Oh, Lord VaradarAja I have come to see you coming out in procession on your GaruDa mount. I worship you. The temple for VaradarAja in KAnchIpuram is only one, but the most famous and popular, of the 14 divya desams in that city. There are 13 other lesser known (but venerated nevertheless) temples in the city. We will describe them in a subsequent article. Sethuraman Subramanian mahakavi@nc.rr.com