Various sannadhis in thiruvallikeni

Sri Parthasarathi thunai

Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha

Srimad vara vara munayE Namaha

Sri VanAchala mahA munayE Namaha

Pranams,

Let us now continue with more interesting features of Brindaranya kshethram (Thiruvallikeni).

As I have told earlier the left hand of the Moolavar shows us his feet and there is something under his feet! What’s that? It is the Adhisesha doing service to the lord as the Maravadi. As Poigai Alwar in his Mudal Thiruvandhadi says "sendral kudaiyam irundal singasanamam nindral maravadiyam neelkadalul endrum punayyam manivilakkam poompattam pulgum anaiyam thirumarkku aravu".

In Krishna Avataram when Vasudeva carried Sri Krishna to Gokulam it was raining heavily and Sri Adishesha came as an umbrella protecting the lord and in Sri Vaikundam the Adishesha is doing service to the lord as his Simhasanam. So, where can we see the service of Adishesha as Maravadi when Emperuman is in standing posture. Yes, come to Thiruvallikeni and see the excellent service of Sri Adishesha, as Maravadi. I don’t remember any instance in the Puranas or in any other Divya Desams where Adiseshan takes this form. I would be thankful to anyone who could let me know if there is one.

So this is another important feature of Thiruvallikeni visuvalizing alwars pasuram.

Then among all the Vibhava Avatarams three are considered to be very important for Sri vaishnavaites. The first one is the NARASIMHA AVATARAM, where Emperuman came running to prove the words of his Bhaktha Prahalada and showed that he is Bhaktha Vatsalan. The second is the great RAMA AVATARA adorned by all the Alwars and mainly by our Acharyas for his great kalyana gunas. Nammazhwar says 'karpar rama piranaiallal mattrum karparo'. The third is of course our Nandalala, SRI KRISHNA AVATARA, as Nammazhwar says 'ketpavar keshavan keerthiallal mattrum ketparo'. All these avatarams are found in Thiruvallikeni.

On hearing the name Narasimha everyone thinks of the ugram and thinks he is a lord, who creates fear. But for those who have had the divya darshanam of Sri Telliyasingam/Sri Azhagiyasingar in Thiruvellikeni, Narasimhar is full of charm and beauty. He doesn’t create fear in our minds but instead he removes all our fears and sows the seed of bhakthi in our hearts. Here there is even a practice of splashing the sanghu Theertham of Azhagiyasingar for the persons who are fear struck. Thus we see Thiruvallikeni is a place of wonders. Azhagiya singa Perumal Utsavar has a Agvana Hastam, that is he calls the Bhakthas to come to him to grant all their wants. Not only we will be struck by his beauty and charm but also by his Apaara Kaarunyam. The Moolavar is Yoga Narasimhar with a face full of shanthi and which fills our minds also with peace.

Let us now see a very important feature. In fact many of the Divya Desams have Narasimhar, Ramar and Krishnar Sannadhis then what is so special about Thiruvallikeni? It is the importance each sannadhi gets. Here both Narasimhar and Parthasarathi Perumals have Brahmotsavams on a grand scale. There are two Dvajastambams one each for Sri Parthasarathi and Sri Azhagiyasingar. To take part in both the Brahmotsavams one has to have Kodi janma punyam.

All of us know that among the Avatarams, Emperuman lived as a family only in the Rama Avatara and Krishna Avatara. Here in Thiruvellikani Emperuman is supposed to have come to take rest after the hardships he underwent in doing the Avatara Karyams. Brindaranyam was supposed to be a tulasi forest in those days and it was an excellent place with cool atmosphere. So Sri Rama had settled down here with his brothers and wife. Sri Rama with Piratti, Lakshmana and Siriya Thiruvadi at his feet is a common sight in most of the temples but along with Bharatha and Shatrukuna is a rare sight. Here Perumal with Piratti is seen ‘Kudumba samedar’ with all his brothers and Sri Hanuman in a sannadhi opposite to the Ramar sannadhi. This is a great sight.

When all other Emperumans have their Jheshtabheshekams in their respective Mandabams, Sri Chakravarthi Thirumagan alone undergoes Jheshtabheshegam in his own sannadhi, as he wants to stay along with his family , with his brothers and Siriya Thiruvadhi all having their Thirumanjanams in unison at the same time. This is a wonderful occasion for a Sri Vaishnavaite to cherish for his life.

Sri Parthasarathi (Geethacharyan), getting tired after the war came to Brindaranyam to take rest along with his family. This you can see only in Thiruvallikeni. Sri Parthasarathi, Sri Ruckmani Thayar, Krishna's elder brother Balaramar, younger brother satyaki, son Pradyumnan and grandson Aniruddhan are all seen in the same sannadhi. Krishnar Kudumba Samedarai Ezhundarulum Ore Sannadhi. What an excellent place it should be if both the Avatarams in which Emperuman lived as a family, selected this place as his resting place. After any work even we prefer to rest only in our houses or places where we really feel very comfortable. Thiruvallikeni is one such place, the comfortable home of Bhagavan.

Till now we have visited the Parthasarathi sannadhi popularly known as Periya sannadhi in Thiruvallikeni, then to the Ramar sannadhi, reference to Mannathan was made in my separate posting made on Panguni Uttaram and also to the Narasimhar (Azhagiyasingar)sannadhi. There are more sannadhis to visit. Let me reserve them for the next post. Until then let our minds meditate on the above Perumals.

Adiyen Ramanuja dAsee

Sumithra Varadarajan