tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84034660957019464872024-03-16T11:52:07.500-07:00History of Ancient IndiaHere you will find ancient and authoritative information about India's history and culture in relation to specific places and books. As the sources of such information are becoming increasingly rare to find, my effort is to present the facts through careful study of books and actual visits to the places.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8403466095701946487.post-89555599233252790342021-05-22T04:37:00.002-07:002021-05-22T04:40:18.902-07:00Book Review: Shri Swami Samartha Akkalkot Maharaj Chintan Ani Chamatkar <h2 style="text-align: center;">Book Review</h2><h3 style="text-align: center;">श्री स्वामी समर्थ </h3><h2 style="text-align: center;">अक्कलकोट महाराज </h2><h3 style="text-align: center;">चिंतन आणि चमत्कार </h3><div style="text-align: justify;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I took up this book immediately after completing the study of Dnyanadeva Mahatmya. My father in law has read this book many times and he suggested that I take a look at it. So far, I had not read anything about Shri Swami Samartha or any of his disciples. Therefore, I started studying this book with interest.</span></p></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The book is written in Marathi language by V. K. Phadake and published by Shyam Dayarnav Kopardekar of Indrayani Sahitya, Pune. The first edition of the book was published in 1986 and has 150 pages.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As the name suggests, the book is about a well known saintly personality Shri Swami Samartha who stayed mostly at Akkalkot which is situated near Solapur in Maharashtra, India. The book has three parts. In the first part, the appearance of Swamiji, his travels, his arrival and stay at Akkalkot, the most notable of his dealings and finally his </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>disappearance</span> (Samadhi) are briefly described. The second part is the core of the book. In this part, 57 different incidences and stories of Shri Swami Samartha are briefly related. With each story, the important take away is also described in a small initial paragraph. For any devotee, this is the most pleasurable part of the book. These stories are not only full of surprise but also full of philosophy and spirituality. In the third part, why the devotees consider Swamiji as one of the incarnations of Lord Dattatretya is briefly pointed out. On the last page, the essential points of his teachings are listed. Finally, the list of reference texts is provided at the end. The unique organization of the text makes this book very simple to understand. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This book gave me a first glimpse in the life and teachings of Shri Swami Samartha. I found that Swamiji always stressed the importance of chanting holy names as the best means to progress in devotional service of Lord. He often quoted verses from Bhagavad Geeta. He performed many miracles to increase the faith of the devotees and also to make the atheists aware of the presence of higher power of the Lord. Thousands of people approached him for finding ways to overcome their spiritual and material difficulties. From this book, we can easily understand that Swamiji was a spiritually perfect, self realized person. Instead of engaging in philosophical discourses, he always preferred teaching by simple and practical examples.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As most of us are busy in enjoyment using our body and mind, it is very difficult for us to recognize the self realized personalities who are always on spiritual platform. Also, we seldom recognize the need of a genuine spiritual teacher who can show the method for making some tangible spiritual progress in our limited lifetime. I feel that this book can help in understanding how to approach and serve such a Guru with humility and achieve spiritual happiness. Many times we are facing different difficulties in our lives. I feel that reading of this book in difficult times can provide some satisfaction to our souls. <br /> </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMalaSksJXeIeTQd3uhVq-VfltR9B8HNauQEj-gf6e2iZiofr7I5tipY1EUUM6o5OZsxvUr-Ci8rQ-ZkaFoBQlj9cnvbjZr-c5dIXg7NlfmkppnGqdKrNyZjOdicURmu-UEesjHF0WsnMM/s1600/1621676959562136-0.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The title page of the book. <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEhEXq-FAys4QFbNCyyUzR3ykYtv514V0jbFmrwW1Cqd3UqZpPKlg3fQzwNF5ikRbnRrRaI1a19EPC3pZz_Tqs7RhhiqeZraEles2tYtFmuefYuDUQMV9o_M4as2bQNypmhC15HrW7PzB8/s1600/1621676915638035-1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
</a>
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx8VhdOTep1ozRBgdgWUGlS5eTfIl2JSQpj_zQ0DZNk8lwq5dQx9yrwvviLKGULwV3CNak-BgjiUEnUynEOJjmkp5TqHLjSHBRuKo91-bmR-FiR4p9ZiMY3GDdgGAhwg5pj5ryY_OaJy5o/s1871/IMG_20210518_110504.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="947" data-original-width="1871" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx8VhdOTep1ozRBgdgWUGlS5eTfIl2JSQpj_zQ0DZNk8lwq5dQx9yrwvviLKGULwV3CNak-BgjiUEnUynEOJjmkp5TqHLjSHBRuKo91-bmR-FiR4p9ZiMY3GDdgGAhwg5pj5ryY_OaJy5o/w400-h203/IMG_20210518_110504.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A passage from the second part of the book.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8403466095701946487.post-2044394866323853722021-04-30T06:05:00.002-07:002021-05-22T00:47:54.506-07:00Book Review: Dnyanadeva Mahatmya<h2 style="text-align: center;"> Book Review </h2><h2 style="text-align: center;">ज्ञानदेवमाहात्म्य</h2><h2 style="text-align: center;">Dnyanadeva Mahatmya </h2><h2 style="text-align: center;"></h2><p style="text-align: justify;">I consider myself very fortunate to have come across this book. An old copy of this book was first shown to me by my father in law. This copy originally belonged to his mother who has passed away. The book is published in 1978 and I am not sure if it is still available for sale. Still, I am inspired to write about it due to the importance of the topics and personalities mentioned inside and also due to the pleasure I felt after studying it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The author and publisher of this books is Govind Ramachandra Moghe. The
books is composed in Marathi poetic verse form commonly known as Ovi.
The main text is divided into 8 chapters having total 1380 verses. The book has 52 pages.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">As the title suggests, the book is about the life and works of one of the greatest saintly personalities in India i.e. Dnyaneshwar also known as Dnyanadeva. After the preface, the author takes us 3 generations back before the appearance of Dnyanadeva. Author has dedicated first five chapters of the book for the detailed descriptions of lives of Dnyanadeva's grandparents and parents who all were people dedicated to spiritual realization and devotional service to Lord Krishna. In the remaining chapters, the author describes the birth and early life of four children Nivrutti, Dnyanadeva, Sopan and Muktai, their extraordinary qualities as well as the challenges they had to face due to early departure of their parents and strict social customs, the miracles performed by Dnyanadeva when he was merely a child, their meeting with Changadeva, the composition of Bhavartha Deepika which is also known as Dnyaneshwari, the explanation of Bhagavad Geeta of Lord Krishna in Marathi and finally the departure of Dnyanadeva in the presence of Lord Krishna. In addition, the books also has 8 verses in praise of Dnyanadeva and the summary of Bhagavad Geeta presented in only 18 verses. The text is concluded with 8 verses of heartfelt prayers by the author to Lord Krishna where he humbly expresses his limitations. Author has described all these topics in extremely enjoyable way and one is sure to feel spiritual bliss after studying the book. This book is a rare treat for devotees of Lord Krishna, especially those who can read and understand Marathi verses.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">For me, I felt humbled and inspired by the way Dnyanadeva has taught us the goal of human life and the way to achieve it by Bhakti. This book will be an important addition to the collection of those who are looking for satisfaction, inspiration and happiness on the spiritual path.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">If you wish to read this book, please send me an email at hrishikeshsonalikar@gmail.com. I will reply with the scanned pdf of the book.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlPshTqFOvyFB3-3_nAaJ0UxVhF7XMG8Wm-FFGodh-c2tCkK4Xgv3zGLMPchNAYvbKcNJYqBjgrZ29n6cMoOMcKQ_zPGGiijS-rhZsqd-oEsfGEkpMrTnfZ20B-_PkrkCMb11Mvpiyct7d/s1744/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1268" data-original-width="1744" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlPshTqFOvyFB3-3_nAaJ0UxVhF7XMG8Wm-FFGodh-c2tCkK4Xgv3zGLMPchNAYvbKcNJYqBjgrZ29n6cMoOMcKQ_zPGGiijS-rhZsqd-oEsfGEkpMrTnfZ20B-_PkrkCMb11Mvpiyct7d/w400-h291/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8403466095701946487.post-29302698234498570912020-04-23T09:58:00.003-07:002020-04-23T09:58:51.280-07:00Srirangam and Thanjavur<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Srirangam, Thanjavur</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
and </h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Nearby Places </h3>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
</h2>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In February 2020, I had a unique opportunity to attend a winter school organized at Srirangam in Tamilnadu by Bhaktivedanta Instinstite, Bangalore. The winter school took place during 7 to 9 February and I was invited as one of the speakers. I started from Goa on the night of 5 February and after a change of flight in Bangalore around midnight, I reached Srirangam in the morning of 6 February. The winter schools was starting on the next day. Therefore on 6th, I visited the main temple in Srirangam which is the Ranganath Swamy temple and rested in the afternoon. The winter school started early in the morning on 7th Feb. In the 3 days of winter school, after attending different talks throughout the day, we would spend some time in the evenings visiting different places. Following is a brief account of my visits to some of the holy places in and around Srirangam.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<h4 style="text-align: justify;">
Ranganath Swamy Temple, Srirangam</h4>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The town of Srirangam is located on an island formed on the holy river Kaveri. The river separates into north and south branches, creating an island on which one of the largest temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu stands. The deity of Lord Vishnu here is known as Ranganath Swamy. The deity originally appeared before Lord Brahma and it was subsequently handed down to Raghu dynasty on the Earth. Lord Rama gave this deity to Vibhishan who put this deity at Srirangam. Currently, this deity is present inside a huge temple complex surrounded by seven walls and twenty one gopurams. The temple encompasses almost entire town of Srirangam. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On the first day of the winter school, we visited the Ranganath Swamy temple in the evening. There was long queue and everybody waited for almost one hour to finally get darshan of the Lord. The deity is beautiful and huge. It is difficult to see the full form of the Lord in one glance due to the huge size. Lord reclines on Ananta Shesha and faces the south direction. The deity of Lord Ranganath is accompanied by Bhu Devi and Nila Devi. After taking darshan of Lord, we visited some of the other shrines present inside the temple complex. These included the temple of Lakshmi Devi and Samadhi of Shri Ramanujacharya. There, a story of how Lord Ranganath planned to bring Ramanujacharya from Kanchipuram to Srirangam to fulfill the instructions of Yamunacharya was discussed. Our devotee guide explained this story in the most enjoyable manner. After spending some time in this way, our first day of winter school was concluded.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<h4>
Shri Jambukeshwara Temple, Srirangam</h4>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On the second day of winter school, 8 February 2020, when all the invited talks were over in the late afternoon, we boarded buses and smaller vehicles to visit some of the important temples in and around Srirangam. The first temple visit was to Shri Jambukeshwara temple which is dedicated to Lord Shiva and Parvati. This temple is located near the Ranganath Swamy temple. The temple is surrounded by a huge wall and the area is quite large. On the way into the temple, we see an image of Shiva Lingam drawn on the roof of a small stone structure. The specialty of this image is that it can be always seen to be pointed in the direction of the seer. The passage ways of the temple are surrounded by huge and beautifully carved stone pillars. The room where Shiva Lingam is situated is a very small. The priests were allowing only 5 to 7 people at a time to come inside, have darshan of the Lingam and perform puja. Inside this small room, a large size Shiva Lingam is situated under a Jambu tree in a pond of water created by a natural water spring. Therefore, this Lingam is known as Jambukeshwara as well as Appulingam, the form of Shiva representing the water, one of the five pancha bhoota elements. The shrine of Parvati in her form of Akhilandeshwari is present in the other part of the temple complex. Lord Shiva, being pleased by the penance of Parvati, blessed her at this place. This temple is built around 2500 years ago by the Chola king Kochengat who in his previous birth of a spider worshiped Lord Shiva.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<h4>
Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, Srirangam</h4>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The next temple to visit was the Lakshmi Narasimha temple which is situated around 2 km towards the east of the Ranganath Swamy Temple. The temple houses a deity of Lord Narasimha with Lakshmi Devi sitting on his lap on the left side. The Deity is in sitting position and around 6-7 feet tall. This temple was not as crowded as many other temples in the area and everyone had a nice and peaceful darshan of Lord. The priest showed the deity with a ghee lamp and offered puja on behalf of devotees. This temple is older than the Ranganath Swamy temple. The deity of Lakshmi Narasimha is self manifested and it is known by a special name Kaatu Azhagiya Singar. The place where the temple is situated was a forest in ancient times. The devotees, rishis and their families living in this forest were troubled by the attacks of elephants and other wild animals. Instead of using their mystic powers to stop these attacks, they prayed to Lord Narasimha for protection. Lord along with Lakshmi Devi appeared here and devotees constructed temple for Him. The wild animals slowly stopped coming in the forest and Lord stayed at this place on request by His beloved devotees. As this area was once very inaccessible, the utsava deity of this temple is traditionally kept at the Ranganath Swamy temple. Lord Ranganath visits this temple every year on the day of Vijaya Dashami on his horse and performs the pastime of killing a hunter. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<h4>
Pundarikakshan Temple, Thiruvellarai</h4>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Next, we again boarded the vehicles and visited the Pundarikakshan located at a nearby place named Thiruvellarai. This is one of the oldest temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The temple is originally built by King Shibi, who ruled the earth much before Lord Rama. The architecture of the temple is also quite different. After we enter the outer wall decorated with gopurams, we enter the inner wall and then the main building of the temple can be entered from a door which leads to a stone staircase. After climbing the stairs, we get the Darshan of the deity of Lord Pundarikakshan. The deity is huge and it is in standing position and the Lord is decorated with very big eyes having a shape of Lotus petals. Because this deity self manifested on a hill, the temple is build around the hill itself. The brief history about this temple is as follows. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When King Shibi decided to come to south India to defeat some demon kings such as Ravana, he faced an army led by a White Boar at this place. When the king started chasing the boar, it went around the huge ant hill and disappeared. The king found Markandeya Rishi near the ant hill who told the king that the boar was Lord Vishnu in the form of Varaha. Rishi also asked the king to unearth the deity of Lord from the hill and build a temple. When King bathed the ant hill with milk, the deity of Lord Pundarikakshan appeared. Lord then instructed King Shibi to return to the North and promised that He will defeat Ravana in his incarnation as Rama. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<h4>
Appala Ranganath Temple, Koviladi</h4>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Next, we visited the Appala Ranganath Temple which is situated on the banks of Kaveri river at a place called Koviladi. This temple has beautiful Gopurams on the outer wall. Inside, we climbed some steps and entered an inner hall where Lord Vishnu in his reclining posture on Ananta Shesha is present along with Bhu Devi and Kamala Devi. The deity is as big as that in the Ranganath Swamy temple at Srirangam. But here, Lord holds a pot in one of His hands and His other hand is pointing towards heavens. The deity is very beautiful and this temple is very peaceful with comparatively less visitors. Lord appeared here to King Upamanyu who was previously cursed by sage Durvasa and had lost his physical strength. On instruction of Durvasa, King Upamanyu was feeding one lakh pilgrims every day at this place. One day, Lord Vishnu appeared at the place in the form of an old brahmana and ate all the food prepared for the day. King humbly asked the brahmana if he needs anything more. Brahmana then replied that only Appam prepared with sweet and butter can satisfy Him. When King presented the pot of Appam, Lord was very satisfied and freed the king from the curse. As a result the Lord became known as Appala Ranganath or Appakudanthan. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
After taking darshan, we performed Kirtan in the courtyard of the temple and one of the participants in the winter school demonstrated a Bharata Natyam dance. After the performance, one of the priests of the temple served a special Appam prasadam offered to Lord. After staying in the temple for some more time, we returned to our rooms and rested for the night.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<h4>
Brihadeshwara Temple, Thanjavur</h4>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On the third day of the winter school, 9 February, there were no talks and we boarded the vehicles early in the morning and started for Thanjavur. By 8:30 AM, we reached Brihadeshwara Temple at Thanjavur. This temple is a fort surrounded by large walls and a moat. Very high gopurams provide the entrance to a very large temple complex. Inside, there is one of the biggest deity of Nandi. In front of Nandi, there is a main temple hall with very high and articulate pillars. At the end of the hall sits a 29 feet high Shiva Lingam known as Brihadeshwara. It is said to be the biggest Shiva Lingam. On both sides of the Lingam, there are structures on which priests can climb to make offerings. The temple is built by a Chola king Raja Raja 1. The temple construction was completed in 1010 AD and many other additions and renovations have taken place later. The temple complex is very huge and has other shrines dedicated to Lord Ganesha, Subramanya, Parvati and Chandeshwara. Many other temples in south India are styled after this temple. Thousands of tourists were present in the temple. Due to limitation of time and large area of the temple complex, we could not visit every shrine in this temple.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<h4>
Shri Veera Narasimha Temple, Thanjavur</h4>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Our next destination was Shri Veera Narasimha Temple situated on the banks of Vennar river towards the North of Thanjavur. This area consists of three temples dedicated to Lord Vishnu and together they are considered as one divya desham in Shri Vaishnava tradition. The presiding deities in these three temples are Lord Neelamegha, Lord Manikundra and Lord Shri Veera Narasimha. This is known as Parashara Kshetra after sage Parashara who performed penances here. The sage was troubled by three demons named as Thanjaka, Thandakan and Tharaka who were having the boon of immortality by Lord Shiva. The sage prayed to Lord Vishnu to chase away these demons. Lord Vishnu assumed three different forms to defeat the demons. In his form of Lord Shri Veera Narasimha, He defeated Thanjaka demon who had the form of an elephant. When Lord was about to kill the demon, the demon learned his lesson and begged forgiveness. The demon was excused by the Lord and on his request, Lord stayed at this place in the deity form. The other two demons were killed. The other two temples are very close to this temple towards the West. The deity of Lord Narasimha is 10 to 12 feet high and He is accompanied by Shri Devi and Bhu Devi on His sides. Priest offered worship to the Lord on behalf of all the participants. A separate shrine dedicated to Mahalakshmi is also present in the temple complex. After taking darshan, we took breakfast under a tree present in the courtyard of this temple. Everybody was experiencing a spiritual joy in this temple.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Shri Tyagaraja Temple, Tiruvayaru</h4>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Our next destination was the temple of Saint Shri Tyagaraja located on the northern bank of Kaveri river at a place known as Tiruvayaru. Tyagaraja is considered as a chief proponent of Karnatic type of Indian classical music who wrote twenty four thousand compositions during his lifetime. He was also a great devotee of Lord Rama. Most of his compositions are dedicated to Lord Rama. This temple is a place where Lord Rama along with Lakshmana gave darshan to Tyagaraja. Also, at this place, Tyagaraja entered his Samadhi alive. In this temple, we see a deity of Tyagaraja along with Shiva Lingam made of crystal. We can also see the deity of Lord Rama worshiped by Tyagaraja and his descendants. There are smaller shrines dedicated to Lord Ganesha, Anjaneya, Narada and Tumburu. The temple has a hall where devotees can sing devotional songs in dedication to Tyagaraja. Many artists come here to sing the compositions of Tyagaraja. After taking darshan, we performed Kirtan in this hall for 15 minutes. One of the descendants of Tyagaraja family explained that chanting the holy name of Lord Rama was the most important activity in human life. Tyagaraja himself demonstrated that by his own example. Everyone felt very fortunate after visiting the temple of such a great saint and musician.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
After visiting the temple of Shri Tyagaraja, we went back to Srirangam and took lunch. After Lunch, the winter school was concluded. Due to this event, I not only got a chance to visit these wonderful places but also could reconnect with my friends and well wishers at BI, Bangalore. After spending some time with my friends, I said my good byes and left for Trichy airport aroud 4 PM. On my return journey, I changed a flight at Bangalore and reached Goa in the midnight. Due to enlightening sessions by invited speakers as well as visits to holy places and temples, the winter school 2020 at Srirangam is the most memorable event of 2020 so far. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8403466095701946487.post-33082199675175451432017-09-24T05:22:00.000-07:002017-09-25T04:39:27.381-07:00Pandharpur<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Pandharpur</h2>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">
Why Lord Krishna arrived and stayed here?</h4>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<h4>
Introduction</h4>
Pandharpur is one of the most well known holy places in India due to the temple of Lord Krishna situated here on the banks of Bheema river. Millions of devotees across the world gather here during the Dindi festival. The particular form of the deity of Lord Krishna present here is known as Panduranga and Vitthala. The part of Bheema river which flows through Pandharpur is known as Chandrabhaga river. On the map, Pandharpur is situated in Solapur district, South-East of Maharashtra state in India. <br />
<br />
Every saintly personality in India has a special connection with Pandharpur. Some of the greatest spiritual masters who visited or stayed in Pandharpur are Dnyaneshwar, Namadev, Tukaram, Ramanuja, Madhva, Vallabha, Shankara, Nimbarka, Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda prabhu. As a result, a huge amount of literature is available which describes Lord Krishna's dealings with these devotees. A volume of information is also available in audio visual form and in newspaper journals due to yearly Dindi festival. Despite all this, I have found that the clear understanding of the most basic historical facts about Pandharpur is still lacking. Therefore, I am inspired to emphasize the history of Pandharpur right from the beginning of why Lord Krishna decided to come and stay here in the form of Panduranga.<br />
<br />
According to Vedic literature, Lord Krishna is the supreme personality of Godhead. Although He stays in His spiritual abode, He creates the material world for giving facility of enjoyment for those having material desires. At the same time, He gives opportunity to the living beings in the material world to purify themselves by the process of Bhakti, by developing love for Lord Krishna. He takes the form of Vishnu for the maintenance of the universe, He takes the form of Shiva for the destruction of the worlds at proper intervals and He appoints Brahma for the secondary creation within the universe. This is confirmed by all the books of Vedic knowledge and especially emphasized in Bhagavad Geeta as well as Shrimad Bhagavatam. Whenever it is necessary, Lord Krishna comes to this world in His original form to protect His devotees and destroy the disturbing elements as well as to re-establish the religious principles. It is a specialty of Lord Krishna to fulfill many purposes by performing a single act. When Lord Krishna came to Pandharpur, He fulfilled three different purposes. All these three purposes are related to the personal dealings of Lord Krishna with some of His most exalted devotees.<br />
<br />
<h4>
1. Promise given to Dindirava</h4>
In the ancient times, Pandharpur was known by two names: 1. Dindiravana, meaning the forest of Dindirava and 2. Lohadanda kshetra, meaning the land of iron club. Why Pandharpur was known by these names can be understood by the following historical account.<br />
<br />
In the ancient times, there was a great demon named Dindirava. He was very cruel, fierce to look at and huge in size. He disturbed all the planetary systems in the universe and threatened the demigods who were in charge of different managerial functions of the universe. At that time, all the demigods went to their king Indra for protection. Indra, unable to offer any protection from Dindirava, took all the demigods to Lord Vishnu. The demigods prayed to Lord Vishnu by chanting His holy names such as Shridhara, Shesha-shayana, Garuda-dhwaja, Adi-purusha and Hari. Lord Vishnu was pleased with the prayers offered by demigods and assured them of protection. Lord Vishnu informed them that He would appear on earth as prince Mallikarjuna and kill the demon Dindirava; thereby accomplishing their task. Lord also instructed the demigods to return to their respective posts and resume their duties.<br />
<br />
When Lord Vishnu decides to appear on Earth, He chooses His parents who are qualified to have Him as their son. At that time on earth, there was a king named Shrichandra. He was truthful, always engaged in religious activities and extremely brave. He was performing penances in Himalaya mountain for thousands of years. Lord Shiva became very much pleased with the king's austerities and appeared to Shrichandra. Lord Shiva asked the king about what he wishes to achieve by performing the penances. The king told Lord Shiva that he wished to have a powerful and intelligent son who would be just like Lord Shiva or Lord Vishnu. Lord Shiva then granted the boon to Shrichandra that the king will have a son who would be just like Lord Vishnu. His name would be Mallikarjuna and that Mallikarjuna would kill the demon Dindirava and rule the earth. After receiving this boon from Lord Shiva, Shrichandra became very happy and returned to his kingdom. In due course of time, Mallikarjuna was born to king Shrichandra and his wife.<br />
<br />
When Mallikarjuna was twenty years of age, He confronted demon Dindirava in the forest which was situated in the area of today's Pandharpur and the battle issued between the two. This fight went on for many years. When Dindirava found it very difficult to fight Mallikarjuna on ground, he leaped into sky and started attacking from the air. Lord Mallikarjuna also went to sky and started countering the demon. Finally Mallikarjuna used His iron club to attack the demon on his head. This attack resulted in demon's defeat as he was severely injured. Most surprisingly, when the demon was on the verge of death, he chanted "Hari, Hari", the holy names of Lord Vishnu.<br />
<br />
Hearing the Dindirava chanting the holy names, Lord Vishnu's heart melted with compassion for the demon. Lord appeared to Dindirava in His Vishnu form and embraced the demon. All the sinful activities of Dindirava were nullified due to Lord Vishnu's grace. Lord Vishnu told Dindirava that He was very pleased and asked the demon to wish for anything. At that time, Dindirava said to Lord, "Oh Lord, I have been hit by this Lohadanda (iron club). Therefore let this place be known as Lohadanda kshetra. Let Lord Mallikarjuna, who is none other than your other form, become the protector of this place. Let this forest become known as Dindiravana. I request you to stay at this place and bless the people on earth so that they will be purified of all their sins." On hearing this, Lord Vishnu became extremely pleased with Dindirava. Lord granted all these desires of Dindirava and took him back to the Spiritual world. Today's Pandharpur is situated where these events took place and the promise given to Dindirava is one of the reasons why Lord stays here.<br />
<br />
<h4>
2. Rukmini's arrival in Dindiravana</h4>
About five thousand years ago, Lord Krishna appeared on earth in the city of Mathura. Lord Krishna's childhood activities took place in Vrindavana where He grew up as a cowherd boy. During His stay in Vrindavana, Lord Krishna displayed extreme love for his cows, cowherd boys and girls. Among the cowherd girls (gopis), Shrimati Radharani was the dear most friend of Lord Krishna.<br />
<br />
At the later stage in His life, Lord Krishna left Vrindavana and established His family in Dwaraka. As a result, He was separated from His childhood friends for a very long time. In Dwaraka, Lord Krishna accepted many wives and the most principal among them was Rukmini Devi. From her childhood itself, Rukmini grew up listening to wonderful activities of Lord Krishna. She always wished to have Krishna as her husband. When Rukmini's brother decided to marry Rukmini to Shishupala, Rukmini was unhappy and secretly sent message to Lord Krishna, asking Him to kidnap her. Lord Krishna also wished to marry Rukmini because of her loving devotion. In the heroic act, Lord Krishna travelled from Dwaraka to Vidarbha, kidnapped Rukmini, fought with the army of Shishupala, then married Rukmini in Dwaraka.<br />
<br />
At Dwaraka, Krishna was always immersed in the memory of His childhood friends in Vrindavana. One day, Shrimati Radharani arrived in Dwaraka to see Lord Krishna. Both Krishna and Radharani were extremely happy to see each other after a very long separation. Due the overwhelming love, Lord Krishna seated Radharani very near to Him. When Rukmini observed Krishna seated so close to Radharani, she felt transcendental anger and left her palace as well as the city of Dwaraka. Rukmini wished to find a suitable holy place for performing penances. Rukmini chose Dindiravana as the most suitable holy place and started performing austerities in this forest.<br />
<br />
When Rukmini left Dwaraka, Lord Krishna became unhappy and started searching for Rukmini. He first went to Vrindavana. After taking his cows and cowherd friends with him, He traveled to South and finally reached Dindiravana. Lord Krishna tried to console Rukmini, but even today we can see Rukmini Devi standing at Pandharpur, apparently angry with Lord Krishna. Therefore in Pandharpur, we can see Lord Krishna and Rukmini in two separate temples. Thus, the arrival of Rukmini in Dindiravana was the second reason why Lord Krishna came to Pandharpur. <br />
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
3. Prayers of Pundalika</h4>
When Lord Krishna consoled Rukmini Devi, He remembered one of His best devotees named Pundalika who was staying at Pandharpur. A following historical account describes how Lord Krishna arrived in Pandharpur to visit his dear devotee named Pundalika (also called as Pundarika).<br />
<br />
There was a brahmin named Janudev living in the Lohadanda kshetra (Pandharpur) along with his wife Muktabai. Janudev and Muktabai were pure devotees of Lord Krishna. By grace of Lord, a son named Pundalika was born to them. During the early stages of his life, Pundalika developed a lot of bad qualities. He was disrespectful to his parents and ill-behaved. Therefore the parents of Pundalika were very much aggrieved and decided to leave home and go on the pilgrimage to the holy place of Kashi. Although initially hesitant, Pundalika also decided to go to Kashi independently.<br />
<br />
One day on the way to Kashi, Pundalika came across the residence of sage Kukkuta. Sage Kukkuta was extremely holy person and the great devotee of the Lord. Pundalika enquired the sage about the road to Kashi, but sage replied that he was unaware of the road as he had never visited Kashi. On hearing this, Pundalika ridiculed the sage.<br />
<br />
The same night, Pundalika saw three very ugly women coming to the residence of sage Kukkuta. These women started cleaning the residence of the sage. When their work was completed, the three women suddenly transformed into divine goddesses. On seeing this miracle, Pundalika approached them and inquired about their identities. The divine ladies replied that they were the personal forms of holy rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. They informed Pundalika that they become very ugly due to sins of people taking bath in their waters. But when they perform a small service to the pure devotee like Kukkuta, they get rid of all the accumulated sins and resume their original divine forms. The holy rivers also informed Pundalika that only by the grace of Lord Krishna, he was able to see the residence of sage Kukkuta and the divine forms of the rivers, therefore now he must understand the greatness of the sage and give up all the bad qualities.<br />
<br />
This incidence happened to be the turning point in Pundalika's life. Pundalika realized his mistakes and started living a pious life characterized by austerities, study of Vedas, service to Lord Krishna and properly caring for his parents. Because the parents of Pundalika were pure devotees of Lord Krishna, by serving them, Pundalika also gradually developed all the symptoms of a pure devotee. Lord Krishna became so much pleased by the devotional service of Pundalika that after he had consoled Rukmini, He wanted to personally visit Pundalika to bless Him.<br />
<br />
When Lord Krishna arrived at Pundalika's house, Lord saw that Pundalika was engaged in messaging the feet of his parents. Pundalika saw that his house was filled with a divine light emanating from Lord's body. Pundalika was filled with extreme joy when He saw Lord Krishna standing behind him. Pundalika requested the Lord to kindly wait for a few moments until his service was complete and Lord happily agreed. When Pundalika saw the divine and the most enchanting form of Lord Krishna, he was thrilled with amazement and happiness. Pundalika sang the most wonderful prayers to glorify the beautiful form of Lord Krishna. Lord told Pundalika to ask for anything that he wished for. At that moment, Pundalika requested Lord Krishna to eternally stay there in the same form for blessing all the people of this world. Lord granted this request and also told that this place will be known after Pundalika and hence will also be called as Pundarika kshetra. The place where temple of Lord Panduranga is situated today is said to be the house of Pundalika. Thus the devotional service of Lord's greatest devotee Pundalika is the third reason why Lord Krishna arrived and stayed in Pandharpur.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Conclusion</h4>
It is simply impossible to describe the spiritual significance of the holy place like Pandharpur in a brief article such as this. There are so many other temples, holy places and holy water ponds in the area of Pandharpur, each with a separate history of its own. As a result, I could only briefly write about the most basic history of this holy place. Naturally this article will sound incomplete for a person who is looking for a more detailed information. Ref. [1] is an excellent text for such a detailed information about Pandharpur.<br />
<br />
The most common conclusion that we can draw from all the three incidences described above is that Lord loves His devotees and wants to fulfill all their wishes. The devotees of the Lord also think about welfare of all the common people of the world and because of their prayers, we can still see Lord Panduranga and mother Rukmini even today in Pandharpur. Lord Krishna is so much compassionate that He became pleased with the demon Dindirava although his past life was full with sinful acts. Finally it a devotee's love that binds Lord Krishna who otherwise cannot be bound by anything else.<br />
<br />
The person like me who is expert in making false show of humility is unqualified for describing the glories of Lord Krishna and His holy places. Still I have dared to do so in the hope that such an effort will give me an opportunity to engage my thoughts and time in the right manner. I beg forgiveness for the mistakes and inconsistencies present in this essay and request all the glorious devotees of Lord Krishna to accept it as an offering to their lotus feet. <br />
<br />
<h4>
References:</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<b>Format:</b> Number. Book name, Author, Publisher, Year (Language). <br />
1. Bhuvaikuntha Pandharpur, Loknath Swami, Padayatra Press, 2012 (Marathi).<br />
2. Shri Panduranga Mahatmyam, N. R. Dwarakanath Acharya, Jagadguru Madhwacharya Moolamahasansthanam, 2004 (Sanskrit).</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8403466095701946487.post-60397666706672077662015-06-12T22:47:00.000-07:002015-07-31T06:03:05.099-07:00Ahobilam<div style="text-align: justify;">
A holy place of Ahobilam is situated in Andhra Pradesh, India. The history of Ahobilam spans over a huge time period, starting from the earliest times after the creation of this universe. Therefore it is difficult to summarize everything in an article of a few pages such as this. As a result, all I can do is to give you a small glimpse.<br />
<br />
<b>Brief history of Ahobilam </b><br />
<br />
According to the Vedic history, Lord Brahma is the first living entity born in this universe from the naval lotus of Lord Vishnu. According to the instructions of Lord Vishnu, he continued the secondary creation inside the universe. In the beginning, Lord Brahma gave birth to the four sons from his mind. These four sons are the great sages and their names are Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana and Sanatkumar. They are famous as '<i>four kumaras</i>'. Although they were great sages, they purposefully kept their bodies very small, so they looked like small children.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Once, the four kumaras wanted to see the supreme personality of Godhead Lord Vishnu. So they visited the spiritual world Vaikuntha. By the sweet will of Lord Vishnu, the two gate keepers in the spiritual world, named Jaya and Vijaya, did not allow the kumaras to see Lord Vishnu, thinking them to be ordinary children. The kumaras were very eager to see Lord Vishnu. When they were not allowed to see the Lord, they cursed the gate keepers Jaya and Vijaya to fall into the material world. Lord Vishnu then appeared on the scene and told Jaya and Vijaya to accept the curse of the kumaras. Lord assured them that this incidence has happened due to His will only. Lord also told them that they will be born as demons in the material world and Lord Himself will kill them and deliver them back to the spiritual world.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In their first life in the material world, Jaya and Vijaya were born as the demoniac sons of sage Kashyapa. They were known as Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakahipu. Hiranyaksha was killed by the Varaha incarnation of Lord. Hiranyakashipu was killed by another wonderful incarnation of Lord in the form of Narasimha, the half lion - half human form. Ahobilam is a place where Hiranyakashipu had his huge palace and where Lord Narasimha appeared to finish him.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When his elder brother Hiranyaksha was killed by Lord Varaha, Hiranyakashipu developed enmity towards Lord Vishnu. To acquire power to kill Lord Vishnu, he started performing a very severe and difficult penances. Due to his performance of penance, a tremendous amount of heat was generated and the entire world was disturbed. In order to save the world from this heat, Lord Brahma appeared before Hiranyakashipu and told him to ask the boon for which he was performing the austerities.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Hiranyakashipu initially asked Lord Brahma the boon of total immortality, but this was not possible even for Lord Brahma to give, as Lord Brahma himself has a limited lifespan (although it is very large). Then Hiranyakashipu asked Lord Brahma the promise that he will not be killed by any living entity which Lord Brahma has created, he will not be killed by any weapon, by any man or animal, or in a day time or night time, or inside the house or outside the house etc. By acquiring such a boon from Lord Brahma, Hiranyakashipu became almost unbeatable and immortal. He controlled almost entire universe single handedly.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When Hiranyakashipu was performing the penances, his kingdom was attacked and destroyed by demigods. During this time, Hiranyakashipu's pregnant wife Leelavati was taken care by sage Narada. Narada instructed Leelavati about how to perform a devotional service to Lord Vishnu which is the highest goal of human life. Hiranyakashipu's son in the womb of Leelavati also received these instructions. When the son was born, he was named as Prahlada. From the very beginning of his life, Prahlada was the great devotee of the supreme Lord Vishnu. He was always totally immersed in the meditation on the beautiful form of Lord.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When Hiranyakashipu returned home, he started ruling all the directions. He opposed all the activities dedicated towards Lord Vishnu. He sent Prahlada to the sons of Shukracharya to learn the political sciences. Prahlada however was not interested in learning these subjects and instead he used to teach his classmates about how to worship Lord Vishnu. When Hiranyakashipu understood that Prahlada is the great devotee of his enemy Lord Vishnu, he was totally disappointed. Despite all the good qualities Prahlada had, the anger of Hiranyakashipu reached such an extent that he arranged to kill his son Prahlada in different ways.<br />
<br />
Although different terrible means to kill Prahlada were tried, Lord always protected Prahlada. When Hiranyakashipu himself tried to kill Prahlada by his sword, Lord Vishnu appeared from the pillar of the palace and manifested his wonderful form of Narasimha. Lord was extremely angry and within no time, He took Hiranyakashipu in his lap and killed him by piercing his body by his nails. Lord also destroyed Hiranyakashipu's army. Lord was so ferocious even after killing Hiranyakashipu that even demigods like Lord Brahma could not pacify Him. When His devotee Prahlada offered wonderful prayers to Lord, He became pacified.<br />
<br />
According to <i>Brahmanda Purana</i>, Ahobilam is a place where these incidences took place. The place where Prahlada attended his school, the place from where Lord Narasimha appeared from the pillar and many other places of spiritual significance can be found in Ahobilam. <br />
<br />
After the appearance of Lord Narasimha, Garuda wished to have a vision of Lord. Therefore he performed penances on the mountains of Ahobilam. Therefore these mountains are also known as Garudadri or Garudachalam. Lord Narasimha granted Garuda the vision of His form and Lord manifested Himself in the deity forms at the different places in these mountains. Nine self manifested deities of Lord Narasimha are present in Ahobilam.
Most of the temples housing these deities are situated on the two
mountain sides which are separated by the Bhavanashini river. Each of these nine deities also has a separate history related to it. The brief description of the nine forms of Lord Narasimha is as follows.<br />
<br />
The first of the nine deities of Lord Narasimha in Ahobilam is <i>Bhargava Narasimha. </i>This deity appeared from the fire sacrifice performed at this place by Parashurama. The temple is situated at the banks of a holy water pond called Bhargava kunda.<br />
<br />
The next deity is <i>Ahobila Narasimha</i> or <i>Ugra Narasimha</i> situated at the base of the two mountains at the bank of river Bhavanashini. This is said to be the place where Prahlada pacified Lord Narasimha after killing Hiranyakashipu. This deity of Lord was worshiped by Prahlada himself.<br />
<br />
The next deity of Lord is known as <i>Kroda Narasimha</i> or <i>Varaha Narasimha</i>. Here Lord is present in His Varaha form carrying mother Bhudevi on his shoulders. Lord sanctified mother Bhudevi at this place from the sin of studying the Vedic literatures herself, as women are not supposed to study the Vedic literature on their own, without any guidance.<br />
<br />
The next deity is knows as <i>Malola Narasimha</i>. In this form, Lord Narasimha can be seen with mother Lakshmi as her beloved. <i>Ma</i> means mother Lakshmi and <i>Lola</i> means beloved. The place where Prahlada's school was situated is near from this temple.<br />
<br />
The next deity is known as <i>Jwala Narasimha</i>. This is a place where Lord killed Hiranyakashipu. A small water pond is also present here, where Lord washed the blood on his hands after killing Hiranyakashipu. The <i>Ugra</i> <i>Stambha</i> or the pillar from which Lord Narasimha appeared is close to this temple.<br />
<br />
The next deity of Lord is known as <i>Pavana Narasimha</i>. It is the only deity which is situated on the other side of the mountain. Sage Bharadvaja performed penances here to please Lord and Lord manifested his form here to bless the sage. All the deities mentioned till now are situated in the mountains covered by thick forest.<br />
<br />
The next deity is known as <i>Karanja</i> <i>Narasimha</i> due to a <i>Karanja</i> tree situated nearby. Sage Kobila performed penance at this shrine to free himself from the curse given by sage Durvasa.<br />
<br />
The next form of the Lord is known as <i>Yogananda Narasimha</i>. At this place, Lord Narasimha instructed Prahlada about the science of Yoga and Prahlada performed the meditation.<br />
<br />
The last deity of the Lord is known as <i>Chatravata Narasimha</i> where two <i>Gandharvas</i> (celestial singers) sang the glories of the Lord and Lord appeared there, being pleased with the service of the <i>Gandharvas</i>.<br />
<br />
I have mentioned these nine deities in a sequence in which I visited them. Other authors have described these deities in a different order.<br />
<br />
Apart from these Nava-Narasimha temples, another shrine of Lord Narasimha is situated in Ahobilam village. This temple is called <i>Prahlada Varada Narasimha</i>. In this temple, Lord Narasimha along with His consort Lakshmi is worshiped. The history of this temple is also very interesting.<br />
<br />
Shrinivas Acharya, a great saintly personality, was living in Kanchipuram in the house of his spiritual master (Gurukula). He was only 20 years old, when Lord Narasimha instructed him in dream to go to Ahobilam. After taking permission from his spiritual master, Srinivas Acharya came to Ahobilam where Lord Narasimha Himself came in a form of <i>sanyasi</i> and gave him the spiritual order of Sanyasa. Lord named him as Sathakopa Jiyar and instructed him to develop the holy place of Ahobilam. Lord also told him to select one the <i>utsava murtis </i>among the nine temple of Ahobilam. Sathakopa Jeeyar found it very difficult to select the <i>utsava murti </i>and prayed to Lord for help. Then the <i>utsava murti </i>of Malola Narasimha came by itself to the Jeeyar who was praying for Lord's mercy.<br />
<br />
Lord Narasimha instructed Sathakopa Jeeyar to establish a proper temple for the deity of Prahlada Varada Narasimha. Following the Lord's instruction, Sathakopa Jeeyar established this temple by taking a help of a king who was ruling this region. The king was a devout follower of Lord Shiva. He used to make a golden shiva-linga everyday and after worshiping it, he used to donate it to Brahmanas. Once when the king came in the vicinity of Ahobilam, all the shiva-lingas that he used to make were getting converted into the deities of Lord Narasimha. When Sathakopa Jeeyar approached the king for requesting him to help build the temple for Lord Narasimha, King, inspired by Lord by showing this miracle, agreed to help build this temple.<br />
<br />
The deity of Lord Narasimha in this temple was worshiped by Lord Balaji of Tirumala for one month. A temple of Lord Balaji and Lord Rama is also situated here.<br />
<br />
In Ahobilam, mother Lakshmi, the consort of Lord Narasimha is known by a special name called Chenchu Lakshmi. According to the tradition of Ahobilam, mother Lakshmi appeared in Chenchu tribe of Ahobilam region and Lord Narasimha married her. Therefore the people of Chenchu tribe worship Lord Narasimha as their son in law.<br />
<br />
<b>My pilgrimage to Ahobilam</b> <br />
<br />
We visited Ahobilam in November 2014. Our Pilgrimage was planned for three days. We took a bus from Bangalore and reached Allagadda in the early morning of the next day. Then we took another bus from Allagadda to Ahobilam. On the first day, we celebrated an appearance day of His Holiness Bhakti Swaroop Damodar Swami. For the next two days, we visited different Narasimha deities of Ahobilam. Due to a huge gathering of wonderful devotees of Lord Narasimha, the whole pilgrimage became the constant source of inspiration and happiness, despite a good amount of trekking on the mountains. I thank Lord for giving me this opportunity.<br />
<br />
<b>Conclusion</b><br />
<br />
Although Lord Narasimha's form is very angry, He is very merciful. He has mercifully allowed me to come and visit his home in Ahobilam, although I am very unqualified. My heart is full of unwanted things and I request Lord Narasimha and His devotees to help me in purifying it. I offer this essay as an offering to Lord Narasimha. I request Him and His devotees to mercifully accept it, though it is far from complete.<br />
<br />
<b>Acknowledgements</b><br />
I thank Bhaktivedanta Institute, Bangalore for organizing a wonderful pilgrimage to Ahobilam.<br />
<br />
<b>References</b><br />
1. Spiritual India handbook, Stephen Knapp, Jaico Publishing (2011).<br />
2. Shrimad Bhagavatam, A C Bhaktivedanta Swami, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (2005).<br />
3. Oral information received from the devotees of Lord at Ahobilam (2014). <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX9mvPIR4xFMYGQljwb1z9mcmQYE4_Y1JYsn7KYnCzg-8Nv3wHgwi2kXAZQRzYyP-U97YjYmtxV-Lr7gcVcVSwF0ZN5FuK2WtH1cbES2j0FdyS6QP89_5mc691euCKOT7Gw78peQxHvI-n/s1600/P1020525.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX9mvPIR4xFMYGQljwb1z9mcmQYE4_Y1JYsn7KYnCzg-8Nv3wHgwi2kXAZQRzYyP-U97YjYmtxV-Lr7gcVcVSwF0ZN5FuK2WtH1cbES2j0FdyS6QP89_5mc691euCKOT7Gw78peQxHvI-n/s1600/P1020525.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the way to Bhargava Narsimha Temple</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNRrRCkZeUDkhM8PhKR2oYlwpa_VQX_tSlh4aIl6h3xdyAxp_NKorPR5dwV8iSKT3idSPeuxrVJO2VBjAtX0ct7Y5hWkm5LCDdVJlUBgui45AEPVtxXT3bnFBlmLugvgcETH0U-m5WwmGT/s1600/P1020530.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNRrRCkZeUDkhM8PhKR2oYlwpa_VQX_tSlh4aIl6h3xdyAxp_NKorPR5dwV8iSKT3idSPeuxrVJO2VBjAtX0ct7Y5hWkm5LCDdVJlUBgui45AEPVtxXT3bnFBlmLugvgcETH0U-m5WwmGT/s1600/P1020530.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The temple of Bhargava Narasimha</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmurD3WsBYTuhhVVYLM86B03FZ2ZhIy_xcMSa9S2hgMVO5bZCmeSmM1AACp125mZlCJPJOtcyBf1DwXND_2NWdl5Pdv89MG1qashsIovPrUj9WRdmhj6WoehsQrZfqHdRtt8dxf5CDQjtp/s1600/P1020537.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmurD3WsBYTuhhVVYLM86B03FZ2ZhIy_xcMSa9S2hgMVO5bZCmeSmM1AACp125mZlCJPJOtcyBf1DwXND_2NWdl5Pdv89MG1qashsIovPrUj9WRdmhj6WoehsQrZfqHdRtt8dxf5CDQjtp/s1600/P1020537.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Devotees discussing the glories of Ahobilam in Pralhada Varada Narasimha temple </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwi2sV8os0pGzzLQbVpKLD1Z2u-qxI5ofje_0Yf74SkHQctZXfpFXeuNPPXADfZGHSXVagurZSCcI1ArYJuNkotACodv-BBS1vmbDteW7TojH2ryzVHzJLKSQWPRwJhuyoHlvY90b2pK8i/s1600/P1020545.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwi2sV8os0pGzzLQbVpKLD1Z2u-qxI5ofje_0Yf74SkHQctZXfpFXeuNPPXADfZGHSXVagurZSCcI1ArYJuNkotACodv-BBS1vmbDteW7TojH2ryzVHzJLKSQWPRwJhuyoHlvY90b2pK8i/s1600/P1020545.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The entrance of Ugra or Ahobila Narasimha temple</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbmpdIGHD5a0ts24OIkOYjIOEsTiMGvvUECkD6LJITQ7wn0JY-iSneSRA-7tsYolj4ZmDxh-tzk1UYVB-nHrs7iUlGEwyeHL1rb6mQr4fdWgUA3ey4xxvq9gEa7daCOk0IMWToHhfPStbN/s1600/P1020548.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbmpdIGHD5a0ts24OIkOYjIOEsTiMGvvUECkD6LJITQ7wn0JY-iSneSRA-7tsYolj4ZmDxh-tzk1UYVB-nHrs7iUlGEwyeHL1rb6mQr4fdWgUA3ey4xxvq9gEa7daCOk0IMWToHhfPStbN/s1600/P1020548.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ugra stambha, the place from where Lord Narasimha appeared</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgROr4WszZfAud7_hjctOEtajXlzUN3XrwUF6oikB-LlJ-zcLd2NseGTmeF_XAawDkGKHTdtfmFCyO7rQPsRfjmc-OGe8OmN_yV1DKo-T3jwhvfw3MjDJl7RhjRFl8oVkulthpNvXNeiQNn/s1600/P1020549.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgROr4WszZfAud7_hjctOEtajXlzUN3XrwUF6oikB-LlJ-zcLd2NseGTmeF_XAawDkGKHTdtfmFCyO7rQPsRfjmc-OGe8OmN_yV1DKo-T3jwhvfw3MjDJl7RhjRFl8oVkulthpNvXNeiQNn/s1600/P1020549.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view of mountains from Jwala Narasimha temple</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8u_hwmSmfcxPWyRQiXLNp8r571lqjKH_Ly5Zkd8uhzNhnvaXKx3RGTURegWYd4AaiVeTNPReNDodaAE3N29iWW1t701esQvrINbLcj9xc9NyC4sKgjoRrKQ_Q_q_EhTvIzGE-X65Oo8qD/s1600/P1020553.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8u_hwmSmfcxPWyRQiXLNp8r571lqjKH_Ly5Zkd8uhzNhnvaXKx3RGTURegWYd4AaiVeTNPReNDodaAE3N29iWW1t701esQvrINbLcj9xc9NyC4sKgjoRrKQ_Q_q_EhTvIzGE-X65Oo8qD/s1600/P1020553.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cave in which Jwala Narasimha temple is situated</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHohJiGshL1DjdEYExjkKKUAMfL4OPxfLr2XkMKOfSp3Uol7Zhx8K6XEe60zFERBbPcHBMnW2ilUwppASW8RyZ8UK5U8flkzK7ot-euSAE_VLPqi7BH6vDXHXIdevAOZ8Bw4KKB11DGhbn/s1600/P1020558.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHohJiGshL1DjdEYExjkKKUAMfL4OPxfLr2XkMKOfSp3Uol7Zhx8K6XEe60zFERBbPcHBMnW2ilUwppASW8RyZ8UK5U8flkzK7ot-euSAE_VLPqi7BH6vDXHXIdevAOZ8Bw4KKB11DGhbn/s1600/P1020558.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The way to Jwala Narasimha temple</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGc5dJWVCQtPIO8bew-m9zayntGpxroE7GdqrLlElldk5Ql5NJNbEKR7uRr_OFVVPFLamz_FoEtO5PfdGe918VvS7SvEQmdfhaaj40-X3tN5-ZIpVVkHo-2dbzI02WtqrwoYcBUN9ESGa3/s1600/P1020580.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGc5dJWVCQtPIO8bew-m9zayntGpxroE7GdqrLlElldk5Ql5NJNbEKR7uRr_OFVVPFLamz_FoEtO5PfdGe918VvS7SvEQmdfhaaj40-X3tN5-ZIpVVkHo-2dbzI02WtqrwoYcBUN9ESGa3/s1600/P1020580.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The place where Pralhada's school was situated</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkfjdNMRuPhBJtmRC_exaFqMvbfx9yXz4NUmPz7396mimFBC-gmcv4_gpvcnN77QscUtio-A60CCWrGPQXFIs2VJ-iJ2wqVSiSrVa1cUK3zvSQcIJoC8T4ZOyquJHH-4ZLpzuajt22wAIT/s1600/P1020583.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkfjdNMRuPhBJtmRC_exaFqMvbfx9yXz4NUmPz7396mimFBC-gmcv4_gpvcnN77QscUtio-A60CCWrGPQXFIs2VJ-iJ2wqVSiSrVa1cUK3zvSQcIJoC8T4ZOyquJHH-4ZLpzuajt22wAIT/s1600/P1020583.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cave where Prahlada meditated on Lord</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibIJGeul56NmPehv7lTIm-sdkROnaTLLOUVIUbO3HIizI11E6FWwcBaLWB5rF46bB7BBhmG1e_qVZDY_pj1ox72Gx_tbKWjUnhmVFkHVfkYY-86BGHgQXabZcctSyT4s6WvZ_I1YmY-WUf/s1600/P1020588.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibIJGeul56NmPehv7lTIm-sdkROnaTLLOUVIUbO3HIizI11E6FWwcBaLWB5rF46bB7BBhmG1e_qVZDY_pj1ox72Gx_tbKWjUnhmVFkHVfkYY-86BGHgQXabZcctSyT4s6WvZ_I1YmY-WUf/s1600/P1020588.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chatravata Narasimha temple</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVWedi12BTF72tA-CQdEh4UeGJoPRqpOd7UmKG82yWfs3TzHV6O8VjZjzE1zuWtvsdz6awIP1RhlRxoLMGWSp5WxlELOses2iXXL_fQWY1OoOF4zO5esRAQbdrRXY9gCeQKU1ILZ9WC_V8/s1600/P1020591.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVWedi12BTF72tA-CQdEh4UeGJoPRqpOd7UmKG82yWfs3TzHV6O8VjZjzE1zuWtvsdz6awIP1RhlRxoLMGWSp5WxlELOses2iXXL_fQWY1OoOF4zO5esRAQbdrRXY9gCeQKU1ILZ9WC_V8/s1600/P1020591.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from Chatravata Narasimha temple</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidpS9jqyUQZypiYK_q4K689Ffg_bJXMgw-r89SX_FVpq-qaqksQYLV5UkwGXUyIFfM3GVnlPwKlVkCQv8btV83tc8GbOWvekjV7uFXp5P_OJcn5KY9rRUhZgsOUfDOGNoA5MKwF2FIqUzw/s1600/P1020606.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidpS9jqyUQZypiYK_q4K689Ffg_bJXMgw-r89SX_FVpq-qaqksQYLV5UkwGXUyIFfM3GVnlPwKlVkCQv8btV83tc8GbOWvekjV7uFXp5P_OJcn5KY9rRUhZgsOUfDOGNoA5MKwF2FIqUzw/s1600/P1020606.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yogananda Narasimha temple</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAs-0qnAC7AZgmus1NA_Ah7QbVYrvrxDKzkp1_9ZvhxpPLY5c2StWVWmBdlmAKptsfLMBIpp8jO1L-hadLVHlKqGys5UBFKthJJKKoiKerDXfml8N8N3Y-VxrbjQU1jerOpyd8_GKnseBc/s1600/P1020629.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAs-0qnAC7AZgmus1NA_Ah7QbVYrvrxDKzkp1_9ZvhxpPLY5c2StWVWmBdlmAKptsfLMBIpp8jO1L-hadLVHlKqGys5UBFKthJJKKoiKerDXfml8N8N3Y-VxrbjQU1jerOpyd8_GKnseBc/s1600/P1020629.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pavana Narasimha temple</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglzAgg6mVVPDU8QUuOpFuFnubBXl10uy7xQtLsmoa5nIL4cyQjGeHAo2d7lWcIQNBGxpQQu4ni711Pzt1u2cTLeX4NVRom2Ti0jcbdxhzKPV4rayllPRKlXu4jVcVWV6J1ERsAygX83j1i/s1600/P1020677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglzAgg6mVVPDU8QUuOpFuFnubBXl10uy7xQtLsmoa5nIL4cyQjGeHAo2d7lWcIQNBGxpQQu4ni711Pzt1u2cTLeX4NVRom2Ti0jcbdxhzKPV4rayllPRKlXu4jVcVWV6J1ERsAygX83j1i/s1600/P1020677.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view of a mountain seen from the way to Pavana Narasimha temple</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAeunq_rfeG7rjGdxBrj4g0wM8rBjw-3qfO1iqe6De5Jh5RFoeo1owPKLj2dYTSjnaL8_OnOAdEoJ_BPOygFWiILlHjbdZefb9Q1tpszeeiFow7HZhHxNUteN2UynfS86WeqYDsQEwgP1s/s1600/P1020683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAeunq_rfeG7rjGdxBrj4g0wM8rBjw-3qfO1iqe6De5Jh5RFoeo1owPKLj2dYTSjnaL8_OnOAdEoJ_BPOygFWiILlHjbdZefb9Q1tpszeeiFow7HZhHxNUteN2UynfS86WeqYDsQEwgP1s/s1600/P1020683.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Malola Narasimha temple</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8403466095701946487.post-21780998933009543622015-01-02T03:39:00.002-08:002020-07-24T03:11:54.736-07:00Hampi<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Hampi</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">2 J<span style="font-size: small;">anuary 2014</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span> </span></div>
<br />
Most of us are aware that long time ago, during Ramayana period, mother Sita was taken to Lanka by demon Ravana. Lord Rama and Lakshamana travelled in Southern direction in search of her and eventually reached a city named Kishkindha where they developed friendship with Hanuman, Sugriva and other <i>Vanaras</i> (Celestian monkeys and bears). Many wonderful events that happened there are vividly described in <i>Kishkindha Kanda</i> of Ramayana. Millions of years have passed since the time of Lord Rama but the record of historical events happened during that time is still available to us. Today, in this age of science and technology, we may wonder about the exact geographical location of the Kishkindha. It was a pleasant surprise for me when I came to know that the Kishkindha is situated on the banks of Tungabhadra river around the place called Hampi.<br />
<br />
Hampi is a village situated near the Hospet city in the state of Karnataka. It is surrounded by many hills which are full of huge rocks and caves. In Puranas, this place is mentioned as Pampa Kshetra. Pampa is a presiding deity of Tungabhadra river. She performed penances and worshipped Lord Shiva here. Lord Shiva in His aspect called Virupaksha accepted Pampa as His wife. The temple of the self manifested Shivalinga and mother Pampadevi is a primary and huge complex of Hampi village. This temple, called as Virupaksha temple, is generally the first place that we see when we enter Hampi.<br />
<br />
However the first place in Kishkindha where Lord Rama and Lakshmana arrived is a lake called Pampa Sarovar. After they observed the exquisite beauty of this lake, they visited Shabari who was a great devotee of Lord. Lord enjoyed the fruits offered to Him by Shabari on the banks of Pampa Sarovar. During those times Pampa Sarovar was a huge lake decorated with beautiful lotus flowers and different kinds of birds. Today also Pampa Sarovar is a very serene and beautiful place surrounded by hills from three sides. Although now it is smaller in size, the place is spiritually so vibrant that we can feel immediate spiritual nourishment when we go there. We are exceedingly sure about the purity of this holy place because Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also took bath in this lake.<br />
<br />
After visiting Shabari, Lord Rama and Lakshmana proceeded towards Matanga mountain to meet Sugriva. This Matanga mountain can be seen when you stand in the door of the Virupaksha temple and see towards the East. Sugriva was a younger brother of the king of Kishkindha named Vali. He was living there along with his four ministers. Hanuman, who is the great devotee of Lord, brought Lord Rama and Lakshmana and introduced them to Sugriva. Sugriva and Lord Rama became great friends. Sugriva was living in hiding in sage Matanga's ashrama as Vali wanted to kill Sugriva due to a previous misunderstanding. Sage Matanga's asharama was the only safe place for Sugriva and his ministers because Matanga muni had previously cursed Vali to die if Vali enters the area of his ashrama. Lord Rama helped Sugriva by killing Vali and installing Sugriva on the throne of the kingdom of Kishkindha. In return Sugriva helped Lord to search and rescue mother Sita. Sugriva gathered all the <i>vanaras</i> and sent them in different directions in search of mother Sita. It was the search party of Hanuman and Vali's son named Angada who discovered that Sita was present in Lanka. Once mother Sita's location was known, Lord Rama proceeded towards Lanka along with the huge army of <i>vanaras</i>. They built a bridge to Lanka and after the great war with Ravana and his army, they rescued mother Sita. Sugriva, Hanuman along with millions of other <i>vanaras</i> and their leaders played a very instrumental role in this rescue operation conducted to bring mother Sita and Lord Rama together. After these events, Angada, the son of Vali, was made king of the Kishkindha.<br />
<br />
Today we can find many places in Hampi which witnessed these events. Pampa Sarovar, Malyavan mountain, Hemakuta mountain, Anjaneyadri which is a birthplace of Hanuman, the entrance to Vali's cave, temple of Durga whom Vali worshipped, a place where Lord Rama and Lakshmana stayed during the months of rainy season, Shabari's cave, the place where Sugriva stored the jewels dropped by Sita when she was being taken away are some of these places. <br />
<br />
Apart from the places of Lord's pastimes, Hampi is also famous as a capital of the Vijayanagara Kingdom. Many structures constructed by Vijayanagara kings are present in Hampi. Looking at these works of huge and beautifully carved stones to construct palaces, temples and water ponds, one can only imagine the prosperity that prevailed when the saintly kings like Krishnadevaraya ruled their kingdom on the basis of <i>dharma</i>. King Krishnadevaraya was a disciple in the line of Madhva Sampradaya and a great devotee of Lord. Today all we can see in Hampi is broken temples and palaces. The worship of Lord is absent in many of the temples as there is no deity. For a devotee and a spiritualist, looking and admiring the beauty of these vacant temples may not be enough.<br />
<br />
Me and my wife visited Hampi during 24 to 26 December 2014. We spent the first day in Hampi looking at the palaces and temples constructed by Vijayanagara kings and it caused only pain and exhaustion in me. I actually started enjoying the Hampi trip when we visited the places related to Lord Rama and his devotees. On the second day, we walked towards Vitthala temple along the Southern bank of Tungabhadra river. On the way we visited Kodanda Rama temple. This temple has very big and beautiful deities of Lord Rama, Lakshmana and Sita. The place where the temple is located is extremely beautiful. Situated nearby are the temples of Hanuman and Lord Ranganath. Then we proceeded towards the Vitthala temple where we crossed the river by boat and reached a village named Anegundi. This is where Pampa Sarovar, Shabari's cave and Anjaneyadri are located. First we visited Pampa Sarovar where I found myself very happy. After briefly visiting Shabari's cave and nearby temple of Lord Shiva, we proceeded to the birth place of Hanuman, Anjaneyadri. This hill is named after Hanuman's mother Anjana. She performed austerities on this hill and demigod Vayu impregnated her with Hanuman. I found myself fully energetic even after climbing around 600 steps to the top of Anjaneyadri where temple of Lord Rama, Lakshmana, Sita as well as Hanuman and Anjana is located. After visiting these places, we came back to Hampi by the same way. Spending every evening in the devotional environment of the Virupaksha temple in the central Hampi was also a nectarine experience for me. I spent a good deal of my time on the third day by just sitting on the banks of Tungabhadra river at different places. I also went to the base of Matanga mountain but did not climb up this time.<br />
<br />
I was very fortunate to listen the story Ramayana from my maternal grandmother since childhood. During the beginning of my stay in IISc, Lord gave me opportunity to relish the reading of Ramayana in detail. This pilgrimage to Hampi, the Kishkindha of Ramayana, was a reminder for me to continue the spiritual journey which has started long ago.<br />
<br />
There may be many people who may question whether Ramayana actually happened, whether Lord Rama was actually there or the information that I have written above is really true. The answers to these questions will be easily obtained when we associate with the devotees of the Lord, study the authentic Vedic literature like Ramayana in which activities of Lord are recorded and visit the holy places where these activities took place. This will bring a spiritual change in us, which is good. There will be always some people who will point out the contradictions in scriptures and different religious systems. But a genuine devotee is sure that all the contradictions are present in the Lord and still He is simple to understand for a devotee. He is वेदेषु दुर्लभं अदुर्लभं आत्मभक्तौ.<br />
<br />
This article is certainly not a good guide to visit different places in Hampi. It also does not focus much on Vijayanagara history in which many people may be interested. But it is my hope that it will bring out some interest to carefully study Ramayana as well as to visit this place where the ancient events mentioned in Ramayana took place.<br />
<br />
I am not very good at writing but the merciful devotees of Lord may accept this article and offer it to the lotus feet of Lord. I will be very happy if devotees become happy after reading this article.<br />
<br />
<b>Acknowledgements</b><br />
I thank all the devotees of Lord and especially those in Bhaktivedanta Institute, Bangalore because of whom I can hope to make some progress in spirituality. I thank my wife who enthusiastically proposed to visit Hampi. I thank my friend Sudeep Nakhe for helping me in organizing this trip and giving me some important tips about food and climate. I also thank the people of Hampi and Anegundi villages.<br />
<br />
<b>References</b><br />
1. Spiritual India Handbook, Stephen Knap, Jaico publishing house, 2011 (English).<br />
2. Valmiki Ramayana Volume 1 and 2, Geeta press, Gorakhpur (Sanskrit, Hindi).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXonieTkdkWQFFsoPo_gh06-t51Tflu1oFtAKgrWr_m1P7kn69da9BcHth__dItYvnqJGDv0oq-7aXuwr2QWKJznb34_l5L8ukUwfxCoE8ILeZSpx4HaZLTSiQgXfnoeld7Pg_qylt5dh0/s1600/1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXonieTkdkWQFFsoPo_gh06-t51Tflu1oFtAKgrWr_m1P7kn69da9BcHth__dItYvnqJGDv0oq-7aXuwr2QWKJznb34_l5L8ukUwfxCoE8ILeZSpx4HaZLTSiQgXfnoeld7Pg_qylt5dh0/s1600/1.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Virupaksha - Pampa Devi Temple</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE0SnooJGz-jZgESFakinUH1CqQJZN1XJzsFtORRowRV1fviYiN3CUlyU0TIubcHCFY0Ls10dFkz3WpJWg94iwt6gD0LB1Wqhw_rVuAL5WPzIloU_v7QN3innQd6XuIqNRKubLTY5E_udW/s1600/3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE0SnooJGz-jZgESFakinUH1CqQJZN1XJzsFtORRowRV1fviYiN3CUlyU0TIubcHCFY0Ls10dFkz3WpJWg94iwt6gD0LB1Wqhw_rVuAL5WPzIloU_v7QN3innQd6XuIqNRKubLTY5E_udW/s1600/3.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tungabhadra river</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJjOV5its6JBTpb1WQXV2byrZhnwCa0Xq7ZmpG4urh7UR5VOz82fp17NyYha5PedB5mY6BZElDbJLDrWXF4F07pHpN6KkWfer9aLecSe12Y6Gwmm96mCxAEl1YH40LuqV8UmaB8tU6ExaQ/s1600/7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJjOV5its6JBTpb1WQXV2byrZhnwCa0Xq7ZmpG4urh7UR5VOz82fp17NyYha5PedB5mY6BZElDbJLDrWXF4F07pHpN6KkWfer9aLecSe12Y6Gwmm96mCxAEl1YH40LuqV8UmaB8tU6ExaQ/s1600/7.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pampa Sarovar</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzuQBzEETFjXv39ayuyJRw37_ilNnHfS9MWqWvIhupQK2d_TNNUwi5pLiUNr9rIGzu8L_mx-ZJ6C7bA4w6amhd0jH28k8IsMwv9Eh_-aIcXqdePRMzbMYnYc9MdAEYN0aRj21Kkfkf_Yqt/s1600/8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzuQBzEETFjXv39ayuyJRw37_ilNnHfS9MWqWvIhupQK2d_TNNUwi5pLiUNr9rIGzu8L_mx-ZJ6C7bA4w6amhd0jH28k8IsMwv9Eh_-aIcXqdePRMzbMYnYc9MdAEYN0aRj21Kkfkf_Yqt/s1600/8.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anjaneyadri</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh36qTrcoJId7So5d5a69iE2mg04zqxIuXlr_WWYd0g72nzABdCq-dJmJ1YSFHvrYVIng2aqQ4aCS3sDeTSFdPwXdn6OtXez-ZGNnCT_z05LEWXddSV_eZfE4RvL3C4JbOeWnQVrRUaiy-I/s1600/10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh36qTrcoJId7So5d5a69iE2mg04zqxIuXlr_WWYd0g72nzABdCq-dJmJ1YSFHvrYVIng2aqQ4aCS3sDeTSFdPwXdn6OtXez-ZGNnCT_z05LEWXddSV_eZfE4RvL3C4JbOeWnQVrRUaiy-I/s1600/10.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matanga Parvat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiF-cNrA4HD7vwgAb4VywvK64JEzRlS7KrlLm3a4Mgas0_dUcq7qLb8_LX5ou4kIBIJW7YYyXajkuYcoOji7bJ62QCRabhLO8PupojAWr7IiCdD5sT_htoXfA43nSDnTxQX6nzYTncs2Xj/s1600/13.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiF-cNrA4HD7vwgAb4VywvK64JEzRlS7KrlLm3a4Mgas0_dUcq7qLb8_LX5ou4kIBIJW7YYyXajkuYcoOji7bJ62QCRabhLO8PupojAWr7IiCdD5sT_htoXfA43nSDnTxQX6nzYTncs2Xj/s1600/13.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of Kishkindha from Anjaneyadri</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS-iKv_z6RDeDGhKkp5WnDHYXan76DZy8JkqeJzz0dkt8JeCQWbwm6bHnOXPXYiSfrk3ls7xYiMh00nFe9Y81Djo8d_pxgDK18_H3QyEdHE7WyXj90JX3pGU-zE-HnYsuLYdDM0dgPeehB/s1600/P1020795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS-iKv_z6RDeDGhKkp5WnDHYXan76DZy8JkqeJzz0dkt8JeCQWbwm6bHnOXPXYiSfrk3ls7xYiMh00nFe9Y81Djo8d_pxgDK18_H3QyEdHE7WyXj90JX3pGU-zE-HnYsuLYdDM0dgPeehB/s1600/P1020795.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kodanda Rama Temple</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi5NBlMJsLJje4Ri0jO1IZ5Q1n82qWnzm8vcDjUHmMxE_ZjfSJyarZ3GNFBSzCK8hNxcsA_5oImak_xOoWspAIQGQGY5VDgWf8G6cLJN4v_yvbMtTjUPKurj_eCn-j-rpWA8__PUCxfkQM/s1600/P1020796.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi5NBlMJsLJje4Ri0jO1IZ5Q1n82qWnzm8vcDjUHmMxE_ZjfSJyarZ3GNFBSzCK8hNxcsA_5oImak_xOoWspAIQGQGY5VDgWf8G6cLJN4v_yvbMtTjUPKurj_eCn-j-rpWA8__PUCxfkQM/s1600/P1020796.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from Kodanda Rama Templa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSm_kMN8mkJcq6qwW9Iyk6kTXoZEbUye975Q0j9ACZbqu8ET1YbuDXmzAe3IMq7jWfAg9TuRxa4lzyDKWv59A59UnYjSQzWD8eTq9xdKzeZQW57oWfsaDqJHEAonvW1AY-h2QuAmTxiQ9w/s1600/P1020802.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSm_kMN8mkJcq6qwW9Iyk6kTXoZEbUye975Q0j9ACZbqu8ET1YbuDXmzAe3IMq7jWfAg9TuRxa4lzyDKWv59A59UnYjSQzWD8eTq9xdKzeZQW57oWfsaDqJHEAonvW1AY-h2QuAmTxiQ9w/s1600/P1020802.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of Virupaksha Temple</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXMC60YlRr6vNKvIp8KdVMMOn6DrvGcQQndxV1zLSXZioibKLL1uL4npTi9xCrAEyYegjOgwcBoJcNarzDAbmj6JN8Rbt06QxNOl7DXlWWsMZVvzeOj-UQue9CXzEcnUZobrh1BraAgTls/s1600/P1020804.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXMC60YlRr6vNKvIp8KdVMMOn6DrvGcQQndxV1zLSXZioibKLL1uL4npTi9xCrAEyYegjOgwcBoJcNarzDAbmj6JN8Rbt06QxNOl7DXlWWsMZVvzeOj-UQue9CXzEcnUZobrh1BraAgTls/s1600/P1020804.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Malyavaan Parvat and the temple of Lord on the top</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBBKdXyBFEX3TmFI0IzT1P3GWcQKUhgmpgGzuhCVCJ5ED5djyzCMKhSazoMgz13U-aXF-DM7EDuu_HBJrHIusDX9iW9lGpelJc_YvAjdGVH7Lg7yONH5RChovD3BOs-Swadi_jaBFANiPs/s1600/P1020808.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBBKdXyBFEX3TmFI0IzT1P3GWcQKUhgmpgGzuhCVCJ5ED5djyzCMKhSazoMgz13U-aXF-DM7EDuu_HBJrHIusDX9iW9lGpelJc_YvAjdGVH7Lg7yONH5RChovD3BOs-Swadi_jaBFANiPs/s1600/P1020808.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tungabhadra river</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcsMEAeUznHqkCcb6d2nx_54oVBRf8ezAQkcV7ILsiB2A1nqZQsGv1Fdj6EvwzPw1ttnnfMGKRW-HcYMbLrdRUzgqGy-gOxUU1uvSgotB2rggjfUz20KuWk1LMAKoShSxRckycs8EyVHcr/s1600/P1020867.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcsMEAeUznHqkCcb6d2nx_54oVBRf8ezAQkcV7ILsiB2A1nqZQsGv1Fdj6EvwzPw1ttnnfMGKRW-HcYMbLrdRUzgqGy-gOxUU1uvSgotB2rggjfUz20KuWk1LMAKoShSxRckycs8EyVHcr/s1600/P1020867.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pampa Sarovar</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8403466095701946487.post-67007031556982876012014-09-27T07:44:00.001-07:002020-07-24T03:10:44.853-07:00Manipur<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Manipur</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
27 September 2014 </div>
<br />
The valley of Manipur is situated in the North-East region of India. It is surrounded by the trailing hills of the Himalaya Mountain. Many of us are not closely familiar with Manipur as it is situated in comparatively remote region. Therefore the ancient history of Manipur may come to you as a surprise. In this humble attempt, I will try to share with you some information I could gather from the ancient books.<br />
<br />
From the <i>Puranas</i>, we understand that long time ago this valley was a huge lake. Lord Shiva emptied this lake and thus the valley was created. The valley was decorated with wonderful gems by the celestial snakes for the pleasure of Lord Shiva. Hence the name Manipur (Mani means gems).<br />
<br />
The later history of Manipur is very closely related to Arjuna who is known as the great hero of <i>Mahabharata</i> war as well as the great devotee of Lord Krishna. In the <i>Adi Parva</i> of <i>Mahabharata</i>, we find that once Arjuna went on a pilgrimage. After visiting some holy places in Himalaya mountains, he reached Hardwar and stayed there for few days. While taking bath in the Ganga river at Hardwar, he was taken to the nether world of celestial snakes by a girl named Ullupi. She requested Arjuna to marry her. Arjuna in response accepted her in marriage but stayed there only for a day. Then he continued his pilgrimage towards the holy places in Eastern direction and eventually reached Manipur.<br />
<br />
At that time, Manipur was ruled by a king named Chitravahana. He had a very beautiful daughter named Chitrangada. Arjuna requested Chitravahana to give him Chitrangada in marriage. Chitravahana happily agreed to this on a condition that the son of Chitrangada will be given the throne of Manipur. Then Arjuna was married to Chitrangada and a son was born to them. This son was named Babhruvahana. Arjuna stayed in Manipur for next three years and then continued his pilgrimage along the cost of Southern ocean. After returning to Manipur, Arjuna instructed Chitrangada to stay in Manipur and take care of Babhruvahana. He invited her to Hastinapur in future at the time of Rajasuya sacrifice to be performed by Yudhishtira. <br />
<br />
In the <i>Ashwamedha Parva</i> of <i>Mahabharata</i>, we find that after the war of Kurukshetra, king Yudhishtira decided to perform a Ashwamedha sacrifice. In this sacrifice, a sacrificial horse is allowed to freely roam around the world for one year. The kings of different countries should either capture the horse and fight with the Pandava army or accept the sovereign of Pandavas over the world. After travelling to many kingdoms, this horse reached Manipur where, by that time, Babhruvahana was ruling. When Babhruvahana was told that a sacrificial horse has entered his kingdom, he captured it immediately. But when he understood that his father Arjuna himself was protecting the horse, he went to meet Arjuna in a humble and respectful mood. He wanted to return the horse to Arjuna but Arjuna, on other hand, wanted to see the valor and strength of his son. Therefore Arjuna did not receive the respect as well as gifts brought to him by Babhruvahana. In contrast, Arjuna challenged Babhruvahana to fight in the battle.<br />
<br />
Babhruvahana was in dilemma about whether he should fight his father or not when Ullupi appeared there. She advised Babhruvahana to accept the challenge of Arjuna. In a great battle that followed, Arjuna's army was utterly destroyed and many great warriors on Arjuna's side were defeated. To our great surprise, Arjuna himself was beheaded and killed by Babhruvahana. After the battle was over, Babhruvahana and Chitrangada were overwhelmed with grief due to loss of Arjuna. But Ullupi, the only one who new the secret behind Arjuna's death, reassured both of them. She procured a powerful gem named <i>Sanjeewani</i> from the nether worlds. She brought Arjuna back to life by using the power of this gem. Ullupi also related the reason behind Arjuna's death to Babhruvahana and Chitrangada. She told that in the Kurukshetra war, because Arjuna had attacked Bhishma while putting Shikhandi in between them, the demigods named Vasus cursed that Arjuna will have to die in the battle. After hearing this, Arjuna was happily reunited with Chitrangada, Babhruvahana as well as Ullupi and continued his journey with the sacrificial horse.<br />
<br />
The <i>Ashwamedha Parva</i> written by Jaimini gives a few more details of this incident. It tells us that Lord Krishna played a key role in bringing Arjuna back to life. Although the <i>Sanjeewani</i> gem was procured, the head of Arjuna was stolen by two envious celestial snakes and as a result the gem could not be used. It was Krishna who brought back Arjuna's head by using His mystic powers. This book also tells that although Arjuna's head was separated from his body, it was chanting the holy names of Krishna such as Govinda, Madhava etc.<br />
<br />
The later kings of Manipur were faithful followers of Vedic culture. But it was during the time of the great King Bhagyachandra in 18th century AD that the Manipur accepted the culture of pure devotional service of Lord Vishnu (Krishna). When Bhagyachandra was a small child, his father was killed in the battle and his uncle took over the affairs of the kingdom. When Bhagyachandra grew up and started to rule the valley, his uncle became envious and conspired with Burmese kingdom to attack the valley of Manipur. Under this attack, Bhagyachandra and his mother had to flee and take shelter under the king Rajarshee of Ahom (now Assam).<br />
<br />
A nice friendship developed between Bhagyachandra and king Rajarshee. King Rajarshee provided Bhagyachandra everything required for his peaceful and safe stay in Assam. But Bhagyachandra's uncle sent a letter to king Rajarshee saying that the person who is staying with the king is not a real Bhagyachandra but an imposter. The king of Assam was puzzled upon receiving this letter and decided to test Bhagyachandra. In this test, Bhagyachandra was to tame the wild elephant. If he could do that, the king of Assam would accept him as the real Bhagyachandra.<br />
<br />
On a night before this test, Bhagyachandra was praying to Lord Krishna to guide him about how he should handle this difficult situation. In night, Lord Krishna appeared in the dream of Bhagyachandra. He told Bhagyachandra to approach the wild elephant with nothing but a flower garland and chanting beads. Lord Krishna also told Bhagyachandra that in future he will be the only ruler of the valley of Manipur. Krishna also asked Bhagyachandra to construct a temple for Lord Krishna with Lord's deity made in the exact form in which Bhagyachandra was seeing Him. Lord told that Bhagyachandra will find a jack-fruit tree on Kaina hillside. The wood of this tree would be used for making the deity. Lord also revealed the <i>Rasa-Leela</i> (Krishna's spiritual dance with <i>gopis</i> in full-moon night) in Bhagyachandra's dream and instructed the king to arrange for such <i>Rasa-Leela</i> dance performances for the pleasure of Krishna.<br />
<br />
In the morning the crowds gathered to see if Bhagyachandra can control the wild elephant. When Bhagyachandra entered the arena, the elephant immediately charged towards him. As he neared, it was stopped by some unseen force as if it was hitting the invisible wall. This happened several times and finally the elephant knelt down in front of the king. Only Bhagyachandra could see Lord Krishna sitting on the elephant in full control. After taming the elephant, Bhagyachandra thanked Lord Krishna by giving him a flower garland. When Bhagyachandra mounted the wild elephant, the crowds as well as the king Rajarshee became cheerful. Then with the help of king Rajarshee and his army, Bhagyachandra defeated Burmese army and reestablished his kingdom in Manipur.<br />
<br />
After regaining his kingdom, Bhagyachandra became so busy in organizing the state that he forgot the promise of building a temple for Lord Krisha. To remind the king of this promise, Lord Krishna appeared as a small boy and started to play trick with an old lady working in the farm. This farm was located near a hill where a particular jack-fruit tree was located. Krishna wanted Bhagyachandra to make a deity from the wood of this jack-fruit tree. Krishna then sent a message for the king through the lady. After making some tricky effort to gain an access to the king, the old lady related a story about this boy. Bhagyachandra could understand that the boy was none but Lord Krishna. He immediately followed the lady to the spot where she had seen Krishna. Although Krishna had disappeared from there, the king found the jack-fruit tree for making a deity.<br />
<br />
The king employed artists to make deity of Lord Krishna and told them about the form of Lord he had seen in the dream. The artists made five deities but none matched the description of the king. Each of these five deities were installed with great festival at different locations in Manipur. The king became worried as the wood of the jack-fruit tree was about to finish. But when he saw the remaining piece of wood, he could understand that it was already having the required form. He immediately ordered the artists to prepare the deity from the last piece. This deity of Lord Krishna is known as Lord Govinda and is installed in the temple which is known as Govindji temple. <br />
<br />
King Bhagyachandra, his ministry as well as his citizens were all dedicated to the service of Lord Govinda. The king did not force anyone to give up their culture but encouraged everybody to engage in the service of Lord Krishna by his own example. He also engaged the artists to make the dresses of Lord Krishna as well as <i>gopis</i> exactly as he had been revealed in the dream by the Lord. Then he started the performance of <i>Rasa-Leela</i> dance for the pleasure of Lord. This is the origin of Manipuri style of classical dance as well as Manipuri dresses.<br />
<br />
In the 15th century AD, the same Lord Krishna who protected the Pandavas in the times of Mahabharata, appeared in the secret incarnation of Lord Chaitanya to teach people about the glories of chanting the holy names of Lord. In 17th century AD, His great follower Narottam Das sent some of his disciples to Manipur to preach the glories of holy name. Even today the songs of Narottam Das are sung in the valley of Manipur. King Bhagyachandra later retired from the duties of the king and took shelter of Narottam Das. He stayed in Nawadweep Dham in West Bengal, dedicating his life for the devotional service of Lord Krishna.<br />
<br />
Even to this day, the people of Manipur follow the Vedic culture of Vaishnava principles. Although the people following many other religions live in Manipur, traditional Vaishnava as well as tribal practices are highly regarded by everyone. The birthday of Lord Krishna is one of the biggest yearly festivals of Manipur. Other festivals related to the pastimes of Lord Krishna, like <i>Holi</i>, are also celebrated. A <i>Rasa-Leela</i> performance initiated by King Bhagyachandra is still a most important part of the culture. Apart from these practises, Manipur is also known for its martial arts as well as drum-dance.<br />
<br />
In recent times, due to the efforts of His Holiness Bhakti Swaroop Damodar Swami (also known as Sripad maharaja), the culture and practices of Manipur have been rekindled. Apart from constructing a huge temple of Their Lordships Shri Shri Radha-Krishnachandra, he established <i>The University of Bhagavata Culture</i> to study and promote the ancient practices of Manipur. He has made special efforts to present the ancient Vedic culture in a modern scientific way as well as to spiritually unite the people following different religions. His contributions for preserving and promoting the culture of Manipur are priceless. Although today he is not present among us in person, his disciples are working hard to follow his instructions and continue his mission. <br />
<br />
I was given an opportunity to visit Manipur by the Bhaktivedanta Institute, Bangalore along with the other members of the institute. We took a train from Bangalore and reached Kolkata. From Kolkata we took a flight to Imphal, a capital of Manipur state. A huge festival to celebrate the 75th birth anniversary of Sripad maharaja was organized. This festival was the essence of Manipuri culture because it displayed all the aspects of Manipuri life and arts. A drama on the life of King Bhagyachandra, a Sanskrit drama based on <i>Geeta Govinda</i>, a drum-dance as well as <i>Rasa-Leela</i> dance were the performances which one can never forget. Apart from their spiritual nature, they were performed with a very high professional accuracy and creativity. We also visited the Govindji temple and other Krishna temples established by king Bhagyachandra. The deities of Lord Krishna in these temples are extra-ordinary in their beauty. We were staying near Radha Krishnachandra Mani Mandir of Imphal where festival was organized. I had a chance to have a wonderful interaction with some school students in Imphal. I found the people of Manipur very gentle and kind.<br />
<br />
Many authors have written books about Manipur and its history. Compared to them, my research is very limited. I have considered only the spiritual history of Manipur, ignoring everything else. Therefore this article can not satisfy all the students of history. But it is my hope that this article becomes useful to devotees of Lord Krishna and persons who know His Holiness Bhakti Swaroop Damodar Swami who hails from Manipur.<br />
<br />
My visit to Manipur has left some strong impressions on my mind. I was overwhelmed by the good qualities of Manipuri people. I feel it was an opportunity given to me by Lord to introspect myself in the best possible surroundings. Although I was in Manipur only for five days, I tend to think that I know Manipur.<br />
<br />
Although I am unqualified to write this essay, I request the devotees to accept it as a humble offering. I hope the devotees will like this article because they are unlimitedly merciful. I thank Lord and His devotees because they have ignored my faults and given me opportunity to write this essay. Although my words are like that of a child who is just learning how to speak, I request the reader to forgive me for such a talk. <br />
<br />
<b>References</b><br />
1. Mahabharata, Krishnadwaipayana Vyasa, Geeta Press, Gorakhpur (India), Vikarama year 2070 (Sanskrit, Hindi).<br />
<br />
2. Jaimini Ashwamedha, Vishnushastri Bapat, Varada Prakashan, Pune (India), 2002 (Marathi).<br />
<br />
3. Srila Sripad in Switzerland, No authorship, Bhaktivedanta Institute, Kolkata (India), 2013 (English).<br />
<br />
4. Spiritual India handbook, Stephen Knapp, Jaico Publishing House, Mumbai (India), 2011 (English).<br />
<br />
5. A glimpse of 25 years of ISKCON in Manipur, No Authorship, Bhaktivedanta Institute and The University of Bhagavata Culture, Manipur (India), 2002 (English). <br />
<br />
<b>Acknowledgements</b><br />
I thank Bhaktivedanta Institute, Bangalore for giving me an opportunity to visit Manipur. I also thank the devotees in Manipur for making our stay pleasant. I thank all the people of Manipur who have preserved the culture despite all kinds of challenges. I thank my friend Appala Naidu for sponsoring the entire set of books containing <i>Mahabharata</i> (Ref. 1). I also thank my wife for obtaining a copy of <i>Jaimini</i> <i>Ashwamedha</i> (Ref. 2) after taking much efforts.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEmB3xSEKwn_2bYYRLQxlOF43Wog7JIoiubbe3dUY3b76KeAXrjic6jl9_HC-YT_3_0Vl-XH4lZThw7kTrSUEU51jdcMGLQQrWDFuAqRw8W-W_lMn4xEFtyRavrOBExMmhH6xVHaRrhqdi/s1600/Photo0939.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEmB3xSEKwn_2bYYRLQxlOF43Wog7JIoiubbe3dUY3b76KeAXrjic6jl9_HC-YT_3_0Vl-XH4lZThw7kTrSUEU51jdcMGLQQrWDFuAqRw8W-W_lMn4xEFtyRavrOBExMmhH6xVHaRrhqdi/s1600/Photo0939.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shri Shri Radha Krishnachandra Mani Mandir, Imphal.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1SAwSf5dhkvQ0PUtHbg4rWf1GZnIlJ34SEAy0QsdL94JjV68pCvEeUJ2vvPCwyG7721gAtUj8QhwE2h4CTn6nWgvAQhoU3SWtjPVZxNZ5B4_gsC_WnQo6hYgPxEjEiTKwuZ3E33f3dbjB/s1600/Photo0944.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1SAwSf5dhkvQ0PUtHbg4rWf1GZnIlJ34SEAy0QsdL94JjV68pCvEeUJ2vvPCwyG7721gAtUj8QhwE2h4CTn6nWgvAQhoU3SWtjPVZxNZ5B4_gsC_WnQo6hYgPxEjEiTKwuZ3E33f3dbjB/s1600/Photo0944.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A picture depicting Lord Krishna's Rasa-Leela dance with Gopis</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3UHfvzhUrNcqZcfrFkYpERGHpDpWjsPv35Z88_t4KWRXIkkb0iySzXpq7k5VcpX6YXq7YtbW19OVG3ZEv6XXPv53OZsG7nbdaQmAZLzwJ4qOsgKdvsvFKlhWmtLii5TGeRJ2kLg_0DEBQ/s1600/Photo0950.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3UHfvzhUrNcqZcfrFkYpERGHpDpWjsPv35Z88_t4KWRXIkkb0iySzXpq7k5VcpX6YXq7YtbW19OVG3ZEv6XXPv53OZsG7nbdaQmAZLzwJ4qOsgKdvsvFKlhWmtLii5TGeRJ2kLg_0DEBQ/s1600/Photo0950.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside of Shri Shri Radha Krishnachandra Mani Mandir</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfCRQLmydfW6CcB7ssVuk5EW7ddzBuNFMod5XAr7mM2txl3mUMCEk6wzxAhcUsQDTQhYWW2c_a5or4pNBe380bTsOmltM3HGMn-uNcTR7Bd_N_cL2P0Xd3rMy1RQaiWbqid5C6MsIfEpU4/s1600/Photo0964.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfCRQLmydfW6CcB7ssVuk5EW7ddzBuNFMod5XAr7mM2txl3mUMCEk6wzxAhcUsQDTQhYWW2c_a5or4pNBe380bTsOmltM3HGMn-uNcTR7Bd_N_cL2P0Xd3rMy1RQaiWbqid5C6MsIfEpU4/s1600/Photo0964.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A wood carving of Garuda created by devotees from Bali, Indonesia. All the wooden art in the temple is in Balinese style.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja5MzU8F7b22d-AfTwjdy9N7dPhDO2NeVosXBTx65SNcZwgasC6TRvcbwWoUg25eEAIPGTW9NcaTJkfRBgoVXBTSepRCoHETLMvNSyHuWIckSYEPVMvh8juWJdK7aoZnJG-WmkPrDlQ4TD/s1600/Photo1033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja5MzU8F7b22d-AfTwjdy9N7dPhDO2NeVosXBTx65SNcZwgasC6TRvcbwWoUg25eEAIPGTW9NcaTJkfRBgoVXBTSepRCoHETLMvNSyHuWIckSYEPVMvh8juWJdK7aoZnJG-WmkPrDlQ4TD/s1600/Photo1033.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Govindji temple established by King Bhagyachandtra</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWpJc1qjhfm62FPoyS7vUShM2NvK5zN9AJJADuM4PtVhzVXFdb6u2ZjRLBO4BXyoQXlWbqdBeo8vcu-hnJ8D34lE_CZQXHhgNWyf9sJlLFWSPVExis9hYYVWO2jEWWNJa-w6ZmdG6eJh2I/s1600/Photo1058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWpJc1qjhfm62FPoyS7vUShM2NvK5zN9AJJADuM4PtVhzVXFdb6u2ZjRLBO4BXyoQXlWbqdBeo8vcu-hnJ8D34lE_CZQXHhgNWyf9sJlLFWSPVExis9hYYVWO2jEWWNJa-w6ZmdG6eJh2I/s1600/Photo1058.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lord Krishna along with Radha, Lalita and Vishakha dressed in Manipuri dress.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYJJHVzfLYYSORLv3L014URtUNc3oI6ag8pfzePnZsgbCFwkGq23BB1TKUF6JdqsqxKo_1vOtNUf6N5Rxrko4SnMnBkBlMN-j25RkuZ4teh5JxT_Q0XrVdDj041pybt1BCvWXsRD3Rz4o/s1600/Photo1077.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYJJHVzfLYYSORLv3L014URtUNc3oI6ag8pfzePnZsgbCFwkGq23BB1TKUF6JdqsqxKo_1vOtNUf6N5Rxrko4SnMnBkBlMN-j25RkuZ4teh5JxT_Q0XrVdDj041pybt1BCvWXsRD3Rz4o/s1600/Photo1077.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Performance of Drum-dance</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl1SYVsfNImNpgGU0y4v3R-B6I_ULRJyGNpMEzMeCG52PT0eoVnRRsTs-SRMpVFhSovFD6OgTZps63ltddCn2DVbbhUfRZWJvRdCwMZ15Muj6mY-XTq1TqTgtHRVwyCb1mhW8oitiJGMoH/s1600/ndt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl1SYVsfNImNpgGU0y4v3R-B6I_ULRJyGNpMEzMeCG52PT0eoVnRRsTs-SRMpVFhSovFD6OgTZps63ltddCn2DVbbhUfRZWJvRdCwMZ15Muj6mY-XTq1TqTgtHRVwyCb1mhW8oitiJGMoH/s1600/ndt.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Portrait of Narottam Das Thakur</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJHlaHHSVOI6bGnvJlYfvYy_2R0j8X2M-BViTCL_VjInNrBKF21a_UpY7m2tjcuIbSZHw5Loheayq_L8Ul5Wtuyx1WXJBf6XRNGanQMkChIaj0kR63uM2IeVHUiTPv4c-YE7qv8YysG-WU/s1600/sripad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJHlaHHSVOI6bGnvJlYfvYy_2R0j8X2M-BViTCL_VjInNrBKF21a_UpY7m2tjcuIbSZHw5Loheayq_L8Ul5Wtuyx1WXJBf6XRNGanQMkChIaj0kR63uM2IeVHUiTPv4c-YE7qv8YysG-WU/s1600/sripad.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Picture of Shrila Bhakti Swaroop Damodar Swami (Dr. T. D. Singh, PhD.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv1HrPjDY-uTpLstHR5Oy4RGfLiVMOrnprdJJIKDA2yL4hiY7U-1-8ZH8dq2mCMhxfSsxMc9BZOhfXcB068B994P4dp_DEh-z2mfD03OeeMy7An3ZN-XScz7vxD13Fnh4CtnWEe-3tUWqN/s1600/kb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv1HrPjDY-uTpLstHR5Oy4RGfLiVMOrnprdJJIKDA2yL4hiY7U-1-8ZH8dq2mCMhxfSsxMc9BZOhfXcB068B994P4dp_DEh-z2mfD03OeeMy7An3ZN-XScz7vxD13Fnh4CtnWEe-3tUWqN/s1600/kb.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Portrait of King Bhagyachandra of Manipur, A great devotee of Lord Krishna</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8403466095701946487.post-65113763051598658872014-04-22T02:24:00.001-07:002020-07-24T03:14:45.544-07:00Melkote<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Melkote </b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
22 April 2014<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>Introduction:</i></b><br />
Melkote is a place of great spiritual significance. Many ancient events related to Lord and His devotees have taken place in Melkote. The two very ancient deities of Lord Vishnu as well as another ancient deity of Lord Narasimha can be found in Melkote. All these deities have come down to this planet Earth through the hands of the great devotees of Lord as well as different incarnations of Lord Vishnu Himself. <br />
<br />
As the hill of Melkote is closely associated with Lord Narayana, it was knows as Narayanadri in <i>Satya Yuga</i>. In <i>Treta Yuga,</i> this hill was known as Vedadri because Lord Dattatreya taught Vedic knowledge to his disciples in these mountains. Great personalities such as Medhatithi and Prahlada studied the Vedic scriptures here under the guidance of Dattatreya. In <i>Dwapar Yuga,</i> this hill was known as Yadugiri because Yadu family often came down here to worship Lord Narayana. In <i>Kali Yuga</i>, this hill is known as Yati Shaila because Shripad Ramanuja rebuilt and revived this place in the 11th century AD. As a number of great sages such as Narada, Vyasa, Bhrugu, Shandilya etc. came here to acquire knowledge, this place is also known as Dnyana Mantapa meaning "The house of knowledge". <br />
<br />
The spiritual significance of Melkote is described in different Vedic scriptures such as <i>Naradiya Purana, Matsya Purana, Ishwara Samhita</i> as well as <i>Kashi Mahatmya.</i> Therefore a serious spiritualist will be very curious to know more about the history of Melkote. In this article I will try to share the spiritual history of Melkote as far as my limited capacity permits. <br />
<br />
<b><i>Arrival of Lord Tirunarayana:</i></b><br />
The temple of Lord Tirunarayana (Vishnu) is the main temple of Melkote town. This temple is situated at the base of Yadugiri hill. How the deity of Lord Tirunarayana came here is a very interesting fact. Lord Brahma, who is a secondary creator of the universe, wanted to have a deity of Lord Vishnu for worship. Lord Brahma performed austerities to obtain the deity of Lord Vishnu. When his austerities were successful, the deity of Lord Vishnu appeared before Lord Brahma in a beautiful celestial plane. This deity of Lord Vishnu is known as Lord Tirunarayana. Lord Brahma worshipped this self-manifested deity for a long time in Brahmaloka, which is one of the highest planetary systems in the universe. Later, Lord Brahma's son Sanatkumar requested his father to give him the deity of Lord Tirunarayana so that he could worship the Lord. Lord Brahma then gave the deity to Sanatkumar who brought it to this planet and installed it in Melkote for the benefit of masses. In this way Lord Tirunarayana came to Melkote and today He is present in His temple which is situated in the town. <br />
<br />
<b><i>Arrival of Lord Ramapriya:</i></b><br />
There is another deity of Lord Vishnu which is known as Ramapriya. This deity is present in the temple of Lord Tirunarayana itself. This deity is a <i>utsava murty</i>, which is taken out of the temple for procession during the days of festivals. <br />
<br />
When Lord Brahma gave the deity of Lord Tirunarayana to his son Sanatkumar, he once again performed austerities to obtain another deity of Lord Vishnu for his daily worship. This time Lord Vishnu manifested a very beautiful deity from His heart along with the deities of Shridevi (mother Lakshmi) and Bhudevi (mother Earth). This deity is known by two names. The first name is Shri Cheluvaraya Swami and the second name is Ramapriya. In this article we will refer to this deity by its second name Ramapriya because it is easy to remember and pronounce. These deities were made of auspicious metals and they were worshipped by Lord Brahma in Brahmaloka. <br />
<br />
Later in the times of Ramayana, Lord Rama came back to Ayodhya after defeating daemon Ravana. At that time, a deity of Lord Ranganath was present in Ayodhya and it was being worshipped by Lord Rama and His family. Lord Rama made Vibhishana the king of the golden city of Lanka and instructed him to go to Lanka and rule there. Lord Rama gave Vibhishana the deity of Lord Ranganath so that he can take it to Lanka. But on the way to Lanka, the deity of Lord Ranganath decided to stay at Srirangam and it can still be found there. Because of these happenings, Lord Rama did not have any deity of Lord Vishnu for His daily worship. Seeing this situation, Lord Brahma gave the deity of Ramapriya along with Shridevi and Bhudevi to Lord Rama. Because these deities were very dear to Lord Rama, they are known as Ramapriya. Lord Rama worshipped these deities with great love and opulence. Later, Lord Rama's son Kusha worshipped these deities. Kusha's daughter Kanakamalini was married to Yadushekhara of Yadu dynasty and she took Ramapriya with her. In this way the deity of Ramapriya came from the Solar dynasty of Lord Rama into the Lunar dynasty in which Lord Krishna and Balarama appeared later. <br />
<br />
In the times of Mahabharata, Lord Krishna and Balarama used to worship Ramapriya in their house. Once Balarama came to south India on pilgrimage. When he visited Lord Tirunarayana in Melkote, He found that the deity of Lord Tirunarayana is strikingly similar to the deity of Lord Ramapriya in their house. When He came back home, He told Shri Krishna about this similarity. After this incidence, Krishna and Balarama brought the deity of Ramapriya to Melkote and installed it here. Today, this deity is also situated in the temple of Lord Tirunarayana. Lord Krishna and the members of Yadu family often visited Melkote to worship this deity. Therefore Melkote is also known as Yadugiri.<br />
<br />
In this way, the two ancient deities namely Lord Tirunarayana and Ramapriya are still present in the town of Melkote in the same temple.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Melkote lost in the sands of time:</i></b><br />
After Lord Krishna left this planet and the age of Kali started, the spiritually vibrant atmosphere of Melkote was greatly affected by the forces opposing the religious principles. Melkote suffered attacks of foreign invaders who plundered the wealth of the temples. During these hard times, the temple of Lord Tirunarayana was lost and the area of the Melkote town was eventually covered by thick cover of forest. The deity of Lord Tirunarayana was covered under ground and the knowledge of its existence and whereabouts was lost to human kind. The deity of Ramapriya was taken by the foreign invaders as a loot from the temple and the knowledge about this deity was also lost. The spiritual significance of Melkote was hidden from the human society for a long time. In the 11th century AD, one of the great spiritual masters of India, Shripad Ramanujacharya, re-established the temple of Melkote. Now we will review a fascinating historical account of how Ramanujacharya found the lost deities and re-established a spiritual glory of Melkote.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Ramanujacharya's archaeological discovery of Lord Tirunarayana:</i></b><br />
Ramanujacharya was one the greatest spiritual masters of India. He was mainly stationed in Srirangam but due the persecution of Lord's devotees started by the King of that region, Ramanuja had to leave Srirangam. After travelling to many places, he reached a place called Tondanur. The king named Bittideva used to rule that region. He was a follower of a Jain philosophy but after Ramanuja released the king's daughter from the control of evil spirits, the king became an ardent disciple of Ramanujacharya and changed his name to Vishnuvardhana. <br />
<br />
In the year 1090 AD, Ramanuja was running short of a white sand required by devotees to put a holy mark on their forehead. One night, Lord Tirunarayana came into the dream of Ramanuja and told him that He is very near in the town of Melkote. Lord instructed Ramanuja to go to Melkote and find the deity of Lord Tirunarayana as well as the white sand required by him.<br />
<br />
Ramanuja was extremely happy to have this revelation. He sent the message to Vishnuvardhana telling him about his arrival at Melkote as well as the divine revelation. Vishnuvardhana engaged many men to clear the forest around Melkote for the search of the deity. On the first day after Ramanuja reached Melkote, they were unsuccessful in finding the deity as well as the location of white sand. <br />
<br />
On that night, Lord Tirunarayana again appeared in Ramanuja's vision and gave him the specific directions for finding the deity. Lord told him that He was situated under a big ant-hill which was located between a Champaka tree and Vakula tree near the south-west corner of a water pond named Kalyani. Lord also told Ramanuja that the sacred white sand was located near the north-west corner of the same Kalyani pond. <br />
<br />
Ramanuja immediately followed the direction given by Lord and found the ant-hill. Ramanuja and his disciples removed the earth and found the deity of Lord Tirunarayana situated in its spiritual glory. Everyone present there was intoxicated with spiritual bliss after they found the Lord. Ramanuja then bathed the Lord with milk and made arrangements for the worship of the deity as well as the festivals that were to be observed. A temple was erected over the ant-hill and Lord Tirunarayana was thus reinstalled after the ages of oblivion. Ramanuja also found the sacred white sand near the north-west corner of the Kalyani pond. The Vedic scriptures explain that this Kalyani pond was formed by the drops of water which fell here when Lord Varaha was carrying mother Earth. Also the sacred white sand was brought here by Garuda from the planet named Shweta Dweepa where Lord Vishnu resides.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><i>Ramanuja's discovery of Ramapriya:</i></b><br />
After the revitalization of the town of Melkote, Ramanuja wanted to have an <i>utsava murty </i>in the temple of Lord Tirunarayana. Ramanuja was continuously thinking about how to accomplish this task. One day, Lord Tirunarayana appeared in the vision of Ramanuja and told him, "My <i>utsava murty</i> named Ramapriya is in Delhi inside the house of the Turkish king. Please go there and reclaim the deity of Ramapriya from the king." <br />
<br />
Following Lord's order, Ramanuja travelled all the way to Delhi on foot with some of his disciples. When Ramanuja visited king, he requested the king to return the deity of Ramapriya. King told Ramanuja that he had plundered thousands of deities from all over India and showed him his collection of these deities. Ramanuja wanted the deity of Ramapriya alone, but he could not identify the required deity. That night, when Ramanuja was anxiously thinking about how to find Ramapriya, Ramapriya Himself appeared in his vision and told him, "I am with the king's daughter. She plays with me treating me as her husband and I also reciprocate with her in that way. Please come and find me there."<br />
<br />
Next day, Ramanuja visited the king and told him about the vision. The king was very much impressed with this revelation and he also developed a respect and adoration for Ramanuja although the king was the follower of Islam. The king took Ramanuja to the inner chambers of his palace where no other man was allowed to enter. Ramanuja saw that king's daughter had placed Ramapriya on a couch. Ramanuja then called Ramapriya by his name and asked him to come towards him. The deity of Ramapriya then jumped down from the couch and walked towards Ramanuja and sat in his lap. The king also witnessed this most astonishing incident and honoured Ramanuja with many gifts.<br />
<br />
When king's daughter came to know that Ramapriya was about to be taken away from her, she could not bear the separation from Lord Ramapriya. She had developed a deep love for Ramapriya. She requested her father to allow her to go with Ramapriya to Melkote. King happily gave the permission and sent his daughter with Ramanuja along with untold amount of wealth and gifts. The king told Ramanuja, "Your Lord Ramapriya does not go alone but with a wife. Please take care of her." After reaching Melkote, Ramanuja arranged a wedding ceremony between Ramapriya and king's daughter. She served the Lord in Melkote till the end of her days. Today her temple can be found on the top of Yadugiri hill where she is known as Beebi Nachiyar.<br />
<br />
Personally I feel that Lord's marriage with king's daughter is one of the most astonishing event. From this event, we learn that Lord sees only the devotion and love of His devotee. He does not care whether the devotee is born in a family of Hindus or Muslims etc. <br />
<br />
<b><i>The temple:</i></b> <br />
The temple which houses Lord Tirunarayana as well as Lord Ramapriya is situated in the Melkote town. It also houses the deity of goddess Yadugiri Amma who is the consort of Lord Tirunarayana. She is situated at the feet of Lord Tirunarayana. The temple also houses the deity of goddess Shri Cheluvanayaki who is the consort of Lord Ramapriya. Goddesses Shridevi and Bhudevi sit on the two sides of Lord Ramapriya. All these deities are extremely beautiful and well decorated. The look on the faces of the deities is so compassionate that we will be very assured of the protection of devotees by Lord and His consorts. On the walkways inside the temple there are deities of Shri Sudarshana Alwar, Ramanujacharya and Anjaneya. The current temple was built in the time of Ramanuja (11th century AD). Kings of Mysore have contributed many later additions to the temple. <br />
<br />
<b><i>The Yoga Narasimha temple:</i></b><br />
The temple of Lord Narasimha is situated on the top of the Yadugiri hill. As Lord Narasimha is sitting in a yogic posture, this deity is known as Yoga Narasimha. In the <i>Satya Yuga</i>, Prahlada, a great devotee of Lord, engaged in the meditation on Lord Narasimha on this hill. As a result he received this deity of Lord Narasimha which he installed here. Therefore this temple is also very ancient. The details about the life of Prahlada can be found in <i>Bhagavat Purana</i> as well as many other Vedic scriptures.<br />
<br />
<b><i>The jewelled crown of Ramapriya: </i></b><br />
One of the most precious items present in the Melkote is a jewelled crown of Lord Ramapriya. The deity of Lord Ramapriya wears this crown only for a few days in the year. The story of this jewelled crown is also very interesting. Once Prahlada's demoniac son Virochana visited Lord Vishnu and saw that Lord Vishnu was in meditative trance. Virochana saw the opportunity and stole a jewelled crown which Lord Vishnu was wearing. He took this crown and went to the lower planetary systems of the universe. The devotees of Lord requested Garuda, who serves Lord Vishnu as his bird carrier, to go and retrieve the crown. Garuda then went to lower planetary systems and after fighting with Virochana, took possession of the crown. On the way back, He saw Krishna playing with his cowherd friends in Vrindavana. Garuda understood that Lord Krishna is non other than Lord Vishnu and surrendered the crown to Krishna. Krishna decorated the deity of Ramapriya with this crown and it came to Melkote when Krishna brought Ramapriya to Melkote. <br />
<br />
<b><i>Other holy places of Melkote:</i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Melkote is surrounded by many other holy places and holy water ponds. Many spiritually significant events took place at these places. These places are listed in Table 1 and Table 2 along with their brief description.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; }TD P { margin-bottom: 0cm; }</style>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Table 1: Holy places in Melkote</div>
</div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="width: 643px;">
<colgroup><col width="57"></col>
<col width="178"></col>
<col width="382"></col>
</colgroup><tbody>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td width="57"><div align="CENTER">
Number</div>
</td>
<td width="178">Name of the place</td>
<td width="382">Description</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td width="57"><div align="CENTER">
1</div>
</td>
<td width="178">Paridhanashila Kshetra</td>
<td width="382">A place where Dattatreya taught Vedas to His students. Also
Ramanuja gave up his white clothes and received safron robes here. Located on the banks of Veda Pushkarini pond.</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td width="57"><div align="CENTER">
2</div>
</td>
<td width="178">Yoga Narasimha Kshetra</td>
<td width="382">A place on the top of the hill where Prahlada received the
deity of Lord Narasimha.</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td width="57"><div align="CENTER">
3</div>
</td>
<td width="178">Dnyana Ashwattha Kshetra</td>
<td width="382">A Peepal tree under which five great intellectuals named Shuka,
Pundarika, Rukmangada, Ambarisha and Prahlada attained the
spiritual realization. Located near the west bank of Kalyani pond.</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td width="57"><div align="CENTER">
4</div>
</td>
<td width="178">Taarkshya Kshetra</td>
<td width="382">A place located near Kalyani pond. Garuda brought sacred white
sand from Shweta Dweepa and stored it here by the order of Lord
Vishnu. This sand is still available.</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td width="57"><div align="CENTER">
5</div>
</td>
<td width="178">Nayana Kshetra</td>
<td width="382">Located in the row of hills near Yadugiri. The deity of Lord
Keshava is present here. A Brahmin called Vishnuchitta performed
austerities here.</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td width="57"><div align="CENTER">
6</div>
</td>
<td width="178">Varaha Kshetra</td>
<td width="382">Located on the east bank of Kalyani pond. At this place, Lord
Varaha taught issence of Vedic knowledge to Bhudevi (mother Earth)
who was sitting on Lord's lap.
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td width="57"><div align="CENTER">
7</div>
</td>
<td width="178">Seeta Aranya Kshetra</td>
<td width="382">Located on the southern entrance of Kalyani pond where Lord
Rama stayed along with mother Seeta and Lakshmana.</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<style type="text/css">TD P { margin-bottom: 0cm; }P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; }</style>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
Table 2: Holy water ponds
in Melkote</div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="width: 643px;">
<colgroup><col width="56"></col>
<col width="145"></col>
<col width="416"></col>
</colgroup><tbody>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td width="56">Number</td>
<td width="145"><div align="LEFT">
Name of the place</div>
</td>
<td width="416"><div align="LEFT">
Description</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td width="56"><div align="CENTER">
1</div>
</td>
<td width="145"><div align="LEFT">
Veda Pushkarini</div>
</td>
<td width="416"><div align="LEFT">
A place where Dattatreya taught Vedas to His
students.</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td width="56"><div align="CENTER">
2</div>
</td>
<td width="145"><div align="LEFT">
Yadava Teertha</div>
</td>
<td width="416"><div align="LEFT">
River Yadavi flows by the side of this pond. A king
named Yadavendra performed Yoga on its banks and attained
liberation.</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td width="56"><div align="CENTER">
3</div>
</td>
<td width="145"><div align="LEFT">
Palasha Teertha</div>
</td>
<td width="416"><div align="LEFT">
A pond surrounded by many Palasha trees. Sons of
sage Vasishtha were released from the curse they had got from sage
Vishwamitra after bathing in this pond.</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td width="56"><div align="CENTER">
4</div>
</td>
<td width="145"><div align="LEFT">
Darbha Teertha</div>
</td>
<td width="416"><div align="LEFT">
Dattatreya used a Darbha grass grown on the banks of
this pond. Shandilya lecured on Pancharatrika system of worhip at
this place.</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td width="56"><div align="CENTER">
5</div>
</td>
<td width="145"><div align="LEFT">
Padma Teertha</div>
</td>
<td width="416"><div align="LEFT">
Sanatkumar used lotus flowers of this pond for
worhipping Lord Tirunarayana.</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td width="56"><div align="CENTER">
6</div>
</td>
<td width="145"><div align="LEFT">
Maitreya Teertha</div>
</td>
<td width="416"><div align="LEFT">
Sage Parashara preached Vishnu Purana to sage
Maitreya at this place. Also known as Parashara Teertha.</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td width="56"><div align="CENTER">
7</div>
</td>
<td width="145"><div align="LEFT">
Narayana Teertha</div>
</td>
<td width="416"><div align="LEFT">
Located in Nayana Kshetra where Lord Narayana
blessed a Brahmin called Vishnuchitta.</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td width="56"><div align="CENTER">
8</div>
</td>
<td width="145"><div align="LEFT">
Vaikuntha Ganga</div>
</td>
<td width="416"><div align="LEFT">
A pond foemed from the drop of Viraja river which
flows in the spiritual world.
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="TOP">
<td width="56"><div align="CENTER">
9</div>
</td>
<td width="145"><div align="LEFT">
Dhanushkoti</div>
</td>
<td width="416"><div align="LEFT">
A place where Lord Rama shot arrows into the rock to
bring out the water for mother Seeta for bathing.</div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<b><i>Our Pilgrimage:</i></b><br />
We visited Melkote on 17 February 2013 along with 35 students from Indian Institute of Science as well as the senior members of Bhaktivedanta Institute Bangalore. After reaching Melkote we visited the temple of Lord Tirunarayana and paid obeisances to the deities. Then we climbed on the Yadugiri hill to visit the temple of Yoga Narasimha. While climbing the hill we sang the holy names of Lord accompanied by the musical instruments such as Mridanga and Kartal. After praying to Lord Narasimha, we performed Sankirtan on the top of the hill for some time. The view of Melkote town from the hill-top is very beautiful. The spiritual atmosphere was so vibrant that everybody was totally immersed in the bliss. After coming down from the hill, we visited Kalyani pond. Although due to timing constraints we could not visit all the holy places in Melkote, this spiritual trip was one of the most memorable trip of my life.<br />
<br />
<i><b>Conclusion:</b></i><br />
From the histories of Lord Tirunarayana and Ramapriya, we understand that these deities are not different from Lord Vishnu Himself. Therefore we should not take these deities to me mere sculptures made of stone and metal. These deities have all the opulence and power of Lord Vishnu Himself.<br />
<br />
One has to possess a great fortune to have the faith in our ancient Vedic literature. A person who does not have such fortune is generally very quick to question the authority and accuracy of Vedic literature. But the places like Melkote are the witnesses to the ancient historical accounts mentioned in the Vedic literature. Today's historians may be entirely dependent on different stone markings and documents for knowing about the events that occurred few centuries ago. But Vedic literatures are our only reliable source if we wish to learn about the historical and spiritual events that happened millions of years ago, even the events that occurred just after our universe was created. I hope that the history of Melkote will help one to develop at least some amount of appreciation for our ancient books.<br />
<br />
Lastly I note that the large number of events that occurred in Melkote may cause a confusion in the mind of reader. It may not be possible to comprehend everything written in this essay in one reading. Therefore I request the readers to contact me if they have any queries about this article. I will be pleased to clarify their doubts as far as possible.<br />
<br />
I do not wish to call myself the author of this article as it may result in unnecessary pride. Such pride will be an additional obstacle in my spiritual journey because my mind is already filled with many filthy thoughts. I am totally dependent on the mercy of Lord Krishna and His devotees for protection of my spiritual progress. I request all the Vaishnavas to accept this essay as a humble offering at the feet of Lord although it is full of imperfections.<br />
<br />
<i><b>References:</b></i><br />
1. Melkote An Introduction, Haripriya, Samskriti Publications, 2011.<br />
2. The life of Bhagavad Ramanujacharya, Alkondaville Govindacharya, Jeeyar Educational Trust, 2006.<br />
3. Spiritual India Handbook, Stephen Knapp, Jaico publishing house, 2011.<br />
4. Mystical Melkote, Swami B. V. Giri, Gaudiya Touchstone Issue 4, January 2013.<br />
<br />
<i><b>Acknowledgements:</b></i><br />
I thank Bhaktivedanta Institute, Bangalore for organizing a wonderful trip to Melkote. I thank the scholars of IISc Bangalore for enthusiastically participating in this trip. I thank my friend Prof. Arulalan for gifting me a book mentioned in reference 1. I also thank my friend Tamilarasan who took wonderful pictures of Melkote. Finally I thank all the readers of this blog for constantly encouraging me through their kind words.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDgZcoM5UAxqPpGVHLiY3t1qw6NX3yI_r1Khs7HcuXY6x1NVs5RQeBg3hhDtBI_w89jm3eRLQY0XBN5U3BnXn5OBhmAg-VA1OMqHPdFX0svCD7is0WsSkkNHCl1VSiAdZqvnVe9a5_aMXW/s1600/1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDgZcoM5UAxqPpGVHLiY3t1qw6NX3yI_r1Khs7HcuXY6x1NVs5RQeBg3hhDtBI_w89jm3eRLQY0XBN5U3BnXn5OBhmAg-VA1OMqHPdFX0svCD7is0WsSkkNHCl1VSiAdZqvnVe9a5_aMXW/s1600/1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lord Tirunarayana Swami temple</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgibOrsQOCyhVSioqW-mdiMUdM8DV95JacOSZJFodhAw3aKq3YufXvQEs_OCV6oHOH3__xI6DRUNQ6eTU68Ll4FtzdoHRNWsRohjPNLK1geCqPZ8tAyb61ziTAhQptfL27TjBXWUqnbeFn0/s1600/2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgibOrsQOCyhVSioqW-mdiMUdM8DV95JacOSZJFodhAw3aKq3YufXvQEs_OCV6oHOH3__xI6DRUNQ6eTU68Ll4FtzdoHRNWsRohjPNLK1geCqPZ8tAyb61ziTAhQptfL27TjBXWUqnbeFn0/s1600/2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walkway in Tirunarayana Swami temple</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYjrNa7kI3EWmWi1p9ShDuimv10ClJ1gqtg-lXcED9WMOSDD9l740MtaV3oU1Y3OKwUmy4v_cisKPMe5olgdVovEbIg1Nz1Jya8-fUWw8tR59gbmIz3wfqyjBsSAdzwmBg7VoxitH9nJPv/s1600/3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYjrNa7kI3EWmWi1p9ShDuimv10ClJ1gqtg-lXcED9WMOSDD9l740MtaV3oU1Y3OKwUmy4v_cisKPMe5olgdVovEbIg1Nz1Jya8-fUWw8tR59gbmIz3wfqyjBsSAdzwmBg7VoxitH9nJPv/s1600/3.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the way to Yoga Narasimha temple on Yadugiri hill</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeo9x1dkuhGUVhAq7uKiJZV4JDU-8WSoOEnTLvrA8HWrujYvADhVnRCQAnly_KoDAXOMIh9Q5dAFyE6ncEYDSZu_ebRYoUJHjVQQHNp9WhUi-oYTJAQ4i9b0Y1eki9Owd1eLXq486QQPwV/s1600/4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeo9x1dkuhGUVhAq7uKiJZV4JDU-8WSoOEnTLvrA8HWrujYvADhVnRCQAnly_KoDAXOMIh9Q5dAFyE6ncEYDSZu_ebRYoUJHjVQQHNp9WhUi-oYTJAQ4i9b0Y1eki9Owd1eLXq486QQPwV/s1600/4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gopuram of Yoga Narasimha temple on Yadugiri</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidA1abIkJABrQwjLTLl9DkNQvpYrpTJtqstfeWwwqUv4Bus4HB2RxWNk-v8IWWdeHlGMGPSZTXe41L-n13NNCfd7IwwBktbHwY5h0nfrvfR3q_yLvjQBvVhVdnB-SjwnwIlbK_NlBQOfXJ/s1600/5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidA1abIkJABrQwjLTLl9DkNQvpYrpTJtqstfeWwwqUv4Bus4HB2RxWNk-v8IWWdeHlGMGPSZTXe41L-n13NNCfd7IwwBktbHwY5h0nfrvfR3q_yLvjQBvVhVdnB-SjwnwIlbK_NlBQOfXJ/s1600/5.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Devotees singing the glories of Lord at Yadugiri</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl6Iv2xZsRhbESr4BCceA2YitecopwTHxRA30M8-_8_YDDr5TkqdAFquYRleGpVJUWGna_PzQL7EzignSWgbLV9O2bNlNDfLkSq_L4JJZ79JWSohlZ3rwx7C33rZg7H72bOpoIUoShuabW/s1600/6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl6Iv2xZsRhbESr4BCceA2YitecopwTHxRA30M8-_8_YDDr5TkqdAFquYRleGpVJUWGna_PzQL7EzignSWgbLV9O2bNlNDfLkSq_L4JJZ79JWSohlZ3rwx7C33rZg7H72bOpoIUoShuabW/s1600/6.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The gopuram of Yoga Narasimha temple</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijJfiKG0y1343hxAqw6UoMqnd6DfNIGuGQ6kALSyDG70jwBOE-1ypswBbV29HOGikPY83rwLCfe4vst_fvxMSeq70QJaVxMgFTnDFTS7Vsoa0ICfo1hhz0qfMUpXYqM6NIrOTne4YivElU/s1600/7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijJfiKG0y1343hxAqw6UoMqnd6DfNIGuGQ6kALSyDG70jwBOE-1ypswBbV29HOGikPY83rwLCfe4vst_fvxMSeq70QJaVxMgFTnDFTS7Vsoa0ICfo1hhz0qfMUpXYqM6NIrOTne4YivElU/s1600/7.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of Kalyani pond from the top of Yadugiri</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglVRMed0kQD2aWRFBpWjKqb43Ilxw027iEW7fTKrGzisf6dge5xdfqs_NIAh7o-tFeSiCW27jl3r06-cxdbgMsEivhYflsDkUtZfdSR_QocivwSDZ_CGYDUWBk6Y4qXN_6qe_NSHGqA7uS/s1600/8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglVRMed0kQD2aWRFBpWjKqb43Ilxw027iEW7fTKrGzisf6dge5xdfqs_NIAh7o-tFeSiCW27jl3r06-cxdbgMsEivhYflsDkUtZfdSR_QocivwSDZ_CGYDUWBk6Y4qXN_6qe_NSHGqA7uS/s1600/8.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kalyani pond</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8403466095701946487.post-32846620204424177212014-03-15T13:24:00.002-07:002020-07-24T03:16:17.381-07:00Srirangapatna<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Srirangapatna</span></h2>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
15 March 2014</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Srirangapatna is a town which houses a very ancient temple of Lord Ranganath (Krishna). This town is situated on a big island formed in a holy river Kaveri. The huge deity of Lord Ranganath is not made by the hands of men, as many of us might think. The deity of Lord Ranganath is self manifested. How Lord Ranganath appeared in Srirangapatna and how His temple was established here is a very interesting historical account which involves river Kaveri as well as sage Gautama.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Birth of river Kaveri: </i>Let us start with knowing little more about river Kaveri. In ancient times, there was a sage named Kavera. He was performing penances for spiritual advancement in Himalayan mountains. Pleased by his efforts, Lord Brahma, the secondary creator of the universe, appeared before him and relayed a message given to him by Lord Vishnu. Lord Brahma told sage Kavera that Kavera will have a daughter who will be none other than Vishnumaya, Lord Brahma's own daughter. She will expand herself in two forms. In one form, she will flow as a holy river and in other form she will become famous as Lopamudra. Because of having such an extraordinary daughter, who will be able to purify even the greatest sinners, Kavera will become totally purified and attain the lotus feet of Lord. In due coarse of time, a daughter was born to sage Kavera and was thus named as a Kaveri. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Kaveri comes to south India: </i>When Kaveri attained proper age, Lord Brahma instructed sage Agastya to approach sage Kavera and ask his daughter Kaveri in marriage. When Agastya approached sage Kavera, Kavera accepted the proposal of marriage between Kaveri and Agastya. Before marriage, Kaveri divided herself into two parts. By one part, she entered the earthen pot of sage Agastya in the form of water, and by second part she appeared as lady Lopamudra. Then the marriage ceremony of sage Agastya and Lopamudra was performed by the assembly of demigods. In due coarse of time, sage Agastya came to south India along with his wife. He also took with him the water form of Kaveri in his earthen pot.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Kaveri flows as a river: </i>Once Lord Brahma came to the Sahyadri mountains (Western Ghats) and found Lord Vishnu situated there in the form of Amalaka tree. He wanted to worship Lord Vishnu and therefore brought the waters of Viraja river to wash Lord Vishnu's feet. Viraja river flows in the spiritual world, therefore its waters are very pure as they are always in touch with Lord's body. The waters of Viraja river which were used by Brahma to wash Lord Vishnu's feet started flowing as stream. At that time, Lord Vishnu instructed river Kaveri to flow out of the earthen pot and mix with the waters of Viraja river. Thus instructed by Lord Vishnu, Kaveri joined the pure waters of Viraja and started flowing as a river. When sage Agastya realized that Kaveri has flown out as a river, he became extremely happy and instructed Kaveri about the coarse she should take while flowing towards the Eastern ocean.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Appearance of Lord Ranganath: </i>River Ganga is considered the holiest river of all the rivers as she directly touches the feet of Lord Vishnu. River Yamuna is considered the most fortunate because of her intimate association with Lord Krishna. Both these rivers as well as most of the places where Lord performed His activities are in North India. River Kaveri is situated in South India, quite away from these places. River Kaveri also wanted to have the intimate association of Lord like other fortunate rivers. Therefore, in order to please Lord, river Kaveri performed severe austerities in the area of Srirangapatna. When Lord Vishnu was pleased by the austerities of Kaveri, He appeared before her and blessed her with benedictions. Lord Vishnu was so pleased with Kaveri that He gave her the status of the holiest river. He also told her that Srirangapatna will become the holy place and He Himself will take residence in Srirangapatna to reside in Kaveri's lap. Kaveri was thus immensely blessed by Lord Vishnu. Then Lord manifested His deity on the island of Srirangapatna in a secret location. How Lord arranged for His deity to be found is another interesting historical account.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Lord Ranganath found:</i> By Lord's arrangement, once there was a great famine in the country. Most of the water resources were exhausted and different hermitages of sages became devoid of all the natural resources like water, fruits, milk and grains. Therefore sages who were living in those hermitages had to leave in search of water. These sages arrived at the banks of river Godavari and saw a beautiful hermitage of sage Gautama. Sage Gautama happily welcomed all the sages. For making proper arrangements to fulfil the daily requirements of the sages, sage Gautama planted large amount of fields and plants to produce grains, fruits etc. along the banks of Godavari. Seeing the extraordinary opulence of Gautama's hermitage as well as it's serene setting, the visiting sages became envious and the thought of taking possession of this hermitage by driving out sage Gautama took hold in their minds. On one fine morning, all these visiting sages conspired to fulfil their desire and produced a mystic cow which started grazing in the fields planted by Gautama. When Gautama saw this cow destroying all the crops, he instructed his disciples to drive the cow out of the fields. When the disciples started chasing the cow, the cow mysteriously ran towards sage Gautama and fell dead at his feet. All the visiting sages then accused Gautama of killing the cow, which is one of the greatest of the sins (killing a cow is considered equal to killing one's own mother). The visiting sages asked Gautama to immediately leave the hermitage and go on a pilgrimage to purify himself of the sin of killing a cow.<br />
<br />
Sage Gautama was extremely disturbed by these happenings. By his mystic powers, he realized the plot conspired by the <i>cruel sages</i>. Gautama cursed these unqualified sages that they will become averse to Vedic teachings. After cursing them, Gautama left his hermitage and went on a pilgrimage. During the course of his pilgrimage, he reached Srirangam in Tamilnadu and started worshipping Lord Ranganath who is residing there (this deity of Lord Ranganath is also self manifested). There Lord Ranganath appeared before Gautama and told him that in Srirangam He is being worshipped by Vibhishana, Ravana's younger brother. Lord told Gautama that He has already manifested Himself on the island of Srirangapatna in a secret location and instructed him to proceed towards Srirangapatna.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On receiving this instruction, Gautama came and established his hermitage in Srirangapatna. One day, when Gautama was teaching his disciples about the history of Srirangapatna, other great sages like Parashara, Bodhayana, Yajnavalkya, Atri, Kanva, Shuka also came to his hermitage. Gautama was overjoyed by their arrival. All these sages organized a grand Vedic sacrificial ceremony for the satisfaction of Lord Ranganath. When the ceremony was successfully completed, Lord Ranganath personally appeared before the sages and revealed the location of the deity of Lord. The huge deity of Lord Ranganath was to be found in the dense Tulasi forest under a particular anthill. After this great revelation, sages headed by Gautama entered the Tulasi groove and found the anthill. Gautama then summoned the different demigods, who descended there from their heavenly realms. They had brought a celestial cow called Kamadhenu with them. Sages then poured the milk of Kamadhenu on the anthill. When anthill was thus dissolved, a huge and beautiful deity of Lord Ranganath emerged. Lord was lying on the bed of huge five hooded serpent called Anantashesh. Lord was peacefully lying in a meditative trance. The feet of Lord were placed in the lap of Kaveri who was serving Lord's feet. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The form of the Lord is so beautiful that Gautama and Lord Brahma praised the Lord by spontaneously composing beautiful poems for a long time. Pleased by their prayers, Lord Ranganath gave them a benediction that Srirangapatna will also be known by a name Gautama Kshetra and the temple of Lord Ranganath will be always worshipped by the name Brahmananda Vimana. Then sage Narada instructed Gautama in the Pancharatrika system of deity's worship which then Gautama started following for worshipping Lord Ranganath in the temple. The day on which these incidences happened is still celebrated as <i>Sriranga Jayanti</i> (the day of appearance of Lord Ranganath). When Lakshmi Devi, the wife of Lord Ranganath, saw these wonderful pastimes of Lord Ranganath, she also came to Srirangapatna and took bath in Kaveri river. After worshipping her Lord Ranganath, she also appeared here in the beautiful deity form and became known as Ranganayaki. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>The temple:</i> The temple of Lord Ranganath is very beautiful and spacious. It houses the deity of Lord Ranganath as well as Lakshmi Devi (Ranganayaki). There are other beautiful deities of Lord Narasimha, Garuda and Venugopal. The original shrine is established by sage Gautama. Later many great kings and administrators have added and expanded the temple over the period of many centuries. In the 11 century AD, the king of Karnataka, formerly known as Bitti Deva, became disciple of Ramanujacharya and later became famous as king Vishnuvardhana. He made valuable contributions towards expanding and reinforcing the temple, its walls as well as the fort surrounding the temple. Later Muslim rulers took possession of the temple and made many valuable donations towards the temple. Especially king Hyder Ali, father of Tipu Sultan, was a devotee of Lord Ranganath and made many valuable additions to the temple.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Our Pilgrimage:</i> After one independent but failed attempt of visiting Srirangapatna, this time Lord Ranganath allowed me to see Him along with the devotees of Lord connected with Bhaktivedanta Institute as well as 28 scholars of Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. We left Bangalore in the morning 7:00 am and reached Srirangapatna around 12:00 noon. We visited Aprameya Swami temple in Mallur on the way. After having a beautiful darshan of Lord Ranganath, mother Ranganayaki as well as other deities in the temple, I felt a spiritual bliss in my heart. My happiness was further enhanced when we went to Gosai Ghat on the banks of Kaveri. The divine atmosphere in the Srirangapatna town and the natural beauty surrounding it is a unique combination. The crystal clear, tasty and soothing waters of Kaveri is something which gives complete satisfaction to the heart. We sang Lord's holy names on the banks of Kaveri. We also witnessed a beautiful dance performed by a peacock on one of the small islands formed in the river. This pilgrimage gave me opportunity to develop friendship with many people who were new to me. At 5:00 pm in the evening, we started our return journey. Thoughout the journey we played games based on the scriptures like Ramayana and Mahabharata. It is one of the pilgrimages which I will remember for a very long time. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Lesson in atmospheric sciences: </i>It is very much clear from the history of river Kaveri that the present state of atmospheric and oceanic sciences does not completely describe the origin of rivers, especially a holy river like Kaveri. From Vedic scriptures, we understand that there is a presiding deity behind each and every river. Moreover, as we learned, the coarse taken by the river is not randomly decided. In case of Kaveri, the coarse of the river was suggested by sage Agastya and followed as such by Kaveri. From the history related above, we can conclude that the atmospheric and geographic events are not random or just due to the changes in pressure and temperature. They are conducted under the control of powerful sages and celestial beings working under the direction of Supreme Lord.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Conclusion:</i> The spiritual and historical significance of Srirangapatna is beyond the description of words uttered by an insignificant person like me. Currently the real history of Srirangapatna related to Lord Ranganath has become distorted because most of the books and internet resources focus on the invasion of Srirangapatna by British army and its unsuccessful defence by Tipu Sultan. It is my hope that this essay sheds enough light on the main topic of history of Srirangapatna.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I feel that Lord Ranganath as well as river Kaveri are the blessings which are not deserved by the Kaliyuga people like us. They are still available for our purification due to the unlimited mercy of Lord Ranganath and His devotees. I pray to Lord Ranganath for giving me ability to somehow remember His beautiful form.<br />
<br />
I am not supposed to be a person who should be writing this article because I have no sufficient qualification for this task. I am daring to do this anyway just so that somehow my mind will be engaged in the thoughts about Lord and his great devotees. I seek forgiveness from the readers for the mistakes or imperfections present in this essay. I offer this essay as a gift at the feet of merciful devotees of Lord. I request them to pass on this gift to the feet of Lord because I cannot do so directly.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>References</i>:</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
1. <i>Sri Ranganath Swami Mandir</i>, S. Narasimha Rangan, AVV Compugraphics, Mysore (Hindi booklet that can be obtained in the Ranganatha temple).</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
2. The Gaudiya visit to Srirangapatna, Subha Krishna Dasa, article found at <i>http://www.purebhaktibangalore.com/content.php?pageID=38 </i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
3. Sri Tula Puranam (English translation of Sri Tula Kaveri Mahatmyam), P. R. Kannan, found at <cite class="_md">thanjavurparampara.com/pdf/Sri-Tula-Puranam.pdf</cite></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgepc4Uw86_eTCymLzOqWGYOJyPD_n5OKTs_2BlAre9ra1qgoz9CfXLa992fG1_cCC6T5JYGN3d8DPToAK0UcgFQR1NYO0ca4godoVNCxI6V3k3etimqtDJOBtQn4WnY8CCho7pPT_Fb-9U/s1600/Photo1629.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgepc4Uw86_eTCymLzOqWGYOJyPD_n5OKTs_2BlAre9ra1qgoz9CfXLa992fG1_cCC6T5JYGN3d8DPToAK0UcgFQR1NYO0ca4godoVNCxI6V3k3etimqtDJOBtQn4WnY8CCho7pPT_Fb-9U/s1600/Photo1629.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxiZjOzV8CZOvKfUXE62s2s4BUftOyRfWWsuQLNNPbKfJ6-Jg3euYEqjO16WBW5xTGzYmRNhvD-guxtESavRUEWg7nnhayEh1Nzgh7KJG-gZNXVhV5MbvxcqosoSbLJNGv0YdzRwmj9CJq/s1600/Photo1631.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxiZjOzV8CZOvKfUXE62s2s4BUftOyRfWWsuQLNNPbKfJ6-Jg3euYEqjO16WBW5xTGzYmRNhvD-guxtESavRUEWg7nnhayEh1Nzgh7KJG-gZNXVhV5MbvxcqosoSbLJNGv0YdzRwmj9CJq/s1600/Photo1631.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4gXKNdzWLyqDBHmSRbbi0w4Z1BbwRnNKNM6qtPRz2_AoCiNpxaHV5D1XtcLg5fF_CoMyWKk3bdSo-b9_pagVO1c6V1iGfdz-sQNhryEqM3oCgQgeTVoavV2Kb8lyB_m6CmDE-dCpzsyOt/s1600/Photo1640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4gXKNdzWLyqDBHmSRbbi0w4Z1BbwRnNKNM6qtPRz2_AoCiNpxaHV5D1XtcLg5fF_CoMyWKk3bdSo-b9_pagVO1c6V1iGfdz-sQNhryEqM3oCgQgeTVoavV2Kb8lyB_m6CmDE-dCpzsyOt/s1600/Photo1640.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-unwIQlqDGWoSP7au4iigvytNSQXUyVrbskSm9HApFJp7BM4vCv5pC4R6NRQcxBG50j5Ua_gESEwp5PYtKeCdbGqTeWJhZBaswGJJ4sFbJYjAQQrysLt20X42gyiPKi3DIwbM8IdZjUXt/s1600/Photo1644.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-unwIQlqDGWoSP7au4iigvytNSQXUyVrbskSm9HApFJp7BM4vCv5pC4R6NRQcxBG50j5Ua_gESEwp5PYtKeCdbGqTeWJhZBaswGJJ4sFbJYjAQQrysLt20X42gyiPKi3DIwbM8IdZjUXt/s1600/Photo1644.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<cite class="_md"></cite></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8403466095701946487.post-25483121215743355662014-03-01T11:08:00.001-08:002020-07-24T03:17:40.008-07:00Machilipatnam<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Machilipatnam</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
1 March 2014</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Machilipatnam is a calm and peaceful town in the state of Andhra Pradesh of India. The climate is humid as the eastern ocean is very near. I had never heard of this town until I visited Vijayawada city, situated at 1 hour distance from Machilipatnam. In Vijayawada, my friends told me about a miracle which occurred in Machilipatnam in the year 1929 AD, less than hundred years from today. After briefly listening about this miracle, I developed a desire to visit Machilipatnam. I was further delighted to know that the visit to Machilipatnam was the part of our trip to Vijayawada.<br />
<br />
India has a great cultural history and very often you will learn about very astonishing things. Machilipatnam also has a very unique history which is related to a deity of Panduranga which self manifested here in the year 1929. Lord Panduranga, who is none other than Lord Krishna, is very famous in the state of Maharashtra since time immemorial. Every year millions of devotees visit Lord Panduranga in Pandharpur in the months of Ashadha and Kartika. The specialty of Machilipatnam is that the same Lord Panduranga appeared in Machilipatnam in the modern times of science and technology because of the prayers of his great devotee named Narasimha.<br />
<br />
I will try to briefly narrate the events that led to the self manifestation of Lord's deity in Machilipatnam. Bhakta Narasimha was born in the year 1889. He was the devotee of Lord Krishna since his childhood. His childhood was quite troublesome because he lost his mother when he was nine and he had to take the responsibility of the family because of his early marriage at the age of twelve. After recouping from a serious illness at the age of eighteen, he decided to make a pilgrimage to Tirupati. On the way to Tirupati, he visited Machilipatnam for meeting a relative and ended up in staying there itself. In Machilipatnam, he started a business and earned a large sum of money. Six years later, he completed his unfinished pilgrimage to Tirupati.<br />
<br />
Due to constant listening to the holy books such as Bhagvad Geeta, Shrimad Bhagavatam and Bhakta Vijaya, he developed detachment from the worldly materialistic life and became more serious about the spiritual life. He started a free food distribution program for the poor people, but initially it did not receive a good response and the program was stopped. Later he decided to start the free food distribution again, but this time he sent a formal letter of invitation to Lord Panduranga in Pandharpur. In that letter, he requested Lord to attend the food distribution festival along with His consorts Rukmini, Radha and Satyabhama. This time the program was very successful and Narasimha had to pray to Lord Panduranga for His mercy because he was worried about how to feed the thousands of people who were coming to have food. Lord answered his prayers and everybody was miraculously satisfied. After this incident, Narasimha became an ardent devotee of Lord Panduranga.<br />
<br />
One night, a divine figure appeared in Narasimha's dream and told him to construct a temple for Lord Panduranga. The figure also told him that Lord Panduranga will self manifest here in Machilipatnam. After having this vision, Narasimha also had several more divine visions which encouraged him to become a serious devotee of Lord Panduranga. Due to these experiences, Narasimha decided to undertake a pilgrimage to Pandharpur in Maharashtra. When he reached Pandharpur, he met Mahipati Maharaj, who later became his spiritual master. Mahipati Maharaj gave a spiritual initiation to Narasimha and instructed him about the rules and regulations to be followed by the devotees of Panduranga. He also asked Narasimha to construct the shrines for Dnyanadev and Tukaram who are the great devotees of Lord Panduranga. He told Narasimha that by their blessings, he will be able to erect the temple for Lord Panduranga.<br />
<br />
Next year Narasimha visited Pandharpur again. Apart from visiting Lord Panduranga and his spiritual master, he also wanted to collect some pebbles from the holy river Chandrabhaga. He wanted to use these pebbles in the ground breaking ceremony for the temple construction. But the river was flooded and it was very difficult to obtain the pebbles. Seeing this difficulty, Narasimha very intensely prayed to the presiding deity of river Chandrabhaga to help him. After his prayers, very surprisingly, river waters near the bank made a small clearing and a patch of land was visible. Narasimha and Mahipati Maharaj went to that patch in a boat and found a special round stone which was shining like a gem. They collected this stone along with other pebbles and kept at the feet of Lord Panduranga. They saw that a flash of light emanated from the deity of Lord Panduranga and entered the round stone. After witnessing this miracle, Mahipati Maharaj became sure about Lords blessings on Narasimha and instructed him to start the construction of the temple immediately.<br />
<br />
After coming back to Machilipatnam, Narasimha started the construction of the temple. In addition to the main temple for Lord Panduranga, he constructed many other small shrines for the great devotees of Lord like Hanuman, Ambarish, Prahlada and others. Here in Pandharpur, Lord Panduranga appeared in the dream of Mahipati Maharaj and told him the day on which he will appear in Machilipatnam. Delighted to have this vision, Mahipati Maharaj immediately dispatched a message to Narasimha, telling him about the day of Lord's appearance. Narasimha completed the construction of the temple well in time and started eagerly waiting for the day of Lord's appearance.<br />
<br />
The news of Lord's self manifestation quickly spread in the surrounding villages like a fire and people from all the directions started coming in. The British government officials were also keeping a keen eye on these happenings as they suspected it to be some kind of plot against the government. Because of their suspicion, the government locked down the temple and kept a police guard around it. They also threatened to punish Narasimha if the things do not happen the way he was saying they will happen.<br />
<br />
The day of Lord's appearance arrived. In the morning, Narasimha became almost like a mad man due the excitement as well as anxiety. He went to the shrine of Hanuman and prayed to him, asking him whether the Lord will really appear or not. Listening to his prayers, Hanuman assured him about Lord's appearance. Hanuman told Narasimha that if Lord does not appear as promised, he will personally go and bring the entire Pandharpur and place it here in Machilipatnam. Saints Tukaram and Dnyanadev also appeared in his vision and encouraged him. After this, Narasimha went in front of the closed door of the sanctum sanctorum and started offering intense prayers full of love, and requested Lord Panduranga for His mercy.<br />
<br />
When Narasimha was about to loose his life due to the anxiety and intense feelings, a tumultuous sound came from inside the locked doors of the innermost chamber of the temple. Hearing this great sound, the government officials ordered to open the doors of the chamber. But in spite of all the efforts, the doors could not be opened. At that time, Bhakta Narasimha could see that the great saints Dnyanadev and Tukaram were installing the beautiful deity of Lord Panduranga and Sage Narada was offering the obeisances to the Lord. Lord then ordered the doors of the temple to be opened. The doors of the temple then opened on their own accord. Everybody present their saw a divine smoke coming out the temple. After the smoke cleared, a beautiful deity of Lord Panduranga emerged. The form of the Lord was exactly same as that in Pandharpur. All the devotees of Lord present at that time became mad with the happiness. Everybody sang the glories of the Lord for his unlimited mercy.<br />
<br />
Since that time Lord Panduranga is present in Machilipatnam. Even today one can go there and see Lord's self manifested form and touch His lotus feet. We might have heard about many miracles which happened hundreds of years ago, but I am sure we have never heard of such a wonderful appearance of Lord Krishna in the modern times. This appearance of Lord gives us a great faith in Him and encourages us to engage ourself in the efforts for spiritual enlightenment without any doubt. This incidence also shows us that Lord's interaction with His devotees was never limited to just ancient times, it is never limited by time or place. If one wants to see Lord face to face, all one needs to do is develop a pure devotion to Lord.<br />
<br />
The temple of Lord Panduranga in Machilipatnam is quite spacious and it is situated in the area called Chilakalapudi. Apart from the self manifested deity of Lord Panduranga, one can also find other interesting things in this temple. There is a sacred water pond named Chandrabhaga. The water of this pond is considered as holy and purifying as that of river Chandrabhaga at Pandharpur. Also we can find a sacred Peepal tree. This tree is one of the seven sacred trees found in the area. Once Bhakta Narasimha told his third son named Venkata-Ramana that a great sage is engaged in penances under this tree for many years. Narasimha also enabled his son to see this sage. Also in the temple complex, you will find 108 shrines for different devotees, shrines of Rukmini, Radha and Satyabhama as well as many others shrines.<br />
<br />
I encourage everybody to visit Machilipatnam and take blessings of Lord Panduranga. <br />
<br />
This article is far from complete. I have given just a glimpse of a history related to the events occurred here. I have hardly discussed a deeper aspects of life of Bhakta Narasimha because of whose purity and prayers Lord appeared here. A complete volume can be written on the historical and spiritual significance of these events. I beg forgiveness of all the readers for the mistakes and shortcomings of this essay. I offer this article at the feet of the devotees of Lord Krishna. Without their blessings my life is devoid of any inspiration.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Source of information</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This information is given by the third son of Bhakta Narasimha who is currently the priest of the temple. The description of incidences mentioned here can also be found in British historical records.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc4-aQGV38II5Tu2ThOThwcKfWNvGNI-rdiCbfSVzdXclqJ6BzG3fs_uJjKKrl6G3_O8Ece_XZ-yCLK3hnYPGegyTCVdUqB8GrxacJWOCMyoJziyKU8hIJXLMaxsMhzpce9_yOMS-n7YO9/s1600/Photo1440.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc4-aQGV38II5Tu2ThOThwcKfWNvGNI-rdiCbfSVzdXclqJ6BzG3fs_uJjKKrl6G3_O8Ece_XZ-yCLK3hnYPGegyTCVdUqB8GrxacJWOCMyoJziyKU8hIJXLMaxsMhzpce9_yOMS-n7YO9/s1600/Photo1440.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panduranga tample</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitsx7B3AR7zA-EwsXHQJbokZ3M6VzwP3j92SSnJ6MfIS-SznFoO_RXmZCmaG-a-FCDRtwKdOedCRe-60jHtEllR-fBjlPYPiEaTwULezlaxV6u9NhJ4AxZIZtKP2pyfJljr_I-rkSNK0mJ/s1600/Photo1441.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitsx7B3AR7zA-EwsXHQJbokZ3M6VzwP3j92SSnJ6MfIS-SznFoO_RXmZCmaG-a-FCDRtwKdOedCRe-60jHtEllR-fBjlPYPiEaTwULezlaxV6u9NhJ4AxZIZtKP2pyfJljr_I-rkSNK0mJ/s1600/Photo1441.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holy pond near the temple</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhadt1M7_O_LzJpLooZHONkBHe3Q5bxC7-4w-UzyVVzyYGy-G-z1n6lcWaU2C4jgGo1MH9wmUlkzRvvy3Eln9tBPnEPZbhvR3uydCqQUwioWYAjqtZD6dnFBCX1rVdYmptHicyuQkOjThwR/s1600/Photo1442.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhadt1M7_O_LzJpLooZHONkBHe3Q5bxC7-4w-UzyVVzyYGy-G-z1n6lcWaU2C4jgGo1MH9wmUlkzRvvy3Eln9tBPnEPZbhvR3uydCqQUwioWYAjqtZD6dnFBCX1rVdYmptHicyuQkOjThwR/s1600/Photo1442.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Other shrines in the temple complex</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoxQgn8CnAajefS8HFcr_E-2uJuLpCjdDo-7btHdNK5WRJ35UhUVo6batiIAGbZR_4xw1E9YZuOXpYRYjD3tpn-j03K1KOQv2wpuEIB1EhblhfzMmDcZEW-cwFFgs08hzPgxaQpzZP8cJ8/s1600/Photo1443.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoxQgn8CnAajefS8HFcr_E-2uJuLpCjdDo-7btHdNK5WRJ35UhUVo6batiIAGbZR_4xw1E9YZuOXpYRYjD3tpn-j03K1KOQv2wpuEIB1EhblhfzMmDcZEW-cwFFgs08hzPgxaQpzZP8cJ8/s1600/Photo1443.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sacred Peepal tree near the temple</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8403466095701946487.post-80325518833867175612014-01-01T22:09:00.001-08:002020-07-24T03:19:19.159-07:00Mangalagiri<div style="text-align: center;">
<h2>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Mangalagiri</span></h2>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
2 January 2014</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I seek blessings of Lord Krishna and His devotees for successfully completing the task of writing this small article about the holy place called `Mangalagiri'. Currently my spiritual journey is going through a lot of turbulence. Although I have acquired some theoretical knowledge about spiritual teachings, I find myself totally unsuccessful in applying it in my day to day life. In such a situation, it is really hard to find the complete satisfaction and peace in one's life. I think Lord Krishna saw my awkward situation and mercifully decided to give me a glimpse of a hundred percent spiritual experience. This golden opportunity came to me when devotees of Lord Krishna invited me for a pilgrimage to Vijayawada, Mangalagiri and Machalipatnam.<br />
<br />
Out of these holy places, Mangalagiri is a home of two very ancient temples of Lord's half-man-half-lion incarnation Narasimha. Historical events that took place in Mangalagiri do not date back just to few hundred or few thousands of years. Like many other holy places in India, the history of this place goes back into the ancient times of the <i>Satya Yuga</i>. The only source of authentic information about the events hidden so deep in the past are the ancient historical records of India collectively known as <i>Purana Samhita</i>, organized in eighteen main books and many smaller books. The description of Mangalagiri can be found in the books such as <i>Skanda Purana</i> and <i>Brahma Vaivarta Purana</i>. In the following paragraphs, I will try to tell you about how this hill came into existence and how Lord Narasimha appeared on this hill. <br />
<br />
In the <i>Satya Yuga</i>, there was a prince named `Hrishya Shringi'. His father, king Pariyatra, was very displeased with the prince because of his physical deformities. To get rid of his deformities, the prince decided to secretly leave home and perform penances. The prince chose a holy place called Pradita Ashrama on the banks of Krishna river to perform austerities. When the king came to know about his son's odd behavior, he decided to bring the prince back to home. When the prince realized that his father is coming for him, he composed many prayers to please their Lordship Lakshmi-Narayana and requested them to appear before him in the form of Lakshmi-Narasimha. Pleased by the prayers of Hrishya Shringi, Lord Narasimha and mother Lakshmi awarded their presence to the prince. The prince requested Lord to stay in this place eternally to bless others. For the same purpose, the prince transformed himself into an elephant and then into the hill which is now Mangalagiri. Since then Lord Narasimha along with mother Lakshmi stay there. As prince Hrishya Shringi composed many songs (<i>Stotra</i>) to please the Lord and convince Him to reside in this place, this hill is also called as Stotradri. When we look at this hill, we will see that it has a shape of a sitting elephant.<br />
<br />
Another important event that took place on this hill is the death of demon Namuchi by the <i>Sudarshan</i> <i>Chakra</i> of Lord Narasimha. Demon Namuchi was a cruel son of sage Kashyapa. He undertook the performance of the great austerities in order to become powerful. Due to his penance, the huge amount of heat and fire started to flow out from his body. The living entities as well as demigods were disturbed by this fire. When the chief of the demigods named Indra went to Brahma to solve the problem created by Namuchi's fire, Brahma agreed to appease Namuchi by granting him a boon in order to stop his austerities. When Brahma appeared before Namuchi, Namuchi asked that he should not be killed by anything that is either dry or wet. Brahma had to grant this boon. After becoming almost immortal in this way, demon Namuchi started to harass demigods. As demigods could not harm Namuchi in any way, all of them took shelter of Lord Vishnu and requested Him to device a way by which Namuchi could be killed.<br />
<br />
Lord Vishnu assured the demigods and told them that when proper time arrives, he will make sure that Namuchi is killed. He also asked Indra to destroy Namuchi's army. Then Lord Vishnu, in his form of Narasimha dipped his <i>Sudarshan</i> <i>Chakra</i> into foam (which is considered neither dry nor wet) and gave it to Indra. Lord Narasimha Himself was present at the center of <i>Sudarshan</i> <i>Chakra</i>. Indra sent this <i>Sudarshan</i> <i>Chakra</i> to kill the demon. When Namuchi saw Lord's weapon coming to kill him, he gave up his physical form and went into a cave for protecting himself. Sudarshan Chakra followed Namuchi into the cave and killed him.<br />
<br />
After killing the demon Namuchi, Lord Narasimha was still in extremely angry mood. All the demigods were fearful of this form of Lord Narasimha. To please the Lord and calm Him down, demigods offered a pot of nectar to Lord Narasimha. Lord Narasimha drank half of the nectar and was satisfied. At that time, Lord Narasimha told the demigods that in <i>Satya</i> <i>Yuga</i>, He will drink half of the nectar offered to Him. In <i>Treta</i> <i>Yuga</i>, He will be satisfied by drinking Ghee. In <i>Dwapar</i> <i>Yuga</i>, He will be satisfied by drinking milk and in <i>Kali</i> <i>Yuga</i>, he will drink half of the <i>panakam</i> offered to Him. As currently Kali Yuga is going on, Lord Narasimha drinks thousands of litters of <i>panakam</i> every day at Mangalagiri. Because of this reason, the name of Lord Narasimha at Mangalagiri is Panakal or Pana-Narasimha.<br />
<br />
The temple of the Pana-Narasimha is situated on the slopes of Mangalagiri. Lord Narasimha is situated in His deity form in the innermost chamber of the temple. Only the face of the Lord is manifested here. The face of the Lord is of metal. Behind His face, there are symbols of conch (<i>Shankha</i>) and wheel (<i>Chakra</i>). Few dim lights enlighten this small chamber. Before entering the temple, we can purchase the pot of panakam for offering. The priest in the temple allows only few people to see the Lord at a time. We can stand very near to the Lord when the priest is pouring the <i>panakam</i> into Lord's mouth using conch shell. The priest can understand when the Lord is satisfied by drinking the <i>panakam</i>. When Lord is drinking the <i>panakam</i>, we will not hear any sound of water hitting anything. The <i>panakam</i> goes into Lord's mouth as if there is no bottom and mysteriously disappears. The remaining drink is given back to the devotees as <i>prasadam</i>. Even though there is sweet water everywhere in the temple, it is very interesting that we will not find a single ant or fly inside and in the area of the temple.<br />
<br />
From the temple of Lord Narasimha, there are few steps going up the hill which lead us to the shrines of Lakshmi Devi, Lord Venkateshwara as well as Hanuman. Mangalagiri is a special place of Hanuman who is the great devotee of Lord in His form as Ramachandra. After the battle of Ramayana was over, Lord Rama asked Hanuman to stay at Mangalagiri and after obtaining blessings, stay in this world till the end. Therefore Hanuman is maintainer and guardian (<i>kshetrapalaka</i>) of Mangalagiri. On the left side of the shrine of mother Lakshmi Devi, we will find a cave. This cave is a secret way to the caves of Undavalil but currently the cave is very dark and it may not be possible to reach the other end of the way through this cave. In the ancient times, the sages used this way to regularly visit Krishna river for taking the holy bath.<br />
<br />
When we reach Mangalagiri, we notice a huge <i>gopuram</i> at the base of Mangalagiri. This <i>gopuram</i> belongs to another temple of Lord Narasimha which is situated in Mangalagiri town. Before going up the hill we can visit this temple. During the times of Mahabharata, Pandava brothers visited Mangalagiri when they were in exile. Because the form of Lord Narasimha situated on the slopes of Mangalagiri was <i>ugra</i> (very angry) and less accessible to people in general, they established another temple of Lord Lakshmi-Narasimha at the base of Mangalagiri so that people can very easily worship the Lord. Therefore this temple is more than five thousand years old. The outer parts of the temple as well as eleven story high <i>gopuram</i> were constructed by later kings and administrators. The deity of Lord Narasimha with Lakshmi Devi in this temple is very beautifully decorated with ornaments as well as the garland of 108 <i>Shalagram</i> <i>Shilas</i>. There is another separate shrine of Lakshmi Devi established by the King of Vijayanagar, Krishnadevaraya, who was disciple of the great spiritual master Ramanujacharya. This form of Lakshmi Devi is extremely beautiful and well decorated. <br />
<br />
There are around six hundred steps leading to the temple of Pana-Narasimha on Mangalagiri hill. On this stairway, we can see a shrine which displays the footprints of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who visited Mangalagiri during His south India pilgrimage in year 1512. It is said that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ecstatically offered many prayers to Lord Narasimha on Mangalagiri. These footprints are established by Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur in honor of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. <br />
<br />
Another interesting place to see on Mangalagiri is a Milk Tree. This tree is considered to be non-different from the great sage Narada Muni. The history behind this tree is as follows. When a king name Shashibindu was visiting the different holy places, he met Narada Muni on Mangalagiri. During their meeting, the king told sage Narada that he is tired of running behind worldly pleasures and is seeking transcendental happiness. Narada Muni advised the king to perform austerities at Mangalagiri and the king agreed. The queen considered the instruction given by Narada Muni to be ill-advise. She became furious and cursed the sage to become a Milk Tree (<i>Kshira</i> <i>Vriksha</i>) on the hill within the easy reach of devotees, so that it can bless women at its sight with property, children and also purify them of sins committed out of ignorance or oversight. Sage Narada did not take it as a curse but as a blessing. He blessed the queen with a happy life with her husband as well as a thousand children. Even today, thousands of women visit and worship this tree for begetting nice children.<br />
<br />
There are three things about Mangalagiri which are of geological importance. First, when the <i>Sudarshan</i> <i>Chakra</i> of Lord killed demon Namuchi in the cave, a blood that began to flow turned into a stream called Raktakalya. This stream spread into the surrounding area turning the soil's color into red. Today we can see this red soil surrounding the temple. Secondly, it is believed that the hill of Mangalagiri was once a volcano and different offerings to the deity of Lord Narasimha have prevented the volcanic irruption. Lastly the sitting elephant shape of the hill as explained previously with reference to prince Hrishya Shringi. The Mangalagiri is considered as a part of Eastern Ghats of India. <br />
<br />
Mangalagiri literally means an auspicious hill. This name is given to this hill because Lord's pleasure potency Lakshmi-Devi performed penances on this hill. This hill is also known as Muktyadri which literally means a hill which grants salvation even to the sinners. Even the chief demigod Indra has advised the residents of heaven to do penance here in order to get liberation from the material bondage. It is said that demigods still attend this temple to offer their own worship to Lord Narasimha. For this reason, the temple is open from morning to afternoon. It is believed that demigods start their worship after noon. Sometimes the priest who opens the temple in the morning finds evidence of this.<br />
<br />
My visit to Mangalagiri was a very pleasing exchange of happiness with other devotees. Members of Bhaktivedanta Institute of Bangalore requested me to attend the 76th <i>Vyaspuja</i> <i>celebration</i> of His Holiness Bhaktiswaroop Damodar Maharaja (aka Shripad Maharaja) in Mangalagiri. On Friday, 6 December 2013, we first took a bus from Bangalore to Tirupati and then a train from Tirupati to Vijayawada. We reached Vijayawada on Saturday afternoon. Devotees in Vijayawada had arranged a vehicle to take us from Vijayawada to Mangalagiri. In Mangalagiri, we found that our guest house was situated just in front of the huge gopuram of Lakshmi-Narasimha temple. After having bath and lunch, we went to Lakshmi-Narasimha temple to have a wonderful <i>darshan </i>of Lord Narasimha and Mother Lakshmi. We also visited a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva which is situated nearby. <br />
<br />
Next day (Sunday) was full of different activities. In very early morning at 4:30 am, we went to Iskcon Radha-Shyamasundar temple in Vijayawada. After attending a beautiful morning <i>Aarati</i> there, we returned to Mangalagiri and went uphill to see Lord Pana-Narasimha. An amazing group of devotees was performing <i>Sankirtan</i>. When the temple priest arrived, we had a wonderful and close darshan of Lord Narasimha. After drinking panakam, and visiting the shrines of Hanuman as well as mother Lakshmi, we came downhill, all the way singing Lord's holy names. Then we attended the Vyaspuja celebration. This celebration consisted of offering worship and words of glorification to the spiritual master and it ended with a wonderful lunch feast. In evening, we visited an orphanage named Shree Krishna Chaitanya Vihar in Vijayawada and performed Sankirtan with children. It was my first visit to an orphanage. <br />
<br />
On Monday, after taking blessings of Lakshmi-Narasimha in the morning, we left for Machalipatnam which is the home of Lord Panduranga (Krishna).<br />
<br />
I have heard that Lord's form as Narasimha is very angry by nature and He expects His devotees to be very strict in following spiritual discipline. But I have also heard that in this fallen age of <i>Kali</i>, in which most of the people are not able to follow a proper spiritual discipline, the same Lord Narasimha gives up His angry mood and blesses even those like me who are full of faults. I consider myself very lucky to get blessings of the Lord who resides in Mangalagiri. The spiritual atmosphere of Mangalagiri is very conductive for one's spiritual well-being and its history gives us a faith in our ancient culture. I thank Lord Narasimha, who always blesses and protects His devotees, for allowing me to visit His house in Mangalagiri. I pray to Lord that no matter what happens in my life, let me always remain His humble servant, let me always remain in the company of His devotees.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Meanings of Sanskrit words</b>:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
1. <i>Satya yuga</i>. According to Vedic time, four ages named Satya Yuga, Treta
Yuga, Dwapar Yuga and Kali Yuga(the current age) appear one after
another in the cyclic manner. The time duration of the Satya yuga is
1,728,000 solar years. The last Satya Yuga started 3,893,000 years ago
and ended 2,165,000 years ago.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
2. <i>Sudarshan Chakra.</i> One of the weapons of Lord. Sudarshan Chakra has a shape of a disc with
one thousand spokes. It is not just an ordinary weapon, apart from
having a great power, it has a conscious personality.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
3. <i>Brahma.</i> The secondary creator of the universe. He is born of Lord Vishnu and
given all the primary ingredients to carry out further development of
universe. Each universe has one Brahma. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
4. <i>Panakam.</i> A sweet drink consisting of water mixed with jaggery (cane sugar), camphor, cardamom and black pepper. Tastes awesome.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
5. <i>Prasadam</i>. Spiritual food. Food taken after first offering it to the Lord.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
6. <i>Gopuram</i>. Tall ornate towers that mark the entrances of the temple, especially found in south Indian temples. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
7. <i>Shaligram</i> <i>Shila</i>. The sacred stone which is considered as a direct form of Lord Vishnu.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
8. <i>Vyas</i> <i>puja</i>. Celebration of spiritual master's birthday by his disciples. This
occasion is celebrated even after physical disappearance of the
spiritual master.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
9. <i>Darshan</i>. Seeing the deity in the temple and offering obeisances.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
10. <i>Aarati</i>. Worship of Lord in the temple by using items such as incense, flowers, lamp, cloth and fragrant liquids etc.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
11. <i>Sankirtan</i>. Loudly singing Lord's holy names in group.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Om Tat Sat</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Acknowledgements</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I thank the members of Bhaktivedanta Institute for organizing this wonderful pilgrimage. I especially thank devotees at Vijayawada for their hospitality and gifts. They put in so much hard work for making arrangements of our stay, food as well as travel. This pilgrimage would be simply impossible without them. I thank my friend Appala Naidu for translating some Telugu text about Mangalagiri for me. I also thank Netra Kulkarni, Nishant Goyal, Rishikesh Kulkarni and Sudeep Joshi for their suggestions during the preparation of the manuscript.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>References</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
1. Spiritual India Handbook, Stephen Knapp, Jaico publishers, 2011.<br />
2. www.mangalagiri.net</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCXy-SqQeRBd5Sd4zLK-OLTf_3fHHj2Zwgo7UZWYNsmlnavQGY0D8kSRp96MzEWxvJS69o-_Hn64d6VvTv2W4GQwIVeOmq7v5MQ67eOegtWjHNxbaA1Zro81e9-bxn-33uxfIueu_QqNQN/s1600/634941189318135555_DSC04657.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCXy-SqQeRBd5Sd4zLK-OLTf_3fHHj2Zwgo7UZWYNsmlnavQGY0D8kSRp96MzEWxvJS69o-_Hn64d6VvTv2W4GQwIVeOmq7v5MQ67eOegtWjHNxbaA1Zro81e9-bxn-33uxfIueu_QqNQN/s1600/634941189318135555_DSC04657.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mangalagiri and the temple of Pana-Narasimha</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo-vDcqN6NyNSGzKM2fY5RT7J1zUcutAA7Luop7Ttq0iwSDrUrL9Rn_44_Et-gTHlmcvi2ufvjbceD35gtAKIeYTuF5Azb_9_7S_-mAoReYZwZkAKPQE_MRhWpd7J5dK_APNiEPQ-JYvIx/s1600/gopuram.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo-vDcqN6NyNSGzKM2fY5RT7J1zUcutAA7Luop7Ttq0iwSDrUrL9Rn_44_Et-gTHlmcvi2ufvjbceD35gtAKIeYTuF5Azb_9_7S_-mAoReYZwZkAKPQE_MRhWpd7J5dK_APNiEPQ-JYvIx/s1600/gopuram.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">11 story gopuram of Lakshmi Narasimha temple in Mangalagiri town</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr_g-zL1TD4ZP2vFlfBjnsChahk4t1gONIU3ViDdxU-eggOFSWG2-pXiou2aKgYuWn3mGRxJRoRx6R4AttfTkjs5TkT6p0xZsogLzo1gNjYGluN17rliX82FKZVOiB0rGbbx4G31tKsdNI/s1600/index.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr_g-zL1TD4ZP2vFlfBjnsChahk4t1gONIU3ViDdxU-eggOFSWG2-pXiou2aKgYuWn3mGRxJRoRx6R4AttfTkjs5TkT6p0xZsogLzo1gNjYGluN17rliX82FKZVOiB0rGbbx4G31tKsdNI/s1600/index.jpeg" width="366" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deity of Lord Pana-Narasimha</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW10O1vYyxmVh4eHyp5Qsinrckekx6suCv2m0ddx3x7KMuuzPNCmchuI4eSQKByW9EWlzyaj4s1S_1RlqRc5Ipk9OBGj6dmpv5O9olq2xY8STAGgjJmkz4hJQgXbx2kawkBeqzvMFeiYDF/s1600/topview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW10O1vYyxmVh4eHyp5Qsinrckekx6suCv2m0ddx3x7KMuuzPNCmchuI4eSQKByW9EWlzyaj4s1S_1RlqRc5Ipk9OBGj6dmpv5O9olq2xY8STAGgjJmkz4hJQgXbx2kawkBeqzvMFeiYDF/s1600/topview.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of Mangalgiri town from the temple of Pana-Narasimha</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8403466095701946487.post-41921123144981284382013-08-18T22:34:00.001-07:002020-07-24T03:20:40.129-07:00Denkanikottai<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Introduction</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
Denkanikottai is a place of the Betrayaswami temple. Lord Betrayaswami, to whom this temple belongs, is a form of Lord Krishna which looks exactly like Lord Balaji in Tirupati. The temple is ancient and the history related to this place is found in Skanda Purana. The temple of Denkanikottai is not at all crowded by huge mass of people like other famous temples in India. Denkanikottai is a beautiful and calm place which can very easily impress anybody, especially a serious spiritualist. <br />
<br />
Denkanikottai is situated 25 kilometers away from Hosur. Hosur is around 40 kilometers away from Bangalore. Denkanikottai can be reached by a bus from Hosur and Hosur is accessible from Bangalore by bus as well as by train. This place can be visited from Bangalore as a one day trip. The temple of Betrayaswami is situated around 2 km away from the bus station. This 2 kilometer stretch is an enjoyable walk on the small road surrounded by houses and some very big and beautiful trees.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Ancient History of Denkanikottai</b></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
There are eight chapters of the Skanda Purana which describe the glories of this place. The Yaksha brother of Kubera's maternal grandfather, whose name was Maharnavan, underwent a rugged penance for achieving the blessings of Brahma. When Brahma was impressed by Maharnavan's penance, he gave Maharnavan the boon of deathlessness. However, excited by this new strength, he started harassing the devatas (celestials) and turned their abodes into rubble. He did this with such a determination that he was given a nickname `Deva Gandakan' meaning the harrier of the devas.<br />
<br />
Many many years ago, when this area was covered with very dense forest, Kanva muni was performing austerities at this place. Once Deva Gandakan decided to harass him as well. When Kanva muni found himself put into trouble by Deva Gandakan, he requested Lord Venkateshwara (Balaji or Krishna) to save him. Hearing the plea of his dear devotee, Lord decided to teach Deva Gandakan a good lesson. He appeared at this place in the guise of a hunter. He called for Lord Rama in order to learn Dhanurvidya (archery) and procure weapons needed to defeat the daemon. Deva Gandakan had this ability to come alive from his own blood when his blood would be spilled from his body on the ground. So the Lord called for mother Durga to drink the blood of daemon Deva Gandakan. After this preparation, the Lord engaged in the battle with Deva Gandakan. Deva Gandakan also, confident about his immortality, charged the Lord but the Lord hit him and severely wounded Deva Gandakan. The Yaksha then achieved not only redemption but also realization. He then requested the Lord that the place be named as Denkanipuram in memory of this incident. Kanva muni was also blessed with a Darshan of the Lord Venkateshwara who accepted the name `Betrayaswami' which means the Lord as a hunter.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The Temple and Surroundings</b></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
A five tiered gopuram of the ornate Hoysala style of architecture rises over the eastern entrance of the temple. The temple itself sits on one acre of land. A wall that surrounds it is 244 feet long and 204 feet wide. In front of the temple is the Swami Pushkarini Lake that is 220 feet square. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
The main deity of Lord Betrayaswami is at the center of the temple complex. This deity is same in appearance as that of Lord Venkateshwara who resides in Tirumala hills (Lord Tirupati Balaji). The deity is very beautiful and decorated with flowers and many ornaments. The deity of Lord Betrayaswami is accompanied by Sridevi and Bhuvedi at His sides. They are also very beautifully decorated. The temple of Lord Rama along with Lakshmana, mother Sita and Anjaneya is situated on the left hand side of Lord Betrayaswami. There is a separate shrine of Anjaneya inside the temple complex. This Anjaneya (Hanuman) is quite big in size. <br />
<br />
There are other shrines in the hallways of this temple, which include Venugopala with Rukmini and Satyabhama, shrine of Alwars and a separate shrine of Ramanujacharya.<br />
<br />
While the battle was going on between the Lord and Deva Gandakan, some of his blood was spilled at the spot where Kanva muni was performing austerities. A tree stands at that spot now and, according to local tradition, even if that tree has been cut again and again, it grows again. This tree is today inside the temple wall just behind the small shrine dedicated to Kanva muni. <br />
<br />
When the Lord was done with Deva Gandakan, he was still filled with rage and anger. To calm down the Lord, mother Saundarya Valli took her birth in nearby village. Lord very much liked Saundarya Valli and He was married with her. The temple of Sundarya Valli is situated at the right hand side of the Lord inside the temple complex. The village in which mother Saundarya Valli took her birth is situated to the south direction from the temple, behind the coconut trees. The original deity of the Lord, who was filled with rage, is smaller in size and very Ugra (angry). This deity is kept in separate room inside the main temple hall and is not available for Darshan. Local tradition is that whoever touches that deity burns with fire. <br />
<br />
The northern gate of the temple is called Swarga Dvara (A gate to heaven). This gate is normally closed. It is opened only two times in a year, once on Sankranti day and once more on Ugadi day. On these days, there is a festival in the temple and Lord's `Utsav Murti' travels through this door. One who passes through this door goes to heaven (Swargaloka) after death.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Our Pilgrimage</b></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
On 17 June 2012, I started from Yeshwantpur at 8:00 am and reached Majestic after half an hour. There I joined with Nagaraj and had breakfast. Then we went to Attibelle in BMTC Volvo bus. The bus fare was 70 rupees and we preffered one day gold pass (90 rupees). From Attibelle, we took bus to Hosur (time taken = 25 to 30 minutes, bus fare 6 rupees). From Hosur we took bus to Denkanikottai (time taken = 1 hour, bus fare 10 rupees). While returning we followed the same pattern reversed. One can directly go to Hosur or Denkanikottai by boarding a bus at K.R Market in Bangalore. We did not know this at that time. <br />
<br />
We reached Denkanikottai at around 12:30 pm and started walking towards the temple. Local people told us the way to the temple and it is pretty straight forward. Along the way we saw some very big Pimpal trees. The surrounding area is covered by houses, farms, bushes and occasional water pond. We reached temple by 1:00 pm. The temple was closed at that time and we came to know that it would open at 2:00 pm. One family group of devotees and some other devotees were already present there, waiting for Lord to give Darshan. They were chanting Holy names of the Lord and singing devotional songs and we joined in with them. We also started enquiring about the book which will give detail information about the place, but were not fortunate enough to find one.<br />
<br />
At 2:00 pm sharp, the doors of the innermost chamber of the temple hall were opened. The Lord was still behind the curtain. The temple priests then started chanting vedic hymns and finally we had the beautiful Darshan of the Lord. The Lord was then worshipped with lamps, flowers, fruits and many other sacred items along with vedic chanting and ringing bells. Nobody was allowed to have closer look at the Lord at this time. When the arati of the Lord was complete, priests closed the curtain and all of us went to the temple of Saundarya Valli Devi. There mother Saundarya Valli also was worshipped in a similar way. After the arati of Devi was complete, we were allowed to go near Her and pay our humble obeisances. She is very kind to allow devotees to have her Darshan from closer distance. Then again we came back to the main temple hall of Lord Betrayaswami. Curtains were removed and this time priests personally asked the names of all devotees present there and prayed to Lord on their account. This time Lord also allowed closer darshan. The priests then blessed everybody by giving them Tulasi leaves, teerthamrita, kumkum powder and lamp offered to the Lord. Many people offered donations at this time.<br />
<br />
Then we all took our seats outside the temple hall and the priests served us lunch prasadam. Prasadam was served on banana leaves and consisted of four different kinds of cooked rice. It was extremely delicious. One can not forget the spiritual taste of sweet rice made in pure ghee for the pleasure of the Lord. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Visit to Narasimha Temple</b></div>
<br />
We were fortunate enough to meet Mr. Ramamurti, an elderly but very enthusiastic and cheerful person along with Mr. Jayapal, a kind and generous resident of Denkanikottai. They told us so many things about this place and about the Lord. After taking some pictures of the temple, all four of us decided to go to Gavi Shree Laxmi-Narasimha temple which is located at 2 kilometers to the east of Lord Betrayaswami temple. History of this temple is as follows.<br />
<br />
This temple is more that 5000 years old. In Dwapara Yuga, Pandava brothers along with their wife Draupadi had to undergo an exile from their kingdom. During their exile, Arjuna used to carve deities of the Lord Krishna in his many incarnations. Once during their exile, Pandava brothers were staying at this place which was covered with very dense forest. There Arjuna carved the deity of Lord Narasimha inside the underground cave. After some time Pandava brothers left this place. <br />
<br />
During Kali Yuga (current age which started around 5000 years ago and will last for 4,27,000 more years), a king named Dharma was ruling this area. During one of his hunting expeditions, he found this ancient cave and decided to go inside thinking that he might get a prey. When he reached inside the underground cave, he saw the deity but could not identify whose deity it was. Kanva muni was residing nearby. King then went to Kanva muni and told him about his discovery and asked for guidance. Kanva muni came to visit the cave and using his mystic powers, he could know all about the deity. Kanva muni told king Dharma that the deity belonged to none other than Lord Narasimha who had appeared in Ahobilam (in Andhra Pradesh) during Satya Yuga to kill daemon Hiranyakashipu and protect his dear devotee Prahlada. He told that the deity was carved personally by Arjuna and asked the king to worship the deity by performing Vedic Yadnyas (fire sacrifices). King Dharma conducted the sacrifice under the guidance of the muni. When Lord Narasimha was pleased with the king, he appeared to the king and told him to ask a boon. King Dharma then requested Lord Narasimha to resides here in this place along with Lakshmi Devi. Lord granted king's request and Lakshmi Devi also appeared at the place along with the Lord. <br />
<br />
Today one can find an underground cave inside the temple in which Lord Narasimha resides with Lakshmi Devi on his lap. There is another deity of Lakshmi Devi inside the cave. On the pillars of the temple are carved various incarnations of the Lord. On some distance outside the temple wall, there is a stone marked with lotus feet of the Lord. Until recently, this temple was not accessible. People used to avoid coming into this area due to dense forest and the fear of big snakes as well as wild elephants. But recently the place was cleared and the stairs were constructed to reach the temple which is situated on the hill. The ancient temple complex itself, which was partially destroyed during Muslim rule, was renovated with its new Gopuram and wall. One can see a collection of pictures of these developments kept inside the temple complex. Also in memory of big snakes found during the reconstruction of the temple, a small sanctuary dedicated to these snakes is built. We came to know that when Lord Betrayaswami defeated Deva Gandakan, one of his feet was near the Narasimha temple and other foot was near Betrayaswami temple. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Other Temples</b></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
On the way towards Shree Laxmi Narasimha temple there are two more temples. One is dedicated to Draupadi, the wife of Pandavas. The other is dedicated to mother Mariyamma who has not allowed the roof to be constructed on the top of her temple. She prefers to reside inside the walls but without the roof.<br />
<br />
The temple of Durga Devi, who drank the blood of Deva Gandakan is situated in the Denkanikottai village itself. It opens only on Tuesdays and Fridays.<br />
<br />
We also came to know that there is an underground hidden passage which connects Shree Laxmi-Narasimha temple to Betrayaswami temple, another connecting Denkanikottai to Hosur, and another connecting Hosur to Srirangapatinam. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<b>Conclusion</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
After a brief visit to the home of Mr Jayapal, we headed back to Bangalore. During our return journey we revised what we had learnt during our first holy expedition in south India. When I reached my room in IISc at 10:15 pm in night, I found myself thinking about the questions which were still unanswered. Where Kanva muni went after leaving Denkanikottai? How were the Lord Betrayaswami's dealings with mother Saundarya Valli and temple priests? Did Ramanujacharya visit this temple during his travels? If yes, then what happened when he visited the temple in 11th century? Where I will find the Sanskrit text of Skanda Purana which describes all these incidents? Will I ever find these eight chapters given that the Sthala Puranas are becoming rare these days and generally excluded from the standard printed editions of the Puranas? These and so many other questions keep us anxious. We will try to get them answered during our next visit to Denkanikottai. Govinda!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>References</b> <b>& Sources</b>:</div>
<br />
1. Spiritual India Handbook by Stephen Knapp, Jaico Publishing House, 2011, Pg 268.<br />
2. Interview with mister Jayapal.<br />
3. Interview with mister Ramamurti.<br />
4. Interview with temple priest of Gavi Shree Lakshmi Narasimha Swami temple. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Acknowledgements</b>:</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
This journey would not be so interesting without the blessings and guidance of Mr Jayapal and Mr Ramamurti. We are very much grateful for their help and hospitality. We also thank many people who helped us along the way in different ways.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Notes</b>:</div>
<br />
1. Present age is called Kali yuga. Its total duration is 4,32,000 solar years. Before this was Dwapara yuga which lasts for 2*(Kali yuga duration). Before that was Treta yuga which lasts for 3*(Kali yuga duration). Before that was Satya yuga also called as Krita yuga which lasts for 4*(kali yuga duration). Set of these four ages is called one Divya yuga. One thousand such sets make up one day of Brahma. Same is a night of Brahma. Brahma lives for 100 such years, one year containing 360 days of Brahma. So life of Brahma is very very long and same is the life of this universe. At the beginning of the universe, Brahma is born on the huge lotus flower which sprouts from the navel of Lord Vishnu who resides in the nether regions of the universe. Then Lord gives Brahma all the elements and ingredients required to carry out the secondary creation of the universe.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
2. There are eighteen main Puranas (Historical accounts) one of which is Skanda Purana. Puranas are part of vedic literature and composed by Vyasadeva who is again the incarnation of the Lord for the purpose of writing such literatures for the benefit of people in the Kali yuga. Previously, before Kali yuga started, the knowledge was transferred orally and written books were not required because of very good memory of the people in those ages. <br />
<br />
3. Although there are many incarnations of Lord like Narasimhadeva, Vyasadeva .... who appeared for different purposes and appear to have different personalities, there is no really difference between them. Incarnations and their activities are always mentioned and predicted in the authorized scriptures and so incarnations are always identified by their symptoms given in the scriptures. Although there are many incarnations, they all have originated from the same original supreme personality of godhead, whose spiritual body is full of eternity, knowledge and bliss and who resides in Goloka Vrindavan which is outside this material realm and beyond impersonal brahman.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Authors:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Hrishikesh Sonalikar</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Nagraj Swami</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8403466095701946487.post-60358871887427468482013-08-16T09:24:00.001-07:002020-07-24T03:22:19.236-07:00Udupi<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Introduction</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
The town of Udupi is situated on the west coast of India in the state of
Karnataka. By road, Udupi is 55 km away from Mangalore and 404 km from
Bangalore. Manipal, famous for its Manipal University, is situated just 5
km away from Udupi. Another nearby place is a town of Surathkal where
the National Institute of Technology, Karnataka (NITK) is located.<br />
<br />
The pleasant town of Udupi is one of the most famous place of
pilgrimage in India because of Lord Krishna's temple. This temple, known
as Krishna Mutt, was established by Madhvacharya in 13th century AD.
Particular form of Lord Krishna residing here is called Udupi Krishna or
Muddu Krishna. The deity of Lord Krishna is more than five thousand
years old as the deity has manifested in Dwapar Yuga. The history of
this holy place is as follows.<b> </b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<b>History</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Towards the end of the Dwapar Yuga (more than 5000 years ago), Krishna
decided to appear on earth to please His devotees and reduce the burden
of the earth by killing unnecessary military forces maintained by
demoniac kings. Although He is unborn, He chose Devaki and Vasudeva as
His mother and father. At that time, Vasudeva and Devaki were kept in
the prison, in the city of Mathura, by a demoniac king named Kamsa. Lord
Krishna appeared in four handed form before Vasudeva and Devaki in the
prison. Vasudeva and Devaki requested Lord Krishna to become a baby.
Honoring their desire, Lord Krishna assumed the form of a very beautiful
baby. Kamsa was destined to be killed by the eighth son of Devaki and
Vasudeva, so Kamsa would kill all the children born of them. Concerned
for the safety of baby Krishna, Vasudeva carried baby Krishna to Gokul
and handed Him over to Nanda Maharaj and Yashoda. <br />
<br />
Krishna grew up in Gokul and displayed His most wonderful childhood
pastimes before mother Yashoda, Nanda Maharaj and the people of Gokul.
One of the most mischievous activity of Krishna was to steal butter from
the houses of gopis (Krishna's cowherd girlfriends and mother Yashoda's
friends) and tease gopis in several ways. These wonderful activities of
Krishna could not be enjoyed by Devaki and Vasudeva as they had to stay
in Mathura. Devaki always cherished the desire to enjoy Krishna's
naughty childhood activities. Rukmini, who was one of the principal
wives of Lord Krishna, also wished to see Lord's childhood leelas.<br />
<br />
Later Krishna established His family on the island of Dwaraka which
was located few kilometres inside the sea from current city of Dwaraka
in the state of Gujarat, India. There Devaki and Rukmini requested
Krishna to again manifest all His childhood pastimes before them.
Krishna, wishing to fulfil their desire, displayed his wonderful
childhood activities before them. Devaki's joy knew no bound when she
witnessed the sweetness of baby Krishna. Finally, Krishna stood in front
of them with a butter churning rod in His right hand and a butter
churning rope in the left. Devaki and Rukmini requested Krishna to make
His deity form exactly in this posture. Krishna then employed
Vishwakarma (the celestial engineer) to make His deity using auspicious
black stone. Rukmini personally worshipped this deity form of Lord Shri
Krishna until the end of Lord's pastimes on this earth.<br />
<br />
After Lord's disappearance, Lord's deity was hidden away by Arjuna
in the gardens of Dwaraka. By the will of Krishna, the city of Dwaraka
was later submerged into the ocean. Lord Krishna's deity along with
another deity of Lord Balaram remained under the sea for a long time and
a layer of gopi-chandan (a special type of yellow sand) was formed
around them. After more than 4000 years, in 13th century AD, one sailor
procured many gopi-chandan blocks from that area. Among them were the
two gopi-chandan blocks in which the deities were present. The sailor
was unaware of the presence of divine deities in the gopi-chandan. Along
with many articles of business, gold, silver and precious jewels, he
also carried the gopi-chandan blocks in his ship. The sailor travelled
towards south India along the west coast and reached near the village
named Malpe, which is situated very near Udupi. There the ship was
caught in the great sea-storm and being carried away by heavy winds and
waves, the ship struck a rock and started to sink.<br />
<br />
One of the most prominent spiritual leader of that time, Shripad
Madhvacharya was engaged in meditation near Malpe. Madhvacharya is an
incarnation of Mukhya Prana or Vayu who is the demigod in charge of
controlling the air. Madhvacharya felt the presence of Lord nearby and
by his mystic ability he came to know about the sinking ship struggling
in the storm. By using his mystic powers, he stopped the ship from
sinking further and brought it to the shore. <br />
<br />
The sailor and crew very much appreciated the help given by
Madhvacharya and asked him to take any of the precious items they had
brought in their ship. Madhvacharya told the sailor that he would like
to take some of the gopi-chandan because it was an item of daily use for
him and his disciples. Out of many blocks, Madhvacharya chose two in
which Lord's deities were present. Sailor happily handed over the
gopi-chandan to Madhvacharya. Madhvacharya then obtained the deities
from the gopi-chandan. He installed Lord Balaram in the Vada Pandeshwara
village near Malpe beach and Lord Krishna in Udupi near the
Chandramoulishwara shrine. To this day, Lord Krishna and Balaram reside
in these places to bestow their blessings upon pilgrims and devotees.<br />
<br />
In 15th century AD, when Lord Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu visited this
temple, He became completely ecstatic upon seeing Lord Shri Krishna.<br />
<br />
In 16th century AD, a devotee of Lord called Kanakadas came to Udupi
to see Lord Krishna. Priests of the temple did not allow Kanakadas to
see Lord Krishna because he was born in lower cast family. Although
prohibited from going inside the temple, Kanakadas still strongly
desired to see and worship Lord Krishna. So Krishna Himself made hole in
the wall of the temple and turned around 180 degrees to see His devotee
Kanakadas. This act of Lord Krishna shows us that Krishna is always
merciful and protective to His devotees irrespective of their cast,
creed, color or nationality. It also shows that Krishna's deity is not
just a piece of stone, wood or metal. Krishna's deity is Lord Krishna
Himself. The hole which Krishna made in the wall became famous as
Kanakana Kindi (Window of Kanakadas). A statue of Kanakadas is installed
just in front of Kanakana Kindi. Till this day, aspiring devotees of
Lord Krishna take darshan of Lord through this window. Everybody,
including westerners, is allowed to see Lord Krishna.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The Temple</b></div>
<br />
Inside the temple of Udupi Krishna, we see several altars, but the main
one is Madhvacharya's deity of Lord Krishna. The standing deity of Lord
Krishna shows Him holding the churning rod in right hand and a rope in
the left. His red and round lips spread a very beautiful smile on His
face. The eyes of Lord are very much captivating as if the Lord is
saying something through His eyes. If someone just holds on to those
eyes, he cannot move away for a while. <br />
<br />
Another altar is of four-armed standing Vishnu deity. The shrine of
Shripad Madhvacharya is situated next to the sanctum. The silver seat
used by Madhvacharya is held most sacred. The temple is quite spacious,
having a extraordinarily beautiful water lake called Madhva Sarovar. The
temple also has a very big hall for spiritual food distribution where
thousands of people are fed everyday free of cost.<br />
<br />
The temple celebrates a unique festival twice a month on Ekadashi
days and on few other special days. During the festival, the deities are
brought out to ride on very tall and artistically made carts that are
pulled by people through the streets. Temple elephant also joins the
procession. On the back of elephant, temple priests stand and fan the
deities using two big whisk fans, one in each hand. This festival is
very fascinating scene and it is the best time to visit Udupi.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Important Nearby Places</b></div>
<br />
Just outside Krishna temple, one can find Lord Ananteshwara's temple.
Madhvacharya used to deliver spiritual discourses in this temple. This
temple is a house of Lord Anant-Padmanabh (Vishnu). It is very unusual
temple because Lord Anant-Padmanabh is situated in this temple in the
form of Linga. This Linga is about six feet high and devotees can see
Lord's face covering the Linga.<br />
<br />
The temple of Lord Balaram established by Madhvacharya is situated
in Malpe and it is walk-able distance from Malpe beach. It is very
spacious and peaceful temple. Generally it is not at all crowded and one
can see Lord Balaram very nicely. Unlike Krishna's temple, this temple
closes by 7 pm in evening. <br />
<br />
Birthplace of Madhvacharya known as Pajaka-kshetra is situated at 12
km in the south-east direction from Udupi. Here we can see
Madhvacharya's house, Madhvacharya's family deity, the temple of
Madhvacharya and several places of his wonderful childhood miracles.
There are many other holy places in Pajaka-kshetra which include four
holy water ponds created by Lord Parashuram and a temple of Goddess
Mahalakshmi established by Lord Parashuram in very ancient times.</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Travel</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Udupi is easily accessible by private and government buses from
Mangalore, Surathkal and Bangalore as well. From Bangalore, there are
many buses leaving from Majestic everyday. Bus takes about 10 hours to
reach Udupi. Alternatively one can take a train from Bangalore to
Mangalore or Surathkal and then take bus to Udupi there-onwards.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<b>Our Pilgrimage and Conclusion</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
We were planning to visit the holy land of Udupi for many months but
somehow could not do so. First opportunity to visit Udupi came to us
when one of our friend staying at NITK invited us. During our first
visit we had a very nice darshan of Lord Krishna several times. It was a
very satisfying trip but we could not visit other spiritually
significant places in Udupi. Second opportunity suddenly appeared when
devotees at Bhaktivedanta Institute, Bangalore invited us for Udupi
pilgrimage under the leadership of His Holiness Subhag Swami Maharaj. We
immediately grabbed this rare opportunity to visit such a holy place
with such a wonderful association of devotees of Lord Krishna. <br />
<br />
We left Bangalore in bus on Friday night of 10 May 2013. On first
day in Udupi, we visited Krishna temple and had a very beautiful darshan
of Lord. We had brought all necessary paraphernalia like Mridanga,
Kartal for performing sankirtan. So wherever we went we chanted Lord's
glories. We took prasad in Krishna temple itself. <br />
<br />
The hotel in which we were staying was situated near Malpe beach. In
the evening, all the devotees went to Malpe beach and performed
ecstatic kirtan on the beach itself. In night, we could spend some time
alone on beach thinking about the purpose of our life.<br />
<br />
On second day we went to Pajaka-kshetra and visited Madhvacharya's
birthplace. This was very interesting visit because we could see many
places where Madhvacharya performed miracles in his childhood. Then we
came back to Udupi and took darshan of Lord Krishna again. We also
attended a spiritual discourse by His Holiness Subhag Swami Maharaj. In
evening we visited the temple of Lord Balaram established by
Madhvacharya. After taking Lord Balaram's blessings, we took a bus
heading back to Bangalore.<br />
<br />
Due to a wonderful association of devotees, our whole pilgrimage was
full of activities like singing Lord Krishna's holy names, taking
prasad and hearing words of spiritual instruction from spiritually
advanced souls. It was full of happiness and success.<br />
<br />
Visiting holy places is one the main activity for those who wish to
progress in their spiritual life. Both scriptures and great spiritual
teachers have advised us to take advantage of these holy places. Udupi
is one of the most important holy place because the supreme personality
Krishna and His ardent devotee Madhva have chosen it to be their place
of residence. <br />
<br />
We authors consider ourselves very fallen souls of this dark age of
Kali. In this age human memory, life span and finer sentiments will
gradually decrease due to vicious human habits. In such a situation,
taking shelter of holy name and holy places of Lord in the association
of devotees is the only ray of hope for our well-being. <br />
<br />
Writing this article is our minute effort to glorify Lord Krishna so
that we may make a little spiritual progress. Somehow by Krishna's
mercy, if this article helps readers in some way or the other, then we
will consider it to be our success. Govinda.</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Acknowledgements</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
We are very much thankful to the members of Bhaktivedanta Institute,
Bangalore for arranging a wonderful pilgrimage to Udupi. We also thank
Dr. Arulalan, Bharat, Deep and Kiran of NITK for their hospitality
during our first visit to Udupi. We express our thanks to following
reviewers for giving us valuable suggestions to improve this article.<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Mr. Sudeep Joshi, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.</li>
<li>Mr. Jayanarayan Tudu, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.</li>
<li>Mr. Rishikesh Kulkarni, EPFL, Switzerland.</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We thank our friend Tamilarasan for providing us pictures from his
camera. We also thank many other known and unknown persons who helped us
in our spiritual adventure.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<b>References</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Madhva Vijay (A historical account of life and teachings of Shripad
Madhvacharya), Shri Narayana Panditacharya. You can request pdf of this
book by writing us email at hrishikeshsonalikar@gmail.com.</li>
<li>Spiritual India Handbook, Stephen Knapp, Jaico Publishing House, 2011, page 253.</li>
<li>Krishna The Supreme Personality of Godhead, A C Bhaktivedanta Swami, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 1970.</li>
<li>Bhagavad Geeta As It Is, A C Bhaktivedanta Swami, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 1972. </li>
</ul>
Authors:<br />
Hrishikesh Sonalikar<br />
Nagraj Swami <br />
<ul>
</ul>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2