Tiruvaiyaru visit 24 07 2013 PANCHANATHEESWARAR - SAINT THIAGARAJA

TIRUVAIYARU  -  PANCHANATHEESWARAR  - SAINT THIAGARAJAVisit on 24 07 2013

                                         PANCHANATHEESWARAR AND DHARMASAMVARTHINI

Having come to tiruchy on 23 07 2013 from Bangalore, after completing my work at Tiruchy, I went to Thanjavur on 23 07 evening and stayed there to enable visiting Tiruvaiyaru early morning on 24 07 2013.   I left by a town bus from Thanjavur early morning itself at 05.10 hours and reached Tiruvaiyaru at 05.40 hours.   The temple of Panchanatheeswarar normally opens at 6 AM, I went to take a bath in River Cauvery in the padithurai with a mandapam   opposite to Atkondar or Kalasamharamurthy sannidhi.  I was told and also heard in the news that the water had been released from Mettur and subsequently has reached Tirukatupalli.   But there was no water in the river and arrangements exist in the mandapam with a borewell on the banks of the river, with facilities to take bath there on payment of a nominal fee of Rs.5/-.   

Thiruvaiyaru means Five Rivers around the city. The Five Rivers are Arisilaaru, Vennaaru, Vettaaru, Kudamuruttiyaaru and Kaaviriyaaru. Panchanatheeswarar temple or Ayyarappar temple is a massive one, built in 60000 sq metres and has 5 prakarams. The Tiruvaiyaru temple has also a shrine for Aatkondar or Kalasamharamoorthy. A Homa Kund started by saint Adi Sankara is outside the shrine of Aatkonda. While the lord is known as Panchanatheeswarar or Ayyarappar, his consort is known as Dharmasamvarthini.

The story of how the temple came into being is an interesting one. A king's chariot once got embedded in the ground. While digging around the wheels of the chariot to get it out, they chanced upon a lingam.   A wise minister advised them to dig further  and they were rewarded for their efforts with the idols of the goddess Dharmasamvardhini, Vinayaka, Muruga, and also a Nandi. To top it all, they also found a Siddhar (saint) deep in meditation underground. The saint advised the king to build a temple at the same place, and also told him to dig under the hoofs of the Nandi where he would find the wealth needed for building the temple. This Shivasthalam is one of the 6 most sacred places on the banks of river Cauvery which is considered as equivalent to the temple at Varanasi. The other 5 shivasthalams are Tiruvenkaadu, Tiruchaaikkadu (Chaayaavanam), Mayiladuthurai, Tiruvidaimarudur and Tiruvanchiam. Tiruvaiyaru is one of the big and famous temple for God Shiva and is known as Dakshina Kailasam.

TIRUVANNAMALAI VISIT AND GIRIVALAM 22 07 2013

TIRUVANNAMAI VISIT AND GIRIVALAM  22 07 2013

I had earlier planned to go to Tiruchirapalli on 23rd and 24th July and hence thought why not I go on Girivalam at Tiruvannamalai on 22nd being Pournami or full moon day.   Hence started from Bangalore on 21st night and reached Tiruvannamalai at 03.45 hours.   After  getting settled in a hotel near Thiruvannmalai temple, after taking bath and getting ready, I started at 05.00 hours itself to the main Rajagopuram of Tiruvannamalai temple.  After prayers to Arunachaleswarar from outside the temple and offering camphor in the agnikundam in front of the temple, I set for the first of the girivalam temple, the Indra linga which is nearby the main arunachaleswarar temple on the southern side.   Then walked 2 kms to Agni lingam and from there to the Yema lingam. This completed the  first 4 kms from arunachala temple and was a difficult stretch to walk barefoot.   The metal road from here is a newly laid one with an excellent side walk, tiled fully and stretches to about 7 kms,  wherein the following other lingams in the girivalam are seen - in order - Nrithi lingam, varuna lingam, vayu lingam, surya lingam, chandra lingam, kubera lingam and Esanya lingam.  Between Kubera lingam and esanya lingam temples, the Idukku pillaiyar temple is situated.   You can see on the girivalam path itself, the Ramanshramam, Seshadri swamigals adhistanam, Ramalinga swamigal jyothi nilayam, Raghavendra mutt etc.,   then again another 3 kms stretch on the roads of the town, to complete the valam and to reach the Rajagopuram of Arunachaleswarar temple, thus completing the walk of 14 kms.   An able bodied youth can cover the entire distance between 31/2 and 4 hours duly having darshan along the way all the lingams and the temples of Neerannamalai, Veeraanjaneyar, Murugan and Idukku pillaiyar. 

                   I was able to cover the first 4 kms in 1hr and 40 min duly having darshan at Indra, agni and yema lingams.  However small pebbles and stones injured the barefoot and thus my speed got reduced as I covered the next 6 kms in 3 hr and 20 min duly resting at intervals,  having darshan at Nrithi lingam, vayu lingam, varuna lingam, surya lingam and chandra lingam and also the temples of Nerannamalai,  Veera anjaneyar and Murugan and also having prasadams offered in the early morning poojas at two of the temples.
Thus I started at 5 AM in the morning and finished darshan at Chandra lingam temple at 10 AM and further I had to cover Kubera and Esanya lingams and the stretch of 3 kms further.   As I was finding it difficult to walk further with barefoot, I engaged an auto from here and had darshan at Kubera and Esanya lingam temples and also Idukku Pillaiyar temple.  I reached the main Rajagopuram at 10.40 hours and joined the queue with entrance fee of Rs.50/-  and had darshan of Arunachaleswarar and Unnamulai amman and came out of the temple at 12.55 hrs.
                  Again went to Ramanashramam, but the library opens at 2 pm only and thus returned back to the hotel and then proceeded to Tiruchirapalli by road.  There is a free darshan and also a darshan with Rs.20/- entrance fee in this temple.  The temple timings are: 
Morning
5:00 amTemple Opening Time 5:30 am Gomatha Pooja 6:00 am Oudshakala Pooja 8:30 am  Early Sathi Pooja   

Noon

11:00 amMidnoon Pooja 12:30 pmTemple Closing Time 3:30 pmTemple Opening Time 6:00 pm   Sayaratchai pooja   

Night

7:30 pm  2nd Kala Pooja 9:00 pm Arthajama Pooja 9:30 pm  Temple Closing Time   

The photographs have been taken from cellphone camera.

I went to Tiruvaiyaru on 24 7 2013 before returning to Bangalore.

Dr. Shuddhananda Bharati 11th May 1897 - 7th March 1990

SUDDHANANDA BHARATHI

POET, THINKER, WRITER, YOGI AND NATIONALIST

Suddhananda Bharati was a poet, thinker, writer, yogi and nationalist. He was born on 11th May 1897 to an educated, devout and affluent Telugu Brahmin family who lived in Tamil Nadu. His father Jatadhara Iyer was a lawyer and his mother Kamakshi also came from a well-to-do and well-educated family. His parents named him Venkata Subrahmaniam.

Suddhananda was drawn to spirituality and devotion from an early age. His maternal great-uncle Purnanandha taught him yoga. It is said that his gift for poetry and words was a blessing he received when he was eight years old. After meditation at the Chidambaram temple, he is said to have spontaneously burst in song. That song was ‘Eppadi Padinaro’. This was a start of a long literary career.

A yogi, bhakta, composer, scholar, and freedom fighter, he composed narrative poems and kritis in Tamil that were impassioned and sincere. His stature was great yet he praised composers and those before him while he fought for India's freedom and peace. He said, "May the curse of separatism abate. May our thoughts be lofty, our moral high and may truth prevail everlastingly". The Yogi wrote several hundred works in English, French, Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Sanskrit; five thousand songs, and fifteen hundred poems in French. The magnum opus of the man conscious of the presence of God in him, Bharata Shakti, (in 50,000 verses) described his ideal: only One Humanity living in communion with only One God in a transformed world! Bharata Shakti is a monumental and unique work. The Yogi depicts the essence of all the religions, of all the prophets and saints, all the approaches of Yoga and all the cultures on an allegorical fabric. It is a book for any age which all spiritual researchers and all nations should read and meditate on.

His mantra, “Aum Shuddha Shakthi Aum” nourishes our soles and guides our steps toward the inner joy Ananda.   The light of Grace and power of the pure Supreme Almighty bless us of peace, happiness and prosperity!  He is also the creator and founder of Sama Yoga (Sama Yoga is a fusion of all the old techniques of Yoga for a healthy and natural harmonization of the body and spirit).   Even when he was 90 years old, when asked what was your age, he replied "Courage".   

Veda Sadhanam, the voice of ancient sages has been compiled and translated with notes by Kavi Yogi Suddhananda Bharati. Ramana Vijayam is a book of lifes and teachings of Bhagvan Sree Ramana Maharishi in poetic words of Suddhanandha Bharathi.  Smt. D. K. Pattammal popularised his song "Eppadi Padinaro" by singing in all her concerts.

His book "Experiences of a Pilgrim Soul" was a masterpiece and true from a yogi of his calbre.  He said on visiting the samadhi of Thiagaraja, that the Saint was in direct communication with his "Ishta-Devatha Lord Rama.  He had intimate association with the Tamil Scholar and veteran freedom fighter V V S Iyer and also with S. Srinivasa Iyengar and S. Sathyamurthy.

In Aurobindho Ashram he took a vow of silence and maintained it for 20 years and he wrote many of his work during this time.   When he broke his silence, he travelled across the country giving discourses.

His mantra, “Aum Shuddha Shakthi Aum” nourishes our soles and guides our steps toward the inner joy Ananda.   The light of Grace and power of the pure Supreme Almighty bless us of peace, happiness and prosperity!

He propogated Sama Yoga, the yoga of equality.   He believed it is the synthesis of Yoga and Science which will take mankind ahead.  He established yoga centres and a school in Sholapuram, where he lived finally and passed away on 7th March 1990.   A prolific writer, there were many works of him published.  He was given Honorary Doctor award by the Tamil University at Thanjavur in the year 1984.  The title Suddhananda was given to him by his friend Jnana Siddha.  The Sankaracharya of Sringeri conferred on him the title of Maharishi and also gave the name of Kavi Yogi Bharati Sivananda.

Some of his works are:
Experiences of a pilgrim soul
Yoga siddhi
Keerthananjali
Melaraagamaalai
Soviet Geethanjali
Sree Aurabindo yoga deepigai
Perinbam
Gnani Emerson
Bharatha Sakthi Maha Kaviyam
Dhyaana Saadhanam


Edited on 4th January 2016 with addition on veda sadhanam and his mantra.  Edited on 18th September 2016 with additional information of his works and titles.