SRIDHARA VENKATESA AYYAVAL
My Facebook posting of 10 12 2015
Prayers to Sree Sridhara Venkatesa Ayyaval this Guruvar, thursday to spread bhakthi and thus people to live in peace and happiness. Tomorrow, the 11th December 2015 is the Gangakarshanam at Tiruvisainallur.
Salutations to Sri Ayyaval
ईशे तस्य च नामनि प्रविमलं ज्ञानं तयोरूर्जितं
प्रेम प्रेम च तत्परेषु विरतिश्चान्यत्र सर्वत्र च ।
ईशेक्षा करुणा च यस्य नियता वृत्तिः श्रितस्यापि यं
तं वन्दे नररूपमन्तकरिपुं श्रीवेङ्कटेशं गुरुम् ॥
प्रेम प्रेम च तत्परेषु विरतिश्चान्यत्र सर्वत्र च ।
ईशेक्षा करुणा च यस्य नियता वृत्तिः श्रितस्यापि यं
तं वन्दे नररूपमन्तकरिपुं श्रीवेङ्कटेशं गुरुम् ॥
Meaning:
I bow down to my preceptor, Sri Venkatesha, who is verily Lord Shiva in human form. Pristine knowledge of the Lord and his holy names; fixed, unbounded devotion towards them; and also affection towards devotees; absence of attachment towards everything else; grace and compassion of the lord - all these can be attained by taking refuge in him.
Referred as Ayyaval, Sree Sridhara Venkatesa Ayyaval was born in Mysore and his father Lingaraya was a Minister in the court of Mysore. His father was a great scholar in shastras and Ayyaval studied Vedas at a very young age. He was married to one Sow. Lakshmi. On the death of his father, when the Maharaja offered the Diwan post, he did not take it and instead took to Uncharviruti to sing the praise of the Lord. After a while he moved down south and for sometime he styaed in Tiruchirapalli and Thanjavur. At Tiruchirapalli, a group of vaishnavites tested him by asking Mathrubutheswarar be dressed as Krishna and Ayyaval sang Krishna Dwadasa Manjari and obliged them. He also composed a hymn called "Taaraavali" in praise of Lord Siva, to bring back to life of a child of a brahmin couple.
King Shahaji ruled Thanjavur when Ayyaval reached there. Ayyaval wanted to be in a serene place to follow the path of Bhakthi and thus reached Tiruvisanallur, close to Thirunthuthevangudi on the banks of the river cauvery. King Shahaji developed this village in honour of the vedhic brahmins of that place. Soon Ayyaval earned the respect of the people there due to his devotion and knowledge on vedas. King Shahaji took him as Diwan.
On request of the King Shahaji, Ayyaval composed a Sanskrit Dictionary known as "Padamani Manjari'. He also composed 'Shahaji Rajacharitram' a biography on the King.
I bow down to my preceptor, Sri Venkatesha, who is verily Lord Shiva in human form. Pristine knowledge of the Lord and his holy names; fixed, unbounded devotion towards them; and also affection towards devotees; absence of attachment towards everything else; grace and compassion of the lord - all these can be attained by taking refuge in him.
Referred as Ayyaval, Sree Sridhara Venkatesa Ayyaval was born in Mysore and his father Lingaraya was a Minister in the court of Mysore. His father was a great scholar in shastras and Ayyaval studied Vedas at a very young age. He was married to one Sow. Lakshmi. On the death of his father, when the Maharaja offered the Diwan post, he did not take it and instead took to Uncharviruti to sing the praise of the Lord. After a while he moved down south and for sometime he styaed in Tiruchirapalli and Thanjavur. At Tiruchirapalli, a group of vaishnavites tested him by asking Mathrubutheswarar be dressed as Krishna and Ayyaval sang Krishna Dwadasa Manjari and obliged them. He also composed a hymn called "Taaraavali" in praise of Lord Siva, to bring back to life of a child of a brahmin couple.
King Shahaji ruled Thanjavur when Ayyaval reached there. Ayyaval wanted to be in a serene place to follow the path of Bhakthi and thus reached Tiruvisanallur, close to Thirunthuthevangudi on the banks of the river cauvery. King Shahaji developed this village in honour of the vedhic brahmins of that place. Soon Ayyaval earned the respect of the people there due to his devotion and knowledge on vedas. King Shahaji took him as Diwan.
On request of the King Shahaji, Ayyaval composed a Sanskrit Dictionary known as "Padamani Manjari'. He also composed 'Shahaji Rajacharitram' a biography on the King.
Sridhara
Venkatesa, is one of the pioneers of Nama Sankeertanam movement in the
South. He is considered as one of the trinity of Dakshina Bharatha Sampradaya
Naama Sankeertanam, the other two being Sri Bodhendra Saraswathi and
Marudhanallur Sathguruswamy. While in Tiruvisainallur, Ayyaval brought Gangamatha
in his well on Karthikai month New Moon day and hence that day people gather at
Tiruvisainallur to have bath in that well known as Gangakarshanam.
It
is said that he merged with the Lord Mahalingam of Thiruvidaimaruthur when he
was 85.
(More
info on Ayyaval at: http://www.sriayyaval.org/
Updated
on 23rd June 2016:
Some
people around him thought he was leaning in Bhakthi more towards Lord Siva than
Lord Vishnu and they told the king about that. The king ordered the temple
priest to dress Sree Madhrubootheswarar as Krishna while taking the Lord in
procession. When the procession was passing his house he was in trance
and deep meditation on Lord Siva. But he hurriedly came out to have darshan of
the Lord and finding Sree Krishna and thus prayed to him with the wish when he
would meditate on his Lotus feet, to know the transitory nature of this world -
by being humble, by knowing my deficiencies, by being compassionate towards all
living beings and also turn a blind eye on other people's faults - He thus
composed "Krishna Dwadasa Manjari"- He did not hesitate to mention
that Lord Krishna's vision was not easy even for Lord Siva himself.
Knowing
this, the King was happy to note the true devotion and bhakthi of Sree
Ayyaaval. People who induced the King to test Sree Ayyavaal too,
prostrated before Ayyavaal apologising for their ignorance.
Gangagarshanam at the house of Sridhara Ayyaval:
On a Karthigai Amavasya day, when a hungry dalit asked for food, Ayyaval fed him and that also happened to be the day of Srartha, Ayyaval had to perform. The Brahmins refused to conduct the Srartha ceremony and they told he could get prayachitha only by bathing in Ganges. As the srartha had to be performed on that day and he could not go the Kasi and had the bath too on the same day, he fervently prayed to Lord Siva and recited Gangaashtakam and Ganges flowed out of his well. Even today people throng to his house at Tiruvisainallur and take bath in the well of his house during Karthigai Amavasya. The well can seen in the picture.
Gangagarshanam at the house of Sridhara Ayyaval:
On a Karthigai Amavasya day, when a hungry dalit asked for food, Ayyaval fed him and that also happened to be the day of Srartha, Ayyaval had to perform. The Brahmins refused to conduct the Srartha ceremony and they told he could get prayachitha only by bathing in Ganges. As the srartha had to be performed on that day and he could not go the Kasi and had the bath too on the same day, he fervently prayed to Lord Siva and recited Gangaashtakam and Ganges flowed out of his well. Even today people throng to his house at Tiruvisainallur and take bath in the well of his house during Karthigai Amavasya. The well can seen in the picture.
