LEKHANAGALLU

Divya Desam Diary

The Veeranam tank in Tamil Nadu stands witness to history.

It was constructed by Rajaditya Chola more than 1000 years ago. This great warrior was the son of Parantaka Chola (907 - 955 AD). The Rashtrakuta king, Krishna III invaded the Chola country during the second quarter of the tenth century. Rajaditya Chola mustered a huge army and moved northward. However, the enemy did not turn up. Therefore, the Chola army was deployed in the interest of the nation. They created the huge Veeranam water tank for the farmers of the region. This tank was first named as Veera Narayana Eri. Parantaka Chola was also known as Veera Narayana. Lord Vishnu resided near the tank under the same name - Veera Narayana.

The first Vaishnavaite Acharya, Nathamuni and his grandson, Alavandar (Yamunacharya) belonged to this village. Nathamuni had heard a few devotees sing a few wonderful Tamil songs and he wanted to get the full collection. He went over to Alwar Thirunagari and sought blessings at the shrine of Nammalwar. The Saint blessed him with the complete Divya Prabhandam which was also known as Dravida Vedam. This was sung by the twelve Alwars who lived over several centuries. The 4000 chaste Tamil verses formed the part of the same. These verses were composed and sung in the shrines of Lord Narayana in 108 sacred centres. The temples, thus, sanctified came to be known as 'Divya Desams'. Saint Ramanujacharya (1017 - 1137 AD) codified the scriptures, wrote a treatise for the Brahmasutra and listed these temples.

The unique 105 temples are in India and 1 (Muktinath) is in Nepal. The other 2 are Thiruparkadal (Milk Ocean) and Thiruparamapadam (Vaikuntam). The Lord promises both, 107 & 108, if the devotee has visited all the 106 in the Planet Earth. Several Bhagavatas (devotees of Lord Vishnu) visit all the Divya Desams in order to reach the Holy Feet of Lord Narayana. They take it upon as the goal of a life time. Modern technology and travel logistics have made it easier these days. 'Vainava Chudarazhi', A. Ethirajan of Karaikudi has written a book on these 108 Divya Desams. This book is qualitative guide for the seeker. Religious tourism could be promoted with the aid of such books. Several devotees have been visiting these temples over the centuries and some of them have chronicled their visits.

Gayathri Balaji had recently visited 105 of them and had created an interesting travelogue. This travelogue contained notes in both - Tamil and English. Photographs, paper cuttings and drawings were embedded within. She had to face her own challenges and considered the grace of God to be paramount for such programmes. She had used old invitation cards on the wrapper of her 'Divya Desam Dairy'. She had done a 'Chardham' trip and her Divya Desam visit began with that. She had stayed at Badrinath, one of the Divya Desams. Subsequently, she was blessed with a visit to the Raghunathji Temple in Devaprayag. One had to access the same by climbing 108 steps.

The chronicler noted that she was pleasantly surprised to see the Tamil Divya Prabandham painted on the walls of the shrine. She had used the book by A. Ethirajan in order to learn more about these shrines. Gayathri was at times accompanied by her friends or her husband during her visits. She had to fly or go by train or car in order to do her pilgrimage. Of course, a lot of time was consumed walking or while climbing steps in places like Sholingur. One was supposed to spend more than 30 minutes in order to attain moksha (liberation) and the chronicler spent that much time in the shrine of Yoga Narasimha in Sholingur.

The pilgrim was greatly devoted to Chandrashekharendra Saraswathi Sankaracharya of Kanchipuram and had sought his divine blessings too by visiting the Mutt. Few Jyotirlinga Kshethrams like Somnath became a part of the tour. She had visited Kailash-Mansarovar during the same period. A number of friends had helped her with travel plans and accommodation. She had recited the Vishnu Sahasranamam, Lalitha Sahasranamam and also the complete Narayaneeyam by Narayana Bhattadri during her sojourns.

A Thulabaram (One weighs oneself on a manual weighing scale against an offering and it is offered to the deity in the shrine) was performed during the trips. The chronicler was once running late to the airport and was getting worried. By that time, she saw a lorry with a conch and discus painted on its back whizzing by. This gave her the hope. The visit took place properly. Nava Tirupathi in Tirunelveli was a part of the Divya Desam tour. But people do not visit the nearby Nava Kailash Temples. Our chronicler visited those shrines during her trip. A visit to Ucchi Pillaiyar and Thayumanavar in Trichy had also taken place. "My mother used to recite 12 names of Lord Narayana and she used to say that it was equivalent to chanting the entire Vishnu Sahasranamam. Bheeshmacharya used to chant 24 names of the Lord. I got this list too and it was helpful. Visits to Thiruparankundram, Pazhamudhircholai and Noopura Gangai (Madurai) became a part of my programme. I visited Yanai Malai too," stated the pilgrim.

Gayathri had noted points connected with the Thirukannapuram Souriraja Perumal Temple. The Muniyodaran Pongal here is a speciality. Similarly, were Appakoduthan and the offerings made there. We would also learn that our sins are driven away after a visit to the Sowmya Narayana Perumal Temple at Thirukoshitiyur. Gayathri Balaji had used a doli during her visit to the Ahobilam Nava Naraimha Temples. Her bearer was one, Narasimhan! She had recited the Vinayagar Agaval at the Palavangadu Ganapathy Temple. The Varkala Janardhanaswamy Temple and Kodungallur Bhagavathi was also covered.

The chronicler stated that the Aranmula Temple was connected with Arjuna, the Pandava and the other places in Kerala had stories connected with the other 4 Pandavas. The Thiruthangal Nindra Narayana Perumal was the spot were Aniruddha, the grandson of Lord Krishna got married to Usha. The Srivilliputtur Andal Temple Gopuram (Temple tower) is our Tamil Nadu’s State symbol. The devotee had recited the powerful 'Mantra Raja Pada Stothram' (supposed to be the king among prayers and it is on Lord Narasimha) during her pilgrimage. The Jeer of Ahobilam had been present during her visit.

Visits to far of Dwaraka, Ayodhya, Naimisharanyam were also done. We would get to learn through the chronicles that 88,000 sages had performed Yagnyas at Naimisharanyam and also that the 'Sathyanarayana Vrat' had begun from this holy location. Saint Veda Vyasa had given us the 'Brahmasutram' (primary text of the Hindus) from Naimisharanyam. The Vyasa Gaddi was here. The visit to Dwaraka in Gujarat was also an opportunity to see the 'Statue of Unity' (Statue of Sardar Vallabhai Patel) in Gujarat. The pilgrims had also visited 'Kirti Mandir', the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi. They got to see a full Rainbow during this Divya Desam trail. Gayathri Balaji talked about the heavily guarded Ramjanmabhoomi. She had added notes about the Zodiac connected shrines in her lengthy and interesting travelogue. The interesting ghee story also formed the part of the travel story.

The chronicler talked about the small blessings in some form or the other during her trips. A paper cutting, or a good guide or the opening up of a shrine which would have been closed, were part of these blessings. She stated that it was the hand of God which guided her during the entire pilgrimage programme. Her pursuit had been to see the deities in the sacred locations.

Well, we get to know about Thirunangur and its connection with the sacred shrines of the north. The Divya Desams of Thirunangur are said to be representing their northern counterparts like Badri. The Thirunangur Divya Desams are connected with Thirumangai Alwar. The pilgrim had visited the Guruvayoor Sri Krishna Temple during her visit to the 'Malai Nattu Divya Desams' (Kerala). The travelogue is a real treasure. It is embedded with not just photos which have a picture of a tree with a conch on it, but also a twig which resembles a Namam (holy mark of the Vaishnavaites). Gayathri Balaji is looking forward to visit Mukthinath in Nepal shortly. A visit to this will help her complete her Divya Desam pilgrimage.

The travel experience of the chronicler, Gayathri will surely motivate others to not just undertake such visits but also share gems connected our Bharatiya heritage to one and all.