mangai madam true s

Mangai Madam Thiru Mangai Azhvaar Temple

Bhattar of Annan Perumal Koil

 

Mangai Madam Veera Narasimha temple, one of the Pancha Narasimha temples of Thiru Nangur and a location where Thiru Mangai Azhvaar had performed the Thathiyeeraadhanai for 1008 Vaishnavites as per the condition laid by his beloved Kumuduvalli Nachiyar of Annan Perumal Koil.

Mangaimadam Veera Narasimhar Temple is believed to be around 1000 years old. This is located in the small city of Poompuhar in the state of Tamil Nadu. The presiding deity is Narasimhar who is sometimes also referred to as Veerum and hence the name of the temple Veera Barasimhar. This is a unique temple which attracts thousands of devotees all year round.

HISTORY

Historians believe that long back there was a king of Thiruvalli, known as Thirumangai Mannab back in the period of Chola’s. He was a very benevolent king who was known for its goodness. He was a very big devotee of Lord Vishnu and wanted to adopt Vasihnavism. In order to achieve the same, he decided to offer special food called the Thathiyaaraadhanai to about thousands of people for about a year. This was his way of showing devotion towards the lord. The lord was pleased with this gesture and thus blessed him with a beautiful wife Kumudhavalli. After marrying her and attaining Vaishnavism in the place of Mangaimadam, the king decided to build a huge and magnificent temple in the same spot.

IMPORTANCE/SIGNIFICANCE

This temple is a part of the 108 divyadeshams devoted to Lord Vishnu and besides that, it is additionally prominent in the series of Narasimha Kshetrams which are five in number. Five Narasimhas are situated in five areas and the last shape Lakshmi Narasimha is set in this temple. People come here abroad to look for blessings for marriage, youngsters, wellbeing, and riches. It is extremely devout to hold ceremonies on Thursdays by offering diya.

A unique fact about the temple is that this forms the last in the series of Panch Narasimha Kshetrams which are shrines located to Lord Narasimha, all situated in the south of India. Further, legends unfold the story that Goddess Lakshmi was found on a lotus which has been marked here with her idol. A lotus always flowers at the very spot even without water and this is considered to be a miracle of Goddess. The architecture of the temple is again unique in its sculpture, design and the way the shrines encompass the idols of the lord.

 

 

Hari Sundar, son of Vasan Bhattar  

However, when he turned 15, Hari Sundar decided to continue the hereditary service and perform aradhana to the Lord at this Divya Desam. So he left for Srirangam to get enrolled in the patasala run by Velukudi Krishnan. For a decade, he learnt Nalayira Divya Prabhandham, Pancharatra Agama and also acquired a degree in Sanskrit. Much against the ‘advice’ of his friends, who thought he was taking a huge risk, he quit a lucrative career and moved to Therazhundur to join his father in temple service. There was no salary for it was the view of the HR & CE that without sufficient income from the temple, it would be difficult for them to pay the Bhattars.

It has now been three years since he started performing full-fledged service at the temple as a Bhattar depending on ‘Thattu’ Kaasu. And he has also found a bride, who despite living in Mumbai for 20 years, happily agreed to relocate to the remote temple town of Therazhundur. When Vasan Bhattar entered temple service as a full-fledged priest, the then chief priest told him: “Every time you enter the Sanctum, remember that you have been chosen among crores of people in India to perform puja and feed the Lord at this Divya Desam.” He repeated this to Hari Sundar, who draws inspiration from these words.

In Mangai Matam

Balaji Bhattar was just 20 when he returned to Mangai Madam to take up service at the Veera Narasimha temple, one of the Pancha Narasimha temples around Thiru Nangur.

 

Balaji Bhattar at Mangai Matam  

The temple, where Thirumangai Azhwar performed Thadhiyaradhanai for 1,008 Vaishnavites to please Kumudavalli Nachyar, was lying in a state of disrepair.

When Balaji Bhattar came back after completing his Vedic and Agama training, he began the process of restoring the temple, which meant work from the scratch.

After his initial schooling in Nangur, Balaji Bhattar came to Mylapore, Chennai, to learn the Vedas. He was initiated into the agamas by Lakshmana Dikshitar of Parthan Palli Divya Desam. Balaji Bhattar then took charge of the temple and has also revived many Utsavams including the Brahmotsavam. He succeeded in getting the devotees involved in the temple’s activities. A step in this direction was making the temple a part of the Nangur Divya Desam trip.

In a decade, Balaji Bhattar has proved that with hard work, devotion and dedication life is not so gloomy for a priest.

At Tyagarajar temple

 

Somaskanda Sivacharyar at Tiruvarur Tyagarajar temple  

G. Somaskandar Sivacharyar (33) belongs to the family that has been performing pujas at the legendary Tyagaraja temple in Tiruvarur. His grandfather was associated with the temple for over four decades, while his father for over 50 years. To repeat a story, situation changed over the decades and income for the priests dwindled, even the measure of paddy, which was give to them for service withdrawn. But Somaskandar’s father insisted that his son continue the hereditary vocation, even as most of his peers at other Thevaram Sthalams were already heading towards bigger cities.

After learning Siva Agama, Somaskamdar spent five years at a patasala in Mayiladuthurai, learning the Vedas. Right from his school days, he has been supporting his father at the shrine and hence was well-versed in the rituals. A decade ago, he took up the hereditary service at the temple full time. He did get invitations from overseas temples to serve there but he was not tempted. “Not once have I contemplated moving away from Tyagesa,” he says.

 

Kamla Malar Kannan at Thiruvellarai  

R. Kamala Malar Kannan Bhattar of Thiruvellarai Divya Desam is an engineering graduate from Sastra University. Having seen the financial challenges that his ancestors experienced, he planned to move away. But as he was completing his degree, he decided to dedicate himself to the service of Lord Pundareekakshan. Rejecting a bank job, ten years ago, he took up the hereditary temple service without a salary. Life is not easy and meeting expenses, especially regarding the education of his children, is daunting but the Bhattar is clear that he will spend the rest of his life at the Thiruvellarai temple serving the Lord.

At Thenthiruperai

The youngest in this category is 20-year-old Venkata Srinivasan, hailing from Thenthiruperai Divya Desam, who is just out of Patshala education at Madurantakam.

 

Venkata Srinivasan
 

As a school boy, he would support Ananthu Bhattar, the chief priest at the Makara Nedungkuzhaikathan temple, by carrying the torch during street processions at major utsavams. Pleased with his dedication, Ananthu Bhattar encouraged him to enter temple service. At the age of 10, he moved to Madurantakam to learn Yajur Veda, Pancharatra Agama, Sri Bashyam and Sanskrit. During a period of 10 years, he also performed kainkaryam at the madapalli in the Patasala.

The message from his Guru Annadhur Rajagopalachariar through this phase was clear “The learning should translate into developing our Sampradayam, spreading Sanskrit and most importantly taking care of your parents at their old age. Do not succumb to financial temptations and the lures of a city life.” He credits Ananthu Bhattar for constantly motivating him to return to Thenthiruperai.

Venkata Srinivasan joined Thenthiruperai in June last as an Archaka (priest) and Paricharaka (cook) for a salary of Rs. 500 a month. He is keen to spread Sanskrit among the villagers over the next decade by educating them . His parents have been a great source of strength in supporting his decision to remain in temple service as against a life in the city.

He does face financial challenge and his traditional attire and tuft may come in the way of his finding a life partner but Venkata Srinivasan considers the fulfilment he gets as the best reward.

this true story is all a few years back but the courage with which the youngsters served is commendable. What we are doing in the comfort of our homes seem so little when compared, May their tribe increase four fold.

  

trick or treat

 treat it is for us everyday.

when we become students and grand children become teachers amazing discoveries are made.

when we want to pay the vendor but our slow and the little one chips in carrying her treasure trove to offer to pay instead.

when chocolates are stolen from the fridge with our help and being assured that surely parents wont miss them.

when we are grounded for not being obedient and attentive.

when new innovative punishments are given to tide over the error.

when great love is shown saying we are blessed for having the best grandparents in the world (we imagining how small the world may be.)

everyday is a treat how long it will last God alone knows.

waking up for a new trick and treat for sure............everyday.

all the devot

 all the devotees Tirumangai alwar must have fed by diverting the money from building the ship for the king are now hell beat on creating this marvel  .With .  gold,  constructing,  about 13 feet high boat shaped temple,  in which,  *JAGAJANANI- KAALI  MAA*  is  kept today, on *GHATASTAPANA  DAY*.
Two eyes are not enough to see, her riding boat ride.
Since  we can't physically visit the place in Calcutta, let us  see her in this Video, during *NAVARATRI

Thirumangai Azhwar  another name  was  Kaliyan who was the valiant army chief of the then Chola King . The king gifted him with a small territory to rule over. Hence, he was known as Thirumangai Mannan . He was attracted to an apsara Kumudavalli , daughter of a physician and expressed his desire to marry her. Kumudavalli who appeared on this earth to transform thi s   valiant king to a bhakta, laid the condition that he should feed 1000 Srivaishnavas every day for one year . Thirumangai Mannan fulfilled her condition and continued to do so even after his marriage as he got  habituated in this wonderful kainkaryam of feeding Srivaishnavas. In due course, his wealth diminished and as Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita, when HE decides to bless HIS devotee, HE takes away wealth and enacted a divya leela. Due to his love for vaishnavas , our Azhwar resorted to stealing and plundering wealth from the rich and the egoistic and used the wealth for feeding Vaishnavas and renovating temples. Tirumangai Mannan comes to know through his friends that a newly wedded couple bedecked with costly jewellery are passing through a forest in a palanquin and if they could plunder their 

 wealth, they could continue with their cause of serving Srivaishnavas forever. So, Thirumangai Mannan along with his four friends leaves his place in the midnight , rides fast on his horse,who he calls as Aadalmaa, waylays the divine couple who are resting in a mandapam at “Thirumanankollai” and plunders their wealth and ties them in a cloth. Not being satisfied with the loot, he tries to remove the Thirumetti of Thayar with all his might and is unsuccessful. By coming in contact with Thayar’s thiruvadi, realisation dawns on him. When he tries to lift the loot, he is unable to do so and suspecting the bridegroom for having put some charm , he threatens Perumal who is disguised as the bridegroom with a sword to disclose the secret.that does not allow him to carry the loot Perumal advises him to purify himself and return so that he can impart the secret to him. Thirumangai mannan returns and Perumal gives him the most sacred mantram,Thirumantram . The moment Perumal whispers the sacred Ashtakshari Thirumantram , wisdom dawns on Kaliyan and he surrenders at the Lotus feet of the Divya Dampadhigal. He repents for all his earlier deeds and outbursts his pourings starting with “Vaadinene Vaadi….” and decides to glorify Perumal by visiting holy places in India.. He is transformed as Thirumangai Azhwar and riding on his Aadalma horse glorified Perumal in about 86 divya desams. Every year, this incident in recollected on Panguni-Makham (Mar-april) at thirunangoor as Thiruvedupari utsavam and this year the incident is enacted on  2nd  midnight April 2015 . The pics were taken during our last visit . We participated in the Thirukalyanam of Perumal with Nachiyar the previous afternoon . Later , in the night after saatrumarai, the newly wed Perumal and Thayar bedecked fully with jewellery set out on a decorated palanquin. WE were told that they would halt in a mandapam at Thirumanankollai. We drove to Thiruvali-Thirunagari temple to have darsanam of Thirumangai Azhwar also known as Kaliyan/Neelan/Thirumangai Mannan and were among the crowd awaiting the temple doors to open….Now the most beautiful THIRUVEDUPARI UTSAVAM begins ..At midnight almost 2 AM , a group of people who were playing the role of Kaliyan’s friends entered the temple to inform Kaliyan about the newly wed couple. Within minutes, the temple doors were wide open. The beautifully dressed Thirumangai mannan in blue velvette dress wearing innumerable intrinsic jewellery holding gem studded sword , precious gems studded dagger and all other weapons required by a king galloped on his favourite horse”Aadalma”, rushed outside the temple and set forth on his journey to loot the wealth .The night is pitch dark . The sevarthees bearing torches literally run along with Kaliyan. It is a sight never to be missed. The zeal with which Kaliyan rides on the horse is inexplicable. One has to be physically present to witness this . The neophyte devotees who gather for this function usually engage autos/cars to keep pace with Azhwar and we followed suit. Kaliyan swifts through the narrow muddy roads to reach the place while we took another route to reach the mandapam. Perumal and Thayar in Kalyana Thirukolam were giving darshan to the assembled devotees. Adiyongal also had darshanam from close quarters.Thousands of devotees had gathered at that place and a village mela was going on. The whole place was vibrant with devotional music and few Vaishnavas were singing Peria Thirumozhi in a small mantapam . Some locals were dressed up like Thirumangai Mannan. As if to compete with the beauty of Full Moon in the sky, many others were bursting crackers which were decorating the sky. The entire place was in a festive joyous mood awaiting Kaliyan’s arrival. Kaliyan reached the place along with his attendants and circumbulated the mandapam thrice swiftly amidst chores and went inside the mandapam. The act of Thirumangai Mannan looting the wealth is enacted inside the closed curtain. Later, the thirumeni of Thirumangai Mannan is taken to a nearby mandapam where he rests for more than an hour. We were told that during Azhwar’s days, there was a small stream flowing by in which Azhwar as per the instructions of Perumal had holy bath. Today, the stream is dried and so we could walk across to the mandapam where Thirumangai Mannan was resting. All the devotees are allowed to have darshan of Azhwar from very close quarters. We recollected Manavala Maamunigal ‘s beautiful description about Thirumangai Mannan’s vadivazhagu. Later, Thirumangai Mannan alights out from the mandapam amidst fanfare and circumbalate around the Dhivya Dampadhigal who were now giving darsanam on Garuda Vaahanam. WE were told that Perumal gives Mantropadesam to Thirumangai Mannan. Wisdom dawns on Thirumangai Mannan and he seeks forgiveness and repents for his acts . The first ten songs from Peria Thirumozhi starting with “Vaadinene Vaadi” was recited by all the assembled bhagavathaas and then neivedyam was offered to Perumal. The divya dampadhigal honoured Thirumangai Azhwar with parivattam, prasadam,garland, theertha prasadam and sataari. Karpoora aarthi was given to both Perumal and Azhwar. The entire procession started towards Thiruvaali temple reciting the remaining pasurams from Peria thirumozhi. The transformed Azhwar was now seen moving slowly as he had submitted his valour, strength ,speed , ego at the Lotus feet of Perumal and as a pure devotee he was now contemplating on the divine qualities of Perumal.

a

 

It’s Time to Replace Ambition with Adaptation

The pandemic and climate crises make working ourselves to the bone in service of our own ambition seem a little silly. Let’s change that.

Illustration: Ana Galvañ

Earlier in the summer, while picking up trash on a beach near where I live, I had a revelation: Engaging in this rather mundane activity was the most useful I had felt in a while. The idea was both unsettling and freeing at the same time.

We’ve all been spending more time lately on activities that feel immediately useful: cooking meals, moving our bodies, making and mending things, growing gardens, and — like me with the beach rubbish — serving as stewards of the places where we live.

But while the litter-picking was initially a way to fill my time during the long pandemic summer, it also got me thinking about the very notion of how I spend my time. In February, right before the world fell apart, I was diagnosed with burnout. I had been working too hard, and despite taking some time off, I didn’t have a strong sense of how I was going to avoid repeating the cycle again in the future.

Then the pandemic added another layer of context. As our attention collectively went to our more elemental needs in lockdown, I wondered about the point of spending my days nestled behind a screen, furiously making myself look ever more successful and important to other people nestled behind their own screens. Where was I headed?

Ambition means different things to different people, but in the capitalist framework I am talking about, I think its defining feature is its linear trajectory. Think of all the highly driven and ambitious people you know working long after their basic needs are met: Are they ever “done” or satisfied with where they’ve ended up and ready to call it quits on achieving? Of course not. Ambition is an unquenchable thirst.

Facing a world that seems to get worse by the hour, an urgent climate emergency that is certain to dismantle our global supply chains in a way that makes Covid-19 look quaint, and a new understanding of how to live at a slower pace, we have to ask: Does following our personal and narrowly defined ambition, at the cost of all other skills and possibly our own health, make much sense anymore?

It might seem depressing to give up on ambition, like a form of resignation. Ambition seems, after all, a uniquely human trait — one that lies at the core of innovation, creativity, and discovery. But what if it wasn’t ambition that is the defining trait of our species? What if all along, the trait that made humans so different was the far less destructive quality of adaptation?

Ambition has failed us

Since the Industrial Revolution launched a large subset of humanity into the illusion that we could conquer nature for our own purposes, linear ambition has been a kind of survival strategy. In recent decades, that’s certainly been true for privileged, knowledge-economy workers like me: We’re always trying to keep up in a world of work that seems to constantly get faster and expect more of us, leaving us too burned out and apathetic to deal with anything that doesn’t directly affect us or our families.

‘Normal’ Is the Last Thing We Should Wish For

Dismantling structural capitalism may be unrealistic, but there are practical ways to reframe our relationship to it

forge.medium.com

As survival goes, it’s a pretty shaky strategy. As the early days of lockdown showed us, spreadsheets and Google Analytics aren’t what anyone needs in a crisis. Many of us engaged in what late anthropologist David Graeber once famously termed “bullshit jobs” and are entirely dependent on that cohort of people we began calling “essential workers” in 2020.

It’s a label that gained recognition far too late. Essential workers are rarely celebrated, even though the people who pick our fruit and look after our kids and care for our elderly parents are arguably more responsible for our survival than ourselves. Our career-focused ambition has allowed for a sense of removal from our actual survival and a denial of the humanity of a huge subset of people who help us stay alive.

Indeed, many of us are living in a disconnect: working in service of ourselves and our own narrowly defined, future-facing goals without seeing that the future on the horizon is one where many of those goals simply won’t be possible anymore thanks to the climate emergency.

And that cognitive dissonance, says psychologist and climate activist Margaret Klein Salamon, requires a lot of mental work to maintain — work that could instead be put toward confronting the existential challenge we face.

“When you avoid the truth [of environmental collapse,] you put the energy that could be used towards preventing the climate emergency towards safeguarding the fiction you’ve created yourself,” Salamon writes in her book Facing the Climate Emergency: How to Transform Yourself With Climate Truth. “But it is an incredible relief to let go of your defenses, your vigilance, your effort to safeguard and deny. … It may be hard to believe, but fully integrating climate truth into your life will make you lighter, less encumbered, and more capable of facilitating change.”

We’ve already started adapting

Adaptation may look different for different people, but I think it starts with facing this disconnect head-on: Our individualized, highly specialized career ambition is no longer a suitable match for the world we’re living in. Hastened by the pandemic, many knowledge-economy workers are, as British broadcaster and journalist Bidisha wrote in the Guardian, facing our own “professional obsolescence.”

But embracing adaptation as an alternative is not saying that we can’t be creative or innovative or willing to work hard — on the contrary, we must be all those things. But it calls us to shift those skills elsewhere, beyond our personal interests and egos to communal and societal challenges that are collective. It also calls us to redefine what it means to live a “successful” life.

The good news is that we as humans are uniquely equipped to do this, says aboriginal scholar Tyson Yunkaporta, who is a member of the Apalech clan from Western Cape York in Australia. Taking an indigenous perspective, he said in an interview with the Rebel Wisdom podcast, allows us to see “the most important gift is reclaiming the adaptive capacity of our species. It is our unique gift … to be able to adapt to massive changes and massive traumas. Acceptance is part of our human knowledge systems — any knowledge system that is still human and not domesticated.”

It’s already happening, albeit belatedly, in some contexts. You can see it in California, where state officials are finally engaging with indigenous leaders on traditional methods of fire suppression after years of trying to fight (and in the process worsening) the state’s naturally occurring wildfires. You can see it in people who used to spend one-third of their lives in airports now realizing that it is, by every metric, a pathologically unsustainable and totally absurd way to live — both for a person and the planet. You can see it in the surge in demand for land allotments in the U.K., perhaps a manifestation of the “urgent biophilia” that emerges each time humans face catastrophe, and in the growing number of young Lebanese farmers who are meeting the country’s chronic instability by producing food on abandoned land.

What adaptation might look like for you

On a personal level, this shift could take many forms. Maybe it means you focus on building social capital in your community rather than a LinkedIn or Instagram following. That you downsize or move to a cheaper place and acquire less stuff so you can work less, produce more, and rely less on globalized supply chains. Maybe it means re-skilling and re-networking yourself (in an offline sense) so you have more to offer your immediate community and vice versa. Maybe you channel your penchant for spreadsheets or publicity or social media into the climate movement, an urgent local environmental cause, or advocating for universal basic income.

This requires an emotional and spiritual depth and fortitude that our culture does not encourage us to cultivate. We don’t even have a language for acknowledging that we’ve gotten ourselves into a situation that money and hard work and ingenuity can’t solve.

And yet, we cannot outachieve or outrun our sense that something is very off. Salamon — who founded The Climate Mobilization, a group advocating for a World-War-II-scale mobilization to fight climate change — says the first step is feeling the grief for what we’re losing.

“What people need to grieve is the world they thought they were living in, the future they thought they had,” Salamon said in a phone interview. “The process of grieving is very tied up in the process of reckoning.” And that grief and reckoning, she added, leads to “a process of adapting to a new reality.”

Taking the time and space to adjust to these seismic shifts may require changing your entire life, what you thought you wanted, and who you thought you were. And when you do it, it also means you will feel compelled to act.

For those of us who can — those of us who right now have the headspace, the financial security, the resources — modeling and facilitating this kind of acceptance and shift from ambition to adaptation may have a multiplier effect. “True cultural change doesn’t happen unilaterally,” Yunkaporta writes in his paradigm-bending book, Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World. “Cultural innovations occur in deep relationships between land, spirit, and groups of people.”

The change is not going to come from our leaders or normal political means but from us.

There’s a certain personal relief, I think, in admitting that your ambition is no longer that useful. Because it’s hard to have a foot in both worlds: to do the daily emotional work of trying to reconcile the horrific things going on around you with the self-interested and superficial things you want for yourself in the future. Instead, you can start thinking about how to apply your own efforts, talents, and creativity to the world’s existential peril rather than pretend the future will be fine as you power through yet another brutal workweek.

Somewhere in there lies the sweet spot where our human capacity for adaptation itself becomes ambitious. Where we begin to embody our role not as atomized professionals trying to survive in a cutthroat economy but as what Yunkaporta calls “custodians” of our land, communities, and indeed our own futures.

p

 

One of the best books I've ever read about cognitive development is What's Going on in There? How the Brain and Mind Develop During the First Five Years of Life. Dr. Lise Eliot cited studies that uncovered the four features of parenting that most consistently relate to a child's future intellectual and academic success. Studies were completed through extensive home observations. While these studies were conducted with parents of children without developmental issues, it stands to reason that children who are struggling would benefit from these parenting practices even more!   1. Nurturing- Children need parents who are physically affectionate and emotionally supportive. In real life this looks like parents who shower their toddlers with hugs and kisses and hold them often. It means comforting them when they are upset. Research tells us that babies thrive with physical contact because they need their parents close to them to be able to see and hear since theses skills are somewhat limited during infancy. Higher childhood IQ scores are traced back to warmth, affection, and praise during a child's toddler and preschool years. For parents with older children this means being emotionally responsive and encouraging. One study of gifted teenagers found that parental support was the single most important characteristic that best determined if children made the most of their talents. Kids who are struggling to learn to talk need even more nurturing because they spend lots of time being frustrated. A soothing word from an empathetic parent can go a long way in making things better.   2. Responsiveness - For infants this means not only promptly responding to physical needs for food, a dry diaper, and sleep, but also responding to their intellectual needs for stimulation and interaction. Babies do cry for a variety of reasons, and boredom is one of them. You must be verbally responsive to your child for him to learn language and for him to learn to be social and interactive. It means being sensitive to your child's unique needs and responding appropriately. It means not letting a baby cry for 10 minutes straight without checking on them. It means not letting a toddler roam around the house with no direction and nothing to do. Children who come from neglectful homes sometimes stop trying to communicate (or never start) because no one has consistently responded to their attempts.   3. Involvement -As her book so bluntly states, involvement doesn't mean driving your child around to lessons and play dates so that you can sit around and talk to other adults. It means direct, one-on-one interactions when both of you direct your attention to the same activity. Several studies found a positive correlation between children's IQ or academic achievement and the amount of time they spent in shared activities with their parents. These studies did not state that the activity had to be "academic," but that the child and parent both enjoyed what they were doing. Most parents think about reading books as one of these activities. This is great if your toddler wants to read, but a large percentage of kids with language delays don't particularly like this until they are a little older. Pick an activity he likes and join in. Or pick one that you like and can adapt for him. If you're a gardener, buy him a plastic shovel and let him dig in the dirt with you. When you're cooking, set out pots and pans or bowls with lids for him to use. When my children were babies, I lugged them all over the house with me with whatever chore I was doing and never left them alone for more than a few minutes. By the time they were toddlers, they were used to the routine, so they followed me everywhere. You have to be in close proximity to children to teach them, and frankly, to parent them. It can't be done any other way.   4. Demanding - While this trait may seem to contradict the earlier ones, parents who expected mature behavior and had high expectations had children with more positive outcomes. The current trend in parenting places lots of emphasis on promoting self-esteem, but sometimes at the expense of discipline and self-control. Studies show that parents who have high expectations AND are sensitive to their children's needs have children with fewer long term behavioral problems and better academic success than those with very permissive parents or demanding parents who are not very responsive. You have to help your kid figure out how to behave, not just how not to behave. There is a fine line between "demanding" and "pressuring." No child with a developmental issue benefits from having his parents expect behaviors that are beyond his capacity. However, I have seen many parents of children with developmental delays who have no behavioral standards, and guess what? They get a child who is out of control because that's all he knows.   This "demanding" characteristic also seems to have a positive outcome with children who are learning how to communicate. If you expect your child to learn how to talk to you at the level he's most able to achieve, chances are he will. I have seen a few mothers and fathers "give up" too soon. Keep expecting more!

Laura Mize, M.S., CCC-SLP
Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist
teachmetotalk.com
P O Box 1016
Stanford Kentucky 40484
USA

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kavya.

 I. THE SANSKRIT KAVYA. Before the student enters upon a critical and detailed study of the Raghuvamsi it is necessary that he should be acquainted with the salient features of what is called Kavya in Sanskrit.^ Sanskrit rhetoricians have divided all kinds of literary compositions into two main divisions,  what is capable of being seen ) and | ( what can only be heard or chanted ). All the varieties of dramatic pieces come under the 1st class, while everything else can be broadly described as . The Kavya', again, has been further sub-divided, on consideration? of its form, according as it is written in verse, or in prose, or in mixed verse and prose. (1) Compositions in verse or metrical form are the commonest specimens  Kavya. They generally fall into two classes, the dis- tinction being based chiefly on their length Great Poems ', such as the Raghuvamsa, the Sisnpalavadha   and   Small Poetical Pieces', a class which includes all minor lyrical poetry and such works as the Meghadnta,  Bhaminivilasa, the Amarnsataka  (2) Prose works are comparatively rare in Sanskrit; their main kinds are two'—Katha ( e. g, the Kadambari of Bdnabhatta ) and AkhySyika ( e. g. the Harshacharita of the same author ). (3) Works in which prose and

verse are mixed are classed as Ohatnpu ( e. g. the Bbaratachampu, the Visvaguiiadarsa-champu, &o. )'. The student will thus notice that, along with dramas, have been the most popular forms of literary composition, and have attracted the  geniuses to try their hand at them. It is true that the Kbanda Kavya attracted more attention, chiefly because it is short and requires less expenditure of time and energy; and that the number of extant Mahakavyas, therefore, is not very large. But what is here lacking in quantity has been amply made up in quality. For in dignity of style; depth of thought  of movement, the Mahasavya is far and away the bust expression which the Sanskrit literary artist has found for his genius. The Righuviiusa is a Miihakavya, which  defines as follows:

That, a Mahakavya should be divided into chapters, called Cantos. The hero should be either a divine personage, or a Kshtriya of noble descent and possessed of the qualities of a Dhirodatta Hero. This is when the poem is concerned with the description of the life of a single hero  as in the Sisupa1avadha or the Vikramankadevacharita ; if like the Raghuvamsa it has for its theme a number of Heroes, then they should all be Kshatriya princes sprung from the same race, and of pure descent. The prominent sentiment should be introduced as accessories. The subject-matter should be arranged as in a nataka with the necessary changes. The plot may be historical, or may have for its subject-matter the glorious deeds of the good and the virtuous. The object of such compositions should be the attainment of the four aims of human pursuit — i. e., they should be written in such a way that their study would point out the means of attaining them. It should open with a verse or verses expressive of a salutation to a deity, or a blessing conferred on the readers, or a hinting of the subject-matter; these may sometimes be followed by censure of villains and praise of the good ( as in the Vikramankadevacharita). A Mahakavya should be divided into chapters not less than eight,' which should be neither too long nor too short.'" They should be composed in the same metre which should change only at the end; sometimes ( as a variety ). a canto may be written in a number of metres. The contents of the next canto should be indicated at the end of the preceding one. It should describe, at more or less length, such incidents and topics as twilight, the rise of the sun and the moon, the night, the evening, darkness, the day, morning, noon, hunting, mountains, seasons, forests, oceans, the union and separation of loveis, sages, heaven, cities, sacrifices, battles, invasions, marriage ceremonies, advice, the birth of a son. It should be named after the poet, or the plot, or the Hero, or some other person; while each Sarga should be named in accordance with its own contents ( e. g. the 6th canto of the Ragh. is named swayamvaradaranam. It should be borne in mind that these elaborate rules were evolved after a minute examination of all available specimens. The works of early poets like Ka1idasa will not therefore be found to conform strictly to the definition given above, nor is it necessary that they should do so, . Thus the Raghuvamsa, though it does not describe everyone of all those incidents and topics, still conforms mostly to the definition given, as the student can verify for himself. Thus, it has for its theme a number of noble kings born of the same family. The predominent sentiment is  though are often in- troduced as accessories {e.g. in canto III. and VIII.). It is named after Raghu, the most eminent among its many heroes. The subject of the next canto is indicated toward the close of the previous one- e. g. it is evident from what is said at the end of canto V that the Svayamvara of Indumati would be described in canto VI The metre changes at the end of each into, and the ninth Canto is written in a number of different metres. described in Canto V. Each canto is named after the most important event described in it. Other particulars the student can find out for himself. Technically, the Raghuvamsa is quite a representative specimen of its class; as regards it's other merits and distinguishing features. 

 

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Panniru Naamam

OORDVA PUNDRA DHAARANA DHYANA SLOKAS
The following Dhyana Slokas are recited when applying the vertical pointing marks on the forehead and other parts of the body (Oordva PuNdrams). The belief is that we consecrate the deity forms of Lord Sriman Narayana presiding over the respective spots, surrendering ourselves to them and seeking protection.

Swami Desika has also confirmed this in his Tamizh Prabandham, ?Panniru Tirunaamam?. This Prabandham is dedicated to Lord Varadan of Kanchipuram where Swami Desika offered his surrender (Bhara SanarpaNam). In this, Swami gives details of the name of the deity form, color, weapons, direction faced, and the spot on which the respective marks are to be applied on our body.

Let us first enjoy the meaning of the Slokas. The meanings of Swami Desika?s Paasurams will follow in the next Issues. Later on, we will consider certain doubts and also explain the practice from a scientific perspective.

Slokam 1
Chatus Chakram Namasyaami Kesavam kanakaprabham /
NaaraayaNam ghana syaamam chatus sankham namaamyaham /
Meaning:
I prostrate to Lord KESAVA who appears with a golden hue and wields four DISCS (Chakram), I genuflect before Lord NAARAAYANA who shines like the dark rain bearing clouds and adorns four CONCHES (Sangam)

Slokam 2:
Madhavam maNi pankaabham chinthayaami Chatur Gadham /
Chandrbhaasam chatus Saarngham govindam abi samsrayE //
Maening:
I meditate on the Lord MASDHAVA who shines like a gem and holds four MACES (Gadha). I take refuge in Lord GOVINDA who has the cool luster like that of the moon and who bears four BOWS (saarngham).

Slokam 3:
VishNum chatur Halam vandE pancha kinchalka sannibham /
Chatur Musalamabjaabham samsrayE Madhusoodhanam //
Meaning:
I salute Lord VISHNU who has the hue of the pollen of flowers and who uses four PLOUGHS (hala). I ponder over Lord MADHUSOODHANA who has the color of the ochre lotus and who commands four mighty PESTLES (musalam).

Slokam 4:
Agni varNam chatu: KaDgam bhaavayaami Trivikramam/
Vaamanam baala sooryaabham chatur Vajram vibhaavayE//
Meaning:
I praise Lord TRIVIKRAMA who blazes like the flame of fire and upholds four sharp SWORDS (KaDgam). I meditate on Lord VAMANA who shines like the young rising SUN and utilizes four THUNDERBOLTS (vajra).

Slokam 5:
Sreedharam punDareekaabham chatu: PaTTa samaasrayE/
Chatur Mudgaram abhyEmi HrisheekEsam thaTith prabham//
Meaning:
I take asylum at the feet of SREEDHARA who is lotus like and employs four weapons called ?PaTTasa?. I eulogize Lord HRISHEEKESA who is like a streak of lightning and deploys four hammers (mudgara)

Slokam 6:
Panchaayudham padmanaabham praNamaami arka rOchisham/
DaamOdharam chatu: Paasam Indrakopa nibham bhajE//
Meaning:
I dedicate myself to the care of Lord PADMANABHA who brightens the sky like the Sun (arka) and shoulders five powerful weapons (panchaayudha). I worship Lord DAAMODHARA who shines like the reddish hue of the insect of the rainy season and who carries four kinds of noose (paasa) in His hands.

Slokam 7:
VaasudEvam upaasEham poornEndhyutha sannibham /
Oordva puNDrEshu iti Sreemaan nityam dhyaayeetha naamabhi://7
Meaning:
I meditate upon Lord VAASUDEVA who shines like a million full moons. One should meditate on these names of the Lord while applying the upward pointing Sacred marks.

MENTION OF PIRAATTI ? IN EACH
After wearing TirumaNN, SreechoorNam has to be worn in between the two white lines, reciting the names of PiraaTTi as follows:
1. Sridevi Prathamam nama
2. dviteeyom amrutOdbhava/
3. Tritheeyam Kamalaa prOkthaa
4. Chaturtham Chandra Sodharee //
5. Panchamum thu varaarOhaa
6. shasTam thu Harivallabhaa /
7. Sapthamam VishNu pathnee cha
8. ashTamam VaishNavee tha thaa//
9. Navamam SaarngiNee ptOkthaa
10. dasamam Deva dEvikaa/
11. Ekaadasam Mahaalakshmee
12. Dvaadasam sura sundaree//
TrayOdasm sadhaa dhyaayEth sarvaabheeshTa pradaayineem/
Evam dhyaathvaa antharaalEshu haridraam dhaarayEth Sriyam//
To Continue: Swami Desika?s Panniru naamam




OORDVA PUNDRA DHAARANAM
SWAMI DESIKA?S ?PANNIRU TIRUNAAMAM?
TANIANS 1 and 2 and PAASURAMS 1 TO 12 AND ?PHALASRUTHI?
- (Anbil Ramaswamy)
-----------------------------------------------------------
As mentioned earlier, Swami Desika has also dealt with the ?Oordva Pundra DhaaraNam? in his Tamizh Prabandham, ?Panniru Tirunaamam?. This Prabandham is dedicated to Lord Varadaraja of Kanchipuram where Swami offered his surrender (Bhara SanarpaNam)

TANIAN 1:
Panniru naamam Tiruvaththi oorappan paadam enru
Nal niram naamam paDai thikku yaavaiyum naam ariya
Thennan thamizh thoDai seeraar kalithurai Odhi eendhaan
Minnuru nool amar vEnkaTa naatha namm DesikanE
MEANING:
? Our Achaarya, Thooppul TiruvEnkaTa naathan, who dons the sparkling white sacred thread on his shoulder, has given for our edification this work in the renowned poetic style of ?KatTTLai Kalithurai? in beautiful Tamizh language, on the feet of the glorious Lord of Hastigiri PeraruLaaLan, detailing the colors, the names, the weapons, the directions etc. relating to the 12 upward strokes of the sacred marks to be worn by Srivaishnavas?.

TANIAN 2:
Kaar koNDa mEnian paada ambuyathai karuthu iruthi
YEr koNDa keerthi Iraamaanujan thun iNai aDi sEr
Seer koNDa thoopul TiruvEnkaTa aariyan seer mozhiyai
Aar koNDu pOtrinum amm maal padathai aDaivikkumE
MEANING:
? Whoever praises the lotus feet of Lord PeraruLaLan who shines with the color of rain bearing dark clouds, and whoever praises the charming and popular feet of Emperumaanaar with the exalted Sri Sookthis of our Acaarya, Thooppul Sri TiruvenkaTanathan is sure to attain the feet of Emperumaan?.

In this, Swami gives some more details like, Name of the deity form, color, weapons, direction faced, and the spot on which the respective marks are to be applied on our body.


SWAMI DESIKA?S
PAASURAMS 1 AND 2 (CORRESPONDING TO DHYANA SLOKA 1)


(Chatus Chakram namasyaami KESAVAM kanaka prabhum
NAARAAYANAM ghana syaamam chatu:sankham namaami aham)

PAASURAM 1:
KEsavanaai ninru keezhai Disaiyilum netriyilum
ThEsuDai aazhigaL naanguDan sem pasum pon malai pOle
Vaasi miguthu enai mangaamal kaakkum marai athanaal
Aasai migutha ayan magha vEdhiyil arputhanE
MEANING:
? This is Lord KESAVA whom I have understood clearly through the Vedas as PeraruLaaLan. This Lord appeared wonderfully in the Yaaga vEdhi of Brahma as Supreme deity. I am sure to be protected for reciting His name. He is having His abode on the Eastern direction and on the forehead of Bhagavatas, and who adorns four brilliant discs (Chakram) and whose body shines like pure and red golden mountain?

PAASURAM 2:
NaaraNaai nal valampuri naalum ugandhu eDuthum
Oor aNi mEgham enavE udaramum mErku ninrum
AaraNa nool thandu aruLaal aDaikkalam koNDu aruLum
VaaraNa verpin mazhai mughil pOle ninra maayavanE
MEANING:
?This is Lord NARAYANA who stands on top of Hastigiri Mountain wonderfully like the cool dark rain bearing cloud moving around. He holds happily His four conches with swirls pointing to the right (valam Puri Sanku). His abode is on the middle of the tummy and is on the west, It is He who published the Vedas (aaraNa nool). He will grant protection to me out of His infinite compassion?

PAASURAM 3 AND 4 (CORRESPONDING TO DHYANA SLOKA 2)


(MADHAVAM maNI pangaabham chintayaami Chatur gadam
chandrabhaasam Chatu: Saarngam GOVINDAM aham aasrayE)

PAASURAM 3:
Maadhava naamamum vaan Gadhai naangum maNi niramum
Odhum muraip paDi yEndhi urathilum mElum algip
POdalar maadhuDan pundhiyil anbaal pugundu aLikkum
Thoodhanum Naathanum aaya tholl athi giri chuDarE.
MEANING:
? This is Lord MADHAVAN, with the color of blue diamond (indrakopam). He is the brilliant flame of Lord of Hastigiri and is anti-deluvian (thol athigiri chuDar). He hid His Paratvam and appeared as a mere messanger to the PaaNDavas thus revealing His Soulabhyam. He wields four mighty maces (gada). His abode is the middle of the chest and in the upward direction. He enters my mind with Periya PiraaTTi who is on the lotus flower and protects me out of His infinite mercy?

PAASURAM 4:
Govindan enrum kuLir madhiyaagik koDiyavarai
YEvum dhanukkaLuDanTherkilum utt kazhuthu ninru
MEvum TiruvaruLaal vinai theerthu ennai aaNDaruLum
Poovan thozhaathi maamalai mEl ninra puNNiyanE
MEANING:
? This is Lord GOVINDAN from whose navel arose the four faced Brahma who constantly meditates upon Him. He stands firmly on top of the Hastigiri Mountain like the cool shine of the full moon. He is the very personofication of Spriritual merit (PuNNiyan). He stands with four mighty bows (dhanus) with arrows darting to destroy evil. His abode is in the South and at the center of the neck. He will destroy my sins and grant refuge to me out of His unlimited grace?

PAASURAM 5AND 6 (CORRESPONDING TO DHYANA SLOKA 3)


(VISHNUM Chatur halam vandE padma kinjalka sannibham
Chatur musalam abjaabham samsrayE MADHUSOODHANAM)

PAASURAM 5:
ViTTu vala vayitrin kann vaDakkum viDaathu ninru
MaTTavizh thaamarai daadhu niram koNda mEniyanaaith
ThoTTa kalappaigal eer iranDaalum thuyar arukkum
KaTTezhir Solaik Kari giri mEl ninra karpagamE.
MEANING:
? This is Lord VISHNU who resides on the Hastigiri mountain surrounded by beautiful ever green groves. He stands as the legendary Karpaga tree ( wish fulfilling tree). His color is like the honey laden pollen of the lotus flower. He holds four giant ploughs. He takes His abode on the north and on the right side of the tummy. He will get rid of my woes and protect me?

PAASURAM 6:
Madhusoodhanan enn valap puyam then kizhakku enru ivatrril
Pathiyaai irundhu pon maadhu urai pangaya vaNNanumaai
Mudhu maa vinaigaL arukkum muyalangaL eer iraNDaal
Madhu aar iLam pozhil vaaraNa verpin mazhai mughiLE
MEANING:
? This is Lord MADHUSOODHANA who stands on top of the elephant mountain that is surrounded by groves. He is like the pleasing rain bearing cloud. His color is that of the lotus. He wields four pestles (musalam). His abode is in the South east and on the right shoulder. And together with Mahaalakshmi, He will destroy all my beginningless sins?

PAASURAMS 7 AND 8 (CORRESPONDING TO DHYANA SLOKA 4)


(agni varNam Chatu: KhaDgam bhaavayaami TRIVIKRAMAM
VAAMANAM baala sooryaabham Chatur Vajram vibhaavayE)

PAASURAM 7:
Tiru vikraman thigazh thee niraththan theLivu uDaivaaL
Uruvik karangaL eer iranDu yEndhi valak Kazhuthum
Seru vikramathu arakkar dikkum sirandhu aaLum irai
Maruvik karigiri mEl varam thandhiDum mannavanE
MEANING:
? This is Lord TRIVIKRAMAN , the Emperor who stands on top of Sri Hastigiri mountain and grants boons. He is like the burning flame of fire in color.In His hands are the four unsheathed swords that shine brilliantly. His abodes are the right side of the neck and the direction where the Rakshasas live and known as ?nairuthi? (South west). As a conqueror, He will afford protection to us?

PAASURAM 8:
vaamanan enran vaama udaramum vaayuvin disaiyum
dhaamam aDaindhu daruna arukkan nirathanumaai
sEma marakkalam sem bhavi eer iraNdaal thigazhum
naa mangai mEviya naan mughan vEDhiyil namm paranE
MEANING:
? This is Lord VAAMANA, our SarvEswaran, Sri PeraruLaaLan who arose from the Sacrificial altar (yaagavEdhi) of Brahma, spouse of Goddess Saraswathi. His color is that of the rising Sun. He resides in the direction of Northwest that is guarded by Vaayu (Lord of winds) and on the left part of the tummy. He wields four red hot thunderbolts (vajraayudham). He acts as the ship that takes us to the other shore of Samsaara (i.e) Moksha.?


PAASURAM 9 AND 10: (CORRESPONDING TO DHYANA SLOKA 5)


(SREEDHARAM puNDareekaabham Chatu: PaTTa samaasrayE
Chatur mudgaram abhyEmi HRISHEEKESAM TaTith prabham)

PAASURAM 9:
Seeraar sireedharanaai sivan dhikkum iDap puyamum
YER aar Idam koNDu ilangu VeN thaamari mEniyanaaip
Paar aaya pattayam eer iraNdaalum bhayam arukkum
Aaraa amudhu athi maa malai mEl ninra achyuthanE
MEANING:
? This is Lord SREEDHARA who is insatiable nectar and stands permanently on top of Hastigiri mountain. He will never forsake (achyuthan). His devotees. His abode is that of Lord Siva (North East) and the left shoulder. His color is that of the white lotus. He holds four weapons called ?PaTTayam?(sharp spear shaped lance) with which he rids us of all fears?

PAASURAM 10:
Enn iDeekEsan irai keezh iDak Kazhuthu enru ivatril
Nannlai minn uruvaai naalu murkarangaL koNDu aLikkum
Pon aghil serndhu alaikkum punal vEgai vaDa karaiyil
Thennan ugandhu thozhum thEna vEdhiyar deivam onrE
MEANING:
? This is Lord HRISHEEKESAN who is the ONLY supreme deity. He stands on the northern banks of river Vegavathi that is washed by gold and fragrant sandalwood. He is the darling of PaNDya king and of the Vaidikas living at Thenambakkam who constantly worship Him. His color is like the sharp lightning that seems to have stayed permanently. His abode is down in the nether regions (keezh) and the left side of the neck. He holds four mighty hammers (mudgaram), with which He will protect us?

PAASURAMS 11 AND 12: (CORRESPONDING TO DHYAN SLOKA 6)


(Panchaayudham PADMANAABHAM praNamaami arka rOchisham
DAAMODARAM Chatur paasam indrakOpa nibham bhajE)

PAASURAM 11:
Emm parpa naabhanum enn pin manam patri manni ninru
Vem por kadiravan aayiram mEviya mei uruvaai
Am ponn karangaLil aimpaDai koNDu anjal enru aLikkum
Sem pon thiru madhiL soozh sindhuraachala sEvaganE
MEANING:
? This is Lord PADMANAABHA, the great warrior who stands in the fortress of Hastigiri protected by huge ramparts of gold. He shines with the red hot brilliance of a thousand Suns. His abode is my mind and on the back of the body. He holds in those golden hands the five weapons (AimpaDai) for protecting us?

PAASURAM 12:
DaamOdaran enran dhaamangaL naalu karangaLir koNDu
AamO tharam ena aagathin utpuram pir kazhuthum
Thaam Ore iLam kadirOne ena enn uLL iruL arukkum
Maa mOgam maatrum madhiL athiyoorin maragathamE
MEANING:
? This is Lord DAAMODAHARA, who shines like the emerald gem called PararuLaaLan. He stays on top of the Hastigiri mountain with four powerful nooses (dhaamam) making us wonder if there can be such an incomparable Lord! His color is that of the rising Sun (iLam kadir) . His abode is both within and without my body and more particularly on the back of the neck. Being there, He will dispel all darkness of ignorance?

PAASURAM 13:
Kathi thiriyum kalaigaLai vellum karuthil vaithup
Pathikku uru thuNai panniru naamam payilbavarkku
Muthikku moolam enavE mozhindha im moonrum naangum
Thithikkum engaL Tiruvathiyoorai sErbavarkkE
MEANING:
This is the Phala Sruthi of this work.
? If one were to recite these 12 names of the Lord with care will acquire the power to vanquish the vain noises made by a-vaidikas. These 12 names will stand as companions to those who desire to develop Bhakti to the Lord. For those who constantly meditate on these 12 names, they will reveal the path to Moksham. These 12 names will taste sweet to Bhagavatas who resort to the Lord of Athiyoor ( Hastigiri)







OORDVA PUNDRA DHAARANAM
A FEW QUESTIONS AND BRIEF CLARIFICATIONS
- (Anbil Ramaswamy)
--------------------------------------------------------
1. Chatus Chakram? Why mention same weapon 4 times in each?
Answer:
This has a reference to the Vyuha form of the Lord of which the first is ?Param?. The second form is VUYHA, Sri NARAYANA assumes four forms named 'VASUDEVA; SAMKARSHANA' 'PRADYUMNA' and 'ANIRUDDHA. These are called 'emanations'. The Pancha ratra (lore of five nights) describes in detail what is known as 'Visaka Stupa' an allegorical tower with four levels and four sides. The column consists of four parts called respectively from bottom to top Jagrat (the waking state), Svapna (the dreaming state) Sushupti (Dreamless sleep) and the Turiya (the fourth stage). At the base of the column is the Jagratha sthana, which has four divine forms on the four sides, called VASUDEVA, SAMKARSHANA, PRADYUMNA and ANIRUDDHA respectively facing the East, the South, the West and the North. The activity of this Vyuha is the creation, maintenance and destruction of the world. These forms are bright in colors, with arms and weapons. The Lord is meditated as wielding four weapons in each case as per the Dhyana Slokam of Oordva Pundra Dharanam.
(The above is as per the inputs at Kaalakshepams of Acharyas on AnushTaanams, while in India)

2. Why Oordva pundram and why Tiryak is not advised.
Answer:
In Srimad Valmiki Ramayanam, -
- Sage Vriddha Jaabaali categorically lays down that ?All those born as Brahmins should wear only the Oordva Pundram? (eructus)
- Sage Sadaadhar further cautions that ?Brahmins should NOT wear the Pundram in the horizontal mode even playfully but should wear only in the upward mode and that one who wears any sacred mark horizontally (tiryak) are indeed fallen souls.
- While discussing the issue, ? ParamEshtya Samhita? lays down that Kshatriyas may wear Oordva pundram with eagle wood (agil) or sandalwood or TirumaNN (White clay).
- Poet Kambar who has learned all these has also confirmed that only by wearing Oordva Pundram that right from Brahma down to every Jiva, can cross the Prakriti mandalam and attain Paramapadam and enjoy eternal kainkaryam to the Lord.?
(Vide page 611 of ?Ramapiraanai KarpOm? by H.H. Srimad Andavan of Poundarika puram Swami Ashramam)

3. Do these signify Lord?s feet?
Answer:
Yes and No. This is only for a constant reminder of adorning the feet of Divyadhamapathis on one?s head. A symbolic representation is worn on the forehead where the mark will be visible, instead of the head itself, The red / yellow mark representing Thaayaar is only to indicate the inseparability of the Lord and Piraatti. (Agalakillen and anaithulagum? aravindalochananai tinaithalavum vidaal). Where the Lord is, she is there too and vice versa.
(The above is as per the inputs at Kaalakshepams of Acharyas on AnushTaanams, while in India)

4. Why the Lord is made to wear?
Answer:
The ?Tirumuga Mandalam? of the Lord showers His infinite mercy on us. The ?Abhayahastham? (showing His hand in a protective posture) ensures His promise of protection. When? When one surrenders at His feet. Lord Srinivasa, in fact, shows where to surrender. He shows with His hand pointing towards His feet. Did not Lord Krishna advise ?maam ekam SaraNam vraja? meaning to ask us to surrender at His feet? Of all the three mentioned above viz., face, hand and feet ? for us, the feet are the most enjoyable because, they can dispel all our sins. What the face and the hand can offer, the feet offer by removing our sins. Azhwars and Acharyas have never been tired of paying glorious tributes to the TiruvaDi of the Lord. That is why, in temples, our head is blessed to come into contact with ?SaTaari? representing Lord?s feet. May be only to show the glory of His feet that Balamukundan puts His toe in His mouth when lying on a banyan leaf at the time of deluge!
MukundaashTakam clearly says this:
KaraaravindEna padaaravindam MukhaaravindE vinivESayantham /
VaTasya patrasya puTE sayaanam baalam mukundam manasaa smaraami?
?I meditate on the Bala Mukunda who lying on banyan leaf, holds His toe with His hand and puts it into His mouth?
(Mukunda means one who grants Moksham).
Vide page 470 of ? Ramapiraanai KarpOm? by H.H. Srimad Andavan of Poundarika puram Swami Ashramam)

May be the Lord wished to taste what it is in His toe that had captivated the Azhwars and Acharyas so much!

To show to the world the respective roles of ideal Guru and ideal Sishya
He took dual roles as ?Nara? (Sishya) and ?Narayana? (Guru). To show us how we should wear the sacred marks, He sets an example by wearing them Himself!

5. What is the significance of wearing the 12 sacred marks on the various parts of the body?
Answer:
? The human being is a bodily natural one; Naturally, religion hooks the physical aspects of nature like water with those of the human embodiment, synchronizing dramatically the interaction between the two sanctifying each other within the environment of the sacred world. Here, a meaningful meeting takes place between the Macrocosm and the Microcosm.

The human organism has several similarities with the other world 'cosmos'- the body to earth, speech to fire, breath to air etc. The white clay (TirumaNN) worn by Hindu men folk as an auspicious index daily on the forehead especially and over several places on the body by some devout Hindus are constant reminders that they came from dust and would ultimately be returning to dust. The powdered saffron (SrichurNam), the saffron red powder prepared from turmeric roots (Kunkumam) (i.e. crosus sativus) worn by ladies serves the same purpose. This reminder is meant to chasten the mind by highlighting the impermanence and perishable nature of this existence and thus to instill a sense of humility and to dispel ego inherent in humanity.

These `Caste marks' as they are called also serve the purpose in religion akin to the purpose served by badges, medals, stripes etc. in Defense and Police establishments. They constitute what we now know of as `ID' cards that indicate the status and the class of the wearer and the functions they belong to. They are like the `formal' dress insisted upon during parties and special gatherings to differentiate the participants from other `layfolk' and 'mere mortals?!

The principles underlying what we now know as acupuncture and acupressure were developed by our ancestors as acutouch, dispensing with the painful `puncture' and `pressure'. By mere `acutouch' of the various parts of the body with appropriate Mantras, the same effects could be secured, though our ancestors did not spell them out in a way understandable to the so called modern scientific mind.

Modern Computer is activated by soft feather touch of the keys in the keyboard. Similarly, our physical body with the nerve endings would respond to mere soft 'acutouch" provided the touch is administered in conjunction with the appropriate 'Mantras". No puncture or pressure would be needed to activate these nerve endings and the mere touch would do the magic.

Our body is held together by Pranas or life force which moves through meridians - a kind of electrical pathways. These connect various organs and glands with endings in our hands, chest, neck, forehead, stomach, back of neck as also feet, knee joints etc. Just as the arteries carry blood, these meridians carry the life-force energy throughout the body. This system has switches and junction points, which could be activated to regulate supply of life- force to the various parts of the body.
When the flow is interrupted for any reason, disease sets in. The remedy lies in switching on the current by applying a stimulant by a gentle touch at the appropriate end points as aforesaid. This relaxes muscular tension, promotes blood circulation and ensures flow of life force energy to the affected parts by releasing pain killers like endorphins, neuro chemicals etc. and they stimulate an alpha wave response in the brain and pituitary glands thus increasing our energy stock and facilitates diaphragmatic breathing and relieves knuckles - all without our ever noticing it.

During Sandya Vandana, we sprinkle water on these nerve endings and touch them with appropriate `Mantras' and earlier to that, we apply the `Caste marks' with white clay (TirumaNN) and powdered saffron (SrichurNam) at the appropriate places which suck the impurities invisibly. These have been integrated in our daily chores as an in-built discipline.?
(From Chapter 16 Section 3 Karma Yoga? of ?Hinduism Rediscovered? by Anbil Ramaswamy)

6. Red or yellow? Why?
Answer:
Both Red and yellow are mentioned.
Srisuktham which has Vedic authority along with Purusha Suktham mentions in Slokam 4 ?Padma VarNaam? which means ?lotus colored? Though lotus comes in several colors (e.g.) white one on which Goddess Saraswati is found seated, generally it is associated with color ?red?.

There are several references to the use of yellow. A few are as follows:

- The same Sri Suktham Slokam 13 and 14 lend authority for this since they describe Mahaalakshmi as ? PingaLaam? which means ?tawny-colored or ?brownish yellow? and HirNmayeem? which means ?of golden form?. And, we know gold is yellow in color.

- Swami Desika in his Sri Sthuthi Slokam 11 uses the expression ?Taptha jaambhoonadha aabhaa? which means ?One who shines like melted gold? to refer to the color of PiraaTTi. He says that this golden hue of Thaayaar heightens the beauty of the color of the Lord;s ?Hari marakathE? which means ?emerald colored? (and we know emerald is green in color).

Therefore, ?Paramaikanthins who worship PerumaaL and PiraaTTi as the divine couple as the means and the endof meditation use yellow to represent Thaayaar while wearing the Sacred marks along with ThrumaNN to represent PerumaaL.
(The above is as per the inputs at Kaalakshepams of Acharyas on AnushTaanams, while in India)

7. What if only white or red/yellow alone is worn?
Answer:
White alone:
We know what happened to Soorpanaka who tried to separate the Lord from His spouse. Those who wear only white are considered to belong to ?Soorpanaka party? and face the consequences! Further it is worn alone only for apara karyam (ceremonies related with death)

Red/Yellow alone:
We know similarly what happened to Ravana who abducted Sri Sita away from Her Lord. Those who wear only Red/Yellow are considered to belong to Ravana?s party and face consequences, which Ravana faced!
(The above is as per the inputs at Kaalakshepams of Acharyas on AnushTaanams, while in India)

8. What if nothing is worn?
Answer:
A forehead without the sacred marks is compared to a barren land especially a ?Smasaanam?, a cremation ground!
(The above is as per the inputs at Kaalakshepams of Acharyas on AnushTaanams, while in India)

9. Can we rub it off?
It used to be said that Wearing is like ?putting up? a temple and rubbing it off like ?pulling down? a temple. We know that it is PuNyam to construct a temple while it is sinful to demolish a temple. Of course, it can be rubbed off, if faded in part or full accidentally or only one is visible or both are not visible by such fading. We are advised to wear them again immediately after such rubbing off. This is like ?renovation? (JeerNOddhaaraNam) of a temple.
(The above is as per the inputs at Kaalakshepams of Acharyas on AnushTaanams, while in India)

10. Mode of Sacred mark
Answer:
It would appear that when an AchArya observed that the base of the Sacred mark should touch the ?Moolam?, tip of the nose, one set took it to mean the Interciliary space between the eyebrows or ?top-tip? that links the eyebrows with a U shaped curve while the other took it to mean the ?toe-tip? with a spear- point - like stroke riding on the back of the nose reaching up to the nostrils. We do not know whether the AchArya did not explain what he meant or the Sishyas did not seek a clarification or the AchArya had become unavailable for a clarification! Be that as it may, the practices had come to stay and stay with such disastrous consequences. This is an example of how over -enthusiastic fanatics could blow up even insignificant and inconsequential distinctions to abnormal proportions.

In any linear dispensation, there are 3 locations recognized in Sastras viz. ?Agram?, ?Madhyam? and ?Moolam?. ?Agram? means tip; ?Madhyam? means ?midpoint? and ?Moolam? means the ?root? or ?base?.


Most of us know the Slokam on Lord Krishna:
? Kasturi Tilakam lalaaTa palakE Vaksha SthalE Kousthubam
Naasa agre nava mouktikam kara thalE VENum karE kangaNam??

Here, the words ?NaasagrE nava Mouktikam? are significant. This means that the Lord wears the nose jewel at the tip of the nose. Where is it worn? At the ?toe-tip? which ?Naasa Agra? means,(?toe-tip? and not at the ?top-tip?). Therefore, ?Naasa moolam? must refer to the other end viz. the intercilary space between the eyebrows and the base is said to be at this ?naasa moolam?

Perhaps, this is why followers of Bhagavad Ramanuja - Swami Desika Sampradayam wear the ?base? of the Sacred mark the way they do at the ?moolam? and not ?agram?
(The above is as per the inputs at Kaalakshepams of Acharyas on AnushTaanams, while in India)