THE STORY BEHIND LALITHASAHASRANAMA

The asuras reduced their body size to an atomic level.Like air-borne viruses they entered the bodies of all the gods and goddesses and drained their body fluids.

All the heavenly beings began to loose their luster and also their ability to procreate. These air-borne rakshasas in minuscule form also began to affect other life forms in a similar way.

All the gods,even the trinity and their spouses, were not spared of this agony. Finally all of them decided to take refuge under Vishnu. When they approached him they found that he and Lakshmi too were afflicted by the foul play of Bhandasura. When Lord Vishnu was asked about how Bhandasura could be stopped he revealed the existence of a supreme being called Maha Shambhu who was all knowing and all powerful. He told them that Maha Shambhu and his spouse Parashakthi  were the only two beings in the entire universe who were not affected by Bhandasura's noxious influence. Maha Shambhu otherwise known as Adi Shiva was the highest among the highest. He was the embodiment of supreme consciousness. The immaculate sheen of his purity , his unparalleled intellect and his unfathomable power engulfed all his creations from the tiniest of microorganisms to the largest of living beings and bathed them in the divine light of his wisdom. Being present along with his consort Parashakthi in every atom he is a witness to all our deeds.Destiny ,that controls even  the life of Gods,bows its head down in submission in front of this Lord of the Universe.Lord Vishnu concluded that Maha Shambhunathar alone could provide a panacea to this predicament. Saying thus Vishnu along with all the other gods traveled to the edge of the universe to meet Lord Shambhunatha.

Having reached the place the gods along with their vast arsenal made an effort in making a small hole through the wall so that they could enter  Shambhunathar's fortress. After trying for almost a year they finally manged to gain entry into the fortress. Upon entering they prayed to Maha Shambhunathar to appear in front of them. Lord Maha Shambhunatha then gave them his darshan. His form resembled that of Lord Shiva i.e. he too had three eyes, a kapala (skull) in one hand and a shoola in the other. Upon seeing the gods he smiled and told them that though he used to be in the form of Chidaksha yet he appeared before them in a different form so as to appease the basal intellects of all those who needed a form for the perception of anyone/anything. Looking at the woebegone countenances of the gods he told them that they all had to learn an important lesson from the incident. It was that no one should ever interfere with the course of destiny lest their actions may trigger the chain reaction setting in motion a chain of events that would have horrendous manifestations just like the birth of Bhandasura in their case. He further elaborated that Lord Shiva had tampered with the very fabric of fate when he burnt Manmadhan  to ashes. It was destined that Manmadhan would cast his arrow of lust at Shiva and that as a result of it  Lord Muruga would be born to Lord Shiva and Devi Parvathi  who would slay Tarakasura in order to restore peace.

He explained to the Gods that pralaya or the deluge was of three kinds 

1.Kaama Pralaya

2.Aavantara Pralaya

3.Maha Pralaya

He explained to them that Lord Vishnu would save them from Aavantara Pralaya. He also told them that the present problem came under Kaama Pralaya and that Devi Parashakthi alone could save them in such a situation. 

The Story Behind Lalithasahasranama

LORD MAHA SHAMBHUNATHAR

In an age when there was a constant power struggle between the devas and asuras ,there lived an asura of the name Tarakasura.By virtue of his penance he obtained a boon from the creator,Brahma himself, that he could only be killed by a son born to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi. Having obtained this boon he began to harass the devas. The troubled devas decided to take matters into their own hands and appointed the God of Love Manmadhan to the task of disturbing Lord Shiva from his  tapas by arousing amorous feelings in him towards his consort  Parvathi so that the prophecy may come true and that they may beget a son who would slay Tarakasura. Despite the dire warnings issued by his wife, Rathi, Manmadhan proceeded to the spot where Shiva was meditating and aimed his arrow of lust at the Lord.

 Sensing Manmadhan's presence and enraged by the blasphemous outrage that he had perpetrated Lord Shiva reduced him to ashes. Meanwhile one of Lord Shiva's ganas of the name Chitrakarman modeled a human form of Manmadhan's ashes and brought it to the Lord. The moment Lord Shiva set his eyes upon it, it sprang to life and upon the advice given by Chitrakarman  he recited Rudram with great devotion in order to please Lord Shiva. . Indeed the ways of fate are mysterious and inconceivable.

Immensely pleased by his devotion Lord Shiva appeared before him and granted him two boons. The first one being that he would rule the earth for over 60,000 years and the second that at any instance of combat he would acquire half of his opponent's power .On witnessing the Lord conferring these boons upon  him Brahma screamed Bhand meaning shame in Sanskrit. Thus he  acquired the name Bhandasura.

   From the ashes of  Manmadhan came Bhandasura's 2 brothers Vishukra and Vishanga along with thousands of other demons. Having established his kingdom at Shunyaka he decided to torment the gods.

To be continued...

THE VISIT TO THIRUAVADUTHURAI

Thirumandiram written by Tirumular is my favorite work. The book is most certainly one of the magnum opus of Ram Krishna Matam and is a treasure trove of  priceless spiritual information. Upon being exposed to this timeless work it is not any surprise that I developed a burning desire to visit Thiruavaduthurai ,the place where the great sage Thirumular composed this ethereal work. 

 The legend says that the sage in his previous life was the great Sundarar himself. When Sundarar was traveling in the form of an anu(atom) in the air he witnessed a very poignant scene. A cowherd had died and his body was surrounded by a herd of cows lamenting over their master's death. Moved by this sight the sage Sundarar practiced the technique of transmigration  and thus his soul entered the body of the cowherd Moolan. The Almighty's ways are indeed inconceivable and mysterious. Who but him the lord of the serpents would have known that this act of transmigration orchestrated by him would result in the composition of one of the greatest works of Saiva Siddhanta ever!

The process of finding the exact location of the temple was a herculean task indeed. Battling against the scorching heat of the April sun, finally ,by the grace of the lord ,we reached the temple.As the temples usually open only at 4:00 pm we had to wait an hour or so. Outside the temple there were a lot of small statues of various gods and goddesses such as Varahi, Maheshwari, Brahmi, Koumari ,Bhairava etc. Then after waiting for sometime finally the temple pujari arrived and opened the temple doors.The Nandi of the temple is huge.Though the temple is said to be under the control of the Aadheenam it is in a very pitiable condition.Sadly, apathy and neglect seem to desecrate the holiness of the place. The shiva linga in this temple is a svayambhu lingam and he is called Gomukthishwarar. This is because the goddess ,who had taken the form of a cow, worshiped lord shiva and finally the lord appeared before her and she ,shedding  her cow form, attained her original divine form.

The name of the goddess of this temple is Oppillaamulaiammai.  Besides lord shiva and goddess parvathi there is also a shrine dedicated to the saint Thirumular who composed Thirumandiram

in this very temple.

Tirugnanasambandar, Appar and Sundarar have sung devaram here. Arunagirinathar has sung a thiruppugazh here.

There is reference to this temple in Thiruvasakam,Thirumandiram,Periya Puranam and Thiruvisaipa.

To fulfill ones desires:

"Marayavan Oru Maanivandadaya....."

Sundarar Devaram

To live in prosperity:

"Idarinum thalarinum...."

Thirugnanasambandhar

Let us pray to Gomuktheeshwarar and Oppillaamulaiammai for their blessings.

NAMA  SHIVAYA

SHIVAYA NAMAHA

  Lord Shiva, the Supreme Being, the embodiment of tranquility , resplendent with the aura of pure intellect, is my favorite deity. Being a recipient of his infinite love and grace I feel that every individual should be a receptacle of his boundless compassion and grace.

    The world is plagued by suffering and in these dark times none but the divine feet of the lord could save us from the myriad of problems that surround us. In this site I will be posting information on the different temples that I have visited , their significance and the thirumurai padalgal (songs on lord Shiva) sung in these temples. For every predicament there is a specific thirumurai padal ,which when sung with devotion ,can relieve us of that problem.

   I pray to lord Shiva to help me use this site as a platform to form a fraternity of Shiva devotees. As Manikkavasagar says ,“Avan arulale avan thaal vanangi”, let him confer upon us his timeless grace to enable us to attain his feet.