Greatness of India –Mahans-Rama Nama --- By Sri.Sri.Muralidhara Swamiji – Part-2

[Ravishankar.G]

Radhe Krishna To all,

Contd... from Part-1

There once lived a king, Vallala Maharaja, who was deeply devoted to Lord Arunachaleswara. He has renovated and built a huge tower in this temple that is called 'Vallala Maharaja Gopuram'. He prayed to the Lord for a son, as he was heirless. The Lord said to him that He (the Lord) would Himself be his son. True to His word, the Lord performed the death rites of this king, just as a son would. Even today after 600 years, on every 'Masi Makha' (the Tamzih month
Masi when the star 'Makha' is on the ascent), the day of the death of the king, the Lord performs the annual death rites for the king! This tradition of the Lord going to the nearby village Pallikondãnpattu to perform the annual death rites is followed scrupulously in this temple. This goes to show the glory of Lord Arunachaleswara as also the glory of this great Temple.

The temple tower of Lord Brahadeeswara, Thanjavur (Tamizh Nadu State, S.India) is said
to be the tallest. It is 126'. But, the tower of Lord Arunachaleswara temple here is a foot taller. It
is 127'! 

Yet another glory of this Holy Place is the fruitfulness of the Penance of women.
Some say that women should not perform tapas (spiritual austerities). But, Tiruvannamalai is a place where the tapas of women bear fruit easily! Even in Kanyakumari (the southern most tip of India) one knows not if the tapas of Devi (Goddess Parvati, consort of Lord Siva), who is doing tapas, as a young girl, has borne fruit. She is said to be doing tapas even today. However, Goddess Parvati performed tapas here in Tiruvannamalai and attained a place in the body (left half) of Lord Siva.

This is the place where the tapas of Goddess Parvati bore fruit. It is here that the form 'Ardha-nareeshwara' (Half-a-woman - 'ardha' means half and 'naree' means lady) came to be. [It is a
form where the right half is the form of Lord Siva and the left half, the form of Parvati, His consort] A idol for Ardhanareeshwara is found in this temple. This idol is very lustrous . On 'Deepam' evening when the 'Pancha Murti' (five deities) are taken in procession, Ardhanareeshwara also goes along. Thus, this is a Place where the spiritual austerities of women bear fruit very easily.

Moreover, the visit to the temple in Palani (Lord Muruga's temple, Tamizh Nadu, S.India) fulfills one's prayer. The visit to Vaitheeswaran temple (Lord Siva' temple, Tamizh Nadu, S.India) cures all kinds of diseases. People say that this is due to the existence of the samadhi (place where the physical body of a saint has been placed to rest) of Bogar (a Siddha Purusha) in Palani and the
existence of samadhi of Dhanvantri in Vaitheeswaran temple. The reason for the 'sannidhya' (Holy Presence) in a Temple is being credited to the existence of the 'adhishtanam' (samadhi) there.

Similarly, today everyone undertakes pilgrimage to Ayodhya as it is the birthplace of Lord Rama and to Mathura, as it is the birthplace of Lord Krishna. Kaladi, the birthplace of Adi Sankara,
is also being looked upon and visited by all as a place of pilgrimage. The birthplace of a Mahan, the place where a Mahan had lived, things that had been touched or used by a Mahan, those who are connected with Mahans, all become pure and holy. Mahatmas purify the whole world by their actions and very Presence. One does not even know if Sankara who left Kaladi at the age of 8 ever returned here.

!!! Will Continue !!!

Regards
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
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