Vedanam 2023

  There was a king named Uttanapada who had two wives – Sunithi and Suruchi. Sunithi had a son named Dhruv and Suruchi’s son was named Uttama. For some reason, the king favoured Suruchi more. He spent more time with her and Uttama. One day Dhruv saw the king playing with Uttama in the garden. The boy sat on the king’s lap and was being pampered by the king. Dhruv too wanted to sit on his father’s lap. He approached the king and was about to sit on his lap when he was rudely pulled away by Suruchi. She said to him nastily. “You might be the son of a king, but you are clearly not his favoured son. Only my Uttama has the right to sit on his father’s lap. If you so desire, then pray to the Lord to make you my son in your next birth. Now go away from here!” Dhruv, totally heart-broken, looked at his father for some kind of intervention. When the king remained silent, the child ran to his mother and cried in her lap. Sunithi consoled the weeping Dhruva. “Do not cry, child. As Sur...

Picture Courtesy: Tamilnadu Tourism Today we will read about Abathsahayeswarar temple which is located in Ponnur, Mayiladuthrai district, Tamil Nadu. The presiding deity is Lord Shiva in the form of Abathsahayeswarar who is also referred to as Agnipureeswarar and His consort is Devi Perianayaki. The temple has been constructed such that for five days during Panguni Utharam (the day when Lord Shiva married Devi Parvathi, also the day when Lord Ayappa manifested on earth), the rays of the sun fall on the deity of the temple.  Legend has it that a demon named Taraka was wreaking havoc on earth. The Devas sought the help of Lord Shiva. However the Lord was deep into meditation and did not respond to their pleas. To stir the Lord, the Devas told Manmatha to strike the Lord with his arrow which could induce passion in any being. When Manmatha, the messenger of love, shot his arrow on Lord Shiva, the Lord opened his eyes and such was the power in them that Manmatha was burnt to ashes. His...

  The sons of Diti grew in power. They did severe penance and meditated on Lord Brahma for many years. Finally the Lord blessed them with His vision and asked them what they desired. Hiranyakashipu, one of the Asuras, asked for immortality. However Lord Brahma said that nobody could be immortal. The Asura, modifying his request said. “Grant me this boon, Lord, that no god or man, no weapon, nothing created by you should kill me. Neither during the day nor during the night, neither in the earth, nor in the sky, neither inside the house, nor outside – I should not die under such conditions.” It seemed that Hiranyakashipu indeed had thought about all possibilities! Lord Brahma granted him his boon. Emboldened by their powers, the two asuras Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha set out into the world and wreaked havoc everywhere. They kept hearing the name of Lord Narayana and hated Him with vengeance. They made it their purpose to defeat Him. Hiranyaksha entered the abode of Varuna, the...

  In this article, we will read about not one, but three temples which are together considered as a single Divya Desham of Maha Vishnu. The set of temples is referred as Thanjai Mamanikoil and is located near Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. Maha Vishnu graces the devotees in three forms: Neela Megha Perumal, Manikundra Perumal and Veera Narsimha Perumal. All these temples are located at very short distances from each other.  The temples' legends are as interesting as the temples. Once upon a time, there lived three Asuras in the earth named Thanjagan, Thandagan and Gajamukhan. These three demons worshipped Lord Shiva and asked Him for immortality. Lord Shiva blessed them that they could be defeated only by Maha Vishnu and by no one else.   The Asuras grew arrogant with their new-found power and started harassing everyone on the earth. At that time, many places on the earth were facing draught and famine. But there existed one place where the earth was still fertile and bloomi...

  Vaikuntha is said to be the abode of Lord Mahavishnu. There are seven gates to cross if one wants to reach Vaikuntha. Once, it so happened that the sons of Brahma – Rishi Sanaka, Rishi Sananda, Rishi Sanatana and Rishi Sanatkumara felt an intense desire to see Lord Vishnu. They crossed the six gates that led to the holy abode and were at the seventh and final gate when they found themselves stopped by none other than Jaya and Vijaya, the door-keepers of Vaikunta. “No one can enter now.” The door-keepers said threateningly stepping in front of the Rishis. Overcome with the desire to see Mahavishnu, the Rishis ignored their command and tried to walk past the doorkeepers. This time, they both placed their staffs in front of the Rishis, and again said. “No one can enter, like we said before.” Nothing angers the mind like unfulfilled desire. The Rishis felt insulted by the door-keepers. Their action angered them. The Rishis said – “Perhaps your close presence beside the Lord h...

  During his travels, Vidura came to the Ashram of Maitreya Rishi and requested him to narrate the various leelas of Lord Narayana. Maitreya Rishi began his narration with the beginning of a new cycle of creation. A deluge had submerged the earth. Lord Narayana was in Yoga Nidra after the Pralaya, having absorbed the entire Universe into Him where it lay in dormancy. There was a state of equilibrium for a long while. Then the concept called Time caused some disturbance in the equilibrium. Out of the navel of Narayana, there arose a thin stalk which grew into an enormous lotus and illuminated its surroundings with its brilliance. Into this lotus, entered another form of Narayana named Brahma. Finding Himself all alone, Brahma looked around in all directions, and in every direction He looked, He sprouted a new head. All He could see was a vast endless expanse of water around, and all He could hear was the sound of the waves crashing against each other. He looked downwards and reali...

Today we will read about a Divya Desham of Maha Vishnu which has been mentioned in the Brahmanda Puraana. The temple is called Soundararaja Perumal temple which has Sounderaraja Perumal as the presiding deity and Soundaravalli as His consort. The temple is located in Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu.  The place Nagapattinam was initially a forest named Sundararanyam. It is a most blessed place, for it has been a place of worship for many devotees. In the Tretha Yug, Dhruva, the child-devotee of Maha Vishnu came here and meditated upon the Lord to get His divine vision. It is also said that Maha Lakshmi too meditated here to be united with the Lord during Tretha Yuga. In the Sathya Yuga, Markandeya Maharishi did penance here. Lord Brahma Himself is said to have worshipped Maha Vishnu in this place. On the auspicious day of Maasi Magham which is celebrated sometime around February - March when a full moon appears when the Magham Nakshatra is dominant, Maha Vishnu is said to have appeared bes...

  In the last chapter of Bhagavatham, we read that Parikshit was humbled by the curse of Shringi and renounced his kingdom. After retiring to the banks of the Ganga, he went on prayopavesha (fasting till death). At the banks of the river, he met many sages such as Narada, Atri, Vashista, Vishwamitra and many more. Parikshit was overwhelmed that so many people of wisdom had come to meet him. “I am blessed, there is no doubt. Surely I must have done some good deed in my past births, that you all have come to meet me. The Rishi who cursed me has in fact blessed me since I am now preparing for the next life in the presence of wise men like you. I have renounced everything and I am now ready for the next journey. I have only one wish - may my ears listen only to the glory of Lord Narayana in the last days of my life. Please advise me the course of action that is to be taken by someone at the point of their death so that they attain liberation.” The Rishis suggested various ways such...

(Picture Courtesy: Mentioned in the image.) In this blog, we will read about a temple named Somanathaswami temple which is located in a village named Needur in Mayiladuthrai district of Tamil Nadu. This place is referred to as Sapthapuri. The presiding deity is Lord Shiva in the form of Somanathaswami and His consort is Devi Veyurutholi Amman. Needur means eternal. It is believed that even Pralaya could not destroy this place, hence it came to be called as Needur.  There are many interesting legends associated with this place.  The sins of a demon named Manmasudhan caused his rebirth as a crab. The demon requested Rishi Narada for help. The Rishi guided him to pray to Lord Shiva. Accordingly the demon in the form of a crab came to Cauvery and bathed in the holy water and prayed to Lord Shiva who was immensely pleased with him. The Lord decided to take the crab into His own form to grant liberation to Manmasudhan. A hole formed in the lingam and the crab happily merged into it,...

  Once King Parikshit was out hunting. While pursuing a deer he lost his way and wandered around the forest in severe hunger, thirst and fatigue. He came across an Ashram. He went inside and called out for someone to help him. Not getting any response, he walked around, searching for people. He saw a Rishi sitting in meditation. The Rishi was completely lost to the world. Parikshit initially called him out gently, requesting for water. When the Rishi did not respond, the king called out his name forcefully. Inspite of everything, the Rishi showed no movement. The combination of hunger, thirst and fatigue turned a good king into a desperate version of himself. Feeling angry and disgusted with the Rishi, Parikshit looked around and found a dead snake lying on the grass. In a terrible moment of weakness, the king lifted the snake with the tip of his bow and flung it around the Rishi’s neck. Still the Rishi did not come out of his meditation! Parikshit left the Ashram in anger. T...

Picture Courtesy: Tamilnadu Tourism The next temple in the list of Divya Desham of Maha Vishnu is the Lokanatha temple which is situated in Sikkal, Tamil Nadu. The presiding deity is Maha Vishnu in the form of Lokanatha Perumal and His consort is Devi Lokanaayaki.  There is a very beautiful legend associated with this temple. Rishi Vashist was a great devotee of Lord Krishna. He made an idol of Krishna with butter and worshipped it every day. The butter never melted. Krishna was pleased with his devotion and decided to playfully test him. One day, while the Rishi was worshipping the butter-made idol, Krishna took on the form of a child and began eating the idol. This enraged the Rishi and he tried to catch hold of the child who started running to escape the Rishi's wrath. Vashist followed him until the child came to a place where a group of Rishis were chanting. The Rishis, seeing Vashist chasing the boy, caught hold of the child and tied him to a tree. That is when Krishna reveale...

  The kingdom of Hastinapura was handed over to Parikshit, son of Abhimanyu and grandson of Arjuna. Great things had been forecasted for Parikshit in his horoscope. The elders had predicted that he would be honourable and truthful like Shri Rama, a giver like King Shibi, an archer like Arjuna, as royal as Himavan, as patient as the Mother Earth, as courageous as Bali and as devoted to Lord Narayana like Prahlad. It was also predicted that he would learn the ultimate Brahma Vidya from Rishi Shuka and his name would be remembered across generations to come. Parikshit turned out to be exactly what he was expected to be. Under his reign, his kingdom flourished. He married Iravati and they had a son named Janamejaya. Although he performed his duties justly, Parikshit could not ignore the signs of destruction that were prevalent everywhere due to the influence of Kali. He personally wished to destroy Kali and restore the earth to her former glory. Gradually, Kali-yuga was setting in....

Picture Courtesy: Tamilnadu Tourism In this blog, we will read about Shivalokanathar temple which is located in a village called Thirupunkur in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu. Lord Shiva is the presiding deity and His consort is Soundarya Naayaki.  The special feature of this temple is that the lingam is in the form of an ant-hill and has a shield covering it. The devotees can see the lingam only with the shield. The temple's history is associated with Nandanar, one of the 63 Nayanmar (devotees of Lord Shiva). Nandanar belonged to a lower class and was a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva. As he was passing by this temple, he wished to see the Lord. However he was not allowed inside the temple and was ordered to view the deity from the gate of the shrine. The lingam was small in size, and the Nandi was bigger. Lord Shiva commanded Nandi to shift to a side so that His devotee could have an unobstructed view of Him.  Lord Vinayaka dug a tank outside the temple to enable Nandanar...