QUES ANSW DIVINE 51 Dear friends,
Theseare information posted by members compiled as QA by me in 1998’s-2004’s andstored in my computer. At this date I have no information of the membersposted. BEING COMPILATION THERE MAY BE ERRORS. Sincerely, R. Gopalakrishnan, 78, Former AGM TelecomTrivandrum dated 19 -11-2021 Q1 What is the orgin of Krishnattam and Ramanattam? A1 The Sree Krishna Temple ofGuruvayoor was absolutely owned and maintained by the Zamourin of Kozhikodetill the end of their empire conquered by the British. One of the Zamourins, KingManavedan, contemporary of Saint Vilwamangalam, a scholar and poet, was anardent devotee of Guruvayoor deity. He used to find time, even amidst the tightschedules of governance, tospend few days in devotion within the precincts of the temple. Saint Vilwamangalam was very much in the temple and, it was known toall that he was frequented by the sight of Sree Krishna alive. Zamourin pestered the Saintwith a queer request to show him also the lord live during one of His secretiveappearance to him. Once, while walking out of the temple towards the‘Manjulal’, the Banyan tree named after a virgin devotee unified with the Lord,both of them came across fewchildren playing in the shade of it Vilwamangalam looked delighted andtold “Lord, quick, look atthese children touching my body”. Lo! It was a blissful sight oflifetime for the King. He saw Krishna as a lad squatting on the floorfrolicking and playing with other children. The King could not believe his eyesfor a second. Helost control of himself, in a sudden leap, jumped to the midst of the childrenand in a whiff, embraced Krishna. The LordHimself taken aback, chastised him saying, “tut, tut, Vilwamangalam did notseek permission from me for this” and wriggled Himself out of his caged arms. In the melee, the King could pick a peacockquill the Lord adorned his tuft. The King regarded this as a rare divinegift and made a crown in gold to tuck quill on. By the frenzy caused of divinetouch, the King wrote a drama on Krishna and premiered it in Guruvayoor Temple.The actor who played the role of Krishna was adored with peacock quill crown. The legend is that the actor,the moment he wore the crown, slipped into a godly mood and acted in asuperhuman manner making the play unexpectedly successful. Lord Krishna Himselfinvested in him. Story of Sree Krishna, fromincarnation to ascension, as narrated from the tenth chapter of Mahabharatham,is the theme of this drama staged in the Koothambalam (Temple dance stage) ofGuruvayoor temple for eight nights till dawn. Once the King Kerala Varma of Kottarakkararequested Manavedan, Zamourin of Kozhikode to send the Krishnanattam troupe tohis palace for a performance. Manavedan curtly rejected the requestexpressing that it is meant to be staged only in the Guruvayoor temple and also that thepeople of Southern Kerala have not yet grown intellectually to understand andenjoy such an art form, citing the incident at Tripunithura. Belittled andhumiliated King vowed to retort and immediately wrote Ramayanam in theAttakkadha fashion with verses set to music and prose dialogues. He named it “Ramanattam”, opposingKrishnanattam, and wished to bring in all the pomp andgrandeur of Krishnanattam to it. He composed the entire Ramayanam in eightvolumes in Manipravalam style (form of poetic composition in which words ofMalayalam and Snaskrit are blended indistinguishably like pearls and gemsstudded in a golden necklace). Itwas a dance drama and the actors were given special and tough training andrehearsals with rich costumes and jewellery and premiered in the Kottarakkarapalace. Q2 Everybodyknows of temple at Tirunalli. What are its attributes? A2 The temple at Thirunelli near Mananthody,built within the confines of thick forests, is widely considered as the Benaras of the South and visited bythousands. My note- Till 1997, there was no bus service to Tirunelli fromMananthavadi. I went to temple in office jeep. Q3 What isthe importance of Munnar? A3 On to central Kerala andMunnar at an altitude of over 5000 feet. This town is a creation of the BritishRaj, and developed along with the tea plantations that can be seen for milesaround. (Legend has it that a local chieftain KannanDevan or Thevar showed the first planters the way around the place. The teastill bears the chief’s name - Kannan Devan Tea - a popular tea all overKerala). My note- The tea advertisements appearalmost every day in Malayalam TV Channels. However the tea packet cover it iswritten kanan and notkannan. Onecan observe the advertisement. Q4 What arethe attributes of Aranmula? A4 The Aranmula boat race ismore traditional and is associated with temple festival there. The AranmulaBoat Festival The Parthasarathy temple of Aranmula (Aranmula is famed for themetallic mirror, used by royalty of pre independent India.) is on the banks of the holy riverPamba. It is believed that LordKrishna and Balarama visited this place after the battle of Kurukshetra Legendhas it that since Balarama found a high ground to escape the floodwaters andrested there, Lord Krishna in a fit of jealousy created a more elevated spotand rested there. Hencethis temple has two sanctum sanctorums -one for Lord Krishna and one for Balarama at a lower level Q5 What do the fivefaces of Siva indicate? A5 Shiva is fivefold,his five faces being Ishana, Tatpurusha, Aghora,Vamadeva and Sadjyojata, and eightfold as the eightdirections. Mahadeva Shiva is also lord of all beings of the underworld, includingbhutas (elementals), pretas (ghosts), and pishachas (flesh eaters) and the restDattatreya (Datta, son of Atri), who is looked upon as and Incarnation of God. Some of the Puranas mention him, and of these, the Markandeya containsthe longest reference; He was born of highly spiritual parents, Atri andAnasuya Q6 Is there any reference to sabari malatemple in the Ramayana? A6 It is believed that Lord Parasuramaconsecrated the deity of the temple at the foot of Sabari hills to which referencehas been made in Ramayana. Q7 What are all the deities at Sabari mala? A7Sabarimala temple complex mainly comprises of the Holy Eighteen Steps (PONNUPATHINETTAM PADI) in the front side for ascending to theupper thirumuttom, the main temple of SREE DHARMA SASTHA, shrines of KANNIMELGANAPTHY and NAGARAJA. In the upper thirumuttom, VAVAR SWAMY (aMuslim saint) and KARUPPA SWAMY in the lower thirumuttom by the side ofPathinettampadi and temple of SREE MALIKAPURAM DEVI, NAVA GRAHA DEVAS, KADUTHASWAMY, MALANADAYIL BHAGAVATHY NAGA DEVAS and MANI MANDAPAM about 50 meters awayon the north western side assemble through fly-over from the uppers thirumuttomof the Sastha temple. Q8 Where is SreeDharmasastha Temple at Sabarimala is situated ? A8 Sree Dharmasastha Temple at Sabarimala is situated within the ReserveForest area in Perinad village at Ranni Taluk in Pathanamthitta District inKerala The temple is located in a valley surrounded by dense ForestHills on all sides. Q9 What is The distanceto Sabarimala from Pamapa? A9 The distance to Sabarimala from Pamapa – Triveni Sarasthadom is about 6 kms On the upperside of the north bank of the river shrines of Sree Mahaganapathy. Sree Rama,Sree Anjaneya and Sree Parvathy are situated. Q10 How many Thiruvabharanamare there for Lord Ayyappa? Is there any thirivabharanam for malikapurathamma? A10 Notone but two. Second Thiruvabharanamfor adorning Lord Ayyappa on the Mandala Pooja day is brought ceremoniously inprocession from Aranmula on Dhanu 9th. Thiruvabharan for adorning the LordAyyappa and Malikappuram Devi on the Makara vilakku Pooja is on 1stof Makram-(January 14th), is brought from Pandalam Palace in grand procession. The annual MakaraVilakku Pooja is being conducted in the month of January between 12thand 14th; the last day of the celebration being MAKARA SANKRANTHI(vernal equinox) Day My note- My home is Pandalam. Q11 Ayyappan is said to be theyoungest of three childrens of Lord Siva. Who are his elder brothers? A11Shiva succumbed to the beauty of Mohini and Ayyappan was born out of thisunion. Hence the name Hari Hara Putra - Hari (Vishnu), Hara (Shiva), Putra(son). Ayyappanis regarded as the third son of Shiva, the other two being Ganesha and Muruga. During Bhasmasura nigraham Shivawas himself enticed by the charm and beauty of Mohini and as a result of theirunion, Ayyappanwas born on the auspicious day of Makara Sankranthi, when the star Uttrarnwas on the ascendence. My note- There are otherversions about Lord Ayyappa’s birth Q12 Why did Manikandatook along with a coconut of tri-netrom when went to get tigress milk? A12 TheKing advised Manikanda to take along a coconut of tri-netrom (three eyed coconut) to represent Shivain order to protect him and some food items to sustain him till his return, ina cloth bundle known as irumudi which was to be carried upon his head. Q13 Who is Leela and what isthe importance of kallidam kunnu? A13Ayyappan killed Mahishi and threw the dead body into a nearby place calledKallidurnkunnu. Mahishi’s soul emerged and was redeemed from a curse sustainedfrom her previous life when she was known as Leela Q14 Who is malikapurathamman? A14 She requested Ayyappan tomarry her and take her as his consort. As Manikandan was to be a Brahmachari (celibate ascetic), he refusedher request, but he agreed to give her a place as his Shakti on Sabari Hill.This place is now known as Malikapurathamma shrine. The King and the Queen realized that Manikandawas an avatar, a human incarnation of Shiva, and prayed for his mercy. Q15 What is the Udayanan storyrelated to Lord Ayyappa? A15 Thehistory of Ayyappan and the Kingdom of Panthalam revolves around the notoriousrobber called Udayanan. Udayananbuilt up many fortresses on the mountain of Talippara, Inchippara and Karimala in the forestsof Pathalam. Udayanan used to plunder wealth from the palace and the villageheadmen. Udayanan wanted to marry thedaughter of the King of Panthalam. As this was refused by the King, Udayananabducted his daughter and kept her in one of his fortresses. A priestof an old temple, Sabarimala, rescued this girl from the clutches of Udayananand married her. Udayanan came to know about this and he killed the priest. Inthe meanwhile, the King of Panthalam conducted a Yaga yajna to get the blessingof Lord Shiva in order to restore the order and sanctity of his kingdom. Lord Shiva appearedin his dreams and informed him that his daughter had been rescued by a priestand that she had married him. A son was born, known asJayanthan, who would be anavatar of Shiva and Vishnu with the prowess of martial arts, soldiery andpowers of Tantra to avenge Udayanan. During this period, a Muslim bandit namedVavar who came from Arabia, came to contact Jayathan while he was defeatingUdayanan. Subsequently,this bandit was converted and he joined the army of Jayanthan. The King ofPanthalam came to know the bravery of Jayanthan and invited him to the palace,named him as Ayyappan and accorded him all the powers to rule the kingdom. After 12 years of establishing peace in the country, Ayyappan soughtpermission to leave the palace. The king wished to have an abode made in hismemory at the site of the old ruined temple where his priest-father was killedby Udayanan. Accordingly, asanctum was built to install an idol made of panchaloha (an alloy of fivemetals), climbing 18 steps to reach the sanctum. These 18 steps torepresent 5 indriyas, 8 ragas, 3 gunas, vidya and avidya. Ayyappanalso advised the king of the nature of the austerities to be observed beforethe pilgrimage to this temple. On the day of consecration and installation of the idol,amidst the sound of saranam chanting and conches, pipes and drums, Ayyappan wastransformed into a stroke of lightning and got absorbed in the idol ofDharma Sasta. This was his birthday, the auspicious day of Makara Sankrathi. Q16 What was the orginal name ofLord ayyappa as per Udayanan story and who were his parents? A16 Readthe udayanan story given above. Jayanthan was the orginal name of Ayyappan. He was the sonof a Pandalam rajakumari who wasabducted by Udayanan but saved by thepriest of sabari mala who married her. Q17 What are the 3 austeritiesprescribed for devotees for sabarimalai pilgrimage? A37 The3 austerities prescribed for devotees are: 1). Austerityof body -Purity, uprightness, continence and non violence 2). Austerityof mind -Tranquility, gentleness, silence, self control andpurity of thought 3). Austerityof speech -Speech that causes no annoyance to others,truthful, pleasant and beneficial and recitation of scriptures. Vegetarianismhas been prescribed during the 41 days vritharn to help achieve the aboveausterities. Brahmacharya (continence) will help convert the physical energy tospiritual energy. Self surrender leads to self realization. The self thatsurrenders is the ego and the self that realizes is God. The carrying ofirrurnudi on the head and chanting of saranammantrain is a total surrender toGod. Intemples, the celebration of Makara Vilakku Pooja is conducted along thetradition of Tantra, Mantra and Yantra rituals interwoven in its poojaprograms. Q18 How many forms a deity hasto be simultaneously worshipped? A18According to Brahmopanishad, a deity is to be worshipped simultaneously at 4places: 1). Idol(Bimba) 2). Fire (Vahini) 3). Water pitcher (Kumbha) 4). Mystic diagrams(Mandala - yantra) All the above areincorporated in our pooja system during the last 3 days of Makara Vilakku . Arathiis the culmination of the offerings of prayers to the deity. Mandalaradhana(yantra worship) originated in the early period of A.D. 300 and was perfectedover the next 500 years Q19 Do the Pandalam royalfamily was originally Kerala kings? A19 NONO Historytell Pandya Kings from Madurai were rulings kerala once. .The descedants of Pandya dynastydiscarded by Thirumala Naicker Diwan of Raja Vijayanagar, who was then ruling the Pandya Kingdom, comprising of Madurai,Tirunelveli, Ramananthapuram, were living scattered were living scattered in places like Valliyur, Tenkasi,Shengottah Achankovil and Sivagiri. At that timePandyas were ruling in many parts of Travancore and the descendants of Pandiya kingbelonging to chempazhanattu kovil living in Sivagiri were given the right to rule the country of Pandalam , the king of Travancore eight hundres years ago. Rajasekara was the directdescendant of this dynasty. Q20 What was the first miracledone by Manikantan? A20 Oncompletion of his education at Pandalam his Guru further told Manikandan thathe had one request to make and that was that his only son who was bli-nd and dumb should be given vision and speech. Manikandan calledthe Guru’s son and put his hands on his head and immediately Guru’s son had his vision and speech. Manikandan told the Guru not to revealthis to anyone and went to the Palace. Q21 Who was rajarajan? A21 Inthe meanwhile, the Queen gave birth to a male child and the child was namedRaja Rajan. KingRajasekara, impressed with the talents of Manikandan,decided to crown him, treating him as his eldest son Q23 Which manual the ministerquote to convince the Queen not to crown ayyappa as the king? A23 The minister said it was not correct to crown a person who came from the forest.He further told the Queen sinceArthasastra itself has justified anymisdeed if it was done to extract a good thing Q24 Do Ayyappan was the first to go to forest to get tigress milk? A24 NONO. The King sent several of his men to theforest for bringing this milk. The King understood that it was an impossibletask and wanted his dear Queen to be cured at any cost and offered half of hisKingdom to anybody who brought the Milk. Q25 What was the trick playedby Ayyappan to go to forest on King Rajasekhara to give his conscent? A25However, the King told him that he was awaiting to be crowned to the throne that he was also not of age and hencerefused to let him go. Manikandantold the King inspite of his refusal, he had to go lest he would becursed for not curing the Queen. King Rajasekara made arrangements to send a group of his loyal menalong with Manikandan, which however was refused by Manikandan onthe ground that the tigress might run away seeing the crowd of soldiers. Manikantanplayed a trick. He told Maharaja that if he should not go to forest King has toconsent to his wish. King agreed. Then he told the king his wish is to go toforest!!! King Rajasekara sent alongwith Manikandan necessaryfoodstuffs and coconuts with three-eyes, in remembrance of Lord Shiva.The Panchabuthas, sent by Lord Shiva, accompanied Manikandan to Forest.However, on his way seeing the atrocities of Mahishi in the Devaloka, he went there and in the battle between them, Mahishi was pushedby Manikandan into the earth, where she fell on the banks of Azhutha River. Manikandanclashed with her there. At the end, of the battle between Mahishi and Manikandan at Azhutha River banks, Manikandan climbed up her chest and danced violently. The impactof his dance was felt in the Earth and Devloka and the Devas were afraid.Mahishi knowing that the divine power dancing on her body was none other than the son of Hari and Haran, prostrated beforeManikandan and died. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. 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