QUES ANSW DIVINE 72 Q1 What are the attributes of Alangudi Guru temple? Do thereis any other Guru temple near Kumbakonam?
A1 Lord Sivaswallowed the deadly poison (Aala Kaala Visham) for deliverance. Thus givingrise to the name Alangudito this temple and the Lord came to be called Aabathsagayar (Saviour) SundaramurthyNaayanar received his Gnana-upadesam after his darshanam of Lord Siva in theform of Dakshinamurthy at this temple. Worship Guru andLord Siva at this temple cure one from physical illness and provide, progeny,good education, valour and longevity of life. There is anothertemple for for Guru at Suryananr Koil near Tanjavur This temple isconsidered most auspicious amongst all Navagraha temples, for it is only in this temple that Guru is facing Surya. The worship of Gurucures stomach ailments and helps one ward off his/her sins. Q2What are the attributes of Guru? A2 There are few shrines specific to Guru.Alangudi, Tiruchendur, Suryananr Koil, Kapleeshwarar Temple and Apparswami Koilin Mylapore, Chennai According toShivapurana Guru was born to Angirasa and Suroopa. His brothers are Utathya andSamvartana. Q3 Do you think Guru was 100% perfect? A3 SukracharyaAsura guru was getting fame above and Above. Hence with an aim to know his additionalknowledge Devas sent Apsaras Jayanthi tohim. Shukraacharya is enamoured by a celestial damsel called Jayanthi and Brihaspathi works it out tohis advantage. While Shukraacharya is under the spell of the beautifuldamsel, Brihaspathi goes to the demonsin the guise of their guru, Shukraacharya. The demons taking Brihaspathi to betheir guru, confide in him all the secrets.The demons are later shocked to see their real guru arrive. A fight starts between the twogurus and finally Brihaspathi vanishes. Q4 Could you please tell me theinner meaning of the kiirtimukha? A4 Rahu was once sent as a messenger to Siva to demand thatthe latter surrender His wife to the king. "Why does an ascetic require such a beautiful wife?" Siva got angry and from His anger a rather fierce beingemerged, with three heads, seven legs,and terrible fangs. The being rushed at Rahu in order to devour him, and Rahudived at Siva's feet begging for protection. "I am only apoor brahmin, sent as a messenger." he said, "please Siva, protect me!". On hearing the word'brahmin' the being immediately left off his attack, and Siva allowed Rahu to return tothe demons. The being, however,complained to Siva that he was hungry, and Siva told him that if he were trulyhungry he should eat hisown hands and feet. The being took thisas an order, and devoured his own limbs until only his head was left. At this, Siva became verypleased and called him "kiirtimukha" and bade him toprotect the doors of his temples forever. Kiirti means fame, while mukha means face.However, here, kiirtimukha refers to the terrible face one has, but a Heartwhich will obey Shiva even without thinking about its health. We should all belike that. Q5 What are the five faces of Lord Siva? A5 Shiva is fivefold, his five faces beingIshana, Tatpurusha, Aghora, Vamadeva and Sadjyojata MahadevaShiva is also lord of all beings of the underworld, including bhutas(elementals), pretas (ghosts), and pishachas (flesh eaters) and the rest. Q6 Who concecrated the Sabarimalai temple? Where is thetemple? A6 It is believed that Lord Parasurama consecrated thedeity of the temple at the foot of Sabari hills to which reference has beenmade in Ramayana. SreeDharmasastha Temple at Sabarimala is situated within the Reserve Forest area inPerinad village at Ranni Taluk in Pathanamthitta District in Kerala. The templeis located in a valley surrounded by dense Forest Hills on all sides. Thedistance to Sabarimala from Pamapa – Triveni Sarasthadom is about 6 kms Q7 An important question- do there are two thiruvabharamsfor Sabari malai sastha? A7 YES Thiruvabharanam for adorning Lord Ayyappa on the MandalaPooja day is brought ceremoniously in procession from Aranmula on Dhanu 9th. Thiruvabharan foradorning the Lord Ayyappa and Malikappuram Devi on the Makara vilakku Pooja ison 1st of Makram-(January 14th), is brought from Pandhalam Palace in grand procession Q8 Who is the Godess Malikapurathamma? A8 Ayyappan killedMahishi and threw the dead body into a nearby place called Kallidurnkunnu.Mahishi’s soul emerged and was redeemed from a curse sustained from herprevious life when she was known as Leela. She requested Ayyappan to marry her and take heras his consort. As Manikandan was to be a Brahmachari (celibate ascetic), herefused her request, but he agreed to give her a place ashis Shakti on Sabari Hill. This place is now known as Malikapurathamma shrine. Q9 What is the Udayanan story? A9 Udayanan builtup many fortresses on the mountain of Talippara, Inchippara and Karimala in theforests of Pathalam. Udayanan used to plunder wealth from the palace and thevillage headmen. Udayananwanted to marry the daughter of the King of Panthalam. As this was refused by the King, Udayananabducted his daughter and kept her in one of his fortresses. A priest of an old temple, Sabarimala, rescued this girlfrom the clutches of Udayanan and married her. Udayanan came to know about this and he killed the priest. In the meanwhile, the King of Panthalam conducted a Yagayajna to get the blessing of Lord Shiva in order to restore the order andsanctity of his kingdom. Lord Shiva appearedin his dreams and informed him that hisdaughter had been rescued by a priest and that she had married him. A son wasborn, known as Jayanthan, who would be an avatar of Shiva and Vishnu with theprowess of martial arts, soldiery and powers of Tantra to avenge Udayanan. During this period,a Muslim bandit named Vavar whocame from Arabia, came to contact Jayathan while he was defeating Udayanan. Subsequently, this bandit was converted and he joined thearmy 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 ofestablishing peace in the country, Ayyappan sought pennission to leave thepalace. The king wished to have anabode made in his memory at the site of the old ruined temple where hispriest-father was killed by Udayanan. Accordingly, a sanctum was built toinstall an idol made of panchaloha (an alloy of five metals), climbing 18 stepsto reach the sanctum. These 18 steps to represent 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 ofthe idol, amidst the sound of saranam chanting and conches, pipes and drums, Ayyappan was transformed into astroke of lightning and got absorbed in the idol of Dharma Sasta. This was hisbirthday, the auspicious day of Makara Sankrathi. Another version of the incidents are slightly different. King Rajasekara told him that they wanted to raise a temple in his memory and suggest a suitable place for the temple. Manikandanaimed an arrow which fell at a place called Shabari, where in Sri Rama’s era aSanyasini called Shabari observed Dhavam. Lord Manikandan told the King to build the temple in that place andthen he disappeared. At the advice of Saint Agasthya, King Rajasekara laid the foundation stone for thebuilding Shabarimala Temple. When the King was thinking how to put Dharmasastha’s figure in thetemple for darshan to devotees, he recalled the words of the Bhagwan, theRiver Pampa was a holy river as River Ganga, Sabarimala was a holy place as Kasi. Dharmasastha sent Parasuraman to Sabarimala whocarved the figure of LordAyyappa and installed it on the day ofMakarasankranthi. Q10 What is the method of worshipping a deity? A10 According to Brahmopanishad, a deity is to be worshipped simultaneously at 4 places: 1). Idol (Bimba)2). Fire (Vahini) 3). Water pitcher (Kumbha) 4). Mystic diagrams (Mandala -yantra) All the above are incorporated in our pooja system duringthe last 3 days of Makara Vilakku. Arathi is theculmination of the offerings of prayers to the deity. Q11 When did the mandalaradhana started ? A11 Mandalaradhana (yantra worship) originated inthe early period of A.D. 300 and was perfected over the next 500 years. Q12 What was the miracle done by Ayyappan to his Guru’s son? A12 Manikandan called the Guru’s son and put his hands on his head and immediatelyGuru’s son had his vision and speech. Manikandan told the Guru not to reveal this to anyone and went to the Palace. Q13 An intereresting question- Did the Minister quoted Arthasasthram to the Pandalam rajas queen to convince her his mis deeds? A13 Yes. it was not correct to crown a person who came from the forest. He further told the Queen since Arthasastra itself has justified any misdeed if it was doneto extract a good thing, Q14 Do King Rajasekhara blindly send Lord ayyappa to forestto get tiger milk? A14NO NO. KingRajasekhara wanted his dear Queen to be cured at any cost and offered half of his Kingdom to anybody who brought theMilk. King Rajasekara made arrangements tosend a group of his loyal men along with Manikandan, which however was refused by Manikandan on theground that the tigress might run away seeing the crowd of soldiers. King Rajasekara sent alongwith Manikandan necessaryfoodstuffs and coconuts with three-eyes, in remembrance of Lord Shiva. The Panchabuthas, sentby Lord Shiva, accompanied Manikandan to Forest Q15 It is told a Garuda follow the Tiruvabharam processionfrom Pandalam.Do the same happens from the Tiruvabharam starts from Aranmulafor Mandalam? A15 A Garuda, the Brahaman kite, follows thisornaments-carrying procession, hovering about in the sky, After these ornamentsare worn on the Lord the bird circles the temple in the sky three times anddisappears . The same thing is seen for the Tiruvabharam from Aranmula also. A Star never seenbefore in the sky appears on the day of Makarajyothi day before the sighting ofthe Jyoti. A Jyoti is seen for a little time on the hilltop showing thepresence of Swamy Ayyappan gracing his devotees.But there is no Mandala jyothi. Q16 What is the legend behind the origin ofGuruvayoor temple? Where it is told? A16 Youmust be curious now to know about the origin of the shrine at Guruvayur. The “Narada Purana” in thechapter Gurupavanapura Mahatmya alludes to this story: King Janamejaya, in order to avenge the death of his father Pareekshit,brought about by the Naga chief Takshaka, performed the “Sarpa yajna” (snakesacrifice) in which thousands of innocent reptiles perished. As a resultof their curse that befell him, he was afflicted with leprosy , which left him in utterdespair. Sensingthis, sage Dattatreya appeared before him with a remedy - Propitiation of Lord Krishna atGuru vayur. The sage recounted, how the holy idol wasblessed because Narayana Himself was the first to worship it. At the beginning of the Padma Kalpa, he gave thedeity to Brahma (the Lord ofCreation) who could execute his task of Creation only by its grace. At the beginning of the Varaha Kalpa, thechildless couple, Sutepa & Prisna prayed in earnest to Brahma for the giftof a son. Brahma gave them this deity assuring them of their wish if theyworshipped the deity with sincere devotion. This they did with excellence, so much so thatthe Lord Mahavishnu himself appeared before them. As a boon, they prayed Himthree times, for a son. He pacified them that he himself would be born to themas their son in three successive births. Moreover, they would also have thegood fortune of worshipping the divine image in all the three janmas (births)and so.. as the Lord wished, in the 1st janma, to Sutepa and Prisnawas born as their son, Prisigarbha. In their 2nd janma, as Kasyapa& Adita, the couple worshipped the same image and got their son Vamana. Intheir 3rd and most auspicious janma as Vasudeva and Devaki, SriKrishna was born to them. After slaying Kamsa , Krishna moved to Dwaraka where he built a temple, installedthat image the supreme himself and worshipped it after the death of hisparents. When the time come of his ‘Swargarohana’(ascent to Vaikundha), Lord Krishna entrusted his devoted disciple Uddhava, to take good care of the idol. When the latter intimatedhim, his fears regarding the fate that would befall mankind in Kaliyuga duringHis absence. Krishna pacified Udhava that he would manifest Himself in andinfuse His glory into the idol; He would also shield His devotees from theill-effects ofKaliyuga and bless the mankind. Heappraised Udhava that a subsequence of Dwaraka was impending and that he shouldinstall the image in an equally holy spot in consultation with Brihaspati (Guru),the preceptor of the Gods . Accordingly Guru along with Vayu (the God of Winds) set forth toDwaraka where they in tensed the image being tossed about in the sea by thesurging waves. The God of winds (Vayu) carried the image of his leadand both set part in search of a sacred place for its installation. In their quest, they came upon a lake oflotuses., none other than the Rudratheertha where Lord Siva & Parvathi werewaiting to receive them. Siva told them that that spot wasetched out for Narayana long ago; hence he and Parvathi would move to Mammiyur,the opposite bank. Itis for this reason that a visit to Guruvayur is considered incomplete withoutvisiting mammiyoor temple. Guru and Vayu installed the image in thetemple built by Viswakarma, the architect of the God. AsGuru and Vayu together founded the temple, the place came to be known asGuruvayurpura in accordance with Shiva’s wish. The name was later shortened toGuruvayur. Moved by this story, Janamejaya proceededto Guruvayur temple where he observed austere devotion for four months. In the night he would go to Mammiyurand bow before Shiva. One night while asleep he felt the lord’shealing touch over his body and his pain was no more! He returned to hiskingdom elated singing praises for the Lord.Yes, you too could prouder up on the story and arrive at your conclusions. Well, as the legend says the deity inGuruvayur is more than 5000 years old. The central shrine is believed to have beenrebuilt in 1638 A.D. Q17 Do the Devaswam itself conduct prasadamootu? A17 From1st Jan 1982, the Devaswam itself feeds 500 – 1000 pilgrims, withPrasadam (Prasada Oottu). Devotees too can make an offering of any amount forfree feeding. Q18 Do the Garbhagraha of Guruvayur iscovered with Gold? A18 The square shaped Sree Kovil has two stairs and three roomsinside. The inner most room is known as Garbhagriha (The idol of Lord Krishnais placed here). Here,the two doors and the roof are covered by Gold. All the articles inside theGarbhagriha are in Gold. InGuruvayur Temple, there are sub-shrines for Ganapathy, Bhagavathy and Ayyappaalso. Q19 Everybody knows about Guruvayur Kesavan. Who offered him toGuruvayur temple? A19 Valiya Raja (King) ofNilambur offered one of his12 elephants to Lord Guruvayurappa, as a fulfillment of his vowwhen he got back his entire property intact from the mutinies at the time ofthe Malabar Mutiny, during which he had fled to Trichur. Aged 10 years, he was named Guruvayur Kesavan. He was noble and kind. A12 - feet high concrete statue of the elephant Kesavan has been executed by theDevaswam at the spot in front of the Panchajanyam Rest House - a fitting memorial indeed for aunique devotee after his death. Q 20 Do it compulsory to make anoffering in Guruvayur temple? A 20 Compulsory ornot Nobody returns from a temple, especiallyfrom Guruvayur, without making an offering, however small that might beThe Lord accepts whatever is given in devotion or “Bhakthi” and rejects everything, however expensive, offered withoutdevotion. Q 21 Do all the Elephants of Guruvayur templeare taken to the temple daily? Where do they are kept afterwards? A21Devoteesoffer elephants to Guruvayurappan and today there are about 40 elephants keptwith PunnathurKotta maintained by the Devaswam. The feeding of these elephants- Anayoottu isanother popular offering that attracts many on-lookers. All the elephants are taken to thetemple at around 10 A.M, and fed a sumptuous feast of fruits, molasses andboiled rice. Theelephant sanctuary at Punnathur Kotta, 3 Kms away from Sree Krishna Temple,Guruvayur, is the largest elephant sanctuary, with more than 62 trainedelephants, all in one campus Q22 Can Tulabharam can be done with any thingand by people of any religion atGuruvayur? A22 For both answer is yes. Ifyou want to be weighed against articles not permitted inside, do notworry. Arrangements are made forconducting the tulabharam outside the temple. Also,non-Hindus can perform the ritual outside. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. 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