QUES ANSW DIVINE 2022-18 Dearfriends,
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. I have reduced the number of questions toabout 15. This avoids a lot of strainon me for converting the QA already prepared using colour letters andbackground to black and white andhighlight. BEING COMPILATION THERE MAY BE ERRORS. Sincerely, R. Gopalakrishnan, 78, Former ITS ( AGM Telecom Trivandrum) dated17-01-2022 Q1It is told Appar a strong salivate was once a Jain. Is it correct? What madehim return back to Saivisam? Did he honourd afterwards? A1Unableto see his sister Thilakavathiyar in sorrow( due to sudden death of thedecided husband for her ) , young Marulneekiyar, ( later called Appar) drifted away andjoined the Jains inPataliputram (present Kadalur). Heexcelled in the study of the scriptures of the Jains and soon was one of their leading scholars. Healso got a name from them as Dharmasena. Hissister, Thilakavathiyar, an astute Shiva devotee, could not bear to see her brother thus goneabandoning the age old Shaiva tradition. She incessantly prayed Lord Shiva for returning herbrother to her. DharmaSena developed a terrible stomach ache after that. He tried various ways available at that time. HisJain community also tried to cure him by various prayer and healing methods ut to no avail. The pains worsened. At this time, hethought his days were numbered and remembered his sister . He went to see herimmediately. Hispious sister, knowing her brother's ailment to be Shiva's leela, thanked the Lord inher heart, prayed and took vibhooti (holy ash) in her hand and applied on her brother's forehead. Instantly, the painsleft and Marul Neekkiyar fell on his sister's feet. He realised his mistake and was changed forever. The Jains could not digest his leaving theirreligion. They had become politicallypowerful by converting Kings and the nobles. Their complaint to the Pallava King, MahendraVarma, resulted inMarul Neekkiyar being put into limekilns. Not only did the ordeal could harm him The jains now induced the King to order him to betied to a rock and thrown into the sea. The stone floated and on it satThirunavukkarasar ( a name he got later due to his command over the tongue), singing thepathigam ( ten quadruplets) ' Chotrunai Vediyan The King soon realised his grave mistakes and itwas Thirunavukkarasar' s turn toadvise him to take to Shaiva Dharma as his ancestors did. Apparadvocated simple living, being pious andrelying on God Shiva as ideals. The miracles he performed on his countrymen was also a factor that steered Tamilnadu awayfrom Jainism. Mynote- Appar and Tirunavukkarasr are same is a refreshing information to me Q2 What are the attributes of Temple for Sukran atKanjanoor? A2 Location: Temple for Sukran is at Kanjanoor near Kumbhakonam . Agni is said to have worshippedShiva here, hence the name Agneeswarar. HaradattaSivacharyar of Vaishnava origins -originally known as Sudarshanar is said to have undergone ordeals to prove the tenacity of hisdevotion for Shiva to fellow Vaishnavites. Images depicting legends related to Haradatta Sivacharyar are seen inthis temple. Q3 What are theattributes of Tirunallar Siva temple ? Where is Tirunallar ? A3 Legend has it that Shiva blessed Paraasara muniwith a vision of the cosmic dance - Mukti tandavam especially in light of Saneeswarar'ssannidhi here, which attracts thousands when the planet Saturn transitsbetween zodiac sign. Tirunallar is located in close proximity to Karaikkal and Nagappattinam,(is under the administration of Pondicherry) Q4 What are theattributes of Tirunageswaram siva temple and Keezperumpallam Kethu temple? A4 Legend has it that the mythological serpents Aadi Seshan, Dakshan andKaarkotakan worshipped Shiva here. Legend also has it that Nalaworshipped Shiva here as in Tirunallaar. Gowtama muni, Paraasarar and Bhageerata are also associated withlegends related to this temple. Keezhperumpallam in the vicinityof Tiruvenkaadu near Mayiladuturai This is an ancient Saivite shrine where legend has it that Kethu, one of the 9celestial bodies central to astrological beliefs worshipped Shiva. Q5 It is told there wereminor avataras.Can you mention a few? A5 Kapila, Vyasa,Dhanvantri, Purusha, Hayagriva, Dharma Narayana, Rishabha and others are minoravataras of Vishnu. These incarnationsare taken for special purposes to be accomplished Q6 Whether worship of idols existed during theMahabharata period? A6 Yes.The worship of idols, or Archavatara, is as old asthe Vedas and Agamas running into the remotest past. When Arjuna remonstratedwith Krishna that he would not break his fast without his Sivapuja, and when hecould not perform his puja that day, his idols having been left behind, his craving for a concrete formfor his Siva puja was satisfied by Sri Krishna sitting down and folding his legsand arms in such a way as to resemble a Siva linga Excavations in many places likeMohenjo Daro, etc. reveal innumerable proofs of idol worship aeons andaeons ago. Panini (6th century B.C.) refers to idols and temples. Patanjali (2nd century B.C.) refers to such worship. It was quitecommon in the time of Yaska. Temples are mentioned in the Ramayana. Archa form isin a general manner the image of man. In the Agamas the idols or Vigrahams are described thus:"An object of stone. Q7 What were the rebirthsof Parvathi and Lekshmi? A7 Lakshmiwas born as the daughter of Akasaraja and she was given in marriage to Vishnu in the form of Venkatesa. In Madurai, Parvati in the name of Meenakshi was born as daughter of KingMalayadhwaja Pandya and was given in marriage to Sundareswarar. Q8 How many importantSaivite nd vaishnavites temples are there in India? A8 There are 274Saivite holy places, which have been mentioned in the Thevaram–Thiruvacha kam of the four famous Nayanmars, Appar, Sundarar, Sambandar andManickavachakar Similarly for Vaishnavites,there are 108 sacred places dedicated to Vishnu. The 12 Azhwars ofVaishnavism and 63 Nayanmars; of Saivism made image worship very muchpronounced in South India. Q9 What is the birth of kama story? A9 Legend has it that Vishnu desirous of progeny worshipped Shivaat Tiruvarur and that Shivablessed him with a male child Kaama. Parvati (Shakti) who was enraged by the fact thatVishnu had not included her in his worship of Shiva inflicted a curse upon him that his child would beburnt to death by Shiva. (see Kumarasambhava legend). Upon realization of the curse, an aggrieved Vishnucreated a composite image featuring Shiva, Uma and Skanda(Somaskanda - symbolic of fertility) and offered worshipto it. Parvatialleviated the curse placed on him stating that despite being burnt to death, Kaama would live on to createthe forces of attraction between the male and the female that wouldensure the continuation of the human race Q10 What is somaskanda? What is Thyagaraja? A10Somaskanda is thus amanifestation of Shiva featuring Shiva, Umaand Skanda; Shiva in a seated posture, with Parvatito his left and with Skanda his son, seated in between the two. It is to be noted that Somaskandarepresents the processional image of Shiva in most Saivite temples and there isthus a shrine dedicated to the Utsavamurthy Somaskandain most Saivite temples. The Somaskandamanifestation of Shiva has been held in reverence in the Tamil region forcenturies. The earliest stone panels of Somaskanda of the Pallavaperiod date back to the 7th century CE. Mostof the Shiva temples in Tondai Naadu (around Kanchipuram) bear a Somaskandapanel behind the Shivalingam in the sanctum. It was however in the Cholaperiod (9th century onwards) that the rich bronze images representing Somaskandacame into being. Somaskanda is a unique concept of the Tamilregion and itrepresents Shiva as the Supreme Godhead (in the Saivitesystem of beliefs) as a father by the side of his family, Parvati - a graciousmother full of tenderness, and Skanda (Murugan) one of the favoritedeities of the Tamil region their son. Tyagaraja represents a special class of (theiconic representation of) Somaskanda and is enshrined (in a royal shrine) only in a handfulof temples (as in Tiruvarur). -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. 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