GITA 10.37

GITA 10.37

Nammalwar says that we should cling to the feet of Lord Sri Varaha. We are in Sri Mushnam Sri Bhuvaraha Perumal temple. We can see the Pushkarini behind the temple. When the Lord lifted Mother Earth, sweat appeared on His body and one drop fell here to become Nithya pushkarini, which removes all sins of those who take bath in it. Similarly, from the tears of one eye Thulasi plant and from the other eye tears, peepal or aswattha tree appeared. We can worship Sri Aswattha Narayana at the tree.

ASWATTA TREE

 Near the pushkarini we can also see Uttharadhi mutt and Theerthevari mandapam. Near this mandapam is the brindavanam of Swami Dhoddayacharya of Cholasimhapuram [Sholingur]. When foreigners invaded this region in the 14th century, Utsavar Sri Yagnavarahan was safely protected by the elders in Uttharadhi mutt, by requesting the Zamindar [land lord] of nearby Udayarpalayam. As a mark of gratitude, whenever Sri Moola Rama of the Matadipathi of Uttharadi mutt (Udupi) arrives here, Sri Yagnavaraha and Sri Moola Rama grace the devotees together in golden and silver mandapams.

SRI MOOLA RAMA AND SRI YAGNAVARAHA

 We now come to the main sannidhi to worship the Lord.

SRI YAGNAVARAHA WITH UBHAYA NACHIYARS

Moolavar is Sri Bhuvarahan. The Lord lifted up the highly exalted Mother Earth, kept underneath the sea by the demon. Hiranyaksha was killed, and he had a son by name Dhandaka. His sisters were Thilli and Villi. Heeding to their prayers, the Lord deputed Thilli to nearby Chitrakootam [Chidambaram] and worship the Lord in the guise of a forest [and so the place is known as Thillainagar Chithirakootam]. The other sister Villi also worshipped the Lord in the guise of a forest here itself; and so this place is called Villikavanam. Conceding to the prayers of Sri Bhudevi and Dhandaka, the Lord is gracing here. Sriyam means wealth [of these demons] and mushnati means taking away [by the Lord], and so this place is known as Sri Mushnam. Sri Maha Lakshmi was born as the daughter of sage Kathyayana. The Lord wanted to marry Her and She also did not want to marry anyone else. He went to the place where the sage was meditating, in the guise of a Boar and married the Daughter, Sri Ambujavalli. Her friends made fun of Her for marrying a Boar. Sri Ambujavalli requested the Lord to show His real beauty. Accepting, the Lord appeared as Sri Yagna Varaha, with radiating beauty, which dimmed millions of Suns! The Lord is with the Twin Nachiyars. Right arm is in Abhaya mudra symbolising protection. Sri Yagna Varaha means the Yagna is represented by every organ of the Lord. The Canine tooth represents the Yupa sthambam; His fur, represents dharba grass; His large mouth as the homa kund to receive the ahuti; His long tongue represents the flames. Sri Ambujavalli is beautiful as a match and one is reminded of Valmiki saying tulya seela vayo vrutta [equally matched].

THAYAR SRI AMBUJAVALLI

 Moolavar Sri Bhuvarahan is small in size but His fame is very large. In fact, when the Lord took the Avatar of Sri Varaha, He was very, very large. To imagine His gigantic form, it is said that the Lord was wearing an anklet [thandai - தண்டை] on each of His feet. It contained stones so that it would jingle. It is said that these stones were Mounts Meru, Himalayas, Vindya, etc!! Alwar wonders His size.
 We will now see sloka 37 of Chapter 10:

vrsninam vasudevo ’smi

pandavanam dhananjayah

muninam apy aham vyasah

kavinam usana kavih

"Of the descendants of Vrishni I am Vasudeva, and of the Pandavas I am Arjuna. Of the sages I am Vyasa, and among great thinkers I am Usana."

Again Four groups are mentioned. Vrsninam = among Yadavas, vasudeva = Vasudeva [वासुदेव- வாசுதேவன்], son of Vasudeva [वसुदेव -வசுதேவன்]. He is mentioning Himself now. Pandavanam = among Pandavas, dhananjaya = Arjuna, muninam = among sages, vyasa = Vyasa. Muni means manana seela:, those who meditate [on the Lord]. They meditate for the welfare of the society at large. Kavinam = among poets, usana kavi = poet Usana. Usana denotes Sukhracharya. He has written moral codes and so is a great poet. Vasu [வஸு] means wealth. Vasudeva [வசுதேவர் ] possessed the Lord Himself, the greatest wealth. At this point, it may appear that the Lord is telling that He is He. It is unnecessary to tell that. When He said He was Vishnu among Adityas, or among Rudras He was Sankara, etc., conveyed sense as Vishnu and Sankara were different from Sri Krishna. Then how can He say He is Sri Krishna? We have to note carefully a point. Earlier He told that He was Sri Rama among weapon wielders. There it was interpreted that He is the skill of wielding weapons. In a similar way, here also we should note that the Lord says He is the quality of being born as the Son of Vasudeva. Just as the quality which makes Vishnu eminent among Adityas or Sankara eminent among Rudras, here the quality of Sri Krishna eminent among Yadavas is mentioned. Though all Pandavas possessed great skills, Arjuna was very close to Sri Krishna. He had controlled his senses and sleep; and was pure-minded. Thus he was selected to listen to Gita directly from the Lord. Vyasa is considered as an avatar of Sri Vishnu. He was the great grand son of Vasishta, grand son of Shakti, son of Parashara and father of Sukha. He segregated Vedas. He composed Mahabharata and Brahma soothram. Kavi means kranthi darshi - that is, capable of predicting the type of life in the future. Sukhracharya wrote Sukhra neethi - moral codes for people to follow.

                                                                                              (continued)