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Varadharaajar's beauty

From the Bhakti List Archives

Thirumalai Anandanpillai • March 14, 1997 


Sri Sadagopan writes about the beauty of the Lord of Atthigiri,

>Here Swami celebrates
> the MahOthsavams of the Lord , when He has distinctly different
> umbrellas , fans and dresses . He (Varadaraja) comes on bhavani
> on the back of the horse , Garudan . He is also carried in the palanquin
> or he adorns His ThirutthEr ( Car festival ) .On each of these
> occasions , His beauty is distinct , different and delectable.

The beauty of dEvaraajan is something that everyone who has a chance
should experience.
During the each of the major utsavams - brahmOtsavam, teppOtsavam,
navaraatri, vasanthOtsavam, to name a few, He is so beautiful in
so many different ways..
During the garuda Sevai, it is a great sight to see Varadharaajar 
on the garudan with 2 kodais side by side.. The prabhandham
gOshti, which normally is about 30 - 40 in strength, is about
100 in strength on the garuda sevai day.
On any garuda sEvai, there normally are atleast 3 or 4 jeeyars
representing different madams. Varadhaaraajar comes out of the
vaahana mandapam (around 4:00 in the morning), the gOshti starts
with sreesailEsa dayaapaatram & starts reciting thiruppallaandu..
This is followed by a pradhakshinam on the aazhwaar praakaaram,
with mariyaadai being done to nammaazhwaar, maNavaaLA maamunigaL,
and emperumaanaar. Then, there is the gOpura darshanam, just
before the Lord leaves the temple for gangai kondaan mandapam
that is about 6 km away. 
The incredible beauty of varadharaajar on the garudan is experienced by
thousands of people during every garuda sEvai. This incredible
sight is matched by the sweet sound of thiruppallaandu being
recited by the gOshti.

The fifth day of the brahmOtsavam is mOhini alankaaram. This is
on of the most beautiful saththupadis for VAradharaajar. I cannot
begin describing His beauty on this utsavam. The purappaadu is
on a pallakku with mandapapaddis everywhere.

During the yaanai vaahanam, the standard saaththuppadi is in white.
On the yaanai, normally there is a bhattar who does saamara kainkaryam
during the purappaadu. Varadhar's saaththuppadi on this utsavam 
is a white robe that floats in the air during the purappaadu &
during the yEsal.

During vasanthOtsavam, the main flower used is thaazhampoo.
The standard saaththuppadi being very few flowers, with lots
of aaparaNams. And there are a few thaazhampoos adorning His chest.
It is indeed a great sight to see Him with all His aaparaNams
glowing in the light, with His kOndai & thaayaar by His side.

Another utsavam that I always have a picture of in my mind is 
seevaram paar vEttai (basically the same as eekaattuththaangal
paar vEttai of Pasarthasaarathy.). This is on kaaNum pongal day..
Varadharaajar goes to a village called pazhaiyaseevaram to inspect
His lands. There is a hill on the banks of the palaar river on top
of which is a mandapam in which the mandapappadi is done. The Lord
arrives there in the morning & gives sEvai to all people till
the evening. Just before sunset, in the yellow sun (manjal veyyil),
Varadharaajar descends on a tholikkinni with His aaparaNams shining
in the yellowish glow of the setting sun. That is a sight that
one has to experience.

One more picture is always in my mind - 
Along with the thayaar, during kadai veLLi kizhamais (last fridays 
before any major utsavam.. Every friday, thaayaar has a purappaadu
within the temple.. She goes to the thottam, & comes back to the
sannadhi.. Siriya thirumadal is recited at a very slow pace
during this purappaadu.) Kadai veLLi kizhamais are special, because
the purappaadu has both thaayaar and perumaaL in it. 

During navaraathri, during the teppOtsavam, during dhavanOtsavam,
during pagalpaththu, on the day of pongal... I cannot find words
to even start describing His grace & beauty. He is indeed so kind
that He has all these utsavams when we can see Him in
so many different thirukkOlams & enjoy His beauty.


> Swami Desikan states that the possession of two eyes are not
> enough to enjoy the multifaceted beauty of the Lord. 

How true... Not only are two eyes not enough, but also no amount
of time is enough to enjoy His beauty. I grew up in Kanchipuram
and have had the fortune of being in Kanchipuram for all the
major utsavams every year  in my 20 years in India 
before I came here, and I think that I did not have enough time to
enjoy His sight. My sincere prayer to Him is that He will find me worthy
enough to  spend as much time as possible in the rest of
my life at His feet in Kanchipuram. 

PEraruLaaLan perundEvith thaayaar thiruvadigaLE saranam,
Aazhwaar emperumaanaar jeeyar thiruvadigaLE saranam,
Varadhan