Kanchi Paramacharya Community - Stories Told by Sri Kanchi Mahaswami - eBook #1

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Stories told by Sri Kanchi Mahaswami Part - 1

Copyrights reserved Kanchi Paramacharya Community - www.facebook.com/KanchiParamacharya

Volume : 1

Published: 25 May 2013


Table of Contents

Foreword ......................................................................................................................... 3

Srirangam ......................................................................................................................... 4

Story of Padma Paada The Value of the Hunter ............................................................ 9

History of Kerala............................................................................................................. 15

Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 23

Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ 25


Shri Kanchi Mahaswami Thiruvadigal Saranam Foreword Hari Om! We are pleased to bring you our First E-book from the Kanchi Paramacharya Community on Facebook www.facebook.com/KanchiParamacharya. This group is dedicated to spread the life and teachings of His Holiness Sri Kanchi Paramacharya, more

affectionately known to His devotees as Sri Maha Periyava. The Community is also on Google+ https://plus.google.com/u/1/116160513796892415779/posts. Just look for Kanchi Mahaswami in Google+ and add us to your circles to receive the Gems of Paramacharya in your mail box every morning. We have been constantly witnessing Sri Maha Periyava's divine grace in the way He has been drawing His devotees to read and cherish His teachings which we have been publishing regularly in our group, with His blessings. Again, it is only due to HIS Blessings that we have been able to release this Ebook on this auspicious day Sri Maha Periyavas 120th Jayanthi. All of us are aware that the Mahaswamis discourses captured in the seven volumes of Deivathin Kural/

Voice of God is also known as the common mans Veda. Our Maha Periyava has given us a wealth of information through these books, and every single page is a pokisham (treasure) for us to cherish and relish. The Paramacharya has narrated several stories from ancient times in Deivathin Kural/ Voice of God, and in this E-Book, we attempt to bring you a few of those interesting stories narrated in His own sweet, simple and lucid style. We are sure this E-book will be a feast to your eyes and we request you to forward this to all your friends, relatives and other devotees of the Mahaswami. Although this e-book is for restricted circulation among like-minded members of the society, it is a free publication which can be downloaded from our Facebook Page. We humbly submit our First E-book at the Lotus Feet of Sri Maha Periyava, seeking His blessings and

guidance to continue to spread His Light far and wide. Any feedback may be sent to us at [email protected] Administrator Kanchi Paramacharya Community www.facebook.com/KanchiParamacharya

Jaya Jaya Shankara, Hara Hara Shankara!


Srirangam Source: Deivathin Kural/ Voice of God Volume 7

Although there are not as many Vaishnava

temples as Siva temples on the banks of Kaveri,

the most important temple of the Vaishnavas,

namely Sri Ranganatha is in Srirangam on the

banks of Kaveri. In fact, Srirangam is in

between Kaveri and its branch called Kollidam

and Sri Ranganatha is called Kaveri Ranga and

Rangaraja.

In ancient times, Sri Ranganatha was being

worshipped as family deity by the kings of the

Ikshvaku dynasty in Ayodhya. The story of how the Lord came to be established in Srirangam is linked

to Ramayana and a lila played by Vinayaka.

When the monkeys and the rakshasas were leaving Ayodhya after witnessing Sri Ramas coronation, Sri

Rama gave all of them costly and liberal gifts as a token of gratitude for the service rendered by them.

He wanted to give something big to Vibhishana who had abandoned his brother and surrendered to

Rama. Unlike Sugriva who took refuge in Rama for retrieving his wide and kingdom, Vibhishana had

done genuine surrender without any expectation. It was when accepting him Rama made the famous

vow:

Sakrudeva prapannaya thavasmithi cha yachathe

Abhayam sarvabhuthebyo dhadhamye thadh vratham mama

" !

- !!

Rama thought that he must give him a very valuable gift. Supreme thyagi that he was, he gave

Vibhishana the idol of Ranganatha which had been their family deity and family wealth along with the

(Pranavakara) vimana to be taken to Lanka.

Carrying the idol along with the vimana, Vibhishana reached the banks of Kaveri. Vinayaka who was

watching this decided that Sri Ranganatha should not be allowed to leave the banks of Kaveri,

Tamilnadu and Bharat. He ensured it by enacting a lila.


Rama had told Vibhishana that the idol and Vimana should

not be placed anywhere on the ground and that they

should be carried directly to Lanka. He had also warned

him that if they happened to be place anywhere, they

would get established at that place only.

Kaveri was in floods. Vinayaka created in Vibhishana the

desire to have a dip in Kaveri. He went as a bramachari boy

and stood before Vibhishana. Vibhishana told Vigneswara,

I shall go and have a bath in Kaveri. Will you keep these

(the idol and vimana) in your hands without placing them

on the ground till I return?

Vigneswara told him, I shall do it. But if at some stage my

hands cannot carry them any longer, what should I do? I

will call out for you three times. If you do not come, I shall place them on the ground. Vibhishana

agreed to the condition. When Vibhishana had gone far into the kaveri swimming, Vinayaka called out

thrice in quick succession. Vibhishana could not come. Vigneswara said to himself, I have called out

thrice. You did not come as agreed to. I am keeping this down , and placed the idol with vimana on the

ground. The idol with the vimana got firmly established there.

Looking at the story, it would appear that both the idol and vimana could have been of a size which

was kept for prayer by the kings of Ikshvaku dynasty and must have been handy. It is possible that after

being placed on the banks of Kaveri, the Lord must have taken a bigger form and the vimana also must

have become suitably bigger.

When Vibhishana returned, he was disappointed and felt angry. He tried to lift the idol. But however

much he tried, he could not. He was angry with the bramachari boy. He advanced towards him to give

him a knock on his head. Vigneswara ran and sat on top of the Rock Fort hill. Then, out of compassion

for Vibhishana, he submitted himself to him. We cannot get hold of the Lord. The Lord has to make

himself held by us as Krishna did with Yasodha. Vibhishana gave a knock to the bramachari boy on his

head. At that very moment, the boy showed his true form as Vinayaka.

The moment Vibhishana had Vinayakas darshan, his anger and sorrow disappeared. Vignehwara told

him, Do not feel that I have not allowed the Lord to go to Lanka. I have kept him in such a manner that

from here he will be looking at Lanka and extending his grace. Although it is not the normal practice to

install the idols of the Lord so as to face the South, I am doing in here.


It Is Parameswara as Dakshinamurthi and Nataraja who

face the South. Now Vigneswara has made Maha Vishnu

also face the South. Dakshinamurthi sits like a statue in

dhyana. Nataraja keeps dancing and makes the entire

affairs of the world a happy dance. Maha Vishnu who is in

the reclining posture is also in the state of samadhi like

Dakshinamurthi but with the name of sleep. Why then this

state is not called samadhi but is called sleep? He is a

great magician who does all indrajals which we cannot

understand. Therefore, even when he is in samadhi, he

will do the srushti of this universe just as we create people,

places, incidents, etc in our dream state.

That is why the universe is said to be his dream. There can

be dream only when there is sleep. That is why the

samadhi is called sleep. Another reason is that instead of

being in samadhi sitting erect, he is in reclining posture. But in order to distinguish his sleep from ours,

it is said to be Yoga Nidhra.

Due to the greatness of Vigneswaras hands and his great thought that what applied to Siva should

apply equally to Vishnu, Rangaraja who he installed became the king among all deities of all the

Vaishnava holy places. The place where he got established came to be called Srirangam.

I think I have said it slightly differently. It is not correct to say that the place became Rangam because

of Rangaraja being there. Because the place is called Rangam, the one who rules as the king there is

called Rangaraja. When the kings of the Ikshvaku dynasty upto the time of Rama were worshipping

him, his name would have been Narayana or Vishnu or Seshasayi or Ananthasayi. Only when Vinayaka

created a Rangam for him between the Kaveris, he must have got the name of Rangaraja.

Rangam (or arangam in Tamil) is a stage where dance or drama is performed along with the hall where

people gather to witness it. The great drama actor who conducts the drama of the world as an

imagination of his dream has to stage the drama in a Rangam. When as Parameswara he does the

same thing as dance in Chidambaram, his sannidhi is called Sabha. It is called Chith Sabha. Ordinary

people call it Kanaka Sabha. Here Sabha has the same meaning as Rangam.

Vigneswara thought that if his father who is dancing has a Sabha for his temple, his uncle (Vishnu) who

enacts the drama of the universe through dream should also have one.

He thought that although the principle is the same, there will be beauty only if there is difference in

names and therefore gave the name Rangam to the sannidhi of the Murthi which he installed.


We have seen that Vigneswara ran to the top of the Rock Fort.

Vibhishana chased him and gave him a knock on his head. In

support of this version, we find that on the idol of Vigneswara

on top of the rock Fort there is the mark of the knock. It is rare

that Vinayaka remains on top of a hillock. It is appropriate to

say that he ran to the top of the hill so that he would not be

caught by Vibhishana. There is also in this a great metaphysical

meaning related to Yoga Sasthra.

It is the principle of the Muladhara being joined with the

Sahasrara in the top.

There is one more thing appropriate about Sri Ranganatha

having connection with Vigneswara. It was Vigneswara who

made Kaveri flow by tilting Agasthyas Kamandalu. He did it be

taking the form of a crow. Agasthya went chasing the crow. The

crow then changed its form to that of a bramachari. In

Vibhishanas story also, we find that Vigneswara became a brahmachari. Agasthya had chased him only

to give a knock on the head, but before he could do that, Vigneswara showed his true form. It was then

that Agasthya reacted. Oh! It is you! And I was going to deliver a knock on your head, and knocked

himself on the head. The story goes that it was after this incident that Vigneswara made this (knocking

on the head) as an important part of worship.

When Vigneswara had tilted Agasthyas kamandalu and made the Kaveri flow, it was in Sahyadhri from

beneath a tree of amla. The source of Kaveri is beneath the amla tree. That amla tree is Maha Vishnu.

It was an aspect of Vishnu-maya that became the woman Lopamudhra who became Agasthayas wife

and then became the water in Agasthyas kamandulu. When Kaveri flowed from the feet of Bhagawan,

he told her. Ganga also flowed from my feet. But you are more beloved of me than her. She had only

the touch of my feet. I now bless that you should get the touch of my whole body. When you flow as a

great river, you will separate into two and then on the island where you become one again, you will

embrace me with both hands.

There is another incident which balances Saivam and Vaishnavam. If Vibhishana had obtained from

Rama the idol of Ranganatha (who is his own original form), Ravana had obtained from Parameswara

the Athma Lingam which is Parameswaras own form.

When he carried it to Lanka, the Lord had told him that he should not keep it anywhere on the ground

before reaching Lanka. Then also it was Vigneswara who played sport and ensured that the Lingam did

not leave this country.


The place where the Lingam got established is Gokarnam. It is a holy

place on the Western shore in Karnataka. It is an island like Dwaraka

and Rameshwaram. The Lord there is called Mahabhaleswar. Once

Vigneswara installed the Lingam there, Ravana with all his might

could not take it off from the ground. Since even Ravana was made

powerless, the Lord is called Mahabhaleswar. Vigneswara did not

allow the Lingam to be carried away to Lanka. Would he allow

Vibhishana to carry away the idol of Ranganatha to Lanka? There is

therefore truth in the story about the role played by Vigneswara in

regard to Ranganatha having been established in Srirangam.

Why did Vigneswara think that the idols of deities should not go out

of Bharat? Is it fair or just?

When a plant or tree is watered, it is not the branch or the flower that is watered, but the root. So far

as matters of divinity are concerned, our Bharat is like the root of the huge tree called the world. It is

only the watering of the root that provides the energy to all parts of the tree. In the same manner, it is

only the puja performed in Bharat that will provide the strength and vitality for other countries also.

In his creation, the Lord has ordained that there should be good climate in a particular country, good

crops and greenery in some, diamond, gold and other valuable minerals in some, etc. In some

countries, it will be extremely cold, and in some other extremely hot. Some countries are prosperous

due to the fertility of the soil. Countries which have plenty help others by exporting to them. In matters

of divinity and spirituality, Bharat is like the powerhouse for the whole world. Just as the heart supplies

blood to the body, it is Bharat that provides the life force of spirituality, dharma and soul. This does not

mean that there need be no worship in other countries.

Just as we apply medicines to individual parts of the body to cure the ailment of the particular part,

worship has to be done in other countries too. But just as the heart has to be in good condition for any

ailment to be cured, only if worship is done in Bharat according to the rules laid down, it will produce

good not only for our country, but for all other countries.

Original Tamil version available at: http://www.kamakoti.org/tamil/7dk5.htm


Story of Padma Paada The Value of the Hunter Source: Deivathin Kural/ Voice of God Volume 5

One of the main disciples of our AachaaryaaL was Padma

Paada who joined our AachaaryaaL, when he was not yet 16

years of age, and was living in Kaasi. Padma Paadas earlier

name was Sanandana. He was from the Sozha Desam. Let me

tell you a story about him.

When he was still living in his native village, a great Mahatma

gave him a Mantra Upadesa, on Narasimha / Nrusimha

Swami. As he kept doing Japa of that Mantra, he had a desire

to meet that Nrusimha Murthy! He walked out of his house,

went to a lonely forest. Climbed a far off hill and sat in a cave

there, doing his Japa! A hunter came there.

Looking at the Brahmin that physically hardened rustic

simpleton was moved to pity! He asked our Sanandana, Hi

Sami! What have you come here for? We are physically fit and

capable of taking care of ourselves in a place like this forest!

What will you do here? What for have you come here? Sanandana thought about giving him a suitable

reply. If I talk about Japa and Nrusimha Mantra; it will make no meaningful impression on this man, he

thought.

So he answered him in the following words! There is an animal in this forest with a body like a human

being below the hips and looks like a Lion above the hips. I came for that Nara (human) + Simha (lion) =

Narasimha being!

Now the hunter was in a quandary! For many years he had been a hunter in these parts of the world

and he almost knew each and every animal of that forest! So he replied in all his innocence, My Dear,

Iyer Sir! I hope you are telling the truth. I have never seen such an animal in this forest! If you are

telling the truth, which you must be, it is below my dignity and prestige that this animal has been

eluding me! I am not going to let such a state of affairs to continue. If you are true, tell me and it will

be my task to catch hold of him and bring before you. You only have to confirm and I am off, he said.

Though the people of the forest seem to be rough and tough and we seem to be nice and gentlemanly;

in fact their simplicity, hard work, sincerity, bravery and helpful attitude are all alien to us and our

skulduggery is not in their bloods! However, he could not control his smile at the idea of Narasimha

Murthy becoming a prisoner in the hands of this character.


But the hunter was quick to react. Why are you smiling? Are you

having a joke at my expense? Sanandana had had enough of

diversion. He was getting fed up with this invasion of his privacy

and told the hunter that, the fact of the existence of Narasimha

Swami was anyhow the truth and that the hunter can carry on with

his business as it is not an easy task to catch hold of this Nara Simha

Murthy!

But this was too much of an insult to the ego, for the Hunter! He

told Sanandana, What? By tomorrow evening see if I bring that

animal before you or not! If I cannot bring that half a lion / half a

man, before you; I do not deserve to live in this forest anymore,

claiming myself to be a great hunter! When you have taken the

pains to come all the way up to my forest in search of him, it is my

duty to assist you. Otherwise what is the use of my being here at

all? Sanandana could not say anything anymore. What can I do, if you start out that you will achieve

the impossible? It is your sweet will and pleasure! Please go ahead!

The hunter went searching for this half human / half animal Nara Simha Murthy. He did not leave any

place unsearched. He was not thinking of food or his tiredness. The whole day was over. Next day also

passed. It was the evening of the second day! He did not give up his search, all the time thinking only of

the Nara Simha Murthy. OK. I have not been able to keep up my word given to that Brahmin. It is

evening already and I have failed to live up to my promise. I should now give up my life, as the time

limit is over he thought to himself! He cut some creepers and hung it from a tree and was about to

hang himself, to commit suicide. Lo! There was Nara Simha Murthy standing in front of him! He has

relentlessly thought of me only, in trying to maintain his promise so sincerely, uncaring for food or

rest! I have to give him my Darshan!

Thinking on these lines, Narasimha Swami just stood there happily to let the hunter do whatever he

wanted with him! The hunter pounced on him, You wretched animal, how much of a problem you

have proved yourself to be! I have to thank my stars, that I have been able to find you! He

immediately tied him up in knots and dragged the Nara Simha to where that Brahmin was. Nara Simha

Swami remained bound in more than the literal way! The hunter asked the Brahmin Sanandana, Is this

what you were looking for? Here, take him to wherever you wish to take him to. My job is over.

Sanandana was flabbergasted beyond speech! What is this man talking, he was wondering as, he could

not see any Nara Simha Swami. Only some pieces of creepers going round and round, hanging in mid

air! For a flash it occurred to him if the hunter was just bluffing and just that moment Nara Simha

Swami roared like a Lion does, proving his existence beyond any doubt!


Sanandana felt like crying. Here I am chanting the Nrusimha

Mantra day in and day out; and I cannot see this Nara Simha

Swami and this country brute of a character hunter, goes in

search of him and catches hold of him, ties him up in some

creepers and says, Here take him! What can I say?

There was an Asareeri (bodiless inhuman announcement) in

the skies. The one pointed devotion and concentration of

mind that may happen only after millions of years of effort,

could happen in this mans case within a day! Without caring

for hunger, sleep and physical exhaustion; this man searched

every inch of this forest with utmost sincerity, ready to

sacrifice his body and life to keep up his promise. This has

never been matched before by any Rishi, worth his name! It

is his Satsang (association) by chance, that has ennobled you

also that though you cannot see me, you could at least hear

me roar and this announcement! By this very incident, you

have been blessed and attained your Mantra Siddhi! At the

required time I will come and take care of you, ended the announcement in the skies!

On an important occasion momentarily once, Padma Paada was spiritually over taken by the Nrusimha

Swami and acted very violently as the Nrusimha Avatara! Let me tell you that story also!

That happened many years after he had become our AachaaryaaLs disciple. There was set of people

known as Kapalikaas, who used to live in cremation grounds, eat human flesh like cannibals and follow

Vaama Aachaara methods of worship including drinking liquor and experimenting with hallucinating

drugs and random sex experiments! Their religion was known as Kaapaalikam.

Our AachaaryaaL was pointing out the mistakes in their methods and was advising them to come back

to the Saatvic methods of Vedic Saastraas. Many of the Kapalikaas had a change of heart and were

giving up their crude methods of worship of Siva and Durga wearing garlands of human skulls as

ornaments and things like that. Some of them were nurturing hatred for our AachaaryaaL, as they

could not put up any counter argument against AachaaryaaLs, and found their own numbers

dwindling.

One of them was planning ways and means of getting rid of our AachaaryaaL. He hit upon an idea.

This man is very kind and compassionate. Let me request him to be considerate to our viewpoint. May

be he will agree. Let us try.


So, when our AachaaryaaL was alone he went to him and

did Namaskar (prostrated) before him. He said, My Dear

Sir! Till date despite many types of Bhali (sacrifices of

living things by chopping off the head), I have not had the

Darshan of Kapaali (Siva as their God)! I am told that if we

sacrifice the head of a King who has been crowned as an

Emperor or some great Gnaani who has attained to the

Ashta Maha Siddhi (eight great powers) then God Kapaali

will certainly reveal himself.

If I go to any king, before I can even make a request he

will execute me! But you are a great Gnaani, Yogi and a kind hearted person. I am sure that you will

accede to my request. Please permit me to behead you!

If you wonder as to how could anybody dare make such a horrendous and outlandish request, the only

answer can be that, our AachaaryaaL was such a considerate person that you could ask for anything

that you need and he will most condescendingly oblige!

In fact our AachaaryaaL was very happy with the request of that Kaapaalika! What we thought as the

most useless material, this human body, if it can be useful to someone that too, to get the vision of

God; nothing like it at all! When the tree dies, it is useful in making furniture or as firewood. The horns

of cattle are useful for Abhishekam that is, pouring oblations on sacred idols. Elephants bones and

tusks are ever valued as Ivory. Deer skin and even the cruel tigers skin are used to cover the seat when

you do Yoga Aasana! I thought only this human body is good for nothing and this man is asking for it to

be given to him as donation! That is very good, he thought.

He told the Kaapaalika, As you wish you can have my head but, my disciples should not know about it!

They can be very dangerous. So, when I am sitting in meditation all alone, you can come and take away

my head. Now, there seems to be somebody coming, you better hurry up and leave! Saying this he

closed his eyes.

Kaapaalika did not want to wait. He thought this very moment to be opportune enough and pulled out

his sword. From somewhere Padma Paada materialised there. There was a huge roar and noise that

sounded like, Haa, Haa.

AachaaryaaL opened his eyes. Kaapaalika was lying on the ground with his stomach torn to pieces with

his intestines pulled out, dead! Padma Paada was standing nearby. Our AachaaryaaL asked him, What

happened? Who has done this? Padma Paada said, I do not know. I was near the river Ganges.

Something happened and only now I have regained my consciousness. AachaaryaaL said, Oh I see!

Were you ever given the Nrusimha Mantra as Upadesa?


Yes, he replied, But there was no use. Nrusimha Swami duped me and gave Darshan to a hunter. He

said something like I will come to you sometime when you need me! As he was answering, it became

clear to Padma Paada. Oh, Nrusimha Swami has done as promised! He must have come over me that

this man has been sorted out! There could not have been a better time than this for his coming over!

Saying so, he did Namaskar to both his AachaaryaaL and Nrusimha Swami.

Let me tell you another story that happened, within a few days of his becoming one of the disciples of

our AachaaryaaL, as to how he got the name as Padma Paada!

It is the normal custom to add the suffix Paada to the names of Mahatmas like Gowda became Gowda

Paada. You dare not look at their face and whole body but look only at their feet with respect. In this

case, Padma Paada did not get his name like that. It is a

name with a reason and logic of its own, with a story behind

it.

One day Sanandana was on one bank of the River Ganges

and our AachaaryaaL was on the other bank. AachaaryaaL

was having a bath and so his clothes were dripping wet. He

wished to demonstrate Sanandanas respect and devotion

to the Guru, for the world and other disciples to note, it

seems. AachaaryaaL told Sanandana to bring the fresh dry

clothes to him.

Gurus orders are to be obeyed implicitly, was the only response by Sanandana. In responding to his

Gurus call, he completely forgot that there was the deep River Ganges flowing in between! He just

started walking, as though on plain ground. Then what happened was that, there was a lotus flower

bearing his weight wherever he put his foot down and Sanandana was this side of the River in a trice,

handing over the dry clothes to his Guru!

As the man whose feet were borne by the lotus flower, he got the name as Padma Paada from then

onwards!

Other disciples of our AachaaryaaL collected there in admiration of this miracle, where Ganga Devi

(The River Ganges as the Goddess Ganga) had put up a lotus flower for each one of his steps, for

bearing his weight across the whole breadth of the river, appreciating his devotion to his Guru!

But without feeling proud of his devotion he said, This is nothing. Just a thought of my Guru, can

cause the Ocean of Life to become a puddle of knee deep water only! When he himself has ordered,

what is the breadth of this river?


Padma Paada was a Vishnu Amsam and a man who had the realization of Nrusimha Mantra. So, he

could recognise another Vishnu Amsa Avatara Vyasa, even before our AachaaryaaL could do so!

Original Tamil version available at: http://www.kamakoti.org/tamil/d-san137.htm http://www.kamakoti.org/tamil/d-san138.htm http://www.kamakoti.org/tamil/d-san139.htm


History of Kerala

Source: Deivathin Kural/ Voice of God Volume 5

Despite the Avedic environment that was surrounding the whole

of India those days, there was one place where Vedic

Anushtaanaas had not been given up completely and that place is

Kerala. God had pre-decided that he would be born as a son to a

very pious Brahmin couple in that Malayala Desam of Kerala, in a

place known as Kaladi, as it may be known to most of you all. You

may also know that the Avataras parents were Siva Guru and

AryaambaaL.

The Malayala Desam is located on the west of the long series of

hills known as Western Ghats. KeraLam is the Sanskrit name.

Kera is coconut and that entire area is full of coconut trees,

hence the name KeraLam. One the one side are the hills that is

Malai and on the other side is aazhi or aazham so the

Malayalam = Malai + Aazham!

There is a story about how this narrow strip of land came into being.

Parasurama killed and vanquished 21 generations of Kshatriya kings and took their lands all over India,

as you may have heard about. The whole world was virtually under his control. By that time he was

seized by dispassion and regret! Having taken birth as a Brahmin, it is sad that instead of doing things

for the good of the society I have ended up killing so many people! OK, whatever has happened, I cant

even let the past be permitted to be by gone. How can I get away from the responsibility of having to

rule all these lands? It is not correct to further get mired in the worldly affairs of administration and

management!

So, he donated all the lands to Kashyapa Maharishi. Why Kashyapa? Because all the animate life forms

of this world came into being from him only. People born in Manus lineage are human beings aka Man

or Manushya. Manus father was Vivasvan and his father was Kashyapa. Not only that, he was the

forefather of Devas, Dhaityas, Dhanavas, Raakshasaas, Nagas and many others! Though there are many

Prajapathis, only he is specially called the Kashyapa Prajapathi. So, let him manage all these men and

lands or do whatever, was how Parasurama thought and donated it all to Kashyapa!

If you have a house and given it as a donation to somebody, can you continue staying there after that?

That is how Parasurama thought about the situation. Having given away this land as a gift, it is not

correct for me to stay here anymore. Let me find a suitable place for me to stay and do Tapasya, he

thought.


Instinctively Kashyapa could read his mind. So, he

further escalated the situation by saying, Please do not

think of claiming ownership on any part of the land that

you have gifted away. Better go outside the outer

borders of this land. Parasurama started out. He went

to the Western Ghats on the western borders of the

whole of South India and reached the Sahayadri

Mountain peak known nowadays as Aanaimalai or

Elephant Top. Close to the western side of the

mountains was the sea. Those days there was no Kerala

or Malayala Desam, but only water of the seas.

Parasurama spoke to the Samudra Raja (the Lord of the Oceans), All the lands that I had captured

have been given away in charity, as I have endowed them to Kashyapa. So I cannot live anywhere on

the existing lands. I cannot also die or go to the heavens as I am one of the Chiranjeevis! There is a

command of God that I should do Tapasya forever for the sake of the well being of the whole world.

Under the situation I seek your benign help for some spatial adjustment. By withdrawing yourself a

little away from these mountains, can you kindly create some ground on the west of these ranges of

mountains, for me to live?

Samudra Raja who was ordered to control his waves when Rama had to construct the land bridge on

the straits between India and the island of Lanka decided to help Parasurama. Knowing Parasurama to

be a Brahmin very quick to take offence, he wished to give Parasurama as wide a margin as possible.

So, Samudra Raja told Parasurama, Dear Sir! In your hands you hold that Parasu (Axe) which you got

from doing Tapasya to Parameswara. Throw it as far as possible in the ocean and I shall recede that

much away, up to the point beyond where the water drops are thrown up to by the impact of the axe

and make all that land available to you. Accordingly Parasurama threw the axe in to the ocean as far

as possible. Water from the impact splashed in all directions many miles in the N-S direction and less in

the E-W axis. All that area was exposed to the Sun and the sea withdrew. That is the Malayala Desam

or Kerala aka Parasurama Kshetra.

Initially populated by fisher folk talking an unorganized cacophony of languages. Parasurama did not

wish to be the only one doing Tapasya in such a vast area.

So he decided to bring in and settle a whole lot of Brahmins who would be doing their share of Vedic

activities of Homa, Pooja, Japa, Upaasana and other such Karma Anushtaanaas.

From the land of the Sozha Kingdom he invited Brahmins known as Sozhiyas to this new land of his

creation. They were Tamil speaking Dravidian Brahmins as any other community in Tamil Nadu. The

Brahmins from Tamil Nadu are comfort loving, used to the moderate climate of the area.


Those comfort loving Sozhiyas from the banks of Cauvery River

on arrival in Kerala were out of their elements literally. Endless

rains, overflowing rivulets, with wet grounds full of mire

everywhere, it just did not suit them at all. They were afraid of

telling Parasurama who had a reputation as being quick to take

offence. They were actively considering running away from

there, secretly on the quiet.

He knew all that. Let us just change one of their customs and

they can never get back to their mother land after that, he

thought. On the pretext of giving them a special identity, he

made them wear their hair in their head differently. Normally

Brahmins in Tamil Nadu shave off the front portion of their

head above the temple and let the hair at the back grow

abundantly long. Their long tresses are then cared for, oiled,

braided and rolled into a knot at the back of their heads. This is known as Kudumi which would

typically identify them.

Parasurama introduced a twist in this custom. He made them wear what is known as Oordva Shika, in

which the back of the head is shaved off and the hair on the peak of the head is permitted to grow

long, which is tied in to a knot to fall forward just on top of the temple! Till date Namboodri Brahmins

of Kerala follow this system only.

But the Sozhiyas thought that this one small change in the identity will not be such a hindrance in their

acceptance back in Tamil Nadu, when there is no difference in the other customs and traditions. So,

most of them did go back to the banks of Cauvery River once again and were accepted with open arms

as expected. But the Oordva Shika remained on top of the head, giving raise to the proverb, Sozhiyan

Kudumi does not shake easily, to mean that he does not listen to others suggestions and also that he is

not easily ruffled! Parasuramas plan however, had back fired.

So, he imported Brahmins from Andhra and Karnataka en-mass and as a precaution, out of the 108

Aachaaraas that are there for the Brahmin, he changed some 64 of them to give them totally a new

traditional identity. This worked and for generations they started staying there.

They are known as Namboodri Brahmins, stricter in their observance of traditional Aachaaraas, than

Brahmins elsewhere in the whole of India! There is a book by the name of Keralotpatti. I have given

you the details from that book and a few PuraNas.


There could be one question in your minds. If the Namboodri

Brahmins were mostly from Kannada and Telugu background

and others were mainly fisher folks from the Arabian Sea

islands with some local dialects; how is that Malayalam as a

language contains a mix of words from mainly Tamil and

Sanskrit languages?

The Malayala language evolved some 1,000 to 1,200 years

back only. Before that Tamil was the main stay. Still some of

you can say, How can it be? I will answer that.

No society can be complete only with Brahmins and fisher

folks. There has to a king, army, traders and so on. Most of

these were Tamilians only. The mountain ranges of Western

Ghats are literally hugging the Tamil Nadu from North to

South with many passages between Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

From time immemorial Tamilians are known to trade across the oceans and their reach included Sri

Lanka, Burma, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, most of East Asia and Western shores of Africa and the islands in

between. So, the point to be noted is that the major population in Kerala after Parasurama created

were Tamilians who had moved there from across the Sahayadri Mountains.

When I said that Tamilians are too fond of their comforts, I meant only the pulse-eating-brahmins and

not the non-brahmins! (PeriyavaaL smiles while saying this.) Others are very hard working capable of

high levels of tolerance. They knew all the tricks of agriculture and capable of doing aggressive

marketing of their produce. So it was the Tamil non-brahmins who populated Kerala in a big way and

started planting and cultivation of Black-Pepper, Oak trees, Coconut, Sandal Wood and a variety of

Spices in a big way, making use of the plentiful water supply. Then fish was available both from the

seas and a number of rivers, rivulets and ponds. Life was plentiful and satisfying. The Chera Kings were

all of Tamil origin only for long.

So, a parallel civilization came into being as in Tamil Nadu. As the majority was Tamils, others also

spoke the same language. All this happened even before the historical times till Sozha, Chera and

Pandya dynasties were alternately predominant at various times. When others from the East went

there some Brahmins also must have migrated to Kerala due to divine interest as many temples and

temple towns came into being in that land. Parasurama himself created some of them. Initially there

was a restriction against immigration as imposed by Parasurama which got diluted over time.

Anyhow he himself went incognito, not seen by anybody and after that some Brahmins from the

mainland could have gone on visiting the religiously important temple towns and settled there.


Historically recorded period starts around Asokas time. In his

Saasanam inscribed on stone slabs, about places where he spread his

views on peaceful co-existence, there is mention of Kerala also along

with other places of India. This is proof of the fact that there was

civilized social life in that part of the country already. It was part of

Chera Kingdom and Tamil was the language there.

Silappadigaram a Tamil classic literature is from that land only.

Cheramaan PerumaaL Naayanaar, who sang the Tamil divine songs

of Thirumarais as part of Saiva Thevaram collections was a King in

Kerala.

So also Kula Sekhara PerumaaL, who sang the poems as part of the

Vaishnavas Nalayira Divya Prabhandam collections in Tamil was a King in Kerala. Therefore our

AachaaryaaL also in his time must have spoken Tamil. All Brahmins those days must have been well

read. There could not have been any Brahmin who had not done Adhyayanam and knowledgeable in

Tamil and Sanskrit. Within themselves they must have spoken in Sanskrit and with others used the

Tamil language.

Though our AachaaryaaL came down to the Earth as an Avatara for rekindling and rejuvenating the

Sanaatana Dharma and did his all for re-establishing it on very strong footings, with the passage of

time there was deterioration set in once again! In that flow of events, suitably misusing some of the

traditions introduced by Parasurama, other than the first son of the families even amongst Namboodri

Brahmins, started resorting to marriages with women of other castes. When such relationships were

created, a mix of Sanskrit and Tamil did come about, which could have been the seeds of for a new

language to sprout. By this intermingling causing some dilution of standards of austerity, some good

by-products were also there.

By this, in Kerala all castes became knowledgeable in Saastras and Puranas. The education standards

did improve especially fluency in use of Sanskrit words. For example more than any other part of India,

taking a bath early in the morning and visiting the nearby temple wearing clean clothes with much

noticeable devotion and piety is the practice by people of all castes in Kerala.

I do not for a moment wish to say that non-brahmins are uneducated, unclean and things like that at

all. Due to the type of work that they have to do especially the proletariat, cannot afford to care for

cleanliness so much. Whether a factory worker or involved in agriculture or in the job of clearing the

garbage, they just cannot be too finicky about cleanliness as a Brahmin is required to be in his duty!


Then if you take any of the craftsmen, their children learn

their trade from childhood from their elders, whether it is

carpentry or masonry, separating and spinning the silk

thread or sculpting a stone in to shape! Going to school

would be a double unaffordable loss as it would mean,

missing on the job training and being coached by ones

grandfather / father / uncle, and loss of cheap labour. So

generally they would send one of the children to school so

that he could act as the in house accountant, manager and

correspondent, while others would be given on-the-job-

training!

Since such people contribute substantially to the well being

of the society, the very Saastraas have been liberal in the

standards of cleanliness expected of them and in their case

Adhyayanam is also not a requirement.

Still, the fact that in Kerala the standards of education, knowledge of the Saastraas and Dos and Donts

of the Sanatana Dharma, are way ahead of the rest of the country; indicates the apparent effect of the

brahmin influence.

Though it was not an island all by itself, when it was not so well connected by means of transportation,

Kerala was having certain benefits of inaccessibility and isolation from the Mainland, unaffected by

some of the social irreligious tendencies! So, when a typical local lingo, developed into a full-fledged

language by its own right, all people of Kerala accepted it with pride as their mother tongue. This is

how the language Malayalam came into being.

Having spoken so much about the story of Malayalam let me tell you the balance also. After Malayalam

had become well established, for some reasons some brahmins from Tamil Nadu migrated there and

settled closer to the Tamil Nadu instead of going deep inside Kerala. Some shifted from the area of

Coimbatore to Palghat and settled near Pallasena. Others from Tenkasi through Sengotta went near

Trivandrum. Their Tamil is another version with a scattering of Malayalam in pronunciation.

When I said that Kerala developed with its own culture unaffected by the happenings in the Mainland,

you should not think that it was totally isolated and that its culture was alien to that in the Mainland.

The Vedic culture is the culture of what is India. Like a main river in which a number of tributaries come

and join, many flows such the different cultures of Kashmir, Punjab, Central India, Rajasthan, Bengal,

Karnataka, Andhra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu joined to make what is the Indian Vedic culture. To give yet

another example, if you think of Indian culture as a tree, these were its branches and the roots were

the Vedic one.


So when Parasurama settled brahmin-s from Tamil Nadu as the

original citizens, he ensured that Indian Vedas, Puranas,

Temples, Yagnas, Vratam-s such as for Shivaratri, Ekadasi, and

Somavaaram; Karma Anushtaanaas, Adhyayanam,

Adhyapakam, chanting of Veda mantras and establishment of

Veda Patashaalaas were all brought in. So, even when

elsewhere in India these were not being observed or becoming

subdued, with the expanding influence of Buddhism and

Jainism (Muslims followed by Britishers were to come much

later), in Kerala these were more assiduously being observed.

So, it was in the rightness of things that our AachaaryaaLs

Avatara also took place there.

Later, things happened topsy turvy, trending in the opposite

way and I must mention that also.

Since the whole of the eastern border of Kerala was the range of mountains, it was not much affected

by the upheavals that occurred in the Mainland India alright. But what was in the west of Kerala? It was

all the Arabian Sea. So with the thriving trade of Black Pepper, Cardamom, Sandal Wood, Oak timber

and Ivory, there was also in influx of traders and visitors from the west and they started settling there.

For many Jews, Christians and Muslims, Kerala became the Mother Land!

Though unaffected by the changes in the mainland, they ended up accommodating all and sundry!

Anyhow, all this is part of the side effects of our own culture which believes in Atiti Devo Bhava!

Let me tell you one more surprising thing.

Though the people of Kerala accepted foreign religions, when it comes to Hinduism, after our

AachaaryaaL, they did not accept the other Sampradaaya-s of Vaishnavas and Madhvas. Do we not see

that even in Padmanaabha Swami Temple or Guruvayoorappan Temple they do not have Vaishnava

Bhatta-s, but only Namboodri brahmin-s including in Sabarimala Aiyappa Temple. This can only be

considered as their devotion to our AachaaryaaL who took Avatara there, after searching for a suitable

place in the whole of India.

In recent times with the laying of roads and rail communications to and fro between Kerala and rest of

the country and advanced education available all over, the somewhat secluded society of Kerala has

started spreading all over the country as well become more international. In every foreign country

today among expatriate Indians, Keralites form a major chunk. Without standing on prestige, they are

ready to go anywhere and do any sort of work and thus have proved to be as industrious and

ubiquitous as the Sardarjis of Punjab, making their presence felt in every nook and corner of the world!


People from that part of the country where our AachaaryaaL was born are leading in literacy, today in

the whole of India!

There are still those in Kerala who are assiduously safe guarding our oldest religious traditions of

Sanaatana Dharma on the one hand and on the other, it was there that Aalaya Pravesam was done

for the first time (entering of the temple by those not traditionally permitted from times of yore) and

the first communist Government was installed democratically!

Original Tamil version available at:

http://www.kamakoti.org/tamil/d-san100.htm

http://www.kamakoti.org/tamil/d-san101.htm


Conclusion We conclude this E-book with some thought provoking lines from the Tamil Poet Shri "Kaviarasu" Kannadasan on Sri Maha Periyava.

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Acknowledgements We gratefully acknowledge the following books, blogs and websites which contained relevant

information for compiling this E-book on Stories narrated by Sri Kanchi Mahaswami.

1. http://kamakoti.org/

2. http://advaitham.blogspot.in/

3. Voice of God - Published by Sri Kanchi Mahaswami Peetarohana Shatabdi Mahotsava Trust

Jaya Jaya Shankara, Hara Hara Shankara!

Sri Mahaswami's Brindavan at Kanchi

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Kanchi Paramacharya Community - Stories Told by Sri Kanchi Mahaswami - eBook #1