Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama: Kurai ondrum illAda GovindA The cry of Govinda!Govinda!

rends the air. The serpentine queue slowly winds it way to the holiest of holies, and everyone in the many thousand strong, but orderly crowd, each come from hundreds of miles afar, eagerly awaits his or her turn for the audience, which may however last for less than a minute. Which would you say is the most popular divyadesam on earth? And the most frequented? And the richest, growing richer by the day? No marks for guessing- of course it is Tirumala, the hilly abode of Srinivasa . The very name Tirupati induces in us an unmatched devotional fervour. Almost all Hindu families, irrespective of denomination, have the practice of visiting Tirumala at least once a year, for cleansing themselves of their sins and to get recharged spiritually. Why speak of Hindus- even people of other faiths are ardent devotees of the Lord of Seven Hills. You must have read a recent newspaper report of a pious muslim donating a sizeable amount to the temple. What is behind all this? What mystical attraction does Tiruvengadam, as the Azhwars call it, have for the unlettered common man and scholar alike? Why do people flock to the Seven Hills for a momentary glimpse of the Lord, (for that is all the temple authorities permit you to have) braving all sorts of physical inconvenience? And why do people climb the seven hills on foot, irrespective of their age, physical and financial state, when they could travel the distance comfortably in a bus or car? And here is a deity who cannot be visited at our convenience and at a time of our choice: for, even if we make all possible arrangements, if He doesn t want to see us, some impediment or other will crop up, forcing us to drop the plan. (This is not mere old wives tale, because this has happened to me, and I am sure, to others too, more than once). Finding answers to all these questions is not easy, but let us try. Perhaps one major reason for the unparalleled magnificence and popularity of Tiruvengadamudayan is the presence of not one, but two of His divine Consorts on His chest. To my limited knowledge, there does not appear to be any other divyadesam (except perhaps Oppiliappan Koil?) where Emperuman accomodates both His celestial compansions on His chest. This unusual phenomenon reminds one of the Purusha Sukta quote, Hreescha te Lakshmeescha patnyou , which acknowledges the twin Consorts of the Purusha or Parabrahmam. The implication is obvious- Srinivasa is none other than the Parama Purusha. Accounting for Sri Rama s fame and valour, Sri Valmiki says aprameyam hi tat tejO yasya saa

Janakaatmaja (Immeasurable indeed is His fame, whose Consort Sri Sita is). Thus, if the presence of one consort by His side was responsible for Sri Raghava s fame, you can imagine what two Consorts, that too located much closer, on His chest, could do to Sri Venkateswara. In Sri Ramavatara, Dasarathi had to bear the separation of Janakanandini for what must have felt like aeons. Srinivasa suffers no such loss, for Sridevi and Bhoodevi reside on His person constantly, without even a moment of separation. agalakillen irayum endru Aalarmel Mangai urai maarba! says Sri Nammazhwar. This is confirmed by the Sri VishnuPuranam thus- Nityaa eva esha Jaganmata Vishno:Sri: anapaayini . Here, one might ask, Sri Nammazhwar speaks only in the singular, and refers only to Sridevi. Other references in the Sri Venkateswara Suprabhatam also address only Sri, and there is no mention at all of Bhoodevitava suprabhatam aravinda lochane , tad vakshastthala nitya vaasa rasikaam LakshmI nivaasa niravadya gunaika sindho! ,etc. However, just as a reference to Emperuman automatically includes Tirumagal too ( PerumaaLai sonna idam ellaam Piraattiaiyum sonnadu aayitru ), similarly whenever Sridevi is referred to, Bhoodevi is also included in the reference, being an amsa of the former. Thus what Sri Bhattar says of the inclusion of Piratti in all references to Emperuman, ( tat antarbhaavaat na prithak abhidhatte shrutirapi ) is true also of Bhoodevi being included wherever references are made to Sridevi. Hence there is no doubt that all mangalasasanams to Sri on the Lord s chest include Bhoodevi too. Thus Srinivasa is also Bhoonivasa, so to say, and much of His popularity with Bhaktas of all hues flows from the presence of both His Consorts on His tirumEni. Another characteristic of the Parama Purusha, viz., avaapta samasta kaamatvam (One who has no unfulfilled desires) is present in full measure in the Lord of Tirumala. We see in almost all divyadesams periodical appeals for various causes like renovation, etc., but not in the case of Tirumala. This Lord attracts so much wealth from all and sundry that He has absolutely no dearth of anything. Even though the Grand Old Man of Srirangam is described as Tiruvaranga Selvanaar , it is truly Srinivasa who qualifies for the title. The Lord s avaapta samasta kaamatvam is extolled by Sri Andal in Her reference to Kurai ondrum illaada Govinda! . Though this sobriquet applies to the Divine Cowherd Krishna, in the Kaliyuga, popular perception attributes the Govinda naama almost exclusively to Srinivasa of the Seven Hills. And Swami Desikan s tribute tamadu anaitthum avar tamakku vazhangium taam miga vilangum (Adaikkala Patthu) applies much more to Srinivasa than to Sri Varadan of Kanchi. Though people have their own ishtta devatas, it is universally acknowledged that prayers to Srinivasa are processed much faster, so much so that

He has acquired the sobriquet Kali Yuga Varadan . And the more He gives, the more He gets too. Several other reasons are attributed to the unmatched popularity of Tirumalayappan, like the pratishttaa of a Dhana Aakarshana yantram in the sannidhi (This is discounted by Agamic scholars). However, it is only He who knows why He is able to achieve anh inundating attendance of devotees in such huge measure, vis--vis the Lords of other temples. Srimate Sri LakshmiNrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama:

__________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Sports - Coverage of the 2002 Olympic Games http://sports.yahoo.com Srimate Sri Laksminrisimha Divya Paduka Sevaka Srivan Satakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama: Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/