Sri CheNpakavalli SamEtha Sri PuNDareekAkshan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam,

 

daasan,

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SaThakOpan

 

Thirumangai AzhwAr and Kumudavalli nAcciyAr

 

 

 

 

THIRUPPULLANI

Kshetra Mahima

 

 

SrI nrusimha sEva rasikan

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SaThakOpan

 

sadagopan.org

 

C O N T E N T S

Introduction

Sthala vishesham/Theertha vishesham

VibhishaNa SaraNAgathi

Sethu Bandhanam

Thirumangai Mannan and Sri ThyAgarAja Swamigal

Periya Thirumozhi- 9th Decad — 3rd Thirumozhi

Periya Thirumozhi — 9th Decad — 4th Thirumozhi

Nigamanam

 

***

 

 

SrI Adhi JagannAtha PerumAL of ThiruppullANi

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

During the summer of 1993 (Akshaya year, Aadi month) on the sacred day of sarva putrada ekadashi, adiyEn commenced the likhita kaimkaryam on the stala mahAtmiyam and the purANic and ItihAsic sambhandam of the ThiruppullANi kshetram. This sacred place with plenty of proud and ancient historic heritage has the distinction of having the parama pavitra pada sparsha sambhandam (association with the sacred feet) of the Raghu Kula Simham (the Lion of Raghu vamsam) and his parama bhakthan Sri Hanuman; it is also the theatre for the extraordinary scene of VibhishaNa sharaNAgathi, in which Sri RAmachandra mUrthy exemplified the SaraNAgatha Vatsalan aspect, by uttering the famous verse:

sakrudeva prapannAya tavAsmIti yAcate |
abhayam sarvabhUtebhyo dadAmi yetat vratam mama ||

 —  ValmIkI rAmAyaNam, 6-18-33

The greatness of BhagavAn’s sankalpam in protecting those who sought His Lotus Feet as refuge, even if they were from the enemy camp as in the case of VibhishaNan, brings forth the grandeur of the tattvam of SaranAgati which is the central aspect of VishishtAdvaitha philosophy. Hence it is no surprise that ThiruppullAni is otherwise known as SaraNAgati kshetram. Thirumangai AzhwAr was immensely captivated by the greatness of this kshetram that he eulogized it with 20 choice paasurams in his Periya Thirumozhi.

The presiding deity of this kshetram is Sri Aadi JagannAtha PerumAL, who blessed Sri Rama with His divine Bow as the latter set out for Lanka, to rescue Sri Sita. The vara prasAdi ThAyar at this kshetram is known as Sri PadmAsani ThAyar. The stala vrksham is asvaththa tree and the pushkaraNi is chakra thIrtham. Sri Ramachandra Murthy sanctified this holy place twice by His presence – Once on His way to Lanka (darbha Sayana Raman) and again on His return from Lanka (PattAbhisheka Raman).

This dhivya dEsam is a ParihAra/PrArthanA sthalam.It has been recommended as a must Kshethram for travelers from overseas to visit and have a dip in the Raama Sethu. It is an ancient tradition for those with puthra dhOsham and for those who wish to have vivAha prApthi to visit the sannidhis of Darbha Sayana Raamar, PadmAsani ThAyAr and SanthAna GopAlan at ThirupullANi.

The greatness of this most holy place is brought out by the sthala dhyAna slokam:

pullAraNyam cakratIrtham Adi setum sudarSanam
garutmantam atha: aswattham rAmam darbhAdiSaayinam
jagannAtham divya cApam swarNa padmAsani prabhum ||

The kshetram got the name "PullAraNyam" because of the tapas (penance) performed here by Maharishi Pullar. Here Sriman NaarayaNan gave darsanam to the three great sages — Pullar, KaNvar and KAlavar — under the Aswatta Tree as the Golden hued Aswatta NArAyaNan. Due to the sages' request BhagavAn continues to shower His blessings on all devotees to this day as Adi JagannAthan in this Kshetram. The dhyana slokam further mentions the presence of Sri PadmAsani ThAyAr along with Her Husband to grant the prayers of Her children. The slokam also highlights the blessings bestowed on Sri Raman, who sought this kshetram as stated in "poruthiraigaL pOndhu ulavu pullANi"

Given below is the dhyAna slokam on the PerumAL of this divya kshetram:

pullAraNyamupedya pushpitamitam
pullaRRishi maanandayan
sallApena Siram nivAsam akarot
yo nassapaayAt Hari:

The patta mahishi of Sri Adi JagannAtha PerumAL, the wish-granting Sri PadmAsani ThAyAr is renowned for Her dayA and Her swiftness in fulfilling the wishes of Her children. Her dhyAna slokam is as follows:

pullAraNya nivAsinIm natanrNAm kalyANa sampatkarIm
svarlokAdipa vAritI ca vindAm kalyANadAyIm sadA
pullendIvara locanIm bhagavatIm pullaRRishimoda pradAm
kalyANAkara divya cApa mahishIm SriyASrayAmovayam||

Her benevolence knows no bounds and countless devotees have benefitted by seeking the Lotus Feet of this varaprAsadi ThAyAr. Two prominent devotees of immediate past who have sung Her praises are: Sangeetha MahAvidwAn RamAnAthapuram SrI Poocchi Srinivasa Iyengar and SrI Mutthu RAmalinga Sethupathi, who was born in the lineage of the Sethupathis — the Maharaajaas of RamanAthapuram.

A moving musical tribute by SrI Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar on the ThAyAr, set in the HarikAmbOji RAgam is given below:

Pallavi:

paripAlayamAm padmAsane
pApa samhAriNi patita pAvani (paripAlayamAm)

AnuPallavi:

kariNi gamane karuNA nayane
kanakAbharaNe kamanIya caraNe (paripAlayamAm)

CaraNam:

sItAm sumukhi durita samrakshaki
SrI sampanne sthiraje vrate
varadAdmaja sannute sarvahite mahite (paripAlayamAm)

Sri MuthurAmalinga Sethupathi II, who was also known as Durairaja, composed a Keerthanam in MaNipravALAm (which included Tamil, Telugu, Sanskrit and HindustAni languages), set in Surutti Raagam on Sri PadmAsani ThAyAr. The first charaNam of this Krithi is given below:

rAkshasamardana ravi koTi
sama cakra mokshadAyaka
varamunigaNa pAlana
dIkshita sancaladrk kamalAsani
sameta divya j~nAnaSeela
dIna jana paripAlana (paduma nAbha)

Such is the glory and power of the divya dampathis at ThiruppullANi and adiyEn considers it as a parama bhAgyam to now release as an e-book, my humble attempt at portraying the majesty and beauty of this kshetram as well as brief commentaries on Thirumangai AzhwAr’s pAsurams on the same. As we proceed to learn more about this parama pavithra sthalam, let us enjoy this Tamil cheyyuL (verse) of Swami Desikan in which he portrays Sri Raamachandran as Sriranganatha and beautifully connects to the episode of Sri Raman worshipping Sri Adi JagannAtha PerumAL and Sri PadmAsani ThAyAr at ThirppullANi.

ambuyaththon ayOththi mannar kaLiththa koyil
thOlAtha thani veeran thozhutha kOyil
thuNaiyAna vidaNaRkuth thuNaiyAngkOyil

 — adhikAra Sangraham, pAsuram 42

 

|| namo SrI RAghavAya aniSam||

 

ThiruppullANi ThirukkOil

 

STHALA VISESAM:

ThiruppullANi is situated approximately 5 miles south-east of Ramanathapuram and 2 miles north of the southern ocean (Indian Ocean). ThiruppullANi is also called as PullAraNyam, ThiruppullaNai, DarpaSayanam, Adisethu, NaLasethu, RathnAkara kshetram, ThiruvaNai, SaraNagati kshetram and PullangAdu. PuraNAs state that this sthalam was in existence some 72 chatur-yugams before the present times. The PerumAL here is called "Adhi JagannAthan" to signify the ancient historic glory of this Temple. PerumAL as a svarUpi (divine form) here, is also called as "DakshiNa JagannAthan" to contrast with the arUpi (formless) presence of Uttara JagannAthan of Puri (Orissa). The utsava PerumAL is seen here with BhUmi Devi and NeeLa Devi in KalyANa kOlam and hence is called as KalyANa JagannAthan.

The Moolavar giving darsanam in veeRRirunda ThirukOlam (Seated Posture) facing East, is also called as "Divya chApar" in remembrance of the occasion when He gave His divine Bow to Sri Ramamchandramurthy with blessings to emerge victorious in the war with RAvaNan. Sri JagannAtha PerumAL's divine beauty has also earned Him

the affectionate name of "Deivach Chilayaar" (This name is the Tamil translation of the Sanskrit nAmam of "Divya ChApar".) PerumAL resides with Sri KalyANavalli ThAyAr under the KalyANa Vimanam and is pratyaksham to Pullar and Asvaththa NArAyaNan.

DARBHA-SAYANA RAMAN:

Confirming the eulogies by Kamban (thOL kaNDAr thOLE kaNDAr) and the ashtottara verses ("aajaanubAhum aravinda daLAyadAksham"), the beauty of the Veera Sayana ThirukkOlam of SrI darbha-Sayana Raman has to be seen to be believed. His sannidhi is guarded by two huge dvArapAlAs.