||   Sri Ranganaatha Mahimai    ||

Sri ANDAL- Sri RanganAthar ThirukkalyANam Part 7.4

In the old times , weddings went on for four days in contrast to today's one day affair . There were opportunities to conduct all aspects of a Vaidhika VivAham in a leisurely manner . The only ArchA mUrthy , who was in a hurry to get married was the Lord of the Divya Desam , Thiru Idaventhai , Sri Nithya KalyANar . He had promised to marry the 360 daughters of Kaalava Maharshi one per day . The VimAnam of Thiruvidaventhai is aptly known as KalyANa VimAnam . At the end of His marriages spread over the year , He united all His wives into one and named Her Akilavalli NaacchiyAr and our Yenthai /EmperumAn placed Her on His left ( Idathu Pakkam ) . Thus arose the name of Thiruvidaventhai for this Divya Desam .

This is the divya desam that Sri Venkatesh Ilayavalli of our prapatthi group visited recently . Welcome Back , Sri Elayavalli and thank you very much for your Kaimkaryam to maintain the SaraNAgathi List Archives upto date .

Returning to our narration of the happenings at Sri VillipputthUr , Sri RanganAthA was in no hurry to rush His wedding with ANDAL . He was going to settle down at His wife's birth place anyway. Hence, the MappiLLai Swami took his time and conducted the PradhAna Homam, Graha PravEsam , Pravisya Homam and Sesha Homam without any hurry .

PradhAna Homam
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After Sapthapathi , the newly married dampathis sat on the western side of the sacred fire . ANDAL placed Her right hand on the left thigh of Sri RangarAjan , while He performed the PradhAna homam . There are ten Homa manthrams and 16 AhUthis . At the end of each of the manthram ending with SvAhA , a ladle of ghee was poured into the sacred fire. Let us examine the 16 AhUthi manthrams :

First Manthram :
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sOmAya janivithE svAhA ( This ladle of ghee is offered to Agni BhagavAn for transmittal to Soman for his pleasure in recognition of his help to the Kannikai earlier.

Second manthram :
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GandharvAya JanivithE svAhA ( This ladle of ghee /AhUthi is offered to Gandharvan via Agni to please him in recognition of his blessings to the kannikai after Soman .

Third Manthram :
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AgnayE janivithE SvAhA ( This particular ladle of Ghee is presented to Agni to recognize his anugraham to the kannikai after Gandharvan .

DevathA Sambhandham of the kannikai referred to above
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Before Maangalya DhAraNam , there are two manthrams that are recited , which describe the association of Soman , Gandharvan and Agni with the Kannikai prior to marrying a human being as her husband . That shows the daivAmsam of the Kannikai .Those manthrams are :

Soma: PrathamO vividhE GandharvO vividha uttara:
trutheeyO AgnishtE pathi:I
thureeyasthE manushayajA : II

SomO (a)dhath GandharvAya , GandharvO (a)dhath AgnayE
rayincha puthrAgumsccha adhAth Agnir MahyamathO ImAm

( Meaning ) : Soman became her first husband . Gandharvan was her next husband. Agni was the third husband of this Kannikai . The one born as a human being is the fourth and final husband. Soman handed you over toGandharvan ; He inturn gave you to Agni . Latter blessed you with wealth and progeny and gave you finally to me for my sukham .

The inner meaning is that Chandran ( Soman ) gave you strength , Gandharvan blessed you with beauty and Agni gave you the boon of youth ( Youvvanam ) and then Agni BhagavAn gave you to me , the human being, as a present for my sukham . Thus , You have come to me as DaivAmsam .

The Kaanikai's glories are celebrated through these two manthrAs . The First three pradhAna Homa manthrams are connected to this conception . You might recall ALavanthAr's defeating the arrogant scholar at the royal court based on this Vedic reference .

Fourth Manthram
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kanyalA pithrubhyO yathee pathilOkam avadheekshAmathAstha svAhA (Meaning): I pour this ladle of ghee in the Agni as Homam for the kannikai leaving behind the blemishes as she leaves her father's home to join her husband's home .

Fifth manthram
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prEtho munchAthi naamuthas supatthA mamu taskarath
ythEyameendhra meetvas suputhrA subhagAsathi

(Meaning ) : O Indra , who blesses us with rain ! Please release this kannikai from her father's house. Please make sure that she does not leave her husband's house. Please bless her to have deep attachment to her husband's home.Please bless her to be attached to her new home . Please bless her to have auspicious progeny ( suputhrA : ) . Please bless her to have al soubhAgyams in her new home .

Sixth Manthram
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imAm tvamindhra meetva saputhrAgum subhagAm kuru
dasAsyAm puthrAnAdehi pathim EkAdasam kruthi

( Meaning ) : O Indra , the king of rains and Subhiksham! pray to you to make this kannikai full of auspicious progeney and wealth . May she be blessed to bear ten sons and make me her eleventh one .

Seventh manthram
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agnirEthu prathamO devAnAgum sOsyai prajAm
munchathumruthyupAsAth I
tathayagum RaajA VaruNO anumnayathAm yathEyagum
shtree pouthramakam na rhOdhAth II

( meaning ) : May the first among DevAs , Agni BhagavAn come here ! May he release her children from the noose of Yama devA ( akAla MaraNam ) . May Lord VaruNA >do what is needful to make her not cry over her sons or daughters .

Eighth Manthram
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imAm Agnis tayathAm gArhapathya: prajAmasyai
nayathu dheerghamAyu : I
asUnyOpasatthA jeevathAmasthu mAthA pouthramAnandhamapi
prabuddhyathAmiyam II

( Meaning ) : May Lord Agni closely associated with the Grahasthan protect her ( kannikai ) . May he grant long life to her children ! may she never be infertile and may she be the mother of live children ! May she wake up to the joy of having children !

Ninth manthram
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maa thE gruhE nisi ghOsha uddhAtanyathra tvathrutatyas
samvisanthu I
maa tvam vikEsyura aavathishtA jeevapathnee pathilOkE
virAja pasyanthee prajAgum sumansyamAnAm II

( Meaning ) :O KaanikE ! May there not be any loud noises in your house at night ! may any anger & sorrows behind those loud arguments go elsewhere ! May thou not sprad your hair in despair and beat your breasts in sorrow ! May there be no occasion for such despair ! may thou shine in your husband's house with good will and take good care of your children !

Tenth manthram
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dhyousthE prushtagagum rakshathu , VaayurUrU ,
asvinou cha sthanam , dayanthagum SavithAbhi rakshathu I
avAsasa: paridhAnAth Bruhaspathir vivE dEvO
abhirakshanthu pascchAth II

(Meaning): May the AkAsa devathA (dhyou ) protect your rear ! May Vaayu dEvan protect your two thighs ! May AsvinI dEvAs protect your chest region ! May SavithA ( sooryan ) protect your baby nourished by your milk ! may Brahaspathi protect you until your wear your pudavai. Afterwards , May VisvEdEvAs protect you ( THis manthram is a kavacham for the protection of the kannikai's body ) .

Eleventh manthram
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aprajasthAm pouthramruthyum pApmAnamudhavAkam I
seershNa: srajamivOnmuchya dhvishdbhya:prathimunchAmi paasam II

( meaning) : I (the Kannikai) leave with my enemies amnagaLams like infertility ,premature death of children , other sins and sorrows just as I take the used flower garland from my tresses . This way I remove the noose of inauspiciousnes of the above four kinds that may bind me .

Twelfth Manthram ( Part of Saayam SandhyAvandhanam /Yajur Vedam )
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Imam VaruNa srudheehavamadhyA cha mruDyA tvAmavasyurAchakE
(Meaning ): Oh Lord VaruNA !Please hear my sthOthram and make me happy right away !I salute you with he intent of being protected by you !

Thirteenth manthram ( Saayam SandhyA vandhana Manthrams)
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tattvAyAmi brahmaNA vandhanAnastadhAsAsthE yajamAnO havirbhi: I
ahEDamAnO VaruNEha bhOdhi urusagum samAna aayu: pramOshi II

(Meaning ) : O VaruNA ! O supreme Lord ! I take refuge in your protection by singing your glory through recitation of Veda manthrams . It is for this type of protection by You , the kings make sacrificial offerings to Agni to reach You . Oh VaruNa dEva! please grant the protection that I am seeking now without getting angry . Oh Lord of praise worthy attributes ! Please do not snatch away my life with your VaruNa paasam in a mood of anger ! Please spare my life !

Fourteenth Manthram
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tvannO AgnE VaruNasya VidhvAn Devasya hEDO avayAsi seeshtA I
yajishtO Vahnitham sOsusAnO visvA dvEshAgumsi pramumulthyasmath II

(Meaning): O Agni DevA !May Thou as the omniscient one , intercede with the splendorous VaruNan and reduce his anger at us ! O Agni DevA ! You are the most praiseworthy and You carry all Havis to the DevAs from us in your resplendent form . May Thou remove all kinds of enimiites between us fully !

Fifteenth manthram
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sathvannO AgnE avamO bhavOthee nEthishtO asyA UshasO vyushtou I
avakshvanO VaruNagum rarANO veehi mruteekagum suhavO na yEthi II

( Meaning ) : O Lord Agni of above auspicious attributes ! You stand in the front row of DevAs . Please come close to us to protect us at the time , when the dawn's rays have receded . Please stand next to us and save us from the anger of Lord VaruNA for our misdeeds . Please bless us with saamagriyAs and accept from us , what pleases you . Please be a supporter of our work in this world .

Sixteenth Manthram
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tvamagnE ayAsyayAsann mansaa hitha:
ayAsann havya mUhishE ayAnO dEhi BhEshajam II

( Meaning ) : O Agni DevA ! You have us as Your servants ! For us , You serve as the object of meditation and goal to atain . You are accessible to us and carry our Havis to the other DevAs and the Lord . Please grant us what is beneficial to us just as the appropriate medicine for a patient .

With these manthrams , PradhAna ( Primary ) homam was completed by Sri RanganAthA as a bridegroom .

Bride Standing on top of a Pestle ( Ammi )
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The next ceremony was the Ammi mithitthal . This ceremony with its accompanying manthram is performed to pray for the resoluteness of the bride to stand firmly against any upsets in married life .

Sri RanganAtha held the toe of the right foot of ANDAL and lifted her foot to rest on the ammi grinding stone) placed on the right side of the sacred fire . He recited the following manthram at that time :

aathishtEmam asmAnam asmEva dheevagum sthirA bahva I
apithishtta bhruthanyatha: sahasva bhruthanAyatha : II

( Meaning ) : My dear ANDAL ! May Thou stand on this rock of a grinding stone firmly . In your married life , oppose those , who oppose you without flinching or wavering . May Thou bear with your enemies . Oh My dear Wife ! When the violent winds blow during our married life , Please stand firmly like you are standing on this firm pestle and chase away those , who wish to cause harm to You . Please stand firm until these violent winds blow away . Have courage and patience to stand up to these unplesant and disturbing events . Please bear with those , who committ aparAdhams to You .

ANDAL herself has sung about Her experience of Ammi Mitthitthal ceremony assisted by Sri RanganAthA . We come across it in the 8th verse of Decad 10.6 of NaacchiyAr Thirumozhi :

Immaikkum yEzhEzh piRavikkum paRRAvAn
nammai udayavan NaarAyaNan nambi
Semmai udaya ThirukkaiyAl thALL paRRi
AMMI MITHIKKAK kanAk kantEn thOzhi naan

ANDAL housed this description as the 8th paasuram to celebrate the Lord of AshtAkshara Manthram ( MUla manthram ) . This is a profound paasuram and is a grand summary of the relationship between sEshi and sEshan just as " ChiRRam siru kAlE Vanthunnai sEvitthu -- " paasuram of ThiruppAvai . There ANDAL declares majestically , " yeRRaikkum yEzhEzh piRavikkum unthannOdu uRROmE aavOm , unakkE naamAtcheyvOM , maRRai namm kaamangaL mARRElOrempAvAI " . In the Ammi mithitthal paasuram , she reminds us of the same profound and central truth ( SaraNAgathi sAsthram ) with almost the same words that are like echos to her Thiruppaavai paasuram . Here she says : " Immaikkum yEzhEzh piRavikkum , nammai udayavan NaarAyaNan nambi paRRAvAn " . The usage of " nammaiudayavan " is another thundering revelation . We can now understand why Sri RanganAthA gave the title of "Udayavar" to Sri RaamAnujA .

ANDAL declares here that the relationship between NaarAyaNan and us is " ozhikka ozhiyAthu " ( a relationship that lasts forever and can not be broken by any means ) . In this world ( Immai ) during the septads of births and also in the other world ( MaRumai ) , he is the ONE to lean on as UpAyam and UpEyam to get MokshAnugraham . ANDAL reminded the sleeping Nanda GopAlan of His duties in this context ( paarArthyam ) in Her ThiruppAvai paasurams and woke Him up to perform those duties ( EmperumAn NandagOpAlA YezhunthirAi ; umbar kOmAnE , urangAthezhundirAi).

ANDAL was born as the daughter of PeriyAzhwAr , who declared , " yEzhAtkAAlum PazhippilOm--ThirumAlE! naanumunakku PazhavadiyEn ". She performed MangaLAsAsanam for Her Lord in the ammi mitthitthal paasuram ( nammai udayavan NaarAyaNa nambi ) and reminded us that Sri RanganAthan is sarva lOka SaraNyan and Sarva sEshi . That primary principle ,Sri RanganAtha touched Her toe with His lotus soft hands and lifted it along with the foot and placed it on the Ammi ( semmai udaya thirukkaiyAl thALL paRRi ammi mithikka kanak kantEn ) .

Laaja Homam (Offer of parched rice to Agni )
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The next ceremony is Laaja homam . This is the occasion , when ANDAL like other brides prays for the state of auspiciousnes for Her Lord Sri RanganAthan and seeks Her Lord's aaseervAdhams .

In the ninth paasuram of VaraNamAyiram , ANDAL describes the laaja homam ceremony :

--- arimuhan achyuthan kaim mEl yennkai vaitthu
poRimuham tattakk kanAk kantEn thOzhi naan

When the bride enacts lAja homam , she cups her hand and the brothers of the bride place a handful of parched rice ( poRi ) . Then bridegroom adds few drops of ghee to that parched rice. The bride and bridegroom together perform then the laaja homam and throw the ghee-moistened popped rice into the fire as aahUthi with the following manthram :

iyam naaree upabhruthE kulpAthyAvapanthikA I
dheerghAyurasthu mEh pathir jeevAthu saradas satham II

( Meaning ) : O Agni ! My wife is praying for long life to me. She prays for me to have hundreds of years of life as her husband .

After the Laaja homam , the dampathis went around the fire thrice to the accompaniment of three more Veda manthrams . These manthrams house prayers for long married life , suprajAs and strength to bear with all difficulties that one might come across in married life .

Another Ammi mitthitthal and three laaja homams are conducted with appropriate veda manthrams. One of the laaja homa manthram prays to Agni to release the wedded kannikai to be released from the grip of her household of birth and appeals for firm links to the house of the husband . The other laaja homa manthram is addressed to AryamA and prays for unison in thought and action among the dampathis in their married life .

Release of VaruNa paasam as the concluding act of marriage
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Now , the darbhaa rope tied around the bride's waist is removed with the recitation of two manthrAs . The meaning of these manthrAs are: "Oh My dear wife! I release you now from the paasam tied by Lord VaruNA of benevolent disposition . I will strive to create a happy home for you in the land , where puNyasAlis live in this world created by BrahmA.

The graha PravEsam ceremony follows and the bride travels to her husband's home to become the queen of that household. In the Rg vedam , there are elaborate manthrams of the dampathis travelling withHomAgnion a canopied cart to the groom's house . These are beautiful and powerful manthrams that seek auspiciousness in married life . We will be hard pressed in time to cover them here . We will include the tenth paasuram describing the happy state of mind of ANDAL , when she as the bride of Si RanganAtha goes around the thiruveethis ( streets ) of Sri VilliputthUr on the back of a well caparisoned elephant and concludes her dream of marriage to Her Lord in the manner prescribed by the ancient VedAs :

kumkumam appik kuLir sAntham mattitthu
mangala veethi valam seythu maNa neer
angavanOdumudan senRu angAnai mEl
manjanamAttak kanAk kantEn thOzhi naan

In Her palasruthi paasuram , ANDAL informs us that those , who recite Her VaraNamAyiram paasurams dealing with Her marriage to Sri RanganAthan with Bhakthi would have suprajAs in this world .

" thUya Tamizh maalai eerainthum vallavar
vaayunan makkaLaip peRRu mahizhvarE "

At the end of NaacchiyAr Thirumozhi , she points out that those , who recite Her prabhandham with devotion would get some thing superior to just getting suprajAs , (Viz.,) the refuge at the sacred feet of Her Lord Himself :

" ----Godhai sol , marunthAmenru tamm manatthE vaitthuk
kondu vAzhvArgaL , PerumthALudaya pirAnadik keezh
piriyAthu yenrum IruppArE "

ANDAL out of Her love for us as Her dear children reveals that Her Prabhandham is like"Marunthu" for us suffering from the disease of SamsAram ( marunthAm yenru manatthE vaitthuk kondu vAzhvArgaL ) . She elaborats further the fruits of such observance : " perumthALudaya PirAn adik keezh piriyAthu YENRUM iruppArE . The shade of the Lord's gigantic feet/ perumthAL ( Thiruvadi Nizhal ) is the fruit ( palan and prasAdham).ANDAL states that the BhaagyasAlis , who recite Her Prabhandham with Bhakthi , will remain united with the comforting shade of Her Lord Thrivikraman's sacred feet and will never ever br separated
from them ( anthamil pErinbam adaivAr ) .

May the divya karuNA katAksham of the newly married divya dampathis (nithya kalyANa mUrthys) f Srirangam fall on ALL of us to permit the performance of Graha pravEsam for them in their new home at Pomona , New York before too long .

DaasAnu Daasan ,
Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan

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