Food For Thought

Friday, February 22, 2013

Panchabhuta Sthalam




Thursday, February 21, 2013

Panchabhuta Sthalams

P.Natarajan

Panchabhutas refer to five principal elements namely (1) Prithvi (2) Appu, (3) Tejo (4) Vayu and (5) Akash. In other words Earth, Water , Agni, Air or Wind and the Sky or Space are the constituting principal elements which make our living resourceful. What is the order of evolution of these five elements? The Sky appeared first. Air or Wind engulfed the Sky as the next element. Agni or Fire is produced by the process of friction between the elements in the space and is spread by the Wind movement. The Sky showers the Rain on account of varying atmospheric pressure, heat  and depression in the bay. Prithvi or Earth is the base or crust which is formed after a passage of TIME in the end.

The Shiva Lingas in five Kshetras represent the 'Panchabhutas'. The five elements are believed to be enshrined in the five Lingas and the Linga gets the name in line with the element it represents. Sri Muthuswami Dikshitar, the renowned poet composer had composed Panchalinga Sthala Krities in praise of the shrines.

1) The foremost Prithvi Linga or Prithvi Sthala is in Kancheepuram in Ekambareswarar Temple.



The legend narrates that Parvati once closed the eyes of Shiva playfully for a minute. Although it was a  short time for the God, the entire Universe was plunged into total darkness for many years.  Parvati had to atone for her mistake. She came to Kanchi, made a Linga with mud and worshiped the same under a mango tree. She offered a single mango( Eka amram) to the deity as naivedyam daily. Shiva, in order to test her earnestness, created a flood and the water started gushing forth to surround the Linga. Parvati embraced the Linga in total surrender. Shiva was melted in her embrace , so he is referred as " Thazhuva Kuzhanthai " in Tamil. Shiva manifested himself and appeared gracefully before her. Shiva and Parvati came to be worshiped as Eka+Amra+Eswara or Ekambareswarar and Kamakshi respectively. The temple’s inner walls are decorated with 1000 Shiva Lingas.. Five 'Prakarams' (courtyards) are built in the temple which occupy a total space of 25 acres. There is a hall with 1000 pillars. There is no separate shrine for Parvati as found generally in the Shiva Temples. Kamakshi Amman, the consort of Ekambareswarar gives darshan to devotees in another temple situated near by. Shiva has manifested himself in the form of Prithvi Lingam or the element Earth. The mango tree is 3500 years old and is believed to be an embodiment of four Vedas, the fruits of this tree give four types of tastes as the season changes. Devotees worship the mango tree for marriages to happen soon and also for getting a child.

2)Thiru+Anai+Kaval is in Trichy on the banks of Cauvey River, adjacent to Srirangam island. Jambukeswarar is the God and Akhilandeshwari is the Goddess worshiped here. A natural spring present in the sanctum reveals the aspect of water (Appu) which oozes from the lingam also.
The place is revered as Appu Sthalam. The Sthala vriksham is Roseberry or Jambu Tree. Adi Sankara who visited this temple  had made a tadanga (Earring) for Akhilandeshwari to ensure she remained in a soumya roopa.

The Legend:- Two devotees by name Malyavan & Pushpadanta quarreled about whose devotion was more. They were cursed to become an elephant and a spider. Shiva advised them to offer worship at this place. The Elephant and the Spider worshiped in their own manner. The Elephant cleansed the Linga and performed ablution with water which the elephant collected in its trunk from Cauvery river. The Spider built a web over the linga in order to prevent sun rays penetrating and also rain &  leaves falling over it. The Elephant removed the web daily viewing it as dust. The Spider was annoyed and crawled into the trunk of the elephant and bit it. The Elephant smashed the trunk and in the process both the Elephant and Spider died. Lord was moved by the devotion and granted salvation to both. Since Lord Shiva was worshiped by an Elephant at this place, it came to known as Thiru (Holy) Ana(Elephant) Kaa(Jungle) which means 'the grove of the holy elephant'. By passage of time, the name became Thiruvanaikaval or Thiruvanaikoil, as it is known now.

The notable Nobel Laureate Sir C.V.Raman was born in Thiruvanaikaval.

3) Annamalaiyar Temple is associated with the Fire (Agni) Element and regarded as a Panchabhuta Sthala. The place is named after the God as ‘Thiruvannamalai’.



The Temple Tower is lit with Lights -  Deepam Festival in the month of Karthigai


Legend:-  Shiva challenged Brahma and Vishnu to find the source, that is “LINGODBHAVA” when he appeared as a Jyothi or FLAME. Brahma took the form of a swan and flew to the top of the flame. Vishnu took the form of a boar and soared towards the base. Both could not meet the challenge posed by Shiva. Vishnu accepted the defeat whereas Brahma lied. So Brahma was cursed that he would not have any temple for himself. The Annamalai hill is symbolically regarded as a tall column of Fire or the tejo lingam or the form of Lord Shiva. This is the divine abode of Lord Shiva and lives here as God Annamalaiyar and Goddess Parvati as Unnamulai Amman. It is one of the largest and important Shiva temple in the south. In commemoration of the jyoti, a huge beacon of light is lit every year on the Karthikai Deepam Day ( falling between 16th Nov to 15 Dec ). Thousands offer worship to Pancha Murtis. People go around the hill covering a distance of 14 km which practice is known as Giri Pradakshina or as Girivalam before worshiping the main deity Annamalaiyar.
Another important place of visit in Thiruvannamalai is Ramanashram. Sri Ramana Maharshi is regarded as Bhagavan Ramana


and people offer worship here where he breathed his last.  place.

Manikkavachakar sang Thiruvempavai here.  Arunagirinathar, the reputed 15th century Poet was born in Thiruvannamalai. He was a great devotee of Lord Muruga and his works 'Thiruppugazh' is in praise of Muruga which is sung in chorus in melody by devotees all over the world. Thirugnanasambandar, the 7th century Poet, sang ‘Tevaram’ in veneration before the shrine.
4) Srikalahasti
, situated on the banks of Swarnamukhi River and picturesque surrounding of hillocks, is a famous saivite temple in South India. Srikalahasti is in A.P. and 30 km away from Tirupati. This is regarded as  “ VAYU STHALA”. Shiva is enshrined as Vayu Linga and worshiped as “Sri Kalahasteeswara”.


The Legend says that  a spider by name Sri, an elephant named as Hasti and Kala, a serpent - all the three worshiped the Vayu linga without being seen by one another. The elephant fetched water from the river, spider constructed a web over the Linga to protect it from sun and rain, and Kala placed a gem to adorn the idol. Lord Shiva was overwhelmed by the devotion shown by them and granted salvation to all the three. Sri(spider),
Kala(serpent) and Hasti(elephant) put together makes the name Srikalahasti to this place and Srikalahasteeswara is enshrined in the Vayu Linga  .The marks that correlate the lingam with the legend is still visible in the lingam which is a Swayambu. The main lingam is shaped like the trunk of an elephant with tusks on each side, and figure of spider is at the bottom. Looking from above, one can see a figure of a snake with five hoods.
The shrine is also worshiped as ‘
Rahu-Ketu Dosh Nivarana Sthala’.Devotees pray here for begetting a child.
The lamp inside the inner sanctum  is constantly flickering despite the lack of movement of air inside. The Vayu Linga can be observed to move even when the entrance is closed. no one knows where from the wind comes. It enhances the belief that Shiva is enshrined as a Vayu Linga in the temple. Sthalapurana also conveys that when Brahma undertook a penance in the presence of this linga, Lord Mahadeva left Kailash and took his abode in the linga here. Like Kailsh Manasarovar, Srikalahasti is regarded as Bhooloka Kailash. It is here Kannappa Nayanar ( Thinna was his original name) attained Mukti when he tried to offer both his eyes. As he offered both his eyes to the Lord when he noticed that Lord's eyes were oozing , he became to be known as Kannappa Nayanar. In another incident, The Lord with his divine power caused a tremor, to test the devotee and the roof of the temple began to fall. All the sages ran away but Kannappa Nayanar showed presence of mind to prevent any damage to the Lord. He covered the lingam with his body. Lord Shiva granted a boon to Kannappa Nayanar to occupy a place close to him.
5) Thillai Nataraja Temple  located at Chidambaram  is known as ‘Thiruchitrambalam’. It is regarded as ‘Bhooloka Kailash’ - a Panchabhuta Sthala where the presiding deity ‘Thillai Koothan’ (Lord of Dance)  is in anthropomorphic form, as a supreme being performing cosmic activities. Sivakami Amman is the consort.

Legend:-  Adi Sesha, the serpent(couch) of Vishnu, became deeply interested to witness the grandeur of Shiva's cosmic dance at Chidambaram. This interest in him was in fact raised by Vishnu. Seshan descended to earth as a devotee by name Patanjali. Vyagrapada, another devotee of Shiva prayed to have tiger's claws to enable him to fetch the bilva leaves for worshiping Shiva at Chidambaram.  Shiva called Patanjali and Vyagrapada to come to Chidambaram and at an appointed time performed (with Sivakami, his consort) a visual delight of his cosmic dance or Ananda Tandava (Dance of Bliss) to the accompaniments of music and percussion instruments performed by many Devas.  Sri Maha Vishnu witnessed the ananda tandavam with great interest. In commemoration of this, there is a shrine for Vishnu adjacent in the name 'Govindaraja' Perumal.


Another Legend narrates that the Rishis in Thillai Vanam (Forest of Mangrove Trees) believed that the Almighty could be controlled by rituals and magic. Shiva wanted to teach the Rishis a lesson. He strolled into the Thillai Vanam in the form of a mendicant seeking alms as a 'BHIKSHATANA'. Vishnu followed Shiva as his consort Mohini. The wives of the Rishis were enchanted by the brilliance of the Bhikshatana. The Rishis became angry and invoked scores of serpents. Shiva donned them as ornament round his neck. Then a tiger was sent whose skin Shiva removed and tied around his waist. The Rishis invoked a demon May Alkan, a symbol of arrogance and ignorance. Shiva immobilized him and performed 'Ananda Tandava ' (dance of delight) and disclosed his true form. The Rishis surrendered in reverence and admitted that Shiva is beyond rituals and magic.


Two other Siva Lingams are inside the Vimana. (inner sanctum sanctorum) - One is normal Siva Lingam and the other is in the ether Space - hence considered as Akash Linga - represented by empty space- and a garland of fifty one hanging golden bilva leaves. Shiva is captured as Nataraja performing ‘Ananda Tandava (Dance of Delight) in the golden hall of the shrine Ponnambalam. Chidambaram is also a ‘Paadal Petra Sthalam’ .
Thirunavukkarasu Nayanar had sung Tevaram in praise of the Aakash Linga.

( Parantaka Chola King laid the golden filed roof following which he was given the title - Thillaiyambalathukku pon koorai veiyntha Devan (Tamil:தில்லையாம்பலதுக்கு பொன் கூரை வேய்ந்த தேவன் ) .

There is another history connected with Chidambaram Temple. It was in the 1000 pillared hall in the Temple, the great Tamil Poet Sekkizhar made his work  "PERIYAPURANAM' public first in 12th century. Periyapuranam is the recorded history of 63 Nayanmars who all displayed unflinching devotion to Lord Shiva and obtained salvation.  They belonged to different occupation, different castes,and different times. Sekkizhar collected their data and made the epic poem Periyapuranam which is considered as a masterpiece of Tamil literature, in fact considered as the fifth Veda in Tamil.

Legend has it that the Lord himself provided Sekkizhar with the first feet of the first verse as a divine voice from the sky declaring "உலகெலாம்" (ulakelam: All the world).



                                                                                                 
Thillai Nataraja in 'Ananda Tandava '
       
Rathotsava in Picture in Chidambaram Temple.
This article containing the Sthala Puranam of  'Panchabhuta Sthalams' is a sequence to the one titled as 'Dwadasa Jyotir Lingas', sent afew days before.
Regards.


pn


Friday, February 15, 2013

Jyothirlingas - Pictures & History will take the reader direct to the sites !

Friday, February 15, 2013

Jyotiirlingas

 -  P.Natarajan

Maha Shivaratri falls on March 10 this year. There are legends associated with Shivaratri.  It was the day when Arudra Nakshatra featured in the month of Magh when Shiva swallowed the 'Halahala' produced during the Samudra Manthan. Parvati stopped it at the throat level, as it was a deadly poison. Shiva's throat turned blue , so he got the name Neelakanta. Another legend says that 
Shivratri is the day when Shiva saved the world from  Pralaya and worship of Shiva is observed along with fasting and whole night vigil. Jyotirlingas are swayambu Lingas representing the formless nature of Lord Shiva. The Jyoti Swarupa of God exists in all the Shivalinga forms. There are 12 prominent abodes in India which are known as 'Dwadasa Jyotir Lingas '.

Popular Jyotirlinga Sloka:-

द्वादश ज्योतिर्लिंग स्तोत्रम्
सौराष्ट्रे सोमनाथं च श्रीशैले मल्लिकार्जुनम्। उज्जयिन्यां महाकालमोङ्कारममलेश्वरम्॥
परल्यां वैद्यनाथं च डाकिन्यां भीमशङ्करम्। सेतुबन्धे तु रामेशं नागेशं दारुकावने॥
वाराणस्यां तु विश्वेशं त्र्यम्बकं गौतमीतटे। हिमालये तु केदारं घुश्मेशं च शिवालये॥
एतानि ज्योतिर्लिङ्गानि सायं प्रातः पठेन्नरः। सप्तजन्मकृतं पापं स्मरणेन विनश्यति॥
एतेशां दर्शनादेव पातकं नैव तिष्ठति। कर्मक्षयो भवेत्तस्य यस्य तुष्टो महेश्वराः॥:

1) Rameswaram--- is an important pilgrim centre where Sri Rama worshiped Shiva to get rid of  the 'Brahmahathi dosha' of killing Ravana.

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Sri Rama deputed Hanuman to fetch a Siva Linga for worship. In the meanwhile Sita made a Lingam out of Sand which has come to be known as Rama Linga, as Sri Rama Worshiped it. Rameswaram temple, built in the 17th century, is famous for its 1220 meter long Corridor housing 1200 gigantic and flamboyant Columns. Devotees take bath in the sea and in the Theerthas in the wells inside the 'Temple- Prahar' .  Agnitheertham where Rama bathed is 100 meters away from the temple. The imprint of Rama’s feet placed on a Chakra is at the highest point on the island 2km away from the temple. Rameswaram is known as ‘Dakshina Kashi’ and devotees consider that the pilgrimage is complete only when they bring Ganges water from Varanasi and perform ‘abhishek’ to Shiva Lingam here and take back the sand to Kashi for worship at Vishwanath Temple.

2) Kashi Vishwanath Temple-- is dedicated to Lord Shiva and people desire to make a visit at least once in their life time to this holy place and take bath in the Ganges.



 
  They also pour the remains of the cremated ancestors in the Ganges as it is believed that dying in Kashi means obtaining ‘Swarga’ or ‘Mukti’. Kashi, the temple town is the oldest living city in the world, 3500 years old. On the occasion of Shivratri, only the King of Kashi (Kashi Naresh) is  allowed to officiate as the priest and he alone can enter the sanctum sanctorum.  Kashi Vishwanath is the lord of the Universe, as the name implies. Kashi is considered as the holiest pilgrim center in India.

3) Tryambaka is in Maharashtra.There are good transport facilities exist from Nasik. It is here that Brahma stood as a mountain known as ‘Brahmagiri’ and worshiped Mahesa.



                                          
                                                              
                                                                  
Gautama Rishi fell prey to a deceptive plot and happened to bear the ‘Gohathi dosh’ (killing of cow).  By the grace of Lord Shiva, Ganges Waters appeared as river Godavari and removed the dosh of the Rishi. Godavari Devi requested Shiva to remain in Tryambaka and Shiva appeared as Tryambakeswar in the form of a jyotirlinga.The temple is in a mountain at 2500 ft. above mean sea level. The sanctum sanctorum which is in the form of a medium sized pit under the ‘avudayar’ consists of three sections of  small Lingams  representing Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra. There is always presence of water under Rudra Shiva.
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4) Journey to Kedarnath which is at 3500 ft above MSL is tedious and calls for precaution en-route. 

                                                                              


The principal deity Kedareswar removes all the difficulties of the devotees. Keth+Hara+Eswar
means remover of all hurdles and difficulties. This place has the distinction of Parvati sharing half the portion of Shiva’s Form as a result of her immense ‘tapas’. The shrine is open to public from May to October only. From Hardwar, Kedar can be reached by road via Rishikesh, Devprayag, Rudraprayag, Agastyamuni, Guptkashi, Gaurikund. The credit goes to Pandavas for constructing the Kedar temple. The sanctum sanctorum has the unique distinction of a strip of the Peak of Kedar Mountain appearing as Shivlingam and as the principal deity. Visitors bring a special lotus called Brahma Kamalam and Ganges waters from Gangotri and Yamuna Waters from Yamunotri for worshiping Kedareswar.

5) Mahakala is the name of the deity in Ujjain.



During the Samudra manthan, the nectar which was taken in a Kalasa  overflowed from the pot and  spilled upon the Earth in some places. Those places became holy places or ‘Kshetras’, Ujjain is one among them. Ujjain is considered as a Saptapuri as dying in Ujjain uplifts a devotee for mukti.  The other cities under this classification are (2) Kashi (3) Kanchi (4) Ayodya (5) Hardwar (6) Vadamadurai and (7) Dwaraka.  Shiva appeared from the Jyotirlinga and killed the demon called Dhooshanan and came to be called as  Mahakala. Ujjain has also the reputation for being the birthplace of famous people like Kalidas, Vikramaditya, Dhandi, Bhavabhuti, Bhartruhari, Shalivahana.  It is also known as ‘Bheeja-Kshetra’, The deity is decorated with ash brought from cremation ground which is also distributed as prasad.  The deity is anointed with  ‘abin’  (bhang) and  abhishek is performed with hot water . These two rituals are celebrated with great religious fervor on a special day  in the month of Kartik.
6) Darukavana is in Gujarat at a distance of 20km. from Mul-Dwarka.




Nageswara is the principal deity here. Legend says that Shiva killed the demon called ‘Daruka’ & his clan to protect his devotee called ‘Supriya’. The Lord also taught the Rishis of Darukavana to realize that they should shed  their ego. It is believed that prayers before Nageswara protect the devotees from poisonous creatures.

7) Ghushmeshwar temple in Veral near Ellora on the banks of Ela river is one of the Jyotirlingas


 
and the Linga is dark brown in color. Bharadwaj is a village in Maharashtra where lived a couple by name Sudharma and Sudheka. They didn't have issues  for a long time. At the repeated instances of Sudheka Sudharma married Gushma, an ardent devotee of Shiva. She was worshiping 101 Shiva Lingams daily and offered them after worship in a water tank nearby. A male child was born to them soon by the grace of God. He was named Supriya. Supriya was married when he came of age. One day Sudheka killed Supriya in anger as she came to believe that Gushma’s fame was due to the good nature of Supriya and threw the body into the tank. Gushma took everything in good stead and began to perform that day’s worship of 101 Lingams. When she dipped them in the tank after worship, Supriya came alive from the tank and called ‘Amma’ in a loud tone. Gushma embraced her son with a sense of big relief. At the same time, a Jyotirlinga appeared from the tank  before Gushma and narrated what had happened. Gushma prayed to Shiva not to punish Sudheka for her wickedness. Lord Shiva granted her request and stayed as Ghushmeshwar in the sanctum sanctorum.

8) There is one version which says Parali Vaidyanath is the next Jyotirlinga in the order. But ancient records or old Puranas do not state Parali but name Baijunath @ Deogar or Devgar as one of the 12 Jyotirlingas. 


 
The story of Ravana unearthing the mount Kailash to test the efficacy of the boon earned by him and the troubles that followed the demon are well known. Ravana pleased Shiva by singing ‘Samagana’  and got rid of those troubles. Ravana conveyed his wish to Shiva to take the Kailash mountain to Sri Lanka. Shiva instead gave a part of the lingam form to Ravana. Lord Narayana became aware that Ravana's strength would grow if he carried the  same to Sri Lanka. He appeared as a small boy before Ravana who left the Lingam with the boy for answering Nature’s call. The boy placed the Lingam on the floor before Ravana returned. Ravana was not even able to shake the Lingam. That was the place called Deoghar where a hunter by name Baiju worshipped that Jyotirlinga. The Deity also came to be called as Lord Baijunath. Chandrakup river was created by Ravana at this place. Deoghar is connected with major towns which include Calcutta, Ranchi and Patna by road.

9) Somnath is at a distance of 5km from Veraval which place is well connected from Ahmedabad. Sri Somnath is the jyotirlinga in Somnath in Sowrashtra. Somnath Temple was affected by the invasion of foreign forces many times. Natural disasters also contributed to enough damages .However today Somnath Temple stands lofty reflecting  the spiritual health of our Nation. Chandra, the Moon God, married the 27 daughters of Daksha but had affection only for Rohini. Daksha cursed Chandra on observing the woes of  his other daughters. Chandra immediately lost his shine and glory. He came to Somnath and offered prayers intensely at the feet of Sri Somnath and regained  his glory.


                                                                               



10) Srisailam gets its name from a Rishi by name Silata Muni who did penance to bring fame to this place. Sri Mallikarjuna rules as the Jyotirlinga 


                                                                                
and is the presiding deity in Srisailam. Further Silata Muni’s son also did penance to earn the grace of Shiva and to attain the status of a Nandi and shoulder the temple town in the form of a mountain. Sisailam Temple has a  legend which portrays that Ganesa and Kumaran were contesting to go around the world seven times to prove who would emerge as the winner. A condition was put forth that whoever emerged first could only get married.  Ganesa was the winner and Kumaran became angry on account of this. He left the place and reached a hill called as ‘Crouncha’. Parvathi could not bear this separation and went to the Crouncha Hill. Shiva followed Parvati in good spirit. The history of this sacred temple is that Shiva and Parvathi came to stay in the hill temple because of Kumaran. Even visiting a part of this hill is considered as good fortune. Srisailam is approachable by road from Ongole Raiwayl station. The distance to be covered is 180 KM.

11) Bhima Sankaram is at a distance of 90 km from Pune and is situated on a hill. Bhima Shankar is worshiped as a Jyotirlinga. Peshwa and   Marati Kings did a lot of development works to raise the status of the temple. Bhima Sankara has five faces (‘swayam panchamukha:) .


Bhima River is at the forefront of the town and is called as ‘Moksha Kund’. It is believed that a bath at ‘Moksha Kund’ and worship before Bhimashankar relieves the hurdles and difficulties and promotes the bhakti cult in a devotee.

12) Omkareshwar is in Madhya Pradesh and at a distance of 77 KM from Kaunda. The background history portrays that Vindhya mountain wished to grow higher than  Meru Mountain. Vindhyan therefore drew a picture depicting ‘Pranava Mantra’ and installed a Lingam made of sand upon it and started worshiping the same with severity.



He obtained the boon as wished by him but there was a condition that he would be reverted to his old status by a sage if he became proud and haughty. Agastya was the sage who humbled Vindhya. Devas made a fervent plea to Lord Shiva to remain in the same place. Shiva acceded to the request and the Linga made of sand by Vindhya was transformed into a Jyotirlinga. Since Shiva took that place which was in the shape of ‘Omkara’, the Lord was called as ‘Omkareshwar’. There is a cave nearby where Adi Sankara's Guru Govinda Padar did penance and devotees have darshan at the cave also.


Om Namah Shivaya, Om Namah Shivaya !


The Picture below shows all Dwadasa Jyotirlingas in one shelf. Worship of the Jyotirlingas at the respective shrines would be very much fulfilling in the life of a Hindu.

                             


 pn