From driving the launch of BVB to identifying ancient Shiva Lingams in the city, from listening to Legendary Musicians to showcasing his sensitivity at The Hindu and to finding the Biggest ever crowd around the Kapali temple, Periyava's Trip over 60 years ago was event filled
When one feels strongly about his/her shortcomings, that on its own amounted to a great realization. And that was the first step in the right direction - Maha Periyava in 1959
Kapali Temple / Mylapore Photo Archives
It had been almost three
decades since his previous trip to Madras and devotees were eager to see him in
the city. It was K. Balasubramanian, son of the Founder of Sanskrit College who
visited Kanchipuram and impressed upon Maha Periyava the importance of his presence
in Madras given the expectation of the people as well as the possibility of
spreading Dharmic messages to a larger audience. Periyava was apprehensive of
the changing lifestyle in the city and the issues relating to the rituals to be
followed every day. It was only after
great persuasion did he relent and agree to visit Madras in 1957. It turned out
to be his longest stay in the city (1 1/2 years) and a powerful and impactful one at that for
there were several long standing decisions taken during his stay. The Chaturmasya Vritha of Vijayendra Saraswathi Swamigal in Chennai in mid 2019 ( last year) marked the 60th
year since the completion of that long trip of Periyava to the city.
During his stay - 1957-59, he walked the length and breadth of the city in the process launching several initiatives that have stood the test of time. From driving the launch of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan to identifying ancient Shiva Lingams in the city that had lay hidden, from listening to legendary musicians to finding the biggest crowd around the Kapali temple on the occasion of Sankara Jayanthi, his was an event filled trip.
Two decades ago, Upanyasakar Ganesa Sarma, an authority on Maha Periyava, presented a
Pravachanam on Periyava in Sapthaham style spread over 7 days and in 7 cantos.
He has since presented this across the world on 200 occasions. He has also written
Periyava Charithram in Hari Katha style and also penned books on Periyava.
Ganesa Sarma looks back at Periyava's entry into the city "Periyava arrived in Madras in
September 1957 to a rousing welcome hosted by The Hindu’s Chief Editor Shri.
Kasturi Srinivasan. This was immediately followed by a Pushpa Pallakku
procession around the four Mada Streets of Mylapore that went on till 2am."
Kasturi welcoming Periyava, 1957 ( From The Hindu Book )
Non Brahmin as President of Bhavans Madras
When he met with Shri. KM
Munshi, the Founder of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in 1958, Periyava asked for a
branch to be opened in Madras and directed him to Simpson’s Shri. S.
Anantharamakrishnan. Says Shri. Ganesa Sarma “The building that is now Bhavan’s
was to be out on sale. Just in time, Anatharamakrishnan bought the property on
East Mada Street in Mylapore and gave it to Munshi to create the space for the
first Bhavan’s in Tamil Nadu.”
Not only was Periyava
responsible for the launch of the first Bhavan's in Tamil Nadu, he also sowed the seeds for the formation of the
committee and the appointment of a Non Brahmin as the President "As the Bhavans was being set up in Mylapore, he said that it was likely to be
perceived as being confined only to Brahmins and hence suggested that a non
Brahmin be appointed as the President.” It was Periyava who suggested Lakshmana Swami Mudaliar as the President.
Golden Jubilee Celebrations
Periyava had ascended the Peetam
in 1907 and devotees were keen to celebrate the Golden Jubilee in Madras but he
was not keen at all “Before his arrival here, devotees gathered in Kanchi to
celebrate the 50 years but he declined. Instead, he was keen to showcase and celebrate the
achievements of Acharya Adi Sankara.” It was thanks to the
persuasive efforts of Shri. CP Ramaswamy Iyer and Shri. Rajaji that Maha Periyava finally accepted and the golden jubilee of his ascent was celebrated
in Madras.
Significant Contributions to City Temples
The now hugely popular
Perumal temple in Koyambedu was not so at that point of time. It was referred
to as Kuchalava Puri in ancient times and one finds the idols of Valmeeki, Sita
and Lava – Kucha at the temple (a story on this temple follows). There is no Rama idol at this temple. It was only after Periyava’s detailed description of its
historical importance during his stay in Koyambedu did devotees see it in that
light. 60 years on, devotee crowd throngs the temple these days.
It was during this trip that Kumbabhisekam was performed at the Subramanian Swamy Temple on Eldams Road,Teyampet.
When Periyava visited
Mangadu, he was keen to start a Patshala near the temple as Adi Sankara himself
had installed the idol there. Ganesa Sarma says that when the members of the
Sankara Mutt complained to Periyava that the seller was quoting a high price,
Periyava asked them to pay three times the price to buy the property as he saw
it as a very sacred place.
When he reached Nanganallur
on the way back from a trip to the airport, he asked a person to not wash
clothes on a particular stone leaving everyone startled at this seemingly odd
remark. Ganesa Sarma says it was yet another significant contribution of
Periyava to the city temple. “When the stone was lifted and turned around,
everyone was stunned to find a Shiva Lingam. 60 years on, the Artha Nareeswarar
temple has become one of the more popular Saivite temples in the city
attracting huge crowd.”
Inside the IIT Madras campus,
he pointed to a stone and that too turned out to be a Shiva Lingam. He was also
instrumental in the construction of the Ashta Lakshmi and the Aaru Padai Veedu
temples in the city. When Mukoor Srinivasa Varadachariar spoke about the
flourishing city of Bombay, Periyava suggested to him to build a Lakshmi temple
in Madras “He asked for the printing of Ashta Lakshmi photos and to begin
construction with the funds collected from the sale of these photos.” It was with this collection that the construction of the Ashta Laksmi temple began.
Periyava, Vikatan and the LIC
On the long walk to The Hindu, one of the members pointed at the LIC and remarked to Periyava that it was the tallest building in the city ( the building had just been constructed). This episode on Mount Road in front of the LIC showcased the perfectionist that he was, says Ganesa Sarma “He called out for Vikatan’s Sridhar who was walking just behind him and asked him for the number of floors leaving him a bit stumped. While he was actually counting the number, Periyava moved on. When Sridhar joined him a few minutes after, he told Periyava that there were 12.”
It was then that Periyava showed the huge crowd around him the kind of attention he pays to minute details “He told Sridhar that the recent edition of Vikatan had the sketch of LIC with 18 floors. That was the reason for his enquiry. Sridhar later said that no reader had pointed this in the week after the issue had hit the stands and that Periyava was the only one to have brought this to his notice, leaving him completely embarrassed.”
Periyava at The Hindu
The episode at The Hindu showed his sensitivity to human emotions “Periyava was to be shown the new machinery at the printing section at The Hindu. Just prior to his arrival, most of the members were asked to move out of the room to make way for Periyava, a decision that seemed to disappoint them for they were all eager to be alongside him. When Periyava entered the room, he called for all those outside the room saying it was they who would understand the functional aspects. It was a gesture that delighted everyone.”
At The Hindu - From The Hindu Book on Periyava
With Legendary Musicians
One morning, when Periyava passed the house of the legendary Madurai Mani Iyer in Karpagambal Nagar in Mylapore, he entered the house. The legendary musician was asleep "Periyava told him that the members informed him that it was his house and he came inside to see if he could hear him sing that morning. When Mani Iyer informed him that he had not had bath, Periyava said 'You are always bathing in songs.'
On another occasion, when he passed Viswanathan Iyer's house in Nungambakkam, he made his way to the backyard through his neighbour's house to listen to his songs. Once Viswanathan Iyer had finished and turned back, he was shocked to find Periyava standing there that left him embarrassed at the disrespect to the Saint. Ganesa Sarma says that Periyava explained the reasoning behind his action 'An artiste's flow should not be disturbed and the audience should remain in silence around a singer."
Educationist vacates her new Home for Periyava
Within days of her wedding, leading educationist and now Hony Secy, Lady Sivaswami School, Mylapore Dr. Vathsala Narayanaswami was blessed to have darshan of Kanchi Maha Periyava in 1958 and her life’s greatest opportunity came her way all on its own. She had married D Narayanaswami in July that year and moved into the house in Sundareswarar Street that was right behind the Sankara Mutt in Mylapore. Her first Deepavali after the wedding was just round the corner when the Mutt approached the newly married couple asking them for the house, for Periyava to stay for three days.
The young 26 year old
newcomer to the house took a bold call on acceding to the ‘3 days’ request of
Sankara Mutt. Says Vathsala “I told my mother in law that we could all move to
my father’s house on GN Chetty road, T Nagar.” All the family members
immediately vacated the house handing possession to the Sankara Mutt. Periyava
stayed in the bed room while Jayendra Saraswathi resided in the front room of
the house. The back wall of the house was broken to create a passage for the
disciples to bring milk and food for Periyava from the Mutt. The stay was then
extended from 3 days to 18 days. Vathsala’s father in law Dharmarajan of
Hirakud Dam fame commended her for the courageous decision to have the entire
family vacate the house with no second thoughts. It remains one of the happiest
moments in her life.
A shop on North Mada Street
When he spotted the Srivathi stores on North Mada Street, he asked the vidwans the meaning of the shop name - was it Swami's name or Ambal's, leaving them stumped. Periyava told them that it was the name of the owners of the shop - Srinivas and Padmavathi - as simple as that.
One of the biggest crowds
around the Kapali temple was witnessed on the occasion of Sankara Jayanthi in
1958. The celebration was grand that included an abhisekam for the idol of Adi Sankara with a trip from Sanskrit College to Kapali temple and back on each
of the five days of the Utsavam. The crowd on the
occasion was so huge that only the heads of the devotees were seen around the Kapali Tank.
In a farewell remark,
Periyava said that ahead of his trip, he had been apprehensive of being able to
perform all his daily rituals in the traditional way. But his fears were
unfounded. He left on a positive note for the city dwellers. Ganesa Sarma says
that the people found his feedback very encouraging “While he found many of
the city residents not being able to follow the traditions, what struck him was
the fact that they were constantly saddened that they were not able to adhere
to the traditions. He was very happy about that feeling amongst the people in
the city and remarked that when one feels strongly about the shortcomings, that
on its own amounted to a great realization. And that was a great first step in
the right direction.”
7 comments:
Very interesting read.information well presented
மஹாபெரியவா சரணம்
Nice recap
Lovely article.
Very Informative.
Well written as usual.
Very good, cogent, topical and above all a great treat to us, devottes of HH Mahaperiava. He is a treasure and so are the incidents recalled here.
Very informative, cogent, topical and above all a great treat to us, devotees of HH Mahaperiava. He is a treasure and so are the incidents recalled here.
Superb article packed with very interesting anecdotes and rare pictures.
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