Thirukadal Mallai, Mamallapuram

This little gem of a temple is tucked away in Mamallapuram (aka Mahabalipuram).
One of the 108 Divya Desams (most sacred place of Sri Maha Vishnu), Thurikadal Mallai is the 63rd of the revered list. Here reside Sri Sthala Sayana Perumal and NilaMangai Thayar (Bhoosthala Mangala Devi).

Oh! Its not a regular Perumal temple, as in Sri Maha Vishnu resting on Adisesha with Sri Lakshmi at his feet. He usually holds a lotus, a made,
The significance is evident in the name itself; Bhoo-Sthala-Sayana - which means, "sleeping on bare floor" - its a one of its kind temple, where Sri Maha Vishnu is resting in his traditional sleeping-posture on the floor, strangely with empty fore hands, while Sri Lakshmi is to his right and sage Pundareeka near His feet with folded arms. Its said to be the only divya-desam with Sri Vishnu with a lotus flower in his hand and an abhaya-hasta. I believe this is so, cause he hurried to meet Pundareeka Rishi and to assure him of His affection.

As with any ancient Hindu temple, there are legends associated with this temple as well.
Once upon a time, sage Pundareeka was performing penance to appease the Lord. Meanwhile, finding a beautiful lotus flower of 1,008 petals blooming at a pushkarini (holy water-tank), he desired to place it on the Lord's feet at Thiruparkadal (ocean of milk where the lord resides at Vaikuntham), before they wilt. He collected 1,008 of them and started on his journey.
On the way, he came across an ocean; undeterred, he started scooping out the water bowl by bowl, chanting the Lord's name Narayana, Narayana.... intending to dry the ocean of all water and clear his path to Vaikuntham. Thus toiling and not being successful in draining the ocean of water, an exasperated Sage Pundareeka exclaimed, O Lord! Will my resolve be unfulfilled, must I fail!"
As he opened his eyes, a frail old man stood in front of him and asked for food. The sage, torn between deep devotion to his Lord and compassion towards the old man, expressed his intent. The old man made fun of his foolhardiness in trying to drain out water from the ocean, instead of carrying on the penance. The Sage unable to bear this conversation decided to forage into the nearby forest and get something to eat. He requested the old man to hold the basket of flowers and continue to bail the water until he returns with some food. When he returned after some time, the exasperated Sage was shocked to see - a reclining Sri Maha Vishnu on the ground, wearing his lotuses as a garland! Thus the Lord pleased the devoted sage - by showing Himself as in Vaikuntham and also accepting the flowers intended for Him.
Therefore, it is said that worshiping the Lord at this temple is equivalent to offering prayers at His abode, Vaikuntham. All traditional Vsishnavaite rituals and pujas are performed here.

This place is also said to be the birth place of Boodatha Alwar (a Vaishnavaite saint of 7th century) He and Thirumangai Alwar had sang hymns in reverence to this temple in the Nalayira divya prabandham (a Tamil religious text of 6-9th century), and also mentioned of ships carrying gold and gems at Kadal Mallai (referring to the Bay of Bengal).

The temple is part of the 32 UNESCO recognised world heritage monuments at Mahabalipuram.

In order to depict the sacred story, the Pallava King Rajasimhan built this temple in 9th century, along with four other temples. During 14th century, the Vijayanagara King Parankusan had shifted it to its current location in the heart of Mahabalipuram, since by then other 3 temples were washed away by the sea. Later the Chola kings and Madurai Nayaks also contributed to this beautiful Dravidian style architecture.
Therefore, though the Pallava king built this temple. it doesn't appear like the other more famous monolithic Shore temples around.

As with other south-Indian temples, there are various sculpted figurines that adorn the walls and gopuram of this pious temple, and these make the visit even wholesome.

Humble Sweet and a Royal Story!

What is sweet, yellow-ish, porous, named after a city and the most popular South-Indian delicacy?

Yes, the sweet that most of us like a lot and few loathe - the humble - Mysore-Pak!

The Mysore royal family's cook, Sri Kakasura Madappa was asked to prepare a sweet that is unique and never tasted before by anyone, by none other than HRH Nalawadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar, in 17th century. The legendary royal chef Madappa scratched his head for many hours, and then a brainwave!

There in front of him was a kadhai with boiling ghee and a batter of besan (chickpea flour, kadale hittu in Kannada). He poured the chick-pea flour gradually into the boiling ghee turning it all the time, till a consistent paste was formed, then added sugar and some crushed cardamom (elaichi). The divine smell emanating from the royal kitchen was mesmerising and the King couldn't wait to sink his teeth into the new preparation.

A silver platter, filled with a neatly cubed, golden coloured dish was uncovered in front of the King, a little while later. A spoon was served to him. There was pin-drop silence, as the King sat with his eyes closed and slowly savoured the delicacy, that was just melting in his mouth. After half-a-minute, eyes opened, filled with bliss and satisfaction... lo and behold... a new dish was born! The King liked it so immensely that Sri Medappa was immediately honoured and praised. The sweet platter passed around, resulting in more approval from all those present - to its uniqueness and perfect blend of sweet, ghee and flour - never before such a courageous attempt was made!

Medappa called it Mysore-paka.
Paka means syrup of sugar; it also means a preparation, as in Nala-Bhima-paka (its said that two of the best cooks in Hindu mythology were Nala - of Nala-damayanti fame and Bhima the strong Pandava).
Thereafter, Medappa sought to retire from the Royal kitchen; the generous King told him to set shop just outside the Amba Vilas Palace so that he could continue to relish his favourite sweet. Thus started the saga of Guru Sweets in the year 1957 at Mysore.

I gather that Sri Kakasura passed away in 1970, but his tradition and legacy lives on to this day; Guru sweets is now run by his Grandson Sri Nataraj, with the same verve and dedication.

Its surprising that despite the obvious roots and popularity, Guru Sweets choose not to cash in on the facts and grow the brand commercially. Many other sweet-marts, especially SKS (Sri Krishna Sweets of Coimbatore) and Nandini (KMF) have created a niche for themselves selling this very sweet, SKS being the closest in taste and appearance.

Peace to Kakasura, more Popularity to the 'Paka of Mysore'.

Randomness...

How difficult it is sometimes to write, or read, or just concentrate on any one thing at a time!!

Not just when there are a million things to do, a zillion things rapidly going on in the mind, a couple of a hundred odd people to handle - but when here is an urge, a serious desire to do but unable to!! Randomness sets in, until of course there is panic and pandemonium takes over.

Luck by Chance

Randomness is a series of unpredictable events or those that do not follow a set pattern to occur, but it also refers to 'fate'. How random is fate? or is fate so random that it is unpredictable? then what about the phrase - hard-work pays, fate delays.

What differentiates between the words fate, destiny, coincidence, luck, chance?!

Is it any coincidence that fatal seems an extension of fate? and destiny to destination?
Is it then prudent to no try at all, just because fate has its own way to deal with things or its own ending?

If everything in life is Destined (as in having a set outcome), that the journey is run by Fate, what is the point of doing anything or action?

The trick here is - we have to do our bit, then the One above will do His bit and then you hit the road destiny; more you do, more are the chances of reaching the desired destination. Take chances, fraught with risks, take heart & be brave. Hence the adage, fortune favours the brave.

Random thoughts flit through
Confusion remains constant
Good, bad, Right, wrong -
Vision's blur.
Tears of joy? ecstacy? pain?
Roll away in vain!
Anger overrules rationality
Many Mirages abound,
Palms in desperation, grasp the wind -
Desires dissolve to vapour
Labour burns to smoke -
Ruined at the gates of fame!
Images myriad o'blood 'n gore
Travel the mind-streets galore.
Fortune favours the sweet tongue's poke
Silver flows to higher echelons
Luck blinded by the fair
Deceit consumes the legit!
Random pebbles shore-up in sandy storm
Cause misery in peace!
Travails escape to disharmony
Endurance loses faith -
Spirit on the path to pride
Soul searches dignity!

Delight denotes Phantom...

Success equals happenstance?

Randomness devours the Cosmos -
Sun eclipsed by clouds passing by

Hope floats on the horizon...

Hope Floats in RanDomNesS

Love In A Mist, raises a stink

Passiflora foetida,
Stinking Passion flower.


I had found this flower at Tirupati, almost 15 years ago, and researched ever since.

More info from Flowers of India:


Love-in-a-mist is a creeping vine which has an edible fruit and leaves that have a mildly rank aroma. It is native to northern South America and the West Indies. The stems are thin, wiry and woody, covered with sticky yellow hairs. The leaves are three to five-lobed and viscid-hairy. They give off an unpleasant odour when crushed. The flowers are white to pale cream coloured, about 5-6 cm diameter. The fruit is globose, 2-3 cm diameter, yellowish-orange to red when ripe, and has numerous black seeds embedded in the pulp; the fruit are eaten and the seeds dispersed by birds. The bracts of this plant serve as insect traps, but it is as yet unknown whether the plant digests and gains nourishment from the trapped insects or if it merely uses the bracts as a defensive mechanism to protect its flowers and fruit. This is still an issue of debate and research among carnivorous plant enthusiasts.
Medicinal uses: This species can be helpful in treating digestive problems, including dyspepsia and diarrhea; or used as an astringent and expectorant for nervous conditions and spasms.



http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Love%20in%20a%20Mist.html




I chanced upon this ancient post lying in the drafts folder and just posted it; what a chance idea sirji!

to life and all that...

George Bernard Shaw had said, "I want to be used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. Life is no brief candle. To me it is a splendid torch's, and I must it burn as brightly as possible, before handing it on to future generations".


To me, life has been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride, from the highs of childhood to lows of adolescence, the excitements of tweens to the realities of the -ties.

Been there, Done that! Cliched, but true. There's not much left to experience, which hasn't been already done. My five senses have seen, heard, felt and dine them all. Probably one aspect that continues to excite is to travel to new places, meet new people; one desire deep down is to travel across the world, God willing that will happen too, before I pass on the baton.

No plan has been successful, yet life hasn't been a failure; taking a day at a time, taking on all the good and bad that life threw in its path... was nothing short of a potboiler.

Charles dickens wrote in his Great Expectations, the one laaarge book I read end to end as a kid,  'cause it was my father's favourite, "I have been bent and broken, but - I hope - into a better shape; we never need be ashamed of our tears".

Something in me had died, completely, bone cold. I was a pale shadow of my own self; but I started to celebrate the stillness, the tears, the and overtime, they turned up even during happiness! Such is the power of positive thinking and the resilience of tears. Idolise? none. I grew up a vegetable with no idols to emulate, which was good in a way that I didn't have to copy anyone or seek 'healthy' advice; All by myself on the ro-co; and as I trudged along, a list of wishes cropped up. Pretty much young I started into the grind, while kids my age were frolicking, I never turned back, neither to distress nor to de-stress.



Looking glass

Charles Dickens said elsewhere, "The most important thing in life is to stop saying 'I wish' and start saying 'I will.' Consider nothing impossible, then treat possibilities as probabilities."

I started to follow Dickens' words and slowly kindness flowed through... few good people took to the innocent lad, some tried to use it to their advantage, some gave a leg-up and lifted me a notch higher.
Life drives itself on auto-pilot in its rickety rackety jalopy; I seem to hold the steering very hard so that I can control the rattletrap, but it seems to have a mind of its own and determined to take me in its own path.

Glad, though, that through all this, looking through the rear-view-mirror in night-vision mode (just to avoid the harsh headlights of past) my mind and heart were at their right places as far as ethics and morals are concerned, not one bit wavering. Kudos to that! talk of self backslapping!! Anyone ayes to that or not, it is 'the' fact.

There are many unchecked boxes in the to-do list, that I still want to really do, somehow, at sometime whenever I find it, that is... it just a new way of doing things at a different place that gives a totally new meaning to the adage, Been There Done All That.

ramble, babble, chuckle, blah, blah, blah.....! just enough! now get off the couch and get out to experience the life outside!

(Written at BIAL lounge, waiting for airplane, travelling to some-place-else!); 5:25 am.

The Angry God at an Explosive Place!

Lord Narasimha, the fourth Avatar of Sri Maha Vishnu, came as a saviour to little Prahalada and the entire Universe, to get rid of Demon King Hiranyakashipu.

Nara-Simha (Man-Lion), the angry Vishnu incarnate had emerged out of a mere stone pillar, to prove to the world that:
1. God is everywhere (from pillar to twig), omnipresent.
2. God saves even the smallest of beings.
3. God punishes the vain, arrogant and foolishly self-indulgent people.
4. God can destroy what he builds and to build self-belief.
5. God hears the earnest pleas of everyone and protects them from evil.

Legend:
Hiranyakashipu, an asura king, was an egoist who insisted on all his subjects that they must worship him as the God, since he defeated all the Devas and was the practical ruler of all the worlds. He was however still in search of Sri Vishnu, who in his third avatar of Kurma (the boar) killed his younger brother Hiranyaksha to save Mother Earth whom he had hidden in Sutala loka (the Netherlands).

Hiranya (gold) Kashipu (soft cushion / cloth), the Golden soft cloth covered one, was a daitya, the son of Diti and Kashyapa, and elder brother of Hiranyaksha. Saddened by his brother's death, he unleashed a reign of terror across all the worlds and ordered is demon-soldiers to destroy anything that is even remotely associated with Vishnu; no yagnyas to be performed, holy people to be killed if they don't worship him as the God. Over a period of time, holy practices stopped and righteous acts had almost ended; all aggrieved sages and righteous people who couldn't take these any more then approached Sri Vishnu to seek help. He assured them that shortly all these demonic acts and the Demon himself will be put to an end by his fourth avatar aided by one of the Demon king's own - Shishta Rakshana and Dushta Shikshana will be done. As He says, everybody must perform sufficient acts of Karma, su-karma (most preferably) or ku-karma (due to bad actions or evil intentions) to reap its benefits. Everyone gets a chance, to choose: the path of righteousness or the path of evil.

Advised by Sage Shukracharya, the Asuras' priest, Hiranyakashipu performed severe penance in the valley of Mandarachal / Himalayas, standing on one toe, to appease Lord Brahma. So severe was his austerity that fire emanated from him, that eventually covered the entire world; Brahma unable to withhold himself, finally had to appear before Hiranyakashipu and grant a very rare and powerful boon, that 'no human or animal nor any being created by Brahma can kill him, at neither day nor night, neither inside nor outside, in any of the worlds, by any weapon.' With this, he became virtually invincible and consequently, very arrogant.

Meanwhile, Gods took this opportunity of Hiranyakashipu's absence and attacked Hiranyakashipu's kingdom; Indra abducted the serpent woman Kayadhu, Hiranyakashipu's wife. Sage Narada accosted Indra, fooled him and took her away to his hermitage after warning Indra about Hiranyakashipu's powers. Kayadhu already had three sons-Samhlada, Anuhlada and Hlada, and was carrying the youngest Prahlada in her womb. Narada, a staunch Vishnu devotee took this opportunity to narrate about religion, path of righteousness, and also Sri Maha Visnhu's gloriousness to Kayadhu; these were, unknown to her, picked up by Prahlada in the womb itself. Shortly after returning from his penance Hiranyakashipu thanked Narada for taking care of his wife and was delighted to see his just born son.

The already pious Prahlada turned out to be a staunch devotee of Sri Maha Vishnu himself, much to the chargin of his father, Hiranyakashipu, whereas his mother was happy that least her last son will not be a sinner akin to her family and other Asuras. Hiranyakashipu tried various Gurus to wean Prahlada away from 'Vishnu state-of-mind' and to make him worship any other God, including his own father, who by now was Lord of the Universe. But Prahlada would heed to none of them and would only chant Sri Vishnu. Angered by this single-minded devotion, his father ordered his soldiers to kill Prahlada; they tried various means - trampling by elephant, hurled from a hill, burnt in a fire, pierced by spears, etc. - but Prahlada was unscathed and returned alive each time.Hiranyakashipu's sister, Holika too burned in the pyre that was set to burn Prahlada even though she was virtually un-burnable.

Kayadhu was relieved that since her son was pious, Sri Vishnu was protecting him; but her joy was short lived, as Hiranyakashipu decided to take matters into his own hands and deal with his errant son. When he asked his son, Prahlada where is your lord Vishnu, the little Prahlada solemnly replied to his father, "My Lord is everywhere, in the plants and the abundant nature we enjoy, in all those around us, in me and even in you!"

Enraged, Hiranyakashipu pointed towards a pillar near them and menacingly swaying his mace shouted, "Is your Vishnu in this stone pillar? Will he come to save you from me?", to which Prahlada, in his innocent, calm voice replied, "Yes, dear father, my Lord Vishnu, protector of the entire Universe, is in the pillar as well. If you chant his name in devotion, he will come to save us." Kayadhu, teary-eyed and taking in the conversation, was mutely watching this spectacle unfold between father and son.

The already seething with anger Hiranyakashipu struck the stone pillar with great force ordering Lord Vishnu to appear and save his beloved little devotee from his wrath. Prahlada, devotion personified, called upon Lord Vishnu to appear for his father and fulfill his wish.

Lo! and Behold! There appeared, from the shattered pillar, a strange creature that no one had ever seen or imagined before - A giant lion and man fused together, with eight arms, bloodshot eyes, golden yellow hued muscular body, matted hair and moustache, roaring like a lion, violently swinging his fore-arms with razor sharp, claw-like, long finger nails, holding a Padma (lotus), the Kaumodaki gada (mace), the Panchajanya (conch), the Sudarshana chakra (sacred wheel), the Nandaki sword, the Sarngam (bow) and a Vanamali garland. Prahlada immediately knew that his Lord Vishnu has come to save him and prevent his father from committing any more sins or uttering wrong words against the Lord.

The man-lion, Nara-Simha, walked towards a bewildered Hiranyakashipu who weakly tried attack this unknown creature with his Gada (mace). Narasimha brushed the gada side, then dragged Hiranyakashipu to the threshold of his palace, placed him on his thighs, ripped open the stomach with his bare claw-nails, and drank his blood while wearing the intestines as a garland around his neck. The awe-struck people were mute spectators to this gory event. NaraSimha then roared, I am neither human, nor animal, not god or any being created by Brahma, it is neither day nor night, its the twilight hour; I have placed you on my lap at the threshold of your house, which is neither earth nor sky, I haven't used any weapons to kill you but my nails; thus I haven't showed any disrespect to the boon you have received from Lord Brahma." His deed done, Lord Narasimha angrily walked away leaving the limp body of Hiranyakashipu at the threshold of his palace, even as Kayadhu and Prahlad bowed to him in utter devotion. Thus the fourth avatar of Sri Maha Vishnu rid the universe of misery and brought peace to all.

Such was Narasimha's rage that no God dared to come in front of him to pacify him; not even Goddess Lakshmi could control his anger. Then the Gods decided and presented his ardent devotee Prahlada in front of him; as Prahlada touched his feet, the raging Lion god calmed down. Meanwhile Goddes Lakshmi, peeved that Lord Vishnu in his Narasimha avatar did not heed to her pleas, left Vaikuntha and took birth as a girl of the Chenchu tribal king. Lord Narasimha wandered the earth and reached a place called Ahobilam (in current AP), was completed calmed by Chenchu Lakshmi and stayed there for posterity.


Nothing much at all is known about the fate of Queen Kayadhu after this; Prahlada is said to have been crowned king of Hiranyakashipu's kingdom and ruled very nobly.


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Lord Narasimha is very popularly worshipped across India, in many forms; mainly there are 9 of them called Nava Narasimha:
Ugra-Narasimha, Krodha Narasimha, Vira Narasimha, Vilamba Narasimha, Kopa Narasimha, Yoga Narasimha, Aghora Narasimha, Sudarshana Narasimha, Lakshmi Narasimha; and also in many more forms. A unique form, Varaha Narasimha (a combination of Avatars 3 and 4), is worshipped at Simhachalam, near Visakhapatnam where the idol is completely smeared in sandal paste, to keep the Lord cool.

The priests who worship the Lord in his angry form are Brahmacharis (celibates) due to the utmost sanctity and purity necessary to be maintained by them; an exception is for the teples where Lord Narasimha is depicted inn soumya/yogic form, in medication or accompanied by goddess Lakshmi in the same garbha-griha / sanctum sanctorum.

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Sri Ugra Narasimha Temple, Maddur

A very small but beautiful temple, Sri Ugra Narasimha Temple at Maddur, near Bangalore prompted me to write this piece about The Angry God. This avatar shows that while Shiva is mostly attributed to destruction, the benign Lord Sri Vishnu also can become angry in case of absolute crisis and bestow peace to the Universe, without any collateral damage. I haven't come across any other form of Vishnu that was angry and took Avatar for lok-kalyan (may be Parashurama? but he had a personal grudge).

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Sri Ugra Narasimha Temple of Maddur has its own legend and is very unique in itself.

The Legend: During the end of Mahabaratha war and the Dwapara yuga, Arjuna is said to have requested Sri Krishna to see his angry side, to which Sri Krishna declined as it is not in his character to be angry, ever. In turn, Lord Brahma obliged and installed the mesmerising idol of Sri Ugra Narasimha at a place called Arjunapuri. Sage Kadamba had performed penance at this place and the river tributary here is called Kadamba-nadi; now river Shimsha flows nearby.

Ugra Narasimha sculpted on one of the temple pillars

The uniqueness: The idol here has 8 hands and 3 eyes!  The Lord is shown as tearing Hiranyakashipu with 2 hands and other 6 hands are adorned with Sri Vishnu's weapons as mentioned earlier on this page at the time of his Avatar's emergence. Garuda is standing to his left and Bhakta Prahlada to his right. 

The lord's temple is flanked by 2 other temples dedicated to 2 versions of Lakshmi, Soumya Nayaki and Narasimha Nayaki. There is also a shrine of Srinivasa and immediately thereafter of mathey Yashoda holding a young Krishna in her arms and breast-feeding him;  Lord Brahma is seen held from little Lord Sri Krishna's nabhi. Yet another shrine is of Sri Pattabhi Rama, with Sita and Lakshmana where Lord Hanuman is standing to his left holding his tail in left hand and covering his mouth with his right, which is said to be the humility with which we must address our elders.

Sri Pattabhi Rama Shrine

The Temple has a vaikuntha dwaram that is opened 15 days after Sankranti as per calendar followed by Sri Vaishnavaites'.

The temple architecture is a mix of Vijayanagar, Hoysala and Dravidian styles, with recent renovations and additions done by the Palegars. Though not as grand as any of their other illustrious places of worship by them, this temple too has its share of fine sculptures and ornate pillars, though unfortunately painted in peach-coloured distemper!

Between the 16th and the 18th Centuries when this region was being governed by the Palegaras (chieftains of Vijayanagar empire), it is said that gunpowder and explosives of warfare were manufactured and stored here, hence the name Maddu-uru, the place of explosives.

Maddur is 80 kms away from Bangalore, more famous for its crispy Maddur-wada, and is also the tender coconut capital of India!

A must visit place.

Sri Hanuman on Garuda Sthambha



Disclaimer: The information mentioned here is drawn from stories of my grandmother, mother and family, as also a bit of research online and from local lore. The views / narrative are my own and not copied from anywhere; any similarity is purely coincidental. I have shot the photographs by myself and own them; please do not copy; but in case anyone finds them interesting and wants to use, please be kind enough to give credit the genuine source.