Relishing the Venkatesha Vaibhavam Series
Celebrating the arrival of Sri Aishwarya Srinivasa Perumal in Houston, Sri Ramanujamji, disciple of Sri Swamiji, is taking us on a journey to His divine abode by reminiscing the greatness of Lord Srinivasa and Venkatachalam, based on the divine work – ‘Divyadesa Vaibhavam’ by Paranur Mahatma Sri Sri Krishnapremi Maharaj. This is a series filled with immense rasa.
This series is available to listen on our Namadwaar E-Satsang YouTube channel at this playlist:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znQQJKwzl7k&list=PLf2GTja1Pr3P0Yr_AsYTOi9KnzUBlI1sE&index=12
We shall now enjoy a few divine droplets from the sixth episode of this series.
Lord Adi Sesha – The Epitome of Service
Bhagavan always descends in answer to a prayer. So, on behalf of all the living beings, the Guru of All, Sri Narada Maharshi went to kshIrabdhi (The Milky Ocean) and prayed to Bhagavan to take an avatar to bless all the people of Kali Yuga. Bhagavan accepted the prayer and asked Sri Narada Maharshi himself to suggest an apt place for His descent. Sri Narada Maharshi suggested the dry deserted piece of land near the eastern coast of Bharata varsha (India), near the Swarnamukhi river as the perfect place for Bhagavan. By the presence of Bhagavan, the place would be transformed and all the living beings there would be blessed.
When Bhagavan comes down on Earth, He does not come alone. He comes along with His people. Among them, the foremost is Sri Adi Sesha Bhagavan. In Rama avatar, he came as Lakshmana and served Sri Rama tirelessly. In Krishna avatar too, he accompanied Bhagavan as Balarama. In archavatar too, he wants to serve Bhagavan.
Bhagavan, in the form of archavatar, gives darshan primarily in three forms – standing, sitting and reclining. Sri Adi Sesha Bhagavan wants to serve Bhagavan in all these states. That is why, an Azhwar sings –
“senDrAl kuDaiyAm irundhAl simhAsanamAm
ninDrAl maravaDiyAm neelakaDaluL
enDrum puNaiyAm maNivillakkAm
poompattAm pulgum aNaiyAm thirumArvukku aravu”
In Krishna Avatar, when Sri Vasudeva carried Bhagavan Krishna to Nanda Baba’s house that was in Gokula, it was dark and there was a heavy downpour. The downpour ensured that all the residents of Mathura stayed indoors and nobody would see Sri Vasudeva walking in the streets with baby Krishna. At the same time, to keep Bhagavan dry and shielded from the rain, Sri Adi Sesha spread his hoods as an umbrella over Bhagavan and followed Sri Vasudeva. That is why, Azhwar sings – “senDrAl kuDaiyAm”.. (When Bhagavan walks, Sri Adi Sesha is His umbrella)
When Bhagavan is sitting (irundhAl), then Sri Adi Sesha becomes His throne (simhAsanamAm). When Bhagavan stands up (ninDrAl), then Sri Adi Sesha becomes His footwear (maravaDiyAm). As Bhagavan is standing in Tirupathi, Sri Adi Sesha became the divine footwear of Bhagavan, in the form of seven hills. The seven hills are known as Narayanadri, Garudachala, Simhadri, Venkatadri, Seshadri, Rishabhadri and Anjanadri. The head portion of Sri Adi Sesha is in Sri Kalahasti, a divine kshethra of Lord Shiva. In Sri Kalahasti, the sthala purana says, a spider and an elephant did Bhakti to Lord Shiva. This shows us that, irrespective of our size and stature, we should do Bhakti. Even if we are as puny as the spider, we should worship Bhagavan with whatever is available within our means. And, if we grow in the future, even then, the wealth, power, status should not affect us and we should still be subservient to Bhagavan and worship him lovingly. When we worship Bhagavan lovingly and unconditionally, Bhagavan bestows His Grace on us. When His Grace is working on us, destiny, karma and kAla stay away.
The tail portion of Sri Adi Sesha is in Mallikarjuna kshethra, another holy place of Lord Shiva. Here, Lord Shiva is in the form of an arjuna tree and Parvati Devi is present as a creeper that goes around the arjuna tree. They are present as Yugalam.
And, His heart (Sri Adi Sesha’s) is in Ahobilam kshethra, a place sanctified by Sri Narasimha Bhagavan who is known as “Bhaya kruth, Bhaya nashana:” He gives fear to non-believers but to His devotees, He bestows His Grace and removes their fear.
Among these seven hills, Bhagavan stands atop Venkatadri and therefore, it is like the crown jewel (nagaratna) on Adi Sesha.
The trees on the hills move hither and thither in the wind. They look like the 1000 heads of Sri Adi Sesha and it appears as though Adi Sesha is relishing his kainkarya and moving his heads in enjoyment.
When Adi Sesha thus descended, others followed suit. There is Akash Ganga theertha that quenches not just physical thirst but spiritual thirst as well. Even ksheerabdhi did not want to be left behind. It came down in the form of the white clouds that surround the hills. Just as wave after wave appears in ksheerabdhi, the clouds too come in waves and encompass the hills.
As Bhagavan descended, the entire place transformed and became beautiful, divine and filled with love. Peacocks, parrots, cuckoo and other birds came to reside in the hills. The presence of Bhagavan filled the place with Divine Love that even naturally hostile animals live in harmony there. Various rishis like Bhrigu, Narada, Shuka, etc left behind their ashrams and came to take residence in the various caves of Thirumala. The rishis sit and read Bhagavatham in the caves. Just as precious gems light up the caves, the light from Bhagavatham illuminates the caves and their hearts.
Thus, the entire place was transformed by Bhagavan’s descent! In the coming episodes, we shall enjoy more about each of the seven hills.
Based on Sri Ramanujamji’s Venkatesha Vaibhavam Series of Discourses
To listen and enjoy the complete episode 6 of Venkatesha Vaibhavam series, please click here –https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD9WrsLDFio&list=PLf2GTja1Pr3P0Yr_AsYTOi9KnzUBlI1sE&index=11
For the complete playlist on YouTube –
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLf2GTja1Pr3P0Yr_AsYTOi9KnzUBlI1sE
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