In this series, we will go on a pradakshina of Bharata desha as we present, each month, a kirtan composed by His Holiness Maharanyam Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji on a particular kshetra, starting from south India and then going north and back.
Tiruvidanthai
There is a beautiful temple for Lord Varaha in Tiruvidanthai, a town which is about 38 km from Chennai. The Lord here has taken the form of boar and is found standing on Adi Sesha, holding the conch and the holy discus in his hands and embracing his consort Lakshmi Devi with his left hand. It is this posture of the Lord that gives the place its name (Tiru – Lakshmi, Idanthai – Left).
The Lord here is also known as Nithya Kalyana Perumal. The legend says, there was once a sage called Kavala who had 360 daughters. He prayed to Lord Vishnu to help him get his daughters married. The Lord answered the sage’s prayer. He himself came down as a bachelor every day for 360 days and married all the daughters. Since the Lord had a wedding celebration everyday for 360 days, he got the name Nithya Kalyana Perumal and the place is known as Nithya Kalyanapuri.
The temple itself was built during the Pallava period and is more than 1000 years old. Among the Azhwars, Tirumangai Azhwar has sung beautiful compositions on this Lord. Sri Swamiji too has sung a beautiful song on Lord Varaha of Tiruvidanthai set in Sindhubhairavi Raga. The lyrics and its meaning are presented here.
Lakshmi Varaha Perumal
Raga: Sindhu Bharavi
lakshmi varAham bhajare—mAnasa
angushtarUpAt kshaNamAtreNa druta –
mohana virATsvarUpam yoga sharIram
hiraNyAksha haraNam sruti samrakshakam
yagna svarUpam bhU varAham
kshIrAbdi putrIm Alingana karam
kshArAbdi bhanjanam tatvopadesha kAtaram
kunjita pAdam sanchita pApa vinAshakam
muraLIdhara hrudaya tApatraya haraNam
Meaning:
O! Ye! Sing the glories of (Lord) Lakshmi Varaha
From a thumb-sized form, he transformed in a second (to)
A Yogic body with a captivating majestic form.
He killed Hiranyaksha and protected the Vedas (sruti)
He is the form of holy fire sacrifice, the Boar bearing Mother Earth
His hand embraces the daughter of the Ocean of Milk (Lakshmi)
He divided the ocean (as Rama) and is the essence of all philosophical teachings
He stands with curved feet and destroys obstacles
He destroys the three types of troubles in Muralidhara’s heart
Sowmya Balasubramanian, Fremont CA