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 an ongoing series filled with immense rasa.
This series is available to listen on our Namadwaar E-Satsang YouTube channel at this playlist:https://https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLf2GTja1Pr3P0Yr_AsYTOi9KnzUBlI1sE
We shall now enjoy a few divine droplets from the fourteenth episode of this series.
Story of Anjanadri – Divine Charitra of Anjaneya Swami
The third hill of the seven hills of Tirumala is named after the mother of a great Bhagavatottama – Lord Sri Hanuman. This hill is Anjanadri – named after Sri Hanumanji’s mother Anjana Devi. Anjanadri is the place of descent of Lord Sri Hanuman which is why even now we find many monkeys in these hills. Perumal is always fond of monkeys. Bhagavan Sri Krishna, much to the dismay of mother Yashoda, played and fed butter to the monkeys. Ananthazhwar, an ardent disciple of Sri Ramanujar took utmost care and ensured that Hanumanji and his descendants had lots of fruits available in the hills of Thiruvenkatam. Thiruppanazhwar says, the monkeys playing with the fruits in these hills reminds him of Bhagavan Sri Krishna who pelted an asura (who came in the form of a calf) to get fruits for Himself and His friends from the wood apple trees in Brindavan. He has sung in praise of the beautiful worship the monkeys perform. These monkeys were truly very devoted – they knew when to take a dip in the holy ponds near Tirumala, they knew which flowers were to be offered to Perumal; they would reverentially hold the lotus flowers in their hands and with their hearts firmly established at the lotus feet of Perumal would perform their daily worship earnestly.
Sri Sri Anna in Venkatesha Vaibhavam begins the narration of this episode of Anjanadri by saying, “Once upon a time…..” – like how a father would narrate the story to his dear child.
The King of Vanaras, Kesari ruled Anjanadri. ‘Vanaras’ were divine beings and not mere monkeys. They had their own code of ethics, their dwellings and kingdoms. They could take human form at their own will and were very strong. In Srimad Ramayana the monkeys could move rocks and mountains to build bridges for Sri Ramachandraprabhu to cross the ocean. They were also adept in speaking several languages. Lord Sri Hanuman, repository of all supreme and benign qualities had mastery over all the four Vedas and knew all the nine systems of grammar. In Rishyamukha hills, when Sri Rama and Lakshmana Swami first met Hanumanji, Sri Rama was awestruck seeing his chaste and flawless Sanskrit language delivery.
Anjanadevi, queen of King Kesari longed for a lovely child. As per King Kesari’s advice, she propitiated Vayu Bhagavan, sitting in penance and fasting for many days together. Vayu Bhagavan blessed Anjanadevi with a divine fruit to fulfill her prayers. Soon, by divine grace, she was blessed with Sri Hanumanji in her womb. Similar to the descent of Bhagavan Sri Krishna, Sri Hanuman too, in his full might, power and radiance manifested before Anjanadevi. He was a beautiful sixteen year old boy. The Brahmaanda Purana describes this lovely form of Sri Hanumanji as One with lotus-like eyes, hands folded in absolute modesty and reverence, the sacred thread across his shoulders, a little silk garment around his waist, with the holy grass tied around him, and with his little tail, he stood in front of his mother Anjanadevi.
He was beautiful in every way and hence was called ‘Sundara’, this is why the part of Ramayana which talks about the greatness of Lord Sri Hanuman is called ‘Sundarakandam’.
Sri Hanumanji started off with his plays and mischief as soon as he descended on earth. He was famished and wanted to have something to eat. Anjanadevi, seeing her child’s hunger, jumped across trees to get hold of a fruit for him. However, Hanumanji could not wait; at a distance, high up he saw a huge golden-colored fruit – the bright Sun shining against the nice canvas of the blue sky. He jumped from Anjanadri to Suryadri – the realm of the Sun God. Suryadeva, struck with fear on seeing Hanumanji charging towards him, rushed to Lord Indra for help. Indra with his thunderbolt hit Hanumanji on his cheeks and Hanumanji fell still on the ground. Anjanadevi wailed seeing Hanumanji motionless. Vayu Bhagavan was furious. He immediately controlled the movement of air in the whole universe. The entire creation hence struggled to breathe. All the gods went to Lord Brahma seeking refuge. Lord Brahma gently caressed Hanumanji and brought him back to life. He blessed Hanumanji saying that even his own Brahmastra would not affect him. Immediately all the gods also followed suit and offered their boon to Hanumanji. Hanumanji, divine as he is, no astra can pierce him, however the gods felt honored offering this boon to him.
Hanumanji prostrated to Surya Bhagavan seeking to be his disciple and to learn the knowledge of all the shastras. Hanumanji wanted to be Surya Bhagavan’s disciple also because he knew he was going to serve Bhagavan Sri Ramachandraprabhu who belonged to this same dynasty. Hanumanji, drinking the divine rays of Lord Surya, followed and kept pace with Suryadeva’s swift constant movement. From the earth, it appeared as if two suns were moving across the sky.
Hanumanji always held the divine name of Lord Rama in his lips. As a young lad he would mischievously play tricks on the sages who were there on the hills of Anjanadri. Though it appeared as though he was naughty, through his playful acts he would only encourage and inspire the sages to chant the name of Lord Rama and recite Srimad Ramayana.
After mastering the essence of all the shastras, Hanumanji eagerly waited in ‘Prasravana Giri’ for Sri Rama’s arrival and to be of service to Sri Rama.
Anjanadri is as special and holy as any other kshetra like Ayodhya and Mathura and to enjoy the divine descent of Sri Hanumanji and the leelas he played in this sacred hill listen to Sri Ramanujam ji’s discourse here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqzjeLtO3dU&list=PLf2GTja1Pr3P0Yr_AsYTOi9KnzUBlI1sE&index=2
Nithya Rajesh, Pleasanton CA
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