WHY SRIVILLIPUTTUR IS KNOWN AS ‘’CHEVVAI’ (MARS) PARIHARA STHALAM ? PART 2

Srimathe Ranga Ramanuja Mahadesikaya Namaha:

WHY SRIVILLIPUTTUR IS KNOWN AS ‘’CHEVVAI’ (MARS) PARIHARA STHALAM ?

( by Dasan Kudanthai Amudhan) PART - 2

SRI VARAHA AVATAR AND SRI BHUMI PIRATTI -

Varaha avatar is the third incarnation of lord Vishnu who took the form of Varaha (white boar ) to kill the demon hiranyaksha.This asuran had stolen the vedas,the holy scriptures from lord Brahma when he was in deep meditation. He had also taken away the mother bhumi in to pataalloka,under the cosmic sea.To retrieve the vedas and bhumi, lord vishnu assumed the role of a while boar and killed the demon to bring back the earth and vedas from the ocean. Lord vishnu after fighting in a fierce battle with the demon brought back the earth in his two tusks from the ocean and restorted the vedas to the safe custody of lord brahma and placed the earth in its celestial space.This incarnation of lord vishnu in varaha avatar represents the restoration of bhumi from the deluge ( pralaya) before the creation of new cycle (kalpa).Srivilliputtur is connected to the puranas of two pralayas that happened to the earth. one is during Varaha avatar and another during the time when Sri bala Krishna floated in a tiny peepal leaf as ‘Vatapatrasayee’ before the cycle of creation of universe. This is explained by sri andal in her nachiyar thirumozhi.

“பாசிதூர்த்துக் கிடந்த பார்மகட்கு பண்டொருநாள்

மாசுடம்பில் நீர்வாரா மானமில்லாப் பன்றியாம்

தேசுடைத்தேவர் திருவரங்கச் செல்வனார்

பேசியிருப்பனகள் பேர்க்கவும் பேராவே”

நாச்சியார் திருமொழி 11-8-ஆம் பாசுரம்

There are three charma slokas out of which the very first one was rendered by Sri Varaha perumal to bhumi piratti when she sat on his lap after the lord killed demon hiranyakshan.Other charma slokas were given by lord rama during Vibhishna sarnagathi on the sea shore and later by lord Krishna in the battle field before the commencement of mahabharatha war when the lord was giving sermons of bhagvat gita to arjuna.Therefore Sri Varaha charma sloka is considered to be more important than others, since it was given by the supreme lord to bhumi pirattai herself upon her request to know various simple means and ways for attaining moksha by jivathmas.Lord Varaha perumal narrated to Sri bhumi piratti the episode in Kaisiga purana wherein Banan nambudavan showed his pure devotion and bakthi with total surrender by rendering divine songs and kirtanas on the lord of thirukurangkudi. Sri varaha perumal further added to Piratti that those who render such pure bakthi in any form will be given moksha.Sri bhumi piratti who later took avatar as Sri andal gave this hint of Sri varaha about the various means and easy ways of surrendering to the supreme lord in her ‘Thiruppavai”.Sri andal gave the essence of meanings of charma sloka in her thiruppavai by using the words “padi,“padu”and “paduvan” in verses of 14 pasurams and “parai” and “parai kolvan”in 11 pasurams to indicate the importance of bhajans, virata, pure bakthi and devotion to be practiced by people living in kali yuga as தூயோமாய் வந்து, தூமலர் தூவித்தொழுது, வாயினால்பாடி, மனத்தினால்சிந்திக்க. Hence ‘thiruppavai’ is also known as ‘parbhana gayatri’. Sri andal in her nachiyar thirumozhi indicated that she was none but sri bhumi piratti having had close comfort of her love with Lord varaha on whose lap she was seated with great affection showered by him on her.

“மாதவன் என் மணியினை வலையில் பிழைத்த பன்றிபோல்

ஏதுமொன்றும் கொளத்தாரா ஈசன் தன்னைக் கண்டீரே”

- நாச்சியார் திருமொழி 14-5

Earth and solar system –

Sun is the nearest star to the earth which makes it possible for our life to live with its light and heat.There are billions of stars in our galaxy “Milky way” with many stars much larger than the size of sun and producing more light and heat than sun yet they are very far away to the earth.Sun is in the center of our solar system which consists of many planets including earth, moons, comets, asteroids ect all revolving around the sun.All the planets in solar system including the earth are tied up to one another by interplanetary gravitational forces and also by mass pulls of sun on them.This make them revolve around the Sun in a fixed elliptical path.Earth spins in its own axis taking 24 hours time to complete its rotation to give day and night. Similarly earth also orbits sun in elliptical path taking one year to complete its one revolution. Since earth axis of rotation is tilted around the sun in certain degrees and also it transits around the sun in a fixed elliptical path, there is a extreme variation in distance from the sun to earth when it revolves around it. This causes greater variation in seasons of earth giving summer, spring, autumn and winter. Sri Andal who is the avatar of mother earth has mentioned the above astronomical facts in her nachiayar thirumozhi as -

“கார்த்தண் கமலக்கண் என்னும் நெடுங்கயிறு படுத்தி என்னை

ஈர்த்துக் கொண்டு விளையாடும் ஈசன் தன்னைக் கண்டீரே “

- நாச்சியார் திருமொழி 14-4-வது பாசுரம்

Lord Krishna in bhagvat gita said ‘’ Among the stars, I am the suriyan’’.When the sun rises after clearing the dark clouds,lotus flowers will bloom. Lord Vishnu is known as ‘Suriya narayanan”.Sri andal mentioned in thiruppavai pasurams as “கார்மேனிச்செங்கண் கதிர்மதியம்போல்முகந்தான்” to signify this. Sri andal here used the appropriate word as “நெடுங்கயிறு படுத்தி” to denote the ‘elliptical path’(oval shaped path) in which she as mother earth revolves around the sun, attracted by its gravitational forces and mass pulls of sun in the solar system “என்னை ஈர்த்துக் கொண்டு”.This elliptical path causes variation in distance from the sun in the center to the rotating earth making it too long. Such variation will never arise in the case of circular path with equal distance. She admits by indicating this astronomical facts in this pasuram that she is none but bhumi piratti. Sun and its solar system is also always on motion moving around the center of our galaxy “milky way”.There are many billions of galaxies like milky way each one consisting of billions of stars much bigger or equal to the star Sun.All the galaxies are also moving within the universe which is beyond our imagination.Becouse of multiple rotations like earth around sun in our solar system, entire Solar system revolving around the center of our galaxy- milky way besides the movement of our galaxy-milky way going around other billions of galaxies within the universe prompted Sri andal to use the appropriate word “விளையாடும் ஈசன்” to signify that Supreme lord play not only with mother earth but also with all galaxies in the universe.

ORIGIN OF MARS ( CHEVVAI )-

There are different versions about the origin of mars but all puranas mostly agree to the fact that mars is emanated only from Sri bhumi devi. Brahma vaivarta purana traces the origin of chevvai from Krita yuga during Sri Vishnus third avatar of Varaha in the form of white boar to restore the mother earth from the clutches of Hiranyaksha who had stolen and taken away her to pathalaloka in the cosmic ocean. Sri Varaha murti killed the demon after long fight and lifted the bhumi in his two tusks.He made Sri Bhumi devi, the personification of mother earth sit on his lap and embraced her out of love and affection when he favoured her with a ‘Red Coral ‘as a token of their courtship together.This coral was dropped in to the ocean by Sri Bhumi devi before she was restored to her place in the celestial sky by lord. From the Coral , a beautiful radiant child in red color came out.He got the name as ‘’ Kuja’ meaning “ son of earth” since ‘ku’means earth and ‘’jha’means son. He is also called as ‘’Lohitanga” meaning red limbed body.This child was not born out of a biological mother.Hence he is also called as ‘bhuma’ meaning as bhumi putra.Padma purana adds further to this with a slightly a different version.

Later this child was nurtured by sage bharatwaj, one of the saptharishes in his hermitage near narmada river where he was taught Vedas, puranas and many holy scriptures besides warfare, martial arts, mantras and sashtras.After hearing about his origin from the maharishi, Kujan went to the forest and did penance for a long time.Pleased with his devotion and penance, Lord brahma appeared before him and accorded the post of a graha as ‘Chevvai” in the celestial sky.To testimony the above version of chevvai origin ,Sri andal rendered a pasuram in her nachiyar thirumozhi which invariably points to the birth of chevvai from a red coral as

“கருப்பூரம் நாறுமோ? கமலப்பூ நாறுமோ?

திருப்பவளச் செவ்வாய்தான் தித்தித்திருக்குமோ?”

-நாச்சியார் திருமொழி 8-ஆம் பாசுரம்

Sri andal talked of fragrancy of pacchai karpuram and lotus flower.Karpuram is a hot white crystalline obtainable from the boiled, crushed branches and trunks of Camphor trees.It has a strong pungent taste and fragrant smell. It is applied to numb the sensory nerves. Lord Srinivasar was applied with pacchai karpuram in his chin to stop the oozing blood when he was hit by a crow bar thrown by sri anathazhwar.Lotus is the seat of Sri mahalakshmi.Sri padmavati thayar took avatar from the lotus flower.Sri andal is the only poetess azhwar who used ‘Thiru” or ‘Sri” to prefix to pavalam or coral from which ‘chevvai” came out during Sri Varaha avatar.Mars denotes the bitter taste. Hence Sri andal wonders and raises her doubt whether it will also taste sweet ?.Camphor is denoted by moon due to its fragrant smell and white color.Lotus flower is denoted by sun which opens its petals upon sunrise since suriyan is holding the lotus flowers in his both hands.‘Red coral” is denoted by Chevvai on account of its red color and its origination.”Chevvai” is the derivative of chev + vaai which means “red” and “vaai” for “opening” in tamil. Lord Krishnas beautiful red lips of his mouth is compared by azhwars with dark red color of coral as ”பவளவாய் கமலச்செங்கண்” in one of the pasurams. Child Krishna opened his red mouth to show yasodha the entire universe within his mouth.Similarly his conch was blessed with the touch of his red lips when lord Krishna had blown panchajanyam before starting the mahabaratha war as well as at the end of war as a sign of victory over enemies. Bhagvat gita was the outcome in the battle field from the mouth of lord krishna who served as charioteer to arjuna in the war. chevvai being the god of war and denoting charioteer is thus compared with the beautiful red mouth of lord Krishna.

ORIGIN OF ‘CHEVVAI’ FROM SAIVITE PURANAS -

All puranas invariably agree that ‘’Chevvai’ was born out of a ‘Red Coral’ from Sri Bhumi devi during the avatar of Varaha when the lord killed demon hiranyakshan and retrived the mother earth from pathalloha. Later lord varaha kept Sri bhumi devi on his lap out of his love with great affection and embraced her.A red coral emanated from sri bhumi devi due to their close courtship, was dropped by her in to the sea.The wifes of saptharishies who picked up this red coral, cast in to the fire for ‘’Agni suthi’for purifying it. From the fire came a small beautiful radiant red child who was taken care of and brought up by them in their ashramam. Arundhati,the wife of sage Vaishetta alone stayed away from them. This child was given many names as‘’kujan‘ –son of earth or radiant, ‘agnibhu’ –fireborn, “kumara” as virgin son,shunmugan” as the son of Six faced becouse of his six foster mothers.He was taught sastras,vedas,warfare and martial arts by sage bharathwaj, one of the seven rishies (saptharishies).After some time this child went to perform severe penance in the forest. Lord brahma who was pleased with his devotion appeared before him and accorded the post of ‘’graha’ as a god of war in the celestial sky.Therefore he got the name as ’skanda’.Lord Krishna in his bhagvath gita said’’ Among the commander in chief of army, I am the ‘’Skanda’. The saptharishes after suspicious of their wifes fidelity with agni deva, in the birth of ‘kuja” banished their six wifes while arundhati an exemplary wife alone remained with her husband vasishta.

Pleiades, the cluster of seven stars in the constellation of ’ursa major’ commonly known as ‘’Big dipper ( plough) appearing on the northern sky are supposed to the wifes of saptha (seven) rishies. As per the vedic mythology, six stars are the banished wifes of saptharishies due to their association with fire god-agni deva on account of suspicion of rishes in the birth of chevvai.The banished six stars of Pleiades are brightly visible to our eyes while the 7^th star at the tail end is invisible to our eyes as it symbolically represent arundadhi.Only arundhati,the devoted wife of sage vaishetta could not be seduced and hence she was allowed to remain with her husband.The star “alcor”representing arundadhi appears much closer to another co-star “mizar” considered to be her husband sage vaishetta in the sky. Both the stars give visibility to our eyes in the pre-dawn sighting in the clear sky as if it appears to be a single star.One can distinguish the two stars with their excellent eyes sight. During the vedic marriage cermony,one of the symbolic ritual is that bride groom shows to the bride, this twin stars as an ideal couple for their marital loyalty and chastity.‘Chevvai” is closely connected to the constellation of “Big dipper” known as ‘plough”, the weapons of Mars and Balarama, avatar of adisesha.

Agni the god of fire is portrayed with two heads showing the dual nature of heavenly light and fire.He is mounted on a Mesha (Ram).His journey through heaven travelling on a chariot is pulled by goats. Incidentally goats/rams are the vahana of Chevvai who is believed to have come out from agnideva during agnisuthi.. Atharva veda describes murugan as ‘agnibhu” the son of agni, fire god. Mahabharatha says murugan is said to have been born from agni and svaha, after the later impersonated the six out of seven wifes of saptarishes. The actual wives then later became the Pleiades,the cluster of stars as explained above. Chevvais period of agni nakshtra falls during the period when Sun transit over Kritika star dedicated to agni deva. The star ‘Kritika’dedicated to agni deva is in this constellation and hence the name “karthikeyan’ was given to the son of agni dev.Mangalan means ‘auspicious and also have meaning as ‘agni’.Hence fire of agni dev is called as ‘Mangala jothi”and ‘mangala aarti”. Thus Mars is identified with Skanda or kartikeya as the god of war and as the son of agni deva.The name “Senthil” denotes “red” or formidable testimony the red color of chevvai. Veerabhadra with burning fire was believed to have come out from the face of Shiva dev. Hence Veerabhadra is also considered to be the amsam of chevvai.Saivites worship murugan to propitiate chevvai as they consider both are same. However it might be, since his origin goes back to varaha avatar as per puranas that Chevvai was born out of a red coral from Sri bhumi devi and called as “Bhumi putra”,worshipping Sri andal, the divine amsam of mother earth would help us get rid of all the doshas of this planet instead of propitiating the graha itself.

ORIGIN OF “ CORAL “ (PAVALAM) -the gems of chevvai

Corals are the organic gems of fossil remains of marine polyps from the deep sea.The polyps surrounded by a fleshy skin excrete a carbonic substance from which the corals grow like branches and trees on a rocky sea bed by taking calcium from seawater. Corals are called as ‘ corallium rubrum’, vidrum in sanskrit, moonga in hindi and pavalam in tamil. Red corals are the gems of mars and called as red fire stone. Corals are harvested from the coral reefs grown in the deep sea beds of Mediterranean, Japanese and red sea in ocean mostly closer to the volcano regions. Rough corals thus obtained from the sea are polished, waxed and graded to be used in ornaments. This mysterious fiery red corals are used in gold chains, rings, bangles and pendants for wearing to propitiate and win over the grace of mars graha.To test for original, if it is placed in a glass of cow milk,the color will take on to red tinge. Italy is famous for its ‘red corals’.During the ancient india, sea trade took place between Rome and Malabar coast by exchanging spices like pepper and sandal wood with corals and silk clothes from Rome. Red corals contains iron oxide which creates the red hue on corals similar to the mars having iron oxide to give its red signature color.

Mars in space – Mars is the 4^th nearest planet to Sun .It takes 687 earth days for orbiting around the sun for one time.Mars like earth spins on its own axis at about the same speed of earth does.It takes 24 hours and 37 minutes to rotate one time.Mars atmosphere is very thin and made up of carbon-di-oxide 95%,nitrogen 3pct,argon and other gases 1 pct each. Lowest surface temperature in mars is -123 dec-c while the hottest temp is 32 dec-c.It is the second nearest plant to the earth. Its average surface temperature is -23 dec c and is believed to be having water due to its polar caps.Unlike earth, mars have two moons.Its surface is occasionally covered by dust storm. Mars resemble closer to the earth by having seasons and polar caps.Even though mars is one half of the size of earth,there are several volcanoes in it.Mars red color is due to iron oxides present in this planet.This planet stands as a proof for the accretion theory bearing many scars of creation like craters and mounds ect. Satellite photos of various space craft’s including Nasa shows mars is found to be having large anti-hills (mounds) and green clusters formation similar to the appearance of dense banyan trees as found which images have puzzled the astronomers to look for possibility of life in mars.This scientific evidences matches with our ancient vedic jyotish theories on mars and its characteristics.

Sri andal and influence of Chevvai –

Sri andal ,the divine amsam of Sri bhumi piratti, consort of Sri Varaha perumal took avatar at Srivilliputtur in a nandavanam owned by sri Vishnuchittar who found her as a child just below the tulsi plant. vishnuchittar was childless for many years till the couple was blessed by lord vatapatrasayee for whom he was rendering puspha kainkaryam from his young age. Sri Vishnuchittar found this divine child in the tamil year of “Nala” during the month of Aadi –dakshinayanam on a Tuesday in sukla paksha chathurthi in pooram star.This date, year and star correspondence to the period of 98^th year after passing of 97 years from the birth of kali yuga.They named the child as “kodhai” and showered their affection and brought up her as their daughter who developed everlasting love and devotion with lord ranganatha from her childhood onwards. She got the name ‘kodhai ‘ due to its meaning as ‘a sting of flowers’.She is called as “andal” since she won the hands of lord ranganathar and ruled over him out of her love and devotion.She rendered the pasurams of ‘Thiruppavai’ and ‘Nachiyar thirumozhi” at very young age besides having made the lord of srivailliputtur adorn the garlands already tried and worn by her first everyday which was delightfully accepted by the lord. Therefore Sri andal got the name as ‘சூடிக் கொடுத்த நாச்சியார்” and “பாடிக் கொடுத்த நாச்சியார்”.

Kujan took birth in the month of Aadi on a Tuesday in the tamil year Rakshasa in anuradha star on a sukla paksha dhasami in bharadwaj gothra. Sri andal also took avatar in Aadi month on a Tuesday from earth.Kuja means the son of earth as ‘ku’ means bhumi and ‘jha’ means son. Andal is the amsam of Bhumi pirrati. Srivilliputtur is a varaha kshetram connected to bhumi piratti. Chevvai denotes the direction of south while Srivilliputtur is situated in south aspected by lord ranganathar from srirangam.Vedas describe that ant-hills mounds are the ears of bhumi which swami desikan also mentioned in sri gotha sthuti.Sri andal kondai in head crown resemble to the mounds of earth as she is the mother of earth.Sage valmiki came out from ant-hills of earth and became the poet to write Ramayana. Andal was the only women poetess who became a prominent azhwar excelling other azhwars in all respects.This is mentioned in upadesa rathnamalai- 24 as-

“அஞ்சு குடிக்கு ஒரு சந்ததியாய் ஆழ்வார்கள்

தம் செயலை விஞ்சிநிற்கும் தன் மையளாய் – பிஞ்சாய்ப்

பழுத்தாளை ஆண்டாளைப் பக்தியுடன் நாளும்

வழுத்தாய் மனமே மகிழ்ந்து.” - உபதேச ரத்தினமாலை-24

Chevvai denotes brain,and its abnormal growth inappropriate to the age.Sri andal became a poetess at very young age itself.she was called “பிஞ்சாய்ப் பழுத்தாளை ஆண்டாளை” in above pasuram due to her early maturity and intelligence above a normal human being at very young age on account of her divine avatar.She hailed from a family who were afraid to do anything beyond the doctrines prescribed in sastras..Yet Sri andal wanted to marry the supreme lord himself and worn the garlands first before being adorned to the lord vatapatrasayee thereby rendering apasaram fearlessly.However perumal accepted this with great pleasure.Mars denotes boldness and fearless nature that influenced her to do so.

Sarvam sri krishnarpanam

!!OM NAMO NARAYANAYA!!

WHY SRIVILLIPUTTUR IS KNOWN AS ‘’CHEVVAI’ (MARS) PARIHARA STHALAM ?

Srimathe Ranga Ramanuja Mahadesikaya Namaha:

WHY SRIVILLIPUTTUR IS KNOWN AS ‘’CHEVVAI’ (MARS) PARIHARA STHALAM ?

( by Dasan Kudanthai Amudhan) PART - 1

Mars is known as ‘செவ்வாய், மங்களன், சேனாபதி, சேய், குஜன், அங்கராகன், குருதி, நெருப்புகொள்ளி, கனல், பூமகன், ஆரல், பூமிகாரகன், சகோதரகாரகன் வக்கிரன். In sanskrit he is called as mangal, kujan, vakra, angaraka, bhumiputra, kumara, bheem, randhir, kurunnetra, lohitanga, krura, aaram, rhauma, avaneya, bhauma, aaral ect. Mars Colour-red, Direction- south, Vahana- Ram,goat, Animals- bulls, red ox, sharp horned animals like wild boars,sharp toothed fast moving cat family like tiger, cheetah, panther, leopard. Birds- eagles, hawks, vultures, cock, raven, ostriches, wood pecker (horn bills) besides poisonous reptiles like scorpion, snakes, king cobras ect. crocodiles (makara) and mythological animal “yali ‘ are represented by mars.

Dhanyams-Toor ( pigeon peas ),red lentils, red chillies, red mustard seeds,red pepper, red annatto seeds used in food, lip sticks coloring.Flowers-Shenbaham (chambhak), red aarali. Vegetables-Tubers/roots/bulbs grown below the earth like red radish, beet roots, yam and tapica roots ect.Fruits-red pomegranate,red bell pepper. Weapons- plough, knife, spear, trident ect.Adi devatha-Bhumi devi, Priythoga devathas- Agni, Chakrathazhwar, Presiding deity-Jwala Nrishimar. Garuda is closely connected to mars.Raga-sama veda, Metal-zinc,copper, Gothram-bharadwaj,Caste-kshetriya, Dress-red cloth,Food-rice mixed with toor dhall powder,Gems- Red coral,blood stone,red garnet,red jasper, Consort-Shakti devi, Native-avanti(ujjain),Day-Tuesday,Human body- brain, blood, bone marrow, Diseases-blood related, Taste-bitter, hotness, Asana-Triangle, Samithu-karungaali, Language- Tamil/mani pravalam. Element-earth.Planetary cabinet-commander in chief, Guna-tamasa, fiery, Stature- short, Season-peak summer(agni nakshtra) Masa- aadi month, Worship place- Tulsi plant,neem tree and banyan tree, Gender-masculine, Stars-mIrgasesh, chittrai, avittam, Signs-mesha, vrichika, Neecha rasi-kataka, Uccha rasi-makara Friendly grahas-sun,moon,jupiter (guru), Directional aspects-4,7,8. Dosha-manglik. place of living-forest,ant-hills, mountain, volcanoes ect.

Mars tree ( as per sloka)- Mandhara tree -மந்தார மரம் also known as ‘’flame tree’ or ‘tiger claw’ is called as ‘kalyana murungai’ in tamil having dark red color flowers.Its branches will resemble the shape of sea coral .Its trunk and branches are covered with sharp thorns which disappear as the tree gets older ( mars dosha is seen to be active for the young aged people and reduce its cruel effects over a period of age )

Mars rules over boldness, ego, arrogance, individuality, courage, motivation, impulsiveness, will power, persistence, initiative besides its related actions like endurance, conflict, expressing anger, violent behavior, fast action, tension, quick retaliation, talking fast, uttering sharp words,doing cruel acts instantly without realizing its consequences, dominating nature, adamant, emotional outburst, courageous, stubborn, aggressiveness , quarrelsome, heroism, adventurous nature, and valor ect. Because of above characteristics, mars governs and rules over - sports, martial arts, physical energy, stamina, strong sexual drive, vigor, participating in competitions and emerging victorious, organizing capacity, commanding, inspiring, bravery, fighting spirit ect. On the negative side, weak mars in the horoscope of a native will give quite opposite results to the above characteristics.

Mars is the lord of war.Hence Mars denotes army soilders, , armouries, battlefields, fighting, using of sharp weapons, explosives, guns ect besides signifying shooters, gunners, ordinance depot ect.Mars denotes physical energy representing athelets, hunters, poachers, shooters, boxers, wrestlers, commando forces. Hence Mars rules over gym fitness centers, physical exercise, sportsmen, game players, sports accessories, racers, stadium , all dangerous games like car / motor cycle races .

Mars governs over sharp tools like knifes, Scissors, plough,forks,mace ,needles,razers, cutters, spade, swords, spears ect besides being the karagha for blood, mars is very closely connected to the profession of medical and rules over surgeons, operation theater. Kitchen/ matapalli, cutters, barbers, carpenters, mechanic, butchers, blacksmith, potters, sculptures, dentists, machine operaters are under mars karagathvam.Cooks are under the rulership of mars as cooking is done with kniefs, sharp cutters and also handling of fire burning stoves. So kitchen/matapalli is ruled by mars. Rust formation in iron items is due to mars as it is the planet which is full of iron oxide and hence has red-signature color.

Mars colour is red. He denotes blood, red corpuscles in the blood, blood bank. redcross, and its related diseases like blood pressure, hyper tension, blood hemorrhage ,blood cancer, loss of blood, anemia, bone marrow, thirst, spinal card ect.Mars rules over the growth of brain,denoting diseases like migraine, fever, menstrual problems for women,scars in face/body. Mars also rules over muscles, male gentitalia besides chicken pox, boils, acidity, pitta, typhoid’s ,skin diseases, burn injuries, tumors , yellow jaundice, gall stone, left ear defect, Swine flu, abnormal heart beat ect are indicated by mars.

Mars is the karagaha for both physical energy and mechanical energy.Such combined energy forces in action like driving of vehicles, machine operations, working in factories are under the influence of mars. Although sukran denotes the luxury of comfort in vehicle transporation,the driving of vehicles are under the control of mars.So mars signify automobiles, engines, generators, spark plugs,drivers, rash driving, fatal vehicle accidents, red signals, emergency services/vans, blood bank, surgery, operation ect. Fractures, wounds, injuries,deaths caused in accidents, instant death are due to mars influences only.Energy tablets/ energy drinks like red bull ,steroids are under mars care.

Mars is the பூமிகாரகன் (bhumi karagha) being the son of earth.So he denotes the element prithvi- earth.He signify lands, properties, real estate, buildings, red soil, forests, hills, houses, gardens, towers, forts , walls ect. Hence mars rules over the property purchase as well as the property disputes also. Building houses and buying of lands, forefathers properties, getting treasures in the earth are due to the strong placement of mars in the horoscope. since mars rules over both earth and destruction, it influences in sudden eruption of lava in volcanoes, landslides, earth caving and earth quakes/termers and collapse of buildings resulting in death of people. Tall pillars, beams, flyovers buildings are under the karagathvam of mars.

Since mars, being the dry,fiery red planet, it will signify the Cause of both constructive and destructive energy of any nature. So he is called in vedic astrology as‘’ vakra’ and‘’kururan’.Hence mars rules over litigation, court cases, criminal acts, violent riots, thefts, accidents, disputes, debts in business and properties besides having strong influence on marital life. Malific mars of bad ownership during his dasa running in the early age of a native will end up in the break of marital life or ending in the family court,besides the death of a life partner since mars rule over the karagathvam of 7^th sign for the women and for men, the venus (sukran) as kalathra karaghan, rules over the 7^th sign from lagna.The profession of lawyers are related to mars.

Mars is the kargaha for blood relation and represent brothers/ sisters as he governs the 3^rd sign from the lagna which denotes the siblings in horoscope .Hence mars play important role in the relationship of brothers and sisters. Mars also being the karagha of bhumi, any land and properties dispute arised among brothers/sisters are related to mars influences. In rural areas, we can see such property disputes even result in some worst cases with brutal killings among siblings/others due to mars impulsive nature. Hence செவ்வாய் is known as சகோதரகாரகன்.

Mars being the hot graha is the source of fire.Its related products like explosives, bombs, match boxes, crackers, fire engine, fire extinguisher ( all painted with red), burning, fire accidents, mortuaries, foundries, furnaces, chimney, brick chambers,, boilers, heaters, explosive storage/factories, besides warping and moulding of metal products by fire are under the influence mars.

Mars rules over non ferrous metals mainly zinc and copper besides non metallic minerals like quarts, silica sand,feldspar,limestone, gyspum ect used in the manufacturing of building materials like cement, plaster of Paris, clinkers, bricks, ceramic tiles,sanitaryware besides glass and glass products, abrasive stones, foundries, fire stone, metal power ect. Electricity is the power generated out of thermal, atomic, Hydel, wind forces converted in to electrical energy through mechanical process by turbines and generators. mars has great influences in the production of electricity power and its supply through transmission towers. So all electrical accessories like switch, circuit breaker, transformers, generators, energy meters, batteries, iron Box, electrical wire , grinders, ovens besides causing of fire by electric leak and electrocution are under the influence of mars.

Mars also governs the reactive chemicals, inorganic chemicals, dyes and pharma raw materials, distillation process,chemical reaction by thermal energy in their production units ect.Hence Engineering professions in mechanical /civil/ automobile/ metal/ chemical industries, metallurgy as engineers, architects, alchemists are represented by mars. Profession like pharma, electrical shops,medical shops,cooking,carpentary, are coming under the influence of mars.The employment status for a native is denoted by mars.

1) SRIVILLIPUTTUR – Sthalam for ‘Chevvai”-

Lord Vishnu after fulfilling the purpose of Varaha avatar, came to this varahakshetra and rested under a banyan tree in the forest of Shenbagaranyam ( the forest full of trees of Shenbagam-champak flowers ) after slaying the demon Kalanemi who was disturbing the penance of sages over here.”Shenbagaranyam was part of a larger kingdom known as ‘Malli Vala Nadu’ ruled by its queen malli. She had two sons Villi and kandhan who were brothers and hunters.One day they went on a hunting mission to the forest where in an hunting adventure, kandhan was killed by a tiger that pounced on him suddenly when he was chasing it.Villi who lost track of his brother became tiresome and fell asleep not realising what happened to his brother. Lord appeared in his dream and consoled villi by telling about the fate and end of his brothers life. He further told that his idol in a reclining posture as “vatapathrasayee’ was lying hidden underneath the shrubs and ant- hills nearby a banyan tree and directed him to clear the forest and build a temple for him by using the wealth of gold treasure lying in a nearby cave.

Accordingly Villi built a temple by establishing a small town around it and installed the idol of Sri Vatapathrasayee in this temple. As the forest was full of Snake mounds and cleared by Villi, it got the name as ‘Villiputtur” derived from “villi “(also as Bowman in tamil), “puthu ( anthills or new in tamil) and “ur” ( a place or town ).After the avatar of Sri andal here, this town became to be called as “ Srivilliputtur”.

Mars is the karagha for hunters, forest, wild animals like tigers, hunting adventure, brotherhood, ant hills, hidden treasures in the bhumi ect. Shenbaga flowers are the flowers of mars. Even now Shenbhagathoopu,the nearby reserved forest at the foothills of western Ghats just 8 kms away from the temple is often frequented by tigers, chettah, bears and other wild animals as often reported from Srivilliputtur.

2) THIRUMUKKULAM THEERTHAM- THE CONNOTATION WITH CHEVVAI

Sri Sudharsana Chakram has sharp spokes on its wheel from which great ball of flames are emerging to look like a ‘’mangala jyothi’’. Sudharsana is refered as‘’Ayudhesa’ and”Hethiraja” meaning the lord of weapons.He is the weapon of maha vishnu, remover of dangers to the devotees of Sri Vishnu from accidents, enemies, evil spirits, incurable diseases, sorcery thereby annihilating the evil forces.He has 16 weapons in his 16 hands.‘’chevvai ‘ is called as ‘ aaral“ meaning sharp tooth as he denotes all weapons, flames, sharp spokes ect. “Plough”, one of the 16 weapons of Sri Sudharsana azhwan is closely connected to mars as plough is tied up with bulls to be used on the land for cultivation of crops. Bull and plough are the animal and weapon of mars for farming field.

When Janaka maharaj was Ploughing a piece of land to prepare for a yajna,the Spiritual sacrifice, he unearthed a golden casket in which he found a beautiful girl child, later named as ‘ Sita’ meaning “the line made by the plow”. She is considered to be the daughter of bhumi devi. Similarly Akasa raja wanted to perform a yajna as he had no heirs. As a part of sacrifice, he himself had to plough the field where he stumbled upon a golden lotus in which he found out a beautiful girl. Since she was born out of a golden lotus, he named the child as ‘Padmavathi’,the avatar of Sri lakshmi who married lord Srinivasar at Tirumala.

Sri bhumi devi is the divine wife of Varaha avatar of lord vishnu and fertility form of Sri lakshmi as godess of mother earth.She took avatar in Srivilliputtur in this kali yuga as ’Andal’ who was found out by vishnuchittar in the bhumi near a tulsi plant in his nadavanam. Since mars is the son of mother earth, he is called as ‘’kuja’ meaning “ku” as earth and “ja” means birth.Other related names of mars are bhumiputra and bhauma (son of bhumi).Sri Balarama, the brother of lord krishna is considered to be the avatar of Adisesha,the serpent. He is portrayed to hold plough as his weapon. Mars being the symbolic of progency, brotherhood and as bhumi karaghan, he is signified with the connection to Serpent, plough and brotherhood of Balarama , the brother of lord Krishna.

Mars asana or symbol is triangle which symbolically represent Shakti. Mars wife is also shakti devi. The triangle pointing upwards signifying agni tattva as fire is always oriented upwards.Sudharsana chakra is the intersection of superimposed two triangles one pointing upward and another pointing downward forming six points known as shut kona. Chakram is the abode of Vyuha murthis and hence Jwala Nrisimhar is present in the charkam signifying the mighty jwala (fire) that emanates from its spokes having the radiance of thousands of Suns.Sri Sudarsana chakram was present in the nails of lord Nrisimha.Sri Sudharsana azhwar is said have been manifested during the month of Aani in Chittrai star, owned by Mars.Hence Sri Sudarsana jayanthi is celebrated on chittrai star in Aani month.Since mars represent fire, bhumi and weapons, he is closely connected to sudharsana chakram and Jwala Nrisimhar as his prithyuga god. Mars connection to ‘plough’ and its connatation to the avatar of Sri bhumi devi and with Varaha kshetrams janakapuri, Tirumala and Srivillputtur are understood from the usage of ‘plough’the weapon of mars for bringing out motherearth, sri bhumi devi.

Once upon a time,’Srivilliputtur’ was a deep forest known as ‘Shenbagaranyam’ where many sages were doing penance. Kalanemi, a demon, was disturbing the meditation and harassing the saints. They prayed to the Lord who was resting near this forest in a hill known as ‘Vadeswarapuram’, the Varaha kshetra under a Banyan tree (vatavriksham) after fulfilling the purpose of Varaha avatar. The lord killed the demon kalanemi with his Sudarshana chakram.In order to wash the chakram from the blood strains of asura by immersing in water,the lord created out of his sankalpam, a holy tank with the confluence of all the three holy rivers ganga, Yamuna and saraswathi who assembled in this tank. This tank is known as ‘Thirumukkulam’ where still one can find a stone image of charkathazhwar deep inside the water. Chevvai is called as“குருதி” as he denotes blood, blood strains, sharp spokes of chakra, weapons, plough and the fire which formed part of this legend involving Sudarshana chakram. Hence chevvai connection to this holy theertham,THIRUMUKKULAM at Srivilliputur is understood from above.

Chevvai and Agni Nakshatram -

When Sun transit over the star krittika during the hot summer season of chitrai and vaikasi months, the summer will be very severe.This peak hot days are considered to be the period of chevvai, when auspicious functions are avoided. This period is also called as ‘’kartari’ in sanskrit and “katri’ in tamil.The word ‘kartari” literally means as ‘’cutter’ in sanskrit and also as ‘ “kathi’ (scissor) in tamil. The cluster of stars of pleiades in the sky appears to be like a ‘Scissor. Hence the name ‘krithika’, the star that formed part of this cluster of stars of Pleiades owe its name to the appearance like a scissor in the sky.

The peak hot summer goes for a period of 24 days when sun transit from 3^rd paada of Bharani star to all the four quarters of krithika up to Rohini 1^st paada in both mesha and vrushaba signs passing through total 7 paadas.The important festival that normally falls during the period of ‘katri’ is Sri Nirsimha jayanthi on sukla paksha chadurdasi in vaikasi month.Mars is a hot graha denoting the peak summer,scissor,cutter,agni deva, Nirsimha avatar and the month of chitrai due to the sign of mesha owned by mars.While summer season is denoted by Suriyan generally, Chevvai signify the days of agni nakshatram during summer when the sun passes through the star krittika,ruled by Sun and dedicated to agnideva. It is believed that chevvai is the graha which ignites the fire first.That is why mars is called as ‘நெருப்புகொள்ளி as agni deva rules over mars.Therefore all auspicious functions are traditionally avoided during this period of mars by hindus in agninakshtram.

Sarvam sri krishnarpanam

!!OM NAMO NARAYANAYA!!