WHY SRIVILLIPUTTUR IS KNOWN AS ‘’CHEVVAI’ (MARS) PARIHARA STHALAM ? PART 8

   Srimathe Ranga Ramanuja Mahadesikaya Namaha:

 

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

             ( by Dasan   Kudanthai Amudhan)        PART - 8

CHEVVAI AND  ANNAM BIRD ( SWAN ) – CONNOTATION WITH VEERABHADRAN :

Chevvai was not born out of  biological mother but by fire (agni) as a red child.Since he learned vedas and sastras from sage bharathwaj muni and later got elevated to the post of graha by brahma, he  is always conscious of himself of this fact in spite of being a ferocious war god.According to macha purana, when Shiv dev got terrible angry to destroy the yogna of daksha,he opened his third eye and emitted  fire balls in which  chevvai  assumed to take the form of a terrible figure by name “veerabhadra”.This stands for meaning of veera for ferocious and bhadra for auspicious. Veerabhadra beheaded daksha and killed many sages in the yagna causing great destruction and havoc to the yagasala. Devas were terrified by the violence in killing of sages and Brahmins by veerabhadra who immediately realized and became conscious of their fear, transformed himself  to his original form of chevvai riding on the satvik bird ‘annam” (swan). Swan (annam) is the embodiment of perfect union between garuda and serpent,inspite both being the bitter enemies. This union stands for the highest wisdom concerning the union of opposites. Swans long graceful serpentine neck is a kinship to the snake. Viruchika rasi owned by  chevvai is represented by Scorpion the sign of Serpent and its enemy eagle garudan. Chevvai manifested in the form of fire to emanate the rupa as veerabhadran.Hence chevvai is called as “agni bhau” as well as “veera bhau” as the god of war.Murugan, an amsam of chevvai  is portrayed to be seen riding in the vahana of peacock along with a Snake around its leg.Peacock is the slayer of serpent and the shimmering colors of its  feather tail is explained by its supposed ability to transform the snake venom in to solar iridescence.Peacock blue color neck is believed to be the reason of its having consumed poisonous venom of snakes. Yet they are seen together as a symbol of such union of opposites similar to  garuda and adiseshan .

Old traditional jyotish books mention that chevvai  rides  on annam bird (swan) towards south as per macha purana  related to the legend of  veerabhadra, also as  an amsam of chevvai manifesting in the form of fire balls from shiva’s third eye to emanate.True to this nature as  said above, Srivilliputtur was described by andal and parasarabhatter, a place for existence of mythological bird annam (swan) in large numbers once upon a time.Sri andal taniyan composed by Sri parasara bhattar start with ´அன்னவயல் புதுவையாண்டாள்” meaning that srivilliputtur kshetram was full of swan birds (annam). Sri andal mentioned  this  in her nachiyar thirumozhi 5-5^th pasurams -மென்னடையன்னம் பரந்து விளையாடும் வில்லிபுத்தூருறைவான்  implies that beautifully walking annam birds used to fly and played in srivilliputtur.Periazhwar mentioned in his thirumozhi 2-6 as மின்னையை நுண்ணிடையார், விரிகுழல் மேல் நுழைந்தவண்டு, இன்னிசைக்கும் வில்லிபுத்தூர் இனிதமர்ந்தாய்.”

Swan(annam)bird has the ability to separate milk and water by drinking milk alone. Srivillputtur, is  famous for manufacturing of “milk gova”(pal gova) where milk is separated by boiling the water.Chevvai denotes spirituality, wisdom,red color while annam represents perfect union of balance and highest order of spirituality. Hence sages and achariyars of holy status are called as ‘paramahamsa’ as hamsam is said to be possessing the knowledge of brahmam according to many upanisheds.In Sri Vatapathra sayee  sannidhi one can see on the wall the images of stone sculptures of annam birds and Banyan tree.There are two stone pillar sculptures of  annam birds (swans) one of them as vahana for Sakthi devi, wife of chevvai, the images of which are carved beautifully in dwajasthamba mantapam of Sri andal temple.There are also many massive monolith stone pillars with exquisite images in  Srivilliputtur andal temple where one can see the sculptures of“Nruddhamuka  Veerabhadran” on southern  side and ‘Oordhavamuka Veerabhadran’ images on the northern side of mantapam. Sri andal takes procession around mada streets in anna pakshi vahana( swan) along with lord rangamannar in garuda servai on  the day of aadi amavasya.This stands as testimony to this kshetram’s connection with chevvai and annam bird  being its vahana as presumed from above.   

MARS, THE ROMANIAN GOD- Mars is the roman god of war and agriculture. He was later identified with the greek god Ares similar to chevvai being identified with murugan. According to different versions, Roman goddess Juno was jealous because Jupiter’s  daughter Minerva was born without the help of a women. Hence juno wanted to have a child for her without the help of a male. Flora, the goddess of vegetation gave her a magical flower and by simply touching it, juno got pregnant and gave birth to Mars. The month of march is named after Mars when he is celebrated with many festivals besides in October. Mars holds in his hands  a long sphere and a shield and poised to be ready for war anytime  (similar to velavan-murugan). Mars was a fertility god and protector of cattle. Several festivals are attributed to mars  with elaborate fertility rituals ( similar to our aadi month) designed to bring prosperity in the harvest of agriculture. A festival is held in his honor of farmers and soldiers by fasting during Oct month when Romanians would lay aside their weapons after purifying ( similar to our Ayudhapuja ) in   storage places.During the festivals, mars is honored and glorified with sacrifices of bulls and goats.The word Mars  is the prefix word for  many  words in English, the meanings of which are governed by mars. Example – marriage, march of (soldiers) ,marital status, martial law, marrow-in bone, martyr, marshal- field/court marshal all of which are related to the karagathvam of chevvai.  

Other names and characteristics of chevvai - Chevvai has many names like shakidhar-holding  shakti as weapon, Dharasuta-son of earth, Runaharta-destroyer of debts,Vidyut prabho -generator of electricity,Vranakar-creater of wound marks, Samaganapriya-lover of sama gana,Raktavastra–wearer of red cloth Grahanayak- leader of all planets,Sarvakarmavarodhak-creater of anything.He has  also names like Mahisuta,  ara, avaneya, bheem, ugra, ranjan,   rechanak,  agni -gandha,agnivardha,hemavati,Rechi, raktang, karkasha, lohitanga, Yaganika,vakra, randhir,kurunetra,Rogakrut,ect.. Since chevvai is the god of war, he is for self sacrifice by himself as a soilder. Hence he changed his originality from chevvai to murugan as war god and later also assumed the form of veerabhadra as a warrior to fight the enemies of shiva dev. As chevvai came out from fire, he enlightens spirituality without any conscience regardless of its consequences. Being the lord of weapon, he is compared to knife which can be used for surgery, kitchen chores and for self protection. At the same time same knife can be used to kill a person or cause injuries to others.As a god of war,he causes widowhood to women in the war.Mars is the one who causes sudden rain fall during summer time with thunders and lightening. He represent tribal’s, wild life and nature lovers, environmental protectors, teachers of occult science and study of mysterious happenings, siddhars and siddha medicines,martial arts like varma kalai,spreader of yellow fevers,jaundice/small pox, typhoid fever ect. Debts are created by chevvai who is the karaghan for 6^th house from lagna denoting ill health/enemies.

Chevvai and Sri bhumi devi- Mars similar to earth spins in its own axis at about the same speed of earth does.It takes 24 hours and 37 minutes  to rotate one time. Mars resembles closer to the earth by having seasons and polar caps.Since chevvai is the deity of his own right distinguished from other grahas, he is the one who constantly vitalizes the mother earth by  charging it from time to time as he is associated with pancha bhuthas like earth,water,agni,vaayu and aakasam and five gunas of earth like form (roopa) taste (rasa),fragrance(gandham),tactile features (sparsha) and sound-dhvani. Both Sri bhumi devi and Six devis ,wives of saptha (7)- rishes  who were involved in the creation of chevvai  suffered on account of manglik dosha as per the details given below -

1) Sri bhumi devi, personified as mother of earth was the consort of Sri Varaha perumal who restored the earth in to space from the pattalaloka,the cosmic ocean .She took  avatar as “ Sita” meaning  as “the line made by plow” in Sr Rama avatar. She took the amsam of “Sathya bahma”in  Sri Krishna avatar and later she took avatar in srivilliputtur  as “andal” in kali yuga.All of them in their reincarnations had to suffer manglik dosha since sri bhumi devi was instrumental for the origin of chevvai by getting the red coral from sri varaha avatar after he killed the demon Hiranyakshan.

a) Sita, the divine amsam of  Sri bhumi devi had to be separated from sri rama for 14 years and later she joined with him after undergoing purification ceremony  by  fire (agni) for showing her purity. Just before the birth of chevvai, Sri bhumi devi   was abducted by the demon and taken to pattalaloka-cosmic ocean to be retrieved later by lord vishnu by taking the form of Varaha.

b) The six devis the wives of Saptharishes,who picked up the red coral dropped by Sri bhumi devi and performed “agnisuthi” in the fire from which chevvai as a child came out,  had to be separated from their husbands because they banished their wives due to their suspicion about their wives fidelity by connecting  them in affairs with agni dev.So all six devis suffered except arunthati,the devout wife of vaishista rishi who did not join with them.The  banished six  stars of Pleiades ( or weeping sisters) are brightly visible to our eyes in the sky while the 7^th star mizar at the tail end is invisible to our eyes as it symbolically represent arundadhi.

c) Demon Naragasura was the son of Sri bhumi devi.He got the boon from  brahma that he would meet his doom only at the hands of his mother. Chevvai who took birth from Sri bhumi devi thus gets connected to naragasura by being his half brother.So Shiva and Subramaniyan( murugan) came to the rescue of   naragasura in the war  and sided with him only to face defeat, when lord Krishna fought with this demon who had to be eventually killed only by Sathya bhama, an amsam of Sri bhumi devi, the mother of naragasuran.chevvai is the karaghan for brotherhood which suffered at the hands of his mother sri bhumi devi .Hence lightening of fire and bursting of crackers on the day of deepawali appears to be connected with chevvai as he is the karaghan for fire works and lightening.

d) Sri andal who longed to marry only lord Krishna, merged with lord Ranganatha in his garbhagraham when she entered inside.Another version believe that she   disappeared from her closed palanquin when it reached Srirangam.This happened when she was just 13 years old. Her marriage with lord ranganathar at srivilliputtur is the anubhavam of achariyars and devotees by visualizing  the divine marriage in  their imagination to spread bhakti.Similarly Tulsi devi,an amsam of vrinda devi stepped in to fire when her demonic husband jalandar had to die once she lost her chastity and purity at the hands of lord vishnu.Yet lord vishnu humbly accepted the wrath and curse of her with pleasure by wearing her body as salagram silas and her hair as ‘Tulsi leaves’ as garlands. Sri andal took avatar below Tulsi plant as bhumi piratti.  Thus chevvai will affect everyone in the life to some extend even if it is well placed in a native horoscope.

Mangalan (chevvai), agni dev and vedic marriage – Mars is the planet of fire.  Agni dev has two heads symbolically representing heat and light, the dual characteristics of fire.He has seven red tongues and seven legs. His chariot is pulled by goats (Rams).”. Fire is red and chevvai is also red.chevvai came out from agni dev.So fire is connected with all vedic rituals from marriages to funeral. Ancient tamil names of fire are Eri,Thanal,Kolli,Kanal,Neruppu,Deepam,Vilakku and kadir ect. In sacred marriages bride groom is asked to lead bride around the fire symbolizing the  union with fire god denoting fertility charm and energy in the form of heat  and fire in conception besides  the chastity of women.Fire represent purity,divinity and chastity of women.Hence  married  women are entitled  to light the fire first in all yognas, the vedic  rituals with fire performed by grahasthas of Brahmins clad.Fire is aggregate of all demigods. Agni, the mouth of supreme lord vishnu accepts all sacrificial oblations through fire. Agnis two faces and 7 tongues are meant to lick up the butter ghee in sacrifices.Agni is fond of cow ghee.Agni is called as “mangal”.Hence we call fire as “mangala aarthi” and “mangala jothi”.Chevvai is known as “mangalan” as he came out from fire.As mars denotes marriages of union by heat of fire rituals, vedic marriages are closely associated with its related names like mangalyadharanam, Thiru Mangalyam, Mangalya suthram ect. All auspicious items like mirror (kannadi) are part of the function and also mangala vadiyams (musical instruments like nathasvaram ect ) are used on this occasion. Agni is the chief priest of gods and hence vedic marriage symbolically identity bridegroom as an amsam of lord vishnu at the time of vedic marriage rituals.Fire is the witness of such sacred union of bride and bride groom as “ agni satchi”.During the rituals of Paani graham,bride groom walks with the bride to the right side of sacred fire with newlyweds taking vows in 7 steps known as Saptha padis as they walk  hand in hand together around the holy fire. Arunthati,the red star or ‘semmeen” is the symbol of chastity and purity which is denoted by fire.Hence bridegroom is made to show the bride this red star in the sky to follow her fidelity  nature.During pregnancy function of fire homam,the conceived women is applied with smoke produced by a mixture of ghee and white mustard to ward off evils.Deads are cremated by consigning the body to fire,one of the element in which our body and earth are made up of.Agni appears in our body as warm temperature and also as fever by  forceful heat.In the sky, agni appears as lightening.Agni stands for the fire of digestion as without fire of agni there is no absorption of nutrients in our body and  no life is possible.Lord Krishna swallowed the scorching forest fire in vrindavan to save the lifes of gopikas and cows.Sita devi stepped in to the fire to show her purity and divinity to the world.Sri kanchi varadaraja perumal came out from agni kunda of yagna homam in hasthigiri while Sri yagna varaha murthi receives his sacrifices from agni of yangam(there are three varaha murthis–Aadhi varaha,pralaya varaha and yagna varaha).Sri andal mentioned the elaborate rituals of vedic marriage in her Varanamayuram pasurams depicting her imagination and visualization of  celestial wedding with lord ranganathar,the rituals of which one should follow in vedic marriages to appease mangalan the chevvai, karaghan for union of souls by fire. Her pasurams talk of vedic rituals like வாரணம் ஆயிரம் சூழ வலஞ்செய்து, தோரணம் நாட்ட, காளைபுகுத, அந்தரி சூட்ட, காப்பு நாண்கட்ட, அதிரப்புகுத, கைத்தலம் பற்ற, தீவலஞ்செய்ய, அம்மி மிதிக்க, பொரிமுகந்தட்ட, மஞ்சனமாட்ட, வாயும் நன்மக்களைப் பெற்று மகிழ்வரே which invariably points out the karagathvam of chevvai, the mangalan through agni yogna during vedic marriage rituals.Thus mangalan has its influence in  marriage rituals to matching of horoscopes of  life partners.

Sarvam sri krishnarpanam

!!OM NAMO NARAYANAYA!!

WHY SRIVILLIPUTTUR IS KNOWN AS ‘’CHEVVAI’ (MARS) PARIHARA STHALAM ? PART 7

                              Srimathe Ranga Ramanuja Mahadesikaya Namaha:

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

             ( by Dasan   Kudanthai Amudhan)        PART - 7

RED COLOR AND RED PLANET (CHEVVAI-MARS ) – Red color symbolizes  the color  of sun,  fire, heat and blood.Red denotes passion, love, desire, energy, strength, power, speed aggression, courage, will power, ambition and emotion  ect. Red  is the symbol of feminity,fertility, sexual urge, impulses, vigor and also is the color of root chakra in our spinal card which is the seat of kundalini energy. Red is the symbolic representation of auspicious, richness, royal, purity, prestige and authority. Red carpets for VIPs are rolled for royal treatment. Hindu Brides wear Red sarees  on the occasion of their weddings due to its auspicious nature as its lord  chevvai  called as ‘mangalan”  signify marriages. Goddess lakshmi is portrayed and pictured with red dress showing the prosperity and auspicious nature of rich red color.Sri andal is portrayed to be as bride dressed in red dress. Red is associated with warning of danger. Red signals are used  to indicate Stop.Red is also associated with heat  which the red colored molten lava emits once volcano is erupted.we call this as “red hot”.Fire engine trucks are painted with red color to warn danger. Ambulances uses  red flash warning lights to highlight its speed and urgency which are also indicated by its red cross symbol. Red is also the color of violence, disruptions and accidents. Anger is indicated by red color as sometimes people’s faces turn  to be bright red when angered. Red tapism is the stringent obligations to meet official’s formalities and procedures that mostly end up in delays. Same time we use the term “code red”in computer systems for high alert and quick action. Red is associated with women particularly of feminine goddess. Hence red cloth is adorned to protective goddess like shakti devi (amman) and durga devi. Her scary image is enhanced by her red tongue and red eyes with her idol adorned in red cloth giving appearance of ferocious figure. Red color repels insects while red cloth makes bulls ferocious which can be seen in bull taming. Married women in Hinduism are encouraged to wear red sarees on auspicious occasions. Red color symbolizes the sacrifices and hence village deities are given  the sacrifices of live cock and goat- the bird and animal related to chevvai  for these blood thirsty demi gods. Red light areas are indicated for the symbol of sex and sacrifice. An inverted red triangle is the symbol of family planning products and services in many countries. As red color symbolizes femininity due to its ramification of mensuseral  blood, its lord chevvai governs the puberty and marriages of  girls.For married women red color influences on progeny and well being of their husbands and their married life..Red denotes rajo guna. Red is the color of blood ,being the basic seeds of creation of sperm and ovary. So red signify the fertility. Red color stirs up enthusiasm and increases the energy; raises heart beat rate and blood pressure. In Chinese culture all traditional weddings can be seen with brides wearing red attire or drapes as red is the symbolic for married. Red is the color of national flags of most of the countries since it symbolize the sacrifices of its people to defend or liberate the mother land besides to signify the authority of power.Red fort and red army are example for this.In politics, red color indicates communism and socialism. Red color denotes the south, the direction of chevvai. Red rooster(cock) or chevval in tamil is the bird of chevvai due to its bright red comb.It boosts  up our energy by giving wake up calls in the early mornings  for us to see the red sky appearance of arunothiyam just before the sun rise in red color.Red is one of the seven colors in the visible spectrum of light emitted by sun as lord suriyan is believed to be driven on a chariot of 7 steeds each one representing as single color in the visible spectrum.Red corpuscles in blood carry oxygen to all cells.The pigment hemoglobin containing iron carries the oxygen from lungs to tissues. Deficiency of hemoglobin in RBC means less oxygen reaching the cells and tissues that affect their functions.Hence we take more iron enriched food for iron deficiency. Mars planet color is red due to the presence of large deposit of iron oxide on its surface. Hence mars is called as ‘Red plant’ due to its red color appearance.mars is the karagha for blood and blood relationship.Red soil in earth is akin to the condition of mars due to the large presence of iron oxide formed due to weathering of crystalline rocks.

Red is the danger signal as well as protective nature also.The phrase “bad blood” refers to the enmity between two people or groups. Photography have a phenomenon called as ‘Red eye effect’ on human eyes when digital photos are taken in the dark night or less light closely with flash light.The pupils in the eyes of human beings and some animals in the photos will appear red color in that case due to the  reflection of blood vessels of  pupils nourishing the retina of   eyes.There are some techniques in photography to remove the red eye effect by countering it with infra red light before flash or by double flash.’Drishti”is believed to be due to the reflection of bad bood run in pupils of eyes retinas.  True to this in order to reduce the evil effects, our hindu women apply Red kumkum on their forehead between eyebrows where the 6^th angina chakra as an outlet for kundalini  rests on it since  it is the seat for latent wisdom.This is the point where three nerves meet at the place below which pituitary gland is located.This gland controls the mind,thoughts and intelligence as it secretes nine hormones and acts as spiritual eye. Everyone is supposed to protect it. This is the point where hypnotism is done to control ones thoughts and mind to influence them by opponents.Red kumkum on their foreheads act as protective amulets to ward off the evil eyes. Hence negative effects of red color has to be countered and neutralized only by red color.Red kumkum is traditionally  produced from yellow turmeric powder and juice of  yellow lime fruit which turn to red color once mixed and dried. Yellow color and turmeric / yellow lime fruits denote Jupiter (guru) a benefic graha.Big producers use turmeric powder and slaked lime to produce red kumkum in large scale.Compatibility between life partners is connected to their blood groups.The traditional values of any family is carried out by the nature of genetic through blood group of its family members.From above we can see as to how red color is closely connected to chevvai and our life.     

WHY CHEVVAI IS SYNONYMOUS WITH MURUGAN-  Further to the details of  our part 2 of sep 11 issue  on the origin of chevvai, we give below the details  as to how chevvai is identified with murugan, the  god of war, about whom  lord Krishna said in his bhagvat gita as‘  Among the  commanders in chief  of army , I am the  skanda’. According to Brahma vaivartha purana,  the origin of  Chevvai  goes back to the red coral emanated from Sri Bhumi devi  during her courtship with Sri Varaha perumal after he killed demon hiranyakshan during his avatar.She  dropped this red coral in to the sea from where it was carried away by wind and  tide  through the mouth of its confluence to holy river of Ganga up to the banks of triveni sangamam where  sage Bharathwaj ,one of the saptharishi ashramam was located.The wives  of  Saptharishes except arunthithi, the remaining six devis  who were bathing on the holy river ganga took up this red coral to the sage ashramam and  performed ‘agnisuthi’ for purifying and sanctifying the red coral  which resulted in the emergence of  a  beautiful radiant   child that came out  from fire.

Since this  red colored child came out from  red coral, he got the name as “Chevvai”or “cheyon”or “Sevvai” meaning  as  Red for ‘Che” and opening or  mouth for “Vai”.The variants of word “Che” in tamil are many like  also as the red coral got emanated from Sri Bhumi devi turned out  later to be a radiant child,  he got the name as “Skandan” meaning as “ ejected out or ozzed out or jumped out or spilled out” or” dropped out ”.Similarly as the child got  emerged from agni, his name  became  “ agni bhau’  as  being the son of agni  and  as well as  “mangalan”  with the same meaning as ” agni”  that points to the words “mangala aarti” and “mangala jothi”. Since the child was glowing radiantly in red color once he came out from agni ,he got the name as “ angaragan” means “burning coal” or “ glowing ember” or ‘Thanal”in tamil.Further he got the name as “ Lohitanga” as red limbed child.As the child was the gift of mother ganga who carried away the red coral in the river water of holy ganga, he is  called as “gangaputra”. As the origination of chevvai was from sri bhumi devi through a red coral, he is called as “ Kujan”  or “Bhuman” meaning “ Ku” for  bhumi and “ jha” for  son as son of bhumi .Thus red coral became his gem making him to be known as “ pavalavai” in vaishnavite parlance. Therefore  chevvai is called as “ bhumi putra or ‘bhuman” by becoming the karaghan for earth. Since the child was very beautiful and young, he got the name as “ murugan” meaning as young and beautiful  besides with other names like  “bala kumaran”, “azhagan” and “pillai” in tamil. As the child was radiant red, he is also called as “ Senthil” meaning as “ red “ and  “formidable” besides as “ Rudhira”  meaning as “ bloody red “ as  chevvai is the karaghan for blood and red color. Since the child was nursed and nurtured by six devis of saptharishes except arunthithi,  he is called as “ Shunmugam” or “arumugam”( 6 faces) as the child saw first the faces of six foster mothers when he came out from agni. Later their husbands banished their wives due to their suspicion on their fidelity and chastity with agni dev on the birth of chevvai who hence got the name as “ Karthikeyan” pointing towards the name of cluster of six bright stars on a row in the sky  known as Pleiades or “ kritika” symbolizing the banished  six wives of saptarishies,the foster mothers of chevvai.Later his foster mothers entrusted the child to sage Bharatwaj muni who taught him sastras, Vedas and martial arts to became a young warrier.As chevvai  spent his early days in sage ashramam filled  with thicket of reeds and lotus ponds called in Sanskrit  as “ saravan or “sara+vanam “ meaning as sacred reeds near ponds in forest, he got the name as “ saravanan”. Since chevvai learned Vedas under the tutelage of sage bhartwaj muni ,a clad of Brahmin sage, his gothram became  bharatwaj and he got the name  as  “subramaniyam” meaning  for “ su” as good and “ bramaniyam” in one  word  as “good to Brahmins” as protector and also points out to “ one who bestows brahma Ghanam and ultimate wisdom (siddhi). In the Surya Namaskara Sthotra, the lines “Subramaniham”,describes Him as the source of all Vedas.So chevvai represent sama veda.Lord Krishna said in bhagvat gita “Among the Vedas, I am the sama veda “.Hence avani avittam either falls during aadi month or in avani on avittam ( mars) star of chevvai when Brahmins are changing their sacred threads on this day. Chevvai when grown up performed penance in the forest and got boon from lord brahma who accorded him the post of a graha as chief of deva sena in the celestial sky. Hence chevvai is always portrayed with a spear and mace. Therefore he is called as  “Velan” or “velayudhan” and “ dandayuthapani” as he is holding  spears (vel) and mace in his hands always.Since he got the post of chief of army of devas, he is called as ‘ “Deva senathipati” as war god.

As chevvai direction is south, he moved to the south direction by assuming the form of murugan when he taught to sage agasthiyar the language of tamil and imparted him with the knowledge of tamil grammer and manipralavam.Therefore murugan is called as“Tamil kadavul” in south as he is the lord of tamil language.Hence he is worshipped mostly by tamils. Since he was born out of five panchabhuthams like water, agni, land , wind and akasam(sky), his temples are located in  seashore, hills and in plains of tamil nadu.Although chevvai denotes hills, forests and caves,he is fond of  dwelling in caves.Hence he is called as “Guha”.Batu caves in malaysia is famous for cave murugan koil.Similarly Tirupparankundram and kundrakudi in tamil nadu are the cave temples while tIruchendur is on seashore.Chevvai denotes the  culture of Dravidian the word is derived from “drava”in Sanskrit pointing to “moving or fluid” which invariably gives the  meaning as wagabond. Agni direction is south.The movement of chevvai to his direction of  south by assuming the form of murugan  to the locations of mullai(forest),kurinchi  (hills) marudam (farmlands),neidal (sea coast) and palai  (barren)  itself is the testimony of his inclination towards Dravidian culture. Red is the color of south direction. Aaru(Six) padai veedukal means six army (padai) barracks (veedukal) for the military personnel to stay for fighting with enemies.Red fort in tamil is “sengkottai”the army barrack.Nearby town to Srivilliputtur is Rajapalayam which means as “fort” in tamil for ‘Pallayam”.“Sentamizh” gives the meaning for “sen” as “ red” prefixing to the word tamizh and also “semmozhi “ gives the meaning as  red “for “sem”the shortform of “Semmai” to  prefix for the language  of  chevvai whose  color is red. Similarly “mani pravalam” is a literary  style  used in medieval liturgical texts of south with mixture of Sanskrit and tamil or Malayalam  mostly used in vaishnavite religious literature. “Mani” means ruby and “pravalam” means “ pavalam” or coral”.it is a combination of ruby and red coral to denote this word. Ruby(mani) is the gem of Suyrian whose lord agni dev gave the deva basha Sanskrit, the  divine language  as agni dev,being the priest of devas in yagnas.  coral (pavalam) is the gem of  chevvai whose amsam murugan gave tamil mozhi.Both Sun and Mars colors are red and their adidevatha is agni bhagwan.Similarly their gems Ruby and corals are of red color.Hence both chevvai  and sun  take the credit for literary of “manipravalam”used in vaishnavite literatures.Manipravalam is also prevalent in Malayalam scriptures as it is part of dravidam. Srivilliputtur located in down south became the divine place by being the birth place of sri andal, an amsam of sri bhumi pirrati. Sri andals “ Thiruppavai “ and  “Nachiyar thirumozhi “ gave credit to tamil language which got elevated because of her tamil  pasurams due to the influence of chevvai. Thiruppavai pasurams are recited in all Vishnu temples every day in south india. Srivilliputtur is situated at the foot hills of ‘Senbhagathoopu’ points to the flower of chevvai “senbhagam”with meaning “sen”for red color and thoopu for garden.Lord Rangamannar as a king (mannar means king in tamil) rules this place with “sengkol” in his right hand,the karagham of which is denoted by chevvai as the word “seng” points to  the color of red  symbolizing  the  authority of  rulers similar to ‘Sengkathir” points to red sun. Sri vatapatrasayee perumal idol is portrayed with dark red color mouth in moolavar sannidhi as “sempalava vaai “to symbolize  this sthalam as chevvai matching azhwars pasurams who described lord emberumans sweet beautiful mouth as“செம்பவளவாயான்”given as below- 

செம்பவளம் இவர் வாயின் வண்னம்,தேவரிவரது உருவம் சொல்லில்

அம்பவளத் திரளேயும் ஓப்பர் அச்சோ ஓருவரழகியவா.

        - 9ஆம் பத்து- 2ஆம் திருவாயாமொழி- திருமங்கையாழ்வார்

 செங்கண்மால், செம்பவளவாயான், செங்கண்திருமுகத்து  are the words used by azhwars to denote  the redness of emperuman eye and mouth  for comparison   with sun and mars respectively.Murugan is said to be the ‘Tamil kadavul” as he was believed to bestow the knowledge of tamil grammer to sage agasthiyar.Therefore tamil is the language of “Chevvai” with “che” as red  prefixed and blended with its origin to be called as “செம்மொழி and செந்தமிழ், while other variants of red colour prefixed words  in tamil are  “செவ்வாய்,செவ்வாழை, செவ்வானம், செம்பருத்தி, செங்குருதி, செங்கோல், செம்பவளவாய், செம்மண்  as red color is linked with Srivilliputtur with its lord Rangamannar holding in his hand “செங்கோல்” (scepter) and with his red color mouth as ”செம்பவளவாயான்”. Tamil language got elevated after the avatar of Sri andal  and her foster father Sri periazhwar in Srivilliputtur who was the first one to render ‘Pillai tamizh”.Hence chevvai is closely connected to Tamil language and to this keshram which gave us the tamil  pasurams of Sri andal and sri periyazhwar. During adhyayana utsavam, emperuman is happy to hear  tamil pasurams of prabandham of azhwars which are recited both in the morning and evening each 10 days before and after vaikunda ekadesi.Thus chevvai influence is seen in glorifying tamil language. through  vaishnavam with Thiruppavai/pallandu sathumurai of andal and periazhwar recited everyday.       

                              

Sarvam sri krishnarpanam

!!OM NAMO NARAYANAYA!!

WHY SRIVILLIPUTTUR IS KNOWN AS ‘’CHEVVAI’ (MARS) PARIHARA STHALAM ? PART 6

Srimathe Ranga Ramanuja Mahadesikaya Namaha:

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

             ( by Dasan   Kudanthai Amudhan)        PART - 6

Chevvai is the karagha  for  drums, murasu, flags (kodi), Trithandam (holy stick) used by saints and sages apart from bracelet, makarakandi, kanganam, kavasam,kreetam, ,kappu,garuda kodi,flag mast,ceremonial mace rod used in governmental high authorities in civic services and its bearers with red brigade who symbolizes the sovereignty of high offices of judges, mayors, police,Collectors ect.Government symbol, scepter(sengkol),security stamps, Seals, shields, emblems, medals, bands, whip tied up to  the spear and swagger stick in the  hands of top officials of  law enforcing police and armed forces are under the influence and characteristics of chevvai. Service oriented governmental offices are under the influence of Sun while high authorities law enforcing agencies are governed by chevvai. Both sun and mars denotes the red color but the red cloth worn by saints and sages is under the influence of mars. Mars represent Red signals/ red cloth used as warning signals.All mangala vadhiyams (musical instruments) used in king courts, weddings and in temples are under the influences of mangalan (chevvai).

Aadi month and chevvai -Aadi pooram  is celebrated in festive mood by women by offering Vallai kappu,the bangles to adorn the deities of Sri andal and goddess amman.On  the days  of aadi chevvai, aadi Fridays and aadi amavasya, mother goddess sakthi is worshipped in all amman temples by women with some devotees walking barefoot on the bed of burning coal, offering porridge of Koozh and neem leaves to get the blessings to be free from the attack of infectional  diseases like small pox, malaria, typhoid, yellow fever ect which are under the influence of mars.On the last friday of sukla paksha day  in aadi month, Varalakshmi vrata is celebrated by all women to pray for their family well beings. Similarly men worship god murugan on the day of aadi kritika by girivalam going around the hill shrines besides some devotees taking Kavadis by piercing their skin, tongue and cheeks with Vel,the spears. Apart from the worship of goddess mother and murugan, worship of serpents on aadivelli is important for women as they pray to naga idols located below the banyan trees by offering milk to snakes that dwells in termite anthills below the banyan trees . Walking barefoot on fire bed to fulfill the vows by devotees  during aadi month is due to the influence of angaraka (mars)  the meaning of which is  burningcoal (ember).

Hence aadi month is closely connected to chevvai since it involves the importance given to the worship of goddess  mother sakthi ,murugan, amman, serpents and banyan trees by saivites in stringent acts of prarthanas  as mentioned above which indicate the karagathvam of chevvai. Since mars is bullish in nature, the fighting spirit of this graha has influences with its animals. Bulls fighting’s are very famous in Europe with a red brigade worn fighter holding red cloth and a spear in their hands to kill it. In our villages, one can commonly see the betting of money on cocks fighting and goats fighting apart from ‘jalikattu”the taming of fierce bulls in the towns of southern tamilnadu  which often results in injuries or costing the life of young fighters.Goats , bulls and cocks are the animal and bird of Mars.Cock (seval)  or Red rooster is the logo on the flag of murugan, the god of war,the divine amsam of chevvai.Goat is the vahana of agni and agni putra the later name refers to both chevvai and his amsam aarumukan (shanmuka). Devotees in villages often give sacrifices of live cocks and goats  to amman temples during the month of aadi as such sacrifices are associated with chevvai. Hence he is  called as ‘’kurura’or ‘Vakra’ as mars is the karagha for blood and its spilling in earth.

 Chevvai is also known as ’Mangalan’.So Tuesday is called as ‘mangalvar’.The festival  of aadipooram, the avatar day of Sri andal  is  mostly celebrated by srivaishavites in all Vishnu temples. All the auspicious products used by women  in poojas and marriages are considered to be under the karagathvam of chevvai.  Bangles, bracelets, mettis (toe ring)  worn by women are associated with chevvai due to its nature “muruku” an intersecting circles made up of metal as it symbolizes an enclosed circle for protection for them.Atharvana vedic hymn addresses pari hasta bracelet around the arm as it is normally associated with pregnancy to protect mother and baby from the attack of demons.Valai kappu,the ceremonial function for the expectant mother in the 7^th month of first pregnancy is performed traditionally as a protective amulet against evil spirits/ evil eyes and also to give divine vibration. Wearing of nose and ear studs are due to the influence of chevvai as it involves the piercing of skin by needle to make holes before wearing.Similarly applying of red kumkum,red sindoori or red tilak  vermillion on forehead and wearing of manglasutra,the divine sacred thread for married women are associated with mangalan ( chevvai ). In the earlier days women used to assemble red corals in mangasutras  to appease  chevvai for long life for their husbands well beings.

Chevvai is also connected to the festivals of  Rakhi poornima or Raksha bandhan which is celebrated in north india on the day coinciding with avani avittam day celebrated in south india. Rakhi or Raksha ,an amulet to protect the brothers from the evil is tied up by sisters on  wrist of brothers for their long life and  well being to strengthen the bondage of love among the siblings, the symbolic of chevvai karagathvam of brothers and sisters. Similarly Avani avittam (chevvai star) also called as upakarma is important for Brahmins to change their sacred thread to re-dedicate themselves to vedic karmas in order to renew their pledges to keep up their vedic duties as per the sastras in Vedas. This falls on the day of full moon on shravna star either in aadi or on avittam star in avani month. Chevvai has influence in above  vedic ritual celebrated either in aadi month or in avittam star both of  which are connected to mars. Chevvai denotes the enforcing agencies of government to implement its laws on its citizens. Similarly the doctrine of vedic sastras are carried out and practiced by Brahmins who are the guardians of Vedas to perform the vedic rituals for uplifting dharma in our karmic bhumi.Chevvai amsam of Subrahmaniyam gives the meaning of ‘Su’ for good and ‘brahminyam’ as the protector of Brahmins as well as the one who bestow wisdom to  realize the brahma Gnanam. Hence chevvai signify this function.Therefore all rituals of  wearing  kappu, kanganam,sacred threads and mangalasutra  are governed by chevvai. Since chevvai learned Vedas and sastras under sage bharatwaj his foster father, he gained control over the strict adherence of vedic rituals, vratas and sainthood. Saffron  cloth of orange color  have both chevvai and Jupiter influences since saffron orange is formed out  by combination of red and yellow color represented by mars and Jupiter respectively.

Aadi and Sri andal-

Kannadi or mirror is called in tamil as ‘Aadi’ which is considered to be one of the auspicious items  used in hindu tradition from marriages to navaratri and also in temples.”Aadi’ is the avatar month of Sri andal.The mirror captures the true images of anyone and can show even a big mountain within its small frame if placed at a distance.The discount prices offered in shops during aadi month are supposed to reflect the true cost prices of any product. ‘Thatooli “an ancient tamil sangam word as mentioned in 20th pasuram of thiruppavai refers to  ‘Aadi” or ‘kannadi” which  Sri andal used  to see the divine image of her beauty  after wearing the garlands meant for perumal  before the same being adorned to sri vatapatraSayee of srivilliputtur.Hence there is a kinnaru (well)  inside the koil known as ‘’kannadi kinnaru’ (mirror well) where relection of image in its clear water helped sri andal  to use this Well as mirror to see herself for rehearsals..In her sannadhi one can also see a polished brass plate which is  being used as a mirror meant for the idol of Sri andal as a symbolic mark of re-enacting the above puranic episode everyday. During the nights of 10 days adipooram festivals and also on kalyanaotsavam day, Sri andal with Sri rangamannar will grace the devotees from ‘Kannadi aari“ or kannadi thirumaligai (mirror room) surrounded by big multiple  mirrors which reflect their divine images all around the area. Hence ‘Aadi’ is synonym with Srivilliputtur and has its connection with chevvai due to its being one of the auspicious items.Seeing the kannadi (mirror) at the first sight when we get up in the early morning  is auspicious. Aadi pooram festival where sri andal gives darshan in kannadi aari or aadi thirumaligai and  kannadi sevai in golden pallaku (palanquin ) have connotation with  mangalan (chevvai). Aranmula (kerala) metal mirror, a traditionally made kannadi of metal ( brass and tin alloys and not the usual glass panel seen by us ) is very famous for metal mirrors used in most of the  vaishnavites temples. Similarly murugan, an amsam of chevvai is known for  mirror festivals in his temples particularly on the day of soorasamharam at Thiruchendur where abhishekam will be done for the mirror image of murugan reflected on the mirror known as ‘chaayabhishakam’ for his image reflection in the mirror for cooling down the victorious murugan as tradition believes he enjoys seeing his mirror abhishekam. This shows that chevvai  has influence on the temple of Sri andal  on her close connections with mirror in all  respects  and  its  rituals performed every day with mirror.   

INFLUENCE OF CHEVVAI (MARS) ON  SRIVILLIPUTTUR-

1) Srivilliputtur is also called as “Nachiyar thirumaligai” as this temple encompasses the birth place of Sri andal and her house where she lived with her foster father Periazhwar.The original temple that houses periya perumal Sri vatapatrasayee  existed more  than 1000 years even before the period of Sri periazhwar.This is the divyadesa koil about which azhwars rendered two pasurams.The andal temple is a  separate entity built much later by her foster father periyazhvar within the same complex encircling both the temples together along with a nadavanam in between where sri andal was found out as a child by periazhwar.Chevvai being the bhumi karaghan denoting houses, lands, properities of ancestors, place of birth ect which  are signified in the name of this kshetram as  “Nachiyar thirumaligai’ ( house of Sri andal)  since her house and place of birth itself became the temple in her name as mentioned above.

2) Srivilliputtur has two tallest towers nearby to each other.One is the rajagopuram of  temple with 11 tiers at a height of  196 feet having had earlier the  status of being the tallest tower amongst all divyadesams  before the completion of rajagopuram in Srirangam.Another is the majestic chariot of Sri andal adipooram car (ther) with its intricate woodworks.Chevvai denotes towers, forts, sky scrapers, tall buildings ect.This rajagopuram is the  state emblem of tamilnadu government.Chevvai denotes high authorities, government symbols, emblems, logos, flags, seals and stamps ect.The tall tower of Srivilliputtur temple as an emblem of our state government has the influence of Chevvai by figuring this koil gopuram image in all our essential documents like driving licences,properties documents and marriage registration certificates of tamilnadu ect which all come under the  karagathvam of chevvai governing south,the direction of mars.

3) Chevvai represents the avatar of sri Nrisimha.His sannadhi  is  prominently located on the ground floor at the entrance of the temple that leads to the first floor where the main sannidhi of Sri Vatapatrasayee is there. Hence all devotees after entering the temple invariably have to worship Sri Laksmi Nrisimha perumal first before going to the main sannidhi of Sri vatapatrasayee on the first floor where one can see  just outside the sanctum sanctorium, a rectangular hall known as ‘gopala vilasam’ with many wooden carvings on the roof containing the scenes from  puranic epics such as slaying of hiranyakasipu by Sri NrIsimha murthi and Sri andal in palanquin ect. Similarly Sri rangamannar idol is portrayed with a spear of chariot in his hand under pearl umbrella  along with the idols of  Sri andal and sri garudan in his sannidhi. Scepter, Swagger stick, seals, Shields, emblems, medals, bands and whip tied up to  the spear used by the charioteer ect  come under the influence of mars as chevvai denotes charioteer or drivers. Chevvai is derived from “chev” meaning red color and “vaai” means opening in tamil.Sri andal mentioned in nachiyar thirumozhi pasuram as  ”திருப்பவளச் செவ்வாய்”.The idol of Sri Vatapatrasayee is not made up of typical black  stone  like in other temples but by brick and mortar”sudhai” with his dark red lips ”பவளவாய்” to symbolize the influence of “செவ்வாய்” with this lord. Hence there is no thirumanjanam for the lord daily. Padma purana and brahma vaivarta puranas traces the origin of chevvai  from red coral that was dropped by Sri bhumi piratti during  Sri varaha avatar to signify this in this varaha kshetram. 

4) Srivilliputtur has got factories for manufacturing of safety matches and crackers due to the influence of  nearby sivakasi, the hub of fireworks in our country on account of its closer proximity to this town.There are many villages around srivilliputtur where manufacturing of match boxes are done as cottage industries by the village people mostly agriculturists taking up this profession during the period of draught and their spare timings. Chevvai denotes fireworks like crackers, match boxes, explosives, and  fire related chemicals.Hence many fire accidents in crackers units take place in this belt due to the influence of chevvai which ignites the fire.The word“ignite  in English is derived from ‘Agni”in Sanskrit.

5) Vrindavan is known for its tasty butter and sweet Lassi produced by churning the milk. Srivilliputtur is famous for ‘palkova’ produced from milk by heating and constantly stirring up in a big pan to make in solid form with optimum heat produced from fire chamber fuelled by spent cashew outer shells for its steady heat.10 litres of milk and 1.5 kgs of sugar  will yield 3 kgs of milk kova by heating with  stirring constantly for one hour.There are more than 100 home based small producers of palkova in and around  Sri andal temple engaged in production constantly  boiling the milk  by fire thereby producing heat everyday since palkova produced from srivillputtur is marketed throughout south india due to its tasty and delicious sweetness on account of availability of high quality milk in this forest region due to its proximity to western ghats. Chevvai is known for heat, fire, fire chamber,hotness,boiling ect signfy in the production of palgova here. Mars is  known as ‘Ankaragan (“ember”- burning coal ) known in  tamil meaning  as“தணல்” influence is felt here on account of above.This kshetram is also known for many gold smiths shops where they use fire embers for melting gold to make ornaments. Hence  the name  of Ankaragan will suit this place well.

6) This town is known for cluster of units located from srivillputtur to Rajapalayam road for producing many cotton products used in hospitals like surgical cotton, bandage dressing cotton, sterile gauze ect since cotton is cultivated in this region due to its loamy black soil. Surgical cotton and bandage dressings are applied on injuries, wounds and bruises caused by accidents. Similarly due to the availability of gypsum from salt pans of nearby east coastal areas ,many production units for manufacturing of plaster of Paris are located in the same belt of srivillputtur-rajapalayam road. Plaster of paris is applied for plastering of interior and exteriors of buildings, statue making, false ceiling ect due to its binding properties. The other important usage of POP is restoring of broken bones by binding fractures occurred in accidents.Chevvai signify the causes of accidents, bleeding of blood, Wounds,injuries,fractures,surgery  as he is the karagha for blood.chevvai is also the karagha for building materials since he denotes buildings constructions. So Chevvai  influence is felt here by the production of its related products in this belt. 

7) There are 10 judicial courts in srivillputtur alone unusually with many sections and judicial magistrates courts including the main district court  even though this town is not the head quarters as srivilliputtur is coming under the virudhunagar district H Q. The functioning of district court in this town  has been there for many years since very long time, instead of being located usually in its district HQ.Hence all criminals and  court cases from all places of entire district  are brought daily by police for hearings to this town which has attracted more professional  activities of lawyers due to this reason. Chevvai denotes litigations, criminals, police cases ,lawyers profession and its influences are seen in this kshetram on account of this.

8) Chevvai denotes construction activities of buildings, pillars, structures, towers  bridges, forts besides its related technical problems, litigations, disasters, delays  associated with this. Srivilliputtur temple tower which developed cracks before 40 years ago had to undergo lethargic progress of government machinery and its slow action. It took nearly a decade before the actual work was started after repeated inauguration functions many times by various government officials until mid of 1980 with the change of hands by the undertaking of a mutt  to complete the renovation works. But this too had to fall out finally in favor of a governmental construction agency which was entrusted with the task of laying pile foundation and Rcc columns for tower. However after the collapse of scaffoldings raised by them due to heavy rain, a new renovation committee was formed under the head of an industrialist which took up this task of renovation works seriously and completed in 2000. Accordingly consecration of this temple took place after a long battle with official apathy over 40 years, having witnessed the disaster, technical problems, litigations and delays which are associated with Chevvai in construction activities .Similarly chevvai signify fire and fire accidents. History says that original temple car (ther) was partially damaged in a big fire accident before 200 years ago and had to be dismantled. The present wooden roof or canopy in the rectangular hall “gopala vilasam” before the sanctum sanctorum of periya perumal was built up with the remains of carved wooden structures of fire damaged car.The present car was donated  to the temple before 150 years ago by a mutt.Above shows the influence of mars in this koil felt   on technical problems,long  delay and legal issues in construction  works.

9) Chevvai is  known  as mangal and agnibhu-fire born due to his origin from agni when a red coral dropped by Sri bhumi devi during varaha avatar was subjected to ‘agnisuthi’ by six devis of saptharishes for purifying it that led to the birth of beautiful child in red color called as ‘Lohitanga’ (red limbed body).Hence chevvai is called as “Bala kumaran” and “Shunmukan” (Arumukam) due to the nurture of child by six mothers. Chevvai is believed to have assumed to be in the form of fire to take the amsam of “Veerabhadran “ when the ball of  fire  out of anger was emanated from the third eye of Shiva to destroy the yogna of dakshan. Veerabadhran in Sanskrit is known as “brave” for veera and “mangalam” for badhran. Srivilliputtur temple has a dozen of massive monolithic pillars with exquisite images in its dwajasthamba mantapam of sri andal temple in which one can find the images of “Nruddhamuka  Veerabhadran” in southern side and ‘Oordhavamuka Veerabhadran’ image on the northern side of mantapam.

Similarly chevvai denotes  builders, sculptors, charioteer-drivers of vahana which are exhibited in the flagstaff  mantapam of sri andal temple in the form of big pillars with the images of Viswakarama or mayan ,the divine sculptor born in chittrai star ( mars ) with the hammer in his right hand and chisel in his left hand besides  the image of Sathyaki, the charioteer and brother of lord Krishna. Apart  from this, a beautiful image of Sakthi devi ( wife of chevvai ) and  warriors like Karna, Guha ect are  found in Ekadasi mantapam.Mars denotes forest area. Shenbagathoopu, (known for shenbagam, the flowers of chevvai), the reserved forest situated at the foothills of Srivilliputtur just 8 kms from the temple is on eastern slopes  of western ghats  in contiguous with the forests of periyar tiger reserve in south west side and megamalai forest in north west direction covering steep peaks like sathuragiri hills with wide range of fauna and flora of many endangered species and animals.The above facts itself  testimony that this kshetram has the influence of chevvai in many respects.  

Sarvam sri krishnarpanam

!!OM NAMO NARAYANAYA!!

WHY SRIVILLIPUTTUR IS KNOWN AS ‘’CHEVVAI’ (MARS) PARIHARA STHALAM ? PART 5

 Srimathe Ranga  Ramanuja Mahadesikaya Namaha:

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

             ( by Dasan   Kudanthai Amudhan)        PART - 5

Contd from last issue

 We had seen in our last issue about the connection of tamil suffix of affectionate word “pillai” pointing to the child with reference to parrots, Squirrels, mongoose and coconut trees as “killi pillai,”Anil pillai”,”keeri pillai and “Thennai pillai”, and their relative connections to this kshetram with regard to chevvai. Periazhwar was the first azhwar who adopted the literary genre in tamil known as “pillai tamizh” in which the devotee looks upon the almighty as a child. Periazhwar had shown his motherly concern for the lord and rendered pallandu for  long life to him like he blessed his child. Periazhwar visualised  and enjoyed  the thoughts of sri Krishna”s early childhood period and rendered many pasurams in his thirumozhi.This lucid verses in his hymns are called as “pillai tamizh”. Sri periyazhwar found the girl child in his garden under a tulasi plant and carried home to give his wife as they were childless till then.They named her as “kothai” and showered their affection on this child which is indicated in a vazhi tamil pasuram as “பெரியாழ்வார் பெற்றெடுத்த பெண் பிள்ளை வாழியே”.

Chevvai is called as “சேய்’ (child).The suffix “pillai”in tamil denoting the child is added  for a variety of words to indicate the “youngness of the species”  not resticted only to the  child. Hence it is used as ‘killi pillai,anil pillai,kiri pillai,Thennam pillai, pillai tamizh and pen pillai which are all invariably connected to srivilliputtur one way or other.A Parrot in Sri  andals left hand, squirrels sanctuary in srivillputtur and mongosse in senbagathoopu forest here indicate the above connections.The era of pioneering  pillai thamizh in pasurams was first started by periazhwar.The  gift of mother earth as pen pillai (girl child) to him is due to the divine grace of lord for his devotion and  dedication  to vatapatrasayee.Lord bala Krishna as a child (pillai or bala ) was resting during the pralayam  on a banyan leaf as ‘vatapatrasayee’ .

 

The suffix pillai is added in tamil not only to indicate the youngness but also attested as an appellation for affectionate child. Sri ramanujar went to king palace of mughal sultan in  Delhi to recover the utchava idol of Ramapriyan and found out the same in  possession of Sultan”s daughter who refused to part with the idol. Then Sri ramanujar called him as ‘’Varraai Enthan Selva pillai” which prompted the divine idol jump in to the hands of Sri ramanujar with joy.This is the idol known as sampath kumaran in the sannidhi of thirunarayanapuram where diamond crown is adorned for the lord yearly once. Similarly when Sri ramanujar was discoursing to his sishyas, he asked if any one could go to tirumala to render puspha kainkaryam to thiruvenkatamudiyan.None dared to express willingness to go over to tirumala during those days due to their fear of its coldness, inhabitation of wild animals and inaccessible thick forest area of hills.Only anathazhwan stood up to show his readiness to render pushpa kainkaryam to the lord. Sri ramanujar affectionately called him as ‘Nee Aan pillai’.Aanathazhvan was born in bharthwaja gothram in chittrai star in chittra month in  975 sakha era of vijaya year, later known as Sri anathazhvan pillai  considered to be the amsam of ananthan,the great serpent.He was the achariyan for  Thiruvenkatamudiyan himself who later composed thaniyans for this achariyan.chevvai influence on  anathazhvan pillai can be seen with his birth star of chevvai (chittrai),month as chittrai(mesha) and his gothram(bharthwaj) and his amsam of serpent and dedication to serve the lord without any fear in the forest hills of  tirumala before 1000 years.Many achariyans who were gifted with spiritual knowledge were due to the influence of Chevvai and most of them carry a suffix of pillai along with their name.To name some of them were Periyacchan pillai, Nam pillai, Pillai lokacharyar,Vadakku thiruveethi pillai, Thiruvaimozhi pillai, Thirukurugai piran pillai, Pillai uranga vili dasar and pillai perumal iyyengar ect. Kumara varadacharyar,son of Sri vedantha desikan rendered tamil work known as “Pillai anthathi” a beautiful  20 verses in praise of swami desikan by bringing out the divine qualities of his father achariyan. Chevvai is known for giving spiritual knowledge and enlightment and make one as an achariyar and saints and sages.The red cloth of mars worn by achariyars is  only due to the influence of this red planet.

 Similarly the saivites name their children as ‘velu pillai’ or ‘muruga Pillai’ after their affectionate god murugan who is the amsam of chevvai. Murugan is also called as “Bala Kumaran”,bala murugan and“Bala subramaniyan“. The presiding deity of lord subramaniyan in vaitheeswaran koil,the  kshetram of chevvai for saivites is known as “selva muthu kumaraswami’ on whose name the poetic text works“ Muthu kumaraswamy pillai thamizh” was written by a saivite scholar kumaragurubaraswami.This koil was believed to have been visited by jatayu and sambathi, the birds of eagle brothers in whose name there is a tank known as “jatayu kund” existing near the temple.Eagle birds are denoted by both sun and mars.The eagle symbol is used in most of the national flags of developed countries like America and germany ect.

சகோதரகாரகன் செவ்வாய் (brotherhood) and Srivilliputtur koil-

Chevvai  represents  siblings  as he is the karagha for the 3rd sign in vedic horoscope chart which denotes brothers,sisters and courage ect. Chevvai is called as “குருதி, as it indicates the blood and blood connected relationships mainly that of siblings like brothers and sisters.Srivilliputtur has three such connections of brotherhood as given below-

a) Villi and Kandhan, were the brothers born to queen malli of vallanadu who ruled this small kingdom.They were hunters and used to go on hunting missions together daily  to the nearby forest shenbaga thoopu.One day in an hunting adventure,kandan lost his life as he was killed by a tiger.This resulted in Villi to realize the divinity and sanctity of this forest by the grace of lord before he retrieved the idol of Vatapathrasayee underneath the shrubs and anthills in this forest as ordered by supreme lord.The name of this kshetram and temple owed to the sacrifices of these two brothers whose small images are portrayed in pious posture together praying before the lord Vatapatrasayee in moolavar sannidhi.

b) Sri Ramanujar and Sri andal- The episode exhibiting the incident of brother-sister relationship between them is very interesting here.Sri andal rendered in her nachiyar thirumozhi a pasuram  dedicated to the lord of thirumaliurmchoolai offering him  100 tadas of akaara adisal and butter each, if her desire to marry lord ranganathar would be fulfilled. But she could not keep up her promise since she got merged with lord ranganathar. However when sri ramanujar went to thirumaliumchoolai, after many hundreds of years past this incident, he fulfilled the promise of sri andal as per her pasuram by submitting  100 vessels of  akaara adisil  to the lord kallazhgar. Subsequently when Sri ramanujar went to Srivilliputtur, Sri andal forgetting her archameni rupam,came out of sanctum in joy and cordially invited  sri ramanujar affectionately by calling him as ‘En annave!”(my elder brother). It is believed that sri andal came out of sanctum by 16 steps outside to artha mandapam and stayed permanently here. Hence Sri andal stayed along with sri rangamannar and garudan as utsava murthis in the outer artha mandapam just before the sanctum sanctorium where all the three moolavar idols are together in the same platform.To remind the brother-sister relationship between sri ramanujar and sri andal,even now on panguni uttram day of sri andals marriage, her brothers seer (presentations) are sent from koil annan thirumaligai. Hence Sri baghwad ramanujar is called as “koil annan” and also as “Thiruppavai jeer” to show his brotherly relationship with sri andal piratti.To signify this, although sri ramanujar avatar took place many thousands of years later to the period of sri andal, his status as brother is denoted in Sri andals  thaniyan as“ பெரும்பூதூர்  மாமுனிக்குப் பின்னானாள் வாழியே”.

c) Garudan and adiseshan –Both are siblings. They were born  to the sisters Vinatha and Kadhru the twin wifes of  Sage Kashya parjapathi.This sage is father to Arunan and garudan, the eagle birds born to Vinatha, his first wife and 1000 serpents including adiseshan,vasuki and other nagas born to his scond wife kadhru.Due to the feud between the sisters -wifes of sage ,their offsprings became enemies to each other.However garudan adorns serpents as his aparanas due to his brotherly relationship. Garuda wears adisesha  and kuligan as bangles  on his left  and right wrists,Vasuki as his sacred thread while Dakshan as a  rope in his hip. Garudan wears ‘padhman’ and ‘maha padhman’ as Studs in his right and left ears while ‘Karkodagan’ is worn by him as a ‘malai” in his chest and ‘sankapalan”as a jewel in his hair.Garudan always stands just in front of lord Vishnu as his vahana while adiseshan is very much in close association with lord since he assumes as a paduka or as a bed or as a pedestal or as a simhasana or as an umbrella to lord Vishnu.In this kshetram adiseshan became a banyan  leaf to bala Krishna during the time of pralayam. poigaiazhvar mentioned in his pasuram as  

                     ‘சென்றால் குடையாம், இருந்தால் சிங்காதனமாம்,

                  நின்றால் மரவடியாம், நீள்கடலுள் – என்றும்

                  புணையாம், மணிவிளக்காம், பூம்பட்டாம், புல்கும்

                 அணையாகம் திருமாற்கு அரவு’-

Above  pasuram gives invariably an impression  that if a tiny leaf of banyan tree becomes the serpent adiseshan as  bed to  bala Krishna  which gave him the name as “vatapatrasayee in this kshetram , the big pedestal where  lord rangamanar and Sri andal stand  together with garudan is none but  adiseshan itself who holds them together since it is believed that adiseshan holds the  earth on its 1000 heads. Sri andal being the amsam of bhumi piratti and garudan being the elder brother of adiseshan, their connection is understood from above since  garudan has been accorded equal status with the lord in this Kshetram.

                                    

As this kshetram is named after ‘Villi’, besides offering equal status to garudazhwar with the lord in same pedestal in andal sannidhi and also by calling Sri Ramanujar with the title as ‘koil annan” on account of the above mentioned episode , this temple is connected closely with the brotherhood, the karagha of which is denoted by chevvai.

Periazhvar known as“Vishnu chittar” was the fifth son of a devout brahmin parents Mukuntha bhattar and padmavathi ammavaru.He was born in krothna year of tamil almanac in Aani masam on a Sunday falling Sukla paksha Ekadesi thithi in swathi  star at Srivilliputtur.From the early age,he was  engaged in pushpa  kainkaryam by plucking variety of flowers and tulasi leaves to make garlands for daily worship to the lord.One day when king of Madurai vallbhadevan came in disguise to srivilliputtur on his daily nocturnal rounds in the night,he came across a Brahmin sleeping at the front porch of a house.After enquiring his welfare,the king asked him to impart him with some worthy philosophy since this Brahmin just returned from holy pilgrimage. This person then recited a poem which struck the mind of king over his parting shot, wondering as to how one could realize the ultimate reality and get moksha.He asked his minister selvanambi to call upon all scholars and philosophers of various faiths in his country for a contest which will enlighten him and determine the ultimate truth for showing the path to moksha.

Accordingly the prize money of valuable jewels in a casket tied up on top of a long vertical pole was installed in the court of kings palace at Madurai. For many days, scholars from all faiths tried in vain to win over the prize money and returned unsuccessfully. One day the lord appeared in the dream of Vishnuchittar and ordered him to attend the kings court and establish his supremacy to claim the reward. As per the directive of perumal, vishnuchittar went to kings palace and proceeded to talk on ‘Sriman narayanan” as the ultimate reality. The words started flowing as a torrent as he went on quoting the Vedas,the Upanishads and the puranas.The entire assembly of scholars including the king and selvanambi were thrilled to the core by his conviction in his faith and were astounded to see the casket of prize fall on its own accord in to vishnuchittars palms.The trumpets were sounded, the conches blew. The king conferred on him with the title ‘Bhattar piran’.That evening king took vishnuchitta on a ceremonial parade around the city on his elephant.Sriman narayanan delighted to see the honors being showered on vishnuchttiar, appeared in the sky on his garuda vahana with his consorts.Vishnuchittar was happy to see this sight and at the same time was worried. Beholding the lords supernatural splendor, vishnuchittar out of concern offered benediction to the lord in verses of hymn“ pallandu” lest someone would cast an evil eye on him.

Vishnuchitta thus became as  ‘periyazhvar’ later on following reasons -

A.    He renderded the immortal Thirupallandu hymn to the lord by blessing him with verses “pallandu “ for long life to emperuman himself.

B.     He got the name as ‘periyazhvar’ because  he became the father-in-law for the periya perumal Sri Ranganathar.

C.     Since he was born as an amsam of ‘Peirya thiruvadi“, he got the name as ‘periyazhvar”.

D.    swami desikan view was that Vishnuchitta came to be known as“periazhwar” because the lord liked very much the garlands tried and worn first by andal herself. vishnuchitta was instrumental in bringing that garlands unknowingly to adorn the lord. Hence he got this name.

Influence of Chevvai on Vishnuchittar–chevvai denotes drive, motivation,courage,spirit, inspiration,initiative ect. Mars also gives success in debates, competitions, contests,   conferences and arguments besides ruling over the purse of prize money.Vishnuchitta had never read any Vedas or Upanishads or puranas nor having had any idea about sastras.He set up a garden for growing flowers near the temple of vatapatrasayee and was engaged in puspha kainkaryam.How come he was able to deliver such a scholarly talk in the midst of assembly of various scholars in kings court to establish the  para thathvam,the ultimate reality.VishnuChitta was one among  the five sons of  a pious Brahmin family who are all totally devoted to render kainkaryam only to Sri Vatapatrasayee temple. Hence Vishnuchittar never went out of Srivilliputtur as his family was known as “அஞ்சு குடி” implies as a member of five and also the one who is afraid to move or to do any work other than the kainkaryam for lord vatapatrasayee .How come he dared to step out of Srivillputtur to Madurai for participating in the contest at kings court. It was due to the influence of Chevvai, who triggered the fire in his mind to achieve the goal set by the supreme lord. Periyazhvar on his return to srivilliputtur used the entire prize money won for renovating the prakara walls,the mantapas and sannidhis for vatapatrasayee temple.Hence he was the first trustee of this koil.The prize money won in  competitions or in contests or in debates or in any game or in fighting is due to the influence of mars which signified  the episode of Periyazhvar as given above.

             Srivilliputtur Vimanam -

Srivilliputtur vimanam is called as ‘’vimala krithi’ which means  ‘’ pure creation ‘ as  the word ‘vimala’ denotes ‘pure ‘ and ‘ krithi’ means ‘’classical form of musical composition‘ or‘the creation‘ generally used to mention the work of art or literature invariably  pointing in this context to sri andals thiruppavai created by her in this kshetram.The vimana is also called as ‘’samsana vimana’. There are many variants in this word like ‘’sama + asana” with the meaning of equal position since ‘’sama’ points to equal and ‘ asana’ is referred to the “seat or position”.Indeed to testimony,this temple is credited with the equal status given by the lord to his vahana garudan  who  stands together with emperuman and Sri andal in the same platform.

On the other hand, “samsana”  has got another variant like ,‘sama’ meaning ‘melody or sweet hymn’ as sama veda is denoted, while ‘sana’ is pointed out to ‘praise of god’ which means  sweet hymn in praise of god.This word also refers to Sri andals thiruppavai.Chevvai represent Sama veda. Thirdly the word ‘sama +sana’ also gives the  meaning of ‘equal + radiance’ as ‘Sana’ or “sanam” also gives meaning as ‘radiance’.This points out that thiruppavai is considered to be giving  equal radiance or brillance like Vedas as a beacon to the people in kali yuga.Therefore Sri andals thiruppavai pasurams are glorified as ‘’வேதம் அனைத்துக்கும் வித்தாகும்- கோதை தமிழ்.

Radiance or brilliance is denoted by chevvai  who was born with radiance of red color similar to the red color of Sun.Samsana in one word invariably gives another meaning as ‘’To extinguish ‘or‘’to burn ‘the sins of all jeevathmas to get rid of ocean of samsara, the birth and rebirth cycles.Mars planet has many volcanoes which erupt the fires  often but it has  carbon-di-oxide 95% in the atmosphere which extinguish the fire .In this temple, Sri andal is in Eka simhasana with Sri Rangamannar in the middle and garudan on the left as a‘’pranava roopam’.Sri Rangammanar represent‘Akaram’,Sri andal represent “ukaram’ and garudan  represent’ Makaram”. Therefore  Srivilliputtur is known as ‘Pranava kshetram’ with emperuman as ‘eswara’,Sri andal stands for ‘chit’ and garudan signify ‘achit’.

Tulsi plant ( Holy basil ) –This plant known as Vishnu priya or Hari priya is the repellant of mosquitoes,  poisonous snakes ,reptiles and insects. Tulsi leaves and its juice are taken to bring down fever, as cough syrup and in reliving cold, flu, asthma ect. It is the best digestive agent and for curing leprosy. Wherever tulsi plant is there, it keeps away the inflectional diseases like smallpox, malaria ,typhoid,the diseases normally  governed by chevvai.Tulsi leaves are good for blood purifying and its seeds are worn  as ‘malai” (chain)  to control abnormal heart beat and blood pressure,the karagathvam of chevvai. Besides above, tulsi leaves are  good for  controlling  piles and respiratory problems. Wherever tulsi plant is grown, that place will be free from misery and sorrow. There are two types of tulsi plants  one as Krishna tulsi in purple color of blackish leaves and another as lakshmi or rama tulsi in green color leaves grown in india. Sri andal took avatar just below the plant of tulsi as the amsam of Sri bhumi devi. The origin of tulsi ( brinda or vrinda in sanskrit) plant  is given  below in nutshell.

TULSI DEVI -Tulsi plant is believed to be the incarnation of vrinda, the daughter of asura kalanemi and virtuous wife of jalandhar. According to the legend when indra  out of his ego  angered shiva  in the presence of brahaspati, shiva got angry and opened his third eye from which fire balls emanated and started chasing indra. Brahaspati prayed to shiva for sparing the life of indra. Accordingly shiva ensured that fire balls chasing  indra  was cast in to the salty ocean from which an asura came out. He got the name as “jalandhar” as he was born out of sea water and  adopted by Samudra rajan as his son thereby becoming the brother of goddess lakshmi. Jalandhar did long penance and got boon from Brahma that he would not be killed by anyone till the time his wife was in her chastity.Hence jalandhar drew his strength from his wife purity and chastity that enabled him to conquer the three worlds of devas and started troubling them true to his demonic nature. So firm was the chastity of his wife , jalandhar could not be defeated even by shiva .So shiva asked devas to surrender to lord vishnu who later disguised as her husband  jalandhar,went to vrinda devi during his absence and greeted her with hung.This  virtually made her lose chastity and purity maintained by her.Taking advantage of this, devas killed jalandhar. An enraged and deceived vrinda devi cursed lord vishnu to be the rolling stones for his stone hearted trick. Lord accepted this curse with pleasure and gave her boon that her body to be the river kandaki and her hair to be the tulsi plant which leaves he would wear as garland always.Thus Lord vishnu wears  garland of tulsi  thereby allowing Vrinda to curse him to become stones in which he would manifest himself as ‘Salagrama sila” in her body “Kandaki river”. Vrinda performed 1000 years austerity to get lord vishnu as her husband.    

Sarvam sri krishnarpanam

!!OM NAMO NARAYANAYA!!