Deivathin Kural Series - 151

Om Namah Sivaya.

Deivathin Kural # 151 of 11 Feb 2007.

1. These e-mails, are chapter wise translations of the lectures given by, Sri Chandra Sekharendra Swamigal, of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam. Every day, after the daily Puja, He used to talk, on various aspects concerning Hinduism. These are published, in Tamil, by Vanady Padippagam, T.Nagar, Chennai, as Deivathin Kural, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each.

2. To-day's talk is titled, 'Orrumaiai Unarthum Uththama Thalangal' that is, 'The Places Where Siva-Vishnu Integrity is Clearly Indicated', in pages 690 to 692, of Deivathin Kural, Volume 1.(This is the sixth successive e-mail, on the subject of Oneness of Siva-Vishnu.)

3. There are many places where, the Oneness of Siva and Vishnu is clearly indicated. In Thirunelveli, there is 'Sankara-Narayanar Koil'. Further west there is Harihara kshetra, where Hari and Hara, are depicted in one statue. In Kurralam, Agasthya has turned a statue of Vishnu in to a Siva Linga. These places are all, rather well known. Let me talk about a station, not well known. There is a small village, by the name of, 'Thirupparkkadal'. It is located on the Kanchipuram-Velur road, 20 miles from Kanchipuram.

4. It seems that in that place, there was no temple for Vishnu. Only Siva temples were there. One day a devotee of Vishnu visited that place. He had made a vow to fast every day, till having been to a Vishnu temple. At Thirupparkkadal, looking for 'Perumal's darshan', he went to each temple. Finally he was exhausted and disappointed, that there was only Siva in them all. He was very hungry. More than the hunger, he was very angry, that he could not have the 'darshan' of his favourite Vishnu!

5. At that moment, an old man came in front of him and asked him, "Hi. How about going in to that temple of Vishnu?" He replied angrily, "where is the Vishnu temple in this wretched place?" The old man said, "There, what you see is a Vishnu temple only." Only a few minutes previously, he had come out of that temple, in disgust. So this devotee of Vishnu was rather irritated, by this old man's pranks. He said, "Oh come on yar! Why are you bluffing? I have been there only a few minutes back. It is a temple for Siva!" In no time, this conversation became a heated argument, in which both the parties were accusing the other of lying, leading to a fisticuff. Soon there was a gathering of onlookers, who tried to pacify the situation.

6. "Why should either of you be fighting like this? Why not both of you go and see for yourself?", they said. The Vishnu devotee flatly refused to enter that temple. The old man was equally insistant that, he will be last one to accept defeat. He was acutely stung to the core, at being called a lier. He was ready to go to any court of law, to prove that it was a Vishnu temple only. So finally, all of them went inside the temple, and Lo! what do they see?

7. In truth, from a distance, it looked like a Siva Lingam. In the lower part of the statue, there was the, 'Brhma Peetam, then the Aavudiyar. Then instead of the Linga, there was Mahavishnu standing!' Above the Aavudiyar, in place of Linga was Vishnu! The Vishnu devotee was smitten with remorse, that he had misunderstood. He turned to the old man to apologise. The old man was not to be seen anywhere! Perumal, Himself had come as the old man!

8. If you go to Thirupparkkadal, even to day, we can see this. There is the Aavudiyar. Above that, in place of the normal Linga, we will see a standing Vishnu. This Kshetra symbolically reminds us that, Siva and Vishnu are not different. They are one and the same. The differentiation is not in their being; but for our understanding!

Sambhomahadeva.