Thus Spake the Divine - Maha Lakshmi’s Mercy on Mahans

Thus Spake the Divine

Maha Lakshmi’s Mercy on Mahans

In this and the next chapter, Poojyasri Periyava identifies the oneness of Para Shakti and Maha Lakshmi through the thought-provoking stories of Desika, Sri Vidyaranyar and Kampanna.

Maha Lakshmi, who rained Golden Gooseberries in Kaladi (the birth place of Acharya) in response to the prayer of Advaita Doctrine Founder, also showered Golden Rain in Kanchipuram for Vedanta Desika, the Acharya of Visishtadvaita Doctrine.

Vedanta Desika is a stalwart in Upanishads (the end part of Vedas), which briefly expound the philosophic principles and essence of Vedas. He received the title “Nigamantha Vedanta Desika”, which is almost a synonym of ultimate proficiency in Upanishads. He is also called “Sarva Tantra Swatantrar”, which means Master of All Arts.

Highly-respected people always have some enemies, whose only intention is to humiliate eminent personalities in some way or the other. It was the same in case of Vedanta Desika. A person titled as Sarva Tantra Swantantrar should be able to manage things on his own without taking any external support. The intention of his rivals is to disprove his title and expose his incapacity to the world. This is how those against Desika conspired.

They brought to him a dull-headed poor boy, who was struggling to get married. Who will give a girl in marriage to a person without any money or knowledge? The boy pleaded Desika for money, so that he could marry. Desika did not possess any wealth. Being Sarva Tantra Swantantrar, he also cannot take help from others to fulfil the poor boy’s request. (Though what I am saying may not have any connection to the topic under discussion, I am narrating it to establish that about 700 years ago, there was no custom of demanding dowry from the bride’s parents. Only the bridegroom had to spend for the wedding).

Being knowledgeable, Desika could easily identify the conspiracy of his rivals. Still, he was compassionate towards the boy who sought his grace. He immediately prayed to Goddess Maha Lakshmi with Shlokas composed by him under the title “Sri Sthuthi” (Sri means Lakshmi and Sthuthi means prayer). Gold Coins poured instantly, which he offered to the boy. This shows the truth that people of high reverence gain further glory even if somebody conspires to humiliate them. Likewise, Desika’s fame too increased.

While Advaita Acharya (Shankara) prayed to Goddess Lakshmi seeking Her grace on behalf of a poor woman, Visishtadvaita Acharya (Desika) prayed to Goddess Lakshmi on behalf of a person sent in by his rivals. Sri Vidyaranyar is another great soul who is a recipient of Goddess Maha Lakshmi’s benevolence. He is the one who wrote Bhashyams for all four Vedas. He has also written manuscripts on Astrology, Medicine, Dharma of Righteousness (that guides governance of a kingdom), Economics and Literature. His name is indicative of his extensive knowledge. Vidya means knowledge and Aranya means forest. Like how forests are full of different kinds of trees, plants and creepers, he possessed diverse expertise on different subjects.

The story I am going to now narrate may or may not be approved by historians, who, generally, do not subscribe to mysteries! However, we have been coming across several mysterious happenings beyond the perspective of science. During his childhood, Vidyaranyar went on a rigorous penance praying to Goddess Maha Lakshmi. Maha Lakshmi, pleased with his penance, appeared before him, but with a shocking statement.

She said, “You do not deserve to be blessed with wealth in this janma; this is your fate. Therefore, I will bless you in your next janma”. Saying this, She disappeared. Vidyaranyar came to be revered as the “Second Shankara” in the coming years. He deserved that status, as he had exhibited his genius. How did Acharya exhibit his genius? Let me tell you.

As per Dharma, it is mandatory for a person to obtain the consent of his mother before taking up Sanyasam. But the future Acharya’s mother refused to give her consent for his mission. You all know how astute Shankara was! When he went along with his mother to take bath in the river, he intentionally got caught by a crocodile in the river. When his mother panicked seeing this, Shankara said, “Mother! Do not panic! I am destined to be caught by a crocodile in this janma. If I take up Sanyasam, it will be equivalent to a new birth. Then, this fate will not hold me in the next janma. If you give your consent for my Sanyasam right now, the crocodile will leave me.” What can a mother do in such a paradoxical situation? Acharya acted smartly and got the approval of his mother tactically. He vowed to take Sanyasam and immediately the crocodile released him.

When Maha Lakshmi told Vidyaranyar that She will not bestow wealth on him in this birth, Vidyaranyar followed similar tactics. He immediately took up Sanyasam, whereby his next janma began. He said, Amma! Now bless me with wealth! She also kept up her promise and blessed him with Gold Rain! Now, Vidyaranyar was surrounded with Golden Treasure! But, now being a Sanyasi, he could not touch a bit of it! He became very much disappointed and upset! He thought he was smart, but he had duped his own self! He pleaded for wealth to alleviate his poverty. Now that he had become a Sanyasi, he owned nothing on his own despite receiving the Gold Rain. A Sanyasi is guided by the mandate that he should not touch money at all. He thus regretted that had he waited patiently he would have at least enjoyed wealth in the next birth.

Many of us too are like Vidyaranyar. We pray God to fulfil our unwarranted desires and repent later when facing repercussions of forcing God to act against His will. It is thus always wise to leave everything in our lives to God’s will. He knows the best about our needs. However, as Vidyaranyar had the foresight, he got out of his regret. He realised that the Goddess had on purpose played this game with him.

There is a period in history when Malik Kafur invaded the Southern parts of India. He ransacked the wealth and resources of kingdoms up to Rameshwaram. He destroyed many temples, which were very popular places of worship. He demolished our Dharma. At that point of time, no King was competent enough to fight against Malik Kafur for want of wealth and a strong army.

Vidyaranyar realised the state of affairs. He thought, “I have got abundant wealth now with the grace of Goddess. I am now capable of establishing a kingdom and fight this atrocity. I am also competent enough to run a kingdom. Therefore, combining my wealth and intellectual capability, let me establish a Hindu Empire, which will flourish through the defeat of invaders. His personal loss (not being able to use the wealth for his own use) turned to be a great benefit for the revival of Sanatana Hindu Dharma! Vidyaranyar was conversant with different streams of Shastras. He was brilliant in one Shastra known as Saguna Shastra (knowledge of omens which are natural indicators). With his expertise in indicators and predictions, he knew that it was the right time to form a great Sanatana Empire, which will benefit all. He also identified two persons to head the Empire after he came across two shepherd boys named Hariharan and Bukka. With this, Vidyaranyar laid the foundation for the Capital of the Kingdom on the banks of River Thungabhadra River and crowned Hariharan and Bukka as Kings.

This place is the Hampi of today. Even foreigners throng to visit Hampi and admire its historical sites. There is a mention of this place in Ramayana as Pamba Saras, which is a morphed form of Hampa. In Kannada language, the sound of ‘pa’ is pronounced as “ha’. That is why ‘pal’ (milk) in Tamil is ‘halu’ in Kannada.

Similarly, Pampa turned to Hampa. It is the grace and benevolence of Maha Lakshmi that led to establishment of the Sanatana Empire. Her wealth came of use to build a huge army, which fought against Muslim invaders. Here wealth also came to be utilised to build and run the kingdom subsequently formed. At the time of conceptualising the Empire, Vidyaranyar, with his vision of future, could predict a resounding victory. Accordingly, came up the name “Vijaya Nagara Empire”, which flourished and prospered for centuries.

Actually, Kings Harihara and Bukka, as mark of their respect towards Vidyaranyar, named the empire after his name as “Vidya Nagara Empire”, which gradually turned into Vijaya Nagara Empire. Presently, there is a Vijaya Nagaram near Visakapatnam. Many confuse this with the Vijaya Nagara Empire. Both are different. The one established by Vidyaranyar is located in Bellary, Karnataka. Harihara and Bukka ruled the kingdom as per the directives of Vidyaranyar and expanded its territories far and wide.

Vidyaranyar appointed Kampanna, a cousin of the Kings as the Army Lieutenant. Kampanna was instructed to travel and fight Muslim forces wherever found in Southern parts. He won several battles against representatives of the Delhi Sultan and integrated all those kingdoms into the Vijaya Nagara Empire.

The biggest battle fought by Kampanna was in Madurai. There, the very Nagara Devata (Guarding Deity of City) appeared before him and bestowed him with a sword. That made Kampanna so divinely powerful that he could win over all invaders and refurbish devastated temples. He gave a new lease of life to both the Hindu Community and Hindu Religion. Kampanna was also called as Kampanna Udaiyar. This title was also held by Kings of Mysore at later times.

I had gone to a place called Kannanur near Samayapuram area of Trichy. The God in the temple there is called Pochaleshwar. Actually, it was Hoysaleshwar, who is worshipped by the Hoysala lineage. As per Kannada accent, H has become P in Tamil and Hoysaleshwar turned to Pochaleshwar and later morphed to Bojeshwar! On the walls of this temple, I have seen an inscription reading: “When Muslims destroyed this temple, Kampanna Udaiyar came to its rescue”.

The very dilapidated status of the temple’s compound wall stands as evidence of the atrocities of Muslims. The wall is almost a skeleton without any fillings on it! The survival of this wall is due to the efforts of only Kampanna Udaiyar. There is a village nearby called as Kamparasan Pettai, which must have evolved after the name of Kampanna. The adjacent village is called Valadi Nallur, which was donated by Kampanna Udaiyar to the Brahmin community for preserving Vedas. We can see the mention of “Kamparaya Chathurvedhi Mangalam” in the property documents of these Brahmins.

Ganga Devi, the wife of Kampanna Udaiyar, had accompanied him during all his battles. She has narrated all those battles in a very interesting poetic form under the caption “Ganga Devi Madura Vijayam”. This book has been printed by the Epigraphic Department of Madurai. It is really a matter of honour for us that we have a travelogue written by a woman 600 years ago! Vijaya Nagar Empire was born with the benevolence of Maha Lakshmi. With benevolence of Para Shakti (Parvati), Kampanna Udaiyar won battles after battles to revive the Sanatana Dharma. With benevolence of Saraswati, Ganga Devi’s travelogue “Madura Vijayam” emerged!

It was Kampanna Udaiyar who, over a period of 40–50 years, resurrected Vedas, temples and Dharma destroyed by Muslim invaders. He has thus done a magnificent service to the people. The famous Krishnadeva Raya was the descendent of Kampanna Udaiyar. However, it was Vidyaranyar who sowed the seed for all these accomplishments. Kampanna Udaiyar eliminated the Muslim rule to resurrect Veda Dharma to newer heights and re-establish Hindu rule. Once stability was achieved, he himself undertook the responsibility of preserving Veda Dharma. He was confident that if Advaita Doctrine was re-established, Vedas will get a new lease of life.

Therefore, he refurbished all the Shankara Mutts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. He also founded new Mutts. All this was done to nullify the effects of Madhvacharya’s Dvaita Philosophy, which was critical of the Advaita Doctrine. Two ingredients are quite vital for prosperity of the society as a whole. They are Shastra (weapons –‘a’ is a short vowel in both places) and Shastra (scriptures). Weapons are required to protect us against the attack of evil forces. Shastras are required to protect our own soul from evil. Vidyaranyar used both these elements indirectly. He used Shastra (weapons) to regain the glory of the

Hindu Empire. He used Shastras (scriptures) for resurrecting the essence of Sanatana Religion, thereby providing a new lease of life for the entire Hindu community.

Vidyaranyar is the one who paved the way for all three paths of salvation viz. Karma, Bhakti and Jnyana. His manuscripts and books, such as “Panchadashi Prakaranam” and “Jeevan Mukti Viveka” provide the ultimate wisdom (Jnyana). He nurtured Bhakti by sponsoring the founding and refurbishing of Mutts and temples. By adhering to Vedas, he established the path of Karma.

What helped him accomplish all three is the abundant wealth bestowed by Maha Lakshmi. Maha Lakshmi is not only the Goddess of Wealth, but is also the one who cleanses the impurities of mind. Vaishnavas adoringly call Maha Lakshmi as “Mother” (Thaayar). But they call Vishnu not as “Father” but “Perumal”. Maha Lakshmi is the same Para Shakti, who is Mother of the Universe. Acharya, in his Kanagadhara Sthavam, uses the term “Matha” to mean Mother. He says, “It is just enough to do Namaskaram to you to beget all kinds of prosperity required for man, such as wealth, sensory pleasures, name and fame, and high status in life. But I do not want all such wealth. What I want is only your blessing! I am using Namaskaram as the only medium to wipe out all my sins. The wealth I want you to bestow on me is only this Namaskaram. Let this stay with me forever”.

All should worship Maha Lakshmi to live a life away from evil desires. One should worship Her selflessly like Acharya, Vidyaranyar and Sri Desika. Irrespective of whether or not we get wealth, let us pray to Her for the wealth of purity in our hearts!

This article is a snippet from the Book Thus Spake the Divine, is available online at www.giri.in and across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Speciality Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture and Tradition.