By Acarya Dasa
Sri Adikesavaperumal Temple
On April 4th we arrived at Thiruvattar to visit the Sri Adikesavaperumal Temple. The temple is one of the 108 divya desams (divine places) and is a holy site for all Vaisnavas. It is located in a picturesque area surrounded by three rivers: Kothai, Pahrali and Thamirabarani. The temple houses a 22 foot (6.7 meter) long deity of Lord Sri Adi Kesava Perumal in His bhujanga sayanam posture (sleeping with His head facing south and His feet facing north). In order to have full darsana you have to view the Lord through three doors. It is said that Lord undertook penance here and performed daily pūjās for Sri Adi Kesava Perumal. Sage Vasiṣṭa stayed here for several years as well. There is also a stone hall called Otraikkal Mandapam made of a single 3 foot (0.9 meters) thick stone which is a marvel to see.
Lord Caitanya’s visit
We all took darsana of the beautiful deity of Lord Adi Kesava Perumal and performed kirtana in the temple while circumambulating the deity. The vigraha (deity) is said to contain up to 16,008 shaligrams We stayed there for three days preaching and distributing books in the nearby areas. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited this temple in 1510 AD during His South India tour. It was here that He discovered the 5th Chapter of the Brahma-saṁhitā, which, is said to contain a hundred chapters. This scripture is so old and so sacred it was practically lost to the general population at the time. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu understood the supreme importance of this scripture and therefore He rediscovered it in the Sri Adi Kesava Temple . During Lord Caitanya’s visit to the temple he discussed spiritual matters to highly advanced devotees. He also bathed in the Tamprapani river before taking darsana of Sri Adi Kesava Perumal.
The demons Kesan and Kesi
Once Lord Brahmā performed a yajña (sacrificial fire) without including Saraswati Devi. Godess Saraswati became so enraged that two asura (demon) siblings by the names of Kesan and Kesi emerged from sacrificial fire. The brother and sister set off causing trouble all over the three worlds. The demigods approached Lord Vishnu and asked Him to find a solution to this problem. Lord Vishnu then took the form of Adi Kesava to fight Kesan. The Lord threw Kesan up into the air and he landed on top of Mahendragiri mountain. He blew His conch and instantaneously Adi Sesha (the Lord’s servant who comes in the form of a snake) wound himself around Kesan preventing him from moving. Lord Vishnu immediately laid on Adi Sesha applying His weight on the demon. When the demon tried to escape from Adi Sesha’s coils, Lord Vishnu produced twelve shiva-lingams (Lord Shiva in the form of a stone) to stand guard around the asura and Himself.
The shiva-lingams are housed in these famous Shiva Temples: Thirumala, Thikkurussi, Thrupparappu, Thirunandhikkara, Ponmana, Pannippakam, Kalkkulam, Melankodu, Thiruvidaikkodu, Thiruvithamkode, Thiruppanrikkode, and Thirunattalam. . To this day, during Shiva-ratri, the famous ‘Shivalaya Ottam[1]’ is only complete after devotees of Shiva visit these twelve Shiva shrines and end their journey at the Sri Adi Kesava Perumal Temple.
While here we all recited there Brahma Samita and discussed pastimes of Caitanya Mahaprabhu that took place here. We also asked the Lord for His blessings.
Caitanya Mahaprabhu ki! Jai!
[1] A ritual marathon undertaken Shiva devotees to 12 Shiva shrines in the district of Kanyakumari on the day of Sivarathri.
