01-12-2008, 10:04 PM
Vilwamangalam Swamiyaar was not only Lord Krishna's great devotee, but also a wise saint and a great poet. He was one of the greatest saints who could see Lord Krishna with his material eyes. His most famous work was Sreekrishnakarnaamritham, verses about Lord Krishna in Sanskrit. He lived in 17th century. He was the contemporary of Melppathoor Narayana Bhattathiri and the great poet Poonthanam. Lord Krishna was his inseparable companion, who always appeared in front of him in the form of a very naughty little boy. Here are a few legends about that versatile.
1. Swamiyar Writes Sreekrishna Karnaamarutham
Before accepting the asceticism Swamiyar was like any other young man who was the victim of spiritual weaknesses and bad habits. Here is the story that tells us his transition from the dissolute personality to the supreme most rank of spiritual awareness of aversion from worldly pleasures. He was in love with a lady who belonged to the cast of temple-employees. He loved her so much, so that where ever he went during the day he wanted to go to her to sleep. He didn't care about any obstacle that came across his way to his destination, because his beloved ones proximity itself was paid its value. One day he finished all his business for the day and got ready to go to her house but it set in to rain. He waited for the rain to stop vainly but to see it more fiercely than before. It was ten o' clock at night and pitch dark out side. But he decided to proceed.
He lit a country torch (dried coconut leaves rolled into a scroll-choot) and set off. Even though he had an umbrella, the torch was extinguished, due to the strong wind. Some how he managed to get to the bank of the river that flew between the two villages of his and his loved ones. When he was returned from her home that morning the river was not flooded. But the condition had changed completely in a few hours. Both banks of the river were subdued by the suddenly raised water from the nearby mountain. Nobody was around to help him. He didn't want to go back to his own home to sleep.
He needed to get her. He became so gloomy for the condition that he was being entrapped. By the will of God there happened a thunderbolt in which his eyes caught the glimpse of a piece of a tree trunk lying down near his feet. He laid on the trunk and swam across to the other side of the river. When he got up from the piece of wood something hindered his legs. He groped to find that it was a rope. With that rope he tied the trunk to a nearby tree. Then he got into the lady's house soaked and drenched. When he reached there he told her the whole story happened on his way. When she heard all that with patience that chaste woman felt so sorry for him. She was a wise lady, so after he was finished his talking she pointed out a picture of Lord Krishna which was hung on the wall and told him "If you had the concentration on him instead of me you would have gained the salvation by now. Alas! You are just squandering such an honorable birth as a Brahmin ". Her words were impressed deeply in his mind and he started to realize his knowledge of the Supreme Soul. He stared at the picture and told her, "What you have told is true. Now I am aware of the truth. You are the one who diverted my mind from evil to virtue. So I consider you as my Guru." He sat quietly looking at the picture for a long time and then started to sing a poem about Lord Krishna which streamed out of his mind fluently during that heavenly moments. When he started to sing the verses, the lady copied those pearl beads immediately into a notebook. But she omitted some of them, because she noticed that when he started to sing, the picture of Krishna shook his head as he appreciated it very much. But in some points he didn't shake his head so she knew that those were not as good as the rest. Finally when he finished he got up and walked out without telling a word to the lady. When he reached the bank of the river he looked for the tree trunk which he used to cross the river last night. With a surprise he found that it was not a piece of wood but was a corpse of a man with a small rope around his neck. By this time he already knew the eternal truth that our body was perishable, but the soul is the only thing that we had to take care of wisely. He called for a boat and went his home, and within a few days he accepted asceticism.
2. Swamiyar and Cherthala Karthyani
Once Swamiyar was traveling by land he found seven girls who were playing near a wood. As soon as he saw them he realized that they were not a bunch of ordinary girls but some divine beings. So he went closer for a better look When these girls were aware of his presence they started to run away. Swamiyar ran after them with the same speed. The girls ran and jumped in to a pond. Swamiyar also did the same and pulled them out of the water one by one. He managed to get six of them out but the seventh one was so arrogant and she resisted with all her might. By the time she got all muddy on her hair because she was on the shallow side of the pond.. Swamiyar couldn't control his fury seeing this stupidity of that young girl so he called her, the Mudheaded Prostitute (Chettil thala Pumschali). Somehow he managed to pull that little girl also out of the water and he showed them seven different places and ordered to sit down. Now the place where the seventh Devi was seated is called Cherthala.
3. Swamiyar and Sree Padmanabhaswami Temple
After Lord Krishna gave Swamiyar the divine sight to see His material body, He used to go and sit near him when ever he did the worship for Vishnu. Always it was in the form of a very naughty little boy just to put Swamiyar in a lot of troubles. During this perticular time Swamiyar called Lord Krishna, Unni. When Swamiyar was busy getting things ready for the worship Unni used to climb on his back, threw away the flowers that the old man collected from the garden, urinated in the vessels those were washed for the rite were a few of the usual troubles He made for Swami. One day the mischief broke the boundary, agitated by anger Swamiyar stroke the little boy away with the back of his hand telling, "Unni, please don't bother me."
Unni became very upset, because striking with back hand was considered very humiliate. Ill-felted Unni left Swamiyar saying, "If you want to see me again come to Ananthan Kaadu." As soon as He was disappeared Swamiyar realized that what big mistake he had committed. He became so grief-stricken. Immediately he set off to look for Ananthan Kadu. He wandered from place to place looking for this particular place, asked a lot of people but nobody knew a place by this name. After a long time he got very tired and sat down under a tree regretting about his own wrong deed. While he was sitting there he heard a Parayan and his wife was having an argument. Parayan was shouting, "If you start another fight with me I will kill you and throw you away to Ananthan Kadu." As soon as Swamiyar heard this part he got up went to the hut of that couples consoled them and asked them gently could they show him Ananthan Kadu. Parayan showed him the place. Even though it was a dense forest and very dangerous to get in Swamiyar didn't hesitate to walk forward. He looked hear and there and finally found the Lord. But at that time He was not in the form of the little boy, but in Ananthasayi position with Kshama and Rama sitting by His head and feet respectively. Swamiyar fell on the ground to bow His feet. The Lord was happy to see Swamiyar and told him, "I'm very hungry. Please give me some thing to eat." He couldn't find any other fruit in the forest other than some tender mangos which were lying on the ground under a mango tree. He picked up a few of them crushed it on a stone and gave it to the God. He ate it and told, "I am not hungry any more and am pleased with you now."
Then Swamiyar went and told Maharaja of Tranvancore about this incident. Maharaja came to Ananthan Kadu with his lords and knights, but they couldn't see Lord Vishnu. Even then they believed Swamiyar, because he was famous with all his divine power, so Maharaja decided to build a temple there. After the construction was completed he made a statue of Lord Vishnu in the form of Ananthasayi, exactly the way Swamiyar has witnessed it. The idol in Padmanabhaswami Temple still stays the same.
4. Swamiyar and Ambalapuzha Krishnan.
One day vilwamangalam Swamiar came to Ambalapuzha Sree Krishna Temple to worship. He couldn't see Bhagavan in the sanctum sanctorum. When he started to circumambulate the temple he found Lord Krishna disguised himself as a Tamil Brahmin (Pattar) serving food for Marars. Nobody could recognize Bhagavan in that form but Swamiar, because of his divine eyes. Immediately he went to salute the Lord and asked him why he was doing this since there were a lot of people to do cooking and serving. This was the reply of Bhagavan. "These are the people (Marars) who are working hard to make the festival a big success. So I find happiness when I can serve them food with my own hands. I come here every year to serve them for their feast." Ever since in the theater of Ambalapuzha temple the feast of Marars became more significant.
5. Swamiyar and Vadakkunnathan
On the Karthika day of the month of Vrischika, Swamiyar came to Vadakkunnatha Temple to worship. When he reached the sanctum sanctorum he couldn't find Bhagavan inside. He thought, "How can I pay my salutations without seeing him?" So he came out side to circumambulate the temple. Suddenly his eyes caught the figure of Bhagavan sitting on the southern wall of the temple looking outside. Immediately he went to him paid his salutations and asked, "Lord why are you sitting here?" Bhagavan answered, "I am sitting here to watch my most beloved one, kumaranelloor Karthyani who is coming this way with all the ornamentations after her ablution" Since that incident each year on the auspicious day of Karthika in Vrischika the ceremonial offering to the God in the morning takes place on the southern wall of the temple. Still the devotees of Vadakkunnathan believe that every year on that particular day the Lord comes and sits on that wall to see the divine procession of the Goddess.
6. Swamiyar and Vaikkathappan
On an ashtami day (the eighth day of the month according to lunar calendar) Swamiyar came to visit Vaikkathappan. When he reached there at noon he saw a lot of Brahmins are sitting and having their lunch. He went to sanctum sanctorum to worship only to find out that Bhagavan was not inside. He was so surprised to know the disappearance of The Almighty. He started to look every where in the temple very carefully and found out that Bhagavan was sitting near a pillar in the chuttambalam and having lunch along with the other Brahmins, disguised himself in the costume of an old Brahmin. Nobody else could recognize Bhagavan other than Swamiyar, because of his divine power of insight. Immediately he went to the Lord paid his salutations and informed the other people about what he had witnessed. Since then when ever the temple arranged a feast, a banana leaf was put near that pillar exactly at the same place where Swamiyar found the Lord and served with all kinds of dishes, believing that the Great Lord still comes there to enjoy the feast.
7. Swamiyar's role in Krishnattam
Once Swamiyar and King Manaveda (Malayalam Era -8th century- 9th century.) came to live together in Guruvayoor. (He wrote Krishnageethi in M.E 829 = 1654 A.D.) One day the King Manaveda requested the saint to make it possible for him to see Lord Krishna with his material eyes. Swamiyar said he would ask the Lord and give him a reply. The next day he told the King that the Lord has consented his request. Then the King saw Lord Krishna in the form of a little boy, playing under an elanji tree. He was so excited, so he ran towards to Him to give Him a hug. Suddenly He slipped away from his reach and told "Swamiyar didn't tell me this" and disappeared immediately. At that time a peacock feather fell down from His hair and the King took and kept it. Then when he created the Krishnattam he used that feather to decorate the Krishnamudi of the actor who acts the roll of Krishna. Still in Guruvayoor Temple they use that particular feather on the crown of Krishna in Krishnattam.
1. Swamiyar Writes Sreekrishna Karnaamarutham
Before accepting the asceticism Swamiyar was like any other young man who was the victim of spiritual weaknesses and bad habits. Here is the story that tells us his transition from the dissolute personality to the supreme most rank of spiritual awareness of aversion from worldly pleasures. He was in love with a lady who belonged to the cast of temple-employees. He loved her so much, so that where ever he went during the day he wanted to go to her to sleep. He didn't care about any obstacle that came across his way to his destination, because his beloved ones proximity itself was paid its value. One day he finished all his business for the day and got ready to go to her house but it set in to rain. He waited for the rain to stop vainly but to see it more fiercely than before. It was ten o' clock at night and pitch dark out side. But he decided to proceed.
He lit a country torch (dried coconut leaves rolled into a scroll-choot) and set off. Even though he had an umbrella, the torch was extinguished, due to the strong wind. Some how he managed to get to the bank of the river that flew between the two villages of his and his loved ones. When he was returned from her home that morning the river was not flooded. But the condition had changed completely in a few hours. Both banks of the river were subdued by the suddenly raised water from the nearby mountain. Nobody was around to help him. He didn't want to go back to his own home to sleep.
He needed to get her. He became so gloomy for the condition that he was being entrapped. By the will of God there happened a thunderbolt in which his eyes caught the glimpse of a piece of a tree trunk lying down near his feet. He laid on the trunk and swam across to the other side of the river. When he got up from the piece of wood something hindered his legs. He groped to find that it was a rope. With that rope he tied the trunk to a nearby tree. Then he got into the lady's house soaked and drenched. When he reached there he told her the whole story happened on his way. When she heard all that with patience that chaste woman felt so sorry for him. She was a wise lady, so after he was finished his talking she pointed out a picture of Lord Krishna which was hung on the wall and told him "If you had the concentration on him instead of me you would have gained the salvation by now. Alas! You are just squandering such an honorable birth as a Brahmin ". Her words were impressed deeply in his mind and he started to realize his knowledge of the Supreme Soul. He stared at the picture and told her, "What you have told is true. Now I am aware of the truth. You are the one who diverted my mind from evil to virtue. So I consider you as my Guru." He sat quietly looking at the picture for a long time and then started to sing a poem about Lord Krishna which streamed out of his mind fluently during that heavenly moments. When he started to sing the verses, the lady copied those pearl beads immediately into a notebook. But she omitted some of them, because she noticed that when he started to sing, the picture of Krishna shook his head as he appreciated it very much. But in some points he didn't shake his head so she knew that those were not as good as the rest. Finally when he finished he got up and walked out without telling a word to the lady. When he reached the bank of the river he looked for the tree trunk which he used to cross the river last night. With a surprise he found that it was not a piece of wood but was a corpse of a man with a small rope around his neck. By this time he already knew the eternal truth that our body was perishable, but the soul is the only thing that we had to take care of wisely. He called for a boat and went his home, and within a few days he accepted asceticism.
2. Swamiyar and Cherthala Karthyani
Once Swamiyar was traveling by land he found seven girls who were playing near a wood. As soon as he saw them he realized that they were not a bunch of ordinary girls but some divine beings. So he went closer for a better look When these girls were aware of his presence they started to run away. Swamiyar ran after them with the same speed. The girls ran and jumped in to a pond. Swamiyar also did the same and pulled them out of the water one by one. He managed to get six of them out but the seventh one was so arrogant and she resisted with all her might. By the time she got all muddy on her hair because she was on the shallow side of the pond.. Swamiyar couldn't control his fury seeing this stupidity of that young girl so he called her, the Mudheaded Prostitute (Chettil thala Pumschali). Somehow he managed to pull that little girl also out of the water and he showed them seven different places and ordered to sit down. Now the place where the seventh Devi was seated is called Cherthala.
3. Swamiyar and Sree Padmanabhaswami Temple
After Lord Krishna gave Swamiyar the divine sight to see His material body, He used to go and sit near him when ever he did the worship for Vishnu. Always it was in the form of a very naughty little boy just to put Swamiyar in a lot of troubles. During this perticular time Swamiyar called Lord Krishna, Unni. When Swamiyar was busy getting things ready for the worship Unni used to climb on his back, threw away the flowers that the old man collected from the garden, urinated in the vessels those were washed for the rite were a few of the usual troubles He made for Swami. One day the mischief broke the boundary, agitated by anger Swamiyar stroke the little boy away with the back of his hand telling, "Unni, please don't bother me."
Unni became very upset, because striking with back hand was considered very humiliate. Ill-felted Unni left Swamiyar saying, "If you want to see me again come to Ananthan Kaadu." As soon as He was disappeared Swamiyar realized that what big mistake he had committed. He became so grief-stricken. Immediately he set off to look for Ananthan Kadu. He wandered from place to place looking for this particular place, asked a lot of people but nobody knew a place by this name. After a long time he got very tired and sat down under a tree regretting about his own wrong deed. While he was sitting there he heard a Parayan and his wife was having an argument. Parayan was shouting, "If you start another fight with me I will kill you and throw you away to Ananthan Kadu." As soon as Swamiyar heard this part he got up went to the hut of that couples consoled them and asked them gently could they show him Ananthan Kadu. Parayan showed him the place. Even though it was a dense forest and very dangerous to get in Swamiyar didn't hesitate to walk forward. He looked hear and there and finally found the Lord. But at that time He was not in the form of the little boy, but in Ananthasayi position with Kshama and Rama sitting by His head and feet respectively. Swamiyar fell on the ground to bow His feet. The Lord was happy to see Swamiyar and told him, "I'm very hungry. Please give me some thing to eat." He couldn't find any other fruit in the forest other than some tender mangos which were lying on the ground under a mango tree. He picked up a few of them crushed it on a stone and gave it to the God. He ate it and told, "I am not hungry any more and am pleased with you now."
Then Swamiyar went and told Maharaja of Tranvancore about this incident. Maharaja came to Ananthan Kadu with his lords and knights, but they couldn't see Lord Vishnu. Even then they believed Swamiyar, because he was famous with all his divine power, so Maharaja decided to build a temple there. After the construction was completed he made a statue of Lord Vishnu in the form of Ananthasayi, exactly the way Swamiyar has witnessed it. The idol in Padmanabhaswami Temple still stays the same.
4. Swamiyar and Ambalapuzha Krishnan.
One day vilwamangalam Swamiar came to Ambalapuzha Sree Krishna Temple to worship. He couldn't see Bhagavan in the sanctum sanctorum. When he started to circumambulate the temple he found Lord Krishna disguised himself as a Tamil Brahmin (Pattar) serving food for Marars. Nobody could recognize Bhagavan in that form but Swamiar, because of his divine eyes. Immediately he went to salute the Lord and asked him why he was doing this since there were a lot of people to do cooking and serving. This was the reply of Bhagavan. "These are the people (Marars) who are working hard to make the festival a big success. So I find happiness when I can serve them food with my own hands. I come here every year to serve them for their feast." Ever since in the theater of Ambalapuzha temple the feast of Marars became more significant.
5. Swamiyar and Vadakkunnathan
On the Karthika day of the month of Vrischika, Swamiyar came to Vadakkunnatha Temple to worship. When he reached the sanctum sanctorum he couldn't find Bhagavan inside. He thought, "How can I pay my salutations without seeing him?" So he came out side to circumambulate the temple. Suddenly his eyes caught the figure of Bhagavan sitting on the southern wall of the temple looking outside. Immediately he went to him paid his salutations and asked, "Lord why are you sitting here?" Bhagavan answered, "I am sitting here to watch my most beloved one, kumaranelloor Karthyani who is coming this way with all the ornamentations after her ablution" Since that incident each year on the auspicious day of Karthika in Vrischika the ceremonial offering to the God in the morning takes place on the southern wall of the temple. Still the devotees of Vadakkunnathan believe that every year on that particular day the Lord comes and sits on that wall to see the divine procession of the Goddess.
6. Swamiyar and Vaikkathappan
On an ashtami day (the eighth day of the month according to lunar calendar) Swamiyar came to visit Vaikkathappan. When he reached there at noon he saw a lot of Brahmins are sitting and having their lunch. He went to sanctum sanctorum to worship only to find out that Bhagavan was not inside. He was so surprised to know the disappearance of The Almighty. He started to look every where in the temple very carefully and found out that Bhagavan was sitting near a pillar in the chuttambalam and having lunch along with the other Brahmins, disguised himself in the costume of an old Brahmin. Nobody else could recognize Bhagavan other than Swamiyar, because of his divine power of insight. Immediately he went to the Lord paid his salutations and informed the other people about what he had witnessed. Since then when ever the temple arranged a feast, a banana leaf was put near that pillar exactly at the same place where Swamiyar found the Lord and served with all kinds of dishes, believing that the Great Lord still comes there to enjoy the feast.
7. Swamiyar's role in Krishnattam
Once Swamiyar and King Manaveda (Malayalam Era -8th century- 9th century.) came to live together in Guruvayoor. (He wrote Krishnageethi in M.E 829 = 1654 A.D.) One day the King Manaveda requested the saint to make it possible for him to see Lord Krishna with his material eyes. Swamiyar said he would ask the Lord and give him a reply. The next day he told the King that the Lord has consented his request. Then the King saw Lord Krishna in the form of a little boy, playing under an elanji tree. He was so excited, so he ran towards to Him to give Him a hug. Suddenly He slipped away from his reach and told "Swamiyar didn't tell me this" and disappeared immediately. At that time a peacock feather fell down from His hair and the King took and kept it. Then when he created the Krishnattam he used that feather to decorate the Krishnamudi of the actor who acts the roll of Krishna. Still in Guruvayoor Temple they use that particular feather on the crown of Krishna in Krishnattam.