Sekharipuram Agraharam RELIGIOUS CALENDER AND UTSAVOM PROGRAMME

Sekharipuram Agraharam... Sri Lakshminarayanaswamy Brahmotsava Patrika 2013 

and

Sekharipuram Agraharama Religious Calender 2013 

The festival Calendar shows all important Hindu Festive Days from April 2013 to April 15 2014  
sekharipuram agraharam 2014-15 vishesha divasa calendar link given below
http://kanfusion.blogspot.in/2014/03/blog-post_23.html


the two documents are published in the following links

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2n1qyKu0eCcNnlkcE9ZNnZsdWc/edit

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2n1qyKu0eCcMk1kS3pIZG1IV0U/edit
please click on the image to enlarge

2013/3/28 sekharipuram S <sekheripuram@gmail.com>

ATTACHED

--
Lakshmi Narayana Swami Kadaksham Paripoornam!!!!

some useful links

 http://sekharipuramagraharam.blogspot.in/

http://sekharipuramharitham.blogspot.in/

http://kanfusion.blogspot.in/2014/03/blog-post.html

--

sekaripuram lore link

http://kanfusion.blogspot.in/2011/07/swekharipuram-lores.html

Sekharipuram Mahaganapathy temple..Sankataharachaturthi puja

The Sankataharachaturthi Pooja in our Mahaganapathy temple is 

very famous and most effective..

Please click on the image to enlarge..

http://kanfusion.blogspot.in/2014/03/sekharipuram-agraharam-kavustreet.html

தீராத விளையாட்டுப்பிள்ளை

Theeratha Vilayattu Pillai 

 Subramanya Bharathi

theeraadha vilaiyaattup pillai - kannan

theruvilae pengalukkoayaadha thollai

(theeraadha)

thinnap pazham kondu varuvaan - paadhi

thinginra poadhilae thattip parippaan

ennappan ennaiyaan enraal - adhanai

echchir paduththik kadiththuk koduppaan

(theeraadha)

azhagulla malar kondu vandhae - ennai

azha ahach cheydhapin kannai moodik kol

kuzhalilae soottuvaen enbaan - ennaik

kurudaakki malarinai thoazhikku vaippaan

(theeraadha)

pinnalaip pinninrizhuppaan - thalai

pinnae thirumbumun naer senru maraivaan

vannap puduch chaelai thanilae - puzhudi

vaarich chorindhae varuththik kulaippaan

(theeraadha)

pullaanguzhal kondu varuvaan - amudhu

pongith thadhumbu nal geedham padaippaan

kallaal mayanguvadhu poalae - adhainaik

kanmoodi vaaythirandhae kaettiruppoam

(theeraadha)

தீராத விளையாட்டுப்பிள்ளை கண்ணன்

தெருவிலே பெண்களுக்கோயாத தொல்லை

தீராத.......

தின்னப்பழம் கொண்டு வருவான் பாதி

தின்கின்ற போதிலே தட்டிப்பறிப்பான்

என்னப்பன் என் அய்யன் என்றால் அதனை

எச்சிர்ப்படுத்தி கடித்து கொடுப்பான்

தீராத.......

அழகுள்ள மலர் கொண்டு வந்தே என்னை

அழ அழ செய்தபின் கண்ணை மூடிக்கொள்

குழலிலே சூட்டுவேன் என்பான் என்னை

குருடாக்கி மலரினை தோழிக்கு வைப்பான்

தீராத.......

பின்னலை பின் நின்றிழுப்பான்  தலை

பின்னே திரும்புமுன் நேர் சென்று மறைவான்

வண்ணப்புதுச்சேலை தனிலே  புழுதி

வாரிச்சொரிந்தே வருத்தி குலைப்பான்

தீராத.......

புல்லாங்குழல் கொண்டு வருவான் அமுது

பொங்கித்ததும்பு நல் கீதம் படிப்பான்

கள்ளால் மயங்குவது போலே அதனைக்

கண்மூடி வாய்திறந்தே கேட்டிருப்பான் 

தீராத.......

That Kannan is an unstoppable naughty youngster…

He  is ever a perennial sweet nuisance to young girls like us passing by

He would  bring and offer us fruits to eat...and

He would snatch them away while we would be biting into them

If we entreat him calling my friend, my darling, 

He would  give the fruit back after biting them himself.

He would fetch for me beautiful flowers and he would make me cry to  Him for them and

He would tell me that  He would place the flowers on my hair if I closed my eyes

And when I remain as if blind closing my  eyes 

He would place the flowers on the locks of my friend standing nearby.

He would pull my long hair from behind,

And by the time  I look back straining myself,

He would disappear from behind

And he would throw dust on my new clothes and make me miserable.

He would carry with Him His divine flute and play on it music filled to the brim with nectar

As as if He were  drunk, H e would close His eyes and stand  listening to the music with gaping mouth..

What a fellow..

ours only..

ഭൌരാജസ്വരൂപിക്കു  ജയ്‌   

ഇത് 

ശരിയാണെന്നു തോന്നുന്നില്ല... ചിലര്‍ പറയുന്നു

 ഭൌരാജേശ്വരിക്ക് ജയ്.. 

ഇതിന്നു എന്താണര്‍ത്ഥം ? പിന്നെയും മനസ്സിലാവുന്നില്ല..

പക്ഷെ ഇത് ഞങ്ങളുടെ ശേഖരിപുരം അഗ്രഹാരത്തിന്‍റെ എല്ലാമെല്ലാമായ ലക്ഷ്മിനാരയണസ്വാമി എഴുന്നെള്ളുന്ന സന്ദര്‍ഭങ്ങളില്‍ ഞങ്ങളുടെ നാവില്‍നിന്നെല്ലാം ഉയരുന്ന സ്തുതിവാക്യമാണ്..

 അര്‍ഥം അറിയില്ല എങ്കിലും ഭഗവാന്‍റെ തിരുമുമ്പില്‍ ഉരുവിടുന്ന ഒരു ഭക്തിമന്ത്രം

പിന്നെയും ഞങ്ങള്‍ ഉരുവിടും

ശ്രീ ലക്ഷ്മിനാരയണസ്വാമിക്ക്.. ജയ്‌

ദേവദേവോത്തമാ.. ദേവതാ സാര്‍വഭൌമാ

അഖിലാണ്ഡകോടി ബ്രഹ്മാണ്ഡ നായകാ .. ജയ വിജയീഭവ

സ്വാമി ഹെച്ചരിക പുരേ .. ജയ്‌

“Bhouraaja swaroopikku jai…”  

I do not think this is the right version

Some say it is

Bhowrajeswarikku  jai..

What does this mean? 

Again difficult to understand

But this is a slogan with great devotion that raises from our vocal chords as the lord and master of our Sekharipuram Agraharam  Our Lakshminarayananaswamy  is  taking his Royal rounds along the streets during festival

We also chant

Lakshminarayanaswamikku.. jai

Devadevottamaa.. devataa saarvabhauma

Akhilandakoti brahmaanda naayakaa.. jaya vijayeebhava

Swami heccharika purey   jai

sekaripuram lore link

http://kanfusion.blogspot.in/2011/07/swekharipuram-lores.html

uninhabitable terrain

यस्मिन् देशे न सम्मानो नवृत्तिर् न च बान्धवाः।
न च विद्यागमोऽप्यस्ति वासस्तत्र न कारयेत्॥
(चाणक्यनीत्यां)
yasmin deśe na sammano navṛttir na ca bāndhavāḥ|
na ca vidyāgamo'pyasti vāsastatra na kārayet|| cāṇakyanītyāṁ
 

another nugget  from Chanakya, the down-to-earth realist

His advise is that
"One should not venture  to reside in a place
where he gets no respect,
where he has no job opportunities,
where he has no relatives
and
where there are no avenues  to gain knowledge"

The urge to strive hard to gain  the approval and if possible respect  and even accolades from  people around is the distinctive trait that makes human beings  so different from other beasts.. 

Life for us  is not just a process of  eating and living..

For a human being with self respect, dexterity in some profession and the opportunity to apply such skill and gaining the means of livelihood from such exertion is the most noble and desirable way of life.. 

For this the opportunity to put to use one's own  skills is as important as the skills themselves.

A human being is never an island in himself

..He can never live alone..

 He yearns to be in the company of parents, siblings, wife, children, and other relatives and friends..

 Life for a human being will be dull and apparently purposeless if he cannot enjoy the company of  close  relatives or friends  with whom he can share his joys and sorrows, gains and losses.

And education for a decent human being is a continuous process.. A place without schools, colleges and libraries is worse than a desert.. Learned men who are capable of enriching our  knowledge could be found  only in places where there are universities and libraries .. An Alexandria or Nalanda or Takshasila was always a coveted place for all to live because learned men and temples of knowledge were located there..

One may ask. "What is so special in this statement of Chanakya?
The specialty lies in the very fact that Chanakya has put it so crisply.. he has enumerated all that is there for one's life to be of any meaning ..

on pithru karyams

Neither dharmasastras or any decent norms of living would
prescribe that one should not look after his parents when they are alive.. 

It is
inappropriate to combine two non-connected issues namely caring for elders while they are alive and performing the last rites when they depart..

 The duties to be performed
in the service of parents during their lifetime are also enumerated in our
dharmasastras and such dictates  are part of any decent legislation and social norm  wherever civilized human beings exist.
But giving a decent burial and respect to the deceased is another issue of equally prime importance..

One thing has to be mentioned here .. We incur sins for both neglecting
parents when they are alive or after they are dead.. 

The belief is that Pithrus
do not have the same spirit of forgiveness as the living parents. A living
mother may forgive me even if I kick her... 

So, if we are to believe in the
traditions non-performance of rites to the departed souls can be more
dangerous..
I have no disagreement on the point that one should look after his near and dear
and especially the parents, very well, even making sacrifices at personal
levels.. and this has to be done even without the reinforcement of Sastras.. 

I
do not think our fathers and mothers nurtured and nourished us and also loved
us because it is prescribed  in the sastras..

 And, to look after the comforts of my mother,
I need not be reminded by any sastra.

 But the ceremonies after death are more
of social relevance and vary according to social and cultural norms.

 I mentioned
the Indian tradition here .
link  http://kanfusion.blogspot.in/2012/06/perfromance-of-rites-to-departed-kin.html
I do agree a son cannot be called grateful just because he performed the last
rites if he has not cared enough for the parents during their lifetime.. 

But
if, and only if, we believe in the traditions and sastras, non-performance of
rites after death is an act of ungratefulness and this inference is clearly
emerging from the basic social norms.. 

We are supposed to be born into this
world with pithru rina (debt to living and departed elders), deva rina etc and
it is our duty to pay back such debts through the prescribed rituals and
rightful life ..
 

A quote from Kalidasa's Abhijnana Sakunthalam, which is not exactly religious
text may be relevant here..
It underlines the importance of propitiating the pithrus and maintenance of the
race
अस्मात् परं बत यता
श्रुतिसम्भृतानि
को नः कुले निवपनानि
करिष्यतीति
नूनं प्रसूति विकलेन मया
प्रसिक्तं
धौताश्रुशेषमुदकं पितरः
पिबन्ति॥
asmāt paraṁ bata yatā śrutisambhṛtāni
ko naḥ kule nivapanāni kariṣyatīti
nūnaṁ prasūti vikalena mayā prasiktaṁ
dhautāśruśeṣamudakaṁ pitaraḥ pibanti||
it is in the sixth Act.. Dushyanta has neglected Shakuntala due to a
misunderstanding..and He has realized his folly and is depressed. He is also
aware that Shakuntala was pregnant when he abandoned her and he had lost the
only possible progeny and he had no other children.. He is also worried about
the lack of progenies after him to perform the last rites of his departed
elders.. He is exclaiming
"My pithrus are now drinking waters offered by me to them only to the extent of
what would remain after washing off their tears because they are always sad and
are shedding tears worrying that after this Dushyanta who is childless, there
is no one in their clan to perform and offer to them, as ordained in Shrutis,
the means of their survival in the pithru loka.."
So it was always a social responsibility to cherish one's own elders departed or
living..

indeed very rare stuff

while studying the various aphorisms of Vishnugupta, the Kautilya or Chanakya, I came across a definition as to how the great scholar came to be known as Kautilya..

कुटो घटः तं धान्यपूर्णं लान्ति संगृह्णन्ति इति कुटलाः कुंभीधान्याः त्यागपराः ब्राह्मणश्रेष्ठाः। तेषां गोत्रापत्यो कौटिल्यो विष्णुगुप्तो नाम।

kuṭo ghaṭaḥ taṁ dhānyapūrṇaṁ lānti saṁgṛhṇanti iti kuṭalāḥ kuṁbhīdhānyāḥ tyāgaparāḥ brāhmaṇaśreṣṭhāḥ| teṣāṁ gotrāpatyo kauṭilyo viṣṇugupto nāma|

Kuta means a mid-sized earthen pot.. kutala is one who is having as his earthly possession only one such pot filled with cereals (impllying that he possessed or kept for himself nothing else).. Such a man of self denial is a kutala brahmin.. and Chanakya is Kautilya because he is born in the family of a brahmin following such tradition..

Chanakya was the scholar-statesman who had the vision to unite most of Bharat under Chandragupta Maurya, after and in spite of internal strife and the havoc wrought by the Greek invasion under the leadership of Alexander.. At that period, Nandas or Mauryas or for that matter any king held only the titular authority and the real moving forces were Kautilya and may be next to him the minister of the Nandas, Rakshasa.. But these two persons, never claimed anything by way of personal benefit.. 

Chanakya went one step ahead.. He knew that Rakshasa was a great statesman and it was Rakshasa who held together the empire of Nandas till Chandragupta took over . In spite of the fact that Rakshasa was a sworn enemy of Chanakya and Chandraguptha the Maurya, Chanakya ensured that Rakshasa continued to function as prime minister even under Chandragupta Maurya.. There Chanakya put the welfare of the State ahead of personal rancour..

And this fact also speaks volumes about the blemish-less character and patriotism of Rakshasa.. even when he was being forced to serve an enemy, the professional ethics of Rakshasa, would ensure that he discharged his duties according to Dharma..And Chanakya had such a confidence in his sworn enemy.

An all powerful king-maker who would prefer to have only one pot of cereals as his whole earthly possession, and a civil servant, who would place the professional honour before anything else.. Chanakya and Rakshasa.. this is what legends were made of.. this is what politics was in India.. 

The celebrated play Mudra Rakshasam of Visakhadatta is a glorious study on these two titans.

the Golden Rule

सुखस्य मूलं धर्मः॥१॥
चाणक्यसूत्राद्
sukhasya mūlaṁ dharmaḥ ||1||
cāṇakyasūtrād
"The source of one's well-being and comfort is adherence to Dharma..."
This is the first and foremost aphorism of Chanakya..
We often tend to compare the philosophy of our  great Seer-politician  Chanakya with Machiavelli.. The latter was a votary to the idea of securing power and material benefit without any consideration of the fairness or truth and virtue involved..
 
In this matter Chanakya's ideas were different..
He could not brook the idea of securing benefits for his protige the king even at the cost of breaking the established path of Dharma..
Adhering to fair means with adequate respect for the established path of righteousness was of paramount importance to Chanakya.. Deviation from the righteous path was unthinkable in the Indian context.


Dharma has many dimensions..
 Respect to the path shown by elders is an important factor..
Fairplay is of equal significance..
The ultimate law of Dharma or the Golden Rule is that one should do to others only things which could be endured with reasonable forbearance by himself if such action is directed towards him..
All ethical considerations and benefit thereof will follow if double-standards are avoided in human transactions.
If Dharma is protected, it will protect the one who has striven to protect it..
धर्मो रक्षति रक्षितः
Maybe , temporary advantages of huge dimensions may be derived temporarily if some deviations are allowed from the path of Dharma..
But in the long run such deviations do not pay.

--

a matter of taste...

न विना परवादेन रमते दुर्जनो जनः।
काकः सर्वरसान् भुक्त्वा विनाऽमेध्यं न तृप्यति॥
॥चाणक्यसूत्राद्॥।
na vinā paravādena ramate durjano janaḥ|
kākaḥ sarvarasān bhuktvā vinā'medhyaṁ na tṛpyati||
|hāṇakyasūtrād|||
The evil people cannot find happiness or peace of mind if they do not indulge in spreading scandal about others.
It is just like the crow for whom the entire world is open for tasting and it would have tasted all sweets and savories..
But the crow can find its stomach's fill in human excreta alone.

This is a sloka quoted while explaining Chankya suutram 501.. na hamsaaH pretavane ramante
न हँसाः प्रेतवने रमन्ते
meaning "swans do not live happily in the burial ground.."

The aphorism has something to do with the mindset of people.. Some are basically nice and straightforward and the seek and find happiness in the pleasant things around.. There is another set of people..cynical, looking for dirt and darkness everywhere, trying to invite evil even where it is absent..

--

is there really any difference?

महेश्वरे वा जगतामधीश्वरे
जनार्दने वा जगतन्तरात्मनि।
न वस्तुभेध प्रतिपत्तिरस्ति मे
तथाऽपि भक्तिस्तरुणेन्दुशेखरे॥
॥अप्पय्यदीक्षिताः॥
maheśvare vā jagatāmadhīśvare
janārdane vā jagatantarātmani|
na vastubhedha pratipattirasti me
tathā'pi bhaktistaruṇenduśekhare||
|appayyadīkṣitāḥ||
This is a quote from the renowned scholar and devotee of Lord Shiva..
Srimad Appayya Deekshitar.

"In reality I see no difference between Lord Shiva the Maheswara who is the suzerain of the whole universe, and Lord Vishnu the Janaardhana  who remains inherent in the whole Universe. 
 Nor do I entertain any particular preference to either.. However my devotion is to the one who is adorning the fresh young moon in His matted hair.."


It is a fact that there are two distinct sects in our religion, the staunch followers of Lord Shiva and the votaries of Lord Vishnu..
Though for most Hindus, both represent the Godhead and are revered with equal devotion, at least a few take some extreme views.. 

Deekshitar's above statement, especially coming in an era where the schism between VeeraSaivas and Veera Vasihanavas was very pronounced, should have been an eye-opener..

--