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RAMANA’S A RUNACHALA OCEAN OF GRACE DIVINE BY SRI BHAGAVAN’S DEVOTEES Sri Ramanasramam Tiruvannamalai 2004 © Sri Ramanasramam Tiruvannamalai Fourth Edition: 2004 (Revised & enlarged) 2000 Copies CC No: 1041 ISBN: 81-8288-030-0 Price: Rs. Published by V.S. Ramanan President, Board of Trustees Sri Ramanasramam Tiruvannamalai 606 603 Phones: 91-4175-237292/237200 email: [email protected] web: www.ramana-maharshi.org Designed and typeset at Sri Ramanasramam Printed by Kartik Offset Printers Chennai 600 015 FOREWORD TO THE FIRST EDITION A work of this kind is not a record of facts and details. What this book records are the experiences of devotees, sages and saints who have felt Arunachala in the hill, Arunachala in the temple and Arunachala in Ramana. They live and breathe Arunachala. They speak of Arunachala as a mother would of her child or a lover of his beloved, not in measured terms, but in awed tones and with overwhelmed sensitivity. The reader is invited to join as a spectator of this love affair. The joy and delight the writers feel, the choking emotions they try to express here are sure to capture the heart of the reader making him long for these experiences. The divine is beyond thought. Yet He allows Himself to be reflected in a sigh, a tear, a gasp, a look of wonder. This is what this book is. Long after the words are forgotten, the details erased from memory, one can feel inwardly the sigh, the tear, the gasp, the look of wonder and say, “This is Arunachala, this is Ramana.” V.S. RAMANAN President Sri Ramanasramam FOREWORD TO THE FOURTH EDITION In this revised and enlarged edition we have added a few chapters dealing with inscriptions (that are found in the temple of Arunachala) reproduced with the kind permission of Director, French Institute of Pondicherry, notes on shrines and other ancient sites found in Tiruvannamalai, a list of saints who have visited Tiruvannamalai, rare herbs found on the slope of Mount Arunachala and a list of literary works singing the praise of Arunachala. The previous editions dealt mainly with the puranic, Vedic and devotional aspects of Arunachala while this edition is made a more comprehensive one dealing with the history of Tiruvannamalai in detail and with other aspects so as to bring out the glorious heritage of Tiruvannamalai. 26th November 2004 V.S. RAMANAN Karthigai Deepam Day President Sri Ramanasramam CONTENTS Foreword to the First Edition.............................................. iii Foreword to the Fourth Edition ........................................... v Dedication .......................................................................... ix Part I Origin of Arunachala ........................................................... 1 Arunachala as Ardhanareeswara .......................................... 10 Arunachala in the Vedas and Puranas ................................. 22 Arunachala Honoured by Thirumurais .............................. 32 Arunachala: The Beloved of Saints ..................................... 49 Arunachala — The Inspiration of Mellifluous Tamil .......... 67 Festivals.............................................................................. 72 Arunachala: A Sublime Mystery ......................................... 89 Concept of Arunachala ...................................................... 94 Part II Arunachala: A Geological paradise ................................... 101 History of Tiruvannamalai ............................................... 107 Temple of Arunachaleswara.............................................. 112 Inscriptions ...................................................................... 121 Part III Aspects of Arunachala ...................................................... 349 Giripradakshina ............................................................... 354 Notes on Shrines.............................................................. 365 Ecologial and Geographical Aspects of Tiruvannamalai.... 395 All Nature Worship Him.................................................. 398 Literature, Saints, Herbs and Shrines ............................... 402 The Worship of Arunachala ............................................. 410 Part IV Arunachala Ramana ......................................................... 417 DEDICATION This book is dedicated to Lord Arunachaleswara and at the Lotus feet of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi who taught us the worship of Arunachala. This is a humble offering to commemorate the Centenary of Sri Bhagavan’s Advent at Arunachala. PART I I ORIGIN OF ARUNACHALA THE SUPREME BEING, THE OCEAN OF GRACE, Lord Siva once had a desire — “Let me become the many”. In accordance with this desire, Brahma and Vishnu came into existence spontaneously. They were delegated the duties of creating the worlds and protecting them respectively. Once, out of egoism, they were caught up in an argument which resulted in a major conflict . Seeing the terrible rage they had fallen into while battling with each other, the Supreme Lord deemed it fit to reveal Himself in a form that would put an end to their fighting. Here the purana says that Siva wanted to prove the Vedic truth that His glory transcended everything. Every creature, however lowly, considers itself superior to all others. The foolish who cannot concede the equality or supremacy of another must necessarily suffer defeat and fall. “It is time that I revealed Myself in a definite form on earth so that even a humble mortal can attain Me the moment he thinks of Me”. Thus decided the Lord and manifested Himself as a column of light before Brahma and Vishnu. The fighting Gods became confused and unnerved on seeing the blazing column of Effulgence. A voice arose, “Children, why this foolish fight? He who finds the beginning or the end of Me is the superior of the two”. Upon hearing these words Brahma and Vishnu stopped fighting and decided to discover the limits of the column as ordained by Siva. For this purpose Vishnu assumed the 1 form of a boar and dug into the earth. He started with great vigour and enthusiasm. But as he went on digging he found the column extending further and further down and as time passed he lost his strength and grew weary. He was too weak even to return. He could not bear the burden of his own form and became distressed. He then thought of Siva, the universal refuge, and reflected thus: “On account of my immense folly caused by my ego I forgot the Supreme Self. He is truly the Supreme Siva. In my folly, assuming the form of a boar I tried to find his beginning. By His grace the Truth has dawned on me. Therefore I offer myself up to this column of Effulgence and surrender to Him”. By the grace of the Supreme Lord the protector of the universe regained the surface of the earth. As for Brahma he took the form of a swan and was flying for many years vainly searching for the top of the column of light till his eyes became dim and wings weary. Nevertheless, dogged in his determination, he continued only to see the Effulgence rising still higher. A few siddhas on seeing Brahma trying to find the immeasurable top of the column observed, “What vanity! He still perseveres in his search. Even when the body is about to fall the ego does not disappear. Even though his wings are broken and weary and his eyes dim he is under the delusion that he can discover the bounds of the boundless Effulgence. To realize the Effulgence the finite being should dive within himself and meditate on Siva who will give him knowledge so that his ego will vanish”. These wise words made Brahma humble and he began to reflect thus: “Ah! How strange that with the egos born of Siva, both Vishnu and I fought each other, and how wonderful that He Himself should reveal His greatness and humble our pride!” Brahma 2 chanted the Vedas and praised Siva. He presently heard Vishnu praising Siva in his resonant voice. The Lord who can be easily pleased by his devotees emerged from the column of fire in all His glory. Siva manifested as the column of light in the month of Margazhi (December-January) when the moon was opposite to Ardra and He emerged from this column in the month of Masi (February-March) on chathurdasi (the fourteenth day after the full moon, i.e., a day before the new moon), when Brahma, Vishnu and other devas worshipped him. He, the blue-throated one of tawny complexion, wearer of the crescent moon, wielding the axe and fawn, signalled with one hand to Brahma and Vishnu to be fearless and offered protection with the other. He further bade them ask for boons. The two then prayed to Him as follows, “Oh Lord, the sky, the galaxies and the intergalactic spaces are so flooded with Thy splendour that the worlds cannot be discerned. Therefore Thou must kindly withdraw Thy Effulgence and abide as an immovable Linga named Arunachala for the welfare of the world. Oh Arunachala! Proclaim Thy presence by healing all diseases, fulfilling all desires and granting liberation”. Siva declared, “Be it so”. Thus Siva assumed the form of the immovable Linga of Arunachala. This is what is known as the Effulgent Linga (Tejolinga). It is the origin of all the worlds. It is famous in the world as Arunagiri (the red hill). When the great elements are resolved into their quintessence this hill will contain within itself all the latent seeds of future generations. After the deluge the Vedas will be revealed to the devotees who have taken refuge at the feet of Arunachala. Arunachala manifests Himself as the five great 3 murtis which have become the five letters Namasivaya. Arunachala