கைசிக த்வாதசி - திருக்குறுங்குடி நம்பி - நம்பாடுவான் - புராணம் படித்தல் [Kaisika Dwadasi - Thirukurungudi Nambi perumai]

அன்பான ஸ்ரீ வைஷ்ணவர்களுக்கு

For Srivaishnavaites – Ekadadi worship is of utmost importance. Saturday (28/11/09) was a day of significance as it was the day of Kaisika Ekadasi. On the next day, in temples ‘kaisika puranam’ is recited and purappadu of Utsavar takes place.

For those of us, who do not know out sampradayam much, legend has it that on every Kaisika Ekadasi day, Nampaduvan, an ardent devotee of the Lord used to do Namasankeerthanam for Emperuman at Thirukurungudi. This Nampaduvan Charithram was narrated by Sri Varaha Perumal to Bhoomi Pirarttiyar in Varaha puranam. Nampaduvan, a great bhagavatha at Thirukurungudi used to observe ‘jakratha vratham’ without sleeping full night singing the glory of the Lord and thinking only about Him.

One year while on the way to Thirukurungudi, Nampaduvan was confronted by a Brahma Rakshas. This Rakshas told Nampaaduvaan that he would eat him. Nampaduvan humbly requested that he had the duty of nama sankeerthanam. Nampaduvan agreed with the rakshas that he would return back after his vratham and darshan of Kurungudi Nambi. The rakshas was not prepared to believe stating that none in this material would would come back as food and asked : is there any possibility that a deer could escape after it was caught up by a lion ?

Nampaduvan promised that he would indeed return and convinced the rakshas to release him for a while, went to Thirukurungudi temple rendered pasurams on Sri Vadivazhagiya Nambi; kaisikam is a kind of music composition (called pan in tamil); the last pasuram rendered was kaisika pan.

While returning Nampaduvan was interrupted by Sri Kurungudi Nambi Himself in the disguise of an old man advising him to take alternate route escaping the rakshas. Nampaduvan firmly kept his promise standing by his dharma of fulfilling and presented before the Brahma rakshas.

Awe struck the rakshas asked for the palan(fruit) of the pasurams Nampaduvan had rendered and in the series of discussions that went on rakshas wanted atleast the palan of the last kaisika pan. It was revealed that the Brahmarakshas was a vidwan by name Soma Sharma who was cursed by Devas arising out of his ahankaram. The palan of pan relieved him of the curse.

After hundreds of years on Kaisika Dwadasi day, Sri Parasara Bhattar chanted kaisika puranam before Lord Ranganatha and today the descendants of Bhattar chant the puranam on kaisika dwadasi day at Srirangam.

The purana is rendered in all Sri Vaishnavaite temples on Dwadasi day and in Triplicane, Sriman U Ve MA Venkatakrishnan Swami rendered the same in front of Lord Parthasarathi and Thirumangai Azhwar. Kaisika puranam is in manipravalam, a dialect which is mixture of Sanskrit and Tamil. In the evening there was periya mada veedhi purappadu with sthothra padam ghoshtiHere are some photos of the purappadu

Adiyen - S Sampathkumar