ஸ்ரீமன் நாராயணன் எங்கும் வியாபித்துள்ளவன். ** மதுசூதனையன்றி மற்றிலேனென்று
- எத்தாலும்கருமமின்றி ** ( மது என்ற கொடிய
அரக்கனை முடித்த எம்பெருமானைத்தவிர வேறு எந்த
பற்றுடையேனல்லேன் என்று அநுஸந்தித்து வேறு எந்த பொருளையும் நினையாதோர்)
~ என நம் எம்பெருமானுடைய திவ்யதேசங்களை தேடி
ஓடும் பாகவதர்களுக்கு இனிமையாய் பல பலன்கள்
கிட்டும்.
Those
pursuing to have darshan at the holy divyadesam ‘Salagramam’ – (mukthinath) at
Nepal, mostly would land at its capital Kathmandu .. .. and if you are in
Nepal, do not forget to collect a few 10 rupee Nepalese currency as a
souvenir.
தொண்டாமினமுமிமையோரும் துணை நூல் மார்பினந்தணரும்,
அண்டாவெமக்கேயருளாயென்று
அணயும் கோயிலருகெல்லாம்,
வண்டார்ப்பொழிலின் பழனத்து வயலினயலே
கயல்பாய,
தண்டாமரைகள் முகமலர்த்தும்
சாளக்கிராமமடை நெஞ்சே.
இதுவே நம் பிறவிப்பணி என ஸ்ரீமன் நாராயணனிடத்திலே எப்போதும் தொண்டு
செய்பவர்களான பாகவதர்களும், இமையோர் எனும் நித்யஸூரிகளும், யஜ்ஞோபவீதத்தை தங்கள் மார்பினிலே அணிந்த பிராமணர்களும், எங்கள் திவ்யதேவனே, எங்களுக்கே அருள் புரிய வேணும்’ என்று கூவிக்கூவி
தொழும் அழகான திருக்கோவில், சுற்றுப்பிரதேசங்களெங்கும் வண்டுகள் நிறைந்திருக்கப்பெற்ற
சோலைகளிலுண்டான நீர்நிலங்களில் கழனிகளிடத்துள்ள கயல் மீன்கள் துள்ளுவதினால்
குளிர்ந்ததாமரை மொக்குகள் முகம் அலரும் சாளக்கிராமம் எனும் அற்புத திவ்யதேசத்தை
சென்றடைந்து அவனிடத்திலே சரணாகதி செய் என்கிறார் சுவாமி நம்மாழ்வார்
For a
Srivaishnavaite, the purpose of life is to do kainkaryam to Sriman Narayana and
His devotees ~ in that pursuit, we visit various Divyadesams associated with
Emperuman and that way, those 108 holy shrines sung by Alwars hold a
predominant place. Here is something enjoyed during our trip to
the Holy Mukthinath (Salagrammam divyadesam) in
May 2018.
It is
unique – a divyadesam outside Bharatha kandam – situate at an altitude of 3,710
meters (12,172 feet) at the foot of the Thorong La mountain pass
(part of the Himalayas) in Mustang, Nepal. Swami Nammalwar advises the Heart to go Unto
that Lord at Saligram to whom, bands of devotees, even those from the sky
kingdom of Sriman Narayana, those wearing the holy thread – the Brahmanas – all
assembling at the Temple surrounded by bee-humming groves and waterbodies rich
in kayal (type of carp fishes) and where Lotus blooms with cheerful faces ..
As we plan our trip to
the holy Chalagramam, life offers some interesting things and at the outskirts
of Kathmandu less than 20 km east stands this beautiful temple of ‘Changu
Narayan’ 1541 metres above sea level.
This hill is famously known as dolagiri, dopalarvat, Dolasikhari – the
above of Hari Hari vahan lokeshwor, a World Heritage site listed by UNESCO. The
pagoda style temple has several masterpieces dating back to 5th and
later 12th century Nepalese art.
The temple legend puts
its age to 325 A.D. the times of King
Licchavi King Hari Datta Verma. There is a stone pillar inscription of great
importance recording the military exploits of King Man Deva who reigned from
496 A.D. to 524 A.D.
The ancient beautiful
temple of ‘Shangu Narayan’ is on a hilltop, known as Changu or dolagiri. The temple was surrounded by champak tree
forest and a small village known as Changu. The temple is located in Bhaktapur
District of Nepal. The Manahara River
flows beside the hill. This temple is considered to be the oldest temple in the
history of Nepal. The Temple legend has
it that in ancient times, a Gwala, or
cow herder, brought a cow from a Brahmin named Sudarshan. The cow was known for
producing large quantities of milk. The Gwala used to take the cow to Changu
for grazing. At that time Changu was a forest of Champak trees. While grazing,
the cow always went to the shade of a particular tree. Lord Krishna used to drink milk from the milk
in that champak forest. The modern day
priests are reputed to be descendants of Sudarshan.
The holy Changu Narayan
temple is a milestone in Nepali temple
architecture with rich embossed works. The two-storey roofed temple stands on a
high plinth of stone. The temple is surrounded by sculptures and arts related
to Lord Vishnu. There are also temples of Lord Shiva, Ashta Matrika, Chhinnamasta,
Kileshwor and Krishna inside the courtyard of the main temple. There are four
entrances to the temple and these gates are guarded by life-size pairs of
animals such as lions, sarabhas, griffins and elephants on each side of the
entrances. The ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu (dasavatharas) and the other idols are carved in the struts,
which support the roof. On the main entrance gate (i.e. western entrance gate),
one gets to see Chakra, Sankha, Kamal,
and Khadga all at the top of a stone pillar. These stone pillars have an
inscription in Sanskrit. This inscription is considered to be the oldest
inscription of Nepal and the stone inscription pillar was erected by Licchavi
(kingdom) King Manadeva.
The image of Sreedhara
Vishna is an amazing work – there are also the statues of Bhupatendra Malla,
king of Kantipur and his wife who renovated the temple in 17th
century. This place too was devastated
by earthquake of 2015 but has slowly been reconstructed. Here are some photos taken by me during our
visit.
** the
note featured at the start as could be observed has Chanda Narayan, a brilliant
image of Lord Sriman NaRayana atop Garuda.
This statue dates back to the periods of Lichhavi kings.
~ adiyen Srinivasa dhasan
25th
Oct 2018
PS
: some of the photos not bearing
‘Kairavini Karaiyinile’ watermark belong
to the FB page of Changutemple and acknowledge credits to them.
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