For Srivaishnavaites, life is blissful – today 5th August is day 4 in Thiruvadipura uthsavam and being Thiruvathirai, is the masa thirunakshathiram of our great Acaryar Swami Ramanujar
Four years ago, we are fully engrossed in the Sahasrabdi Thiruvavathara
mahothsavam of the greatest Saint Swami. 29th Apr 2017 was
day 8 of the Uthsavam – in general Emperumanar would have purappadu in Silver
yanai vahanam at Thiruvallikkeni but that being part of a grand mahothsavam –
it was big Golden Yanai vahana purappadu for Udayavar.
Elephants are the largest
land mammals on earth and have distinctly massive bodies, large ears, and long
trunks. Elephant tusks serve many purposes. These
extended teeth can be used to protect the elephant's trunk, lift and move
objects, gather food, and strip bark from trees. They can also be used for
defense. During times of drought, elephants even use their tusks to dig holes
to find water underground. The African elephant is the largest of all elephant
species and weighs up to eight tons. Asian
elephants differ in several ways from their African relatives, with more than
10 distinct physical differences between them.
Nearer home in Coimbatore
, in a surprise development, elephant ‘Rivaldo’, which was freed in the core forest
area, retreated back to Masinagudi by trekking a long way. The elephant was
radio collared and set free from its kraal at Chikkala forest area. The animal had moved to Sigur area and
further to Masinagudi. En-route Rivaldo joined two more elephants and was
foraging along with them. But later it got separated from them.
Miles away, the herd of 15
wild Asian elephants covered a 500km stretch on a journey that began over a
year ago when they left their designated elephant protection zone in Xishuangbanna,
near China’s border with Myanmar. They
headed northwest, though the reason behind this migration is unknown.
The group took a break during which they
were captured sleeping together in a patch of forest on the outskirts of
southwest China’s Kunming. Now comes the
news that China's roaming elephants are finally on the way home after wandering
for more than 16 months across the country.
It's been slow going for
Chinese authorities trying to usher the 14 pachyderms back to their home
reserve near China's border with Thailand. The whole operation is run by almost
40 forestry firefighters, who keep tabs on the herd with drones as the jumbo
travelers trundle through thick forests and villages, reported AFP. When the
elephants enter populated areas, the task force cuts the power to prevent the
giants from electrocuting themselves or starting fires. They send everyone
indoors, then deposit bananas and other foods on the other side of town to
persuade the elephants to cross, per AFP. Global media started paying attention
to the roving herd about a year ago, as the beasts started wreaking havoc
through Yunnan's farmlands on a seemingly aimless migration northeast. Chinese
media set up livestreams to track their journey, and millions tuned in to see the animals' traveling
antics, which include raiding farms, visiting a car dealership, and napping in
fields. Now that they're headed home, the firefighters painstakingly track the
elephants while they sleep, snack, and pilfer their way back southwest. Most
nights, the Chinese team sleeps in their vehicles or out in the open air,
headquartering in villages sometimes.
The wandering behemoths
have been on the move for nearly 16 months, and will take at least several more
months to get home — elephants typically walk up to 18 miles a day, and this
herd has hundreds of miles to go before arriving at the reserve. Experts are
still stumped as to why this particular herd left its home in the first place.
The group originally consisted of 16 elephants, but two went home, and another
was brought to Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve after striking out on his
own. Two babies were also born on the journey, officials told AFP.
Further still in US, the giant
white elephants at tourist magnet Hollywood & Highland are being quietly
removed as new owners update the famous shopping center where the annual
Academy Awards are held and shed references to the movie industry’s past —
features that revive memories of racism and sexual exploitation. Crews recently
began dismantling two giant white
fiberglass elephants, which are part of the complex’s tribute to the Babylon
set of D.W. Griffith’s 1916 movie “Intolerance.” All of the faux Mesopotamian
elements will be taken out or altered in favor of a design developers hope will
be more timeless as part of a $100-million makeover of the mall announced last
year that is set for completion next summer.
To Srivaishanavaites, Swami Ramanuja Muni is vezham [elephant] and generally has purappadu in velli yanai (silver) – but in 2017 it was Thanga yanai (Golden elephant)
In the Srivaishna
sampradhayam, Bhagwad Ramanuja with his aesthetic beautiful interpretations
occupies the central place - that was
Akshaya Tritiya day too. The greatest
reformer Sri Ramanuja gave us many vedantic treatises: Sri Bashyam,
Vedartasangraha, Vedanta deepa, Vedanta sara, the three Gadyams and
more. Our darsana Sthapakar, Sri Ramanujar is rightly reverred as ‘YathiRajar’
~ the king among yathis [hermits and sages], it is our Acharyan who
showed us the right direction to follow.
யோநித்யம் அச்யுத பதாம்புஜ யுக்மருக்ம*
வ்யாமோஹதஸ் ததிதராணி த்ருணாய மேநே **
அஸ்மத் குரோர் பகவதோsஸ்ய தயைகஸிந்தோ: *
ராமாநுஜஸ்ய சரணௌ ஶரணம் ப்ரபத்யே !!
அழிவற்ற கலக்கமே இல்லாத அச்சுதன் எனும் எம்பெருமானிடத்தில் அளவிட முடியாத பிரேமை கொண்ட ஸ்ரீராமாநுஜர் உலகத்திலுள்ள பொருட்களையும் ஆசைகளையும் ஒரு புல்லுக்கு சமானமாகவே கருதினார். கல்யாண குணங்களை கொண்டவரும், எல்லையில்லா தயையின் கடலுமான அவரே நமக்கெல்லாம் குரு. ஆச்சார்யர் உடையவரது திருவடிகளே நமக்கு சரண். [எம்பெருமானார் தனியன் கூரத்தாழ்வான் அருளிச்செய்தது].. .. ..
Blessed are the people,
who regularly recite the 108 songs rendered by his disciple Thiruvarangathu Amuthanar
known as “Ramanuja Noorranthathi”. Here
are some photos of the grand purappadu at Thiruvallikkeni on 29.4.2017
adiyen Srinivasa dhasan,
Mamandur Veeravalli Srinivasan Sampathkumar
5th Aug 2021.
Very nice.
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