Vaikasi Punarvasu 2022 - Annamayya Ramananjeya lahari

நற்பண்புகள் அனைத்துக்கும் சிகரம் ஸ்ரீராமபிரான்.  அற்புதமான நகரம் திரு அயோத்தி.  தசரத சக்ரவர்த்திக்கு இக்ஷ்வாகு குலத்தனமாம் இராமனும் இலக்குவண பரத சத்ருக்கணனும் பிறந்த  செய்தியை அரசவை காவலர்கள்  யானை மீதேறி முரசறைந்து அறிவித்தனர்.  மக்கள் அளக்கமுடியாத இன்பம் கொண்டனர்.  

 

Today 3.6.2022 is Vaikasi Punarvasu – in general, on Punarvasu there would be purappadu of Sree Rama – however, today being Vasantha Uthsava starting, there would be periya mada veethi purappadu of Sri Parthasarathi Perumal – Swami Nammalwar uthsavam also starts today. 

River Danube  is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through much of Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest into the Black Sea.  The river carries its name from its source confluence in Donaueschingen onwards.  Danube was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today is the river running through the largest number of countries in the world (10; the Nile is second with 9). Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for 2,850 km (1,770 mi), passing through or bordering Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine before draining into the Black Sea. Its drainage basin extends into nine more countries. The largest cities on the river are Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade and Bratislava, all of which are the capitals of their respective countries.  The Danube river basin is home to fish species such as pike, zander, huchen, Wels catfish, burbot and tench. It is also home to a large diversity of carp and sturgeon, as well as salmon and trout.  Since ancient times, the Danube has been a traditional trade route in Europe.   

Danube   river name derived from the Celtic 'danu' a mother goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann.    The Tuath(a) Dé Danann (meaning "the folk of the goddess Danu"), are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. They are thought to represent the main deities of pre-Christian Gaelic Ireland.  It  constitutes a pantheon whose attributes appeared in a number of forms throughout the Celtic world.  

Moving away from Europe and river – heard a very beautiful Annamayya keerthana on Lord Rama  (Annamayya Ramanjaneya lahari)  .. .. .. 

రామ దశరథరామ నిజ సత్య- కామ నమో నమో కాకుత్థ్సరామ ||

 

In this beautiful keerthana, Annamayya extols Sree Ramachandramurthi as the son of Dasaratha,  who defeated demon, one who is eternally praise-worthy, incarnation of God possessing magnificent  characteristic   

தனுஜஹரண ராம தஶரத ஸுத ராம

வினுதாமர ஸ்தோத்ர விஜயராம |

மனுஜாவதாரா ராம மஹனீய குணராம

அனிலஜப்ரிய ராம அயோத்யராம || 

Here Annamacharya writes as ‘dhanuja harana’ - Danu,  Goddess, is mentioned in the Rigveda, as mother of the Danavas. The word Danu described the primeval waters which this deity perhaps embodied. In the Rigveda, she is identified as the mother of Vritra, the demonic serpent slain by Indra.  There are also references to her as the daughter of the god Daksha and his spouse Panchajani, and the consort of the sage Kashyapa.  As a word for "rain" or "liquid", dānu is  also compared to Avestan dānu, "river". 

Here is a mellifluous rendering of the Annamacharya sankeerthana by Balakrishna Prasad in Visaarada ragam set to Adi thalam, with music score by Balakrishna Prasad himself :   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITd7UvqZBnQ 

Today is Vasantha Uthsava arambam – reminiscing the past  - 3.4.2022 was day 2  of Sree Rama Navami uthsavam.  Here are some photos of Sree Ramar purappadu at thiruvallikkeni on that day. 

adiyen Srinivasa dhasan 
Mamandur Veeravalli Srinivasan Sampathkumar
3.6.2022