Irapathu 2 2025 ~ மாசதிர் ஏது? மாசதிர் means .. ........ ..........

 

Thiruvallikkeni - Iraapathu Uthsavam 2025 – day 2   - 

திருவல்லிக்கேணி இராப்பத்து  உத்சவம்:  ஸ்ரீ வேணுகோபாலன் திருக்கோலம்

ஸ்ரீமன் நாராயணன் (கேசவனின்) பக்தர்களாக பெருமை பெற்றவர்கள் - பெரிய சிறப்பை அடைந்து வாழ்பவர்கள்.  எல்லார்க்கும் ஸ்வாமியாய், சிவந்து அழகிய திருக்கண்களை உடைய விண்ணோர்  நாதனை,   ஸ்வாமியாய் பற்றியவர்கள், கீழும் மேலுமுள்ள ஏழேழ் பிறப்புக்களிலும், பகவத் பக்தராகப் பெற்றார்கள்.  இதைவிட வேறு மாசதிர் ஏது?   மாசதிர்  means ‘Great wonder’ !! செந்தமிழ்ச் சொற்பிறப்பியல் பேரகரமுதலி.   

We studied in our school, tried to memorise and reproduce  them in exams  – and there were discrepant lists ! – the 7 wonders of the World.  

The Temple of Artemis  was a Greek temple dedicated to an ancient goddess Artemis, was located in Ephesus (near the modern town of Selçuk in present-day Turkey). By 401 AD it had been ruined or destroyed.  Only foundations and fragments of the last temple remain at the site. The Colossus of Rhodes  was a statue of the Greek sun god Helios, erected in the city of Rhodes, on the Greek island of the same name, by Chares of Lindos in 280 BC. It was constructed to celebrate the successful defence of Rhodes city against an attack by Demetrius I of Macedon, who had besieged it for a year with a large army and navy.  

These two were in that list -  Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, selected by Hellenic travelers and noted in poetry and other arts, tell the stories of human imagination and technical aptitude, and how civilizations left their marks on the world and culture.  Amid the march of progress throughout the modern world, evidence of Earth’s rich past exists in historical constructions that tell stories of human achievement. Among these, seven were deemed “wonders”: hallowed examples of the contributions of ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern civilizations. While these constructions are stunning achievements of ancient engineerning, they did not  include marvels from many of the ancient civilizations of Africa, Europe, and Asia, and the Americas, which were unknown to the Hellenic peoples.  

Various lists of the Wonders of the World have been compiled from antiquity to the present day, in order to catalogue the world's most spectacular natural features and human-built structures. A matured mind knows that these are in no way wonders ! 

The great epic Mahabaratha is not to be seen   as a war memoir ~  the epic is purveyor of morals,  the several kinds of dharma.  The Supreme Lord  Bhagwan  Sri Krishna chose to live in this earthly World, guided people, gave us the great Bhagwat Gita as informing the confused warrior Arjuna.  Supreme Lord Krishna was born in Madura, overnight moved to Gokul and childhood exploits all occurred in Gokulam, Govardhanam and Vrindavanam.  In the quaint town of Gokul, the Lord was brought up by His foster parents along with cowherds.  The divine brothers Krishna & Balarama, grazed cows, mingled with people, performed miracles and grew up delivering great principles and knowledge.  Dwaraka is another place associated with the Royal Kingdom of Krishna. 

The little calf and the cow knows the fruits of surrender – they are with HIM – and how do we live our life ! 

கேசவன்தமர்க்கீழ்மேல்  எமரேழெழுபிறப்பும்,

மாசதிரிதுபெற்று நம்முடைவாழ்வுவாய்க்கின்றவா,

ஈசனென்கருமாணிக்கம்  என் செங்கோலக்கண்ணன்,

விண்ணோர் நாயகன், எம்பிரானெம்மான் நாராயணனாலே. 

Swami Nammalwar, the purpose of Adhyayana Uthsavam and Irapathu,  advises us to chant always the name of Kesava, have Him as our Lord and Master.  The  Lord of celestials,  lotus-eyed Krishna, black-gem Lord, Narayana – would take care of us and all our kin through seven generations – and how gifted We are to be His devotees.   That is  a wonder, what a fulfillment!  

On day 2 of Irapathu Uthsvam at Thiruvallikkeni on 31.12.2025,  the  Lord who volunteered to be the Charioteer to  Arjuna -  Sri Parthasarathy shone in radiance  as ‘Sri Venugopalar ‘ – the cowherd - -  one with the Flute and Cows.  Let us surrender at the golden feet of the Lord of Vaikundam, the eternal, faultless, immeasurable, ever blissful land. Here are some photos of Perumal taken  during  the purappadu.  

 
adiyen Srinivasa dhasan
Mamandur Veeravalli Srinivasan Sampathkumar
1.1.2026