Purattasi Thirumoolam 2026 ~ Jadwiga "King" of Poland'

 Imp. Pre-script:  Today 16^th Oct 2026   is the 289^th  day of the year (290th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 76 days remain until the end of the year.  This post is in two parts – first on Jadwiga (History) of Europe and 2^nd part on Swami Manavala Mamunigal.

Jadwiga (1374 – 17 July 1399), also known as Hedwig   was Queen of the Kingdom of Poland, as well as its last hereditary ruler.  Born in Buda, she was the youngest daughter of Louis I of Hungary and Elizabeth of Bosnia.  

Jadwiga was crowned "King" in Poland's capital, Kraków, on 16 October 1384. Crowned as "King of Poland" not as  "Queen" to reflect the fact that she was a sovereign in her own right.   She was married at a very young age !  The Polish lords did not want to accept fourteen-year-old William of Habsburg as Jadwiga's husband and Polish sovereign.  They thought that the inexperienced William and his Austrian kinsmen could not safeguard Poland's interests against its powerful neighbours, especially the House of Luxembourg which controlled Bohemia and Brandenburg, and had a strong claim on Hungary. The  lords of Lesser Poland were the first to suggest that Jadwiga should marry the pagan duke Władysław II Jagiełło of Lithuania.[61]

Władysław II Jagiełło signed the Union of Krewo in August 1385, promising Queen Elizabeth's representatives and the Polish lords' envoys that he would convert to Catholicism, together with his pagan kinsmen and subjects, if Jadwiga married him. He also pledged to pay 200,000 florins to William of Habsburg in compensation.   According to a Polish legend, Jadwiga agreed to marry Władysław II Jagiełło due to divine inspiration during her long prayers before a crucifix in Wawel Cathedral.  The Polish lords' envoys informed Władysław II that they would obey him if he married Jadwig.  Władysław II went on to Kraków, where he was baptised, receiving the Christian name, Władysław, in Wawel.  On 18 February 1386, Władysław II, who was between 22 and 35 years old, married 12-year-old Jadwiga.  Władysław II styled himself as dominus et tutor regni Poloniae ("lord and guardian of the Kingdom of Poland") in his first charter issued after the marriage. 

Jadwiga was childless for over a decade, which, according to chronicles written in the Teutonic lands, caused conflicts between her and her husband.  She became pregnant in September 1398.  Vytautas, in order to bolster his authority over the Russian principalities, decided to launch an expedition against the Golden Horde with his new Tatar allies, including Tokhtamysh, who been deposed by Timur.  On the occasion of the expected birth to the royal couple, Vytautas sent expensive gifts, including a silver cradle, to the royal court on behalf of himself and his wife, Anna.  The first horoscopes written for Jadwiga's and Władysław II's child in mid-September 1398 predicted a son.  However, a girl was delivered on 22 June 1399 at Wawel Castle.  The newborn princess was named Elizabeth Bonifacia  after Jadwiga's mother and Pope Boniface IX, who, in a letter  of  1399, had agreed to be godfather under the condition that the infant be named after him. She was baptised - However, the infant died after only three weeks. ,  Jadwiga, too, was on her deathbed. Stanisław of Skarbimierz expressed hope that she would survive, describing her as the spiritual mother of the poor, weak, and ill of Poland. She advised her husband to marry Anna of Cilli, Casimir the Great's granddaughter — which he did — and died on 17 July 1399, four days after her newborn daughter.  She was the last hereditary ruler of Poland; her husband and his descendants retained the crown as elective monarchs.  Jadwiga's decision to marry the "elderly" Władysław II instead of her beloved fiancé, William of Habsburg, has often been described as a sacrifice for her country in Polish historiography.   Enough of History !

Today is Friday – 29^th day of Purattasi, 16^th day of Oct 2026 – today is day 5 of Navarathiri Uthsavam and in the evening at Thiruvallikkeni divyadesam, Sri Vedavalli thayar will have purappadu in Velli simha vahanam.  Today is day 4 of Sri Peyalwar thiruvavathara uthsavam – and today being Thirumoolam, Swami Manavalamamunigal will have ul-purappadu with Vedavalli thayar. 

Acaryar Mamunigal is fondly known as ‘Yatheendra Pravanar’ arising out of his irresistible attachment to the lotus feet of Sri Ramanujar [Yatheendrar].  Sri  Manavala Mamunigal is the incarnation of Adisesha.  One must adore and be attached to their Acharyan and only the direction of Acharyar will lift us from all earthly evils – and for Us fallen at the feet called ‘Ponnadiyam Sengamalam’ – Swami Manavala Mamunigal will direct us and take us to salvation.  Those of us who try and uphold the ideals of our religion and its cultural heritage, will sure be benfitted as it then becomes the responsibility of Acharya to take care of Sishya's Atma guna poorthi.  

Of  the many works, ‘Upadesa Rathinamalai’ is one which all of us should know and recite regularly.  There are 73 paasurams + thanian given  by Kovil Kandadai annan and another one rendered by Erumbiappa was rendered in the morning  purappadu.  There was another purappadu in the evening too ~ Emperuman enjoys being with him and hence there is purappadu of Sri Parthasarathi with Mamunigal in the morning  and the evening.  Here are some photos of the evening purappadu in which Iramanuja Noorranthathi was rendered in the goshti. 

இப்படிப்பட்ட கீர்த்திமிகு ரம்ய (அழகிய) ஜாமாதர (மணவாள) முனி (மாமுனிகள்)கள் திருவடிகளுக்கு பல்லாண்டு,  பல்லாண்டு பாடுவோம். 

"மன்னுயிர்காள் ! இங்கே மணவாளமாமுனிவன்

பொன்னடியாம்  செங்கமலப் போதுகளை- உன்னிச்

சிரத்தாலே தீண்டில் அமானவனும் நம்மை

கரத்தாலே தீண்டல் கடன்" 

On this significant day, here are some photos of Swami Manavala Mamunigal at Melukote Thirunarayanapuram  taken in   earlier visit.

adiyen Srinivasa dhasan.  
Mamandur Veeravalli Srinivasan Sampathkumar
16.10.2026 

 

theerthavari purappadu at Kalyani pushkarini

 

Sri Cheluva Narayana Swami & Swami Emperumanar Ramanujar 

Theerthavari purappadu @ Kalyani pushkarini Melukote Thirunarayanapuram 2026

Sri Krishna Rajamudi Uthsavam

: https://youtu.be/aPOuzu3NGQE

Aadi Thiruvathirai 2026 - Udayavar purappadu at Melukote

 

Aadi Thiruvathirai - Udayavar purappadu at Melukote Thirunarayanapuram 2026

Today 10^th of August 2026 is – Aadi 25 – Thiruvathirai thirunakshatiram –   of Swami Emperumanar Yathirajar Ramanujacharya.

நலந்தரும் சொல் 'நமோ நாராயணா' என்னும் நாமம்  .. ... ஸ்ரீவைணவர்களான நாம் அனுதினமும் அனுசந்திக்க வேண்டியது - நம் ஆசார்யனின் திவ்யநாமம். ஸ்ரீராமாநுஜ திவ்யநாமத்தை வாயாரச் சொல்லுவோர்க்கு  எல்லாவிதமான நன்மைகளும் உண்டாகும் என்பது திண்ணம்.  எம்பெருமானுடைய ஸம்பந்தமுள்ள தேசத்தில் தருமத்திற்கு மாறான கலிபுருஷன் நிற்கப்பெறமாட்டான்;   அத்திருநாமங்கள் நாவுக்கும் இனிதாயிருக்கும். சொல்லிப்பாருங்கள் - எம்பெருமானாரே !, உடையவரே !!  பாஷ்யகாரரே !  நம்மிராமனுசரே  ~ என விளியுங்கோள் .  !!

Worshipping Sri Ramanujar at his Avathara sthalam and elsewhere will cure us of all sins and rid all diseases, keeping away mental distress and strain.   Bhagwad Ramanuja with his aesthetic beautiful interpretations occupies the central place.  Sri Ramanujar hailed as Udayavar, Emperumanar, Bashyakarar, Ilayazhwaar amongst other names was born in the year 1017 at Sri Perumpudur on ‘Thiruvathirai’ thirunakshathiram in the month of Chithirai.     

The greatest reformer Sri  Ramanuja gave us many vedantic treatises:  Sri Bashyam, Vedarta sangraha, Vedanta deepa, Vedanta sara, the three Gadyams and more.  Blessed are the people, who regularly recite the 108 songs rendered by his disciple Thiruvarangathu Amuthanar known as “Ramanuja Noorranthathi”.   

We must fall and do service to the lotus feet of Swami Ramanuja ~ immerse ourselves to Him -  “ Ramanujam Yatipatim pranamami moordna”  - prostrate by putting our head at his feet saying  I am worshipping (pranamami!).     There are so many places connected  to him – Thiruvallikkeni, Sriperumpudur, Thirukachi, Thiruputkuzhi, Thiruvarangam, Thiruvellarai, Thirumalai, Maduranthakam, Thirunarayanapuram – the list extends to Delhi, Kashmir, Simhachalam, Puri, Thiruvananthapuram and more 

His birth nakshathiram is celebrated widely ~ at every divya desam, for sure there would be rendering of ‘Ramanuja noorranthathi’ of Thiruvarngathu Amuthanar. 

திருவரங்கத்து அமுதனார், ஒரு அளப்பரிய பக்தர். எம்பெருமானாரிடத்திலே அளவற்ற பற்று கொண்டவர்.   அவர் தமது  இராமாநுச நூற்றந்தாதி பிரபந்தத்தில், ஒவ்வொருபாட்டிலும் இராமாநூசனது திருநாமங்களை, அவரது பெருமைகளையும் சொல்லி மகிழ்கிறார்.   இதோ இங்கே ஒரு பாசுரம்.    

இயலும் பொருளும்   இசையத்தொடுத்து, ஈன் கவிகள்   அன்பால்

மயல்கொண்டு வாழ்த்தும் இராமானுசனை,  மதியின்மையால்

பயிலும் கவிகளில் பத்தியில்லாத  என் பாவி  நெஞ்சால்

முயல்கின்றனன் அவன்றன்   பெருங்கீர்த்தி மொழிந்திடவே. 

கவிதை பாடுதல் மிகவும் கடினம்.  மொழி இலக்கணம் பழக வேண்டும், நல்ல கருத்தாழமுள்ள பொருளை சரியான சொற்களால், சந்தத்தோடு விவரிக்க தெரிய வேண்டும்.   அத்தகைய விலக்ஷணரான கவிகள், தங்கள் அன்பின் வெளிப்பாடாக சப்தமும் அர்த்தமும்,  நன்கு பொருள் வரும்படியாக  தொடுத்து - அவ்வளவு உயர்ந்தவன் அல்லாதவனும்,   பக்தியற்றதான பாவி நெஞ்சையுடையவனும் ஆன நான்  அவ்வெம்பெருமானாரிடம் பெரும் மையல் கொண்டவனாய் அவரையே துதித்து அவர்தம்  அளவற்றகீர்த்திகளை மொழிந்திட முயல்வது, என் மதியின்மையே !  எனினும் கருணை கடலான நம் இராமானுச முனியை நினைந்துருகி அவரை போற்றி பாடுகிறேன் என்கிறார் - அளவறிய ஞானம் படைத்த திருவரங்கத்து அமுதனார்.  திறமையோ, வார்த்தைகளோ, பக்தியோ முக்கியம் அல்ல, எம்பெருமானார் இராமானுஜரை புகழ்தலே நமக்கு சரியான பாதை.

உய்ய ஒரே வழி, உடையவர் திருவடி.  நம் ஆசார்யர்  ஸ்ரீ ராமானுசரின்

புகழ் பாடும் இராமானுச நூற்றந்தாதியினை  கற்று, பாடி  அனுபவிப்போம். 

This year we had the fortune of being at Melukote on 8.8.2026 – and had darshan of Krishna Rajamudi Uthsava theervari at Kalyani Pushkarini.     Here are some photos of Udayavar  purappadu at Melukote Thirunarayanapuram. 

adiyen Srinivasa dhasan.
Mamandur Veeravalli Srinivasan Sampathkumar

Melkote Shri Shelvanarana Swami

 

Panoramic view of the holy Melukote (Thirunarayana Puram), known by several other names such as Vedadri, Yadavagiri, Yadusaila and Dakshina Badarikasrama… — and Jnanamantapa, the pavilion of knowledge.

Sri Cheluva Narayana Swami, photographed near the holy Kalyani Pushkarini thirukulam, with the hill of Sri Yoga Narasimha Temple in the background.

The holy town stands amidst the rocky hill-range of Yadugiri, rising to 3,589 feet (1,094 m) above sea level. It is the only settlement in Mandya district situated above 1,000 metres.

8.8.2026

Krishna Rajamudi - Melkote Sri ShelvaNaranan

 

"திருநாரணன் தாள் காலம் பெறச் சிந்தித்து உய்ம்மினோ"

Melukote Thirunarayanapuram Shri Cheluva Narayana Swami

[Selvapillai] adorning Krishnarajamudi  

Sri U.Ve, Velukkudi Krishnan speaking at Hale Kiranguru

 

 

Sri U.Ve, Velukkudi Krishnan Swami speaking @ Thirumalai Ananthazhwan Uthsavam 2026.at  thiruvavathara sthalam  Hale Kiranguru near Sirangapatna

Saptayabda Poorthi Mahotsavam @ Thirunarayanapuram Melukote

 

 

Saptayabda Poorthi Mahotsavam

 Sri U Ve Vidhwan Thirumalai Ananthanpillai  Srirangam ShelvaNarayanan Swami,   Thirunarayanapuram Acharyapurushar

Melukote Ramanujar thirumanjanam 2023

 

Aani thirumanjanam - Swami Emperumanaar

@ Melukote ThiruNarayanapuram 2023

: https://youtu.be/E5GzDLEevoM

mural of Sree Rama Coronation at Thirunarayanapuram

The most beautiful depiction of Sree Rama Pattabhishekam – a joyous occasion for all as described in Valmiki Ramayana. 

The Coronation marked the triumphant return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya after his fourteen-year exile and his victory over Ravana. This  takes place at the end of the Yuddha Kanda, specifically detailed in Sarga 128. 

This powerful declaration signifies that not only the kingdom of Ayodhya but the entire Universe celebrated merrily, witnessing Rama's royal consecration. It emphasizes the universal significance of Rama's righteous reign and the jubilation it brings to all of creation. 

राघव! अद्य जगत् त्वाम् अभिषिक्तम् आदित्यम् इव दीप्ततेजसम्।

प्रतपन्तं मध्याह्ने, पश्यतु।। 

Rāghava! adya jagat tvām abhiṣiktam ādityam iva dīpta-tejasam.

Pratapantam madhyāhne, paśyatu.

 

"O Rama! Today, let the world see you, when crowned, like the sun with its glowing splendor, shining brilliantly at noon".

 

A characteristic painting in Thanjavur style adorning the walls of Sri Yadugiri Yathiraja Mutt at Melukote, Thirunarayanapuram taken in 2022. 

Tried enhancing / restoring the image with some Online AI tools, while the picture gets better, the finer details like vivid eyes are not proper.

 
adiyen Srinivasa dhasan
Mamandur Veeravalli Srinivasa Sampathkumar 

Udayavar at Thondanur !

 

 

Nammi  Iramanusan at Thondanur near Melukote –

  this thirumeni was installed by  His Holiness Sri Sri Yathiraja Jeeyar Swami   

of Thirunarayanapuram – a few years ago !!

*Krishna Rajamudi* ~ Melukote*Sri Cheluva Narana Swami*

 

Pulchritudinous Crown – *Krishna Rajamudi* adorning ethereal beauty

*Sri Cheluva Narana Swami*  – mystic Melukote Thirunarayanapuram.

 

Thiru Nedunthandagam sevakalam at Melukote Thirunarayanapuram

 

 

Thiru Nedunthandagam sevakalam at Melukote Thirunarayanapuram

: - https://youtu.be/HCXbDRWTgAc?si=7NtK5RthUOfuonpB

Melukote Thirunarayanapuram – Krishna Rajamudi uthsavam

 

Thirumozhi sevakalam - Melukote Thirunarayanapuram –

Krishna Rajamudi uthsavam

: 

https://youtu.be/rHoGVEd0fV8?si=AlhEAoGCp_solpEt

Udayavar thiumanujanam at Melukote Thirunarayanapuram 2023

 

Swami Emperumanar – Udayavar thirumanjanam at Melukote Thirunarayanapuram 2023

Sri Parthasarathi Perumal Rajamudi kireedam 2025

 

Thiruvallikkeni Kodai Uthsavam day 4 – 2025 

During this Uthsavam, Sri Parthasarathi Emperuman everyday adorns different kireedams.  Today it was ‘Rajamudi kondai’ – Emperuman adorning this for the first time.  

Here is a collage of  Thiruvallikkeni Sri Parthasarathi and Melukote Thirunarayanapuram Sri Cheluva Narayanar.

Swami Emperumanar Vellai Sarruppadi - Kuthirai vahanam 2025

"தஸ்மை ராமானுஜார்யாய நம: பரமயோகினே" ~ we fall at the feet of the Greatest of Acharyas who is hailed as the King of all Sages.   On day 6 of the Thiruvavathara  Uthsavam of Emperumanar (Udayavar / Ramanujar] – it is  kuthirai vahanam. On this uthsavam, every year I have been posting  photos of Swami Ramanujar astride a horse wearing ‘white silken robes’ with melancholy – for it was an event in the life of Emperumanar which made us sad.   This year the post is slightly different !!

 

Can you identify or make out what this picture is about ?  Horses have a great role !  Kallazhagar entering Vaigai on horse is famous, Arangan kuthirai vahana kona oyyali is adorable, Kaliyan adalma entering Thirumanankollai is a great sight but not Swami Emperumanar on a horse – that is more of a melancholic story !!

 

Horses have a preeminent placein mythology, movies and .. .. In Greek mythology, several heroes are closely associated with horses, often depicted as skilled riders and horse-tamers. Achilles, the hero of the Trojan War, is known as the "tamer of horses" and was gifted immortal horses by the Gods; Bellerophon tamed the winged horse Pegasus and used it to defeat the Chimera. Other notable examples include Heracles and his immortal horse Arion, and Poseidon, the god of the sea, horses, and earthquakes. 

Bellerophon ["slayer of Belleros") or Hipponous   was a divine Corinthian hero of Greek mythology, the son of Poseidon and Eurynome, and the foster son of Glaukos. He was "the greatest hero and slayer of monsters, alongside Cadmus and Perseus, before the days of Heracles". Among his greatest feats was killing the Chimera of the Iliad, a monster that Homer depicted with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail: "her breath came out in terrible blasts of burning flame." Bellerophon was also known for capturing and taming the winged horse Pegasus with the help of Athena's charmed bridle, and earning the disfavour of the gods after attempting to ride Pegasus to Mount Olympus.

 

 

War Horse is a  famous  war drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg, from a screenplay written by Lee Hall and Richard Curtis that hit the screens in 2011. It is based on Michael Morpurgo's 1982 novel of the same name and its 2007 stage adaptation. Set before and during World War I, its plot follows Joey, a bay Irish Hunter horse raised by English teenager Albert as he is bought by the British Army, leading him to encounter various people throughout Europe, in the midst of the war and its tragedies.

Most likely that you have visited our Rajdhani, the National Capital, New Delhi.  You may be surprised to read that for the better part of the 19th century, the main railway route from Madras to Calcutta and Delhi was through Bombay!  The Madras-Bombay mail train carried through carriages between Madras and Manmad which were detached at Daund. Passengers would then be  transferred to the Great Indian Peninsular Railway's Calcutta mail at Manmad to proceed to the northern and the eastern parts of the country.  Then came the Grand Trunk Express .. .. GT Express  ran from 1st Apr 1929   after the construction of the Kazipet-Balharshah section.  As a prestigious train, it was one of the few to have the early methods of air cooling by ice blocks. It also carried a parcel van for urgent consignments.  'Grand Trunk' express commenced operating as two through carriages running between Peshawar in the North Western Railway (British India) and Mangalore in the South Indian Railway. 

Indraprastha ("Plain of Indra" or "City of Indra")  was a flourishing  city of the Kuru Kingdom. It was the capital of the kingdom led by the Pandavas ~ compares to the present day  New Delhi, particularly the Old Fort (Purana Qila) Unlike the Southern parts of India, Delhi has seen much of occupation and wars.  By some accounts Delhi is  known to have been continuously inhabited since 6th  century BC ~ and in most of its history, it has been the capital of many kingdoms, starting from the days of Pandavas when it was Indraprastha.   

Chakrāvarti Yashwant Rao Holkar (1776–1811) also known as Jaswantrao Holkar belonged to the Holkar dynasty of the Maratha Confederacy was the Maharaja of the Indore. He was a gifted military leader and educated in accountancy as well as literate in Persian and Marathi and Urdu. In January 1799, Yashwant Rao Holkar ascended the Holkar throne.  At that time, in  Delhi, the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II had become puppet monarch of his new masters, the British who successfully replaced Marathas after defeating Sindhia. On 8 October 1804, to gain control over the emperor, Holkar marched towards Delhi and attacked the army of Colonel Ochterlony and Berne. The Siege of Delhi (1804) lasted for more than a week. In that siege, the  important gates - Ajmeri Gate, Kashmiri Gate, and Lahori Gate - saw stiff fighting."

Indian First war of Independence too centered around Delhi.  The siege of Delhi in 1857 was from 8^th June till 21^st Sept.   The hard-fought recapture of Delhi by the British army was a decisive moment in the suppression of the 1857–58 Indian Mutiny against British rule. It extinguished Indian dreams of recreating the rule of the Mughal Empire. The rebellion lost its cohesion, allowing the British to defeat any remaining isolated pockets of resistance. 

Because of that uprising, the  city once known for its resplendent culture of mushairas and poets was to be reduced to one strewn with bodies of the dead. From a royal capital, its status was relegated to that of a provincial town. The city recovered itself only after 1911 and more so after Independence.

Had posted many times earlier  at length on the significance of day 6 – Kuthirai vahanam – vellai sarruppadi vaibhavam – of Swami Ramanujar astride a horse wearing white robes - a symbolic tradition when our Great Acharyar dons white garment and is seen without trithandam. Symbolic of the travail and travel that Ramanujar had to undertake donning the dress of a ‘grahastha’ instead of his reverred kashaya.  For a detailed post on ‘vellai sarruppadi’ – do read this :Udayavar Vellai Sarruppadi 

Swami Emperumanar travelled along the course of river Kaveri, went out of Cholanadu adorning white dress and went places traversing Kongu nadu,  reached Thondanur, where he constructed a huge lake; thence reached Melukote (Thirunarayanapuram) in Mandya district, where he performed many religious discourses and brought in disciplined ways of temple management.    More was to happen as Udayavar travelled to Delhi to the Court of Delhi sultan where the uthsava vigraham of "Ramapriyan" had been taken by the invading  muslim ruler. The vigraham (Chelva Pillai)  when invited by Udayavar walked on its own and sat on the lap of Udayavar.

It is our fortune that we are in the lineage of such great Acaryas and have the fortune of worshipping them and reciting the holy works of Azhwar, Acharyas.   At Thiruvallikkeni on day 6 – Sri Udayavar  on kuthirai vahanam wearing white silken robes halts (mandagappadi) at Sri Yadugiri Yathiraja Mutt that is connected to Melukote Thirunarayanapuram.  Here – saffron robes (kashaya Uthareevam) and garlands are offered to Swami Ramanuja. As Melukote is known for the thiruman & sirchurnam  that we adorn (Swami Ramanujar found them in abundance in the hills of Thirunarayanapuram), they  are distributed to Srivaishnavas.  

Swami Emperumanar lived for 12 years at Melukote, administered the temple and did many kainkaryam changing the fortunes of people living in that area. Let us fall at the feet of our Acaryarn.   Here are some photos of Udayavar uthsavam day 6 of date.   

ஸ்ரீமந்  யதீந்த்ர! தவ திவ்யபதாப்ஜஸேவாம்  :  என்றுமழியாத செல்வமுடைய யதிராஜரே அடியேனுக்கு தேவரீருடைய திருவடித்தாமரைகளில் பண்ணும் கைங்கர்யத்தை, அருளவேணும் !!     

ஆழ்வார் எம்பெருமானார் திருவடிகளே சரணம் -

நம் இராமானுஜன் திருவடிகளே சரணம்.

 

அடியேன் ஸ்ரீனிவாசதாசன்

Mamandur Veeravalli Srinivasan Sampathkumar

28.4.2025  

PS :   if you still remember that pic at the start and could not decipher what it is ?  -  it is Bellerophon Taming Pegasus,  an outdoor sculpture by Jacques Lipchitz, depicting Bellerophon and Pegasus. It was the final sculpture worked on by Lipchitz, and was completed after his death in 1973.  The work depicts the human figure of Bellerophon, standing on a high plinth, tying a rope around the neck of the thrashing Pegasus, whose tail, legs and wings splay dramatically around the central figures. It has been interpreted as a representing man taming nature. In the words of the artist, "You observe nature, make conclusions, and from these you make rules… and law is born from that".  It takes inspiration from Lipchitz's earlier work, Birth of the Muses, which depicts Pegasus landing on Mount Olympus.  The sculpture was commissioned by architect Max Abramovitz for Columbia Law School in 1964.  It was cast in bronze at Pietrasanta in Italy, shipped in pieces to be constructed in New York City, and dedicated on November 28, 1977.  It is installed above the west entrance of Jerome Greene Hall on Revson Plaza, on the Columbia University campus in Manhattan.  The 23 ton sculpture measures approximately 30 feet (9.1 m) by 28 feet (8.5 m), and stands on a 27-foot (8.2 m) high pedestal, making it, after the Statue of Liberty, the second-largest metal statue in New York City, as of 2022