PART-23......PUSHPAVANAM-RAMESWARAM-THIRUPPULLANI-SAATTUR-ETTAYAPURAM..


23
Rameswaram, Tiruppullani and journey to Ettayapuram

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The kriti sarasa souvIra in the rare rAga souvIra is said to have been composed by Muttuswami Dikshitar at the shrine of Pushpavaneswara in the village of Pushpavanam near Madurai.
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It is said that once when Muttuswami Dikshitar was singing the kritis mInAkShi mEmudam and mAmava mInAkshi at the Madurai temple, the priests of the temple asked him as to where he hailed from. Dikshitar's disciple Tevur Subramania Iyer who had accompanied his guru told the priests that they were from Tiruvarur and that the composer of the kritis that they had just heard was the personage in front of them and that his name was Sri Muttuswami Dikshitar. 
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The priests and other devotees after paying their respects to the great man then said that two musicians hailing from Tiruvarur had visited the temple a few times and that the elder of them, Chinnaswami Dikshitar had passed away and that the younger one, Baluswami Dikshitar, distressed at the loss, had gone on pilgrimage to Rameswaram. Dikshitar immediately decided to visit Rameswaram in order to meet his youngest brother.
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A pilgrimage to Kashi is enjoined upon every devout Hindu. But the pilgrimage to Kashi is not complete without visiting Rameswaram and performing abhiShEka to the Lord with the holy water of the Ganga.
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 Rameswaram is an island situated about 100 miles from Madurai. The island is shaped like a conch and stands at the edge of the Palk Straits. The Bay of Bengal meets the Indian Ocean at Dhanushkoti, a few miles from Rameswaram. Rameswaram and its surrounding areas are popularly connected with the story of Sri Rama. It was from here that the Prince of Ayodhya marched to Sri Lanka to wage war against Ravana and rescue his Consort Sri Sita. After the victorious battle with Ravana, Sri Rama on his way back to Ayodhya, arrived at Rameswaram. To atone for the sin of killing Ravana, Sri Rama decided to offer worship to Lord Siva and bid his lieutenant Hanuman to bring a Linga from the Himalayas. Since Hanuman was delayed, Sri Sita made a Linga out of sand. This is the Ramanatha Linga. 
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Meanwhile Hanuman returned with a Sivalinga and was upset that his efforts were in vain. Sri Rama, in order to pacify him, gave the name Viswalinga to Hanuman's Linga and ordained that it should be worshipped first. Thus the sanctum contains two Sivalingas. A bath in the sea, in the 22 tIrthas inside the temple and at Dhanushkoti island are considered mandatory for a Hindu and are supposed to wash away one's sins. 

The Lord is Sri Ramanathaswamy (worshipped by Sri Rama) and the Goddess is Parvatavardhini.
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Dikshitar, as a devout follower of sanAtana dharmA must certainly have followed the shAstraic injunctions. After the performance of the prescribed rituals, Muttuswami Dikshitar had darshan of the deities and composed the kAshirAmakriya kriti rAmanAtham bhajEham in praise of the Lord and parvatavardhani in sAma rAga in praise of the Goddess.
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 At the temple Dikshitar heard from certain people that Baluswami Dikshitar had visited Rameswaram and stayed for a few days and that he regularly sang at the shrine. They also told him that during this period, the Raja of Ettayapuram had visited Rameswaram and attracted by the music had requested Baluswami to accompany him to Ettayapuram which invitation the latter had accepted. Dikshitar was happy as he now knew the exact whereabouts of his brother.
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On the way, between Rameswaram and Ramanathapuram, is the village of Tiruppullani. This was where Sri Rama worshipped the Mother Goddess. The Prince of Ayodhya slept on a bed of grass and performed intense tapas in order to secure Her blessings for the success of his mission of rescuing Sri Sita. Hence the place is called Tiruppullani in Tamil or Darbhashayanam in Sanskrit. 
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There is a beautiful temple to Sri Rama here. Offering worship to the Perumal, Dikshitar wrote the song srI rAmam ravikulAbdi sOmam in the rAga nArayaNagauLa. This is an exceptional composition and is a veritable lesson in that rAga.
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Dikshitar continued his journey in the direction of Ettayapuram. One has to pass through extremely arid regions on the way. The entire territory is permanently drought affected. The earth is parched and rarely does one come across a shade giving tree. The situation has not changed over time. He then took some rest at a chatram where he espied a few priests who were discussing about a marriage to take place at Ettayapuram. Dikshitar enquired of them and discovered that Baluswami Dikshitar, who was now an AsthAna vidwAn of the Ettayapuram court was to get married and that they were on their way there. The festivities promised to be grand and brahmins could hope to be fed and compensated well. Dikshitar then revealed that the bridegroom was none other than his own younger brother. The priests were delighted and said that they would be happy to take Dikshitar to Ettayapuram along with them. Thus, Dikshitar, his two wives and the earnest disciple Tevur Subramania Iyer who followed Dikshitar like a shadow, much like Lakshmana of Ramayana fame, accompanied the priests.
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A few miles from Sattur, the party sat down at a grove for rest. Dikshitar was tired and thirsty. The owner of the grove after offering water to Dikshitar and attracted by the latter's divine mien, related the heartrending tale of the people of that region. For many years now there was scanty rain. The fields were parched and so were the throats of the people. Poverty and hunger were quite common. Listening to the hardship of the people Dikshitar's heart melted. As a divine personage, it occurred naturally to him that he should do something about the situation. What better way than to appeal to the Supreme Power through song? Then and there, Muttuswami Dikshitar created a new rAga and composed a song in it. In the song he appealed to the Mother Goddess to pour rain as amritA (amritEshwari salilam varShaya, varShaya, varShaya). Appropriately named, the rAga amritavarShiNi is Dikshitar's gift to the music world. Which mother can resist the earnest appeals of her son? Much less the Divine Mother. As Dikshitar prayed and sang 'AnandAmritAkarShiNi', the skies darkened accompanied by lightning and thunder. Rains poured to the happiness and satisfaction of the people of that area. They fell prostrate at Dikshitar's feet and sought his blessings. Though seemingly a miracle and somewhat incredible, such occurrences are not rare, especially when the individual concerned is a mahApuruSha as Dikshitar.
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Dikshitar and party continued their journey and reached Ettayapuram.

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