Puttugam2

Tulasi daLa mAtreNa Ma Mahenaiva yatkuman
Pujayeth bhakti Bhavena
Tam RakshANameeti Samarpanah !
Srinivasa thought as to how He would not protect the cow which was giving Him milk everyday , from the queen since His nature is to protect people who worship Him with one Tulasi daLa or perform one pradakshina . He decided to protect the cow immediately . Hence He is called as the one who protects those who are in troubles and those who are orphans .

The Lord is pleased when just one tulasi leaf or one pradakshina is offered to him whole-heartedly.
Bhajan :

Indiresha Govinda Indumukha Govinda !

As the cowherd was about to hit the cow with the axe , Srinivasa came out of the anthill faster than the cowherd and stood between the axe and the cow .His speed is such because He Himself is wind.

Govinda gave His divine Darshan to the cowherd and the cow. He was hit by the axe . But the cow was safe . Govinda started bleeding and that blood raised to the height of seven date-palm trees.Having left in shock seeing the incident , the cowherd fell down on the floor in shock, struggled and finally died .

In Rama Avatara , Sri Rama had cut down and burnt 7 date trees .While His arrow has so much strength and heat , we can imagine the heat of the blood that oozed out . Blood gushed at unimaginable speed.

Srinivasa with the pain of the injury went inside the anthill . The cow was in utter shock. The cow along with the calf went to Chola Raja . The cow started crying in front of the King as it could not speak out anything. The king , having understood some unpleasant incident , called out a sleuth and asked him to go along with the cow and calf into the grass lands and find out the reason for the cow’s sorrow . The sleuth followed the instructions and went to the anthill following the cow . Looking at the cowherd lying down and the blood on the anthill , they decided that someone killed the cowherd. The attendant reported this matter to the king who came running to the anthill.

The king started shouting out for the culprit as per his guess . The king expected that the one who killed the cowherd was hiding in the anthill and shouted at him asking him to come out . The king did not guess that the cowherd had intended to kill the cow. HE wanted to know who killed the cowherd. “Who is the sinner who has killed my cowherd? Please come out immediately” -the king shouted.

Srinivasa also shouted ” I AM COMING ” with a thundering voice which shattered the clouds , made the movement of the air faster due to which the anthill was collapsed . All the trees in the vicinity due to the impact of the shout. Srinivasa manifested in all brightness . He was glowing brightly.

Srinivasa ! Govinda !

Chola Raja was in surprise .Srinivasa addressed the kind and said, “O Sinner, how dare you ask your cowherd to kill me? The king is responsible for protecting dharma in the kingdom. This cowherd was about to kill the cow. He hit me who was protecting the cow. As the ruler, this sin gets transferred to you. To add to it, you have the audacity to come here and question me. shouldnt the king make proper enquiries and come to a conclusion? ON what basis did you question me? Have you completed your enquiry righteously? If the king is at fault in recklessly appointing people for duty, then the sins committed by them get transferred to the king. Due to his deed of this cowherd I am in deep pain. therefore I curse you to become a terrible ghost which is struggling even for water to drink”.

Instantly the king was transformed into a ghost . But soon he realized how much he troubled Srinivasa . The king immediately addressed Srinivasa as Deva Deva Srinivasa and sought pardon from him for behaving in an irrational way . Srinivasa said, “My devotees are very dear to me. I punish those who harm my devotees. I too feel sorry for you. however I cannot take back my word. Experience the punishment for this sin. In future in your lineage Akasha raja will be born. He will offer his daughter to me in marriage. He will offer to me during marriage a gem-studded crown. I will wear that crown on Friday evenings. Till eternity, whosoever have darshan of me in that glittering gem-studded crown, will be rid of all their devilish tendencies. You too will be redeemed of your sin at that time and will be freed from this curse”.

All those who have darshan of the Lord on Friday evenings when He wears this crown are truly blessed. Their devilish tendencies disappear and they become calm and peaceful.

Srinivasa , unable to tolerate the pain of the injury , remembered His Guru Brihaspati. Srinivasa complained to Brihaspati of His injury and requested him to give him a medicine . Brihaspati was pleased for being called by Srinivasa who called him with an intention of giving him the first Darshan on the hill .

Brihaspati reminded Srinivasa of the injuries that occurred on nails He had in Narasimha Avatara , when killed Hiranya Kashipa . He also reminded that Srihari got them cured by applying the fruit juice fig tree (audumbara) along with the latex of calotropis. Please use the same technique to obtain relief from this pain. Saying this Brihaspati took permission and returned back.

Sarva deva roopini gomata…

Towards the end of the day the cows began to go back. Brahma noticed this and signaled Rudra to follow him. However, Rudra who was in the form of a calf was continuously circumambulating the anthill with full devotion. It refused to listen to Brahma

Brahma who was the cow blocked Rudra’s path as if to tell the calf to leave as it was time for the cowherd to wake up. Once awake, he might realize their absence in the group. Although it was angry and upset, the calf, did as advised by his mother and soon they mingled into the massive herd of cows.

Leaving the place as soon as the cowherd fell asleep in order to feed Lord Srinivasa in the anthill and returning right before the cowherd got up became a daily stint for the cow and calf.

One fine day, the queen summoned this cowherd to enquire about the cow and calf that were acquired recently. Even in our day-to-day lives, in anticipation of such sudden calls from our superiors, we must always be ready with our work. We must keep any kind of articles or objects handed over to us always readily accessible. This way, we can be prompt in responding to such surprise instructions from our superiors.

Similarly, the queen instructed the cowherd to bring the milk of this particular new cow. Since the very purpose of buying the cow was for its milk, the queen desired to feed its milk to her son, the prince, so that he could grow up stronger. When instructed thus, the cowherd immediately left to fetch milk.

In those days, it was possible to milk the cows during any time of the day. Since milk was collected only when required, as opposed to today when cows are milked to the maximum possible extent whether need be or not, it was possible to milk the cow at any time of the day. However, when the cowherd tried to milk the cow, nothing came. The udder looked like it had already been milked.

Seeing this, the cowherd, convinced that the cow had already been milked, reports the same to the queen and promises to bring this cow’s milk the next day. These words enraged the queen. Suspecting that the cowherd stole the milk, she gets him punished by the guards around. Weeping and begging forgiveness, the cowherd pleads innocence. The queen let him go on the condition that he brought her the cow’s milk every day. Warning him that such punishment of greater magnitude shall be awarded to him upon failing to bring the milk, she pardons him. Wiping his tears and consoling himself, he reached the cowshed where he saw the cow that brought him so much pain and humiliation. He was so enraged that he felt like ending its life but obviously could not do so. He then questioned all the workers whether any of them had milked the cow. All of them denied doing so. They claimed that they were giving the cow extra special treatment as they were well aware that it was the queens cow. They said that they used silk and cloths of other fine fabrics to clean the cow. It was treated so well that even the dung was cleared in silver platters. Saying all this, they pledged that they never milked the cow.
Convinced that they were innocent, knowing that he was innocent and fully aware that the cow was being fed well, the cowherd decided to investigate the next day’s events to find the cause for the missing milk. Next day, insisting that he would take care of the entire herd himself, the cowherd did as usual but this time, only pretended to fall asleep while attentively watching the cow and its calf. Soon, much to his surprise, he saw the calf and cow stray away from the herd. They movement was too orderly to be considered to be a mistake. The cowherd followed them with curiosity and stealthily and saw that they finally stopped at an anthill. Then, he saw that the cow automatically started pouring its milk into the anthill. The cowherd got enraged. He felt betrayed! It seemed to him as if the cow was doing this on purpose in order to get him punished or worse, killed.

Seeing this, he was reminded of all the blows of yesterday and the imminent death upon failing to do as instructed by the queen. In a fit of rage, he raised his axe to strike the cow. This brought deep pain to Srinivasa who was in the anthill below. The Lord, known as “swalpa maatra santushta”, one who is pleased with very little offering, decided to protect the cow for the few drops of milk it gave him. So, even before the cowherd could strike the cow and kill it, Lord Srinivasa, came in the way of the axe and took the blow instead of the cow.

Bhajana: Govindudu Sundarudu

Lakshmi Devi in karaveeravam kept yearning for Srihari and chanting His name. Srinivasa, meanwhile inside the anthill had not eaten anything in days.

Knowing this Lakshmidevi realized her immediate responsibility and transformed herself into a cowherdess . This wonder brought great joy to Brahma and Shiva . They understood Lakshmi devi’s intention and transformed into cow ( Brahma ) and calf ( Shiva ) and reached Lakshmi Devi . This way Brahma’s desire to coming to earth was fulfilled . Rudra is obviously there in every of Vishnu’s avataras and here he came in the form of a calf . Lakshmi Devi looked at them adorably .

The calf was very playful as it is the form Rudra . The cow was watching out for the calf but the calf was jumping in excitement . Goddess Lakshmi approached the King Chola Raja and poured her sad story of her losing her wealth and that she is left with only the cow and the calf starting from her palatial residence till even her husband . She explained how the fateful turn of events rendered her thus . After discussing this , she left the cow and calf in charge of the king. The king took charge of the cow and calf and gave money to her in lieu of them.

He then handed over their responsibility to a cowherd. The king gave special instructions to the cowherd for the cow and calf to be well taken care of. He instructed that the milk of the cow, which appeared to be of good breed, should be used for feeding his son, the prince of the land. The cowherd was instructed to take special care of this cow and calf.

The two were taken along with a large herd of cows to plush pastures for grazing . Then, unlike today where cows are tied down and fed stale food , the cows enjoyed grazing freely in green pastures . Thus these two blended into the massive herd of cows . The calf was playful and was drawing attention . Occasionally Brahma, in the form of cow got a little frustrated because he was unable to control the dynamic shiva in the form of a calf and wondered why Shiva in particular, instead of one of the celestials, took form as the calf . Leaving the cows to graze , the cowherd relaxed under a huge tree .

Seeing the sleeping cowherd , Brahma and Shiva quietly slipped away and directly reached the anthill. As all the cows were grazing , the Cow reached the anthill in which Srinivasa was resting. Shiva who was the calf immediately offered pradakshina to the anthill. Brahma who was the cow shed tears and stood on the anthill which was covered by a huge tamarind tree . Milk trickled down into the anthill from the cow’s udder . It was like Ksheerabdhi Abhishekam. For this reason the Lord Srinivasa loves milk abhishekam.

Srinivasa, who forgot what hunger was, was alerted with the trickling milk . Srinivasa started drinking that milk . In reality celestial like Lord Srinivasa and saints do not have hunger . They pretend hunger and other human like qualities to reach out to people .

In this incarnation of Srinivasa, for the first time we witness union of the Trinity. Brahma’s four faces like four Vedas poured down milk . It can be said that the Vedas incarnated as the cow and worshipped the Supreme Lord. The Vedas thus served the Lord. The cow, as an embodiment of four Vedas , extolled as sarva Veda rupini , worshipped lord Srinivasa , an Avatara of lord Vishnu .

Sarva deva roopini Gomata; Sarva kama dayini gomata

Srihari did not respond despite Maharshi Bhrigu’s praising and chanting Him with several divine names. Lakshmi also did not respond nor did recommend. People were staring at Maharshi but never responded nor recommended.

Brahma pretended to be meditating, Shiva pretended to be dancing and Vishnu was pretending to be sleeping in bliss . Hence He decided that Trimurtis were ignoring him and were egoistic. He was blaming Tirmutis.

On the request of all the sages on earth, He had walked all the way in the skies to reach these celestial planes. But those celestials in Vaikuntha were not respecting me. They were all good and cool. Srihari did not respond to my praise too. Srihari was lying down on snake bed without responding. On the earth, people adore him with reverence . He was blaming people around for not informing Lakshmi atleast of his arrival . It was incomprehensible to the sage where Srihari was smiling or pretending like child.

He thought that Trimurtis were teaching him lesson.

Bhrigu who was infuriated kicked Srihari on the chest , the abode of Mahalakshmi and was about to leave that place. He could not attack the other two ; Brahma and Shiva .Bhrigu wanted to make Srihari realize his arrival and hence kicked Him.

Srihari woke up , ran and caught hold of Bhrigu’s feet enquiring whether his feet were hurt due to kicking him on his chest. Srihari washed Bhrigu’s feet, sprinkled the water on the His head. “Oh, you possess such delicate feet, you have walked on the path of skies to reach me. I hope these feet are not paining due to kicking me on my chest’ – said Lord Srihari

Srihari is the God having the 14 worlds in His womb and yet so humble . He washed the sage’s feet and wiped them with his upper cloth. Srihari bent down to see the wound if any that was caused to the sage. Bhrigu immediately stopped the LOrd and praised Him for His patience and generosity which he expressed by touching his feet despite his deed of insulting him. Bhrigu pleaded by saying
Aparadha sahasrani Kryanthe aharnisham maya
dasoyamamatva kshamaswa parameswara !!

“As a rectification of my mistake, I keep singing the glory of my lord to all the 14 worlds.”

Regretting his deed, Bhrigu offered obeisance to Srihari and Lakshmi and then departed to earth.

Hari Hari Hari Hari anara’
Harinarayani sharanammanara !!

Chant Hari nama. Those who chant Hari Nama , never get any difficulty. Chant while sitting, standing. while eating sleeping and feeding kids. By giving good names of God to children, we are unknowingly chanting.

While offering oblations to Maharshi Bhrigu’s feet, Srihari presses the eye which is underneath the foot of Bhrigu which is the source of power and spiritual strength of Maharshi. Bhrigu did not even notice what Srihari did. His arrogance stemmed due to this eye present on his feet. Srihari plucked it out.

Lakshmi resides in the chest of Srihari. Since Srihari pressed the feet of the person who had kicked his chest, Mother Lakshmi was annoyed. She came down to earth.

when analyzed it appears like a drama to ensure Mother Lakshmi comes down to earth. We will know as the story proceeds further….

Bhrigu reached Shiva’s abode, Kailasam. Shiva tandava reached climax in vigour. Jaganmata was expressing lasyam and as Bhrigu was noticed by Parvati, She could also not catch up with Lord Shiva and His speed. As everyone’s pitch and rhythm went wrong, they all looked at each other as to what was going wrong. The ambiance lost its brightness and Lord shiva shouted at the one who made Him stop His tandava. Shiva raised his trident.

Bhrigu also got wild looking at the anger of Shiva. He was enraged. Jatganmata became alert and realized that the trident was pointing at the sage Bhrigu, She rushed forward and held his hand and stopped him. She pleaded Shiva addressing Him”Deva, deva, why are you angry? After all, isn’t he your son and your devotee?’

Hearing Parvati’s words Shiva calmed down. He is Bhola Shankar, the one who gives away whatever the devotee asks for. But Bhrigu was in the same anger. He could not restrain his anger. He shouted, “Why are you so angry? Who can worship an angry God? HEnceforth no one will worship you in a form. People will worship you only in a from of linga”  For this reason, Shiva is only Bindu roopa. Worship is not offered to idol of Shiva but only to his linga.

This was the curse given to Shiva. Veerabhadra and other troops of Shiva who heard this curse could not control their anger. They wanted to fight but Shiva stopped them from doing so.

Bhrigu left the place in anger and was noticed by Shiva. He began to run towards Vaikunta in great haste. Bhrigu’s breathe had hot air and harsh sounds due to his agitation and speed. As He was rushing towards Vaikuntha, there was a cool breeze which reduced the hot airs of Bhrigu to some extent.The breeze also carried very sweet waves of sandal smell. The sweet smell was intoxicating. He found golden ambiance around. They are sparkling. That made even the body of Bhrigu also into calm and shining. With this the saint calmed a little.

That place was identified as Ananda Nilayam, a divine place where Lord Vishnu resided also known as Vaikuntha.

Narayana Hari Narayana !
Narayana Narayana
Achyutam Keshavam Rama Narayanam.

Looking at this Annada nilayam, Bhrigu cooled down. He enjoyed the beauty of that place. People there are happy, smiling and Sage was also charming. Everyone is in a state of bliss here. He went to the snake bed on which Vishnu was lying down. Goddess Mahalakshmi was seated beside the Lord. She was looking only at Vishnu. She was taking measures to ensure his sleep does not get disturbed. She was waiting to offer services to Lord when he wakes up. She was also thinking of the alternative to maintain silence and peace even if there was a disturbance.

People in Vaikuntha were very happy and welcoming unlike emotional people in Kailasam and meditating and serious people in Satya lokam. People in Vaikuntha were in total bliss with smiles on their faces as if they were welcoming Bhrigu but no one was talking to Bhrigu. Everyone was in a state of bliss. Everyone was happy, calm and peaceful. It seemed very peculiar for him. He had bitter experiences in the two previous places. Now in Vaikuntha , he did not want to come to a conclusion as this is the only place left for him. to be peaceful and finish the task of judging the best decide the best among the Trimurtis.. He was unable to understand whether they were laughing at him or what? Bhrigu expected someone among those celestials who had been good for him to put a word of recommendation to Vishnu to respond to Bhrigu. Should he sit? or stand? there was none to greet him. What was he to do? He was perplexed. However none of them was going and reporting to the Lord of his arrival. None seem bothered about him.
Achyutam Keshavam Rama Narayanam
Sridharam Madhavam Rama Narayanam.

How much ever Bhrigu praised and sang the glory of the Lord Vishnu, Vishnu was in total bliss. He did not get up from his yogic sleep. Lakshmi also did not heed the presence of Bhrigu nor informed Vishnu about his arrival there.Bhrigu was infuriated. He decided that all the Trimurtis are egoistic. there was none among them who is greatVishnu was not even honouring him.

Brahma pretended to be meditating blissfully; Shiva pretended to be dancing blissfully and Vishnu pretended to be lying down in eternal bliss.

“I am deeply revered on earth. I came travelling on the path of skies. All the sages selected me to decide the best of the Trimirtis. Here no one was co operating. Even after glorifying him, this Lord does not even bother about me. How rude is he! He is pretending to be asleep. Why should I bother about these trivial Gods when the Supreme Lord is there? None of these three Gods are worthy’ HE thought angrily.