Varuna Japam at Arunachaleswarar Temple: Sunday 9 July, 2017

Varuna japam and yagam was performed on Sunday 9 July, 2017 at Arunachaleswarar Temple. The rendition of Varuna Japa whilst immersed in the Arunachaleswarar tank, is a ritual meant to propitiate the rain god (Varuna) to bestow copious rain and banish famine, is also aimed at appeasing the Almighty to ensure common good and world peace.

Priests at Arunachaleswarar Temple Theertham

Varuna Japam in Temple Tank

Varuna Japa comprises many rituals. Some scholars stand for hours in chest deep water in a Temple tank whilst chanting the Varuna mantra or other mantras. Some perform abhisheka to the Lord's processional deities, others conduct homam to propitiate the rain Gods, do japa or recite the Vedas and sanstras.

God Varuna

Varuna in the Vedas is a powerful God. He is the guardian of cosmic order (rta=rhythm=ruth=truth) and in charge of the oceans, water sources and rains. He is worshipped by seagoing people and fishermen. His vahana (vehicle) is shark fish or crocodile. Tamils have always believed in his control over rains and worshipped him for rains. In this respect one of the oldest Tamil book “Tolkappiam” says he is the God of littoral areas/Neithal.

Lord Varuna on Crocodile Vahana

On another level Varuna is in charge of the West direction, (Lord Indra controls the East). Mitra and Varuna are paired in Vedic hymns which to the belief of interpreting them as Day and Night, Sun and Moon, Light and Dark, and Positive and Negative energy. The Tamil saint Agastya (who made a grammar of the Tamil Language) is considered to be the son of Varuna and Urvasi.

In Valluvar’s Tirukkural, it is said:

Couplet 18 "If rains fail, festivals of the year and the daily worship of the gods will cease".

Couplet 19 "Charity and devotional practices will not be observed in the world unless rain falls."

[Extract from article by London Swaminathan] Below is an audio of the proper chanting of Varuna Japam 

Amurya upa surye 

Yabhirva surya saha 

Ta no hinvantvadhvaram 

Apo devirupa hvaye 

Yatra ghava pibanti na 

Sindubhya kartva havi 

"May waters gathered near the Sun, and those wherewith the Sun is joined, speed forth this sacrifice of ours. I call the Waters, Goddesses, wherein our cattle quench their thirst; oblations to the Streams to be given". 

Tat tva yami brahmaa 

Vandamanastada saste 

Yajamano havirbhi 

Ahe amano varueha 

Bodhyurusasa ma na 

Ayupra moi 

"I ask this of thee with my prayer adoring; thy worshipper craves this with his oblation. Varuna, stay thou here and be not angry; steal not our life from us, O thou world-ruler". 

Varuna Lingam one of the Arunachala Asta Lingams 

Arunachala is surrounded by eight lingams (Asta Lingams) each residing in one of the eight directions of the four cardinal points (South – Yama, West – Varuna, North – Kubera, and East – Indra) and four intercardinal points (South East – Agni, South West – Niruthi, North West – Vayu and North East – Esanaya). 

The arrangement of the Asta Lingams around the octagonal perimeter of Arunachala reflect the geometry of a Cosmogram. The octagonal shape is surrounded by a total of eight Lingam Temples (Asta Lingams). Each of these Temples are located at the four cardinal and four inter-cardinal points. This was also believed by the ancients who originally constructed the Lingams at their eight cardinal and inter-cardinal points to represent, characterise and vitalise certain aspects and qualities of life in relation to specific fields of energy and influence. 

Varuna Lingam has the West as its directions. This lingam is situated on the outer girivalam pathway about one kilometre before the village of Adi Annamalai. 

Lord Varuna Lingam

Varuna’s vehicle is Makara (that lives both on land and water) which is an animal with the head and front legs of an antelope and the body and tail of a fish. 

This Lingam has Lord Shani as its dominant Navagraha. Varuna Theertham, a holy tank, is located here. Devotees are protected from illness, particularly water related diseases. 

Legend has it that the eye of Varuna is Surya and when Surya appears in the constellation of Makara, its a special event and honoured as Makara Sankarathi. This day falls each year in mid-January and is celebrated as Pongal Festival in Tamil country. 

Varuna is the king of appreciation and enjoyment. He governs the whole world. He is the God of rain and God of all the waters in the three worlds. He surveys the deeds of man according to his karma and keeps them under his control. Placating Varuna is believed to wash away accumulated sins. 

Ashta Lingams

Arunachala is surrounded by eight lingams (ashta lingams) each residing in one of the eight directions of the four cardinal points (South – Yama, West – Varuna, North – Kubera, and East – Indra) and four incardinal points (South East – Agni, South West – Nirudhi, North West – Vayu and North East – Esanaya).

Map of Lingams

The guardians of the four cardinal directions are called the Lokapalas and are the deities who rule the specific directions of space. The name for the eight deities, four of the cardinal and four of the incardinal directions is 'Asta-Dikpalas'.

Yama Lingam

By the turn of the 20^th Century many of the shrines, temples and tirthams at Arunachala were in a state of neglect and decay. In the case of the Ashta Lingams the areas around the shrines were filled with squatters and encroachments and the Ashta Lingams shrines themselves were unmaintained and their worship ignored.

Varuna Lingam

It is believed by many that the work done by I.S.V. Arunachala Mooppanar (Mooppanar Swamigal) renovating and restoring the Ashta Lingams and their adjacent land, was responsible for helping to restablish the energetic power of the sacred geometry of Arunachala. It is certainly an interesting coincidence (?!) that since the renewal of these shrines, crowds of devotees flock to perform Girivalam of the Hill.

Kubera Lingam

As so little is known about this excellent Arunachaleswarar devotee, I am including below an interesting biography of his life and divinely inspired work and am including photographs of the four Cardinal Lingams.

Indra Lingam

Life and Work of Arunachala Mooppanar (I.S.V. Arunachala Mooppanar)

It was late evening, Saturday, April 10, 1999, when I.S.V. Arunachala Mooppanar (lovingly referred to as Mooppanar Swamigal), shed his mortal coil to reach the Feet of Lord Annamalaiyar, as Lord Siva is known in Tiruvannamalai. He was 76. It was a great loss to all those who had come to know and love him for his selfless life as a sivathondan, servant of Siva. In Tiruvannamalai, where he had spent the last 35 years, he was referred to as the 64th Nayanar (the saints of Tamil Saivism)--a place he richly deserved.

Mooppanar led a married life for 22 years. Having no children, he adopted his elder brother's son and daughter when the former remarried on the demise of his first wife. When the daughter reached marriageable age, she died suddenly through illness. This was traumatic for Mooppanar. The son was then in the 8th standard, and Mooppanar viewed his own life to date. He questioned, "Is this all there is to life? There has been no real happiness so far. Am I going to spend the rest of my life looking after the boy?" Dispassion set in, and soon he felt the need for a more meaningful life. It was then that he made the momentous decision to leave everything behind and come to Tiruvannamalai to serve Lord Siva by offering sambrani dhupam, a traditional temple incense, to the Lord.

Thus it was that, having made provisions for his family, he arrived in Tiruvannamalai around 1965. On his arrival he met the chief priest, Ramalinga Sivachariar. The priest told him that what he had in mind would neither provide a roof over his head nor food for his hungry stomach. Ramalinga Sivachariar offered him a job selling panchamritam, a sacred blend of five fruits, at the temple shop jointly run by him and another priest. He also encouraged Mooppanar to carry on with his Siva puja (his puja items, now stored in the premises of the Kubera Lingam, are worth not less than Rs. 30,000). For the next five years he ran the panchamritam shop. There was neither gain nor loss. This too, he felt, was not his destiny. The opportunity to do thirupani, temple renovation, came when the owner of Udupi Brindhavan Lodge offered him free board and lodging. Freed from the burden of earning a living, he embarked on his ashtalinga thirupani in earnest. In the beginning he was given encouragement and help by one Ramanananda Swami.

The 14-kilometer circumference of the holy Arunachala Hill is dotted with several small shrines, including the Ashtalingams (eight Siva icons). Neglected over the years, these shrines had fallen into a sad state of disrepair. Mooppanar felt it was his destiny to restore them to their original glory. With this in mind, he approached the temple authorities, as all these shrines belong to the temple. The officer asked, "How are you going to carry out your renovation?"

Mooppanar replied, "There will be no committee. Siva is the boss, and I am the servant." The officer told him to carry on, if he had that much faith in himself. The temple would not interfere as long as he did not seek financial assistance from them. Thus began the arduous task of restoration. He first started on a small scale, doing minor repairs.

Later, as more money came in, he undertook restoration on a grander scale--providing electricity, drilling bore wells and building tanks for water storage. Cottages for the devotees have been built at Yama Lingam, Nirudhi Lingam, Palani Aandavar Koil, Surya Lingam, Varuna Lingam, Vayu Lingam and Kubera Lingam.

Mooppanar told devotees, "I am not doing this out of desire. I am a sivanadiyar, slave of Siva, born a human and a Saivite, and doing Siva puja (worship rite) for more than 25 years. If I do not carry out the repairs and restoration, there is no point in having taken birth. I have come for that purpose."

Toward the end of 1998 he had to discontinue his elaborate Siva puja due to ill health--diabetes, high blood pressure and a heart attack--brought on by stress caused by opposition from certain quarters that stood to lose when Mooppanar went to court to repossess property that rightfully belonged to the Ashtalingams. Over the years he had successfully gone to court more than once to reclaim Ashtalingam property. At the time of his death, there was a court case pending for Isanya Lingam, the eighth Ashtalingam, where work is currently in progress. From memory, he could give the actual acreage of each shrine.

On the first of every Tamil calendar month, he would walk around the hill at night, performing abhishekam, ritual bathing, and puja at every shrine. In the early days, barrels of water and items for abhishekam would be carried in a push cart from shrine to shrine by a devoted band of followers. This went on for many years. Following his heart attack at the end of 1998, he was unable to walk around the hill.

Swamiji had great compassion for cows. Every morning, on the way to the temple, he would stop at the cowshed to feed the cows and calves tidbits that he would pick up from the hotel. Through his devotees, he had contributed a few animals to the temple. At his request one devotee built a permanent shelter for the animals. On a regular basis he would have agathi leaves bought for the cows, a treat for them. Only after darshan of Lord Annamalaiyar and Unnamulai Amman would he have breakfast himself.

A man of discipline and self-control, he never imposed himself on anyone. Though he had free lodging, whenever the hotel was full, he would sleep in the corridor. He never visited old people or young children without taking some food for them. He would buy loose flowers for the Lord on his way to the temple every morning.

When Mooppannar was hospitalized following a heart attack in early April, 1999, his devotees wanted to take him to Chennai for treatment. He refused. If he should die, it had to be in Tiruvannamalai. He was adamant about this and he breathed his last in this sanctified place.

He was well-read and could recount stories from the Puranas. His stories would be interspersed with plaintive refrains from songs in praise of Lord Siva. In the early days he had accompanied the chief priest when the latter conducted temple consecrations in various parts of Tamil Nadu. Mooppanar was assistant in charge of everything.

Mooppanar appointed five trustees to carry on the work after him. He also put some money in fixed deposit, the interest from which was to help to maintain the shrines he had restored.

A large crowd gathered for his funeral. Garlands were in abundance, so much so that the path to the cremation site was lined with them. No one would accept money for services rendered during the funeral. Even the hospital where he received treatment refused to accept any form of payment from the trustees. Though small in stature, he was a giant among men. He feared no one.

There are plans afoot to have a statue of Mooppanar erected in the grounds of Kubera Lingam. Palms together, he will be facing the hill. It is hoped that the trustees fulfill Mooppanar's dream by completing the restorations he dedicated his life to.

[By Rajeswari Nagalingam]