 Faith can move mountains, they
say. Man lives by faith, they say. One can see these sayings in action when one
sees devotees doing ‘penance’ in the form of seva at the Sholingur
hill temples. Devotees who come here do different kinds of seva to have
their various wishes fulfilled.
Let me describe the temple
before I talk about the different kinds of ‘sevas’ that the devotees perform
so it will be easier for you to understand the rituals.
Sholingur, a prarthana sthalam,
situated near Arakkonam and one of the
108 Divya Desams of Vaishnavites, can be reached by bus.
In
Sholingur town, on the foothills, there is a small temple where
‘Bhaktavatsalar’ stands effulgently along with the Azhwars
(Vaishnavite saints).
There are two hills there. The
bigger one (Periya Malai) houses ‘Yoga Lakshmi Narasimhar’
along with His divine consort, Amruthabalavalli Thayar. One has to climb more
than 1,000 steps to reach the temple. The place is also called ‘Ghatikachalam’.
The smaller hill nearby, called
‘Chinn Malai’, is where one finds Yoga Anjaneya
with shanku and chakra. He seems to belong with the monkeys that populate both
hills.
It is believed that a childless
couple are assured of progeny if they perform a ‘seva’ in Sholingur. It is
the general practice to name the child, born as a ‘gift’ for this seva,
after the Gods and Goddesses there. The ear-piercing and tonsuring ceremonies
are also celebrated there as thanksgiving to the Almighty.
Even the mentally retarded and
those believed to be ‘possessed by evil spirits’ do seva here to be cured of
their illness.
 Now about the seva for
begetting a child. It is normal practice for a childless couple to do seva there
for at least 12 days. The woman can do the seva alone if her husband is unable
to join her. But it is compulsory that he should be present there on the first
and the last day of the seva. Usually, the ‘sevarthis’ (persons who perform
seva) stay nearby, and there are many choultries that take them in.
My
mother, Vanaja, did not have an offspring for almost four years after marriage.
The elders in the family guided her to do this ‘seva’ for 12 days. A devout
woman, she readily agreed though it was a gruelling ritual.
The seva has to be observed
like a penance. My mother took up the seva in the month of Karthigai
and stayed at a choultry near the Periya Malai along with her grandmother (for
cooking) and uncle. Every morning, she used to get up very early, have a holy
dip at ‘Thakkan Kulam’ (situated at the foot of the hill) and walk up the
‘Periya Malai’, chanting the Lord’s names. (The clothes the sevarthis wear
should be washed and dried the previous day.)
After reaching the top, she
went around the sanctum sanctorum of Lakshmi Narasimhar and Thayar 108 times.
After every round, she used to drop a turmeric tuber in a tiny box to keep count
of the rounds.
After completing this ritual,
she worshipped the deities and accepted the holy water and tulsi as prasadam. It
was, indeed, a Herculean task finishing the ritual.
Next, she climbed the ‘Chinna
Malai’ to worship Lord Yoga
Anjaneya. It is believed that only in Sholingur does he sport four hands
(with shanku and chakra). He is seated facing Sri Lakshmi Narasimhar, doing
tapas.
Again, after completing another
108 rounds, my mother used to consume the holy water as prasadam. She probably
took food only during mid-day, after completing the arduous seva.
One
should be very austere and devout while observing the ‘seva’. It is more or
less like observing tapas. My mother used to say that she was transformed into a
‘rishika’ (female rishi) in
the strict sense of the word for she consumed food only once a day and slept on
the bare floor. She thought and dreamt only of God.
 The best friend of Prahalada,
Lord Narasimha, is believed to bless the devotees in their dreams. My mother,
too, had the divine vision of Narasimha who assured her of a child:
This month is called ‘Kantherantha
Masam’. After staying there for 12 days, my mother did ‘thirumanjanam’
(special poojas) to the deities and returned home happily. My father was present
there on the first and the last day. They were in seventh heaven when I was
born, exactly a year later, in Karthigai
masam (roughly Nov 14-15 to Dec 14-15).
My mother did ‘seva’ during
the month of Karthigai and the following Karthigai I was born – For me this is
ocular proof of the power of Lakshmi Narasimhar!
In spite of advanced fertility techniques,
conception lies only with Providence. It is only apt if we recite a song from
‘Tiruppavai’ while worshipping ‘Lakshmi Narasimha’: Mari Malai Muzhanjil
Manni Kidanthurangum…
Usha Raja
Plot-93-D,
Second Main Road,
Nanganallur,
Chennai - 600061.
usharaja60@hotmail.com
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Mountain of faith
