Shri Balaji who recently visited Sri Matam sent me this info to share with all as per Bala Periyava’s instruction….It is an outstanding speech from HH Bala Periyava…Must-watch…..Please listen, visit the site and spread the word….
Thanjavur Parampara is a website (http://www.thanjavurparampara.com/) that’s being developed by Sri Matam to re-instate the importance of Thanjavur district. In a nutshell, the website tries to capture and share the following:
1. Temples – Provide key information about significant temples in this district. What is the presiding deity in each temple? History about temple (Sthala Varalaru), Sthala Vriksham, Distance of the temple from junctions, bus routes, near by temples and other places of historical significance. Once this repository is built out, it would enable people to reference this website and be able to plan their yaatra (pilgrimage) accordingly.
2. People – Share the experiences of people (who have lived in Thanjavur dt) and what is it like to live here, how was this district before, how has it changed recently, what are some of their experiences while living here, any important/notable things or places that they might have come across.
3. Your Experience – If you or anyone elderly in your family have got something to share which would add value to the website, please contact kanchimutt@gmail.com and share your information for them to add to this website and also for others to benefit from it.
4. Re-Connect – Last but not least, we should re-establish the connect with our native place for all it’s spiritual glory and history by contributing to this website and also by regularly following it.
Also, there’s a Anugraha Bhashanam video of HH Sri Sri Sri Bala Periyava on the home page (when you scroll down). It’s an absolute gem and is a MUST WATCH for everyone.
JAYA JAYA SHANKARA HARA HARA SHANKARA.
Categories: Announcements
Excellent venture Mr Mahesh
Having been cut away from Thanjavur for over a 100 years when our late grandfather moved to Mysore as a Palace Architect,Thanjavur remained in my memory for long only as a metre gauge station on the railway map of South India.But, perhaps aging brought an inner desire to connect with Thanjavur and its environs again and not a day passes for me without an yearning to tread on the holy soil on which my ancestors would have walked braving many odds.
This yearning paved the way for me to create a blog titled ‘garbagrihadarishanam.blogspot.in’ through which i cover some temples and holy places.
Your blog is rapidly fuelling me to visit Thanjavur at the earliest.Keep it up!
d ravi shankar
மனதை வசப்படுத்தும் அற்புதமான அனுக்ரஹபாஷாணம்.பரம்பரையின் த்த்வார்த்தத்தை அற்புதமாக
விளக்குகிறார்கள் பால பெரியவர் அவர்கள்.எல்லோரும் கட்டாயம் கேட்கவேண்டும்.
What a wonderful Anugraha Bhashanam by Sri Bala Periyava in a measured tone and meaningful pauses. He should give more such Bhashanams, nectar to the mind.
Good initiative taken by Bala Periava. Let the blessings from Maha Periava and Kanchi Kamakshi bestow on the persons who are taking all the efforts in gathering all the information. Bala Periava, when met, also informed about the proposal of starting Palakkad Paramambara, since Palakkad Brahmins are migrated lots from early Tanjore and Kumbakonam. And the heritage of temples and knowledge of people are very high. Let this also get blossomed by the divine and earnest effort and grace of Bala Periava.
The Anuragha Bahashanam by Sri Bala PeriyavA is must watch. I am forwarding you the Kumbhabhiseka Patrikai of Tirukodikaval. Kindly if you feel appropriate include it in the Thanjavur Parampara website. Thank You
Thanks a lot Mahesh for sharing this. We are one of the few volunteers for the thanjavur parampara website. With the blessings of periyava, we are doing the revamp of this website to add more information.
We will keep you posted.
Anyone want to contribute or share information are most welcome.
PS: As part of this process, we are taking video interviews from people lived/living in the thanjavur. Also there are videos we are taking on thevaram..which has strong connection with thanjavur.
This is a very happy development. The old Tanjore Dist. ( Cauvery Seemai ) was the very heartland of Vedic Dharma. In the olden days. It used to be said- ” Chola vala naadu sorudaittu”. ‘Soru’ here meant not just food which was of course grown in abundance in consonance with the Vedic dictum “Annam Bahu Kurvita” but the attainment of liberation which was facilitated by the presence of numerous temples on either side of Cauvery., dedicated to Siva, Vishnu and other deities.
Its ancient glory began to fade with the decline of the Cholas, and it became a bone of contention between the Nayaks of Madurai and Trichy by the late 16th century., after the fall of Vijaynagar. The Muslim onslaughts and the European machinations contributed their share to the general decadence and the people suffered greatly.
North India too faced such problems. Samarth Ramadas inspired Chhatrapati Shivaji to lay the foundations of Hindu Swaraj under the Marathas and stemmed the tide of Muslim expansion. He had used Rama Nama to unite the people . Since the Muslim rulers had destroyed many old temples and banned the construction of new ones, Samarth Ramdas established what he called Mutts and installed Hanuman there as the Deity. He thus installed about 1100 Hanuman images. He spread the cult of Nama chanting. (Nama Siddhanta).
It was Samarth Ramadas who was instrumental in making Ekoji, half-brother of Shivaji, establish himself in Tanjore as the ruler in 1675.. And he brought the influence of Nama siddhanta along., and gave protection to Vedic dharma. Tanjore gained glory as the cradle of Godland, on the basis of Nama siddhata. Bhagavan Nama Bodhendra.(d.1692, the 59th Pontiff of Kanchi Mutt), Sridhara Venkatesa Ayyaval (1635-1720), Sadhasiva Brahmendra, contemporary of Ayyaval, Narayana Tirtha (1650-1745) Sadguru Swami (1776-1817) established nama siddhanta on a firm foundation, without neglecting the Vedic basis. They also evolved the distinct Dakshina Sampradaya Bhajan paddati. They were followed by the great Trinity of Carnatic music, giving the medicine of Bhagavan nama soaked in the honey of divine music for the ills of the Kali age, All this made Tanjore a blessed land, making the natives proud, and the others envious!
I am not aware of any serious or systematic attempt made to chronicle these developments . Dr. V Raghavan attempted to cover some of these in some essays which have been brought together and edited by Prof. William J.Jackson in :THE POWER OF THE SACRED NAME” (Sri Satguru Publications, Delhi, 1994). Sri Swaminatha Atreyan covered some of these developments in his SRI SAMARTHA RAMADASA CHARITAM (Tamil, 2008, Sri Mahaperiyaval Trust, Bangalore).
I am not a Tanjorian but I shudder to think what would have happened to our Dharma without a Tanjore standing as a rock during those turbulent times..Bala Periyaval’s initiative is so valuable. I bow to him.
What an excellent chronicle of history…..i bow before you sir…
Brilliant
Hi Mahesh! Very glad to know this initiative from Sri Matam. The Anuragha Bahashanam by Sri Bala PeriyavA is simply amazing. Also, personally I am happy to have hailed and brought up in Thanjavur :). My villages map in the web site is really good (even though our village Vazhkudi, near Thiruvarur couldn’t be spotted in the map). Vazhkudi is in the route of Thiruvarur-Nagore…
Regards,
Sriram