Nature's poetry written in the whispers of leaves.🌿🍃

Agasthyayanam

 

 

Gurukkal Dr. S Mahesh

Experiencing Agasthya at Podigai

                Mountains have always been symbols of culture formation. They form the basis of origin and evolution of societies. Some mountains tower above us bearing the weight of epics and myths over eons. They stand tall confident that the time and battles that pass by their foot will not bother them.  Many religions and traditions are centered on such legendary mounts.  Even today, they are believed to be the stairways to the heavens.  For practitioners of Yoga, the Kailasa is a spiritual fountainhead. Abode of Aadi Yogi Siva. It is a Moksha portal for devotees. Buddhism and Jainism also accord importance to Kailasa.

The great agasthya peak

    Mount Olympus, Ararat, Mount Sinai etc are some of the royal mountains that have been worshiped throughout history. In India, just as Kailasa in the north, Agasthya peak soars in the south. Termed as Mahendragiri in the Itihasaas and as Potalaka by Buddhist, it is a spiritual spire that draws us year after year. I am grateful to have visited Agasthya peak for the 26th time. Each journey, Agsthya gifted new sights, new thoughts, new visions. Though the Rainforests, grasslands, bamboo forests and the MahaSivalinga shaped peak are all the same, each trip feels like a new experience. Each encounter feels like the first the first time. Agasthya: The timeless icon of pure knowledge.

 

From pre Rig Vedic times right down to today, he stands as a guide for seekers. In written records, we find Agasthya first in the aadi veda, Rig Veda. The grand Veda with 10 Mandalas, 1028 Sukthas and 10552 Mantras was composed or compiled between 1500-1000 BC. In the north western part of Indian subcontinent, even 2000 years before Christ, Veda verses were orally transmitted.

Rig Veda, which praises the Devas associated with the heavenly bodies and stars, sheds light on the cultural formation of that period. There along with the pantheon of Indra, Varuna, Agni, Soma, Adityas, Mitra-Varuni, Vishnu and Rudra, we witness Agasthya clearly. Among the feminine deities like Apsaras, Indrani, Yami, we find Agasthya’s wife Lopamudra. Through its verses, we recognize women who boldly question men, origins of agriculture, wootz steel and weapons, gold and other elements of culture. 

Later we meet Agasthya as father of Tamil, Guru of the 18 Siddhars and Paramaguru of the South. Founder of Kalaripayattu martial arts, Varmakalai pressure point system and Siddha Chikitsa treatment.

Now let us meet the Ainthuthalai Podhigai mountain of the Agasthyakoodam range. This was a grand sight that I was not treated to during the last ten trips. The full view of the Ainthuthalai mountain in all its glory near Agasthya peak. The five headed peak that is usually curtained by the clouds. Usually only the summits of the five peaks are barely visible amidst the white clouds. Though I have seen this mountain in my younger day treks, this time it felt as if the mountain conversed, as if narrating tales from the primordial past. Like a five headed serpent in full hooded glory, the mountain was a beautiful spectacle. The mountain is also called Nagamalai and Naga Podhigai. 

Several visions came to my mind. The gorgeous view of Agasthya peak and Ainthuthalai Podhigai triggered my imagination.  A 5 headed divine serpent canopy for a Mahasivalinga. Another vision was the churning of the divine ocean in the mythology, the Paalazhi Madhanam. Mountain Agasthya as Meru and five headed serpeant Vasuki to its left. It is clear that this magnificent landscape can inspire epic visions.

 

Gurukkal Dr s Mahesh in Agasthya mountain

 

 

Madhana mountain as churner and Vasuki as rope. Bhagavatha Purana and Vishnu Purana narrate this episode. Agasthyakoodam as Mandhana and Nagamalai like Vasuki. These thoughts led me suddenly to another grand mountain of the epics. The sacred mountain of Hindus, Buddhists and Jains: the legendary Sumeru.  The five headed Sumeru. Also called Mahameru or Sineru.  Was it inspired by the 5 headed Ainthuthalai Podhigai?

For Buddhists, Agasthya mount is Pothiyan Malai, the abode of Avalokitesvara. In Sangam literature, in Chitalaichathanar’s Manimekhalai, in Buddhamitra’s Veerasulyam, in Xuansang’s writings, we can find Buddhist pilgrims heading to the Agasthya peak. The monks meditating on the banks of Tamraparani river. 

In Tarasookyam, Bodhisattva is called Pothala Giri Nivasi. It is quite possible that these pilgrims would have identified Ainthu thalai podhigai with Sumeru. 

Today, Ainthuthalai Podhigai belongs to the protected Singampatti Samindar reserve of Tamil Nadu.

Let us meet the Sumeru of the mythologies. We find it in the Prapancha Sastra of Buddha. For the spiritual universe, it is the mighty axis. For humans, Meru means the backbone or spine. Thus the mountain is the universal spine. India’s Meru is China’s Shumisan, Japanese Shimeru, Thai Sumen. The Buddhist work Abhidharma Kosha Bhashyam says Jambudweep or Asia surrounds Meru. It is a mountain that is 80,000 yojanas wide and tall with sun and moon revolving around it. Matsyapurana puts the height as 84,000 yojanas. 

Historian Charles Allen proposed that mythological Sumeru might be Mount Kailas of the Himalayas. Kailas shines bright like diamonds, silver and other gemstones in sunlight. Cambodia’s Angor Vat and Tanjavur Brihadeswara temple are representations of the five peaked Mahameru. Bodhgaya has a Mahameru temple. 

 

The great Agasthya muni figure Discovered by Gurukkal Dr S Mahesh

 

 

 

There are no definite answers to the location of Mahameru. It is said that seven rivers and seven mountains surround it according to Buddha Sutra. From the measurements given there, it is evident that the mount is imaginary with 85 times the diameter of the earth. It belongs to the realm of mystic codes that point the secrets of the universe. 

Along with Agasthyamalai, Ainthuthalai Podhigai fills one with wonder. The resemblance to Sumeru. Agasthya range is home to the ancient hunter gatherer tribe of Kani. This jungle is home to nearly 2000 rare medicinal plants. Nearly 50 endemic species that are threatened with extinction. Lush jungle with elephants, leopards, bears and venomous snakes. Scientific dating shows that these mountains are several million years old. Agasthyakoodam peak is at a height of 6129 feet above sea level in the Western Ghats. 

 

Gurukkal Dr s Mahesh in Agasthya mountain

 

 

Poets Kambar and Villiputhurar says that Agasthya composed the Tamil grammar text of Agatheeyam while at Agasthyakoodam. Chilapathikaram identifies Agasthya peak to be the source of Tamraparani. In epic Ramayana, Sugreeva talks about Mahendragiri. Tholkappiyam, Parippadal, Thevaram and Chola literature drew their inspiration from this mountain. 

Japanese researcher Shu Hikasake’s work on Buddhist texts and ancient Tamil literature has given many pointers. Avalokistesvara or Parabrahma resides in Potalaka mountain. In Gandhavyooha sutra composed around 300 BC praising theertha and ritual purification baths also says Bodhisatva lives in Potalaka. Xuangsang concurs. Mount Potalaka of southern India is Agasthyakoodam. Even before Asoka’s reign in 3rd century, this was a Buddhist pilgrim spot. 

The return journey after having spiritually bathed in Agasthya’s Theertha. Getting back to the grid and mobile phone range, checked the first message. 

A message from Singapore’s Siddhaguru tradition: To witness “thanthai” or Agasthya several times, is a great and rare blessing. Agasthya keeps calling you again, every year, with love, with care, to transform with inner light. Through the ages, Agasthya glows gloriously.  Let us walk in that path of enlightening knowledge.

Gurukkal Dr. S Mahesh 

 

 

 

Gurukkal Quest 

1. Who was revered Vedic sage Agastya? Mysteries of the Universe are unraveling | Kaumudy 
   
   
2.  The miracle in Agasthyarkoodam when sage Agasthya appears