BG7.12

As told by Sri Krishna, He knows the objective of every birth He makes. While, we do not know what we missed in our earlier birth and what we have to do in the present birth. So, it becomes necessary for us to surrender unto Him and pray for unison with Him. We travel place to place in search of Him. Similarly, He also takes lots of efforts to uplift us. One such effort is His appearance in various temples to grace us. We have now arrived at Thirunaraiyur and the Lord is waiting to grace us. Thirumangai Alwar has composed 100 pasurams on this Lord here. Here, festivals are galore and daily some festival can be witnessed. This is what Alwar says in his pasuram. The noise of festival never ceases. In Vasanthotsavam, the Lord is amidst gardens and groves for Nine days. Today's [24th March 2008] lecture is from the place, which instantly comes to mind when we think of this Kshetram. When the Lord wanted to marry Sri Vanjulavalli Thayar, it was His vehicle or vahanam, Garuda, who identified this place. Garuda brought the Lord here and performed the Divine wedding ceremony. So, Garuda is famous here and he is called Kal [stone] Garuda. Though, in all temples there will be stone statues of Garuda in sannidhis, nowhere the Vahanam for the Lord is of stone. Two Brahmotsavams are performed annually - one in Panguni and another in Margazhi. In both, the Lord graces on the Garuda and comes in procession. 'Vedathma vihageswara ' - Garuda is an embodiment of Vedas. Garuda will do what Vedas do. Vedas identify the Lord, as also Garuda. A divine sculptor once sculpted a Garuda. He sculpted the wings and was about to carve the eyes which is normally termed as opening of the eyes- Netronyivanam. After that the statue is supposed to have been completed. So, sincere was the sculptor, that the moment he opened the eyes of the statue, it got real life and started flying. With difficulty, the sculptor brought the statue back and made it to rest and from that time onwards, the statue is resting here. Garuda is seated majestically, with the left foot resting on ground and the right leg bent and resting on knee. With both arms stretched, Nine serpents are used as ornaments by Garuda. Serpents which are used are - Anantha on left wrist, Vasuki as Poonool [sacred thread], Dakshaka as waist belt, Karkotaka as necklace, Padmam as right ear ring , Mahapadmam as left ear ring, Sankam on the head and Kuliga on the right shoulder. By worshiping him, one is rid off sarpa dosha. On the Dwadasi following Vaikunta Ekadasi, in month of Margazhi, the Lord graces in a Float on the Manimuthaa pushkarini. We will now see the 10th sloka:

bijam mam sarva-bhutanam
viddhi partha sanatanam
buddhir buddhimatam asmi
tejas tejasvinam aham

"O son of Pritha, know that I am the original seed of all existences, the intelligence of the intelligent, and the prowess of all powerful men."

Aham = I [Sri Krishna] am, buddhi =intelligence, buddhimatam = among intellectuals, tejas = brilliance, tejasvinam = among brilliant persons. Sarva bhuthanam = in every living being or matter, mam = I [Sri Krishna] am, sanathanam = ancient, bijam = seed or cause, viddhi = understand. Partha = Arjuna is addressed as the son of Pritha, which means he is the son of Sri Krishna's aunt. A close relative like him should understand Who Sri Krishna was. Normally, people close to a person might not know the greatness of that person. By saying bijam or seed, we might think He is like a seed which is responsible for a tree to grow. But this aspect He had already told in Chapter 4. He told He is the cause for all matters. Here He is not to be faulted with repeating the same, but a different interpretation is to be seen. He is the cause for all changes in whatever we see in this world. As an example, we take curd, buttermilk, butter and ghee. These are not available as such; but milk has to be processed and fermented to obtain these. Milk has changed into these products. Similarly, we take different vegetables, fruits and food for nourishment of the Body. Each item has a target in the body. Some improve the calories, some for carbohydrates, some improve eye sight, etc. We can not directly take, say for example, carbohydrates or proteins. We eat a particular vegetable or fruit, which apart from the taste, has the particular need for the body. These items have to be processed and after eating, the body system assimilates and converts to the various needs like vitamins, proteins, etc and reaches the destination like blood or brain. Sri Krishna tells that He is this Agent for assimilation and conveying to various parts of the system. So, sarva bhutanam means all those matters which are subject to changes. Bijam means the Agent. He is the taste in all matters, and this was told already. But here, all processes and the Agent, Which carries such changes is the Lord. Tejasvi means brilliant persons. It means the skills in which such persons exemplify. From this we understand that the strength of Garuda or Hanuman , is the Lord.