BG 10.39

We have now arrived at Nadu nadu [நடு நாடு] - middle region. And, in Gita also we are in the middle! We are in Thirukovalur [திருக்கோவலூர்] one of the Nadu nadu Kshetrams. The Lord is gracing here as Sri Trivkrama. This Lord strode to measure all the Universe. We all know the story of the Lord returning to Indra the Three worlds, grabbed away by Emperor Bali, from Indra. We have seen in Gita in Chapter 10, from sloka 21, the Lord has been mentioning various groups and He is representing the more important among them; He established that the entire Universe is His wealth, is under His control and administration. As if to prove this, the Trivikrama Avatar happened. When all are His property, could He simply watch and keep quiet when someone forcibly grab? Therefore, the Lord took the form of the Dwarf Sri Vamana, and solicited Emperor Bali to give Him land measuring Three by His feet. He then grew into the gigantic Sri Trivikrama and strode the entire Universe by first step; then, by the Second step strode all the Upper Worlds. There was no more place for the Lord to stride the Third step. Thus Mahabali was humiliated and the Lord got back the lost Kingdom to be returned to Indra. So, if we all can realize that we are all His property, He would not be interested to lose us. Even by begging He would establish His right on His property. We can therefore, see Sri Trivikrama as the 10th Chapter personified. Thirumangai Alwar has praised this Kshetram in his Thirunedunthandakam [திரு நெடுந்தாண்டகம்]. He tells his mind to ponder over the Eight syllabled Ashtakshra [திரு அஷ்டாக்ஷர] mantra and thereby, enjoy the Lord's beauty and His eminence. For this, his mind replied that it was unable to visualise with only the letters of the mantra as they were abstact, and wanted concrete form to visualise. Alwar thought over this request and searched for that image which could convey the Magnificenece of the Lord. He then decided to go to Thirukkovalur, where the Lord Sri Trivikrama was gracing. By worshiping Him, we can realize that we are all His belongings. To realize that noble feeling, we have come to Thirukkovalur. Kovalan is the Tamil equivalent of Gopalan. Sri Krishna is Sri Kovalan. Therefore this place is Thirukkovalur. Long back Sri Krishna was here. So, we first visit the Kshetra Purusha Sri Venugopala Krishna. Moolavar is Sri Venugopala. Utsavar is Sri Rajagopala with Two hands, with one hand holding a stick and the other holding a whip. It is seen in many Kshetrams that they might have a Kshtradipati or ruling Deity, but more importance is accorded to the later Entrant Deity !! Thirumala is Adi Varaha Kshetram. Sri Adi Varaha is the ruling Deity; because of Him, Sri Venkatesa came to meditate. Similariy, here also, a sage came and meditated because of Sri Venugopala; and, the Lord appeared to Him as Sri Ayanar [திரு ஆயனார்] and Sri Trivikrama. Sage Mrigandu desired to have a glimpse of the Lord. He travelled all over North and meditated. Finally, lord Brahma appeared to him and asked him to go to Thirukkovalur and meditate on the Lord. This place is called Dakshina Pinakini and in Tamil, Then Pennai aru [தென் பெண்ணை ஆறு]. The sage meditated on the Lord sitting on the banks of the river. In his ashram [hermitage] the Lord appeared to the sage and that ashram itself became the present temple. The Lord appeared on a shravana [திருவோணம்] star. He appeared as the huge Sri Trivikrama.



We can notice the unique feature, that the Lord is holding the conch and discus in the reverse order. Unlike the usual discus in right and conch in the left, here the Lord is holding conch in the right hand and discus in the left. Two reasons are attributed: The Lord got back the lost property; and so, in an exuberent mood, the Lord blew the conch and to do that He held the conch in the right hand. Another reason is that after Sri Krishna Avatar, the Lord had eliminated all wicked persons. So the Lord felt there was no neceassity to use the discus again and so the discus was changed to the left hand. And, He was to infuse Gyana in Alwars and to do that conch was to be kept ready in the right hand. We can see a number of persons near the Lord. Here, the right leg is lifted up. We can see Emperor Mahabali and Prahalada [grand father of Bali]. Near Prahalada is Sri Maha Lakshmi. They are all on the right of the Lord. On His left, we can see Namuchi, son of Bali, sage Sukracharya, Markandeya and his wife. We can also see the Three mudhal Alwars [Poigai, Bhootham and Pei - முதல் ஆழ்வார்கள், பொய்கை, பூதம், பேய் ]. Infact the first among these Three Alwars, Poigai Alwar was also born in Shravana star. And, His composition Mudhal Thiruvandhadi [முதல் திரு அந்தாதி] composed here, is the First compilation in Nalayira Divya Prabhandam. His growth from a small Dwarf to Gigantic Trivikrama, is what we are to see in sloka 39. The Lord says He is the seed for this Universe:

yac capi sarva-bhutanam
bijam tad aham arjuna
na tad asti vina yat syan
maya bhutam caracaram

"Furthermore, O Arjuna, I am the generating seed of all existences. There is no being—moving or nonmoving—that can exist without Me."

Yad = whatever, bijam = seed or origin of, sarva-bhutanam = everything [in this Universe], tad = that [seed or origin], aham = I [Sri Krishna] am, arjuna = [listen] Arjuna. For all the clothes we wear, like dhoti or shirt or saree, cotton is raw material and cotton seed is the origin. Similarly, for the various ornaments gold is the material and ore is the origin. Thus for everything we see, we realize that some origin is there. The Lord is the origin of all of them. Once we know the cause, we can realize all effects [karya-karana bhava]. In Chandokyopanishad, father Uddhalaka tells his son Swetaketu. By understanding mud, one can realize all articles like pot or toy. By understanding Bramham, everythig in this Universe can be known. The Lord mentions this here to drive home the point that just like He was Vishnu among Adityas, Sankara among Rudras, Sama veda among Vedas, etc., whatever items Arjuna or we can imagine, He represented all. Here, Sri Vamana can be considred as karana and Sri Trivikrama as the karya. Caracaram bhutam = in all things in Universe [chara = movable, achara = non-movable], maya vina = separated from or without Me [Sri Krishna], yat syat = if searched, na tad asti = there is nothing. If one were to search for any item in this Universe, which is different from the Lord or which is not controlled by the Lord by being in that, one would not find that item. Without any exception, there is nothing which is not His nor conrolled by Him. Uddhalaka says ' idam sarvam tad satyam sa atma tatvamasi swetaketo' [ entire Universe is, with the Lord as antharatman; He pervades all without exception]. Once this is realized we can see all as equals. Till this sloka the Lord had mentioned groups of entities in which He represented the more important ones.