Please initiate Sharada Peeth pilgrimage…

The Sharada Peeth on the bank of Krishna Ganga river in Kashmir was the nodal centre of ancient Indian wisdom for centuries

Chilkur Head Priest thanks initiative for Kartarpur Corridor…

MV Soundararajan, Chief Priest of famous Chilkur Balaji Temple and Convenor of temples Protection Movement thanks wholeheartedly the efforts of Joint meeting of officials of Pakistan and Indian counterparts on the Pilgrimage to Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara.

This is a great initiative for the Crores of Sikhs…

We at Temples Protection Movement requests a similar exercise for Sharada Peeth…

History

The pristine land of Kashmir nestled in the midst of Great Himalayas gets its name from Sage Kashyapa. Legend has it the central valley of Kashmir was once fully inundated making it a huge ocean-like lake. It was  Sage Kashyapa who drained the waters and made the valley hospitable.

That’s how the land got its name as Kashyapa-Mira which later came to be known as Kashmir. Sage Kashyapa was no ordinary sage, he was a Vedic seer whose virtues have been extolled by the Vedas themselves. In fact, Krishna Yajur Veda tells कश्यपः पश्यको भवति, यत्सर्वं परिपश्यतीति सौक्ष्म्यात्।“ KashyapahPashkyakoBhavati.YatsarvamparipashayateetiSoukshmyat” (ArunaPrashana). Suggesting that the name of Sage Kashyapa is an anagram of पश्यक“Pashyaka” – meaning seer – because he could see the subtle wisdom hidden everywhere. Thus, this land of Kashyapa became the seat of all advanced studies and the Goddess of Knowledge Saraswati Devi herself resided at the Sharada Peeth in Kashmir.

On occasion of its 1000th birth anniversary, it will be an apt initiative for world peace if the Saraswati temple which is dilapidated today is restored to its past glory.

It is said that this region is the abode of Goddess Saraswati who continuously performs penance. Pleased by Sage Paulastya Goddess Saraswati appeared before him in the form of a Swan and she promised him that this place will be always her abode and Ganga will be always flowing here. The Sharada Peeth on the banks of Krishna Ganga river in Kashmir was the nodal centre of ancient Indian wisdom for centuries.

It attracted scholars from all over Indian sub-continent and beyond as it was the centre of advanced studies which hosted an enormous library of manuscripts which were popular by the name “Shree Bhandaram”. The SharadaPeeth’s eminence as a centre of knowledge continued from ancient Vedic times right up to the 19th century AD through the various chequered journey. It was in here in Sharada Peeth that here is a very important connection between Sri Ramanuja and Kashmir which is not often highlighted.

Sri Ramanuja travelled all the way from Srirangam to SharadaPeetham in Kashmir to validate his BrahmasutraBhashyam with BodhyanaVritti – an extremely elaborate gloss written by Sage Bodhyanaon Brahmasutras of Maharshi Veda Vyas. It is said that, at that time, the sole copy of BodhyanaVritti was archived in the vast library of SharadaPeeth.

Incidentally, among all the commentaries available for Brahmasutratoday, only Saint Ramanuja makes such an effort not to deviate from Sage Bodhaayana’s line. It was in Kashmir that Sri Ramanuja’s Brahma Sutra Bhashya was published with the name  Sri Bhashya. The name Sri Bhashya was conferred on the text by Goddess Saraswati, the presiding deity of Sri Sharada Peeth, herself, as it was a most authentic abridged version of the BodhayanaVritti. Sri Ramanuja was given the title of Sri Bhashyakara.

This temple and the deity Sharada Devi are held in high esteem by Kashmiri Hindus. The Sharada Peeth itself is now under Pakistani occupation (in Pakistan occupied Kashmir), but the ruins are still maintained as a tourist attraction by PoK government.

Saint Ramanuja preached inclusiveness among all devotees of Lord Narayana and supported the acceptance of Bibi Nachyaara Muslim princess who was in love with Lord’s idol as a devotee. On occasion of his 1000thbirth anniversary, it will be an apt initiative for world peace if the Saraswati temple which is dilapidated today is restored to its past glory.

We appeal that Both the Indian and Pakistani Governments should work towards this as a priority. Goddess Saraswati is the Goddess of speech (वाग्देवी) and reviving the most important of her temples worshipped by Sri Ramanuja and rishis of yore will enable the elusive peace ( शान्तिः) in the Kashmir valley that everyone so much desires and every Vedic chanting ends with ॐशान्तिःशान्तिःशान्तिः॥

Note:
1. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.

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C.S. RANGARAJAN

C S Rangarajan belongs to the family of Hereditary Archaka cum Trustees of the famous Sri Chilkur Balaji Venkateswara Swamy Temple of Telangana State. He completed his B.E (Biomedical Engineering) from the Osmania University in June, 1988. He was educated in Agama Sastras as well and passed Archaka Pravesha Exam in 1995. He worked in many Medical Device companies before quitting the Engineering Profession to join in the Service of the Almighty at Chilkur at an age of 35 years. He felt this was a calling of God to help the worshippers at the Temple have a better devotional experience through his service. Most important is the fact that he has been assisting his father Dr M V Soundara Rajan in running the Temples Protection Movement from Chilkur Balaji temple which has set a unique trend against Commercialisation and Politicisation of Temple worship. He assists his father in running the Trilingual Monthly Journal VAK which is the voice of Temples. He has always been striving for revival of ancient temples and has played a key role in sensitizing the devotees on the need to revive the ancient temples in their ancestral villages. He has also taken keen interest in the welfare of the society at large by not only striving for inculcating devotional spirit in the devotees visiting Chilkur temple but also ensuring that the temple plays a role in the upliftment of the weaker sections through such innovative initiatives as motivating devotees to wear handlooms on Saturdays providing support to the weavers’ community. He has also played a major role in the movement to reform the temple system and also highlighting the pitiable state of the Archaka community leading eventually to the amendment of the draconian 30/87 Andra Pradesh Endowments Act . He has been instrumental in development of the Conservation manual for the Endowments Department by REACH Foundation. His LLM Thesis is now being published by the Temples Protection Movement

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