Sreepada Sreevallabha Charitaamrutam - 1

Chapter – 1 

 

Account of the encounter between Shankara Bhatt (author of Charitaamruta) and Vyaaghreswara Sarma

After offering salutations to Sri Maha Ganadhipati, Sri Maha Saraswati, lineage of my preceptors, I propose to describe the glory of    Sri Sreepada Sreevallabha- the new advent of Lord Datta. Sri Dattatreya is very ancient yet always new.

Sree Dattatreya has incarnated in this kali yuga in Pithapuram situated in the Godavari region of Andhra Pradesh as Sreepada Sreevallabha. It is impossible even for very great scholars to describe the grandeur of His divine play. I am completely an ignorant and illiterate one. Therefore, I submit this in all humility to all people that my attempt to portray His life history is only on account of His Will, divine order and His divine blessings.

My name is Shankara Bhatt. I belong to Karnataka Desa. I am from ‘Smartha’ sect and hail from Bharadwaja gotra (lineage). I went to the holy town Udipi to visit Bhagavan Sree Krishna. There the infant Krishna with a Peacock feather of beautiful colours adorning His head gave me His darshan (appearance). He ordered me to visit Goddess Sri Kanyaka Parameswari in Kanya Kumari. I visited Goddess Sri Kanyaka Parameswari in Kanya Kumari. I took holy bath in the confluence of three oceans. One Tuesday, I entered the temple to see the Goddess. The priest was performing the worship of the deity very sincerely. He took the red coloured flowers from my hand and began to worship Her. At that time, the Mother saw me with Her benevolent looks and said, “Shankaraa! I am pleased with the sacred devotion in your heart. You go to Kuruvapuram and take the darshan of Sreepada Sreevallabha and obtain fulfilment of your birth. By the mere darshan (sight) of Sreepada Sreevallabha an undefinable experience will accrue to your mind, aatma

(soul) and all your organs.” 

 I received the grace of Mother Goddess and started from that holy place. On my way I reached a village called Marutvamalai which was at a short distance. I learnt that while Hanuman was carrying the Sanjeevini mountain from Himalayas a small piece of it had fallen down and it is called Marutvamalai. The hill in the village Marutvamalai is beautiful to behold. There are some caves in it. I learnt that the area is a hilly tract inhabited by siddha purushaas (those who acquired perfection and super human powers) undertaking penance in an invisible form. I was looking into those caves with the hope of seeing any great person incase I was lucky enough to see any one of them. However, at the entrance of one cave a tiger was standing. At that sight trembling and tremor started in all my limbs. Agitated with great fear I cried aloud at once, “Sreepada! Sreevallabhaa! Datta Prabhoo!” The tiger stood still like a domestic animal. An aged Sage emerged from the cave. The entire area of Marutvamalai reverberated with the name of Sreepada Sreevallabha all at once. Then the old Sage said, “My son! you are a fulfilled one. Only great siddhas, great yogis, wisemen, Paramahamsas who dwell in   nirvikalpa samaadhi realize that Lord Datta has incarnated as Sreepada Sreevallabha in this kali yuga. Only because you are lucky you could come here. This is a land of spiritual pursuit. It is siddha bhoomi (land of siddhas and land of fulfillment). Your desire gets satisfied. You will be certainly rewarded with the meeting of Sreepada. The tiger at the entrance of the cave is a jnaani  (wise person). You salute him.” Then I saluted that wise person who was in the form of a tiger. Immediately the tiger roared the sound ‘Oum’ . The whole of Marutvamalai resounded with that roaring sound. It had also sung melodiously the prayer “Sreepada Raajam Saranam Prapadyae!”

I was watching this wonderful scene. All the atoms in the form of the tiger disintegrated and a man with a lustrous celestial body manifested there. That celestial person paid obeisance to the old Sage and flew in the path of the sky with his luminous body. The old Sage who was before me smiled. He invited me into the cave. I entered the cave silently. Stream of compassion was flowing from the eyes of the aged Sage. He created fire by the power of his will. He created sacred materials, some sweets and fruits for offering them as an oblation to the sacred fire. He consigned those things in to the sacred fire while chanting vedic hymns. That aged Sage observed, “All righteous rituals like yagna and yaaga (holy sacrifices) are getting extinct in the world. Man who is benefitted from the five elements is forgetting the deity who is the embodiment of the five elements.Yagnas are to be performed for the gratification of the deities. Deities get gratified from the sacrifices. Nature becomes favourable because of their grace. Man cannot survive when any force in the nature turns virulent. Calamities occur if the forces of nature are not appeased. If man departs from the righteous path dangerous developments are caused by the forces of Nature.

I performed this sacrifice for the welfare of the world.Yagna or yajana means fusion. Fortunately, you have witnessed this sacrifice. As a result of this sacrifice you will get the darshan of Sreepada Sreevallabha who is an incarnation of Sree Datta. This is a very rare fortune. The merit earned in many births will suddenly fructify and give such unattainable fortune.” I saluted that great  personage and said, “Great one among siddhas!

I am not a scholar or a yogi . I am not a devotee. I am an ignoramus. Kindly take complete mercy on me and clear some of my doubts.” The old hermit agreed to it. Then I prayed, “Oh, Great Siddha! When I visited Goddess Mother Sri Kanyaka Parameswari, She directed me to go Kuruvapuram for the darshan of Sreepada Sreevallabha. Here I saw you and the great one in the form of a tiger. Anyway who is that great person in the guise of a tiger. Who really is Sreepada Sreevallabha? Kindly reply to my doubts and favour me.” That aged Sage began his narration, “My son! In the Godavari region of Andhra Pradesh there is a village called Atreyapuram which was famous as a land where austerities were conducted by Sage Atri. In that village, a brahmin was born in the gotra of Kaasyapa in an orthodox family. His parents named him Vyaaghreswara Sarma. Even though his father was a great scholar the son became an incorrigible idiot. In spite of educational training for a long time he could not perform even the Gayatri mantra prayer at the prescribed times of the day. He was only uttering words in Sanskrit to the effect that he was Vyaaghreswara Sarma who was saluting. He became disturbed at the taunting words of others. The ill-treatment of his parents had also increased. He heard that great ascetics live in Himalayas and by their grace one can realize the knowledge of self. He was not called for any auspicious functions. He was only asked to accept gift of gingili seeds or attend anniversary ceremonies of death in case of extreme emergencies when no one else was available. These acts are considered very mean. So a feeling of inferiority complex developed in him. Once during dawn he had a dream. In that dream he saw a celestial body radiating with divine effulgence. That body was descending to the earth from the firmament. As soon as His divine Feet touched, the earth was filled with heavenly illumination. That divine child approached Vyaaghreswara Sarma with slow steps and asserted,“Why fear when I am here? There is a bondage of debt between Me and this village. Without the bondage of indebtedness even a dog cannot come to us. You go to the Badarikaaranya in the Himalayan region. You will be blessed with auspiciousness.”

Saying so, the celestial disappeared. Vyaaghreswara Sarma reached Badarikaaranya. He was getting meals on the way without much effort. However, a dog was following him from the beginning of the journey. He was wandering along with the dog in the Badarikaaranya. In his wanderings he took holy bath in the Urvasi Kunda. The dog also took holy baths along with him. At that time a great person accompanied by his disciples came to Urvasi Kunda for religious ablutions. Vyaaghreswara prostrated at the feet of the great personage and prayed to accept him as a disciple. The great person had kindly consented. The dog disappeared immediately when the great one accepted Vyaaghreswara as his disciple. That great person averred, “Vyaaghreswara! That dog which followed you is the personification of the merit earned by you in previous births. Goaded by time you could come here. You could take bath in Urvasi Kunda. You are attracted towards the land of penance by Nava Narayanas. All this is the

grace   of  seepada Sreevallabha.”  Vyaaghreswara Sarma bowed down and asked, “Gurudevaa! Who is Sreepada Sreevallabha? How did His grace shower on me?” The Siddha replied at length to the questions posed to him. “My son! 
Sreepada Sreevallabha is Lord Datta Himself. In tretaa yuga Bharadwaja Maharshi conducted a big sacrifice known as ‘Saavitrakaathaka Chayanamu’ in Pithapuram. He invited Shiva, Parvati for that function. In Pyamgya Braahmana text it was mentioned that many great persons siddhas and  yogis are born in the lineage of Bharadwaja in accordance with the boon granted by Shiva, Parvati to him. Even though they were lost in other parts of the country Pyamgya Brahmanam, Sandra Sindhu Veda were carefully preserved in ‘Sambala’ village, the land of incarnation of Kalki.At the end of kali yuga and beginning of satya yuga, Sreepada Sreevallabha–an incarnation of Sree Datta arrives in Pithapuram in physical form. Only when the sins committed in many births get diminished and when good deeds start giving results, devotion to Datta will develop. When devotion to Datta becomes perfect Sreepada Sreevallabha will grant the wealth of sight,touch and speech in any age and at any time. As the meritorious deeds of your past lives are strong the mercy of Sreepada Sreevallabha showers on you. I am now leaving for meeting my preceptor mahaavataar Babaji. I will return after one year. You practice kriya yoga in the caves reserved for you and attempt for the realization of self-knowledge.” Thus instructing, the Sage left for ‘Dronagiri’ in the region ‘Sanjeevini Mountain’.
Vyaaghreswara Sarma also sat in the cave fixed for him. He could not understand the methods of kriya yoga or the sayings preaching self-knowledge. He was thinking like this: “Gurujee used to call me lovingly as ‘Vyaaghra (tiger)’. All my co-disciples are sitting on the skin of a tiger and are meditating. When the skin of a tiger is so sacred and benefits the yogi so much, how much great the tiger should be? Moreover Gurujee asked me to strive for knowledge of ‘Self’. Self means myself only. What have I got to do with others? My name is Vyaaghreswarudu. Therefore, myself should be a tiger only. So I have to meditate upon the tiger only. That is my aatma (self). If I could get the form of a tiger it amounts to my attaining self-knowledge.” 

One year passed easily. The Guru visited the place. He went to each cave and observed the progress made by his disciples in their Spiritual Quest. He could not find Vyaaghreswara in his cave, instead a tiger was resting in the cave. Sri Gurujee analyzed the matter through his yogic insight. He realized that as Vyaaghreswarudu meditated intensely upon the form of a vyaaghra (tiger) and he was transformed into a tiger. Gurujee felt happy at the pure heart, and cleanliness of the self of his disciple. He blessed him and taught him to utter ‘Oum’. He asked him to constantly repeat the words “Sreepada Raajam Saranam Prapadyae”as a mantra (incantation). Vyaaghreswara reached Kuruvapuram in the form of a tiger. To reach Kuruvapuram one has to cross a river. At that time Sreepada Sreevallabha was with the congregation of His devotees. He suddenly announced, “A great devotee of Mine is calling Me. I will go and immediately return.” Saying so He began walking on the water in His lustrous body. When Sreepada Sreevallabha was walking on the water in this manner a lotus flower was emerging from the water at every spot where He was placing His sacred foot. He arrived at the river bank on the other side and saw Vyaaghreswara who was chanting incessantly the mantra  “SreepadaRaajam Saranam Prapadyae!”

Vyaaghreswara paid obeisance to the auspicious divine Feet of Sreepada Sreevallabha. Sreevallabha mounted on the tiger and crossed the river floating on the water on the back of the tiger. He reached Kuruvapuram. All the people were witnessing this spectacle in utter astonishment. According to Datta Puraana Sree Dattatreya only incarnated as DharmaSaasta. When that Lord took birth as the son of  Hari-Hara,  He arrived at the capital of the kingdom riding on a tiger. Devendra took the form of that tiger and served as a vehicle for Ayyappa Swamy or Dharma Saasta. Some people were of he opinion that Sreevallabha was verily DharmaSaasta Him-self. Goddess Amba rides both on a lion and a tiger also. So some people were of the opinion that Sreevallabha was an inseparable form of Universal Mother Goddess. The moment Sreevallabha dismounted from the tiger after reaching Kuruvapuram, the tiger fell dead. A great person with divine brilliance came out of the body of the tiger. He prayed to Sreevallabha to use the skin of the tiger form of his previous birth as His seat. Sree Charana consented for that. With love overflowing Sreevallabha said, “My son! Vyaaghreswara! In one of your births, you were a very strong wrestler. During that life you were indulging in all sorts of cruel acts. Those activities include fighting with tigers, injuring them, capturing them, famishing them, and arrange their exhibitions for the recreation of people. On account of the past sinful acts, you are to take animal births in many lives but, with My grace all that accumulated sin is cancelled in this life of a tiger. As you remained for a long time in the form of a tiger, you can assume at will that form at any time. I am granting you this boon. You will meet and obtain the blessings of many siddhas who are carrying penance in Himalayas from hundreds of years. May you rise to great heights in the path of yoga.” Sreepada blessed Vyaaghreswara in the above manner. What Shankara Bhatt saw previously was actually that Vyaaghreswara Sarma as a tiger. He lives in Himalayas. Great sages are averse to public contact. This man stands as a sentinel for such yogis and guards against disturbances from common folk. Great hermits have a system of transmitting ideas and news amongst themselves. They need not come out of their places or employ messengers for that purpose. However, for the sake of sport they employ Vyaaghreswara for exchange of news. All this was divine play of Lord Sree Datta.

Victory Victory unto Sri Sreepada Sreevallabha!