Jai Sriman Narayana !!
We had been to Palakkad, Kerala – my homeland after a short stay in Chennai. The pure and clean weather in Kerala was welcoming; in addition to it the slender drizzling invoked all the positive energies in us. I told my Mom, ‘ Oh ! Ammu, it is fantastic and so beautiful’. My mom said ‘ Mazhayila odathadi jaladosham varum’. Who’s there to listen I got disappeared accompanied by my son who is equally adventurous like me. My husband followed my Mom saying ‘ Neengal pathuvango, Avalellam odiyachu mazhainuttu.’ Kerala is such a beautiful place to spend holidays, especially the rainy days are most enjoyable. The climate was soothing and simply marvelous.
One evening watching at the cloudy sky and nothing much to do at home; we made a plan to go to a place called Ramanathapuram Village. Honestly, I was not aware of this place before. I told Mom ‘Amma, are you coming with us to Ramanathapuram, Babu Vadhyar sollirukkar illaya? Nee varayo?’. She said ‘ Neengal poittuvango. Apprama nan varen. I will be joining with you later’. We remembered Sri. Ganapathirama Sarma alias Sri Babu Vadhyar of Rameshwaram (09486257540) and his instruction to visit Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Sankaracharya Veda Patasala in Ramanathapuram Village, Palakkad. He explained about the Veda Samrakshana as an important Swadharma to protect Veda. I have to say few words about Sri Babu Vadhyar, an amazing person who has profound knowledge in all the subjects, whether it is Veda or its Temple Sthalapuranam, Temple architect, murals and sculptures and what not. He was so helpful and kind throughout our stay in Rameshwaram. It was truly the Grace of Lord to have Sri Babu Vadhyar - a good human being as our guide and guru. All the credit goes to him for making our trip to Rameshwaram and Ramanathapuram (Chennai) an evergreen memory. I would suggest whoever visit Rameshwaram should get a knowledgeable, humble and pious person like Babu Vadhyar who can assist you selflessly as your tour guide. At the end, we became so close to him like known for years. In the meantime, Sri Babu Vadhyar mentioned about his one and only son Santhana Krishnan who is learning Veda from Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Sankaracharya Veda Patasala in Ramanathapuram Village .
We have collected information about the route from our driver on previous day itself. Unfortunately, our driver could not follow us to Ramanathapuram, so we have decided to hire an auto. It is one of the best and economical ways of transport inside Palakkad. Later, we continued to explore many places inside Palakkad by hiring an auto.
Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Sankaracharya Veda Pathasala, Veda Rakshana Samithi, 5/772 @ 773, Ramanathapuram, Palakkad -678 001,Ph: 0491 – 2547196 is situated in a small village called Ramanathapuram, Palakkad. It can be reached in 15 minutes from Stadium Bus Stand by an auto while travel through Koppam/Puthur Road. At the entrance of the village there is a Temple of Sri Lakshmi Narayana Swamy, Nagadevata and Poorna Pushkalambal Sametha Sri Ayyappaswamy. On both the sides of the temple an Agraharam can be seen.
Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Sankaracharya Veda Pathasala was established in the year 1996. It started functioning in a newly constructed two storied building in a land of 12,000 sq.ft, located in the middle of the Agraharam and was inaugurated by Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swamigal of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam in the year 2006 . It stands elegantly amongst the beautiful and serene atmosphere of Ramanathapuram Agraharam away from the hustle of the town.
At the main entrance, there is a small place at the left corner for security check. An old man came running after seeing us on the gate and introduced himself ‘Nanakkum ingathey watchman. Kozhathaikaley Pathuppen etc.. Neengal yarai parka vanthirukkel? ’ We chorously said ‘Engalukku Santhana Krishnaney Parkkanam, Mudiyuma?’. He said ‘ Oh ! besha parkalam vango vango’. He took us through the wide and long garden just few yards before the main building. It was absolutely fantastic place, well groomed plants and trees and so peaceful. As we climbed through the steps to reach the office of the President, children started to flow from all around asking thousand questions. Most of the children were at the age of 7/8/11/12 yrs. For the first time seeing these much kids around us, felt so thrilling answering each and everyone’s questions. As we led through the passage to Office Room, we met Guruji – Sri S. GiridharaGhanapathi (Yajurveda) who is teaching Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Rig Veda for the children.
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| Sri. R.S. Gopalakrishnan |
Sri. Giridhar took us to office room and there we met a man with pleasing personality – Sri R.S.Gopalakrishnan. We introduced to him and engaged in a fruitful conversation with him for more than an hour. He educated us about the working style of Vedapatasala, daily routine, children’s need, functions and requirements of funds, utilization of funds etc…. After listening to him I said ‘ Its all not so easy, allvo Mama?’ He continued with a easygoing smile ‘Not at all..’ . But his promising thoughts, positive energy and his confidence were amazing at this age too. After sometime, Guruji informed us to join with the children for evening prayers. Before leaving, we paid obeisance to one of the great man behind this prestigious institution.
In the meantime, Santhana Krishnan came in to office and greeted us. I remember a few things which I really wanted to share with my blog readers. The Founder of this Veda Padasala is Dr. Sri. C.R.Swaminathan , a well known Vedic and Sanskrit Scholar from Chathapuram Village. His immense contributions to preserve Vedic culture are commendable. There are 51 children in different age groups from 6 to 14 yrs studying Rig, Yajur, Sama Veda in this Veda Padasala. The children includes from Southern and Northern parts of India. There are approved time table for the children to spend their times for studies and recreation. Well maintained rooms for the student’s stay, spotless prayer hall, Bojansala, long and wide passages, beautiful and serene play area etc. I could sense a positive vibes in all their faces. The duration of the course is 6 years. All expenses of the students during their stay in the Vedapadasala, expenses like stationery, coaching, boarding, lodging, clothes, medical etc... are taken care by the Vedaraksha Samithi. The Annual budget to meet the above expense is Rs. 25 Lakhs, in which MSRVVP, Ujjain provides a grant around Rs. 8 lakhs to Vedarakshna Samithi, rest of the contributions were made by the philanthropists and people who have the deep desire to preserve Veda. At the end of sixth year the student have to write an exam conducted by Maharshi Sandipani Rashtriya Veda Vidya Pratishthan (MSRVVP), Ujjain. The Scholars are eligible for a grant from the institution to begin their career and for a good start in the process of preserving Veda.
We continued to explore the places inside the two storied building. Watching children some are playing, some of them were engrossed in their studies with loud chanting of Veda, their free movement with happy faces around made us to forget the hours. I also joined with them in their conversation and had a fantastic time. We arrived at the prayer hall; all the children were seated in a line. Some of the children were playing Mridangam for few minutes. Guruji informed us that they are conducting a special prayer for us. Oh ! Lord ! It was remarkable sight indeed to watch all the 51 children chanting Veda loudly, there was three session of Chanting of Vedas - Rig Veda – Yajur Veda – Sama Veda for few minutes. The chanting session ended and the children started to leave the hall quietly. Before leaving the prayer hall few children came running towards me saying that their Guruji asked to lighten the Vilakku in front of the deities. Later, Guruji took us to a Vedic Tradition Eexhibition Hall; there we could watch all the required materials for conducting a Yagna and Yaga. While returning, we both were speechless and busy making up our minds that we should visit this place once again to be with the happy faces all around………..
Contact information : R. S. Gopalakrishnan
Ph: 0491-2544048/0491 - 2544807
Mob: 0944703923
Jai Sriman Narayana !!
