Kanakabhisheka to the Sage of Kanchi

KANAKABHISHEKA TO SAGE OF KANCHI

DIFFERENT KINDS OF abhi­sheka have been in vogue in our country. Kumbhabhishekam (conser­cration with holy water) of renovated or newly-constructed temples is of one kind. Pattabhisheka or coronation of kings and queens, newly-installed has been in practice all over the world, for millions of years. Even in the case of mere new titular mon­archs of countries (of the present times), coronation is being done. His­torical and epigraphic information speaks of ‘Yuvaraja Pattabhlsheka’, which signifies the ordaining of a prince as a successor-ruler of a Stale. Striking instances can be had in the ordaining of Prince Rajadhiraja Chola by his father, Rajendra Chola-I, in 1018 AD, and the issueless Raja Raja Chola-II crowning Rajadhiraja, the grandson of Vikrama Chola (by one of his daughters), as heir to the throne in 1166 AD.

Some Notable Instances

Kanakabhisheka signifies the showering of flowers made of gold or gold coins as a mode of honouring a distinguished person. This is performed by rulers to honour erudite scholars and by disciples intending to honour their preceptors. Literary and epigraphical sources of information point to the Kanakabhisheka per­formed to the polymath. Appayya Deekshita (1520 to 1572 AD.), by Chinnabomma Nayaka, the Nayak chieftain, who held sway over the present day North Arcot District of Tamil Nadu and some adjacent areas, with his headquarters at Vellore, in appreciation of Deekshita’s production of a commentary, known as Sivanka­mani-deepika on Srikantha Bhasya. Raghunatha Nayak, the last of the well-known Nayak rulers of Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu), was a versatile scholar in Sanskrit and Telugu. Among his many works, Parijatapaharanam, Gajendramoksha and Nalacaritam are outstanding. One day, King Achyutaraya (father of Raghunatha) saw his son busy, writing something on palm leaves. Achyuta asked Raghunatha “Have you not finished Nalacharita? What are you writing now?” Prince Achyuta replied “This is another work”. The father asked Raghunatha as to how many months it would lake for its being completed. Quickly replied Raghunatha, “A day or two”. The next day Raghunatha paid obeisance to his father and placed the completed script of Achyutarayendraabhyudayam – a biography of his father. Achyuta was elated at his son’s perfomance – a pretty long biography in verses – and perfomed Kanakabhisheka by pour­ing gold coins on Raghunatha’s head. This happened early in the latter half of the 17th century.

Records of the Thanjavur palace (in Marathi language), written in Modi script, and found kept in bundles in the Saraswati Mahal Library at Thanjavur, show that two of the rulers of the Maharatta principality of Thanjavur, have performed Kanak­abhisheka, in the 19th century of their Gurus. In 1801. Raja Serfoji-II performed Kanakabhisheka to the preceptor of his royal household Sri Mahadevendra Saraswati, the 63rd Acharya of the Kanchi Matha, who was then staying at the branch Math at Kumbakonam. The value of this Kanakabhisheka made with 500 chakras (gold coins) – has been cal­culated (as in 1987) by Sri V. Ma­hadevan (in his booklet. in Tamil on “Kanakabhishekams to the Acharyas of the Kanchi Math”) as 1.5 lakhs of Rupees.

Raja Shivaji, the last of the Mahrata rulers of Thanjavur, per­formed Kanakabhisheka of the 64th Acharya of the Kanchi Sankara Math, Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swami V, thrice – first in 1838 at Kumbakonam, the second in 1842, and the third at the Thanjavur palace almost unexpectedly in 1848. Sri Sudarsana Mahadevendra, the next Acharya was honoured by the same Shivaji Raja with Kanakabhishekam in 1850.

Ramachandra Tondaiman, the ruler of Pudukkottai State (1839-­1886) performed Kanakabhisheka to this 65th Acharya when His Holiness had camped in Pudukkottai.
In 1957, some leading devotees of the Math felt a keen desire to per­form Kanakabhisheka to the Great Acharya, Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati to mark the Golden Jubilee of the Acharya’s ascension to the Peetha. The Acharya did not like it and he asked the devotees to perform the abhisheka to the Adi Sankara Murthy at the Sri Kamakshi Temple at Kanchi. Later, owing to the pres­sure of devotees, His Holiness com­plied with the prayer. This Kanak­abhisheka was performed in Little Kancheepuram.

His Holiness delivered a long speech on the occasion (6th Septem­ber 1957), in Tamil. A translation of a small portion of that speech will be found interesting as it reveals the  reason far the Acharya’s compliance with the request of ardent devotees.

“Some months ago, a devotee, eighty years old, prayed to me thus: “Because of the grace of Devi Ka­makshi, there occurred a rain of gold in the famine-struck Tondaimandalam (neck region of Tamil Nadu): because of the grace of Adi Sankara, gold amalakas rained in the house of a poor woman, living in Kerala. Kanchi has been blessed by the grace of both Shri Kamakshi and Acharya Sankara. It is my desire to see that Kanaka­bhisheka is done to Your Holiness, during my lifetime”. At that time, his vision had deteriorated. I told him, ‘You have lost the power of seeing: what can you see now?’ and dis­missed him. Later, he regained eye­sight because of treatment by doctors. He came to me again and said ‘By your grace. I am able to see every­thing now, Pray, grant my long-felt request’. Because of his age and his keen desire, though I am not fit in any way far this honour, I consented. But, I feel that our living in this sacred city of Kanchi and our wor­shipping of Sri Kamakshi and Sri Adi Sankara constitute a great Kanak­abhisheka for us”.

Another Kanakabhisheka was performed to the Sage Acharya of Kanchi on the 11th April 1965, by Sri Jayendra Saraswati Swamigal at the Sanskrit College, Mylapore, Madras, at the request of devotees. The entire proceeds of that Kanakabhisheka were utilised for the renovation ex­penses of the Kamakshi Temple at Kanchi.

The Kanakabhishekam was performed to H.H. Sri Chandra­sekharendra Saraswati Swami, in connection with His Hundredth Jay­anthi, on Wednesday, the 26th of May 1993, at the Sankaracharya Math at Kanchi.

“There was a palmyrah tree in a grove. A Gnankodi (a kind of strong creeper) grew up all round the body of the tree in the course of months. One day, the creeper said ‘This palmyrah tree has not grown even an inch all these months’ and laughed. The tree told the creeper ‘From my birth, I have, till now, seen ten thousand creepers encircling me; you are the ten thousand and one. Everyone of the earlier creepers used to remark like you. I could not give them any reason’. Though the different sections of our society have different respective Dharmas (religious duties), the fruits accruing from the perform­ance of the specified duties are but equal in the case of each. Hence, adherence to the Dharma prescribed for him is quite necessary in the case of everyone professing our faith”.

Sri Chandrasekharenda Saraswati