Samatha Kumbh 2025 Day 3 Feb 11 - Statue Of Equality

Samatha Kumbh 2025

11 Feb - day 3

Brahmotsavams for the magnificent Statue of Equality (216 feet tall statue of Swami Ramanujacharya) and 108 Divya Desams around it are underway. It provides a rare occasion for devotees to experience the bliss of getting to watch 18 Garuda Sevas in one evening! The event, called “Samatha Kumbh 2025” provides a serene atmosphere for spiritual and mental upliftment. Here is a detailed report of today’s events.

Meditation / Pra:thah smaraneeyam / Ashtakshari Japam –

The day started in a serene atmosphere at about 6 AM, where the devotees, scholars and vedic students assembled for morning prayers and meditation.

HH Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji recounted the process of doing meditation to all assembled devotees.

HH Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji explained how we do the meditation

Seva kalam at yaga sala

Devotees proceeded towards yaga sala after japam. Morning prayers were offered.

HH Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji gave a brief outline of today’s scheduled events.

Swamiji graced Teertha goshti to the assembled devotees after Aradhana.

Thirumanjanam for 18 Divya Desa Perumals

We enjoyed the bliss of 18 Garuda sevas yesterday evening. The Lords belonging to Divyadesams 1 to 18 graced us with this seva.

It is customary to offer Thirumanjanam (abhishekam) to Lord after returning from Garuda seva. Since we are having Garuda seva utsavams in the evenings during this event, the Lords accept evening prayers and rest for the day at their abodes. So the thirumanjanam event happens the next day morning.

18 Divya desa Perumals are ready to accept thirumanjanam service from Archaka swamis
Spacious and neat arrangements were done so that the devotees can comfortably view the Thirumanjanam service of all 18 Perumals at the same time

Lord Ramachandra of Divya Saketam also accepting Thirumanjanam service along with 18 Divya desa Perumals
Water mixed with various herbs is used to perform the service. Lord seems to be content with the service being offered
Various materials like milk, curds, honey, fruit extracts
18 Divya desa Perumals are ready to accept thirumanjanam service from Archaka swamis
Sahasra-dhaaraa snaanam
Sankha-dhaara and chakra-dhaara snanam
Bhagavad Ramanuja also accepting the service
Abhisheka theertham being sprinkled on devotees

Naarasimha Ashtottara Namarchana – Collective worship by devotees

Today being a Tuesday, it is auspicious for activities related to Lord Narasimha. Devotees participated with enthusiasm in collective aradhana of Narasimha Swami.

God displayed the quality of making the words of a devotee true, whatever be the circumstances. Just to prove the words of little boy Prahlada that God is in everything, He had to be ready to emerge out of anything in the form that is specific to overcome the boons of demon HiranyaKasipu at the specific instant.

Swamiji gave very detailed instructions regarding how to perform puja. All the required puja materials were provided to devotees by the volunteers. Even small things like how we should take Theertham, etc. were demonstrated with great clarity.

Very comfortable arrangements were done for devotees to practise the Aradhana by themselves. Volunteers provided all the necessary material for every one who wanted to participate in this. Devotees who were comfortable to sit on floor and perform puja did so. Elders who preferred to sit in chairs, did the aradhana while in chairs. Some devotees preferred to watch the others practise the Aradhana.

It was a great experience to learn the detailed steps from Acharya himself and have this practical experience. Devotees kept the idols used by them as their souvenirs while volunteers cleared the rest of material after puja.

Devotees proceeded to have lunch after this even

Ramayana Super Memory contest

A set of devotees, cutting across all age groups (from 10 years old boy to 80 years old lady) have memorized all slokas of Ramayana very well. They displayed their skills in an interactive fashion with audience.

A quick observation here – Lot of young students were part of both the audience and contestants. This augurs very well for the society – youth taking keen interest in our heritage, history and epics.

Round 1

Anyone in the audience chooses a specific Kanda and Sarga by number. The contestants can immediately tell the content of Ramayana that is explained in that Kanda and Sarga. For example, if the audience says “Kishkindha kanda, 4th sarga”, the contestants will tell immediately – “Hanuman takes Rama and Lakshmana to Sugriva”.

Round 2

Reversal of roles from earlier round. Here, the audience tells the content that is covered in a specific sarga. The contestants answer with the Kanda name and sarga number.

The audience were enthralled with this performance. Swamiji wanted many more of us to take inspiration from these people and know more about our history and epics.

The event concluded by everyone giving a standing ovation to the team.

Towards the end of program, a link to live quiz was also given (tinyurl.com/sk-day1) which would be open till 5 PM on the same day. Anyone can participate in this quiz from anywhere. The intention is to have such quizzes on daily basis to reach out to remote devotees too.

These devotees, cutting across all age groups have memorized all Ramayana slokas very well
The moment a question is posed by audience, the contestants immediately shoot out the answer.
It was a very interactive session with audience shooting the questions and contestants answering quickly.
A lot of young students both in the audience and among the contestants augurs well for the society
Even the elderly ladies among the contestants were very quick to answer the questions from audience

Sri Ramanuja Vijnana Vedika

Topic “Temples : Then and Now – Role of Bhagavad Ramanuja”

The program started with lighting of lamps and offering prayers. Chief guest for this event was Sriman Narasimha Sharma garu, a gold medalist from Osmania University and is presently Additional Solicitor General of India for the Telangana High Court.

Students from 6 different colleges participated in this event. Audience consisted of students and staff of various colleges, apart from devotees.

The aim is to give opportunity to students to express their views about the topic of day and encourage a healthy debate among the youth.

In today’s debate some important topics were raised by the students like –

How relevant are temples in today’s life, given that science is advancing so fast and leaving fairly little or no time for rituals and religious practices, etc.
Commercialization in temples – Is it necessary when the devotees came to temple to find peace in first place?
In earlier days, temples worked as places of imparting knowledge to people. Is that happening now?
Temples are becoming sort of places of attraction / photo shoot places, etc. than places to encourage devotion
Should we discriminate devotees as VIPs and normal people?

The chief guest Sriman Narasimha Sharma then spoke and discussed about the topic of day.

HH Jeeyar Swamiji spoke in English and provided answers in a clear and concise fashion to all the topics that were discussed by the students. Here are some excerpts:

Our eyes are capable of seeing objects; our face is an object which can be seen. However, to see our own face, we certainly need a mirror. Similarly, a temple is needed to know about ourselves.
Unlike a mirror which is lifeless, a temple is a living organization with set processes which help humanity

Commercialization of temples is a result of our own abuse, the way rulers have made the temples to become. In a way, we are spoiling our own mirrors. We should not discard the mirror because it has dust or dirty marks on it. We need to clean the mirror so that we can use it. So also, the
If we sense bad odour in the surroundings, we don’t say that we will not breathe. Instead, we purify the air and proceed with our lives.
Temples encourage us to share our things with others. Without this mechanism, we tend to become very materialistic and selfish.
Science is resulting in dividing the people. Religion / Practices / Traditions are trying to unite the people, irrespective of their ideological differences.

Prior to Swami Ramanuja, the temple institution was predominantly run by priestly people. The social reformer that Swami Ramanuja was, he ensured that all parts of society have a say in running the temples. He achieved this by categorizing the activities in a temple into 20 departments. He gave the ownership of each department to different parts of society including potters, plumbers, carpenters, goldsmiths, etc. They were given ‘enams’ for their livelihood and made them to preserve their skill to be used in running temples.
Swami Ramanuja strived to convince the society that every person is a child of God and there CANNOT be any discrimination – either in temple administration or in eligibility of getting mantra.

Overall, it was extremely thought-provoking debate. It was a great sight to see the students making notes while Swamiji was elaborating on the topic of debate. We hope that they carry these learnings for rest of their lives and also impart this knowledge in their circles.

Evening Session

Evening sessions started with collective chanting of Sri Vishnu Sahasra Nama Stotram.

Lord Rama of Divya Saketam arrived at the venue on his Chandra prabha-vahanam (moon vehicle). The speciality of today’s alankaram is that Lord Rama was decorated in the form of little Lord Krishna, trying to steal the butter.

Swami Ramanuja on his hamsa vahanam was facing Lord Rama while fetching the Lord to venue. Thus, Ramanuja was walking backwards while watching Rama coming forward.

The Lords of second set of 18 divya desams arrived at the venue on their respective Garuda vahanams.

Today, there was a minor change in the route of 18 Perumals. They were routed via the yaga sala so that they could bless the Purnahuthi, do a yaga sala Parikramana and then moved on to the main stage.

19 Thiru Naagai / Om Naaga pura nivasaya Soundarya vallee sametaaya Sri Soundarya raajaaya namaha

20 Thiru Sirkazhi / Om Kazhee Srirama Vinnagara nivasaya Lokanayakee sametaaya Sri Vikrama Narayanaaya namaha

21 Thiru Nandipura Vinnagaram / Om Nandi pura vinnagara nivasaya Champaka vallee sametaaya Sri Naatha naathaaya namaha

22 Thiru Vindalur (Mayiladuthurai) / Om Indalur pura nivasaya Sugandha vana nayakee sametaaya Sri Parimala Ranganaathaaya namaha

23 Thiru Chitrakutam (Chidambaram) / Om Chitra Kuta nivasaya Pundareeka vallee sametaaya Sri Govindaraajaaya namaha

24 Thiru Naraiyur (Naachiyar Koil) / Om Sulka pura nivasaya Manjula vallee sametaaya Sri Sundara Paripurnaaya Srinivasaaya namaha

25 Thiru Koodalur / Om Koodalur Pura nivasaya Padmasana vallee sametaaya Sri Jagadrakshaka Swamine namaha

26 Thiru Kannamgudi / Om Thirukannamgudi nivasaya Aravinda nayakee sametaaya Sri Syamala Thanave namaha

27 Thiru Kanna mangai / Om Kannamangai pura nivasaya Abhisheka vallee sametaaya Sri Bhakta vathsalaaya namaha

28 Thiru Kapi sthalam / Om Kapisthala nivasaya Ramaa mani vallee sametaaya Gajendra varadaaya namaha

29 Thiru Velliyamgudi / Om Thiruvelliyamgudi nivasaya Marakata vallee sametaaya Sri Kola val villi Raghunaathaaya namaha

30 Thiru Manimaada Koil (Thirunangur) / Om Divya Mani maada pura nivasaya Pundareeka vallee sametaaya Sri Nandaa pradeepa Bhagavathe namaha

31 Thiru Vaikunta vinnagaram / Om Vaikunta vinnagara vaasine Vaikunta vallee sametaaya Sri Vaikunta naathaaya namaha

32 Thiru Arimeya Vinnagaram / Om Arimeya vinnagara nivasaya Amrutha ghata vallee sametaaya Sri Ghata narthakaaya namaha

33 Thiru Thevanaar Thogai / Om Deva brunda pura kshetra nivasaya Ksheerabdi naayikaa sametaaya Sri Deva Nayaka Swamine namaha

34 Thiru Vann Purushottamam / Om Purushottama pura nivasaya Purushottama Naayikaa sametaaya Sri Purushottamaaya namaha

35 Thiru Sem Pon Sei Koil / Om Hema Ranga pura nivasaya Sri Swetha pushpa vallee sametaaya Sri Hema Ranga Swamine namaha

36 Thiru Manikkoddam / Om Sri Mani koota pura nivasaya Maha Lakshmee sametaaya Sri Mani Koota Prabhave namaha

Swami Ramanuja went to each Lord, did sashtanga namaskaram and did mangalasasanam by singing the pasuram pertaining to that Lord. The Lord then greeted Ramanuja by gifting him sesha-vastram and Sri-Sathari. Swami Ramanuja gleefully accepts and then passed on to the devotees who signed up as sponsors (yajamans) for this service.

Swami Ramanuja bid farewell to Lord Rama and 18 Perumals so that they could go back to their abodes.

There were many key takeaways for devotees today. We started the day by recounting the practice of Japam. We went on to experience the bliss of Thirumanjanam service. We got an opportunity to practice how to perform Aradhana. We listened to a wonderful debate about the temples mechanism. We experienced a rare sight of 18 Garuda sevas in one day.