INTRODUCTION:
Sri Vilvamangalam Swamigal (1268-1369) was a great saint, poet and a devotee of Lord Guruvayurappan, a form of Lord Krishna. He was born in a village in Trichur District at Kerala. He has written many devotional poems in praise of Lord Krishna, and sung in front of the Guruvayurappan deity at his famous temple in Kerala. Sri Krishna Karnamrutam was the famous work rendered by the great saint. Though he belonged to shaivite sect, he was a great devotee of Lord Krishna similar to Narayana Bhattadhiri and Poonthanam Namboodri. He was a great scholar who has studied all the hindu scriptures and used to perform lectures in Bhagavatham among the people. He has also traveled to many holy places and visited the famous shrines in Dwaraka, Puri and Badrinath.
It is believed that he has got the divine appearance of Lord Krishna in the form of a small boy, and he performed mischievous acts, while he was doing puja to Lord Krishna at his home. He will used to apply the sandal paste kept for puja in his body, and ate the butter kept in the puja room, and used to wear the garland from the idol of Krishna. Initially, the great saint doesn’t know that the boy was none other than his holy Krishna, and he scolded the boy for his mischievous acts, but after some time, he felt a smell of great divine fragrance from the body of the little boy. The boy suddenly disappeared from that place. After a long search, he found the boy at Ananthankadu, and there Lord Krishna has given his darshan to him in the form of Anantha Sayana Moorti. Swami prayed to the Lord to pardon him. After some time a Temple was constructed in that place.
The Ananthankadu Nagaraja Temple still exists near the Padmanabhaswamy Temple. The Samadhi of the Vilva Mangala Swamigal exists to the west of the Padmanabha Temple. A Krishna Temple was built over the Samadhi. This Temple is known as “Vilwamangalam Sri Krishna Temple”.
FAMOUS WORKS
1. Sree Krishna Karnamrutam
2. Sreechinham
3. Purushakaaram
4. Abhinava-Kausthubha-Maala
5. Dakshinaamoorthy-Sthavam
6. Kaalavadha Kaavyam
7. Durgaasthuthi
8. Baalakrishna Sthothram
9. Baalagopaala Sthuthy
IMPORTANCE
He was a great saint who has got the darshan of Lord Krishna several times in his life. He also helped the people, by asking them to chant the Krishna mantra, “OM NAMO BHAGAVATE VASUDEVAYA NAMAHA”, and gave the Holy Prasad to the sick and the sinful people, and relieved them from their diseases and sins. He spread the Krishna Bhakti Spirit throughout Kerala through his great poems, and gave religious discourses in a simple manner and insisted the people to worship Lord Krishna regularly.
Let us worship the great saint and be blessed.
“OM SRI VILVA MANGALA SWAMIGALE NAMAHA”
“JAI KRISHNA”
“OM NAMAH SHIVAYA”
SENT BY
R.HARISHANKAR
