why do the carvings of these lizards crop up in unusual places...these are not etched /carved but sculpted. hence cannot say that these were the work of some bored craftsmen.
aha there is a lizard carved on the vimana of our holiest shrine- chidambaram. i was always told that it was a robber who came to steal the gold butwas changed intoa lizard. now i see so many instances.
perhaps this logic will work out. to avoid real lizards coming to a place people stick on a rubber palli on the wall. perhaps this was the reason. venketesh
or maybe could be a particular aritists or a sculpture schools sign...signature...maybe since they didnt allow them to sign their works, they left these..
have heard among techies - that programmers often do such things, intentionally leave a signature hidden underneath their programs..
or left it for some deft author like dan brown to weave our own The Palli code..
Shiva-yoga is a technique of opening the third eye. The third eye is an enigmatic organ having a universal mythological history. It is the middle eye of Shiva; it is the eye of Horas of Egyptian tradition, it is the horn of the unicorn. The third eye is an organ apparently dormant but innately acquired by mankind whose awakening is the birth right of every individual. It is an organ of inner vision which embraces eternity, while the two physical eyes look before seeing neither the past nor the future.
Physiology has recognized the importance of the midbrain and of endocrine glands; The third ventricle is a narrow slit lying near the base of cerebral hemispheres and separating the two thalamia from each other. At the posterior end of this slit, a small nodule of grey matter projects backwards and overhangs corpora quadrigemina of the mid brain. This is the pineal gland. It represents all that remains of the third eye which used to adorn the forehead of some of the lizard ancestors in far off times. This type of lizard is found only in New Zealand and it dates back to the end of palaeozoic period in the Permian epoch. One of the lizard's feature is that it has a quite well developed third eye behind and between the usual two. This is known as the pineal eye
For those who have not read "The Third Eye" by T. Lobsang Rampa, this is a book by one Tuesday Lobsang Rampa who became a lama in ancient Tibet. His forehead was operated to open his third eye in a Tibetian lamasery! After his death, the lama occupied the body of a British plumber ( who had no literary expertise ) and wrote this book as per "instructions" to him from his higher order. The narration of this book is compelling...Very interesting and controversial book though!
this was told to me by my grandmother - my great great grandfather became a kind of ascetic / siddha doctor - he would go into the nearby forest to collect pachilai - he came up with cures for snake bite etc etc, aparently he ( by analysing the urine sample of a pregnant women in coconut oil collected inside a coconut shell) tell the sex of the unborn baby!!. he has extensive collection of palm leaf manuscripts of these but unfortunately all are lost.
However, when he died his last wish was to attain kabala moksham....a pit was dug near the temple tank ( yes same tadagam where they found the shiva lingam - tadaga purirswarar - refer earlier post)...he was lowered in a seated position into the pit and coconuts were broken on his head till the kabalam opened...( pretty gruesome if you think of it now)
but the funda behind this is - just below the uchanthalai is an opening called Brahmarandra (also called dasama dvaara - the 10th hole) The normal 9 dvaaras we know of 2 nostrils, 2 ears, 2 eyes, 1 mouth, 1anus, 1 urethal/sexual opening.
When siddhas and yogis finish their desired work for this birth ( piravi payan),their soul leaves the body ideally through the Brahmarandra. aka kabala moksham.. When activities cease in the body of the siddha/yogi, the disciples usually take a coconut and break it upon the top of the head to open the Brahmarandra and allow the soul to depart.....
I am lucky to come across this blog by Kavita; it contains a few thoughts on the lizard issue. I have given both the url and relevant lines from the blog. We don't kill lizards, and rush to see the panchangam when it trips and falls on us. Sampath
One creature seems to have a lot of impact not just by being a devotional creature but also as a mechanism of communication between our world and God's kingdom - devaloka. They say that when you are completely devotional, the Lord Himself comes in some form and resides within the chamber where you worship Him. The lizard is considered to be a very important creature in such modes of communications. When a lizard steps into the puja room and stays there it's considered auspicious. They say that either your Guru or the Lord Himself rides on the lizard when they come "visiting". The nature of the lizard in such cases is quite different. They tend to be fearless, hang around the deep dark corners of the room and come closer to the devotee as and when they wish, sometimes it's too close for comfort. A family is considered blessed and the home is believed to have positive vibrations when lizards come to live within the walls of its puja room. Lizards seem to have held a very strong place in function! Killing or harming lizards is considered one of the greatest "doshams"(negative effects) committed ever. Even more intriguing is the fear that is triggered with the accumulation of "doshams" when a lizard falls over a person. They say that if a lizard fell over our head, something very inauspicious is going to happen, like probable death in the family, while if it falls on the foot it means travel.
Interestingly found only in the Varadaraja Perumal temple at Kanchipuram is the silver and gold lizards on the ceiling of a small chamber in this temple. With mystical diagrams of the sun and moon near it, this large lizard is supposed to wipe out all the accumulated "doshams" if we get to touch it. There is an endless list of "doshams" given in our panchangam. The sun, moon and the lizard (palli) are related to astrology and give remedies with relation to our horoscopes for a more peaceful living.
Touching these lizards on the ceiling nullifies the negative effects that we might have accumulated in the course of our living, knowingly or unknowingly. Maybe they are consecrated up there with mantra concentrate done ages ago when the temple was built, so that the oncoming generations would benefit from it with a simple touch.
All in all it has not just caught the strong belief of the ancients but also the caught the faith of million Indians today who flock there. Can we question the lizard? Maybe, but can we doubt Indian faithÂ… no, it can only be admired! kavitha
In Avudayar Koil, at the very entrance above the main mandapam, there is a lizard and a monkey. A person who guided us when I went there a year and half ago, said its udumbu and monkey to symbolize the fact that, we should be like udumbu catching hold of the lord very strongly and never be like a monkey with a wavering mind. sounds logical.
so are we assuming all the udumbu's to be palli's??
A Hidden Mickey is a partial or complete image of Mickey Mouse that has been hidden by Disney's Imagineers, artists or cast members in Disney attractions, hotels, restaurants, stores, etc. These images are designed to blend into their surroundings. The most common Hidden Mickeys are three intersecting circles to form the outline of Mickey's head and ears...also known as the "classic" Mickey.
In a lighter vein, the story about the two priests:
Two priest were comparing notes on how they distribute the money collected during sermons. The first one said: Idraw a circle around me, throw the collections toward the ceiling; I keep whatever coins fall inside the circle; the rest goes to church. The second one said; I put no such conditions. I throw the money upwards toward the ceiling; God retains his share and I collect whatever the God throws down.
The devotees are the right persons to decide. As long as there is no coercion or harassment for donation, it is fine.
Lord Brahma worshipped the presiding God here. When the Chola king came to this holy place for hunting-in a place overgrown with wild plants, his arrow accidentally fell on a holy, gold lizard (udumbu??) and plenty of blood oozed out from the wound. On seeing the plight of the holy, gold lizard (bleeding to death) the Chola king became unconscious. Then Lord Shiva appeared before him and commanded him to build a temple for him (Lord Shiva) and blessed him. The Chola king then established a holy idol of Lord Shiva, an exact replica of the holy, gold lizard.
May be the student sculptors were asked to sculpt out these lizards to practice their skills (considering that they are never found in prominent places but always in an obscure corner or the roof). May be Ganapthy sthapathi or Muthiah sthapathi may have some explanations.
> A Hidden Mickey is a partial or complete image of Mickey Mouse that > has been hidden by Disney's Imagineers, artists or cast members in > Disney attractions, hotels, restaurants, stores, etc. These images are > designed to blend into their surroundings.
Hi do you know that plenty of mickey mouses have been discovered in ancient artifacts all over the world- some dating to 10th century. just follow these two links
before archeologists start attributing all sorts of things, .... I think its just the common creativity of human kind. many people think of the same things across seas and eras.
There are golden lizards for luck and lizards all over the world. Well that can say we are all damn lucky and... the peacock (one of Lord Muruga's vaahana) eats them on a regular basis :-) , it sure has gotten lucky rite, how else can it be the lord's vahana.... Superstition on luck can be said on this particular issue.
However, yes there is a theory of the Lizard having to open the third eye, it is fascinating because, it is one of the very few beings that is naturally born to rotate its eyes inward, The third eye or said point is the ending of nerves which cause a forcible penetration of electric pulse that triggers the bottom of the spine , When the eyes focus to a point between the eyebrows or to the tip of the nose there is deep pain and when you get used to that, eventually the light opens up from ,,, the inside. The third eye, is a logical object, it is a concept that shows the 'reality'. Lizards have that natural ability, i assume as it can with ease point its eyes into the nerve endings. No wonder the Guru's and saints ride on one.
The way this third eye works can be read from Thirupugazh song about palani "Mulangila oor uruvai" brilliant song, explains about what happens when the naadi is properly 'squeezed'.