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Transcript of Kanchi Periva Forum - Ebook on Sri Maha Periva's Life History - Volume 7
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Glimpses from Sri Maha Periva’s Life History – Volume 7 By Subi Anna
© Copyrights reserved Kanchi Periva Forum – www.periva.proboards.com & www.periva.org 2
Table of Contents Author’s Note ............................................................................ 3
Chapter 16 ................................................................................. 4
More Events in Kashi ..................................................................................4
Kashi Town Hall Meeting ...........................................................................5
Pundits Conference ......................................................................................5
Departure from Kashi .................................................................................6
Visit to Kastar Mahadev .............................................................................6
Patna Visit .....................................................................................................8
Sankara Jayanthi Festival ...........................................................................9
Trip to Gaya................................................................................................10
Deoghar Visit ..............................................................................................11
Maha Periva Visits Calcutta .....................................................................12
Pandit Panchanana Tharka Ratna’s Welcome .......................................13
Shaarada Navaratri ...................................................................................14
Prominent Personalities in Calcutta ........................................................15
Maha Periva in Midnapore .......................................................................16
Kind Gesture to Prisoners .........................................................................17
Travel to Kharagpur ..................................................................................18
Tatanagar Visit ...........................................................................................19
Move to Bihar Kingdoms ..........................................................................20
Keonjhar City, Orissa ................................................................................21
Periva Divya Darshan ............................................................ 22
Glimpses from Sri Maha Periva’s Life History – Volume 7 By Subi Anna
© Copyrights reserved Kanchi Periva Forum – www.periva.proboards.com & www.periva.org 3
Author’s Note
Happy New Year 2014!
Kanchi Maha Periva was one of
the rarest spiritual fountains
that poured forth the 'divine
wisdom' from the Vedas.
Browsing through his speeches,
one can feel how nicely he
explained the most intricate
subjects in the simplest ways so
that people can understand
them easily.
As we continue reading this E-
book series on Maha Periva’s life
history, what appeals to many of
us is Periva’s utter simplicity,
open mind towards all, and an
amazing depth of knowledge on
a multitude of subjects.
In his long Vijaya Yaatra
(Victorious Travels) spanning
about 21 years, Maha Periva
covered over 5000 kms without
using any modern transportation
and talking to the people of
India. Thus, he played a major
role in promoting and sustaining
Sanatana Dharma.
Throughout his long travels
across India, Maha Periva had
stayed in numerous villages,
had ritual baths in the sacred
rivers and prayed at the nearest
temples.
He was so highly respected that
Maharajas, high government
dignitaries, chief judges, well-
known scholars, the rich and the
poor folks received him with
great love and honors.
In numerous places, Maha
Periva spoke to the local people
in their native language.
He spoke on a wide range of
subjects including Vedas,
Vedanta, Puranas, Shastras,
Sthala Puranas and others.
Wherever he went, thousands of
people were attracted to see
him and hear his speeches.
His communication skills were
infinitely charming to pull people
from all over the globe.
Maha Periva inspired the people
of those days and continues to
inspire us even today with his
life story.
With Pranams
Subi Anna
Jaya Jaya Sankara
Hara Hara Sankara
Glimpses from Sri Maha Periva’s Life History – Volume 7 By Subi Anna
© Copyrights reserved Kanchi Periva Forum – www.periva.proboards.com & www.periva.org 4
Chapter 16
More Events in Kashi
During his camp in Kashi,
Maha Periva initiated many
holy activities. On February
16, 1935, Maha Periva visited
the Kashi Sanga Veda
Vidyalaya in Ram Ghat, a
popular bathing ghat for
pilgrims.
Thousands of people including
the Maharaja of Kashi and his
family members had
assembled there to have a
darshan of Maha Periva. In
honor of Maha Periva, the
scholars and administrative
officials of the Vidyalaya had
composed ten slokas (verses)
in Sanskrit.
They made a presentation of
these slokas to Maha Periva.
The Maharaja of Kashi had
personally written a Sanskrit
essay in praise of Maha
Periva.
He signed this essay and
presented it at the lotus feet
of Maha Periva.
Maha Periva examined the
students of the Vidayalaya
and blessed them. He felt
immensely happy at the noble
work of the Vidyalaya for
sustaining Sanatana Dharma.
He spoke on Veda Vyasa and
the greatness of Adi
Shankaracharya. On this day,
Maha Periva installed the
following pictures at the
Sanga Veda Vidyalaya:
• Picture of
Sripadanarayanar brought by
Kashi Maharaja from his
palace.
• Picture of Adi Sankara
Bhagavatpada brought from
the Sankara mutt at Hanuman
Ghat as per Maha Periva’s
instructions.
Later, after Maha Periva’s
return to the mutt, the
Maharaja of Kashi installed a
picture of Maha Periva in the
Sanga Vidyalaya.
All the three new pictures
installed at the Vidyalaya
were nicely decorated.
Glimpses from Sri Maha Periva’s Life History – Volume 7 By Subi Anna
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Vidyalaya officials had made
arrangements for a special
puja on that day.
Kashi Town Hall Meeting
Knowing that Maha Periva had
planned to move from Kashi,
the people of Kashi had
arranged a public meeting on
March 9, 1935 at the city’s
town hall.
75 prominent citizens of Kashi
had signed the invitations that
were distributed to the people
of Kashi. On the appointed
day, several thousands of
people assembled at the
venue of the meeting to
convey their respects to Maha
Periva.
Volunteers of the Seva
Samithi and the local police
force regulated the crowds.
Amidst shouts of “Jagadguru
Maharaj ki Jai”, Maha Periva
arrived on time at 4 PM.
Felicitation addresses were
made in Hindi and Sanskrit.
Learned pundits Jaipur Maha
Mahopadhyay Giridhar
Sharma, MahaMahopadhyay
Panchanana Tarka Ratnam,
and Devanayakacharyar
spoke on the greatness of
Maha Periva and the benefits
arising from his visit to the
people of Kashi.
Maha Periva spoke in Hindi
and blessed the local people.
Later in the evening, along
with others, Maha Periva
walked to the Vishwanath
temple and inaugurated a
large picture of Adi Shankara
with his disciples.
Pundits Conference
With a view to discuss about
the Amnaaya Peethas
(Centres for study of Vedic
texts) established by Sri Adi
Shankaracharya and reach
some definite conclusions, a
conference of Kashi pundits
was organized in Kashi on
March 9, 1935.
Most of the well-known
pundits of Kashi and also
respected Dandi Sannyasis
attended the conference.
They examined the texts from
various scriptures obtained
Glimpses from Sri Maha Periva’s Life History – Volume 7 By Subi Anna
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from the library of Kashi
Maharaja and also books like
Sivarahasyam, Anandalahiri,
Sankaravijayam and many
others.
After a detailed scrutiny of
these documents, they
reached a conclusion that
Kamakoti Peetam was indeed
the Peetam of Sri Shankara
Bagavatpada.
In confirmation of this
conclusion, they signed a
document in the form of
slokams and presented it to
Maha Periva.
Likewise, a few days earlier to
the Kashi conference, over
130 pundits from Bengal met
in Calcutta under the auspices
of Bengal Brahmins
Mahasabha.
The pundits at this Calcutta
conference too researched
hundreds of scriptures related
to Sri Shankara's Amnaaya
Mutts and concluded that
Kamakoti Peetam is really Adi
Shankaracharya's Adisthana
Peetam.
In order to personally present
this conclusion of the Bengal
Pundits to Maha Periva, two of
their representatives namely
Mahamahopadhyaya Sri
Durgacharan Sanga Theethar
and Sri. Damodara Das
Khanna had arrived in Kashi
on March 1, 1935.
They met with Maha Periva at
the town hall meeting and
submitted their conclusion to
him. They also invited Maha
Periva to Bengal.
Departure from Kashi
After accepting facilitations
from other organizations such
as Brahamins Mahasabha,
Varnashrama Swarajya
Sangh, and South Indian
groups, Maha Periva departed
from Kashi to Gaya on March
20, 1935.
Visit to Kastar Mahadev
On April 2,1935, Maha Periva
visited the pilgrim centre of
Kastar Mahadev. Hundreds of
Sannyasis lived in this centre,
Glimpses from Sri Maha Periva’s Life History – Volume 7 By Subi Anna
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some of them over hundred
years old.
Amongst them Dandi Baba
was a well-known sannyasi.
He told Maha Periva that in
his younger days, he had the
blessings of Kamakoti
Peetam’s earlier Acharyas.
Maha Periva visited the local
Mahadev temple.
On April 4, 1935, Maha Periva
reached Surajpura. The King
of Surajpura received Maha
Periva with royal honors and
performed ‘paada puja’ at his
palace.
Traveling through Kasipuri
and Buxar, Maha Periva
arrived in the city of Arrah on
April 19. This historical city is
in the state of Bihar, situated
on the confluence of rivers of
Ganges and Sone, about 130
miles from Kashi.
The residents of Arrah had
arranged a great welcome
reception to Maha Periva.
Many scholars came to have a
darshan of Maha Periva.
Much to the delight of the
local people, Maha Periva had
easy conversations with them
in Hindustani language.
On Sunday, April 21, 1935,
Maha Periva visited Koelwar,
on the banks of river
Sonabadra, popularly known
as Sone. This river joins the
Ganges west of Patna.
Maha Periva had a dip in the
Sone River. Knowing that the
red stone representing Lord
Vinayaka is found in the Sone
River, Maha Periva picked up
the Vinyaka stones from the
river. These stones were later
kept in the Mutt Puja.
(Note: In the ancient tradition
of 'Panchayatana' worship
initiated by Sri Adi
Shankaracharya, five rare
stones each representing the
five main deities are used in
the Panchayatana Puja. Sun
God Surya is represented by a
transparent glass-like stone
found in Vallam River in Tamil
Nadu. Mother Goddess Para
Shakti is represented by the
Swarnamukhi stone found in
Glimpses from Sri Maha Periva’s Life History – Volume 7 By Subi Anna
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Swarnamukhi River in Andhra
Pradesh. Lord Vishnu is
represented by Saligrama
found in the Ghandaki River in
Nepal. Lord Vinayaka is
represented by the red
Sonabhadra stone found in
the river bed of the Sone
River. Lord Shiva is
represented by the Bana
Linga found in the Narmada
river.)
Patna Visit
Traveling through Tanapur,
Maha Periva reached Patna
city (The Capital of Bihar
State) on Wednesday, April
24, 1935.
Fig. 64 Location of Patna in India
Situated at the confluence of
the Ganges, Gandhaki and
Sone rivers, Patna has great
historical significance.
Known by the ancient name of
Pataliputra, the city of Patna
is associated with two of the
world’s oldest religions,
Buddhism and Jainism. Patna
was also the seat of the great
Maurya and Gupta Empires.
The Maharajas of Athwa and
Amavan along with many
prominent citizens of Patna
received Maha Periva at the
outskirts of the city.
Seated on a high pedestal
(Simhasana), Maha Periva
gave darshan to several
thousands of people. On
behalf of the local citizens,
welcome addresses were read
out in both Sanskrit and
Hindi.
Led by the two Maharajas and
their troops including
cavalries, Maha Periva was
taken in procession from the
outskirts into the city.
Glimpses from Sri Maha Periva’s Life History – Volume 7 By Subi Anna
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On April 26, 1935, Maha
Periva attended a conference
of scholars (pundits) who had
gathered in Patna from
Magadh, Videh and other
neighbouring districts.
The organizers of the
conference, Patna Vihara
Pundit Samaj received Maha
Periva with due honors and
read out an address in
Sanskrit welcoming Maha
Periva to the conference.
A popular local English daily
“The Searchlight” published
an editorial on Maha Periva’s
visit to Patna. A part of this
editorial is reproduced below:
“Bihar accords a cordial and
respectful to Jagadguru
Swami Sankaracharya of
Kamakotipitam. Heir to a
great and honored tradition,
Swamiji Maharaj is an object
of veneration to Hindus all
over India and his presence in
our midst is a rare privilege.
Religious leadership is on the
wane in these modern days
but there is something truly
majestic and inspiring in some
of these traditions of old that
had their roots in the spiritual
needs and requirements of
the people.
The many pitas established in
India served a definite
purpose and were parts of the
close knit religious
organization of the times.
We have no doubt that
Swamiji’s message will leave
an abiding impression on all
wh receive it, for what he has
to say is the result of study
and Tapas.”
Sankara Jayanthi Festival
Fig.65 An idol of Adi Sankara with
his four chief disciples installed at
the Sankara Mutt in Pune
Glimpses from Sri Maha Periva’s Life History – Volume 7 By Subi Anna
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Maha Periva conducted the
1935 Sankara Jayanthi
Festival in the palace of Athwa
Maharaja.
On Adi Sankara’s birthday
May 7, the local people helped
in organizing a large
procession leading to the
Bagirath Ghat on the shores
of Ganges River.
To the accompaniment of
Nadaswaram music in the
procession, a majestic
elephant carried a portrait of
Sri Adi Sankara and the
Acharya Padukas.
With Maha Periva walking the
entire route, thousands of
people joined the procession.
After the ritual of abhishekam
to the Padukas, Maha Periva
spoke in Hindi about the birth
of Adi Sankara. The next day,
members of the Patna Pundit
Sabha performed Bhiksha-
vandanam and Pada Puja to
Maha Periva.
Prominent citizens who had
darshan of Maha Periva
included the family of Babu
Rajendra Prasad (later
President of India), high court
judges, chief engineers and
others.
Trip to Gaya
Maha Periva moved out of
Patna on May 11, 1935. He
reached Harihara kshetra on
the northern bank of Ganges.
Harihara Kshetra's main
attraction is the biggest cattle
fair in Asia where numerous
elephants are lined up and
sold in large numbers.
Traveling further, Maha Periva
reached the holy city of Gaya
(about 65 miles from Patna)
on May 20, 1935. Gaya is a
well-known city that has
attained fame as cultural
capital of Magadh Region.
The city is located at the
western bank of the river
Falguni. At the border of the
city, he was received with due
honors by the Dikkari
Maharaja and local dignitaries
and escorted in a procession
to the Royal palace.
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Soon after reaching the
destination, Maha Periva had
a dip in the sacred Falguni
river.
Later, he visited Buddha Gaya
and had darshan of the
ancient and famous Bodhi
tree under which Lord Buddha
attained enlightenment and a
statue of Buddha.
Fig. 66 Statue of Lord Buddha, in
Buddha Gaya.
Deoghar Visit
After visiting several other
cities, Maha Periva arrived in
Deoghar in Bihar (now in
Jharkhand State). This city is
one of the oldest believed to
be ‘Swayambu’ (self-created).
Deoghar itself means ‘The
house of God.’ Deoghar is an
important Hindu pilgrimage
centre with the Vaidyanath
Temple being one of the
twelve Shiva Jyothirlingams in
India.
This city is also known as
Vaidyanatha Kshetra.
Fig.67 Vaidyanath Temple in
Deoghar
At this place, Maha Periva first
visited the Sanskrit School,
and later prayed at the
temple of Vaidyanathar and
Girija Devi.
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Maha Periva Visits Calcutta
The city of Calcutta in West
Bengal is located about 250
miles South-east of
Vaidyanatha Kshetra.
Earlier, Maha Periva had
decided to perform the 1935
Vyasa Puja in Calcutta.
With barely 23 days left for
this event, Maha Periva had to
travel fast to reach Calcutta
on time for the Vyasa Puja.
On July 13, 1935, Maha
Periva reached Howrah
located on the southern bank
of the river Hooghly, also
known as Bhagirathi-Hooghly,
traditionally known as Ganga.
Prominent citizens of the city
accompanied by immigrants
from other states like Gujarat,
Maharashtra, Andhra,
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
received Maha Periva with
great enthusiasm.
Fig. 68 A view of the Howrah
Bridge across the river Hooghly
After staying for a night in
Howrah, Maha Periva crossed
the river and visited the office
of All India Varanashrama
Swarajya Sangh.
Maha Periva performed the
1935 Vyasa Puja in Calcutta.
He continued to stay in
Calcutta until September
1935 to observe the
Chaturmasa Vratam.
The Devasthana
Dharmakarthas of the famous
Calcutta Kali Temple received
Maha Periva at the temple
with due honors and read out
welcome addresses in Bengali,
Sanskrit and English.
Later, Maha Periva accepted
Bhiksha and Padapuja from
many prominent persons
including Manmatanath
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Mukherjee, Judge of Calcutta
High Court, Maharajas of
Burdwan and Nador,
Mahopadhyaya N.S.
Ananthakrishna Sastri, and
Sri. Dwarkanath Mittar, Chief
of Calcutta’s Government
Sanskrit College.
Pandit Panchanana Tharka
Ratna’s Welcome
In Bengal, Pandit Panchanana
Tharka Ratna was a highly
respected scholar. He served
as the president of the Bengal
Brahmin Sabha. In response
to an invitation from the
Bengal Sabha, Maha Periva
visited the Sabha’s office in
Calcutta.
In his welcome address in
Sanskrit to Maha Periva,
Pandit Panchanana Tharka
included the following
significant remarks:
“The city of Calcutta in the
Gauda Mandal is newly built.
It does not seem to have any
historical fame. On
researching the ancient
treatise ‘Brihadsamhitai’
authored by ‘Varahamihirar,’
this region seems to have
existed as sandy plains about
2500 years ago.
Even after the Europeans
settled here, this place did not
have full facilities for human
habitation. It seems that for a
long time, the city was not
really blessed by the visit of
great mahans like you.
We are indeed fortunate to
receive you - the 68th
Acharya of Sri Adi Sankara’s
Kamakoti Peetam and
Jagadguru.
I had the opportunity to see
and perform some research
on “Siva Rahasyam” – a rare
and ancient scripture carefully
preserved in the library of
Kashi Maharaja.
In this scripture, it is
mentioned that after
establishing four Mutts –
Dwaraka, Jagannath,
Badrinath, and Sringeri – in
four different directions, Sri
Adi Sankara established for
himself the “Sarvagna Mutt”
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in Kanchipuram where he
attained Siddhi.
It is also learnt from an old
book titled “Anandagiri
Sankara Vijayam” that Sri
Sureshwaracharya, a disciple
of Adi Sankara, lived near
Kanchipuram and he oversaw
the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam
established by his Guru Sri
Adi Sankara.
You have inherited the generic
name of ‘Indra Saraswathi’. It
reminds one of the Vedic
words “इन्द्रो मायाभि:परुुरूपडरयते”
(Indro Maayabihi Pururoopar-
dayate). The combination of
the word ‘Indra’ signifying
Paramatmavaachakam and
the word Saraswathi
signifying Ananda of
Brahmavaachakam highlight
your high qualities of
Brahman.
Some people say that right
from the days of Sri
Sureshwaracharya, the
Acharyas of the Kanchi
Peetam acquired this title of
Indra Saraswathi.
Coming in this great lineage
of Acharyas and installing Sri
Chakra just as Adi Sankara
did, you have been travelling
all over India without using
any modern means of
transportation.
We consider ourselves very
fortunate to have you in our
midst and offer our respects
to you. We do not know how
to praise a great person like
you with such amazing
qualities.
My speech stutters; my throat
whimpers; my eyes are filling
up with tears of happiness.
On this auspicious day, we
welcome you with “Jaya
Ghosham” (Sound of Victory)
as our Acharya who follows
the Sanatana Dharma.”
The gathering applauded the
speech of Pandit Panchanana
Tharka .
Shaarada Navaratri
On September 28, 1935,
celebrations started for
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Shaarada Navaratri. In
Bengal, this festival is
celebrated in a grand scale.
Fig 69. Durga idol in Calcutta
Maha Periva performed the
Navaratri Puja at the home of
Sri. M. Subramanian, who
served at that time as
Bengal’s Accountant General.
The expenses for the puja on
all days of Navaratri were
borne by the local citizens
that included Bengalis,
Gujaratis, Marwaris and South
Indians.
On this auspicious event,
women were worshipped and
given gifts on all the nine
days of the festival.
On October 6, Maha Periva
performed Saraswati Puja and
Chandi Homam in Calcutta.
The following day (Vijaya
Dasami), Maha Periva
continued his Vijaya Yatra.
Prominent Personalities in
Calcutta
There were numerous people
who were closely associated
with Maha Periva and
recipients of his blessings.
Among them, some of the
prominent personalities in
Calcutta included:
• Calcutta High Court
Judge Sri Manmathanath
Mukherjee
• High Court Judge Sri
Dwarakanath Mitra
• Sri Charath Chandra
Bose, brother of freedom
fighter Subash Chandra Bose
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• The Maharaja of
Burdwan
• Sri Damodar Das Khanna
In Calcutta, Sir C.P
Ramaswami Iyer, member of
the Indian Government’s
governing council, had
darshan of Maha Periva and
had long discussion with him.
Maha Periva’s visit to Calcutta
is an historical event for
Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam. The
reason for this is the deep
devotion of the people of
Calcutta and the services
provided by them.
Maha Periva in Midnapore
Continuing his Vijaya Yatra in
Bengal, Maha Periva traveled
via Janardanpur and reached
Midnapore on the New Moon
day of October 27, 1935.
Background:
Midnapore is about 70 miles
west of Calcutta. It is the
headquarters of Midnapore
district.
This city has served as a
foundation for India’s freedom
movement. Many of the
freedom fighters who had
bravely faced the gallows
were the sons of the soil of
Midnapore.
In those days, any freedom
movement against the
government was viewed as a
dangerous activity. In
Midnapore, there were strict
government restrictions on
any form of public meetings.
Government had imposed a
curfew impacting movement
of people after 9 PM in the
night. For many years, such
government restrictions were
in place in Midnapore.
Though people were not free,
they had very deep feelings
about getting freedom. So,
despite the government
restrictions, the people of
Midnapore decided to invite
Maha Periva to their city.
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Within a few hours of making
this decision, the local people
quickly set up a reception
committee.
To personally invite Maha
Periva, some members of the
reception committee
proceeded to Janardanpur
where Maha Periva was
camping at that time.
Maha Periva knew about the
government restrictions but
graciously accepted their
invitation. On hearing this,
the people conveyed the
news of Maha Periva’s visit to
Midnapore to the district
collector and higher officials in
Calcutta.
The government made the
people happy by relaxing the
restrictions on the day of
Maha Periva’s visit to
Midnapore.
The local people rejoiced this
gesture and considered the
day as Independence Day.
Kind Gesture to Prisoners
The news of Maha Periva’s
visit to Midnapore spread to
the inmates of the local
prison. Many of the prisoners
had spent their lives in jail for
the sake of country’s freedom.
Such prisoners included
college students, qualified
graduates, lawyers, doctors
and other professionals. They
sacrificed their livelihood and
took part in the freedom
movement.
Some of the prisoners wanted
to have darshan of Maha
Periva and expressed their
desire to the jail
superintendent who was an
Englishman.
The English official knew
about Maha Periva’s visit.
Respecting the wishes of the
prisoners, the official
permitted them to go out on
certain conditions.
To make sure that prisoners
do not escape, he engaged
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armed policemen to escort the
prisoners out.
He also imposed a condition
that all the prisoners who
went out should return to the
jail before 6 PM.
Accepting the conditions,
some of the prisoners came to
Maha Periva’s camp around
5:30 PM. At that time, Maha
Periva was resting after
completing the daily puja.
So, the mutt staff did not
want to disturb him and
requested the prisoners to
wait for about 10 minutes.
The prisoners feared for their
lives if they did not return to
the prison by 6 PM and left
with deep disappointment.
A little later, Maha Periva
emerged from his shelter and
enquired if anyone was
waiting.
When the mutt staff told him
about the prisoners’ visit,
Periva immediately sent a
person to bring back the
prisoners.
All of them came back,
offered their prostrations and
sought nothing but Maha
Periva’s blessings for the
country’s independence and
the welfare of its people.
After doing so, they returned
safely to the prison before the
appointed time. Maha Periva
and the local people admired
the prisoners’ passion for the
country’s independence.
Travel to Kharagpur
Kharagpur is a well-known
city in Midnapore district.
(home to the educational
institution IIT founded 1950).
The Bengal Nagpur Railways
(BNR in those days) had set
up one of the largest Railway
workshops in the country that
employed thousands of people
from various parts of the
country.
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Fig.70 A view of the Railway
platform at Kharagpur Railway
Station
The Kharagpur Railway
Station – a junction that came
up sometime in 1899 - has
one of the longest railway
platforms in the world.
Maha Periva stayed in this city
until November 24, 1935. This
stay was comparatively
relaxed after his hectic travels
in the past two years.
Tatanagar Visit
In response to request from
the devotees in Tatanagar, a
steel city about 140 miles
northwest from Kharagpur,
the mutt staff made
arrangements for Maha
Periva’s visit to Tatanagar.
Travelling through several
small towns and crossing the
river Swarnalekha at a village
called Chandralekha, Maha
Periva and his troupe reached
Tatanagar on December 5,
1935.
Maha Periva performed the
Dhanur Maasa Puja in
Tatanagar and stayed there
until January 27, 1936.
Because of winter and
continuous travel, many of
the mutt staff members were
sick. The local South Indian
families took good care of
them and arranged medical
assistance.
For the mutt staff, this help
from local residents was
unforgettable.
The management of Tata
Steel Company invited Maha
Periva to visit their Steel Plant
(established 1907).
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Maha Periva accepted their
kind invitation and visited the
large factory where various
steel products for the country
were being manufactured.
Fig 71. A View of Tata Steel Plant
(Courtesy: www.tatasteel.com)
Sri. S. Sambasiva Dikshitar,
who was then the manager of
the steel plant escorted Maha
Periva and showed him the
various steel manufacturing
processes.
Maha Periva observed the
operations at the steel plant
with keen interest.
Move to Bihar Kingdoms
After taking a dip in the
Swarnalekha river on a lunar
eclipse day in Tatanagar,
Maha Periva made a move to
Bihar Kingdoms.
At that time there numerous
small kingdoms in India and
Bihar had several such
kingdoms.
Maha Periva first visited
Seraikela (now in Jharkhand),
a small scenic kingdom. The
king of Seraikela received
Maha Periva with due honors,
assembled a darbar and
performed Paada Puja to
Maha Periva.
After staying in this kingdom
for 4 days, Maha Periva
moved to Chaibasa, the
capital of Singhbhum district
and later visited Chakradarpur
wherein a Railway workshop
is located.
He stayed in Chakradarpur for
four days.
Later, he moved on to the
kingdom of Kharsawan where
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he was received by the King
of Kharsawan.
During his stay there for three
days (February 6, 7, and 8,
1936), the king performed
Paada Puja to Maha Periva in
his darbar and arranged a
huge procession in his honor.
From Kharsawan, Maha Periva
returned to Chaibasa, stayed
there for nine days (February
9 to 17, 1936) and conducted
the Parama Guru Aradhanai.
Keonjhar City, Orissa
Keonjhar city is in Orissa,
about 65 miles from
Chaibasa. This hilly region is
full of dense forests. The local
government had made all
arrangements for Maha Periva
to travel safely across the
region.
They had set up many
beautiful ‘Parnashaalaas’ –
(hut like structures) for Maha
Periva’s stay. They had also
arranged police protection
enroute.
On February 23, Maha Periva
reached Keonjhar City. The
local King extended a Royal
welcome to Maha Periva.
Responding to the welcome
event, Maha Periva spoke on
the subject of “Bhakti” in
Hindi.
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Periva Divya Darshan