The time piece of periyava

courtesy:Kanchi forum

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from kanchiforum:
Kanchi Paramacharya was once camping with his entourage in a choultry at Pudukottai, Tamilnadu, on his way to Tirunelveli. After completing the Chandramouleesvara puja on the night he reached there, Swamiji was seated before retiring for the night.

He called Nagarajan, a youth who was assisting and told him, "Appa, Nagu! I need to get up at three-thirty early morning tomorrow for my snAna. You remember it!"

The youth Nagu with great reverence replied, "As you order, Periyavaa! As you told me now, at exactly three-thirty in the morning, I shall sing the namAvali hara hara sankara... jaya jaya sankara."

Swamiji smiled as he understood Nagu's words. He asked him, "Since it won't be proper to say 'I shall wake you up at three-thirty Periyavaa', you said you will sing hara hara sankara... jaya jaya sankara!"

Nagu grinned sheepishly. He did not know what to answer.

"Alright, do as you please!" Swamiji went to his room.

It was eleven in the night. The choultry was steeped in sleep. Swamiji had also retired. Nagu couldn't sleep. Worry caught hold of him. There was not a single wall clock or alarm timepiece in that choultry. What he had was a very old watch presented by his uncle on the occasion of his upanayanam. He was not used to wear it on the wrist as he was with the sage most of the time. The watch was taking refuge in his old trunk. He did not touch it after winding it up every day and setting the time.

The apprehension 'How could I wake up Periyavaa, if I wasn't awake at three-thirty?' took hold of him. Coming to a final decision, he went to the store room and retrieved his watch from his trunk. He came silently to the entrance of Swamiji's room and seated himself on the floor. He started chanting Vishnu Sahasranama silently, taking care that no sound escaped from him. Looking at his watch now and then, he was reciting the verses in repeated cycles.

When it was 3:30 exactly, Nagu got up, wiped his eyes, folded his hands, looked at Swamiji's room sang the hara hara sankara... jaya jaya sankara in a low voice. Within moments, the door opened. AcharyaL came out smiling, with the tejas of Lord Shiva himself and gave Nagu his suprapAda darshan. Only Nagu had the blessing to get this darshan on that day.

AcharyaL slowly walked up to the entrance of the choultry. Nagu rushed to make arrangements for the sage's bath. The choultry woke up gradually. 
The next night, and the next, Nagu's pattern of staying awake, singing Vishnu Sahasra Namam and the hara hara sankara namavali continued.

On the fourth night when Nagu was doing his routine, tucking his watch at his waist, he fell asleep inadvertently. Suddenly he was awakened by a divine voice singing hara hara sankara... jaya jaya sankara. Jolted out of sleep, Nagu saw the smiling AcharyaL, his face replete with compassion.

Swamiji said with vAtsalya, "My child! It is exactly three-thirty now. Seems you slept because of tiresomeness. With a full day's service, it is natural you would have the strain." Smiling, Swamiji started walking slowly towards the entrance of the choultry. Nagu confirmed that the time was 3:30 from his watch at his waist.

He was wonderstruck and confused at the sage waking up at the right time. The divine voice singing the namavali echoed in his ears repeatedly. He hadn't heard such a song from the sage earlier.

It was eleven on the next night. Swamiji had retired. Nagu vowed to himself that he would stay awake at any cost the whole night. He had also brought water in a small brass pot, to wipe his eyes if he was overwhelmed by sleep.

The time was 2:30 in the night. Though he had managed until then, Nagu couldn't stay awake any further despite his best efforts, so he folded up sleeping on the floor.

The door opened. AcharyaL came out slowly. He saw the sleeping Nagu and the brass water pot on his side. He understood and laughed.

"hara hara sankara... jaya jaya sankara. Appa, Nagu wake up!" Swamiji called softly. Nagu got up, jolted to wakefulness and saw the smiling sage before him.

"Nagu, it is exactly three-thirty. Poor boy, you couldn't get up in time today also. Alright, arrange for my bath." Swamiji proceeded to the entrance as he did usually. Nagu wondered as he checked the time.

After the afternoon puja, Swamiji was seated alone. Nagu went and prostrated to him and stood nearby meekly without uttering a word.

Swamji began the conversation: "Appa Nagu, from your namaskaram it seems that you want to know something from me. What is it, ask me, don't feel shy."

Nagu hesitated and tried, "It is nothing, Periyavaa." Swamiji laughed. "I understand what your mind wants to ask me. When you couldn't stay awake with a watch on you, you are confused as to how Periyavaa could get up at the exact time, when he does not have any sort of timepiece! Right?"

Slightly emboldened, Nagu said, "Yes, Periyavaa. In spite of my best efforts, I somehow went sleeping at the time when I should have been awake. And you got up and awakened me at the exact time of three-thirty. I am ashamed Periyavaa. How does Periyavaa know the exact time..."
Swamiji interruped him and said, "You have the doubt that some karna yakshini tells me the time!" and laughed loudly.

"It was not that Periyavaa. Just a curiosity to know..." Nagu hesitated.

Swamiji continued: "No yakshini told the time in my ear. It was a bus that told me the time! The T.V.S. bus of Madurai T.V. Sundaram Iyengar's company. When I came out on the first morning after you awakened me with your namAvali, I noticed a bus pass by the choultry gate. On the next two mornings also a bus got past the choultry gate at three-thirty! On inquiry, I was told that it was the first bus of the T.V.S. company in the morning that arrives at Pudukottai from Madurai. There was not a second of difference in the exact time of three-thirty when the bus passed by the gate, day after day. People used to say that you can adjust your watch using the time of arrival of a T.V.S. bus at a particular place. I understood they were right! From the fourth morning, I got up as I heard the noise of the bus. There is no other secret in this, Nagu!" Swamiji laughed, absorbed in himself.

Nagu was just looking intently at the face of Swamiji, as he finished his reply.

Glossary
karna yakshini - god of the ears
snAna - bath
namaskaram - the action of prostrating
namAvali - a series of God names
suprapada darshan - having darshan of a sage when he gets up in the morning
tejas - divine splendour
upanayanam - the Hindu thread ceremony
vAtsalya - affection
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knr

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