Thread by @anbezhil12

#MahaPeriyava The time when MahaPeriyava did Kasi Yatra, end of January 1934 He camped at SriSailam. That was a night of the lunar eclipse. He set out to conduct the full moon puja in the thatched shed constructed for the purpose, after taking His bath in the Patala Ganga. His

idea is to spend the night there, take bath in the morning and then return. He had permitted some of the children from the Veda Patashala to accompany Him on this yatra. The extra affection He had for the children came to be expressed in many ways on that occasion. While He had

permitted His entourage to come with Him traversing on foot, the rugged paths through the jungles, and some of them to travel by different kinds of vehicles, He made special arrangements for the children to be brought by trains, though it involved circuitous routes, to places

reachable by train and then by vehicles to his camp, giving them the comforts that he could provide. He would finish His morning puja briefly and after it was over, He would let the children be fed. Except for a path through the jungle, there was no other normal route to

SriSailam in those days. The children, however, wanted to accompany Periyava. He too had the desire that the children should have darshan of that great Shiva Kshetram, recite Vedas there and obtain punyam. So He consented to their accompanying Him. It was then that arrangements

were made for the Paurnami puja and stay for the night near the Patala Ganga. The young Veda vidyarthis were very eager to go with Him and He gave consent without refusing their wishes. At the same time, He also considered how cold it would be in that hilly area during night in

the makeshift thatched shed. He ordered that the shawls gifted only to ripe Vedic Ganapaatis to be given to the young vidyarthis. There were very happy to receive the gift! They all went to Patala Ganga. At that time a very knowledgeable Ganapaati came there, in haste to return

after having darshan of the sage. Periyava asked the SriMatam Manager to bring a shawl to honour the pundit. The Manager had not arranged for shawls to be carried for such a short camp. But then he suddenly remembered about the distribution of shawls to the Paatashala boys.

Without consulting Periyava he got back a shawl from a boy and gave it to the Ganapati in a furtive way. The boy who lost the shawl stretched himself in disappointment when the night came, and since he was a small boy, lapsed into sleep quickly, folding up his kneecaps to his

chest. When the boy got up the next morning, he wondered at the warmth and comfort that had hugged him over. It was a shawl, superior in quality to the one he lost, that covered him! "Got the shawl?" The Manager's inquiry made him somewhat understand the truth; he came to know

the full truth later. With His sharp insight SriCharanar had discovered that the shawl that was given to the Ganapaati was the one that was earlier given to a vidyarthin. Since the time was up for His evening anushtanam and puja, He did not inquire about it. Only after the

anushtanam, extensive puja, and Lalitha Sarasranama Parayanam looking at the moon, at about midnight only Periyava came back from His world to this world and called the Manager to inquire about the shawl. He was not dissatisfied at the way the Manager had managed the situation.

Nevertheless, He felt and made the Manager realize that even though the children wouldn't mind too much about the cold, how much a young mind would feel at the loss of something that he received as a gift, and at the fact that while all his friends could retain the gift only he

couldn't. The Manager feared that as the next thing the sage would gift His own shawl to the boy. So, he hurried to propose, "I have a good woolen blanket to cover myself with. So, I shall give my shawl to that boy."
"Don't wake him up if he is asleep! Cover him softly with it

and then you too go and have rest" said the all-compassionate. The boy had got a much softer shawl due to a soft heart!
Author: Raa. Ganapathi
Source: Maitreem Bhajata
Compiled by Jagadguru Sri Maha Periyava - Kanchi Paramacharya/Fb
Sarvam Sri Krishnarpanam🙏🏾