Thread by @anbezhil12

#MahaPeriyava
Narrated by Srimatam Balu
There was this young lady, a sadhu by nature, deeply devoted to Periyava and would often come for darśan. She was quiet, never asked for anything or spoke about herself. She married and settled down. When Periyava was camping in Chennai, he

was walking through T. Nagar one day. This young lady lived there. She came out of her house when Periyava walked down that street, prostrated to Periyava. “Periyava must be gracious to give me his pādukas” she said. It was mid-day and blistering hot.
“How shall I walk if I give

you my pādukas?”
“Here, Periyava,” said the lady in readiness and placed another pair she had brought with her, at Periyava’s feet.
“Why! I thought that I was smart, but she is smarter than I thought I was! She has never asked me anything for herself.” Periyava stepped out his

wooden sandals and wearing the ones she offered walked on. So the young lady took the pādukas and went in. The young lady’s husband had begun to go wayward, getting drunk and falling into bad company and so on. She never spoke to anyone about it. One day he got so heavily drunk,

he slipped into unconsciousness that lasted for six or seven days. The doctors came but there was no response whatsoever. This lady had never spoken a word about her husband to Periyava at any time. She would come and offer her prostrations, take the prasāda Periyava gave and

leave. One day, Periyava was performing pūja and I was posted at the pūjakaṭṭu. It was in Sanskrit College. Such a quiet lady, surprisingly, she beckoned me that day. I had purified myself to serve at the pūja, so I stood at a distance by the side of the altar. “I need to speak

a word to Periyava. It is an important matter.” Though Periyava would be totally absorbed in the pūja, he was always aware of everything that went on there. He had eyes on four sides, not one! When the pūja was over, Periyava called me and asked, “Why did that lady call you and

talk to you?”
I repeated the lady’s words to Periyava. The lady was called to Periyava’s presence and she told Periyava of her husband’s unconscious condition for the past week. “It is my unfortunate fate! I do not complain about God.”
“Why have you never told me this before?”

“If my husband performs pūja and so on I can talk about it. If he went on a pilgrimage to Kāśi, I can talk about it. Periyava is a great saint, how could I speak of such matters in His presence? Besides, how could I speak such a bitter truth about my husband?”

“Does he earn

well?”
“Yes, he is a contractor and we are comfortably placed?‟
“Children? ‟
“We have three children.”
“Isn’t it because he has money that he drinks? Isn’t it because he has money that he drinks? Isn’t it because he has money that he drinks?”

Thrice, Periyava asked this question

“Fetch a donnai or a tumbler” Periyava said and I did. Periyava poured some tīrthaprasāda into the leaf-cup and also gave some vilva leaves. “Sprinkle the tīrtha on his head and put the vilva in his mouth! May you be blessed!”

I escorted the young lady. The man was lying

unconscious. I sprinkled the tīrtha prasāda on his head and the vilva placed into his mouth. The man got up, stretched his limbs as if he had woken from a good night’s rest and sitting up, asked, “Who is this?”
“Periyava has sent him!”
“I was in Malaya and Singapore for some time

and I picked up the habit there” the man said.
I blessed the couple and returned to the camp. It so happened, from that day onwards, the man earnings dwindled to nothing at all. He never handled anything less than five thousand or ten thousand in real estate business, but now he

could not get a quarter of an anna, till his passing. Periyava did this and the man was without a rupee. The lady was not educated either and she suffered a great deal, educating and bringing up the children in such penury. They had no amenities like telephone at home. Their only

security was the house in T.Nagar. Her husband mortgaged the house to a Muslim gentleman and borrowed money on it and in course of time the loan accumulated to thirty thousand rupees. This money-lender had three wives and four sons. One day when the lady’s husband was away and

when she was alone at home, the money-lender barged into the house with his sons and some henchmen and began to wind up the place, dumping the brass utensils into sacks and shifting everything outside, as preliminary to taking possession of the house. Not knowing what to do, the

lady stepped out and stood on the road. An unknown gentleman, quite advanced in years came up to her and said, “I live in the same road, but I have never seen you outside your house. What is it, my child?” When he learnt of the matter, at once he rushed to the Pondy Bazar police

station and in no time two vans full of policemen arrived there. The money-lender was by then in the pūja room and about to take Periyava’s pādukas and toss them out when a policeman’s cane came down on his back, even as he put his hands upon them. The men were rounded up and

booked for unlawful entry and harassment of the lady, and were placed under lock-up without an option to be bailed out. The money-lender’s family was not permitted to meet him and his sons either. Sri Arul, who was then Inspector General of Police, was a very strict man and

fearless of any kind of clout. He was furious. “You speak of right conduct in your religion. Was this the right thing to do? If you were demanding repayment, or claiming possession of the house, go about it legally! You can’t take the law into your hands and break into a house in

broad daylight when a lady is alone and attempt to take over. Taking possession of a property is the duty of the bailiff after proper legal procedure! Did you have a warrant or any official paper to allow your entry into the house? Where was the mercy that you speak of so highly

in your religion? If that lady herself came here and requested your release I will let you out, not otherwise! The offender was a very wealthy man. His wives pleaded with the IG of police, but for four days they were in lock-up, with nothing but the gruel given there to sustain

them. Finally the wives went to the lady herself and pleaded with her to speak to the chief of the Police. “You are like a mother to us. Our children have not eaten these past four days. You must be gracious! You need not repay our debts, Mother!”

“I know nothing of these

matters. I find no fault with your men. We owe them money, it is true. It was the way they went about the whole thing that was so hurting!” said the lady but anyway went along and helped to bail them out. The matter went to court and all this went on for some time. The lady‟s

husband got nothing by way of earnings. Periyava did that for he had asked the lady, “Isn’t it because he has money that he drinks?”
When Periyava’s camp was in Hagari, one day there was a phone call for me. Srikantan was not there, having gone out on an errand. So I told

Vedapuri to manage till I got back, warning him not to disturb Periyava with the news that I had gone out to attend to a phone-call. Periyava being what he is seems to have told Vedapuri, “Call Balu, I need a drink of water!” He would not take it from Vedapuri. He repeated his

instruction when I was not called and then Vedapuri in his characteristic fashion proclaimed, “There was a phone-call and he has gone out to take it!”
I had been away for hardly a few minutes and no sooner did he see me Periyava said, “You had a phone-call, my boy” and before I

could speak a word in reply, he continued, “So what did that lady say?”

Their house in T.Nagar was coming up for auction in a day’s time. So I conveyed the news to Periyava. “They are unable to pay the money and the house is to be auctioned the day after tomorrow.”

“What are

we to do? Neither you nor I have money! Nor can we ask anyone here. I am an ascetic who does not ask for money. Call the lawyer Nagarajaiyer!”

Nagarajaiyer had come from Madras for darśan. The gentleman presented himself to Periyava.

“Balu has something to say.”

I explained

everything to Nagarajaiyer.
“That is not possible. How can that be done? May be five or ten thousand rupees could be paid and we could ask for more time, that’s all. But stay order, not possible!”

“Chee ... Go away, go away. Go away!” Periyava’s words were repeated three times.

“Have you come here to enlighten me? If someone asks for help, you simply act upon the matter! What kind of a lawyer are you?”

“Why is Periyava angry with me?”

The gentleman left soon after, not offering to help in anyway. That day passed and the next and then it was Saturday.

I was called on the phone. As before I requested Vedapuri to wait upon Periyava and also suggested that he need not disturb Periyava with this information. Periyava was resting. It was about one o’clock in the afternoon. Getting up, Periyava has asked for me, in his

characteristically mischievous fashion, “Fetch Balu!”

“Balu has been called on the phone. He told me not to tell Periyava, but I have. So Periyava must tell Balu that I did!

“You have told me and so I am going to tell Balu that you did.”

“Periyava must not!”

“Balu told you

not to tell me, but you have. So I must tell him that you did!
It was going on like this and the two were still in the midst of a quarrel when I came back. The lady told me over the phone, “Buy plenty of sugar candy, raisins and fruits, offer it to Periyava along with Monday. On

prostrations on my behalf and tell Periyava, “The house is ready to be auctioned and that his devotee is on the streets without a way for a meal.”

‟As soon as I presented myself, Periyava said, “What is it? Am I being scolded harshly by that lady? What does she say?”

I was not

explicit because it was not polite, so I simply said, “She expressed distress” and left it at that, though I apprised Periyava of the impending auction.

“Wait a moment! What day is it? Saturday, isn’t it? The auction cannot be valid if it is done today. There is a certain

procedure to be followed. Both parties must present themselves at the Registration Department and sign there with four witnesses in support of their mutual consent. Today the Registration office is closed. Tomorrow is Sunday. That means nothing can be done till Monday morning, as

the first case this must be registered in court, by seven o’ clock. A sum of seventy five thousand must be pledged to retrieve the house. It is worth a crore of rupees, much more than the bidding in the auction. That is another point. Call Ramanujam over the telephone and tell

him to do the needful!”
Ramanujam was an Iyengar. I called him over the phone and spoke to him.
“Why, Balu! I am a seasoned lawyer and I go to court every day. I was not aware of these subtleties. In fact I was wondering how to tackle this situation. Which Law College did

Periyava go to and did he get a B. L. degree? How well he has brought it under control!” Ramanujam broke down and wept over the phone. Ramanujam went to court on Monday and registering his plaint, disproved the auction done on Saturday citing legal grounds and also because the

house was worth much more than what it got at the bidding. A sum was paid in advance to answer for the debts and he managed to get a stay order on the auction. The house was never auctioned and the family lives there even now. The sons are grown up now and they are well-placed.

The pādukas were never disturbed from where the lady had placed them since she took them from Periyava’s feet.

Sarvam Sri Krishnarpanam🙏