YajñaVenkatramaGanapadigal-Vamsavali

About Dhoorva Thadagam [AruganKulam]
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Many vedic families have migrated from revered Narmadha river banks to Naranammalpuram [Dhoorva Thadagam in olden days and in Tamil - AruvanKulam or AruganKulam, Thirunelveli Dist, TamilNadu] around 1550-1700 AD. The migration was because many Vedic scholars who lived in areas ruled by the Vijayanagar kings later moved southwards during the invasion of foreigners and also even earlier centuries southern regin kings invited vedic people to their country to conduct rituals for their land's and men welfare. Naranammalpuram, situated five km east of Tirunelveli, on the banks of the Tamiraparani river. The village is named after a queen of the same name of the Nayak dynasty, who gifted the village to Vedic Brahmins over 400 years ago. Originally known as Dhoorva Thadagam (Arugankulam in Tamil), it was inhabited by exponents of the four Vedas and Upanishads, and their contribution to the village society ensured prosperity and cultural harmony. As the river changed its course frequently destroying their homes the villagers moved to a place of higher altitude. They, however, named it also Arugankulam. The holy water source in the village is known as Jatayu Theertham as Lord Rama was believed to have performed the last rites here for the slain bird, Jatayu, a close friend of His father, Dasaratha. There is also a separate Rama temple near the place.


Refer to the below link for some stories about Naranammalpuram
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fr/2003/06/13/stories/2003061300090600.htm
Refer to the below link for a Google Earth View of Naranammalpuram
http://wikimapia.org/1925425/

About the migration towards south and the title 'Vadama' or 'Vadamar':
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As we call ourselves Vadama we may assume we might have migrated from North. But there are other definition also exist for the term Vadama, meaning non-Northerner. Anyhow we can trace our origin to Narmada (Madhya Pradesha, North part of Baratha Varsha) by recognizing our gratitude to Maa Narmada in our daily trikaala ritual (Sandhya Vandanam): there we revere to Maa Narmada as:

Narmadayai namah pratah Narmadayai namo nisi
Namostu Narmade tubhyam pahi mam visa-sarpatah

So we can to some level of certainty say that the Brahmins who recite these verses of mantra during the Sandhya Vandanam belong to the banks of Maa Narmada.
Sri Maha periyva (Kanchi Mutt) also mentioned about the term 'Vadama' and referring Brahmins migrated from the banks of Narmada, the below url will give an elaboration:

http://www.kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part6/chap11.htm

Map and location of Maa Narmada:
http://encarta.msn.com/map_701514974/Narmada.html

About our Gothra Rishis:
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The sages Brighu, Angiras, Marichiand Athri are the sons of Brahma. From Brighu four sons were born who are named as Chyavana, Veetha-Havya, Mitraya and Vena. Chyavana got two sons whose names are Apnuvana and Apramatha. Apnavana’s son was Ourva. The son of Ourva was Ruchika and Ruchika’s son was Jamadagni. So the gothra Pravarthakas are(1) Bhargava (2) Chyavana(3) Apnavana (4) Ourva (5) Jamadagneya

Lord Parasurama an incarnation of SrimanNarayana took birth in Srivatsa gothra as the son of the sage Jamadagni.


Rishi Bhrigu:
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The Bhrigus, also known as Bhargavas, are a clan of sages descending form the ancient fire-priest Bhrigu. They instituted the ritual of offering the juice of the Soma plant to the old Aryan [Aryan - should be understood as 'Noble', not as what the meaning western authors gave and interpreted Aryan as a race] deities. Some of them were also warriors in addition to being priests. The Bhrigus are intimately linked with the composition of the Atharva-Veda.

The Krishna Yajur-Veda gives Bhrigu’s name as a Maharshi of the Sapta-Rishi Mandala.
In Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita wherein, Sri Krishna declares ‘I am Bhrigu among the Maharshis’

Rishi Chyavana:
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There are many stories of Chyavana Bhargava in the Vedas and Puranas, as the purohit of King Sharyata Manava. He was connected with the Ashvins and to Dadhyach, son of Atharvan and by them with the Sarasvati region. Chyavana Bhargava [Chyavana] is placed in Gujarat, the region of Sharyata Manava, who founded the city of Kushasthali, later called Dvaraka. Bhrigukaccha (modern Baruch) is an ancient Bhrigu settlement nearby on the mouth of the Narmada.

Chyavana means slipping out - There is an interesting story behind Rishi Chyavana:

Bhrigu had two wives. One of them was the beautiful PulOma. An incident that happened when PulOma was a baby was the cause of this curse.
Baby PulOma was very naughty and troubled her parents too much. It became very difficult for the parents to control her vagaries. In order to discipline her, they would take her out of the house and pointing to a tree, they used to terrorize her saying, See! There is a Brahma Raakshasa in that tree. If you are adamant anymore, we will simply give you away to him? On hearing this, the child would get scared and behave herself for the nonce. Whenever she misbehaved, the parents used this strategy to bring her round. This was happening for a long time - even till she attained marriageable age. In due course, her parents gave her in marriage to Bhrigu Maharishi.
There was actually a BrhmaRaakshasa in that tree. Neither PulOma nor her parents knew this but the Raakshasa knew the all. He convinced himself that the parents of the beautiful girl had repeatedly and voluntarily promised to offer her to him and waited for the right moment to receive her in marriage!
When she was married to Bhrigu, he felt insulted and duped in what appeared to him a denial of his lawful right. He could do nothing due to the power of the Rishi except nursing a grievance of injured pride waiting to be avenged and was lurking near the hermitage of the Rishi. The Rishi could see through his designs by dint of power of his penance and took steps to protect her from the advances of the Raakshasa. Whenever he had to go out, he used to entrust her to the care of his good friend, the Fire God. One day, when the Rishi had gone for his bath in the river, the Raakshasa entered the hermitage and attempted to abduct her. A spat ensued between the Raakshasa and Fire God. The Raakshasa argued that her parents had offered her to him duly in return for benefits received and that it was the Rishi who had wronged him by marrying one who was his due. He reminded the Fire God that he was aware of this fact because Fire god was also called ‘Jaatha Vedas’, meaning , one who knew all that had happened and cited him as an ‘eye-witness for the prosecution’!
This became a ‘Dharma SankaTam’ for the fire God. On the one hand, what the Raakshasa said was true. On the other, it is but natural for parents to scare their wards through such tactics, which were just that and no more. And, there was no wedding ceremony performed between PulOma and the Raakshasa with Vedic rites, whereas her marriage ceremony was duly performed and consecrated with the Rishi. The claim of the Raakshasa was unjustified. Consequently, he gave a ruling against the Raakshasa.
But, the Raakshasa could not wait till the delivery of judgment. He forcefully kidnapped PulOma saying that he would marry her through ‘Raakshasa Vivaaham’ a form of marriage allowed in the Sastras for the Raakshasa.
PulOma was then in the final stages of pregnancy. In the melee, she fell down on one side, the Raakshasa on the other. She gave birth to a baby boy who was resplendent like the Rishi himself. Its brilliance was such that the Raakshasa was reduced to ashes.

Do you know who this child was? It was the famous ‘Chyavana Maharishi’ He was named so, because he literally slipped out of his mother’s womb (Chyavana means slipping out)
(Cf: The name of Sriman NarayaNa ‘A-chyuta’ which means ‘One who would not forsake or give up or let slip his devotees from out of his protection’)
Bhrigu returned after his morning ablutions. Finding his wife in that condition, he took her to a safe place and with raging ire, he cursed Fire God as aforesaid for failure to protect PulOma entrusted to his care.
‘Sarva’ means ‘all’ including the dirty and the reprehensible. Unable to accept such unpalatable offerings, Devatas loathed them and refused to accept such filthy stuff. ‘Homas’ came to a standstill. The Devas who were literally starved of their routine provender approached Brahma to solve the problem!
Brahma could not change the curse. But, he assuaged the celestials saying ‘It is a blessing in disguise, since fire has the capacity to purify by incineration even such unclean things’. After all, such purification was beneficial to all and the offerings became purified to make them fit for transmission to the celestials. The Sun also does cleanse the earth with his rays and for this reason; we do not consider him as unclean. The same applies to fire also
Brahma to Agni:

na tvam sarva sareerENa sarva bhakshtvam yEshyasi /
UpaadEna archishO yaastE sarvam Dhakshyanti taah sikhaah //
Yathaa soorya suchih sprushTam sarvam suchi vibhaavyatE /
Tathaa tvadarchir nirdagdham sarvam suddham bhavishyati //
(Mahaabhaaratam 1.7.22.23)

Thus, we see that even the great Brahma had to bow to the words of Sage Bhrigu. Such was the glory of the Sage.

Rishi Apnavana:
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In some places he is also refered to as Aplavana. Apnavana is also claimed to be the the son of great Rishi Dadhichi. Apnavana is the name of an ancient Rishi. Rishi represents Knowledge by taking this name 'I shall try to seek for knowledge from wherever and from whomever it comes'.

There are no more information available at this time about the Rishi. Will be updated soon.

Rishi Aurva:
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The Mahabharata relates that a king named Kritavirya was very liberal to his priests of the race of Bhrigu, and that they grew rich upon his munificence. After his death, his descendants, who had fallen into poverty, begged help from the Bhrigus, and met with no liberal response. Some of them buried their money, and when this was discovered the impoverished Kshatriyas were so exasperated that they slew all the Bhrigus down to the children in the womb. One woman concealed her unborn child in her thigh, and the Kshatriyas being informed of this, sought the child to kill it, but the child "issued forth from its mother's thigh with lustre and blinded the persecutors. From being produced from the thigh (uru), the child received the name of Aurva.

Rishi Jamadagni Bhargava [Jamadagni]:
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Jamadagni, was one of the great sages, a descendant of the sage Bhrigu. His wife was Renuka. They had many children, the youngest of whom was Parashurama, an Avatara of Lord Vishnu.

Jamadagni, pleased, offered to grant a boon to Parashurama, who at once asked that his mother and brothers be restored to life and accepted into the family again. Impressed by his son's devotion and affection for his family, Jamadagni granted this boon and many others. Jamadagni was later killed by a Kshatriya king Kartavirya Arjuna, over a dispute over a divine calf.

King Kartavirya Arjuna (Sahasrarjuna) and his army visited Jamadagni, a Brahmin sage, who fed his guest and the whole army with his divine cow Surabhi; the king demanded the magical cow. Jamadagni refused because he needed the cow for his religious ceremonies. King Kartavirya Arjuna (Sahasrarjuna) sent his soldiers to take the cow, and Parashurama killed the entire army and the king with his axe. In return, the princes beheaded Jamadagni. There is another, predominant version of the story that the army was actually killed by an army generated from the cow. In return, the king killed the sage Jamadagni.

Parasurama (Axe-wielding Rama) is the Sixth avatar of Vishnu, belongs to the Treta yuga, and is the son of Jamadagni & Renuka. Parashu means axe, hence his name literally means Rama-with-the-axe. He received an axe after undertaking a terrible penance to please Shiva, from whom he learned the methods of warfare and other skills. He is a Chiranjeevin, who fought the advancing ocean back thus saving the lands of Konkan and Malabar (Maharashtra - Karnataka - Kerala coastline). The coastal area of Karnataka and Kerala state in India is known as Parashurama Kshetra (Parashurama's area). Some dispute this and say it extends all the way to Mumbai in Maharashtra.

Legends:
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According to one legend, Parashurama also went to visit Shiva once but the way was blocked by Ganesha. Parashurama threw the axe at him and Ganesha, knowing it had been given to him by Shiva, allowed it to cut off one of his tusks.

In the Ramayana, Parashurama came to the betrothal ceremony of the seventh Avatara, Rama, to the princess Sita. As a test of worthiness the suitors were required to lift and string the bow of Shiva, given to the king Janaka by Parshurama. Rama successfully strung the bow, but in the process it broke in two, producing a tremendous noise that reached the ears of Parashurama.

In one such version, played in ramlilas across India, Parshuram arrived after hearing the sound of the bow of Shiva breaking. The kshatriyas were afraid to confront the sage, but Sita approached the sage. He blessed her, saying Saubhagyawati bhavah, literally meaning "be thou blessed with good luck". So when he turned to kill Rama, the destroyer of Shiva's bow, he could not pick up his axe to do so. This was so because, as he blessed Sita with good luck himself, he himself could not cause any harm to her husband. At the same time, he recognised Rama for what he truly was, namely, the avatar of Vishnu.

The Kalki Purana states Parashurama will be the martial guru of Sri Kalki, the 10th and final avatar of Lord Vishnu. It is he who instructs Kalki to perform a long penance to Shiva to receive celestial weaponry.

The purpose of the sixth incarnation of Vishnu is considered by religious scholars to be to relieve the earth's burden by exterminating the sinful, destructive and irreligious monarchs that pillaged its resources, and neglected their duties as kings.

Parashurama is of a martial Brahmin varna. However, unlike all other avatars, Parashurama still lives on earth even today. Secondly, he is an Avesha Avatara, a secondary type of Avatara. In such an Avatara, Vishnu does not directly descend such as that of Rama or Krishna but instead enters the soul of a man with His form. Accordingly, unlike Rama and Krishna, Parashurama is not worshipped. But in South India, at the holy place Pajaka, there exists one major temple commemorating Parashurama.

Parshurama, the creator of the Konkan coast, is also worshipped in a temple at Lote Parshurama in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district. The people of the Konkan call their land 'Parshurama Bhoomi' or the land of Parshurama in accordance with the legend that the sage reclaimed the land from the sea.

Seven ksethras are popularly known as Parashurama ksethras. 1.Udupi 2.Subramanya 3.Sringeri 4.Sankaranarayana 5.Koteshwara 6.Kumbhasi ( Annegadda) 7.Gokarna

According to the legends the there existed no Kerala before Parashuram threw his axe into the sea. The god of the sea Varuna respected him and retreated to a position till where the axe fell. Thus formed Kerala.

Rishi Vathsa (Srivathsa) [Gothra Rishi]:
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Satrujit is son of Vatsa, nothing more is known at this time. I will update it once i get some more information on Rishi Vathsa.

About our great grandfathers:
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In this clan of Bhargava Rishi came many great persons, in the known past Sri Venkatrama Deekshidar who could be traced to be lived around 1750 – 1820 AD. The main purpose of these Vedic people who had been invited to southern lands were mainly to perform Yajña, the fire sacrifice or ritual for the welfare of the people and the kings of that reign and to uphold the Sanatana Dharma. The title ‘Deekshidar’ or ‘Deekshit’ is given to a Vedic person who is well versed in all the 4 Vedas along with its Angas (6 Angas of Veda). These people were the advisories from the laymen to the king. It is very rare to see people now in this present time who commit to complete even one full Veda with all its Angas. Those days’ Vedic people will first get well versed in their own Veda and then will learn other Vedas as well. Thus, a Deekshidar is a person who after finishing Adyayanam of his own Veda will pursue the studies of other Veda Samhitas. These people will be the person who could witness a Yajña in the place of Brahma. Yajva is also a title given to a Vedic person who is well versed in performing Yajñas.

In the process of learning Vedas, pronunciation and other lakshanas are very important, hence from time immemorial Vedas has been passed to generation to generation without any change in its original structure. This is achievable only with strict and perfect rules to adopt in the learning process of Vedas. First the Veda is learnt as a Samhita Paada, meaning learning as it is, this is called prakrithi (natural way of learning). Once learnt and memoires the entire veda in Samhita Paada, a Vedic student moves to learn the same as Pada Paada, this will give an accurate knowledge in well verse in language part as this gives the student an ardent practice to join and split sentences into Padas (Words). Once gained this knowledge further the student proceeds to learn the Jata and Ghana Paada, this will make the student always remember the entire veda and gives the student an immense memory on Vedic verses, so that an student who finishes Veda Ghanaantha can be questioned anything from the Veda he could answer and could quote where it is said so in the Veda and how many places such quoting been said etc., But in nutshell all these variations in learning was to keep the Veda intact without any change in its structure.

Sri Yajña Venkatrama Ghanapaadigal, who lived (10.8.1912 – 5.01.1994) in Arugankulam (Naranammalpuram) Tirunelveli District, later moved to Madurai District, both in Tamil Nadu. He was an ardent student in his learning ages. He has completed his Veda Adyayanam up to Kramaantham at Tirunelveli and continued his Ghanaantham at Madurai. He lived his almost 60 years in Arugankulam later moved to Madurai permanently. He continued his service and trained number of students acquire this Vedic knowledge intact, till his last breath. Most amazing was that he lived very simple life throughout which fascinated many of his disciples and descendants.


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