A devotee from Madras was traveling in the Bombay Mail train during his pilgrimage to
have darshan of Sri Raghavendra Brindavan at Mantralaya. He was sleepy. When the train
stopped in a station, he thought it was his destination and got down hurriedly.
Only after the Mail left the station did he look at the name board of the station. It was
Gundakkal!
“Ada Devuda! I have got down here!!”
SriMaTham devotee Joshi and his friends, who arrived on the same train, came across the
devotee, who was standing confused.
Sri Periyavaa at that time was staying in Hagari. It was to have his darshan that Joshi and
his friends were proceeding.
“I got down here sleepily,” said the ‘Mantralaya man’.
“It was not drowsiness. You have alighted here only in a clear state! Come, let us go to
Hagari and have darshan of Periyavaal,” said Joshi.
Joshi and his company prostrated to the sage and stood at a side, giving way to others.
As was his wont, Periyavaa inquired details of everyone who came before him. When it was
the turn of the Mantralaya devotee, he asked Joshi, “This man has not proposed to come
here! Did you people bring him?”
The Mantralaya devotee was nervous. He blurted out, “Since I thought of going to
Mantralaya directly without having darshan of PeriyavaaL here, I couldn’t go there…”
Periyavaa called him nearer. He talked at length to the devotee in a low voice. The devotee
was simply nodding his head affirmatively at intervals.
It transpired that the devotee’s mother had committed suicide by falling into a well.
“Is that so?” Periyavaa asked him.
“Yes,” said the devotee feeling guilty.
“As soon as possible you go to Gaya and perform sraddha for your mother. She will get her
relief.”
Later, the Mantralaya friend came to us and explained the discussion and the orders of
Periyavaa.
Joshi said, “The soul of the woman who gave up her life falling into the well would have
prayed to Periyavaa seeking relief from its present state. This is the reason Periyavaa
made her son alight at Gundakkal and come to him.”
Could be true. As otherwise, how did PeriyavaaL know about the untimely death of the
Mantralaya devotee’s mother?
Perhaps this saffron king even knew the language of the souls? What do we ordinary
people know?
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