Deebathalwar (5th century AD), was considered as the 13th Alwar, though his name was not included in the list of Alwars. His birth name was Thiruvilakesavan. He was born at Tirumala.
According to ancient Hindu texts, Deebathalwar has adopted Lord Venkateswara himself as his son, and used to do puja to the idol of Venkateswara at his home, and he used to fondly call the Lord as ‘VENKATAKANNA’. His contributions are Venkatesamirtham and Venkatesathenamudu which were included in the ancient text Thirumalaivasan Bhakti Prabhavam.
LIFE
Deebathalwar was born into a Brahmin family in Tirumala, and was named as Thiruvilakesavan. He would make garlands of flowers for the deity of the temple. As per Hindu legend, Deebathalwar was brought up by the priest of Tirumala, Sri Varadachari Swamigal, by paying much care and attention towards him. As Thiruvilakesavan grew up, he decided to adopt Lord Venkateswara as his son. Due to his staunch bhakti, Lord Venkateswara was very much pleased towards him, and as per the instructions of Lord Balaji given to the priests in their dream, they used to prepare grand feast in the temple and would offer it to Thiruvilakesavan during the annual Brahmotsavam days. Thiruvilakesavan was believed to have been merged with Lord Ventakeswara at the Tirumala Temple. He is believed to be an aspect (AMSHA) of the Divine Lamp at Tirumala.
IMPORTANCE
Deebathalwar was attracted by the childhood pleasant acts of Lord Krishna, and developed a deep love and devotion on Lord Krishna.
He was a great spiritual master and a guru for the people, and moved the people towards the spiritual path. He was the main person towards establishing strong faith on the principles of Vaishnavism among the people. He was a humble and a knowledgeable person.
CONCLUSION
Deebathalwar was a great saint and a spiritual guru and attained the glory of god. He is residing in Vaikunta by chanting Lord Vishnu’s names and doing great service to him. Let us bow our heads on this great alvar, and offer our prayers to him and be blessed.
Alwars though contains divine powers, didn’t utilized it for their own use, and utilized it only for the welfare of the people. They relieved the diseases of the people, invoked the VISHNU BHAKTI SPIRIT among the people, and written several divine texts in praise of Lord Vishnu. From the life of Alwars, we have to cultivate the bhakti on the deities, and must adopt it regularly. Though we cannot entirely live like them, at least, by reading their divine texts, we can slowly develop the bhakti spirit on the gods and goddesses. Without the grace of the god, we can’t survive in the present “KALI YUGA”, hence, let us praise the glories of the Alwars and let us chant their names forever in our life.
“OM SREE DEEBATHALWARE NAMAHA”
WRITTEN BY
R. HARISHANKAR