Gopanna (20th century AD) was a staunch devotee of Guru Raghavendra, and during the year 1950, he was born to a orthodox Madhwa Brahmin family. Gopanna being a sincere devotee of Guru Raghavendra, has shined brightly in his studies, and he looked very handsome during his childhood itself.
One day after the school hours, three teenage boys approached him by introducing themselves as the friends of his father Gopalan, and asked the young boy to get inside into the car. Without knowing about his bad fate, the little boy Gopanna also eagerly entered inside the car, and as soon as he settled down in the car, the teenage boys began to tie him with a rope, and also closed his mouth with a piece of cloth. Soon Gopanna has realized that the strangers are cruel kidnappers and also understood that for the purpose of making money they have trapped him on the net.
Since Gopanna has got the habit of chanting the Mantra of Gururaja for several times in a day, he didn’t get upset, but began to chant it for several times even on that worst day. After some time, the teenagers removed the rope from his body for the purpose of providing him a cup of tea and biscuits. One of the persons held the hands of Gopanna tightly, and made him to walk towards the tea stall. To the surprise of the kidnappers, suddenly a car which passed on that way badly hit the three kidnappers and went in a faster speed, by making the kidnappers lay down in a pool of blood.
Gopanna praised Guru Raghavendra by chanting his mantra, and began to flee away from that place in a heavy speed. Soon he approached a police constable and told about the entire incident with tears on his eyes. With the information gathered from the little boy, the police constable alerted his parents, and handed over the little boy, Gopanna to his residence by taking him on his jeep. Gopanna has recollected this incident to my father, Sri.T.S.Ramasubban, on one fine Thursday, during the year 2000, before the shrine of Guru Raghavendra Swamy Mutt, Ayanavaram. My father has got the habit of regularly visiting the Ayanavaram Mutton Thursdays, after his retirement from Syndicate Bank.
“OM SRI GURU RAGHAVENDRAYA NAMAHA”
WRITTEN BY
R.HARISHANKAR