Origin of the GodhA Sthuthi
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The first slOkam of GodhA sthuthi arose from Swami Desikan spontaneously as he stood on a side street at SrivilliputthUr on a PradhOsham evening to find out the origin of fast approaching sounds of the mangaLa vaadhyams.

He was observing mounam (silence) befitting the occasion of the PradhOsham evening.

He was planning to go to ANDAL Sannidhi later for MangaLAsAsanam.

When he heard the sounds of Koil vaadhyams, he stepped out from the inside of the house, where he was staying to find out as to what was happening .

To his greatest surprise and joy, he saw the archA moorthy of ANDAL being carried by temple servants approaching him, as it was being carried on the backs of the temple servants.

ANDAL's normal processional route did not include the street , where Swami Desikan was staying.

On this special day , there was some theettu on the main street and the temple priests had rerouted the procession to include the street where Swamy Desikan was staying as an alternate route.

''He who maintains the Saligrama shila, the Tulasi, and the conch in one place, becomes very dear to Lord Narayana." - Brahma Vaivaarta Purana.

WHAT IS A SALAGRAMA?

The Saligrama is an extremely sacred stone found in the holy Gandhaki river in the Himalayas.
They are considered the same as the Supreme Lord Himself and are worshiped throughout the temples in India, Nepal and Bangladesh.

As per Gautamiya Tantra, near the kali - Gandaki river, there is a big place called Salagram.
The stones which appear in that place are called Salagramas.

According to the Hindu tradition, this stone is the shelter for a small insect known as "Vajra-Keeta" that has a diamond tooth which cuts through the Saligram stone and stays inside it.

The Saligrama stones are hundreds of million years old when the Himalaya was an ocean floor.The Saligrams are specifically described as fossil-stones which have taken shape in the Gandaki-river, and as characterized by the presence of discus marks.