Thiru Kurungudi Nambi temple Consecration March 2026

Perarulalar Ramanuja Jeer and Venu Srinivasan come together for the largest restoration exercise in over a 100 years

This historic Divya Desam where Thiru Mangai Azhvaar attained Moksham is all set for the first full fledged consecration since 1912

            Perarulalar Ramanuja Jeer with a sample memento for the Consecration Day

It is just past 6am on Thursday (March 12) morning and there is already a buzz around the historic Nambi temple in Thiru Kurungudi, one praised by Thiru Mangai Azhvaar and Namazhvaar. A lady is drawing a beautiful kolam in front of the temple, while the priests and the small set of Kainkaryaparas are preparing themselves for the 7am Vishroopam. The personnel involved in the Thiruppani works are deeply engrossed in their activity in different zones inside the temple. Nambi Bhattar from Nanguneri has arrived early and is seen engaging in a conversation with the Vaikanasa Agama experts strategizing the plans for the mega consecration event that is set to take place on March 25.

எங்கனேயோ அன்னைமீர்காள் என்னை முனிவது நீர் 

நங்கள் கோலத் திருக்குறுங்குடி நம்பியை நான் கண்ட பின் 

சங்கினோடும் நேமியோடும் தாமரைக் கண்களோடும் 

செங்கனிவாய் ஒன்றினோடும் செல்கின்றது என் நெஞ்சமே - Namazhvaar

Known as the ‘Dakshina Badri’, the Azhagiya Nambi temple at Thirukurungudi is located about 40kms from Tirunelveli (and about 15kms from Nanguneri) off the Nagercoil highway at the foot of the Mahendra hill on the Western Ghat. The Lord here is seen 5 different Kolams- Ninra Kolam, Iruntha Kolam, Sayana(Sleeping) Kolam, Thirupaarkadal Nambi and Thirumalai Nambi (on top of the Mahendra hill). It was here that Perumal took the role of a disciple and obtained Vaishnava Initiation from Ramanuja. Hence he is referred to as Vaishnava Nambi.

Jeer exudes confidence

Way back in May last year, when this writer met Perarulalar Ramanuja Jeer, the head of the Thiru Kurungudi Mutt that administers this temple, he had said that the date of the consecration had already been fixed (March 25, 2026) a week ahead of the start of the Panguni Brahmotsavam (starts on April 1 this year with the Pancha Garuda Sevai on April 5 evening) and that he was confident that the restoration activities would go as per plan and be completed on time. There is an aura about this Jeer and the confidence he extols in carrying out his plans for the temple leaves no one in doubt as to how he wants the activities to be undertaken. He monitors the temple activities very closely each day of the year and is keen to ensure that devotees get the best experience.

Later in the morning, soon after finalising the Prabhandham schedule for the Consecration event with the Adyapaka leader, the Jeer sits with this writer to share his thoughts on how he has gone about the consecration. A Kainkaryapara shows him a sample of a clock memento with photos of each of the Azhvaars on it and he is happy with the way it has come out. This is yet another instance of how he is thinking out of the box and coming up with interesting ideas keeping the promotion of tradition in mind (photo above at the top of the story).

No Achievement this...Its divine opportunity

When this writer asks if it is a big achievement under his leadership to perform the biggest and the first full-fledged consecration at this temple  since 1912, he downplays coinage such as ‘achievement’ and says that he genuinely considers it as a ‘Nambi’ directed opportunity “I do not call this an achievement. It is a divine opportunity presented to me by Lord Nambi designating me as the one to oversee the restoration activities and to perform this first full-fledged consecration in almost 115years. I have to consider that a big blessing in my life and not an achievement.”

                 Nambi Bhattar (R) with Agama experts on Thursday

Fruitful Partnership with Venu Srinivasan

He is quick to point out the strong partnership he has forged with Industrialist and TVS’ Chairman Venu Srinivasan and how that has been one of the prime reasons and the driving factor for this transformation at Thiru Kurungudi. “There have been fingers pointed at Venu Srinivasan in the past by disgruntled persons but I told them all that in this now 15 years association with him, there has not been a single occasion when he has undertaken activities inside the temple on his own. He has great regard for the Mutt and each of the restoration initiatives he has undertaken over the last decade or so has been pre-approved by me as the Mutt Head. And in this current exercise, every activity is being undertaken with the sole objective of restoring this Divya Desam to its old grandeur. Both of us were very clear right from the beginning that getting the traditional aspects back inside the temple complex has to be at the forefront of all that with we do ahead of the long pending consecration.”

Hurdles along the way

Soon after the Jeer took charge 15 plus years ago, he was keen for the restoration to take place in a traditional way and the consecration to be performed thereafter but he has had to face a number of roadblocks and hurdles along the way, each of which delayed the consecration. During the middle of the previous decade, a high court order restricted renovation works across all temples in Tamil Nadu for a period. And then there was an ongoing court case around the restoration of the Shiva Sannidhi that had been demolished 20 years ago.

The Jeer was not keen to perform consecration of the Perumal temple when the issue relating to the Shiva Sannidhi was pending in the court. In the previous full fledged consecration in early 20th century, the Shiva Sannidhi consecration preceded the one of Perumal. After the closure of the court case, the consecration of the restored Shiva Sannidhi took place in 2023 (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2023/07/thiru-kurungudi-pakkam-ninnaar-shiva.html)

அக்கும் புலியின் அதளும்  உடையார்

அவர் ஒருவர் பக்கம் நிற்க  நின்ற 

பண்பர் ஊர்போலும்

தக்க மரத்தின் தாழ்சினையேறி 

தாய் ;வாயில் கொக்கின் பிள்ளை 

வெள்ளிர உண்ணும் குறுங்குடியே  -Thiru Mangai Azhvaar

Venu's Kula Deivam and a Temple 'close to his heart'

This temple is the Kula Deivam for Venu Srinivasan and one that he holds close to his heart. While he had begun his temple restoration exercise in South TN with the Nava Tirupathi temples in the mid1990s, he was always waiting for the appropriate moment to start the large scale restoration of his Kula Deivam temple here at Thiru Kurungudi.  As with many remote temples in Tamil Nadu, the Nambi temple in Kurungudi too had been in a state of disrepair at the turn of the century.  The Jeer points out that even the 1981 consecration did not see any major restoration and had been done on a small scale.

Early on Thursday morning, Venu Srinivasan takes time out to share his memories with this writer of how he saw the temple when he took up the restoration after having gained experience from the Nava Tirupathi work in the last decade of the previous century. “The walls in the outer prakara were in a dilapidated state and with further delay would have fallen off. Thiru Mangai Azhvaar describes this temple as one with big trees but the coconut trees had almost become a thing of the past with most lying in damaged condition. It was sad to see the nandavanam resembling anything but that.”

If Srirangam is known for Vaikunta Ekadesi, Thiru Kurungkudi is said to be the home to the Vaishnava tradition of ‘Kaisika Ekadesi’ and Kaisika Natakam (drama)- worship of the Lord through dance, music and drama is a special event at the Thiru Kurungudi Nambi temple on the Kaisika Ekadesi day. Kaisika Puranam, which is a part of Varaaha Puraanam and comprises several hundred songs- all in small stanzas- shows Lord Narayana as the ultimate supreme force and is a case study in this modern money making world of keeping up one’s word at the cost of anything, even life.

Venu Srinivasan recalls walking around the temple complex and finding thick bushes. “The outer prakara was an ‘unpaved one’ in the past and sharp thorns would pierce your feet. The Kaisika Ekadasi mandapam too was in bad shape and one couldn’t even visit the Ramanuja Sannidhi. Not many in the new generation knew that there was a Moksha Sthalam (Thiruvarasu) of Thiru Mangai Azhvaar for that too was in a dilapidated state. The Bats that inhabited the temple in large numbers left a bad odour. Overall, it had been in a terrible state with most things unattended to.”

Thiru Mangai Azhvaar who built the huge walls of Srirangam and contributed in no small measure to the temple asked for Moksham from Srirangam Ranganatha and was directed to visit his ‘Southern house’. He is believed to have attained moksham from here (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2025/06/thiru-kurungudi-thiru-mangai-azhvaar.html)

Above is a photograph taken by this writer just under 15 years ago of the state of the outer prakara and the Chitrai Gopuram in the background that wore a old worn out look- a story on this had featured in The Hindu friday review back then.

Over the last decade or so, there has been a transformational change in the Nandavanam and the Vasantha Utsavam when Nambi makes his way there has become an annual event that attracts big crowd from across the state. The bats have disappeared into history.

The utsavams had become restricted to within the temple. Venu credits the Jeer’s personal initiative of reviving ‘Veethi Purappadu’. “The Jeer wanted all the utsavams to be restored to its old grandeur and all street processions to take place as it had been in the centuries gone by.”

                               
            Outer Prakara now as contrasted with over a decade ago

While he has anchored restorations in over 225 temples across South India, Venu Srinivasan feels particularly blessed about having been able to undertake large sized restoration works in the Nava Tirupathi temples as well as Nanguneri and now this consecration, in addition to the 'out of the blue' surprise opportunity at Srirangam.

Hanuman’s Leap to Lanka

About 8 kms from here on the Western Ghats is the Thirumalai Nambi temple from where Lord Hanuman is said to have taken the leap to Lanka.

Ramanuja’s early trip back to Thirukurungudi

Ramanuja made trips to other Divya Desams such as Thiruvattaru and Thiruvan Parisaram. At Anantha Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram, when Ramanuja wanted to return back to Thiru Kurungudi, the Lord directed Garuda to carry him fast that same night and to Ramanuja’s surprise, he was on top of the Thirukurungudi rock at the blink of an eye. As a result of this event, it is believed that one does not find Garuda in the Anantha Padmanabhaswamy temple.

Varna Kalaa Painting of Moolavar

One of the biggest efforts of the last 12 months has been to restore the moolavar idols in the three perumal sannidhis. When the Jeer wanted the best paintings of the Varna Kaala Moolavar idols and asked Venu Srinivasan on this, the action was immediate. Venu roped in ‘Varna Kalaa’ experts from Kerala. This writer got a sneak preview of the work going on on this front and devotees when they get to have darshan of the Moolavar in just over ten days are sure to be astonished with the quality of the painting that is sure to last a generation. An IT professional too has played a big role in this exercise and this section will feature a separate story on that.

                                     

Recognising the role and importance of the musicians and the nadaswaram artistes in temples, the authorities have presented a showcase to safeguard and keep the music instruments.

Perarulalar Ramanuja Jeer continues to bless devotees on this morning with a couple of them presenting a good sized Sambhavanai towards the consecration event. There was a time till about a decade ago when the temple was short on funds that resulted in challenges even in the daily running of activities and taking care of the service personnel. The Jeer tells this writer that things have been turning around quite dramatically both in terms of devotee contribution as well as recovery of dues from the temple lands. “The entire restoration expense has been taken care of (by a single devotee), but when you are presenting this Sambhavanai with such devotion, I will accept it with both hands", the Jeer tells the two devotees.

When one of them says that this is not such a big amount, the Jeer points to her that even a Rupees Five contribution by the devotee of Nambi will be valued and he asks her to collect the receipt from the temple office. 

Perumal Abaranam- Gold Rake

There is a delight in his eyes when the Jeer talks about the gold rake abaranam for the three Perumals. 24 Carat Gold Rake has been completed for Veetriruntha Perumal and the work will start for Ninra Nambi in a day or two, he says. There is also to be a gold door at the entrance of the Moolavar Sannidhi. The Paramapada Vaasal door too is being refurbished and will sport a traditional look by the 25th of this month.

Grand Yaaga Salai

In line with the traditions laid down in the Vaikanasa Agama, there will be 24 Kundams for 24 Vishnu Naamas, one Panchagni each for the three Perumals (5 Kundams each). Archakas are being roped in from Chennai for the Yaaga Salai.

                              

            Grand Yaaga Salai @ a cost of over Rs. 30L with around 40 Kundams

Jeer says that Venu Srinivasan had wanted this to be the best consecration and agreed to take care of the entire expenses, both of the restoration exercise as well as the consecration event with the overall amount going well above Rs. 10 crores.

Thirumanjanam Koradu

Another interesting feature of the restoration exercise has been the making of the Thirumanjanam Koradu with exquisite sculptures and art work. Perumal will be seen inside the Thirumanjanam Koradu at the Yaaga Salai during the Consecration event.

Restoring damaged sculptures

At the Utsavam Alankara mandapam in front of the Eastern entrance, some of the historical centuries old sculptures had been in a broken state. These have been restored to its original shape using the latest technology. Such has been the quality of the restoration that the devotees would not be able to identify the ones that had been in a broken state previously, says the Jeer.

He is also happy that some of the historical wrongs have been corrected. Walls had been constructed around the Kaisika Ekadasi mandapam  during the 1981 consecration. It is a mandapam where Perumal also comes for ten days during the Pagal Pathu utsavam. These have been removed and grill windows installed so there is a free air circulation as well as natural light entering the mandapam. There is now a traditional elegance to this place.

A look at the sketches dating back to 1912 and 1930 shows that the Era Pathu mandapam had moved from one place to another!!!

When the Atheenam came forward to take care of the Shiva Sannidhi consecration, the Jeer told them that there had been wrongs at this temple in the past and that he would manage the consecration of the restored Shiva Sannidhi, himself.

 

The roof of the main temple complex has also been beautifully done to prevent rain drops from pouring down. Nambi Bhattar who will anchor the consecration event arrives and presents a set of new Paligai Kinnam much to the delight of the Jeer.

Origination of Araiyar Sevai

The famed Araiyar Sevai, depiction of the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham in song and dance form, originated at Thiru Kurungkudi with Nambi watching Araiyar’s Abhinayam hiding behind a wall in Bashyam Street (South Mada Street). 

Focus on Recoveries

The Jeer in the recent past has appointed a separate team for revenue administration and he believes that this will reap rich dividends into the future. Following the consecration, I have a message from Ninra Nambi that the recoveries will touch 100%.  Venu has also been supporting us in the recovery exercise where ever possible.  The salaries to Kainkaryaparas is now at a healthy level but there continues to be a shortage of service personnel to carry out the daily activities. The Jeer says that Venu has come forward to support any number of additions to the Kainkaryaparas to strengthen the team at the temple. He is hopeful that there will be more original inhabitants who will come back to this temple town to perform Kainkaryam like they had in the centuries gone by.

Lord's Southern House

As per the Vaishnavite Sampradayam, Thirukurungudi is said to be the ‘Southern House’ of Lord Vishnu. Hence, it is believed that ‘Vaikuntam’ (the ultimate destination for Vaishnavites) is in ‘calling distance’ from Thirukurungudi (Thiru Narayana Puram is said to be the ‘Mela Veedu’, Kanchipuram the ‘Keezha Veedu’ and Srirangam ‘Veedu’).

Leading to the consecration, there will Upanyasams by Kidambi Narayanan and Satajit, among others (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2023/09/kidambi-narayanan-upanyasakar.html).

Big Moment for the Jeer

In the decades gone by, the temple looked deserted with the priests sitting endlessly at the entrance waiting for the next devotee but that wait almost always proved elusive and they would head back home with very minimal thattu kaasu. The Physical infrastructure within the temple complex had remained in a dilapidated state for a long time with no proper restoration initiatives for over a century. The utsavams had lost its grandeur. Overall, the second half of the previous century saw a major downturn in the fortunes of this historic Divya Desam. 

The entry of Perarulalar Ramanuja Jeer in 2010 and his subsequent strong devotional partnership with Venu Srinivasan has resulted in a remarkable transformation on all fronts. From waiting for the next devotee not so long ago, the temple will have to now equip themselves to handle around 50000 devotees on the consecration day. Utsavams have been revived with Perumal's presence during the Vasantha Utsavam at the new look Nandavanam and the Pancha Garuda Sevai in Panguni attracting a large number of devotees. Jeer's strong focus on recoveries is strengthening the financial position of the Mutt and if the 100% recovery that he is targeting in the near future materialises, it is likely that the Mutt will become one of the strongest, also given the fact the original inhabitants are now contributing back to the temple town that they had left decades ago. He is looking forward to March 25 for it is one of the biggest days in his life leading a mega consecration event taking place at this historic Divya Desam after over a 100 years.

The consecration will take place between 9.20am and 10.30am on March 25 and Garuda Sevai street procession after 6pm that evening.

Panguni Garuda Sevai: https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2025/03/thiru-kurungudi-nambi-panguni-garuda.html

Venu Srinivasan 25 years temple restoration: https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/07/venu-srinivasan-historical-temples.html

Kumbeswarar Shivasankaran Gurukal Next Gen Kameswaran Gurukal

Next Gen Kameswaran Gurukal is carving out a name for himself as a highly committed archaka much like his appa had over the previous three decades

                   63 year old Shivasankara Gurukal

It had been a financially challenging life for Shivasankara Gurukal in his childhood as he grew up in the 1960s and 70s, a phase when the anti-temple movement was at its peak. Despite this, his appa, Nataraja Gurukal, called for time on his academics when he was 11 and sent him for Saiva Agama initiation to the then renowned Allur Patshala, near Trichy. He later acquired a Masters Degree at the Madras Sanskrit College. 

Hereditary services turns into HRCE appointment

Into the 1990s, following his wedding, Shivasankara Gurukal joined the temple as an archaka. He recalls as to how the HRCE gradually converted the archaka service on to their rolls though their forefathers had been performing this as a hereditary service “During my Thatha’s service phase, he performed ‘Nithya Snapanam’ pooja for which he was paid Rs. 8 every day. This was then converted to a weekly payment and subsequently to a monthly one. And over a period of time, the HRCE made this into a salary kind of structure taking his signature for the monthly payments. And then over the decades, this became formalised as a salary for the archakas.”

Thus, they were performing hereditary archaka service that has been passed on for generations, they have over the last many decades come under the HRCE fold in terms of appointment of service.

In the 1990s when he began archaka kainkaryam, there was hardly any devotees at the temple. “We would sit together as an archaka ground and chit chat waiting for the next devotees to arrive. But very rarely did they turn up. Only on the weekends did we see some sort of devotee crowd and that brought cheer to all of us” recounts Shivasankara Gurukal on his initial phase at the temple went three decades ago.

Kainkaryam through darkest phase

Shivasankara Gurukal’s thatha and appa had each served at the Kumbeswarar temple for over three decades in the most challenging of times. Tears almost roll down the Gurukal’s cheeks when he recalls the moments from his childhood in the 1960s and 70s “There was very little income from the temple. Devotees were few and Thattu Kaasu was minimal. For a weekly Kainkaryam at the Swami Sannidhi, the Thattu Kaasu would not top 250 at its peak. He would buy daily essentials from the shops on loan. The shop owners had so much regard for the Gurukal Kainkaryam that they would not even ask back for the amount that was due from us. After a month or two, the shop’s worker would politely remind my appa of the pending amount. Almost all through his service, he cycled to the temple.”

But this family has passed on the service to the next generation with the same thought and message that of the committed kainkaryam to Swami and Ambal was foremost and that this family can have no bigger blessing that performing every day service at this legendary temple. 

Next Gen Son takes over

There was a message that Shivasankara Gurukal repeatedly played within himself all through his three decades archaka kainkaryam at the Kumbeswarar temple. This was a message that had been passed on to him from his forefathers. 

On the morning of Maasi Magam, 31 year old Kameswaran Gurukal has been on decorating Kumbeswarar and Mangalambika ahead of the procession to the Maha Magam Kulam. Later in the morning, he accompanies Ambal on this procession on a hot Monday. He had taken over the reigns from his appa, Shivasankara Gurukal in 2023 after completing his agama initiation at the Sri Sri Ravishankar patshala in Bangalore. 

On that Maasi Magam morning last Monday, Shivasankara Gurukal once again reminded his son, like he had many times earlier in the past about the message that had passed on to him prior to his taking over the archaka kainkaryam in the 1990s.

He recounts to this writer sitting at his rented home on Reddi Rao street in Valayapettai Agraharam about this message has helped him all his life. “When I was a young boy, my thatha and appa had always seeded the thought in me that there was no bigger a blessing than performing Kainkaryam at this historic temple and that we must dedicate our entire life in service to the Divine Couple” Shivashankara Gurukal remembers to this day.

Highly Committed Gurukal

Devotees have rarely seen Kameswaran Gurukal talk on the phone when inside the temple. Last Monday morning, after giving the final touches to the alankaram, he went around Swami and Ambal repeatedly paying attention to minute details and ensuring that everything was fine with the alankaram. Once satisfied, he placed the sandalwood paste on the forehead of Swami and signed off for the procession. 

All through the 90 minute procession to the Maha Magam Kulam, he was quietly presenting the sacred ash to the devotees. In front of the hospital on the North street of the Abi Mukteeswarar temple, he presented Mariyathai to the owner of the hospital.  

Festive occasions

Saptha Sthanam Pallakku procession in Chitrai is a special occasion when Kumbeswarar goes around for 3 days to 7 temples in and around Kumbakonam. Five day Thiru Kalyanam in Vaikasi is a one of its kind temple utsavam not seen in too many other temples in TN for Thiru Kalyanam is largely a one day event in even the biggest of temples. Mangalambika’s Theppam on the occasion of Panguni Uthiram draws good crowd these days. In Margazhi, Nataraja from 12 temples in Kumbakonam arrive at this temple and Kumbeswarar provides Ethir Sevai. 

On the evening of Maasi Magam, on the return procession from Maha Magam Kulam, where he had been on the Rishabham earlier in the day, Kumbeswarar provides Ethir Sevai to Sarangapani Perumal on the Theppam with the archakas of both the temples presenting Deeparathanai to the respective Lords.

         Kameswaran Gurukal

In the last year or so, Shivasankara Gurukal says he has repeatedly heard from devotees at the Kumbeswarar temple that his son is performing service with the same devotion and dedication that they had seen in him over the previous three decades.

In an age when patience is at a premium with youngsters placing a high price for their service in all walks of life, Shivasankara Gurukal is seeing his son focusing solely on swami kainkaryam setting aside thoughts on financial returns and that has given him the greatest satisfaction. While a life at TN temples has seemed uncertain in the recent past and continues to be, 63 year old Shivasankara Gurukal is confident that his son will perform this kainkaryam in the same way that he and his forefathers had and take this service into the next phase at this historic temple.

Though the previous generation of priests had endured grave financial distress, they continued the archaka service in really challenging times for they considered it a great blessing to be touching Swami and performing abhisekam. A lot in the new generation have moved on to the corporate world away from temple service. Those like the young Kameswaran Gurukal have been brought up in way that they see no life outside of kainkaryam to the divine couple at the Aathi Kumbeswarar temple. And that's something that devotees at this temple have to be grateful for as the temple is in safe archaka hands at least for the foreseeable future.

Srirangam Madapalli Pachur Rangarajan

Hailing from a remote village near Pachur, Rangarajan has gone on to perform service at the madapalli at the Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam for over three decades

This section has featured stories on those from various walks of life taking to Kainkaryam at the Ranganathswamy temple in Srirangam. Chakrapani was a worker at a factory who secured the Kainkaryam of a Sripatham. Kannan quit an IT job in Chennai to join the Sripatham. Harish Bhattar quit a high paying bank job in his 20s to continue the hereditary Bhattar Kainkaryam. This story is about one who worked as a server at a restaurant in Thiru Vellarai in his teens and was blessed to be the one who would go on to prepare the sacred Thaligai for Ranganathaswamy and Ranganayaki Thayar for over three decades. 

When he was a school boy in the 1970s, Rangarajan did not visualise a life of Kainkaryam at a temple and that at the number one Divya Desam. His appa, Venkatraman Iyengar, who hailed from Virandur, a small village near Pachur, had performed service at many village temples such as Gopurapatti and Azhagiya Manavalam. It was a financially challenging life during his childhood for there was not much of an income for those in temple service, even more so for those performing in remote village temples.

தேட்டருந்திறல் தேனினைத், தென்னரங்கனை

திருமாதுவாழ் வாட்டமில் வனமாலை மார்வனை

வாழ்த்தி 

மால்கொள் சிந்தையராய்

ஆட்ட மேவியலந்தழைத்து 

அயர் வெய்தும் மெய்யடியார்கள் தம்

ஈட்டம் கண்டிடக் கூடுமேல் 

அது காணும் பயனாவதே

From Vellarai Restaurant to Srirangam Madapalli

Given this background, like many others his generation Rangarajan, too, saw for himself a life away from temples. He was not academically inclined and quit school early. A stint at the renowned Singam Patshala in Srirangam too was short lived. To earn a livelihood, he took on a job as a server in a restaurant in Thiru Vellarai at a monthly salary of Rs. 100 sleeping in the same restaurant every day.

இந்திரனோடு பிரமன்

 ஈசன் இமையவர் எல்லாம்

மந்திர மா மலர் கொண்டு

மறைந்து உவராய் வந்து நின்றார்

சந்திரன் மாளிகை சேரும்

சதுரர்கள் வெள்ளறை நின்றார்

காந்தியம் பொது இது ஆகும்

அழகனே காப்பிட  வாராய்

 For additional income, he would also serve at weddings and it was on one such occasion that a meeting led to a transformational change in his life that he recounts to this writer on a hot Friday morning in front of the Perumal Madapalli at the Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam “Doraiswamy Iyengar, Sthaneegam and Sindhumani Iyengar, my uncle, met me at a wedding. I had just married three months earlier and the career path was uncertain. They were keen for me to move into the madapalli at the Srirangam temple where there was a shortage of personnel. I had never visualised a full time service inside the temple and this offer came out of the blue when I least expected it.”

Hard initiation at the madapalli

Thus in 1994, Pachur Rangarajan joined the madapalli at the Srirangam temple and has been here for over three decades. He remembers his initiation into the madapalli “In the first few years, the seniors back then initiated me into this service with real hard training. I had to clean the paanai and the other vessels every day, I had to clean the floor with cow-dung, had to bring over a 100 kudams of water from the well  and also wash and dry the vastrams.”

In those decades, that was the way youngsters were trained into temple kainkaryam. He says that they got him into this service in a phased step by step manner “I started off boiling rice. Once I did that well, they initiated me into preparing Thirukannamathu and Pongal. Only after being convinced that I was committed into this service, did the seniors allow me into preparing the full range of sacred food.”

Challenges at the Madapalli

In the middle of the previous decade, there were a couple of IT trained personnel who joined the Srirangam madapalli but their stint was short lived. "It is not easy to secure the blessings of Ranganathaswamy and it is even more difficult to keep it for a long time. One has to remain patient here and work hard for years to get into the good books of Perumal. Those who sought a quick path to glory were shown the door just as quickly" says Pachur Rangarajan on some of the challenges he had to encounter in his service, especially when newer, more aggressive personnel worked alongside him at the madapalli (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2018/07/srirangam-madapalli-transformation.html).

Serious Health Issues but he is back again

A life at the madapalli at the Ranganathaswamy temple is a physically challenging one with the personnel having to carry several kgs of Thaligai from the madapalli to the Sannidhi and to mandagapadis during the round the year utsavams. Working on firewood and without enough free flowing air takes a toll on the body as Rangarajan found out late last year when he encountered serious health issues. But his devotional commitment to Ranganayaki Thayar has brought him into the temple after a short ‘health’ break and is raring to go like he was in the 1990s, looking forward to the Panguni Utsavam that is coming up later this month. 

His Top 3 favourite Sacred Thaligai

Pachur V. Rangarajan counts Milagu Puliyodarai, Thayar Aravanai and Puttu as his three favourite sacred Thaligai that he particularly likes preparing and presenting. He is now the senior most cook at the Ranganathaswamy temple and the one who initiates and trains new comers into the madapalli. He has served at the Perumal madapalli for over 15 years, at the Thayar Madapalli for close to a decade and also at Thiru Vellarai and Uraiyur in the past. 

Madapalli Kainkaryam as his only way of life

He says he never visualised a life at the Srirangam temple. He considers it a great blessing to be following in the footsteps of grandfather and uncle into this life of preparing and presenting the sacred food to Perumal and Thayar at this legendary Divya Desam for over three decades. He would be retiring soon but if the temple authorities require his services, he says he would be happy to continue the kainkaryam till the very last moment of his life, for he has experienced the greatest satisfaction and happiness in his life when preparing the sacred food for the Divine Couple. 

Aadhi Kumbeswarar Maasi Magam Theerthavari Rishabham

After a grand alankaram of Kumbeswarer and Mangalambika atop the Rishabham on Monday morning, it is a chaotic accident-prone procession from the temple to the Maha Magam Kulam

It is just past 7.30am on Monday (March 2) morning and there is a huge crowd at the Aadhi Kumbeswarar temple, in Kumbakonam. It is Maasi Magam and devotees are thronging the temple to have an early morning darshan. The annadhanam side is full with food being handed out continuously through the morning.

While there is a long queue at the Kumbeswarar and Mangalambika Sannidhis, a few of the priests are giving the final touches to the Pancha Moorthy idols ahead of the long procession to the Maha Magam Kulam. It is a grand alankaram of Swami and Ambal atop the Rishabham and after taking a close look and being satisfied with the alankaram, the priest pastes the Sandal on Swami’s forehead. 

It is the Theerthavari day of the annual Maasi Brahmotsavam and the dip in the Maha Magam Kulam has to take place within 30 minutes from noon for the sacred lagnam ends at 12.30pm.

It is well past 10.30am when Aadhi Kumbeswarar and Mangalambika, both on Velli Rishabham make their way out of the temple after the Deepaarathanai and the elephant fanning the Lord. There are devotees who have been at this Maasi Magam procession for several decades and they have seen it all. They debate amongst themselves if the Pancha Moorthy will take a short cut like has happened a few years in the past when the start of the procession has been delayed or if indeed, they will first go on a pradakshinam around the four sacred streets of the temple before taking the trip to the Maha Magam tank.

Wrong Schedule on the banner

At the Eastern entrance, it takes 15 minutes for the Sripatham personnel to tie up the beautiful colourful canopy over Kumbeswarar and Mangalambika even as devotees have darshan of the Rishabham and pick up the sacred white ash from the priests. The huge banner next to the Chariot has got the specifics of this Theerthavari day wrong. The programme schedule states that Kumbeswarar would provide Rishabham darshan on this return procession from Maha Magam Kulam while the reality is that the Rishabham procession is from the temple to the Kulam prior to the Theerthavari event.

HRCE Fails - A Chaotic Procession full of accidents

On to the Kumbeswarar South Street, the traffic is heavy. There are no additional police personnel to stop or redirect the vehicles and the Sripatham have a tough time manoeuvring Swami and Ambal around the vehicles. The HR & CE personnel, who these days are an integral part of temple street processions, are not there in any good numbers. As the procession moves into the West street, the first of the many incidents take place showcasing the unfortunate scenario in small town temples.

Canopy breaks with the overhead wire contact

Lack of attention leads to an overhead wire breaking the wood piece of the canopy as it comes tumbling down behind Mangalambika. Time is short and Ambal cannot wait for too long for the other deities have moved forward.  It is the North street when the Sripatham retie the canopy atop Ambal, though it is not to fullest satisfaction of the three priests who are accompanying Mangalambika on the procession. 

As Ambal moved on to the middle of the North Street, a corporation vehicle almost bangs against the bamboo piece of Ambal, the second accident in a matter of minuter. It takes another few minutes for the vehicle to dismantle itself. No one seems to be in control to take charge of the procession. 

Flowers thrown on the deities

The North Street is where the flower vendors conduct their early morning business. Showing their devotion they throw good quantities of flowers on the Swami and Ambal that falls on the head of the priests sitting there. Presenting a flower garland to Swami and Ambal is a nice gesture but devotees throwing flowers from the street on to the deities does not seem right. The priests bear patiently the unknotted ‘Uthiri’ flowers falling on their body and they knock it off their head.

Passes Sarangapani on the float

It is a very hot morning in Kumbakonam and the time is well past 11am. The Sripatham have to now gather pace to reach the Maha Magam Kulam by noon. The corporation vehicle finally arrives to pour water on to the road to cool the feet of the Sripatham personnel. At the Potramarai Kulam, Sarangapani Perumal is moving through the South side of the tank even as Kumbeswarar and Mangalambika pass by on the Rishabham. It is a quick ‘glance’ meeting of Perumal and Shiva. 

A two wheeler crashes next to Mangalambika

As has been the case this morning, with one accident after another unfolding, a speeding two wheeler with three people travelling on it skids in the water near the Police Station right next to Mangalambika. There are loud wailing noises from the injured but the procession has to move on. Traffic is chaotic and the police aren’t helping out restricting the vehicles during this procession to the Maha Magam Kulam. The Sripatham continue to do a good job. There are Thattu presentations as well on the way from the shop owners on the busy Nageswaran North Street.

It is almost close to noon, when Kumbeswarar and Mangalambika reach near the kulam. They are asked to perform a pradakshinam around the Abi Mukeswarar temple and the Maha Magam tank. The owners of the hospitals on the North Street come out to present Thattu and Ambal’s priest  presents a shawl and a flower garland to one of them. 

Heading to the east street, the overhead wires present more trouble for Kumbeswarar and Mangalambika further delaying the procession. It is past noon when the Theerthavari idol makes its way through the heavily guarded gates. There is a huge crowd inside the Maha Magam tank on all the four sides that have taken prime positions from early morning awaiting this big Theerthavari moment. But with Lords from 12 temples making their way into the tank, devotees who are coming in after noon are now restricted from the entering the temple tank. 

The nadaswaram artistes themselves find it difficult to enter but manages to make his way inside the tank for the devotional presentation during the Theerthavari. The priest from the Kumbeswarar temple begins recital of the Mantras leading to the Theerthavari. It is almost close to 12.30pm when the Kumbeswarar Theerthavari idol dips into the sacred tank with all the devotees around too taking a dip. The priest continuously shouts out ‘Om Nama Shiviya’ with devotees following him in this chant in chorus. For once, there are more folded hands than phone cameras with the devotion reaching a peak when Kumbeswarar dipped into the Maha Magam tank that was brimming with water.

There is happiness on the faces of the devotees who have had a close darshan of the Theerthavari of Aadhi Kumbeswarar. And they leave the Maha Magam tank for another year discussing their experience fresh from the sacred bath they have just had.

Thiru Kudanthai Chakrapani Chariot Sarangapani Theppam Kumbeswarar Rishabham

On this Maasi Magam morning, Chakrapani provided darshan atop the Chariot, Sarangapani on the float and Athi Kumbeswarar on a majestic Rishabham

                                          Chakrapani Chariot

It is the 8th day of the Maasi Brahmotsavam with Chakrapani Perumal of Thiru Kudanthai having made his way this Sunday (March 1) morning to the centuries old Rayar Agraharam west of the temple. The popular Soundararajan Bhattar finished a beautiful alankaram of Chakrapani Perumal atop the Golden Horse Vahana just after 7pm, the time slated for the start of the evening vahana procession.

Unfortunately, the ubayadarars of the day are not present and they make Perumal wait endlessly with Kumar Bhattar, the priest anchoring the activities at the Chakrapani temple sitting on the floor.

It has been a long standing battle that the priests have repeatedly lost. There are scores of devotees who have made their way to the mandapam at 7pm and they returned to come back later for they are told that the procession can only start after the ubayadarar mariyathai is done with.

It is an Agraharam that once housed traditional Rayars. The trustee, Prakash, told this writer on Sunday evening that their forefathers were Dewans to a number of Rajahs in the centuries gone by prior to India’s independence.

It is well past 8pm when the families of the ubayadarars arrive for the mariyathai. On this 8th evening, Aathi Varaha Perumal too has made his way to the Rayar Agraharam mandapam and he too is seen atop the horse vahana ahead of the joint procession. 

Wide ranging prasadam is handed out to devotees by the ubayadarars. It is almost 9pm when Chakrapani Perumal finally makes his way out of the mandapam. Residents of the this historic Agraharam come out of their homes to present flowers and fruits. At the south end of the Agraharam the family of the trustees of this once vibrant private locality of the Rayars welcome Chakrapani into their homes followed by Aathi Varaha Perumal. The Nadaswaram artistes present devotional tunes in front of the trustee’s home. 

It is almost 10pm when the Lords bid good bye to this beautiful Agraharam that had come to life on this festive Sunday evening. The two Lords make their way onto the Solaiappan street where residents continue to come out of their homes to present Thattu.

Some of the Sripatham and Kainkaryaparas are glued on to the tense knock out T20 World Cup match between India and West Indies even as the procession heads on to the Chakrapani North Street. It is well past 10pm and would have been sleep time but on this Kuthirai Vahana night, the Vedic Students of the ancient Patshala come out in good numbers and invoke the blessings of the Lord with folded hands. 

                                              Kuthirai Voyali

English Notes and Sripatham Voyali

Almost close to 11pm, the sripatham personnel present voyali in front of the Chariot on the Chakrapani East street to the tunes of English Notes Nottuswaram by the Nadaswaram artistes much to the delight of the devotees receiving the biggest applause of the night. While Chakrapani Perumal made his way on to the Sannidhi street, Aathi Varaha Perumal bid good bye to him and continued on his way to his abode North West of the Chakrapani temple.

In front of the eastern Raja Gopuram, a visibly tired looking Kumar Bhattar, who anchors all the festivals at this temple, is vocal that the mariyathai for the sripatham is to be done at the vahana mandapam and not outside the temple as per the tradition followed by his forefathers telling them that a deviation in 1-2 years in the past does not justify presenting mariyathai in front of the Raja Gopuram. The Sripatham personnel have great regard for Kumar Bhattar, who also takes care of the Parthanpalli Divya Desam in Thiru Nangur, and they nod their approval to his direction.

Shatari and Maalai Mariyathai is presented at the Vahana Mandapa to every single Sripatham who carried the Lord on this day bringing to end the proceedings on this 8th evening of the Maasi Brahmotsavam as the Sripatham personnel head back for a well earned rest for a few hours.

But for the priests there is more on this night. Chakravarthi Bhattar and Kannan Bhattar have arrived at the temple for alankaram of Chakrapani Perumal for the early morning procession to the Chariot. And this goes on till 2am!!! Yes, that’s the way of life for temple priests during Brahmotsavams.

An hour later, the prabhandham members arrive to present the Thiruppavai Ghoshti. It is 4am and Kumar Bhattar is pushing the Sripatham personnel to come together to carry Chakrapani to the Chariot.

                                   

Maasi Magam Chariot Festival

The story goes that once upon a time, the rishis found it difficult to undertake their penance at Thiru Kudanthai as they were continuously troubled by Asura Jalanda. Around the same time, the Sun Lord’s heat in this region was becoming unmanageable. When asked the reason for this over heated state, the Sun Lord replied in an arrogant tone that he was the only source of light and heat and it was his choice to decide the intensity.

The rishis undertook penance at this place invoking the blessings of Lord Vishnu to save them, both from the asura and the heat. Answering their prayers, Lord Vishnu appeared here and hurled the chakra in his right hand to kill the Asura. This chakra was said to have had the power equivalent to several times the Sun’s rays.

Seeing the powerful Chakra swirl from the hands of Lord Vishnu, a threatened Sun Lord went into hiding. A worried Devas came down in a large group here and requested Lord Vishnu to give back the powers of the Sun God so this place could receive the sun rays again. Realising his folly, the Sun God too came out from his hiding, invoked the blessings of Lord Vishnu here and apologised for his arrogant behaviour. In memory of this event, the Sun God performed special poojas for Sudarshana Moorthy on Maasi Magam.

To the presentation of Thiru Mangai Azhvaar’s Siriya Thiru Madal, Chakrapani Perumal makes his way out of the Eastern Raja Gopuram and positions himself atop the Chariot.  While the Ubayadarars are handed out their Mariyathai, the prabhandham members continue their recital with the presentation of Periya Thiru Madal, the final decad of Periya Thirumozhi and Thiru Ezhu Kootrurikkai. 

செல்வம் மல்கு தென் திருக்குடந்தை

அந்தணர் மந்திர மொழியுடன் வணங்க

ஆடு அரவு அமளியில் அறிதுயில்

அமர்ந்த பரம

It is now Monday morning and given the Rahu Kaalam and Yama Kandam, the start of the Chariot procession is scheduled to start after 9am and the priests, who have not slept through the night, are happy with the 4 hour break.

Sarangapani Theppam

There are a few devotees who have an early morning darshan of Chakrapani atop the Chariot even as the attention shifts south to the Sarangapani Koil, where Soundar Bhattar is back to decorate his favourite Lord ahead of the procession to the Theppam. It is 9.30am when Sarangapani Perumal makes his way out of the towering east gopuram to the recital of Thiru Mangai Azhvaar first decad of the Periya Thirumozhi by the Prabhandham members, while at the Chakrapani temple too the chariot procession has begun. 

ஆரா அமுதே அடியேன் உடலம்  நின்பால் அன்பாயே

நீராய்  அலைந்து கரைய உருக்குகின்ற நெடுமாலே

சீர் ஆர் செந்நெல் கவரி வீசும் செழு நீர் திரு குடந்தை

ஏர் ஆர் கோலம் திகழ கிடந்தாய் கண்டேன் எம்மானே  - Thiruvoimozhi ( 5-8-1)

It is past 10am when Sarangapani makes his way via Ramaswamy Koil on to the Theppam for an hour long one round the tank that is now brimming with water. Past 11am, even as Sarangapani is making way around the south side of the tank, Athi Kumbeswarar and Mangalambika are making their way on the Rishabham to the Maha Magam tank for the theerthavari on this Maasi Magam day.

What a morning it was in and around Thiru Kudanthai with Chakrapani, Sarangapani and Aathi Kumbeswarar all in action, each of a different kind – one inside a Theppam, another atop a beautifully decorated Chariot and Lord Shiva on the Silver Rishabham.

Thiru Mangai Azhvaar's Madal: https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2012/10/thirumangai-azhvaars-madal.html

Thiru Ezhu Kootrirukkai: https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2017/06/thiru-ezhu-kootrirukkai_22.html

Kumbakonam Railway Station Retiring Rooms facelift

This station is seeing a complete makeover with the demolition work on Platform 1 having just started

A year from now, passengers are likely to have access to top notch retiring rooms, dormitories and waiting halls

There are four important stations in the 120 kms main line route between Tiruchirappalli and Mayiladuthurai. While Thanjavur, Mayiladuthurai and Tiruchirappalli have seen a makeover of the railway station, Kumbakonam station had been left behind. Thousands of devotees arrive at this station every day primarily to visit historic temples in this region but the facilities have been below par for a long time. It would have been perfect timing if the railway station had been renovated alongside the route conversation to broad gauge when the train services had come to a halt.

                                  The vibrant canteen till January 2026

One of the differentiators at this railway station has been the canteen on platform 1 that provides good quality tiffin round the clock including till 1am. The canteen has been brought down this week as part of the plan to remodel the railway station. Last month, the building housing another iconic service – RMS – was brought down.

                                          Canteen on 24th Feb

Over the next year, there will be a remodelling of this railway station with the entrance shifted to the location near the erstwhile RMS. Like in Rameswaram and Srirangam, it is likely that the entrance will have a temple gopuram modelled infrastructure. For a long time, this station lacked good quality dormitories and retiring rooms but as part of the current infra upgrade, passengers are likely to have access to these.  The waiting halls too have been quite old fashioned and these too will see a facelift in the near future.

           The location of the erstwhile RMS on Platform 1

For the moment, the canteen that offers almost a 24 hour service has moved to near the ticket counter and will remain there till the renovation work is complete.

Come next year, one is likely to see the Kumbakonam Railway Station offering the best of passenger amenities after the complete makeover on the west side. 

Nachiyar Koil Thiru Mangai Azhvaar Revival

Temple EO Prabhakaran and Former TN Ranji Cricketer K Balaji help revive the Thiru Mangai Azhvaar Thirumanjanam on his Karthigai star day every month

Among the 80 plus temples that Thiru Mangai Azhvaar visited and praised with songs, he seemed to have held Nachiyar Koil in Thiru Naraiyur at the top alongside Thiru Kannapuram and Thiru Kudanthai for he dedicated a century of verses in praise of Srinivasa Perumal of Nachiyar Koil and Sowri Raja Perumal of Thiru Kannapuram, not far from here while also dedicating an entire prabhandham to Aravamudhan Perumal of Thiru Kudanthai.

Thiru Mangai Azhvaar received the Pancha Samskaaram from the Lord of Thiru Naraiyur who he praised as Nambi. He also praised Thiru Naraiyur Nambi as the Lord he had seen at Thiru Venkatam. 

மான் கொண்ட தோல் மார்வின் மாணிஆய்  

மாவலி மண் தான் கொண்டு தாளால் அளந்த பெருமானை 

தேன் கொண்ட சாரல் திருவேங்கடத்தானை 

நான் சென்று நாடி நறையூரில் கண்டேனே 

While Thiru Mangai Azhvaar held a special place at Nachiyar Koil for these reasons, two disturbing events happened in the second half of the previous century. His Sannidhi located a the eastern entrance of the temple was relegated to the background with the office of the HRCE coming up right in front of the exclusive Sannidhi dedicated to Thiru Mangai Azhvaar. And with this, the monthly Thirumanjanam that had been performed on this Saint Poet’s star on Karthigai and the presentation of Thaligai came to a halt.

                      Srinivasa Perumal and Vanjula Valli Thayar

For several decades this had been the scenario at Thiru Naraiyur. And then things changed when a top notch straight forward EO took charge at the temple a few years ago. When the mega repairs work began leading to the consecration, Prabhakar directed for the HRCE office to be shifted away from Thiru Mangai Azhvaar’s Sannidhi so the great Saint Poet could be accorded the respect due to him for having sung a 100 verses in praise of Thiru Naraiyur. On the consecration day, just over two years ago, the Thiru Mangai Azhvaar Sannidhi wore a fresh bright look for the first time in several decades. 

And soon after the consecration, there was a revival of the monthly Thirumanjanam and Thaligai for Thiru Mangai Azhvaar but alas with Gopinathan Bhattar’s focus shifting to external events outside this Divya Desam, the monthly sacred event came to an abrupt halt.

                                      Temple EO Prabhakaran

EO Prabhakaran went through the historical records to find that indeed Thirumanjanam had been performed and Thaligai presented to Thiru Mangai Azhvaar every Karthigai. Soon after the completion of the 20day Adyayana Utsavam that had started at this Divya Desam a day after Thai Amavasai, he called upon the priests of the temple to his office and presented the historical records and asked if right from this Maasi Karthigai they could revive the monthly Thirumanjanam Thaligai.

At around the same time,  former TN Ranji Cricketer and The Hindu's K Balaji (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/09/a-blossoming-cricket-career-was-cut.html), came forward as a devotee to commit his support for the revival process to ensure that the event does not come to a halt for lack of devotee support. He told this writer on this Tuesday that he was happy to have been part of this revival of the celebration of Thiru Mangai Azhvaar on this Karthigai day in Maasi.

                                      The Hindu's K Balaji

And thus on this Tuesday (Feb 24)  morning, soon after the Vishroopam sevai, a Thirumanjanam was performed for Thirumangai Azhvaar with the moolavar being draped with a new Vastram marking the long-term revival of this event that had historically taken place at this Divya Desam. This was followed by a Thirumanjanam for the utsavar idol as well. Flower Garlands was also draped on the moolavar and utsavar idols of Thiru Mangai Azhvaar as part of the celebration. The madapalli Paricharakar had by this time prepared Kesari and handed the sacred Thaligai to the priest for him to present to Thiru Mangai Azhvaar. This was presented to all the devotees who visited the temple this morning.

அம்பரமும் பெருநிலனும் திசைகள் எட்டும் 

அலைக்கடலும் குலவரையும் உண்டகண்டன் 

கொம்பமரும் வடமரத்தின் இலைமேல் பள்ளி கூடினான் 

திருவடியே கூடாகிற்பீர் 

வம்பவிழும் செண்பகத்தின் வாசம் உண்டு 

மணி வண்டு வகுலத்தின்  மலர் மேல் வைகு 

செம்பியன் கோச் செங்கணன் சேர்ந்த கோயில் 

திருநறையூர் 

EO Prabhakaran told this writer later in the morning that he would ensure that Thiru Mangai Azhvaar’s great contribution to this temple, one built by Ko Chenganan Chozhan and praised by Thiru Mangai Azhvaar as the first Vaishnavite Mada Koil built by this Chozha King, will be celebrated appropriately every month in his Sannidhi and that he would ensure that this event takes place on Karthigai day over the next 12 months.

                Thiru Mangai Azhvaar Thiruvadi Thozhuthal on Jan 28

The legendary contribution of Thiru Mangai Azhvaar, who presented the then existing scenario at Thiru Naraiyur well over a 1000 years through his verses of praise, will now be remembered every month on his star day through this ‘Karthigai’ celebration with the revival of Thirumanjanam.