Kumbakonam and other temple visits – March 2021

All of us are probably going through one of the toughest and challenging times of our life at this point as the second wave of the pandemic wreaks havoc upon us, our family, friends and all our near and dear ones. This is also probably the worst thing to affect this great country, Bharata, from the time of its Independence as well as everyone around the world. During all these times, what I feel will help us cross this is our steadfast faith in Perumal, Thaayar and all our Azhwars and Acharyans and along with that we being responsible by listening to the government’s instructions. Whenever we step out and if we have step out, please mask up properly, double mask as and when required, maintain social distancing and keep washing your hands from time to time.

Before this second wave started its dirty dance, by the grace of Perumal, Thaayar and all our Azhwars and Acharyans, I had the opportunity to visit one of my most favorite places, Kumbakonam (yet again), during the month of March for about 3 days along with my parents. It is only by Perumal and Thaayar’s eternal grace that this trip happened peacefully and without any issues. We stayed at the same Hotel Rayas Grand located oppposite to the Maha Maham tank inside Kumbakonam city. There are some temples which we visited inside and close to Kumbakonam which I have already covered in detail in my earlier post on my Kumbakonam temple visits so I will not be covering them again.

They include the Sri Sarangapani Temple, Sri Chakrapani Temple and the Sri Ramaswamy temple, The Thiruvarasu of Swami Thirumazhisai Azhwar which are all with in the Kumbakonam city. The other temples which we visited in the vicinity of Kumbakonam which I have again covered in my previous post include, Sri Oppiliappan temple, Sri Saranatha Perumal temple, Thirucherai and Nachiyar Kovil, the divya asthanam of Thirunaraiyur Nambi.

What I shall be covering this time are some of the temples which I covered in Mayiladuthurai district, which I have not covered before.

The first Divyadesam that we visited was the abode of Sthalasayana Perumal at Sirupuliyur. The google maps location of this temple is https://goo.gl/maps/ipLfFPpMqxQo8NKF8. This temple is located in a place 2 kms away from a place called Kollumangudi. Kollumangudi is located about 40km away from Kumbakonam and 10km from Karaikal.

There are multiple legends associated with this temple. Before we get into that, here are some details of the Perumal of this temple. Here Perumal is in sayana thirukolam (sleeping posture) and is facing south. This is extremely rare because the only other sthalam where Perumal is in a sayana thirukolam facing south is Srirangam. The moolavar is known as Arumakadal or Sthalasayana Perumal or Sala Sayana Perumal, Moolavar Thaayar is known as Thirumamagal Naachiyar, Utsavar Perumal is known as Kripasamdura Perumal, Kripasamudra meaning the Lord who is an ocean of mercy and kindness and Utsava Thaayar is known as Dhayanayagi meaning the mother who is ever compassionate. The pushkarni or holy water body in this temple is called as the Maanasa Pushkarni and puranam of this temple can be found in the Garuda Puranam.

Once the great sage Vyagrapadar prayed to Lord Mahadeva to bless him with agile feet so that he could reach Srirangam from Chidambaram faster. The lord blessed him with Tiger feet but due to his old age and poor eye sight, the sage went in a different direction and reached Siripuliyur instead of Srirangam. Realizing he had reached another place instead of Srirangam and exhausted with his journey, the sage started his penance towards Perumal. Lord Mahavishnu, pleased with his penance appeared before him as Lord Ranganatha himself, gigantic and in sayana thirukolam. Since the sage’s eye sight was not good, Perumal reduced his size to a tiny form of Ranganatha which is called as Bala Sayanam. Being in a smaller form for the sage and worshipped by the sage with the legs of a tiger, the place came to be known as Siru (meaning small) Puli (meaning tiger) yur (meaning place) and hence Sirupuliyur. Inside the sanctum, we can find the vigraham of Vyagrapadhar near the divine feet of the Lord.

The next Divyadesam that we visited was the divine asthanam of Devadhiraja Perumal at Therazhundur. Google maps shows the location of this temple at https://goo.gl/maps/RLwKYxjrLU2XMwP7A. Therazhundur is a small village located around 10km from Mayiladuthurai.

There are multiple legends associated with this temple but before we go into them, let me share some information about the Perumal here.

Moolavar Perumal is known as Devadhiraja Perumal and is in a majestic standing posture or ninra thirukolam. Utsavar is known as Amaruviyappan, Gosakan. Thaayar is housed in a separate sannidhi and she is known as Sengamala Valli Thaayar. In the sanctum you can also find Moolavar flanked by Prahladan to his right and Periya Thiruvadi (Garudazhwar) to his left. Thirumangai Azhwar has sung 45 pasurams in the praise of this Perumal. This is also one of the 5 Krishnaranya kshetrams in the south, the others being Thirukannangudi, Thirukannamangai, Kapisthalam and Thirukannapuram which I have written about earlier.

How did this place get the name “Therazhundur”. The word “Ther” in Tamizh means chariot and “Azhundur” means pressed down deep and getting stuck. It so happened that King Uparicharavasu had obtained the boon of flying and was flying above this place. In an act of arrogance, as he flew above this place, the shadow of the chariot fell on the Rishi’s and the cows grazing here. Now the boon obtained by the King was so special that anyone on whom the shadow of the chariot fell would be harmed. Perumal wanting to teach the King a lesson in humility, pressed the wheels of the chariot that it came crashing down and got stuck. Any amount of effort to remove it failed. Hence the place where the chariot of Uparicharavasu got stuck came to called as “Ther-Azhundur”.

One more legend is that Prahaladan who had witnessed the Nrsimhavataram, an angry and aggressive form of Perumal wanted to see a softer version of Perumal and prayed to Perumal. Perumal gave sevai to him here as Devadirajan. We can even today see Prahaladan alongside Devadiraja Perumal inside the Sanctum.

Another reason why this khsetram has immense significance is because it is the birthplace of the famous Tamizh poet “Kamban” who has composed many magnificent literary works, the most famous being the Kamba Ramayanam. Today we can find a Kamban mandapam which has been built in the place where he used to live in Sannidhi street which is very close to the street.

Many of the houses in the agraharam have vanished over the years which is a very sad thing to note. Once we enter the temple we will definitely forget everything in the beauty of Devadiraja Perumal and Amaruviappan.

Our next stop has immense significance and importance for all Sri Vaishnavas. This is the divine asthanam of Sri Neelamegha Perumal. Located around 30kms from Kumbakonam, this magnificient temple is a must visit. The google maps location of this temple is https://goo.gl/maps/cVLPSYqKvwQHJV44A

Prior to going in to the various legends associated with this temple, let us look at the sanctum. Here Perumal is in a majestic ninra thirukolam (standing) posture flanked by Sridevi, Boodevi along with Dandaka Maharishi and Garudan.

There are multiple legends associated with this temple. One of the important legends is how Utsavar Perumal helped a devout Bhattachar (Priest) of the temple who used to ardently serve him everyday. Ranga Bhattar used to offer a garland daily to the Utsavar, Sowrirajan and Perumal given to him by a courtesan. One day, the ruling king suddenly made a visit to the temple and found a hair in the garland offered to Perumal. When questioned by the King, Ranga Bhattar said that the hair in the garland belonged to Perumal himself. The King gave Ranga Bhattar a chance to prove himself else get punished for lying to him. Upon Ranga Bhattar’s earnest prayers, Perumal gave sevai with a Sowri kondai and it is there for all of us to witness to this day. The beauty of Sowrirajan is indescribable in words.

Another legend is that of Uparicharavasu whom I had mentioned about when talking about Therazhundur. The same King when flying over this divyadesam, mistook some sages to be demons in disguise and attacked them. the sages prayed to Perumal to protect them. Perumal came in the guise of a young boy and defeated Uparicharavasu. Once Uparicharavasu understood whom the young boy was, he offered his salutations and pleaded with him to marry his daughter, Padmini. We can find Padmini Thaayar even today inside the Sanctum.

One more legend is that Vibeeshanan, the brother of Ravana had prayed to Ranganatha Perumal of Srirangam that he would like to see his walking beauty as he had already witnessed the beauty of his sayana thirukolam (reclining posture). Perumal asked him to visit Thirukannapuram or Keezhai veedu to witness this. In Sri Vaishnava sampradayam, Srirangam is referred to as the Melai Veedu and Thirukannapuram as the keezhai veedu. To this day, to mark this occasion, on every Amavasya, Sowriraja Perumal comes out of his sanctum to provide darshan to Vibeeshanan.

One more unique feature of this temple when compared to any other divya desam of Perumal or even an Abhimaana sthalam is that, there is no Paramapada vaasal here. On the day of Vaikunta Ekadasi, Perumal appears through the Paramapada vaasal and blesses his devotees who yearn for a place in Sri Vaikuntam and pray to Perumal to grant them moksham (relief from the continous cycle of birth and death). In this temple, it is said that we offer our prayers at the holy feet of Sowrirajan who blesses you to directly enter Vaikuntam.

Lastly, the Pongal prasadam in this temple is very famous and is called the Muniyadharayan Pongal. It is said that a devotee who used to offer Pongal to Perumal everday was slightly delayed one day. By the time he came to the temple, the temple was closed for the night. With a heavy heart, he offered the Pongal outside the doors of the temple and left to his house. The next day when the temple doors were opened, the smell of sweet Pongal came from all corners of the temple. To mark this unique event, this special Pongal is offered to Perumal every night as naivedyam (offering).

Five Azhwars have sung praises of the Perumal of this divya desam including Nammazhwar, Thirumangai Azhwar, Kulasekhara Azhwar, Periyazhwar and Andal.

This temple is a must visit not only for every Sri Vaishnavan but everyone who wants to get the blessings of Neelamegha Perumal, Sowriraja Perumal and Thirukannapura Nayagi Thaayar. I sign off with the famous sloka dedicated to this kshetram

UtpalAvatakey Divye VimAney Pushkarekshanam
Sowriraja Maham Vandhey SadhA SarvAngaSundaram

We next move on to the divine AsthAnam of one of the most beautiful Ranganatha’s whose beauty I was captivated by (of course no comparison to Periya Perumal). It is the temple of Parimala Ranganathan at ThiruIndalur. Here is the google maps link to the location of this temple https://goo.gl/maps/Tr9DFfixyFUKGXni9

As always, before we go on to understanding the significance of this kshetram, let us have a look at the sanctum of the temple. Inside we have the majestic figure of Parimala Ranganathan in a sayana thirukolam (reclining posture). Inside the sanctum we have goddess Cauvery near his head, goddess Ganga next to him. Thaayar is housed in a different sannidhi (sanctum) and is called Parimala Ranganayaki. She is also called as Chandrasaapa Vimochanavalli and Pundareekavalli Thaayar.

ThiruIndalur is revered as one of the pancha ranga kshetrams (5 Ranganatha temples). The five Ranganatha kshetrams include Adi Rangan at Srirangapatnam, Adya Rangan at Srirangam, Appalarangan at Koviladi, Parimala Rangan at ThiruIndalur and Vatarangan at Sirkazhi. Some sampradayas say that the Sarangapani temple in Kumbakonam where Perumal is in a reclining posture is also a Vataranga kshetram.

Legend has it that Chandra (the Moon god) was charmed by the beauty of Brishaspathi’s wife Tara and eloped with her in the absence of his Guru. When she was asked to return to her husband, it was found out that she was carrying a child. Brihaspathi cursed Chandra to be deformed saying that the biggest sin one can commit is caste one’s eyes on another’s wife. Along with this, Dakshan, was taken by Chandra’s handsome features and wanted him to marry his 27 daughters but Chandra had his eyes only for one daughter, Rohini and ignored the others. An angry Dakshan cursed Chandra that he would lose his good looks and youth. Now doubly cursed by two people, Chandra went to Brishaspathi and pleaded with him to get relieved from the curses. Chandra then performed penance after bathing at the sacred Theertham and invoked the blessings of Perumal. It is said that Perumal liberated him partially and asked him to continue his penance at Thalai Changa Naan Mathiyam, another divya desam that is close to Indalur where Chandra was completely relieved of his curses. Chandra then requested the Perumal of Indalur that the kshetram be named after him (one of Chandra’s name is Indu).

One more legend is that of Thirumangai Azhwar who had come to sing pasurams in praise of the Lord. Perumal to test Thirumangai Azhwar, closed the entranceway to the temple and did not open it inspite of repeated requests. An irate Azhwar said that history would say that the Perumal of Indalur did not allow Azhwar to sing a song. Finally Perumal opened the door to the temple and told Azhwar to sing his pasurams. Thirumangai Azhwar dedicated 10 pasurams (verses) in the praise of Parimala Ranganathar.

This is a wonderful must visit divya desam. Kindly do visit and get the blessings of Perumal and Thaayar.