Arupathimoovar (அறுபத்திமூவர்)

Arupathimoovar (அறுபத்திமூவர்)

I have been meaning to write a series on Arupathimoovar after the series of Azhwars, but never got around doing same till now.

The first time I tried, I wanted to begin with the Arupathimoovar festival in Mylapore, but since I could not combine with it, I dropped the idea.

Now right after this year’s Arupathimoovar festival, I hope to start with a blog on one Nayanmar on every Monday and Thursday.

To begin with, Arupathimoovar festival is something I have only heard of all these years. Despite being a Chennaite, I have never had the opportunity to see the festival.

This year, I wanted to go at least on one day and as usual thanks to my sister Jayashree’s persuasion with a bit of pressure on me, I visited on the day of Arupathimoovar urchavam.

I have to say that I was zapped by the sight of the whole area. First of all, vehicles were stopped at the junction of Luz Church Road and only pedestrians were allowed beyond this point. I was stunned to see the ever empty Thirumayilai MRTS station full of people.

It was a great sight to see refreshments being distributed free of cost at a number of thannir pandals (தண்ணீர் பந்தல்) (these are still called thannir pandals though they offered right from biryani, sambar rice, biscuits, chocolates and what not!). As far as I could see these thannir pandals were not just around the temple but in the whole area all the way to Alwarpet.

The path was already full with roadside vendors selling a variety of stuff right from coconut/banana/camphor to be offered to the Lord to toys for the kids. 

One eyesore were the paper plates and cups strewn on the same path as well as in the median. Some had even thrown leftover eatables. Of course this was the first time I was there during the festival so I am not sure whether this happens every year or it was messier this year!

The crowd was so much that people were really pushing each other to move forward. I managed to reach the junction before the theppa kulam and there was some breathing space. I could hear the police announcing names of people from different parts of the city who had missed their kith and kin and was in search of them which made me feel a bit bad about not making an attempt to attend this festival even once despite having lived in Chennai all my life!

In front of theppa kulam was a long line of Gods and I saw Kolavizhi Amman first followed by Draupathi Amman, Periyanayaki sametha Vaaliswarar and Ganapathy. 

Kolavizhi Amman (கோலவிழி அம்மன்)

Draupadi Amman (திரௌபதி அம்மன்)

 

After these Gods were the great Arupathimoovars preceded by Poompavai and Sivanesar!

 

I could read the name placards of some of the deities only as it was a procession of four nayanmars on each palanquin.

As I was slowly taking photos of the first few rows, suddenly the procession started moving at a good speed and I managed to catch a small movie of same.

All this while, my sister Jayashree was somewhere in the crowd and we were communicating only on the mobile. Jayashree, who is more familiar with the rituals of the day as she had visited last year, said that what I saw was only the tip of the iceberg and processions of many Gods and Goddesses led by Kapaleeswarar and Karpagambal were elsewhere. As I did not have much time and was a bit keen to catch the CSK match and had a long way to go home, I called it a day.

Kindly wait for the blog on Nayanmars on Thursday, 12 April 2012!

Temple visit - Subramanya Swami Temple

Subramanya Swami Temple, Kundrathur

As mentioned in my last blog,  Thiruvooraga Perumal, Kundrathur is famous for the Murugan temple. As soon as we got down from the bus, we went straight to the Murugan temple. There are about 60+ steps going up to the temple. Murugan being the ‘Lord of the Hills’, He mostly resides on higher levels.

Halfway up the steps, on the right side is a Valanzhui Vinayakar sannidhi. It was quite dark there, so we could not see the Ganapathy and continued climbing the steps to the main temple. As soon as we entered the temple, we could see another Ganapathy on the right side. We prayed to him and then proceeded further to see a huge Dwajasthambam and a sculpture of a Mayil (peacock).

We entered the sannidhi to see a very majestic looking Valli Deivanai samedha Sri Subramanya Swami with his Vel and Seval Kodi. When we enquired about the temple, the kurukkal readily said that it was about 1100 years old and built by Kulothunga Chozhan. Kundrathur also happens to be the birth place of Sekkizhar who wrote the Periya Puranam. This is the only temple in Tamil Nadu where Murugan is facing the North. On his way to Tiruttani after fighting with the demon Tarakasuran and defeating him in Thirupporur, Lord Muruga is said to have rested here for about an hour. The hill where he rested came to be called Kundrathur. This temple is also called “Then Tiruttani”, (தென் திருத்தணி) meaning Tiruttani of the South. Arunagirinathar has sung three hymns on the Lord here.

We could also see another very beautiful looking statue of Mayil - peacock, the vaahan of Lord Muruga - in front of the Murugan Sannidhi. As soon as we came out, there was Shanmugastavam  engraved on the wall. We stood there to read it. In the outer prakaram, there were a Sivalingam, Bhairavar and Navagraha sannidhi. In the Navagraha sannidhi, we noticed that on the head of the Moon God, there was a half moon shape (பிறை சந்திரன்) which we have not noticed in any other temple. Then there was Dakshina moorthy right behind the Murugan sannidhi facing the South as always. In front of the Dakshina moorthy, there was a window on the main wall of the temple. I went near to have a look wondering if it was the temple tank, but alas, it was a dry place with lot of junk thrown in! The Sthala vriksham is an Arasa maram and we could see many cradles on it hung by people praying for progeny.  Next we prayed at the Durgai sannidhi and reached the Dwajasthambam and did our namaskaram there and came away with a very satisfied feeling.

Temple Visit - Thiruvooraga Perumal

Thiruvooraga Perumal, Kundrathur

People familiar with the name Kundrathur tend to connect it to Lord Muruga as the Kundrathur Murugan temple is quite famous. I did get to visit the Murugan temple and a Sivan temple at Kundrathur apart from this Perumal temple. But I was so impressed by this temple and the enthusiasm with which the kurukkal readily explained the Sthala puranam and showed us all the alangarams done to the Perumal that I am tempted to blog this first.


Like on many other occasions, my sister Jayashree is responsible for this trip as she only suggested that we visit one of the temples around Porur, Poonamallee area one Saturday few months back.

We stood at the bus stop opposite Miot Hospital, Ramapuram and got into a Kundrathur bus as it came first. Thank you Jayu, for yet another wonderful experience!

Now about the temple: This temple was built about 1100 years ago by Kulothunga Chozhan II. He was a devotee of Thiruvooraga Perumal in Kanchipuram and wished to build another temple for him. He requested Perumal to choose a suitable site so that Kulothungan can build the temple. Perumal himself chose this site at Kundrathur and since it is the same Lord as in Kanchipuram, he is called by the same name - Thiruvooraga Perumal.

As Thiruppani (renovation) was going on, we entered the temple through the side entrance. We were very thrilled to see such a huge deity - more than 6.5 feet tall. The Sannidhi had only Perumal in the standing posture with His right hand as Abhayahastham, blessing us and the left hand on his left thigh. He had a majestic namam studded with stones. After Deeparathanai, Shadari, Theertham and Tulsi prasadham, the Kurukkal started removing a few strands of flowers from the deity. As we were wondering why he was doing this, he started showing us the different alangarams on the Perumal.

The Perumal has Sridevi and Bhoodevi on his chest, Dasavathara Odiyanam on his waist, similar to that of Tirupathi Venkatachalapathy, Lakshmi Haaram up to his knee, Silver kaasu maalai reaching below his knee, two strings of maalai made of silver Tulsi leaves and Salakrama Maalai touching his feet. The feet looked beautiful covered with velli kavasam. He is standing on Padma peetam – an open lotus. His crown was covered with many Tulsi garlands and two long garlands of Tulsi and flowers were adorning him from head to toe.

It was very nice of the kurukkal to explain the alangaram so well. We had the darshan of Garudan standing in front of Perumal and proceeded to the Goddess’ sannidhi. As soon as we turned right from Perumal, we entered a small area where we worshipped Thudhikai Azhvar (Ganapathy) and then Thiru Virundha Valli Thayar. Thayar was looking so beautiful with silver kavasam on her hands, wearing a diamond necklace around her throat, a lovely odiyanam and kaasumalai. The deity was decorated with many flowers too.

We went around the sannidhis and on the right side there was Andal sannidhi and one of Ramar, Lakshmanar and Seethai. Ramar and Lakshmanar were standing with their bows in their left hands and an arrow each in their right hands. We were wondering where Hanuman was and lo! He was standing right opposite the Ramar sannidhi in his usual praying posture. This Hanuman was looking rather different without a crown. We went in again to have another look at Perumal and noticed that there was another Hanuman along with Ramanujar very close to the Perumal sannidhi.

I am still able to visualise the Perumal when I close my eyes, such is his beauty. Hope to visit the temple again soon.

Temple visit: Tirupathi over the Seven Hills

Like many of my earlier trips, this was a package day trip organised through A.P. Tourism. I personally feel that AP tourism has a better influence at Tirupathi than TTDC or ITDC. The trip was thanks to Anil and Indu or should I thank Sathi Aunty who wished to visit Tirupathi in the first place and I was given a chance to go with Aunty and Indu! 

We left on our journey at 5.40 am from T. Nagar temple and reached Lower Tirupathi at 9.30 am after a stop for breakfast and a change of tyre in Puthur. We then took the AP tourism local bus to reach the main shrine up on the hills. The bus crossed all the hairpin bends and we reached Mel Tirupathi at about 10.30 am. The way the driver handled the bus at these hairpin bends was admirable! We were asked to wait near the shops for some of the co-passengers who wanted to offer their hair and do mottai (tonsure). We did some small shopping by which time, they were back and we were lead to the 300 rupee ticket queue which was part of the package. It was almost 12 noon by then and the guide informed us that we should be out by 1.30 pm after darshan.

We stood in the queue which moved at a snail’s pace and finally reached the sanctum. The usual pushing and rushing began there and then we were able to see the Lord finally.

It is no wonder that people come here again and again despite the rush and “jarugandi”. What a sight the Lord was! I was second-time-lucky to have Nethra darshan, the earlier one was about 4-5 years back. Nowadays with the devotees not being allowed close to the deity, we were able to look at the Lord right from the point where we started walking into the inner sanctum in front of the deity till the point we turn left to move out. It was Nethra darshan as it was a Thursday.

The Lord was dressed simply in a dhoti and angavasthiram with his diamond-studded crown and hands and feet covered in silver kavasam. The namam was a slim one so that we could have the darshan of his nethram - eyes. There were absolutely no flowers on the deity. Devoid of any flowers, he looked rather smaller than usual, but I was very very happy to see the Lord clearly without the covering of flowers. Of course, it is a great pleasure to see the Lord in alangaram, but this simplicity was stunning! The total darshan lasted only for about a minute, but the Lord’s appearance got registered in my mind permanently. With many jarugandis around, we were pushed out too soon. 

We then proceeded to Vakula matha’s sannidhi where many people were offering coins into the glass covering around Vakula matha. In front of Vakula matha there was a small hole in the wall and we peeped through it to find that it offered a sight into the kitchen were prasadams were being prepared. It makes one wonder whether Vakula matha is sitting there and supervising the food prepared for her son, Venkatachalapathy. I have never noticed this in my earlier trips to Tirupathi. We then put our offerings in the Srivari Hundi and proceeded to receive the prasadam.

On our way out, we noticed the huge statue of Krishnadevaraya who has done so much for the temple standing in a praying posture along with his two wives.

After eating the Thayir saadha prasadam, we came out to do a little more shopping and then took the bus back down the hill.

After lunch, we left for Tiruchanur. Here the crowd was not much, but the pushing was similar to Mel Tirupathi. Goddess Padmavathy was in direct contrast to the Lord - in full alangaram decked with flowers and jewellery.

We also had darshan of Radha Rukmini sametha Venugopala Swamy and Balarama Krishnar at this temple.

It was about 4.45 pm by the time we got into the bus, but a few passengers were hanging out at the temple for a very long time, delaying our departure by another hour. Finally we left Thiruchanur by 5.45 pm and reached Chennai by 9.30 pm.

Though some people may call this a hectic trip, I feel that it was an excellent deal travelling by an air-conditioned bus, with the food and darshan taken care of.

Thank you Anil, once again for this wonderful opportunity!