Visit to Kanchipuram based divya desams by Smt Subha in Year 2004

This time my visit to India was mainly due to my Mother's critical situation in the first week of September.  By God's grace she is out of danger now and improving also. My visits to temples could not be well planned due to this reason.  


On 21st, Tuesday, at 6 a.m. I left home and picked up my sister and then we both went to Chrompet to pick up my cousin and her husband near the MIT gate.  We decided not to have any breakfast before having the darshan of Kanchi Perarulalan and Perundevi Thayar (and in fact Perarulalan really stands upto His name and he was feeding us for the whole day wherever we went). So we went directly to the temple.  Your Father could arrange for something even in that short notice given by me and asked me to contact Shri. Satakopan Swamigal near Varadarajar temple.  However, being purattasi month and as there was Desikar festival going on at that time, we could not meet Sri. Satakopan swamigal at his place.  But surprisingly we had wonderful darshan at Varadar temple as my Athimber and my cousin seems to know almost everyone in that temple as he was working in IOB in Selaiyur Branch and all that bhattars and many people in Kanchi seems to have account there.  First we went to Chakkarathalwar Sannidhi, but the sannidhi was not open so we only had a glimpse of Sudarshanar and went around the sannidhi and then went to Thayar Sannidhi first.  Perundevi Thayar is in sitting posture with a warm smile always ready to pore her kindness on the bhagavathas.  While the bhattar was performing the archanai to Thayar, murmuring to himself the mantras, I remembered the few words from Swami Desikan's Sri Sthuthi to this Thayar and how She pored the golden coins to make his word true to the bhagavatha.  I wish the bhattars in some of the temples realise how important that they do the archanai in a sincere way so that everyone can hear the mantras well – as we all are not well versed in any of this and at least hearing it could be good for us.  Anyway that is how it is.  We were discussing this while we were going around to Moolavar sannidhi and at that time, the Nithya Utsavar was going on His every day round and returning to the Sannidhi.  I was mentioning about Sri. Sridharan bhattar in Sarangapani temple and how he performs the kaimkaryam and how he makes bhagavathas to visit the temple by his humble way of serving.  This comment was apparently overheard by the Bhattar who was going around with the Nithya Utsavar.  By the time we reached the Moolavar sannidhi, the Nithya utsavar was already in there and that bhattar was also there in the sannidhi.  To our surprise there were only very few devotees in that early morning and also to our utter surprise, the bhattar in the sannidhi knew my athimber and greeted him even from a distance.  He was very glad to do the archanai and sevai for a long time and gave us a good commentary about the perumal.  Both bhattars were Ragahavan by name and the bhattar who overheard our comments, asked us afterwards as to whether we were satisfied with the sevai and the archanai and was it like the one which Sridharan bhattar in Sarangapani temple would have performed.  He even mentioned that Bhagavathas should openly say it to the Bhattars if they are not satisfied with the way the sevai was performed so that the bhattars also could realise.  It was very humble of both of them to speak in this manner.  We were having the wonderful smiling darshan of the towering figure of Varadar for a long time and this Perumal is so impressive with his very nice smiling face standing all alone to give us all we want and especially to my eyes, after hearing Desikar's Athigiri Mahatmiyam He looks something totally different.  I enquired, as usual, as to how Thirumanjanam is performed for the Moolavar as the Thirumeni is quite huge in size and it must be really difficult to perform Thirumanjanam.  I remembered the thirumanjanam in Oppiliyappan sannidhi in Feb 2003.  They said that they charge anything between Rs.5000 to 10,000 depending upon what the bhagavatha wants for the vastram for Perumal and the number of items for nivedanam.  If Perarulalan is willing may be we can witness a thirumanjanam next year.  I wish my dream comes true.

After this we decided to eat something from the Patthu Kadai in the temple, and here also Geetha and Athimber knew everybody.  Just at that time, Sattrumurai was going on in the sannidhi of Swami Desikan which is very near the Patthu kadai and we thought that we won't be able to have his darshan before leaving the temple premises.  But something else happened to the contrary of what we were thinking.

One Mr. Balajai is running the kadai but his brothers Mr. Ramesh and Krishnan were also there that day as there is a utsavam going on and their family was having "Thadhiaradanai" in Ahobila Mutt that day for the month of Purattasi.  After having a huge breakfast – so called puliyodharai, sarkarai pongal, curd rice, vadai and murukku (well this is supposed to be a breakfast!!!!!!), as we were about to leave the temple, I realized that "Sattrumurai" at Swami Desikan Sannidhi was completed and bhagavathas were going away.  Being the month of Purattasi, I wanted to have the darshan of Swami Desikan at least in one temple and so we rushed to the sannidhi.  Bhattar was about to lock the sannidhi, but seeing us he waited and did the sevai for us.  We were really touched by this gesture from this bhattar – especially given his age – 83- we would not have bothered him to open the sannidhi for us.  Not only this, after the sevai he offered us so much of prasadam that we had to really force it in as we just then had plenty from the patthu kadai.  I was just recollecting the smile on the face of Varadar (and this remained the whole day in my mind as we were sumptuously fed wherever we went).  Last year when I went to this same temple we first had our breakfast on the way and then went to the temple and so the trip was not that great, but this time it was very different.  Another thing to be mentioned here is that the bhattar in Desikar sannidhi refused to take any sambavanai given by us mentioning that he wishes to be in the same health and condition to serve the Acharyan till his end and that he asked to Pray Him to give him this strength.  It is really great, what a personality he is! (especially living in a materialistic society, I was feeling very proud of this person).

After this we went to Balaji's house and greeted his parents and from there we went to Yathokthakari temple.  Well, these temples does not attract crowd at all in this place, but being the month of Purattasi there were atleast few bhagavathas in every temple we visited.  I wish all the months in our calendar are changed to Purattasi so that people visit the temple and take the Lord's blessings all through the year.  Well, these all can only remain as dreams.  The bhattar in this temple is very good and patiently explained us the sthalapuranam of how this perumal came to save the yaga of Brahma when Saraswati was coming-into destroy the yaga in the guise of Vegawathi river.  Also, he explained how this Perumal listened to the words of Thirumazhisai Alwar.  When his disciple Kanikannan refused to sing in praise of the king as he did not want to sing anyone other than Manivannan, the king ordered exile for him and when the Alwar also decided to go with his disciple, the Perumal also rolled his Adhiseshan and got ready to leave the city; and when the king realized his mistake, alwar ordered the perumal to go back to His place and lie down, He obeyed Alwars orders and came back and just to make the world realise this He lied on the reverse side – that is right to left -so that it will remain a proof as to how He gets bonded for real devotion from his Bhaktas.  This was a good commentary and the Bhattar explained it very patiently to us. After having the darshan of Thayar and Andal, we left for Ashtabuyakaram temple.

Bhattar was not there at the time when we went to the temple.  But soon he came in to perform the sevai for us.  This temple has been recently renovated and is in good condition even though there are not many devotees visiting the temple in normal days.  We had good darshan of Perumal and Thayar in this temple and quickly left for Thiruvelukkai.

By the time we could locate this temple, it was about 11.30 and the temple was closed and we were totally disappointed.  But luckily, the bhattar is staying near the temple and seeing us, he came out and opened the temple.  We had good darshan of Sri Yoga Narasimhar and Thayar and also the chakrathalwar.

That day actually one of the TV channels was giving live telecast of Thirumanjanam of Malaiyappan swamigal in Tirumalai performed during the Brahmotsavam and so the bhattar was eager to quickly finish our round and close the temple and go back to witness the live telecast.  We could understand his feelings and made the round quickly and returned to the car.  

Then we went to the Thuppul Sri Desikar sannidhi which is adjacent to Vilakkoli Perumal temple.  We met Sri Vijayamani Bhattar there as informed by Ramadurai Mama.  He was very happy to receive us and everyone there was so hospitable that we were all very much touched by theie gestures.  After having the permission from the Acharyar, we went to see the Deepaprakasar perumal.  Actually the utsavar of this perumal is being kept in Desikar temple as there was Purattasi utsavam going on and after the Thiru Ther of Desikar returns to the temple they were going to have the thirumanjanam for all utsavars in that sannidhi.

We had good darshan of the Deepaprakasar moolavar and Maragathavalli thayar and we had the direct darshan of perumal thiruvadigal as the utsavar was not in the sannidhi.  In this matter, I seem to be very lucky whenever I go to Kanchi – last year I had the thiruvadigal darshanam of Sri Vijaraghavan of Thiruputkuzhi and this year it was Deepaprakasar who was willingly giving me His thiruvadigal darshan.  After this, we wanted to go to Sevilimedu and return directly from there to Madras.  But Sri. Vijayamani bhattar and Ramadurai mama had arranged for one Sri. Pandiyan to go with us to Sevilimedu and wanted us to return via Thuppul temple and have our food there and/or atleast see the alankaram of the utsavars before we leave for Madras.  So we started, but as Pandiyan is working in the temple, he had to buy few Vettirilai for the temple and so he requested us to go to the shop first to pick it up and leave it at the temple and go.  We agreed to this and while we were going to the temple to give that, to our luck Thiru Ther carrying the utsava moorthy of Swami Desikan was approaching the temple and rather we were just almost facing the Ther.  So we had to get out and offer our respects to the Acharyan and so I was lucky enough to take a few photos of the Ther and Acharyan in the Ther.  But still it looked as if it will be long time before they finish the Desika Prabandha parayanams and the utsava moorthy is taken inside the temple.  So we decided to proceed to Sevilimedu.

Then we went to Sevilimedu temple around 12.15 or so.  But the bhattacharyar was rather waiting for us to do the sevai for us.  Well, as you are aware the rajagopuram renovation  (rather breaking off the old construction work which was in dilapidated condition) was going on and so we had to enter through the broken compound wall side.  We went inside and had good darshan of Laksmi Narasimhar moolavar.  Bhattar showed us the Thri netram of Sri Narasimhar (it is somewhat similar to what we have in Singaperumal koil).  Then we went to the Thayar sannidhi and went around the temple.  He mentioned how the utsava moorthis of Sri Vardar of Kanchi is brought to this temple the day before Chitra Pournami for a Thirumanjanam as a token of gratitude to Narasimhar of Sevilimedu as this was the place where the utsavamoorthis were housed during the invasions in the 10th/11th/12th centuries.  It is really astonishing to note that these are all followed to this date and I felt really great about our people.

Bhattar also went around the temple with us and explained us the situation the temple is in at this moment.  When I offered to handover the cheque for the renovation work to him, he rather refused to take it and politely told me to give it to Ramadurai Mama as he is collecting funds for the uttira vasaalkaal and also mentioned the difficulties in taking money or cheque from the bhagavathas and how it will be handled afterwards by the authorities and mentioned that even half of the amount will not go for the real work.  He said that he has also requested Mama to go with him directly to the Sthapathi and select the required materials directly from the dealers and give to the workers and that way he said that it is ensured that the money is used for the right purpose.  So I did as what he told me.  Then he took us to his house nearby, rather we had to make long- and high-jumps to reach the Sannidhi street house and finally we made it.  He was mentioning that his father and the 4 sons in the family are doing the kaimkaryam in 7 temples in and around Kanchi (including Deepaprakasar temple) in order to make both ends meet.  It is sad state of affairs.  He said that there are only very few vaishnavite families nearby and everyone is scared to speak about the illegal encroachments near the temple area and other matters.  I was surprised to note that this is the condition of the temple which is supposed to be under the control of the Hindu Religious Endowment Board.  We had plenty of Puliyodarai and sarkarai pongal as prasadams in his house and also had a good coffee.  After this to my surprise, the lady of the house, that is Smt. Vijayamani Bhattar offered us vettrilai pakku alongwith a blouse piece for all of us (3 ladies) and I was wondering how much a person is able to give when they are in poor condition that too without expecting anything from the other person.  Well, we paid something in return to a child in the family.  While we were returning to Thuppul, we were talking to Pandiyan who was kind enough to wait for us in the car, and came to know that he gets paid Rs.200 as monthly salary for his watchman job in the Deepaprakasar temple.  How sad it is, the man who is supposed to be guarding the temple gets paid this way.  We paid him some money as a token for his service to us.

Well, then we returned to see our beloved Acharyan in Thuppul; the thadiyaradanai was going on at that time and everyone invited us to go and eat.  I and Athimber could not take anything more, but my cousin and my sister were rather getting tempted by the good aroma of our traditional thaligai.  So they decided to taste.  They gave plenty of prasadams to us – boondhi, both sweet and kaaram.  Then I was talking to the organisers of the utsavam and offered some money for the utsavam.  I thought that since the utsavam was going on they may not have any shortage for this year's utsavam.  To my surprise I learnt that every year they have to spend about Rs.4 lakhs for the 10 days utsavam in Purattasi for which Thuppul Vilakkoli Perumal-Swami Desikar Trust is collecting money from all over the place through their contacts.  However, he said that (just before 4 days of Shravanam-the final day of utsavam) they were still having a deficit of Rs.1 lakh for the utsavam and was even hopeful that the Acharyan will make the money reach them and that the utsavam will be done without any problem.  I was really touched by their unconditional faith and was very sure how the whole universe is revolving around the word "HOPE".  First I thought of giving only Rs.2000 or so as cash.  But when I came to know the shortage, I gave them a cheque for Rs.10, 000. I was very happy to contribute at least in a little way for our Acharyan's utsavam.  I had the money which I keep for the kaimkaryams in the needy temples and I was wondering how I decided to go to Kanchi before going anywhere else or was it the Acharyan who was drawing me there first. Well, this should be classified under one of HIS SANKALPAMS.  Immediately after the thadiyaradanai was over they all called me and did a what you call as "Ethir Mariyadai" – well I do not know anything about these things and I was even surprised that I should receive something so big for such a small service.  They gave me the long Pushpa maalai which was adorning Acharyan in the Ther and in the mandapam and I felt very blessed to take it.  After this they gave me so much of prasadams – jilebis, kanchipuram idlis of about a feet length made from Kuzhal - it was cylindrical in shape and I don't even remember the things I received.  In fact it was too much for us as we were only 3 in our house – and that too my Mother cannot eat anything with salt and spice and that leaves only me and my Father.  Luckily we could use the whole lot.  I was only afraid to take so much as prasadam as I was worried about wasting it.  However, I sent plenty to my cousin's house and my sister's house.  After this, they called all of us to go and pay our obeisance to those who did the Satrumarai for the Acharyan and after doing the pranamams a very old man in the group called me near him and offered me the Thamboolam which he was given as a token of respect from the organisers.  I was almost in tears to receive it.  I never even imagined that my humble contribution would be welcomed in such a grand way by the people.  It is a very good feeling and I am rather reliving it at this moment while writing this.

After this we left around 2.30 or so and reached Madras before 4 p.m.  It was a good day trip and I really enjoyed the sevai in all temples even though we were rushing around a lot.  But it was a memorable day.  Only thing we were missing was that Ramaduri Mama could not accompany us as he was tied down with other engagements for the day.  I am sure he would have also enjoyed a lot had he been there.