A Two Day Utsavam to celebrate Lord Krishna’s birthdaymarked by a joint street procession of Namperumal and the ‘Birthday boy’
Favourite Delicacies of Child Krishna presented to him
Favourite Delicacies of Child Krishna presented to him
Unprecedented Devotee Crowd at Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam - The Temple set to rake in over Rs. 1 crore (from Rs. 250 ticket alone) as part of the Cauvery Pushkaram event
தேட்டருந்திறல்தேனினைத்தென்னரங்கனை
திருமாதுவாழ்வாட்டமில்வனமாலைமார்வனை
வாழ்த்திமால்கொள்சிந்தையராய்
ஆட்டமேவியலந்தழைத்து
அயர்வெய்தும்மெய்யடியார்கள்
தம்ஈட்டம்கண்டிடக்கூடுமேல் அதுகாணும்பயனாவதே
In line with that praise, those that made it to Srirangam, till the 2ndhalf of the previous century, were those that sought Total Surrender with the Lord. Hence those with still desirous interests left in life did not make it too often here!!!
In fact till the 1970s and 80s, it was the Mariamman temple in Samayapuram where devotees thronged and the Srirangam temple’s expenses were funded from the collections at the Samayapuram temple, a then sub-temple of the Ranganathaswamy Temple.
Except for a period in the year (Thula Month) when devotees from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka made their way to the temple, the Ranganathaswamy temple was mostly ‘unvisited’ with the local residents constituting over 90% of the devotee crowd through a large part of the year. Unlike the current scenario, one could stand in front of the Moolavar Lord for a long period of time each day and many times a day!!!
What a drastic change it has been this week from those decades gone by in the previous century as the temple saw unprecedented never before seen crowds.
Krishna Jayanthi Celebration
Typically, the two day celebration on the occasion of Krishna Jayanthi attracts only local residents numbering a 100 or so and that’s been the trend over the last several decades. But this year the Utsavam coincided with the Cauvery Pushkaram event and the locals were in for a shock. Just after 5 am on Wednesday morning, over 10000 devotees from the across the country had gathered before the Arya Bhattal Vaasal for a darshan of Moolavar Lord Ranganatha.
Periyazhvaar’s verses on Child Krishna
To mark the occasion of Krishna Jayanthi, the Araiyars of Srirangam presented the favourite ‘Pillai Tamizh’ verses of Periyazhvaar on Krishna at the Pandaram Mandapam.
Through the verses on Child Krishna, Periyazhvaar in a beautiful poetic expression of the growth of a new born lures every mother to sing for her child. Through these verses, Periyazhvar helps a devotee visualize and enjoy the infant to boyhood stages of Krishna portraying the joyful pleasures of a doting mother with a clever and mischievous child.
வெண்ணெய்அலைந்தகுணுங்கும்
விளையாடுபுழுதியும்கொண்டு
.....எண்ணெய்புலிப்பழம்கொண்டு
எத்தனைபோதும்இருந்தேன்
The Araiyars also presented the ‘Sacred Oil’ to the Ghosti at the Thirumanjanam.
காயய்சினநீரோடுநெல்லிகடாரத்தில்பூரித்துவைத்தேன்…………………………..
மஞ்சளும் செங்கழுநீரின் வாசிகையும்
நாறு சாந்தும் அஞ்சனமும் கொண்டு வைத்தேன்
Favourite delicacies of Child Krishna
Later in the evening, the favourite delicacies that Krishna used to grab during his childhood pranks were prepared and presented (அப்பம்கலந்தசிற்றுண்டிஅக்காரம்பாலிற்கலந்து)referred to as ‘Sangupaal’.
Historical Inscriptions on the Krishna Jayanthi dishes
Historically, these favourite dishes were presented to Lord Krishna at his Sannidhi on the occasion of his birthday, as seen from the inscriptions at this temple dating back a 800 years.
கன்றுகள்ஓடச்செவியில்
கட்டெறும்புபிடித்துஇட்டால்
தென்றிக்கெடும்ஆகில்
வெண்ணெய் திரட்டிவிழங்குமாகாண்பன்
Krishna’s Oil Presentation
On Thursday morning, Lord Krishna was scheduled to leave his abode inside the Arya Bhattal Vaasal for his morning procession just after 7am but with the ‘Cauvery Pushkaram’ crowd waiting at the gate in several thousands, it was decided that the Moolavar darshan could not be held up till 730am!!!
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And thus, he began the procession around the four Chitrai streets an hour early catching even the local residents off-guard and by surprise.
A highlight of the hour long procession was the presentation of the ‘Sacred Oil’ that the devotees applied on their head and ‘Mochai Sundal’.
A Joint once in a year Procession
For the only time in the year, Lord Namperumal made his way on a joint procession with Krishna later in the day to the Yadava ‘Uriyadi’ Mandapam on the banks of the Cauvery.
In centuries gone by, at the South Chitrai Street, the descendents of the Yadava clan would climb the tree in the way a young child Krishna would climb trees to pick up his favourite eats. However this has been done away with in recent decades.
எண்ணெய்குடத்தைஉருட்டி
இளம்பிள்ளைகில்லிஎழுப்பிக்
கண்ணைபுரட்டிவிழித்துக்கழகண்டு…………………
உண்ணக் கனிகள் தருவன்
Krishna takes a fast run back into his abode!!!
The moment the eats are knocked out from the pots, there was no looking back and Krishna in a symbolic gesture, of grabbing his dishes begins a fast paced run to the temple never to look back again till he reached the sanctum inside the Arya Bhattal Vaasal!!!
Over the fortnight of this event, the temple is expected to rake in income of over Rs. 1 crore!!!