Uraiyur Kamalavalli Nachiyar Consecration

The scenario a year ago at the Thiru Mangai Azhvaar praised Uraiyur Kamalavalli Nachiyar Divya Desam, the birth place of Thirupaan Azhvaar (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2009/03/thirupaanazhvaar.html) seemed a replica of the existing state of temples in Tamil Nadu and resembled the one that existed at the Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam, prior to 2015. A dark madapalli with very little ventilation, debris strewn all over in front of the entrance to the cooking area, a tank in a dilapidated state, stagnating water across the temple with no system to allow excess water into the tank and a historical mandapam converted into a Anna Dhanam zone. Devotees were no different with little patience to carry the excess Kungumam or Manjal resulting in almost every one of pillars stashed with oil stains and turmeric marks. 

Centuries ago, such ancient Divya Desams were renowned for Nandavanam, from where sacred flowers were presented to the Lord and Thaayar. Unfortunately, this too was seen in a forlorn state with debris forming a major part of the area, a result of waste from the temple being thrown into this sacred zone. The roof of the temple too required a lot of repair works.

As seen in most temples in recent times, the ancient stone flooring had been converted to cement pasting.

Anyone with an interest in historical structures would have found it distressing after a visit to the Uraiyur Divya Desam a year ago for most of the ancient zones had been converted for more modern purposes.

While the scale of this restoration was nowhere near as massive as the one seen at the Srirangam temple, Venu Srinivasan got down to yet another transformational exercise (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2017/11/venu-srinivasan-srirangam-temple.html).  While his official tag is that of the Chairman Board of Trustees, he refers to himself  as one in 'Service of the Devotees' and sees this as an exercise

The worst of the deterioration in the last few years was the Vasantha Mandapam which had been converted to an anna dhanam center. By moving it to another location within the complex, the Vasantha Mandapam has been restored to its historical status. Come next year, one will be able to witness the Vasanthotsavam as seen in the past.

One of the features of the current exercise has been the restoration of the madapalli to its traditional format. For long, the madapalli had been in a dilapidated condition. The debris has been fully removed.  A special arrangement has also been made for storage of provisions at the madapalli. Simultaneously, new personnel are also being hired for the madapalli and sri patham at the temple and are likely to be onboard soon.

The temple tank was in a poor state filled with filth. This has been refurbished fully and is ready for the Theppotsavam in Maasi. A state of the art rain water harvesting is a new feature at the temple with a system created for redirecting water into the tank. Also, a system has been introduced to direct waste water away from the temple.

The Nandavanam too has been restored to its historical looks with the planting of a number of sacred flower bearing saplings as described by the Azhwars. Within the next few months, it is likely the sacred flowers will once again begin to be presented to Azhagiya Manavalan and Kamalavalli Nachiyar from the Nandavanam.

The entire temple complex wears a fresh look. For the first time, the Raja Gopuram at the Northern Entrance has been given a multi colour coating. All the vimanams too have received a fresh coat of painting. All the pillars have been water washed and the oil and turmeric stains removed. Recent additions like cement flooring has been replaced with natural cut stone flooring. A new electrical duct system has been installed across the entire temple complex. A number of damaged tiles have been replaced on the roof. Previously, toilets were inside the temple complex. This has been dismantled completely.

The legend of this Divya Desam relates to the love story of Kamalavalli Nachiyar and her wedlock with the handsome young lad Ranganatha of Srirangam. Every year in the month of Panguni, a significant event takes place at the Uraiyur temple. Lord Ranganatha, in all his splendour, leaves the Srirangam temple at 4am to take the 6 km journey across the Cauvery in a golden palanquin to meet his beloved Kamalavalli Naachiyar for the ‘Kalyana Utsavam’(marriage festivities). On this auspicious day in the month of Panguni, the entire marriage formalities between Lord Ranganatha and Kamalavalli Nachiyar is enacted at the Uraiyur Temple. Lord Ranganatha takes the trip back to Srirangam across the Cauvery that same night.

Kamalavalli Nachiyar is seen in a grand sitting posture, all set to get married. Being the handsome man in wedding attire, Lord Ranganatha here is called ‘Azhagiya Mana Vaalan’. A speciality of this temple is that this is the only Divya Desam (out of the 108) where the Goddess is facing the Northern direction, in this case in the direction of the Srirangam Ranganatha temple.

The Samprokshanam took place between 830am and 10am last Sunday (Sept 1) morning. 

The temple is open from 630am -12noon & 4pm - 8pm. Contact  : SK Rangaraja Bhattar @ 94433 07605 or 0431 2437605.

A few of the other restoration works undertaken by Venu Srinivasan

https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2017/02/erettai-tirupathi-transformation.html

https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/thothadri-nathan-temple-in-a-new-avatar/article22980775.ece

https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2017/08/thiru-kurungudi-shiva-sannidhi_3.html

https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2018/09/sripandaram-krishna-jayanthi-utsavam.html

https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2018/03/nanguneri-vanamamalai-divya-desam.html