Mannar Koil Pavitrotsavam Revival

Kulasekara Azhvaar spent the last years at this place performing daily pooja for Lord Rama, who was his abhisheka deity. To this day, one finds the idols of this Abhisheka idol at this temple.

               Kurungudi Govindan Bhattar

Narasimha Gopalan manages all the Sannidhis at the temple each day of the year. For the Utsavam, he roped in Govindan Bhattar from Thiru Kurungudi Divya Desam (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2017/08/thiru-kurungudi-divya-desam.html) to perform the Homam over the three days. For the first time in several decades, Vedic Recital too was revived at the temple.

Divya Prabhandham Scholars presented the sacred verses of the Saint Poets. Delighted on hearing the news of the revival of the Pavitrotsavam to its past glory, Araiyar Sri Rama Sharma, one of the senior most Araiyars, came all the way from Melkote and was an integral part of the three day Utsavam (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/09/melkote-araiyar-sri-rama-sharma.html).

Avani Thiruvonam
It is just after 6am on the Satru Murai Day (Avani Thiruvonam) of the Pavitrotsavam. It is also the day of the Vaarshika Utsavam, the day the temple was consecrated last.  Prabhandham Scholars from Madras are moving into the temple for the presentation of the verses of Kulasekara Azhvaar (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/03/kulasekara-azhvaar-srirangam-ranganatha.html). Young Vedic Pundits are ready too to chant the Krishna Yajur Vedam.

An hour after hot pongal is served as breakfast for the guests, the homam begins at 9am. On the one side, Prabhandham Scholars are seen presenting the Divya Prabhandham verses while on the other, Sri Krishna Ganapadigal is seen leading the Vedic Recital. The local community at Mannar Koil has gathered in good numbers to witness the final day celebrations.

Shortly after noon, accompanied by the beating of the drums, the sacred water is taken in the Kumbham to the Moolavar Lord for 'Prokshanam'. This process is repeated at the Kulasekara Azhvaar Sannidhi too. 

Cook + Archakar through the year
Presentation of sacred food to the Lord in good quantities was also a special feature of the utsavam. This is particularly significant as Narasimha Gopalan also doubles up as the cook at the Madapalli all through the year for he has no one for support at the temple being the lone service personnel. For the festival, he brought in expert cooks to prepare sumptuous meal for the guests. After 5 hours of devotional activity, the prabhandham scholars and vedic pundits sit for a full means that includes a tasty Thirukanamudhu. The guests are delighted at this great revival anchored by Narasimha Gopalan Acharya.

After a sumptuous meal, Govindan Bhattar leaves for Thiru Kurungudi in his car (Yes, there are priests these days in wealthy Divya Desams who travel by car for Utsavams). Vedic and Prabhandham scholars take a two hour break before congregating again at the temple for the Procession.

Prior to the revival of this utsavam, Narasimha Gopalan helped build, through support from devotees, a rest house in the agraharam where visiting devotees could stay. The conduct of the utsavam on a bigger scale was made possible as the Vedic and Prabhandham Scholars could stay near the temple and also consume traditional food.

76 year old Araiyar Sri Rama Sharma, an expert in agamas and sastras and one who has published over 150 books, made it all the way from Thiru Narayanapuram, Melkote to witness the grand revival of the Pavitrotsavam . Thiru Narayanapuram is one of the only four temples where Araiyar Sevai continues to be presented and his presence at Mannar Koil was an auspicious one for he has been presenting Araiyar Sevai for over six decades, the longest amongst the existing Araiyars. 

He recited the Vedas and the Divya Prabhandham at the Pavitrotsavam at Mannar Koil.

As part of the revival of the Pavitrotsavam in its full traditional form, 29 year old Sri Krishna Ganapadigal led a small group of upcoming vedic scholars and presented Thatakam, Achitram, Aswamedam, Aruna Prakshanam, Krama and Jata Parayanam. 

His message on making this trip to such a remote temple is clear “Our duty is protect Sanathana Dharma. We try our best to impart knowledge from the Vedic Scriptures and get the traditionalists to follow and implement those in their daily lives. Unfortunately, while Vedic Pundits do have a secure life, financially, parents are not willing anymore to send their sons to Patshalas as they do not see this as respectable. If this scenario continues for another few decades, Vedic Education may be lost to the next generation.”

Sri Krishna Ganapadigal’s father  Rajagopala Ganapadigal has been running a Vedic Patshala in Chennai for the last 20 years. 15 students have just graduated from the Patshala.

Youth Integral to the Festival
Naarasimha Gopalan Acharya has also been proactively roping in school boys in and around Mannar Koil to be an integral part of all the Utsavams at the temple, in the process getting the local community involved in the processions. These young boys support the priest in some of the daily activities at the temple.  As part of this process, they are also inculcated into the dharmic way of life and learn important fundamental aspects of life at a very young age. 

Just after 5pm, these boys gather in front of the temple. Some of them even draw kolams in front of homes in the agraharam. For over an hour, the priests are involved in the decoration of the Lord and Kulasekara Azhvaar. The Grand Revival of the Pavitrotsavam culminated with a joint procession of Lord Rajagopalan flanked by Andal and Garudan, along with Kulasekara Azhvaar around the four streets of Mannar Koil providing darshan to devotees. 

Mannar Koil is just under 40kms West of Tirunelveli near Ambasamudram on the banks of two rivers, Tamarai Barani and Karuna River off the Ambasamudram- Tenkasi Highway. There are direct trains from Chennai Egmore to Ambasamudram. Auto from Ambasamudram to Mannar Koil costs Rs.80/-.

R Muthukrishnan holds a Masters Degree in Engineering and was drawing a good salary as a lecturer at an Engineering college in Madurantakam. However, something was missing from his life and he did not feel comfortable in his lecturer’s role. While he was making trips for the big Utsavams to the Sankara Narayana Temple in Ambasamudram, where his forefathers had been performing pooja for several decades, he felt it his duty to perform daily service at the temple. His father had cycled 10kms each day to perform pooja such had been his commitment.