Anbil Divya Desam Brahmotsavam Revival

Come this Vaikasi Visakam, the Chariot at the Sundararaja Perumal Divya Desam in Anbil praised by Thirumazhisai Azhwar alongside Thiru Kudanthai, Thiru Evvul, Thiruper and Srirangam, could run for the first time in several centuries with the revival of the annual Brahmotsavam. Inscriptions at the temple point to the running of the Chariot in the 11^th Century AD during the Chozha rule, when lands were donated for the conduct of the Brahmotsavam. The dry run of the Chariot around the outer prakara could take place anytime soon after the local community come together to decide on the next steps on the revival of the Brahmotsavam.

In the not too distant past, there was a vibrant agraharam in Anbil. A Vedic Patshala was an integral part of the Anbil and a mimaamsa conference too had been held there. Historically, this had been a prosperous temple town, but by the turn of the century, hundreds of original inhabitants had left this Divya Desam seeking greener pastures elsewhere in bigger cities, reducing this ancient temple town to just a few traditional Vaishnavite families. Many of the historical utsavams too had become a thing of the past. Joint procession of Sundara Raja Perumal with Lord Purushommar of Uthamar Koil to Coloroon on Maasi Magam remains the biggest festival of the year.

With the sudden and untimely death of Varadaraja Bhattar, who had performed service for close to two decades, his son Aravamudhan took charge of the temple five years ago at the young age of 25. Even as a young boy, while he was being initiated into the Pancharatra Agama in Thiru Vellarai, Aravamudhan felt saddened by the constant query posed to his father by the local community on the absence of the Brahmotsavam and the Chariot Festival in Anbil. His father Varadarajan Bhattar was keen to revive some of the historical utsavams but could not do so during his lifetime.

Soon after he took over, he approached Pon Jayaraman, the JC at the Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple, which administers the Anbil Divya Desam, and presented to him details from inspirations, of the historical utsavams at Anbil. Much to his surprise, he received an immediate nod from the JC to the revival initiatives. 

The last couple of years have been challenging in terms of him having to both take care of the daily poojas as well as initiate steps towards reviving the Brahmotsavam. There were many who were apprehensive of the young priest being able to face up to this daunting task. He has been involved in the process of bringing together the local community in Anbil and the original inhabitants, now located in different parts of the world and their participation has been the most redeeming feature of this revival exercise

Says the 30 year old Aravamudhan Bhattar“Even though I was alone at the Anbil temple, the JC of Srirangam has constantly encouraged me to try and get back the vibrancy at this Divya Desam. Almost all the new Vahanams that will carry Sundara Raja Perumal are now in place. The new chariot, that has exquisite sculptures depicting historical stories, is now ready for the trial run around the outer prakara.”

An original inhabitant of Anbil, Satish Varadarajan immediately agreed to drive the construction of the new Chariot when he heard from Aravamudhan Bhattar that the temple was looking to revive the historical utsavams. He also responded by funding the construction of new Vahanams ahead of the Brahmotsavam. Over the last couple of years, the temple has been undertaking the construction of the new Chariot and the Vahanams under the watchful eyes of Aravamudhan Bhattar. Like this devotees, many other original inhabitants of Anbil have expressed to support the revival of the utsavams at the temple. The local community has already supported the construction of the Chariot with small contributions in the process including those such as taking care of transport charges and labour charges.

Hanumuntha Vahanam, Kalpaka Vriksham and Elephant Vahanam are wearing a fresh look at the temple.The Serthi Mandapam, where the Lord will make his way on the 7^th day of the Brahmotsvam as well as on the occasion of Panguni Uthiram, has been reconstructed. 

Buoyed by the efforts of Aravamudhan Bhattar, JC Pon Jayaraman has now posted a young Paricharakar, Srinivasan, who had previously been at the Madapalli in Srirangam, to manage the Madapalli in Anbil paying him a sizeable Sambhavanai through Venu Srinivasan’s TVS Trust. The presentation of Thaligai to Lord Vadivazhagiya Nambi is also taking a traditional turn and getting back to old times. 

Several thousand devotees have already expressed interest to pull the chariot during the Brahmotsavam, such is the interest among the local community in Anbil and around. Not only that, both the local community and the original inhabitants of Anbil have already committed to taking care of the entire Brahmotsavam expenses, which comes as quite a relief to the Bhattar. Some historical lands belonging to the temple have also been recovered in the recent past making the temple financially stronger. 

Once the Brahmotsavam is revived, Aravamudhan Bhattar is hopeful of reviving the Pavitrotsavam and Dolotsavam as well. The story goes that historically the utsavams in Anbil were as vibrant as those in Srirangam. With the efforts of Aravamudhan Bhattar and the strong support from the local community, it is possible that the vibrancy could come back to Anbil in the future.

The revival of the Brahmotsavam and the Chariot festival is the first step in that direction.

Anbil is located about 15kms from Srirangam, near Lalgudi. Express Trains stop from Chennai stop at Lalgudi. Express buses ply every 15 minutes from Chatiram bus stand in Trichy to Lalgudi. From Lalgudi, there are frequent mini bus services to Anbil (6kms). In times gone by, devotees used to cross the Coloroon to reach Koviladi Appakudathaan Divya Desam on the Southern side of the river.

The temple is open from 7.30 am -12.30 pm and 4 pm-8 pm

A version of this story featured in The Hindu Friday Review dated March 13