Sarangapani Koil Naana Bhattar

S Narayanan’s forefathers had performed archaka kainkaryam at the Sarangapani Koil in Thiru Kudanthai (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2017/06/sarangapani-koil-thiru-kudanthai.html). As with temples across Tamil Nadu, things turned for the worse in the 70s and 80s. Service Personnel had begun moving away from Kumbakonam to bigger cities and devotees too found their way out of the ancient temple town seeking greener pastures elsewhere. The devotional wave was still at least a decade away when the teenaged Narayanan completed his Class XII exam. There was not much Thattu Kaasu in those days and with increased cost of living, the priests had begun to feel the pinch. As has been the traditional within the family of priests, one of the sons continues with the temple service while another goes out into the corporate world. His elder stopped academics after Class X and began his service at the temple. Narayanan, a student of Town High School, Kumbakonam,  was a bright student at School and secured well over 1000 marks (out of 1200) and was handed a BE computer science seat at the Shanmugha College. He attended the interview and much to his delight was offered a seat on merit. There were less than 50 Engineering colleges in the state at that time and he felt good to be joining a number of his school class mates at the college. It seemed at that time that the elder brother would be at the Sarangapani Koil while the younger one would find his way into the corporate world and probably somewhere overseas.

The 1990s also saw the first wave of a large number of Engineering students from Tamil Nadu make the trip to the US for their first jobs. Engineers were the flavour the day that decade and Narayanan too wanted to be part of this wave and visualized working in the US as an Engineer from Kumbakonam. When things were looking up for him academically, he found a problem typical of a middle class house hold, especially the priests of Divya Desams. His parents did not have sufficient savings out of the income from the temple service to fund his Engineering education (it was around Rs. 20000 annually) and hence much to his disappointment, he could not graduate as a Computer Science Engineer. Instead he did B. Sc in a local college in Kumbakonam. Alongside his studies, he began performing support services at the Sarangapani Divya Desam from the 1990s. Before he turned 20, his appa passed away that meant a further dent into the finances.

He pursued a Post Graduate Diploma after his graduation and hoped for a job in a local firm but his mind slowly moved away from the corporate thought and he stood transformed from wanting to be an engineer working in the US to a priest following in the footsteps of his forefathers.

He put behind his dreams of going overseas as an engineer and learnt the agamas for a few years from a Vedic Pundit in Kumbakonam. He officially joined the temple in 2003 after his wedding (as per the tradition at the temple, priests can present the entire service only after the marriage) though he had begun supporting his elder brother, Sudarashan Bhattar even earlier but with restrictions. With the 13 days service on offer each month across Sarangapani, Ramaswamy and Chakrapani temples, he has now been serving at these temples as ‘Naana Bhattar’ for the last 18 years.  

During Covid, after the temples closed for devotee darshan for several months last year, Naana Bhattar reconnected on social media with his classmates from school and found that a majority of his mates were overseas in high paying corporate jobs. If he had been able to pay the annual fees in the 1990s, he too may have been in a similar corporate job in the US. Instead he has been serving at the Divya Desam in Thiru Kudanthai without a salary (they perform service as hereditary descendants) depending solely on Thattu Kaasu during the 13day service to make ends meet.  

Interestingly, it is Naana Bhattar that they (his classmates now stationed overseas) reach out to when they encounter a problem in their lives for him to perform an archanai for Sarangapani and Komalavalli Thayar. And they look up to him to provide them with comforting words and solace that the Lord of Thiru Kudanthai will take care of the devotees' problems. When they land in India for a holiday, they are always at the Sarangapani Koil to both see their old school mate as well as invoking the blessings of Perumal and Thayar through his archanai.

Once in a while, the thought crosses his mind, especially when he is in conversation with his old mates in the US and elsewhere overseas, on what might have been had he joined the Engineering course.

But soon he reminds himself that very few in the world can touch Sarangapani Perumal at Thiru Kudanthai Divya Desam, one praised by seven azhvaars and that he has been blessed as one designated to do that service at this historical temple. No amount of corporate compensation and glory can match the happiness of serving Sarangapani and Komalavalli Thayar.

While it is tempting to look at the other side and the financial glory of his batchmates and the settled look,financially, of their families, only a select few in the country get the opportunity to serve at Divya Desams. Money is required to pay the house rent and the bills that crop up every month. To that extent, some amount of financial security is required. With the big devotional wave that has been hitting the TN temples over the last decade, the priests of Divya Desam are beginning to have a reasonably strong run financially, of late. Finally, though, it is the exclusivity of the devotional experience and being with God all through the day that makes the difference. And that experience has an umatched feel about it for Divya Desam Bhattars such as Naana.