Keeping to the promise he made to his grandfather as a school boy, Vignesh Gurukal is dedicating his lifetime to this remote temple despite no income
Referred to in historical times as Visweswarapuram, the centuries old Jambunatha Swamy temple in Ranganathapuram is located amidst greenery about 15kms from Mannargudi. The sixth generation priest 30 year old Vignesh Gurukal is now performing archaka service at the temple. His Great Great Grandfather Jambu Gurukal had performed service in the latter part of the 19th century.
Through the previous century, his grandfather Panchapakesa Gurukal served at the temple till the age of 92 seeing through really challenging times, though in the 1st half the town was prosperous with the priest receiving 80 kalam paddy. The Zamins of the period took good care of the temple and the priest. Joint family system was still in vogue and the large family of the priest lived in the small house opposite the temple. With the traditional residents in the once vibrant North and South Agaraharam moving away to cities in the decade starting 1960, the temple’s infrastructure deteriorated and by the latter half of the century it had fallen into a dilapidated state. There was no income at the temple and devotees turned up in very few numbers and that on select occasions. All the utsavams had come to a halt. There were no processions inside or outside the temple.
With the 2nd half of the 20th century being really terrible for the temple towns in TN, more so the remote ones, it would have been justified for this family to have moved away from the hereditary service. However, Panchapakesan Gurukal took a promise in the late 1990s from the then school going grandson Vignesh that he would carry forward the tradition irrespective of the financial challenges he has to face in life. “Appa’s philosophy was that we are blessed to be performing abhisekam for Jambunathar and irrespective of the financial situation, we should continue the pooja” recalls 62 year old Santhanam Gurukal, who served as a postman in the village while also performing archaka service at the temple.
A Life Time Commitment
When Vignesh was ten, he was keen to pursue academics for he was doing well at school but by then he was already supporting his grandfather in the daily pooja and that had created a devotional interest in him in archaka service. When his grandfather asked him to continue the service, he agreed and kept to the commitment. At 11, he moved to the patshala in Pillayarpatti where he was initiated into the Saiva Agama for six years.
Message from his Guru
When he was in Pillayarpatti, his acharya at the Patshala Pichai Gurukal handed him a strong devotional message “You have learnt the agamas for six years. Do not forget your grandfather’s temple. You should perform at least one kaala pooja every day during your lifetime.”
Vignesh Gurukal was initiated into the consecration processes by the now famous Avarani Sundar. He received the Shiva Deekshai at the historical Thyagaraja temple in Thiruvarur and joined the temple when he was just 17years old. He has been performing archaka service at the temple for just over a decade for which he gets a salary of Rs. 1000 once every three months from the HR & CE.In addition to the Akilandanayaki Jambunatha Swamy temple, he also performs pooja at the Ayyanar and Kali temples in Ranganathapuram.
In the decade he has been at the Jambunatha temple, he has received lucrative offers from across the country but he is committed to continuing the service at this temple. He is currently anchoring the restoration exercise. He is keen to revive the Nandavanam that was once integral to the temple. The last Kumbabhisekam took place three decades ago. He is keen to perform the consecration sometime in the near future.
“The income may be low and original inhabitants may have left the town but I have promised a commitment to this temple and performing service here gives a lot of satisfaction” says Vignesh Gurukal.
He is fully aware that if he leaves the temple seeking greener pastures, the lights will not burn at the temple. “My heart does not permit to allow the temple to get into that state.”
Vignesh Gurukal can be contacted @ 96559 88448