Mannargudi Rajagopalaswamy Panguni Garuda Sevai

It’s just after 7.30pm on Wednesday (March 22), the 12th day of the 18 day Panguni Brahmotsavam and a few rounds of fire crackers have gone up around the temple complex alerting the residents to the start of the much awaited Garuda Sevai procession at the Rajagopalaswamy temple in Raja Mannargudi, referred to as Dakshina Dwaraka. It is a temple where many  physically challenged Dikshithars have been performing service for decades (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/09/mannargudi-rajagopalaswamy-temple.html).

53 year old Nattaamai Murugaiyan arrives at the temple leading a team of 40 Sripatham members. He has been at the temple since the time he was 8 years old. His Grandfather, uncles and his appa had performed the Sripatham service and his family has performed the role of the leader of the Sripatham team for several generations. He himself has been carrying Rajagopalaswamy on his shoulders since the time he was 18 years old.

Earlier in the day, the set of hereditary priests, comprising of those in their 20s and a few in their 60s and 70s, worked for hours to get the Lord decorated atop the Garuda Vahana. It is an alankaram that each of them take great pride in. From the crown to the vastram, from the glittering kaasu maalai to the large flower garlands, they pay attention to minute aspects to beautify the already handsome perumal. At 6pm, when the screen opens for devotees to have their first look at Rajagopalaswamy atop the Garuda Vahana, one spots a certain delight in each of the priests having worked on this special presentation.

It is a huge temple with 7 prakarams, 16 towers, 18 Vimaanams and 24 Sannidhis housed in 33 acre area with an equal area (33 acres) for the temple tank. A majestic looking moolavar Para Vasudevan seen with a conch, maze and discus and a beautiful and alluring utsavar Rajagopalaswamy with dangling Kundalam in one ear and an earring in the other ear keep the devotees devotionally glued.

The lights have gone up at the Rajagopuram and the entire place wears a grand festive look. A loud devotional cheer erupted when the Sripatham lifted the Lord for the night long procession. Devotees had lined up the entire long pathway to the Eastern Raja Gopuram, among the tallest in TN at 154 feet. The Deepaarathanai at the Raja Gopuram is an important moment at the start of the procession and the faces of devotees lit up as the Bhattar’s hands went up.

The biggest crowd of the evening was at the Theradi where devotees in several hundreds thronged for the darshan of the Twin Kudai being posted atop the Lord. Every year, this is a location where Rajagopalaswamy stops for close to an hour but with the makeshift bus stand that has come within 50 yards, he made a move quite quickly into the busy bazaar street.

Much to everyone’s surprise he was at Pandaladi at the East end of bazaar street by 9.30pm. It is the location where the Garuda Sevai devotee donors are provided a special darshan and mariyathai.

The big team of Sripatham personnel take a well earned rest after a 90 minute procession through the crowded bazaar street.  Nattaamai Murugaiyan is seen mingling with his team members. He is a Mason by profession but has been performing this as a Kainkaryam for almost five decades now. He looks back at the Garuda Sevai evening from almost five decades ago “People think that this is big and unmanageable crowd but when I was young, this day would attract devotees from all the surrounding villages. There would be no place to stand from the Sannidhi to end of the Bazaar street. This was the big day in the year for them as they all came here ahead of the procession to have darshan of the Moolavar Lord and then of Rajagopalaswamy on the Garuda Vahana. Now most of the original inhabitants have migrated to cities and the Garuda Sevai crowd is not like what it was in the past. People now watch the procession on social media (whats app videos and so on) and they don’t make the time to spend the night through the procession.”

Each of the Sripatham members get paid Rs. 700 for a procession.  But Murugaiyan says that for him and his team members, this is service to Lord. "A lot of the members are farmers and masons and we do this as a Kainkaryam carrying on the service that our forefathers had performed and passed on to us.”

Murugaiyan’s sons too have shown interest in the Sripatham Service and they too are keen to carry on the kainkaryam into the future.

Past 10.30pm, the street lights in Mannargudi are switched off, an indication that that the tall Chapparam is ready to make its way from the Raja Gopuram to Pandaladi.  By 11pm, the Sripatham personnel mounted Rajagopalaswamy on to the Chapparam in the same way the personnel at Thiru Kannapuram Divya Desam did on the Garuda Sevai night in Maasi (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2023/03/thiru-kannapuram-maasi-garuda-sevai.html) and Perumal began his night long procession on the Chapparam via the Four Mada Streets. 

Back on those streets, where in the century gone by traditionalists lived in thousands, ladies are drawing devotional white kolams in front of their homes to welcome the Lord on this Garuda Sevai night. The entire South street is dotted with pulli kolams late into the night. The noise from the huge crowd at 8pm has transformed to silence with residents waiting quietly in front of their homes to present coconuts and fruits to Rajagopalaswamy and to have a peaceful darshan on this 'dark' night following the Ammavaasai.

Time is up for Nattaamai Murugaiyan and his team members for the night and they are back home for a well earned rest as the Chapparam turns on to the Mada Street. For the 40 members, the next service starts early next morning when the Lord makes his way on the Chapparam to the Theradi for them to carry Rajagopalaswamy back to his abode via the Raja Gopuram.

For Chief Murugaiyan, it is all about leadership and team work and he is seen motivating his members to perform this service to the best of their ability as he heads back for a well earned night’s rest.