Punnai Nallur Kothandaramar temple Venkatesa Bhattar

This section had featured a story in 2020 as to how the Thanjavur Palace had found it financially challenging till the mid-1980s to manage the temples under its administration. The consecration of the Big Temple in Thanjavur had not taken place for over 150years. It was only after the current leader Prince Babaji Rajah Bhonsle took charge did the situation turn around for the better (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/06/thanjavur-palace-babaji-rajah-bhonsle.html). One of the temples managed by the Palace is the Saligrama Kothandarama temple in Punnai Nallur, a few kms east of Thanjavur and near the now popular Mariamman temple (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2012/03/punnai-nallur-mariamman-temple.html).

57 year old Venkatesa Bhattar, who has now been the priest for over two decades, was a young boy in the 1970s when he saw the temple take a turn for the worse. His appa Vijayaraghava Bhattar performed archaka service at the temple for close to five decades before his death at the turn of the century. His grandfather had served through the first half of the 20th century at this temple.

Venkatesa Bhattar recounts as to how from a vibrant temple once upon a time, the temple saw a slowdown as a result of the mass exodus of original inhabitants “Not so long ago, there were around 25 service personnel, including Paricharakas, Adyapakas and Vedic Scholors at the temple but when the overall situation turned bad in the 70s, most of them left Punnai Nallur seeking greener pastures elsewhere leaving my appa as the only long standing person serving at the temple. Though it was a financially challenging time for the family, my appa took upon the Kainkaryam for Ramar as his sole focus in life. He lived all his life with Ramar and had the fullest faith that in the long run the Lord would take care of him and his family.”

He looks back at his life from his school days in the 1970s “My appa received one bag of Paddy every month and 8 Pattai Rice every day. For the first 15days, we survived on this and then every second fortnight of the month, it was a big struggle to manage the large household. There was minimal thattu kaasu with the original inhabitants having all gone away.”

There was not enough oil to light the lamp.  There were very few devotees at the temple. Vijayaraghava Bhattar would eagerly wait for the next devotee to arrive but it almost always proved elusive in that phase. Rama Navami was the only utsavam of the year that attracted some crowd. It was a lonely sortfeeling for him but he always told his family members that with Kothandaramar for company, one should not ask for

Babaji Rajah Bhonsle had told this writer in an earlier conversation a few years ago that soon after he took over in the mid 1980s, he found that the next gen of most of the archakas in his 88 temples had chosen a life outside of the temples and that there was always a shortage of service personnel.

Venkatesa Bhattar now proudly looks back at his appa’s devotional commitment that stood the test of time “Like many others in that phase, my appa too received lucrative offers from temples including from Singapore but he had great devotional strength and was attached to Saligrama Kothandaramar. It was a time when the financial situation in the family was terrible and there was no money even for the next meal at home. Taking such an offer would have easily turned around our fortunes at that time but he simply refused it and stuck with Ramar all through his life.”

                                        Vijayaraghava Bhattar

Even as Venkatesa Bhattar watched his appa take this decision, it taught him a big lesson - that of continuing the hereditary service at the feet of Ramar irrespective of the challenges that comes his way.

The large family lived for decades in a thatched hut. Stricken by poverty, Venkatesa Bhattar quit school early and went to work in Thanjavur in the 1980s. During the off days, Venkatesa Bhattar supported his appa in temple kainkaryam. 

At the turn of the century, Vijayaraghava Bhattar’s health deteriorated. Kainkaryam at the feet of Rama was a service that the family had committed to. Venkatesa Bhattar was then in his 30s and had a family to take care of including a young son and a daughter but he had no second thoughts on quitting his job. His wife backed him fully in this endeavor to serve Lord Rama and he joined the temple at a salary of Rs. 900.  

Soon after, his appa passed away, in 2002. 

The first decade at the temple continued to be a struggle like it had been for his appa. Venkatesa Bhattar, who had learned the Vaikanasa agama from Seshadri Bhattar of Thadalan Divya Desam in Sirkazhi (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2008/05/kaazhicheeraama-vinnagaram.html), was the sole priest at the temple. 

This writer had featured a story in The Hindu Friday Review just over a decade ago on the renovation works (https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/history-and-culture/ancient-temple-gets-a-face-lift/article2012090.ece) at the temple. Following the consecration that took place after three decades, the temple wore a fresh look and saw a positive transformation. Vahana processions were revived. Devotee crowd has increased dramatically to over 500 people on Saturdays from around 20 in the pre consecration phase. Devotees now look forward eagerly to the special alankaram for Anjaneya for whom the Bhattar has also sourced a glittering Kavacham. The devotees are thronging the temple in big numbers on Puratasi Saturdays. 

Over the last decade or so, Venkatesa Bhattar has revived a lot of the historical traditions. He performs a Thirumanjanam every Punarvasu for Ramar. On special occasions, Devotees have been able to enjoy the Garuda and Sesha Vahana processions during the Panguni Utsavam. He is hoping that by next year there will be a vahana procession on all days of the Rama Navami Utsavam.

He has found great peace within himself over the last two decades serving at this temple “Performing Kainkaryam at Rama’s feet is a special feeling and it’s quite unmatched in terms of the satisfaction.” Venkatesa Bhattar is grateful to the Prince for the solid increase in the salary for the archakas under his administration that has now gone up to Rs. 14000 from Rs. 450 that his appa earned at the time of his retirement. In recent times, Babaji Rajah Bhonsle has also launched medical schemes for archakas serving at his temples. Overall they are now well taken care of and as foreseen by Vijayaraghava Bhattar, Saligrama Kothandaramar has kept this family under his watchful eyes and blessed them with a life that each of the members is happy  with.

Venkatesa Bhattar's son in law (Ashwin Bhattar) is at the Shiva Vishnu temple in T. Nagar, Madras and his brothers too are archakas in temples under the Palace’s administration. He is hoping that one day in the near future his son would take over the Kainkaryam from him and continue the hereditary service that this family has been performing for over a hundred years.

Venkatesa Bhattar has showcased both to the archaka world as well as to the devotees that if you are devotionally committed to the Lord and have the fullest faith in him, it is likely that you will be well taken care of in life.