The Largest Renovation exercise at the Thiru Mangai Azhvaar praised Divya Desam is being single handedly anchored by this priest
The shifting of the HR & CE office from Thiru Mangai Azhvaar's Sannidhi will lead to the revival of the utsavam in his celebration every Karthigai star of the month
49 year old Gopinathan Bhattar has been the most recognizable face to almost the entire set of devotees at Nachiyar Koil Divya Desam in Thiru Narayur, now popular for the Kal Garuda Sevai. He joined the temple as a teenager in the late 1980s to support his appa Pakshirajan Bhattar, who had served as an archaka at the temple for five decades. When he joined the temple, the scenario was still bleak with very minimal devotees, a low three digit salary and an almost non-existent Thattu Kaasu.
With his thatha and appa having served here for a large part of the 20th century, Gopi Bhattar was keen to continue the service at this temple despite the financial challenges. He discontinued academics in his early teens and learned the agama from Seshadri Bhattar of Thaadaalan Divya Desam in Sirkazhi in the 2nd half of the 1980s.
Financial Poverty- Severe Hardship
In the midst of overseeing every activity at the large scale renovation that is currently on at Nachiyar Koi, Gopi Bhattar recounts the phase when he came back to this historical temple town after his agama initiation “In the late 1980s, there were very few devotees. All the original inhabitants had left the town in search of jobs. Archakas who stayed back were ones for whom kainkaryam was everything. Unlike today, an archaka could spend a lot of time with God performing Thiru Aradhanam.”
My appa had given up the hereditary service in the late 1960s following the challenging period when financial poverty the family and instead opted for a HR & CE salary. The low appa from those days was not enough to sustain our family.
The Delight when the Outstation devotee arrived
Pakshirajan Bhattar had a 7 ½ days service here at Nachiyar Koil and 20 days at Nandipura Vinnagaram Divya Desam in Nathan Koil. It was with the paddy from the temple that the family survived that phase. In the centuries gone by, this had been in large quantities and that ensured financial security for the priests. But as decades passed by in the 2nd half of the previous century, the quantity began reducing substantially leading to financial challenges for the priest.
“Whenever he received Thattu Kaasu from rare visits from outstation devotees, the family was overjoyed and all of us would count the cash. Three hundred rupees on that rare day felt like a crore of rupees for we had never seen such money for several years” says Gopi Bhattar of those rare days of joy for the family.
The BIG IDEA- 7 week Prarathana at Garuda Sannidhi
One day, when Gopi Bhattar was still in his teens, he pondered over the options to turn around the fortunes of this historical Divya Desam praised in a 100 verses by Thiru Mangai Azhvaar who saw Thiru Narayur Nambi as his Acharya. In the past, Nachiyar Koil had been one of the richest temples in the region with over 100 veli of land. Naidus were the ones who managed the temple as trustees prior to the entry of the HR & CE officials in the early part of the 20th century. All the utsavams were conducted by the temple. There was no concept of ubayams and donors. Not one rupee was taken from the donar for the conduct of the festivals. The devotees just had to be part of the festivities and offer their prayers to the Lord and seek his blessings. The trustees acted in a fair and transparent way and there was happiness all around.But in the second half of the previous century, there was a drastic turnaround for the worse. Prabhandham recital had been a daily feature at the temple. Smarthas presented Veda Parayanam every evening at Nachiyar Koil. Theerthakars were also present. Now there are just a handful. There are just a couple of Brahmin families in this once sacred town that had been praised with a century of verses by Thiru Mangai Azhvaar as one that was wealthy and prosperous.
While Gopi Bhattar was engaged in a discussion with Pichumani (Sirkazhi Badri Narayana Bhattar’s brother) on the turnaround strategy, he came up with the idea of a 7 week Prarthana pooja on Thursday for Kal Garuda. The pooja for 7 weeks was priced at Rs. 65. Over the next few years, a few hundred devotees took to this Prarthana and the word spread around about this new offering at Nachiyar Koil and more devotees began to visit the temple on Thursdays.
While this was resulted in some improvement for the priests, things continued to be bleak at the temple and the finances were just not good enough for the sustenance of his family. Just under two decades ago, he took the overseas offer from Krishnan Koil in Singapore after a lead from Muthu Bhattar of Madras Sanskrit College. It turned around his financial fortunes immediately. In that temple, he earned in one month what would have taken him several years at Nachiyar Koil. Over the next decade, he served at many overseas temples including in Malaysia and Australia “After decades of financial poverty, the devotees’ belief in my selfless service led them to offer me opportunities in multiple countries.”
These stints in overseas temples led him to great financial security.
Thiru Mangai Azhvaar's scores a Century here
Thiru Narayur is one of the only two Divya Desams where Thiru Mangai Azhvaar has sung a century of verses. He was initiated with the Pancha Samskaram and hence saw the Lord as his Acharya. Both the Madals – Siriya and Periya Thiru Madal are also dedicated to the Lord of Thiru Naraiyur. In his praise, he has described the town and its people as it was during his times, the festivals, the greatness of the Lord and has compared the temple with other temples such as Srirangam. He says that he saw the Lord at Thiru Naraiyur as the one he had seen in a handsome standing posture at Thiru Venkatam.
மாண் கொண்ட தோல் மார்வின் மாணியாய்
மாவலி மண் தான் கொண்டு தாளால் அளந்த பெருமானே
தேன் கொண்ட சாரல் திருவேங்கடத்தானை
நான் சென்று நாடி நறையூரில் கண்டேனே
The Green Fields of Thiru Naraiyur
During his times, the Lord was surrounded by Areca and Fruit orchards. The fields were fertile and different varieties of fish danced around in the waters. The Cuckoos came in large numbers and pecked on the Mango Trees. Peacocks danced to the tunes of the bees, swans swam in pairs and drank nectar from the lotuses and soon after slept around the lotuses. He also found Jack Fruit with honey oozing out on to the trees. Another stand out feature of Thiru Naraiyur was the huge Plantation fields where huge bunch of bananas were seen slipping out of the branches.
களை கொண்ட பலங்கனிகள் தேன் பரிய
கதலிகளின் தில்லை கொண்ட பழம் கெழுமித்
திகழ் சோலைத் திருநறையூர்
Ripe Paddy grew in the green fields along with beautiful red lotuses. Tall Sugarcane plants were also seen in big numbers in the fields of Naraiyur.
சீர் தழைத்து கதிர்ச் செந்நெல் செங் கமலத்து இடை இடையில்
பார் தழைத்துக் கரும்பு ஓங்கிப் பயன் விளைக்கும் திருநறையூர்
Flowers @ Thiru Naraiyur
Different varieties of flowers were seen in the groves of Thiru Naraiyur. The bees moved from the fragrant Shenbagam and Mullai flowers to the Vakula and Panal flowers. One still finds a huge Nandavanam inside the temple complex with huge trees.
Mani Mada Koil
A speciality of the 100 verses in the Periya Thiurmozhi is a decad dedicated completely to Ko Chenganan Chozhan in recognition of the beautiful construction of the first Mani Mada Koil in a Perumal temple after having completed the construction of 70 such Saivite temples (http://prtraveller.blogspot.in/2014/12/ko-chenganan-and-nachiyar-koil-divya.html).
முருகிலங்கு கனிதுவர்வாய் பின்னை கேள்வன் மன்னெல்லாம் முன்னவியச்சென்று
வென்றிச் செருக்கழுத்துத் ததிறலழிய செற்ற வேந்தன் சிறந்துணிந்தான் திருவடினும் சென்னிவைப்பீர்
இருக்கிலங்கு திருமொழி வாய் எண்தோள் ஈசற்கு எழில் மாட எழுபதும் செய்து உலகமாண்ட
திருகுலத்து வளச்சோழன் சேர்ந்த கோயில் திரு நறையூர் மணி மாட சேர்மின்களே
Mani Mada Koil is a special type of construction to prevent the entry of elephants anywhere near the sanctum (http://prtraveller.blogspot.in/2014/12/thiruvanaikaval-jambukeswarar.html).
வம்பு அவிழும் செண்பகத்தின் வாசம் உண்டு
மணி வண்டு வகுளத்தின் மலர்மேல் வைகு
செம்பியன் கோச் செங்கணான் சேர்ந்த கோயில்
திருநறையூர் மணிமாடம் சேர்மின்களே
Gopi Bhattar takes pride in the fact that Ko Chenganan chose this temple for his praise on Lord Vishnu and that makes it even more special for him.
Round the Year Festivals
Thiru Naraiyur was a place where there were endless festivities all through the year. Thiru Mangai Azhvaar makes a specific mention of the festivals there. He praises Thiru Naraiyur as a place where one heard festive sounds emanating from the temple every day of the year and the Lord enjoying the festive beats on the streets. He says that Thiru Naraiyur was a place of ‘endless’ festivals. With the renovation exercise coming to a full completion, all the historical festivals are expected to be revived in all its grandeur.
வேள்வும் விழவும் வீதியில் என்றும் ஆறாத ஊர்
நாளும் நறையூர் நாம் தொழுதும் ஏழு நெஞ்சமே
The BIGGEST RENOVATION EXERCISE AT NACHIYAR KOIL
Over the last six months or so, Gopi Bhattar has been single handedly anchoring the repair works of the large scale renovation that is currently taking place at the temple. His appa had led the consecration in 1972 and 92. Gopi Bhattar was involved in the previous consecration that had taken place two decades ago. But this one- consecration is slated for end of October – is the biggest of them all and will see the temple receiving a big face lift. It is expected that end of October devotees will be in for a big surprise - a completely new look Nachiyar Koil. Following the consecration, it is also expected that a number of the historical utsavams will be revived including the Pancha Parva Utsavam.
As part of the renovation exercise, the entire flooring within the temple complex is being re-laid, a large part of it with traditional Karungal. For the first time, the temple will see modern electrical wiring system. In the past, one had seen wires hanging around every where inside the temple complex but come November, it will all be concealed. The huge tank North of the temple is being completely refurbished.
50 years ago, like in Srirangam, this temple had seen additional construction. The EO is keen for those to be removed for it will bring additional sunlight into the temple as well as provide for more open spaces. One will know in the next couple of months if these new construction of recent decades will be brought down.
The Brahmotsavam will be back to street processions including the Kal Garuda procession from this Margazhi as also the Theppotsavam in the new look temple tank.
A facelift to Thiru Mangai Azhvaar Sannidhi
Thiru Mangai Azhvaar had accorded the greatest praise for the Lord of Thiru Narayur and this temple town. But unforuntately, in the decades gone by, he was relegated to the background and had become almost non existent at this temple for the HRCE office had come to occupy the space in front of his Sannidhi. One found two wheelers parked in front of the sannidhi. In fact, most devotees who have visited the temple in the last few decades would not have known the presence of a Sannidhi for Thiru Mangai Azhvaar and the handsome looking moolavar idol. As part of the current renovation exercise, the shifting of the office to another location within the temple complex has meant that the Thiru Mangai Azhvaar sannidhi will wear a new look in the coming months. Every month on the Karthigai start, Perumal and Thayar will make their way to his Sannidhi for Oonjal Utsavam and one can look forward to a full fledged revival of the celebrations of Thiru Mangai Azhvaar's greatness and his contribution to this temple.
A Solo Effort through his huge devotee network
Carrying out such large scale repair works saps one’s energy. Gopi Bhattar has been working tirelessly over the last nine months talking to his huge network of devotees that he has built over the three decades of his service to take up the works. While it is a HRCE temple, it is Gopi Bhattar who is shouldering the entire responsibility both in terms of getting the donors as well as overseeing the renovation works. Not many devotees are aware of the Western entrance at this temple. Gopi Bhattar is also working towards strengthening the western gopuram and maybe someday in the future this entrance too will be reopened for devotees.
While he has been away at overseas temples every now and then over the last two decades and that has helped him financially, Gopi Bhattar's heart has always been with Srinivasa Perumal and Vanjulavalli Nachiyar at Thiru Naraiyur. There is a spark in his face whenever he is here serving the devotees narrating the legendary tale of this Divya Desam, the Mada Koil status accorded to this temple by Ko Chenganan, Thiru Mangai Azhvaar choosing this temple for his century and the like. He has always been a devotee's delight with his friendly approach towards them. For him, serving the devotee has been the top most priority and he has during these three decades ensured that every devotee leaves the temple with a sense of happiness and a good feel.
When the consecration takes place in the last week of October, the entire credit for this major exercise should go to Gopinathan Bhattar for he has put his life and soul into this large scale project and taken the entire responsibility on himself to manage this end to end without a single rupee of funding from the HR & CE.
Those interested in supporting the final phase of the renovation and the consecration may contact him on: 94435 97388