The Priests at this historical temple have halved in recent years. The next gen Brahmin Priests are equipped and available to perform Kainkaryam but the HR & CE has not come forward to appoint them leaving the existing priests understaffed and under pressure with the huge crowd thronging the temple in huge numbers
Maharastra Brahmins
Udaya Kumar Gurukal, a descendant of the Maratha Brahmin clan the sthaanegam at the temple, discontinued academics after class XII and learned the Vedas, Agamas and Pooja Kramam and secured Dikshai from the Sringeri Mutt, a pre requisite to perform archaka service at this temple. He has been continuing the archaka service that his appa Pakshi Iyer had performed for several decades. He recounts the selfless service rendered by his appa “He joined the temple in 1958 when there was no salary to the priests. They had a 1/3 share in tickets and archanai and were given high quality prasadam daily after the Kaala Poojas. In 1974, the remuneration was converted to monthly salary. It was a phase when the priests were in good numbers but the original inhabitants began to slowly move away from this temple town.”
2nd Prakara Restoration - No Thattu Kaasu for over a 100 years
He recalls as to how his forefathers well over 100 years ago took an oath that they would present the entire thattu kaasu in the temple hundi that would go towards the renovation of the 2nd prakara. A century has passed by but the renovation works of the 2nd prakara has not been completed and thus the archakas have remained without thattu kaasu till date. The Zamindars had started the Thiruppani but with the entry of the HR & CE the works have not progressed and remained in half complete stage. The Kal Mandapam in this 2nd prakara has been in a dilapidated state and that has to be restored to its historical shape. An order has been finally given for the reconstruction and it is hoped that this will be completed over the next year or so. Unfortunately, the thattu kaasu that has been deposited by the priests specifically for the 2nd Prakara thiruppani is being pooled into the common hundis and used by the HR & CE for other purposes.
Appa and Son perform service for over 65years
S Sivamani Sathaagachari studied in the Government School in Rameswaram but discontinued academics in this early teens. He underwent Krishna Yajur Veda initiation for seven years at the Sankara Mutt Patshala in Thiruvanaikaval, then learned the agama for a year and joined the temple in 1992 at a salary of just over Rs. 500. His appa Periya Murai Sankara Iyer had served as a Sabhayar for thirty years in most challenging times. It was the Katti Saatham that the family managed to have their daily meals. The salary was just a few hundreds for a long time. “We struggled even for daily food. It was appa’s true devotion that kept the family going in those decades. Despite the financial challenging scenario, my appa did not move away from temple service and he encouraged us to serve the Lord unmindful of the financial challenges. It was his teachings that led me into an early interest in temple service.”
Unmindful of the Swollen Legs
The decades of selfless service of his appa has brought good fortune to him. He is happy that things have turned around financially at the temple but devotee crowd thronging the temple in large numbers has meant physical challenges for the priests “Abhisekam of the Ganga Theertham takes a big toll on the legs. Standing for hours together at the Sannidhi has resulted in swollen legs and led to a big increase in medical expenses.”
Almost 35years at the Nataraja Sannidhi
It is just a month after the 60 year old Balasubramaniam retired having performed archaka service at the Nataraja Sannidhi for over three decades. His appa passed away when he was just 8 years old. He did not know what had happened and had been in a daze. But he was devotionally attached to the temple. He discontinued school after class VIII and began performing kainkaryam at the temple carrying the Lord on his shoulder, handing the deepam to the senior archakas and performing all kinds of services within the temple as was required at that time.
The sincerity of his kainkaryam through his teenage phase got him a full time appointment as upakainkaryam and he began to perform service at the Nataraja Sannidhi from 1989. Right from the beginning, he was keen to make the devotees happy through his devotional presentation“The devotees come with all kind of issues and sadness. God has blessed me by keeping me here for this long and placed me in a position to send them back happy and with confidence that all will be well. When I saw happiness in their face after my presentation, I found peace within myself” he told this writer.
He says with a tinge of sadness as to how 300 Brahmin families around the Mada Streets has now reduced to just 50 families. All the five streets were full of traditionally attired people and the five sacred streets around the temple was vibrant with Vedic Recitals. Till the mid 1960s there was a Vedic Patshala and Sanskrit College in Rameswaram but these have long been shut down. Through his teenage phase, he recalls the train that arrived at around 11am as the one that the priests looked for with bated breath. “It was the devotee crowd from that train that kept our family going. Even the milk in our house would be boiled only after that. They fed us every day.”
10 days Aani Utsavam - A thing of the past?
Brahmotsavam took place in Aani but that came to a halt in the 1960s and this has now been shortened to a three day utsavam. It is hoped that some this historical utsavam will be revived to its old grandeur. The Maasi Mahotsavam and the Aadi Utsavam for Ambal continues to this day.
Severe Shortage of Priests
In the decades gone by, there were 12 Maharashtra Brahmins performing service as archakas but now this has dwindled to just 2. Similarly, the Sabhayar were in good numbers but only Sivamani Saathagaachari is performing the service now. From over 50 priests the overall number of the priests at the Ramanathaswamy temple has more than halved. There are Brahmin priests in Rameswaram who are ready to take to this Kainkaryam but the HR & CE has not called them and offered the appointment. And that has put a great deal of pressure on the existing priests for they are completely understaffed and struggling to manage the 30000+ devotee crowd on a weekend. Last Friday, the temple saw close to a Lakh people on the occasion of Mahalaya Amavasai. These have led to great physical challenges for these priests.
Will the HR & CE take action now?
There is a need to add at least 10 priests to don the multiple sannidhis. At the moment, it looks like the voice of the Maharashtra Brahimin Priests and the Tamil Brahmins Priests is not being heard by the HR & CE. A new JC has just take over charge at the temple. It is hoped that he will assist in the appoint of the Brahmin Priests at the temple lest the existing priests suffer further health issues. Will the HR & CE take immediate steps to address this shortage and appoint Brahmin Priests to manage the ever increasing crowd.
Only last week, this section had featured a story on how the private agents were fleecing the devotees, especially those from outside the state (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2023/10/ramanathaswamy-temple-rameswaram.html).
It is hoped that the HR & CE minister PK Sekar Babu will visit the temple, understand the current scenario and initiate action both to control the tout menace outside the temple and the priests shortage inside the temple without any further delay.