12 hours after returning from a trip to Srirangam, Pundarikakshan provides Garuda Sevai darshan to several hundreds of devotees on Saturday evening
CA Professional Sivakumar delights devotees with a 2 hour Namasankeerthanam
This section had featured a story last year on Thiru Vellarai Divya Desam Pundarikaksha Perumal’s night long trip to Kollidam as part of the Panguni Brahmotsavam(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2023/03/thiru-vellarai-pundarikaksha-perumal.html). This story is about Pundarikakshan providing darshan atop the Garuda Vahana around the four streets just over 12 hours after he returned from the Srirangam trip.
3700 Vaishnavite families once lived here
This is a historical divya desam where 3700 Vaishnavite families once lived. Thiru Vellarai is the birth place of two acharyas – Uyya Kondan and Engal Azhvaan. It was from here that Vedic Pundits and Bhattars went to other Divya Desams and Purana Sthalams, such was the greatness of the scholars of this historical place. 'Kainkaryam' personnel consistently walked over 15 kms from Srirangam across the Coloroon to perform service at Thiru Vellarai Divya Desam.
Things had turned for the worse in the second half of the previous century when traditional inhabitants left the temple town seeking greener pastures elsewhere. Till about 2010, priests would sit at the entrance of the sannidhis waiting for the next set of devotees to arrive but that wait proved elusive for most part.
But there has been a dramatic turnaround over the last decade. The daily devotee crowd has increased manifold at this historical divya desam praised by Thiru Mangai Azhvaar and Periyazhvaar (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2015/09/krishna-kaapidal.html).
இந்திரனோடு பிரமன்
ஈசன் இமையவர் எல்லாம்
மந்திர மா மலர் கொண்டு
மறைந்து உவராய் வந்து நின்றார்
சந்திரன் மாளிகை சேரும்
சதுரர்கள் வெள்ளறை நின்றார்
காந்தியம் பொது இது ஆகும்
அழகனே காப்பிட வாராய் - Periyazhvaar
Once in a year Kannadi Arai Sevai
On Saturday morning just after 5am, the Vethal volunteers of the Srirangam Sripatham group carried Pundarikakshan back to his abode at Thiru Vellarai after a night long return trip from Kollidam. Shortly after, Pundarikaksha Perumal provided Kannadi Arai Sevai along with Shenbagavalli Thayar. The fourth day of the Panguni Brahmotsavam is one of the only two days in the year when he provides darshan at the Kannadi Arai. Through the day, there was a steady flow of devotees including from the North and Karnataka. They were delighted to have arrived at the temple on the day when the divine couple provided Kannadi Arai Sevai. Soon after, a devotee family from Singapore for whom this was the Kulam Deivam temple presented a large bundle of Rs.500 rupee notes in the thattu, something that would have been unthinkable in the not so distant past. It was yet another sign of how remote temples are now flourishing.
It was well past 5pm when Pundarikakshan and Shenbagavalli Thaayar made their way down the steps through the North gate to reach the Mottai Gopuram, who Raja Gopuram construction (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2023/11/thiru-vellarai-new-raja-gopuram-by-end.html) will start in full swing from the Tamil New Year day (April 14). There is still no indication of this being a Garuda Sevai evening with very few devotees making it for this procession from Kannadi Arai to the entrance of the Northern Gopuram. Hereditary Priest Vinodh Bhattar had to hurriedly put together Sripatham personnel for this procession.
What one saw over the next couple of hours was quite unbelievable. By 6.30pm, the crowd had swelled to a few hundreds and half hour later, there was no place to stand at the North Sannidhi street in Thiru Vellarai for devotees from all the surrounding villages had gathered in for the start of the Garuda Sevai.
.......மன்றில் மாம் பொழில் நுழைதந்து
மல்லிகை மௌவளின் போது அலர்த்தி
தென்றல் மா மணம் கமழ் தர வரு
திரு வெள்ளறை நின்றானே
..........உயர்கொள் மாதவிப் போதொடு உலாவிய
மாருதம் வீதியின்வாய்
திசை எல்லாம் கமழும் பொழில் சூழ்
திரு வெள்ளறை நின்றானே- Thiru Mangai Azhvaar
For the first time, Vinodh Bhattar had organised for a Namasankeerthanam presentation ahead of the Garuda Sevai processions. CA professional Sivakumar, a resident of Adyar, Chennai, had come all the way on Saturday evening to Thiru Vellarai with his troupe members to participate in the Garuda Sevai celebrations. Seated in the open space next to the Ramanuja Sannidhi, Sivakumar and his team delighted the several hundred devotees with a two hour devotional presentation that had several Bhajanai kids dancing to the Namasankeerthanam. Beginning with praise of Ramanuja, Andal and Rama, the Namasankeerathanam moved on to presentations on the greatness of Krishna and Vittal.
A bhajanai too had been organised on this evening and those kids numbering around 25 danced rapturously to the songs on Vittal even as the devotional buzz on the Northstreet reached a peak at around 8pm. With every passing song, the noise grew louder and the participation from the kids expanded. The Namasankeerthanam and the dancing to their tunes by these young kids took one back to historical times when remote temple towns was abound with such presentations during the annual festivals.
By now, the Sripatham had arrived in large numbers from Srirangam. Vinodh Bhattar spent an hour decorating Pundarikaksha Perumal with Garuda draped in a white silk vastram. It was almost 8.30pm when the screen opened to a devotional roar as Pundarikakshan came out majestically on to the North Sannidhi street even as the Prabhandham members began their presentation of the Naangaam Thiruvanthathi. Devotees stood on the terraces of their homes and at the Ramanuja Sannidhi for a first glimpse of Garuda Sevai.
The Sripatham members did a commendable job to carry the Lord swiftly through a highly crowded street. The procession lasted almost an hour with devotees in good numbers walking along with Pundarikakshan back to the North Gopuram. It was past 10pm when Pundarikakshan made his way back to his abode via the North Gopuram after a devotional evening that saw crowd throng in large numbers at the Thiru Vellarai Divya Desam.
Tail Piece
There was a sour point though right at the end that does not augur well for the Vaishnavite and the archaka community. The devotee donor of the evening was liberally dishing out Sambhavanai to the service personnel when Thottiyam Kannan Bhattar, a priest at Thiru Vellarai, raised some objections that turned into a heated debate for 15 minutes. It was an unsavoury episode that could have been easily avoided. The tone and manner of his conversation led the devotee donor to ask if this was the way a Vaishnava Archaka should conduct himself. All the other archakas of Thiru Vellarai as well as the Kainkaryapakas watched in silence from 100 yards away as the argument turned ugly. Repeatedly, the devotee donor and his team members made the point that they would give him what he wants but Kannan Bhattar could not be quietened as he continued to talk in high pitch much to the devotees’ disappointment. A highly devotional evening and the quality of the alankaram and the procession had been undone in a matter of 15 minutes as the devotee donor left the temple with a tinge of sadness at this conduct of the Vaishnavite archaka.
On a more positive note, after a gap of four decades, Pundarikakshan made his way last year on the Sesha Vahana on the fifth day of the Brahmotsavam to a historical mandapam a km North that had been in a dilapidated condition for long. A huge nandavanam is coming up around the mandapam, which still requires repairs and restoration. Hope the mandapam will be restored fully by the time Pundarikakshan makes his way next year in Panguni to this location.