VEENAVAADHINI PILGRIMAGE TO MANNARGUDI AND KUMBHAKONAM

Article by Aparna Shankar

How many such trips had Veenavaadhini undertaken? – asked someone on one of the many van journeys. Enumerating on our fingers, the number was unexpectedly high: over ten. Why was it unexpected? Each trip had been different and memorable, and yet the fatigue one would expect – from the long cycle of planning, learning the songs, group practice and the actual trip – simply was not there.

In short, this trip was as memorable as the others – by being different from all the others. The lasting image would be that of driving past lush rice fields alternating with gushing canals, in the Chola heartland. We also decided to do something new – by each “adopting” a temple to learn all about and share with the rest of the group what was special about its history, layout, iconography and so on.

We began with Vedaranyam or Tirumaraikkadu, the only sthalam not in the immediate Kumbakonam-Mannargudi area. The temple is known for being the site where Appar’s and Tirugnanasambandhar’s Tevaram renditions opened and closed the gates; it is also one of the seven Vitanka sthalams. The kriti we rendered here was Sri Parvati Parameswarau in Bauli. The kriti is in praise of both Siva and Parvati, because this is the spot where they gave darshan to Sage Agastya just after their wedding. An image of them together is in the main shrine.

Upon noticing a prominent Saneeswarar sannidhi and it being Saturday, there was a spontaneous Diwakaratanujam in Yadukulakambhoji as well. We had breakfast in a little granite mandapam, like possibly hundreds of hungry travellers before us.

We returned to Mannargudi to meet the adorable Rajagopalaswamy, and sing Rajagopalam in Mohanam. The sprawling temple has a befittingly large tank, Haridra Nadi, nearby. The group was also happy to meet the temple elephant and watch it partake of its lunch – a bucket full of Pongal!

The evening saw us visit Nidamangalam, where Dikshitar composed Santanaramaswaminam in Hindolavasantam. The temple is relatively young, built in 1761 by Serfoji II, and the town is also known as Yamunambapuram after his queen Yamunamba. (A shrine for her is on the same road as the temple.) The temple chariot is intricately carved with the Dasavataram and scenes from the Ramayanam.

The last temple for the day was Alangudi or Tiru Irum Poolai, known for a shrine of Dakshinamurti. By extension, the preceptor of the Devas, Brihaspati is also worshipped here. Dikshitar’s Brihaspate in Atana is a grand tribute to him and also chronologically the first Navagraha kriti. The temple is also a Paadal Petra Sthalam, having been visited by Sambandar. It being the Guru sthalam, we took some time to think of the gods associated with wisdom and learning, and the Gurus in our lives.

We then travelled to Kumbakonam for the night and caught a glimpse of the famous Mahamaham tank.

The next morning, we first went to Kumbeswarar temple in the city. A large panel of paintings on the way to the main sannidhi depicts the story of the temple – the Mahamaham tank is the spot where the divine nectar spilled onto the earth when the pot was struck by Siva’s arrow. The lingam was fashioned out of the wet earth. This and more stories were related to us by a genial Gurukkal. We rendered Kumbheswarena in Kalyani and Sri Mangalambikam in Ghanta – the latter while getting an excellent darshan of the stately Mangalambika. A canteen within the temple premises is named after Her, and we had a memorable traditional breakfast there.

Goddess Parvati has the same name in Srivanchiyam, where we headed next. This temple is considered to be equal in glory to the Kasi Viswanathar temple, and is where Dikshitar composed Sri Vanchanatham in Suruti and Sri Mangalambike in Kalyani. The temple tank, Gupta Ganga, is so pure, even Ganga is said to bathe here to wash away the sins of the people bathing in her!

The final leg of the trip saw us visit Tiruvidaimarudur or Madhyarjunam, also considered equal to Kasi. We were greeted by a massive Nandi, to match the large temple complex. In fact, the temple is so large it is imagined to encompass the entire region, with Tiruvalanchuzhi being its Vinayaka shrine, Swamimalai its Murugan shrine and so on. Dikshitar composed Chintaye Mahalinga Murtim in Paraju and Paradevata Brihatkuchamba in Dhanyasi here.

Then came, unexpectedly, the most mystical experience of the trip. We were approached by a gentleman who seemed to know a lot about the temple, and was a speaker on television. He showed us the statue of Ravana lifting the Kailasa mountain, and demonstrated the echo in one prakaaram. Then he showed us a small hole in the wall of the prakaaram and encouraged us to put our ear to it and listen. To our surprise, we all heard different things! Some of us heard veena, some mridangam, some singing and some vedam chanting. He explained it was the sound of Ravana playing music for Lord Siva, and that some others sometimes heard laughing and crying. The experience left the group quite stunned.

We left, as should every devotee, through a side entrance and not the main one, since the sin incurred by Varaguna Pandiyan for inadvertently killing a Brahmin waits at the main entrance to attach to whoever exits through it!

The final sthalam was Tiruvalanchuzhi, home of Sweta Ganapati or Vellai Vinayakar. The idol is white and said to be made out of the foam obtained when the ocean of milk was churned by the Devas and Asuras. It is called Valanchuzhi because the Kaveri takes a sharp right turn at this spot. In fact, the river was called to the surface due to the sacrifice of Heranda Munivar, to whom we must all be grateful. Dikshitar composed Sweta Ganapatim in Ragachudamani here. This temple is also large in area and the Siva here was worshipped by Appar and Sambandar.

We boarded the Uzhavan express back home, having left our hearts behind somewhere in the Kaveri delta. We would cherish the serene temples, fun word games and swaram sessions on the vans, and the celebrated coffee – going into the Monday morning and beyond.