Nanguneri Vanamamalai Divya Desam

How over 300 families dwindled to under 30 in just a few decades 

ஏனம் ஆய் நிலம் கீண்ட என் அப்பனே 

கண்ணா என்றும் என்னை ஆளுடை 

வான நாயகனே  மணி மாணிக்கச்சுடரே 

 தேன மாம் பொழில் தன் சிரீ வரமங்கலத்தவர் 

கை தொழ உறை 

வானமாலையே அடியேன் தொழ வந்தருளே

In his Tiruvoimozhi praise, NamAzhvaar gives an indication of the prosperity of the people as seen from his reference to the presence of tall mansions. He found red lotuses, sugarcane, mango groves and paddy in abundance. 

சேற்று தாமரை செந்நெல் ஊடுமலர் சிரீவரம்ங்க நகர்

Repeatedly he refers to this place as being home to great Vedic Seers who chanted, non- stop, the sacred verses.
தெருள் கொள் நான்மறை வல்லவர் பலர் வாழ் 
சிரீவரம்ங்க நகர்க்கு 
அருள் செய்து அங்கு இருந்தாய் 

Divya Desam’s Speciality

The speciality of this Divya Desam is the daily oil abhishekam for the Moolavar deity. The oil, which is believed to have medicinal values helping cure illness, is then deposited into the Oil Well inside the temple. Another feature at this temple is the presence inside the sanctum of Urvasi and Thilothama, who undertook penance at Thothadri seeking liberation from re-birth, in a posture of fanning the Lord.  

Till the mid 1950s, the long agraharam at the Eastern entrance of the Thothadri Nathan Divya Desam in Nanguneri lined up with over 300 families welcoming the Lord during the popular street processions on the occasion of the Brahmotsavam in Chitrai. The big Kudai was a feature during Brahmotsavam. Led by Theevatti lamps, the Lord was carried by the Sri Patham under the big Kudai, especially as there were no overhead wires in those days.

But by the time, Nambi Srinivasan Bhattar was into his schooling in the 1970s the exodus had begun. His father and grandfather had performed Kainkaryam at the temple at a time when Vaishnavite participation was at its best.

Most of the Kainkaryapakas owned a house in this temple town. They had a share in the prasadam each day and the Centuries old Vanamamalai Mutt provided lunch each day of the year. This kept them going until the big famine of the early 1960s when the Mutt stopped the lunch programme.  The kainkaryapakas found it difficult to survive that phase.

A salary of Rs. 10 and Rs. 15 per month
Nambi Srinivasan Bhattar’s father worked at less than Rs. 25 per month. He also got an equivalent value of Paddy each month. But that was all. In the 10 days of Sannidhi Service that was allotted to his family, he almost never got over Rs. 3 a day as Thattu Kaasu and even that was only on special festive days. For Nambi Srinivasan Bhattar, who has now been at the temple for close to three decades, it had been a financial struggle during his school days. Even organizing a simple wedding was a monumental task for his father and they looked up to the Mutt for support. 

Nambi Bhattar is pleased that his father survived a difficult phase without any sort of complaints. The archakas of that generation as well as the kainkaryapakas saw their role simply as a service to the Lord and financial shortcomings never came in their way of service.

Madapalli Service

52 year old Soundararajan has been at the Madapalli for 35 years. His father Deivanayakan had been there for four decades. He is the 6^th gen to be performing this service at the Madapalli. In the 1950s his father was paid Rs. 10 and an equivalent in Paddy.

Margazhi was always special for the service personnel at the Madapalli and it was one of the toughest periods. One Padi Pongal had to be presented to the Lord at 5am on each of the days. The service personnel were present there a couple of hours prior to get the sacred food ready. In those days, no sugar was added. It was always jaggery at this temple.

Athirasam,Thenguzhal and Vadai were a regular feature during Margazhi. Another speciality was the steaming Semba rice that most at the temple enjoyed. On Friday evening, Pongal was served after the Oonjal Utsavam Ghosti.

Each day of the year, in those decades of service, Deivanayakan prepared 35 Katti of rice in the morning and 35 small dosais in the evening. These were distributed among the kainkaryapakas. 

On the occasion of the Chitrai Brahmotsavam, the Madapalli personnel received Rs. 10 per day for the additional Thaligai they prepared.

Tough Times in the 60s and 70s

Padma Mami who is now back in the Sannidhi Street has seen different phases of Nanguneri having been around since the 1960s. She completed her SSLC in 1971. Her mother hailed from Nanguneri. She remembers the entire agraharam being inhabitated by Vaishnavites. The Konars and Pillais, she says, lived in the street next to the Mada Street. They too had a role to play in the Kainkaryam and carried the Lord on the Thanga Chapram on the 7^th day of the Brahmotsavam.

She remembers the time when the Mutt used to feed the entire families in the agraharam. That was how everyone survived and were able to perform the kainkaryam. Padma’s father in law performed kainkaryam at the Mutt. But the 1960s turned out to be a very difficult period as there was no financial stability. And the financial struggle led them finally away from kainkaryam.

It was a period when they sold their houses at cheap throw away prices in the thousands. And now decades later the original inhabitants are trying to re-secure the very same homes for several lakhs. Ghosti in those decades was 100 strong but now this has come down to just 5!!!

However, Padma Mami's family was one of the few that did not sell their ancestral house. It had been in dilapidated condition but they managed to keep it traditional through the decades. And over the last few years, after they have come back to settle down in the agraharam, they have revamped the house without altering the traditional aspects.  

She is also happy that original inhabitants in large numbers are looking to come back and she is hopeful that over the next decade, the agraharam will be filled with traditionalists like in the past.

A victory for TVS in the Tirunelveli Court
Rangamani Narayanan now resides in the farther end of the Sannidhi Street. Her husband provides service at the Mutt's madapalli. Her grand father Thambu Raghunathan was a leading Government advocate in the first half of the 20th century. He resided in the sannidhi street right in front of the Raja Gopuram.

She remembers a historic episode that happened almost a hundred years ago one that her grand father narrated to her in her childhood. TVS Sundaram Iyengar had had a verdict against him in business.  Thambu Iyengar was renowned for his straight forward approach and would not easily take up cases unless he was convinced about the credibility of the person.

While Thambu Iyerngar was initially hesitant to take it up, when he heard about the back ground to the story he called out for TVS Sundaram Iyengar to meet with him. Having understood the story and having convinced himself that the businessman ran his firm in a fair and honest way, he took up the case and won it for the legendary enterpreneur.

Rangamani looks back at that episode as one of the big moments for their family in having stood up for the truth and won the case for TVS.

A Grand Restoration after 100 years

Over the last 100 years, far too many additional constructions had come up at the temple. And the temple had lost the architectural glory. The entrance pathway had become dark with constructions on either side and a temporary roof. New constructions meant that natural light found it difficult to make its way into the temple!!! Bats were natural inhabitants in such a scenario.

A restoration was hanging in the balance for many years. But there was a dire need to restore the temple back to its ancient glory. That was when Venu Srinivasan was just completing the exercise at the Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam. He decided to take this up.  It was also the final leg of his 11 Divya Desams restoration initiative around Tirunelveli that he began way back in the 1990s with Erettai Tirupathi, a temple that had then been in a state of ruin. Today, the entire Nava Tiruapthi region is flourishing with the temple personnel having seen a revival in their fortunes. 25 years after his first temple restoration, he is now supporting the Vanamamalai Mutt administered and Nam Azhwar praised Thothadri Nathan Divya Desam in Nanguneri with a restoration exercise that is taking place after more than 100 years. The previous Samprokshanam was performed in 1910.

Inscriptions dating back to the 13^th Century AD provide insights into a few of the festivals. Grants had been made to conduct the sacred bath of God on Adi Pooram, celebration of a special festival on Moolam and another one on the Uttiram day in Chitrai.

When Venu Srinivasan visited this historical temple with his team as part of the pre restoration exercise inspection a few years ago, he found new structures inside the temple 'A number of new walls had been built in the last 100 years for no good reasons. A large part of the restoration exercise involved removing unwanted structures which were neither historical nor architecturally proper.'

The entrance to the temple including the Chariot Mandapam and the long pathway to the Raja Gopuram had a forlorn look. New Constructions had posed as an obstruction to free movement. It also prevented natural light from entering the temple. Many areas inside the temple were completely dark. The prakaram was full of bats.

The Vasantha Mandapam was seen with modern modifications and had to be conserved and its historical importance to be brought back. The sacred well was surrounded by walls and new additions. There was no free outflow of the Abhisekam water and the rain water too stagnated inside the temple.  There was a pressing need for restoration.

Transformation of the Temple

Over the last 12-18 months, one has seen a complete transformation of the temple much on the lines of the restoration at the Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam. Huge amount of debris from the prakaram, especially around the Vasantha Mandapam and in the Nandavanam that had accumulated over a long period of time has been removed.

Restoration of Vasantha Madapam to its historical stone structure is one of the big highlights of this restoration exercise. The entire Nandavanam that is home to tall coconut trees now wears a fresh look with a lot of open spaces that will make for a cool trip for the Lord during the Vasantha Utsavam every Vaikasi. One also finds number of Vrikshi, Arali and Malli Trees in the Nandavanam that will enable the presentation of daily flowers for the Lord and on festive occasions as well.

With the removal of new constructions, that had been previously obstructive, one is now welcomed into the temple by a number of pillars standing tall amidst the long pathway leading to the Raja Gopuram.

Rain and Waste water drainage improvement has been another important initiative undertaken as part of this exercise whereby the water is now led out of the temple into the nearby pond. The Yagasalai that had been previously dark has been improved providing for better ventilation and lighting. The stair case to the Moolai Garudan had been damaged and was in a broken condition. This too has been restored. Safety grills have been installed for the utsava mandapams

Refurbished Gopuram

The Raja Gopuram looked faded just a few years ago with a few of the sculptures on the Gopuram in bad condition and on the verge of falling off. The Gopuram has now had a fresh coat of painting while the sculptures have been restored and are now looking pristine.

Walls around the Well

The Sacred Well was another area inside the temple complex where new structures had come up. These have been removed and the openness around the entire area has been restored reviving the sanctity of the place. 

It has been a long wait of over a century for the repair works at the temple but going by the quality of the restoration it has been worth the wait. Devotees visiting the temple now are sure to find the transformative change inside the temple complex.

Venu Srinivasan looks back at this whole exercise of restoration as one of the biggest blessings from the Lord. ‘It has been a highly fulfilling experience to be involved in the restoration of Divya Desams in the Tirunelveli region and to be able to revive heritage structures from a state of dilapidation. The feedback from the devotees of having felt positive vibrations while at these temples after the restoration exercise is the real blessing that one could get at the end of such large restorations.’ 

Samprokshanam is slated for Aani after the big Utsavams in Panguni, Chitrai and Vaikasi.