Monthly Divya Prabhandham presentation and a grand Avathara Utsavam still a feature at his Birth Place in Konthagai
The young Gopalakrishnan Bhattar is one of those few among
the modern gen who has chosen to stay back in a remote temple town and perform
aradhana for the Lord. His uncle had previously been undertaking pooja for
several decades.
Unfortunately, there aren’t too many visitors to the temple
despite this being an Avathara Sthalam of a Vaishnavite Acharya. To those that
do visit, the priest with great delight refers to this as a location that Arjuna
visited as part of his pilgrimage.
Every Moolam, the Adyapakas make a trip to Konthagai all the
way from Koodal Azhagar to present prabhandham at the temple here. On Vaikasi
Visakam, the birth day of Tiruvoimozhi Pillai, the acharya goes on a grand
street procession, as part of the Avathara Utsavam celebrations.
Being a Pancharatra Agama temple, Koodal Azhagar temple
refused to administer this remote temple and hence this comes under the
administration of Meenakshi Amman Koil, the only Perumal temple under their
control.
The temple is open from 7am to 11am and 530pm to 8pm.
Contact Gopalakrishna Bhattar @ 97887 26611
Tiruvoimozhi Pillai
and Azhvaar Tirunagari
While his Avathara Sthalam has turned remote in modern
times, far away down South in Azhvaar Tirunagari, the location where
Tiruvoimozhi Pillai resurrected the forest region into a beautiful temple town
and brought back the idol of Nam Azhvaar from Kerala, there is a certain vibrancy with his
descendants continuing his legacy of performing service to the Azhvaar.
The historical story
- From administration of Kingdom to Vaishnavism
With the then Pandya King dying early and his son too young
to be crowned as the next king, Thirumalai Azhvaar, the original name of
Tiruvoimozhi Pillai, was mandated by the ministers in the kingdom to take over
the administration till such time the prince came of age. It was around this
time that the Mughals invaded the Srirangam temple. Along with others, Pillai
Lokacharya brought the idol of Namperumal to Kodikulam, near Narasingam (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2009/12/yoga-narasimha-narasingam-madurai.html).
Thirumalai Azhvaar had been initiated by his acharya Pillai Lokacharya with the
Pancha Samskaram when he was very young.
It was during his stay there that he identified the
devotional powers of Thirumalai Azhvaar and called upon Koora Kulothuma Dasa to
initiate him in the traditional path.
Once when Thirumalai Azhvaar was going around the city of
Madurai on an inspection round, he found Koora Kulothuma Dasa reciting the
Tiruviruttam verses of Nam Azhvaar. Not finding him yet ready to take on the
challenge of traditional services, Koora Kulothuma Dasa refused to explain to
him the significance of these verses. When he narrated this incident to his
mother, she informed him of the wishes of his acharya and the role assigned to
Koora Kulothuma Dasa.
Yet another time, when Thirumalai Azhvaar was on elephant
top on another inspection of the city and its people, he spotted Koora
Kulothuma Dasa amidst the crowd. This time there was a spark and Thirumali
Azhvaar requested Kulothuma Dasa to initiate him into the verses in the
mornings during the period that he was applying the sacred Thiruman before his
departure to perform the administrative duties in the kingdom.
It was also the time that Nam Azhvaar’s idol had been taken
away to Kerala as a precautionary measure to guard from the Mughal invasion.
Tholappar sought the help of the Pandya forces to recover the idol that had
been hidden under a deep pit. It was finally Tholappar who dived into the pit
to help reclaim the idol. However, in the process of trying to climb back he
lost his life. In memory of his contribution to the recovery of the idol, he is
to this day presented with Theertham and sacred garland after the Thiru
Arathanam every day at the Aathi Nathan temple in Azhvaar Tirunagari.
Soon, he quit the kingdom and made the transition to a life
of a Vaishnavite. Tiruvoimozhi Pillai left for Azhvaar Tirunagari, a location
that at that time resembled a huge forest. Given his administrative experience
at the Pandya Kingdom, he got down to the task of renovating the entire place
and converted it into a beautiful temple town with the temple in the heart of
it. Taking a special liking to Namazhvaar’s Tiruvoimozhi, he began practicing
it all the time at the temple that he (Thirumalai Azhvaar) came to be referred
to as ‘Tiruvoimozhi pillai’.
The descendants
Sridhar Tiruvoimozhi Pillai is one of the descendants
continuing to reside at Azhvaar Tirunagari and one who also takes care of
archaka service at Thiru Mogur Divya Desam. His forefathers had dedicated their
entire lives in the service of the Lord of Thiru Kurugur but it was a
financially challenging time for them during the 20th century. For
several decades, it was the sishyas who helped them survive that phase of life.
The sishyas presented cows that helped his forefathers secure milk for the day.
For half a century, the entire family just had one meal a day. His father did
service at the Thiruvenkatamudayan Sannidhi South of the Athi Nathan temple at
a salary of Rs. 22 for many years.
The financial revival
It was in the 2nd half of the 20th
century that one of the descendants was handed over to Thiru Mogur Divya Desam
after the original Mirasu there did not have successors. Only after this
adoption and after the revival in the 1990s of the temple located in the
outskirts of Madurai did the descendants of Tiruvoimozhi Pillai find an
improvement in their livelihood. At the Kaalamegha Perumal temple, the
descendants of Tiruvoimozhi Pillai present the Puranam on the occasion of
Kaisika Ekadasi, Sri Jayanthi, Gajendra Moksham( Maasi) and the Sthala Puranam
in Vaikasi.
Unlike many others from the present generation, none of the
descendants of Tiruvoimozhi Pillai have tried to seek livelihood outside of the
temple service. There are six in the family currently as the descendants.
How to reach Konthagai
From Madurai, take a bus to Silaiman ( 12kms). From Silaiman, an auto South to Konthagai temple will cost Rs. 80, crossing the Rameswaram National Highway. Contact auto:84897 22346.
Share autos every 10minutes from Madurai Ring Road to Silaiman.
How to reach Konthagai
From Madurai, take a bus to Silaiman ( 12kms). From Silaiman, an auto South to Konthagai temple will cost Rs. 80, crossing the Rameswaram National Highway. Contact auto:84897 22346.
Share autos every 10minutes from Madurai Ring Road to Silaiman.
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