Tiruvoimozhi Pillai Konthagai

The descendants of the Acharya, who transformed Azhvaar Tirunagari into a beautiful temple town, have dedicated their lives to the service of the Lord and Azhvaar at this ancient Divya Desam 

Monthly Divya Prabhandham presentation and a grand Avathara Utsavam still a feature at his Birth Place in Konthagai

Located 15kms East of Madurai is the centuries old Deivanayakan temple in Konthagai, the birth place of Acharya Tiruvoimozhi Pillai. While the temple itself is in fine state, the once vibrant agraharam that comprised of traditionalists chanting Vedas and Prabhandham, is non-existent and as with many other historical locations, this too has faded with passage of time.

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. 

                                  The temple in Konthagai

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 20^th 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. 

During the Adyayana Utsavam in Azhvaar Tirunagari, the descendants of Tiruvoimozhi Pillai are given the first respects on the first day. Financially they do not get anything at the Azhvaar Tirunagari Divya Desam except for some quantity of rice as prasadam. The descendants are also the Sthalathars at Thiru Kolur Vaitha Maa Nidhi Divya Desam and are bestowed with the keys of the temple. There, they serve as Adyapakas and present Veda Parayanam and are also the hereditary Arankavalar. Given that he ruled the kingdom, Tiruvoimozhi Pillai had first rights of theertham at Srivilliputhur, Azhagar Koil, Thiru Mogur and Konthagai in the Pandya region.

The financial revival

It was in the 2^nd half of the 20^th 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.