Indhalur Tula Utsavam

Parimala Rangan provides darshan as Thiruvallikeni Parthasarathy and later atop the White Elephant in a princely attire on the 6th day of the Historical Tula Utsavam

Six Decades ago, there was no place to store Paddy inside the Temple Complex and the Sannidhi Street was full of traditional Vaishnavites - Today, there is no income from the temple lands, there are illegal occupants all around while the original inhabitants are far away in cities

It is just after 6am on the 6^th day of the historically renowned Tula Utsavam at the Parimala Rangan temple in Thiru Indhalur, the only Divya Desam where Theerthavari takes place on each day of the Tula Month (Aipasi) and a temple that has a connect with another Thalai Changa Naan Mathiyam, about 20kms East (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2009/01/thalaichanga-naanmathiyam.html).

Alankaram specialist Srikanthan Bhattar of Sirupuliyur Divya Desam has just decorated the Lord in a grand ‘Thiruvallikeni’ Parthasarathy Thiru Kolam. Historically, the 10 day Brahmotsavam in Aipasi referred to as the 'Tula Utsavam' has been the grandest of the festivals at this Divya Desam even more so than the one in Panguni. Till the 1960s, devotees from across the  State and the highly devoted from Andhra Pradesh congregated in large numbers for the sacred ‘Tula Snanam’ in the Cauvery as well as to watch the Lord go around the streets in different Vahanas in the night. Bhagavathas too participated in a big way during the ten day utsavam. It has been a historical practice for the ladies from the North Street to dance during the Thiruvanthikaapu with lamps.

Lord and Thayar were decked with glittering jewelries with the priests having a galaxy to choose from for each festive occasion. The devotees lined up the streets to check out the special alankaram of the day and spotted the pathakam and necklaces to go with the day's attire of the Lord. Such was the devotional vibrancy at this Divya Desam till about 60 years ago.

The Changed Scenario at Indhalur

Wednesday (November 13) morning presented a very different picture. There are just a handful of devotees for the Vishroopam just after 7am. As is the case with most remote Divya Desams in Tamil Nadu, there is just the one Bhattar to manage multiple Sannidhis during this Brahmotsavam period. After darshan of Parimal Rangan, the devotees are keen to move on to the Parimala Ranganayaki Sannidhi. However, a few more devotees await darshan of the Lord. During the first hour of the day, the frail looking Sridhar Bhattar shunts at least 10 times between the Perumal and Thayar Sannidhis each time locking the respective sannidhi. This morning was even more complicated for there was also the Utsava Deity positioned outside the Sanctum for the morning street procession. Sridhar Bhattar had to take care of three deities all by himself with a different set of devotees waiting for darshan of Moolavar Perumal, Moolavar Thayar and Utsavar Perumal all at the same time. Such is the morning of priests performing aradhana in historical Divya Desams in Tamil Nadu.

15 hours of non stop work - Muralidhara Dikshithar

Muralidhara Dikshithar has been a priest in Thiru Indhalur for the last 40 years having begun service as a young teenager at the Anjaneya Sannidhi opposite the Parimala Ranganatha temple. He joined service at the Divya Desam after his wedding in 1995 and has been here at the temple for almost 25 years. He is not a salaried staffer and depends only on Thattu Kaasu for his survival. As is the case with the big utsavams, the priest’s day does not end till late into the night. Muralidhara Dikshithar’s service after the evening procession on the 5^th day lasted till midnight. On Wednesday morning, he reached the temple at 8am ahead of the purapadu (and worked till 11pm non stop).

Big Challenges ahead of Purapadu

As he entered the temple around 8am on Wednesday morning, he began to encounter problems – existing as well as new ones.The sacred food ahead of the morning procession was not ready. In most Divya Desams, the cooks at the madapalli are not paid enough. In a temple like Srirangam, even formal appointments at the madapalli has not taken places for decades!!! The cook is paid a measly sum in such Divya Desams and there is not enough motivation to prepare multiple menus as is the requirement on such big Utsavam days. The Sri Patham arrived one by one. Even much after the scheduled time, they were not in sufficient numbers to carry the Lord. Add to it, the sky turned dark leaving the question of going around the four big streets. And to top it, there were not too many devotees at the Brahmotsavam Sevai (for the few that turned up in the morning, it was Parikaram related visit). 

A Vibrant Divya Desam till the 1950s

Just over 60 years ago, the entire Sannidhi Street was filled with traditionalists who spent all their time in temple related activities. Divya Prabhandham and Vedic Recital was an integral part of this Divya Desam. There were full time Adyapakars and Vedic Scholars who performed daily service at the temple. Prabhandham Scholars from across the state made it to the Tula Utsavam such was the sanctity of the festival here in Aipasi.

Praised by Thiru Mangai Azhvaar in his Periya Thirumozhi, Thiru Indhalur is a Pancha Ranga Kshetram where the Lord is seen in a grand Veera Sayana Posture displaying his four hands with the entire moolavar Lord carved on a single stone, an exquisite piece of architecture.  The other Pancha Kshetrams are Srirangam, Srirangapatnam, Koviladi and Kumbakonam. There are several other sculptures inside the temple depicting historical episodes. Also, there are Navagraha stone carvings atop the roof at 6 different locations within the temple. Most of the structures are architecturally appealing. During the Era Pathu Utsavam, the Lord makes his way through the inner most prakara around the sanctum listening to sacred recitals. 

81 year old PS Srinivasan, a former Engineer at Lucas TVS (credited with setting up 14 manufacturing plants), belongs to the hereditary Theerthakar family, who have been performing service for centuries together, and returned to his roots on the Sannidhi Street a decade ago after working in the corporate world for four decades to be with the Lord during his post retirement days. Thiru Mangai Azhvaar himself in his praise refers to service at the Lord's feet for generations and asks the Lord for a darshan.

எந்தை தந்தை தம்மான் என்றென்று 
எமரேழ்  ஏழளவும் 
வந்து நின்ற தொண்டரோர்க்கே வாசிவல்லீரால் 
சிந்தை தன்னுள் முந்தி நிற்றீர் 
சிறிதும் திருமேனி 
இந்த வண்ணம் என்று காட்டீர் இந்தளூரீரே 

Srinivasan learnt the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham during the first 15 years of his life. He and other boys his age were even put to test by the revered Annankaracharya. 

He has vivid memories of the life at this Divya Desam in the 1940s and early 50s  "The North Street was full of musicians, those that played the sacred instruments at the temple. Thiruchinnam signifying the commencement of the procession was so loud and sweet that it could be heard at the far Eastern end of the Sannidhi street. The drums beat aloud almost to deafening levels. We would all make our way to the temple after hearing the sounds emanating from the musical instruments. It took 1.5 hours for the Lord to reach the Eastern End of the Sannidhi Street such was the devotee strength that lined the two sides of the processional deity. Musicians would stand and sing during the Brahmotsavams. Madurai Mani Iyer and Ariyakudi Ramanuja have presented concerts  with the recital  going on for 3-4 hours non-stop during the utsavams."

Wealthy Divya Desam
Till the middle of the 20^th Century, the temple had over 900 acres of land spread across the region. The harvest was so bountiful that paddy came in such large quantities that there was no space within the temple complex to store. During the Tula Utsavam, devotees and service personnel at the temple were served so much food and in such varieties that on most days they had to reject the servings for there was no more space (in the stomach) to consume. Madapalli was packed with cooks and parijarakarars in those decades. The land near the tank was a beautiful nandavanam and sacred flowers came from there for the Lord. The temple also had in its possession a ‘Velli Ratham’ built in the first half of the 20^th century, one of the very few temples to have his ( Vaitheeswaran Koil was another to have at that point of time in the 1930s).

Many traditionalists and Theerthakars were teachers in local schools. They would perform service till 9am and then leave to the school. They would return to the temple in the evening for Nithyanusanthanam and other rituals. The practice was such that even the school fees for the traditionalists came out of the temple income. There were a lot of open spaces within the temple complex. Temporary tents were put up during Utsavam times to protect devotees as well as the Lord from the heat. Till the HR & CE gained dominance, it was a Trustee run temple and they ensured that traditional practices were adhered to.

But this day was no such. Just after 8.30 am, the Theerthakars (many of them residents in different cities have turned up for this Utsavam) and Adyapakars, were present for the start of the procession as were the young Vedic Scholars, a group of 4 who had made it from Madras to recite the Vedas through the 10 days of the Tula Utsavam. Parimala Ranganatha Swamy in the Parthasarathy Thiru Kolam finally made his way out of the temple just after 9 am on Wednesday morning.

At the Eastern end in front of the Anjaneya Temple, around 10 traditionalists began the recital of Thiru Mangai Azhvaar’s Thiru Indhalur Paasurams to welcome the Lord into the East Mada Street and then recited the fifth Canto of Periya Thirumozhi through the procession that was slated to go around the Four Big Streets. By the time, the Lord entered the North Street, the clouds had thickened. As seen recently at the Raja Mudi Sevai procession in Melkote (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/11/melkote-raja-mudi-sevai-aipasi.html), the HR & CE would not even ensure the sacred streets are in order for a safe procession. The North Street had big bumps and it was difficult for the Lord to wade through the pits and holes. While making his way past this pit filled zone, the front tyres (most of the Divya Desam processions these days are on wheels) turned around in another direction but the Sri Patham held on . 

Almost as if the Lord had had enough of going through this tedious trip on the North Street, heavy rains lashed Indhalur. While the Adyapakars had made their way almost till the end of the North Street, the Lord took a detour and made a quick run back to the temple complex. Just after 10.30 am, the Adyapakars made their way back to the temple in pouring rain reciting the final verses of Thiru Mangai Azhvaar’s praise on Srirangam.

While the processional activity relating to the Brahmotsavam ended just after 11 am, it took another two hours for Muralidhara Dikshithar to wind up his work for the morning for it was around 1pm when the final set of outstation Divya Desam devotees had darshan of Moolavar Lord.

No Food in the day for the Priest

If one thought, he could go home for a well deserved lunch after 5 hours of non-stop work on this 6^th day of the utsavam, he saw alankaram specialist Sirupuliyur Srikanthan Bhattar make his way into the temple to decorate the Lord for the evening procession. And thus Muralidhara Dikshithar combined with Srikanthan Bhattar to decorate Parimala Rangan, now mounted on the Elephant Vahana. By the time, this alankaram of the Lord had taken some shape it was already well past 3pm. The priest had not had food the whole day but continued with the day's work.

While the official Tula Festival invitation that went out from the HR & CE timed the evening procession for 6.30 pm, it was not until 8 pm that the Lord made his way out from the temple on the Elephant Vahana. Factors such as the presence of the Donor, the presentation of Thaligai ahead of the procession, the delivery of Flower Garlands ( many times from Sathari Veethi in Srirangam) and the arrival of Sri Patham with their full team determine the departure of the Lord in such Divya Desams. 

The four streets were dotted with white pulli kolams and the devotees welcomed the Lord, seen in a princely attire, with plantains, a favourite of the white elephant. The Lord made his way into the temple complex with the Adyapakars reciting the final verses of Periya Thiruvanthathi just after 9.30pm.

There was still a lot left on this long day for the Lord. For over half hour, Muralidhara Dikshithar and Sridhar Bhattar got down to the next alankaram. With the Thiru Kalyanam on the 7^th day of the Tula Utsavam, it was time for the Lord for another procession, this time to the Thayar Sannidhi. Just after 10pm, he made his way to visit Parimala Ranganayaki Thayar for the  formal 'Engagement Ceremony'. The respective priests of Perumal and Thayar danced their way in a celebratory gesture and presented and exchanged the garlands. 

It was close to 11 pm when the final Thaligai of the day comprising of Kesari, Laddu and Jeera Rice was presented to the few devotees who stayed back till the end. The entire Sannidhi Street wore a deserted look. Most of the residents had hit the bed.  Muralidhara Dikshithar had taken three doses of injection the previous night and he now wore a tired look after a 15 hour day. 

60 years ago, there were 5 full fledged priests who shared the work load among them as a team. Despite the devotional wave hitting TN temples over the last decade, there are not too many to work alongside those like Muralidhara Dikshithar and many times it is a lonely struggle. Added to this are some of the self inflicted challenges of the priests.

God Alone Knows the Truth
Thiru Mangai Azhvaar in his praise of Parimala Rangan refers to the Lord as the one who can differentiate the Good from the Bad.

சொல்லாது ஒழியகில்லேன் அறிந்த சொல்லில் 
நும்மடியார் எல்லோரோடும் ஓக்க எண்ணியிருந்தீர் அடியேனை 
நல்லார் அறிவீர் தீயார் அறிவீர் 
நமக்கு இவ்வுலகத்து எல்லாம் அறிவீர் 
ஈதே அறியீர் 

இந்தளூரீரே 

There are multiple challenges for Muralidhara Dikshithar. There are health issues on the back of severe work pressure. The new marketing model of the HR&CE that force Bhattars into raising funds from devotees for all occasions has shifted the priests from being full time devotion to the Lord to going around locations to raise funds. Additional Bhattars for support during festival times isn’t easily forthcoming. The next challenging task at Thiru Indhalur for Muralidhara Dikshithar will be to raise funds for the renovation works that is likely to start next year or so.

Huge Tracts of Temple Land- All Gone

The beginning of these challenges for priests in Divya Desams dates back to the 1960s. Once the new political power took over in TN,  HR & CE grabbed power and gained a never before seen domination of temples. As seen with many Divya Desams in Tamil Nadu (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/09/thenthiruperai-divya-desam.html), the new political climate spared none in the agraharam of Thiru Indhalur too. Income from the lands reduced drastically. The cart loads of Paddy into the temple complex soon became a thing of the past. Driven by a severe financial crunch, the original inhabitants began selling their traditional homes in the agraharam for a few thousand rupees and left for cities seeking greener pastures in the corporate world. They exchanged the recital of Nalayira Divya Prabhandham and Vedas with Academics in Schools and Colleges.

Over time, in the decades that followed, lands belonging to the temple came to be illegally occupied like the one just next to the Pushkarani on the Sannidhi Street opposite the Raja Gopuram. With the original inhabitants having left for good, only a couple of priests remained in the ancient Divya Desam to serve the Lord. Most of the other service personnel too left for good. Most of the musical instruments that accompanied the Lord during processions have become a thing of the past.

In the recent past, another huge piece of land belonging to the temple has been illegally taken over by a Government official and converted to a petrol bunk, such is the existing scenario at ancient temples praised by Azhvaars. 

Old Inhabitants are coming back

Some of the original inhabitants, now past 60, are back at Thiru Indhalur to spend their post retirement years alongside their Lord whom they had experienced and enjoyed in the teenage days. But far too much has changed at this Divya Desam in the last 50 years. They remain mute spectators to the happenings at the temple having been far away from life at this Divya Desams for so many decades. They present the Divya Prabhandham at the daily aradhana and on festive occasions but are largely unable to turn the clock back to its glory days in the first half of the 20^th Century. One will have to quietly wade through this phase and hope that one day, sometime in the near future, this Divya Desam will recover some of its glorious past. 

Thiru Indhalur Divya Desam is about 4kms East of Mayiladuthurai Railway Station. When here, also visit Sirupuliyur Kripasamudram Divya Desam ( https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/08/sirupuliyur-divya-desam.html) and Therazhundur Aamaruviappan Divya Desam (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/10/therazhundur-divya-desam.html).

The Temple is open from 7.30am-12 noon and 5 pm-9.30pm. Auto from Mayiladuthurai bus stand will cost Rs. 50. From the railway station, an auto to the temple will cost Rs. 80.