Mothagam Gopalaswamy Temple

A beautiful Rock Cut Cave Temple atop a hill near Azhagapuri

Lord Ranganatha is seen in a handsome Anantha Sayanam Posture

Original inhabitants, now residing across the world, are trying to revive the temple to its historical glory

The scene at this twin temple takes one back to the days of the remote Divya Desams (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2017/07/thiru-mogur-kalamegha-perumal.html) in Tamil Nadu in the 1970s. The hereditary priest, belonging to the nearby Parapaatti village remains seated at the foot of the rock cut cave temple. But the devotee remains elusive. There are no bus services to the temple. Express buses between Madurai and Srivilliputhur do not even stop on the highway 2 kms away. To catch an auto to the temple, one has to reach Azhagapuri, 4 kms away. Historically, though, devotees walked from far away to have darshan of the Lord inside the cave temple and to participate in the grand processions. There are still ancient vahanas- Sesha Vahana, Hanumantha Vahana and more inside the cave temple, an indication of the vahana processions from the past. The Garuda Vahana is one of the biggest in the region and looks grand in stature but has remained stationary in a corner for decades.

For such an ignored temple, there is a certain peace inside the rocks.

Ranganatha in Anantha Sayana Kolam

Enroute atop the hill, one finds a handsome Lord Ranganatha in an Anantha Sayana Kolam flanked by Sri and Bhoo Devi Thayar, Brahmma, Anjaneya and Garuda. The Moolavar Gopalaswamy atop the hill was seen alongside Rukmini and Satyabhama facing the Sathuragiri hills. The Moolavar was in a damaged condition and the entire sanctum was reconstructed in the 1990s.

One of the special features at the temple is the long secret tunnel from the Moolavar Sannidhi that probably connects this temple to Madurai, as was the case with many ancient temples across Tamil Nadu.

A flourishing village in centuries gone by

Mothagam was once a flourishing temple town. A few centuries ago, there were 7 lakes around this temple brimming with water and the villages around the temple were vibrant. This was a Kula Deivam for people from all the neighbouring villagers in this region. Bhajans of devotees was a specialty at this temple. In the centuries gone by, this zone was renowned for Gold, Navaratna and Diamond stones and this hill was referred to as ‘Swarna Giri’. This was a temple frequented by the Naickers.

And then the villages all around Mothagam were sub-merged under severe floods and the lakes and villages were lost forever.

Grand Processions anchored by priest’s forefathers

Ramachanadran Bhattar’s forefathers performed pooja through the first of the 20^th century when the Utsavams were grand including Vahana processions. Chitra Pournami was a special occasion at the temple. On Vaikasi Pournami, the Lord travelled 3miles to Kopinayakkan Patti on a procession. 

The first Saturday of Aani too was a special day in the year for it was the Ubayam of the Rajah with the Lord providing Muppalam Sevai – Panchamirtam Abhisekam. Krishna Jayanthi was celebrated in a Grand way. On all the Saturdays of Puratasi, the Lord went on a procession around the hill on a ‘Giri Valam’ accompanied by Ghee lit lamps. On the Karthigai day, the top of the hill was lit by a Deepam that was so glittering that one could have darshan from several kms away. From atop the hill, one can still see the towering Raja Gopuram of Srivilliputhur in the South West and the cracker town of Sivakasi in the South East.

The Slowdown
The 1970s proved a downturn at the temple. It was a decade when the ancient utsava idols were lost. After years of investigation, a report was put out that the idols could not be traced. New utsava processional idols were newly made from Poompuhar in the 1990s. However, there have been no processions for decades with the utsava idols locked up at the ICON center in Madurai for lack of security at the temple.

On select occasions in the year, the temple continues to wear a festive look like it once did. Over 10000 devotees throng the temple on Puratasi Saturdays. In the recent past, a tar road has been built right up to the foot of the temple. The next step is to get public transport as well as regular auto services to the temple to make it convenient for the devotees to visit. 

Devotees from across the world who once visited this rock cut cave temple are now coming together to support the temple and are hoping to revive the once grand utsavams at the temple.

The temple is open from 8am to 3pm. Contact: Ramachandran @ 98429 83256/ Navaneetha Krishnan @ 95853 43900/ Gopal Bhattar @ 84891 25026

When here, also visit Azhagiya Manavalan temple at Vatharayiruppu ( http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2015/03/azhagiya-shantha-manavalan-temple.html)

How to reach
Mothagam is off the Madurai/Thirumangalam - Srivilliputhur National Highway, 4kms from Azhagapuri. Auto from Azhagapuri bus stand to the temple entrance will cost Rs. 100.