The new Chariot could see a trial run very soon with the Chariot Festival on Vaikasi Visakam expected to attract several thousands of devotees from Anbil and nearby villages
Come this Vaikasi Visakam, the
Chariot at the Sundararaja Perumal Divya Desam in Anbil praised by
Thirumazhisai Azhwar alongside Thiru Kudanthai, Thiru Evvul, Thiruper and
Srirangam, could run for the first time in several centuries with the revival
of the annual Brahmotsavam. Inscriptions at the temple point to the running of
the Chariot in the 11th Century AD during the Chozha rule, when
lands were donated for the conduct of the Brahmotsavam. The dry run of the Chariot around the outer prakara could take place anytime soon after the local community come together to decide on the next steps on the revival of the Brahmotsavam.
A once Vibrant Divya Desam
In the not too distant past, there
was a vibrant agraharam in Anbil. A Vedic Patshala was an integral part of the
Anbil and a mimaamsa conference too had been held there. Historically, this had
been a prosperous temple town, but by the turn of the century, hundreds of
original inhabitants had left this Divya Desam seeking greener pastures
elsewhere in bigger cities, reducing this ancient temple town to just a few
traditional Vaishnavite families. Many of the historical utsavams too had
become a thing of the past. Joint procession of Sundara Raja Perumal with Lord
Purushommar of Uthamar Koil to Coloroon on Maasi Magam remains the biggest festival
of the year.
Revival efforts by a young priest
With the sudden and untimely death
of Varadaraja Bhattar, who had performed service for close to two decades, his
son Aravamudhan took charge of the temple five years ago at the young age of 25.
Even as a young boy, while he was being initiated into the Pancharatra Agama in
Thiru Vellarai, Aravamudhan felt saddened by the constant query posed to his
father by the local community on the absence of the Brahmotsavam and the
Chariot Festival in Anbil. His father Varadarajan Bhattar was keen to revive some of the historical utsavams but could not do so during his lifetime.
Soon after he took over, he
approached Pon Jayaraman, the JC at the Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple, which
administers the Anbil Divya Desam, and presented to him details from
inspirations, of the historical utsavams at Anbil. Much to his surprise, he received
an immediate nod from the JC to the revival initiatives.
The last couple of years have been
challenging in terms of him having to both take care of the daily poojas as
well as initiate steps towards reviving the Brahmotsavam. There were many who
were apprehensive of the young priest being able to face up to this daunting
task. He has been involved in the process of bringing together the local
community in Anbil and the original inhabitants, now located in different parts
of the world and their participation has been the most redeeming feature of
this revival exercise
Says the 30 year old Aravamudhan
Bhattar “Even though I was alone at the Anbil temple, the JC of Srirangam has constantly
encouraged me to try and get back the vibrancy at this Divya Desam. Almost all
the new Vahanams that will carry Sundara Raja Perumal are now in place. The new
chariot, that has exquisite sculptures depicting historical stories, is now
ready for the trial run around the outer prakara.”
An original inhabitant of Anbil, Satish Varadarajan immediately agreed to drive the construction of the new Chariot when he heard from Aravamudhan Bhattar that the temple was looking to revive the historical utsavams. He also responded by funding the construction of new Vahanams ahead of the Brahmotsavam. Over the last couple of years, the temple has been undertaking the construction of the new Chariot and the Vahanams under the watchful eyes of Aravamudhan Bhattar. Like this devotees, many other original inhabitants of Anbil have expressed to support the revival of the utsavams at the temple. The local community has already supported the construction of the Chariot with small contributions in the process including those such as taking care of transport charges and labour charges.
Hanumuntha Vahanam, Kalpaka
Vriksham and Elephant Vahanam are wearing a fresh look at the temple.The Serthi Mandapam, where the Lord
will make his way on the 7th day of the Brahmotsvam as well as on
the occasion of Panguni Uthiram, has been reconstructed.
A young full time paricharakar at the Madapalli
Buoyed by the efforts of Aravamudhan Bhattar,
JC Pon Jayaraman has now posted a young Paricharakar, Srinivasan, who had previously been
at the Madapalli in Srirangam, to manage the Madapalli in Anbil paying him a sizeable
Sambhavanai through Venu Srinivasan’s TVS Trust. The presentation of Thaligai
to Lord Vadivazhagiya Nambi is also taking a traditional turn and getting back
to old times.
Local Community’s interest in the Chariot Festival
Several thousand devotees have
already expressed interest to pull the chariot during the Brahmotsavam, such is
the interest among the local community in Anbil and around. Not only that, both
the local community and the original inhabitants of Anbil have already
committed to taking care of the entire Brahmotsavam expenses, which comes as
quite a relief to the Bhattar. Some historical lands belonging to the temple
have also been recovered in the recent past making the temple financially
stronger.
Revival of other Utsavams
Once the Brahmotsavam is revived,
Aravamudhan Bhattar is hopeful of reviving the Pavitrotsavam and Dolotsavam as
well. The story goes that historically the utsavams in Anbil were as vibrant as
those in Srirangam. With the efforts of Aravamudhan Bhattar and the strong
support from the local community, it is possible that the vibrancy could come
back to Anbil in the future.
The revival of the Brahmotsavam and
the Chariot festival is the first step in that direction.
Anbil is located about 15kms from
Srirangam, near Lalgudi. Express Trains stop from Chennai stop at Lalgudi. Express
buses ply every 15 minutes from Chatiram bus stand in Trichy to Lalgudi. From
Lalgudi, there are frequent mini bus services to Anbil (6kms). In times gone
by, devotees used to cross the Coloroon to reach Koviladi Appakudathaan Divya
Desam on the Southern side of the river.
The temple is open from 7.30 am -12.30 pm
and 4 pm-8 pm
A version of this story featured in The Hindu Friday Review dated March 13
4 comments:
Your writing such articles and bringing out the efforts taken by some priests in reviving our culture may enthuse many more to emulate them. You are doing a great service to our community
Super. This will be a boost to the bhattar to carry out many more kainkaryam to Lord
Sundararajan. My blessings to both to you as well as to the Bhattar
Seshadri
Thiru Nangur
நம் ஸ்ரீரங்கம் இணை ஆணையர் அவர்களது சீரிய முயற்சிக்கும், கைங்கர்யபரர்களை அவர் வெகுவாக ஊக்குவிக்கும் முயற்சிக்கும் கிடைத்த வெற்றி..! இணை ஆணையர் அவர்கட்கு ஒரு பல்லாண்டு..!
Dhanyosmi. Its HIS DIVINE GRACE. more than 5 years of dedicated work inspired and led by Srirangam Temple Chairman. Getting the local community involved is the key to success. We have a dynamic JC to excecute all these.��
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