Mannargudi Rajagopalaswamy Temple Deekshithars

Octogenarian Jayam Shenbagavalli has devotionally overcome life's biggest challenges under the watchful eyes of Rajagopalaswamy of Mannargudi

She has lived over 80 years of her life, first with her husband who could not hear well and then with three Deaf and Dumb sons and a daughter who lost her husband early

The physically challenged Deekshithars have been performing service at the temple for decades

Jayam Shenbagavalli was named so after Thengalayar had won the rights case against Vadakalayar at the Mannargudi Rajagopalaswamy temple(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2007/05/mannargudi-rajagopalaswamy-temple.html). She is well past 80 now and true to her name has fought all the challenges of life in a determined way. Three of her six sons were born deaf and dumb. Efforts to cure this birth inflicted injury did not turn out successful. Her husband who himself was hard of hearing performed service for several decades at the temple but his soft character meant that he did not go after lucrative engagements and for a large part of his life remained financially challenged for not too many devotees visited this temple in the second half of the 20th century. Thattu Kaasu had been the only source of income for the archakas. Her only daughter lost her husband early and she was left alone with two daughters to take care. The three physically challenged sons have all dedicated their lives in service to the Lord. They have learnt the sign language and have had a daily role to play at the temple over the last several decades.

Despite these huge challenges in life, Jayamani as she is referred to has lived life cheerfully on the Mela Veethi and accepted everything in life as an offering from Lord Vasudeva of Mannargudi.

Poverty Stricken life in the 1960s

62 year old Chellappa Deekshithar, the eldest of her seven children, has anchored the responsibilities of performing full fledged service at the Rajagopalaswamy temple. He recollects his childhood years from the 1960s “We were a pretty large family and finally challenged. It was a life below the poverty line. There were not too many outstation devotees in those decades in the 60s and 70s, no salary paid to the hereditary priests. If we received rice and paddy, we were happy. My grandfather Babu Deekshithar really starved but he performed the service to the Lord through his life.”

It was the lack of opportunities that led two original inhabitants of Mannargudi to move to Madras where both went on to become stars in their fields. Polio stricken S Venkatesan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/09/venkatesan-s-sundaram-finance.html) played the role of CFO at NBFC Sundaram Finance and R Madhavan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/10/r-madhavan-tn-cricketer-1980s.html) was on the verge of playing Test Cricket for India in the 1980s.

40kms each day to Village Temples

Chellappa Deeskhithar studied only till class VII at the Jayalakshmi School in Mannargudi. He joined service at the Rajagopalaswamy temple when he was just 17 years old and has been performing archaka service for the last 45years.  Each hereditary priest at the Mannargudi temple has a service of just over 40days annually. Grandparents, parents and seven children stayed together in a small house. For the week’s archaka murai, income did not top Rs. 200 in those decades. For the rest of the month, he would seek engagement elsewhere. For over a decade soon after he was initiated into temple service, Chellappa Deekshithar cycled 40kms every day to multiple village temples in Siddambur, Kuruchi, Thalaya Mangalam and Ethukudi to help run the family.

Paricharaka Service for four decades

He initiated his immediate younger brother Rajappa Deekshithar into temple service at a very young age. Through sign language, he showcased to him the art of performing dhoopam and bell service during Thiru Aradhanam. Rajappa Deekshithar secured Paricharakar service at the temple at a monthly salary of Rs. 25 in the 1980s. He has continued this service for four decades and continues to be present each day of the year at the Rajagopalaswamy Temple, with its towering Raja Gopuram in the East. Every morning Rajappa Deeskhithar would arrive at the temple by 8am and stay till the Uchi Kaala Pooja. In addition to Paricharaka service, he also takes care of the Hanuman Sannidhi ‘silently’ handing out kungumam to the devotees. 

       60 year old Rajappa Deekshithar

Wife's Cooking Service for visiting devotees

Interestingly, Rajappa Deekshithar found a bride in 1987. Latha, who had her early education in Arani, Vellore, had settled down in Tirupathi. The family was in dire financial condition in that phase. Her amma too was dumb and could not speak through her life. Given this scenario, Latha had learnt the art of engaging with ‘silent’ people and agreed to marry Rajappa Deekshithar and has been taking care of him for the last 34years. She shouldered all of the responsibility in taking care of her husband as well as her two daughters. In recent years, she has also been performing cooking service to visiting devotees for financial survival. While their elder is married and lives in Madras, the younger one met with a tragic road accident last decade during the Brahmotsavam procession on the South Street.

Kola Villi Sannidhi Kainkaryam

Unfortunately the two younger physically challenged brothers of Rajappa Deekshithar were not so lucky. They have not been able to find a bride and have remained unmarried. While Ramesh Deekshithar also performs Sannidhi Paricharakar service at the Rajagopalaswamy temple, Mukundan Deekshithar goes to the Kola Villi Sannidhi near Alangudi close to 15kms from Mannargudi each day of the year to perform archaka service there. He also performs service at the nearby Hanuman temple in Mannargudi to keep his life going. 

                    Mukundan Deekshithar

Jayam Shenbagavalli takes satisfaction from the fact that her eldest son Chellappa Deekshithar married off his three daughters and also took care of the wedding of the two daughters of his sister.  She wonders though as to what will happen to her physically challenged sons after her lifetime. That though is a question for the future. Thus far she has showcased to the devotee world that the biggest of challenges in life – three physically challenged sons and a daughter who lost her husband early- can be overcome by true devotion to the Lord.

                    Ramesh Deekshithar

Unflinching Faith in God

81 year old Babu Deeskhithar is the father in law of the renowned Vasan Bhattar of Therazhundur Divya Desam (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/10/therazhundur-divya-desam.html). He belongs to the 9th generation of Deekshithars performing service at the Rajagopalaswamy temple in Mannargudi. He has been at the temple right from his childhood. His schooling was just till class IV before he moved to patshala education at Singam Iyengar’s patshala in Srirangam where he learnt Kaavyam. Later under Sona Deekshithar (Ramaswamy) he learnt the Koil Agamas for a decade. 

In this life time he has performed Sannidhi Paricharaka, Sripatham, madapalli and archaka service at the Rajagopalaswamy temple. He has no complaints in life “Whatever is required to lead a life, God has given me. Rs. 10/- to Rs. 15/- was big money in those days. We depended on Thattu Kaasu  but we led a contended life performing service to the Lord accepting whatever Rajagopalaswamy and Shenbagavalli Thaayar gave us. I never asked a single devotee to place any money in the Thattu. I learnt early on in life that God will make the decision for you and will present to you what you require in life.”

At Mannargudi Rajagopalaswamy Temple, it has a tale of unflinching devotion despite financially challenging times for several decades in the previous century. These Deekshithar families have faced the most severest of wounds inflicted, as they say by God, during their lifetime but they placed their trust in God and accepted what came to them as an offering from God and faced it accordingly with a cheerful face. The attitude of Rajappa Deekshithar standing ever in front of the  Hanuman Sannidhi says it all - he welcomes devotees passing by from the Vasudeva Sannidhi to the Shenbagavalli Thaayar Sannidhi with a smiling face and with the Hanuman Kungumam in hand. To him there is no sadness in life for he has dedicated a lifetime in the service of the Lord of Mannargudi.