Thanjai Maa Mani Narasimha Bhattar passes away

The Smiling Face at Narasimha Sannidhi is taken away at 51

He started performing service at the age of 15 and till the very end, serving the Divya Desam Lords at Vennatrankarai had remained his only Love in Life

Narasimha Bhattar, who had served Thanjai Maa Mani Divya Desam for 36 years, passed away recently, aged 51. He had joined the temple as a teenager supporting his appa Srinivas ‘Pichai’ Bhattar at the three temples that together make up this Divya Desam. Pichai Bhattar had joined the temple in the early 1960s and had served for almost 55 years. He had passed away only a few years back, after which Narasimha Bhattar performed aradhanam at the Singa Perumal Koil and Mani Kundram temple all alone. 

Pichai Bhattar had been the vital link between the Lord and the devotees even in the financially tough times in the 1960s and 70s. As a single Bhattar, he would shuttle between the three temples – Singa Perumal Koil, Manikundram Perumal and Neela Megha Perumal - helping devotees with darshan. Till his very end he had remained devotionally committed to the Lords of this Divya Desam.

எம்பிரான் எந்தை என்னுடைச் சுற்றம்

எனக்கு அரசு என்னுடை வாழ்நாள்

அம்பினால் அரக்கர் வெருக்கொள நெருக்கி

அவர் உயிர் செகுத்த எம் அண்ணல்

வம்புலாம் சோலை மா மதில்

தஞ்சை மாமணிக்  கோயிலே வணங்கி

நம்பிகாள் உய்ய நான் கண்டுகொண்டேன்

நாராயணா என்னும் நாமம் - Thiru Mangai Azhvaar

Continues in his appa's footsteps The Fall led to his demise

Following the death of his father, in the middle of last decade, the pressure on Narasimha Bhattar He took on the mantle of performing aradhanam and conducting the utsavams including the Brahmotsavam at this Divya Desam. He was always available to provide darshan to devotees who arrived last minute well after noon on many days. Similarly in the night he was always willing to keep the temple open when the outstation devotees were on the way to the Divya Desam.  It was not the financial lure but the devotional attraction and to be with the Lord all days of the year that made him stick like a glue at this Divya Desam over the last three and a half decades.

In his praise in the Periya Thirumozhi, Thirumangai Azhvaar refers to the Lord (Narasimha) who tore open the chest of Hiranyakashipu as residing in Thanjai Maa Mani Koil. He also refers to the second of the temples in this Divya Desam as Manikundram.

என் செய்கேன் அடியேன் உரையீர் இதற்கு

என்றும் என் மனத்தே இருக்கும் புகழ்

தஞ்சை ஆளியை பொன்பெயரோன் நெஞ்சம்

அன்று இடந்தவனை தழவே புரை

மின் செய் வாள் அரக்கன் நகர் பாழ்பட

சூழ் கடல் சிறை வைத்து  இமையோர் தொழும்

பொன்செய் மால் வரையை மணிகுன்றினை

அன்றி என் மனம் போற்றி என்னாதே

The Fatal Fall

In August this year, Narasimha Bhattar fell down and experienced severe pain in his back. He never recovered from the fall. For someone so committed to serving the Lord in three temples at this Divya Desam, there was no girl who came forward to marry him, the tag of a remote temple Bhattar with weak financial returns was not attractive enough, and thus at 51, Narasimha Bhattar died, unmarried, at the small house opposite the Manikundram Perumal Temple. Till the very end, serving the Thanjai Maa Mani Lords day in day out remained his only Love in Life.