Thiru Kannangudi Prabhu Bhattar

After a dozen years at the Thiru Mangai Azhvaar praised Divya Desam, the priest gets a daily wage of Rs. 100

Earlier he performed archaka service at Nathan Koil for a decade

It is hoped that relief to such low paid priests will come through the HC 'minimum wages' case filed by Mannar Koil's Periya Nambi Narasimha Gopalan

                            Prabhu Bhattar

This is yet another case of a Divya Desam bhattar not getting his financial due. 43 year old N Prabhakaran (Prabhu) Bhattar was roped into the Thiru Mangai praised Damodara Narayana Perumal Divya Desam in Thiru Kannangudi, located about 8kms West of Nagapattinam, off the Thiruvarur Highway, a dozen years ago. There are no buses to this Divya Desam even today.

வங்கமா முந்நீர் வரிநிறப் பெரிய வாளரவின் ஆணை மேவி 

சங்கமார் அங்கை தடமலர் உந்திச், சாம மா மேனி என் தலைவன் 

அங்கமாறு அந்தவேள்வி நால்வேதம் அருங்கலை  பயின்று 

ஏரி  மூன்றும், செங்கையால் வளர்க்கும் துலக்கமில் மனதோர் 

திரு கண்ணங்குடியில் நின்றானே

Thiru Kannangudi was without an archaka at that time. Having performed service for over a decade at Nandipura Vinnagaram, at Nathan Koil, another remote Divya Desam earlier, he agreed and moved to Thiru Kannangudi at a monthly salary of Rs. 600. It had been a dilapidated temple at that time. Roads leading to the temple were muddy. It was no different from the scenario at Nathan Koil. Devotees were limited. There was not much Thattu Kaasu for the archaka. In both the temples, he was the sole archaka taking care of all the sannidhis. 

Revival of Utsavams

In the period he was at Nandipura Vinnagaram, he performed a Samprokshanam. Here too at Thiru Kannangudi, he anchored a Samprokshanam three years ago that saw a dilapidated Ramanuja Sannidhi and the Madapalli seeing a revival. The Brahmotsavam too has been revived over the last decade. The utsava deity now makes an annual trip to the sea shore on the occasion of Maasi Magam.

Forefathers in archaka service

Prabhu Bhattar’s forefathers hailed from Nandivanam, east of Nathan Koil. They performed archaka service at the perumal temples in Nandivanam, Nandipura Vinnagaram Divya Desam and also at Tippirajapuram. His grandfather Seshadri Bhattar performed service for decades at the feet of Nandinatha Perumal and Shenbagavalli Thayar at Nandivanam. Into the second half of the previous century, when his appa Neelamegham Bhattar was performing service at Govindaraja Perumal Sannidhi in Chidambaram, he was roped in by Pachu Bhattar of Nachiyar Koil Divya Desam to perform service for 10 days every month.

Appa Neela Megha Bhattar, Nachiyar Koil

Decade long serice at Nathan Koil

Prabhu Bhattar spent his childhood in Nachiyar Koil. He had been devotionally attached right from his school days and spent a lot of his time helping his appa in service at Nachiyar Koil. He learned the pooja kramam from his thatha and joined service at the Vanamamalai administered Nathan Koil Divya Desam when he was still in his teens. There too the temple had been without an archaka and  he took charge at Nandipuram Vinnagaram in the late 1990s. He enjoyed his stay there though devotees were quite limited in those days. In 2005, he anchored the Samprokshanam at the Divya Desam. Financially, his life continued to be challenging as there was neither a good salary nor thattu kaasu to keep his life stable.

Kannangudi - His 2nd remote Divya Desam service

For three years, he came over to Madras to perform service at the Anjaneya temple in Nanganallur but soon made his way back to another remote Divya Desam after being invited to perform service at Thiru Kannangudi, one of the Pancha Krishna Kshetrams where Moolavar Loganathan is seen in an East facing standing posture. There is a separate sannidhi for Loganayaki Thayar. The Lord of Thiru Kannangudi has been praised in each of the verses by Thiru Mangai Azhvaar in his Periya Thirumozhi as one who is seen in a grand standing posture. 

                            Loganayaki Thayar

Thiru Mangai Azhvaar's praise

He describes Thiru Kannangudi as a place with huge mansions with walls that were so high that they seemed to touch the moon. He praises the temple as being surrounded with ripe paddy fields, water tanks that were filled with different kinds of lilies, lotuses and many varieties of flowers and lush orchards that produced fruits such as bananas, jack fruits and mangoes among others. He also describes the place as being home to peacocks that flocked in big numbers and danced around the Lord. 

Unlike in other Divya Desams where Garuda is seen with folded hands, he is seen here with his hands around his body.

                                 Garuda in special posture

Dilapidated State to Complete Restoration

In the period he has been at Thiru Kannangudi, he has captured the hearts of the villagers as a devotionally committed Bhattar. He is the lone Bhattar at the temple managing all the sannidhis and the utsavams. Broken Walls, Falling Azhvaar idols, Shattered Vimana and Rats inside the Madapalli symbolized the state of the temple soon after he had taken over at the start of the previous decade but has transformed the temple over the last decade. With support from devotee donors, the Ramanuja Sannidhi that had been in dilapidated state has been restored as has been the Madapalli that was falling off in the not too distant past. 

He has also managed to secure Abaranams for Perumal and Thayar. Currently, he is working on a special Horse Vahanam for the annual Brahmotsavam that too has been revived during the time he has been here.

However, for all his services, he still does not have a permanent job and is only handed ‘daily wages’ of just Rs. 100. But he has rarely complained “God has given me an opportunity to perform service in a Divya Desam. The villagers respect me for my service to Damodara Narayana Perumal. I have had the opportunity to perform consecration in two remote Divya Desams. While financial stability is required in life, not many get an opportunity to serve at the feet of Divya Desam Lord through a life time. I have spent over half of my life time in two Divya Desams praised by Thiru Mangai Azhvaar. And that I consider as a blessing.”

Since the Pandemic, life has not yet come to normal at the temple, in terms of devotee crowd. As is the case with most HR & CE administered temples, the lack of income at the temple (Hundi income) has meant a low salary to the archakas. Prabhu Bhattar has felt comfortable in a remote location performing quiet and sincere service to the Divya Desam Lord.  He is hopeful that God would bless him one day, financially, and get him the permanent job from the HR & CE. 

In recent times, Periya Nambi PS Narasimha Gopalan of Mannar Koil Kulasekara Azhvaar Rajagopalaswamy temple (Transforming Mannar Koil) has filed a contempt petition in the High Court against the HR & CE for not implementing the court's direction to paying a reasonable and fair salary to the service personnel in temples at least in line with the amount prescribed in the Minimum Wages Act. This could provide a lifeline for priests such as Prabhu Bhattar. One will have to wait and watch. 

Irrespective of the job status, he is devotionally committed to perform a lifetime of service to Damadora Narayana Perumal at Thiru Kannangudi Divya Desam.

The temple is open from 8am-12noon and 4.30pm– 9pm. Contact Prabhu Bhattar  @ 99431 38591 / 99408 11701.