Srirangam Era Pathu Vedu Pari 2023

The 8th day of the Era Pathu Utsavam was marked by an amazing display of Kona Voiyali by the Sripatham Personnel, the enactment of the historical Vedu Pari episode and Veenai Ekantham at 2am

5yr son in ICU but Barathwajan Araiyar presents Nedumaarkadimai abhinayam at midnight

The ten day Era Pathu ‘Thiruvoimozhi Thirunaal’ Utsavam at the Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam was created by Thiru Mangai Azhvaar in recognition of Namazhvaar’s contribution to the devotional world. While the Pagal Pathu utsavam that precedes Vaikunta Ekadasi was started later to recognize the contribution of Thiru Mangai Azhvaar, the first part of the eighth day of the Era Pathu Utsavam is dedicated to the last of the Azhvaars with the enactment of his transformation from a king to a Saint poet enacted at the Manal Veli on the Eastern side of the temple.

Its 4.30pm on Saturday (Dec 30) evening and the entire temple is packed with year end devotees seeking darshan of Moolavar Ranganatha in Muthangi. The long queue extended right up to the far corner of the East and West Uthira Starts outside the Ranga Ranga Gopuram. 

HR &CE Joint Commissioner Mariappan who took charge in the second of this year has been clear with his philosophy since the time he has taken charge at the temple. His motto has been to reduce special entry for those throwing up ‘referral names’. In line with his staffer behind the Garuda Sannidhi ensured that every single devotee irrespective of their status only goes through the queue.

Through the Vellam Gopuram side, this devotee, who wanted to experience only the utsavar, managed to reach the Naazhi ketten Vaasal ahead of the start of the procession which was slated for 5pm. While on most other days in the year, Namperumal begins his procession through the western side, this one on the Golden Horse Vahana was through the eastern side. 

Elaborate arrangements had been made at the Manal Veli where the events were to unfold on the evening. Devotees seated themselves on the far corner of the north end in good numbers. On the east and west side too, devotees stood in good numbers behind the ropes held by the police personnel. On the South end of the Manal Veli, Ramanuja and Namazhvaar remained stationed to welcome Namperumal on to the Manal Veli. Cameramen from TV channels had taken vantage positions on all sides of the Manal Veli to record this once in a year enactment of the historical episode.

Kona Voiyali display delights the devotees

It was past 5.30pm when to the loud cheer from the thousands of devotees, the Vethal members, the voluntary Sripatham service personnel, presented a wonderful exhibition of Kona Voiyali from the South end of Manal Veli to the North end and then back to the South end. For a large number of devotees, the zig zag movement of Namperumal across the Manal Veli at a rapid speed was a high point of the evening’s events.

While many left the Manal Veli following the Kona Voiyali, the more traditional ones remained for the enactment of Vedu Pari, the event wherein Thiru Mangai Mannan transformed himself to Thiru Mangai Azhvaar. 

Vedu Pari enactment 

Born in Thiru Kuraiyulur, 2kms from the Thiruvali-ThiruNagari Divya Desam near Sirkazhi, Thirumangai Mannan (King), who belonged to the Kallar Community, fell in love with the beautiful Kumudavalli of Annan Koil. She was keen to get him initiated into Vaishnavism and devoted to Lord Vishnu. To lead him into this path, she laid down ‘wedding’ conditions, one of which was to feed 1008 Vaishnavites every day. The story goes that Thirumangai Mannan, in this attempt, lost a lot of his wealth. To fulfil the conditions, he turned a thief and resorted to ‘stealing’. One night, Thirumangai Mannan saw a newly married couple, decked with jewellery, coming his way. It was Lord Ranganatha of Thirunagari taking along with him Amruthavalli Thayar of Thiruvali. In that darkness, in Vedarajapuram (the village between Thiruvali and Thirunagari), he waylaid the disguised Lord Ranganatha and threatened him by lashing out his spear. With all his might, he also tried to bite and remove the Perumal’s ring. Having picked up the jewellery and packed it into a sack, Thirumangai found the bag far too heavy. Despite repeated attempts, he could not lift the bag making him wonder if the person in front of him had a magic mantra. It was then that the disguised Lord Ranganatha initiated the ‘Astachara Mantra’ by whispering into the ears of Thirumangai. It was after this initiation that Thirumangai Mannan became Thirumangai Azhvaar.

As has been the practice at this temple, those from the Kallar Community came with tall sticks in an enactment of way laying the Lord and robbing him of his jewels and belongings. Soon after, the king received the enlightenment from Namperumal and was seen in a transformed state as a Saint Poet presenting himself with folded hands before the Lord of Srirangam. This was followed by reading out of the jewels of Namperumal to confirm that his belongings were all intact and nothing had been lost in the robbery attempt. Soon after Araiyar Krishnan presented the first set of verses of Thiru Mangai Azhvaar after he became a Saint Poet – Vaadinen Vaadi - marking the end of the enactment of the Vedu Pari episode on this 8th evening of the Era Pathu Utsavam. 

By 8pm, a large part of the devotees had left the Manal Veli though the crowd continued to swell inside the Ariya Bhattal Vaasal for Moolavar Muthangi darshan.

            Namperumal at 2.30am 

A trend in recent years has been the increasing number of people from the Kallar community seeking the ‘mariyathai’. In the last decades of the previous century, there were around 10 devotees who received the parivattam and shatari presentation following the Vedu Pari episode but it has now gone so high that it took almost an hour for the priests to go through this process at the Manal Veli. 

Well past 9pm, the Azhvaars and Acharyas had made their way to the 1000 pillared mandapam. It was almost close to 10pm, when Namperumal on the horse vahana finally made his way to the Thiru Maa Mani mandapam within the 1000 pillared complex.

The police personnel on this evening had managed the huge crowd quite well and most who had gathered at the Manal Veli for the Kona Voiyali and Vedu Pari enactment went back happy.

Araiyar Sevai

With a cone-like coloured cap on the head and a sacred garland on their chest, Araiyars, descendants of Nathamuni, present the divine hymns of the Azhvaars through a differentiated musical chanting and 

dance performance using two cymbals in their hands.

5year son in ICU but Barathwajan Araiyar presents abhinayam

It was 10.45pm when the Araiyars began their presentation of the eighth canto of Tiruvoimozhi verses  praising the Lords of Thiru Chengannur, Thiru Kadithanam and (Kutta Nattu) Sirupuliyur with around a 100 devotees staying through their 90 minute enactment. Pilot Barathwajan Araiyar presented the Abhinayam of the Nedumaarkadimai verses, the last decad of the 8th canto. His devotional commitment was extraordinary given the fact that his 5 year old son (who had been at the araiyar sevai earlier this week on Tuesday on the 4th day of the Era Pathu Utsavam) is in the ICU after a bad fall the previous day. Soon after the araiyar Sevai performance, he was all in tears before namperumal for having given him the courage to perform for 90minutes despite the emergency. 

A surprisingly big highlight of this late Saturday evening was that there was pin drop silence through the entire presentation by the Araiyars. While the crowd had been quite noisy at the Manal Veli, the traditional ones remained glued to the special recital of the Tiruvoimozhi verses and the Abhinayam.

Pilot Araiyar Barathwajan  as a 3 year boy

The longish mariyathai to the Kallar community on the Manal Veli meant the schedule of the evening was behind by an hour. It was 1.45am when Namperumal began his procession from the 1000 pillared mandapam to his abode. Inside the Naazhi Ketten Vaasal, a sizeable crowd had already gathered ahead of the Veenai Ekantham.

Veenai Ekantham at 2am

Ramanuja laid down specific processes to be followed in each area of service at the Ranganathaswamy 

temple in Srirangam. He ensured that people from different walks of life participated in the temple routine. Finding reference to the Veenai (Yaazh) in several pasurams of the Azhwars, he wanted Veena recital to form an integral part of the daily routine at the temple and assigned ‘Sathya Kootam’, a clan belonging to a village near Srirangam and well versed in this art form. 

The team members of the Veenai Ekantham too had made their way and were ready by 1.30am. Unfortunately the Veenai Vidwans were without senior member Srinivasan, who suffered a stroke soon after the Veenai Ekantham presentation a couple of nights earlier and has been hospitalized with a ‘block’.

Usually the Veenai Vidwans are accommodative on the 7th and 8th days of the Era Pathu Utsavam as Namperumal and the service personnel have already had a very long evening. While their presentation on all other evenings goes up to one hour, on this late Saturday night they confined themselves to presenting the glorious verses of the ‘man of the day’ Thiru Mangai Azhvaar. 

In a number of verses in the Periya Thirumozhi, Thiru Mangai Azhvaar repents for the fallacies of his earlier days and asks for devotees to surrender to the Lord at least in the later phase in one’s life.

தெரியேன் பாலகனாய் பல தீமைகள் செய்துமிட்டேன் 

பெரியேன் ஆயினபின் பிரர்கே உழைத்து ஏழை ஆனேன் 

கரிசேர் பூம்புழில் சூழ் கனமாமலை வேங்கடவா 

அரியே வந்தடைந்தேன் அடியேனை ஆட்கொண்டருலே  

பற்றேல் ஒன்றுமிலேன் பாவமே செய்து பாவி ஆனேன் 

மற்றேல் ஒன்றறியேன் மாயனே எங்கள் மாதவனே 

கலதேன் பாயத்தொழுகும் கமலச்சுனை வேங்கடவா 

ஆற்றேன் வந்தடைந்தேன் அடியேனை ஆட்கொண்டருளே

It was well past 2.30am when the Sripatham personnel presented the Padi Etra Sevai to the tunes of ‘Eth Sarigai’ of the Veena Vidwans bringing to end the eighth day of the Era Pathu Utsavam, one that the devotees at the Srirangam temple thoroughly enjoyed.

Nachiyar Koil Kal Garuda Sevai 2023

Devotee from Netherlands has a debut experience of Kal Garuda Sevai procession at Thiru Naraiyur

After a break for a few years, first because of the Pandemic and then the year long Thiruppani works, the now popular Kal Garuda Sevai was back at the Nachiyar Koil Divya Desam on Tuesday much to the delight of the devotees. Only a few days earlier, the mandalabhisekam had been performed on the 48th day after the consecration. On Tuesday evening, there was a surprise visitor from the Netherlands to watch this grand enactment of Kal Garuda increasing in the weight and more sripatham personnel required to carry him at every succeeding stage of the procession from the Moolasthanam. 

32 year old V Vidhvath, who is into research and production of medicines for cancer treatment at a multi national firm in the Netherlands, had arrived in Chennai only on Friday evening and he immediately headed to Kumbakonam to watch Kal Garudar carrying Srinivasa Perumal on his shoulder as part of the fourth day celebrations of the Margazhi Brahmotsavam.

The prominence for Garuda at Nachiyar Koil began in the 1990s when Gopinathan Bhattar and his brother created a seven week prarthana model for devotees invoking the blessings of Garuda for their wishes to be fulfilled. Three decades later, this historical temple praised with a century of verses by Thiru Mangai Azhvaar, has come to be famous worldwide for this twice a year Kal Garuda Sevai procession when Garuda’s weight is said to increase manifold during the procession.

மாண் கொண்ட தோல் மார்வின் மாணியாய் 

மாவலி மண் தான் கொண்டு தாளால் அளந்த பெருமானே 

தேன் கொண்ட சாரல் திருவேங்கடத்தானை  

நான் சென்று நாடி நறையூரில் கண்டேனே - Periya Thirumozhi 6.8.1

It was the first time in his life that Vidhvath, who holds a P.Hd from the Delft University, was watching a grand enactment at a Brahmotsavam in a Divya Desam. And naturally his excitement was palpable. He told this writer late on Tuesday night following the street procession that he been really curious about the Kal Garuda procession and how the events would unfold in the evening “Expectation was high with a lot of energy among the devotees. There was a certain buzz inside the temple. I got early to the temple to capture a vantage position near the Garuda Sannidhi so I could get a close look at the start of the procession.”

As has been the trend at this utsavam, people began to trickle in just after 5pm.  “You could sense that something was happening as each corner of the temple was buzzing with activity.” 

With the Kal Garuda Sevai taking place after a few years, it was natural for the temple authorities to expect a huge crowd. Being one of the first entrants at the temple on this evening, Vidhvath saw firsthand every move of the priests, the service personnel and the devotees “Since I was there from 4.30pm, I could see the mood change with every passing moment.  I entered the temple with great anticipation and curiosity having read about the utsavam in the past. By 5.30pm, the police personnel had gathered in good numbers even as one could sense a bit of restlessness among the devotees, each being eager to get a first look of the beautifully decorated Garuda. Hot milk was presented to the devotees and with the passing of each minute, anticipation of that much awaited moment was on the rise. More and more people wanted to enter the sannidhi and get close to Garuda as possible.” 

By 6pm, the entire long pathway leading to the Garuda Sannidhi was packed with hundreds of devotees lined up on either side. Everyone was treated to a delightful presentation of Tavil and Nagaswaram. The entire mood had turned completely festive. And right opposite the sannidhi, there were scores of people waiting with bated breath for the unveiling of the decorated vahana. 

In a matter of minutes, the crowd extended right to the Eastern Raja Gopuram and there was not an inch of space left in the entire temple complex. 

 

And then it happened all too quickly. Garuda’s strode down the steep steps of this Mani Mada Koil built by Ko Chenganan Koil at a rapid pace. Flowers were thrown on Garuda during this procession. Folded hands went up invoking the blessings of Garuda while in line with the current trend phone cameras and videos too went to capture that magical moment of Sripatham carrying Kal Garuda. The Sripatham personnel treated the devotees to a fast paced Voyali going back and forth a few times before Kal Garuda made his way to the alankara mandapam at the Eastern entrance for Srinivasa Perumal to be mounted on the Garuda Vahana. 

While the utsava deity was mounted on to his Vahana, devotees made their way atop the Mada Koil for a darshan of  the Moolavar Srinivasa Perumal and Vanjula Valli Thayar. 

Inside the temple complex, Vidvath saw quite an energetic Namasankeerthanam concert with active participation from the audience.

முருகிலங்கு கனிதுவர்வாய் பின்னை கேள்வன் மன்னெல்லாம்  முன்னவியச்சென்று 

வென்றிச் செருக்கழுத்துத் ததிறலழிய செற்ற வேந்தன் சிறந்துணிந்தான் திருவடினும் சென்னிவைப்பீர் 

இருக்கிலங்கு திருமொழி வாய் எண்தோள் ஈசற்கு எழில் மாட எழுபதும் செய்து உலகமாண்ட 

திருகுலத்து வளச்சோழன் சேர்ந்த கோயில் திரு நறையூர் மணி மாட சேர்மின்களே 

The Street Procession at 9pm

It was almost 9pm when the screen opened for the second time this evening. Srinivasa Perumal provided darshan atop Kal Garuda. Shortly after Perumal along with Vanjula Valli Thayar made their way around the four streets on a wheeled procession which has become a norm in remote towns in Tamil Nadu. 

It was past midnight when Kal Garuda made his way back to the temple after the devotees were treated to a delightful darshan.

For Netherlander Vidhvath, it was a new experience that he referred to as a fantastic one. He even had unexpected tears rolling down his cheeks watching the magical moment of Moolavar Kal Garuda making his way down the steps from almost a touching distance. Only a couple of days earlier, he had had a 24 hour flight trip from Europe and had felt the jet lag. And soon after, he took a train to Kumbakonam. He says that Kal Garuda energized him dramatically “Everything changed once I was at the Garuda Sannidhi. The anticipation and the buzz among the devotees captivated me. I found that everyone had their reason to come to the temple and to pray. And each expressed his/her devotion in their own way.”

Clearly the Kal Garuda Sevai is gaining in popularity and is going global.

Tail Piece

It has been a fulfilling couple of months for Gopinathan Bhattar ( https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2023/08/nachiyar-koil-gopi-bhattar.html?m=1). After almost single handedly carrying out the renovation exercise for a year securing donor devotees in good numbers and organizing the consecration on October 27, he also anchored the mandalabhisekam on December 14. And then within 36 hours of the event, the Margazhi Brahmotsavam began last Friday. The successful presentation of the Kal Garuda Sevai on this Tuesday evening is a crown in his cap and he can enjoy some well earned rest.