7 years after
Srirangam Maniyam Sridharan revived the Thirumanjanam tradition of ‘Hot Water’ upacharam for Pundarikaksha Perumal in 2018 that has continued to this day
R Sridharan, the Maniyakarar of the Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam, faces challenges every day in this coveted and a highly responsible role but over the last decade or so, he has taken on the challenges head on talking straight to those who raise issues and providing historical references to endorse his views.
Seven years ago this week, he was transferred for a brief period as the Maniyam of the Pundarikaksha Perumal temple in Thiru Vellarai before coming back to Srirangam at the end of 2018. He has always held the view with this writer that he has accepted every new assignment in his life as a fresh experience and accepted this transfer to Thiru Vellarai too whole heartedly. In the second half of that year, he made daily trips from Srirangam to Thiru Vellarai every day for almost six months starting July 1, 2018.
Hot Water Upacharam done away with
After he took over as Maniyam at Thiru Vellarai, he found on the Ekadasi day that the historical tradition of ‘hot water’ (Venneer) presentation to Pundarikaksha Perumal did not take place during the Thirumanjanam on the Ekadasi day. When he enquired, he received differing views from the Kainkaryaparas at the temple. There were those that said that this was not a tradition at that temple and there were others who accepted it as a tradition but could not implement it as there was a shortage of service personnel.
It is well past 10pm at the Ranganayaki Thayar Sannidhi at Srirangam. Maniyam Sridharan looks visibly tired after a long evening. This writer brought up the issue of how he had to face every day challenges from different sections of the Kainkaryaparas and complimented him for managing each of those with a smile rarely losing his temper.
In the past this section had featured a story on how Maniyam Sridharan had revived the Kaisika Ekadasi padippu at the Sundararaja Perumal temple in Anbil.
This story is about a historical tradition that had been discarded for several years at the Pundarikaksha Perumal temple in Thiru Vellarai and how Sridharan stood firm to revive that tradition in his role as the Maniyam of that temple exactly 7 years ago.
He told this writer that his raising the issue of hot water upacharam did not go well initially with the archakas of Thiru Vellarai but he says he understood their issue of shortage of Kainkaryaparas. On the first occasion, he directed the cook at the Madapalli to provide him with hot water but the archaka of the day refused to accept it on the grounds that it was not a tradition they had followed in the preceding years.
There is almost tears in Maniyam Sridharan’s eyes as he recounts the event that unfolded that day at Thiru Vellarai seven years ago “I had just taken over the Maniyam at that temple and was not keen on forcing the issue. After the Thirumanjanam, I went to the Moolavar and told him that I had done my duty of getting the hot water and it was then up to the Lord to accept the upacharam.”
Soon after he came down from the Moolavar Sannidhi, the Sthalathars of Thiru Vellarai questioned the Maniyakarar as to why he did not use his power to force the issue on the archaka of the day “I requested them for a month’s time and assured them that this tradition will definitely be revived at the temple. At that moment, they did not seem convinced but took my word for it.”
At the next Thirumanjanam, he once again went to the Madapalli to ask the cook to prepared hot water for the Lord. Much to his shock, the cook refused saying that it was not a tradition for him to boil water ahead of the Thirumanjanam. “This time, I used my discretion as the Maniyam and directed him to follow what he said.”
When Maniyam Sridharan brought the hot water himself from the Madapalli to the location of the Thirumanjanam, he asked once again the archaka of the day if he accepted the hot water upacharam as a tradition at this temple and if he would present it to Pundarikaksha Perumal. The archaka accepted this time much to the delight of the Sthalathars.
Something else happened on this day standing as testimony to Maniam Sridharan’s belief that Perumal will answer your prayers if your devotional conduct was of the highest order. He says that the disciples of Mudaliandan were present on this day and the elderly member of the family educated his grandson as to how Perumal was experiencing the ‘Venneer Upacharam’.
So happy was the disciple at this revival that he presented a high Sambhavanai to the archaka.
Devotional commitment pays dividend
Maniam Sridharan recalls telling the Sthalathar that not only has the tradition been revived but also it has been done in the presence of the disciples of Mudaliandan and that it was not up to the Sthalathars of Thiru Vellarai to continue this tradition at every Thirumanjanam (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/03/srirangam-temple-time-keeper.html).
He proudly states that seven years after this tradition has continued to this day with the Sthalathars ensuring that the hot water upacharam takes place during the Thirumanjanam at Thiru Vellarai Divay Desam.
Kudos to Maniam Sridharan for yet another revival of a lost tradition.
