Lalitha Trisati and Saharasnama Rendition
With less than 50 days in a year of Archaka Service, this priest created a niche for himself to remain devotionally attached to Akilandeswari and to perform a lifetime of service at the historic temple in Thiruvanaikaval
The challenging scenario in temples in TN in the 1970s and 80s led his appa to move into the corporate world but K Hari Hara Subramaniya Pandithar ( Hari Pandithar) decided early on that Kainkaryam at the feet of Jambukeswarar and Akilandeswari at the Saivite Poets praised Thiruvanaikaval temple, one of the Pancha Bhootha Sthalams, where Lord Shiva manifests himself as ‘Water’, would be his way of life. While his elder brothers took to academics and completed their Masters, Hari Pandithar spent five years at the Sankara Mutt administered Veda Patshala on the North Street opposite the Akilandeswari Sannidhi.
While historically the archaka service was divided among the Gothra descendants, over the centuries various events led this to be distributed among the next gen priests and Hari Pandithar’s Thatha and appa were left with under 20 days of annual service at the temple.
நன்றும் இழைத்த சிலம்பி வலைப் பரப்பை நாதன் அடி வணங்கச்
சென்ற யானை அநுசிதம் என்று அதனைச் சிதைக்கச் சிலம்பிதான்
இன்று களிற்றின் கரம் சுலவிற்று என்று மீள இழைத்ததனை
அன்று கழித்த பிற்றைநாள் அடல் வெள்ளானை அழித்ததால்
5th Century AD temple
Thiruvanaikaval is the first of the 70+ ‘Maada Koils’ built by Kochenganan Chozha. Ruling from Uraiyur, the then capital of the Chozhas, Ko Chenganan crossed the Cauvery and found an idol of Shiva beneath the tree. He also remembered his life as a spider when he had provided shade right above. His devotion touched a peak and he built Thiruvanaikal as his first Saivite temple. In recognition of his great contribution to temple architecture and as the one who built the Thiruvanaikaval temple, Kochenganan’s idol is seen inside the temple and his procession around the four streets takes place on the Sathayam day in Maasi every year (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2025/03/thiruvanaikaval-ko-chenganan-maasi.html).
Appa's untimely death leaves him with an uncertain future
When he was still in his late teens, his appa passed away all of a sudden leaving him in a state of shock and an uncertain future beckoned. Soon after his Vedic initiation, Hari Pandithar had to find ways to sustain his service at the temple. It was a phase when he came in close contact with L. Ranganathan, Trichy correspondent of The Hindu. Hari Pandithar recounts as to how his conversations with Ranganathan transformed his way of service at the Thiruvanaikaval temple “To create a niche for myself, he asked me to learn Trisati and this transformed my way of service at the temple. It was Ranganathan’s motivation that helped me serve at the temple at the turn of the century. My appa’s friend at LIC was the first to reach out to me for four archanai’s every month for which I was paid Rs. 50. I did this for a decade and a half with devotees reaching out to me for special archanai on specific days of the month.”
It was also Ranganathan who initiated Hari Pandithar into the newspaper reading habit “I took a special liking to Business Line and he would share the paper every morning and I would read every section of the paper. And then for many years, I bought BL myself and continued the reading process. This helped me with insights into the external world”, Hari Pandithar told this writer at his home on North Car street in Thiruvanaikaval where he has been residing from birth.
Interestingly, another journalist, again from The Hindu (and later PTI) was among the first to reach out to him for this archanai. Hari Pandithar recalls a Vadakalai Iyengar to have also called him for the archanai in that initial phase of his service at the temple. He also recalls devotees reaching out for specific archanai including a few requesting him for Rahu Kaalam archanai on Tuesdays.
While Hari Pandithar did not have too many days of archaka service in the year, his special devotional rendition of Lalitha Trisati and Sahasranama led devotees to take a special liking for me and this created a big devotional bond between him and Akilandeswari. The Sambhavanai for an archanai and this special rendition was minimal in those days, over two decades and he had to manage the expenses within the Rs. 1500 or so he received every month. A lot of this money went each year to performing his appa’s shraddam every year.
Following his wedding, the number of days of his annual archaka service increased a bit with his aunt, uncle and the HRCE distribution taking this up to close to 50days.
Hari Pandithar has not once gone after devotees for his archaka and every single rendition of the Trisati and Sahasranama archanai has been at the request of the devotees who have reached out to him through word of mouth of his special devotional presentation.
Sundarar’s Thevaram Verse
One of Sundarar’s Thevaram verses on Thiruvanaikka refers to an interesting episode that suggests that every devotee should first offer to the Lord before consuming it. A Queen who was a gifted a set of glittering necklaces adorned herself and showcased it with all joy. After bathing in the Cauvery, she found the necklaces missing. Shocked at this loss, the king and the queen invoked the blessings of Lord Jambukeswarar to help find the necklaces. Shortly after, as the priest provided the Lord with the sacred bath the necklaces were seen on the Lord’s Lingam making them realise that in their hour of joy and greed they had forgotten to first thank him for their state of happiness. This story is beautifully narrated by Sundarar as a message to all devotees that we should not forget the Lord in our hour of happiness.
For almost 15years, he would take the Neivedyam on the day of his rendition and present it at the devotee’s house in different parts of Trichy. Not once did he forget that those initial set of devotees were the ones who gave him an opportunity for this close engagement with Akilandeswari. It was also for this reason that though the archanai Sambhavanai remained stagnant for a decade, he did not once ask for a raise.
Navarathri Rendition
Over the last two decades, the special archanai during Navarathri has also taken off and it was with the sambhavanai accruing from this that he was able to manage the Deepavali expenses. With devotees coming in good numbers following the Pandemic seeking his devotional presentation and to secure the blessings of Akilandeswari, he was able to buy a new Fridge in 2023!!!
His Trisati and Sahasranama archanai entails him being inside the Sannidhi for over 45 minutes. At the Thiruvanaikaval temple, he is a lone hand with deep interest in such renditions for most other archakas are focused on the routine pooja service and managing the devotee crowd.
Those who have been to the Jambukeswarar Sannidhi would know as to how physically challenging it is for Kainkarayaparas to be inside the Sannidhi for a length of time with the closed walls and lack of fresh air leading to suffocation and over sweating arising of the heat generated there. This temple built by Kochenganan Chozha is such that the elephant would not be able to enter as it a small entrance into the sanctum with a narrow passage.
ஆன செயலால் திருவானைக்கா என்று அதற்குப் பெயராக
ஞானம் உடைய ஒரு சிலந்தி நம்பர் செம் பொன் திருமுடிமேல்
கானல் விரவும் சருகு உதிரா வண்ணம் கலந்த வாய் நூலால்
மேல் நல்திரு மேற்கட்டி என விரிந்து செறியப் புரிந்து உளதால்
Undeterred at low archaka service days
While the less than 50 days in a year of archaka service could have proved as a deterrent and been demotivating to an archaka who looked at temple service as a way of life, Hari Pandithar did not allow this to pull him down. Instead, having decided service at the feet of Akilandeswari as his lifetime commitment, he identified the devotional rendition of Lalitha Trisati and Sahasranama as a way to remain in front of the Ambal of Thiruvanaikaval all the time. And hundreds of devotees over the last couple of decades have found solution to their problems through Hari Pandithar’s devotional prayers in front of Akilandeswari.
Great Satisfaction in serving Akilandeswari
At 48, Hari Pandithar looks back with great satisfaction at how blessed he is to have been the designated one to perform this Naamavali for this long a period of time. He lives a simple traditional life continuing to ride the 15year old TVS Scooty around the streets of Thiruvanaikaval. To him, the divine couple of Thiruvanaikaval has meant everything and he has rarely left the shores of Cauvery and Kollidam in the last 25years residing right in front of the Ambal Sannidhi all through his life. In the close to 50 days of archaka Murai in the year, he takes delight in performing the daily pooja krama on those days. To this day, he follows the same model that he started out with – he would not market himself and reach out to devotees asking for archanai. He believes that if he has served Akilandeswari with the truest devotion, she will direct devotees to him and get him to continue to sing praise of her.
At Thiruvanaikaval, Hari Pandithar is a role model for the next gen seeking to enter the temple Kainkarya space in how one can create that special devotional bonding with the Divine Couple through one's service. For the huge number of devotees, he is the anchor to reach their messages to Akilandeswari.
Hari Pandithar can be reached on 9894914466
1 comment:
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