Thiru Vahindrapuram Puratasi Desikar Shravanam

3.30am procession to the Hayagriva Sannidhi up the hill as disciples carry their Acharya, Vedantha Desikar, for 8 hours without a break for Mangalasasanam in multiple Sannidhis to celebrate his birthday

It is not something anyone could have visualised or predicted four decades ago when everything was falling off at temples. The infrastructure had been getting dilapidated, devotees stayed away from temples for a large part and the original inhabitants left their temple towns to move away to cities in search of greener pastures for there seemed to be no more the prospect of a livelihood in the remote towns that during the period of the Azhvaars had flourished.

Against the run of play, it has been a remarkable transformation in temples over the last decade or two with money pouring in like never before. While the priests of the 1970s and 80s waited at the entrance of the temple for the next devotee that proved elusive leading to severe financial challenges, the scenario is posing a completely different challenge for the next gen priests in many temples in Tamil Nadu.

வையமேழும் உண்டாலிலை வைகியமாயவன் 

அடியவர்க்கு மெய்யனாகிய தெய்வ நாயகனிடம் 

மெய் தகுவரைச்சாரல் 

மொய்கள் மாதவி சண்பகம் முயங்கிய முல்லையன் கொடியாட 

செய்ய தாமரை செழும்பணை திகழ்தரு திருவயிந்திரபுரமே -Thiru Mangai Azhvaar

It is Thursday (Oct 2) morning at the Devanathaswamy temple in Thiru Vahindrapuram, praised to glory by Thiru Mangai Azhvaar over a 1000 years ago and by Vadakalai Vaishnavite Acharya Vedantha Desikar over 750 years ago. It is the final day of his Avathara Utsavam and controversies and arguments had been going on through the previous nine days of the utsavam.

Why?- This year Puratasi Shravanam fell on Vijayadasami day which it so often does. This time it also coincided with Gandhi Jayanthi – a holiday for all institutions (work and education). That was not the case for arguments. The Vedantha Desikar Puratasi Shravanam happened to be on a Thursday. So what about a Thursday in a remote Divya Desam like Thiruvahindapuram from where a large part of the original inhabitants had left in the second half of the previous century.

When Vedantha Desikar whose annual birthday was to be celebrated on this Thursday composed the Hayagriva Stotram at Thiru Vahindrapuram, he would not have visualised a devotional wave of this scale and magnitude at this Divya Desam invoking the blessings of Lord Hayagriva.

ஞானானந்த மயம் தேவம் நிர்மல ஸ்படிகாக்ருதிம் 

ஆதாரம் சர்வ வித்யாநாம் ஹயக்ரீவம் உபாஸ்மஹே

The combination of Vijayadasami, Gandhi Jayanthi holiday and this being a Thursday had led the HR & CE authorities to expect a sea of devotees on this Shravanam day in Puratasi, one of celebration of Vedantha Desikar. The Kainkaryaparas (Sripatham, Veda Parayanam and Prabhandham Ghoshti) were keen for the procession of their Acharya to start around 5am to the hill temple of Hayagriva while the HR & CE authorities and the priests (now anchored by those from Andhra) were insistent that the procession starts at 3am. The reason- A 5am start for the mangalasasanam would lead to a long wait for the devotee crowd that would become unmanageable and hence they were keen for Vedantha Desikar to return from the Hayagriva Sannidhi by 6am so the Thursday crowd at that Sannidhi could be streamlined.

The Kainkaryaparas comprised of mid aged people and senior citizens as well and with the Chariot day activities (9th day) likely to go on till after 10pm the previous evening, they articulated that it would be difficult to be back again at 3am the next morning.

The Verdict: The authorities and priests stuck to their view that thousands of devotees would be stuck in long queues and it would become unmanageable if the acharya mangalasasanam procession were to start only at 5am.

And here’s the story….

It is just past 3.30am on Thursday (Oct 2). Vedantha Desikar has made his out of the Western entrance glittering with ornaments on the lines of what was inscribed about the Perumal of Thiru Vahindrapuram, a 1000 years ago. An inscription dating to the rule of Kulotunga III refers to a gift of a gold necklace to Deiva Nayagan.

There are scores of Vadakalai disciples who are up the steps to the Hayagriva Sannidhi. The Vedic members follow the acharya. A member of the Accenture team has driven all through the night from Bangalore to reach this Divya Desam just in time. He rues the fact that he missed taking the Panruti Thiru Vathigai route instead taking the Nellikuppam highway to reach Cuddalore. But he is happy that he is able to have an early morning darshan of his acharya right in front of the temple. He is one of the many who have made their specifically for this big day in the year to celebrate the birthday of the acharya.

There is a certain peace at this early time in the morning and there is a certain delight in the faces of the disciples of Vedantha Desikar in being able to be part of this procession. The traditional Vadakalai with large sized Thiruman are carrying their acharya on their shoulders step by step up the hill to the Hayagriva Sannidhi. There are ghee lit Theevattis to provide light to the Sripatham through the procession. The devotees, young and old, are capturing photos and videos of this rare 3.30am procession. They take turns to fan their acharya.

It is well past 4am when Vedantha Desikar makes his way around the Hayagriva temple to reach the aasthana mandapam.

The Vedic members have gathered in pretty large numbers and for the next hour or so, there is the presentation of the Vedas, Upanishad and Desikar Stotram – It was right here at this place where Vedantha Desikar composed the Hayagriva Stotram and he received the first of the flower garlands on this day from the Lord of Education.

As was going to be trend of the day, prasadam is presented to all the disciples following the parayanam. Vedantha Desikar makes his way inside the Hayagriva Sannidhi and takes a pradakshinam before making his way down the hill.

Prabhandham Adyapaka Kannan Swamy, now residing at Mandaveli in Chennai, has been here through the ten days of the Utsavam and he presented a praise of his acharya each step of the way through the downhill procession.

It is 6.30am when Vedantha Desikar has made his way back to the Devanathaswamy temple after a 3 hour trip for the Mangalasasanam at Desikar’s favourite Hayagriva Sannidhi. Going around the temple complex, he was carried to the Perumal Sannidhi by the energetic sripatham kainkaryaparas. The utsavam had begun ten days ago with the prabhandham ghoshti presenting Vedantha Desikar’s praise of Deivanayaka in his Mumanikovai verses. After the Vedic / Upanishad recital, the prabhandham members present their acharya’s praise of Devanathaswamy in front of his Sannidhi.

As expected by the HR & CE authorities and the priests, the devotees began streaming in after 7am. While the Hayagriva Sannidhi was open for them to have darshan, they had to wait a long while to have darshan of Deivanayaka Perumal for the Mangalasasanam at this Sannidhi was a one of its kind for a Divya Desam and presentation was extensive and highly devotional. It is past 8am when the Vedic members present the sacred verses around the inner prakara of the Perumal Sannidhi. There is a certain impatience among the ‘Thursday’ devotees who are in several hundreds. They had begun making their way to the temple after 6am but for over two hours they have not been able to have darshan of Perumal. The queue had been directed to Shegamala Thayar Sannidhi but those that had finished darshan there were now waiting for a darshan of Devanatha Swamy.

It is almost 8.30am when Vedantha Desikar makes his way to the third of the Sannidhis. At the Rama Sannidhi, another of his favourites, the fast paced Raghuvira Gadyam is presented. For the young pavadai clad traditional girls of Thiru Vahindrapuram this is a favourite too and they join in the presentation rendering these verses as devotees in the background. There is great happiness in the faces of all the presenters as they are emotionally highly charged in this recital of Vedantha Desikar’s praise of the greatness of Rama as he narrates every episode in the Ramayana (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2017/01/vedantha-desikar-mahaveera-vaibhavam.html).

And then the procession to Chakkarathaazhvaar’s Sannidhi, just next to the Rama Sannidhi. And the recital here has become highly popular among the devotees in the last few decades. Sri Sudarshana Ashtakam slokam led all the disciples of Vedantha Desikar to utter alongside the Vedic members.

It is past 9am. The devotees have now been able to make their way to Perumal Sannidhi but there is a co-ordination problem with the HR & CE authorities. The long queue has blocked the way for the Mangalasasanam at the Shegamala Thayar Sannidhi. Malola Kannan, whose heart is very close to this temple, is vocal with the authorities to clear the ‘Thursday’ crowd away from outside the Thayar Sannidhi and he bemoans the fact that there is no one support him. Adyapaka Kannan joins him but their voices are not heart as the HR & CE staff stands firm that the devotees from the Perumal Sannidhi have to make their way through the Thayar side.

The Kainkaryaparas give up and their acharya is taken inside the Thayar Sannidhi for the Mangalasasanam and the presentation. The lady devotees hailing from Thiru Vahindrapuram are devotionally excited at this rendering and almost all of them recite the Sri Stuti (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2015/09/vedanta-desika-sri-stuti.html) while the vedic and prabhandham members present in front of their acharya as he makes his way around the Thayar Sannidhi in a pradakshinam.

கல்யாணாநாம் அவிகலநிதி: காபி காருண்யாஸீமா

நித்யா மோதா நிகம வசஸாம் மௌளி மன்தார மாலா

சம்பத் திவ்யா மதுவிஜயிந: ஸந்நிதத்தாம் ஸதா மே

ஸைஷா தேவீ ஸகல புவந ப்ரார்த்தநா காமதேநு:

Devotional Kainkaryam by the Disciples

Challenges continue to galore as the Thursday devotee crowd on this Vijayadasami day has soared well past 1000. The Kainkaryaparas scramble to clear the barricades and plead with the devotees to make way for their acharya to the Rajagopalan Sannidhi. The return trip from this Sannidhi to Andal and Nam Azhvaar Sannidhi is just as difficult as devotees are stacked in a long queue to have darshan of Perumal and Thayar and those that have are now leaving through the Western exit.

At these final three sannidhis, the Kainkaryaparas who have already served this morning for over 7 hours, have to go in search of the archakas to present the Thaligai at these last few sannidhis and to present the parivattam to Desikar. The crowd has swelled at Perumal, Thayar and Hayagriva Sannidhis and almost all the priests are functioning in those sannidhis trying their best to manage the huge crowd. At each of these last sannidhis, the kainkaryapas make frenetic calls to the priests to get at least one of them to come for the Mangalasasanam activities.

It is past 11am. Vedantha Desikar has received flower garlands and parivattam from Andal and Nam Azhvaar. Godha Stuti is another favourite of the lady devotees and those that have remained all through the morning recite that while the kainkaryaparas present in front of their Acharya. 

The Final Mangalasasanam at Ramanujar Sannidhi

And then the procession moves to the final Mangalasasanam. The Ramanuja Sannidhi is still locked. The barricades are in place. The Kainkaryaparas scramble once again to unlock the Sannidhi and to remove the barricade so their acharya can position himself in front of the Bashyakarar Sannidhi.

And then finally after 8 hours of the most extensive Mangalasasanam at multiple sannidhis, and by this time it is really hot on this late Thursday morning, Vedantha Desikar makes his way back to his Sannidhi from where he had begun at 3.30am.

11.30am, the big screen comes on after Desikar’s Shatari blessings to the Kainkaryaparas. While there is happiness in their faces of this great service for their acharya, there is also a certain sense of relief after the 8 hour ordeal dealing with the devotee crowd, the barricades and the HR & CE.

Sumptuous Lunch for Kainkaryaparas
There is a Thathiyaraathanai organised at the Patshala on the West Street and the Kainkaryaparas move there ahead of their engagement. Even as they complete their meal, there is a call from the temple that Desikar is ready for the Pattina Pravesam, the procession around the streets of Thiruvahindrapuram. But it is 1pm and the Sun is at its peak. 

While on the topic of Thathiyarathanai that was taken care of this Thursday by a devotee couple, historical inscriptions record gifts of lands and villages for offerings and worship to the Lord, gifts of sheep and cows for perpetual lamps, gift of ‘Kasu’ for feeding the Vaishnavas at the temple Mutt and for providing offerings to God on the 8th day of the Brahmotsavam.

Pattina Pravesam in Scorching Heat

The Prabhandham members begin their presentation of Thiru Mangai Azhvaar’s Periya Thirumozhi from where they had left off the previous evening but they are in a hurry as the scorching heat burns their feet. One young kainkaryapara rushes to the entrance of every house to receive and break the coconut that is being presented by the residents of the West street. It is quite a fast paced procession as even ‘non-traditional’ sripatham personnel who are physically well built and strong find it difficult to carry Desikar in the soaring heat.

The procession takes a detour and the kainkaryaparas and Desikar reach his Thirumaligai. There is long presentation of the Vedas and the sacred verses of the sixth and seventh Cantos of Periya Thirumozhi by the Prabhandham members but a lot of it is not heard as both sets of members recite in loud tone stand in rows in front of each other at the Desikar Thirumaligai.

(Periya Thirumozhi is rendered at a certain pace and tone that makes for good listening. Like the prabhandham members of Srirangam who have created a separate tone for Iyarpa verses, those at Thiru Vahindrapuram rendered the Thirumozhi verses in a way quite different from all other Divya Desams that did not seem to do justice to the verses of Thiru Mangai Azhvaar. It is hoped that the Prabhandham members would revert to the standard way of recital of Periya Thirumozhi in the future)

It is 1.30pm and a call is taken to return to the temple via the Sannidhi street letting go of the Pattina Pravesam around the East and South streets. The Thursday crowd continues to remain big on the Sannidhi Street as those that have visited the temple are now busy shopping and sipping cone icecreams on the way back making it difficult for Desikar to wade his way back to the Western entrance of the temple.

The Prabhandham members present the verses of praise of Thiru Mangai Azhvaar on Aamaruviappan of Therazhundur to end the morning session that had started just after 3am with the focus now shifting to Thirumanjanam at the mandapam near the tank and Theerthavari. 

This being a Theerthavari day for Vedantha Desikar, it is useful to point out inscriptions at Thiru Vahindurapuram that record minute details like taking care of God's bath during his processions on festive occasions. Expenses were sanctioned for providing a sacred bath to the Lord. One such inscription in Tamil on the South Wall of the Prakara records an order communicated to the trustees of the temple granting lands and a garden, free of taxes, for expenses of taking God for a sacred bath to the sea near Nissankhamallan Pattinam on the Maasi Magam day.

The kainkaryaparas went away for some rest even as the Hayagriva devotees continued to make their way to the temple complex.

A few decades ago, there was very minimal public transport from Thirupadiripuliyur (Cuddalore) but on this big Thursday, the state run buses operated Thiruventhipuram specials in big numbers cashing in on the devotion for Hayagriva.

A couple of hundred traditional Vadakalai Vaishnavite devotees had made it to the Devathanathaswamy temple in Thiru Vahindrapuram on Thursday to celebrate their Acharya’s birthday with many of them performing selfless kainkaryam through the day and the rest enjoying the birthday celebrations as devotees. But the winner on the day was the several thousands of devotees who made it on the Shravanam Thursday on the occasion of Vijayadasami and stood in queue for long hours to have darshan of Devanathaswamy, Shengamala Thayar and Hayagriva. It showed the extent of the devotional wave that has struck TN temples and how certain Lords – in this case the Lord of Education – have captured the attention of the devotees and their strong belief that the future will turn bright if they present their sincere prayers on certain days in the month.

Four decades ago, it was unlikely that someone would have predicted such a devotional wave in remote once deserted Divya Desams in TN for most of the original inhabitants had left these temple towns for good with most selling their centuries old properties. While those traditional inhabitants are back in some small numbers for select utsavams in the year – in this case to celebrate the birthday of their Acharya, the larger section of the society has strengthened its belief in prarthana and parikara idols and they genuinely believe that their prayers will be answered and their wishes fulfilled if they visit these temples on special occasions for each of these deities.

The powers that be succeeded in sending the original traditional inhabitants out of their temple towns into the IT sector globally but they have not been able to kill the devotion of crores of people in TN as this day at Thiru Vahindrapuram indicated. For a majority of those who made their way to this temple on Thursday, they did not have an inkling as to who this ‘birthday’ boy was but they did believe in the fact that this idol that was being carried from Sannidhi to Sannidhi had some special powers as they shouted out the name of ‘Govinda’ repeatedly through the morning session as and when they saw him coming out of each Sannidhi.

Kudos to the Kainkaryaparas who gave their everything for their Acharya Vedantha Desikar on this Thursday at Thiru Vahindrapuram.