Kumbeswarar Shivasankaran Gurukal Next Gen Kameswaran Gurukal

Next Gen Kameswaran Gurukal is carving out a name for himself as a highly committed archaka much like his appa had over the previous three decades

                   63 year old Shivasankara Gurukal

It had been a financially challenging life for Shivasankara Gurukal in his childhood as he grew up in the 1960s and 70s, a phase when the anti-temple movement was at its peak. Despite this, his appa, Nataraja Gurukal, called for time on his academics when he was 11 and sent him for Saiva Agama initiation to the then renowned Allur Patshala, near Trichy. He later acquired a Masters Degree at the Madras Sanskrit College. 

Hereditary services turns into HRCE appointment

Into the 1990s, following his wedding, Shivasankara Gurukal joined the temple as an archaka. He recalls as to how the HRCE gradually converted the archaka service on to their rolls though their forefathers had been performing this as a hereditary service “During my Thatha’s service phase, he performed ‘Nithya Snapanam’ pooja for which he was paid Rs. 8 every day. This was then converted to a weekly payment and subsequently to a monthly one. And over a period of time, the HRCE made this into a salary kind of structure taking his signature for the monthly payments. And then over the decades, this became formalised as a salary for the archakas.”

Thus, they were performing hereditary archaka service that has been passed on for generations, they have over the last many decades come under the HRCE fold in terms of appointment of service.

In the 1990s when he began archaka kainkaryam, there was hardly any devotees at the temple. “We would sit together as an archaka ground and chit chat waiting for the next devotees to arrive. But very rarely did they turn up. Only on the weekends did we see some sort of devotee crowd and that brought cheer to all of us” recounts Shivasankara Gurukal on his initial phase at the temple went three decades ago.

Kainkaryam through darkest phase

Shivasankara Gurukal’s thatha and appa had each served at the Kumbeswarar temple for over three decades in the most challenging of times. Tears almost roll down the Gurukal’s cheeks when he recalls the moments from his childhood in the 1960s and 70s “There was very little income from the temple. Devotees were few and Thattu Kaasu was minimal. For a weekly Kainkaryam at the Swami Sannidhi, the Thattu Kaasu would not top 250 at its peak. He would buy daily essentials from the shops on loan. The shop owners had so much regard for the Gurukal Kainkaryam that they would not even ask back for the amount that was due from us. After a month or two, the shop’s worker would politely remind my appa of the pending amount. Almost all through his service, he cycled to the temple.”

But this family has passed on the service to the next generation with the same thought and message that of the committed kainkaryam to Swami and Ambal was foremost and that this family can have no bigger blessing that performing every day service at this legendary temple. 

Next Gen Son takes over

There was a message that Shivasankara Gurukal repeatedly played within himself all through his three decades archaka kainkaryam at the Kumbeswarar temple. This was a message that had been passed on to him from his forefathers. On the morning of Maasi Magam, 31 year old Kameswaran Gurukal has been on decorating Kumbeswarar and Mangalambika ahead of the procession to the Maha Magam Kulam. Later in the morning, he accompanies Ambal on this procession on a hot Monday. He had taken over the reigns from his appa, Shivasankara Gurukal in 2023. On that morning, Shivasankara Gurukal once again reminded his son, like he had many times earlier in the past about the message that had passed on to him prior to his taking over the archaka kainkaryam in the 1990s.

He recounts to this writer sitting at his rented home on Reddi Rao street in Valayapettai Agraharam about this message has helped him all his life “When I was a young boy, my thatha and appa had always seeded the thought in me that there was no bigger a blessing than performing Kainkaryam at this historic temple and that we must dedicate our entire life in service to the Divine Couple.”

Festive occasions

Saptha Sthanam Pallakku procession in Chitrai is a special occasion when Kumbeswarar goes around for 3 days to 7 temples in and around Kumbakonam. Five day Thiru Kalyanam in Vaikasi is a one of its kind temple utsavam not seen in too many other temples in TN for Thiru Kalyanam is largely a one day event in even the biggest of temples. Mangalambika’s Theppam on the occasion of Panguni Uthiram draws good crowd these days. In Margazhi, Nataraja from 12 temples in Kumbakonam arrive at this temple and Kumbeswarar provides Ethir Sevai. 

On the evening of Maasi Magam, on the return procession from Maha Magam Kulam, where he had been on the Rishabham earlier in the day, Kumbeswarar provides Ethir Sevai to Sarangapani Perumal on the Theppam with the archakas of both the temples presenting Deeparathanai to the respective Lords.

Highly Committed Gurukal

Devotees have rarely seen Kameswaran Gurukal talk on the phone when inside the temple. Last Monday morning, after giving the final touches to the alankaram, he went around Swami and Ambal repeatedly paying attention to minute details and ensuring that everything was fine with the alankaram. Once satisfied, he placed the sandalwood paste on the forehead of Swami and signed off for the procession. All through the 90minute procession to the Maha Magam Kulam, he was quietly presenting the sacred ash to the devotees. In front of the hospital on the North street of the Abi Mukteeswarar temple, he presented Mariyathai to the owner of the hospital.  

Kameswaran Gurukal

In the last year or so, Shivasankara Gurukal has repeated heard from devotees at the Kumbeswarar temple that his son is performing service with the same devotion and dedication that they had seen in him over the previous three decades. In an age when youngsters are placing a high price for their service in all walks of life, Shivasankara Gurukal is seeing his son focusing solely on swami kainkaryam setting aside thoughts on financial returns and that has given him the greatest satisfaction. While a life at TN temples has seemed uncertain in the recent past, 63 year old Shivasankara Gurukal is confident that his son will perform this kainkaryam in the same way that he and his forefathers had and take this service into the next phase at this historic temple.

Though the previous generation of priests had endured grave financial distress, they continued the archaka service for they considered it a great blessing. A lot in the new generation has moved on to the corporate world away from temple service. Those like Kameswaran Gurukal have been brought up in way that they see no life outside of kainkaryam to the divine couple of Kumbakonam at the Aathi kumbeswarar temple. And that's something that devotees to this temple have to be grateful for as the temple is in safe archaka hands at least for the foreseeable future.