Sarangapani and Chakrapani provide Golden Horse Vahana darshan at Valayapettai on the western outskirts of Kumbakonam on Wednesday evening
It is the eve of the biggest day in the year at the sarangapani temple. Visitors to Kumbakonam on Wednesday (April 29) were just awestruck at the sight of the beautifully decorated chariot, the tallest in TN Perumal temples at over 110 feet. Even before stepping into the Sarangapani Koil, a number of them stood in front of the recently restored chariot (undertaken at a cost of Rs. 70 Lakhs by Srimushnam Andavan) and discussing amongst themselves the intricate sculptures on the Chariot and visualising the procession the next morning around the four big streets of the temple.
Wednesday was the 8th day of the Chitrai Brahmotsavam at the Sarangapani temple. In the century gone by, Sarangapani and Chakrapani went on pallakku procession to Valayapettai on the West outskirts of Kumbakonam providing Vennai Thaazhi darshan to the residents of this historical temple town. The two of them would stay through the day at the centuries old mandapa in front of the Krishnan Koil in Valayapettai near Darasuram with the two of them starting the return trip in the evening on the Horse Vahana.
Unfortunately, the dilapidated state of this mandapam has led to the cancellation of this morning pallakku procession to Valayapettai on the 8th morning in recent decades. Instead, Sarangapani and Chakrapani provided darshan atop the Golden Garuda Vahana just after 5pm on Wednesday evening at the 100 Pillar Mandapam inside the Sarangapani Koil.
The prabhandham members presented the 8th canto of Tiruvoimozhi and after the Satru Murai, Sarangapani and Chakrapani were set to leave the 100 pillar mandapam.
This section has featured several stories on how Brahmotsavam vahana processions in small temple towns have moved on to the Chapparam wheeled tyre model but at the Sarangapani Koil, a decade ago soon after the consecration, Karunakarachariar (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/09/karunakaran-swamy-president-award.html) insisted on the Chitrai Brahmotsavam procession to be traditional and undertaken with the Sripatham Personnel carrying the Sarangapani and Chakrapani on their shoulders with him coming forward to take care of the Sripatham Sambhavanai for this service.
Two wheelers parked near Dwajasthambam
Over this decade, a lot has changed. The number of vehicles on road has increased manifold. The moffusil bus service has increased substantially making the Ramaswamy North Street and the Aadhi Kumbeswarar South Street a highly congested area. And inside the Sarangapani temple too, as seen in the photo above, two wheelers are parked a few feet away from the Dwajasthambam and very near the path of Perumal's procession!!
Given this changed scenario and with the procession to the Chariot to take place at 5am on Thursday morning, there was once again the debate among the Kainkaryaparas on the possibility of this long procession taking place on the Chapparam so the Lords could return early but it was finally decided to go with the original plan of the Sripatham carrying the two Lords on their shoulders.
நந்தா விளக்கே அளத்தற்கரியாய்
நர நாரணனே கருமாமுகில்போல் எந்தாய்
எமக்கே அருளாய் என நின்று
இமையோர் பரவும் இடம்
எத்திசையும் கந்தாரம் அம் தேன் இசை பாட மாடே
கழி வண்டு மிழற்ற நிழல் துதைந்து
மந்தாரம் நின்று மணம் மல்கும் நாங்கூர்
மணிமாடக்கோயில் வணங்கு என் மனமே
And thus after 7.15pm, the beautifully decorated Sarangapani Perumal atop the Golden Horse Vahana made his way through the towering Eastern Raja Gopuram to the Sannidhi street next to the chariot followed by Chakrapani Perumal. It is to be a long evening for the Prabhandham members with them scheduled to present several cantos of Thiru Mangai Azhvaar’s Periya Thirumozhi.
They begin their presentation with the sacred verses on the greatness of Mani Mada Koil in Thiru Nangur. Sarangapani and Chakrapani made their way to the East end of the Sannidhi street while the Prabhandham members stopped half way on that street presenting the verses on Vaikunta Vinnagaram and Arimeya Vinnagaram even as the two Lords made their way back towards the chariot.
Like on the Garuda Sevai evening last Saturday, vehicles continued to ply around the Chariot making it difficult for the Sripatham Personnel. An interesting feature of the next four hours was the fact that the police who accompanied the procession took selfies at regular intervals to show his seniors that he was present but did very little to help a smooth flow of the two Lords with heavy traffic on the roads.
Past 8.30pm, in front of the Ramaswamy temple, the Prabhandham members had moved on to the fifth canto of the Periya Thirumozhi. The recital continued for the next half hour or so with the members sitting inside the temple while the two Lords made their way past the temple.
Chaotic again
On to the Kumbeswarar South Street, there was once again Chaotic traffic. By now the Sripatham were sweating profusely with them having carried the two Lords for over 90 minutes. The two wheelers raced past the procession while a number of mofussil buses on either side of the road made it difficult for the Sripatham. There were not too many devotee residents to provide Thattu but the combination of the summer heat and the vehicular traffic did not make it easy for the Sripatham personnel.
Dilapidated mandapam
After over two hours, the procession came to a halt at Malluka Street in Valayapettai, a few hundred yards north of the now popular Darasuram Market. As mentioned above in this story, in the century gone by Sarangapani and Chakrapani used to provided at the mandapam in front of the Krishnan Koil but with the dilapidated state of the mandapam, the two stayed put outside the mandapam. HRCE has taken no initiative to restore this Mandapam and allowed it to deteriorate. There are also no questions on why the morning procession to Valayapettai is not being restored.
The Krishnan Koil itself had been taken over by the HRCE but with the trustees taking this to court, they have recently won back the temple. The ubayadarars of the evening presented flower garlands and fruits with the priests presenting Deeparadhanai and Shatari.
Past 10pm, it was time for Sambhavanai to be presented to the Kainkaryaparas. The Sripatham insisted on a bit of additional money given the fact that 40 of them had carried the two Lords on their shoulders for over two hours. Thathiyarathanai was presented to all the Kainkaryaparas.
Late night Thattu
It was almost 11pm when Sarangapani and Chakrapani began their return trip from Valayapettai. A number of residents on Nellu Kadai street and Naanayakaara street stayed awake late into the night to welcome the two Perumals into their home presenting flowers and fruits. By now, the sole police who had accompanied on the trip to Valayapettai had disappeared leaving the Sripatham to fend for themselves.
At the Naanayakaara street, a two wheeler rider coming in the opposite direction on this small street directly, quite rudely, the Sripatham to take Sarangapani to the left so he could make his way back home!!! These are the kind of encounters that Sripatham Personnel in small towns have to face with very little protection offered to them.
Highly Energetic Maniyakarar
It was a challenging night for the young Sudarshan who is now a prominent face at the Sarangapani Koil. While discharging his role as a Maniyakaarar, he also doubled up as a Sripatham to support the team. And then on the return trip, he held the canopy atop Sarangapani for a part of the procession.
There were a few more resident devotees on the Viswanathar North Street presenting Thattu. By 12.30am, when Sarangapani and Chakrapani reached the entrance of the Ramaswamy temple, the prabhandham members had progressed quite a bit with their recital. In front of the Ramaswamy temple, where they had stayed behind four hours earlier, the Prabhandham members began the presentation of the 10th canto of Periya Thirumozhi where Thiru Mangai Azhvaar wants to have darshan of the Lord of Thiru Kudanthai.
வானையார் அமுதம் தந்த வள்ளலை
தேனை நீள் வயல் சேறையில் கண்டு போய்
ஆணை வாட்டி அருளும் அமரர் தம் கோனை
யாம் குடந்தை சென்று காண்டுமே
Thirumangai Azhvaar on the asuras after Ravana's death
In 20 verses following this, Thiru Mangai Azhvaar presents beautiful insights into the mood of the Asuras after the death of their king Ravana and pleads with the Vanaras to not kill them for they are not to be faulted for the wrongs of their king (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2015/01/thirumangai-azhvaar-on-asuras-of-lanka.html)
தண்டகாரணியம் புகுந்து அன்று
தையலை தகவிலி எம் கோமான்
கொண்டுபோந்து கேட்டான் எமக்கு இங்கு ஓர் குற்றம் இல்லை
கொல்வேல் குல வேந்தே
பெண்டிரால் கெடும் இக் குடி
தன்னைப் பேசுகின்றது என் தாசரதீ
உன் அண்டவாணர் உகப்பதே செய்தாய்
Chakrapani bids goodbye after 8 days
After 8 days of being together with ‘brother’ Sarangapani, Chakrapani Perumal bid goodbye in front of the Ramanuja Sannidhi on Bazaar Street and made a fast paced retreat back to his temple with Sarangapani Perumal continuing the procession alone via the TSR Big Street.
On the eve of Kamakodi's retirement
The CUB has renovated its main branch in Kumbakonam and that shone bright on the night with a farewell message written in front of the branch in a thanking gesture to its outgoing MD who is retiring the next day. Sarangapani’s Chariot procession on Thursday will mark Kamakodi’s last day as the MD of CUB and he retires after 15 years at the helm of the bank(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/04/n-kamakodi-city-union-bank.html).
பத்து நீள் முடியும் அவற்று இரட்டிப்
பாழித் தோளும் படைத்தவன் செல்வம்
சித்தம் மங்கையர் பால் வைத்துக் கேட்டான்
செய்வது ஒன்று அறியா அடியோங்கள்
ஒத்த தோல் இரண்டும் ஒரு முடியும்
ஒருவர் தம் திறதோம் அன்றி வாழ்ந்தோம்
அத்த எம் பெருமான் எம்மை கொல்வேல்
130am Horse voyali!!!
It is almost 1.30am when the tireless Sripatham personnel present Voyali in front of the Chariot making a few paced runs back and forth much to the delight of the devotees who had gathered there late in the night specifically to watch this performance.
6 ½ hours after having started out on the procession, Sarangapani Perumal made his way back to the 100 Pillar mandapam after Thirumozhi Satru Murai near the Dwajasthambam.
For Maniyakarar Sudarshan, there is less than a couple of hours to sleep for after the Artha jaama pooja on this night past 2am, he has to be back at the temple at 4am for the Vishroopam followed by Sarangapani’s procession to the Chariot at 5.15am!!! Such is the life of Kainkaryaparas during Brahmotsavam in small temple towns.
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