Thiru Indhalur Parimala Ranganatha Next Gen Balaji Bhattar

This 24 year old underwent Agama training under Prasanna Dikshithar at Nangur Patshala and is now all set to take over the archaka mantle from his appa Sridhar Bhattar

Thiru Mangai Azhvaar threatened to give the Parimala Ranganatha temple in Thiru Indhalur a go by. Devotees have done so for a long time with minimal crowd witnessed here most of the weekdays. Two Bhattars who had been the face of the temple for a long time made their way out after suspension. During a lot of the lows, Sridhar Bhattar, now 57, struck a low profile staying in the background and performing Thiru Aradhanam at the Hanuman temple opposite the Parimala Ranganatha temple. The devotees saw him as donning a support role to the other two priests. 

ஆசை வழுவாதேத்தும் எமக்கு இங்கு இழுக்காய்த்து 

அடியோர்க்குத் தேசம் அறிய உமக்கே ஆளாய்த் திரிகின்றோமுக்கு 

காசின் ஒளியில் திகழும் வண்ணம் காட்டீர் எம் பெருமான் 

வாசி வல்லீர் இந்தளூரீரே வாழ்ந்தே போம் நீரே 

Pancha Ranga Kshetram

Appa Sridhar Bhattar is at the Moolavar Sannidhi on this Tuesday morning and to the steady string of devotees who are at the temple, he describes Parimala Ranganatha as being the final destination in the  list of Pancha Ranga Kshetram where the Lord is seen in a grand Veera Sayana Posture displaying his four hands with conch and chakra, a unique one for a sleeping lord.  The other Pancha Ranga Kshetrams are Srirangam Ranganatha Swamy Temple, Srirangapatna Ranganatha, Koviladi Appaala Ranganatha and Kumbakonam Madhya Rangam Sarangapani Koil.

                                         Appa Sridhar Bhattar

Since the time the two priests were suspended and with no signs of them returning to the temple, Sridhar Bhattar has been the face to the devotees in the last few years. He is at the temple every morning at 6am and stays there till well past noon and comes back in the evening and takes care of the devotees with great patience. 

For a major part of the last three decades, Sridhar Bhattar faced financial challenges but his great devotional commitment is finally paying dividend now for he has now become the face of the temple to the devotees at large. He has been anchoring the big utsavams in the last few years and also played an active part in getting devotee donors for the Thirupanni works ahead of the consecration that took place earlier this year.

எந்தை தந்தை தம்மான் என்றென்று

எமரேழ்  ஏழளவும்

வந்து நின்ற தொண்டரோர்க்கே வாசிவல்லீரால்

சிந்தை தன்னுள் முந்தி நிற்றீர்

சிறிதும் திருமேனி

இந்த வண்ணம் என்று காட்டீர் இந்தளூரீரே- Thiru Mangai Azhvaar

The good news for the temple is that his young son is keen to take forward the Archaka Kainkaryam at this Divya Desam following in the footsteps of the father. Balaji Bhattar has learned the Pancharatra Agama from Prasanna Dikshithar at the Nangur Patshala administered by Muralidhara Swamigal. 

Right from his school days, he would join his appa at the utsavams heading to the temple every evening. Over the last decade or so, he learned the art of alankaram from the one legged Srikanthan Bhattar of Sirupuliyur Divya Desam (about 15 kms from here). In that phase, he has performed Kainkaryam alongside the revered Vasan Bhattar of Therazhundur, Venkatesh Bhattar of Thiru Cherai as well as at the Nangur Divya Desams.

சொல்லாது ஒழியகில்லேன் அறிந்த சொல்லில்

நும்மடியார் எல்லோரோடும் ஓக்க எண்ணியிருந்தீர் அடியேனை

நல்லார் அறிவீர் தீயார் அறிவீர்

நமக்கு இவ்வுலகத்து எல்லாம் அறிவீர்

ஈதே அறியீர், இந்தளூரீரே

He has had some health issues of late and is currently in the process of recovering from that. He is clear in his mind that temple Kainkaryam is where his future is. His appa struggled financially for a period of time during Balaji Bhattar’s childhood and for several years played second fiddle to the other priests who were dominant at the temple but that hasn’t deterred him from wanting to continue the Divya Desam Kainkaryam though one is seeing a lot of the next gen making their way out of the temple space into the corporate world.

Parimala Rangan as Thiruvallikeni Parthasarathy in the Tula Utsavam

Chandran liberated from Brihaspati's curse

The legendary story goes that as part of a 3 fold parikara for casting his eyes on his preceptor's wife, Chandran undertook penance at Thiru Indhalur after bathing at the sacred Theertham. Answering his prayers, Lord appeared before him and agreed to liberate him from part of the sins. The story goes that Chandran went to Thalai Changa Naan Mathiyam, another Divya Desam about 15 East of Thiru Indhalur, where he was fully liberated from his curse and dosham.

The 24 year old Balaji Bhattar is excited at the prospect of picking up the Kainkaryam mantle from his appa and is confident of taking forward the Mirasu archaka service into the next phase at this legendary Divya Desam. He has a special liking for decorating the Lord and is hoping to present his favourite Parimala Ranganathar at his best in the upcoming Tula Utsavam that starts on November 8. For the moment, he heads back into the Sannidhi for the Uchi Kaala Pooja.

Parimala Rangan Perumal temple in Thiru Indhalur is located 2kms North of the Mayavaram bus stand on the Northern banks of Cauvery