Saturday, 29 October 2022

NANDANAR,THILLAIVAZHANTHANARGAL,LORD NATARAJA AND THE TOLD / UNTOLD SECRET OF CHIDAMBARAM.




They assemble once in twenty days.Decisons are made by them and the decisions made by them are sacrosanct.
Devasabha is the place where these "Siva equivalent people" meet.Yes they are equivalent to Lord Siva.
This was said by lord siva himself and the Lord had advised Sundarar to start his canonical,"Thiruthondar puranam" after praising this godly group.

The leader of the twenty people had decided to allow Nandanar to see lord siva.
“Yes we all had dreams”,twenty of them spoke in unison.
“Lord siva came in our dreams”.
“He was with Parvathi too”
“He had instructed us to allow Nandanar to enter the temple”.
“How can a low class guy come and see the lord?”
“Yes he can’t  come and he should not come”.
“But lord siva has instructed us”
“Dreams cannot be true”- there was a counter.
“But how all of us had same vision as a dream, at the same time and in a single night”.
“Definitely its lord siva's order”.
“We need to follow it”.
“Sir,people who eat meat,who drink and who smell, can they enter the temple”.
“They can only see god from the entrance”.
“Nataraja can be seen only by us and people who we allow”.
“Nandanar cannot enter”.
“Did siva say these people cannot enter”,a young dikshithar questioned.
“This is the age old custom cannot be changed” was the counter.
“Nandanar has Siva’s blessings”.
“How are you telling this nonsense?”
“Yes in a single night lord siva created a miracle by cleaning up 50 acres of land”.
“He does not drink and eat meat”
“He is pure” were the arguments favouring Nandanar.
“But he is neither an anthanar or a king”.
“He is just asking to enter the temple and he is not asking to do pooja”.
“No he cannot enter”said the majority in unison.
The leader of the godly group finally spoke -“Nandanar will enter the temple as per the dream”
“Invite him tomorrow” and he left the Devasabha.
The debate ended in a sentence.
DEVASABHA -CORONATION OF CHOZHA KINGS HAPPENED HERE

DEVASABHA-ONE OF THE FIVE SABHAS

A small village around 30 kms from Chidambaram is Adhanoor.There lived Nandanar a tribe or pariah but a deep Saivite. Nandanar had just worshiped lord siva and was getting ready to work.He felt today his boss will allow him to visit Chidambaram.
Before I die I should see Natarajan.
He showed himself for me at Thirupunkur and he will change my master’s heart and allow me to see Nataraja.
He reached the master’s  palatial house and was doing work at the back yard cleaning and then feeding the cows.
He can never enter the house.He should not also. Nandanar had a dark skin and was a low caste by birth.
Rudra malai on his neck and the ash on his forehead did mean he is a Saivite but by birth and work he was untouchable.
By evening after finishing work he stood at a distance of more than ten feet and asked his master,
“Sir,will you allow me to visit Chidambaram tomorrow”
“Why you are fond of Chidambaram so much and you keep asking me almost every week?”.
“You go Nanda but after ploughing the 50 acres of land I have next to the temple”.
When this task was given to Nandanar,the Iyer knew it will take more than a month and when Nandanar comes after a month he will give him some other work.
How a low class idiot can visit Chidambaram. It can’t  happen and will not happen.
Nandanar can only say yes and he wandered of towards the land to do his work,without even showing the grief in his face.
Nandanar knew by the time he finishes this work he will die.The thought of seeing lord Nataraja after finishing the work motivated him and he started the work.
By evening he became tired and by night he fainted and collapsed.

The master was sitting and was relaxing with his wife seated next to him.
His brother came hurriedly infront of him and said “Brother, please come with me”
“Why?
“Please come with me to our land”.
“The entire land has been ploughed and Nandanar has done it in a single  day”.
“What nonsense and it cannot happen?”,the bewildered master quirked.
“That is why I'm calling you,come with me and see the miracle”.
Both of them ran to their land.
Nandanar was surrounded by few of his friends and they were trying to wake him up.
The Iyer was stunned when he saw what had happened and he could not believe his eyes.
“I read vedhas but never practised what was taught in it”,mumbled the high class, Brahmin.
“Nandanar did not read anything but what he had done by praying to Siva in his own way is more than what I had learnt from Vedhas”.
As Nandhanar was getting up,he did not understand the situation. Iyer fell on Nandanar’s feet.
Nandhanar went behind with arms folded and said “Sir,how can my master do this”
“Nandha,how 50acres can be ploughed in a single day”.
“You have done it and that's because of lord Sivas help”.
“Your tomorrow is today,Nandha”.
“My ego has gone”.
“You are a true saivite and though by birth you may be a low caste but by your work and deeds you are the real Brahmanan”.
“Please see lord nataraja and come back Nandha”.


I can see Nataraja - Nandanar was very happy.
I can see all three forms of siva.For me a low class person, god has opened the door and shown himself and now he has ploughed the land for me.Above all he has changed the heart of my master.
Nandanar started walking towards Chidambaram.
Though Nandanar was born as a tribe, he was a true Saivite abstained from non vegetarian food and lived a pious life. He was very popular among the local community because for him the holly bull at Thirupungur turned his head to the other side so that he can see lord Siva from the outside.
In a deeply divided society at that time tribes were considered impure and low class and not allowed  to enter the temple.
Even now except for Brahmins others cannot touch the main deity.
Nandanar was a work alcoholic and his only dream was to see Nataraja.
It was a long walk and the dark and impure had entered the white and immaculate territory of Thillai vazh Anthanargal.
“You are welcome Nandanar and please enter through the South Gate”
“We request you to come walking through the Agni so that you will be purified”.
The other anthanargal looked at the chief priest and understood its hidden meaning and deception.
“Sir,you are siva's descendents and Siva is one among you”.
“ Sundaramurthy nayanmar himself praises you in his first song (thiruthondarpuranam)and the king decides after consulting you,I'm nothing in front of you”.
“I will walk and come sir, so that I will be purified”.
The innocent Nandanar was trapped by the intellectual deceit of the chief priest.
The irony is purification is required for mind and soul and not for the body. Nandanar  despite being dark had a pure mind and soul.Unfortunately Thillaivazhanthanargal knew this but chose not to implement it but Nandhanar knew nothing for he knew and had only Siva.
Nandanar walked into the Pyre.



THE WALLED OF SOUTHERN GATE

NANDANAR WALKED INTO THE PYRE - HERE.



Chidambaram is an astonishingly beautiful temple.
The temple has four gopurams all are seven staged and all are roughly of same height.The first gopuram which was built is the one in the west.Roughly dated around 1150AD and it’s the smallest among the four.
The gopuram present at the southern side was built by the Pandya king as we can see their fish emblem engraved on the top.
The one on the north was completed by Krishnadevaraya and his image has been sculpted on the wall.
The construction of the northern  gopuram begun around 1300AD and was completed during the reign of Devaraya  in the 17th century.
The eastern gate could have been built by later Chozhas though completed by a fierce Saivite Kopperunchingan of Kadava dynasty in early 13th century. Kopperuchingan was also called as “Bharatha Malla”because of his love for Bharatha Natyam.The beautiful carvings of different Bharathanatyam postures on the walls of the eastern gateway shows the Kadava king’s  love for Siva and dance.
Another interesting feature of these gopurams are every gopuram has been entered by a great Saivite at different point of time.
Appar had entered through the west,Nandanar and Sambandar via south,Sundarar via north and Manickavasagar entered the temple or Koil through east.Temple, in Tamil means “Kovil”and during those years the kings,scholars and the people used to say if at all there is a temple which is unparalleled for lord Siva then it is temple at Chidambaram for Nataraja and they called this temple as “Kovil”.

THE EAST GOPURAM



DANCE POSTURES CARVED ON THE 
WALLS OF THE EASTERN GOPURAM

THE KADAVA KING WHO HAD 
COMPLETED THE GOPURAM

THE FIERCE DURGA,IN THE 
EAST GOPURAM,INSIDE THE TEMPLE




KRISHNADEVARAYA -SCULPTED 
ON THE WALL OF NORTH GOPURAM


SUNDARAR ENTERED VIA NORTH
GOPURAM AND ITS BEEN 
DEPICTED IN TAMIL.

THE NORTHERN GOPURAM



APPAR ENTRY DEPICTED IN WESTERN 
GOPURAM'S WALL

APPAR ENTERED THROUGH,WESTERN
GOPURAM-BUILT FIRST AND THE,
SMALLEST IN HEIGHT.

DANCE POSTURES.

SAMBANDAR ENTERED VIA 
SOUTH GOPURAM

NANDANAR ENTERED,
VIA SOUTH FACING GOPURAM




Manickavasagar had written Thiruvasagam at this place and became Shivam(united with lord siva) here.

An interesting story of a miracle done by Manickavasagar is associated with Chidambaram.
The story unwinds at Ceylon and culminates at Chidambaram.
“Where did you find this idiot?" asked the buddhist king of Ceylon.
“Sir this fellow is a Sivanadiyar(Lord sivas ardent follower) and he is always uttering Ponnambalam in our buddhist country”.
“Next time you say that word you will die”.
“Say sorry and leave”said the lenient and good king.
“Ponnambalam ponnambalam”
“Kill him,right here”,uttered the dismayed king.
The so called idiot was just uttering Ponnambalam.
The guard took the knife and came near the Sivanadiyar.
“Ponnambalam ponnambalam”was the constant muttering.
“Stop it don't kill him he has no fear of death in his eyes,let me talk with him”.
The guard retreated.
“Who is Ponnambalam?”,quizzed the king.
“Dont you don't know Ananda Thandavam”-King did not answer.
“Some people call this cosmic dance”
“He creates,he kills,he hides,he cares,and clears all sins”
“All this can be seen in his dance”,went on the idiot.
“This happens at Chidambaram and Ponnambalam is there”.
“The chozha king,Aditya and Parantakan,knew this and had made Ponnambalam - the gold tilted gopuram where lord nataraja is present”
“Ponnambalam is heart”
“Siva Thandavam will be slightly on the left,depicting the heart”.
“Sir,you know we breathe 21600 times per day and the king had put 21600 gold plates as roof”
“Every individual has 72000 nerves and the Ponnambalam has exactly 72000 nails”
“It has nine entrances depicting nine orifices of the human body”
“Ponnambalam has 64 sandalwood supports which depicts 64 kalaigal (Art)”
“Do you know sir”- King kept quiet.
“It does not stop here”
“You will see 4 golden pillars which depicts our four Vedas and another 6 golden pillars depicts our 6 shastras”.
“Ruthrapeedam had 28 pillars and this is equivalent to 28 agamas and the 96 windows show 96 thathuvangal(concepts)”
“Lord Siva is there as three forms”.
“When you see his dance you see him”.
“When you see the Spatika lingam you see form and formless forms of lord Siva”.
“When the vilva formed curtained is opened you will see the world as clouds which means Siva is every where(Chidambaram's secret)”.
“Our body is Ponnambalam,in our heart is Nataraja and when I understand this,I can see him everywhere”.
“Sir,you can kill me because I will go to lord Siva”.
“I will be happy if you kill me for telling you the Chidambara ragasyam(secret)”.
The guards neared him with the knives.
The king stared at them and they backed away.
He called his Buddhist monk and asked him “Why can't we go and see Ponnambalam?”.
“We shall go there and tell the virtues of Buddhism”
“We will take this gentle man also with us”
“You mean this idiot sir”.
“He will join me he is not an idiot”.
“I like him because he is not afraid of death and I don't believe Ponnambalam,however”.
Two weeks later the king had reached Chidambaram and the Chozha king welcomed him.
Chozha king told him,“Sir, you are free to talk about Buddhism to our people and you can start it from Ponnambalam itself”.
“If you have any learned person we don't mind talking with him about our virtues”.
“Yes sir,there is Manickavasagar inside the temple,he will debate with you.”
The kings entered the Raja sabhai next day.
It has 1000 pillars.
The walls once again have bass reliefs of different dance postures.
Huge elephants are on both sides of the 1000 pillared rajasabhai.
One buddhist monk came running to the king and said “Sir, there are only 999 pillars”
The Chozha king smiled and answered “Sir,yes there are only 999 the other one is invisible”.
“It's lord Siva leg”
“It's everywhere”.
The buddhist monk became red-faced due to his ignorance.
As soon as Manickavasagar entered Rajhasabhai the Chozha king got up and the Sivanadiyar who had accompanied the Srilankan king fell on Manickavasagar’s feet.
The Srilankan king introduced his members to Manickavasagar.
“She is my daughter”. 
"She is dumb from birth and she joins me wherever I go”.
“I have brought with me 100 monks with whom we can discuss Buddhism and Saivism and I want to know which is better”.
Manickavasagar started saying the virtues of lord Siva and Buddhist monks started telling about Buddhism and the debate never ended.
Finally manickavasagar said “I shall prove lord siva's presence here at this temple”
“It will be a miracle and if you say yes, I will do”.
The king accepted.
“Lord Siva make these Buddhist monks dumb”requested Manickavasagar.
All stopped talking and became dumb.
The king was stunned.
He asked his chief monk to counter it and he also had become dumb.
To his dismay all remained dumb.
The King fell on Manickavasagar's feet and asked him to make all of them talk again.
“Sir no, lord Siva is ultimate”.
“Buddha is also a form of lord Siva”.
“I understood sir”,pantomimed the Srilankan King.
“You will get a gift now”.
“101 will talk now”.
The king could not understand.
A female voice started saying “Ponnambalam”.
“Hear your  dumb daughter talking now and also hear the other100,talking”.
All monks uttered “Ponnambalam”.
Manickavasagar walked out of Rajhasabhai and entered Kanagasabhai so that he can see the evening Pooja.
Right infront of Chitrambalam or Ponnambalam,there is Kanagasabhai.
From here we can see lord Vishnu and lord Siva together.On the left lord Vishnu will be lying and seeing the dance of lord Siva.


1000 OR 999 PILLARED RAJA SABHA

THE ELEPHANT APPARENTLY SUPPORTING THE
RAJA SABHA 




The godly twenty people had assembled again,at Kovil’s,Devasabhai.
“He has to go”.
“Sir its not possible he also had come with us. He is also entitled to see the dance like we are seeing his dance”.
He was the sole dissenting voice.The dissenter started talking,
“I would like to tell you the story again which you are aware of”.
“The fight for the best dancer and also whether sakthi is bigger than siva happened here and it was between lord siva and parvathi”.
“This was witnessed by us and we came with lord siva along with Patanjali”.
“The moderator was Hari”.
“Siva asked Hari to come along with him and witness the dance and tell the world who the winner is”.
“The fight was intense”
“There were no loser here”.
“It was equal on all fronts”.
“Siva won because of being a male”.
“That was the only difference”.
“The intense dance was punctuated by a fall of the ear ring of lord siva”.
“The left ear ring had fallen down”.
“Siva took the ear ring with his right leg and lifted the foot and put the ear ring back”.
“This move could not be enacted by Paravathi because she was a female and she stood still”.
“Vishnu declared lord Siva as a winner”.
“This dance is called as Oorthavathandavam”.                 .
“As we are entitled to see his dance lord Vishnu too has to see the dance from the temple”,the dissenter rationalised.

“Yes,you are correct”.
“Vishnu will see the dance from his place”.
The dissenting voice felt happy as the chief of the select 20 dikshithars accepted his wish.
Kulothungan chozhan 2 was a deep saivite and was ruling the chozha kingdom at that point of time.
He was summoned by the godly deekshidars to the Devasabhai.
The King sat in front of the chief priest.
“What should I do?”.
“We heard you want to expand and beautify the temple?”.
“Yes sir if u bless us and allow”.
“Do it king”.
“When you expand what you will do with the Hari or Vishnu?”.
“Sir,that part also will be beautified”.
“No it can’t  happen”.
“Why sir?”
“Hari has to go his place”.
“His place”?
“He is Sayana perumal and lies in sea with Adhiseshan as his bed”.
“Sirrr”,the king was surprised and taken aback.
“Yes do it”.
“If you do this you can beautify the temple”.

The king did it.The govindaraja perumal was thrown into the sea.
Ramanujar tried to stop it but the king was helpless.
Ramanujar left Chozha kingdom and went to Melkote fearing death.


Thillaivazh anthanargal made important decisions and the king was enthroned by the rituals conducted by them.
They are considered equal to lord Siva.
When they came with lord siva they were 3000 people and now their community at chidambaram has dwindled down to,1500 only.
They depict lord Siva and Parvathi together with their hair style,tonsured head with a long hair snaking down on the left side of the shoulder.They get married at very young age around 13.
The conjugal relationship starts only when the girl attains menarche.
They master all 4 vedas and Sastras and they are good at Sanskrit.
The entire temple is under their control.
This is as per lord siva’s wish.
After marraige and mastering vedas and sastras they are allowed to do poojas to the dieties inside the temple.
They are pure,immaculate and their only duty is to pray and worship god.
They are supposed to eat what is offered to them and they live and die for siva.
Yes they die for siva.

Around 1520 AD,Chidambaram was ruled by Krishnadevaraya.
Krishnadevaraya was a patron and believer of Vishnu and under him Vaishnavism thrived.
Vaishnavites wanted to bring back the idol of Govindaraja perumal back to Chidambaram temple.
Thatacharya was in forefront to bring back the idol.It was however thwarted by the Deekishiders,who went to the devarayar and pleaded against installing the idol.
The king asked for a meeting between the Deeksidhar and the Thatacharya to discuss about the virtues of saivism and vaishnavism so that he can undertsand which is better.
Both  the priests accepted but Thatacharya  wanted to install  the idol  of  govindarjan at chidambaram if he won while deeksidar said Thatacharya should convert to saivism if he lost the debate and should back down his demand of installing the Perumal statue at Chidambaram.
The debate and  tussle was won by the Deekshidar.
The  king did not force Thatacharya  to convert to saivism but accepted the demand of not installing the Govindaraja perumal statue at chidambaram.
Around 1570 AD the Krisnappa naik was the local king of South Vijayanagar kingdom at Chidambaram and adjoining areas.
He was an autonomous ruler and being a deep vaishnavite,he decided to install the Govindaraja perumal statue at Chidambaram at any cost.
He built a sanctum for the Govindaraja perumal adjacent to Ponnambalam.
Krishnappa was seated at the sanctum of Mukkuruni Vinayakar temple adjacent the western entry point.
Mukkuruni,is a form of measurement of grains-one Kurini is equivalent of 8 padis(a vessel ).
Three kuruni is Mukkuruni ie 24 padis of grains are used to feed Vinayaka during festival days.
When the deekshidars met him he said,“You  are learned people and masters of Vedha”
“See the kalasa on the top of Gopuram”
“You can see three”
“This temple also has five Gopuram”
“The three kalasa on top depicts Siva,brahma and Vishnu.Vinayaka is not only the son of Siva but he represents all three ie Siva,Brahma and Vishnu.
“Similarly the five gopurams represents the five elements of the world”
“The walk way to the main sanctum has 4 praharams and including the main sanctum the total is 5”
“You are an expert on that and you very well know the four Praharams represent Annamayya kosham(materialistic body),the next is pranayama kosham(inside force of body),followed by manonmaya and vignaya Kosams which says one should desist from useless thoughts and ambitions by using their intellect and once freed from the clutches of earthly pleasures we can see the real god the Nataraja, who is the Ananda kosham or Eternal bliss”.
“From lord Vinayaka to lord Siva all depict same philosophy nothing is permanent,nothing is created nor destroyed only the forms change”.
“Time for you to change after all you know more than me”- it was more of one way lecture to the beleagured Dikshidars.
“What you threw into sea will come back next to lord Siva?”.
“A small shrine for Perumal will be remade so that he can also witness,the celestial dance”
“Lord Siva only can stop this and not you”-Krishnappa was talking without expecting any replies.
“What you did for Devarams was undone by Raja Raja chozhan with the help of lord Vinayaka?”.
“He used his brain by installing the statues of the great four scholars inside the temple but I’m just asking you and if you are not allowing I will use force”.
“It’s the will of Lord Vishnu to see the dance of Siva from the temple itself”.
Krishnappa just talked to a perplexed audience.
Krishnappa did what he had communicated.
By force he shifted the idol to that place.
Deeksidar’s permission was sought and their arguments were not accepted.
They tried their best to protest.
20 deekshidars climbed the gopuram and fell from the top and committed suicide.
2 dekshidars were shot dead by Krishanppa naik.He was in fact called Thuppaki (gun)Krishnappa.


MOOKURNI VINAYAGAR SHRINE



Can we enter the temple now.

East gopuram is the main entry point of the temple.
The  gopuram has lord ganesh on the right and lord muruga on the left.
 The temple opens up and it has huge territory on either side and as we walk straight and then take a left and enter the second entrance of the temple.
As we descend  inside the temple the sun and breeze evade of to a cool and relatively dark third pragaram(walkway) of the temple.
The  feel of manickavasagar and his thiruvasagam can be heard throughout the temple to the discerning.
On the right side there is Devasabhai.
This  is one of five sabhais(halls).
Godly deekshidars assemble here and decide about the temple administration now.
Chozha kings coronation to power happened at this place.
As of now all the utchavar idols are stationed here.
A beautiful Sanghu oothi vinayagar is in the outer wall of the devasabhai,don’t forget to see and seek his blessings.

SANGU OOTHI VINAYAGAR
SANGU MEANS CONCH.
OOTHI MEANS MUSICAL SOUND


                 
As we see the devasabhai on the left prasadams are on sale.
Tamarind rice,curd rice etc are on sale for Rs20 per packet and the business is brisk.
No bills are given for the transaction and the money collected goes to the god’s descendants account.

As we enter the third praharam the stoned complex opens up and the Ponnamabalam or Chitambalam is seen straight and on the left there is Kanagasabhai.
The Ponnambalam is gold plated and has nine kalasams on the roof top.
To climb up the Ponnambalam one has to walk five steps which corresponds to five elements.
Lord nataraja can be seen from four places. One between Chitambalam and Kanagasabhai on the walk way.
We can pay Rs.100 to the Deekshidar and enter the Ponnambalam.
Once again no bill is given just a white slip which  assigns you a number.
Inside Ponnamabalam, Nataraja can be seen close by.
There is Parvathy on the left and the Spatika lingam is also there.
Between 10.30 and 10.45 Am one can see Rathnasabapathy darshan too.
Nataraja can be seen again from Kanagasabhai which is right in front of Chitambalam.
We have to climb few steps and from here we can see the Anandha thandavam and also the Sayana perumal at the left.
This is pure divine, seeing Perumal and Siva in a single second,simultaneously.



PONNAMBALAM WITH NINE KALASAMS


From  Kanagasabhai as we walk out looking nataraja we enter the stone walled third praharam on the west side.
Kodimaram and Ballipedam are present and the holy bull is absent.
The holy bull is replaced by Manickavasagar which can be felt and not seen.
If we climb few more steps on the left side we enter the Nadana sabhai or Niruthasabhai(Dancing hall)
Just before climbing up on the left side Kalasamharamurthi is present.
The  main diety of the nadana sabhai is the dance of siva depicting “Oorthava Thandavam”.He has his left leg lifted upto the right ear apparently to fix the earing which had fallen down during his fight against Parvathi.
On the right side of the shrine we can see the arrogantly graceful “Sarabeshwarar”.

The best place to see the lord Nataraja is from the Nirutha Sabhai.
One can just sit between the pillars of Nadana  sabhai and see the beautiful dance of Nataraja from a distance.
It has a calming influence on us and a beautiful connection with Nataraja initiates a process of self realisation.



NIRUTTA SABHA WITH A SHRINE,
FOR OORTHAVATHANDAVAR AND LORD 
NATARAJA CAN BE SEEN FROM HERE


As we walk down and turn left we can see Thayar sannadhi,consort of lord Vishnu.
Few  more steps and lord Muruga carved on the pillar can be seen on the right.
Apparently  the stone carving of lord Muruga increases in size every year.
Ornaments adorning him becomes a misfit after some years.
Muruga  looks beautiful and his beauty had inspired Saint Arunagirinathar  to sing hymns for this stone carved self expanding lord muruga.


SELF EXPANDING LORD MURUGA

We then turn on the right and walk forward for several steps we can enter the shrine of Moolanathar,the oldest and main siva temple.
This  is a separate shrine by itself flanked by Dakshinamurthy,lord Vinayaka,lord Muruga and 63 nayanmars.
Lord Parvathi has a shrine to.
A small beautiful temple within the temple.
As we move out and on the left side we can see the place where the Thirumurais, were found.
The  place is flanked by Santhanakuravargal and the fabulous four.





PLACE FOR HOLY THIRUMURAI,
WHICH WERE FOUND HERE.



Few  more steps and then we come to the starting place and see Deekshidars selling  tamarind rice.
In front of lord Vishnu there is big gopuram and Garuda on the left.
This is another temple within the temple.

When  we closely dissect the temple it actually has two more temples within it,one for Moolanathar and one for lord Vishnu.

THE MAIN ENTRANCE OF THE TEMPLE 



THE MAJESTIC WALKWAY,PERFECTLY ALIGNED





INTRICATE CARVINGS FOUND AT 
NIRUTTA SABHAI

A VIEW FROM NIRUTTASABHAI-
THE ENTRY TO KANAGA SABHAI,
AND LORD NATARAJA AT GOLDEN
SABHA CAN BE SEEN FROM
HERE.

     
THE ENTRY POINT OF LORD VISHNU  TEMPLE 
ITS A DIVYADESAM TOO.




The temple has a separate shrine for lord sivas consort called Sivagamasunadari.
Coming back to our unfinished Nandanar story now.
Thirupunkur is a smallish village near Vaitheswaran Kovil.
Nandanar wanted to visit the temple and see the Sivaloganathar.
“Sir,can I go one day to see Poonkur sivan”.
“You can go but how can you see him”.
“Sir, I will go there and pray sir and if Siva wants to show himself I will be lucky”
“Nanda you are a pariah and how you can see him,go today let me see whether Siva opens his door for you”.
“Go after finishing work and go after 6 pm.”
Nandanar was very happy and he along with his friends started walking towards the temple after 6 pm
“Nanda by the time we reach the temple it will be night and how we can see Siva from outside”.
“Your master is very intelligent Nanda even if we go near the temple we can see only from outside”.
“There is a big holy bull which will show only it's back”
“We are low class and the Brahmins will not open the door also”.
“We will go I may not get a chance again”
“Ok Nanda because of you we are coming and no alcohol too,today”.
 The  godly children started towards the temple.
By the time they reached the temple it was begining of the night and the temple’s main sanctum was closed.
“Nanda what we can do?”
“We all will pray from outside and go back.”
“Dear friends we are all untouchables and slaves”.
“Our only solace is lord Siva”
“He is the only man who understands our feelings and emotions and he will definitely show himself as he is my god and mother”.
Nandanar started praying and singing.
After few minutes the door of the main sanctum opened.
“Nanda what's this miracle the main door has opened”
The main sanctum’s lamps got lit on its own.
The temple bell automatically started making sounds.
The villagers started coming towards the temple.
Nanda was praying without opening his eyes,  “Nanda the door has opened,but we cannot see the lord because the bull is obstructing”.
Nanda opened his eyes and started crying.
“Holly bull is also god”,uttered Nanda.
“Move away,Nandi,I want to see Nandanar”,ordered Sivaloganathar,the lord of Thirupunkur.
Lord Siva wanted to see Nandanar.
“Varnasramam was man made and not made by me”
“All are equal before me”.
Siva saw Nandhanar and Nandhanar also saw Siva.
Enlightenment and equality started with Nandanar which was later carried forward by Periyar in Tamilnadu.
This is another miracle associated with Nandhanar.

Nandanar walked through the fire as per chief priests orders.
For Nandhanar,lord had ploughed the paddy fields.
For Nandhanar, lord Siva moved the obstructing holly bull.
For Nandhanar, lord Siva appeared in the dreams of Thillaivazh anthanargal.
For Nandhanar, now,lord Siva made the fire a breeze.
Nothing happened to Nandhanar.
The way he went inside the fire he came out the same way.
When he came out he did not have the holy thread across the chest or he became a Brahmin.
He was Nandanar,he was low class but he was a man with Siva’s blessings.
Nandanar entered the sanctum and God absorbed him as a Pariah,most importantly as a man and as a Saivite.

Next day the Thillai vazh anthanargal assembled again.
“How can this happen”
“It's a miracle”
“Change the story”,the chief uttered.
“Tell everyone,the dark Nandanar became white and the holy thread appeared once he came out of fire”
“He became an Anthanan and became Sivam will be the story”
The godly group was happy.
“The south entrance will be walled off”
“Close it,Nandan’s way will be blocked, because it has become unclean”.
The godly group did things only they can comprehend and decipher.



SIVAGAMASUNDARI -CONSORTOF
LORD SIVA IN A SEPARATE SHRINE

INTRICATE CARVINGS ON THE WALLS OF THE
SIVAGAMA SUNDARI TEMPLE.

THE WALK WAY OF
THE SIVAGAMA SUNDARI TEMPLE

A SHRINE FROM CHITRAGUPTA
IN THE WALK WAY OF SIVAGAMA
SUNDARI TEMPLE



The south entrance is still walled of and the holly bull will see the wall and not lord Siva.
The bull turned its way for Nandanar.
Chitambalam means god is everywhere and equal to all,THE TOLD OR KNOWN SECRET.
The blocked southern entrance means even the holly bull cannot see lord Siva.
The social justice which started with Nandanar and lord Siva has still not materialised in our country.
When will that happen is the UNTOLD  secret of Chidambaram.?
SIVA ONLY CAN ANSWER.


Addendum:

Utchavar- metal idols taken out for procession during festival days.
Mukkuruni Vinayakar is also present at Madurai,Meenakshi Amman temple.
Thillai vazh Anthanargal,informed Raja Raja chozhan that,only if four nayanmars,ie sundarar,Appar,Manickavasagar and thirugnanasambandar come together they can open the room where thirumurais were present.Rajaraja chozhan installed four idols of the fabulous four and indirectly forced the Anthanargal to open the room.
Kulotungachozhan 2 was a Saivite and kulothungan chozhan ula a book,written on him states Perumal went to his original place.
He was also called as Kirmikonda chozhan because of the cancer he had in his neck.He built the rajasabhai,the 1000 pillared monument.
Varnasramam was a system of stratification of people based on their colour and occupation as low class or high class.
Sarabeshwarar is a form of lord Siva who tamed the fierce Siva.(the main idol is at Thirubhuvanam).
Thiruthondarpuranam was sung by sundarar where he talks about 63 nayanmars life and work.
Thatacharya was the chief minister for Krishnadevaraya and Raja guru-a guide for the king.
Thata - means holy father.
Anthanar - means Brahmin - High class people.





THIS VIDEO SHOWS A STONE FROM WHERE ALL FOUR GOPURAMS CAN BE SEEN



















Thursday, 3 June 2021

A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY - KUDUMIYAN MALAI,NARTHA MALAI AND AVUDAYAR KOIL

Raghunatha Thondaiman had all reasons to be happy.His territories surrounding Pudukottai,his capital are well protected now and this was achieved by his crafty alliance with East india company which some thought was totally submissive and sycophantic.On the contrary,he became the most dependent ally to the British and after the defeat of the Mughals the entire south India, was now under the control of the company.Thondaiman's suffered heavy losses while fighting along with British against the French.Despite that his support to British was unwavering.
East india company allowed him to rule almost independently and infact Thondaiman, was spared from paying tributes too.
Such was his exalted and reassured position of the Pudukottai kingdom.
A quasi independent state,good astute king made the people happy too,calmness and safety prevailed in late 1790's around Pudukottai. Neighbouring kingdoms were always involved with some fight while Pudukottai was at peace which made livelihood and life better for the inhabitants of Pudukottai.

Raghunatha thondaiman,King of Pudukottai,was not happy however.His mind was restless and was irritable too.Information was passed on to the administrators that he is going to take a spiritual break for few days.His wife knew it could be for some days and Thondaiman’s favourite place to visit was Kudumiyan malai.

His  chariot had arrived by 10 am as sun was playing hide and seek with clouds. The weather was pleasant and Raghunathan informed the chariot guy to send a word for Krishnan, his confidant and friend.
Without waiting for his reply he quickly walked the pathway which had on either side mind boggling rock cut structures of nine avatars of lord Vishnu and the the inner sanctum had sculptures of lord Muruga,Ganesh,Ravanan,Vishnu,Oorthavathandavam of siva and in the end a beautiful Manmathan statue were present.
Raghunathan  quickly walked to the right and entered the shrine for the Goddess.
He took the blessings of the goddess and sat on the seven faced single stone. From there he can see two things.
On the right,the pilaster of the palliyarai(God and goddess sleeping place),a carving of two headed bird with single torso was present.
Two years before he understood the meaning of that bird which was called “Irandil paravai”.
“It means if you are not with me,I’m dead too”.
It shows the unison of the lovers a sort of siva,sakthi concept and aptly sculpted at the pilaster of
 Palliyarai.
On the left stood the beautiful female statue who had built this part of the shrine and the stone on which Raghunathan  was sitting, now.
The  marriage of Thondaiman’s and also the coronation happened on this stone in front of the goddess and on the right stood silently the statue which was a Devaradiyar. Her name was Nachi, and she was standing close to one of the 24 supporting pillars of the shrine.
A wry smile from Raghunathan explained the feelings of the devaradiyar's plight till two years ago.
 Beautiful and innocent  women were chosen deliberately for god’s  work mostly without their consent and subsequently the megalomaniac kings, made them tools for their pleasure.
Generations earlier they had come of their own will and his forefathers  have changed it.
He smiled because the devaradiyar could have bedded his fore father and the same person could have chiseled out the Irandil paravai too.
During Raghunathan’s tenure,devaradiyars work was made optional  and strict instructions were given to all the administrators that devaradiyars were equivalent to goddesses.
The cave temple was just behind the shrine of the goddess.
The chariot rider had by then was there and helped Raghunathan, to climb the cliff leading to the Nayanmars ledge.He had by now walked half the hill and could see the carvings of the Nayanmars.The solitary walk up and the melancholic ledge in front of lord Siva and parvati on the holy bull flanked by the Naynamars,the mere site of it gives closeness to the god.The cliff and the surrounding wind which whistles with the clouds makes one feel the five elements of Lord Siva.Raghunathan could feel it.Sekkizhar’s, Thiruthondarpuranam came in front of him.No where in the world,carvings of this magnitude has been made.





1000 PILLARED HALL

KALKI AVATAR OF LORD VISHNU

KURMA OR TORTOISE AVATAR OF VISHNU

FISH OR MATSYA AVATAR

NARASIMHA AVATAR

HANUMAN7















PALLIYARAI 








THE HOLLY BULL OF THE CAVE TEMPLE

SMILING DWARAPALAKA

PARVATHAVARTHINI - BRAHMI SCRIPT


LINGA AT THE CAVE TEMPLE

THE MUSICAL INSCRIPTIONS


NACHI,DEVARADIYAR WHO HAD BUILT THE 
GODDESS SHRINE OF THE MAIN TEMPLE




After spending some time, he started descending.He could see the beautiful holly bull worshipping the hill. The hill is Siva and the huge Nandhi sitting half a kilometer away from the hill was quietly watching and meditating in front of Siva. 
I was unable to sit even for 10 minutes.
Walking across the grandeur of the beautiful sculptures and then the exploitation of women in the guise of devaraja cult,the one place which gives solitude and peace was sittting in front of siva.
Descending rapidly he took the blessings of lord ganesh with Mahendraverman's musical notes written on either side of Lord Ganesh sculpture on the rock. Mahendraverman was not only a great king, but also a writer, singer, builder and a musician too.
Mahendraverman also had built the cave temple.A series of side steps took him to the cave temple.
the huge nandhi made way for the smiling Dwarapalakas."Smiling assasin "- nowhere Dwarapalaka’s smile. Mahendraverman's artistic brilliance did not end here. The instrument which was invented by him was also sculpted on the left hand side of the main sanctum. "Parvathavarthini" it is called.
He started meditating and recited Sivapuranam.
Peace enveloped and engulfed him. It was however short lived. His mind started to waver and the guilt feeling sneaked in. I’m responsible. He did not ask for protection. His presence in his territory was also unknown to me till the British informed him. They had tracked his presence to the jungles of  Pudukottai.Raghunathan was tipped of and was instructed to capture him and hand over,to the East India company.The most wanted man was Kattabomman.Raghunathan did as he was told.
What took Raghu by surprise was the swift and fast execution of Kattaboman.Once again he was informed.
As he opened his eyes tears trickled down. Kattabomman was a angry but immature King.Putting valor ahead of shrewdness brought his downfall and death. Deep inside Kattabomman's death left a unhealing scar and a immense feeling of guilt.

He walked down took the blessings of the other goddess standing to the left of lord ganesh and went to the main shrine, built later.
Kudiminathar,was in front of him as Sivalingam. After doing the customary obeisance,in front of Lord siva he came out worshipped the Nataraja and came out of the temple and was greeted by his friend,Satyakrishnan who was sitting at the 1000 pillared gopuram.

Both of them hugged each other and exchanged pleasantries.
Raghunathan,quickly told all that happened to Kattabomman,and his part in his death,to his childhood friend and confidant,Sathya Krishnan.
His friend just absorbed what all he said and asked the king, “Can we go to Narthamalai”?
“Nartha malai will take one hour to go,before sun sets we can reach”.
“Yes the pleasure of seeing the sunset from the hillock after getting the blessings of lord Siva should be wonderful,we will go Krishnan”,answered king in a cheerful acceptance.
The king was escorted by his friend to the chariot.People bent down and wished the king after recognising him.
While wishing them back a sense of disenchantment,despair and Kattabomman occupied his mind and heart.
He alighted inside the chariot holding his friend’s hand.
The driver asked the king sir, “Where,we should go now?”
“Narthamalai”.
“Yes sir”,and the chariot was pulled by the energetic stallion.
Raghunathan was silent for the entire journey as the chariot swallowed the path with remarkable ease.
“Sir,should I stop in front of the hill with the steps or on the side of the hill lock”.
“Side of the hillock please”.
Krishnan knew why he wanted to walk on the rock so that he can drink water from the spring and also the king can recollect his young days.
As kids they used to play here.Despite being a prince Raghu used to play with Krishnan who incidentally was a lower caste too.Raghu still talked with him like a friend and never showcased himself as a king.
Krishnan used to get beautiful dresses from his friend as gift.Once they grew up Krishnan refused the gifts and told Raghu “I’m just happy to be your friend”.
Raghu’s affection to Krishnan became even more when he refused many important posts in his governing body.
His simple answer was “Happy to be your friend and happy to be a farmer”.
“I’m a king in my farm and you are a king for the people”.
Both of them walked up the hillock.
“What do you think of Vijayalayan?” queried Krishnan.
“You mean the person who built this temple”.
“He was a great king and he was the first chozha king to expand beyond Cauvery”.
“I shall tell more about him which might help you understand how kings were at that point of time,
Narthamalai Siva temple was built by him to celebrate his victory over Varagunapandiyan”.
Raghu,looked at his friend and said, “Yes”.
“The real war was between Aparajitha Pallavan and Varanguna Pandian,the Ganga king and Vijayalayan  supported the Pallava,Aparajithan finally won the war at thirupurambiyam”.
“Tanjore and Pudukottai were gifted by Aparijithan  to Vijayalayan,for his support and he was made quasi independent”.
“Vijayalayan built the temple,on the hill to celebrate his victory and independence and this temple became the template or model for the great Tanjore temple subsequently”.
”Apart from being the first architectural stone temple,so that it cannot be destroyed,this temple also is on a hill so that no one can see from the ground,this makes the temple safe from invaders and destruction”.
“Yes Krishnan I remember,Varagunan ran to Madurai and Aditya chozhan,built a temple in his name at thirupurambiyam”,added Raghunathan.
“Raghunathan,all these are good things which are in history,but what Aditya, did later”.
“I don’t know”-Raghunathan.
“The story does not end here.”
“Aditya despite being a friend of Aparajithan double crossed him,he killed him and took away his territories”.
“The worst thing was he enslaved and married his beautiful wife also,which effectively decimated the Pallavas”.
”Krishnan you are telling me history or you are talking about the vicissitudes of life”.
  Krishnan looked into his friends eyes and said “Raghunathan, Aparijithan, gave chozha part of his land,
but,Vijayalayan and his son later killed him and took his wife too”.
“He did not do this for his people,What he did was greediness and treachery?
“He can build many temples but Siva will not forgive the sin he has committed”.
“Yes Vijayalayan and his son seem to be unscrupulous”,accepted Raghu.
“Very true.On the contrary what you did was to protect your people,British are your friends,Kattabomman is not your friend too”.
“Handing over Kattabomman to the British is not wrong”,Krishnan added.
“As a king Vijayalayan,is a great king but Raghunathan you are a greater man and a better human being”.
Raghu did not speak anything.
They had by now come to the smallish spring.The gentle breeze had become little wilder and the water was glistening under the sun.
Krishnan waited for the King to sit down.
Raghu washed his face and cleaned his feet and hands.
“Chilly and tasty” he uttered as he used his hands to drink the water.
A small Muruga shrine was adjacent to the spring and after getting his blessings they reached the summit.
A man was sleeping at the entrance of the temple.
He was dark,had a small dress covering his private parts and was looking threadbare.
A stench came from him as he was full of dirt with long unkempt hair.
Raghu asked him to leave way.
The sleeping dark man opened his eyes and saw them.
“Can you move aside please”.
“You have a long way to go”,said the beggar,stared at them. “Don’t search him here”
Raghu felt penetrated as the beggar walked away from them.
He was tempted to ask him who are you but before he could ask he had wandered away.
“We shall see the Vishnu,come”,said Krishnan and took Raghunathan to the cave temple.
At the right side a cave temple with twelve identical Vishnu sculptures can be seen .
At the centre was an empty pedestal.
The empty pedestal probably had the linga.
“Could be Mallik Khafir,he ransacked our treasures,even I will kill Khafir, if I get to see him”.
“He must have broken the linga but could not do anything to the Vishnu”.
“Yes,because of it being engraved on the rock”.
“Raghu do you know,this cave temple was originally a Jain temple”.
“Trithankar,worship I have heard it”.
“You said you will kill Khafur,what Jains will do for converting their cave temple into a Hari Hara worship”.
“It’s all materialistic manifestation of inflated ego based on self centric ideas,Jains advocated equality among all living beings,Chitanavasal paintings also depict the same”.
“I don’t know who converted this cave temple to Harihara temple could be Mahendran or Varagunan”.
“Mandagapattu,is a cave temple for Trimurti,this, one is meant for Harihara”,continued Krishnan.
“At Mandagapattu, Brahma also had worship along with Siva and Vishnu,true,I knew that Krishnan”.
“Initially worship was done for Brahma,Indran and Surya”.
“You mean Vedic worship,so called high class”,replied Raghunathan.
“What is the difference,praying to god is individual preference”
“Very correct,Vedic worship was not meant for poor and the downtrodden,the poor identified themselves with Lord Siva.
“As you are well aware,poor form the majority everywhere”.
“Vedic worship faded off due to their overbearing attitude but they were intelligent and manipulative and they knew how to come back,they incorporated lord Siva into their worship so that the entire population can be under their control”.
Raghu started understanding the conundrum.
“Right opposite to this cave temple you can see lord Siva temple only”.
“Yes it looks so captivating”.
“From Trimurti worship,to Hari Hara worship and now only Siva or Hari worship - Why?
“I don’t know the answer Satya,can you finish the riddle by your answer”
”Mahendraverman”
“Mahendraverman and Thirunavukarasar started the Bhakti movement”.
“Very true but Mahendran was a follower of Vedic principles prior to his conversion to Shaivism”.
“Mahendraverman followed Tritankara, I mean Jain worship initially right”,queried Raghunathan.
“It’s debatable the Trichi, rock cut temple has a beautiful Gangadhara sculpture,the engravings at that cave temple says he converted himself to Siva worship, and it does not say whether he converted from Jainism or from Vedic worship”.
“His primary affiliation is debatable but my interpretation is he converted to Shaivism from sacrificial or Vedic worship”.
“Krishnan,your discourse from Vedic,Jainism,Trimurti,Harihara and then Siva worship,seems to make things confusing”.
“People change or made to change as per the religion embraced by the King.Gods, within the religion also change according to the liking of the King”.
Raghu was still looking at the Siva temple and said  “Look.”
“The beggar you mean”.
“Yes,see he is entering the Garbagraha (main sanctum for linga is housed)”.
“Come Satya we shall also see lord siva,circumambulate and get down by the time sun fully goes down”.
They worshipped lord siva,meditated and started to walk down.
“What happened to him?”
“You mean the beggar I saw him entering the shrine and after that did not find him”.
“May be he evaporated”.
It is hardly 50 meters how he could have gone out of the eyes.

THE GOPURAM LIKE A LINGA



THE MOUNTAIN SPRING

A  VIEW OF THE TEMPLE FROM LORD MURUGA SHRINE

THE CAVE TEMPLE WITH 12 VISHNU SCULPTURES

THE EMPTY PEDESTAL WITHOUT LINGA

LORD VISHNU

THE ELEPHANTS,WITH DIFFERENT POSTURES OF THE TRUNKS

THE YAAZHIS - MYTHOLOGICAL ANIMALS

VIJAYLAYACHOZHESWARAM-THE TEMPLATE FOR 
TANJORE TEMPLE

THE MAIN SANCTUM WITH LINGA





As they quickly walked down the cliff the villagers started huddling themselves to their respective huts.
The seven hillocks surrounding Narthamalai, was becoming taller as they descended down.
Raghu was in a different state of mind now.
A sense of purification or may be some meaning into life,he was conjecturing.
He felt light in his heart,a sense of quietness in solitude,despite Krishnan’s presence.
Uncluttered serenity was descending on him.
Still he had lots of questions.
He looked at Sathya and he smiled,understandingly.
At the base of the hill the dark guy was sitting.
Raghu was taken aback.
How he could have come so fast. May be he floated.
Both of them were bewildered but chose to ignore.
“Sathya are you free to continue the journey”.
“Where Raghunathan?”
“Thiruperundurai,I mean Avudayar  temple”.
“Yes we shall, as the King orders”.
As they reached the chariot the driver was seen requesting the dark man to move away.
Raghu asked him not to trouble the beggar and said “We shall evade him and go”.
As they alighted into the chariot the dark man opened his eyes.
“Perundurai will welcome you,Go and meditate where Manickavasagar got Deeksha(enlightment).”
Both of them were stunned.
As they got down again from the chariot,the dark man got up and started walking.
“Who is this guy”?
The horse rider said, “Sir,he is called the dumb saint”
“He is a Brahmin, who left his wife and mother at young age and started wandering,Often he visits siva temple and people see him talking to Siva and Nandhi and at times alone”.
“He does not take bath or does not dress also,sir”
“He loves children and once he sent five children to Madurai in a second,the children played there and came back by evening and they vividly explained about Madurai temple”.
“Don’t talk nonsense,may be he has some powers”.
“But how he could say that we are going to Peru perundurai”,questioned Krishnan as he helped the king to enter the chariot.
“Raghu,now I know who he is,his real name is Sivaramakrishnan”.
“The dark guy is a wandering hermit,some call him Sithar”.
“What the driver told about him is true”?
“It’s true he does not talk,but he spoke to us, may be he spoke to you”.
From the pomp and splendour of the kings of Kudumiyan malai,to the treachery and the self centered Vijayalayan  at Narthamalai and finally the dark beggar who appears schizophrenic,Raghunathan  was having an experience of different kind.
“Go to avuduyar Kovil”,said the king.
The chariot started towards the next temple and Raghu thought they should reach there by mid night.
“We can stay at the small palace adjacent to the temple and eat fruits for the night”.
“Okay sir”.
“Are poojas regularly done at the temple”
“Yes sir they do five times now”,said the driver of chariot.
”They have started linga worship also now”,Krishnan joined the conversation.
“Why you are telling linga worship sarcastically,siva temple naturally will have a self manifested linga?”
“But the name of the temple is Aavudai”.
“It means the base on which the linga rests”.
“Yes I know that”,Raghu snapped.
“We can also change the name of the temple as Avudailingam temple”,said Krishnan sarcastically.
Raghu started to understand,the hidden meaning of his friend’s narrative.
“Manickavasagar had built this temple and installed a pedestal only for worship”.
“It did not have a hole for lingam”
“Manickavasagar’s idea was to see the omnipotent everywhere and when we concentrate above the pedestal we see nothing,Formlessness is the next real step of worship and self realisation”.
“Now a linga like metal has been installed on top of the pedestal so that it looks like a linga”.
“This temple was built in fifteenth century and whether Manickavasagar built this one is debatable may be he could have started the main sanctum”
“Some say this temple is built by goddessYogambika and some say it is built by evil spirits”.
“Even I had heard these junk stories”.
“Manickavasagar is the hero of the temple. It does not have Balipeedam,Kodimaram,Nandhi,Utchavar and also does not have lord Vinayaka,we have Manickavasagar as Nandhi and also as Vinayakar.”
“Manickavasagar gets first preference here.”
“Very correct and can you think deeper”,quizzed Satya Krishnan.
“The idea of building this temple is based on the principles of Manickavasagar and let us not dwell who built it”.
“Once some one realises god he knows god is everywhere,he has to sit idle and feel that godliness in himself and inside the heart”.
”Why one requires a form for it?”
”Though a form of god is required to start a worship the ultimate journey is to see and feel god everywhere”.
“The pinnacle and the exalted stage of worship,is God is everywhere”.
“This principle has been hijacked and now the linga like metal has been substituted so that the real essence of Manickavasagar’s dream has been sent to a primordial form”.
“Only the village still is called as a Avudayar koil”.
As the conversation between the two was going on the chariot had reached the outskirts of the village and the beautiful gopuram was welcoming them .
They reached the small palace adjacent to the temple and the maids were bewildered by the unannounced arrival of the king.
Both of them ate and slept well.
Sivapuranam woke both of them.
“Pattruthu Parrikum”,(Detachment from materialism paves way for true love)
“Avan arulale Avan thazh Vanangi”(God determines whether we are destined to reach his feet).
These two lines summarised the entire journey felt Raghunathan.
He took bath and walked to the hall where his friend was already waiting to escort him to the temple.
“Shall we eat and go”
“We shall see the Aavudai first”.
As they entered the temple,Krishnan asked Raghunathan, to look at the top of the wall.
“A monkey and a Udumbu(Monitor lizard).
“What does that mean”?
“I don’t know.”
“Monkey has a wandering mind and character,Udumbu on the contrary does not leave what it catches”.
”The meaning of this temple is to desist the temptations and wandering mind and enter the spiritual world like a Udumbu and do not deviate”.
“Pattruaruthu Parikum”.
Both of them were enjoying the beautiful sculptures like Villenthia Murugan,different types of horses mimicking Greek,Arab and Marathas.
Quintessential sculptures of Asuras.
Nayakar paintings on the roof of Manickavasagar shrine showing the 276 shrines sung by fabulous four.
They entered the main sanctum after entering the gopuram and was welcomed by the graceful horse,yet made dominant by the person sitting on it,lord siva.
Satya immediately told, “See, this depicts the arrival of lord siva in the horse to convert foxes into horses”.
“Ha ha ha”.
They heard a husky laughter.
As they walked past the carvings of Pasupatha Indran and reached the midway of the hall they saw Sivaramakrishnan,the dark beggar.
The dark beggar or Sidhar.
How he could have come here.
Even if he had walked the entire night he can cover only one third of the distance,we had travelled.
Bewildered and beyond scientific reason for his presence here both of them went near him and Raghunathan  asked him, 
“Sir,why did you laugh?”
“Sirrrrr,I’m a beggar call me beggar”.
“See those two statues who are they”
“I don’t know sir”
“Both are Manickavasagar one is when he was minister and next when he became a beggar,as per your dictionary”.
“See that horse, siva did not come to change foxes into horses”.
“ Look properly,the horse has been saddled with constraints for ears and eyes,When you resist temptations and seek the real path you will ascend to heaven,look…Both the legs of the horse are going up because the horse is able to control the temptations of life,it’s path is to god that is heaven”.
“If we are unable to do that we will be like fox roaming around to be hunted”.
”You want to be hunted or you want to reach siva”.
“See the temple and come”.
He walked away again.
The waves of the river settled down like a paper.
Both of them did not talk.
They entered the sanctum saw the Aavudai alone.
Siva was everywhere.
They circumambulated and seeked blessings of the tree where Manickavasagar attained Deeksha.




















ADIKAILASANATHAR TEMPLE -COULD HAVE BEEN
BUILT BY MANICKAVASAKAR.







"Krishnan, he went to the back side of the temple can we go see him".
Yes, they crossed the temple pond and tried to search him.
But he was not found.
They asked about his whereabouts.
"Sidhar, will be at the Manickavasagar temple".
"We are here only".
"No king one kilometer from here there is another temple the temple built by Manickavasagar".
"What is this then?”
 "This temple could have been built for Manickavasagar"
 They walked to the that temple,by foot.
 "Raghu, why can’t we go evening time".
 "No Satya I want to see him".
 "Who?".
 "The dark man, no he is a sidhar".
They reached the smallish temple.
He was there.
Both of them went near him.
"This temple was built by Manickavasagar.The temple which you saw just before you came here was built for Manickavasagar".
"Don’t search him he is everywhere".
"You know god is the ultimate boundless,benevolent ,effulgence".
"The light of god is powerful then sun".
 "Sun,can show all colours except darkness".
  "But god will show darkness which is our ignorance and correct that too".
   "That’s why he is boundless,benevolent,caring and cannot have a form".
"Path is the same,Trithankara,Siva,Vishnu,Buddha,Brahma all are same”.
He stood and started walking.

In two days life had come a full circle for Raghu.
What started as guilt feeling transformed into a search.
From the grandeur of Kudumiyan malai where coronation of Kings was done on the rock built by a Devadasi,the same kings devoured devadasis who were initially offered for god. The kings built a Devaraja cult around them and all of them were pompous and pretentious without understanding the reality.
My sin of handing over Kattabomman is not for safeguarding the people but it was protecting my territorial interests,once gain.
Narthamalai symbolises act of bigotry and self perpetuation.
The purpose of defeating ignorance and elevating the level of worship is the concept of Manickavasagar, and the result was Avudayar temple.
The elites installed Linga and made sure the idea of formless god,got defeated. This is  pestilence.
God is everywhere and he is formless.
Some one who understands him we call him as beggar.
"Krishnan,I'm leaving".
Raghu walked into the woods leaving Satya and the forms behind.


Addendum:


This blog is based on two true characters and one fictional character.
Raghunathan thondaiman was a king of Pudukottai,lived between 1759-1807,and he was close to British,he came in touch with Sivaramakrishnan and  spent 7 years with him, leaving his kingdom.
British recognised him with the title "RajBahadur".
Sivaramakrishnan is also called as “Sadasiva Brahmendra”was considered a Sidhar and he initiated Thondaiman into Dakshinamurthy mantra and also wrote that on a sand which the royal family treasures even now.
Satyakrishnan is a fictional character.
The temple where Manickavasagar got Deeksha or enlightenment was the last temple in the blog which is a km further south of the Avudayar temple.
Most of the things written in this blog are facts,though the narration is fictional.
Pattraruthu Parrikum- Kindly read Sivapuranam for the meaning and the blog is about this.
The conversion of fox to horse may look simple on paper but it has a philosophy going into it which has been explained.
All the four temples can be covered in a single day,start early and avoid summer months.
Accomodation is available at Aranthangi or Trichi,though Aranthangi is nearer.






MANICKAVASAGAR AFTER ENLIGHTENMENT