Tamil Nadu Yatra - Part 5

Day 6

Inside Srirangam Temple

On the morning of Day 6, we woke early to complete our morning ablutions and after this, we proceeded by Rickshaw to Amma Mandapam which is like a ghat constructed on the banks of River Kaveri. There were a lot of people already there – some who had finished their bath, some who were doing their rituals for their ancestors, some who like us were just about to go for the dip in Kaveri. We found that there was hardly much water in the higher riverbank as it is mainly dependent on rainfall. Also, the riverbank near the ghat was little dirty with clothes, bottles, plastic bags etc. strewn around. We had to walk a hundred meters or so in the riverbed to reach a place where Snanam could be done. The ladies had their bath first by taking several dips in the waist deep water. After this, we three gents did our Sankalpam before taking the holy dip in Kaveri River facing the down streaming river. This marked the most important event of this yatra. Tula Kaveri snanam (Having a holy dip in Kaveri in the month of Tula) is considered very auspicious and everyone should try to do this at least once in their lifetimes. After this, we returned to our rooms and had breakfast at the restaurant attached to our hotel. It was a modest spread (pure vegetarian fare) of traditional South Indian snacks like Idli, Vada, Pongal etc. Two members of our group then took a separate car and headed towards Kanchipuram enroute to Chennai.

The remaining three of us then proceeded towards:

Srirangam Temple

Srirangam temple: This is one of the most important Vaishnav temples of India with a special connection to Sri Rama & Ayodhya. The idol here is the same one that was worshipped by the family of Lord Sri Rama since ancient times. When Vibheeshana refused to return to Lanka after the coronation of Sri Rama at Ayodhya, he was persuaded to do so by Sri Rama who also gave him His traditionally worshipped deity to worship. While returning to Lanka in his Pushpaka Vimana, Vibheeshana stopped for his evening prayers at the bank of Kaveri. Once the idol was placed on the ground there, it refused to budge, and no amount of effort could move the idol from there. Reluctantly, surrendering to the will of God, Vibheeshana left it behind and proceeded to Lanka. This temple has been looted and plundered by Islamist invaders several times and the local priests took several pains to save the idol from destruction. It was thanks to their efforts that we can now have a darshan of the same deity that was worshipped by Sri Rama.

Srirangam temple

It was around 10 a.m. when we arrived here after a short drive from our hotel in a rickshaw. It was very warm when we arrived here, and the place was crowded too. We took a special darshan ticket (Rs. 100 per head) to save time. We could have darshan of the Sri Ranganatha Swamy who is in His Anantha Shyanam (lying down) pose within an hour or so from about 8-10 feet. The priest & other officials who are managing the crowd allow you to stand for extra time if you tip them. If the tip is large enough, one is also allowed inside the sanctum. After this we went around the huge temple complex to visit all the smaller temples within its premises. This included the Thayaar temple, Ramanujar temple and Chakrataalwar temple.

It was very hot in the afternoon and we were famished, hungry and thirsty. Based on someone's recommendation, we went to a nearby mess called the Sri Raghavendra Annapoorni Mess where we had a lovely sattvic lunch served on a banana leaf. While the food was just like home made and very tasty and wholesome, it was priced only about Rs. 100 or so per person. We then we returned to our rooms for some rest. Later in the afternoon, we visited the following temples:

Tiruvanaikavu temple

Tiruvanaikavu temple: This was located close to our hotel (about 750 meters) and so we walked down. This is one of the famous Panch bhoota Shiva temple which has the element of Jalam (the other temples being Ekambareshwar temple of Kanchi signifying the Bhoomi, the Nataraja temple of Chidambaram signifying Akasha, Sri Kalahastheeshwar temple of Kalahasthi signifying Vayu and Arunachaleshwar temple of Thiruvannamalai signifying Agni). This is another huge temple which was sparsely crowded as it was early afternoon. Usually, the Shiva lingam here is always covered with water from some underground source. However, this time it was dry as even Kaveri was relatively dry at this time of the year.

Akhilandeshwari Ambal Temple: Situated within the same temple complex is the lovely Akhilandeshwari Devi temple which has a huge idol of Ganeshji facing the main deity from outside the main door. Apparently, this Devi was in an angry mood and anyone who used to come to worship Her used to get affected by it. As recommended by Maha Periyavaa, Sri Chandrasekhar Saraswati of Kanchi, the idol of Ganeshji was installed in front of Her so that She could see Him as soon as the main door was opened. This pleased Her and She became benevolent toward all worshippers thereafter.

View from Uchhi Pillayar Temple

After this, we visited the Uchhi pillayar temple (also called the rock fort temple) of Lord Ganesh situated on the top of a rocky hill. This is in the main town of Trichy which we had to reach by crossing over a bridge over the river Kaveri. This is a 7^th century temple which can be reached by climbing 400 steps. On the way up, one can also visit the Taiumaanavar Shiva temple. This has a legend where Lord Shiva took the form of a mother to take care of the child of one of His bhaktas. The main Ganesh temple is small and has a distinctly beautiful Ganesh idol who is fully covered with sandal paste. From this temple, one can get a nice view of the town and also be able to see the Srirangam temple gopuram.  While we climbed down it rained for some time. We then had dinner in a restaurant (Vasant Bhavan) at the foot of the hill and then took a rickshaw back to our hotel for resting the night.

(to be continued....)