I have always viewed 'Thirisoolam' as the Railway Station opposite to the airport. So, when Venketesh suggested a trip covering Thirisoolam and few other temples that lie between Chennai and Chengelpet, I was only too eager to go.
Two days before the tour another friend Ramnath Mani told us that the outer wall of the Thirisulam temple's garbagriham (sanctum sanctorum) contains inscriptions from the later chozhas to parakrama pandiyan. This roused our interests all the more.
On Feb. 5th, Sunday, Myself, Venketesh, Satish, His mother, Natarajan Srinivasan and Muruganandam embarked on a short but memorable trip.
Our fist stop was the temple in Thirisoolam. The temple was of
'Gajaprashtham' type. i.e., the structure of the temple is similar to that of a seated elephant.
Thirisoolanathar's sanctum sanctorum looked older compared to that of Ambal's. The entire length and breadth of the sanctum's wall was filled with inscriptions. Poor lighting and our inadequacies (I know that this is the reason that should be listed first!) in reading inscriptions made us abort the exercise mid-way.
We made a couple of interesting observations in this temple. The wooden sculptures in the 'kodimaram' are exquisitely beautiful. Second, there is a very different interpretation of 'Sarabeswarar' in one of the temple pillars. It is completely different from the ones I have seen in Thirubhuvanam and Chidambaram. We deduced it to be Sarabeswarar by identifying the deity holding Narasimhar.
The next stop was very important - for breakfast. Over steaming idlis, dosas and coffee we discussed umpteen issues ranging from Poongkuzhali to the effect of invasion on our culture.
Thiru Kachur is a padal petra sthalam. But, it has more importance to it. This, small hamlet that is near Singa Perumal Kovil, has a very rare privilege. Lord Shiva walked on this very soil to feed his devotee Sundaramurthy Nayanar. Think, the Lord collecting alms for your sake and feeding you....
The Kachabeswarar temple here also has a mythological story associated with it. It is said before churning the 'parkadal', Lord Mahavishnu in the form of a tortoise (Koorma avatharam) prayed to Lord Shiva at this temple and hence the name to the presiding deity.
It is interesting that the same legend is also associated with the Kachabeswarar temple in Kanchipuram also!
We entered the temple and found that a 'kumbabishekham' should have been performed recently. The flag on the gopuram and the fresh paint stood testimony to this. The gate leading to the the praharam was locked. Venketesh set out to find the Gurukkal, and was told that he would be there in the small temple on the hillock.
We made our way to the Thiru Kachur Alakkovil that is situated on a small hillock. The deity here is Marundheesar and the Ambal Irul Neekki Amman. Sundarar has referred to the deity here while singing about Kachabeswarar who resides down the hill.
melai vithiye vinaiyin payane
viravaar puramun rericheythaay
kaalai yezhunthu thozuvaar thangaL
kavalai kalaivaay karaikkanta
malai mathiye
malaimel marunthemaraven adiyen vayal chuzntha
aalaik kazhanip
pazhanak kachchuraalak koyil ammaane
In the inner wall of the temple's compund, various songs have been written. 'pidiyathu kolamigu', 'aththaalai engal abirama valliyai' and 'ammaiye appa' grabbed our attention. Venketesh who is an ardent worshipper of Abirami amman, identified 'aththaalai' to be the noorruppayan of Abirami anthathi. He went on to add that he recites the anthathi everyday and it takes him all of 12 minutes for all the 100 poems!
There was one another poem on the wall that grabbed the maximum attention. The poem that gave its reciter the kingdom itself! Yes, 'ponnar meniyane'. The song that Sendhan Amudhan sang dutifully everyday. The song that gave him what he desired and much more...
I was telling Natarajan that God gave amudhan both Pungkuzhali - his desire and the kingdom - what he did not desire. But, Pungkuzhali always says she will ask boons that will bring ill luck to princes, princesses and the ruling clan! But, God gave her what she wanted, though she did not explicitly ask Him.
"Pungkuzhali thaniya kekka vendiyathillainga. enendral, Pungkuzhaliye deivamsam porunthiyaval. deiva sakthi enbathu avalukke irunthathu!"
'Pungkuzhali akila ulaga rasigar mandra thalaivar' thiru Natarajan ippadi sonnathum nan asanthu than ponen. anal adutha nimidam, Dhiwakar ithai kettal enna bathil kidaikkum endru yosithen! Dhiwakar, whenever you read this, your reply please....
We also saw a very different well. First of all it was amazing to find a well at such a high altitude. The well was situated well below the ground level and it had a flight of stairs from gorund level leading down to the well. The steps ended in a tank like arrangement from wher you could fetch the water. What innovation!
We then proceeded back to the Kachabeswarar temple and were waiting for the priest who had promised to come and open the temple for us. There I found a simple and elegant sculpture of Lord Muruga on the first pillar on the right hand side, as one enters. oru kalai thonga pottu, maru kalai kuththukkalittu, vegu oyyaramaga murugan mayil meethu amarnthirukkirar!
Satish was trying to read the inscriptions on the outer wall of the mandapam, and I joined him. romba thaththi, thaththi 'Gopal Devarukku Yandu' enbathai mattum padiththom! We thought these inscriptions should belong to the Nayakkar period.
Kachabeswarar is so small. One of the smallest
nay tiniest Lingams I have ever seen. After seeing Him we went to meet this consort 'Anjanammai'. There, the 'vahanam' in front of the Godess was a Lion! I believe the lion is the vahana only in pre-vedic temples.
As we were circumambulating the sanctum, we found inscriptions on the outer walls of the garbagriham, similar to the Thirisulam temple. We struggled to read the inscriptions as the lighting was inadequate and the walls were oily. All of a sudden, voices were calling "inge vaa, inge vaa..". As I rushed there, I saw a beaming Venketesh and Muruganandam reading an inscription "
rajaraja devarukku yaandu..."
Though we new Thirukachur was a padal petra sthalam, we never thought, RRC would have visited it. I was really overjoyed seeing a connection with RRC here. To my knowledge, I thought the only place where you can find RRC's inscriptions is at Thiruvidanthai. Later, I learnt that the inscriptions that were found near Mahabalipuram after Tsunami, revealed another by RRC.
Thirukachur and Thiruvidanthai being in almost the same latitude, we decided it was logical that RRC visited this temple. One more reason, for his visit being the affinity he had towards Sundarar.
Next on our list was Chettipunyam. Though, a later period temple, it has become highly famous as it houses Yoga Hayagreevar - the bestower of knowledge. There is a view that the Hayagreevar in this temple was brought from Thiruvahindrapuram. Not many people accept it.
The popularity of a temple, at times doesn't depend upon whether scholars and their ilk accept it or not. It solely relies and grows on local legends and word of mouth. Numerous temples stand testimony to it. Chettipunyam is one such temple.
It is believer that Lord Vishnu took the Hayagreeva avatharam to save the vedas from extinction during pralayam. Thus, he is the bestower of knowledge. The Chettipunyam temple was swarming with children. With the exam season nearing, both children and parents find it necessary to submit a petition to the Almighty. Once someone tells you that a particular temple is best for studies and exams, people flock to that temple.
Children taking their exam pads, pens and pencils to the temple is a common sight. You can witness that in every temple. But, I was astonished to find children sitting and studying there. Satish sonna madhiri, "intha oru karanathukkakavathu ellorum koyilukku vanthal sari".
On the way to Chengelpattu, one can see a board written "Siva, Siva" on a roadside hillock. Venketesh had told us that there is a small temple situated atop the hill. Though, it is in a dilapidated state, he said we can have a clear view of the Chengalpattu Lake and is a nice scenic spot to visit.
I was a little shocked as we arrived at the base of the hillock, there were no steps! It was more of a pathway, filled with stones. If at all there were any provisions for a firm footing on the path, they should have been washed away when the rain-gods showed too much affection on this region couple of months back.
Calling the Lord for help inside myself, I strated climbing - no, no - trekking. To cut a long story short, I reached the top after much panting and difficulty, delaying Natarajan Srinivasan in the process. Poor soul, he climbed after me ensuring I didn't trip anywhere.
Once we were on top, we all realised that it was worth the climb. There was a nice breeze despite the heat and the view from there was really breathtaking. There was something else awaiting us....
The, temple to much of our amazement was in good shape. It had been renovated easily and the Ambal shrine that had collapsed was also in good repair now. Venketesh, wodered aloud at the stark contrast. A decade ago, it was an abandoned place, surrounded with snake skin!
The presiding deity here is Vyagrapureeswarar. It is said that the sage Vyagrapathar offered prayers here. The area is named 'pulipakkam' after the Lord himself I suppose. Once again, we found inscriptions on the outer wall of the sanctum.
And, much to my delight, once again there was
'raja raja devarukku yandu....'!!!There were quite a few fragments near the Dakshinamurthy on the outer wall. All the hardships I faced while climbing, disappeared completely when I saw this inscription.
As we went around, we saw some broken shrines and a broken Nandi. We thought this should have been quite an important and bigger temple in those days. We sat there for sometime, enjoying the breeze and the sweet water that we drank from a tap.
As we returned into the city after a hearty lunch, the discussion covered a range of topics - Sendhan Amudhan's greatness, Manimangalam battle, Vandiyath Devan, Nadhini, Prof. Oak's theory of Tejo Mahalaya and so many other things...
More than anything else, finding RRC's inscrptions in places where we would have never dreamt of, will linger in our memories for a long time....
