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| Athi Varadhar reclining in Vasantha Mantap at Sri Vardharajar temple Kanchipuram 9.7.2019. |
Received a call late at night from a priest from Kanchipuram two weeks back.He said that the Ven Samaram was ready and that once we paid the sum we could then dedicate it to Sri Varadharajar Perumal.
This much awaited call came when i had lost all hope of doing this service to Lord Vardharajar.ever coming through.I have been nursing a desire to do some material service to Sri Vardharajar in the memory of my late son Vidat for nearly a decade .An year back a priest at this temple advised me to dedicate a pair of Ven Samarams with silver handles which is used in fanning the deity inside the sanctum as well as and when the processional idol is carried out of the temple during festivals.He said that it was much needed by the temple.He further offered to get it done .But he parried probably owing to his tight schedule .He is a priest cum teacher in veda patashala .He also has undertaken the work of renovating the garden of VillakoliPerumal on his own by removing the encroachments and cleaning the garbage accumulated over it over the years.He said that whilst digging the ground they came upon river sand of finest quality which as good as gold.I asked "Is it the sands of Vegavathi river that is said to have flowed in this area and as per shtala purana flooded Sri Vardharajar temple trying to douse the yagna performed by Brahma in ancient times.This river which is non existent now is also mentioned by Desikan?".He said Yes ! It must be. Since the wait was too long i decided to buy a silver arti plate and donate it to Varadhar during my annual visit.No sooner did i decide thus did i get that call from the priest that the Ven Samarams whose fluffy hair was difficult to obtain was finally procured and it was ready .!
It was decided that we would do this dedication to Sri Vardhar after Athi Varadhar is consecrated and is open to public viewing and worship, since such a unique event was to take place soon .An event that place only once in 40 years.
I had heard about this religious event that consisted of physically lifting a wooden deity of Varadhar once in 40 years from the temple tank where it is kept submerged in its waters.It is then placed in the temple for public viewing and for worship.But i did not know the reason behind the submerging this deity and then lifting it out and then re submerging it.
The media was agog with this event and were giving various reasons behind the event. Then I read a religious journal Narsimha priya whose credibility is high,in which it was stated that The Athi Varadhar was the original deity who was presiding over the sanctum sanctorium of Sri Vardharajar Temple till 300 years back since time immemorial.The fact that Varadhar was made of wood testifies to the fact that he belongs to bye gone ages when deities in temples were made of wood or mud and not in stone.Further Desikan the Sri Vaishnavaite acharya who has written number of slokas, both in Sanskrit and Tamil on Varadharaja Perumal refers to Vardharajar's sacred form as being uncovered by armour[kavacham].Since it is a agamic tradition not to adorn such sacred and divine wooden forms with armour Desikan must have refferred only to such a murthy viz a wooden Athi Vardhar in his slokas- Sri Vardharaja Pancasat written by him in 14 the century AD.Thus Sri Swamy Desikan's description of Varadarajar in his slokas is taken as a valid proof of the fact that Athi Varadhar whose form was made of fig wood and worshipped from time immemoriol is the original Moolavar .[Athi means fig] of this temple at Kanchipuram.
In 17 th cent AD priests and some people of this temple , town fearing an imminent invasion either under Aurangzeb or from his vassals who would definitely deface or burn this deity , had removed Him from His sanctum and hid Him in the floor of the temple tank either in a vault or by merely tying Him to a stone to prevent Him from floating .A watery hiding place.
When the threat of invasion passed the memory of the hiding place of the presiding deity of Vardharajar perumal also passed into oblivion since those who hid the deity had also passed away taking away the secret along with them A new deity of Vardharajar was sculpted out of stone , installed in the sanctum of this temple .It was duly consecrated and regular worship commenced .The deity which we see now in this temple is this new deity which could be only 300 years old .
During a hot summer, 250 years back the waters of the temple tank dried up and in its floor lay this gigantic deity [more than 10-12 feet tall].The original moolavar had surfaced .The Moolavar whom Brahma is said to have worshipped .The sacred deity-- MahaVishnu /Sriman Naryana who was worshipped by aazhwars like Tirumgai aazhwar, and acharyas like Alavandhar,ThiruKachi nambhi, Ramanujar,and Desikan ,bared open His form, to the amazement of all.An inscription near the flag mast[dwajasthambam] in the temple records in Telugu the fact that the tank was drained in 1781 and Athivaradhar was found at the bottom,in the middle of the tank.It is known that this periodical emergence of Athi Vardhar was in vogue 240 years ago, but not when it began.
Since an moorthy had already been enshrined in the sanctum of this original inhabitant it was decided to continue the worship of the new deity and worship this original old deity only once in 40 years or the original deity may have been defaced before it was submerged in the tank and it was decided not to worship a defaced deity.This latter bit is my own conjecture derived from what i read from social media and what i actually saw at Kanchipuram.This 40 year period could the lapse of time since this deity was first hidden and then discovered or could the time period when the threat of iconoclasts receded and safety returned.
This original deity of Vishnu is taken out 0nce in 40 years , decorated and placed in a mantap in this sprawling temple grounds for 45 days which is just opposite to that temple tank and is quite a distance away from the dwaja sthambam .Non Hindus are allowed only upto this Dwaja stambham [flag mast]which marks the entry to the actual temple.Athi Varadhar is placed in a mantap outside the Dwaja stambum , though there are plenty of spacious mantaps inside the actual temple. He is made to recline in the first half and is made to stand in the second half at the end of which He is re submerged in this tank after applying herbal oils on His sacred form which act as preservatives.He will lie thus for next 40 years in the bottom of the pond.Oiled , bound and lost to memory.
The buzz in our family and friends circle since last month was centred around a visit to Kanchipuram .Many were eager to have a darshan of Athi Varadhar.though many are past 60 ,Since it is once in 40 years event, many were prepared to face the crowds and heat to have a fleeting glimpse of the sacred form of the deity .It could only be a fleeting glimpse as the news reports spoke and showed the milling crowds of devotees in very large numbers waiting in long serpentine queues.
A neighbour of mine gave me first hand report of her visit last week.She said it was very smooth.She reached at 8 am and had finished her darshan by 8.30 owing to a separate queue for senior citizens.She appreciated the arrangements made for the public , like providing water, toilets, and roof over the entire queue line but chafed at walking a lot for securing her footwear ,which she said was due to her ignorance of the rules .She also said that they were allowed to have a darshan from a distance and only those who paid 500 rs for archanas were allowed inside.These tickets are limited .
However i was apprehensive .Was it so vital to have a darshan of Athi Varadhar in such a melee that resembled a mini Kumbha mela?Can't we postpone the visit to dedicate the Ven Samaram to Sri Varadhar to a month later when the darshan of Athi Vardhar would be over and crowds would have gone?We routinely skip very important religious events like Vaikunta ekadasi in Srirangam or Vair amudi seva at Melkote or Bramhotsavam at Tirumala daunted by the huge crowd of pilgrims who collect there in large numbers What was the need for this tearing hurry ?
Family sentiments prevailed and my neighbours assurance that senior citizens darshan is quick and hassle free made me decide that i shouldn't miss a once in lifetime event like this .Further the priest said that he would take us with him and give us a easy and good darshan of both Moolavars since we are doing kaingaryam.[service].
As we entered Kanchipuram, saw vehicles parked in vacant plots.with families sitting languidly in the shade of trees.There were many families walking towards the temple which was 4 kms away.Some of them barefooted on the tar road that was melting in the sizzling heat of 38 c and above!Many pilgrims were returning back .Their faces were glowing with the happiness and satisfaction of having a Darshan of their beloved Varadhar.Religious fervour and gaiety greeted us.Despite the skin scorching hot winds the festive mood of the people was very much apparent and this rubbed on me .
As we drove further in, my mind flew back in time .What would have been the atmosphere in this place then?Did terror course through every one's veins at the fearful anticipation of imminent invasion by iconoclasts?Did a pall of gloom and silence descend over this hot , bright and ancient town?Did the temple bells stop ringing and tinkling?: were slokas chanted in a hushed manner?or was it as festive as ever with people blissfully unaware of the impending danger?There are no written records that we know of as to what actually happened 300 years back, it is more or less the collective memory one has to rely upon .Of course the families that have been in charge of this temple 's administration and the conduct of pujas for generations would know the actual truth and may even possess written records but the larger public do not know as to what exactly happened then.
The Cheluva Naryana temple at Melkote and Vaikunthanathar temple at Kanchipuram are a mute testimony to iconoclasts fury .Both temples are Vishnu temples with intricate and beautiful sculptures adorning every bit of its roof,walls and mantaps. The hordes have even climbed up the roof to chop of noses and limbs of Krishna , Vishnu and others.Both of them are under the protection of ASI.There are no such sculptures in Varadharajar temple barring the host of sculptures in a mantap built by Rayars next to the tank , .It looks unscathed.
The only noteworthy sculpture is that of Varadhar Himself.Tall ,handsome and magnetic.
Our car was asked to be parked in a large vacant place that had a huge and thick wall of garbage surrounding it.No vehicle is allowed near the entrance.A blast of hot air struck me when i got out of the air conditioned car.It was so hot ,that coal could ignite on its own.We scouted for a auto and got one.The fee was exorbitant.It was RS 250 for a mere a km ride .The driver kept a fierce face and was nasty lest we start bargaining.we didn't .He was making a kill .He dropped us near the main entrance.
There were crowds of devotees everywhere .Soon the priest turned up with a bag containing the two silver samarams.He led us to his house which was close by, so that we could leave our slippers there.There were police men and woman resting in the pyol of his house.
Then went into his old house that was long, and cool and a calm oasis.He opened the bag to show us the pair of vensamarams.They were beautiful pieces .White fluffy hair was inserted in silver handles which were nicely ornamented.He showed me the rim where Vidat's name was inscribed .I thanked him.
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| The pair of Ven samaram I submitted to Athi Varadhar and Sri Varadharaja Perumal at Sri VardhrajaPerumal temple at Kanchipuram |
I held one of the samaram in my hand .It was quite heavy.Samarams are waved before the moolavar and utsavar on certain occasions.The priest then said that the silver bell used inside the sanctum during aradhana needed to be repaired and added that he had to find a sponsor to undertake the repair.!I found the tightfistedness in releasing of funds in such a famous temple by its administrators viz govt officials belonging to HRCE to carry on repairs even on the basic articles used in puja, appalling.The priest's dedication to Varadhar is touching and his practical nature cheering.
Even at Tirumala which is touted as the second richest place of worship in the world there are glaring inadequecies with regard to ornamentation of the processional deity- Malayappa swamy .The daily telecast of Sahasaredeepa alankara performed at Tirumala at 5 pm gives a close up of the processional deity- Malayyapa swamy.I was quite shocked to observe that several pearls dangling from the diamond pedant adorning the sacred chest are missing.Some diamonds are also missing.I have observed this for past several months and what shocked me was the indifference of TTD to replace the damaged pendant with a newer one or at the least repair the existing pendant. Till date neither has been done so far .TTD is not lacking in funds.TTD keeps boasting about giving amenities to pilgrims but hasn't fulfilled the basic requriement of the deity , that the ornaments adorning Him should be faultless .Should the processional deity of the richest temple in the world be allowed to present a bedraggled appearance ?Of what use is the enormous cash in hundis and large donations made by pilgrims if it is not used to decorate Utsavars with the best of ornaments ?
He introduced me to his 88 year old grand father as a person who had the unique distinction of having darshan of Athi Varadhar ,thrice in his life!
Came out .The priest said that as we were donating silver articles we could take the 500rs archana ticket line .He took us in pushing through a wall of people crowding the entrance .He asked us to wait near the mantap where Athi Varadhar was placed.We couldn't see Athi Vardhar , He was inside ,out of sight.Waited amidst swelling waves of people who pushed us hither and thither.Some policemen asked us to leave as they were not convinced that we were waiting for a special darshan.We didn't look like any VIP that they know of.
The priest who had disappeared, re -appeared half an hour later after locating his friend and the correct route .We came out and followed a line of people and again re-entered and were directed to wait in the corridor that runs around the room where Athi Varadhar was reclining.The priest went inside with the samarams and said he would wait for us .there.The corridor was jam packed with people having either archana tickets or the influence for this special darshan that would be quick.I couldn't move as i was being pressed by people on all sides.It was hot .Sweat poured in gallons.A woman started lamenting against the crowd that was pressing and pushing her .she actually feared for her life.We stood thus for nearly 40 minutes.I didn't complain nor feel any fear as i am used to being pushed around by crowds double this size at Tirumala.in each every visit.
The head of Ahobila mutt arrived with his entourage to offer his obeisance.So did several sanyasis.We couldn't see the deity as the corridor in which we waited was behind the mantap .After being tightly squeezed with sweat plastering our clothes for nearly 40 minutes suddenly the pressure lessened .saw that people were moving in the front rapidly.and i was pushed in through a door In a jiffy i found myself standing near a railing looking at the reclining form of Athi Varadhar.I was quite close to His face.What a sight it was ! Wonderful ,breath taking and touching.
Athi Varadhar was reclining on a dais.He was jet black from head to foot.He had a long body and long hands.One hand held a long chakra .another hand was in the blessing posture .The palm had ridges and there was a band holding his fingers. He had a long dazzling gold crown on His head .His nose had a bridge in the middle and it curved down in shapely manner.It was shining.It looked like as if His nose was plastered with some other material like as if a nose job had been done. His cheeks were also shining.He was decked with rows upon rows of garlands of flowers.On the whole He was totally enchanting , and very pleasing to the eye.
His beauty made me speech less He must have been chiselled by a carpenter with extraordinary artistic skills.But the aura around Him was not of human making.
I stood dumbfounded before this exquisite reclining form of Sriman Narayana..I forgot to chant slokas or pasurams.none came up in my memory.My mind blanked out and i let my eyes rove up and down the sacred form.The fingers in His toes were visible .They were long and artistic.with shapely nails.There was something very touching about His unadorned bare feet .They made Him seem human and easily approachable!
At that very moment i wished that i had a fraction of poetic skills of Numaazhwar whose hymns soaked in bhakthi describe the beauty of Sriman Narayana in His archa form viz deities of Vishnu enshrined in temples as well His form in Vaikuntum.He describes Narayana very lovingly as sugar cane juice,a bundle of sugar cane, a lump of jaggery , nectar , honey , ambrosia,.He describes His bodily colour to be like a black gem, to rain bearing dark clouds,to blue sapphire , to blackish blue flowers and heap of gold dust and so on.He says that His eyes are as red as coral beads and His mouth as pink as a freshly blossomed lotus,and His lips are like a red fruit .His nose is either like Karpaga creeper or like the budding leaf of Karpaga tree.His eyebrows are arched like bows weilded by Indra and Manmadha His teeth is like gleaming rows of pearls and is also like a flash of lightening in the red sky.His ears that are adorned with shining fish like earings looks like a fresh young stalk .His handsome face is like ashtami viz 8th day moon[half moon] .His forhead is so beautiful that Numazhwar admits that words fails him to describe it.His locks are like a silky thread spun from the deep darkness that spreads all over during the pralaya and has the fragrance of Tulsi. His sacred feet are also like lotuses. He says that honey sweet garlands of Tulsi leaves decorate His thick , long and lustrous hair.Describes His navel to be deep and red, bearing a golden lotus on which Brahma is seated along with his consort Saraswati. He says that Narayana bears the red skinned Siva with his red matted hair on one side of His sacred chest along with his[Siva's] consort Parvathi. He says that Narayana's entire form from head to foot is like a shiny blue pearl amidst a thick shaft of red light whose effect is heightened by pale blue light at the back ground!He calls Him as his father and at times as his lover .He says He is the Vedas, the essence of Vedas and as One hailed by Vedas
Numazhwar as well as Ramanujar have also described in glowing terms the weapons borne by SrimanNarayana and have described in detail the various ornaments adorning His sacred form.They also describe His consort Mahalakshmi as gentle , soft and 'beautiful as a lotus who is hailed by Vedas and is the permanent resident in His sacred chest .
..Not a single comparison came to my mind .I just stood gaping .
I was clearly in a daze.A priest performed the archana and then pointed to the two samarams .One was placed near Varadha'rs head and the other near His feet.He placed them in our hands and asked us to wave them .He said that Ahobala jeeyar had dedicated them to Varadhar, on being requested to do so by our priest friend.
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| One of the Vensamarams was placed near the pillow on which Athi Vradhar's head is resting and the other was placed near His feet. |
Felt doubly blessed .First i thought that i would be dedicating vensamarams to the new Varadhar as was planned by the priest who had to change his plans as he found out that the queues were long and slow moving in the narrow sanctum of the temple and decided to dedicate them to Athi vaadhar, the original deity
Second I had a view of the sacred form of Athi Varadhar from very close quarters.
So finally Varadhar accepted my Kaingaryam--service that to in style though He made me wait for 12 long years.
Came out of the mantap with a mind filled with the out of the world presence of Athi Varadhar and my camera with His pictures as people are allowed to take photographs .Some even take selfies!
Outside near the entrance the crowd had thinned and they parted the way for the head of Udipi mutt .He is a young sanyasi , bright and tranquil .He had come for the darshan along with a group of elderly men.Paid a obeisance to him and then left the temple to catch auto back to the parking lot.
Whilst walking along the temple boundary to catch a auto, saw people waiting in long queues very patiently.It looks like as if there are thousands who will not miss this unique event and they had all queued up to pay their obeisance to Athi Vardhar and to receive His blessings.In ordinary days there is hardly any crowd or queue.
On reaching home uploaded my photos and browsed the net for photos on Athi Varadhar .Saw the photo of Athi Vardhar which was taken immediately after He was lifted out of the temple tank.Athi Vardhar lay on the steps of the pushkarni without any fragrant paste on his body , without vastram , without ornaments and without any flowers .This picture of Athi Varadhar was a stark contrast to the Athi Vardhar i saw in the mantap of the temple a few hours back.
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| Photo of Athi Varadhar when he was lifted out of the temple tank in last week of June.2019 |
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No grandeur, no decorations on His form ,no smiling priests performing archanas and aarti, no crowds pushing one another to get a glimpse of the famed Athi Varadhar, no devotees to shout 'Govinda' renting the skies , no tensed up police to maintain order , no saffron clad sanyasi's with their flag poles and no VIP's.
In that photo Sriman Naryana in His archa form who was once the richly bedecked Athi Varadhar who had been worshipped for 1000's of years by saints,aazhwars , acharyas , kings and commoners with flowers , tulsi ,slokas ,pasurams , oil lamps , fragrant smoke and camphor and who had dwarfed all men with His powerful form and presence, lay there on those moss laden steps,lay helpless and abandoned like a huge bloated corpse that had been fished out of the water and left to dry.
Was Athi Varadhar dumped into the pushkarni because he was defaced with HIS nose and hands chopped off and was disfigured or was He untouched by any invader and was actually hidden under water and the seeping water has taken its toll over the years ? What a terrible history we have.
Few weeks from now Athi Vardhar would be lowered in that temple tank.Water will cover Him.For another 40 years He will be comatose with fishes ,frogs and tadpoles circling Him.That bewitching presence will be soon forgotten.Devotees will start taking bath in that pushkarni and kids will throw stones just for fun, disturbing the calm waters . He will be forgotten , His magnificence as well as His travails will be forgotten till 2059 when He will be woken up like Kumbakarnan was , then dried decorated and displayed,re kindling the memories of His glory in distant past and His terrible end.
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| The watery abode of Sri Athi Varadhar at Sri Vardharajar temple at Kanchipuram. |
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| The Ananthasaras pushkarni -the temple tank at Sri Vardharajar Temple at Kanchipuram, where Athi Varadhar was either dumped or hidden.When I took the above two photos a decade back, AthiVardhar was lying,hidden in His slushy bed at the bottom.of the tank, . |
However the tiny utsavar of AthiVaradhar has a better luck He was hidden in a forest near Udayarpalayam for several decades in the 17 th cent and then was retrieved and re installed by elders for worship with the help of RajaTodarmal.He is still very much around though His pancha loka face has a lot of holes, on one side.Maybe time has taken its toll .It is also the belief that since Athi Vardar arose from a yagnya performed by Brahma in ancient past,the utsavar's face bears the scars of burn caused by the fire of that Yagnya. His seat is in the sanctum of Sri Vardharaja perumal .He is being worshipped with all due honours , each and every day in that temple at Kanchipuram.
In commemoration of the Lord's sojurn at Udayarpalayam, an utsavam[festival] is celeberated till date, lending credence to these accounts.
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| Processional deity of Athi Varadhar/ Sri Vardharaja Swamy with His consorts Sri Devi and Bhu Devi and His consort PerunDevi Thayaar |
What does this event signify?Why should Athi Vradhar be lifted out of watery bed periodically and given the full honours?Why can't He be allowed to remain comatose in His slushy bed of that tank instead of waking Him up once in every 40 years ?Why not just forget that dark period in the history of this very famous temple.Aren't the wily Brahmin's by organizing such a fanfare stirring the communal pot once in every 40 years?
Even after 300 years of such a nasty event it pains me to know that Athi Varadhar suffered horribly in the hands of invading hordes. His devotees ,at that time would have suffered even more.Their belief and faith in their boon giving Lord would have been shaken to the core.If i can feel such stirring emotions after 300 years , how would other more emotional Hindus react?Isn't it a fit case to be banned? No -This event of fishing out the original deity that was either hidden due to fear of iconoclasts or dumped because it had been defaced and thus had lost its sanctity, and do it all the honours for a month in befitting manner shows the resilience of Hindus and their faith.It shows to the iconoclasts and evangelists that Hindus would not be easily cowed down and drown in depths of despair at the desecration of idols .temples and beliefs .That they will wait for the threat to pass and then re emerge to reclaim their heritage and re commence all their religious pursuits with same fervour and faith after performing suitable purificatory rituals[-our farsighted shastras are full of such rituals] and overcome and forget all the self pity,rancour and bitterness associated with such harsh interference in their religious beliefs by other religionists . As was done in this temple by enshrining a new idol made of granite within few decades and worshipping it ever since as per temple rituals.
The crowds of devotees at the temple were only full of gaiety and bhakthi none looked bitter or diffident or vengeful though many would know the history behind this , owing to social media and they were all waiting patiently for hours just for a glimpse .The extraordinary numbers viz a lakh and more who visit this temple a day, putting up with a lot of discomfort for several long hours for a mere few seconds of darshan is proof enough that He is still regarded by literate and illiterate , educated and uneducated,powerless and powerful, rich and poor as the original powerful boon giving deity the archa form of , Sriman Narayana and that despite He being consigned to the slushy bottom of the temple tank waters without any puja or any other fanfare for 40 long years , He is considered as the original divine moolavar and will always be regarded as one and there is no doubt about it. It is Athi Varadhar who still commands the respect and total belief and faith of his devotees in the manner in which He had done in the sanctum of Vardharajar temple 300years back.This belief in Athi Varadhar goes deep , so deep that the devotees who are pouring in from various parts of TN and other states and even from abroad belonging to all castes and sects show that they are unfazed by harsh events of past and that what ever ignominy their boon giving deity has sufferred either in the hands of invaders or due to threat of invasion, it will never erase His omnipotence and power, from their minds .
The lakhs who queue up daily in the temple are not there out of curiosity but are queuing up with the strong belief that Athi varadhar will grant them boons and with the faith that even a hurried glimpse of His sacred form is sufficient to wash away their karmas ,that they have accumulated in recurring rebirths over the eons..
This 40 year event commemorates the practical nature and, self confidence of Hindus and the resilience of Hinduism.
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References are from--
1.Sri Ahobhila mutt jeer's explanations regarding Athi Varadhar in You Tube.
2.The article "The Forty Year Phenomenon"--"Sri Atthi Vardhar" in the English edition of the monthly journal Sri Nrisimha Priya -- Volume 7 issue 7 . July 2019.
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