Tuesday 22 October 2013

IN THE PRESENCE OF AGATHIYAR

Mataji wanted us to leave for the Mulasthaanam in the late morning hours when the sun was way up in the sky and the wildlife would have retreated back into the woods. After a short prayer at the peedham, Simbu and Prabha took the lead while Kartik, my wife, my two children, Mataji's grandchild Agatheeswari and I followed behind. Both our guides took all the precautions so as not to meet up with the wild elephants and other creatures of the jungle. They had all their senses awakened to the slightest noise or sound in these jungles. We made a few stops on the way. It was an educational adventure and a slightly scary one too. They alerted us often of certain smells and sounds, cautioning us, silencing us, and at times freezing us only to continue again once they felt all was clear, safe and sound. Finally, we took sight of Agathiyar perched majestically on the rocks at the Mulasthaanam.

Simbhu follows us closely
The surrounding hills
The surrounding hills
The 14 petals Vilvam leaf
The 14 petals Vilvam leaf
Simbhu performing the bathing ritual on Agathiyar watched by Kartik (far left) and Agatheeswari (far right) while Prabha snaps photos
The vegetation
Performing the bathing ritual or Abhisegam
Simbhu adorns the sacred ash or vibhuti on Agathiyar
Agathiyar is adorned with vibhuti
We take a moment to sing the praise of the Sidhas lead by Prabha
The jungle vegetation
Prabha leads the prayers
Simbhu finding the space and time to meditate
The vegetation on the way back
Taking a quick break
Simbu and Prabha gave Agathiyar a bath with the water they had collected in a vessel some distance away from the Mulasthaanam. Then they dressed him up. We gathered together to sing some hymns and the praises to the Sidhas (Sidhar Potri). It was a beautiful moment for all of us. At 12.15 noon we made our way down the hill back to the ashram. Just then Tavayogi and Mataji too returned from Methupalaiyam. The Seth who was to take us on the next leg of our pilgrimage too arrived at that moment.

Tavayogi had earlier wanted to take us to Uthiyur some distance from Kangeyam where Konganar had meditated in the caves, that afternoon. But along came the Seth who offered to bring Tavayogi to the Nattadreeswarar Temple at Kangeyampalayam near Erode. Tavayogi took us along too. Tavayogi told us it has been 25 years now since he visited this temple while Mataji added that it has been 10 years now since she was there last. 

After a quick lunch, we set off for Erode. Along the way, we caught sight of Othimalai and the famed temple mentioned several times by Velayutham Karthikeyan in his blog Siththan Arul at http://siththanarul.blogspot.com/2013/09/2013.html

Karthigeyan says one Gurumurthy forwarded a mail where Agathiyar revealed the auspiciousness of this hill temple. Gurumurthy later has commented on Siththan Arul that the revelation was made by Agathiyar through the Jeeva Nadi in the possession of J. Ganesan of Tanjavur and he had picked it up on https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/agathiar

Karthigeyan included another post on Othimalai at http://siththanarul.blogspot.com/2013/09/2013.html

I came across a similar Nadi revelation on Othimalai at Samiappa Palanivelan's blog http://samiappapalanivelan.wordpress.com/category/temples/. He goes further and provides a translation to the hymns and writes on his personal experience of going there. He gives credit to Salem Mr.Kumar for forwarding the hymns.

Location of Othimalai



Othimalai in the distance
Othimalai
Othimalai
Othimalai
Othimalai
Othimalai
The Seth who was based in Erode was a gracious soul involved in many charitable activities. Besides being a publisher of religious and spiritual books, he had built a vast ashram in Rishikesh and he manages a trust, with other partners that run a Goshala ( Cattle care center) in Erode, where he saves the cattle from the slaughterhouses. 

It was already nearing dusk as we arrived at Kangeyampalayam on the banks of Kaveri. There we saw the Nattadreeswarar Temple majestically standing in the middle of the Kaveri river with water on all sides. It was indeed a beautiful sight. Seth went to fetch the priest from his home while we waited at the banks. 

The Seth arrived shortly with the junior priests who informs us his father, the senior priest was at the temple. Just then the senior priest boards a coracle or parisal on the 'island temple'. 
"Indian coracles (Tamil:பரிசல்) are commonly found on the rivers Kaveri and Tungabhadra in Southern India. Coracles are primitive, light, bowl-shaped boats with a frame of woven grasses, reeds, or saplings covered with hides. Indian coracles are considered to have been in existence since prehistoric times, and are a major tourist attraction at the Hogenakkal falls on the Kaveri river. Although these boats were originally designed for general transport, they have recently been used mostly for giving tourists rides." Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_coracles
As we saw the senior priest approach us in the coracle we were saddened that we would not be able to have the Darshan of Agathiyar and Lord Shiva. He had already locked up the temple for the day and was returning home. But our spirit was uplifted when the junior priest told us that he would bring us over. He calls for another coracle and we leave in two coracles. We take leave of the senior priest and make our way to the temple. The junior priest, Deva, Mataji, Agatheeswari, and my family board one coracle while Tavayogi, Sellapan, Kartikeyan, Prabhakaran and Seth board the other. We were glad that the priests shared the story of the origin of the temple or Stala Puranam and its significance with us while we were paddled over the waters of Kaveri. Never in our wildest dreams did we imagine that we would have an opportunity and experience of traveling in a coracle. 

It was now dark as we walked up to the temple and took a flight of steps to the first floor. There was housed Lord Shiva in the inner sanctum looking amazingly beautiful. Agathiyar faces him directly, his gaze falling on Lord Shiva. We were told that Agathiyar had gathered the sands of the Kaveri river and made the form of this Shivalingam that he worshiped later. The priests add that the bathing ritual is done regularly and amazingly the Lingam is intact, never having lost its shape or eroded.


The Seth leads the way to Kangeyampalayam in the other vehicle
Making our way through rice fields and vegetable plots
The scenery was indeed beautiful to behold
More of the rice fields and vegetable farms
We pass through cornfields
A typical coracle
The Nattadreeswarar temple in the distance

Waiting to board the coracle. From left to right: My wife, Prabha, my daughter and me, the Seth in the foreground, Sellapan, Karthigeyan, and Tavayogi in the background
Tavayogi sharing a light moment with my family
The locals having their bath in the Kaveri river with Mataji exchanging a few words
The coracle that can ferry 25 person
The Nattadreeswarar Temple in the distance
A panoramic view of the Kaveri river
The Nattadreeswarar Temple in the middle of the quiet and calm waters of the Kaveri
Waiting patiently for the coracle
Eagerly waiting to take a ride in the coracle
The senior priest arrives from the temple and is received by his son
The senior priest exchanges a few words with the Seth
View of the bank of Kaveri from onboard the coracle
Disembarking on the 'island'
Tavayogi and his team arrive on the 'island'
Watching the sunset beyond the opposite banks of Kaveri. View from the temple
The Nattadreeswarar Temple entrance or Gopuram
Nandhi greets us on arrival
The sunsets and the sky adorns new clothing
A beautiful view of the sunset
Darkness envelopes the sky
The history of the temple depicted in stone
Nadarajah
A proposal to link the 'island' with the mainland
After an exceptionally beautiful Darshan, we make our way back to the banks of Kaveri
As we return from the temple to the banks of Kaveri, the junior priest invites us over to his home to have coffee. We are served hot coffee which was refreshing. We get the blessings of the senior priest and his wife before we bid farewell and make our way to the next destination - the Goshala. Here my children have a field day feeding the cows. It is close to midnight as we arrive back at Kallar.

At the Goshala
Petting the cows
As we walk through the aisle the cows came towards us enabling us to touch and caress them
Feeding the cows with corn stalks
Feeding the cows
Feeding the cows
The cows loved to be pet
The cows fed on corn stalks
Feeding the cows
The cows rush in to munch on the corn stalks
A beautiful experience for us
The cows came up close to us expecting us to pet them
Mataji shares a few kind words with the cows
More cows
More and more cows saved from going to the abattoir
A huge one
Another huge one
Prabha getting friendly with one

15 October 2013

Today is the last day of our stay at Kallar. Tavayogi who was pretty much impressed by the singing of the hymns by my children and wife the day before, requested that they sing again this morning. After breakfast, we bid farewell to Tavayogi and Mataji and make our way out of Kallar - quietly. I am forever grateful to Tavayogi and Mataji for being there when we needed them most and for including us in their life. I am equally grateful to Saravanan and Jeganathan who took great care of us and our needs, particularly feeding us on time, during the duration of our stay at Kallar. I am grateful to Silambarasan (Simbhu), Prabhakaran (Prabha) and Kartik who took us up and accompanied us to the Mulasthaanam, especially Kartik who gave his sandals for me to wear and chose to walk barefoot when mine snapped.



Sellapan, Simbu, me, Tavayogi, a disciple of Tavayogi who joined us just as we were about to leave, my daughters, Saravanan, Mataji, Jeganathan and my wife
Deva joins us (third from left)
Saravanan (in the background) and Jeganathan (in the foreground) help me carry 38 kg of books and clothing down the hill to the vehicle

Read Karthikeyan's posts regarding Kallar at http://siththanarul.blogspot.com/2013/10/blog-post_18.html, http://siththanarul.blogspot.com/2013/10/blog-post.html,
http://siththanarul.blogspot.com/2013/09/blog-post.html, http://siththanarul.blogspot.com/2013/08/blog-post_19.html, and http://siththanarul.blogspot.com/2013/07/blog-post.html

To be continued ...