A pilgrim’s jottings on a 3-day whirlwind pilgrimage, May 3rd-5th, 2024 (Tirunelveli-Nagercoil)
***************
Last Friday, 26 April 2024 I was in the Hills of Tirumala-Tirupati awaiting Darshan at the temple of Tiruvenkatamudaiyaan.
This Friday afternoon on May 3rd I’m now in the city of Tirunelveli. I’ve planned over the next two days to complete a long pending pilgrimage , what’s usually called a kshetraadam …. and a sacred opportunity that has kept eluding me for over 50 years.
I have landed in Tirunelveli and on May 4th I should at last be able to visit the Nine great temples of “Nava Tirupati Sannidhis” that are situated on either banks of the River Tambraparani… all within a radius of about 30 Kms of each other in the vicinity of Tirunelveli. The 9 “divya desams”, dear to all Sri Vaishnavites who are well acquainted with the life, the works and the legends of the Tamil mystic saint, Sri Nammazhwar (c. 5-6th Century CE), are the following as per map below :
1. Sri Vaikuntam
2. Natham
3. Tiru pulliyunkudi
4. Perungulam
5. Rettai Tirupati -north
6. Rettai Tirupathi – south
7. Then Tirupperai
8. Tirukolur
9. Azhwar Tirunagari
Thereafter, it’s my plan to travel further south 80 kms from Tirunelveli towards Nagercoil on the following day of May 5th when I should also be able to complete the tour of worship at 4 other great Sri Vaishnavite temples in the deep peninsular edge of India —- at Tiruvattar, then at Tirukurungudi, and from there drive northwards to Thiruvanparisaaram and Tiru Nanguneri (vanamaamalai) ….
******
But first things first … I’m now in Tirunelveli and this is where is situated the great ancient 7th Century CE temple of Nellai Appan built by the Pandya dynasts. It is a famous temple of Shiva and his consort, Kanthimathi Amba, and the mystic saints, the Nayanmars, have sung several hymns of praise in classical Tamizh to the deity here. The temple is an architecture marvel too . How can I miss a visit to the great temple here and offer worship ?
*******
So I set out in the late afternoon in the scorching summer heat (excess of 39C !) to go the temple of Nellaiappan ….
What a magnificent sprawling temple it is ! What breathtaking stone architectural beauty ! What fantastic woodwork on walls and ceilings ! And so many Sannidhis … great gigantic winding praakaaras , mantapams, meandering concourses, vaulting vimaanas and arches …
My walk through the expanse of this Shiva temple took more than an hour and I still didn’t feel I had covered all of its beauteous precincts ! A wonderful Darshan had been in store for me all these years !
Some pics and videos below :
************
I offered worship at the sanctum of Nellaippan. The archaka was kind enough to perform haarathi of the deity . As he came close to me I guess he recognised me as a Sri Vaishnava .. and so politely and thoughtfully with a knowing smile , directed me to the adjacent Sannidhi … saying , “Perumal is there … go and have good Darshan of him…”. Momentarily , I was confused . How could there be a Perumal (Vishnu) Sannidhi inside a temple of Lord Shiva and that too right next to his ! But as I moved to the adjacent Sannidhi as the archaka asked me to … a wonderful, delightful sight awaited me!
Right next to the Nellaiappan Sannidhi … there is a separate shrine for Lord Govindarajan in his reclining pose as Ananthasayanan (Sayana kolam”)!
What a majestic, reposeful, supine idol to behold ! The idol of Sri Govindaraja is indeed mesmerising to the eye! The sheer size of the archa murthy is awesome but what is even more breathtaking to witness is indeed the forms of Hari and Haran occupying sanctums next door , so to say, to each other !
In that moment I realised the true import of the old adage in Tamizh — “ariyum sivanum onru , idhai ariyaadhavan vaayil mannu”! … அரியும் அரனும் ஒன்று. அறியாதவன் வாயில் மண்’ I.e. He who doesn’t realise the truth that Hari and Shiva are One , will have to eat dust!
For both Saivites and Vaishnavites, the epigram is uncomfortable philosophical equivocation. It is a quip that is not really intended to grossly gloss over or otherwise misrepresent the hard incontrovertible historical fact that Saivism and Vaishnavism are indeed two very distinct theological systems of Vedic theism and cultural thought and customs. But then what it seeks to convey is that, in the large overarching and civilisational scheme of Sanatana Dharma, there is no room whatsoever for the two systems of theistic belief to be conceived as being antithetical or inimical to each other.
And the irrefutable proof of that real, deep underlying message of the adage stood right before my eyes! It was writ large and boldly in fact within the temple traditions and architecture of our Tamil land elsewhere too … in Chidambaram Nataraja temple, for example , where there is a Sannidhi of Govindaraja Perumal and in Rameshwaram Temple too where there is the Sethumadhava Perumal Sannidhi !
If the Tamil adage were not to be true in the larger, more platonic sense of religious harmony and goodwill prevailing amongst the peoples of our country at large — and especially in Tamil country — why otherwise would one see Nellaippan and Govindarajan both presiding over this great temple here in Tirunelveli as two neighbouring Deities ?
********
After offering worshipping Sri Govindaraja Perumal , I walked across the vast length of a sculpted corridor connecting the main sanctum to that of Goddess Kanthimathi Ambal … located on the other end of the precincts . This ornate corridor houses life-size stone figurines and life-like statutes all said to have been built at various times in history during the reigns of Pandya and Chola kings.
The temple complex covers an area of 5.9 hectares (14.5 acres), measuring 260 metres (850 ft) long and 230 metres (756 ft) wide, and all its shrines are enclosed with concentric rectangular walls, with a massive Rajagopuram. The corridor known known as Sangili Mandapam was built in 1647 CE by a local nobleman by the name of vadamalaiyappa pillayan and it connects the Kanthimathi Amman and Nellaiyappar temples.
Being an auspicious Friday evening, the Archakas performed maha-haarathi and archanai for the tall and beauteous form of the idol of the goddess who I beheld adorned in bright crimson Vastram and bedecked in fine dazzling jewellery ! She looked absolutely radiant and compassionate! I was blessed to receive her maalai and Chandana-manjal and kunkumma Prasaadam !
*******
In my native town of Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh) , my paternal grandmother’s ancestors all lived in the streets going around the great temple there of Lord Govindaraja Perumal. Generations of my ancestral family in Tirupati regarded the Deity there as their beloved and very own household God… Far from my native homestead in Tirupati, I had not expected to have Darshan of the same Lord Govindaraja in the Nellai Appan Kovil at all ! It was truly delightful, religious serendipity of the highest blessed order for me !
I left the temple that evening feeling a little giddy, in fact … giddy with religious excitement over my pilgrimage plan for the following day to the Nava Tirupati kshetras— about which more will follow in the next few instalments of this series of blogs .
Sudarshan Madabushi