From the book - Sri Chandrasekarendra Vijayam

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The greatness of Kumbakonam

There are several Siva and Vishnu temples in this city. Just before the last Mahapralayam, Brahma asked Parameswara what he should do for recreation after the Mahapralayam. Parameswara asked Brahma to take a large amount of soil from the earth, make a kumbam (pot) out of it by mixing the soil with Amrutham, fill the kumbam with the seeds of all living beings, sprinkle amrutham on them, place mango leaves in the mouth of the kumbams, close it by placing a coconut on it, then place a sacred thread and dharbai grass on it and then keep the kumbams on the south side of Mount Meru. Brahma made the kumbams as instructed by Siva and kept the kumbams on the Meru hill.
When the Mahapralayam started, darkness engulfed the world and there was continuous rain, floods and gale. After the pralaya was over, the Sun rose again and the rains and the wind stopped. Brahma’s kumbams moved from Meru and floated towards the South and stopped at a place in the South. Brahma tried to reach it, but the hot air from inside the kumbams stopped him from touching it. Parameswara, who was standing aside, took an arrow, aimed it at the kumbams and split it in half. The places where the kumbam’s neck, mango leaves, coconut, dharbai and sacred thread fell became holy places.

The place where the coconut from the kumbams fell became known as the ‘Abhimukeswarar temple’ on the South side of the Mahamagam tank. The place where the sacred thread fell is now called the ‘Gowtameswarar temple’ on the North side of the tank. The mango leaves are said to have fallen five miles North of Kumbakonam at ‘Thirupurambiyam’. The mouth of the Kumbam fell ten miles South East of Kumbakonam at a place named ‘Kudavayil’. The place where Parameswara stood while shooting the arrow is ‘Banathurai’, on the South side of the city. The place where most of the kudam fell came to be known as ‘Kudandhai’ or ‘Kudamooku’. Two drops of amrutham that fell out from the Kumbam became two holy tanks and one of them is now known as the Mahamagam tank.
Parameswara came to the place where the kudam fell, made a Sivalingam with the earth and amrutham from the kumbam and entered the Sivalingam in the form of a Jyothi. That swayambu lingam is ‘Adhi Kumbeswarar’, of Kumbakonam city. Brahma celebrated and performed pujas for ten days to the Sivalingam that was made by Parameswara himself and in the end, performed ‘Avabrutha Snanam’ in the Mahamagam tank. That day is the Mahamagam Poornima day.

Mahamaga Vaibhavam

Every twelve years, in the month of Masi, when Guru (Jupiter) transits in ‘Simha Rasi’ and Moon is in Maga star, Mahamagam is celebrated similar to Kumba Mela in North India. During the festivals of Kumba Mela, Mahamela and Pushkaram people bathe in Ganges, Godavari and Krishna. But in the Mahamagam, lakhs of people take bath in one tank. There are eight holy theerthams at the bottom of this tank carrying the names of the eight ‘Dhik Palakas’ along with the Brahma Theertham. On the four sides of the tanks are nine theerthams representing the nine rivers: Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Narmada, Saraswathi, Cauveri, Kumari, Payoshni and Sarayu. Sixty six crores of theerthams are in the middle of the tank in the form of small wells.

Once Ganga and the other holy rivers went to Kailasam, approached Parameswara and told him that all the human beings get rid of their sins by taking a bath in their holy waters, but how would they, the holy rivers, get rid of all the sins accumulated thus? Parameswara told them to go to the holy place of Kumbakonam, it being both a Siva and Vishnu Kshetram, and take a bath in the holy Mahamagam tank on the auspicious day of Maha Purnima. That will wash all their sins away. The rivers told Him that they did not know the location of Kumbakonam. Therefore, Parameswara rode on the Rishabam with Parvathi and asked them to follow him. He reached Kumbakonam at noon and sat down on the northern bank of the tank while Ganga and the other rivers along with Devas, took a holy dip in the tank to wash away their sins. There is a shrine of Kasi Viswanathar on the northern bank of the tank and the idols of the nine virgins (rivers) can be seen there. These details are given in Bavishyotra Puranam.
The credit for building stone steps to the tank, sixteen mandapams around the tank and installing Sivalingams in the mandapams goes to Maharaja Govinda Dikshithar who was the minister to the first three Nayak kings of Tanjore. On Maha Magham day and on the Magham of every year, Adhikumbeswarer is brought to the main mandapam called the ‘Brahmatheerteswar mandapam’, located on the northern side of the tank.

MahaPeriyavaa, with the intention of participating in the Mahamagam to be held in March 1933, left Chennai in the first week of February and arrived at Thiruvidaimarudur two days before the auspicious day. The Mahamagam was on the twenty fifth day of the month of Masi in the year Angirasa, March 8, 1933. Swamigal was staying at the residence of R. Narayanaswami Iyer, proprietor of Chennai Law Journal Publications. He left Thiruvidaimarudur and went to Kumbakonam with many of his disciples. At around noon, he had a holy dip in the presence of Adhikumbeswarer and the other deities, along with thousands of devotees. He later returned to Thiruvidaimarudur.

The year when the Mahamagam was held, was a prosperous one for the country with no disturbances or drought or floods. Transportation facilities were plenty. South Indian Railway had arranged for special trains. The police had made effective arrangements for crowd and traffic control, enabling smooth movement of the people in and out of the city. It is estimated that around six lakh people came that day to take a holy dip in the tank. A quarter of them were estimated to have come into the city on bullock carts or by foot. On this occasion, the city officials had arranged for an exhibition. There were music and dance shows. Individuals and organisations had arranged for annadhanam, out of which the biggest free food service was the one at Sankara Mutt arranged by Thepperumanallur Sivan.

Sankara Mutt at Kumbakonam

It has been mentioned earlier that the 62nd Acharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi Swamigal had moved the Mutt premises from Kanchipuram to Kumbakonam due to the Carnatic wars that were fought near Kanchi. At that time, Tanjore was ruled by Maratha kings. King Pratapasimha’s minister, Dabeer Pant built this Mutt along with four agraharams around it, on the south banks of the Cauveri river. A coconut grove used to stand here before the land was used to hurriedly build a skeletal Mutt to accommodate the then Swamigal.

In 1820, the then King Serfoji Maharaja built a sanctum sanctorum for the then Acharya’s puja in an area behind that Mutt. The old buildings were badly in need of repair. Swamigal wished to renovate this Mutt after the completion of the Thiruvanikal Mutt renovation in 1923. The effort was spearheaded by the then Mutt manager and lawyer K. Kuppuswami Iyer. He was assisted by Thepperumanallur Sivan. Diwan D.N. Muthiah Chettiar of Pudukottai donated Rs.25,000/- for the renovation. Rs.75,000/- more was allocated from the Mutt’s income. The renovation task was completed in 1933 under the supervision of Sivan.

Six years later, more construction was undertaken to build a kitchen, a private room for Swamigal and a Gosala. The key people involved in completing these tasks were Kumbakonam Dr.R. Mahalinga Iyer’s father – ex-thasildar Ramamurthy Iyer and Gopala Iyer – son of Deputy Collector A.Krishnaswami Iyer of Dabeer Road, Kumbakonam. They were able to finish this with the help of donations from various devotees including the Ramanathapuram Raja and Kollengode Rani.

Raja Govinda Dikshithar Patasala

Govinda Dikshithar, minister to the Tanjore Nayak kings, had built a Vedha patasala in Kumbakonam on the banks of Cauveri. It was supported by the Maratha kings after the Nayak kings. There are still students studying at this patasala which is now administered by the Devasthanam Committee. The chairman of this committee, K.R.M. Singaram Chettiar, renovated the building. Accepting the invitation of the Devasthanam committee, Swamigal inaugurated the new building during His visit to Kumbakonam in 1933. A welcome address was presented to Swamigal by Municipal Chairman Muthukumara Chettiar. In his speech, Swamigal said, “A building built on a solid foundation remains strong for a long time. Similarly, this Patasala was started four hundred years ago by the great soul Govinda Dikshithar. As a result, ‘Vedha gosham’ can be heard from the patasala even today. Governments may change, but the light lit by that minister is still shining bright. Any act of dharma done with good intentions will survive for long.” On this occasion, N.K.Venkatesa Panthulu, an English Professor at Anantapur Government College presented the biography of Govinda Dikshithar written by him, to Swamigal. The principal of the patasala then was Mahamahopadhyaya Sastra Ratnakaram Yegnaswami Sastrigal who hailed from the illustrious lineage of Appayya Dikshithar and also the grandson of Mannargudi Raju Sastrigal.

Long stay at Thiruvidaimarudur

After the Mahamagam, Swamigal stayed at Thiruvidaimarudur for a long time. The place has been glorified by three Saints including Appar. Adhi Sankara had also stayed here and had dharsan of Sri Mahalinga Swami. It is mentioned in Sankara Vijayam that when Acharya was praying to the Lord, a figure appeared from the lingam, lifted its right hand said thrice, “Adhvaitam is the truth (satyam)” and disappeared. Temple festival when the Lord is taken in the silver chariot was held in the month of Thai in 1933. Swamigal was welcomed for the occasion by Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam SrilaSri Vaidyalinga Swami. Swamigal praised the service rendered by the Adheenakartha at such an advanced age in maintaining the temples.

Sankara Jayanthi at Thiruvidaimarudur

Swamigal celebrated that year’s Sankara Jayanthi in Thiruvidaimarudur in an elaborate manner. He convened a sabha of vidwans in which there were debates and discussions on Vedhanta and Upanyasams. During the five day celebrations, Swamigal gave discourses, speaking on Adhi Sankara and His achievement and the philosophy of Adhvaita. On each of the five days, a picture of Adhi Sankara was kept on a chariot and taken in a procession through the four streets. In front of the procession there were five elephants which carried Adhi Sankara’s Padukas, His Panchaloka idol and His Bhashyams. There were also horses in this procession. Many nadaswaram musicians were fortunate to participate in this procession. Swamigal walked in the procession along with the Tanjore Princess.

Dharsan of Chidambaram Nataraja

Chidambaram is one of the ‘Pancha bhootha Kshetras’, the Akasa (space) Kshetram. Amongst the many devotees who desired to bring Swamigal to their towns, the notable ones are Mahamahopadhyaya Dhandapani Swami Dikshithar – belonging to the illustrious and devoted sect of Dikshithars and Mahamahopadhyaya Dakshinadhya Kalanidhi U.V.Swaminatha Iyer. Raja Sir Annamalai Chettiar had also been persuading Swamigal to visit Chidambaram. The Dikshithars and other citizens of Chidambaram requested Swamigal to visit after the completion of Sankara Jayanthi. Swamigal accepted the invitation. Special arrangements were made to welcome the Acharya who was visiting the Kshetra for the first time. The Dikshithar community along with the general public gathered in the outskirts of the town on May 18th, 1933 and welcomed Swamigal with purna kumbam, ‘Vedha gosham’, bhajan groups and nadaswaram. They took Him in a procession through the four car streets. Thousands of people had dharsan of Swamigal and received His blessings. Arrangements for Swamigal’s stay were made at the Karaikudi R.S.Vedha Patasala situated in the South Street.

Concept of Nataraja

Here is the gist of Swamigal’s speech in Chennai on October 20, 1932 on the philosophical import of Natarja’s dance:
“Nataraja is another name of Parameswara. Natan is one who dances. The King of all the Natans is Nataraja meaning that nobody can dance better than Him. He is also called Mahanatan. In Tamil, he is also called “Ambala Koothaduvan”. Nataraja is a very big actor. In Nataraja idol something appears stretched out. There will be the crescent moon and Ganges. When Nataraja is dancing fast and stops for a second, his hair seems stretched out. The sculptor had taken a snap shot of this pose in his mind and made the idol. He has an ‘udukkai’ also known as ‘damarugam’ or ‘dakka’ in one of His hands. The beat of the ‘damarugam’ will match the beat of the feet. There are three types of instruments – Charma vadhyam (Instruments made with leather), Thanthri vadyam (stringed instruments) and Vayurendra Vadyam (wind instruments with holes). The Charma vadhyam is played using sticks or hands and when the beat is stopped a particular sound is produced. Nataraja is dancing while Sanakar, Patanjali, Vyagrapadhar and other rishis are standing around Him. As they were Saints, they were able to comprehend the cosmic dance through their ‘Gnana Drishti’ (supernatural vision). There is lens in our eyes. Our sight depends on the power of the lens. Sanaka and others witnessed the dance with their real eyes. Vishnu played the ‘mathalam’ while Brahma kept the beat for the music. During the end of the dance, there arose fourteen different types of arts. These sounds were the means to enjoy the ‘Siva swaroopam’. Nandikeswarer considered the sounds to be the Siva Bhakthi Stotram and wrote a Bhashyam for them. Amongst those gathered to witness the cosmic dance was Panini who wrote the Panini Vyakarna Suktam starting with ‘A’ and ending with ‘I’. All languages have their alphabets starting with Akaram. (The Middle Eastern language has Alif as the first letter, while Greek language has Alpha as the first letter). Both the letters came from the sound ‘al’ and so does the word ‘Alphabet’ start with the letter ‘al’. The basis of the Vyakaranam is the Mahesa Sutrams that came from Nataraja’s damarugam. Patanjali and Vyagrapaadhar are next to Nataraja and their idols can be seen behind Nataraja’s idol. Patanjali wrote Bhashyam for Panini’s Vyakarana Sutram that was generated from Nataraja’s damarugam. Patanjali is considered to be an incarnation of Adhi Sesha who is seen as the ornament of Parameswara’s feet. Thus Parameswara is the main author of Vyakarana Sastra.”

On the night of Swamigal’s visit to Chidambaram, he asked the young man who does Vastra Kainkaryam (washes and maintains Swamigal’s clothes) to come to the Sivaganga Thatagam (tank) in the Nataraja temple early next morning with His fresh clothes – without anyone’s knowledge. Swamigal went to the holy tank early that morning with that young man, took a bath, completed His morning prayers and was present in front of the sanctum sanctorum before the doors were opened. The priest who was offering the morning worship turned around and was shocked to see Swamigal standing there, reciting slokas. He did not expect to see Swamigal there unannounced and immediately sent word through the security guard to all the Dikshithars about Swamigal’s presence in the temple. Within minutes the word spread and hundreds of people hurried towards the temple. The Dikshithars prostrated before Swamigal and said they had made a lot of arrangements to welcome Swamigal in the appropriate way and they were upset because he was there all by Himself, unannounced. Swamigal replied that he was eager to have ‘Viswaroopa dharsan (the first puja done in the morning) of Nataraja and also that He would be visiting the temple many times every day during His stay there. The Dikshithars took Swamigal back to His camp with all the Devasthanam honours. They requested Swamigal to stay in the temple for few days and conduct Sri Chandramouleeswarar Puja in the thousand pillared mandapam. A welcome address was presented in Sanskrit by Upanyasa Ratnakaram C.S. Sivakamasundara Dikshitar and in Tamil by his son C.S. Sachidananda Dikshithar, on behalf of their entire community. Swamigal stayed in the temple for about fifteen days and conducted the puja there. It is said that Adhi Sankara brought back five lingams from Kailasa and of those, the Moksha lingam is said to be in Chidambaram. The Yoga Lingam which was worshipped by Adhi Sankara is being worshipped by all the Kamakoti Acharyas. Thousands of people witnessed the puja and heard Swamigal’s upanyasam in the evenings.

Members of all communities offered bikshavandanam and paadha puja. Swamigal had dharsan of Nataraja and Govindaraja every day of His stay. He arranged for special abhishekam of Chitra annam as well as Bakshana pavadai for Nataraja. Every year, Nataraja is taken in a procession through the four car streets, once in the month of Ani for Ani thirumanjana celebrations and in the month of Margazhi for Arudra Dharsanam. It would take the priests three days to complete the decorations.
The Dikshithars brought Swamigal down the Panchakshara steps to the sanctum sanctorum of Sri Nataraja to have the dharsan of the Lord decorated thus for the procession. Sri Swamigal had dharsan of Ratnasabapathi, Moksha Chandramouleeswarar Lingam, Chitsabesan, Sivakamasundari and the famous Chidambara Rahasya (the divine secret). His Holiness stayed in Chidambaram for a monh. Before leaving the city, Sri Swamigal donated a crescent moon made in gold with diamonds embedded on the top for Nataraja.

Jaya Jaya Sankara Hara Hara Sankara