Veera Narayan Perumal at Kattumannarkoil- A mini Ponniyin Selvan trail

 

Having had a fulfilling darshan at the Polla Pillayar temple we headed further down the same road to reach Kattu Mannar Koil a little town but with great historical and spiritual importance. This is the town where sage Nadhamuni who compiled the 4000 Divya Prabandham was born. Also the birth place of Alavandar his grandson, another important acharya of the vaishnavite tradition known for his gift of reading once and remembering forever. (Eka Santha Grahi)

When was this temple built?

The brick structure of this temple was completed during the reign of Paranthaka Chozhan I in the early 10th century.  However, there is enough archaeological evidence to prove that it was in existence even earlier.  The present deity was installed by Sadaya Varman Sundara Pandian in the 13th century, after performing extensive renovations

A little lane led us to the Gopuram. As expected the temple was almost empty, barring a few priests and a Nadaswaram Thavil troupe who were assembled there and were discussing animatedly about some local incident.

The Ponniyin Selvan Connection:

Veera Narayana Perumal temple is an important part of the novel and introduced to the reader within a few pages of reading. The temple was referred to as Vinnagaram. Azhwar Kadiyaan and Vandhiya Devan go to this temple and Azwarkadiyaan sings Nammazhwar’s pasuram, so beautifully that people listening get teary eyed and emotional. Kalki goes on to describe a little boy who is standing there listening, and narrates that this boy will grow up to be Saint Nadhamuni in later years.

Nadhamuni and the 4000 Divya Prabandham:

Legend says that Nadhamuni actually listened to a song of Nammazhwar Aaravamudhe on the Lord of Kumbakonam, sung by devotees from Melkote presently in Karnataka.  The song ends with this line Ayirathil Idhu Pathu (10 out of 1000) Nadhamuni wanted to know the rest of the 990 but the devotees had no idea. This incident moved Nadhamuni and made him yearn to find out the rest of the verses of Nammazhwar. He travelled to Kumbakonam and through divine intervention he was directed to Thirukurugur, the birthplace of Nammazhwar. There he learnt Madhura Kavi azhwar’s 11 pasurams, “Kanninun Siruthambu” but none knew about the 1000 pasurams of Nammazhwar.

Nadhamuni sat under the tamarind tree (where Nammazhwar stayed speechless from birth till he was about 10) and sang the 11 pasurams 12,000 times as advised by Parankusa Dasa. Nammazhwar appeared before him and not only gave the 1000 pasurams which he created but the rest of the azhwars’ creations as well and that’s how the 4000 Divya Prabandham came into being. 

Naadhanukku naalayiram uraithan vaazhiyae.

The Moolavar Veera Narayan Murthy is in a standing posture with Utsavar of Rajagopala Swami with Rukmini and Sathyabhama. An absolute treat for the eyes. There are separate sannidhis for Nadhamuni as well as Alavandar saints. 

How Kaatu Mannar Koil got its name:

Goddess Mahalakshmi came to Earth to be born as the daughter of Jirumbana Raja Maharishi. A swayamvaram was organised to find a match for the Goddess and Lord Vishnu came to earth in his Garuda vahan disguised as a King or Mannan. The Goddess was captivated by Lord Vishnu but the other kings assembled were greatly angered and started a battle. It’s no surprise that Lord Vishnu gained victorious by a great display of his Valour or Veeram. Thus the Lord in this place was called Veera Narayan. And since the lord also guided Sage Nadhamuni to retrieve the 4000 pasurams (In tamil Kaatu means Show) the place was named as Kattu Mannar Aanaar. Which later turned into Kattumannar.

The Araiyar Sevai:

Sage Nadhamuni not only retrieved the 4000 pasurams but also composed musical tunes for the hymns along with dance steps so that devotees can understand their full meaning. The tradition of song and dance of the Divya Prabandham is called the Araiyar Sevai which is followed by many temples even today.

We sat in the deserted praharam taking in the divine ambience. How this temple would have been in 10^th century when devotees came in and sang Nammazhvar’s pasurams…probably Nadhamuni as a little boy must have listened to these devotional hymns and would have been deeply affected. Sudden strains of the Nadhaswaram and Thavil broke my reverie and I came back to the present day. The troupe had begun performing. The Keerthanai was Vatapi Ganapathim…stood there for a while and appreciated the music wondering whether their next performance would be a Tyagaraja keerthana on Lord Rama, but had to leave as the next stop was Kadambur. A good Samaritan in the temple directed us to Kadambur and our journey began to our next destination passing by little hamlets, green fields and village folk sitting under trees waiting for the next bus. Life seemed so un hurried and placid. A life where there were no deadlines to meet, no upcoming zoom meetings and no presentations to create and present…

Kaatumannar Koil is easy to find and the distance is about 25 kms from Chidambaram.

Contact: Annan Srinivasan Bhattar @ 99522 76110 /
Srinivasa Swami (Hereditary Theerthakar) @ 04144 262257 /96299 79779