108 Divya Desam-Temple 4-Kandiyur
Kandiyur- The Place where Shiva got rid of ‘Brahmma’s Curse’
Pancha Kamala Kshetram
Located about 11kms from Thanjavur on the road to Thiruvayaru, this place is called Kandiyur in memory of Lord Shiva, also known as Kandeeswarar, who got salvation from the Brahmma’s curse. The main deity here is Hara Sabha Vimosana Perumal/ Kamalanathan- Goddess: Kamalavalli Naachiyar(Facing East-Standing Posture)
The story :
Once upon a time, both Shiva and Brahmma had 5 heads. One day Parvati (Shiva’s wife) coming out of her pooja mistook Brahmma (because of his 5 heads) for her husband and began serving him by washing his legs. A furious Shiva announced Brahmma and his 5 heads was the reason for this confusion and that Brahmma had become arrogant (because he too had 5 heads). In a fit of anger, Shiva took the middle head of Brahmma with his hand. Unfortunately though, the 5th head of Brahmma stuck to his(Shiva’s) hand.
Shiva went around the world on a pilgrimage to find salvation from the curse by begging for food, with Brahmma’s skull as the begging vessel. Every time someone filled the vessel with food, it vanished immediately, to Shiva’s horror.
Finally on reaching Uttamar Koil, Goddess Lakshmi filled the vessel with food ending Shiva’s hunger. However, to Shiva’s dismay, Brahmma’s skull still lay fixed on his hand.
Vishnu answered Shiva’s prayer for salvation, and asked him to bathe at Kandiyur. It is believed that Shiva prayed to Goddess Kamalavalli and Vishnu at Kandiyur and attained salvation from Lord Kamalanathan here.
Legend has it that because Shiva got cleansed of his curse, the deity here is called ‘Hara Saabha Vimosana Perumal’(Hara is another name of Shiva).
Thirumangai Azhvaar’s only Paasuram at Kandiyur goes thus “ Pindiaar Mandai Endhi, Pirar Manai…………….” meaning - Vishnu rid the curse on Shiva, who went begging everywhere with Brahmma’s skull as a begging bowl. Other than worshipping the Lord, is there a way to salvation” sings Thirumangai Azhvaar(Paasuram-2050).
Being the place where Shiva himself got salvation from his curse, it is believed that all our curses will go away if one visits this temple.
This is also known as the Pancha Kamala Kshetram(Lord Kamalanathan, Goddess Kamalavalli, Kamala Pushkarani, Kamala Vimaanam and Kamala Kshetram)
Quick Facts:
Buses every 5-10 minutes between Thanjavur and Thiruvayaru
Temple Timing : 8am-12noon and 430pm-8pm
Priest : Sriram Bhattachar, Kalyanapuram Otha Theru Thiruvayaru via Thanjavur Dist
Tel No. : 98653 02750
Place to stay: A number of economical hotels at ThanjavurLabels: Temple Divya Desam
Cricket Tales- Domestic Cricket Matches
1. TN vs Karnataka in Bangalore-1979 NovemberIt was a match I distinctly remember to this day for 2 reasons.
a.It was the first commentary match I heard in Kannada and that famous Kannada commentary term “ Solpa mattige thirugichendunna…”
It was quite an oft repeated word with so many class spinners…Venkat and Vasu Vs Chandra, Vijayakrishna and Raghuram Bhat.
b. On the 3rd day which was a Sunday, TN, which had given away a 100 run lead to Karnataka on the first innings, had to fight out to save the match after a top/middle order collapse against Chandra and Vijayakrishna. I had a tense afternoon sitting thru the 2nd and 3rd sessions in the garden of my Coimbatore house, listening to the frustrated Kannada commentators as S. Venkataraghavan and S. Vasudevan battled it out against these two classy Karnataka spinners. It was the first of several interesting encounters I was to listen to over the next decade between these two competitive teams.
Just for the record, Karnataka middle order comprised of Brijesh Patel (the most prolific batsman then in Ranji cricket), GR Vishwanath, AV Jayaprakash(now Umpire) and Sudhakar Rao.
2. Tamil Nadu v Hyderabad in Coimbatore- 1982 January- My first Ranji match at the ground
It was the first Ranji match I watched. It was at the forest college ground in Coimbatore. I ran to the ground at 4pmish on Friday evening after attending school ( the forest college ground was under 1 km from my school). It was the first big match under the newly laid turf wicket. Hyderabad was all out on day one. I remember watching V. Shiv and TE batting out the last few overs that day. I think V. Sivaramakrishnan got out to the last ball on day one to Arshad Ayub.
I also remember a very very boring 3rd day, when Hyderabad batted through the day…There were boos from the huge Sunday crowd….Time and again, that day, our famous commentator Ramamoorthy would say ‘lunges forward in defence’. I was to watch Azhar too that day as well as Arshad Ayub. Tamil Nadu won the match on first innings lead but I was quite disappointed that MV Narasimha Rao, Khalid Abdul Qayyum and Vijay Mohan Raj did not live up to reputation.
With TN unable to force a win, the third day's play turned out so dull, that I left the ground after tea in frustration.
3. Feb 1982 Pre Quarter final match- NP Madhavan’s century for TN against UPIt was just about the time NP Madhavan quit his IOB job and joined SVPB, Udumalpet. I had watched him play his first match for SVPB at the Forest College ground( I still remember me asking him, as a 10 year old boy, why he quit a Chennai based bank job to join an Udumalpet paper company).
NP Madhavan was my favourite cricketer for a long long time –a very quiet cricketer, superbly behaved and a sporting cricketer.
He had got a chance to play for TN in the Knock out matches after having missed out on the South Zone league that season.
I was wary of UP as they had that prolific run getter in Sashikant Khandkar who it seemed would score runs every time he went out to bat, in those days. And true to form, he got a big hundred(actually close to a double hundred) but none else scored.
I was looking forward to Madhavan and he did not disappoint me that day. Along with S. Srinivasan (another player who would later turn out for SVPB in Coimbatore), he helped TN get out of trouble to give them the crucial first innings lead. Madhavan scored 125. Seena(as he was called by his team mates) also scored a century as the two put on a double century stand.
(TN lost the QF match against Delhi and this to this day has remained a question within me as to why TN could win over Delhi or Bombay in crucial knock out matches).
Despite this century and a century in, i think, his final Ranji match against Bombay, he played lesser matches than I thought he would.
4. Karnataka Vs Bombay in Bangalore- Ranji Semi Finals – March 1982 - Gavaskar batting left handed- once again leaves a poor taste
It was a very strong Bombay team vs an equally strong Karnataka outfit. I went in for Karnataka. Yes I had that natural dislike for Bombay cricketers.
Gavaskar, Vengsarkar, Patil and Ashok Mankad against Binny, GRV, Brijesh Patel and Sudhakar Rao.
And yes, it was once again ‘Solpa Mattige Thirugichendunna’ - Raghuram Bhat and Vijayakrishna vs Shastri and Thakkar. Kannada commentators had a field day with their favourite term every time one of these spinners bowled.
Karnataka took the first innings lead easily thanks to superb knocks by Patel and Sudhakar Rao, but the interesting highlight of this match came on the last day, when Gavaskar batting in the middle order on that Sunday afternoon and fighting to save an outright defeat wanted to bat left handed….much to the shock of every one including the umpires…And as I can recall Sunny was booed off. As on several other occasions, Gavaskar left a very poor taste and despite all his runs, I never quite liked him(his slow scoring under venkat's captaincy, his lillee episode, his tangle with zaheer abbas- insisting to to complete a century in a dead match, his dropping of Kapil....)
5.Karnataka V Delhi 1982 Ranji finals –What a chaseThis, to me, still is one of the most unforgettable chases in Ranji finals. I supported Karnataka and was happy after they had posted over 700 in their first innings. While Delhi had the best batting in Indian domestic cricket in those days(CPS, the two Amarnaths, the prolific Gurcharan Singh, Kirti Azad and the dashing Khanna), I was confident Karnataka would win especially with the presence of its double spin attack- Raghuram Bhat and Vijayakrishna and they seemed on track. Delhi, however, came back sensationally after having lost 8 wickets with still over 100 runs required.
Delhi showed why they were the best batting side of that time with Rakesh Shukla and Rajesh Peter putting on an unbroken century stand for the ninth wicket as they took the first innings lead. I listened through the final day and this partnership but it ended in disappointment as Karnataka lost. However, it was an inspirational partnership that I remembered for many years.
6.My famous cricket derby – SVPB v LMWIn the early 1980s, the LMW v SVPB match up was something I relished at the forest college ground in Coimbatore, the 1 ½ day super league matches. Ramakrishna Steel stood third those days.
SVPB had Peter Fernandez, NP Madhavan, M. Subramanian( he is still playing in the Chennai league- 25 years after I first saw him there) and Nallaswamy in its ranks. In the mid 80s, SVPB emerged a much stronger team with players like Brijesh Patel, Sainath, and Robin Singh playing for them, but then went low key again.
LMW had Kalyanasundaram-Kalli to his team mates- ( who I think is the only TN bowler to take a hat rick), Vaidynathan, Colaco, NS Ramesh and Natarajan.
Ramakrishna Steel had Rajendran as their best player- he was one of the most prolific batsmen in the league there.
I remember watching Kalli, lean and skinny, steam in on one Saturday afternoon on a wet pitch. He was a lovely bowler to watch and played in a very competitive spirit and yes he was quite quick. He was so aggressive that, on that afternoon, he pushed the umpires to start play while the two in the white coat and Peter Fernandez(SVPB captain) were not convinced that the pitch was fit to play.
While Kalli vs SVPB was one battle on the ground, there was another off the ground. Myself (a fiery SVPB supporter) vs Kalyanasundaram’s son(who also happened to be my classmate at school) and Vaidhyanathan’s son. They, for obvious reasons, were LMW faithfuls
Nirupama, Vaidhyanathan’s daughter (who later became quite a successful tennis player) used to come too with her brother and we used to play tennis ball cricket during the breaks.
Labels: Cricket Tales
108 Divya Desam-Thiru Koodalur
Aaduturai Perumal Koil
JagathRakshagan- One who protects the World
The Aaduturai Perumal Koil is about 15kms from Kumbakonam on the road to Thiruvayaru, on the banks of Cauvery and is a few kms west of Kapisthalam.
Main Deity : Vaiyam(Ulagam)Kaatha Perumal- JagathRakshagan
Goddess : Padmaasini(Pushpavalli)
Thirumangai Azhvaar has 10 Pasurams in praise of the lord who is in standing posture facing the East.
Significance
As the Devas came together at this place requesting the Lord to kill the Asura Hiranyaaksha, this place has come to be called Koodalur(where people come together)
The Story
1. The Devas came together at this place and prayed to Vishnu requesting him to kill Asura Hiranyaksha. Legend has it that Vishnu cut open the earth, killed the Asura and reappeared, with Goddess Lakshmi, as Varaaha Moorthy (one of the 10 Avathaarams of Maha Vishnu) at SriMushnam.
As all of them came together at this place and prayed to the Lord requesting for protection, this place has come to be called Koodalur (where people come together). The Lord who protected the village from the Asura has come to called JagathRakshgan- One who protects the World
2. There’s another story to this place: Raja Ambarishi was a pious devotee of Vishnu, so much so that he even let go his kingdom to continue his penance.
Sage Durvasa, renowned for anger, once visited Ambarishi. With the king in deep penanace, Durvasa, in typical style, lost his patience. Wild with anger, Durvasa cursed Ambarishi to lose the power of his penance. The staunch devotee that Ambarishi was, he continued to think of the Lord. Coming to the aid of his devotee, Vishnu threw his Chakra at Sage Durvasa, who immediately begged the Lord for forgiveness and the Lord took back his Chakra.
Hence, one can find the Utsavar at this temple-JagathRakshagan- with the Chakra in his hand.
Pleased with Ambarishi’s penance, it is here that Vishnu gave him Darshan in his full Divine form. Ambarishi was ecstatic at having seen the Lord in his divine form and built a temple for the Lord at this place. It is believed that this temple was washed away and the temple that exists now was built later by Rani Mangammal of Madurai.
3. One other story has it that River Cauvery displayed her grief to the Lord that all the impurity/sins was being washed at the river and that she was feeling that the river here was becoming impure and unclean. It is believed that Cauvery regained all her glory at this place.
Thirumangai Azhvaar starts his 10 Paasurams(1358-1367) about Koodalur thus:
“Thaam Than Perumai Ariyaar, Thoothu
Ventharku Aaya Venthar Oorpol
Kaanthal Viral Men Kalai Nal Madavaar
Koonthal Kamazhum- Koodaloore.”
Quick Facts
Buses ply every 10 minutes from Kumbakonam to Thiruvayaru (narrow road along the banks of Cauvery)
Temple Timing: 730am-1230pm and 430pm-830pm
Priest: Venkatesa Bhattachar/Kasturi Rangan Bhattachar
04374 244279
Postal Address: Aduthurai Perumal Koil
Ullikadai Post,Papanasam Taluk Thanjavur Dist 614 202
Labels: Temple Divya Desam
