Srirangam Revathy Thirumanjanam

Srirangam Revathy Thirumanjanam

Srirangam has a magic ,  and why I should say this is   I am not a morning person at all ,  but here  in Srirangam life begins early, so I have a milk man ,ring the bell at 4.45, and a lady cleaning the vaasal at 5am. I need to be up to open the door, and then it is routine ,looking up the temple guide as to what time Perumal comes out and so on.

So today is October 1^st  and Reavthi star. Perumal has his ritual bath ….Thirumanjanam   ….to have his bath in the Revathy mandapam  he comes out of his   Garbhagraham, this coming out is called Purappadu…and it is said that ” purapadu parthavalukku  yama padu kidaiyathu”.  It is a beautiful spectacle this purapadu…..there is a lot of waiting like we wait for a king to make his appearance  ….a man hits the ground with a belt made of real tigerskin, to announce the arrival of the maniyakarrar ----  this man is the general manager of the temple  and sees to it that everything runs on time and believe me …here is Srirangam everything to do with Perumal is on guntime.

So with the maniyakarar  entering ,…he brings in with him the Sreepadham thangigal……simply put, the men who carry the Lord. They all have turbans lined with jari work and all of them wear the traditional panchakacham which reaches their knees. All sturdy men ,who seem happy to be in their profession. When they go inside the conch blows and we know that the Lord is ready to come out when the men assembled just outside the sanctum fall down to pay their humble homage to the Raja of Srirangam. Then enters the Ranga in his Tholukkiniyan…..his palanquin is called that. The bearers bring Him and then after a few seconds of waiting they swirl him around and it is dramatic the way Rangan looks straight at you.

There are a few formalities like mariyadhais to some archakas, and then it is time to come down the stairs, and all this is done with a small pause for the people gathered to enjoy His dharshan fully .Meantime the local women are all agog with “what is he wearing, what malai, what pendant and this green pattu is beautiful, and  Doesn’t he look a little pulled down” etc., Thats it  the people disperse and plan to assemble for the thirumanjanam.

At 11 am the Revathi mandapam  is half full of the localites, who have already occupied the front rows, busily garlanding flowers sourced from the local wholesale flower market known as sathara veedhi pook adai.

Now for some detailed description of the thirumanjanam itself.

The revathi mandapam is a high pedestal kind of mandapam which offers a better view of the goings on. Ranganatha is dressed in a green pattu vasthram with purple and red border, looking as delightful as ever.

The Arayar has started chanting the thirumalai from the Prabandam by Thondaradipodi alwar. He is hardly heard as there is a queue also going in through this mandapam and the noise  mutes the Arayar. There is a huge silver kuthuvilakku which burns steadily to one side and many big sized silver vessels kept ready with water from the Cauvery river .The Arayar wears a topi made in velvet with zari embroidery. The main Archakar does the ritual mariyadhai to the Arayr and gives him a dhoti which he ties around his head with some portion hanging in front, like a turban with some cloth left on his shoulders.

As one looks around one can see the mandapam 90 % full of ladies with only 10%men (so much for reservations) In the mandapam itself a mixed smell of thulasi, flowers, volini spray and amrutanjan hits one. We can still see the age old custom of wiping ones hands on the curtain cloth or pillars.

A huge Anda is cleaned and sandal paste is mixed  with the water kept in this gangalam. 5 silver big cups called vattils are kept in front of the Lord and also filled with this water. The main Archakar sits in front of the idol and does sankalpa. He enacts a series of mudras symbolizing his desire to administer the ritualistic bath to the Lord. All through these rituals  hand held bell is rung continuously and the Arayar continues to sing in a sing song voice and am sure he was heard by the lord only.

If the thirumanjanam happens outside of the Sandana mandapam which is right inside the Sanctum, then there has to be a Homam to sanctify the place. A homam is a chanting of mantrs to purify the place.

Now the Lord in full attire is shown camphor, sambirani. .The water is then distributed in to 89 ( 11 * 8 plus 1)  small pots kept in an arrangement of sorts 8 pots to a formation and a slightly bigger pot in the middle which is intended for the Perumals mudi.

The archakar now chants mantras while also tying a sacred thread around Perumals wrist. Now the curtains are drawn around the peumal to help him disrobe. In 5 minutes the curtains are opened to reveal the Lord in a simple checked orange cloth.

It is said that due to his sojourn in the Delhi sultanate the Lord is used to wearing the Lungi .He is without any jewels except his ksthuri thilakam. Now the Archakar sits in front of the 89 pots infusing them with the mantras he chants.

For the Periya Perumal all the vessels are also big big gundans ,big lamps, big doopakal, big deepakal. A mirror made of silver is shown to him and a tissue cloth is put around Perumal covering him completely. A gentle massage ensues by the Archakar, he massages the crown ,symbolizing the head, then the hands and then the feet.

In all this the Arayar continues his soulful singing .Very gently a little sandal paste is poured over the Lords crown and wiped immediately.  and sambirani is offered at once , to make sure that He does not catch a cold !

After this ritual, a flower garland made  by the local mamis is accepted and adorns the Perumal . The only time when he accepts flowers from outside is this instance . All other times his garlands are made from flowers sourced only from his own nandavanam or garden and made by his maalakars.

The small pots which have been  arranged,  have an  order to them in that the outer edge ones are directed at his feet while the centre ones are taken to his crown. Meanwhile his wet dress is changed once and once again after some more of abinayams symbolizing application of soap and water his wet dress is changed for a 2^nd time. The Lord enjoys his bath alone without his consorts only with his bakthas.

And A third time his wet dress is changed and this time he has a white towel on his head tied exactly like us with a knot at the back. He looks charming and very accessible. Now the Arayar is given the Perumals wet lungi which he very reverently sqeezes and partakes of the water , this is called Eeera vadai for which everyone clamours,. He shares this Eeera vadai with as many people as he can. Now the most enjoyable episode of thirumanjanam happens ,  the Lord enjoys a shower. Two Archakas hold a big round silver plate with holes in it , over his head and a two more Archakars pour water on it from either side in vessels resemble Shanku and Chakram . It is believed here that the Lord is most   approachable and is in a very happy frame of mind now and will promise anything that is asked so people wait for this to happen, and am sure ask Him for all things impossible.