PART-15..NEEDAAMANGALAM, KUDANTHAI, SWAMIMALAI,THIRUVIDAIMARUDHUR,MAYAVARAM

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Needamangalam, Kumbhakonam, Swamimalai, Tiruvidaimarudur, Mayavaram and important shrines around Kumbhakonam and Mayavaram

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Between Mannargudi and Kumbhakonam lies Needamangalam, where there is a temple dedicated to Sri Rama who is here known as Santana Ramaswami. This is a hallowed VaiShNava kShEtra in praise of which Muttuswami Dikshitar wrote the song santAna rAmaswAminam in the rAgA hindOLavasantam. He then proceeded to Kumbhakonam where he must have stayed for quite some time.

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Kumbhakonam is praised in the purANAs as being a very sacred place. It is sacred to both shaivites as well as vaiShNavites. Next to Kanchipuram, Kumbhakonam boasts of the largest number of temples. The Kumbheswara and Nageswara are the two important Siva temples, while the Sarangapani and Ramaswami are the two famous Vishnu temples here. All around Kumbhakonam one comes across kShEtra after kShEtra, each with its own ancient lore, its captivating architecture and its importance as a place of pilgrimage. Kumbhakonam was and still is the cradle of the unique culture of Tanjavur. The Cauvery flows across the heart of the town after paying homage to the Gods at various shrines, after watering vast tracts of land to render

them lush and green, after quenching the thirst of several millions, after giving Her all, thereby becoming quite slender at Kumbhakonam, though not emaciated. Several of Her tributaries like the Arashalar and the Veera Chozan take off at various points before Kumbhakonam and form a beautiful garland around the town that represents the best that has to be had in religion, spirituality, art, culture, education, cuisine and hospitality. Choultries, mutts and mantapas stand grand testimony to the munificence and piety of the empires that ruled the region. Kumbhakonam still retains the charm, the air still smells of that mystical quality of yore.

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Muttuswami Dikshitar worshipped Lord Kumbheswara and His Consort Mangalambika. The ghaNTA piece mangaLAmbikAm was dedicated by Dikshitar to the Goddess. Dikshitar is said to have written a song in kalyANi on Kumbheswara but the authenticity of this piece is doubted by some. He must have surely worshipped at the temples of Nageswara, Sarangapani and Ramaswami. But there are no compositions available on these deities. 

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About five miles west of Kumbhakonam on the road to Tiruvaiyyaru is situated the famous shrine Swamimalai, dedicated to the Divine Child of Siva and Parvati. This is one of the six hallowed kShEtrAs for Subramanya and here He is known as Swaminatha, the Preceptor to His Father Himself. Muruga taught the import of the praNava mantra to Lord Siva here. For Dikshitar whose guru was Lord Subramanya, this shrine and the Lord's manifestation here must have held deep significance. Two songs shrI bAlasubramaNyA in bilahari and shrI swAminAthAya in khamAs were dedicated by Dikshitar to his guru who dispenses grace standing as an elegant, majestic brahmachAri here.

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East of Kumbhakonam, about six miles on the road to Mayavaram, there are several sacred shrines, foremost of which is Madhyarjuna or Tiruvidaimarudur. Lord Siva is known here as Mahalingaswami. This is a prominent centre of bhakti and advaita which was sanctified by the visit of Adi Sankara and by the peerless devotion of the 17th century saint Sridhara Venkatesa Ayyaval of nearby Tiruvisainallur, Tiruvidaimarudur was also the capital of the Mahratta king Amarasimha. Not only was it a great centre of religious and literary learning, resonating with the chanting of the Vedas and Upansihads and the Tamil Thirumurais, it was also a great centre of culture and the arts. Several artists made their home here. Remnants of that great culture of yore can still be seen at Tiruvidaimarudur in the form of palaces, choultries, mutts and music and dance halls. The Mahalingaswami temple is famous for its grand festivals and processions of deities. To this great centre of pilgrimage came Muttuswami Dikshitar. The scintillating composition in paras, cintayE mahAlinga mUrtim and the deeply sublime paradEvatA brihatkucAmbA in dhanyAsi were his offerings to Lord Mahalinga and Goddess Brihatkuchamba. 

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Though rarely heard, the paras composition is a masterpiece in that rAgA and is one more proof of Dikshitar's versatility and genius in handling scholarly rAgAs. The rAga mudrA is deftly woven in the anupallavi lines 'antaranga bhaktajanAnAm atisamIpa rju mArga darshitam'. The Lord is described as revealing to the close, staunch devotee, the direct and the surest path to salvation. He is also described, in the madhyamakAlA of the charaNam, as taking on various forms such as Somaskanda at Tiruvarur, Nataraja at Chidambaram, as Bhairava, the Lord of Kali and as Swaminatha of Swamimalai. This composition is a wonderful blend of poetic beauty, musical wealth and deep philosophical concepts. The dhanyAsi piece on the Goddess explores the colourful and deep images of that rAgA.

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Near Kumbhakonam is a shrine to Lord Siva called Sri Vanchyam. Here, Dikshitar composed the suraTi song shrI vAncanAtham on the Lord and mangaLAmbikAyai in mALavashri and shrI mangaLAmbikE in kalyANi on the Goddess. 

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To the south-east of Kumbhakonam, very near Semmangudi, is a village called Tirukkannamangai where there is an important Vaishnava shrine. Here Dikshitar dedicated an elaborate composition, bhaktavatsalam, to Lord Bhaktavatsala in the mELa rAgA vamshavati, which describes the temple and its environs in great detail. In the sanctum there is a large beehive. The bees are believed to be the Devas, worshipping the Lord. This is mentioned in the line "suramayamadhumakshikArAdhitam".

Dikshitar had already visited Mayavaram and stayed there for some time on his way back from Kanchipuram to Tiruvarur. He nevertheless must have visited the town a few times in his life for,
Mayavaram was eminently sacred, both religion and culture wise. There are several important shrines near Mayavaram. Tirukkadayur is the place where Lord Siva as Amritaghateswara subdued Yama, the Lord of Death. The manOhari song shankaram abhirami manOharam is on the Lord and Dikshitar makes mention of the special abhiShEka performed with 1008 conches here. Goddess Abhirami is considered powerful here and She is celebrated in the rare song abhirAmIm in the rAgA bhUShAvati. On another side of Mayavaram is the Siva shrine of Vallalar Koil. The dEvagAndhAri masterpiece vadAnyEshwaram was dedicated by Dikshitar at this place. This composition is one of the most beautiful ones in dEvagAndhAri. The ancient kShEtra of Shvetaranya or Tiruvenkadu is situated near the ancient Chola port at Pumpukar where the Cauvery ends her journey and merges into eternity. Here, the Eternal Pilgrim dedicated to Lord Shvetaranya, the Arabhi song shvEtAraNyEshwaram and a song in kalyANi on the Goddess Brahmavidyamba. Terezhundur near Mayavaram is famous for its Vaishnava shrine to Lord Parimala Ranganatha. The beautiful and moving North Indian rAgA hamIr kalyANi (hamvIru in Venkatamakhi's parlance) was the medium chosen by Dikshitar to pay homage to Vishnu. His parimaLa ranganAtham stands testimony to his supreme talent in utilising a Hindustani melody for a major composition.

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continued in  part-16

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