Pancha Lakshmi Narayana!

Utsava is a sanskrit word wherein Ut means remove and sava means worldly griefs. The word Utsava Murthy is referred to those deities normally made of metal that are taken out in procession so that they may be worshipped by the devotees of all strata of society, to be rid of all worldly sorrows.

The Utsava murthis aid easier worship as Thirumanjanam or Kalyana Utsavam can be performed more frequently and economically on them. They can be taken to any place within and outside the temple so that a larger number of people can worship them.

There have been a number of examples in the lives of great saints when their prarthana murthis have granted the grace that one would normally associate with worshipping the moolavar (main deity) of a temple. A couple of such examples are the Moola Ramar worshipped by Sri Raghavendra Swamy, the Rama idols worshipped by Saint Thyagaraja.

One such deity is the Sri, Boomi, Neela, Mahalakshmi, Narayani samedha Sri Narayana Perumal of West Mambalam who has been granting the wishes of many a devotee from his humble residence.

Situated in the narrow and busy Baroda Street, next to the back entrance of the Sri B S Mootha Jain school, this Perumal is found with five lakshmis unlike most temples where he is seen with Sridevi and Bhoodevi.
This Perumal has been in worship for centuries in a private household of an industrialist and based on the divine instructions received , they have made worship of these deities public.

The grace of this perumal has spread far and wide and this place is often very crowded. Since the Perumal is found with five Lakshmis, he is worshipped by those seeking wealth, prosperity and good marriage alliances.

Moreover, Perumal's thirunakshathram is Pushyam (Poosam) and those born on Pushyam star are also said to benefit by worshipping him. Sridevi, Bhoodevi and Neeladevi are found on either side of the Perumal and Mahalakshmi is found as Thani Nachiyar.

The fifth Lakshmi, Narayani, is found in the heart of Narayana Perumal. Since Perumal has the Thayar as part of his body, he is adorned with a waist belt (Oddiyanam) and anklets on his feet . The Perumal looks resplendent in his Paramapatha Kolam and those worshipping him in this form are said to be relieved of all their sins and can reach the lotus feet of the Lord at the end of their lives.

The temple is currently looking for a bigger space as more and more people are coming here everyday to worship Sriman Narayana and be rid of their problems. Efforts are on to raise funds to build a temple with Moolavars for these deities as well.

Thirumanjanam is performed at 7.30 am on Poosam star every month, apart from important festivals and Purattasi Saturdays. On these days, Vishnu Sahasranama is chanted at 4.30 pm and Oyyali sevai is performed at 5.00 pm.

How to get here:

This temple is found in Baroda Street, the lane that is behind the Duraiswamy Subway which connects T. Nagar with West Mambalam.

Temple Timings:

Mornings : 7.00 to 9.30 am
Evenings: 5.30 to 8.30 pm

Contact Details:

Kalai Bhattar - 98404 57113

The Ganeshas of Thandalam

While we were on the recce visits of the temples along the banks of the river Cooum, we visited a village called Thandalam, which is one of the eighteen Kottams of Koovam as per the Koova Puranam. This village has the famous Thaduthaleeswarar Temple where there are two sanctum sanctorums for Lord Shiva and the Goddess is found with a  Thali (mangalsutra) carved into her neck.

As the case with most village temples, this temple was not open when we reached there. While we waited for the priest to arrive, our attention was attracted by the small temple across the road. Little did we realise what was in store for us.

This temple was also closed and on peering into it we found that it was a Ganesha temple and he is found here with his consorts Siddhi and Buddhi.

The priest had still not arrived at the temple opposite, so we thought we would wait here for a few minutes. A casual look at the Vimanam showed us that there were more Ganeshas there.

We decided to go around, braving the broken glass bottles strewn there. It was so delightful to watch the Ganeshas on the Vimana taking the form of the Koshta Devathas of each direction. As Yoga Ganapathy in the form of Dakshinamoorthy for the South,

We had Ganesha in the form of Brahma with four heads on the lower and upper levels of the Vimana

In the form of Vishnu with conch and discus on both hands on another

In his own form, but as Nardhana Ganapathy, and Mooshika Ganapathy on yet another side.

We were amazed to see this depiction in such a small temple.

Such are the beautiful treasures that lie unnoticed along the banks of the Koovam river!

To know more about the Cultural mapping of the Cooum, like our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/CooumCulturalMapping/

To check out some articles on Cooum temples on Aalayam Kanden, click http://aalayamkanden.blogspot.in/p/cooum-riverside-temples.html

How to get here:

Thandalam is a village in Tiruvallur district near Sevvapet and Putlur.

Google Coordinates: 13.15692291, 79.95499007

Contact details: Mr Kumar 9894657112