Location : In
Tirunelveli District, Tamil Nadu
Presiding Deity: Lord Vishnu With His Two
Consorts Sri Devi And Bhoo Devi
Commonly Called: Totadri Mutt, Sri Nivasam,
Medini
A Vaishnav Abode
Nanguneri is the Taluka
headquarters in the district of Tirunelveli, situated at a distance of
18 miles from the headquarters of the district. The place gained
importance for the location of a famous Vaishnavite temple commonly
known as "Totadri Mutt".
About Nanguneri
Nanguneri is known by different
names such as "Medini" and "Sri Nivasam". It is
considered by Vaishnavites to be the place where the consort of Vishnu,
Sri Devi, was born, brought up, married, and is always staying with her
consort.
The presiding deity in the temple
at Nanguneri is the sitting posture of Lord Vishnu on the couch and
canopy of Adi Shesha, with his two consorts Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi on
the two sides besides the celestial dancers Tilottama and Urvashi in
attendance with fans in hand. This place is called a "Swayamvyakta
Kshetram" where God appeared of his own accord.
According to the Vaishnavites
there are 8 such Swayamvyakta places: Srirangam, Naimisaranyam, Tirupati,
Pushkaram, Saligramam, Totadri, Haranarayaneshwaram and Srimushnam.
Kanchipuram, Trivandrum, Azhagarkoil, Dwaraka, Tirupullani, Srinivasa
Pushkaram, Narayanapuri and Kumbakonakumbakonam.htmlm are also called
Swayamvyakta Kshetras.
History Of The Temple
Originally Namboodiri Brahmins
were controlling the temple. In 1447 AD a Vaishnavite ascetic came to
Nanguneri and at the request of the Namboodiri Brahmins took over the
management of the temple and became the first Jeer.
Successive jeers went on adding
to the edifice of the temple zealously and its present stature is
gigantic. The fourth Jeer built the Gopuram which is visible from a
distance of about 6 miles; the 9th built the Sivili Mandapam; the 21st
secured the landed coffee estates; the 24th built the Golden Car; these
events vouchsafe the dedication to God of all the accumulated wealth by
different jeers at different times.
Sivili Mandapam
Sivili is a subordinate deity in
each temple akin to a caretaker. His idol is taken round the temple in a
palanquin before the actual procession of the main deity starts,
evidently to make sure if all is correct for the procession.
Even now this is a daily sight in
each temple. Sivili Mandapam is a long corridor, which forms a circuit
round the inner temple, flanked on either side by the familiar row of
Yalis supporting the roof. The rows of Yalis produce a fine effect of
symmetry and grandeur.
The stone pillars supporting the
roof depict the Dravidian style of excellence, as if the sculptor in his
great religious devotion has poured in his life's blood in each stroke
of his chisel. The result is the life-like pictures carved on mere
stone.
Legend Connected With Nanguneri
The legend connected with the
place is that when, during the period of the great deluge, Lord Vishnu
was having a peaceful slumber in the Milky Ocean for years untold,
gradually a lotus appeared from his navel with the inkling of desire for
creation in His mind.
He glanced at the lotus, when
Brahma who has to create the world appeared on the lotus with his Books,
"Kamandalu", "Yajnopavita" and "Dandam".
Finding himself alone on the lotus petals he went on thinking too high
of himself. He was not able to look down; consequently he thought
himself to be the only monarch of all he surveyed. Thus the vanity of
self, the ego appeared in his mind.
Vishnu immediately realised the
appearance of vanity in the mind of Brahma to be a very unhealthy sign
for a person who would be in charge of creation, and wanted to curb the
feeling by nipping it in the bud. So he created an opposition in the
form of demons, 'Madhu' and 'Kaitabha'.
Madhu and Kaitabha found an
intruder in Brahma and wanted to finish him off. Brahma was placed in a
dilemma and thought it would better to hide himself by going down into
the stem of the lotus. But unfortunately, providence had decreed, down
the stem was the eternal deluge. Vishnu came to his rescue in the form
of a fish and gave him courage to go up the stem and sit on the lotus.
At this Brahma returned to the lotus and remained seated. Vishnu took
the form of a swan floating over the eternal deluge and appeared before
him and told him: "You are the son of Hari the Lord the
Creator." Thereafter Brahma started reciting the name of Hari and
started meditation.
In a previous age, Vishnu had
appeared in the Win of Hayagriva and taught Brahma the Pranava Mantra,
Om, the very origin of sound. Brahma combined the Pranava Mantra with
Hari and went on reciting "Hari Om". Years passed and Mantra
Siddhi (Mastery over the mantra) was attained when the desire to know
the subtle meaning of "Hari Om" and "Bhoorbhuvahuvah Om"
arose in his mind.
Knowing the agitation in the mind
of Brahma, Vishnu appeared again in his eternal form with his symbols of
'Sankha', 'Chakra', 'Gada', 'Padma', as an answer to Brahma's desires.
The appearance of Vishnu explained the real meaning of the two Mantras.
Simultaneously, the other two
creations of God, Madhu and Kaitabha got the opportunity to have a
vision of Vishnu in his physical form. Brahma took him to be the answer
for his prayer and penance but demons took him to be another intruder
into the world scene existing at the time of the beginning of creation.
They started accosting the new person and asked about his parentage,
where from he hailed the reason of his sudden appearance, etc.
Vishnu said in reply that He was
the creator of the Universe. The reply was not convincing to the
devilish mind of the demons. In their demoniac spirit they invited Him
for a combat to settle the issue. Vishnu took up the challenge and the
fight started. Nobody could gay how long it continued. The Puranas put
it as 5000 years.
Vishnu wanted to slay the demons
by some stratagem. He planned to give a chance to the demons to accept
an offer of boons to them. Their devilish mind would not accept it as
they had not been defeated in the war. As Madhu and Kaitabha took Vishnu
to be their equal, who could not vanquish them in the war, Vishnu
offered to accept boons from them in return.
They agreed and Vishnu made a
very curious request for a boon, stating that he wanted to be known as
the "Vanquisher of Madhu and Kaitabha". The demons were
bewildered by the nature of the request. As the promise of giving a boon
was to be fulfilled, Madhu and Kaitabha requested Vishnu to annihilate
them by placing them at a place where there was no water. Apparently the
demons thought that in the condition of the deluge it would be
impossible to find a place without water.
They forgot that they were
dealing with Vishnu, their creator, and wanted to play a clever trick.
Vishnu was too shrewd for the ingenuity showed by the demons,
immediately clasped them to his wide chest, squeezed out their blood,
and choked them to death. Thus he got the name as the "Annihilator
of Madhu and Kaitabha".
The squeezed blood had to be
thrown somewhere and it fell on the newly formed earth. The death of his
enemies made Brahma happy and he started his work of creation unopposed.
But the unholy blood of the demons desecrated the sanctity of the earth
and the putrefied smell contaminated the country with bad odour, which
became a great hindrance to the austere penance of Bhoo Devi then on
earth near Totadri. In response to Bhoo Devi's penance to get rid of
this contamination of the earth that she personified, Vishnu appeared
before her at this spot.
The Peculiar Significance Of This
Place Is Indicated By The Particular Incident Stated Below:
Once Sage Bhrigu started austere
penance invoking Sri Devi at Nanguneri. When Sri Devi was pleased to
appear before Sage Bhrigu, Her consort Vishnu also accompanied her. They
came to the hermitage of Sage Bhrigu and wanted to bestow some boons.
The Sage made a peculiar request
to have Sri Devi herself as his daughter and Lord Vishnu as his
son-in-law so that he could serve them always at Totadri. As Sri Devi
was inclined to grant the boon, Lord Vishnu too granted it. Consequently
Sri Devi had to take birth through Sage Bhrigu's wife Kyati as their
daughter and, in course of time Vishnu married Her, and remained in
blissful abode. This is why Totadri has got the special significance of
being known as "Sri Nivasam" where prayer becomes immediately
fruitful.
Legends Relating The Significance
Of The Place
The legend goes that once upon a
time there was a righteous king in the kingdom of Sind named, "Gunaseelan",
son of Nala. In his usual pastime he went out on hunting, followed by
his attendants on horseback. The King missed his companions in the
trackless forest and, when he was feeling the pinch of thirst and
hunger, he could locate a mysterious animal in the form of a deer having
eight legs. This phenomenon diverted the mind of the King and he ran
after it. But alas! The deer with its swift legs quickly disappeared,
drawing the King deep into the forest.
At its disappearance, the King
felt dejected and retraced his steps to find out his companions. By then
he felt acutely thirsty and hungry. He noticed at a distance a small
hermitage made of mild leaves. He halted in front of it and, finding the
door wide open alighted from his horse and entered it. He could not find
the owner of the hermitage.
There was no temple their till
then. But the sanctity of the place gained great prominence. It was a
dense mango forest where many sages like Roma, Narada, Vaikhanasa,
Dadhichi, Angeerasa, Jabali, Kalavar, Kanva and others were engaged in
deep meditation and penance.
Lord Vishnu, seeing this holy
assemblage, was pleased to direct Vishwakarma, the celestial architect,
to construct a beautiful city, comparable to Amaravati; the heavenly
abode of Lord Vishnu, where He stays in His physical form, so that the
sages and others might get the benefit of His darshan daily. Vishwakarma
transformed the forest into a holy city with a temple, where people from
all parts of the country came and settled down.
One Dharmavatsalan, a very rich
Vaisya of Tirumulam near River Kaveri, having squandered all his
ancestral wealth in sensual pleasures, became a pauper at last. He
played a hoax against his villagers and relatives, and was driven away
to a forest. A Lion killed him.
Hindu Beliefs And Rituals
Unnatural death by suicide,
accident, or by wild animals, according to Hindu belief, makes the soul
a ghost under torture, moving in the ether from place to place till the
time comes for his birth. Dharmavatsalan took many births in various
species. In his birth as a man, according to his past Karma, he suffered
from leprosy.
He took advice from his spiritual
preceptor Bhargava who directed him to worship the deity at Totadri for
three years using Gingelly oil for ablution every day, and distribute
ample alms among the needy and feed the poor.
Every day, after the ablution of
the deity, the oil drained off was collected by him and besmeared over
his body. Lord Vishnu was very pleased with this pious act of
Dharmavatsalan arid healed his disease and relieved him of sins. The
poor man gradually regained his original form and dedicated his life for
the improvement of the temple till his last days.
But to his utter surprise he
found in a corner food and drink spread over a leaf as if offered to
somebody. His acute thirst and hunger did not allow him to wait long. He
unceremoniously helped himself to the food and drink.
When he had finished the meal, he
realized he was an intruder in the hermitage. Sage Kusasanan, who had
been to the river for his daily ablution, was entering the hermitage.
The Rishi got angry and immediately cursed the intruder to turn into a
dog for his canine action, as only dogs sneakingly creep into the
households and desecrate food. The intruder had not only desecrated the
hermitage by his action but had also violated the moral code of the
country. The curse became immediately effective and the King turned into
a roaming mongrel.
Gunaseelan besought the Sage to
take back his curse in lieu of his entire domain and wealth, but the
words of the Sage who had already attained Vak Siddhi were irrevocable.
But seeing the humility, distress and penitence of the King, Sage
Kusasanan condescended to lighten the kill rigour of the curse by saying
that in due course of time, he would come across a holy place where he
would regain his original form after a bath.
In the form of a mongrel the King
had to roam round the earth, how long none could say. Once, during his
wanderings, a juggler came before him and finding him quite healthy and
plump, utilised his services for showing sleight-of-hand in teats of
jugglery. Time passed, the mongrel in the company of the juggler roamed
round the earth and at last reached Nanguneri. Before starting his show
the juggler took his bath in the temple tank and bathed the mongrel too.
But to his surprise the mongrel stood transformed as a king after the
holy dip. People thronged round the juggler to see the wonderful
jugglery of God. Such is the power of the holy waters of the sacred tank
at Nanguneri.
Services To The Deity
The holy ablution to the deity at
Totadri is done with pure Gingelly oil. By contact with the holy idol
the oil is impregnated with miraculous curative powers. The oil is
collected in a pool 20 feet by 10 feet near the temple enclosures. It is
said that the healing power of the oil is so great and so mysterious as
to cure even the deadliest disease like leprosy.
Legend Connected With Nanguneri
Once upon a time, in days of
yore, a devout Saivite sage who was a great fanatic used to hang two
bells in his two ears so that by nodding his head he could ring the
bells to drown the name of gods other than Shiva. For this idiosyncrasy,
the sage was named "Ghanta Karnan".
Lord Vishnu in his incarnation as
Krishna, while still a boy, came to the spot, with his playmates and
took a fancy to ask this peculiar sage the reason for the hanging bells.
Ghantakarnan replied that it was to avoid the sound of the names of
Vishnu. The boy Krishna told Ghantakarnan that whoever talked blasphemy
against Lord Vishnu and his devotees would go to hell. This did not
satisfy Ghantakarnan. However he said: "I am somehow attracted by
your magnetic personality though you are a boy. Even Indra would not
have the courage to fight with me; I am tolerating your bitter words, as
you are God Himself and so I beseech you for salvation."
Krishna told him to pray to Lord
Shiva. The sage did so, still keeping his hands on the boy. To his
surprise he found himself in the Milky Ocean, on Sweta Dweepa, with
beautiful groves of Kalpaka trees. In this beautiful groove of Kalpaka
trees he found Lord Vishnu on the couch and canopy of Adi Sesha.
Wondering what it was, he began chanting again the sacred names of Lord
Shiva.
Not being able to understand the
mystery, he told the boy: "Till today I could not bear to hear the
name of Vishnu. I wanted to follow your advice and I did so. Meditating
on Shiva, I saw the Milky Ocean, Vishnu with keyuras and kundalas and
garland and other beautiful decorations. What does all this mean? Accept
me as your disciple and grant me salvation."! Immediately he threw
away the two bells hanging from his ears and prostrated before the boy.
God was pleased and Vishnu in his incarnation as Krishna gave him
salvation instantaneously
HOW TO GET THERE
Air: The nearest airport is at
Madurai, 151-km away.
Rail: The nearest convenient
railway station is Tirunelveli, which is an important railway junction
on the Southern Railway and is connected to all the major cities within
and beyond the state.
Road: There are regular buses to
Nanguneri from Tirunelveli, Ambasamudram, Palayamkottai, Radhapuram and
the other neighbouring towns.
WHERE TO STAY
Accommodation is available at the
small hotels, lodges and dharmashalas in Nanguneri
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