The Lord who opens his eyes!

Awesome! Wow! How Divine! 

These were the words predominant in our minds as we walked out of the Nerkundram Kari Varadaraja Perumal Temple this afternoon. Every month, through the Aalayam Kanden Trust, we have been going to a lesser known, ancient temple and lighting lamps and distributing ghee and oil, This month, we chose the Kari Varadaraja Perumal Temple and feel extremely pleased about having done so.

So what is so special about this temple to have evinced such a response from us? Well, this is probably the only temple where the Lord actually opens his eyes and looks at his devotees! Surprised? Read on.

This temple has a very interesting mythology connected to it. 

King Indrajyudhman was a very staunch devotee of Vishnu. Despite being a King, he spent many hours of the day worshipping Lord Vishnu. One day, Sage Agasthya came to visit him. The King, was lost in his thoughts of the Lord and did not notice the sage. Angered, the sage cursed him to become an elephant.

Indrajyudhman was shocked. He told the sage that he was a devotee of Vishnu and had not ignored him deliberately. The sage said that once a curse was given, he could not take it back and that the King could pray to Vishnu to give him Shapa Vimochana.

When the King prayed to the Lord, he heard a voice (Asariri) telling him " I am in a place where Nel (paddy) is heaped like a Kundram (hill). Come there and worship me every day and you will get moksha" said the voice.

So the King who had then turned into an elephant, came down to Nerkundram, and found the Varadaraja Perumal Temple next to a Pushkarni. Every morning, he would pluck a lotus from the Pushkarni and worship the Lord by placing the lotus at his feet.

One day, a Gandharva called Hoo Hoo and his wife came down to Bhooloka and were playing near the Pushkarni. When Hoo Hoo noticed the elephant plucking a lotus, and worshipping Lord Vishnu, he was very impressed. He wanted to stay back and watch what happened. So he and his wife took the form of crocodiles and swam around in the Pushkarni.

At that moment, Sage Bharadwaja came to the Pushkarni to perform his Sandhya Vandhanam. Hoo hoo, now in the form of a crocodile did not see the sage and trying to chase his wife, banged against the Sage standing in water. Sage Bharadwaja became angry at this impertinent act. Realising that the crocodile was a Gandharva, he cursed him to turn into a crocodile permanently. Hoo Hoo was sorry for his inadvertent act and begged the Sage's forgiveness. The Sage told him that when he held the foot of a Vaishnava he would be forgiven and would attain his original form.

The Crocodile immediately thought of the elephant who was a loyal devotee of Vishnu and decided to hold his foot. The next day, when the Elephant got into the water to pluck a lotus, the crocodile swam quickly towards him and caught his foot. The Elephant tried to pull his leg from the Crocodile's grasp,but could not do so because the crocodile is more powerful in water. In pain and distress, the Elephant sought the help of his Lord " Adhimoolame" he bellowed.

Does this story sound familiar to Gajendra Moksham? Well, not completely. When the Lord heard the cry of  the elephant, he wanted to come out and save both his devotees - the Elephant and the Crocodile. So he sent out his Sudharshana Chakra and asked him to bring both Elephant and Crocodile to the shore. The Chakra went swishing and sliced through the water, to carry both the creatures out of the water.

Once on land, the elephant gained strength and was able to pull his leg out of the crocodile's mouth, with some effort. When that happened, both the elephant and the crocodile gained their original forms of King Indrajyudhman and HooHoo and the Lord gave both of them the boon of Paramapadha.

As this Lord granted the boon of Paramapatha to an elephant (Kari) he came to be known as Kari Varadaraja Perumal.

Now from that magnificient history to reality. Today, this temple only has the main Moolavar shrine intact. Small semi permanent structures house Anjaneya Swamy and Garudalwar. A large hall covered by thatch is where the devotees gather and wait to go into the Artha Mandapa in batches. A statue of Nammalwar stands in a corner behind the book stall only to be noticed when Thaligai is submitted to him.

Why this pitiable state? Shri. Sugendra Bhattar, the hereditary trustee of the temple, speaks with a lot of sadness and frustration. He says over time the lands belonging to the temple have been occupied by private parties and despite going to court and taking their best efforts with the available limited means, the temple which once had enough means to conduct various festivals over the year, today is unable to support even the painting of the permanent shrine that they have managed to construct for Shri Anjaneya.

He invites us into the Ardha Mandapam to witness what we had come to see. Once inside, he tells us about the significance of worship at this temple. The Lord Kari Varadaraja Perumal, is the Lord of 27 stars. He is also the Adhibadhi of the Number 9. So for every wish or prayer that a devotee makes they offer a contribution of Rs.9 to the Lord which is then placed at his feet. The devotees come back (most often within nine days) to offer thanks for the wish having been granted. He also said that if a devotee came for 27 months on his birth star without a break he could definitely achieve whatever he wished.

The Lord has Sridevi and Bhoodevi on either side and Neela Devi and Mahalakshmi in his heart, which is a unique feature here. His right hand shows Varada Hastham and the left hand holds a Gadhayudham. The two rear hands have Sanku and Chakra. He also has a Simhamukham below his navel.

The Lord's Avatara Nakshatram is Hastham and Thirumanjanam is performed on those days at the temple. Those who wish to perform Thirumanjanam or offer Vastram (nine yard sarees are used to adorn the Lord) can contact the temple atleast fifteen days in advance.

After having told us the significance of praying at this temple, he asks us if we were ready with our prayers. We wait with bated breath, as he closes the door to the Sanctum Sanctorum, and switches off the electric lights.

Now the Bhattar takes the ghee lamp near the face of the Lord. Lo and Behold, the eyes that you see closed in the idol while the lights were on have suddenly opened. The almost human like eyes are rolling left to right as the Bhattar moves the ghee lamp beneath the Lord's face. He asks us to seek our wishes while the Lord's eyes are open, and we do with sincerity and devotion. 

The Utsavar here is Sathyanarayana Perumal. Sathyanarayana Pooja is performed here on every full moon day. Another special utsavar is Sri Santhanagopala Krishnan. For those seeking Childbirth, the Bhattar gives the Utsavar in their hands and the woman or her mother (using the woman's vastram) receive the Krishnan with devotion in the pallav of the saree and swing him gently from side to side as the Bhattar sings pasurams. This Krishna with butter in his hand grants the boon of childbirth without fail. We saw some people distributing sweets at the temple as their wishes had been granted.

Another unique feature of this temple is the community prayers that happen on tuesdays and saturdays in the morning at 11 am. On Tuesdays, since the crowd is relatively less, the community prayers are accompanied by the recital of Vishnu Sahasranamam and on Saturdays, since the crowd is larger, the community prayers are led in Tamil by Shri. Sugendra Bhattachar.

He invited us to join the prayers and we joined the group of people who had lined up on either side of the main shrine in the meditation hall. The Bhattar handed over Tulsi leaves to each and every one of us and asked us to hold it in our hands as we prayed for each person and then finally hand it over to him to be taken to the feet of the Lord with all the prayers embedded.

It was indeed an amazing activity. The power of community prayer need is well known and does not need detailed description. To know that this is a regular activity twice a week at this temple, where the prayers are conducted in Tamil instead of Sanskrit, so that people understand and participate sincerely was something appreciable indeed.

Once the offering of prasadam to the Lord was completed, the Bhattar started by asking those whose wishes had been fulfilled to share their experiences. Ms. Ramya, an engineering student, distributed sweets and chocolates to those gathered, as her prayers for her sister to have a child had been granted and she had delivered a boy baby through normal delivery.

When Shri. Sugendra Bhattachar asked me what my prayer was, all I could think of is that Kari Varadaraja Perumal should get back all his property so that the temple is restored to its lost magnificence. It was indeed heart warming when everyone prayed for it to happen. The Bhattar also prayed that Aalayam Kanden should be able to do good service to the society by identifying and supporting several deserving temple. What more do we want?

After each one's concern was heard and prayers made, delicious Pongal was distributed as prasadam and we left the temple, with our hearts and stomach full.

As mentioned in the post, the temple is seeking funds to complete the Anjaneyar Shrine and also for the running expenses of the temple and sanctification which has not happened over the last 24 years. Please contribute generously through cash or materials to support this wonderful temple.

Aalayam Kanden has committed to support this initiative. Please send in your contributions through cheque, Demand draft favoring Aalayam Kanden Trust, Flat A, Nutech Saradambal Apartments, No. 36, Kripasankari Street, West Mambalam, Chennai 600 033. You may also use the bank transfer option to transfer funds into our Punjab National Bank account, West Mambalam, Chennai 600 033 

Account No: 6028000100005596, IFSC Code: PUNB0602800. 

This temple has easy access from all parts of Chennai. From Koyambedu Bus Terminus, take a left at the Roundtana towards Poonamallee High Road. Once you cross the HP Petrol Pump on your right, you will find a First Choice Car showroom, with a green car suspended high up in the air on your right and the Vengaya Mandi Bus Stop on your left (it would be the first bus stop after Koyambedu if you take buses plying from Koyambedu towards Maduravoyal).

Turn left opposite the First Choice Showroom. Turn left again after you enter the road. The temple is the second building on your right. Do not look out for Gopuram or Vimanam as you would be sadly disappointed. There is a garments company called Shamili Garments next to the temple.