Malayankulam, Kaisiki Ekadashi and Sri Parankusa Jiyar

Couple of days ago we were at Malayankulam, a small village near Uttiramerur, Kanchipuram, one of those rare visits to my paternal ancestors’ village and temple. It brings cheer and also sorrow in equal measure. Happy that at least we still have a connection with our roots, and sad because not a single one of the 60-70 odd Sri Vaishnava families from the village live there anymore. In my own family they had migrated out even during my grandfather’s time and we never even heard him talk about his village or even think of visiting it. We sincerely carried it in our initials, but had no idea what the village was like. All our families had left the village, letting the family deity Veetrirundha Narayanan temple lie in ruins.

It must have been in the late 90s when we heard from Parthasarathi mama, a familiar face to us who used to go to Kanchipuram to buy silk sarees, came looking for Malayankulam families about reconstructing the temple. It was a story of miraculous call that sent Parthasarathi mama from town to town trying to bring people of his village together to get the temple up and running again. He saw a man come and sit on this thinnai and complain of hunger and then disappear, giving him the hint that Veetrirundha Narayanan and Kamalavalli Thaayar were going hungry and uncared for.

Stone by stone the small temple was reconstructed. With no one living in the village who could do Nitya Pujas, a bhattar was appointed to go from Kanchipuram every day. I have been going to the village for 15-years now, and luckily it gets support for regular pujas and devotees visiting on special occasions. A separate Thayar sannidhi has been built, a small nandavanam created out of the land that was encroached upon, recovered.  Lucikly Balaji, our archaka swami recovered from cancer and continues to serve Malayankulam temple.

 

This time around I was taking a few photos as the children were singing, and as we waited for the prasadam. It is a small temple and there aren’t any sculptures or ornate mantapas so it was the Ramar darbar on the right side wall I first noticed. What was hiding it before I don’t know, but it felt as if I was seeing it for the first time. Then I was standing and looking around, noticed a part of some sculpture behind the steel cupboards. I asked what is it, and in a noisy disruption the cupboards were moved by Ranganathan mama who looks after the temple now. It looked different. I couldn’t figure out who they were in the single block of granite.

Ranganathan mama said they are moonaam pattam Azhagiya Singar and his family, the third pontiff of the Ahobila Mutt and his family. I was thrilled as if it was my own archaeological discovery. How thrilled would one be to find his or her ancestors engraved on stone, from 500-odd years ago. I looked at with disbelief, mama understood my looks and told us that Andavan Swamigal had seen it and confirmed it to be the purvashrama family of Moonravadhu Pattam Azhagiya Singar. If a great acharyan like Andavan Swamigal has said, there was no room to further go on questioning it for me – he had spent in his purvashrama days many years at Malayankulam and knew the place, its people very well.

Among the Sri Vaishnava families at Sri Rangam, Kanchipuram, Srivilliputhur, Azhwar Tirunagari and many more to find families that can trace their lineage to Alwars, Acharyas and running to over a 1000 years. It gives goosebumps to think of a tradition that has lasted so long, and families steeped in them, following the footsteps of ancestors even today.

For us at Malayankulam, the temple and the connection to the Ahobila Mutt gives at least 600-700 years of continuity. Who knows for how long they were there before that, for Uttiramerur nearby has an older and a greater inscriptional history, and the land must have been blessed by the waters of the rivers and rule of Pallavas and Cholas. That such a small village could perform Vajapeya and Atiratra yagnas in the old days comes as a surprise now. But, it must have been prosperous and full of learned Vaidikas. Even today families trace their ancestry to streams that did either of the Yagnas.

Some months before the present trip to Malayankulam, I was reading K.V.Raman’s book ‘Sri Varadarajaswami Temple, Kanchi’. Interesting to find the epigraphic record he quotes from the temple: “Narayana Jiyar lived almost to the end of Krishnadeva Raya’s reign while his successor Parankusa Jiyar was a contemporary of Krishnadeva and Achyuta Raya. There are two records at Varadarajaswami temple, Kanchi dated 1452 & 1461 corresponding respectively to 1530 AD & 1539 AD which mention the Parankusa Jiyar’s offering to this temple during auspicious occasions like the Chaturmasa-Ekadasi days and on the Kausikidvadasi days. He also made provision for reading the Kausika purana on the Kausikadvadasi days. Three villages in Damarkottam were donated by him for meeting the expenses of 15 Ekadasi days. The items of expenditure included the presentation of cloth to one who recited the Kausika-purana”.

Kanchi Perumal Kaisiki Ekadasi Purappadu photo sent by friend even as the blog was being compiled 

(Now I know where my father’s and my love for Krishnadeva Raya comes from J )

Ahobila Mutt’s history of Jiyar’s says: “Sri Parankusa Yatheendra Mahadesika was the third Jeeyar in line of succession. He spent his days in teaching Sribhashya and Srimath Rahasyathrayasara to numerous disciples at Kancheepuram. His contribution was the creation of villages like Neeralur, Uragadam, Nemmily, Kadankarai, Pilaaputh and Kalathur. By a divine command, he went to Srimushna where he was instantly attracted to the Lord there as al Sri Ramanuja whose grace he immensely derived and breathed his last there in tranquil”.  For long we have been enquiring if his Brindavanam can be found, established at Sri Mushnam. All hopes dashed as Ranganathan mama said, it can’t be done because highway expansion has covered up that place. 

P.S. Pardon me if I have made any mistakes in my enthusiasm to write, and share this. In August 2019 during our visit to Srimushnam we were able to find a small Brindavanam on the side if the highway. Editing the blog to add that photograph here.