Karuppur
Karuppur, a village near Kumbakonam is famous for the Siva temple in which the presiding deity is Sri Sunderswarar and it is a ‘vaippu sthalam’. [‘Vaippu sthalam’ is a Siva Sthalam about which the quadrants have praised and referred in the poem of a ‘padal petra sthalam’.] The temple is also famous for the deity Sri Sundra Maha Kali Amman known popularly as ‘Petti Kali Amman’. The village presently known as Koranadu Karuppur is on the way to Tiruvisainallur while traveling from Kumbakonam. On the main road, there is a temple for Sri Kalyana Venkatesa Swami under the administrative control of the Sri Sunderswarar temple. The temple which was in yore in the past is not that popular now and has been under renovation for the last five years. But the temple has a history in connection with the Marudhanallur Sri Satguru Swamigal which is very interesting.
Tiruvisainallur
This village has a great place in the Dakshina Bharatha sampradaya Nama Sankeerthanam for having been the home for two out of three great saints in Nama Sankeerthanam. Firstly Sri Sridhara Ayyaval an erudite smartha Brahmin, who had spurned the ministerial offer made to him by the then ruler of Mysore and had settled down in this village with his wife Sundari Ammal. Secondly, Sri Satguru Swamigal of Marudhanallur was born here and lived his early ages in this village.
The place Tiruvisainallur was then known as Shajirajapuram since it was gifted by Shaji II Raja of Thanjavur (1685 AD - 1712 AD) to 45 pundits well versed in the Vedas to ensure that Vedas and shastras were preserved.
Sri Venkata Raman of Tiruvisainallur
Sri Satguru Swamigal was born in the village Tiruvisainallur as Sri Venkata Raman to the orthodox Brahmin Sri Venkata Subramaniyam in Athreya Gothram. As was in practice with the family, “Venkata” was prefixed to the name Raman, and the boy was named Sri Venkata Raman. The family being poor ‘vaidigi’ for their livelihood had to go for performing ceremonies and poojas being conducted in all the villages nearby. The joyous couple used to narrate the stories of Bhaktas like Duruva, Prakalatha, Hanuman, etc to the child. The child was looking bright and ‘thejasvi’, but to the worry of the father, the boy was not able to speak till the age of three. The worried father used to take the child to learned pundits for blessing. All of them would advise the father not to worry, as the boy had the divine blessings. As predicted by the elders the boy started speaking with the utterance of “Rama” as his first word.
As a dutiful father, he had performed the upanayanam to his child at the right time and the boy was taught Vedas and vyakarnas by the pundits of the village. The boy was found to grasp things fast and the father was happy. His father was amused at the in-depth knowledge of Sri Venkata Raman about the Nama Sankeerthanam and the biography and philosophy of the great saints who had propagated the Nama Sankeerthanam and their kritis. Sri Venkata Raman as a practice used to sit on meditation for hours chanting the name of Sri Rama when not learning Vedas. He will tell and preach the importance of Nama japam to the boys who were studying with him.
Manaseka Guru
Sri Bodhendrar one of the trinity of Dakshina Bharatha sampradaya Nama Sangeerthanam had a firm belief that chanting Sri Rama’s name itself can give salvation [moksha], therefore he propagated the glory of reciting the Nama Sangeerthanam. Sri Bodhendrar came to be known as “Bagavannama Bodhendrar”. Sri Venkata Raman adopted Sri Bodhendra Swamigal as his manaseega Guru and was practicing Rama Nama japam. The nectar of the Rama Nama Japam caught with him, and he will forget the surroundings and keep on meditating for hours without food or water.
Rama Nama japam at Sri Anjaneya Sannadhi
His father Venkata Subramaniyam was maintaining the family with the meager income he
got by performing ceremonies and poojas being conducted by the other Brahmins of the
villages nearby. On one such occasion he had promised to conduct the ceremony in a
nearby village and he felt sick on that particular day. As the ceremony could not be
postponed he asked his son Venkata Raman [who also knows the conduction of
ceremonies] to go to the village and conduct the ceremony on his behalf.
As a dutiful son, Venkata Raman agreed to do so and set out for the said village. But he was yarning for doing Rama Nama japam which he could not resist. Even before he could know what he was doing he entered the Sri Kalyana Venkatesa Swami temple which is on his way. He went straight into the Sri Anjaneya Sannidhi sat behind Sri Anjaneya Swami and started his meditation of Rama Nama. He knew no time, and when he came out of meditation it was dusk and sunset was on. Once he came to the present world, he sensed that he had made the mistake of not going to conduct the ceremony at the nearby village, thereby bringing disrepute to his father and unpardonable sin to himself and the kartha of the ceremony. He did not know what to do at this stage. He rushed to his father to tell him the truth and take any punishment and prayachitam.
When the father reached the next village, the Brahmin welcomed him and told him that his son Venkata Raman had conducted the ceremony satisfactorily and better than the father himself. He was full of praise for the diction of Venkata Raman and told the father that he had given him twice the ‘dakshana’ than normal.
Fathers’ dilemma
Venkata Raman came home and told his father what had happened. His father did not know what to do now, since the ceremony cannot be conducted after dusk or on any other day. While he was narrating the events, an elder of the next village came with two dothis and some coins to them. He told them that he had come to return the dothis and coins Venkata Raman had forgotten to take which he had kept in the Sri Anjaneya sannidhi. Now all of them were confused. Venkata Subramaniyam took a bold step to go and meet the household in the next village and tell them about what had happened.
A Welcome reception
When the father reached the next village, the Brahmin welcomed him and told him that his son Venkata Raman had conducted the ceremony to the full satisfaction and in fact better than the father himself. He was full of praise for the diction of Venkata Raman and told the father that he had given him twice the ‘dakshana’ than normal. The confusion of the father is now compounded. After a while, the father understood what had happened.
Sri Anjaneya the prohit
From there Venkata Subramaniam went straight to Sri Kalyana Venkatesa Swami temple and fell flat in front of Sri Anjaneya Swami. He told Him he is blessed to have Sri Venkata Raman as his son. He was thankful to Sri Anjaneya Swami for making him understand the great purpose for which Sri Venkata Raman was born in this world. If the greatest Sri Rama Baktha (‘Sri Anjaneya Swami’) could go as a prohit to some house on behalf of Sri Venkata Raman, the greatness of the purpose for which he was born could be understood. From then on the father undertook all the steps to help Sri Venkata Raman perform his duty as planned by God.
Marudhanallur Sri Satguru Swamigal
Sri Venkata Raman who later came to be known as Marudhanaullur Sri Satguru Swamigal
is considered as one of the Guruthrayam, bhagavatha Trinity, along with Sri
Bodhendra Swamigal and Sri Sridhara Venkatesa Ayyaval. He took the initiative to
identify the Jeeva Samadhi of his Manaseka Guru Sri Bodhendrar
known as “Bagavannama Bodhendrar”.
To identify the Jeeva Samadhi he kept his legs folded and tied so that his feet would not touch the ground. With his ears to the ground, he kept on searching for days together and identified the place by the sound of Sri Rama Nama coming out at a particular place aloud. The spot was in the midstream of River Kaveri. He requested his disciple and the king of Thanjavur Sri Saraboji to deploy manpower to divert the river so that the permanent memorial could be built for the Bagavannama Bodhendrar. Today Govindapuram where the Samadhi is located is the saranalayam for all Bagavathas.
At a later stage, he compiled many Bhagavannama kritis from all over India and set the syllabus for the Dakshina Bharatha sampradaya Nama Sangeerthanam. He then settled down in the village called Marudhanaullur near Kumbakonam and propagated Bagavannama and he set up a Mutt for this purpose. He then came to be known as Marudhanallar Satguru Swamigal.
Sri Kalyana Venkatesa Swami Temple today
Sri Anjaneya Swami who had gone as a prohit on behalf of a Sri Rama Baktha
is located inside Sri Kalyana Venkatesa Swami Temple in Koranadu Karuppur near
Tiruvisainallur. The author visited the temple on 31st October 2007 when the temple
was undertaken for repairs. Sri Anjaneya Swami Sannidhi was located
adjacent to the eastern wall and facing south, it had a mandapam in front
of the sannidhi of which only two pillars were remaining and no roof was
there. The Deity Sri Anjaneya Swami was kept on the ground in a thatched shed
nearby.
The author revisited the temple on 25th July 2012 and found that the main temple of Sri Kalyana Venkatesa Swami is still under repair. A new sannidhi for Sri Anjaneya Swami had come up, but the sannidhi is facing north.
Sri Anjaneya Swami of Karanadu Karuppur
Presently He is seen walking westward with His right hand showing ‘abhaya mudra’. The Lord’s left hand is resting on his chest. The glowing face and the bright eyes attract the devotees like magnets. As the best ornament of a Brahmachari, He has a tuft, and his long hair is neatly tied up.
His long ears ever listening to Ramanama wear earrings in kuntala form. He wears a necklace which has a single pendant sculptured around His neck. Both arms are adorned with armlets known as keyur, a bangle known as kankan on his wrist. On his lotus feet, he wears what is known as thandai.
Location of the temple: "Sri Kalyana Venkatesa temple, Koranadu Karuppur, Kumbakonam"
Experience
Come with Sri Ramanama in your heart and pray to the Lord of this punya kshetra and be sure to be guided to attain THE BEST as a baktha during this janma.
SRI HANUMAN THINKS DIFFERENTLY, THINKS FAST
THINKS AHEAD AND ACTS FOR SURE
Ed [October 2012]
Updates: [Jan 2025]