The Lord waits on the
riverbank
The Moolavar and Utsavar deities with Consorts and
Andal ... the holy spot needs a facelift. — Pic. by M. N. Srinivasan
WHILE THE Lords in places such as Srirangam,
Tirupati, Azhagarkoil, Nachiarkoil (Thirunaraiyoor) and
Thirukannapuram have been offered garlands of hundreds of verses by
Azhwars, there are places like Kapisthalam, in Thanjavur District,
which are mentioned in a single poem, and others — Thirunindravoor
and Thirukkoodal (Madurai) for example — about which only a passing
reference is made in the Divya Prabandam verses. While preceptors
have dedicated to the Lord of Kapisthalam a single verse by
Thirumazhisai Azhwar in his "Naanmukan Thiruvanthathi," there is no
reference at all about the place or the Lord enshrined there in it.
But it has been concluded that the name of Aatrankarai Kidakkum
Kannan (the Lord on the banks of the river) refers to the Lord in
this holy place, which is one of the Pancha Krishnaranya Kshetrams.
Preceptors have hailed the quality of the Lord in
Kapisthalam as the remover of one's sins (Paapa Vimochakatvam). The
holy place of Kapisthalam is linked to the legend of the Lord saving
an elephant from the jaws of death thereby exhibiting His attribute
of Paapa Vimochakatvam or removal of one's sins. According to
legend, Pandya King Indradyumnan, an ardent devotee of Lord
Narayana, earned the wrath of Sage Durvasa (some scholars say that
the sage was Agasthya) who cursed him to become an elephant. He told
him that he would remain a devoted elephant offering a lotus to the
Lord daily. He also told him that he would be liberated. A
celestial, Huhu, was cursed by Devalar, to be born as a crocodile
and when it caught hold of the elephant the latter raised an alarm
and the Lord rushed on His Garuda mount and slew the crocodile. This
incident took place, according to scriptures, in Kapisthalam, and
the holy water source here is known as Gajendra Pushkarni. The
Utsavar idol is known as Gajendra Varadan. However the Moolavar is
known by the name of Aatrankarai Kidakkum Kannan as mentioned by
Thirumangai Azhwar.
According to the sthalapuranam, the place got the
name Kapisthalam, as the Lord gave darshan to Hanuman (the word
"Kapi" means monkey) here.
Kapisthalam is situated three km from Papanasam on
the Thanjavur-Kumbakonam route via Tiruvaiyaru, between the rivers
Kollidam and Cauvery. The temple is rather small with a single
prakaram and a Rajagopuram.
The Moolavar is found in the Bhujanga Sayanam pose
under the Kanagakruthi Vimanam. Besides the Gajendra Pushkarani
there is another holy water source known as Kapila Theertham. The
Goddess, Ramamani Thayar, is worshipped in a separate shrine to the
right of the main sanctum sanctorum. She is also known by the
pure Tamil name of Potramaraiyaal. There are shrines for Yoga
Narasimhar, Sudarsana, Garuda and the Azhwars.
Gajendra Moksham festival is celebrated on a grand
scale in the Tamil month of Panguni. The ancient temple presents a
pitiable sight today due to lack of patronage and long years of
neglect. The temple is in urgent need of repair though the recently
whitewashed small Rajagopuram presents a slightly healthy look.
T. A. SRINIVASAN
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