There are times when we are blessed to have dharshan of Temples whose whereabouts were not known earlier. Many such things do happen even though we never attempt to see the details associated with them. They just come on the way to prove the point that we must be extremely lucky to be blessed. Our recent visits to Cauvery Delta were an eye opener to understand the Grace of God in this way.
When we were involved in the renovation work at Peravur, we were shown the dilapidated Temple at Karuppur ,located nearby. Kaanchivaai is another place where there is a Shiva Temple that can be reached from Karuppur. A thought struck my mind when I recalled the Hymn of Sundarar sung at Nannilam which is not far away from this location.
" கச்சியன் இன் கருப்பூர் விருப்பன் கருதிக் கசிவார் உச்சியன்...." This is how the Hymn goes. The term Kachchi is another form of referring Kanchi. Instead of assuming that this term refers to Kanchipuram, it looks apt if we consider Kaanchivaai as the real meaning of it. It is also supported by the fact that Karuppoor is hardly 3 km from it. So it is not wrong to assume that both Kanchivaai and Karuppur of this region are Thevara vaippu sthalams. At present many authors believe that Karuppur is the one which is on Kumbakonam- Anaikarai road.
Similarly there is no explanation available for the whereabouts of a place called Kooroor mentioned by Thirugnanasambandhar. When we were travelling from Nachiyarkoil to Nannilam, we saw a tall Raja Gopuram close to the road. We stopped the car when we saw the name board as "Koogoor" . I suddenly remembered the Hymn of Sambandhar and went straight to the Temple with the hope that it could be "Kooroor"referred in Thevaram. Our assumption was right when we entered the Temple where we could see many inscriptions of Chola period.
This place finds a place in the first Hymn of Gnanasambandhar's "Kshetra kovai"
" ஆரூர் தில்லை அம்பலம் வல்லம் நல்லம் வட கச்சியும் அச்சிறுபாக்கம் நல்ல கூரூர் குடவாயில்....."
It is nice to see that the renovation work is under progress at this Temple.
The dilapidated Temple at Karuppur was in a neglected state and required immediate attention as most of the sannadhis and murthis were missing. Hence it became imperative to build a new Temple at the same place as the old structure had completely collapsed. Work was started about a month ago and the foundation for Swami and Ambal sannadhis were constructed . Lot more work remains to be carried out to finish the project.
An almost similar situation prevailed at Pazhi Anjiya Nallur near Thiruneelakkudi,off Aduthurai. Ambal sannadhi was not there and a new one had to be constructed. Foundation was laid and the sannadhi is exected to be ready in a month.
Work at Enangudi is in full swing as the consecration ceremony is fixed for 9th July. After renovating the vimanams of the Temple, we had to rebuild the compound wall at many places after removing the deeply penetrated trees. New bricks are to be laid over the roof of the Mahamandapam to prevent leakage of rain water. The small Gopuram at the entrance has to be plastered and painted within a month.
Swami sannadhi vimanam was taken up for renovation at Sikanathaswami Temple, Kottur, near Thirukkannapuram. Gopuja and Rudra Homam were organised recently by the locals to seek the blessings of the Lord.
It is really pleasant when we are blessed to serve those places which were not known to us earlier. The unparalleled support of the locals makes us more enthusiastic and drive us vigorously. There are many vaippu sthalams which are still left uncared. Philanthropists should renovate them before it is too late. That is the reason why we have been insisting on field work rather than simply talking about Heritage and glory of the past. If we fail to save the remaining Temples from ruin, we will be left with nothing except the recorded History.
