Glory of a Krishna shrine

IT WAS summer. Rains had failed. There was not even drop of water to quench the thirst of man. An old man, reaching the shrine of Sri Venugopalaswami supplicated to him in soul-stirring hymns, for copious rains. The clouds darkened resulting in an incessant downpour. The devotee who made the earnest prayer was Dhodde Gounder, in the lineage of Sadayappa Vallal, extolled by Kambar in his version of the Ramayana. The shrine is the Venugopalaswami temple in Ganapathi, a suburb in the north of the city of Coimbatore. Tradition has it that when Kongu Nadu and Kerala were under the rulers of Mysore, a king of the Udayar dynasty built a Krishna temple near Kollegal on the Mysore- Mangalore highway, Satyamangalam and Ganapathi 600 years ago. The one at Ganapathi headquartered officials and the army - in witness thereof a platform on which a Vinayaka idol had been installed, called Kottai Pillayar Medai, can be seen even today.

The king it seems had built five temples for Krishna in all, though historians do not confirm this. According to them, there is no evidence to show the practice of Krishna cult among the Udayar rulers. From the structure of the temple, it is inferred that the Yadava dynasty with their capital at Devagiri could have renovated them. A shilasasana dated 1764 A.D. records that one Maadayya, a representative of the dynasty set up a family from Srirangapatnam to look after the affairs of the temple and their descendants administer the temple till date. This is now being studied by the Archaeological Department.

There is ample evidence to testify the greatness of Sri Venugopalaswamy in the temple. That the temple had been gifted lands is seen from the inscriptions of conch and disc on the stones found in several places in the temple precincts. Besides, a chariot and teppakkulam were also in existence till recently. The neglected temple saw samprokshanam on March 23, 1964, and the consecration was performed by Agama Vidwan Ranganathacharya Swami.

The awe-inspiring shrine of Sri Venugopalaswamy playing on the flute with Rukmani and Satyabhama on either side, faces Garudazhwar in the inner prakara. Like all legendary temples, the deity here is also praised by poets Venkataramanadas, Kandaswami Swamigal and Sundara Swamigal. Though temples dedicated to Krishna are few in Tamil Nadu, Sangam literature refers to the worship of Kannan in works like ``Paripaadal.'' The shrine in Ganapathi is unique like the Pancha Kanna kshetras sanctified by the Azhwars.

Vanni is the `stala vriksha.' Thiru Adi Pooram, Navarathri and Hanuman Jayanthi are special festivals conducted annually in the temple, besides Brahmotsavam in Panguni.Childless couples offering payasam on Thiruvonam day every month are blessed with children. Devotees fulfilling their vow offering Thulabharam get cured of their ailments.

Plans are on the anvil to set up a library of religious books and books on spirituality, to organise training courses for archakas and to set up a free medical dispensary. A shrine for Anjaneya is coming up within the prakara. Devotees willing to contribute may get in touch with Sri Venugopalasamy Temple, Ganapathi Post, Coimbatore.

T. K. GANAPATHY

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