old sanskrit books.

Sesha dharma; Vamana Puranam; Sri Aravamudha Vaibhavam; Kumbakonam Mahatmyam; Thiruvinnagar Mahatyam;Thirucherai Mahatmyam; Vanamalai Mahatmyam; Nandhipura Vinnagara Mahatmyam; Vanamamalai Mahatmayam; SrimushanaMahatmyam.

Bharatha natyam dance mudras depicted in the temple.

147 feet tall Gopuram the tallest temple tower in the pilgrim city of Kumbakenam is the one at Sarangapani temple. it is a 11 storied gopuram and around the outer walls are figures depicting images in sequence the puranic story of the avtaras of Lord Vishnu and that of other Gods and Goddesses. on the first tier one can see all around in granite108 dance forms. establishing the marvel of architechtural skill. above each picture is inscribed in Sanskrit the respective name of the mudra shown in the picture. this marvel must be seen to be believed.

Lord performs the last rites

Lakshmi Narayana Swamy. Was responsible all through his life in collection of funds to build the largest Gopuram for Sarngaani Perumal. It was his.life ambition people advised.him.to.get married. That there should.be.somebody to at least perform his last.rights.

{As per a temple legend, once a staunch Brahmin devotee of Aravamudhan spent most of his life to the service of the deity. At the end of his life, he felt his loneliness and prayed for his karma to be performed. Aravamudhan descended himself to perform the last rites on a Deepavali day. The ritual is performed annually by the priests and is one of its kind where death rituals are performed in the precincts of a Vishnu temple.}


Raghunatha Nayaka one of the 3 famous Nayak kings who ruled from Tanjore had an Asthan pandit by name Iyyakumara Tatacharyar. he was a great devotee of Arvamudhan. he spent his whole life doing work in the temple. He built a separate sannidhi for Thayar near the Perumal sannidhi. The thayar is believed to have appeared in a dream to the Nayak king and told him that a statue of Iyyakumara Tata charya may be set up opposite to her sannidhi so that the devotee could for ever continue to worship the Lord in her presence. Even today this idol can be seen in the temple. 

Lakshmi Narayana was a close  disciple of the above Tatacharya. he too was rewarded in an unusual manner by the Lord for his sincere work done by him in the temple. Lakshmi Narayana was a Sri Vaishnavite brahmachari and an orphan. he lived in Kumbakkonam and worshiped Sarangapani very sincerely. he wished to built the biggest Gopuram for the Lord in the chola desha. He approached a number of rich people and collected funds he spent his entire life in collecting money for the temple. he was growing old and people advised him to get married so that there would be somebody to perform his final obsequies he replied he was happy with the loka offered to him by Saranga raja Perumal and if he were to die thesamskara would surely be done by the Lord himself. He however was able to achieve his goal of building the Gopuram. people started calling him Lakshmi Narayana Swamy.  it is believed that when he died an archaka of Sarangapani temple dreamt that Lord Aravamudha appeared and told him to take the dharba from His hand and do samskaram for Lakshmi Narayana swamy. The nextmorni g the archaka did as ordered by God, as though the samskara was done by the Lord himself. even today during the Deepavali Amavasya the day Lakshmi Narayana swamy died the ceremony is performed by the temple after taking the dharba from Aravamudhan's hand. the food prepared that day is offered to the Lord.

Maha Makham (K)

Kumbakonam is famous for the Maha Makha festival which is celebrated once in 12 years in the month of February. The festival is celebrated when Jupiter passes the constellation of Leo. A bath in the Maha Makham tank on that day is considered very sacred. This tank is situated in the heart of the town and covers an area of twenty acres. There are 16 mantapas along the bank of the tank, dedicated to various deities. It is believed that the deities of all the nine sacred rivers meet on maha makhan day at Kumbakonam. The scientific explanation for this is that when the planet Jupiter passes over Leo on the great Maha Makham day, the waters of the tank get saturated with mineral properties. On this very same day in distant North Kashmir the Lake in Kotihar gets a full supply of water due to the planetary combination. Though the lake may run dry for 11 years in the 12 year on Maha Makham day gets a full supply of water. Another feature is the only temple for Brahma exists in the Pattunulkaara street to the left of the tank in Kumbakonam. On the right of the tank exists a shrine for the nine rivers Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Narmada, Kaveri, Godavari, Mahanadhi, Palar and Sarayu. These nine rivers come here to cleanse themselves of all the sins accumulated. as all through the year humans washing themselves of their sins by bathing in these rivers make them very polluted and unbearable so these rivers get their cleansing done here. All the devas along with Brahma Vishnu and Siva too are present in the tank on that particular day the cleansing is extended to humans too. this tank is held in great esteem and people throng this great town every twelve years for this great festival.

shree, sri,

nin paDikku ellAm tan paDi ERka anbuDan ninnODu avadarittu aruLi (Swami Desikan, mummanikkovai)

svAmi deshikan lucidly injected the main concepts from the veda-s into a small tamizh hymn called mummaNikkOvai. The ten word verse given above gives the best description of the role of shrI with respect to Lord shrIman nArAyaNan. nammAzhvAr declared shrI as one, "who never leaves the Lord" (agalagillEn iRaiyum yenRu alarmEl mangai) in his tiruvAimozhi. Following his footsteps, deshika extends that further, here. "shrI is the one who takes the nature, form, character and ownership (svarUpa, rUpa, guNa, vibhUti) that is in His taste and in harmony with Him. She is yearning to make descents (avatAra-s) along with Him to bless everyone." At least ten meanings can be derived about shrI: from the above verse of 10 words 1. Infinite descents - Her descents are infinite just like His; 2. Conformity of form - Her forms (rUpam) conform (ERpa) with His. 3. Compatibility of nature - Her innate nature (svarUpa) is compatible with His 4. Inseparability - She is always with Him 5. Affectionate to Him - She is so affectionate towards Him 6. Suitable to him in all aspects - She is suitable to Him in every aspect 7. Loves everyone and everything - She always accompanies Him in every descent because of Her motherly love 8. Pours out Her grace - She blesses through her descents. 9. Synchronizes with the Lord - She synchronizes Her descent with His 10.Keeps in mind - She remembers (put them down in memory) to grace at proper time The word choices here are so astonishing. Each word lends to multiple meanings. For example, nin paDikku ellAm tan paDi - Here paDi has eight meanings – stepping stone, body, accordingly, nature, earth, read, stuck, fall down. nin paDi has eight and tan paDi has eight and if one starts deriving the viable combination of meanings, there is no end. The multitude of meanings in this verse is like inserting an universe inside an atom (aNuvukkuL aNDattai nuzaitarapol.

verse 20 chapter 3.

Karmanaiva hi samsiddhim asthita janakadayah
loka sangraham evapi sampasyan kartum arhasi.

Great souls like Janaka attained the highest perfection by a proper discharge of all lawful duties. But even after attaining such a state he continued to carry on worldly duties, not for his own self but for the welfare and well being of the world at large. So too one has to constantly have the bigger picture of the society we live in we have to encourage every thing that is good and positive for the well being of the world at large and the betterment of the people /society. we have to work towards ram rajyam. each one of us have to do our assigned duty to the best of our ability sacrificing when required towards this goal we may not see the light in our lives but effort we must put in. perform we must. each has a role to play and play it well we must. the lord himself says so in the saame chapter verse 22. 
O Partha, there is nothing in all the three worlds, that Ihave not obtained or am desirous to obtain. Accordingly i have no obligatory duties to discharge; yet I work actively in the world for its own welfare.

Every time you read the verses 23 24 25 etc. new and newer meanings emerge its based on our maturity and understanding of the said same verse. a constant and vigilant progress is the call of the times.
Verse 25 goes....
The difference between the wise and the ignorant does not consist in renouncing actions or performing them, but in the ethod of discharging them. The ignorant are attached to their actions and their fruit, and there by involve themselves in bondage. The wise act with detachment and are therefore free from bonds of Karma.
The wise contribute to the welfare of the world in two ways 1. by proper performing of their duties they set an example for others to follow. 2. and as they perform satkarma pious deeds with pure minds their prayers are more acceptable to God and ensure his blessings.
A wise man should not unsettle or confuse the minds of the ignorant who are attached to action. on the contrary he should encourage them in the proper discharge of their duties by setting an example to them by his own life and conduct.

jarjari bhuthe.

Shareere Jarjari Bhuthe Vyadhihasthe Kalebhare
Oushadham janan Vi Thoyam Yajva Vaidhya Naarayano Harihi