Why should one visit Kumbhakonam? What’s so important about this temple town that thousands flock to it each year and lakhs visit during the South Kumbhamela Mahamaham every 12 years (which is coincidentally happening this February 22)? India is a country with a great ancient past that undoubtedly rests on a deep spiritual base. Is it a combination of faith and science that drives devotees to this sacred place in Tamil Nadu that is known for the nine famous temples dedicated to the nine celestial planets in our solar system “ Surya (Sun), Chandra (Moon), Mangal (Mars), Budha (Mercury), Guru / Brihaspati (Jupiter), Shukra (Venus), Shani (Saturn), Rahu (North Lunar Node) and Ketu (South Lunar Node).
Right now the ancient city is gearing up for the upcoming one-of-a-kind mela that attracts lakhs of people to take a holy dip in the sacred Mahamaham tank adjacent to the Shiva-Parvati temple in the heart of the city. This is the only temple where idols of Shiva and Parvati, both face the East.
For those who are familiar with Kumbhmela gatherings, Mahamaham is celebrated once in 12 years, when the planet Guru (Jupiter) enters Simha (Leo). This year the time is 12 noon to 1 pm on February 22. “Last time around, 30 lakh odd people visited our town and there was not a single sqft space left unoccupied in and around the Mahamaham tank. All the hotels surrounding it were full with VVIP viewers,” vouches Shiva, our pious taxi driver who has been taking tourists to Navgrah temples for over a decade and is well-versed with the roads.
According to the faithful, Mahamaham tank houses 20 teerthams “ Indra, Agni, Yama, Nruthi, Varuna, Vayu, Kuber, Ishaan, Brahma, Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Narmada, Saraswati, Kaveri, Kumari, Payodhini, Sharayu, Arubatharu and Deva / Naag “ meaning a soul soaking dip in this tank is equal to visiting all these teerthams and obtaining blessings from all. Also there are 16 Shivlingams in the 16 mandapams around the Mahamaham tank “ namely Brahmateerthaeshwarar, Mugunthaeshwarar, Thaneshwarar, Yedabeshwarar, Bhaneshawarar, Koneshwarar, Guneshwarar, Bhairaveshwarar, Agatheeshwarar, Vyaseshwarar, Umabageshwarar, Nairutheeshwarar, Brahmeshwarar, Gangeshwarar, Muktheshwarar and Sathirabaleshwarar.
While explaining the meaning of Kumbhakonam, a priest at the Shiva-Parvati temple mentions that Kumbha means clay pot and Konam means shape. “The Swayambho (self-erected) shivling at this temple resembles the shape of a pot and this gave our town its name,” he stated pointing out to the Shivling in the sanctum which actually looked like an earthen pot placed facing downwards.
“The Navagrah or the nine planets have great importance and are considered to play a major role in deciding the destiny of man. Of the nine deities, seven are named after the planets in the solar system and correspond with the names of the seven days in the week in Hindu calendar. It is believed that these nine planetary deities influence human lives and are responsible for all good or bad times, one faces in life,” states the priest as he blesses us for our tour to these nine temples from Kumbhakonam which is preferred as the centrally located place to stay by most pilgrims.
The tour to nine temples takes two full days from 8 am to 8 pm. The furthest is the Shani temple, which is 55 km from Kumbhakonam by road and in the neighbouring state of Pondicherry. It is wise to begin with this temple first , having learnt from past experience when we visited it on a Saturday, spent hours in the serpentine queues and finally got pushed away even before having a glance at the Shani idol. Usually it is on Saturdays that devotees come in thousands making it difficult to have proper ‘darshan’. This time we didn’t take a chance and so could actually study the Shani idol carefully. The idols at all nine temples are of black stone and each of the temples has Shiva in its main mandapam.
There are strict timings to be followed as the temples open early in the mornings, close in the afternoons till 4 pm and then close for the day after 7.30 or 8 pm. Each temple has its own time of opening and closing which Shiva knew, and so could avoid. The charges for an air-conditioned car are either kilometre wise with maximum 200 km travel per day for a fixed sum of Rs 2600. Extra kms are charged separately. It was 181 km on the first day and 170 km the next. All nine temples could be covered in two days and so we used the third day for a leisure trip to Tanjaur, an ancient city, famed for its palaces, museums and temples. The main attraction of Tanjaur was its spacious temple complex that housed multiple temples, with inscriptions on its walls and a mammoth Nandi idol “ an adorable marvel sculpted in black stone.
Having had these inputs, it was easier to relate with the rituals performed by the devotees around us. Indeed, the nine planetary gods have a great significance in Vedic astrology. The Nadi granthas speak of the Navgrah temples and Nadi astrology or the palm leaf astrology speak of remedies to get rid of the past karmas by visiting these nine shrines and performing rituals.
As our train’s starting point was Karwar, we had to travel by road to Karwar station to board this train that leaves at sharp 2.40 pm. Taking a road route saves time than taking a morning local train from Margao to Karwar as it leaves a gap of 4-5 hours, which is sheer waste of time. Karwar to Bangaluru was around 15 hours journey by this train and as our next train that was to take us to Kumbhakonam was in the evening, we halted at the spacious air-conditioned room provided by railways right inside Bangaluru station. We had luckily stumbled upon this information while surfing for a nearby accommodation, and it saved us time and trouble, of pulling our luggage to some outside hotel. Famous for its malls, Bangaluru tempts one to go on a shopping spree and we were not exception to it. An auto from Anandrao Circle to one of the most popular malls, Mantri Mall, charged us just Rs 40, though the hole that this visit burned in our pocket was much bigger. LoL.
The return trip was quicker, less tiresome and time-saving as we boarded a train from Kumbhakonam to Bangaluru and then took a flight back home to Goa. Suhas, the cab driver working with the TN tourism department at the Bangaluru railway station proved to be a chatterbox, entertaining us with his philosophical sermons. Pointing to the rich vegetation on the way to airport, he lamented that these may be the last lush green patches the silicon city boasts, and a constant worry haunts his mind that the day is not far when land sharks will grab hold of this oasis, leaving golden paddy fields only in photo frames.
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Box 1
Navagrah temples in Tamilnadu are the 9 temples dedicated to Navagrahas “ the nine celestial planets of Vedic astronomy
These nine Navagrah temples are located near Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu
Each of these Navagrah shrines is situated in a different village, and is dedicated to one of the 9 Navagrahas
An interesting aspect is that all temples enshrine Lord Shiva as the primary deity
Among these 9 temples, Suryanar Koil, dedicated to Lord Surya, Sun God and is the only temple where Sun is worshipped as the principal deity but houses all the remaining 8 Grahas
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Box 2
Suriyanar Koil (Sun/Surya)
Thingaloor Kailasanathar (Moon/Chandra)
Vaitheeswaran Kovil (Mars/Mangal)
Thiruvenkadu Swetharanyeshwarar (Mercury/Budh)
Alangudi Abathsahayeswarar (Jupiter/Guru)
Kanjanoor Agneeshwarar (Venus/Shukra)
Thirunallar Darbaranyeswarar (Saturn/Shani)
Thirunageswaram Naganathswamy (Neptune/Rahu)
Keezhperumpallam (Pluto/Ketu)
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