On the day of Poosa Nakshatram, the Kannika temple has a 530pm Kuberan Yantra Abhishekam we’ve long wanted to see. Finally, we made it to this one. Just a single, young ubhayakara there–he or his family owns a jewellery shop, he is both event sponsor and priest’s aid, and he disappears as soon as the puja is done as his shop calls.
Poosam nakshatram represents nourishment and flourishing; Kubera represents the guardianship and administration of wealth–I suppose this is why this particular puja is done on this particular day. Thursdays is an evening archanai for this same Kuberan Yantra and its smaller counterpart, sitting on the shelf in the small shrine to the right of Ambal, in which the Yantras are installed. The abhishekam is for Mahalakshmi also, because She grants wealth on Kubera’s command, explains the Iyer. He protects it, but She is the one by whose hand and will it reaches us.
The Kubera Yantras both were apparently found on the building site of the temple, sometime before 1921. Kanchi Periyavar is said to have identified them. For a merchant community, this is a significant and meaningful find, so the temple honours the yantra in this way. But for all the other pujas attended by many groups of women and their families, nobody else is around for this one. Puts us in mind of what Thirukumaran once said: no audience is really required, but if the priest does what he is meant to, the whole world will be well.
Alankaram is a simple affair, as is the puja. After it is done, the priest asks us if we’re free this evening at 730. Yes of course (we never answer otherwise when called upon in this way), and he instructs us to go to the Thandu Mutthumariamman Koyil that is on Chinna Subburaya Chetty Street. “We’re not the only ones who do a long Navaratri celebration,” he says, “they have an even longer one.” The same deity had come to the Adi Amavasya Theerthavari, and we have photographs from that event with the old priest taking the astra devi to the ocean with an aide to protect him from the rough waters, but we’ve had no other interaction with that temple. There’s an unjal utsavam happening there, says the Iyer, and the same priest (Ashok, also from the Sivan Koyil) who did all the Navaratri alankara for the Kannika temple, will be there, too. Go see, he says, it’ll be super. We do.
Indeed, it’s a grand event for “just” a theruvu koyil, but this is no ordinary shrine. We’ve heard of its powers from others we’ve met; a lot of people locally know of this Amman and the force She keeps. For all that, though, it’s light music being sung outside, karaoke set up and all. Amman is on the unjal. An older woman, another slightly younger one, and the priest himself appear to go into a faint and need the support of others around who treat this as a but-natural consequence–for the first time, I wonder if this is also their method of surrender. There is a garlanded photograph of a man that looks old, and he’s holding the dandam–which is displayed right next to it. The space is tight there, so we have only phone photos.
There are two beautiful Murugan sannadhis just beyond the Amman garbhagriha, where very large pots with food are resting. Clearly there is to be an annadanam after.
We meet the Iyer early the next morning when we’re out at the Sivan Koyil taking video of the Thirupalliyezhucchi and the temple openings. He asks us for an update! And of course we’re happy to provide one.
And oh, the Vedapuriswara temple had a Guru puja today, for Satthiya Nayanar.