My Trip to Tiruvaiyyaru

[RaviSri]

sAri veDalina I kAvEri nI jUDarE

Below are 2 photos of the bathing ghat at the Cauvery behind Thyagaraja's Samadhi at Tiruvaiyyaru.






Below is a view of Bangalore Nagaratnam's Samadhi just opposite to that of Thyagaraja's and the river in the background.


Finally a view of the Akhanda Cauvery at Kulittalai near Trichy where Dikshitar wrote his pAhimAm ratnAchala nAyaka (mukhAri) and nIlakaNTam bhajEham (kEdAragauLa).


I stayed for about 12 days at Tanjore and Tiruvaiyyaru. It was during my last 4 days of stay that the Cauvery made its appearance at Tiruvaiyyaru owing to heavy rains in Karnataka and Kerala. In a couple of days the waters gushed in torrents and submerged 10 steps of the Samadhi bathing ghat. Another couple of days of heavy rain in Karnataka/Kerala and the water would have entered the Samadhi itself. It was refreshing and elevating to bathe in the river. Water will flow in the Cauvery upto December. All the five rivers, the PanchanadIs, after which the Lord of Tiruvaiyyaru is named as PanchanadIshwara or AyyArappan, are full and it is quite a sight to see the flowing rivers and the greenery.

One could, after bathing, sing to one's heart's content at the Samadhi. On 22nd July a group from Pozhichalur, Madras came and performed abhishekam to Thyagaraja. They were about 50 and some of them sang too. On the 27th, a group of 35 people came from Hyderabad and performed abhishekam and sang a lot of songs including the pancharatnams. There was a lady who played on the gottuvadyam. Not many ladies play that instrument I suppose.

[PUNARVASU]

Looks like it is better to visit Tiruvaiyaru ,during the 'off' season rather than during the ArAdhanai. One can have Darshan to one's heart's content and pay homage to the saint. Nice pictures, Ravi Sri.

[Rsachi]

How Cauvery looked when I went in April:(

[Nick H]

Lovely. I had imagined something more urban.

[RaviSri]

Looks like it is better to visit Tiruvaiyaru ,during the 'off' season rather than during the ArAdhanai. One can have Darshan to one's heart's content and pay homage to the saint.

Of course. One is left alone to sing, meditate and experience the bliss that emanates from his Samadhi. During Aradhana, the place is not worth visiting.

How Cauvery looked when I went in April:(

From February to June, generally the Cauvery is like you have photographed, what with several dams in between.

During the bard's time, there must have been at least some water during summer. The time to visit is between July and November.

Nick, come outside the Samadhi into the road and there is some urban cacophany, but not like the big cities. The 12km drive from Thanjavur and Tiruvaiyyaru is enjoyable after waters come to the rivers. One after the other you pass the five rivers. How the whole region must have been during the times of the Trinity!

The lovely and safe bathing ghat was built by Govinda Dikshitar who was a kind of prime minister to the Naick rulers. He was the father of Venkatamakhi and he has built a large number of such ghats in the Thanjavur region. Modern day bathing ghats don't survive for more than 5 or 10 years due to the corruption and poor construction practices. Govinda Dikshitar's ghats have survived for more than 400 years now, which means these steps were there during Thyagaraja's time too.

[Rsachi]

Chand Baori step-well near Jaipur, 9th century CE

[arasi]

Ravisri,
A treat indeed! Thanks for 'taking' me there
We need an ideal guide like you, to make one's pilgrimage a dream come true...

[satyabalu]

"
The lovely and safe bathing ghat was built by Govinda Dikshitar who was a kind of prime minister to the Naick rulers. He was the father of Venkatamakhi and he has built a large number of such ghats in the Thanjavur region. Modern day bathing ghats don't survive for more than 5 or 10 years due to the corruption and poor construction practices. Govinda Dikshitar's ghats have survived for more than 400 years now, which means these steps were there during Thyagaraja's time too." Thanks to Ravisri for the information.
* I am told that the kriti "Geetharthamu-Surati "was composed in praise of The Deity close to Thiruvaiyaru"....?
* I would prefer also to sing in bard's place in Thirumanjana veedhi -Felt great vibration.
* Nice to see water in Kaveri off aradhana time.But the approach road was unclean& badly maintained(when I visited last) save Aradhana time.* Good opportunity to sing during Bhojan of Brahmins conducting the ceremony....
* Enjoyed cycling (Hire) to reach a photoshop to fix on ID card.

[RaviSri]

We need an ideal guide like you, to make one's pilgrimage a dream come true...

Please come, preferably before your forays into the concert circuit in December. Those who can join me, I'll be going next in September probably 20th or so and stay for a week. Then in December. I'll inform in advance.

I am told that the kriti "Geetharthamu-Surati "was composed in praise of The Deity close to Thiruvaiyaru"....?

There is no reference in the kriti to any shrine It is in praise of Anjaneya.

I would prefer also to sing in bard's place in Thirumanjana veedhi -Felt great vibration.

Good, but now the original house has been demolished by the insensitive politicians and musicians who manage the affairs and in its stead a so called mantapam has been built. The original ethos is missing. P.S.Narayanaswami, who used to lead the unchavritti procession during the Sivaratri akhaNDam from the house, refused to go to that street this year. And rightly so. Many of us feel that a most valuable part of our heritage has been thoughtlessly destroyed.

Nice to see water in Kaveri off aradhana time.But the approach road was unclean& badly maintained(when I visited last) save Aradhana time.

The approach road houses a number of lower middle class families. You can approach the Samadhi from the main gate which is a little further away from the approach you have mentioned. There will be very little water during Aradhana time. Water will be full in July, August, September, October and November and in December upto the 20th.

[maduraimini]

Thanks for the pictures of the Cauvery river in Tiruvaiyyaru. You can see from these pictures how the river makes the area lush . The one picture of Rsachi where there is no water in the Cauvery was very surprising to me. I thought the river was always full- may be less water in summer, but always had water- unlike the Vaigai in Madurai which has water only when it rains. I learned something new.

[kvchellappa]

That is the issue between TN and Karnataka, isn't it?

[venkatakailasam]

While at Tirvaiyyaru and enjoying its beauty,

We can enjoy this 1985 Thyagaraja Aradhanai also..
with familiar faces of SSI, Maharajapuram Santhanam, Madurai Somu, Dr. Ramanathan. Smt. MS Subulakshmi,Smt. Brinda (?) Salem G Desigan,Salem D Chellam Iyengar,

Kunnakudi, and many more ' endaro mahanubhavulu '

Here..

http://mfi.re/watch/egln5583yxgzfia/Thi ... 1985...mp4

If you download and watch,buffering problem may not be there..

[RaviSri]

In this clip which venkatakailasam has uploaded, you can find, apart from the people he has mentioned, S.Balachander, Anandi Ramachandran (daughter of Kalki), her daughter Gowri Ramnarayan who strums the tambura behind MS. Seated next to MS on her right is T.Brinda. Her daughter Vegavuhini can also be seen. Seated behind Semmangudi with a red shawl on his shoulder is Martuvakkudi Rajagopala Iyer, scion of the Umayalpuram disciples of Thyagaraja.

My third photo showing Nagaratnam's Samadhi and in the foreground the open sand space is the place where the pandal is put up and the musicians sit and sing the Pancharatnas. Now two platforms have been permanently constructed just in front of Nagaratnam's Samadhi. That is where musicians who give their short recitals sit. This practice of two platforms was first started by Balamurali when he was President of the Thyaga Brahma Mahotsava Sabha in order to avoid delay in starting a recital after the end of the previous one. Now the platforms have been made permanent structures in cement.