Gala of the Udappu guarding deities

by Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai

"Whatever I am offered in devotion with a pure heart-a leaf, a flower, fruit or water- I accept with joy" ~Bhagavath Gita

As the Sun began to spread its rays towards Udappu, people of this small hamlet began to bustle, devotees thronged the temple. The roosters were still crowing while mild breeze blows, trees dance for the mild breeze. It was 4th of August 2009-Tuesday, a day before the fire walking. Certain rituals take place on this day.

A special pooja is performed at the Rukmani Sathyapama Sametha Sri Paarthasaarathy Thiraupathathevi Devasthanam to invoke blessings from the Lord Veerapaththirar to have the fire walking ceremony without any interruptions. The special pooja is called “Veerapaththirara Pooja”, which takes at the crack of dawn, before the Sun rises. At the same time, men begin to make the four guard deities around the fire pit.

Watery sand is used to make the guard deities. The East end is guarded is Lord Veerapaththirar, the West end is guarded by Lord Iyanaar, the North end is guarded by Goddess Kaali, and South end is guarded by Lord Vairavar. Four devoted were selected by a lot to be the guarding deities of the fire pit.

Once the special pooja is over, beautifully decorated Lord Veerapaththirar is taken on a procession y the male devotees and the idol is placed in front of the Kodi Thambam of the temple till the end of the festival. Then the devotees rush an gather at the Sri Maha Muththumaariyamman temple in Aandimunai which is afew kilometers away from Rukmani Sathyapama Sametha Sri Paarthasaarathy Thiraupathathevi Devasthanam to witness another event. The event is named as “Akkini Kunda Kaaval” (guarding the fire pit).

The selected four men are taken on a procession from Rukmani Sathyapama Sametha Sri Paarthasaarathy Thiraupathathevi Devasthanam to Sri Maha Muththumaariyamman temple in Aandimunai. They are given a well water bath, and the water is not supposed to be wiped. These four men get into trance as the first bucket of water is poured on their bodies. The devotees continuously chant the holy words such as “Arohara”, “Amma” “Thaye”, “Govintha” and “Naarayana”.

They are purified with Sandalwood, Holy Ash and Vermilion by the fellow men from the village. Fresh flower garlands decorate their necks, wrists and angles. They are brought to the Sri Maha Muththumaariyamman temple in Aandimunai, where each of them is given with a decorated wooden stick. The wooden sticks are known as “Kambu”. The fellow men encourage these four guarding deities to dance to the tune of the drums.

“Aadu”, “Aadu” – dance, dance the words kept flowing from the fellow men, and the four guarding deities keep dancing along the way from Sri Maha Muththumaariyamman temple in Aandimunai to Rukmani Sathyapama Sametha Sri Paarthasaarathy Thiraupathathevi Devasthanam. They visit the small road side shrines on the way while dancing and bearing the scorching Sun.

Once they reach the compound and take their respective places as their guarding points in front of the Rukmani Sathyapama Sametha Sri Paarthasaarathy Thiraupathathevi Devasthanam, the Chief priest of the Sri Veerapaththirakaali Amman temple Muththiah Paranthaaman whips the four guarding deities, and they faint, and carried by the fellow men to the backyard of the temple.

“I am an ardent devotee of the Goddess. I began to worship her when I was five year old child, and I have surrendered myself to her. She has helped me to overcome many difficulties in my life including a life threatening trouble. I will be humbly serving her for the rest of my life” said Kathirkaama Muthiah Rajendran who got into a full trance.

The four devoted men who depicted as the guarding deities are:

Lord Veerapaththirar- Chandran Ingaramoorthy
Lord Iyanaar-Maariyappa Vishnukumaran
Goddess Kaali-Kathirkaama Muthiah Rajendran
Lord Vairavar- Navaneethamoorthy Muththuvairan