Monday, June 18, 2018

Thirumylai Sri Adhi Kesavar Vana bhojanam purappadu 2018


Today (17th June 2018) is Pusam / Ayilyam and even at the divyadesam, where you have purappadus all throughout the year there is nothing special at Sri Parthasarathi swami thirukovil .. .. .. yet, Allikkeni is active.  Kaliyan singing about the divyadesam calls it ‘maada maa Mayilai Thiruvallikkeni’ [singing Mylapore and Triplicane together as the place with palatial buildings !] ~ I had posted about Thirumylai Sri Adhi Kesava Perumal visit to Vanamamalai Mutt @ Thiruvallikkeni for vana bhojanam and subsequent thirumanjanam. 



Mylapore is more associated with Kapaleeswarar temple that has a great history – and one that was relocated from its earlier position nearer the sea to its present place.  

Gleaning the annals of British history, one gets to read about ‘Battle of Madras’ that took place in Sept 1746  - during the War of the Austrian Succession when a French force attacked and captured the city of Madras from its British garrison. French forces occupied Madras until the end of hostilities when it was exchanged for the British conquest of Louisbourg in North America as part of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. One of the British defenders, Robert Clive made his name by escaping from the French captors and carrying news of the city's fall to his superiors at Fort St David.

French ships opened fire on the town - but with little effect, struggling to find the correct range and by nightfall a large portion of the garrison had been lulled into a false sense of security  The following morning the French resumed their bombardment from both land and shore, this time with much more accuracy. The fortifications of Madras had been poorly constructed and were largely unable to resist such an attack. As the number of British casualties grew, the morale of the discipline of the troops collapsed. After a direct strike on the liquor stores, a number of soldiers abandoned their posts and drank themselves into a stupor. Civilians from the town took their places manning the defences - but it was clear resistance was collapsing

The British forces surrendered to  Joseph Francois Dupleix troops and ships of La Bourdonnais. Years later, Madras was returned to England in 1748 to restore peace.   The Governor of Madras, Nicholas Morse sued for peace. The terms offered to him by La Bourdonnais were surprisingly generous - the French were to take over the fort and warehouses, but the rest of the town would remain under British control.  Robert Clive on whom there is much in the history escaped,  dressed up as natives and managed to slip out of the prison.






Sri Adhi Kesava Perumal Devasthanam better known as ‘ Mylai Kesava Perumal Kovil’ is near Mylai Kapaleeswarar Temple and the Chithirai kulam belongs to this Temple.  This is Chandra pushkarini (sarva theertham) popularly known as Chithirai kulam.  The presiding deity here is Sri Adhi Kesava Perumal and thayar is Mayuravalli – the place itself was historically known as ‘Mayurapuri’. The temple is quite ancient and dates back to centuries. Here are some photos of  Sri Adhi Kesavar and the evening purappadu at Thiruvallikkeni, which was briefly disrupted by rains. There was upanyasam by Sri U.Ve Kidambi Narayanan swami at the mutt.




adiyen Srinivasa dhasan.












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