Forcing to go Slow

Garuda, the vehicle of the Lord, always is imposing and majestic. He lives, till date, in Thirunarayur (popularly known as Nachiyar kovil) near kumbhakonam.

The imposing vahanam of the Lord is about five feet tall and is made of saligrama stone and it is on this the utsava murthy (processional deity) of the lord of this divya desam is taken during festivals.

A short legend before we continue, the Lord appeared before sage Madhava and requested to be married to his daughter, Vanjulavalli (who was Lakshmi). One of the condition laid by the sage was that his daughter should always be given first priority. The Lord agreed and married Vanjulavalli.

Twice a year during festival procession the Lord is to follow taayaar (on Hamsa vahanam) on his Garuda vahanam. The Lord was in a fix as usually when the Lord mounts on Garuda, he goes very fast (as Garuda is known for its speed, as evident in Varadarajar temple in Kanchipuram) and taayaar would be left behind. When Lord shared this with Garuda, he assured that Lord, that he would manage the situation.

When the Lord mounts Kal Garuda in the inner most prakaram, the vahanam is light and is carried by 4 people as he moves outside towards the temple entrance, crossing the five prakarams of the temple the weight of the mount increases geometrically. In the second prakaram it is carried by 8 people and in the next by 16 people and in the fourth by 32 people and in the fifth by 64 people and once on the streets he is carried by 128 people. Once on the main streets you see the taayaar in hamsa vahanam (carried by 16 people) moving gently in front followed by Emperuman in Garuda vahanam (carried by 128 people) trying to keep pace with taayaar. Devotees find perspiration on Kal Garuda’s body during the procession. As he increased his weight, Kal Garudan reduces weight as he reaches the inner prakarams after the procession. This divine sight can be seen twice in a year.

Kal Garudan is seen wearing nine snakes, eight prime serpents that adore him as ornaments are

1. Adhisesha as bracelet
2. Vasuki as his sacred thread
3. Thakshaka as his girdle
4. Karkotaka as his garland
5. Padma as his right ear ring
6. Mahapadma as his left ear ring
7. Sankalpa as his crown jewel
8. Gulika as his bangle in his right arm

Apart from these, there is a ninth snake adoring his sword.

Kal Garuda is a vara prasadhi (granter of boons) and its is said if you pray and perform archana to him on seven consecutive Thursday all doshams would be removed. Countless childless couples, unmarried women and men and people with naaga dosham have been relieved of their worries.

If any of you are interested to perform archana, I could organize for the same. This would give me an opportunity to be of service to the Lord.

Location: This temple is about 10 Kms. from Kumbakonam towards Tiruvarur.