Colossal Kallanai!!!

There are a many great engineering structures that stand as a hallmark of civilisations. And to the Tamilian there are many great architectural wonders that are exemplary and still stand to this day. Those structures represent the efforts of the great kings and emperors who ruled this country and parts of the south east Asian countries. Those structures stood as a hub for commerce and well-being. For e.g. The Periya Kovil (Brahadeeshwara Temple) at Thanjavur represents the pride Tamilians can take, for the excellence of the great masterpiece. There are few ancient structures that provided well being, fertility and welfare to the people of the country. Those structures are pretty massive and stable that they stand in excellent repair for thousands of years.

One such construction is the massive Kallanai (The Grand Anicut). It is a massive dam across the river Cauvery built using unhewn stone and stands 329 metres long and 20 metres wide. It was built before 2000 years by the great Chola king Karikala Peruvalathaan (Karikalan), his other name is Thirumavalavan because of the fertility he brought to his kingdom. The name Karikalan for the great king has two legends. The first one being - When Karikalan was the apparent heir to the throne and crowned as prince. Due to some political confusions after the death of his father, Ilamcetcenni, he was ousted and exiled from the country. And later when the ministers chose him to be the king, the persons who opposed him, put him in prison and set it ablaze. Karikalan bravely jumped out of the fire and defeated his enemies and came back to power. When he came out of the prison fire, his legs were charred and hence the name Kari (Charred/Black) Kalan (Leg).

The other legend is that, Karikalan was a gigantic figure, muscular and powerful, that he could fight and kill an elephant. Kari meaning elephant, Kalan - means Yemen, the mythological character who is said to take lives of beings. So Karikalan means Yemen for an elephant. There are legends that say that he used to eat lavish food that he could eat the thigh of a goat in one course of his meal.

The Kallanai is one of the oldest existing water diversion systems for irrigation. The construction of Kallanai made the Cauvery Delta to be the fertile heartland of South India. Kallanai diverts the Cauvery River into six sub rivers that irrigated about 282 sq kms (69000 acres) and now more than 4000 sq kms with some modern additions like the regulators. Some of the pics of Kallanai and a short video at the end

The great view of the Kallanai

Kallanai - View from the front

Another front view of the Kallanai

View during sunset

View of the Kallanai from the South side

Kallanai from the top

The water that makes Thanjavur fertile

The sunset illuminating the Cauvery as if adorned with Gold

Another sunset view from the Kallanai

River Cauvery in all her glory at sunset

Sage Agastyar who is believed to have brought Cauvery to life

Another view of Sage Agastya

Nandi on top of the Kallanai

Golden waters of Cauvery at sunset

Waters that rushes from Kallanai to irrigate Thanjavur

Water let out from Kallanai

Another view of water rushing out of Kallanai

Sathiyaraj, Myself, Pradeep on the walls of Kallanai

Sathiyaraj, Kannadhasan, Pradeep on the walls of Kallanai

Vennar - Kallanai splits up Cauvery which is called Vennar after this point

View of the Kallanai at South West

Kallanai - with the modern regulators

River Cauvery in all her glory to make the land fertile

The great and the magnanimous king - King Karikalan Peruvalathaan

The great and the magnanimous king - King Karikalan Peruvalathaan

Statue of River Cauvery, the river Goddess that makes Thanjavur fertile

River Cauvery in her full force

The massive volume of water from Kallanai

A small video of the Kallanai

Building such a massive construction and embarking on such a great project requires a great vision and Karikala Perivalathaan had such a vision, that gave the name - "The Granary of South India" for Thanjavur. Let us hail the magnanimous King Karikala Cholan for giving us the Kallanai that stands to this day speaking his name and bestowing fertility for a great piece of land.More to come, until then...

Misinterpreted Quotes

The life of a Tamilian or anyone for that matter would not be complete without using Quotes, Proverbs and Old Sayings when they communicate. Mostly these old sayings are used as a guide to one's moral behaviour and a disciplined life. The origin of most of these old sayings and quotes are quite unknown but they have a real good impact on peoples' lives even to the present day. Those sayings are experiences of our ancestors that have been passed on till today.

The interesting part of some of these old quotes is that some of them have had a very interesting transformation, so that people are oblivious of its original meaning. Also the new meanings given to those quotes are quite relevant too! The most interesting part is that the original meaning is conveyed so elegantly, short and concise. Some of them even have a story or a legend behind them. Some of these quotes have some word transformations too that might make them more relevant and interesting.

Let us see take a look at the first one



"Aarilum Saavu, Noorilum Saavu"

the present day meaning, Death occurs even at the age of six and at the age of hundred

Aaru - Six
Saavu - Death
Nooru - One hundred

This meaning is quite acceptable and is advised to those in dejection in life and console them or bring some confidence in them. So that the affected persons will throw off their worries and get back to normalcy. Because in this world people die at the age of six and at the age of hundred, so there is no point in being dejected or disoriented. Just live the life until you can and put in your best efforts.

But the actual meaning is a way different and has a story behind it too, but there is a subtle similarity between the old and new meanings. The saying was to illustrate the position of Karnan, the greatest and the most generous person of all times. The story is that Karnan came to know that he is the son of Kunti Devi, making him the eldest of the Five Pandavas. So including him there are six Pandavas. The enemies of Pandavas - The Kauravas - were 100 in number. Karnan was in a confusion, whether to fight against the Kauravas, joining as the sixth force among the Pandavas, or to fight against his brothers joining the 100 Kauravas. Finally, the gratitude he owed to Dhuryodhana won and made him think, that even if I fight as the Six Pandavas and 100 Kauravas, the result is going to be his death. So he did not want to betray his friend Dhuryodhana who helped him get the recognition he has now. And he fought with Dhuryodhana and died as a great warrior that even Lord Krishna held him his high regards.

The next one is still interesting



"Shiva Poojayil Karadi Pugundha Maadhiri"

meaning, a bear entering when the Pooja (Worship) is being conducted for Lord Shiva. Which is, obstructive to the holy or the auspicious event happening.

Pooja - Worship
Karadi - Bear
Pugundha - Entering
Maadhiri - like

This quote is used when there is any hindrance during an auspicious or an important event is going on.

But actually the meaning of it has been misinterpreted. Karadi also means a wind instrument that resembles a circular shaped long horn. The Karadi is blown when the worship, especially the Deepa Aradhana is being performed in a Lord Shiva's Pooja. So the sound of the Karadi entering the Shiva's Pooja indicate something important happening inside the Sanctum. But later this quote got misinterpreted, with the Karadi (the bear) for Karadi (The horn).



"Kallai Kandaal Naayai Kanom
Naayai Kandaal Kallai Kanom"

meaning, when you find a stone to pelt, the dog is missing. And when you find a dog, there is no stone to pelt at it.

Kall - Stone
Kandaal - Seeing, finding
Naai - Dog
Kanom - Missing

But actually this quote refers to the statue of Lord Bhairava, a form of Shiva with the Dog has his mount. It is rather told to describe the gestalt in finding the supreme being. When you see the Lord Bhairava statue as a stone, you don't see the divine aspect in it. But if you see the divine aspect you don't see the stone in it.

The final one is



"Adi Udhavukindra Maadhiri
Annan Thambi Udhava Maatargal"

meaning, Brothers, elder and younger, won't be helpful as beating and thrashing someone helps in getting something done.

Adi - Beating, Thrashing, Chappals, Bottom most thing, Feet
Udhavi - Help
Maadhiri - like
Annan - Elder Brother
Thambi - Younger Brother
Maatargal - Negation of accepting to do things

The actual meaning is that of from Ramayana. When Lord Rama when to the forests for 14 years giving up the country and throne to his brother Bharatha. Bharatha came running meet Lord Rama and asked begged him to come back to the country and accept the throne. And Bharatha said that he will not to sit on the throne that his brother Rama deserves. Rama advised Bharatha a lot, but in vain. The people in the country were really sad that they do not have a King to rule the country. Bharatha then requested Rama for his Padhugai and told that he will run the country with the Rama's Padhugai in place of Rama in the throne, until Rama comes back from the forest after 14 years. So it means that as the Adi (Padhugai) helped to rule the country, the elder brother Rama and the younger brother Bharatha did not help the people in being the King and ruling the country.

Though these quotes have transformed in content and meaning over time, the actual message that was conveyed has to pass on too. These quotes have been passed on for generations with the literal or more straight-forwardly applicable meaning taking predominance. The actual meaning, if any, should be probed and preserved for the days to come

More to come, until then...

Historical Thirumurugan Poondi

Its been a long time since there was a post about temples. Recently I had a chance to visit one of the ancient treasures we have. The temple is Muruganathaswamy Temple at Thirumurugan Poondi. The temple dates back to around 2000 years. It is said that the temple was built by a Chera King and was popular those days. This temple is where Lord Muruga worshipped Lord Shiva and hence the name Thirumurugan Poondi. The main deity is Lord Shiva in the name Muruganathaswamy, and Goddess Parvathi in the name Muyangupoon Mulaiyammai. Lord Muruga, is also a prime deity in this temple. The speciality of the Murugan sculpture is that it has six faces carved in a single stone and is so beautifully done. There is also a legend that Sundaramoorthy Nayanar was plundered of the things he had with him. The temple is located at about 5 Kms from Avinashi on the way to Tiruppur. The temple has a lot of inscriptions carved along the walls. One inscription read Rajendra Devar which mean King Rajendra Cholan has also donated many things to maintenance and renovation of this temple.

The mandapam at the entrance of the Temple

The corridor in front of the temple

The Nandi on top of the Kanaga Sabai Mandapam

The Vimanam of the Murugan Temple

Another view of the Vimanam of the Murugan Temple

Another view of the Murugan Temple Vimanam

Gopinath and Sathiyaraj in lateral side of the Vimanam

Gopinath and me in lateral side of the Vimanam

Another angle of the Murugan Temple Vimanam

The Vimanamam of The Lord Shiva (Muruganathaswamy)

Another view of the Vimanam of the main deity

A close-up view of the main Vimanam

Inscriptions on the walls

A close-up view of the sculptures on the walls

A devotee falling at the feet of the Shivalingam

Another view from inside the temple

The temple vimana from the south side, with Lord Dakshinamoorthy

The main temple vimanam from behind

Another view of the temple vimanam

The Vedu Pari

The Vedu Pari

The Vimanam of the Amman temple

The Madappalli, where offerings are prepared

The main vimanam from the North

Three Vimanam in a single shot

The main Vimanam and the Amman Temple Vimanam

The side view of the Amman Temple Vimanam

The Nandhi Well

Entrance to the Nandhi well

The corridor in front of the temple

Another view of the corridor

The Kodi Maram

The Temple Madhil (Outer wall)

The temple Theertham (Well)

View inside the temple Well

Gopinath and Sathiyaraj in front of the temple Madhil

Lush green lawn around the Temple

The view of the temple from outside the Madhil

A well that is the outer Prakaram

Outside view of the well

The temple is a archaeological wonder that stands to this day. The temple is now maintained by the Archaeological Society of India (ASI) and is declared as a National Heritage Monument.

More to come, until then...