Sundapalayam is a lush green village on the outskirts of Coimbatore. Folklore states that the village is called so because of the abundance of the ' Sunadakkai ' plants that used to exist those days. Incidentally sundakkai is eaten on Dwadashi while breaking the fast that is normally undertaken by the Vaishnavaite faithful during Ekadashi.
Sundapalayam is a lush green village on the outskirts of Coimbatore. Folklore states that the village is called so because of the abundance of the ' Sunadakkai ' plants that used to exist those days. Incidentally sundakkai is eaten on Dwadashi while breaking the fast that is normally undertaken by the Vaishnavaite faithful during Ekadashi.
The ancient Srinivasa Varadaraja Temple at Sundapalayam has been the beacon light of Srivaishnavism for over two centuries in this quaint place which is located near Vedapatti. Long ago, Periya Thirumalai ( Sri Saila Purna in Sanskrit ) lived in Tirumala and served the Lord of the seven hills - Srinivasa.
The word Nambi in Tamil is equivalent to the Sanskrit word Purna meaning one who is full of good qualities. Periya Thirumalai Nambi also happens to be a descendant of the great Acharyas Nathamuni ( first Acharya ) and his grandson Alavandar ( Yamunacharya ) who were born in Kattumannar Kovil. The Veeranarayana Perumal continues to stand tall at this historic place located near the Veeranam tank . Periya Thirumalai Nambi was known as Srisaila Purna because he lived in Tirumalai.
Later , Saint Ramanujacharya was born to Kantimati ( sister of Srisaila Purna ) and Kesavasomaiyaji. The core of Sri Vaisnavism is self surrender or Saranagati. Periya Thirumalai Nambi transmitted his study of Ramayana to Ramanuja and these efforts culminated in the spontaneous outpourings of the great saint in his work Saranagati Gadya.
The family of Periya Thirumalai Nambi is known as the Thathacharya family because the Lord Srinivasa himself had addressed him as ' thatha , give me some water '. They belong to the Shatamarshana Gothram. The descendants of the Thathacharya family branched off to a number of places and occupied pre eminent positions over the centuries. Some of them moved to Kanchipuram and later migrated to the other parts of the country like Sundapalayam on the outskirts of Coimbatore.
One Lakshmi Narasimha Iyengar, belonging to this ancient lineage was a big landlord in Sundapalayam ( Gopalapuram ) and he discovered a huge treasure while he was digging a foundation for his house. " Being a true Vaishnava , my ancestor decided to build a temple for he felt that the treasure did not belong to him.
A temple was built and it was called the Srinivasa Varadaraja Temple for the this branch of the family had its origins in Tirumala and Kanchipuram. Lord Srinivasa happens to be the tutelary deity at Tirumala while Varadaraja is from Kanchipuram. In fact he spent a part of his own money for making ornaments for the temple besides making over some of his personal lands for the upkeep of the new institution.
This was the value system of Indians, " stated S. Vasudevan who hails from the lineage of Periya Thirumalai Nambi who was born over thousand years ago. Krishna Iyengar was the son of Lakshmi Narasimha Iyengar. The temple was managed by Venkatarama Iyengar ( brother of Lakshmi Narasimha Iyengar ) and his descendants.
Mahamahopadhyaya Sundapalayam Ramabhadrachariar ( 1840 - 1904 ) and Mahamahopadhyaya Seshadri Iyengar ( 1849 - 1920 ) were the grandsons of the Founder of the Srinivasa Varadaraja Temple. Ramabhadrachariar( was more of a poet) and the brothers were direct disciples of Periyandavan. He wrote the Chitrakavyam and the book Aahnikam ( this book talks about the activities that will have be done everyday according to Dharma while also giving guidance for special occasions).
According to Prof Shobha Ramaswamy ( Kongunadu Arts & Science College ), happens to be a descendant of Ramabhadrachariar. “ The Maharaja of Mysore honoured Ramabhadrachariar with a golden pot and it was used by him everyday. He was also the owner of a printing press at a time when scholars were getting stuff transferred from palm leaves to paper.”
Seshadri Iyengar specialized in Divya Prabandham and both the brothers were conversant with Sanskrit, Tamil and Manipravalam. Srinivasan, the son of Seshadri Iyengar was a school teacher and his son Santhanam born in the year 1911 was an M.A from Loyola College and he was accorded the F.R.E.S ( Fellow of the Royal Economic Society ). His seminal book was published by Macmillan and was a textbook for post graduates. Santhanam passed away early and he had learnt Vedanta and Divya Prabandham at an early age from his grandfather Seshadri Iyengar.
Vasudevan, the son of Santhanam and Vijayalakshmi participates in the management and events connected with the temple along with his relative M.K.Mohan. Geetha Mohan who belongs to the family of the founders has put in a lot of efforts to revive the traditions in the Temple. The older generation had taken the efforts to get the ' Satari ' from the Aravamudham Temple at Kumbakonam ( a Divya Desam ). This Satari is over 1000 years old and had been presented to the Lord by the great Thirumangai Alwar. The management of the Sundapalayam Srinivasa Varadaraja Temple donated a gold Satari , a silver Satari and a lot of contributions in exchange for this ancient Satari. The ancient Satari is now at Sundapalayam ! V.Ravichandran of the P.S.G Family has participated in the Thiruppani and now devotees like S.R.Ravichandran along with other Bhagavathas are doing their bit with utmost devotion.
The Purattasi Brahmotsavam, Aippasi Pavithrothsavam, Karthikai Thaila Utsavam, Marghazhi Rapathu & Pagalpathu, Vaikunta Ekadasi and Panguni Utsavam when the Lord goes to the Komalavalli Thayar Sannidhi as in Srirangam are being celebrated at Sundapalayam stated the priest Rangarajan.
The Temple has shrines for Garudalwar, Alwars & Acharyas, Thayar, Vishwaksenar and Sudarshanalwar. A number of icons belonging to the Sri Vaishnavaite Sampradharya are ever resident in this lovely temple - Sri Devi Bhudevi Sametha Aravamudhan, Santhanagopalan, Kodhai Nachiyar, Nammalwar, Thirumangai Alwar, Nathamuni, Alavandar, Ramanujar, Swami Vedanta Desikan, Vishwaksenar, Garudalwar and Sayanaberar Selvar. S. Vasudevan who teaches subjects connected to the Sri Vaishnava Sampradhayam on an honourary basis, his wife Jayanthi, their son Akshay Santhakrishnan stay at Bengaluru. The family had handed over the manuscripts in their possession to Thirukudandhai Andavan and Srimushnam Andavan has made a number of visits to the temple.
The annual Theerthavari is quite special in this temple for the icons visit the Nandavana Thottam and it takes place in the Chithiraichavadi canal which borders this farm belonging to Chinnamani Naidu ( Lakshmanan. K ) of the Annapoorna Family. S.Vasudevan gave an overview of the Theerthavari utsavam, " After completion of the yagna an Avabruta Snanam has to be done.
A dip in the pure waters of a pond or a lake or river is necessary. First of all, a Punyavajanam or purification is done with the chanting of the mantras. The Theerthavari is the Avabrutha Snanam which is done after the completion of the Brahamothsavam year on year. The punya or merit goes to the ' Kattalaikarar ', the people who perform and the ones who watch the utsavam.
A dip or a prokshanam of the waters in which the icons have had a bath will bestow merit on the devotees. We are also fortunate to celebrate the completion of 750 years of the birth of the great Swami Vedanta Desikan ( 1268 - 1369 ) on the day of the Theerthavari. Its a divine coincidence and we feel blessed ". The Theerthavari was done with the priests who included Sridharacharya who had served the Vaikuntanath Temple at Pushkar.
A number of devotees including Periyathiruvadi of Alwar Thirunagari and Barathan Srinivasan who has visited all the 106 Divya Desams participated in the utsavam. The lovely farm which has a nice traditional structure and theppakulam ( a holy tank to be used just in case water is not found in the canal ) has been the venue to more than 200 years. The Theerthavari was very special this year because it took place after a long time in the Chithiraichavadi canal.
Sundapalayam has had the good fortune of being the home to the lineage of a number of Sri Vaishnavaite scholars. The ancient Satari from Kumbakonam had travelled to Coimbatore amidst great pomp and splendor.
A number of scholars, Rathagajathuragapadatis ( Men, horses and elephants ) had accompanied it those days and a huge feast was served to about 100000 people as part of the festivities at Sundapalayam. Perhaps it was one of the biggest Annadanams in this part of the country. Coimbatore, the Rome of Kongunad had always been known for its goodness and the huge Annadanam that had taken place at Sundapalayam was to become a precursor for many noble acts that added merit to the city and its people.