27 jan 2008, kumbhakonam
we reached kumbhakonam well past one’o clock in the morning. the accommodation was arranged in the guest house of a devotee. that was 21 km away from the town. we drove through the village. it was so remote even mobile connection was not possible. (now in india every village has mobile connectivity. do you know that india is the leading country in mobile connectivity?)
in front of the guest house, there was a temple of lord siva and parvati, and a big temple pond. this very old temple is currently under renovation. the name of the pratishthas are sarvva guneswara (lord siva) and sarvanga sundari (goddess parvati). what a beautiful name! sarva guneswaran means one who is with all the gunas., all the good qualities. it can be interpreted as one who has all the virtues or one who is the lord of satwa-raja-tamo gunass.
parvati devi is sarvanga sundari – meaning beauty embodied in every part of the limb, subtle and gross body, or every aspect of the personality. the black beautiful idol is about 6 feet tall. she is really beautiful.
amma was invited to this temple by the authorities. amma paid a visit to the temple and blessed it before departing to the first ever main program in kumbhakonam.
kumbhakonam is a city of temples. at least more than 50 important, famous really big temples are there in the city. chidambaram, tanjavore are just two of them.
it is believed that the nectar pot (kumbha) was spilled here through the corner (kon) from the hands of lord brahmaji. hence the name kumbha kona. (read more about sthalapurana of kumbhakona.) to this city the mother of immortal bliss – mata amritanandamayi devi has come.
the programme which started at 6.30 pm, was really huge. the open air school grounds were overflowing with people. many locals were of the opinion that this is the first ever biggest spiritual programme held in the city other than kumbhamela.
amma finished darshan at 10’O clock on the next day morning . from the stage she left directly to tirunelveli which is about 365 k.m