Sri Kalahasti-Part 3

After seeing the Padala Pillaiyar, we to see the main deity. RK was not at all interested in buying special tickets. He felt that it shouldn't be the way to see the God. Same with Nishant. However, I was different here. Don't know why. I stressed that special tickets should be bought and the queue should be bypassed! We had a good darshan of the deity.

Pic taken while climbing the hill.

I was excited to climb the hill. We were cracking jokes and climbing it. It was not like Tirupati or Sholinghur. Climbing was easy. The weather was hot. We were without chappals. Unbearable heat! We climbed up and had a view at the city.

Swarnamukhi river has no water. Pic taken from top of the hill.

Some Saivite traditions believe that Kannappa was the reincarnation of the Arjuna. Arjuna worshipped Siva for seeking the Pasupatha Astra (a divine weapon) and failed to recognize Shiva when He appeared before Arjuna in the form of a hunter. Thus, due to this reason, Arjuna had to be born as Thinnan/ Kannappa, the hunter and adore the Lord before attaining final liberation. This belief is not adopted by all Hindus though.

View of Kalahasti town from the top. Pic taken from my camera mobile.


About Kalahasti:

Kannappa Nayanar was born in a tribal family in and around the temple town of Kalahasti. He was a hunter and a staunch devotee of the Vayu linga of SriKalahasti which he found in the forest while hunting. Being an illiterate he did not know how to properly worship Lord Shiva. It is said that he poured water from his mouth on the Shiva lingam which he brought from the nearby river Swarnamukhi. He also offered the Lord whatever animal he hunted. But the Lord accepted his offerings since he was pure at heart and his devotion was true. Amazing! There lived such a great man. Proud to be a part of India. In one way, his way of approach can be used professionally. One need not approach a psychiatrist for anything. All are present in Indian culture itself. Every story illustrates a moral.






Another shot of the town.

One day, Lord Shiva tested the unshakable devotion of Kannapar. With his divine power, He created a tremor and the roof-tops of the temple began to fall. All the sages ran away from the scene except for Thinnan who covered the linga with his body to prevent it from any damage. Hence he was named thereafter as Dheeran.

In another incident (thiru vilayadal of Lord Shiva), one day Kannapar noticed that one of the eyes of the Shiva linga was oozing blood and tears. Sensing that the Lord's eye had been injured, Kannapar proceeded to pluck his one eye out with one of his arrows and placed it in the spot of the bleeding eye of the Shiva linga. This stopped the bleeding in that eye of the linga.

The Almighty testing Kannapar.

But to complicate matters further, he noticed that the other eye of the linga has also started oozing blood. So Thinnan thought that if he were to pluck his other eye too, he would become blind to exactly know the spot where he has to place his own second eye over the bleeding second eye of the lingam. So he placed his great toe on the linga to mark the spot of the bleeding second eye and proceeded to pluck out his other and only eye.

Moved by his extreme devotion, Shiva appeared before Thinnan and restored both his eyes.

"Nillu Kannappa" ("Stop Kannappan!")

He made Thinnan as one of the Nayanmars and henceforth he would be called as Kannappan or Kannappa Nayanar.

Pic taken inside Kalahasti station.


We weren't sure where to have lunch. There was a Thanjavur Iyer mess there. But no one seems to be interested in that. A nearby shop keeper suggested a Saravan bhavan. We went there and ordered two plate meals(limited) and one unlimited for RK. Generally, I don't take rice much. But love tiffin-chat type items. Andhra meals was excellent. Fantastic! I couldn't resist taking more. However, even one plate of rice was too much. I ate only half of it. Maybe it's because I had too much of water?









My face lost it's complexion due to dust. Ram Karthik made an amusing comment. Read that in the trip report.




Kalahasti was situated on the banks of river Swarnamukhi which is a tributary to river Pennar. There were three lofthy gopurams which resembled one of the finest Indian architecture. The temple town of Tirupati is only 35km away. RK later told me that Sri Kala Hasti is actually derived from the name of the animals which prayed at this location. Sri(Spider), Kala(Snake), Hasti(elephant). The sleek and stylish infrastructure of Tirupati is spread till Srikalahasti and they are more oftenly regarded as Twin Cities. Pilgrims visitng Tirupati also visit Kalahasti temple , rendering it many footsteps each day , making it the second famous temple in the state. The town depends on agriculture and tourism. Most people were able to understand Tamil and English.






Ram Karthik was in full form that day.



RK took a lot of snaps of the Gopuram. He took in different angles. Later we boarded an auto to the station. It was only Rs.20 this time. I thought that by seeing RK and Nishant's personality they would ask even more! We got at Kala Hasti. Out of nowhere, I got a call from one of my friends. Praveen! Amazing school chap. I was amazed at the technology. I shouldn't be talking like this as I am an engineer. But forget all your degrees, achievements and just spend a moment appreciating the marvel of humans. I should be atleast 160km away from him but I was still felt that I was near him. Well nowadays, people have even communicated from the moon! However, I didn't want to get obsessed with anything. Infact, I hate anyone if someone says that I am obsessed with machines, idealogies or various habits. Nothing can be enjoyed if you are obsessed because you are only doing it under compulsion!


Courtesy: Ram Karthik Seshadri. A lonely dog sitting below the goods train.



Myself and Ram Karthik tried taking a lot of snaps. There was a honk. I knew a train was coming. But the level crossings weren't closed! WAG-5's twins came in a curve and blasted through the station. The LP's gave a curious look at us. Check the video below! It was taken by the great RK himself.

My face was very dark. Ok! Ok! The reason could be dust and lot of other nonsense which came flying past me as I doorplated. I asked Ram Karthik that my complexion was gone. RK was amused and he replied, "ஆமாம், நீ பெரிய கமல் ஹாசன் கலர்".




Suddenly out of nowhere there was an honk. Bhilai WAG-5 twins cruised at a good speed with a freight train.


Photo of Lingam to which Kannappar gave his eyes.

Bhilai WAG-5 twins with a freight rake passing through Kalahasti.