Thirumaanikuzhi

Thirumaanikuzhi

Thirumaanikuzhi, a small village in the Panruti - Cuddalore route, houses the Arulmigu Ambujaakshi udanurai Vaamanapureeswarar thirukovil. The deities are also called Maanikka varathar & Maanikka valli.

Legend has it that a mouse intented to eat the frozen fuel of a lamp (Nei theepam) in the Lords room. By doing that, the mouse actually kindled the lamp thereby making it illuminate the room for one more night.

The Lord, on recognition of this act, made the mouse take the birth of a king in its punar janmah (next birth) in the Threta Yuga. Parvathy Devi told the Lord that the mouse had actually done a mitake by eating the fuel of the lamp in the Lord’s room and that it does not deserve to be a king. Hence, the Lord made the mouse to be the demon king. The king was none other than Mahabali Chakravarthy, the grandson of Prahalada. Mahabali was bestowed with qualities akin to Karna of the Mahabharata. He would never say ‘No’ to people who come to him for alms. However, Indra’s authority over the heavens was taken away by force by Mahabali.

Shri Vishnu, to restore Indra’s Authority over the heavens, took the 5th Avatar in Vamana, a dwarf bramhin – the first incarnation in the Threta Yuga. Vamana, requested King Mahabali for three steps of land for him to live in. Knowing that Vamana had a different motive, Sukracharya, the guru of Asuras, adviced Mahabali not to grant Vamana’s request. But, Mahabali would never say ‘No’ to people who request alms. Hence he decided to grant the request. However, Sukracharya took the form of an insect and blocked the spout of the vase ‘kamandalam’, from which water has to be poured to seal the promise. Whereas, Vamana immediately understands this and picks up a straw (Dharbhai) and directs it up the spout poking the left eye of Sukracharya. From that day on, Sukracharya is believed to be half blind.

Vamana, upon receiving the 3 foot of land from Mahabali, grows so huge that he could cover the earth and the heaven in two simple steps. Mahabali, in order to keep up his word, offers his head for Vamana to complete his request. Vamana places his third step on King Bali’s head and gives him immortality for his benevolence. Vamana taught King Bali that arrogance and pride should be abandoned if any advancement in life is to be made and wealth should not be taken for granted.

Now, Vamana gets the dosham of killing a king. In order to nullify this dosham, Vamana decides to offer prayers to the Lord (Shiva) in Thirumaanikuzhi. Vamana being a dwarf bramhin, requests the Lord of a possible solution for him to offer his prayers to both the Lord and Devi. The Lord makes a pit and sits inside the pit so that Vamana can offer his prayers. Thirumaanikuzhi, in tamizh means – thiru – word of respect; maani – bramhachaari (bachelor), Vamana is a bachelor; kuzhi – pit.

Also since Vamana offers his prayers to the Lord along with Devi in his ‘palli arai’, Bhima Rudra stands as a guard to his prayers. Hence, the deepaaraadhanai is first shown to the Rudra and then to the presiding deity ‘Vamanapureeshwarar’. The darshan of Vamanapureeshwarar is thus restricted to a little over a minute when the screen of Bhima Rudra comes back guarding!

This sthalam is also famous because both Appar and Gnanasambandar have sung hymns in praise of the deity.

Lordess Ambujaakshi is the consort of Vamanapureeshwarar. She is also called Mannikka valli. Ambujaakshi is one among the 5 ‘aakshi’s. Others are Kamakshi in Kanchipuram, Meenakshi in Madurai, Visalakshi in Varanasi, 5th unknown to me. Ambuja – Lotus; aakshi – eyes. Hence, the name Ambujaakshi.

The Arumugam sannadhi is noted to be as a ‘padal petra sthalam’ for having the 746th Thirupugazh song dedicated to this deity. The temple also houses a separate vinayakar sannadhi.