Followers of Sri Sridhara Ayyaval Mutt, Thiruvisalur, on Tuesday took holy bath from a well inside the mutt on the final day of ‘Gangavatharana Mahotsavam’.
Legend has it that Sri Sridhara Ayyaval — a highly respected person in the ‘bhajana sampradhaya’ — invoked the Ganges to flow into the well situated in his house at Thiruvisalur when he was asked to take a dip in the sacred river for violating norms in the conduct of ‘shrartham’ (annual remembrance ceremony) for his ancestors.
As his age was not suitable to undertake a long journey from the south to north at that time, he composed a hymn ‘Gangashtakam’, a prayer to the Ganges, to come to his rescue to clear the route for conducting the ‘shrartham’. Water began to gush out from the well and flow on to the streets in the village.
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Subsequently, those who found fault with Sri Sridhara Ayyaval’s action of feeding a ‘non-brahmin’ when he was expected to perform the annual remembrance ceremonies fell at his feet and requested him to check the overflow, which he obliged. The incident took place on New Moon Day (amavasya) of Tamil month ‘Karthigai’.
Since then the followers of Sri Sridhara Ayyaval visited the house, which was converted into a Mutt later on `Karthigai amavasya’ to take a holy bath with the well water.
This year too, thousands of Sri Sridhara Ayyaval followers came to Thiruvisalur on November 26 and took a holy bath in the water drawn and poured on them by Mutt employees from the well and also had a holy dip at the Cauvery that flowed in the vicinity of the village.
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Meanwhile, the Department of Siddha Medicine, Thanjavur District, served ‘Nilavembu kudineer’ to more than 5,000 persons on the occasion. Elaborate arrangements were made by the Mutt and Revenue and police departments for the smooth conduct of the festival.