Mahaperiyavar is welcomed with a poornakumbham, 1966
Visiting VIPs , Institute Events
A poornakumbham was presented to persons considered having superior qualities. It literally means a ‘full pot’. Here, Prof. R. Krishnamurthi presents a poornakumbham to Mahaperiyavar.
Mahaperiyavar or ‘The Great Elder’ was the 68th head of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, a Hindu institution located in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. His name was Kanchi Kamakoti Peethadhipathi Jagadguru Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Swamiji. He visited the Jalakanteshwara Temple at IIT Madras in 1966.
According to an article, a Shiva lingam now worshipped at Jalakanteshwara Temple was kept under a mandapam with a thatched roof near the IIT Madras lake, long before the establishment of the Institute. Village residents worshiped this idol regularly. When the Institute was being set up, IIT Madras residents approached Mahaperiyavar in order to get advice regarding how to continue worship of the lingam. Reportedly, he instructed the residents to construct a temple and continue worship. Mahaperiyavar also said that the idol had been worshiped as Jalakanteshwara by the scholar Appaya Deekshitar and it continued to be worshiped as the same deity when Jalakanteshwara Temple at IIT Madras was built.
During his visit, Mahaperiyavar reportedly conducted pujas to Sri Varasidhdhi Vinayaka and Sri Adipureeshwara at the Varasidhdhi Vinayaka Temple which is located behind the current Taramani Guest House.
Seen in the image, Prof. R. Krishnamurthi (Head of Humanities Department, fourth from right).
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