Mahabishekam of 4th Sept, 2009

The Mahabishekam of Sri Sastha on 4th Sept 2009, on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Maha Kumbhabhishekam of the Sri Maha Sastha Ayyanar Temple, went off very well. Devotees from Chennai, Thanjavur, Madurai and other places, and local villagers, were present to make the function a success. We take this opportunity to pray to Sri Maha Sastha to bestow His blessings on every one.

Maintenance of the Sri Maha Sastha Temple

The maintenance expenses of the Suraikayur Sri Maha Sastha Temple is managed from the funds available in the Kumbhabhishekam Committee account. The approximate monthly expenses under various heads including remuneration to kurukkal, poojari and person engaged for the upkeep of the premises, electricity, daily pooja articles, guest house maintenance, etc work out to about Rs 18,000/. The Committee welcomes contributions made by cheque in the name of "Suraikayur Sri Maha Sastha Kumbhabhishekam Committee" payable at Chennai and mailed to Sri R Lakshimi Ratan, No. 46, Taylors Road, Kilpauk, Chennai 600010. Alternatively, they may be remitted to the bank account whose details are given below:

Annual Maha Abishekam of Sri Maha Sastha

The Sri Maha Sastha Kumbhabishekam Committee has planned to have every year a Maha Abhishekam around September to celebrate the anniversary of the Kumbabishekam held in Sept 2008.

History of Suraikayur Sri Maha Sastha Temple

Dr Kudavoil Balasubramanian has written a scholarly article in Tamil on the Maha Sastha Ayyanar temple at Suraikayur. It traces the history of the place since the times of the Pallavas and Cholas. The article also talks about the worship of Ayyanar in Tamil Nadu since ancient times.

Given alongside are the links to the pdf files - in 2 parts. Part 1 ( 3.41 MB) contains the article and Part 2 (3.57 MB) the pictures of some of the Ayyanar temples and deites in the Thanjavur belt.

Kumbhabhishekam

After 12 years of the earlier kumbabishekam, thanks to the generous contributions of several devotees, from far and near, the Suraikayur Sri Maha Sastha Kumbhabhishekam Committee undertook complete renovation of the Maha Sastha temple, providing larger window openings, adding an opening gate in front of the main deity, adding a separate shrine to Lord Ganapati near the new main entrance, greening of the surroundings by planting samplings, realigning the site into a regular shaped one and securing it by providing a boundary wall. Simultaneously, the Shyamala Kali temple in the village was also renovated.