Ambasamudram-The Story Behind its Name 525

Ever Wondered why our place got to be named as AMBASAMUDRAM  ?  There is no SAMUDRAM anywhere nearbye,  is there ?                             

Over the years , we have all been associated with a place which got its name by being associated with a Personality , Event , Place of Worhip or Locale .

I have now been at Ambasamudram for close to half a century now . The question of how this place got this name has always been at the back of my mind .

Yesterday's visit to Kasinathaswamy or Eritharkondan Temple and our Learned friend Ramalinga Battar who overseas all the rituals at this Temple and who is known to us from our Mill Colony Vinayakar Kovil days explaining the details of this Temple finally gave me the answer. 

MARAGATHAMBAL is the Consort of the Presiding Deity Kasinathaswamy at this Temple . SHE is positioned in the Temple right in front of the Perennial River Tambarabarani . The word for a huge Waterbody in Sanskrit is SAMUDRAM .

AMBAL AND SAMUDRAM COMBINE AND THIS PLACE HAS GOT ITS NAME AS                                            AMBASAMUDRAM .

More interesting aspects of this more than 1600 years old. ( Kalvettu or stone engravings on the walls of the Temple bear testimony to this )

A Kerala king became seriously ill and even the best Physicians of the day could not find a cure for his ailment . A voice advised the King to make a Doll of Black Till or Ellu , transfer the ailment to the Doll and its owner by   donating it to a  Brahmin . The King followed the instruction . A poor Karnataka Brahmin accepted the Doll as donation . The king also donated valuable Gems and Diamonds as part of the deal . 

The Doll soon became alive and told the youth that it would free him of his ailment if he agreed to part with half the benifits that he had gained by reciting the Gayathri Manthra .

Free of all ailments , the youth wanted to spend the material gifts that he had received from the king on a public cause . He proceeded up the Pothigai Hill to seek the advice of the sage Agasthiya . Before leaving,  he left the valuables under the care of the Temple  Archaka for safekeeping till his return after his  meeting Sage Agasthiya .

The Archaka-Priest gave back only a bag full of Dal or Paruppu  when he returned . The youth took the matter to the king only to be told by the Archaka that no Gems or Diamonds ,  but only a bag full of Dal were left by the youth under his care . When asked to depose before the Lord , the priest unhesitatingly spoke a lie in the Temple . The angry  Lord burnt the priest . The youth however begged the Lord to restore him to life and the merciful lord responded to the youth's prayers .

Based on this event , Lord Shiva is named Eritharkondan or Erichudayar . Erithal in Tamil means burning . The youth spent the wealth he got from the King by digging a canal which to this day is known as the Kannadian Canal  ( A Canal built by the Native of Karnataka  ).







Both AMBA and SAMUDRAM are words which owe their lineage to a Language which the present day ruling dispensation hesitate to touch even with a barge pole . Our forefathers 2000 years back obviously had no such issues then . No wonder we still have Ravanasamudram , Vadamalaisamudram , Veerasamudram and Rengasamudram just to name a few in our immediate proximity. 

On a lighter note : 

This Idyllic and Scenic Locale is the backdrop of umpteen  Blockbuster Tamil Movies .

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