Swamigal asked me, “Do you know the place where we are staying now?”.

I said ‘Kanchipuram’ and then I said, “Periya Big Kanchipuram”. But, Mahaswamigal was not satisfied.

There was an old couple waiting close by for His Darshan. “Ask them where they are from?”, He told me. They said they are from Palakkad.

“Is there any Kamakshi temple in your surroundings?”, He asked the couple. The man said he was not aware but the woman told her husband, “Probably He is refering to Uragam Kamakshi”.

Periyava asked her to come before His presence. “What is the speciality there?”.

She said, “Kamakshi is painted on Cloth”.

Periyava then said that a Namboodri came to Kanchi with ‘Thaazhagnkudai’ (An umbrella that is not foldable) and he was taken in by the Power, grace and beauty of Kamakshi. He then sat down in the sannidhi and drew a power (kalai) from Kamakshi to the Thaazhangkudai, took it to his village near Palakkad and transfered the ‘Power’ from the kudai to the painting of Kamakshi on cloth and hence the place came to be known as ‘Uragam’ which is another name of Kanchi.

*****
Narrated by Shri Thanjavur Santhanaraman.

Wow. What a piece of History!

Here is an Exquisite Painting of Mother Gayathri by Shri KP Mohambal.

A blessed Holy Friday to you all.

Shankara.