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Bhima, the great
wrestler who vanquished the evil Kichaka was justifiably proud of his physical might. Once
during the period of their exile, the second son of Pandu was beseeched by Draupadi to
fetch her a fragrant flower in the forest. Bhima, the chivalrous husband, ever eager to
please Draupadi, set out following the trail of fragrance. After quite a distance, Bhima
tracked the source of the pleasant smell and sighted the flower. As he proceeded towards
the flower, Bhima found a small simian blocking his path. Bhima bade the monkey to move
and leave way for the Pandava. The small monkey said that he was too old and weak and
hence could not move. Would Bhima kindly lift his tail and proceed? Outraged by this
audacious suggestion, an angry Bhima lifted his mace and in one swift movement attempted
to flick off the tail of the monkey. What a rude surprise to the proud Bhima, for he
couldn't move the slender tail even an inch! Clever Bhima immediately realised that this
was no ordinary monkey and humbly requested the animal to reveal his true identity.
Thereupon, the monkey stood up and it was none other than Hanuman, the elder brother of
Bhima, both being the sons of Vayu Bhagawan. A delighted Bhima requested that he be shown
the massive form that Anjaneya assumed to cross the ocean and frighten the rakshasas in
Lanka. Anjaneya obliged his brother and hugged him in order to pass all his strength to
his brother and blessed him with victory in the coming battle of Kurukshetra. Such was
Anjaneya's love for his brother and such is the aspect that he exhibits in the Sree
SundaraVinayagar and Sree Selvavinayagar Anjaneya Devasthanam on the Royapettah high road
near Luz.
 This is perhaps the oldest Anajaneya temple in the city. In this
temple, only the profile of the Lord can be seen. He faces south and seems to be essaying
a trip to Lanka. The right hand is the abhaya hasta and the left hand is placed on the
thigh. This temple, which will celebrate its 200 years of grace, in the year 2000, was
founded by Salivahana Chettiars, who had migrated to Mylapore from Mysore. They were
potters by profession and supplied the Nawab of Arcot with pottery. The Nawab gave the
land where the temple is situated as a grant to the Salivahana Chettiars. The Salivahana
chettiars established two temples for Lord Vinayaka and while digging a well came upon the
swayambhu vigraha of Anjaneya.
In the beginning, the puja was performed by
the salivahanas and later Vaishnavite priests were employed. There was an opinion that
since Anjaneya was a bhaktha of Lord Vishnu, he would be most happy only when temple
offerings were first given to the Lord. Accordingly a copper vigraha of Sree
Venugopala was installed in the sanctum sanctorum. On all festival days except Sree Rama
Navami, it is Lord Sree Venugopala who goes on a procession in the neighbourhood of the
temple. The temple constructed a separate shrine for Sree Rama in the year 1954.
Devotees throng this temple to offer Lord
Anjaneya a garland of ulundu vadas, known popularly as Hanumar vadas. The significance
behind offering ulundu vada is that ulundu has the property of cooling and is supposed to
reduce Anjaneya's ugram and make him beneficent to his devotees. The other reason is
that the vada has ingredients that will please Saneeswaran, Rahu and Ketu. It is believed
that devotees of Anjaneya do not get affected by planetary positions. On Saturdays, the
day most auspicious for Saneeswaran, there are as many as 45 vadamalas which are offered
to Anjaneya. Each vadamala is strung with 108 vadas and costs Rs. 100.Advance booking is a
must.
Recently the temple management constructed a
wedding hall in the temple precincts and according to Mr. Purushotaman, Chairman of the trust, over 50 weddings have been conducted so far. It
was in this temple that the first Governor General of free India, Sri C. Rajagopalachari
placed the completed manuscript of his Ramayana to be blessed by Anjaneya. Recently the
flooring has been done with marble and the kitchen renovated. The Mahasamprokshanam
of this temple was done in 1998 after a gap of 35 years.
The temple is open both in the morning and
evening and one should not miss the grace of the Varaprasadi, the granter of boons,
residing here.
Ambujam Anantharaman
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