BANGALORE: The Cauvery delta region has provided shelter and inspiration to many philosopher and saints down the ages, who have either settled down or attained Samadhi (separation from worldly existence) on its banks. This village, located on the banks of the Kudamurutti, a distributary of the river Cauvery in Thanjavur district, holds a similar tale.For Carnatic music aficionados worth their salt, knowledge about the Krishna Leela Tharangini, a composition containing hymns about Lord Krishna describing the various stages of his life is perhaps de-rigueur. The village of Varagur — is associated with the composition in that its composer, saint Narayana Theertha, composed the hymns here in the mid-16th century. According to legend, Narayana Theertha was on a pilgrimage in the region, when, all of a sudden, he experienced acute stomach pain. Other accounts have it that he came here after an unsuccessful attempt to meet another saint Bodhendra Swami at Govindapuram, near Kumbakonam or about 70 km away from here, who had attained Samadhi recently. Tired, Theertha took rest at a temple when the Lord is said to have appeared in his dream and instructed him to follow a Shwetha-Varaha or white boar the following morning. The next morning he found the boar and started following it, which led him to the village and vanished; the villagers extended a warm welcome to him, for they too had received a premonition that a saint would arrive in their village the next day. Lo behold, the saint’s stomach ache disappeared; the incident spurred him to compose the Krishna Leela Tharangini and erect a shrine for Lord Vishnu, which culminated in the construction of the Venkatesha Perumal Temple.This incident also resulted in the village acquiring its new name, of Varagur, as Varaha in Sanskrit means boar.The temple is well-known for its week-long festival, Uriyadi Utsavam, held usually around August-September; one of its events comprises scaling a pole slathered with oil to get a pot of butter hung above it, in addition to countering the water being splashed by those around. Other festivals such as Ramanavami and Vaikunta Ekadasi are also celebrated here on a grand scale.
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