Month: December 2025

Thiruparappu Mahadevar: The Riverside Abode of Serenity

EnsuresLeave a comment

Nestled on the rocky banks of the Kodayar River in Kanyakumari, the Thirparappu Mahadevar Temple is where divine silence meets the roar of cascading waters. Known as the Shri Jatadharan Temple, it is a vital pillar of the Shivalaya Ottam—the ritualistic 110km marathon pilgrimage where devotees run barefoot to twelve Shiva temples in the district of Kanyakumari on the day of Shivaratri. Located at the foot of the Western Ghats in Kalkulam taluk, Thiruparappu is more than just a destination; it is a “pavilion of beauty and sacredness.” Formerly known as Srivisalam, its name is a literal translation of grace: Sri (Thiru) and Visalam (Parappu).

This Entrance on the Main Road is Closed
The Garba Griha
Main Entrance of Garbha Griha

A Legacy Carved in Stone

While the temple bears the unmistakable mark of Raja Raja Chola, 9th-century Pandya inscriptions prove the site was a spiritual powerhouse long before the Cholas arrived. Centuries ago, the region was known as Sree Vilasapuram. It wasn’t just a local shrine; it was a destination for the elite and the enlightened. Adi Shankaracharya is said to have graced its halls, and King Sree Vishakham Thirunal of Travancore was a frequent patron. The Thirupparappu Mahadevar Temple is most important and third among the twelve Sivalayams. Thirupparappu is a small village near Thiruvattar in the Kalkulam taluk. It is at the foot of the Western Ghats. As indicated earlier, the place Thirupparappu was formally known as Srivisalam. The word “Thirupparappu” denotes a pavilion of beauty and sacredness. An inscription belonging to the Ay ruler Kokkarunandadakkan is found in this temple. The panoramic view of the shrine with green hills and a perennial river Kodayar running in front of the shrine is really fascinating and attractive. The sparking waterfalls on the south-western side of the temple is a rich feast for the eyes. Thus the pavilion presents a peerless picture of scenic beauty and enchantment. Formally this place was famous for training elephants

Mist from this Waterfall Cools Jwara Deva
Wet almost round the year – Jwara Deva Requirement

The Legend: Quelling the Cosmic Rage

The Sthala Puranam connects this earth to the aftermath of Daksha’s Yagna. After Sati jumps into the fire unable to bear the insult to Her beloved Bhagwan Shiva, Shiva in His furious form of Veerabhadra begins terrible destruction starting from the Yagna Shala, the universe began suffering the aftermaths and the even compassionate Bhagwan then descends to Bhooloka to alleviate the suffering and to temper down His fury.

Part of Nalambalam

The Cooling Meditation: To protect the world from his lingering heat and anger, Bhagwan Shiva descended to the lush, spray-misted banks of Thirparappu.

The outermost Prakaram

The Jwara Deva: He is worshipped here as Jwara Deva (the Lord of Fever/Heat). Legend says the cool mist from the nearby waterfalls served as a natural balm to soothe the deity’s fiery temperament.

Author-Majestic Kodayar River in the background flowing towards Thiruparappu Waterfalls
Yaga Mantapam Side Outer View

Architectural Specialty

The temple’s Kerala-style aesthetics—sloping roofs and heavy woodwork—hide three fascinating structural “anomalies” that pique the interest of scholars. The history of Thiruparappu is etched into its very walls. The temple houses a significant inscription belonging to the Ay ruler Kokkarunandadakkan. This historical record links the shrine to a powerful dynasty that once ruled the southern tip of India, marking the village as a site of long-standing political and religious importance.

The Westward Gaze: Most Shiva temples face the rising sun. Here, Mahadevar faces West, looking out toward the river, symbolizing a protective stance over the valley.

The temple offers a panoramic view that feels like a painting come to life. A typical venerable object and an artist’s delight

The Backdrop: Mist-covered peaks of the Western Ghats. The River: Perennial Kodayar River flows gracefully in front of the shrine, providing a sense of constant renewal. Falls: To the south-west, the sparkling waterfalls serve as a “rich feast for the eyes,” blending the roar of water with the chant of prayers.

The North-Facing Nandi: Breaking the standard alignment, the Nandi bull faces North, an extremely rare positioning said to enhance the flow of tantric energy, and located in a separate chamber, built in the thirumuttam on the northern side of the mukhamandapam. It is also believed that unable to look into the eyes of Bhagwan Shiva in His furious forms, Nandi turns away and faces the North instead of West Facing Shiva (which in itself is a rarity)

North Facing Nandi

The Circular Sanctum: The Sri Kovil (sanctum) is a masterpiece of stone, housing the Shiva Jwara Lingam. Look up at the Vimana to find exquisite carvings of Krishna and Murugan, blending Shaivite and Vaishnavite artistry.

Rituals & Experience

Shivalaya Ottam: During Maha Shivratri, thousands of “Ottakkars” (runners) arrive at Thirparappu, chanting “Govinda! Gopala!” This is the third temple on their gruelling journey, a place to find a moment of peace before continuing their run. A dip in the Kodayar river (or the falls) is considered a prerequisite for Darshan, believed to wash away physical ailments and mental unrest.

Timings : 5:00 AM – 11:30 AM & 5:00 PM – 7:30 PM

Dress Code Men: Dhoti/Mundu (Chest bare or with Angavastram). Women: Saree, Pavadai or Half-saree. (No jeans or western wear allowed). Best time to visit is December to February for pleasant weather; Shivratri for the cultural spectacle. It is about ~60 km from Kanyakumari; ~55 km from Thiruvananthapuram.

Beyond its spiritual and scenic fame, Thiruparappu holds a unique place in local history as a training ground for elephants. In earlier times, the lush terrain and abundant water made it the ideal location for taming and training these majestic creatures, adding a layer of rugged heritage to its sacred profile.

Thiruparappu thus is one of the few places where history, heritage, and natural beauty converge perfectly.

Other Upadevalayas

Ganesha
Shri Shasta Sannidhi
Shri Krishna Temple – Bhagwan Krishna has Butter Ball in Both his Hands Here
Sthala Vruksham
Nagaraja
Ever Grateful to my Colleague Shri Sudheesh Thampi for making this Pilgrimage happen

🙏OM NAMAH SHIVAYA🙏

Strategy or Riding a High Tide

Ensures1 Comment

Let us think of a successful batsman trying to become a Wicket-keeper. He may drop a few catches and will be clumsy at first, but his batsman’s eye helps him anticipate the ball’s trajectory better than a pure keeper. He becomes a more complete player but can never the best keeper in the world. Take the case of Ravi Shastri. In later part of his career, he retained his place in the team for his batting though he was picked in the team initially as a spinner. Despite that Ravi Shastri can never be a Gavaskar or a Tendulkar.

In case of organisations or individuals, when we push into areas where we don’t have a natural edge or stepping away from our core strengths it is like a double-edged sword. It’s the fastest way to feel like a beginner again, which is both humbling and incredibly risky. We get back to basics and re-live the pangs of learning curve Stings. We also  develop an inferiority complex when we realise that the tasks that experts finish in an hour might take us a day or even more. Add to that there is a fat chance that we would face a failure in early attempts, which may end up in denting our confidence in what is known as Competence Gap Friction. What this also means is there is energy drain because a huge extra piece of effort is called for and we will not be in an effortless work mode or flow state. Not just the physical fuel even mental fuel is drained. People (and the organisation) get exhausted much earlier as compared to the time we were playing to our strengths.

Dangers of Diversification from Core Strength
Picture Courtesy: Co-Pilot

If we were a business, moving away from our core can confuse our Consumer or the market. People who considered us for X may be diffident to the extent of being nervous when you start trying to sell them Y. There is also a risk of wrong perception of diluted values in the eyes of our consumer. This phenomenon is experiential. A customer in fact an operational advisor during a review question the scatter of our efforts and dilute value. A greater risk is resource bleed. In our attempt to fix a weakness we may (will) end up expending inordinate amount of both time and money. We cut budgets to nurture or nourish our strengths that actually pay our bills. Strengths gradually wither due to neglect.

Do we end up being a Psychological Imposter? Yes, any diversification, even our strength areas leave alone non-core areas goes through this phase where from being a go-to person, we are treated as a student. Most of the organisations end up feeling that they have lost the spark. Consequently, we end up in an Identity crisis, losing our grip on things that got us on top, in the first place.

It is easy to mistake a lucky break for a winning formula. When we operate outside our core strength, we are more prone to “False Positives” i.e. successes achieved despite our strategy, not because of it. We should exercise extreme cautious of odd successes. Sometimes, entering a new field coincide with a market upswing or a specific trend. Win may not be necessarily because of the strengths; it could well be because the tide lifted all boats. If we double down based on this win, we’ll be devastated when the market stabilizes and our lack of deep expertise is exposed. It is dangerous to rely too much on a Beginner’s luck.

Riding on a High Tide, Core Competence is the Guiding Light Picture
Picture Courtesy: Co-Pilot

In India, we often hear stories of the one dropout who built a unicorn or the one engineer who became a superstar chef. Remember, for every one person who succeeded outside their core, thousands failed quietly. If our success cannot be replicated through a clear process, it is an outlier, not a strategy. Avoid survivor bias to ensure that we do not concluding based on wrong premise.

We might hit a target (like high sales) but at a cost that is unsustainable. If someone dispassionately digs deep we may find that we spent far more than the usual effort or sacrificed our reputation to get that one “win” in a weak area. Treating this as a success ignores the burnout or brand damage happening behind the scenes.

Finally, tendency to over-index on minimal anecdotal success. A single positive feedback or one big client in a new domain feels like a massive validation. It helps to remember that one data point is a dot; only multiple data points makes a trend. Unless you can show a consistent conversion or retention rates, that one success is just noise.

Not everything is bad. There is an upside to this too. We are forced to build new pathways, leading to lateral thinking and end up discovering an innovative way to apply our strengths in the new domain in a way we could have never imagined before. We also may become less fragile to market changes especially if the core strength is inching (or racing) towards obsolescence.

To conclude, Falling for a Shiny market Object and getting de-focussed is a risk best avoided. Remember, a bigger menu doesn’t necessarily mean it is better. Ensure it is a diversification by design not by chance. Good to ride a high tide, but not to rely on it. And diversifying into too many areas also means it spreads thin, diluting the strength and some strengths slipping away from the grip.

Strength Slipping Away When Juggling too many Diversification
Picture Courtesy: Co-Pilot

Discipline: Freedom or Golden Cage

Ensures2 Comments

On the surface, discipline looks like a cage. You wake up at 5:00 AM while others sleep; you choose a salad over a samosa; you work when you’d rather scroll. It feels like restriction. But look deeper, and you’ll find it is actually the skeleton of freedom. Without a skeleton, a body is just a heap of flesh—unable to stand, move, or go anywhere.

There lies the Paradox, Constraint is Capability. If you want the freedom to play the Mridangam beautifully, you must first restrict yourself to hours of repetitive practice. Without the discipline of practice, you are not free to play music; you are only free to make noise. To put it in a nutshell, Restriction is Saying no to distractions & Freedom is Getting a Skill to create something beautiful.

Differentiating between “Acting with Discipline” and “Acting on Impulse”, most people confuse impulse with freedom. If you eat every sweet you see, you aren’t free, you are a slave to your cravings. If you spend every rupee as soon as you earn it, you aren’t free, you are bound by financial stress. Once again to put this in a nutshell, Leading an Undisciplined Life ends up with you at the mercy of your moods, the weather, and your laziness. On the other hand, leading a Disciplined life, You are the boss. You decide where your life goes, regardless of how you “feel” that morning.

Picture Courtesy: Google Gemini

If a money plant grows on the ground, it gets trampled and stays small. But if you give it a trellis (a stick or frame) to climb, it restricts its growth to a specific direction. Because of that restriction, it can climb higher than it ever could alone. Discipline is your trellis. It guides your energy upward instead of letting it scatter on the floor.

Some personal lessons:

Discipline of being on time isn’t just a habit – it’s a message. When you show up when you said you would, you are saying, “I value your life and your time as much as my own.” Respecting Boundaries It takes immense discipline to hold your tongue, listen without interrupting, or step back when someone needs space. Discipline allows you to suppress your ego to make room for someone else’s comfort. I am very proud that in 37+ years of my professional life, there has not been a single instance where I was late for work. In fact, arriving 30 minutes ahead of expected time also allows me truly person time to plan my day to the “T”. To recall there was an instance when my boss, the Managing Director was so sure I would be in by 7:30am in the office and made a call to my phone (those days it was Landline), to let his driver into his office on the campus to pick something that he had forgotten. Similarly, in an organisation that I worked earlier which had 90+ branches (mostly sales and service) across the country, Their operations depended heavily on clearance from corporate office and a half hour delay in clearance means their sales goes for a toss. Most importantly, being on time is not for others. You get a high yourself when you become predictable in all respects.

During COVID as a State Citizen Coordinator and also as a Vice-Chairman of task force, I learnt discipline required on shared spaces. India did extremely well to control the pandemic considering our population and density. Personally, I attribute it to our extremely good Personal hygiene as against pathetic social hygiene. We just dump stuff on the street while our homes are spotless clean. One of the messages that we strongly drove across is importance of both. Even the best of perfume stinks when you are surrounded by filth and dirt. A semblance of discipline was established. It appeared restrictive, but it definitely saved thousands of lives.

Discipline in respecting the shared environment, often in our communities. Whether it’s maintaining silence in a library, following traffic rules on a busy road, or keeping public spaces clean—these are disciplined actions that show you respect the strangers around you. You earn respects just by disciplined and provide comfort to everyone around you.

Picture Courtesy: Google Gemini

True discipline is quiet. It’s the decision to follow the queue even when no one is looking, to do your work when your boss is not watching. It’s the choice to listen when you’d rather speak. We think discipline is about me, but it’s actually about us. When you master yourself, you honor everyone else.

To wind up, sharing the interpretation of the first Sutra of In the Patanjali Yoga Sutras – Atha Yoga Anushasanam, by Pujya Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji of the Art of Living. The journey of Practice of Yoga begins with that single, powerful sentence – Atha: Now and Anushasan: Rules that we impose on ourselves (Shasan: Rules imposed by others, like rules and laws). Real yoga isn’t about following a others’ orders; it’s about self-sovereignty. It is the transition from being a slave to your whims and habits to being the master of your own mind and body. Anushasan isn’t a cage of rules; it’s the training that gives you the freedom to not be a victim of your own mind.

When you are disciplined, you become predictable and reliable. Others can count on you. Others will love you and being around you. That reliability is the highest form of respect you can give and get to/from a team, a family, or a partner. It also ensures that our personal freedom doesn’t become someone else’s burden.

That is the Power of Discipline! You get a Natural High