Karumbayiram Konda Vinayagar
Temple, Kumbakonam – Legends
Varaha Vinayaga:
As per legend, Demon Hiranyaksha took the Mother earth
to Padala Loka, deep under the earth and hid her there. Devas prayed
to Lord Vishnu to save the Earth. Lord took Varaha incarnation (a colossal
swine with a horn on the nose) and brought out Mother Earth. Before going to the Pathala
Loka, it is believed that Lord Vishnu offered prayers to this Vinayaga. Hence,
he came to be called as Varaha Vinayaga.
Karumbayiram Konda Vinayaka:
As per local folklore, Once, a trader was transporting sugar cane in his cart to a cane crushing unit and he was passing through Kumbakonam. As the summer was peak, he parked the cart near the temple and took bath in the temple tank. When he started the cart again to continue his journey, a kid came to him and asked the trader to give a piece of sugar cane. The trader was not interested in giving even a single piece and continued his journey. The boy was running behind the cart and demanded the sugar cane.
Local villagers advised the
trader to give a piece of sugar cane to the boy. Still the trader was not
interested in giving him sugarcane, so he informed the boy that it was not
sugar cane and it was only grass sticks. The boy then told the trader that he
believed him and disappeared. When he reached the cane crushing unit and
unloaded the material, the staff there told him that his cart was loaded with
grass sticks.
Lord Vinayaga appeared in dreams
and informed that it was the reward for his lie. The trader then realized his mistake
and brought the cart and the materials back to Kumbakonam. He went to the
Vinayaka temple and apologised to the Lord and sought forgiveness. Lord Ganesha
took pity on his condition and converted the grass sticks back into sugar cane.
Trader offered a bundle of sugar cane to the Lord.
After this incident, Varaha
Vinayaka came to be called as Karumbayiram Konda Vinayaka (Karumbu in Tamil
means Sugarcane and Aayiram means thousand). Also, he was called by this name as
his kindness is as sweet as the sweetness of thousand sugar canes. Even today,
along with Arugampul (Bermuda grass in English), Sugar Cane is also offered to
the Lord in this temple.