The Shaivite priest who walked ahead of her time

Much before the government began training women as archakas, N Kalaiarasi, a woman Shaivite saint, has been running an all women Shiva temple in Avadi for eight years.“I had wanted to run an all women Shiva temple for years, but it materialised only in 2015,” says Kalaiarasi. Initially, there was no proper structure for the temple and the Shiva linga was made of rice, which she calls ‘suyambulingam’ (that which originated on its own).Only after Covid could a proper temple be constructed which was named ‘Tamizh Saiva Peruman Thirukovil’. The specialty of the temple is that women from the locality enter the sanctum sanctorum of the temple and perform poojas for Lord Shiva, unheard of in the state.“There is a myth in Hinduism that women should not touch the Shiva linga, which is why you don’t see either Shiva lingas or idols of Nataraja in houses. I wanted to break this myth and started doing poojas for Shiva linga on my own,” said Kalaiarasi. G Lakshmi, 55, originally from Dharmapuri but settled in Avadi with her son, is one such. “Out of love for Lord Shiva and the faith I had in him, I closely watched Kalaiarasi amma performing the pooja and in her absence started doing them in the temple,” she says. No official training has been imparted to them. Kalaiarasi would explain to them how to read the spiritual texts and the songs to be recited in the temples.However, the eight-year journey has not been smooth for Kalaiarasi. “I was questioned on several occasions and once they even heckled at me but I remained unfazed. The only reply I gave them was that the land belonged to me, and they had no business whatsoever on my land,” says Kalaiarasi.Kalaiarasi, who is now 79, is unable to frequent the temple due to her age and spends her days reading spiritual books at her home. She visits the temple only on occasions like Mahashivaratri. She also performs Tamil weddings in the temple by reciting songs from Thevaram and Thiru.