At present, Huge crowds every day, and on special festival days hundreds of thousands of people from across India and the world visit Melmaruvathur Siddhar Peetam.
Upon entering the Melmaruvathur Siddhar Peetam, the visitor can see the Om Sakthi Dais or Platform. The words, Om Sakthi in Tamil sculpted in metal are embedded in a raised platform. In front of it is a small donation box into which Adigalar Amma puts a contribution every time when entering the temple. It is an example of the importance of being charitable towards others.
Behind this platform is the Four Pillar open Mandapam or space. The Four Pillars glitter in gold and usher the visitor inside the temple. Leading from here is a long floored space in which one can see a few markers of Siddhars who have in the past attained Jeeva Samadhi.
This walkway reaches the Karuvarai or the sanctum where the visitor can view the main deity, Adhiparasakthi with her left foot resting on a fully-bloomed Lotus pedestal, her right leg folded and seated on a lion-headed throne. In front of the seat on the floor is the Swayambhu.
Melmaruvathur History
Long before the Karuvarai was built and Adhiparasakthi was established in it, that place was a wild and untamed field with bushes and trees. The land belonged to Adigalar Amma's father, Sri Gopala Nayakar, in what was then the village of Melmaruvathur.
Sri Gopala Nayakar was a farmer who lived with his wife, Srimathi Meenambal and their children, of whom Bangaru Adigalar was the oldest having lost their first-born daughter tragically at a young age.
In this small village, they were a prominent and well-respected land-owning family known for their generosity and charitable works as they took care of those in need and neighbours and visitors frequented their house. Their family also sponsored many local religious festivals and both parents of Adigalar Amma were known for their devotion to Adhiparasakthi.
It was in this environment of comfort, stability and faith that Bangaru Adigalar grew up. Even at a young age he was prone to seek solitude and many remembered him as drawn to spending time in local temples and singing devotional songs in his youth while his peers were engaged in youthful pastimes.
As with the birth of other divine incarnations like Bhagavan Sri Krishna, Lord Jesus or Sri Buddha, Guru Adigalar's birth was also unique and remarkable indicating early signs of his divine nature. The baby was saved in time from falling on his head by a female relative. Several other incidents and divine revelations convinced his parents that their child was chosen by Mother Adhiparasakthi to be her incarnation to teach universal truths to the world. That's how the history of melmaruvathur siddhar peedam began.
Adhiparasakthi speaks through Adigalar in Arulvaaku, Oracles. Devotees do not distinguish between the two of them. That explains why Adigalar Amma , although a male human, is affectionately called as “Amma”, Mother, by his devotees.
A familiar photo found in big to a pocket-size small size that devotees use to pray shows three figures. One is Adhiparasakthi murthi (sculpture), two is the Swayambhu, the self-manifested rock in front of Adhiparasakthi, and three Adigalar Amma seated on the floor in a meditative state to the right of Adhiparasakthi. In one Arulvaaku, Amma explained the meaning of the Mupporul Thathuvam. She said that all three, Him (Adigalar Amma), Her (Mother Adhiparasakthi) and It (Swayambhu rock) represent Adhiparasakthi and they are one and the same.