Unfortunately, the
rains that followed completely washed away theconstructions. Undaunted by this misfortune,
Mr. Place reconstructed the whole more thoroughly at a cost of over 10,000 pagodas. But
the subsequent rains washed off everything. During one of his visits to Madurantakam in
1798, in his usual morning walk, he happened to pass by Sri Rama's temple on the banks of
the reservoir. There he
met a group of Brahmins going to the temple for worship. When he got into conversation with some of them, he learnt that they
were very anxious to build a shrine for their Goddess but was handicapped for want of
funds. Mr. Place jocularly taunted them by saying, "Why are you so keen on building a
shrine for Devi, who does not care to do you a good turn for all your prayers by
preventing the recurring breaches?" The Brahmins, whose pride was touched to the
quick, replied that their Goddess was a great giver of boons if prayed to with faith and
sincerity. "Well then", said Mr. Place, "let me make that prayer to your
Devi. |
