Āgama Kalāratnam Siva Sri V.S. Bhāskara Gurukkal

Hailing from a family of Priests from Cuddalore (Tamil Nadu, India), Sri Bhāskara Gurukkal is the Chief Priest & Manager of Sri Bhuvaneswari Hindu Temple. After being initiated into temple activities by his grand father and his very first Guru Sri Sankara Gurukkal, he studied Āghamam under Sri Muthukumāraswami Gurukkal at a Pādasala for six years and then Veda and Sastra under Sri Nagaraja Ganapaadigal in Thiruppaapuliyur (Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu). Additionally he studied Astrology and Palmistry under Sri Varadāchariar. Sri Bhāskara Gurukkal has a B.A. (English Literature) from Madras University. He started off his career as a Priest in Siddhi Kamala Vināyagar temple in Madras followed by Varasiddhi Vinayagar temple in NOIDA, New Delhi for 6 years. He moved to Canada in 1997 and was with Sri Ayyappan Temple in Toronto, followed by Vishnu Mandir, also in Toronto.

Sri Bhāskar is specialized in conducting Kumbabhishekam, Brahmotsavam, Chandi Homam etc. and is well-versed in Sanskrit and Āgama Sāstras. He felt that those practicing Sāktham or worship of God in a 'Sakthi' (feminine) form, had no place of worship of Sri Bhuvaneswari in Toronto and being an ardent Sakthi worshipper himself, he worked tirelessly for well over 18 months, crossing innumerable hurdles, to make his dream of a temple for Sri Bhuvaneswari in Toronto, a reality - the very first temple for the Goddess in North America.