Sri Vatapatrasäyi Temple/Sri Andal Temple, Srivilliputtur

Çré Vaöapatrasäyé Temple/ Çré Aëòal Temple, Srivilliputtur

Çré Vaöapatrasäyé Temple, popularly known as Çré Aëòal Temple is in Srivilliputtur. It is one of the sacred Vaiñëava shrines.

Temple architecture/style/specialty

The majestic Räjagopuram of the Temple is part of the official symbol of Tamil Nadu Government. At 192 feet (59 metres), this 11 or 12-tiered gopuram is now the 4^th tallest Gopuram, and is the primary landmark of Srivilliputtur. The Government of Tamil Nadu uses this Gopuram - Temple Tower as part of its symbol (Like Mukteçwara Temple Toraëa is for Government of Odisha).

	Famous Gopurams*	Place	Tier	Height	Builder
1	Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple	Trichy	13-tiered	240 feet	1980
2	Arunachaleswara Temple	Tiruvannamalai		217 feet
3	Ekambareswara Temple	Kanchipuram		194 feet
4	Sri Andal Temple	Srivilliputtur	11-tier	192 feet
5	Southern Rajagopuram of Minakshi	Madurai	9-tier -1511 sculptures	160 feet	Sevvanti Murty Chettiar in 1559 CE
6	Eastern Rajagopuram of Minakshi	Madurai		153 feet	Maravarman Sundara Pandyan
7	Sarangapani Temple	Kumbakonam	12-tier	146 feet
8	Suchindram	Kanyakumari		134 feet
9	Rameswaram	Rameswaram		126 feet

*Why do I give this Table every time. So that each write-up is independent, and one can visualise immediately.

   

Srivilliputtur Gopuram (Source - Wiki)

Srivilliputtur Gopuram                    (another perspective)

The Temple has a shrine for Çré Aëòal and a double-storied sanctum of Çré Vaöapatrasäyé or Çré Raìganätha. The Tulasivanam (basil garden), where Periya Äÿwär found baby Aëòal lies between the sanctum and the Aëòal shrine. Çré Vaöapatrasäyé is in the reclining posture (säyé), with Çré Devé and Bhü Devé at His feet. He is named so, since He is resting His head on the leaf of a Banyan Tree. This was the favourite temple of Tirumalä Näyaka (1623-1659 CE) (who built the Madurai temple) and his sister. They were instrumental in the massive reconstruction of the Temple in 17^th century.

There is a well outside the sanctum, which was used by Aëòal as a mirror to look at herself with the garland on. The Aëòal shrine was a later addition. It is said to have been built by Periya Äÿwär (Periyaazhvar), with a purse of gold that he won in debates held in the palace of Pandyan King Vallabhadeva.

Deity

The presiding deity in Srivilliputtur is Çré Vaöapatrasäyé or Çré Raìganätha. Garuda Äÿwär is enshrined by the side of Çré Raìganätha. 

Sri Andal has the parrot on her left hand

Sri Minakshi has the parrot on her right hand

I found that the only way to distinguish Çré Aëòal from Çré Ménäkñé is by the way they hold the parrot. Çré Ménäkñé holds the parrot on her right hand, whereas Çré Aëòal holds it on her left.  

History & Legend

Srivilliputtur is situated 80 km from Madurai. This is the birthplace of Çré Aëòal, one of the twelve Äÿwär, and the author of the revered Tiruppavai hymns. The divine child was brought up by Viñëu Chittar (Periya Äÿwär). The girl, by her insatiable love and true devotion to Lord Raìganätha, decided that she would marry only the Lord. At the bidding of Lord Raìganätha, Aëòal was taken to Sri Rangam in a palanquin in bridal pomp and glory. She was led to the sanctum, where she merged with the Lord. She was fourteen then.

Çré Aëòal’s devotional Tamil songs, known as Tiruppavai, are as popular as Mira bhajans. They are sung every morning in Vaiñëava temples, during Tamil month of Märgaçéra (December-January). There are a collection of thirty poems, recounting her mystic experiences.

Festival

The fifth day of Äòi festival (during monsoon/July-Aug) and the sixth day of Märgaçéra festival (Dec-Jan) attract thousands of pilgrims.

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Minäkshi-Sundareswara Temple, Madurai

Ménäkñé-Sundareçwara Temple, Madurai

Period & Builder

The Ménäkñé-Sundareçwara Temple built by Kulasekhara Pandyan of the ancient Pandyan dynasty is the biggest Temple in Tamil Nadu, and is a superb example of the Dravida School of temple-architecture. The origin of the Temple goes back to legendary times. Only a shrine of Lord Shiva was existing in 7^th century. The shrine of Çré Ménäkñé  was built during the reign of Chadayavarman Sundara Pandyan in 12^th century. The entire credit for making the Temple as splendid as it is today goes to the Nayakas who ruled Madurai from 16^th to 18^th century, considered as the golden period of Madurai. The largest expansion was during the reign of Tirumalä Näyak (1623-59 CE). He was the best of the Näyakas of Madurai.

Madurai’s history can be divided into roughly four periods, beginning over 2,000 years ago, when it was the capital of the Pandyan kings. In the 4^th century BCE, the city was known to the Greeks via Meghasthenes, their ambassador to the court of Chandragupta Maurya. In the 10^th century CE, Madurai was taken by the Chola Emperors. It remained in their hands until the Pandyas briefly regained their independence, in the 12^th century, only to lose it again in the 14^th century to Muslim invaders under Malik Kafur, a general in the service of the Delhi Sultanate. Malik Kafur established his own dynasty here, which in turn, was overthrown by the Hindu Vijayanagar Kings of Hampi. After the fall of Vijayanagar in 1565 CE, the Nayakas ruled Madurai for around 200 years (considered the golden age of Madurai) until 1781 CE. Designed in 1560 CE by Viswanath Nayaka, the present temple was substantially built during the reign of Tirumalä Näyaka (1623-1655 CE), and Madurai became the cultural centre of the Tamil people, playing an important role in the development of the Tamil language.

Subsequently, Madurai passed into the hands of the British East India Company, which took over the revenues of the area, after the wars of the Carnatic in 1781 CE.

The temple town of Madurai is one of the most ancient heritage sites of India, truly reflective of the cultural ethos of India. Madurai is closely associated with the literary wealth of Classical and modern Tamil. The crowning glory of this historic city is the sprawling Ménäkñé-Sundareçwara Temple. Four of the six major streams of the indigenous system of beliefs as codified by Ädi Çaìkaräcärya (Çaivism, Çaktism, Vaiñëvism and worship of Skanda) meet this historic city during festive occasions, when the entire region is transformed into a vast space of celebration.

There are four entrances to the temple, which occupies six hectares. It has 12 towers, ranging in height from 45 to 50 metres, and 4 outer-rim nine-tiered gopurams, the tallest of which is the Southern Rajagopuram. The Hall of 1,000 columns actually has 985.

Chronological details of the Räjagopurams

The Eastern Rajagopuram (153 feet), built by Maravarman Sundara Pandyan (1216-1238 CE) is the oldest.

The Western Rajagopuram was built by Parakrama Pandyan in 14^th century.

The Southern Rajagopuram (160 feet) was constructed by Sevvanti Murty Chettiar in 1559 CE. It is 9-storeyed and has 1511 sculptures.

The ‘Thousand-pillared Hall’ (985 actually) was constructed during the reign of Viswanath Nayak in 1569 CE.

The ‘Golden Lotus Tank’ (length 240 feet x width 165 feet) was built in 1636 CE.

	Famous Gopurams*	Place	Tier	Height	Builder
1	Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple	Trichy	13-tiered	240 feet	1980
2	Arunachaleswara Temple	Tiruvannamalai		217 feet
3	Ekambareswara Temple	Kanchipuram		194 feet
4	Sri Andal Temple	Srivilliputhur	11-tier	192 feet
5	Southern Rajagopuram of Minakshi	Madurai	9-tier -1511 sculptures	160 feet	Sevvanti Murty Chettiar in 1559 CE
6	Eastern Rajagopuram of Minakshi	Madurai		153 feet	Maravarman Sundara Pandyan
7	Sarangapani Temple	Kumbakonam	12-tier	146 feet
8	Suchindram	Kanyakumari		134 feet
9	Rameswaram	Rameswaram		126 feet

*Why do I give this Table every time. So that each write-up is independent, and one can visualise immediately.

Deities

The deity here is Çré Ménäkñé (meaning fish-eyed), an aspect of Goddess Parvati and her consort Lord Sundareçwara, an aspect of Lord Çiva. They are enshrined in this twin Temple. Çré Ménäkñé stands with a parrot on her right hand (not to be mistaken with a similar form of Aëòal with a parrot on her left hand) radiating feminine grace. 

Sri Minakshi has the parrot on her right hand

Sri Andal has the parrot on her left hand

Ménäkñé is conceived here as Universal Mother in her loving mood. Çré Sundareçwara’s shrine is in the other part of the complex.

Temple architecture/style/specialty

The Temple covers an area of seventeen acres. It has four Rajagopurams – gateways, in each of the four directions – East, West, North and South. The Eastern Rajagopuram built by Maravarman Sundara Pandyan (1216-1238 CE) is the oldest and rises to 153 feet. The Western Rajagopuram was built by Parakrama Pandyan in 14^th century. Among the eleven gopurams in the temple, the largest and the best of them is the Southern Rajagopuram rising to a height of 160 feet with a parabolic curves at the sides. It was constructed by Sevvanti Chettiar in 16^th century. The lofty base and the concave curves of the whole structure tend to give it a soaring quality greater than what its height suggests. The surface is pulsating mass of masonry, covered all over with plastic figures of deities and celestial characters freely drawn from inexhaustible treasure house of Hindu pantheon. The North Rajagopuram otherwise known as mottai gopuram is modest without any striking artistic work.

There are also smaller gopurams that add to the beauty of the temple-complex. The gopurams include four nine-tiered, four seven-tiered, five five-tiered, two two-tiered and two gold-covered-tiers, a total of 17 gopurams.

There are five vimanas over the sanctum of the Lord, and three over the sanctum of the Çré Ménäkñé.

Outside the sanctum are some great sculptures, including one that depicts Çré Ménäkñé’s wedding with Çiva, with Lord Viñëu (considered her brother) giving away the bride.

The Ménäkñé Nayakar Maëòapam is famous for its 110 pillars carrying the figures Yali, a peculiar animal with a lion’s body and an elephant’s head.

The ‘Thousand-Pillar Maëòapam’ actually contains 985 pillars, including few musical pillars, each one producing a different musical note when struck. Viewed from any angle, these pillars appear to be in a straight line (Like Diwan-e-am in Red Fort). The ‘Thousand-Pillared Hall’ is sort of a museum. In the Velliambalam, Lord Nataraja is seen in the dancing posture with his right foot raised. Usually, Nataraja is depicted as dancing with his left foot raised. The dance is known as Jïänasundara Täëòavam.

The ‘Golden Lotus Tank’ within the Temple-complex has its own story. It is said that the ancient Tamil Academy judged the worth of any work of literature presented before it, by throwing it into ‘The Lotus Tank’ here. Only those that did not sink were considered worthy of attention.

History

Although razed to ground, the Madurai Ménäkñé-Sundareçwara Temple was rebuilt with amazing resilience by the Nayaka rulers who ruled Madurai from 16^th to 18^th century of Madurai.

Festivals

Madurai is a city of festivals. The most important festival is the Ménäkñé-Sundareçwara wedding on Chitra-Purnima day (April-May).

Of all the temples documented so far, Madurai was the second most difficult (first being Mahabalipuram. The Temple-Complex is so vast, it requires repeated visits to comprehend the basic structure and lay out. My problem was to distinguish the four Räjagopurams. It took two visits (2008 and 2009) and four years to document above (basics). I write only what I have understood and digested.

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Dandayudhapäni Temple, Palani

Daëòäyudhapäëi Temple,  Palani

Palani, is 107 km south-east from Coimbatore, and 125 km north-west from Madurai. It enshrines Daëòäyudha-päëi in a hill-temple. It is one of the six holiest of Murugan shrines, referred to as the Aarupadai Vidugal. The shrine of Daëòäyudha-päëi is at the top of a hill about 500 ft high, but there are several shrines and térthams surrounding the hill itself. One of these is the famous shrine called Aavinakudi, built at the foot of the hill, which is mentioned in old religious verses. It is believed to be more than 2000 years old.

Deity

Lord Muruga stands as an young ascetic holding a daëòa. Hence, he is known as Bäla Daëòäyudha-päëi. The place Tiruvävinankudi), is one of the six padal vedu shrines of Muruga, representing the sites where Murugan the valiant commander of the gods sojourned, while he proceeded to battle against the demon Surapadman.

The image of the deity in the hill shrine is made up of a wax-like substance and is believed to be an amalgam of nine different herbal substances, and is believed to be of nine rare minerals. Devotees believe that any substance that comes in contact with the body of this image acquires a miraculous curing powers for many illnesses.

The materials used on this image during abhiñekams (ceremonial ablutions), especially the sandalwood paste used to cover the body overnight are highly sought after. The pancämåtam (a mixture of milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar-crystal) used in the abhiñekam is kept for long periods without any preservative in it.

Temple architecture/style/specialty

Palani is probably one of the most visited and the most endowed temples in the state of Tamil Nadu. The Daëòäyudha-päëi Temple is located on the 450 feet  high Palanimalai in the town of Palani near Madurai. 659 or 690 steps line the mountain passage, and an electric winch also takes the pilgrims up the hill.

Along the steps to the shrine, there are small shrines of various deities with resting place where tired devotees can rest a while during their climb. There are about 690 steps to the top of the hill.

History

The Temple is referred to in the Tamil work Thiru-murugatruppadal of Nakirar of the Sangam age (pre-Christian era). Arunagiri-nathar, the saint poet has composed 95 verses on Palani in his Thirupugazh. The Palanimalai hill temple and the Tiruvävinankuòi temple at the foothills form a composite unit. The Thiruvävinankuòi temple is referred to as Kuzhandhai-velayudar temple is located at the foot of the hill, and the Saravanpoigal tank is located near it. The Palani Andavar temple with a gold-plated vimanam is located at the top of the Palani hill.

Festivals

This temple follows a calendar of festivals throughout the year. The annual Brahmotsavam is celebrated in the month of Phalguna.

Travels in palani city

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Sri Jambukeswara Temple, Trichy

Çré Jambukeçwara Temple, Trichy

Jambukeswaram, near Trichy, is the ancient name of the present town of Tiruvanikka. Both terms, Jambukeswaram in Sanskrit, and Tiruvanaikaval/Tiruvanaikoil relate to the same place, the abode of Lord Jambukeswara. The Lord is worshipped here as the water aspect, hence the place is one of the Pancha-Bhüta Sthalas.

According to the Temple authorities, the current Temple was built by Kocengannan (Kochenga Chola), one of the Early Cholas  around 1,800 years ago. The Cholas, Pandyas and the Hoysalas also contributed magnificently towards the maintenance and expansion.

Temple Gopuram Source - Wiki

The Appu Lingam Source - Wiki

Deity

The presiding deity is Sri Jambukeswara, also known as Appu (water) Lingam. The sanctum is very small and at a low level. The base of the Linga is always damp with water flowing from river Kaveri underneath. As one of the Pancha-Bhuta Sthalas, a lot of significance is attached to this pilgrimage centre.

The divine consort is Sri Akhilandeswari, who is worshipped in a separate shrine. It is believed that the Amman in the temple was in deep anger hence during Ädi Çankara’s visit he installed the Prasanna Gaëapati idol right opposite to her Sannidhi,  and offered a pair of Sri Chakra as Thädanga (ear-rings) for the Devi to reduce her anger.

Temple architecture/style/specialty

There are many gopuras in the Temple. One has to go through three gopuras before entering the main Temple. The first one has seven tiers, the second one four, the third one seven and is the best. The pillars in the corridor are more striking than the ones in the long corridor of Rameçwaram (Yes, I photographed). The workmanship in the central maëòapam is indeed striking. There is a huge almost curtain-like pillar near Sri Akhilandeswari’s shrine, with tapestry designs on it.

Legend

The deity is said to have been installed by Parvati. To signify that the Devi is worshipping the Lord, even today at noon a priest of Goddess Akhilandeswari’s shrine wears a saree, a crown on his head, and proceeds to perform the noon-puja to the Lingam. When we entered the Temple, the priest was indeed wearing a saree and a crown and was going round the shrine with the Temple band and few devotees following him.

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