108 Divya-deshams: Thirukkavithalam

BY: SUN STAFF

Gajendra Varadha Perumal Temple,Thirukkavithalam

Jan 31, 2024 — CANADA (SUN) — A tour of the 108 Divya-desams, the divine abodes of Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi.

The Gajendra Varadha Perumal Temple in Thirukkavithalam, a village on the outskirts of Papanasam in Tamil Nadu, is another of the five Pancha-Kannan temples among the Divya Deshams. Lord Vishnu is worshipped here as Gajendra Varadha Perumal with His consort Ramamanivalli (Lakshmi). As with other Pancha-Kannan temples, Lord Krsna is given prominence over the presiding deity.

At this place Sri Gajendra Varada appeared to Gajendra the elephant (Indrajumnan), the crocodile Kuhu, Sage Parasara, and Anjaneya. According to temple legend, King Indrajuman, who immersed himself in the worship of Vishnu, failed to strengthen his army and lost his kingdom. While offering worship, he also did not observe the sage Durvasa (some claim it was Agastya) who went along his way. The sage got irritated and cursed the king to be born as an elephant in his next birth. The king apologized to the sage for his negligence and moved by his innocence, the sage wished that he would continue to be a Vishnu devotee as an elephant and that Vishnu would bestow him goodwill.

There was a gandharva by the name of Kuhu in the temple tank at this place, who troubled all who took bath in the tank. He was cursed by a sage to be born as crocodile in his next birth. The elephant Gajendra continued as a Vishnu devotee and while drinking water from the temple tank, his leg was grabbed by the crocodile. The elephant cried in rescue calling "Adimulam", and Vishnu sent his discus to fend off the crocodile. Both the elephant and crocodile turned to their human form by the grace of Vishnu. Since Vishnu appeared heard to save the elephant Gajendra, he came to be known as Gajendara Varadar.

Another Divya Desham temple also associated with Gajendra is Ashtabujakaram, or the Ashtabuja Perumal Temple in Reddypet, Kanchipuram.

Hanuman, the vanara lieutenant of Lord Rama, also worshiped Vishnu at this place, hence it came to be known as Kabisthalam (kabi in Tamil means monkey).

Gajendra Moksha
Tanjore, late 19th c.

Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham. It is believed to have been built by the Medieval Cholas of the late 9th century CE, with later contributions from Vijayanagara kings and Madurai Nayaks.

The village of Thirukkavithalam is located in between the two rivers Kaveri and Kollidam. Gajendra Varadha Perumal Temple has a granite wall surrounding the temple complex and enclosing all its shrines and bodies of water. The temple has a five-tier rajagopuram and a single precinct.

Gajendra Varadar deity is enshrined in the sanctum, in a reclining posture, called bhujanga sayanam. The vimana above the sanctum is Ganganakrutha Vimanam. There is a separate shrine for Ramanavalli (Laksmi Devi), located to the right of the sanctum. There are separate shrines for Yoga Narasimha, Sudarsana, Garuda and the Alvars in the first sanctum. The main temple tank is Gajendra Pushkarani and there is another tank called Kapila Theertham, located inside the temple complex.

Temple Gopura

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