108 Divya-deshams: Thiruvanthipuram

BY: SUN STAFF

Devanatha Hemabhujavalli Temple, Thiruvanthipuram

Feb 04, 2024 — CANADA (SUN) — A tour of the 108 Divya-desams, the divine abodes of Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi.

Devanatha Hemabhujavalli Temple (also called Thiruvanthipuram or Thiruvaheendrapuram Koyil) is one of the Divya Desham temples and resides in Thiruvanthipuram, a village in the outskirts of Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu. Glorified in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, Lord Vishnu is worshipped here as Devanatha with Hemabhujavalli (Lakshmi). This temple is not primarily known for its presiding Deities, but for Hayagriva, the ninth avatara of Vishnu in the Dasavatara. It is the only historical temple in South India to have a shrine of Hayagriva on the hilltop.

Lakshmi Hayagriva temple uphill

Lord Devanathaswamy appeared to Adishesha here, and to Lord Indra and the sage Markandeya. The place was originally believed to have housed a Shiva temple. A Chola ruler, who was a Saiva fanatic, wanted to demolish the Vishnu temple in his province. Seeing the images of Vinayagar and Dakshinamurthy, which are otherwise found in Shiva temples, he was taken aback. It is believed Vishnu himself appeared before the king. The presiding deity holds a lotus, the symbol of Brahma and has a third eye like Shiva, denoting the Trimurti.

The region was called Tiruvaheendrapuram to honour Adisesha, who was originally called Vaheendran. Vaheendra is believed to have propitiated Indra, the king of celestial deities. Tiruvaheendrapuram became Thiruvanthipuram with the passage of time.

The temple finds mention in Brahmanda Purana, Naradiya Purana and Skanda Purana. According to temple accounts, a group of sages wanted to view a theophany of Vishnu and went all the way to Tirupparkadal, the Ocean of Milk. They could not view Vishnu there and went all the way to Vaikuntha, the heavenly abode of Vishnu. The guardians there stated that they could meet Vishnu only in a place close to the seashore north of Kumbakonam, south of Tirupathi and west of Kanchipuram. When the sages reached there, they found sage Markandeya and his daughter Bhudevi were doing penance. They were able to view Mahavishnu in resplendent form with his weapons, Sudarshana Chakra, Panchajanya and Kaumodaki gracing his arms.

Another temple legend states that Lord Vishnu handed Garuda the job of obtaining the pure water of lake Vraja Tirtha, located in the netherworld. Garuda reached the nether world and secretively obtained the water from the lake, without the knowledge of the sage who had established the lake. The sage learned of it and cursed the water to turn impure. Garuda then pleaded with the sage, indicating the orders of Vishnu. The elongated transaction delayed the proceedings and Vishnu turned to his other prime devotee, Adhishesha the serpent, who constructed a well by whipping the earth with his tail. The water from this well is used daily for the preparation of the temple prasad. It is believed that adding salt, pepper and jaggery to this well water cures the devotee of any ailments and this prescription is religiously followed by people with skin ailments.

Garuda was highly aggrieved but Vishnu appeased him, saying that he would establish a river, which is believed to be the Kedilam river. A ceremonial bath is celebrated annually to commemorate the event.

Indra performed a yagna at this place to worship Vishnu and win over the demon king Vritasura. Vishnu gave Indra the Vajrayudha, after which he came out of hiding and slayed the demon.

Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple in its current form is believed to have been built during the Medieval Cholas, with later expansion from Pandyas, Hoysala Empire and Vijayanagara Empire. There are fifty inscriptions from Kulothunga Chola I (1070–1120 CE), Vikrama Chola (1118–1135 CE), Rajaraja Chola III (1216–1256 CE), Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan (1251–1268 CE), Vikrama Pandya, Vira Pandya III, Vijayanagara king Achyuta Deva Raya (1529–1542 CE) and Koperunjinga and many other rulers.

More than 50 inscriptions in the temple mark it belonging to the Medieval Chola period. The inscriptions indicate grants to the temple from Kulothunga Chola I (1070–1120 CE), Vikrama Chola (1118–1135), Rajaraja Chola III (1216–1256), Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan (1251–1268), Vikrama Pandya, Vira Pandya III, Vijayanagara king Achyuta Deva Raya (1529–1542 CE) and Koperunjinga. The descendants of Ramanuja were given special provisions for worship during the period of Vijayanara Empire.

The temple is located on the foothills of Outshadagiri, a small hill, which houses the temple of Hayagriva. The river Kedilam, located on the other side of the temple, flows from south to north and is locally called Uttaravahini. This is the only Vishnu temple built on the banks of the river, though there are a few prominent Shiva temples.

Plaque of the presiding Deity over the sanctum

A granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all its shrines and bodies of water. The rajagopuram has five tiers and rises to a height of 60 feet. Lord Devanathaswamy is housed in the central shrine. The sanctum also houses the image His consort, Hemabhujavalli (also known as Senkamalavalli Thayar, Vaikunta Nayagi and Amruthavarshini) in sitting posture.

There is a separate shrine housing Rama, and other deities in the sanctum include Hanumar and Garuda, who are in the unique postures of Anajalihasta, unique to this temple.

Source: Wikipedia

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