108 Divya-deshams: Thiruvaigundam

BY: SUN STAFF

Srivaikuntanathan Perumal Temple

Feb 21, 2024 — CANADA (SUN) — A tour of the 108 Divya-desams, the divine abodes of Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi.

Srivaikuntanathan Perumal Temple, also known as Srivaikuntam and Kallapiran, is locaed in Srivaikuntam, a town in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu. Lord Visnu is worshipped here as Sri Vaikunthanathar with His consort Vaikunthavalli (Lakshmi).

This Divya Desham is mentioned in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham. It is also classified as one of the Nava Tirupati, nine temples located in the banks of Tamiraparani river. The temple is next only to Alwarthirunagari Temple in terms of importance among the nine Navatirupathi temples. Srivaikuntanathan temple is also associated with Surya, the sun god.

Main entrance Rajagopuram

Srivaikuntanathar is believed to have appeared to slay Somukasura, the demon who abducted the four Vedas. The presiding deity is known as Pal Pandian, as a cow performed ablution daily to the submerged deity here during the Pandyan era.

A deity form of Vaikunthanatha was left submerged under the earth over the period of several ages, during which He had no patrons. One of the king's cows used to graze at the place, and did ablution at the place where Vaikunthanatha lay buried. The king was displeased to see that a particular cow alone was not yielding milk and thought it might have been the trick of the herdsman. He deployed his men to monitor the cow, and they reported the events to the king. The king realised that the cow would lead him to divinity and he dug up the region around the place. He reinstated the image of Sri Vaikunthanathar and expanded the temple. Since Vaikunthanathar was revealed by the cow, the presiding deity got the name Pal Pandian (pal in Tamil means 'milk').

Rama hugging Sugriva

According to the temple legend, Somukasura once defeated Brahma and stole the four Vedas from him. Brahma did severe penance on the banks of the Tamiraparani river, seeking favour from Vishnu in the form of Vaikuntanathan. Pleased by the penance, Vishnu appeared to Brahma and promised to retrieve the Vedas. Taking the form of Matsya avataram, Vishnu killed Somukasura and restored the Vedas to Brahma. He also wished to set Srivakuntam as his abode as, and resided there as Vaikunthanatha.

The Lord is also known as Kallapiran, because He helped a thief who prayed to him while he was in trouble. Kaladushana was the leader of robbers in the region. The ruling Pandya king wanted to arrest him, but his attempts were futile. During one of the encounters, he was able to arrest everyone except Kaladushana. Kaladushana prayed to Srivaikuntanathar to save him and his troop from the king. Vaikunthanathar appeared as Kaldushana and surrendered before the king. Later, he appeared in the dreams of the king to narrate the events and also informed him that he wanted the king and the people to learn that large accumulation of ill-gotten wealth would be stolen and would reach the right hands. The king was enlightened and he released Kaladushana and his troop. Since Vaikunthanathar appeared on behalf of the thieves (called kalla in Tamil), he came to be known as Kallapiran.

There are six inscriptions dating support of the temple. In 1801, the temple acted as a fort for the British against the forces of Veerapandiya Kattabomman (1790–99). It is believed that the marks of war and destruction of Pandiyan history by the later nayakkar were visible in the temple during modern times.

Veerabadra

Constructed in the Tamil style of architecture, a granite wall surrounds the 5 acre temple complex, enclosing all its shrines and two of its three bodies of water. The rajagopuram, the temple's gateway tower, is 110 ft (34 m) tall. The temple has five precincts. The Mahamandapa and the Swarga Madapa are believed to be later additions. Thiruvengadamudayan hall houses rare life-sized sculptures that were commissioned during the 16th century.

The sanctum houses the image of Srivaikunanatha in standing posture with a club in His hand. Adishesha, the serpent-mount of Vishnu, is seen holding a parasol over His head. The image is made of shaligrama stone and ablution is usually done with milk. This is the only temple where Adishesha guards Vishnu in standing posture.

The hall preceding the sanctum, the Artha Mandapam houses the festival image of Vishnu made of panchaloha (5 metals) with the images of His consorts Sridevi (Lakshmi) and Bhudevi on either side. Ardha mandapa is guarded by two dvarapalas on either side. the other places where it covers in sitting posture.

A warrior

There are separate shrines for Krishna as Venugopala, Krishna as Govardhanagiri, Yoga Narasimha, Vishvaksena (Senai Mudaliyar), and Garuda. The festival image of Yoga Narasimha and Lakshmi Narasimha are also housed in the same shrine. There is another shrine that houses the images of Dasavatara.

Depiction of Hanuman in various poses can be seen in the temple. There are life-sized images of Agora Virabhadra and warriors. Rama is seen hugging the monkey king Sugreeva with his right hand and holding his bow in the left, with Sita standing on his left. In another pillar he is seen hugging Hanuman with his right hand, with Angada standing in anjali. A host of monkey warriors are standing at the bottom of both the sculptures.

The dhvajastambha mandapam has pillars with refined architectural features. The Tirumoli mandapam has sculptures of monkeys, squirrels and parrots. It also houses images of monkeys performing various activities. The Vijayanagar and Nayak kings commissioned paintings on the walls of the shrine of temple, some of which are still present. The corridor inside the temple has paintings with details about the 108 Divya Desam shrines of Vishnu. There are also paintings detailing the coronation of Rama.

There are two temple tanks, namely Brighu Theertha and Kalasa theertha near the temple. A huge temple tank near the Tamiraparani river is also associated with the temple. It is in this tank that the float festival is celebrated yearly.

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