Kanyakumari - Thiruvattar ADI KESAVA PERUMAL (VISHNU) Temple....a Journey Experience...

                     Thiruvattar Sree Adikesava Perumal Temple is situated 6 km north-east of Marthandam and 30 km north-west of Nagercoil (in Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu). The temple is surrounded on three sides by rivers (Kothai,Parali and Thamirabarani). Paraliyar takes a turn in this place and it is called vattaru and when the temple of Adikeasav Perumal was created it came to be known as Thriuvattaru.

This Temple is older than Padmanabha Swamy Temple at Thiruvananthapuram. Its structure is similar to that of Padmanabha Swamy Temple. The style and the architechture of this temple is taken as the sample to construct the Padmanabha Swamy Temple. The idol of Adikesava and Sree Padmanabha are installed in such a way that they face each other. The lord is lying on his snake couch and has to be viewed through three doors. We could see Lord Shiva near the Lord Adikesava Perumal inside the sannidhi.

Sri Adikesavaperumal temple, is one of the 108 holy Vishnu temples (105 located in India, 1 in Nepal and 2 in the non physical world). Architecture of this temple is Kerala Style. This temple is older than the Sri Padamanabhaswamy temple in Trivandrum. The architecture and style of this temple has been followed by Sri Padamanabhaswamy temple in Trivandrum. Compared to Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple in Trivandrum this temple is small. Differences between two temples are, in Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple Trivandrum Lord Vishnu facing towards east and in Sri Adikesavaperumal temple towards west. In this temple status of Lord Vishnu is made up of Kaduku (mustard), chippi (lime powder) and sarkara (jaggery). Sculptures and mural paintings of this temple are amazing. Really we have to appreciate the sculptors those who designed the temple.

Location and Access:

 Thiruvattaru is located near the town of Kanyakumari in Tamil nadu, on the rail route between kanyakumari and  Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram).  Thiruvattaru is about also about 30 km from Nagercoil in Tamil Nadu.  This place can also be reached by taking a bus from Thiruvananthapuram to Nagercoil and alighting at Marthandam and then travelling another 9 km by taking another bus or from Azhagiyamandapam take a bus to thiruvattar.

The Temple:

 The mulavar or Main deity God here is Sri Adi kesava perumal and the thayar or goddess is Sri maragathavalli.The theertham is vattaru river (Aru = river in Tamil).  The thirumeni or body of the Lord is so huge that He has to be  viewed through three doors in the sannidhi. The thirumeni of the Lord is said to be made up entirely of 16008 salagramam stones. Due to this, there is no abhishekam (ritual bathing) for the Lord at this Temple. The main deity here has a very serene expression on his divine face, which gets accentuated in the light of the ghee lamps. The right hand of the Lord is held is a yoga mudra, while the left hangs down freely.

There is a huge stone platform (18 feet by 18 feet by 3 feet) in front of the sanctum sanctorum. There are no electric lights inside the sanctum, and it is an out-of-the-world experience to behold the Lord in the light of ghee and oil lamps. There is a Siva Linga  at the feet of the Lord. Sri devi and bhu devi thayars or godess are seated in the centre in front of Perumal or vishnu. A sage by the name of kataleya maharishi is seen near the head of Sri Perumal. Brahma is not seen.

The sanctum is constructed in such a manner that, on selected days, the rays of the sun fall directly on the thirumeni of the Lord.

The temple has huge corridors adorned with beautiful sculptures. There is a separate sannidhi for Sri Krishna. A remarkable feature of the perumal here is that, He is reclining with His head on the right side (when you stand facing the sannidhi).. The temple can be fully covered in an hour or two, although you could spend days and weeks enjoying the beauty of this temple and art works on stone & wood.

There are a lot of structural similarities between this temple and the temple of Thiruvananthapuram Sree padmanabhaswamy temple...but this is first temple built before  hundred of years.After seen this temple only the copy was made in thiruvanthapuram

Legends and History:

Kesi who saw her brother defeated wanted to avenge and hence she along with her friend, Kothai took the form of rivers and encircled the temple with the intention of submerging the temple. At that time, it is believed that Bhoomi devi raised the temple . Hence, the temple is situated at a height of 55 feet from the ground level. The image of the Gopuram clearly indicates this. The rivers joined with Arabian Sea at a place known as Moovaatru mukham. The rivers were cursed by Perumal and they repented for their action. Perumal forgave them and had a dip in Moovaatru mukham. Even today, during Painguni utsavam, Perumal comes on golden Garuda and has dip in the river thus enacting the saapa vimochana incident.

In 1740 the men of the Nawab of Arcot looted this temple and the golden idol (ulsava vigraham). It was so heavy. He kept the idol along with rubbish in a lumber room. Every day, the idol would come on top and in spite of being tied down with ropes, the idol would come to the top. At that time, the Nawab's wife developed serious illness which could not be cured by anyone. Perumal appeared in the dream of the temple priest and ordered him to go to Nawab's palace and inform the Nawab that if the idol was returned, his wife would be cured of illness. The Nawab acted accordingly and his wife was cured. The Nawab gifted a silver plate and a cap to Perumal and this is used at the time of Sheeveli everyday.He also provided the fund for conducting annual puja -Thiru Alla Pooja. When the priest who was bringing back the idol halted in a place for completing his evening rituals, the idol got stuck to the ground. Later under the supervision of the King, suddhi kalasam was performed and this is carried out every year during the last day of the utsavam in the month of Tulam. The idol is taken from Thiruvattaru to River Parali on the golden Garuda.

This temple is noted for its beautiful sculptures in stone and wood. The Ottakkal Mandapam (single stone hall) made of single stone 3 feet thick is a marvel. The inscriptions in the Balikkal mandapam belongs to the period of Rajendra Chozhan I (A.D 1013-1045). It refers the deity as the 'thiruvattaru pallikondu arulkindra perumal'. Udaya marthanda mandapam has exquisite wood carvings and the highlight is the wedding procession of Lord Ganapathi. The corridor has 222 salabhanjikas (feminine forms holding a lamp), and are unique. There is also a small shrine for Lord Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy near the river and opposite to the Adikesava Perumal Temple.

My Visit:-

 It is my pleasure  and privilege to visit and describe this Temple. “Beautiful” is a very mild word to describe the sannidhi of Sri Adi kesava perumal here.  Although located in the state of Tamil nadu, this is one of temples follows the kerala protocol of worship and rituals.  The idol of Sri Perumal lying resplendently on Adi seshan is 22 feet in length – the biggest among all in 108 vishnu temples  where Sri Perumal is in a reclining  posture.

ENTRANCE

Way to Get INSIDE

STONE PILLARS

Example for Stone Art

Example for wood Art

Outside Compound Wall

I get clear details from the priest that The pujas are done in this temple are same as Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple at Trivandrum. In the month of April every year, 10 days of festival is going on here. During those days main cultural program of this temple is Kathakali. 10th day of festival with the Arattu (holy bath of god) and Kambakettu (fire works), they will put and end to the festival. If we say about the environment of this temple, wow !, what a pleasant environment ? Fresh breeze with the nice smell of flowers. One important thing i notice here is calmness of the place. Nobody can feel that if you not visit that temple once   If we come around the temple everyday, it will be very good exercise to our body and our mind also will be very pleasant. People who come to Thiruvattar surely they will visit this. Its surely a life time memorable experience..

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Photos Courtesy:- Incrediblekumari.blogspot.com  & google