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..
To See the Another Post Related this then Click the below Link:-(PHOTOS)
Thiruvattar Vishnu Temple - PHOTOS
To see the related post to this then click the link shown below:- (VIDEOS)
To see the related post to this then click the link shown below:- (Journey Experience)
Udayagiri Fort - Journey Experience
Photos Courtesy:- Incrediblekumari.blogspot.com & google
