Sri Pundarikakshan Perumal Temple Thiruvellarai, Tiruchirappalli

SRI PUNDARIKASHA PERUMAL TEMPLE

Thiruvellarai, Tiruchirappalli, Tamilnadu, India

God

Pundarikakshan Perumal is the main deity of this temple, who is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Here deity is seen in a standing posture, facing in East direction and measures 18 - feet tall. The gigantic wooden image is in the standing posture and he can be seen carrying the Sudarshana Chakra and Sankhu (conch). The chakra is the rare Prayoga Chakra that indicates that the Lord is ready to throw it and destroy his enemies. Surya and Chandra are seen waving the Chamaras (feather fans) on either side of him. At his feet, Sage Markandeya and Bhooma Devi are seen worshiping the Lord. A human-looking Adhishesha, the fiveheaded snake can unusually be seen standing and looking towards Perumal on the left. He and Garuda are depicted with hands folded like devotees.

Goddess

Shenbagavalli is the consort of Lord Vishnu, who is an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi.

Interesting Facts

This temple is fourth among the 108 Divya Desams, the holy destinations for devotees of Lord Vishnu.

Best Season To Visit

The best season to visit this temple is Winter season. The best months to visit are September to February.

Weather

Highest - April to June (38°C during day and 26°C during night)Average - May (37°C during the day and 21°C during night)Lowest - October to February (27°C during day and 18°C during night)Monsoon season - August to September

Dress Code

For men the dress code is Shirt & Trouser, Dhoti or Pyjamas with upper cloth.
For women the preferred dress code is saree or half-saree with blouse or chudidhar with pyjama and upper cloth.These rules are applicable for foreigners also.
Shorts, mini-skirts, middies, sleeveless tops, low-waist jeans and short-length T-shirts are not allowed.
Pilgrims/visitors will not be allowed inside the temple if dress code is not followed.

Do's & Dont's

Do bathe and wear clean clothes before you enter the temple.
Do respect ancient customs and co-piligrims while at temple.

Smoking is strictly prohibited inside the temple premises.

transport connections

Name	Distance	Contact Number
Samayapuram Bus Stand	10.4 KM	18004194287
Srirangam Railway Station	15.5 KM	0431-2432244
Tiruchirapalli International Airport	26.4 KM	07373774163

Railway Station Name	Distance	Contact Number
Srirangam Railway Station	15.5 KM	0431-2432244

Airport Name	Distance	Contact Number
Tiruchirapalli International Airport	26.4 KM	07373774163

Architecture

Sri Pundarikasha Perumal Temple is built as a fort. There are rooms built of stones on the South side with high echo powers. The temple is on a hill of white rocks (Vellai parai in Tamil) 50 feet tall, hence the name Vellarai with the respectful prefix Thiru – Thiruvellarai. The temple complex covers an area of 2.62 ha (6.5 acres). The two gates in the sanctum sanctoriumare believed to represent the continuous cycle of entering into life and getting out of it. The tank covers an area of 0.310 acres. The legend also has it that Pundarekan, a yogi established a garden here and worshipped the Lord with the Tulsi leaves grown here. The Lord pleased with his worship, gave darshan to him and came to be known as Pundarikakshan. Temple has a Vasantha Mandapam.

Gopuram Details : The Rajagopuram, the main gateway tower, is an unfinished structure. The front Rajagopuram is unfinished and would have been one of the biggest had it been finished. The front gopuram (temple tower) reflects a Hoysala style architecture that is so untypical of a Vaishnavite temple. The structure looks half-finished and this is attributed to a war which is believed to have stopped half way during the construction.

Pillars : There are various sculptural depictions of Krishna on the pillars of the temple, in the most notable of which he is depicted dancing on a pot. He is seen dancing in Swastika posture with his bun like hair-do, ornaments and anklet. In another sculpture, he is seen slaying the demon Bhagasura. In front of big pillar in this temple, when we make any sound, it replicates and echo around the temple in the inner prakaram. Because of this, some of the Paasurams in Divyapprabhandhams are recited for 2-3 times.

Garbha Gudi : The Vimanam (structure over the sanctum) is called Vimalaakkruthi Vimanam. The external walls of the sanctum are embellished with beautiful stucco figures in the ‘Sudhai’ style and depict Pundarikakshan, Sridevi, Bhooma Devi, Surya, Chandra and Adhiseshan. These figures are the contribution of the Vijayanagar and Nayak kings.

Koneru (Swastik well) : There are as many as 7 Theerthams within the temple complex Divya Theertham, Kanda Kshree Theertham, Theertham, Chakkara Theertham, Pushkala Theertham, Padma Theertham and Varaha Manikarnika Theertham. Swasthik kulam or Maamiyaar-Maattu Penn (Mother in law-Daughter in law) Theertham or Chakra Theertham, maintained by Archeological Survey of India (ASI). The Swastik shape of the tank makes it possible that people bathing at one Ghat cannot view any other Ghat. This swastika-shaped temple tank built during 800 A.D. is present in the south-western corner of the street around the temple. The peculiar feature of the well is that it ensures privacy for those taking bath in the four enclosures. Hence local people call it as Mother in law - Daughter in law Tank since when taking bath in this tank both of them would not be visible to each other. This peculiar shaped well was excavated by one Kamban from Alampakkam during the year 805 A.D. during the reign of Pallava king Dantivarman (746 - 847 A.D.). It was excavated under the instructions of Dantivarman. The well is named after 'Marpiduku' one of the royal titles king Dantivarman and popularly called as 'Marpiduku great well.' There are statues of Nandhi (bull vehicle) and Nagas (serpents) found around the well. According to the hoarding kept there the well underwent renovation during the 13th century A.D. by Hoysala Veera Ramanathan and this renovation was carried out by Kudanthai Vanigan Uyyaneri Kaatinaan.

Temple Walls : There are totally 5 praharams. The Temple is surrounded on all sides by 36-feet-high massive compound walls. The outside streets meant for running the temple car forms the outermost praharam. In the 4th praharam, the cave temples and Vasantha Mandapams are there. Balipeedam and the shrines of Thayar, Anjaneyar, Chakrathazhwar, Lakshmi Narasimhar, Andal and Garudan are present in the 3rd praharam. The 2nd praharam is reached by entering through the Nazhi Kettaan Vasal. After entering through the Dakshinayana/ Utharayana gate, one reaches the sanctum sanctorum. The Vijayanagar and Nayak kings commissioned the Krishna paintings on the exterior walls of the shrine of Pundarikakshan; they have clear Telugu language labels. Paintings with some of the popular themes from the epic Ramayana were also commissioned by the Nayak kings in the temple.

Religious Significance

Lord Shiva in form of Neelivaneswarar is believed to have worshiped Pundarikakshan to absolve himself from the sin of holding Brahma's severed head. Vishnu appeared to both Shiva and Brahma, adhering to their prayers. Ramanujar spent a few months here till the opposition to him subsides, after the unfortunate incident of attempting to kill him by poison at Srirangam. Pundarikakshan is believed to have appeared to Garuda (Vahana of Vishnu), Sibi Chakravarthy, Sage Pundarika, Sage Markandeya and Hindu gods Bhoomadevi, Brahma and Shiva. The temple is glorified in the Divya Prabandha, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Azhwar saints from the 6th–9th centuries A.D. Vedanta Desikar (1269–1370 C.E) has revered the temple in his work ‘Hamsa Sandesam’.

LEGEND 1 : Sibi Chakravarthy, Builder of this Temple : As per Hindu legend, when Sibi Chakravarthy stayed there with his warriors, a white boar crossed his path. He chased it and the boar hid inside a hole. Markandeya, a sage, was doing penance there and the king narrated the incident to him. The sage asked the king to fill the hole with milk. While doing so, Hindu god Vishnu appeared before them. The sage asked the king to bring 3700 Vaishnavites from the north and build a temple on the site for Vishnu. As requested, the king took 3700 Vaishnavites and started building the temple. While doing so, one of the Vaishnavites was killed in transit and the king was concerned by the accident. Vishnu appeared incognito as Pundarikakshan, a Vaishnavite, and requested to be counted among the 3700. The temple is said to have been built by Sibi Chakravarthy, king of Ayodhya in Tretha Yuga 15 lakh years ago. This temple is older than Srirangam temple. The belief is that Shibi brought 3700 Vaishnavites to this temple. Later, about 50 of them left from here for Melkote (Karnataka), several went to Kongu Nadu and many others went to other temples to perform daily poojas there. Legend has it that all the Vaishnavas who perform daily poojas in temples were originally from Thiruvellarai. Belief is that Buddhists were in equal strength here at Thiruvellarai along with Vaishnavites.

LEGEND 2 : Lakshmi worshipped Lord Vishnu here : According to another legend Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu, performed penance at the temple, and Vishnu appeared before her as Sengamala Kannan. The presiding deity has since been called "Thamarai Kannan", meaning the one who has eyes resembling lotus; his consort is called "Pankacha Valli".

LEGEND 3 : Mother is having rights over Lord Vishnu here : During a conversation in Thiruparkadal-Ocean of Milk, Lord Vishnu praised Mother Mahalakshmi that he was very happy to see all beings prosperous because of her grace and offered a boon to Mother. Mother said that though she had no greater boon than of sharing his chest, she would yet claim to have more rights in the Milk Ocean, her place of birth. Lord said that as he was all in the ocean, her prayer could not be granted there and advised her to come to earth for the boon when the Lord would be granting darshan to Emperor Shibi.

LEGEND 4 : Markandeya attained Moksham here : Markandeya was destined to die at 16. When Yama came to take him, he clutched on to the Shiva Lingam at Thirukkadaiyur. Pleased with this, Lord Shiva blessed him that he will remain there forever as 16. After enjoying life to the full, Markandeya once again prayed to Lord Shiva asking for Moksham. He is guided by Shiva to go to Thiruvellarai to invoke the blessing of Vishnu.

LEGEND 5 : Only in three Divya Desams, Goddess get the first rights over the Lord : Answering Sibi’s prayers was an invisible voice (Lord Vishnu) which asked him not to pursue his quest to defeat Ravana and that he go back to his kingdom as time had not come for Ravana to be defeated yet and that he himself will be born later to defeat Ravana. A disappointed King Shibi pleads with the Lord that he could not possibly go back empty handed, without fulfilling the purpose for which he had come. The Lord asks Shibi to fulfill the wishes of Goddess Lakshmi by building a temple here that would give her the first rights at all festivities. Only in three Divya Desams does the Goddess get the first rights over the Lord - Nachiyar temple in Thiru Naraiyur, Andal in Srivilliputhur and here at Thiruvellarai.

LEGEND 6 : Senthamarai Kannan : Pundarikaksha Perumal is also known as Senthamarai Kannan (Krishna of the red lotus). Mahavishnu wanted to do a pooja for Lord Shiva with 1000 lotuses at the temple in Thiruppaingneeli (Thirupanjali). Sadly, there was one flower less than the total number. So, Vishnu removed one of his eyes and substituted it for the missing flower making it a 1000 and then performed the pooja. Shiva, pleased with his devotion, gave the Chakrayudam (discus) to Vishnu. Siva told Vishnu to stay 5 kms away to the northeast of Thirupaingili in a place called Thiruvellarai where he would be called Senthamarai Kannan.

LEGEND 7 : Nadaathoorammaal : There is an interesting story behind Engal Azhwan, the saint-poet, being called Nadaathoramaal. Every day he used to offer milk to Perumal. As the milk was hot, he would cool it by blowing air from his mouth and then give it to the Lord. This action made Engalaazhvan’s mother call him Nadaathoorammaal (thoor: blow).

LEGEND 8 : Swetha Puri Nadhar : The Perumal here appeared to emperor Sibi as Swetha Varahan (white pig) and he is called “Swetha Puri Nadhar” according to the temple history.

History

This temple is during later part of 8th century A.D. and Thiruvellarai temple was built by Shibi, 4 generations older forefather of Rama. It is believed that this temple was raised by the Pallava kings as seen from the three inscriptions in its two rock-cut caves. Two of the inscriptions are dated from the period of Nandivarman-II (732–796 A.D.) and the other from the period of Dantivarman (796-847 A.D.). The temple construction completed presumably during the time of Dantivarman. The medieval Cholas, later Pandyas, Vijayanagara kingdom and Nayakas of Madurai have greater contribution for the expansion of the temple structures. A Chola inscription indicates an endowment to the shrines of Krishna (an avatar of Vishnu) and his consort Rukmini inside the temple by King Parakesarivarman (907-955 A.D.).

Temple Timings

Day	Timings
All Days	05:00 AM - 01:30 PM	03:30 PM - 09:00 PM

Tours

Airports

Airport Name	Distance
Shamshabad	40 KM
Lorem Ipsum	12 KM

Railway Stations

Railway Station Name	Distance
Secunderabad	10 KM
Nampally	12 KM
Begumpet	6 KM
Lingampally	20 KM

Bus Stations

Bus Station Name	Distance
MGBS	35 KM
CBS	28 KM
kukatpally	20 KM
Lingampally	30 KM
Uppal	35 KM

Private Transports

Transport Name	Distance	Contact Number
Private Transport	8 KM	9546858757
Private Transport1	8 KM	9546858757
Private Transport1	8 KM	9546858757
Private Transport1	8 KM	9546858757
Private Transport1	8 KM	9546858757