Appakkudathaan Perumal Temple

Coordinates: 10°50′26″N 78°53′11″E / 10.84056°N 78.88639°E / 10.84056; 78.88639
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Tirupernagar
Appakkudathaan Perumal
Religion
AffiliationHinduism
DistrictThanjavur
Deity
Location
LocationTamilnadu
State
Medieval Cholas
Part of a series on
Vaishnavism
Closeup of Vishnu, seated in the lotus position on a lotus. From depiction of the poet Jayadeva bowing to Vishnu, Gouache on paper Pahari, The very picture of devotion, bare-bodied, head bowed, legs crossed and hands folded, Jayadeva stands at left, with the implements of worship placed before the lotus-seat of Vishnu who sits there, blessing the poet.
Supreme deity
Vishnu / Krishna / Rama
Important deities
Dashavatara
Other forms
Consorts
Related
Holy scriptures
Puranas
Sampradayas
Others
Teachers—acharyas
Related traditions

Appakkudathaan Perumal Temple or Thirupper Nagar, is a Hindu temple located in Koviladi, a village 10 miles (16 km) from

Cauvery
River.

The temple is believed to be of significant antiquity, with contributions at different times from the

Medieval Cholas. The temple is built on an elevated structure and is approached through a flight of 21 steps. The rajagopuram (the main gateway) has three tiers and the temple has a precinct around the sanctum.[1]

Parasara. The temple has four daily rituals; the first begins at 8:30 a.m. and the last at 8 p.m. There are four annual festivals on the temple's calendar; its chariot festival celebrated during the Tamil
month of Panguni (March–April) is the most prominent of these.

Legend and etymology

Image of the first precinct

As per Hindu legend, the king Ubhamanyu earned the wrath of sage Durvasar and lost all his physical strength. To get rid of the curse, he was asked to feed one lakh people every day. One day, Hindu god Vishnu disguised himself as an old man, appeared before the king and asked for a meal. The king went on donating and the old man consumed all the food prepared for the people. The king was shocked and bewildered at this strange act. The old man asked for a kudam (pot) of Neyyaappam (a sweatmeal), stating that only it can fulfill his hunger. The king fulfilled the wish and later realised that it was Vishnu who had appeared as the old man. The king was relieved of the sage's curse by the blessings of Vishnu. Because of the legend, Vishnu is called "Appakkudathaan" in the temple.

It is believed that this temple is where sage

Alvars refer the place as "Tiruppernagar" in Nalayira Divya Prabandam, the Sri Vaishnava canon.[3]

The temple has inscriptions from the 18th year of the reign of

Tiruchirapalli
during the Anglo-French war; there are no records on the contributions or damages caused by this war.

Architecture

Shrines of Ranganathar and Thayar

The temple has a three-tiered

Thiruvallur, Rajagopalaswamy temple at Mannargudi and Rangantha temple at Srirangapatna.[6]

Festivals and religious practises

Image of the temple car used during procession

The temple priests perform the pooja (rituals) every day, including festivals. Like other Vishnu temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the Vaishnavaite community, from the Brahmin varna. The temple rituals are performed four times a day; Kalasanthi at 8:30 a.m., Uchikalam at 10:00 a.m., Sayarakshai at 6:00 p.m. and Ardha Jamam at 8:00 p.m. Each ritual comprises three steps; alangaram (decoration), neivethanam (food offering) and deepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for the presiding deity. The worship involves religious instructions in the Vedas (sacred text) read by priests and prostration by worshippers in front of the temple mast. There are weekly, monthly and fortnightly rituals.

The major festivals celebrated in the temple are 13-day Panguni Brahmotsavam, Kaisika Dwadasi in Karthigai (November - December), Teertha Vari at the River Cauvery on the day of Maasi Magam (February - March) and Nammalvar Moksham during Era Pathu in Margali (December - February).

Navarathri during September–October and butter pot breaking ceremony (locally called uri adi) are the other festivals celebrated in the temple.[7]

Religious significance

image of a deity in reclining posture
Plaque of Ranganatha in the flag post

The

Sarangapani temple at Kumbakonam is mentioned in place of Vatarangam in some references.[9][10][11] This is the only Divya Desam where neyyappam is offered to the deity every night as neivedhyam. There is a belief that childless couples upon praying and offering butter with sugar to the Santhanagopalan deity at the temple are blessed with children.[7]

The Appakkudathaan Perumal Temple is revered in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, a 7th–9th century Vaishnava canon of 33 verses by

Divya Desam,[13] the 108 Vishnu temples that are revered in the Vaishnava canon. The temple is counted as the sixth in line of Divya Desams located in Chola Nadu. The temple is also mentioned in the Sanskrit work Srirangaraja Sarithapanam. The temple is also the mukti stalam; the place where saint Periyalvar is believed to have attained the feet of Vishnu.[3] Nammalvar is believed to have recited his last song in the Divya Prabandam from this temple. Some scriptures quote that this temple is more ancient than the Srirangam temple.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b c d S., Prabhu (16 September 2010). "Restoring the glory of a temple". The Hindu. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  2. ISBN 81-206-0151-3
    .
  3. ^ a b c d S., Venkatraman (April 2013). "Thirupperngar". Thirukoyil. 04. 55. Hindu Religious And Endowment Board Tamil Nadu: 55–56.
  4. ISBN 81-206-0574-8
    .
  5. ISBN 978-81-206-0571-8
    .
  6. JSTOR 3250291
    .
  7. ^ a b "Appakudathan Temple". Dinamalar. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  8. ISBN 9780953567973
    .
  9. ISBN 978-81-7755-280-5
    .
  10. ^ "Pancharanga Kshetrams". indiantemples.com. Retrieved 20 June 2007.
  11. ISBN 978-0-14-341421-6
    .
  12. ISBN 81-7022-857-3
    .
  13. ^ "An NGO does its bit for god - and humanity". Hindustan Times. New Delhi, India. 29 April 2007. Archived from the original on 14 April 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018 – via HighBeam Research.
  14. ^ R., Dr. Vijayalakshmy (2001). An introduction to religion and Philosophy - Tévarám and Tivviyappirapantam (1st ed.). Chennai: International Institute of Tamil Studies. pp. 532–3.

External links

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