Sunday, February 4, 2018

Pundarikakshan Perumal Temple, Thiruvellarai – The Temple

Pundarikakshan Perumal Temple, Thiruvellarai – The Temple
The 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), while the tank covers an area of 0.1256 ha (0.310 acres). The Temple is surrounded on all sides by 36-feet-high massive compound walls. It is believed that this temple was raised by the Pallava king during later part of 8th century A.D. At a later date medieval Cholas, later Pandyas, Vijayanagara kingdom and Nayakas of Madurai have greater contribution for the expansion of the temple structures.



Besides the Masonite structures of Thiruvellarai Pundarikaksha Perumal temple, there are two rock-cut cave temples excavated on a granite mound. There are totally 5 praharams. 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 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. The Balipeeta – the sacrificial platform, is an important spot in the temple. People place their prayers here to the Lord. After getting the result of the prayer, the devotees bathe the Balipeeta and offer Pongal to the Lord. After a bath in the months of Karthikai –September-October- on Sundays, people consume the Nivedhana Pongal to get off springs.



The shrine of Pundarikakshan is built on a 50 ft (15 m) tall artificial hill. To have the darshan of the Lord Pundarikaksha, the devotee has to pass 18 steps first representing the 18 chapters of Bhagwat Gita.  The next 4 steps at the Gopuram-tower entrance represent the four Vedas.  After worshipping at the Bali Peeta there are 5 steps representing the five Bhoodas-space, water, fire, wind and earth.  There are two entrances to the sanctum sanctorum, the Dakshinayana entrance open from Aadi to Margazhi Tamil months covering from July-August to December-January and the second Utharayana open from the Tamil months Thai to Aani covering January-February to June-July. 


Apart from Utharayana and Dakshinayana Gates, the sanctum sanctorum has one more entrance called ‘Nazhi Kettaan Vaayil’ where it is believed that the Lord was intercepted and questioned by his consort, upon his returning home later, after his sojourn. Even today, during the festivals, after completing the trip outside, Perumal has to account for his time to his consort by informing the time he started, the places he visited etc., at this gate in order to gain entry into the temple.


One climbs further 8 steps remind one of Ashtaaksharam. Thereafter one comes to the 24 steps reminding one of Gayathri Mantram to arrive at the sanctum sanctorum, where Senthamarai Kannan (Pundarikakshan) stands with his consort Pankayacchelvi Naachiyaar. Pundarikakshan, the presiding deity of the temple is named "Maayavan" during Dakshinayana and "Thai Maatha Naayagan" during Utharayana. The two gates in the temple are believed to represent the continuous cycle of entering into life and getting out of it. An image of the presiding deity, Pundarikakshan, is seen in a standing posture facing east. He is believed to have appeared to GarudaSibi ChakravarthyBhoomadevi, Markandeya, Brahma and Shiva, all of whose images are housed inside the sanctum.


His 18-feet tall 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 five-headed snake can unusually be seen standing and looking towards Perumal on the left. He and Garuda, the kite bird vehicle of Vishnu, are depicted with hands folded like devotees.


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. The consort of Pundarikakshan, Shenbagavalli, (also called "Periya Pirattiyaar Lakshmi Devi") has a separate shrine. The Utsavar (festival image) of Pankajavalli is called Shenbagavalli and is housed inside the same shrine. Through a hole at the Thayar Sannidhi, one can see the Trichy Rockfort, Srirangam and Thiruvanaikaval Temple towers, though they are about 20 kms away.


The temple has Pallava sculptural depictions of Narasimha and Varaha, two of the ten avatars of Vishnu. Narasimha is depicted holding a demon in one panel, the other shows him tearing the demon. The rectangular walls around the temple enclose all the eight shrines and six of the seven water bodies associated with the temple. Besides the main shrine for Pundarikakshan and Pankajavalli, the temple has shrines for AzhwarsGarudaRamanujar and Uyyakondar. The seven water bodies are Divya Theertham, Kanda Kshree Theertham, Theertham, Chakkara Theertham, Pushkala Theertham, Padma Theertham and Varaha Manikarnika Theertham.


There is an Anjaneya shrine within the Pundarikaksha Perumal Temple complex. This figure of Hanuman is a short one and his eyes are open wide. The belief is that once in every twelve years, the eyes of the Anjaneya become larger. There are shrines for Krishna, Vishwaksenar, Nammazhwar, Chakrathazhwar, Nathamunigal, Kulasekara Azhwar, Thondarippodi Azhwar, Andal, Ramanuja and Manavala Mamunigal. 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. 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. 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.


Sthala Vriksham is Vilwa. Inscriptions and the architecture at this temple point to the fact that Pallava, Hoysala and Vijayanagara kings have contributed significantly to this temple. There are two cave temples in the rocks for Markandeya Maharishi and Bhoodevi Thayar, one of them belongs to the period of `Pallava Malla’ Nandivarman II and another belongs to the period of Rajaraja I. There is Aadhi Jambukeswarar temple, a rock cut temple, is 500 meters from the Vishnu Temple. The lovely breeze at Thiruvellarai is known for its medicinal qualities as it carries with it the healthy and fragrant smell of herbs and flowering bushes found in the many Nandavanams (gardens) of the Pundarikaksha Perumal Temple.


An archaeological study in 2010 revealed that the layout of the rock-cut caves in the temple is similar to that of other rock-cut temples such as the Rockfort and Pechipalai cave temple. The unfinished caves in the temple, along with the lower cave temples in Tiruchirappalli and Tiruparankundram, each have a shrine for Shiva in the east and Vishnu in the west, separated by a central bay between them. This is a must visit temple for its sheer majesty, architectural marvel and heritage history.