Uppiliappan Temple,
Tirunageswaram – Legends
Greatness of Markandeya Kshetra:
Narada's Prayer to Brahma:
Once, Sage Narada prayed to
Brahma to enlighten him on the history and greatness of the holy Markandeya Kshetra.
On hearing this, Brahma gladly started narrating the greatness of Thiruvinnagar
and its presiding deity, whose glory cannot be described even by Adisesha with
his 1000 tongues.
Tulasi's Prayer to God:
Once, Tulasidevi who was born
along with nectar (amrita), while churning the milky-ocean, begged Lord Vishnu
that she also be adorned by him on his chest like Mahalakshmi.
Lord’s boon to Tulasi:
Hearing her request, Lord Vishnu
said to Tulasi that Lakshmi did very severe penance to gain a place on his
chest. Lord further said that Lakshmi would appear as Bhumidevi at a holy place
near Kumbakonam, to the south of Cauvery and would be brought up by sage Markandeya
as his daughter. Tulasi should go there earlier and be in the form of lovely
Tulasi plant at the sage's hermitage. Then, Lakshmi would appear under the
Tulasi plant as Bhumidevi. Later on, Lord Vishnu would come and marry Bhumidevi
and live there forever.
Glory of Tulasi will become
known to all after this incident. The Lord further said that those who worship him
with petals of Tulasi shall attain all prosperity in the world and also the
benefit of performing Ashvamedha Yaga. All those who reside in this holy place
will attain Sri Vaikunda at the end of their lives. From then onwards, Tulasi
lived in this holy place, which therefore came to be known as Tulasi Vana
(Tulasi forest). Tulasi appeared in the place where the temple is located. This
is mentioned in the 53rd verse of Nammazhvar in Thiruviruththam.
Markandeya’s Penance:
Sage Mrikandu’s son Markandeya,
after touring many holy places and bathing in sacred waters, finally reached
this holy place. He decided to stay here permanently due to its beautiful
surroundings. Wishing to get a daughter who would be given in marriage to the
Lord himself, he started doing severe penance to achieve his objective.
Vishnu's Instructions to
Lakshmi:
Lord Vishnu was pleased by his
penance and resolved to bless him. He asked Lakshmi to appear as a small child
in the Tulasi forest, to be brought up by sage Markandeya and given in marriage
to the Lord. Goddess Lakshmi accordingly appeared as a small child in the
Tulasi forest and was found by sage Markandeya. With immense pleasure he lifted
the divine child Lakshmi from the ground, fondled her and asked about her
parentage. For this the child replied that she did not know who her parents
were and that Markandeya was everything to her. Thrilled beyond words, he named
her as Bhumidevi, as she was found on earth.
Markandeya's Concern and Worry:
The Sage brought her up lovingly
and as she grew up, he was very much worried about her marriage. He was in
frantic search for a suitable bridegroom. At this stage Lord Vishnu decided to
play some mischief with the sage. So, he appeared before the sage, in the guise
of an old Brahmin, clad in torn clothes and with a walking stick in hand, on
the day of Panguni Shravanam at noon.
Markandeya welcoming the Old
Man:
Markandeya, without realizing
that the old man who was coughing incessantly was Lord Vishnu himself, received
him with due reverence and respectfully proceeded to serve him, attending to
his needs like washing his feet and so on. The sage then reverentially asked
the old man the purpose of his visit. The visitor then proceeded to state that
he was on the look - out for a suitable bride, as he wished to marry and settle
down in life and beget good sons. He therefore sought the hand of Bhumidevi in
marriage to enable him to attain his objective.
Sage and Old Man – Discussion:
On hearing the strange request
of the old man (Vishnu), Markandeya was confused and did not know what to do.
He then started explaining to the old man that Bhumidevi was very young and was
too tender in age to run a family. Moreover, the age disparity between the old
man and the young girl was too much. He requested the old man to drop his idea.
The old man would hear none of it. He threatened to commit suicide if the young
girl was not given in marriage to him.
The sage Markandeya did not know
what to do. He tried all methods to dissuade the old man from insisting upon
marrying the young girl. The sage told the old man that his daughter was too
young and did not even know how to cook properly. She might even forget to put
salt in the eatables, which may result in the old man getting angry and cursing
her. Finding the old man still stubborn and unrelenting, the sage silently
prayed to Lord Vishnu for guidance.
Bhoomidevi's Views:
The sage also sought his foster
– daughter's views in the matter and asked her whether she was willing to marry
the old man. She threatened to commit suicide, if she was forced to marry the
old man, much against her wishes. Sage Markandeya was caught between the old
man who threatened to commit suicide, if the girl was not given and the little
girl if she was given in marriage to the old man. He fervently prayed to the
Lord to show him a way out of the difficult situation.
Sage's Vision:
After prayers to Lord Vishnu for
a long time, the sage opened his eyes and there he found before him Lord Vishnu
in all splendor and glory, in the place of the old man. Realizing that the Lord
had played with him, the sage danced and cried in ecstasy. The Lord,
blessing the sage Markandeya, said that he will marry Bhumidevi and will take
only salt less offerings in this temple. Anyone who brings salt inside the
temple will go to hell.
Sage's Prayer for boon:
Overwhelmed with joy, Markandeya
readily agreed for the marriage and prayed for 3 boons:
1. The
Lord, after marrying Bhumidevi, should stay in this place for ever.
2. The
holy place should be known in his name as Markandeya Kshetra.
3. Salt
less offerings in this temple should also be relished by the devotees.
He should also be granted
moksha. The Lord gladly granted the boons as prayed for and further blessed
that the place will be known as Thiruvinnagar and Tulasi Vana Markandeya
kshetra and stated the marriage would be held in the month of Aippasi on
Shravanam day. At the request of the sage, the Lord also agreed to make all
arrangements for the marriage.
Garuda in the service of the
Lord:
The Lord himself wrote out the
marriage invitation and instructed his vehicle Garuda to hand over the
invitations to Brahma and all devas and further help him in conducting the
marriage on the day of Shravanam in the month of Aippasi. The joy of Brahma and
other devas knew no bounds on hearing the happy news of the divine wedding and
they all duly came with their wives to attend and worship the divine couple at
their marriage. The holy wedding of the Lord and Bhumidevi was duly conducted
on a grand scale according to Vaikhanasa Agamas. Then onwards, the Lord
continues to reside in this temple, along with his consort Bhumidevi, blessing
his devotees and granting them, their desires.
Performance of Brahmotsavam:
After invoking the grace of the
Lord and obtaining his permission, Brahma performed the Utsavam (and hence
called Brahmotsavam) for a period of 9 days in the month of Panguni, in
accordance with Vaikhanasa Agamas, with the chariot festival on the 9th day,
coinciding with Shravanam. Again, in the Tamil month of Purattasi, Brahma, with
the permission of the Lord, conducted another Brahmotsavam, lasting 9 days and
with the small chariot (Goratham) festival on the 9th day,
coinciding with Shravanam.
Saltless Prasadam:
To this day, the prasadam
offered will be of without salt in order to approve the Lord’s words. The
Prasadam is made without salt. It is told that people who eat salt inside the
temple premises will be going to hell. The prasadam given without salt is very
tasty. Puliyodharai (Tamarind Rice), Dhadhyonam (Curd Rice), Pongal, Chakkarai
Pongal, Vada, Adhirasam, Murukku are offered to Lord as Prasadam.
Legends of Theerthams:
Surya tank to the west of the temple has an interesting legend. Lord Shiva once plucked one of the heads of
Brahma (who had five heads earlier) and to get rid of the sin, he bathed in the
holy waters of Ahorathra Pushkarini and is still doing penance here. Since
Surya (Sun) repaired this tank, it is called Surya tank.
In the north-east of the temple
is Indra Theertham (tank), so named because Indra washed off his sin of
molesting Agalya, by bathing in these holy waters. To the south of this is
Brahma tirtha, so named because Brahma bathed in this tank and did penance,
because of which he became what he was (Brahma). All these tanks outside the
temple do not exist now. Either they have become completely dry or they could
not be located.
To the south of the temple run
three holy rivers, even now:-
· Dakshina
Ganga (ganga of the south), now named as Nattaru
· Dakshina
Yamuna, now known as Arasalaru.
· Dakshina
Godavari, now known as Kirtiman river
Ahorathra Pushkarini:
There is an interesting tale
regarding the reason behind the name of this Pushkarini. Once there was a
Brahmin named Devasarma belonging to the clan of Bharadhwaja Maharishi. One day
it happened so, that he took forcefully the daughter of Gemini Maharishi as his
wife. The rishi heard his daughter’s cries and he cursed Devasharma turn in Krouncha
Paravai, a type of bird. Then only Sharma realised his mistake and he pleaded
the Maharishi to leave him.
As his anger subdued, he told
Devasharma to wait near Pushkarini of Oppiliappan Perumal temple and one day he
would be freed from the curse. A huge storm broke out and the branch in which
Devasharma was sitting as a bird broke and fell into Pushkarini. As soon as the
divine water splashed in the bird’s body, Devasharma was freed from his curse. Not
only that, he was also escorted to Sri Vaikunda in a divine chariot. The
messengers of Varuna stopped him and demanded justification for going to Vaikunda,
since he had committed a further sin by dipping in the holy waters during the
night, which is forbidden by the shastras.
At this, the messenger from Vaikunda
intervened and clarified that this was an exception and bathing was specially
permitted in the Pushkarini at this holy place, both during day and night. The Pushkarini
was therefore named as Ahorathra Pushkarini meaning "Day and Night Holy
Tank". Thus saying, the Lord's messengers took the Brahmin to Vaikunda.
Anyone who bathes in the Pushkarini acquires a lot of merit (punya).
Equivalent to Tirupathy:
Those who cannot go to Tirupathy
can visit Oppiliappan in Thiru Vinnagar as a visit here is considered
equivalent to visiting the Tirupathy. In fact, Lord Oppiliappan is considered as
the elder brother of Tirupathy Srinivasa.
Five forms of the Lord:
Tradition has it that Lord
Oppiliappan appeared to Nammalvar in 5 different forms as
1.
Ponnappan.
2.
Maniappan
3.
Muthappan
4.
Ennappan
5.
Tiruvinnagarappan.
Brahmanda Purana:
The history of the temple is
mentioned in the Brahmanda Purana, one of the eighteen famed Hindu
scriptures.
Various Names of this place:
The place is referred by various
names like Agasa Nagaram, Vaikunda Nagaram, Thiru Vinnagar, Oppiliappan
Sannidhi and Uppiliappan Sannidhi.
Various Names of Deity:
The presiding deity is referred
by various names like Venkatachalapathi, Thiru Vinnagarappan, Oppiliappan, Thanoppillaappan,
Uppiliappan and Srinivasan.
Naattaru River equivalent to Viraja River:
The Naattaru River flows nearby
is considered as the Viraja river, mythical river runs in Vaikunda.