Lakshmi Narayana Perumal Temple, Neervalur,
Kanchipuram
Lakshmi
Narayana Perumal Temple is located at Neervalur which is a village located
around 15 km from Kanchipuram, in the Indian state of Tamilnadu.
Legends
Avvayar cursing this Village:
This
village has an interesting legend around it. It is said that the Tamil poetess
Avvayar had visited this village and asked the villagers for water. The
villagers refused to provide even water to her. She cursed this village that it
should suffer from water scarcity.
Sri Ramanuja appearing on Ahobila Mutt pontiff Dream:
Several
centuries rolled by but still the village was always devoid of water and proper
rains. In the meanwhile, the Vaishnava saint Sri Ramanuja appeared in the dream
of the 6th pontiff of the revered Ahobila Mutt and told him about an idol of
Vishnu which was buried somewhere near Kanchipuram.
As
instructed in the dream, the saint travelled to Kanchipuram and met the king
there. When the saint asked for some land for the temple, the king was
skeptical and granted the barren land of Neervalur (The name Neervalur came to
this place much later on) to the saint.
On
reaching Neervalur, the saint understood the problems faced by the village. He
prayed to his deity Lord Narasimha to bless the village. His prayers were
answered with torrential rains which swept away years of draught. Sri Ramanuja
appeared in the form of a snake and came to the saint. The saint followed the
snake as it went.
It just
disappeared at a particular point. When the place was dug out idols of Lord
Lakshmi Narayana along with his consorts were discovered. A temple was built in
the same place by the saint, which is one described in this article. The
abundant rains resulted in a huge lake getting formed. Also the village got its
name as Neervalur (Neer meaning water in Tamil). This huge lake is still there
and is called as Jeeyar Kulam.
Since it
was Sri Ramanuja who instructed the Ahobila Mutt pontiff to this place, it is also
called as Sri Bhashyapuram (Bashyakara is another name for Sri Ramanuja), a
reference to Sri Bhashya written by Saint Ramanuja. Even today, the temple comes under the control
of Ahobila Mutt.
The
Temple
The Ahobila
Mutt Jeeyar also installed a small deity of Ugra Narasimha in the temple. During
the last century, efforts were made to construct a separate shrine for Goddess
Lakshmi in this temple. But the Lord appeared in the dream of the people in the
village and told that he himself is Lakshmi Narayanan and there is no need for
a separate shrine for Lakshmi.
After
this incident, the locals abandoned their efforts for constructing a Shrine for
Lakshmi. This temple is managed by the Ahobila Mutt and the priest stays just
next to the temple. It is a must visit for people travelling to Kanchipuram. The
Temple is stated to be 500 years old. This temple also has a shrine for Lord
Jwala Narasimha.
Connectivity
Take the
Chennai Bangalore highway, just before Kanchipuram; we will see a Pamban oil
mill (which is now abandoned). Take the cut near the Pamban mill and the
straight road will take to the temple. It should be around 14 kms from the
Kanchipuram city bus stand. Nearest Railway Station is located at Kanchipuram
& Nearest Airport is located at Chennai.