Sri Prasanna Venkataramanar Temple (Chinna Tirupati),
Karuvalli, Omalur, Salem - Legends
Lord Venkatesa searching Arappu Powder:
Lord
Venkatesa in Tirupati came out for a bath. He could not get the Arappu
powder – soap nut powder – for the bath. Mother Alamelu Manga was also not
available to help him. He set out in search of Mother but could not find
her. He found the Arappu plants here, enjoyed a good bath and allured by
the beauty of the hilly place, stayed here itself then. Later, a shepherd
found that one of the cows was pouring its milk on an anthill. People of
the place were happy to see the Swayambu Perumal inside the anthill and built
this temple.
Fight between Vayu & Adishesha:
Once,
Vayu (the God of Wind) came to Vaikuntam to meet Lord Vishnu. With Adiseshan
stopping Vayu, an argument arose as to who was mightier of the two. Adiseshan
went and wound himself around the Anantha Mountain (Meru’s son). With Vayu
blowing in full force, devas became worried. Answering their request, Adiseshan
slightly moved one of his heads. Vayu’s speed hit the mountain with such force
that one piece flew and fell here at Chinna Tirupathi.
Vishnu searching Lakshmi:
Another
story goes that Vishnu came here searching for Goddess Lakshmi who had left him
angered at him for not punishing Brigu rishi who had kicked him in the chest.
Finding Adiseshan sleeping in the pit here in the mountain, Vishnu entered the
pit. Coming to know of this, Shiva and Brahmma disguised themselves as a cow
and a calf. As this region was full of cows, it was referred to as ‘Pasupatti’.
Malai Kandan and his descendants:
The cow
would come here every morning and fill the pit with milk leaving her master in
a shocked state as he was not able to get even a Litre of milk. Trying to
understand the reason behind the cow going dry, he followed her one morning to
this pit on the new mountain that had formed here. As he found the new
mountain, he came to be called ‘Malai Kandaan’. To this day, the descendants of
Malai Kandaan continue to perform service here at this temple.
As he
narrated this story to the villagers, they came here to find out the truth.
Inside the pit, they had darshan of Venkatachalapathi. A Pandya king, who was a
devotee of Lord Vishnu, constructed this temple in its current form and
structure installing the Swayambu idol. In memory of this event, the sculptures
of the Pandya King, his queen and mother are seen here on the south side of the
Artha mandapam. The Pandya king is believed to have provided grants to the
temple. There are fish symbols atop the wall on the Artha mandapa.
Granting of villages in the 15th Century:
With the
Muslim invasion, the temple had been closed. With no poojas offered to the
Lord, this region had become a drought prone place. The Paalaya King who was
ruling this region including Omalur in the 15thCentury AD once made a visit to
Karuvalli on his horse. He found ‘Thirumalai Kannikakodi Thathachariyar’
invoking the Lord’s blessings on his way to Kasi.
He told
the Paalaya King that performing a Varuna Jabam in a sincere way would bring
rains back to this region. On his way back from Kasi, Thathachariyar performed
the Jabam which instantly brought rains. A pleased king presented three
villages to Thathachariyar, who then brought 60 families from Thirumalai to
this region. One of the villages came to be called Thathaiyengar Pettai, near
Namakkal.
Another
village came to be called Thathayam Patti and is found near Omalur. The
descendants who were prolific in reciting Vedas were given the first rights at
this temple for several centuries.
Contribution of Mysore kings:
The
Mysore Kings constructed the huge temple tank at the foot of the hill. Float
Festival is celebrated in a grand manner in Puratasi. Near the tank is a shandy
market that is seen in full buzz every Saturday.