Sri Vaikuntanathan Perumal Temple (Kallapiran Temple),
Srivaikundam, Thoothukudi – The Temple
The
temple occupies an area of 5 acres (2.0 ha) and is surrounded by a granite
wall 580 ft. (180 m) long & 396 ft. (121 m) broad. The Rajagopuram, the temple's gateway tower, is 110 ft.
(34 m) tall. The granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all its
shrines and two of its three bodies of water. The sanctum houses the image of Srivaikuntanathar
in standing posture with a club in his hand. Adisesha, the serpent of Vaikuntanatha, is seen holding a parasol over his head. The image is
made of Saligrama stone and ablution is usually done with milk.
The hall
preceding the sanctum, the Artha Mandapam houses the festival image of Kallapiran made
of panchaloha with the images of Sridevi and Bhudevi on either of his sides. It is believed that the
sculptor caressed the cheeks of the image with his hand as he got enchanted by
the image and it is seen in the image. The Ardha mandapa is guarded by
two dvarapalas on either side.
There
are two shrines for the two consorts of Vishnu, Caikunta Nayaki and Chorantha
Nayaki, both facing each other. There are separate shrines for Senai Mudaliyar,
Garuda, Venugopala, Manavalamamunigal and Yoga Narasimha. The festival
image of Yoga Narasimha, Lakshmi Narasimha, is also housed in the same shrine.
There is another shrine that houses the images of the ten avatars of Vishnu. The temple has five precincts. The
Mahamandapa and the Swarga Mandapa are believed to be later additions.
The
Vijayanagar and Nayak kings commissioned paintings on the walls of the shrine
of temple, some of which are still present. Thiruvengadamudaiyan hall, located
to the right of the gopuram, houses rare life size sculptures commissioned
during the 16th century. It was built by Vadamalayappa Pillai, an official in
the Madurai Nayak kingdom. There are numerous images of yalis,
elephants and Devas in the hall, some of which are even 5 ft. (1.5 m)
wide. The major images seen in the temple are that of Bhikshadana, Venugopala,
Madanagopala, Govardhanagiri, Nammazhwar, Manmatha and Rathi.
Depiction
of Hanuman in various poses can be seen in the temple. There
are life size images of Agora Veerabhadra and warriors. Rama is seen hugging the monkey king Sugreevar with his right hand and holding his bow in the
left and on his left stands Sita, while in another pillar he is seen
hugging Hanuman with his right hand and Angada seen standing in
anjali. A host of monkey warriors are standing at the bottom of both the
sculptures.
The Dwajastambha
Mandapam has pillars with refined architectural features. Tirumozhi mandapam
has sculptures of monkeys, squirrels and parrots. It also houses images of
monkeys performing various activities. The corridor inside the temple has
paintings having the details about the 108 shrines of Vishnu. There are also
paintings detailing the coronation of Rama. There are two temple tanks namely Brighu Theertha and
Kalasa Theertha near the temple. A huge temple tank near the Thamiraparani River
is also associated with the temple. It is in this tank that the float festival
is celebrated yearly.
The idol
is most exquisitely carved with club in hand. Lions, Yalis and elephants are carved in the pillars of
the mandapam. The temple served as a fort during the patriotic war
of Kattabomman with the British. The temple has a nine-tier Rajagopuram amidst
lush vegetation around the temple.
Sri
Vaikuntanathan Perumal Temple is a well-known sacred place of the planet Sun
(Surya). The peculiar feature of this temple is that the rays of Sun falls
directly on the idol of Lord Vaikundanathar for two days every year (April or
May and October or November), as a token of worship.
The idol
of the main deity (Moolavar), also known by the names Kalla Piran and Paal
Pandiyan is kept alone in Nindra Thirukkolam facing east. This idol with the
Gadha (a weapon) in one of hand along with the Sangu and Chakkaram in the other
hand is in standing position and the Serpent God, Adiseshan unfurls his hood
over Vishnu.
The
temple gopuram which is 110 feet in height and 500 feet in width can be viewed
from the Tamirabarani Bridge. Several poojas are held in this temple and the
most important among them is the pooja done by childless couples. It is
believed that if the childless couple consumes the ghee for 48 nights that has
been offered at the deity's feet, they will be blessed with children.
