Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal Temple, Thirumalai
Vaiyaavoor – The Temple
The
temple is beautifully located on the hill top. There are about 500 steps on the
hill to reach the temple. There is a proper road also to reach the temple by
vehicles. Though the main deity is Venkatesa Perumal the Aadhi Murthy here is Varaaha
Perumal. One has to first visit Varaaha Perumal before visiting the main deity.
Varaaha Perumal is seen with Lakshmi facing west. Also, when the temple is
opened, Varaaha Perumal’s shrine is opened first and all the offerings are made
to him first, before others. The main deity Srinivasa Perumal is seen facing
west. The Lord is beautifully decorated with ornaments and gives Dharshan
exactly as in Thirupathi.
Goddess Alarmel
Mangai Thaayaar has a separate shrine here. There are separate shrines for Sri
Aandaal and Sri Ramanuja too. The inner prakarams have lot of stone pillars and
spread on a wide area. The pillars have some exquisite carvings on them. The
Theertham for this temple is called Varaaha Theertham which is at the foot of
this hill. The path to the Theertham is not Motorable but looks beautiful when
seen from the hill top. Anjaneyar shrine is present facing the hill opposite to
the stair way to the temple.
The
temple has a vast outer prakaram with huge stone walls surrounding it. Garuda
Bhagavan is seen on specific corners on the wall, guarding the Lord. It is also
said that people visiting Thirupathi should also visit Thirumalai Vaiyaavoor
and bathe in Varaaha Theertham and worship Prasanna Venkateswara Perumal here,
only after which the pilgrimage gets complete. The place is also known as
Dakshina Seshagiri. Lord Perumal appears in the sanctum sanctorum in his
royal posture holding the scepter. His two Mahalakshmis are on both sides of his
broad chest. Divine serpent Adi Sesha is on the Thiruvasi the frame around the
Lord in upside down U letter shape with all craftsmanship. Lord is wearing
Ashtalakshmi-Sahasranama malas and Dasavatara Odyanam the belt around the
waist.
Lord
grants Netra darshan (Darshan of eyes only) without any special Alankarams on
Thursday mornings. The view of Lord falls on the devotees. Of the
Dwarapalakas, Jayan is wearing the Simha design ear ring and Vijayan is wearing
the Gaja –elephant designed ear rings. This is a different feature in this
temple. Lord Lakshmi Varaha is in a separate shrine with his own
Kodimaram-flag post. He has his right leg on Adisesha’s tail and the
left on head, holding Mother Mahalakshmi on his lap. The first Deepa
Aradhana is dedicated to him as he is the Pradhana murthi in the temple.
Even during festivals to Lord Prasanna Venkateswara, the flag hoisting is done
in this shrine only. The temple belongs to Thiruvonam star.
There
are two procession deities, Srinivasa and Kallarpiran. The former comes in car
procession during the Purattasi festival and later in Chithirai festival. There
are shrines for Chakarathzhwar, Venugopalar and Lord Rama in the temple. Sri
Veera Anjaneya is at the foot of the temple in a flying posture. Devotees
submit their prayers in writing to Sri Anjaneya; cover it in a yellow cloth
along with an unstripped coconut. Lord Lakshmi Ganapathi shrine is nearby.
Prior to
his Pancha Samskaram at Eri Kaatha Rama temple at Madurantakam, Ramanuja is
believed to have stayed here in a Yogic Posture before making the trip south
wards to Madurantakam. There are three entrances in the temple - the first one
to Varahar and other Sannadhis, the second one for Srinivasa perumal, Thayar
and Andal Sannadhis and the third one with a big gopuram for Chakrathaazhwar
and Narasimhar and Sri Vedantha Desikar.
It is situated on an 80-acre site and
one has to climb 200 steps to reach it. There are two prakarams housing the
shrines of Rama, Venugopalan, Anjaneyar, Sudarsana, the 12 Azhwars and Lakshmi
Ganapathi. The idol of Sri Lakshmi Varaha Perumal with four arms is an
enchanting piece of sculpture.
