Premika Vittala Temple, Vittalapuram, Kanchipuram
Premika
Vittala Temple at Vittalapuram is under Archeological Survey of India.
It’s a cute little temple. The place was very well maintained. Vittalapuram is
a small little known village near the popular tourist site Mamallapuram in
South India. This Temple is dedicated to Vittaleshwarar aka Premika Vittala (a
form of Lord Krishna). Muralidhara Swamigal is closely associated with this
temple. Bairahi madam is located at about 3 kms from Vittalapuram and has a
legend connection with the Perumal temple of Sathurangapatnam.
History
This
temple was built during the reign of the Vijayanagara emperor Krishnadeva Raya
in the beginning of the 16th century CE. It was built by the emperor's
representative named Kondaiya Chola Maharaja.
The
Temple
The
small beautiful temple is located in a calm atmosphere. The main deity Premika Vittala
is found with both his hands resting on his hip. A unique feature in this
temple is that he is found along with his two consorts Rukmini and Satyabama.
Generally, only Rukmini is found in the Vittala temples.
The
temple built in the Vijayanagara architectural style has sub shrines for the Goddess
Santana Lakshmi, Ramanujar & Vishwaksenar, Srinivasa Lakshmi and Varadarajar
Lakshmi. The flag post, Bali peeta and Garuda idol are located facing the main
shrine. The idol of the main deity is extremely beautiful. The main Vittala
temple is at Pandarpur in Maharashtra, called the Panduranga Vittala.
The most
important feature of the temple is the 'Nama Sankeerthanam' or songs and music.
Bronzes of Vittala with Rukmini, Sathyabama, were also in the Sanctum sanctorum
along with Santhana Lakshmi, Gopala Krishna as well. Vittala was the Shiva
Version of Vishnu, so Shiva Rathri is more important here than Vaikunda
Ekadesi.
Temple
Opening Time
Though
the temple is open from 7 AM to 11 AM in the morning, it is best to visit by 9
AM for the morning pooja and be there till it is over by 9:45 or so. The
namasankeerthans and bajans are sung during every day pooja and everyone will
love it.
Festivals
On every
Ekadasi day, poojas are taking place in a grand scale from morning 9 AM to 1 PM
with Sampradhaya Nama sankeerthanam bhajans.
Contact
Premika
Vittala Temple,
Vittalapuram,
Kanchipuram
District
Mobile: +91 – 92458 94065
Connectivity
This
Temple is located on the ECR, after Mahabalipuram, 2 km from Pudupattinam. Nearest
Railway Station is located at Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai & Nearest Airport is
located at Chennai.
References