Adhikesava Perumal Temple, Thiruvattar – Legends
Thiruvattaru:
Lord
Brahma performed a yajna without Saraswathi Devi and because of Saraswathi
anger, two Asuras (a brother and a sister) by name Kesan and Kesi emerged out
of the Yajna Agni (sacrificial fire). They were troubling the three worlds. The
demigods approached Lord Vishnu and requested him to find a solution. Lord
Vishnu in the form of Adi Keasva fought with Kesan. Lord threw Kesan who fell on
top of Mahendragiri and Lord blew his conch. Instantaneously, Adi Sesha wound
himself around Kesan thus disabling the asura to move and Lord immediately laid
on Adi Sesha thus putting his weight on the asura.
When the
asura tried to get out of Adi Sesha’s coils, Lord made 12 Shivalingams to stand
as guard all around the asura and him. These famous Siva Temples are Thirumalai,
Thikkuruchi, Thirparappu, Thirunanthikarai, Ponmanai, Pannippakam, Kalkulam,
Melankodu, Thiruvidaikkodu, Thiruvithamcode, Thiruppanrikkode and
Thirunattalam. These are situated at quite a distance from Adi Kesavan Temple.
Even today, the worship to Lord Siva on Shivaratri, the famous Shivalaya Ottam
– is said to be complete only when the Siva devotee after visiting the twelve
Siva shrines ends their trip in the Adi Kesavan Perumal Temple.
Meanwhile,
Kesi who saw her brother defeated wanted to take revenge. Hence, she along with
her friend, Kothai took the form of rivers and encircled the temple with the
intention of submerging the temple. At that time, it is believed that Bhumi
Devi raised the temple at a height. Hence, the temple is situated at a height
of 55 feet from the ground level. The image of the Gopuram clearly indicates
this. The rivers joined with Arabian Sea at a place known as Moovaatru Muham.
These rivers were then cursed by Lord to remain as sinful rivers and they later
repented for their action.
The
merciful Lord forgave them and purified them by taking a dip in them. Even
today, during Panguni Utsavam, Lord’s Utsava Vigraha comes on a golden Garuda
and have a dip in the river thus enacting the incident. As the Lord killed the
Asura Kesan, he came to be called ‘Adi Kesavan’. This Divya Desam is surrounded
and circled by rivers (River Parali) from all sides. Hence, this place came to
called Thiru ‘Vatta-aaru’.
Thiru Allah Puja:
In 1740
AD, the men of the Nawab of Arcot looted this temple and the golden
utsavamurti. Out of contempt, Nawab kept the Deity along with rubbish items in
a Godown. However, every day, the Deity would automatically come on top pushing
aside all the weights that were put on it. The perplexed Nawab had it chained
down, boring two holes in the pedestal. At that time, the Nawab’s wife was
afflicted with a serious illness. She was unable to withstand the excruciating
pain.
The
physicians could do nothing about it. Then the Deity appeared in the dream of
the temple priest (Azhathi) and ordered him to go to Nawab’s palace and inform
the Nawab that if the Deity was returned, his wife would be cured of illness.
Explaining the greatness of the Lord, the Azhathi convinced the Nawab that the
illness would be cured once the Deity was restored to its original place in the
temple. The Nawab complied and acted accordingly. Nawab’s wife was cured. He
was surprised that the illness of his wife had disappeared.
The
Nawab repented for his blasphemous deeds and as a token of gratitude, he
offered a pillow, crown, a golden plate and cup to the Lord. A special pooja or
worship was performed wherein a cap that is used to crown the Deity is
fashioned like the Muslim headdress. This was instituted by the Nawab and is
still performed during the two annual Utsavams and the paraphernalia offered by
Nawab is used at the time of Sheeveli puja every day. He also provided the fund
for conducting annual puja, which is called Thiru Allah Pooja. The Thiru Allah
mandapam within the temple is linked with this episode and is the place where
21-day Thiru Allah puja takes place even today.
Adi Ananthapuram:
The
temple is older than Anantha Padmanabha Swamy temple in Trivandrum (about 50kms
from here). Adi Kesava Perumal is said to be the elder brother of Anantha Padmanabhan
and hence, this place is referred to as Aadhi Ananthapuram. This temple is also
known as Chera Naatu Srirangam.
Swarm of Wasps helping Kerala King during his Battle:
In the latter
half of 17th century, Kanyakumari and Trivandrum (Venadu) was ruled by a queen.
Due to some domestic disturbances, all her five sons died due to some
calamity. The queen who was shattered left to Trivandrum and paid no
attention to the kingdom. Looking at the capital without a ruler, the army chieftain
under the Moghul emperor was keen to capture the kingdom. He reached Manakadu
near Trivandrum and camped along with his army.
Realizing
the danger, the queen approached Raja Kerala Varma for assistance being her
relative. The King out of his Raja Dharma commanded his army to proceed
to drive away the invaders. This made them approach Thiruvattar which was on a
higher platform that had many hills and shrubs. The enemy camp was hiding there
and killing many of the locals. A fierce battle took place amongst them.
The enemy camp was very aggressive. The King was about to lose the battle.
Disappointed
with his valour, looking at the huge temple above him, he went walking up
towards the temple and surrendered to Lord Adhi Kesava Perumal with tears
and prayed to Lord to take control of the situation. Out of his deep love he
sang a self-composed song known as Pada Sankirthana / Adhikesavasthavam. Suddenly
from the temple sanatorium a swarm of wasps started coming continuously and
went straight to the battlefield. They started stinging all the enemy soldiers
and the chieftain.
Looking
at the huge number of wasps, the army was taken back. The frightened
horses ran in fear throwing the chief and the soldiers from their backs killing
them on the rocks. The rudderless army lost the battle. Many were imprisoned. All
the 300 horses were captured and a cavalry unit was made. The king’s
glorification “Adhikesavasthavam” is recited even today during Deepa aradhanai.
Chandran worshipped Lord Vishnu here:
Chandran,
Moon God worshipped Lord Vishnu here.
Parasuraman penance on Lord Vishnu:
Parasuraman
is said to have undertaken penance at this place and performed daily poojas for
Adi Kesavan.
Visit of Chaitanya Maha Prabhu:
Lord Sri
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu visited this temple in 1510 AD during his South India
tour. This is the temple where Lord discovered the 5th chapter of Sri Brahma
Samhita. Brahma-Samhita is said to contain 100 chapters. This scripture is so
old and so sacred it was practically lost to the general population. But Sri
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu understood the supreme importance of this scripture and he
found it in the Sri Adi Kesavan temple at Thiruvattar. As soon as Lord began to
hear and read the content of Sri Brahma-Samhita, He was overwhelmed with
ecstatic love. Lord transcribed Brahma-Samhita to take it with him and to share
it with his devotees and ultimately with the whole world.
Stay of Vasishta here:
Sage
Vashista is said to have stayed here for several years.