Aadhi Moola Perumal Temple, Natham, Trichy
Aadhi Moola Perumal Temple is a Hindu Temple
dedicated to Lord Vishnu located at Natham in Trichy District of Tamilnadu. Presiding Deity is called as Aadhi Moola Perumal and
Mother is called as Aadhi Lakshmi Thayar. Natham is also called Nandam. The village is surrounded by paddy
fields in all directions and it is a calm and serene locality.
Legends
Like
many other temples of Tamil Nadu, this temple also claims to have connections
with the popular legend of Gajendra Moksha. It is believed that the elephant
Gajendra was caught by the crocodile. Gajendra cried in pain and pleaded to
Lord Vishnu to protect it from the clutches of the crocodile. Vishnu came down
to the earth and killed the crocodile, thus liberating the elephant. It is
believed that this incident took place in this holy village called Natham.
History
The
sanctum sanctorum was constructed by Rajaraja I (993 AD) and Kulothunga Chola
III also contributed in 1216 AD with the construction of praharam etc.
The
Temple
The east
facing temple has a five-tiered tower with a lot of colorful stucco images. The
temple's layout is very simple. Only the sanctum and another shrine are found
in the temple. There is no other sub-shrine. There is just one prakara around
the sanctum. An important idol depicted here is the replica of Gajendra Moksham
scene of the sanctum. Presiding Deity is called as Aadhi Moola Perumal. The
east facing sanctum enshrines the presiding deity Adhi Moola Perumal. He
is found in the reclining posture. He has two arms and does not carry his
weapons. His consorts are not found. This posture of Vishnu is called as Yoga
Sayana.
An
elephant named Gajendran can be seen near Perumal and the leg of the elephant
is in the mouth of a crocodile. One hand of Perumal is on the head of the
elephant, relating to the Gajendra moksha. It is said that this is the place
where Gajendra attained moksha. It is rare to find the depiction of Gajendra
Moksha scene in the main shrine of the temple. Hence, it turns out to be
unique. In the sanctum, the Utsava Murtis of Adhi Moola Perumal with his two
consorts and Adi Lakshmi are found. The beautiful bronze idols of Rama,
Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman are found in the Ardha Mandapam.
The Maha
Mandapam enshrines the idols of Vaishnavite seers such as Ramanuja, Manavala
Mamuni, Periyalvar and Vedanta Desikar. Outside the temple complex, the
sub-shrine of Garuda is found facing towards the tower. Mother is called as Aadhi
Lakshmi Thayar. Both the presiding deity and mother are in different sanctums.
The shrine of the Goddess Adi Lakshmi is in the prakaram. Theerthams associated
with this Temple are Nandhi river, Gajendra Theertham and Sakkara Theertham. The
holy tank is found in front of the temple entrance. Unfortunately, there is no
water in the tank nowadays.
Contact
Aadhi Moola Perumal Temple,
Natham, Trichy District
Mobile: +91 98424 96764
Connectivity
The
Temple is located at about 100 meters from Natham Bus Stop, 8 Kms from Pullambadi,
9 Kms from Thinniyam, 11 Kms from Anbil, 18 Kms from Lalgudi, 33 Kms from
Srirangam and 41 Kms from Trichy. Nearest Railway Station is located at
Pullambadi (7 Kms) and Nearest Airport is located at Trichy (46 Kms).
