Pundarikakshan Perumal Temple, Thiruvellarai – The
Temple
The
temple is built as a fort. There are rooms built of stones on the south side
with high echo powers. The temple is on a hill of white rocks (Vellai parai in
Tamil) 50 feet tall, hence the name Vellarai with the respectful prefix Thiru –
Thiruvellarai. The temple complex covers an
area of 2.62 ha (6.5 acres), while the tank covers an area of
0.1256 ha (0.310 acres). The Temple is surrounded on all sides by 36-feet-high
massive compound walls. It is believed that this temple
was raised by the Pallava king during later part of 8th century A.D. At a later
date medieval Cholas, later Pandyas, Vijayanagara kingdom and Nayakas of
Madurai have greater contribution for the expansion of the temple structures.
Besides
the Masonite structures of Thiruvellarai Pundarikaksha Perumal temple, there
are two rock-cut cave temples excavated on a granite mound. There are totally 5
praharams. The outside streets meant for running the temple car forms the
outermost praharam. In the 4th praharam, the cave temples and Vasantha
Mandapams are there. Balipeedam and the shrines of Thayar, Anjaneyar,
Chakrathazhwar, Lakshmi Narasimhar, Andal and Garudan are present in the
3rd praharam. The 2nd praharam is reached by entering through the
Nazhi Kettaan Vasal. After entering through the Dakshinayana/ Utharayana gate,
one reaches the sanctum sanctorum.
The Rajagopuram, the main gateway tower, is an unfinished structure. The
front Rajagopuram is unfinished and would have been one of the biggest had it
been finished. The front gopuram (temple tower) reflects a Hoysala style
architecture that is so untypical of a Vaishnavite temple. The structure looks
half-finished and this is attributed to a war which is believed to have stopped
half way during the construction. The Balipeeta – the sacrificial platform, is
an important spot in the temple. People place their prayers here to the Lord.
After getting the result of the prayer, the devotees bathe the Balipeeta and
offer Pongal to the Lord.
After a bath in the months of Karthikai –September-October- on Sundays, people
consume the Nivedhana Pongal to get off springs.
The
shrine of Pundarikakshan is built on a 50 ft (15 m) tall artificial
hill. To have the darshan of the Lord Pundarikaksha, the devotee has to
pass 18 steps first representing the 18 chapters of Bhagwat
Gita. The next 4 steps at the Gopuram-tower entrance represent the
four Vedas. After worshipping at the Bali Peeta there are
5 steps representing the five Bhoodas-space, water, fire, wind and
earth. There are two entrances to the sanctum sanctorum, the
Dakshinayana entrance open from Aadi to Margazhi Tamil months covering from
July-August to December-January and the second Utharayana open from the Tamil
months Thai to Aani covering January-February to June-July.
Apart
from Utharayana and Dakshinayana Gates, the sanctum sanctorum has one more
entrance called ‘Nazhi Kettaan Vaayil’ where it is believed that the Lord was
intercepted and questioned by his consort, upon his returning home later, after
his sojourn. Even today, during the festivals, after completing the trip
outside, Perumal has to account for his time to his consort by informing the
time he started, the places he visited etc., at this gate in order to gain
entry into the temple.
One
climbs further 8 steps remind one of Ashtaaksharam. Thereafter one comes to the
24 steps reminding one of Gayathri Mantram to arrive at the sanctum sanctorum, where
Senthamarai Kannan (Pundarikakshan) stands with his consort Pankayacchelvi
Naachiyaar. Pundarikakshan, the presiding deity of the temple is named
"Maayavan" during Dakshinayana and "Thai Maatha Naayagan" during Utharayana. The two gates in the temple are believed to represent
the continuous cycle of entering into life and getting out of it. An image of
the presiding deity, Pundarikakshan, is seen in a standing posture facing east.
He is believed to have appeared to Garuda, Sibi
Chakravarthy, Bhoomadevi, Markandeya, Brahma and Shiva, all of whose images are housed inside the sanctum.
His
18-feet tall gigantic wooden image is in the standing posture and he can be
seen carrying the Sudarshana Chakra and Sankhu (conch). The chakra is the rare
Prayoga Chakra that indicates that the Lord is ready to throw it and destroy
his enemies. Surya and Chandra are seen waving the Chamaras (feather fans) on
either side of him. At his feet, Sage Markandeya and Bhooma Devi are seen
worshiping the Lord. A human-looking Adhishesha, the five-headed snake can
unusually be seen standing and looking towards Perumal on the left. He and
Garuda, the kite bird vehicle of Vishnu, are depicted with hands folded like
devotees.
The Vimanam (structure over the sanctum) is called
Vimalaakkruthi Vimanam. The external walls of the sanctum are embellished
with beautiful stucco figures in the ‘Sudhai’ style and depict Pundarikakshan,
Sridevi, Bhooma Devi, Surya, Chandra and Adhiseshan. These figures are the
contribution of the Vijayanagar and Nayak kings. The consort of Pundarikakshan,
Shenbagavalli, (also called "Periya Pirattiyaar
Lakshmi Devi") has a separate shrine. The Utsavar (festival image) of Pankajavalli
is called Shenbagavalli and is housed inside the same shrine. Through a
hole at the Thayar Sannidhi, one can see the Trichy Rockfort, Srirangam and
Thiruvanaikaval Temple towers, though they are about 20 kms away.
The
temple has Pallava sculptural depictions of Narasimha and Varaha, two of the ten
avatars of Vishnu. Narasimha is depicted
holding a demon in one panel, the other shows him tearing the demon. The
rectangular walls around the temple enclose all the eight shrines and six of
the seven water bodies associated with the temple. Besides the main shrine for
Pundarikakshan and Pankajavalli, the temple has shrines for Azhwars, Garuda, Ramanujar and Uyyakondar. The seven water bodies are Divya
Theertham, Kanda Kshree Theertham, Theertham, Chakkara Theertham, Pushkala
Theertham, Padma Theertham and Varaha Manikarnika Theertham.
There is
an Anjaneya shrine within the Pundarikaksha Perumal Temple complex. This figure
of Hanuman is a short one and his eyes are open wide. The belief is that once
in every twelve years, the eyes of the Anjaneya become larger. There are
shrines for Krishna, Vishwaksenar, Nammazhwar, Chakrathazhwar, Nathamunigal,
Kulasekara Azhwar, Thondarippodi Azhwar, Andal, Ramanuja and Manavala
Mamunigal. There are various sculptural depictions of Krishna on the pillars of
the temple, in the most notable of which he is depicted dancing on a pot. He is
seen dancing in Swastika posture with his bun like hair-do, ornaments and
anklet.
In
another sculpture, he is seen slaying the demon Bhagasura. The Vijayanagar and Nayak
kings commissioned the Krishna
paintings on the exterior walls of the shrine of Pundarikakshan; they have
clear Telugu language labels. Paintings
with some of the popular themes from the epic Ramayana were also commissioned by the Nayak kings in the
temple. In front of big pillar in this temple, when we make any sound, it
replicates and echo around the temple in the inner prakaram. Because of this,
some of the Paasurams in Divyapprabhandhams are recited for 2-3 times.
Sthala
Vriksham is Vilwa. Inscriptions and the architecture at this temple point to
the fact that Pallava, Hoysala and Vijayanagara kings have contributed
significantly to this temple. There are two cave temples in the rocks for
Markandeya Maharishi and Bhoodevi Thayar, one of them belongs to the period of
`Pallava Malla’ Nandivarman II and another belongs to the period of Rajaraja I.
There is Aadhi Jambukeswarar temple, a rock cut temple, is 500 meters from the
Vishnu Temple. The lovely breeze at Thiruvellarai is known for its medicinal
qualities as it carries with it the healthy and fragrant smell of herbs and
flowering bushes found in the many Nandavanams (gardens) of the Pundarikaksha
Perumal Temple.
An
archaeological study in 2010 revealed that the layout of the rock-cut caves in
the temple is similar to that of other rock-cut temples such as the Rockfort and Pechipalai cave temple. The unfinished caves
in the temple, along with the lower cave temples in Tiruchirappalli and Tiruparankundram, each have a shrine for Shiva in the east and Vishnu in
the west, separated by a central bay between them. This is a must visit temple
for its sheer majesty, architectural marvel and heritage history.
