Srivilliputhur
Andal Temple – Legends
Birthplace
of Periyalwar & Andal:
Periyalwar was born as Vishnu Chittar, the
fifth son of Mukunda Bhattar and Padmavalli who lived in Srivilliputhur and
were engaged in the service of Lord Vadabadrasayee. He had a formal education in the Gurukulam where he
mastered the Vedas and became a great scholar. Vishnu Chittar was a great
devotee of Krishna. In the Krishnavatara, Lord Krishna grew up in Brindavan and
later came to Mathura with his brother Balarama to slay his evil uncle Kamsa
and free his parents who languished in prison. In Mathura, he went to the man
who made garlands for Kamsa and asked for a garland of flowers.
The Garland maker bowed before Sri Krishna and put a
beautiful garland on him saying, “Many yogis and saints wait to have your
darshan. Yet you chose to come to the humble dwelling of this ordinary man. I
am blessed.” Vishnu Chittar was impressed by the above story of Krishna
and decided that making garlands for the Lord would be his duty. He sold the
ancestral properties and bought some land near the Vada Perunkoil. He created a
beautiful Nandavanam (garden) in it. Fragrant flowers of all kinds
blossomed in it.
In the darkness before dawn, before the bees could find
the flowers, he gathered the flowers, made them into a beautiful garland and
offered it to Lord Vadabadrasayee. King Vallabhadeva of Pandya Dynasty was
ruling over Pandyan Kingdom with Madurai as its headquarters. He invited all
the learned men of various faiths for a philosophical debate. On instructions
from Lord Vadabadrasayee, Periyalwar travelled with devotees to Madurai, where
he was given a warm welcome by king Vallabhadeva. He won the debate and proved
that the only path to moksha was by service to the Lord Vishnu.
King Vallabhadeva gave him enormous wealth as the prize
and honoured him by taking him in a procession around the city
of Madurai seated on the royal elephant. It is said that Lord
Vishnu with the Thayars came to watch his devotee being honoured.
Periyalwar, on seeing the Lord, sang the Pallandu, the first 12 verses
of Nalayira Divya Prabandham. It begins like this, “Long live for
many years, long live for many years, for hundreds of thousands of years!” to
God. This is an important prayer in Sri Vaishnava tradition.
The Nalayira Divyapprabhandhams are called Tamil Vedam as they bring to us
the essence of the Vedas and can be easily understood by the common man.
On his return to Srivilliputhur, Periyalwar renovated the temple of Lord Vadabadrasayee, and built the famous Rajagopuram. Andal
is said to be the incarnation of Goddess Earth or Bhoodevi. Andal was
found as a five years old child beneath the Tulsi plants (Holy
Basil) by Periyalwar in his Nandavanam (Temple garden). The child was named Godhai
(a beautiful garland) in Tamil. The name Godhai is often Sanskritised as Godha
(Go means Bhoomi; Dhaa- given; Given by Bhoomidevi). She is considered to be an
incarnation of Bhooma Devi.
Periyalwar saw Godhai as Lord Vadabadrasayee gift
to him since he had no children of his own. He took her home and brought her up
with love. Periyalwar tutored her in the Vedas and instilled in her devotion
for the Lord Vishnu. Godhai grew up in an atmosphere of love and devotion.
Vishnuchitta doted on her in every respect, singing songs to her about Lord
Vishnu; teaching her all the stories and philosophy he knew; and sharing with
her his love for Tamil poetry. As he made garlands for the Lord every day, the
little girl sat near him and listened to him describe incidents from the life
of Lord Krishna in Brindavan. She was a child prodigy and scholar in her
own right.
As Godhai grew into a beautiful maiden, her love and
devotion for the Lord grew to the extent that she decided to marry none but the
Lord himself only. As days progressed, her resolve strengthened, and she
started to live in a dream world with her beloved Lord and was constantly
fantasizing about marrying him. Andal was told that the Gopis of
Brindavan observed a vow called Paavai Nonbu in order to attain
the Lord. So, she gathered her friends together and assuming she and her
friends were the Gopis and Srivilliputhur was Brindavan, the Vadaperumkoil was
the palace of Nandagopar and Lord Vadabadrasayee was Lord Krishna, she too
observed the Paavai Nonbu and sang the 30 hymns of
the Thiruppavai. Andal was only five years old.
One day, when he saw his father make a garland for Lord
Vadabadrasayee. In his absence she wore the Garland and looked at herself
in the mirror and wondered if she looked beautiful wearing the garland and if
she was a fitting bride for the Lord. She then replaced the garland in
the Kudalai (cane basket used for keeping flowers). Periyalwar,
unaware of this offered the garland to Lord Vadabadrasayee. This went on for
some time. One day, she was caught red-handed by her father in this strange
act, and as an orthodox devotee he was extremely upset. He rebuked her and told
her not to repeat the sacrilegious act in the future.
Frightened and apologetic, Godhai made a new garland for
the offering that day. Legend says that that very night the Lord appeared to
Vishnuchitta in his dream and asked him why he had discarded Godhai’s garland
instead of offering it to him. The Lord is believed to have told Vishnuchitta
that he had whole-heartedly accepted Godhai’s offering all this time. This
moved Vishnuchitta so much even as he started to realize the Divine Love that
existed between the Lord and his daughter. From this day on, Godhai is believed
to have been respected by the devotees and came to be known as Andal, the girl
who ruled over the Lord.
She is also known by a phrase Soodi Kodutha Sudarkodi
which means “the bright creeper-like woman who gave her garlands after wearing
them”. To this day, this unique tradition is followed in this temple, not seen
in any other Divya Desam. Lord Vatapatrasaayee adorns every morning the garland
worn the previous evening by Andal (the Goddess). The practise is followed
during modern times when the garland of Andal is sent to Azhagar Kovil on Chitra Pournami day
where the presiding deity Lord Kallazhagar entering into River Vaigai with the
garland worn by Goddess Andal and Tirumala Venkateswara Temple during
(Garudostavam during the Tamil month of Puratasi (September -
October).
As Andal blossomed into a fifteen-year-old beautiful
young woman of marriageable age (girls were married at a much younger age in
those days), her father prepared to get her married to a suitable groom. Andal,
however, was stubborn and insisted that she would marry only the Lord Vishnu.
She then asked him to describe the Divyadesam Perumals to her. She decided that
she would marry Lord
Ranganathar of Sri Rangam.
This perplexed and worried her father. However, the Lord
appeared in Vishnuchitta dream and informed him that he would marry Andal
at Srirangam. Lord Vishnu also directed him to bring Andal to Srirangam
decked in bridal attire. Lord Vishnu simultaneously commanded the priests
at Srirangam, in their dreams, to prepare for the wedding. Andal was taken to
Srirangam in her fourteenth year in a palanquin sent by the temple officials in
Srirangam.
Periyalwar and the people of Srivilliputhur accompanied
her. Andal who was anxious to reach Srirangam was unable to control herself in
her urgency to meet her beloved Lord. She ran into the sanctum
sanctorum of the Lord Ranganatha and is believed to have merged with
him completely at that point. Since Andal married Ranganatha, who came as a
king (called Raja), the presiding deity is called Ranga Mannar.
In many places in India, particularly in Tamil
Nadu, Andal is treated more than a saint and as a form of god herself and a
shrine for Andal is dedicated in most Vishnu temples. Andal is credited with
the Tamil works of Thiruppavai and Nachiyar
Thirumozhi that are still recited by devotees during the winter festival
season of Margazhi, the month considered special for the observance of
Paavai Nonbu. Andal is known for her unwavering devotion to god Vishnu,
the God of the Srivaishnavas.
Vadaveshwarapuram:
As per mythological legend, the place was referred as
Varaha Kshetra. It was a dense forest named Champaka where the sages Bhrigu and Markandeya were
doing penance and had their hermitages in the place. A demon named Kalanerai
was troubling the sages and they prayed to Vishnu to relieve them from the
demon. Vishnu was pleased by their devotion and appeared in the place to slay
the demon. He is believed to have taken the abode in the forest reclining
on Adisesha,
his serpent bed, on the leaf of a banyan tree. The place thus came to be known
as Vadaveshwarapuram.
Sri
Villi Puthur:
In ancient times, the place was called as Puthur, because
of the presence of many ant-hills (Putru – in Tamil) here. The land was under
the rule of Queen Malli. The queen had two sons called Villi and Kandan. While
the two were hunting in a forest, a tiger killed Kandan. Unaware of this fact,
Villi searched for his brother, got tired and fell asleep. Lord Vishnu appeared
in a dream to King Villi narrated the incident to him about his brother
death and also about his idol in the forest.
As instructed by the Lord, he found the idol of Lord
Vatapatrasaayee under a banyan tree in the forest. He cleared the forest, built
the magnificent Vada Perum Koil and built a city around the temple.
It was named after him as Villi Puthur and the region was called
as Malli Vala Naadu after his mother Queen Malli. Andal was born
here later. Hence the place came to be called as Sri Villi Puthur.
Garuda
present alongside the Main Deities:
One finds Lord Garuda, the charioteer of Lord Vishnu,
alongside the main deities. In all other temples, one finds Garuda standing
opposite the main deity. It is believed that Garuda, brought Lord Ranganatha of
Srirangam to Srivilliputhur faster than expected and hence he was accorded the
special status here.
Villiputhur:
Legend has it that this town was built by two hunters
Villi and Puttan and hence the name Villiputhur.
Shenbagaranyam:
The region around Srivilliputhur
was once a forest called Shenbagaranyam (forest of Shenbaga trees).
Reference
in Puranas:
Srivilliputhur (Shenbagaranya Kshetram)
finds mention in the Brahma Kaivatsa Puranam and the Varaha Puranam. The Varaha
Puranam foretells the existence of Srivilliputhur and the consequent visit of Lord
Vishnu during the Varaha Avataram. The Brahma Kaivatsa Puranam mentions the
location of Vatapatrasaayee Temple in Srivilliputhur.
Lord
Vishnu Darshan:
Vatapatrasaayee is believed to
have appeared to Andal, Periyalwar, Markandeya and Bhrigu.
Other
Names:
Srivilliputhur is known by other
names such as Varaha Kshetram, Thenpuduvai, Vadeswarapuram, Vadamahadamapuram, Shenbagaranya
Kshetram, Vikrama Chola Chaturvedi Mangalam and Sridhanvipuri.