Koodal Azhagar Temple

Koodal Aḻagar Temple
Religion
Affiliation	Hinduism
District	Madurai
Deity	Viyooga Sundarrajan (Vishnu) Mathuravalli Thayar (Lakshmi)
Features	Tower: Ashtanga Vimanam Temple tank: Hema Pushkarani
Location
Location	Madurai
State	Tamil Nadu
Country	India
Location in Tamil Nadu
Geographic coordinates	9°54′51.83″N 78°06′50.79″E / 9.9143972°N 78.1141083°E / 9.9143972; 78.1141083
Architecture
Type	Dravidian architecture
Elevation	145 m (476 ft)
Website
www.koodalalagartemple.tnhrce.in

Koodal Aḻagar Temple in Madurai, a city in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Naalayira Divya Prabandham, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Alvar saints from the 6th–9th centuries CE. It is one of the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Viyooga Sundarrajan, and his consort Lakshmi as Mathuravalli.^[1]

A granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all its shrines. The temple has a five-tiered rajagopuram, the gateway tower. The temple is originally believed to be built by the Pandyas, with later additions by the Vijayanagara empire and Madurai Nayaks kings who commissioned pillared halls and major shrines of the temple during the 16th century.

Koodal Aḻagar is believed to have appeared to slay the demon Somuka who abducted the four Vedas. The temple follows the Tenkalai tradition of worship. Four daily rituals and three yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the fourteen-day annual Brahmotsavam during the Tamil month of Vaikasi (May - June) being the most prominent. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.