| Srivilliputhur Temple | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| District | Virudhunagar |
| Festivals | Aani Alvar Uthsavam (June–July) Thiruvadipooram (August) Purattasi Utsavam (October) Ennaikappu (December–January) Panguni Thirukkalyana Utsavam (March–April) |
| Location | |
| Location | Srivilliputhur |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| Country | India |
| Geographic coordinates | 9°30′29.9″N 77°37′49.4″E / 9.508306°N 77.630389°E |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Dravidian architecture |
| Creator | Chola, Pandya, and Vijayanagara Kings |
| Specifications | |
| Temple(s) | 3 (Vatapatrasayi, Andal and Periyalvar) |
| Elevation | 177 m (581 ft) |
| Website | |
| srivilliputhurandaltemple | |
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| Vaishnavism |
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The Srivilliputhur Andal Temple in Srivilliputhur, a town in Virudhunagar district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. It is located 80 km from Madurai. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Nalayira 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 Vatapatrasayi and his consort Lakshmi as Andal. It is believed to be the birthplace of two of the Alvars, namely Periyalvar and his foster-daughter, Andal.[1]
The temple is associated with the life of Andal, who was found under a tulasi plant in the garden inside the temple by Periyalvar. She is believed to have worn the garland before dedicating it to the presiding deity of the temple. Periyalvar, who later found it, was highly upset and stopped the practice. It is believed Vishnu appeared in his dream and asked him to dedicate the garland worn by Andal to him daily, which is a practice followed during the modern times. It is also believed that Ranganatha of Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple married Andal, who later merged with him.
The temple has two divisions – the one of Andal located on the Southwest and the second one of Vatapatrasayi on the Northeast direction. A granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all its shrines, the garden where Andal is believed to have been born and two of its three bodies of water. The Vijayanagar and Nayak kings commissioned paintings on the walls of the shrine of temple, some of which are still present.
The samprokshanam ritual of the Andal temple was performed on 20 January 2016 by Tamil Nadu Government.[2]
Vatapatrasayi is believed to have appeared to Andal, Periyalvar and sages Markandeya and Bhrigu.[3] The temple follows Thenkalai tradition of worship. Six daily rituals and three yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the Aadipooram festival, the birthday of Andal, celebrated during the Tamil month of Adi (July - August), is the most prominent.The Rajagopura was built by Vijayanagar Kings during 15th century. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu.
- ^ Rajarajan, R.K.K. (2013) Historical sequence of the Vaiṣṇava Divyadeśas. Sacred venues of Viṣṇism. Acta Orientalia, Societates Orientales Danica Fennica Norvegia Svecia, Vol. 74, pp. 37-90. ISSN 0001-6438. https://www.academia.edu/12405403/Historical_sequence_of_the_Vai%E1%B9%A3%E1%B9%87ava_Divyade%C5%9Bas._Sacred_venues_of_Vi%E1%B9%A3%E1%B9%87ism Rajarajan, R.K.K. (2012) Antiquity of the Vaiṣṇava divyakśētras in Pāṇḍinādu. Acta Orientalia, Societates Orientales Danica Fennica Norvegia Svecia, Vol. 73, pp. 59-104. https://www.academia.edu/7529429/Antiquity_of_the_divyak%E1%B9%A3etras_in_P%C4%81%E1%B9%87%E1%B8%8Din%C4%81%E1%B8%8Du
- ^ "Consecration of Srivilliputhur temple" (PDF). Hindu Religious and Endowment Board, Government of Tamil Nadu. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
- ^ Rajarajan, R. K. K. "Water, Source of 'Genesis' and the End Macro and Micro Viṣṇu in the Hymns of the Āḻvārs". The Medieval History Journal.