Bhaktavatsala Perumal temple, Thirunindravur

Sri Bhaktavatsala Perumal temple is a Hindu temple, located at Thirunindravur, a western suburb of Chennai, India. It is dedicated to the Hindu deity 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 Bhaktavatsala Perumal and his consort Lakshmi as Ennai Petra Thayar.

The temple is believed to have been built by the Pallavas of the late 8th century CE, with later contributions from the Medieval Cholas and Vijayanagara kings. A granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all the shrines and two bodies of water. There is a four-tiered rajagopuram, the temple’s gateway tower, in the temple.

Six daily rituals and three yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the Krishna Janmasthami festival, celebrated during the Tamil month of Avani (August–September), being the most prominent. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

Legend

According to the temple’s Sthala Purana, Bhaktavatsala Perumal is believed to have appeared to Kubera. According to another legend, Varuna, the god of the waters, had worshipped Vishnu at this place. It is also said that Vishnu, returning from this place and accompanied by Lakshmi, stayed here, which is why the town it is called Thirunindravur. It is also that Thirumangai Alvar did not sing any pasurams (hymns) here, and followed by Vishnu, followed Thirukadalmallai and sang a hymn, praising the deity Bhaktavatsala Perumal. Lakshmi requested Perumal to appear before the Alvar, but when he did so, Thirumangai Alvar had already reached Thirukannamangai. The deity once again appeared in the dreams of the Alvar, who perceived viewing Bhaktavatsala in Tirukkannamangai.

History

The temple was built during the Pallava period of 9th century as seen from the various inscriptions in the temple. The earliest inscriptions of the temple is dated between 820 and 890 CE during the period of Nripatungavarman. There are inscriptions from the later Chola kings like Rajendra Chola II (1051–1063 CE), Virarajendra Chola (1063–1070 CE) and Rajaraja Chola II (1146–1173 CE). The Pallava inscriptions mention this place as Ninravur and some of them quote it as Virudhurajabhayankar-chaturvertimangalam, a sub-division of Punarkottam.