Sri Boodhanarayana Perumal Temple

Sri Boodhanarayana Perumal Temple

Sri Boodhanarayana Perumal Temple is at Tiruvannamalai- Tamil Nadu.The temple is on the Girivalam route in Tiruvannamalai. Devotees begin their walk in the Girivalam around the mountain and end the worship there.

In this temple, Lord appears as a child, he is extremely large in size as he drank the milk of demon woman Boodhana who came to Gokulam to kill Lord Krishna. Hence, he is named as Boodhanarayana.It is an old temple and has one corridor with Sri Garuda, Thumbikkai Azhwar and Sri Anjaneya in front of the God’s shrine.

Lord Vishnu is found here in the form of Boodhanarayana, in two places at Surulimalai in Theni and in this temple. The Lord is a child but looks gigantic. He is seen taking the life of a demon woman, Bhoodana, who came to breastfeed the Lord with the intention of killing him however she failed. The Lord is seen seated holding his conch (Shankha) in the right hand and showing his left as an abhayahastha.

Legend

Legend says that Kamsa, the uncle of Lord Krishna, tried to kill Lord Krishna, because he was destined to be killed by the Lord. However, Kamsa failed and could not go even near the child. He deputed Boodhana to do this. She went to Lord Krishna in the guise of a woman and played with the child and breastfed him. Knowing her mission, the Lord pretended to accept the milk, but instead, squeezed her life while feeding. Boodha is another name for demons. This is why he is called Boodhanarayana.

A devotee built a temple for Lord Krishna in this design. Sadly, the temple disappeared in the days that followed. After many years, the Lord appeared in the dream of a devotee and told him that he was under the sand. The devotee recovered the idol and raised this temple.

Sri Krishna Jayanthi, Ekadashi days, Pournami, Tiruvonam star days are the festivals observed in the temple. Special Tirumanjanams are performed on Full Moon-Poornima days.