Srivaikuntanathan Perumal temple

Srivaikuntanathan Perumal Temple (also called Srivaikuntam temple and Kallapiran temple) in Srivaikuntam, a town in Thoothukudi district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. It is located 22 km from Tirunelveli. Constructed in the Tamil 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 Vaikunthanathar and his consort Lakshmi as Vaikunthavalli.The temple is also classified as a Nava Tirupati, the nine temples revered by Nammalvar located in the banks of Tamiraparani river.

The temple is next only to Alwarthirunagari Temple in terms of importance among the nine Navatirupathi temple. The temple is one of the Navagraha temples in Vaishnavism, associated with Surya, the sun god.

A granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all its shrines and two of its three bodies of water. The rajagopuram, the temple’s gateway tower, is 110 ft (34 m) tall. Thiruvengadamudayan hall houses rare life size sculptures commissioned during the 16th century.

Srivaikuntanathar is believed to have appeared to slay Somukasura, who abducted the four Vedas. The presiding deity is called Pal Pandian as a cow performed ablution daily to the submerged deity during the Pandyan era and Kallapiran as he helped a thief who prayed to Vishnu while he was in trouble. The temple follows Tenkalai tradition of worship. Six daily rituals and three yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the ten-day annual Brahmotsavam during the Tamil month of Chittirai (April – May) and the Nammalvar birth celebrations with Garudasevai with all nine temple of Nava Tirupati, 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 regional legend, Somukasura, an asura, defeated Brahma, the Hindu god of creation and stole the four Vedas (sacred texts) from him. Brahma was helpless, and he did severe penance in the banks of Tamiraparani river, seeking favour from Vishnu in the form of Vaikuntanathan. Pleased by the penance, Vishnu appeared to Brahma and promised to retrieve the Vedas. Taking form of a divine fish called the Matsya avataram, Vishnu killed the Somukasura and restored the Vedas to Brahma. He also wished to set his abode as Srivakuntam and resided there as Vaikunthanatha.

As per another legend, the image of Vaikunthanatha, over the period of several ages, had no patrons and was left submerged under the earth. A cow from a herd of the king, which used to graze at the place, did ablution at the place with its where Vaikunthanatha lay buried. The king was displeased to see that a particular cow alone was not yielding milk and thought it might have been the trick of the herdsman. He deployed his men to monitor the cow, who reported the events to the king. The king realised that the cow would lead him to divinity and he dug up the region around the place. He reinstated the image of Vaikunthanathar and expanded the temple. Since Vaikunthanathar was revealed by the cow, the presiding deity got the name Pal Pandian (pal in Tamil indicates milk).

Kaladushana was a head of robbers in the region. The ruling Pandya king wanted to arrest him, but his attempts were futile. During one of the encounters, he could arrest everyone except Kaladushana. Kaladushana prayed to Srivaikuntanathar to save him and his troop from the king. Vaikunthanathar appeared as Kaldushana and surrendered before the king. Later, he appeared in the dreams of the king to narrate the events and also informed him that he wanted the king and the people to learn that large accumulation of ill-gotten wealth would be stolen and would reach the right hands. The king was enlightened and he released Kaladushana and his troop. Since Vaikunthanathar appeared for thieves (called kalla in Tamil), he came to be known as Kallapiran.

History

There are six inscriptions in the temple deciphered by the Archaeological Department. The inscription from a ruler named Konerimaikondan records a gift of five velis of land as a tax free gift to the temple. The temple also obtained grant for building and maintenance of a garden from a ruler who defeated the Cheras. The Pandya ruler Jatavarman Kulasekaran I (1190–1216 CE) also offered a similar grant to the temple. Maravarman Sundara Pandyan (1216–1238) made offerings to perpetual lighting of the temple. An inscription from his reign also indicates the installation of the shrine of Vaikunthavalli. Vira Pandyan IV (1309–1345) offered land to the temple to perform special poojas in the temple during his birthday in the Tamil month of Vaikasi. During 1801, the temple acted as a fort for the British against the forces of Veerapandiya Kattabomman (1790–99). It is believed that the marks of war and destruction of Pandiyan history by the later nayakkar were visible in the temple during modern times.