Tiruththanka

The Deepaprakasa Perumal Temple, also referred to as Tiruththanka, and Tooppul, is located in Kanchipuram in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is a temple 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 Deepaprakasar, and his consort Lakshmi as Maragathavalli.

The temple is believed to have been expanded during the Medieval Cholas and Vijayanagara kings. The temple has inscriptions on its walls dating from the period of Rajaraja Chola III (1223 CE). A granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all the shrines and two bodies of water. There is a two-tiered rajagopuram, the temple’s gateway tower, in the temple.

Deepaprakasar is believed to have appeared to Brahma. Six daily rituals and three yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the Brahmotsavam festival, celebrated during the Tamil month of Puratassi (September – October), 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 Hindu legend, once there was an argument between Saraswati, the consort of Brahma, and Lakshmi on their superiority. They went to Indra, the king of the devas. Indra judged Lakshmi as superior, and not satisfied with his argument, Saraswati went to her husband, Brahma. He also chose Lakshmi to be the superior one. Saraswati was unhappy with the decision, and decided to stay away from Brahma. Brahma did a severe penance praying to Vishnu, and did an Ashvamedha Yagna. Saraswati was still angry that the yagna, which usually is done along with consorts, was done without her by Brahma with Savitri. She tried to disrupt the penance by sending darkness, but Vishnu interfered “like a light from the lamp”, hence he is also called as Vilakoli Perumal. Another version of the legend states that Saraswati sent rakshakas to spoil the penance, which was spoiled by the stream of light from Vishnu. Since Vishnu appeared as light to overcome the darkness of the situation, he is termed Deepaprakasa Perumal.

Vedanta Desika (1268 – 1369 CE) was an ardent devotee of Deepa Prakasa Temple at Thoppul. The devotion of Desika is mentioned in Saranagathi Deepika in 59 verses. He was born in this site. Vedanta Desika also has a shrine inside the temple. And a statue of Hayagriva worshipped by him, also has a temple nearby to him.