Ayyur Varadaraja Perumal Temple- Thiruvarur

Address

Ayyur Varadaraja Perumal Temple- Ayyur village, Pinnavasal, Thiruvarur District Tamil Nadu 610202,

Diety

Varadaraja Perumal Amman: Bhudevi, Sridevi

Introduction

For over four decades, D Rajagopalan Iyengar of Pinna Vasal, a location 10kms South of Tiruvarur, cycled 7kms one way twice a day to the centuries old Varadaraja Perumal temple in Ayyur to perform archaka service. He was paid Rs. 30 a month and 6Kalam of Paddy for this service. Till the middle of the previous century, Brahmotsavam was an integral part of this temple. Garuda Sevai on the Vaikunta Ekadasi day was a procession that the devotees eagerly looked forward to every year. There was a 5 acre land belonging to the temple and the temple was managed out of the income accruing from the temple land. Hereditary Trustee Pankaja Ammal took care of the temple management and the utsavams. Sokka Paanai on Karthigai was another event. In Margazhi, Thirupalli Yezhuchi was a daily event in the morning with devotees gathering early for darshan and presentation of the sacred verses. Pinna Vaasal Agraharam is 10kms South of Tiruvarur on the Thiruthuraipoondi highway after Mavur. Ayyur is 7kms South East of Pinna Vaasal and 3kms South East of Katchanam off the Thiruvarur- Thithuraipoondi Highway.

Puranic Significance

Following the takeover by the HR&CE of the Varadaraja Perumal temple in Ayyur, things went worse. The temple is almost unrecognizable now with a dilapidated Raja Gopuram. Once upon a time in the not too distant past there was a big sized Kottaram where Paddy was stored and measured. There was also a fully functional Madapalli to the South of the Raja Gopuram. Service Personnel including paricharakars were active at this temple. In the recent past, Thiru Kottaram has collapsed as has the Madapalli. There was a huge Nandavanam in the outer prakara but it now resembles a mini forest. The most scary of them all is the entrance into the Varadaraja Perumal Sannidhi. Every morning, as Sowri Rajan Bhattar enters the Sanctum, he invokes the blessings of the Lord to take him back safe to Pinna Vaasal that day for it resembles how Erettai Tirupathi was in the 1980s. Big stones, that have fallen by the wayside from the roof, lay on either side of the path leading to the Sanctum. Thick bushes have grown leading to the possibility of presence of dangerous reptiles inside the Sannidhi. There are cracks on the walls. There is no lighting inside the temple. Unmindful of its present state, Sowri Rajan Bhattar is at the temple every morning to light the lamp in the Sannidhi and to perform the Thiru Aradhanam. He also brings the Thaligai from home and presents it Varadaraja Perumal. For over a decade he too cycled his way to both the Ayyur Temple as well as the Vayalur temple. With him now taking care of Thiru Aradhanam at 6 temples around Pinna Vaasal, he travels by a motor cycle and finishes the morning pooja in these temples between 7am and noon every day. The temple has been in a dilapidated state with Thiru Kottaram and Madapalli almost unrecognisable with fallen roofs and walls – Will the HR &CE restore the temple to its ancient glory and revive the once grand Brahmotsavam and Garuda Sevai on Vaikunta Ekadasi.