Sri Veeraraghava Perumal Temple, Thiruvallur

Address

Sri Veera Raghava Swami Temple, Tiruvallur-602 001. Phone: +91-44-2766 0378

Diety

Veeraraghava Swamy, Amman: Kanagavalli

Introduction

Thiruvallur Veeraraghava Swamy Temple (or Veerarghavaswamy Temple) dedicated to god Vishnu, located in Thiruvallur. Constructed in Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Divya Prabandha, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Azhwar saints from the 6th–9th centuries AD. It is counted as one among the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Vishnu. Vishnu is worshipped as Veeraraghava Perumal and his consort Lakshmi as Kanakavalli Thayar. Veerraghava Perumal is believed to have appeared to marry his consort Lakshmi in the place. The temple observes six daily rituals and three yearly festivals. The chariot festival and float festival, celebrated during the Tamil month of Chittirai (March–April), is the most prominent festival of the temple. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

Puranic Significance

Markandeya Purana details the history of the temple. A sage named Salihotra had his hermitage in this place. He used to grind rice for a living and offered half of the flour to the seekers and used to consume the rest himself. He was an ardent devotee of Vishnu. To test his devotion, Vishnu appeared as a guest to him one day. He requested Salihotra to offer him food, which the sage did. The guest felt hungry and requested the sage to offer more food. The sage offered the other half portion of the flour which he used to consume himself. The guest asked a place to rest and the sage readily offered his hermitage. On arriving at the hermitage, the guest revealed his true form and blessed the sage

Beliefs

Veerraghava Perumal is believed to have appeared to marry his consort Lakshmi in the place.

Special Features

The temple is under the administration of Ahobila Mutt. It has five tiered Rajagopuram (main gate). There are separate shrines for Kanakavalli, Ganesha, Alwars, Gajalakshmi Thayaar. Here, the Lord married Vasumathi the daughter of a king Dharmasena. There are also shrines to Ganesha, Gopalan, Nammazhwar, Chakrattazhwar, Andal, Vedanta Desika, Ramanujacharyar, and Lakshmi Narasimhar. The presiding deity Veeraraghava swamy is in a recumbent position (called Bhujanga sayanm)facing east. His right hand blesses the sage Salihotra and left hand in gnana mudra preaches to Brahma. The Vimanam (pyramidal roof over the sanctum) is called Vijayakoti Vimanam as it is a symbol of victory against Madhukaidapas asuras who were killed by Vishnu. The Thayar is called Kanakavalli (also known by the name Vasumati) and her shrine is located parallel to the sanctum. There are shrines of Azhwars, Ranganatha and Hanuman located around the sanctum in the first precinct. The sacred tank is called Hrutatapanasini. The presiding deity Veeraraghava Perumal is believed to cure diseases of his devotees and hence he is called “Vaithiya Veeraraghavan”. There is another legend that Lord Shiva got rid of his Brahmahathi Dosha after worshipping Vishnu in the place. There is a small shrine for Shiva in this temple premises

Festivals

The temple observes six daily rituals and three yearly festivals. The chariot festival and float festival, celebrated during the Tamil month of Chittirai (March–April), is the most prominent festival of the temple. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.