Thiruvithuvakkodu Sri Uyyavandha Perumal Temple, Kerala

Address

Thiruvithuvakkodu Sri Uyyavanthaperumal Temple, Thiruvithuvakkodu- 679 303 (Thiruvichchikodu), Palakkad District, State of Kerala

Diety

Uyyavanda Perumal, Amman: Padma Nachiyar

Introduction

Since Kasiviswanathare has arisen here and the temple is located on the banks of the river Bharathapuzha where ten rivers join together, it is best to pay homage to the Pitras at this place. Perumal stands on the south side and blesses Golam. The source plane is the philosophical plane. Ambarishan and the Panchapandis have visited Perumala.

Puranic Significance

During the Mahabharata period, the Panchapandis went into exile. Then when they came to South India they found a beautiful place on the banks of the river Neela. Seeing the beauty and divine serenity there, they decided to stay there for some time. At that time they built temples and set up idols for daily worship. First, Arjuna erected a statue of Lord Vishnu. This is what is considered the headquarters. In the vicinity, blessings are bestowed on the separate sanctum sanctorum dedicated to Dharmar, on the separate sanctum sanctorum consecrated by Nakula Sakadevar, and on the separate sanctum sanctorum dedicated to Perumal. Upon entering the temple, Ganapati and Tetsinamoorthy are seated. Shasta, Nagar and Bhagwati Devi have separate shrines. It is said that all the Panchapandis stayed here for most of their forest stay and performed pooja.It was built by a Pandyan king a long time later. For a long time, only Perumal worship existed in this temple. About 2000 years ago, a sage from the region went to Kasi and stayed there for a long time. Then came the news that his mother’s condition was deteriorating and dying. On hearing this he set out from Kasi to see his mother. It is said that when he left, Kasi Vishwanath also disappeared under the sage’s umbrella due to his devotion. The sage saw this temple on the way and put his umbrella on it and left to take a bath. When he came back, he saw that the altar with the umbrella had exploded and a Shiva lingam had appeared from it and the umbrella had disappeared. Viswanathare of Kasi,It is said that the Panchapandis came to stay at the consecrated place and the sage was responsible for this. You have to visit this Shivalinga before visiting the source. Ithalam is an example of vegan-Vaishnava unity in Kerala. The people of the area call this place the ‘Five-headed Murti site’.

Beliefs

Most of the people of the state of Kerala pay obeisance at this place. They light a lamp for Perumal and worship Tulsi.

Special Features

This is the 67th Divya Desam out of the 108 Divya Desams which received the Mangalasasana of Perumal. Most of the people in the area speak Tamil. The beautiful sculptures and sculptures located on the walls of the temple, the scene of Arjuna doing penance and the scenes of Krishna Leela are very spectacular.