Vatapatra-sayi refers to the analogy of “God being in the leaf of a Banyan
tree”.—[...] Just as you take a seed, if it is sowed as it is with all the
sheaths then it grows into a tree, You remove the sheath, then you can
never make it sprout. Similarly human existence cannot continue once these
sheaths are removed. However, that is not our purpose. God has created us
to live here. We cannot take out the sheath and say we have nothing to do
and say “I am off”. That is the solution of a Sanyasi. He wants to takeout
the sheaths and be off. We want to be fruitful to this earth. Divinity
wants us to express ourselves as useful personalities. So, these wishes
which are binding us today shall grow out of ourselves and our wish shall
be something connected with all. The “shanti” (=peace) that we have got
should be a “vishva-shanti” (=universal peace). That is what we should
aspire for. So long as this is our individual wish and we try to hold on we
will never reach the stage of seeing God in all. But if we start changing
our attitudes and not only pray for ourselves but pray for all the people
in this world, we grow out of this limitation and our banyan tree grows
bigger. It is still a tree; it is bound to have its existence but our
Banyan Tree is much bigger. That is the reason why we say God is a
“vatapatra-sayi”. The importance of the concept of a vatapatra or a
vatavruksha is, we want to spread like that. Our concern is not only for
our shade but the shade for all and try to provide some shelter to others.
Śrīvilliputtūr is an important base of Vaishnavism in the
deep south of peninsular India. The area round is full of archaeological
monuments relating to Śiva and the folk divinities of the Little Tradition,
the ‘Ciṟukuṭiyōr’. With the advent of Āḻvārs in the 7th-9th centuries CE
(e.g. Nammāḻvār, Periyāḻvār, Āṇṭāḷ and Madhurakavi), the landscape was
thoroughly reset with temples of Viṣṇu; Tiruttaṅkal to the Tāmiraparaṇi
basin (Nava Tirupathi) being the nodal zone. The present article traces the
Vaiṣṇava phase of Śrīvilliputtūr based on literary and epigraphical
sources. The major concentration is on the massive wooden vehicle of Āṇṭāḷ
and Vaṭapatraśāyī, called *tēr*. The structure and iconography of the *tēr *is
the main theme for investigation, occasionally throwing light on the
changing phase of religious culture from the 7th to the 17th century.
The *chefs-d’oeuvre
*from the *tēr *are examined in detail as they seem to include rare
elements hitherto unreported. The article is appended with a plan of the
city to understand the importance that the temple and the *ter *command
within the organization of the *Himmelreich*. The photographic
illustrations present an illuminating peep into the structure and
iconography of the temple-car. The present temple-car is a remodeling of an
old one that was demolished 100 years ago.
The venue, *kṣetra *or *divyadeśa *and temple are closely
intertwined in the organization of a city or village. The temple
constitutes the central sector from which the city expands as a flower, the
streets studded like petals on the four cardinal directions; cf. a model of
the *rāyagopura *carved in the wooden plinth of the temple-car . The
temple-core plan of the city is true of the *tempel-stadt*, otherwise
*Himmelreich
*of Śrīvilliputtūr, Tiruvārūr and Maturai. The focal points of the city are
the *śrīvimāna *(the sacred temple) and the *tiruttēr*/*ratha *(the sacred
temple-car). This is true of most temple-cities in Tamilnāḍu; the
singularly unique other example is Pūri in Oḍisa. Ancient Tamil literary
works such as the *Paripāṭal *(-*tiraṭṭu *7) and *Perumpāṇāṟṟuppaṭai *(ll.
373-411) eloquently point out this phenomenon pertaining to Maturai and
Kāñci’s *divyadeśa*-Veḥkā. The *Paripāṭal-tirattu *says:
Māyōṉ koppūḻ malarnta tāmaraip/ Pūvoṭu puraiyuñ cīrūr pūviṉ
Itaḻakattaṉaiya teruvam itaḻakat/ Tarumpokuṭ ṭaṉaittē aṇṇal kōyil
Précis: “The city of Maturai is the lotus emanating from the umbilicus of
Viṣṇu; the central zone of pollen-grains is reserved for the temple of the
Lord, the streets spreading out in all directions as petals”.. Nīlniṟa
uruviṉ Neṭiyōṉ koppūḻ/ Nāṉmuka oruvaṟ payanta palitaḻt Tāmaraip pokuṭṭiṉ
kāṇvarattōṉṟi/ Cuṭumaṇ ōṅkiya neṭunakar
“The city encased within a rampart of burnt-bricks is on the likeness of
petals of the lotus emanating from the navel of Neṭiyōṉ-Viṣṇu on which the
four-faced Brahmā is seated” (*Perumpāṇāṟṟupaṭai*, ll. 402-405). The vast
street going round the temple was a hallmark of identification in case of a
city, which is noted in the *Maṇimēkalai *(21.120): *koṭittēr vitiyum tēvar
kōṭṭamum *“chariot moving street and the temple of the God”.
*Śeṣaśāyī *The Lord is reclining on the couch provided by a
five-hooded snake (*pāmpumettai *Periyāḻvar-*Tirumoḻi *5.1.7, Kalidos 1989:
pl. 33). The snake itself is rested on a *bhadrapīṭha*. A thoroughly
decorated figure, fitted with *sakalābharaṇa*s; the head is decked with a
*kirīṭamakuṭa*, supported by the twisted right-hand. The left-hand is laid
up on the body that extends up to the knee. A stalk emanating from the
umbilicus blossoms into a lotus in which the four-faced Brahmā is seated.
The legs are massaged by Śrīdevī and Bhūdevī. *Garuḍapuruṣa *appears near
the Lord’s shoulder with hands held in *añjalibandha*, cf. the early Gupta
image in Udayagiri-Vidiśā Parimoo. This is a rare element that is a pointer
of his intimacy with the Lord having been placed so close to his
*śiras *“head”.
Above the panel appear a *kīrtimukha*-fitted *prabhāvali *and two
*vidyādhara*s floating in the air holding garlands in hands. North Indian
images associate a cavalcade of divinities with Śeṣaśāyī (Parimoo 1983). In
addition to the Sanskritic lore), the Tamil *Periyatirumaṭal *of Tirumaṅkai
Āḻvār provides a graphic description of the Lord . Śeṣaśāyī is a coveted
theme in early medieval art (c. 550-850), especially when the Lord appears
in the *garbhagṛha *of the rock-cut temples at Tiruttaṅkal, Thirumeyyam,
Ciṅkāvaram, Maliyaṭippaṭṭi and Nāmakkal (Kalidos 2006: I, pls. I-III, V.2).
The *aṣṭāṅga-vimāna*s of Paramēcura-*viṇṇakaram *in Kāñci and the Kūṭal
Aḻakar temple at Madurai accommodate the *sthānaka*, *āsana *and
*śayana *Mūrtis
in the three vertical chambers of this unique temple-type, missing in other
parts of South India.31 Tiruttaṅkal and Thirumeyyam are *divyadeśa*s
extolled in the hymns of the Āḻvārs. The Tamil mystics perceive the *nidrā *is
deceitful, *kaḷḷa-nittirai *(Periyāḻvār-*Tirumoḻi *5.1.7) and that it
symbolizes *yoga*, *yōkanittirai *(*Tiruvāymoḻi *2.6.5). Nammāḻvār is
inquisitive and poses the question: “Lord, Thou were sleeping all these
days, how long will you pretend to sleep” (*Tiruvāymoḻi *9.2.3): *Kiṭantanāḷ
kiṭantāy ettaṉai kālam kiṭatti? *This question is apt in application to
several hundreds of reclining Mūrtis in South and Southeast Asian art.
*Ādimūrti* A canonical form, an aesthetically appealing image of the
type may be
found in Cave III Badāmī . The Lord appears in the *garbhagṛha *of the
west-facing chamber of the Tirupparaṅkuṉṟam north group of caves . In the
wooden image under study , Ādimūrti is seated on a *bhadrapīṭha*. The five
hoods of
Śeṣa appear behind the Lord’s head (cf. Kalidos 1989: pl. 33). The image is
in *mahārājalilāsana *with the front right hand resting on the erect knee
of the right-leg. He holds the *śaṅkha *and *chakra *in *parahasta*s.
Śrīdevī and Bhūdevī are seated to the right and left. Three dwarfish
divinities that appear below the pedestal are of considerable importance.
The divinity with hands folded in *añjalibandha *is likely to be *Garuḍa*.
Of the remaining two one stands and holds the right hand near the Lord’s
suspended leg. She is fitted with a *karaṇḍamakuṭa*. This icon may be
identified with Āṇṭāḷ.32 The seated male figure is likely to be Periyāḻvār.
If our conjecture is right, this is a rare image on the subject. Which
inducts the Āḻvārs into the realm of iconography. Images of Āṇṭāḷ have been
reported in the *vimāna *of the Vīra-Nārāyaṇa Perumāḷ temple at
Kāṭṭumaṉṉārkuṭi (Kalidos 2012: fig. 17), the birth place of Nātamuṉi, and
the *gopura *of the *divyadeśa*-Nantipura-*viṇṇakaram*. 33 These are very
rare icons unreported in scholarly studies, and also due to the reason that
Nappiṉṉai and Āṇṭāḷ came to be equated with Śrī and Bhū in Tamil tradition.
*Dancing Kālī *A *daśabhuja *image, it shows Kālī dancing with the
legs arranged in *ardhamaṇḍalī *mode and an awkward doleful face. The hands
carry different weapons such as *śaṅkha, cakra, khaḍga, śūla *and so on.
Two instrument players are found on either side. Flying divinities appear
up above. This image was part of a *ūrdhvatāṇḍavam *panel in which Śiva
presents an acrobatic *karaṇa *to defeat Kālī in a dancing contest (Kalidos
1996: figs. 8-10; fig. 10 illustrates dancing Kālī, all these images are
from the temple-cars of Tamilnāḍu). The image of * rdhavatāṇḍava*-Śiva is
missing in the car. Kālī is the associate of Vīrabhadra in mythology sent
on a mission to chastise Dakṣa.47 Images in Karnāṭaka find the goat-headed
Dakṣa and Kālī in diminutive form standing to the right and left of
Vīrabhadra ). Independent images of dancing Kālī are\ reported from Amargol
in Karnāṭaka.
*Nṛsiṁha *A *sthānaka *image portrays the *yuddham *with Hiraṇya ,
the face of Nṛsiṁha is terrific with the mouth agape, eyes bulging and the
teeth protruding. Multi-armed, he lifts Hiraṇya one hand holding the ankle,
one the hip and the other the neck. Hiraṇya is equally dynamic and lifts a
sword in the right-hand to strike the Man-Lion. *Trivikrama *A coveted
theme in Indian art, perhaps the most vibrant picture of the striding Lord
may be found in Badāmī Cave III. The wooden image under study finds the
Lord lifting the right leg up to the forehead. Four-armed, the front right
hand is gracefully extended parallel to the lifted foot. The front left
hand is in *ūruhasta*. Two other hands seem to hold the *śaṅkha *and *cakra*.
*Mohinī An* aftermath to *Kṣīrābdhimanthana *is the incarnation of Mohinī,
one among the twenty-six *aṁśāvatāra*s of Viṣṇu. The gods and demons were
in a wrangle to share the *amṛta *“ambrosia” obtained from the Ocean of
Milk, *Kṣīrābdhi*. *Aghoramūrti/Vīrabhadra *Vīrabhadra is a terrific
manifestation of Śiva. He was created from the matted locks of the Lord to
destroy the sacrilegious sacrifice of Dakṣa. The *Śrītattvanidhi *(3.4-5,
55) presents his iconographic features under the heads Aghoramūrti and
Vīrabhadra. There were chapels for Āvaraṇamūrtis (e.g. Āḻvārs and
Ācāryapuruṣas), several Structure and Iconography of the Śrīvilliputtūr Tēr
171 *maṇḍapa*s (e.g. *kalyāṇa*-, *vasanta*-, 100-pillared, 1000-pillared),
*gopura*s in cardinal directions and above all *vāhana*s (e.g. Śrīraṅgam).
The *vāhana*s, including the temple-car, *tēr *were vital to demonstrate
gorgeous *utsava*s. The hero during these festive days is the temple car.
Therefore, a scholar working on Vijayanagara-Nāyaka art is expected to be
thorough in his perception of the temple and its art heritage. Scholars of
an older generation disregarded the temple-cars. It is high-time that these
monuments are given the due credit they deserve particularly in these days
of international piracy of art .
K Rajaram IRS 18824 19824 {frpm delhi university research paper why
Srivilliputhur is so special to take the spot of TN emblem)
On Sun, 18 Aug 2024 at 19:11, Gopala Krishnan <[email protected]> wrote:
> SRIVILLIPUTHUR VATAPATHRASAYI AND AAANDAL TEMPLE
>
> Dear friends,
>
> I had been to the temple about 4 years back with my family. Very earlier
> too I have visited the temple while I was Junior Engineer at Sivakasi
> Telephone exchange during 1972’s.
>
> The temple is very famous. Aandal, devotee of Mahavishnu, merged with
> Ranganathar at SriRangam. At Srivilliputhur temple even now the garlands
> first put on Aandal only worn to Perumal. The following is a very brief
> compilation from Wikipedia.Hope a divine reading.
>
> Gopalakrishnan 19-8-2024
>
> 1.Introduction.
>
> The Srivilliputhur Aandal Temple in Srivilliputhur, a town in Virudhunagar
> district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu
> god Vishnu. It is located 80 km from Madurai. Wikipedia
>
> Address: Mada St, Mangapuram, Srivilliputhur, Tamil Nadu 626125
>
> Creator: Chola, Pandya, and Vijayanagara Kings
>
> Phone: 04563 260 254
>
> Hours: Open ⋅ 7 AM TO 12 AM 5 PM TO 9PM
>
> Temple(s): 3 (Vatapatrasayi, Aandal and Periyalvar)
>
> Festivals Aani Alvar Uthsavam (June–July) Thiruvadipooram (August)
> Purattasi Utsavam (October) Ennaikappu (December–January) Panguni
> Thirukkalyana Utsavam (March–April)
>
> Architecture Type Dravidian architecture
>
> Creator Chola, Pandya, and Vijayanagara Kings
>
> Constructed in the Dravidian 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 Vatapatrasayi and his consort Lakshmi as Aandal. It is believed to be
> the birthplace of two of the Alvars, namely Periyalvar and his
> foster-daughter, Aandal.
>
> The temple is associated with the life of Aandal, who was found under a
> tulasi plant in the garden inside the temple by Periyalvar. She is believed
> to have worn the garland before dedicating it to the presiding deity of the
> temple.
>
> Periyalvar, who later found it, was highly upset and stopped the practice.
>
>
> It is believed Vishnu appeared in his dream and asked him to dedicate the
> garland worn by Aandal to him daily, which is a practice followed during
> the modern times.
>
> It is also believed that Ranganatha of Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple
> married Aandal, who later merged with him.
>
> The temple has two divisions – the one of Aandal located on the Southwest
> and the second one of Vatapatrasayi on the Northeast direction.
>
> A granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all its shrines, the garden
> where Aandal is believed to have been born and two of its three bodies of
> water.
>
> The Vijayanagar and Nayak kings commissioned paintings on the walls of the
> shrine of temple, some of which are still present.
>
> The samprokshanam ritual of the Aandal temple was performed on 20 January
> 2016 by Tamil Nadu Government.
>
> Vatapatrasayi is believed to have appeared to Aandal, Periyalvar and sages
> Markandeya and Bhrigu.
>
> The temple follows Thenkalai tradition of worship. Six daily rituals and
> three yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the Aadipooram
> festival, the birthday of Aandal, celebrated during the Tamil month of Adi
> (July - August), is the most prominent.
>
> The Rajagopura was built by Vijayanagar Kings during 15th century.
>
> The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and
> Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu.
>
> 2 Etymology
>
> As per Hindu legend, the land around Srivilliputhur was under the rule of
> Queen Malli. The queen had two sons called Villi and Kandan. While the two
> were hunting in a forest, a tiger killed Kandan. Unaware of this, Villi
> searched for his brother, got tired and fell asleep.
>
> In his dream, divinity narrated to him what happened to his brother. By
> divine orders, Villi founded a city. The city is originally named after its
> founder, Villi forming the word Sri-Villi-Puthur.
>
> 3 Legend
>
> As per the ancient scriptures, the place was referred as Varaha Kshetra.
> It was a dense forest named Champaka where the sages Bhrgu and Markandeya
> were doing penance and had their hermitages in the place.
>
> A demon named Kalanerai was troubling the sages and they prayed to Vishnu
> to relieve them from the demon. Vishnu was pleased by their devotion and
> appeared in the place to slay the demon.
>
> Mahavishnu is believed to have taken the abode in the forest reclining on
> Adisesha, his serpent bed, on the leaf of a banyan tree. The place thus
> came to be known as Vadaveshwarapuram.
>
> Periyalvar (originally called Vishnuchittar) was an ardent devotee of
> Vishnu and he used to string garland to Vishnu every day. He was childless
> and he prayed to Vishnu to save him from the longing. One day, he found a
> girl child under a tulasi plant in a garden inside the temple. He and his
> wife named the child as Kothai, who grew up as a devotee of Krishna, an
> avatar of Vishnu.
>
> She is believed to have worn the garland before dedicating it to the
> presiding deity of the temple. Periyalvar, who later found it, was highly
> upset and warned her not to do so. Vishnu appeared in his dream and asked
> him to dedicate only the garland worn by Aandal to him.
>
> The girl Kothai was thus named Aandal and was referred as Chudikodutha
> Sudarkodi (lady who gave her garland to Vishnu). The practise is followed
> during modern times when the garland of Aandal is sent to Azhagar Koyil on
> Chitra Pournami day where the presiding deity Lord Kallazhagar entering
> into River Vaigai with the garland worn by Goddess Aandal and Tirumala
> Venkateswara Temple during [Garudostavam during the Tamil month of Puratasi
> (September - October)].
>
> It is also believed that Ranganatha of Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple
> married Aandal, who later merged with the idol. Aandal was taken in a
> palanquin from Srivilliputhur to Srirangam before the marriage. Since
> Aandal married Ranganatha, who came as a king (called Raja), the presiding
> deity is called Rangamannar.
>
> 4History
>
> The history of Srivilliputhur centres around the Srivilliputhur Aandal
> Temple, dedicated to Aandal. It is argued that the temple of
> Vatapatrasayi is present from the 8th century, but there are epigraphic
> records are available only from the 10th century CE.
>
> The temple has inscriptions from Chola, Pandya and Vijayanagar Nayakkar
> Kings, spanning across various centuries from the 10th to 16th centuries.
> As per some accounts, the original structure was constructed by Tribuvana
> Chakravarthy Konerinmai Kondan Kulasekaran and the Aandal temple and 194
> feet Rajagopura was built by Barathi Rayar of Vijayanagar king.
>
> During the reign of Thirumalai Nayak (1623–1659) and Rani Mangammal
> (1689–1706), this city became very popular. Thirumalai Nayak renovated all
> the temples of this city. He installed choultaries, temple tanks, paintings
> and golden towers inside the temple. The sculptures in the hall leading to
> the shrine of Aandal were also built by him.
>
> From 1751 to 1756 CE, Srivilliputhur came under the rule of
> Nerkattumseval palayakkarar and was a maravarpalayam. Then it fell into the
> hands of Mohammed Yousoof Khan.
>
> *** 1850, Sri Aandal temple was under the care of the king of Trivancore.
>
> My note- ***new information to me.
>
> The British ruled the country till India attained freedom in 1947.
>
> The temple's gateway tower, 192 ft (59 m) tall and it is believed that
> this is the official symbol of the Government of Tamil Nadu (Sri
> Vatapatrasayi Temple Tower).
>
> But the artist who designed the emblem for the state of Tamil Nadu
> Thiru.Krishna Rao denied that it is not the temple of Srivilliputhur rather
> it is Meenakshi Temple's West Gopuram. During the modern times, the temple
> is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable
> Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu.
>
> 5 Architecture and deities
>
> The temple has two divisions – the one of Aandal located on the Southwest
> and the second one is Vatapatrasayi (Vishnu) on the Northeast direction. A
> granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all its shrines, the garden
> where Aandal was found and two of its three bodies of water. The
> rajagopuram, the temple's gateway tower, 192 ft (59 m) tall. The tower is
> originally believed to have been built by Periyalvar with the prize money
> he obtained from religious debates in the court of Vallaba Pandya in
> Madurai.
>
> The Aandal shrine houses the image of Aandal and Rangamannar. Garuda, who
> brought Ranganathar, the divine bridegroom, from Srirangam is also housed
> in the same shrine. The walls around the shrine has paintings of the life
> of Aandal. The second hall from the entrance towards the sanctum, the
> Kalyana Mandapa, houses huge life-size sculptures of Mohini, Rama,
> Kamadeva, Rati, and many other deities.
>
> The Vatapatrasayi division has two precincts. The sanctum in the second
> level approached through a flight of steps houses the image of
> Vatapatrasayi in a reclining posture and his consorts, Lakshmi (Sridevi)
> and Bhudevi, are shown attending to him at his feet.
>
> Sage Bhrigu stands near his head and sage Markandeya is near his feet.
> The banyan tree whose leaf is known as Vatapatram, on which Vishnu is said
> to rest in the form of a baby during deluge, is at his head, behind Bhrigu.
>
> Images of Panchamurtis - Tumburu, Narada, the Sanatkumaras, Kinnara
> Mithuna, the sun and the moon gods are shown all around Rangamannar as well
> as representations of Villi and Puttan are seen at his feet.
>
> The sanctum has three doorways from which the presiding deity can be seen.
> The hall leading to the sanctum, Bhopala villam, has a hall with detailed
> teak wood carvings depicting incidents from the Puranas and the ten avatars
> of Vishnu, the Dashavatara. There are a set of carvings that decorate the
> ceiling
>
> The temple houses some rare Vijayanagara sculptures. The composite
> columns of Virabhadra holding sword and horn are found be additions of the
> Vijayanayagara kings during the early 1500s.
>
> 6 Religious significance
>
> Srivilliputtur finds mention in Brahmakaivatsapuranam and Varaha puranam.
> Varaha puranam foretells the existence of Srivilliputtur and the consequent
> visit of Vishnu in his Varaha form. Brahmakaivatsa puranam mentions the
> location of Vatapatrasayi Temple in Srivilliputtur.
>
> Srivilliputhur has a significant place in Vaishnava philosophy and worship
> practices. The Srivilliputtur Divya Desam has the unique distinction
> among all other Divya Desams of being the birthplace of two important
> Alvars among the twelve Alvars, Periyalvar, who became the father-in-law of
> the Ranganatha himself and Aandal who was the incarnation of Bhudevi and
> attained union with the Ranganathan at Srirangam.
>
> Aandal is the only female Alvar saint of the 12 Alvar saints of South India.
> She is credited with the Tamil works of Thirupavai and Nachiar Tirumoli
> that are still recited by devotees during the Winter festival season of
> Margali. The town wakes up to the sounds of Thiruppavai is believed to lead
> to a sublime atmosphere throughout the day.
>
> Aandal is known for her unwavering devotion to god Vishnu, the supreme
> deity of the Sri Vaishnavas. Adopted by her father, Periyalvar, Aandal
> avoided earthly marriage, the normal and expected path for women of her
> culture, to marry Vishnu. In many places in India, particularly in Tamil
> Nadu, Aandal is treated more than a saint and as a form of god herself
> and a shrine for Aandal is dedicated in most Vishnu temples.
>
> 7Festivals and religious practises
>
> The temple follows Thenkalai tradition of worship. The temple priests
> perform the pooja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. Like
> other Vishnu temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the Vaishnava
> community, from the Brahmin class.
>
> The temple rituals are performed six times a day: Ushathkalam at 7 a.m.,
> Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m., Uchikalam at 12:00 p.m., Sayarakshai at 6:00 p.m.,
> Irandamkalam at 7:00 p.m. and Ardha Jamam at 10:00 p.m.
>
> Each ritual has three steps: alangaram (decoration), neivethanam (food
> offering) and deepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for both Vatapatrasayi and
> Aandal. During the last step of worship, nadasvaram (pipe instrument) and
> tavil (percussion instrument) are played, religious instructions in the
> Vedas (sacred text) are recited by priests, and worshippers prostrate
> themselves in front of the temple mast. There are weekly, monthly and
> fortnightly rituals performed in the temple.
>
> 8 Aadipooram
>
> Thousands of people from the state participate in the "Aadi Pooram"
> festival celebrated in the Aandal Temple. After early morning special
> pujas, the presiding deities, Sri Rengamannar and Goddess Aandal are taken
> in decorated palanquins to the car. The festival marks the adoption of
> presiding deity, Aandal, by Periyalvar after he found her near a tulasi
> plant in the garden of Vatapatrasayi Temple at Srivilliputhur on the eighth
> day of the Tamil month of Adi.
>
> The temple car was originally very heavy (4 m tall and 650 tonnes) and it
> took days to take it back to the original position. Before 2000, the
> practise of drawing the temple car during the yearly festival was
> suspended. With the efforts of Vanamamalai Jeer, the head of a monastic
> institution, the temple car was modified with hydraulic wheels to ease
> the movement.
>
> Kumbabishekam, the consecration of the Aandal temple happened on 20
> January 2016.
>
> Fridays and Saturdays are considered the ideal time to visit the temple.
>
> The place is very famous for milk Gova.
>
> --
> To go to your groups page on the web, login to your gmail account and then
> click on https://groups.google.com/
> ---
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> "iyer123" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
> email to [email protected].
> To view this discussion on the web visit
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/iyer123/CAEE2L%2B1uNvuMadpAzzpHUurOejMpGHWuHZ8NPfF1%3DSVo7H821Q%40mail.gmail.com
> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/iyer123/CAEE2L%2B1uNvuMadpAzzpHUurOejMpGHWuHZ8NPfF1%3DSVo7H821Q%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>
> .
>
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"Thatha_Patty" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email
to [email protected].
To view this discussion on the web visit
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZorKVuTywZ_n8-6hzMucjEAieWHzE6TYFBr%3Dr5h_Jpmdkw%40mail.gmail.com.
