PANDAVADHOOTHA PERUMAL TEMPLE, KANCHIPURAM, TAMILNADU, COMPILED Dear friends,
Today my posting is about the Pandava Dootha Perumal (LORD KRISHNA) temple inKanchipuram. This is a must visit temple for those born on Rohini star.The idol of Lord Krishna is very tall (25 feet) and he is with Goddess Rukmini in thesanctum. Hope a divine reading. Gopalakrishnan 17-05-2025 Introduction Rukmini Sametha PandavaDhootha Perumal temple (Thirupadagam)is a famous Krishna temple located in Kanchipuram. This is one among the 108Divya Desams. This temple is praised in the Nalayira Divya Prabhandam by theVaishnava saints Bhoodhazhwar,Peyazhwar, Thirumazhisai Azhwar and Thirumangai Azhwar. The special feature ofthis temple is that the main deity Lord Krishna is almost 25 feet tall and isin the sitting position. This is considered as the tallest deity of Perumal in the sittingposition. The Lord is seen with a beautiful smile on His face and seated in anArdha-Padmasana (Half Padmasana) posture with His right leg bent and His leftleg placed in front. His right hand indicates protection (Abhaya Mudra) and Hisleft-hand showers blessings (Varada Mudra). The temple is believed to have built by the Pallavas in the8th Century AD. Later it was renovated by the king Kulothunga Chola I duringthe 11th Century. PandavaDhoothar Temple is one of the oldest temples of Kanchipuram. Legend The Sthala Purana of the temple is very interesting and isclosely related to the epic Mahabharata. As we all know, Yudishtira lost everything toDuryodhana in the game of Gambling. At the end of the game, it wasdecided that the Pandavas can get back their share after 13 years of exileincluding one year of incognito. Once the Pandavas were back after completing all the conditions,Duryodhana wasnot ready to give their share claiming that their incognito was not fulfilledproperly. In order to ensure peace and to avoid quarrel among thebrothers, Lord Krishna decided to take up the role of peacemaker. So heproceeded to Duryodhana’s court on behalf of the Pandavas. ButDuryodhana had planned to kill Krishna while he was in Hastinapura. He dug a deep pit and topped it with Bamboo sticks.Then he covered the pit with carpet and a grand chair studded with gems. Healso placed a few of his wrestlers inside the pit. Once Krishna entered the court, He sat on that specialchair that was prepared for Him. As an avatar of Lord Vishnu, He already knewabout the Pit that was set up for Him. He just pressed thestage with his Little Toe and sent it crashing below. He then displayed His Vishwaroopam(A giant form of the Lord) to all court men and even to the blind KingDhritarashtra. With the grace of the Lord, Dhritarashtra got his visionback but he requested the Lord to make Him Blind again since he did not want tosee anything else in this world after seeing the Vishwaroopam. Lord Krishna then warned the Kauravas of the consequences.Since the Lord came to the Kauravas court as an Ambassador of Peace from thePandava’s side, he is known as Pandava Dhoothar. After the great war of Kurukshetra, Arjuna’s grandson Janamejaya came to the throneand listened to this Mahabharata story through Acharya Vysampayana. After listening to this episode of Vishwaroopam, Janamejaya had a desireto see that Darshan of Lord again. As per the advice of the Acharya, He came to this place inKanchipuram and performed a deep penance on Lord Krishna. Being moved by the Tapas ofJanamejaya, Lord Krishna graced him with the Vishwaroopa darshan inthe same way as he had given in the Mahabharata story. So the Perumal in this temple is known as ‘Pandava DhoothaPerumal’. This temple is alsoreferred to as a Thirupadagam. Pada means Big and Agam means residence. Hence Thirupadagam is a place where the LordVishnu resides in a Giant Form. The History This Dravidian style temple was built by the Pallavas and waslater patronized by the Cholas and the Vijayanagar kings. There are manyinscriptions found in the temple that belong to the reign of Kulothunga CholaI. The temple has three inscriptions on its walls, two datingfrom the period of Kulothunga Chola I (1070–1120 CE) and one to that ofRajadhiraja Chola (1018–1054 CE). Records that a merchant provided the temple with a flowergarden and purchased from the village of Ovirukkai some lands for the benefitof the gardeners. Architecture The temple in Periya Kanchipuram, a locality in centralKanchipuram, a South Indian town in the state of Tamil Nadu. The main entranceof the temple faces east and the temple has a rectangular plan. The temple hasa four-tiered rajagopuram and a single precinct enclosed in the walls. The Mahamandapa is believed to have been built by the Cholas, while the adjacent hallduring the period of the Vijayanagara Empire.The shrine faces east. The preceding hall to the main sanctum, Mukha Mandapa, hasbronze images of the festival deities of the temple and the Alvars. The mostprominent of them is of Arulala Permula Emburamanar, the disciple of Ramanuja,whose image is rarely found in other Vishnu temples. The temple has a granite compound wall enclosing the complexand also has a four-tier Rajagopuram, the main tower. The tower above the shrine is Badra Vimana, and the temple tankis Matsya Theertham. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, thetemple is extolled in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, the early medieval Tamilcanon of the Alvar saints from the 6th–9th centuries CE. Deities The main deity of LordKrishna faces theEast and the tower is called Badhra Vimana. The shrine of the Goddess Rukmini is found facing the South.We also have other shrines of Chakarathazhwarand Lord Narasimharbehind the main deity. The central shrine of the temple has a large image of thepresiding deity Pandava Tutar, which has a height of 25 ft (7.6 m). Such alarge historical image of Krishna is unique. The deity is seen seated in ArdaPadmasana posture with his right leg bent to the basement. Since Krishnaappeared in human form, the icon has only two arms, unlike other temples, wherehe is depicted with four or more hands. The right palm depicts the abhayamudrafor protection and the left arm depicts Varadamudra for giving boon. The preceding hall to the main sanctum, Mukha Mandapa, hasbronze images of the festival deities of the temple and Azhwars. The shrine ofRukmini is located to the south of the main shrine and has the deity ofRukmini. Deity of Lord Nrsimhadeva is located behind the main shrine. Saint Emperumalar was believed to have been born in thisplace - he had a debate with saint Ramanuja for 18 days and finally became hisdisciple. There is a shrine dedicated to him in the temple. Poojas The temple follows the traditions of the Tenkalai sect of Vaishnavitetradition and follows vaikanasa aagama. The temple priestsperform the pooja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. As at otherVishnu temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the Vaishnavaite community,from the Brahmin class. The temple rituals areperformed 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. Temple Festivals Krishna Janmashtami, the day of the advent of Krishna, iscelebrated with much devotion and enthusiasm, during the month of Avani(August-September), here. The festivals like Mukkotti Ekadasi and Panguni Uthiram are also celebratedwith fervour here. The Sattrumurai festival is observed for Arulala PerumalEmperumanar, a Vaishnava saint born here, on the Bharani star day, in the monthof Karthikai (November-December). Temple tank The holy temple tank is called the Matsya Theertham and it islocated on the Northeastern side. Rohini star It is strongly believed that people who are born in RohiniNakshathira will be able toovercome any sort of problems and difficulties in their lives if they pray theLord Pandava Dhootha Perumal in this temple. As said above, this is the temple where Lord Krishna is seenin the sitting position with His Left Leg touching the floor. This is calledVishwapadayoga meaning ‘Showering the blessings by pressing His Feet on earth’.So, it is strongly believedthat by coming around this temple either through Adipradakshina (Step by stepmethod) or by Angapradakshina (Rolling over the ground and touching the earthwith all parts of the body) would help the Rohini Starers in making all the72,000 veins healthy and making them resistant to any sort of infections. Auspicious days tovisit It is very auspicious to visit this temple on Wednesdays,Saturdays and on Rohini Star Days. It is strongly believed that the LordKrishna here will protect His devotees who pray with great devotion and belief,just in the way Heprotected the Pandavas. Sri Pandava DhootharPerumal Temple Samprokshanam With the blessings of Maharanyam Sri Muralidhara Swamji, Thethiruppani kainkaryam of Sri Pandava Dhoothar Perumal Temple was fullycompleted by Jaya Hanuman Seva Trust. The culmination ceremony took place on15th February 2024 at about 8:15 am, in the presence of our GurunatharMaharanyam Sri Muralidhara Swamji, Officers of Hindu Religious and CharitableEndowments Department, the Temple administrators, and about thousand devotees. Importance of thetemple The Azhwars: Bhoothathalvar, Peyalvar, Thirumazhisaiyalvar,and Thirumangaiyalvar performed Mangalasasanam to this Perumal in Deiva Tamil.Among the twelve Azhwars, Bhoothathazhwar, Peyazhwar and Thirumazhisayazhwarincarnated during the Puranic period. This underscores the antiquity of the temple. Benefits ofworshipping Pandava Dhootha Perumal Pandava Dhootha Perumal graces his devotees in hismagnificent Vishwaroopa form, which contains in itself, all other Gods anddivinities. Hence, it isbelieved that circumambulating his shrine by feet is equal to worshipping32,000 deities of this universe. Also, doing Angaprathakshana, the ritual of going aroundthe shrine by rolling on the ground is believed to cure infections. As Krishna was born inRohini star, people with Rohini as their birth star worship in this temple forgetting their problems solved and for their wellbeing. Administration One of the Vaishnava Sampradaya Acharyas of the temple,Arulala Peruman Emperuman’s family lineage, Thirumalai Vinjimoor familydutifully did the temple administrations across generations. Now the temple isunder HR&CE amilnadu. Temple opening times The Temple is open from 7:00 AM to 11:00 AM in the morningand from 4:00 PM to 7:30 PM in the evening. How to reach PandavaDhootha Perumal Temple, Kanchipuram By Air-The nearest airportis Chennai, which is about 80 Kilometers from the temple. By Rail-Kanchipuram has arailway station not farfrom the temple. By Road-The town ofKanchipuram is well connected to many cities by road. Local transport in the form of buses, autos, andcabs also offer good connectivity. Address: Pandavaper umal KoilSt, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu 631502.Phone: 1800 4253 1111 -- 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 visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/74515242.944830.1747456161967%40mail.yahoo.com.
