BHUVARAHASWAMY TEMPLE, SRIMUSHNAM, CUDDALORE DISTRICT-TAMILNADU-COMPILED Dear friends,
Srimushnam is a town panchayat, and the headquarters ofSrimushnam taluk, in Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu, India. The town is sacredto Hindus and Buddhists. It is one of the eight Svayam Vyakta Khsetras of Vaishnavism, and is knownfor Bhu Varaha Swamy temple, which is dedicated to Varaha, the boar-avatar ofVishnu, and his consort, Lakshmi. The Bhuvaraha templehas been visited by Madhva saint Sri Vadiraja Tirtha in sixteenth century andis written in his work Tirtha Prabandha. Jagadguru Madhvacharya visited Bhuvaraha temple manytimes and took even Chatur Masya Deeksha here. During his Chatur Masya Deekshahe created a Dhanda Tirtha, a pond with stick which can be seen even today. Constructed in the Chola style of architecture, the temple isdedicated to Varaha (Bhu Varaha Swamy), the boar-avatar of the god Vishnu and his consort Lakshmias Ambujavalli Thayar. The temple had contributions from Medieval Cholas of the 10th century with laterexpansions by Thanjavur Nayakking Achuthappa Nayak. A granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all theshrines and the temple tanks. There is a seven-tiered Raja gopuram, thetemple’s gateway tower. The temple is one of the few temples where Muslims areallowed to worship till the Ardha Mandapam. There is Varaha temple inTrivandrum also. The area itself is called Srivaraham. Today my posting is about the Bhuvaraha temple at SriMushnam. Hope a divine reading. Gopalakrishnan 24-08-2025 Introduction Sri Bhoo Varahaswamy Temple is a Vaishnava Temple located atSrimushnam. The Presiding Deity is Bhuvarahaswamy or Varaha Alwar and He isconsidered as an incarnation of Maha Vishnu. The Consort of the Presiding Deityin this Temple is known as Ambujavalli Thaayar. It is considered as one of the 108 Abhimana Kshethram. Legend It is said that DemonKing Hiranyakshan stole away the Earth and concealed it in the Netherworld andhence the Earth Goddess Bhoo Devi Prayed to God Maha Vishnu torescue Her. Pleased with Her repeated requests Maha Vishnu appeared herein the form of a Boar and He was called as Bhoo Varaha Swamy and He killed the Demon Hiranyakshan and rescued the Earth. It is said that the sweat of the Demon King who was droppingdead fell to the ground and created the Temple Tank. The Demon King while dyingpleaded with Maha Vishnu to turn towards him and Maha Vishnu in the form ofBhuvarahaswamy obliged him. The Temple is consideredas one of the 8 Swayambhu Kshethras of Maha Vishnu where the Presiding Deity isbelieved to have manifested on its own. History of theSrimushnam Temple Ancient Origins: Thetemple is considered ancient, but detailed historical records are available only from the 16th centuryAD. Vijayanagar and NayakPatronage:The Vijayanagar emperors, along with their feudatories, the Nayak kings, played acrucial role in the temple's development. They recognized the sanctity ofSrimushnam and undertook major construction projects. Temple Construction:TheNayak kings are credited with building the Garbagriha (inner sanctum), Mandapas (halls), Gopurams(tower gateways), and the surrounding Prakaras (enclosures). They also builtshrines for the Alvars and Acharyas, the processional deities (Utsavamurtis),and established arrangements for regular worship and festivals. Royal Grants: In additionto structural development, these rulers made princely gifts of villages and other generousgrants to ensure the proper conduct of daily pujas and festivals. Inscriptions and Records: Authentichistorical accounts of the temple's history are found in inscriptions within the temple, theDistrict Gazetteer, and copper plate grants held at the government museum. Architecture There are two gopurams (temple-towers at the entrance) in thetemple and two precincts enclosed within large granite walls; the western toweris seven-tiered and is the commonly used entrance. The five-tiered one on the eastern side is opened onlyduring Vaikuntha Ekadashi. There is a small image of Srinavasa Perumal (Vishnu) on theupper portion of the inner side of the tower. Outside the temple, there is an80 ft (24 m) tall monolith pillar with the image of Garuda on its top facingthe presiding deity of the temple. The sixteen pillared hall is called Purushasuktha Mandapa andit is the place where the hymns of Purushasukta are recited each day duringsacred ablution of the presiding deity. The vimana over the sanctum is calledPavana Vimana and is surmounted by a gold-plated kalasha. The 16 columnedpavilion is considered a masterpiece of Nayak art built by Achutappa Nayak. Thecolumns are sculpted with images of musicians, dancers and miniature idols. Theceiling has lotus medallion sculptures and scroll work. The central shrine istopped by a conical roof. The decorated outer walls are atypical of Chola Art. There is a shrine of Garuda andNammalvar facing the sanctum away from the sixteen pillared hall. Presiding deity The central shrine houses the presiding deity Varaha (BhuVarahaswamy). The 2 ft (0.61 m)-shaligrama stone image depicts the boar-facedVaraha standing in a victorious posture with his hands on his waist; the humanbody faces West, while thehead is turned towards the South. The utsavar (festival icon), Patharaavi, is made ofpanchaloha (a five-metal alloy) and is accompanied by two consorts as in mostVaishnava temples. Thefestival icon is housed in the Artha Mandapa, the hall before the sanctum.The temple has two dvarapala (guarding deities) on both sides of theentrance of the central shrine made of panchaloha, one of which is commissionedduring the modern times. The older one on the left side was confiscated duringthe Mysore war and was having a wooden replica till it was replaced in 2004. There is a separate shrinefor Ambujavalli Thayar, the consort of Bhu Varaha Swamy in the second precinct which also housesthe shrines of Andal andRamanuja. Sub shrines There are Sub Shrines for Venugopala Swamy and Vishvaksenar. There is a garden on thenorthern side of the temple that houses a shrine of Rama. In this temple thereis a statue of Hanuman lifting Rama and Lakshmana on his shoulders. Idols Idols of VedanthaDesikar, Thirumangai Alwar, Manavala Maamunigal, Kulanthai Amman andThirukkachi Nambi are also there . Poojas The rituals in the temple are followed as per Pancharatara agamas. Thetemple priests perform the puja (rituals) during festivals and on a dailybasis. As at other Vishnu temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to theVaishnava community, from the Brahmin class. The temple rituals are performed six times a day: Ushathkalamat 7 a.m., Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m., Uchikalam at 12:00 p.m., Sayarakshai at6:00 p.m., Irandamkalam at 7:00 p.m. and Ardha Jamam at 8:30 p.m. Each ritualhas three steps: alangaram (decoration), neivethanam (food offering) and deepaaradanai (waving of lamps) for both Sri Bhuvaraha Swamy Perumal and SriAmbujavalli Thayar. festivals Two yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which theChariot festival, celebrated during the Tamil month of Vaikasi (April–May),being the most prominent. The festival also symbolises Hindu-Muslim unity in theregion – the flag of the chariot is provided by Muslims; they take offeringsfrom the temple and present to Allah in the mosques. Other important festivalscelebrated here are Sri Jayanthi, Navarathri, Vijayadasami, Deepavali andMakara Shankaranthi. There are twoBrahmotsavams celebrated in the temple, one each during the Tamil month of Masi and other duringthe month of Chittirai (April–May). During the first, the festival deity of BhuVaraha Swamy is taken for seven days around the villages of Srimushnam. The chariot festival is a symbol of Hindu–Muslim unity in the region,with the flag of the temple chariot offered by the local Muslims. Theyalso accept the offerings from the festival deity and present it to Allah inthe mosques. The Muslim devotees thank Allah to have brought BhuVaraha Swamy to their place. Temple tree and tanks The Sthala Viruksham is Ashvatha Tree and the Sacred Tank orPushkarani is Nithya Pushkarani. Administration The temple is maintained and administered by the HinduReligious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu. The temple isadministered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable The religious head, thePedda Jeeyar of Tirupati is the permanent trustee of the temple. Specialties It is peculiar in this Temple to have a small Sub Shrine of Srinivasa Perumal in theupper floor of the Rajagopuram and Devotees may have to climb narrow steps toreach there. The Temple has 2 sets of Divine Feet to be prayed. This is one of the rarest of rare Hindu Temples whichallows the Muslims to come inside till the Artha Mandapam. Srimushnam is considered a Swayambhu Kshetram, meaning thedeity, Lord Bhu Varaha Swamy, is self-emanated, not installed by humans. According to legend, Lord Bhu Varaha Swamy granted the sacredland to Lord Venkateswara Swamy to reside on the Seven Hills of Tirumala, andas a gesture of thanks, granted Lord Bhu Varaha Swamy the privilege of firstdarshan (viewing) and first naivedyam (food offering) at Tirumala. The temple is considered one of the eight Sywayambu Kshetrasof Vishnu where presiding deity is believed to have manifested on its own. Divine ablution is performed daily for the presiding deity,unlike other Vishnu temples where it is performed only occasionally. InTirumala, devotees are supposed to visit the Bhu Varaha temple before theyworship Lord Venkateshvara but in Srimushnam devotees visit the Srinivas temple in the western entrancebefore visiting Bhu Varaha Swamy. The temple is frequented by childless couple seeking childrenand unmarried people seeking marriage. The local belief is that the worshipdone to Saptha Kannigaigal in the temple leads to right match. Legend- Hindu Muslim Unity As per legend, a localNawab on the county was ailing with Carbuncle and was given up by all thedoctors. He is believed tohave prayed Bhuvaraha and was cured off all his ailments. He madegenerous contributions to the temple and was later named Bhura Sahib. Each year thedeity is taken to the village when his descendants make offerings to the deity. A unique tradition of the temple involves Hazrath Syed ShaRahmathulla Shuttari, a revered Sufi saint who settled in Killai. He wasgranted 400 acres of land by Nawab Mohammad Ali Walajah. The Dargah trustee later sought assistance from a local tahsildar, UppuVenkatarao, to demarcate the land, and in gratitude, 26 acres were permanentlyleased to the Sri Bhoo Varaha Swamy Temple Trust. This gesture of goodwill laid the foundation for a traditionof mutual respect. During the Masi Maham festival, thetemple procession halts at the Dargah, where both communities exchangeofferings—Tulsi leaves and a silk shawl from the temple, and rice, dry fruits,and prayers from the Dargah. This longstanding practice is a testamentto the enduring harmony between Hindus and Muslims in the region. Control by Madhwabrahmins and Iyengars The temple is under the control of Madhva Brahmins andIyengars. Madhva Brahmins and Sri Vaishnavas do Vedaparaya during pooja. TheMadhvas specifically recite Gajendra Moksha and Srimushnam Puranam every day. Temple Timings: 6 AM to 12 Noon and 4.30 PM to 8.30 PM How to reach thetemple By Air-Air : The nearest International airports is Chennai(200Km ). Another nearest Air Port is in Pondicherry has charter flightslocated 25KM from Cuddalore. By Train : 1. Chennai – Villupuram – Cuddalore – Thanjavoor –Trichy Railway route is available running via Cuddalore Town the District headquarters.. From Chennai after Villupuram get down in Vridhachalam and can reachvia road to Srimushanam. By Road : Road transport is very good in Cuddalore District.National highways NH45 , NH45A are running through Cuddalore. Contact Details ofpriests: 04144 245090, Parthasarathy 90959 05865, Manikandan73971 31717, 87785 16498 and 99524 21072 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. 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