THESRI LAKSHMI NARASIMHA SWAMY TEMPLE , PONVILAINTHA KALATHUR, NEAR CHENGALPATTU,KANCHIPURAM DISTRICT- TAMILNADU- COMPILED
Dear friends, The Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple in Pon VilainthaKalathur, near Chengalpattu, is a historic Vishnu temple in the Kanchipuramdistrict dedicated to Lord Narasimha. Around a thousand years ago, the templeis believed to have received an utsavar (processional deity) from the ThiruKadal Mallai Divya Desam to save it from floods, with the installationindicated by Garuda circling the temple's vimanam three times. The temple islocated about 1 kilometer off the Chennai-Trichy GST Road and is accessible fromthe Singaperumal Koil Suburban Railway Station. Today my posting is about this temple. Hope a divine reading. Gopalakrishnan 14-09-2025. Key Details Presiding Deity: Lord Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy. Consort: Ahobila Valli Thayar. Historical Significance: The temple is over 1000 years old. The Narasimha Utsavar Deity of Thiru Kadal Mallai Divya Desamwas installed here about 900years ago. Located 15kms South of Chengalpet is the Lakshmi Narasimhatemple in Pon Vilaintha Kalathur(PV Kalathur) whose story has a closeconnection with the Sthala Sayana Perumal Divya Desam at Thiru Kadal Mallai(Mamallapuram). Several idols at Thiru Kadal Mallai Divya Desams (there wasmore than the one temple that we are seeing today) were on the verge of beingwashed away by the floods. Fearing the loss of the Narasimha idol, it isbelieved that utsava deity was taken away to a safer place from Thiru KadalMallai. Garuda was given the task of identifying the place where theLakshmi Narasimha Utsava deity was to be installed. It is said that almost 900years ago, Garuda came above this temple and circled the vimanam thrice. Taking this as the endorsement by Garuda as the right placeto install, it is said that the Lakshmi Narasimha utsava deity was installedhere at Pon Vilaintha Kalathur (PV Kalathur) and the temple whose moolavardeity is Vaikunta Vaasa Perumal actually came to be called by the name of theUtsava deity itself. Whilethis is not a Divya Desam,the fact that the Utsava deity relating to Thiru Kadal Mallai Divya Desam wasinstalled here makes this a significant and historic temple. Following Vedantha Desigar’s stay here, the entire paddyfield had turned into gold As per another legend, a landlord had engaged a labourer to look after his paddyfiled. Instead of wages, he had offered a piece of land to the labourer for hisown cultivation. The labourer was the ardent devotee of BhagwanShiv. Because of His devotion, the paddy grown in his filedyielded gold whereas the paddy grown at the owner’s field was ordinary. As the land had yielded golden grains, this place is calledas Pon Vilaintha Kalathur. Historical Legends Garuda's Role: Garuda is said to have identified thislocation as a suitable place to install a deity from Thiru Kadal Mallai around1000 years ago, circled the temple's vimanam (tower) three times to mark thespot. Village Name: The village's name, Pon Vilaintha Kalathur,meaning "the place where gold grew," is derived from the legend ofits fertile land, where whatever was sown grew manifold. Temple History &Developments Old Name: During the Pallava and Chola periods, the area wasknown as Kalanthai, which later evolved to Kalathur and then Pon VilainthaKalathur. The temple is believed to be more than 1000 years old and noold inscriptions were found anywhere in the temple. During the Pallava andChozha periods, this place was called Kalanthai, later turned to Kalathur, andis now called Pon Vilaintha Kalathur. As per the Thondai Mandala Sathagam, thePoet Pukazhenthi, who was born in this place, holds the position of Royal Poetof Vikrama Chozha Pandyan. Also, the 17th Century Anthakakavi VeeraraghavaMudaliar, a blind and great blind poet, belongs to this place. Kodi Archana was performed from 05th August 1970 to 11thMarch 1973. The 5-Tier Rajagopuram wasconstructed in the Year 1976. On 24th March 1995, a new temple chariot was made with thehelp of Villagers, Devotees, and Urupattoor S. Sampath Ayyangar, and a chariotprocession was also carried out. On 02nd June 1991, Ashtabandhana Maha Samprokshanam wascarried out. On 02nd April 1997, a new Dwajasthambam was installed. Thesame was replaced with a new one on 15th November 2009. On 18th May 2016, Ashtaabandhana Maha Samprokshanam wasconducted. A 1.61-cent land was gifted to Naivedyam by AvuliDesikachariyar on 11th November 2018. As per the temple records, the temple has15.74 cents of land in various places. A swarna kavasam was gifted to Moolavar Sri Narasimha Swamyon 06th May 2001 in memory of Acchan Ramapriya. Ashtabandhana Maha Samprokshanam was performed with theblessings of Srirangam Srimath Andavan Sriranga Ramanuja Mahadesikan (Srimushnam ) on 8th November 2013. Recent Developments: The temple has seen several renovations,including the construction of a 5-tier Rajagopuram in 1976, the making of a newtemple chariot in 1995, and Ashtabandhana Maha Samprokshanam ceremonies. Etymology Vedantha Desigar is said to have stayed here for a day on hisway from Kanchipuram to Thiru Vahindrapuram. On the evening of his stay,Desigar wanted to feed his favourite Lord, Hayagriva of Thiru Vahindrapuram andwent around the village seeking alms. However, with the night having set in andthe lights having been lit, the people in the village refused to pass on thefood. Given this scenario, Vedantha Desigar performed the eveningpooja with the sacred water (Theertham) and put his favourite Lord to sleep(Sayanam). It is believed that that night a white horse went arounddestroying the fields much to the anger of the villagers, who brought this tothe notice of Desigar the next morning. Hearing this, Desigar came out onto the field to witness whathad happened. To the surprise of everyone, they found that the field where thehorse had placed its feet had turned into gold. Desigar knew it was the work ofhis favourity deity Hayagriva (who the villagers had allowed to sleep in hungerthe previous night!!!) Hence this place came to be called Pon Vilaintha Kalathur. Architecture This temple is also called as Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Temple.The Rajagopuram is five tiered. The gopuram of the main sanctum is three tieredand is called as Nagara Vimanam. Here at the bottom of the Dwajasthambam, Sri Garuda is facingthe main sanctum. The main sanctum is after the mandapam. Bali Peedam is afterthe Dhwajasthambam The Dwara Palaks at the entrance are in the form of wallpainting. There are stucco images of Sri Narasimhar with Dwara Palaksin the sanctum, Sri Hayagreeva, SriLakshmi, in the mandapam. At the perambulation of the prakaram, we get to havethe darshan of Sri Ahobila Valli Thayar, Sri Andal and Sri Anjaneya in separatesanctums. At the entrance, we get to see a dwaja sthambam along withdeepasthambam. To the left side of the Dwajasthambam, there is a dedicatedshrine for Sri Anjaneya Swamy. To the right of the sthambam, we have a Kalyanamandapam for Deities marriage. Sanctum At the main sanctum, the presiding Deity is Sri Vaikunda VasaPerumal and He is facing east. Sri Mahalakshmi is in His lap. Temple Opening Hours: The temple is open from 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM and again from5:00 PM to 7:30 PM. Daily Procedures &Worship Daily Pujas: Standard daily pujas are performed during thesetimings. Flexibility in Schedule: The head priest may adjust thetiming of puja for specific days based on other festivals or events at thetemple. Special Poojas: In addition to daily rituals, thetemple also conducts specific events like the Narasimha Utsavam, which happens300 days a year, and the Sudarshana Homam. How to Participate in aPuja Contact the Temple: You can reach out to the temple toinquire about the schedule of specific pujas and the procedures to participate. Special Puja Arrangements: For special offerings or pujas, thetemple may work with its own representatives or agents to perform the ritual onbehalf of the devotees. Prasadam: Prasadam (holy offerings) forspecial pujas is shipped to devotees, with delivery taking a minimum of 30 days. Apart from Kala poojas, special poojas are conducted onVaikunda Ekadasi & Garuda Sevai, Rama Navami, Narasimha Jayanthi, PavithraUtsavam, and annual Brahmotsam with Chariot procession in the month andPanguni. Thirumanjanam is performed on Pradosham time to cool downLakshmi Narasimhar since Maha Vishnu took the form of Ugra Narasimhar to killHiranyakasipu on that day. Festivals There are utsavams round the year for Lakshmi Narasimha atthis temple. Panguni Brahmotsavam Sudarshana Homam on January 26 every year Narasimha Utsavam -300 days a year Davana Utsavam 2nd Sunday of March every year Davana Uthsavam, Narasimha Uthsavam and Sudarshana Homam arethe major rituals observed in this temple. Annual Brahmothsavam is held inPanguni month. All Ekadashi festivals including Vaikunta Ekadashi, Sri RamaNavami, Sri Narasimha Jayanthi are the major festivals celebrated in thetemple. Temple Time : 8am-11am and 5pm-730pm Address of the temple Lakshmi Narasimha swamy temple, Pon Vilaintha Kalathur, Kanchipuram district –PIN CODE- 603 405. Location Proximity to Major Cities: It is about 10 km fromChengalpattu, 50 km from Chennai, and 25 km from Tambaram. Nearest RailwayStation: Singaperumal Koil. Parikara Sthalam This is believed to be a parikara sthalam for unmarriedpeople and to cure health related problems. Devotees throng this temple withprayers for marriage. It is believed that this place is the parikara sthalamfor alleviating planetary effects. How to get there: It is about 10 km from Chengalpattu. There are many buses, autosfrom Chingelpet. Some of the salientfeatures of this temple are….. The temple faces east with a recently built 5-tierRajagopuram. A 4-pillar mandapa is opposite Rajagopuram. Balipeedam,Dwajasthambam / Kodimaram, and Garudan are after the Rajagopuram. Moolavar is not with Simha Face andMaha Lakshmi is with him. Dwarapalakas paintings are at the entrance of Ardha mandapam.Stucco (bas-reliefs) images of Lakshmi Narasimhar with Dwarapalakas,Hayagreevar, Andal, Alwars, Krishna, and Anjaneyar are in the mandapam. ATonsuring mandapam is on the right side of the Rajagopuram. Administration A Board of three trustees administers the temple. The templeis under the control of the Hindu Religious & Charitable EndowmentsDepartment. CONTACT DETAILS The Landline and mobile numbers of Dharmakartha AvaliSrinivasan (Narayanan) P. Pathri Narayanan and D Jaganathan (Administration)+91 9894425477 may be contacted for temple activities. -- 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/1556839082.2173170.1757832896843%40mail.yahoo.com.
