https://youtu.be/lfA1pQY6zHM video a beautiful spot and good to walk KR IRS 311025
On Fri, 31 Oct 2025 at 16:14, 'gopala krishnan' via Thatha_Patty < [email protected]> wrote: > KOODAL AZHAGAR PERUMAL TEMPLE- > > MADURAI- TAMILNADU > > Introduction > > Koodal Aḻagar Temple in Madurai, a city in the South Indian state of > Tamil Nadu, is a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. Constructed in > the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the *Naalayira > Divya Prabandham, *the early medieval Tamil canon of the Alvar saints > from the 6th–9th centuries CE. It is *one among the 108 Divya Desams* > dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Viyooga Sundarrajan, and his > consort Lakshmi as Mathuravalli. > > Dedicated to Lord Vishnu, Koodal Azhagar Temple/ Koodal Azhagar Koil is > situated in the heart of Madurai city. In Tamil language, Koodal stands for > Madurai while Azhagar means ‘beautiful one’. This ancient temple of Madurai > is located quite close to Meenakshi Amman Temple. > > There are mentions of Koodal Alagar in Brahmanda Purana in its seven > chapters. It is also said that the great King Prithu, Malaydioaja had > worshipped Sri Koodal Alagar. As a result of which, Lord blessed them with > opulence along with attainment of moksha. > > > > Legends > > Koodal Aḻagar is believed to have appeared *to slay the demon Somuka who > abducted the four Vedas*. > > As per another Hindu legend, a ruler named Vallabhadeva went incognito > every day to know about the lives of people under him. During one of his > visits, a scholar told him that the ultimate goal in life is to "collect > provisions in summer and save for winter", which also meant that one should > work during his younger days and save for his old age. > > Vallabadeva was not convinced and he set this as a competition among > scholars to make him realize the true value of life. > > Vishnucitta, who would later go on to become Periyalvar, one of the > twelve most revered saints of Vaishnava sect, came to Madurai from > Srivilliputhur. He was believed to have been directed by the heavenly words > of Vishnu and he expounded the sacred verses. *He explained the concepts > of Hitham and Purushartham from Vedas and proclaimed that attained the feet > of Narayana could lead to salvation.* > > Vallabhadeva was pleased with the explanation and he awarded a bag of gold > to Visnucitta. It is believed that the current gopuram of Srivilliputhur > Temple, was built by Periyalvar with the gold won. > > History > > The inscriptions in the temple refer the presiding deity as Koodal Alagiya > Perumal. There are inscriptions in the temple indicating generous gifts and > endowments in the form of land, houses *and gold to maintain and > administer the temple. An inscription from the 8th century indicates the > donation of granite stones for the construction of Ardha Mandapa*. The > temple was expanded during the rule of Madurai Nayaks in the 16th century. > The Dvajasthambam mandapam (flag staff) and mandapam before the Hema > Pushkarani were constructed by the Nayaks. *The Mathuravalli Thayar > Shrine (Thayar) was constructed and the temple was renovated by Muthu > K.R.V. Alagappa Chettiar of Devakottai in 1923*. Since then, the temple > is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable > Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu > > Architecture > > Koodal Aḻagar temple covers an area of about 2 acres (0.81 hectares) and > has a five-tiered gopuram (gateway tower) raising to a height of 125 ft (38 > m). The temple is enclosed in a rectangular enclosure with huge granite > walls. > > The above granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all its shrines. > The temple has a five-tiered rajagopuram, the gateway tower. The temple is > originally believed to be built by the *Pandyas, with later additions by > the Vijayanagara empire and Madurai Nayaks* kings who commissioned > pillared halls and major shrines of the temple during the 16th century. > > The vimana, the shrine over the sanctum is Ashtanga in architecture, which > has eight parts, namely, Adhistana (base), three Padas (struct), Prashthana > (limb), Griva (leading struct), Shikara (cylindrical holder) and Stupi (top > portion). > > The outer parts of the vimana has stucco images of sages. The vimana is > believed to be the work of Vishvakarma, the divine architect. The shadow > of the vimana does not fall on the ground. > > Deities > > The central shrine has an elevated structure and houses the images of the > presiding > deity, Koodal Aḻagar, in three forms, namely sitting, standing and > reclining postures. The image made of granite is sported in sitting > posture and 6 ft (1.8 m) tall. *The images of Sridevi and Bhudevi are > present in either sides of Koodal Aḻagar. * > > The festival deity is named Vyuga Sundararajar and the image is 4 ft (1.2 > m) tall made of panchaloha. > > Sub deities > > Dashavataram, Bhudevi and Varaha, Lakshmi Narasimha, Lakshmi Narayana, and > Narayanamoorthy. > > The shrine of the consort of Koodal Aḻagar, Mathuravalli, is located to > the south of the main shrine. There are smaller shrines of Lakshmi > Narasimha, Rama, Lakshmi Narayana, and Krishna located close to the > sanctum. The shrines of Andal, Narasimha, and Manavala Mamunigal are found > in separate shrines around the first precinct. > > The shrine of Andal has painting depicting puranic stories and > inscriptions detailing devotional literature. The shrines of Garuda, > Anjaneya, Ramanuja, Vedanta Desika and Alvars are found in the second > precinct. > > The pillars in the halls leading to the sanctum have small sculptures, in > the second precinct. The second floor has a shrine dedicated to > Suryanarayana standing along with goddesses. > > Religious practices > > The temple follows the traditions of the *Tenkalai sect of Vaishnavite > tradition and follows the Vaikasana aagama. *In modern times, the temple > priests perform the puja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. > As at other Vishnu temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the > Vaishnavaite community, the Iyengar community. > > Poojas > > The temple follows the Tenkalai tradition of worship. Four daily rituals > are conducted. The temple rituals are performed six times a day: > Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m., Uchikalam at 12:00 p.m., Sayarakshai at 5:00 p.m., > and Aravanai Pooja at 6:00 p.m. Each ritual has three steps: alangaram > (decoration), neivethanam (food offering) and deepa aradanai (waving of > lamps) for both Koodal Aḻagar and Mathuravalli. > > Festivals > > Three yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the fourteen-day > annual Brahmotsavam during the Tamil month of Vaikasi (May - June) being > the most prominent. The fourteen day annual Brahmotsavam during the Tamil > month of Vaikasi (May - June) is the most prominent festival of the temple. > The festive images of the temple are brought in chariot round the streets > of the temple in various mounts during all the fourteen days. > > Float festival, which is a 10 day long festival celebrated, is one of the > best time to visit. Garuda Seva, Celestial Wedding Festival, Adyayana > utsava, Navarathri festival, Vasantha Utsava, etc. are a few other small > festivals that are celebrated here. Koodal Azhagar Temple > > Temple Pond > > The Teppakulam, the temple tank, is located outside the temple premises. > It has a centre hall made of granite. > > Religious significance > > Periyalvar obtained the name as he is believed to be an ardent worshipper > of Vishnu. While coming out of Madurai, he was taken out in procession to > Srivilliputhur and he got the divine vision of Vishnu at the instance. He > started reciting his composition, Periya Tirumoli, which was compiled in > Naalayira Divya Prabhandam by Manavala Mamunigal. Manavala decreed that the > verses of Periyalvar starting with Tirupallantu should be the first and > last verse while reciting Prabhandam in any sacred occasion in Vishnu > temples. > > Ramanuja, a proponent during the 10th century, believes that Tirupallandu > originated at Madurai. Thus Koodal Aḻagar temple finds an indomitable > position in Vaishnavite belief. > > During Mahapralaya, the great disaster, the devotees sought the abode of > Vishnu in Madurai. It is believed that Vishnu stood as a bulwark against > the impending disaster, giving him the name of the city as Naanmadakoodal > or Koodal Nagar ('Koodal' in Tamil is bulwark). > > The place is mentioned to be significant during four ages namely, Satya > Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga and Kali Yuga. > > The temple has Navagrahas, the nine planetary deities, which are otherwise > found only in Shiva temples. It indicates Vaishnavite cultures during the > medieval period > > Literary mention > > Historians are of the opinion that Koodal Aḻagar temple finds mention in > Sangam literature (3 century BCE - 3 century CE) in works like > Silappatikaram. Madurai Kanchi details the *Thiruvonam festival* > celebrated in the temple. Koodal Aḻagar temple is revered in Nalayira Divya > Prabhandam, the 5th–9th century Vaishnava canon, by Periyalvar, > Thirumalisai Alvar and Thirumangai Alvar. > > Koodal Purana details the origin of Vaigai river flowing through Madurai. > It is believed that Vishnu stood up as Trivikrama, with one of his foot > rising to the skies and the foot reached Brahmaloka, the abode of Brahma. > Brahma was pleased to perform ablution to the raised foot and the water is > believed to have emerged as a rivulet called Krithimala. A large number > of banana trees sprang up in the place and it came to be known as > Kadhalivana, a forest of banana trees. > > Satyavrata, a ruler of Madurai was a staunch devotee of Vishnu*. It is > believed that once Vishnu came out of the river Krithimala as a fish > (Matsya avatar, one of the avatars of Vishnu) to teach Vedas to the ruler.* > > From then on, the Pandyas started having fish as the symbol of the kingdom. > > Kumbhabhishekham > > The kumbabishegam of the temple was held on 20th January 2024 > > Temple timings > > 5:30 am – 12:00 pm,04:00 pm – 9:00 pm > > Administration > > The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and > Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu. > > Address: > > Koodal Alagar Perumal Koil Street, Pallivasal Ln, Near Periyar Bus > Stand, , Madurai, Tamil Nadu 625001 > > Phone: 0452 233 8542 > > How to Reach > > Madurai Bus Stand, about 1 km away. > > Madurai Airport, about 14 km away. > > Madurai Junction Railway Station, about 1 km away. > > *Compiled and posted by R. Gopalakrishnan on 31-10-2025* > > -- > 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/2125765256.1742608.1761907341644%40mail.yahoo.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/2125765256.1742608.1761907341644%40mail.yahoo.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 visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZopZ%2BDrhYMiLYLgGRfCApwrp7EmO45EN-%2BP%3De1YrhVrebw%40mail.gmail.com.
