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Temple Speciality

Temple Name

Sthalam

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Tiruvelukkai located in Kanchipuram in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Divya Prabandha, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Azhwar saints from the 6th&ndash;9th centuries CE. It is one of the 108 Divyadesam dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Azhagiya Singar and his consort Lakshmi as Amruthavalli.

The temple is believed to have been built by the Pallavas of the late 8th century CE, with later contributions from Medieval Cholas and Vijayanagar kings. The temple has three inscriptions on its walls, two dating from the period of Kulothunga Chola I (1070&ndash;1120 CE) and one to that of Rajadhiraja Chola (1018-54 CE). A granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all the shrines and two bodies of water. There is a 3-tiered rajagopuram, the temple&#39;s gateway tower, in the temple.

Azhagiya Singar is believed to have appeared to slay Hiranya, the demon king. Six daily rituals and three yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the Krishna Janmasthami festival, celebrated during the Tamil month of Aavani (August&ndash;September), being the most prominent. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

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Puranam

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Velukkai is derived from Vel (desire) and irukkai (place of stay), meaning the place where Vishnu desired to stay, which became Velukkai from Velirukkai.&nbsp;It is believed that the original image of the temple was east facing standing posture of Vishnu as he appeared for Bhrigu Maharishi and later appeared as Azhagiya Singar.

As per Hindu legend, once there was an argument between Saraswathi, the consort of Brahma and Lakshmi on superiority. They went to Indra, the king of celestial deities. Indra judged Lakshmi as superior and not satisfied with his argument, Saraswathi went to her husband, Brahma. He also chose Lakshmi to be the superior one.

Saraswathi was unhappy with the decision and decided to stay away from Brahma. Brahma did a severe penance praying to Vishnu and did an Aswametha Yagna. Saraswathi was still angry that the yagna, which usually is done along with consorts was done alone by Brahma. She tried to disrupt the penance in various ways, but Vishnu interfered in all her attempts. After all the demons were killed by Vishnu, who were sent by Saraswati to destroy the yagna(penance) done by Brahma, she sent Kapalika, a demon. Lord Vishnu took the form of Narhari to kill the demon.

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Varnam

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The presiding deity is Narasimhar (also called Mukunda Nayaka) is depicted in a seated posture facing West.The temple is located close to the Tiruththanka temple in Vishnu Kanchipuram. The temple has three shrines, one each for the presiding deity Azhagiyasingar, one for his consort Amruthavalli and other for Garuda.

The temple is revered in Nalayira Divya Prabandham, the 7th&ndash;9th century Vaishnava canon, by Peyalvar, Bhoothathazhwar, Thirumazhisai Aazhwar and Thirumangai alvar. The Azhwars have sung praise on the different forms of Pandava Thoothar. The temple is classified as a Divyadesam, one of the 108 Vishnu temples that are mentioned in the book. Many Acharyas have also written songs on the various forms of God in this Temple.

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A replica of the deity in the sanctum, as seen on a pillar, Singaperumal Koil

Singaperumal Koil, located around 45 km from the city has as is well known, an ancient cave shrine to Narasimha. Sengundram, located five kilometres away is now better known for the clutch of industrial houses that have set up base there. It is difficult to conjecture that the narrow road leading from Singaperumal Koil to Sengundram connects the two places with a common name and a history that goes back to the Pallavas at least. Sengundram as the name indicates means red hill &ndash; and it refers to Singaperumal Koil. Though the hillock is now black in appearance, it seems to have once been of reddish hue. The name in Sanskrit is Patala (red) Adri (hill). In Chola times the area was known as Sengundra Nadu which was part of Kalattur Kottam.&nbsp;

The two vimanas of the Singaperumal Koil, with the rock in the foreground and the gopuram at the rear.

The sanctum at Singaperumal Koil is built around the large carved Narasimha, attributed to the Pallavas and dated to around the 8th&nbsp;century. The idol fills the entire space. Seeing the open-mouthed deity, we are reminded of verse 23 of Andal&rsquo;s Tiruppavai where she describes the way a lion wakes up, stretches, roars, and then emerges from its cave. The deity is four-armed, wielding conch and discus, with one arm dispelling fear and the other resting on his thigh. One leg is folded while the other dangles on to the pedestal. What is unique about the idol is the presence of a third eye, on the forehead. The priest obligingly lifts up the Vaishnavite mark on the deity to reveal this. Below this magnificent carving is a tiny Narasimha seated on Adi Sesha. This is the Kautuka Bera or the deity of daily worship. In addition there is a unique standing four-armed Narasimha icon made of Panchaloha, with Adi Sesha as the canopy. This is Pradosha Narasimha who is brought out in procession on the 13th&nbsp;day of the waxing phase of the moon. The regular processional icon, known as Prahlada Varada, is an icon of Vishnu flanked by consorts.&nbsp;

On either side of the Narasimha sanctum are shrines to the Goddess Ahobilavalli, Andal, Lakshmi Narasimha and Vishwaksena. All of these, including the Narasimha sanctum open on to a common mandapa whose pillars are all of Chola origin. Surviving inscriptions reveal that the deity here was known as Narasinga Vinnagar Deva or Azhwar. The earliest such writings here pertain to the era of Raja Raja I (r 985-1014AD) and speak of local, rather than royal, patronage. A unique feature in this pavilion is the repeated motif of the Kurma Avatara of Vishnu in the rough carvings on the ceiling &ndash; there are several tortoises and depictions of Rahu trying to swallow the sun and the moon.&nbsp;

It is believed that the temple fell into disuse and was covered by sand dunes after the Chola heyday. The shrine was resurrected by Swami Annavilappan, direct descendant of Mudaliandan Swami, nephew of Sri Ramanuja. The Mudaliandan Swami Thirumaligai, located on the main street leading to the temple, reinforces this connect.&nbsp;

The entrance gopuram, Singaperumalkoil

The shrine received support during Vijayanagar and Nayak times as well. There are two carved pillars of that era standing by themselves at the entrance to the row of shops at right angles to the temple that indicate plans to build a gopuram or a mandapam there that were later abandoned. A complete four-pillared mandapa, with the dasavatara carved on it, seems to be of late 18th/early 19th&nbsp;century origin and stands just before entrance. It also has a relief of the patron and his wife though there is no mention of who they are. A stone deepasthamba (pillar for lighting a lamp on it) fronts the flagstaff of the temple, indicating its Vijayanagara origins.&nbsp;

Deepasthamba, Singaperumalkoil

By the time of the East India Company and the British Raj, Singaperumal Koil seems to have received patronage from the community of Arya Vaisyas who became prosperous as middlemen and translators. Another four-pillared mandapam, once again with the dasavatara on its pillars, stands before the Paramapada Vasal of the temple. This has the effigy of a patron and his wife prostrating and an inscription in Telugu. Another effigy of a couple records the munificence of Udayagiri Ramachandra Chettiyar and his wife.

Abandoned Pillar, Singaperumalkoil

Fronting the temple proper&nbsp;is a sixteen-pillared mandapam of the early 20th&nbsp;century. The structure was built in 1916 by Nachiyar Ammal, wife of Veeraraghava Venkatachariar of an unidentifiable village in Saidapet Taluk. The stone slabs on the floor were supplied by the prominent benefactors Calavala Cunnan Chetty and his brother Ramanujam Chetty.

Sixteen-pillared entrance hall, Singaperumal Koil

Narasimha being carved out of the rock that forms the back wall of the shrine, circumambulation requires us to go around the small hillock itself via an up and down pathway.

At the rear we get to see an azhinjal tree (ankolam/alangium salvifolium). It is a colourful sight for people have tied threads and small cradles to it for wishes to be fulfilled. At its base are stones placed in three or four tiers by those who desire to own a house.&nbsp;

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The Azhinjal Tree

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No visit to Singaperumal Koil can be complete without sampling the most famous dosa that is offered to the deity. What makes it unique is the red pepper powder spread on it, replete with a whole lot of other condiments. It is not to be missed.&nbsp;

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The Singaperumal Koil dosa

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Highlights

Sevas/Festivals

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The temple follows the traditions of the Thenkalai sect of Vaishnavite tradition and follows vaikanasa aagama.

The temple priests perform the pooja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. As at other Vishnu temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the Vaishnavaite community, a Brahmin sub-caste. 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 Azhagiya Singar and Amruthavalli.

During the last step of worship, nagaswaram (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.

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