Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy

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Vallam Madhavaperumal and Vajreshwarar Temples:&nbsp;&nbsp;There are two more temples in Vallam- Shri Madhavaperumal and Shri Vajreshwarar temples.&nbsp;&nbsp;We will first cover the Perumal temple. This temple is around 2 Kms from the Amman temple.&nbsp;&nbsp;This place was founded as a small village when Vallabha Chozhan was ruling the kingdom.&nbsp;&nbsp;Hence the village came to be called Vallabha Puram which later became Vallam.&nbsp;&nbsp;Another explanation given for the name of the village is that there was a demon by name Vallasuran who was killed by Lord Narasimha in this place.&nbsp;&nbsp;The temple is open from 6 to 10 am and from 5.30 to 8 pm.&nbsp;&nbsp;For special poojas, devotees may get in touch with Shri Kuppuswamy Bhattar through 99437 32491 and 04362 266553.

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This temple is nearly 900 year old, constructed during the reign of Vikrama Chozhan.&nbsp;&nbsp;As per the traditions of those days, Perumal temples were called Vinnagaram and hence this was called Vikarama Vinnagaram.&nbsp;&nbsp;The reference to the latter name could be found in the inscriptions in the Amman temple. Subsequent renovations were done by the Pandyas, Hoysalas, Nayaks and Marathas.&nbsp;

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Unfortunately,during the 20th&nbsp;century, the number of visitors came down drastically and at one point of time, all the poojas were stopped and the temple was closed. The entire temple was covered by vegetation and even the presence of the temple was not known for nearly 48 years.&nbsp;&nbsp;Around 15 years back, the local people took interest in reviving the temple and after the restoration was completed, Kumbabishekam was performed in 1996 and now poojas are&nbsp;&nbsp;being conducted regularly,&nbsp;&nbsp;Till recently, the Utsava Murthis were kept in the Tanjavur Palace for safety purposes.&nbsp;&nbsp;( I am not sure about the current status). There is no Rajagopuram. It is not clear whether the temple Gopuram was destroyed during the Muslim invasion. Any reader from this area may confirm these points.

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Many of the readers might be knowing the saying &ldquo; Shiva Abhisheka Priya and Vishnu, Alankara Priya&rdquo;.&nbsp;&nbsp;In most of the Perumal temples, daily abhishekam is not performed.&nbsp;&nbsp;This temple is no exception.&nbsp;&nbsp;Abhishekam for the Madhava Perumal, the presiding deity of this temple, is performed only four times during the year.&nbsp;&nbsp;This is performed on the first days of the Tamil months Vaikasi ( May), Aavani (Aug), Kartigai (Nov) and Maasi (Feb) around 2 am ( Vishnupathi Punyakalam).

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The main shrine is that of Shri Madhava Perumal.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Swamy is in the sitting posture with His left leg folded and right leg on the Peetam. He is an East facing Swayambu Murthy.&nbsp;&nbsp;The other name of the Swamy is Devendran as Indra got redemption after taking bath in the Pushkarni ( Vajra Theertham, believed to be created by Sri Rama during his journey through this area in the company of Seetha) and prayed here.&nbsp;&nbsp;The other main shrine is that of Shri Yoga Narasimhar. This Swayambu Murthy faces South.&nbsp;&nbsp;Originally there was only shrine for Komalavalli Thayar.&nbsp;&nbsp;Later they built another sannadhi for Andal.&nbsp;&nbsp;There are also shrines for Rama,Azhvars and Hanuman. The Hanuman shrine should not be missed as the Lord is a very beautiful small idol (Balahanuman?).

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The next temple in Vallam is that of Shri Vajreshwarar or Vajrapureeswarar.&nbsp;&nbsp;This is an ancient Shiva temple.&nbsp;&nbsp;In the sthala puranam of the Perumal temple, I had mentioned about the redemption of Indra for misbehaving with Akalya, wife of Gowthama Rishi. The same is also indicated in the sthala puranam of this temple.&nbsp;&nbsp;I had already mentioned about Vajra Theertham. When Seetha was feeling thirsty, Rama used His weapon (Vajrayutham), pierced the ground and created this theertham.&nbsp;&nbsp;This pond is now in a dilapidated condition, South of the Shiva temple.&nbsp;&nbsp;The depth of this pond could not be measured so far.