Bhaktavatsala Perumal Temple

The Bakthavatsala Perumal temple is a Hindu temple, located at Thirunindravur, in Tamil Nadu. It is the 55th divyadesam of Vaishnava temples in India. Here Lord Vishnu is worshipped as Bhaktavatsala Perumal and his consort Lakshmi as Ennai Petra Thayar also called as Sri Sudhaa Valli.

Architecture:

The Bakthavatsala Perumal temple is built during the , and is estimated to be 1500 years old. The temple has a 5 tier gopuram at the entrance and two precincts.

Bakthavatsala Perumal temple was built during the Pallava period of 9th century as seen from the various inscriptions in the temple. The earliest inscriptions of the temple is dated between 820 to 890 AD during the period of Nripatungavarman. There are inscriptions from the later Chola kings like Rajendra Chola II (1051–1063 AD), Virarajendra Chola (1063–1070 AD) and Rajaraja Chola II (1146–1173 AD). The Pallava inscriptions mention this place as Ninravur and some of them quote it as Virudhurajabhayankar-chaturvertimangalam, a sub-division of Punarkottam.

History and Significance:

Legend is that Samudraraja (Lord Varuna), who is the father of Goddess Lakshmi worshipped Lord Vishnu here. Thiruninravur is considered as the place of Goddess as she settled here first and then Lord came here to Her place. The rarity of this temple is that the Lord Sri Bhakthavatsala Perumal is staying permanently at his in-law’s place . As Goddess settled here first, the place itself had got its name after her. In Thamizh, ‘Thiru’ means Sri Lakshmi, ‘Ninra’ means stood, ‘Vur’ means place.

It is also that Thirumangai Alvar did not sing any paasuram (songs) here and follwed by Vishnu followed Thirukadalmallai and sang song praising the deity Bhaktavatsala Perumal from there. Lakshmi requested Perumal to appear before the azhwar, but when he did Azhwar had already reached Tirukannapuram. Perumal again appeared in the dreams of the Azhwar who felt that he is viewing Bhatavatsala in Tirukannapuram.

Temple Timings:

The temple is open from 8.00 a.m. to 12.00 a.m. and from 5.00 p.m. to 8.30 p.m

Festivals

The Bakthavatsala Perumal 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 8:30 p.m. Each ritual has three steps: alangaram (decoration), neivethanam (food offering) and deepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for both Bakthavatsala Perumal and Sundaravalli Thayar. 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.

The major festival celebrated in the temple are Chitra Pournami during the Tamil month of Chittirai (March – April), Tiruadyana Utsavam during Margazhi (December – January) and Brahmotsavam during Panguni (March – April). The other festivals are Sri Jayanti Utsavam during Aavani, Navaratri, Vijayadasami, Deepavali and Makara Sankranti.

Info on the deity – Specific to the temple deity

The Moolavar(presiding deity) of the temple is Bakthavasala. The Moolavar is at a standing position facing east. The height of the Moolavar is around 10 ft (3.0 m). The Utsavar(procession deity) is called Patharaavi is made of panchaloka and is accompanied by two consorts as in most Vaishnavite temples. There is a separate shrine for Ennai Petra Thayar also called Sudhavalli, the consort of Bakthavasala. The temple also has separate shrines for Andal, Chakkarathazhwar, the Alwars and Sri Ramanuja.

How to reach:

This Bakthavatsala Perumal temple is located in thiruninravur which is on the way to Thiruvallur railway route. The temple is 2Kms from railway station.

Videos: