DivyaDesam– Lord Vishnu | One of the DivyaDesamVishnuSthalam |
Region | Thondai Naadu |
Thondai Naadu | 20thVishnuSthalam |
The
presiding diety of the temple is Laxmi Varaha perumal and the utsavar is known
as Nitya Kalyana perumal. This is one of the 108 divyadesams of Sri Vaishnavas
in Tondai naadu. The lord is found in a very unique posture of one leg on the
ground, one above Adisheshan and his spouse and Agilavalli thayaar on the left
thigh. The Lord is said to have married all the 360 daughters of Sage Kaalava
each day throughout the year and so the name ‘Nithya (daily) Kalyana( marriage)
perumal’.
The
third incarnation of Mahavishnu is in the form of a boar called Varaha. There
are many shrines dedicated to Varaha and one such temple is Thiruvidanthai,
near Mahabalipuram. The presiding deity is Lord Lakshmi Varaha and his divine
consort is Komalavalli Thayar.
The
temple is rich in puranic lore. Sage Kalava, believed to have 360 daughters,
lived at this place which was an agraharam those days (place where Brahmins
live). To get his daughters married was a Herculean task and this he
surrendered to the Lord Mahavishnu, known for his benevolence, assumed the form
of a Brahmachari (bachelor) and visited. Kalava’s first daughter’s house and
proposed to her and tied the nuptial knot. As it was customary, after the
marriage, the couple went to Varahaswamy temple to seek his blessings. The
couple vanished mysteriously once they entered the sanctum sanctorum. This was
repeated to the rest of Kalava’s daughters day after day.
Bewildered,
the sage wanted to know the fate of his daughters and sons-in-law. He prayed to
the Almighty and entered the sanctum sanctorum. Lo and Behold! The Lord
appeared before him as Varahaswamy. All the daughters of the sage were seated
on the lapof the Lord. Symbolically, the souls of the daughters had merged with
the soul of Lakshmi as one. Thus, Lakshmi signifies all his daughters in one
form and sits effulgently on Varaha’s left thigh as His consort. He considered
himself blessed to be the father of Lakshmi.
The
presiding deity, Lakshmi Varaha, holds a conch in one hand and disc in the
other hand. The utsava moorthi (procession deity) is ‘Nithya Kalyana Swami’. It
is surprising to note that there is a small scar on the face of ‘Nithya Kalyana
Perumal’. Since the marriages happened every day for 360 days, the Lord is
fondly called by that name: nithya means daily, and kalyanam means marriage.
The
deity is decorated with 108 saligramam (celestial stone) around the neck.
Legend has it that Hariseka Maharaj possessed the garland originally, and being
a staunch devotee of the Lord, he presented it to Varahaswamy. It is beleived
that unmarried men and women will get married if they visit the temple and
offer worship to Varahaswamy.
The
Lord here is said to have appeared before Markandeyar. There are separate
shrines for Andal, Lord Ranganatha, Ranganayaki. The holy waters are Kalyana
Theertham and Varaha Theertham. Many Azhwars have extolled the greatness of
this Lord. It is one of the 108 Divya Desams of Vaishnava sampradaya.
It
is situated en route to Mahabalipuram on the East Coast Road, near Chennai.
Thiru Ida Yenthai, a small but scenic village, is about 40 km from Chennai en
route Mamallapuram. This holy pilgrim centre is one of the 108 principal
Vaishnavite kshetrams. Here is the Lord with the wild-boar (Varaha) face hailed
as the Sri Lakshmi Adi Varahaswamy, who has his right foot, raised knee-high,
resting on the many-hooded serpent Adi Sesha, his couch, throne, umbrella, and
foot rest. This sacred shrine faces the sea on the east, and has, for its
environs, tall trees and lush groves aplenty, giving the pilgrim sublime peace
and equipoise.
The centre earns its name due to the fact that the 9-foot-high Lord’s idol has
his consort Bhoomi Devi (Mother Earth) seated on his left thigh (‘Thiru’ :
Sacred : Consort : Ida Venthai : left side). It is pertinent to point out here
that at the Mamallapuram temple, Lord Varahaswamy has his consort on his right
side and, hence, the shrine is known as Thiru Vala Venthai (Vala : right side).
Thiruvidaventhai
soon got changed to Thiruvidanthai by which name it is presently known. The
moolavar (immovable principal idol) is worshipped as Sri Akhilavalli Sametha
Adi Varahapperumal or Jnaanappiran, the embodiment of all wisdom and knowledge.
Thirumangai Alwar, the hierarchically juniormost Alwar, is the only Alwar to
have sung on this Lord ten pasurams (Peria Thirumozhi - 2.7.1 to 10) glorifying
his form and attributes.
It
is the firm belief of all devotees that a devout prayerful pilgrimage to this
sacred shrine will ensure speedy marriage and lifelong prosperity. The
utsavamurthy (the processional idol) Sri Nithya Kalyana Perumal has for his
consort Sri Komalavalli Naachiyaar (Komalavalli - the Goddess typifies a
delicate creeper : tendril).
Legend
has it that sage Kalva obliged a celestial maiden by name Kuni to attain
eternal salvation by enabling her to beget children. As destiny would have it,
the blessed couple parented 360 children, females all! The celestial maiden
left for her heavenly abode. The sage, burdened with 360 fast-growing female
children, was counselled to worship Lord Varahaswami at Thiruvidaventhai and
get suitable bridegrooms for them all in due course. It is said the Lord
himself came down before the sage in the form of a young and charming bachelor
and, in pursuance of the sage Kalva’s earnest prayers, agreed to marry all his
360 beautiful daughters. So, in the next 360 days, the celestial bachelor, Lord
of Lords, married all these maidens, one by one for one whole year. Hence, he
earned the appellation ‘Nithya (daily) Kalyana (marriage) Perumal (the Lord of
Lords)’, meaning ‘the Lord who gets married every day’.
But,
lo! All the 360 brides got transformed into one single bride. As the first
maiden’s name was Komalavalli, the combined form of all these maidens into one
came to be worshipped as Akhilavalli Naachiar (Akhilam signifying ‘many’ :
Akhilam also means the ‘world’ and, therefore, Mother Earth, Bhoomi Devi).
Thiruvidaventhai or Thiruvidanthai is also hailed as Nithya Kalyana Puri or Sri
Puri (‘Sri’ signifying the ‘Divine Mother’). As the Lord appears in the form of
‘Varaha’ (the giant tusker boar, who redeemed Mother Earth from the clutches of
demon Hiranyaksha, who rolled her into a ball and hid her in the ocean), the
pilgrim centre is also revered as Sri Varahapuri.
The
Nithya Kalyana Perumal utsavamurthy is invariably dressed and decked as a
bridegroom and marriages are celebrated everyday. Even the ‘drishtippottu’ -
the dot placed on the left cheek of every bridegroom, to ward off evil spirits
- is placed on the Perumal’s cheek on all days as he is the daily bridegroom,
the ever bridegroom!
Epigraphical
evidences found in the temple precincts advise us of the relative antiquity of
this Thiruvidanthai Sri Akhilavalli Sametha AdiVarahaSwami - Nithya Kalyana
Perumal Temple, from the 10th to 16th centuries A.D. Chola, Udaiyar,
Rashtrakuta and Pandyan kings have worshipped the Lord at this temple and have
bequeathed meaningful gifts as was the custom prevalent then.
There is a separate shrine for Komalavalli Thayar. Holy dips in the Varaha
Theertham's sacred temple tank in the month of Masi (Feb-March), in the Kalyana
Theertham in Chithirai (April-May) and in the Ranganathar Theertham in Margazhi
(Dec–Jan) would ensure wish-fulfilment and ultimate redemption. A nine-time
circumambulation of the temple precints in the enjoined manner assures pleasing
and speedy wedlock.
During
Thretha Yuga, Bali the son of king Meganathan was ruling the kingdom in a
righteous way. Demons Mali, Malyavan and Sumali and others sought the help of
Bali to fight against the devas. Bali simply declined to help them. The demons
fought alone were defeated by the Devas. They came again to Bali for help which
he obliged this time. Bali won the war but was afflicted with Brahmmahati
dosha. He came to this place for relief and performed penance on Lord Perumal.
Pleased with his penance, Perumal appeared before Bali and granted darshan in
Varaha Rupa.
Sage
Kuni and his daughter performed penance on Lord Narayana to reach
Sorga-Paradise. Kuni alone reached Sorga but not the daughter. Maharshi Narada
told the young girl that she could not reach Sorga as she was not married. He
requested other sages to marry her. One Kalava Maharshi married her and got 360
female children. He performed penance on Lord Narayana begging Him to marry his
daughters. Narayana did not come. A brahmachari – bachelor came one day there
saying that he was on a Divyadesa Yatra. As he was very handsome as Nayarana,
the sage requested him to marry his daughters. He agreed and married one each
day. On the last day, He showed what He was. He was but Narayana in the form of
Varaha. He fused all the daughters into one and had them on His left lap. As
Perumal had them together in one form on His Left Lap (left in Tamil is Idam)
the place came to be known as Tiruvidavendhai which later changed as
Tiruvidandhai.
Lord
of the temple is praised in the Mangalasasanam hymns of Saints Tirumangai
Azhwar and Manavala Mamunigal. There is a dot on the cheek of the Lord which is
considered as a protection from the jealous look of others.
Mother made a single woman fusing together 360 virgins, hence praised as Akhilavalli
Nachiar. The philosophy behind this is described as that Lord Vishnu alone is
Purusha the male and all others are but females. He is Nayaka. Others are
Nayakis. Mother in Her separate shrine is worshipped as Komalavalli. Lord
Perumal in the temple appears with one foot on earth, the other on the heads of
Adisesha and his wife and having Akhilavalli Thayar on His left lap and graces
as Lord Varaha Murthy.
TEMPLE INFORMATION:
|
Moolavar |
Sri Lakshmi Varaha Perumal |
|
Ambal |
Sri Komalavalli Nachiyar |
|
Theertham |
Kalyana Theertham |
This is the place
suggested to those affected with evil looks (dhrushti dosha), adverse aspects
of serpent planets rahu and kethu and those facing delays in marriage.
Various
festivals are celebrated in the temple, with the Chittirai Brahmotsavam during
the Tamil of Chittirai (during April–May),
and Vaikuntha Ekadashi during Margazhi (December–January)
being the most prominent. During Brahmotsavam festival, the festival
deities of Nithyakalyana Perumal and Komalavalli is taken in procession around
the streets of the temple. Thirumangai Azhwar Utsavam is celebrated during the
star of Kiruthikai during November–December. The temple is maintained and
administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of
Tamil Nadu. The temple is
one of the most visited tourist destination in the Chennai–Mahabalipuram
region.
HOW
TO REACH:
The
temple is easily accessible from Chennai and is near Kovalam. It is about 40
kms from Chennai on the East Coast Road that connects Chennai to Mahabalipuram.
Lots of buses ply from various parts of the city to Mahabalipuram/Mamallapuram.
Another option would be to catch a bus to kovalam and then travel from there by
an auto. The temple is at a walkable distance from the bus stop on ECR road.
TEMPLE
ADDRESS:
Sri Nithya Kalyana
Perumal Thirukkoil,
Thiruvidanthai,
Tamil Nadu - 603112.
LOCATION:
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