Irattai Thiruppathy

Irattai Thiruppathy Temples
The main entrances of theDevapiran temple(left) and theAravindalochanar temple(right) from the street
Religion
Affiliation	Hinduism
District	Tuticorin
Deity	Aravindalosanar, Devapiran (Vishnu) Karunthadankanni, Vakshasthala Lakshmi (Lakshmi)
Features	Tower: Kumuda Temple tank:Varuna
Location
Location	Thirutholavallimangalam
State	Tamil Nadu
Country	India
Location inTamil Nadu
Geographic coordinates	8°36′40″N77°58′20″E
Architecture
Type	Dravidian architecture
Monument(s)	2
Website
navathirupathitemples.tnhrce.in/irattaithiruppathy.html

Irattai Tirupati Templesrefer to two temples of theNava Tirupati,namely, theDevapiran templeandAravindalochanar temple,which are dedicated toVishnu.They are part of the nine "Divya Desams"located along theTiruchendur-Tirunelveliroute inTamil Nadu,Indiaon the banks ofThamiraparaniriver. The two temples are located adjacent to each other. All nine temples are part of the 108 temples ofVishnurevered by the 12 poet saintAlvars.The Irattai Tirupati is a Ketu Sthalam, sacred to the deityKetu.Constructed in theDravidian style of architecture,the temples are dedicated toVishnuwho is worshipped as Devapiran and Aravindalochanar andLakshmias Varagunavalli and Karuthadankanni.

A granite wall surrounds both the temples, enclosing their shrines. Therajagopuram(the temples' gateway tower) has a flat structure. The temples follow theTenkalaitradition of worship. Six daily rituals and three yearly festivals are held at the temples. The ten-day annualVaikuntha Ekadashifestival held during theTamilmonth ofMargali(December–January) and the Nammalvar birth celebrations with Garudasevai are the two most prominent. The temples are maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of theGovernment of Tamil Nadu.

Legends

The vimana, the roof of the Devapiran sanctum

The temples are part of aregional legendof twin temples and are mentioned in both theBrahmanda Puranaand thePadma Purana(under the name "Kedara Nilaya" ). The legend tells of a sage named Suprabha who wanted to perform a penance. In his search for land, he ploughed at this place, and found a balance (tola) and a bow (vil). When he lifted them up, they turned into a human couple. The couple had once been cursed byKuberafor insulting him. Since the bow and balance were returned to their original form, the place is calledTolavillimangalam.

Suprabha continued to perform penance, at the end of which thedevasreceived a share of the offerings (Havibhaga). Vishnu was pleased by the devotion of the sage; and since he appeared with devas, he came to be known as "Devapiran".While walking down the river with a lotus pond, he found Vishnu following him. At the request of the sage, Vishnu resided in this place as Aravindalochanar (the one who appeared from lotuses).

In another legend, theAshwin twinswanted a share of the offerings made by men. They prayed toBrahmawho redirected them to pray at this place. The twins came to the place and performed penance. They had a dip in the tank,which came to be known as Ashvini Tirtha. Vishnu appeared to them bearing lotus flowers in his hand and granted them their wishes.

Anotherregional legendtells of Somaka, anasura,who defeatedBrahma,the Hindu god of creation, and stole the fourVedas(sacred texts) from him. Brahma was helpless and he did severe penance in the banks of Tamiraparani River seeking favour from Vishnu in the form of Devapiran. Pleased by the penance, Vishnu appeared to Brahma and promised to retrieved theVedas.He killed Somuka and restored theVedasto Brahma. He also wished to set his abode as Srivaikuntham and resided there as Vaikunthanatha.

Architecture

It is understood from the inscriptions from the temples that they have were part of a ses'es of temples built byPandyasand expanded byMadurai Nayaks.Unlike other South Indian temples, the temples do not have a typicalrajagopuram(gateway tower). The temple's gateway tower is a flat structure, unlike other South Indian temples, which have a conical elevated structure. A granite wall surrounds each temple, enclosing all their shrines and two of the three bodies of water on the grounds. The sanctum of each of the temples houses the image of its chief deity. The images are made ofshaligramastone and ablution is usually done with milk. The halls preceding the sanctum, the Artha Mandapam, house the festival image of presiding deities along with the images of Sridevi and Bhudevi, one on either side.

Devapiran Perumal Temple

Pillared hall near the entrance of the Devapiran temple leads to the sanctum of small sculptures

There are six inscriptions in the temple that have been deciphered by the archaeological department. The inscription from a ruler named Konerimaikondan records a gift of fivevelisof land as a tax free gift to the temple. The temple also obtained grant for building and maintenance of a garden from a ruler who defeated theCheras.ThePandyarulerJatavarman Kulasekaran I(1190–1216 CE) also offered a similar grant to the temple.Maravarman Sundara Pandyan(1216–1238) made offerings to perpetual lighting of the temple. An inscription from his reign also indicates the installation of the shrine of Karunthadankanni. Vira Pandyan IV (1309–1345) offered land to the temple to perform special poojas in the temple during his birthday in the Tamil month of Vaikasi. During 1801, the temple acted as a fort for theBritishagainst the forces ofVeerapandiya Kattabomman(1790–99). It is believed that the marks of war were visible in the temple during modern times. An official of the Madurai Nayak rule, Vadamalayappa Pillai arranged for the installation of Dasavathara images and Thiruvenkamudayan hall. There were also lot of offerings in jewels and kind made to the temple during his period. There were other people like Pillai Perumal, Ellarukum Nallan and Chockalingam, who made similar grants. The wooden chariot with minute sculptures were installed by Paramasivan Pillai during modern times.

The Devapiran temple occupies an area of 5 acres (2.0 ha) and is surrounded by a granite wall 580 ft (180 m) long and 396 ft (121 m) broad. The temple has five precincts. The sanctum houses the image of Devapiran standing, facing east. The hall preceding the sanctum houses the festival image of Kallapiran made ofpanchaloha.It is believed that the sculptor caressed the cheeks of the image with his hand as he got enchanted by the image and it is seen in the image. The Ardha mandapa is guarded by twodvarapalason either side. There are two shrines for the two consorts of Vishnu, Vaikuntha Nayaki and Chorantha Nayaki, that face each other. There are separate shrines forSenai Mudaliyar,Garuda,Venugopala,ManavalamamunigalandYoga Narasimha.There is another shrine that houses the images of the tenavatarsof Vishnu, theDashavataram.The Mahamandapa and the Svarga Madapa are believed to be later additions.The Dwajastamba mandap has pillars with refined architectural features.

The temple maintains an elephant, which is housed in the hall close to the temple flagstaff.

Aravindalochanar Perumal Temple

The exact history of the temple is not known. The temple occupies an area of 1 acre (0.40 ha) and is surrounded by a granite wall. The sanctum houses the image of Aravindalocha facing east, and also made of shaligrama stone. The hall preceding the sanctum houses the festival image of Aravindalocahanar with the images of Sridevi and Bhudevi on either side of him. The Mahamandapa has shrines for Senai Mudaliyar, Garuda, Venugopala, Manavalamamunigal, and the Alvars.

Religious significance

Aravinda Lochanar temple

TheBrahmanda Purana,one of the eighteen sacred texts of Hinduism, written byVeda Vyasa,contains a chapter called Nava Tirupati Mahatmeeyam that describes all the nine temples ofNava Tirupati.Vaikuntha Mahatmeeyamis another work inSanskritthat glorifies the temples and is a part ofTamraparani Sthalapuranaavailable only in palm manuscripts.The Devapiran temple and Aravindalochanar temples are revered inNalayira Divya Prabandham,the 7th–9th centurySri Vaishnavacanon, one of whose authors wasNammalvar.The temple is classified as aDivyadesam,one of the 108 Vishnu temples that are mentioned in the book. The temple is also classified as aNava Tirupati,the nine temples revered by Nammalvar located in the banks ofTamiraparaniriver. The temple is next only toAlwarthirunagari Templein terms of importance among the nineNava Tirupatitemple.Nammalvar makes a reference about the temple in his works in hisTiruvaymoli.During the 18th and 19th centuries, the temple finds mention in several works like108 Tirupati Antatiby Divya Kavi Pillai Perumal Aiyangar. The temple also forms a series ofNavagrahatemples where each of the nine planetary deities of one of the temples of Nava Tirupati. There are two temples, one a north temple and other a south temple. Both the temples have twoprakarams(closed precincts of a temple). It is referred to asKetu sthalam,a location for the lunar deity,Ketu.

The temple elephant

Festivals and religious importance

TheGarudaSevai utsavamFestival in the month of Vaikasi (May–Jun) witnesses nineGarudasevai,a spectacular event in which festival image idols from the Nava Tirupatis shrines in the area are brought out onGarudavahana(sacred vehicle). An idol ofNammalvaris brought here on ananna vahanam(palanquin) and hispasurams(hymns) dedicated to each of these 9 temples are recited. Theutsavar(anidolof the festival deity) depictingNammalvaris taken in a palanquin to each of the 9 temples, through the paddy fields in the area. Thepasurams(hymns or verses) dedicated to each of the 9Divya Desamsare chanted in the respective shrines. This is the most important of the festivals in this area, and it draws thousands of visitors.

The temples follow the traditions of theThenkalaisect ofSri Vaishnavatradition and followsPancharathra aagama.The temple priests perform thepuja(rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. As at other Vishnu temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to theVaishnavacommunity, from the Brahmin class. The temple rituals are performed four times a day:Kalasanthiat 8:00 a.m.,Uchikalamat 12:00 p.m.,Sayarakshaiat 6:00 p.m., andArdha Jamam(orAravanai Pooja) at 8:00 p.m. Each ritual has three steps:alangaram(decoration),neivethanam(food offering) anddeepa aradanai(waving of lamps) for both Aravindalochanar and Devapiran. During the last step of worship,nadasvaram(pipe instrument) andtavil(percussion instrument) are played, religious instructions in theVedas(sacred texts) are recited by priests, and worshippers prostrate themselves in front of thetemple mast.There are weekly, monthly, and fortnightly rituals performed in the temple.