Tiruththanka

Deepaprakasa Perumal Temple
Gopuramof the temple at Kanchipuram
Religion
Affiliation	Hinduism
District	Kanchipuram
Deity	Deepapraksar and Maragathavalli (Vishnu and Lakshmi)
Location
Location	Tamil Nadu,India
State	Tamil Nadu
Country	India
Location inTamil Nadu
Geographic coordinates	12°49′28″N79°42′20″E
Architecture
Type	Dravidian architecture

TheDeepaprakasa Perumal Temple,also referred to asTiruththanka,andTooppul,is located inKanchipuramin the SouthIndian stateofTamil Nadu,is a temple dedicated to theHindu godVishnu.Constructed in theDravidian style of architecture,the temple is glorified in theNaalayira Divya Prabandham,the early medievalTamilcanon of theAlvarsaints from the 6th–9th centuries CE. It is one of the 108Divya Desamsdedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Deepaprakasar, and his consortLakshmias Maragathavalli.

The temple is believed to have been expanded during theMedieval CholasandVijayanagara kings.The temple has inscriptions on its walls dating from the period ofRajaraja Chola III(1223 CE). A granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all the shrines and two bodies of water. There is a two-tieredrajagopuram,the temple's gateway tower, in the temple.

Deepaprakasar is believed to have appeared toBrahma.Six daily rituals and three yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the Brahmotsavam festival, celebrated during theTamilmonth ofPuratassi(September - October), being the most prominent. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of theGovernment of Tamil Nadu.

Legend

Stucco image of legend

According to Hindu legend, once there was an argument betweenSaraswati,the consort ofBrahma,andLakshmion their superiority. They went toIndra,the king of the devas. Indra judged Lakshmi as superior, and not satisfied with his argument, Saraswati went to her husband, Brahma. He also chose Lakshmi to be the superior one. Saraswati was unhappy with the decision, and decided to stay away from Brahma. Brahma did a severe penance praying to Vishnu, and did anAshvamedha Yagna.Saraswati was still angry that theyagna,which usually is done along with consorts, was done without her by Brahma withSavitri.She tried to disrupt the penance by sending darkness, but Vishnu interfered "like a light from the lamp", hence he is also called as VilakoliPerumal.Another version of the legend states that Saraswati sentrakshakasto spoil the penance, which was spoiled by the stream of light from Vishnu. Since Vishnu appeared as light to overcome the darkness of the situation, he is termed Deepaprakasa Perumal.

Vedanta Desika(1268 - 1369 CE) was an ardent devotee of Deepa Prakasa Temple at Thoppul. The devotion of Desika is mentioned inSaranagathi Deepika in 59verses. He was born in this site.Vedanta Desikaalso has a shrine inside the temple. And a statue ofHayagrivaworshipped by him, also has a temple nearby to him.

Architecture

Shrines and temple tank

The temple is located in Vishnu Kanchi along with most other Vishnu temples in Kanchipuram. The temple has a three-tieredrajagopuram,the gateway tower. The temple has a rectangular plan surrounded by brick walls and has two precincts. The central shrine of the temple has the image of the presiding deity, Deepaprakasa Perumal in sitting posture. There are shrines forLakshmi,Hayagriva,Andal,Vedanta Desika,andAlvars.It is the birthplace ofVedanta Desika.There is a separate shrine forHayagreevaalong withVedanta Desika.The temple tank, Saraswati Tirtham, is located outside the premises.A shrine is dedicated to Vedanta Desika facing the south is seen in the temple. The icon of Desika is believed to be installed by his son, Nayinar Varadhachariar. The image is seen sportingAbhaya Mudra(palm displayed in attitude of protection). The temple practises Vaikhasana Agama.

Religious importance

Image of first precinct

The temple is revered inNaalayira Divya Prabandham,the 7th–9th century Vaishnava canon, byThirumangai Alvarin one hymn. The temple is classified as aDivya Desam,one of the 108 Vishnu temples that are mentioned in the book. The temple is one of the 14 Divya Desams in Kanchipuram.The temple is believed to be the place whereBrahmaperformed penance seeking the wishes of Vishnu and one of the few places where Brahma worshiped Vishnu.The temple is counted one among the four temples in Kanchipuram that includeYathothkari Perumal Temple,Ashtabhujagara Perumal templeandVaradaraja Perumal Templewhere the legend of Brahma performing penance is associated.The temple is also revered in the verses of Vedanta Desika.

Festivals and religious practices

Vedanta Desikar and his shrine located close to entrance tower

The temple follows the traditions of theVadakalaisect of Vaishnavite tradition and follows theVaikanasa Agama.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 theVaishnavaitecommunity, of the Brahmin varna. The temple rituals are performed six times a day:Ushathkalamat 7 a.m.,Kalasanthiat 8:00 a.m.,Uchikalamat 12:00 p.m.,Sayarakshaiat 6:00 p.m.,Irandamkalamat 7:00 p.m. andArdha Jamamat 10:00 p.m. Each ritual has three steps:alangaram(decoration),neivethanam(food offering) anddeepa aradanai(waving of lamps) for both Deepaprakasar and Maragathavalli. During the last step of worship,nagaswaram(pipe instrument) andtavil(percussion instrument) are played, religious instructions in theVedas(sacred text) are recited by priests, and worshippers prostrate themselves in front of thetemple mast.There are weekly, monthly and fortnightly rituals performed in the temple.

The Brahmostavam festival during theTamil monthofPuratasi(September - October) is the major festival celebrated in Vedanta Desika shrine. During the festival, the festival image of Desikar is carried to theVaradaraja Perumal Temple.Special worship practises and rituals are followed during the occasion. During the Brahmostavam in Varadaraja Perumal Temple during the Tamil month ofVaikasi(May - June), the festival image of Varadaraja Perumal is brought to the shrine of Vedanta Desika on three different days.

References

• M.S., Ramesh (1993).108 Vaishnavite Divya Desam Volume 1.Tirupati: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams.
• R., Dr. Vijayalakshmy (2001).An introduction to religion and Philosophy - Tévarám and Tivviyappirapantam(1st ed.). Chennai: International Institute of Tamil Studies.
• Madhavan, Chithra (2007).Vishnu Temples of South India Volume 1 (Tamil Nadu).Chithra Madhavan.ISBN978-81-908445-0-5.