Thirumukkoodal is a village located about 20 kms from Kanchipuram on the road going towards Chengalpattu. While going from Chengalpattu, one can reach Pazhaya Seevaram, 5 kms before Walajabad. From Pazhaya Seevaram one has to take left and cross the bridge on the river Palar to reach Thirumukkudal.
Thirumukkoodal has an ancient temple for Lord Vishnu called ‘Sri Appan Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal’.
Thirumukkoodal got its name as three rivers Palar (Ksheera Nadhi), Vegavathi (Saraswathi) and Cheyyar (Bahu Nadhi) merge together at this place. This place is called Triveni Sangamam and is considered equivalent to Ganges. Taking bath here is considered as holy as bathing in Prayag.
The temple is beautifully located on the banks of the river giving a scenic view. The compound of the temple is just on the shore of the river is a wonderful site to see. Sri Lakshmi Narasimhar temple is located in Pazhaya Seevaram (pic below) on one side of the river and Sri Appan Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal temple on the other bank of the river.
This temple is said to be 1200 years old, as the oldest inscription found in this temple belongs to 9th Century. This temple is said to have built by a king ruling Thondai Mandalam (with capital as Kanchipuram), by name Raja Thondaimaan Chakravarthy.
According to the legend, the king Thondaimaan once started to Thirupathi to have dharshan of Lord Venkatesa Perumal. He then heard a divine voice telling him that it was not the time to visit Thirupathi as a king from a neighbouring country was nearing his kingdom to wage a war. The voice advised him to be with his son during war time to save the country and later to visit Thirupathi.
On hearing this Thondaiman prayed to Lord Venkatesa Perumal and the Lord blessed him to win the battle and gifted him with His Sanku (Conch) and Chakra (Wheel). Thondaiman successfully won the battle and on his way back both the weapons Sanku and Chakra vanished. Later, the Lord directed Sri Ramanujar to install Sanku & Chakra for Him at this place. That’s how the deity here had got Sanku & Chakra here.
Then the king Thondaiman surrendered to Perumal at Thirupathi seeking ‘Moksha’. The Lord directed him to come to Thirumukkudal to grant Moksha to him. The king visited here to have dharshan of the Lord. Till then, the Lord here was said to be in ‘Sayana Kolam’ (reclining posture like Ranganathar). When the king visited here the Lord is said to have changed his posture and gave him dharshan in standing posture.
The king Thondaiman, out of his excitement and bliss, embraced the Lord saying ‘Appaney Venkatesa’ (அப்பனே வெங்கடேசா), means ‘Oh My Father Venkatesa!’ and from then the Lord here came to be known as ‘Appan Venkatesa Perumal’. The king Thondaimaan is said to have built this temple initially for Lord Sri Venkatesa Perumal. The same king is said to have built the temple at Thirupathi (Thirumala) as well as Thirumalai Vaiyaavoor, which is called Southern Thiruppathi.
The main deity Sri Appan Venkatesa Perumaal is seen majestically in the standing posture. Brigu Maharishi, Sri Markandeyar and Sri Bhumadevi are seen worshipping him.
The Lord here is said to have given dharshan to Brigu Maharishi, Markandeya and Bhumadevi (mother Earth).
There are 3 Sthala Virukshams (holy trees) for this temple, which are Devadhaari, Vanni and Sandhanam (Sandal).
Kanchipuram Sri Varadaraja Perumal’s Parvettai is a very popular festival here. Sri Varadharaja Perumal, Pazhaya Seevaram Sri Lakshmi Narasimhar & Appan Venkatesa Perumal give dharshan together here in this temple every year on the ‘Kaanum Pongal’ Day, which is said to be a delight to watch. Vaikunda Ekadasi is celebrated in a grand manner at this temple.
The Thaayaar (Goddess) here is Sri Alarmel Mangai Thaayaar for whom there is a separate shrine present at the temple.
Other deities like Sri Varadhar, Sri Aandaal and Sri Anjaneyar (Hanuman) have separate shrines in the temple.
Sri Anjaneyar is very special here. Whenever the Lord is carried out for procession, the first respects are paid to Sri Anjaneyar before the God is taken out.
Also Sri Anjaneyar is said to be very powerful here in reducing the burden of one’s debts. People worship Lord Anjaneyar here to come out of their heavy debts. Also peculiarly, Lord Anjaneyar is not offered ‘Vadai Malai’ here like other temples. Instead, he is offered the garland made of ‘Thenkuzhal’ (a kind of Murukku snack). People pray Lord Anjaneyar to come out of their debts and once their debts are settled, they come here and offer ‘Thenkuzhal Maalai’ to Him.
This temple is protected and maintained by ASI. Lots of stone inscriptions are found along all the walls of the temple. These epigraphs belong to various periods starting Raja Raja Chola 1, Rajendra Chola and others. The inscriptions tell a lot about the grants made by various kings to the temple where the temple enjoyed huge popularity.
Also there are inscriptions belonging to the Veera Rajendra Chola (11th Century), mentioning about a Veda Patasala (Vedic School) which was existent at the temple premises. According to the inscriptions, there has been a Vedic College run in the ‘Jananatha Mandapam’ of this temple. Eight subjects including Rig Veda, Yajur Veda and grammar were taught to various students here.
Interestingly the inscriptions also reveal clearly in detail about the number of students enrolled in college, the number of teachers appointed for each subject and the remuneration paid to them. Also there has been a hostel for this college where the students stayed during their studies and the details of the servants and cooks appointed to take care of the inmates have been detailed in the inscriptions.
There has also been a medical centre (Athura Saalai) attached to this college at this place where the students, teachers and the temple staff were treated for various illnesses. This 15 bedded hospital was named after the king ‘Veera Chozhan’ and had ample manpower comprising a physician by name ‘Kodhandaraman Aswathaaman Bhattan’, a surgeon who performed operations, nurses to attend to patients and servants to bring herbs from places and even a barber.
The information on the salaries paid to the employees of the hospital and the names of about 20 different types of medicines which were stored in the hospital are well detailed in the inscriptions.
There was also a provision made for the reciting of ‘Thiruvaimozhi’ at this temple during Chola period.
According to the inscriptions, Thirumukkudal in ancient days was situated under a subdivision of a territory called Madhuranthaka Chathurvedhimangalam (today’s Madhuranthakam) which was part of Kalathur Kottam, a district of Jayamkonda Chola Mandalam.
This temple stands a testimony for Indian heritage across centuries and explains about the glorious periods during the reign of Pallavas and Cholas where the kings not only showed interest in conquering places but also patronised education and health care along with religion to make a better society.
The temple priest Sri Raghunaadhan (Tel: 94437 78352) takes care of this temple and also patiently explains the visitors about the temple in detail. Below is the video of his narration shot on the mobile (kindly bear the poor quality due to mobile recording and poor light inside the temple).
The temple is open between 08.30 am to 11.30 am and 4 pm to 6 pm on weekdays. On Saturdays and Sundays the temple is open from 08.30 am till 1 pm and from 3 pm till 7 pm.
Thirumalai Vaiyaavoor has a beautiful temple for Sri Prasanna Venkatesa Perumaal on a small hill, which is also called Thirumalai. Goddess here is Sri Alarmel Mangai Thaayaar.
During the battle between Sri Rama and Raavana, Lakshmana fainted on the battle field. Sri Rama sent Sri Hanuman to bring the Sanjeevi hill to cure Lakshmana. Sri Hanuman brought the Sanjeevi hill as told by Sri Rama. It is said that Sri Hanuman worshipped Sri Varaaha Perumaal and Sri Prasanna Venkatesa Puramaal on this hill, on the way back to Lanka, carrying the Sanjeevi hill. As Sanjeevi hill should not be placed on ground, it is said that Sri Hanuman shifted the hill from His right hand to left hand to offer obeisance to the Gods here. As the holy Sanjeevi hill was not kept on ground here by Sri Hanuman, this place came to be known as Thirumalai Vaiyaavoor (
Once a demon king called Hiranyaakshan took the earth and kept under his custody, hiding it deep inside the ocean. Lord Vishnu took Varaaha Avatar, killed the demon and brought back the earth to its position. After this Sri Varaaha Perumaal wished to take abode on a hill to bless the world. He directed Sri Garuda to bring a hill from Vaikuntam itself. Sri Garuda Bhagavan brought a hill from Vaikuntam and placed it near the banks of Swarnamuki River, which was called Garudagiri (present Thirupathi). While Sri Garuda carried the hill, a small part of it broke and fell near the banks of the river Palar and came to be known as Dhakshina Garudagiri (Thirumalai Vaiyaavoor).
Once, Lord Vishnu told Sri Aadhiseshan to take the form of a mountain on Garudagiri, for Him to take abode and bless the world during Kaliyugam. Sri Aadhiseshan took form of a hill on Garudagiri and from then the place (Thirupathi) came to be known as Seshagiri. Lord Vishnu took abode as Sri Srinivaasa Perumaal on Seshagiri in the Thamizh month of Purattaasi, on the day of Dwadasi when ‘Thiruvonam’ star occurred.
Sri Aadhiseshan prayed Sri Srinivaasa Perumaal and told that he had a wish to serve as an umbrella to the Lord. Sri Srinivaasa Perumaal agreed and told that his wish would come true at Dhakshina Garudagiri. In Thirumalai Vaiyaavoor Sri Aadhiseshan is seen above the deity Sri Srinivaasa Perumaal’s head as an umbrella. Hence, this place came to be known as Dhakshina Seshagiri.
There was an ancient king called Thondaimaan who was an ardent devotee of Lord Venkateswara at Thirupathi. Once, Lord Venkateswara helped the king with His Conch (Sangu) and Chakra to defeat the enemies. The king after defeating his enemies built a beautiful temple for the Lord at Thirupathi. As directed by the Lord, he also built a temple here at Thirumalai Vaiyaavoor. Lord Venkateswara gave him dharshan here on a chariot with a Sengol (
Once, Sri Brahma went to Thirupathi and worshipped Lord Venkateswara by lighting two lamps. He prayed the Lord that the lamps should glow non stop till Kaliyugam exists. The Lord granted his wish and said that He would give dharshan to devotees in the form of Jyothi on all Thiruvonam days at Thirumalai Vaiyaavoor and till that Jyothi dharshan continues, the lights lit by Sri Brahma would be alive. Lord Brahma then came here to this place and worshipped the Lord and got dharshan in the form of Jyothi.
It is also said that Sri Rama after the battle with Raavana came here, bathed in Varaaha Theertham and worshipped the Lord, on His way back to Ayodhya.
About 500 years back, a Vijayanagara King called Raja Thodarmaal had contributed much to this temple and has helped the temple for Poojas and festivals in a grand scale. He had installed an idol for Sri Ramanuja and also for himself in this temple.
The temple is beautifully located on the hill top. There are about 500 steps on the hill to reach the temple. There is a proper road also to reach the temple by vehicles. Though the main deity is Sri Venkatesa Perumal the Aadhi Murthy here is Sri Varaaha Perumaal. One has to first visit Sri Varaaha Perumaal before visiting the main deity. Sri Varaaha Perumaal is seen with Sri Lakshmi facing west. Also, when the temple is opened, Sri Varaaha Perumaal’s shrine is opened first and all the offerings are made to Him first, before others.
The main deity Sri Srinivaasa Perumaal is seen facing west. The Lord is beautifully decorated with ornaments and gives dharshan exactly as in Thirupathi. Goddess Sri Alarmel Mangai Thaayaar has a separate shrine here. There are separate shrines for Sri Aandaal and Sri Ramanuja too.
The Theertham for this temple is called Varaaha Theertham which is at the foot of this hill. The path to the Theertham is not motorable but looks beautiful when seen from the hill top.
Sri Anjaneyar shrine is present facing the hill opposite to the stair way to the temple.
It is also said that people visiting Thirupathi should also visit Thirumalai Vaiyaavoor and bathe in Varaaha Theertham and worship Sri Prasanna Venkateswara Perumaal here, only after which the pilgrimage gets complete.