Thursday, October 25, 2007

Thiru Paadagam Pandava Dhootha Perumal

Pandava Dhootha Perumal- A majestic 25 feet Lord Krishna

Located one km West of Kanchipuram Bus Stand is the Pandava Dhootha Perumal temple, one that was renovated by the Kulothunga Chola I.

The entrance to the temple through the very old looking temple tower is rather sedate. This leads one to a very small sized sanctum However, this modest entry sets one up for quite an unexpected surprise - A gigantic over 25 feet tall Lord Krishna in a majestic sitting posture (facing East), almost suggestive of the Lord’s Vishvaroopam.

The Story
In order to make peace with the Kauravas, Krishna goes to Hastinapura to the court of Duryodhana on behalf of the Pandavas. With a plot to kill Krishna and thus to put all hopes of a peace treaty, Duryodhana digs a pit and tops it with bamboo sticks. On this bamboo topped pit, he puts up a grand stage, thus setting up Krishna for a mega fall.

Once he enters the hall, the all knowing Krishna presses the stage with his little toe to send it crushing below. And immediately after, Krishna displays his Vishwaroopam to the blind Dhirdharashtra (and only to him), by giving him the vision.

Seeing the Lord in his full divine form, a delighted Dhirdharashtra requests Krishna to make him blind again, for he does not want to see anything else after having seen the Lord himself. Says Dhirdharashtra to Krishna, “I have seen you in your full form. This is enough. No more do I want the vision.”

Years after this episode, Arjuna’s Grandson Janmejaya, who listened to the Mahabharata story from Vaisampaayana wanted to relive the moment (that of Lord Krishna displaying his Vishwaroopam) and undertook penance at this place. Krishna is believed to have provided Darshan to Janmejaya, as ‘Pandava Dhootha’, in the same way he had in the Mahabharatha episode.

Name of the Lord
Having played the role of a messenger for the Pandavas, Krishna, here at this temple, is known by that same name- Pandava Dhootha Perumal.

Azhvaars
Four Azhvaars  have praised the Lord here. Thirumazhisai Azhvaar refers to 3 temples in Kanchipuram as representative of the 3 postures of Lord Vishnu. Among the Divya Desams, this temple (Thiru Paadagam) was just referred to as ‘Lord in Sitting Posture’ in those days, while Thiru Ooragam was referred to the Lord in standing posture and Thiru Vekka as the Lord in Sleeping Posture. It was only later that other Azhvaars referred to Lord Vishnu and his 3 postures.


நின்றதேந்தை ஊரகத்து, இருந்ததேந்தை  பாடகத்து 

அன்று  வேக்கனை  கிடந்தது  எண்ணிலாத  முன்னெல்லாம் 
அன்று  நான்  பிறந்திலேன்  பிறந்தபின்  மறந்திலேன் 
நின்றதும்  இருந்ததும்  கிடந்ததும்  என்  நெஞ்சுள்ளே ”- Thirumazhisai Azhvaar


Just in the way Krishna protected the Pandavas, it is believed that the Lord here will protect devotees who pray with sincerity and unflinching devotion.

There is said to have been a 18 day debate between Ramanuja and a Saivite Scholar. Having lost the debate to Ramanuja, the Saivite Scholar is said to have become his discipline and changed his name to Arulaala Perumal Emberumaanar. His descendents are the ones currently managing the temple.

Festivals
Krishna Jayanthi
Vaikunta Ekadesi
Panguni Uthiram 

Quick Facts
Moolavar       : Pandava Dhootha Perumal
Goddess         : Rukmini
Azhvaars       : 4 Azhvaars have praised this Lord - Thirumazhisai, Thirumangai, Bhoothath and                                  PeyAzhvaar
Time              : 7am-11am and 4pm-730pm
Contact          : TV Srinivasan Bhattar @ 94438 84698
Address         : 28B/75 Pandava Perumal Koil Street, Kanchipuram 631502

3 comments:

R Soundararaju said...

Dear Shri Prabhu,

Is is to possible to cover all the Divya desams in one day in Kancheepuram ? (i.e.from 6.00 AM to 7.00 PM.) Which is the best and cheap mode of transport to cover all these temples ? In case if you have any reliable person contact number, Please give me the number

expecting your favourable reply

Prabhu.S said...

Yes, you can easily cover all the temples in one day.

You can start at Varadaraja Perumal koil at 6am(because that is the only temple that opens at 6am).

You can then visit ashtabhujam, Thoopal etc in that order from 7am/730am...

Contact Auto Driver Narasimhan@ 94432 30556. He is very reliable. He will take you around all the temples.

You can actually finish all the Divya Desams in Kanchipuram by 12noon. They are very close to each other....

May be you can visit Thiruputkuzhi in the evening.

In case you need any other information, do let me know.

The contact numbers of most of the Bhattars are there in the blog stories. It would be good to just call them the day before you are going to be there in Kanchipuram.

Not too many people visit on weekdays and many of these divya desams are taken care of by single bhattars.


Regards
Prabhu

Anonymous said...

Recently visited this temple on the suggestion of Prabhu mama. As the story describes, the 25 ft tall Lord Krishna was indeed a surprise, although i was prepared for it.

https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/03/kanchipuram-divya-desams-renovation.html?m=1 as read in this story, the remaining sections of the temple could do with renovation work.

It would be preferable to contact the temple priest in the number provided.