Twin Temples of
Reddiarchatram
A hill temple where
the handsome Lord Gopinathan is seen with a butter ball in each hand
Moolavar Lord is seen playing the Flute
Located 4kms South West of Kathir
Narasinga perumal temple is the Gopinathan Perumal temple in Reddiarchatram on
the banks of Maangarai River, whose legend dates back to the 13th
Century AD and the Nayak Period. Lord
Krishna is seen in a standing posture playing the flute. The Utsava deity,
Gopinathan, is seen holding a butter ball in each of his hands. Gopinathan’s
mother Koppammal is seen carrying food on her head.
In the heart of Reddiarchatram is the Kathir Narasinga Perumal temple.
The story
A devotee from the Pandya Kingdom
took up a long national temple trip. On his way, he reached the drought hit
Bellary. He suggested to the Vellalla king that he should visit the Pandya
region which was seen in prosperous light with greenery all round with the
rivers brimming with water.
The king’s wife Koppammal and
their son Gopinathan along with their retinue made their way to this place
accompanied by the huge number of cows that were struggling to survive in the
drought.
Once here, the cows immediately
took a liking to this place and refused to leave from here. They seemed to
enjoy the green tinge to this place and enjoyed Gopinathan playing his flute
every day sitting atop the hill.But unfortunately, the drought of
which Gopinathan had become so used to, caught up with him here as well. The
rivers dried up. And it seemed that the joys of the cows were short lived.
A worried Gopinathan invoked the
blessings of the Lord and took an oath to give up his life as a sacrifice if
the rains returned. The place was immediately blessed with plentiful rainfall
and the cows were joyous once again. It was now time for Gopinathan to fulfil
his promise.Leaving behind the entire herd,
he took along with just one atop the hill. He left his flute on the branch of a
tree and tied the cow to the tree. And fulfilling his promise, he jumped from
the hill on to the horns of the cow leaving him dead.
Koppammal who used to carry food
for him every noon was surprised not to hear the sweet music emanating from the
flute and wondered if all was well for she only heard the saddened noises from
the cows. As she reached the spot, she
found blood across the cow and the body of his hanging. In a state of shock,
she too joined his son in death leaving the cows to fend without support.
Construction of the
idols
Later, the Zamindar from the
nearby Kannivadi village came here on a hunting expedition. To his surprise,
his cows came to a standing halt here at this place while the cows belonging to
Gopinathan turned to deer. Despite his best efforts, the zamindar could not
hunt out the deer. Back in his village, a Saint explained to him Gopinathan’s
greatness and that he had actually had darshan of the Lord himself.
A pleased Zamindar built the idol
of Gopinathan with a flute in hand and of Koppammal carrying food above her
head. After later renovations, the temple in its current form and structure was
built in the early 19th century AD. The temple is at a height of
over 400feet with one having to climb over 600steps to reach the temple.
From atop the temple, one can get
a glimpse of Dindigul in the East and the Western Ghats and Kongu hills in the
West and the Pothigai hills in the South.
Quick Facts
Moolavar : Kannapiran East Facing standing Posture playing the flute
Thaayar : Koppammal
Utsavar : Gopinathan with Butter Ball in each hand
Time : 8am-12noon
Contact : JK Gopinath @ 9600519180/94439 19182 / 94434 60639 or
Radhakrishnan 99766 17056
How to reach
Reddiarchatram is about 15kms West of Dindigul on the Palani highway. From Reddiarchatram bus stop,
auto will cost Rs. 75 to the foot of the temple. From Kannivadi Cross Road, one
has to take a right towards West to reach the temple. Currently, trains on the
Dindigul-Palani route do not stop at Reddiarchatram station.
Call the temple authorities on the above numbers before visiting the temple.
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