Pallava
Period temple that was constructed in the current form and structure by the
Pandyas
A Hill Temple whose legend back to the fight between Adiseshan and Vayu
Located
about 25kms from Salem off the Salem-Dharmapuri NH on a small hill is the Pallava
Period Prasanna Venkatachalapathy temple in Karuvalli near Omalur where
Moolavar Lord Venkatachalapathy is flanked by Sri and Bhoo Devi. One has to
climb 300 steps to reach the hill temple. There is a huge Gopuram at the Eastern Entrance that is seen from a fair distance away.
The story
Once,
Vayu (the God of Wind) came to Vaikuntam to meet Lord Vishnu. With Adiseshan
stopping Vayu, an argument arose as to who was mightier of the two. Adideshan
went and wound himself around the Anantha Mountain (Meru’s son). With Vayu
blowing in full force, devas became worried. Answering their request, Adiseshan
slightly moved one of his heads. Vayu’s speed hit the mountain with such force
that one piece flew and fell here at Chinna Tirupathi.
Another
story goes that Vishnu came here searching for Goddess Lakshmi who had left him
angered at him for not punishing Brigu rishi who had kicked him in the chest.
Finding Adiseshan sleeping in the pit here in the mountain, Vishnu entered the
pit. Coming to know of this, Shiva and Brahmma disguised themselves as a cow
and a calf.
As
this region was full of cows, it was referred to as ‘Pasupatti’.
Malai Kandaan and his descendents
The
cow would come here every morning and fill the pit with milk leaving her master
in a shocked state as he was not able to get even a litre of milk. Trying to understand
the reason behind the cow going dry, he followed her one morning to this pit on
the new mountain that had formed here. As he found the new mountain, he came to
be called ‘Malai Kandaan’. To this day, the descendents of Malai Kandaan
continue to perform service here at this temple.
As
he narrated this story to the villagers, they came here to find out the truth.
Inside the pit, they had darshan of Venkatachalapathy. A Pandya king, who was a
devotee of Lord Vishnu, constructed this temple in its current form and
structure installing the Swamyambu idol. In memory of this event, the
sculptures of the Pandya King, his queen and mother are seen here on the south
side of the Artha mandapam. The Pandya king is believed to have provided grants
to the temple. There are fish symbols atop the wall on the Artha mandapa.
Granting of villages in the 15th
Century
With
the muslim invasion, the temple had been closed. With no poojas offered to the
Lord, this region had become a drought prone place. The Paalaya King who was
ruling this region including Omalur in the 15th Century AD once made
a visit to Karuvalli on his horse. He found ‘Thirumalai Kannikakodi
Thathachariyar’ invoking the Lord’s blessings on his way to Kasi.
He
told the Paalaya King that performing a Varuna Jabam in a sincere way would
bring rains back to this region. On his
way back from Kasi, Thathachariyar performed the Jabam which instantly brought rains.
A pleased king presented three villages to Thathachariyar, who then brought
60families from Tirumalai to this region. One of the villages came to be called
Thathaiyengar Pettai, near Namakkal.
Another
village came to be called Thathayam Patti and is found near Omalur. The descendents who were prolific in reciting Vedas
were given the first rights at this temple for several centuries.
Contribution of Mysore kings
The
Mysore Kings constructed the huge temple tank at the foot of the hill. Float
Festival is celebrated in a grand manner in Puratasi. Near the tank is a shandy
market that is seen in full buzz every Saturday.
Festivals
Brahmotsavam
in Puratasi
Vaikasi
Vasanthotsavam
Sri
Jayanthi Utsavam – The descendents of Malai Kandaan participate as part of the
Uriyadi Utsavam
Street
Procession on the full moon day in Chitrai
Quick Facts
Moolavar: Prasanna Venkatachalapathy
with Sri and Bhoo Devi Thaayar
Thaayar : Alarmel Mangai Thaayar / Padmavathi Thaayar
( Separate Sannidhi)
Utsavar : Srinivasa Perumal
Time : 6am-130pm and 330pm-630pm
Contact: Rajagopalan Bhattar @
94422 20607/ Nandakumar Iyengar@ 98946 97279
How to reach
Bangalore
bound morning train at 520am from Salem Junction will take you to Karuvalli station
by 6am. The temple is walking distance from the station. By bus, one can get
down at Omalur from Salem (on the Dharmapuri / Mettur highway). From Omalur,
take the Mookanur/Vellaru bus to reach Chinna Tirupathi/Karuvalli (about 13kms)
1 comment:
ಸ್ವಾಮಿ ವೆಂಕಟಾಚಲಪತಿ ಇಂದು ರಾತ್ರಿಯೊಳಗೆ ನನ್ನ ಕೈ ಕಾಲಿಗೆ ಶಕ್ತಿ ನೀಡಿದರೆ ನಿನ್ನಯ ದರ್ಶನ ಪಡೆದು, ತಿರುಮಂಜನಮ್ ಅಭಿಷೇಕ ಸಲ್ಲಿಸಿ, ತುಳಸಿ ತುಲಾಭಾರ ಹಾಕಿಸಿ, ಕಾಸಿನ ಅಭಿಷೇಕ ಅರ್ಪಿಸಿ, ಕಲ್ಯಾಣೋತ್ಸವ ಸಂಕಲ್ಪ ಸೇವೆ ಸಮರ್ಪಿಸುವೆ ತಂದೆ.
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