Sri Devanayakan Temple
Thiruvahindrapuram – Location
The distance between Thiruvahindrapuram and Chennai is 200 km. It is towards the west of the town of Cuddalore. Thiruvahindrapuram is one of the most famous Divya Desams. A part of the temple is at the ground level whereas the other half is on a small hillock.
The temple’s name, “Thiruvahindrapuram,” translates to “the abode of Lord Indra,” signifying its significance as a divine sanctuary.
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Sri Devanayakan Temple – Sthalapuranam
According to the legend, a battle between ‘devas’ and ‘asuras’ took place. Lord Siva took the side of ‘asuras’ while Lord Vishnu took the side of Devas. Lord Vishnu appeared to Siva in the form of Trimurthy and Lord Siva withdrew immediately on realizing His mistake. Hence the name Muvaragiya Oruvar to the Lord of this temple as He represents the combined form of Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, and Lord Rudra.
At the end of the battle, the Lord felt thirsty. He asked Garuda to get Him some water. Garuda went to Viraja River to get the purest water possible. Seeing the Lord waiting, Adhisesha beat the ground with his tail and water came up. Hence Sesha Theertham and Viraja rivers form part of the temple waters. The Viraja River became the Gedilam River which flows even today.
Sri Devanayakan Temple – Special Features
The Lord is known as Devanayakan or Muvaragiya Oruvan. The goddess is known as Vaikunta Nayaki or Hemabujavalli or Bharghavi. The ‘vimana’ is Chandra or ‘Sudha-sathva vimana.’ The temple pond is called Sesha Theertham.
The river Gedilum flows nearby. As an indication of His Trimurthy status, the Lord wears a lotus (as Lord Brahma), Conch & Discus (as Lord Vishnu) and a third eye (as Lord Shiva). When Lord Anjaneya carried Sanjeevani Hill to Lanka during the battle, a few pieces fell here and hence this place is called ‘Oushada-Giri.’
Devotees offer salt, pepper and jaggery at the wall of the temple to cure themselves of their afflictions.
On a hill next to the temple is the place where Sri Vedanta Desika prayed to Garuda and received the idol of Lord Hayagreeva.
The idol is still in worship. Here he wrote the famous Hayagreeva Stotram. He is said to have determined the ‘sampradhayam’ for Vadakalai sect of the Iyengar community while he resided here for a few decades. The famous Hayagriva stotram “Gnananandam Mayam Devam” was written by Sri Vedanta Desika here.
The temple got great contributions from medieval Cholas, Hoysalas, Pandiyas and Vijayanagara kings. The temple is famous for its recitation of Nalayira Divya Prabhandham.
Mangalasasanam
Thirumangai Alwar sang about this Divya Desam in Periya Thirumoli (1148-1157). The Alwar identifies the Divya Desam and the Lord in it as the same Lord who brought forth the world on His tusks in ‘Varaha Avataar’. He is also the same Lord who does ‘yoga nidhra’ on Adhisesha.
This Divya Desam is the same where the bees drink the nectar from ‘punai’ flowers. It is Thiruvahindrapuram. It is also the same place where the Lord who split the chest of Hiranyakasipa and crowned his son Prahalada king resided in the temple. This is the same place where the sugarcane grows tall and its juices flood the fields. It is Thiruvahindrapuram. The Lord broke the bow for the dark-haired Mahalakshmi.
When the rain threatened Gokulam, He held up the Govardhan Hill to protect the cows. He resides in the temple. It is the same place where rivers bring forth the tusks of elephants from the hills. It is Thiruvahindrapuram.
Click here for the complete list of Divya Desams.
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