Sri Parthasarathy Swamy Temple – Location
Tiruvallikeni temple is located in the heart of the city of Chennai on the shores of the Bay of Bengal. One of the first three Alwars identified it. It is probably one of the oldest structures in Chennai with approximately 1400 years of history. The temple appears to have been there since the 6th century of the common era.
The locality was once full of ponds with ‘alli’ flowers, hence the name. Thirumangai Alwar, often considered the last Alwar, sang about all the shrines in the temple.
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Sri Parthasarathy Swamy Temple – Sthalapuranam
According to legend, Atreya Maharishi, the ‘sishya’ of the great sage Veda Vyasa, came and settled here to perform penance. He brought the idol of Parthasarathy with him and established the temple. Years later King Sumati went to Tirupati and prayed for the ‘darshan’ of the Lord as Parthasarathy. He was guided by the Lord to come here to worship the form. He came from Tirupati and worshipped here on the orders of Lord Srinivasa. The main idol is known as Lord Venkata Krishnan.
Sri Parthasarathy Swamy Temple – Special Features
The main ‘Theertham’ is ‘Kairavani Saras’. The Lord is Venkata Krishnan and the Universal Mother is Rukmini and Vedavalli. Goddess Lakshmi was found as a child by the sage Bhrigu who raised Her as Vedavalli. Sri Ranganatha came and married Her. Goddess Lakshmi is said to have addressed Lord Ranganatha as Man-natha or My husband. In response to the penance by the sage Madhuman, the Lord came as Rama to this Desam.
The Lord is said to have appeared as Lord Nrusimha (Thellia-Singham) in response to the wishes of the sage Athiri.
The Lord showed himself as Gajendra Varada in response to the penance of the sage Saptharomar. The Lord here is ‘Venkata Krishnan’ and this temple is special because the Lord sports with the moustache. The Lord holds no weapon. He has only the ‘Panchajanya’ conch and a whip.
The ‘utsava-murthy’ is ‘Lord Parthasarathy’ and the idol has a captivating smile. There are shrines of Lord Narasimha, Lord Rama, Lord Ranganatha, Lord Gajendra Varada and Lord Krishna in the main temple. There are frequent festivals around the year at this temple. Some say that the marks on the face of the idol of Lord Parthasarathy are due to the arrows of Bhishma in the battle. Pey Alwar, one of the three Mudhal Alwars, was born in Thirumayilai which is not very far from here.
It is said that Sri Ramanuja’s father performed ‘Putrakameshti yajnam’ at Tiruvallikeni.
Sri Parthasarathy Swamy Temple – Mangalasasanam
Pey Alwar, Thirumazhisai Alwar and Thirumangai Alwar performed Mangalasasanam at this temple. In Mundram Thiruvandhadhi (2297), Alwar states that She resides in the lotus flower with beautiful petals. She is Goddess Mahalakshmi, the Universal Mother. She resides on His handsome chest. He resides in Tiruvallikeni which is on the shores where the waves wash up white pearls and beautiful corals. He is worshipped with auspicious ‘arati’ in the evenings.
In Naanmugan Thiruvandhadhi (2416), Thirumazhisai Alwar says that the Lord rests on Adisesha in Tiruvallikeni which is right next to Mayilai where big waves come crashing on the shore. Is it because He walked the three steps to measure all the worlds and was tired and resting, and hence quiet?
In Peria Thirumozhi (1068-1077), Thirumangai alwar says that the Lord after breaking the bow, defeated Kuvalayapeeda, the wrestlers and Kamsa. The same Lord who ended the curse on Lord Shiva stood on the front end of Arjuna’s chariot. He is the same Lord who renounced His crown on the orders of His mother Kaikeyi. I saw him in Tiruvallikeni.
In the next pasuram, he addresses the Lord of Tiruvallikeni (all five shrines) as the incomparable one who gave ‘Amrit’, lifted the Govardhan Hill, destroyed Ravana and protected Draupadi.
