Thirucchenkundroor | Sri Imayavarappa Perumal Temple | Divya Desams - 071

About the Temple & Location:

The Thrichittatt Mahavishnu Temple (also called Thiruchenkundrur and Imayavarappan temple) is a Hindu temple dedicated to Supreme God Vishnu and located in Chengannur, Alappuzha District, Kerala, South India. Constructed in the Kerala style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Divya Prabandha, by Nammalwar, one of the saint poets of the 8th century. It is one of the 108 Divyadesam dedicated to Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, who is worshipped as Imayavarappan. The nearest railway station to the temple is located in Chengannur, while the nearest airports are Trivandrum International Airport and Nedumbassery Airport Ernakulam.

It is one of the five ancient shrines in the Chengannur area of Kerala, connected with the legend of Mahabharata, where the five Pandavas are believed to have built one temple each; Thrichittatt Maha Vishnu Temple by Yudhishthira, Puliyur Mahavishnu Temple by Bheema, Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple by Arjuna, Thiruvanvandoor Mahavishnu Temple by Nakula and Thrikodithanam Mahavishnu Temple by Sahadeva.

The temple is open from 5:00 am to 11:00 am and 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm and is administered by Travancore Devaswom Board of the Government of Kerala

This divya desam is situated 6 miles East to Thiruvaaranvilai, 4 miles west to Thirupuliyoor, 5 miles North west to Thiruvanvandoor and 10 miles North to Thiruvalvaazh. We can reach this sthalam also by getting down in a small station through the Railway lane between Thiruvanandhapuram to Ernakulam via kollam. Bus facilities are also available.

So, if we come to this divyadesam, from here it's easy to visit other divya desam, since they are close to each other.

It is one of the five ancient shrines in the Chengannur area of Kerala, connected with the legend of Mahabharata. Legend has it that the Pandava princes, after crowning Parikshit as king of Hastinapura, left on a pilgrimage. On arriving on the banks of river Pamba, each one is believed to have installed a tutelary image of Krishna; Thrichittatt Maha Vishnu Temple by Yudhishthira, Puliyur Mahavishnu Temple by Bheema, Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple by Arjuna, Thiruvanvandoor Mahavishnu Temple by Nakula and Thrikodithanam Mahavishnu Temple by Sahadeva.

During the Mahabharata war, Yudhishthira, the head of the Pandavas, who never before uttered a lie, lied in one instant to defeat his Guru, Dronacharya. To overcome the sin of the lie, he underwent penance worshiping the lord here. Imayavar (Devas) came to this place prior to Yudhishthira and hence the deity here is referred as Imayavarappar. There is another version that the Pandavas worshipped the idols during the reign and started installing them in different places during the end of the reign.

Thiruchittattu temple, is considered to be one among the 108 most sacred places of worship, where Lord Vishnu himself resides.

The Temple is believed to have been built by Devas along the banks of Chittar, a tributary of Holy River Pampa, before mankind was born. The temple was then renovated by Yudhishthira in Dvapara Yuga. The temple is considered to be the primary temple among the five Mahavishnu Temples built by Pandavas.

It is believed that long before Yudhishthira renovated the temple, the Devas undertook pilgrimages to this spot many a time for the purpose of making special prayers and requests to the Lord to bless them so that they can ensure that the objective of harmony between the three world is fulfilled

After their prayers Lord Vishnu, presented himself to bless the Devas and also for them to get a glimpse of the Lord, filling the devotees with a sense of joy and wiping of their sorrows

In Dvapara Yuga, the Pandavas resided at present day Chengannur for a large duration of their exile, hence, after the passing of Lord Krishna, Sage Brighu persuaded the Pandavas to consecrate four sacred temples in the vicinity, to the Lord, who was their guide and protector in Mahabharata

This would allow daily offerings and pooja to be carried out on the benevolent Lord, in the form of the Thevaram, not only by Pandavas but also all the people who helped Pandavas survive during the exile. The Pandavas, maintained and performed Pooja in the five temples till their Swargarohanam (Auspicious journey to Vaikuntam)

Yudhishthira, on renovation of the temple, installed the Thevara Moorthy of Lord Vishnu with a tutelary image of Lord Krishna. This unique idol is facing east in a standing posture, with four arms, holding the - Shankh (Conch) in the upper right hand, Sudharshana Chakra (Discus) in the upper left hand, Lotus in the lower right hand. The lower left hand is free, however Lord Vishnu idols generally have a Gada (Mace) in this hand.

Yudhishthira after having a holy bath, installed the idols after immersing it in the Pushkarani (Pond), filling the Conch with its water and performed the first Pooja after installation

Hence, the pond at Thrichittat is named as - Amrutha Pushkarani, since the idol was immersed in it and as - Shankh Theertham, on the occasion of the pond's water filling the Conch, therefore, worshipping at Shanku Theertham, is considered equivalent to that of Sree Kovil (Sanctum Sanctorum of the Temple), and full darshanam is complete when both places are worshipped

History

Earliest references to this temple appear in the poems and hymns composed by the greatest of Alvar saints - Nammalvar, in circa 800 AD. Stone inscriptions in the temple date it back to the Second Chera Empire (800 - 1102 AD). In modern times, the temple is administered by Travancore Devaswom Board of the Government of Kerala. There are no historical records to indicate when the temple was built. As per local legend, the temple was believed to have been built by Devas.

Architecture

The temple is built in Kerala style architecture, common in all temples in the South Indian state of Kerala in Eastern axis. The temple has no gateway tower and has an arch from the main road. A rectangular wall around the temple, called Kshetra-Madilluka pierced by the gateways, encloses all the shrines of the temple. The metal plated flagpost or Dwajasthambam is located axial to the temple tower leading to the central sanctum. Chuttambalam is the outer pavilion within the temple walls. The central shrine and the associated hall is located in a rectangular structure called Nallambalam, which has pillared halls and corridors. Between the entrance of Nallambalam to the sanctum, there is a raised square platform called Namaskara Mandapa which has a pyramidal roof. Thevrapura, the kitchen used to cook offerings to the deity, is located on the left of Namaskara Mandapa from the entrance. Balithara is an altar used for making ritualistic offerings to demi-gods and the festive deities. The central shrine called Sreekovil houses the image of the presiding deity. It is on an elevated platform with a single door reached through five steps. As per Kerala rituals, only the main priest called Thantri and the second priest called Melsanthi alone can enter the Sree Kovil. The central shrine has a circular plan with the base built of granite, superstructure built of laterite and conical roof made of terracotta tile supported from inside by a wooden structure.The image of the presiding deity is 4 ft (1.2 m) tall. Krishna is in Vishvarupa pose, the one he depicted to Arjuna during the Mahabharatha war. In the second precinct, there are shrines of Sastha, Yakshi, Nagaraja and Erangavil Bhagavathy Balarama in the lower shrine.

Festival, worship practices and religious importance

The temple is open from 4 am to 10 am and 4 pm to 7 pm on all days leaving festive days. The two major festivals celebrated in the temple are Vaikunta Ekadasi and Thiruvonam.From 1957, the festival of Gosala Krishna Temple at Thiruvanvandoor commences from Thrichittatt Maha Vishnu temple when 25 caparisoned elephants are paraded to the Thiruvanvandoor.

Imayavarppa Perumal temple is revered in Nalayira Divya Prabhandam, the 7th–9th century Vaishnava canon, by Nammazhwar. The temple is classified as a Divyadesam, one of the 108 Vishnu temples that are mentioned in the book. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the temple finds mention in several works like 108 Tirupathi Anthathi by Divya Kavi Pillai Perumal Aiyangar.

Specials:

The speciality of this sthalam is that Dharman, one of the Pandavas worked in raising this temple and did lots of spiritual works in developing the temple.

Sthlapuranam :

This sthalam is now called with the name “Thirucchittraaru”, by the people. This temple is also called as “Perumal Temple (kovil)” and “Vishnu temple (kovil)”.

The perumal took the Mohini Avatharam to protect Lord Shiva from Padmasura. Once, there lived an Asuran (Demon) named “Sugan”. He had a son by Padmaasuran. He got many varams by doing various tapas. Likewise, he got a peculiar Varam from Lord Shiva that if anyone's head is touched over anyone's head, he should be turned into ash.

After getting the Varam, he wanted to kill Lord Shiva who gave him the Varam and ran from him and secked the help from Sriman Narayanan. Even the Deva Loga Kanniyars like Rambai, Oorvasi, Thilothamai tried to change his concentration by showing their presence in front of him. But, they feared coming in front of him because they thought he might put his hand on their heads. At that time, Sriman Narayanan took the most beautiful Mohini Avatar and came in front of Padmaasuran. On seeing the beauty of the Mohini, he stood without moving and wanted to get the happiness of her beauty. At that time, Mohini who was actually Sriman Narayanan, said after having the oil bath, he can get happiness from her.

On hearing this, Padmaasuran felt very happy and went towards the tank (Pushkarani) to have the oil bath. As soon as he applied the oil on his head, his hand touched his head and at that second, he was turned to ash. And finally, Sriman Narayanan who took the Mohini Avatar saved Lord Shiva. At that time, Sriman Narayanan gave his pratyaksham for Rudhran (Lord Shiva).

This sthala perumal is Imayavarappan, found in Nindra thirukkolam facing towards west direction Iyyappan, was born from the 3rd eye of Lord Shiva and for Mohini avatar. Appan means father and in this sthalam , Imaya varappan is giving his blessings and seva in the father Sthanam (stage).

To explain that Lord Shiva and Sriman Narayanan are equal, a very big shivan temple is also found in this sthalam. The speciality of this sthalam is that Dharman, one of the Pandavas worked in raising this temple and did lots of spiritual works in developing the temple.

During the Bharatha war (in Mahabharatham), Ashwathaman, son of Dronar, was against Pandavas and found along with Thuriyothanan. At that time, Dharman in his loud voice said Ashwathaman was killed. But actually Ashwathaman is one of the elephants in the war land and at the end, he told in a mild voice that it is an elephant. On hearing the loud voice, Dronar thought his son Ashwathaman was killed and died at that place. But, Dharmar was not happy of his action and wanted to do some satisfactory things and as a result of this he came to this sthalam and to get out of sinful action he has performed, he worked in raising the temple and worshipped Imayavarappan, the perumal of this sthalam.

Moolavar:

The Moolavar of this sthalam is Imayavarappan. He is found in Nindra Thirukkolam facing his thirumugham towards west direction. The perumal is pratyaksham for Rudran (Lord Shiva).

Thayaar

The Thayar found in this sthalam is Sengamala Valli Thaayar.

Mangalasasanam:

Nammalwar – 11 Paasurams.
Total 11.

Pushkarani:

Sanga Pushkarani.
Thirucchitraaru.

Vimanam:

Jagajyothi Vimaanam.