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Srivilliputhur
BIRTH PLACE OF SRI.ANDAL . Srivilliputhur
'uduththuk kaLaindha nin pIthaka aadai,' said Vishnu Chithar
- Periyaazhvar - her father. '….sUdik kaLaindhana sUdum ith thoNdarkaLOm,' he said. 'We are Your servitors, our Lord, who are privileged to wear the dress worn by You and the garlands that adorned Your shoulders. We take delight in wearing that which was used by You.' It is a wonder of wonders that when the father submits unto his Lord with such humility, the very Lord desires to wear the garlands that were worn by his daughter the previous day!Godha, or Andal or Naachiyaar, as she is more endearingly known is one of the very great poets who enriched Tamil by her contributions. Though the numbers cannot be considered much as compared to others - there are 30 verses of Thiruppavai and another 143 known as Naachiyaar Thirumozhi, a total of 173 - her verses excel others in the beauty of expression, emotion, passion, love and total devotion.
Andal was born in Srivilliputtur - Thiruvilliputtur - a beautiful village slowly turning into a town nowadays. Srivilliputtur is on the Virudunagar - Thenkasi chord line of the Southern Railway, about 65 km. south of Madurai, very well-connected by road and/or rail with Madurai, Tenkasi, Tirunelveil and Sattur.
The Temple
The Lord of Srivilliputtur is known as Vatapatrasayee or Rangamannar. He is in a reclining posture in the sanctum sanctorum with Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi, His Consorts attending to him at His feet. Sage Bhrgu is standing near the head and Markandeya is near the feet. The banyan tree - whose leaf is known as Vatapatram, on which the Lord rests in the form of a baby during deluge - is at His head and is behind Sage Bhrgu. Besides the images of Panchamurtis, Thumburu, Narada, Santkumara, Kinnara Mithuna, the Sun and the Moon shown all around Rangamannar, those of Villi and Puttan are also included, who stand reverently at his feet. Villi and Puttan were the founders of the city and hence the place is known by their names, Thiru-Villi-Puttur. The sanctum
sanctorum has three doorways from which the Lord can be seen in His reclining posture. A flight of stairs lead to the sanctum sanctorum and an impressive, sprawling hall precedes it, with exquisite wooden carvings depicting various incidents from Puranas serving as supports to and at the same time adorning the ceiling. The majestic temple tower has 12 tiers and rises up to an awe-inspiring 192 feet. This tower is said to have been built by Periyaazhvar, the father-in-law of the Lord, with the purse of gold that he won in debates held in the palace of Pandya King Vallabhadeva. The temple tower is in fact the tower that the Government of Tamil Nadu uses as its insignia.
Garlands that she wore…
The temple is one of the very old temples of Tamil Nadu and one can see inscriptions belonging to the 8th century here. It was known for
Rangamannar, the Vatapatrasayee, until the birth of Andal. However, after the birth of Andal and after her divine union with her Lord, the temple is known more for Her, than for Him. Andal, like Sita, is known as 'ayoni Sambhava,' not born of a mother's womb. She was found under the Tulasi plant in the garden that Vishnu Chithar tended in the service of His Lord, for making garlands that adorn Him every day.It so happened that Andal, who was brought up in strict discipline, with the narration of stories of her Lord, fell in love with Him and used to wear the garlands in her tresses after they are made and left at home by Periyaazhvar, before being taken to the temple, in his absence. She used to wear them and look at her image in the water in the well close by. The well is preserved in good condition to this day in the Andal sannadhi.
Periyaazhvar noticed a strand of hair in the garland one day, was surprised and started watching his foster-daughter. He happened to notice this audacious act and he was crest-fallen that the divinity of the garlands was marred since they were first used by his daughter. He did not take the garlands to the temple that day. The Lord did not have any flowers to wear. He appeared in Periyazhvar's dream and sought an explanation. When Vishnu Chithar told Him what had happened, He smiled. 'I take delight in wearing the garlands that your daughter used,' He said and insisted that He be worshipped only with the garlands that Goda wore in the first instance. From that day Goda came to be known as Andal.
She pined for her Lord and penned her verses and lived her days, thinking of Him all the time. She was given in marriage to the Lord. In fact the Lord himself bade the priest of Srirangam Temple to bring Andal from Srivilliputtur. She was taken in a grand procession in a palanquin and when the procession reached the sanctum sanctorum, Andal went in merged into the body of her Lord Ranganatha.
Six worship services are carried out each day. Annual festivals are celebrated in the months of Aadi and Margazhi.
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Latest page update: made by Sarnath
, Jul 17 2007, 6:28 AM EDT
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