Jagannatha Perumal Temple (also called Tirumazhisai Temple is dedicated to Hindu god Vishnu located in Tirumazhisai,

Chennai City Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian censu ...

Tiruvallur district Thiruvallur District, also spelled as Tiruvallur District, is one of the 38 districts (an administrative district) in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The fast developing city of Tiruvallur is the district headquarters. The district has a mixture ...

, in the South Indian state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Jagannatha Perumal and his consort Lakshmi as Thirumangaivalli. The temple is believed to be the birthplace of Thirumazhisai Alvar, one of the twelve

Alvar An alvar is a biological environment based on a limestone plain with thin or no soil and, as a result, sparse grassland vegetation. Often flooded in the spring, and affected by drought in midsummer, alvars support a distinctive group of prairie ...

s whose work is compiled as ''

Divya Prabandha The Naalayira Divya Prabandham () is a collection of 4,000 Tamil verses composed by the 12 Alvars. It was compiled in its present form by Nāthamuni during the 9th–10th centuries. The work, an important liturgical compilation of the Tamil ...

'', the early medieval

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

canon of the

saints from the 6th–9th centuries CE. The temple is Classified one among the 108

Abhimana Kshethram Abhimana Kshethram or Abhimana Sthalam are a list of 108 sacred Vishnu temples apart from the other 108 Divya desams. ''Abhimana desams'' or close abodes, these temples are the most significant temples in the Vaishnavism, Vaishnavite tradition ...

of Vaishnavate tradition. The temple is open from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m and has six daily rituals at various times of the day. Various festivals are celebrated in the temple, with the Aani Brahmotsavam, Aipasi Manavala Maamuni festival during October - November and Maasi float festival during February - March being the most prominent. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the

Government of Tamil Nadu The Government of Tamil Nadu () is the administrative body responsible for the governance of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the capital of the state and houses the state executive, legislature and head of judiciary. Under the Const ...

Legend

According to the Hindu legend, the

Saptarishi The Saptarshi ( ) are the seven seers of ancient India who are extolled in the Vedas, and other Hindu literature such as the Skanda Purana. The Vedic Samhitas never enumerate these rishis by name, although later Vedic texts such as the Br ...

s, the seven sages, wanted to have a view of Madhya Jagannatha (literally meaning Jagannatha located in the middle). As per Hindu legend, the Jaganatha at Puri Jagannatha Temple is called Vada Jagannatha (located in the North) and the one located in Adi Jagannatha Perumal Temple at Thirupullani is called ''Keeḻa'' Jagannatha. Acceding to the request of the sages, Vishnu is believed to have appeared as Madhya Jagannatha at this place. The place is also believed to be the birthplace of

Thirumalisai Alvar Tirumalisai Alvar (IAST) is a Tamil saint revered in the Sri Vaishnavism school of south India between the 4th to 9th century CE, in Tondai Nadu (now part of Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur districts). The legend of this saint devotees of Sri Vaishna ...

, one of the twelve

s whose work is compiled as ''

'', the early medieval

canon of the

saints from the 6th–9th centuries CE. His works include ''Tiruvanthai'' and ''Tiruchanda Viruttam'', which are included in the canon.

History

Thirumazhisai was originally called by various names like Chrukuravalli-Chaturvedimanagalam, Pakkaturaivalla-Chaturvedimangalam, Mahisaram and Mahaksehtram on account of the number of Vedic people settled here during the Chola and Vijayanagara period. The inscriptions on the walls of the temple are from the chola regime during the 11-12th centuries and Vijayanagara period during the 14-15th centuries. The inscriptions are made in

or in ancient Tamil scripts indicating gift of land, lamps and houses to the temple. The oldest inscription is found from the period of

Kulothunga Chola III Kulothunga III was a Chola emperor who ruled from to 1218. He ascended the throne after succeeding his elder brother Rajadhiraja II. Kulothunga Chola III gained success in war against his traditional foes. He gained victories in war agains ...

(1179-1216 CE) indicating gift of land to the temple. Vijaya Gandagopala, a chieftain during the 12th century has endowed gifts to the temple. There are also inscriptions from the period of Kopperunjinga during the 13th century. Harihara Raya II (1377-1404 CE) and Virupaksha Raya II (1465-85 CE), the rulers of the

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was a late medieval Hinduism, Hindu empire that ruled much of southern India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, belongi ...

have donated gifts to the temple as indicated in the inscriptions. In modern times, the temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the

Architecture

The temple is built in

Dravidian architecture Dravidian architecture, or the Southern Indian temple style, is an architectural idiom in Hindu temple architecture that emerged from Southern India, reaching its final form by the sixteenth century. In contrast with North Indian temple styl ...

occupies around and has two precincts. It is located in Tirumalisai, a suburb in

Tiruvallur Tiruvallur is a Grade I municipality in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of Coovum river about from downtown Chennai ( Madras) in the western part of the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA). It is a satellite tow ...

, the capital of the

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

n state of

. The temple has a rectangular plan surrounded by high walls, pierced by a five-tier ''

gopuram A ''gopuram'' or ''gopura'' ( Tamil: கோபுரம், Telugu: గోపురం, Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of th ...

'', the gateway tower. The presiding deity housed in the sanctum, is an image made of granite seen in seated posture with his right leg bent and left leg left hanging. The images of

Rukmini Rukmini (, ) is a Devi, Hindu goddess and the first queen of Krishna. She is described as the chief of Krishna's wives in Dvārakā. Rukmini is revered as the avatar of Lakshmi and is venerated primarily in Warkari, and Haridasa tradition, and ...

and

Satyabhama Satyabhama (IAST'': Satyabhāmā)'' , also known as Satrajiti, is a Hindu goddess and the third queen consort of the Hindu god Krishna. Satyabhama is described as an incarnation of Bhumi, an aspect of Lakshmi. She is the goddess and the per ...

are located on either of his sides. The shrine of

Garuda Garuda (; ; Vedic Sanskrit: , ) is a Hindu deity who is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. This divine creature is mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain faiths. Garuda is also the half-brother of the D ...

facing Jagannatha Perumal, the eagle mount of Vishnu, is located axial to the central shrine. The central shrine is approached through Mahamandapa, the worship hall and a narrow Ardha mandapam. The Mahamandapa has a twenty eight pillared hall with sculptured pillars depicting Vaishnava mythology. The flagpost is located behind the shrine of Garuda, axial to the central shrine and the gateway tower. There are images of Alvars in the worship hall on both sides and the shrine of Yathirajavalli is located in the second precinct. The

vimana Vimāna are mythological flying palaces or chariots described in Hindu texts and Sanskrit epics. The "Pushpaka Vimana" of Ravana (who took it from Kubera; Rama returned it to Kubera) is the most quoted example of a vimana. Vimanas are also menti ...

, the roof over the sanctum, has stucco images of

Hayagriva Hayagriva ( IAST , ) is a Hindus, Hindu deity, the horse-headed avatar of Vishnu. The purpose of this incarnation was to slay a Danava (Hinduism), danava also named Hayagriva (A descendant of Kashyapa and Danu), who had the head of a horse a ...

Lakshmi Narasimha Lakshmi Narasimha () is an iconographical depiction of Narasimha, the fourth avatar of Vishnu, with his consort Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity. It is one of the forms of Nava Narasimha. Legend In an alternate iteration of the legend of Na ...

and

. The northern side of the Mahamandapa has the shrine of Thirumalisai Alvar, which houses the image of the Alvar in seated posture with his hands sported with praying gesture. The second precinct has the shrine of Thirumangaivalli Thayar. There are other shrines in the temple dedicated to Lakshmi Narasimha, Manavala Mamunigal and

Andal Andal (ISO 15919: Āṇḍāḷ), also known as Godhai, Nachiyar, and Godha Devi, is the only female Alvars, Alvar. (Orthodoxy posits the number of Alvars as ten, though there are other references that include Andal and Madhurakavi Alvar, ...

. There is a four pillared hall in front of the gopuram having sculpted images in the pillars from the Vijayanagara period. There is a Kalayana Mandapa, Vahana Mandapa for housing the divine vehicles and a Paramapada vasal.

Worship practices and festivals

The temple follows the

Tenkalai Sri Vaishnavism () is a denomination within the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism, predominantly practiced in South India. The name refers to goddess Lakshmi (also known as Sri), as well as a prefix that means "sacred, revered", and the god V ...

tradition of worship based on Vaikasana Agamic tradition. The temple is open from 6:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The temple priests perform the '' pooja'' (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. As at other Vishnu temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the Vaishnavaite community, a Brahmin sub-caste. The temple rituals are performed four times a day: ''Ushathkalam'' at 8 a.m., ''Kalasanthi'' at 10:00 a.m., ''Sayarakshai'' at 5:00 p.m. and ''Ardha Jamam'' at 8:00 p.m. Each ritual has three steps: ''alangaram'' (decoration), ''neivethanam'' (food offering) and ''deepa aradanai'' (waving of lamps) for both Jagannatha Perumal and his consort Thirumangaivalli. There are weekly, monthly and fortnightly rituals performed in the temple. Various festivals are celebrated in the temple, with the Aani Brahmotsavam (during June - July), Aipasi Manavala Maamuni festival during October - November and Maasi float festival during February - March being the most prominent. During Aani Brahmotsavam, the temple car housing the festival deities of Jagannatha Perumal and Thirumanjavalli is drawn around the streets of Tirumalisai. During the float festival in February–March, the presiding deities are drawn in a float in the temple tank. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the

References

External links

{{Famous Vishnu temples, state=collapsed Hindu temples in Tiruvallur district Vishnu temples Abhimana temples of Vishnu